Mai Dong sat in the command module of Orion II. She buckled her seatbelt and reached out to switch on the control panel.
With a series of crisp clicking sounds, the indicator lights and screens in the command module lit up one by one. Then, there was a slight buzzing sound. The sleeping spacecraft slowly woke up, and the various systems began to perform self-checks.
Mai Dong had never manually controlled the Orion II spacecraft before. It should be said that she had never touched Orion's control stick before.
In the entire mission team, only Old Wang and Old Tang were professional astronauts. The two of them knew how to control this big guy. The other payload specialists did not have this ability. In fact, the manual control system was just a redundant backup. Orion's computer stored all the programs to return to Earth.
In the past few decades, Orion had gone back and forth between Earth and Mars many times, but the manual control system had never been used.
Today was the first time it was used.
"Mr. Cat, I'm in position!"
Mai Dong watched as the screen in front of her lit up. The white English logo "ORION" slowly appeared, and colorful indicator lights flashed in all directions.
"Good job, little girl."
Old Cat lowered his head and quickly flipped through the manual in his hand. This maintenance manual was as thick as an Oxford English-Chinese Dictionary. Even its author might not be able to memorize the entire book.
However, Old Cat now had to memorize the manual in his mind within 20 minutes. He also had to teach it to Mai Dong.
He had confidence in Mai Dong. The latter had proven that she was a talented and beautiful girl with a strong learning ability.
She was indeed a top student from Zhejiang University. It was a waste of talent for her to study at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Old Cat thought quickly in his mind.
"Listen, Miss Mai Dong. I'm going to teach you how to complete the pre-flight inspection!
There are a total of seven parts and 200 steps. Can you hear me clearly? "Old Cat asked loudly." Repeat it if you can hear me clearly. "
"Yes, yes, yes, yes … Complete the pre-flight inspection. There are a total of seven parts and 200 steps."
The girl's voice was trembling. She rubbed her hands together. Her palms were sweaty, and her short black hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to her forehead.
"Don't be nervous, you can do it, you can definitely do it!
You're the smartest girl I've ever met. "Old Cat said," Tang Yue, can you still hold on? "
"Don't worry." Tang Yue chuckled. "My life … is tougher than a cockroach's."
1,100 seconds left.
The Joint Space Station was silently moving in orbit at a speed of three kilometers per second. Outside the cabin was an endless night because it was behind Mars.
However, a bright spot could be seen in the deep space far away. It reflected the sunlight. It was a moon of Mars, Phobos. It was 23,000 kilometers away from the surface of Mars.
The other satellite, Phobos, was on the other side of Mars at this time, so it could not be seen.
The Orion spacecraft was docked with the space station. From afar, it looked sharp and jagged. Its shape was extremely irregular, like a messy bamboo raft drifting in the vast ocean.
The Joint Space Station was supposed to be the most advanced creation of mankind, the epitome of engineering. However, in the deep space 60 million kilometers away, it was like a fragile and crude shack. In the face of the vastness of the universe, the small achievements of human civilization were insignificant, even a little laughable.
Time passed in the void and silence.
800 seconds left.
"FUEL … FUEL … FUEL IS HERE!"
Mai Dong pressed the buttons one by one. She pointed at the complicated pipelines on the screen and confirmed them one by one. "Next is the status of valves 1, 3, 22, 23, and 29 … Mr. Cat!
Code 1202 alert!
Code 1208 alert! Code 1409 alert! "
"Code 1202 alert can be ignored!
Turn off the alert! "
Old Cat waved his hand. "Code 1208 … Code 1208 alert, turn off valve 20!
Code 1409 alert can be ignored, turn off the alert! "
600 seconds left.
“NAC！
NAC system panel! "Old Cat turned a page of the maintenance manual and his eyes instantly scanned the two pages.
"NAC system has been turned on."
