Text/Wang Chunhua
I was thrilled to learn last night that a new round of maritime satellite launches was going to take place today, January 11, 2024 at noon, because I had missed an opportunity to watch it on September 5 last year because my son was hospitalized, and this time I finally made me wait.
My wife went to the scene with a friend from the community last time, and when she came back, she told me that it was completely different from what she felt on TV, and it was shocking. Yes, like Jiuquan and Wenchang, they are very far away from us, some are still in the vast Gobi, it is not realistic to go once, and now they are at the doorstep, and the viewing opportunities that are close at hand cannot be given up.
Last time, the sea view road was closed in advance, and this time we left the house at 11 o'clock. The shore of the Yellow Sea is less than 5 kilometers from home, and it is only a few minutes by car. To be honest, if it weren't for the sheer appeal of this event, I would have rested at home. Because last night, there was a small foot pad on the forefoot, and my wife, a non-professional pedicure technician, repaired it for me, and it broke a hole, and it hurt when I walked. But I still didn't want to miss this rare opportunity, and I thought that I had to go if I was slightly injured. I put on my platform shoes and walked slowly forward after getting out of the car.
We drove to the parking lot of Leda Plaza, and since we went early, there were still many empty spaces. Then walk across Haibin Middle Road and climb to the sea viewing platform, which is already 11:15 at this time. We had plenty of time, so we walked very slowly, sometimes sitting down to rest. After ten minutes, I walked to the south side of the sea viewing platform, the sea was unobstructed in front of me, and the private cars on the sea view road in front of me had lined up in a long line on the side of the road, and I couldn't see the edge at a glance. There are a lot of people who seem to be as positive as we are.
I looked over from the viewing platform, and because of the bright sun and light fog on the opposite side, although I could see the launch ship, it was very vague and looked like a silhouette. And through the railing of the sea viewing platform, my size is a little limited. So my wife and I decided to go straight to the beach across the road.
We crossed the Harbour View Road to the square where the ABG sign was located, and walked across the beach to the sea. At that time, the sea was slowly rising, exposing part of the seabed. At this time, there are not many people, threes and threes. I said in a group of friends in the same neighborhood that we were waiting to see the rocket launch, which made my friends and his wife itch, and they also drove over to watch.
We found the sculpture and sat down on the steps facing the sun, basking in the sun while waiting patiently. During this period, I not only ate the hemp balls and oil cakes I bought at Emgrand Daji for lunch, but also took the opportunity to complete the problem of learning to strengthen the country. At this time, two sisters came over and asked us if we knew the specific launch time, and we were not sure.
I finally stayed up until one o'clock in the afternoon. I was afraid that I wouldn't find a good spot and wouldn't have time to take pictures, so I quickly stood up and strode towards the high place of the beach by the sea. At this time, more and more people gathered on the beach, and next to me, there were people with professional shooting equipment, I saw them set up a tripod, put a long barrel camera, and carefully adjust the angle of the lens. The crowd of people watching is still pouring in, I have seen that there are far more than 1,000 people on the shore, and the lonely seaside in winter is suddenly more lively than in summer, and it is also a great wonder that 39 days are better than dog days. Looking at a few hotels near the seaside, many people are standing on the balcony to watch, the so-called money is not much, happy entertainment. I heard that to go to the most convenient place to watch Lianli Island, the ticket costs between 1280-1680 yuan, which is a game for the rich, and ordinary people are categorically reluctant.
It is understood that this launch is the world's largest solid rocket "Gravity 1". The rocket was developed by the private commercial space company Oriental Space, which was also the first flight of the company's first rocket. With a take-off weight of 405 tons, the "Gravity-1" rocket is currently the mainland's largest sea-launched rocket with a take-off weight. To this end, the launch uses a new launch ship "Oriental Spaceport", with a standard displacement of 22,000 tons, which is the first launch ship with its own diversion channel facilities in the middle of the hull, which can meet the needs of medium and large launch vehicles at sea. This launch is also the first mission of the "Vostok Spaceport" launch ship.
A few minutes before the launch, looking at the crowd waiting on the shore, I was inexplicably a little nervous. I told my wife about my worries, and he said that the most nervous people right now are the R&D staff and the launch staff. Yes, it is conceivable that this is the most focused and nervous time for them, with many days of hard work, success or failure.
The tide was high and it became muddy, and the waves, which were a meter high, rolled in one after another. Always facing the south, the big sun dazzles your eyes, and after staring at it for a long time, sometimes you will feel that the sea and the shore have turned pale pink. Time passed minute by minute, to 13:29, suddenly not far away on the hazy sea surface of the fire flashed, I caught the first time, only to hear the excited screams of adults and children around me, only to see an arrow soaring into the air, accompanied by a huge roar, the arrow seemed to go straight to the direction where we were, at that moment I was really afraid that it would fly to the top of our heads and fall, so I held my breath, raised my mobile phone high in my hand to record it. It dragged a long white line, in fact, the white smoke after the rocket took off, at first it rose straight, slowly from the south to the northeast, the whole white smoke looks like a white dragon flying in the sea and sky, chic and elegant, very spectacular. It lasted about two and a half minutes, the rocket flew so high that we couldn't see it with the naked eye, so the people on the shore gradually dispersed.
I waited for two and a half hours, just to see these two and a half minutes with my own eyes. It may seem a little uneconomical, but I know that it is not only out of curiosity, but more importantly, it is full of patriotism and pride. The sea of stars, the dream of the East!
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