Stars and Waves, page 11
When the shaking slowed down and eventually stopped, Laura expected to see dangling bits and pieces and cracked lenses, but the instrument looked as if nothing had happened. Grace pointed at the monitors. “All of the optical elements are back in position within a thousandth of a millimetre. Perfect. Perfectly designed.” Grace could not conceal the pride in her voice.
“Impressive,” Laura commented. She was truly fascinated by such a sophisticated and seemingly delicate piece of technology, designed to easily withstand such a shocking and devastating test.
Grace led the way to the exit of the room, opposite the door through which they had entered. They arrived in another vast clean room, which was even larger than the previous one. There were three relatively small spacecraft, each about two metres in size, located in different areas of the clean room. None of them had visible mirrors or lenses, just electronic boards branching out, and each of them had two large holes in their sides. There were several mirrors distributed around the vast clean room. Laura noticed that these mirrors were reflecting laser beams, some of which were entering the spacecraft through their holes. Laura immediately understood what this was about. She was thrilled.
“So these spacecraft are not for astronomical observations,” Sergei said naively, “I don’t see any mirrors or large optics on them.”
“They are for astronomical observations. Simply, they are not made for detecting light,” Laura corrected Sergei, her eyes twinkling with excitement, “their goal will be to detect other kinds of waves from the universe.”
“Indeed!” Grace exclaimed. She got closer to one of the three satellites. “This is our most important project. Technologically speaking, it is the most challenging astronomical space mission ever conceived. For the first time, all major space agencies have joined efforts to develop this project. NASA together with the European Space Agency, and the Canadian, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Indian Space Agencies. All together. Unprecedented.” She paused. “Although all of these space agencies are providing the technical requirements, guidance and funding, the bulk of the project is being developed here. We’re very proud of this,” explained Grace with a spark in her eyes, which were the only visible part of her face.
“Yes, but what is it?” Sergei asked impatiently.
“It’s GATEWAY,” Grace answered imperiously. “It’s a project to develop the largest and most sensitive system for the detection of gravitational waves.” Her voice reverberated in the vast area. “It will consist of a fleet of 12 spacecraft orbiting in formation. They will detect tiny distortions of space and time due to the passage of gravitational waves,” explained Grace. “If approved, GATEWAY will detect the gravitational waves coming from the merging of the most distant, primeval black holes. Most importantly, it will detect the gravitational waves from the Big Bang… the very first heartbeat of our Universe.”
“If approved?” asked Laura, frowning and with a concerned tone.
“The project is not yet fully approved. Although the governments and space agencies are terribly excited about it, before committing they want us to prove the feasibility of the project through these prototypes,” said Grace, pointing at the spacecraft in the room. “All the tests in the laboratory have given excellent results, beyond expectation. In a few months, these prototypes will be launched in orbit for additional testing in space and, if successful, the project will be approved and fully funded, jointly by the several space agencies.”
“What’s the expected cost of the whole project?” Julia asked.
“Twenty billion dollars.”
There were a few seconds of total silence.
“Yes, it’s by far the most expensive astronomical observatory ever conceived. It gives you a sense of the magnitude of the project and the importance given to it by the scientific community and by governments across the globe.”
There were a few more moments of silence as Laura and Sergei walked around the prototypes, inspecting them from all angles.
Julia had crossed her arms and was tapping her foot. “Impressive,” she said, “though I’m afraid that we cannot hear more about these fantastic prototypes, as our schedule is a bit tight. May I suggest that we move on to meet Dr Smith,” said Julia, gesturing towards the entrance door they had come from.
“Sure. The fastest route to Roger’s office is actually this way,” said Grace, heading towards a smaller door on the opposite side of the vast clean room. The door led to a narrow passage, different from all the other corridors they had passed through so far. It had pipes covered in foam rubber and foil, valves, wires and electric panels. At the end of the passage Grace scanned her card to open a small door. Laura noticed that this door opened much more slowly and with a hiss. It looked thicker and heavier than any of the previous doors, and had rubber seals.
