Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 341 The Greatest Failure and Success

A total of seven manned lunar landing missions were carried out from the 11th to the 17th.

The reason why the moon landing was suspected of being faked by later generations is largely because no one died.
Seven lunar landing missions, including Apollo 13, involved an oxygen tank explosion in space, but none of the astronauts perished. The astronauts reached the moon, orbited it, and then successfully returned to Earth.

With a 100% success rate, the only time an astronaut died in the entire Apollo program was on the ground, due to a fire during ground testing.

In the original timeline, a fire during ground testing in 1967 killed three astronauts. Two years later, Armstrong successfully landed on the moon, and no astronauts have died in moon landing missions since.

Those who hold conspiracy theories about the moon landing argue that it's too counterintuitive, claiming it's more secure than a passenger plane.

But right now, in the control center at Cape Canaveral, after the astronauts returned safely, everyone had only one thought in their minds: thank goodness for the professor.

Whether it's instantaneous orbit calculations, combustion calculations, or solutions for sudden drops in carbon dioxide, all of these were developed by Linran.

Without the professor, they couldn't even imagine what would have happened to them.

Lin Ran turned to Lyndon Johnson, who looked like he had just escaped a disaster, and said, "Mr. President, we can now hold a press conference and face the reporters."

For the past three days, the biggest news from television stations to newspapers has been the accident on Apollo 13, in which the astronauts died in space.

This event overshadowed Hoover's death and Nixon's election, becoming the focus of attention for all Americans.

The consequences of Aldrin's death are unimaginable.

Both NASA and the White House press secretary held small press conferences to briefly explain the situation and express confidence in resolving the issue.

But the outside world doesn't believe it. Like conspiracy theories, it's counterintuitive that you could safely return to Earth after such a major accident in space, with an oxygen tank exploding.

For the past two days, all the newspapers have been reporting on the Apollo 13 malfunction on their front pages, and television programs are discussing whether the professor has lost his magic and whether Aldrin can return to Earth safely.

When experts from various fields were invited to give interviews, the vast majority of them expressed pessimism.

"Apollo missions disabled by explosion; astronauts in danger"

"Aldrin fought for his life in the crippled spaceship"

"Apollo 13 is in danger and unlikely to return home."

"The Greatest Crisis of the Space Age"

For three consecutive days, the television station provided almost uninterrupted coverage, including simulated animations showing the spacecraft's trajectory, inviting experts to discuss backup plans, and interviews with the astronauts' families.

But the TV hosts didn't blame Lin Ran; instead, they pointed the finger at Lyndon Johnson.

It is generally believed that Lyndon Johnson was simply too unlucky; his bad luck overwhelmed Professor Johnson's divine power, which led to this unexpected incident.

(The Logansport News, Indiana, front-page headline about the Apollo 13 malfunction)

Lyndon Johnson naturally saw these reports as well, and he was speechless after reading them. He was blamed for the assassination attempt, and now that the spaceship had crashed, he was being blamed not on NASA and the professor, but on him.
He feels that he is in almost the same situation as Nixon after losing the California election in 1962, being targeted by the media and having every possible blame thrown at him.

Sometimes quitting isn't necessarily a bad thing, Lyndon Johnson thought.

The makeshift press conference room at Cape Canaveral was packed with journalists from around the world who had received news of the astronauts' successful return to Earth and the fact that none of the three astronauts had died. Photos of Aldrin emerging from the hatch had been repeatedly broadcast by major television stations.

But the reporters were still eager to interview Lin Ran and ask about the story behind it. The reporters wanted to know, and the readers wanted to know even more.

So when Lin Ran and Lyndon Johnson walked into the press room, the flashbulbs went off nonstop, and the reporters stood up and applauded for the successful rescue.

Unlike Yuri Gagarin, the first Soviet man to walk on the moon, Aldrin, America's heroic cosmonaut did not end up in tragedy.

In this timeline, Yuri Gagarin no longer performs space missions and takes on an administrative job. He fails to overcome his alcoholism and, although he doesn't die in a plane crash, he eventually dies in a traffic accident.

