Chapter 199 - 193 Preparation_1

Li Wei, Lin Ju, Jeff Bezos, Ma Yilong.

Within under a year, four individuals ventured into space, all of them prominent figures in their own countries and in the aerospace world.

It felt as though the space race had reached a frenetic phase, with leaders in private space flight lining up to go to space while national space agencies also prepared to send key officials and scientists.

The difference from a few decades ago wasn’t just a matter of courage, but it indicated a trend: from the era of Yuri Gagarin, the risk of manned space flight had gradually decreased to controllable levels and safety had significantly improved.

In the 1960s, how did the Union scramble for time to send the first human into space?

They built four Union rockets at a time, and as long as there were two consecutive successful unmanned launches, they would send up an astronaut. Each launch was like a game of Russian roulette, with no one knowing if it would explode.

However, with the ongoing development and maturation of space endeavors and the stringent checks required for space launches, the success rate of rocket launches might now be even higher than that of airplanes.

...

July 6th, five in the morning.

At launch pad No. 1 of the Qiongzhou Aerospace Launch Center, the Progress-New Yuan-2 combination was rolled out of the assembly building and reached the launch position.

After repeated calculations by several meteorologists and real-time satellite updates on cloud maps, the weather today was deemed excellent all day long, with minimal clouds and a very low risk of lightning strikes, making it the perfect window for the launch.

Fuel was already being loaded, and Lin Ju, who had trouble sleeping the past few days, had managed to get a good night’s sleep last night. He had just been woken up and was now enjoying breakfast with Li Wei and Hu Dong.

Li Wei was draped in a green coat, his mind drifting back 13 years.

This time seemed no different from that year; as the time to launch drew closer, time seemed to speed up, and he was completely without sleepiness.

Despite knowing he was about to re-enter the sky, he ate his food naturally, exuding calmness in everything he did.

The deputy commander, Hu Dong, was somewhat nervous. Deng Lei was still up on the Tiangong Space Station and wouldn’t come down until September or October, so it fell to him to serve as deputy commander alongside Li Wei.

He wasn’t afraid of the flight itself, having done it twice with full energy, but the two other people on board were too important, and he had been practicing various emergency scenarios for days.

What if scenarios flashed through his mind, and Hu Dong, who had always been confident, suddenly felt that this flight was fraught with risks and shouldn’t go ahead.

Lin Ju however, was quite relaxed. Sitting with him were Guo Shen and Androff, who personally led maintenance on three spacecraft.

He trusted the system and the engineers unconditionally and believed the launch would be as perfect as the previous ones.

He even joked with Androff:

"I’m not going to write a will. If this boss crashes, I’ll watch the two of you fight like dogs over the company’s assets in heaven before coming down to join me."

Guo Shen: "Boss, actually, we could join you right away."

Lin Ju: ?

Androff mysteriously produced a spacecraft helmet from somewhere and placed it on the table.

"Unity is on standby, ready to go. How about we change your mind, delay by five hours, and the five of us go up in Unity?"

Before Lin Ju could respond, Li Wei, who had been steady till then, nearly choked on his food and waved his hands repeatedly:

"No, no, you haven’t done the training, and the space launch mission can’t be changed..."

"It’s okay, they’re just kidding."

Lin Ju promptly interrupted Li Wei’s worries and pointed at the helmet on the table with a smile:

"You see, with that big head of his, could he even wear this helmet? He probably couldn’t even turn his head; it’d need to be custom-made."

Laughter filled the room as the little prank plotted by the two System Engineers successfully relaxed the atmosphere. The three of them laughed and finished their hearty but barely touched breakfast. Only the plate of dumplings was noticeably half empty—as per tradition, they raised their glasses.

After downing 5 milliliters of wine, Lin Ju frowned at the glass that only had a faint purple-red hue left, deeply suspecting that his sense of taste had degraded.

The alcohol content in these 5 milliliters of wine was probably less than that in a Daliyuan egg yolk pie. No wonder Li Wei had drunk it before his first trip to space; this amount of alcohol wouldn’t affect a person in the slightest, let alone provide a lingering taste for even a second.

Fortunately, he was not a drinker, just a casual complainer with no lingering desire for more.

The three of them boarded the business van that was waiting for them downstairs early on and arrived at the launch center, where they would change into their space suits.

Upon entering the dressing room, Lin Ju in his jumpsuit saw the big shots from the space bureau and several leaders from the launch management center.

He was not surprised, and they greeted him with smiles:

"Gentlemen, on behalf of the space bureau and the launch management center, I promise you that the conditions for the Qiongzhou Space Launch Site on July 6th are excellent, the weather is good, and we provide a 100% guarantee that the launch and telemetry and control systems are absolutely safe, absolutely reliable, and will ensure your safety without a doubt."

Hearing the big shot say 100%, Lin Ju could imagine how they must have checked the supporting facilities over and over, probably even examining the sand on the launch site.

Li Wei saluted and shouted loudly, "The Progress remote six launch mission crew, all members are in good condition and prepared to execute the manned flight mission!"

Lin Ju became more serious, first addressing the big shot, "Although I am also a crew member, I still want to say here that the H1 series has withstood many tests, and I guarantee on behalf of the Xinyuan Company that the Progress is absolutely reliable, and I too have 100% confidence.

Director Huang," he then turned to look at the launch management bureau’s director, who was almost becoming the fire chief:

"This Xinyuan rocket shouldn’t be igniting trees around here anymore."

Director Huang: "If burning a few trees can guarantee a successful launch, then even setting all the trees here on fire wouldn’t be an issue; I would even do it myself."

"..."

Honestly, if it were in another country, this could indeed become a ritual.

Unlike that unlucky Shepard, who urinated in his spacesuit, Yuri Gagarin relieved himself on the rear wheels of the bus transporting personnel before takeoff, and thus every later "Union" mission crewmember followed suit, turning it into a tradition...

Lin Ju felt that such ceremonies were not necessary to repeat in China, as they seemed somewhat uncouth.

Soon, with the help of the staff, the three of them were clad in their spacesuits.

This batch of onboard space suits was so lightweight that it only weighed 14 kilograms and did not hinder movement too much, unlike the 6-kilogram portable air conditioner in their hands.

The portable air conditioner continuously blew cool, refreshing air into the suit, preventing any sensation of heat. Even the jumpsuit and hood they wore next to their skin were breathable and felt comfortable to wear.

The crew completed their oath under the flag without any complicated departure ceremonies.

Such ceremonies were gradually being cancelled amidst the growing number of commercial launches. Within a year, an astronaut’s departure was no longer considered such a grand event, it was just a simple procedure.