Chapter 301 It’s Time to Do some Research
It was more than an hour later that the Aerospace Development Commission received the news. Lin Ju's first reaction was: How could it be such a coincidence?
Because of the time difference, it was already past six o'clock in the morning on the 23rd, China time.
Xinyuan-3 had already put three spoke cabins on the three axial cabins of the Fram a few days ago, and Pioneer was ready to launch the truss on the 24th to install it.
At this time, there were more than 20 hours before the launch. Pioneer had been combined with the Xinyuan-2A modified rocket and could be launched after refueling.
Pioneer was much more handy in carrying out rescue missions than H1, especially the super-large cargo cabin with a length of 35 meters and a width of 8.4 meters.
The size of the Dream Chaser is 9 meters long and 7 meters wide. The cargo cabin of the Pioneer can fit three Dream Chasers...
So Lin Ju made a statement immediately, and then the 20 astronauts of the four crews of H2M began to draw lots to see which five people could get the title of space hero.
However, when the Aerospace Development Commission expressed goodwill to NACA, the latter did not seem to appreciate it. At least they kept denying that the Dream Chaser could not return, just "thank you for your concern".
In fact, they were not as calm as they appeared to be. The engineers of Lockheed Martin and Sierra Nevada Corporation were frantically looking for the specific cause of the failure, otherwise the Dream Chaser could not be allowed to re-enter the atmosphere.
And time is limited, because there are 9 people on the Dream Chaser! 9 astronauts!
Oxygen and food are trivial matters. Emergency food can maintain normal activities for 7 days, and oxygen can also maintain 7 days, but there will always be too many inconveniences for 9 people squeezed in a small space.
First of all, there is a physiological problem. There is really no toilet on the Dream Chaser. At most, you can pull a piece of cloth and use a foldable and simple toilet to solve it.
The second is the sealing of the crew cabin. Now the 9 astronauts dare not take off their masks, otherwise the docking port will suddenly leak again, which will be the most serious accident in the history of space exploration, no one else.
6 hours, 6 hours after the Dream Chaser was launched, the ground finally determined the cause of the failure.
Amon grabbed the Lockheed Martin engineer who was sweating profusely and asked him what was going on.
"The hatch, the hatch is not stuck, it's a mechanical component failure, it should be a connecting rod deformation that can't open."
"Maybe? What should?"
"No, it's definitely that part. I can be sure that the docking port does not bear any force and high temperature during the launch process, so there is no problem. It can only be an internal problem."
Eamon: "Then why did the connecting rod you mentioned fail?"
"Because the Dream Chaser needs to reduce weight while cramming 9 people, the docking port must be compatible with 3 different types, so we must improve it."
Eamon: "..."
Well, the current docking ports of the International Space Station are not only of several sizes, but also of several types of the same size.
More than a decade ago, the ISS has been developing compatible docking ports, which naturally complicates the structure while bringing convenience.
But the good news is that since there is no problem with the hatch seal, it means that at least there is no risk of burning astronauts when returning to the atmosphere.
But he still didn't give up: "Can't we find a way to dock with the space station? The hatch is not broken."
"If it is not opened, I can guarantee that the Dream Chaser is safe, but if it is forced to open... no matter if it can be opened or not, the Dream Chaser cannot guarantee to bring people back to the ground safely."
Eamon wanted to say something, but someone stopped him at this time. It was the assistant of the boss's house and the secretary of Director Claire.
The two walked together and said NACA's decision expressionlessly:
"Eamon, bring our astronauts back."
...
"The Dream Chaser space shuttle landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center. All 9 people have intact vital signs and no injuries."
"NACA, Lockheed Martin, Sierra Nevada, and Raytheon have formed an accident investigation committee. During the investigation, the Dream Chaser will suspend its manned flight mission."
"Stephen Bowen's heroic behavior saved the entire crew. It is reported that he has been committed to animal protection."
"The Aerospace Development Commission is highly concerned about the safety of manned flights and will implement a new generation of safety standards."
"..."
On the morning of October 22, Aramco time, the Dream Chaser, which had been stranded in space for more than 10 hours, returned to the ground in a thrilling manner.
After landing, the docking port was broken open by a cutting machine. Because all attempts to open it failed, the cut part was immediately given to the investigation team to analyze the cause of the accident.
The Dream Chaser was directly grounded, and the two subsequent aircraft under construction also vacated the docking port part first, which obviously had to be postponed again.
Fortunately, the nine astronauts were safe and sound, but most of them changed their diapers, and they did not dare to take off their space suits the whole time in the sky.
John directly ordered the boss to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident. The accident happened on the first day of his appointment. Although the people were fine, they almost lost face.
Boeing and SpecaX turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The latter's manned Dragon spacecraft just completed an unmanned test launch the day before yesterday and is already preparing for manned flight. Although the progress of the former's Starliner spacecraft is a little slower, because they are all traditional technologies, they seem to be safer than Dream Chaser?
However, what NACA should worry about now is what to do with the nine astronauts. The longest of the nine people waiting for replacement in the sky has been extended for more than 150 days. It is a bit unreasonable to stay any longer.
Waiting for Dream Chaser? No, anyway, the next Dream Chaser mission will definitely not be manned.
But if we don’t wait, what can we use now?
ISS reluctantly turned its attention away from the other side of the ocean and returned to Lucia.
Mao Zi: The Alliance spaceship must be stable, the ancestral law cannot be abolished!
The H2M crew gearing up to win the title of hero: Sigh.
…
"Mr. Guo..."
"No, no, no, just call me Ye Changsi, or just Lao Ye. I'm twenty years younger."
"Then you can just call me Xiao Lin...that old Ye, I want to ask..." Lin Ju looked forward to it with a hint of nervousness.
"You have participated in the development of eggs and stars. That configuration..."
Ye Changsi: "Hey, you have to ask Lao Yu and Lao Chen about that. They are still here. I am just an errand boy."
"Don't say that..."
After ending the sensitive topic, Lin Ju was in a great mood.
Two A+ level legendary scientists control the operation of the base. He can do almost nothing but give orders. Coupled with the super overall BUFF gains of the two, the scientific research capabilities of the base have increased significantly.
After discussion, Ye Changsi was in charge of two parts: Qingshan Base and Laser Laboratory.
Both are extremely important confidential departments of Xinyuan, and they are easy for Ye Changsi to pick up, and they happen to be the parts that interest him.
Before waking up as Ye Changsi, he had gone through systematic and long-term study, and had basically digested all the cutting-edge physics achievements of mankind for decades. At this time, he still had the identity of a scientist standing at the forefront of current human physics.
After a few days of contact with Lin Ju and a rough grasp of the base's situation, he had his own plan in mind. The freedom of the legendary A+ level scientist was also part of the reward.
"Xiao Lin, have you seen the news about EAST a few days ago?"
"Oh? Ignite at 80 million degrees?"
Lin Ju immediately remembered that a few days ago, Huaguo's own EAST plasma-confined superconducting tokamak controllable nuclear fusion device was ignited at 50 million degrees Celsius some time ago and then ignited at 80 million degrees Celsius, but he was not very concerned about it. care.
Controlled nuclear fusion? Later generations have ignited more than 100 million degrees, but there has been no breakthrough.
Ye Changsi: "I think we should carry out some controllable nuclear fusion research."