2001: A Space-Time Odyssey

[Michel Van]

Do hope the Skylab program evolves into being able to dock with the Space Shuttle ore what ever spacecraft shows up here.

I have something special for That

 

[Michel Van]

Soviet space activity in 1973

Finally after technical problems and delays the first Salyut OS-7K station and Soyuz 7K-7 arrived at Baikonur in 1973
Salyut program start in November 1967 scheduled for launch in spring 1971
OKB-1 leading the project reused old study for manned Heavy interplanetary Spacecraft (Russian abb. TMK) by G U Maksimov in 1959.
1965 the study underwent a revision, finally to redesign in 1968 to a Orbital Station launch by Proton rocket.
But in 1970 Salyut ran into problems, OKB-1 was running at full capacity, with building rockets,
the Lunar program and the Space Station program suffering from lack of personnel and material.
MoM order of OKB-52 to help build the Station on OKB-1 plans, there was a certain irony that they had to build the space station.
Their boss Vladimir Chelomei had proposed his Almaz, a military space station to MoM, what had refused the proposal.
Because Chelomei demand on development of the UR-500 rocket and TKS spacecraft.
Although the Boss of OKB-52 could have be happy to do something for the space race,
He went to Military complaining about the status of Salyut program and promoted Almaz.
Military-industrial Commission Chairman Ustinov was not amused at all, about Chelomei arrogant behaviour,
MoM had enough of Chelomei's escapades and fired Him, with this OKB-52 became branch of OKB-1!

As Mishin and Maksimov finally could overlook OKB-52 operation, they discovered Chelomei had been neglecting the Salyut project.
OKB-52 engineers in the mean time modified the construction to leave out unnecessary parts and systems,
Like a second docking port or installing four Soyuz solar panel for power supply on first two station.
In the mean time OKB-1 modified the Soyuz for the space station, the 7K-7 feature a docking tunnel.
But the first unmanned test of Soyuz 7K-7 in January 1972 ended in decompression of Return Module
reducing the planned crew from three cosmonauts to two cosmonauts with pressure suit.

Finally on 11 May 1973, Salyut 1 was launched successful into a 200 x 222 km orbit. as second Space Station in space.
Three day later Soyuz 19 launched with Vladimir Shatalov and Nikolai Rulavihnikov on board,
on 15th of May Soyuz 20 docked with station and the crew enter it.
During first days the crew checked the station's functions and it's onboard system and equipment.
After that they tested the station automatic and manual controls for orientation & navigation and maneuvering the Station.
The mission ended after 30 days.

In July Soyuz 21 launched with Oleg Makarov and Victor Patsayev on board,
Upon entering the station they found bad surprise a smoky atmosphere do fault in ventilation system.
They had to replace burn blower and spent the next day in Soyuz until the air was clean again.
Despite this their mission was productive on experiments and observations.
But on day 11 a fire broke out on station (first case in space) which almost lead to them abandoning the station,
but after putting out the fire they stayed for total 30 days on board, then return to Earth.
Finally an unmanned Soyuz (as Cosmos 557) dockt with Salyut and remained 3 months for long-duration test of spacecraft storage.
It carry several experiments in return capsule, after 175 days Salyut 1 reenter the Earth atmosphere and burned up.

The three mission show that Salyut station was operational and it's Crew could manage its problems like fires on board.
Now it was the turn for the military and their OSP-7k version of Salyut, featuring reconnaissance cameras, scheduled to be launch in April 1974.

Soyuz 22 Mission
After the Disaster of Soyuz 18 modifications were made, like re-orientation of Spacecraft during Solar Flare.
So Block D propellants tanks and the LK Lander would shield the crew, also Protective blankets with metal fibres.
additional medication in case of Radiation sickness. this could protect the crew toward the moon, on return trip quite less.

This time the Soviets tried to land at higher latitude than the Americans had for moment,
thanks to performing translunar injection at 51° orbital inclination.
The target lied in between Sinus iridum and Mare Imbrium.
The goal of the Mission was to collect sample container from Lunokhod 10 and to take core drill samples at landing site.
On July 14 Pyotr Klimuk and Valentin Lebedev were launch to Moon.
Klimuk landed near Lunokhod 10 on July 20 after a flawless mission he returned 6 hours later to LOK,
72 hours later and Zond 19 landed in the USSR.

The results were interesting to say the least:
Sinus iridum was part of Mare Imbrium, disproving the theses of professor Harold C. Urey.
Lunokhod 10 took samples showing new type of Basaltic rock rich on titanium-iron oxide mineral from mare Imbrium.
Also showing it had a high concentrations of potassium. but very low on thorium.

Soyuz 23 Mission
Near end of year follow next lunar mission again to land on higher Latitude.
This time Sinus Roris south east of Lunar crater Markov, named after the famous Soviet Astrophysicist.
Lunokhod 11 travel around 39 km and collected samples.
Lev Vorobiyov and Valeri Yazdovsky launched with Soyuz 23 on December 12th.
Vorobiyov landed the LK near the Rover on the 17th December.
Sadly the drill got stuck, so Vorobiyov had no drill sample and so he only return with surface sample back to Earth,
Were they land on December 21.
The samples show that Sinus Roris was extension of Oceanuns Procellarum

A proposal of the Soviet Academy of Science was taking shape
In 1970 they proposed to train Geologists as cosmonauts and LK pilots
Head of the Cosmonaut team Vladimir Komarov expected that next mission could be first Geologists Mission.

Inter Continental Ballistic Missile
At same time the USSR Military had accelerated work on new ICBM to replace the R-16.
Because the USA had conducted in last three years a series of test that troubles the KGB and Military.
First were Test of multiple independently reentry vehicle with Minuteman carry three warhead dummies over the Pacific.
Second was the drop test of Minutemen from C-5 Galaxy to test Air-launch ICBM.
Third was a project called Missile eXperimental (MX in short).
For new generation of Land-based ICBM with 10 to 20 warheads and total new deployment system.

This led Soviets to overthink there ICBM concept and to create new opportunities,
Like modified the already in work R-36 to adapt for multiple independently reentry vehicle
Other option was to D&R new ICBM with Solid motor on a Mobile launcher like Train, Aircraft or ground vehicle,
This would be ready only in 1980s.
But there was a faster way, the Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS)
This would in case of War launch a nuclear warhead into low orbit
Were it can attack the target from any side, like USA from south were NORAD early waring system was most vulnerable.
and only with waring of under three minutes, FOBS would go perfect with new R-36 ICBM.
Despite the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 that forbid Nuclear weapons in Earth orbit, it did not ban launch system.
Tests of FOBS without a warhead would not violate the treaty.

 

[lordroel]

Soviet space activity in 1973

Soyuz 22 Mission

Soyuz 23 Mission

So these are Luna missions instead of OTL space missions, will the missions of OTL be done by other Soyuz missions.

 

[Michel Van]

So these are Luna missions instead of OTL space missions, will the missions of OTL be done by other Soyuz missions.

yes original was Soyuz build for manned Lunar landing
later they adapted the Spacecraft for Salyut mission after Lunar program was cancelled

Hier the Lunar landing were first, follow by Salyut program
they just continue numbering on Soyuz Mission

 

[Michel Van]

European Space Program 1961-1974

In 1959 as MBRM Blue Streak program was stopped, the British politicians had a problem,
what to do with hardware and engineers working on it?
Building a Satellite launcher was evident, but they had a lack of money, so they looked for partners.
In the Commonwealth organisation only Australia showed interest to cooperate,
but on the European side they found a very interesting partner.
France looked for a Joint Venture in Rocket hardware development, especially for their Military program.
(after February 1961 this french program became a top Priority)
During several meetings in 1961 of the Committee on Space Research, the Europeans came to agreement for a joint-venture in Space.

The European Space Effort was organized similar to CERN and segmented in two units:
The European Space Research Organization (ESRO): Scientific Research of space by probe or satellite.
And European Launcher Development Organization (ELDO): R&D for European common launch rocket.
With both directorates installed in Paris, while ESRO Centers were installed in the Member states,
ELDO was reliant on member state's Aerospace contractors to test their own Hardware.

While ESRO/ELDO was founded in 1961, ELDO became active only in 1964, do to political problems like in Belgium and Italy
In 1962 Belgium had a major political crisis, do the death of U.N. general secretary in Congo by mercenaries,
on the order of Belgian industrialists who tried to defend their interests in the former Belgian colony Congo.
This delayed the convention on agreement, during this time the European ministers gained control over ELDO.
Founding Members were Britain, France, West Germany, followed in 1964 by Italy, Netherland and Belgium,
while Australia cooperated on ELDO by providing a launch site.

ELDO faced problems with building a rocket out of divergent parts from European space programs
but they had no chance to coordinate the rocket development.
That was already in under the control of the Europeans ministers and the contractors tested their own hardware as they liked.
Hawker Siddeley started the first test launch F1 on 5 June 1964 in Australia,
Followed with the F2 to F4 until 1965 the last one with Dummy upper stages.
but the succeeding test flights of Europa rocket were disasters.
On the political side 1966/67 was hard years, the Government of Harald Wilson threatened ELDO with a British withdrawal,
Then came the French with idea to stop work on the Europa rocket and go for more advance rocket for communications satellite into Geostationary orbit.
In the end Britain reduced their funding to ELDO from 38% to 27%,
the other member covered the loses and the French got the Europa-2 rocket.
In the mean time the French start to build there Europa-2 launch center on the coast of French Guiana, South America

In 1969 NASA asked ESRO/ELDO and others for a Joint-venture on Odyssey program,
particularly in the Space Shuttle & Space Tug programs and space probes.
But it was the wrong signal for European ministers, who looked to benefit their own Nation, not in a cooperation under ELDO or ESRO
Allot of studies were made for NASA who expected a different view on there problems,
only to find same solution offers by US companies.
Except two ideas: a German modular science laboratory rack for the Shuttle/Station and
Canada proposal for a robotic manipulator arms for Space tug.
Meanwhile the Wilson Government again threatened, with terminate production of Blue Streak.

On April 1970 at ESC Meeting they Minsters started the selection of Europa-3, five design were consider:

A - Blue Streak with Upgraded RZ.2 Engines, with second stage a Hydrogen oxygen propellants with two french HM5 engines, additional solid booster two to four french P-16.
B - complete new French/German design with Hypergol propellants, with second stage a Hydrogen oxygen propellants with one MBB High Pressure engine.
C - Italian design using Hardware from Blue Streak, but build in France with 4x RZ.2 and second stage a Hydrogen oxygen propellants with two RZ.20 engines.
D - German proposal two stage rocket using Hydrogen oxygen propellants with MBB High Pressure engine in the two stages.
E- German-French proposal of a Modular rocket, build from the same stage, 3 to 7 units cluster together and using a Europa 2 third stage

In the end the 3B was selected for the lower cost and higher payload compared to the others proposals,
The Europa-3E design however started with a life of his own, thanks to the West German Government, who supported it as low cost launcher for private enterprise,
A novelty in the German Industry, it led to the foundation of ELGO GmbH a private enterprise in 1974.

The Europa-1 test F9 came close to space in July 1970,
but the payload faring did not separate from third stage and that fall back into earth atmosphere.
On 4 November 1970 came next blow against ELDO at the ESC meeting in Brussels
The New British conservative Minister Frederick Corfield, questioned whether Great Britain even need a Space program!
French Germany Belgium and Netherland reaffirmed cohesion for the Europa rocket project, while Australia, Italy and Britain left ELDO (with the last two remained in ESRO).
Hawker Siddeley would build the Blue Streak on the order of ELDO and no longer under British Ministry of Shipping

On November 5, 1971. Test launch F11 from French Guiana was a fiasco, 105.7 second after launch the Europa 2 broke apart.
The 1972 Investigation Report on F11 launch failure show the disastrous condition of ELDO program.
Modification and complete overwork on Europa-2 would delay the next launch of F12 to late summer of 1973.
At the same time at CNES, two engineers looked into a low cost alternative to the Europa-3 rocket they called E3S (S for Substitution)

In Mean time ESRO and Germany, Italy, France and Canada signed cooperation treaty for NASA Odyssey Program.
It include for ESRO cooperation on the program offering Europan Astronauts and experiments on US missions
and join venture on Space probe,
While West Germany, Italy, France and Canadian Aerospace industries provided parts for mission hardware,
NASA offered to launch their satellites, provided they were for civilians use only.

On December 20th came the deathblow for ELDO during a meeting of Europan minister in Brussels about the Future of the European Spaceflight program.
Again the Belgium’s were to blame,
Thanks to the Christian Democratic government of Gaston Eyskens VI,
The minister for Science was Theodore Lefèvre who knew well the European Space program and had talent to manage the Meeting.
Sadly he died of cardiac arrest before it, do political partisanship the successor had to be a flemish Christian Democrat,
not someone with experience...

And so Placide De Paepe became the new Minister of Science, a man specialized in the linguistics of Flemish and it’s Culture !
He was not a match for his European Colleagues, who first impression of De Paepe was of a fiddling little Belgian.
In this Situation the West German Minister Klaus von Dohnanyi took control of meeting
His argument was simple and easy: after almost 10 years and 11 mostly failed Rocket launches,
it’s time to stop and wrap up ELDO and launch ESRO satellite with US rockets.
What the French opposed after several debate, the Germans and French found in a compromise.
ELDO would be closed, work on Europa rockets project terminate.
France proposed a scaled down Europa III Version called E3S nicknamed "Phoenix“ to build by France taking 62.5% program cost,
In exchange the French supported the German effort for ESRO to join the US Odyssey Program Space Station III.
On the End survived from two space agency only ESRO and it's programs and
The French/German state "Phoenix“ project on collaboration with ESRO.
During the entire meeting Placide De Paepe was reduced to an ignored bystander.

February 1974 ELDO became a sub-branch of ESRO,
They closed there office in 34 Avenue Marceau in Paris and moved to ESRO headquarter at 114 avenue de Neuilly in Paris.
The majority of ELDO employee left, some returned home to help their National effort on Odyssey program,
but most of them join ELGO GmbH.
In Britain the conservative Government trashed and scrapped the last remains of their rocket projects.

But on April 2, 1974 french president George Pompidou died in office, succeeded by Valèry Giscard d’Estaing, a conservative.
One of his first action was to terminate the "Phoenix" and other prestige programs, in favor of modernizing of french military.
The German government was furious about the termination of Phoenix without consulting them.
They had spend one Billion Deutsch Mark on Europa 3 and the Phoenix project for nothing.
ESRO's proposal to order US Delta rockets and launch them from French Guyana was refused by the French government.
So ESRO increased their cooperation with NASA to launch european satellites.
The last hope for the moment was private enterprises such as ELGO GmbH to build a European launch rocket.
Meanwhile the French space organization CNES salvaged the left overs of the Phoenix program like the the Viking engines,
incorporated into new program of Diamant C

 

[Hood]

I'm enjoy this AU a lot! Can't wait to see how it progresses.

