Rebirth in America

The major event of TWA's shareholding change actually did not attract much attention among the public. At this time, the Americans were nervously staring at the top of their heads, fearing that the Soviet Union would throw some terrible weapons above them.

This week, the Dow Jones Index has fallen continuously, falling 10% of the average index. This reflects how panicked the American people are and how fear has always hung over their heads.

No matter how popular the people were, Eisenhower remained indifferent at this time.

The President of the United States faced the Soviet satellite with a constant and ever-changing attitude. During these days, Eisenhower looked at the photos taken by the "Dragon Lady" (the famous U2 reconnaissance aircraft) and relied on his past military experience. He believed that the matter was not as serious as the adviser said, and he tried to restore Americans' self-confidence.

He held a simple press conference and said: "The achievements of the Soviet Union do not cause us worry and fear, not at all."

"They're just sending one little ball up, and soon they'll be sending more."

It is a pity that the American people do not buy his account. They still keep looking up at the sky, still talk about it, and still find it hard to swallow when eating.

The most annoying thing to the president is that boy Kennedy is jumping up and down, constantly fanning the flames. He portrayed himself as a young hero and compared Eisenhower to a conservative old antique and an old country rich man who knew nothing about high technology.

Kennedy's skillful move not only attracted the attention of the news media to him, but also greatly increased his popularity and won the hearts and minds of the people.

Except for Kennedy. Another guy's remarks are also very eye-catching. That was Alex, after he testified. Accepted an interview with a reporter.

During the interview, a reporter mentioned the Soviet Union's launch of satellites. Alex laughed at this.

He said with disdain: "Soon our American rocket will shoot into space, and it will definitely be much stronger than the Soviet Union. The Soviets just threw a small iron ball into space, which is of no use at all and has no power at all." . Even if it falls, it won’t hit anyone, the satellite will burn up in the atmosphere.”

The reporter listened in surprise to these refreshing remarks. He asked strangely: "Now our U.S. government is not prepared to invest heavily in space research. Mr. President has not even spoken about a similar plan. Where did you get this from? Did you know any news?"

Alex smiled mysteriously and said: "I didn't say government secrets. Don't write them down! I just said. Judging from the satellites launched by the Soviet Union, it was a crude and crude thing. There is no way to talk about it. high tech!"

The news opinions at this time all believed that the Soviet Union was one step ahead of the United States. Unexpectedly, Alex would belittle the other party's feat so much, so reporters wrote one after another: "The American genius Alex believes that the satellite launched by the Soviet Union is not worth mentioning." !”

This view is very different from the mainstream view, and has attracted ridicule and scolding from many people. They think that Alex is young and energetic, and does not know the heights of heaven and earth.

"Who does he think he is? Did the kidnapper damage his brain?"

"Genius? Damn! He must be an idiot! The Soviet Union's most advanced weapons can already reach above our heads, but he still looks disdainful!"

"Is this kind of statement worthy of being published? Ignorant people are really fearless!"

All in all, there was an illusion about the gap in aerospace technology between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Americans were temporarily deceived, and the American people began to worry unfoundedly. They have lost their normal judgment, and no matter what others say, they cannot dispel the fear in their hearts.

And at the same time. The Soviet Union also had an enlightenment: "It turns out that throwing something in the sky can make Americans so scared! It can gain so much political capital!"

After Soviet leader Khrushchev saw that the United States was nervous, he was very happy and proud. He decided that the Soviet Union needed something to fly in space. So the Soviets stepped up investment in space. Continue to launch rockets and strive to remain first in the world in all space records.

Just one month after the Soviet satellite incident. That was November 3, 1957, when Eisenhower was still indifferent. The Soviet Union intensified its efforts and launched its second artificial earth satellite, "Sputnik 2".

Not only has the satellite's mass increased significantly this time, but a dog has also been incredibly stuffed into the satellite.

