Asteroid Discovery
Page 14
Ghost stood from his chair and stuck his head out the door. He motioned to someone in the hallway and then stood to the side as a woman entered. Out of courtesy, Gunner’s team stood and greeted the new addition to the briefing.
A short, unremarkable young woman entered the room with a laptop tucked under her arm. She shyly made eye contact with Gunner and pushed her thick eyeglasses higher up her nose as she glanced at the other two members of the team.
“This is Special Agent Theodora Cuccinelli. She’s on loan from the bureau specifically for this project.”
Gunner extended his hand to shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Agent Cuccinelli.”
The young woman was too shy to shake hands, opting instead to raise her right arm and provide the group a slight wave.
Cam tried to ease the tension and perceived nervousness oozing out of their communications specialist. “Theodora is an interesting name. I assume it’s Italian, like a friend of my mother’s. She used to go by the nickname Teddy.”
“Um, my mom used to call me Teddy. I kind of outgrew that after I graduated from MIT.”
“Whoa, MIT!” exclaimed Bear. “That’s impressive, Theodora.”
The young woman blushed, and then she made direct eye contact with Gunner. “Major Fox, I want you to know that your team can call on me for anything.”
“She’s right,” interrupted Ghost. “In fact, there’s a reason she’s earned the nickname the Jackal.”
“The Jackal?” Cam asked, as if she wasn’t sure whether she’d heard Ghost correctly.
Bear couldn’t contain his laughter. “You mean like Carlos the Jackal, the Venezuelan terrorist from back in the day.”
“No, I’m a hunter, um, of information. I can find a way to access any database, any camera, or any nation’s communications systems.”
Ghost added, “The Jackal has been instrumental in bringing down terrorist cells and chasing the ill-gotten gains of Mexican drug cartels. She has the innate ability to process information quickly and access data at lightning-fast speeds.”
“Here’s the thing,” began the Jackal, who was starting to overcome her shyness. “The internet, or databases, is only a useful tool if you know what question to ask or where to look. Usually, agents or operators, whatever the case may be, are very adept at catching or killing bad guys. In the process of any field mission, information is needed, and quickly. That’s where I come in. There’s nobody better at it in America than me.”
Gunner grinned. He admired the young woman’s spunk and confidence. “Well, Jackal, or, I mean, do we call you Special Agent Jackal or something else.”
“You can call me the Jackal, or just Jackal. And, I hope, since we’re working on this mission together, you’ll allow me to address you more informally.”
Bear laughed again and shook his head. He pointed to the team one by one. “Gunner, Cam, and I’m Bear. Barrett means bear power in German. Did you know that?” Bear puffed out his pectoral muscles and followed that with a flex of his biceps.
The Jackal provided him a blank stare in return.
Cam started laughing and put her arm around the Jackal. “Come on, let’s sit down so I can tell you the kinds of things we’ll be needing help with while we’re in the backwoods of Mother Russia, the real bear.”
Chapter 29
Friday, April 6
The Situation Room
The White House
Washington, DC
Director Hapwell’s response to the president’s question shocked the stoic members of his national security team and resulted in a jaw-dropping expression on Ashford, who was highly respected in the scientific community.
For a moment, the attendees didn’t know how to react to Hapwell’s out-of-hand dismissal of Ashford’s suggestion to mine an asteroid, but then the president let out a hearty laugh.
“Well, Director Hapwell, tell us how you really feel.”
Hapwell gulped and then commenced to do exactly that. “Mr. President, I don’t mean any disrespect to Undersecretary Ashford, whom I have the highest regard for, nor do I mean to impugn this process. That said, I can’t sit here and allow you to entertain the notion of mining an asteroid of this close proximity to the planet. Sure, there are scientific discoveries to be had or, as Mr. Ashford pointed out, trillions of dollars to be made, but the threat is too great.”
“Mr. President,” Ashford interrupted, “if I could be allowed to finish.”
“Certainly,” the president and former judge began in response. “But, Mr. Undersecretary, you’d better make a compelling argument because I’m inclined to agree with Director Hapwell. We can’t risk American lives in the name of international commerce or scientific discovery.”
“It’s an opportunity for us to kill two birds with one stone.” The words were out of his mouth before he realized the context in which they were said. Several attendees shook their head at Ashford’s faux pas, and he quickly corrected the statement. “Okay, poor choice of words under these circumstances. Let me just begin.”
The president nodded and smiled to encourage the oldest attendee in the room the opportunity to gather himself before he continued.
“Thank you, Mr. President. There are two options for processing an asteroid. One is to simply gather some raw asteroidal material and return it for scientific study. That’s been done by the Japanese and, as we learned, the sample was much too small for comprehensive scientific study. Second, the preferred method, and the one that relates back to my inartful choice of words, is to process the material on-site, and during the process of establishing the mining operation, we can take steps to move the asteroid off its projected path toward Earth, assuming, of course, the trajectory is confirmed in the next few days.”
