Chapter 362 - 354: Manned Dragon_1

Zhou Qingfeng gained a new best friend.

That day, a forum member with the QQ nickname "Scenary All The Way" revealed she was a woman in her thirties, a rare female aviation enthusiast.

She was adept at conversation and could discuss almost any topic with Zhou Qingfeng. Moreover, many of their viewpoints matched, making the act of chatting with this understanding older sister figure the first thing he would do after school every day.

Within a few days, Zhou Qingfeng felt as though he had encountered an exceptionally intellectual beauty—her online space had numerous selfies from her travels. Although her face was partly obscured by glasses or a mask, he could tell she was very pretty.

Whether it was the refreshing style of "Scenary All The Way" during conversations or her habit of sending QQ gifts to Zhou Qingfeng, he felt he had found an ideal confidant. They quickly became close friends with whom he could share anything.

Zhou Rui didn’t notice these developments. In his view, Zhou Qingfeng was still immersed in forums, and after an occasional reprimand, Zhou Rui would not interfere further.

...

"SpaceX completes the first manned flight of the Manned Dragon Spacecraft."

"Musk confirms the date for his flight plan."

"Two billionaires describe the extraordinary sensation of weightlessness in space."

"Sources claim that the Dragon Spaceship may dock with the ’Vienna’ Space Hotel, offering a more diverse array of space travel services."

"..."

On April 15, at the launch site at Cape Canaveral, a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Manned Dragon Spacecraft successfully sent four astronauts into space.

The Falcon 9 rocket that launched the spacecraft was successfully recovered through a sea platform, and SpaceX completed its first reusable manned flight, becoming the hot topic in the aerospace community for several days.

The black and white spacesuits worn by the Dragon Spacecraft astronauts were very unique and indeed had a "science fiction feel."

On the same day, Bloomberg cited sources reporting the expected date for the IPO of the Oriental International Space Hotel Company and mentioned the possibility of the Vienna Space Hotel opening for external cooperation.

It is well known that the Vienna Space Hotel, operating in conjunction with the Tiangong Space Station, is the first fully commercialized space module.

The Vienna Space Hotel has only one docking port without a node module. If the Dragon Spacecraft wishes to dock with "Vienna," it must dock with the Tiangong Space Station, meaning that the America spacecraft would need to dock with a Chinese space station.

This news was met with disbelief by many, as it seemed unlikely on the surface.

Interestingly, SpaceX did not respond to this, but the Aerospace Development Committee stated:

"The Vienna Space Hotel and its connected ’Cloud Palace’ module are currently in a state of commercial operation, simply docked at the Tiangong Space Station, and the proprietary rights belong to the commercial operators. All business activities are not affected by other factors."

Although no opposition was explicitly stated, one was not evident either.

The public speculates, but Bloomberg is not a third-rate media outlet; they speak for a reason.

The IPO prep work for the Oriental International Space Hotel Company is nearly complete, and all major shareholders have reached a consensus. This naturally includes NACA and... the Pentagon.

Oriental International is an international corporation, and its listing is on NASDAQ. It’s clear to the discerning observer that this is an attempt to fuel speculation and make money.

The company operates two modules actually leased from Arianespace and New Yuan Aeronautics—essentially a shell company without any sensitive points that could be sanctioned.

The current operator of the company is the Belmond Group. They orchestrated a deal allowing NACA and the Pentagon to acquire a 10% stake. Then, the definition from the Senate side for Oriental International became "a private space tourism company completely oriented towards the international market," removing many hurdles and allowing them to cater to customers worldwide.

However, the Pentagon in America was not completely satisfied and hoped to divert some of the launch business to "international contractors," meaning the space enterprises they had interests in, but no agreement has been reached as of yet.

Bloomberg’s move is to gauge the reaction beforehand.

As rivals in the space field, it would be quite normal to collaborate on the operation of space hotels, right?

...

"Fang Lin, Zhang Zhiguang, Ding Jihua; gather at the entrance of the training center in 30 minutes!"

"Yes!"

At Unit 507, an air force officer found three astronauts in training and told them to pack their bags and prepare to leave.

The other astronauts who were training paused and watched the departing trio enviously.

As comrades who were together from dawn till dusk, they knew well that these three were bound for parachute emergency training, a regimen generally reserved for newcomers or astronauts about to undertake important missions.

Fang Lin and Ding Jihua each had two flight experiences. Zhang Zhiguang, the space hero with nine flights under his belt, had substantial seniority.

Moreover, Zhang Zhiguang was a crew member of the H2M Number One mission. However, after his first mission, he returned to Beijing to start coordination training with the other two.

Clearly, they were the three astronauts for the Dawn III flight mission, backed up by the Dawn No.4 Crew.

Zhang Zhiguang was somewhat surprised when he learned he had been chosen as the commander, feeling a mix of excitement and disappointment.

Excited to be so close to the Moon and disappointed that he would miss out on becoming the first person from his country to land there, as the fourth mission would likely not be his.

But as an astronaut with a wealth of extravehicular activity and flight experience, he dutifully completed his training, pleased even just to orbit the Moon.

Moreover, the Dawn III mission had one particularity—it would involve a sea recovery test.

The Dawn Spaceship employed double deceleration through airbags and parachutes, capable of both sea and land recovery.

Compared to land recovery, sea recovery offers a larger and more cushioned descent allowance, but also increases search and rescue difficulty. Overall, each method has its advantages and disadvantages.

While the Dawn Spaceship prioritizes land recovery, Dawn III would attempt a sea recovery, something Zhang Zhiguang had never experienced before.

They were heading to the predicted South China Sea Landing Area to undergo simulated helicopter search and rescue training.

"Zhang, have you been through sea recovery training before?"

The one asking Zhang Zhiguang was Fang Lin, in his thirties, a payload specialist astronaut—and also a civil engineering major from the Beijing Aviation College.

Zhang Zhiguang: "Yes, the Shenzhou Spaceship also considered emergency sea landings, and it included a set of emergency rescue devices. Previous astronaut cohorts all received this training, but by your time, the training shifted to a lake instead of the sea."

Fang Lin: "Ah, I really want to go to the Moon. I submitted a proposal for the construction of a permanent lunar habitation, but unfortunately, it’s not viable near the Krum Impact Crater."

Zhang Zhiguang: "The one with the space weapon tests? That, I feel, is a bit too sci-fi."