Live Stream 1980: Netizens Teach Me How to Make a Rocket by Hand

Weeks later.

The heavy iron doors of the bungalow testing workshop slid slowly open to both sides.

The friction of the rails produced a piercing, screeching sound.

A diesel locomotive, belching black smoke, slowly pushed the short-distance special train toward the launch tower deep in the mountains.

Lin Xi and Lu Guoliang stood side by side beside the railway tracks, watching the more than 30-meter-long Red Star II core-binding module slide past them.

Because the giant three-pronged vertical factory building in the mountain valley is still under construction, this national treasure must take the oldest route.

Open-air, segmented hoisting.

Two or three kilometers away, the launch tower soared into the clouds.

The steel frame made a slight trembling sound in the mountain wind.

"Mr. Lin, it's getting windy."

Zhong Weimin, the commander of the final assembly test, walked over, reached out and tested the wind direction in mid-air, his brows furrowed.

Lin Xi looked up at the steep mountain walls on both sides.

The famous "through-draft wind of Anning River Valley" in Daliangshan is blowing in along the mountain road, making the poplar trees in the distance rustle.

"The wind speed is eight meters per second, and it's still rising."

Zhong Weimin looked at the anemometer in his hand.

"The first stage rocket is heavy, the chassis is stable, so it can go up."

"The second level is in doubt."

Lu Guoliang stubbed out his cigarette and looked up at the upper level of the tower:

"The weather forecast says there will be heavy thunderstorms for the next three days."

"If we can't connect today, the progress will be stuck."

No one spoke anymore.

Everyone knows this is not an ordinary process.

This is a race against the mountain wind.

"Prepare for hoisting!"

Upon receiving the order, the launch site quickly entered a wartime state.

The steel cables of the giant crane slowly drooped down.

With the hooks secured and the straps tightened, the winch emitted a deep, muffled roar.

The first-stage rocket, several tens of meters long, was pulled away from the special train little by little by steel cables. The rocket body slowly stood upright and finally got firmly into the steel frame of the launch pad.

Ground staff quickly locked the flange and installed anchor bolts.

all the best.

However, when the crane lowered its cable again to lift the second-stage rocket off the ground, the wind direction in the valley changed.

Standing in the safe zone, Lin Xi could clearly see the scene high in the sky, and her breath caught in her throat.

Fifty meters high in the air.

The second-stage rocket, weighing tens of tons, had just been lifted and was not yet moved directly above the first-stage rocket when a strong gust of wind swept through the canyon.

The massive metal cylinder, suspended in mid-air, resembled a giant pendulum, violently deflecting with the wind.

"Hold the leash steady!"

Chung Wai-man's hoarse roar came through the loudspeaker.

On the upper part of the tower, on four high-altitude work platforms with an area of ​​less than two square meters each, several senior assembly workers, tied with safety ropes, had half their bodies leaning out of the railings.

They held on tightly to the nylon tow rope attached to the rocket.

The one leading the group was Lei Jianguo.

His tightly buttoned canvas work clothes clung to his gaunt body in the wind.

Fifty meters in the air, there was no shelter from the wind.

The massive metal object, weighing tens of tons, swayed back and forth in the strong wind, with tremendous pulling force.

The leash taut instantly, making a teeth-grinding "crunch" sound.

Old Lei's rough hands were marked with deep white lines from the hemp rope. He braced his feet firmly against the steel grating of the platform, leaning backward to use his own weight to resist the inertia of the rocket's swaying motion.

Xiao Peng, who was also on the platform, had his face flushed red and was gritting his teeth as he desperately pulled back.

But the wind was too strong.

The rocket's massive surface area exposed to the wind turned it into a giant sail, and the enormous drag force almost pulled Xiao Peng off the platform.

The safety ropes dug deep grooves into their waists and hips.

"Don't hold on so tightly!"

"Go with the flow, and wait for that one second when the wind stops!"

Old Lei's hoarse voice boomed in the air.

"Release on my command!"

The traction rope was suddenly released, and the second-stage rocket swung away with the wind.

In Lin Xi's mind, the live stream chat was scrolling wildly:

Holy crap! Something weighing tens of tons is dangling in mid-air, and there's not even a mechanical stop or locking mechanism?!

This isn't hoisting; it's like battling the mountain wind!

