Rebirth 09: Synthetic Male God

Chapter 853: Born at the right time
1968, winter.

"Mr. Qian, this satellite project must have been around for ten years. It has fallen into the hands of our Fifth Academy. I have no confidence in entrusting such a difficult task to me."

"Xiao Sun, the more difficult the task, the more difficult it is to overcome. I am your bottom, and Nie Shuai is your bottom."

"But my major is missiles, and I am a soldier under your command. Why do you let me be in charge of satellites?"

"Xiao Sun, I understand your level. I have written a letter to report to the organization, and Nie Shuai has also approved it. This is an order."

"Okay. Hey! I want to see a small satellite. Can it be more difficult than a missile?!"

"Missiles are not difficult, and satellites are not difficult either, but the two need to be combined together. Looking back at my book "Engineering Cybernetics" may inspire you."

"Then can I come to you often?"

"Haha, stop talking nonsense, my office door is not locked, go quickly!"

Quietness returned to the old office.

The figure known as "Mr. Qian" subconsciously looked out the window.

Before I knew it, it was already dusk.

But he doesn't want to leave work just yet.

Open the small lock of the office drawer, rummage around, and find an envelope.

It was a letter he wrote to his big brother and best friend "Nie Shuai" a few years ago. Out of caution, he made a copy at the time to prevent loss and tampering.

The title on it is: Thoughts on the establishment of the "Artificial Satellite and Spacecraft Research Institute".

From meaning to methods, even calculations and preliminary designs.

He wrote very seriously at that time.

But Brother Nie laughed at him afterwards and said, "You guys always think too far. Every time I see your suggestions, it makes us embarrassed!"

The country is full of waste and has a weak industrial base. Not all ideas are capable of being tried.

Many times, Marshal Nie told him bluntly: I believe in your ability, and even asked someone to verify your design, but we really can't build it.

He is the genius. Hundreds of people work together, and a problem that takes several years to prove only takes an afternoon for him.

But even so, we have to face the reality of our motherland: where does the money come from, where do the talents come from, even where does a screw come from, and where does a semiconductor come from.

His ideas are so advanced that it is difficult for the whole country to cooperate.

They had to make do with simple things and use homespun methods. People used computers, but they had to use abacus.

On the eve of his departure abroad at the age of 24, he designed rocket missiles, and it was not until he was 50 that he actually manufactured them for the country.

When he was younger, he thought of it as his dream of "interstellar navigation", and he didn't know if he would have the chance in this life.
In fact, there was no chance, he knew it very well.

Sometimes, the time is waiting for people, and some people are waiting for the time.

So many people jokingly said of him: "He was born 50 years too early." Of course, some people believe that his biggest mistake was that he should not have returned to China. There are higher basic conditions abroad and will not limit his amazing talent.

The space race outside is astonishing, but in China it took ten years to even build a small satellite.

Qian Xuesen read the letter in his hand again, finally shook his head, put it away, and buried it deep in the bottom of the drawer.

Just like any other idea that was ahead of its time.

"It's an interesting statement that he was born 50 years earlier."

Qian Xuesen's wrinkled face had climbed up and he looked out the window.

Dusk had gradually turned into night, but the sound of children playing in the courtyard could be heard.

Good life and vitality.

Just forget about the dream of interstellar travel completely.
However, I was not born 50 years too early.
I was born at the right time because this land needs me.

I came back at the right time because the people here needed me.

As for my dream, someone will realize it, sooner or later
------

Forty-seven years later, winter.

Above the dark orbit, the special mortise-and-tenon catcher with a fairing constantly adjusted its speed and angle, and finally reached a level that was relatively slow compared to "Dongfanghong" 1.

The TV screen also changed to a split-screen mode. The left half was still the "Ten Thousand Households Command Center", while the right half was completely dark.

Many people still didn't know what was going on. The next moment, the black screen gradually opened outwards, and they realized that it was an internal camera.

In the distance of the screen, there is a small, shiny dot that is getting bigger and bigger.
"what is that?"

"Damn it! It's really 'Dongfanghong No. 1'!"

"Exactly like the one in the book!"

Zhou Rui was in the command center, staring at the mimic command system, and whispered: "Start capturing."

"Capture procedure initiated!"

The fairing on the top of the special mortise and tenon joint opens like four petals, and four mechanical arms protrude from the huge hole inside.

To be honest, this shape is a bit weird, like some kind of piranha
After the robotic arm reached out, the pliers at the top clamped the antenna transmitters in the four directions of "Dongfanghong-1".

According to the data, these four slender antennas can be folded, so that they can be easily retracted. Otherwise, a space with a diameter of four meters will be required and cannot be fixed, and the difficulty will increase exponentially.

"Click".
Well, there is no sound in space. But everyone's breath froze.
Two of the antennas snapped.

