Chapter 412 - 403: The Final Decision_1

The specific Moon development plan is an extremely colossal project. The base can only establish a rough framework at most; the details still need to be fleshed out by other participants over time.

However, preliminary preparations such as the lunar space station and the lunar surface fuel extraction system have already entered an accelerated phase, with plans to start construction when the Dawn program begins its lunar landing.

At the same time, this also means that the base is preparing to send humans to the station.

In the unmanned fuel extraction system, the MTV only needs to be modified into a manned version to become a Space Shuttle that can shuttle between the lunar surface and low lunar orbit; it is a crucial means for transferring mass to the lunar surface in the future.

The development of the five integrated devices for the entire extraction system is drawing to a close and manufacturing can begin; the nuclear power-solar energy combined power supply system is ready to go, with the first batch expected to launch later this year.

...

Capital International Airport.

As the busiest airport in the country, before Daxing Airport was completed, it handled nearly 100 million passengers a year, with approximately 1660 aircraft taking off and landing every day, an average of one every less than a minute.

In the three terminals, crowds from various countries were mixed together, and at every entrance, one could see passengers hustling in and out with their luggage, staff arguing with people, and security moving agilely through the crowds, sharply scrutinizing each suspicious individual.

It was an ordinary day, where the sounds of jet engines and vortexes never ceased outside the terminal buildings— even the cleaning ladies had, over time, developed the skill to identify aircraft by sound, a level of proficiency that many aviation enthusiasts might not possess.

Just as the residents of Rong City and Fengtian were immune to the sound of supersonic fighter jets, the expensive and advanced airplanes here were as commonplace to the people as buses.

However, as noon approached, a rhythmic roaring sound dominated over all other landing and taking off aircraft, becoming the sole protagonist in the sky.

The ground crew directing the planes onto the taxiway felt the vibration even more intensely. It emanated from the entire sky, much stronger than any plane they’d ever seen, and even the An-1250 "monster" didn’t have such a presence.

At an altitude of 24,000 kilometers, a titanium alloy twin-finned jet was beginning to spiral down and decelerate, planning to enter the landing route in 6 minutes.

minutes earlier, the first C810 to pass testing had taken off from the base with four passengers, climbing to an altitude of 20,000 meters in 7 minutes and going full throttle with afterburners.

In just 26 minutes, the C810 had flown at a maximum speed of 3.4 Mach and an average of 2.83 Mach at an altitude of about 28,000 meters, and less than half an hour later, it entered the Capital region.

During this time, all the major military districts it passed through noticed this extraordinarily fast aircraft, and were even more shocked to discover upon checking the registration number that it was a private business jet; countless reports were already being sent out.

The C810 left more than just a radar signature; a more significant impression came from the sharp roar it emitted as it passed each location, felt clearly even almost 30,000 meters below.

From a supersonic aircraft design perspective, the C810 had a large cross-sectional area. Everything from its sharp nose to the two rugged, oversized rectangular air intakes was a focal area for the oncoming airflow. The impact of the airflow created supersonic shock waves that enveloped the aircraft at an angle, reducing drag and providing additional lift while generating the unique roar of supersonic flight.

This plane should have decelerated to subsonic speeds before entering the Capital region, but because the two pilots wanted to improve comfort by slightly slowing the reduction of throttle, they inadvertently overshot. Just adjusting the action for a moment caused them to fly an extra 50 kilometers, now they had to slow down while taking a wide detour to get back over the airport.

Lin Ju, in the passenger cabin, even though he had personally piloted a triple-speed aircraft, found the experience of riding in the C810 quite unique.

Unlike the strong trembling of the supersonic airflow he had imagined, once the speed passed the sound barrier, the cabin actually became quieter, as the speed of sound could no longer keep up with the plane; only the mechanical noise of the aircraft and engines and the sound of equipment remained.

It was only after the C810 began to descend to subsonic speeds that the air noise was once again conducted into the cabin through the aircraft’s body. Lin Ju asked around and found that they had already passed Capital Airport by more than 200 kilometers during the recent turnaround...

Looking out the window, he could vaguely see the bustling buildings and... two aircraft that had taken off urgently a few minutes ago, a J-10 and a J-16.

The latter was a two-seater fighter jet, with the pilot in front slowly approaching the C810 for escort flight, while the weapon systems officer in the back started to take photos as evidence.

This... MiG-25 or MiG-31? Did Russia send them over? Breaking into the air defense identification zone at 2.8 Mach, if it continued forward, missiles would have to be launched. Wait, the numbers on the side look like a civil aviation registration number?

...

"You, you know, the air defense forces had activated their missiles, and if you entered a densely populated area, you would’ve been shot down for sure."

Academician She personally went to the airport to collect the six temporarily detained base personnel; they had been waiting there for an hour.

Lin Ju: "We clearly explained to the tower that we had overshot... and the C810 should be displayed in the system, so how did it still trigger an emergency state with the Air Force?"

Academician She: "The Air Force’s communication with the airport control tower was already very quick, but your plane was faster, so interception procedures were initiated first."

"..."

The root cause was, in fact, a misunderstanding.

The C810’s flight was well known to the airport well in advance. Although flying past the airport was unexpected, it was a minor issue; they just needed to readjust the landing queue.

However, the nearby Air Force didn’t care about those details. Seeing an object flying past the airport at nearly triple the speed of sound, they instantly went into the highest alert status. If not for the C810 slowing down in time, it might have been more than just escort flight.

After landing, the Air Force realized from seeing Lin Ju that it was a misunderstanding, but the procedures were complicated, and the group ended up waiting at the airport for an hour, replaying the entire situation.

Lin Ju came to the Capital as invited by a Big Shot. The Aerospace Development Committee had important matters to decide, and he came over, also taking the opportunity to try out the new ride, which nearly got missile attacked.

If he had really been shot down that would be another story, but he would have become a new meme, preceding both Kobe and Victorovich.

Mentally resolving to have the aircraft stealth-modified and fitted with heat decoy flares upon his return, Lin Ju then inquired about the purpose for his visit.

Academician She pulled out two small circular badges from his clothing, both bearing the text "Dawn III," but with significantly different designs: one was more traditional while the other was intricate and complex, obviously carrying a deeper meaning.

"The CZ-10A Remote Three Rocket was packed today at the Jingu base. It will be loaded onto a ship on the 17th and by June 30th, all inspection procedures will be completed. By early July, it will be ready for launch.

We need to make the final decision on the mission: Dawn III — to orbit the Moon, or to land on it."

Lin Ju’s eyes flickered as the two mission badges were waved in front of him, and he promptly reached out and grabbed one of them.