by Russell Fine
During the high gravity testing, some component failures were found and those components were redesigned so they could withstand the rigors of the test. It took four months before NASA had substantial confidence the ship’s controllers would function correctly. A new ship had already been built and the engine installed. By early July 2073, the next test ship was launched.
This time when the deceleration phase began, the ship indicated that it was, in fact, slowing down. As expected, four days later the ship began its return journey to Earth. Four days out from Earth the ship began to slow again, and by the time it reached the orbit of the moon it was only moving at about fifteen thousand miles per hour. At that time the crew on the space station switched the ship to external control and brought it back to within one mile of the station.
Although the sub-light engine had been tested and was considered functional, the design for the unmanned cargo ships was not completed. The ships were several times larger than any ship that had been previously constructed. It was decided that the structural integrity of the ship and the control systems had to be capable of withstanding up to 10 g’s of force during both the acceleration and deceleration portions of the flight, even though that would never happen during the trips to Ganymede. The design was completed by October 2073 and in November construction began on the first cargo ship, which was named the Albert Simpson.
The construction of the ship near the space station was a monumental task. It had a cargo capacity of one thousand six hundred cubic meters. There were one hundred full-time construction personnel working on the project. It was anticipated that it would take eighteen months to finish the job, but it took longer than expected, and it wasn’t completed until February 2075.
The first test was scheduled for March 15. During the test, the ship would move to a high Earth orbit of fifty thousand miles. Once it was in a stable orbit it was scheduled to accelerate at 1.5 g’s until it reached a velocity of fifteen hundred miles per second, a process that would take thirty hours. That velocity would be maintained for twenty-four hours while the control systems were checked out. By using the Earth’s orbit, if there was a failure, the ship would not be lost like the first sub-light engine test ship had been.
The Albert Simpson performed perfectly for the first part of the test. It easily transitioned into the correct orbit and accelerated to fifteen hundred miles per second as required. It was now the fastest object orbiting the Earth, completing one orbital pass in slightly less than a minute. Testing of the control systems was progressing normally until an unexpected massive solar flare occurred. As the ship was bathed in radiation, some minor failures were noted in the control systems. The test was cut short and the ship brought back. Over the next two months, additional radiation shielding was added to the ship. The next test was scheduled for June 1.
The second test went as planned, but there were no solar flares to contend with. However, it was decided that a longer-range test was in order. For the next test, the Albert Simpson would be accelerated to twenty-five hundred miles per second and placed in an orbit around Mars. The plan was for the ship to maintain a Mars orbit for ten days before returning to Earth. The test was set for June 20.
On June 20, the ship accelerated slowly away from the space station and then the acceleration was increased to 5 g’s. After twenty-two hours the Albert Simpson’s velocity was twenty-five hundred miles per second and the ship was almost to the orbit of Jupiter. At that point the ship was three hundred fifty million miles past Mars, so the deceleration process started, and the ship was turned around and put on course for Mars. It arrived at Mars twenty-eight hours later and was placed into an orbit around Mars where it stayed for ten days. It was then moved out of orbit and returned to the space station. The trip back was much slower, but the Albert Simpson still arrived at the space station twenty hours after leaving Mars. The test was a complete success.
RETURNING TO GANYMEDE
September 2075 to December 2077
Due to the successful test of the Albert Simpson, work began on the ship that would transport the first twenty-five people to Ganymede. That ship would also be their home until the habitat could be completed.
The design of the ship was complete, but the construction would take ten months. Then, if all went well during the testing after the ship was completed, it would launch for Ganymede about two months later. The ship was named Ganymede Express.
While the Ganymede Express was being built, the Ganymede habitat was designed and the components were built and placed inside the Albert Simpson. It was also loaded with enough food, water, medical supplies, and air to last the crew at least eight months.
With everything that had been learned about spaceship construction over the past several years, the task of building new ships was simplified. The Ganymede Express was finished a month ahead of schedule. The testing began immediately, and only a few minor problems were detected. Those problems were quickly resolved and by June 2076 the ship was ready. The entire crew from the first Ganymede mission was going on this mission as well. Fifteen additional crew members were also selected. Most of the new crew members were mining engineers and people with experience building habitats on Mars. Terry Simpson was again chosen as the captain of the mission.
Once the habitat was complete, the Ganymede Express would return to Earth, leaving only those people who were needed for the mining operation and Ross, the ship’s doctor. Ross was staying primarily because he hoped he would be able to search for living organisms in the liquid water a few hundred feet below the surface, and of course, it was essential to have a doctor on board in case of illness or injury. It was expected that the habitat would take sixty days to build and the plan was to begin silver shipments thirty days later.
Because of some improvements in engine design, the Ganymede Express would be able to make the trip to Ganymede in only six months. That meant if everything went according to schedule, Terry and his crew would be back on Earth in fourteen months.
