[Story] Space Disaster

[Kuhaku 87]

 

Hello, I_Am_Unkown here, and I'll be posting a special story. I will of course finish my current story, Immune. I just thought I'd post something else for a change. Please note, there are no other following chapters for this story.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Space Disaster

 

The spacecraft Adventure was ready to start the ignition process. Nuclear fission expert Joe Harper and aerodynamics specialist Rachel Smith would be boarding Adventure and would meet up with 5 other spacecrafts at Motherboard, a massive 300 billion dollar space station. Motherboard was a 10 year project created by 17 different countries working together to create a spaceship that would be able to take astronauts and cosmonauts to Mars. On its maiden flight, Motherboard would take 10 astronauts and cosmonauts to Mars, a 6 month long journey. There, the astronauts would research the planet and collect data and information for 18 months until the planets realigned for the return journey. In all, the journey would take about 2 and a half years, but the astronauts would be in hibernation for a total of almost a year.

 

The hibernation chambers were a touch of genius. These chambers slow a human’s body functions to almost 2%. This allows the astronauts to only wake need to wake once a year to eat and drink a single meal before going back into hibernation.

 

The crew members of the Motherboard were in for a complete adventure. As they said goodbye to their families and friends on August 26, 2089, they knew they would not see them again for more than 900 days.

 

The Adventure launched with a speed of almost 7 miles per second and met its' sister ships Endurance, Interstellar, Blue Marble, and Viking just before 2:00 AM on August 27, 2089. It then attached to Motherboard in space and began its 2 and a half year journey.

 

Joe Harper and Rachel Smith would be sharing an “apartment” together. Each of these apartments were fully self functional air locked compartments all attached and rotating around Motherboard. In all, there were 12 “apartments.” However only 6 were being used and the others were not attached to the main power to conserve energy. The main power source was a small nuclear power generator. However errors did happen sometimes. And on September 16, 2089, that’s exactly what happened.

 

Joe Harper was dashing toward the meeting room, where all the other astronauts were expected to go in the case of an emergency. He had just woken up from hibernation and his mind was still fuzzy. However, the second he regained full consciousness, he recognized the bright red font saying the reactor core was damaged.

 

Captain Thomas Popov was the captain of the Motherboard. He had already spent 8 months aboard the International Space Station. He was the best space pilot in Joe Harper’s opinion. He also made some pretty good omelets too.

 

“Crew, the nuclear reactor’s cooling system is damaged,” Captain Popov said grimly.

 

Joe Harper was starting to panic. He and the other astronauts had been prepped for the last half hour. They were all giving suggestions on their own, but it was Thomas Popov who had the final word on the plan.

 

“Based on what Houston is telling us, the computer managing the cooling system was messed up during launch. We do have a spare computer but the only way to fix it is to directly enter the radiation chamber itself. We each have our own anti-radiation suits. However only Joe Harper knows how to replace the computer. The plan is for the rest of you to temporarily shut down the system, at which point we will have about 15 minutes to enter the chamber, switch the

computers, and exit safely. I will go as well because I know this ship like the back of my hand,” Captain Popov said. 

 

“Does everyone understand?”

 

Everyone murmured, "yes” and quickly ran to their apartments to retrieve the needed supplies to help contribute to fixing the ship.

 

Joe Harper ran back to get the spare computer and his radiation suit. There, he found Rachel Smith, talking with another astronaut Ezra McMann about a problem.

 

“Hey what’s wrong?” Joe Harper asked, looking concerned.

 

“If we don’t fix the system, this entire mission might be compromised. Because we are limited on energy and fuel, we’ll miss our window to Mars if we don’t fix the problem immediately, then we won’t be able spend any time on Mars, and will just need to return to Earth,” Ezra explained to Joe. “The problem is we just don’t know if the only problem is with the computer. But for now, let’s focus on the problem at hand. Good luck, this maybe be the most important job yet.”

