Zhang Heng felt as if he was in an unprecedented earthquake. Everything around him was shaking wildly. The metal parts were shaking so much that people were worried that they would fall apart in the next moment.
When the rocket left the ground, the strong acceleration generated pressed the people in the command module firmly onto the aluminum alloy seats. It felt like there was a gorilla sitting on your chest. The simple movement of raising his arms became extremely difficult, but fortunately Zhang Heng had already conducted relevant training at the space center before, so he was no stranger to such situations.
The numbers on the main display board are beating like crazy!
...135 seconds after takeoff, the central engine shut down...150 seconds later, the four peripheral F1 engines also stalled, and all the fuel in the first-stage rocket was burned out. At this time, Apollo 11 also came to the sixth stage. Eighteen thousand meters in the air.
The explosive device blew apart the first-stage rocket and the interstage ring. The former broke away from the launch escape system at the top of the spacecraft, and fell into the deep sea after running out of speed.
On the other side, the second-stage rocket also started working. The J2 rocket engine increased the flight speed from the previous 9,200 kilometers per hour to the terrifying 24,600 kilometers per hour, taking the spacecraft into the upper atmosphere in one fell swoop.
The whole process lasted for a full six minutes. Afterwards, the second-stage rocket that completed its mission also completed its separation. It was the turn of the third-stage rocket to start relay ignition. The speed of Apollo 11 also continued to increase, but at this time and just after takeoff Compared to the previous time, the vibrations were much smaller, although the heavy acceleration still existed.
It was not until 2.75 minutes after the third-stage rocket ignited that the engine was shut down and the spacecraft successfully entered the earth's orbit at a speed of 28,000 kilometers per hour.
At this moment, the ground control center in Houston was filled with joy, because it meant that the launch phase was successfully completed.
As the main engine was shut down, the thrust dropped to 0 in just half a second. The heavy pressure on Zhang Heng's chest suddenly disappeared and he switched to a free fall state. However, the safety belt on his body still held him firmly in place. on the seat.
Although in the real world he has read many books and movies about aerospace and witnessed the launch of Shenzhou 5, and at the Apollo training camp he also fully understood every step of the moon landing plan, however But this moment has actually come, and being in it, as one of those who have experienced it, is indeed a completely different feeling.
Now they are in space 166 kilometers above the surface of the earth. The helmets they took off are like feathers floating in their hands, and they can see the earth below them through the portholes.
It is difficult to describe such a scene with words. A blue planet is parked alone in the velvet-black deep sky, the curved horizon is looming in the blue atmospheric mist, and clouds drift silently over the azure ocean. The entire ground is like a huge palette, filled with bright colors that blend seamlessly with the transitional colors. Those yellow deserts, rugged mountains, dark green rainforests... give people an indescribable shock and excitement. move.
Even Zhang Heng, who was always calm, was rarely absent-minded at this moment.
At the same time, a series of system prompts came to his ears
[Appreciate the Earth from space, mission accomplished...]
[Will return in 4 days...]
[Successfully ride on the Saturn 5 launch vehicle, game points +10, you can go to the character panel to view relevant information...]
[Successfully enters Earth orbit, game points +20, you can go to the character panel to view relevant information...]
[Successfully maintain continuous weightlessness for more than 500 seconds, game points +10, you can go to the character panel to view relevant information...]
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Collins also unbuckled his seat belt, kicked off his legs, and floated to Zhang Heng's side. "Once you see this kind of scene once, you will never forget it. Congratulations, David, you are now a real person." I’m an astronaut, but you can’t get your golden brooch until you return to Earth.”
On the other side, a rare smile appeared on Armstrong's face. No matter how many missions he was on, it was difficult not to be immersed in the beauty of the earth when he saw it from this angle.
But right now they have other work to do. Apollo 11 will park in low-Earth orbit for a period of time and fly around the Earth. The spacecraft will conduct final inspections here, and then Saturn 5 will ignite again. , taking them officially on their journey to the moon.
This step is also called Earth-Moon Orbital Injection.
At this point, although Zhang Heng's main mission has been completed and he has received 50 game points, there are still more than four days left before his return date. Being in space, he has nothing to do except complete the moon landing mission with Armstrong and Collins. Other options.
After confirming that everything was in good condition and that there was no problem with the direction of the spacecraft, the Saturn 5's J2 engine ignited again 148 minutes later, using the last remaining fuel to take the spacecraft completely away from the earth.
The Saturn 5 launch vehicle also successfully completed all its missions.
And then it was time to test the three people on the spacecraft.
When the entire spacecraft was designed, the lunar module was placed in the protective layer of the rocket. To drag it out, the command/service module needed to be separated first.
Afterwards, the astronauts drove the separated command/service module to rotate 180 degrees, completed the U-turn, returned to the rocket, docked with the lunar module inside, dragged it out, and discarded the useless third-stage rocket.
Although some of this comes from the help of the ground control center, the entire docking process requires manual operation, and any slight operational error may bring catastrophic consequences.
"I'll leave the rest to you," Armstrong said to Collins.
The latter nodded and took a deep breath.
He successfully separated the command/service module from the rocket, completed the flip 300 meters away, and then re-approached the Saturn 5 at a relative speed of 2 meters per second.
In order to prevent Collins from being distracted, Zhang Heng and Armstrong did not speak during the entire process, but quietly watched the entire docking process through the porthole above their heads.
Collins used the thrusters to carefully adjust the angle and position of the spacecraft, as carefully as if he were picking up a diamond with tweezers. His hand holding the joystick was always steady. Finally, with a slight trembling of the bulkhead, he commanded/ The small head at the top of the service module was successfully inserted into the docking ring on the rocket, almost exactly.
At this time, three and a half hours had passed since takeoff. Apollo 11 officially bid farewell to the earth and flew to the moon 300,000 kilometers away.
Xiao Dai Zhao said
This dungeon is coming to an end, it’s finally coming to an end...┭┮﹏┭┮, it’s so damn hardcore, I’m almost becoming an aerospace enthusiast.
