 |
 |
"So," Blackhawk broke the silence, "how do we land this beast?"
"We have already started. We are moving at 22,000 kilometers per hour, not quite fast enough to stay in orbit. We are falling back to the Earth at this moment. We just don't feel it because there is too little air yet to cause any drag. But there will be. We will drop from our current altitude of 145 kilometers to an altitude of 40 kilometers, or 25 miles, if you prefer the English system."
"I do," said Blackhawk.
"At that altitude, the air is thick enough that its friction will slow the ship down. But it will also heat it to tremendous temperatures. The nose and leading edges are made from special heat resistant materials, but nothing we know of can withstand the temperatures for long. So we will approach the atmosphere at a shallow angle. The ship will dip only a little into the air and then it will bounce back up into the vacuum. The ship will heat up while it is in the air but will radiate that heat and cool off while in the vacuum. We will skip across the atmosphere like a stone skipped across a pond, slowing down a little with each drop into the air. Eventually, we will slow enough that we can drop all the way through the atmosphere and glide to a landing. It is a flight path that was first proposed by Dr. Sanger."
"And how long before we get down far enough to get hot?" Blackhawk asked.
"Three minutes," Mueller replied.
"Three minutes! Shouldn't we be doing something to get ready?"
"Yes. It is best if you fly the ship. You are famous as a great pilot. I will monitor the thermocouples to make sure we don't get too hot."
"How do I fly this thing with no air?"
"There are small hydrogen peroxide jets in the nose and wingtips. They are coupled to the control stick in a system that is supposed to make it respond as if it were in atmosphere. You do understand, though, that none of these systems have been tested under these conditions."
"I kind of figured that out," Blackhawk said.
"Good. Keep the compass heading steady, Herr Blackhawk, and the nose pointed at the horizon. When the skin temperature reaches 1200 degrees Celsius, excuse me, 2192 degrees Fahrenheit, I will tell you to pull the nose up slightly. That should cause us to bounce back into the vacuum and cool off."
"Got it. Steady compass and nose on the horizon. Pull up when you give the word."
"And good luck to us both," Mueller said.
Very gradually, almost to gradually to notice, they felt pressure from their harnesses, as if they were being thrown forward by applying the brakes. And in a way, that was exactly what was happening. Mueller watched the temperature gauges creep up, slowly at first, then faster. The view through the forward windows had an orange tint from the superheated air rushing past them. Blackhawk could feel the heat on his face and then realized the entire cabin was getting warmer.
On Mueller's temperature gauges the needles touched "1200". "Now, Herr Blackhawk, pull her up!"
Blackhawk eased back on the stick and valves in the nose of the ship fed hydrogen peroxide over a silver mesh that instantly catalyzed it into steam. The steam jetted out bell shaped nozzles and lifted the nose of the ship. At first it seemed like nothing changed, but slowly the sound of wind died away and the sky through the windows turned black again. Mueller relaxed as the temperature gauges dropped down.
"I guess it worked," Blackhawk said.
"Yes, it did." Mueller sounded somewhat surprised to be still alive.
"Now we only have to do it seven more times."
Back to Blackhawk New Adventures Page
All characters, pictures, and related indicia on these pages are the property of DC Comics. All text is ©2001 Dan Thompson, except where otherwise noted. This homepage is not intended to infringe on the copyright of DC Comics to its characters, but was created out of gratitude to all the wonderful writers, artists, and editors who created the Blackhawks.