The spacecraft's self-check was complete, and it was ready for launch.
Mr. Marcus, would you like to initiate the launch now?
This was the question posed to Marcus by the MKST-28 rocket spacecraft's built-in "intelligent" voice system.
After hesitating for a full three minutes, Marcus finally nodded in resignation.
"Launch."
At this point, Marcus had no other choice. After checking every restraint on his safety seat, he closed his eyes.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six...
The spacecraft had begun its final launch countdown. Marcus was already forty-eight years old and had never undergone any astronaut training.
This test flight was an enormous gamble for him.
Even if the spacecraft completed its mission successfully, his body might not hold up.
Boom!
Following a deafening roar, the spacecraft ignited successfully and shot upward with tremendous acceleration.
Everything was proceeding normally.
The other two passengers, both professional astronauts, already wore expressions of delighted surprise. Clearly, their first step had succeeded.
Even though this first step had never failed in the first place.
The spacecraft lifted off smoothly, broke through the atmosphere without trouble, and continued toward the moon.
Apart from Musk himself and the members of his fiercely loyal technical team, no one knew that the MKST-28 rocket spacecraft no longer had the same core as the previous twenty-seven craft.
This spacecraft used an Aerospace Carrier Nuclear-Powered Engine from the Xia Kingdom.
For this Aerospace Carrier Nuclear-Powered Engine, which was still in the experimental stage, Marcus had spent two-thirds of the funds on his company's books. Even then, all he had obtained was an experimental prototype.
He had not even had a chance to dismantle and analyze the prototype before installing it directly in his spacecraft.
The Xia Kingdom had not publicized this news either.
But their eyes, especially those of the researchers