The military-industrial scientific research system of the academic master.

Summer passes and autumn comes.

Amidst the busy work, time quickly came to September 2003.

Chang Haonan was finally able to take some time off from the busy work just after the new model was launched.

However, the free time left for him was not too long.

On September 9, the first astronauts of the Shenzhou V spacecraft entered the launch site, completed a joint inspection of the man, spacecraft, rocket and ground, and conducted a complete rehearsal of the launch minus eight hours procedure, which also marked that China's first manned space mission has entered the final countdown stage.

According to the plan, the rocket will be vertically transferred to the launch area on October 10 and launched on October 8.

As for Shenzhou V itself, barring any unexpected events, the plan has been finalized and there will not be any major changes.

But there is still a lot of room for change in some other tasks related to the launch.

For example, data transfer tasks...

Under the promotion of Zhang Weiyong, Guo Lin and others, a group of small satellites named "Qingluan" was launched into space half a month ago on a Long March 4 rocket and was confirmed to be in normal working condition.

But that doesn't mean everything is fine.

Just four satellites operating in MEO orbit means that providing stable relay guidance services to spacecraft is definitely not stable enough.

Therefore, Guo Lin’s previous statement was also the “highest” coverage rate, which means that in a certain circle of the spacecraft’s operation, it can reach 50%.

But the Shenzhou V mission lasted less than a day.

At most, it can only circle the earth 13-14 times.

Although the first manned flight is mainly for verification, the specific tasks of each lap must be arranged before launch.

The specific plan still requires more detailed planning.

Therefore, after resting for a few days in Gaojing, he rushed to the satellite launch center in person...

The launch base that China upgraded to support the 921 Project is called Suzhou Satellite Launch Center, but part of it is located in the EJNQ area of ​​Mongolia Province.

In fact, it has a special name.

Dongfeng Aerospace City.

At the moment, Taolai Airport does not even have a plan. The nearest airport that can land fixed-wing aircraft is the Dingxin Base.

But there is still some distance.

Therefore, the launch site arranged for Chang Haonan to transfer in Dingxin and take a helicopter to his final destination.

He was quite resistant to this plan at first.

Since helicopters fly in the lower troposphere most of the time, even the most advanced models have much louder noise and vibration in the cabin than fixed-wing aircraft.

In comparison, taking a car may be a more comfortable option.

However, when Chang Haonan really arrived at Dingxin Airport, he still performed a "really fragrant" on the spot -

Parked not far away was a helicopter that clearly belonged to the search and rescue recovery air team.

But it is not the Mi-17 that was commonly seen on TV in the previous life.

Instead, it was a Z-12 painted in camouflage.

That is the Chinese version of NH90.

This is not the first time that Chang Haonan has ridden a model he helped design.

I had experienced this once last year when I was doing ground testing on the relay communication system.

However, it was still somewhat beyond his expectations that this model, which had only been in service for less than three years, would be selected to carry out search and rescue and recovery missions so quickly.

Just as Chang Haonan was standing at the cabin door in a daze, two men in leather coats trotted over to the gangway.

The leader was naturally Guo Lin.

"Mr. Chang."

Guo Lin took two steps forward and took the initiative to greet Chang Haonan, then turned sideways and gestured to another person next to him:

"This is the on-site person in charge of the 22nd Institute of the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, Comrade Song Lei."

When Chang Haonan heard the other party's work unit, he immediately understood.

The 22nd Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation is the technical unit responsible for space search, rescue and recovery.

It should be the staff who came to accompany us.

After a brief greeting, the three of them walked towards the helicopter pad.

On the way, Guo Lin began to report the current situation:

"Boss Chang, the Qingluan constellation has conducted two rounds of communication tests with the target spacecraft in the sun-synchronous orbit. The results fully meet the design requirements. Next, we only need to make an attitude adjustment after the plan is finalized, and it will be fully adapted to the relay mission requirements of Shenzhou V."

"It's just that the meteorological department reported that in the mid-October window, the weather over Beijing has been cloudy and cloudy, and it may rain at any time. Do you think that for the sake of safety, should we consider moving the ground control center to the Shule control station?"

