by Doug Farren
Noticing his anxiety, Kyle took a seat next to him and said, “Don’t worry about anything Jay. Shuttle flights are safer than commercial aircraft. You will notice we are not wearing any suits. That’s because the passenger compartment is built to protect us in the event of almost any conceivable malfunction. In case there is some sort of emergency it can separate from the shuttle and safely return us to the surface or keep us in orbit until a rescue shuttle can pick us up.”
Jay’s tension eased but only slightly. Space travel was an entirely new unknown for him. “If you’re interested in watching the launch and listening in on the ground-to-shuttle chatter I can have the pilot put it up on the monitor,” Kyle continued. Following his gesture Jay noticed a small monitor built into the wall at the front of the passenger compartment.
“I would like that very much,” Jay replied. “I thought I was going to miss watching the launch. I haven’t seen any windows.”
Kyle unbuckled himself and approached the monitor. “The only thing a window would allow you to see would be the inner wall of the shuttle’s cargo bay.” He waved his hand over the monitor as he continued. “This houses a complete independent communications system. It’s part of the safety system built into the passenger module and with it I can communicate with the shuttle captain.” He turned his attention to the small set of controls near the monitor.
“Bridge. Captain here,” a voice emanated from the speaker.
“Captain, we have a first-timer aboard. Would you be so kind as to patch the GTS and EV to our monitor?”
“My pleasure. . . Ground-to-shuttle and external video are now available on intercom three.”
Kyle made some further adjustments and the monitor sprang to life showing a split-screen image of both forward and reverse views from the shuttle. “I think you will enjoy the launch,” he exclaimed as he retook his seat.
“All passengers please take secure seats,” the captain’s voice appeared over the intercom. “Launch in five minutes.”
As Kyle returned to his seat he asked, “Are you familiar with the launch system for the shuttles?”
“I know the shuttle is carried aboard the back of an atmospheric assister which is nothing more than an enormously powerful jet aircraft. The assister is, in turn, assisted in takeoff by an electromagnetic rail gun that accelerates us to nearly 725 kilometers per hour before we reach its end. The assister then carries the shuttle to a high altitude where the shuttle detaches and completes the journey into space.”
“Correct. The entire sequence is completely under computer control. The pilot basically sits back and makes sure the computer is doing what it’s programmed to do.”
Kauffman, still a bit nervous, waited and listened as the sound of powerful jet engines could be heard revving up to speed. The captain gave one further warning, “Launch in fifteen seconds.” Immediately after this announcement, things started to happen in a rapid sequence. A steady stream of information passed between the shuttle and the ground controllers. Most of it was composed of acronyms and numbers. Kauffman tried to make sense of it all but was having a hard time distinguishing between the captain and the ground crew.
“Guidance system update complete…EPC disconnect confirmed, internal power is go…Fuel boom is clear…GSA and RTS interlock confirmed…Range safety is go…Rail power is go…Rail locks off and levitating…Throttle at full…Go for launch…All systems in automatic.”
The shuttle seemed to shudder for a moment then Jay felt himself being pushed back into his seat. He had expected a multi-G launch but this felt more like he was in a jet liner.
“Rail is active and accelerating.”
The monitor showed the shuttle traveling down the launch rail with ever increasing velocity. Soon the scenery was moving by at a very high rate of speed. Jay knew that the last two kilometers of the rail were angled so as to literally throw the shuttle into the air. The combined power of the launch rail and the jet engines accelerated the enormous weight of the shuttle and its atmospheric assister to take-off velocity in just over two minutes.
“Standby for EOR.”
“Roger—EOR.”
Jay felt a thump as the launch rail was cleared.
“I have a carriage sep light.”
“Roger echo one niner. Carriage separation confirmed. Telemetry shows all green. You are cleared to begin ascent.”
“Roger that. Ascent program has initiated.
The rumble of the gigantic jet engines of the atmospheric assister could be heard and felt even inside the passenger module. Jay watched as the ground slowly dropped below them and they spiraled up into the slightly overcast sky. Soon they were well above the clouds. They continued to climb for ten minutes as their speed and altitude increased.
“Standby for RAM-Boost…Ignition in three—two—one…”
At the count of zero, Jay was pushed back into his seat as the assister’s ramjet boosters fired. He remembered that these boosters were needed to increase their velocity high enough so the next set of engines could be ignited. This level of acceleration continued for about thirty seconds.
“Standby for SCRAM ignition…” Jay felt a thud as the SCRAM jets roared to life. He was pushed back even harder into his chair for about two seconds and then the acceleration eased off a bit as the more powerful methane burning SCRAM jets pushed the craft to higher and higher velocities. “SCRAMs are lit. First-stage engines are shutting down.”
Their climb into the atmosphere now continued on a different set of engines. These were SCRAM jets—designed to operate at speeds above Mach seven. The sky was beginning to grow dark. Another ten minutes passed until they were at the limits of even these incredible air-breathing engines.
“Shuttle this is assist, OSP achieved, standby for sep…Roger assist, safeties are released…Ready on main engine start.”
