The "circular track" is a large spacecraft runway installed outside of Noah. According to the careful selection of engineers, it is located slightly above the periphery of the entire hull.
Because it can only be implemented after Noah leaves the sub-light speed state, it is also the last large-scale project left.
According to the plan, it has a total length of about 40 kilometers, a width and height of about 1.3 kilometers, and is in the shape of a complete ring with a large number of three-dimensional parking facilities. The total area is 19.47 square kilometers!
In order to build this truly behemoth, nearly 90 million tons of steel and cement were used, and various large spacecraft will also be assembled in a circular orbit.
This is not only a spaceship runway, but also a small factory!
It is precisely because of the transport of so much material that the speed of Noah decreased so quickly...
It can effectively solve the problem of too small entrance and exit of Noah. From now on, various large spacecraft over 30 meters will dock at the three-dimensional docking facilities attached to this track.
Because space is a gravity-free environment, electromagnetic force adsorption technology and superconducting magnetic levitation technology are used throughout the circular orbit. Each spacecraft also has corresponding supporting facilities during design and production.
Today is the time for the test flight of the military A001 spacecraft...
Yu Yifeng looked at the report from the military and felt slightly nervous.
"Old Xu, such a test flight is very dangerous. Especially since Noah is still moving at high speed... The speed of 24km/s is not low."
Xu Yunjin shook his head: "Theoretically, all the technologies are mature, and the daily training is sufficient. As a soldier, there will always be some dangers. If you retreat when you encounter danger, then why be a soldier?"
"We can't always protect them too well, we still have to take risks!"
Yu Yifeng opened his mouth, but in the end he did not say anything to refute. He looked at the report in his hand.
A pilot named Matt Beach will drive an A001 spacecraft to complete this "fully manual driving" test flight.
He is the one with the best overall performance among all soldiers. Both in terms of neurological reaction speed and daily training, he is top-notch.
Although Xu Yunjin said this, he was still very nervous. For high-speed vehicles such as spaceships, the pilot's skills, abilities and psychological quality are very important.
In fact, its ultra-high speed has somewhat exceeded human nervous reaction capabilities.
Is a racing car fast enough? It can reach a speed of three to four hundred kilometers per hour, but it is nothing compared to a spaceship!
The lowest speed of the A001 spacecraft is almost one thousand kilometers per hour, or 300 meters per second, which is three to four times that of a racing car.
This is just the minimum speed!
The top speed can reach 300 kilometers per second, and the distance traveled in one second is comparable to that of a racing car in one hour!
The landing process in particular is particularly difficult, even more difficult than mid-air refueling. Even though the width of the circular orbit is 1.3 kilometers, it is nothing compared to the super-high speed of the spacecraft. If you are distracted for just a second or two, the aircraft will be destroyed.
People die!
In the event of a collision, the probability of death is 99.99%. There is basically no survival situation such as skydiving. You may not even react at the moment of death!
In order to reduce the occurrence of such accidents, spacecraft usually use unmanned means and automatically land under computer control.
This kind of automatic flight has achieved satisfactory results in dozens or hundreds of previous unmanned tests, and its procedures have been quite perfected.
But computers are not omnipotent. No one can guarantee whether the computer will make mistakes, and no one knows whether there will be a day of manual driving. Therefore, it is necessary to perform a completely manual driving control test, as if the driverless system is completely broken, and it is necessary
Humanity takes over on its own.
"The action begins!"
Pilot Matt Beach took a deep breath, feeling slightly complicated, and stepped onto the spacecraft.
The A001 spacecraft is rated to carry more than 500 passengers, but now he is the only one in the cab, and everything needs to be manually controlled by him.
Everything related has been simulated countless times over the years, and each step is so familiar that he can even do it in his sleep... He was a little nervous, but not panicked.
What he is wearing is a pair of power armor, which will not affect the flexibility of his fingers and the vision of his eyes. This is also the last resort to save life. It has various life-support equipment on it. If something happens, it can increase his survival a little bit.
The probability is just a tiny bit.
Of course, he definitely didn't want this thing to be used.
Pressing the switch button and entering the voice password, the spacecraft sprayed out light blue ion flames and began to accelerate forward. The unique electromagnetic force acceleration system of the circular runway was turned on instantly, which also produced a certain thrust on the spacecraft...
All this is carried out under the monitoring system of the entire Noah, and some drone equipment is also tracking and shooting in the starry sky at any time.
Today's technology is no longer in the primary stage of the 21st century. At this moment, relying on the monitoring system, the image of the entire spacecraft is enlarged and displayed on various screens of Noah. In order to inspire people and boost morale, this time
The test flight will be broadcast live to the general public.
This is also a high-speed spacecraft in the true sense developed by humans!
Not only official reporters, but also many private people also ran to the astronomical observatory to carefully watch the entire test flight process, which was also broadcast live on civilian networks.
"Everyone, as you can see, the speed of our Noah is about 25 kilometers per second. This A001 spacecraft will take off and land on this large, high-speed moving platform. It is very difficult.
Okay, it's already flying. The particle engine ejects light blue flames, and the speed is accelerating. The visual acceleration is about 3 g. According to the formula s=(1/2)at^2...about 31 seconds.
...Ah, it has left the circular orbit and is heading into space!"
"This is an ace pilot in the military. He currently ranks first in overall performance. He was also a senior pilot in the Earth era... Yes, his name is Matt Beach. Let us remember this name forever!"
The narrator is a senior middle-aged male reporter. He speaks extremely fast and can spit out a large number of words in a short time. He is also full of passion and can mobilize people's morale. Of course, the premise is that the flight can be truly successful.
"Okay! It has successfully entered space. Driven by the ion engine, the flight speed is still accelerating. The current speed is about 25.6km/s. According to the plan, it will turn back when the speed reaches about 50 kilometers/s. After all,
We just want to test the safety of manual driving, not challenge the limits of the spacecraft..."
"Okay, the whole process will take about one to two hours. This smooth driving should not be too risky. Don't go away, Captain Zhao Yao from the Security Department will reveal to you: the specific performance of the new spacecraft A001...
…”
At this moment, in the captain's room, Yu Yifeng and others were staring at the screen. Many scientists were analyzing the data. They could see whether there were any errors during takeoff, whether there were potential risks, etc.
If uncontrollable factors occur, the pilot must be alerted as soon as possible, or even ordered to abandon the ship and escape. After all, the power armor on the body has a certain life-support function and can persist until people rescue...
"How is it?" Yu Yifeng asked immediately.
"Everything is normal!" the team leader said slightly relaxedly.
If everything is normal, it is the expected result!
Seeing Zhao Yao on the TV with a shy face and reciting the manuscript with a forced smile, Yu Yifeng looked up in surprise. He asked: "How could it be him? How could Zhao Yao be interviewed by the TV station?"
But Xu Yunjin said without raising his head: "I asked him to go. His written test scores were even worse than those of his soldiers, and he kept complaining to me... He might as well be a commentator on a TV station!"