At the funeral, Lin Ran presented a eulogy to Yuri Gagarin.

"Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I am pleased to announce that Apollo 13 has safely returned to Earth. The astronauts are on the recovery ship returning to America. They are all in good condition and their vital signs are stable. This was a failed Apollo moon landing, but it was also a successful space rescue," said Lin Ran.

I started with a slump and then rose to the top; in short, I didn't fail!

"This is a miracle, and also a testament to NASA's organizational capabilities and our wisdom and courage," Lin Ran continued.

Another round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience. The reporters were very excited; the astronauts' miraculous survival and the space rescue were all so dramatic.

After Lin Ran finished speaking, Lyndon Johnson continued, "I am very fortunate to have witnessed this miracle at Cape Canaveral. This is the greatest success and failure in the history of human spaceflight to date. I thank all the participants, from astronauts to engineers, and most importantly, I thank the professor."

I was in the control center and witnessed firsthand the professor's exceptional command throughout the entire process, from the initial accident to the astronauts' successful return to Earth.

No one else could have delivered such outstanding command today.

Lyndon Johnson personally applauded Lin Ran, which led to another round of applause from the reporters in the audience.

Lyndon Johnson then laughed and said, "Thank you, Professor, for ensuring that my presidency didn't end in tragedy."

He seemed unusually relaxed when he talked about this.

After this, I'll just wait to finish my term and go back to Texas to hunt and retire.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

"I have less than a month left before I leave the White House," Lyndon Johnson concluded, quoting a line from the Bible.

The reporters in the audience responded with polite applause.

Lin Ran thought to himself, "At this moment, Lyndon Johnson certainly doesn't think about the polluted lands of Baiyue, the murdered civilians, and the destroyed villages. Since fairness and justice don't exist in the world, the anger of the lower classes is becoming increasingly difficult to reach the upper classes with the advancement of technology. 'Justice will not be late' is just a self-comforting phrase of the oppressed." Lin Ran then considered, what reason did he have to criticize Lyndon Johnson? His own thinking had been transformed over the years in Washington; he was no longer the simple student he once was, but a cold-blooded politician, an ambitious man hoping to reshape the world according to his own will, a superman with extraordinary abilities.

Were all the guards who provided security for Hoover truly unforgivable? Did they all really have to die? Hoover certainly deserved to die, but what about those guards? Lin Ran shook his head helplessly as he thought about this. He wouldn't blame himself, wouldn't engage in internal strife, but simply lamented the vicissitudes of life, how much he had changed since then.

Those in positions of power are not subject to blame. Lyndon Johnson was an example of this, so why shouldn't I be?
Under the arrangement of NASA's press secretary, reporters took turns asking questions.

"Professor, I'm Klaus, a reporter from The Washington Post. I just saw you shaking your head. Are you dissatisfied with President Johnson's answer?"

"Of course not, I'm just amazed at how fast time flies. I always feel like President Lyndon Johnson hasn't been in office for very long."

When I first came to the White House, President Johnson was my direct superior. At that time, his title was Vice, and he later became President.

We helped American astronauts land on the moon, completed reusable rockets, and saw the GPS satellite system begin to take shape. We completely won the space race. Our cooperation was so pleasant and fruitful that I forgot we had been together for eight whole years.

Lin Ran's answer satisfied Lyndon Johnson. "Professor, you're so good at talking. After I step down, the space center will definitely have to be renamed the Johnson Space Center."

The reporters thought to themselves that the professor's flattery skills were too good.

This is less than saying that Big T is America's only advantage in the field of artificial intelligence, something Lin Ran would never have thought of.

"Professor, how did this accident happen? Does it indicate that there are still loopholes in NASA's production management? And do you think this has shattered your myth of never failing?" reporter Klaus continued.

Lin Ran replied, "This explosion was mainly caused by an electrical fault, which led to a short circuit and fire, which in turn caused the oxygen tank to explode."

