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                           SATELLITE PASSAGE

                         BY THEODORE L. THOMAS

                 _It had to come sooner or later--the
                  perilous moment when Our satellite
                   crossed the orbit of Theirs...._

           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
              Worlds of If Science Fiction, October 1958.
         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]


The three men bent over the chart and once again computed the orbit. It
was quiet in the satellite, a busy quiet broken by the click of seeking
microswitches and the gentle purr of smooth-running motors. The deep
pulsing throb of the air conditioner had stopped: the satellite was in
the Earth's shadow and there was no need for cooling the interior.

"Well," said Morgan, "it checks.