Shortly after dining together, they settled down in their seats as the plane got ready to land. Alex and Lea sat next to one another now. Marty said "see, Alex, I told you that you'd feel better if you'd just told her."
"Thanks, Marty" Alex replied.
Later, the plane touched down at Cape Canaveral. The animals got off the plane and went into a waiting area where they were briefed on their new home for the week and the layout of the zoo and its escape pods. According to the lecture, the escape pods contained enough food, water, and oxygen rations to last a full load of 52 animals per pod 27 years. The oxygen rations were helped by the fact that nearly 65 percent of the pods were home to an array of hydroponic plant life.
After the lecture, Alex said "well, they seem to be prepared for a worst-case scenario. The individual habitats of glass enclosures are another plus."
The animals then boarded a small bus and headed out to the launch pad. Above them, towered the massive Space Shuttle Atlantis. They transferred to the elevator to get up to the shuttle. Once inside, they had to twist and contort to access a special temporary passenger area that was actually inside the shuttle's cargo area; linked to the main cabin's air lock.
Gloria sat down and looked at the view on a TV screen made to look and behave like a window. "I can't see much of anything aside from the side of the launch tower" she complained.
Alex said "don't worry, it'll improve after lift-off." Once they were all seated with their seatbelts fastened, the flight crew arrived, and the hatch closed. Right then, the excitement really mounted.
A controller meanwhile was getting ready for the countdown. "T-minus ten, nine, eight…" he began. The animals, listening in on this, were very excited. "…Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." Right then, the engines roared to life, and the shuttle was on its way. "And lift-off of the Space Shuttle Atlantis for the orbital zoo."
"Orbiting station, here I come" Lea thought. She took hold of Alex's hand and watched the ground drop out rapidly from beneath them all as the shuttle climbed higher and higher. Soon, the engines cut out, and the makeshift seatbelt sign turned off.
"This is your captain speaking. The seatbelt sign has been turned off. You are now really free to move about the cabin."
"What does he mean by that?" Gloria asked.
"I'm sure we'll find out when one of us gets up" Alex replied. With that, he removed his seatbelt, only to let out a whimper of surprise as he floated up out of his seat. He pushed on a seatback and floated towards the back of the cabin well away from the floor.
"I think I get it, now" Gloria said. One by one, they all got up out of their seats and started floating about the cabin.
"This is weird" Melman said.
Marty then caught sight of something outside a window. "Guys, you've got to see this!" he shouted. When they looked, they saw their destination closing in slowly but surely. The shuttle continued to coast closer and closer to the orbiting zoo.