Chapter 289 - 282: Serendipitous Visitor_1

Tiangong Space Station, operational altitude 378KM.

Tang Weitian and He Tang squeezed into the spherical bulging viewing window of the XS-62 and watched the entire process of the Glory capturing the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft, with its cargo bay and mechanical arm outstretched not far away.

It was now December 15, and four days had passed since Glory entered orbit, but the spacecraft hadn’t returned as planned.

On the 13th, ground control decided to have Glory stay in space for an additional two days and use its remaining fuel to maneuver near the Tiangong Space Station. This was to complete a capture-and-repair exercise with the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft as the target.

Both the Tianzhou-1 and Tianzhou-2 spacecraft were older models of cargo ships that had been built before. They were small and not very efficient in weight usage. The newer generation Tianzhou-3 could carry more cargo and was cheaper, launched by CZ-7 rockets.

Tianzhou-1 had already completed its mission and burned up in the atmosphere, while Tianzhou-2 was launched by Blue Sword Aerospace’s Qinglong No.2 rocket at the end of November. It had finished its resupply task and was ready to leave the space station, carrying lots of garbage to burn upon re-entry to the atmosphere.

As the Tiangong Space Station frequently hosted visitors, the generation of space debris occurred at a very fast rate. This time, Tianzhou-2 could barely fit all of it.

Supplying visitors was manageable; Unity or Firm could bring some on their way, which was acceptable. However, there was no way to bring down the trash, so Tianzhou-2 became a trash bin.

It happened to coincide with the launch of Glory, and after consulting, the Aerospace Development Committee decided to extend its time in space, using Tianzhou-2 as the practice object to familiarize with the operation procedures of the spacecraft’s mechanical arm, as support for the assembly of March.

The two astronauts, of course, had no objections. They wouldn’t mind staying in space longer.

The mission process wasn’t so difficult: Tianzhou-2 would first detach from the space station, then Glory would approach and open its cargo bay. Zhang Zhiguang would try to use the mechanical arm to place Tianzhou-2, which had folded up its solar panels, into the cargo bay for simulated repair before releasing it again.

After completing the final waste utilization, Tianzhou-2 would fly itself into the atmosphere, disintegrate due to the high heat, and fall into the South Pacific Ocean.

Zhang Zhiguang was still wearing his EVA suit and operating the mechanical arm from outside the spacecraft, which reminded him of last year’s Unity mission.

In fact, if Glory were to conduct the rescue, it would be much easier. Its cargo bay, measuring 35×8.4 meters, could fit four Union spacecraft side by side, directly stuffing the out-of-control spacecraft into the cargo bay to bring back to Earth. Then, they could question the ground engineers with the actual object in hand.

Operating Glory’s mechanical arm was also simpler; it was not only detachable but also had an AI-assisted control system. Zhang Zhiguang’s visor was equipped with a HUD display that could help plan operational routes and predict the attitude of the objects being grasped, much easier than a claw machine.

He turned his head to look at the Tiangong Space Station, less than two hundred meters away and diagonally below, and waved vigorously when he had a moment.

"Mr. Tang, Mr. He, can you see me?"

He Tang: "Yes, I’m holding the camera. I have a very clear view and will send it to you later."

Tang Weitian: "Shouldn’t we also build an MMU (Manned Maneuvering Unit)? That way, Zhang could jet over to the station with nitrogen, and I could fetch you some sprouts. They’re grown right here on the station and are particularly tasty."

Zhang Zhiguang glanced at the tether around his waist and shuddered at the thought of piloting that device to the space station.

"Mr. Tang, it’d be troublesome if that thing leaks."

"What’s there to be afraid of? We have the spacecraft, don’t we?"

The conversation between He Tang and Tang Weitian shifted to whether a single-person space maneuvering device was reliable, and Deng Lei, who had been silent until now, turned on the radio.

"Ground ground, this is 01."

"This is ground, go ahead."

"Glory has 80% of its fuel remaining, we are rich in fuel. The International Space Station isn’t far from us. I’ve calculated the orbit; it’ll take 20% of our fuel to get there. Can we go over and take a look before returning?"

