"Edward M. Lerner - Moonstruck" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lerner Edward M)

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 - Prologue

"Pressure nearing critical." He recognized the voice from Mission Control. "Report status."
What pressure? In the ET? Was it about to blow? Two Sea-Air Rescue choppers thundered overhead as
he did a quick calculation. The ET must still contain at least 250,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen!
"Beginning OMS burn."
The distant speck regrew a flameтАФhad the orbital-maneuvering-system engines ever been fired before
inside the atmosphere?тАФand began banking toward the coast. Unaided by SRBs, its main engines
unusable without the ET, the orbiter seemed to lumber. Seemed mortally wounded. "Suggest my escorts
make tracks."
"Pressure at critical. Crit plus ten. Crit plus twenty. Twenty-three. Twenty-four."
An enormous fireball blossomed above the escaping orbiter. From miles away, Kyle saw the craft
stagger as the shock wave struck. "Tell Beth that I love her." The distant flame pinwheeled as Atlantis
began to tumble. Moments later, the roar and the shock wave of the blast reached the Cape, whipping
Kyle and Sergei with a sudden gale of sand and grit. The distant spark extinguished as safety circuits
shut down the tumbling craft's rocket engines.
The orbiter began its long plunge to the sea, with both chase planes diving futilely after it.
Like its mythical namesake, the orbiter Atlantis slipped beneath the silent and uncaring waves to meet its
fate.

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Framed




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- Chapter 1

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 - Chapter 1




GIFT HORSE
CHAPTER 1
Without warning, the Toyota pickup swerved in front of Kyle. He tapped his brakes lightlyтАФthis near
the I-66 exit to the Beltway, such maneuvers were hardly unexpectedтАФand gave a pro forma honk. The
yahoo in the pickup responded with the traditional one-fingered salute. The truck's rear bumper bore the
message: Have comments about my driving? Email: [email protected].
Such is the state of discourse in the nation's capital.