Chapter 249

Yuanwang-2 reports: telemetry and tracking orbital data are normal, orbital period error is two seconds, orbital radius deviation is eighty meters.

Many people were startled, then their faces lit up with excitement; this is absolutely the highest orbital insertion accuracy in history!

The higher the orbital insertion accuracy in low Earth orbit, the greater the confidence in performing orbit transfer!

As the night grew darker, everyone remained busy; Qin Miao finally felt his eyelids drooping, wishing he had gone back to sleep earlier—what's there to see before launch? This orbit transfer is the most important!

"Yuanwang-3 is in position; request to initiate the orbit-transfer command when the satellite completes its third revolution."

"Received!"

The moment for orbit transfer has finally arrived! This is critical; if the orbit transfer fails, the satellite will be useless!

"Three minutes to orbit transfer, countdown starting..."

"Three, two, one, ignition!"

"Target begins to accelerate! Rocket ignition successful!"

"Good, excellent!" Lao Ren jumped to his feet; all his previous worries vanished!

In space, the combination of the BeiDou satellite and the Long March 3 third-stage rocket continues to accelerate, while the orbit changes from its previous circular shape to an elliptical one!

The elliptical orbit's perigee is only a couple hundred kilometers, while the apogee is 3,600 kilometers—the altitude of a geosynchronous satellite!

However, at apogee, under Earth's gravity, the satellite will continue to return, moving along this elliptical path with Earth at one focus; to make the satellite travel in a circular orbit at 36,000 km altitude, a second rocket burn must be performed at apogee.

After a night of tracking and control, by noon the next day all data had been gathered at the command center.

"Satellite attitude is normal; the data for the second orbit transfer have been precisely calculated, and we are about to initiate the second orbit transfer operation!"

"Three, two, one, ignition!"

In space, the hydrogen-oxygen rocket engine ignites again; at apogee the satellite accelerates once more, departing from its original elliptical orbit and rising onto a circular orbit!

The satellite successfully entered orbit!

"Fantastic!"

"Our Eastern space program is awesome!"

The entire hall erupted in cheers; Lao Ren also jumped up, waving his arms and legs, excited like a child, and upon seeing Qin Miao he opened his arms and gave him a warm embrace.

Success, success!

"Great, we've achieved another technological breakthrough!" Lao Xie was also very excited.

The news spread, and the world was shocked.

The French were the first to send a congratulatory message, congratulating the East on becoming the fifth country capable of launching geosynchronous satellites!

Several hours later, the island nation sent its congratulations, albeit with a sour note, saying the East must continue to strive in order to catch up with the island nation's space program!

As for the true space powers, the Soviet Union and the United States have so far made no comment.

United States, NASA.

"The Easterners' space program is still at a child's level; only now can they launch a geosynchronous satellite, nothing to brag about." James Montgomery Bergs, newly appointed head of the U. S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, paid no heed to the East's achievement.

This is fundamentally a world where strength commands respect; only Soviet space can impress American space, everything else is second-rate and not worth mentioning.

"Yes, the East's accomplishment is nothing for us to worry about, Director; our space shuttle is the true epoch-making invention!" James Abrahamson chuckled: "Our Columbia has already completed its first launch, and subsequent missions will carry astronauts for operational flights, while their East... has only just acquired a synchronous satellite, at least twenty years behind us!"

Ding ling ling… as they spoke, the telephone rang.

"Hello? Who is it? General Creel? What's up? Attending your GPS acceleration meeting? Okay, okay, I'll be right there!"

Malcolm Creel, the biggest supporter of the U. S. Global Satellite Navigation System, convinced Congress, approved Stanford Professor Parkinson's GPS prototype design, and then brought the project under the Department of Defense, after all, the Army, Navy, and Air Force all need this system.

As for NASA, it is also a partner in the GPS project; now...

Upon entering the Pentagon conference room, Bergs immediately sensed that the atmosphere was off.

"Gentlemen, do you perhaps misunderstand? Even if the East's BeiDou navigation system is networked, it is merely a regional navigation system, and its accuracy certainly won't match our GPS."

"But the East's BeiDou system has already launched its first satellite successfully; the second will go up in half a month, after which... the satellites will be able to network! Meanwhile, we Americans, the world's leading tech nation, have GPS developing slowly, requiring years before we can achieve full networking!"

The GPS project manager grew anxious!

Previously, the meridian circle satellite navigation system required several hours between position fixes, with errors often reaching kilometers! That's why they have steadfastly pursued GPS development; now... the Easterners' efficiency is so high they can already network!

This gave them a sense of urgency!

"Even if they network, they still can't compare to our GPS, after all BeiDou is merely a regional system serving East Asia; General, don't panic." Bergs looked at Malcolm Creel: "We must not let the Easterners disrupt our formation; we need to keep our own pace..."

"Come, look at this." Malcolm Creel produced a newspaper.

Bergs took it.

BeiDou Navigation, poised to change the world with a technological revolution!

AFP's report—this kind of news, just glance at it, no need to pay much attention; after all, since de Gaulle's era France has often opposed the U. S., such French reporting merely aims to provoke Americans, but Americans need not therefore become anxious.

Installing satellite navigation in vehicles lets drivers know their location at any time, plan their route, and never get lost.

Using satellite navigation on railways makes train dispatching easier and operations safer.

For ships at sea, satellite navigation provides better guidance lights.

So... we hope the Easterners launch more BeiDou satellites, upgrade regional navigation to global, and benefit all humanity!

Those French folks, indeed just troublemakers!

Europe lacks its own satellite navigation system and can't build one; seeing the East succeed, they'd rather push the East to expand its regional system to global?

This is just disgusting the US, ah, the US has long said that once the GPS network is set up, the whole NATO will benefit! The French? You were the ones who voluntarily withdrew from NATO back then, so you won't get satellite navigation support. And the French, meanwhile, simply pushed to expand the service area of the Northern Dipper navigation!