“Roger! All power off and stand by!”
A DESPERATE MANEUVER 171
The two ships raced along side by side in orbital flight. Presently Mr. Swift radioed that he had solved the re-entry problem.
“This is going to require some tricky, delicate navigating, son,” he said grimly.
“The whole undertaking will be a desperate maneuver-but I don’t need to tell you that. If the Astro-Meteor should get away from you once you hit the atmosphere, both ship and crew are done for!”
Tom’s voice remained cool. “I realize the danger, Dad. We’ll do our best.”
“Good! Now here’s the procedure-”
As Mr. Swift dictated the necessary data, Tom fed the figures into the Challenger’s flight computers. “All set, Dad,” he said at last. “Wish us luck!”
Tom maneuvered the two ships until the Astro-Meteor was just above him in almost a pickaback position. He did this by using one set of repelatrons to hold back the rocket ship and the other set to slow his ship down by repelling the earth and slackening his speed for the gradual descent into lower orbits.
Continents and oceans became more clearly visible as the ships raced around the earth. Suddenly a red light flashed on the Challenger’s control panel, signaling the moment for the final descent through the atmosphere.
Tom’s eyes flew over the banks of instruments as 172 MEGASCOPE SPACE PROBER
he breathed a silent prayer. The slightest miscalculation now would be fatal.
The Challenger could always pull out-but Bud and his crewmates would burn to flaming cinders!
“Holding steady, Meteor?” Tom radioed.
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