Reborn Before the Apocalypse: My Backing is the Nation

Chapter 80 The best
At this moment, the rocket launch mission has begun.

Of course, what is being launched now are not astronauts, but lunar exploration satellites, optical reconnaissance satellites, and the like, just like in the previous era.

They are the "eyes" that people and astronauts have deployed in the lunar sky, and they are indispensable.

"ignition!"

A giant rocket suddenly spewed out scorching flames from its tail, propelling its massive body slowly into the air before exploding into a ball of fire in the vast sky.

The first launch failed. But that's okay, there are still 291 rockets waiting. Moreover, with optimizations in engineering and production/assembly processes, this generation's rockets will undoubtedly have higher reliability than the previous generation.

As Jiang Yang had predicted, the second rocket launch was a success, successfully sending the payload into Earth orbit and beginning orbital adjustments in preparation for its journey to the moon.

Subsequent rocket launches continue, some successful and some unsuccessful. A rough count indicates that four out of 20 rockets have been successful.

A 20% success rate, though low, is still much better than in the previous life.

"Hopefully this time, the astronauts' lives won't be wasted so much again..."

With a little hope and blessing in my heart, I heard Sun Changhe's voice.

"The astronauts have all arrived, let's go see them."

Led by Sun Changhe, the group arrived at another hall. There, Jiang Yang saw many familiar figures once again.

Tong Zheng, Li Hui, Zhao Jianguo, Qian Liang, and others, as well as Li Chengyu, who in the last cycle actually reached space 70 kilometers from Earth and sent him crucial intelligence.

Of course, they don't recognize themselves in this life.

Jiang Yang's gaze swept across the faces of the dozen or so astronauts present, then looked at the four screens hanging on both sides of the wall, watching the other dozens of astronauts one by one.

Jiang Yang didn't see many expressions on their faces. All he saw were resolute faces with determined eyes, and their bodies sitting upright in their chairs like giant bells.

A chilling aura of ruthlessness and brutality emanated from them.

Jiang Yang saw only a dozen or so astronauts in front of him and dozens on the screen, yet he felt as if he were seeing a vast army.

Scenes that only happen during wartime suddenly appeared before his eyes, as if he could see the endless gunfire and the clash of swords, and on the battlefield, one soldier after another was making their final preparations before going to war.

A general stepped forward and came to the podium in the hall.

Jiang Yang knew that he was the chief instructor in charge of conducting pre-departure special training for the astronauts over the past few days.

His hawk-like gaze swept across each face as he slowly spoke.

"During the five days of special training, I scolded you many times."

I'm calling you all unmanly and unsold soldiers;

I'm telling you guys you'd be better off nursing in your mother's arms than training here;

I'm telling you, you guys are the most cowardly batch of soldiers I've ever led. You could just grab a few people off the street and they'd be better than you.

I've cursed you all a lot.

His voice, sharp as a weapon, softened slightly: "Now, I apologize to you."

I lied.

You are not the worst soldiers I have ever led, but the best.

I've worn this uniform for decades, and I've led at least eight or ten thousand soldiers, if not ten thousand. You... are the best soldiers I've ever led. You may not know this, but the training programs I designed for you, which were supposedly easy for soldiers in ordinary companies to complete, had never actually been completed by anyone before, yet you did.

Under immense mental pressure, even the best of the best will break down, their movements will become distorted, and they will make mistakes in judgment. But you withstood this pressure, and although the quality of your work was only 80%, the highest score before you was only 65%.

To be honest, I have never seen soldiers as outstanding as you.

His voice was somewhat muffled, as if he had a cold: "Comrades, go, go, don't feel pressured."

Even if this mission ultimately fails, remember that you are the best. No matter how well you performed, you are the best. No one else could have done better than you.

Even if you fail, you are still heroes, undeniably heroes, and no one can blame you.

He slowly raised his arm and solemnly saluted the 64 astronauts below and on the screen.

Beside them, Sun Changhe and others, including Jiang Yang and Zhou Yu, also raised their arms to express their respect to the astronauts.

During this special training session, Tong Zheng, the astronaut who still ranked first in overall score, suddenly stood up and shouted, "Everyone, stand up!"

The 64 astronauts stood up in perfect unison, as if they had undergone countless training sessions, their bodies as upright as pine trees.

"salute!"

In a solemn and respectful atmosphere, Sun Changhe walked onto the podium.

"I command, advance!"

"Yes!"

The 64 astronauts from the five locations turned around simultaneously, lined up in neat rows, and walked out of the conference room toward the launch site.

The first batch of five astronauts and five rockets are ready for launch.

Through the internal broadcast signal, Jiang Yang saw the scene inside the payload bay at the top of the rocket.

It was still that kind of cone-shaped spaceship, filled with all sorts of wires and countless displays, switches and buttons, the overall design exuding a sense of haste and compromise.

However, in terms of complexity alone, it is still much more advanced than the spacecraft that the astronauts of the previous generation used.

In the previous era, spaceships only needed to maintain basic survival in space. But in this era, the requirements for spaceships are much greater.

The lunar environment is far more complex than the simple space environment.

These spacecraft not only need to perform complex landing missions, but also need to support the astronauts' needs for multiple round trips and extravehicular activities, such as putting on and taking off spacesuits inside the cabin.

Correspondingly, it is also heavier than in its previous life.

Including the orbiter, lander, and other components, its total weight reached several tons, which is close to the maximum payload capacity of the Giant Spirit II rocket for lunar transfer orbit.

Even so, the supplies that the astronauts could carry inside the spacecraft were extremely limited, including only oxygen, water, and food, which could not last long at all.

Without subsequent resupply, even if they reach the moon, the only outcome for the astronauts will be that they run out of supplies and die of suffocation, hunger, or thirst.

The launch mission has now officially begun.

Under the watchful eyes of countless people, blazing flames once again erupted from the tail of the rocket, propelling the massive shaft slowly upwards into the sky.

(End of this chapter)