 

[Michel Van]

Skylab 5-9 (1974-1975)

That Soviets launch Space Station Salyut, open way for launch of Skylab B
but the Space Station II needed complete overwork, eliminating design errors found on Space Station I.
Under supervision of Robert F. Overmeyer the Work went well,

Finally on October 15, 1974 the Skylab 5 was launched on two-stage Saturn V in it's unmanned configuration.
While intended as a near-clone of the original, Skylab 5 was markedly different in that
Now the station support four 90 day missions performing a 360 day continuous occupation of the station.

While Skylab 1 was abandoned by a departing crew and spent a number of months unmanned before the next crew arrived.
Skylab 5 would have rotate crews in and out with new crews arriving just before the previous crew leaves,
(made possible by the two ports). To facilitate this mission durations were to be extended slightly to 90 days.

Skylab 6 launched October 16th 1974, just following the launch and successful deployment of Skylab 5.
It's crew Vance D. Brand, Don L. Lind and William B. Lenoir with it's focus centred around the solar sciences and astronomy.
This was the third NASA crew to experience New Year's in Space (Skylab 2 in 1972-1973)
and the third to spend Christmas in space (Apollo 8 in 1968 and Skylab 2).
After a 90 day mission they parachuted safely into the pacific ocean on January 14th 1974.
The following crew was supposed to launch the previous day, but was delayed to January 14th
Do to a technical failure in the computers systems at Mission Control.

Skylab 7 crew's are Robert Crippen, Henry Hartsfield and Karl Gordon Henize
They gathered a substantial amount of astronomical information relating to stellar astronomy, extra-galactic phenomena and nebula/star formation. They returned to Earth three months later on April 14th 1975.
for first time 6 astronauts were in a Space Station together on April 12th.

Skylab 8 crew's Russell L. Schweickart, Eugene A. Cerman, Story Musgrave launched next
Their mission was primarily focused on long duration bio-medical studies (although it was a lesser focus on all Spacelab missions).
Mission and cargo capabilities would be greatly extended if mission durations in excess of 90 days to 120 or 180 days could be sustained. None the less they were ordered back to Earth on July 15th 1975.
Following this mission it became clear that the United States' Earth to Orbit Shuttle (EOS) would be delayed from 1977 to 1978.

Skylab 9's Thomas P. Stafford, Robert Parker and Anthony W. England launched on an Earth observation/survey mission in mid July 1975.
Testing and experimenting with the technologies that would be used on
NASA's Earth Resource Observation System (later renamed Landsat),
the mission emphasised not just the scientific but also practical reasons for spaceflight
(collecting data regarding the earth's weather, climate, agriculture, rainfall patterns, pollution, wildlife patterns, cloud formation patterns etc).
With the last Apollo lunar mission having already returned to Earth, Skylab 9 return the pacific Ocean, on October 1975.
it became the final American spaceflight until the launch of EOS or the media call it The Space Shuttle
EOS one of first mission goals was the rendezvous with Skylab 5.

 

[lordroel]

Skylab 5-9 (1974-1975)

Did Skylab suffer the same problems as OTL.

 

[Michel Van]

Did Skylab suffer the same problems as OTL.

check Post #38 for that

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/2001-a-space-time-odyssey.37979/#post-497173

 

[Michel Van]

Politic of Space


Nixon connects his presidency re-election on the success of Space Race,
He was lucky as Apollo 15, 16 and 17 show the America voters, they were leading in Moon race over Soviets !
Also that Skylab-1 launch near disaster happen after his re-election.
Now on second term Nixon could operate more freely like, his state visit to Communist China
Or negotiate with soviets about more obligatory Strategic weapon Treaty compare to VSATL agreement.

In mean time NASA Administrator George H. W. Bush persuade Henry Kissinger to help him in the diplomatic Effort,
finding international cooperation for Odyssey Programm, therefor ensure protection against cancelation by Capitol Hill.
Kissinger manage to convince the governments of West Germany, Britain, Italy, France, Benelux,
Canada, Australia, Japan even the Swiss to join-venture the NASA Odyssey program.
The Soviet counter this with Intercosmo program

Also was the Aerospace Lobby busy to secure support in Capitol Hill, but there was problem.
There was lacklustre interest of the public in space program, even considers waste of money.
Some people in Aerospace companies P&R department notice this and came with odd solution !
not only advertisement, but also support efforts in Hollywood to promote Space Flight by Movie and TV production.
Hollywood producers were surprised seeing Managers of Big Aerospace companies as investors bringing millions of dollars.
Peanuts compare to the billions the Odyssey program gave them!
But that blessing was connected on condition that they use money on Pro Space Flight Movies.
The beginn was stumbling, the first TV series Earth II had mix results, while Silent Running was environmental-themed.
Other project were cancelled like Capricorn One a scrip about fake mars landing and it coverup.
More successful was Paramount Star Trek Phase II and The Six Million Dollar Man on ABC.
it arouse the interest in Space for Americans again during 1970s
Strangely the Soviets thought in similar lines, so Ministry of Culture order the Soviet film industry to produce pro Space Flight films.

Politic of Oil

The Yom Kippur War changed allot things for the Soviet Union.
A coalition of Arab started surprise attack against Israel on October 6, 1973.
Already early into the conflict Nixon and Kosygin tried to diplomatically stop the conflict.
But real force that ended the War was OPEC, they reduce the Oil production and raised the global price for crude oil from $3 to $12.
While western economies were thrown into chaos, the Soviet Union suddenly had a new export hit: cheap crude oil and Gas
The USSR was not a member of OPEC, so they could sell oil and Gas at lower price than OPEC to the West.
Which brought billions of foreign currencies into Soviet treasury and interesting diplomatic deals with West Germany,
For construction of Gas pipeline from Siberia to Western Europa. a lucrative deal once it was completed !
One result of Oil crisis was that allot nation invest heavy in nuclear power (even the Soviets !)
The other was the US run on the oil fields of Alaska and Gulf of Mexico, followed by Rainbow warriors terrorist attacks !

Politic of Environmental and Terrorism

The growing pollution in industry nations became a serious problem in 1970s.
The Nixon Administration, answer with the creation of
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act in the early 1970s.
But the Environmental group The Don't Make a Wave Committee made a meeting about there Future and Goals,
On voting about how to fight, a narrow majority vote for armed fight and Rainbow Warrior become first eco terrorist group.
In begin Rainbow Warrior make aware of problems of whale hunting and protest against it, gaining support.
But as they start to shoot and killed Whalers and Canadian seal hunter, the support vanish!
and once they start to blow up chemical plants and raid Animal labs, called up the Authority.
off course the Media jump on bandwagon, portray them as dangerous maniac terrorist,
and Hollywood find the perfect movies villains like in the cult classic Invasion USA
Were Chuck Norris fights of a Invasion of eco terrorist group lead by Richard Lynch with plan to blow up US Nuclear plants.

In Other nations the environmental movement had not luck
In France, thanks to TV program 30 minute for free speech were environmentalist make themselves ridiculous.
Even so far that viewers believed to see french version of Monty Python's Flying Circus
While the Far right Front National profiled themselves as political force in that program.
nowadays few french environmentalist protesters are protected by police against angry mob of workers of Nuclear Power plant...

In West Germany the Environmental and Peace movement had serious problem.
There attempt to form a Political Party was prevented do problem in West Germany,
on one side the leftist terrorism had startet guerrilla war in german cities and It's brutal crackdown by the authority.
The Environmental and Peace movement were crush in that conflict,
Either by German authority who belieft they support leftist terrorism, or be attack by Terrorist as "Traitors"
While the German media portray them as dangerous maniac terrorist.

The Soviet Union and East block nor China show interest in there Environmental problems...

 

[Michel Van]

Soviet Space Activity in 1974

Prologue: The USSR's New Richness
The Yom Kippur War ended as OPEC reduce the Oil production and raised the global price for crude oil from $3 to $12.
While western economies were thrown into chaos, the Soviet Union suddenly had a new export hit: cheap crude oil and Gas !
The USSR was not a member of OPEC, so they could sell oil and Gas at lower price than OPEC to the West
What brought billions of foreign currencies into Soviet treasury and interesting diplomatic deals with West Germany,
For construction of Gas pipeline from Siberia to Western Europa.
A lucrative deal once it was completed.
The orthodox Communist screamed murder and mayhem about this dealing with capitalist forces.
Minister of finance Vasily Garbuzov made this famous quote:

I don't care, so long the capitalist pay our price

Next to that were studies by KGB that approve the Deals, because it make Western nation be dependent on Soviets energy,
A excellent way for political extortion, if needed...


Rocket Improvement
It's has a certain irony that USA and USSR were working simultaneously on improving their heavy Rockets.
NASA worked on next generation versions of the Saturn V, while OKB-1 worked on the Nositjel F-version.
This feature new engine the NK-33 and NK-43, an advanced version of NK-15,
High Pressure regeneratively cooled staged combustion cycle engine with unique feature, variable Oxygen-rich combustion,
Allowed variable Thrust level between 50% to 135 %
Thanks to the use of synthetic hydrocarbon rocket fuel called Syntin, which gave those engines a smooth running combustion.
This make the Nositjel family more flexible to launch Payload, especially for the Soyuz version
In Block C the NK-21 engine was replaced by the NK-39 and static NK-9V of Block G was replace by a swivel mounted NK-31
The F-Version feature also improvement on structural design and an advanced "Control of Rocket Engines“ system (KORD)
But this was only a intermediate step toward the N1F-MV, with a Hydrogen/Oxygen upper stages able to launch the L3M complex.
If everything went well in 2 years the N1F-MV would make it test flight, putting the USSR ahead over the American Apollo missions.
First started the series of Soyuz-F and Proton-F launch to test the hardware.

Salyut 2
The military had their chance to test their version of Space stations.
Equipped with the Agat-1 Earth observation Telescope capable of a high resolution of under a meter in combination wide film camera.
The crews had to test the Agat-1 over Baikonur were target sets were installed, they had to photograph it, develop and scan that and transmit to ground in 30 minute.
Next to that they had to study Soviet water pollution, agricultural land, resource deposits and ice building in the Arctic sea
Another thing was the "Rikhter R-23“ gun design for "self-defense“ it had to be tested after second crew ended their mission.

Soyuz 24
On 3 July 1974 the first crew was launch to Salyut 2, on July 4 Yuri Artyukhin and Pavel Popovich docked to the Station.
After accommodation on board the Crew started the Agat-1 test on July 9.
During the 30 day mission the crew completed testing of Agat-1 and
transmitted photos to ground control and dropped film canisters in small return capsules to Earth.
On August 7 the crew returned to Earth, thanks to two hours exercise per day on board the Station,
The crew was better condition than the first missions to Salyut 1

Soyuz 25
On August 1974 the N1 launch with Fyodor Kuznec and Vladislav Volkov on board,
The Lunar rocket made it job and L3 complex reached the Moon's orbit 5 days later.
Soyuz 25 had a novelty: Fyodor Kuznec, the first Geologist Cosmonaut to land on Moon.
A Russian born 1944 in Siberian, he was an aircraft pilot since his teen years,
Who became temporary youth worker for Geological team of Raul-Yuri Ervier, which found in west Siberian oil and gas fields in 1960s.
This led to Kuznec's education to become a geologist, his excellent flying skills with Airplane and Helicopter was notice by the Soviet Academy of Science who proposed him and others for the Soyuz program.
In the following 5 years the 8 candidate underwent hard training selection only two men getting flight status, with Kuznec first to launch.
Also a novelty, Kuznec selected the landing site on Moon, Hadley rille in Mare Imbrium, he expected to find Volcanic evidence.
Lunokhod 12 was launch three months before Soyuz 25 and traveled to the landing site collecting samples before going into to Stand-by mode, very close to Apollo 15 landing side, now transmitting radio landing signal.
This was used by Kuznec for precision landing near Lunokhod 12 between Hadley Rille and north of Spur crater.

On his first EVA he deployed the Soviet flag, the Science package and collected the Sample Container of Lunokhod 12,
Then he used the Rover to drive to Hedley Rille, toward Apollo 15 landing side !

It is strange to walk on Moon, were others were already were here...

During this excursion Kuznec found an unusual stone with white specks in grey regolith,
He realized that this was something interesting and collected it.
The Second EVA Kuznec used the improved Drill and took Core sample and used the Rover for a second drive to Spur crater
Then he return to the LK and back to the Moon's orbit, four days later the Return capsule landed safe in the USSR.

The result were sensational:
Not only did he find green Moon rock (magnesium oxide) and porphyritic Basalt evidence for volcanic activity on moon.
That unusual sample now label "Kuznec rock“ is oldest piece of Lunar material found, 4.1 billion years old.
But then came accusation by US politicians claiming that, this was Spy mission and Kuznec "stole" American hardware!
In fact the Soviets took this landing side do excellent documentation by Apollo 15, what Kuznec used to find samples.
yes he took several photos of abandon NASA equipment, but not took Hardware back to Earth.

Soyuz 25
In September the second mission went to Salyut 2.
Lev Dyomin and Gennadi Sarafanov's mission almost failed as their docking system malfunction
during approach and they had to dock manually to Salyut 2.
After 5 days on board they started the first manned reconnaissance mission from orbit.
That Mission is still classified and will remain so until the year 2024,
Officially they made experiments and studied the human heart and circulatory system under zero gravity.
After a successful mission of 30 day the crew returned to Earth.
19 day after they had left the Station, started the remote testing of the "Rikhter R-23“ gun, the result are still classified,
For Military the results were lacklustre, the same mission profile could be done by unmanned system much cheaper.
They cancelled Soyuz 26 mission and 175 days after launch Salyut 2 reentered the Earth atmosphere and burned up.

Soyuz 26 (previously Soyuz 27)
In December the second Geologist cosmonaut made his lunar flight.
Yevenly myrgjol Sapozbik was internationally known for his research work on the 1908 Tunguska event and
Is the Soviets' top geologist for meteor craters.
At 46 years old he was also the oldest Cosmonaut sent to moon.
He also selected his target: the Small crater of Davy in Mare Nubium,
the crater had unique features 7 km nearby a linear string of 23 tiny craters.
Those features were photograph by Soyuz 12 to 15 and Apollo 12 & 16
In Soviet Academy of Sciences believing several geologist, this was of Volcanic origin.
Sapozbik believed otherwise, this could be the result of one meteor broken into piece by tidal effect before impact.
The driver of Lunokhod 13 cursed Sapozbik target choice, they had drive into crater chain and collect samples.
The Lunar rover got stuck in the second to last crater of his tour, so the LK had to land nearby.

