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

The retired chief engineer's comments were scrolling rapidly across the live stream screen.

[Micron-level passivation! Tool replacement is necessary!]

[The blade has changed due to the heat from the previous food processing!]

Replace with a larger front angle cutter, at least 25 degrees!

Li Jianguo glared at him: "Nonsense, it was going very fast just now..."

He subconsciously ran his fingernail across the blade, and indeed, it was a bit slippery.

Fluororubber has a high fluorine content and is extremely hard; it's a knife-proof monster.

"Okay, I'll go grind it." Li Jianguo turned and walked towards the grinding machine.

"Master! Grind a large front angle!" Lin Xi shouted from behind, "Over 25 degrees! Make it cut cleanly!"

Li Jianguo paused, turned around and looked at Lin Xi suspiciously:

"Twenty-five degrees? The blade is prone to chipping."

"It won't break! This last half millimeter will only take a small amount of damage!" Lin Xi's eyes were firm, and he showed no sign of backing down.

Li Jianguo thought for a moment, then finally nodded: "I'll do as you say!"

Sparks flew everywhere from the grinding wheel.

When he went back to work, the workshop was so quiet you couldn't even hear someone breathing, as if everyone was afraid of affecting Li Jianguo's performance.

Everyone knows that victory or defeat hinges on this one gamble!

Li Jianguo closed his eyes.

He stopped looking at the dial and placed his fingers lightly on the feed handwheel.

He felt the slight vibration as the blade cut into the rubber with his fingertips.

Human-machine integration.

This is a kind of metaphysics, and also the soul of an eighth-level craftsman.

"sand……"

With a very slight sound, a thin rubber thread, as thin as a cicada's wing, floated down.

Li Jianguo quickly withdrew the knife and turned off the device.

The outside micrometer was clipped on.

"Click, click."

Everyone held their breath, their hearts pounding in their throats.

Li Jianguo leaned closer to read the numbers and looked at them for a long time.

Then, he slowly put down the ruler.

A smile bloomed on that old face covered in grease.

"Tolerance... 0.01 mm".

"It's done!"

I don't know who shouted first, but the whole workshop instantly erupted in chaos!

"Awesome! Master Li is awesome!"

Several young technicians were so excited that they threw their hats onto the ceiling.

A group of people rushed over and hugged Li Jianguo, shouting and jumping.

Lin Xi stood outside the crowd and let out a long breath, feeling that her back was soaked with sweat.

[Awesome! Master Li, I'm bowing down in admiration!]

[A Grade 8 worker in 1980... the prestige of that qualification is simply terrifying!]

I work in mechanics, and watching that blind, vibrating cutting operation just now really got me sweating...

Lin Xi wiped away her sweat, but her eyes remained serious.

He knew that he was just one step away from success.

That's a test.

......

Late at night, in the testing room.

The black O-ring has been installed on the instrument, quietly awaiting its final judgment.

"Press it!" Li Jianguo's voice was a little hoarse.

At this moment, all eyes were not on the expensive pressure gauge, but on the oscilloscope next to it connected to the "rustic probe".

The pressure gauge needle began to climb.

1.0 ......

2.0 ......

2.5MPa

Arrived!

Lin Xi's heart skipped a beat.

I didn't even dare to look at that line.

A few seconds of deathly silence.

On the screen, a straight green line runs horizontally from left to right, as smooth as the horizon.

There is no noise.

There was no howling.

There was no breath of death.

"We've stabilized..."

Deputy Chief Engineer Zhang took off his glasses and vigorously wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

"They've really held up!"

Li Jianguo plopped down on the toolbox in the corner and lit a cigarette with trembling hands.

Amidst the swirling smoke, the old man's eyes were frighteningly red.

"Finally solved!"

"Now all we need to do is pay attention to heat preservation during assembly!"

……

1980年1月23日，14：00。

The weather was perfect, with not a cloud in the sky.

On the launch pad, the Red Star 2 satellite, like a milky-white sword, points straight to the sky.

The tower had already rotated, with only white steam swirling around the arrow.

Lin Xi, wrapped in a military overcoat, stood in the observation area 1.5 kilometers away.

"Attention all units, one minute to prepare!"

The countdown blaring from the loudspeaker felt like a heavy hammer blow to my heart.

Li Jianguo, standing beside him, had his hands behind his back, his fists clenched so tightly they turned white.

"Young man," the old man suddenly spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse.

"Do you think it can work?"

Having worked half his life, this was the first time the old man had felt so uncertain.

Lin Xi turned to look at him, her eyes clear and firm:

"Yes. Even God wouldn't dare to take away something you made by your own hands."

"Five, four, three, two, one!"

"ignition!"

boom--!

The earth was trembling.

The orange-red tail flames shot out and slammed hard into the guide channel.

The enormous roar instantly engulfed the world.

The Red Star 2 rocket rose from the ground amidst a cloud of smoke and dust, piercing the long-silent sky in this cold winter!

But this is not a victory yet.

Neither Lin Xi nor the viewers in the live stream dared to relax for a moment.

Everyone knows that the 26th second is the real death knell.

It's all in the past now; time has flown by.

If we can't get through it, everything will be ruined.

"Telemetry signal is normal!"

"Time: 15 seconds!"

Lin Xi counted silently in her mind.

The 100,000 viewers in the live stream held their breath simultaneously, and the chat completely stopped.

At this moment, across 45 years, the heartbeats of two generations resonate in unison.

24 seconds.

25 seconds.

26 seconds.

Lin Xi felt as if she were seeing two parallel universes intersecting before her eyes.

In one time and space, an explosion occurred in mid-air, and the fireball devoured the hard work of countless people.

And in this space-time—

"Flight normal! Procedural turn!"

The dispatcher's hoarse, distorted voice came over the loudspeaker.

The rocket, carrying the nation's destiny, steadily pierced through the stratosphere, leaving a perfect white trail in the azure sky, and soared straight into deep space!

"Passed! Passed!"

In the live stream, the screen exploded with comments, completely covering the view!

Everyone stand up! This is like seeing the clear sky after the clouds have parted!

[I cried, guys! It's really been rewritten! It really didn't explode!]

[Brothers, we've broken through! Even if the ground is covered in sand and dust, as long as we charge forward, the sun will always shine above!]

[I've been pressing the screenshot button until it's worn out! This is our crucial strike!]

[The DNA is moving! This scene is so beautiful!]

In reality, the observation area was in an uproar.

The pressure that had been building up for months exploded at this moment.

Some people knelt on the ground and kissed the frozen soil, some hugged their heads and wept bitterly, and some threw their notebooks into the sky like madmen.

As Li Jianguo watched the white smoke drift further and further away, tears finally streamed down his face.

He turned around and slapped Lin Xi hard on the shoulder, so hard that he almost knocked Lin Xi into the ground.

"Good lad...good lad!"

Lin Xi rubbed her numb shoulders, looked at the sky, and a smile appeared on her lips.

......

After the launch, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Li Jianguo strode over and grabbed Lin Xi's shoulder, almost like he was kidnapping her.

"Xiao Lin, don't run away! Come on, let's go have a drink with Master!"

"I have a bottle of fine wine that I've been storing for years, and I have to open it today!"

At this point, the old man paused, his eyes becoming somewhat profound, and lowered his voice:

"Also... there are some things I should talk to you about."