Tech: Reusable rockets + orbital salvageJob: Mission-control junior + orbital mechanicAuthors: E. H. Ackerman & J. D. AckermanARQS Press
Reading band: Ages 6–11Headline tech: Reusable rockets and orbital salvageThe job: Mission-control junior and orbital mechanicLocation: Sunloop Rocket Port, red-stone coast above the Equator
The Hook
After their reef-hotel shift, the Crew reaches a rocket port where a used booster is coming home. Captain Imani Voss needs junior mission-control workers—but Jay’s snack spoon has magnetic plans.
Cast in this issue
Tray — 10-year-old planner with countdown notes.
Jay — 8-year-old chaos engine guarding a moon cookie.
Rae — 12-year-old engineer with pay questions.
Captain Imani Voss — Sunloop mission director.
Glitch — floating bot, assigned to announce numbers.
Comic Pages
PAGE 1
PANEL 1Red cliffs frame a launch pad. A craft descends while everyone watches from the marked deck. DAD MODE, from Rae’s phone: “Be careful!” JAY: “Dad Mode is on speaker; the rocket can hear him.” RAE: “Helmet on, Jay.” JAY: “Bet. My brain is now officially protected.”
PANEL 2Captain Voss shows the control room and robotic-arm model. CAPTAIN VOSS: “Your job titles are mission-control juniors and orbital mechanics. You log sensor colors, check the recovery robot, and stay behind the yellow line.” TRAY: “Rules, received.” RAE: “What is the wage?” CAPTAIN VOSS: “One hundred fifty dollars for a careful shift.” JAY: “No cap, that is a galaxy-sized flex.”
PANEL 3Rae points to a booster diagram. RAE: “Kid words: a reusable rocket comes back, gets checked, and flies again instead of becoming one-and-done trash.” TRAY: “And orbital salvage?” RAE: “Robots safely collect old equipment for reuse.” JAY: “So it’s a recycling bin with astronaut manners.”
PAGE 2
PANEL 4Glitch rolls a recovery robot beneath a practice rack. GLITCH: “Beginning salvage dance.” BOLD CAPTION: THE ROBOT SPINS A LITTLE TOO HAPPILY, WEARING THREE ORANGE SAFETY CONES LIKE A PARTY HAT.CAPTAIN VOSS: “That is not in the manual.” RAE: “It is in the comedy appendix.”
PANEL 5Tray reads the green sensor bar. TRAY: “Landing legs green. Fuel area closed. Recovery path clear.” Jay peers through a window at the returning booster settling gently on a distant pad. JAY: “It landed standing up! I can barely land standing up after a nap.”
PANEL 6Rae adds the Magnet-Tip Grabber and tests it on a bolt. JAY: “Hold my juice box. I can help.” His metal spoon zips from his hand and sticks to the grabber. BOLD CAPTION: JAY’S COOKIE TILTS, THE SPOON DANGLES, AND GLITCH ANNOUNCES, “SNACK HAS ENTERED ORBIT.”JAY: “My spoon has career goals.”
PAGE 3
PANEL 7Glitch hears “collect panel B” as “collect panel bee” and chases a harmless bee-painted inspection drone. GLITCH: “Bee located. It is very rectangular.” TRAY: “Sus. Pause robot.”
PANEL 8Tray highlights the code; Jay matches the picture; Rae places the bolt. CAPTAIN VOSS: “You stopped, checked, and corrected. That is real mission control.” RAE: “Slow is smooth. Smooth is paid.”
PAGE 4
PANEL 9Technicians inspect the booster while the kids log from the safe control room. BOLD CAPTION: GLITCH’S CONE PARTY HAT SLIDES ONTO A MODEL ROCKET.JAY: “Reusable means it gets a glow up, not a goodbye.” CAPTAIN VOSS: “Exactly. Engineers inspect every piece before it earns another flight.” TRAY: “I put the inspection list in the app.”
PANEL 10Captain Voss transfers pay beside recovered metal. The jar gleams. CAPTAIN VOSS: “You earned this by following the rules and fixing the mix-up.” TRAY: “Ledger: $827.00 plus $150.00 equals $977.00.” JAY: “We are hyped and only medium covered in cookie crumbs.” RAE: “Mizz Zee’s next listing says Nana wants a startup pitch. That tracks.”
Tech Talk with Rae
RAE’S PANEL-IN-A-BOX: Reusable rockets bring parts back for inspection and another trip. Salvage robots collect old equipment. A magnet grabs metal—and Jay’s spoon. TRY IT: List three repairable things.
The Job Board
Job title: Mission-control junior and orbital mechanic
Who hired us: Captain Imani Voss, mission director at Sunloop Rocket Port
Rules of the job: Wear helmets, stay behind yellow, read the checklist, never touch machinery.
What went wrong: Glitch chased a bee-painted drone, not the practice panel.
How we fixed it: Tray stopped the robot, Jay matched the picture, and Rae secured the bolt.
What we got paid: $150.00; the Crew Bank ledger grew from $827.00 to $977.00.
Slang Decoder
No cap** — truly.Flex** — a proud cool thing.Sus** — something that seems mixed up or suspicious.Glow up** — an improvement.Hyped** — very excited and ready.
A rocket booster is coming home, and Sunloop needs junior mission-control workers. Tray has the checklist, Rae has the recovery robot, and Jay has a moon cookie—until a magnet grabs his spoon. Can the Crew recycle rocket parts? Nana’s next job needs official approval…
Create a full-colour comic cartoon at Sunloop Rocket Port, with clean ink, saturated mustard, teal, lime, purple, orange, coral, and desert-coast light. Show Tray exactly as locked: warm brown skin, short curly black hair with a lightning-bolt shaved part on the left, chunky blue smart glasses with camera dot on the right lens, mustard-yellow gear-patch hoodie, teal cargo shorts, orange sneakers, and slim backpack with drone zipper pull; Jay exactly as locked: lighter brown freckled skin, wild black hair, missing front tooth, lime rocket shirt, red shorts with gadget pocket, one striped and one polka-dot sock, purple glowing-lace sneakers; and Rae exactly as locked: dark brown skin, two long black braids with gold bead cuffs, purple rolled-sleeve utility jumpsuit, goggles on forehead, smartwatch on right wrist, silver-and-pink high-tops, and tool belt displaying the new Magnet-Tip Grabber. Include their helmets, a distant safely landed booster, Captain Voss, and Jay’s spoon stuck to Rae’s grabber while his cookie wobbles.
Issue 20 appears in the collection Tray & Jay: World Explorers with its full-colour comic
illustration, Tech Talk page, Job Board card and Slang Decoder.
