September 28, Jiuquan Launch Center.

The manned rocket, more than twenty stories high, is quietly staying on the launch stand, waiting for the launch window to arrive.

"The meteorological conditions seem to be not very good these days?"

Geng Bo flipped through the forecast report he had just obtained from the meteorological department, and said with some unwillingness.

"Brother Xingyang, do we really want to delay the launch?"

"Actually, it's cloudy at most, so it doesn't matter if you launch, right?"

Zhang Xingyang didn't say anything, but looked at the cloudy Gobi Desert in a daze.

I don't know if God really wants to go against them, the Gobi, which doesn't rain a drop of rain all year round, has had several rains recently.

"Meteorological problems, none of us want to see."

"But according to the rules and regulations we have set, this kind of weather is definitely not allowed to carry out launches."

"Report to Command, weather conditions don't allow us to launch."

"We have to pick the time again and wait for good weather before we can launch."

The rocket itself is actually not afraid of these bad weather.

Even storms can take off.

However, bad weather can have a big impact on the optical tracking system of the ground monitoring station.

It is not possible to monitor the flight trajectory of the rocket in the sky in time.

This makes it impossible for everyone to adjust the trajectory of the rocket in time after a problem.

Although the autopilot in the rocket's control system is able to adjust the speed and attitude of the rocket according to the various gyroscopes and accelerometers on the rocket.

But as a manned rocket, it is far from enough to rely on the autopilot and the astronaut's own on-the-spot judgment.

"The weather conditions at the launch site, is it really not suitable for launches?"

After Geng Bo reported the postponement of the launch, within three minutes, a call from Zhao Tianming came to Zhang Xingyang's mobile phone.

"Judging by our rules and regulations, such weather does not support the launch of rockets."

Zhang Xingyang naturally knew what kind of luck Zhao Tianming was holding.

What if the impact of the weather is not very great, and what if the weather gets better after the rocket is launched?!

However, Zhang Xingyang did not want to gamble with the hard work of the entire space system staff for more than ten years and the lives of astronauts.

Zhang Xingyang, as the commander-in-chief of the rocket launch, is responsible for the hard work and safety of these people.

Even a 1 in 10,000 accident is unacceptable.

Although flying into space by rocket is still a high-risk job under today's technical conditions.

But in the face of the excited astronauts, Zhang Xingyang didn't want them to die in the rocket launch because of the weather.

"We believe that the only choice today is to choose the launch time at an optional date."

Zhang Xingyang said like a cut of gold.

In fact, Zhang Xingyang himself is not a particularly tough person, in the eyes of many people, he is a very gentle person.

But on top of this issue, he has shown an unprecedented toughness.

If he could, Zhang Xingyang didn't want to do it.

But he really didn't want to have any problems during the first rocket launch, so as to give others the impression that the dragon country's manned space flight was not particularly reliable.

"Okay, let's pause the launch mission for now."

"We'll talk about a new launch date later."

Zhao Tianming also hopes that there will be no problems with the first launch, but the pressure on him from all sides is much greater than that of Zhang Xingyang.

In addition, the elective launch may make Zhao Tianming bear a lot of accusations, which is one of the reasons why he will personally call to inquire.

——

Twenty days later, at night, the Dongfeng launch site was full of clear skies.

Since the postponement of the last launch, I have been waiting for more than half a month, and finally the window for the launch of manned rockets has finally arrived.

"Don't be too nervous after you go up, if there is a problem, it will be solved, and if it can't be solved, you will go directly to the escape tower."

At this time, astronaut Yang Hongwei had finished saying goodbye to the people who came to see him off, dressed neatly, and prepared to enter the manned spacecraft.

Before entering, Zhang Xingyang, as the commander-in-chief of the launch process, was not at ease, and specially ran over to tell him a few words.

"As the first manned space mission in China, I know you may have a lot of ideas in your heart."

"But in our hearts, the most important thing is that you can come back safely."

While saying this, Zhang Xingyang stared at Yang Hongwei's eyes seriously.

