Introduction ------------------------------ Mission Report Links 1. GENESIS [This post] 2. 3. ------------------------------ GENESIS ------------------------------ Gene Kerman nervously rapped his fingers against the console. Questions flew through his mind relentlessly: What if the stage separation system failed? What if the parachute failed to deploy? What if there was a breach in the capsule? He had planned, checked; double-checked. Had interns go and check his checking. Had interns check their checking by jumping off the roof of the newly commissioned ‘Vehicle Assembly Building’ with a scale model of the parachute, and had their replacements discard that work and correct the errors. But still, there was a nagging doubt that somewhere, he had forgotten something. ‘We are closing on terminal count. All controllers to station. Gene, you have the ball.’ He snapped out of his trance. It would work, he told himself. It had to. The future of the program depended on it. He had lobbied for months for a program of this nature, and he couldn’t well lose his bottle at this point. Rising from his chair, he cleared his throat. ‘All stations, this is Gene. We are holding at 300 seconds. Give me go-no-go for count. Booster?’ ‘Go.’ ‘FIDO?’ ‘Go flight.’ ‘ RETRO?’ ‘We’re go, Gene.’ ‘Range?’ ‘All clear, go flight.’ ‘CAPCOM?’ ‘Go.’ ‘Snacks?’ ‘Go for flight.’ ‘All stations are go for flight. Commence terminal count. How’re you feeling, Jeb?’ Out on the pad, Jeb cleared his throat. He shouldn’t be nervous at all. He had trained for what felt like years, committing hundreds of hours to simulators and advanced jet aircraft, set up to help with G-loading. He was a stone-cold fighter-pilot, with combat experience and a golden record for pulling it together when the odds looked impossible. And yet, this was completely unknown to him. No one had done this before, which was exactly why he had volunteered for the selection, and why he was thrilled to be the first. Through all of that though, he still found a cold bead of sweat forming on his brow as the count commenced. Gene had said something to him. He didn’t know what; all his focus was on the panel of lights and switched presented before him. He opened his mouth to speak, perhaps saying something poetic to encapsulate the moment. But all he could find himself thinking was, ‘let’s go already.’ ‘All stations, we are go in t-minus 10 seconds.’ Gene looked out of the control room. Through the window he could see the rocket, built by the newly-formed ‘United Launch Conglomerate’. They had been selected to design this new machine, and Gene hoped that he had chosen well. A silence swept over as the countdown continued. ‘5 seconds. 4.’ Everything was silent. ‘Main engine start. Two. One.’ A cloud engulfed the pad, throwing stones and scattering the local wildlife. The wall of sound was immense. Everybody held their breath. Then, a point of light burst through the apex, screaming upwards. ‘Liftoff! we are go for Pioneer! Liftoff of the first manned space flight!’ Everybody broke into rapturous applause. Gene couldn’t help it; he laughed. It worked! It was far from a success yet, but as the rocket arced out over the bay, breaking through the cloud layer, he couldn’t help but smile to himself. It was all up from here.
