Chapter 222 Global Live Broadcast, Fireworks of the Century!

At this time, it had been twenty days since Singh held the first press conference.

Curry Country, Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

This day was definitely one for the history books for the entire Curry Country.

The scorching sun hung high, and the air was thick with the characteristic tropical heat and the saltiness of the sea, but even hotter than the temperature was the fanatical atmosphere on-site, which felt like it was about to explode.

Media lenses from all over the world, with their long and short cameras, were all aimed at the towering white giant rocket on the launch tower.

In the online live streaming rooms, the number of viewers had already surpassed ten million and was still rising frantically.

Singh, the ISRO Director-General, wearing his signature expensive suit, stood at the very front of the viewing platform with a greasy face.

Holding a microphone and facing the global audience, he once again delivered an impassioned speech:

“Ladies and gentlemen!”

“Please remember today! Please remember this moment!”

Singh pointed at the rocket behind him, which had been repainted to look exceptionally domineering, his voice high-pitched as if he had been injected with chicken blood:

“This is the latest masterpiece of our ISRO—the polar satellite launch vehicle plus edition!”

“It is not just a rocket; it is a symbol of our Curry Country's industrial strength! It is the crystallization of our wisdom!”

At this point, he paused deliberately, sweeping his eyes across the crowd with a look of disdain for all rivals, and then held up a finger:

“Some say it takes several years, or even ten years, to build a new type of rocket.”

“But! We only used one month!”

“That’s right! This is what I have always emphasized—curry speed!”

“In the face of this speed, any technical barriers are paper tigers! Our level has already reached world-class!”

...

The audience burst into thunderous applause, and countless Curry Country viewers waved their national flags, moved to tears of excitement.

Immediately after, a military representative dressed in uniform with a chest full of medals also stepped onto the stage.

With a stern face and facing the camera, he spoke in a deterrent tone:

“For this launch, we will be carrying 16 satellites.”

“The most important one among them is the hyperspectral Earth observation satellite—EOS-N1—created with the full effort of our Ministry of Defense.”

“It is a key link in our space-based reconnaissance network!”

“Once in orbit, it will no longer be affected by any weather and will be able to monitor certain sensitive areas 24/7 without any blind spots!”

“Our eyes will be all over the sky, and any ill intentions toward Curry Country will have nowhere to hide!”

These words were undoubtedly a show of muscle to certain neighbors, and the atmosphere on-site was instantly pushed to its climax.

Various slogans like “Rise of a Great Power” and “Military Powerhouse” resounded through the sky.

...

Meanwhile, in the relevant global online live streaming rooms, Netizens from Eastern Country were also watching this grand event.

However, their focus seemed a bit off.

“Damn, why does it actually look quite reliable?”

“Since when did the Curry Stick become so reliable?”

“Eh? Look at the shape of this rocket, doesn't it look a bit familiar?”

“Indeed... especially the curve of that fairing and the design of the tail fins, why do I feel like I've seen them somewhere before?”

“Person above, now that you mention it, I feel the same way.”

The Netizens were discussing animatedly; although some felt it was familiar, no one dared to actually think in the direction of Li Jiajun's factory.

...

However.

In a corner of the launch control hall.

As the actual executor of this project, Rajesh was huddled in his chair, his body already soaked with cold sweat.

He watched the countdown numbers jumping on the screen, his heart beating as if it were about to leap out of his throat.

‘It must succeed... it must succeed...’

He prayed frantically in his heart.

Although they had dismantled that batch of toy sky rockets and performed mapping and proportional enlargement.

They had even imitated ninety-nine percent of that complex engine structure.

But.

Rajesh knew in his heart that they hadn't completely replicated it.

Especially that shell material, the composite material supposedly called “Dragon Scale”; they couldn't reverse-engineer it at all and ultimately could only replace it with the best material they currently had.

And that engine's injection plate—the microporous structure inside was too complex, so they could only copy the appearance and make a rough approximation.

‘I always feel like something is missing...’

That faint unease gnawed at his heart.

To alleviate this fear and to increase the “success rate” a little bit.

Rajesh did something very superstitious.

He remembered when he watched Li Jiajun's live stream before, when that young Factory Director Li was selling gas canister rocket launchers... oh no, gas canisters, he stuck a red paper slip saying “Safe Travels” on the canister.

So, before the rocket launch, he also secretly had someone stick an identical red paper slip with “Safe Travels” written in Chinese on the inner wall of the rocket's core stage.

‘That Eastern genius is so divine, his metaphysics should also be very useful, right?’

‘I've already learned ninety percent of the essence, so it should be fine, right?’

