Chapter 220 Chen Xueming's Mission

11:00 PM, Yangjiang, Guangdong.

Chen Xueming stared at the data on the screen, his eyes so sore he could barely keep them open. He had been working continuously for fourteen hours; he had only eaten a few bites of lunch, and had completely forgotten dinner.

But the numbers on the screen still didn't add up.

He rubbed his eyes, chugged a large mouthful of coffee, and started checking the parameters again.

Three days ago, Lin Mo called him:

"Xueming, there's a mission I'd like to entrust to you."

"What mission?"

"Calculating the orbital parameters for the space station," Lin Mo said. "The counterweight station for the space elevator needs to be built in synchronous orbit. But a synchronous orbit isn't just a simple point; it's a ring. You need to account for Earth's rotation, lunar gravity, solar wind, Earth's non-spherical gravitational perturbations... a whole host of factors."

Chen Xueming was stunned for a moment: "Doesn't this thing already have existing models?"

"Yes," Lin Mo said. "But those are all for ordinary satellites. Our space station weighs a thousand tons, the cable is thirty-six thousand kilometers long, and the dynamic characteristics of the entire system are completely different. Existing models can't calculate it accurately."

Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds.

Lin Mo continued: "There aren't many people in the country who can do this task. You work on Nuclear Fusion, have a strong mathematical foundation, and understand engineering. I've thought it over, and you are the most suitable person."

Chen Xueming took a deep breath: "Old Lin, I'll take it."

Since then, Chen Xueming had been immersed in front of his computer.

The Guangdong Power Station project was already on the right track, and the construction unit no longer needed him to watch over it every day. He freed up most of his time to chew on this tough nut to crack.

The first day, he collected data. Synchronous orbit dynamics, perturbation theory, n-body problems—he had heard these terms, but hadn't studied them in depth. He spent an entire day downloading hundreds of papers, printing them out, and stacking them on his desk like a small mountain.

The second day, he started building the model. Starting from the simplest two-body problem, he increased the complexity step by step. Earth's rotation, Earth's non-spherical shape, lunar gravity, solar gravity, solar radiation pressure, atmospheric drag—each factor had to be modeled separately and then coupled together.

The third day, the model was running. But the result was wrong—the space station's position drifted by dozens of kilometers within a single day.

"How could it be off by so much?" He stared blankly at the screen.

A colleague passing by took a look: "Engineer Chen, have you considered lunar gravity?"

Chen Xueming nodded: "I have."

"Have you considered solar radiation pressure?"

"I have."

"Then why is it still drifting?"

Chen Xueming was silent for a few seconds, then said: "I don't know."

The fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day.

Chen Xueming practically lived in the office. He ran models during the day, analyzed data at night, took short naps in his chair when sleepy, and got back to work when he woke up.

The coffee cups on his desk piled up into a small mountain, and takeout boxes were lined up in a row. When colleagues tried to help him tidy up, he wouldn't let them: "Don't touch it, if it gets messed up, I won't be able to find anything."

On the seventh day, he finally discovered where the problem lay.

"It's the cable!" He shouted at the screen, "The mass of the cable!"

He immediately called Lin Mo:

"Old Lin, I've got it! Previously, the model treated the cable as a massless rope, but in reality, it weighs twelve tons! And these twelve tons aren't concentrated at a single point; they are distributed along a thirty-six-thousand-kilometer line! Its center of mass, elastic deformation, and vibration modes all affect the dynamics of the entire system!"

Lin Mo was silent on the other end of the line for two seconds, then said: "That makes sense. So what are you going to do now?"

Chen Xueming said: "Re-model it. Discretize the cable, divide it into ten thousand segments, and calculate the force on each segment individually. Although this will cause the computational load to explode, it should be accurate."

Lin Mo asked: "How long will it take?"

Chen Xueming thought for a moment: "Give me a week."

"Good. I'll wait for your results."

