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prolemasses (NASA's Waterloo): The Japanese economy, which had been the second largest in the world, crashed in late 1991. The popping of the bubble would lead to a rapid decline in the Japanese economy, and would lead to the 90s being referred to as “the lost decade” in Japan. As a result of harsh economic realities, to save money, the Japanese space program's budget would be slashed. Part of this involved shelving the manned spacecraft, and delaying Hayabusa [a cargo vessel in this timeline]. NASDA would be put through the ringer, jumping through hoops to keep the program afloat. TimothyC (Boldly Going): The economic impacts of the Japanese bubble in the 1980s have taken decades to shake out [in our timeline], and would generally do the same here. In short, even with an earlier station capability, we the authors have serious doubts that NASDA/JAXA will do anything substantively different than they did [in our timeline]. e of p (Eyes Turned Skyward): ...after almost a decade of dreams shattered by the unexpected financial upset which had broken the Japanese economy, JAXA was becoming more comfortable making its plans based on following where the US was willing to lead. In response to the Japanese economy and space program losing its ambitions in almost every modern alternate timeline, an alien space bat decided to give the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) an unlimited budget and resources for space development. The agency thus became known as JAXA+. The early 2020s saw the debut of the H-Z, a super-heavy launch vehicle capable of carrying 285-485 tonnes to low Earth orbit or 75-150 tonnes to the Moon or an escape trajectory, surpassing rockets such as SLS or Starship. This rocket would enable single-launch space stations and lunar bases, as well as the construction of massive crewed interplanetary missions. It was designated "Z" as it was the ultimate letter. H-Z is an upscaled version of their previous H3 and H-IIA/B rockets, following the pattern of a core stage + upper stage fueled by liquid hydrogen/oxygen, which is surrounded by 2 or 4 monolithic solid rocket boosters. This time, JAXA+ borrowed decades-old plans by Aerojet for the M-1 and AJ-260, the largest liquid and solid rocket engines ever tested. The H-Z first stage uses nine M-1s (manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as the "LE-Z") on the first stage and zero to four AJ-260 boosters (renamed "SRB-Z" and built by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries), with one vacuum-optimized LE-Z on the second stage. (Starship render by The Everyday Astronaut) Launch of VEP-Z (Vehicle Evaluation Payload) from Tanegashima Space Center

The Aquarius Program - Space Shuttle to the Moon This is a project I am doing in KSP that I'm currently posting in Space Shuttle Adventures, but I thought it might deserve its own thread, so I'll put the posts here. This Alternate History of the Space Shuttle is where I try to send a Shuttle to the Moon in 2.5x KSRSS. The main goal of this timeline is to set up some sort of crewed station in Low Lunar Orbit, and potentially find water on the poles of the Moon. The rest will be explained in later posts in this thread. I hope you enjoy this Alt-Space Shuttle History, and make sure to nitpick this timeline if you want to, so I can improve it in the future. I already made the first post of this timeline in the Space Shuttle Adventures thread, so I'll just repost it here. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ STS-200 - A New Beginning - January 14, 1985 The Aquarius Program: Part 1 In the late 1970's, NASA officials realize the Space Shuttle's potential to return humans to the Moon after the Apollo Program, and devise a program to do so, the Aquarius Program. The main goals of this program are to return people to the Moon permanently, and second and most important, to discover ice at the Lunar Poles, to possibly use for drinking water at a Lunar Base, or to make rocket fuel for refueling depots in orbit. The way that NASA has planned to send a shuttle to the Moon is to launch a External Tank Refueler on one of the last remaining Saturn V's, and to slowly fill up the empty tank with modified Centaur-G's launched by Shuttles or Titan III launch vehicles, then dock with a Space Shuttle's ET that the shuttle carries with it to orbit. The shuttle will then ignite its modified Block III RS-25's and burn for the Moon. Workers immediately begin on modifying an unused External Tank for use a refueler, and paired it up to the two stages of the SA-514 Saturn V, slated for launch in the beginning of 1985. The External Tank Refueler will be reusable, so hopefully the last remaining Saturn V will not have to be sacrificed for the sake of human exploration. With the beginning of the explanation of the Aquarius Program out of the way, let's fast forward to the launch of the modified External Tank on the Saturn V. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ January 14, 1985, Launch Day of STS-200 The Saturn V with the ET Refueler sits out on Pad 39A, waiting to launch to a 28.5 degree inclination orbit. We have F-1 Main Engine Start. Liftoff! We have a Liftoff! We have cleared the tower! Beginning to pitch downrange of the launch site. We have confirmed shutdown of the 5 F-1 engines; S-II Stage Separation. J-2 Engine Ignition. We have confirmation that the S-II Skirt has been jettisoned. The S-II Stage continues to orbit with the empty External Tank Refueler. Beautiful views of Florida and the Atlantic Ocean. Pitching down to insert into Low Earth Orbit in only one continuous burn. Nominal Insertion into orbit; shutdown of the J-2 engines. The Refueler has been deployed into orbit! The mission is looking good so far. The Solar Panels under the ET are beginning to hinge outwards for deployment. The hinge outward maneuver has been completed. The Solar Panels have successfully deployed! The ET Refueler will now wait in LEO for Centaur-G's to refill it so it can refuel the Shuttle's External Tank for the Moon.