Because in the previous contact, Zhang Xingyang fully understood the other party's psychological state, if he didn't emphasize this issue.

After there is a problem with the spaceship, even if it can't be solved, Yang Hongwei will definitely make multiple attempts, even if this may miss the best escape time, even if it may lead to his death.

After listening to Zhang Xingyang's words, Yang Hongwei muttered in his heart, but looking at Zhang Xingyang's very serious eyes, he still nodded and agreed:

"I'll come back alive!"

After putting on a spacesuit, the flexibility of the human body is not as high as that of a normal person.

But even so, Yang Hongwei still saluted Zhang Xingyang and everyone who saw him off with a standard military salute.

Zhang Xingyang and others also returned a salute seriously.

Although most of the people present, except for the astronauts, were not military members.

However, as space system workers, you can still understand that in fact, there is not much difference between going to space this time and the flesh-and-blood battlefield where shells are flying.

It can even be said that the danger of going to space is even greater.

After all, this is the first time to carry out a real space launch, although there have been two simulated dummy launches in China before, but there are still many differences with real people.

The two auxiliary personnel on the side carefully supported the astronauts to carry out the manned spacecraft.

Although due to the increase in the carrying capacity of the rocket, the space and weight of the manned spacecraft are much larger than in the previous life.

However, after adding a lot of scientific instruments, the space that can actually accommodate astronauts has not increased much.

The space in the cabin is about 3 meters by 3.2 meters, which is less than 10 square meters.

In fact, the size of a manned spacecraft is capable of carrying three astronauts for space activities.

However, due to safety and other considerations, it was finally decided to carry only one astronaut.

This manned space launch is more about testing the performance and cooperation of various systems, and does not pay special attention to manned scientific research activities.

At 8:40 a.m., the manned spacecraft completed the final loading check.

All the engineers were evacuated from the rocket launcher.

And in the launch control center not far away, many people are anxiously waiting for the launch time to come.

In the control center, there are always professional psychologists chatting with astronauts who are quietly waiting in the manned spacecraft.

In fact, as an astronaut selected from among countless outstanding pilots in the whole army, Yang Hongwei's psychological quality is very good.

Tarzan collapsed in front of him without changing his face, which is a basic quality for them.

But the psychiatrist didn't tell astronauts not to be too scared.

On the contrary, the psychiatrist is telling the astronauts not to get too excited.

Like all boys who have a dream of becoming an astronaut when they are young, Yang Hongwei also had such a dream when he was a child.

However, unlike those who have grown up and gradually left their childhood dreams behind, they are now realizing their childhood dreams.

This makes it hard for Yang Hongwei not to feel excited.

But the good thing is that he also knows that he can't get too excited.

So I tried to calm my mind.

At the same time, the oxygen supply in the spacesuit was slightly increased, and my somewhat pounding heart slowly returned to normal.

"Countdown, five minutes!"

The young man in charge of the broadcast time shouted loudly from inside the control center.

Zhang Xingyang looked at the screen, and the green lights of various monitoring stations and ocean-going monitoring ships were working normally, and his eyes narrowed.

In order to ensure the smooth progress of this launch, the land-based and sea-based TT&C communication network alone mobilized 15 TT&C stations and six ocean-going survey vessels, and mobilized more than 20 satellites as communication support.

In order to ensure the safety of astronauts in the event of an emergency, six emergency rescue points were set up on land in the ascent stage, and 15 helicopters and a large number of ground search and rescue vehicles were equipped to carry out search and rescue missions.

Four emergency rescue areas have been set up at sea and nine rescue vessels have been deployed, accompanied by three patrol aircraft and two ship-based helicopters.

In the operation section, in order to implement autonomous emergency return, 15 spacecraft autonomous emergency return rescue areas have been set up at home and abroad.

It can be said that in order to carry people into space this time, the financial and material resources used by the state are far beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

This is also an important reason why only major countries can develop manned spaceflight.

This is not just something that can be accomplished with rockets and manned spacecraft.

