Tiangong Space Station

The broadcast continued.

"During this flight, we will provide you with quality service. Our crew will do everything possible to ensure you have a comfortable journey. The cabin is equipped with comfortable cushioned seats, HD TV screens, and more. On behalf of the entire crew, I wish you a pleasant time on this flight. Thank you!"

After the Shenzhou Spaceplane Captain finished speaking, the cabin broadcast sounded again after a brief pause. This time, it was the Safety Check Broadcast.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Shenzhou Spaceplane has pushed away and is about to enter the electromagnetic gliding phase. Please follow the flight instructions: remove any sharp accessories, turn off all electronic devices, set the button at the bottom of your cushioned seat to the blue position, bend your legs and place your feet on the pedals, put on your cushioned helmet, and pull down the Safety Damper Device to secure it across your chest."

It took eighteen minutes to reach space and enter a weightless state. That was longer than a traditional rocket, but anyone who understood the matter knew the time was spent accelerating along the electromagnetic track. The benefit was that passengers did not have to endure excessive gravitational acceleration. As for the roughly four more hours needed to dock with the Tiangong Space Station, that was already considered very fast.

Of course, when the spaceplane launched, the Tiangong Space Station's position also affected the Rendezvous and Docking Time.

The announcement played three times. During it, flight attendants—Spaceplane Crew Service Personnel—patrolled one by one, guiding passengers through their pre-launch safety preparations.

After helping the passengers complete their checks, the flight attendants returned to their own seats and secured themselves in place. Only then did the final pre-takeoff announcement sound again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Shenzhou Spaceplane is about to take off. We wish you a pleasant journey. Thank you!"

The powerful force pressing him into his seat told Yue Yuan that Shenzhou TK666 had begun its run. Out of the corner of his eye, he could already sense the scenery outside racing backward.

When the first straight Cargo Track outside flashed past the Observation Window, the direction of the thrust began to shift slightly downward. Yue Yuan, who had traveled into space via the Orbital Mass Accelerator more than once, understood that the electromagnetic track had begun to climb.

The spaceplane itself gradually raised its nose, so the force he felt did not continue shifting downward. Instead, it remained slightly below the middle of the human back.

The seat's reclined design kept passengers in a half-lying posture during ascent. This was the classic design from the era of Chemical Rocket Manned Flight.

The second Cargo Track flashed past, followed by the third, then the fourth.

Under the effect of the Second Strongest Fundamental Force in the Universe, Shenzhou KT666 shot through the sky like an electromagnetic shell, breaking free from Earth's gravity and soaring into the heavens.

The sudden sensation of weightlessness told everyone that the flight had entered Low Earth Orbit. Many first-time passengers turned to the Observation Windows, taking in the vastness of space and looking down upon the beauty of Mother Earth.

At the same time, the HD TV Screens concealed within the cabin walls extended outward and began playing programs, giving bored passengers something to pass the next three-plus hours of Rendezvous and Docking Time.

Meanwhile, the crew's voices sounded once more inside the Shenzhou KT666 spaceplane, broadly explaining matters that required attention in a microgravity environment.

Passengers who already knew the precautions began chatting again. Some discussed how they had felt during the acceleration phase, expressing concern for those who had suffered slight discomfort while taking the chance to show off their own robust physiques. Others talked about the scenery outside the window, or their destinations for this trip.

Yue Yuan said nothing. Feeling the airflow produced by the spaceplane's Air Circulation System, he turned his gaze toward the scenery beyond the Observation Window.

Before his eyes was a blue arc. Beyond it lay deep, boundless blackness, while within it, wisps of snow-like white drifted across the overall azure expanse—the shapes of clouds. Beneath those clouds, undulating mountain ranges were clearly visible.

At this altitude, the waves of the ocean could no longer be seen. There was only an expanse of tranquil blue.

Yue Yuan stared blankly at Earth, as though that touch of blue had imprinted itself upon his heart, and he drifted into a daze. Only when the blue gradually dimmed and the Light of Civilization, like countless stars, began to shine did he come back to himself.

After leaving this time, he had no idea when he would be able to return.

The broadcast inside the cabin pulled Yue Yuan back to reality.

"Ladies and gentlemen, friends: we have safely arrived at the destination of this flight—the Tiangong Space Station. Please do not leave your seats until the Safety Signal Light has gone out. Please do not turn on or use your phones before the cabin door opens."

