November 6th, 2009
We got out station nearly finished. Some finishing touched on the main air lock and we should be set up.
We do have a hard seal on the two S-IVBs that are the workshop, the cargo hold and the living quarters, but there are still a few problems with the air lock. I'm going to take a look at it, while the crew goes to Stellvia with two of our salvaged Centaurs to fuel up on water.
Someone needs to stay behind until we can get an AI online to control our station.
Still need a name. Right now its a tossup between Stardust and KA Preiswert.
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Naedial floated inside the currently gravityless S-IVB stage that was to act as a large airlock for any larger items they hoped to fix. It was welded to three of the four other former third stages of the Saturn V. Sheet steel smoothed over the edges of the stages, making it appear to have straight edges with rounded corners. One of the rounded corners formed the airlock to open space.
The fifth stage was sitting on top of the others with a docking adapter on the end for the Toy Box.
"Damned thing," Naedial grumbled as she stared at the open box that was build to control the two air locks of the stage.
It had not yet been 'waved and some cables stuck from it, while a small black microcontroller seemed to taunt Naedial.
Frustrated from her lack of any process with the thing, she took a hammer and gave the box a light whack.
There was a spark as she accidentally bridging two cabled. Before she knew what happened the inner air lock had closed and the well known mysterious blue smoke poured out of the box.
"Ahh shit," Naedial said and peered into the box, trying to find the origin.
Sometimes it was handy to have training as electronic technician, even if it had all been three nearly wasted years as no one had given her a job after it.
Looking at the box, she noticed a small capacitor that had all but exploded in the small energy spike from the hammer spike and she sighed. Now she had to take it out and exchange it for a new one.
She was about to reach for a screwdriver as she noticed a creaking and turned her head to see how the outer air lock buckled lightly.
"Oh fuck," she muttered.
That was bad. She had completely forgotten to get her life support stuff in the workshop and now the air lock looked ready to burst open.
A few thoughts shot through her head, most importantly the thought that she was not going to explode messily in space, unlike in the movies. Maybe she could get into the air lock at the docking port when she hyperventilated now to get as much oxygen into her blood before the airlock burst open?
Oh, who was she kidding...
Grabbing a nearby handrail welded to the inner wall of the former tank she held for her dear life as the air lock finally burst open, adding some debris to L5 that was going to be picked up later.
The thought that moved through Naedials head was that her friends were going to find her lifeless corpse hanging off the handrail when they returned.
Rather then trying to hold her breath, she let go of the air in her lungs, hoping against all odds that she would make it. Trying to hold her breath would only make her lungs explode.
Seconds ticked by as she reached for other handrails, to pull herself into free space and eventually to the dock, waiting for unconsciousness to claim her at any moment now.
The seconds stretched to a minute as she reached the edge of the airlock and looked outside. Immediately she felt warmer as the sunlight from behind her hit her wings.
She had long since learned that her wings were useless as actual wings and were mostly heat radiators as she had lost the ability to sweat with the biomod. Now the heat was cycled back into her body as the spread wings caught the sunlight.
There was still no sign of a beginning unconsciousness as she pulled herself out of the airlock and up towards the edge of the former tank where they had bolted a conventional ladder to the stations hull to move around easier. That would allow her to get to the docking air lock quite fast.
As the next minutes of careful maneuvering in micro gravity ticked by, Naedial noted a few more things. For one the tears of her eyes, while it had frozen solid by now, was still fully clear, allowing her to see everything around her. Her saliva did not present much of a problem either.
Finally she managed to grab hold of the ladder and pulled herself along it towards the upper end of the station and the docking port. She opened the empty and airless airlock at the port, pulling herself inside before cycling it.
Slowly air filled the air lock and she began to take in her first deep breathes in minutes, while curiosity got the better of her.
She had just survived in space without any shielding in the sense of a space suit for several minutes and she didn't even feel too winded about it. Not more then after taking about ten flights of stairs. So she looked at her watch as she took more breathes.
The air lock opened to the inside to take a look at the rudimentary station controls. Opening a log file she noted the time when the air lock had opened to space. She blinked a few times, the ice over them melting again.
She had just survived about fifteen minutes without a breathe.
Then it hit her. The handwavium that had accidentally biomodded her had been intended to vacuum proof the Tox Box. Apparently it had extended to her as well.
She grinned widely. That had potential. Maybe she could whip up a breathing mask and get rid of the uncomfortable helmet and the even more uncomfortable wing and tail bags?
As the Tox Box returned two hours later with two Centaur II stages, each filled with water, Naedial hung inside the open large airlock trying to fix the air lock controller, wearing only her wetsuit, tool/stuff belt and a 'waved respirator mask that had originally been meant for work inside the workshop.
Needless to say they were grilling her after that for days until letting it drop. From then on Naedial would always keep the respirator on her tool/stuff belt, then with an integrated bluetooth headset connected to her 'waved cellphone.
