Chapter 271: Escalation
"That burst just now...was that solar radiation?"
"Why is it so strong?"
"What on earth is going on outside?"
"Is it the activation signal of the solar disk that caused this?"
Chen Jue looked at the completely black control panel in front of him and was suddenly shocked. The electromagnetic radiation came without warning and not only caused all the electronic equipment in the return capsule to malfunction, but also suddenly interrupted the communication signal on the ground.
…
At the same time, in the ground monitoring hall, all the staff were in a state of confusion.
"Beidou signal lost...return capsule data lost!"
"Space station contact interrupted!"
" Remote sensing satellite lost contact!"
"Level 3 alarm response... No! The alarm has been raised to level 1!"
"All satellites and spacecraft in orbit in the northern hemisphere have lost contact!"
Zhong Lao and Liu Chengdong , who were originally chatting and laughing in the monitoring hall, waiting for Chen Jue to land safely, now all changed their expressions.
In the monitoring hall, a red alarm rolled and lit up. This was the first major emergency since the establishment of the base. The hundreds of staff members present were all startled.
"Don't panic!"
"Hold on!"
"Switch the screen to the ground-to-air electronic eye and see if the return capsule and the space station are in orbit normally!" Old Zhong grabbed the microphone in front of him and shouted, his face so serious that it seemed as if he could squeeze water out of it.
Soon, several staff members switched the images on the monitoring screen in the hall according to instructions, and saw that the return capsule and the space station were safe and sound.
However, the red and green signal lights that should have been on the two spacecraft all stopped working.
"Mr. Zhong, this is..." Liu Chengdong also frowned as he watched the switching screen.
"There was an unexpected power outage, and so many satellites lost contact... If everything went as expected, it should have been a solar storm!" Mr. Zhong took a deep breath and finally guessed the sudden accident with his rich experience.
"What! Solar storm?!"
"This is such a coincidence. Comrade Chen Jue is about to land..." Liu Chengdong's face changed drastically when he heard this.
At this time, all the landline phones in the monitoring hall had been flooded with calls, and all the major subordinate research institutes, experimental bases, astronomical monitoring stations, meteorological stations, etc. were all reporting the results of signal and data loss.
"There's no time for these complaints. Let's solve the problem at hand first!"
"Recording team, switch the screen to the solar telescope. Rewind the video data to half a minute before the signal was lost and start checking it second by second and frame by frame."
"The emergency team is responsible for attempting to restart the communication between the return capsule and the space station. According to the preset procedures, when encountering strong electromagnetic interference such as a solar storm, the response time for power outage and restart should be within 3 minutes." Old Zhong kept issuing orders. At this moment, the old man in his sixties seemed to have transformed into a great general in an ancient camp. He gave orders as soon as he spoke and constantly mobilized the dazed and confused staff.
Soon, videos and data began to flip on the screen in the hall, and the scene of the sudden flash of fire from the sun half a minute ago was called up.
The strong light that flickered on and off stimulated the visual nerves of everyone present.
"No wonder all the satellites in the northern hemisphere suffered. This is a hundred times more terrifying than an ordinary solar storm!" Old Zhong muttered as he watched the abnormal changes in the sun on the screen.
At this time, some satellites in orbit that had lost contact began to reactivate and restart, and good news continued to come from the emergency team.
"72% of lost satellites have been reactivated"
"12 satellites have completely crashed. It's probably because the core computer modules are damaged and can't be restarted."
"The space station's emergency power supply device is activated , and the internal core control computer is intact!"
"Great! There are ten astronauts and candidates in the space station. If the power is cut off for a while, the oxygen supply and pressurization equipment alone can be fatal." The staff below exclaimed, as if relieved.
"How's the situation with the return capsule?" Mr. Zhong asked hurriedly.
"The return capsule circuit has also been restarted!"
"However... the signal is still lost. It seems that the communication chip is damaged... Wait, this is bad! The orbit has shifted by 15 degrees, and the return capsule has entered the descent stage prematurely!" A staff member wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and reported tremblingly.
"Then what are you still standing there for! Restart the engine quickly and correct the orbit!" Mr. Zhong shouted into the microphone. The return capsule deviating from the preset orbit was no joke.
Once it collides with other satellites or spacecraft, the astronauts inside will immediately turn into space fireworks with a bang.
"Mr. Zhong...the engine control chip has also failed..." The staff member swallowed and even his voice trembled.
"Hold!"
“Hurry up and connect to the supercomputer data to infer the final landing point of the return capsule. The deviation is 15°... This is really a matter of life and death!” Mr. Zhong threw the microphone in his hand, and his whole body seemed to have been drained of all his energy.
Even Liu Chengdong was sweating coldly and praying in his heart, hoping that Chen Jue could land safely.
The atmosphere in the entire monitoring hall was extremely solemn, with only the sounds of typing on keyboards and landline phone responses in the air.
About a minute later, the staff member below reported: "Mr. Zhong, the super calculation result is out! The probability of the return capsule colliding with other spacecraft in orbit is 0.09%...but the predicted landing location is a bit troublesome..."
Seeing that the staff member was hesitant, Mr. Zhong jumped up from his seat, pointed at him and shouted, "Stop wasting time! Tell me, where will it fall?"
"It is expected to land in Wyoming in the central and western part of Eagle Country. The satellite map shows that it is a desert area." The staff member shuddered after being yelled at, and hurriedly displayed the dynamic diagram of the supercomputer's speculation.
" Well ! This is a bit off, it actually fell into Eagle Country? But it's okay, as long as it doesn't fall in the city."
"I will immediately contact the Eagle Country Space Agency and ask them to arrange humanitarian assistance. I'll just risk my reputation."
"Damn it, I've lived half my life, but I didn't expect that when I'm old I still have to humble myself and beg the Eagle people..." Old Zhong took a look at the reserved landing site and coordinates, his face twitched, and he said helplessly.
At this time, Liu Chengdong came over and looked at the map. His pupils shrank suddenly: "Mr. Zhong! This... this landing place seems wrong!"
"This is the rumored District 15!"
When Mr. Zhong, who was about to make a transatlantic call to contact the Eagle Country Space Agency, heard this, he shuddered and dropped the phone in his hand onto the table. There was a sound of people gasping in shock in the hall, and countless pairs of eyes turned back to look at him.
Area 15 is not an ordinary wasteland. It is surrounded by a large area of barbed wire. It is the most mysterious area in Eagle Country and is called the 15th restricted area on the Internet.
Many rumors about UFOs, aliens, and UFOs basically come from this area.
But those who know the details know that this place is just a secret experimental site of an Eagle Country air force base, which has the world's longest runway and an extremely strict underground nuclear test site.
It is not under the jurisdiction of the Eagle Country Space Agency, but like this base, is under the direct jurisdiction of the Pentagon and the Eagle Country Black House.
When Mr. Zhong, who was standing next to the landline, heard the code name of District 15, his whole body froze. After thinking for a moment, he finally picked up the landline and dialed a mysterious number. He said to the staff on the other end of the phone: "This is Zhong Deyuan, connect me to the Beidu office. There is an important situation to report..."
