Good morning everyone, happy Monday! I hope you are all having a great day, and have been looking forward to today's installation. Can you believe it's been 30 whole chapters? I certainly can't, and I must say, I'm very proud of my resolve in working through this project, and I absolutely could not have done this without the amazing folks doing all the different media which helps bring the universe to life. Today,
Jay has been kind enough to provide us with images, and I'm as always super blown away. Next week will be our third interlude before we continue onwards with our story... very exciting stuff ahead!
Chapter 30: Rise of the Titans
In the early morning of March 3, 2006, a new behemoth, born from the ashes of the past, was rolling to the pad at Launch Complex 41. Atlas, once one of the giants of the space program, had been on hiatus since the early 90s, as the new Delta III and Helios vehicles began to dominate the launch market. Quietly, the Lockheed team had been hard at work refining and developing a new vehicle that could soon dominate the industry, a vehicle so powerful that it could do even more to unlock the secrets of space. Atlas-NextGen was a 5m vehicle, equipped with the latest in American rocketry, the Aerojet Rocketdyne AR-1. This engine had been under accelerated development, borrowing from technology in the former Soviet Union. Atlas-NextGen would be a uniquely modular vehicle, able to fly in both a 2 or 3 engine configuration using a recoverable engine pod, much like Boeing’s Helios. It would also return to its roots in a unique way, using the center engine as a sustainer to push the vehicle further when operating in the 3 engine configuration. This would serve to lessen G-forces on payloads, and ultimately, potential crew applications. Joining Atlas would be an upgrade to the venerable Centaur upper stage - Centaur Evolved. The 5m cryogenic stage would be powered by two newly upgraded RL10s, using the RL10C-X. This stage was a stretched and widened stage that, apart from the twin RL10 arrangement, had very little commonality with the Centaurs of old. Atop this vehicle would be a new cargo vehicle for Odyssey, the Orbital Sciences Cygnus. This vehicle, equipped with a modular cargo container, would be used to ferry large cargo components and supplies up to the station, and could even function as a free flying laboratory or tug. The first config to fly would see Cygnus fly with a 4.3m cargo section, about half the length of an MPLM. This configuration would be especially useful in transferring and installing new racks in the variety of modules onboard Odyssey. Early in the morning, Atlas would ignite its three main engines, and begin the climb into orbit. Rolling into its ascent attitude, the vehicle would slip into the early morning sky, dropping its two booster engines, and throttling up the center AR-1. The vehicle would press on, soon exhausting its fuel, and separating Centaur for the remaining climb to orbit. Centaur did its job dutifully, placing the cargo vehicle on a trajectory to rendezvous with the space station the following day. Atlas had risen to the occasion, and was more than ready to make history.
In NASA’s Space Station Office, the plans for the Orbital Logistics and Servicing Station, known publicly as Gateway, were being finalized. The first module, a combination node and power element, was already under construction by Boeing, but there was a problem. The node element, a leftover from the inception of Odyssey, had failed its checkout twice - forcing the whole station to slip behind schedule as a result. NASA and other space agencies involved in the station had quietly begun to meet and discuss other potential options for proceeding with the project, with or without the original contractors. Boeing, one of the prime contractors for Odyssey, had recently aimed to produce the several other modules required for this new facility. Thales Alenia, backed by the European Space Agency, had also recently debuted new manufacturing capabilities, and aimed to compete for the contract to produce this station. The two companies were locked in fierce legal competition, and feared the potential repercussions of not securing a foothold in the new game of orbital servicing. Soon, the legal dust would settle, and the arrangement of the modules and their manufacturers would become clear. Boeing would proceed with the Power and Utility Node, while Europe would manufacture the Airlock and Workshop, a derivative of Multi Purpose Logistics Modules to support work on whatever components would necessitate being brought inside. The Canadian Space Agency would provide the Servicing Platform, an external rack containing a variety of ORCs platforms, and a new upgraded Canadarm, Canadarm3S. The new arm would contain a variety of features that would enable fine motor control, absolutely necessary for autonomous servicing operations. Japan would provide their Power and Thermal Control tower, mounted on a mast to be assembled by shuttle crews as they constructed the station. Assured crew return was to be provided by Liberté, although the station was not intended to be permanently crewed. Discussions within Europe had also pointed at the growing movement to launch Liberté onboard their own orbital spacecraft. Early conversations with Ukrainian rocket builders had hinted at a potential crew rating of the Zenit vehicle, which would enter into the ideal weight class to launch such a craft as Liberté. Work had begun quietly on an upgraded orbital module for the lifting body vehicle, enabling free flight after being placed in orbit - finally freeing Europe from the constraints of launching onboard Shuttle. Gateway, in the eyes of the NASA planning office, was seen as the correct next step, freeing Odyssey from the constraints of aggregate work until the next generation space laboratory came online.
