Dreaming about space

Chapter 13

Liang Tian just stayed.

His parents, who were workers, immediately raised their hands and feet in agreement when they heard about the nature of Liang Tian's work.

Liang Tian's rebellion caused a lot of rumors to this family.

After I finished high school, I didn’t want to go to the factory to get a job. I just wanted to drive all day long.

Among the workers' children of that era, this was definitely considered deviant.

Now, this most rebellious child has taken a more correct path than anyone else.

Liang Tian's parents both felt like they could see the moonlight when the clouds cleared.

At this time, they thought that the greatest happiness had reached its peak, that is, their son had an iron rice bowl.

The process of Liang Tian becoming a special truck driver was filled with many surprises, and even more so by chance.

If it were written as a novel, the title would definitely be very long - "I knocked down a person with my car, and this person changed my life."

If the response to the first part is good, I can continue writing the second part - "I Knocked Down a Person with My Car, and This Person Changed My Life II - I Changed the History of Human Space Immigration".

But this is all for the rest.

In this way, Liang Tian participated in the launch mission of the [Asia-[-]] satellite as a special truck driver.

这是继1970年东方红一号之后的20年里，最让中国航天人骄傲的时刻——1990年4月7日21时30分。

This satellite is called Asia-[-]. It does not actually come from Asia, but is manufactured by Hughes Satellite Company. The purchaser is Asia Satellite Co., Ltd. of Hong Kong.

This is a commercial communications satellite.

[Asia No. [-]] This name is not chosen casually.

Such a famous name also means that this is indeed the first commercial communication satellite in Asia.

In 1990, our country's economy was far from as developed as it is now.

At that time, our country’s per capita GDP ranked 131st in the world, five places behind India.

Under such historical conditions, why did China own Asia's first commercial communications satellite?
This has to mention a major event that happened in China in 1990 - the No. 11 Asian Games.

[Asia One] provided satellite broadcast services for the 11th Asian Games, marking that China's radio and television industry has entered the era of satellite television.

On National Day in 1988, Liang Tian officially entered the Space Launch Center.

He never thought that he could drive into such a historic project.

At that moment, he actually had a lot of discomforts.

Half of the reason for passing the assessment is because one cannot afford to lose money and is afraid of taking responsibility, and half is because of extraordinary performance.

It is very difficult to drive several kilometers at a time without causing the can to move.

You have to make sure to do it every time, and the difficulty level has increased more than a hundred times.

The driver of the special vehicle is responsible for transporting liquid hydrogen fuel to the launch area.

Liquid hydrogen is an extremely volatile and explosive low-temperature fuel.

Under certain conditions, extremely slight collision and friction are enough to detonate, and it does not require much fuel to cause huge damage.

What the launch center's specially equipped truck driver has to do is to pull 300 cubic meters of cryogenic liquid hydrogen and move it along a path of several kilometers.

In addition, the rocket must be transported under complex highway conditions, and the total distance on both sides of the road is less than 0.4 meters, so it can be transported smoothly and smoothly.

This is not the highest accuracy requirement.

After the rocket is transported to the launch site, it needs to be docked with the bracket of the rocket factory transfer track while reversing. The error cannot exceed 0.1 meters.

For ordinary people, let alone driving a car, even if they drive a small eMule, it is difficult to control the accuracy within 10 centimeters.

Liang Tian drove a large truck, and this was in an era before reversing cameras were available.

There is no room for error in a space launch.

This fact put great pressure on Liang Tian.

When he first arrived, he could be like a newborn calf and not afraid of tigers.

As time goes by, the pressure becomes greater than a teenager can handle on his own.

After knowing what kind of mission he was shouldering, Liang Tian retreated after several small test tasks failed to meet the standards.

He went to see Ji Zhidong, the 01 commander of the Asia-[-] launch mission.

The commander 01 that the public saw was shouting "1 minute to prepare" and "321 fire" in the Xinwen Network report.

The real 01 commander is responsible for all aspects of a space launch mission.

Liang Tian resigned from Ji Zhidong: "I don't like driving this kind of car. It's driving so slowly every day and it annoys me."

"You don't like it, or it's not up to standard?"

"As long as I am willing, do you think there is a possibility of failing to meet the standards? When I have no professional training, I can pass the assessment casually. I have been practicing for several months, how can I not advance but retreat?"

Comrade Liang Xiaotian refused to admit it because he wanted to save face.

"Oh, that's right. I almost thought that there are young people who are not capable enough to retreat. Fortunately, you are not the kind of person I look down on the most."

Ji Zhidong pretended not to notice.

He neither accepted nor rejected Liang Tian's resignation.

At this time, the publicity about the Asian Games has been overwhelming.