The Mission went not like ground control expected,
Sapozbik did not deploy Science package or Soviet flag, but went first to Lunokhod 13.
here he tried to drive the rover by manual control out crater with no luck,
Ground control had to talk harsh to the insolence of Sapozbik ordering him to follow the EVA schedule.
After long discussion Sapozbik returned on foot to the LK put the Sample container in,
Then deployed Science package and went on to collect samples at craters chain,
Again after some dispute with Ground control, he return to LK to take a pause.
On His second EVA he make core Drill sample, stored it in LK and went off to look for Geological feature on crater chain.
Ground control had hand full to persuade Sapozbik to return to LK, as he reach the six hour stay limit.
Finally he took off to lunar orbit, without raising the Soviet Flag or do report over Television (he not activate it )

On return of Soyuz 26 came consequences, Sapozbik was exclude from Cosmonauts corps for insubordination on Lunar surface.
Special the Politburo was angry because Sapozbik not raised the Soviet flag.
Vladimir Komarov was happy that problem Sapozbik was solved,
now he could focusing on the newest hair-raising proposal from the Politburo.

But Sapozbik findings and samples proven his theory that Crater string is made by one and same meteor,
not by volcanic or ejecta from Davy crater.
The result open new question because, the moon gravitational field was not strong enough to brake that meteor.
Sapozbik had new theory that the meteor past Earth to close, brake up by earth tidal effect,
Slingshot them to Moon, were the „chain of Meteor“ impacted.
This idea was heavily disputed by international Scientist, until 1994 with impact of Chain Comet Shoemaker-Levy-Marsden on Jupiter...

 

[Michel Van]

The American Space Activity in 1974

The 1973 Oil crisis hit the Western economies hard,
while the Soviet Economy boomed thanks to high oil prices and increased sales of oil & gas by slightly undercutting the Arabs.
In the United States, politicians were not very happy of this sudden oil dependence by Soviets,
They demanded increased exploitation of their US oil resources.
So the run to the oil fields of Alaska and Gulf of Mexico began,
Followed by Rainbow warriors terrorist attacks and the FBI hunting them down.
One of the technology which boomed during this time was diving equipment for the maintenance drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. The spin offs from these drilling platforms would open the underwater world in 1980s for further development.
in mean time Nuclear Power became important factor for US energy production.

US company PepsiCo. becomes the first American company to sell products in the Soviet Union.

NASA had problems
The originally planned future 4 Apollo missions was cut down do to budget reasons to just 2 launches,
Reason included the Odyssey program's rising costs becoming higher than expected,
Especially the Shuttle Program, while Space Station III Phase-C was put on hold for it’s redesign.
Also Political Fallout of Kuznec affair force the White House to end the "Lunar Diplomacy"

Apollo 19
This was not the usual Apollo mission to Moon, this was an unmanned test launch of first Saturn VB,
An upgraded version, featuring J-2S (S for Simplified) engines in Upper stages, removed the unneeded subsystems for the old J-2.
Even the first stage underwent some little modifications like removal of four fins.
The goal of Apollo 19 was to test the Saturn VB (SA-601) and test the storage of cryogenic propellant.
The third stage S-IVC tank was modified with new insulation between Oxygen/Hydrogen tanks and external ones.
This was to extend the storage for Hydrogen to 15 days and that of Oxygen to 150 days, instead of mere hours in the original design,
That test gave information on a large amount of cryogenic propellant behavior during storage,
useful for future Space Tugs and Nuclear Shuttle.
On May 1974 the Saturn VB blasted from Launch pad 39B, 165 seconds later the second stage ignited and work perfectly.
421 second later the S-IIB performed a short restart of central J-2S engine successfully, before the S-SIVC separated and ignited, Entering park orbit with a record mass of 151 tons (S-IVC with 70 tons propellants and a Masssimulator).
Here started the 5 day orbital storage test in 185 km orbit, monitored by TV cameras.
Then the S-IVC restart it's engine and moved it's Payload into higher orbit around earth of 204 km by 497 km,
we're long term test start, the rest Oxygen remain to 150 days, while remain Hydrogen gas out before 15 days.
The Successful launch of Apollo 19 made the second test unnecessary, the SA-602 would launch Apollo 21 to the moon.

Apollo 20
The last flight of first generation Saturn V,
it's goal was for the J-class mission to north west of the crater Censorinus at Mare Tranquillitates
Original this was a Apollo 15 target as H-class mission, but abandon in favour of J-class mission to Hadley rille.
Fred Haise, William R. Pogue, Gerald P. Carr were launched in September 1974 during low solar activity.
Originally the launch date was the 6th of July 1974 but during countdown, Eugene Kranz got a red phone call.
On the sun a severe solar storm happened, too dangerous for Apollo 20 crew to fly to Moon.
The disappointed crew leave the de-fuel Saturn V, now waiting to "The Space Weather“ to calm.
A launch schedule for August was not available, because of possible interference with the Soviets Soyuz 25 Mission.
Finally September 1974 Apollo 20 launched to the Moon.
Fred Haise and Gerald Carr landed the LM Buzzard right on target, three days after launch.
The standup EVA was usual, they used the LM open top hatch to take panorama picture, stereo 3D-picture, color photos and B/W high resolution pic.
After that the Crew went to sleep, to be fit for the next day's EVA.
On second day, they unpacked the Modularised Equipment Stowage Assembly on the Side of the LM,
it contained EVA equipment for Spacesuits and a TV camera, next came deployment of the Rover and collection of the first samples.
The first Rover drive took them around the LM then went collecting samples,
At nearby small dark crater of 20 meter ø with ejected dark material,
After 6 hours and 30 minute the Crew returned to LM, eat and take deep sleep
On the next morning they conducted the third EVA, then return to lunar Orbit for rendezvous and docking.
In the mean time in CSM Spirit of St Louis, William Pogue was busy with SIM-bay scanning lunar surface and taking photos.
On return trip Pogue make EVA to collect he Data-tapes from SIM-bay.

Apollo 20 was a success with record breaking data.
Not only they found „Immature“ lunar material, nearly untouched by solar wind and micrometeorite bombardment.
but also gave the dark material a surprise: Carbonaceous chonddite.
The dark crater was formed by chondritic meteorite. it was first evidence of such impact on Moon

Helios 1
Meanwhile the Second Saturn IC with Centaur test launch was booked for the German Helios probe,
featuring the Saturn IC's new first stage, using more powerful R-27 engines, a advance Version of H-1.
The Space Probe was West Germany's first interplanetary probe, based on an agreement and
A treaty between West Germany and the United States signed in 1966
For three german probes to be launch by the United States, in 1969 the German parliament ratified the treaty.
MBB as the main contractor was selected to build first space probe outside the USA and USSR.
NASA was surprised by the excellent results of Helios probes. It not only opened up new insight of Sun activity,
but also open the way for German high quality instruments into Americans space probes.

 

[Michel Van]

The Rise and Fall of Super Sonic Transport

It was consider the next logical step for commercial airliners to gain super sonic speeds.
In the early 1960s serious work had begun in the United States, France, United Kingdom and Soviet Union to bring this dream to reality. In 1962 the French and British governments agreed to jointly develop the Concorde, a 100 passenger Mach 2 SST.
In response the Soviet Union develop the Tupolev Tu-144 in 1962 and approved it's development in 1963.
This greatly concerned the American government and Aerospace industry
as it was predicted the vast majority of future passenger jets would be supersonic.
This lead President John F. Kennedy to approve development of an American supersonic transport.
In the end Boeing's 2707 design won the government subsidized contract.
However it's development was mired in technical concerns and a political controversy that almost cancelled the projects.
In 1969 both the Tu-144 and Concorde flew for the first time and each successfully broke the sound barrier.
This reinforced the notion that the United States was falling behind with SST like in Space Race or in Moon Race.
1971 Congress narrowly voted to continue funding of the Boeing 2707-300,
Largely thanks to support from the Nixon administration, and Japan interest in SST and co-finance the project.

1973 the Tu-144 made it's debut at the Biggin Hill International Air Fair Tenth Anniversary.
Westerner journalists commenting, that it looked similar to French/British SST the Concorde, also presented there

Then came the Oil Crisis
Suddenly flying became expensive and a expected SST operation cost became enormous !
Allot of Airlines cancel there orders for Concordes or Boeing 2707-300
Despite technical problem, the Tu-144 began commercial air mail & freight delivery service in 1975,
While preparations for its passenger flights continue.
In 1976 the Concorde entered service with British Airways, AirFrance and Lufthansa. Sales of this SST to airlines was disappointing,
Boeing delay the Development of 2707-300 for modification on lower speed and lower operation cost.
The Tu-144 entered service with the Soviet state airline Aeroflot In 1977,
First on inland flights from Moscow to Alma-Ata and later flights from Moscow to London.
These passenger flights were highly subsidised and plagued by technical issue from takeoff to landing.

1978 was the introduction of the Boeing 2707, now a 2 mach SST with longer range and lower operations cost.
Only US Airlines with long distance flights buy a handful 2707, like Pan Am and Delta.
Foreign buyers were: Japanese Airline, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Gulf Air, In total Boeing build only 50 SST
The 2707 gain popularity on Atlantic route New York - London or Paris and Pacific route Los Angeles - Hawaii - Tokyo.
while Arabs use 2707 mostly for Route Arabia - London or Paris and for private trips of sheikh and their entourage.

But in USSR happened a fatal crash of Tu-144 in 1978
The passenger service by the Tu-144 was shut down and only briefly resumed for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.
After that Aeroflot refuse to operate the Tu-144 even for air mail & freight flights.
A handfuls Tu-144 continued to be used as a flying laboratory and cosmonaut training vehicle into the early 21st century.

The Concord flew until 2000 then they were phased out after fatal crash in Paris,
while 2707 showed problem of ageing airframe, US and Japan phased out their SST fleet in 2001.
as a 2707 disappear over the Atlantic.
While the Arabs start to buy the remaining 2707 to keep there ageing fleet operational...
Until France, Britain and other withdraw the permission to land for 2707 for safety reason.

The Era of SST lasted only 30 years and is mourn by the Jetset

 

[lordroel]

The Rise and Fall of Super Sonic Transport

She looks good.

 

[Michel Van]

US Space activity in 1975

Project DELOS
The new collaboration of the USAF and NASA began in the early 1970s.
One area of cooperation was the joint-venture Space Shuttle, the others being the Space Tug and Nuclear Shuttle.
After the USAF lost the MOL program in 1968, it now had a second chance for manned mission into orbit.
Therefore the USAF began co-financing the Shuttle, Space Tug and NERVA engine,
Which was ironic given that Nuclear thermal rockets were originally a USAF project transfert to NASA.
The next joint-venture was the project DELOS,
A technology development program for NASA's Odyssey and the USAF's Military Space program.
Its goal was to test hardware needed for the Space Tug and Nuclear Shuttle.
The first series of DELOS satellite were testing advanced cryogenic propellants tanks, proposed by US aerospace industry,
the satellites used Centaur tanks wrapped in Super-insolation and sensors.
In addition new propellants were tested besides hydrogen and oxygen such as methane, ammonia, fluorine
and FLOX a mixture of oxygen and fluorine.

From 1975 a series of Titan IIICs brought the first Delos satellites into orbit to test long time storage of cryogenic propellants in orbit.
Oddly, fluorine went quite well, until the corrosive element found a weak spot,
corroding it’s Tank degassing valve until it perforated and entire tank contents dispersed into the vacuum.
This led to the loss of Delos 2. Next to follow was Delos 3, which tested a mixture of oxygen and fluorine and how it separated over time. Again the fluorine also corroded the weak spot in its tank.
The results of Delos 1 showed cryogenic hydrogen and oxygen could store for up to 310 days,
Adequate for operating space tugs and nuclear Shuttle around Earth and Moon, but not for Mars missions.
NASA had to send improved cryogenic propellants tanks into orbit to test longer durations.

On Caldwell Johnson behalf, other Delos satellite tested remote manipulator demonstrators for future Tugs.
One of models tested was built by the small Canadian firm DSMA Atcon.
The target for those Delos satellites was the hibernating Skylab-5 station
Also tested were the Reaction Control Systems with new propellants like the highly toxic CIF5/MHF-5*
The last Delos satellites were prototypes of the Tug Propulsion Module and a huge hydrogen fuel tank for the RIFT-2 mission.

*= CIF5 is Chlorine pentafluoride, MHF-5 is 55% Monomethylhydrazine, 26% Hydrazine and 19% Hydrazinium Nitrate,
beliefe me very very toxic stuff !

NASA
Busch and Mueller hat to solved a series of problems, such as the rising cost of Odyssey,
They cut the last three Apollo missions for several reasons, increasing Solar activity, budgetary reasons and logistics.
The Saturn-derived Earth-to-Orbit Shuttle and the Saturn VC Program had consume more money than expected.
Even with a budget that had steadily grown since 1967, something had to give which ended up being the last Apollo missions and
the "Planetary Grand Tour" (Replace by a smaller effort known as Pathfinder).
Also Launch Complex 39 had to be modified for the new systems, at least 24 months were needed
to replace the ten year old hardware for the new optimized for Saturn Shuttle and VC.
The three remaining Saturn VBs were mothballed for future use, while the Lunar Modules went to Museums,
The CSM were also mothballed for use on Spacelab if needed.
From here the Odyssey orbital architecture would have to take over in 1980s with missions utilising the Nuclear Shuttle and Space Tugs.
Facing a new dilemma, their management system that Mueller had envisioned to make the Apollo program operative
began to become more a bureaucratic Moloch, that began eating into their money, needed for Odyssey. So Bush had to make reforms.
Other issues were lack employment of Women, Afro Americans and Asian Americans and cases of open racism in NASA.
And the "Astronaut scandal" about Administrator Bush, son George Walker Bush,
Who as Air National Guard pilot without right qualification became a NASA astronaut !
While Democrats and media screams "nepotism", was the matter more banal, those responsible were from JSC Management,
They wanted to express gratitude toward Administrator Bush, by selecting his Son as Astronaut and he barely qualified the tests.

Apollo 21
The next mission originally labeled Apollo 20 was originally planned to be last manned mission to moon for the Apollo program,
As planned in 1966, even though much had change since then.
Almost cancelled, then rescued by additional founding, it’s target was north of Crater Tycho.
The Saturn VB was the right tool to bring Apollo spacecrafts in higher inclination orbit around moon

The crew selected: Stuart Roosa, Jack R. Lousma, Paul J.Weitz.
For Rossa, a veteran of Apollo 14 mission, this was second landing to moon and this time as Mission commander not as CSM Pilot.
On April 20, the first manned Saturn VB launch CSM Discovery and LM Ares
(named after spaceships from Kubrick movie 2001: A Space Odyssey)
Stuart Roosa and Jack R Lousma landed the LM Ares near Surveyor 7 early in the morning.
The first EVA was a simple standup through the LM top hatch to take panoramic pictures.
Then the crew left the LM and unpacked the Modularized Equipment Stowage Assembly, Lunar Rover and ALSEP

"It’s the abject smallness of the earth that gets you“
Stuart Rossa first words on moon.

After the work was done the crew returned to the LM for their nightly rest.
The next day the second EVA went 2 km north of the LM with 5 stops to collect samples. After 6 hours the Crew returned to the LM
The third EVA went 4 km south east of the LM with 5 stops
The fourth EVA went to east for 2 km with 5 stops,
the last one at Surveyor 7 where Roosa and Lousma dismantled parts of probe and took 10 kg on hardware with them,
Bringing pieces from Surveyor 7 and over 100 kg of Lunar samples back to Earth.
Those sample later proved that Tycho was formed by fragments of the Baptista Asteroid Family
The 6 years of exposure on Lunar surface was clear to see on the Surveyor 7 pieces.
However one result of SIM-bay Experiment was a enigma !

