Read Brown, Dale - Independent 01 Online
Authors: Silver Tower (v1.1)
Brown, Dale - Independent 01
Following on the heels of
Dale Brown’s national bestseller
Flight
of the Old Dog
, here is a new novel even more ambitious in scope, more
intricately plotted, and more richly developed—but with all the high-tech
realism that made its predecessor such an exciting discovery for so many
readers.
Dale Brown has a distinct advantage
over other writers of military high adventure—as a decorated Air Force officer
he has flown where they can only imagine. Remarkably, as demonstrated in his
previous bestseller, he also has a bom storyteller’s technique and imagination.
To wit: It is 1992. The
Silver
Tower
is
America
’s
first permanent space station, designed as a test bed for experiments,
commanded by a powerful, nonconformist general. Its resident scientific genius
is Ann Page, daughter of navy Captain Matthew Page, charged with making it an
operational SDI as events in the
Middle East
escalate to
the flashpoint- the Soviets poised to invade
Iran
.
No one can guess at the far-reaching
confronta-
tion that is shortly to develop, or the
role Silver
(Continued
on back flap)
Silver
Tower
Armstrong Space
Station
United States Space Command
Single-Keel Long Duration Manned
Orbiting Laboratory
Solar Panels Neutral Particle Beam
Generator Solar Power Panels
Attitude Thrusters THOR -----
Missile Garage (free-flying)
Scale 0
50 feet
ALSO BY DALE BROWN
Flight of the Old Dog
All
rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole
or in part in any form.
Published in the
United States of America
by Donald I. Fine, Inc. and in
Canada
by General Publishing Company Limited.
Library
of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Brown, Dale, 1956-
Silver tower.
I.
Title.
PS3552.R68543S5
1988
813'.54 87-46258
ISBN
1-55611-060-X (alk. paper)
Manufactured
in the
United States of America
10
987654321
This
novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and
incidents are either the product of the
author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously. Any resemblance
to actual events, locales,
organizations or persons, living or
dead, is entirely coincidental
and beyond the intent of either the
author or publisher.
Silver Tower
is dedicated to my Dad, who
worked a lot of overtime to get me my first telescope that got me interested in
the stars; and to my Mom, who spent a lot of long nights and early Saturday
mornings ferrying me around to dozens of Science Fairs all over New York State
so I could show off my telescope.
Your love and patience has paid off.
See what you made me do?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank several agencies,
corporations and individuals for supplying information useful in the creation
of this novel.
Thanks to
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for information on the National
Aerospace Plane, the Scramjet Test Project, and the Hypersonic Technology
Program; to Aerojet-General Corporation Sacramento, California, for information
on the scramjet engine, space station design, and hypersonic engine design; and
to British Aerospace Corporation for information on their Horizontal Takeoff
and Landing (HOTOL) technology for single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft.
The
National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been of significant help in
gathering information for this story, especially Mark Hess of the Public
Affairs Division; also the Space Transport Division, the Advanced Space Right
Division, the Ames Research Center, and the Johnson Space Center were of
immense help.
The primary
source of information on vessels and weapons for both sides of the Iron Curtain
has been the United States Naval Institute Military Database,
Arlington
,
Virginia
.
There are
several very special individuals to whom I am especially grateful for their
time and efforts in helping me put this story together: For insights on the
unusual problems of living and working in space, I would like to thank Loren W.
Acton, senior staff scientist, Palo Alto Research Laboratory, Lockheed Missiles
and Space Company. Loren was a payload specialist aboard the STS 51-F, Spacelab
2 mission, flying aboard Challenger in July of 1985, and in a delightful
meeting in San Francisco with members of the Association of Space Explorers USA
gave me a feel for the unique stresses and unforgettable joys of traveling
aboard the Space Shuttle.
For his
help in gathering information on the
Soviet Union
’s
civilian and military space programs, I would like to thank author, researcher,
space expert, and good friend Dennis T. Hall, and his wife Dana. Dennis has
been kind enough to take calls, send information, and answer my questions at
all hours of the day, and I wish him success in his own stellar writing career.
For being
there when I needed them, I would like to thank my good friends Ray and Alice
Jefferson and Darrell and Susan Neufeld.
And, as
always, I would like to thank Rick Horgan, senior editor at Donald I. Fine,
Inc., and my wife Jean for their help and patience. Every author needs someone
to bounce ideas and frustrations off, and I thank Rick and Jean for, willingly
or unwillingly, being the targets. I couldn’t have done it without you.
Thanks.
Dale
Brown
Fair Oaks
,
California
, 1988