Orbital Maneuvers

By RC Davison

Orbital Maneuvers takes you for the ride of a lifetime!
Damaged and stranded in orbit by a catastrophic asteroid impact on the Earth, the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour has only one chance for survival — get to the International Space Station. But a crew member’s homicidal actions to save himself at any cost, threaten everyone on board, and their only chance to return to Earth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: RC Davison
• Release date: Jun 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452391816

RC Davison

Who am I?I am an electrical engineer and have been for the last twenty-some years, but I did not start out as an engineer.In college I majored in physics and astronomy and graduated with a BS in Physics after the university dropped the astronomy program. After realizing that a four-year degree in physics was not the most marketable degree to have, I went on the get a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering.Throughout my professional career I fed my fascination for science by reading whatever I could find on all sorts of subjects from astronomy to zoology and watching everything I could on television.While I was growing up in a small town in upstate New York I lived for the National Geographic Specials that were not on often enough for my satisfaction. I was ecstatic when my parents got a subscription to the magazine. As there was a dearth of science programs on TV in the sixties, I fed my desire for science by reading books and watching science fiction programs on our black and white television.TV offered a few programs that were on during the time I was allowed to watch it: Twilight Zone (Scared me.), Outer Limits (Scared me even more!), Lost in Space (Wanted to be part of the Robinson family.), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Interesting, but every week it was a new monster trying to destroy the sub.), Land of the Giants (Didn’t get to watch this one too much.) and the one that blew them all away—Star Trek! (Ahhh!) The technology, the characters and the special effects mesmerized me. (Yes, special effects. Don’t laugh! Taken in the context of TV sci-fi programs in the sixties, Star Trek was a quantum leap above the rest.)I found myself particularly fascinated with Mr. Spock—the pure intellect, the cool, emotionless logic and the apparent mastery of everything having to do with science and math. Mr. Spock was my inspiration to pursue a career in the sciences. Star Trek, coupled with the fervor growing with the Apollo Space Program, and the goal of landing on the Moon by the end of the decade, fueled my desire to be out there exploring The Final Frontier. I wanted to be on the Starship Enterprise and even though I was old enough to know better, I couldn’t help but look up at the night sky in hopes of seeing that amazing starship streak across it after being thrown back in time, yet again!As time moves forward, as it always does, I grew up and realized that I probably wasn’t going to get into space and Scotty wasn’t going to beam me up! I did realize that I could participate in science, technology, and even the space program by pursuing my interests in astronomy and physics. So through a round about way I did end up working on a project (CRAF – Comet Rendezvous and Asteroid Flyby) to measure the dust coming off a comet, but due to NASA budget cuts the program never flew.The next highlight of my career came when the same company won a contract to build laboratory balances for the International Space Station. Again, budget cuts and a constantly changing space station design killed the project in midstream. Touching space, even indirectly was not meant to be.I continued to work in developing scientific instrumentation and staying abreast of the latest development in science. With the new age of space telescopes, and advancements with ground-based telescopes the wonders of cosmos are never ending.Where did the story come from?The story sprung out of the fog of contemplating what the first astronaut’s were doing on the fledgling space station in the mid 90’s. More specifically, I was wondering just what do they dream about while floating in microgravity. Do they dream of walking on terra firma or are they floating in their dreams? The main idea of the story was fueled by the numerous programs and articles in the mid 90’s discussing asteroid impacts on Earth, and how we need to start mapping these objects and come up with a plan for protecting ourselves.The more I learned about the threat, the more I realized that it was something that we needed to attend to sooner rather than later, where the costs—monetary and other—would be a lot less than if we discovered that we only had a few months advanced notice of an impact. I wrote the story with the idea of entertaining as well as educating the readers about this threat. I hope that I’ve succeeded on both counts.RC Davison

Book preview

Orbital Maneuvers

RC Davison

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2010 RC Davison

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Cover artwork by RC Davison

3D Shuttle model courtesy of NASA

Acknowledgements

I would like to take a moment to thank a few special people that have helped me bring this project to life.

First and foremost, there is my wife, Mervet. She has been my sounding board, proofreader, consultant, and advisor, on top of everything else she does to make our household function. This book would not have happened without her loving support on many levels.

