Chapter 1271 The dream sleeps in the sky


    Kuaizhou-1 was enveloped in flames and thick smoke, slowly accelerating and climbing under the eyes of more than a dozen cameras and hundreds of eyes at the launch site, and under the expectant eyes of global television audiences.


    Soon, there was only a white trail left in the air behind him.


    The main function of the core stage is to raise the rocket to sufficient height and speed as quickly as possible, so the wake of this section does not show the zigzag characteristics produced when extra energy is consumed.


    Compared with the busy and lively atmosphere in the command center after a conventional rocket launch, the scene environment at this time is undoubtedly much quieter -


    In fact, since the successful launch of Shenzhou 5 in 2003 and the manned spaceflight project entering its second phase, China has always had the need to build a new space launch site in low-latitude coastal areas.


    On the one hand, it is to improve the carrying capacity of the rocket with the help of the rotation of the earth. On the other hand, it can also release the strict restrictions on the diameter of the rocket in railway transportation, so as to facilitate the launch of higher-level rockets in the future.


    However, plans are plans.


    At least as of 2006, only the suborbital Vega series of sounding rockets had been launched in Qiong Province, so there was no infrastructure specifically designed to serve space launch missions.


    In addition, the space debris No. 40396, the mission target of the space fishing ship, is in an orbit at a very strange angle, resulting in several telemetry stations built by China in the past unable to function well.


    Therefore, for a long period of time after launch, the flight conditions can only be judged through the sensors installed on the rocket itself.


    Fortunately, this is the normal working environment of ballistic missiles, so from the brigade commander Yang Guang to the ordinary non-commissioned officers responsible for liaison tasks, the commanders and fighters of the Second Artillery expressed their emotional stability.


    But for Zhou Pingjian, who was accustomed to regular space launch missions, the scene of complete silence after the rocket launch seemed too depressing.


    Even a little scary -


    In the past, this situation usually only occurred after the launch failed.


    After suffering from fidgeting for about half a minute, he couldn''t help it anymore and said something out of nowhere:


    "This rocket modified from a ballistic missile is really convenient to launch..."


    Chang Haonan is currently staring at the data on the laptop screen in front of him, but because the rocket has not yet flown into the first telemetry area and the structural limitations of the solid rocket itself, there is nothing particularly interesting to see.


    So after hearing someone break the silence, I turned around without any nostalgia.


    However, Zhao Fuyuan from the Ninth Academy of Aerospace Science and Industry next to him reacted faster:


    "Well... the usage environment of our product is still somewhat different from that of ordinary rockets. From the beginning of the design, we have considered operating in extreme environments... uh... use, so it will be much more convenient to carry out such small-load, low-orbit launch missions. "


    Although Zhou Pingjian is the chief designer of the manned spaceflight project, he has a strong say in the entire aerospace system.


    Moreover, the launch missions he is responsible for include not only the Shenzhou spacecraft and the Tiangong Space Station. For example, the Qingluan 2 constellation launched last year was also included in the list because it was planned to undertake the relay communication mission for China''s first space walk. Among the manned space projects.


    As the director of the newly established launch vehicle research center, Zhao Fuyuan naturally wanted to take this opportunity to quickly market his current flagship and only available model.


    However, he thought Lao Zhou was expressing praise just now.


    In fact, the other party is just relieving his emotions...


    He didn''t even realize what Zhao Fuyuan had just said.


    For a moment, the atmosphere at the launch site couldn''t help but feel a little awkward.


    Fortunately, at this time, the first voice finally came from the radio communicator:


    "Yangtze River 3, capture the target!"


    Yangtze River, which is the code name of the Yuanwang survey ship during the launch mission.


    For this launch mission with special needs, the National Space Administration specially mobilized up to three maritime measurement ships to ensure the measurement and control needs of the three most critical nodes during the rocket launch process.


    Yuanwang 3 is the first ship located in the northeastern part of Qiong Province.


    As the voice fell, several windows that were originally dark on the computer screen also appeared with pictures or data at the same time.


    Chang Haonan glanced briefly.


    The sight is green.


    Almost at the same time, the second password sounded again:


    "Yangtze River 3, the radar data is normal and the telemetry signal is normal!"


    After hearing these words, the first burst of applause since the launch finally sounded over this slightly crude temporary launch site.


    The extremely oppressive air was suddenly broken, and Zhou Pingjian, who was almost sweating profusely just now, also relaxed obviously.


