Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 316, "The Apprentice," Makes its Debut
On November 14, 1967, Cape Canaveral Launch Complex in Florida was shrouded in gloomy rain clouds.

It has a new name, Kennedy Space Center, but NASA employees still prefer to call it Cape Canaveral.

Lin Ran also prefers this name. The Kennedy Space Center reminds him of the 2020 timeline, and he hopes to be able to fully immerse himself in this world in 1960.

On launch pad 39A, the Saturn V rocket that carried Apollo 12 stands.

In this lunar mission, in addition to Aldrin, the other two pilots were replaced by Richard Gordon, the pilot in the command module, and Alan Bean, the pilot in the lunar module, forming the three-person lunar landing team.

According to the original Apollo space program, astronauts need to be rotated after completing their missions, and Aldrin was not even considered for the second moon landing.

This can be considered a tradition established by the Soviet Union. After Yuri Gagarin carried out a manned space mission, in order to protect the meritorious cosmonauts, they were enshrined as idols.

Lin Ran, on the other hand, treats astronauts like consumables; he continues to use Aldrin as long as it works well.

Armstrong, you're not trying to bribe me, so step back a little.

Neil probably never imagined that he would lose so many opportunities because of Neil and Buzz from another timeline.

President Lyndon Johnson and Vice President Humphrey Roberts were present at the event.

For the White House, this was the only option they had.

Lyndon Johnson originally didn't want to come; he felt that his first visit was enough, and he could send Vice President Humphrey as his representative for the second visit.

Unable to withstand the numerous scandals originating from the Vietnam War front, he had to seek refuge from the limelight.

The top-notch tricks of exploiting frontline sergeants to the point of sacrificing their lives have been exposed, and Lyndon Johnson is starting to feel the pressure.

At least here, on the professor's home turf, those damn reporters won't ask him any questions that would embarrass him.

Throwing the topic to the professor might make Lyndon Johnson feel ignored, but being ignored is much better than being constantly criticized, right?

No matter what, Lin Ran would not be his opponent in the presidential election, Lyndon Johnson thought.

Moreover, with China's return to GATT, the rift between him and Lin Ran disappeared, and they became close partners again.

Here, you can hear professors praising themselves, which is much better than being in the White House, being asked all sorts of questions by White House reporters in the East Room that he had no idea how to answer.

The wind speed that day reached a staggering 151.7 knots, which is extremely high.

An hour before the launch countdown, raindrops pattered against the windows of the visitor center, and the distant clouds were dark and low, as if they were about to fall to the ground.

Lyndon Johnson said with concern, "Professor, the weather isn't very good today. There are such thick clouds in the sky. Do we really want to launch Apollo 12 under these conditions?"

Isn't this too risky? What if lightning strikes the rocket? We can't let the astronauts take unnecessary risks!

Lin Ran explained, "Mr. President, on behalf of the astronauts, I thank you for your concern."

As you said, today's weather is affected by a low-pressure trough extending from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico, and a cold front is passing through northern Florida, bringing an unstable layer of air.

Radar indicated that the cloud cover was between 800 and 10000 feet, with localized cumulus clouds, which are precursors to cumulonimbus clouds, reaching a height of 23000 feet. There was also light rain and possible ice crystal formation.

These conditions do increase the risk of atmospheric charge, but based on our assessment of the potential hazards according to current launch commitment guidelines, we believe that the risk of not launching directly into active thunderstorm clouds is entirely manageable.

Mr. President, you know that firing directly at thunderstorm clouds can cause natural lightning strikes.

However, here, our field meter showed that the surface electric field strength was below 100 volts/cm, there were no active thunderstorm signals, and no sustained lightning activity or radar echoes indicating an immediate threat.

Therefore, we can proceed with this launch because the rocket's trajectory will not directly pass through the cloud core.

Lyndon Johnson said with a puzzled look, "Professor, this sounds a bit casual."

Could you explain in detail why, since cumulonimbus clouds are so dangerous and could interfere with rocket operations, we could change the date or add protection such as lightning rods?
I'm sorry, but things have been going wrong lately. I really don't know how the media will report on this if this launch encounters another danger.

"The Invincible Professor Suffers a Waterloo with President Johnson" I can already imagine how the media will report this. If this launch fails, the media will definitely blame me for everything.

I finally understand how Nixon felt back then: no matter what you do, it's wrong.

Professor, that's why I'd like to ask a few more questions, just to avoid any unforeseen circumstances.

Vice President Humphrey, sitting to the side, was struggling to suppress his laughter.

Lin Ran smiled and said, "Of course, Mr. President."

