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On the evening of December 20th.

Musk hitched a ride with Chen Mo on his private jet to Cape Canaveral.

When we arrived in Florida, it was already the morning of December 21st.

SpaceX arranged a hotel for the two people that was not far from the launch site.

Chen Mo only slept for a few hours before following Musk to Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in the afternoon.

Once inside the core area, all personnel must comply with the security regulations of SpaceX and the Air Force base, and Chen Mo's personal security personnel can only remain within the designated area.

7:40 PM.

There are 49 minutes left until launch.

The Falcon 9 stands quietly on launch pad number 40.

The 70-meter-tall rocket was illuminated by searchlights, its white casing standing out against the deep night sky.

Eleven ORBCOMM communication satellites were carried on the top of the rocket.

Sending the satellite into its designated orbit is only part of tonight's mission.

What truly captures the world's attention is the first-stage booster after the mission is completed.

It will separate from the second stage at high altitude, change its attitude, reignite its engines, pass through the dense atmosphere, and finally attempt a vertical landing at Landing Zone 1, several kilometers away.

SpaceX has previously conducted several sea recovery attempts.

Some lost control before even touching the unmanned vessel.

Some were close to success, but collapsed and exploded at the last moment.

Every failure leaves behind a large amount of data.

This also puts even more pressure on tonight's attempt.

The observation area was filled with SpaceX management personnel, mission customers, government representatives, and a small number of invited guests.

All eyes were focused on the rocket in the distance and the countdown screen.

Musk has been in a state of high excitement ever since he entered the launch site.

He checked the propellant loading, weather, and launch pad status every few minutes through his headset.

"You don't seem nervous at all."

He suddenly looked at Chen Mo.

"I'm waiting for the results."

Do you think it will succeed?

Chen Mo looked toward the launch pad.

"SpaceX has failed enough times."

Musk chuckled.

"This is not a scientific judgment."

"Sometimes, success requires a bit of faith."

Chen Mo did not explain.

He certainly knew the final answer.

But actually standing here, feeling the continuous low vibrations from the ground equipment, and watching the countdown slowly approach zero, I still couldn't stay calm.

The phrase "successful recovery" in historical documents is far less awe-inspiring than the massive propellant-laden object before us.

Any one of the valves fails.

Any deviation in posture.

None of the engines ignited at the scheduled time.

All of these factors could cause the history in his memory to lean towards a different outcome in this world that has undergone countless changes.

8:29 PM.

The countdown has reached zero.

Nine Merlin engines ignited simultaneously.

The dazzling flames instantly illuminated the entire launch site.

Seconds later, a deafening roar swept across the distance and crashed heavily into the observation area, causing even the ground beneath their feet to tremble slightly.

The rocket slowly lifted off the launch pad.

The speed is getting faster and faster.

Trailing a blazing beam of light, it shot straight into the Florida night sky.

Lu Jingyi looked up at the rapidly rising flame.

She felt an indescribable sense of insignificance as hundreds of tons of steel, fuel, and human ambition defied Earth's gravity before her eyes.

The first-stage engine is shut down.

Two-stage separation.

The second stage continues to carry the satellite into orbit.

The large screen was split into two images.

Track the level 2 mission on the right.

In the left-hand view, the first-stage booster has begun to change its attitude.

Return to ignition.

The grid wings deploy.

The first stage of the rocket, which had just sent the satellite into space, began to return to Earth against its own trajectory.

The truly dangerous phase has only just begun.

The height and speed on the screen continue to decrease.

As the image passed through the atmosphere at high speed, it was momentarily disturbed by plasma and violent shaking.

Communication was briefly interrupted.

Some people instinctively held their breath.

Musk crossed his arms over his chest, but his fingertips were tapping his arms repeatedly.

A few seconds later, the telemetry data was restored.

The booster remains on its intended trajectory.

The rate of descent is accelerating.

In the depths of the night, a ball of orange-red flame suddenly reappeared.

The final landing ignition begins.

The first-stage booster descended from the darkness in an almost vertical manner.

The four landing legs unfold in sequence.

The exhaust plume struck the ground, kicking up large plumes of smoke and dust.

Immediately afterwards, a series of sonic booms were heard in the distance.

The screen was covered in smoke.

one second.

two seconds.

The smoke and dust gradually dissipated.

The white booster stands steadily in the center of the No. 1 landing area.

There was no tipping over, and no explosion.

The engine shut off.

The observation area instantly went wild.

Cheers, applause, and screams erupted simultaneously.

Some people hugged their colleagues, some raised their hands high, and some engineers who had worked for many years and experienced repeated failures had tears in their eyes.

Musk stood still, looking up at the screen.

For the first time, an expression of near-absence appeared on that usually confident, even somewhat arrogant face.

He opened his mouth, but in the end only managed to utter one sentence: "It's back."

For the first time, a first-stage booster of an orbital-class launch vehicle has been vertically recovered on land.

From this moment on, rockets are no longer destined to be disposable items.

The cost boundary for human beings to enter space has also been pushed downwards by a crack.

Chen Mo was also experiencing a surge of emotions that were difficult to suppress.

This is the result of countless engineers working together through explosions, failures, and restarts.

Even if Chen Mo knew the destination, he couldn't take any of the steps for them.

"Congratulations."

Chen Mo extended his hand to Musk.

Musk didn't shake hands, but instead gave him a tight hug.

"We should have a drink tonight."

"I agree."