Bud’s chortle came back over the radio. “This is what you call really going way out in left field for a fly!”
The copilot finally overtook the hammer and managed to snag it by the head.
“Outpost it is, pal!” he reported as he zoomed back toward Tom.
Both boys were conscious of an eerie feeling as they trekked through the limitless void of space. Would they be able to reach their hoped-for destination?
Relief surged through them as the outpost in space presently loomed into view dead ahead. This
A HAZARDOUS ROCKET TRIP 57
was mankind’s first space station on the road to the planets. The majestic silver sky wheel had been designed and engineered by Tom Jr.
Twelve gigantic spokes jutted from its central hub. One of the spokes, serving as an astronomical observatory, bore a huge latticework telescope.
Another-Tom’s solar-battery “factory”-carried huge mirrors for reflecting sunlight onto the battery-charging production lines. The communication department’s spoke bristled with antennas and radar scanners, while in other spokes were the crew’s quarters, Tom’s private laboratory, and station workshops.
“Station to spacemen! … Report, please!”
Tom and Bud answered the challenge by identifying themselves in code to the station’s radioman. Moments later, they were admitted through the wheel’s air lock.
“Are you two all right?” Ken Horton, the station commander, greeted the boys anxiously as they removed their space helmets.
“We are now,” Tom replied with a grin. “But flying up here alone was a big risk.”