Space Hoax

18 FINAL APPROVAL

At last there was a break in their rigorous training schedule and Peter could finally sneak in some work for SID. Dressed in his EarthOrbit-issued jumpsuit, he sat at his desk, door closed. He would attempt contacting Jose Calma. Even though it was a long shot, he was hoping the man might be able to help him obtain inside information on Krause Aerospace. After some crafty probing on the phone, and a little deceit, he was finally able to obtain the tycoon’s cell phone number.

Before dialing up the magnate, he received an incoming call from his mother. Ever since hearing he and Anya were getting married, she had been researching churches and reception halls, constantly calling with questions. With everything going on, he finally had to politely tell her to just deal with Anya.

Peter had been encouraged by the improvement with Jesse’s back, happy he was able to participate in some of their training. There was a real possibility the veteran would be able to go on the mission as commander after all, which would be welcome news to Anya.

He double-checked his office door was tightly closed before punching in Jose’s number on his phone. He quickly reviewed his plan on introducing himself. He figured Jose must have been aware of the rescue if he was backing his son on his lawsuit. The question was, did he know who saved Carlos? Peter had made sure to stay out of the limelight after the moon mission, granting no interviews. He doubted Carlos was able to connect the man who went to the moon to the man who saved him. According to Gavin, Carlos thought he was saved by an astronaut named Peter Robinson, so this was the name he planned to use while speaking with Jose. Of course, his biggest concern was if the old man knew he had punched his son. If so, the man would definitely harbor resentment against him.

After a few rings, a strong male voice answered, “Bueno.”

Peter leaned forward, putting one hand on his desk, sure the tycoon spoke English. “Hello, Jose?”

There was an uncomfortable silence. The man probably felt uneasy not knowing who he was speaking to. He answered with a slight Spanish accent, “Yes, who is this?”

Peter looked out across his office. “Jose, this is Peter Robinson. I was the astronaut who rescued your son.”

Jose’s tone instantly changed, now resonating with a receptive welcome. “Peter Robinson? What a pleasure it is to speak with you. I owe you a great deal of gratitude for what you did for Carlos.”

Peter let out a deep sigh, pleased the man was informed of the rescue. But did he know about the punch? “I was just doing my job, sir.”

“Damn that. You risked your life to save those men. I heard the whole story, and I have no ill feelings with you punching Carlos.”

Peter clutched his phone a little tighter.

“After learning about his little stunt that almost got you all killed, I would have punched him too. Sometimes he does stupid things.”

Peter relaxed his hand as he leaned back in his chair. “Well, I guess you could say it was all in the heat of the moment.”

A growing hint of disappointment could be heard in the frustrated father’s voice. “There is no excuse for what he did. I love my son to death, but bottom-line, he’s a spoiled kid who got everything handed to him on a silver platter. I’m sure you are aware of the suit we have pending with Russia’s space program. Though I understand why they were not open about what happened, I have to support my son. I don’t want my son’s reputation ruined.”

Peter leaned forward and set his elbow on his desk, pressing the phone harder against his ear. He had to come across as sympathetic. “I understand. Well, fortunately, we all got back safely.”

“Yes, and for that I thank you. So why the call? What can I do for you?”

Peter was pleased the man had changed the subject. “I’m currently working with a private space company in America called EarthOrbit.”

Jose quickly interjected. “I’m familiar with them.”

“Well, we do business with one of your companies, Krause Aerospace, and I wondered if there has been anything unusual going on that might have given you or your management team any reason for concern.”

The man’s voice became intense. “Why, has EarthOrbit been having problems doing business with them?”

Peter promptly answered in a calm voice as he embellished. “No, nothing like that. I’ve been given the task of investigating all our vendors. Since EarthOrbit is being monitored very closely by the government and we are vying for a NASA contract, we need to confirm all our vendors meet certain requirements. When I saw you were the owner of Krause, I decided to go directly to you. I figured if there were any issues, you could make sure they were taken care of to ensure we could keep doing business with Krause.”

“I appreciate you doing that. Unfortunately, I am not closely involved with their day-to-day activities, so I would need to do a little research.”

It was best if Jose personally investigated the company. “That would be great. I’m just looking for anything unusual, anything that may have raised a red flag. Also, it would be great to get a contact I can follow up with later to get more details.”

“Well, let me see what I can find out and I’ll get back with you.”

Peter stressed that his report was due within a week and asked Jose to call him directly on his cell phone, ensuring the man wouldn’t learn Peter’s real name and be confused.

IN THE DEPTHS of the Neutral Buoyancy Training Lab, known as the NBTL pool, Peter floated in a tight-fitting EarthOrbit spacesuit designed solely for water training. He had expressed his sincere gratitude to the suit technician for piecing together his suit, which closely matched his body’s dimensions. Unlike space, he was not weightless within the garment with grooved parts. If it had been loose-fitting, he would have become uncomfortable in certain orientations over time, especially upside down. Since he came in late for training, there were no custom-fit suits for him. In fact, he was still waiting for his mission spacesuit to arrive.

