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

The test team's configuration continued Dongkuk Aerospace's "two chiefs" system:

The commander-in-chief is responsible for overall planning, and the chief engineer is responsible for technology.

The test team for the Firefly-1 launch mission consisted of dozens of elite personnel drawn from research institutes, factories, and universities across the country. They were the best soldiers in their respective systems, and some of them were even people Song Xingye had dealt with in his previous life.

If we compare Firefly No. 1 to a superstar about to take the stage, then this group of people is like a nanny team that provides round-the-clock, personalized service.

From the moment the probe leaves the country and arrives at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, they have to follow it until it is sent to Mars.

The chief commander, Zhang Jingshan, was a serious middle-aged man, while the chief designer was an old acquaintance of Song Xingye.

Chen Xun from the Eighth Hospital!

Upon seeing that familiar face, Song Xingye, who was in a foreign land, immediately felt a sense of warmth.

"Hello, Mr. Zhang! Hello, Mr. Chen!"

Led by Li Fengxian, Song Xingye strode into the office building of the Dongguo garrison, where he saw Zhang Jingshan and Chen Xun already there to greet him.

Mr. Zhang nodded reservedly in greeting, but Chen Xun, as if seeing a junior member of the family, came up and patted him on the shoulder:

"I can't believe we're meeting again so soon after Starry Sky Summer Camp! You're pretty impressive, even joining the experimental team!"

Chen Xun participated in part of the design of Firefly-1, so he was chosen to serve as the chief technology officer.

He had always had a good impression of Song Xingye, and since the kid had taken the initiative to come to the Eighth Hospital, he was very friendly.

"Mr. Chen, I'm nothing special. I'm just here to do odd jobs and learn. I'm far inferior to you, and I'll need your guidance!"

Song Xingye, abandoning his previous sharpness, lowered his posture and said humbly, "Before I left, Academician Li specifically instructed me that you are one of the most outstanding engineers in the East China Institute."

This flattery was subtle and understated, and it brought up Li Difeng's name again. Whether it was true or not, Chen Xun was quite pleased.

He waved his hand cheerfully and said, "Why call me General Manager Chen? Just call me Engineer Chen. I'm just a temporary consultant for the test team. I'll be reinstated after the launch on the 9th."

Number Nine?

Song Xingye keenly grasped the key words.

Today is November 2nd, which means... there's only one week left until the launch window!

Time was tighter than expected.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Song Xingye quickly integrated into the somewhat dull group.

After all, everyone came from different parts of the country and didn't know each other well, so the atmosphere in the group was always dull and lifeless.

His arrival was like a pebble thrown into still water, creating only a few ripples.

When the "vanguard" heard that a top student from the Star Project had arrived, they all came over curiously to watch, greet him, and make friends.

They have staff responsible for structure, control, power, and telemetry; basically, each person specializes in a specific area.

One of the telemetry engineers, Wang Jianxin, was the most enthusiastic. This fat man's eyes turned into slits when he smiled, and in no time he was putting his arm around Song Xingye's shoulder, as if they were old friends of more than ten years.

But Song Xingye's mind wasn't on socializing.

He had no specific tasks assigned to him on this trip; he was simply there to broaden his horizons. For the next day, he just stood by and observed like a lackey.

Although he didn't participate in the discussions with the experts, his "fault prediction eye" was always on.

At this stage, Song Xingye couldn't care less about how tiring it was to keep it running continuously; he just wanted to find the root of the problem as soon as possible and solve it before launch.

This concerns the future plans of the Eastern Kingdom to explore Mars, and cannot be taken lightly.

I spent the whole day looking around, visiting all the groups from structure, control, power to telemetry, and even secretly looking at the technical drawings under the guise of observation and learning.

However, the fault-predicting eye showed no reaction at all!

Is this cheat code malfunctioning?

Song Xingye patted his head, thinking that his luck shouldn't be that bad.

However, nothing was gained.