Even the robotic arm was a little stunned.
Although there is no such thing as "oxidation" in space, "aging" will still occur after being exposed to the sun's rays for decades, especially the already fragile antenna.

Zhou Rui covered his forehead and could only pat the small shower on his shoulder: "You can take over."

Obviously, the intelligence of this special mortise and tenon machine may not be safe after all, while filming.
The little shower head raised its head, and the "mechanical eyelids" of the big eyeballs opened wide, as if they were pointing far away into outer space.

The invisible signal is transmitted to the "Nantianmen" through Wanhu Base, and then relayed to the capture device.

Although there is a delay, it has little impact on the small shower head.

Soon, the robotic arm in space resumed operation, and it felt obviously more flexible. It delicately folded the remaining two antennas and pulled "Dongfanghong-1" into the fairing.

Even the two broken ones were not wasted and were collected together.

The petal-like fairing slowly closed, completely wrapping the satellite, and the complex suspension and shock-absorbing brackets inside began to shrink to secure it.

"Recycling completed."

"Start return procedure."

The special mortise and tenon joint changed its direction and headed towards the earth.

At this orbital height, it takes about 100 minutes to circle the earth. Including the time just spent, after precise calculations, the special mortise and tenon will cut into the atmosphere in 46 minutes and land in our country. The target location is Jiuquan, Su Province.

The 46-minute wait was not boring at all. The camera position represented by the capture device was an ever-growing blue planet.

It looks quite fresh, it’s rare to see such a perspective.

In the command center, it only reports every three minutes whether the track is normal.

When Zhou Rui was bored, someone came over and whispered: "Mr. Zhou, the return capsule test is ready, and the telemetry data is all normal."

Zhou Rui nodded: "Understood, let's wait for the satellite to land first. At that time, Nantianmen will also be back above the country."

The somewhat boring wait made some viewers feel bored and leave, but more people also poured in, especially those overseas officials who were waiting to write reports, who were afraid to go to the toilet.

Finally, after many adjustments and track cuts, the "capturer" finally entered the atmosphere and began to fall.

Although it is basically stable at this scene, because rocket recovery is the corresponding specialty of "Tai Tiangong", after all, there is a passenger with special meaning here, and everyone is worried about it.

Thousands of miles away in the desert of Su Province, a convoy of vehicles was waiting at the edge of the road.

The person in charge of the landing area held up the telescope and said with a headache: "It is not a good thing if the landing speed is too slow. It is difficult to observe with the naked eye."

"Captain, there's a signal response."

"Let's go! Hurry! Arrive at the landing area as soon as possible!"

A long line of off-road vehicles rushed into the sea of ​​​​sand, and the yellow sand was rolled up to a height of several meters. Yangma's reporter also went with the vehicle.

Finally, five or six minutes later, they sighted the trap with their naked eyes.

In the desert without reference objects, even if there is a location signal, it is difficult to find people, and you have to rely on the naked eye.

After another three minutes, we finally arrived at the landing area and found the trap standing quietly on the sand dunes.

This cube with a base of two meters on a side is still very huge, including the fairing, which is close to four meters, like a sturdy short tower.

They began to divide the scene, check for debris, and put up flags to measure waves. After another busy process, they pressed the "button" on the capture device under Yangma's camera.

"Pfft~"

With a sound of air pressure, the upper fairing opened again, revealing the intact "Dongfanghong No. 1" fixed inside.

This scene was also caught on camera.

"Report to the command center that the 'capture device' was successfully recovered in the landing area."

Inside the Wanhu base, Zhou Rui nodded: "Received, I'll leave it to you to bring it back intact."

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

This is the second time a satellite has been captured, but it is the first time the complete capture process has been shown to the world.

Last time, I just brought back a melted iron ball, and there was no capture process.

This time, the perfect "aerospace self-certification" is impeccable, once again demonstrating the strength of Tai Tiangong to the world.

In other words, the strength of China's aerospace industry.

In the past, many people believed that "capturing satellites" was just "destroying satellites", and even thought that Taichi could not actually do it and that everything was just a scam.

Now, the hanging heart is finally dead.

　(Trivia):

　　Mr. Qian's engineering, mathematics, aviation, aerospace, physics, and mechanics are all master-level.

　　Achievements cover: rockets, missiles, aircraft, nuclear submarines, satellites, space communications, engineering systematization
　　Some were in his own major, and some were forced to take classes due to a lack of talent, but they were all completed very well, and his abilities seemed to have no boundaries.

　　He is a real male protagonist of science and technology novels.

　　The idea of ​​a "spacecraft institute" was real, I didn't make it up, and it was at the height of the space race.

　　If it were not dragged down by the industrial base, it is difficult to imagine what would happen.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)