All right, here is the final chapter of part III. There will be a brief gap while I work on finishing part IV. Also, I've decided that Part V will be the last part.
Part III Chapter 11:
“To see your entire home world disappear from view, until it becomes just a point of light, lost in a sea of stars, is a profoundly isolating experience. You gain a new perspective on how petty all our Earthly squabbles really are.”
-Joe Engle, Commander, Ares 1
As the clock ticked down, ground crews continued preparing for the launch of Ares 1C. PPM-2C Galileo was rolled out in late July, and at the same time, a Saturn II was being prepared for launch at LC-34. Galileo was different to the other PPM’s, as it was designed to be the primary propulsion module for the main crewed spacecraft. It had more radiation shielding, more insulation, and of course, had all the necessary docking systems to accommodate Tycho and Tesla being strapped to its sides. At 1:52 PM on August 12, Galileo lifted off, its carrier rocket screaming into the sky, on a pillar of flame. The Saturn VB really jumped off the pad compared to the more lethargic Apollo missions. Galileo was deployed into an orbit slightly below and behind Tesla and Tycho. Then, just a few hours later, Ares 2D, the assembly flight, lifted off to catch up to it. The crew had playfully posed in yellow hardhats for their group photo, well aware that their lesser role would mean being overshadowed in the history books. They didn't care though. Like the CSM pilots on the Moon landings, they would quietly do their duty, to help their comrades achieve their mission. Ares 1D was commanded by Robert Overmyer, with Donald Williams as CSM Pilot, and Richard Covey as Mission Specialist. After reaching orbit, and extracting the Orbital Module, Williams maneuvered to catch up with Galileo. He quickly rendezvoused with the titanic stage. Controllers then ordered Tesla to slowly begin first approach. Using the same methods perfected on Ares T-6, Overmyer guided the PPM in. Finally, after several hours, Tesla and Galileo were joined. Covey performed the first EVA, inspecting the massive stages. Handrails along the side of Galileo let him climb down the massive booster, and gave him an angle to verify that everything was together ok.
Once Tesla was secure, a similar procedure was performed with Tycho. The PPM was guided in agonisingly slowly, guides by the ground, and then the construction crew. Once contact occurred, docking latches secured the stage together, and an EVA was performed to inspect everything. The three PPM's together were the largest thing ever constructed on orbit by humans. Each massed over 240,000 kg, so together, they were three-quarters of a million kg. Once all three were attached, the crew began performing systems checks, making sure that the complex computers that powered each stage were working properly. They also deployed the massive radiator fins that extended like sails from the top and bottom of each PPM. Everything seemed ok. Finally, four days after docking, Williams uncoupled from Galileo. As the crew of Ares 1D retreated from the stack, the performed a “fly around” inspection. They photographed the stack from all angles, photographs that would make the nightly news, and newspapers around the nation. However, every launch of the PPM so far had drawn anti nuclear protesters, and after the three mile island disaster in early 1979, the protests had only grown. Like every time, NASA assured them that everything was safe. But there was a not insignificant faction that wondered what would happen if the three massive PPMs plummeted to Earth. They remembered the radiation debris that had been scattered over northern Canada when the nuclear powered Soviet Kosmos 954 had reentered. Each PPM was much bigger and carried more nuclear material than that small satellite. What kind of disaster would ensue if NASA lost control of the three modules?
Despite anxiety on the part of some, NASA was confident that, after Ares 1D, everything was nominal and safe. They kept prepping the crew of Ares 1 for launch, and promoting the crew as “the first humans to visit Mars”. The crew were receiving much more press than any of the Ares test flights, or any of the missions to Starlab. McNair in particular received a lot of attention, as the first African American to travel in space. The whole crew appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in early September. During the course of the interview, Carson asked each member if they were nervous, how they would deal with being separated from their families for so long, and what they would do to pass the time. The crew were all charismatic, and responded with the same cool determination that had become synonymous with Astronauts. Joe Engle showed Carson the photos of his wife and kids that he would bring with him. Norman Thagard said that he would be practicing his photography, beyond what NASA dictated. John Blaha said that he'd be bringing a guitar along, as he'd “always wanted to learn to play”. All in all, the public seemed to like the crew not just as national heroes, but as real people. The crew of Ares 1 would be put more in the spotlight than even the crew of Apollo 11. It was a new era.
