Starfire
Authors: Dale Brown
I used to dream about being chosen to be an astronaut in the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration and someday walking on the moon or doing experiments on a space station orbiting Earth. I thought there was nothing better than being in NASA . . .
. . . until the advent of private companies, universities, and individuals with the vision and determination to think outside the government-controlled bureaucratic box, accept the risks, and get the job of space travel done.
This novel is dedicated to the innovators, entrepreneurs, and the just plain bold and brash visionaries who have struck out against all odds to make manned spaceflight by nongovernmental entities a reality. What could be better than flying in space on a spacecraft
you
and
your company
designed and built?
As always, your comments are welcome at [email protected]. I can't promise to reply to every e-mail, but I read every one.
CONTENTS
S
KY
M
ASTERS
A
EROSPACE
I
NC
. P
ERSONNEL
H
UNTER
“B
OOMER
” N
OBLE
, Ph.D., spaceplane pilot and chief of aerospace engineering
H
ELEN
K
ADDIRI
, Ph.D., president and chairman of the board
J
ASON
R
ICHTER
, colonel, U.S. Army (ret.), Ph.D., vice president and chief of technology development
S
ONDRA
E
DDINGTON
, student spaceplane pilot, Battle Mountain, Nevada
A
RMSTRONG
S
PACE
S
TATION
P
ERSONNEL
K
AI
R
AYDON
, brigadier general, U.S. Air Force (ret.), station director
T
REVOR
S
HALE
, station manager
V
ALERIE
L
UKAS
, chief of combat operations
J
ESSICA
“G
ONZO
” F
AULKNER
, lieutenant colonel, U.S. Marine Corps (ret.), chief of flight operations, spaceplane pilot
D
R
. M
IRIAM
R
OTH
, chief medical director
H
ENRY
L
ATHROP
, aerospace tactical weapons officer
C
HRISTINE
R
AYHILL
, terrestrial weapons/surveillance officer
A
LICE
H
AMILTON
, engineering officer
L
ARRY
J
ESSOP
, life-support techniciam
T
HE
W
HITE
H
OUSE
, W
ASHINGTON
, D.C.
K
ENNETH
P
HOENIX
, president of the United States of America
A
NN
P
AGE
, vice president of the United States and White House chief of staff
W
ILLIAM
G
LENBROOK
, president's national security adviser
J
AMES
M
ORRISON
, secretary of state
T
HOMAS
T
ORREY
, CIA director
P
AULA
E
LLS
, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
R
OBIN
C
LARKSON
, special agent, U.S. Secret Service
W
ASHINGTON
, D.C.
S
TACY
A
NNE
B
ARBEAU
, candidate for president of the United States
L
UKE
C
OHEN
, Barbeau's campaign manager
T
HE
P
ENTAGON
, W
ASHINGTON
, D.C.
F
REDERICK
H
AYES
, secretary of defense
H
AROLD
L
EE
, undersecretary of defense for space
T
IMOTHY
S
PELLING
, general, USAF, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
J
ASON
C
ONAWAY
, general, USAF, U.S. Air Force chief of staff
J
OSEPH
E
BERHART
, admiral, U.S. Navy, commander, U.S. Strategic Command
G
EORGE
S
ANDSTEIN
, general, USAF, commander, Air Force Space Command, and deputy commander for space, U.S. Strategic Command
S
CION
A
VIATION
I
NTERNATIONAL
, S
T
. G
EORGE
, U
TAH
K
EVIN
M
ARTINDALE
, president, former president of the United States of America
C
HRIS
W
OHL
, sergeant major, U.S. Marines Corp (ret.), ground ops leader
J
AMES
R
ATEL
, chief master sergeant, U.S. Air Force (ret.), martial-arts instructor
J
ORGE
“D
ICE
” L
UNA
, ground-team member (logistics)
R
ICHARD
“F
LEX
” R
OSEN
, ground-team member (intelligence)
B
EN
“R
ATTLER
” S
COTT
, ground-team member (weapons)
C
ALIFORNIA
P
OLYTECHNIC
S
TATE
U
NIVERSITY
(C
AL
P
OLY
) S
AN
L
UIS
O
BISPO
, C
OLLEGE
OF
E
NGINEERING
B
RADLEY
J. M
C
L
ANAHAN
, Battle Mountain, Nevada
L
ANE
E
AGAN
, Roseburg, Oregon
K
IM
J
UNG
-
BAE
(“J
ERRY
”), Seoul, United Korea
C
ASEY
H
UGGINS
, Kansas City, Missouri
J
ODIE
C
AVENDISH
, Brisbane, Australia
D
R
. M
ARCUS
H
ARRIS
, Ed.D., president, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly)
D
R
. T
OSHUNIKO
“T
OBY
” N
UKAGA
, Ph.D., aerospace engineering professor, Cal Poly
R
USSIAN
F
EDERATION
G
ENNADIY
A
NATOLIYVICH
G
RYZLOV
, president of the Russian Federation
S
ERGEI
T
ARZAROV
, president's chief of staff
V
IKTOR
K
AZYANOV
, minister of state security
G
REGOR
S
OKOLOV
, minister of defense
D
ARIA
T
ITENEVA
, foreign minister
A
NDREI
N
ARYSHKIN
, United Nations ambassador
G
ENERAL
M
IKHAIL
K
HRISTENKO
, chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces
B
RUNO
I
LIANOV
, colonel, deputy air attaché, Russian embassy, Washington
Y
VETTE
K
ORCHKOV
, assistant and bodyguard to Bruno Ilianov
B
ORIS
C
HIRKOV
, chief envoy, Russian Trade Mission, San Francisco, California
C
OLONEL
M
IKHAIL
G
ALTIN
, Elektron spaceplane commander
P
EOPLE
'
S
R
EPUBLIC
OF
C
HINA
Z
HOU
Q
IANG
, president of the People's Republic of China
C
OLONEL
G
ENERAL
S
UN
J
I
, chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Armed Forces
U
NITED
N
ATIONS
S
OFYAN
A
PRIYANTO
, president of the United Nations Security Council
W
EAPONS
9K720
âRussian air-launched antispacecraft missile
B-1B Lancer (“Bone”)
âAmerican long-range heavy bomber
BOHM (“bomb”)
âborohydrogen metaoxide, an oxidizer in advanced hybrid rocket engines
BOR-5 Buran
âunmanned Soviet space shuttle
C-23C Sherpa
âAmerican short-haul cargo plane
Elektron
âRussian spaceplane
Gvozd'
(Hobnail)
âRussian space-borne laser
Hydra
âAmerican space-based laser
Iskander
âRussian short- to medium-range ballistic missile
Kingfisher
âa constellation of American antispacecraft and ground-attack space-based weapons
“leopards”
âLaser Pulse Detonation Rocket System, an advanced hybrid turbofan/scramjet/rocket engine
MiG-31D
âMikoyan-Gurevich-31D, Soviet and Russian advanced high-speed interceptor; the “D” model is used to launch antisatellite missiles
Mjollnir
â“Thor's Hammer,” American space-launched land-attack projectile
nantenna
ânanoscopic rectifying antenna, used to convert light to electric power
Progress
âRussian unmanned space transportation module
rectenna
ârectifying antenna, a device that converts electromagnetic energy into direct current electricity
S-9, S-19, S-29
âAmerican single-stage-to-orbit spaceplanes