Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 259 Moving Forward with Courage and Determination
With the F-1 and J-2 engines secured, Lin Ran believed that there were no more obstacles to landing on the moon.

All that's left is to follow the steps and complete the operation.

Any problem that can be solved with control systems and track algorithms is not a problem.

Of course, not everyone thinks this way.

When he returned to Shenhai from Chang'an, the atmosphere in the company was still very tense.

Because they are about to conduct their first manned spaceflight.

This includes orbiting the Earth more than twice and finally returning to Earth, during which the astronauts must complete extravehicular activities.

The moment Lin Ran walked into the building where Apollo Technology was located, the employees gathered together and spontaneously applauded.

The outside world may not know that they are going to land on the moon this year, but everyone knows it.

They have taken the most solid step toward their goal of landing on the moon.

Aldrin walked at the front, hugged Lin Ran, and whispered in his ear, "Professor, congratulations, I can't wait to go to the moon again!"

His voice was very soft, and he was speaking broken Chinese, which he had learned in China.

Lin Ran then asked, "Baz, America hasn't given you any trouble, has she?"

He could tell even with his bare hands that America was bound to be in a difficult position.

It would be strange if it weren't difficult.

Lin Ran guessed that none of the former NASA employees present had escaped being contacted by America, who had coerced and bribed them to return.

Aldrin grinned and said, "Of course, they even got my ex-wife to call me and ask me to come back for a hearing about NASA."

"I'm not going back. It'll be a good opportunity for those ruthless BI guys to have a good chat with my ex-wives."

Lin Ran understood. He couldn't win the lawsuit himself, so now Meta was personally stepping in to help him get revenge.

Aldrin thought to himself, this is a real unexpected bonus. If he had gone any further, would America have sent his ex-wives to jail?
Unfortunately, I'm too old now, and my heart isn't so ruthless anymore.

Lin Ran then asked, "What about the others?"

Haines, how are you guys?

Haines explained, "We're okay. We're under less pressure than Buzz."

I suspect NASA is hoping we work here as long as possible, so we can bring back all the experience we gained while working here.

NASA believed we were involved in the recovery of the F-1 engine.

In addition, our family relationships have become quite distant, with only Buzz experiencing significant pressure.

Lin Ran understood. After Armstrong's death, Aldrin was the first American to walk on the moon. If the Chinese sent Aldrin to the moon, it would be quite a slap in the face.

China's publicly released data from Luna 1 clearly tells the world that what we built is an F-1 fighter jet, an F-1 that you could build in the past but can no longer build now. This alone is enough to slap you in the face.

The Americans can even portray it as a conspiracy that has lasted for more than ten or even decades.

That's true, it did indeed last for decades.

Neither NASA nor CNSA could have imagined that this was not a continuous function, but a piecewise function.

It could even be a piecewise function that jumps repeatedly.

If the level of embarrassment for Luna 1 is 10, then sending Aldrin up there would be a level of embarrassment of 10,000 or more.

This also caused America to start breathing out, as if she were under stress. Thirteen golden orders were issued in quick succession, citing the need for witnesses at the hearing, in an attempt to force Aldrin to return home quickly.

Desperate, they resorted to bringing up Aldrin's ex-wife.

"That's good. Everyone can go back to America for Christmas this year," Lin Ran said.

Aldrin hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Haines couldn't help but say, "Professor, to be honest, if we really succeed in landing on the moon, I hope to apply for a Chinese green card and stay here."

Rudolf, do you know?

Lin Ran frowned; it was a familiar name.

It was also during Lin Ran's initial foray into NASA power struggles in the 60s that he managed to send this former NAZI executioner out of NASA to fend for himself.

"I don't know," Lin Ran said, shaking his head.

Haines said, "Professor, this was my boss at NASA in the 60s. After leaving NASA, he was embroiled in lawsuits, lost his pension, and eventually disappeared without a trace."

If we manage to land on the moon here, we'll most likely meet the same fate after returning to America.

Exhausted from being repeatedly investigated and interrogated by the BI, I entered the cemetery.

Both I and they hope to spend the last moments of our lives in China.

These NASA veterans had mixed feelings.

At first, few people believed that Lin Ran could complete the moon landing. After he arrived, people felt that there was a chance, but that was based on the premise that it would take at least five years.

Five years later, I might not even be left behind.

As a result, it can now be done in a year and a half.

This put them in an awkward position. Firstly, they had indeed participated in the moon landing project spanning sixty years and two generations, which was enough to make them feel fulfilled in their lives. Secondly, they knew all too well the nature of those people in Washington, and they were bound to be in trouble when they returned.

Everyone here is an old-timer who has worked in key institutions and has seen and heard too much about America's dark side.

So none of them wanted to go back.

Lin Ran nodded: "Okay, I will try to get it for you."

