Chapter 478 - 469: Resumption of Flight _1

"No response to the shortwave call."

"The detection radar has no target signal."

"Attempt to establish communication failed, code E9"

"..."

After working for 130 hours, Morning Star No. 1 finally lost contact.

Actually, there had been many signs of trouble before the loss of contact. This hastily manufactured lander had already far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

The initial landing site for Morning Star No. 1 was a highland next to a low volcano, which had been selected by the detectors due to its relatively flat terrain.

The soil here was newer and softer, not of much significance for exploration, so Lin Ju asked to use most of the remaining fuel to take off again and continue the detection at a different location.

After 15 minutes of discussion, the base designated the plain about 2 kilometers away on the other side of the volcano as the new landing site and planned a route that would pass over the volcano. Although it had not erupted, all signs indicated it was an active volcano, which was evident from the differently colored soil seen in the photos.

The specially designed toxic agent in Morning Star No. 1 did not disappoint and was successfully activated. It flew over the volcano, took an extremely clear photo from a close distance, and successfully landed at the edge of a swamp within the designated area.

The ground team had assumed that the highly corrosive swamp would quickly destroy the lander’s air shield, but it held out for nearly six days before being completely destroyed. During that time, it collected a wealth of data that far exceeded the sum of all past information.

In the end, the fate of Morning Star No. 1 was to tip over and slowly sink. The acidic liquid in the swamp penetrated its structure and damaged the weakest parts. The electrical pipelines were gradually destroyed, and it eventually lost all contact.

But this was already more than enough. As a fixed soft-landing detector, Morning Star No. 1’s detection capability was limited, and lasting 130 hours had set a new record, offering value beyond imagination.

The only disappointment was that the sulfur-based microorganisms, long speculated about by the scientific community, were nowhere to be seen. However, the variety of organic matter was rich, and there was still a probability that life existed.

Shen Zuozhou reluctantly put down the headphones, having accompanied the Morning Star No. 1 as it created miracles over the past few days. This was definitely a time worth recording in his professional career.

Xiao Okada came over and patted his shoulder:

"Exciting, wasn’t it? Next time, we’ll send up a rover and launch the first Venus Rover that can survive there long-term."

Part of Morning Star No. 1’s payload was used to assess the destructive power of the ground environment; Xiao Okada’s feeling was... not bad.

The corrosive substances in the air were somewhat resistible, and the main issue still lay with the high temperatures. However, materials that could withstand over 400 degrees were not rare, and insulation measures were not complicated. The next goal would definitely be to send a little car up there for a drive.

"Let me calculate... Mid-November next year should be another window period, right? Old Xiao, I think we can’t use a wheeled or track structure, the large contact area corrodes too quickly."

"That’s true. When the time comes, we will definitely cooperate again and send up a 3-ton nuclear-powered rover to work for at least a year."

"When will we be able to land on Venus..."

"Venus? I think to migrate there we’d need to build a giant airship. Heights of 50 to 65 kilometers are still suitable for living, but that’s about it. There’s no significant meaning to it, and Venus lacks large valuable mines."

Upon hearing about ores, Shen Zuozhou suddenly thought of the lunar mining plan that had been heavily publicized nationwide in recent days, and then he remembered the newly manufactured "Pioneer I" Passive Exoskeleton Spacesuit at the base.

To enhance the astronauts’ mobility, the base sped up the production of "Pioneer I". It used external hard passive exoskeleton armor to effectively control the expansion of the spacesuit. When worn, it not only offered strong protection and improved load-carrying ability but most importantly, allowed the wearer to move freely, not like being in slow-motion, reducing the efficiency of movement.

That thing was way cooler to wear, just like in the sci-fi movies. There were even two suits in the base cafeteria for the staff to try on and provide improvement feedback.

Thinking of this, Shen Zuozhou pulled Xiao Okada to go to the cafeteria, where the area around the Pioneer I had already drawn quite a crowd.

Xiao Okada squinted his eyes and saw a familiar person:

Guo Fan was contentedly squeezing the exoskeleton of the Pioneer I and saying to Wu Jing beside him,

"The props department made that one too ostentatious. Just model it after this one, whether it’s the color scheme or the design, this one really is good. What do you think?"

Wu Jing, "Director Guo, we don’t necessarily have to go to the Moon. If we do, we won’t catch the Spring Festival release, and the movie is already very long as it is."

Guo Fan, "Alright, but I think we could shoot The Wandering Earth 2 on the Moon. After the Spring Festival release, let’s try to make it happen. What if it works out?"

Wu Jing, "Then you might as well speak to United Mining, have them hire the film crew to shoot a commercial on the Moon, and then we can sneak in some movie footage on the side."

Guo Fan, "That really is a brilliant idea."

Wu Jing, "..."

...

July 27, Florida.

The last launch pad, battered by the tail flames of 33 engines and exposed steel rebar in the concrete, had been repaired and was now covered with steel plates and designed with drainage channels.

The super-heavy booster designated B7 and the Starship SN17 had been assembled and were undergoing fueling.

Wayne from The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was also present, and he and Musk had both chosen to watch the launch test outdoors.

"Do you think this one will be successful?"

Musk shook his head and chose to speak the truth,

"We’ve almost completely overhauled the redundancy control system for the first stage. Last time’s launch actually showed that the issue with multiple engines working in tandem wasn’t too serious; it was mainly due to SpaceX’s lack of experience with launching super-heavy rockets.

But we couldn’t fully test all the systems of the second-stage Starship spacecraft in the last launch, and we still can’t identify the problem for now."

Wayne, "If the standard version of the Starship doesn’t launch successfully, DARPA won’t invest in a nuclear-powered version of the Starship."

Musk, "What I’m more concerned about is whether you can deliver a reliable nuclear engine before the Starship succeeds. If a nuclear explosion occurs here, I’m afraid the FAA won’t issue us a license again for a whole year."

Wayne, "..."

There was a reason Musk said this; after the Artemis II mission met with failure, Congress expressed distrust in all of NACA’s projects.

After organizing an investigation team for the Artemis II mission, all space-related plans established last year underwent another round of project reliability certification. It turned out that the JFT nuclear propulsion plan in Nevada posed extremely high risks.

The Pentagon hired a panel of experts consisting of university professors, who after evaluation, were not optimistic about Dr. Freeman’s A105 engine being ready within the year. At best, they could produce a barely functional prototype, far from reliable.

Therefore, the Endeavour’s return to space was also temporarily suspended. The NERVA A105 must go through a rigorous verification process by the Pentagon’s review panel before it could undertake a launch mission.

So, the nuclear-powered Starship is struggling both in its front and back sections, and it’s really uncertain which will be resolved first.