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

Chapter 80 Taking a roundabout route to Mars?

Zhang Jingshan raised his hand, trying to calm the test team members down, and reassured them: "Comrades, please control your emotions. This is an order from higher up. The withdrawal date is set for December 25th. We will withdraw at a different time than NASA and the European Space Agency."

"As for the Phobos probe—stop looking for it. I understand how you all feel. You've all put in a lot of effort and been under tremendous pressure, all determined to find it."

"But the reality is harsh. We've searched for almost two months and only found it twice. With this limited data, it's difficult to calculate its six orbital elements."

Then, Engineer Chen stepped forward to explain: "Perhaps, as you say, if we persevere for a few more days, the Forbes' orbit will be found, but we—we have no chance!"

"We recovered the vehicle within the critical 48-hour rescue window. The two fuel tanks attached to the combined vehicle still have 10% of spare fuel to make up for any wasted time."

"We can find them within a week. If necessary, we can rack our brains and redesign a transfer trajectory, and we can still catch up with Mars."

"Even if we find it within a month, we'll cut our losses and get rid of all the useless and cumbersome equipment on the combined vessel. We'll leave the Forbes naked and still be able to send Firefly 1 there —"

At this point, his expression darkened, revealing his exhaustion: "But it's already the end of the year, which is far too long—Mars will be in opposition in March. Even if we find the Phobos now and strip it down to just the MDU engine, using it only as a launch vehicle, we still won't be able to catch up with Mars, which has already gone far away!"

The members of the test team fell silent.

The most recent Mars opposition will be in March next year, so the best time for the Phobos conjunction to align is from November this year.

Even if you start late, it doesn't matter. You can always make up for lost time by using more fuel and taking shortcuts.

But now, all means have been exhausted.

Even if you factor in the fuel from the two external fuel tanks and the reduced load on the Phobos probe, and even with the most elaborate orbital design and the MDU pushed to its limit, it would be impossible to catch up with Mars in just two months.

Therefore, this withdrawal is not a case of giving up halfway, but rather a genuine loss of hope!

Since staying is pointless, it's better to leave as soon as possible.

Although the test team members felt regretful, they knew that it was too late to undo the damage.

Throughout the entire process, Song Xingye stood silently in the corner, lost in thought.

Seeing him in a daze, Zhang Jingshan walked over and patted him on the shoulder, speaking gently, "Xiao Song, don't be discouraged. Although we didn't find the Forbes, everyone has seen your contribution. When we get back to China, Lao Chen and I will jointly recommend you for commendation."

Song Xingye shook his head. "I'm not discouraged—"

Instead, his mind raced, and a daring idea suddenly popped into his head.

Song Xingye studied aerospace science and technology, specializing in aircraft design and aerospace engineering. Although he mainly worked on the Long March 9 heavy rocket in his previous life, orbit design was also one of his strengths.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have won the gold medal so easily in CTOC.

Seeing that Song Xingye seemed hesitant to speak, General Manager Zhang and Engineer Chen were a little puzzled. Just as they were about to ask him, Song Xingye suddenly raised his hand and made a shushing gesture.

Then, he strode over to a table, grabbed the solar system star map from the wall, and spread it out.

This left the test team completely stunned.

The chubby Wang Jianxin nudged Li Fengxian: "Your roommate's got some nerve, daring to leave even Boss Zhang and Engineer Chen hanging?"

Li Fengxian had no idea what this kid was up to, but he still blindly praised him, "Don't you understand what they call high skill and daring? Geniuses are all temperamental and unpredictable; otherwise, how could they be called geniuses?"

Song Xingye remained calm, as if sitting steadily in the eye of a storm, unfazed by the turbulent winds around him.

He gazed intently at the solar system map, his mind reconstructing the three-dimensional structure between Earth and the major planets, which were speeding along unseen orbits in the dark three-dimensional universe.

If the Mars opposition is missed next year, is there any other way for Yinghuo-1 to get to Mars?

The fuel in the two external fuel tanks of the Forbes MDU is certainly not enough to provide kinetic energy, unless a new source of kinetic energy can be found in space.

The only thing that can be used is a gravity slingshot!

