Chapter 77: Success Is The Accident
“.After the spaceship enters the predetermined orbit, it will begin to lose control. The spaceship starts rolling to the left at about 1 degree per second. ASCS fails to correct this problem, and the roll rate then increases to about 10 degrees per second.”
After Lin Ran finished reading, he said: “Just as I said at the Washington hearing, NASA internally has serious problems in quality control, risk assessment, and overall project management.
This is just another verification of past problems.”
After Lin Ran finished reading, there was an uproar below the stage. Both America reporters and overseas reporters had expressions of disbelief.
On one hand, it’s that you were actually able to predict this launch failure; on the other hand, it’s that since you knew it would fail, why didn’t you remind NASA in advance to postpone this launch.
The reporters below the stage raised their hands very high; every reporter had countless questions in their hearts.
Meanwhile, NASA’s high-level officials all had dark faces.
James Webber and Lin Ran exchanged a glance, and he stood at the center of the podium and said:
“Next, Mr. President John Kennedy will deliver a speech!”
That’s right, Kennedy had arrived at the Cape Canaveral Launch Site early in the morning.
Regardless of whether this launch succeeds or fails, he will step forward to face the media and give a speech.
A successful launch has one set of remarks, while a failed launch has another set.
After Lin Ran finalized the plan, the entire plan had already been discussed with James Webber and the White House side beforehand.
The reason they watched the spaceship crash helplessly was also due to a key factor: under Lin Ran’s reminder, James Webber obtained a piece of key evidence from inside NASA.
This key evidence ultimately led to the formation of Lin Ran’s plan.
Additionally, Lin Ran also uncovered a historical truth and verified his guess.
“Good morning, fellow reporter friends.
Originally, we were going to mourn the death in action of American astronauts today with heavy hearts. Fortunately, our new Special Assistant for Aerospace Affairs, Professor Randolph Lin, detected the risk in advance and prevented this accident from happening.”
Allen Shepard sat below the stage with a solemn expression, his fist clenched tightly.
Because Freedom 7 has two systems, if the autonomous driving system fails, he can still save Freedom 7’s life through manual operation.
It doesn’t mean certain death.
Allen Shepard felt both scared and unhappy. He was scared because the White House side really predicted that Freedom 7 would have an accident, and unhappy because his first chance to enter space was gone just like that.
Who knows when the next time will be.
“I know everyone will wonder how we knew Freedom 7’s launch would fail, and since we knew it would fail, why we still let it launch.
The former is because I trust the judgment of professionals. Professor Lin is undoubtedly a master-level figure in the field of aerospace, no less than in the field of mathematics. Also, it’s impossible that Professor Lin caused Freedom 7’s launch failure.
His on-site visit was accompanied throughout by Kurt Debus, the launch operations director at the Cape Canaveral Launch Site.
Professor Lin had no physical contact with the rocket or spacecraft.
The latter is because we learned that someone inside NASA has been obstructing Freedom 7’s smooth launch. He doesn’t want to see NASA succeed, even if it costs the astronaut’s life and shames America.”
Bombshells came one after another.
First, James Webber and Lin Ran put on a show of prediction, then Kennedy came out saying someone inside NASA was sabotaging.
The discussion below the stage grew even more heated, and even an American reporter couldn’t hold back and interrupted:
“Mr. President! Who is it! Who is so vicious!” A Washington Post reporter stood up with a loud voice, “And do you have evidence?”
“Of course, gentlemen, of course I have evidence!
In 1959, NASA recruited 110 test pilots from the Navy and Marine Corps, hoping to select test pilots for the space program.
From these 110 test pilots, 7 astronauts were ultimately born, formally joining the Mercury Program.
This included our Colonel Allen Shepard.
In other words, Allen Shepard was the astronaut carefully selected from 110 pilots to carry out this manned spaceflight mission.
However, NASA concealed his major physical risk: he is a Meniere’s disease patient.
This is a very rare condition with symptoms of sudden vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and a feeling of swelling in the ears.
Such a serious disease was clearly detected in NASA’s physical exam, but was deliberately concealed.
This is the pre-edited physical exam report we found from NASA’s medical center, which clearly states the doctor’s opinion:
Allen Shepard suffers from Meniere’s disease and is not recommended for spaceflight missions.
But Allen Shepard’s final physical exam report showed him as healthy.
Everyone, think about it: if Colonel Allen Shepard really entered space, and after Freedom 7 malfunctioned, could he really complete the operations in the simulated environment under the influence of Meniere’s disease and successfully return to Earth?
The odds are probably pitifully small.”
Kennedy stood on the stage waving the physical exam report in his hand.
“Wow!” The reporters below the stage were full of shock.
NASA had failed too many times in the past. Combined with Kennedy’s revelation, everyone began to suspect if there were conspiracies behind NASA’s past failures.
In history, even if Freedom 7 malfunctioned, Allen Shepard successfully completed the manned spaceflight mission through his own operations.
But when Lin Ran read this history, he felt it was very strange, extremely strange. Shepard did complete the mission, but the subsequent 1962 manned orbital mission didn’t let him go; instead, it was changed to John Glenn.
In 1963, Mercury-Atlas 9 selected Gordon Cooper to execute it, with Shepard as the backup astronaut on standby.
Shortly before launch, Cooper was dissatisfied because technical personnel modified his spacesuit without permission, so he flew low over the Space Agency building at Cape Canaveral in an F-106 fighter jet.
The supervisor therefore planned to cancel Cooper’s mission and switch to Shepard, but ultimately decided to continue with Cooper.
Cooper had disobeyed orders like that, but NASA still insisted on letting Cooper execute it. Clearly, Shepard had perfectly executed the mission in 1961.
Ultimately, he was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease in 1963.
No matter how Lin Ran read it, he couldn’t understand why NASA would operate like that.
It wasn’t until he came to this spacetime, combining James Webber’s plan to reform NASA, that history and the present converged at this moment, and Lin Ran grasped that thread of inspiration.
Freedom 7 was sabotaged by someone inside NASA who wanted this mission to fail, so they deliberately selected Allen Shepard.
Allen Shepard was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease not in 1963, but much earlier; NASA had known from the internal physical exam long ago.
So Freedom 7’s success was the accident; it was supposed to fail.
The original physical exam report found by James Webber with help from a certain IA verified Lin Ran’s guess.
The first two chapters weren’t dumbing down; they were reasonable inferences combining history. I wouldn’t write dumb operations, okay!
Moreover, Lin Ran only proposed the proposal; the final execution still needed Kennedy’s approval. It was also mentioned earlier that they discussed it with James Webber and Kennedy before finalizing the proposal.
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