Earth Era

"Before, we kept in touch with the satellite, but just now... the scheduled time has passed, but we have not received a reply from the satellite. We are still unable to determine what happened. We are trying to The second communication request to the satellite..." the staff member murmured.

Launching a spacecraft is a high-risk business. Because in that vast space, you have no way of knowing what will happen there. Not only is there a threat from the external environment, a small malfunction inside the instrument may wipe out an entire expensive satellite. Because it's space, you can't fix it the way you fix your home computer.

It is not uncommon for spacecraft to malfunction and lose contact temporarily, and there have been countless such incidents in the history of human beings in space. But this time the satellite lost contact with some unusual meaning. Because its timing was so coincidental, people lost contact with it when the solar wind was about to arrive just as people predicted.

This could not but make some terrible associations in Zhao Huasheng's mind. For example, the intensity of the solar wind exceeds the acceptable design limit of the satellite, so when it comes into contact with the solar wind, it is instantly reimbursed by the solar wind.

But... the nearest satellite is still 60 million kilometers away from the sun, if the strength of the solar wind is strong enough to destroy a satellite at such a distance... then, it is only 30 million kilometers away from the sun How powerful the attack will be on the Red Heart spacecraft, which is more than 10000 kilometers away?

"Continue to try to contact the satellite, and at the same time, pay close attention to the status of the second satellite." Zhao Huasheng suppressed the anxiety in his heart and gave instructions to the researcher.

The second solar probe is 67 million kilometers away from the sun, which is 7 million kilometers more than the first satellite. If the first satellite is really destroyed by the solar wind, then according to the estimated speed of the solar wind, the second satellite will also be affected by the solar wind within three to five hours.

Time is still quietly spent waiting. The first satellite seemed to have evaporated, and no matter how hard the ground crew tried to contact it, no one heard back. The second satellite has been working normally.

Three hours and fifty minutes later, the second satellite also mysteriously disappeared. Ground crews never heard from the satellite again.

And the time period of three hours and fifty minutes is exactly within the time range of three to five hours.

"Then we are basically sure." Zhao Huasheng murmured: "Even if it is 67 million kilometers away, the intensity of this solar wind burst is still enough to destroy a satellite."

"In this direction of the sun, we have a third satellite, which is 69 million kilometers away from the sun." A researcher said: "According to previous calculations about the solar wind, this satellite will fly in about an hour. Afterwards, it will be affected by the solar wind. Other satellites are located on the side or back of the sun, so they cannot observe this solar wind burst, nor will they be affected by this solar wind burst.”

Zhao Huasheng rubbed his forehead wearily, and said: "Continue to try to contact the first and second satellites, and at the same time, pay close attention to the situation of the third satellite. And... I want you to check the location of the second satellite immediately. The upper limit of the intensity of the solar wind that can be tolerated, and at the same time use this upper limit as the basis for the intensity of the solar wind to calculate its possible impact on the Red Heart spacecraft."

"Okay." Another researcher agreed, and then immediately started the relevant calculations.

The intensity of the solar wind that a satellite can withstand is limited, that is to say, when the intensity of the solar wind reaches a certain limit, then the satellite will inevitably be destroyed. And now the satellite has been destroyed by the solar wind. So let's assume that the intensity of the solar wind is just at this upper limit. Now, with the intensity parameters and distance parameters of the solar wind, the staff can already start calculations.

The calculation result will come out soon. The researcher reported to Zhao Huasheng: "If the solar wind strength in this solar eruption is calculated based on the upper limit of the solar wind that the second satellite can withstand, the probability of the Red Heart spacecraft surviving this incident is ...26 percent. This solar storm may or may not have destroyed the spacecraft. Its intensity is between serious threat and direct destruction. The specific situation may also be affected by many other factors Influence."

"Is it only 26%?" Zhao Huasheng said silently, feeling heavy again.

Don't forget that the solar wind strength value the researcher used is only the upper limit of what the satellite can handle. Assuming that the satellite can bear a strength of one for the solar storm, and if it exceeds one, it will be destroyed. Then the possible range of the strength of the real solar wind is too large, and it may be any strength from one to infinity. This also means that the researcher probably underestimated the true strength of the solar wind, so, in reality, the survival rate of the Scarlet Heart spacecraft is lower than 26%. As for how much lower it is, it is impossible to estimate now.

