Chapter 420: The Polar Bear Is Also Getting Ready

"'Dawn' satellite system is normal, all scientific instruments are in standby mode," the satellite group leader reported at the end.

Korolyov nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, maintain this state. Don't forget, we are not just conducting a rocket launch; we are creating history."

Just then, the First Secretary and a group of committee members walked into the control center. Everyone immediately stood straight to pay tribute to this iron-fisted leader.

"Comrade Korolyov," the First Secretary asked straightforwardly, "can we win?"

Korolyov knew what the First Secretary was referring to—the space race with the Star-Spangled Country.

"We can, Comrade," he replied firmly, "our launch window is set for 3:15 AM tomorrow, more than an hour earlier than the Star-Spangled Country's plan. If everything goes smoothly, 'Dawn' will become the first artificial satellite in human history."

The First Secretary nodded with satisfaction, but then raised a sharp question: "What about Long Country? Is there any news about them?"

Korolyov and the intelligence officers present exchanged a look: "According to our intelligence, Long Country's space project is still in its infancy; their industrial foundation and technical level are insufficient to support a satellite launch in the near future."

The First Secretary frowned: "Do not underestimate them. Was the lesson of the Yangcheng Zhanxiaohui not profound enough?"

The intelligence officer hurriedly added: "We have strengthened reconnaissance of the northwest region of Long Country and have not found any signs of large-scale rocket launch activities."

The First Secretary thought for a while and seemed to accept this explanation: "In any case, we must beat the Star-Spangled Country to it. This is not just a scientific competition, but a battle of ideologies."

He walked up to the rocket model and stroked it gently: "'Dawn', what a beautiful name. It will illuminate humanity's path to space, and it will also illuminate Beijixiong Guo's position on the world stage."

Subsequently, the First Secretary turned to Korolyov: "I need a guarantee, Comrade Korolyov. Tell me, everything is under control."

Korolyov straightened his back: "Please rest assured, Comrade. The rocket technology has been fully verified, and all systems have redundant designs. Even if we encounter minor problems, we have contingency plans."

The First Secretary nodded and gave a final instruction before leaving: "The motherland looks forward to your good news."

After the First Secretary and his party left, Korolyov finally breathed a sigh of relief. Despite his outward confidence, he knew in his heart that a rocket launch is one of the most complex engineering feats in the world, with too many uncontrollable factors.

"Continue with the final preparations," he ordered, "pay special attention to meteorological condition monitoring and telemetry system checks."

Korolyov walked out of the control center and came to the launch pad. Looking up at the "Red Star" rocket that towered into the clouds, his heart was full of complex emotions. This rocket condensed the hard work of the best scientists of Beijixiong Guo and carried the pride and dreams of a nation.

"You must succeed, old friend," he whispered to the rocket, as if encouraging a warrior about to go on an expedition.

……

Inside the command center at the Eastern Base, the atmosphere was heavy and tense. Li Mingyuan led the "Sky Curtain Operation" team, staring intently at the satellite images transmitted in real-time on the large screen.

"Latest status of the Beijixiong Guo launch site: the rocket is erected, fueling is in progress, and the launch is expected at 3:15 AM tomorrow," the reconnaissance group leader reported.

"Star-Spangled Country side: final checks completed, satellite telemetry system has slight anomalies, but it does not affect the launch plan. Expected launch at 4:30 AM the day after tomorrow," another analyst added.

Li Mingyuan nodded and paced in front of the large screen: "Both countries chose almost the same launch window, interesting."

Minister Zhang interjected: "They both want to compete for first place, not knowing that we are already one step ahead."

Li Mingyuan narrowed his eyes: "What's more interesting is that they both seem unaware of the other's specific launch time. Beijixiong Guo chose to launch early just to get ahead of the Star-Spangled Country."

"It seems the intelligence system is not omnipotent," Minister Zhang laughed.

Li Mingyuan turned to the signal group leader, Professor Chen: "Are the communication frequencies of both satellites locked?"

Professor Chen pushed up his glasses: "Beijixiong Guo's 'Dawn' uses three main frequency bands: 121.5MHz for telemetry, 130.8MHz for command uplink, and 465MHz for image data transmission. We have completely cracked their modulation methods and encryption protocols."

He flipped to another page of the report: "The Star-Spangled Country's 'Sentinel One' is slightly more complex, using frequency-hopping technology, but we have identified its frequency-hopping pattern. It mainly operates in the 137MHz, 149MHz, and 401MHz bands."

Li Mingyuan nodded with satisfaction: "Good, input these frequency parameters into the 'Storm-Space' system and prepare for directional interference."

He turned to the interference group leader, Wang Gang: "Is the interference plan finalized?"

Wang Gang displayed a detailed schedule: "We will implement interference immediately after the satellite enters orbit. The first stage is mild interference, causing random errors in their telemetry data without them immediately realizing it is external interference. The second stage will increase the interference intensity to completely block communication between the satellite and the ground."

Li Mingyuan thought for a while: "Modify the plan. The first stage remains the same, but change the second stage to selective interference—allow their control commands to be uploaded, but corrupt all image data transmitted back by the satellite. This way, they will think it is a problem with the satellite itself, rather than being interfered with."

Wang Gang's eyes lit up: "Brilliant! This way they might keep trying to fix it, wasting more resources and time."

Li Mingyuan nodded: "To be precise, we don't want to paralyze their satellites, but to turn them into 'blind men'—they can't see, yet they don't know they can't see."

A low chuckle erupted in the conference room; this strategic subtlety gave everyone an inexplicable sense of accomplishment.

"Also," Li Mingyuan added, "prepare a contingency plan in case they discover the source of the interference. We must have the ability to switch interference modes or stop interference completely within minutes."

Minister Zhang interjected: "Would that be too risky? If it's discovered that we did it..."

Li Mingyuan smiled confidently: "It won't be. First, they have no idea we already possess satellite technology; second, the 'Storm-Space' system uses directional interference, which is almost impossible to detect from the outside; finally, the space environment itself is full of various natural electromagnetic interference, they will at most think they encountered a solar storm."

He paused and looked around: "Everyone, what we are about to participate in is not just a technical contest, but a silent war. In this war, we will hold absolute initiative—we can see the enemy, but the enemy cannot see us."