There was a sudden sharp jolt and for a brief moment Kauffman felt as if he was falling. But, the feeling did not last long as the shuttle’s own engines took up the job of pushing them into space. This time he felt himself pushed back into his seat with considerably more force, his weight almost tripling. The acceleration lasted only about three minutes then suddenly he felt as if he was falling.
“Captain to passengers; we have achieved orbit. We should be within visual range of the Starfire in about two hours. Until then please remain in your seats.”
Kauffman could barely contain his excitement. He was in space! He was finally living at least part of a dream he had held since childhood. He stared at the scene on the monitor. At first it showed nothing but stars, only there were more stars visible than he had ever seen before. Each one could clearly be picked out as a single bright, steady, point of light. Then, the Earth slowly came into view as the captain rotated the ship. The view was stunning.
A moment later he did not feel much like looking out the window any more as his stomach started to complain very loudly about the constant feeling of falling. As he turned his head away from the window the first spasm of space sickness hit. Kauffman discovered that Kyle had been watching him closely and had been prepared with a vacuum tube to catch the contents of his stomach.
“Don’t feel embarrassed,” Kyle explained as he carefully unbuckled himself. “Nearly three-quarters of all people experience space sickness the first time up. I did. Even some seasoned veterans get it from time to time. I’m going to be giving you an injection that helps most people. Here, hold this in front of your mouth,” he continued as he handed the vacuum tube to Jay.
Despite what Kyle had said, Jay was indeed very embarrassed. He managed to look behind him at the two women and they seemed to be handling weightlessness just fine. Anita was looking at him with a mixture of concern and amusement while Alexis appeared to be asleep. Kyle returned a moment later and pressed a tiny air-powered injector to his thigh. It was difficult for Jay to concentrate but he thought he saw Kyle using the wall as a brace for his feet while he pressed the injector into Jay’s leg. There was a momentary sharp stingi
ng sensation and Kyle floated off.
It took nearly two hours before the medication had calmed Jay’s stomach enough to where he no longer held the vacuum tube in readiness. A short time later, the captain announced that the Starfire could be seen on their monitor. The announcement woke Kyle up from the short nap he had decided to take. Together they watched the approach to the untested starship.
Jay’s first impression echoed what Anita had said during their first meeting a few months ago. It was ugly! The Starfire had at one time been an oar hauler used to carry partially processed oar from the moon to the Earth. This type of ship had been designed strictly for use in space and had been built in orbit. The design was functional instead of aesthetic. The rear of the ship contained the main plasma drive, the fusion reactor that powered it, and the ring of giant fuel tanks necessary to feed the hungry propulsion system. It was mated to a series of three spherically shaped hulls. These were the original cargo pods. Three open trusses running the length of the ship held the entire assembly together.
Hanging off one of the trusses was a smaller sphere containing the bridge and command center. From what Jay remembered of the plans, the pod containing the micro-probes was located on the far side of the ship. Other add-ons such as antennas and several arrays of external sensors could be seen sprouting from the trusses visible to them at this angle of approach.
One of the most striking features was the large ring that surrounded the ship near its centerline. The ring contained a superconducting coil that would generate a powerful magnetic field surrounding the ship to deflect most of the harmful cosmic rays. Without it, the crew would be subjected to damaging amounts of radiation while in space. During the early days of space exploration no radiation shields were employed and many astronauts developed cancer years after being in space. Later ships utilized physical shielding such as layers of polycarbonate plastic or even tanks of water but these were heavy and expensive to haul into orbit. The advent of the electromagnetic shield allowed the occupants to be protected without having to add too much extra weight to the spacecraft.
A small fleet of construction platforms surrounded the Starfire. All but one were firmly attached to the new ship with very solid looking grapples. The shuttle docked near one of these platforms. The docking was very smooth and Jay could hardly feel the moment of impact. A few minutes passed then the hatch to the passenger compartment unsealed and opened.
Captain Cormose stood (floated actually) in the short passageway. His right foot was hooked under one of the handrails which ran the length of the connecting tube. “I hope everyone had a pleasant ride. I’ve been informed that all habitable areas of the ship are now pressurized and open for access. I will be remaining with the shuttle until you are ready to leave.” He expertly swung himself around and with a single thrust of his leg smoothly propelled himself back down the tube.
Kyle unbuckled himself and turned his attention toward Jay. “Until you get used to maneuvering in zero-G, you should move slowly and take some extra precautions. Always keep a hand or a foot hooked to a solid fixture. If you float out into the open it might take several minutes for you to come back into contact with something solid. It’s an embarrassing experience. Just remember that gravity is pretty much non-existent here.”
While Kyle had been talking to Jay, Alexis had unbuckled herself and was already free-floating down the tube. Anita appeared nearly upside-down next to Jay. Startled, he said, “This lack of an up or down is going to take some getting used to.” As he finished the sentence he noticed that Anita’s hair was floating in a nearly spherical pattern around her head. He burst out laughing and then quickly explained as Anita gave him a quizzical look.
