Asteroid Diversion

by Bobby Akart

Earth’s Moon

  It was launch day and Chief Rawlings was full of nervous anticipation. He’d tossed and turned all night, thinking of every minute detail of the mission and certain aspects that he’d reinforce with his crew during their prelaunch briefing. The wild card in all of this was Gunner’s ability to perform. He’d been tasked with the near impossible—the precision bombing of an asteroid tumbling through space at sixty thousand miles per hour.

  Chief Rawlings refreshed himself with a wet washcloth and looked into the mirror. Tired eyes returned his stare. He laughed and said aloud, “And did I mention that we’re using the largest nukes ever detonated on Earth, all at once?”

  He began to wipe his hands on the towel and gave his uniform one final adjustment when a hard knock on the door startled him. Whoever was outside incessantly pounded on his door, demanding his attention.

  “I’m coming!” shouted Chief Rawlings angrily as he stomped out of the bathroom. What is the hellfire emergency?

  He flung open the door and was greeted by one of the mission control directors. Standing several feet behind him was a doctor from the infirmary dressed in all-white scrubs.

  “What’s happened?” Chief Rawlings asked.

  “Sir, two members of your crew have fallen ill,” replied the mission control director. “I’ll have the doctor explain.” He stepped aside and the female doctor stepped closer. She was holding two aluminum-covered medical charts and opened the first one.

  “Sir, during the night, we were called to the quarters of Martin and Andrews. The two men had complained of abdominal cramps, watery diarrhea, and a low-grade fever. We took both men to the infirmary, where their condition has worsened. They are now on intravenous fluids to prevent further dehydration, together with essential salts and minerals to stem further damage to their immune systems.”

  “What caused this?” asked Chief Rawlings.

  “That’s still to be determined, sir,” the doctor replied. They are symptomatic of many types of gastrointestinal disorders. Pinpointing the exact cause will take some time. Unfortunately, there’s no specific medical treatment for their symptoms. Antibiotics aren’t effective against viruses. Bacteria can’t be identified without further testing. Norovirus is a possibility, as it is the most common cause of foodborne illness worldwide, but we have no other patients exhibiting these symptoms.”

  Chief Rawlings ran his fingers through his thinning hair and looked at the floor. He didn’t want to appear unsympathetic, but he had to consider the big picture. “Doctor, you’re aware, of course, that we have a launch this afternoon. Can these two astronauts be available, and if not, when?”

  “Sir, without further testing, I can’t give a definitive answer. However, I can state that they’re not capable of going to the bathroom on their own at this point, much less into space again. It’ll likely be days.”

  “Shit!” exclaimed Chief Rawlings, startling the two Artemis personnel. He leaned back against the doorjamb and closed his eyes. They were down two astronauts. NASA only had the commander of the Starship as backup and nobody within the ranks of Artemis personnel on the Moon. He sighed and turned to the mission control director. “I need a secure line to Washington. Where can I call Acting Administrator Frederick?”

  “Come with me, sir.”

  Chief Rawlings entered the offices and waited for the call to go through. He’d lost track of time on Earth, leaving his watch behind as an unnecessary burden to carry. Now he had a bigger one to overcome.

  “Sir, I have Mr. Frederick on the phone for you.”

  “Thanks,” he said, closing the door as the mission director left. He turned his attention to his boss. “Jim, we’ve got a problem.”

  “I just heard about it, Chief. It’s too late for us to get two alternates up to you. One obvious solution is to plug in the commander of the Starship. He’s a seasoned astronaut and more than capable.”

  “Agreed. That still leaves us an empty seat, and this mission is too important to go into it a man down.”

  “There’s a French backup on Artemis. He could fill—”

  “No, thanks, Jim. If a critical decision has to be made that requires a crew consensus, the French will fold and side with the Russians every time.”

