Saturn Rukh Read Online Free

Saturn Rukh
Book: Saturn Rukh Read Online Free
Author: Robert L. Forward
Tags: Science-Fiction, made by MadMaxAU
Pages:
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out the rest of the mission. It has the standard crew capsule on top, while underneath is a fuel tank and engine module that is not only our third stage, but part of our fourth, fifth, and sixth stages.”
     
    “How’s that?” asked Chastity, not yet fully understanding.
     
    “The fuel tank module gets refilled and the stage is reused,” replied Rod. “When we arrive, the tank will be full of meta. We use up nearly all the meta to descend into the upper atmosphere of Saturn. We make more meta while floating around in Saturn’s atmosphere, refill the tank, and use the same tank and engine module as the ascent stage. We then refill the tank again from the storage tank we left behind in orbit around Saturn, and use the same module as the return stage and the stopping stage.”
     
    “Storage tank?”
     
    “The donut-shaped thing over there is the storage tank that holds the return fuel,” said Rod, pointing. “It is the last thing to be added, and goes on top of the stack. It fits around the fuel tank at the base of the cone. We left it off until last, so Pete can get to the meta manufacturing facility underneath to check it out. Let me take you down there.”
     
    Rod zoomed the Jet-Do to the base of the house-sized cone, and tied it to a strut holding one of the meter-high magno-shielded engine bells. In free fall, it was easy for Rod and Chastity to float between the engine bells, where they found an airlock leading into a cylindrical structure tucked between the ring of engines around the base of the conical stage.
     
    The airlock into the meta-manufacturing facility was a tunnel-like entrance that allowed only one person to cycle through at a time. As Chastity exited the inner port she was pulled through by a tall man with a balding head. He wasn’t wearing a spacesuit, or much else for that matter, just the bottom half of his “cooljohns.” She could feel the coolant in her own cooljohns switch to cold—it must be hot inside the facility. The man bent over the airlock door to start the cycle again and she looked him over from the back. He was built like a football tight end, with broad shoulders, muscular arms, slim butt, and long tapering legs. The only thing that destroyed the wedge-shaped symmetry was the roll of fat that jiggled over the elastic on his cooljohns.
     
    With the cycle started, the man turned around and stuck out his hand. “You must be Chastity Blaze,” he said. “I’m Pete Stewart, photochemical engineer. The facility is at normal pressure, but much too high a temperature, so if you want, you can strip”—a mischievous grin appeared at the sides of his mouth as he watched the annoyed look build on her face as the pause continued—”off your helmet and spacesuit to your cooljohns,” he finished innocently as they shook hands.
     
    She took off her helmet and put it under her arm. “I’ll keep the suit on,” she said. The airlock bell chimed. As Pete opened the inner door and pulled Rod out of the airlock, she took the opportunity to look around the room. They were at the end of a narrow corridor, which branched off into other narrow corridors. The walls of the corridors were formed of ceiling-to-floor racks of identical pieces of intricate-looking equipment with blinking indicator numerals and toggle buttons. There was a muted hum of electrical power permeating the hot dry air.
     
    “I take it Pete introduced himself,” said Rod as he removed his helmet.
     
    “Yes...” said Chastity coolly.
     
    “This is where we make the nitrometahelium,” said Pete as he led the way down the corridor. “If this pilot plant can make the one hundred twenty tons of nitrometahelium we need to get off Saturn in less than a half year, then the consortium will send a full-sized factory that can produce a million tons a year—at a cost less than five percent of the price of nitrometahelium in LEO today.”
     
    Chastity was going to ask what would happen if the pilot plant didn’t
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