Moon Hoax

21 CAPE CANAVERAL

The Newton rocket lay peacefully on its side inside SpaceQuest’s hanger at Cape Canaveral. Large overhead lighting illuminated the sleeping giant as Peter gazed upon it, amazed at its sheer size. This amazing rocket was going to take him into space. Though it was smaller than the giant Saturn V that took his dad to the moon, it was still an impressive sight. This was his first opportunity to see the rocket up close. He was touring the Cape’s SpaceQuest facilities with Allen while his partner, who had already toured the facility, was getting fitted for his flight suit.

The Newton 9 was lying on top of its launch mount, extending the whole length of the rocket. The mount sat on a custom railroad cart, whose tracks led out through the large closed hanger door. When it was time, the door would rise, and the Newton 9 would be rolled the few hundred yards to the launch pad. Along the side of the white painted rocket were large navy blue letters spelling SpaceQuest, starting with the letter “S” at the top and each subsequent letter following vertically down the rocket. Above the letter “S” sat the Galileo capsule which would house the men during launch, proudly sporting the SpaceQuest logo and the American flag.

Peter walked up to the launch mount at the center of the massive vehicle. Reaching up, he touched the cold, resting rocket. He slowly stroked the underbelly. Baby, I have total faith in you and I’m looking forward to our journey together. Rest up for the big day! He gave it a gentle pat.

Peter felt a solid slap on his back. “Don’t worry. She’ll do the job,” said Allen.

“I’m not worried,” said Peter, shoulders back. “When will she be ready for rollout?”

“She just needs some final touches. We plan on rolling her out tomorrow.”

“Well, she’s quite an impressive sight,” said Peter.

Allen smiled proudly. They both started walking back toward the door. “She’ll be backed out along these rail tracks to the launch pad.”

They continued to walk along the rocket toward its back end, Peter eyeing it the whole way. They approached the side door next to the large hanger door. Allen opened it as both men walked out of the air conditioned hanger and felt the sudden blast of the hot humid air. Fortunately, scattered clouds covered the sun. Allen pointed down the railroad tracks. “The launch pad is about 200 yards away. The Newton 9 will be hauled out of the hanger to the pad by the same type of airplane tow tractor that pulls a 747. The drive will probably take about ten minutes. A little different than when your dad’s rockets were being transported, huh?”

“Absolutely,” Peter said. He remembered watching one of his dad’s rockets being transported by a NASA Crawler. He flew to Florida with his mom and missed two days of school just so he could witness the huge piece of machinery hauling the Saturn rocket from its VAB building to the launch pad. He’d been excited to be able to walk faster than the giant Crawler. “Yeah, I guess NASA likes the buildup of getting their rockets to the pad,” said Peter. “But I have to say, watching one of those massive Crawlers moving at one mile per hour with a rocket standing on top was an impressive sight, but probably not the most practical way of doing it.”

“The advantages of private industry,” said Allen, smiling. They approached his SpaceQuest truck, but instead of jumping in he jerked his head toward the launch area. “Tell you what, how about we walk to the pad? It’s a nice little walk, and it’ll allow us some time to chat.”

No problem for Peter. The stroll would allow him an opportunity to reminisce while scanning the base.

“I could use the exercise.” Allen patted his stomach.

As they started out, Peter looked down the roadway, eyeing the rails to the launch pad. He was surprised there was no launch tower, but before he could address the issue Allen began describing the setup.

“We have four giant lightning towers surrounding the pad to protect our rockets from any lightning strikes. Over there to the right of the pad is the storage container for the liquid oxygen.” He gestured toward a large spherical metal container supported in the air by four large metal pillars. “It’s capable of holding up to one million pounds of liquid oxygen, more than enough for your mission. I always like to say when giving customers a tour, SpaceQuest has some big balls, and there’s your proof.”

Peter chuckled. “So where’s the launch tower?”

Looking straight ahead, Allen answered, “Sorry, we don’t have one.”

Peter looked at him, stunned. No tower? How the hell are we going to get into the thing?

