Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1)

by Gregory Gates

  The Senator laughed. “I don’t know, Jeff, that’s a pretty tall order. Folks will claim those are national treasures that need to be protected.”

  “Senator, there are twenty-six Apollo command modules on display around the country, and another one in Moscow, for cryin’ out loud. How many ‘national treasures’ do we need? Good lord, two years ago California declared the Apollo 11 landing site – on the moon! – a state historical site, right down to the plastic bags of fecal material left behind by Armstrong and Aldrin. When is government going to get past this idiotic penchant for turning everything in the universe into sacred artifacts?”

  “Never.”

  “Sir, just one time, can’t we do something right?”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Thank you sir. The second part of cooperation is our request that the government simply not stand in our way. You of all people know that there is a mountain – a big mountain – of rules, regulations, laws, and even international treaties governing the use of airspace, activities in space and – for reasons passing understanding – activities on Mars. Senator, just out of idle curiosity, where does it say in the United States Constitution that our government has the authority to regulate activity on another planet? It sure doesn’t strike me as interstate commerce.”

  Senator Landers smiled. “I believe that one falls under the authority of the Executive Branch to make treaties. And the Senate went along because it seemed to be a good idea at the time.”

  “And that, sir, is exactly what concerns us. That someone in government, operating under carte blanche regulatory authority, granted by Congress, wakes up one morning, decides this is a bad idea and throws some enormous regulatory roadblock in front of us. Senator, we have a mission to fly and I have a finite amount of money that I would just as soon not spend on an army of lawyers filing lawsuits against every agency in government just so we can get off the ground.”

  “You and everyone else in the country. Welcome to America. Jeff, we do the best we can given an awful lot of conflicting interests.”

  “Senator, do you ever get the feeling you do too much and go too far?”

  “Every day.”

  “Well, here’s the bottom line, sir. If the United States Government isn’t willing to cooperate with us, we are fully prepared to go find another one that is. Among the many qualifications my people have, you will also find native fluency in French, Russian and Mandarin Chinese, not to put too fine a point on it.”

  The Senator smiled. “There’s no need to use a hammer on me, Jeff. I am on your side.”

  “Sorry sir, just putting all the cards on the table so there are no misunderstandings.”

  “Fact is, you’re probably right. I imagine you will encounter considerable resistance from a number of directions. If nothing else, you’ll fuel an enormous debate over the public cost of space exploration. An awful lot of people make a very comfortable living off the aerospace industry, even if it never goes anywhere. And they are not going to be happy with your little project.”

  “No sir, I don’t expect so. On the other hand, is that not perhaps a debate that’s long overdue? It was eight years from Kennedy’s speech to the day Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. The Mars Science Laboratory was first proposed back in 2000. It finally landed last month, twelve years and three billion dollars later. I wonder if the taxpayers are really getting their money’s worth?”

  “I think we both know the answer to that question.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “There is certainly a wide difference of opinion on the matter, depending upon which side of the political spectrum one sits. Next month’s election – the outcome of which is still highly debatable – could bring about another sea change in attitudes, or not.”

  “I understand sir.”

  “Jeff, I’ll do what I can for you. But for now, that’s probably not much. We’ll just have to take it one day at a time.”

  “I can’t ask for anything more. Thank you sir.”

  The next morning, they sat around the dining table in what amounted to a four-hour question and answer session wherein Jeff and his team filled in all the gaps and details of the mission. Following that they flew Senator Landers back to Manassas. On the return flight Jeff sat in the cockpit with Abby.

  “So, what do you think?” said Abby.

  “I think we have a long road ahead of us.”

  Tuesday, November 6, 2012 (T-1232 days)

  It was just a few minutes before midnight. “Looks like we have a new president,” Chrissie said, staring at the television.

  Jeff nodded. “Appears so.”

  “Wow, four years ago who’d have thunk it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You think our fortunes just improved?” Abby asked.

  Jeff shook his head. “I have no idea.”

  CHAPTER 8

  Tuesday, September 17, 2013 (T-917 days)

  United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

  Science and Space Subcommittee

  Hearing on Grey Aerospace Manned Mission to Mars: Public Safety Concerns

  Majority Statement of Senator Elizabeth Stoddard

  Tuesday, September 17, 2013

  “I want to thank Mr. Grey for testifying before the committee today. Given your ambitious program, I would imagine that Senate testimony is not something you allotted time for in your busy schedule. The committee appreciates your positive response to its request.

  “Since the earliest days of the U.S. space program, a government-private sector partnership in space flight has existed. This partnership has flourished and resulted in remarkable advancements in our ability to explore space and derive widespread social benefits from the technology it has produced. In recent years, owing to the ever-spiraling costs involved in space flight and ever-tightening federal budgets, the government has admittedly asked more and more of the private sector, and commercial aerospace firms have responded. With the conclusion of the Space Shuttle program, and the as yet unproven SLS heavy launch system, commercial aerospace, along with our partners in the Russian and European Space Agencies, have stepped up to the plate and provided virtually all support for the International Space Station, resulting in uninterrupted ISS operations and the many continued benefits thereof.