Prometheus heads home, a triumphant mission of discovery and adventure now at its end. The Olympus 8 mission will be remembered for decades as a pivotal moment in human exploration of the Red Planet.
In the early summer of 2006, the three nuclear engines of
Prometheus would light as the crew of Olympus 8 made their return to planet Earth. Their mission had been a resounding success, both in terms of records set and science objectives met. Their cruise back from the Red Planet had been met with very few difficulties, and overall their mental and physical health seemed well. They were in good spirits, having enjoyed their time on the surface, but deeply longed to be home. Their retrieval by
Intrepid was swift and efficient, and as the crew very carefully was escorted down the steps at the Shuttle landing facility, mission planners began to look to their next missions, and wonder how far the program could go. One key remark by several of the crews had pointed to the need, for eventual science return, to go further from the lander. Largely, crews were limited by their life support equipment and their own bodies. In doing so, mission planners would begin to consider how additional cargo could be brought with the crew. Soon, an idea for their order of operations would come into focus, and development completed for the next generation of long stay missions. Olympus 9 was to be a standard long stay mission, as the previous two would be, focusing on local science in the region with an emphasis on bio-geological investigations, while the unofficial motto for Olympus 10 and 11 would be “Follow the Water” - a program aimed at walking through the potential route of water on the planet’s surface. To do so, the crew would split up, and a 3 crew expedition would use a new pressurized rover, delivered by a second Energia launch and skycrane landing system, to explore further fields of the region. The rover would be equipped with autonomous terrain navigation, and be able to plug into the two logistics modules already present for the Olympus 10 crew’s stay. Their trek would take them through regions which were potentially too dangerous to land the crew in, and through terrain not yet explored. The rover would be equipped with all they needed, a bathroom, bunks, science stations, and a large series of windows to enable maximum visibility as they traversed the landscape. At the end of the Olympus 10 mission, the rover would enter the next phase of operations - autonomous wayfinding to the next landing site. During this journey of potentially thousands of kilometers, the vehicle would deploy experiments, collect samples, and investigate the landscape. This rover, named
Argonaut, would be launched with the Olympus 10 prestaging equipment at the opening of the Mars transfer window, setting the stage for the next great leap in human exploration and mobility on the planet’s surface.
