AMERICA ONE (19 page)

Suzi wheeled her chair over, and VIN stood and introduced her to Maggie.

“How was your milkshake?” Suzi asked.

“Good enough to want a slice of your chocolate cake, Suzi. That is something the Air Force doesn’t do well,” Maggie replied.

The girls chatted getting to know each other.

“Maggie has a degree in aerospace engineering,” VIN stated to Suzi.

“Wűndabar,” replied Suzi. “That was my first choice, too, and did it for my first year at the University of Munich. Then I fell in love with micro-biology, and then organic biology, and then space biology, and then I put them altogether and dropped the engineering. I have three degrees in three branches of biology, and want to do my PhD in all of them one day; but then I was employed here and it will have to wait a few years. This is more fun anyway, all practical with very little theory. Much more exciting!” She smiled, her pretty eyes lighting up and Maggie was hooked.

“I’ve always wanted to continue my aerospace studies, but flying always got in the way,” Maggie replied.

“Well, you are at the right place. I’m sure that if you sign Herr Ryan’s top secret forms, he could put you to work somewhere in the engineering hangar when your flying is not needed. And we could all have a beer in space one day!” she laughed, and left as Mr. Rose brought two more slices of cake.

As they enjoyed the triple chocolate cake, VIN watched Maggie think. Even though she was much older than he, she was extremely attractive, like an untouched doll.

After a few minutes she spoke. “You are right VIN; my gut feel says that this is right. That Suzi must be a whizz kid, and Jonesy, as you call him, was the best pilot I ever flew with. If anybody can teach me anything new about flying, he can. VIN, you have a deal, but I ask one thing of you.” He nodded.

“Will you be sort of my big brother and keep a look out for me. I’m good at what I do, flying, but not much good at other things. Flying and study have been my only life up to now, and I think I may be getting in over my head.”

“I’ll treat you like my big sister, since you are older than me, and I’ll watch your back. I have Jonesy and Suzi watching mine.” Maggie smiled.

It wasn’t two days, but thirty-six hours later, when VIN drove the unhappy flight engineer back to Creech, saw the same guard on duty as before, got two cases and the large bottle of Jack Daniels this time, and picked up a pretty Air Force captain, this time younger than him.

Captain Sullivan was extremely excited about the car. She told him that a punk singing kid had one of these, and she enjoyed the ride north. VIN saw the same cop waiting for them at the end of the dual road; this time VIN waved at him, and the cop just stared back.

Maggie had called General Saunders at Nellis the day after VIN spoke to her, told him that another pilot/flight engineer was needed, one she could trust. She asked for Captain Penny Sullivan, and the base commander said that she would be at Creech in twenty-four hours.

Ryan was happy. He said that he would wait for the new pilot to arrive, and if everything worked out the first flight crew would be complete.

DX2014.

The first meeting of the new crew took place in the belly of the C-5 the morning after Captain Sullivan arrived; it was Monday and just after the early morning exercises and breakfast.

VIN had been left further and further behind by Jonesy as the older man began to get fit again. The two new Air Force ladies were much fitter and enjoyed the run, chatting and running next to Suzi in her speeding wheelchair. As usual Ryan led and wondered who would be the first person to overtake him. However, he did have a suspicion of who it might be.

“Mr. Jones, Ms. Sinclair, Mr. Pitt, Ms. Sullivan, if you want to fly this aircraft, you have two weeks to get fit enough so that I am not the best and fastest runner on the airfield. Mr. Jones, if you want to lead this group of pilots, I expect you to be the first person to finish next Friday’s race. Between you and Ms. Sinclair, the winner will be pilot-in-command of our flight personnel.”

This surprised VIN as Jonesy assumed that it would be his position. He looked at his partner who now looked better than he had ever seen him, and who took the news in stride, his face showing no emotion.

“Just to put a little interest in the competition, our colleagues Suzi and Mr. Noble will be fitted out with the final adjustments to their lower suits, and you will need to beat them too. I know Suzi would not want to come in second, and I assume Mr. Noble will also be passing you Mr. Jones, and believe me he might do that. We don’t know the limits of these suits, but I believe that with good mental coordination, both will have an edge on running faster than any of us.” VIN smiled at Jonesy, who ignored him and faced forward. VIN was excited.