The poor puppy, named "Laika", died in space four days later. Obviously, it was just an innocent guinea pig. The ultimate goal of the Soviet Union in sending puppies into space was to send people into space. This was a very challenging idea. In addition, various intelligence shows that the Soviet Union may also land on the moon and Mars, leaving the United States embarrassingly on earth.

The Soviet Union was the first to launch artificial satellites and the first to launch satellite dogs. This made the United States, which regarded itself as the largest technological power, begin to take a hit.

At that time, this was a major event that became increasingly serious the more we thought about it. It was so big that it affected the situation in the capitalist world, and it was so big that it was incomprehensible. How can you let a ball or a dog fly over your head? If this little ball or puppy were a nuclear weapon, it would not be an ordinary danger!

For this reason, White House advisers are increasingly worried. The Soviet Union's dominance in space was so aggressive that it seemed time for President Eisenhower to react.

Various subsequent signs also showed that the Soviet Union was not simply fooled. Perhaps the White House advisers were right and the Soviet Union had a greater conspiracy.

Eisenhower, a former general, finally decided to fight back against the Soviet Union's space superiority. His attitude quickly changed 180 degrees. He concluded that the Soviet Sputnik incident was the second "Pearl Harbor incident", not the second fooling. The United States must launch another "Pacific War" to regain the initiative!

With determination, Eisenhower ordered the U.S. Navy, which was somewhat famous in researching "artificial satellites" at the time, to launch an artificial satellite as soon as possible for everyone to see. The White House then announced the news to the world, but the U.S. Navy was dumbfounded because they were not ready.

The people Hughes sent out to lobby saw an opportunity, so they went to tell the president, congressmen, and the U.S. Navy that Interplanetary Technology Company had the ability to launch rockets and satellites. The only thing missing now is funds and so on.

Eisenhower was not interested, and lawmakers were suspicious. The U.S. Navy shrugged this off.

Eisenhower's reaction was: "What I want is to launch the satellite immediately. If you can't do it, get out of the way!"

The reaction of the congressmen was: "What? The rocket and satellite technology of Interstellar Technology Company is more powerful than the government's research department? This..."

The U.S. Navy's reaction was more direct: "Bah! You go away and play! Don't block the uncle's way!"

But the U.S. Navy is also rushing to get on the shelves. Under the urging of the president, they had to use a small rocket with a thrust of only 3% of the Soviet rocket's thrust in the shortest time to launch a satellite of special significance to the United States - it was advertised as weighing 9.8 kilograms, but in fact it only weighed 1.36 kilograms, like a grapefruit...

Of course, this move could not alleviate the public's concerns. After seeing the news, they all said, "Their satellites are much heavier than ours!"

"The Soviets can already send a dog up there! What about us? A grapefruit?"

"The Soviets will fly into space next! The United States is still at the starting line!"

The news media also ridiculed the government. They believed that such results proved that American rocket technology really lagged behind the Soviet Union. It's like two masters meeting each other, and one of them is extremely powerful. It's okay if the other master doesn't take action, but once he does, he discovers that he's a parallel importer, and his moves are extremely weak.

Khrushchev also ridiculed the Americans that this was a test jump of fleas and that they would never be able to jump out into space. He also said that American satellites are as small as pebbles and are not worth mentioning at all.

The U.S. Navy's first launch was just a test to verify whether its own technology worked. They were not very confident. But he boasted in front of people, making them think that this time it was really going to be big. Show ambition to the Soviet Union.

Of course, there are also media on the side of the government. They report that the United States is trying to throw an artificial moon into space. Didn’t the Soviet Union launch artificial stars, so let’s do the moon. An American Moon.

This is what the U.S. Navy thinks and does. If it can be done, then this is really an opportunity to overtake the Soviet Union. It's a pity that it didn't happen.

On December 6, 1957, the U.S. Navy failed to launch a Pioneer missile. They lit their rockets in full view of everyone. The result was that it exploded like a Chinese "firecracker".

