“It’s a series of numbers,” he replied.
“Numbers meaning what?”
“If I had to guess, it’s satellite coordinates because I’ve seen them before,” said Edgar. “I haven’t fully deciphered the message, so I don’t know the location of the satellite yet if that’s what it is.”
Sean looked upward. “A bird in the sky? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Eyes in the heavens,” said Michelle. She looked thoughtful as she took a sip of coffee. “How much does a sky bird cost?”
“It could be a lot,” said Edgar. “You have to build it first and that’s not cheap. Then you have to get it up there, and that’s not cheap either. Most people with such a need just rent space on an existing platform.”
“You can do that?” said Michelle. “Rent space on a satellite just like you would an apartment?”
Edgar nodded as he kept clicking keys. “Done all the time. There are businesses devoted to it. Some of the satellites the government uses are rented from commercial companies.”
“The government?” said Sean. “But how do you maintain security?”
“There are a number of ways. Sometimes you rent the whole satellite.”
“Must really be big bucks involved,” said Sean.
“Like a billion euros?” replied Michelle.
That comment drew a sharp glance from him. “Is that what you’re thinking? Someone bought a satellite? Why?”
Michelle took another sip of coffee. “I don’t know. But if sats are expensive, a billion euros would certainly come in handy.”
“Yes they would,” added Edgar.
Sean said, “Edgar, what would it cost to buy or rent a satellite?”
Edgar used his left hand to start clicking keys on another keyboard, with the results popping up on another screen. All the while his right hand clicked away on the first keyboard. His gaze darted between the two screens.
“A lot depends on the size and reach of the satellite,” explained Edgar. “Building one can cost from half a billion up to two billion. They can be as small as half a ton all the way up to the size of a truck weighing a couple of tons. But there are other varieties. I call them burners.”
“Why is that?” asked Michelle.
“You can build them on the cheap, say a million bucks or less, get them up to position on a rented rocket along with other payload. You lease the platform out to as many paying customers as you can get, sometimes for a few hundred bucks a week to get your investment back plus a decent profit, and a couple of years later the bird drifts back to earth and burns up in the atmosphere. Hence the term burner.”
“But these cheaper satellites, they wouldn’t have the reach of the more expensive ones.”
“Of course not. Even in space you get what you pay for. Gravity not included.” Edgar smiled and looked at Sean. “That was a joke.”
“Yeah, I got it. So how many satellites are in the sky?”
Edgar clicked more keys. “Over a thousand. Most are owned and operated by the U.S., Russia, and China divided among civil, commercial, government, and military applications. But lots of countries own all or pieces of satellites. Most commercial satellites are in what is called geosynchronous orbit, as opposed to low-earth orbit where governments have the most platforms.”
“And satellites are used principally for…?” asked Michelle.
“Communications,” answered Edgar promptly. “Moving information around the world at speed. Phone service, navigation, computer networks, whatever. The Wall depends on them, which means so do I.”
Sean looked off, thinking. “If Alan Grant bought or rented a satellite, what would be his reason?”
“Spying?” said Michelle.
Sean looked doubtful. “For whom? And why the billion-euro theft? Edgar said you could rent space on a satellite for a lot less than that. And Grant has to be the source for the blog. The administration is taking incredible heat over it. You saw how worried President Cole looked. And if this whole thing is payback for what happened to Grant’s father during Iran-Contra, then the satellite must figure into the plan the man has.”
Sean put down his coffee cup and pointed at the screen. “Edgar, can you find a list of commercial satellite operators?”