Enoch's Challenge

by Warren W Ward

  "I wouldn’t either, son. But how do they know about Hotson? And now a chemical formula? I guess we just go with it. This is getting very strange." Johnson wrinkled his brow.

  "Sir, it's been strange from the beginning” Donald said.

  Hornig left the room mumbling to himself.

  –––––––

  The first of January, 1967 brought many new changes to the Frodo project. Dr. Kranz tried to get his people to change the name of the project, but he was met with boos from the team. They liked the name!

  The chemical formula from the Martians proved to be a critical bonus to their efforts. It was found to be a transparent shield against the deadly radiation found in space. It would be a blessing to all future manned flights. It was immediately classified “Top Secret.” The Martians may have been willing to share such a valuable chemical, but the United States government would not be! Dr. Kranz had been particularly worried about radiation from the Van Allen Radiation Belts. That was still a great unknown. There was also suspicion of even a third radiation belt added to the first two. This presented a very nasty problem for organic beings!”

  The drawings were just about finished for Modules A and B. Module C would be finished in a week or two. All the same, there was plenty to do with the drawings the team had. Lockheed’s Skunk Works was ready to start working just as soon as they had the paperwork. NASA’s drafting department was operating triple shifts. This time next week Lockheed would be starting construction on Modules B and C, hopefully. Module A was already under construction.

  The Modules had been formally designated:

  Module A: Crews Quarters and Flight Control

  Module B: Mission Storage and toilet facilities

  Module C: Garden and Power

  Module A, the crew’s quarters, was the unit designated for Apollo 6 already. It would house the astronauts and would be the roomiest. There wouldn't be a lot of room, but it would be refitted to be a bit larger than the original Apollo capsule. Since they would not need the Lunar Landing Module, the living and control quarters would be on two levels. Because no plan was made for them to actually land on Mars, they didn’t need a Mars Landing Module, as they were depending upon the kindness of whoever sent the message to rescue them. NASA personnel who were not briefed would just assume the module needed to be larger to carry additional equipment for the Moon mission. Increased weight would not be an issue, as the actual module would be lighter without the Moon paraphernalia. As an added level of security, it would be stocked with additional fuel and supplies at the last minute under cover of darkness.

  Module B, the storage module, would need to be airtight when it mated with Module A. It would not have to be as streamlined as the Apollo capsule, as no unauthorized personnel would see it anyway. This module would also have to carry the weight limit of the mission supplies. NASA's cargo engineers would have a tough time with this module, as it had to house the toilet and waste facilities as well. The toilet presented a particularly difficult engineering challenge. It was hoped that it would be perfected before launch, but it had a long way to go before that happened.

  Module C, the garden unit, was also a difficult unit to design, as space gardens had never been tried before. This was probably the most critical technical issue facing the NASA experts. First of all, there would be diminishing sunshine as the craft left Earth’s orbit. Second, the walls would have to have large windows on two sides. Now, to most observers, this might not seem like such a difficult design problem, but the transparent coating on the windows would also have to protect against space radiation and still let in the sunlight. Space is a dangerous place, and the more effectively the astronauts were shielded, the better off they would be. Fortunately, the new chemical solved much of that problem. In the end, the bottom line would be their total dependence upon artificial growth-lighting. This greenhouse artificial sunlight would be special wavelength lighting developed for indoor farms. Illegal California marijuana growers had been using it for decades! It was jokingly suggested that maybe NASA should hire a few of them as consultants–and for them to bring samples. However, it was decided that plant growth would eventually be totally dependent upon the ship’s power sources, either nuclear or solar.

  And lastly, there would be no gravity. The astronauts could not endure dirt floating around the cabin. They could not risk having them breathing in particles that escaped.

  Current technologies for energy was still in its infancy. Fuel cells were coming online, but there were still many technical questions about their long-term use. They also required fuel. Fuel is heavy. Nine months’ worth of fuel is a lot of fuel! But there was still the possibility of using nuclear energy. Great strides had been made in nuclear navy ship reactors, and this technology was promising. A decision would have to be made soon on the fuel source, as that would delay Module C if it wasn’t settled soon. So many questions, so many problems, so many decisions…

  –––––––

  Jerry Probert was putting the last piece of the new aluminum model together under the stress analyzer. He gave the signal, and the gauges started rising. "Keep it going until it collapses," he instructed the operator.

  At 2,000 lbs. per square inch, the structure collapsed.

  "Wow. It survived twice the pressure we had expected. We’ve done it!"

  Jerry was obviously elated.

  Dr. Kranz walked into Jerry's cubical in time to recognize that something had happened. Jerry said, “We are ready for the Skunk Works.” They have been bugging me about this section of Module A. It has been holding the rest of the assembly hostage, but we have a winner! The new material you suggested not only did the job, it exceeded our expectations."

