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

Perhaps only in the future, when he separates from MEM in Mars orbit, will he suddenly recall the awe he felt at that moment.

Sheng Tianhong stretched lazily, raising his arms high above his head, arching his back, and almost floating off his seat. His long limbs stretched out, clearly indicating he had let out a long sigh of relief. Song Xingye thought to himself, this guy is just too tall; he doesn't seem like a typical astronaut.

"Today's been pretty busy," Sheng Tianhong suggested. "How about we have lunch first before we coordinate? Song Xingye, are you feeling alright?"

Food? Now?

"Of course," he replied defiantly. "I'm perfectly fine."

"I'm all for it!" Mira said, unbuckling her seatbelt. In the microgravity environment, she felt completely at home, as if she belonged there. With a light touch of her toes, she floated off the seat and, using the propulsion from the instrument panel in front of her, swam around the cabin like a nimble eel. She crawled into the equipment area under the seat, opened the food cabinet, and found it filled with small paper bags, all sealed with transparent tape, containing various space rations.

Song Xingye knew that the food would improve significantly once they entered the spacious mission module. However, in the cramped command module, they could only fill color-coded plastic bags with water and eat rehydrated, dehydrated food, but he was too lazy to complain. Actually, the command module felt quite like a cozy miniature campervan, with hot water for making food and coffee, toothpaste, and even a microgravity shaving system specifically for astronauts to shave.

Mira floated up carrying several bags with gold-plated labels.

"Hey, I found this one at the very front. None of us have ever touched these rations with gold leaf labels, right?"

Sheng Tianhong smiled knowingly: "That's right, I hid it there on purpose, just waiting for you to 'find the treasure'."

Song Xingye carefully examined the bags, which contained beef with potatoes, caramel pudding, small cakes, grape-flavored drinks, and more.

He turned to Sheng Tianhong and asked, "What do you mean by all this? These aren't in my recipes. To be honest, I hate crème brûlée."

"Alright, alright, stop being so picky." Mira interrupted him, pulled a hose from the water tank, and started filling her food bag with water.

Song Xingye stared at the bags for a while longer; they contained caramel pudding.

The celebratory meal prepared today has such strange taste.

But perhaps, in this vast expanse of space, eating some strange things isn't such a big deal.

……

Song Xingye put on his helmet and fastened it to the collar of his outboard suit. His fingers fumbled slowly inside his gloves, his movements a little clumsy. Then, he fastened the canvas seatbelt to his body.

A chill swept over him again, and the oxygen from inside his helmet brushed against his face.

The assembled "Search God" resembles a slender pencil. Its size is exceptionally large, and its reflective surface is dazzling. When viewed from Earth, it is clearly visible, like a brilliant star streaking across the sky.

Sheng Tianhong reported: "We are currently pressurizing the liquid hydrogen in the external storage tank (ET)."

"Received, confirmed."

Song Xingye began to shut off the heating switches of the two large external tank pressurizers, causing the liquid hydrogen to boil and vaporize. The resulting gas pressure would force the liquid propellant into the combustion chamber of the MS-II stage rocket through the feed pipeline.

"One minute left," Mira said.

Song Xingye glanced at the porthole on the right. The spaceship was sailing over the western Atlantic Ocean. It was already dawn below, and he could even see ships in the Gulf of Mexico. The land stretched out in his field of vision like an animation.

TOI, or Transfer Orbit Injection, signifies that they will leave Earth's orbit and embark on a long journey to Mars. This is not only a key milestone in this mission but also a significant turning point in his life.

But they only stayed in Earth orbit for a day and a half, which was obviously too short a time.

He admired these unforgettable sights on Earth.

As night falls over the African continent, the flickering campfires of nomadic camps illuminate the desert.

A violent thunderstorm raged over New Zealand, with lightning roaring through the clouds and sparks flying and colliding like purple roses.

Sheng Tianhong switched the "Main Thruster Standby" switch to the on position, and Song Xingye noticed that he was checking other data on the instrument panel. The navigation system had been switched to main control mode, the thrust control system was in automatic mode, the aircraft attitude was precise, the engine universal joint was also activated, and the nozzle rotated flexibly with the vibration of the fuel pipeline, ready to provide precise thrust guidance at any time.

