by T I WADE
“Once our test pilots confirm that SB-III is safe for duty, she will be loaded with Suzi’s tests.
SB-I launches tomorrow before the new shuttle’s test flight from 50,000 feet later in the day. SB II will be ready for flight in three days after that, and SB-III will be fueled up and ready this time next week for her maiden flight into space. From now, all three shuttles will be based here until our final flights of equipment.
“We have a ‘60 Minutes’ CBS team of a reporter and cameraman arriving in ten days to go up with a flight and complete three orbits. This doesn’t mean that we don’t carry cargo on this flight. We just cannot let them see the unloading behind the cockpit. The three smaller spacecraft which will transfer cargo to America One, are being flown by Suzi, Mr. Noble, and two new co-pilots as soon as there are more beds up there. New crew members for Ivan will also begin going up as passengers on your next flights.
“We will be juggling the three spacecraft. Since there are three spacecraft up there, one empty craft will return, passing the loaded spacecraft going up. The third one will be helping move crew and equipment around America One by the new personnel. The low-orbital transfers of cargo will take longer when SB-III goes up because her liquid hydrogen tank will need to be pumped out into the spacecraft while the cargoes are being lifted over. The computers have been programmed on each craft to deliver, or receive, fuel from new storage tanks to be placed in America One, and from SB-III. SB-III can deliver or receive fuel from America One, and SB-III’s extra-large hydrogen fuel tank can be used for extended journeys into space. Due to this higher fuel capacity SB-III’s new cruising speeds are estimated to be as high as 280,000 miles an hour after 40 percent of her extra hydrogen fuel tank is used for forward propulsion. This speed is compared to SB-I’s estimated high-cruise speed of 190,000 miles an hour without the extra tank. These speeds are not fast in space. In comparison, America One, with her three new hydrogen and ion thrusters, still under manufacture, will be able to reach speeds well in excess of 600,000 miles an hour after a two-month period of full thrust. Of course slowing and maneuverability are also important.
“We need two more spacecraft pilots to help up there, and we have trained two of our aerospace engineers, Peter Smith and Yuri Gellagov, to be additional spacecraft pilots. Two other men, both American aerospace pilots and engineers, are about to complete spacewalk training to be in charge of unloading the spacecraft and building the three extending arms of the new ship. They will join Fritz Warner as the building team in charge of the new spiders. Two newly designed spiders are going up on the next flights. You pilots now need to get your shuttles up to a higher 400,000-foot altitude orbit; the unloading will be taken care of by the spacecraft crews, and you head back to earth after three orbits. The change of altitude for our higher orbit is necessary to achieve a 106-hour round transfer trip from low orbit to Ivan and back. The reason for a 106-hour window, instead of our usual 103-hour window, is to allow time for the craft to be refueled and, only SB-III has refueling capabilities for the three craft up there. This means that cargo transfer will still be completed 30 miles below the orbital height of the ISS.
“Two hundred pounds of liquid hydrogen fuel is enough for one spacecraft to journey to and from Ivan three times. So, Astermine I and II, as well as Asterspace III, will be juggled to be fuelled by SB III. As you know, all hydrogen fuel tanks in the smaller spacecraft are also the same size 500-pound fuel tanks. All unneeded reserves of liquid hydrogen will be pumped into America One. Three fuel tanks are scheduled to go into space in a week. These tanks will be launched already half full of liquid fuel, so pilots fly safe, you will be sitting on a lot of gas. Each one of our liquid gas storage tanks has been designed to fit only into Asterspace III’s hold. Each aluminum carbon-based nanotube-walled tank can hold 20,000 pounds of liquid gas and are meant for outside storage. These tanks will be welded to the outside, underneath area of the cubes. This means that each time SB-III refuels one of the spacecraft with 500 pounds of liquid fuel, 300 pounds will be transferred into our new storage tanks. Our hydrogen fuel needs are tenfold to the other gases. All the gases apart from xenon fuel—argon, nitrogen, oxygen and helium—can be filtered and returned to storage. As you know, the last cube walls were not to be part of our ship, but to float in a geostationary orbit around earth to become our future gas station in space. We have shelved the gas station idea, and now the walls will house extra fuel tanks for our latest more powerful Hydrogen Pulse Engines on the rear of America One. These engines are still top secret. This new section will house one docking port for our newest shuttle.
