The Gauntlet

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Dear Susannah

 

There are times when Galileo feels more like a submarine than a spacecraft, with its damp walls and closely confined interior. All that’s missing is the sonar echo of another sub or a destroyer overhead.

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The external instrument arrays perform the same function as a periscope, though to much greater effect, providing us with a view of the external world, as far as we wish to see and in every possible wavelength. For torpedoes we have the surface Hab and Lander, both of which will be launched when we enter Hyperion space. As for our air tanks, I am pleased to report they are well stocked and in no danger of suffering the same fate as those which caused so much concern on the Apollo 13 mission. We are presently intact and god willing will remain that way. Travelling through space is a bit like running a gauntlet of tomahawks. I wonder what will be left of Galileo at journey’s end once asteroids and solar flares have taken a swipe at us?

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Anyone who has had the misfortune to use the London underground will know what the interior of our home is like. Imagine the inside of a tube train. Double the interior volumes and that's pretty much it, right down to the tunnel darkness beyond the windows. The main difference between the two views is the lack of any appreciable sensation of speed in our giant tube. That and the stars which stand in for the ancient brickwork of London’s leaky, subterranean catacombs. I know which of the two views I prefer. The stars do much to relieve any incipient feelings of claustrophobia, giving a much needed sense of depth and perspective to the view.

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I can easily see why Tanya believes the entire solar system is visible from any of Galileo’s view ports. Like our highly respected mission pilot, I am convinced we will soon be able to see all the way to Saturn and her retinue of fabulous moons. 

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