Gemini 17 — Brad R. Torgersen

An alternate-history story, from a space program that... could have been. Nebula award nominee and Analog Science Fiction and Fact author Brad R. Torgersen tells the tale of Malachi Washington, Astronaut, during the days of President Kennedy's second term, when the double-front wars in Vietnam and Cuba begin to cut NASA's funding, and the Soviet Union's robust N1 super-boosters threaten to plant the Communist flag on the moon. When disaster strikes, it's up to Mal to devise a way to complete his mission. If he fails, it won't his burden alone. Along the way, he finds help in the most unexpected place in the solar system, and a partner who will be instrumental in deciding both of their fates.