At the bottom of the pool, Peter was inside a barren metal shell replicating the Iris capsule. He and Blake were going to execute an underwater simulation of Blake’s EVA. Both men had already been weighted properly by their support divers, insuring natural buoyancy, allowing their movements to emulate those they would experience in microgravity. The objective of the exercise was for Blake to exit the hatch and move around on the outside of the metal shell. Blake needed to get accustomed to the locations of the handholds and practice moving from one handle to the next using his bulky gloves without losing his grip and floating away from the ship. Though he could tug on his umbilical cord to pull himself back to the ship, management didn’t want to risk damaging the lifeline.

The number-one priority for Peter during Blake’s EVA was to observe his partner’s progress and assist if any problems occurred. He was also responsible for taking pictures and video of the historic spacewalk, which would be transmitted back to Earth for the whole world to see. The climactic point of the EVA would be Blake waving a small American flag after he reached the last handhold, which was about eight feet from the hatch. He would then re-enter the capsule.

Instead of being hooked up to the spacecraft’s oxygen system, Peter received his air from a small portable unit. He was learning how to maneuver around the unit while being hooked up to its short umbilical cord. He also had a small plastic box that simulated the camera. He steadied himself with his free hand while waiting for his partner. Rays of light from the underwater, bright spotlights crisscrossed within the interior like the thin sticks through the plastic container in the game KerPlunk. A lot of air bubbles started floating upward outside the small entryway, signaling someone was below the hatch. Soon Peter was briefly blinded by the reflection of a spotlight bouncing off a visor before realizing it was Blake’s helmet as he slowly rose into the opening.

His partner radioed, “I am at the hatch.”

The test coordinator’s voice answered Blake. “Roger. Diver Two will be there in a second to help you in.”

“Roger.”

A look of panic appeared on Blake’s face, worrying Peter for an instant. Blake gradually brought both arms up and folded them around his visor so each elbow pointed toward Peter. Blake then started opening and closing them, mimicking a large shark’s mouth as he did the catchy theme song from the movie, Jaws. “Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun.…da-na-naaaa!”

Peter laughed at his partner’s shark impression when the test coordinator’s voice cut him off. “Quit clowning around, Blake.”

Blake wiggled his eyebrows at Peter before stopping the arm movements. “Roger, Boss.”

Peter remembered his old Russian partner clowning around in SpaceQuest’s training pool. Though he hoped he didn’t have to fly the mission, if he did, he was convinced flying with Blake wouldn’t be boring.

THE CONFERENCE ROOM was buzzing from the many small discussions going on as the management team eagerly waited for Walter to start the meeting. With the scheduled blast-off just eight days away, the hope was to get the final go ahead from each manager for a September 21^st launch. If everything was cleared, the support team and astronauts would transfer over to the Nevada launch site for final preparations.

Peter sat to the left of Blake, who was reviewing the revised mission procedures manual passed out to all the attendees. Peter had not opened his as of yet. His immediate concern was that his backup was missing. Peter was saving a seat next to him for Jesse, the only remaining one left at the table. This was a meeting the young commander couldn’t miss if there was any chance of him taking Peter’s place and flying the mission. A disturbed look crossed Walter’s face as he looked toward the empty chair before turning to Chris and resuming a private conversation. Peter squeezed his pen as he looked toward the doorway. He was wearing two hats in the meeting, one as the commander of the mission, and the other as the boss of the astronauts.

Blake nudged him with a surprised look as he pointed to something in the manual. Before Peter could look down, the conference door rattled open. He let out a deep sigh when Jesse hustled in. The man had a big grin as he walked with a skip in his step, showing no signs of any back pain. He quickly settled down in the chair next to Peter.

Peter shot him a stern look. “You’re late!”

Excitement animated the veteran’s voice. “Sorry Boss, I had to stop by medical. Good news. I just got cleared to fly. I’m 100 percent.”

Peter bit his upper lip as he nodded. Though he was pleased with the news, a slight stab of disappointment flashed through him. A small part of him was looking forward to going back into space. Regardless, he was happy to see the commander excited. Keeping his cool, he leaned over. “That’s great, but let’s not bring it up now. I’ll have a private meeting with Walter afterward to see about putting you back on the prime crew.”

Jesse gave an enthusiastic nod.

Walter called out as he looked in Jesse’s direction. “All right, looks like everyone’s finally here. Let’s get this meeting underway.” The room quieted down as Walter turned toward his flight and launch directors. “Gentlemen, are we ready to do this?”

The launch director spoke up first. “The Zeus rocket has been moved to the launch pad and at this point is on schedule for a September 21^st launch.”

