Chapter 741 - 714 Encoding

"Reporting to command center, I have finished preparations for detonation; all personnel have been transferred to the safety zone and are ready to act at any moment!"

"Continue to stand by, execute as planned!"

"Yes!"

Deng Lei turned off the communication and continued to wait vigilantly at the control console.

Like the last time, except for the two astronauts who stayed behind at Yushu Base, all members above the lunar orbit donned their spacesuits as a precaution against unforeseen events.

It was known that the total yield of this explosion would exceed 80 million tons, the largest single detonation in human history, and 60% greater than the Big Ivan.

According to ground-based calculations, the intense electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generated by such a yield would last for more than 40 minutes, possibly up to an hour. Many detectors whose defensive measures were not stringent enough might be damaged, and all communication with the Moon would be severed after the explosion.

It was fortunate that the explosion was on the far side of the Moon; otherwise, even Earth’s orbit might have been somewhat affected.

The danger to the astronauts carrying out this mission also greatly increased. The duration of the strong electromagnetic interference was too long. Even if the space station complex was on the opposite side of the explosion, the aftereffects of the EMP would still be intense by the time it orbited to the explosion site.

Deng Lei, however, had enough confidence in the massive space station complex. The operation mass of the Black Rabbit Space Station now exceeded 200 tons, not including Chapter 9.

Even if the space station lost power, the stored materials and emergency equipment could support them for half a month, certainly long enough to hold out until rescue arrived.

As for Artemis VI, which also took part in this mission, NACA never intended to let them take such a risk; they had embarked on their return journey the day before.

Whether it was the Gateway space station or the Orion spacecraft, their protective capabilities were actually almost up to standard. The main issue was their inability to provide sufficient emergency survival resources for the astronauts, and NACA was too proud to cram into the Black Rabbit Space Station.

There was still 1 hour left before the scheduled detonation time, and the space station was still orbiting on the side of the explosion, with a clear view of the designated blasting site.

Senator Bill monopolized the observation spot by the porthole, closely observing the mining zone through the smart telescope’s tracking function.

The Black Rabbit Space Station orbited at an altitude of only a few dozen kilometers, which allowed a clear view through the telescope of the large crater left by the previous explosion.

Even though astronauts had traveled all over the blast area, causing destruction, it was still a perfect circle in the camera’s lens.

As a typical hawkish senator, Bill’s initial involvement in the Skylight project was to find loopholes in United Mining’s plans or to create trouble.

However, after half a year of interaction, he had developed good personal relationships with the others, often joining in common complaints about the Federal Government, so much so that Bill wondered if his positions would be questioned upon his return.

Fortunately, he was now over seventy and had no plans to run for election, so he was quite satisfied with the current situation.

"Matthew, I think we can give NACA a definitive answer now."

Bill also had his own mission. After the first test explosion, NACA developed the idea of using the perfect parabolic crater created by a nuclear detonation as the basis to construct a space radio telescope.

However, they still had concerns about radiation residue and the effects of the explosion, so they requested the Skylight IV members to inspect and now it was about time to give an answer.

Matthew and Bill had already been to the lunar surface multiple times to collect and analyze various samples, all of which met NACA’s requirements.

Matthew: "I have already written the report; America will also need its own nuclear crater on the Moon."

"NACA wants a big one with a diameter of 3 kilometers, and it’s going to take a ten-million-ton yield."

French nuclear expert Rosenberg interjected. He was the most active among the international group of experts, always researching some strange things. Besides the initial nuclear bombings to reshape terrain, he had recently been working on creating underground cities with underground explosions.

"Mr. Rosenberg, is France preparing to start a nuclear blasting company?"

Bill teased, referring to France’s keen interest in the United Mining plans and the rumors that France was planning to become a long-term supplier, selling nuclear bombs for massive construction projects on the Moon.

"That’s not necessarily the case, we may produce hydrogen bombs on the Moon in the future."

"Everyone, please be aware that we have now entered the front side of the Moon!"

Deng Lei’s reminder immediately quieted down Bill and the others, who hurriedly found their places to brace themselves.

Matthew and Rosenberg, however, moved closer, joining a few others huddled around the control console in front of Deng Lei.

This was humanity’s first time detonating multiple hydrogen bombs simultaneously, and they were all megaton-level devices, which required strict timing for the detonation.

Remote activation from Earth might risk delay discrepancies, so the method adopted on the ground was traditional timers, pre-calibrated with atomic clocks, to detonate at a predetermined time simultaneously.

The countdown was only 15 minutes. The bombs received the signal to activate from satellites 30 minutes before the explosion, and then the clocks were confirmed to be timing correctly and all bombs were activated.

This time, the activation command involved input from five parties, each entering a specific code that was memorized by someone dispatched to space before issuing the command.

"It’s coming!"

Thirty minutes before the explosion, the built-in program in the notebook connected to the console activated, automatically popping up five boxes, each beside its respective national flag.

Zhou Jie unhesitatingly pressed the keyboard first, and everyone saw the code he entered: LHLH180712.

Simple and clear, Deng Lei immediately understood its meaning in his mind.

Subsequently, the other four stepped forward one by one, each under the focused gaze as they entered their codes.

"Giant Man"

"Tulips"

"1799LF"

"SusanMuickSandy"

When Jamie, the UK nuclear expert, finally finished, Rosenberg couldn’t resist commenting,

"Last time you used the names of robbers, now you’re actually using the names of the Queen’s three corgis?"

Jamie couldn’t bother with him, just muttering "hick" under his breath.

After the five codes were entered, the window disappeared, and a signal was sent from the space station to the satellite, which then transmitted the signal to the mining area.

A minute later, several notifications popped up on the notebook screen.

"All units activated, clocks calibrated, explosion points confirmed... all set!"

The countdown started ticking on the screen. Deng Lei subconsciously touched his helmet connection, took a deep breath, and gently grasped the nearest interior handrail.

For the next ten minutes, all non-essential functions on the space station were shut down, retaining only basic life support, with emergency systems on standby.

Approaching the last 10 minutes before the explosion, the cabin’s yellow warning lights began to flash, with a piercing alarm sounding in their earphones.

Deng Lei stared at the ever-jumping countdown numbers, feeling as if they accelerated progressively until finally coming to an abrupt halt.

He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but when the numbers hit zero, he felt a tingling sensation throughout his body, though the world outside the porthole showed no change.

The "static" noise in the earphones that was originally continuous had a moment of sudden increase, followed immediately by an automatic cut-off by the communication system, leading to utter silence.