an alternate alternate history (ETS-inspired)

[mcdouble]

Increased government interest in space would have knock-on benefits for other programs, such as planetary exploration. The Galileo spacecraft, a probe designed to investigate Jupiter and its moons, had originally been planned to make a lengthy series of gravitational slingshot maneuvers, but the introduction of a new Saturn-Centaur launch vehicle allowed it to be sent directly to the Jovian system. This configuration was essentially a Saturn 1C with a new third stage, the Centaur-E, capable of boosting large payloads on interplanetary transfers.

 

The launch of Galileo went off smoothly in March of 1984, sending it on a 3-year trip to Jupiter. There it would enter orbit and make flybys of several moons, as well as releasing an atmospheric probe to dive into the gas giant's depths.

[mcdouble]

In mid-1984, other progress was being made, with the suborbital testing of a new booster under development by Martin Marietta from Vandenburg Air Force base. After a strong backlash against the use of toxic storable propellants in the wake of the Titan IIIL disaster, research had begun on the use of a new hydrogen/oxygen first stage. This stage was powered by the new RS-25 engine, a design based on old work from the 1970s which was originally done for a planned "space shuttle" concept which was never realised. This engine featured very high efficiency and the "clean" burn of hydrolox, both of which were hoped to be key selling points for a new launch system.

After a successful launch, the rocket flew its planned trajectory perfectly, dumping a dummy payload into the eastern Pacific Ocean.

This core stage was planned to be used for an entire new line of launch vehicles, to be known as Titan H. With a variety of strap-on boosters and upper stages, various mission requirements could be met. Each configuration would be known by a number, the first being the payload fairing width (either 4 or 5 metres), the second being the number of segments of 120-inch Titan boosters (if any), and the third being the number of smaller, Castor 4A solid boosters. By default the upper stage was a Centaur-D, while a suffix of -E indicated a Centaur-E upper stage, and -T indicated the older Transtage. In addition, the 550 configuration could be flown with no upper stage, to put large payloads into LEO or low polar orbits.

It was hoped that this system could fulfil the role of the older Titan launchers in delivering military and other large payloads to GTO, a job which had in recent times been taken over by the Saturn 1C. But with a successful demonstration of the technology, the Titan H line also had the potential to become much more.

Configuration	Payload to LEO	Payload to GTO
H400	7,800 kg	2,300 kg
H402	9,300 kg	2,800 kg
H404	10,500 kg	3,250 kg
H450	23,500 kg	9,600 kg
H550-E	24,500 kg	10,700 kg
H550-T	20,500 kg	6,700 kg
H550 (no upper stage)	19,000 kg	n/a

[NISSKEPCSIM]

@mcdouble I know that the umbilical and crew access towers are from FASA, but where do you get the larger grey one that towers over the others?

[mcdouble]

16 hours ago, NISSKEPCSIM said:

@mcdouble I know that the umbilical and crew access towers are from FASA, but where do you get the larger grey one that towers over the others?

That's the Delta launch tower from Real Scale Boosters mod.

[mcdouble]

Over the next few years, expeditions would continue to Spacelab as work was done preparing the first module of Space Station Freedom. Named Challenger, this 6.5 metre diameter core weighing 65 metric tons would serve as the main habitation and service module for the new station. Such a large payload would also have to wait for the readiness of a new launch vehicle, the Saturn Multibody H03, consisting of a new core stage derived from a stretched Saturn 1C first stage and two strap on boosters of essentially the same design as the core. The upper stage was also upgraded to the S-IVC, a stretched version of the S-IVB with two J-2S engines.

By June 1986, all elements were flight ready, and with Spacelab having been deorbited earlier that year, Freedom was ready to become America's new home in space.

It's three F-1A engines performing optimally, the booster soars into the sky as the central core throttles back to 62% thrust 55 seconds after lift off. After strap-on booster burnout they are jettisoned to fall back into the Atlantic Ocean as the main core throttles up to 100% until the massive S-IVC upper stage takes over the rest of the orbital insertion.

An onboard camera view of booster separation.

The S-IVC deposits the Challenger module into a 350 x 250 km orbit at 28.5 degrees inclination, which then uses its onboard thrusters to boost itself into a more circular orbit. Using newly advanced avionics, the spent upper stage then deorbits itself using its remaining propellant, and burns up over the Pacific.

The Freedom core module now awaits the arrival of its first crew.