The Neutron Spectrometer, showed unusual results in the Southern and Northern higher latitudes of Moon.
In the beginning the geologist could’t interpret the results, after testing the Neutron Spectrometer for several minerals,
they found it: Hydroxide !
This news hit like bombshell it was the key evidence of water on the Moon,
Suspected already as the Apollo 14 ALSEP had detected a burst of water vapor,
But this show there were large deposits at higher latitude on the moon, possibly even ice at the lunar poles ?
Despite this some scientists still disputed the findings, arguing that it could have been due,
to chemical reaction of solar Hydrogen with oxygen in the lunar regolith.
but for moment a open question what could be a answer in 1980s with Odyssey program lunar missions.

Viking 1 & 2
August and September two Saturn ICs sent the Viking Orbiter/Landers on route to Mars. They took a full year to arrive.
Meanwhile the Soviets had a Lunar rocket on the launch pad
At first the CIA believed it was another Zond mission to Moon, until NASA engineers noticed the lack of a launch escape tower and realised how close they were to a launch window for Mars and there fears were confirmed as this Luna-F blasted off to Mars!
A calculation show that payload was 20 metric tons, what behemoth had the Soviets send to Mars ?!

Pioneer 12
on June 27, Pioneer 12 arrive at Jupiter, it catapult the Probe 80° over ecliptic toward the sun.

A look over Iron Curtain
In the meantime the CIA noticed something on their satellite reconnaissance photos.
Since 1973 the Soviet had begun making modifications on their launch complex known as Site 250, 240 and 200.
That’s where the Soviet launch complex for the Nositjel family was.
The photos showed over time that installation for rocket fuel were modified,
Then in 1974 work started on a new installation on to the right launchpads.
NASA engineers looking at these photos believed they were storage and fueling facilities for liquid hydrogen.
In 1975 their evaluation were confirmed as very different Soyuz and Proton rockets rolled out of the large MIK-112 building
Instead of their typical conical design, their upper stages were largely cylindrical in form,
With much bigger payload fairings than had the used before.
They conduct a series of test launches were one of the new protons brought test satellites into Geostationary Orbit over the USSR.
TASS announced the introduction of the new advanced Proton-F-MV with liquid hydrogen upper stages.
Later photos revealed a new Lunar rocket with a huge cylindrical upper stage and fairing.
What had once been considered a Soviet Sledge Hammer attempt at matching the Saturn V
had now become a serious competitor to the Saturn V as obvious design advances and modifications were being made.

Another activity which also puzzle the CIA was that the Soviets had launch Cosmos 672 satellite into a High Earth orbit,
an orbit on the edge of the Earth-Moon system
The satellite was had an unusually powerful transmitter for it’s mission near Earth,
It made frequently Flybys of Moon (while not entering orbit around it) and Earth before transmitting it's data,
Which the the CIA could then translate into reconnaissance information.
In addition pictures from the Moon and Earth, data from a Geiger counter, Micrometeoroid detector, Magnetometer, several spectrometers and a Plasma-Analyser was include.
Also peculiar was the fact the satellite was very communicative with ground control, especially before the fly-by sections of it’s mission.
This was unusual because usually Soviet space-crafts were highly automated.
Also mysterious was the mission of this satellite, because they had send other smaller satellite with same experiments years ago,
So what was the real purpose of this satellite?

Another event surprised the CIA and NASA as Soviet rolled out a Luna-F rocket to launch pad
Consider as another Soyuz mission, until someone in CIA notice that this Luna-F had no Launch Escape Tower and
Was made ready for launch window to Mars, and launch during Viking 1&2 launch to Mars,
With payload capacity of Lunar Rocket what behemoth have Soviet launch to Mars ?!

Another activity of Soviets worry the Pentagon deeply. The Red Army conducted a series of Test with New ICBM
The ICBM codename by NATO as SS-9 Scarp hit is target in Siberia using trajectory over south pole !
This alert the Pentagon about new generation of Soviet ICBM, able to attack the USA from the South.
Also was distressing was, that one SS-9 Scarp launch a Satellite, that remain in orbit for while,
Then reenter and impacted in ICBM target site in Siberia!
Showing clearly that Soviet used SALT I treaty loopholes for install orbital strike system on ICBM.

 

[Michel Van]

1975 in the Soviet Union

Domestic Changes in the Soviet Union
Kosygin's economic policy furthered and deepened the reforms started by Khrushchev.
A new economic boom blossomed in the USSR. Average GNP growth ranged from 4-6% consistently.
For the first time, Russians began to see the luxuries and consumer goods afforded by a capitalist economic system,
including many foreign products (most notably Pepsi, Levi blue jeans and McDonalds)
and the emergence of a private upper-class separate from the state "Nomenklatura" bureaucrats.
Although older generations (those who grown up during the Stalinist era and the "Great Patriotic War")
and hardliners within the party were repulsed by the hedonism of the newly Russian consumer culture !
There was an overall increase in Soviet optimism during the 1970s. The more expensive and forward looking Neo-futurist design trend dramatically increased in popularity within the Soviet Union, especially among the new middle and upper classes.
Khrushchev's early investments in computers, space and supersonic transports were now materialising.

Sergey Afanasyev better know by colleague as "The soviet Space Minister“ was pleased for the moment with the Soviet Space Program. MoM joined in the economic uptick by benefiting from the increased revenue flows from greater economic activity,
The Soviet military (only loosely tied to the civilian MoM space agency) had been rattled by Khrushchev/Kosygin's reforms
as military resources were drained away for the consumer economy.
This dramatic economic revival of the USSR was heralded by Times Magazine on their front-page November 1975 as
"The Soviet Dream". This all came at a time when many Americans were still feeling the problems brought on by the 1973 oil crisis.

American Aerospace Ambition
While the USA worked on the long-term "Odyssey Program" to surpass the Soviets,
They had their own response, designated the "Galaxy Program".
The next step after this for each side of the Space Race was the build up of a permanent space station and lunar base,
both countries knew it. The Soviets had dominated the late 1950s-late 1960s phase of the space race so one-sidedly
(first satellite, first animal in orbit, first lunar probe, first man in space, first woman in space, consistently beating the US
in long-duration missions, first rendezvous in space, first spacewalk, first manned circumlunar flight, first lunar landing)
But the Americans made come-back. with Apollo J-class mission and Skylab, turning Lunar Soyuz and Salyut into puny efforts.

In response, MoM worked on several projects to counter the Americans plans.
Most notably, an 80-tonne space station module was developed called OPS-1 which would form the backbone of the MKBS
The Multi Module Cosmic Base Station and eventually serve as a Mars transit habitat (as laid out in the Alita study).
Unlike the Americans, who invested in reusable nuclear thermal propulsion, the Soviets decided to put their resources into developing ion propulsion tugs for delivering large payloads into geostationary and lunar space.
This was desired both for military purposes and for a large-scale lunar base defined in the Columbus Study.
although the engineers involved knew the actual Ion tug wouldn't be ready until well into the 1980s.
In the meantime the Luna rocket were modified to deliver large multi-crew, long-duration, direct ascent L3M landers to the Lunar surface
(which would also form the basis for expanded crew/cargo delivery vehicles to LEO).
Like the Americans the Soviets attempted to build a reusable earth to orbit shuttle,
however development of this was pushed off to the late 1980s at the earliest.
However in 1975, much of OKB-1's initial work was already beginning to pay off.

Launch Vehicles and Infrastructure
To achieve all this, modifications to the Baikanour launch complex were needed, in order to handle the hydrogen fuel. which was completed by KBOM in 1975.
That same year the first Soyuz-F MV (a derivative of the N-III) and Proton-F MV (a derivative of the N-II) conducted
a series of test launches where one of the new Proton Launch vehicles brought test satellites into Geostationary Orbit over the USSR.
Meanwhile the first Luna-F MV (a derivative of the N-I "Luna" rocket) was completed inside the MIK-112 building.
The workers even painted word "surprise“ on the MIK-112 roof for US reconnaissance satellites overflying the Launch complex.
Over the course of autumn, Luna-F-MV-L1 was transported to the launch pad in order to test the new pad installation
and system integrations, before returning to MK-112 building for L3M installation.
The project proceeded as planned, with 1976 marking the first unmanned test launch of the Luna-F-MV as "Luna 24".
The L3M made good good landing on Moon, but mission was cut short after 14 days do technical problem and return to earth.

Closure of the Salyut Program
The Salyut 3 & 4 space stations were launched in 1975 and 1976,
Served as the final prototype stations before the construction of a permanent space base.
Thanks to the newly introduced Proton-F, the station was substantially larger with two docking ports, a higher orbit and greater capabilities. Soyuz 29, 30 and 31 each docked with Salyut-3 for long duration missions.
with help of a new spacecraft called Progress, a unmanned Soyuz modified into freighter,
this push the mission duration from 60 to 90 and even 180 days in space
After 450 days of being continuously occupied, Salyut-3 was deactivated and left to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.

Salyut-4 was modified for more mission and extra four science modules based on Soyuz hardware.
and was visited by 12 Soyuz mission and several Progress from 1976 to 1979
Soyuz 37 mission had the unmanned Soyuz 7K-SM docked to the station,
Allowing the Mission to be expanded for a world-record 360-day mission !
in 1979 the Salyut-4 was put in Hibernation for Future use until OPS-1 was launched
Those Test with the Soyuz 7K-SM and multi-module stations and long-duration missions would become absolutely vital.

Soyuz 7K-SM
First designed in 1967, this new manned spacecraft would be backbone for new Soviet Space architecture.
The 7K-SM would serve as the supply and crew craft for the MKBS space base and as crew module for planned lunar landers.
This spacecraft compared very favorably compare to the 1st generation Soyuz.
The 7K-SM was designed as a big bell shaped capsule of 3.7 meter in diameter and 5 meter long,
The first 7K-SM was launched as the unmanned Cosmos 745 with a Proton-F on June 1976.
It remained in orbit for 250 days to test the long-duration endurance of the vehicle before landing successfully.
This was followed as the the Cosmos 772, launched by a Proton-F on spring 1977 to Salyut 4 with 3.75 tonnes of supplies.
The Spacecraft served as supply module and expansion of the station after the last crew ended their record-breaking 360 day stay. Cosmos 772 then de-docked and successfully returning to Earth,
Do to it's radically new design suggestions were made to relabelled 7K-SM to Zarya.
The first manned missions were set for 1979/80.

The Woman on the Moon
The ways in which Soviet government operated, had not entirely abolished,
and so this missions came straight from the Politburo (and they weren't taking no for an answer).
MoM accepted the order, much to the displeasure of the male-dominated OKB-1 and the Cosmonaut group.
Khrushchev was the first to originally propose the idea and after a single mission with three Female cosmonauts.
The Vostok 3 mission of 1963, crewed by Valentina Tereshkova, Valentina Ponomaryova and Irina Solovyova
was the first and until then only mission to include Womans in space.
Now the Politburo wanted an all-female lunar mission to renew interest in the Soviet space program, set another milestone and solidify the USSR's credentials for liberating women and closing the L-3 program with a memorable flight.

Vladimir Komarov, head of the Cosmonaut Group, investigated to find out who pushed this idea through,
and found it to be his old collegue from the Vostok era, Valentina Tereshkova and Soviet Military Commander Yevgenly Savitskly. Tereshkova made a political career within the Communist Party after the female cosmonaut group was dissolved,
and quickly worked her way up to become a member of the Presidium of the Soviet Union.
Yevgenly Savitskly's daughter Sevtlana Yevgenyvna Savitskaya is an excellent pilot, having won 6 world aerobatic championship in 1970s and having flown MIG jets for the Soviet air force. Her father wanted the best for her: to become a cosmonaut,
Although until Tereshkova pitched the idea to him he never dreamed she would land on Moon.
Valentina Ponomaryova, another veteran of the Vostok 3 flight, remained in the Space program and even married Cosmonaut Yuri Pomomaryov before getting a degree in technical science (coincidentally working on the Soyuz spacecraft).
Now Ponomaryova and Savitskaya were selected for Soyuz 28 mission,
The last of the L3-Complex flights and a perfectly timed triumph for the International Year of the Woman.

On May 14, 1975. Soyuz 28 was launched to the moon.
Then May 19, Savitskaya became the first woman to conduct an EVA as she moved from the LOK to LK in lunar orbit.
She landed right on target next to Lunokhod 14 at Messiers Craters in Mare Fecunditatis.

As she left the LK

This is another Triumph of Soviet Union and greater one for all Woman on Earth

Then she visit Lunokhod 14 recover it’s Sample container, store it in LK and pull science package out.
follow by collection of lunar sample near LK before she make a pause inside LK,
the Second EVA she use the Rover, were she was drive to surroundings of Messer A wer she collect additional samples an take picture of the crater slopes, after 6 hours on lunar surface Savitskaya flew back to LOK in Lunar orbit.
73 hours later they landed save in USSR and celebrated as new Heroines.

Sadly Lunokhod 14 was lost in extended Mission as they try to drive into Messier A,
The crater slopes were to steep and rover slip for several km downward, start somersault and impacted on crater floor.
Much to surprise of scientist, was how the Impact happen: Crater B was the scratch the Meteoroid made first, then it jump and impacted forming crater A and it’s debris impact formed the bright ray.
also that area Mare Fecunditatis has layers from several different material, like white material revealed by the impacts of Messier debris.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmmDLuAWbQI


The Impact, that Woman walked on Moon was enormous, at MoM and NASA came truckloads of job applications by woman.
It was a propaganda coup for the USSR and a surge in Soviet smugness about the place of women in society
as compared to the United States as USSR propaganda posters say:
"American women are in the kitchen, Soviet women are on the Moon!".
NASA responded by announcing that the next NASA astronaut group ("Group 8") would include African Americans as well as Women.

 

[lordroel]

NASA responded by announcing that the next NASA astronaut group ("Group 8") would include African Americans as well as Women.

Going the route of For All Mankind are you.

 

[Michel Van]

NASA responded by announcing that the next NASA astronaut group ("Group 8") would include African Americans as well as Women.

Going the route of For All Mankind are you.

The original post was publish in January 2017 at Alternate History.com
2 years before "For All Mankind" was broadcast.

 

[lordroel]

NASA responded by announcing that the next NASA astronaut group ("Group 8") would include African Americans as well as Women.

Going the route of For All Mankind are you.

The original post was publish in January 2017 at Alternate History.com
2 years before "For All Mankind" was broadcast.

Well time to sue the "For All Mankind" writers then for stealing your ideas.

 

[Michel Van]

Well time to sue the "For All Mankind" writers then for stealing your ideas.