“We are about to go into winter, and here in the desert, it is going to get cold. Before the top surface has a chance to freeze, I need to get large fuel tanks into the ground. Work starts tomorrow on three 100,000 gallon above ground JP-8 jet-fuel tanks, and three below ground liquid nitrogen, hydrogen and helium tanks, or Dewar’s as they are usually called. This large liquid gas storage, Dewar’s, will be kept at correct temperatures by electricity. As you have noticed, new cross country electric cables reached the airfield last week. My electric bill should rise in the coming months to somewhere between one and two million dollars a month. The liquid gases will be cryogenically transferred from these tanks into fuel line systems in new Hangars Six and Seven to fuel the shuttle and spacecraft for spaceflight just before takeoff. Our system has been designed by our Russian scientists who have worked with this same system for over twenty-five years, and have perfected the fueling system to shorter time frames.

Once fueled, the four-ton spacecraft will be lifted into the shuttle; the C-5 will be positioned directly outside Hangar Six facing the hangar doors, the pilot will open its nose and the shuttle will be moved into the front of the aircraft by our transfer trailer back end first. This entire operation must be completed within fifteen minutes. The C-5 then will be towed away from the hangar so its engines can be fired up. Fifteen minutes later she should be leaving the ground, and thirty minutes later she will have reached a higher altitude where the colder air will help keep the gases in a liquid state. So, time from the beginning of second-stage hydrogen gas refueling to blast off is three hours.

“As a refresher, let me give you a quick 101 course on using the hybrid rocket system. Just remember, we have scientists here who designed hybrid rockets decades ago. A hybrid rocket is a rocket motor which uses propellants in two different states of matter, one solid and the other either gas or liquid. In its simplest form a hybrid rocket consists of a pressure vessel (tank) containing the liquid propellant, the combustion chamber containing the solid propellant, and a valve which isolates the two. When we desire thrust, Mr. Jones, a suitable ignition source is introduced in the combustion chamber and the valve is opened by the astronaut-in-command. The liquid propellant (or gas) flows into the combustion chamber where it is vaporized and then reacts with the solid propellant. Combustion occurs in a boundary layer diffusion flame adjacent to the surface of the solid propellant.”

What are the risks attached to this form of thrust?” asked Maggie.

“I was wondering who would ask that question,” replied Ryan. “Ms. Sinclair, our space shuttle is a single fixed unit, which stays together throughout the flight. We don’t have fuel rockets falling away once their job is complete. The fuel is expended and at the correct altitude the hybrid engines run out of fuel. The more adjustable and powerful fuel for space travel, pure liquid hydrogen, takes over and powers the craft to any desired altitude we want. The shuttle roof doors, the cargo inside the shuttle—which could be the 40-foot long panels, food and water supplies, soil and plant supplies, passengers, or one of the new spacecraft in Hangar Seven—is released into space, and the shuttle then descends back to earth. If she is not holding a spacecraft, but space panels, building equipment, stores, or supplies, for example, the two small ion thrusters working in unison with the hydrogen side thrusts take over and maneuver the shuttle to wherever we want her to go. One important thing, the space shuttles are built like the older NASA Apollo craft, which went to the moon and back. In other words, the shuttles can actually go into outer space as easily as the smaller spacecraft can.

“Now, to answer your question, Ms. Sinclair. Hybrid rocket motors exhibit some obvious, as well as some subtle, advantages over solid rockets. The advantages are:

They are mechanically simpler, requiring only a single liquid propellant; this means less plumbing, fewer valves, and simpler operations.

Next, they use denser fuels; fuels in the solid phase generally have higher density than those in the liquid phase reducing overall system volume; it is important for us to get enough fuel into our shuttles to reach space, and fit into the C-5 Galaxy.

Third, metal additives. Reactive metals such as aluminum, magnesium, lithium or beryllium can be easily included in the fuel grain increasing specific impulse, thrust in your terminology, density specific impulse, or both forms of thrust in space. Maybe this technology is new to you, but it is far more modern and safer than what has previously been used in any national space programs.

One of the most important advantages is the lower risk of explosion. Propellant grain is more tolerant of processing errors such as “cracks” which, for you pilots, makes them easier to start, stop, restart, and throttle; are all achievable with appropriate oxidizer control, which you will learn in the next few months.

