Like a nervous dragon, Kaz thought.
They watched as Tom followed the checklist profile, slowing forward speed as he descended, then settling the machine gently on its four insect legs, jets puffing rapidly, exactly in the center of the painted target X on the tarmac. This was as close to simulating the Moon’s one-sixth gravity as the NASA engineers and trainers could get.
Tom lifted off again, moving a few hundred yards away, setting up for another practice run. An Air National Guard F-101 Voodoo interceptor jet noisily took off on the nearby main runway. Both men’s eyes turned to follow it. Pilots like airplanes.
Chad yelled an explanation at Kaz, who had never seen the training vehicle in action. “Tom’s setting the main engine to hold up five-sixths of the weight now. Then he flies it using just the peroxide thrusters, which gives it the same feel as the LM on the Moon. It’s got close to the same hand controllers as the LM, and the styrofoam walls block Tom’s view, like the real thing does.”
Kaz leaned towards Chad. “How many crashes have they had? Three?”
“Yeah, but no one was hurt—she’s got a good bang seat. You probably heard it’s zero-zero.”
Kaz nodded.
The ejection seat had been designed to save the pilot even if he pulled the handle at zero altitude and zero airspeed. Most seats in jet fighters needed forward speed and enough height to allow the parachute to properly inflate.
Tom landed again, bouncing slightly but right on target, and they could see his hands going through the extra motions needed to shut it down. The groundcrew, wearing heavy white protective gear, moved in to safe the systems. They waved the fuel bowser truck in close and reeled out its hose to refuel. A red USAF fire engine waited 100 feet away, just in case.
Chad and Kaz took off their ear protectors, glad the noise had stopped. Chad popped his finger in his mouth and then held it up, testing the wind. “Still pretty light. Should be good for my flights too.”
Tom walked towards them, his white helmet under his arm. He’d taken off his olive-green torso harness, which clipped solidly into the ejection seat; he was wearing the same all-white flight suit as Chad, made of thick Nomex in case the LLTV caught fire. He’d peeled back his white hood, extra fire protection for the back of his neck. Underneath, he was wearing all-cotton long underwear. It was hot, but a worthwhile precaution. Launch was under 10 weeks away, and even a minor injury could ground him.
They all shook hands.
“Not bad for an old guy, Tom,” Chad teased, some edge in his voice. He was a year younger, and his Air Force career had followed Tom’s throughout.
“I bounced that last landing a bit,” Tom said.
“What’s it fly like?” Kaz asked.
“Like you’re balancing on top of a broomstick.” Tom laughed. “Sort of like a helicopter, but no rotor to give all the cross-coupling and inertial effects. It’s actually fairly stable. Until it isn’t. In Lunar Sim Mode the jet engine pivots on gimbals, which helps fight wind gusts and keep the thrust vector pure vertical. It gets pretty twitchy. From what the other Apollo guys have said, the real LM is gonna be way smoother.” He looked at Chad and smiled. “I’ll tell you about it when I get back.”
Chad reached into his leg pocket and took out his thin light-brown leather flying gloves. “Yeah, well, now it’s the better pilot’s turn.” He winked at both men, picked up his helmet bag and walked confidently towards the contraption.
“Happy landings,” Tom said to his back. For a moment, they both watched Chad, donning his green harness at the base of the yellow ladder.
Tom turned to Kaz. “So. What do you think?”
Kaz guessed what he meant. “I’ve known both your crewmembers for a long time. Michael comes across a little too informal sometimes, but he knows Pursuit inside out. He’ll do fine. Luke is super-sharp and will serve you well in Bulldog, and outside walking with you on the Moon. Looks to me like everyone’s coming along well.”
Tom nodded, and held his gaze. He waited a beat. “But?”
They were watching Chad strap himself into the ejection seat.
“But . . . we’re still not sure exactly when the Russians are going to launch Almaz, though it’s still looking like early April. And we’re not sure how high they’re going to orbit it, but our best guess is that it’ll be low for better camera resolution, and the stripped-down Saturn V can put you there, regardless. Also, we’re not at all sure what their Lunokhod rover is doing in the Sea of Serenity. Our intel is lousy inside Moscow Mission Control, but we do know they’ve added even more layers of security. Which makes us think it’s not just another lunar science mission.”