The danger of cumulonimbus clouds lies in the separation of charges within them. Rising air currents carry positive charges to the cloud top, while falling raindrops and ice crystals carry negative charges to the cloud bottom, creating a powerful electric field, sometimes reaching several thousand volts per centimeter.

Our rocket itself is a behemoth, standing a full 364 feet tall. The massive conductor, along with the ionized tail extending from the exhaust plume, will distort these electric field lines, amplifying the field strength at the rocket's tip by hundreds of times, potentially reaching 300,000 volts per meter. This field strength is sufficient to cause air breakdown.

This was not natural lightning, but triggered lightning: the rocket provided a low-resistance path for the charge in the cloud to be released, much like a needle inserted into a high-voltage capacitor.

Our launch tower has a grounding system and lightning rods, which can handle ground strikes, but once the rocket is launched, it becomes a moving target.

If the field strength is too high, the energy released will far exceed the static electricity accumulation of the rocket itself, which will pose a danger.

Fortunately, we have been monitoring these with atmospheric noise detectors and electric field meters, but today's data shows that the risk is manageable, and none of them have exceeded the threshold.

Lyndon Johnson nodded, then asked, "Professor, this certainly sounds scientific, but what if something goes wrong? What will happen to the astronauts? Do you have a backup plan?"

Lin Ran thought to himself, "Lydon Johnson has indeed been living in fear lately, and even his confidence in me has diminished."

"Absolutely, Mr. President. Our Saturn V rocket was designed with electrical transients in mind. Solid-state equipment is most vulnerable, but fuel cells and inertial navigation systems have redundancy."

In the event of an attack, our ground control center can instruct the units to switch to auxiliary power.

For example, switching a signal conditioning device to Aux mode can restore its operation.

The crew members, Aldrin, Gordon, and Bean, were trained in simulations to reset the system within minutes and use celestial navigation to realign the inertial platform.

Historically, we have never experienced such low-altitude land-based triggering, but given our short history of rocket launches, if it were to happen today, it would be a good thing for us, as we would gain more experience.

As for contingency plans, we will either suspend the mission or switch to track parking mode to assess the damage.

Therefore, in the long run, this launch will help us refine our guidelines: for example, prohibiting future launches through cumulus clouds with cloud tops above 10000 feet, or cold fronts with mid-level cloud thickness exceeding 6000 feet, to reduce launch window risks.

Lyndon Johnson: "Well, Professor, as expected of you, being with you always makes me feel at ease, unlike McNamara, who always wakes me up in the middle of the night with bad news."

It's better to deal with scientists like you, especially you, Professor. You always manage to put my mind at ease.

I hope everything goes well. You know, this isn't just science, it's politics too.

"Stay vigilant; if the cloud cover worsens, we may need to halt operations immediately."

Lyndon Johnson's words, initially praising and then criticizing, served as a reminder to Lin Ran.

Lin Ran replied matter-of-factly, “Of course, Mr. President, our control center is monitoring it in real time.”

If the electric field suddenly increases or the radar shows an increase in echoes, we will postpone it. Don't worry about it at all; I wouldn't risk my reputation.

Then Lin Ran lowered his voice: "I would never joke about the lives of Baz and the others."

The voice was very soft, almost inaudible amidst the sound of raindrops hitting the glass, but Lyndon Johnson heard it clearly. He patted Lin Ran on the shoulder: "Of course, none of us want to see anything happen to our hero!"

As expected, the monitoring indicators at the control center consistently showed that launch was possible.

There were no abnormalities, and no alarms suddenly sounded.

The rocket ignited and lifted off at 11:22 a.m. local time.

Flames erupted from the bottom, and the thrust slowly lifted the entire structure, tearing through the air.

Inside the crew cabin, Aldrin kept a close eye on the instrument panel, Gordon monitored the navigation system, and Bean was in charge of the initial checks on the lunar module.

Just 36.5 seconds after liftoff, a lightning strike hit the rocket, caused by electrostatic discharge, which instantly took all three fuel cells offline. The entire spacecraft switched to battery power, but the batteries were insufficient to meet the demand.

“Professor! My God, what is that!” Lyndon Johnson exclaimed.

However, Lin Ran didn't have time to pay attention to him. He leaned close to the microphone and reminded the crew: "We tested switching fault modes during testing. Switch SCE to Aux! Bean knows where the switch is."

At 52 seconds, a second lightning strike hit, destroying the attitude indicator.

At the ground control center in Cape Canaveral, telemetry data suddenly became chaotic.

Upon hearing Lin Ran's voice, Aldrin immediately calmed down. Recalling how he handled such scenarios during testing, he calmly issued the command: "Fly, EECOM, try SCE to Aux."

