Rip did some estimating. He wanted to be sure the next charge would do
nothing more than slow the asteroid to a stop. If the charge were too
heavy, it would reverse the spin. He didn't want to make a career of
running on the asteroid. He was tired, and he knew his men were getting
weary, too. He could see it in their strides.
He decided it would be best to use a little less fuel rather than a
little more. If the asteroid failed to stop its spin completely, they
could always set off a small charge or two.
"Hold it," he ordered. "We'll use the small end of Dominico's tube and
save the big one."
The fuel was a solid mass, so cutting the tube in two sections caused no
difficulty. Rip pushed the igniter into the small section, seated it in
the hole, and hurried to cover. As he watched the fuel burn, he wondered
why the last nuclear charge had started the spin. He had made a mistake
somewhere. The earlier blasts had been set so they wouldn't cause a spin.
He made a mental note to look at the place where the charge had exploded.
The rocket fuel slowed the asteroid down to a point where it was barely
turning, and Rip was glad he had been cautious. The heavier charge would
have reversed it a little.
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