Ultimately, he concluded with absolute certainty that there were no hidden dangers that could lead to launch failure for Firefly-1!

That's strange. If it had actually been launched successfully in my previous life, it should have been a huge sensation. There would have been no need to keep it a secret.

Just like after the Apollo moon landing, everyone was eager to see Armstrong's live broadcast all over the world. This was a great thing that made the country proud, so it had to be widely publicized.

Could it be the butterfly effect... that this probe, which should have failed, defied fate and changed its destiny?

Song Xingye began to have doubts, but the butterfly effect should have a triggering event, right? Did he do something to Firefly No. 1?

The search for fault had reached a stalemate. Song Xingye had no other options. He had investigated everything he should and shouldn't have, but he still came up empty-handed.

Perhaps we can only hope that the 'launch failure' in the previous life was just a false alarm.

……

That evening, the Baikonur Base Hotel was brightly lit.

The Russians specially arranged a high-profile welcome banquet.

Of course, it's not a welcome to Song Xingye.

Instead, they welcomed the high-ranking leaders of the Dongkok Space Agency and Space Force who arrived today, and the test team members were also treated to a banquet.

At the main table, a tall, Russian man with a high nose and high cheekbones stood up, holding a full glass of vodka, and began rattling off a toast.

Song Xingye sat at the corner table, listening with difficulty. He understood a little Russian, but the other person's blood-red eyes were frightening, like those of a vampire.

Li Fengxian thought he couldn't understand, so he translated in a low voice: "This Russian is called Sergei Popovkin. He's the chief designer of the Russian probe. Damn, he's even more arrogant than that big white goose we saw during the day. He talks to everyone with his nose in the air!"

Song Xingye was taken aback. "A big white goose?"

"The female aerospace force officer in the front row of the Tu-134, the one with the rank of captain!"

Li Fengxian chuckled, "These days, it really is true that beauty is justice. In less than a day, the base was abuzz with news of a stunningly beautiful, icy woman who has arrived. Unfortunately, she never looks at people when she walks, and her head is practically tilted to the sky. Everyone secretly calls her 'Big White Goose'..."

Song Xingye laughed, "Aren't you afraid that the big white goose will shoot you if you make such a fuss about people like this?"

After Sergei Popovkin's speech, the leaders of the East Asian Space Agency also stood up to give a speech, expressing their gratitude for the assistance provided by Country R, ​​and wishing both sides continued to work together sincerely and wishing for a successful cooperation.

His words carried a hint of helpless politeness.

There's nothing we can do; circumstances dictate our actions.

In 2011, Dongkuk Aerospace was still a blank slate in the field of deep space exploration and did not have a suitable high-thrust rocket. At that time, the Long March 5 rocket was still plagued by the problem of kerosene coking, and its maiden flight was far away.

Therefore, the Yinghuo-1 probe could only "hitch a ride" to set off.

The exploration window is the Mars opposition early next year, so the Mars probe must launch this fall, when the Hohmann transfer orbit is shortest and fuel-efficient.

The only two countries that could hitch a ride were Country A's Curiosity rover and Country R's Phobos Mars probe.

Due to the Wolf Clause, ride-sharing in Country A is definitely out of the question.

Fortunately, R country didn't take the terms seriously and had a good relationship with East country, so they readily agreed to take a little brother to Mars.

Song Xingye had overheard a few words of description from the test team's discussion during the day.

Because the Phobos probe weighed 13 tons, while China's Yinghuo-1 weighed only 115 kilograms, less than a fraction of the Phobos's weight, the Russians adopted the simplest and most direct method of carrying it on board.

Using a few robotic arms and explosive bolts, they hung Firefly 1 on the outside of the Forbes' belly like a pendant.

Once they reach Mars' transfer orbit, they'll snap the bolts with a "snap" and go their separate ways.

Although the East felt it was inappropriate, what could they do when the Russians were the hosts? In the end, they had no choice but to agree to this barbaric approach.