The president stepped in. “I’ve campaigned in the coal country of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Even with modern mining methods employed, and safety hazards accounted for, it can be a dangerous, complex process. Is that what we’re talking about here?”
“And what about the cost?” asked Fielding.
“Well, the pricey part of asteroid mining isn’t the up-front expense, as that has already been absorbed in the private sector. Nor is it the launch of the equipment and crew to actually achieve the goal. Again, both NASA and SpaceX are prepared, with some slight modifications, to make that happen.
“The really expensive aspect of the concept is getting the materials back to Earth. I would propose a joint public-private partnership between NASA and Planetary Resources, with SpaceX receiving a piece of the pie, so to speak, for delivering the payloads to and from IM86.”
“What do you propose?” asked the president.
“Planetary Resources will turn over sample materials to us for study. In addition, they will help NASA take a team of scientists to the asteroid to initiate diversion protocols, protecting the planet from an impact event. In return, we will give them full exclusive rights to the mining permits, if deemed necessary, together with the profits from the valuable raw materials that might be found on the asteroid.
“We save the world from the asteroid while creating the opportunity to make scientific discoveries about our solar system, and possibly the origins of man, at the same time.”
Fielding whispered to the president, who nodded as he spoke. The president shrugged and then addressed the room.
“There are legal complications to all of this that have never been discussed at the UN, to my knowledge. There’s a treaty in place, if I recall, from the late sixties regarding outer space. Further, Congress signed the Space Act in 2015 that gave U.S.-based companies, like Planetary Resources, permission to own and sell the natural resources they mine in space. As we know, that had become a point of contention with the Russians and Chinese when it came to establishing the outpost on the Moon in recent years. Everyone tried to lay claim to the Moon, and we argued we were there first, so it was ours. The dispute almost erupted into World War III before my predecessors calmed the situation down.”
Ashford continued. “Mr. President, I understand the need to maintain international relations, but let me be honest, the first country to mine an asteroid and discover its hidden resources, some of which may be unknown to us now and which may possess certain, um, characteristics of value militarily …” His voice trailed off as the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who were in attendance perked up for the first time.
“Well, I understand where you’re heading with this, Mr. Undersecretary, and I agree wholeheartedly. The fact of the matter is that if we are considering these options, once the Russians become aware of IM86, they will be having a conversation just like this one. It could be a matter of a race into space to see which country can plant its flag on this sucker first.”
The president’s chief of staff looked over her glasses toward the director of National Intelligence and asked, “Speaking of Moscow, I noticed in our briefing that there has been some activity at their Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East. What can you tell us?”
“We have a covert team preparing to deploy now. The Russians have taken extraordinary measures to conceal their activity at Vostochny, and in light of this report received by me last night, I immediately tasked the DTRA with getting eyes on the ground in Russia.”
The president held both of his hands in front of him. “I’ve heard enough. Plausible deniability, you know.”
“Yes, sir,” replied the DNI.
The president turned to Director Hapwell. “You’ve been quiet during this discussion, yet I sense that you’re chomping at the bit to weigh in, am I correct?”
Hapwell smiled and nodded. “Mr. President, I can’t disagree with the proposed mining operation by Mr. Ashford, but just not in this instance. We don’t have time for this. The margin of error is miniscule, as IM86 is approaching Earth at sixty thousand miles per hour. I must remind everyone that it is slated for impact three weeks from today.”
“That is a tight schedule, Mr. President,” interjected Ashford. “But I can guarantee that Planetary Resources and SpaceX will work round the clock to make it happen. I’d be willing to bet NASA can put together their A-team, as well.”
“Let’s talk about that,” began Fielding. “Assuming that these private entities and the A-team, as you put it, can reach IM86 quickly, what then? How do you plan to divert the asteroid, and can you assure the president that such diversion tactics will work?”
“Naturally, there are variables and potential complications, but let me lay out the options.”
Chapter 30
Friday, April 6
The Situation Room
The White House
Washington, DC
Director Hapwell casually glanced down at her watch as Ashford began to speak. It was intended to be a not-so-subtle reminder to the president and others that the clock was ticking on this planet killer’s path toward Earth. Nonetheless, the president and his chief of staff allowed Ashford to continue to dominate the conversation with his proposed diversion and mining operation that, in Hapwell’s opinion, was insufficient to protect the planet from potential destruction. Still, she sat respectfully to listen, hoping that the president would give her the final word.
“I’d like to start by preempting the most obvious argument regarding diverting IM86, which is to attack it with nuclear weapons. Without going into the mechanics of the DART mission and other proposed nuclear solutions, let me remind everyone that there are serious legal ramifications to using nuclear weapons in space.”
Hapwell immediately recognized that Ashford was playing on the president’s legal background to sway his opinion away from the destruction option.
Ashford continued. “All of the major space powers—the US, Europe, Russia, China, and the Japanese—have developed kinetic impactors, probes, if you will, designed to change the trajectory of a near-Earth object. These kinetic impactors are designed to strike the asteroid, break it into many parts, or simply alter its composition enough to divert it from its deadly path.