The Ganymede Express was launched on June 4. The trip to Ganymede was uneventful. There were no problems encountered during the flight, although some of the crew members were concerned about the possible presence of the aliens who had taken the Ganymede probe. By the time the ship entered orbit around Ganymede, December 6, the Albert Simpson was ready for launch. The plan was to launch it as soon as the Ganymede Express landed. On the third orbital pass, the ship landed in almost the same location as the first landing spot on the previous trip. Terry sent a message to Earth telling them the ship had landed. Two hours later a message was received telling them the Albert Simpson was on the way. It would be there in a little over eight days and placed into an orbit around Ganymede. It was Terry’s responsibility to land the ship nearby. This was something he, and his navigator Mark, had practiced extensively using simulators before the Ganymede Express left Earth. He hoped the simulator was a perfect emulation of the real thing because there was no way to practice the real thing at that time.
It took the ship’s crew a few hours to get accustomed to the gravity on Ganymede, but after that several members of the crew decided to go exploring. The mining engineers had seen pictures of the silver deposits, but it was not the same as seeing it in person. The geologists and the mining engineers went out and spent an hour exploring. They came back excited and anxious to get started. A few hours later the head of the habitat construction crew and his assistant went out to look for the best location to build the habitat. They were gone for two hours. They not only found a good site, but they marked off the position for the base of the habitat. They too were anxious, but they would have to wait for the arrival of the Albert Simpson before they could get started.
While they were waiting for the arrival of the cargo ship on Ganymede, the NASA propulsion engineers back on Earth conducted the first test on a miniature version of the sub-light engine. The engine used in the Albert Simpson was huge, almost twenty-three cubic meters. They were hoping the smaller version of the engine, wh
ich was only about four cubic meters, would be able to power smaller ships, like the Ganymede Express, at speeds up to fifteen hundred miles per second, using a constant acceleration of not more than 1.25 g’s. That would allow them to go to any part of the solar system in days or weeks, rather than months.
The test results were far from perfect, but still promising. They would be making some changes over the next week or two and then do another test. The computer simulations indicated the design was good, but the first test was disappointing. After studying the test results there was agreement on the design changes needed and they began implementing those immediately.
On December 14 the Albert Simpson was placed into orbit around Ganymede. Terry and Mark were seated at the command console and initiated the system which gave them control of the Albert Simpson. When the link was established Mark said, “You realize we now have control of the most expensive piece of equipment NASA has ever built, and on top of that it was named after your father. We’re about to do something nobody has ever done before. Let’s make sure we don’t screw this up.”
“You’re making me nervous, and I’m nervous enough already,” Terry replied. “Please shut up.”
For the next hour, Terry and Mark made small maneuvers with the cargo ship and everything appeared to be working properly. On the next orbital pass, they slowed the ship down and it entered the thin atmosphere around Ganymede. As it approached the landing site, the ship ceased horizontal movement and they began the slow vertical descent. The Albert Simpson landed gently within a few feet of the designated landing site. They shut down the engine, extended the boarding ramp, and opened the hatch. Terry sent a simple message back to Earth:
“The Albert Simpson has landed.”
A few hours later the entire crew put on their suits and went outside. The temperature was relatively balmy—112 degrees Celsius, about as warm as it ever got on Ganymede. Their suits were bulky and made movements difficult, but the low gravity made the task a little easier. First, they unloaded two trucks from the cargo ship. Then they unloaded the base of the habitat, which was made up of two-inch-thick, four-foot-square interlocking plastic panels. On Earth, they probably weighed seventy-five pounds, but on Ganymede, they only weighed eleven pounds, so they were easy to handle. There were five hundred and six of these panels. All of the panels were loaded into the two trucks and moved to the construction site. The base had to be put on flat ground, so the next thing they unloaded was part of the mining equipment. That was used to prepare the ground for the base panels. After that was complete, they started connecting the panels to the base. Once they had one hundred of the panels placed they decided to call it a day and went back to the Ganymede Express.
They decided they would work in six-hour shifts, with eight people per shift. The only one excluded from the work detail was Ross; he stayed onboard and was available in case of an accident. After a six-hour break, the first shift went out to continue working on the base. The base was completed the following day and the next things they had to work on were the side and roof panels. After the sides and roof were finished they could begin working on the inside. The side panels were all identical. They were basically eight-foot squares with a titanium frame and a one-inch-thick opaque plastic insert. There were no windows anywhere and the only exterior door would be an airlock. Like the floor, the sides were designed to interlock, so it made building the exterior walls fairly easy. Each wall was three panels high because the building would have three floors. After the walls were finished, they were connected with titanium bars at the top and at each floor level. Then they added vertical supports at sixteen-foot intervals. When all of the supports were in place, the roof panels were put on to complete the exterior construction, except for the airlock. That was the last and most complicated part because it had electrically controlled doors that had to be opened and closed in a specific sequence. So far, the exterior construction of the habitat had taken fifteen days. Completing the airlock took two more days.
