"All monetary gifts, in your own local currency, will be gratefully accepted, and all contributions valued at more than ten U.S. dollars will receive an acknowledgement in the form of a certificate, suitable for framing, recognizing your contribution to the future of mankind. Suitable recognition will, of course, be made for larger contributions.
"If you are a teacher, or are otherwise involved with a school, please visit manshopespaceschool.com, for special teaching aids and program information. Man's Hope International is devoted to the future, and our children are the future!
"Thank you for your time."
He turned to Susan, standing just off-camera. "How did I do?"
She smiled. "Very well. It was obvious you weren't a trained spokesman, but it's better that way, more genuine."
The director came over. "Very well done, Mr. Weatherly. I do wish you had worn makeup, though. It will call for some fancy editing work. But we'll have it on the air all over the world in a few hours." Frank merely grunted, and the man drifted away. "Makeup!" he said disgustedly.
He called the representative for the fundraising company. "Tell me about the school web site," he asked.
"Well, sir, We tried to do as you asked," the man replied. Frank didn't like him. He was too smooth, too polished, his smile too ready and too toothy. "We've worked out several ideas, and your public relations firm is working with a group of educators to develop teaching aids. But here's what we've come up with." He handed Frank a list and he read:
Students can write letters to the crew. They will be digitized and put on flash drives for delivery to the crew.
Teachers can write for four-foot by six-foot posters, showing the planets out to Jupiter, including the asteroid belt, the orbit of the Carter IV comet, and the course Man's Hope followed to the comet. Plus, it will show one of the possible return courses the ship might follow to return to Earth orbit.
Teachers can also ask for a CD containing some of Rodolfo Ancara's most informative briefings.
Classes that take up collections will receive a personal acknowledgement from Rodolfo Ancara, direct from Man's Hope. Teachers will be notified which of Dolf's briefings will include mention of their class.
Frank smiled. "I like them. Especially the letter writing and the poster ideas. I'm not as happy about the collection idea, but I suppose it's part of the package."
The man nodded. "Yes, sir, it is. But contributing even a small amount of money will give the kids a feeling of involvement; and having Mr. Ancara actually mention their school will be exciting enough to be worth it. And there's a lot more. We've got a whole list of goodies for people who contribute, right up to a personal meeting with you for a $100,000 donation." He looked slightly embarrassed. "Actually, sir, large donors, those over $100,000 or so, will need your personal involvement. You may need to wine and dine them a bit."
Frank grinned. "I built a small computer company into a large computer company. I know how to entertain prospective investors. I doubt large contributors will be much different." He paused. "Actually, they may be some of the same people. The number of people able to contribute that kind of money is limited, after all."
Frank had gone into full business mode. Space International bought the VM-T from Man's Hope International, and formed a small subsidiary specializing in hauling large, bulky cargoes in the containers built for the Buran and its parts. "No sense just letting it sit around," Frank said, "and there's not a big market for 1950's Russian bombers."
Since the cargo lift would be launched from Baikonur instead of Alcântara, Frank went ahead and signed the new deal with the government of Brazil. A subsidiary of Space International was now the exclusive representative for scheduling launches for Alcântara Space Center. They had also contracted with Khrunichev, via its subsidiary International Launch Services, to provide launch pad services for the Proton M heavy lift vehicle. Khrunichev had long been seeking a launch site closer to the equator and less isolated than Baikonur, and they leaped at the chance to use Alcântara. They could ship the rocket stages to St. Petersburg by rail, and simply put them aboard ships for São Luis, just across the bay from Alcântara. And, of course, a launch pad within a few degrees of the equator meant that payloads could be larger, and launches cheaper than at Baikonur. Rumor had it that Khrunichev and Energia were dusting off the old plans for the never-built Vulkan super-heavy launch vehicle, in anticipation of a sharp increase in space ship traffic. Anton also reported that Energia was dusting off the specs for the old Energia booster, and had begun research on updating both it and the rocket motors powering it. In Russia, at least, there seemed to be little doubt that heavy lift boosters would soon be in demand.
Their success also gave a big boost to the Kliper/Parom program. After all, Man's Hope had done something similar to planned operation of Kliper/Parom. They had launched a cargo canister, followed by the ship, which had met up with the canister and brought it aboard.
Kliper/Parom was smaller, of course, and instead of bringing the cargo canister aboard, it would simply add it to its own hull. But the principle was the same, and it was now proven to be workable. Besides, its small size meant that the old air launch idea might be practical, in which case it would not be necessary to throw away expensive boosters. Russia was no longer begging for investors in Kliper/Parom. In fact, a secondary market in shares had appeared. Had Frank so desired, he could have sold his shares at a huge profit, so, on paper at least, Frank was once again a billionaire. Rumor, active again, now had Gorneliev as heir apparent to head Roscomos, when that position became available.
The supply launch went smoothly, but it only carried five metric tons of cargo. As Frank had mentioned, the cargo canister would be chasing the comet now, and it was essential that it be traveling much faster if it was to catch up within a reasonable time.
On board the ship, time returned to its normal dragging pace, though the fact that they could once again receive radio and TV signals from Earth helped alleviate the boredom and drudgery.
Dolf, of course, was not quite as bored as the others. He was scanning the asteroid belt, looking for a suitable target. Many of the asteroids had been previously catalogued, of course, but Dolf needed to verify orbital and size data, estimate the asteroid's position relative to Earth when they finally arrived, and the ease of changing its orbit. David, in the pilot's compartment above, was also scanning, but he was analyzing composition. They were looking specifically for an asteroid high in nickel and iron. Nickel/iron asteroids are fairly common, but they could afford to be selective. They were looking for a nickel/iron asteroid at least ten kilometers in one dimension. So both David and Dolf had to agree on a target, though Dolf's opinion would prevail, and when they weren't mining ice, the two men could be found engrossed in their sensors.
There were a few welcome breaks in their routine. The first was when the supply canister caught up with them.
Alcântara Control had done an admirable job of sending the canister on an intercept course with the comet, and the drive engine had been used only very sparingly. The ship's instruments had been detecting the canister since shortly after it passed the moon's orbit, but it was only about a thousand miles out when Dolf's instruments showed it responding to his activation signal.