When asked by President Abbott, Morton shook his head, his face pale.
No... I don't know.
"NASA's previous Hall thrusters definitely didn't have this much thrust!"
"How about... I ask Professor Austin, who used to be in charge of the Hall thruster project?"
Albert glared at Morton resentfully and growled in a low voice, "Why aren't you going to ask?!"
Morton's face fell, and a hint of grievance appeared in his eyes.
"You were the one who said from the beginning that we didn't need to ask that professor..."
"Huh? What did you say?" Albert's face darkened instantly.
Morton didn't dare to retort, and could only silently take out his phone and dial Professor Austin's number.
The call was answered quickly.
“Professor Austin, I am Morton.”
As soon as the call connected, Morton switched to speakerphone and asked directly, "I'd like to ask if the Hall thruster can generate 50 tons of thrust?"
No sound came through the microphone.
Morton frowned and asked again in a low voice, "Professor Austin, are you listening?"
Professor Austin's somber voice came through the microphone: "Chief Morton, are you kidding me?"
That's not funny at all!
Morton glanced awkwardly at the president beside him, coughed lightly, and said, "Ahem! Professor Austin, the president is with me."
I hope you'll think about this carefully!
After a moment's hesitation, Morton added, "Xia has already developed a Hall thruster with a thrust of 50 tons and installed it on a spaceplane."
"What?! This, this is impossible!" Austin exclaimed from the other end of the microphone. "The current generator power is absolutely insufficient to support such a Hall thruster!"
Morton's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked in a deep voice, "What if... Professor Austin, I mean, what if Xia Kingdom combined small-scale nuclear fusion with Hall thrusters?"
Austin fell silent.
From this silence, both Morton and Albert got the answer they wanted.
"Alright, Professor Austin, I understand. That's all..."
Morton hung up the phone helplessly, then turned to Albert beside him: "Your Excellency... perhaps, in this race, we have lost completely."
“No!” Albert’s eyes showed a hint of unwillingness. “We still have Project Pathfinder!”
"As long as we conquer Mars first, we haven't lost yet!"
...
Inside Xuan Nu No. 1.
Bai Yixuan and the other two, dressed in flight suits, sat quietly in their respective pilot seats.
On the control panel in front of me, various indicator lights flashed with their own unique glow.
"call……"
Hong Fan, sitting in the passenger seat on the left, let out a deep breath.
"What's wrong? Are you nervous?"
Bai Yixuan's voice came from the side.
Hong Fan shook his head with a wry smile: "Brother Xuan, aren't you nervous?"
"This is the first time we've ever used a real machine!"
Bai Yixuan shrugged and said nonchalantly, "It's alright. I've never had any accidents during the simulation training."
Hong Fan's expression suddenly stiffened.
His simulation training...
Although he only crashed once, the sense of helplessness he felt during that crash left him with a deep psychological scar.
"Relax..." Xia Wanyi, sitting in the passenger seat on the right, chuckled, "This is different from the simulation training. We're driving together as a group of three now, nothing will happen!"
“That’s right, even if you don’t believe in yourself, you have to believe in my skills,” Bai Yixuan said seriously. “Once we come back successfully this time, I will…”
"Shut up!"
Before Bai Yixuan could finish speaking, Hong Fan and Xia Wanyi simultaneously stopped him from "planting the flag".
Realizing what had happened, Bai Yixuan gave an embarrassed smile: "Ahem, I didn't mean to..."
"Mysterious Maiden One, attention, ten-minute countdown to takeoff!"
Just as the three were chatting, Cao Liangcai's voice came through the built-in earpiece in the helmet.
Bai Yixuan's expression turned serious, and he immediately pressed the radio switch to respond: "Xuan Nu No. 1 received!"
"Start the small fusion reactor now!"
As he spoke, Bai Yixuan pressed several buttons on the control panel in front of him.
A fusion reactor requires a certain amount of preheating time before it can be started.
Therefore, Xuan Nu-1 needs to start the small fusion reactor ten minutes in advance.
After completing the operation, Bai Yixuan suddenly realized a problem.
Where is Professor Lü?
"Why isn't Professor Lü in charge?"
Upon hearing Bai Yixuan's question, a hint of doubt flashed across Hong Fan's face.
"Hey, now that you mention it, I've noticed that too."
"Wasn't Professor Lü always in charge of these kinds of things? Why isn't he giving instructions at such a crucial moment today?"
...
at the same time.
Inside the institute's temporary command center.
Cao Liangcai gently covered his right eye.
For some reason, his right eye has been twitching for the past few minutes.
A twitching left eye means good fortune, a twitching right eye means good fortune...
Cao Liangcai shook his head, dismissing the thought from his mind.
Pooh!
It's all feudal superstition!
"Are all of Xuan Nu No. 1's data normal?"
Cao Liangcai, feeling uneasy, asked the staff member next to him.
"Everything is normal. The fusion reactor is warming up and is expected to start up within five minutes."
"What about the ground crew?" Cao Liangcai asked loudly after a moment's thought.
The next moment, a voice came: "Everything is normal!"
"The Xuan Nu No. 1 is in good condition; the ground crew has already checked it twice!"
Cao Liangcai's right eyelid twitched twice more.
"We have a few more minutes, let's check it one more time."
"Make sure there are no mistakes!"
As he spoke, he raised his wrist and checked the time.
Eight minutes left.
"What's going on with Lü Yongchang...?"
"At such an important moment, he actually went to the bathroom?!"
Cao Liangcai frowned and turned to one of the researchers beside him, saying, "Go, go and bring Professor Lü here!"
Even if he's in a hurry, he'll wait until Xuan Nu No. 1 is in space before he goes to take a dump!
"He's the person in charge of this project, after all. At such a crucial moment, how can he just walk away like that!"
Upon hearing Cao Liangcai's reprimand, the researcher's face fell, and he quickly turned and ran towards the institute's toilet.
Five minutes later.
The researcher ran back in a panic.
"Academician Cao, something terrible has happened!"
"What's wrong?" Perhaps because Xuan Nu No. 1 was about to take off, Cao Liangcai's temper also worsened. "Xuan Nu No. 1 is about to take off, don't say such discouraging things!"
"Tell me, what exactly happened?"
The researcher stammered, "Professor Lü, he's gone!"
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