Second, I would like to thank my sisters (-in-law) Mona and Margo: Mona, for her patience, endless hours proofreading early revisions of the story, website support, and offering valuable suggestions that helped me see the story from the reader’s perspective. Margo (and Sharif), for their great feedback and support, which was instrumental in bringing the companion website online.

Third, I would like to thank my editor, Anne Dantz ([e-mail]), for all her efforts. Her creative input and concise editing helped to bring the novel to life. Anne’s attention to the smallest details, whether they were in the story line or character development, always amazed me. Her suggestions for alternate wordings oftentimes were exactly what I was striving for, but just could not put into words as I was writing. I have learned a lot during the process of editing the manuscript because of her efforts, not only with respect to the mechanics of writing, but also to the creative aspects of writing. If you’re looking for a freelance editor, I’d highly recommend her.

Finally, I would also like to thank you, the reader, for taking some of your time, and your hard earned money, to explore the creation of an unknown author. I hope I exceed your expectations. Enjoy the story.

-RC Davison

Table of Contents

* Space Shuttle Illustration

* International Space Station Illustration

* Major Extinctions on Earth

* Orbital Maneuvers

* Author’s Notes

FIVE MAJOR EXTINCTIONS SUFFERED ON PLANET EARTH*

•439 million years ago: Ordovician-Silurian extinction. Twenty-five percent of marine families and 60 percent of marine genera destroyed.

•364 million years ago: Devonian extinction. Twenty-two percent of marine families and fifty-seven percent marine genera destroyed. Extent of destruction of land animals: unknown.

•251 million years ago: Permian-Triassic extinction. Ninety-five percent of all species destroyed.

•208 million years ago: End Triassic extinction. Twenty-two percent of marine families and fifty-two percent of marine genera destroyed. Vertebrate deaths are unclear.

•65 million years ago: Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction. Sixteen percent of marine families, forty-seven percent of marine genera and eighteen percent of land vertebrate families, including the dinosaurs, destroyed.

Present day: Quaternary Period—The age of man

Astronomers predict a close approach by the asteroid, Apophis, in 2029 with the possibility of impact in 2036 - The Quaternary extinction.

* Reference: Doug Erwin, Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/planetearth/extinction_sidebar_000907.html)

Orbital Maneuvers

I

Susan hung motionless in the warm, sapphire blue water. Rays of sunlight pierced the water and danced with the wavelets on the surface as they passed overhead. The only sound she could hear was her heart beating a slow relaxed rhythm in time to the dancing sunbeams. Faintly, she could make out clicks and chirps followed by an occasional thump and what sounded like a splash or whooshing noise—like a million bubbles bursting at once. She pirouetted in the liquid blue turning toward the sound and staring off into the distance. She could see light blue above, dark blue to ebony black below, and azure to the deepest, richest royal blue surrounding her. Like swimming in the Hope diamond, she thought. The sounds drew closer and she strained to localize the direction they were coming from. Still not knowing what was coming, she felt at peace and quite content to hang in this beautiful sea admiring the infinite shades of blue that played around her. Susan decided that blue was her favorite color.

The clicks and chirps grew louder and more frequent, accompanied by more thumps, splashes and the rush of millions of bursting bubbles. Out of the deep blue she could finally make out shadows moving and playing among the sunbeams and sliding in and out of the blue veils of water. A small pod of bottlenose dolphins finally emerged from the dark blue shadows and swam toward Susan as if she were the object of their search. They split up and darted around her, watched her with their inquisitive black eyes and perpetual smiles. Eventually they approached Susan close enough to touch her with their fins or nuzzle her with their beaks and she gently reached out and stroked their smooth gray skin. The dolphins dove deep beside her only to shoot up past her on the other side and to launch themselves into the air at the surface doing somersaults and spins. With each entry back into the water she saw the clouds of bubbles form and burst, gently caressing her ears. She was very delighted with her new playmates. It was only when she saw them surface for air that she realized that she did not have to. Nor was she wearing any scuba gear, or clothes for that matter, yet she felt no discomfort, no burning desire to get to the surface to take in a much needed breath of air. That was odd, she thought. But at the moment she chose not to dwell on it, as she was enjoying the water and her new friends too much.