Now there was some discussion at AlternateHistory.Com
About possibly the Produce of "For All Mankind" read 2001: A Space-Time Odyssey V2.0 and others TL about Space Flight
And if this true, then is the biggest compliment for me and my Work

 

[lordroel]

Well time to sue the "For All Mankind" writers then for stealing your ideas.

Now there was some discussion at AlternateHistory.Com
About possibly the Produce of "For All Mankind" read 2001: A Space-Time Odyssey V2.0 and others TL about Space Flight
And if this true, then is the biggest compliment for me and my Work

Well if it was true, credit should be given.

 

[Michel Van]

Going Nuclear

In 1976 Switzerland conducted its first nuclear weapons test, becoming only the latest in a long series of nations to go nuclear.
it was no surprise however since the Swiss people had voted to develop a nuclear deterrence in a referendum held back in 1962.
The test changed the regional power balance drastically as it positioned a non-aligned but nuclear armed Switzerland in a strong military position between the Soviet and American camps.
Italy responded by pushing their ALFA ballistic missile program to use with NATO nuclear warheads.
France reconsidered their current nuclear deterrence in order to cope with new situation.
Yugoslavia's leader Joseph Tito ordered a development program for Nuclear weapons.
Neutral Sweden rethought how they conducted their neutrality and decided to restart their Nuclear bomb program.
Nicolae Ceausescu, leader of Romania, also ordered a top secret program for developing weapons of mass destruction,
despite still being part of the Warsaw Pact!


The Eight Year Presidency of Richard Mulhouse Nixon...

In 1976 the Nixon era ended.
Domestically, Nixon had been harshly criticised on both sides of the politically spectrum for his failure
like Moon race or to deal with the 1973 oil crisis, which the country had still not fully recovered from three years later.
And a Republican President, Nixon made several reforms that angered his more conservative opponents.

Nixon's foreign policy doctrine was known for being dovish and focused on cooperation. He pursued a policy of détente with the newly reformist regimes in the Soviet Union and China and largely watched as Communist regimes swept several third-world countries.
He normalized relations with the PRC, visited the new leader Lin Biao and recognised the PRC as the sole legitimate government of China at the UN.
He turned VSALT with the USSR into a much more substantial Strategic Weapon Limitation Treaty: SALT I
and he manage to ban Biological weapons internationally, limiting them to only to research programs.
Both these action resulted in him receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.
He also attended the inaugural meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) and created NOAA and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA).

His biggest and most expensive gamble however had yet to pay off, the NASA Odyssey Program.
In the wake of losing the Moon Race, he ordered the largest space program ever conceived,
Hoping of ensuring the long-term strategic superiority of the US in space.
By 1976 the United States was still largely reliant on the Apollo hardware set developed in the 1960s,
but with the Earth to Orbit Shuttles already undergoing glide-flight testing and the next batch of astronauts already for space station and lunar tug missions.

Now after 8 successful years, Nixon was packing his things and moving out of the White House, making way for a new President.
By now the Aerospace industry had grown very large off government contracts from Apollo and Odyssey,
making it a lobbying force any Presidential candidate would have to reckon with.

…July, Democratic National Convention, New York City…
"SCHWARZ YOU WILL NOT GET A WAY WITH THIS !" Mondale scream angrily at the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
"Mr Mondale" he reply with Texan accent, "it's already concluded, you not becoming the President candidate!"
"And who to decided this?" Mondale snarled.
"The Democrats of Texas, California, Louisiana, Ohio, Florida, Washington, Missouri, Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, they all against you."
He stare in disbelieve on Schwarz who continue:
"The space program brings those states millions of dollars, no way they'll accept you as President, neither will this Jimmy Carter…
Mondale smirked "You think you'll get away with this?! I got allies!"
"Your protege Humphrey? Do you have any idea how bad his cancer really is? or Walter Fauntroy and Jessy Jackson? Even they're trying to use the space program now, fact they're campaigning together right now with those new negro astronauts.
And Proxmire? He's finished in Wisconsin now that Rockwell's financing his competition."
Mondale's face went pale, Schwarz continued "allot of people warned you, but you had to pull off that little crusade against NASA and so now you've got the entire aerospace lobby painting you as public enemy number one.
Even if you become the party's nominee and face the general, they will break you. I'm sorry but there's just too much money and too many people on the other side for you to pull this off."
"Well then who-who do they want for the Party nominee?" Mondale asked frustratingly with a broken voice,
to which Schwarz replied "Senator of Ohio, national hero, and the industry's best friend , John Glenn."
"I never thought you bastard would goes so low" Mondale scowled in response,
"The party has changed since Ted died in Chappaquiddick" replied Schwarz who then left the hotel room and closed the door.
Mondale looked into his glass of scotch in his hand, then he smash it enrage against the wall.

"This is an NBC news flash
The Democrats have got their Presidential nominee, former Astronaut and current senator John Glenn has been declared the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic Party by the DNC following sudden bowing out of his competitors.
Senator Glenn went on to announce Morris Udall as his running mate and thank the dedication of his supporters.
There Wild speculation remains as to why Walter Mondale and Jimmy Carter step out from election race.

…August, Republican National Convention, Kansas City...
John Connally, former secretary of the treasury under Nixon, was nominated as the Republican Party's Presidential candidate with a slight majority, barely edging out against vice president Ford and California governor Ronald Reagan.
Reagan had led an insurgent populist conservative movement originally spearheaded in the 1960s by Barry Goldwater.
During his campaign Reagan promised an end to détente, a more confrontational attitude towards Russia, increased military spending and reduced taxes. However he promised major cuts in the space program which balanced out much of his support for increased military spending in the eyes of the aerospace industry's lobbyists.
John Conally by contrast was largely a continuation of the Nixon era status quo.

On November 2 1976 came the moment of truth.
The people of the United States of America voted and chose John Glenn with a small but significant margin over Connally
(50.1% vs 48.0%) which translated to an electoral college victory of 297 for Glenn and 240 for Connally.
Glenn promised a return to the post-war boom years of the 1950s and 60s while presenting an optimistic vision of the country's future, while John Connally's economic record was weighed down by the 1973 oil crisis and his perception of being aligned with the status quo.
Glenn's status as an American Space hero also boost for his candidacy.

...The Rest of The World
After a quarter century the Vietnam War came to a finally to a end as communist forces overran Saigon.
the Americans pulled out the approximately 10,000 "military advisors" from the country as well as all diplomatic staff at Saigon's embassy. The news was met with a yawn by the American public as the story made the third-page of most papers.
For most of them, was just another third-world hell hole half-way across the world falling to the communists.

On the other hand the Soviets did not really expect that yet another one of their Warsaw Pact allies would breakaway after Yugoslavia and Albania.
The Soviet Union had for sometime actually been re-establishing good relations with Yugoslavia. However Kosygin's foreign policy strategy of allowing greater degrees of political autonomy in the satellites states had actually been met with resistance from some hardline Stalinist rulers who felt their power being challenged.
Then came the discovery that the Romanian leader Ceaușescu had ordered programs for development of weapons of mass destruction! The Soviet Politburo was shocked that a Warsaw pact member under their nose could be working in top secret on nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. The response was immediate and swift, a full-scale military invasion by the Red Army under Kosygin's orders. For the first time since Khrushchev's 1954 invasion of Hungary, the Soviet Union invaded a Warsaw pact ally to bring it in line with Moscow. As Soviet tanks countered nationalist forces in the streets loyal to Ceaușescu , he and all his supporters were being purged from the Party. Meanwhile in secret KGB special commandos raided Romanian military and scientific installations,
seizing enriched Uranium, Sarin Gas, strains of smallpox, anthrax and bubonic plague.

Ceaușescu had been an annoyance within the Warsaw Pact for sometime.
Liberals within the Soviet Communist Party hated his Neo-Stalinist authoritarianism, personality cult and ultra-nationalist stances. Hardliners within the Soviet Communist Party hated his independent foreign policy and excessive indebtedness to the West.
However while united in their response, the factions within the Party were not united on what it meant.
For many hardliners, an aging Kosygin had allowed a maverick to operate with way too much freedom, proving Kosygin's weak ineffectual leadership and the dangers of too much autonomy within the Warsaw Pact.
Kosygin's leadership was now clearly on thin ice. The intervention also served to strain US-Soviet relations to the greatest point since the 1960s, foreshadowing even greater tensions to come.

 

[lordroel]

Going Nuclear

In 1976 Switzerland conducted its first nuclear weapons test, becoming only the latest in a long series of nations to go nuclear.
it was no surprise however since the Swiss people had voted to develop a nuclear deterrence in a referendum held back in 1962.
The test changed the regional power balance drastically as it positioned a non-aligned but nuclear armed Switzerland in a strong military position between the Soviet and American camps.
Italy responded by pushing their ALFA ballistic missile program to use with NATO nuclear warheads.
France reconsidered their current nuclear deterrence in order to cope with new situation.
Yugoslavia's leader Joseph Tito ordered a development program for Nuclear weapons.
Neutral Sweden rethought how they conducted their neutrality and decided to restart their Nuclear bomb program.
Nicolae Ceausescu, leader of Romania, also ordered a top secret program for developing weapons of mass destruction,
despite still being part of the Warsaw Pact!

Everybody wants the bomb it seems.

 

[publiusr]

His biggest and most expensive gamble however had yet to pay off, the NASA Odyssey Program.
In the wake of losing the Moon Race, he ordered the largest space program ever conceived,

If only…

…July, Democratic National Convention, New York City…

"SCHWARZ YOU WILL NOT GET A WAY WITH THIS !" Mondale screamed angrily at the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Mr Mondale" he reply with Texan accent, "it's already concluded, you not becoming the President candidate!"
"And who to decided this?" Mondale snarled.
"The Democrats of Texas, California, Louisiana, Ohio, Florida, Washington, Missouri, Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, they all against you."

yes…

He stared in disbelieve on Schwarz who continue:

"The space program brings those states millions of dollars, no way they'll accept you as President, neither will this Jimmy Carter…
Mondale smirked "You think you'll get away with this?! I got allies!"
"Your protege Humphrey? Do you have any idea how bad his cancer really is? or Walter Fauntroy and Jessy Jackson? Even they're trying to use the space program now, fact they're campaigning together right now with those new negro astronauts.
And Proxmire? He's finished in Wisconsin now that Rockwell's financing his competition."
Mondale's face went pale, Schwarz continued "allot of people warned you, but you had to pull off that little crusade against NASA and so now you've got the entire aerospace lobby painting you as public enemy number one. "I never thought you bastard would goes so low" Mondale scowled in response,

Yes

"The party has changed since Ted died in Chappaquiddick" replied Schwarz who then left the hotel room and closed the door.
Mondale looked into his glass of scotch in his hand, then he smash it enrage against the wall.

On November 2 1976 came the moment of truth.
The people of the United States of America voted and chose John Glenn…

YES!!!

 

[Michel Van]

Everybody wants the bomb it seems.

sadly yes
With world facing twice nuclear war in 1961 in this timeline (Soviet French Crisis and Berlin Wall Crisis)
The Swiss people got scared and voted for the extrem: Nuclear deterrence !
This kicking off a international chain reaction, on other nation that love the Bomb...

This Swiss propaganda Movie from 1964 show the cold war paranoia of it time...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXWUCmeUF9o&t=368s

 

[lordroel]

Everybody wants the bomb it seems.

sadly yes
With world facing twice nuclear war in 1961 in this timeline (Soviet French Crisis and Berlin Wall Crisis)
The Swiss people got scared and voted for the extrem: Nuclear deterrence !
This kicking off a international chain reaction, on other nation that love the Bomb...

This Swiss propaganda Movie from 1964 show the cold war paranoia of it time...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXWUCmeUF9o&t=368s

Next a Swiss space progam.

 

[Michel Van]

Space Probe Program in 1976

In the summer of 1976, the Viking 1 & 2 space probes entered Mars' orbit and before transmitting an unfortunate surprise back to Earth,
Their landing sites which had been previously photographed by Mariner 8 were too rough for landing.

JLP needed 10 days to find new landing sites, much to anger of the Americans as their Soviet competitor probe managed to enter orbit,
around Mars using new technique called aerobraking.
Using a huge heat shield to enter partially into Mars' atmosphere and reduce speed,
The spacecraft then separated the communication satellite Mars 9 into Orbit before the rest descended for landing.
After landing successfully on the surface in Meridiani Planum, the Mars 8 then revealed it's Mars rover!
The picture this Marskhod transmitted revealed a bad surprise for the scientists involved,
It had landed on flattest most scientifically uninteresting surfaces ever seen in solar system.
The engineers celebrated, as it meant fewer rocks to collide with, less send to clog up the wheels and
A far safer terrain for the vehicle to traverse. In a single day Marskhod would easily be able to drive 400 meters.

But on Sol 13, after traveling over 5 kilometers and Marskhod attempted to cross a sand dune and got stuck.
All attempt by the ground crew to restore the vehicle's mobility failed. From then on Marskhod became a stationary science station.
In mean the time Viking 1 managed successfully land on Chryse Planitia on July 20th,
followed by Viking 2 in Utopia Planitia on September 9th. Although the Viking landers revolutionized the the scientific community's view of Mars while leaving the question of whether life existed unanswered. While no evidence of life (or even organic compounds) was discovered on the surface, the orbiters found strong evidence of liquid water in Mars' ancient past.
In 1980 the two Viking Orbiter shut down after depletion of their attitude control fuel, followed Viking 2 lander do to battery failure. Viking 1 continued for another two years but failed do to a faulty software update in 1982. Mars 9 continued transmitting data until 1981.
while Marskhod-1, established a new record for the lifespan of soviet hardware by lasting 8 years (until 1983).

NASA internal
George Bush resigned as Deputy Administrator of NASA. His replacement was Alan M. Lovelace.
Bush wanted after eight years, return into politic of Capitol Hill.

JLP got it's new Director Bruce Murray who set new standards in JPL by hiring female engineers.
But Murray was also ambitious, he wanted high tech missions for the 1980s like a Comet Halley Orbiter using NERVA engine !
This was something that NASA refused due to the extreme cost of such mission. With significant resources being devoted to the manned lunar and earth orbital programs, advanced robotic programs were being pushed to the side.
While a simple flyby mission was rejected by Murray as unsatisfactory, in an unexpected turn of events the Ames Research Center which had been limited in scope to non-orbiting, non-planetary missions was selected to fly the Halley comet flyby mission instead.

China Spaceflight Activity
in 1976 China made surprise by revealing new launch rocket and new manned Hóng Xing spacecraft!
it feature new crew module in form of a lifting body connected was to Laboratory and Service module
This Design is similar to 1961 Apollo Proposal from Martin corp.
After Unmanned tests launches China, it first manned mission for 14 day test with 3 men on board in 1976.

