Reborn in 2011, I am the chief designer of aerospace.

Chapter update reminder: Chapter 108 The Out-of-Control Model Machine (Part 1), reading address.

Another day of training.

Mira, wearing a flight helmet, walked around the training vehicle. Song Xingye followed behind her, a gentle breeze ruffling his hair, his eyes hidden behind sunglasses.

Mira couldn't help but blurt out, "This is MLTV? Oh my god!"

Sheng Tianhong, the veteran astronaut in charge of supervision that day, simply grinned and said, "Your standard Mars landing training rover, the third-generation improved version. Pretty impressive, huh?"

The Mars landing training rover features an open-frame design supported by six landing legs. Mira noticed a downward-facing jet engine in the center, surrounded by a dense array of fuel tanks. Reaction control nozzles are located at the four corners of the frame, with two large, downward-facing auxiliary rockets mounted side-by-side below. The pilot's cockpit uses an ejection seat design, partially enclosed by aluminum walls, with the NASA logo prominently displayed on the side, below which is the black stencil-printed word "three". The entire setup is approximately ten meters high, with the four landing legs spanning about twelve meters. Lacking any outer shell for protection, the internal structure is completely exposed: the jet engine, rockets, fuel tanks, piping systems, and cable networks are all laid bare; the entire setup resembles a disassembled exhibit, casually laid out, exuding a remarkably rough feel.

As the morning light rises, the shadows cast by birds stretch across the wide asphalt surface of the runway.

"Damn it," Mira muttered again, her gaze returning to Sheng Tianhong, "it's like watching a circus performance."

"Say what you will," Sheng Tianhong replied, "but this is the closest thing we can get to the MEM trainer jet. If you want to operate the MEM, you have to learn how to play this first, buddy." Sheng Tianhong grinned and joked.

Sheng Tianhong is one of the "veterans." This astronaut has an impressive resume, having served as a test pilot and even an instructor in the space force, accumulating rich experience in spaceflight. During the selection process for the first and alternate crews of the "Sou Shen" mission, Sheng Tianhong, with his earlier enlistment, had already accumulated a wealth of practical free-flight MLTV experience, thus becoming the commander of the first flight crew. Mira, despite investing considerable time in simulation training, ultimately only gained some experience in the space force's tethered facility, where a simulator similar to MEM was suspended.

But who cares? From today onwards, Mira can add her MLTV flight experience to her achievements list. So, to hell with Sheng Tianhong, and all those self-important bastards.

In Mira's view, the real contest only began the moment the spacecraft broke out of the atmosphere.

Mira pulled the helmet up over her head and jumped into the open frame of the MLTV. She twisted slightly and settled into the only seat. "Hmm, perfect."

Sheng Tianhong stepped forward. "Hey, Mira,"

Mira was busy fastening her seatbelt. "This seat is really comfortable, racing-grade, right?"

"Get down there right now, buddy. You're completely unprepared. You shouldn't have,"

"The jet engine over there is a CF-700-2V turbofan. Okay, I know this equipment. I flew all this way to operate it, not to listen to your nonsense." She glanced down at the control panel: a few gauges, a CRT monitor, several headphone jacks, exactly the same as in the simulator.

She suddenly realized she was blinking involuntarily; the sunlight was so intense, almost directly hitting her face, stinging her eyes. Through the plexiglass windshield in front of her, she could see the fine grid lines and numbers etched on it.

But suddenly, the stinging sensation in her eyes intensified. "Ouch!" She raised her arm to cover her face, her eyes itching terribly, and tears began to flow uncontrollably.

"Let me give you a heads-up," Sheng Tianhong's indifferent voice came from outside, "pull down your mask. You're being sprayed with hydrogen peroxide leaking from the posture control system. Are you sure you know what to do, buddy?"

Mira abruptly pulled down her goggles and squeezed her eyes shut. "Even if I break my neck, it's still my neck. What are you worried about?"

"Fine," Sheng Tianhong finally relented, "Okay, you win."