After a fashion the largest of the dolphins stopped in front of Susan and gazed deep into her eyes. Susan wondered if it were trying to tell her something. Susan could not decide which it was but she immediately felt a chill run through her. The dolphin’s gaze lingered for a few more moments and with several loud chirps the pod reformed, circled Susan several times, darted away and returned only to repeat this new dance several more times. Susan did not know what to do. They seemed to be trying to tell her something but she could not translate the language of their dance or read any meaning in their fixed smiles. She hung in the water as the pod circled her slowly one last time. Once more the largest dolphin paused to look into her eyes and then with a low series of clicks, the pod swam to the surface for one more leap into the air, dove past Susan into the dark blue below, then down into the ebony black of the deep.

All was silent again: no clicks, no splashes, no rush of bubbles. The only sound she could hear was the beating of her heart, much more rapidly now than before. Susan began feeling more and more uncomfortable. A sense of apprehension drew upon her like a cloud blotting out the sun. She fought back the panic that started to rise deep in her stomach and began to search around looking for some sign of the impending danger. There was no noise, no indication, no warning. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Susan saw a black shadow approaching! The shadow loomed out of the darkness, hurtling toward her at an unbelievable speed for its size. She tried to swim to the surface as the massive black object rushed toward her. Susan looked over her shoulder while she struggled through the viscous water. In her panic, all she could see was a massive, scarred, black fin and a lifeless black eye. It pierced her through to her very soul: sucking the energy from her body. She tried to swim faster but the beast bore down upon her until the sunbeams were extinguished, and the liquid blue turned to solid black as the beast engulfed her...

Susan awoke in a panic, struggling against the restraints that kept her from floating out of her sleeping bag and about the cabin. She looked around and saw there was no liquid sapphire blue or solid black to be seen. There was no beast crushing her and no water suffocating her. Her breathing was beginning to slow down as she wiped the sweat from her forehead hoping that no one heard her struggling through her nightmare. Not the kind of thing a mission commander would want the crew to know about.

Susan released the restraints from her sleeping bag and floated freely. Checking the time, she saw she had an hour before Mission Control would officially wake them up. She floated silently from the flight deck, where she chose to sleep last night, to the middeck and weaved her way past her sleeping crew to the personal hygiene compartment. This was one of the few places on the shuttle where one could have any privacy. Once inside, she tried to compose herself. Cleaning up in space wasn’t quite as refreshing as a good shower was on Earth, but for the moment it helped Susan calm down and collect her thoughts. She gathered up her unruly hair, twisted it into a bun, and secured it with a scrunchie. She still had that gnawing in the pit of her stomach, not quite as bad as before but it bothered her nonetheless. Susan tried to focus on the busy day they had ahead of them. She wanted it to go as smoothly as the rest of the mission had gone. The launch went perfectly and the rendezvous with the International Space Station to drop off the Crew Return Vehicle, or CRV as it was more commonly known, went mostly by the book. They also unloaded the supplies the station needed to support a full station crew compliment of seven that were going to arrive next month on the shuttle Atlantis and a Russian Soyuz capsule. Now that the CRV was at the station, they would be able to evacuate all seven crewmembers at once, if needed. Today they had to rendezvous with the science experiment satellite, SCIEXSAT, to remove some samples that have been in orbit for a year. After that task was completed they had some public relations broadcasts to do and then they would prepare the shuttle for tomorrow’s reentry.

As Susan thought about the day’s tasks she felt the pain in the pit of her stomach increase in intensity. The pain did not bother her—she knew it wasn’t a pain that came from a biological cause—it was the sense of foreboding that accompanied the pain that disturbed her more. The discomfort brought Susan back to a time as a child when she had a terrible dream, and the same sensation of pain and foreboding.

Growing up in a close family, with grandparents always around sharing the chores and responsibilities of raising her and her two brothers, gave Susan an appreciation of family not too many eleven-year old children had. She was especially close to her grandfather. He spent much of his free time reading to her. She could listen to him for hours as he read her all the classics of literature, the comics, or told her stories of his youth. It was always a treat to come home from school and find her grandparents waiting, eager to hear about her day’s activities, and to share a snack.