ELGO
In the mean time the US State Department was having serious issues with German/French Company ELGO GmbH,
A company attempting to secure launch sites near the equator for their low cost launch vehicles.
In their efforts to do this they approaching the governments of Algeria, Libya, Central African Empire, Zaire and Brazil,
which in turn provoked international outrage !
France intervened after the Germans discussed with the Algerian government about the possibility of using old Diamond launch site near Hammaguir. Several African nations were protested that ELGO could give dictatorships like Gaddafi, Bokasa or Mobutu the possibility to build military rockets.
After these failed attempts, ELGO tried make a deal with the military dictatorship of Brazil for the use of island of Fernando de Noronha.
The US State Department in turn intervened to prevent the Brazilian junta from get rocket technology in there hands as,
it was an open secret that Brazil's generals wanted the atomic bomb alongside it's associated ballistic missile technology!
The last thing the US needed was a Brazil with the capacity to launch their nukes on ICBMs derived from a ELGO's rockets.
After some talks with the West German and French Government a compromise was reached.
France offered ELGO GmbH the CNES launch site in French Guiana, while the West Germans made sure that ELGO did Not sell rocket technology to dictatorships and rogue states. Leaving the market open for China to do just that...


Space Probe Program in 1977

Pioneer 12
Having flung far from the ecliptic plane of the planets by the massive gravity of Jupiter, Pioneer-12 proceeded to begin it's primary science mission of solar observation (although secondary space physics experiments were also conducted). Between 1977 and 1978 Pioneer 12 explored both the southern and northern polar regions of the Sun for the first time in history, providing humanity with the first view of our sun from a completely different perspective.

The Grand Tour
Pathfinder 1 & 2 were launched in September and August 1977.
NASA's original Grand Tour program of four large highly capable spacecraft would have explored the outer solar system, flying past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto multiple times with numerous specialized instruments.
Unfortunately, Congress still had limits as to how far they were willing to go with the space program
(especially with the economic stagflation of the 1970s setting in).

Thankfully, researchers at JPL managed to put in place a budget version of the Grand Tour Probes, initially called the Mariner Jupiter-Saturn, later designated Pathfinder. In addition to these scaled down probes, it was also hoped that a third probe specifically for the exploration of Uranus could be funded. However this was not forthcoming, so, in hopes the probes would last long enough,
Pathfinder 1 & 2 were launched by Saturn ICs on trajectories which would take them right past the planets beyond Saturn
(Pluto for Pathfinder 1, Uranus & Neptune for Pathfinder 2). Eager to be able to beat the Soviets to other planets without breaking the bank, it was approved by Congress.

In addition, in the knowledge that these spacecraft were on interstellar escape trajectories which would take them nearby other stellar systems in several tens of thousands of years (and that they would likely last for billions of years in total), Carl Sagan included message for any extraterrestrial who happened upon the spacecraft on the exteriors of both Pathfinder 1 & 2. Sagan had done this previously with Pioneer 10 & 11, however unlike Pioneer 10 & 11, which included pictographs engraved on a metal plack,
Pathfinder 1 & 2 contained a golden record disc with 115 analog pictures (mostly of sights on Earth but also from around the solar system), greetings in 55 human languages from across the earth, 50 different sounds from around the world, 90 minutes of music from many different cultures (including one non-human whale song). These records became symbols of mankind's determination to communicate with others outside the Solar systems, even if it took 40,000 years the until probes even approached another star system.

There was significant debate among the scientific community whether Pathfinder 1 should perform a close flyby of Titan
or forgo the close flyby opportunity to Titan and instead chart a trajectory that would take Pathfinder 1 past Pluto years later.
In 1978 the decision was made to fly past Pluto & Charon, as the scientific community understood that Pioneer 11
and a followup Saturn orbiter would be able to explore Titan.

In the spring and summer of 1979, Pathfinder 1 & 2 arrived at Jupiter. Ironically however, Jupiter itself wasn't the main focus of the excitement that followed. Instead, discovery after discovery rushed in about the moons of Jupiter.
Spectacular Io had massive volcanoes of sulfur which seemed to erupt frequently, spreading sulfur gas out in kilometer high geysers, Europe, completely covered in kilometres of thick ice, had strange lines running across the surface indicative of a subsurface ocean and geothermal heating, Speculation of life followed.

Just month later, on September 2nd 1979, Pioneer 11 flew past Saturn and ground control manage a close fly by at moon Titan,
but the hope to see surface feature were disappointing. A thick layer of orange clouds obscured the surface,
similar to how Venus' thick cloud layer conceals it's surface.
Atmospheric spectroscopy could helped scientists determine the rough atmospheric composition and speculation about a liquid methane ocean abound, but untill cloud-penetrating radar or a surface probe could take a closer look, speculation would have to do.

The Pathfinder 1 & 2 followed Pioneer 11, encounter Saturn in November of 1980 and August of 1981, sending back sensational picture of Saturn's complex system of rings, the icy yet multi-color surface of moons such as Iapetus, the icy cracked surface of Enceladus, and dozens of smaller potatoes shaped moons in orbit around Saturn.
From there the probes went their separate way, Pathfinder 1 went onward to Pluto,
While Pathfinder 2 swung around toward the seventh planet in the Solar system, Uranus.

In January of 1986, Pathfinder 2 made it's flyby encounter of Uranus, discovering a strange new worlds for scientists back at JPL to study. Just a few months later Pathfinder 1 flew past at Pluto in march 1986.
However even months before the de jure flyby itself, monumental discoveries were already being made. In October 1985,
the beginning of the long-range Pluto survey mission, scientists were surprised to find that in addition to the large circular moon of Charon, Pluto also had four additional small potatoe shaped moons.
Even more suprising was the discovery that Pluto is a dynamic, geologically active planet and not merely a frozen ball of rock.
One stunning surface feature on Pluto, labeled as "Valentine Heart" (both for it's shape and it's discovery date; February 14, 1986),
was revealed to be a frozen sea! Scientists even speculated that a massive, unbelievably deep subsurface ocean existed beneath
a thick layer of ice.

Finally the grand tour of the outer solar system ended with Pathfinder 2's flyby of Neptune in August of 1989.
Again the probe made astounding findings, discovering that the planet had the strongest sustained winds of any planet in the Solar System and a massive storm dubbed the "Great Dark spot" (similar to Jupiter's "Great Red Spot").
Triton was found to be somewhat less interesting, with a significantly thinner atmosphere than previously believed.

After this final planetary encounter Pathfinder 1 & 2, having outperformed all expectations, began their long interstellar journeys.
In 1990, Pathfinder 1 turned back and took one final photograph.
This "Family Portrait" of the solar system showed the Sun, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
The imagine of the Earth, now just a point of pale blue light surrounded by darkness became world famous.
Dubbed "The Pale Blue Dot", it inspired a poem by Carl Sagan of the same name.
As the twin spacecraft pushed further and further away from the Sun, they each took turns sending data on the solar winds, early signs of the interstellar medium of gas & dust, temperature readings, long-range telemetry etc.
In 2013, Pathfinder 1 was first human Space craft entering Interstellar Space.

Finally in 2030 the Pathfinders went silent, their radioisotope thermoelectric generators exhausted and unable to provide the power requirements for even basic infrequent telemetry blips (little reminders the probes were still functioning).
Pathfinder 1 & 2 will continue to journey onwards for billions of years to come.

 

[Michel Van]

Space Probe Program in 1978s

Helios 3
German American cooperation this time the probe try get closer to sun as Helios 1/2
With help of Venus and Mercury flyby's, NASA wanted to help if probe carry small JLP Venus lander.
The Probe was launch 8 august 1978, arrived 9 December Venus dropping the lander, who transmitted data from Venus.
after successful flyby at Mercury, Helios 3 approach the Sun to 0.20 AU a record only beaten by...

Yupiter Probe

The Soviets also launched new probes in September 1977, designated "Yupiter"
They were part of a new generation of Soviet Space probe tested as Cosmos 672 in 1975.
it was result of growing ambition within the Academy of Sciences. This next-generation of unmanned planetary missions for
Advanced multi-planetary flyby missions in the Outer Solar System, and multi-body missions to rendezvous with comets and asteroids.

Their technical goals for the Yupiter program were very ambitious: reach Jupiter, perform a flyby of Saturn.
Sadly, Yupiter 1 was lost due to a faulty command sequence issued by ground control.
On March 1979, Yupiter 2 reached the Solar System's largest planet and survived,
Taking several pictures of close up of the icy moon Europa. and Io's volcanic activity.
Europa in particular became of great interest to the Soviet Academy of Sciences for it's potential to harbor life.
By July 1981 Yupiter 2 arrived at Saturn, but after 4 years mission, it's electronic system failed during close approach.

Yupiter 3 & 4 launched in 1979 with a different mission profile in mind. Once again the spacecraft were sent towards Jupiter,
but this time to perform a gravity assist maneuver for a close encounter with the Sun.
In 1982 the two probe transmited relevant new information about the Sun, before burning up in Sun Chromosphere breaking the close approach record of West Germany's Helios 3 probe.

 

[Michel Van]

The Space Shuttle: Research and Development

Special thanks to Rob Davidoff helping in design the Saturn Shuttle

In the mid 1960s NASA started studies looking at the feasibility of reusable spacecraft to supply a future space Station.
Throughout 1968 and 1969, there were dozens of studies made under Phase A for a reusable, winged "Earth to Orbit Shuttle",
which would serve as a component in the Space Transportation System approved by the Nixon administration.
NASA pushed for the most advance Shuttle design, a concept for two winged stages with Hydrogen/Oxygen propellant
and yet to be devised high-pressure engines.
But the Office Management and Budget and US House of Representatives reacted with hostility against Odyssey
And the new Shuttle program, especially Senator Walter Mondale, who led the charge.
Even the head of US federal budget Caspar Weinberger tried to stop the program,
But Nixon, reeling from the aftermath of America's defeat in the Moon race, refused.
The USAF asked NASA about the possibility of a Joint venture for Shuttle Program, which would include launch of military hardware to space, cost-sharing measures between the two agencies and achievement of both civil & military space objectives.
This helped pushed the program over the edge into passing through Congress.
However, the USAF made some hard demands on vehicle designers: Payload weight and size doubled alongside new aerodynamic modification to allow the returning orbiter to fit USAF crossrange requirements.
The Air Force also pushed for use of the Pratt & Withney XLR-129 high pressure engines prototype,
instead of Rocketdyne's yet to be built XRS-25 engines.
In October 1971 the Flax Committee Report was publish, which was highly skeptical as to whether the Shuttle program
could have been achievable or practical especially given the non-existence of high pressure hydrogen/oxygen engines.
The next blow to the program was Caspar Weinberger's cuts to the budget on High pressure engines development.

NASA realized their initial Shuttle Design would never fly. In response, Boeing came up with clever solution.
They had studied back 1962 the possibility of reusing a modified Saturn V, which in turn led to a Saturn INT-22 Flyback design.
In the initial design, a modified Saturn V first stage with wings, jet engines, landing gear and crew cockpit would carry an expendable second stage based on the S-IVB for launch to orbit, but by utilising F-1A engines,
This flyback state could also be used as a booster to launch the orbiter. This allowed for a significant reduction in development time, development costs and even the individual launch costs as the existing infrastructure of Launch Complex 39 could be used with little modification.
For the Orbiter a modified R134C of General Dynamics/Rockwell with internal Hydrogen/Oxygen tanks with five J-2S engines.
General Dynamics proposed a modular metal heat shield which would be easy to detach from orbiter and take in for maintenance and repair while another would be put on the Orbiter. Another new feature of the Orbiter was an airframe which used significant amounts of Titanium to reduce the empty mass and provide for improved shielding from reentry heat.
To complement the low-cost, low-payload, high-crew capabilities of the Earth-to-Orbit Shuttle,
Boeing and Rockwell further proposed an low-cost two stage version of the Saturn VB for unmanned heavy-lift cargo launches.
Internally designated the Saturn INT-21, it was later given the official title of Saturn VC.
Other upgrades included all-new digital computers at Launch Complex 39 to allow for faster check-thru and shorter countdown times for Saturn V-derived vehicles. Repairs, checkup, assembly, roll-out and launch were reduce from the 135 days to just 43 days
(compared to of the Saturn VB). Boeing fought hard and won on another matter: Saturn INT-22, the original proposal would also fly, covering medium Cargo.
So in 1972 NASA took Boeing/General Dynamics/Rockwell as the prime contractors for the Space Shuttle
although the official term, "Earth-to-Orbit Shuttle" was still used to distinguish it from the Orbit-Orbit Shuttles, Ferries & Space Tugs.

The USAF chief of staff General Buck Turgidson was furious about this, as the USAF's demands for a polar payload of 40,000 lb were now dashed as the Orbiter would be limited to sending to 28,000 lb to the desired polar orbit.
In response to further pressure from the USAF, NASA offered up the Shuttle cargo version, with the S-IVC replacing the Orbiter,
to bring the needed 43354 lb into a military reconnaissance polar orbit. In the near term the Shuttle Orbiter could lift the existing USAF hardware into space and return it to the Earth. Additionally, thanks to a proposal by General Aldon, the Shuttle launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base would made compatible for a Saturn VC offering even more payload for launch into a polar orbit.

And so on ground of Launch Complex A began construction of Space Launch Complex 7 for the Space Shuttle, with a total price tag of $2 billion while the construction of the Shuttle Mobile Launcher Platform began simultaneously at Launch Complex 39

In 1973 construction began on the main test articles for the Booster and Orbiter.
In 1976 the first prototype booster SB-099 "Virgo" and orbiter SO-099 "Pathfinder" were completed, being designed only for use in atmospheric flight tests and static engine tests.
The same year the F-1A engine completed it's qualification procedure for use on the Flyback Booster and Saturn VC
In 1977 the first space-worthy booster, SB-101 "Orion", made its first in-air test flight with jet engines as did the first space-worthy orbiter, the SO-101 "Enterprise".
In 1978 the first powered test-flight of the Boosters "Orion" and “Andromeda" launched S-IVCs with mass simulators and Space Tug prototypes.
Two years behind schedule, the first space launch of Orion and Enterprise were made on the 21st of April 1979, eighteen years after Yuri Gagarin made his first space voyage and a little under ten years after the first voyages to the lunar surface.
The first three flights tested the entire system, while the forth flight went to Skylab-5 to test rendezvous and approaching techniques.
On the fifth flight "Enterprise" achieved it's first with an orbiting space station via the docking adapter tucked within it's payload bay.
The mission was aimed to make Skylab-5 habitable and ready to serve as an orbital safe haven in cases emergencies on space station. Also recuperation of a Space Tug prototype dock on station two years ago under project DELOS.
The hibernating Skylab-5 was discovered to be in poor condition, but usable for the short time required of an orbital save haven.

Appendix

In total 7 Booster and 5 orbiter were build.
Shuttle Booster were named after star constellation

SB-099 "Virgo" prototype only, used for atmospheric flight test and engineer hardware testing Display at KSC.
SB-101 "Orion"
SB-102 "Andromeda"
SB-103 "Capricorn"
SB-104 "Eagle"
SB-105 "Archer" based on Vandenberg AFB
SB-106 "Aries" based on Vandenberg AFB

Shuttle Orbiter were named after historical ships.
SO-099 "Pathfinder" prototype only, used for atmospheric flight test and engineer hardware testing. Display at KSC.
SO-101 "Enterprise" named after a famous TV-Spaceship, who name after USS Enterprise of 1874
SO-102 "Washington" first US ship to round Cape Horn, first to reach Vancouver and later reach Japan
SO-103 "Endeavour" after James Cook Vessel
SO-104 "Beagle" famous vessel what Charles Darwin used on exploring the World.

