Space Station Crisis: Star Challengers Book 2 by Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, June Scobee Rodgers Page B
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still too unsteady to manipulate the controls of the robotic arm, fortunately Tony had passed his training with flying colors, and had mastered the sensitive operations. The payload specialist judged him to be the most skilled, healthy member of the crew for the moment, and recommended him to operate the robotic arm. There was no margin for error.
Using delicate adjustments, Tony bent the manipulator arm downward from the exterior of the station, watching the screen and the camera. His eyes were fixed with complete concentration as the multi-axis arm reached into the module like a complicated extension of his own arm. Breathing slowly and carefully, he closed the clamps a few millimeters at a time to grasp the Eye in the Sky. “Got it.”
“Ready for deployment,” Rodgers said in a wobbly voice. “Use an easy touch, Cadet.”
JJ watched closely as Tony gently guided the satellite out of its holding cradle, then drew it out of the ISSC, where it could be released into space. Once the Eye in the Sky drifted far enough away from the space station, a propulsion rocket would push the satellite into a higher orbit and accelerate the automated satellite all the way out to L-4, the stable orbital point. When it reached the Lagrange Point, the Eye in the Sky telescopes would orient themselves to keep watch on the distant Moon. Attitude-control thrusters would keep all of the sensors aligned in the right direction for uninterrupted observation.
“We ran simulations of the propulsion systems again and again, and ran simulations,” Lifchez said. “But you never know whether it will work until it actually works.”
Pi started the countdown after the satellite reached a safe separation distance from the ISSC, gradually falling behind them in orbit. When the Eye in the Sky was just a small speck, they were ready for positioning. Dr. d’Almeida’s external telescopes showed a magnified image of the satellite.
“Use the attitude-control thrusters to align to the precise vector, Mr. Pi,” Ansari said. “The satellite has to be pointed in the right direction when the rocket thrusters burn. Once it heads out to L-4, the Eye in the Sky will be out of our reach.” The rocket would lift the satellite far away from Earth, out to the distance of the Moon, but well ahead of it in orbit, like the pace car in a race.
“Testing attitude-control number one.” Pi fired a short burst of the compressed gas, which set the satellite slowly spinning. “And attitude-control number two.” An equal burst in the opposite direction slowed the rotating Eye in the Sky. “Perfect. Now for number three. This one’s to put it on the correct trajectory, and then we can ignite the main thruster rocket.” He fired a burst, and JJ saw a tiny puff of gas hissing out of the thruster. Telescope images picked up all the details.
Suddenly another bright flash emerged from the first attitude-control thruster, a jet of steam much stronger than the opposite one.
“That’s not supposed to happen,” JJ said.
“Attitude-control rocket one is still firing,” Lifchez said, his voice filled with alarm. “We’ve got to counteract the motion.”
“Then shut down that jet,” Ansari said.
But the gas continued to shoot out like the spray from a loose garden hose, making the satellite wobble out of control.
“The shutdown valve isn’t responding, Stationmaster!”
Mira hurried over. “We checked all those systems ourselves.”
Pi and Ansari both sent command signals to the satellite, but the high-pressure gas still sprayed out from the jammed thruster. The Eye in the Sky was now doing uncontrolled pinwheels in space. JJ groaned out loud.
“Those jets are designed only for delicate alignment,” Lifchez said, looking nauseated, but it had nothing to do with his illness. “We’ve already used up more than a month’s worth of fuel! We don’t have that much to spare.”
JJ, King, and Tony crowded close, although they could do nothing to help.
Using delicate adjustments, Tony bent the manipulator arm downward from the exterior of the station, watching the screen and the camera. His eyes were fixed with complete concentration as the multi-axis arm reached into the module like a complicated extension of his own arm. Breathing slowly and carefully, he closed the clamps a few millimeters at a time to grasp the Eye in the Sky. “Got it.”
“Ready for deployment,” Rodgers said in a wobbly voice. “Use an easy touch, Cadet.”
JJ watched closely as Tony gently guided the satellite out of its holding cradle, then drew it out of the ISSC, where it could be released into space. Once the Eye in the Sky drifted far enough away from the space station, a propulsion rocket would push the satellite into a higher orbit and accelerate the automated satellite all the way out to L-4, the stable orbital point. When it reached the Lagrange Point, the Eye in the Sky telescopes would orient themselves to keep watch on the distant Moon. Attitude-control thrusters would keep all of the sensors aligned in the right direction for uninterrupted observation.
“We ran simulations of the propulsion systems again and again, and ran simulations,” Lifchez said. “But you never know whether it will work until it actually works.”
Pi started the countdown after the satellite reached a safe separation distance from the ISSC, gradually falling behind them in orbit. When the Eye in the Sky was just a small speck, they were ready for positioning. Dr. d’Almeida’s external telescopes showed a magnified image of the satellite.
“Use the attitude-control thrusters to align to the precise vector, Mr. Pi,” Ansari said. “The satellite has to be pointed in the right direction when the rocket thrusters burn. Once it heads out to L-4, the Eye in the Sky will be out of our reach.” The rocket would lift the satellite far away from Earth, out to the distance of the Moon, but well ahead of it in orbit, like the pace car in a race.
“Testing attitude-control number one.” Pi fired a short burst of the compressed gas, which set the satellite slowly spinning. “And attitude-control number two.” An equal burst in the opposite direction slowed the rotating Eye in the Sky. “Perfect. Now for number three. This one’s to put it on the correct trajectory, and then we can ignite the main thruster rocket.” He fired a burst, and JJ saw a tiny puff of gas hissing out of the thruster. Telescope images picked up all the details.
Suddenly another bright flash emerged from the first attitude-control thruster, a jet of steam much stronger than the opposite one.
“That’s not supposed to happen,” JJ said.
“Attitude-control rocket one is still firing,” Lifchez said, his voice filled with alarm. “We’ve got to counteract the motion.”
“Then shut down that jet,” Ansari said.
But the gas continued to shoot out like the spray from a loose garden hose, making the satellite wobble out of control.
“The shutdown valve isn’t responding, Stationmaster!”
Mira hurried over. “We checked all those systems ourselves.”
Pi and Ansari both sent command signals to the satellite, but the high-pressure gas still sprayed out from the jammed thruster. The Eye in the Sky was now doing uncontrolled pinwheels in space. JJ groaned out loud.
“Those jets are designed only for delicate alignment,” Lifchez said, looking nauseated, but it had nothing to do with his illness. “We’ve already used up more than a month’s worth of fuel! We don’t have that much to spare.”
JJ, King, and Tony crowded close, although they could do nothing to help.
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