One night, Susan had a dream in which her grandfather was sailing away, leaving her all alone on the beach of a deserted island. Susan awoke in a panic, covered in sweat and with a strange pain in her stomach. The vision of the dream haunted her while she lay awake in bed trying to get back to sleep. It was so unlike Grandpa to ignore her. No matter how much she called to him he just sailed farther and farther out to sea with dolphins swimming beside the boat. Finally, she could take no more and with the ache in her stomach still there she ran to her grandparent’s room. Seeing them sleeping soundly, she returned to bed assured that her grandparents were all right—yet the ache in her stomach persisted.

The next day Susan learned that her grandparents were to leave on a trip and she felt the wave of pain and apprehension recur. She told her grandfather about the dream and asked him to stay. She begged him not to go, not to leave her. Susan remembered how he laughed at her and told her that he would be back in a few weeks to finish Black Beauty, the latest book he was reading to her. The feelings she felt just grew worse when they left and Susan knew, deep down, that she would never see them again. Her fears became reality as the plane her grandparents were on crashed while landing on their return flight. The pain and fear that nightmare planted in Susan never returned, until last night.

It took many months for her to accept the loss of her grandparents and many years before she stopped anticipating hearing their voices when she got home from school. Right now, Susan found herself yearning for the soothing sound of her grandfather’s voice reading Black Beauty to her. Right now, she wished she were anywhere but on this shuttle.

II

Susan floated over to a porthole and looked out at the blue Atlantic Ocean covered with clouds that looked like puffs of cotton. How small and fragile Earth looked from orbit, like a piece of hand-painted porcelain, so delicate and beautiful. Her gaze drifted from the deep blue of the water to the deep black of the horizon. There was always something very sinister and threatening in the blackness of spaces where one could not see everything that was hidden in shadow. Susan realized that she was experiencing the same feelings that she had had as a child looking into her bedroom closet on long, hot summer nights, just as the light was fading in the room and the crickets’ songs grew louder. The blackness she now stared into was infinite, so deep, so ominous that Susan could not turn her eyes away. Maybe if she stared long enough she could see what was out there and just maybe the ache in her stomach would go away.

Space is so infinite, distances so huge, sizes so massive and time so old that one has no option but to use terms that are measureless in characterization to describe it. It is in this realm that things happen just because there is enough time or just enough space for them to happen. The odds of a star going supernova and shredding the planets that peacefully orbited it for billions of years are small. The odds of it going supernova and blowing one chunk of the debris in just the right direction so that a billion years later it would enter the gravitational pull of our Sun and its path be deflected just enough to intercept the third planet from the Sun, are astronomically small. Astronomically small, yes, but not zero! Given enough time, enough space and enough pieces to play with, statistically anything may happen. This day, a billion years ago, such a star did go supernova, and sent hurtling through space was a piece of an alien planet, almost ten miles in length and four miles across at its widest point. The life that was once nourished by the light from that sun—plants and animals much unlike anything we would ever recognize on Earth—would never be again, would never awaken to a new sunrise, a new day. The blackened, charred, sliver of a planet was sent on a journey that would end as it begun: in a fiery cataclysm. As its environment was shattered and disrupted, it too was about to do the same to a very unsuspecting planet, in the solar system of a very average star, in a remote corner of the Milky Way galaxy.

Susan was snapped out of her vigil at the porthole by the sounds of the Everly Brothers singing Wake Up Little Suzy—mission control’s idea of a little joke to keep things light. She had been anticipating this song all mission long and was surprised that it took them this long to get to it. Actually, Susan welcomed the temporary distraction as she made her way to the shuttle’s flight deck to check the status display for the condition of her shuttle. All systems showed nominal, so there should be no delay in the satellite rendezvous coming up this morning.

Ivan was the first to emerge from the cocoon of his sleeping bag. He had no trouble sleeping on the shuttle, being a veteran of many months on MIR, and was always the first up and ready to tackle the NASA cuisine that would now be called breakfast. He was sometimes referred to as Chef Ivan because he prepared the food for everyone, especially if they were not at the table on time. He claimed it came from being the big brother to four brothers and one sister who trained him for kitchen duty. As Susan came down from the flight deck, Ivan floated by, smiling and humming Wake up little Suzy none too softly. He looked closely at Susan and his expression grew serious. Are you feeling all right? he asked.

Oh, I’m okay. Ready to grab SCIEXSAT after breakfast! Susan replied, trying to sound excited.

Ivan gave her a long look. You are sure everything is okay? You look troubled.

