Dead on Mars

Chapter 162 - Sol Two Hundred and Eighty-Two, Two Broken Records
Tomcat stood high up on a chair as it lifted the Orion II model above its head.

Tang Yue sat opposite it, facing up with his body sprawled out.

“At an altitude of 125 kilometers, Orion II begins changing its attitude. It will decelerate like this… Whoosh—!” Tomcat tried hard to mimic the sound with its voice while spinning the model in its paws. “The first simulation’s failure proved that our calculations were erroneous. I changed the perturbation guidance calculations, narrowing the landing error of the spacecraft to an oval that’s 30 km by 30 km.

“This is the entry point. I’ve recreated an atmospheric model and Orion II’s aerodynamic modeling. Look… This is the entry point.” As Tomcat said, it lowered the model. “Boom—! Whoosh! Adjust the flight-path angle and angle of drift! Whoosh—!

“39 seconds after atmospheric entry, Raptor-05’s thrust will rise to 85%, and the GNC system will control the RCS to equilibrate Orion…”

Tang Yue was dozing off from hearing all the jargon.

If Tomcat wasn’t producing all that onomatopoeia, he would have fallen asleep long ago. Every time he was about to doze off, Tomcat would produce a sound like “boom,” as though the engine had exploded.

He was also exhausted.

As Tomcat was fixing Orion II’s flight control program, Tang Yue helped Mai Dong in continuing the modification of the spacecraft. The inflatable section on Orion II had been completely cleared before binding them onto the hull of the Eagle lander.

The amount of work involved was much greater than dismantling the Eagle lander. The component list was a three-meter-long list.

After Mai Dong saw the list, with more than ten thousand articles, she slammed her head into Ah Q’s tummy and sighed, wondering out loud if Tang Yue was trying to kill her.

Tang Yue was rather exasperated as well.

The work was done by the duo, so it couldn’t be considered voluntary manslaughter. At best, it was an internecine outcome.

The inflatable section was mainly used as a cargo hold in Orion II. It was used to store supplies and experimental samples. This section was rather large in size with a length exceeding ten meters. Its diameter was only six meters, and it had a holding capacity of 250 m³. However, it had a very low mass. The inflatable section’s greatest advantage compared to a hard shell was its foldability and light mass. Orion II’s inflatable section used a multilayer design, and its main material was a composite material made up of polyamide, polyethylene, and kevlar.

This thin, soft hull was only a few millimeters thick, and although it looked extremely weak, its strength far exceeded that of steel.

Tomcat planned on using them as the final cushion when the lander landed. As these balloons were big and resilient enough, carbon fiber reinforced polymers were the main material used for the inner lining. The tensile strength exceeded 1 GPa.

The four inflatable sections when bound all around the lander’s hull were practically impenetrable. They could provide effective protection for the lander, so regardless of the angle in which it landed, the first to make contact was the airbag. As long as it didn’t burst upon contact, the soft wall would absorb most of the kinetic energy and ensure Mai Dong’s safety.

Tomcat had done the math that the lander could be dropped from rest at a maximum height of two hundred meters.

As long as the Eagle was released from Orion II at a height of less than two hundred meters, the airbags wouldn’t burst. Any higher, and the impact’s dynamic pressure would exceed the airbag’s pressure valves, and the air inside the airbag wouldn’t be released in time; thus, causing the airbags to burst.

Therefore, Orion II needed to drop when it was under two hundred meters from the surface.

Under Tang Yue’s instructions, Mai Dong cleared out all nonessential components from the inflatable section. Even the aluminum alloy inner shell framework was removed. After a series of dismantling, all that was left was the airbag’s basic structure.

This took them an entire day.

From four in the morning to five in the afternoon, the duo didn’t deal with the inflatable section as they knew nothing about the structure. Even the detailed schematics and maintenance manual was found thanks to Tomcat. The involved work had certain components that just couldn’t be removed. These were frustrating problems that left Mai Dong seething.

In response, Tang Yue worked hard to stop the girl from using her teeth to bite down at the component and coaxed her to sleep. Then, page by page, he flipped through the maintenance manual and asked Tomcat before finding the solution.

After clearing the inflatable section, the problem of binding the ten-meter-long airbag was tricky.

There was a long discussion between Tang Yue and Mai Dong about which was the most secure way of binding. They had also rejected Tomcat’s suggestions.

The kikkou bondage method was definitely not right.

Mai Dong and Tang Yue spoke over a video comms until they fell asleep. No one knew who slept first—

“I knew it. Such a tying method is definitely not secure…”

“Then how do you think we should be tying it…”

“How… should it be tied?”

“How should it be tied…”

“About how it should be tied… Uh…”

“Uh…”

“Uh…”

“Uh…”

Regardless of who slept first, there was definitely one side that just kept repeating first. Following that, the other would become a broken record that droned on, and the two would begin this endless cycle of repeating until they drained all their strength.

Since the first simulation test, yesterday, Tang Yue and Mai Dong hadn’t had any rest. Tomcat had seized every moment to modify the program and began abusing the computer. During this time, Tang Yue took a short nap, sleeping from midnight to four in the morning. Without even four hours of sleep, he got up to see that Tomcat was still abusing the computer.

Humans weren’t made of steel after all. After long periods of intensive work and high stress, Tang Yue and Mai Dong were no longer able to take it. Mai Dong even felt her spirit weakening.

“I’ve modified the three-dimensional guidance calculations. As Orion doesn’t have a geodynamic radar, we still need to rely on inertial navigation. The GNC system is of utmost importance.” Tomcat held the model up as a demonstration, but nothing it said was understood by Tang Yue.

Tang Yue used his fingers to prop open his eyelids as his mind turned adrift.

“With 78 seconds left, Orion II will begin descending at a uniform speed. After my modification of the flight program, it’s speed should be 119.5 m/s.” Tomcat crouched down on the chair as it lowered the spacecraft models. “After the end of the flight at a uniform speed, the spacecraft will begin the second stage of deceleration… Tang Yue? Do you hear me?”

“Huh?” Tang Yue yawned. “Yeah?”

“Boom!”

Tang Yue jolted awake as he opened his eyes. “What happened?”

“The engine will be in full reverse thrust, hovering at a distance of five meters from the ground. Within three seconds, the lander will be released.” Tomcat slowly erected the model on the desk and with a clock, it stood erect and stable. “Landing success.”

“This is the result of the second mock?” Tang Yue rubbed his eyes.

“Yes, this will be the results of the second mock!”

…

The next day.

Tang Yue held the resulting printout of the second mock in his hand, looking ashen.

The only thing that was right about Tomcat’s prediction regarding the second mock was the “boom!”

The Orion II had failed to cross the 10,000-meter barrier once again. The propellant reservoir cracked and the exposed fuel produced an explosion from soup to nuts.

“Tomcat…”

“Don’t say anything! Hush! I don’t believe it… How can I, the number one crosstalk master and part-time data architect and part-time aeronautical expert, the best comedian among felines, the only feline among comedians, not be able to resolve this problem?” Tomcat said fiercely. “Don’t worry! The second mock was just for data collection. From the mission’s goals, we have achieved a perfect success! There’s no need to be sullen! Third mock! The third mock will definitely succeed!”

“How confident are you of the third mock?”

Tomcat drew a huge circle on the ground with its hind leg.

“This big!”