Half of the members of this ship are international astronauts. They have been conducting earth orbits and scientific experiments for the past two months. They only arrived here two days ago.
Today, everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered in the main control cabin.
There was not enough space, so many people sat on the gangway and stared at the big screen in the main control cabin.
Although there is no glass installed, the large screen can clearly show the space scene outside the spacecraft.
At this time, the upper part of the screen is the brilliant galaxy, and the lower part is the halo of sunlight blocked by the earth and the moon.
Gradually, something seemed to flicker in the quiet halo.
Someone in the hall immediately asked in a low voice: "Are you here?"
"It seems to be coming."
"Here we go, Chang Wu."
At this time, Ye Ming's voice also sounded on the hall's broadcast: "Professor Li Lei, this is Ye Ming. The thruster has flown out of orbit. You should be able to see it."
Hearing Ye Ming's voice, everyone immediately shut their mouths.
Li Lei adjusted his headphones, suppressed his excitement, and said in a deep voice: "Professor Ye, I am Li Lei. Yes, we have seen it."
"Okay, now let me take over the main display screen of Yaoyuehao and split the screen."
As Ye Ming's voice fell, the main display screen flashed slightly, and two main windows and two character windows were immediately separated.
One of the main windows is the sensor picture of the current Yaoyue probe, and the other window is the sensor feedback picture on the captured thruster.
There are two character windows, one is Ye Ming and the other is Peng Xiaofei who is located in Guanghan Base.
After a brief greeting, Ye Ming appeared in the small window. Obviously, he was also sharing the screen: "There are five minutes left, Xiao Fei, prepare to execute the thruster turn."
"Understood." Peng Xiaofei's words were concise and clear.
The reason why he was asked to perform it was naturally because he had basic skills.
Although the control of the aircraft can theoretically be left to Aita, the closer it is to the surface of the asteroid, the more "human" is needed to make judgments, especially after landing on the asteroid, it is even more necessary for humans to operate the aircraft.
The thruster is fixed to the asteroid.
Time passed by second by second.
When Ye Ming's voice sounded again, everyone saw that the main screen once again cut a simulation scene.
In the scene, the thrusters launched by the Shenzhou 5 are moving rapidly towards the asteroid.
"Start turning."
"The transition begins."
As Peng Xiaofei's voice fell, the thruster immediately began to change its trajectory, making a large circle and falling behind the asteroid.
"Thrusters accelerate."
"The thruster is accelerating."
"Thrusters slow down."
"Execution of deceleration completed."
…
Time passed by, and as the distance between the asteroid and the thruster in the simulation screen became closer and closer, everyone began to hold their breath and looked at the largest main window.
That's a picture of the thruster's sensor.
I saw a small, barely visible bright spot gradually rising on the screen.
"Keep slowing down."
"Start attitude engine."
"Attitude engine starts."
Peng Xiaofei's voice continued to echo in the hall, and it could be heard that his voice was full of suppressed excitement.
After all, this is the first time that humans have truly "captured" an asteroid.
Although the United States proposed a plan to capture asteroids as early as 2013, it was just a plan after all, and it was a plan that did not sound very reliable.
The old American plan is to find an asteroid with a diameter of five meters, containing water ice, metal, and silicate minerals. After that, use a rocket to approach it, then release a special large bag to pick it up, and then
Then turn on the booster, push it away from the orbit, bring it to the near-lunar orbit, and finally launch the rocket to bring it to the gravitational equilibrium point.
There are no plans for grounded research at all, we can only study them in the sky...
Ye Ming's plan is much simpler.
All he needs to do is work a miracle.
If this asteroid is close enough and the size is right, then there will be no problem.
As the thruster approaches the asteroid, the rolling "big rock" can be clearly seen in the video.
"Attitude engine synchronized deflection."
In the communication screen, everyone saw that Peng Xiaofei had put on his glasses.
Obviously, he is now completely immersed in the first-person perspective of the thruster.
The attitude engine adjusted again and began to synchronize with the deflection of the asteroid.
It was like two dancers, one big and one small, dancing a beautiful waltz in space while slowly approaching.
"Lights on, ready for landing."
Peng Xiaofei's voice fell, and the surface of the asteroid was also displayed on the main screen.
Therefore, the deflections of both sides have been synchronized, so everyone can no longer feel the rotation of the asteroid. They can only feel that under the light, the dark brown stone is slowly approaching.
In the bright light, the thruster stopped steadily on the surface of the asteroid.
"Landing completed."
Ye Ming's voice sounded at the same time: "Thank you, Brother Fei."
Peng Xiaofei chuckled: "It's okay, I'll drink some water, and I'll drill and fix it later - Professor Li, you can operate the robotic arm to remotely analyze the strength and composition, just be careful not to move the attitude engine."
"Okay, you take a rest first." Li Lei exhaled slowly.
…
In Xichang, Ye Ming was eating a box lunch and looking at the big screen.
Many people had already poured into the conference room.
There are three key technical points in this asteroid capture.
The first one is of course landing, which is the prerequisite for all actions.
The next step is the most important and most difficult fixed propeller.
The reason why it is difficult is that we don’t know the specific condition of the meteorite - although the composition can be analyzed at an early stage, the true strength, texture, and fixed conditions can only be determined by destiny.
But looking at it now...it seems like I'm lucky.
"Xiao Fei, you're lucky. You seem to have just landed on an ordinary rock, and the hardness is quite suitable."
Li Lei's laughter could be heard on the screen: "I'll just drill two holes later and hit two."
"Professor Li, I'm afraid this is bad luck." Peng Xiaofei replied with a smile: "Even if there is no vibranium, Jiutian Black Iron or the like, gold is still good... Just give me an ordinary rock..."
Everyone in the conference room laughed together.
Although they are not mainly involved in the capture project, they also know that the cost of this asteroid has long been determined through spectral analysis. It cannot be said to be 100% accurate, but it is close to ten.
From the current point of view, this should be an ordinary rocky asteroid, with nearly half of it made of iron, nickel and other metals.
Ye Ming also smiled and put down the tachyon. He glanced at the time and turned to the microphone.
"Xiao Fei, it's ready."
"okay."
As he spoke, Peng Xiaofei began to control the robotic arm to drill holes.
Ye Ming, on the other hand, called up the mission interface in his mind.
He noticed that the progress of the task had increased by ten percent.
It seems...that such a small one can be recognized by the system?