Susan took a deep breath and said, No, really, I’m doing fine.

Okay, you are the boss, Ivan said, and then resumed humming his tune as he floated on his way.

Susan had grown to like Ivan a lot. Her first encounter with him left her a little concerned that he was too gung-ho with his experience as a military pilot and a cosmonaut, but it didn’t take long for her to realize that he was quite warm and friendly, and he took his responsibilities seriously. Over the years that they trained together she found that she really appreciated his wisdom and humor. He coached her on the trials and tribulations of life in space, as well as the intricacies of flying in space. She helped him with his English and the challenges of living in the United States.

Ivan was on this mission as a warm-up to taking a position on the International Space Station next year, if all went well. The relationship between Russia and the United States had warmed considerably in the last few years, which made it easier for the exchange of technology, resources, and people. Ivan took to flying the shuttle like a proverbial fish to water and fell into the NASA routine with ease. As a testament to his piloting skills, the docking with the space station went well considering that one of the shuttle’s thrusters had become intermittent at the worst possible time.

Breakfast went as usual with the right amount of camaraderie and business. Between slurping up balls of floating orange juice and eating their eggs and toast, they discussed the procedures they would be going through to catch the satellite.

So, Jill, are you ready to earn your space wings? Susan asked.

As ready as I’m ever going to be. Do it just like in the sims, right?

"Yeah, except for those things that will go wrong. You know, the ones they didn’t think up to throw at you in the simulations, Jerry said as he fished a small piece of egg out of his food packet. It’s always those problems that show what you’re made of."

Susan shot Jerry a quick look of disapproval. You’re going to do fine, Jill. This should be easier than the sims. You’re going to be weightless and not dealing with the pull of gravity like you had in the water tank. The important thing to remember is to just relax, enjoy the view and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Yes, and remember, Ivan offered, Jerry has the harder job, he has to capture SCIEXSAT. You just have to do the service procedure.

Don’t worry about me. You’ll have the satellite in the bay to work on—just don’t make me look bad, Jerry said, ignoring Susan’s glare. I always deliver!

Jill blushed. Deep down she was not totally confident in herself and her abilities. As a mission specialist she trained for the mission and eventually became quite proficient with the tasks assigned her, but she didn’t have the confidence Jerry had and felt intimidated by him. Jill opened her mouth to speak but Susan cut her off.

Yes, Jerry, we know, you always deliver. You’re coated in Teflon and nothing sticks. We’ve heard it before. Just do your job and Jill will do hers. We’re a team, remember? Susan’s glare spoke more than her words and Jerry finally relented. Jerry was one of those people who happened to be very good at whatever they did. The problem is, he knew it and made no attempt to be modest about it. He also expected everyone he worked with to be at the same level and would not give any slack. Unfortunately, Jill was the recipient of most of Jerry’s scorn and Susan had to intercede on more than one occasion.

Yeah, we’re a team. I remember, Jerry mumbled.

Ivan seized the moment to redirect the conversation. So, while Susan and Jerry help me with the rendezvous, Paul and Jill will be preparing for your EVA. He looked at Susan and smiled. He was rewarded as her expression softened and she smiled back.

Time is getting close and we should begin. Anyway, Jill, I’ll be out there working on the piggyback experiments so you’ll have an extra set of hands if needed, Susan said as she started to gather the empty food packets for disposal. Her stomach ached in anticipation of the EVA. The thought of being out in the cargo bay only made her feel more ill at ease. She did not have the confidence that all would go smoothly. She couldn’t isolate the reason for it and was surprised because before launch she was looking forward to the EVA. Mission Control ended her self-analysis.

Endeavour, this is Mission Control. We show T-minus 120 minutes and counting for final orbital maneuver to rendezvous with SCIEXSAT. Do you concur?

Mission Control, this is Endeavour, we concur—120 minutes and counting. We are beginning the final preparations for the maneuver. Susan replied, feeling a bit better now that she had something to focus on.

Roger that, Endeavour.

Come on, Ivan, we’ve got some work for you, Susan said.

I always knew you needed me! Ivan responded with a wink to Jerry. Sometimes I feel like a chauffeur—shall I get your door, madam? he said to Susan as he bowed and waved his arms toward the hatch to the shuttle flight deck.

