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

"Tsk, quite picky."

Li Fengxian scoffed and got up from his seat.

As time passed, the radar flight path map on the screen was also updated.

There are two tracks above: one green is the theoretical flight track, and the other red is the actual flight track.

However, the red orbit abruptly stopped over South America, temporarily interrupted.

The glowing dots in the green orbit have gradually crossed the Atlantic Ocean, North Africa, and Europe, eventually reaching the airspace over the Crimean Peninsula.

Andrei, the director of the measurement and control department, immediately grabbed his headset and contacted the local aerospace force:

"This is Baikonur, report radar tracking status immediately!"

The call with the Crimean tracking station ended quickly.

Director Andrei, his face ashen, removed his headset, slammed it onto the table, and uttered a few words in Russian.

"Suk Blyat!" (Russian swear word)

Without needing a translator, Song Xingye knew that the deal was off.

The radar screen at the Crimean station was filled with static; not a single hair was detected!

The combination of the Forbes, Firefly 1, MDU thrusters, and two fuel tanks disappeared into the vastness of space right before everyone's eyes.

The members of the test team also showed signs of impatience.

Fortunately, Commander-in-Chief Zhang Jingshan returned in time, bringing drinks and coffee with Li Fengxian.

"The Jingzhou Flight Control Center has issued instructions to all tracking and control stations across the country to activate ground radar in an attempt to capture signals from the Phobos probe... Let's try it first, no matter how difficult it may be."

As he served the coffee, he discussed it with Chen Gongshang:

"Old Chen, the comrades have all stayed up all night. Health is the foundation of everything. Let's go back and rest in shifts, and get our energy for the next battle, okay?"

Before Chen could even finish speaking, the members of the testing team objected, each clamoring to stay and hold their posts.

"The combined spacecraft is missing, and this is a critical moment," said Wang Jianxin, the chubby boy. "The golden rescue period is only 48 hours. How can we sleep if we can't find it?"

"Yes, Firefly 1 is the culmination of our hard work..."

"We must get it back!"

Seeing the young people's determination, a hint of satisfaction flashed in Engineer Chen's eyes, but he immediately straightened his face and made a decision:

"Stop arguing, this place will keep turning even without you guys, won't it? People from Baikonur and Lavochkin Design Bureaus are all here, and they haven't been idle either."

"From now on, follow my instructions. Work in pairs, taking turns, and then go back to sleep. If anyone messes up or falls asleep at a crucial moment, I won't let them off easily..."

Only then did everyone reluctantly agree, and they each found a partner to discuss taking turns.

Song Xingye and Li Fengxian didn't have any specific operational tasks, so they naturally became a couple.

After much refusal, Li Fengxian was still forced by Song Xingye to go back and catch up on his sleep.

After the other person left, Song Xingye continued to hold the draft paper, deep in thought.

Meanwhile, the news of the disappearance of the Phobos caused a huge uproar and enraged the top officials of the R country and the East country's space agency.

The situation is relatively better in the East. After all, Firefly-1 is a small detector weighing only a hundred kilograms, and the losses of tens of millions are still within a controllable range.

But the Forbes is different.

It weighs a hundred times more than Firefly 1, and its cost is conservatively estimated at approximately 50 billion rubles or even higher.

Chief Designer Sergei Popovkin bears undeniable responsibility for causing such devastating losses.

After all, all evidence suggests—

The Zenit rocket launched perfectly, with accurate initial orbital insertion;

Subsequent navigation malfunctions and orbital change failures are the fault of the probe itself, and cannot be blamed on anyone else.

The probe was designed by the Lavochkin Design Bureau, so he, as the chief designer, was severely reprimanded by the Aerospace Force and NASA.

Sergei Popovkin offered wild explanations, even throwing out a conspiracy theory:

"It must be Country A's doing! They don't want Country R and Country Dong to succeed in their Mars exploration missions; they want to claim Mars for themselves, so they're pulling strings behind the scenes!"

"I've heard that during the Cold War, Country A deployed anti-satellite weapons in the Marshall Islands, capable of launching extremely powerful electromagnetic waves from the ground to interfere with satellite electronic equipment. I suggest the Federal Intelligence Service immediately investigate the Marshall Islands!"