“Remember, you two are flying a modified cargo transport. Up until the point of taking on this mission, we were gearing up to send our first payload in an unmanned spacecraft. We were a long way from sending up our first manned flight. Since the payload could be packed in the hanger, there was no need for an access tower at the pad. The launch mount was all we needed to stand up and support the rocket prior to liftoff.” Allen took a deep breath before saying, “We are going to use a crane to lift you two to the capsule. Not very glamorous, but it will do the trick.”

Peter had to laugh. He had been spoiled with all of SpaceQuest’s first class facilities and equipment. That they were going to be craned up to the capsule seemed kind of comical, but it made sense. “I guess SpaceQuest has spoiled me, but it’s not important how we get into the thing. What’s important is that it gets us to the space station.”

“Amen!”

“Where’s Launch Control located?”

“Since the Cape is an Air Force base and can be difficult to access, I decided to have it off site. I wanted it to be easy for our customers to visit and watch their payloads blast off. It’s just south of the Cape. I’ll take you by later today and introduce you to our launch director, Bud Duron.”

Allen continued talking as he pointed out locations surrounding them. “Of course you know all of the NASA facilities you see around us.”

Peter nodded as he looked out to launch pads 39A and B in the distance, pads he’d always expected to lift off from someday. These pads launched all the Saturn rockets and Shuttles, and would probably handle NASA’s future rockets. It was odd seeing both locations empty. When Peter used to visit the Cape, there always seemed to be at least one Shuttle sitting on a pad. Now with the Shuttle retired, both sat empty, except for their launch towers. A lot of history had been made from those sites. The first men to walk on the moon blasted off from there, as well as both of his dad’s flights. As he continued to stare, he thought how ironic it was he would be launching from the Cape for a trip to the moon in a little over a week without NASA’s help, and without departing from either launch pads 39A or B. Not in his wildest dreams could he have ever come up with a crazier scheme.

Out of the blue Allen asked, “Peter, what do you feel your odds are on successfully completing the mission?”

Peter was surprised to hear Allen ask this. Up to this point, neither had discussed the odds for a successful mission, just his connecting the Galileo to the ISS. Peter tried to keep negative thoughts out of his mind, instead believing the operation would succeed as long as he did his part. He knew Allen was mainly concerned about transporting both men to the space station, always expressing complete confidence in SpaceQuest’s team and equipment. Whatever happened after that point didn’t seem to concern him. Why ask his chances for the overall mission now? “Well, it’s definitely better than when I first arrived at SpaceQuest, that’s for sure.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “It’s a tough call. There are a lot of variables involved.”

“If you were a betting man, what would you say?”

Allen wanted a quantified response; Peter paused for a moment before saying, “Probably better than 80 percent. Why?”

“I received a call from Doug this morning. He mainly wanted an update, but as we talked something slipped. My number one priority has always been to fly you two to the space station. I felt if this was done successfully, we would have proven SpaceQuest’s capabilities to NASA and in turn, be given a long term contract. In fact, Doug promised this. Well, Doug slipped today. He said if the mission fails, America will need a fall guy and SpaceQuest will be it, regardless of whether we successfully docked with the space station or not. When I questioned him, he suddenly back pedaled as if he shouldn’t have said anything. After I hung up I thought more about it and the fact is, the world will know we took you two up, supposedly against government wishes. In order to give the world the impression the American government had nothing to do with it if the mission fails, the U.S. will condemn the flight and our company. They would probably cancel our contract and blackball us from any future space flights, in essence, placing total blame on us.” Allen looked down at the ground as they continued to walk. “No other country will do business with us if NASA blackballs us. SpaceQuest will be history. Everything that I and the whole team have worked so hard for will die. I cannot risk my company on an 80 percent bet. I need better than that. This mission has to succeed, or SpaceQuest is finished. I have everything riding on this.”

Sensing Allen’s sudden concern and need for reassurance, Peter had to convince him the mission would succeed. “When I first heard about the mission, I thought it had, at best, a 50 percent chance of success. But the more I’ve gotten involved, working with SpaceQuest’s equipment and having Viktor on board, the more I believe we can succeed.” He looked at Allen. “I would not have taken on a suicide mission if I had felt it was going to fail. I know you have a lot riding on all of this, and so do I. I promise you, I won’t let you down. If I were a betting man, not only would I take the bet, I would double down.”

