“I see. How’s Cambridge compare with, say… Caltech?”
“Um, kind of apples and oranges. Schools like Cambridge and Oxford are kind of hard to compare with American universities – be they big ones like Harvard or Berkeley, or small like Caltech and MIT – since going to school here is kind of like going to a big university and a very small college at the same time. Cambridge has over 18,000 students, but Pembroke only has 700. Caltech has about 2,200. Here you may have a lecture at the University in the morning in a big hall with 300 other students, and then in the afternoon have what essentially amounts to private tutoring to help you sort out what you heard in the lecture that morning. But I kind of like the format, it’s a lot more personal. I wish there were schools in the U.S. that were like this. If I knew then what I know now, I would have liked to come here for all my undergraduate and graduate work. I don’t know as I would have got a better education, but I think I would have enjoyed it more.
“Academically, I dunno, once you get into the rarified air of this academic level, they’re all pretty similar. I mean, Caltech, MIT, Cambridge, Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley… Right there you’ve got six schools that are consistently ranked among the top ten universities in the entire world. So far as quality of education goes, how much difference can there be between them?”
Jeff thought for a moment, then grinned and nodded. “And sitting right here in this car we have alumni of all six of them.”
Gabe smiled. “And UCLA is in the top fifteen.”
He laughed. “Yeah, but I’m living proof that even UCLA graduates the occasional idiot.”
They all laughed.
“You guys are making me feel really stupid,” said Chrissie.
“I don’t know, Chrissie,” said Jeff. “I don’t think too many people will look down their nose at Boston College and the Sorbonne.” He glanced at Abby. “And the Naval Academy is certainly ranked as one the top schools in the country.”
Abby smiled.
“#1 in the nation among Liberal Arts Colleges,” said Gabe. “And #5 in undergraduate engineering programs.”
Abby furrowed her brow and stared at Gabe. “You know, one of these days your brain is gonna run out of storage space and you’re gonna lock up like a PC with the Blue Screen of Death, and spend the rest of your life as a turnip.”
Gabe laughed. “Possibly.”
#
The limousine pulled to a stop at the King’s College main gate on King’s Parade. They piled out and Jeff handed the engraved invitation to the Porter. “Jeffrey Grey, and party.”
“Yes, sir.” The Porter called for another Porter who led them toward the Chapel.
As they crunched through the two inches of fresh snow, Gabe grinned. “Wow, old home week.”
“Did you attend the Festival while you were here?” said Jeff.
“No, I wasn’t here for it. I was only here for the Lent and Easter Terms, mid-January through mid-June. So I missed it by a few weeks.”
The Porter led them around the east end of the Chapel and through the north doorway beside St. Edward’s Chapel. There, he handed the invitation to a steward.
“Yes, sir. I’ll show you to your seats.”
Gabe gasped softly, and whispered to Jeff, “Gosh, we get to sit in the Choir?”
He shrugged. “Where else would we sit?”
She pointed to a large wooden edifice dividing the Chapel. “In the Ante-Chapel, on the other side of the choir screen. You can hear fine from there, but you can’t see anything. That’s where the public sits.”
“Lucky us.”
“Yes, very lucky. Hardly anyone outside of the King’s College staff and a few guests ever get to sit back here and actually see this.”
Before taking their seats, Jeff helped Gabe off with her floor-length silk-lined black Persian curly lamb’s wool coat with mink-trimmed hood. He looked at the coat. “I don’t recognize this. Is it new?”
“Uh huh. I got it in Boston a couple weeks ago. We’re supposed to have a cold winter and this looked warm.”
“Is it?”
“Very.”
Jeff whispered, “You know something?”
“What?”
“You look really lovely this afternoon.”
She gasped softly, grinned, and bit her lip. “Thank you. You look very nice also.”
“Thanks.”
“I always like it when you wear a tux. You look so… debonair.”