"Listen carefully, you will see two neat rows of white buttons on the control panel. Starting from the first row, count from left to right, press the second, fourth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh switches. Then starting from the second row, press the fourth, fifth, sixth, ninth, and tenth switches!"
"First row, second!
Fourth!
Seventh!
Ninth!
Eleventh! "
"Second row, fourth, fifth!
Sixth!
Ninth!
Tenth! "
The girl pressed the headset. "Done!"
"What's displayed on the screen?"
“ProgramAdjustmentCompleted.”
"Beautiful!"
Mai Dong closely followed Old Cat's progress. Old Cat's movements were as fast as a machine gun, and her movements were also as fast as a machine gun. The huge and complex Orion spacecraft slowly regained its vitality in her hands, and the program in the spacecraft's computer was rewritten little by little. In places that Mai Dong could not see, thousands of valves, circuits, pipelines, and actuators inside the spacecraft were changing. They transmitted the orders from the command module to every corner of the spacecraft.
Orion II, the passenger and cargo ship, was turning into a powerful tug.
400 seconds left.
Old Cat stared at the computer screen. It was strictly calculating the trajectory of the space station and the Eagle spacecraft. The latter would fall into the atmosphere after six laps around Mars.
The lander was like a fish that jumped out of the water, and the Joint Space Station was a fisherman standing on the shore with a long bag in his hand. They only had one chance to catch the fish … When the fish jumped to the highest point, they had to reach out and drop the net to catch it.
Once they missed this opportunity, the fish would fall back into the water, and they would not be able to catch it again.
"Miss Mai Dong, open the data link between Orion II and Kunlun Station!"
"It's open!
The data link has been connected! "
"I'm rewriting the flight program!" Old Cat growled, his paws dancing on the keyboard. "Watch over there for me!"
"How?"
"I'll report a number, and you'll watch it!
See if there's anything on the screen!
You can't make any mistakes! "Old Cat said." The first one, 112.7! "
“112.7！”
"The second one, 202.4!"
“202.4！”
“214.1！
235.7！
307.5！
314.9！
330.8！
341.3！”
“214.1！
235.7！
307.5！
314.9！
330.8！
341.3！”
Old Cat's expression was heavy.
Mai Dong's expression was solemn.
This was a crazy attempt. It was truly a battle of life and death. No one knew if it would work, and no one knew if it would succeed. This time, even the success rate of 2.477% did not exist.
Countdown: 200 seconds.
A huge bright outline slowly emerged from the dark background. An arc, like a crescent moon that covered the sky, was the horizon of Mars. The sunlight behind the planet illuminated the edge of Mars and the atmosphere.
At the intersection of light and darkness, a dazzling and bright light rose like a mountain, and some kind of shocking and majestic power was brewing behind it.
The long night finally passed.
The sun rose again.
The dark red plains and valleys passed under the Joint Space Station. Mai Dong raised her head and looked at the light in front of her. Her thin cheeks were illuminated, and she suddenly had an illusion … that she was flying towards the sun.
Countdown: 10 seconds.
Old Cat's voice sounded in her earpiece.
"Ten!"
"Nine!"
Mai Dong closed her eyes. Everything that could be done had been done, and there was nothing more she could do.
"Eight!"
"Seven!"
"Six!"
The indicator light on the control panel lit up, and the Orion II spacecraft's computer began to issue commands. The rocket engine's turbine pump was activated!
"Five!"
A slight vibration came from behind her, and then the vibration became more and more intense. From the seat to the control panel, there was a loud noise.
"Four!"
The propellant was injected into the combustion chamber, and the engine was ignited!
"Three!"
The engine's nozzle spewed out bright and scorching flames. At this moment, the light it emitted was even brighter than the sun, and the huge Orion II spacecraft began to adjust its direction.
"Two!"
The girl held onto the seat and seatbelt tightly. She could feel a huge push coming from behind her, and the gradually increasing overload pressed her against the seat.
"One!" Old Cat roared. "Orion, go —!"