Maelstrom II
A short film adaptation of the short story by Arthur C. Clarke, the grand master of science fiction.
Arthur C. Clarke is best-known as the author of 2001: a Space Odyssey.
Maelstrom II is produced and directed by Jeroen Lapré.
Jeroen Lapré acquired the short film rights from Arthur C. Clarke's literary agent.
Maelstrom II is set in the near future, during the colonization of the solar system. Earth's Moon is a hub of interplanetary industry.
Water ice is mined from the permanently shadowed craters at the poles. The water is split into liquid oxygen and hydrogen, then loaded onto freight capsules. These are launched on an electromagnetic rail ramp into space.
Hydroponics engineer Cliff Leyland wants to visit his family on Earth. To save money, he convinces launch control to let him hitch a ride in the human passenger module, normally reserved for emergency evacuation.
There is a partial failure during the launch. Even though the freight capsule continues off the end of the launch ramp and into space, it hasn't reached escape velocity.
Instead, it is doomed to orbit the Moon once, and return to the surface, close to where it launched.
Launch control instruct Cliff to climb into the airlock and put on the emergency spacesuit. He is to climb on top of the freight capsule, wait until it reaches the highest point of its orbit, then jump as hard as he can. The hope is that will change his orbit just enough to buy time to launch a rescue craft to pluck him from orbit.
A Personal Video Message from Arthur C. Clarke for Jeroen Lapré
Transcription
"Hello Jeroen, this is Arthur Clarke here in Colombo, 14th March 2003. It's hard to believe it'll soon be 100 years since the first heavier-than-air flight. An awful lot has happened in that time, and I wonder how much more will happen in the next 100 years. I feel pretty confident that the electromagnetic launchers, space launchers, on which you are working may exist by then.
But the idea of using electrical energy to launch spacecraft away from the Earth, and better still the Moon where there's no air resistance, using electrical energy instead of rockets is very attractive. It's more controllable, of course. And I think it may play an important role in the future of space travel.
Well, I'm sure it'll play an important role in the future of space travel movies!
Anyway, good luck with you and your projects."
Maelstrom II Teaser Trailer
Scientific Accuracy
In the spirit of Kubrick, Jeroen consulted with NASA scientists and private space startup engineers to make Maelstrom II as scientifically accurate as possible. The research will be made available as supplemental content, in the hope that it inspires young humans to pursue a career in space.