VOCAL COMMUNICATION TRANSCRIPT
OPERATION HOME RUN MISSION CONTROL >> HOUSTON-NASA Date: 07/10/20
COUNTDOWN TIME TO T = INTERCEPT-DETONATION
TIME COM
T -02:50:41 Starfire, this is Houston. We show you should acquire target on my mark in fifteen seconds.
T -02:50:32 Houston, Starfire. Copy that. All eyes on the horizon.
T -02:50:27 And . . . mark.
All Comm Transcripts Courtesy NASA, Home Run
Concetta Cordaro. . .
I heard a small ping, which reminded me of a submarine’s sonar pulse, and simultaneously a blip appeared on the radar screen’s horizon line. Captain O’Hara spoke into his headset, “Houston, Starfire. We confirm radar acquisition. Refining SOR coordinates.”
The screen displaying a live picture of the SOR array showed the huge mechanism rotating and tilting slightly as numbers scrolled on the screen in conjunction. That motion was matched on the 1.5-meter telescope’s screens, and the familiar smudge of light came into view just peeking above the horizon. A moment later the longer 3.5-meter scope showed a closer image of it. A clear view of the head of the comet. I heard myself whisper, “Oh my God . . .”
A lieutenant to Manchu’s left punched a keyboard as she said, “Got it, sir. Correcting for atmospheric errors real-time . . . and locking.”
The airman to his right chimed in, “Lock confirmed, sir.”
“Houston, Starfire. We have radar lock on Comet Avery. Stand by.” Then O’Hara glanced at the lieutenant. “Okay, Jessica, light it up.”
“Activating LIDAR.” She typed in several more keys on the keyboard, then with her right hand, she flipped up two yellow safeties on her panel that protected the actual red switches beneath. She flipped one of the underlying red ones and then the second. On the screen showing SOR, I saw the LIDAR beam blast to life, creating a brilliant streak toward the horizon. Even in broad daylight, it was bright orange and incredibly vivid. Simultaneously, on the 3.5-meter telescope screen, I saw a bright orange dot appear on the head of the comet. “LIDAR locked on target, sir.”
Manchu nodded tightly. “Way to go, team.” Then he touched his com key. “Uh, Houston, this is Starfire. SOR is locked on. The target is painted. Repeat: the target is painted.”
VOCAL COMMUNICATION TRANSCRIPT
OPERATION HOME RUN MISSION CONTROL >>HOUSTON-NASA Date: 07/10/20
T -02:47:40 Copy that, Starfire. Target is painted. Well done, Starfire—Break. Break—All stations, this is Houston, Starfire has laser-painted the target for supplementary laser targeting acquisition by onboard guidance. Confirm.
T -02:47:19 (Russian accent) Baikonur to Houston, confirm laser targeting active.
T -02:47:13 (Chinese accent) Houston, this is Jiuquan, confirm our laser targeting engaged.
T -02:47:06 (Chinese accent) Hainan Launch Control to Houston, we confirm laser targeting set.
T -02:46:57 Houston, this is Kennedy, confirm laser targeting up and running.
T -02:46:49 (French accent) Guiana Launch to Houston, we confirm onboard systems to laser targeting.
T -02:46:40 This is Houston to all stations. We copy all laser guidance systems confirmed. Stand by to release all countdown holds on Home Run master GPS sync pulse in approximately thirty seconds at T minus 02:46:00.
T -02:45:32 Houston to all stations. We show all launch pads now locked on master sync—Break. Break—Houston to Baikonur, you’re first out of the gate. Stand by for nuclear arming protocol.
T -02:45:15 Roger, Houston. Baikonur standing by for arming protocol.
T -02:44:58 Houston to Baikonur, begin NAP on Home Run launch vehicles one, two, and three: warhead fusing master safeties to on.
T -02:44:01 Baikonur confirms safeties on.
T -02:43:50 Baikonur, Houston: set detonator for contact burst, minus factor Tango 3.
T -02:43:31 Baikonur confirms contact burst, minus Tango 3.
T -02:42:19 Baikonur, Houston: engage primary trigger switch override. Track indicators to maximum deflection.
T -02:41:50 Baikonur confirms PTSO engaged, track indicators to max deflection.
T -02:41:33 Baikonur, Houston: confirm pulse transponders active. Confirm weapon armed and ready.
