Chapter 14: Advancing the Stars
As the spacecraft landed, three astronauts from the Flame Country quickly emerged, each grabbing their tools and getting busy.
The time for the meteorite to pass through the lunar orbit was extremely limited. To utilize the Moon’s gravitational influence to push the meteorite off its collision course, they had to race against the clock.
Watching the astronauts in their bulky spacesuits busily working on the meteorite’s surface through the spacecraft’s camera feed on the screen, Chen Xin silently cheered them on.
This was unlike the Federation team, who disappeared without a word after heading down. The Flame Country’s team had a continuous livestream, so the progress of the project could be seen at a glance.
With the TV commentary explaining the scene, viewers didn’t even need to watch; they could listen and know the progress, how far the astronauts had gotten, and how much was left to complete.
Compared to the Federation team, who had to drill holes into the meteorite, the task for the Flame Country team was somewhat easier. Although they also had to drill holes, theirs were merely bolt holes for securing the propellants and not several hundred meters deep like the Federation’s.
So, even though there were more holes to drill, the diligent efforts of the three astronauts completed the job quickly.
Seeing that they had finished drilling, Chen Xin, like everyone else watching the livestream in front of their TVs, got excited. Even the TV host’s excited narration came through: "Great! All the bolt holes are done! Now the astronauts just need to install the bolts and they can finish the ground tasks, return to the spacecraft, and activate the propellant to push the meteorite!"