 

[mcdouble]

Two days later, astronauts Jack Bailey and Gerald Mitchell prepare to board their Apollo Block IV capsule atop a Saturn M02 launcher. They, along with 3 other crew, would conduct Freedom Expedition 1, staying aboard the new station for over five months and overseeing the addition of the next modules scheduled to be added.

The Apollo CSM turns and extracts its expanded Block IV mission module from the S-IVB, which performs an automated deorbit burn shortly afterwards. 

After rendezvous and docking, the Apollo propulsion system is used to fully circularise the station's orbit at 350 km.

While this was a strong step forward, it would turn out that the Soviets had, again, been one step ahead. Earlier in 1986 the latest evolution of Vulkan rocket technology had rolled out of its hangar and been lifted into position for launch at Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Vulkan-Energia used a large hydrolox core enhanced by Vulkan boosters, four in this configuration, but with possible future upgrades allowing the use of up to eight boosters. While the payload mass for this launch in fact came in well under the vehicle's capabilities, it's theoretical limits would make it the most powerful launch vehicle ever built, eclipsing even the Saturn V.

After a nominal launch, boosters are separated and left to crash onto the Kazakh Steppe. While pods attached to the boosters are testing possible recovery methods using parachutes and landing legs, this would not be attempted on this flight.

After engine cutoff on a barely-suborbital trajectory, the payload is released: a massive MOK module which would form the core of a new Soviet station to rival Freedom, known as Mir. The module then boosts itself into orbit, while the monolithic Energia core burns up over the Pacific.

 

[mcdouble]

As part of Freedom Expedition 1, the crew would oversee the addition of the Unity module, or Node 1, which would provide attachment points for further modules. The Saturn M02 in its cargo configuration would provide launch services, along with an AARDV bus tug.

After attachment of the node and construction of the central truss attachment over several EVAs, an inspection of the station is done using the new Canadarm system. The station would now be ready to receive its next heavy payload, the outboard truss segments with their huge solar arrays and radiators.

In late 1986, a second Saturn H03 launches the 70-ton P1 truss section.

After a delicate docking manoeuvre, the structure would require a complex unfolding procedure and attachment of wiring and coolant systems, taking many hours of EVA work.

After rotation of crew to Expedition 2, the next phase of expansion would involve installation of the Discovery lab module, delivered by another Saturn M02 and AARDV bus combination. The lab would be remotely guided to the node's port berthing mechanism, then captured and brought in for final attachment by the robotic arm.

After matching procedures would complete the S1 outboard truss and berthing of the ESA Columbus lab, the station was declared at initial operating capacity. In March 1987, Expedition 3 would arrive and bring Freedom to a crew of ten. With two Apollo Block IVs at the Node 1 zenith and nadir ports and an AARDV block II resupply vehicle at the Challenger aft port, the station had taken on an impressive size, all in a short time of less than a year.

 

 

[Angelo Kerman]

@mcdouble I'm enjoying your alternate ETS timeline, keep going!

[GehringGame]

By the Kraken, those are some of the most beautific screenshots I have ever seen! It's like we're playing different games. This is great!

[Drakenex]

your Titan H design is pure genius! can you please share more details? Thanks!!

[mcdouble]

On 2017-6-28 at 0:31 PM, Drakenex said:

your Titan H design is pure genius! can you please share more details? Thanks!!

That was basically just an excuse to use the RS-25 engine in a world where the Space Shuttle never existed.  Also a bit of wondering what might have happened if there had been some reason why hypergolic fuels could no longer be used, since the big Titan SRBs would still be around, it would make sense to develop a hydrolox core to go with them and create a sort of mini-SLS configuration. To be honest I don't think it's very realistic though, the RS-25 is too expensive an engine to just throw away every time you launch it... it should probably use an RS-68, but that's a bit too modern.

Oh yeah, and there will probably need to be development of a new heavy-lift vehicle soon, and an expanded version of the Titan H could serve well there (sort of like an equivalent of the Ares V).

Got some more stuff to post soon, cheers 

[minepagan]

What mod do you get your launch clamps and towers from,  specifically the Titan H ones? (not the FASA ones)

[mcdouble]

1 hour ago, minepagan said:

What mod do you get your launch clamps and towers from,  specifically the Titan H ones? (not the FASA ones)

Real Scale Boosters

[mcdouble]

At the start of the 1990s, operations at Freedom were continuing at a quick pace, with regular resupplies and crew rotations, and the addition of new modules.

