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

Li Fengxian waved his hand, giving him a "you're hopeless" look, and went off to his card game with his hands behind his back.

Song Xingye switched back to the QQ interface, glanced at the group chat history, and continued to participate in the discussion.

These past few days, everyone has been working non-stop.

These young people came purely for Song Xingye. Even if they were working for free, it would still be meaningful to make new friends who share the same ideals.

Unbeknownst to him, Song Xingye's connections at the Starry Sky Summer Camp and Jiaotong University gradually merged into one.

The final focus of the discussion was on the search for the lost Mars rover.

This means that after the probe entered orbit, an electronic equipment malfunction caused a complete communication loss, preventing it from sending signals back to Earth and making it impossible for radar to locate it.

This is the most troublesome, the most difficult, and the extreme situation that Song Xingye least wants to face.

If the orbital change fails or the power is insufficient, he can still do his best to calculate a new Hohmann transfer orbit, even if it means circling the Earth a few more times, to send Yinghuo-1 to Mars.

But if you don't even know where the target is, then it's like looking for a needle in a haystack!

For professional matters, one should consult professionals. He tagged Wang Han of the Space Force and asked in code if he had any ideas on how to solve the problem.

After pondering for a long time, Wang Han proposed that a "global orbit prediction model" could be established.

If we don't know where it is, we can use an algorithm to exhaustively search for all its possible destinations.

But this requires extremely high computing power and complex mathematical formulas.

Song Xingye made a decisive decision and entrusted the heavy responsibility of building the core model to Chang Jian and Qin Rui.

As for the specific orbital algorithms, Wang Han proposed three schemes: the wait-and-see method, the carrier wave hunting method, and the optical occultation method!

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Each of these three methods has its own advantages and disadvantages, and is suitable for different situations. However, the amount of computation required is too large, and it is highly dependent on the accuracy of the data.

In short, the more known valid orbital parameters there are, the higher the accuracy of predicting future orbits.

Song Xingye handed over the algorithm to two of the most brilliant mathematical minds, Jiang Mian and Chen Xin.

Chen Xin immediately agreed, eager to try. He had long admired this senior student, who was praised by her seniors as "Little Chen Jingrun," and wanted to take this opportunity to see who was better at math.

Finally, Zhao Yuehe was responsible for writing 3D visualization scripts and testing model vulnerabilities.

Because Wang Han also has to work in the Space Force, he can only go online to provide technical guidance during his spare time.

Song Xingye became the commander-in-chief of this secret assault team, responsible for coordinating everyone's progress.

……

Time flies, and it's November 9rd.

The launch window for Zenit-2SB is expected to open at 2:00 AM Baikonur time.

Song Xingye followed the members of the test team into the spacious and bright launch control center.

All sorts of technicians, engineers, and aerospace personnel in blue uniforms have gathered here.

The control centers of R Country and Dong Country are similar, with the command post in the central area, offering the best view, and commanded by the 01 commander of the Aerospace Force.

Behind him, lined up, were the chief engineers of each subsystem for this mission.

Song Xingye saw his own Chief Engineer Chen sitting next to the golden statue of Sergei Popov, looking serious.

Base commander General Usky Antonov was also present.

Out of the corner of his eye, Song Xingye spotted a familiar figure—Lyudmila.

This female officer, nicknamed "Big White Goose," maintained her aloof and unapproachable demeanor, creating a vacuum within two meters of her, preventing anyone from easily getting close.

The northwest and northeast corners are respectively the Energia Rocket Company team responsible for the rocket and the Lavochkin Design Bureau team responsible for the probe.

Meanwhile, the "Firefly One" test team from the East was placed in the southwest corner.

The technicians in the team responsible for monitoring data such as control, telemetry, and external ballistics each sat in front of a computer and wore headsets.

They need to keep an eye on the telemetry curves on the screen, ready to cooperate with the Aerospace Force to resolve emergencies at any time.

Song Xingye was just a low-level henchman, so he didn't have any specific tasks and just sat idly by chatting with Li Fengxian.

He kept his eyes on the large screen in front of him as he talked.

To ensure the success of this launch, which followed a 5,000-kilometer trajectory, R country deployed a large number of helicopters and amphibious vehicles along the route, and even arranged tracking ships in the waters off Japan.

The scale of the event was certainly grand!

The Aerospace Force's 01 commander calmly contacted each team to confirm that they could launch radar signals into the sky at any time to search for rocket tracks, with 15 minutes remaining.

【T-00:15:00】

On one corner of the large screen, several telephoto lenses from the first photography station vividly displayed the brightly lit scene at workstation number 45.

The completed Zenit-2SB stands on the launch pad, only 1.5 kilometers from the control center.

The first stage rocket, the second stage rocket, the fairing... every detail is clearly visible.

Unfortunately, both the Phobos and Yinghuo-1 probes were tightly encased in fairings, so Song Xingye could not see what was inside.

However, this at least helped him rule out the possibility of Zenit-2SB being involved.

The rocket is fine, and so is Firefly 1.

The problem must be with the Phobos probe!

On the screen, the Zenit-2SB rocket is both beautiful and gleaming, its intense white searchlight making it stand out from the darkness.

One view shows that the lower eight-meter section of the rocket is inserted into a huge circular pit on the launch pad, with the bottom of the pit directly connected to the deflector channel.

After ignition, all combustion products will be discharged through this channel and cooled by the cooling water in the guide channel.

The nozzles of the four rocket engines were suspended in mid-air, level with the camera.

Yes, they are suspended.

Because the rocket is not placed on the launch pad, but is supported by four hydraulic supports around the launch pad, which support the middle part of the rocket body.

It looks like a ballerina suspended in mid-air, being lifted up by her dance partners by the waist.

This suspended launch pad, known as the "Tulip," embodies the unique violent aesthetics of the Russians.

Once takeoff, the thrust exceeds the gravity, and the support structure will be passively deployed under the action of the gravity hammer.

Simple, straightforward, yet extremely reliable!

【T-00:05:00】

The countdown has entered its final five minutes.

The original service towers, resembling two eggshells, used dense scaffolding to enclose the rocket. Now, they have been dismantled and placed in a horizontal position, with only the umbilical tower still connected to the rocket.

The umbilical tower functions exactly as the name suggests; its storage tanks are filled with cryogenic liquid oxygen.

During the hours that Zenit-2SB awaits launch, liquid oxygen will continuously evaporate from the fuel tank, requiring the umbilical tower to replenish it continuously until just before launch.

In the sub-zero winds, the outer walls of the rocket, fully loaded with liquid oxygen, were covered with a thick layer of ice, like a white coat draped over its body.

As the countdown drew near, the technicians could only hurriedly break up some of the larger blocks of ice before rushing out of the service tower and leaving the launch site.

During this period, the Phobos probe's computer suddenly experienced a disconnection problem.

Fortunately, engineers at the Lavochkin Design Bureau quickly fixed the malfunction, restarted the system, and the countdown didn't even stop.

But Song Xingye had a vague feeling that this was not a good omen.

Next, the first pendulum of the umbilical tower was withdrawn.

This means there is less than a minute left before launch.

【T-00:00:60】

Song Xingye couldn't help but concentrate and opened the mission manual with full attention.