Great Country Academician

In deep space, on the lunar orbit, the Xinghai space shuttle and the Artemis lunar lander looked at each other in the distance and passed each other.

On the other side, NASA headquarters in Washington.

The Xinghai space shuttle can view the Artemis lunar lander from high orbit, and NASA can naturally scan the Xinghai through the lunar lander's own radar.

Although they cannot see each other clearly through the cockpit like Zhai Zhigang and the others, as a competitor in the aerospace field, NASA will definitely pay attention to the live broadcast of the Xinghai moon landing.

At this moment, in the NASA moon landing control center, the live broadcast screen that was originally in a corner was projected onto the main monitoring screen.

Through the live broadcast in China, looking at the moon that is almost close at hand, there is no sound in the lunar landing control room of NASA at this moment, and you can hear a pin drop, falling into a deathly silence.

Especially Bill Nelson, his eyes almost popped out when he stared at the familiar spaceship on the live broadcast screen.

That space shuttle has reached the moon?

How can it be?

How can this be! !

Staring at the live broadcast, Bill Nelson once suspected that he was experiencing a serious hallucination.

Obviously, their opponent could barely complete the launch process the day before yesterday. How could it be possible to reach the moon in two days?

damn it! How is this done?

In the main control room, the dead silence quickly passed, and the rustling and noisy discussion sounded. Almost everyone was chatting with their colleagues around them.

"My God, how did China do it? If I remember correctly, they launched the space shuttle just two days ago."

"I also want to know. In terms of time, it's less than forty-eight hours now, not even two days!"

"Oh my god, when did China's aerospace technology become so terrifying?"

"Incredible, I even saw our Artemis lunar landing ship in their live broadcast room just now!"

"Xie Te, I suddenly felt a little panicked. Do you think China will launch the lunar module before us?"

"No, right?"

"If they have the ability to send the space shuttle from the earth to the moon within 48 hours, it is not impossible to complete the launch of the lunar module before us."

"Oh, shit! Oh my God, you're making me worry now."

In the main control room, whispers of discussion could be heard, and for a moment, the entire atmosphere changed.

Originally, they were still immersed in the joy of landing on the moon, but everything changed in the blink of an eye.

In the control room, staring at the navigation picture of the Xinghai, Director Bill Nelson took a few deep breaths to force himself to calm down.

What these staff members were discussing was exactly what he was worried about.

If there is no fraud in this live broadcast, then China's space shuttle has indeed arrived on the lunar surface and is switching orbits in preparation for launching the lunar module.

He didn't know how long it would take this opponent, but he knew very well how long it would take for their Artemis lunar landing spacecraft to complete the launch of the lunar module.

Currently, their spacecraft is still in a 3.5-hour orbit. To launch the lunar module, another orbit change is required to adjust the orbit to a polar launch orbit to complete the job.

Although the Artemis lunar lander has been in the 3.5-hour orbit for some time, they will need to operate in the 3.5-hour orbit for at least another week before they can switch orbits and enter the polar launch orbit.

And even if it enters the polar launch orbit, it is impossible to launch the lunar module immediately.

Because the landing point of the lunar module has been selected and calculated in advance.

The polar delivery orbit is not a standard circular orbit, but an elliptical orbit. This orbit is sometimes close to the lunar surface and sometimes far away from the lunar surface.

The release point is generally selected at the point closest to the lunar surface, which is about fifteen kilometers above the lunar surface.

Once they miss the first delivery, they need to run for another week before returning to the delivery point.

As for releasing the lunar module to other locations in advance, that is even more impossible.

With today's aerospace technology, a wrong launch point will cause extremely serious consequences.

For example, for the lunar module, its own thrust and fuel are not enough to send itself and the astronauts into the lunar orbit that is too high. If the launch point is abnormal, it will be very difficult for the subsequent lunar module to return to orbit and the return module to dock. The probability of failure will occur, etc.

Once any of these problems occur, it will be fatal to astronauts.

Therefore, even if China's Xinghai might complete the launch of the lunar module before them, Bill Nelson did not dare to let the astronauts carry out the moon landing work in advance.