Allen suddenly grabbed Peter by the arm and they both stopped walking. Allen bored into Peter’s eyes with his gaze, studying him for a moment. Evidently he saw what he was looking for before turning and resuming his walk. “Okay, let’s do this thing.”

PETER WAS ESCORTED throughout most of SpaceQuest’s facilities inside Kennedy Space Center and he and Allen were now touring the operations and check out building. Their last stop was the suit-up room where he and Viktor would put on their spacesuits and have them tested. The last room he would be in before boarding the van for the rocket.

As they approached the door, Allen said, “Since your flight is our first manned flight, there hasn’t been a need for a suit-up room. So I had it completed for your mission.”

Hearing this and considering all that Allen had been doing to support the mission, Peter had to say something. Even if Allen was motivated by personal gain, he was still doing all he could to back the assignment, and doing it all first class. Deep down, Peter felt some of Allen’s drive was for patriotic reasons as well. The more he was around him, the more he saw how much he loved his country. “Allen, I just want you to know, I have been very impressed with all that you have done to support Viktor and me. You seem to have thought everything out. I am truly honored and proud to be part of the SpaceQuest family and to be flying the Newton 9 rocket.”

Allen appeared caught off guard by the comment and tilted his head slightly. “Thanks, Peter, I appreciate that.” Straightening up and putting his voice in a more serious tone he said, “Just make sure you complete the mission!”

Peter patted Allen on the back. “Don’t worry, I will.”

As they entered the room, the smell of fresh paint filled the air. The room had a very plain look about it, more like a doctor’s office. It was fairly large and hygienic, probably due to lack of use. Compared to the rest of SpaceQuest’s facilities, this room was boring, mostly white with nothing on the walls. I’m going to have to do something to spice this room up if it’s going to be the last room I’ll be in.

Viktor and a SpaceQuest technician were the only people in the room. Viktor was wearing a navy blue SpaceQuest X-1 flight suit, the one he would wear during launch, while lounging comfortably in one of six large navy blue leather lounge chairs lining the perimeter of the room, each facing the center with its own set of equipment. The chairs were for astronauts to relax in as their spacesuits were being tested, as well as final check-out prior to launch. In the center of the room was a large table with a white spacesuit sprawled out over it.

A technician sat by Viktor’s side. It looked like he was having his pressure suit tested for leaks. When Viktor saw Peter, he enthusiastically waved in his direction. Peter gave a casual wave in return. Viktor had his helmet on and couldn’t hear or be heard as he waddled his head. As Peter and Allen approached, Viktor gave them both a thumbs-up. Peter smiled and lightly patted his partner on his helmet, happy to see he was still excited since arriving at the Cape. The technician said to Allen, “I just finished Viktor’s pressure integrity check and everything looks good.”

“Great,” said Allen. “Peter, this is Omar, one of our top technicians.”

Peter extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Omar.” They shook hands.

Allen crossed to the center table and slightly lifted the spacesuit. “Here is your EMU space suit.” He studied the suit. “This is an impressive piece of equipment. It’s amazing what it can do.”

Peter was familiar with the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, having worn them during training at NASA. The EMU was similar to the suit Peter’s dad wore on the moon, providing full life support systems and protection from micrometeoroids. “So the plan is to try to use the EMU’s at the space station for our spacewalks there?”

“Yes. There wasn’t enough time to get any more in. This one will be packed in the storage compartment of Galileo to be used during your EVA at the moon. Of course it’ll need to be transferred over to the Soyuz.”

Peter lifted the upper torso section of the suit, which was a solid, inflexible piece. “Do you think I’ll be able to put this on in the Soyuz?”

“It will be tight, but doable, especially in the new Soyuz model you two will be taking.”

