Jeff laughed. “I’ll go along with that.”
“Might even be fun,” said Gabe. “I’ve never been on a Navy ship.”
We’ll raid your closets and send a trunk-full of clothes, toiletries, diapers, etc. for you to the Makin Island before she sails from San Diego.
I’m certain you will all be anxious to get home, but we’ve tentatively scheduled two days and nights in Honolulu to deal with ceremonies, press conferences, and assorted and sundry administrative matters before you return to CONUS. We’ll have a chartered Gulfstream to fly you to San Francisco where Heidi and I will meet you with the CJ3.
Now, everyone in the known world wants to schedule ceremonies, interviews, parades, and ‘meet and greets’. I’ve given all but one a “Wait, Out.” Cessna wants to hold a little ceremony and buy us lunch when we stop to refuel in Wichita. I okayed that one. They estimate there may be a hundred people there. I’d guess it’ll probably be more like a couple thousand, and you’ll want to have a brief speech ready. I can write something and send it to you, but Jeff, if you were to put the other end on that speech you gave to all those folks at Kennedy the day before liftoff, that should do it.
“That was a terrific speech,” said Gabe.
Abby and Susan nodded.
Well that’s about it for now. I’m looking forward to when you’re close enough that we can carry on a reasonable voice conversation. This 20 minute turnaround time kind of sucks. I’ve sent along another file with some housekeeping stuff in it that you’ll probably ignore. Since you’ve got this far, you probably don’t need our help to find your way home. God speed, Chrissie.
Gabe whimpered. “What would we have ever done without her?”
“I don’t know,” said Jeff. “She’s the best. How about I send her a quick received and understood, and we follow it up later with a list of clothes and any questions we might have about the recovery and return to civilization? I think all we’ll need is a couple of fresh flight suits, flight jackets, shoes and undergarments. I doubt we’ll be attending any black tie events until after we get home.”
The women nodded. “Sounds reasonable,” said Abby. “At least people will know who we are. Those rust-colored suits really standout.”
“That they do.”
“Do you think we will have any trouble with customs and immigration?” said Susan.
“I wouldn’t think so. The only thing we’ll have to declare is rocks. Everything else we have came with us.”
“Except Ghita.”
“Yeah, but I don’t see where she is any more of a risk for backward contamination than we are. Sort of an all or none proposition. Besides, didn’t we and the government come to an understanding, if not an agreement, on that matter before we left.”
“Sort of.”
“Customs on Navy ships returning from a deployment are a no-brainer,” said Abby. “I’ve done it several times. Jeff, you probably have too.”
“Yeah. Everybody on the ship fills out a short form, then the XO sits down in the wardroom over coffee with the customs folks, and an hour later, liberty call. I don’t think it’ll be a big deal. I’ll tell Chrissie to proceed with plans as though customs and immigration weren’t involved. Just plow forward and ignore them. If they do have something to say, we’ll address it then. And if she does run into a roadblock we’ll send Heidi over there in her finest tight black leather to straighten them out.”
Abby shook her head and chuckled. “That’d put the fear of God in them.”
“Yeah. If she can deal with all those engineers and bureaucrats at Michoud, customs and immigration should be putty in her fingers.”
“By the way,” said Gabe, “do you know what day it is?”
Jeff looked at his watch. “Yeah, March 22nd. What of it?”
“That date doesn’t mean something to you?”
He frowned, thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead. “Two years.”
“That’s right. We launched two years ago today.”
He shook his head. “Wow.”
They all sat pondering that thought for a minute.
Abby sighed. “And in six and a half months we’ll be home, and can return to normal lives.”
“Abigail, I don’t think our lives will ever be normal again.”
She laughed. “Good point.”
Sunday, March 25, 2018
1512 UTC (T plus 733 days)
Jeff pulled into the commons, and floated up behind Gabe at the navigation console wearing Ghita in her baby harness. “What’cha doing?”
“A P52.”
“How’s it look?”
“Right down the pipe.”
“What does NASA have to say about your navigation?”
“Nothing.”
He smiled. “As it should be.”
“Uh huh. I do get a lot of questions from one guy in their temporary MCC at Houston. His name is Jack Fuller, and he’s sitting GNC, and I don’t think he ever goes home.”
“Really?”
“He’s an intellectual sponge.”
Jeff laughed.
“He has a Ph.D. in Astronautics from Penn State, so he’s obviously not stupid. But he keeps asking questions about how I stay three or four steps ahead of him. So I tell him, first of all, I’m here and he’s not. And then I try to give him some pointers – short cuts – like when to use the computers and when to just use his head. He’s a very bright guy, but he’s too mechanical. He’s store-bought. He needs to learn the difference between orbital mechanics and intuition. All of this can be solved with math. But sometimes that’s not the fastest or best way to do it. Sometimes you can spend hours with calculus, and other times you can just subtract A from B, and call it close enough. I suppose I’m just trying to teach him the difference.”
“And with that he will be a better man.”
She smiled softly and rested her head on his shoulder. “I hope so.”
“How’s our little one doing?”
“Much better. I think she’s kind of getting used to weightlessness. She’s eating better and sleeping better, though she has the sniffles.”
