Space Race - RO/RSS/RP-0 (April 1956)

[Ultimate Steve]

So, because this is dead, I'm going to go ahead and post the last two months of what I had done before the over 6 month long hiatus.

Ultimate Steve - May-June 1956 (Cycle 23)

 

 

Notebook Space Program: Footprints on the Moon

Spoiler

On May 3, 1956, the Reacher 5 Mars Science Lander was launched on board a standard StarRender rocket. It was composed of a scientific lander that would land using both parachutes and engines, and a relay orbiter that would support future missions. I don't remember if it had mapping equipment, but it might have been on there as well.

It was pushed on a Mars bound trajectory with a new stage, powered by three new fancy RL-10 engines.

A closer look at the probe as it leaves Earth.

Despite being only part of the way through the Dream program, the NSP was looking towards the future. It was necessary to have a more modern crewed spacecraft. And so, on May 13, the Legend Pad Abort Test was launched.

I don't remember what, if anything, went wrong, but it is listed on this old piece of paper as "Success mostly."

Two days later, on May 15, Reacher 6, the Martian Moon Explorer (MMX) spacecraft was launched on a modified StarRender vehicle. The modifications were restartable kerolox engines in addition to the main ones, and a set of extra ullage motors. The mission would be to land on both Phobos and Deimos, and to transmit science back from both.

On the morning of May 23, 1956, the Dream 12 spacecraft finished rolling out to the launch pad on its massive Quasar launch vehicle.

The mission? Land on the surface of the moon.

The world watched and cheered as pilot Eddie Sutton, engineer Carol Lawson, and Command Module Pilot Phyllis Allen blasted off into space in the command module that they had dubbed the Glory, carrying the lunar module Triumph.

All was going well until booster separation.

The boosters collided with the stage, blowing up a fin. That was not the biggest problem, however. The biggest problem was the lack of control authority caused by the lack of engines, and the fin.

Mere seconds later, Dream 12 tipped over and exploded, ripped to shreds by the atmosphere.

The abort system worked. That was the second time that this exact crew had been through a launch abort, the first being back on Dream 7.

The crew, thoroughly disappointed, returned to Earth safely under parachutes.

This launch failure was the product of me not being used to flying stuff in RSS very much, as it had been a while since I had launched anything that big.

As the failure was investigated, another launch took place, this one on the very next day, actually, May 24. It was the Legend 1 spacecraft launching on board a brand new Mirage rocket.

It has been more than six months since this flight for me, so I have no idea what engines are powering this.

I believe this rocket was designed to be a LEO launcher for the Legend spacecraft, to better launch crew to the space stations. I forget if it was designed for cislunar operations too or not.

Not in this configuration, definitely. This is definitely an LEO only configuration.

Unfortunately, the fuel only docking port is still retained.  There wasn't enough room for a proper port. I could have gone full Soyuz and done an orbital module, but I wanted this to be a minimal LEO thing I think.

There was still enough fuel to test the heat shield on a high speed re-entry, though.

Landing was successful, but in the dark.

Sometime later, the Venus orbiter Scott Manley made a course correction.

Fearlessly, the Dream team (haha) pressed on, rushing the build of the next Quasar rocket. Again, Eddie, Carol, and Phyllis launched into the air.

Dream 13 was launched on June 24.

Booster separation went well this time, and so did first stage separation. This profile view really looks like the Saturn V. Also, it is really close in operation to the Saturn V. Two hydrolox upper stages, three stages, a CSM and an LM, LOR...

It's not my fault that Apollo was a convenient way to do things!

LES jettison went well, except for the side panels being ditched sideways... Those LES panels have had no end to their problems.

The TLI burn was completed with the third stage after a normal ascent (minus the LES panels).

The CM docked to the LM and extracted it from the third stage.

The third stage relit one of its engines and burned back for Earth. It crashed into India.

Sorry, India!

The astronauts pondered the meaning of life during their transport to the moon.

They often looked back at Earth from the magnificent windows of the Lunar Module, Triumph II.

While Dream 13 was en route to the moon, something made a course correction. I'm not exactly sure what this is, but it's something.

The service module engines fired to place Triumph II and Glory II into a lunar orbit.

Then, Eddie Sutton and Carol Lawson transferred over to the Triumph II.

The landing engine fired.

And as the world held its breath,

And at about 2:15 to 2:30 AM on May Fifteenth, Nineteen Fifty Six, The Triumph II touched down on the Lunar surface!

Unfortunately during the EVA, Eddie lost his grip on the ladder and faceplanted onto the Lunar surface.

He stood up and said something dramatic, but the world will always remember the first word spoken on the moon: "OW!"

The flag of the Notebook Space Program was planted.

Eddie had brought a soccer ball to the moon as a monument to the efforts of the CARD and a figurine to honor the efforts of the NSEP.

Unfortunately, the crew could not stay long. They ran several science experiments, collected samples, and re-entered the Triumph II.

In a sad moment, the Triumph II lifts off from the moon.

Fuel tank jettison goes alright.

Rendezvous proceeds normally until short range, where the Triumph II ran out of fuel. The Glory II attempts to complete the rendezvous.

Unfortunately, I think the decision was made not to dock. I don't have pictures of the two spacecraft docked so it may have been an EVA transfer.

After a brief wait for the orbit to line up, the service module engines fired, sending the spacecraft onto a trajectory that would intersect Earth's atmosphere.

Goodbye, Moon!

The entry trajectory was nearly polar due to the way the injection had been done.

Despite the crew's best efforts to steer, the capsule ended up in the mountains.

Specifically, the Himalayas.

Even more specifically, Tibet.

Even more specifically,

The right dot, I think, is where the spacecraft landed. The two other points are the distances to the nearest roads, I believe... The rescuers certainly have quite a job on their hands.

 

 

Launches - 6 (2 successes, 1 partial success, 1 failure, 2 in progress).

 

Milestones - Manned lunar landing and return.

 

People in space +3.

 

 

 

[Ultimate Steve]

I've gone ahead and made a thread for a possible season 2. If you would like to add your input, or possibly join, the thread is here: