Выпуск 21. Михаил Судаков

gray-green eyes, chic plump lips and a perfect snow-white smile. Her name was Anita Lewis.

      PAUL KUSHILEV

      – 35-year-old British woman, ESA astronaut Anita Lewis is responsible for the health of crew members. She is a medical science professor at the University of Cambridge, UK.

      A photo of a black African-American appeared on the screen. He had curly black hair, dark expressive eyes, a thick nose and puffy lips. His face was adorned with a neatly tucked mustache, turning into a beard.

      PAUL KUSHILEV

      – Our geologist, ESA astronaut, payload specialist, originally from Nigeria, is 38-year-old Jase Adesenya. By the age of 28 he conquered all 14 peaks eight thousanders on planet Earth and set a new high-speed record of climbing to their peaks. Now it is 5 years and 8 months.

      The following photo showed a slender sophisticated girl of Tatar nationality with an oval face, long light brown hair, expressive gray-blue eyes, which were emphasized by elongated cilia. A neat, pointed nose went well with beautiful cheekbones turning into slightly puffy lips.

      PAUL KUSHILEV

      – Team psychologist and part-time linguist to establish contact with an extraterrestrial life form is 35-year-old Anastasia Gradeckaya from the Russian Federation. She is a professor of psychology and linguistics at Moscow State Technological University named after N.E. Bauman.

      Paul turned to his guest, Peter Pakus.

      PAUL KUSHILEV

      – Peter, what can you say about the shuttle crew «New light»?

      PETER PAKUS

      – The crew is wonderful! A great combination of science, engineering and humanities. I am sure that our crew is not afraid of any difficulties if, of course, they don’t meet «strangers» there.

      Peter and Paul smiled.

      PAUL KUSHILEV

      – Great, Peter! Thank you for being able to find a few minutes for us and our viewers.

      The operator moved the camera angle from the general plan to Paul and with a movement of his hand showed him when to start the speech.

      PAUL KUSHILEV

      – We have less than 10 minutes left before the start of the shuttle «New World». After a short advertisement, we will continue direct inclusion from the «Babylon» space launching complex.

      Following Paul’s words, Elina launched sponsorship trailers and commercials. Pavel, cameraman Ilya and Elina took some photos with Peter Pakus and thanked him for the visit. After Peter's departure, they drank some water and discussed among themselves the small details of today's broadcast. The commercial came to an end and their makeshift studio continued its work.

      Spaceport Babylon. The Control Center flight

      The Flight Control Center was located away from hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, surrounded by water channels with a patterned bottom. The FCC building resembled an antique palace with massive doors and high towers standing nearby. All this beauty was covered with a golden dome. Inside the building there was a modern, innovative room, equipped with comfortable workstations with monitors and ultra-high-definition screens, which had huge computing power. Sitting at their computers, a team led by Rich Rudiger conducted pre-launch checks.

      Rich and his team were dressed in a classic style. The emblem of the «Babylon» space launching complex was flaunted on white shirts on the left side. A headset was attached to the neck of each employee. The actions of Rich Rudiger and his team were watched by the political elite from the developed countries. There were experts and scientists in the field of cosmology, astronomy, theoretical physics as well as popular celebrities, Internet and TV celebrities. They were drinking, talking and following the action with interest.

      In the center of the hall there were huge screens which were divided into several windows. There was a countdown to the start up above. In one of the windows, the FCC employees observed the launch pad and orbital launcher. The «New World» shuttle with its massive fuel tank and solid fuel boosters were mounted on the orbital launcher.

      In the upper windows of the screen, the FCC team observed the flight deck. In it, the shuttle crew was fastened to their seats and dressed in light tight-fitting gray spacesuits with red stripes. Everyone was in a good mood, astronauts communicated with each other and with the FCC. Terry Taylor took the crew commander’s seat and Igor Vladimirovich sat next to him in the co-pilot’s chair. Specialist chairs were occupied by brother and sister Zhou, Anita Lewis, Jasse Adesenya and Anastasia Gradetskaya.

      RICH RUDIGER

      – Terry, five minutes stand-by, switch to power from the on-board systems. Do you copy?

      Terry, hearing Rich's voice, smiled even more.

      TERRY TAYLOR

      – Roger that, I’m switching to power from on-board systems.

      Terry and Igor performed step-by-step operations on the dashboard, consisting of numerous screens, buttons and control devices, to switch the shuttle system to the on-board power supply.

      TERRY TAYLOR

      – FCC, the shuttle moved to the on-board power supply.

      RICH RUDIGER

      – «New World», roger that.

      Milena Ti-Molis, who monitored the health of the astronauts in terms of instrumentation, asked Rich to approach her. He immediately approached his employee. She showed him the rapid heartbeat of Anastasia Gradetskaya. Rich switched the communication channel to a dedicated line.

      RICH RUDIGER

      – Terry, come in.

      Terry and Igor checked control systems, navigation, guidance and a whole range of instruments of the orbital ship. They also checked their on-board computer and worked out the sequence of their actions at startup.

      TERRY TAYLOR

      – Come in.

      RICH RUDIGER

      – Anastasia has a fast heartbeat, a pulse of up to two hundred beats per minute, try to calm her. Terry was quite surprised.

      Terry was very surprised.

      TERRY TAYLOR

      – Roger that.

      Igor noticed Terry.

      IGOR VLADIMIROVICH

      – Did something happen?

      TERRY TAYLOR

      – Rich said Anastasia had a fast heartbeat.

      Terry and Igor cast their eyes on Anastasia. She was sitting silently and was thinking about something. They tried to understand the cause of her concern.

      IGOR VLADIMIROVICH

      – I’m nervous too, like the others.

      TERRY TAYLOR

      – We were asked to calm her down.

      IGOR VLADIMIROVICH

      – She looks calm, I don’t know where they got all these indications from. Now let's figure it out.

      Anastasia was sitting silently fastened to her chair. She examined the shuttle, her team and didn’t show nervousness.

      IGOR VLADIMIROVICH

      – Nastya!

      Anastasia noticed Igor.

      ANASTASIA GRADECKAYA

      – Yes.

      IGOR VLADIMIROVICH

      – You all okay?

      Anastasia was thrilled and greatly impressed by her presence in the shuttle. She thought about the upcoming mission, what awaits them and how it would all end. Whether they meet extraterrestrial civilization, whether the launch of the shuttle take place without technical problems and how the spatial displacement will take place. Imagination and negative thoughts came up with all possible plot twists.

      ANASTASIA