Lastly, safe and non-toxic oxidizers such as nitrous oxide can be used which means the fuels can be transferred to the fuel tanks in a benign form and remotely loaded with oxidizer immediately before launch, improving safety.

“To sum up what I have just explained to those who didn’t understand, you pilots/astronauts will become masters of this new way of flying with fuels you have not previously used. Our program is far more modern than anything else out there. While it is far more simple, our systems are as powerful as any rocket motor ever built, and we are rapidly catching up to the other private companies in the space race; we have 360 of the best scientific minds in every department, from thrust, dependency, survival on board, down to what is eaten and pooped out in space!”

The meeting ended with Ryan explaining the possibilities of the upcoming presidential elections, and the pilots realizing that there wasn’t any fuel at the airfield to refuel the Air Force C-5, and wouldn’t be for a couple of weeks.

Two days later, after the next run, a larger meeting was held in the new Ground Control center of Hangar One. This time VIN noted that department heads from many of the hangars were included. Hangar Three was represented by the new pilot crew.

During the run VIN had seen a new Jonesy. He had refused any secret beers over the last couple of days, and VIN hardly saw the guy. When he did, Jonesy was sweaty and in workout gear. On the run VIN was at the back as usual, and noticed his partner just behind the three girls, only a hundred yards behind Ryan. It was certainly an improvement and he wished his new legs were ready so that he could join them. He practiced walking daily with Suzi and both of them could even dance a clumsy waltz, Suzi’s Bavarian way of dancing. He joked with her that he was being paid to learn to dance.

Ryan began the meeting. “Today, we are expecting over a hundred trucks bringing in parts for the fuel tanks. Yesterday, the heavy earth-moving machines arrived and I’m sorry for the louder than usual noise out there. Hey! They will be gone in a couple of weeks. This place is going to be hell for two weeks with over 1,500 workers being trucked in and out daily. A camp of tents and kitchens has been set up for them at the intersection on the small civilian airfield, and nobody is to communicate, or leave their hangars during daylight hours. Work will commence on our fuel tanks and on new lines to the outer fuel transfer connection units on the outer walls of the hangars. Our morning runs will continue as usual. Just keep your personnel away from the tank installations.

“Now, asteroid DX2014. A couple of our new personnel in this room, and many not in this meeting, haven’t been told about our next year’s mission to outer space. You have all signed your contracts on secrecy, and hopefully you have enough interest in our project to keep it secret. Unbeknownst to you newbies, and I would like to apologize in advance for what I’m going to tell you, everything you arrived with has been searched very carefully by our team of security personnel on a daily basis.” There was a gasp by Maggie Sinclair and Penny Sullivan. “Sorry ladies, but our three female security guards have searched every inch of your rooms, beds, clothing, sprays, makeup, purses, documents, and military bags for any transmitters, communication devices…anything that might have been hidden by you, or the Air Force without your knowledge. Mr. Jones, I see you haven’t had a beer in four days. Well done. Mr. Noble, thank you for the larger bottle. We will share a drink soon. So far, three GPS transmitting devices have been found. One, strangely enough, under Mr. Noble’s motor vehicle; I’m sure it was planted there when he picked up one of you two ladies. The second one was found in the stitching of Ms. Sinclair’s military pack and the third one in the face cream in Ms. Sullivan’s make-up bag.” Again the two girls gasped, and their faces went white.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t put it there!” Maggie stammered.

“Me too!” added Penny.

“I believe you ladies, and I find it stupid that the government or the Air Force would do such a thing. They can follow you pilots on radar and satellite anytime you are flying. It shows how interested they are in this project. I believe that having so many of the world’s best scientists under one roof is giving somebody out there a nervous breakdown, and I don’t know who it is.

“Now that every piece of clothing, even the apparel you are wearing today, and even this large hangar is devoid of any CIA, Air Force, FBI, Russian, German, and any other organizational listening devices, we can get started. DX2014 is an asteroid we are going to mine.” Again there were gasps from the new recruits. “DX2014 will bypass earth’s moon, about 600,000 miles from earth thirteen months from now. By that time, I hope we will already be back on earth with enough precious metals to help pay for all this. Everything we do here, from Mr. Noble’s new legs, to helping Mr. Jones reduce his alcohol consumption, is for this first mission.