It is 400,000 kilometers away from the earth, and now, all space shuttles have just begun to make contact with the asteroid. In other words, the asteroid Apophis basically did not slow down; not only that, it also changed its direction and fell towards the earth under the influence of the earth's gravity and the obstruction of the space shuttle.
The current speed is 45 kilometers per second, which is 15 kilometers relative to the earth's speed. If nothing is done to stop it, it will fall into the earth in 7.41 hours.
The most important thing is that according to the current direction, it can hit Central Asia.
This still does not account for the impact of the earth's own gravitational acceleration. If calculated this way, according to the influence of the earth's rotation from west to east, it will likely fall into the hinterland of China.
For a moment, everyone's expressions were extremely exciting.
You will not live if you do your own thing! Some countries gloat over the misfortune: You deserve it, you have to mess around!
"Once it approaches 100,000 kilometers from the earth, destroy it immediately!" the President finally issued the order. Just looking at the veined hands and trembling body, you can tell how difficult it is to issue such an order. There are 1,200 of the world's top airplanes and 1,200 top pilots there; no one knows how many people will not be able to escape in time. The moment the asteroid is destroyed, there will be a violent explosion. Even the space shuttle of the Master Company cannot withstand such an impact. The scattered fragments, with a frontal impact speed of more than ten kilometers per second, will be the most deadly threat. Once targeted by debris, no aircraft can escape in a hurry!
"Wait! We have to believe that those are the best pilots in the country!" Mu Xinghai could only answer this when faced with other people's inquiries. Because at this time, there is really nothing you can do. All previously calculated data need to be overturned and restarted. Although the calculation speed of the computer is very fast, the input of commands is very slow. In particular, the current little star Apophis is changing every moment, and remote calculations no longer have much meaning. The most that can be done is to transmit the observed data so that the pilots on site can have more accurate information to judge the current situation of Apophis.
In Space:
"The second echelon, from seven o'clock to nine o'clock, the engines are shut down, and the rest are pushing forward with all their strength!"
"The first echelon, don't worry about anything else, push forward with all your strength, reduce the speed of the asteroid, and trust our companions."
"The third echelon, the planes in the one to three o'clock direction, now break away from the 'ring' team, pull sideways, and change the asteroid's orbit!"
"All reserve teams, you only have one task now, push forward with all your strength, and hand over other tasks to other team members. Do your best to reduce the speed of the asteroid!"
The public channel is extremely busy, but neat and orderly; China's military quality is fully demonstrated at this critical moment. After breaking away from the headquarters, the four formations could not even adjust the data in real time, but they could rely on their senses to change the asteroid's orbit bit by bit and slowly reduce its speed.
At this time, all computers, etc., are no longer able to provide effective orbit corrections because the changes are too fast; in many cases, they have to rely on the natural induction of the human body. Such as feeling acceleration, gravity, etc.
Of course, there are also physical instruments, etc., which are also extremely important.
Many people think that the most important instrument for the American moon landing is the most advanced computer. In fact, American astronauts revealed that the most important instrument is the sextant! ! ! An instrument that existed in this age of exploration.
Because space is not smooth and has a certain distortion, the position of the moon observed on the earth is actually deviated; after optical observation in space, the orbit needs to be constantly adjusted.
The current situation is such that electronic instruments can only be used as auxiliary calculations; real judgment must be completed by human power. This is the valuable thing about top astronaut pilots. They can still make precise movements even when the computer fails. Just like a supersonic fighter jet, computers cannot complete more than 80% of the maneuvers.
This is a pinnacle of wisdom, a pinnacle that theoretically computers can never surpass.
The busyness in space is tense and orderly; the space shuttle that lost its carbon fiber mesh made an emergency return, dragging the prepared carbon fiber mesh to continue fighting.
At this time, due to the rolling, Apophis had been rolled up by the carbon fiber mesh; some space shuttles exerted force directly behind Apophis' butt.
More than half of the engines are S series. In space, a large amount of water mist appeared at some point, and it looked like a dream in the sun.
However, no one likes this thing because it refracts light and blocks direct observation by satellites and other equipment!
In fact, due to the retreat, the pilot's sight has been blocked. It was so cold in space that all the ejected water vapor turned into tiny ice crystals in an instant.
"Keep working hard, the speed has been reduced to 41 kilometers, deviating from the direction of the earth. Phew..." Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, and by this time, a full four hours had passed!
However, it still cannot be said that the earth is safe; because Apophis has already entered within 200,000 kilometers of the earth at this time, and the influence of the earth's gravity is already extremely huge.
"Calculate the possibility of using gravity to slow down!" Liu Haibo sent an application to the headquarters.
"Calculating... beep... can be operated, the data has been sent. In addition, please note that once the asteroid enters 100,000 kilometers from the earth, all space shuttles are requested to leave immediately. Explain that the electromagnetic rail gun will destroy the asteroid with all its strength. Planet.”
The space base has been reduced to a supporting role, only helping to calculate various possibilities and data; everything can only rely on the excellent quality of the pilots. This is an extremely risky action, but it is also the only action that can be taken now.
"Received, received."
"Third echelon, pay attention. The planes from one to three o'clock are now returned to the 'Ring' team; fully assist the asteroid in decelerating. We are now using the earth's gravity to decelerate and strive to make the asteroid become a satellite of the earth."
Although no sound could be heard, the flight formation still almost maintained a circle in space. There was no obvious confusion among the four different levels of the circle. All actions were still orderly after being separated from the command of the headquarters.
Ordinary people watching the excitement only saw the country start cheering after announcing that the earth was safe. However, countries such as Europe and the United States looked thoughtfully at China's nearly perfect performance. Computer errors mean nothing. Even the United States and other countries have not calculated those variables; this is because we have never had experience in capturing asteroids. However, the high quality shown by China, including the pilots of the master company, really makes these countries a little scared. The quality of these pilots is beyond imagination! Being able to operate calmly under such circumstances is something that makes people and experts who really understand military technology a little stunned.