Chapter 419: The Sky Eye of the Star-Spangled Country

Three days later, Professor Chen hurriedly found Li Mingyuan with a major discovery: "We have intercepted Beijixiong Guo's internal communications; they have confirmed they will launch the 'Red Star' rocket in seven days!"

Li Mingyuan immediately gathered the team: "The operation is moved up; everyone prepare to be in position. Professor Chen, continue locking onto their communication frequencies; Wang Gang, adjust the 'Storm' system parameters, prepare to implement interference immediately after the satellite enters orbit; reconnaissance team, strengthen monitoring of the launch site, I want to know their every move."

Department Head Zhang also arrived upon hearing the news: "Are you confident?"

Li Mingyuan nodded confidently: "Absolutely confident. In fact, I am looking forward to seeing their expressions—when they discover that even though their satellite has gone up, it can't see anything at all..."

Department Head Zhang laughed heartily: "That is even more of a slap in the face than making their launch fail! They won't even know who did it!"

Li Mingyuan looked at the countdown clock on the command center wall: 6 days and 23 hours until the launch of the Beijixiong Guo "Red Star" rocket.

"Are you all ready?" He looked around, a firm light flickering in his eyes, "The real space race has only just begun."

The night was deep, and the "Puluomixiusi" base deep in the Nevada Desert of the Star-Spangled Country was brightly lit; the entire base was like a city that never sleeps. With only 36 hours left until the launch of the "Zeus" rocket, thousands of engineers and technical personnel were carrying out final preparations.

Doctor Feng Bulaide rubbed his bloodshot eyes; this was his fourth consecutive day without proper sleep. As the general director of the "Sky Eye" project, the pressure was almost crushing him.

"Doctor, the final report on the telemetry system." A young technician handed over a stack of documents.

Bulaide quickly browsed the contents of the report, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter: "The signal strength of the third channel is still unstable, with a fluctuation range exceeding 5%."

"We have already tried three solutions, none of which could completely solve the problem," the technician said helplessly, "Now we can only rely on increasing the sensitivity of the ground receiving stations to compensate."

Bulaide sighed: "Barely acceptable, but I don't like this kind of compromise. Send instructions to the ground stations, requiring them to strengthen the signal processing capability of the third channel."

He stood up and walked toward the Assembly Workshop. The massive "Zeus" rocket stood quietly in the center, and engineers were conducting final checks. At the top of the rocket, the spy satellite known as "Sentinel One" lay quietly within, awaiting its fate of being sent into space.

"How is the overall status?" Bulaide asked the rocket system supervisor.

"Propulsion system check complete, guidance system calibration finished, separation mechanism test passed," the supervisor answered confidently, "Except for that damn telemetry system having a small issue, everything else is normal."

Bulaide nodded, but the unease in his heart would not go away. As an experienced engineer, he knew that complex systems often had problems in the most unexpected places.

Just then, a commotion arose, and everyone stood at attention—the Leader had arrived.

The Leader strode into the workshop accompanied by a group of high-ranking Military officials and security personnel, a rare look of excitement on his face.

"Doctor Bulaide," he walked directly toward Bulaide, "Give me some good news."

Bulaide straightened his back: "Sir, the 'Zeus' rocket has completed its final check, and we will launch as planned at 4:30 AM the day after tomorrow. If everything goes smoothly, the 'Sentinel One' satellite will become the first man-made satellite in human history to enter Earth's orbit."

The Leader nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, this is exactly what I need. Remember, this is not just a scientific experiment, but a battle of ideologies. We must be the first country to conquer space."

He looked around and raised his voice: "Gentlemen, you are participating in a project that will change history. After success, everyone will be recorded in the history books. Failure..." he paused meaningfully, "is not an option."

The Leader's gaze finally landed on the "Sentinel One" satellite: "What can this little guy see?"

Bulaide introduced it proudly: "It is equipped with the most advanced optical system, theoretically capable of distinguishing 10-meter-sized objects on the ground. More importantly, it will prove that we can send payloads into orbit, paving the way for future military reconnaissance satellites."

"10 meters?" The Leader frowned, "Not clear enough."

Bulaide hurriedly explained: "This is only the first generation, sir. The next generation 'Eagle Eye' satellite's resolution will be improved to 3 meters, and the next one after that may reach 1 meter."

The Leader looked slightly more satisfied: "Ensure it works properly. I want to see images of the Earth's surface with my own eyes on the screen in the President's office, especially the military facilities of Long Country."

"Mission guaranteed, sir," Bulaide straightened his back and promised.

After the Leader left, Bulaide finally let out a long breath, the beads of sweat on his forehead clearly visible.

"That's a lot of pressure, Doctor," the rocket system supervisor said in a low voice.

Bulaide gave a bitter smile: "This isn't pressure, it's a noose on the gallows. If the launch fails, we're all finished."

He turned to the satellite project manager Leidemon: "The telemetry system problem must be solved, I don't care what method you use. Increase redundant design, increase transmission power, or just change the frequency band; in short, I want a stable data link."

Leidemon looked troubled: "Doctor, there are only 36 hours left until launch, major modifications are almost impossible..."

"It's not almost impossible, it must be done!" Bulaide interrupted him, "Think about the expression on the Leader's face just now; do you think he will accept any excuses?"

Leidemon swallowed, quickly gathered his team, and began emergency adjustments to the satellite's telemetry system.

Bulaide walked out of the workshop and looked up at the star-filled sky. In another 36 hours, "Sentinel One" would fly toward that vast starry sky, announcing the space hegemony of the Star-Spangled Country to the whole world.

He took a deep breath, dispelling the unease in his heart. Everything would go smoothly, it must go smoothly!

Meanwhile, at a secret launch site in the western part of Beijixiong Guo, the "Red Star" rocket had already been erected on the launch pad; under the illumination of searchlights, the silver-white rocket body emitted a cold, stern light.

Korolyov stood in front of the large window of the control center, a weary but firm light flickering in his eyes. As the chief designer of the "Red Star" project, he had prepared for this moment for a full five years.

"Comrades, what are the final check results?" He turned to the technical team to ask.

"Guidance system check complete, the error is within the acceptable range," the Guidance System Group Leader reported.

"Propulsion system parameters are normal, fuel loading will be completed within 6 hours," the propulsion group leader said.