    Obviously, he is still more accustomed to this situation.


    After clapping his hands a few times, Lao Zhou seemed to suddenly remember something and turned to look at Zhao Fuyuan not far behind him:


    "By the way, Lao Zhao, what did you just say to me?"


    “…”


    The originally serious and lively atmosphere almost became humorous because of this sentence.


    Zhao Fuyuan shook his head helplessly, but he had no intention of repeating it again—


    When he couldn''t see anything just now, he really didn''t feel much in his heart.


    But now he saw the rocket he developed flying in the sky in the optical observation results transmitted back from Yuanwang-3, which made him feel a little excited and nervous for no reason.


    After all, as a missile designer, I had never had such an opportunity in the past.


    After about half a minute, the bright light flashing at the tail of the rocket gradually weakened, and then went out completely within a few seconds. However, in this way, the imaging effect of the optical lens becomes clearer.


    "Uh-"


    A burst of exclamations suddenly sounded around the monitor.


    I saw that the slender and slender snow-white projectile was wrapped in a layer of fine airflow, just like a girl''s body wrapped only in a layer of translucent gauze.


    Mysterious and alluring.


    Zhao Fuyuan was half-bent, almost wanting to put his face into the screen:


    "It''s so beautiful..."


    And missile brigade commander Zhou Guang actually saw something launched by him for the first time:


    “What a spectacular sight…”


    Although his military training kept him sitting upright, his eyes were staring straight at the optical window.


    Chang Haonan, on the other hand, counted down silently in his heart:


    "5...4...3..."


    There are no hardware-level changes in the first two stages of Kuaizhou-1. However, in the energy management system designed by Chang Haonan, an additional taxiing section is added after the engine is shut down at each stage to reduce the number of changes made in the power stage. There are too many unnecessary maneuvers to ensure the highest possible orbit accuracy.


    His voice was not loud, but the nearest people could still vaguely hear it.


    Just when Zhao Fuyuan and Zhou Pingjian turned their eyes to Chang Haonan with some curiosity...


    "First and second level separation!"


    Chang Haonan''s voice and the voice on the radio almost overlapped.


    It was obvious that he was familiar with the entire process.


    And it has the ability to control time almost as well as a stopwatch.


    Zhou Pingjian''s eyes widened slightly, but he still didn''t make a sound at this most critical moment.


    At the same time, in the picture captured by the camera on the No. 1 rocket, the locking device at the first and second level connections was released, and the 12 sets of compression springs surrounding the rocket body were activated at the same time, pushing the inner and outer sleeves of the separate push rods away from each other. .


    Under the influence of the law of conservation of momentum, the core-stage rocket that has completed its mission loses speed and slowly begins to fall in the image.


    Almost at the same time, high-temperature gas spurted out from the tail of the rocket again, forming a dazzling halo that quickly enveloped the entire rocket body, causing the optical observation equipment to lose a lot of details again.


    A few seconds later, the rocket left the measurement and control range of Yuanwang-3.


    The previous image windows turned black again.


    However, this time the middle part of the signal did not last long.


    Located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Yuanwang-5 quickly reacquired its target.


    And when the low-magnification optical window in the monitor lit up again, the picture that appeared in it surprised everyone -


    Under the already dim and black sky, a white airflow with an outline resembling a trilobite flew from far to near, like a **** tearing apart the void, flying at a speed visible to the naked eye.


    "Yangtze River 5, the radar data is normal and the telemetry signal is normal!"


    The report from Yuanwang 5 sounded.


    But everyone has forgotten to applaud.


    This scene is not unfamiliar to professionals in spacecraft design.


    It''s just a jellyfish cloud, even the most basic textbooks will mention it.


    But to achieve such a spectacular effect, quite a few stringent conditions need to be met.


    Due to ballistic path restrictions, China''s current rocket and missile launches are rarely sufficient.


    Therefore, it was the first time for many professionals present to completely observe this scene.


    "Will this scene...be broadcast?"


    After a while, Zhou Pingjian broke the silence with some reluctance.


    "meeting."


    Chang Haonan nodded:


    "But based on the current height of the rocket, there should be many people who don''t need to use TV... just look up and see it."


    "Um?"


    Zhao Fuyuan was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at the map displayed on another screen next to him—


    The trajectory of Kuaizhou 1 happened to pass over the waters near Guam...


    (End of chapter)