We got out station nearly finished. Some finishing touched on the main air lock and we should be set up.
We do have a hard seal on the two S-IVBs that are the workshop, the cargo hold and the living quarters, but there are still a few problems with the air lock. I'm going to take a look at it, while the crew goes to Stellvia with two of our salvaged Centaurs to fuel up on water.
Someone needs to stay behind until we can get an AI online to control our station.
Still need a name. Right now its a tossup between Stardust and KA Preiswert.
--------------------------------------
Naedial floated inside the currently gravityless S-IVB stage that was to act as a large airlock for any larger items they hoped to fix. It was welded to three of the four other former third stages of the Saturn V. Sheet steel smoothed over the edges of the stages, making it appear to have straight edges with rounded corners. One of the rounded corners formed the airlock to open space.
The fifth stage was sitting on top of the others with a docking adapter on the end for the Toy Box.
"Damned thing," Naedial grumbled as she stared at the open box that was build to control the two air locks of the stage.
It had not yet been 'waved and some cables stuck from it, while a small black microcontroller seemed to taunt Naedial.
Frustrated from her lack of any process with the thing, she took a hammer and gave the box a light whack.
There was a spark as she accidentally bridging two cabled. Before she knew what happened the inner air lock had closed and the well known mysterious blue smoke poured out of the box.
"Ahh shit," Naedial said and peered into the box, trying to find the origin.
Sometimes it was handy to have training as electronic technician, even if it had all been three nearly wasted years as no one had given her a job after it.
Looking at the box, she noticed a small capacitor that had all but exploded in the small energy spike from the hammer spike and she sighed. Now she had to take it out and exchange it for a new one.
She was about to reach for a screwdriver as she noticed a creaking and turned her head to see how the outer air lock buckled lightly.
"Oh fuck," she muttered.
That was bad. She had completely forgotten to get her life support stuff in the workshop and now the air lock looked ready to burst open.
A few thoughts shot through her head, most importantly the thought that she was not going to explode messily in space, unlike in the movies. Maybe she could get into the air lock at the docking port when she hyperventilated now to get as much oxygen into her blood before the airlock burst open?
Oh, who was she kidding...
Grabbing a nearby handrail welded to the inner wall of the former tank she held for her dear life as the air lock finally burst open, adding some debris to L5 that was going to be picked up later.
The thought that moved through Naedials head was that her friends were going to find her lifeless corpse hanging off the handrail when they returned.
Rather then trying to hold her breath, she let go of the air in her lungs, hoping against all odds that she would make it. Trying to hold her breath would only make her lungs explode.
Seconds ticked by as she reached for other handrails, to pull herself into free space and eventually to the dock, waiting for unconsciousness to claim her at any moment now.
The seconds stretched to a minute as she reached the edge of the airlock and looked outside. Immediately she felt warmer as the sunlight from behind her hit her wings.
She had long since learned that her wings were useless as actual wings and were mostly heat radiators as she had lost the ability to sweat with the biomod. Now the heat was cycled back into her body as the spread wings caught the sunlight.
There was still no sign of a beginning unconsciousness as she pulled herself out of the airlock and up towards the edge of the former tank where they had bolted a conventional ladder to the stations hull to move around easier. That would allow her to get to the docking air lock quite fast.
As the next minutes of careful maneuvering in micro gravity ticked by, Naedial noted a few more things. For one the tears of her eyes, while it had frozen solid by now, was still fully clear, allowing her to see everything around her. Her saliva did not present much of a problem either.
Finally she managed to grab hold of the ladder and pulled herself along it towards the upper end of the station and the docking port. She opened the empty and airless airlock at the port, pulling herself inside before cycling it.
Slowly air filled the air lock and she began to take in her first deep breathes in minutes, while curiosity got the better of her.
She had just survived in space without any shielding in the sense of a space suit for several minutes and she didn't even feel too winded about it. Not more then after taking about ten flights of stairs. So she looked at her watch as she took more breathes.
The air lock opened to the inside to take a look at the rudimentary station controls. Opening a log file she noted the time when the air lock had opened to space. She blinked a few times, the ice over them melting again.
She had just survived about fifteen minutes without a breathe.
Then it hit her. The handwavium that had accidentally biomodded her had been intended to vacuum proof the Tox Box. Apparently it had extended to her as well.
She grinned widely. That had potential. Maybe she could whip up a breathing mask and get rid of the uncomfortable helmet and the even more uncomfortable wing and tail bags?
As the Tox Box returned two hours later with two Centaur II stages, each filled with water, Naedial hung inside the open large airlock trying to fix the air lock controller, wearing only her wetsuit, tool/stuff belt and a 'waved respirator mask that had originally been meant for work inside the workshop.
Needless to say they were grilling her after that for days until letting it drop. From then on Naedial would always keep the respirator on her tool/stuff belt, then with an integrated bluetooth headset connected to her 'waved cellphone.