He chuckled, they took their seats, and for the next hour and a half listened, enchanted, to the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
Saturday, February 20, 2016 (T minus 31 days)
PROP, “And… shutdown.”
FLIGHT, “Rog. GUIDANCE?”
GUIDANCE, “Right down the pipe, FLIGHT. Magellan is on her way.”
Everyone in the MCC leaped out of their seats and burst into applause.
Jeff glanced across the room at Heidi and gave her a grin and thumbs up.
She smiled and clapped her hands.
Gabe, Abby and Susan hugged him. They huddled, leaning their heads together.
“Well, that’s it,” said Jeff. “Two launches to go… us. Thirty-one days.”
They all nodded.
“I need a drink,” said Abby.
Jeff grinned. “Yeah. But first, let’s thank the troops.” They walked to the front of the MCC and stepped up onto the stage beneath the main displays. Jeff clasped his hands together, clutched them to his chest, and nodded appreciatively to everyone in the room. The applause died down and everyone retook their seats. “Thank you. Thank you all so much.” He glanced over his shoulder at the displays. “Godspeed, Magellan, see you soon.” He turned back to the room and grinned. “Well, two more to go.” He chuckled. “We won’t be here to kibitz for those, but we would appreciate it if you’d make sure to get it right.” Everyone laughed. “It’s more than two years since the first time I stood here before you. What we have accomplished together in that time, well… it’s a whole new chapter in space exploration, that’s for sure. I hope you’ve had as much fun as we’ve had.” The MCC team applauded. “I note with considerable pleasure that we now have no more doctoral candidates here. Congratulations to all of you that have received your degrees since we began. I also note, with no small amount of pride, that about a third of you are now employed by NASA. Two of your numbers have now served in the ISS FCR, and one is on NASA’s SLS development team – Bob, I trust you’ve learned something from Heidi?”
Robert Vandergriff, now sitting GNC, smiled and nodded.
“And, even one amongst you has been selected for the Educator Astronaut Program. Congratulations Sheri, well done.”
Sheri Boehm, FDO, grinned. “Thank you.”
“Well, 29 days from now the four of us will hop in the plane and fly down to Kennedy. And two days after that, we’ll climb into our command module atop the last of our J-241s. Heidi, that thing gonna work?”
Everyone laughed.
Heidi grinned, sheepishly, and nodded. “I think so.”
Jeff smiled. “While we’re at it, ladies and gentlemen, can we please have a big round of applause for this lady, the mother of the Jupiter rocket.”
Everyone stood and applauded.
Heidi blushed, and nodded appreciatively.
“And while we’re at it, how about a big hand for your boss and the voice of Grey Aerospace. Chrissie, take a bow.”
Chrissie stood at the PAO console and bowed to the room, wiping tears from her eyes.
Jeff nodded. “Okay then. While we’re gone, we expect you all to behave. And we’d appreciate it if you’d write now and then.” He smiled as the MCC team laughed. “And, well… we hope to see you all when we get back. In the meantime, there’s champagne, caviar, and King crab upstairs… if you’re interested.”
Tuesday, March 8, 2016 (T minus 14 days)
Returning from LC-39A at Kennedy, following the countdown rehearsal, Jeff led Gabe, Abby and Susan into the Press Room in the Operat
ions and Checkout Building, better known simply as the O&C. Cameras flashed. “Good afternoon, all. Um, before we begin, I’d just like to say that we’ve been in these suits for a bit over four hours, so can we try to keep this brief and to the point?”
“David Thompson, Fox News. How did it go?”
“The countdown rehearsal went fine. We’ve obviously practiced this many times and I don’t believe either the Firing Room or we encountered any major surprises. The countdown sequence we’re using is largely based on the shuttle sequence. NASA did that 135 times, so it’s not a real big deal.”
“Tracy Matson, USA Today. I understand that unlike NASA astronauts, your space suits are not custom made for you. Dr. Frederick, you’re wearing a man’s suit because of your height? Is that correct? How does it fit?”