“Don’t we all. Occupational hazard. How are you doing?”
“Well, now that I can get her to sleep, I’m sleeping better. So I guess I’m doing better. But I still don’t like space and I’ll be very happy when we get home.”
“Yeah, it’s been a long couple years, hasn’t it?”
“Uh huh.”
“Still glad you came?”
“Yes. The ultimate adventure.”
He nodded.
“When we get home, we’ll have something no one else has, and that no one can ever take away from us.”
Jeff smiled, wrapped his arms around she and Ghita, and kissed her cheek and Ghita’s. “We already have that.”
Gabe bit her lip and grinned.
Monday, April 9, 2018
1204 UTC (T plus 748 days)
Jeff frowned. “No, Gabriel, I do not want a birthday party. Which word don’t you understand?”
She groaned and shook her head. “But it’s a big year. You’re 55.”
“Great. Do you for one moment think I like being 55? Crap, Gabe, you’re 31!”
“So?”
“I just don’t like being reminded that I’m 24 years older than you.”
Abby pulled through the hatch from the truss. “Would you two stop it! Jesus, you’re worse than daytime television.”
Gabe glared at her and said, “Shut up.” Then she gently tossed Ghita to her. “Here, catch.”
Ghita giggled as she floated across the commons and into Abby’s waiting arms. “She’s beginning to like this. She may be rather disappointed when we get to Earth.”
Jeff turned back to Gabe and chuckled. “I’m gonna have to teach you how to use the laces, and throw a spiral.”
“I don’t think she’d like that.”
“Probably not.”
Gabe pushed off from the kitchen counter, snuggled into Jeff’s
arms, and whispered. “Jeffrey, I don’t care that you are 24 years older than me. You are the only man I have ever loved. The only man I have ever wanted. And the only man I will ever want.”
He bowed his head, then looked into her eyes. “And for that, I am the luckiest man in the solar system.”
She kissed him. “Yes, you are.”
He laughed and nodded. “Alright, if you want, we can have a birthday party.”
She grinned. “Great! I’m gonna go bake a cake.”
“From what?”
“I’ll think of something.”
“It better not be macaroni and cheese with a match on top.”
Gabe chuckled. “I think I can do better than that. Go play with Ghita.”
“Roger. Hey, Abby, post pattern. Throw me the long ball.” He pushed off from the counter and Abby tossed Ghita to him. He snagged her, turned and crashed into the bulkhead. “A little high and long, but I’d call that one a decent reception.”
“Not bad. It’s a good thing she likes this. Parents on Earth would be hysterical. I and don’t mean the funny kind.”
He held Ghita tightly in his arms. “You’ve got that right. Let’s try not to film any of this. We’d probably all get arrested for child abuse.”
“Do they have laws against Martian abuse on Earth?”
He laughed and cuddled with Ghita. “I doubt they’ve even thought about it.”
“We really ought to get some video of this for Ghita,” said Gabe. “No one else on Earth may appreciate it, but someday she will.”
“Good point. Sue! Get in here, and bring a camera.”
A minute later Susan appeared in the truss hatch. “What?”
“You have a camera?”
“Yes, a D4.”
“Alright, set it to auto exposure and 10 frames per second, and shoot this.” He reared back like a quarterback and tossed Ghita to Abby.
After catching Abby’s reception, Susan lowered the camera and glared at Jeff. “Are you crazy? That’s your daughter you’re tossing around.”
“Yeah, I know. But, do you hear her giggling. She likes it, which is a good thing. It’s nice to find something she enjoys up here. I doubt there are many Earth kids that would find a lot to enjoy here. Hell, they’d probably be barfing their guts out most of the time. This is not a place that most people want to go, or should go. But we’re different, and she’s different. Let’s make the most of it. Name me one other person on Earth who has home movies like this. Okay Abby, slant left, on two. Susan film it. And one, two.” He pushed off from the dining table toward the rear starboard corner of the Sundancer. Abby led him and dropped Ghita right into his arms. ”Great pass. You should have been a quarterback at Navy.”
“Right. And get groped in every pileup? I don’t think so. I don’t mind getting groped, just not by every 250-pound linebacker in the NCAA.”
Jeff laughed and tumbled into the bulkhead with Ghita in his arms. “I see your point.”
Susan sternly glared at both of them. “Alright, that’s enough. Will you children quit playing catch with the child?”
“Killjoy,” said Jeff. “She likes it. She’s giggling. And it’s not like we’re playing tennis with her.”
“Some father you are.”
He chuckled. “Now, be nice. As space fathers go, I think I’m as good as it gets.”
“I believe we need a slightly larger sample to verify that assertion.”
“Nag. Here, catch.” And he tossed Ghita to Susan.
“Oh God!” She let go of the camera and caught Ghita.
“Hey, be careful with that camera. Those things are expensive.”
“We got them for free.”
He grinned. “Yeah, but still…”
“I’ll be happy to pay for it.”
“Won’t do us much good up here, will it?”
“Jeff, you’re weird.”
“Has it really taken you six years to figure that out?” He pushed off from the bulkhead and drifted over to Susan. “Here, give her to me.”