  “Well, I might as well tell you this now so that you’re not blindsided with it,” began Frederick. “We’ve already been contacted by Roscosmos. They consider the addition of two new untrained astronauts to the mission to be an unacceptable risk. They’re willing to wait for us to ferry replacements up to Artemis, but it will be tomorrow before they can arrive. They want us to scrub or, rather, delay the mission for another day.”

  Chief Rawlings, who’d been standing during the duration of the phone call, rolled his eyes and flopped into a side chair next to the desk. “Jim, they’re stalling. They’d rather try to lay claim to this booger, and if they fail, they don’t seem to care if Earth gets hit head-on.”

  Frederick paused on the end of the line, causing Chief Rawlings to pull the handset away from his ear to determine if it had lost power. “Jim?”

  “Yes, Chief, um, well, there’s good reason for that. Now that we’re a hundred hours away from the impact event, Houston has provided me a more precise window of time for IM86’s entry into our atmosphere, and the most likely location for destruction.”

  “Let me guess. North America.”

  “That’s correct, Chief. We cannot wait for the Russians to land on the asteroid’s surface and begin their own diversion tactics. We have to move forward with the nukes.”

  Chief Rawlings took a deep breath and winced. “Jim, I’m gonna take that last seat. Nobody is better qualified than I am. Heck, I trained them, remember?”

  “Chief, I appreciate you for offering, but you know our protocols regarding retired astronauts. I mean, age matters when you’re in space.”

  “That’s a bunch of bull, Jim, and you know it. Besides, we’re not talking months aboard the ISS. I can make the argument that my presence aboard the Starhopper will increase our chances of success rather than lessen them. I don’t like the way it came about, but I almost wish this had been the plan all along.”

  “Why’s that, Chief? Have you lost confidence in Fox?”

  “No, not at all. It’s just that the two of us have a bond I can’t describe. We see eye to eye and understand each other. I also think that I can have a calming effect on him during the mission. Frankly, with due respect to my sick boys in the infirmary, this may have worked out for the best.”

  Frederick paused, and then he rendered his decision, without enthusiasm. “Okay, Chief. Welcome aboard.”

  Chapter 38

  Monday, April 23

  Artemis

  Earth’s Moon

  Chief Rawlings gathered the eight astronauts and cosmonauts who’d be manning the Starhopper into the conference room at the lunar mission control center. It didn’t take long for the Russians and the lone Frenchman to notice the change in American personnel.

  “I’ll get right to the point,” began the formerly retired astronaut. “Two of our crew have been stricken with some kind of stomach flu and are therefore grounded. Because time is short, we’ve changed our team. You all know the commander of our Starship. If I recall, he’s undertaken missions on the ISS with each of you at some point in time.”

  Gunner was unaware that two members of the crew were ill. He was as surprised as the others that a personnel change was being made, although it didn’t matter for purposes of his role. Then he did a quick head count and noticed that either the Starship would embark on the mission down a man or—

  Chief Rawlings continued. “And you know me. I’ve volunteered to take the last seat on the Starhopper to see this thing through.”

  —and then there’s that, Gunner thought to himself.

  For the next half minute, the Americans congratulated Chief Rawlings for joining the mission. He was revered by everyone at NASA, and his presence on board the Starhopper would boost the confidence o
f the astronauts.

  The Russians, however, were not as celebratory. Commander Sokolov seemed to be prepared with his rebuttal.

  “I, for one, see no reason to celebrate your fallen comrades. By design, the three cosmonauts from the Russian Federation have been excluded from the planning of this spaceflight. We have not been given, nor were we offered, an active role in the operational duties of the mission. You are now asking me to applaud the loss of two trained crew members in exchange for a retiree?”

  One of the Americans charged toward Commander Sokolov, and for a moment, Gunner thought the men were going to come to blows. For his part, Gunner admired the restraint he showed. He was close enough to knock the mouthy Russian out himself, but he hid his clenched right fist behind his back.

  After cooler heads prevailed, Chief Rawlings addressed Commander Sokolov. During his remarks, Gunner began to admire his mentor even more. He was no-nonsense and didn’t mince words.

