“As you probably know, fellows,” Captain Eaton said, “the Von Braun Space Station is our largest satellite of all. But there are a few others that approach it in size. For example, here is Quartermaster 10, the biggest of the depot satellites that furnish supplies to men who live in the world of the artificial moons. Here is a big fueling satellite, and over here is another big one—Spaceharbor—which is really a network of smaller moons joined together. This is a shipyard satellite where space ships are built and repaired. The Carefree was built in Spaceharbor.”
“Gee, with so many of those things orbiting earth every minute of the day, it seems that space ships are always in danger of hitting one of them,” Patch remarked.
“That is a very real danger,” Captain Eaton said, “especially for us, since we usually cruise in that area above earth called the ‘satellite zone.’ For this reason, every person on pilot duty is responsible for knowing the position of every satellite within dangerous range of the Carefree. This requires constant study and figuring of orbit paths. It really is the biggest job the pilot has to do, because generally the Carefree is on automatic pilot and runs itself, you might say.”
“What are some of these smaller satellites?” Garry asked.
“Well, there, there, and there are some of the observation satellites called ‘Tiros.’ They are used to photograph part of the earth for different reasons. Some of the reasons are prediction of weather, mapping, and for military purposes to see that the countries of the world do not start arming themselves for aggression.”
“The Tiros moons were first put into orbit in the 1960’s, weren’t they?” Garry asked.
Captain Eaton nodded. “Also these, Garry—the Transit satellites, which are used for navigation, both in space and on earth. This odd-looking little moon over here is one I’m sure you’ve heard about. It is WAS, which means weather-alteration satellite. Know what it does?”
“Sure,” Garry replied. “It’s used to seed storm clouds with chemicals. If the seeding works, hurricanes and tornadoes can be broken up before they cause damage. I believe they were first put into orbit in the late 1960’s.”
“Very good,” the captain complimented. “Of course there are many other kinds of man-made moons, some too technical to explain. But, in spite of their great number and complexity, each has its use, and they are a tribute to man’s great achievements in the world of science. One of our big jobs aboard the Carefree is to see that they remain in orbit, doing their duty for the people of earth. If we should ever change their orbit, for instance by colliding with one of them, we not only would destroy their usefulness but we would, in all likelihood, destroy the Carefree as well.”
Garry did not even want to think about the possibility of such a disaster.