After saying everything that needed to be said, Zhao He finally felt like eating.
But at this time, there was not much time left - he still had to attend evening self-study.
So after wolfing down the food, Zhao He refused the two men's offer to take him back to school and ran out of the box on time.
Wu Yusen had no choice but to continue sitting down and ordered another table for Lin Fan.
Lin Fan's disappointment about the Chaos Ball had been almost completely overshadowed by the various bizarre images he had just seen on the card.
While eating, she listened to John Woo talk about what talented people he had recruited in the past.
After having a full meal, I still didn't give up and went back to the old street to wait for half the night.
Sure enough, I didn’t see anything and finally went back to the station to sleep in disappointment.
When I woke up the next day, it was almost noon.
Lin Fan, who was not in such a high spirits, still met the energetic Wang Fengfeng in the cafeteria.
When the two met, they naturally exchanged what they had seen and heard the previous day.
Lin Fan told him about his visit to Zhao He and the fruitless outcome of his night wait.
Wang Fengfeng laughed at her and told her the latest news he learned yesterday.
"The space shuttle is about to take off."
"Hmm?" Lin Fan raised his head from the bowl of beef soup and slurped up the vermicelli. "Space shuttle?"
Country H's aerospace industry has developed well in recent years, sending spacecraft into space from time to time, but there seems to be no news about the space shuttle.
Compared to rockets, which are disposable aircraft, the space shuttle's ability to make repeated round trips and its relatively autonomous and convenient mode of movement make people have too many expectations for it.
Country P built its first aircraft decades ago.
I thought Country H would catch up soon, but for some reason, the space station has been built, but there is no news about the space shuttle.
As time went on, no one mentioned it and it was naturally ignored by most people.
"Yes, the news just reached us, guaranteed. We're already preparing for the launch. Barring any unexpected events, it should be in the next month or two," Wang Fengfeng exclaimed. "Think of our astronauts being able to travel freely on airplanes. It's wonderful..."
"Aeroplanes are meant to carry people, right?" Lin Fan asked. "It seems different from rockets. They require people to control the trajectory of the aircraft, right?"
"Rockets also require human control, but many of the parameters are set in advance, just like the directional cruise of an airplane." Wang Fengfeng corrected her mistake. "The space shuttle is not much different from a rocket when it takes off. The orbit is also set. It's just that manual control while in orbit is indeed stronger."
Generally, a rocket completes its mission once it has sent the space capsule into orbit, and the separated rocket body is mostly scrapped.
Aircraft are different.
When it was first designed, it was required to be built according to specifications that would allow it to be reused at least a hundred times.
When an aircraft is launched, it looks like a rocket. When it is in low-Earth orbit, it is like a docked ship. When it lands, it absorbs the elements of the landing aircraft. It can be regarded as an aviation complex.
Currently known space shuttles can carry three to seven people in orbit and can stay in orbit for one week to one month.
It also has a strong carrying capacity and can carry 30 tons of goods up and bring 15 tons of supplies down when it comes back.
The tasks that generally require the space shuttle to perform are mostly spacecraft rendezvous, docking, docking operations, etc.
There are also a series of mobile missions such as the transportation of astronauts and supplies, the launch, maintenance, and recovery of satellites and space stations.
Because it is the only reusable aircraft that can enter space, carry large satellites in and out of orbit, its importance in the field of aerospace science is self-evident.
Lin Fan took out his phone, but couldn't find any relevant news on the news app.
"No external news has come out yet, and the higher-ups are still not sure whether to announce this test flight." Wang Fengfeng picked up a fried bun and put it in his mouth.
Any testing carries risks.
In recent years, rocket launch technology has become increasingly mature, successfully sending space capsules into the sky.
But despite this, every time the countdown to the launch begins, there are still countless people sweating in front of the screen.
Everyone cheered only after it successfully took off and entered orbit.
A spaceship. Something similar to a rocket, yet completely different.
Just looking at the fact that it has disappeared for so many years, you can tell how difficult it is to research and develop.
Although it has been successfully developed, it can only be considered a real success if it can be successfully launched, operated normally, and landed safely.
All of this requires continuous testing, accumulation, and improvement.
Everyone hopes the launch will be successful.
But for this first test flight, I’m afraid even the researchers themselves are not sure?
Therefore, if the launch is not announced publicly, it is understandable that a failed launch would dampen public morale. It is also understandable that they want to wait until the technology is more mature before announcing it.
"Where was it launched? If it's not announced publicly, we won't be able to see the TV broadcast, right?" Lin Fan asked.
"It seems to be in the South Island." Wang Fengfeng replied, and then showed a look of longing, "I really want to go and see it."
Lin Fan also wanted to go and take a look.
But then I thought, if it doesn't work out, it would be even more painful to watch the scene. My excitement faded.
I thought this matter had nothing to do with me and just let it go.
Unexpectedly, two days later, Zhu Cunjun called her to his office.
Lin Fan knocked on the door and went in. Seeing that John Woo was not there, he thought he had not arrived yet, so he stood at the door, not knowing whether to wait for him or go in first.
"Xiao Lin, come here." Zhu Cunjun greeted him repeatedly with a smile, and invited Lin Fan to sit on the sofa.
Lin Fan obediently took the teacup he handed over, wondering what happened to John Woo and why he hadn't arrived yet.
"Wait for Xiao Wu?" Zhu Cunjun knew what she was thinking when he saw her looking around. "No need to wait. I didn't notify him."
"Ah?" Lin Fan was stunned.
Isn't John Woo her guide? Usually the tasks are assigned to her through John Woo. It's only been a few months, she shouldn't have been able to leave the Novice Village yet, right?
"Is he okay?" After realizing what was happening, Lin Fan immediately became worried about John Woo's safety.
"It's okay, it's okay." Zhu Cunjun smiled and waved his hand. "I didn't notify him to come because you are the main person in charge of this mission and you are the one who will make the decisions. There is no need for him to be around."
The reason why John Woo was not allowed to be there was because he was afraid that he would interfere with his decision.
Lin Fan understood in an instant, and then his heart was lifted.
What kind of big deal is it that you are afraid of others interfering with your decision?
"Don't be nervous. Let's just chat casually. Don't worry about it." Zhu Cunjun said with a smile, "You may not know this yet, but there's a big event happening in the aerospace field recently. The space shuttle has been successfully developed and produced."
"I know this. I found out two days ago." Lin Fan replied, not daring to drink the tea in his hand.
"Hmm. If you know, then I won't go into details." The director continued, "This time, the higher-ups have issued a mission, specifically for Xingchen to carry out. But it's not a mandatory task, so I came to ask for your thoughts."
"What is it?"
Lin Fan thought about it and wondered if they were going to let her board the space shuttle and fly along? That way, if danger arose, she could transform into a star and escape.
In this way, although the plane is lost, at least the pilot will not be lost.
But the launch is about to begin. Does she still have time to learn the operating knowledge?
"When the aircraft is launched, can you fly with it?" Zhu Cunjun smiled faintly.
Just when Lin Fan thought that what he said was the same as what he thought, he added another sentence.
"It is in the form of a star, escorting the space shuttle."
It wasn't until later in the evening that I saw the news that someone's rocket launch had failed.
Oh, I was writing about this right away, and I’m not trying to take advantage of the popularity.
I originally wanted to take advantage of the popularity of ZB BBQ, but after thinking about it, I realized there was no plot. I couldn't just write about Lin Fan going out to eat BBQ, right? Forget it. Haha
We have already started laying the groundwork for space, it’s almost there.