Bean quickly switched the signal conditioning electronics to backup power and restored telemetry.

Data showed no major malfunctions, and he subsequently brought the fuel cell back online.

The crew was initially worried that the lightning might have damaged the explosive bolts in the command module's parachute compartment, but since the ground professor's voice did not come through, they did not think about it further and the mission continued.

After the rocket successfully entered the Earth parking orbit, the crew carefully inspected the spacecraft.

Aldrin quipped in a low voice, "We almost turned into toast." Lyndon Johnson, on Earth, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He felt that if another space disaster occurred, he would have to issue a self-criticism and hand over the presidency to Humphrey.

Humphrey probably thought the same thing, and when the new trio reignited the S-IVB third-stage engine, a barely perceptible look of disappointment flashed across his face.

The command module performed a lunar injection at 2:47:22 mission time, propelling the spacecraft away from Earth's gravity and heading towards the moon.

At 3:07:42, the command and service module "Yankee Clipper" separated from the third-stage engine. Gordon performed the rotation, docking, and extraction maneuvers to dock with the lunar module and propel the third-stage engine into solar orbit.

"Baz, inspect the lunar module immediately to ensure there are no accidents caused by the lightning."

Aldrin and Bean entered the lunar module to check as instructed by Lin Ran, and everything was normal.

At 30:52:44, a mid-course correction was performed, adjusting the trajectory to a hybrid non-free return path.

This was the first manned mission in the 60s to use this trajectory, extending the time to reach lunar orbit by 8 hours.

Of course, there were only three moon landings to begin with.

Extending the timeframe also provides greater planning flexibility.

During the journey, the crew transmitted images back to Earth via television, showcasing the magnificent scenery of the moon.

Bean, who is also an amateur painter, murmured to himself as he looked out the window, “It looks like an abstract painting, with gray and black intertwined.”

Aldrin patted his head. "Bean, you'll get bored with this view soon enough, but lad, I was just like you the first time I came here."

Bean nodded and said, "Doctor, we still have a lot to learn from you in this regard."

In the past, people called Aldrin "Dr. Orbital Interaction," but now he is simply called "Doctor," and his surname is no longer used. This title is thanks to Aldrin's status as the first person to walk on the moon, and he was quite pleased with it.

Now I'm a Doctor without a prefix, and Aldrin always feels a secret joy whenever he hears this title.

This is no exception in space.

He thought to himself, "There's nothing wrong with calling myself a Doctor. Who else on the moon could be the only Doctor? Is it really necessary to add a surname?"
They adjusted their routines, simulated activities under lunar gravity, and discussed the upcoming precise landing, targeting the Oceanus Procellarum, close to the previous unmanned probe Surveyor 3.

11月18日，任务时间83:25:26，服务推进系统燃烧352.25秒，将航天器插入月球轨道，高度170.2x61.66海里。

On their first lunar orbit, they transmitted clear video of the lunar surface back to Earth.

At 107:54:02, the command and service module separated from the lunar lander. Thirty minutes later, the command module's thrusters burned for 14.4 seconds, separating the two by 2.2 nautical miles.

The landing phase began at 109:23:39, with the lunar lander's descent propulsion system burning for 29 seconds to enter a lower orbit.

At 110:20:38, the power descent, with a total duration of 717 seconds, was initiated.

Bean gazed out the window, hoping to see the snowman-patterned crater cluster.

Gordon was left in the command module.

When it appeared, he exclaimed, "Doctor, we've hit the bullseye!"

Aldrin quickly switched to manual control, navigating precisely to avoid rocks and slopes.

110:32:36，无畏号顺利在南纬3.01239°、西经23.42157°完成着陆，距测量者3号仅535英尺，约合163米。

Dust billowed, the engine shut off, and Bean exclaimed excitedly, "Wow, Professor, we've finally arrived!"

It lasted about four and a half days.

Four hours after landing, Aldrin was the first to step onto the lunar surface.

Bean followed.

They set up the American flag and deployed the Apollo lunar surface experiment package, which included a passive seismometer, a lunar ionosphere detector, a solar wind spectrometer, a cold cathode ion meter, and a charged particle lunar environment experiment.

These instruments are designed to monitor earthquakes, the ionosphere, and the solar wind, providing long-term data.

The first extravehicular activity lasted 3 hours and 56 minutes, during which they collected approximately 15.6 kilograms of rock and soil samples.

After a break, the second EVA began on November 20 and lasted for 3 hours and 49 minutes.

They walked to Surveyor 3, an unmanned probe that landed in 1966, just 200 meters from the landing site.

Aldrin and Bean examined it carefully, cutting off parts such as the camera and shovel, in preparation for taking them back to Earth for analysis.