  “Let me explain something to you, Commander. If you don’t like the American crew that’s been designated for this mission, then you are welcome to ground yourself and your fellow cosmonauts. We can certainly accomplish our mission without you and your interference.”

  Commander Sokolov grew red in the face. He was used to being the bully, and now someone was pushing back. “The agreement between our two countries was to include—”

  Chief Rawlings cut him off and walked forward so that he was standing in front of the much taller, muscular Russian. “That part of the arrangement was a handshake deal, comrade,” he began sarcastically. “The United Nations agreement was for an international contingent made up of four Americans and four from other nations. If you don’t want to fly, I’m sure there are French, Japanese, Canadian, or Indian alternatives to choose from around here.”

  “They don’t have the experience—”

  Again, Chief Rawlings interrupted. “All they have to do is sit there and stay out of our way, Commander. Just like you three.”

  Chief Rawlings walked away from his Russian counterpart and led the Starship commander by the arm toward the door.

  “Where are you going?” Commander Sokolov demanded. “This isn’t over.”

  “Yes, it is. The decision is made and the two of us have to get outfitted in our space suits. When I get back, we will review the mission one last time and then board the Starhopper for a newly scheduled liftoff in eight hours.”

  Commander Sokolov. “A delay of only two hours? I insist that you and this new crew member take more time to prepare yourself for this critical mission!”

  Chief Rawlings laughed. “We were born ready, right, Commander?” He slapped the second senior-most member of the American crew and walked out the door without looking back.

  Gunner had thoroughly enjoyed the exchange. Chief Rawlings was not only coming on the mission, a comforting thought for Gunner, who had to remind himself of the difficult nature of their task, but he’d backed down the commander of the ISS during Heather’s first flight into space.

  A man he considered partly to blame for losing his wife.

  *****

  It had been fifteen minutes since Chief Rawlings had left, and the tension in the room was unbearable. The other American astronaut and Favier huddled in one corner while the trio of Russians talked among themselves in the other.

  From time to time, Gunner, who mainly wandered the room looking at printed materials related to the operation of the Starhopper, glanced in the direction of Semenova. Unlike last night when she was in her sex-kitten mode, today she appeared to be all business, not even giving him a second look. Gunner found it odd that she could turn off her desires like a light switch, but eventually shrugged it off as he got bored and wandered out of the room.

  Gunner decided to explore the mission control complex of Artemis. Other than the fact his surroundings resembled a large igloo, the activity was no different from what he’d observed on television at Houston’s mission control during a manned spaceflight.

  Occasionally, one of the Artemis staff would smile and say hello to him as he casually walked around the building. He entered the long hallway where he and the other Americans had exited the Starship the day they arrived. A group of uniformed personnel were assisting some new arrivals. A decidedly unexpected group, in Gunner’s mind.

  Men, women, and children were being hastily escorted out of the spaceport and away from him toward the lunar transports. They were dressed in civilian clothes and came from all nationalities and races.

  “Children?” Gunner mumbled to himself as kids ranging from six to sixteen were instructed to stay close to their parents. Curious, he approached the group, and one of the Artemis personnel halted his progress.

  “I’m sorry, sir, this area is off-limits for now,” he began, taking a moment to study Gunner’s attire. “Say, are you one of the astronauts for the asteroid mission?”

  He’d asked the question loud enough for some of the new arrivals to hear him. A couple snapped their heads toward Gunner as they continued to be hustled away from the spaceport.

  Gunner made up the best lie he could. “Yeah, sure. Listen, I was told a new spacecraft had arrived, and I just wanted to take a look.”

  “Oh, you haven’t seen the Spacebus yet?” asked the young man. “It’s quite spectacular. Basically, it’s a larger version of Spacecab. Designed by Bristol Spaceplanes, it’s become the world’s most used general-purpose passenger launch vehicle.”

