085-The Skyfire Puzzle by Franklin W. Dixon

Author:Franklin W. Dixon [Dixon, Franklin W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-08-07T15:12:17+00:00

Chapter 9

Free Fall Fever

The next morning, Frank met Suzanne at the space shuttle runway.

"Maxwell Grant was waiting for Dad when we got home in the early morning hours," she said. "It was really awful, Frank. They're close friends, and Mr. Grant was trying to be so ... so nice to Dad while he told him he'd have to give up his job as head of NASA security."

"But nothing's been proven against Lew Gorman," Frank protested. "No one has any real evidence to connect him to foreign agents."

Suzanne shook her head and stared at the long, flat expanse of runway shimmering under the hot Florida sky. Over her shoulder was the towering Vehicle Assembly Building.

Clustered about the giant structure were dozens of smaller buildings, all vital to the launch and recovery of the space shuttles.

"Mr. Grant didn't even know about last night's incident with Lew Gorman," Suzanne explained, "not until we told him what had happened. He was pretty upset, but he had already decided he had to let Dad go."

"It was that business at the centrifuge, wasn't it?" Frank said.

"You might say the centrifuge was the last straw." Suzanne made a face. "Mr. Grant called it 'an unacceptable penetration of security.' Dad's going to stay on until Mr. Grant can find a replacement, but he won't have much authority to do anything."

"I saw Pete McConnel and Nat Cramer at the administration building this morning," Frank told her. "I thought McConnel looked especially cheery. I'm sorry, Suzanne. I really am."

"I know. It's okay." Suzanne forced a smile. "Hey, come on, let's get going. We're holding up the U.S. Air Force!"

Chet and Joe were waiting under the wing of the big C-135 cargo plane, talking to a tall Air Force major. Like Frank and Suzanne, they wore standard NASA flight suits and carried their helmets under their arms. As the newcomers approached, the officer turned and grinned.

"I'm Major Jack Brewster," he said. "I'll be going with you on your weightlessness familiarization flight." Brewster had a hawklike nose, a neatly trimmed mustache, and deeply tanned features. His eyes were hidden behind green-tinted sunglasses. "It's quieter down here," he went on, "so I'll explain a few things before we get airborne. This is really a two-phase operation. You'll experience the first phase with me. The second will take place this afternoon in the underwater lab. Now—" Brewster nodded toward the plane. "What happens up there is this. Weightlessness is simply the lack of gravity's force. We simulate deep space conditions by diving at a forty-five degree angle to gain speed, then pushing the plane over into a parabolic curve, an outside loop. During a fifteen to twenty second period of that loop, you'll experience weightlessness. Any questions so far?"

"I have plenty of questions," Chet told him, "but I don't know enough to ask a one."

Major Brewster grinned. "You will. Come on, let's get this bird upstairs."

"Okay," the officer's voice, crackled in their helmet receivers, "if you're ready, give me a hand signal. Fine—here we go.

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