Chen Yi's announcement had not been out for long.
Qin Xiaoyu and Xia Keke, who constantly kept an eye on their boss's updates, soon noticed it.
Watching Chen Yi pull a drone fitted with a tracking chip out from the rear warehouse, Xia Keke asked curiously.
"Boss, can this drone really fly to the moon?"
This was also the first time they had seen Chen Yi's newest drone.
It looked utterly ordinary, even somewhat ugly, and it was not particularly large.
It had a wingspan of 1.38 meters, a fuselage length of 1.79 meters, and a height of 0.46 meters.
Among the many turbojet model aircraft, it could only be considered medium-sized.
Other than its two engine nozzles and two protruding, strange cone-shaped structures, there was absolutely no sign that it was capable of flying to the moon.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Chen Yi picked up the laptop beside him and once again confirmed the flight route and orbital data for today.
Unlike the previous Xijiba flying around at random.
If they wanted to land on the moon today, the route and orbit had to be carefully planned.
After all, the drone still used chemical energy rather than nuclear energy, and combustion propulsion rather than the more efficient Hall-effect propulsion. It would be difficult to force its way to the moon in a straight line, so it had to make use of planetary gravitational orbits, changing trajectories and accelerating multiple times before it could finally reach the moon.
The overall lunar flight plan was divided into two parts.
The first part was a parabolic ascent, overcoming the planet's centripetal force and entering planetary orbit.
After the drone completed orbital insertion, it would use a Hohmann transfer to change trajectories and switch orbits, ultimately leaving Blue Star's orbit and flying toward the moon.
Chang'e 1 had first been sent by rocket into a sixteen-hour orbit around Blue Star, completing one and a half revolutions. After circling many times, it maneuvered into a twenty-four-hour orbit, then entered a forty-eight-hour orbit.
After changing trajectories so many times and gradually raising its orbital altitude, it finally left Blue Star and headed for the moon.
"Old Chen, I'm here!"
While Chen Yi was calculating the orbit.
Flower Arm Zhang arrived as well, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, his muscular arms covered in large tattoos.
Behind Flower Arm Zhang followed a group of model aircraft and drone dealers from Penghai City.
"Perfect timing. Help me load the drone into the car."
Chen Yi did not stand on ceremony with Flower Arm Zhang, with whom he had once tightened screws together, and directly put him to work.
After saying that, he glanced at the model aircraft and drone dealers who had followed behind. "WingFly's production capacity has been insufficient lately. All wholesale and preorders are suspended. If you came here to ask about orders, then don't bother opening your mouths, bosses."
"It's fine, it's fine. We just came to take a look."
"That's right, that's right. President Chen, you do your work. No need to mind us."
"We'll help too!"
Faced with Chen Yi's words, the dealers hurriedly replied, their tones carrying a hint of flattery. Some of the sharper ones even came forward and voluntarily helped move the drone.
They had no choice. Flower Arm Zhang had obtained a quota of two hundred engines per month from WingFly, then assembled them with other parts into a batch of supersonic turbojet model aircraft.
They had all been reserved in less than two hours.
Some competitors had calculated the supply-chain prices of the assembled parts. The profit margin was a solid fifty percent, making them green with envy.
Some better-informed people even knew.
That the director of the Penghai branch had come to WingFly today and promised the police a five-hundred-million order.
With both technical strength and connections, if they did not curry favor with WingFly now, they might not even have the chance to do so in the future.
"Holy shit, Old Chen, is this drone solid? Why is it so damn heavy!"
Flower Arm Zhang walked up to the drone and crouched down.
Together with one of the dealers, he grabbed the drone's landing gear wheels and tried to lift it into the car.
But with one heave.
Then another.
The drone merely shook twice.
Its wheels rose a few centimeters off the ground before they could no longer hold it up.
This seemingly compact drone, with a wingspan under one and a half meters, was freakishly heavy.
"You guessed right. It's solid. Go get the pallet jack."
Without even turning around, Chen Yi used the results of his virtual learning to finalize every route and orbital parameter for this lunar mission.
"Let's go, we're setting off!"
Once Flower Arm Zhang had forked the model aircraft drone into the trunk.
And loaded up all the other accessories and signal antennas.
Chen Yi waved to Xia Keke and Qin Xiaoyu, got into the car, and navigated to their usual seaside park.
Xia Keke was responsible for driving.
Chen Yi sat in the back seat with his laptop in his arms, submitting the application and registration for this test flight through the website.
By the time they arrived at the seaside park, the test-flight application had been approved.
Chen Yi seemed to remember something else and turned to Qin Xiaoyu in the front passenger seat.
"Xiaoyu, give me your phone. Connect me to Air Traffic Control."
"Yes, Brother Yi."
Qin Xiaoyu took out her phone, dialed the dedicated Air Traffic Control phone line left by the director, then handed the phone to Chen Yi.
"Hello, this is Air Traffic Control 0A987. How may I help you?"
The call was answered in under three seconds, and a woman's voice speaking standard Mandarin came through.
"I'm applying for a drone test flight."
Chen Yi checked WingFly's flight number. "Number 0A01."
"Understood. May I ask for the area of this test flight, as well as the route and destination?"
Hearing that it was an application for a drone test flight, the operator froze for a moment before replying professionally.
"Taking off from Penghai City Seaside Park, coordinates E114, 05, 52.08, N22, 38, 17.43.
First, ascend vertically, then follow a parabolic ascent path eastward, passing through Fuhai, Xiamen, and Taichung in Bay Province, crossing Bay Province into the Pacific Ocean. Enter planetary orbit. Destination: the moon."
Chen Yi had no intention of concealing anything and stated the route and destination he had planned for this trip.
???
The operator was dumbfounded.
A parabolic ascent eastward, entering planetary orbit, destination: the moon?
"Sir."
After a long silence, the operator asked seriously, "Have you been drinking?"
At that moment, if not for his professional conduct and the new drone regulations issued last night, he would have wanted to curse on the spot.
Last night's regulations required Air Traffic Control to centrally coordinate registered drones with valid identification numbers, guide their routes, and prevent them from overlapping with Civil Aviation passenger aircraft routes.
But now.
The first person to file a report was talking about ascending eastward along a parabola, entering planetary orbit, and flying to the moon.
How were they supposed to coordinate that?
That was the Space Administration's responsibility!
"I haven't been drinking."
Hearing the other party ask whether he had been drinking, Chen Yi assumed it was part of a safety-protocol inquiry and explained very seriously.
Don't mess with machinery after drinking; don't drink while messing with machinery.
Improper machinery operation meant tears behind iron bars.
He still understood safety rules like that.
"Whew!"
The operator took a deep breath. She felt like she was being toyed with, but suppressed her anger as she said, "Sir, your test-flight application has been approved.
In low-altitude airspace, we will provide you with aviation communications, route navigation, scheduling, and other services.
But if you intend to fly to the moon, please contact the Space Administration.
That falls under the Space Administration's jurisdiction, not the responsibility of Air Traffic Control."
"Alright, thanks."
After hearing that the application had been approved, Chen Yi automatically ignored everything the operator said afterward and hung up.
"Set up the site, calibrate the antennas and equipment. When the launch window arrives, start the livestream and prepare for lunar liftoff."
Chen Yi put away his phone and got out of the car. He greeted the Hurricane Tracking and Filming Team, who had arrived ahead of time, then started the livestream.
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