Song Xingye's gaze raced through his mind, finally settling on the planet shrouded in thick clouds. In that instant, it was as if the singularity of the universe exploded in his mind, and a tiny inspiration burst forth into the entire universe a moment later.

At this moment, Song Xingye's mind was clear and bright, as if the clouds and mist had dispersed.

He has a way to get Firefly 1 to Mars!

Time seemed to slow down again in the outside world, and Song Xingye's entire consciousness was focused on the solar system star map in front of him.

He picked up a pen and began to scribble and scribble on it, quickly transforming the vague, nascent inspiration in his mind into a perfect, precise painting.

Although Zhang Jingshan and Chen Xun were left out, they were not annoyed. Instead, they exchanged glances and approached with interest.

They were also curious about what kind of mystery this young man was trying to create.

Especially Engineer Chen, who believed he understood Song Xingye quite well; the other man wasn't the impulsive type.

An unstable personality, with their own ideas about doing things.

Maybe this kid has come up with some crazy idea?

And so, under the watchful eyes of a group of test team members and two leaders, Song Xingye wrote for nearly half an hour as if no one else was there, before reluctantly putting down his pen.

Returning to his senses, he looked at the circle of heads surrounding him and belatedly chuckled, "Sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Zhang and Engineer Chen."

Engineer Chen waved his hand, crossed his arms, and examined the manuscript with great interest, asking, "What have you managed to accomplish after all this time?"

Song Xingye allowed everyone to gather around and examine the solar system star map and manuscript paper. After displaying them generously, he explained with keen eyes, "President Zhang, Engineer Chen, the disappearance of the Forbes combination has been going on for a long time—even if it is found, it will not be able to catch up with the Mars opposition, because the relative positions of Earth and Mars will have been completely different by then."

"So from the perspectives of R Country and Dong Country, these two probes are completely rendered useless, right?"

Zhang Jingshan nodded: "That's right, just consider it a pile of scrap metal!"

So Song Xingye laughed and said, "Since it's scrapped, I'll boldly make use of it and find another route for the Forbes to Mars, what do you say?"

At this moment, Engineer Chen stared at the contents of the manuscript and noticed some clues, his eyes revealing surprise.

Zhang Jingshan asked, "Tell me first, how do you make use of waste?"

"Let's go to Venus!"

Song Xingye pressed his finger heavily on the solar system star map. "Since we can't catch up with the Mars opposition, and since the ΔV generated by the fuel in the two external fuel tanks is limited, we must rely on a new force—a gravitational slingshot!"

"Gravity slingshot!"

The members of the test team seemed to have an epiphany and began to ponder it.

His eyes lit up immediately.

The principle is not complicated.

A gravity slingshot is also called a gravity-assisted slingshot.

Since all the planets in the solar system revolve around the sun, and due to gravity, when a probe passes near a planet, it gains additional acceleration and orbital angular momentum.

Imagine you're skateboarding at a speed of only 10 kilometers per hour, and a truck traveling at 80 kilometers per hour comes speeding past you.

You reach out and grab the truck's rearview mirror, let it carry you along at breakneck speed for a while, and then suddenly let go—your speed can instantly soar to 60 kilometers per hour or even higher!

This is a gravity slingshot.

If the probe itself is not fast enough or has little fuel, it can fly to a planet and "steal" some of the planet's energy to accelerate or decelerate itself.

The only cost is that the journey becomes longer and the time becomes longer.

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes used Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune as gravitational slingshots to reach the outer solar system.

That was exactly what Song Xingye was planning.

First, fly towards Venus in the inner solar system, then use Venus's gravity to accelerate and change its orbit, and finally "throw" it outwards towards Mars like a boomerang!

It may seem like going in the opposite direction, but that's precisely the magic of space engineering.

Although Zhang Jingshan was the chief administrative officer, he was also a technical person. He quickly figured out the secret and couldn't help but praise him repeatedly.

"Genius—this is simply a genius idea! A desperate gamble that leads to victory!"

But he quickly calmed down and raised a practical question: "Xiao Song, your plan is very innovative and feasible."

But—the order to withdraw has already been given. We're all leaving, so this plan—I'm afraid we won't have a chance to try it out.

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