Smiling, Anita replied, “Your hair doesn’t look much better. Don’t bother trying to comb it until you get back into a gravity field. As far as the lack of direction, you’ll soon be so used to it you won’t give it a second thought. But, I’m not sure if you will be here long enough for that to happen. Come on. Let’s make our way to the drive chamber so you can see your creation up close and personal.” Without waiting for a reply, Anita swung herself around and floated out of the shuttle. Jay noticed she did not free-float as had the others but instead kept at least one hand on a handhold at all times.
Following Anita’s example, Jay managed to maneuver himself out of his seat and through the docking tube. Kyle followed behind, occasionally offering him instructions on which handhold to use or where to place his feet. The tube came to an end in a gently curved passageway equipped with handholds along all four walls. By the time they reached the next intersection, Jay was beginning to get the hang of maneuvering around in zero G. The trio wound their way through the confusing passages with Anita confidently leading the way. Several times they passed through a short connecting tube. Finally, after a few minutes of travel, they arrived at their destination.
The drive chamber was located as close to the center of the ship as possible. This was to allow the spherical drive field to be as small as possible and yet encompass the entire volume of the spacecraft. The compartment was roughly eight meters long, ten meters wide and three decks high. Kauffman first noticed the two large cylindrical power accumulators he had helped Tyrone design. These were mounted along the outer walls, one on each side. A large fusion reactor and its support equipment filled most of the back of the room.
Five meters in front of him and one deck up Jay finally found what he had been searching for—the heart of the stardrive—the culmination of all his research. It was a shiny sphere four meters in diameter with thousands of small protrusions sticking out of it. Each protrusion had a slim cable snaking from its tip. The sphere was held in place by six tubular support beams. Kauffman knew these supports also housed the cables that carried the enormous amounts of power required to activate the device. Surrounding the drive assembly were several cabinets of electronics.
“Congratulations Jay,” Anita said as she surveyed the tangle of equipment. “If this drive performs half as good as we hope, it will mean the beginning of a whole new era in human exploration.”
“I would like to take some time to look over the installation if that’s okay,” Jay replied, not knowing anything else to say at this point.
“Sure, we have a few hours before I need to head back. I want to take a tour of the ship anyway. I’ll be back to get you when it’s time to leave.”
Anita expertly spun herself around and smoothly glided back into the passageway. Before she had moved out of earshot she overheard the beginnings of a discussion between Jay and Kyle that would have been incomprehensible to anyone who might have been listening. Inwardly, she was pleased with herself. She knew how crushed Jay had been when she had pulled him off the test crew. This opportunity to see the fruits of his work and to be in space, even for a short time, would do wonders for his morale. Smiling to herself, she glided down the empty passageway. In four days, the ship’s crew would arrive to begin their familiarization.
Several hours later, Anita returned to the drive chamber. At first she did not see the two men but after a brief search she found them huddled together underneath the stardrive housing among a tangle of cables. “Don’t be trying to make any last minute design changes!” She quipped to get their attention.
Startled, both men looked up and simultaneously tried to blurt out a response. Kyle finally got the upper hand and replied, “Just getting some last minute instructions on the best way to dynamically tune the drive emitter alignment. Is it time to leave already?”
“I’m afraid so. Our shuttle pilot is probably wondering where we are.”
Reluctantly, the two men extracted themselves from the mass of wiring and joined Anita. Jay stopped to take a long last look at his creation. After a moment, he took in a deep breath and said, “Let’s go.” Anita was probably the only one who noticed that Jay was close to tears.
Minutes later they were back aboard the shuttle and not long afterwards were streaking through the night sky on their way back to E
arth. Except for the G-forces (which were significantly higher than during the trip up) the reentry and landing could have been mistaken for a normal airline flight. Jay kept to himself during most of the return trip, pretending to be asleep on the jet. When they touched down at the company’s private airstrip two cars were waiting.
Anita turned to Kyle and said, “Jay and I have some business to conduct so we’ll be taking separate cars. Get some rest. You and the rest of the crew will be shuttling up to the Starfire in a few days but I’m sure we’ll see each other at tomorrow’s farewell party.”
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s banquet,” Kyle said. Glancing over to where Jay was getting into the other car, he lowered his voice and said, “He’s pretty down about not going Mrs. Kingston. I’m glad you let him see the stardrive before we left.”
“He’ll be okay. By tomorrow night he should be back to his old cheerful self. Trust me, I’ve known Jay for a long time. He’s pretty resilient.”
Once inside the limo, Anita turned to Kauffman and grasped his hand. “Jay, I know how you’re feeling. I promise you that if the tests are successful, you will be part of the crew that makes the first trip outside the solar system. You will live your dream.”
Jay continued to stare out the window of the car. His only reaction was a tighter grip on Anita’s hand. Without turning around, he replied, “I’m not mad at you Anita. I really do truly understand why I should not be part of the Starfire’s test crew. But, it doesn’t make it any easier. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to at least see the ship before it leaves. I’ll be fine, I just need a few days to get myself back together.”
“I understand. The send-off banquet is tomorrow night and I think you should be there. In the meantime, if you need anything—anything at all—please don’t hesitate to call me. You’re a good friend Jay. Call me if you need anything.”
Kauffman turned toward Anita, a look of sadness still on his face. He did manage a small smile for a brief moment. “I’ll be fine. Thanks.”