One Giant Leap | An Alternate History of Space Exploration

[KerballingSmasher]

YOOOOOOOOOOO

[track]

My Collection

     NASA can only say their prayers as the first SDLS rolls out to 39C on June 19th.  They've cut it scarily close to the upcoming Mars transfer window, which will be needed for the first 2 operational launches of SDLS. Those payloads being the first 2 of the Mars Collection, which we'll introduce when the time is appropriate. This first test flight is simply to demonstrate the vehicle in its 423-A configuration. The 4 meaning 4 core stage engines, the 2 meaning 2 boosters, the 3 meaning they're 3 segment boosters, and the A meaning the standard upper stage. There are B, C, and D options for IUS, Centaur, and the High Energy Stage respectively. This variant will carry a 42 ton mass simulator to Low Earth Orbit before de-orbiting. It will also be used on the next flight for the first Mars Collection spacecraft. NASA is confident in the vehicle, but figures a test flight is necessary before entrusting crucial interplanetary payloads to SDLS. Speaking of SDLS, it has since 1983 been known as Jupiter SDLS, the name Jupiter being given in a subtle nod to Saturn as these vehicles replace them. So Jupiter 423-A as it is known, arrives at a freshly upgraded LC-39C on June 19th, 1984.

     The pre-launch campaign will fit into 2 weeks, with a launch slated for July 3rd. On June 22nd, a Wet Dress Rehearsal is attempted, but is cut short due to a hydrogen leak being detected in the second stage umbilical. The umbilical systems of the LUT have been drastically simplified compared to Apollo, with only 3 swing arms now. This tower, atop MLP-3, was used for the Saturn A07, but now will be the platform for SDLS, with NASA having converted MLP-1 for SDLS as well. But, despite all of these simplifications, nothing can truly stop the mischievous nature of the hydrogen molecule. The leak is fixed on June 24th by technicians, and the WDR is given another go on June 28th, with it succeeding this time. The launch is pushed back to July 5th as a result, but the schedule for getting MLP-3 refurbished, and SDLS stacked again will hold. The SAB has truly been a lifesaver in this tight schedule, with the SRBs already stacked, and the SDLS core stage fully prepared for stacking. MLP-1 is already stacked with the core stage and SRBs for the third flight in High Bay 4. With the WDR complete, NASA performs a countdown rehearsal on July 1st, and final tests are done over the next few days, before the countdown begins at T-72 hours on July 2nd. Then, in the early afternoon of July 5th, America's newest launch vehicle embarks on its maiden flight.

"We have a go for Auto Sequence Start, Jupiter's onboard computers now in control of the countdown."

"T-15 seconds, Sound Suppression Water System is activated."

"T-12, 11, 10, 9, We have a GO for Core Stage Engine Start."

"7, 6, 5, 4, We have Core Stage Engine Start."

"2, 1... ZERO, SRB IGNITION AND LIFTOFF! WE HAVE A LIFTOFF! 2 MINUTES PAST THE HOUR! JUPITER EMBARKS ON ITS MAIDEN LAUNCH!"

"We have a roll program."

"Trajectory is nominal, all parameters look good."

Higher and higher, into a new era.

"Good SRB cutoff and nominal jettison confirmed by the booster officer."

"2 engines confirmed shutdown."

"Ladies and Gentleman, we are in orbit!"

     As good stewards of spaceflight, the second stage is started up 5 minutes later to de-orbit for a re-entry over the Indian Ocean.

"We have engine star-"

"Propulsion shows Engine 1 not started."

"Guidance shows stage unaligned."

"Stage is spinning."

"RCS is slowing down the vehicle."

     The team would review their data, and found that the hydrogen inlet valve on Engine 1 had gotten stuck in a roughly 82% closed state. The teams were puzzled as to why this had happened, as the RL20's service up to this point had been marked by unprecedented ignition reliability, which is why it was trusted in favor of engines like the J-2 and RL10. Over the next few orbits, the team slowly coerce the valve into opening using some upstream pressure and some command shenanigans to get it to open and close quickly. Eventually, 3 hours later, they get it open enough to de-orbit the stage safely, and it comes down east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

     Overall, the mission's main objectives are fully completed and it is a rousing success. However, with the next two missions carrying interplanetary payloads of the utmost importance, and ones that will require the second stage to restart to boost them to Mars, NASA is a little concerned, and they consult with Pratt & Whitney over the issue. It turns out the valve issue has happened before in testing, and even occurred  on the final A07 launch in the center engine of the second stage. Although in that case it opened roughly 95% before becoming stuck. Engineers from the SDLS team visit Pratt & Whitney's RL20 team on July 9th to go over data and figure out if this was a situational or engine issue. After a 3 hour meeting, it is determined that the pneumatic system for opening the valve did not achieve proper pressure, and this is why the valve was able to be coerced into opening over a few cycles. It is concluded that the pneumatic system needs no modification, but it should be tested extensively to figure out if this was a random failure or an actual issue.

     Puzzling pneumatics aside, NASA is committed to meeting this transfer window, because they do not feel like storing 2 very expensive spacecraft until late 1986. Speaking of those spacecraft, let's introduce them properly.

