Peter tried to put the director at ease as he let go of his hand. “It was my decision. I did it for my dad and my country. You put no pressure on me. I’m just happy China saved my ass.” Peter pulled a thumb drive out of his pocket and tossed it on Gavin’s desk. “Here is a copy of the pictures taken at the moon. Hopefully it wasn’t damaged from the water.”
Gavin picked up the drive and looked at it. “Water?”
“Yeah, we landed in a river.”
“Well I am glad you survived. That was some adventure you were on.”
“An adventure of a lifetime. It was amazing flying over Dad’s old stomping grounds, seeing his footprints after forty years.”
Gavin placed the drive into his desk drawer. “I’m sure you made your dad proud, and you definitely made your country proud.” Gavin motioned toward a chair. “Have a seat.”
As Peter sat, the director continued to stand, holding the paperwork by his side. “I appreciate you coming out on such short notice.”
Peter flashed a sly smile, remembering his frustration at leaving Anya in a warm bed. “I could tell by your voice it was urgent.”
“It is.” Gavin sat down and set the papers on his desk before shuffling through another stack. His eyes widened when he found what he was looking for. He studied the paperwork for a moment before looking up with hope. “How would you like to rejoin the team?”
Without pause, Peter answered, “Absolutely.”
“Great.” Gavin leaned over and placed the paperwork in front of him. “Here are your reinstatement papers. Sign them, and I can brief you on the mission.”
Peter grabbed one of Gavin’s pens from a holder and started initialing the highlighted areas. “I think I might hold off taking any suicide missions for awhile.”
“Let’s hope I never have to ask an agent to do that again.”
Peter signed the last page before handing the papers back.
Gavin spiritedly grabbed the papers. He flipped to the last page and signed it. “Okay, it’s official. You’re back on board.”
Curiosity had been gnawing at Peter ever since Gavin’s call, wondering why he was needed over other agents. “So what’s this crisis?”
Gavin leaned back in his chair and studied Peter for a moment. He answered in a tight and efficient voice. “The Soyuz that launched yesterday for the ISS had an explosion in orbit and is stranded. The explosion happened in the service module, damaging the descent module. All three cosmonauts have been forced into the orbital module until they can be rescued.”
Peter’s jaw dropped as he straightened in his chair. Though he hadn’t watched much news since getting back, he remembered hearing a civilian was going to the ISS. “Isn’t there a space tourist on board?”
Gavin nodded. “Yes, and apparently he is some billionaire’s spoiled ass kid who is not handling this very well.”
“How much time do they have?”
“NASA figures they have less than forty-eight hours before their air supply runs out.”
Peter lifted his hands, palm side up. “So why doesn’t Russia just send up a Soyuz to save them?”
Gavin shot him a dejected look. “They can’t. The damaged Soyuz is the newer model K, which unluckily happens to be what’s sitting on the pad for an emergency rescue. The Russians fear the same problem can happen again, and there’s no reliable Soyuz model TMA ready. They can have one on the pad by tomorrow, but it will be minus an orbital module. So it can’t be used for the rescue.”
Peter shook his head, amazed at Russia’s shortsightedness. He understood there wouldn’t be enough room to house all three men along with the rescuing pilot in a Soyuz without an orbital module. Since the damaged ship the cosmonauts were in also had no airlock, there wasn’t the possibility of saving two of the men and transporting them to the ISS before returning for the other.
Peter raised an eyebrow. “What was the rush launching without a TMA model ready?”
“Apparently there was some clause in the space tourist’s contract that said he had to launch by July 15th or it would be null and void.”
Peter rolled his eyes. He knew how important money was to the Russian space program. “So why don’t they just pick them up with the escape pods from the space station?”
“Well, if you remember, you stole one,” replied Gavin with a smirk. “And the other one was brought back on schedule with three ISS astronauts.”
Peter took a sip of coffee. He was starting to get the picture. The only potential lifeboat out there was the Galileo parked at the space station, which he flew up. He figured that must be why he was needed. He leaned back in his chair, putting both hands on the armrests. “So what do you need me for?”
Gavin spoke without hesitation. “The Galileo is our only option at saving those men, and you are the only man who has flown it.”
Peter looked out the window. Though Galileo could be returned to Earth by mission control, it would need to be piloted by an astronaut to rendezvous with the disabled Soyuz. “So I fly up on the Russian rocket being put on the pad?”
“Yes, a TMA model with no orbital module. If you accept the mission, you would need to leave immediately for Baikonur. A veteran cosmonaut will fly you to the space station.”
Peter figured it would take him at least fourteen hours travel time to get to Russia’s launch facility, Baikonur Cosmodome, in Kazakhstan. With the ten-hour time change, he would probably arrive mid-morning local time.
Peter rubbed his chin, thinking. “How will we dock to the ISS without an orbital module?”
“You won’t. Since you will not have a docking apparatus, the ISS robotic arm will capture you. You’ll do a spacewalk to enter the station.”
Peter grabbed his cup of coffee as he looked past Gavin, taking a sip as he thought of the operation. He assumed his responsibility would be to fly the Galileo, while the cosmonaut taking him up or one of the ISS astronauts did the rescue spacewalk. He started shaking his head. He was familiar with the internals of the Galileo, and questioned it being large enough to house all five astronauts. “I think we have a problem.”
Gavin tilted his head. “What’s that?”
Peter set the coffee cup back on the desk. “I seriously doubt the Galileo can handle five men in spacesuits, especially if one of us is in an EMU suit.”
Gavin relaxed his shoulders. “Not a problem; that’s already been thought out. There will only be four of you.”
Peter leaned back as he shot a questioning look toward his boss.
“Only you will fly over in Galileo. Once you rendezvous with the Soyuz, you will pass control of the vehicle over to SpaceQuest. Then you will do the spacewalk to rescue the men.”
“Is the plan to return to the International Space Station?”
“No. There is not enough fuel. You’ll have to return to Earth.”
With his elbows planted on the chair’s armrests Peter extended his hands. “What if there is an emergency with the ISS when I depart in the Galileo? The only lifeboat available will be the Soyuz we fly up, and it can’t handle three ISS astronauts and the cosmonaut.”
“Correct, but that’s a risk NASA has accepted. Russia should get a second TMA model up there within forty-eight hours after you leave the station.”
Peter locked his fingers together as he looked out the window. Just as he couldn’t wear the rigid spacesuit in the Chinese ship falling through the atmosphere, he surely couldn’t wear one in the cramped Soyuz. “I doubt I can go through re-entry wearing an EMU suit.”
“NASA agrees. In fact they question whether you could fly the Galileo in that suit. NASA concluded there is only one type of spacesuit out there that would allow you the flexibility of sitting in a seat and doing an extended EVA.”
“Which one is that?” Peter reached for his cup and took another sip.