“Promise me you won’t play football with her anymore?”
He chuckled. “Okay.” He took Ghita, and held her close. While she rested her head on his chest he drifted back into the middle of the commons.
Susan retrieved the camera and took a couple pictures.
Jeff smiled, then closed his eyes and cuddled with his daughter, gently stroking the back of her head.
“Maybe you’re a pretty good father after all,” said Susan. “But someday you’re still going to have a lot of explaining to do.”
“That’s a fact.”
CHAPTER 28
Sunday, July 1, 2018
1619 UTC (T plus 831 days)
“Gabe,” said Jeff, “I’m sorry to be such a dunce, but would you explain sphere of influence once more?”
She sighed and shook her head. “Yeah, okay. You know that gravitational pull is effectively infinite.”
“Right.”
“But the closer you get to a celestial body, the stronger its gravitational pull. And, conversely, the farther you get from it, the weaker its pull. How much stronger or weaker the gravitational pull is for any given spatial body is a function of the inverse square of the distance from that body in terms of the mean radius of that body. For example, if you are 100,000 miles from Earth you are about 25 times its radius in distance. Square and take the inverse, and Earth’s gravitational pull at that distance is only about one six-hundred and fortieth of gravitational pull on the surface. You follow me so far?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Mars’ SOI is a little over 358,000 miles. Earth’s is about 575,000 miles. And the moon’s is around 41,000 miles. So any time you are within the SOI of one of those three, it has the dominate influence on your trajectory. When you are not within those three SOIs, or those of any other planet or moon in the solar system, you are within the sun’s SOI.”
“Alright, I get all that. But when crossing over the SOI boundary between any two bodies, why does our velocity suddenly change?”
“Because the patched conic approximations that make up our trajectory (a Kepler orbit) are two-body problems and require the use of gravity and velocity relative to that SOI that has the greatest gravitational influence. And velocity is relative. So when we cross over from one SOI to another, our velocity relative to the body that at that time has the most influence changes.”
“This is making my head hurt.”
“You asked.”
“Yeah. So that’s why we need course corrections?”
“In part. The other main reason is that patched conic approximations are just that – approximations. Sometimes they need a little tweaking.”
“And that’s the reason for this course correction?”
“Uh huh.”
“So we’re now within the sun’s SOI?”
“Yes.”
“And will be until we’re, what was it? 575,000 miles from Earth, and then we’ll be in Earth’s SOI till we land?”
“No.”
“Huh?”
“Our trajectory will take us fairly close to the moon. Close enough to be well into its SOI.”
“How close?”
“I don’t know exactly, haven’t got around to that yet as it’s still quite a way off, but probably around 1,000 miles. Close enough to get a pretty good view.”
“Will that affect our trajectory?”
“Oh yeah, big time. But we’ll plan ahead for it. We’ll enter the moon’s SOI at a distance of around 250,000 miles from Earth and be in it for a day or so as we pass it. Then back into Earth’s SOI. But we’ll plot a trajectory that accounts for all that, and probably make a couple of small correction burns to get us properly aligned for re-entry. Abby, how are we doing?”
“Still waiting for this thruster firing to damp down. Should be just a few more minutes. Pitch is about 0.5 degrees per second. Everything else looks good.”
“Rog.”
“Ares, Newport, following
your burn and resumption of PTC your High Gain Antenna should be pitch minus 20, yaw 270, and in Reacq, over.”
Abby keyed her mic. “Understood. Reacq, pitch minus 20, yaw 270. Thank you. Out.” She released the key. “I’ll tell you, this seven minute turnaround voice time sure beats forty-five minutes.”
Jeff chuckled. “Ain’t that the truth.”
“Okay. Standby for 57-second SPS burn in two minutes,” said Abby. “Delta-V Thrust B on.”
Jeff nodded. “On.”
“Translation Controller, Armed,” said Gabe.
“Armed,” said Abby.
“Rotation Controller, Armed.”
“Armed.”
Jeff glanced at Gabe who was staring off into space. “What are you doing?”
“Thinking.”
“About what?”
“Our mass.”
“Not sunny warm beaches and…”
“Shut up.”
“Okay.”
She thought for a moment more. “I’m summing our mass to make sure Newport remembered to take into account the fuel consumption during the brief SPS burn at the tail end of our TEI.”
“One minute, 45 seconds,” said Abby. “Gabe, think faster.”
“Just a minute.”
“We don’t have but a minute. Do we need to abort this burn?”
“Just a second.” She stared off, nodding her head and mumbling to herself.
“Jeff?” said Abby, a bit of excitement in her voice.
He shrugged. “Gabe?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s right. They got it. Proceed.”
Jeff and Abby sighed. “Shouldn’t you have done that when we received the midcourse correction PAD from Newport?”
“Yes. But it didn’t occur to me then that they may have overlooked that. It’s a small but significant number and the only place it shows up is in the post-burn state we sent them three and a half months ago.”
“One minute,” said Abby.
“Gabe,” said Jeff, “when we arrive at Earth would you please do that kind of stuff on a bit more timely basis?”
Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1) Page 100