However, the disappearance of the Phobos probe is a fact, and there is absolutely no conclusive evidence regarding the so-called satellite weapons in the Marshall Islands.

Therefore, this attempt to shift blame is meaningless.

That afternoon, Uskir arrived with instructions from the Aerospace Force.

Sergei was taken away for questioning immediately!

The person who took over the mess was another chief designer at the Lavochkin Design Bureau, Dima.

Upon his arrival, he overturned the entire rescue plan for the probe formulated by the previous chief designer, and then convened a meeting with the Lavochkin Design Bureau, the Baikonur Measurement and Control Department, and the East Country Test Team to discuss new countermeasures.

Song Xingye sat in the corner, yawning as he listened.

Chief Designer Dima doesn't seem much better than Sergei; he's just using the same old methods, mobilizing all the tracking and control radars of R and East countries, like searching for a needle in a haystack.

After the meeting, Song Xingye carried his notebook and walked out looking exhausted.

Suddenly, someone lightly patted my shoulder.

The other person awkwardly smoothed their golden hair, their icy blue eyes darting back and forth as they looked at him, saying:

"Um...that...I'm sorry. I was wrong before. If I had paid more attention to you earlier, maybe the Forbes wouldn't be in this situation today..."

Song Xingye was surprised. He never expected that this arrogant white goose would make a mistake.

He had no time to dwell on this at this critical juncture, and waved his hand, "It's alright, it's not your fault. Blame Sergei Popovkin, but he's already gotten his comeuppance, and I'm quite happy about it."

Mira paused for a moment, then smiled, making no attempt to hide her schadenfreude.

"I'm also glad he was taken away for questioning; I've always hated that lecher!"

The two walked out of the meeting room side by side, the atmosphere unusually harmonious.

We chatted until we reached the stairwell before parting ways.

Before parting, Mira asked, "Since you could determine that the Forbes was malfunctioning, do you... have a way to retrieve it?"

Song Xingye crossed his arms and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking frankly: "Right now, it's like searching for a needle in a haystack or trying to catch the moon's reflection in water. We can only wait for a miracle to happen."

"Oh..." Mira's fair cheeks instantly dimmed, and she forced a smile as she waved her hand.

"It's okay, I believe in miracles. Bye-bye."

After Mira had walked away, a faint human voice suddenly came from beside her.

"Wow, Song, you've even hooked up with that big white goose! Are your hormones even spreading to R country?"

Li Fengxian appeared out of nowhere, with a large pancake dangling from his mouth, appearing and disappearing like a ghost.

Song Xingye was startled. "Can't you walk a little more quietly? What nonsense are you spouting? Don't you understand normal working communication?"

"Hehe, just kidding, you have no sense of humor at all."

Li Fengxian swallowed the flatbread in a few bites, accompanied him back, and said seriously, "How's the day going? Still no news?"

"No leads whatsoever. The only progress is that Sergei has been arrested, and a man named Dima has taken over the reins."

"Wow, heaven has eyes!" Li Fengxian clapped his hands in satisfaction. "I've been annoyed with that old bastard for a long time. He's always so arrogant, thinking he's the best in the universe."

Song Xingye sighed, counting on his fingers as if reciting a familiar story.

"In Country R, ​​several large radar stations in Moscow, Crimea, and the Uzbek Plateau, along with our domestic stations in Kashgar, Jiaozhou, Miyun, and Kunming, are all in operation."

"The Aerospace Force and Space Force are all on duty, scanning the entire frequency band 24 hours a day. After listening all day, they haven't caught a single ghost..."

Li Fengxian clicked his tongue in amazement: "Good heavens, we can't even find it with such a huge operation? Could this thing just vanish into thin air?"

"Space is too vast, probes are too small, and there are no precise orbital elements, so this task is like finding a needle in a haystack."

The two returned to their seats, and Li Fengxian remained completely baffled.

"I'm just baffled, isn't this all incredibly weird?"

"We can see stars that are thousands or even hundreds of millions of light-years away very clearly."

He pointed to the top of his head.

"How come this lump of iron floating right above us, so close yet nowhere to be found?"