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

Chapter 81 Deadline: A Do-or-Die Battle

Zhang Jingshan is right.

Reason tells us that even NASA has sentenced this probe to death, so the test team should set off immediately and return home as soon as possible.

There was no time left to search for the Forbes, let alone attempt this audacious gravity slingshot design.

Song Xingye's gaze swept over Commander Zhang, then turned to Chen Xun, and he asked sincerely, "Are you two really willing to go back in such a disgraceful manner?"

"Leaving aside the strategic significance of Firefly-1 for the Eastern Kingdom's exploration of fire, and the countless people who poured their hearts and souls into it."

Right now, it hangs somewhere above our heads. Maybe—if we just grit our teeth a little longer, we'll be able to see it.

At this moment, everything around fell silent.

"Once we miss this opportunity, who knows when we'll be able to explore Mars again. Don't you two leaders want to see what Mars looks like before you die, as captured by our Eastern probe?"

Zhang Jingshan and Chen Xun exchanged a troubled look for a while, both hesitating.

They certainly didn't want to go back in such a humiliating way, but facts speak louder than words. It wasn't that they hadn't persevered, but their hopes were too slim.

Seeing that the two were wavering, Song Xingye pressed his advantage and offered a compromise: "One week! Mr. Zhang, Engineer Chen, please help us gain another week! If we still can't find the third location of the Forbes, then the test team will return to China immediately, without delay, how about that?"

Looking into the eager eyes of the young man, Zhang Jingshan felt as if he were seeing his younger, ambitious self.

He took a deep breath and finally made up his mind.

"Old Chen, what do you think? A week—it's not a long time, but it's not a short time either. How about we take another gamble?"

Engineer Chen pondered for a moment, then nodded. "I have no objections. However, we can't have everyone making their own decisions; we need to ask for everyone's opinions—"

Before the words were even finished, the team members who had been watching intently all along rushed to declare, "We won't leave! We'll all follow orders and won't let you down!"

"Yes, Mr. Zhang, Engineer Chen, everyone volunteered to stay and continue searching for the Forbes!"

"Just one week, maybe a miracle will happen soon—"

Seeing the team's high enthusiasm, Zhang Jingshan and Engineer Chen were also infected by it and smiled with satisfaction.

Zhang Jingshan waved his hand, his spirits rising: "Good! Since everyone is so determined, I, as the leader, will not hold you back. I'll call Jingzhou at daybreak, and even if I have to talk myself hoarse, I'll buy you this week! Everyone go back and rest, and wait for the higher-ups' reply!"

Engineer Chen smiled and waved, herding the group of young people back to their dormitory like ducks.

In the dormitory.

Li Fengxian was exceptionally attentive, proactively fetching a kettle of hot water, setting out a plastic basin, and fawningly inviting Song Xingye to soak his feet.

Song Xingye found it strange; when did this guy become so diligent?

The other person was sitting on the opposite bunk, with an admiring expression on their face: "You guys who do scientific research are really amazing. Although I'm a roughneck and don't understand what you mean by Venus or gravity slingshots, I just think you guys are incredible."

Song Xingye laughed and said, "This is just the theoretical stage now. It would be much more difficult to implement in practice. Moreover—"

"Alright, let's buy ourselves a week and find the Forbes first."

"That's a must. But—" Li Fengxian scratched his head, "I've had a question on my mind for a long time, but I've been too embarrassed to ask it."

Seeing Li Fengxian's eager expression, Song Xingye gestured for him to speak freely.

Li Fengxian cleared his throat and asked, "I overheard your discussion and I think I understand a little. Since every planet in the solar system can act as a 'slingshot,' why not just borrow force from Earth instead of going all the way to Venus?"

This question surprised Song Xingye for a moment. He had thought it was common sense, but considering Li Fengxian's level of education, he patiently explained: "The premise of a gravity slingshot is that the probe must have a speed difference relative to the planet."

"The Phobos was launched from Earth, and its speed is equal to the Earth's orbital speed plus the rocket's initial velocity. Simply put, it and Earth are like two people running side by side in a race, relatively stationary."