T -02:41:22 Houston, Baikonur confirming transponders active. Weapon is armed and ready.
T -02:41:12 Baikonur, Houston: continue your countdown protocol for simultaneous launch of HRLV one, two, and three at T minus zero-one, three-niner, one-eight. Stand by for our final authorization at T minus zero-one, four-zero, one-eight to prosecute the target.
T -02:40:53 Copy Houston, Baikonur on launch countdown; standing by for final prosecute authorization.
Katie McLane. . .
When Mom and I got to the town square, my best pal, Darren Green, was already there. He’s my age but with his round baby face and straight black hair, he looked younger. There was a big crowd outside the Ashton Methodist Church. It was townspeople who usually went there plus a whole big bunch of others like us who didn’t.
Mom was still really squirrelly, and I couldn’t blame her for being freaked. I mean, I couldn’t believe it was actually gonna be like the End of the World and all, but at the same time seeing how scared the adults were had my stomach twisting around. One minute I thought for sure the rockets would get that stupid comet. The next minute I felt a sorta nervous wave of panic, like real terror of what’d happen if they didn’t.
The minister was on the front steps, leading everybody in singing some hymns about salvation. Mom was twisting a scarf in her hands, trying to sing along with them, but she didn’t really know the words. Her face was drawn up real tight. I squeezed her arm some to try to comfort her, but she didn’t seem to feel it.
We were standing right by one corner of the old redbrick building. Darren’s parents were nearby, and his brother, Tim, who was seventeen and the cool captain of the football team. But Darren was standing closest to me, with his back leaning against the side of the building. His earbuds were in, and he was busy working his iPhone. “Katie,” he whispered. “They’re almost ready for the first launches in Russia!”
We looked at each other. Like we were standing on the edge of a superhigh cliff.
VOCAL COMMUNICATION TRANSCRIPT
OPERATION HOME RUN MISSION CONTROL >>HOUSTON-NASA Date: 07/10/20
T -01:43:28 Houston, Baikonur: on my mark we are at minus four minutes to launch and counting. Mark. Target coded and ready. Checklist complete. Safety checklist complied with. Desired point of impact is loaded. Laser tracking sensors on, checked, and ready. Request FPA.
T -01:42:45 Baikonur, this is Houston. You have final prosecute authorization. Repeat you have final authorization to prosecute the target. You are a go to launch on HRLVs one, two, and three at T minus zero-one, three-niner, one-eight. Confirm.
T -01:42:15 Houston, Baikonur: copy that. Go to launch HRLV one, two, and three at T minus zero-one, three-niner, one-eight. Countdown proceeding.
Dr. Susan Perry. . .
I had faced many life-threatening scenarios in my CDC work, but the comet had taken on mythical proportions in my mind and probably most everyone’s on the planet. It had become more than just a six-mile-wide mass of inanimate rock and ice. The comet had become Death Incarnate. To some I’d seen or spoken to, it was the face of Satan, to others the finger of God. To some it was retribution, to others the supreme example of existential absurdity. Nature’s last laugh at our human vanity and hubris.
But virtually all of us knew that whatever else it was, if the missiles failed, it would be the end. And we were about to find out together. CNN was showing the Russian launch complex at Baikonur as the countdown culminated.
VOCAL COMMUNICATION TRANSCRIPT
OPERATION HOME RUN MISSION CONTROL >>HOUSTON-NASA Date: 07/10/20
T -01:39:25 Houston, Baikonur: we have ignition on HRLV one, two, and three, and . . . liftoff exactly on the mark. Rifle. Rifle. Rifle. Weapons away. Travel time niner-nine
r minutes, one-five seconds.
Katie McLane. . .
The Russian launch looked totally awesome! Even on Darren’s iPhone. It was early evening over there, and the three gigantic rockets all blasting off at exactly the same time was spectacular! Looked like they were about a half mile apart, and the flames from their huge boosters lit up the whole launch complex! Other people in the crowd outside the church heard about it, too, ’cause there were some encouraging cheers and shouts of “Praise God” and stuff.
Clarence Frederick. . .
Simone, LeBron, and I were out in front of our house. Lots of other neighbors on our street let out a cheer about those first rockets. But I was still nervous, tasted blood in my mouth, saw that my thumbnail was bleeding. Most folks seemed optimistic, but being an accountant-type, I knew the odds. They were very long.
