Chapter 333: Isn’t It True that Despite Being Experienced, One Still Fails? (5K Votes Requested, Please Follow Up)
NASA dared to announce this news to the outside world, obviously because it wanted to tell the international community that their rocket would definitely be able to complete its mission to the sky this time.
This move undoubtedly dropped a blockbuster around the world. For a long time, space exploration has been a goal pursued by various countries. As the former leader in this field, NASA's every progress has attracted global attention.
Even Luo Yao asked seriously after hearing this: "Are they carrying people up this time or are they carrying human life-support devices?"
"According to their description, this time they carried a 130-ton human life support device up first."
130 tons.
If it succeeds, it will become the most powerful rocket on Blue Star.
"If they can really carry 130 tons of human life-support equipment to the sky, then they are indeed very powerful."
After hearing what Luo Yao said, an expert was unconvinced and said, "The rocket belongs to the Space Exploration Company, right?"
"If I remember correctly, their rockets exploded one after another, just like setting off fireworks. We don't think we need to worry."
"Our Baidi can take off almost at any time and carry so much supplies. We can definitely use multiple transport methods to solve the problem."
Luo Yao said seriously: "I actually understand why Mark insisted on announcing this launch mission when the starship exploded several times before."
"They are actually doing destructive experiments and using the most direct and fastest method to find the problem. This can help them accumulate a large amount of data and experience in a short period of time."
"This method is stupid, but I have to say it is very effective."
"So, the news announced by the other party now is very likely to be really powerful."
Shan Xing saw a smile on Luo Yao's face and wondered if their academician would be irritated?
He asked worriedly: "Gong Luo, do you think this is a good thing?"
"Of course, without competition, I have no motivation. Aren't they launching in three days? Then we will launch the core module of the lunar space station in four days."
Shan Xing thought about it and felt that this matter really needed to be speeded up.
Otherwise, it would be a shame if Chou's rocket really carried 130 tons of human life-support equipment to the moon and there was no movement from their side.
"Well, as NASA is a pioneer in space exploration, their technology and experience cannot be ignored. They dare to announce such news this time, and they must be certain."
"We must advance the plan to launch the core module of the lunar space station."
The words of Luo Yao and Shan Xing resonated in the conference room, and everyone nodded in agreement.
Everyone understands that this challenge is not only about technological competition, but also a contest of national honor and dignity.
"That's right, we can't let NASA take all the limelight, we must show our strength." An engineer said, "I heard that the core module of the lunar space station has been tested and verified many times, and now is the time to show the results. when!"
Shan Xing took a deep breath, knowing that this mission was of great significance.
He said to everyone: "Okay, then we will launch in four days. All departments must work closely to ensure the smooth progress of the launch process!"
At this time, Luo Yao finally agreed to take out his mechanical dog and lift off with the core module of the lunar space station to start the mission on the moon.
After everyone was sure about this, they split up to prepare.
After Shan Xing reported the situation, the instructions from above came down quickly.
Shan Xing found Academician Shi, the leader of the Lunar Space Station team, with the results of the instructions.
Academician Shi took the instructions handed over by Shan Xing and read them carefully, with a troubled look on his face. He raised his head and said, "Why is it so sudden?"
Academician Shi's words made Shan Xing feel nervous, and he hurriedly asked: "Academician Shi, can't the core module be launched immediately?"
"It's okay, but the people in our group haven't had a holiday in the past few years, so I gave them a few days off temporarily."
"Who decided this? It was too sudden."
Shan Xing thought for a while and thought that Luo Yao and him couldn't be blamed for this. Who made NASA crazy?
"If you want to blame, blame NASA. They are going to launch a human life support device to the moon in three days. If we keep delaying the launch, you should know what the consequences will be."
Academician Shi frowned when he heard this. It was obvious that he fully understood Shan Xing's concerns.
NASA's move has undoubtedly put tremendous pressure on them. If they cannot show their strength at this critical moment, the pressure from public opinion will be very high.
Shan Xing said seriously: "After the lunar space station is launched, you can leave it as long as you want, but at this moment, you need your people to work overtime."
Academician Shi had no choice but to say: "I will immediately notify them to cancel their vacation and return to their posts."
Under Academician Shi's urgent call, members of the Lunar Space Station team rushed back to the base from various places.
"Why is the core capsule suddenly about to be launched? Isn't this just a matter of time and again?"
"I heard that NASA is going to send human life-support devices to the moon, so our work here is ahead of schedule."
Several engineers who had just returned from vacation said while tidying up their work areas, with a hint of helplessness in their tone.
Academician Shi walked among them and said seriously: "The situation has changed now. We need to complete the launch mission as soon as possible. I know this is sudden and brings inconvenience to everyone, but this mission is related to our honor and space." Resource issues.”
"I hope everyone can understand and get back to work as soon as possible."
Although the engineers complained a little, after hearing what Academician Shi said, they all understood the importance of this task. They nodded to express their understanding and quickly devoted themselves to their own work.
