Free Hypersonic Thunder: A Novel of the Jet Age by Walter J. Boyne Page B

help.”
    “I’ve got to find him first. He’s all over the map, between pushing the F-16 program, and this new thing, the Space Shuttle.”
    “The sooner the better.”

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    THE PASSING PARADE : Mao Tse-tung dies, estimated to have caused deaths of up to 20 million; uprising in Soweto, South Africa; United States celebrates 200th anniversary of independence; National Air & Space Museum opens; President Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter engage in debates; Carter elected President; North and South Vietnam reunited; Israelis rescue hostages in Entebbe raid; Rocky wins Oscar for best picture; Soviets win 152 medals in Olympics at Innsbruck and Montreal; Cincinnati Reds defeat New York Yankees in World Series; Deng Xiaoping restored to power in China.
     
    September 17, 1976
    Palmdale, California
     
    H arry, I know you think I’ve been dodging you, but I haven’t. We’ve been swamped on this program, and I haven’t had a free hour, much less a free day, all year.”
    It was easy for Shannon to believe him. Rodriquez was hunched over a portable typewriter, pecking away at a report, wearing a two-day beard and a rumpled suit, looking thin and desperately tired under the desert sun.
    “I understand, Bob, and I wouldn’t have hassled you, but time is running out. We’ve got a board of directors meeting coming up in October, and I needed to talk to you before then.”
    “I guess I know why. There are no secrets in the aerospace industry.And since that short piece in Aviation Week , everybody is talking about the trouble Nancy is having. What can I do to help?”
    Aviation Week was the world’s premier aviation magazine, known familiarly as “Aviation Leak” for all the secrets it uncovered. It had run a half-page article on the problems at Vance Shannon, Incorporated. Nancy had been treated courteously, but they laid the facts out in a straightforward manner, and all the knowledgeable people in the industry made the correct inference: with Vance Shannon dead and Bob Rodriquez gone, the company was in trouble.
    Harry’s heart jumped. This was the Rodriquez of old, always obliging.
    “Bob, we need . . .”
    Rodriquez held up his hand. “Just a second, Harry—they’re rolling her out.”
    The doors of Rockwell’s huge Air Force Plant 42 opened, and the incredible Space Shuttle Enterprise was slowly rolled out to stormy applause from the crowd of two thousand, mostly workers and industry insiders, but with a wealth of dignitaries and a colorful sprinkling of “Trekkees” gathered to see their vehicle come to life. The orbiter, officially serial number OV-101, was originally going to be named Constitution , in honor of the United States’ Constitution, but a write-in campaign from more than 100,000 loyal viewers of Star Trek forced the White House to select the name Enterprise instead.
    Harry’s jaw dropped. He’d seen photos of the 150,000-pound Enterprise , but viewing it in gleaming white real life on the familiar Palmdale tarmac was another matter.
    “It’s gigantic, Bob. Are they really going to be able to fly it on the 747?”
    “Harry, if they can’t, my company’s in real trouble. Steve O’Malley, me, and our new guy, Dennis Jenkins, have been working night and day on this, letting some of the rest of our business slide, and unless this lash-up works, we are in deep kimchee.”
    They stood together quietly for a while, watching the team of technicians swarm around the gigantic orbiter, while another gang, photographers and television people, formed an even bigger outer ring. With its huge nose and stubby delta wings, the Enterprise looked like an aerodynamic throwback when compared to the variety of sleekjets that were parked around the Palmdale tarmac, all of them needle-nosed with swept-back wings.
    Bob said, “In January they are going to transport it overland to Edwards; they’ll mate it with the 747 there and run a bunch of test flights. They’ll start off with just flying the two