Voyage (novel) - Characters

Characters

• Natalie York. An intelligent but cynical female geologist training to become the first American female astronaut (almost parallel to Sally Ride, but she is never mentioned in the book). 'Ares' Mission Specialist. She seemingly acts as the book's protagonist and a characterized incarnation of Baxter's views of NASA and humanity's destiny in space, an all-knowing archetype character used predominantly in Baxter's other novels.
• Phil Stone. A Former U.S. Air Force test pilot who in this timeline, was the last to fly the X-15 rocket plane and the first pilot to ever recover from a hypersonic spin. He becomes an astronaut following the moon landings to fly the Apollo/Moonlab missions. 'Ares' Mars Mission Commander.
• Ralph Gershon. A U.S. Air Force pilot once involved in illegal CIA operations in Cambodia during the Vietnam War, and joins NASA afterward to help develop the first Mars lander. 'Ares' MEM (Mars Excursion Module) Pilot.
• Ben Priest. York's love interest and fellow astronaut, flight engineer/LEM-less pilot of the doomed Apollo-N mission.
• Gregory Dana. Aerospace Engineer and Nazi death-camp survivor, responsible for the redevelopment of the Mars Mission profile.
• JK Lee. Director and Chief Engineer of Columbia Aviation, responsible for building the MEM and very dedicated (if not obsessed) to the task.
• Mike Conlig In charge of developing the NERVA engine, and York's estranged boyfriend.
• Hans Udet. NASA director of the Mars project and a big supporter of NERVA, and former Nazi rocket scientist. Gregory Dana despises him for being the man in charge of the death camp where Dana was held.
• Bert Seger. NASA manager who worked for both Fred Michaels and Joe Muldoon.
• Joe Muldoon. Second man on the Moon (a parallel of Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin) and a prominent figurehead and manager in the development of the Mars mission.
• Chuck Jones. A surly astronaut (a parallel of Wally Schirra and Malcolm Scott Carpenter) who was the second American to orbit the Earth, Phil Stone's fellow Moonlab veteran, and commander of the doomed Apollo-N mission.
• Fred Michaels. NASA Administrator from 1969 to 1981, a parallel of James E. Webb.
• Jim Dana. Astronaut, son of Gregory Dana, Command Module Pilot of the doomed Apollo-N.
• Adam Bleeker. Astronaut and geologist-in-training, Moonlab veteran and contender for the position of 'Ares' Mission Specialist along with Natalie York, but taken off flight status due to concerns about cumulative radiation exposure from long duration space missions.
• Vladimir Viktorenko. Cosmonaut, Apollo/Soyuz/Moonlab veteran and friend of Joe Muldoon and Natalie York.