The door opened onto a large circular, tall chamber, about 15 metres in diameter and about 20 metres high. Everything inside was painted black – floor, walls and ceiling. The whole area was dimly illuminated with blue lights. It was not cold, but a slight shiver passed through Laura’s body.
At the centre of the vast chamber was a small satellite, more or less a cube, a metre in size, with two solar panels deployed on either side.
“This is our cryogenic test chamber,” Grace’s voice echoed like thunder in the mostly empty space. The pitch of her voice sounded distorted – only the lowest tones were resonating in the large cavity. The effect was that of a voice coming from the underworld.
“Here we test the survival of satellites and space hardware in the harsh temperatures in space. Typically, the side of a satellite facing the sun exceeds 100 degrees Celsius, while the side of the satellite in its own shade cools to –100 degrees. Astronomical satellites approaching the sun can reach temperatures of 300 degrees, while satellites exploring the outskirts of the solar system or in the shade of a planet can freeze to –250 degrees. We mimic such severe conditions in this chamber. The satellite to be tested is placed in the centre.” Grace pointed at the small satellite located at the centre. “The whole chamber is essentially a giant freezer, but far more powerful than a household freezer. It can reach temperatures of 230 degrees Celsius below zero. Of course, before cooling, all the air must be sucked out of the chamber. Cooling must happen in near-vacuum conditions, just as in space, else frost would form around and inside the satellite.”
Then she pointed at the ceiling. “You may notice that on the ceiling there are a number of large lamps that are now turned off.” Laura looked up and, although it was very dark, she could see several dark lamps clustered on the ceiling, their glass dimly reflecting their images. “They can be extremely powerful and can simulate the radiation of the sun in space, and even the extreme radiation and heat that satellites approaching the sun are expected to withstand.”
Sergei shifted his gaze to the small satellite at the centre of the chamber. “Is that an astronomical satellite?”
“No, that’s just a small telecommunication satellite. It will undergo testing tomorrow,” Grace clarified, “the chamber is oversized for it, but of course we use the same test chamber for any satellite. It is designed to hold the largest satellites and space telescopes that we develop.” With her hand, she indicated the outline of an immense door on a side of the chamber, about 10 metres wide and 15 metres high. “That door is designed to allow our largest satellites and space modules through.”
While Laura and Sergei were looking at the gigantic door, Julia was staring at the smaller door through which they had entered, her arms crossed and her fingers nervously tapping her elbow.
Grace glanced at Julia and said, “Please, follow me through that door on the opposite side, and we will exit not far from Roger’s office.”
While Julia and Sergei were following Grace, Laura stayed behind for a few seconds, staring at the small satellite, sitting alone in the centre of the wide expanse of the chamber. She felt a little bit sad that the following day it would have to endure such severe testing. Then she thought of how silly she was to feel sorry for a satellite, as if it was a living being.
Removing all the clean room garments was much quicker than putting them on.
“Roger’s office is on the top floor,” said Grace, while pressing the button for an elevator. As they were waiting for the elevator, a woman’s voice from behind asked, “May I join you for the ride?” They turned and saw a young woman dressed casually, wearing sneakers.
“Hi Isabel,” said Grace, then she turned to face her guests and added, “Isabel joined SPACEWAVE very recently. You may know each other, as she was studying computer science at Cambridge until recently. She graduated a few months ago.”
“I don’t think we’ve met,” said Julia, while going in for a hand shake, “Cambridge is a large university. It’s nice to meet you, anyway. I’m Julia, Julia Russell.”
Isabel nodded, smiling, and turned to face Laura.
“I’m Laura. We may have met at some party, who knows,” said Laura, chuckling, as the doors of the elevator started opening.
Sergei also made a goofy attempt to shake Isabel’s hand while entering the elevator. “Sergei Vasiliev. Nice to meet you,” he said, beaming.
