The reddish-purple tail flame, like the passing of the stars, was particularly conspicuous in the blue sky.

On the ground, the General Command Center.

The deafening cheers and celebrations faded like a tide, and the warmly embraced people quickly returned to their jobs and continued to complete their work according to the rules that had been arranged.

The first voyage of the Star Sea was not enough to just send it into the sky.

Whether in the atmosphere below the tipping point, in subspace above the tipping point, or even in low-Earth orbit, it will carry out a series of various tests.

This time, the first flight was an unmanned flight, which was jointly completed by the intelligent flight control system with the command of the ground control center personnel and the assistance of the supercomputing center.

Only after the first flight has been completed and the performance is in good condition in various environments, the manned space project will be launched in the future.

Before launching the world's first manned spacecraft to carry Gagarin into space, the former Hongsu launched a total of 5 unmanned test spacecraft; In the last century, the United States also developed three series of manned spacecraft, namely Mercury, Gemini and Apollo.

The manned space and lunar exploration activities of the three series were launched after the launch of a total of 10 unmanned test spacecraft before the first manned spacecraft.

Of course, these are sent by launch vehicles, and their manned spacecraft basically have no autonomous movement ability after liftoff, or they do not have too strong autonomous movement ability.

This forces that in order to ensure the safety of astronauts, space agencies need to launch spacecraft multiple times to collect and compare information on orbit, data, and vehicle to ensure the safety of astronauts in subsequent manned space activities.

In this regard, the space shuttle does have its own unique advantages, especially the combination of small fusion reactor + aerospace engine, which provides extremely strong maneuverability. Unlike manned spacecraft, it is difficult to adjust its orbit and direction of operation through various orbital movements after entering space, and it will not have restrictions on fuel, material, living space, etc.

But this does not mean that the shuttle will be able to carry people directly at the time of its maiden flight.

Astronauts are more valuable than space shuttles, at least in this day and age.

As for the future, in the era of electric propulsion, in the field of comprehensive development of the space shuttle, the physical requirements for astronauts in space exploration will theoretically be reduced to a very low level, even an ordinary person without any training can go to space through the space shuttle and land on the moon.

In the blue sky, the silver-white Star Sea dragged a long reddish-purple tail flame galloping through the sky, sometimes rising, sometimes falling, sometimes tumbling, sometimes calm as clouds. It's like a phoenix falling into the mortal dust, which is amazing.

One test after another was carried out at an altitude of nearly 20,000 meters, and in the distant sky, there were J20 fighters patrolling around the Xinghai, which were like escorts to ensure the absolute safety of this airspace.

On the ground, in the general control center of the space base, the busy staff is orderly carrying out one test after another, recording complete experimental data.

Reporters from CTV and Jinling City seized the gap to take some photos and quickly retreated to a corner so as not to bother others with their work.

Standing in front of the main console, Xu Chuan didn't know how long he had been waiting.

Finally, a trembling voice made his eyes brighten quickly.

"Report! The experiments in the atmosphere have been completed, the data has been fully collected, and the current Xinghai is in good condition, please ask for instructions on the next step! ”

Hearing this report, Xu Chuan took a deep breath and gave a new instruction calmly and clearly.

"End the intra-atmosphere voyage and perform the second phase of the voyage!"

"Roger!"

The command was passed on, a loud reply sounded, and with the modification of the command, the Xinghai, which was sailing in the sky, quickly adjusted its flight posture and flew towards higher deep space.

It is certain that the acceleration of the aerospace engine is much weaker than that of traditional chemical-fueled launch vehicles, and at least before the electric propulsion system breaks through the gravity well at full power, it will need more time to increase its speed and climb to a higher orbit.

Although it is much slower in comparison, its advantages are quite obvious.

Before reaching the critical point, before switching flight attitudes, it flies more smoothly, whether it is for the equipment inside, or for the people inside, it will not cause any acceleration pressure.

The long flight time passed anxiously until a report sounded again.

"Arrive at the tipping point in three minutes, and the airplane mode switch is ready!"

The sound of the report sounded in the control center, and in the general control room, everyone, including Xu Chuan, suddenly raised their hearts.

The navigation in the atmosphere has been confirmed to have no problems, the first voyage of the Star Ocean, the next core is the switch of flight mode this time!

This is the most difficult step and the most critical stage.

If it can be completed successfully, even if there is another accident in low earth orbit, they are sure enough to adjust back.

However, if there is a problem when switching flight modes, Xinghai may usher in the biggest setback in the process of its maiden voyage, or even a heavy blow.

Standing in front of the main console, Xu Chuan's eyes were firmly fixed on the data on the monitoring screen, and his heart was already raised.

From these screens, he can clearly see the operation status of various components on the Xinghai, including fusion reactors, aerospace engines, flight control systems, and even the two experimental pigs placed in the cargo hold.

For him, through these data, it is as if he can see the brilliant plasma iris in the chamber of the fusion reactor, and he can also see the extreme particles in the aerospace engine that are accelerated to the speed of one thousandth of a light.

Three minutes is not a long time, but in this moment it is incomparably long.

With the switch of flight mode and the change of flight attitude, at this moment, the general control room was extremely quiet, the pin drop could be heard, and everyone held their breath and waited for the final time.

As if he could hear his heartbeat, Xu Chuan clenched his fists and waited patiently.

until

[Reaching the critical point, the airplane mode switch is successful!] 】

A crisp report sounded in the control center, and everyone's hearts fell heavily at this moment.

"Oh, oh, oh!"

"Good! That's great! ”

"It worked! We did it! ”

"Awesome! Academician Xu is awesome! ”

"Hahahaha, Sichuan Shenniu Batch!"

Looking at the space shuttle heading for the vast deep space, all kinds of cheers rang out in the general control room again.

Xu Chuan breathed a long sigh of relief, and the flush on his face gradually faded.

His worries have passed, and the two biggest levels, the Star Ocean has already passed!

For the rest of the journey, he believes there will be no more problems!

PS: Suddenly there was work in the afternoon, and I came back in the evening to start coding words, first send one to keep full attendance, and the rest are writing, and there are still in the evening, so let's get up in the morning and read it.