Chapter 88 - 85 Space Debris_1

"Is it the A100 Nuclear Thermal Engine? That one doesn’t need plutonium, does it?"

"Yes, and there’s another project."

Lin Ju, accompanied by the Big Shot, entered the small room where the engineers were meeting, and Guo Shen and Androff were inside.

They gave the Big Shot a detailed introduction to the NAPE engine "currently under development". The Big Shot listened silently for half an hour, then picked up the "design parameters" to inspect them carefully.

After a long while, he finally said in a low voice:

"Nuclear thermal-ionization-gas dynamic spike, integrating three modes of operation into one engine, it’s no wonder you dare to offer such astonishing specifications, and you even plan to apply a sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor, which is at the cutting edge internationally."

The Big Shot was also from a background in aerospace engines and was not unfamiliar with these concepts.

If NAPE could actually be built, it would undoubtedly be hailed as a revolutionary engine in the history of aerospace.

High specific impulse, clean propellant, and respectable thrust—it truly would be the ideal power source for near-Earth round trips in the future.

"Can I know why you are so keen on pursuing nuclear propulsion engines? New Yuan is just a commercial company, and NAPE is too advanced for you. You’re not planning on going public, and you won’t even recover your investment," he asked.

Lin Ju knew that the Big Shot was somewhat loosening up and immediately gave the prepared argument:

"As the Aerospace Propulsion Company, we are very aware that traditional engines cannot enter the aerospace era. In space, specific impulse is everything, and as long as there’s thrust, one can reach anywhere.

Traditional chemical rocket engines can’t even surpass 500 seconds of specific impulse, but 3200 seconds is just the start for NAPE. Once NAPE matures, it will sweep all chemical engines into the trash heap. Investing energy in traditional technology would be a huge mistake; the A100 even more so. If it were a chemical engine, the fuel for a round trip to Mars would be ten times that of 50 tons.

Moreover, in the long term, nuclear power is much more cost-effective than traditional chemical power, and the more advanced the technology, the lower the operational costs are."

Even as Lin Ju finished, Guo Shen and Androff continued to discuss the necessity of advancing aerospace power technology, covering everything from material transport to interstellar travel. Their logic was cohesive, making traditional rockets seem obsolete, as if they shouldn’t even exist in the world anymore.

Bowl after bowl of ’chicken soup’ was poured down, and even the Big Shot had to accept the forward-thinking views of the people before him.

"Alright, we can provide the raw materials, but the research site must be independent and strictly managed. Besides, you have no foundation in nuclear research. Where does the confidence to start from scratch come from?" he inquired.

Lin Ju replied, "I’ve already contacted some overseas Chinese, including experts in this field."

The Big Shot thought of how Lin Ju had built his fortune relying on overseas friends, and he accepted this explanation.

"Hmm... we still have plenty of excellent talents abroad. Since that is the case, I will submit a proposal. I promise that within a month, you’ll have a definite answer.

However, in the meantime, you might need to endure some hardship, as there are some issues that you need to explain yourselves, to persuade some people."

...

August 2, 7 AM Capital time, Kazakhstan, Baikonur Cosmodrome.

An Union TMA-17M spaceship pointed towards the sky, carrying three astronauts from Russia, the Island Country, and America; they were set to be sent to the International Space Station.

This was the second manned launch mission to the International Space Station for the year. It was originally scheduled for launch on July 23, but due to the Progress spacecraft drifting in the same orbit as the International Space Station, Russia decided to postpone it, so there wouldn’t be any heat missing.

The Alliance Spaceship was developed after the Union Spacecraft "Vostok" that sent Gagarin into space, with its first launch in 1967. It has been modified multiple times and later became the main transportation for crew to the International Space Station. Having developed four generations and launched over a hundred spacecraft, it is absolutely a workhorse.

American astronaut Lindgren was lying in the cramped cabin and said to the Russian Oleg beside him:

"Despite the ISS being the most advanced space station in the world, we still have to squeeze into the Union spacecraft designed in the 60s. That’s not cool at all!"

Oleg: "You Americans always reminisce about the space shuttle, but everyone knows stability is most important. Do you dare to ride on that Ma Yilong’s Dragon Spaceship?"

Lindgren: "Why not? Don’t Chinese people fly the H1 with astronauts aboard? That’s what I call space travel, not sitting in a stuffy can."

Their meaningless argument didn’t last long because the rocket had already entered the launch sequence, and they would have no energy to talk when it came time to resist the G-forces.

The people at the launch center were very relaxed; after all, the Union Spaceship had been used countless times and its reliability was beyond doubt. They just needed to proceed as usual.

A few seconds later, accompanied by a blaze of fire from the Union, the TMA-17M carried three astronauts toward low-Earth orbit.

There, it would rendezvous with the ISS, catching up to dock—in all, a process that would take about six hours.

Oleg was an experienced astronaut, having been to space in 2008, and was very familiar with the Union Spaceship.

Once the spacecraft crossed the atmosphere, he teased Lindgren, the rookie, while cherishing the magnificent splendor of space.

The spaceship was still accelerating, and there would be one more boost once it entered orbit. After that, he would work inside the ISS for a long time.

As Oleg considered his upcoming tasks, he suddenly felt a slight vibration in the spaceship, followed by a sensation as if the rear was gently swaying like a tail.

He asked ground control for confirmation and was told everything was normal.

But Oleg’s heart did not settle down because of this; he tried his best to lean towards the window to check the outside:

A piece of debris had flown by from an unseen place in a flash, disappearing into the darkness.

He turned his headset back on: "This is Konoenko; it seems the Union has been hit by space debris. The service module may have been compromised."

Oleg stated the worst-case scenario directly, but he remained calm. This composure was one of the reasons he was able to travel to space repeatedly.

At this moment, Lindgren and the astronaut from the Island Country, Keimei Arii, also heard the conversation, but were at a loss for words for a moment.

"Oleg, do you confirm that the service module has been hit?"

"I think besides parts of the spacecraft, nothing else would fly by my view repeatedly."

It was more than just fragments; Oleg clearly saw a large piece of the service module’s hull fly off!

Baikonur Cosmodrome could hardly believe such a turn of events and hurried to confirm the spacecraft’s status. At this time, Lindgren also spoke up:

"Hey, the fire alarm in the service module is ringing. There seems to be quite a lot of fuel in there."

"Are we going to die?"

"Mr. Keimei, at least it seems we may not reach low-Earth orbit,"

Oleg murmured because the thrust from behind, instead of remaining steady, had begun to veer off.

The Union Spaceship’s center of gravity had been altered. The best-case scenario was an orbit deviation; the worst was a catastrophic breakup!

In just a few short tens of seconds, Baikonur was in chaos, with people bustling about. The head of the launch center was summarizing information at top speed and had basically confirmed:

The Union had been struck by space debris, and at this time it was not yet in orbit. The service module had caught fire, and TMA-17M was confirmed to be unable to reach orbit.