Chapter 91 - 88 Selection_1

When Lin Ju learned of the TMA-17M accident, he was at the airport preparing to fly to the Capital.

NAPE, due to its sensitivity and the fact that it was extremely advanced, went straight to the leadership, and in the end, the principle was agreed upon.

However, given the involvement of advanced nuclear technology, the NAPE research location needed to be independently established, and the entire process for the transportation, use, and disposal of key nuclear materials had to be meticulously negotiated with the designated China Power Investment Corporation.

But with the TMA-17M incident, Lin Ju changed his course to Qiongzhou, taking a direct Il-76 flight with a special air force-approved route, taking off within 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, at the Astronaut Training Center in the Capital, Captain Li called all the astronauts in training, as well as the present Deng Lei, to a meeting with a solemn expression.

After briefly reporting the TMA-17M accident, he got straight to the point:

"Now, according to the plan jointly formulated by the countries, two to three astronauts are needed to pilot the Unity on a rescue mission. The pilot will be Deng Lei, and we need one or two more crew members. The helicopter will arrive in 15 minutes—who wants to go on the mission?"

Who wants to go? Of course, everyone does!

One or two crew members? That means two.

Apart from Deng Lei who was ’appointed’ for his unique real aircraft piloting experience with the H1, the other candidates, since they were to perform a rescue mission, could only be professional astronauts, so it was clear the choice had to be made from within the corps.

More than twenty astronauts, those who had been to space and those who hadn’t, all raised their hands and clamored to let themselves go.

Even Captain Li felt troubled, as he had informed his superiors that he was qualified to go, having been the deputy commander of H1, having hundreds of hours experience in a simulator, and having been to space. His physical condition also allowed for another trip, but the higher-ups just wouldn’t agree.

Looking again at the enthusiastic team members, he said:

"This is not a game, but possibly the most dangerous mission in the history of spaceflight. Have you all thought this through?"

He asked loudly, but not a single person backed down, and a man with a square face stepped forward.

It was Zhang Zhiguang, and as he stepped up, everyone made way for him.

Zhang Zhiguang looked around at everyone and sincerely said to Captain Li:

"Let me go. I’m the only one with spacewalk experience, and no matter what, it’s my undeniable responsibility."

Captain Li wanted to say something, but he nodded instead, "Old Zhang is one."

Then another figure approached Zhang Zhiguang, it was Li Sheng.

"I’m going too. It’s too dangerous for comrades without space experience. It’s better to have more hands on deck."

Others wanted to continue speaking, but Captain Li couldn’t wait any longer. After gesturing for silence, he stepped forward and patted both men on the shoulder before pulling Deng Lei over as well.

"It’s you guys. Whether you complete the mission or not, remember to come back alive!"

Five minutes later, the corps’ astronauts watched as the three men climbed into the helicopter hovering a meter above the ground and quickly vanished from their sight.

...

Since the incident occurred in the morning, and the mobile internet was not yet fully thriving, information spread slowly, so the general public was not aware of the harrowing danger unfolding in space—only a very small number of people had the leisure to discuss it.

However, the aerospace community in Qiongzhou and around the world was working non-stop, hoping to increase the success rate by all possible means.

NACA suggested that they had an astronaut with extensive spacewalking experience on vacation in the Island Country, who could arrive in Qiongzhou within three hours to participate in the rescue mission.

The Aerospace Agency declined on the grounds that the astronaut’s departure from training was unprofessional and stated that a Chinese astronaut with spacewalk experience was about to fly to Qiongzhou. Moreover, it was explained that the extravehicular space suits were not suitable, and it would be better to handle the situation ourselves.

There are currently four extravehicular space suits in China, one is the "Feitian" space suit reserved as backup, which was the one used during the first spacewalk, followed by three custom-made extravehicular space suits by New Yuan.

After a brief discussion, the Aerospace Agency and New Yuan engineers both agreed that it would be best to use the three new extravehicular space suits, and size would not be a problem. The three professional astronauts all came from pilot backgrounds, and their heights were within a similar range, suitable for the suits.

To save time, the four astronauts did not take a commercial flight, as it would take four hours just to fly from the Capital to Qiongzhou, which would be too time-consuming.

The Air Force specially approved three twin-seater J11BS fighters, allowing the astronauts to sit in the back seat, which could save more than half of the travel time.

Preparation materials from all parties were converging towards Qiongzhou, and Lin Ju was also holding meetings with system engineers on the plane.

Androff drew diagrams on the floor of the cabin, while Guo Shen marked the parameters bit by bit according to the data provided by Baikonur. After more than an hour of flight, they finally came up with what they believed to be the most feasible plan.

"We launch at 12:22 P.M., just in time to catch up with TMA-17M, then approach it. The astronaut will exit the capsule, operate the robotic arm to hook onto the Alliance Spaceship, freeing it from its spin. Next, we’ll have the three astronauts climb along the robotic arm into the spaceship, taking the three remaining seats.

The entire process will not take more than 90 minutes. It will be executed at the point closest to low Earth orbit, where there is ample time, and the trajectory is stable. Moreover, the second stage of the New Yuan-2 rocket has plenty of excess fuel, allowing for constant adjustments."

Guo Shen roughly outlined the mission procedure, which was generally in line with what had been discussed with the experts from various countries—it was the best solution under the current circumstances.

Androff: "The most time-consuming parts are approaching TMA-17M and adjusting the orbit to fly in formation, as well as the transfer of the astronauts. These two aspects are the most time-consuming and dangerous. Furthermore, we must consider the possibility that the hatch of the Alliance Spaceship’s return module may be jammed, requiring the use of the robotic arm for forcible disassembly."

Guo Shen: "No matter what, we cannot let them re-enter Earth’s atmosphere inside TMA-17M. The return module is no longer usable."

Lin Ju fully trusted his system engineers’ judgment and immediately used the military plane’s satellite communication antenna to connect directly with Baikonur, discussing their plan in full detail.

This was the first time that aerospace agencies from various countries were directly dealing with the head and chief designer of New Yuan Aeronautics. They showed great respect and also basically agreed with the plan.

Approaching TMA-17M could be precisely controlled by the satellite-ground monitoring systems of various countries. The main issue was still the transfer of the astronauts.

The three astronauts inside the Alliance Spaceship were all wearing intravehicular space suits, suitable for short-duration extravehicular activities, but time was very short. The longer they stayed out, the more dangerous it became, especially since two of them had no spacewalking experience.

But at this moment, aboard the TMA-17M, which maintained contact with the ground, the once desperate mood was quickly dissipating with the imminent launch of Unity.

After listening to the entire rescue plan, Oleg Kononenko immediately expressed his capability:

"Please rest assured, China’s Davarish. We will fully cooperate with the rescue efforts. I have been to space seven years ago; I know how things work outside the capsule. I’ll take care of Lindgren and Keimei Arii; I promise we won’t cause any trouble for you."

Lindgren, who seemed like a survivor of a catastrophe, patted his heavy-duty spacesuit with a pounding heart:

"I knew it; I just knew that the space shuttle is always the most reliable. Damn those short-sighted senators. Even if Endeavour and Atlantis Number had one on standby, it could easily fit our entire spaceship inside to bring us back to Earth!

And you, Arii, stop singing that damn Meiji Restoration song. If the Chinese People hear it, they might just throw you out of space."