Bean accidentally smashed a television camera with a hammer, causing a transmission interruption, but they continued sampling and collected more geological samples, including from the bottom of a crater called Bench Crater.

They spent a total of 31 hours and 31 minutes on the lunar surface, walked about 1.3 miles, and experienced the wonder of one-sixth gravity.

After lunar activities concluded, the lunar lander's ascent stage ignited at 131:51:03, burned for 248.7 seconds, and entered orbit to rendezvous with the command module.

At 134:58:11, the docking was successful, and the three were reunited.

While waiting alone in orbit, Gordon took photos of the moon and joked, "You guys have fun down there, and I'm counting stars here."

They jettisoned the lunar module's descent stage and sent it to impact the lunar surface to generate artificial earthquakes for seismographs to record.

To elaborate further, each Apollo moon landing left a seismograph at the landing site of the lunar module, and the seismograph's function in recording the artificial earthquakes caused by the lunar module's impact on the lunar surface is just the most basic one.

Most importantly, artificial impacts provide calibration signals with known time, location, and energy, which can be used to verify instrument sensitivity and network accuracy, help adjust passive seismograph arrays, and improve the detection of natural lunar earthquakes.

The data collected from each moonquake can be aggregated to analyze the moon's internal structure.

NASA was able to find such a good location as Shackleton Crater thanks to the seismometers they deployed on the Moon, which continued operating until 1977 and provided a wealth of data for analysis.

Of course, all of this paved the way for Apollo Technology in the 2020 timeline, but Apollo Technology is still Apollo.

In terms of NASA's capabilities, Apollo Technology is probably even more advanced than NASA headquarters.

The service propulsion system burned for 58.1 seconds at mission time 145:14:59, entering the trans-Earth injection trajectory.

On their return journey, they broadcast on television, showcasing the samples and their experiences.

On November 21, mid-course corrections were conducted.

On November 24, at mission time 244:22:00, the service module separated, and the command module "Yankee Clipper" entered the atmosphere at an angle of 0.57°, with a peak deceleration of 10.38 g.

At 244:36:29, the main parachute deployed and the aircraft safely splashed down in the South Pacific Ocean, only 2.55 nautical miles from the target ship, the USS Wasp.

The recovery team arrived quickly, and the crew was picked up by helicopter, ending this precise and adventurous journey.

The total weight of the samples brought back from the moon was 75 pounds, providing valuable data for subsequent geological research.

After completing this moon landing, Lin Ran returned to his beloved New York.

His godfather, the newly launched political talk show, "The Apprentice," is waiting for him.

Da T is already eager to use the interview with Lin Ran as a great start to his "Apprentice" program.

As for Fred's opinion, does it matter?

Fred couldn't stop Big T's behavior at all.

In the original timeline, the "filial piety" phase between the two only occurred after Fred developed Alzheimer's symptoms. Big T belittled Fred and participated in a wealth transfer scheme suspected of tax fraud.

This stems from her niece Mary's 2020 memoir, "Too Much and Never Enough," in which Big T mocks her father's condition, comparing him to a baby or an idiot, and publicly humiliates him at family meetings, saying he's like a child.

However, Big T's side refuted this view, creating a somewhat Rashomon-like situation.

In a 2018 in-depth investigative report by The New York Times, it was alleged that during Fred's illness, Big T implemented a series of wealth transfer strategies, including tax avoidance, evasion, and alleged fraud, to help him obtain $4.13 million from Fred in today's terms, rather than the "only $100 million loan" that Big T himself claimed.

The New York Times report is more credible because it includes Fred's tax records, bank documents, and interviews.

In short, after gaining fame in the Vietnam War, Big T's ambitions swelled rapidly, and he dared to openly rebel even before Fred developed dementia.

On the other hand, Lin Ran's agreement to be interviewed gave him a strange sense of confidence.

With the professor accepting my interview and my own fame, what reason do I have to fail? Big T's thinking is very simple.

"Welcome everyone to the Apprentice show! Now, let's welcome our opening guest today, the Emperor of NASA, the guiding light of mathematics, the eternal professor, Randolph Lin!"

The last word was stretched out infinitely by Big T, eliciting screams from the audience. Clearly, the New York audience loved this style and appreciated Big T's unconventional and performative personality.

What's more, the other party was a hero who returned to New York from the front lines of the Vietnam War, and Americans appreciate that kind of person.

Jenny, sitting in the front row, clapped perfunctorily. She simply couldn't understand why the professor would get involved with a scumbag like Big T.

Even though Big T has recently gained fame, in Jenny's view, it cannot hide her despicable nature.

(End of this chapter)