"Ten thousand feet!" yelled Roger.

"Power deck, give me three-quarters thrust!" ordered Vidac. Tom heard
the whine of the rockets on the power deck increase with a sharp surge.

"Seven thousand feet," reported Roger.

Vidac remained cool, staring at the control board. Tom wondered what it
was he was watching, since there wasn't one instrument that registered
properly.

"Five thousand feet!" screamed Roger. "Spaceman's luck!"

[Illustration: _The_ Polaris _landed safely on the surface of the
satellite_]

Immediately Vidac ordered Astro to apply full thrust to the main
rockets. The great ship bucked under the sudden acceleration, and Tom
could feel the tug of war between the cruiser's thrust and the
satellite's gravity. The ship continued to drop at slightly lessened
speed, but still too fast to land safely.

Tom waited for Vidac to order emergency thrust to counter the pull of
the satellite. They were dropping too fast. He watched Vidac and waited
for the only order that would save the ship. If he doesn't do it now,
thought Tom, it will be too late.

"Vidac!" yelled Tom. "Emergency power! We're falling too fast!"