Gabe grinned and nodded. “Yes. It’s, um, second hand, you might say. It fits pretty well. If I were a 38D, it might be a problem. But I’m not, which is a blessing or a curse… depending on your point of view.”
The crowd of reporters and photographers – and Jeff – laughed.
“Roger Garrett, Houston Chronicle. With your launch in two weeks how does the remainder of your mission stand? Are you comfortable with your progress? Is everything where it should be?”
Jeff nodded. “Yeah, I think so. Abby, you want to give them a status report?”
“Sure. Pathfinder, our initial lander and navigational beacon, has now been on Mars for almost a year and half. It doesn’t have a lot to do right now but so far so good. The first cargo drop, from Columbus, is on the ground and about half of it has been moved to the site of our base in the Margaritifer Basin. There were a couple of minor glitches in that drop, but nothing worth writing home about. We’ll collect the rest once we get there. Um, Balboa and Magellan, our resupply and second cargo ships are on the way. Magellan will arrive about six weeks before we do and, hopefully, put its cargo down near our site. Balboa will arrive in orbit just four days before we get there, and we’ll immediately dock with it and transfer everything necessary for our trip home… when the time comes. Also, the two Mars Ascent Vehicles, MAVs, NASA’s part of the mission, were launched from the Cape last month and will be arriving about the same time as Balboa. So we’re quite pleased, everything is on track.”
“Miguel Espinosa, Washington Post. This is an extraordinarily ambitious plan. Is there anything that worries you? I mean, any systems or evolutions that you have particular concerns about?”
“Oh boy.” Jeff shook his head. “I dunno.” He glanced at the others. “Um, the thought of seven months in space is a bit troubling. That’s a long time in zero gravity. Otherwise, no. Obviously there’s always the possibility of some catastrophic event or failure but, barring that, our systems are all tried and true and flight-tested. I can’t think of anything that is of particular concern. Sue?”
Susan shook her head. “No, I agree with Jeff. Seven months in space is a long time. We’ll have to work extra hard to stay in shape, but we’ve planned for that. And then we’ll have seventeen months on Mars to recover. I’m comfortable with all our systems. We’ll be fine.”
“Barbara Watney, Orlando Sentinel. What has been NASA’s response to your launch? How are people here at Kennedy treating you?”
“They’re treating us very well,” said Jeff. “As you know, this is the first manned launch in the U.S. since the retirement of the shuttle five years ago. Even though this isn’t a NASA mission, I think everyone here is pretty happy about getting back in the business of manned space flight, at least for the time being. From Mercury through the shuttle, KSC was the world’s capitol of manned space flight for fifty years. For the past five years I think folks here have felt a bit dejected, and rightfully so. We’re glad to give them something to do.”
“Mike Williams, CNN. I understand that you have had some discussions with NASA and JPL about teaming up with ISS mission control at Johnson and/or JPL’s Mars Exploration Program. Do you have any plans to utilize their services? Or will you be using your own facility in Newport for the entire mission?”
Jeff glanced at Gabe. “You want to answer that?”
“Okay. We’ll be using our own MCC. Yes, we’ve had a few conversations about it, all initiated by NASA and JPL, I might add. Um, the ISS Flight Control Room already has a job, and it keeps them pretty busy. Besides, unlike the ISS, we won’t require seven by twenty-four support, and there’s not much they could do for us anyway. JPL, on the other hand, is a center for unmanned space exploration. That said, the sample return portion of our mission is funded by NASA, and as such we will be talking regularly with JPL, as they have more experience with Martian geology than anybody else. But that will be purely on an ad hoc basis and in an advisory capacity only. Also keep in mind that this is a private mission; any public facilities that we utilize – be it here at Kennedy, or at Johnson, or JPL – we have to pay for. Our own MCC is already paid for and operational, so we’ll be using it.”
