Virus-72 Hours to Live (5 page)

The space station Oasis was a rotating ring
of habitable space 750 ft. in diameter and a 25-foot cross section.
Walking around the station was a nice 2,450-foot hike around its
circumference. In order to simulate the Earth's gravity, the entire
station rotated a little less than three revolutions per minute.
Oasis had been in orbit for 5 years and was still 6 months from
completion. The main ring was complete, but the second ring was
just starting construction.

The station had 20 robotic mobile units
assigned to construction and maintenance. They remained in space
most of the time and worked on the structure and systems. When
periodic maintenance was required, were the only times the mobile
units were brought into the station. Generally, each task in the
station was too complex or too important for a mobile unit. Within
the station, the jobs changed every day, so a redundant task
outside the station was ideally suited for the mobile units. The
primary purpose of the SMU's was constructing the outer hull of the
station. The hull was composite and each of the sheets were
attached to graphite composite substructure. After the structure
was complete and the skin attached, the mobile units installed the
support systems and laboratory equipment.

The Space Mobil Units or SMU's looked like
washing machines and had six arms with three-fingered hands. They
were 8'6" tall and 3' in diameter. Aside from six arms, which had
most of the tools they needed, they had a couple of storage
compartments for replacement parts and other tools. On the bottom
of the SMU, was the coupling port where they would plug into the
space station to recharge their batteries and replenish the
propellants.

The secondary ring under construction would
have connecting ports every 200 feet around the perimeter, which
allowed movement from one ring to the other. The second ring was
key for a fully functioning station, but also for crew member
convenience. In the current configuration, there was only one path
around the circumference of the station. When the second ring was
complete, it would provide alternate routes. It seemed like a small
thing to a terrestrial person. When a crew member moved in the same
direction as the rotation or down-rotation, their angular velocity
was higher and they felt a little more G force and moved slower.
When they moved opposite to the rotation or up-rotation, their
angular velocity decreased so they felt less than 1 G and could
move faster and even jump. When two crewmembers, moving in opposite
directions collided, the lack of a second ring was an assumed part
of the apology.

There were six spokes or center access
tunnels (CAT), across the giant ring, which crossed at a
cylindrical structure in the middle. Between each of the CAT, were
a dozen graphite wires, which evened out the forces and helped to
hold everything together. On either end of the center structure,
were the docking ports. On one end of the structure, was the
incoming docking station A and on the other end was the outgoing
docking station B. The center of the structure contained the
laboratories for the processes which needed zero-G environments.
Even though a point within the center structure was at zero G, the
structure was still rotating. The parts of the lab, which needed
zero G, were free to rotate within the structure at the same rate
as Oasis but in the opposite direction. Those sections were on
rollers with electric motors that maintained their weightless
environment on frictionless air bearing.

The CATS or spokes crossed from one point in
the station to another, but few people used them. It was
disorienting to go from the near-Earth gravity of the spinning ring
through the zero gravity point then back to gravity; often
crewmembers 'chucked-their-cookies' in the passage due to Coriolis
Effect. It messed up their inner ear and wasn't very pleasant. It
wasn't unusual for someone to get sick and have a mess to clean
up.

With one ring, traffic was going in both
directions around the ring and people didn't like it. It wasn't
natural to bump into people going in the other direction. The
aisles were narrow to maximize the lab and living space so passing
each other wasn't convenient. A second ring would provide paths for
people moving up rotation and the other ring for people moving
down-rotation, sort of an assumed flow path. Seemed dumb, but
everyone thought it would be better.

Of course, the added ring doubled the
laboratory, manufacturing, living and most important recreation
space. Those were important and added to the feeling of home, but
the thought of having two rings just seemed to even things out and
everyone hoped it would make the station work better.

The station was only about half-staffed and
once the outer ring was complete, the full staffing would reach 75
astronauts. There were four lifeboats equally spaced around the
perimeter. They could carry eight occupants and be launched in 3
minutes. When the station was complete, it would have 10 lifeboats
with five on each ring. At one time, the lifeboats were going to be
larger and at the center rotation point, which would make docking
and launching easier. However, the crewmembers needed the lifeboats
close, having them in the center was too far away. The center docks
at the rotation point were used for large vehicles from Earth and
supply vessels to Mars and the moon.

The station's primary purpose was research
and manufacturing. Over the years, they found many processes and
materials were ideally suited to be manufactured in space. The
research onboard Oasis was to find new methods for space
manufacture and to maximize the benefits of the existing
processes.

Starting in 2045, the International Space
Consortium, which was an international corporation made up by the
participating governments paid for and ran the station, The
personnel were provided by participating nations and companies
around the world. The projects were funded either by the
corporation of on an individual basis. The station's primary
purpose was industrial development. However, because of its
strategic and global importance, many nations wanted to ensure
their participation and awareness of what was being done on the
station.

The Helium-3, which came from the moon and
paid for everything, was received from the moon in gaseous form and
was stored on Oasis waiting transport to Earth. After the conflicts
of earlier decades regarding the H-3, it worked out well for all
nations to participate in the collection of H-3 and to witness its
movement through the station to the final processing centers on
Earth.

It wasn't that any of the participating
governments didn't trust the others, but H-3 was so important and
expensive everyone was happier if they played a part in the
process.

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The morning on the space station Oasis
progressed normally. Before lunch, Tom saw his wife as he entered
the station control room. "Honey, the last of the supplies have
been loaded and secured in RD33A, the mobile units are closing up
the storage bays and the crew is in Port B."