  “Is this something new? I haven’t heard about it before.”

  “Well, sir, everything is experimental until it’s not. In a way, that’s why you’re here, right?”

  “I suppose that’s true,” replied Gunner.

  “Let me clear this group of new arrivals, and then you can enter the spaceport to see it. Be sure to check out the four turbojet engines that power that sucker. It can accelerate to Mach 4 in a blink of an eye, and then, after separation of the rocket boosters, hit Mach 6. It’s a real head-snapper, if you know what I mean.”

  Gunner chuckled. Indeed, I do. A real head-snapper. As the civilians cleared the hallway, Gunner stuck his head around the corner toward the spaceport. He turned to ask the young man why these people were being brought to Artemis, when he heard his name called out.

  “Major Fox! Chief Rawlings is looking for you back in the conference room.”

  Chapter 39

  Monday, April 23

  Artemis

  Earth’s Moon

  It was two hours before launch time, and all members of the Starhopper crew were on board. The mission would take them two days from liftoff, to intercept the asteroid, and then return back to Earth, where they would land in California.

  The design of the Starhopper was not quite as spacious as its larger cousin, the Starship. There was seating for eight crewmembers, and accompanying sleeping quarters. A combined bathroom and shower was designed very similar to those found on midsized motorboats in which the entire encapsulated area included a fiberglass molded toilet, sink, and shower with a centrally located drain.

  There was ample storage for the crew’s gear and personal belongings. Food and supply storage was abundant, as Starhopper was designed for trips to Mars and back to the Moon.

  With the three powerful Raptor engines pushing the Starhopper through space at a comfortable speed of seventy-two thousand miles per hour, the traveling time from the Moon to Mars when they were at their closest approach was twenty-two days. The benefit of using the Moon as a starting off point for Mars missions was the fact that far less fuel was burned to break free of the lunar gravitational pull compared to Earth.

  Finally, on board the Starhopper was a recreation area for the crew to relax, prepare meals, and access computers. Throughout the spacecraft were workstations for the astronauts to access. All in all, the Starhopper was a faster, more space efficient version of the space shuttle, and was capable of interplanetary travel. Its use for Project Jackhammer not only provided Earth the opportunity to survive the thr
eat posed by IM86, but it was also a test run for the next great mission—a trip to Mars.

  “Chief, we’re on a hold at T minus two hours,” announced Mark Foster, Mission Control director in Houston. Ordinarily, for shuttle flights between Earth and the lunar surface, the mission control team at Artemis handled the liftoffs. Not to diminish their capabilities in any way, NASA elected to take control of Project Jackhammer from start to finish, especially in light of the fact that there would be a period of time in which the Starhopper would lose contact with Artemis as the Moon’s orbit around Earth took it in a different direction.

  “Do we have a problem, Houston?” asked Chief Rawlings, who’d assumed command of the mission although the commander of the much larger Starship would be handling the navigation of the spacecraft from the pilot’s seat. He’d been instrumental in providing SpaceX feedback on the navigational controls and overall design of the spacecraft’s flight deck, and therefore was the most experienced of the entire crew in the Starhopper’s handling.

  The entire crew waited in nervous anticipation as Director Foster paused for a considerable amount of time in his response. Finally, he provided his reasoning for the launch delay.

  “Chief, the Sun has decided to complicate matters. A strong solar flare was emitted late yesterday evening. At this point, the SWPC is issuing a G3 warning, although their unofficial comments indicate this storm could increase to a G4.”

  The SWPC, an acronym for the Space Weather Prediction Center, was a division of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They provided meteorologists around the world with up-to-the-second information on weather on Earth. In addition, they provided NASA and world governments with details on space weather conditions resulting from solar activity.

  Space weather impacted numerous facets of everyday life, from air travel to land-based communications. Geomagnetic storms resulted from solar wind shock waves following a coronal mass ejection, a large release of plasma from the Sun that is carried through space with the solar wind.