The significance of an Asian Games in 1990 to the Chinese people cannot be compared to the same sports event 33 years later.

That was an era when primary school students would bid for international sports events for their motherland and donate all their pocket money.

Liang Tian thought about going home and pursuing the freedom he once longed for.

Driving a car and wandering on a deserted street at 03:30 at night.

But this idea only lasted for one night and then disappeared.

There is an indescribable emotion calling to this young man who grew up in Workers' New Village.

When his parents asked him to join the factory, he always said he didn't want to do the same repetitive work every day.

There is actually no change in what he is doing now. It is still driving, and it is the same repetitive training.

But something that can be called a sense of mission took root and sprouted in his heart.

The next day, Liang Tian got up early and went to find Ji Zhidong with anxiety.

He said those words yesterday, but the commander-in-chief didn't say anything to persuade him to stay.

As long as there is no clear indication of this.

I was just a "backward element" originally, and if I was looked down upon by Commander 01, there would really be no possibility of staying.

"Why do you get up so early?"

Liang Tian lowered his head and just walked to the car door when he heard someone talking to him.

Without raising his head, he knew that this voice came from the commander on the ground.

Liang Tian raised his head halfway and nodded with a guilty look on his face: "Yes."

"Have you eaten?" Ji Zhidong asked again.

"I haven't... uh... eaten, I have eaten!" Liang Tian didn't know whether he should tell the truth or not.

"If you haven't eaten, go and eat quickly." Ji Zhidong urged, "My hands and feet will be shaking when I'm hungry. How can I drive well?"

Liang Tian stood up straight, pulled his posture back slightly, and made sure that Ji Zhidong had no intention of pursuing yesterday's incident. He quickly saluted: "I understand, Brother Dong!"

After saying that, he ran away at a sprint speed of [-] meters.

I was deeply afraid that Ji Zhidong would regret it if he hesitated even a little bit.

Looking at Liang Tian's back, Ji Zhidong shook his head helplessly.

This is a talent that he brought back after he had broken countless ribs. How could it be possible to just let him go?
Young people are afraid that they don’t have ideals. As long as they have ideals, they will be easily deceived...

Time flies, and it is October 1990.

The entire launch site is making final preparations for the launch of Asia-[-].

This is China's aerospace industry's first appearance on the world commercial stage.

In order to ensure that the satellite test facility reaches a cleanliness level of [-], the scientific and technical personnel transformed into cleaners one by one, wearing protective clothing, lying on the ground, and wiping tiles one by one.

This made Liang Tian, ​​who originally felt that there was a huge gap between himself and scientific researchers, deeply moved.

After a year and a half of training day and night, Liang Tian, ​​the youngest driver of the special fleet, successfully stabilized his reversing accuracy within 10cm.

In fact, he is already better than his predecessor, and he can control the reversing accuracy within 5cm.He failed to achieve this result because the assessment was not so detailed.

Some people score [-] points in the test because they can only test [-] points.

Some people score [-] points in the test because the test paper only has [-] points.

When Liang Tianjiang turned 20, he became a real aerospace special worker and began to drive a special vehicle loaded with 300 cubic meters of cryogenic liquid hydrogen.

The first time I performed a mission, I was quite frightened.

He was obviously driving more steadily and more accurately than ever before, but white smoke began to rise from the top of the specially equipped vehicle.

The moment he saw the white smoke, Liang Tian closed his eyes and said goodbye to this world in his heart.

The time Liang Tian closed his eyes was only 0.05 seconds at most. He knew how short this moment was.

The expected explosion did not come as expected.

Liang Tian was very surprised.

But he was a special truck driver, so this was not a good time to lament the aftermath of the disaster.

After the mission was completed, Liang Tiantian went to report the situation to Ji Zhidong.

Ji Zhidong asked with some consolation: "Is it the first time I have performed a mission by myself? I was too nervous, so I had some hallucinations?"

"Impossible!" Liang Tian was no longer the young man who would give up at any time.

"Then why are you standing here with your beard and tail intact?" Ji Zhidong looked at Liang Tian with a smile.

"Then how do I know? Maybe it just rained, or maybe the temperature of the liquid hydrogen is too low."

"Okay, the car you drove had the fuel safely sent for refilling. Everything you say makes sense."

No one had mentioned such a situation before, and Ji Zhidong didn't take it seriously.

Liang Tian, ​​who had spare time to learn, had no time to spare, so he joined the aerospace cleaning team.

The scientific researchers lay on the ground and wiped the floor tiles, while Liang Tian took a vacuum cleaner and cleaned the corners and corners that could not be reached by hands.

For astronauts and astronaut souls, even if they wipe the ground, the cleanliness is calculated on the basis of one hundred thousand levels.

