Chapter 92 - 89 Competition_1

Qiongzhou Ocean County military airport, three J11BS fighter jets landed in sequence on the runway, beside which sat an already activated Zhi-9 helicopter.

Deng Lei, after jumping off the back seat of the fighter jet, was nearly carried onto the helicopter by a group of people. All three of them were transferred to the aircraft within minutes, squeezing into the spacious back row.

Before their buttocks even settled, the pilot pulled the stick, lifting off and tilting the helicopter toward the launch site.

The launch management bureau personnel sitting in the co-pilot’s seat turned his shaking body and apologized:

"I’m sorry, comrades, but we have less than two hours until launch, we need to hurry over, I hope you understand."

The Qiongzhou airport just happened to have a Zhi-9, hence it was used to transport the three astronauts. The pilot was an aviation regiment commander from the Army, taking their safety with the utmost seriousness.

The three squeezed together in the back row, with Zhang Zhiguang sitting in the middle, pressing down on Deng Lei’s shoulder, his voice booming over the noise of the rotor blades.

"Logically speaking, you are not yet married. If this were the Space Agency, they wouldn’t let you go to space, especially since this mission is very dangerous.

Even though you are the only one who has piloted the actual H1, there are many in the squad who have trained on the simulator. The risk of you going up is no smaller than for the astronauts who need to be rescued."

"Big Brother Zhang, I was a soldier too, even though I’m not part of the Astronaut Corps, this is still my responsibility and mission."

Zhang Zhiguang nodded and then looked at Li Sheng:

"The two of us together are already 100 years old; I really didn’t expect to go back into battle once more."

Li Sheng: "But this time, it’s the most nervous I’ve been in many years; I’ve never encountered such an emergency situation before."

Zhang Zhiguang: "Some say that in space, the boundaries between Chinese state and ethnicity become blurred. Whether that’s true is unknown, but right now we truly are acting out of internationalism and humanitarianism, paying a heavy price and taking significant risk for three people with whom we have no interests at stake, only to ensure their safety."

A distance of 150 kilometers, under the full-speed flight of the helicopter, took only 27 minutes to arrive; at that time, there were 83 minutes left until launch.

The aircraft landed directly outside the assembly building, where the New Yuan-2, due to rapid fueling, was surrounded by wispful white fog created by the liquid oxygen, the airflow from the helicopter causing this white fog to swirl in disarray.

No sooner had the three disembarked from the aircraft than a bunch of staff were waiting to escort them at a trot to change clothing.

While being assisted into their intravehicular spacesuits, an engineer next to them explained the precautions:

"New Yuan’s new-style spacesuits have backpacks that can be detached, and are also much more flexible, so for your safety, you must wear the extravehicular spacesuits.

After catching up to the TMA-17M, Li Sheng and Zhang Zhiguang please secure your life-support backpacks. Zhang Zhiguang will exit the cabin to operate the robotic arm, with Li Sheng always on standby ready to exit the cabin. Deng Lei will communicate with the ground control and operate the spacecraft. That is your division of labor. Understand?"

All three nodded. They had known this en route, and someone would continue to instruct them after they reached space.

In a little over 20 minutes, they donned their spacesuits. And right in the changing room, personnel from the launch management bureau pinned two red flags against the wall.

"Everyone, this departure ceremony will have no reporters, no interviews, and just one minute for the oath and a photo. The hopes of everyone are on you!"

Underneath the bright red flags, the three quickly recited the oath. Wearing half-open helmets, they took a photo without smiles. Then they were surrounded and taken onto an electric cart within the facility, heading to the launch tower, preparing to ascend into space.

At this moment, a few speedy media outlets managed to take distant shots, watching as the three serious-faced astronauts squeezed into the tiny electric cart and departed.

"Engine self-check!"

"02 and 07 normal; 03 and 06 normal; 04 and 05 normal; 01 normal."

"All connectors, connection normal."

"Separator self-check normal."

"Fueling progress 92%, estimated to complete in 32 minutes."

"H1 self-check completed, awaiting the chief’s re-inspection!"

"..."

At the launch control center, it was still a scene of organized chaos. Everyone was anxious but knew they could not afford to rush.

If Unity experienced another mishap, there truly would be no other shuttle to carry out the rescue.

A few kilometers away from the launch site, thousands had already gathered on the beaches often used for watching launches, watching the unexpected launch operation in surprise.

"There wasn’t supposed to be a rocket launch recently, why is there no announcement whatsoever?"

"Just this morning I saw them haul out the rocket, we should have known at least a week in advance, right?"

"Don’t you all follow the news? Russia had a spacecraft disaster, astronauts are waiting for their death, and this shuttle is surely heading out for a rescue mission!"

"Ah?"

...

It was now 11:35 am on August 2, with 47 minutes remaining until the scheduled launch time. The morning news and major media outlets had already spread the story of the TMA-17M disaster, and many people were aware of what had happened.

Baikonur hadn’t released any images or audiovisual material regarding the Union TMA-17M, only making a statement that "the three astronauts are in good health and active rescue efforts are being implemented."

National space agencies had no inclination to release any statements for the time being, and even if they did, they would wait until after the rescue mission was over, to avoid attacks.

However, the official social media accounts of the space agency and New Yuan Aeronautics only posted a few photos and a brief video clip showing three astronauts hastily taking an oath under a flag, then almost jogging to an informal electric car heading toward the New Yuan-2 amidst billowing white smoke in the distance.

Factory Manager Lin had released a brief message:

"In space, we have only one identity—as humans. New Yuan Aeronautics has both the responsibility and the obligation to carry out rescues for any human in space in danger. This rescue is gratuitous, no organization needs to pay any fee, it’s purely out of the moral standards for humanity in space."

Lin Ju, who had been coordinating all parties and was too busy to even spare a moment, had found that Ma had even gone as far as to post over a dozen tweets. He couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

For now, his goal was not only to successfully carry out the rescue mission but also to break the blockade and join the tasks of the ISS International Space Station.

The TMA-17M was a space disaster, but also a huge opportunity, which both Lin Ju and Ma Yilong recognized.

After this rescue mission, ISS would be forced to tear open a gap, allowing the rescuer to start handling ISS launch tasks under the guise of space safety.

As a joint project of over a dozen countries forming the International Space Station and collaborating with many nations, getting involved would mean just the task of transporting humans and cargo would be enough to sustain several smaller space companies.

Otherwise, one might really think Lin Ju and Ma Yilong were bursting with humanitarian spirit and had more money than they knew where to spend...

In the original timeline, Ma Yilong’s Dragon Spaceship only progressed to the second generation and carried out numerous cargo missions before being allowed to transport humans, without even replacing Russia’s Alliance Spaceship for crewed missions to the ISS.

As the world’s two foremost commercial space companies, Sky Fork and New Yuan were in the competition.

Both were vying, and whoever managed to rescue the astronauts first would gain notoriety and possibly a slice of the ISS pie.

However, judging from the progress of Ma Yilong’s Falcon 9 still not erected, Unity+1 scored a point.