While they waited, they turned their attention to the space craft some distance away. Its blue, satiny sides reflected the glow of thousands of lights on the field. Red smoke still curled up into the night, warning of the approach of blast-off time. And yet there was still a little while to go, for the spiderwebs of the gantry cranes still hugged the sides of the three-stage space vessel. Workmen were swarming all over the platforms, making last-minute checks on the ship.
There was a high wire fence around the Orion and only one entrance through it. A uniformed official was checking tickets as the passengers went through the gate. The official checked Officer Mulroy’s ticket, and Mr. Mulroy told him it would be all right for the boys to help him carry his baggage aboard.
The boys’ new friend took them down some steps into a concrete tunnel that led to the launching pad. On the way they stopped at a little room where Mr. Mulroy was weighed.
“Weight is a very important factor on a space ship,” Mr. Mulroy said, as they were on their way again.
The tunnel led to an elevator that ran up the side of the rocket. The elevator cab rose and rose, high into the black night. Finally, Officer Mulroy pressed a button and said this was where they were to get off.
Garry and Patch followed their friend out into a corridor of the space ship. Officer Mulroy searched the doors they passed, then recognized his own, Stateroom 17. He drew out a key and unlocked the door, then preceded the boys into the room.
“Gee, what a tiny room!” Patch exclaimed.
“It has to be this small,” Mr. Mulroy said. “Every inch of area on a space ship is at a premium, you know. For most travelers, the Von Braun Space Station is only a stopover on a longer trip into space. Sometimes the layover is for several days or even a week or two. Since rooms aboard the space station are very limited, most of the passengers are quartered in staterooms in the rocket in which they left earth.”
Suddenly, a voice came over a speaker in the room: “Blast-off in ten minutes. All nonpassengers are requested to leave the ship.”
“That’s us,” Garry said unhappily.