All preparations were complete, and everyone held their breath in excitement as they waited for the moment of ignition.

Eight seconds before ignition, Song Xingye felt a thrust on his back. This was the bottom-mounted engine; the small engines located around the bottom of the rocket body had ignited. The tiny thrust they generated allowed the propellant to sink to the bottom, preparing for the ignition of the main engine.

The words "Execution code 99:40" flashed on the small computer screen in front of Sheng Tianhong, as if asking: Are you sure you want to do this?

There was a small "Continue" button at the bottom of the screen. Sheng Tianhong extended her gloved finger and pressed it.

"Five, four..." Mira began to count down.

Song Xingye secretly made preparations.

A deep, muffled roar came from afar. Three hundred meters away, the four giant engines of the MS-II class rocket ignited simultaneously, the rumble echoing along the hull. The acceleration was slow and gentle, pressing him gently into the seat, where he felt a slight pressure on his chest and limbs.

After 37 hours in a microgravity environment, the force made his body feel unusually heavy, but fortunately the whole process was very smooth, and the feeling was exactly the same as the experience in a simulator. Later in the mission, when the "Search God" runs out of fuel and its mass is greatly reduced, the acceleration from the MS-II class rocket will become extremely violent.

Mira read out the data on the speed increase, and Song Xingye could hear the sticky sound of chewing gum mixed in with her voice—a juicy, fruity sound. How could someone chew gum inside a spacesuit? Mira could even stick gum to the inside of her helmet visor with her tongue and save it for later; this person was simply disgusting.

"Search God, this is Jingzhou. You are in excellent condition," Yang Gang called out. "You are flying along the centerline of your planned orbit."

"Thank you," Sheng Tianhong replied. "All the data on our side is also very good, and the cabin environment is normal."

Song Xingye looked out the window. The enormous Earth was slowly falling downwards, every detail clearly visible. This breathtaking scene was highly recommended in "Reborn in 2011, I am the Chief Designer of Aerospace!" Click to enter the story world. It was as if the Earth was merely a giant special effects prop, being dragged away from him by an invisible hand.

The visually striking sense of movement and speed is immediately apparent.

"How are you feeling, Song Xingye?" Sheng Tianhong asked in a calm tone.

Song Xingye answered, noticing that Sheng Tianhong was glancing at the camera lens again, "I'm fine, Sheng Tianhong."

He stole a glance at Sheng Tianhong, who was staring intently at the instrument readings, his gaze piercing, clearly ignoring Song Xingye once again. Sheng Tianhong was always so focused, restrained, and in control; he had always been like this.

Song Xingye turned his attention to the status panel of the external storage tank, where various parameters were clearly listed on the display screen.

Liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen were being pumped from the tanks at an astonishing rate of 24 liters per minute, continuously supplying the MS-II stage rocket's engines. He noticed that the pressure inside the tanks was gradually decreasing, so the spacecraft was equipped with a complex reinjection system to return the vaporized gases expelled from the engines back into the tanks to maintain internal pressure. This fuel system was ingeniously constructed, with a vast network of pipes resembling blood vessels, through which cryogenic liquid propellant gushed like a fountain, heading straight for the combustion chamber where the temperature was comparable to the core of the sun…

While the engine was running, Yang Gang called out, "Okay, Search God, this is Jingzhou. We want to take this opportunity to process the request for a live television broadcast."

Sheng Tianhong and Mira both suppressed the urge to sigh. Song Xingye awkwardly raised his head and looked at the small television camera on the bracket above his head.

Yang Gang continued, "We hope to have five minutes of live footage, plus an outdoor shot. It would be even better if you could also explain the current situation."

"Received," Sheng Tianhong replied.

Sheng Tianhong nodded to Song Xingye, pressed a button on the control panel, and started the camera.

"Hello everyone," Sheng Tianhong said to the camera, "Welcome to 'Search God'. What you are seeing now is the interior of the command module. We are performing a TOI maneuver. Through the porthole, you can see the sun passing by, and of course, our Earth. According to the mission flight time, it is now 37 hours, 51 minutes and a few seconds after launch. Next, let Mira show you the magnificent view we see from the porthole."

