Chapter 763: Moon Palace In Orbit!
NASA.
Satellite control center.
A group of people stood in front of the control console. Among them were NASA engineers, officials from the United States Congress and White House, and professionals from s.p.a.ce-X and Blue Origin, as well as other aeros.p.a.ce company representatives.
The atmosphere was quite depressing, everyone’s eyes focused on a single point on the large console screen.
Everyone was looking at the same place, waiting for the same result.
Three days ago, China’s Skyglow successfully took off while carrying the Moon Palace core module. It broke through the atmosphere and was entering low-Earth orbit.
The entire aeros.p.a.ce industry was focused on this aeros.p.a.ceplane.
If this launch proved to be successful, China would become the first country in the world to put a s.p.a.ce station in lunar orbit. It would also become the only country in the world to have lunar construction capabilities.
This was obviously bad news for America.
If everything were to go according to plan, their “Lunar Gateway” lunar orbit s.p.a.ce station wouldn’t launch until next year. Even though the success of the Ares program placed them at the forefront of Mars colonization, it seemed like they had lost the Moon race.
Three days ago, NASA pointed their satellites toward the Earth-Moon transfer orbit as they waited for the s.p.a.cecraft to appear in their lenses.
Today should be the day Skyglow arrived in lunar orbit…
Director Carson stared at the large console screen. He suddenly looked at his watch and asked impatiently, “Is it not there yet?”
Bill was standing next to Director Carson. He opened the doc.u.ment in his hand and quickly replied, “According to our calculations, they will reach lunar orbit in around ten minutes… Of course, there is the possibility that they are not using the traditional Earth-Moon transfer orbit path.”
Bill looked at Director Carson and added, “… If that is the case, then we would need more accurate data in order to observe their s.p.a.cecraft.”
Director Carson replied, “Maybe you can call the China National s.p.a.ce Administration, they’ll be happy to give you that data.”
Director of the satellite control center, Bill, had an awkward smile on his face. He stared at his watch and said, “We can’t wait here all day, maybe next time you can give us a more accurate estimate.”
Director Carson: “Don’t worry, my friend, in two hours, we will see the results.”
Of course, he hoped that the d.a.m.n aeros.p.a.ceplane never appeared in the satellite’s lens. It would be great if Skyglow could disappear like a comet, flying away from the Earth-Moon system…
NASA needed an opponent who was behind them, not someone who was ahead of them. NASA had to be the best at everything they do. It was not only about honor, but it was also about political governance.
However, Carson knew that his dreams wouldn’t come true.
Given that the Skyglow had already successfully landed on the Moon, delivering a module was a piece of cake.
Sure enough, just like he had guessed, there was a commotion in the console room.
A NASA engineer suddenly pointed at the screen and yelled, “It’s Skyglow! I see it!”
Director Carson looked at the direction the engineer pointed at, and his pupils shrank.
It’s there!
It’s Skyglow!
…
A bright arc of light swept across the dark moon skies.
A bright silver aeros.p.a.ceplane smoothly completed the orbital switch, slowly marching into the 127-minute orbit.
All of this was smoothly done in one go.
Nie Yun, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, stared at the rough moon surface. His mind racing a million miles a second.
Back here again…
Last time I was here was three months ago.
He couldn’t help but feel enchanted by the beautiful scenery.
Unfortunately, this time, he didn’t get to place his feet on the moon rocks.
But he knew that one day in the near future, a trip to the Moon would be as common as a flight across the ocean.
Nie Yun reached out and pressed his helmet. He then said in a clear voice, “This is Skyglow, we have successfully entered orbit.”
After a while, a voice traveled through the communication channel.
“This is the ground command center. Happy to hear that. You’ve already completed half of your mission… Please immediately head toward the designated airs.p.a.ce and prepare for the next stage.”
“Roger that.”
Nie Yun reached out and pressed the control panel. He switched the flight mode from orbital transfer mode to automatic cruise mode. He then skillfully turned on the cabin pressure measurement system.
Nie Yan was sitting in the co-pilot seat. She looked at the rangefinder data while she spoke.
“Alt.i.tude is normal, approaching the target area… Maybe we can move a little faster, if everything goes well, we might be able to test the Starlight flight.”
Nie Yun smiled and said, “Forget about it, the pilots have already been chosen. They’re two guys from the Astronaut Corps.”
Nie Yan sighed and said, “Really? That’s unfortunate.”
Starlight had a dual-wing design, while four of the five engines could rotate to any angles. This new type of aircraft would be able to complete the flight from Earth to low-Earth orbit in a safer and more efficient manner.
An aircraft like that was more interesting to operate than Skyglow.
Nie Yun said, “Nothing unfortunate, we still have other test flights to do, I’m sure they’ll be interesting.”
Nie Yan: “What kind of test flights?”
Nie Yun smiled and said, “Your favorite, transport aircraft… Flying between geosynchronous and lunar transfer orbit.”
A while ago, he heard that Star Sky Technology was planning on using the Skyglow ion thruster propulsion system to develop an interplanetary electric propulsion shuttle that could fly from the Earth to Moon repeatedly.
If this project was successful, then it wouldn’t be long until Skyglow could be retired.
It would at least retire from regular launches.
Nie Yan rolled her eyes and said, “I would rather fly Skyglow. I applied for this role because I was tired of flying transport planes.”
Nie Yun jokingly said, “Not because you wanted to fly higher?”
Nie Yan: “A bit of both… We’re here!”
The two reached their target area.
The flight path gradually deviated from the 127-minute orbit, entering an elliptical orbit.
This was the best place to place a moon satellite. Due to the combined gravitational effect of the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon, the core module could maintain a stable orbit for up to 36 months without the need for external propulsion.
With a propulsion system and a small amount of working fluid, the s.p.a.ce station could remain in orbit for decades…
After confirming the orbital parameters, Nie Yun calmed himself down and took a deep breath. He placed his hand on the side of his helmet and spoke in a steady voice.
“This is Skyglow, we have reached lunar s.p.a.ce station orbit.”
Soon after, orders came from the ground command center.
“Begin unloading!”
“Roger that,” Nie Yan said. She then reached out, released the cargo safety lock, and pressed the bright red b.u.t.ton.
“Begin unloading!”
A m.u.f.fled rumbling sound was heard, and a silver-white cylindrical module was thrown into s.p.a.ce, left behind by Skyglow…
Nie Yun stared at the [Unloading Successful] line on the screen, and he spoke with excitement.
“Unloading successfully!
“Moon Palace has successfully entered designated orbit!
“We did it!”