Appleton, Victor – Tom Swift Jr 20 – And His Megascope Space Prober

“Put him on!” Tom exclaimed eagerly.

“Wish me luck, pal,” Bud said. “They’ll be putting me into a space suit for the long countdown at midnight. If all the systems check out and the weather permits, we’ll be blasting off at seven tomorrow.”

“We’ll be watching you all the way on my megascope space prober,” Tom said.

“That gives me an extra dose of confidence,” Bud said with a chuckle.

The boys chatted for a while. Then Tom handed the telephone to Mr. Swift, who added his own best wishes for a safe and successful flight.

The next morning all the Swifts and Newtons gathered in the Enterprises observatory to witness the start of the daring space voyage. Tom had had a viewing screen from the Swifts’ private video network installed in the observatory so they could observe the blast-off more conveniently.

All were breathless as they gazed at the huge Astrodyne rocket poised on its launching pad. The watchers felt a twinge of apprehension at the thought of Bud and his crewmates strapped into the tiny space vehicle at the top.

“Oh, dear!” Sandy murmured tensely. Her

BUD’S FRANTIC MESSAGE 159

knuckles whitened as she gripped Phyl’s hand.

“There she goes!” came the voice of Kane, the Swifts’ Key West telecaster.

Smoke and flame billowed from the Astrodyne. For a moment it seemed to hang motionless above the pad as it gathered momentum. Then it started arrowing up into the blue!

All eyes shifted to the megascope screen to watch the ascent. The antenna moved almost imperceptibly as a computer-guided gear train kept it aimed on the soaring rocket. Presently the Astrodyne booster fell away. Then the second stage dropped, leaving the Astro-Meteor spaceship hurtling upward on its own.