Chapter 1250 Houston, we are in big trouble
However, compared to the people from all over the world who were either partying or feeling disappointed in front of the TV, the atmosphere in the CIC of the cruiser Charlotte was not as optimistic as imagined.
The interception was undoubtedly successful.
The MK142 kinetic energy warhead accurately hit the UARS satellite in the adjusted orbit, completing an unprecedented anti-satellite, or it can also be said to be an anti-missile mission——
The target is different from the trajectory of ordinary satellites, but is in a rapid descent process similar to the end of a ballistic missile.
Obviously, this is a clear signal to deter China, or any country that hopes to threaten the United States through medium-range ballistic missiles.
Although this modified Standard 3 costs tens of millions of dollars, it is difficult to mass-produce and equip.
At least it's hard to match the number of ballistic missiles.
But it is enough to make opponents worry a little more before taking military risks.
But the trouble is.
Missed.
Or to a certain extent, it can be said that the shot was too accurate.
In order to make it easier for viewers to understand, after the collision, the schematic diagram used in the television broadcast will directly show that both signals disappear at the same time.
But that doesn't mean that everything is really gone after the two things collide.
In addition to the debris that was too small to be seen by the measurement and control system, the radar also captured about 30-40 effective signals.
This is of course normal.
After a brief period of confusion, the interception system quickly recalculated the new trajectories of these large fragments.
As expected, they will quickly fall into the atmosphere due to losing their first cosmic velocity.
However, just when the surroundings were filled with joy, Major General Hawke's sharp eyes spotted a particularly obvious signal.
In the first ten seconds after successful interception, its operating status seemed to be no different from other fragments.
But as time slowly stretches out, it is not difficult to see that this signal has actually entered a new track.
Slightly lower than the 490km where the collision occurred.
But because it doesn't lose much speed, it can still maintain operating altitude, at least for a short period of time.
It is equivalent to a sudden and irregular trajectory change.
This is very scary.
Hawke, who was feeling a little nervous, quickly contacted the Air Force Space Command.
"This is the USS Shiloh, and I am Rear Adm. Paul Hawke, the formation commander. I request to speak directly to General Lance Lord immediately!"
He almost snatched the intercom from the correspondent's hand.
A steady voice sounded from the other side of the radio:
"I'm Lance Lord."
Hawke's voice was trembling a little:
"Admiral, I saw on the radar message..."
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted directly by the other party:
"I know."
Hawke was stunned when he heard this:
"But why...is this different from the pre-calculated result?"
The United States has never been afraid of condemnation, but it is one thing to produce hundreds or thousands of insignificant little fragments. It is another thing to create something that looks like a quarter of the size of a satellite and is changing its orbit randomly.
Although the entire operation was planned by the Air Force, it was Paul Hawke who gave the final launch order.
If something goes wrong, the pot will never be thrown clean.
However, Lord seemed quite calm:
"We have roughly speculated the reason... In order to minimize the size and weight of the warhead, LEAP's seeker uses a monochromatic long-wave infrared seeker, which has limited target identification capabilities, and the missile guidance system is designed At that time, a fault-tolerant compensation mechanism was chosen to prioritize the hit rate, ensuring that the warhead would be controlled to target the location with the highest infrared signal strength. ”
"Of course, the trajectory of this launch is very precise. When the seeker captures the target, the infrared signal almost appears in the middle of the field of view. The four attitude control engines for lateral movement are almost not used. Only one has been When a malfunctioning satellite significantly adjusts its orbit, the strongest point of the infrared signal is not the center part under normal circumstances, but relatively close to the tail..."
"Moreover, the warhead, which originally had a guidance accuracy of about 0.15 meters, performed exceptionally this time. It hit the edge of the satellite without any bias and tore off a huge solar cell sail panel from the main structure. This is the signal you see. .”
Perhaps infected by the other party's calmness, Hawke's mentality calmed down slightly:
"Well, now that the reasons have been analyzed, I think the problem shouldn't be big... In any case, the interception itself is at least a complete success."
He breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down in the command position.
After a pause, he asked again:
"Can we confirm the new orbital data of this fragment now? I can't see it here..." Lord showed great patience:
"Charloy is connected to the C2BMC system. If you can't see it, it means that it has flown out of the detection range of our anti-missile reconnaissance system... But don't worry, I am contacting NASA to check their monitoring Is there any news from the station? I really can’t wait until the next cycle. How can I calculate it..."
"..."
……
at the same time.
International Space Station, Zvezda service module.
Marcus Pontes woke up from his sleep. After checking the time on the computer, he pushed open the hard sleep cabin door at hand and prepared to start a new "day" of work.
Of course, it is said to be work, but in fact, as the first astronaut in Brazilian history, his flight is more symbolic.
So there are no specific tasks to complete.
At most, they are just helping their colleagues at NASA on the Destiny test module.
When he left the sleeping cabin with unskilled movements, Pavel Vinogradov, who was resting next door, had already finished his first meal of the day, and also brought Pontes two tubes of toothpaste-shaped food.
Although after entering the 21st century, the variety of space food is no longer as boring as in the early years, but out of convenience, astronauts who stay on the space station for a long time sometimes actively choose the simplest vital signs maintenance meal.
Don't worry about how it tastes, you'll definitely be hungry anyway.
But for Pontes who just arrived, even this kind of food is fresh enough.
"To be honest, you came at the wrong time."
Vinogradov patted Pontes on the shoulder.
Due to the weightlessness, this action directly caused the latter to fly far away:
"I heard that in the Soyuz TMA-9 mission in the second half of this year, astronauts will be allowed to bring low-alcohol alcohol into space. Life will be much more interesting..."
After saying that, he opened the service bay door and prepared to enter the Unity node module through the Dawn functional cargo bay next door to have a routine meeting with his colleagues from NASA opposite.
Pontes was still struggling to adjust his posture at this moment, and when he heard this sentence, he felt numb:
"Well... I actually don't like drinking very much."
He heard that astronaut Mao Zi has always been very energetic, and he has also done the hard work of manually docking non-cooperative target spacecraft.
"Is alcohol the secret?"
While eating toothpaste, Pontes was letting himself go in his mind, thinking about how he could accurately complete the docking if he were to control a spacecraft and face an out-of-control spacecraft that was spinning at a fast speed.
But just thinking about it makes me feel sick.
Neither the space station nor the spacecraft are standard cylinders. The surrounding cabins and solar panels are like branches. If the operation is not careful, the ship will be destroyed and everyone will be killed.
For no reason, he shivered.
There seemed to be a spinning solar panel in front of me.
"No...I'm all hallucinating."
Pontes tapped his head lightly, as if he wanted to throw away all the random thoughts he had just had.
But the battery panel in front of me is still there.
? ? ?
"Am I not sick?"
He had a bad feeling.
Getting sick in space is a big problem, especially since his current symptoms are suspected to be mental problems.
Just when Pontes was struggling with whether to truthfully report his "condition" to the ground, he heard a sharp roar in Russian coming from the direction of the Dawn before it had time to close the door:
"Сукаблядь, what was that just now?"
Vinogradov's voice was almost distorted.
This was followed by a burst of English:
"It seems like a solar panel flew over us?"
Only then did he realize that the scene he just saw was not an illusion.
Instead, there really is a solar panel that comes from nowhere, flying past in an orbit not much higher than the International Space Station.
What followed was a few seconds of silence.
Then another English voice:
"Houston, this is the International Space Station."
"I think we're in big trouble..."
(End of chapter)