Remind me to tip you after we get home. I left my change in my other suit! she said as she floated past Ivan and Jerry through the access port to the flight deck. Jerry, Paul and Jill remained on the middeck and began to set up the gear and equipment needed for the EVA that Jill and Susan would conduct after capturing SCIEXSAT.

The repetitious training that every shuttle crew undergoes day in and day out on earth only makes it easier when the real show is about to begin. Everything is by the book and step by step. This process built confidence among the crew, even more so with the numerous malfunctions that the mission trainers had thrown at them to condition the crew to work as one and by reflex action, not measured thought. The crew had melded into a smoothly functioning unit despite the issues with Jerry and Jill. Susan and Ivan’s previous shuttle experience helped the rookies as they acclimated to life in space. Paul being the oldest astronaut on the crew seemed to take on the role of big brother to the younger astronauts, including Susan. Yet, as mission specialist he had none of the responsibility that Susan had as commander or Ivan as pilot. It was his friendly, down-home nature, which combined with his soft voice, slightly tinged with a Texas accent, helped one feel comfortable around him.

Susan took her position in the commander’s seat and pulled up the checklist for the satellite rendezvous on her display. She briefly glanced at the display then looked out the cockpit windows into the black void that surrounded them, trying to ignore the sun’s glare coming off the earth below. She reached over and adjusted the control for the cockpit lighting to reduce the reflection coming from the internal lights on the windows. Now content that she was able to see more stars, she stared deeply at them. She didn’t know what she was searching for but knew to her very core that her fear was tied to something out there. Ivan drifted up from the middeck, settled into the pilot’s seat and began to prepare for the rendezvous. Looking around he noticed the dim lights. Mood lighting? he asked.

No, I just wanted a clearer view outside. You can turn them up if you want.

No, that is okay. It will be better when we approach the satellite. Are you ready to go through the checklist?

Susan was so engrossed in the view out of the shuttle that she had almost forgotten why she was there. Oh, yeah, sure. Go ahead.

Ivan eyed her for a moment and then started to call off the items on the list, which Susan echoed, as she made sure the proper conditions were met. She found herself half listening to Ivan as her gaze drifted out of the cockpit’s windows. Ivan looked up from his checklist at Susan. He followed her gaze out of the shuttle into the blackness of space but saw nothing of interest. Just as he was about to comment on that, Susan jumped.

Did you see that? She asked Ivan as she moved closer to the window.

See what?

I thought I saw that star flicker off and on.

I did not see anything, but I was not looking either. It is probably a reflection off the window, or maybe just your imagination running wild again.

No! I saw it. Well, at least I am pretty sure I saw it blink. Susan’s voice trailed off as she realized that the ache in her stomach had returned with a vengeance. The only thing that distracted her from the pain was the overwhelming sense of apprehension she was now feeling: it was worse than this morning.

Ivan noticed the look in Susan’s face. Are you all right? You look like you did this morning, only worse.

I’m okay. Susan debated whether to confide in Ivan and tell him of her dream and the feelings she was fighting with now. It just did not seem like the way a commander of a shuttle mission should carry on, especially when it is your first time as commander. No, she would not say anything. She decided that it was just a case of nerves and she was not going to give in to it. Clenching her fists tightly and then relaxing them she answered Ivan. I’m okay, it must have been just an optical illusion or a tiny piece of space junk that passed in the line of view. You know, a one in a billion chance. I wish I were as lucky with the lottery.

She glanced at the display and was surprised that the checklist was completed for this phase—she didn’t remember finishing it. Quickly, she scanned up the list until she saw the last item she remembered and then surveyed the control panels to make sure that everything was set according to the rest of the list. Looks like we’re at a breakpoint here. I’ll go down and check on the preparations for the EVA and bring Jerry up as we get closer to the capture.

Sounds like a plan, Ivan said, watching Susan as she levitated out of her seat.

Susan found Jill and Jerry finishing the setup for the space suits while Paul was working on the other side of the middeck tending equipment that was monitoring an experiment in the cargo bay. Susan would assist Paul with that experiment from the cargo bay while Jill worked on SCIEXSAT during their EVA. Right now, Susan was more interested in how Jill was doing and if Jerry had been behaving himself.

Hi, guys. Looks like you’re almost done.

Jerry looked up from the glove he was inspecting. Yup, we’re pretty much set here. Right, Jill?

