Chapter Seventy-One: The Rocket Ascends

The "Commander" went over a few more precautions and finally checked everyone's safety equipment once again.

“Dongfeng 14, ten-minute countdown, please check launch systems.”

“Dongfeng 14 copies.”

The voice from the control tower reminded everyone that the rocket was about to launch.

“Attention, everyone: activate the rocket’s gravity system and oxygen system.”

The Commander pressed a green button, and the gravity inside the crew module shifted; everyone’s bodies began to float uncontrollably.

“This is amazing!” Zhang Mingyang exclaimed as he watched himself gradually rise, flailing his arms and legs.

Beside him, Peng Dongli glanced at Zhang Mingyang, who was clearly unaccustomed to such things, and whispered into his ear, “Relax, junior. Look at the others.”

Following his senior’s advice, Zhang Mingyang looked around. Everyone else had their eyes tightly closed, faces calm, as if savoring the experience.

“Senior, why do we float before the rocket launches?” he asked.

Peng Dongli explained, “For decades, rockets didn’t use a gravity system before launch because their speed wasn’t high enough. But rockets nowadays are different. The acceleration at launch can reach 80 Gs—like having eighty people pressing down on you. Without the gravity system to adjust for that, we’d be done for the moment the rocket ignited.”

“So that’s how it is.”

“Dongfeng 14, one-minute countdown!”

The rocket entered its final countdown. The Commander quickly tapped on the screen, making final preparations.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

Launch!

With a thunderous roar, the rocket’s engines ignited at low power, erupting with a tremendous boom. A burst of crimson flame shot from the engine’s nozzle, kicking up a cloud of dust that instantly enveloped most of the rocket.

Outside, the crowd watched as the rocket steadily rose, visible even to the naked eye, until it disappeared from view.

Inside the crew module, Zhang Mingyang heard the enormous roar but didn’t feel the expected force pressing him back; the gravity system kept him floating weightlessly.

It wasn’t until the Commander reminded everyone that the rocket had left the ground that he snapped out of his reverie.

At that moment, a huge screen descended from above, displaying the scene outside the spacecraft.

Staring at the screen, Zhang Mingyang excitedly asked Peng Dongli, “Senior, look! Where are we?”

Peng Dongli squinted at the screen and replied, “This… we’re still in the stratosphere, haven’t left the atmosphere yet.”

The Commander reported, “Base, Dong 14 has exited the stratosphere. All systems normal, all systems normal.”

“Copy, Dong 14. When you leave the atmosphere and enter orbit, switch to cruise mode.”

“Roger that.”

Hearing the Commander mention “cruise mode” during the report, Zhang Mingyang asked, “Senior, what does cruise mode mean?”

Peng Dongli patiently explained, “Cruise mode is a phase when the rocket, having exited the atmosphere, flies through space. During ascent, it travels upward; but once it leaves the atmosphere, it follows a pre-set course and flies level in space—that’s cruise mode.”

“Oh!” Zhang Mingyang nodded, understanding.

“Base, Dong 14 has left the atmosphere, switching to cruise mode.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the rocket on the screen changed posture, leveling its nose toward the moon, and four winglets sprang out from the rocket’s body.

“Senior, what just popped out?”

Peng Dongli replied, “Those are the rocket’s winglets—have you seen missile fins before?”

Zhang Mingyang nodded.

“These winglets work just like missile fins, but they can be manually controlled to adjust the rocket’s attitude, making it easier to steer.”

“Oh!”

After the rocket switched to cruise mode, the Commander floated up from his seat and drifted to the large screen, changing the display.

This time, the screen showed an image of Earth.

Zhang Mingyang stared intently at the display. It was his first time seeing Earth from space—a translucent sphere with blue and white swirling patterns, shrouded in a thin, water-blue veil. Crimson continents, blue oceans, and white mountains stood out in stunning clarity.

“Senior, look—” Zhang Mingyang turned to call his senior to admire the view, only to find Peng Dongli had fallen asleep. “Oh well, I’ll enjoy this beautiful sight by myself.”

Within the crew module, only Zhang Mingyang and the Commander were still awake; the others were either reading or sleeping with their eyes closed.

The Commander, operating the instruments in front of him, glanced back and saw Zhang Mingyang still lively and awake. He said, “Young man, get some rest. It’s a twelve-hour journey. I’ll wake you all at mealtime.”

Zhang Mingyang, still full of energy, waved his hand and replied, “It’s all right, Commander. I can’t sleep during the day. How about we chat for a while?”

The Commander could tell he was brimming with energy, so he spun his chair around to face him, ready for a conversation.

Seeing the Commander turn, Zhang Mingyang asked, “Commander, is it okay not to watch the screen while piloting the rocket?”

The Commander smiled and replied, “With autopilot, what would I need to do? If anything goes wrong, the control system will alert me automatically.”

“I see.”

Zhang Mingyang grinned at the Commander. “Can I ask—is it hard to fly this rocket?”

The Commander laughed, realizing this young man thought piloting a rocket was like driving a car. He replied, “It’s not too bad. The control system has only five modes, over a thousand buttons, and tens of thousands of operating instructions. Not hard at all—not a bit!”

Zhang Mingyang was astonished. “So many functions and it’s not hard?” He looked at the Commander in disbelief. “How long did you train to fly rockets?”

The Commander thought for a moment, counting on his fingers. “I trained on trainer jets for three years, medium fighters for four years, heavy carrier-based planes for four years, large transports for three years. Then I retrained as an astronaut for two years, completed twenty manned flights over another two years, then spent three years learning rocket piloting, and finally passed four rounds of assessments. All together, it took around twenty-two years. I’m forty-three now and can fly for another two years, since the retirement age for rocket pilots is forty-five.”

Listening to the Commander’s account, Zhang Mingyang felt true admiration. To spend twenty-two years training to fly rockets, only to be able to fly for five years in the end.