“In which field do you work?” asked Isabel.
“Astrophysics, we are all astrophysicists,” responded Julia.
“Then, maybe, you know Jack Lewis?” asked Isabel.
“Of course we do, he is a student at our institute, his office is just next to mine!” exclaimed Laura, “How do you know him?”
“We were at the same college and we are still in touch.”
“I see,” Laura smiled, while raising an eyebrow, “strange that Jack never mentioned your friendship.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that we are close friends, we typically only met in the dining hall and at social events, together with many more students,” said Isabel, looking at the display in the elevator. “This is my floor,” she said as the doors were opening, “it was nice to meet you.” Having gotten out, she turned, gave half a smile, and said, “A curious coincidence to meet you here.” The doors of the elevator closed between them.
“We have another five floors to go,” said Grace with a smile.
***
As they passed in front of Roger Smith’s Personal Assistant, Grace guided the party towards his office’s door.
“Roger is waiting for you,” said Grace in an unusually loud voice, as if wanting to make sure that Smith’s PA would not step in their way.
Grace knocked on the door and swung it open without waiting for a reply. “Hi Roger, our guests are here.”
As they entered the office a strong smell of smoke filled their nostrils. Cigar, probably, though there was no sign of an ashtray. A plump man in his sixties was sitting behind a bulky desk. A floor to ceiling window behind him gave a complete view over the wide SPACEWAVE compound, with its many buildings and a wide desert area surrounded by a fence.
Roger Smith was intently looking at the screen of his computer. As the party entered his office, he glanced at them, lazily lifting his eyes from the screen, feigning a smile.
“So nice to meet you, Dr Smith,” Julia said, smiling and holding out her hand. “My name is Julia Russell, from Cambridge, UK. This is my student Laura Bellini and this is Sergei Vasiliev, student at the Russian Special Observatory.” At the word ‘Russian’ Smith immediately glared at Grace, who responded with a reassuring nod.
“Yeah, sure, nice to meet you. Please have a seat. How can I help you?” asked Smith while glancing at his watch.
Not the warmest welcome, thought Laura, especially from someone who was supposed to be ‘eager to meet them’, according to Grace.
“We are astrophysicists, working in the area of exoplanets–” Julia started.
“It has been decades since I worked in astronomy,” interrupted Smith, “for the last 25 years I have been in the space industry, and for the last 15 years, I’ve been busy running this company. So I’m afraid I’m not the best person to talk to about astronomy or astrophysics.” His eyes were continually darting to the screen of his computer and every so often he would click on his mouse.
Grace, who was sitting with her legs crossed next to Smith’s desk, glared at him and shifted nervously on her chair. She leaned towards the desk slightly and placed her arm on it, as if to rest it, but then started tapping her fingers on the surface. She was successful in distracting Smith from his screen, who responded with an irritated scowl.
“Actually, we are not here to talk about science. Not strictly science,” clarified Julia, “I will just get straight to the point: do you know Professor Vladimir Kasparov?”
“No, I don’t remember anyone with that name,” responded Smith.
“He was an astronomer, at the Russian Special Observatory.”
“Was?”
“He passed away a few weeks ago.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Smith said with no real sadness in his expression and his fingers still typing on his keyboard every now and then. His forehead creased, “Why are you telling me this?”
“Well, his death is still somehow shrouded in mystery. He died in a strange accident at the BTA-6 telescope.”
Smith stopped typing. For an instant, he glared at Grace. It was a fraction of a second, Grace had not even noticed, but Laura had seen it clearly.
Julia explained the details of the accident, or at least what they knew about it. “So, the additional strange thing is that the accident happened soon after Professor Kasparov had discovered a connection between our data and data obtained by him 30 years ago, and those datasets were stolen a few days after the accident.” Julia paused for a few seconds to see if Smith was starting to connect dots, but he remained silent. “Coincidentally, 30 years ago is also when Professor Kasparov entered into a phase of deep depression, as a consequence of something that happened at a conference.” She pulled out the picture and handed it to Smith. “A conference in Paris that you also attended. Do you recall what happened? Anything that might have caused distress to Kasparov?”
