Thomas Alonzo Quinn is heir to the powerful Quinn Corporation. Since he was a boy, he has dreamed of building a solar sail spacecraft that could travel to the planets. Gifted with the intellect to make that dream a reality, he was held back by his father who had a more pragmatic vision of his son's future. However Quinn was not about to be held back. Through the computer, he invented an alter ego that won the confidence of his father's senior engineers. At eighteen years of age, Quinn is a student at MIT who will stop at nothing to see his childhood dream become a reality.
	Jonathan Jefferson is known as the "last man on Mars." He was a member of NASA's Ares II mission and was the last of the team to set foot on Mars. After the astronauts returned home, the President of the United States disbanded NASA and Jefferson went to work as an engineer for Quinn Corp's largest competitor Martin-Intelsoft. Even though he works for the competition, he's the man Quinn Corp goes to when they seek a commander for the Aristarchus.
	Natalie Freeman always wanted to be an astronaut. However, she was born too late. NASA had already been abolished by the time her uncle secured her appointment to the Naval Academy. Even so, she was driven to succeed and ultimately rose through the ranks to become captain of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Daniel B. Sherman. When Quinn Corp announces its plans to build the Aristarchus, Natalie discovers that her childhood dream of becoming an astronaut may come true after all.