The flight director eagerly followed with excitement in his voice. “Mission control is pumped and ready to go, sir.”

Walter smiled at the young director’s gusto before scanning the table. “Does anyone else have any concerns or reasons on why we should not launch on the twenty-first?”

The room stayed quiet. Walter’s voice became deep and certain. “Good, then let’s create some history.” Walter looked at Peter. “How has the training been going?”

“Great. We’ve practiced all phases of the mission and feel confident and ready to go.”

“How about the spacewalk?”

“Blake looks like a veteran in the NBTL pool. I’m certain he’ll do a great job.”

Chris jumped in as he looked over at the equipment manager. “Is Peter’s spacesuit in yet?”

The manager looked uneasy as he swallowed hard. “No, sir. It was supposed to be in late last week. I’m told it will be overnighted tomorrow, so we should have it Saturday. We ought to be able to do a fitting that afternoon.”

Walter jumped in. “That’s cutting it close with the astronauts transferring to the spaceport on Sunday.”

The manager clenched his jaw as he gave a nervous nod.

“Let’s guarantee that suit does come in on Saturday.” Walter looked at his three astronauts. “Gentlemen you’ll notice we’ve scheduled Blake’s EVA late on the second day. This should allow time for most of the effects of space sickness to subside, if he should experience any.” A dramatic pause floated over the room as the president slowly leaned back in his chair. “Being the first private company to pull off a spacewalk will be a historic achievement. It will grab the world’s attention and make us front-page news. Doing the walk early in the mission ensures all eyes will witness your visit to the ISS. NASA and the world will see exactly what EarthOrbit’s equipment is capable of.”

Peter liked the president’s exuberance.

Walter zeroed in on Peter. “Did you two train for the second EVA?”

Straightening up in his chair, Peter hoped the president wasn’t going to suggest they do the second spacewalk. From the moment he first learned of the proposal, he felt it was simply too ambitious for the young company for their first mission. However, he and Blake did practice it a few times. Its purpose was to show their capability of working in space. Blake was to do a mundane task of opening a bay door and retrieving a tool. “We did.”

“Okay, good. If you notice on the mission procedures, if everything goes as planned, we might have Blake do that EVA after visiting the space station.”

Peter was shocked the second spacewalk was listed. They were pushing their luck. If they were successful with Blake’s first EVA and rendezvousing with the station, regardless if he was in the spacecraft or not, he would suggest forgoing a second spacewalk. But at this point, he believed it was best not to say anything and instead nodded in agreement.

The meeting continued until all aspects of the mission were discussed and cleared. Once Walter was satisfied, he said the launch was a “go,” causing a heartfelt cheer. Peter and the other astronauts would soon be transferring to the Nevada site.

As everyone was leaving the room, Peter held back, hoping to catch Walter alone. He wanted to discuss Jesse replacing him on the mission. He gave a wink to Jesse when he rejected leaving the conference room with the two astronauts. Jesse gave an acknowledging nod, sensing what his boss was about to do. Though going to Walter behind Chris’s back was not the appropriate protocol, he simply didn’t feel comfortable asking Chris.

Peter was soon the last one sitting at the table. He was pretending to be reviewing his paperwork as he watched Walter out of the corner of his eye. The president was in a conversation with both the launch director and Chris by the doorway. Peter patiently waited. He exhaled when Chris excused himself. Soon Walter and the director sounded like they were wrapping things up. Peter started to get up. The president gave a dismissive wave to the director before turning down the hallway. Peter swiftly passed the director, who was going back to the table to retrieve his notepad. Peter turned the corner and hustled toward the moving president. Right before reaching him, he quickly gathered himself, “Walter.”

The president stopped and turned. “Hey, Peter.”

Peter took a deep breath. “Walter, do you have a second?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

Peter softened his voice slightly. “Jesse was just fully cleared by medical. I think we should put him back on the prime crew.”

Walter took a step back. “Have you talked to Chris about this?”

Peter’s response was immediate. “Not yet; I just found out.”

Looking down the hallway, Walter put his hand into his pocket. He turned back. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. You’ve been the one doing all the physical training the last two weeks. I doubt he’s ready.”

Surprised by the president’s response, Peter firmly countered. “Sir, Jesse’s ready. In fact, he has a lot more training hours for this mission than I do. He’s definitely more qualified. Besides, my spacesuit is not even here yet.”

The president studied Peter for a moment. “Let me see what Chris thinks. I’m open to putting him back on. However, I want you right by his side going through all the final preparations as if you were flying. I want you to be a plug-n-play if needed.”

Peter gave an understanding nod. “Absolutely.” Peter put his hand on Walter’s shoulder. “Jesse is the perfect man for this job. I’m convinced he’ll execute a perfect mission.”

“That’s why we picked him. We have confidence in him, too. I’ll let you know what Chris says.”

Peter hoped for the best.