Another hour passed while waiting. The researcher in charge of monitoring the status of the third satellite suddenly exclaimed: "The third satellite has detected an extremely strong solar storm, and its circuit boards, computing modules, and some other components have been seriously affected... …No, the communication module is also affected, we can’t maintain normal communication with it…I’m starting the backup communication system…Okay, the backup communication system was activated successfully, but the signal quality is very poor, we still can’t communicate normally… ..."

Zhao Huasheng immediately asked: "Did the third satellite detect the solar wind? Have you measured the intensity?"

"The strength has not been measured, and its related components seem to have been damaged. I am still confirming the specific situation...but it has not been completely destroyed, and it still barely maintains the ability to work."

"That's... good." Zhao Huasheng nodded, "Then take the upper limit of the third satellite as the upper limit of the intensity of the solar storm, and the upper limit of the second satellite as the lower limit of the solar storm. With this intensity range Recalculate the possible impact on the Red Heart spacecraft."

With the second data, the calculation of the survival rate of the Scarlet Heart spacecraft is much more accurate. The researcher quickly calculated the data: "Under the solar storm within this range, the survival rate of the Scarlet Heart spacecraft is between 17% and 26%. "

Zhao Huasheng exhaled softly. This number is already quite accurate. Even if the solar storm comes to the earth, and then the relevant instruments on the earth accurately measure the strength of the solar wind, the final calculation result of the survival probability of the Red Heart spacecraft will definitely fall within this range. within the value range. This number is too precise to be of much significance, and the current precision is enough.

"About more than a day later, the solar storm will reach the earth, and it is expected to last for more than a few hours. Before the solar storm is over, even if the Red Heart spacecraft survives, we are unlikely to get in touch with the spacecraft The interference is really too great. Then... everything will wait for the solar storm to pass, and whether the Red Heart spacecraft is dead or alive will be revealed at that time."

Zhao Huasheng rubbed his forehead and left the control hall. Standing outside the hall, letting the cold wind blow him, Zhao Huasheng felt that his brain was much cooler.

Zhao Huasheng raised his head and looked in the direction of the sun. The sun had returned to dim, as before. But only Zhao Huasheng and a limited number of people know what kind of thrilling stories happened above and near the sun in the past few days.

"There should be an aurora tomorrow." Zhao Huasheng murmured, "Since the solar radiation has decreased, there has never been an aurora on the earth. Now, because of the solar storm, this will appear again on the earth." Kind of a sight."

There is no doubt that the aurora is very beautiful and spectacular. Zhao Huasheng has always wanted to take a look, but he didn't see it the last time he went to the North Pole. Now, it has been confirmed that there will be an aurora tomorrow, but Zhao Huasheng is no longer in the mood to see it.

"The Crimson Heart, and the astronauts... I hope you are all well, I am still on the earth waiting for you to come back and drink with me..." Zhao Huasheng finished this sentence silently in his heart, then turned and returned to himself in the rest room. After a long period of high mental tension, Zhao Huasheng was too tired, and he needed to take a rest.

Strong solar storms will affect many instruments and equipment on the earth, but fortunately it can be predicted. As early as yesterday, the government had received an early warning and made preparations to deal with it, so although the solar storm is strong, it probably will not have any impact on the earth itself. Even if there is an impact, it is within the acceptable range.

The solar storm eventually came to Earth. In addition to bringing an extremely gorgeous, almost shockingly beautiful aurora show to the earth, it also damaged several satellites, damaged some power grid equipment, and disappeared after some other miscellaneous things.

The sun regained its calm, and at this time, the No. 1 control base tried to call the Red Heart spacecraft for the first time.

"This is the ground control base, the Scarlet Heart spacecraft, can you hear it? If you hear it, please answer, please answer..."

PS: Rainbow has a WeChat official account~ The official account is caihongzhimen1990. Rainbow will update some super battleships or extra chapters of the Earth Era on the official account, explain some terms involved in the book, and communicate some dynamics of the works, etc. Information updates, welcome everyone to pay attention! At present, the super battleship extra chapter "Lizard Man's Escape" has been updated, come and pay attention to Rainbow!