Rebirth 09: Synthetic Male God

Chapter 964 Unprecedented!

"Houston, this is ISS Makarov, please reply."

"This is Houston, please speak."

"We have completed the two-stage gas discharge work as planned, and are now preparing to slow down. Please confirm that our position is as expected."

"Yes, we have observed that your position is in line with expectations. You can slow down, but we recommend waiting until the cabin pressure returns to high pressure before proceeding."

At this time, in order to exhaust the gas more thoroughly, all twelve astronauts gathered in the core module, which is also the most important cabin in the space station. Other places were temporarily closed.

This makes the already messy space station look even more crowded.

After the communication was completed, Makarov continued to operate on the computer under the anxious gaze of everyone.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead to prevent these small things that were not bound by gravity from flying everywhere, and said, "We need to wait for a while for the generator to refill the gas."

The gas in the space station is obviously designed to simulate the atmosphere on the ground, so its composition is far more than just oxygen.

In fact, due to chemical reasons, it is easier to obtain oxygen in the space station, but nitrogen cannot be prepared, and in principle it is not necessary, because nitrogen is basically not consumed except for escape, and it will be replenished every time a cargo spacecraft comes up.

Theoretically, both nitrogen and oxygen have sufficient redundancy, but this is for people to breathe, not to be sprayed out as "propellant" to push a large vehicle weighing hundreds of tons to do emergency evasion.

Just now, the two sections "discharged" and their "gas reserves" had consumed the amount of several months, and this did not include deceleration. If the same process was repeated in the deceleration section, the remaining amount would be in jeopardy.

Although Makarov followed the instructions from the ground, he clearly felt that the atmosphere among astronauts from various countries was getting worse and worse. In the past few hours, three people had come to him "privately" to express their concerns and doubts about emergency avoidance.

Of course, because the space is small, the so-called "private" is just to find a corner and keep the noise down, which also causes the uneasy emotions to be transmitted particularly quickly.

Astronauts are professionally trained people.

But astronauts are also human beings.

If it was owned by one country, perhaps there would be righteousness and enlightenment, but now there are members of nine countries on the space station.
Theoretically, as the station chief on duty, Makarov has the right to reject the orders from the ground command center and take emergency actions that he believes are correct, but this is only in theory. The pressure he needs to bear is not a little bit, and he has no better way.

The only "spacecraft cabin" for emergency escape cannot accommodate 12 people. Is there going to be a "Battle Royale" in the space station?
They can only blame heaven for not fulfilling their wishes. The original avoidance plan failed due to unexpected losses, and they had to take risks in space.

While waiting, Makarov fulfilled his duties as stationmaster and tried his best to comfort everyone.

Crowding can also increase anxiety.

He looked at the time display on the wall, which showed their countdown, with five hours left.

They need to complete all the work before then, but due to the unpredictability of orbital debris, this time is not entirely accurate and is only estimated in the most conservative way.

The emotions were very excited, and Suni from the United States suddenly said: "You know, if there is a problem with the launch of the Russian spacecraft, there are still people who can save us."

Brazilian astronaut: "Who?"

"The Chinese, their rocket launch technology is more mature than Russia's, and there are not only us in this orbit, but also two large creations, 'Heaven's Gate' and 'Money Platform'."

The Japanese astronaut sneered, "Those two are unmanned platforms, just a flat surface without any life support equipment. They are meaningless to us."

The Belgian astronaut shook his head and said, "That's not true. After all, it's Ray Zhou's thing, and I've been following it. The live broadcast of Heaven's Gate has stopped for several months. Maybe there's some kind of transformation going on."

The Italian astronauts were not optimistic either: "So what? Why should they be in charge of our affairs? Just because this project once excluded them?"

Su Ni suddenly said, "Guys, if we contact our own country's communication channels and announce what we are experiencing, it will definitely become a global sensation. Then, even if the people on the ground are unwilling, they will have to ask for help from more countries, and maybe China will be impressed."

"Perhaps a crisis that is fatal to us can be easily solved by the Taitian Creatures!? They even have aerospace fighters! You have been up there for a long time and don't know that the Taitian Creatures on the ground are becoming more and more powerful."

"no!"

The one who spoke out to stop it was not the stationmaster nor the astronauts from other countries, but the Americans themselves. The other two male astronauts spoke out almost in unison to stop it.

"All our actions are as planned, Suni. Your anxiety comes entirely from you. The Houston Command Center has said that Russia is preparing to launch a rocket, and it may even be a week earlier than previously stated."

Su Ni sneered and said, "I don't care what the Z-guests on the ground think. I only care whether I can return alive, 100%!"

She knew from personal experience how difficult it was to launch a rocket on time; her own mission was delayed by six months.

She doesn't want to suffocate to death in space!

"If the Russian rocket doesn't come up in seven days... No, four days! I demand that all countries immediately ask China for help. We can vote to decide!"

Astronauts from other countries expressed their agreement, saying that this statement at least left them a way out.

As the argument continued, Makarov yelled, "Be quiet! You are affecting my operation!"

This Russian man is still very fierce when he is angry.

The quarrel was temporarily suspended.

He took a deep breath and started the three-stage exhaust, which is the deceleration stage. The gas pressure has met the requirements.

The third stage of exhaust avoidance was passed in a stable and suppressed manner, and the International Space Station slowly slowed down.

"Houston, this is the International Space Station. We have completed the third stage of exhaust. There is only one left. How far is the debris from us?"

"This is Houston, and I have good news for you."

Makarov wiped his face and said, "Oh my God, hurry up, I really need good news."