Finally, after weeks of drills, and years of training, in the early morning of November 7, the crew of Ares 1 boarded their craft for the final time. Their CSM Eagle sat perched atop a similar conical adapter as on the Apollo missions. Below that adapter was the Mission Module Endurance, named for Ernest Shackleton's ship. Sitting below Endurance, below the shrouded docking adapter, housed within a conical fairing that flared out to 10 meters, was the MEM Challenger. Joe Engle, John Blaha, Bob Crippen, Ronald McNair, and Norman Thagard were all strapped into their jump seats in Eagle. As in all Block IV capsules, the interior of Eagle was a bit cramped with all five crew, but the crew would only be confined temporarily. They had all wished their families farewell, and had committed to spending almost the next two years on the mission of a lifetime. For the last few weeks, each crew member had been carefully scrutinized, to see if any of them needed to be switched out for the backup crew. But there was nothing to fear, and all of the crew were excited, prepared, and mentally sound. The other astronauts had held a huge going away party two days prior, and the astronauts had also spent the whole final day with their families. But now it was go time. The launch countdown sounded, and as the final few seconds approached, the F-1A engines ignited. Then, a thunderous roar followed by powerful vibrations swept through the cabin as the solid boosters kicked in, and then the launch clamps released. The crew were pushed back into their seats, as their rocket accelerated away from the pad. Ares 1 was on its way. The Saturn VB performed beautifully, and less than ten minutes after liftoff, they had reached orbit. Once systems checks had been run, the shroud under the CSM was ditched. Below, resting atop the MM was the Science and Logistics Module. The launch shroud protecting the docking adapter was jettisoned as well. Crippen carefully performed the transposition and docking maneuver, extracting the SLM, and then delicately maneuvered the SLM onto the nadir docking port on the adapter. Then, under Crippen’s steady hand, Eagle translated to the other side, and docked to the zenith port.
The crew opened their hatch, and boarded Endurance. The turned on the lights, brought the MM’s systems online, and took in the module that would be their home for the better part of the next two years. After a few hours of setup and checks, the crew ate their first meal aboard Endurance. Far from the freeze-dried, prepackaged meals of Apollo, the crew of Ares 1 had their own kitchen, where they could each cook a menu to their liking. After dinner, the crew each retired to their private quarters, for their first night of sleep aboard their new home. Like all space missions, they were running on Houston time, and they had to close their blinds to shut out the multiple sunrises and sunsets that would occur during their “night”. NASA woke the crew on the morning of the 8th with the wakeup tune: “Is there life on Mars?” by David Bowie. Within an hour of waking, Blaha and Crippen were at the controls of Endurance, and were preparing for the big rendezvous. The crew gradually caught up to the three PPMs that would propel them on their mission. Galileo, Tycho, and Tesla came into view out the window, and Thagard snapped many photos. Crippen and Blaha began aligning the large docking ring on Endurance’s backside with the ring mounted on Galileo. The CAPCOM for this part of the mission was none other than Robert Overmyer, who knew these stages intimately, having assembled them. Slowly, the second most massive thing on orbit approached the most massive, lumbering at one another. Dockings were normally slow, but the slower response time of these massive components meant that, for safety, it was brought down to an agonising crawl. The approach was gradual, but still tense, until finally, contact was confirmed. The central docking probe pulled the two together, and then latches on Galileo grabbed the rings on Endurance, and secured the two together. The spacecraft was now one, fully assembled. Crippen and Blaha confirmed that control signals were flowing from the MM to the propulsion stack. The solar panels and communication dish of Endurance were deployed, folding out. Everything seemed to be working fine. After contact was established, all the crew had to do was wait for the launch window. For the next four days, they verified that every system on every module was ready to go. On the 11th, the crew received a phone call from President Reagan.
“I’d like all of you to know that we are proud of you, and that your mission represents what it means to be an American. You are true pioneers in our time. Like pioneers of the past, your journey will be long, and you will travel far. We hope that your journey will be safe, and that everything that you set out to accomplish you will. Millions of Americans, myself and Nancy among them, will be saying a prayer tonight, wishing the crew of Ares safe travels. When you return to Earth once more, it will be as heroes and explorers. Until that day, we wish you farewell Ares 1, as you go where no man has before.”
On November 12, Crippen and Blaha oriented the ship, preparing for the moment of truth. Finally, it came, and the NR-2 nuclear thermal rockets on Tycho and Tesla were activated. Hot Hydrogen was expelled from the rear of the craft. Each engine produced about 550 kilonewtons of thrust, and so with the entire Ares 1 stack massing in at 875 tons, the crew experienced around a quarter of a g of acceleration. The two outer PPM’s thrusted for several minutes, imparting a grand total of 3800 m/s of acceleration on Ares 1. Finally, they cut off. Explosive bolts fitted under the docking ports on Galileo fired. Tesla and Tycho separated, along with the mechanisms that had docked them to the central stage. Just hours into the actual mission and their job was done. Each was left to coast on a heliocentric orbit forever. However, NASA had once more asked for “hitchhiker” payloads that could be mounted on the PPMs. A few hours after Tycho separated from the main mission stack, the Interplanetary and Heliospheric Environment Explorer separated from it. IHEE was a small probe, less than 50 kg, designed to measure dust levels, micrometeorites, and solar particles in the space between Earth and Mars. It also carried a camera, which was used to image the spent Tycho as it drifted away.
Though the crew of Ares 1 could still see the Earth, they were now on a path that would take them to Mars. As the Earth shrank behind them, each member of the crew took a turn speaking to their family, enjoying the lack of a delay while it lasted. Soon enough they would be far enough from Earth that the speed of light would interfere with their connection to home. The crew watched the Earth shrink away from them, their home becoming a smaller and smaller circle, until finally, it just became a point of light. Ares 1 was now committed, there was no going back. However, they were not the first to experience this level of disconnection. As the crew of Ares 1 left one planet, the crew of Mechta were fast approaching another.
) for getting me the official motto of any Space Program I will probably write:
