Chapter 451 - 442: The Contact Commander Rises Again_1

Koch suppressed the excitement in her heart and focused on conveying only the information that would aid the rescue before she remembered Victor, who had indeed fallen asleep this time.

As she hurried down to check on Victor’s condition, the "astronaut" on the ground spoke again:

"Your oxygen supply will last for quite a while, but the cavern is too deep, so we need to prepare tools and a rescue plan. Please be patient as this will take time—within about an hour we should be there. Please ensure your safety above all."

"Thank you, we appreciate it. Have you been able to contact NACA yet?"

"Not yet. We stumbled upon your distress signal by chance. We’ll inform them very soon. I have to go now, but we will be back quickly."

The "Chinese astronaut" seemed somewhat indifferent to Koch, as if reluctant to engage in conversation; after confirming the safety of the two, the figure disappeared from their view.

But both Koch and Victor were greatly heartened now, embracing each other tightly beneath the rubble.

was in a hurry to leave, naturally not wanting to reveal its identity as a robot and to prepare for the rescue; the cavern’s depth necessitated the use of tools.

Meanwhile, Zhang Zhiguang and Fang Lin had heard the entire conversation over the radio, and they were already considering rescue plans without waiting for instructions.

At the same time, on the ground, the overnight command center sprang into action, and Academician She was preparing to make the news public.

There was no need to reach out to NACA proactively, as they wouldn’t be of much help anyway. Instead, if we wanted to gain advantages, we had to make sure the whole world knew about what was happening.

With 14’s guidance, Ding Jihua immediately took photos of the crash area, which were sent back to the ground and turned into news within a few minutes.

Then Big Shot disseminated the news through the Huayin Meeting’s member countries, especially to those with spacefaring technology, asking them pointedly:

"What? How did you know we’re rescuing America’s lunar astronauts who crash-landed? (bushi)"

It was afternoon to evening in Europe and America, so the news spread to every corner in less than half an hour.

When John saw that high-altitude photo, the Aerospace Development Committee immediately released a close-up night vision photo taken by 14. The near-total destruction of the "Blue Moon" and the lone astronaut sitting on its top was truly heart-wrenching and sorrowful to all who saw.

Even Houston, which had almost given up hope, only discovered the current state of "Little Bird" from the news, and Claire immediately called the Presidential Palace, asking for a video link with the Qiongzhou Command Center.

A disheveled Claire appeared on the command center’s screen, startling Lin Ju, whose sunken eyes now made him resemble the blue-eyed demons of ancient lore.

As Academician She calmly stated that they had received the distress signal more than three hours ago, Claire’s expression was clearly not calm. However, she had to restrain herself from reacting and continued to express gratitude:

"Thank you for your selfless help... I hope you can share the video feed with us. Our space experts are more familiar with them and can offer rescue suggestions."

Academician She and Lin Ju exchanged glances. That was a bit problematic; they would definitely need 14 during the rescue, but they weren’t ready to reveal it yet.

"This... I’m sorry, but our video transmission has limited bandwidth and involves some confidential equipment, I’m afraid we cannot share the video."

"However, we can send over some pictures periodically, and you can transfer the blueprints and technical data of the lander and spacesuits to us; the effect would be the same."

Not offering video yet still asking for technical data, even Lin Ju couldn’t help but give Academician She a thumbs up for his thick skin. When it comes to fleecing someone, nobody does it quite like one of our own.

Claire probably didn’t expect such a response and could only brace herself and say:

"NACA does not engage in military competition and is solely dedicated to the cause of human space exploration. We assure you that we will not reveal any secrets, and besides, you will not be able to fully understand those blueprints in a short time. Please let us participate in the rescue operation; Congress will surely offer a reward that will be absolutely satisfactory."

"..."

"Sir She, it seems your ability to lie is not inferior to mine."

Lin Ju blinked, Claire really had the gall to say that NACA wasn’t involved in military affairs with a straight face.

But Academician She was someone who had weathered many storms, and since Claire was spouting nonsense, he retaliated in kind:

"Then I suggest your party come here with the data and aerospace experts, and you can command the rescue operation without restrictions."

Claire: "..."

Even if it’s a transoceanic flight, it still takes nearly 16 hours. By the time she gets there, it would be too late.

After several back-and-forths with Claire seeing the other party refusing to budge, Claire had no choice but to reluctantly compromise. NACA could not just stand by, waiting for Dawn III to save the day while doing nothing; that would spell the end for NACA.

In the end, NACA opened up the LRO satellite as well as the Gateway tracking and control systems to the Aerospace Development Committee and connected the landing specialists with the command center to cooperate on devising a rescue plan.

But then, Lin Ju suggested brainstorming ideas by also involving experts from the European Space Agency, Russia, and others in remote consultations. Although they could not support directly immediately, they could still offer some useful suggestions.

Even the staff at the command center could sense the malicious intent behind this suggestion, but Claire was in a bind and could not voice her struggles, while Academician She feigned ignorance and nodded in agreement.

The command center quickly allocated some non-sensitive images and data for the formation of a joint command, and notified agencies like the European Space Agency, Russia, and Abe. Within about fifteen minutes, over a hundred experts had joined the remote consultation, forming a second joint rescue command.

Prince Swetan, who had been forcibly awakened in the middle of the night, also appeared in the video conference. He tried very hard to contain his amusement, but he couldn’t help showing it.

The expressions of experts from other countries were also ambiguous; clearly, they were called not really to lend assistance but to watch NACA’s misfortune, and they were more than happy to do so.

After Claire had endured such humiliation, her superiors made a brief appearance in the video conference, giving a one-minute speech urging the Aerospace Development Committee to spare no effort in assisting NACA. They stated that with great power comes great responsibility and that the rescue by the Committee was entirely a matter of duty.

In just twenty minutes, the prestige that NACA had built over half a century had been almost completely swept away, but they still had to comply obediently. After all, Dawn III was their only hope; without it, they were hopeless.

Meanwhile, Blue Origin also received a litany of curses in her heart. As an emerging aerospace company that was nurtured alongside SpaceX, the fact that their lander experienced massive system-wide crashes and engine shutdowns was utterly unreliable. There were definitely major design flaws in "Blue Moon."

Designed and manufactured in roughly the same timeframe, why was "Full Moon" so reliable?