Smith sighed, put on his glasses on and asked, “Who is Kasparov here?”
Julia pointed at the young Kasparov in the photo. Smith squinted his eyes and massaged his chin. Laura was not sure whether he was truly making a mental effort or if he was just pretending.
“Yes,” he said, looking more intensely at the photo, “I vaguely recall this. It was a conference about the chemical properties of stars. I remember something awkward when he, Kasparov, presented his results. During his presentation, he claimed some discovery. I don’t recall what the discovery was about, but I do remember that people thought his claim was based on some marginal features in his data and that the interpretation was questionable and, actually… laughable… yes, laughable, that was the main reaction of the audience. His claim was not even criticised, it was not taken seriously at all, it was just laughed at and dismissed by the audience and the most prominent people.”
“Don’t you recall what the topic of the claimed discovery was about?”
“Not really. Must have been something associated with the chemistry of some star, I guess. Since I left astronomy all these memories about the scientific meetings that I attended have gradually faded.”
“Do you remember what Professor Kasparov’s reaction was when the conference’s delegates didn’t take his discovery seriously?”
“Well, as far as I recall he was embarrassed. Clearly he wasn’t giggling with the audience. I remember he made some goofy attempts to reply to the comments, but he wasn’t even listened to, he was continuously interrupted by jokes from the delegates.”
Laura felt sorry for Professor Kasparov, that he had to endure such humiliation. She looked around and saw that sadness had clouded the expressions of Julia, Sergei and Grace. There were a few seconds of silence.
Smith had turned on his swivel chair to face the large window. His reflection revealed a frowning, thoughtful expression, staring at the blue sky.
Laura exchanged a glance with Grace, who shrugged with an embarrassed expression. Julia cleared her throat, which made Smith re-emerge from his thoughts. He looked at his watch and asked, “Anything else I can help you with?”
“You have been very helpful. Thank you!” replied Julia, standing up. Laura wasn’t sure whether Julia was being sarcastic or sincere. Had Julia possibility inferred anything useful out of that short conversation?
On the way out, Laura stopped in front of a faded photo hanging on the wall. Julia approached Laura to look at the photo. It portrayed a young version of Smith, probably around the same time as the conference in Paris, with two other men, a mountain landscape and a telescope in the background. Julia frowned and pointed at one of the two men in the photo, “Arthur,” she whispered.
Laura’s eyes widened, she could indeed recognise the features of a younger Arthur Cecil-Hood. “They must be close friends,” Laura whispered in response.
“Apparently,” commented Julia.
Laura noticed that Sergei had engaged Grace and Smith in a conversation about the activities of SPACEWAVE, which gave her and Julia a few more seconds to inspect the photo. Laura pointed at the third man in the photo, skinny, with frizzy hair. “He looks familiar too,” she whispered. “Can I see the photo of the conference in Paris?”
Julia pulled it out. “You are right,” she said, pointing at a face in the conference photo, “he was one of the participants too.”
Julia turned to face Smith. “May I ask you who the person with you in this photo is?” said Julia, pointing at the skinny young man.
Smith hesitated a second. “That’s Neil. Neil Thomson.”
“Oh, yes, quite a big name in the field of stellar globular clusters. I didn’t recognise him so young,” Julia exclaimed.
“Yes, unlike me, he continued in academia. He’s now retired. He lives not far from here, on the hills near Tucson, next to the Saguaro National Park. Fantastic view from his cottage.” Then he anticipated Julia’s query, “Sandra, my PA, can give you his address,” he said, having already shifted his gaze back to the screen of his computer and started typing. “I’m sure he can be far more helpful than me. You’ll excuse me now, I have some important business to attend to. Grace will see you out.”