“C’mon, Clarence.” Simone nudged me. “Keep a positive attitude now.”
Then sure enough about six minutes in there was bad news. After the three rockets separated from their big first-stage boosters, the second-stage engines fired up on two of the rockets, but not the third one. It failed and dropped away toward the Pacific. So now there would only be twelve rockets that would hit the comet. And that was if everything went perfectly from here on. How likely was that?
Katie McLane. . .
The crowd around the church got quieter, and the young minister read some Bible verses about faith being able to move mountains. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and nipped at the inside of my cheek while Darren and I watched his cell phone for updates.
Fifteen minutes later the first two Chinese rockets got launched okay from Jiuquan, and their second stages worked perfect! Everybody blew out a big puff of relief, and we all felt better again. Six minutes after that we heard that the other two Chinese ones had blasted off from Hainan Island.
That made six on the way! Our hearts were beating faster now.
VOCAL COMMUNICATION TRANSCRIPT
OPERATION HOME RUN MISSION CONTROL >>HOUSTON-NASA Date: 07/10/20
T -01:09:07 Hainan, this is Houston. We’ve lost data from both of your launch vehicles HRLV six and HRLV seven. Do you have a transmission relay problem?
T -01:08:45 Hainan, Houston: Do you copy?
T -01:08:20 [static, unintelligible]
T -01:08:01 Hainan, Houston: com check. Do you copy?
T -01:07:52 Houston, this is Hainan. The onboard pitch control in Home Run launch vehicle six malfunctioned. We’ve experienced a [static, unintelligible]
T -01:07:35 Say again, Hainan. Experienced what?
T -01:07:10 Hainan here. We experienced a catastrophic failure. HRLV six is down.
T -01:06:45 Hainan, Houston: [unintelligible] understood. HRLV six is down. We are very sorry. We still have no data from your HRLV seven. Confirm status.
T -01:06:20 This is Hainan. When HRLV six veered off course it . . . it collided with HRLV seven. Both rockets are destroyed.
T -01:06:01 [static, unintelligible]
T -01:05:45 [static, unintelligible]
T -01:05:18 Hainan, Houston: understood. [static, unintelligible] Thanks for all your hard work, Jiaying. God bless you and your team.
T -01:05:59 And yours, Alex. [static, unintelligible] God help us all.
Katie McLane. . .
When we heard the news, I got tears in my eyes. Darren did, too. A lot of us did. God! Now we were down to only ten rockets at best. And I knew they were like really powerful and nuclear and all, but the damn comet was the size of a mountain! And we had to wait another fourteen minutes until we’d hear about the four rockets they were gonna send up from Cape Kennedy. My stomach was turning inside out.
Jimmy-Joe Hartman. . .
Then I heard how one of them four rockets that wuz s’posed to blast off from Kennedy shut itself down right on the damn launch pad! Never even taked off! I got to feelin’ weird and headed toward our house in South Atlanta. I didn’t wanna seem like no candy ass, but same time I felt like gettin’ on home.
On the way I heard them other three from Florida was goin’ okay, though. And so was them last two from French Guinny down in South America. But shit, they started out sayin’ we’d have twenty-one o’them nuke missiles, then it kep’ gettin’ whittled away till we wuz down to thirteen nukes, and now we got us just nine. My palms wuz really gettin’ sweaty.
Concetta Cordaro. . .
On the main screen from Starfire’s 3.5-meter telescope, the image of the comet was noticeably increasing in size. A counter on the bottom of the screen showed the comet’s distance from us was spinning downward lightning fast. It was coming at us at over 27.489 kilometers per second—61,491 miles per hour. The bright orange LIDAR beam was still perfectly pinpointing the comet’s icy center. On the radar screen the comet’s blip was also much larger and now had a small digital tag identifying it as Avery. On the bottom of the screen nine tiny blips had appeared. They represented the Home Run missile fleet proceeding up toward the comet. I realized that both of my hands were clenched so tightly that my fingernails were digging into my palms.
VOCAL COMMUNICATION TRANSCRIPT
OPERATION HOME RUN MISSION CONTROL >>HOUSTON-NASA Date: 07/10/20
T -00:06:10 All stations, this is Houston. On my mark we are T minus six minutes to target intercept . . . Mark. Release first and second safeties on all weapons. All weapons circuits to green.
