" He then traps the other two crewmates in one of the domes that is about to be jettisoned, and they are killed when Lowell releases the dome and blows it up. Lowell then overrides the programming of the service drones so they can perform surgery on his leg, and renames them Huey, Dewey and Louie . They fly through the rings of Saturn. The three drones are outside the ship; Louie's leg gets stuck and he is ultimately blown away from the ship due to the turbulence of the rings. Huey is badly damaged in an accident when Lowell runs into it with one of the ships buggies. After almost a year alone in space, the radio again begins chattering - "Valley Forge, this is Berkshire. " Lowell realizes that his crime is soon to be discovered by a rescue spacecraft, and not only will he face imprisonment or worse, the dome will be destroyed after all. America Race Walking Athletes Lowell chooses to leave Dewey in charge of the last dome, jettison it to safety, and destroy himself and the "Valley Forge" with the last of the onboard nuclear weapons. The final, ostensibly poignant scene is of the forest greenhouse tended by the sole remaining robot, with a battered watering can. "