“The section will also house four fuel tanks for the more powerful thrusters, and will be linked to the cylinder tanks below the craft.”
“Was this gas station idea able to sell hot dogs and cokes?” joked Jonesy, evoking smiles from the other pilots.
“Mr. Jones, it was to be a credit card self-serve, and no, there were not any other products planned for sale. The idea was ten years ahead of its time, and I don’t believe the government would have ever used it, if they don’t like me once we are up there,” smiled Ryan.
“OK, so the 64,000 dollar question, Ryan: Where do we get new supplies of these gases for our use, and to supply our more powerful thrusters?” Maggie asked.
“Simple, Ms. Sinclair, and I was coming to this with an explanation of flights of the smaller tanks and gas production machinery into space. To reply to your excellent question, America One will go into the void of space and find these gases, most likely in frozen form on asteroids and other planets, just like you found the diamond mine on DX2014.
“Let us return to my numbers. Four 4,000 pound storage tanks for the other liquid gases are to be placed in the rear section in front of her engines and America One will carry more fuel reserves for future space travel. Two of the tanks weighing exactly 4.1 tons can be taken up in one launch. There are hundreds of reasons why we need more flights into space. Sometimes I think I should have thought smaller. Three years ago we calculated that sixty flights would be needed to build America One; but with the mining idea and other cargoes we have added over time, eighty-one flights are our latest number, and we will have to increase them if we have to test these transports NASA is building for us. Please understand, America One will always have enough of everything for 100 humans to survive in space for enough time to find ways to replenish our value stocks.
“That is all for this briefing. Look at the bright side, pilots. For the next several months, you have a nine-to-five life; an early morning flight into space, and then home for dinner. I will now allow the rest of our team to enter for the next part of the meeting. I have something important to say.”
Ryan sat down and took a sip of water while the white coats filed in. This was Ryan’s core team, which included the four new space crew members he had just mentioned. The older pilots got up to congratulate the new guys, all already good friends, and welcomed them to the flight team.
“Thank you. First I have exciting news. Our Superfraűlein, Suzi, is pregnant and I believe her baby will be one of our first babies ever born in space.” There was much applause and for once Suzi had nothing to say. She just blushed, the first time many saw her turn red.
“And you are the father?” quipped Jonesy smiling.
“No, Mr. Jones, that praise must go to your partner, Mr. Noble,” Ryan smiled. “Ms. Sinclair, you have something to tell us I believe?” Ryan asked and suddenly Maggie blushed bright red; she looked at Ryan, her eyes asking how he knew. He gave her the floor and smiling made her come to the front and face the team.
“Mr. Jones, you are going to be a father. The doctor on base told me just yesterday.” She looked at Jonesy, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Again there was applause, many scientists patting the stunned, speechless pilot on the back.
“I’m going to be a father?” he asked in shock.
Even Ryan was surprised at how shocked his chief pilot was. Nobody had ever seen Jonesy in such a st
ate, and he wished VIN was here to see it for himself.
“Does my partner know about his new baby?” Jonesy asked.
“Ja, Herr Jones,” I told him a couple of days ago,” smiled Suzi.
Everybody looked up at Ryan, waiting for a comment about half his crew producing babies before they had even left for life in space. He was surprisingly happy, far happier than he usually was, and that quieted them down.
“Ms. Pringle, you have something to say?” this prompted everybody to look at Allen Saunders who suddenly looked baffled, and raised his shoulders not understanding what was going on. Kathy proudly walked up to Maggie and Ryan, put her arm around Ryan’s waist, and stated that she could also be pregnant with Ryan’s child.