Sheng Tianhong and Song Xingye turned and walked towards the control truck, climbing into the back. A moment later, Sheng Tianhong's clear instructions came through Mira's flight headset. "Alright, Mira. We're going to raise the MLTV to fifty meters high, fly it around this area twice, and then return the same way. It's that simple. Let you get a feel for its temperament first. After we're done, come down and wash your eyes, understand?"

"clear."

Mira slammed on the start switch, and the jet engine behind her roared to life. Dust billowed up from the ground, hitting her face. Steam hissed and spewed from the attitude control nozzles, resembling a haphazard steam engine, the most fantastical dream of flight by Victorian engineers.

The asphalt surface on the runway seemed to be collapsing. Lift surged through the air, brief but reassuring; MLTV was like a noisy elevator.

In any case, MLTV itself still needs to continue test flights. After all, it's still a long way from landing on Mars, and no one is willing to take the risk now.

Aside from those who fight tooth and nail to make the starting lineup, nobody cares.

Mira lifted the MLTV to a height of about sixty meters and slowed down the ascent.

The working principle of this peculiar aircraft gradually became clear: the pilot sat at the tail of the jet, relying on four peroxide reaction clusters distributed around her to maintain stability. These miniature vernier rockets sprayed propellant from various parts of the aircraft, constantly adjusting its attitude. In fact, she discovered that when keeping the aircraft level, there was no need to manually operate the radar control unit; the miniature rockets would ignite on their own, accompanied by weak electromagnetic pulses and hissing sounds.

She began fiddling with the controls. She discovered that the MLTV possessed full 360-degree yaw capability and could rotate freely around its vertical axis. She cheered excitedly as the whole world spun around her. Then, she mastered pitch and roll controls, allowing the aircraft to tilt left and right. But when attempting to translate, she found that the thrust generated by the massive, downward-pointing main nozzle, once deviated from vertical, would cause the behemoth to slide forward, sideways, and even backward on the asphalt tarmac.

Song Xingye shouted into the earpiece, "Hey, don't go overboard!"

This is clearly the operating procedure that must be followed when piloting the MEM in the future. But she has to be careful not to tilt too sharply in any direction, otherwise she can clearly feel the stability starting to decline.

Her eyes were still watering, and the weak but glaring sunlight shone in so brightly that she could barely see the readings on the instruments.

She eventually brought the aircraft to a steady stop at an altitude of about 100 meters, directly facing the control truck.

"Mira, it's time for you to come back and wash your eyes," Sheng Tianhong's voice rang out again.

How much fuel can this thing hold?

"Enough for about seven minutes of flight."

How long will the landing procedure take?

"Mira,"

"tell me."

"Three or four minutes, I guess."

She glanced at her watch; it had only been two minutes since takeoff, plenty of time.

She simply raised MLTV even higher.

Mira, come down quickly!

"I only have one way to go down, man, and that's declining momentum."

"You haven't received this kind of training."

"I've flown over fifty simulation scenarios. Come on, man, I know what I'm doing. This model flies with the precision of a clock, making me land on my own."

Sheng Tianhong's voice changed completely. "Damn it, you bastard! If you dare break the training equipment, I'll definitely file a complaint against you!"

Mira grinned. "Of course." What else could Sheng Tianhong do? As long as Mira was still in the training device and he was stuck on the ground, he could only watch helplessly.

Mira pulled the aircraft to an altitude of 300 meters. "Is that high enough to activate the automatic program?"

She heard Sheng Tianhong take a few deep breaths through her earpiece. "Find the button for the automatic control sequence."

Mira found the button and immediately felt the thrust change. The jet engine suddenly decelerated, the MLTV dipped briefly, and then a deep rocket roared as the trainer stabilized.

"Listen carefully," Sheng Tianhong's voice regained its composure, "Now, the wonder of the MLTV lies in its two independent propulsion systems. At this moment, the turbofan engine under your backside is decelerating, and it is currently bearing about two-thirds of your and the spacecraft's total weight. So, if we ignore other factors, you are in a state of one-third gravity, just like on Mars, understand? The jet engine is counteracting most of the gravity, allowing you to experience the Martian environment in advance."