  “I am concerned, however, that the Grey Aerospace Mars mission, though an extremely noble effort and well-intended on a variety of levels, may not measure up to the quality expected of this country’s manned space flight endeavors and may possibly represent a significant threat to public health and safety.

  “Numerous recent reports in the media along with statements by recognized experts in the aerospace field have brought to light serious questions regarding not only Mr. Grey’s mission safety but the mission’s very feasibility.

  “NASA is on the path to land humans on Mars. Admittedly, it is a long, treacherous and expensive path. Owing to budgetary constraints brought about by severe economic conditions resulting from mismanagement of the economy by past administrations, America’s return to the moon has been pushed back several more years, but I am confident we will achieve that goal within the forthcoming decade or so. And in due time, a manned mission to Mars will follow.

  “The golden days of Apollo are behind us. The national security investment in manned space flight is no longer an issue and we need to take a more measured, better thought out, and safer approach to manned space flight. This is NASA’s approach and, in my opinion, it is the correct one.

  “The president has expressed his desire to maintain a viable American space exploration program and, I am sure, would join this committee in applauding Mr. Grey’s enormously ambitious project and dedication to the advancement of our knowledge and understanding of space. Yet, I am also certain the president would caution that this may not be the appropriate time for such small-scale, under-funded, dangerous and potentially hazardous commercial ventures.

  “Again, I thank you Mr. Grey for
testifying before the committee and I hope that you will not take my remarks in a negative light. I am certain you agree that what you are proposing is extremely risky and understand that Congress needs to take a serious look at your proposal and determine whether or not it is in the best interests of public safety for you to proceed.”

  United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

  Science and Space Subcommittee

  Hearing on Grey Aerospace Manned Mission to Mars: Public Safety Concerns

  Minority Statement of Senator Richard Landers

  Tuesday, September 17, 2013

  “Thank you Madam Chairman. I also wish to thank you, Captain Grey, for taking the time to testify before this committee and I am confident your testimony will thoroughly clear the air of questions regarding the many varied aspects of your mission.

  “For much of the past decade, this government has asked, indeed, demanded, of commercial aerospace that it take the reins of space exploration and relieve the taxpayers of the enormous cost. You sir, have answered the call. You have stepped forward and raised your hand and said, “Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll go.” And in response, many within the current administration and “professional” aerospace have replied, “Not so fast. Yes, we know what we said, but we didn’t really mean it.”

  “Frankly sir, I am embarrassed to say that had recent administrations ruled Spain in 1492, Columbus would likely still be tied up at the pier in Palos de la Frontera. Indeed, NASA is on the path to Mars, and one day they will surely get there. But I seriously doubt anyone seated in this chamber today will live long enough to see it.

  “Since the conclusion of the Apollo program, NASA has merely nibbled at the edges of the space program. Great leaps in technology have been made and scientific exploration of our solar system has progressed, albeit at the slow, measured pace suggested by the Committee Chair. Yet, while the cost has been enormous, both in terms of dollars and human life, the next “giant leap for mankind” has sadly failed to materialize.

  “Space exploration today boils down to money, and little else. Were NASA to continue spending $100 billion dollars a year and never launch a single rocket, there are many who would not mind at all. So long as the money keeps flowing from taxpayer to government to NASA to contractor to political campaign coffer, there will be plenty of people content with this arrangement.

  “Now comes before us, you, Captain Grey. Someone willing to spend their own money and actually do something. Something grand. But instead of rising to the occasion and offering whatever support you may need, this Congress stands before you blocking the path, saying, “No, you shall not go there. Space belongs to the government and you, sir, are not part of the club.”

  “Over the years this Congress has drafted thousands of pages of regulatory legislation, micromanaging every aspect of commercial space flight. Yet, when you dutifully and, I might add, skillfully and intelligently, follow the rules and proceed under the letter of the law, and fulfill those regulatory requirements, once again, the naysayers step forward and say, “Yes, that is what we said, but we didn’t mean it.”

  “So now you are called before this committee, some members of which are desperately looking for loopholes in the very regulations they wrote. And I apologize for that.”

  United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

  Science and Space Subcommittee

  Hearing on Grey Aerospace Manned Mission to Mars: Public Safety Concerns

  Opening Statement of Capt. Jeffrey Grey, President and CEO of Grey Aerospace

  Tuesday, September 17, 2013

  “Thank you Madam Chairman and my thanks as well to the Committee for this opportunity to respond to your concerns.