In the following time, the members of the lunar space station team devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the preparations before the launch. They worked overtime, debugging equipment and checking data day and night to ensure every detail. All perfect.
A day and a half later, Academician Shi, who was on patrol, suddenly heard a cry from someone in the core cabin team.
Academician Shi walked over in a hurry.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Academician Shi's voice revealed tension and concern. He quickly walked to the working area of the core module group and saw an engineer with an anxious look on his face, pointing at the computer screen.
"Academician Shi, look here, the propulsion system parameters of the core module are abnormal." The engineer pointed at the data on the screen and frowned.
Academician Shi immediately approached the computer screen and carefully checked the various parameters of the propulsion system. His brows furrowed and his face became more and more solemn. These data were obviously abnormal. If there was a problem with the propulsion system, it would directly affect the entire space station. stability and security.
"Conduct a comprehensive inspection of the propulsion system immediately!" Academician Shi ordered decisively, and at the same time summoned all members of the core module team for an emergency meeting.
The atmosphere in the conference room became tense.
It's about to be launched, but now it's been found that there is a problem!
"Were there any problems with your previous inspection?"
"Academician Shi, during the previous inspection, this problem was indeed not found. All tests showed that the propulsion system was working normally. We suspect that the system misjudged the situation after multiple tests under extreme conditions."
"Of course, it cannot be ruled out that there is a problem with the high-pressure tank and low-pressure tank."
"We can no longer rely on previous test results." Academician Shi said solemnly, "Now, we need to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the propulsion system again, and every detail must not be missed. At the same time, we need to re-evaluate the previous test plan , to see if there’s anything that can be improved.”
The conference room fell silent again.
"Academician Shi, are you asking us to dismantle the entire core cabin?" An engineer grabbed the straw-like hair on his head and confirmed.
Academician Shi hesitated, shook his head, and said firmly: "It is not necessary to dismantle everything, but we must re-examine the key parts. We need to determine where the problem lies, whether it is a software misjudgment or a hardware failure. Time is tight, but we You have to make sure every step is done carefully.”
He turned to a systems engineer: "You immediately organize a team to conduct an in-depth inspection of the sensors and controllers of the propulsion system, especially those modules responsible for pressure balance."
Later, he said to another engineer in charge of testing: "We need to redesign a test plan, this time to simulate more extreme conditions to ensure that our system can work stably in various environments."
"Academician Shi, if this is the case, the launch of the space station will be postponed."
Academician Shi remembered this only after being reminded by the engineer.
In this case, the launch will definitely be postponed!
Academician Shi could not hide the news now, so he could only call Shan Xing and inform him of the matter.
Shan Xing was checking the lunar mechanical dog brought by Luo Yao at this time. With a happy face, he answered the phone and said, "Lao Qi, are you ready?"
Academician Shi said bluntly: "Now there is a problem with the core module, and we may not be able to launch within the specified time."
When Shan Xing heard this, the joy on his face disappeared instantly, replaced by solemnity and concern: "There is a problem with the core cabin? How is this possible? Didn't it pass all the tests before?"
Academician Shi sighed and explained in detail the problem with the propulsion system and the inspection and repair work they were doing.
He said: "We are doing our best to solve this problem, but I am afraid that the launch time will be delayed. I know this will have an impact on the entire plan, but now we must ensure safety."
Shan Xing sighed slightly and said resignedly: "I understand your decision. Safety is the most important thing. I will notify the relevant departments immediately and reschedule the launch time. Is there anything you need my help with?"
"We currently suspect that there is a problem with the flight control system or the high-pressure and low-pressure tanks themselves. We are not sure yet."
"Okay, you guys check it out first. I'll come over in the afternoon to check on the situation."
After Shan Xing hung up the phone, he said to Luo Yao: "Gong Luo, the launch of the core module of the space station needs to be temporarily suspended. I will go to the space station research team in the afternoon to check the situation. They said there may be a problem with the flight control system. "
"Is there something wrong with the flight control system?"
Luo Yao thought about it and decided to go with Shan Xing. After all, the postponement would definitely be magnified at this juncture.
He wanted to see what the problem was.
Shan Xing was stunned when he heard this and became a little confused.
He asked Luo Yao to go. He was worried about the physical and mental health of the people on the space station. If Luo Yao was not allowed to go, he was worried that Luo Yao would have other ideas.
And Luo Yao is so smart, he might be able to help if he goes there.
After thinking for a while, he decided to sacrifice the physical and mental health of others at this time.
He raised his head, looked at Luo Yao and said, "Okay, Gong Luo, you can go with me, but we have to be mentally prepared. The situation over there may not be optimistic. In addition, you have to stay calm. "
Luo Yao looked at him confused and said, "I've always been calm."
Shan Xing sighed, with a wry smile on his lips: "Gong Luo, I have always admired your calmness, but this time is different. The situation on the space station may be much more complicated than you think."
