Chapter 316 16th of July, The Day Finally Arrives
If Zhang Heng rembered correctly, Apple’s Bluetooth Wireless AirPods were released in 2016.
The Apollo quest was set in 1969. Seven years later, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Computer together. As for Bluetooth technology, it was created in 1994 by the famous telecommunications company, Ericsson. In other words, these AirPods were definitely not a product from this era. So, who in the world was the man calling himself Einstein?
Einstein didn’t co to see Zhang Heng because life in Area 51 was boring. He had his own agenda when he ca to et the astronauts preparing to set off for the moon. Other than Zhang Heng, he didn’t look for Jia Lai and Bruno. Zhang Heng didn’t even know if he was really one of the engineers in Area 51, let alone figuring out why he gave him the headset that way ahead of this ti.
An important thing to note was that Einstein only gave him one earbud, the one for the left ear. Even so, Zhang Heng put it together with the other ga items that he collected. The entire mission to the moon would last only eight days, and there would be little remaining ti for Zhang Heng’s quest. This ant that when the quest ended, there was a good chance that he would still be at the moon. That could only an that he had to pack in advance.
Fortunately, NASA allowed their astronauts to bring a small number of personal belongings to space, provided they were ticulously listed down. During the quarantine period, Zhang Heng had visitors. Four days after the sandstorm, the captain returned to the space center and brought back the results of the initial search and rescue. A joint effort between Area 51 and NASA saw them pull together their search assets, and after three days and three nights, Jia Lai’s body was found. He was confird to have died from suffocation. Bruno, on the other hand, was still missing.
The sudden sandstorm had blown millions of tons of sand hundreds of kiloters away, enough to bury all traces of anything living. Coupled with the high temperature and dryness of the desert, it was a dire task for the search to continue. However, the captain insisted that he would carry on until Bruno’s body was found.
In fact, no one thought that Bruno would survive. Public Relations also notified the dia of the unfortunate news as soon as possible. Even President Nixon himself expressed his condolence for those who lost their lives during training. At the sa ti, the president had a brief conversation with the only survivor, Zhang Heng.
Due to the accident, Zhang Heng failed to attend the pre-launch press conference. However, this wasn’t bad news for him, and although it wasn’t his first ti dealing with the dia, he hated being bombarded by questions since he couldn’t provide information about his family and background. Moreover, unlike Armstrong and Collins, he was just a visitor that was passing by this world. All he cared about was whether he could complete the main quest or not. He didn’t need to beco famous in this world.
After a six-day quarantine, Zhang Heng put on the right ntal attitude and made the final preparations for the moon landing. He had done everything he could, for now, having already eliminated all threats and obstacles along his way. Even so, the mission was set to be a perilous voyage from the get-go, filled with unknowns and uncertainties.
It was July the 16th in no ti.
Eight years of preparation (from the implentation of the Apollo Program), the effort of 400,000 individuals, tens of billions of dollars spent, and the nation’s top scientists and engineers working day and night to practically create a miracle. It had all led to this, a project that showcased a country’s ultimate capability during their most peaceful ti with all the investnt they could get on hand. All that blood and sweat, all that unimaginable risk, was to welco the arrival of this day.
Today, the whole world had its attention focused on the Kennedy Space Center, waiting to witness humans’ historic voyage; leaving their ho planet to explore another celestial object for the first ti.
Armstrong, Collins, and Zhang Heng woke up at four in the morning. They dressed neatly, packed their personal belongings, and bid a final farewell to the crowd that had gathered outside the building. Then, with a wave, the three n entered a black Lincoln to Launchpad 39A at Cape Canaveral spaceport. There, they ate their last breakfast on planet Earth. The staff helped them into their A7L spacesuits, and when all the leak checks were complete, they put on their space helts. Everyone in the area was dressed in their best outfits, and during this process, two photographers followed them around busy clicking away their caras for whatever it was worth.
To be honest, Zhang Heng did not fancy this feeling at all, especially the annoying shutter clicks. It looked like so kind of weird ritual to him, the three of them being the sacrificial offerings. At the sa ti, more than half of NASA’s senior officers and representatives from the White House shook hands and hugged each one of the astronauts. The expressions on everyone’s faces grew solemn. It would indeed be a miracle when the three astronauts of Apollo 11 finally returned to Earth with the star-spangled banner wrapped around them.
Fortunately, the entire dia snafu didn’t take too long. As everything was ready, ground control issued instructions to the spacecraft soon after.
Armstrong took the lead and pushed the door to the equipnt room.
At this ti, the spaceport’s engineers stood spontaneously in the corridor, applauding and nodding to the three, wishing them a smooth journey. Journalists were already crowding outside the gate with their caras, and the mont the three astronauts showed up, the caras imdiately ca to life. With flashes going off everywhere, it was as if supermodels had just lined up for a catwalk. Everyone was trying their hardest to capture this historic mont.
However, the three didn’t linger for too long as Hollywood stars on the red carpet did. They simply waved at the reporters who had been waiting for hours and got into the bus prepared by NASA. They then adjourned to the spaceport. Before this, Zhang Heng was lucky enough to see the assembled Saturn V launch vehicle, a behemoth that cost of 185 million (more than 1 billion US dollars today). Designed by rocket prodigy Werner von Braun, it maintained the record for over 50 years as the most powerful rocket ever launched my man.
It stood at a whopping 110.6 ters, a height surpassing the Statue of Liberty in New York. After being fueled up, the entire launch vehicle weighed an astonishing 2,883,900 kg. The building to assemble the launch vehicle and the Apollo module was completed in 1966. It remained as the building with the largest ground area in the world. The four gates that lead to each area were 139 ters high, each taking 45 minutes to open.
The Saturn V rocket moved to the spaceport a few days ago from the assembly building on a purpose-built Crawler-Transporter. At night, the Saturn V looked like a giant sword made by the gods as it stood majestically over the Cape. Looking up at the massive machine from below, it was hard not to be bewildered by this absolute marvel of human technology.
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