Looking at the surveillance footage, Bill Nelson gritted his teeth and frowned. Damn it, why did the situation suddenly evolve into what it is now?

While Nelson was staring at the surveillance screen, the door to the main control room was suddenly pushed open forcefully.

A middle-aged woman wearing a small suit walked in quickly with two assistants.

Bill Nelson turned around and looked, and the person who broke in was Ms. Melita Corinna, the affairs consultant of the NSC National Security Council, the civilian administrative secretary of the president, and also his confidant.

He was not surprised by the arrival of Ms. Melita Corinna.

Returning to the moon this time is of great significance to the United States. Everyone is watching, and she is obviously coming here in place of the elderly gentleman with limited mobility.

"Counsellor Melita."

Seeing the other party coming over, Bill Nelson took the initiative to nodded and said hello to the other party.

Although the NSC committee has no decision-making power and only the power to make suggestions on various matters, the seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister is a close confidant of the president, so he still has to give him face.

"I received news that something unexpected happened during this moon landing? Is it possible that China will land on the moon before us?"

After saying hello to Director Bill Nelson, Melita Corinna then asked with a serious face.

Bill Nelson nodded and said: "This possibility cannot be ruled out. Judging from the current intelligence, the Xinghai has arrived at the moon's 12-hour orbit and is in orbit."

"Although the other party's progress is behind us, considering that the other party can send the space shuttle from the earth to the moon within 48 hours, the power system and propulsion system used by the Xinghai are very likely to be more advanced than we budgeted, so they It is not impossible to arrive at the launch site first and launch the lunar module."

"Shit!"

Melita Corinna cursed, looked at Nelson and asked quickly: "I need to explain why our Artemis lunar landing ship set off three days earlier than the other party, but may fall behind on the moon landing. step?"

Bill Nelson glanced at her and replied: "You should ask the CIA people about this question, why we still don't understand and can't determine what the Xinghai's propulsion system is."

"NASA has done its best to carry out the moon landing work. You know, the preparation time left for us is only a few months. No other country in the world can successfully complete the moon landing work in such a short period of time. arrive."

Melita Corinna stared at him and said with an unkind expression: "But that space shuttle did it. It didn't even take 48 hours, and it completely surpassed your progress."

Bill Nelson almost laughed angrily at this woman. He said quickly: "If you can bring that space shuttle over, I can also complete the moon landing within forty-eight hours."

"In addition, Xinghai has not completely surpassed our progress. They are still in the 12-hour orbit, and we have reached the 3.5-hour orbit."

Standing opposite, Melita Corinna, who had blonde hair, was silent for a while. After a while, she stared at Bill Nelson and said, "I need to make sure that I can complete the moon landing before my opponent!"

"This is impossible!"

Bill Nelson retorted without hesitation: "All the steps of the manned moon landing are planned and calculated in advance. We must strictly follow the steps of the moon landing and execute the instructions to ensure the success of the moon landing and the safety of the astronauts." Safety."

Melita Corinna quickly said: "I think you should know very well how serious the consequences will be if China is the first to land on the moon."

Hearing this, Bill Nelson was silent for a moment.

Indeed, if this moon landing is preempted by China, it will probably be an unbearable blow for them.

Since the space race between red and blue in the last century, their strength in the aerospace field has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and no country can catch up with them.

This has even become the national culture of the United States, and countless science fiction movies in the space field are based on it, which is a relished topic.

If the moon landing fails this time, especially if they are the first to set off and still fall behind, public opinion will be overwhelming. Not to mention NASA, even the White House may have to stand up and explain. .

But if the Artemis lunar landing ship is allowed to launch the lunar module in advance, this will be a major change for the entire lunar landing plan and an unprecedented adjustment.

After all, in the lunar landing projects of various countries, there has never been a temporary adjustment of the lunar landing plan after the moon landing. With current aerospace technology, this is an extremely difficult and dangerous matter.

Standing opposite Bill Nelson, Melita Corinna added: "Also, don't forget that there is a female astronaut on the Artemis lunar landing ship. I think you should be very clear about the significance of her going up. "

"If she lags behind the other country in landing on the moon"

Hearing this, Bill Nelson's pupils suddenly shrank.