If needed the Orbiter landed after launch from KSC (Florida) at Vandenberg AFB (California).
There it would get overhauled and launched into a polar orbit for joint NASA/DoD mission.
After the Mission they would land at KSC or Vandenberg AFB, were they are needed for the next mission.

Payloads
For Orbiter version in payload bay of 60 ft by 15 ft ø
54895 pounds into 100 nm orbit at 28°
27999 pounds into 100 nm orbit at 90°
29983 pounds into 100 nm orbit at 55°

For Unmanned cargo version with S-IVC 55 ft by 21.66 ft ø
85000 pounds into 100 nm orbit at 28°
43354 pounds into 100 nm orbit at 90°
46425 pounds into 100 nm orbit at 55°

 

[Michel Van]

Development of NASA's Space Station III

In early 1970 the space station III planning process went into Phase B where diverse companies entered detailed proposals.
The two options offered where either a modular station launched by Shuttle or a unitary space module launch by Saturn V,
NASA favor to Unitary station as building block for future Odyssey architecture.
The Saturn-V launched space station module would could be adapted to function as surface base modules for the Moon and Mars,
as interplanetary crew modules for expeditions to Mars and Venus,
or free flying stations in lunar or geosynchronous orbit and finally as the station modules for a large LEO Space Base.
McDonnell-Douglas won the contract with their unitary station proposal, But Boeing and Rockwell entered complaints,
Arguing that McDonnell-Douglas had already gotten the Skylab contract and that this was evidence of corruption.
NASA made clear that their competing concepts were not good. Rockwell's "Spirit of "76“ proposal had a single pressure vessel with an "inter Volume airlock“, in emergencies the crew could be dispersed all over station which would make rescue difficult.
Boeing had sent six proposal, from a modified 1968 Mission module for there Mars Mission to several configurations of their 1967 Orbital Workshop design.

McDonnell-Douglas' Unitary Module offered 3 pressurized compartments, one as central tunnel that offered a save haven for the crew and also as a place for 6 additional astronauts on short mission. This was a substantial advantage over Rockwell's "Spirit of 76" proposal as NASA had already decided against developing any kind of lifeboat for immediate return to Earth.
Also playing a decisive role in McDonnell-Douglas getting the contract was the fact that Boeing and Rockwell were already responsible for building the Saturn V (as well as adapting it into a down-scaled variant necessary for the Odyssey program) and developing the Earth to Orbit Shuttle. NASA's administration considered this a sufficiently heavy load for Rockwell and Boeing.
Further, McDonnell-Douglas had significant space station experience thanks to the USAF's abortive MOL program and NASA's successful Apollo Orbital Workshop Program.
However during Phase C of the design process, the concept McDonnell-Douglas had envisioned had to be radical adapted.

NASA had naively believed that Unitary module would had empty mass of 90,000 lb. (40823 kg).
During Reevaluation of the Phase C Mock-up, it became clear that the Unitary module would be far heavier, massing approximately 132000 lb (60000 kg). also were complaints made by Astronauts after they tested the mock-up of station
(currently on display today at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C), complicating matters even further.
The West Germans demanded a series of science racks to be installed, which lead to re-designs in the Laboratory parts of the Station. So William Snaith, Co-designer of Skylab/Spacelab, had do his best job to adapt the 1969 design toward a more functional one.

Thankfully several developments in technology and materials during 1970s helped to reduce the mass of the Station.
One was the development of smaller and better electronics, the other was new materials like composites and Alu-titanium alloys for use on the hull and structure of the module. Another new innovation for the station was an experimental life-support system built around the Sabatier reaction. However despite significant technical alterations to the initial design, the final mass of Station still came in at 115643 lb. (52455 kg) or 22% more as original planned.

Initially two Space Station Modules (SSMs) were manufactured, the primary module (A) and the secondary module (B).
The secondary module served a dual purpose. In the event of a launch failure with the primary module,
The secondary module would serve as a backup. In the event all went according to plan the secondary module would be launched into a polar lunar orbit via a reusable nuclear shuttle and become the permanently staffed 6-man Lunar Orbit Space Station
(LOSS, also known as "Moonlab). Meanwhile the primary module would form the core of an expanded multi-module LEO Space Base. These free-floating space stations would then serve as the building block for interplanetary mission modules designed to house crews visiting Mars and Venus as well as surface modules for bases on the Moon and Mars

In 1979 Space Station III was finally ready to launch and it got also received it's name. From the 16 proposals submitted President Glenn chose "Skybase". After being placed into it’s 456 km orbit at 55°, 50 km from Spacelab-5,
The old Station was modified to serve as Safe-haven for the crew in case of emergency, and to safely deorbit itself when the time came. Following these preparations, a Earth-to-Orbit Shuttle brought Skybase's first 12 men crew.

In a historic moment in the history of spaceflight, artificial gravity was generated for the second time [1].
For the first 30 days of the station's operational career an artificial gravity experiment was conducted whereby the Space Station Module was rotated via a cable attached to the spent S-IIB stage used to place the station in orbit.
As they rotated around the center of mass between the Stage and Station,
Several levels of artificial gravity ranging from 0.2gee to 0.7gee were generated.
During those 30 days, Isotope Brayton power systems in the S-IIB provided an 8.5 kWe power supply to the Station

Upon the end of this test, an Earth-to-Orbit Shuttle brought a solar power module to Skybase before the S-IIB was placed into a controlled deorbit for disposal in the pacific ocean. With it's full 25 kWe power system fully operational, Skybase was now ready for the installment of it's Application and Science Modules (ASM)

A series of Shuttles flights brought them to Skybase, three were docked onto the Station;
an Earth Survey module, a Manned Centrifuge module, and a Fluid Physics module.
Two other ASM modules were stationed as free fliers, remaining within striking distance to Spacelab while guarded by a Space Tug,
if needed they could be brought to the Station and docked (for maintenance, repair or upgrade).
One was ESRO's Mikro Gravitation experiment module while another was the Advance Stellar Astronomy module.
However this was only the beginning. At the conclusion of an ASM's scientific mission, an Earth to Orbit Shuttle could deliver a new ASM to orbit from it's payload bay and then return the old ASM to Earth.

To a large extent, the science performed on these missions was a side show. In effect, Scientists were piggybacking on the orbital infrastructure being built up to support the planned Moon base, potential interplanetary missions and military applications.
The Advanced Stellar Astronomy module was directly based off the NRO's 4-meter diameter surveillance satellites.
With the exception of fundamental scientific question related to human adaptation in space, the political concerns about the Soviet space station & lunar base programs took precedent. However this was accepted within NASA in exchange for continued high-funding levels which generally benefited both the science and non-science portions of the agency. It had been accepted for quite some time that NASA was not the NSF[2]. It's goals were primarily geopolitical and had been since the formation of the agency in the wake of the Sputnik crisis. These strictly terrestrial concerns were of no thought for the astronauts of course, who busily occupied themselves with the multi-billion dollar experiments the politicians funded as an afterthought.

One substantial benefit NASA found to having larger crews was that the duty roster on board now allowed for 24/24 hour operation. As six crew members slept the other six worked in Laboratories and conducted scientific experiments. In the morning/evening (depending on which schedule the astronaut followed) the entire crew would in meet in station's Ward Room & Control Center. Another notable difference between the new Skybase program was the lack of any immediate opportunity for return to Earth. Without an earth return capsule, in the event of an emergency NASA would have to launch another Earth to Orbit Shuttle for rescue. For this purpose the Crew & Cargo Logistics Module (CCLM) was endowed with it's own independent life support system to serve as a backup should an emergency on the Station arise. In case of severe emergencies, the CCLM would actually be removed from the Station by a Space Tug and docked with Spacelab, until a Shuttle could be launched to bring it back. Thankfully, this capability was never needed (although a fire in 1989 did necessitate the crew to briefly occupy the CCLM).

After 90 days in space the Skybase 1's crew flew home with the Space Shuttle that brought the Skybase-2 crew and it’s resupply module. For two years mission durations were limited to 90 days. In 1981, missions duration was then extended to 180 days after new Life-support system had proven it self and as more Earth to Orbit Shuttle missions were designated for propellant resupply for cislunar traffic and other missions beyond LEO.

This proud early history of the United State's Starbase ended in 1990, after a total of 80 Earth to Orbit Shuttle missions and 24 extended duration missions (the longest of which lasted in excess of two years). Over that time, additional ASM' were added, older ASM' were brought down to Earth, the crew size was expanded and other in space activities began to overshadow the once cutting edge station. A 1989 fire which swept through the laboratory module in a failed experiment convinced those who had hoped to extend the station's operational lifetime further to accept the inevitable. The Station was vacated and deorbited into the Pacific with the aid of Space Tugs. An obsolete (unmanned) Earth Survey Platform was also brought down with the station. As a replacement came bigger USAF Falcon station in GEO and NASA's Space Station IV "Olympus", which took up the old base' 28° orbit [3].

The backup of Skybase had been put back into storage at the Kennedy Space Center following the successful launch of the primary Skybase module. It then underwent modification for it's intended role as a Lunar orbital space station in 1981,
but that’s another story for another time.


Footnotes
[1] the First artificial gravity experiment was made during Gemini 11 in 1966,
were they connect Gemini with Agena stage with Cable and rotate. they were able to generate a small amount of artificial gravity, about 0.00015 gee,
by firing their side thrusters to slowly rotate the combined craft like a slow-motion pair of bolas.

[2] The National Science Foundation. It's a civilian agency devoted purely to scientific research, that has about 1/10th the funding level as NASA.

[3] "The old base orbit" is nickname at NASA because most Space station proposals use this 28° orbit.

 

[lordroel]

Development of NASA's Space Station III

Another great update, did ESA ore if it exist in this TL also visit Skylab.

 

[Michel Van]

Development of NASA's Space Station III

Another great update, did ESA ore if it exist in this TL also visit Skylab.

Skylab was pure US program
Starbase is first International Station
reason was time for training of European astronauts what takes years.

There is no ESA in this timeline
Do disastrous meeting of Minister on December 20th 1973 (see post European Space Program 1961-1974)
ELDO was abolishing there office closed, some went to Work at ESRO other for ELGO GmbH or there national Space Effort.
ESRO is now launch Satellite and probes with US Rockets,
but i will explain that in detail, in another Post.

 

[Michel Van]

Nuclear Shuttle

NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application)

In 1952, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory began researching the challenges and applications of nuclear energy in rocketry,
which lead in 1955 to Project Rover, an R&D program for the development of nuclear rockets for military applications.
By 1961, with the start of Project Apollo, NASA began incorporating nuclear thermal rockets into it's concepts interplanetary mission designs. While the burning of chemical fuels would be sufficient for the first interplanetary probes and small sorties to the Moon, engineers knew it was too inefficient to allow for the operation of a large-scale lunar base or manned interplanetary expeditions.
Nuclear propulsion was recognized as enabling these more ambitious goals by cutting the required launch mass from thousands of tonnes to hundreds of tonnes. Though development on nuclear-propelled missiles was cancelled by Kennedy,
the Los Alamos continued it's development throughout the 1960s for space-based civilian applications.

In the 1968-1970 planning phase for NASA's post-Apollo Odyssey Program, NERVA rocket engines were selected as the propulsion system needed for transporting large payloads through cislunar and interplanetary space in reusable spacecraft.
Although attempts to cut it from the budget were made in 1973, NASA's Reusable Nuclear Shuttle (RNS) survived cancellation,
Thanks to the help of Senator Clinton P. Anderson of New Mexico. Anderson proved vital in protect the expanding Los Alamos scientific laboratory working on NERVA. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) also played a key role in fighting for NERVA, in self-interest to save the Agency from Congress. The tipping point however was the sense that, by giving up on nuclear propulsion,
NASA would be forever behind the Soviet Union in space. At a time when the United States was losing confidence in itself,
and the Soviet Union seemed to be passing America by economically, strategically, militarily and technologically,
such an admission was not tolerable for much of Congress.

However Congress had no clue the kind of technical challenges which faced the NERVA program.
In 1973, during the final test of the NERVA XE prototype engine, a 38 pound reactor fragment shot out the engine nozzle.
As a result, the engineers at Los Alamos had to completely overwork the reactor core design. They moved from a reactor core based around a composite mixture of graphite, to a design which used UC-ZrC alloy to give the reactor more stability and protect it from inhibited hydrogen corrosion.

This new design called NERVA Alpha was first tested in 1974 before evolving into several later iterations in the years that followed. Finally came NERVA-Gamma, the test-flight configuration.

1979 the first RIFT (Reactor In Flight Test) was conducted, simulating a Nuclear Shuttle flight to Moon.
It used a Saturn VB, outfitted with a modified third stage, the S-IVN. The third-stage had to include a second Hydrogen propellant-load within it's Oxygen tank to simulate the method of using hydrogen propellant to provide additional radiation shielding.
The J-2S was replace by the NERVA Gamma, equipped with hundreds of sensors to monitor every aspect of the engine's behavior.
The Instrument unit, a repurposed Apollo 22 CSM adapted for higher radiation during NERVA operation,
NASA relabeled the capsule as Biosatellite 4 and packed it full of radiation monitors and laboratory animals.

This simultaneous example of expensive high-technology, animal-testing and nuclear power united anti-nuclear groups
with "Animal liberation" organisations and such as Rainbow Warrior.
On March 12 1979, a group of ecoterrorists was intercepted by the National coastgaurd and US Navy before an attempt was made to bomb Launch Pad 39 (and the Saturn VB).
The incident was later cited by then-United States Republican Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan as an example of radical environmentalism run amok.

In May 1979 the countdown finally began for RIFT-1. Outside the Kennedy Space Center the police had to stop angry mobs of citizens from attacking peaceful environmentalists demonstrating against the use of Nuclear energy.
The Mission started well, with the Saturn VB bringing the S-IVN into it’s parking orbit.
There, ground control made it's final pre-TLI checks before unleashing the NERVA engine for the first time.
The first engine fire for Translunar injection was satisfactory. Although the NERVA reactor Core did suffer from xenon contamination issues, making the cool-down time longer than planned, in Moon Orbit the CSM return chemical to Earth.
Afterwards the S-IVN restart it NERVA engine towards interplanetary disposal orbit.
The mission was an overall success and paved the way for the first operation Nuclear Shuttle in the following years.

