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

Chapter 91 Embarking on a Journey to Venus

During its next flight, it will fly over Crimea, Orenburg, Samara, and Baikonur in that order.

It then crossed the border, passing over Kashgar, Dunhuang, Jiayuguan, Suzhou, Jinyang, Jingzhou, and Tianjin.

This 5000-kilometer-long "golden route" is mostly under the close surveillance of the radar networks of R country and Dong country.

This is an excellent trajectory, facilitating the dense and precise transmission of continuous commands to the detector.

Everything is ready; the change of course is imminent.

The weather was nice that morning. Song Xingye sat at his workstation, listening to the messages coming from the Jingzhou Flight Control Center, reporting that the Forbes had executed Command 1, Command 2, and so on.

"Attention all units, this is BJ. Ignition in ten minutes!"

"Check track change parameters —"

"One minute to prepare —"

"ignition!"

At 9:00 AM sharp, the detector assembly finally executed the MDU's ignition procedure.

At this point, the return capsule had been actively separated by explosive bolts, and along with the radar, robotic arm, spectrometer, and other components, it was all ruthlessly cut off and discarded.

The combined unit is like a bare car with all the seats, air conditioning, and interior removed, leaving only the chassis and engine.

It travels alone, carrying the MDU engine, fuel tank, and Firefly 1.

With 80% of the mass removed, the thrust-to-weight ratio increases exponentially the moment the MDU engine starts!

The engine thrust was built up on the large screen, and the curve rose sharply.

"MDU main thruster is functioning normally! Telemetry signal is stable!"

"Attitude locked! Accelerating!"

The combined entity began to accelerate steadily, about to embark on its journey to Venus.

This was an extremely long ignition.

Since Yinghuo 1 was not designed for Venus, it was never imagined that one day it would need to fly to the sun.

Therefore, to avoid being roasted to death by the sun, the technical team wrote an extremely sophisticated set of posture instructions.

While accelerating, the angle of the MDU nozzle is finely adjusted to keep the huge engine nozzle always between Firefly 1 and the sun.

In this way, Yinghuo-1 can hide in the narrow shadow cast by its engines, flying over the scorching inner solar system and the surface of Venus like it's under an umbrella.

The members of the Dongguo test team stared anxiously at the data on the screen.

The telemetry signal is constantly being refreshed, but the acceleration effect is not ideal.

Cold sweat beaded on Wang Jianxin's forehead as he muttered to himself, "Too slow—this is way too slow! Can we even reach escape speed?"

If the acceleration fails to break through the second cosmic velocity of 11.2 km/s, the Phobos mission to Venus will be aborted.

No matter how far it flies, it will eventually fall back into Earth's orbit, be recaptured by the gravity of its home planet, and be unable to move forward even a centimeter.

The fuel in the external fuel tank was being consumed rapidly, and everyone tensed up, fearing that something unexpected might happen.

The probe has already consumed 500 kilograms more fuel than originally planned, and its speed has just soared to 39,000 kilometers per hour!

Just one step away from the goal —

Zhang Jingshan, Engineer Chen, and others sat nervously in front of the monitor, but there was nothing they could do to help it.

They could only pray silently that the Forbes would finish accelerating as soon as possible.

A 500-kilogram overrun is tolerable, but any more—and we'll have to deplete the return capsule's fuel tanks prematurely.

Five more seconds passed.

Finally, just before its two external fuel tanks were about to burn out, the Phobos broke free of the gravity trap's final restraints.

The speed reached 40500 km/h!

"Engine shut down!"

With the command given, the Forbes happily shed its two almost completely empty external fuel tanks and glided smoothly into an ideal orbit toward Venus.

All the telemetry and control personnel breathed a sigh of relief.

But the battle was not over, and everyone was waiting for the final confirmation of the next stop—Jinmen Station.

If the trajectory is correct, then they will be able to track the probe's signal.

Song Xingye held his breath and concentrated, his pen flying across the draft paper.

He listed the coordinates for each piece of data he had just obtained.

The coordinate points are connected to form a curve, which is a perfect trajectory that is approaching the escape threshold.

He cleared his mind of all distractions and waited intently for the next set of data.

Soon, the data stream from the Jingzhou Flight Control Center surged in simultaneously with the "beep beep" sound of the broadcast.

The data for Tianjin Station is here!

Everyone excitedly looked up, listening to the report from the Jingzhou Flight Control Center.

Almost simultaneously, Song Xingye calculated the latest position of the Forbes.