He almost forgot that there was a female astronaut in this return to the moon. The significance was naturally to compete for the title of the first woman to land on the moon.

If they fall behind in this regard, the riots of those female boxing organizations will be unimaginable.

Taking a deep breath, the thoughts in his mind began to spin rapidly.

As the director of NASA, he is naturally very aware of the entire plan for the Artemis moon landing.

On the basis that the spacecraft has reached a 3.5-hour orbit on the lunar surface, it is not impossible to compress a little time and land on the moon in advance.

For example, the current orbit adjustment preparation work can be saved, and the Artemis lunar landing ship can use fuel to enter the polar launch orbit in advance, and then make fine adjustments to the orbit in the polar launch orbit.

In this way, you can save at least several hours of time.

After all, the orbiting time of the polar launch orbit is much shorter than that of the 3.5-hour orbit, so they have more time to process it.

For them, this is possible because every lunar landing takes into account orbital deviations and requires the lunar landing ship to adjust its orbit through fuel.

The Artemis lunar lander was also designed to have the ability to adjust its orbit and fuel by changing its orbit multiple times.

But correspondingly, under this adjustment, the risk of landing on the moon will also increase, and the possibility of success will be lower than the original plan.

After all, a temporary track cannot be more perfect than complete preparations, and its risks will naturally increase.

However, what he is thinking about now is not this, but the various situations that may arise after adjusting the orbit. If everything goes well for the moon landing, everyone is happy.

But if an unexpected situation occurs when adjusting the orbit to carry out the moon landing in advance, it will be a major blow to him, NASA, and even the entire United States.

By then, public opinion will only be more ferocious than that of backward China.

If the situation gets worse and an accident occurs to the astronauts, it will be even more unimaginable.

The thoughts in his mind circulated quickly. Bill Nelson, who calmed down, looked up at Melita Corinna, shook his head and said:

"Sorry, there is nothing I can do. Landing on the moon is a very delicate task. We cannot and do not have the ability to allow the Artemis lunar lander to land in advance."

The lesser of two evils, no matter what, he must choose the method that is most beneficial to himself and the United States.

It was good that he succeeded in landing on the moon early, but if he failed, he would definitely not be able to bear the backlash.

"Shit! What a waste!" Melita Corinna cursed.

Bill Nelson's expression remained unchanged and he didn't care about the other party's words. Compared with successfully landing on the moon ahead of schedule, for him, whether from a personal perspective or from an overall NASA perspective, seeking stability is the best way for him to deal with it at the moment.

At this moment, another voice came from the main control room.

"It is actually not impossible to complete the moon landing in advance."

Hearing this, Bill Nelson and Melita Corinna turned their heads at the same time.

Both of their eyes fell on the engineer who was speaking, but the emotions in their eyes were completely different.

The former was barely cursing, while the latter had surprise in his eyes.

Being watched, the speaking engineer coughed, and after sorting out his thoughts, repeated the way Bill Nelson had thought in his mind before.

".It's just that there are some risks."

After the words fell, Melita Corinna quickly asked before Bill Nelson could speak: "Is it very risky?"

After hearing this, the engineer thought for a while and said: "Theoretically, the Artemis lunar landing craft has the ability to achieve multiple orbit changes. It can control the spacecraft and the ground through calculation methods such as radar detection and real-time tracking support. distance, the risk of early moon landing will theoretically not exceed 5% than before."

On the side, Bill Nelson said: "But the landing of the lunar module is a high-precision job. The error of five percent is already quite high for aerospace. I refuse to land on the moon early."

Looking at the engineer who was speaking, Nelson had a cold look in his eyes. He knew that something might have gone wrong again.

Damn idiot, are you the only one who can calculate this?

Just as he expected, Melita Corinna standing aside spoke.

"Even if the success rate is reduced by 5%, it is still over 95%. I think I can give it a try."

After a pause, he looked at Bill Nelson and continued: "Director Bill, I know this may be difficult, but we need a victory, a victory that is enough to explain to Congress and the people!"

Bill Nelson was silent for a moment, sighed in his heart, and said, "Contact the astronauts on the Artemis, explain the situation to them, and ask for their opinions."