The Oasis control center was the heart of
the space station. The center was the central space comm center for
the consortium and it was staffed 24 hours a day, it monitored the
onboard activities, and space station status. Communications
between Earth and the station wasn't limited to going through the
center, but it kept it under control. Certain people on Earth could
communicate with anyone on the station and likewise those on the
station that needed to speak with Earth could contact whom they
needed directly. The designers decided early on that allowing
everyone to talk to everyone wasn't conducive to getting the job
done. If Joan was to be responsible for station operation, then she
needed to be part of the key messages, so having them all come
through the control center was the best plan.

"Great, let's go and send them off," Joan
said as she stood and left the control center. Before they entered
the corridor it, was always a good idea to look both ways in the
hall before charging into the corridor. Many of the crewmembers
would get up a good head of steam moving through the single
hallway. If they were moving up rotation and you jumped in front of
one, it could get real personal; real quick. The corridor was clear
and they turned down rotation to the next center access tunnel.
When they reached Charlie tunnel they stepped on the elevator made
for one, and pleasantly held on to each other as the elevator
ascended to the center. It was always a fun little ride for them
and an opportunity for a little one-on-one time. The elevator rose
and the gravity reduced as they approached the center of rotation.
When the elevator reached the middle, they were weightless.
Reluctantly they launched themselves out of the elevator and
grabbed straps, which allowed them to move hand over hand to
docking port B. The walls in both docking ports, were covered with
tie down straps, so equipment moving in and out of the attached
vehicles could be tethered to the walls.

The Oasis center section was a large
cylinder 50 feet in diameter where each of the CATS connected. The
laboratories were in the middle and the docking ports were on the
ends. The six CATS from the first ring connected by docking port A
and the six CATS from the second ring will connect by port B. It
was a pain having to move the entire length of the center cylinder
from the current Charlie-CATS to port B, but they were stuck with
it until the second ring was complete. Even for hardened astronauts
moving through the Zero G was fun and unusually they did
somersaults or other fun maneuvers as they moved around and through
the process manufacturing areas.

The rotation of the station forced the
inbound craft to match the rotational velocity before docking. When
a ship departed from the station, its rotational velocity was the
same as the station and the onboard computer would slowly alter its
rotation to match their orbit as they moved away from the
station.

When they entered Beta docking station, the
four-person crew for RD33A was in their pressure suits and ready to
move into the vehicle. They were stationary with respect to the
port so they appeared to be slowly rotating to Joan and Tom, who
were moving through the weightless environment.

"Hey guys you ready to launch off to your
new home?" Joan asked as Tom and she adjusted their orientation so
they were all heads up with the crew.

Depending on which center access tunnel you
came out of, you had to rotate to align with anyone else in the
docking port. It was one of those funny things with people, you
couldn't stand head to foot and talk. Once they aligned with the
departing crew, they could stay stationary to each other. Oasis
would rotate around them and the portal into RD33A would rotate. It
was a little disconcerting when one of the technicians was attached
to Oasis preparing for the launch and they would rotate around the
stationary crewmembers while they talked.

"Yup, we're ready. We've been prepping for
this mission for a long time and now we're hot to get going. I wish
I had gotten a little more sleep last night though," said John
Silver, who was the new environmental engineer for the Mars colony
and the mission commander.

"Do you feel ok?" asked Joan.

"No problem just pre-launch nerves."

"Well, you've got the first watch, so you'll
have time to recover before you have to wake up Mary for your sleep
period."

"If you wake me up and you complain about
sniffles, I'll just go back to sleep," said Mary Silver, who was
John's wife and the Mining Engineer for the Mars colony.

"Don't worry I'll save some tissue for you,"
he said with a false sniffle and a grin.

"You're not saying anything Phil?" Joan
mentioned as she looked at the one person who was smiling but
staying out of the banter between the couple.

"When a married couple is fighting over
issues, I think it's best to remain neutral," replied Phillip
Washington who was the new structural engineer for the Red Dirt
colony.

Phil's wife Joyce, the new Mars soils
engineer, elbowed him and said, "Ya when we fight it's over more
important things; like the entertainment control."

Any crew heading off for a mission to Mars
had to be close and have good personal relationships; it was a
trip, which would likely be for the remainder of their lives.
Generally, those that elected the one-way trip to Mars were at a
point in their lives where they could make such a large commitment.
Some were young and adventurous, but most of them had reached a
point in their lives where they could see where they were going and
could make the decision without any regrets. With the VSIMR engine,
a return trip could be made to Earth but it was so expensive the
corporation encouraged a long-term commitment. They expected anyone
going to Mars to be willing to 'stick it out' and not expect a
return trip.

"Ok guys, I know this is a big step which
you've been preparing for, for a long time. I can't say much except
I hope things go well on the trip and your time on Mars. I'd love
to go there someday, but I'm not willing to make it my last
assignment yet. I guess I'll let you go and I hope you get along
well enough for six weeks together," said Joan.

"I wish you would call it something else
then our last assignment," John said with a smile.

"You know what I meant, perhaps not the last
but at least the longest one," Joan added with a smile.

"We better get along. We have 40 days
together in a small metal tube," John said. "After we get there,
we'll be in bigger metal tubes for the rest of our lives."

"Ok, enough bragging, time to button up,"
Joan pointed out. "We don't want you to be late getting to Red
Dirt."

"If any of you have a snoring problem I've
got extra earplugs," said Tom with a smile.