 

An hour later, the crew was ready. They were all in their required positions at which they could help one another. A few were in the Captain’s room, where they would power off the reactor, and the rest were helping Joe Harper and the Captain get ready for their daring mission. Joe Harper and Thomas Popov entered the chamber hoping that their plan would work.

 

“Hurry Joe, the computer module is this way.” Captain Popov said.

 

“Yup, when we get there, I’ll need you to help me unscrew the computer as quick as possible so that I can remove the damaged computer and replace it,” Joe Harper said.

 

“You got it, I got my own kit here, and you have the computer?”

 

“Right here, we need to hurry. Only 12 minutes left.”

 

The pair saw the computer and immediately recognized the problem. During the launch an emergency defibrillator kit had gotten loose and crashed on the computer.

 

Being the strongest of the two, Thomas Popov lifted the kit and removed the computer while Joe Harper unpacked the computer. Carefully, he fitted the computer and reattached the wires. The computer powered up. It was a success! Although they were successful, Joe and Captain Popov didn’t have a second to celebrate. They didn’t even bother taking their supplies with them as they dashed towards the exit. They had mere seconds left. Upon reaching the exit, Captain Popov held the chamber door open for Joe, and the second he ran through he slammed the door shot. The metal door had a resounding clang and just as he pressurized the room, he heard the hum of the reactor power back online.

 

“We did it Joe! Wow, we got really lucky didn’t we?” Captain Popov said.

 

“Oh yeah, we did do it,” Joe Harper panted, with his head against the wall. “Real close, mate, real close.”

 

“Well not exactly, we did have our radiation suits on, didn’t we?”

 

“We both know that against a full blast of radiation, they wouldn’t have done anything.”

 

“Well I guess I did, but we made it anyway.”

 

Then speaking into his radio communication system he told the rest of the crew,”We were successful! Tell Houston that we are going to continue as planned.”

 

On February 3, 2090, the crew woke up from hibernation. And on February 4, 2090, they loaded up 2 spacecraft, the Endurance, and Interstellar with enough supplies and food for their mission on Mars. Nobody wanted to stay behind, and they all studied and collected data for the next year and a half. And on March 7, 2092, They returned home safely with no casualties. The brave astronauts and cosmonauts were considered world heroes, and in the year 2105, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and United Nation Exploration Program launched a rocket that would be the first to colonize Mars. Interstellar travel was becoming reality.

 

___________________

Edited April 11, 2017 by tweezers

[tweezers 1,034]

Approved.

 

-Minor grammar corrections.

-Capitalized a few I's here and there.

-Rephrased a few sentences and replaced a few words.

 

Remember, don't clump your writing together. Go easy on the commas, and seperating speech sentences makes conversations a lot easier to read.

 

 

Example: 

 

 “Well not exactly, we did have our radiation suits on, didn’t we?”

 

“We both know that against a full blast of radiation, they wouldn’t have done anything.”

 

“Well I guess I did, but we made it anyway.”

 

As opposed to 

 

“Well not exactly, we did have our radiation suits on, didn’t we?”

“We both know that against a full blast of radiation, they wouldn’t have done anything.”

“Well I guess I did, but we made it anyway.”

 

 

 

 Also, if you mention the speaker somewhere and it's obvious enough, you don't need to mention him/her later on in the same paragraph. 

 

Overall, a jolly good read. Well done! :D

[zaintahir 458]

Well done! (Although I was expecting them to burn and crash resulting in a painful death, just me?)

Edited April 11, 2017 by zaintahir

[thundertank765 32]

Nice Job Man!! :)+ B)

    @@ 

1--------)!!!!!!!!!! 

Edited April 15, 2017 by thundertank765

[Skills.n.Girls 767]

I really liked this one. :)

Since I have school and I am over-busy with other things, I am sad that I can't think of any ideas for my own "tries" of writing. Well, I hope you will make more article with this type.