This time you could hear a pin drop before Penny and Suzi rushed up to Kathy and Maggie, all screaming and hugging their friends.
“All I can say is, cigars,” mumbled Jonesy still in shock.
It took ten minutes for the noise to die down before the meeting could continue. Ryan was happy. “Ms. Sullivan, did you guys split up or something?” It was Penny’s turn to blush, but she stood her ground.
“Michael and I didn’t know that making babies was allowed on this base. Remember we are both ex-air force. Now that every female pilot but me is pregnant, I’m sure we won’t be far behind.” Everybody stood up and applauded her while Michael was the last one to blush, just sitting there saying nothing. He had taken every precaution so his future wife would not become pregnant.
“OK, team, a job well done. We now have a flight list of 52 people, plus five babies on the way. Our surgeon, doctor and our nurse here in this room better prepare their hospital cylinder for several births as soon as they get into space. I also want to let you know that Surgeon Pete and Nurse Martha Rogers are now recently married and are also expecting a baby.” Ryan put his hand up for silence. “Also, our chief aerospace engineer Doctor Hans Jorgen and his new wife Doctor Martha Jorgen, nee Williams, are also expecting, but their baby could be born on earth unless we change our cargoes and get the hospital and living accommodations up there earlier than planned.” There was a resounding reply that the plan needed changing.
“I thought so. So, several loads have been brought forward by two months to begin to prepare for several of our team to live in space earlier than planned. I have changed the flight-load schedule so that we will have a more diverse living environment up there sooner than we had planned.
The next three flights are to carry crops, trees, plants and all of Suzi’s biological plant growth. Next will be ten flights of the accommodation and corridor sets of six oval cylinders per set, half of our necessary cylinders.
We have scheduled three flights, each with a single, large hospital cylinder including all necessary equipment and medical supplies. One cylinder is a separate, fully equipped operating room which goes up with its insides complete; a second cylinder houses a four-bed ICU unit in one half, and an eight-bed hospital ward in the other; the third cylinder is a three-family living unit for our medical staff and families. The cargo supplies inside the cylinders include a library of every bit of medical knowledge the world has ever produced. Each cylinder will be packed with equipment and supplies to make a 4.1-ton load and our whole medical warehouse will include 19.7 tons of everything from aspirin to thousands of units of every important drug or vaccination you have ever heard of.
“The next three flights will be animals, rabbits and chickens, reproduction and feed supplies. As you all know, America One has nine vertical corridor arms heading out 400 feet into space on three sides of the space ship. On top of these three arms are horizontal accommodation units running 260 feet along the entire length of America One. Part of the middle arm, or the arm opposite the underside of the craft where the reactor and legs will be positioned, holds Suzi’s animal storage area. Our animals need the same gravity as we humans.
“Once the animals are up, a 4.1-ton load of interior accommodation equipment will be sent up, enough to fit out four, four-person family accommodation units and twelve, two-person units with bedding, towels, furniture and basic home electronics. Meals, apart from snacks, coffee, and tea, will be communal in our dining area.
“So, the last earlier-scheduled flight will be America One’s two-cylinder dining cylinder and kitchen/refrigerator/freezer cylinder, again pre-constructed here in Hangar One. Inside the cylinders will be all the equipment needed to push out meals for our crew three times a day.
“Then, the next five flights take up gas supplies. The last ten flights of six-pack cylinders are next. After that we will take up the two-ton America One hydrogen and ion thrusters still being built in Hangar Two. Once these engines are up, the plan is to get three loads of pure distilled water, and a final load of top soil.”
“What tanks store the water?” asked Allen Saunders.
“One cube has a tank inside it which is to be our main pressurized water supply for our travels. America One needs a minimum of twenty-five tons of water, which can be recycled for humans, plants and animals for fifty people for twenty-five years before there is no water left. If we have time at the end, every extra flight will take up growing plants, seeds, luxuries, and extra supplies of water until our flights are stopped. Our two water tanks can each hold thirty tons of water. Water can easily be found by mining several planets, or asteroids out there.