  Kranz grinned. “That’s wonderful news, Jerry! Give the rest of the team my congratulations."

  “Oh, by the way,” Dr. Kranz said, “Pack a bag, Jerry. We’re taking a trip!”

  –––––––

  20 January, 1967

  Dr. Kranz and Dr. Jerry Probert arrived in Los Angeles on the NASA jet just in time to hit the famous Southern California traffic.

  “I should have arranged for a helicopter,” Kranz sighed, “This will take forever.”

  "Welcome to L.A.," Jerry said cheerfully. "I went to school here."

  After two hours of driving through mindless traffic they arrived at Lockheed. They parked their car and went through security. Once through, they were met by Dr. Jared Litchfield who was assigned the Frodo as the Project Engineer for Lockheed.

  "Did you get the drawings, Dr. Sanders?"

  "Yes, we've had them for a week. My team has gone over them and we have a few questions.

  "Of course. That's why we are here."

  "Let's go into the conference room. Come with me."

  They walked down a long hallway and into a large conference room with at least fifteen people in it.

  They emerged twelve hours later a little after midnight. The traffic was still unbearable. It took them forty minutes to get to their hotel which was only six blocks away.

  –––––––

  Over the next three weeks, Dr. Kranz and Jerry worked 15-hour days, or longer, transferring the technology and design. At the end of this time, exhausted, they flew back to NASA.

  The project was basically in the hands of Lockheed, so the clock was ticking. Apollo 6 was scheduled for liftoff on April the 4th, 1968. They still had to do what testing they could. Plus there was the actual integration of the three modules. Everything had to be put together on-site to make sure all the pieces fit. With that done, all of the electrical, venting, and controls had to be connected and tested, then retested. There was a year and a few months to go before the scheduled launch. The first module would be ready for NASA's approval in about six months. The rest would follow in three-month increments. That would leave only a few months for total inspection and final integration.

  “So,” Jerry said, "now, we wait."

  But, they didn't wait long. One month
later Dr. Jared Sanders called, "Dr. Probert, we have a problem with Module B. It seems that it might not fit on the launch platform. I think someone switched between the metric and English systems on the explosive bolt mechanism."

  "What?"

  "The specs read 2.750, but should be 69.00 mm instead. That's off by .0334 inches. That makes it so tight that the explosive bolts may not release the capsule."

  "Can you fix it, Dr. Sanders, or do we have to completely redesign the part?"

  "Well, we can't redesign it. It has to interface with the launch module, and we don't have drawings for that. You will have to send the revision back to us. The sooner you deal with this, the sooner we can finish our part. If you can do that right away, we can certainly make it fit. However, it will cost more to make the change,” Sanders said.

  Gee. Who would have figured? Jerry mouthed sarcastically to Dr. Kranz. "Well, it was our fault," Jerry admitted to the contractor. “We’ll send the drawings. Just do it! We can’t afford any delays."

  Jerry grumbled to himself, “We should have just stayed with inches and feet. There are two kinds of countries in the world–one is on the metric system, and the other one is going to the Moon!”

  –––––––

  A few days later Dr. Sanders called back. The part now met specs. Dr. Kranz had sent out a memo right away warning every technical person to be careful with metric’s mks (meter-kilogram-second) to English conversions (foot-pound-second). It would not be the last time this would become an issue with NASA. Fortunately, it would not be repeated for many years, but it would be repeated.

  As the months dragged on, the project continued. Problems crept up, and solutions were offered. Money was spent–lots and lots of money. Both NASA's budget and the military budget were stressed to the limit. The Vietnam War was more demanding than originally expected, and soon the troops would feel the stress, as equipment and supplies seemed to take longer to acquire. But NASA moved on, and so did the war.

  –––––––

  3 April, 1967

  Dr. Donald Hornig, Ph.D., Chief Science Advisor to the president walked into the Oval Office led by Marvin Watson, President Johnson's Chief of Staff.

  "Mr. President. Dr. Hornig is here for his appointment."

  "Sit down, Dr. Hornig."

  "Thank you, Mr. President."

  Hornig went straight to the point. "We have more communications from Mars, sir."

  "What do they want this time, son? Fried chicken?" Johnson sighed.

  "Oh no, sir. It wouldn't keep," Hornig replied innocently.

  Johnson rolled his eyes, "I'm just kidding, Doctor. Get on with it."

  "Sorry, sir. I don't always get humor. But, they have asked us if they can visit us on Earth after our initial contact on Mars. They seem very polite, sir. However, they said they would only come if all nations agreed to their visit. It sounds like they have something important for us."

  "That's a problem. I don't want to bring anyone else in on this project until after we get to Mars. There is a lot at stake. If Russia finds out, they could dramatically delay this launch. Brezhnev can be a real pain in the neck when he wants something. And he will want a lot."

