Riders to the Stars

A group of highly qualified single men is recruited for a top-secret project. They endure rigorous physical and psychological testing to determine fit for the mission. Dr. Richard Stanton develops an attraction to Dr. Jane Flynn during the process. After most candidates are eliminated, the four remaining are told the true purpose of the program.

Stanton's father, Dr. Donald Stanton, leads the project, which aims to recover meteor samples before they enter Earth's atmosphere. By studying the meteors' outer shells, they hope to learn how to protect space hardware from cosmic ray-induced brittleness. The team realizes they are preparing for crewed space travel to perform this unprecedented task.

Three one-man rockets are launched a couple of hundred miles into space to intercept the meteor swarm. Walter Gordon makes the first run, but the meteor is too large for the scoop, and his ship is destroyed in the collision.

Gordon's ship is destroyed and his space-suited body drifts weightless toward Lockwood's view screen. The sight triggers Lockwood's mental breakdown as he stares at the skeletal figure in space. In a panic, he fires his rocket engines and blasts away from Earth, heading into deep space toward his doom.

Stanton's run misses the main meteor swarm, but a stray meteor crosses his orbital path, presenting a salvage opportunity. Ground control warns that pursuing it could burn up too much fuel and jeopardize re-entry, but he decides to chase the stray anyway.

Stanton proceeds with the chase, snags the stray meteor in time, and secures it for return. He then prepares for the dangerous re-entry, believing the meteor sample will yield valuable data, despite the risk of burning up from fuel usage.

Stanton makes a crash-landing back on Earth with the meteor secured, surviving the re-entry with the sample intact. The team celebrates the mission's success despite the peril and risk involved in the pursuit.

Back at the base, Stanton's heroism is acknowledged and he receives a kiss from Dr. Jane Flynn. The moment underscores the personal connection formed during the tense mission and the emotional payoff of the ordeal.

The recovered meteor is opened for examination, revealing an outer coating of crystalline pure carbon. This unexpected composition hints at new materials science that could influence future rocket and space-station design.

The discovery of a carbon outer coating provides critical insight into protecting metals from cosmic radiation, enabling the development of safer rockets and space stations. The team realizes the potential to revolutionize space travel through this material science breakthrough.

The mission demonstrates that crewed space travel can achieve unprecedented scientific sampling under extreme risk. The success story suggests a new era of exploration and materials research in space. The team begins planning further missions leveraging the new data.

The outer coating's crystalline carbon discovery promises safer propulsion and habitat technologies for future space programs. The United States gains a key advantage in space engineering as a result of the mission's findings. The meteor sample becomes a cornerstone for future designs.