“The kinetic impactor approach came after years of debating the issue of nuclear weapons in space. Strong and nearly unanimous opposition to weaponization of space was expressed in the UN Conference on Disarmament years ago. China and Russia, as you know, proposed a treaty that we initially refused to discuss. Arguably, the treaties were one-sided and our intelligence agencies saw that some nations, like North Korea, would not be a party. It’s been presumed that nuclear weapons have been deployed aboard North Korean and Iranian satellites for years, and therefore our government’s position that removing nukes in defense of our nation was off the table, even if they were deployed in space.
“That leaves us the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 that the president mentioned earlier. There are five other treaties that arguably coexist and supplement the ’67 accord, preventing space weaponization.”
“Even if it was deemed necessary to save the world?” asked Fielding.
“I don’t know of any exceptions carved into the treaties,” replied Ashford.
Director Hapwell couldn’t help herself. “Personally, I’d take my chances being called into the court of public opinion using my save-the-world-takes-priority defense over a sixty-year-old treaty.”
The president chuckled at her remark.
Ashford scowled and continued. “Well, with the treaties in place, we do have viable alternatives that will allow us to advance our other goals, including building a space station on an asteroid in order to explore other parts of the solar system.”
“A space station?” asked the president.
“Yes, sir,” replied Ashford. “Mining an asteroid would necessarily have to be done from the inside out. Drilling in microgravity is hard because exerting downward force on the surface of the asteroid will push the equipment outward into space. Therefore, it would be necessary to build a space station inside the asteroid.”
Hapwell interrupted. “Asteroids are made of solid rock and rotating at several times per minute. Size and makeup are significant variables in what you propose.”
Ashford nodded, patiently allowing Hapwell to make her point. “Agreed. Metal-based asteroids are durable enough for us to land upon them and possibly penetrate with mining equipment. Carbon-rich rocks will most likely break up in space during the process. A stony body, which makes up the majority of all meteorites, falls somewhere in between. In my proposal, mining a stony or carbon-rich asteroid will break up its appearance and therefore alter its trajectory. If it’s metal in nature, then we have some work to do before we can commence a mining operation.”
“Like what?” asked the president.
“Well, we have the orbital slingshot method,” began Ashford in his reply. “This was first developed when 99942 Apophis was discovered many years ago. When the God of Chaos, which is the translation for Apophis, comes within nine million miles of Earth in 2036, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory stands ready to deploy this unique method of capturing the asteroid and modifying its trajectory safely away from the planet.”
“How do they propose to capture an asteroid?” asked the president. “And, once we do, what do we do with it?”
“Mr. President, I have to speak conceptually for now, as we don’t have the precise trajectory defined and its relationship to the Moon, but let me lay out what I think is possible,” replied Ashford. “The gravitational pull of planets, and even their orbiting satellites, like our Moon, can be used to our advantage in a situation like this one. If we can adjust the asteroid’s orbit such that it makes a close approach to the Moon with a relatively low velocity, it creates a slingshot effect that can drop the asteroid into Earth’s orbit. The Moon can slow the velocity of the approaching asteroid by ten percent, which yields two things. First, it could draw the NEO into our orbit, making mining much easier. Secondly, it will slow the path of IM86 so that it doesn’t intersect with Earth’s orbit, thus eliminating the threat.”
Hapwell interrupted him. “The studies and theories that you’re proposing are based upon a much smaller asteroid of o
nly a metric ton or so. We’re talking about a rock that’s over a mile wide, fifty times larger than most of the studies imagine. As a result, the mission prep time and the fuel mass necessary to capture it are, well, astronomical.”
“Of course, there are many variables to consider,” stammered Ashford.
“Mr. Undersecretary, you mentioned another option that could divert the asteroid and still keep it intact for study,” said the chief of staff.
“Yes, an odd proposal but one that certainly works on a theoretical basis,” he replied. “We’d paint the asteroid a different color that would use the Sun’s radiation to change the thermal properties and alter its trajectory. It only takes a little pressure from the Sun, in the form of radiation, to make a difference. Remember, we only need to move it slightly in order to avoid the two orbits intersecting.”
The president turned to Hapwell. “What about this, Director?”
“The problems, sir, are time and the fact that we’re dealing with an unproven theory. Now, let me say this. The painting option can certainly work if the Sun has sufficient time to modify the asteroid’s composition via melting of ice or liquefying of gases. We do not know how long it takes for an asteroid to be affected by the Sun’s radiation. Again, not to be the constant reminder of impending doom, but at sixty thousand miles per hour, IM86 will be upon us in just three weeks. Is anyone in this room comfortable with painting a space rock and then sitting back to see if it has the desired effect?”
The room fell deathly silent.
Chapter 31
Friday, April 6
The Situation Room
The White House
Washington, DC
The president’s tone of voice changed as he appeared to be nearing a conclusion. “Okay, Mr. Undersecretary, I’d like you to bottom-line your proposal for me, one that if you had to stand before the American people, you could make with confidence knowing all of their lives are at stake.”