The next morning, the two boarded a specially modified orbital cleanup vessel. Ou Zhanpeng expertly started the craft and activated the radio. "Base, 024 requests departure clearance!"
"024, you are cleared for departure!"
"019 requests departure clearance!" This time it was Ling Xiao.
"019, you are cleared for departure!"
The two orbital cleanup vessels, one after another, detached from their berths and slowly lifted off from the base.
As the name implied, this craft was a modified orbital cleanup vessel based on a rescue boat, equipped with various enhancements. It was the same familiar design, with the same familiar feel.
After flying a short distance, the two received a notification from the base: "Team Seven, there is a cluster of safe debris at the four o'clock position. Please process it as soon as possible."
Ou Zhanpeng received the target data shared by the base, and a flashing cluster of light points immediately appeared on the screen, along with the exact distance.
"Received!" he replied, piloting the cleanup vessel towards the target.
Classifying debris by orbital altitude was merely the simplest, most generalized method of distinction. In reality, there was another, more complex and detailed classification system.
Was it from an alien warship or one of their own? Was it safe or potentially hazardous? Did it need to be destroyed or left untouched? Did it need to be recovered or allowed to fall towards Earth?
All of this was the result of a month and a half of experience accumulated by the cleanup team.
As the two approached the target, they adjusted their direction and angle, synchronizing their speed with the target and maintaining a safe distance for careful observation. Then, several illumination flares were launched into the debris cluster, their bright light illuminating the floating fragments.
This was not a superfluous action, but a necessary safety procedure. Once, while clearing a cluster of debris, someone's radar suddenly issued a lock-on alert, startling him into releasing countermeasures and performing a series of evasive maneuvers with remarkable fluidity.
It turned out that a unexploded American missile had been hidden within the debris. Its fuel had long been depleted, but its guidance system was still active. The result, naturally, was a false alarm.
However, no one knew if the next similar situation would involve another depleted missile. Perhaps before the pilot's nerves could even react, the missile would have already hit the vessel.
Since then, visual observation had become a standard procedure for cleanup missions.
"Base, 019 is ready, commencing cleanup operation!" Ling Xiao requested after confirming visually that only debris was present.
"019, you are cleared to commence operations. Be careful!"
"019 understands!" Upon receiving the reply, Ling Xiao immediately piloted the small vessel closer to the debris cluster.
Although Mu Xingyu wanted the two to clear retrograde debris, everything had to be done step by step, from simple to complex.
They couldn't be thrown into dealing with the most dangerous retrograde debris without any opportunity to familiarize themselves with the job.
That wouldn't be assigning a task; it would be sending them to their deaths!
The cleanup vessel was narrow at the front and wide at the rear. The front half was similar to a rescue boat, but the rear half had been transformed into a very large capacity storage compartment.
As Ling Xiao approached the debris cluster, he pressed the activation button. The side door of the storage compartment opened, and the previously unrelated debris began to move towards the compartment, being drawn into the hatch one after another.
The principle behind this was simple: a powerful electromagnet was located at the center of the storage compartment. When energized, it generated immense magnetic force, drawing nearby debris into the compartment.
While effective, this device would interrupt communications due to magnetic field interference once activated, and could even affect some of the vessel's equipment.
However, compared to the collection efficiency, this minor drawback was entirely acceptable. In a short while, the storage compartment was nine-tenths full.
Ling Xiao deactivated the electromagnet, piloted the now somewhat clumsy vessel away from the debris cluster, detached the storage compartment, and handed it over to a waiting transport vessel to be sent back to the base.
An identical storage compartment had been attached to the entire side of the Cloud Palace.
The first round of the cleanup operation was successfully completed.
Ling Xiao's confidence soared. He repeated the previous work, quickly filling another empty compartment.
Continuously repeating this process for a full two hours, they finally attracted all the magnetic metals. The debris cloud became much sparser, with about a third of the non-magnetic metals remaining, which could not be attracted.
Ling Xiao was disappointed. "I thought the materials used on alien warships would be high-end. Aren't these just steel?"
Ou Zhanpeng couldn't help but chuckle. "Aliens are more down-to-earth than you think. Are you ready? It's my turn next!"
"Okay, come on!" Ling Xiao said.
Ou Zhanpeng piloted the vessel closer to the debris cluster. The equipment modules mounted externally on the vessel slowly unfolded, revealing a full row of laser emitters.
Subsequently, with the assistance of the fire control system, the emitters locked onto their targets and fired beams of laser at the floating debris. Through the irradiation of linearly polarized light, the non-magnetic metals were transformed into powerful magnets.
This allowed the non-magnetic metals to be attracted by the electromagnet as well. Ling Xiao went back in to collect them, and the transport vessel took them away.
After repeating this several times, the cluster of debris was finally cleared completely.
The process itself was not overly complicated, just very time-consuming and requiring a great deal of patience. Ling Xiao, being an impatient person, was relieved when it was finally over and immediately returned to the space station, not wanting to stay a moment longer.
"This job has no challenge at all. It's not even as good as staying on the moon!" Ling Xiao grumbled unhappily.
Ou Zhanpeng was not much better off and didn't know how to comfort him.
From that day on, the two gradually got into their roles, spending their days continuously collecting debris. More and more storage compartments were hung outside the space station, making the already dilapidated station look more and more like a scrap metal yard.
Ling Xiao couldn't help but complain, "We've collected so much already, why is there still no progress? We can't just keep them hanging here, can we?"
Regarding this matter, everyone had their own grievances.
The space station was equipped with a small smelting facility. Mu Xingyu's intention was to re-smelt the collected debris and use it to repair the space station through recycling and reuse.
This way, it would not only process a large amount of debris but also repair the space station, without needing to transport materials from the ground, saving significant resources and funds. By all accounts, it was a win-win-win idea.
However, the reality was not so simple. Firstly, the smelting facility on the Cloud Palace was small, with severely insufficient production capacity, and its processing speed was agonizingly slow.
Secondly, the composition of many debris pieces was unknown, and the space station lacked specialized sorting equipment. While it was easy to melt them together, the strength of the finished product could not be guaranteed, posing a significant risk if used on the space station.
Thirdly, and most importantly, human warships only operated in the vicinity of Earth and did not experience much space radiation. While returning them to the furnace might not be a major issue, alien warships had been operating in interstellar space for extended periods, constantly bombarded by cosmic rays. Over time, various atoms on their hull surfaces had transformed into radioactive isotopes, inherently possessing strong radiation.
Using these to re-smelt and repair the space station would naturally introduce radiation far exceeding safety limits. Installing them on the space station would be inviting trouble.