Chapter 32: Just a Loud Noise

Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, USA.

Beyond the beach, the crowd of Americans who had gathered upon hearing the news stood in absolute silence.

"OMG!"
"FXXK!"
"NOOOOOOO!"
"What happened, Jerry!"

After a second of silence, a wave of terrified cries erupted. On the beach, everyone stood frozen, their eyes fixed upward in stunned disbelief, mouths agape, shouting uncontrollably.

In the sky, there was only a fireball descending. The rolling inferno, accompanied by massive shards of the rocket, was falling horizontally. Then, with a thunderous "Boom," the wreckage of the rocket plunged into the sea.

It was only when the vast curtain of burning fuel slowly drifted down from the sky that the people on the beach finally processed what had happened. The launch of the SLS crewed lunar rocket had failed.

Two hundred seconds into the launch, the rocket body had begun to shake violently, followed by a sudden burst of flame. The entire rocket exploded, propelled forward by the force of the blast for several kilometers before turning into a fireball that plummeted from the sky.

This hellish scene left the surrounding American public feeling as though they were trapped in a nightmare. Some space enthusiasts clutched their heads, eyes wide, crouching on the ground in disbelief, murmuring, "Impossible, impossible, impossible! How could it fail? How could it fail?"

Others, having accepted the reality of the failure, kept looking up, frantically asking, "What about the astronauts? Did they escape?!"

"Ahhhhh!"

Some broken-hearted citizens threw themselves onto the ground in despair. The entire beach was filled with an atmosphere of hopelessness.

Far away, in the command center, Alaric stared blankly at the screen before him.

"Ring! Ring! Ring!"

The phone beside him rang incessantly. He knew it was that idiot President Fred, but he no longer had the heart to answer. The SLS lunar rocket had failed. How many times had he warned that fool? It was Fred who had insisted on going his own way, obsessed with competing against the great power across the ocean. That bastard Fred had become completely unhinged, blinded by his own political agenda.

Watching the remnants of the fireball still falling from the sky, the raging fires consuming the sea, and the people on the beach howling in grief, Alaric slumped into his chair, utterly defeated. He could already imagine the tsunami of public opinion that would follow. His career, his entire life—it was all over. He clenched his fists, his eyes filled with fury, knowing he had been personally ruined by that bastard Fred.

"Damn it!"

November 12th became an eternal nightmare for those across the ocean.

When the news reached China, the internet fell into a rare silence. Usually, if the U.S. failed a launch of an uncrewed spacecraft, there would be mockery. But this was completely different; three astronauts had perished. Although they were from a different country, the spirit of brave exploration and the willingness to sacrifice for the sake of science transcended borders. For once, netizens held their tongues out of respect. At the very least, those three astronauts were innocent.

"It could be said that the United States and NASA conspired to murder their own astronauts."
"The person above is right; this was a man-made disaster!"
"I'm not surprised it failed given how rushed the SLS program was, but it's a tragedy for those three astronauts."
"Praying for the great Monte, Peter, and Bonjerry, and all the astronauts who sacrificed their lives on the path of space exploration. [Candle][Candle]"
"Respect to all humanity filled with the spirit of exploration and courage!"

Chinese netizens did not dwell long on the failure across the ocean. After all, their own rocket was set to launch in just one day. Why look at someone else’s tragedy when their own pride and joy was about to take flight?

Within an hour, the news of the U.S. launch failure and the tragic deaths of the three astronauts had been pushed down the trending lists. At the top of the list, naturally, was: "China's Storm-9 Remote-5 to launch on December 13th at 7:25 AM!"

Furthermore, the Space Administration held a press conference to announce the three astronauts who would board the craft the following day. At the podium, Zhang Zhaoming announced with unconcealed excitement: "The astronauts executing the 'Lanyue' crewed lunar landing mission are—Chen Dong, Nie Zheng, and Zhai Gang!"

The three astronauts, clad in their flight suits, walked out before the media with beaming, excited smiles.

"Click! Click! Click!"

The sound of camera shutters was deafening. In the livestream, netizens were equally fired up.

"I knew it! Chen Dong is definitely on it!"
"Zhai Gang is there too, both are from the first batch of astronauts!"
"Amazing, they only reached orbit a few years ago, and now they're going to land on the moon!"
"The neighbors failed, do you think we can succeed?"
"The person above is trying to undermine our morale! Drag them out and behead them!!!"
"Have confidence! Even though our launch schedule is packed, we've completed all inspection protocols, unlike the U.S., which was just rushing things!"
"Yes, have faith!"

"Fellow journalists, citizens who care about the lunar landing program," Zhang Zhaoming began, standing at the podium. He scanned the room, and once the reporters quieted down, he spoke in a steady, reassuring tone that anchored the room. He said firmly:

"Tomorrow morning, our country will launch our crewed lunar landing spacecraft. The craft is expected to reach the moon in three days. The total mission duration is twenty days, and the astronauts will stay on the lunar surface for seventeen days."

"Following the lunar landing, we will immediately initiate the construction plan for a lunar base. We aim to build a base on the moon's surface capable of supporting long-term stays for our astronauts, laying a solid foundation for us to study the lunar environment and extraterrestrial survival technologies!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the reporters were stunned for a moment before frantically snapping photos. The reporters with laptops began typing furiously.

Reports spread across the world like wildfire.

The practical perspective: "Lunar Base! Today, on the eve of the crewed lunar landing, China National Space Administration Director Zhang Zhaoming stated that after the landing, China will construct a lunar base!"

The sensationalist take: "Breaking News: China is set to build a lunar base!"

The over-interpreted take: "Space Agency Director is full of confidence for tomorrow's launch; it will be a success!"

All kinds of reports flooded the media. The news of the U.S. lunar mission failure was shoved to the bottom of the lists. In an instant, the eyes of the entire world were turned toward China. Everyone wanted to see if China could succeed where the United States had failed. Of course, there were also countries with grievances against the U.S. who hoped for China's success just to spite them.

The time arrived for the morning of November 13th; the rocket launch was imminent!