"clear."

"But you won't fall, because those two hydrogen peroxide lift rockets directly below have just started and are supporting you. These two lift rockets simulate the MEM's landing system; you'll have to precisely control them to ensure a safe landing. You'll need to gradually reduce the rocket thrust until touchdown, just like landing an intercontinental ballistic missile on its tail."

"receive."

"Mira, you have two more controllers here. The one on the right is attitude control, and the one on the left is thrust fine-tuning. Want to try these two little buttons?"

"certainly."

Mira was familiar with these controllers; she had mastered them during flight simulations. Attitude control was a click-sensitive lever; each turn caused the corresponding rocket to roar, and the MLTV to tilt one degree accordingly. Thrust control was a toggle switch; each time she switched it on, the lift rocket would roar, giving her an acceleration increment of one meter per second.

Once out of free flight mode, controlling the training vehicle became incredibly difficult, as if she were submerged in a viscous liquid. With only one-third of the effective gravity, she had to tilt the vehicle at three times the angle it would on the ground to generate the same thrust in the same direction. Moreover, once she began moving in a certain direction, the vehicle would drift continuously until she readjusted its attitude. The entire system was sluggish and erratic. She realized that even the most basic maneuvers required meticulous planning in advance.

This method of flying while maintaining balance on a rocket was far more difficult than she had anticipated, even exceeding the highest difficulty level set in the simulator. She suddenly realized that almost all the flying skills she had painstakingly practiced throughout her life were useless here.

"Alright, buddy. That little computer above your head is running the PGNS program right now." Sheng Tianhong pronounced the abbreviation "pings" clearly; PGNS stands for navigation and guidance software. "You, this flight simulator expert, don't need me to teach you how to let the computer guide you to a landing, right? You just need to aim at the target and then ignite the engine."

"I know. Come on, my power's almost gone, let me drop this thing down myself."

"Okay. First, look out through the windshield and choose a place you want to land. You'll see a number on the CRT."

Mira looked out. She saw a huge number "three" printed on a nearby helipad, about a few hundred meters away. It would be quite fitting if the model aircraft could land right in the center of the number "three".

She used the attitude controller to level the MLTV until the number on the windshield aligned with the number on the CRT monitor. "Number three, I suppose," she reported to Sheng Tianhong.

MLTV began to drift smoothly toward the target point. At this moment, the PGNS program was calculating in the background a flight path that would take the aircraft above the number "three," or more precisely, slightly above it.

"I don't understand the specific mathematical principles," Sheng Tianhong interjected, "but Mira, you need to master these operational basics to understand the logic of this thing."

"I know."

The working principle of PGNS is not actually complicated. The computer and radar equipment on the MLTV are sufficient to independently complete a full powered landing. The system acquires the current position, velocity, and target vector hovering above the target point in real time, and then intelligently calculates a smooth landing trajectory. Every few seconds, the system recalculates and generates a new landing curve. The data displayed on the cathode ray tube indicates the current aiming point, and the calculated final landing point is precisely displayed behind that marker.

"Understood." She glided lightly across the track, her movements fluid and natural.

To change landing points, simply rotate the aircraft via attitude control to adjust the windshield's orientation, and PGNS will automatically recalculate. To maintain the current attitude for a period of time, activate "Attitude Hold" mode to allow the aircraft to move smoothly horizontally. Furthermore, the descent speed can also be adjusted accordingly.

"I know, I..."

Song Xingye's voice suddenly cut in. "Mira, this is Song Xingye. I think you should end this immediately."

"What? Why?"

"You're going too fast and too low."

She quickly glanced at the simple instrument panel; everything seemed normal. She admitted she had indeed entered at low altitude and high speed, but it was entirely intentional. She knew Sheng Tianhong's refueling maneuver had put time pressure on him, and Mira didn't want to run out of fuel. "Song Xingye, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"I think if you fly like that, you'll crash PGNS."