People present recalled: "After the rocket was launched, it was like the gates of hell had opened. Soaring fireworks shot out from the side of the rocket. The rocket hesitated and began to tremble. Then it fell and exploded in front of our doubts and shock. ”

The American moon did not rise, and the Soviet stars still shone in the sky. News of the satellite launch failure spread quickly, and people all over the world knew about this scandal in the United States. They laughed and ridiculed one after another, and even the American media also joined in the commotion.

The London Daily Herald said: "Oh, a satellite that fell violently."

The London Daily Express said: "The Americans call it a glitch star."

The Louisville Courier-Journal said: "A successful launch may be heard around the world, but sometimes a dud is louder."

"The Ottawa Journal" said: "According to experts, the rocket did not fly off the ground because it 'lost thrust'. This is a red herring. Loss of thrust is a persistent problem in Western democracies."

"The Denver Post" said: "The American people are uneasy, skeptical and distressed about American scientific research."

The New York Herald Tribune said: "Maybe if a grapefruit or something flies in the sky, people in Washington can calm down."

Paris Magazine said: "Look! There seems to be a worm on the grapefruit."

The headline in the Canadian newspaper that day was "The American "Moon" Is Not Useful"!

Senator Lyndon Johnson lamented: "Oh my God, how long? Oh, how long will it take for us to catch up with the two Soviet satellites?"

As for the pesky Soviet representatives to the United Nations, they were so complacent that they asked the United States at the United Nations "whether it is willing to accept assistance from the Soviet Union? The Soviet Union has plans to provide technical assistance to backward countries."

"Well! Don't be shy, we Soviets are still very generous!"

"Maybe the United States really needs some help, otherwise their satellites will always be unable to fly out of the atmosphere!"

"Maybe the moon is so big that it crushes the rocket? Haha!"

Such humiliations make American leaders, especially the President of the United States, feel embarrassed. At this time, they suddenly thought of Interstellar Technology Company and the rocket expert von Brian who worked hard there. At the same time, I also remembered Alex's wild words in the newspaper, and the government began to think about making some changes.

However, the navy's influence is indeed great. They failed once and still received a large amount of funds from the government. They plan to continue launching and must occupy this space cake.

In the U.S. military, the navy has always been much more powerful than the army, and the contradiction between the navy and the army is great. This is a dispute caused by interests and has nothing to do with other issues.

When the Navy rocket failed, the Army felt that an opportunity had come and they also wanted to launch a launch. Yes, the Army also has a rocket research and development department, but its scale is not as large as that of the Navy, and its strength is of course even worse. When the people above were trying to conduct a launch experiment, the people below were extremely busy. Many researchers worked day and night just to get the rocket into the air before the Navy.

However, the leaders of the Army saw the negative impact of the Navy's failure. They wisely secretly experimented without even reporting it to the relevant departments, but just treated it as a regular rocket launch exercise. As for the results, the outside world did not know. From the Army Judging from the fact that the launch was not announced, it should be a failure.

In fact, there are quite a few rocket research institutes in the United States. UU reads www. uukanshu.net Only within the military, both the navy and the army are engaged in their own rocket research. They each divided up the rocket experts captured from Germany, moved all the data and equipment back, and then applied to the superiors for a rocket project.

Once there is a project, money will naturally be allocated. Don't think that all projects are only available in China. If you work abroad, you can just do it. And he did it so beautifully that others couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Well, the money has been allocated, but it’s unclear whether it was used for rocket research or anything was produced. Just look at how Feng Brian's rocket research department in the Army had to worry about tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. All that money was definitely not invested in research, and its final destination was unclear. It was a military secret and no one could find out.

Seeing this situation, the U.S. Air Force also clamored to get rockets, but it didn't have air-to-air rockets and missiles at the time, otherwise they would have got them.

As for other departments, they are numerous and complex. Not only government agencies are researching this high-tech, but even private companies are also working on it. Especially the companies of arms dealers, they receive government funds and subsidies for this, and this kind of money will not be taken for nothing. (To be continued...)