Chapter 1324 Redefining Success

Just when the Long March 9 nuclear submarine dived nervously (lucky) (disaster) busy (pleasure) (disaster) and prepared to set sail.

In the control center of Edwards Air Force Base, the situation fell into a strange awkwardness.

Seeing the sudden cutoff of the data curve on the big screen, and the red lights lighting up in the flight status evaluation area, the audience that was full of jubilation just now fell silent almost instantly.

"What's going on?"

General Mitchell Mosley looked at the big screen and then at Dr. Collinger standing next to him, with a look of confusion on his face.

From the perspective of outsiders who are not very knowledgeable, it can be said that everything went smoothly in the first half of the test process, and there was no sign of any failure. Therefore, in this flash of lightning, everyone did not think about the worst case scenario.

Instead, another possibility was considered.

"Is there a problem with the signal transmission?"

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace, who was behind him, also stood up, strode to the console, and ordered to the communications officer who was also still confused:

"Let's see if we can contact the Orion?"

Due to the large amount of data that needs to be transmitted during the test flight, the communication guarantee of the X51A is completed by a specially modified relay communication machine instead of a satellite.

If there is a problem with this link, it is normal for all data to be lost at the same time.

Collingie, who had already had an ominous premonition, shook his head solemnly:

"When we originally designed it, we considered the possibility of signal transmission problems, so we also kept satellite communications equipment as a backup. Even if there is a problem on the plane, some of the most basic data should be retained and not all disappear..."

Just when he finished speaking, the voice of the technician on the relay communication machine rang out on the radio:

"Report to the control center, this is Orion, we have lost the tracking information! Repeat, we have lost the tracking information, can you tell us the specific situation?"

For a moment, everyone looked at each other, but no one responded.

By this time, everyone had some ominous premonitions in their hearts.

Since even Orion has lost the target signal, it means that something went wrong in the first step of data transmission.

In this case, the only possibility is that the aircraft crashed.

But it is inevitable that some people will want to continue struggling.

Especially Boeing CEO James McNerney.

About a year and a half ago, Harry Stonecipher, the previous head of Boeing and one of the architects of the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger, was forced to resign and was even implicated in the bribery of confidential staff of the Department of Defense. Many military personnel came out.

This scandal greatly deteriorated Boeing's internal relationships in Washington. Therefore, McNerney's key task after taking office, in addition to launching a series of new passenger aircraft research and development projects in his old business to cope with competition from Airbus, is to Appease the Pentagon and congressional bosses with several beautiful projects.

All the money that should be channeled has already been spent. We only need to wait until the X51A project is successfully completed to rationalize all these expenditures and then permanently seal them.

As a result, something went wrong at the most critical juncture.

Thinking of this, McNerney couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.

His already pale face turned even more pale.

He didn't care whether the progress of the project itself was delayed or not, but if the failure of the test attracted the attention of the Accountability Bureau... then it would be flattering to the horse's hooves.

The transfer of benefits is the elephant in the room. Although it is almost a common rule, it is still something that is not convenient to put on the table.

The top priority was that no matter whether the X51A exploded or not, he needed to find a reasonable reason to get rid of it immediately.

With his mind running rapidly, McNerney quickly turned into a wise man and came up with an excellent rhetoric:

"By the way, didn't you just say that the Chinese have a fleet nearby?"

"Could it be that they released electronic interference, causing us to lose the target's data?"

This sentence is of course a drunkard's intention is not to drink.

The point is not to throw away data, but to pave the way for the future.

Because the same reason can also be used to explain the reasons for the failure of the experiment...

However, after saying these words, McNerney almost immediately received more than one look as if he was looking at an idiot.

Although the tactic of passing the blame to the Chinese is easy to use, the actual situation must also be considered.

The configuration of two destroyers and a reconnaissance ship was more than 200 kilometers away from the location where the aircraft last lost its signal. There were also three own warships responsible for tracking and monitoring in the middle.

In this situation, if you say that people have completely interfered with our testing, isn't that the same as saying that the US military is useless?

Peter Pace secretly rolled his eyes, but he also knew that now was not the time to argue with this layman, so he turned around and called the commodore who had reported the situation before:

"Let the fleet pass..."

I just started, but hesitated again:

"How far is the fleet now from the location where the signal was lost?"

"About 150 nautical miles..."

The latter quickly responded:

"However, according to my experience, if it really disintegrates in the air at a speed of nearly Mach 6, then the area where the fragments will fall will be very far forward, at least more than 200 nautical miles, and it will take about 7 hours to reach, and this Not considering that the Chinese fleet may interfere with our navigation..."

Pace nodded:

"Then let the plane go first and see if there are any floating objects or traces of fuel on the sea surface..."

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After all, he is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who has seen big scenes. Although he is a little disappointed with the high probability of failure in front of him, he quickly regained his composure and began to arrange follow-up measures.

"Yes!"

The brigadier general saluted Pace, then took over the communication officer next to him and began to communicate with Orion.

Edwards Base certainly belongs to the Air Force, but the launch position of this test is located in the jurisdiction of the Naval Air Combat Center at Point Mugu, so although the Navy plays a supporting role, it can naturally take over the necessary work content.

It would take more than an hour for the communication relay to get there, so after giving the order, Pace did not wait, but came to the dark-faced Ke Lingjie:

"Doctor, if the aircraft crashes, can all the test data be preserved?"

After hearing this question, Ke Lingjie's face finally looked better, and he nodded and replied:

"The part displayed on the big screen is just the tip of the iceberg. Many parameters will be directly recorded in our test database. Even if the wreckage cannot be found, there is enough telemetry data to analyze the cause of the problem."

Compared with China and Russia, although the United States also has a vast land area, it lacks a large enough area of ​​unowned land. This is essentially due to the unique natural conditions of the North American continent, but it also brings a lot of unnecessary troubles to weapon testing.

Therefore, starting from decades ago, major arms companies began to conduct weapons tests over lakes/seas, and many related support technologies have been derived from this.

After hearing Ke Lingjie's statement, Pace did not continue to speak immediately, but put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth in the control center.

A few minutes later, he stood firm again:

"In other words, this test still shows enough value?"

Collinger was a little confused by this question without a beginning or an end. Besides, as the project leader, no matter what he said at this time, it would be suspected of self-exculpation.

But McNerney, who was observing the situation, keenly captured the subtle meaning behind this sentence and quickly added:

"Perhaps...it can provide some reference for the planned four subsequent technical verification tests..."

Even though Colinger was a little slow in these aspects, he had already understood the meaning of his CEO at this time and quickly followed the other party's meaning:

"Of course...After all, the scramjet engine worked for nearly three minutes this time, which was more than ten times longer than the previous X43A's 12-second record, and the richness of the data was not comparable to that of the year. Just give me some time..."

Pace did not listen to the content of the determination later, and interrupted him with a raised hand.

"In other words, although the aircraft had a malfunction this time, it has made significant progress compared to our past and other competitors... and is ahead?"

Faced with this question, Ke Lingjie opened his mouth.

He wanted to say that the 12-second working time of the X43A met the test requirements, so it was undoubtedly a successful test, while the 143 seconds of the X51A failed to complete the flight plan, so it was difficult to make a direct comparison.

But after some hesitation, he nodded and agreed with the other party's statement.

Pace's expression suddenly relaxed:

"So, maybe it can be said that this test was...partially successful?"