……

On April 1990, 4, Hong Kong Asia Satellite Co., Ltd. invited more than 7 Chinese and foreign guests to watch the launch of Asia 300.

According to international practice at the time, the launch of foreign satellites required not only simultaneous interpretation, but also live broadcast.

China Aerospace, for the first time on the international commercial launch stage, is facing unprecedented challenges.

Of course, this challenge does not include simultaneous interpretation.

Regardless of whether you have a brain team or not, finding an English simultaneous interpreter in Greater China is a matter of minutes.

It is absolutely impossible for the official simultaneous interpreter to speak unfavorably.

The guests took their seats, the host had just started, and the simultaneous interpreters began to work: "For the first time, China is launching a foreign made communication satellite."

China Aerospace's first commercial satellite launch has thus kicked off the final prelude.

There is no language barrier.

The obstacle is that all the details are included in the live broadcast.

Everyone is more nervous than usual.

The one who is under the greatest pressure is undoubtedly the number one operator - Commander 01.

On April 4, there were three launch windows, two in the afternoon and one at 7 p.m.

It was fine in the morning, but at 3:40 in the afternoon, there was sudden heavy rain and thunder.

The Asia-[-] communications satellite was transported by my country's self-developed Long March [-] rocket.

Changsan uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant.

This kind of propellant is so dangerous that it needs to be transported by specially equipped convoys.

A slight collision may cause it to explode.

Let the rocket carrying this propellant pass through cumulus areas, shower areas and minefields...

Just thinking about it is a very scary thing. If you are not careful, you will directly trigger lightning.

There are special lightning protection towers next to the launch tower. The rocket is considered safe when it is on the launch tower.

If it were launched at this time and the rocket was struck by lightning, it would be an unimaginable disaster.

The first international commercial stage that Chinese astronauts had prepared for so long was about to be taken away by a heavy rain on April 1990, 4.

Everyone's mood has hit rock bottom.

Including Liang Tian, ​​who has the dual identity of driver and cleaner.

He is not yet at a high level and cannot enter the command center.

Can only do anxious outside.

Perhaps it was because the Emperor and God paid off, God finally did something nice.

On April 1990, 4, at exactly nine o'clock in the night, the clouds and fog cleared over the launch site.

The last launch window of the day finally opened for the eagerly awaited astronauts and guests.

The 10-minute countdown begins here.

"Every number in the navigation area, each number in the first area, ready in 30 minutes, request the password after 15 minutes"

Ji Zhidong began to execute the No. [-] operator’s password:

"15 minute preparation"

"One minute to prepare..."

Many people thought that by this time, no matter whether the launch would be successful or not, the launch was definitely a certainty.

The fact is, 12 seconds into the countdown, something happened that immediately solidified the atmosphere at the scene.

White smoke rose from above the rocket.

The astronauts present, including many veteran experts, all became nervous.

This looks too much like a liquid hydrogen fuel leak.

At this time, Ji Zhidong faced two choices - terminate the launch, or continue the ignition command.

Everyone's hearts were raised in their throats.

After two seconds of audible needle drop, Ji Zhidong's calm and calm countdown command sounded on the scene.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, fire."

Time-tested and decisively executed.

Go, hit, press the button, and the rocket goes away.

"Ladies and gentlemen, friends and comrades, I am happy to announce to you that according to the report from the Xi'an Measurement and Control Center, the [Asia [-]] we just launched has entered the transfer orbit, and this launch was successful. "

The orbit insertion accuracy of Asia-9 deviated by [-] kilometers from the original accurate orbit insertion position.

But this is 9 kilometers of space, not 9 centimeters of a special truck driver.

Satellite manufacturer Hughes praised this launch for setting a new orbit accuracy record among the 32 satellites of the same type sold, making it the highest accuracy ever achieved.

A few months later, the Asia-1990 satellite carried out signal transmission for the [-] BJ Asian Games.

"CCTV, CCTV, hello viewers! The world-famous No. 11 Asian Games will grandly open at BJ Workers Stadium at [-] o'clock this afternoon."

After the Asian Games, the transponders of the [Asia-[-]] satellite were quickly ordered.

The Long March series of launch vehicles have won the favor of satellite operators around the world in this launch.

Since then, international orders have been pouring in.

Only Ji Zhidong himself knows what kind of psychological process he went through during the ten-second countdown that looked calm and collected during the live broadcast.

Liang Tian's words were once considered by him as the young man's excuse, "Maybe it just rained, maybe the temperature of the liquid hydrogen was too low", which gave him so much courage.

　BJ Asian Games on September 1990, 9.

　　Hangzhou Asian Games on September 2023, 9.

　　33 years, time flies.

　　Are there any friends who want to go to Hangzhou to watch the opening ceremony of the Asian Games?

　　
　
(End of this chapter)