"..."

Ground control didn’t know how to respond. At this moment, Zhang Zhiguang’s voice also came through:

"There’s no need to make a special trip. What about controlling our deceleration to pass by them? We should have a gap, right?"

Ground control was silent for a moment, then responded.

"Commander, to ensure a safe return, we must maintain at least 25% of our fuel reserves. We’ve calculated an orbit based on the position of the International Space Station; please compare it with the flight computer’s calculated orbit of the Glory, and be mindful of maintaining a safe distance.

We expect to consume 18% of the fuel, taking about 50 minutes to run parallel to the ISS. Please pay attention to safety."

"01 (02) understood!

The astronauts aboard the Tiangong Space Station heard the interaction between Glory and ground control and envied tears streamed down their cheeks.

Although the ground command center was managed by the Aerospace Development Committee, Glory was owned by New Yuan, giving the astronauts considerable autonomy. It almost didn’t feel like they were on a mission, but rather like they were on a space vacation?

Deng Lei said, "It’s a pity Hila Space Station’s last crew just left, or else we could have swung by for a visit."

Zhang Zhiguang asked, "I have a question, should we notify the ISS in advance?"

...

"Glory successfully conducted a spacecraft recovery simulation test in space."

"Chang’e 5’s three landers smoothly reached the Moon’s orbit and are choosing the right moment to land."

"AI-assisted robotic arms bolster satellite recovery—what can future large spaceplanes do?"

"Dream Chaser space shuttle’s first manned flight coincidentally encounters the Glory spaceplane."

"Glory visits the International Space Station and French astronaut Thomas Speke captures a precious image of the two spaceplanes together."

"Former Pentagon in America claims: Unordered spaceplane flights can pose a safety hazard."

"..."

The headlines on December 16th were quite lively, chiefly because of a coincidence.

Capital time on the 16th morning, America time on the evening of the 5th, Dream Chaser, piloted by Spanish astronaut Pedro Dick, carrying two other American astronauts, was launched into space by the Falcon 9 Rocket from Kennedy Space Center to dock with the International Space Station.

The serendipitous event happened when the Glory crew in space was unaware of this fact, and the ground center only confirmed the transfer orbits a few times for safety and fuel economy without notifying Glory of this information.

As Pedro Dick was maneuvering Dream Chaser into position to dock beneath the ISS and began adjusting its attitude, French astronaut Thomas Speke, who was filming Dream Chaser, suddenly spotted a huge grey object in his camera’s viewfinder.

Thomas’s loud shouts of "Ovni, c’est un ovni (UFO! It’s a UFO!)" were heard by everyone at the Houston Ground Control Center, Dream Chaser, and inside the ISS.

The astronauts closest to Thomas hurried over, and through the porthole, they saw Glory with its belly facing them, still closing in, leisurely gliding underneath Dream Chaser using its RCS.

There was chaos both above and below, and at one point, Pedro even speculated it might be the ghost of the disintegrated Columbia haunting them in space, a theory that was particularly chilling.

Eventually, it was Glory that took the initiative to open its radio on a public channel, and only then did the ISS find out that Glory had come "visiting."

Deng Lei and Zhang Zhiguang chaotically conversed with the ISS over the radio for a while before realizing they had just coincided with the launch of Dream Chaser. Following Thomas Speke’s suggestion, they adjusted their position so that the camera could fully capture Dream Chaser above, with Glory below against the blue and white backdrop of Earth.

Glory orbited alongside the ISS for a total of two hours, with plenty of bold interactions between astronauts while ground control was still out of the loop. Glory even opened its payload bay to replicate the scene of Atlantis’ last space shuttle mission detaching from the ISS, achieving an almost identical framing angle.

Thomas Speke later said the photo of the two spaceplanes would be named "Visitors in Space" and was sure to win awards at photography exhibitions once it went on display.

While Houston Ground Control Center didn’t know how to react and could only watch their passionate interaction in space, the Aerospace Development Committee was just spectating the flight plan that hadn’t been formally filed.