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release…three…two…one…release!  No, wait…damn it.  Houston, we do not have separation.  SCIEXSAT is still engaged with the arm.”
    Susan had a sudden twinge of fear along with a flashback of her dream, hanging motionless in the water as the dolphins disappeared in the darkness.  A sense of impending doom started to grow.  She forced herself to think about the satellite and the probe mechanism and how they worked together.  Susan took a deep breath to compose herself and suggested that Jerry try to jerk the arm back and forth to jolt the mechanism into action.  Jerry complied as best as he could but the arm was not designed for such rapid movements and the satellite was still stuck fast. 
    Ivan’s voice popped in over the intercom, “If we bring the satellite back into the bay Susan and Jill may be able to release it and then I can drop the shuttle out of the way.”
    “No, that won’t work,” came Jill’s voice in response, “the satellite needs to be a hundred meters or more away from the shuttle before we can use the maneuvering rockets, otherwise the rockets will contaminate the new plates on the satellite.”
    Mission Control broke in. “The experts down here think that the ejection mechanism on the probe can be triggered manually.  Jill could ride up with the satellite and trip the ejector once it’s in position.”
    “What do you think about a little ride, Jill?” Susan asked.
    “Hey, sounds like fun!  With the clamp-on footrest I should be able to get in position to trip the ejector.”
    “Houston, did you copy that?” Susan asked, all the while feeling more apprehensive.  She could feel her stomach turning into a knot and was feeling slightly nauseous. 
    “Susan, we got that. We will work up a checklist for the manual launch.  It should not take too long.”
    “Copy that,” Susan responded. “We’ll be ready in about ten minutes.”
    Jerry carefully brought the satellite back down into the payload bay and Jill proceeded to secure the footrest on the shuttle’s arm.  Susan took advantage of the break to give Paul some time on his experiment.  Within a few minutes, Mission Control sent up instructions to Jill and she began the preparations on the satellite.
    Susan finished another round with Paul and glided over to see if she could help Jill.  “How is it going?” Susan asked as she closely examined the satellite for the first time.  She was very curious to see how it had weathered being in space for over a year.  As far as she could see, there was nothing obvious to indicate that it had been exposed to the rigors of space for such a length of time, except that the exposed metal parts were not quite as shiny as she thought they might be.
    “I’ve almost got the last screw out of the cover plate…there, that’s it.” Jill carefully stowed the screws and the cover plate in a pouch Velcroed to her suit. She peered inside the assembly and with the screwdriver started to explore the mechanism. “It looks like the grease that was used to lubricate this has plasticized.  It’s quite hard.”
    “We copy that, Jill,” Mission Control said, “can you see the ejector spring below the probe shaft on the right?”
    “Ah…wait, I need some more light here.  Susan, can you help me with the light?”
    “Sure,” Susan turned on a flashlight and directed the beam down inside the probe assembly, “How’s that?”
    “Great. Yes, I can see the ejector spring and the release trigger is just at the end of the spring.” Jill breathed a sigh of relief at her discovery.
    “Good work, Jill.  Now remember when you trip the trigger you may need to prod the spring if the lubricant is too stiff.”
    “Roger that, Mission Control.  I think that may be the case, this stuff is really stiff!  I think that I’m all set to go for a ride.”
    “I’m ready when you are, Jill,” Jerry said. “Be sure to observe the fasten your seat belts and no smoking sign.  And, as always,