Peter lifted the arm portion of the suit, which was missing the gloves. The newer EMU space suits could be worn by different astronauts with lacing adjustments in the arms and legs to handle each crewman’s individual lengths. The only custom parts were the gloves. “Have the gloves arrived?”

“We received both sets yesterday. I was originally thinking of having you try your suits on tomorrow, but since Omar looks to be done with Viktor, how about we do it now?”

“Cool with me,” said Peter looking forward to trying on his suits.

Allen walked over to the counter across from the lounge chair and picked up a pair of gloves. “Here’re your gloves.” Allen handed them over to Peter. “Can you believe these babies cost $50,000 a pair? Ridiculous.” He shook his head.

Peter grabbed the gloves and stared at them for awhile, wondering how gloves could cost 50 grand. As an astronaut with NASA, he wasn’t privy to how much things cost; however, he knew most items were inflated due to the amount of paperwork and bureaucracy involved, regardless of the fact the item was manufactured by the lowest bidder. From what Peter had learned in the last few weeks, if the United States wanted to be competitive in the space business, relying on America’s commercial enterprise was the only way to go. NASA should stick with what it does best, space exploration of the cosmos.

Allen turned to Omar. “Go ahead and check out Peter in his suits today.”

“Roger, but I’ll need his helmet,” said Omar.

“Where is it?” asked Allen.

“It’s locked in the storage vault.”

“Okay. Unhook Viktor and get it,” said Allen. Omar began turning off the machine and unhooking Viktor’s hoses. Turning to Peter, Allen said, “Okay, I’ll see you two at dinner. I have some other business I need to take care of.” Looking back at Omar, he said, “Let me know if any problems come up,” and out of the room he went.

After Viktor was unhooked, Omar helped him take off his helmet. Once breathing fresh air, Viktor said, “Hello, Peter.”

“Hey, Viktor. So how does the suit feel?”

“Good. Better than old Russian suit. You Americans make better spacesuit.”

“I don’t know about that,” said Peter.

Viktor frowned thoughtfully. “Omar, I think of something. Can I pee in flight suit?”

Omar smiled. “Sure, in the diaper we’ll give you.”

That didn’t seem to be the answer Viktor was looking for. With a disappointed look he asked, “No, can I go to toilet to pee?”

Omar shook his head, clearly puzzled. “Sorry Viktor. Once we put the suit on, it’s a major deal to take it off. But like I said, we’ll supply you with MAGs.”

Now Peter was curious. Hoping to add some humor and relax him, Peter said, “And that’s not MAGs for magazines to read on the toilet. That’s MAGs for maximum absorbency garments, or in other words, diaper. It’s probably the same type of diaper you wore as a cosmonaut. The nice thing is, now that you’re an old man, no need to be running to the restroom all the time. Just pee in those fancy NASA diapers.”

Viktor didn’t smile at Peter’s joke, though Omar laughed. Peter assumed he probably didn’t get it.

Viktor shrugged. “Soviet flight suit had access for pee. I guess I work it out.”

Peter and Omar gave each other questioning looks. Maybe it was an old man thing.

Omar excused himself to retrieve the helmet. Before exiting he said, “Viktor, you just relax and I’ll help you get out of your suit when I get back.”

After Omar left, Viktor asked, “Everything okay in Texas?”

Peter sat in the lounge chair next to Viktor and clasped his hands. His partner knew he was going to see Anya and visit his mom for the last time. What he didn’t know was the possibility of ending the relationship with Anya. He needed to be up front with his partner, so he said, “It was a tough twenty-four hours. Not only did I say goodbye to Mom for the last time, I also broke up with Anya.”

Viktor nodded. “I know. Anya call me in morning tell me. She very upset.”

“Viktor, I did it because I love her. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I hated it. But as long as she doesn’t know the true outcome of the mission, I feel it’s for the best. Besides, even if she knew I was going to die, I believe both of us leaving her would be too traumatic. Bottom-line, I am trying to prevent her from being hurt even more.” Peter put his head down, trying to find something positive in his action before saying, “This allows me to be totally focused on the mission.”

Viktor looked straight ahead for moment before turning back. “I love Anya too. Maybe be best.”