Since the relay communication system was originally designed to adapt to the space-based remote sensing system, the ground terminal initially set up was naturally located in the capital city of Danzhou.

The measurement and control missions in Beijing generally use the C/S/L bands and are hardly affected by weather.

But for the Qingluan constellation that has chosen the Ka band, there will still be some risks.

Of course, the connection won't be disconnected directly, but it would still be bad if problems like the screen freezing occurred in the middle of the transmission.

The Shule Station in Xinjiang Province wishes there were 360 ​​sunny days every year, so there is no need to worry about this.

Chang Haonan slowed down his pace upon hearing this and thought for a moment.

Finally, he shook his head and said:

"To perform relay communication tasks, we need to place a large amount of equipment in advance. The location of Shule Station is too sensitive. After all, our constellation does not fully serve manned space flight, so it is better to avoid it..."

In addition to the well-known internal problems, due to the strong penetration of the United States into Central Asia and the deployment of a large number of military bases and intelligence centers in Ayutthaya, the western region also became one of the regions most severely infiltrated by the outside world for a period of time in the early 21st century.

It would be fine to fly over for aerial testing, but it would be a bit risky to transport sensitive equipment over by land.

"Then the backup plan..."

Guo Lin also looked embarrassed.

"The high-altitude airship we used for relay communication tests should not have been retrieved yet. If the weather in Beijing is so bad that the Ka-band signal cannot penetrate the rainy area, we can relay the signal once more via the airship and transmit it to the 26th Test Training Base in Gaojing..."

"..."

As they were talking, they had already arrived next to the helicopter which had already been warmed up and ready.

I have to admit that the three-color camouflage paint on the helicopter does look a bit... rustic.

Even if it is the same helicopter, its appearance can be improved by several levels if it is painted in later desert color or light gray.

Song Lei, who had been silent just now, took two steps forward and took the initiative to open the cabin door.

Chang Haonan held the brim of his hat and bent down to get in.

He looked around the cabin and finally determined that the comfort configuration of this aircraft should be fully equipped in accordance with European standards.

A true VIP jet.

Obviously, it is not the level of ordinary Lao Lu.

This means that this was a specially purchased aircraft, rather than a temporary model grabbed from some unlucky unit of the Army Aviation Corps to make up the numbers.

"You guys change clothes really quickly."

"Specially supported by the superiors..."

Song Lei, who came up later, answered while fastening his seat belt:

"It is said that the exact landing location of the astronauts is uncertain, and they may need the services of a medical monitoring and health insurance helicopter. Although the Mi-17 has sufficient power, its comfort is really... average. In addition, search and rescue helicopters appear frequently in news footage. From all aspects, it is more appropriate to use a domestic model..."

……

Not long after, the helicopter flew over Dongfeng Aerospace City.

In fact, this is Chang Haonan’s first time here.

From afar, there is an isolated city in the desert.

Especially the two giant buildings, the towering vertical assembly plant and the launch tower, as well as the transfer track connecting the two.

From watching on TV, maybe you don’t feel anything.

But when you are here in person, looking down from a high vantage point, the shock you feel is real.

At Song Lei's special request, the helicopter did not land immediately, but flew around the launch center for half a circle before landing smoothly on the helipad.

Although he was very curious about the situation at the launch site, Chang Haonan quickly got into the car and walked through the center of the base to the general technical department because he had a mission to accomplish.

Under the leadership of Song Lei, several people quickly arrived at Shen Junrong's office.

The latter had obviously been waiting here for a long time.

Even before Chang Haonan knocked on the door, he quickly stood up and welcomed him in.

"Comrade Haonan, I finally got you here..."

Shen Junrong motioned Chang Haonan to sit on the sofa, then he took the kettle from the side and poured him a cup of tea:

"Now that the broadcasting plan has been basically finalized, we are just waiting for you to give us a definite answer on the specific time frame within which continuous communication can be guaranteed..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chang Haonan put the briefcase in front of him:

"I have prepared a detailed plan."

"Depending on the actual situation on the day of launch, we can ensure that at least two of the eighth to tenth orbits around the Earth will provide high-throughput data transmission for no less than 30 minutes!"