"With the current speed of the spaceship, I have no idea how long it'll take to reach Neptune; I simply don't have ti to waste."
The speed of the Pioneer now is already beyond ordinary imagination, incredibly fast.
But for space travel, this speed still seems too slow.
In Jiang Cheng's view, a speed of 3,000 kiloters per second in the cosmic scale is akin to a turtle's crawl.
Using such speed to reach Neptune is just like a turtle crawling.
That's why Jiang Cheng is concerned about acceleration ti; reaching maximum speed sooner ans arriving at the destination sooner.
Report to Captain, we still need ten minutes of acceleration to reach maximum speed.
For Jiang Cheng, the temporary captain, the crew was very attentive, and it didn't take long before soone answered his question.
This crew mber addressed Jiang Cheng as the captain during the work report, completely ignoring the official captain standing aside.
This made the captain feel extrely awkward, but he could do nothing about the crew's actions.
After all, Jiang Cheng was doing the duties of a captain, so calling him captain was appropriate.
"Very well, continue accelerating the spaceship, and rember to report to when it reaches maximum acceleration," Jiang Cheng said, nodding in satisfaction after hearing there were only ten minutes until maximum acceleration.
Waiting for ten minutes was acceptable for him, and by then the spaceship's speed would satisfy him.
In the blink of an eye, the ten minutes passed, and a crew mber hurried over to report the current situation to Jiang Cheng as instructed.
Report to Captain, the spaceship has now reached maximum speed.
Currently, the speed of the spaceship is 150,000 kiloters per second. It has stopped accelerating and entered a stable flight phase.
The Pioneer is now traveling at 150,000 kiloters per second, exactly half the speed of light.
At this speed towards Neptune, it would take several hours to complete the journey between Earth and Neptune.
Maintaining this speed is sufficient; the spaceship will now switch to normal cruise mode.
Jiang Cheng gave the final order to the crew beside him, then ceased making any further commands.
Cruise mode indicated the spaceship had entered a stable phase, with little need for anyone's intervention or for Jiang Cheng to give commands.
Once the spaceship finished the acceleration phase, there would generally be no issues.
When Jiang Cheng gave the command to enter cruise mode, all the crew mbers let out a long sigh of relief, slightly relaxing their tense nerves.
During acceleration, the crew needed to pay attention to many things as spaceships in the acceleration phase were busy. However, once in stable flight, the workload decreased significantly.
When the Pioneer switched to cruise mode, only so crew mbers needed to monitor the spaceship's status, with no necessity for actions or operations.
In cruise mode, the spaceship didn't need crew control over anything; in space void, there was nothing in the path, and the Pioneer could fly straight towards the target without needing to turn.
This mode is also typical for spaceships; after accelerating, this allowed the crew to relax and even take turns resting.
If the crew remained as tense as before, they wouldn't last long on a space journey.
For long-distance space journeys, spaceships generally stay in cruise mode most of the ti.
Acceleration doesn't take long; the spaceship typically stays in a stable flight state.
In truth, aside from acceleration during take-off and deceleration upon arrival, there isn't much work for the crew aboard a spaceship.
Many tasks requiring manpower have been replaced by robots aboard the spaceship.
During cruise state, maintenance is essentially all that's needed from the crew.
Routine maintenance is required for long-distance space travel to ensure the spacecraft operates properly over long flights.
Compared to interstellar flights lasting years, traveling within the solar system from Earth to Neptune counts as short distance.
This test flight of several hours doesn't even require routine maintenance.
Now the astronauts can finally rest a bit, and Jiang Cheng as temporary captain can also relax and enjoy the space travel.
Jiang Cheng, holding an iced beverage, walked to the forefront of the bridge.
From here, through the transparent window at the front of the spaceship, he could see the scenery outside.
Now that the Pioneer is traveling at half the speed of light, the view of the cosmos at this speed is vastly different from usual.
In Jiang Cheng's eyes, the stars of Zhou Country flew backward swiftly, an illusion caused by the spaceship's movent.
Especially the planets within the solar system, their appearance changed rapidly due to their proximity to the spaceship, making the visual changes stark.
Jiang Cheng enjoyed the constantly changing scenery outside while sipping his iced drink, finding the experience quite enjoyable.
Jupiter appeared in Jiang Cheng's view before long, its gaseous nature quite distinct.
It seed as though flowing gases covered this planet, weaving a wondrous spectacle.
Notably, the Great Red Spot on Jupiter caught Jiang Cheng's eye instantly.
The Great Red Spot is a massive rising air current, with a length of 40,000 kiloters, making Jupiter's red spot extrely distinct.
The Great Red Spot on Jupiter has persisted for hundreds of years, aning this storm has raged for centuries.
This storm may persist for much longer, its end unknown.
After a while, the Pioneer drifted away from Jupiter, as the massive gas planet shrank in Jiang Cheng's sight.
Soon, the Pioneer entered the trajectory between Jupiter and Saturn, leaving Jupiter and heading toward Saturn.
Jiang Cheng continually observed the scenery outside the spaceship, observing Saturn growing larger.
After so more ti in flight, the Pioneer finally approached Saturn's orbit.
Saturn began to resolutely take form in Jiang Cheng's eyes, allowing him to see Saturn in its entirety.
The first thing that left a profound impression on Jiang Cheng was the iconic Saturn Rings.
Located around Saturn's equator, the rings are composed of vast swathes of debris and ice.
The gigantic rings encircled the entire Saturn, appearing incredibly magnificent.
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