We still have problems in production management and there are areas where we are not rigorous enough, but this is unavoidable.

We will adjust and optimize the existing problems in the production management system, because loopholes are inevitable whenever people are involved.

So I don't think this was a failure; on the contrary, it was a success!
As President Johnson said, this is the greatest success story of all time.

Although we failed, we succeeded!

No one in the audience objected, and their expressions didn't even show any doubt. How could failure be considered success? Normally, there would definitely be people questioning it.

Considering that it was Lin Ran, a professor, who said this, the reporters present readily accepted his statement.

Lin Ran thought to himself, "Damn, it's so cool to have the power to interpret scriptures. No wonder the Chinese struggled so much in the 2020 timeline in their battle of public opinion against the Americans. You win, but you lose; they lose, but they win. How could you possibly win?"

Despite having spent so many years in the White House and Washington, Lin Ran's thinking remains rooted in traditional Chinese thought. He can't just win out of thin air; he needs to explain why even a loss can be considered a victory.

"The reason I say this is because this incident fully demonstrates its safety."

From a management system perspective, it is impossible to guarantee 100% error-free operation. Humans make mistakes, and there may be areas where checks are not thorough. From production to testing to inspection, loopholes are inevitable.

Even fixing vulnerability A could lead to the emergence of vulnerability B.

However, this successful failure fully proves one thing: our security is sufficient. Security and redundancy design, rigorous engineering design, repeated testing and backup systems can be mutually dependent with strict production processes.

Even if one part fails, the redundancy and safety provided by the other parts are sufficient to ensure that the astronaut's life is not in danger.

So I say that although this moon landing failed, we also succeeded!

In a New York studio, on the set of The Apprentice, Big T was dressed in his signature attire: a red tie, a black suit, a massive frame, and a face that looked far, far younger than it would be in later years.

Fred continued to serve as a New York State Assemblyman, though he never became a member of Congress. He remained in the studio hosting his talk show, affectionately known as "Big Mouth Boy" by New Yorkers.

Why is he called that? Because he's such a braggart that the citizens of New York City have discovered it.

Another of America's most famous news anchors, Cronkite, was hailed as "America's most trustworthy man," while Big T received a completely opposite nickname.

Moreover, Big T realized that things were not going well. The impression of being a big mouth is not a good thing in local elections, and he is now trying his best to reverse this impression.

Big T sat in a slightly flamboyant chair, while Lin Ran sat opposite him. He had just returned to New York for the Christmas holidays and had come specifically to support his godson.

Lin Ran was furious. How could the citizens of New York say such things about how I raised my children? Although what you said makes sense.

On the screen behind the two, the Pacific Ocean surges, and the recovery ship "Iwo Jima" welcomes the lunar module that descends from the sky.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Big T's voice echoed through the microphone: "Apollo 13 has returned safely to Earth, and the command module Odyssey has finally splashed down in the South Pacific Ocean, just 3.5 miles from the recovery ship."

This is no ordinary return; it's the greatest escape story in the history of space exploration. Let's give a round of applause to our guest today, the greatest contributor to this escape, and I can even say without reservation, the only one!

In the control room of the studio, the technicians applauded silently.

The scene shifts to the splashdown site: helicopters hum as they hover over the sea.

The astronauts were hoisted up, their faces pale but bearing weary smiles.

Aldrin murmured, "We're home. Everything's alright."

Big T said on the screen, "They look tired, but they're alive. Thank God they're alive!"

“Let’s go back to that terrible moment,” Big T continued, his eyes fixed on the camera as if making eye contact with every viewer. “At 55 hours and 55 minutes into the flight, the oxygen tank in the service module exploded—the astronauts reported, ‘Canaveral, we have a problem.’”

Power outages, oxygen shortages, and the shattered dream of landing on the moon—but this is not the end; it is a test of human ingenuity.

He paused, then turned to Lin Ran: "Professor, this was not a failed moon landing, but a successful rescue! We have accomplished an unprecedented miracle."

(End of this chapter)