“Back to gases; there are five gas production units, which can accept solid frozen matter in space, or on an asteroid or planet, and distill the gases into separate storage cylinders. The machines then turn the gas into liquid form for storage. Each one of these gas production units weighs two tons; then, a flight each of plants and animals and feed. This includes the bee hives for pollination and honey production. Finally, three flights of the stocks of liquid fuels already produced down here and are in storage in Hangars Eleven and Twelve. That gives us eighteen flights of liquid gas, soil, and water that can be sent up from anywhere, so I’m looking at other opportunities to get these loads up, to decrease our flights and time needed.
“As soon as trouble brews its ugly head, one of the last flights will be the remainder of our space crew. That makes fifty-six flights remaining for anybody who is counting. Multiply that by one flight every three days, and we could be done by March next year if we find other routes up there.
“As I said, the number could grow if our shuttles have to test the radioactive transporters NASA is trying to build for us. I’m praying that they are late with producing them for test, but we can escape earth any time after the motors and the fuel and gas production plants are up there. To live in space we need oxygen, water and food, and fuel to enable us to search for more supplies. Once we get the next fifty cargoes into orbit, we can survive in space. Every flight after that is to carry extra supplies to make our lives more comfortable.”
Chapter 12
Sierra Bravo III and “60 Minutes”
Jonesy enjoyed the launch in the quiet belly of the C-5. Sierra Bravo III was an interesting craft with a more modern cockpit interior. Ryan wasn’t afraid to add any new device he thought might help his pilots. What was interesting was the new ceiling above his head. In-between the two pilots the ceiling angled in on SB-III, surrounding the laser gun that had been placed in the roof of the craft in front of the docking port. A couple of months earlier Ryan had decided to place the first of two lasers in the shuttle instead of America One, to provide greater mobility.
On the dash in front of him were the laser gun’s new controls and computerized aiming system. It would be powered from the nuclear battery SB-III was to collect from Ivan.
It used the same system a military jet would use to lock onto a target even if the target was still or moving at great speeds. This locking device was built to lock onto a meteor, an asteroid, or even the surface of a planet to open a hole up to three feet wide. The laser’s main control system was a radar-type screen, which could be focused and locked onto a target. Jonesy had learned to use this new device in
the advanced Shuttle-III simulator that had become operational a month earlier in Hangar One.
A powerful invisible beam was projected out from the laser gun at the speed of light for up to seven seconds in one burst, burning anything in its path. Jonesy had seen it being tested on the airfield, the day after his second return to earth from DX2014. In a night test several pieces of solid steel a foot thick, placed at one end of the runway, had holes burned right through them from a two-second burst from the laser tube 10,000 feet away firing at low strength.
The scientists had explained to the flight crews that the laser had been produced to burn holes in rock. The idea was that an entrance could be made into some object which could one day become a new home for the space travelers. The laser could open a hole three feet wide in the rock of a planet or an asteroid; then specially made spiders would excavate a cavern which could become a new place to live. The spiders could also be used to mine for frozen water, methane, or anything else the crew of America One needed. In addition, the second laser, which would be underneath the command center of the mother ship and powered by the more powerful five-pound plutonium reactor, could be separated from the craft so spacewalkers could carry it into a newly made hole to excavate a cavern.
Ryan had also explained to the flight crews that the laser on the mother ship could be used for several other purposes including protection, deflection, and defense. It was designed to be fired at full power, a seven-second burst once every 27 seconds; at half power, a three-second burst once every 12 seconds; and, a one-second burst every 3 seconds, like a machine gun, mainly to open the holes up to three feet in diameter through any solid rock. In its fastest mining mode it could open a three-foot shaft at a rate of twelve inches every twenty-four hours.