Song Xingye gestured and continued, "To trigger a gravitational slingshot, the probe needs to be like a meteorite, crashing into the planet with a huge velocity difference, using the gravitational trap to 'throw' itself out!"

Seeing that Li Fengxian's eyes were still a little confused, Song Xingye used a more common analogy, "But the Forbes just departed from Earth, and its speed is about the same. Unless it orbits the sun and comes back, it might not be able to get any help from the sun—"

If you still find it abstract, just imagine—can you lift yourself off the ground by your own hair? After listening to the other person's long-winded explanation, Li Fengxian looked bewildered but impressed, feeling he had benefited greatly.

He admired them even more, thinking, "You scholars are so clever; you can even figure out such mysterious things—"

Song Xingye pursed his lips.

This is just the beginning. Understanding the principles is one thing, but knowing how to apply them is another.

However, Li Fengxian already looked satisfied, probably because he had learned enough in Baikonur to show off for a while when he got back.

The next day, after waking up and gathering at the monitoring and control hall, Zhang Jingshan rushed over in a flurry.

Seeing the other person's beaming expression, Song Xingye knew there was good news.

"Comrades, good news! Our request to stay in Baikonurdo for a week has been approved, and the deadline for searching the Phobos is set before New Year's Day!"

Song Xingye felt a chill run down his spine. There were still nine days left until New Year's Day, two days longer than expected.

Zhang Jingshan raised a thick eyebrow, his gaze sharp as he cut through the crowd and landed precisely on Song Xingye. "Little Song, I've bought you the time you needed. Whether we can retrieve the Forbes ship now depends entirely on you."

"It's alright if we can't find it; consider it a publicly funded trip to Baikonur. But remember, after New Year's Day, the test team must return home, and there will be no room for negotiation—"

After Zhang Jingshan finished speaking, it was Engineer Chen's turn to speak. "Although the deadline has been extended to New Year's Day, there's bad news: domestic tracking and control resources won't be allocated to us. There are still many launch missions in the queue, and the Space Force simply can't keep up."

Engineer Chen looked serious. "Xiao Song, go back and do some statistics, and filter out the five locations where the Forbes is most likely to appear."

""

"The Space Force can only allocate five tracking stations to assist in monitoring and control; no more than that."

Upon hearing this, the members of the test team felt somewhat distressed.

The measurement and control resources allocated by higher authorities are becoming increasingly scarce.

From initially monitoring all day and across all frequencies, downgrading to a background task and monitoring only at critical orbital points, and now monitoring only five expected communication windows —

It was already a needle in a haystack, and now even the net for finding that needle has been torn.

Finding the Forbes will be even more difficult!

Song Xingye did not complain at all.

It's already a stroke of luck to get the support of superiors, how could we possibly have the right to be picky?

So he immediately drafted a plan, pulled out the dozen or so orbits with the highest probability in the prediction model, and marked their intersection area on the map.

Ultimately, five key locations that could be monitored within the territory of the Eastern Kingdom were selected: Weinan, Jimo, Xiamen, Tianjin, and Kunming!

After handing the list to Engineer Chen for reporting, Song Xingye did not leave, but instead looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Engineer Chen glanced at him and chuckled, "Just say what you have to say. Don't beat around the bush. Why are you hiding things from me?"

Song Xingye tentatively asked, "Engineer Chen, haven't the Russians made any offer at all?"

"They're already being generous by agreeing to let us stay in Baikonur, you expect them to turn on their radar for monitoring and control? Dream on!"

Engineer Chen shook his head, clearly having no expectations of the Russian.

"Here's the thing, Engineer Chen. According to the predictive model, the Phobos has an extremely narrow high-frequency communication band, which is very likely to be captured in the Baikonur area, and at a higher frequency than the five we just mentioned."

Song Xingye hurriedly explained, "This is, after all, their home turf, so there must be a lot of unused resources. If the Russians were willing to lift a finger and adjust the radar, the probability of finding the detector would at least double—"

Before he could finish speaking, Engineer Chen waved his hand dismissively, interrupting his fantasy. "Don't even think about it. Those Russians have already publicly announced that the mission failed. Would they waste resources on a 'dead' detector? Absolutely not. Alright, go back to your job!"