Chapter 731: The Exhausted NASA
While China was cheering for the triumphant return of their heroes, the news of Skyglow’s successful return spread throughout the world through media reports and public statements from NASA, ESA, Roscosmos, and other agencies.
Almost everyone was shocked after hearing the news.
Prior to this, American media outlets were publis.h.i.+ng interviews with relevant NASA experts. NASA experts believed that the Skyglow did indeed have a 25-ton Earth-Moon transfer orbit carrying capacity, but, due to the rushed moon landing plan, China might end up facing the same failure as the Russians.
However, this reality was like a slap to their faces.
Not only did Skyglow successfully return to the Jin Ling city launch site, but it also safely brought back the three astronauts and one kilogram of lunar soil.
Even though they were reluctant to accept the truth, they had to face reality.
China had shocked the aeros.p.a.ce industry with its ion thruster propulsion system, and the Chinese were catching up to the Americans at an incredible speed.
If China landed on the Moon today, then what was going to happen tomorrow? Or the day after that?
Even though over the past half-century NASA had some amount of success, their progress speed had undoubtedly slowed down. NASA’s lunar s.p.a.ce station plan was set in 2022. Even though the Ares plan caused a huge sensation, there wasn’t any practical action yet to be seen.
All of the Americans who were concerned about the aeros.p.a.ce industry were full of doubts; some were even furious.
They were wondering what the h.e.l.l NASA was doing?
The American media’s opinion gradually started to change.
No longer was the patronizing tone directed toward China’s aeros.p.a.ce technology; rather, the media was outraged against NASA. This was especially true for The New York Times. This time, they didn’t interview NASA experts. Rather, they pointed their guns toward NASA and had a rather interesting headline on their latest newspaper.
[China is landing on the Moon, what are we doing?]
Coincidentally, while The New York Times was aggressively attacking NASA, the Los Angeles Times and the Was.h.i.+ngton Times also attacked NASA from different perspectives. They questioned exactly how NASA spent their giant budget.
CNN even suggested having a special investigation team check NASA’s budget spending over the years. They claimed there might be something shady going on.
On the other hand, NASA was perplexed by the attacking crowds.
Objectively speaking, the United States had achieved quite a lot in the aeros.p.a.ce industry over the past couple of decades. Their exploration boundaries even reached Pluto, and two of their s.p.a.ce probes had set foot outside of the solar system.
However, all of these achievements didn’t sound as impressive as putting a man on the Moon.
After all, the s.p.a.ce probe was just a lifeless machine. It wasn’t as exciting as putting humans beyond planet Earth.
NASA wasn’t the only one under attack. This issue divided the country into two sides. This was no longer just a technical problem, it was a political problem.
The American government promised to make America great again.
However, these promises were not fulfilled.
Not only was the media attacking NASA, but they were attacking the White House as well…
…
White House.
Inside a conference room.
Other than a few unfamiliar faces, the same crowd sat at the conference table.
When the president walked in, everyone stood up to show their respect.
“Ladies and gentlemen, take a seat.”
The president sat down and looked around the conference table. He stared at the NASA director, Carson, and said, “I need an explanation.”
Carson looked at the NASA deputy director. He then took a deep breath and stood up.
“We underestimated China’s determination in the aeros.p.a.ce field… as well as their technical strength. Their application of ion thruster propulsion systems exceeded our expectations. We never imagined that ion thrusters could go hand-in-hand with traditional chemical thrusters. This goes to show that ion thruster propulsion systems are more than capable of escaping Earth’s gravitational pull. So far we have collaborated with the PPPL, MIT, and other research inst.i.tutes on improving our ion thruster technology…”
The president slammed the table and interrupted Carson. He frowned and said impatiently, “How long?”
Carson paused for a second and forced a smile.
“Um… We don’t have estimates. We have to miniaturize controllable fusion reactors first.”
Before they could miniaturize controllable fusion, they had to figure out controllable fusion first. Even though Carson’s intuition was that the miniaturization of controllable fusion wasn’t as difficult as imagined, they were still far from developing the technology.
After all, according to the technology negotiations with China, they would have to wait until next year to reach an agreement.
Not to mention that the price of the negotiation was not small…
The president said, “I need a solution now, I don’t want to hear about your incompetence!”
Carson nearly spat out blood.
The f*ck?
Weren’t you the one that wanted an explanation?
Of course, Carson didn’t dare to say this out loud.
He went silent for a while before speaking, “Of course, we have come up with a response strategy… I’ve talked about it with the vice president prior to this meeting.”
When the president looked at the vice president, the old man sitting in the vice-president chair nodded and spoke.
“Before the conference, I spoke with Mr. Carson. His proposal is quite good, albeit a bit risky.”
Even though the vice president was only a political mascot, he still played a useful role sometimes.
For example, in the case of the revival of the National s.p.a.ce Council.
In many cases, the president didn’t directly control matters in the aeros.p.a.ce field. Most of the time, it was handled by the president’s administrative office and the vice president.
“Risky?” The president frowned and looked at Carson. “What kind of risk?”
Carson took a deep breath and said, “My proposal is to immediately begin the first phase of the Ares project and send a life support system to Mars!”
The president frowned and said, “You call that a proposal? If I recall correctly, the life support system is still in its testing phase.”
“You’re right, but we can’t wait any longer. Just like you said, we should trust our engineers.” Carson took a deep breath and said, “If we remove some of the more c.u.mbersome procedures, we can send a life support system to Mars in two months!”
Quiet discussions were heard at the conference table.
Carson was sweating from his forehead.
He knew how risky his proposal was.
It wasn’t just risky; he was straight up gambling with the astronauts’ lives.
Especially after Columbia’s tragedy, this seemed like a terrible idea!
Sure enough, a serious-faced middle-aged man stood up and stared sharply at Carson. He said, “Director Carson, I want to ask if by c.u.mbersome procedures, are you referring to the necessary testing procedures?”
Carson looked at the president’s executive office adviser and said, “The testing procedures aren’t necessary… Actually, we are confident we can operate the life support system for at least two years.”
The man asked, “How are you so sure?”
Carson was speechless. Before he could reply, the president spoke first.
“He’s right.
“We should be more flexible, especially in the face of adversary. Isn’t this what the National s.p.a.ce Council is for?”
The vice president smiled and adjusted his tie.
This was one of the rare situations where he felt impactful.
People in the room were whispering, and the man who previously attacked Carson hesitated.
He then said, “Mr. President, I have to tell you, this is not a good idea.”
“Maybe, maybe not. The testing doesn’t have to be done in the Arizona desert. It can also be done on Mars,” Carson said. He continued, “We can send the life support system to Mars first, then confirm whether or not it works. If it works, then we can send astronauts.”
Even though he wasn’t sure of this risky idea, he didn’t care anymore.
NASA needs a victory.
America needs a victory!
If something goes wrong, I’ll just take the blame and resign.
Carson had no other choice.
“Do what he said, and send the life support system to Mars for testing,” the president said as he tapped the conference table with a metal pen. He said, “We don’t have any more time to waste. China is going to war with us! Every minute is precious!”
The president cast a thoughtful look at Carson.
“Mr. Carson, I hope to open a bottle of champagne with you in two months’ time. Don’t let me down.”
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Carson’s forehead.
However, he still pressed his right hand against his chest and made a promise.
“I promise you.
“G.o.d is on our side!”