As the future of Martian operations becoming permanent loomed in NASA’s mind, the Olympus partners would expand their cadre, hiring more astronauts and expanding the potential roles that astronauts would take. It was the hope that many from all over the world could not only experience spaceflight, but be a part of the transformative experience of walking on another world. The crew of Olympus 9 would arrive at Kennedy Space Center roughly a month ahead of their departure date in the fall, ready to make history. They were a fine crew, a representation of the bold vision for diversity and equity found among the Olympus Cadre astronauts. Leading the mission would be Sergei Ivanov, the first Russian commander of an Olympus expedition to Mars. There had been considerable fanfare when Ivanov was picked, and a great deal of national pride. Training for the mission had been delayed by two weeks, as Ivanov was paraded around his country. He brought a considerable degree of worry with him, the pressure of being first was never easy. Commander Douglass, in a quiet moment with Ivanov, would reassure him, and remind him that despite the road that lay ahead, that his mind was in the correct place. His second in command, NASA’s Maxwell Knowles, was a seasoned Shuttle pilot, having flown twice to Odyssey, and once on a deployment flight for TDRS. Their flight surgeon, ESA’s Dr. Nicolas Delon, was a doctor and professor at Cambridge, having left his home country of France to explore medicine with the space agency. Mission Specialist 1, Suzu Ayase, was a robotics expert from JAXA, would be testing new autonomous aircraft technologies on the planet, flying payloads sponsored by a number of universities in Japan. The Lander Pilot for Olympus 9, NASA’s Christopher Taylor, was a submariner and diving expert, well adapted to operating under pressure. His work on cryogenic cooling systems for applications in submarines had earned him favor at NASA, and construction work on Odyssey had only made him more eligible for a flight. Originally, he had been assigned to the Olympus 8 crew, but ultimately was shuffled with Mike Jones due to an injury sustained while riding his motorcycle. Now, fully healed and ready, he looked forward to piloting the crew’s lander, Orion, to Gusev crater. Mission Specialists 3 and 4, Freya Robinson of the UK and Timothy Small of Australia, would be the habitat specialists. In training, the two had operated as an inseparable pair, and some had hinted at a romance blossoming between them. In the end, it would come down to an amazing degree of communication, pure skill and dedication to the task at hand. The final member of the crew, Canada’s Elliot Weir, had been another last minute addition to the training program. Originally trained in medicine, Weir had later applied his skills to military aviation, studying the systems of the human body in extreme stress situations. Taylor and Weir had grown close during training, as the two late entries to the mission, and would often spend time reviewing procedures and protocol together. As the date of their launch approached, it was clear to the public that the team was cohesive, ready to tackle the challenges of living on another world. The crew would once again become household names, another solid victory for the program as a whole.
Intrepid floats free once again, ready to spread her wings and deliver the crew of Olympus 9 to their waiting MTV. The 9th crewed Olympus mission, and the 6th Martian landing awaits!
Under a twilight sky,
Intrepid would once again reach for the heavens, carrying the crew of Olympus 9 skyward. Shedding her solid rocket motors, she would roll to the heads up wings level position, making contact with the fleet of TDRSS birds hanging in geostationary orbit. After 8 ½ minutes, she would cast her external tank off, and complete the push to orbit, unfolding her radiators and payload bay doors. The initial approach to Hera had been pushed back a day, as the crew worked on a few issues onboard Intrepid. Their MTV, and their lander,
Orion, waited patiently for them, lingering silently in orbit. Soon, they would catch sight of their great ships, and with a cry of “Tally-Ho” begin their approach to the great ship. Since her rotation on Olympus 7,
Hera had been refit, and equipped with a new lifeboat, the 4th module off the line. The approach and rendezvous to the ship had been slow and meticulous, as always, but
Hera’s electronic eyes and other sensory organs would soon have the shuttle right on the money. The two great ships would embrace, and soon the crew of Olympus 9 could get to work unloading cargo and supplies, assisted by the 3 person crew of the shuttle. They would spend two days unpacking, with Commander Ivanov giving a press conference with members of international media. He spoke fondly of his heroes, of Yuri Gagarin and Alexi Leonov, and how they shaped his vision for a future that was not combative, but cooperative, one in which humans of all nations, races, genders, socioeconomic classes and more could work together to achieve such a monumental dream. As he put down the microphone, he wondered quietly:
could they all see how nervous I was? He tried to remember all that Douglass had told him, of humility and respect for the mission at hand. He envied that about her, her ability to always seem calm and collected. Perhaps, some day, he would embody her confidence. As
Intrepid slipped within the bonds of the atmosphere, and
Orion made the push out of orbit, the crew would make their final preparations to leave home. The next day,
Hera would ignite her 3 nuclear engines, pushing further and faster, ready to bring the sixth crew to the Martian surface. As the crew settled in, and prepared for the world that awaited them, Ivanov would find himself looking back at planet Earth, and wondering if he had made the right choice.
