Katerina moved freely inside the "Bird's Nest" stadium and didn't need Zhang Fan to introduce her at all.
"I was among the first batch of astronauts to be deployed to the 'Bird's Nest,' and I participated in the full-state trial operation of the 'Bird's Nest.'" Katerina sat with her legs crossed on the sofa in the main control room, looking like she was instructing a newbie. "Fan, turn on the computer for me."
"Why don't you drive it yourself? You know this place better than I do."
“I can’t open it.” Katerina nudged Zhang Fan’s waist with her leg. “This place is different from ‘Peace Station’. ‘Bird’s Nest’ has a very high-level security system. Although I’ve been to ‘Bird’s Nest’ before, to the current ‘Bird’s Nest’, I’m no different from an intruder.”
"Oh!" Zhang Fan understood. Although Katerina was among the first batch of astronauts to be sent to the "Bird's Nest," she was not on the current list of astronauts for the 203rd Mars mission.
"Xiao Feng, transfer the authority of cosmonaut 004, Pugalov, to the unofficial cosmonaut, Katerina."
Pugalov arrived on Mars aboard the Firebird spacecraft with Zhang Fan. He was one of the ten astronauts on the 203rd Mars mission.
Accept the instruction
'The authority of cosmonaut 004, Pugalov, has been transferred to unaffiliated cosmonaut Katerina.'
"Okay, you can drive it yourself." Zhang Fan continued with his work.
Um?
After a long while, Zhang Fan noticed that Katerina didn't react, so he turned around and looked at her.
Katerina was staring at Zhang Fan with wide eyes and an expression of disbelief.
"Fan, you, you, you can command 'Phoenix' to do things?"
"Is this strange?" Zhang Fan thought it was perfectly natural.
"No...not strange." Katerina suddenly leaned closer to Zhang Fan's ear, a sweet and cloying smile on her face, her breath warm against his skin.
"Fan, can you transfer your permissions to me?"
"Is it okay?"
"Brother Fan..."
Zhang Fan instantly got goosebumps all over his body.
"no!"
Whatever Katerina's purpose was, Zhang Fan knew that rejecting her was definitely the right thing to do as soon as he saw her signature sweet smile!
"Stingy!" Katerina crossed her arms and leaned back on the sofa, her face full of disdain. "He has no magnanimity at all. A generous man is the one women like the most."
"Provocation won't work on me." Zhang Fan stopped arguing with her and continued to focus on his work.
All preparations for the Vulcan spacecraft's journey to Phobos must be completed today.
"Apollo" is a US interplanetary probe, while "Vulcan" uses a lot of US technology. They even have the same specifications for their spacecraft docking interfaces, and the interoperability of various equipment is also very high, so there are no technical obstacles to completing orbital docking.
The challenge of the mission was planning the flight path of the Vulcan spacecraft to Phobos. The original Vulcan plan did not include a route to Phobos, so everything was a blank slate. Zhang Fan had to start from the most basic programming and rewrite the Vulcan's flight control system.
Katerina organized the data on the Apollo spacecraft on her computer, with a focus on how to wake Ivanka from hibernation.
For some unknown reason, the hibernation pods of the Apollo spacecraft could only be awakened manually and could not be remotely controlled. Katerina did not offer much explanation for this.
"Once Ivanka comes down, just ask her directly."
Katerina always gives the same response whenever the question involves the two of them.
Zhang Fan didn't argue with her; it was best to stay out of their business.
Yui had even less to do. She only needed to write the orbital program that Zhang Fan transmitted to her into the flight control system of "Vulcan". After starting "Vulcan", she could leave everything to the flight control program and didn't need to worry about the process in between.
After reaching Phobos' orbit, the Vulcan spacecraft will dock with the Apollo spacecraft according to the pre-programmed procedure written by Zhang Fan. Yui will then open the hatch and enter the Apollo spacecraft, manually waking up the hibernating Ivanka. The mission will then be complete.
According to Katerina, once Ivanka is awakened, they will no longer need to worry about the return process and landing on Mars.
After several busy days, the day finally arrived for the "Vulcan" to set sail.
In the video call, Yui was eating braised pork with gusto, pouring the gravy from the can onto bean sprouts without wasting a single drop.
"Yui, have you remembered everything I told you?" Zhang Fan was conducting the final checks before the "Vulcan" set sail.
Phoenix has simulated the entire process several times using computers, and it can be said to be foolproof.
"I've got it!" Yui nodded, wiping the meat juice from the corner of her mouth. "I've memorized it all, and I've even written it down in my notebook three times."
Yui took out a notebook and waved it in front of her.
"Yui, it's time to go."
"Um."
Are you really okay on your own?
"It's alright, I trust Mr. Zhang Fan!"
"Okay, see you in a week."
Goodbye, Mr. Zhang Fan.
...
Click—
The Vulcan Mars probe lost connection with the Soyuz Joint Space Station on Mars.
The boosters were activated, and the Vulcan spacecraft moved out of its berth, simultaneously correcting its course to complete its first orbital maneuver.
The main thrusters ignited, and the Vulcan set off for a planet not on its original journey route:
Phobos.
Propelled by its main thrusters, the Vulcan spacecraft will orbit Mars multiple times before undergoing a second orbital maneuver to enter a 24-hour orbit.
Then, it will maneuver again to enter a 48-hour orbit, gradually raising its orbital altitude during this process, and finally escape Mars' gravity to enter an interplanetary orbit and fly to Phobos.
After flying for more than 20 hours, the Vulcan spacecraft will undergo three deceleration maneuvers before being captured by the gravity of Phobos and finally docked in an elliptical orbit around Phobos at an altitude of 200 kilometers.
Therefore, it will take Vulcan approximately 3 days to reach Phobos. A round trip to Mars would take about a week.
"Katerina, now that Yui is gone, can you tell me how Yui convinced you to come back and save me that time?"
Watching the Vulcan spacecraft fly far away on the screen, Zhang Fan couldn't help but ask. He was still very concerned about the answer to this question.
"What? Didn't your little lover tell you?"
"She said she begged you while crying."
"Hehe." Katerina laughed. "You believe it?"
That's why I asked you.
"She probably doesn't want to tarnish the image of her as a vulnerable person in your mind."
"What's the meaning?"
"Space is not a complete vacuum. Spacecraft operating in it will still encounter frictional resistance, which will slow down their speed and cause their orbits to drop. Eventually, they will all fall to the ground. Therefore, the Soyuz space station will activate its boosters every few years to perform maneuvers to raise its orbit."
"Huh?" Katerina's incoherent words left Zhang Fan completely confused.
“Don’t you understand?” Katerina laughed. “These are Ishihara Yui’s exact words. If I don’t go back to save you, she will turn the boosters around and pilot the Soyuz space station into the Bird’s Nest.”
!! !! !!
Zhang Fan was stunned.
The Soyuz Joint Space Station on Mars has a total mass of 623 tons. If it were to crash into the Bird's Nest stadium, the scene would be unimaginable.
The Soyuz space station has hundreds of small boosters outside for attitude adjustment, which allows it to precisely impact specific targets on Mars.
“So, Fan,” Katerina smiled meaningfully, “you better not let your little lover catch you doing anything wrong in the future.”
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