Chapter 1324 Redefining Success
Just when the Long March 9 nuclear submarine dived nervously (lucky) (disaster) busy (pleasure) (disaster) and prepared to set sail.
In the control center of Edwards Air Force Base, the situation fell into a strange awkwardness.
Seeing the sudden cutoff of the data curve on the big screen, and the red lights lighting up in the flight status evaluation area, the audience that was full of jubilation just now fell silent almost instantly.
"What's going on?"
General Mitchell Mosley looked at the big screen and then at Dr. Collinger standing next to him, with a look of confusion on his face.
From the perspective of outsiders who are not very knowledgeable, it can be said that everything went smoothly in the first half of the test process, and there was no sign of any failure. Therefore, in this flash of lightning, everyone did not think about the worst case scenario.
Instead, another possibility was considered.
"Is there a problem with the signal transmission?"
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace, who was behind him, also stood up, strode to the console, and ordered to the communications officer who was also still confused:
"Try, can you contact the Orion?"
Due to the large amount of data that needs to be transmitted during the test flight, the X51A's communication guarantee is completed by a specially modified relay communication machine instead of a satellite.
If there is a problem with this link, it is normal for all data to be lost at the same time.
Collingie, who had already had an ominous premonition, shook his head solemnly:
"When we originally designed it, we considered the possibility of signal transmission problems, so we also kept satellite communications equipment as a backup. Even if there is a problem on the plane, some of the most basic data should be retained and not all disappear..."
Just when he finished speaking, the voice of the technician on the relay communication machine rang out on the radio:
"Report to the control center, this is Orion, we have lost the tracking information! Repeat, we have lost the tracking information, can you tell us the specific situation?"
For a moment, everyone looked at each other, but no one responded.
By this time, everyone had some ominous premonitions in their hearts.
Since even Orion has lost the target signal, it means that something went wrong in the first step of data transmission.
In this case, the only possibility is that the aircraft crashed.
But it is inevitable that some people will want to continue struggling.
Especially Boeing CEO James McNerney.
About a year and a half ago, Harry Stonecipher, the previous head of Boeing and one of the architects of the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger, was forced to resign and was even implicated in the bribery of confidential staff of the Department of Defense. Many military personnel came out.
This scandal greatly deteriorated Boeing's internal relationships in Washington. Therefore, McNerney's key task after taking office, in addition to launching a series of new passenger aircraft research and development projects in his old company to cope with competition from Airbus, is to Appease the Pentagon and congressional bosses with several beautiful projects.
All the money that should be channeled has already been spent. We only need to wait until the X51A project is successfully completed to rationalize all these expenditures and then permanently seal them.
As a result, something went wrong at the most critical juncture.
Thinking of this, McNerney couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
His already pale face turned even more pale.
He didn't care whether the progress of the project itself was delayed or not, but if the failure of the test attracted the attention of the Accountability Bureau... then it would be flattering to the horse's hooves.
The transfer of benefits is the elephant in the room. Although it is almost a common rule, it is still something that is not convenient to put on the table.
The top priority was that no matter whether the X51A exploded or not, he needed to find a reasonable reason to get rid of it immediately.
With his mind running rapidly, McNerney quickly turned into a wise man and came up with an excellent rhetoric:
"By the way, didn't I just say that the Chinese have a fleet nearby?"
"Could it be that they released electronic interference, causing us to lose the target's data?"
This sentence is of course a drunkard's intention is not to drink.
The point is not to throw away data, but to pave the way for the future.
Because the same reason can also be used to explain the reasons for the failure of the test...
However, after saying these words, McNerney almost immediately received more than one look that looked like he was looking at an idiot. Although the tactic of passing the blame to the Chinese is easy to use, the actual situation must also be considered.
The configuration of two destroyers and a reconnaissance ship was more than 200 kilometers away from the location where the aircraft last lost its signal. There were also three own warships responsible for tracking and monitoring in the middle.
In this situation, if you say that people have completely interfered with our testing, isn't that equivalent to saying that the US military is useless?
Peter Pace secretly rolled his eyes, but he also knew that now was not the time to argue with this layman, so he turned around and called the commodore who had reported the situation before:
"Let the fleet pass..."
I just started, but hesitated again:
"How far is the fleet now from the location where the signal was lost?"
"About 150 nautical miles..."
The latter quickly answered:
"But according to my experience, if it really disintegrates in the air at a speed of nearly Mach 6, then the area where the fragments will fall will be very far forward, at least more than 200 nautical miles, and it will take about 7 hours to reach it, and this Not considering that the Chinese fleet may interfere with our navigation..."
Pace nodded:
"Then let the plane go over first and see if there are any floating objects or traces of fuel on the sea..."
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After all, he was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who had seen big scenes. Although he was a little disappointed with the test that had a high probability of failure, he quickly regained his composure and began to arrange follow-up measures.
"Yes!"
The Brigadier saluted Pace, then took over from the communications officer next to him and began to communicate with Orion.
Of course Edwards Base belongs to the Air Force, but the launch position for this test is located within the jurisdiction of the Naval Air Warfare Center at Point Mugu. Therefore, although the Navy plays a supporting role, it can naturally take over the necessary work.
It would take more than an hour for the communication relay to rush over, so after giving the order, Pace did not wait, but came to Collinger with a dark face:
"Doctor, if the aircraft crashes, can all the test data be retained?"
After hearing this question, Collinger's face finally looked better, he nodded and replied:
"The part displayed on the big screen is just the tip of the iceberg. Many parameters will be recorded directly into our test database. Even if the wreckage is not found, there will be enough telemetry data to analyze the cause of the problem."
Compared with China and Russia, although the United States also has a vast territory, it lacks a large enough area of unclaimed land. This is essentially due to the unique natural conditions of the North American continent, but it also brings a lot of unnecessary troubles to weapons testing.
Therefore, starting decades ago, major arms companies began to conduct weapons tests over lakes/sea, and many related support technologies were derived from this.
After hearing what Collinger said, Pace did not continue to speak immediately. Instead, he turned away his hands and walked back and forth in the control center.
After a few minutes, I regained my footing:
"In other words, this test still shows enough value?"
Collingie was a little confused by this endless question. Furthermore, as the project leader, whatever he said at this time would be self-excusing.
But McNerney, who was observing the words and expressions from the sidelines, keenly captured the subtle meaning behind this sentence, and quickly added:
"Perhaps... it can provide some reference for the planned four subsequent technical verification tests..."
Even though Collingie was a little slow in these aspects, he had already understood what his CEO meant by this time, and he quickly followed what the other person meant:
"Of course... After all, the scramjet engine worked for nearly three minutes this time, which was more than ten times longer than the previous 12-second record of the X43A. The richness of the data is not comparable to that of the past. As long as you give me a certain amount of time, …”
Pace didn't finish listening to the content of his determination, so he raised his hand and interrupted him.
"In other words, although the aircraft malfunctioned this time, it has made significant progress compared to our past and other competitors... and is ahead?"
Faced with this question, Collinger opened his mouth.
He wanted to say that the X43A's 12-second working time met the test requirements, so there was no doubt that the test was successful. However, the X51A's 143-second working time failed to complete the flight plan, making direct comparison difficult.
But after some tangle, he still nodded, indicating that he agreed with the other party's statement.
Pace's expression suddenly relaxed:
"So, perhaps it can be said that this test was...partly successful?"
(End of chapter)