These were just a few of the materials that made up Shelby's spacesuit, the only thing that would stand between her skin and the inhospitable vastness of space when she walked on the moon in a few short days.
The bulky white suit fit like a glove — not that it had any reason not to, as she'd endured countless fitting sessions and NASA had spent a rather daunting amount of taxpayer dollars on to ensure that it was absolutely perfect.
Now that she was finally in the suit and strapped into her shuttle seat, Shelby couldn't decide if she was more nervous or excited.
"Will any moment in the rest of my life ever add up to this?" she wondered aloud, earning a round of laughter from her fellow teammates as her voice echoed through their communication unit.
"Considering I am married and have two beautiful daughters ... I can't say anything, Red," Walker joked.
"Launch Control to Tenacity, T-16 seconds, we are a go to activate the launch pad sound suppression system."
Sixteen seconds until take off .... Shelby could hardly believe it. She closed her eyes for a moment as she collected her thoughts, knowing that in less than half a minute, she would no longer be connected to Earth's surface or breathing Earth's atmosphere, the only thing she'd ever known.
Everything she'd ever done in life had led up to that exact moment.
Her first elementary school science fair, the Apollo mission posters that had covered her childhood bedroom walls, skipping ahead in school, graduating early, getting her admission letter from MIT ...
Meeting Donna and Lisa in freshman year physics, doing undergraduate research with her Electrical Engineering advisor, meeting Robbo and Tony senior year, getting the job offer from Dr. Feldstein, working on Mary, graduation ...
This was it.
This was the moment that she would look back on, knowing that she made it.
She did it.
Shelby Colewell could do anything.
"T-10 seconds, activation of main launch hydrogen burnoff system," the Kennedy Launch Control team relayed to the Tenacity shuttle, and Shelby watched as Dr. Feldstein flipped a few switches.
"Prepare for launch and say goodbye to Earth, my friends. This is it," Dr. Feldstein said through the comm unit.
"T-10, 9, 8, 7 ..."
"T-6 seconds, main engine start," Wilson said as he pushed a button inside the module, and Shelby felt the enormous whoosh of the engines starting.
