Chapter 199 - Chapter 199: High Orbit Test
Chapter 199: High Orbit Test
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After Tang Rui returned home for a shower, he headed to the office area in search of Lin Chao. To his surprise, Lin Chao was nowhere to be found.
Where had he disappeared to?
“Red Lotus, where is Lin Chao?” Tang Rui inquired, knowing that the Al monitored the entire office area.
“Master, Lin Chao is currently on the launch well cover,” Red Lotus reported, projecting the live video feed for Tang Rui.
Tang Rui sucked in a breath at the sight of Lin Chao sitting cross-legged on the launch well cover, a picture of concentration.
He was dumbfounded.
What was this all about?
He switched off the projection and approached the launch well.
“Lin, what’s the idea here?” he asked, bewildered.
“Just pondering some issues,” Lin Chao answered nonchalantly.
Pondering? On the launch well cover? Such a strange place to ponder, Tang Rui thought, certain there must be limits to absurdity.
“Come on, Lin, can we talk this over properly? If there’s a problem, just tell me. Let’s skip the dramatics, alright?” Tang Rui couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and frustration.
“Sure, what would you like to discuss?” Lin Chao replied, his face expressionless.
Who would choose to sit on the cold metal cover by choice? But Lin Chao seemed to have his reasons.
Previously, he had reported to his superiors that Tang Rui had completed the secondary booster, and it was already installed in the launch well.
The superiors had responded with a clear command: to sit on the launch well cover and prevent any launch attempts by Tang Rui at all costs.
“I mean, can we get down from here?” Tang Rui suggested, forcing a smile.
“No, it’s quite comfortable,” Lin Chao replied, shaking his head.
“Don’t worry, I have no intention of launching anything.”
“Really?”
“Truer than pure gold. Moreover, there’s nothing above us. There’s no fuel loaded, so launching isn’t even an option right now.”
“Let me just make a quick call.”
Lin Chao proceeded to pull out his phone and dial.
Two minutes later.
After hanging up, Lin Chao finally climbed down from the launch well cover.
“The designs and data you uploaded are being evaluated by the higher-ups. We’ll have to wait for their review before proceeding.
“Even if you wanted to launch, the trajectory needs to be pre-set. It’s no trivial matter,” Lin Chao said earnestly.
“I’m aware. This device isn’t a toy airplane. I wouldn’t launch it on a whim,” Tang Rui reassured him. He wasn’t naive; launching was never his intention.
The device was placed in the launch well because it was designed to be there, not necessarily to be launched immediately.
Everyone operated this way: fuel was only added when a launch was imminent; otherwise, it’d be a needless thrill.
And even without the fuel, the device required regular maintenance.
Such devices were far more costlier than most.
Even if it was not in use, it’d be a financial drain year after year.
For Tang Rui, however, this wasn’t an immediate concern.
Since there were no warheads fitted in the missile, maintenance wasn’t necessary; it could simply be left as is.
Relieved to see Tang Rui wasn’t joking, Lin Chao’s tension eased a bit.
But he still felt the need to keep a watchful eye on Tang Rui.
So, he invited Tang Rui to join him for tea while they awaited further instructions from above regarding how to proceed.
Meanwhile, an expert panel of professors was busy scrutinizing Tang Rui’s uploaded materials.
At the onset, the panel consisted of only seven members.
Tang Rui’s documents referred to multi-stage rockets and high-thrust liquid oxygen kerosene rocket engines, so the initial review was handled by experts in rocketry.
But when these experts studied the design and started their evaluations, they sensed something was off.
Was this supposed to be a carrier rocket?
Since when do carrier rockets come with thirty-two escape towers, each fitted with solid rocket engines?
The reviewing experts were taken aback.
They had no choice but to call for additional expertise.
This time, researchers specializing in the Dongfeng series were summoned because this carrier rocket matched their field of expertise.
Thus, a group of more than a dozen commenced a thorough review and assessment.
After five intensive hours of evaluation and preliminary calculations, they reached a consensus.
If the actual performance matched the design specifications, then Dongfeng Express Group might see the addition of a new brand, perhaps named Dongfeng-45-
However, the performance described seemed a bit exaggerated.
The expert panel recommended a test launch to observe the actual performance.
The higher-ups concurred with the review panel’s report.
Regardless of the expert panel’s recommendation, a test launch was inevitable given the unease this device caused. Once launched, it would alleviate many concerns.
The following day.
A new generation ballistic missile test launch plan was unveiled by the authorities.
For such an operation, a notification to foreign countries was mandatory.
Failure to notify might result in an immediate and aggressive response.
The notification served to reassure others: that this was a test launch, not an offensive launch.
A single word could alter the course of humanity.
“What? A high-orbit test launch?”
Tang Rui received the instructions to proceed with the test launch along a preset trajectory. The authorities had even arranged the targets for him.
Set in the northwestern region, thirty-two targets were placed, with the farthest apart by 1100 kilometers, scattered rather than aligned.
In essence, the challenge was formidable.
But Tang Rui was undeterred by the difficulty.
What concerned him was that the high-orbit test couldn’t demonstrate the carrier rocket’s full capabilities.
Nevertheless, the current geopolitical climate didn’t permit a launch from his backyard into the Pacific.
“A high-orbit launch it is. Crossing international borders mid-flight could cause significant disputes,” Lin Chao explained, nodding in agreement.
The secondary booster, regardless of its non-armed state, was enough to instill fear.
Who would take the word for it that it was unarmed?
“Fine, 1 understand,” Tang Rui resignedly agreed.
So, a high-orbit launch it would be.
By four in the afternoon, Tang Rui was in the command hall, synchronizing the data link with the space command center for the final launch preparations.
The company staff had also taken shelter within the mountain complex.
“Navigation system connected.”
“Main system check complete.”
“Fuel loaded.”
“All systems go, flight trajectory confirmed.”
The space command center was receiving all the information about the secondary booster.
Sitting in a floating chair, Tang Rui waited for the command center to complete its preparations.
“Director Tang, everything is in order, we are clear to launch on schedule,” the head of the space command center confirmed with Tang Rui.
“Okay, just over a minute to go,” Tang Rui nodded, checking the clock.
Shortly after, the countdown for the secondary booster’s launch commenced.
3… 2… 1…
Launch!
Tang Rui pressed the red button on his chair.
Boom!
The secondary booster in the launch well ignited, its engines’ powerful thrust surging, propelling it upward.
Shrouded in white smoke, the all-white secondary booster soared straight into the sky..