“Begin the countdown!” Hank Sterling radioed.
With a blast of fire, the auxiliary rockets lifted the Cosmic Sailer from its pad.
Up it shot through the thinning layers of earth’s airl THE COSMIC SAILER 165
Beyond the atmosphere Tom’s hand gripped a lever, throttling the atomic rockets. The G thrust died away as the Sailer coasted upward into space. The astronauts swung their couches upright but kept their safety belts buckled.
Six hundred miles above the earth, the ship entered the intense Van Allen radiation belt. In this area the cosmic radiation was now strong enough for Tom to use.
“Here we go, fellows I” he murmured.
His hands moved smoothly over the controls, with an ease gained from hours of simulated flight practice. The Cosmic Sailer responded perfectly!
Tom tried steering in all directions, using the keel to counter the cosmic “wind” force. Then he headed outward into space. As the Sailer zoomed through the void, all the astronauts were jubilant.
“Brand my biscuits!” Chow cried. “This here’s the slickest lil ole space bronc I ever rode, boss!”
Tom was as thrilled as his crew by the ship’s performance. But at fifty thousand miles altitude, Bud gave a cry of alarm.
“Skipper! The Spacelane Brain’s gone haywire!” He pointed to the skittering needles on the navigational instrument dials.
“The radar sweep’s acting cockeyed, too!” called out the man tending the scope.
Tom hastily checked the ship’s controls and tried bringing the Sailer about.
Instead, it veered
166 COSMIC ASTRONAUTS
off at a 20-degree angle. Only part of the keel’s radiation emitters were working!
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