T -00:05:58 Houston, Baikonur: we confirm safeties off, weapons to green.
T -00:05:50 Jiuquan to Houston: confirm safeties off, weapons green.
T -00:05:44 This is Kennedy. We are full green, Houston.
T -00:05:28 Houston, this is Guiana. Full green confirmed.
Concetta Cordaro. . .
I imagined the drama playing out so very far overhead. The nine remaining rockets riding columns of flame thrusting them upward, still accelerating past Mach thirty, over twenty-three thousand miles per hour. Their onboard computers had corrected for variations in the turbulent winds aloft, and those winds were now fifteen thousand miles below them. The hazy arc of our blue-green Earth would be curved beneath them as they roared upward.
Jimmy-Joe Hartman. . .
I seen my poppa, Joe, standin’ out on the sidewalk front of our house on ol’ Sylvan Road where I’d growed up. Damned if he didn’t have on his janitor uniform like he wuz goin’ on to work even if the world ended. Lotsa other folks wuz outside, too. Watchin’ the sky.
Claire was near to Poppa, wearin’ her light blue nurse’s scrubs. I walked up, tryin’ not to sound as shaky as I was feelin’. “Yo, sis. Thought it wuz your day off.”
She looked at me real level. “Might be everybody’s day off, James Joseph.” I knew she was right, and it made me feel sick kinda. Like the blood wuz all drainin’ outta my face. I started to get boiled up at her, to push back, but damn if my lower lip didn’t get all trembly, like it always used to when I wuz a little kid tryin’ not to cry. Claire seen it and softened up right away, taked my hand into hers, sayin’ ’bout her scrubs, “I put ’em on in case the hospital gave me an emergency call. If there’s any hospital left, afterward.” Then she hugged me and held on real tight. She ain’t done that for years. “Oh, Jimmy,” she whispered in my ear. I felt her tears on my cheek. “Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy.”
Lisa McLane. . .
We two very frightened youths sat so closely together we were almost as one amid the wildflowers at our beloved “Special Place,” our scruffy rural swimming pond nestled in the sparse forest on the old McAlistair homestead near Ashton. We knew that the crystal-blue Georgia sky with its wispy morning clouds was arching over us as it had since we were but children. Today, however, we were afraid to look upward.
My dear Charley and I were barely drawing breath as we listened to a radio voice from his cell: “Intercept still predicted on schedule. On my mark, two minutes and counting . . . Mark.”
Dr. Susan Perry. . .
I knew the comet was traveling at such a phenomenal speed that,
if the missiles were unsuccessful in intercepting it, collision with Earth would come barely one second after it entered the atmosphere.
I envisioned people in a million villages and cities, Sherpas on their Himalayan mountainsides, members outside Parliament in London and Ottawa, vaqueros by their horses on the Argentine plains, convicts in the prison yard at San Quentin, Buddhist priests in Kyoto gardens, Kenyan women beside dusty stone wells. And so many children everywhere. All waiting. I also knew that many who were cognizant of what was coming were now huddled in dark basements, tunnels, mine shafts or, like our distant ancestors, in caves. Only a very few people in the most remote regions of Earth went about their day or night untroubled, blissfully unaware that the next few breaths they took could well be their last.
I looked in at my sister, Lilly, who was sitting on our couch in her favorite spot, expressionless, reading her iPad peacefully. Lilly was one of those lucky few.
The rest of us stood waiting, facing our destiny.
Across the entire planet, humanity’s eyes were on the heavens.
Jimmy-Joe Hartman. . .
Claire still had her arms round me. Her cheek wuz pressed against mine. Then Poppa put his arms round both of us. Had him his Bible in one hand and was sayin’, “‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me . . .’”
Katie McLane. . .
Standing beside me at the church, my mom had tears streaming down her cheeks. I was holding her hand real tight, trying to give her strength. She had bowed her head, like about everybody in the crowd at the church, even Darren. They were being led in prayer by the young minister who was saying, “And we beseech you, heavenly father, that our fair Earth be spared so we might live to rededicate ourselves to thee and thy teachings . . . in the name of him who taught us to pray: Our father, who art in heaven . . .”
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