Page 76 of Space Junk: Houston, We Have a Hottie
MCC is dead quiet as we all wait while Jules follows the commands. When she reaches the area, I ask, “Do you have enough length to move the uncapped cable to the EXT J1 connection?”
There’s a long pause. “No. It’s too tight,” Jules replies.
This time Sean curses.
Bodie turns his head toward the wires on the truss, lighting up the monitors with the image. “Wait, Houston, there are zip ties routing the cable bundle along the station, including the cable we need. If Jules cuts the zip ties, she’ll have enough slack to bring the cable to the proper connection.”
One thing a lot of people don’t know— NASA likes to hold things together with duct tape and zip ties. For real.
Sean speaks into his headset. “Station. Hold,” then gets up from his desk and comes over to where I’m standing. He reeks of body odor and coffee. But then again, who doesn’t in MCC right now? “If we loosen those wires, will it cause any potential damage or malfunction to the ones still operating?”
I call over one of the engineers and repeat the question.
“That’s a negative,” he says. “That group holds scars four through six. All are unused and capped.” Scars are what we call infrastructure that is viable but unused, specifically for future needs.
Sean gives me the go-ahead with a nod.
“Station, that’s a go to cut the zip tie,” I say. “But careful with the cutters. We don’t need any more challenges.”
“Houston. You got it.”
Jules’ tone does more to ease my mind than a Xanax would’ve in this moment. I can tell she’s firmly in control of the situation. That woman is a legend in the making. I only wish I could be up there with her.
“Bodie, move your fat head. I need more light.”
“I’m a glorified street lamp out here, aren’t I?”
God, I love these guys.
A few minutes later, cutters tethered and in hand, Jules cuts the zip ties along the four-foot stretch of truss.
“Station, did that give you enough room?” If not we’re back to square one and evacuating. In a true hotwire, you can cut wires, strip the coating and connect them, just like Flynn taught me. But live wires in the hands of astronauts are not a good thing. One singe and their space suits could depressurize. We need the scars intact to make this work.
“Oh yeah, Houston. We’re good to go,” Bodie drawls into his mic.
I allow myself a small smile. But my body is still tight with tension. Even though reaching the proper connection is a significant part of the plan, plenty of other failures can occur before we’re finished.
“Station, extend the cable to the J1 interface.”
For the next fifteen minutes, we watch as Bodie turns his head this way and that while Jules tugs the new cable and maneuvers around the truss to get to EXT-1’s connection panel. Eventually I have to sit down again. I’m exhausted from waiting.
Everyone watches as Jules tries and fails to connect the cable. She tries again. No go.
“Houston, the third time, as they say, is the charm. Cable connected.”
“Excellent, Station. Jules, I need you to re-secure the external panel. Bodie, check to make sure all connections are secure.”
Once done, Sean addresses the CRONUS console. “Send the command to send EXT-2 into a diagnostic state.”
A diagnostic state will initiate FDIR, a software program that detects faults, isolates them and tries for recovery. Once completed, we can get EXT-1 back to functioning order if the hotwire works.
Waiting is excruciating. Each line of data that FDIR brings up on the monitors makes my heart thump louder. Luckily, each piece of data continues cycling without failures.
“FDIR completed successfully. Connection is viable. EXT-1 powered up in primary state, healthy, and taking commands,” the CHRONUS console announces.
Applause hits the room, people shouting, clapping and hugging each other. Ian leaves his console to pick me up in a spinning hug, both of us laughing.
“You’re a damn genius, Jackie,” he says, setting me back down. The spin jostled my glasses, and I freeze as Ian pushes them back up into position. He doesn’t notice my statue-like stance, moving on to pump Sean’s hand and congratulate the rest of the team. With shaky fingers, I readjust my frames myself, thinking of Flynn and wondering if he’s with Beth at this exact moment.