Rajesh wiped the sweat from his forehead, comforting himself.

“Ten, nine, eight...”

The sound of the countdown came over the broadcast.

The entire venue held its breath.

“Three, two, one!”

“Ignition!”

Boom—!

Accompanied by an earth-shaking roar.

Huge orange-red flames and billowing white smoke instantly gushed out from under the launch tower.

Under the immense thrust, that “polar satellite launch vehicle plus edition,” carrying the countless hopes of Curry Country, slowly rose from the ground.

Trailing a long tail of fire, it was like a sharp sword piercing the sky.

“Liftoff! Liftoff!”

“Attitude normal!”

“Telemetry signal normal!”

“First-stage engine working normally!”

The excited reports of the dispatcher kept coming over the broadcast.

From the live broadcast footage, the rocket's flight attitude was stable, like a white dragon soaring into the clouds, appearing flawless.

“Good! Excellent!”

On the viewing platform, Singh was the first to stand up and clap frantically.

His face was full of ecstasy, as if he could already see the image of himself standing on the podium receiving a medal.

Following his lead, the scientists, military representatives, and all the spectators on-site all stood up.

Thunderous applause and cheers, like a tsunami, instantly drowned out the entire launch center.

It wasn't just on-site.

In the streets and alleys of Curry Country, countless people were cheering, and some even started setting off firecrackers to celebrate.

“Long live curry speed!”

“We succeeded!”

The applause and cheers lasted for a full six minutes.

During those six minutes, the rocket continued to accelerate, jettisoning its first and second-stage boosters, flying higher and faster.

By all appearances, this was truly a perfect launch.

...

“Dear viewers!”

The female host on-site, also flushed with excitement, explained loudly to the camera:

“Did everyone see that? This is our strength!”

“The last time our PSLV rocket failed eight months ago, it was our pain.”

“But!”

“This time we...”

She took a deep breath, prepared to say that long-prepared heroic phrase—“This time we are going to wash away our previous shame!”

However.

Just as she was about to say those words, just when everyone thought the situation was settled.

A sudden change occurred!

The rocket had already flown out of Low Earth Orbit, reaching an altitude of about 294 kilometers.

That is, at the 346th second of flight.

The third-stage solid engine ignited and started according to the program.

But because it was a semi-finished product imitated by Rajesh's team, the precision of the core atomizing injection plate was insufficient, leading to extremely unstable fuel combustion.

“Sizzle—Boom!”

Serious pressure pulse oscillations occurred inside the third-stage engine, commonly known as surging.

For a rocket, this was fatal.

In the live broadcast footage.

The originally stable-flying rocket suddenly jerked violently, like a drunkard.

Immediately after, the rocket body began to show visible abnormal deflection.

It was no longer going in a straight line upward but began to tumble and spin irregularly in the air.

“Beep beep beep—”

The alarm in the control center instantly shrieked.

“Attitude instability!”

“Yaw angle exceeds limits!”

“Failed to reach orbital velocity!”

At this moment.

The female host, who was still passionately commentating, clearly hadn't reacted to what had happened.

Her brain was still stuck in the previous excitement, her mouth faster than her brain, she finished her sentence without thinking, following the previous context:

“This time we...”

She looked at the frantically tumbling rocket on the screen, her voice suddenly becoming dry, carrying a trace of unbelievable trembling:

“This time we seem to be failing again?”

...

Before her voice even faded.

In the next second after the host finished speaking.

Under the dumbfounded gaze of viewers worldwide.

On the screen, the frantically tumbling rocket traced an extremely bizarre and twisted “S”-shaped curve in the air.

It was the wail of the structural strength reaching its limit.

Immediately after.

“BOOM—!!!”

Even through the screen, people seemed to hear that huge roar.

The rocket disintegrated in mid-air!

An unimaginably huge and dazzling fireball burst apart in the pitch-black, deep space.

Countless fragments trailing fire scattered and splashed, lighting up the night-shrouded high sky as if it were day.

The image was magnificent to the extreme.

If one didn't consider the billions of dollars and 16 satellites it represented, this was definitely the most expensive and brilliant...

Fireworks of the century.

The cheers and applause at the launch site that had lasted for six minutes were suddenly cut off, as if strangled by an invisible giant hand.

It came to an abrupt end.

The ecstasy on Singh's face froze; he remained in a clapping posture, like a comical statue.

Rajesh slumped in his chair, his eyes glazed over.

Everyone stared blankly at the fireball slowly dissipating on the big screen.

Only that red paper slip with “Safe Travels” stuck on a rocket fragment instantly turned to ash in the fire, seemingly a silent mockery.