Summary

The first chapter takes place on December 29th, 1984. Astronaut Joan Goodwin arrives at the Space Center in Houston and proceeds to Mission Control where she will be working as CAPCOM, the person who communicates directly with the crew in space on a shuttle named Navigator. The narration reveals that she is not currently anxious or terrified but that she will be later. Joan begins her shift and communicates for the first time with the astronauts in space, many of whom she counts as close friends or like family. One of them, John Griffin, nicknamed Griff, mentions that he is pleased to hear her voice.

The narration switches perspective to one of the astronauts on the shuttle, Vanessa Ford. Vanessa thinks about her heart monitor and how everything she does in space is being monitored by multiple people on Earth. She wonders whether anyone notices...