  “It is not, has never been, nor ever will be my intention to compete with NASA or any of this planet’s other space agencies over the dominion of space. I am simply a private citizen with a large bank account who wants to go to Mars. Though I would like to offer a laundry list of noble reasons for doing so – scientific exploration, expansion of this small world’s spatial domain, answer all the questions that we have about other worlds – the simple fact is, none of that is true. My reason for going to Mars is simple, and it’s the same one George Mallory gave to the New York Times in 1923 when he was asked why he wished to climb Mt. Everest: ‘Because it’s there.’ Mallory also said, ‘To me the only way you achieve the summit is to come back alive. The job is half done if you don’t get down again.’ Mallory never got the job done; he died on Mt. Everest the following year. But he tried.

  “Is our mission risky? Certainly. Is it possible we may not come back? Indeed it is. But we intend to try – because it’s there.

  “No one person is an expert on space travel, there is simply too much to know. Even the renowned and much loved NASA Flight Director, Gene Kranz, had more specialists at his disposal than he could count. I, by no means, claim to know it all. As such, in an honest effort to fully and accurately respond to this Committee’s questions, I have brought with me today the entire mission crew, whom I would like to introduce at this time. On my far right is Dr. Susan Lú, Doctor of Medicine, Cal Berkeley and Stanford University, life support systems and flight surgeon. To my immediate right is Lieutenant Commander Abigail Nolan, United States Naval Reserve, B.S. aeronautical engineering, United States Naval Academy, flight systems and pilot. Too my left is Dr. Gabriel Frederick, Ph.D., aeronautics and applied physics, Oberlin, MIT, Cambridge, and Caltech, chief engineer, propulsion systems, flight engineer and navigator. And to my far left, Ms. Christine Mallory, Communications and Public Relations, Boston College and the Sorbonne.

  “We will be happy to take any questions you may have.”

  (Chairman Stoddard) “Thank you, Mr. Grey, and the Committee welcomes the members of your flight crew. Your credentials are most impressive. Senator Malcolm.”

  (Sen. Malcolm) “I too wish to thank all of you for your appearance before this Committee. Mr. Grey, we are not here to demean your intentions or abilities, we simply wish to assure ourselves and the American people that what you propose to do is safe and in the public’s best interests. In 2004, NASA proposed that it could cost as much as $400 billion for a manned mission to Mars. Might we ask what your total budget for this mission is?”

  (Capt. Grey) “We don’t have a budget, Senator. The mission will cost whatever it costs. If we can’t pay for it we won’t be going. At present, we anticipate the total cost will run somewhere between two and three billion.”

  (Sen. Malcolm) “Forgive me for sounding a bit incredulous, but how do you propose to go to Mars for one percent of what it would cost NASA to do it?”

  (Capt. Grey) “There are a variety of reasons, Senator. First, we have no research and development costs; all our systems are tested, proven, off-the-shelf, and commercially available. Second, we have no long-term expenses to amortize. For example, we don’t need to build launch facilities or a deep space communications network; those already exist. And finally, we’re not the government, we’re the private sector; we can do more with less.”

  (Sen. Malcolm) “That’s all fine and well, Mr. Grey, but how is this Committee to be assured that the systems you intend to utilize are safe, and not hazardous to the public?”

  (Capt. Grey) “Because virtually all our systems are already approved for space flight by NASA and/or the FAA. For example, our primary launch vehicle vendors are ULA and SpaceX, both of whom already provide lift services to the ISS. Our space suits are being manufactured by ILC Dover, the provider of space suits to NASA going all the way back to the Mercury Program. The regenerative carbon dioxide removal system, or RCRS, utilized in both our transit vessel and Mars habitat is identical to that formerly used on the Space Shuttle. Bigelow Aerospace, whose habitats are already flying and approved for manned flight by the FAA, will provide our in-flight habitat. Our Mars descent vehicles are based entirely on the descent vehicles utilized for the NASA Viking lander, Mars Exploration R
overs and Mars Science Laboratory. If our systems are not safe, Senator, then neither are NASA’s. We’re not building a spaceship in our backyard, we’re utilizing the best equipment that commercial aerospace has to offer; the same equipment that NASA is using as we speak. We’re simply bundling it in a more economical package.”

  (Sen. Malcolm) “Yes, Mr. Grey, we all know you possess a great deal of money, but how are we to know that you are competent to utilize these systems?”

  (Capt. Grey) “We learn to use them the same way NASA does. We study and train. We’ve been at it for a year and a half and we’ll be at it for another two and a half years before we go. If you’d care to come up to Newport, we’d be delighted to have you try your hand at flying our command module simulator or donning a space suit analog, jumping in the pool and trying a simulated EVA. Senator, NASA does not have an exclusive on learning.”

  (Chairman Stoddard) “Thank you. Senator Garrett?”

  (Sen. Garrett) “Thank you Madam Chairman, and thank you Captain Grey for your appearance today before the Committee. I understand there are a variety of competing proposals for how to approach a manned mission to Mars. NASA and other international space agencies as well as a number of private interest groups all seem to have their own ideas about the best way to do it; some quite elaborate and expensive, others not so much. Perhaps you could enlighten the Committee and tell us how you plan to do this.”