  "I don't think we have to bring anyone in on this until well after the launch, Mr. President. That will give us nine months to let the world calm down. I think if we make it known worldwide what we are doing after the launch, then the public will be on our side."

  "I think it is a bad idea,” Johnson said. “The religious nuts will go crazy when they find out. Our allies will be mad at us for doing this unilaterally. Our enemies will use this as a paranoid excuse to do something stupid. No, son, no one finds out about Project Frodo."

  "OK sir. It's your call."

  "By the way, Doctor, what is a Frodo?"

  Chapter 6- Final Launch Issues

  4 March, 1968

  "Well, Dr. Kranz, we have one month until launch," Jerry said.

  Kranz signed, "Yes, Jerry. I'm quite aware of that. How did the final assembly of the modules go?”

  "Better than expected, sir. Lockheed almost dropped Module C when they lifted it into position, but a smooth crane operator saw what was happening and saved the day!"

  "Boy that would have been a disaster."

  Jerry grinned at Dr. Kranz. "I know, sir! But the god of Mars was looking out for us."

  "Uh, Mars was a god, son. The god of War. Is there a god of good luck?"

  Jerry replied, "I think the Chinese or Japanese have seven gods of fortune. There is probably also a Patron Saint of good fortune or something. We should ask a Catholic."

  Dr. Kranz said, "Or maybe we should just be careful."

  "That too, sir," Jerry admitted.

  Dr. Kranz looked at his schedule. "Jerry, how is the energy source coming along? The time for experimentation is over. We need it now!"

  "Well, that's the good news. There is a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, the RTG as the guys call it, which is working better than expected. When they do the space walk to assemble everything it will be attached to the outside of the craft behind the special shield designed to keep the radiation pointing out into space. They won't even have to hook it up. They just mount it and the connections are made. We were actually able to put one in Module B and one in Module C. These guys will have plenty of juice. Plus, there are solar panels for additional electrical power. The panels will function very well for months. And, they will even work when they got to Mars! Module A was always going to get its own RTG.

  "How have you handled the weight of the battery banks?" Kranz asked.

  "I think we are ahead of our time on that one. The boys in the chemistry lab have come up with a new battery type that is much lighter and should provide good service. They use lithium ions, I think they said. They say it might be popular in the future for portable devices."

  "That's excellent, Jerry. So what is our biggest hang-up now?"

  "Actually, it is in training the astronauts, sir. We cannot tell them the true mission. We can only show them what they need to do. As far as they know, their mission is only Earth orbit. It will test their EVA skills to the max to assemble these complex units in zero-G."

  "Have we decided on a crew, yet?"

  "Yes, sir. It was narrowed down to just Dyer, Kelly, and Hotson. Dyer and Kelly have a lot of EVA experience. Hotson not as much, but they are all good men–not the best, but good. Hotson is the designated pilot and Commander for this mission."

  Gene asked, "Have they been working with the modules a lot?"

  "Absolutely! They are acting as a team of astronauts all being trained together. They see it as experience for future missions. It is an excellent cover!"

  "Hotson, Dyer, and Kelly are single, aren't they, Jerry?"

  "Yes, sir. That is a big reason they were chosen, I assume, except for Captain Hotson. He was specifically requested by the Martians. Besides being single, he really is a good pilot. It is less complicated that way I guess. Their loss will be terrible but, will have a minimum impact on families."

  Gene said, "Jerry, have you noticed how easy it has become for us to deal with the potential death of three Americans?"

  "Yes, sir, I have. Still, I'm sure that whoever is on Mars will take care of them. I really believe that they will! This mission might not be so one-way." Jerry seemed quite enthusiastic!

  "I hope so. I really do." Gene added cheerfully, "Well, let's do our part and get them there safe and sound. I’m glad I brought you in on the moral issues of this project. It is good to share with someone I trust completely.”

  "Yes, sir. Thank you for your confidence."

  Jerry seemed to take everything in stride.

  –––––––

  NASA's facility at Cape Kennedy was busy training the astronauts and making arrangements for the final assembly to the Saturn V rockets. Unknown to all but critical personnel, two additional Saturn V rockets had been ordered from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, with
Boeing, North American Aviation, Douglas Aircraft Company, and IBM as the lead contractors. These had been delivered and were in position ready for the launch platform.

  The plan was for Module B and Module C to be launched into orbit a week before the Apollo 6 launch. It would leave in the early morning hours, and it would be advertised as launches for commercial purposes with a weather satellite included.

  The Apollo 6 mission would be an unparalleled achievement in history with the merging in space of three different payloads. Just maneuvering Module A into position to capture the other modules would be record breaking. Yet, no one outside of the Frodo Program would know.

  The timing would have to be perfect, too, or the three pieces would never find each other. The extra fuel for the maneuvering would not be a problem unless the calculations were dramatically off. If not for the stress of everything having to be perfect on the first try, it would have been fun to actually see all of these pieces come together–if only it were possible.