When the pen tip slammed into the coordinates on the draft paper, a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

The announcement also resounded throughout the hall: "Jingzhou reads out the flight control results—"

"Based on real-time global monitoring and control data from BJ, the probe's engine shutdown is normal, and the solar panels are functioning normally!"

"The probe has accurately entered its predetermined orbit with a perigee altitude of 200 kilometers, an apogee of 4000 million kilometers, and a characteristic energy of 12.55 square kilometers per second for the Earth-Gold transfer orbit!"

"Orbital calculations indicate that the probe will reach Venus's gravitational capture range in six months."

"Currently, the probe is operating normally, and subsequent flight control will be implemented as planned."

"Jingzhou's report complete!"

"————"

The broadcast abruptly stopped.

The next second, a burst of jubilant applause and cheers erupted in the work area of ​​the Dongguo test team inside the Baikonur telemetry and control hall.

"We did it! We did it!"

Little Fatty Wang Jianxin jumped up from his seat with joy.

Song Xingye looked back and saw all the test team members cheering loudly behind him, their faces filled with undisguised joy and excitement.

He took a deep breath, turned around, and refocused his gaze.

On the large screen in front of them, countless data streams spread out like the Milky Way, representing the future beckoning to them.

mid-December.

After the Phobos combination successfully reached Venus, the test team withdrew from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and returned home.

The fate of the Yinghuo-1 probe was then entirely in the hands of the Space Force.

Song Xingye predicts that the combined object will reach the vicinity of Venus by the middle of this year.

At that time, it will narrowly glide past the edge of Venus's atmosphere, and with the help of the gravitational slingshot effect, it will be kicked hard by the planet and then flung into the outer solar system at extremely high speed, aiming at the direction of Mars.

If we're lucky, and the kick is both powerful and accurate, we could reach Mars in about two years.

If we're unlucky, we might not see the first image of Mars sent back to Earth by Yinghuo-1 until 2014.

But that's a story for later. For Song Xingye, he had already fulfilled his mission and successfully protected the only remaining seedling of the Eastern Kingdom's Mars exploration project.

After the international flight landed in Jingzhou, Dongyu Group's buses were already waiting and took the test team directly back to headquarters.

As one of the key contributors, Song Xingye's name had already been reported to the group's leadership by Zhang Jingshan and Engineer Chen.

Thus, this inexperienced young PhD was exceptionally granted a personal meeting with the group's senior management.

The person talking to Song Xingye was Hu Shiqun, the deputy general manager of Dongyu Group.

Song Xingye had heard of this Mr. Hu's name very much.

At just over forty years old, he joined the group's core leadership team of nine, and is widely recognized within the group as a "young leader in the aerospace industry."

!

Of course, Dongyu Group has four such young leaders, each of whom is a strong contender for the future leadership.

Hu Shiqun is in charge of the group's operations, investment, and civilian industries.

In short, it's about helping the group raise money and converting military technology into civilian applications.

At the same time, he is also the head of the digital transformation leadership group, and is actually exploring new paths for commercial aerospace.

In Song Xingye's past life, this General Manager Hu seemed to be stuck in a bottleneck period and never managed to become the chairman.

Not only did he lack any impressive achievements, but there were even rumors among the lower-level staff that he rose to his position by flattering Chairman Zhu.

As a result, after a deep conversation in the office, Song Xingye changed his opinion of this person.

The Hu Shiqun before me was quick-witted, logically clear, and spoke without a trace of bureaucratic airs; he was clearly a pragmatic and capable leader.

Although Song Xingye didn't consider himself qualified to comment on a group vice president, his experience of living two lives convinced him that this was an ambitious person who wanted to do great things and achieve results.

"Xiao Song, you deserve a lot of credit for bringing the Yinghuo-1 probe back to Earth and giving it the opportunity to continue its mission on Mars!"

Mr. Hu personally poured a cup of tea and pushed it towards me, adopting an approachable attitude. "Mr. Zhang and Engineer Chen already explained the whole story to me on the phone. If it weren't for you—and your team's predictive model, the probe would probably still be wandering in space right now."

Song Xingye modestly said, "We were just lucky; we happened to guess the location of the detector."

"Hey, I don't talk about luck here. A good result means I did a good job!"

Hu Shiqun smiled and waved his hand, his tone becoming more serious, "You need to understand, what we recovered wasn't just a detector. How much did Yinghuo-1 cost? The key is morale. If a national-level mission like the Eastern Mars Exploration Project fails on its maiden flight, how devastating would that be for the researchers?"

