Chapter 61: Predetermined Orbit
Before this moment, that Giant had always kept a low profile, appearing utterly ordinary on the surface, just like a harmless little white rabbit.
But at this moment, once this Giant stood up—he showed no hostility toward his own side, did not shout threats or calls to attack his own side, made no conscious threats toward his own side, and might not have even noticed his own side’s existence.
Yet merely standing up and revealing his true appearance was almost enough to completely overturn Mr. Locke’s worldview.
He felt that his former self was just like a frog living at the bottom of a well.
Glancing at the officials from allied nations who were still excitedly gloating over that nation’s first Rocket Launch failure, Locke even felt a trace of pity in his heart.
Clearly, his own nation’s intelligence capabilities were stronger; they had not yet learned the truth.
“Sometimes, ignorance is also a kind of happiness.”
He quietly dismissed the thought of sharing this intelligence with them, simply watching silently.
The satellite live broadcast focused on that nation’s Launch Site continued.
People saw that less than half an hour after the first Rocket Launch failure, another equally Giant Rocket was already standing on the Launch Pad.
The officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
Was this a repeated scene? No, it didn’t seem so; the time clearly didn’t match, and some details were also different from before.
So, this was… the second Rocket?
It had reached the Launch Pad so quickly?
A hint of solemnity appeared in the officials’ hearts.
Without waiting too long, blazing flames jetted out from the tail of this new Rocket. This time, the launch process continued.
The two fixed clamps of the Launch Pad released, and the Giant Rocket weighing over a thousand tons soared into the sky, piercing straight toward the heavens, gaining speed and altitude faster and higher.
Jiang Yang stood in front of the window of the Launch Base Building, raised his head, and saw the Rocket, over twenty stories tall, had now become a tiny speck, no longer visible in detail to the naked eye.
His heart slowly rose with the Rocket’s ascent.
But the next moment, a dazzling light suddenly erupted from the sky. This burst of light was so intense that it even gave Jiang Yang the illusion that two suns had appeared in the sky at once.
The light disappeared after just a few seconds, and he saw countless tiny debris falling like raindrops.
The rumbling roar from the explosion finally arrived at this moment, like thunder. The Shockwave also arrived with the roar; he clearly saw the trees next to the Launch Building sway violently.
The floor beneath his feet also transmitted a faint but distinctly perceptible vibration.
His heart slowly sank.
Jiang Yang knew that this Rocket was loaded with over 800 tons total of Liquid Hydrogen, Liquid Oxygen, Kerosene, Hydrazine Fuel, and the like.
Clearly, these fuels had exploded at this moment.
After a simple calculation, he arrived at the answer in his mind.
At the moment of explosion, a total of approximately 9*10^12 Joules, equivalent to about 2100 tons of TNT Explosives, had been released in that instant.
“Rocket No. 2 hot control malfunction, exploded and disintegrated, launch failed.”
The on-site commander’s cold, solemn voice, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, reached people’s ears: “Immediately conduct a full Inspection of the Launch Site according to the contingency plan, assess and repair the influence the Launch Site suffered in this explosion.
Rocket No. 3 prepare for launch.”
“Yes.”
……
International Online Conference Room.
Under Mr. Locke’s cold gaze, the officials from various nations attending this meeting stared tensely at the live broadcast screen.
It was only until the Rocket exploded and disintegrated in the high sky that the officials finally felt like a huge stone had been lifted from their hearts, suddenly becoming excited.
“Buddy, well done!”
“Good!”
But the next moment, that excited chatter abruptly stopped.
A new Rocket stood before the Launch Pad.
The officials looked at each other, each seeing a trace of solemnity on the other’s face.
……
“Launch!”
The massive Rocket soared into the sky again. Tens of seconds later, a dazzling firelight erupted in the sky once more.
The atmosphere in the International Online Conference Room eased a bit again.
But the fourth Rocket appeared again, then the fifth, sixth…
This was already the 12th consecutive Giant Rocket Launch failure.
For any nation, 12 consecutive Rocket Launch failures would be enough to nail that country to the pillar of shame, causing an uproar in the international community and drawing unanimous mockery from the entire world.
All media would report on it extensively, countless forces would fish in troubled waters, everyone in that nation would lose face, and it would place them in a disadvantaged position in international dealings.
If not handled well, it could even completely shatter that nation’s national confidence, triggering a series of unpredictable troubles.
But at this moment, the senior officials from various nations attending this meeting felt not the slightest trace of mocking thoughts in their hearts.
This failure did not ease the already extremely heavy and oppressive atmosphere in the meeting room even a little.
Leaving aside whether these 12 Rockets launched successfully, just from the Rockets themselves, producing 12 Rockets in such a short time—what kind of industrial strength and organizational capacity did that imply?
Such things were impossible to think about deeply. Because even slightly probing deeper would immediately reveal how cold and despair-inducing the truth was.
Looking at the solemn officials, a cold smile appeared in Locke’s heart.
“Just 12 Rockets, and you can’t take it anymore?
With your nation’s intelligence capabilities, you should soon get the follow-up intelligence, right?
When you learn the total number of Rockets is 180, and all were built within five days, you… heh.”
……
“Launch!”
Blazing flames jetted out once more from the tail of the Giant Rocket body. Accompanied by a large area of white mist appearing instantly, the 16th Rocket soared again.
Jiang Yang was already prepared for it to explode and disintegrate again. But somewhat unexpectedly, this time, dozens of seconds after launch—even after it had entered the high sky beyond naked-eye visibility—he still hadn’t heard the on-site commander’s cold declaration of “launch failed.”
“Booster separation!”
“Third-stage Rocket separation!”
“Second-stage Rocket separation!”
“Fairing jettison!”
“Entered predetermined Orbit!”
One steady, firm instruction voice after another, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, continuously reached Jiang Yang’s ears.
At this moment, everyone raised their heads to look at the sky.
Although the naked eye couldn’t see anything, people still refused to shift their gaze for even a moment.
Because everyone now knew in their hearts.
After 15 consecutive failures, this 16th Giant Rocket… succeeded, or at least was close to success!
