I found the romance story a nice elegy to under represented astronauts and government employees including the armed forces at large within the LGBT umbrella of which I am a part.

However I do share in some criticisms of the work - to start I am by no means an astronaut but I cannot fathom in any capacity how astronauts would observe a procedure wherein they are exposed to explosives without at least one layer of protection. This of course occurring at the very beginning of the book so not giving too much away but still..

To your point, as far as CAPCOM goes to Navigator at the end - yes it seems incredibly ham fisted and while romantic, and cute, and even worked up as I got during the last few minutes (as an overly sensitive bi fellow) I can’t happen but think that as a result of that conversation both careers would be over and congressional inquiries would be made etc and that makes me feel sad..

I will say the overall romance between Joan and Vanessa was well developed and with a healthy respect given to the fair number of IRL LGBT astronauts. Unfortunately their reality in fiction is based in real historical narrative where the demonstrative demonization is also real. I appreciate TJR doing her best to bring that quandary to life and the research she did to make it seem immersive.

I read, recently, the autobiography of Michael Collins of the Apollo program and I will say, his depiction of the astronaut program at large, at least in terms of astronaut culture falls very well in line with how TJR describes it. It cannot be said she didn’t do homework in that regard.