A group headed by Gordon Shanks has constructed its own missile control center and plans to "kidnap" a rocket when it is launched. The rocket carries the new electronic brain of the U.S. missile defense system, which Shanks will sell to a foreign power. In a bid to gain time, Shanks hires Julian Richman to kill Steve and delay the rocket launching. Richman, with access to the Kennedy Space Center, conceives a scheme to eliminate Steve in the high altitude test chamber. Austin, meanwhile, becomes strongly attracted to the beautiful Dr. Leah Russell, a British scientist who is to accompany him on a mission to link up two space satellites.