"We have a satellite that has just tracked the exact trajectory of that mass of space junk, including its speed and altitude. We can now clearly tell you that you have successfully avoided the biggest crisis in the history of the International Space Station."

As soon as these words were spoken, cheers were heard in the space station.

Although it was short-lived and weak, their next crisis is not over yet. "Exhaust emergency evacuation is the right choice. According to the latest data, they will turn the space station into a sieve in 30 minutes. Now, they will only fly 600 meters below you. However, the fourth stage of exhaust still needs to be carried out. If you don't slow down, you will drift too far."

As if to protect the morale and mood of the astronauts, the liaison officer at the Houston center spoke in an exceptionally cheerful voice.

"By the way, if the angle is right, from the C3 window, you can see those horrible space junk flying by, from beneath your feet. I'll update the countdown, and you can go check it out, Suni. You can even take a picture with the space junk."

In fact, the quarrels in the space station could be heard on the ground. They secretly turned the communication facilities to the "always on" mode, but they didn't show it.

Suni didn't want to talk, she crossed her arms and had a cold face.

After more than ten minutes, Makarov started the fourth stage of exhaust, and the space station gradually stopped raising its orbit and moved steadily along the orbit.

A major crisis on the International Space Station seems to have come to an end for the time being, at least for the first half.

(The actual effective space only includes the central cylinders, the rest are just frames)
After completing an operation, everyone regained some morale. Makarov took a deep breath and looked at the countdown on the wall. There were still 10 minutes left.

According to the command center, in ten minutes they will be able to see as many as four hundred pieces of space junk flying past their feet.

This is indeed something that makes people feel accomplished, especially in this situation.

So he took the initiative to say: "Come on, who wants to go with me to see the space junk that has us so busy? Maybe we can see which country's equipment it is. I will definitely sue them!"

A few were interested, but others were unconvinced, and Makarov led the team toward the C3 window.

Suni followed and whispered, "You are the stationmaster, you should be tougher on the ground."

Makarov: "No, the ground knows much more than us. I trust their choice. Let's not talk for now. Maybe after a while, we can get the specific plan of the Russian rocket launch."

Astronauts from Brazil, Japan and Belgium also followed, and several of them gathered in front of the C3 window to look out, which was facing directly below the Earth.

Since there is no up, down, left, or right, several people can be seen clearly even if they are floating together.

A few minutes later, when there were only three minutes left on the countdown on the wall, Makarov suddenly heard the German astronaut on the other side say: "I seem to see the space junk, in C1."

Makarov said subconsciously: "It seems that there are still errors in the ground observation, and the countdown is not accurate."

As soon as he finished speaking, he reacted: "C1? C1 window?"

With disbelief in his mind, he pushed the wall hard and quickly floated to the other side like a swift shark.

However, before they arrived, they heard the terrified screams of the German astronauts: "FK! This is not the space junk they observed! The orbits of these things are parallel to ours!!!"

Makarov pushed the other man away and put his face in front of the C1 window.

Unlike C3, the angle here is almost horizontal with the earth, and you can see the magnificent blue arc and the dark space.

At almost the same height, a dense swarm of foreign objects were rapidly approaching the space station.

The size was too big to be judged due to the lack of scale, but the feeling made Makarov's scalp tingle!
A second later, Makarov yelled, "EMSTER! EVERYONE BUCKLE YOUR BELT!!!"

After years of training, the astronauts, although somewhat uncertain, were able to accurately find the straps from all directions and secure themselves.

Makarov rushed to the communication station immediately.

"Houston! Houston! There's another piece of space junk! There's another piece of space junk! It's never been seen before! We can't avoid it anymore!"

"This is Houston, I heard you, what do you mean?"

Makarov roared: "You are going to kill us!!!"

As soon as the words fell, a dense clanging sound came from the outside, and the entire space station began to tremble.
An astronaut, who was tied up with a harness and holding on with gritted teeth, looked out the window in horror and saw that the huge solar sail had broken and was floating away into the distance.

If you look outside the space station, you can see that within a dozen seconds, the International Space Station was hit by hundreds of pieces of space debris.

They are smaller than the one the command center mentioned, so they are difficult to detect, but also more deadly.

The whole process was extremely quiet and extremely terrifying.

The first to suffer were the largest solar sails. These densely packed long panels were pierced and shattered in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, the research module suffered the most severe impact. Although it had not yet been pierced, the outer walls were severely damaged. These damaged parts turned into more space debris, splashing in all directions and causing secondary damage.

The International Space Station is like a pile of building blocks in a storm
Disintegration, shattering.
The only thing to be thankful for was that the astronauts had previously concentrated in the "core module" to carry out exhaust avoidance, and the connections with the other modules were completely isolated.

However, what awaited them was an even more terrible fate.

After the violent shaking, it seemed to calm down a little.

All the astronauts, with expressions of having survived a catastrophe, gasped for breath
They hadn't had time to inspect the damage yet, but it was obvious that it couldn't be minor.

Just like a paper bird, it is impossible for it to remain intact in the rain.
"Oh, God"

"It's over. Is it over?"

next moment.
There was an explosion from somewhere.

They were in a small cabin and could not see the cause and location of the explosion, but everyone felt the inertia changing.
After a short and violent shock, they felt themselves tilted.
The International Space Station suffered an unexplained horrific accident.

No one knew what had been destroyed or what had exploded.

But the "core module" is slowly breaking free from its restraints and drifting towards deep space.

The International Space Station has disintegrated.

(End of this chapter)