[A human damper, ridiculously hardcore. Even a slight touch to the tower would ruin the skin!]

[Open-air hoisting in strong winds, millimeter-level docking—the skill of the older generation is truly divine.]

Lin Xi clenched her fists, her gaze fixed intently on the sky.

This is the price of not having a vertical assembly plant.

The only option is for workers to risk their lives to fill the environmental pits.

"Pull back!"

The wind subsided for an extremely short time, and Old Lei let out a loud shout.

All four traction ropes exert force simultaneously.

The workers on the platform all stepped backward in unison, using gravity to forcefully pull the second-stage rocket back directly above the first-stage rocket.

"drop!"

Old Lei yelled into the walkie-talkie.

The crane operator's hands were as steady as a rock, with the control lever slightly pressed.

The massive second-stage rocket sank downwards at millimeter-level speeds.

The upper and lower metal flanges are constantly moving closer together.

Fifty centimeters.

Thirty centimeters.

ten centimeters.

Just as they were about to close, another gust of wind swept in, causing the arrow to shift two centimeters.

At this distance, the connecting pin cannot even fit into the hole; if you force it in, the sealing ring and threads will be ruined.

"Hold on to this last bit of momentum!"

Lei took off his gloves and leaned half his body out of the platform.

His two rough, large hands, covered in burn scars, pressed directly onto the cold rocket casing.

Xiao Peng and several other workers immediately dropped the rope and rushed forward to brace against the arrow.

The traction rope was so taut it was trembling.

The crane slowly returned to its upright position.

The guide pin, pressed against the edge of the hole, emitted a faint yet grating friction sound.

"One, two—bump!"

Several people were fixated on the last two centimeters of the swing amplitude.

The mountain wind howled wildly in my ears.

The steel frame trembled slightly beneath my feet.

next second.

"Click".

A dull metallic clanging sound came from the gap.

The positioning pins of the upper and lower stage rockets are precisely inserted into the holes.

"Lock it up!"

Old Lei was covered in sweat, panting heavily, and his voice was hoarse beyond recognition.

The workers immediately took out torque wrenches and, around the coupling ring, several people raced against time to screw in and tighten hundreds of bolts one by one.

Lin Xi looked down at Lao Lei, who was exhausted, and let out a long sigh.

The docking is complete.

But this is only the first hurdle.

......

Over the next two days, the satellite and fairing were hoisted onto the tower in sequence.

There is still almost a month until the actual launch window.

This national treasure, the culmination of the hard work of hundreds of factories across the country, can only stand quietly on the open tower like a fixed target, facing the harsh climate of the mountainous region of Southwest China.

The atmosphere in the base's temporary command post was even more somber than during the high-altitude hoisting operations.

Lei Jianguo squatted in the corner, smoking a dry cigarette.

Lu Guoliang looked at the weather report in his hand, his face turning ashen.

"It's impossible to do it in this weather."

Chung Wei-min pointed to the chart,

"During the day, with direct sunlight, the temperature on the tower can soar to nearly forty degrees Celsius."

"At night, cold winds blow into the valley, and the temperature drops below ten degrees Celsius."

"The humidity is also high; water droplets can even hang on the metal sheet."

Lu Guoliang tapped his fingers on the table:

"The temperature change will cause all the water vapor on the rocket's surface to condense into dew."

"If it seeps into the instrument compartment and short-circuits the electronic components, or if the low temperature makes the rubber seals of the valves brittle, it will be a major accident during launch."

Lin Xi sat at the long table.

He knew very well that there were no modern umbilical towers like those of later generations, which were fully enclosed and equipped with air conditioning and constant temperature and humidity systems.

The rocket stands on an open-air tower.

It's like putting a precision piece of equipment weighing tens of tons directly into a ravine to be exposed to the sun, the cold, and the rain.

He looked at Lei Jianguo:

"Master Lei, how did you handle this situation before?"

Lei Jianguo tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe, looked up, and his face, full of wrinkles and scars, remained expressionless.

"Cover yourself with a blanket."

Lin Xi was stunned for a moment.

The viewers in the live stream were also stunned.

[Cover what? A blanket? To cover a rocket with a blanket?]

【No, what are you going to use to cover a rocket that's tens of meters tall and over three meters in diameter?】

This phrase sounds kind of corny, but for some reason I'm hesitant to laugh...