"After the cabin door opens, please take hold of the Handrail Guide Rods, pass through the Docking Cabin in sequence, and float forward slowly and orderly. After entering the Tiangong Space Station, please remember to bring your personal belongings."

"Passengers continuing to the next stop, please proceed to the Station Corresponding Cabin of the Tiangong Space Station to complete the relevant procedures. The Station Corresponding Cabins will now be announced. Passengers heading to Moon Guanghan Palace Base, please take Passage No. 3 and enter Jiuge Cabin to complete the relevant procedures. Passengers heading to Moon Artemis Base, please take Passage No. 4 and enter Yunmengze Cabin to complete the relevant procedures. Passengers heading to Moon Irlenkuh United Base, please take Passage No. 4 and enter for Mars."

"Thank you for flying with Huaxia XXX Company. The entire Shenzhou KT666 crew wishes you a pleasant journey. Thank you!"

As the announcement played, numbered signs for each passage also lit up in the Docking Cabin.

Following the signs, Yue Yuan and his group skillfully caught hold of the Handrail Guide Rods, floated into Passage No. 3, and headed toward Jiuge Cabin.

Thanks to the Orbital Mass Accelerator, the cost of Orbital Space Construction had fallen dramatically. Coupled with improvements in construction technology for microgravity environments, Modular On-Orbit Construction had become a reality. Under such conditions, the form and scale of the Tiangong Space Station had undergone earthshaking changes.

The once cramped cabin spaces had become spacious rooms.

Take Jiuge Cabin, where Yue Yuan had arrived. Its usable interior width was around four meters, its height was 2.2 meters, and its length reached twelve meters. All kinds of functional equipment and living facilities had been neatly embedded into the cabin walls.

The entire Tiangong Space Station was assembled from modular cabins. Cabins the size of Jiuge Cabin were considered medium-sized within the Tiangong Space Station, with ninety-eight in total. There were also cabins larger than Jiuge Cabin, though only half as many.

Excluding passing travelers like Yue Yuan, the number of personnel stationed aboard the Space Station remained at around 7,500.

The entire Tiangong Space Station also had multiple Soft Connection Docking Ports, providing various supplies for transport craft traveling back and forth. Clearly, it had become the Transit Station between Earth and Outer Space, as well as the largest Space Station in orbit.

It resembled a Space City.

The name Tiangong truly lived up to its reputation.

Here, one could see people of every skin color working in all kinds of positions, all manner of goods being traded, and naturally, countless Research Personnel.

If he had been interested, Yue Yuan would not have minded staying here for a few days. Unfortunately, his itinerary had already been arranged, and he did not want to make any last-minute changes.

Before long, Yue Yuan completed the procedures in Jiuge Cabin.

There were flights from the Tiangong Space Station to the Moon as well, but Yue Yuan did not take a civilian flight this time. Instead, he boarded an official business vehicle—or, strictly speaking, a Dedicated Craft.

This kind of transport craft was the official business vehicle between Earth and the Moon.

The official business vehicles between Earth and Mars were transport craft as well. As for traveling to the more distant Callisto, one would need to board a transport ship. Publicly, however, it was not called a ship, but rather a Modified Civilian Transport Craft, meaning one specially upgraded and modified for exploring farther reaches of space.

This wording was mainly intended to prevent a Space Arms Race and promote the Peaceful Use of Space.

Without stopping, the group boarded the transport craft as soon as they completed the procedures.

The transport craft was slowly pushed out of the Docking Port. After separating from the Space Station by a safe distance and adjusting its attitude, its Propulsion System began working. Mature Fission Thrusters spewed blazing flames, ejecting fission-reaction waste as propellant. The powerful thrust gradually accelerated the transport craft toward the Moon.

The maturity of Fission Thruster technology allowed humanity to walk haltingly through the Solar System, but it also inevitably brought greater Nuclear Radiation Risk.

Therefore, Controlled Nuclear Fusion remained the only future option for venturing into deep space.

As far as Yue Yuan knew, Zhonghua Family's Controlled Nuclear Fusion technology was close to making a breakthrough. Only the final piece of the puzzle, Room-Temperature Superconductivity, remained. Experts estimated that a breakthrough could be achieved within two to three years.

If it succeeded as predicted, then after accounting for processes such as thruster experiments, testing, and optimization, Fusion Thrusters might be put into use in another three or four years.

It was truly exhilarating news.