The NASA veterans' words reminded Lin Ran of his mentor, an Indian named Niranjan.

Compared to his nominal mentors Siegel and Horkheimer in the 60s, Nilanjan was far inferior to them in every aspect.

Nilanjan called, crying, pleading, and cursing, asking Lin Ran if he could return to America to be investigated and clear his name.

These words made Lin Ran laugh. "I'm already in China. Isn't America's accusation just a medal of honor?"
In other words, the reason why Xiaomi's reputation on the Simplified Chinese internet is not as good as Huawei's is because Huawei is going against America. Regardless of whether this confrontation was forced or not, America regards Huawei as a thorn in its side.

If I cared about my so-called innocence in the Western world, I wouldn't have chosen to return to China.

During the phone call, Lin Ran also realized that Nilan Zhan had brought this upon himself. He had been wildly praising himself, exaggerating his abilities to the point of being unparalleled.

From recognizing talent to guiding Lin Ran, and developing a close personal relationship with Lin Ran, there's nothing Nilan Zhan wouldn't boast about.

If you're going to brag like that, and you're of Indian descent, who else would Americans vent their anger on if not you?
Lin Ran decisively hung up the phone while cursing, a faint sadness passing through his heart. The other party did indeed say that there was no major mistake.

He only made a mistake that many people of Indian descent make; it certainly didn't warrant this outcome.

However, Lin Ran really couldn't save him.

Lin Ran's thoughts returned to the scene, and he turned to look at Aldrin:

"Baz, what about you?"

Aldrin said wistfully, "I hope to die on the moon."

After the celebration ended, Lin Ran returned to his office, followed closely by Song Nanping.

"Did you understand what those former NASA employees were saying?" Lin Ran asked. They were speaking English, and with a Southern accent from Huntsville, and they spoke quickly, so it wasn't easy for the average person to understand them.

Song Nanping nodded: "I understand the general meaning."

Lin Ran then asked, "So, can you help them get green cards?"
The remnants of the Apollo moon landing were ultimately buried in our China, which is a kind of inheritance, and its symbolic significance is unparalleled.

After thinking for a moment, Song Nanping said, "I will take care of it as soon as possible."

Lin Ran said directly, "Nanping, I think it's best for everyone to be more honest."

I know you're not an ordinary state-owned enterprise employee; your identity is quite special.

As long as I have the initiative in what I want to do, I am not opposed to cooperating with the government.

I know very well that without you, and without some employees with secondary identities working at Apollo Technologies, we wouldn't have the resources we have today.

In a sense, the concept of private aerospace is a false proposition; it's merely the government transferring some functions to the market in the hope that the market can cultivate more dynamic and innovative enterprises.

Song Nanping wasn't too surprised. He knew his own identity and that Lin Ran had guessed it. He just didn't expect Lin Ran to reveal it at this time.

“President Lin, you’re right,” Song Nanping said. “The reason I didn’t tell you this before was because I was afraid you would have a negative reaction to this situation.”

Lin Ran chuckled and said, "Aerospace is different from other fields; I need to rely on a lot of government resources."

Musk's SpaceX also relies on NASA and the American military for technology, orders, and engineers to sustain its development.

Taking this lunar landing as an example, without government assistance, could we have done everything ourselves, from launch to recovery in the Pacific Ocean?

Some industries can operate completely freely, while it's unrealistic for others not to cooperate with the government.

Lin Ran only mentioned part of it.

Launching rockets requires a license, and without state-owned backing, it's extremely difficult to obtain one.

Rocket launches require the use of nationally built launch centers; rocket testing requires the use of existing national testing laboratories; and astronaut training requires the use of existing training centers.

No matter who comes, it is impossible to endlessly reinvent the wheel.

Therefore, cooperation is inevitable.

Lin Ran continued, "So Nanping, if you have any questions, just tell me directly. You can act as a communication channel between me and the government."

I will tell you directly what I need.

As the former NASA administrator who directly managed thousands of people and indirectly managed hundreds of thousands, Lin Ran knew very well that when an organization is on the rise, you can manage it however you want, and it will go very smoothly.

Of course, he doesn't yet know how to manage an organization when it reaches a bottleneck or decline.

But since we're currently in a period of growth, let's be open about things now and use honesty to eliminate potential pitfalls in advance.

"You are all the elite of the elite, the elite who will carry out many missions in the future."

After Lin Ran arrived in Wenchang, he stood on the ground at the rocket launch site, facing the astronauts from Apollo Technology, who were about to carry out their first space mission.

Apollo Technologies initially recruited 14 people, but later, due to various reasons, such as family reasons, being deemed unsuitable in personality tests, or feeling that the life of an astronaut was not quite what they had imagined, only the current five remain.

Whether by choice or necessity, more than half of the astronauts have been eliminated from the astronaut roster.

Apollo Technologies' astronaut recruitment is ongoing, but suitable candidates are hard to find.