Sheng Tianhong nodded to Song Xingye again, and Song Xingye reached out and took the camera off the bracket. Because the rocket was accelerating, he couldn't let the camera float over in the weightless environment, so he had to hand it to Mira by hand. Under the continuous gentle thrust of the MS-II class rocket, the normally light camera now seemed particularly heavy and cumbersome.

"Alright, Jingzhou, the image has been transmitted," Mira said. "Look, the Earth is gradually receding beneath our feet."

"Received, SearchGod, the picture is very clear."

"The scenery is absolutely stunning," Mira explained. "We're currently over the Atlantic Ocean, and the entire east coastline is crystal clear. I wonder if you can see this beauty in the footage you're receiving."

"We see it very clearly."

“If I look to the right,” Mira continued, “I can see Western Europe and Africa at the edge of the earth, with Spain and the British Isles spread out in the distance, appearing very close due to the angle. The British Isles are a much greener color than the brownish-green of Spain, which is shrouded in a thin mist, while large cumulus clouds pile up over southern England.”

"Received, this matches our weather forecast perfectly today."

"That's great! It seems I wasn't wrong about the planet, Jingzhou..."

Sheng Tianhong interjected, "Regarding the reflection of sunlight on the Earth's surface, I'd like to add a couple of points. Generally speaking, the ocean appears as a uniform deep blue, but there is one exception: a circular area roughly one-eighth the size of the Earth's radius. Within this area, the deep blue of the seawater gradually fades, turning grayish-white. I'm certain that this is the region where sunlight is reflected back into space."

"Received, Sheng Tianhong," Yang Gang replied. "This phenomenon has been observed and recorded before. The principle is like light hitting a bowling ball, where a bright highlight is formed in the center, and the color of the surrounding water gradually changes from blue to grayish-white."

"It looks like a bowling ball, right? And it also looks a bit like Sheng Tianhong's bald head." Mira finished speaking and was amused by her own lame joke.

Song Xingye turned to look out the window, and sure enough, a huge bright spot was shimmering on the azure ocean. The Earth really did look like a perfect sphere at that moment, like a giant steel ball.

"Thank you for your explanation, Search God. Now, could you switch the camera back to the cabin and show us your work process? And could you also explain in detail the specific steps of today's TOI maneuver?"

Mira handed the camera back down the cabin wall, and Song Xingye remounted it on its base, adjusting the angle to capture all three of them together. The moment the lens was pointed at Sheng Tianhong's face, he rolled his eyes, pointed at Song Xingye, and then at the camera.

It's Song Xingye's turn.

Sheng Tianhong turned back to the monitor, trying her best to avoid looking at the camera. Song Xingye felt a tightness in his throat and his cheeks flush. Suddenly, he clearly felt the stuffy, taut pressure of his spacesuit. He pressed the communication button: "Jingzhou, we are currently executing the TOI maneuver."

TOI stands for "Earth-to-Mars Transfer Orbit Injection". Currently, the main engines of the MS-II main booster stage are roaring, propelling them out of Earth orbit. The MS-II is an upgraded version of the second stage of the Long March 5 rocket, specially modified into an orbital injection vehicle. To make room for the docking port of the liquid oxygen transport capsule, its central engine was removed. In addition, the MS-II not only has an anti-boiling heat insulation layer, but also a small attitude control engine, and multiple docking ports have been added to the front end.

"To be honest, we were all relieved to see MS-II operating so smoothly. It's not only responsible for getting us off Earth, but we'll also need it to decelerate and re-enter orbit when we arrive at Mars, and even to send us off Mars orbit when we're preparing to return..."

His mouth was dry, and he spoke very fast due to nervousness, even becoming somewhat incoherent.

"Well said," Yang Gang interjected. "However, the live broadcast has been cut off. The audience response to the SearchGod satellite was extremely enthusiastic: the signal covered a vast area across the Atlantic Ocean and Asia, and then extended to Japan, the equator, and most of South America. Everyone praised the picture quality as extremely excellent, and said that this 'space performance' was very exciting."

"The external fuel tank is exhausted," Song Xingye reported, looking at the instrument panel. "Prepare for separation."

"Received," Sheng Tianhong confirmed.

More than a thousand tons of fuel, precious materials that had been painstakingly transported to Earth's orbit through multiple launches, were burned up in just sixteen minutes.

"Three, two, one, separate ignition."