After the airlock was completed, all of the plastic seams in the building had to be sealed. This involved spraying each seam with a thick plastic adhesive that cured when exposed to ultra-violet light. Sealing the building took another three days. Now they were ready to pressurize the building and begin heating it so the work could be done inside without the crew having to wear the bulky suits.
Air tanks were brought in and the building was pressurized to the equivalent of seven thousand feet on Earth. A comprehensive leak test was performed and a few leaks were found that were quickly repaired. One hundred electric space heaters were brought in and forty-eight hours later, the temperature inside the habitat was twenty centigrade.
The interior of the habitat would be completed by the members of the crew who were brought there specifically for that purpose. The other members of the crew began working on their assigned tasks.
Now Ross had the undivided attention of two of the mining engineers. Their task was to drill a hole deep enough into the surface to find liquid water, so Ross could continue his search for lifeforms. There was a lot of speculation regarding how deep they would have to drill, but they were equipped to go up to fifteen hundred feet.
Eight hours after they started drilling, they had reached a depth of two hundred and fifty-three feet, but there was no sign of liquid water. However, seven hours later, at a depth of four hundred and sixty-nine feet, they found liquid water. In order to prevent the water from freezing, they lowered a heated canister that could be opened and closed remotely down into the water. After the canister was filled and brought back to the surface, they gave it to Ross for analysis.
Ross went back to his lab and first looked at the sample under a microscope, expecting to see the same cells he had seen before, but living this time. He was disappointed because there was nothing to see, just plain water. He put a sample into a higher power electronic microscope, and still, nothing was visible. Then he performed an extensive analysis of the water to see what was in it. When the analysis was complete all it showed was water with trace amounts of some common minerals dissolved in it. Although it was not what he had been hoping for, it was still a remarkable find because now they had a source for drinking water.
He sent a report back to NASA, but he also decided they would have to look in the location where he had found the samples on the previous visit, but that was hundreds of miles away and there was no way to get there now. He would discuss it with Terry later. After the habitat was complete, perhaps he could convince Terry to take him and the two mining engineers there so he could get another sample.
When NASA responded to his report, they were very happy with his discovery of drinkable water. They also suggested that he test some of the veins of water ice just below the surface in the area where he was now. He had actually already thought about that and was planning on doing it as soon as he could get one of the mining engineers to help him.
For the next few weeks, the construction crew worked on the interior of the habitat. While that was going on, the mining crew began extracting silver ore and putting it into the cargo ship. That process was slow, but at the end of three weeks, they had extracted seventeen cubic meters of ore. They wanted to get ten times that amount before the ship returned to Earth, but the Albert Simpson was scheduled to return to Earth in six weeks. That wasn’t enough time for them to reach their goal.
While the miners were busy extracting ore Ross and one of the mining engineers went to find some water ice that Ross could test. They found some eight feet below the surface and Ross took some samples. He wasn’t surprised to discover these samples showed no trace of the organisms he had seen in the samples from the other location. He went to Terry and made his request that he take him and two of the mining engineers to the location of the second silver discovery to look for liquid water samples. Terry said it was okay with him, but he would have to get approval from NASA. He sent a message to NASA and they approved it.
The six weeks were going by quickly. The
habitat was finished, and everyone was happy with the results. It was warm and comfortable. The food was still the prepackaged NASA stuff, but at least they could sit in a makeshift dining room with tables and chairs and eat it. When the Albert Simpson returned it would have some real food and all of the people who were staying on Ganymede were looking forward to that.
Two weeks before the Ganymede Express was scheduled to take off, Terry called Ross and Ben, who was one of the mining engineers Ross was working with, into the ship’s control room. “I asked you both to come here because I think you two are the most qualified members of the crew to handle a very important job. This ship is returning to Earth in two weeks, but before we leave we’re going to launch the Albert Simpson. When it comes back, somebody has to know how to land it. Since neither Mark nor I will be here, I would like you two to do it. If you agree we’ll start your training immediately. It’s a delicate task, but not difficult. The computer will help, but it’s a manual operation. Are you interested?”
Both men immediately agreed and Mark started their training using a simulator. They learned quickly, and Terry decided to let them handle the departure of the Albert Simpson.
Three days before the Ganymede Express was scheduled to return to Earth, Terry took the ship to the other location where Ross had found the lifeforms before. As soon as the ship landed, Ross and the engineers left the ship with their equipment. They went two hundred yards from the ship and set up the drill. At four hundred and ten feet they found liquid water and Ross got a sample. He hurried back to the ship while the engineers dismantled the drill. When Ross got back to the ship, Terry was in his lab waiting for him. He put the sample under the microscope and found what he was hoping for, the organisms he had seen before. But this time they were alive! As he and Terry watched they saw one of the cells divide. Ross was so happy he could barely control himself. He smiled and said happily, “Do you realize we’re the first people from Earth to see a living alien lifeform?”