Yeah, I think so. Jerry’s finishing up the inspection on your glove and that’s it, until we suit up.

Great. Susan turned to Jerry, I’ll finish that up and you can head up to the flight deck, we are getting close to the rendezvous point.

Sure. The glove is done, everything passes inspection. He handed the glove to Susan and with a quick push off the floor, launched himself up to the flight deck.

Susan turned to Jill and handed her the glove to add to the suit. How are you doing?

Me? I’m fine. Susan studied Jill’s face for a moment, but before she could say anything Jill blurted out, Actually, I’ve got butterflies the size of crows in my stomach! I think I’m more nervous about the EVA than I was about the launch…but other than that I’m fine…really.

Susan turned away from Jill as she realized that she was probably making her feel even more uncomfortable. Susan thought about her first extra-vehicular activity. The total sense of weightlessness was so much more profound as one ventured out into the bay. She was struck by the harsh contrast of the bright white shuttle against the blackness of space and the stars that pierced the black velvet curtain that surrounded them. Mother Earth hung like a big blue and white orb above her head, comforting to look at but yet impossibly far away. The underwater simulations never prepared her for this. NASA did a great job at training the astronauts to put pieces of equipment together, but offered nothing on dealing with the distractions that this environment offered. Those are pretty big butterflies, Susan said as she smiled at Jill. I don’t think I had anything bigger than a sparrow for my first space walk."

Jill smiled, and floated over to a locker to retrieve a tool that she needed to add to her suit. Susan could see by the way Jill moved that the tension she was feeling was starting to ebb. Jill was not the first choice for the mission specialist position. She joined the main crew only after the first candidate was killed in a car accident. That weighed heavily on Jill, and she always felt that she had to prove herself worthy of the job. She often spent more time than anyone else working in the simulators and studying the procedures. Unfortunately, the harder she tried, the more mistakes she made. Eventually, she did master the tasks she was required to do and secured her position on the mission. It was a big boost for Jill but she continued to be highly driven to prove to everyone, and mostly to herself, that she deserved that seat on the shuttle. Susan could see the pressure building for Jill the closer they got to the EVA, and with Jerry’s badgering, Jill’s confidence level was beginning to drop.

Susan moved closer to Jill and placing her hands on her shoulders, and whispered, Jill, you’ve done this a thousand times. You know the procedure forward and backward and you are our expert on the satellite. You’re going to do fine, anything that comes up you will handle it with ease. Trust me.

Jill smiled, and her expression told Susan that her words were effective. Thanks, Susan. I’ll do my best, you can count on that.

I know you will, you always have. Now, I’ve got to get up to help Ivan with the approach.

I’ll have the O2 ready for the pre-breathe by the time Jerry’s captured SCIEXSAT.

Susan barely escaped the middeck as a wave of fear swept over her. It was very draining talking to Jill and trying to remain composed. She floated as slowly as she could to the flight deck, trying to compose herself and hoping that no one noticed her extended traverse of the decks. Focusing on the rendezvous procedure would bring a welcome distraction, she hoped.

SCIEXSAT was about a mile ahead and it would be Ivan’s job to ease the shuttle above the satellite so that it would be within reach of the arm. They wanted to minimize the use of the maneuvering thrusters so as not to contaminate the satellite anymore than they had to, so the procedure was very delicate. The satellite glistened in the sunlight like a beacon while the shuttle was still in shadow. With a slight nudge, the maneuvering engines fired, setting the shuttle on its proper course.

As they approached SCIEXSAT, Susan began calling out the separation distance to Ivan. Ivan was busy visually lining up the shuttle with the satellite from the docking control station on the right side of the aft flight deck. The shuttle had rotated and was now approaching the satellite with its empty cargo bay facing the satellite, looking like a outfielder’s mitt about to receive a pop-fly.

To slow the ship’s forward momentum at 25 meters, Ivan fired the shuttle’s thrusters with a loud BAM! This resonated throughout the shuttle’s structure, shattering the silence on the flight deck; they would creep up on their quarry very slowly. At 15 meters, Ivan pivoted the shuttle so that they were above the satellite. When the shuttle slid directly above the satellite Ivan fired the retro thrusters, one more quick burst and Endeavour and SCIEXSAT floated together as if attached by an invisible beam.