This is also an important reason why some countries in later generations may be able to achieve certain advantages in satellites, but they cannot develop manned spaceflight.

Because this is a large-scale project, it cannot be completed independently by relying on its own strength without sufficient organizational capacity and national strength.

As for wanting to rely on multinational cooperation to accomplish this, that is basically a fantasy.

"Countdown, one minute!"

The announcer's loud voice echoed through the control center.

The mood of everyone present was also both excited and worried at this time.

The psychiatrist also stopped communicating with the astronauts at this time.

At this time, the astronauts must devote themselves to the work of the spacecraft.

As the first batch of astronauts in China, all of them were trained according to pilots, and everyone can fly manned spacecraft.

For those who love to drive, this is probably the most powerful vehicle on Earth.

Even a high-speed fighter, compared to a rocket, can only be said to be a younger brother.

"Countdown, ten!"

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Ignition!"

At the moment when the countdown returned to zero, Zhang Xingyang accurately pressed and held the button on the console.

Electrical signals travel at the speed of light, within the nanosecond range.

Arriving at the rocket's automatic control system, the rocket propulsion system controls the program and begins to smoothly ignite the engines at the bottom of the rocket.

Tons of fuel are consumed in an instant, converted into millions of liters of high-temperature gas, propelling more than 800 tons of rockets to rise from the ground!

Dust rose from the launch site several tens of meters high, setting off a puff of desert smoke on the Gobi Desert.

The rocket took off for twelve seconds and began to turn.

"Dongfeng Twin Cities, optical tracking is normal!"

As the closest optical tracking station to the launch site, good weather makes the optical tracking work very well.

Rockets fly at high speeds, and time is measured in seconds.

The rocket takes off for 120 seconds and the escape tower is thrown away.

"Escape tower separation, normal!"

In the control center, various instructions are broadcast almost constantly.

The rocket takes off for 158 seconds, and the first-stage rocket engine is ordered to shut down.

The rocket took off for 159 seconds, and the first and second stages of the rocket were successfully separated.

"The first stage of the rocket is separated, successful!"

In the control center, there is hardly any sound to be heard except for the incessant sound of commands.

In the room on the side, the high-level officials and representatives of all parties who came to watch were also waiting quietly.

The rocket takes off for 200.5 seconds, and the fairing separates.

"Fairing, separation successful!"

After the fairing was successfully separated, the command broadcast speed in the control center was much slower.

Only when the various ground measurement and control stations and ocean-going surveyors are tracking and capturing can a sound be heard.

The rocket took off for 460 seconds, and the main engine of the second stage was shut down.

"Second stage main engine, shut down!"

The rocket took off for 587 seconds, and the manned spacecraft and rocket completed the separation work.

"Star Arrow Separation, Done!"

"Manned spacecraft, successful orbit!"

The manned spacecraft entered an elliptical with an inclination of 42.4 degrees, a perigee altitude of 199.14 kilometers, and an apogee of 347.8 kilometers.

With the official entry of the spacecraft into the scheduled orbit, it marks that the launch of this manned spacecraft has achieved unprecedented success!

In the control center of the launch site, thunderous applause rang out!

At this time, everyone was in a sea of excitement and excitement, and almost everyone was telling the people around them about their happiness.

Even Zhang Xingyang, who doesn't like to have too much contact with others on weekdays, hugged the staff around him with all his might.

"Our dream of flying finally came true on this day!"

"The world, after this day, will divide the domestic space history into two segments."

"From now on, space will no longer be full of blonde and blue-eyed aliens!"

"There are also descendants of our dragons!"

Zhang Xingyang rarely said these words on weekdays, but today he said his thoughts to the many people present.

Most people, however, agree with him.

And the astronauts in space have also successfully established communication links with the ground at this time.

Through the camera in the manned spacecraft, Yang Hongwei waved his hand at the people on the ground and said:

"Report to the ground command center!"

"I'm in space and I'm in good shape!" (End of chapter)