The Beacon: Hard Science Fiction by Brandon Morris (red white and royal blue hardcover TXT) 📕

“But it wouldn’t have fit in the 6U format.”

“You’re always wiser afterward.”

Shit, shit, shit. The satellite must transmit or the sun will die!

“Is there nothing that can be done? It is exceedingly important that the satellite not self-destruct. It’s vital.”

“I’ll take your word for it, even if I don’t know the reason, but no one can prevent the DEO from being activated. It’s technically impossible. How could you turn off a mechanism that is not accessible?”

“Maybe with stronger transmitting power? I could use a large radio antenna...”

Thomas would certainly help him.

“From the surface of the Earth, you have no chance. The antenna is misaligned. You have to get within a few kilometers. I’m really sorry, Peter, but there’s nothing I can do for you there. You’ll just have to make do.”

“Couldn’t you find another satellite that’s in a similar orbit and transmit the signal from there?”

“It would be a great coincidence if, first, you could find a satellite suitable for it, and second, if you could convince the operator, and as quickly as possible. I’m afraid you’d have to fly there yourself.”

Shit! That couldn’t be true! Peter would have liked to bang his fist on the table, but he didn’t dare do that among all those people. If the satellite will at least transmit until April 4 or 5!

“How much time do I have?” he asked.

“For what?”

“How long until deorbiting starts?”

“The DEO device waits exactly 72 hours from the time the satellite is released for a connection with the ground station. Upon confirmation, the DEO is disarmed. If it fails to make the connection, it removes the object from orbit.”

He couldn’t believe it. He’d come so close! Thoughts swarmed through his head. Had he spent all that money for nothing? On the other hand, if the beacon didn’t transmit long enough, money was no longer his problem. He had to get back to Franziska as quickly as possible. Then they could at least spend the little time they had left together. He couldn’t think of anyone with whom he’d rather spend his last days.

Would there have been an alternative? The second antenna, certainly, or another mechanism for turning the satellite. But there was no point in stewing about it now. It was just too bad that there was no connecting flight to Munich today. But he could at least fly to Helsinki in the evening and take the early plane home from there. That way he could reach Franziska shortly after eight.

What had Bintzew said? He’d have to fly there himself! Peter hit the brakes without thinking and came to a stop on the narrow shoulder. He cringed instinctively, expecting to be crashed into from the rear, but there was no one behind him. He hadn’t seen another car in half an hour.

Peter got his notebook out of his backpack. He used his smartphone to set up a hotspot. Forests stretched to the horizon to the left and right of the road, but cell reception was still better here than at home.

‘Fly there yourself,’ Bintzew had said. Of course! That was no longer a utopian dream, ever since 2022. Several companies offered flights into space. All he needed was a bit of luck.

And he was in luck! Virgin Galactic flew on April 3. Peter did the math. Seventy-two hours would have passed by April 2. But the deorbiting process that started then was slow. The iodine engine had little power, just enough to lower the satellite’s orbit over two or three days so that the increasing air resistance would do the rest.

He looked up the orbital data. The orbit of his CubeSat was at an altitude of about 340 kilometers. Virgin’s space glider flew only a single orbit with its passengers, reaching a maximum altitude of 300 kilometers. In fact, it was very convenient that the DEO device would have been activated the day before. He just had to manage to switch it off again in time. Even at an altitude of 300 kilometers, his beacon would be able to transmit for a few months, and after that, the danger should be averted if his calculations were correct.

Virgin conveniently disclosed all flight plans, which allowed him to read the necessary data to feed the app that otherwise controlled his astral projector. When the device was not available, the app output its results to the smartphone. That would have to do.

He started the simulation. The CubeSat and the space glider moved around the Earth at different levels. There, over Africa, for example, they should meet. But the altitude would not be right, nor would the speeds synchronize. The CubeSat would cross the space glider’s path about 30 kilometers below it, and at a rapid pace.

Is that enough to reach the DEO device and disable it? He had to make sure, even if it meant taking control on board—the first mutiny aboard a starship. He’d go down in history... and end up in prison. He would have saved the world, but no one would believe him.

First he had to secure a seat. For the April 3 launch, Virgin was using the latest model in its fleet, which had ten seats. In the beginning, in 2022, it had been very difficult to get a seat, but now such small excursions had become normal. In fact, there were still two seats available on the 3rd. So he could take Franziska with him—if he still had 400,000 U.S. dollars left, because a seat cost 200,000. But he didn’t. Of the amount transferred in advance by the broker, there was still just under 200,000 euros left. At the current exchange rate, that was 240,000 dollars.

So it was only enough for himself—a pity. Franziska would undoubtedly manage to convince the captain of the space glider of the necessary course change.

“It’s me,” he said.

The theme music of Today’s Journal could be heard in the background. He had waited until Tatort was over.

“I thought so,” said Franziska. “So, did you have success?”

“How was Tatort?” he