Chapter 417 - 408: One-Third Success_1

The colonel looked at Liu Si, whose face was calm, and flexed his muscular arm through his sleeve:

"Come on, try your strength."

"Then be careful, sir."

Liu Si did not refuse, and their seemingly similar palms grasped each other and began to exert force simultaneously.

Just seven or eight seconds had passed when a ferocious look that the colonel couldn’t suppress appeared on his face, and Liu Si promptly let go upon seeing this.

The colonel stretched his almost numb hand and asked with some disbelief:

"How much strength did you just use?"

Liu Si answered truthfully, "Around thirty to forty percent."

The other soldiers behind inhaled sharply. The colonel had previously been renowned for his physical strength, and yet he was firmly suppressed by a mere thirty to forty percent of another’s effort.

On the other hand, the people from the security bureau were only slightly surprised, knowing more than the others.

Four days ago, because of a traitor’s case, they came to interrogate again and discovered Liu Si’s unbelievable changes, which immediately captured the military’s attention, demanding an immediate expansion of the experimental subjects.

But only after seeing Liu Si’s changes firsthand did they deeply feel the terrifying power of biotechnology, even somewhat more frightening than robots.

A soldier who had participated in the experiment had a gleam in his eye, thinking with such great strength and an increase in resistance to blows, wouldn’t that mean he could even spar with a Warrior?

The base was not stingy with volunteers for experiments; besides compensation from the military, they offered a one-time payment of five million dollars and promised to take responsibility for their lifelong health.

Of course, this was also because of the harmlessness of the No. 304 Injection; the system was still trustworthy.

With three experimental subjects, they could basically verify the universal effect of the No. 304 Injection, and Xie Miao was very pleased.

After trying the effects of the injection, the colonel pulled Xie Miao aside and whispered:

"Does this injection have the potential to significantly lower its cost? 74 million is too expensive."

Xie Miao replied, "This is just the nature of biopharmaceuticals. Some of the raw materials we use are extracted in total amounts of only a dozen grams worldwide each year. Your three injections have been used up, and the next batch of four can only be expected next year.

We can only afford up to five volunteers max; we’re likely going to need financial support for further procedures."

The colonel sighed. The higher-ups placed great importance on this project, but if costs were nearly a hundred million, it truly couldn’t be widely applied; it was much less cost-effective compared to robotic bio-soldiers.

Xie Miao offered some comforting words, "Actually, the low production is also because of the low demand. Once we prepare for mass production, the costs should be able to come down. An initial investment of several hundred billion over seven to eight years, and an application by 2025 shouldn’t be too late.

We’re about to land on the Moon soon; biomedicines won’t be far behind."

Nearly a hundred billion? Are pharmaceuticals that expensive?

But then thinking of those anti-cancer drugs costing millions per injection, perhaps the No. 304 Injection wasn’t expensive?

Suddenly, a robot marked with the number two, driving an electric forklift, appeared in the colonel’s field of vision, making the inside and outside of the base feel like two different worlds.

...

June 19th, Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B launch pad.

The Heavy Falcon Rocket, codenamed B1033, was surrounded by the brightly lit launch pad at night, and wisps of cold gas continuously emanated from the rocket body, having just completed fueling.

In its 5.1-meter diameter fairing above is a fuel tank manufactured by Raytheon Company, which is to dock with the "Blue Moon" lander and refuel it.

Space refueling is not a simple technology, especially with more than 20 tons of fuel. Fortunately, Raytheon Company’s technology is powerful, ensuring that nothing will go wrong.

In the content released to the media, B1033 belongs to "planned launch," carrying a module of the "Gateway" space station, and has nothing to do with the space race.

The public may or may not believe it, but the spokesperson’s deadpan face suggests that he probably doesn’t believe it either.

But the launch date for the in-orbit refueling module was just moved up by six or seven days; most of the necessary processes were about the same, so it should be unlikely for anything to go wrong.

However, B1034 on launch pad LC-39A and the SLS Block1 rocket, which was being transported overnight from Mississippi, were not part of this plan.

The "Blue Moon" lander had planned to complete its final factory testing between the 22nd and 29th, but now overtime work is needed to ensure that it can be launched by June 25th. B1034 Heavy Falcon is still undergoing assembly and testing.

If the launches of these two could just be brought forward by a few days and tackled with some overtime, then the second SLS rocket would pose a real problem.

According to the original schedule, this SLS should leave the factory around July 20th, and launching it around August 10th would be reasonable.

The manufacture of the rocket body has actually been completed for some time, but as a giant rocket weighing 2,500 tons, the-electrical system, hidden defect detection, and mock tests are the major tasks; these have only been completed to less than 40%.

The two SRB boosters can save some effort; as old equipment that has passed numerous tests during the era of the Space Shuttle and the "Warrior Project," the stability of the SRBs is trustworthy. However, the risk level of Core Stage One is equivalent to a brand-new rocket and must pass through stringent tests to get clearance.

But now, Boeing and Lockheed plan to transfer the remaining tasks to launch pad LC-39B to be completed; as soon as they pass, they launch immediately.

Forget about whether to work overtime; in the next ten days or so, the number of personnel at Kennedy Space Center will more than double, Clare will check day and night, snatching time counted in minutes and hours from the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

It’s too rushed; compared to their expected schedule, they’ve lost an entire month, which effectively doubled the risk level of the Artemis II mission.

In this urgent mindset and under the incentive of the dollars lavishly distributed by NACA, the launch center completed all the preparation procedures for the Heavy Falcon at the fastest speed, and less than thirty minutes later, the ignition command was issued.

The Heavy Falcon didn’t disappoint Clare; with Core Stage One and the boosters not being reused, it firmly pushed the refueling module into a lunar transfer orbit.

...

"We won’t lose to anyone. NACA is always one step ahead. Just now, the first lunar module is already on its way to the Moon."

Two days... The direct announcement of the Dawn III mission three days ago was a clear show of cards.

The higher-ups carefully compared the progress of both sides and saw no need for secrecy, openly announcing the lunar landing schedule.

Now Artemis II, originally planning a sneak launch, was caught off guard. They intended to steal a march, but the other side also planned to move ahead early; they had no choice but to grit their teeth and desperately catch up.

A couple of days ago, Clare was dragged into a congressional hearing, but he convinced the congressmen to fly to Florida, using the excuse of "pushing forward the schedule," so the frustrated congressmen turned their attention to John.

What did you say before taking office? You promised we’d be ahead, you said America would be first, so how come others are about to land on the Moon as soon as we wake up?!

John tried to argue, but the congressmen weren’t fools:

"We need three rockets to accomplish the Moon landing, but they only need one. Our three rockets can only match their one. And the budget for the Dawn Project is less than 8 billion US dollars. What exactly is NACA doing with our funds?"

John: "But we have already succeeded by one third, and soon it will be two thirds. Our progress is faster!"

"Can you launch before July 1st?"

"Yes, definitely!"