Chapter 230: Mission Termination
Space Center, Control Room.
“First stage booster turn completed. Inertial frame transition.”
“Recovery area, ‘PAD-RTLS (Return to Launch Site) solution adopted.”
“Sky Ripper, pre-arming in progress. Rail frequency 30Hz, power on.”
“Ground wind 3.6m/s, crosswind 1.1, within acceptable range.”
Beyond the reinforced glass, faint work lights turned on in the upper module of the launch tower, the ‘Sky Ripper’.
‘Hum-hum-’
The upper rail began its warm-up with low-frequency micro-vibrations.
[KTalk LIVE] — Real-time viewers: 18,722,502
└Huh? What? Why are they showing the launch site?
└Could it be…… the return point isn’t a sea barge but the launch pad itself?
└Returning to the launch pad?
└Is that even possible?
└If it’s possible, that’s incredible.
└What’s so incredible about it?
└With the Merlin, it took over a month just to move the propellant back to the launch site after returning to the sea barge. Saving that time is huge.
└So, does that mean a relaunch within 7 days is possible?
└Lol, there are no legs. What’s going to absorb the landing impact?
└…….
The comment section was chaos with the unexpected situation.
However, amidst it all, some investors caught a glimmer of hope and quickly started buying stocks.
The stagnant stock price began to stir once more.
【DJFT: $8.92 ▲+5.2%】
└It’s been a while since we’ve seen a rebound like this.
└I don’t know how they’ll land, but I’m wishing for a safe return.
└Tae-joon, please…….
└…….
“Booster braking burn preparation. Heat shield sequence on.”
“Guidance downrange traceback interpretation deviation 0.4σ.”
“Thrust vector rebalance. Nozzle angle -3.1 degrees.”
A brief flame flickered on and off at the base of the first stage.
As the alignment was perfectly set, the countdown began in the control room.
“Entry burn (atmospheric re-entry deceleration) T-00:05:17 standby.”
“Sky Ripper slew rate test. Response is good.”
As the ‘Sky Ripper’ attached to the launch tower moved in sync with the control room’s commands,
the comment section on the feed exploded with rapid updates.
[KTalk LIVE] — Real-time viewers: 20,109,731
└Wh… what’s that?
└Has that always been on the launch pad?
└I’m seeing it for the first time…… what are they planning to do with that?
└Could it be…… they’re going to catch the first stage with that robot arm?
└Wow, if that’s the case, it makes sense to return without landing legs.
└If this succeeds, the stock price will soar.
└Lol, I can almost hear the shorts gulping.
└Please…… succeed.
Bearing the fervent hopes of countless shareholders, the first stage rocket quietly completed its reversal maneuver high in the sky above Goheung.
The thin veil of red gas dispersed, and the heat-glowing skirt was ready once more to devour flames.
“Entry burn ignition.”
“3…….”
“2…….”
“1…….”
The circumference of the lower nozzle flared red in an instant.
A taming flame to reduce the head-on collision with the atmosphere.
The craft lowered its ‘shoulders’, reducing altitude and speed.
“Heat load within expected range, skin temperature +73°C.”
“Pitch coarse normal. Yaw micro-oscillation 0.3 degrees.”
[KTalk LIVE] — Real-time viewers: 20,578,655
└How many re-ignitions have there been already?
└If I’m counting right, this is the fourth.
└Wasn’t the limit for the Spade Z three times?
└So, what Tae-joon said was true?
└What did Tae-joon say?
└That the Leviathan can re-ignite up to five times.
└Whoaaaaaa. Stock’s going up.
└It’s skyrocketing!
As the first stage approached the launch pad, the stock price surged explosively, mirroring the comment section’s reactions.
【DJFT: $9.15 ▲+7.9%】
【DJFT: $9.73 ▲+14.8%】
【DJFT: $10.38 ▲+22.4%】
【DJFT: $11.27 ▲+32.9%】
The control room speakers deepened in tone.
“Booster brake burn complete. Final ‘capture burn’ remaining.”
“Sky Ripper, increased slew rate, buffer shock absorption at 92%.”
“Pad wind speed 3.9m/s, variation 0.5.”
Beyond the window, the upper part of the launch tower slowly split open, revealing two massive arms reaching toward the sky.
The rails rippled like a cat’s back, creating synchronized vibrations.
Everyone watching held their breath.
I pressed my headset firmly in place.
“Booster capture burn, T-00:01:06.”
“Guidance, capture volume (allowable error) reconfirm.”
“Guidance OK. Volume 3.1m, roll tolerance ±2 degrees.”
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└Gulp…….
└…….
└My heart’s about to burst.
└I have a feeling it’s going to succeed.
└Please…… please…….
Under the dimmed lights of the control room, the cooling pump’s low hum vibrated through the floor.
Dozens of cursors on the monitors flickered, changing from blue to green, and occasionally to orange.
“Final booster capture burn preparation.”
“Sky Ripper, entering capture window.”
I took a deep breath.
