Chapter 1048
Docking Interface Explosion: Mechanical Arm Locks Up, Space Duo is Completely Doomed?
The reason is simply that the Dragonxia tribe's space station is vastly different from the International Space Station.
What is the space station of the Longxia tribe like?
The interior is clean, tidy, bright, large and spacious.
In contrast, the International Space Station is not only cramped and confined, but also filled with various items floating haphazardly in the air.
Even the power cord connector was exposed without any protection.
If the difference in space size is simply due to the different times, then the difficulty of launching a space station into space in the past is quite different from the difficulty of launching a space station into space today after the explosion of technology.
However, the cleanliness of the interior environment of the space station is enough to illustrate the huge difference between the two space stations.
Even if the interior is small, it doesn't mean that supplies and items can be left lying around.
While the two astronauts were talking to their families, netizens could even see socks floating by in the background!
Before they came out of the Longxia tribe's space station, no one thought much about it.
After all, that's outer space, where conditions are extremely limited. Even if it's a little messy, everyone would consider that normal.
After all, there is only one space station in the world, and no one knows what other space stations are like.
But now that the Longxia tribe's space station has been built, with a comparison, everyone immediately felt that things were different.
The difference between the two is stark: one is a pigsty, the other is a real high-tech space station. The difference is obvious!
However, despite the discussion, these issues did not affect the mood of the two elders on the International Space Station.
Their mood had been completely blank ever since they were stranded on the space station.
Only during regular calls with family and on the ground can she maintain a professional smile.
But they both knew that the problem they faced was extremely serious.
First and foremost, there is no doubt that staying in space for extended periods would place a tremendous strain on an astronaut's body.
Because humans are creatures born on Earth, they are fundamentally unable to adapt to a weightless environment.
In the weightless environment of space, astronauts can move simply by moving their fingers.
This means that astronauts don't need to use most of their muscles at all; it's not that they don't want to, but that they simply don't have the means to use them.
Just like a patient paralyzed in bed.
It is well known that if a patient is paralyzed in bed for a long time, their muscles will atrophy and they may even lose bone mass.
To prevent muscle and bone loss, astronauts need to exercise for more than two hours a day to maintain their health.
As they spend longer periods in space, their bodies need to expend more energy to adapt to the weightless environment.
More importantly, the protective measures on the International Space Station are simply not enough to completely block the strong radiation from outer space.
In the short term, this radiation will not have a significant impact on the human body, but over time, it will definitely have a deeper impact on people's physical and mental health.
The astronaut who has spent the longest single stay in space to date is from the Old Polar Bear tribe.
This astronaut spent a full 473 days, 17 hours, and 58 minutes in space!
He completed two spaceflights in his lifetime, spending a total of 678 days in orbit!
This number remains unmatched to date.
As of this point in time, the astronaut is still alive.
But in reality, this astronaut will pass away in a few years at the age of 80.
As for his cause of death and his health in his later years... the White Bear tribe will not allow such matters to be made public.
But often, not answering is the best answer, and not announcing is the best announcement.
If his body was truly unaffected by his prolonged stay in space, then what about his health that cannot be disclosed?
In fact, Elisa was already feeling that she couldn't hold on any longer.
Elisa is in her fifties and can be considered an elderly woman.
However, this age is not considered very old in the field of astronauts, because Mark, who is with him, is already over sixty years old.
The first point that needs to be made clear is that astronauts must possess sufficient professional knowledge and ample work experience.
This means that astronauts will not be too young.
Only the Old White Bear tribe sent healthy young men into space in order to seize a political advantage.
They went into space not to complete any mission, but simply to verify whether humans could survive in space.
Therefore, this batch of astronauts were selected from young people in their 20s who were not very experienced.
Excluding those experts who fly into space for short periods to complete specific missions, the average age of a normal astronaut's first flight is generally over forty.
No matter how strong a person is, they have to accept getting old when they reach this age.
They might be able to hold on for a short period of time while performing some high-intensity tasks.
But they can stay in the sky for half a year at a time, and it is foreseeable that they will stay in the sky for another half a year.
This immense mental and physical pressure is something that not just anyone can withstand.
It was fortunate that there were two astronauts on this mission; if there had been only one, he probably would have gone crazy on the space station by now.
"What...should we do?"
Elisa sighed.
She stared blankly at the pale metal walls of the space station.
Do you think we might die here?
"If we die, will our families receive compensation?"
Mark chuckled.
"Stop dreaming. Do you really think those lords will give us any compensation?"
He shook his head with a sarcastic expression.
"To be honest, if this incident hadn't blown up so much that the two of us were stranded on the space station, we would probably have been held accountable when we got back."
Elisa paused for a moment: "Accountability? Why should we be held accountable?"
"Of course, with such a big problem with the plane, someone has to be found to take the blame."
"If I don't go to you, am I supposed to go to those high and mighty old men?"
Mark is ten years older than Elisa, and his understanding of the world is also more profound than Elisa's.
Having been in this system for so long, he already knew what those powerful and wealthy men were like.
"To be honest, you don't need to worry too much."
Mark said slowly.
“This matter has escalated to such a great extent that it is no longer just a matter concerning the Eagle Tribe.”
"The eyes of the whole world are on us. Even for the sake of their own face, those powerful and wealthy men won't let us die so easily."