"I'm worried that when you get there and see the mess, you won't be able to help but want to repair the flight control system yourself."
Luo Yao was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened and he said, "President, I don't have that much time."
Why is he repairing the flight control system?
Isn’t that someone else’s job?
He is not free enough to steal other people's work.
Shan Xing took Luo Yao to the core cabin experimental site.
As soon as they met, Academician Shi explained the problem.
"After a series of inspections and analyses, we finally found the source of the problem. It is now determined that there was a fault in the flight control software, which caused a problem in the pressure balance between the high-pressure tank and the low-pressure tank of the propulsion system, causing the attitude control engine to not work properly. .”
"The flight control software is the core control system of the space station. Once it fails, the consequences will be disastrous." Academician Shi said solemnly, "We have organized a team of experts to troubleshoot and repair the flight control software."
Shan Xing and Luo Yao breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that the problem had been found.
"There is just a problem with the flight control software. It should not take long to be repaired." Luo Yao estimated the amount of work and continued: "Can it be repaired in three hours?"
Academician Shi's face turned pale and he said, "Gong Luo, three hours is too stressful. We need a little more time."
"It should be done tonight. Lao He and the others have been working for more than three hours. Let's go and see the situation."
Academician Shi said as he led them to the maintenance room.
In the maintenance room, the lights are bright and the atmosphere is tense and orderly.
The source code and various data parameters of the flight control software are displayed in real time on the large display screen hanging on the wall. Several expert team members are sitting around the computer, concentrating on their work, and the sound of keyboard tapping is heard one after another.
"Lao He, can you figure out the problem tonight?"
Lao He, who was called, frowned and said, "Academician Shi, we have just investigated a problem. The failure of the attitude control engine to work properly may have nothing to do with the flight control system."
"What? It doesn't matter? What's the reason?"
"It's most likely a problem with the solenoid valve."
"The solenoid valve may have undergone structural damage after repeated switching and pulse operations many times."
"But the extent of the damage may not be significant so far, so there has been no propellant leakage."
Academician Shi's face turned ugly when he heard this.
"The solenoid valve is an important product of the attitude control engine system. If there is a problem with it, we don't know when our repair work will be completed."
As soon as Academician Shi finished speaking, the atmosphere in the maintenance room instantly became tense. As the solenoid valve is the core component of the attitude control engine system, once a problem occurs, the repair work will become complicated and lengthy.
This will not only affect the launch plan of the core module of the space station, but may also cause immeasurable losses to the entire project.
Shan Xing took a deep breath. He knew that he needed to be calm and rational at this time. He quickly sorted out his thoughts and thought about possible solutions.
"Academician Shi, we need to conduct a detailed inspection of the solenoid valve immediately." Shan Xing said in a deep voice, "At the same time, we can activate the backup solenoid valve and replace related parts."
"No." Luo Yao suddenly said.
"After many experiments, problems occurred with the solenoid valve, indicating that there was a problem with the original design of the solenoid valve."
"That's where there's structural damage."
Luo Yao's words embarrassed Academician Shi in public. The entire core cabin components had been approved by him, and now there was a major problem with the solenoid valve. It was like pressing his old face to the ground and rubbing it back and forth.
"Due to the small number of domestic spacecraft missions, there are basically no existing products that can adapt to the latest propulsion system requirements, so this is why such a big problem occurred this time."
"For long-life attitude control engines, the number of pulse operations usually needs to reach extremely high standards ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of times."
"This not only requires the thrust chamber to have excellent thermal shock adaptability and low loss characteristics due to coating erosion, but also places extremely stringent requirements on the engine's solenoid valve action life and sealing reliability. During our early research and development, we said To be honest, I have considered all aspects of the problem, but I didn’t expect that something went wrong.”
After hearing this, Luo Yao frowned and said, "It's not scary if something goes wrong. What's scary is that you are still reflecting on irrelevant things. Shouldn't you remove the solenoid valve now and analyze the situation?"
After all, Academician Shi was an academician. When had he ever been criticized like this? He said with hesitation: "Gong Luo, if I remember correctly, you don't seem to be responsible for the solenoid valve."
"I didn't say I was responsible. I just reminded you that there are only two days until the estimated departure time." Luo Yao said without bowing his head at all.
When Academician Shi heard Luo Yao's words, his face became even more gloomy. He frowned and said in a deep voice, "Gong Luo, I understand your concerns, but now we are doing our best to troubleshoot the problem, and we don't need others to tell us what to do."
"Even though you are a genius in other fields, when it comes to space station research and development, I think that my people and I have more experience."
"Isn't it true that despite being experienced, you still failed?" Luo Yao said casually, making Academician Shi even more angry.
Shan Xing noticed the smell of gunpowder in the air and said quickly: "Academician Shi, Gong Luo is also worried about you and worries that you don't have enough time."
Academician Shi snorted coldly and said, "Then I should thank him more. I would like to see what Academician Luo has to say!"