bioinnovel Chapter 423 Manned Spaceflight!
Chapter 423 Manned Spaceflight!
Qin Changfeng replied faster than expected.
Four hours later, an encrypted file arrived in Zhang Yan's hands.
The technical parameters, launch window, and maximum reach distance of China's existing manned spacecraft.
The conclusion is clear: the furthest manned spacecraft has ever reached lunar orbit is 380,000 kilometers away, and the L2 point is four times the distance of lunar orbit. There is no readily available launch solution.
From project initiation to launch, the normal process takes eighteen months.
Zhang Yan did not live for eighteen months.
"No need for a manned spacecraft." He closed the file.
Nie Qingcheng sat opposite her, waiting.
"Vermilion Bird".
She wasn't surprised.
"After the three-ring power reactor is modified, its energy output is SSS level. With the addition of a vacuum propulsion module, it can theoretically continue to accelerate in space." Zhang Yan pulled up the parameters of the Vermilion Bird. "The problem is that it lacks a life support system."
"Unmanned mode," Nie Qingcheng said directly.
Zhang Yan nodded.
"The Vermilion Bird, carrying its sub-core, flew to point L2. Upon arrival, I remotely connected via the Heart of Heaven on Earth to complete the activation and calibration."
"The delay is significant. Over a distance of 1.5 million kilometers, an electromagnetic signal takes five seconds to travel one way."
"There is a quantum entangled connection between the Heavenly Craftsmanship Core and the Sub-Core," Zhang Yan said. "Consciousness access uses this channel. Zero latency."
Nie Qingcheng opened her notebook and made a checkmark on a certain page.
She had indeed calculated this in advance.
"How long will it take for the Vermilion Bird to be modified?"
Zhang Yan already had a plan in mind. The power reactor didn't need to be changed; the three-ring structure from the previous modification was perfectly suited for space conditions. What needed to be added were vacuum propulsion nozzles, an attitude control system, and radiation-resistant armor.
"Seven days."
"What about the materials?"
"Your list covers 80% of it. I'll list the rest for you."
Nie Qingcheng didn't ask "Is there enough time?" She asked, "What are the coordinates and launch window at Qin Changfeng's launch site?"
"I'll have Qin Xiao handle it."
The division of labor was clear, and there was no unnecessary talk.
Zhang Yan entered the underground laboratory that very night.
The Vermilion Bird was released from its storage space, and the metallic sound of its wings reverberated throughout the space.
The nested core of the Lieyang Power Furnace emits a faint orange-red glow, quiet and stable.
He first removed the outer armor and replaced it piece by piece with aerospace-grade heat-insulating composite material.
The suppliers listed on Nie Qingcheng's list were extremely efficient; the materials were delivered by 10 p.m.
Dismantle, replace, weld, and test.
Zhang Yan wears a thousand-machine arm, with the precision of each joint controlled within 0.01 millimeters.
At one o'clock in the morning, Nie Qingcheng came downstairs.
She didn't say anything, but placed a bowl of hot soup on the side of the worktable and stood there watching for a while.
"The angle of the vacuum propulsion nozzle was off by 0.3 degrees."
Zhang Yan's hands never stopped.
How did you figure that out?
"You calibrated the second one three times, but only once for the first one."
Zhang Yan glanced at it. 0.3 degrees. Indeed.
He corrected it.
Nie Qingcheng turned and went upstairs.
He paused at the bottom of the stairs: "Come up before two o'clock."
"it is good."
At 2:03, Zhang Yan went upstairs.
Over the next six days, the transformation proceeded as planned. Qin Xiao connected with a launch site in the Northwest, while Qin Changfeng cleared the site under the guise of a special mission. The separation of the sub-core was completed on the third day—Zhang Yan extracted 5% of the energy from the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship and condensed it into a fist-sized golden sphere with surface patterns completely identical to the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship.
The moment they separated, Zhang Yan felt as if a piece of his chest had been ripped out.
The completeness of the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart dropped from 99.2% to 94.2%.
The numbers on the system panel have been refreshed.
"Sealing mode is available. Four Spirits Coordination mode is available. Current sealing success rate: 81%."
It has decreased compared to before.
However, if the new anchor point is successfully activated, the gate network cap will be 96%. No further sealing is needed.
On the sixth night, Suzaku's transformation was completed.
Zhang Yan stood in the laboratory, looking at the mecha in front of him.
The appearance is completely different now—silver-white heat-insulating armor has replaced the original fiery red paint, the back thrusters have been rearranged into a six-point space configuration, and a specially made cargo compartment is embedded in the abdomen, with the golden glow of the sub-core faintly visible through the compartment walls.
System assessment: Transatmospheric flight capability – Possible. Sustained acceleration capability in a vacuum environment – Possible. Estimated time to reach L2 point – Nine days.
"Nine days," Qin Xiao said in the communicator, "Are you just going to sit on Earth and wait around for those nine days?"
"Monitoring," Zhang Yan said. "During the Vermilion Bird's flight, I tracked the core's state throughout using the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship. After reaching L2 point, its consciousness was activated."
"It sounds like launching a satellite."
"almost."
Qin Xiao chuckled and didn't ask any more questions.
Zhang Yan hung up the call and was preparing to run the final round of system self-checks.
A yellow warning message suddenly popped up on the system panel.
He glanced at it.
Then it stopped.
Global door pressure monitoring data.
The Six Paths Gate.
All pressure values.
Everything is reset to zero.
All movement outside the door ceased. There was no more biting, no more pushing, no more knocking.
The Six Paths Gate remained quiet, as if nothing had happened.
Zhang Yan stared at the row of zeros for ten seconds.
"Qin Xiao".
"exist."
"Have you seen the pressure data for the Six Paths Gate?"
Qin Xiao paused for a moment: "...I saw it. All zeros."
"When did it start?"
"Seven minutes ago, the system was reset to zero."
Zhang Yan took a step back and leaned against the worktable.
It stopped.
Not just one door, but all of them. At the same time.
It was gnawing on things 30,000 years ago.
It was gnawing away 100,000 years ago.
Over the course of three hundred years, the door openers have observed every knock, every push, every attempt—there has never been a complete cessation of these actions.
It never stopped.
It's stopped now.
Nie Qingcheng's footsteps came from the stairs.
She walked into the lab, saw Zhang Yan's expression, and then saw the numbers on the screen.
Six zeros.
"What is it waiting for?" she said.
Zhang Yan did not answer.
Because he knew that this was more terrifying than its attack.