Final Tests, Reusability, A Cislunar Toehold

Following the RIFT-1 test, engineers continued work on the Reusable Nuclear Shuttle (RNS)
With help of computer simulations MSFC determined the best radiation protection for both crewed and uncrewed payloads.
Rockwell's two cylindrical tank design won had won the contest. Using internal 10 ft. diameter cylinder tanks ended up providing better radiation shielding as compared to other competing proposals, the cylindrical tanks offered better storage of hydrogen propellant. Despite this, MSFC demanded supplemental changes, such as the refuelling option Boeing had proposed for their RNS.
With this modification, the Nuclear Shuttle would dock with additional fuel tanks, a practice necessary for Manned Mars Missions.
The first two Nuclear Shuttle were build by Rockwell/General Dynamic in co-operation of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

With the engineering issues sorted out, the next biggest challenge to the RNS face came from astronaut corps, as some of them had look into the documentation and design studies.
Many reacted with outrage and indignation at the radiation recommendations made. Due to the high radiation exposure astronauts would receive from the nuclear engines, astronauts were to be limited to 10 RNS flights before being grounded for the rest of their life. Despite the fact that no astronaut to that had actually flown into space (let alone the Moon) more than ten times,
NASA partially relented by changing the regulation. Instead of being grounded after 10 RNS flights, astronauts would instead be limited to Low Earth Orbit operations. The measure was also sold as a cost-saving measure to reduce the number of astronauts who would need to be trained at taxpayer expense, as the sheer number of missions planned was leading to a dramatic increase in astronaut recruitment, screening and training costs, as well as a shortage in space veterans.

After two years of additional development, NIFT-2 was launched in 1981, although this was only the second launch of NERVA engines.
It was first time NASA tested them in their full Nuclear Shuttle configuration (albeit, in its unmanned mode).
As a result of information gathered from the previous NIFT test, a third radiation shield composed of a polyethylene foam block was placed on top part of the main hydrogen tank. If all went well, the newly modified NERVA engine in the RNS would be reusable for 20 operation before decommission.
RIFT-2 was launched by the second Saturn VC, with the Nuclear Shuttle itself only partly fueled. To top off its tanks the RNS stage maneuvered in orbit to rendezvous and dock with the Hydrogen fuel tank, launched by the first Saturn VC days earlier.
After refuelling with liquid hydrogen, the RNS performed an unmanned simulation of a typical lunar mission.
It performed a TLI burn, injected itself into a circular lunar polar orbit, orbited the Moon for several days, performed its TEI burn,
before slowing itself into a circular Low Earth Parking orbit.

RIFT-2 accomplished all Test goals and more. Working flawlessly, the radiation levels remained inside the design parameter and the Xenon containment issues did not flare up. The liquid hydrogen refueling operations went as expected.
After the successful LEO-LLO-LEO test, the RIFT-2 was inspected and serviced by two chemical Space Tugs.
Using newly designed Manipulator Arms over remote control, the NERVA engine core was disconnected from the propellant tank and the turbo pumps were inspected.
The Core inspection show to the ground engineers' relief that engine was in better condition than expected.
NASA officially re-designating (some would say re-christened) the stage as the Reusable Nuclear Shuttle-1 (RNS-1).
After another refuelling, it was ready for it first official Mission.

 

[lordroel]

Development of NASA's Space Station III

Another great update, did ESA ore if it exist in this TL also visit Skylab.

Skylab was pure US program
Starbase is first International Station
reason was time for training of European astronauts what takes years.

There is no ESA in this timeline
Do disastrous meeting of Minister on December 20th 1973 (see post European Space Program 1961-1974)
ELDO was abolishing there office closed, some went to Work at ESRO other for ELGO GmbH or there national Space Effort.
ESRO is now launch Satellite and probes with US Rockets,
but i will explain that in detail, in another Post.

Thanks for the explanation.

So if Starbase is a International Station, will countries like Japan, West Germany, France provide modules to that station.

 

[Michel Van]

Going Nuclear part 2

The 1973 Oil Crisis helped to kick start Nuclear technology.
The Western Nations started construction program on nuclear reactors to become more independent from Arabic oil import.
The "Mad Men" produced several highly effective advertisements appealling to the National pride of the people,
In an attempt to dispell the anti-nuclear sentiment of the late-60s early-70s enviromental movement.
Slogans such as "Nuclear Power is FRENCH National Power!" or "Atomic Power for America"
became increasingly influential as the cost of gasoline, food, electricity and the general stagflation following the 1973 oil crisis worsend.
This combined with an increasingly, technologically optimistic culture following both the American and Soviet lunar landings
(and early Space Stations) helped reduce the anti-nuclear movement in West Germany, the United States and France.

At the same time the soviets also started construction program on nuclear reactors to counter increase need for electric power in USSR and East Block. There had never been any organized opposition to nuclear electricity in Eastern block and Kosygin, hoping to economically rather than militarily compete with the US in fields other than merely space also supported the new energy source's promise.

Next to Nuclear Reactors for Power production, There were several other projects.
Nuclear Power for civilian ships, the USA, France, Germany and USSR had all built several experimental commercial ships where there engines were nuclear. Following the 1973 oil crisis, fuel costs increased sufficiently to make even the government operated and run
NS Savannah (the first US atomic oceanliner/cargo carrier) which was never intended make a profit, economically competitive.

After a series of long, drawn out, difficult negotiations on the Standards and Regulations on Nuclear Reactor Safety in 1978,
The Treaty on use of Nuclear reactors on civilians Ships was ratified. The First ships enter in service were German Container ships,
while the french government converted the hull's of previously oil burning ocean liners.
The Japanese's built the first nuclear powered Super oil tankers some time later.

The French Ocean-liner NS FRANCE, The first converted to a Nuclear engine

Unfortunately for the industry the dream for Nuclear powered aircraft remained unrealized, All national air safety organization such as the US National Transportation Safety Board refused the idea outright. While there had been some early ideas about a nuclear-powered long range bomber in the early 1960s, these ideas never became practical about question on safety of the nuclear reactor during air crash.

Talking of nuclear disaster, the beautiful, ideal world of nuclear power was shaken by accidents in end of 1970s
A French build Gas cooled reactors and a US pressurised water reactor had partial Meltdown.
both made World news and panic, but this let to initiative for more saver nuclear reactors designs and better safety.
The Soviets had own taste on that in 1971 as test run of Experimental Thermal nuclear engine RD-0410 goes disastrous.
ended in meltdown and massive contaminations of Semipalatinsk test site and near by Irtysh River!
Responsible for Disaster was a engineer named Anatoly Stepanovich Dyatlov,
The investigation report found him guilty for "criminal mismanagement of potentially dangerous device“.
He was sentenced to ten years in prison.
After that stricter security measures were taken in running Soviet nuclear installations.

 

[lordroel]

Going Nuclear part 2


After that stricter security measures were taken in running Soviet nuclear installations.

We have to wait and see if that has effect in a certain nuclear reactor somewhere in the Soviet Union.

 

[Michel Van]

The US Space Tug

After Apollo came Odyssey program and Grumman hope to get big contract because there role in Lunar Module,
But in Space Shuttle program Grumman ended with empty handed, in fact NASA administration gave Grumman something else:
The Space Tug

Grumman engineers were not happy because NASA USAF demand a „Tug/Lunarlander/spacepod/Repair/Inspection“ spacecraft. something impossible to do, the engineers try to figure out, how to put 5 different space craft into One,
There Solution: Modular approach
A Propulsion Module, that can be adapted with propellant tank or Pod with manipulators or Manned Pod.
As Lunar lander, the Propulsion Module get landing legs, manned pod and propellant tank on top.
This was much better as Boeing or Rockwell proposal were crew had climbed 100 ft (30 meter) down,
While Grumman design were "only" 7 meters

Also offering the Modular approach to exchange parts fast, like propellant tanks by Shuttle in orbit,
During operation the Tug would refuel it self from that Tank, after It mission the Space tug Propulsion Module would fully refuel.
Thanks to Delos project Grumman got allot new material and hardware to use for Space Tug program.
So they change form Storable fuel to Cryogenics and RL-10 engines (with help of General Dynamics)

Pratt & Whitney had there problems to make RL-10 ready for Space Tug, original they planned to use RL-10A-3-3
But NASA demand for throttle the engine and multiple restarts, so P&W start overwork the design, over four years they tested it.
Finally the RL-10B-1 was ready, it feature multiple restart by spark ignition system, high ISP of 470 sec, throttled 100% to 5%, improved reliability with total working time of 4.5 hours.
Similar to J-2S it could use propellant gas to startup, even could worked as pressure feed engine if necessary.

In mean time under Delos, Tug component were tested, like Propulsion tanks, Reaction Control systems, Manipulator arms, flight electronics etc.
were first Tug rendezvous with Spacelab make inspection of Space Station test manipulator arms and then dock on Spacelab
two years later the first Shuttle flights would bring the Prototype down to earth for evaluation on it Hardware,
to build better Tugs for future use in space.

The Last Delos missions for NASA ,were the first Tug Propulsion Module for testing and a huge Hydrogen fuel tank for RIFT-2
First operational mission for a Space Tug was for Skybase Station maintenance,
keep it orbit or guard the free flying Application and Science Modules

Follow by two special Space Tugs to maintain Reusable Nuclear Shuttles radioactive NERVA engine
Also additional two Space Tugs were dropped in 28° orbit, they’re purpose, rendezvous with Saturn Shuttle, dock with propellant tank and Payload, bring it to Geostationary orbit or Deep Space and return.

Wen the Engines reach there operational time of 4.5 hours a Space Shuttle came to replace the Tug
and bring it back to earth for general overhaul at KSC
The Manned Pod were tested in Shuttle Bay, it would later serve Crew compartment for Orbital transfer, Earth-Moon flights or part of Lunar Tugs

The USAF had more sinister ideas for Space Tug, as inspector and destroyer for enemy Satellite !
This version had the codename „Blue Bug“ and operate under Delos project in begin 1980s
but the Soviets were not so keen that USAF get to close to there Satellite, special there unmanned Almaz spy sats

So it happen was the analyst fear: as one of Blue Bug approach a Almaz, that satellite open fire on USAF Tug and destroying it !
Know as „The DELOS Incident“ was one of first combat in space between military forces !

The illustration show the Space Tug components

 

[lordroel]

The US Space Tug

So is the Space Tug based on OTL designs and will the Soviets design themselves one.

 

[Michel Van]

yes, i look into allot PDF about Shuttle, Space Tugs, Nuclear Shuttle etc.
to find workable concept for this TL
The Soviets have they own Tugs but there history is little bit Awkward in TL

 

[Michel Van]

Europan Launcher for Geostationary Orbit

Started in 1968 as a study of the German Aerospace company Dornier in collaboration with France's Aerospatiale.
In 1970 they proposed their concept for the Europa 3 at an ESC meeting, but lost to a competing bid.
However, in the Summer of 1971 the German Federal Ministry of research ordered studies for low cost alternative for Europa-3,
in case if this project run also into problem, MAN, ERNO, MBB, ORTAG GmbH, and Dornier all took part.
Dornier's low cost version of ELGO beat the other proposals.
It was based on the French Diamant-B first stage Améthyste and the third stage Astris from Europa-2 rocket
After the Europa 3 project died the German Federal Ministry of Research gave Dornier additional 4 million Deutsch Mark,
To work on more ELGO studies until 1974, while Franch CNES continue with the backup project EIIIS known as "Phoenix".
In the mean time the Dornier, ERNO, MBB and Aerospatiale joined to form ELGO GmbH company.

Then on April 2, 1974 french president George Pompidou died in office, succeeded by Valèry Giscard d’Estaing, a conservative.
One of his first action was to terminate the"Phoenix“ and other prestige programs,
In favour of modernisation of french military to cope with Swiss and Soviet nuclear menaces.
France's CNES agency salvaged the remains of "Phoenix",
Especially the second stage "Cornaline" and the third stage HO-gene to create the launcher Diamant C, to be build by Aerospatiale.
CNES hoped to get a small launcher for sending 700 kg payloads into 200 km equator orbit.

Meanwhile ELGO GmbH made international controversy, as they looked for launch sites near the equator by dealing with several third-world dictators, which led the USA and USSR to put political pressure on Germany and France in response.
Finally, the French government gave ELGO the rights to use the french launch complex in French Guiana.
So they proposed to CNES that they would use of Diamant C hardware for advance ELGO rocket to increase Payload.
Through mass production of modules they intended to reduce production costs,
with additional cost savings being possible with later reusable developments.

ELGO proposed three versions of there ELGO rocket:

A-version using one, three, five and seven Améthyste stages with various upper stages bringing 220 kg to 980 kg in 200 km high orbit.
ELGO-A would also test reusability of Améthyste stages in order to reduce cost, something the robust pressure feed rocket was built for.
with launch costs ranging from 36 to 75 million USD (today value)

B-version using one up to seven Cornaline stage from Diamant-C with various upper stages
like HO-gene with hydrogen/oxygen engines built for the Phoenix.
Payload would range from 700 kg to 4000kg in low orbit to 2000kg into GTO,
with launch cost range from 50 to 95 million USD (today value)
The first launch would be 1979

C-version is proposal using high pressure rocket engine using hydrogen and oxygen,
provide by german MBB in collaboration with french Snecma.
Up to eight module with an upper stage would bring 5000 kg to GTO with reuse of modules in "first stage“
ELGO hope to conceive the ELGO-C in beginn 1990s if A and B version are successful

Their plans were Ambitious, but they first they had to test the ELGO-A rocket to prove themselves.
During 1976 they refurbished and modified the old Europa Launch pad in French Guiana,
with the help of incentives granted by German and French government.
In 1977 the first ELGO-A1 was checked and installed. Under the payload fairing of a Europa 2 rocket was a 200 kg Test satellite
On December 12, 1977 the first ELDO-A1 was launched successful with the test satellite transmitting detailed launch data back to ground control.
For reuse, they tested parachute and airbags, the ELGO-A show very good results and led some to hope a new generation of affordable European launch vehicles had finally arrived.
In the beginning ELGO launched CNES, ESRO, DLR and university payloads, but with those successes, commercial customers joined them.

Then on December 24,1979 came the moment of the ELDO-B1A's maiden launch, the first launch was a success bringing a test satellite into low Earth orbit.
But the Second launch ended in failure as the viking engine suffers from combustion instability,
The investigation Report show that combustion instability resulted by it’s propellant mixture, so they replaced the UDMH with Aerozin 50 and adapted the injector head of the Viking engine.
This also reduced cost since Astris stages also used this propellant mixture.
The reuse tests on these modified versions showed mixed results. Due to the configuration of the Cornaline stage, it somersaulted during descent and prevented parachute deployment. Reuse plans were abandoned.
On the fifth launch, ELDO-B3H, experience the failure of a turbo pump of the HM-6 engine on HO-gene stage. During the 9 months of modification and testing, MBB and Snecma presented an overworked engine dubbed the HM-7.
The seventh launch, ELGO-B5H was it’s first commercial one: bringing INTELSAT 5A F7 to GTO.

The 1980s would be a time of serious disruption for the aerospace industry as reusable rockets such as ELGO and the Space Shuttle undercut the Atlas-Centaur, Delta, and Titan-III rocket series for commercial rockets!
To survive in such an environment, companies and nations needed to move beyond the first generation of ICBM-derived launch vehicles.