Free Astrotwins — Project Blastoff by Mark Kelly

“You have to practice a lot.”
    â€œOkay, welding, check ,” said Egg.
    â€œCan I ask a question?” Lisa said.
    â€œSure,” said Mark.
    â€œSo is the secret science fair project a spacecraft?”
    Everyone laughed—even Howard. Lisa turned pink, and Egg said, “Sorry, Lisa. I guess no one officially told you that yet, huh?”
    Lisa shook her head.
    Egg explained, “It’s really only a secret from the grown-ups. We don’t want them to tell us we’re crazy or we can’t do it. Do you think we’re crazy?”
    Lisa shrugged. “Not necessarily. And I won’t tell. I’m good at keeping secrets.”
    â€œUnlike some people,” Scott said.
    â€œOne thing, though,” Lisa said. “I don’t have to be an astronaut if I help out, do I? I’m claustrophobic—I don’t like squished places.”
    â€œYou absolutely don’t have to be an astronaut,” said Scott. “There’s only room for one anyway.”
    Egg looked up. “Oh?”
    â€œI want to go,” said Howard.
    And Barry said, “Who made the decree that there’s only room for one?”
    â€œOh, come on, you guys,” said Mark. “ You’re the ones who understand the rocket equation. We’re going to have a hard enough time building and fueling a small spacecraft, let alone one that holds everybody.”
    Egg said, “You have a point, and we should probably pick according to weight. If Lisa doesn’t want to go, I’m definitely lightest.”
    â€œBut it was Scott’s and my idea!” said Mark.
    â€œI didn’t mean to cause a fight,” Lisa said quietly.
    â€œIt’s not your fault. Some people are just unreasonable,” said Mark.
    â€œSo anyone who doesn’t agree with you is unreasonable?” Barry said.
    â€œThat’s an unreasonable assertion,” said Howard.
    â€œGuys?” said Egg. “Has anybody noticed something? Now that we’re arguing, we’ve all stopped working. At this rate we’ll never get any”—she looked around, then whispered the word—“ spacecraft built at all. Maybe we can put off this decision.”
    In fact, it was almost time for Mrs. O’Malley to pick up Egg, Howard, and Lisa. Mark was still annoyed, but Scott had started to feel bad. He didn’t like fighting withpeople, especially his friends. Deep down, he wondered if maybe Egg, Barry, and Howard might be right. Maybe it wasn’t fair for him and Mark to assume one of them would be the astronaut.
    And there was something else, too. All the Mercury astronauts had been superstar pilots before they ever went to work for NASA. For example, John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, had flown more than 150 combat missions in two wars, served as a military test pilot, and won five medals.
    Meanwhile, Scott and Mark had never even been passengers in a plane. Even if a computer did do most of the work, what made them think they’d be able to fly a spacecraft?
    As the group walked outside to meet Mrs. O’Malley, Scott had an idea that he voiced before it was totally thought through. “What if we have a contest?”
    â€œA contest? What are you talking about?” Mark asked.
    â€œTo determine who gets to”—he looked around to make sure no grown-up was listening—“go up in space.”
    Egg looked interested. “What do we have to do in our contest?” she asked.
    Scott didn’t answer right away, and Barry stepped in. “My brother says the closest feeling to being a pilot is the feeling you get on amusement park rides. So maybe we should have our contest at Great Adventure.”
    Great Adventure was a new amusement park in Jackson,New Jersey, not far from the twins’ home in West Orange. It was supposed to be almost as big and exciting as Disney World in Florida, and Scott and Mark had been begging their