Chris patted Peter on the back. “Well, I better get going. Good to see you again.”
Doubting his sincerity, Peter played along. “Thanks, Chris. It was great seeing you too.”
Chris gave a quick wave to Walter. “We can talk later.” He then turned and bolted out the door.
Facing the four-foot model rocket, Walter put his hands on the marble table. He proudly eyed the company’s future. “This is the Zeus II rocket that will soon take our astronauts into space, launching from our spaceport in Nevada.”
Peter was aware of both, the rocket and the spaceport. He had always been impressed how far the company had come building their own launch facility, something SpaceQuest did not have. Having such a facility gave them the flexibility of launching when and how they wanted, not having to rely on NASA. The Zeus II, with its three-engine design, had already had some successful test launches from the site.
Slowly sliding his hands toward each other along the curve of the table until they touched, Walter leaned in. “EarthOrbit is proud to stand on the shoulders of the many space organizations that have passed before us.” Walter took the weight off his hands before pointing to the engines on the bottom of the model. “For example, those three engines are actually modified Soviet engines from the 1960s that were designed to send Russians to the moon. Those liquid oxygen and kerosene engines have been in storage for over three decades. We have modified them to include modern U.S. electronic controllers, ignition systems, control valves and even thrust vector control systems. And the rocket will be fully reusable. In fact, the first stage has successfully passed all tests proving it can fly on its own. It is designed to fly back to the spaceport by re-igniting one of the engines. Once safely overhead, the engine will shut down as the parachutes are deployed, landing it carefully back at the base.”
Walter then pointed to the top of the rocket. “And there is the Iris capsule, modeled after the Apollo spacecraft.” He turned and gave Peter a wink. “Which of course you know a little about.”
Walter was obviously acknowledging Peter’s heritage, which appeared to be a good thing.
The energized man turned. “We are hoping to capture lightning in a bottle, just like NASA did with the Apollo program.” His eyes settled on Peter. “We are one of only three companies vying for the precious NASA contract to send astronauts to the space station. Two months ago, Spaceplanes was the company to beat. They’re practically in bed with NASA with their Orbital Space Plane, which was based on NASA’s HL-20 spaceship that never flew. NASA would love to award the contract to a company using their old design, justifying the hundreds of millions of dollars they spent on the project.”
Peter was familiar with the HL-20, which was basically a mini-shuttle designed without engines to be a lifeboat for the International Space Station. NASA wanted an emergency spacecraft that could save at least seven astronauts. But after spending a ton of money on the project, some genius in the organization pointed out they could just dock a couple of Soyuz’s at the station to do the same thing. NASA was forced to shut down the project due to the shortsighted policy planning by the White House and Congress.
With his back to the model, Walter leaned back against the table. “At that time, two months ago, our company and SpaceQuest were basically tied behind Spaceplanes. Of course, that was before your little stunt to the moon.”
Peter took a step back as he shrugged.
“Now SpaceQuest has leapfrogged both companies and is sitting in the catbird seat. Unfortunately, EarthOrbit is now a distant third. I want to change that. There will be only one contract of this magnitude awarded, and we want it.” Walter crossed his arms. “Do you think you can help us get it?”
Peter enthusiastically responded, “Yes, sir.”
Walter smiled as he pointed toward his desk. “Good. Come on over and have a seat.”
“Thanks.” Peter walked straight toward the chair across from the president’s desk and sat while Walter circled to the other side.
Walter seemed a bit giddy as he fell back in his chair. “I have to say, I’m honored to be sitting across from a man who was just at the moon. That was some stunt. Just too bad it was with SpaceQuest’s equipment and not ours.”
Peter relaxed. His hopes of getting the job were improving. Walter’s enthusiasm was encouraging. “Thanks, Walter. I’m positive your equipment would have also done the job.”
“I’m confident it would have. Well, I look forward to hearing more details on that mission.” Walter paused as he opened a file in front of him.
He planned on hearing more details? When? Peter took that as saying he had the job.
“You have an impressive resume.”
“Thank you.”
“EarthOrbit prides itself on bringing in qualified engineers and managers from America’s space program. We are not looking to reinvent the wheel. We want to learn from NASA and the other space agencies around the world. Take what they have accomplished and build on it. Your background with NASA along with the time you spent at SpaceQuest would make you a great addition to our family.” Walter leaned forward and put his hands on his desk. “And that’s what we are, a family. We are a close-knit group of hard-working individuals that have fun together, working as a team to make EarthOrbit the leader in the space business.”
Peter got the impression Walter was a proud American. He doubted the man could be a part of any type of conspiracy. If something was going on, it was probably without his knowledge. “It would be an honor to be a part of this family.”
Walter smiled as he fell back in his seat. “Good.” The thin man laid both arms out along the chair’s armrests. “You know I am in this business because of men like your father. I was a very impressionable teenager when we went to the moon, and America’s success in space eventually set my life’s course. After that first step on the moon, I was destined to be in the space business. My hope was to be an astronaut like most teenagers at the time, but of course that didn’t happen.” He brought both hands together and set them in his lap. “I’m sorry about the passing of your father. He was a great American.”
Walter sounded sincere. “Thank you, I appreciate you saying that.”
“You know, I met him once. In fact, it’s kind of a funny story. We were both in a corporate jet flying from California to Houston. The pilot offered to let your dad sit in the co-pilot seat. Back where I was sitting, I could see the pilot let your dad take the controls. Eventually the pilot left for the restroom at the back of the plane. There were probably four of us in the galley, reading and talking.” Walter held up his two hands together, pantomiming the plane’s wings. “Your dad started to lightly rock the plane back and forth, but in such a way no one could feel it. I happened to be looking out the window and noticed the rocking. Knowing your dad had flown all kinds of jets, I decided not to say anything and see what he was up to. Each rock seemed to sway the plane a little more each time until your dad spun us completely around.” He guffawed. “He did a full barrel roll, and a pretty damn good one at that! None of the other gentlemen felt it or noticed anything. It was the funniest sight, seeing the pilot with a stunned look come running out of the restroom with his zipper halfway down. He ran past all of us and snatched the controls from your dad, yelling, ‘What are you trying to do, kill us?’ Your dad just smiled and walked back to his seat.”
Peter laughed. “I never heard that story. But that was one thing about Dad, he loved to roll planes. He wanted to roll everything he flew. He would roll a 747 if he had the chance!” Peter was beginning to like Walter.
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