I ask you to build tractors, but you build rockets?

At this time, the Alliance spacecraft was still accelerating, but because the structure was destroyed and the center of gravity changed, the acceleration changed and it became impossible to enter the predetermined orbit.

The reason why the ground reacted very late is because the Alliance spacecraft is composed of an orbital module, a return module, and a service module in sequence. The service module is responsible for communications, power, and propulsion. It was severely damaged and most of the data was lost. The ground did not know what happened. What.

Now there was a fire in the service module. The three astronauts in the return module watched the fault lights on the panel light up one by one, and the alarms sounded one after another, as if it was the end of the world.

Both Keimi Arii and Lindgren were in space for the first time. Oleg could no longer hear what the two frightened guys were saying, so he turned off the siren manually.

He carefully communicated with the ground to confirm the status of the spacecraft, wanting to know the specific status. As a result, the spacecraft vibrated slightly, and then the lights in the cabin dimmed, and the noisy sound in the headset also disappeared.

A secondary explosion occurred in the service module, and the power and communications of the entire spacecraft were completely destroyed.

Oleg tried calling a few more times, but all he could hear was white noise.

"Mommy mommy…"

"Oleg, how is the situation?"

Ariei Keimi was sobbing, and Lindgren was also heartbroken.

Oleg felt that he had entered a weightless body, and while groping for the backup battery switch in the return capsule, he answered Lindgren.

"We're not in orbit yet, so we're going to re-enter the atmosphere within a few hours, maybe a dozen hours, and crash, and that's it."

"But we are still in the return capsule, which can withstand the friction of the atmosphere."

"Then what? The orbital module is above the return capsule. Now the power system is out of action, making it impossible to separate. The parachute cannot be opened. There is a large piece of debris behind it. I hope it will be burned to ashes in the atmosphere instead of being smashed to pieces. People shoveled it out bit by bit."

Lindgren was also silent. He did not expect that just the first mission would be the end of his space career.

After an unknown amount of time, maybe a minute, maybe a few minutes, the return capsule restored power and the lights came on again.

The backup power supply finally came on, and urgent calls from the ground filled the headset instantly.

"Kononenko, are you there? Kononenko, this is Baikonur, I am Solovsky, the launch leader."

"Oleg received it, the backup power has finally been activated, I want to try to see if it can be separated manually."

Solovsky: "Now I authorize you to use any method to ensure your safety and return to Earth. The spacecraft has a manual operation mode. You, as the commander, have this power."

Oleg used the light to quickly set up the separation program.

The return module, the orbital module and the service module are connected with explosive bolts, and they need to be powered on and ignited in sequence during separation.

"Lindgren, Arii Keimi, check the seal of the space suit!"

Oleg shouted loudly, because there was an accident of an Alliance spacecraft decades ago. When the cabin sections were separated, the explosive bolts were detonated at the same time instead of igniting sequentially. This caused strong vibrations to deform the hatch doors at the connection and create gaps, and the air returned to the cabin. They were drained instantly, and the three astronauts who were not wearing spacesuits died immediately due to hypothermia and suffocation.

After repeated confirmation, Oleg gave the detonation order.

A slight vibration was felt in the front and rear of the return capsule at the same time, but then the sound of loose parts hitting each other could be heard.

The four bolts of the service module exploded successfully, and the two-stage rocket successfully separated.

But the forward service cabin does not.

Oleg tried several more times, and finally confirmed that only two or three of the four bolts connected to the service module had exploded, and he failed to escape successfully.

This couldn't be a worse situation, and the last hope was completely shattered.

Lindgren also recovered at this time. He was an engineer and an astronaut. He regained his calm thinking and looked at Oleg:

"The service module is still a little loose. Is it possible for us to climb outside and get it open?"

"I don't think so, unless you're an alien with eight arms."

Oleg knew very well how strong the explosive bolts were, and how they could break them open. While pouring cold water on them, he did not forget to make a little joke.

"Is there a backup spaceship to pick us up?"

The little dwarf Keimi Arii finally said a complete sentence.

"I'm sorry. Although there is still one Alliance spacecraft, it will take time to prepare for launch. You..." Solovsky paused.

"There are still 14 hours left. You will briefly enter the earth's orbit in 3 hours, start descending in altitude in about 4 hours, and touch the atmosphere in 14 hours;

To rescue you, we need to launch the spacecraft within 10 hours, and the Soyuz will take at least 23 hours to launch. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we didn't check the orbit situation, and I bear a lot of responsibility. "

In the return module of Soyuz TMA-17M, the three astronauts were silent.

They all received professional training before going into space and knew how difficult it would be to rescue people in the current situation.

The most troublesome thing is, where is the spacecraft that can be launched within 10 hours? To be able to pick up the three of them, the conditions are too harsh.

Lindgren looked at the porthole dejectedly:

"It's too early. Even if it's later, after we enter orbit, we can survive for a few days without eating or drinking. There will definitely be a spacecraft that can come by then.

Director Solovsky, can I still talk to my family? "

Oleg was much more relieved. He opened his hands and looked straight:

"The universe is our destiny, and as a Lucia astronaut, death in space is a perfect destination."

"I want to sing," Keimi Arii said, and then his hoarse singing voice sounded in the headset:

"Miluo's waves are flying, and Wushan's clouds are chaotic and flying.

(The Miluo Yuan water ripples wildly, and the clouds surge into the Wushan Mountains)

The turbid world is where I stand..."

Three astronauts, Lucia is in trouble, Amy is missing her relatives, and a singer from the island country... Baikonur feels the chaos of demons in the sky, but it continues to look for a rescue plan all the time.

Self-rescue was impossible in the first place. It was speculated on the ground that the fire and impact in the service module caused deformation of the connecting structure. It was impossible for three astronauts to correct such a large strength.

Out of the cabin? Although they are wearing spacesuits inside the cabin, they can still survive outside the cabin for 125 minutes, and they will not be able to survive after that unless rescued by a spacecraft.

In addition to oxygen, the biggest problem with spacesuits in the cabin is mainly heat dissipation. The temperature of the human body is much higher than that in space. If the heat cannot be dissipated in time, astronauts will be heated to death.

In other respects, it's not bad. The space suit inside the cabin can maintain oxygen for two hours, and it can also protect against radiation. It's not a big problem to leave the cabin for a short time.

But the next Soyuz is too late no matter what, so we can only find solutions from other aspects.

First, they thought of the International Space Station. There is also a TMA-16M spacecraft there, which was sent up by the last manned mission. It was originally expected to bring three astronauts back to Earth in September. Now they may be able to go to rescue TMA-17M.

But after a short evaluation, it was found that it was not feasible. The TMA-16M did not have enough fuel. It could return to the earth. There was only a window of ten minutes to catch up with the TMA-17M and rescue it. It was not even enough to adjust the attitude. It was completely a knife. Dancing on the tip has too high risk and low success rate.

Moreover, now the TMA-17M is very likely to enter an uncontrollable rotation state and cannot be docked at all.

Without his own capabilities, Director Yuri of the Lucia Space Agency had no choice but to ask for international help.