Maelstrom II

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 electromagnetic rails 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.

Teaser Trailer A

Scientific Accuracy

In the spirit of Kubrick, I 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.