Outside, a slender, needle-like first stage descended vertically, very slowly, straight toward us.
And just before swallowing the final flame,
I shouted,
“Capture burn.”
“3…….”
“2…….”
“1…….”
“Ignition!”
The lower nozzle flashed once more.
A thin flame shot out like a needle, abruptly slowing the descent.
Inside the skirt, the vanes trembled slightly, stabilizing the roll.
The TVC oscillated within ±1.2 degrees, like the tip of a needle.
“Relative velocity 12…… 9…… 6…… 3m/s.”
“Roll offset -1.8 degrees, pitch -0.9 degrees, yaw +0.4 degrees…… all within tolerance.”
At the top of the launch tower,
the Sky Ripper’s arms spread wide, the rails humming in synchronized vibration.
“Entering capture volume. Load cells standing by.”
The needle-like first stage slid down from the sky like silk.
As the final flame disappeared,
the ends of the Sky Ripper’s arms sucked in air like a whale breathing.
Click!-!
With a dull metallic sound, the arms clamped tightly around the skirt.
“Load cells 0.92g, buffer 87% absorbed…… Stop!”
A brief silence.
And then…….
“Capture successful!”
Whoooooooooooooo!
The control room erupted.
Cheers shook the chair backs, and ‘GREEN’ lit up across the monitors like fireworks.
Seong-hwan beside me clenched his fists tightly.
Director Kim Se-bin, speechless for a moment, bowed deeply and then looked up.
His eyes glistened.
[KTalk LIVE] — Real-time viewers: 29,117,259
└Whoooooooooo! They really caught it.
└Unbelievable.
└BRB, need to use the bathroom. I think I’m gonna pee myself.
└So, landing legs really weren’t needed.
└Wow…… I never imagined they’d use robot arms on the launch pad instead of a sea barge.
└No wonder they call it Dojin.
└What’s going to happen to the shorts now?
└To those who said shorting was comfortable, are you still comfortable?
The stock chart flipped wildly, like a wave crashing.
Tick data poured in like a waterfall, and trade confirmations hammered the ears.
[DJFT surges into rally mode!]
[Volatility expansion stock designated]
Mockery and despair mixed like a splash of cold water.
└Doom imminent (for short sellers)
└Cover now if you can.
└Lol, you need shares to cover.
└CTB (borrowing cost rate) skyrocketing
└Borrowing costs are burning up lol
└It’s not over yet. The lower stage succeeded, but what if the upper stage fails?
After a storm of cheers,
I pressed my headset back on.
The upper stage (second stage) telemetry was dancing on the adjacent monitor.
“Upper stage combustion stable. Orbital insertion beginning.”
“Fairing heat transmittance normal, link quality good.”
“Target orbit inclination deviation -0.2 degrees…… very precise.”
On the large status board in the center of the control room,
the predicted trajectory of the upper stage, marked in dark green,
was overlaid with the actual flight path in bright blue dotted lines.
“Fairing separation complete.”
“Payload separation detonator sequence phase 1 initiated.”
As Director Kim Se-bin spoke, the tip of the upper stage rocket quietly opened in space,
revealing a silver-white satellite slowly emerging.
It was LUNA-Link 01.
“Separation confirmed. LUNA Link 01 separation confirmed!”
“Attitude control and solar panel deployment standby.”
As Kim Se-bin leaned forward, eyes fixed intently on the screen,
Click-.
The satellite’s panels unfolded like wings, glinting in the reflected light.
As both panels locked into precise angles,
telemetry data streamed onto the control room’s display.
“Deployment angle good.”
“Power charge rate 4.2%…… 6.1%…… 9.3%…….”
“Attitude control system operating normally.”
“Initial link with tracking satellite…… confirmed!”
At that moment,
another roar shook the control room ceiling.
“Satellite alignment complete!”
“Orbital insertion deviation 0.08 degrees, communication range position secured!”
Kim Se-bin jumped to his feet, shouting,
“LUNA Link 01, target orbit insertion successful!”
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└Whoooooooooo!
└A complete success.
└Altitude, communication, power—all perfect.
└Tae-joon is insane. How can he succeed in a rocket launch on the first try?
└The global aerospace industry is flipped. Lololol
└As a Dojin shareholder, the past three months were hell. Tae-joon hasn’t let us down.
└The stock surge is insane.
└Not even a minor stock. How can it rise like this?
【DJFT: $13.61 ▲+48.5%】
【DJFT: $15.48 ▲+71.3%】
【DJFT: $16.88 ▲+89.7%】
【DJFT: $17.73 ▲+103.1%】
As the Leviathan launch success and cheers reached their peak,
Tae-joon’s feed updated once more.
[KTalk Feed] - @Tae-joon | Followers 168,824,771
LUNA Link 01 orbital insertion complete
Leviathan Flight-1 mission termination
As promised, Flight-2 will relaunch within 7 days.
I’ve kept my promise again.
#Lunalink #Beginning #ShortSqueeze #DoomForShorts