Project Lepidoptera Taking after one of my close friends, I've decided to start a JNSQ, story-oriented sandbox save. There aren't really any specific restrictions I have in place, but I do want to progress realistically. Difficulty Highlights: Kerbals do not respawn, parts and Kerbals have G limits and parts also have Temperature limits. Key mods are: Mission List: Chapter List: Chapter/Stage 1

Background Details The Kerbal race was in a time of economic and political turmoil, and the times, known now, 68 years later, as the Era of Darkness, created a sense of unity and harmony amongst the Kerbal population. As the economy slowly began to recover, Kerbalkind as a whole came together and formed the Kerbal Federation, a world government leading the planet as one. Now, as Kerbin begins to advance in science, the only way Kerbin can continue advancing is to go up- to the stars, to the Mun, and Minmus, and Duna and Eve. There's nowhere to go but up! Current Situation The Kerbal Federal Government has funded the creation of the Kerbal Aeronautics and Space Administration (KASA) to begin the exploration of the stars. Using a pre-existing ICBM design from Pre-Unification, KASA begins the Moho program, which intends to begin Kerbalkind's voyage into the stars.

In a parallel universe, the country of Hatsunia (初音国) had taken a very different path compared to Japan, its counterpart in our world. Instead of hundreds of years of feudal isolation, the society became used to foreign contact and social reform. Unlike Japan, its international relations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries mostly involved diplomacy and trade with its neighbors instead of brutal militaristic conquest. During the Second World War, Hatsunia joined the Allied Powers and formed the Honolulu Pact with the United States in 1941 against a China that had been taken over by fascists in this timeline. The Allies achieved victory several years later, and with Hatsunia not being on the defeated side, its aerospace industry would not be obstructed by treaties, constitutional articles, or ruined infrastructure. At the beginning of the space age, Hatsunia did not have the native resources to directly compete with the Soviet Union or United States in spaceflight achievements, but had just enough to invest in small rockets and the cultivation of electronics and computing industries. As time went on, Hatsunia's economy would take advantage of post-war international trade networks and the digital revolution, and its space industry would eventually become the forefront of capability and affordability in the 21st century. For more information about Hatsunia, visit this page and the wiki. This is a pseudo-alternate history in a parallel universe that wasn't meant to be fully realistic. Like Japan, there is more to Hatsunia than anime. If you're wondering, "why a space program inspired by Hatsune Miku?" please read this. (not everything will be Miku-related) The Hatsunia Aerospace Science and Development Agency (初音国宇宙航空科学開発機関) was established in 1958. [Japan used to have three aerospace agencies: ISAS (scientific space probes), NASDA (practical satellites/human spaceflight), and NAL (mostly aeronautics). They were merged to become JAXA in 2003. In Hatsunia, their responsbilities were merged since the beginning.] This is an alternate history-like self-roleplay which will be depicted with modified versions of the Real Solar System and Realism Overhaul mods (and Zorg's TUFX configs). The Realistic Progression 1 (RP-1) career mode mod is also used to give structure to the missions, but it will not be a legitimate playthrough as progression through the tech tree is dependent on gathering science points from the moon and other planets as soon as possible. Thus, technologies will be manually unlocked at a pace according to their respective times. The TestFlight (engine failure) mod will also not be used. Custom contracts will also be made. Think of it as part career, part sandbox. Table of Contents (Video playlist) Phase 1 (1952-1961) Phase 2 (1962-1976) Phase 3 (1977-1986) Phase 4 (1987-) Phase 1 - 01 In Minamikushi Prefecture, the Hatsunia Science and Technology Agency constructed a facility on the island of Negishima, named after the green onion that the island was coincidentally shaped like (and was on the Hatsunese flag). Parts of the agency focused on the development of rocketry for scientific purposes, while the Hatsunia Defense Forces also saw its potential value for military applications. Professor Hidemi Utagawa of the University of Minamikushi led the development of Hatsunia's first sounding rocket. This sounding rocket was the Negi-1, and was similar to the American WAC Corporal rocket. The vehicle was composed of two stages. The upper stage, or sustainer, was composed of steel and was powered by the LE-01 liquid rocket engine. It used a simple pressure-fed design and was fueled by a toxic mixture of aniline, furfuryl alcohol, and inhibited red fuming nitric acid, which required careful handling but could be stored for long periods of time. The LE-01 was the first in a series of liquid rocket engines developed by Mikubishi Heavy Industries, which previously manufactured ships and aircraft. At the top of the stage was a nose cone and an additional cylindrical compartment carrying a payload of scientific measuring instruments, including a thermometer and barometer. Fins, twisted by a fraction of a degree, provided flight stability through rotation. The lower stage, or booster, resembled the American "Tiny Tim" rocket and was known as the "Pencil," containing solid nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose propellant. Its purpose was to provide a short burst of thrust and acceleration so that the second stage's fins could stabilize effectively. The diagram below compares its size to a modern interpretation of Hatsune Miku, a mythical singer originating from ancient Hatsunese folklore. On 1952 August 31, the first Negi-1 was on the launch pad after several weeks of construction. The launch platform was slightly tilted to the east so that the rocket would not crash into any populated areas. (Captions provided by the Historian mod with my custom config)

Please sit back with a cup of tea, and relax as I try to take Britain to the stars. I have taken data from prototype, developed and planned British engines, mixed it with a bit of British design and decided to see just how well could they do if post war Britain had thrown a little bit of money at the problem instead of just the innate creativity mixed with sticky tape and hope that usually happens... Will Britain expand into a Vertical Empire?

Decided to finally get around to doing a MR series on my playthroughs! The first series will be about my newly started, heavily modded (nearing 10 gigabytes of pure system torture), Permadeath SnacksLS playthrough with 10% science gain and reduced funds and reputation gains Anyway, if you have any feedback, i'd greatly appreciate it! (Will start tomorrow)