From the eighth to the fourteenth day, Chen Xueming entered a state of self-forgetfulness.

The first thing he did every day upon waking was to turn on the computer to see if the model had finished running. The last thing he did before sleeping was to record the day's problems and the next day's plan.

In the middle of this, Li Xiao called him:

"Engineer Chen, are you okay? Senior Brother says you're practically living in the office."

Chen Xueming said: "I'm fine, it's almost done."

Li Xiao said: "Have you eaten?"

Chen Xueming was stunned for a moment and looked at the takeout boxes on his desk—he couldn't remember which day they were from.

"I have."

Li Xiao sighed: "Don't lie to me. I called your Canteen, and they said you haven't come to get food for three days."

Chen Xueming was silent.

Li Xiao said: "Engineer Chen, this won't do. If your health collapses, who will do the work?"

Chen Xueming said: "I know. But this thing is almost ready."

Li Xiao asked: "What thing?"

Chen Xueming said: "The space station's orbit. Something that can keep it stable in synchronous orbit, without being pulled away by the moon, blown askew by solar wind, or dragged down by the cable."

Li Xiao was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Then hurry up. Once you're done, eat properly."

Chen Xueming said: "Okay."

After hanging up, he looked at the progress bar on the screen—87%.

Almost there.

At 3:00 AM on the fifteenth day, the progress bar reached 100%.

A line of text popped up on the screen: "Calculation complete. Orbital parameters: inclination 0°, eccentricity 0.0001, semi-major axis 42,164 kilometers. Long-term stability: drift less than 1 kilometer within five years."

Chen Xueming stared at that line of text for a long time.

Drift of less than one kilometer in five years.

This meant that the space station could operate stably in synchronous orbit without needing frequent position adjustments.

It meant that the top of the space elevator could be firmly fixed in space.

It meant he had completed his mission.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Then, he smiled.

As he smiled, tears streamed down.

At 7:00 AM, Lin Mo's call came in.

"Xueming, are the results out?"

Chen Xueming's voice was a bit hoarse: "They're out. Drift of less than one kilometer in five years."

The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds.

Then Lin Mo said: "Good. Thank you for your hard work."

Chen Xueming said: "Old Lin, this is the hardest thing I've ever done."

Lin Mo said: "I know."

Chen Xueming said: "But it's also the most worthwhile."

Lin Mo smiled: "Right. When you get back, I'll treat you to a meal."

Chen Xueming also smiled: "Okay. I'll be waiting."

After hanging up, Chen Xueming stood up and walked to the window.

By the seaside in Yangjiang, the sun was rising. Golden sunlight spilled across the sea, sparkling.

He thought back to these past fifteen days—sleeping only three or four hours a day, drinking dozens of cups of coffee, eating who knows how many takeout meals, and losing quite a bit of hair.

But he didn't regret it.

Because that result was worth it.

He picked up his phone and sent a message to his father: "Dad, I just completed a major task."

His father replied quickly: "What major task?"

Chen Xueming thought for a moment and replied: "Making a thousand-ton space station stay steadily in space."

His father sent a smiley face: "I don't understand. But Dad is proud of you."

Chen Xueming looked at that message, and his eyes reddened again.

In the afternoon, Chen Xueming finally left the office and went to the Canteen to have a proper meal.

The lady at the Canteen saw him and was taken aback: "Engineer Chen, what happened to you? You've lost so much weight!"

Chen Xueming smiled: "It's nothing, just losing weight."

The lady felt sorry for him and scooped him a large bowl of rice, adding two more dishes: "Eat more, look how thin you are."

Chen Xueming nodded and buried his head in his meal.

Halfway through, his phone rang.

It was a message from Lin Mo: "Aerospace Group has seen your calculation data. They said this is the most accurate synchronous orbit model they have ever seen. Director Liu asked me to pass this on to you—well done."

Chen Xueming looked at the message, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.

He continued eating.

The meal was delicious.

The sunshine was lovely.