Chapter 85 - 82 Settlement_1

No helicopters relentlessly tracking, no rescue teams speeding across the plains in all-terrain vehicles, the Progress simply landed on the runway in an unassuming manner.

But as soon as it touched the ground and began to slide, seven or eight vehicles started up and followed it until, when the Progress came to a stop, they immediately surrounded it.

A ground crew member, wearing a gray work cap, first used a key to open the small window on the side hatch, then grabbed the handle inside and forcefully pulled it down.

The side hatch opened smoothly with the help of the electric motor, first pushing out a bit, and only after the pressurized airflow from inside was released through the gap did it slide open.

Rushing in, they didn’t encounter any of the emergency situations often seen in drills, only three astronauts breathing the fresh air flowing in from the hatch, their face masks open.

Deng Lei’s safety belt had been unbuckled, but he refused any support, pushing himself up from the chair and carefully holding onto the shoulders of those around him as he walked out.

Outsider, within the strictly controlled press cameras, they saw the first astronaut who, after landing, held onto the hatch and cautiously stepped down from the spacecraft.

Deng Lei’s ears were suddenly surrounded by various noises, but that was unimportant; he now had a bowl of steaming egg noodles, deeply inhaling the tempting aroma and slurping up the noodles hungrily.

In photos snapped by the reporters, an astronaut resembling a great bear in a space suit was seen cradling a bowl of noodles, shoveling it into the open face mask.

...

Four hours after the safe landing of Progress, the American Congress convened a hearing.

NACA’s current Director Claire was holding a photo larger than his head of Deng Lei eating noodles, pointing and vigorously tapping on the image of Progress.

"We are falling behind, we are falling behind! NACA has never faced such a severe challenge. This is just like Gagarin gaining the advantage by going into space before us. If we do not catch up soon, America will forever be behind in space!"

Director Claire’s voice was hoarse, as if the light of democracy was beginning to dim, and the evil Eastern counterparts were on the verge of dominating space.

NACA came to Congress for one thing: to restart the space shuttle program and to inject an additional 30 billion US Dollars into the Artemis Moon return project.

Claire discussed the importance of the space shuttle in several areas, such as the maintenance of the ISS (International Space Station), the transportation of large spacecraft, and the rapid manned round-trip transport.

However, what he wanted was not to drag the retired Atlantis spacecraft back into service, but to start a new project:

"It’s not half a century ago anymore. Many of the existing technologies are far more mature than they were back then. NACA only needs one-fifth of the former budget to restart a new space shuttle research program and the cost would only be one-tenth of the past!"

Some Congressmen were indifferent, others seemed to be having difficulty breathing as if their collars were being yanked, but Claire’s performance was having an effect.

Then he pulled out a "100:1 scale youth and adult toy model of the New Yuan-2 CBC Rocket model landing on the Moon, the Trebor," comparing it to the Saturn V by holding the New Yuan-2A model from the New Yuan PPT, which doubled up Core Stage One rockets side by side, in his hand:

"The X2 can launch twice a month, so the X2A can launch three times every two months! It only takes them a little over two months to send the lunar spacecraft to the Moon, while the SLS rocket can only launch once a year, which is an intolerable lag!

Gentlemen, look at this, this is the result of our budget cuts over the years! A private company has already surpassed NACA, which once sent men to the Moon!"

"Mr. Claire, we are not ignorant about space travel; going to the Moon requires a lot of preparation,"

things like spacecraft and landing modules which they do not have."

Facing the congressman’s rebuttal, Claire’s expression remained unchanged:

"China has already sent people into space and can develop these in just over a year,"

"they are much stronger than the Union. NACA should have aimed for a Moon landing in 2018, not 2020..."

Claire fought valiantly, clashing with the congressmen all day, and the results of the battle were gratifying.

Although NASA and the military have always liked to exaggerate their opponents to secure budgets, the launch of New Yuan-2 was something the Congressmen could see for themselves and they realized that without additional funds, it was really not going to work.

The revival of the space shuttle program was approved, but the first budget was only 1.5 billion US dollars, - "Let’s do some research first, the landlord’s house also has no surplus grain."

The Artemis program to return to the Moon had indeed been dragging on before, but now it seemed it couldn’t be delayed any longer, because New Yuan-2A could really land on the Moon!

In the end, Claire secured an additional 5 billion US dollars for the next fiscal year, but with the requirement to accelerate the development of the Orion spacecraft, to complete the first unmanned lunar orbit in 2016, and to land humans on the Moon by the end of 2018.

Of course, whether things would really go as they wished in the end remained unknown.

...

While most people were welcoming the trio home, jubilantly reporting China’s first private manned spaceflight journey, Lin Ju was hiding in his room, waiting for the system task settlement.

[Task: Send at least five astronauts or two astronauts and 3,600 kilograms of scientific payload into low Earth orbit and safely return, complete a rocket recovery experiment.]

Status: Completed (Three astronauts (two payload specialists) and 4,197 kilograms of scientific payload sent to low Earth orbit for 72 hours and safely returned, completing 19 rocket recovery experiments)

Cumulative mission gain calculated according to influence diffusion and parts completed beyond requirements: 168%.

Congratulations, you have successfully and excellently completed the system task, you now have the capability to develop an engine with peak performance of the chemical energy era, reward upgraded to: 1997-style hybrid aerodynamic engine technology blueprints, technical data, and production process.

[97-style hybrid propulsion engine (NPAE Nuclear fission Plasma Aerospike Engine): Developed in the 97th year of the founding of China by the space agency, the ultimate jet engine, based on a combined nuclear thermal-electric-ion-plasma-aerospike propulsion method, designed for use from atmospheric takeoff to low Earth orbit, manufactured with terrestrial planets in mind.

The engine uses methane as fuel, with the nuclear reactor providing heat expansion, which is then ionized into plasma by high temperature and expelled through the aerospike nozzle at the tail end, capable of stable thrust output under various atmospheric pressures from the ground to vacuum, making it an ideal power source for landers, and since it does not come into contact with fissile materials, radiation is minimal and can take off directly within the atmosphere.

Reactor power: 1150MW, specific impulse 3200 seconds, thrust 18 tons, weight 3.6 tons.

Note: This engine production process is extremely complex, a large amount of technology requires time to translate into results, please apply with caution.]

[New mission released: You now have the capability to send humans into space, please continue to work hard, within 48 months, carry out manned exploration of Earth’s satellite, the Moon, and establish a base that can accommodate two people.]

Hint: NPAE seems well suited for this mission, it’s complex, but it will be very helpful later on, overcome the difficulties in production, it will not disappoint you.

Note: Upon evaluation, the host no longer qualifies for the assistance sequence.]