"If the two of us really die here, it won't just affect their reputation, but also their interests."
Elisa nodded thoughtfully: "How so?"
"If they can't even guarantee the safety of their own country's astronauts, who would be willing to trust their space technology?" "In addition, what era are we in now? This is a critical period of competition with the Longxia tribe."
"When I was chatting with my family, they told me that the Longxia tribe had successfully sent astronauts to their own space station."
"At this crucial juncture, if news breaks that one of our own astronauts has perished in space, what do you think...?"
Elisa suddenly realized.
"That……"
Drop drop!
Suddenly, a tense alarm sounded, and the two men immediately tensed up.
"What's going on? What happened?"
Mark quickly pulled himself to the workbench and began to examine the data in detail.
"Oh no, this is very bad!"
Mark frowned.
An unexpected solar flare event has occurred!
"We need to contact the ground immediately!"
Three hours later, Mark and Elisa closed their eyes in despair.
The consequences of this unexpected solar flare event were catastrophic.
This solar flare caused a violent disturbance in Earth's magnetic field, which in turn triggered a brief expansion of the upper atmosphere in near-Earth orbit.
This temporarily accelerated the rate at which the International Space Station's orbit decayed.
Because the International Space Station is not completely in the vacuum of outer space, but is still within the atmosphere, its orbit will gradually decay.
This requires using the thrusters carried by the space station to maintain its orbital altitude.
If they don't address this issue quickly, the International Space Station will fall faster and faster until it crashes into the ocean!
The Eagle Tribe originally planned to use this method to decommission the International Space Station around 2030.
But now, without the use of thrusters, the International Space Station may have to retire prematurely.
If it were before, retirement would have been a simple matter, but there are still two people on the International Space Station!
"Then what do we do?"
Elisa scratched her hair.
"We still need to maintain the orbital altitude, otherwise we may never have any hope of being rescued."
The International Space Station already has a limited reserve of thrusters, and after this incident, subsequent maintenance will likely become even more difficult!
More importantly, if the two people are to be transferred from the International Space Station, the space shuttle will need to dock with the space station.
The docking process also requires the space station to consume a certain amount of propulsion fuel.
Besides, we can't just take these two people and think everything will be fine. The International Space Station still needs to stay in space for the time being.
Therefore, they must reserve a portion of the fuel to maintain the International Space Station's orbital altitude.
Based on this calculation, they may not have enough propellant.
The longer it drags on, the lower their chances of being rescued will be.
Regardless, the two of them maintained the space station's altitude and quietly awaited rescue from the ground.
A month later, another piece of bad news arrived.
Since the last solar flare, the International Space Station appears to have been affected, with its flight attitude becoming unstable.
To ensure the safety of the space station, astronauts had to try using robotic arms to help adjust the station's attitude.
This risky operation caused the robotic arm joints to lock up!
This means that the two astronauts have completely lost this important auxiliary means.
Bad news followed one after another.
If a critical life support system malfunctions, the two astronauts' survival time could be reduced to two months or even less.
Only then did the Eagle Tribe reluctantly admit that some problems had indeed arisen.
"There were indeed some unexpected situations during this mission, and we will temporarily adjust the launch plan."
Seeing that if they didn't put in more effort, the two astronauts might never return, the aging lion of the Eagle Tribe finally roared in anger.
With emergency mobilization, the Eagle Tribe successfully repaired the previous space shuttle in just one month.
Theoretically speaking, there shouldn't be any more problems this time.
More than seven months later, the two people were finally able to come down from the sky.
The world's attention is focused on the Eagle Tribe's launch.
This time, the Eagle Tribe finally lived up to everyone's expectations. However, just when the space shuttle was about to successfully dock with the space station, another solar flare appeared without warning.
The solar flare did not cause a particularly large impact area, but it did disrupt the most critical electronic communications.
In addition, the operators were extremely nervous and made operational errors, which led to the failure of the space shuttle to dock with the space station.
The docking failure itself was one thing, but the key issue was that this failed docking resulted in damage to the critical interface between the space station and the space shuttle.
If the robotic arm is still functioning normally, it can be used to assist in docking. The problem is not difficult to solve, and repairs can be carried out later.
But now, without the assistance of a robotic arm, and with the interface components damaged...
If we continue to force the docking, the only outcome will be the destruction of the machine and loss of life.
Even if the operators were bold and careful enough to successfully dock, this docking would still very likely cause irreversible damage to the space station.
This is a valuable asset, and nobody wants to do anything about it; this asset is being lost for no reason.
Left with no other option, the manned space shuttle had to return temporarily.
When the news reached Earth, this time the world didn't react with unanimous ridicule; instead, it sparked considerable debate.
"To be fair, this was due to unforeseen circumstances, so we can't really blame the astronauts, can we?"
"Ultimately, it's because their mental fortitude was too poor. If the astronauts had operated correctly, how could the docking have failed?"
"Well, there's nothing you can do if you encounter a solar flare!"
In short, both sides have their own reasons.
Moreover, the docking itself is a very difficult operation, so it is normal for some unexpected things to happen.
However, regardless of the circumstances, this rescue plan has ultimately been temporarily shelved.
……
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, at a certain aerospace flight control center.
Su Dingping is checking the orbital parameters and status information of the International Space Station. (End of Chapter)