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

Slowly ascending in an elevator, the crew of Unity's first manned flight will board the space shuttle 92 meters above the ground.

Feeling the heavy weight under their feet, the three people grabbed each other's hands and held them tightly. Silence could not conceal their inner peace.

NACA, the leader of ISS, took the lead to establish the "Alliance TMA-17M Joint Command Center (joint command center for short)", and the space agencies of all ISS member states joined - as well as the China Space Administration and Xinyuan Aerospace Power.

The former of the latter two will jointly provide measurement and control navigation, while the latter will be responsible for the rescue part.

Lao Ma's specaX is not idle either. It is eyeing it as a backup, and the Dragon spacecraft is undergoing full modification.

This time the joint command is led by NACA, Lucia Space Agency, China Space Administration and Xinyuan Aerospace Power, with the highest person in charge as the equal command, and can apply to mobilize all the forces of the joint command center.

They called this rescue mission "Operation Orient", which also symbolized the Lucia Space Agency's "Orient" spacecraft and the rescue of Fang Huaguo.

Li Sheng, the oldest member of the Tuanjie crew, serves as the commander and is responsible for command and coordination.

When I climbed into the Unity space shuttle through the nearly 100-meter-high corridor bridge and sat down with Zhang Zhiguang in the back row, it was less than 40 minutes before the launch.

This is not at all like the usual step-by-step launch procedures. It reveals urgency and haste everywhere.

After Deng Lei fixed it, he began to conduct self-inspection of the space shuttle, while Zhang Zhiguang checked and became familiar with the life-support backpack of the extravehicular space suit from behind.

In the absolute zero-degree universe, the extravehicular spacesuit must ensure that the astronauts' body temperature, pressure, and communications are normal, all relying on this life-sustaining backpack, which is not very thick.

At this time, Zhang Zhiguang became familiar with various switches and fixed points under the prompts of the headset, and at the same time he was sighing:

"Technology has advanced so fast. Your Xinyuan space suit is much lighter and softer than the one in Feitian. It can be worn in the separate cabin. It is indeed a set worth 55 million yuan."

Li Sheng: "I feel like we are soldiers at the rear in a war. The enemy has already hit us right before our eyes. We are immediately issued a rifle and jump on the train to fight them in a life-or-death battle."

"Everyone, my engineers and I, as well as the designers of Unity and New Far 2, assure you that the trains and rifles you are traveling on are safe."

In the control center, Lin Ju answered Li Sheng's words.

Then someone from the space agency also stepped forward and turned on the microphone and said:

"Xinyuan's space suits are also manufactured by us. I also guarantee that each space suit has been rigorously tested and has undergone meticulous flaw detection, so your military uniforms must be perfect.

We are also developing the next generation of extravehicular space suits, which will be much better than "flying". "

When he said the last sentence, Lin Ju cast a doubtful look.

He clearly remembered that the spacewalk six years later also used "flying". Has history been changed again?

"Get ready for launch in half an hour!"

As the order from the control center was issued, Baikonur and national space agencies also shared images of the launch control room and surrounding the launch tower through online meetings.

NACA Director Claire looked at the Xinyuanyuan 2 in the center of the huge display and the streamline transition to the Unity space shuttle above, with very complicated emotions.

Four years ago in July, the space shuttle Atlantis completed its last mission, and the STS (Space Transportation System) space orbital transportation system plan that had lasted for 40 years came to an end.

Of the five space shuttles, two crashed, and the remaining three flew a maximum of 33 flights, far less than the 100 designed missions. The space shuttle has officially become synonymous with expensive and unsafe.

However, after the emergence of H1, the space shuttle era was inherited by XAP (Xinyuan Aerospace Power), which is still shining brightly.

"SLS stood up on the corpse of STS, but it is not as good as STS! This damn Congress, the human aerospace industry will be destroyed by their ignorance and shortsightedness!"

Since NACA had almost no sense of participation in "Operation East", Clare felt stimulated again. He also believed that Congress could not tolerate Ame's lack of sense of participation, so he would face another battle.

At 12.19 Beijing time, the joint index finally confirmed the orbit of TMA-17M and the mental state of the three astronauts, and the launch countdown was 30 minutes to prepare.

The midday news and many satellite TV stations finally received the news. However, due to the sudden incident, more people watched online this time on the Internet.

Because it was on Sunday, the closer the launch time was, the number of viewers continued to rise, and there were more foreign users, who also followed "Operation East" through YouTube.

During the live broadcast, the superior who was conducting local inspections remotely connected and gave a brief speech to the three astronauts. The last sentence was: "The motherland and the people are watching you, and at the same time, you also shoulder the expectations of people all over the world. Please We must complete the rescue mission and return safely!”

The three people in the cabin swore an oath as (retired) soldiers: "If you call them to fight, you will win!"

Then came the space agency boss, and finally Lin Ju:

"I and my engineers assure you that Unity is in very good condition. This is the most glorious launch of Unity and it will be a safe mission. I look forward to your triumph on the ground."

…

"Countdown, 90 seconds!"

In the crew cabin of the Unity, the three of them fixed themselves and closed their eyes to calm their heartbeats.

The launch center almost never stopped warning the three astronauts about their heartbeat and blood pressure. Deng Lei even reached 130 for a while.

Although it was on the high side, the launch was still on time.

Today, on the beach opposite the launch site, the number of people watching is pitifully smaller than before, but the feelings are the most sincere.

The tried-and-tested live broadcast platform finally upgraded its server to support ultra-large-capacity barrages. Blessings scrolled across it, wishing not only TMA-17M but also the crew of the Unity.

In the return capsule of Soyuz TMA-17M, Oleg, Lindgren, and Keimi Arii all fell silent and listened carefully to the live audio transmitted.

"Three, two, one, light the fire."

"Dongfeng, optical and radar tracking are normal."

"Yuanwang-1, radar tracking is normal."

"Procedural turn!"

Although they were in incomprehensible Chinese, the instructions were mostly the same. In Oleg's imagination, he had already seen the Unity, with three brave and fearless astronauts, being subjected to increasing overload, falling from the surface of the earth. It rose up from the ground like an intercontinental missile and rushed over quickly.

He looked down at the earth through the porthole. At this time, he had entered the sky above Yunnan Province and could see the Yellow River and the Yangtze River.

Lindgren and Ariei Keimi, who were also listening attentively, were slapped several times by Oleg and heard English with a strong Russian accent:

"Get ready! It won't be long before we see our counterparts from China!"

Xinyuan-2 accelerates very quickly. In order to save time, Unity will not enter orbit first. Instead, it will directly catch up with TMA-17M under the joint guidance of two nearby Chinese satellites, one ESA and two NACA satellites. It is expected to take 10 minutes to arrive near TMA-17M.

The hydrogen-oxygen machine of the second-stage rocket has high specific impulse and thrust, and it always provides a pushing feeling during continuous acceleration.

Zhang Zhiguang's seat was behind Deng Lei, and he was watching the tutorial on how to operate the robot on the LCD screen hanging in front of him.

Of course, it's actually not complicated. It's just a remote control composed of a high-precision small spherical rocker and a claw camera. It can be fixed on the space suit with hinges or buckles. He has already hung it up before departure.

Commander Li Sheng did not have the time or conditions to perform the space agency's classic pen-turning process this time. Instead, he was preparing to establish direct communication with the Alliance TMA-17M based on the frequency band provided by the ground.

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