The rocket was standing ready on the launching area when they landed. Two other crewmen who had been detailed to accompany them were waiting nearby.
One by one the astronauts rode up on the conveyor to the flight compartment.
Chow, who was eager to try space flight again, settled onto his acceleration couch and buckled his safety belt. “Okay, buckaroos! Let ‘er ridel”
“Relax, ranger. We still have to wait for the final check, radar report, and countdown,” Bud reminded him with a chuckle.
The shock of blast-off flattened the astronauts to their couches. Flesh and skin were drawn back tautly, turning their faces into grinning masks as they lay gripped helplessly by the crushing G pressure. This eased off gradually as Tom’s anti-G neutralator took effect.
No one spoke until the timer gun cut loose the final rocket stage. Then, as it drifted down by parachute, to be retrieved by tugs from the base, the travelers swung their couches upright.
“How’s it feel to be floating up here again, Chow?” Tom asked. He pressed a button, sliding back the cabin canopy.
Chow peered through the transparent quartz pane. “A beat-up ole galoot like me may not look
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much like a skylark, but I sure feel like one every time I see that HI ole earth so far down belowl”
Bud laughed. “You’d look cute with wings, Chow, flying through the wide blue yonder. Wow, what a crazy birdcall you’d make!”
Chow guffawed good-naturedly. “Reminds me. I left my gee-tar at the outpost last time I was there. Seein’s as how you don’t put much stock in my musical talents, Buddy boy, wait’ll you hear a new Western ballad o’ mine after we get there. You’ll be surprised!”