Well done, Susan said to Ivan.

Thank you. Nothing you could not have done, Ivan replied.

Mission Control echoed Susan’s sentiment as they observed the process from the ground. Jerry, you are cleared to begin capture, said Mission Control.

Roger that.

Peering through the observation port overlooking the payload bay, Jerry began to raise the shuttle’s arm. Once the arm was in the right position, he could use the cameras on the arm to monitor the capture process. Susan made her way over to the payload handling station to look over Jerry’s shoulder at the video image coming from the camera on the arm.

Got SCIEXSAT on the screen, Jerry called out to Mission Control. Jerry had to guide a probe at the end of the arm into a receptacle on the satellite. When the two components were fully engaged, a mechanical locking mechanism would trip, holding the satellite fast to the arm.

Looking good, Jerry, coached Susan.

Almost there…just a few more inches… Jerry said, more to himself than to anyone else. Got it!

Great job! Susan said, patting Jerry on the back and turning to join Ivan to finish the checklist for this part of the mission. She did not make it to her seat before she heard Jerry snarl, Damn it!

What’s wrong?

The locking mechanism did not trip! The docking probe just pulled out of the satellite!

Mission Control, we have a malfunction of the locking mechanism. I’m going to try it again, Jerry said in a very annoyed tone. Jerry didn’t take to losing very well. He had a type-A personality and was driven to succeed, to win at all costs. He did not acknowledge the fact that he could lose, or do something wrong. In most cases, every problem he ran up against was the fault of someone else, not his. This plagued Jerry all through his career, but from his point of view he was confounded as to why he managed to end up working with people that were so incompetent. Susan sensed this the very first time she met Jerry and later was disappointed to see that her initial impression was accurate. It made the crew’s transition from just a group of people working together to a unified entity much longer and more difficult. Susan spent a lot of time in damage control in the beginning of their training trying to smooth Jerry’s rough edges and other crewmember’s hurt feelings. This led to a number of heated arguments between Susan and Jerry. Eventually the crew melded and learned how to work with each other and with Jerry’s faults. Susan still had to keep an eye on him, but he was more manageable, especially as he came to respect the rest of the crew for the individual talents they brought to the team. Jerry begrudgingly acknowledged to Susan that NASA’s extensive astronaut selection process ensured that only the best and the brightest would fly.

Mission Control ignored Jerry’s little snit, Roger that, Jerry. We will look into the problem down here.

Jerry pulled the probe all the way out of the receptacle and zoomed the camera in on the probe. The probe looks okay from here, he told Susan.

Can you look at the receptacle now? Susan asked.

Yeah, hang on while I move the arm down a bit,. Jerry said. Looks like the receptacle is all clear…wait…no…it’s just a shadow…it looks okay.

Try it again, then.

Roger that, Jerry was once again distracted with the task at hand as he maneuvered the probe toward the satellite. The second try went as smoothly as the first except this time the lock engaged and held. Success! Mission Control, I’ve got SCIEXSAT! Jerry grinned ear-to-ear as he lowered the satellite into the cargo bay. The satellite is now in the payload bay and secured. Jerry completed his station shutdown checklist and called over his shoulder, Time for a snack, as he dove through the hatch to the middeck.

Susan ignored Jerry and proceeded with the checklist. Again, the ache inside distracted her from her work and she caught herself gazing out the window. Ivan noticed the distraction in her voice and stopped to study her for a moment before he spoke. Susan…? Susan, are you alright?

Oh, I’m fine, Susan replied, returning to the checklist.

You really do not look well, are you sure you are up to this EVA?

I am fine, just a little concerned with Jill about the EVA, Susan said, looking down and avoiding Ivan’s gaze.

Ivan studied Susan’s face for some clue as to what was really going on inside. I am really getting concerned…

Susan cut him off, No! Damn it, I’m fine!

Calm down, I just thought —

Ivan, I have this terrible feeling that something awful is going to happen. Susan heard herself blurting out everything she wasn’t going to tell Ivan before she could weigh the pros and cons again. I know that doesn’t sound very professional, having a feeling, but I had a dream last night. Susan told Ivan of the dream, how she woke up, and of the feelings she had been having all day. She also relayed the story of her grandfather and how she felt at that time. He listened quietly until she finished and