Last Gasp
“The pilot of the USAF K-113 Aurora strato-shuttle banked to starboard and raised the lead-lined shutters from the tiny saucer-size windows to give his passengers their first view.
“One-third power and full flaps,” he rapped out to the flight engineer. “Check yaw and drift stabilization.”
The engineer acknowledged, throwing levers, watching gauges.
The stubby silver craft with its embryonic wings and steeply raked tail plane was ungainly at this height and speed, dominated as it was ...by the huge rocket engines that protruded aft from the rectangular fuselage like the gaping maw of a deep-sea predator.
The Aurora had arced across the Pacific at a height of one hundred twenty thousand feet. Because exposure to ultraviolet and cosmic radiation at this altitude could cause skin cancer and total hair loss in under an hour, the entire craft was encased in lead shielding. The passengers saw daylight only when the shutters were raised below ten thousand feet.MoreLess
“One-third power and full flaps,” he rapped out to the flight engineer. “Check yaw and drift stabilization.”
The engineer acknowledged, throwing levers, watching gauges.
The stubby silver craft with its embryonic wings and steeply raked tail plane was ungainly at this height and speed, dominated as it was ...by the huge rocket engines that protruded aft from the rectangular fuselage like the gaping maw of a deep-sea predator.
The Aurora had arced across the Pacific at a height of one hundred twenty thousand feet. Because exposure to ultraviolet and cosmic radiation at this altitude could cause skin cancer and total hair loss in under an hour, the entire craft was encased in lead shielding. The passengers saw daylight only when the shutters were raised below ten thousand feet.MoreLess
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