Song Xingye nodded in deep agreement, "That's right. If we suffer a Waterloo in the first battle, the subsequent mission arrangements may have to be postponed for several years or even more than a decade."

"So, you did a great job, kid!"

Hu Shiqun sincerely praised, "This meeting was not only my personal request, but also the wish of Chairman Zhu and the other leaders. I am thanking you on behalf of the group's leadership. If Chairman Zhu weren't so busy, he would have liked to meet you, this meritorious contributor, in person."

These words made Song Xingye feel somewhat flattered.

Who is Chairman Zhu? He's a very busy leader. According to his rank, when he goes to inspect local areas, he has to be accompanied by the local top official.

Even though he barely managed to become the chief engineer in his previous life, the opportunities to meet Chairman Zhu alone were very few and far between.

Hu Shiqun, however, suppressed his smile and said solemnly, "To tell you the truth, several of us in the team had already drafted a report on the launch failure."

I never expected you to turn the tide so dramatically, not only saving the probe but also restoring face for Dongyu Group and Chairman Zhu!

"Last night, Chairman Zhu called me specifically to remind me that I must give you a big credit for this!"

Within the scope permitted by organizational principles and group regulations, we will do our utmost to meet any of your requirements.

After saying that, he stared intently at Song Xingye's face. "How about it, Comrade Song? If there are any difficulties that the group needs to resolve, just let me know. As long as I can approve it, I'll do it on the spot."

Song Xingye's heart stirred.

He quickly began to consider what conditions he should propose for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Seeing that Xiao Song was silent with his head down, Hu Shiqun assumed the young man was shy and embarrassed to speak, so he smiled and took the initiative to say, "How about this, since you're from the East China Institute, I'll have Lu Zhenhuan approve a three-bedroom subsidized apartment for you directly, plus a special contribution bonus of 20 yuan from the group. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Song Xingye looked up in surprise.

Mr. Hu stroked his chin and said, "20 yuan—it's not a lot, but it's the maximum I can negotiate. You may not know, but state-owned enterprises are still exploring reforms in talent incentives, and there are many rules and regulations. Chairman Zhu will have to personally negotiate with the board of directors to get this 20 yuan."

Song Xingye waved his hand: "I'm not—"

"Don't worry, I'll definitely get Chairman Zhu to give you the green light to issue this bonus."

Hu Shiqun interjected, "Furthermore, the group has decided to nominate your name for this year's May Fourth Youth Medal. That's an honor more valuable than gold, isn't that generous enough?"

Song Xingye smacked his lips.

He wanted to explain that he really didn't think the money was too little, but unexpectedly, due to Mr. Hu's misunderstanding, he gave him a nomination for the May Fourth Medal instead.

Hey, I just got a medal for free.

He nodded happily in agreement, then changed the subject and tentatively asked, "Um—Mr. Hu, actually I have a small condition that I'd like to negotiate with the group."

Hu Shiqun picked up his teacup, took a sip, and gestured to him to speak freely.

Song Xingye took a deep breath: "I'd like to apply for special funding to work on a new research project, is that alright?"

Hu Shiqun paused slightly in mid-air, holding the teacup.

"Doing research? If I remember correctly, you just graduated with your PhD this June, right? How old are you?"

I'm twenty-five this year.

"Wow, the younger generation is truly formidable."

Hu Shiqun put down his teacup. "Old Chen said you're incredibly talented, quick-witted, and audacious, and I don't deny that. But wanting to apply for special funding to independently lead a project right after graduation—Xiao Song, you're being too hasty."

He neither definitively stated nor gave a nod, saying, "The biggest problem is seniority. What makes you respected? How can you lead a team?"

Song Xingye immediately stated, "I can solve the team's problems myself, as long as you give me the authority to choose the people."

"hehe----"

Hu Shiqun smiled meaningfully and tapped his teacup with his fingers as he pondered for a while.

After a moment of silence, he relented: "If it were anyone else, I would have rejected this on the spot. But considering your contribution in finding Firefly No. 1, it's not impossible to make an exception."

Song Xingye's eyes lit up.

"Furthermore, as a management trainee in Project Star, you are entitled to the privilege of setting precedents in everything you do."

"Alright, I can consider suggesting this to Chairman Zhu on your behalf regarding the funding application for the research project."

"Really? Thank you, Mr. Hu!"

Song Xingye quickly stood up to express his gratitude.

Hu Shiqun waved for him to sit down, then leaned back and adopted a business-like tone: "If you're going to do a research project, how much funding would be enough for you?"