The five remaining individuals, the cream of the crop, have already signed contracts with Apollo Technology, and their organizational affiliation has been transferred from the Air Force or Air China.

Two of the five, Qian Fei and Zhao Jianguo, are tasked with this mission.

"Today you embark on a historic journey that will test our capabilities and bring us one step closer to our goal of landing on the moon."

Your mission is similar to the preparatory missions of the Apollo program, which laid the foundation for the first moon landing.

Just as Apollo 7 tested the command module, Apollo 8 orbited the moon, Apollo 9 tested the lunar module, and Apollo 10 was a full rehearsal for the lunar landing mission. The command module and the lunar module flew to lunar orbit, and the lunar module descended to a distance of about 15 kilometers from the lunar surface. These tests covered all operations except for the actual landing.

Given that our Saturn V rocket is still under construction, we cannot currently use the Burning 1 rocket to enter lunar orbit for testing.

This mission will primarily focus on completing the Apollo 7 test mission, as well as a large number of missions from the Mercury and Gemini programs prior to the start of the Apollo program.

Our astronauts Qian Fei and Zhao Jianguo will be responsible for carrying out the mission.

After the Saturn V was built, the Apollo 8 and 9 test missions were completed, and the rehearsal phase was finally abandoned, allowing the Apollo moon landing to be completed in one fell swoop.

Only Qian Fei and Zhao Jianguo are about to carry out the mission, but that doesn't mean the other three won't have the opportunity to perform astronaut missions.

On the contrary, five astronauts are far too few. Each of you will undertake numerous space missions in the years to come, your footprints potentially covering the entire solar system.

After witnessing the miracles of the Burning One rocket and the F-1 engine, everyone firmly believed this statement.

Everyone was trained and knew that during the entire Apollo moon landing process, it wasn't just Aldrin and Armstrong who went to the moon; several other astronauts went to the moon later on.

Therefore, the other three astronauts may feel envious of Qian Fei and Zhao Jianguo's selection, envious that they were able to carry out the mission first, but that's all.

After all, being the first Chinese to walk on the moon brought honor, but also risk. Who could guarantee success on the first try?
"During those Apollo moon landing missions, the astronauts faced countless challenges and uncertainties, but through their courage, skills and teamwork, they overcame difficulties and achieved great success."

Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon, and everyone knows him. He was also an old acquaintance of Buzz's.

During the Apollo 11 mission, as the lunar module descended, the computer issued a 1202 alert, indicating an execution overflow error. They discovered that the spacecraft had deviated four miles from its intended landing point and was rapidly descending into an area filled with boulders.

With only 25 seconds of fuel remaining, the situation was extremely urgent. Armstrong quickly disengaged the autopilot and took control of the spacecraft himself, avoiding the rocky outcrops, and finally landed safely when the fuel was almost completely depleted.

Neil later recalled, "I was probably a little scared, but I was too busy landing to think about it."

His calmness and focus were key to the mission's success.

Similarly, you may encounter unexpected situations, but please remember to stay focused and have faith in your training.

The reason why Buzz is so strict with you during training is because you may encounter similar situations where you cannot completely trust the automated system.

Autonomous driving technology on Earth is still immature. In space, would you dare to entrust your life and property to an autonomous system?

The composure and courage that the Apollo team in America has shown under pressure in the past should be the same ability you have to meet any challenge.

Another story comes from Apollo 12.

In November 1969, while Charles and Allen were on a mission, the rocket was struck by lightning after launch, causing instrument malfunctions and a temporary interruption of communication and power systems.

Allen quickly reset the system and restored normal operation. They eventually landed precisely in the Storm Ocean, only 200 meters from the unmanned probe Surveyor 3.

In your mission, you may encounter technical problems, but like the Apollo 12 crew, you have the knowledge and support to overcome them.

Also remember, the ground control center is your strong support. When you encounter difficulties, I will always provide you with the most accurate route to deal with them.

No matter what unexpected things happen in space, don't forget that I'm in the ground control center, ready to provide you with support at any time. We will face any difficulties together!
Finally, let me quote some words from the Apollo astronauts to inspire you on your journey.

Neil said, "I think we go to the moon because facing challenges is in human nature. It's a deep-seated, soul-searching urge, like salmon swimming upstream; we have to do these things."

We are making history and facing unprecedented challenges, but it is through these challenges that we can grow and achieve great things.

Compressing nearly a decade of space testing into a single operation is a huge challenge for you.

As your instructor, Buzz Aldrin, said, 'One truth I've discovered is this: when you believe anything is possible and are willing to work towards your goals, you can achieve the next impossible dream. Don't dream too high!'

Go forth with courage, determination, and the awareness that this is part of achieving greatness. Let us be proud of you and wish you complete success in your mission.

　There will be another chapter later.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)