“Why not? I wanted it called something that couldn’t be associated with a bomb, and since the cover is red and I’m a baseball nut, I decided on Red Baseball.” Allen turned to Bud. “So how’s the weather looking for Thursday?”
“Right now the forecast looks to be overcast,” said Bud, who came across as a straightforward kind of guy with little personality. Bud was a perfectionist whom Allen trusted to ensure all aspects of the launch would be covered.
“Any chance of thunderstorms?”
“Less than 5 percent.”
“Good. Well, different than the Shuttle, we can launch the Newton 9 in cloudy weather as long as there is no lighting around,” said Allen.
Peter whispered to Viktor, “Are you going to be okay with that?” From his NASA experience he knew the Shuttle couldn’t launch in cloudy conditions because of safety reasons. Since the Shuttle was basically a dropping rock with wings, the pilot needed clear visibility to return to the launch site and land safely in an emergency situation. Unfortunately, the capsule Peter and Viktor were flying was a modified cargo transport which had no emergency return system in place.
Allen said, “I’m confident she’ll get you in orbit. We just won’t be able to track you visually through the clouds.”
Peter got an acceptance nod from Viktor before turning to Allen. “We’re confident, too.”
Allen turned back to Bud. “When is the launch window on Thursday?”
“3:04 p.m. to 3:14 p.m.”
“So if we miss that we have to reschedule for the next day?”
“Yep. In order for the Galileo to be in the same orbit as the space station, it must launch in that time frame. We will shoot for 3:08.”
“Damn that sounds tight. What if we launch at 3:15?”
“We miss it,” said Bud, matter-of-fact.
Peter nodded; he was familiar with launch windows as well. Earth’s rotation was not to be denied any more than gravity. He asked Bud, “If we get into its orbit, how long will it take to catch the space station?”
Bernie chimed in, “We calculate around twelve hours, but that brings up another problem.”
“What’s that?” asked Allen.
“The good thing is we’re getting to the ISS quicker than we originally expected. The bad news is Peter and Viktor could be doing their first spacewalk within thirty-six hours of launch.”
“What’s wrong with that?” asked Allen.
Bernie said, “We know Viktor has flown into space, but Peter hasn’t. What if he gets sick? It will take him two days to recover. I know we agreed to do the space walk as soon as possible in order to get a jump on China, but I assumed that wouldn’t have happened until late in the second day at the earliest.”
If Peter threw up in his helmet during a spacewalk, he could die. Wanting to put everyone at ease, he said, “I know there is no way of predicting whether I’ll be sick or not. But I’ll make sure not to make any rapid head or body movements while in orbit. And don’t forget Pop never got sick. So hopefully it’s a hereditary thing.” Peter slightly tilted his head and raised one eyebrow. “But just in case, I’ll make sure not to eat a large meal before launch.”
Allen, staying serious said, “Right now, the first spacewalk is set within the first twenty-four hours at the space station. We can’t afford to wait. Once China realizes what’s going on, they’ll definitely start fueling their rocket.”
Bernie said, “Okay. We know both men need to do a nitrogen purge before doing the spacewalk anyways, and this camp out will probably happen during an overnight sleep. So there’s a chance he might be recovered by then.”
Allen looked at Peter. “Doug wants us to supply him with continuous updates until you leave the space station and you’re dealing with Russia’s mission control. So from these updates we’ll know how you’re doing and can make a team decision then.”
Allen took a peek at his notes. “I was told that NASA calculated there’s enough fuel at the station for the VASIMR engine to give you the required boost needed. So as we suspected, there is no need to take up extra propellant. Also, we finally received the template for the VASIMR bolting pattern from NASA. It’s folded into six pieces and stored in Galileo.”
Bernie asked, “What about the SAFERs?”
Allen had requested two of the propulsive backpack systems from NASA to be used in an emergency. He said, “Only one was delivered, which will be used by Peter at the moon.” Allan looked at Peter. “I’ve gotten confirmation from Doug they definitely want you to take pictures from outside the capsule at the moon. They feel this will allow for higher resolution pictures which will be more difficult to disprove than those taken through the Soyuz window. You’ll use the SAFER and EMU suit stored in Galileo for this spacewalk. For the spacewalks at the space station, the plan is to use the station’s SAFERs and EMU suits. Viktor’s and your custom gloves for the EMU suits will be stored on board Galileo. ”
“Great,” Peter said. “Is the camera here?”
Bernie pulled out the chair next to him where a large metal container with a NASA insignia sat. He lifted the heavy container with both hands and plopped it on the table. “They came in from NASA over the weekend.” Bernie opened the box and pulled out three different cameras, setting them gently down in front of him. Pointing to two of them he said, “These cameras are for still shots. NASA feels it’s best to have a back up.” He grabbed the other camera. “This is your movie camera, and it operates just like your typical video camera.” He reached inside the box, and struggled as he lifted a monster telephoto lens that looked to be three feet long and a foot wide. Straining as he talked he said, “This connects to each camera, and should allow you to zoom in and get detailed pictures.”
Watching Bernie struggle while holding the lens Allen offered, “Good thing you’ll be in zero gravity when operating it.”
Peter stared at the large lens. Though he agreed it would be easier to move around in space, he found training with a similar size lens in the pool was a challenge. He slightly shook his head. Here he was a rookie photographer, responsible for taking some of the most important pictures in America’s history. “It should be easier, but I’m sure I’ll need some practice shots to get it right.”
“You should have some time during your EVA to practice,” said Allen confidently.
Bernie placed the lens down before reaching in the container and pulling out a computer, setting it next to the cameras. “The pictures will need to be downloaded onto this custom computer which has a transmitting chip and antenna built in. When you forward the pictures from the front side of the moon they will be received by the SR2 military satellite, which will forward them on to NASA.” He grabbed one last item, two clear plastic protectors with paperwork in them. “Here are the camera checklists,” he said, sliding the copies across the table to both Peter and Viktor.
Both men took a moment to review the checklists before Peter said, “This all looks pretty straight forward. But how about we review them before you leave for California?”
“Good idea,” Bernie said.
Peter looked at Bud. “I’ll need more Velcro inside the Galileo. I need to have every checklist hanging and accessible to both Viktor and me.”
“No problem. Pass on all your checklists and I’ll make copies and have them hanging for the plugs-out test,” said Bud.
Looking at Allen, Peter asked, “Is the plugs-out test still scheduled for tomorrow afternoon?”
Allen nodded. “At this point, I’d say it’s looking good.”
The meeting continued until everyone in the room was satisfied and gave the mission a go. Allen gave Bud the go-ahead to officially start the countdown.
DMITRI HAD ASKED ANYA to come by his office at the Roscosmos building in Moscow to give him specifics on their dad’s mission. He wanted a debriefing in hopes of being able to support his father and Peter the best he could once the Soyuz was hijacked. The more he knew, the better the chance he could make sure certain items were in place to assist with the operation.