Low voltage lights dimly lit the airlock, allowing Peter to make out the two EMU suits below that he and Viktor would be wearing. As he peered down on them they looked like two buddies sitting across from each other having a discussion. Each suit was attached to an adaptor on opposite walls, connected to the station’s power system, insuring they would be fully powered for their spacewalk the following morning. The suits were completely assembled, from the boots up to the helmet; only the gloves were missing. A cover protected each helmet. In the dim light and dark shadows, the suits looked ghostly, their arms floating with no hands. Peter whispered, “Hey, what are you two talking about? You two better do your job tomorrow!” He got no response.
Peter grinned as he closed his eyes. Restless, he reviewed the day’s events in his head, hoping that might put him to sleep. The first image that came to mind was his first glimpse of Earth from space, and the joy that swept through his body. He would see many more amazing sights over the next week, but that image would always be special. He reviewed the launch in his head—all the shaking, the excitement of liftoff, the pogo drama; he concluded he was satisfied with how it all went. He reflected on the docking and how proud he was he made no mistakes. He also was pleased the ISS crew let them in without any issues, even willing to help by offering to use the robotic arm to move the VASIMR engine during their EVA. Good thing Viktor had that connection with Boris! Everything was going to plan. The only issue, which was expected, was when Boris informed Houston they had welcomed in some surprising guests. Initially, all hell broke loose, but things seemed to calm down, which Peter was sure was due to Doug Rose. Peter was happy both the commander of the ISS and the head of NASA were in on the mission.
Peter opened his eyes… he wasn’t having any luck getting to sleep. Bottom line, he was just too excited. He turned his head toward the Crew Airlock, looking through the opened hatch that connected the two locks, imagining their big day tomorrow. He hoped to get a lot accomplished, and if everything worked out, they possibly could finish the job and have the Soyuz ready to fly to the moon during one spacewalk. Though it was a long shot, the sooner they finished, the better, since it was only a matter of time before China would figure out their intentions.
He closed his eyes again… Come on Peter… get to sleep! A slight smile came to his face, thinking of his dad having the same problem trying to sleep on the moon. He remembered his dad saying he was just too excited. How could he go to sleep when the moon was just outside his door? Peter could relate, but never had it been so important for him to get a good night’s sleep. Finally, he focused on the one thought that would put him at ease—his last image of Anya lying in bed. He blocked out everything but that one image, and before he knew it, he was out.
28
THE JOY OF SPACE
Peter and Viktor floated alone in the crew lock, sealed off from the equipment lock and the rest of the space station and crew, ready for their spacewalk. The pressure in the lock had been reduced from the .7 bar they slept in down to .35 bar, 5 psi. The lock was a tight fit for the two astronauts as they floated around the three-by-four-foot folded template needed for the EVA in their bulky EMU suits, large backpacks, and SAFERs. Since they never trained for this exercise, they comically kept bumping into each other and the template. They finished their final leak check of their spacesuits and disconnected them from the space station’s service and cooling umbilical cord. Peter wanted to take advantage of living off the station’s power as long as they could before heading out into space, allowing them as much time as possible to finish their tasks. The suits were now operating on their own power. Peter tried to position himself in front of the hatch on the floor and in doing so accidentally kicked Viktor in the helmet. “Sorry about that, ole buddy,” said Peter snickering at his clumsiness.
The vent valves were partially opened to depress the crew lock to its final pressure so the hatch could be opened. Knowing it was only moments before they would be in space, Peter prepared himself for what he was about to see and experience as he hovered over the hatch. They would be exiting from the bottom of the station in the direction of the earth.
“Crew lock is at .2 bar. You are go for opening hatch,” said Boris, who would be supporting the astronauts from inside the space station.
“Roger, go for hatch opening.” Peter fully opened the vent valves to depressurize the remaining .2 bars, bringing the pressure in the lock down to vacuum, the same as in space. Once the valves finished venting and the pressure was equalized, he opened the hatch. As he lifted, all he saw peering back at him was his planet, engulfing the full cavity, completely swallowing up all his senses. He froze for a moment, simply amazed at the sight below him. Some astronauts preferred to exit feet first, but not Peter. He wanted to go head first so he could get the full experience of the slow rotating globe below him, taking in all its vibrant and wonderful colors. He gave himself a push from within the lock, and slowly floated through the opening, headed toward Earth. He had the impression he was falling out of a slow moving airplane in slow motion. “Holy Shit!”
“What’s problem?” radioed Viktor with concern in his voice.
“This is way too cool! It’s fantastic!” Peter exclaimed.
Viktor started to laugh. “I worry you see alien monster or something.”
Peter smiled. “No monsters, just unbelievable beauty.”
The splendor mesmerized him. The astronaut’s helmet was fixed on his spacesuit, unable to turn, but his visor was almost a complete half circle dome, allowing him nearly a 180 degree view when turning his head from side to side. Peter looked all around, astounded. The view was much more enhanced than looking out a flat window. Seeing Earth on the other side of his visor was a true 3D effect only a person floating in space could experience. He forced himself to focus back upon the task at hand, securing his tethered line. “Viktor, I’m tethered and ready for the template.”
“Roger. Sure no monsters?” asked Viktor.
“All clear,” said Peter, grinning. He grabbed the template as it slowly started to protrude out through the hatch, Viktor following close behind. Peter secured the cord attached to the template to a clip on his suit and let it float next to him.
Once Viktor was out and tethered, Peter closed the thermal cover, and the two started to venture toward the model K Soyuz using the handrails along the station. They had a little over eight hours available to work before they would need to head back to the airlock, pushing the limit of their primary oxygen supply. Both men had choreographed exactly what each had to do to attach the VASIMR engine and have the Soyuz ready for deep space flight. They hoped it could all be done in one spacewalk, putting them ahead of schedule and giving them their best chance of beating China. Doing it all in one time out was an aggressive undertaking, but with the help of the robotic arm and a trouble-free EVA, they just might pull it off.
JACK SAT COMFORTABLY on a brown leather couch in the president’s cabin at Camp David, waiting for the president, who was having a private meeting with the secretary of state. Jack had called the president earlier in the day asking for the meeting at the naval base to discuss urgent news he had recently received regarding the secret space mission. News he wished he didn’t have to pass on.