With the addition of the Harmony node at the forward port of the station, space was made to connect two Japanese laboratories, one containing a centrifuge which would be vital to the study of artificial gravity in space. Additionally, a cupola module would allow observation of EVAs and berthing spacecraft as well as the Earth itself, while exposed experiment pallets and a multitude of robotic arms facilitated all manner of scientific pursuits.

With the station now reaching its full operational capacity, sights were set to the next objective. While the recent collapse of the Soviet Union had lessened urgency with regard to control of space, work had been slowly been progressing on the Artemis program, NASA's plan for returning to the Moon.

Before humans could make the journey, however, preparations were necessary from a variety of unmanned probes which would scout unknown aspects of the lunar surface, and provide much-needed communications relays for future missions. The first of these was the Lunar Reconnaissance Pioneer, a probe which would enter a polar orbit of the Moon and provide detailed scans of the entire surface, improving greatly on the data gathered by the Apollo missions and the Lunar Orbiter program of decades past. In 1988, the LRP launches from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 41 aboard a Delta H400 rocket.

After orbital insertion and a brief coast phase, the LRP probe is sent on a trans-lunar trajectory by its Centaur-1 stage. It would then use onboard propulsion to capture into a low polar orbit, barely twenty kilometres above the craters and peaks below. For now, scientists on Earth could only wait to see what secrets it would reveal.

[mcdouble]

During the 1990s, interest increasingly turned to the Moon as results from the LRP probe had uncovered tantalising hints of the possibility of water ice in craters at the lunar poles. These areas of the lunar surface, remaining in perpetual darkness, could be of critical value to future crewed missions in allowing extended stays and eventually permanent settlement. To further explore these findings, a mission known as the Artemis Test Lander (ATL) was devised, which would also test a number of hardware systems required for the upcoming Artemis program. On a morning in early 1997, the spacecraft stands ready to launch atop a Titan H550-E.

The lander itself would essentially be a scaled down robotic version of the planned full-scale Artemis lander for crewed excursions. As well as hosting a suite of scientific instruments, it would provide a test run of the new RL10-CECE engine which featured a deep throttle capability for precision landings, three of which would be used on the full lander. In addition, medium-term cryogenic propellant storage could be demonstrated, another vital capability for upcoming missions.

As with the previous Titan III line of rockets, the core stage of the H550-E would remain unlit on launch, the two UA1205 solid rocket boosters providing more than enough thrust to get off the pad in a hurry.

At 1 minute 55 seconds into the flight, a ground tracking camera captures separation of the solid boosters, the main engine having been ignited 10 seconds previously.

Soon afterwards, fairing jettison would occur and the core stage would burn for an additional five minutes, coming to within 1000 m/s of orbital velocity by itself, but then falling back to Earth to impact in the Atlantic just short of the coast of Africa. The Centaur-E stage would then ignite and complete the orbital insertion.

After an alignment maneuver and coast phase, the Centaur performs trans lunar injection and remains connected to its payload, as it would be used as part of an additional experiment on arriving at the moon.

Days later with a trajectory impacting a crater at the lunar south pole, the Centaur is jettisoned and the ATL craft makes a small thruster burn to raise its course and fly just above the target area. With the spent stage creating a significant plume of material upon impact, it was hoped that any water ice present may be detectable by the lander's onboard instruments, or observers based on Earth.

Although the experiment went as planned, initial results were inconclusive. The data obtained would surely keep scientists busy for a while, though.

With this phase of the mission complete, the lander now completed a low polar orbital insertion over the course of many orbital passes, the CECE engine working flawlessly and relighting several times. As for the landing, while many scientists had advocated for putting the craft down in one of the permanently dark polar craters, the lack of sunlight for solar panels and general difficulties of a landing in complete darkness meant this plan was never seriously considered. Instead the ATL would land in Clavius crater, a location chosen for its proximity to the pole as well as clear and flat landing zones, and not at all because it was the location of a moon base in a somewhat well-known science fiction film. 

After a deorbit burn was made over the distinctive crater formation, the craft would come down for a landing at a spot between the craters Clavius C and Porter.

With a nominal touchdown on the surface, scientific observations could begin utilising a drill capable of reaching deeper layers of the lunar crust than ever before, as well as other techniques such as laser spectroscopy of the nearby soil. Having gone without incident and demonstrated key technologies for the Artemis program, the mission was deemed a total success, and it would not be long before humans would follow.

[mellow2mike]

Wow, this content is really awesome. I hope to see more in the near future. 

[Richmountain112]

I wanna see more of this. It's really awesome.