“Denise Grant, MSNBC. With so much of the material you will need to survive on Mars and return home still on its way, do you have any concerns about launching, not knowing whether or not everything will make it? What will you do if something fails to arrive or crash lands?”
“No, we don’t have any particular concerns,” said Abby. “Between NASA, JPL and ourselves, we’ve gotten pretty good at sending stuff to Mars and setting it down on the surface. Sure, things can still go wrong, but we have a pretty high level of confidence, otherwise we wouldn’t be going. This is not a suicide mission; we have every intention of coming back.
“What would we do if something doesn’t make it? Well, depends on what that might be. The answer to that question has a lot of permutations. Some possibilities are, um, our launch in two weeks consists of two launches. First will be the J-241 that’s sitting on 39B. It’ll launch a day before we do, and carries our EDS. If something goes wrong with that launch, obviously we’ll just scrub our launch. If something goes wrong with the orbital docking or the EDS engine fails to light, or something like that, we’ll simply deorbit and come home.
“If, uh, oh let’s see, say Balboa, our resupply ship, which also carries our Mars lander, doesn’t make it, obviously we won’t land. We’ll simply conduct what’s called a powered swing-by, and turn right around and head home. That would be about a yearlong transit – in addition to the seven months it will take us to get there – but we do have sufficient supplies on board to make it. That is a contingency we’ve looked at and planned for. The same can be said if by some bizarre stroke of fate neither of the MAVs make it. And finally, if something were to go wrong with Magellan – doesn’t make it or everything lands hundreds of kilometers from our target site – well, we’ll go into orbit and assess the situation and, at that time, make a determination as to whether we’ll land or resupply and return home. I’m sorry, that’s a long answer to a short question, but we do have a number of contingency plans available, and we’re comfortable with our options.”
Jeff held up his hand. “Okay, one more question, then we need to go get out of these suits.”
“Rob McMillan, NBC. Will you be staying here at Kennedy until the launch? And will you be available for additional questions before the launch?”
Jeff shook his head. “No, we’re flying back to Newport this evening, we’ve got a lot of last minute things to do there. We’ll be back here on the 20th, two days before launch. And, yes, we’ll be holding a final press conference here that afternoon. I think it’s at four or four-thirty, something like that. Okay, thank you all very much.”
Sunday, March 20, 2016 (T minus 45 hours)
“Big runway,” said Gabe, peering out the Citation’s window as they touched down on Cape Canaveral’s Skid Strip.
Jeff nodded. “Yeah, sure is.”
Chrissie taxied to the parking tarmac at the northwest end of the strip and shutdown near a waiting NASA shuttle van and fuel truck.
Jeff glanced nervously at Gabe, Abby and Susan. “Well, I gues
s we’re here. I’ll get the door.”
Chrissie met him at the cockpit, looking rather dour.
“Nice landing.”
“Thanks.”
“Why the long face?”
“Why do you think?”
He opened the door. “Oh, cheer up, this is what we’ve been working toward for four years.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Molly Carlisle, a member of the Closeout Crew from the United Space Alliance, or USA, Kennedy contingent, was waiting outside. “Hi, Captain, nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you too, Molly,” said Jeff.
“We’re all ready for you.”
“Thanks. Can you give us a couple minutes? We need to say some goodbyes.”
She smiled and nodded. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be at the van.”
“Okay.” He turned to his crew. “Alright, everybody out.”
On the tarmac, Jeff, Gabe, Abby and Sue lined up facing Chrissie and Heidi.
Jeff shook his head and sighed. “I don’t know what to say.” He hugged them both. “God, I’m gonna miss you guys.”
Chrissie started crying. “I’m gonna miss you too. Please be careful, and come back.”
“We will.” He wiped her eyes. “Come on now, think of all the fun you two will have while we’re gone.” He smiled softly. “Two and a half years with the whole house to yourselves. Nothing but one wild party after another.”
Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1) Page 54