     The first is one of 2 Mars Collection orbiters. This one is the general purpose orbiter, named Mars Scout

     Mars Scout will be doing general study of Mars. Including topology, surface chemistry, atmosphere study, and visiting Phobos and Deimos a few times. This is the jack of all trades for the Mars Collection.

     The next is the first of the Orbiter/Lander combo spacecraft. These are based on work from Surveyor and Viking, and inspired by earlier proposals for Mars missions launched on ASLV rockets. These spacecraft will have unique names, this one being named in honor of the Viking who may have very well been the first European to step foot on New World soil, Leif Erikson. The Erikson spacecraft as it is called is quite the big one, but will provide a whole host of new scientific capabilities from orbit and the surface.

     

     Erikson will be launched first on a 423-A, while Mars Scout is light enough to be launch on a 500-A, that will just barely have the thrust to get off the pad with a slight under fueling. This variant isn't exactly useful beyond these light interplanetary missions, but NASA considers it perfect for that niche use case, which is the advantage of a modular rocket family.

     MLP-3 is rolled back to the park site for refurbishment on July 9th. The Mars window lasts almost the entirety of August, so there is plenty of time to do a quick refurbishment, and get the vehicle for Mars Scout stacked. On July 25th, the SDLS slated to launch Erikson is rolled out to 39D. With all pre-flight activities complete a week later, it lifts off into the Cape Canaveral skies on August 1st, 1984.

     "ZERO... BOOSTER IGNITION AND LIFTOFF OF THE JUPITER ROCKET AND THE ERIKSON MISSION TO MARS!"

"Roll program is in."

"Trajectory is nominal."

     A few hours after launch, the SDLS second stage would boost Erikson on its way towards Mars. The spacecraft is expected to arrive sometime in May of 1985.

     With Erikson launched, Mars Scout will be the final SDLS launch for its debut year. This launch will feature some tweaks to the rocket. Most notably improved second stage tankage that gives a larger fuel mass, and the removal of paint on the spray-on foam insulation that covers the stage's propellant tanks. This will also be the first flight of a variant other than 423-A, as previously mentioned. The unique 500-A variant with 5 core stage engines and no boosters won't exactly light up the night sky like the variants with SRBs, but it will provide a mesmerizing view as it rises into the sky on nearly transparent exhaust plumes.

     Late on the night of August 23rd, 1984, the 5 engine rocket takes to the skies with another mission to Mars.

"3, 2, 1... hold-downs release and LIFTOFF of the Jupiter rocket with the Mars Scout orbiter destined for the Red Planet!"

     Even with it's 5 mighty engines, the rocket slowly heads skyward, before disappearing above the clouds. The flight proceeds nominally, and Mars Scout is sent on its merry way. The orbiter will arrive a few weeks after its companion mission, and begin operation with a 5 year initial lifespan.

     With Jupiter SDLS now operational, NASA shifts back to the Shuttle to finish out the year. While the British are set to debut a new rocket of their own.

     With her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in attendance at Scapa Flow, the British send off their new upgraded Comet rocket, rather creatively named Comet B, off into the skies on a test flight with a simple mass simulator. Comet B is intended to mostly replace Comet A, with its much simpler construction reducing costs and hopefully increasing its value on the commercial market, while Ariane and the Shuttle stake larger claims.

     Markets aside, the cream colored rocket jumps off the launchpad on September 3rd, 1984.

"1... ignition and liftoff of our nation's newest launch vehicle! The Comet B taking off now!"

     Just like it's predecessor, Comet B uses 12 SRBs in 2 pairs of six. This staging taking inspiration from Delta rockets.

     Successfully in orbit, to the thrill of the UKSA and Her Majesty, who gives a speech to the press and the employees of the agency and the contractors who build the rocket. She commends their efforts, and dedicates the nation to future efforts in space.

     But ESA are quick to take the spotlight again, as the first operational mission to Coelus Lab launches on September 30th. The crew, composed of 2 Frenchman, an Englishman, a German, and an Italian, will be staying onboard the Lab for 80 days before returning in the MPCS spacecraft.

     The crew will return in mid-December after completing their stay.

     The Shuttle finally gets some time on the news, as Atlantis launches a very important mission on October 15th. You see, the LunaComm satellites placed into orbit around the Moon for Phase 2 Apollo missions are aging, and they've already gone well past their lifespan. So NASA has been working on a replacement since 1981. This new series of spacecraft will be called the Lunar Communications Network, or LCN, and will be composed of 4 satellites launched by Shuttle-Centaur over the course of the next few years. This is the first satellite, LCN-1. This mission is also notable for another outstanding reason.

     This is the 50th Space Shuttle mission.

     After over 7 years of flights, the Space Shuttle has done what many doubted it could do. 50 flights is an outstanding accomplishment for the program, and countless NASA executives and foreign dignitaries are here to witness the monumental event.

     Under partly cloudy October morning skies, Atlantis takes flight on STS-71H.

"SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER IGNITION AND LIFTOFF! LIFTOFF of Atlantis on the 50th Space Shuttle Mission with the first of a series of new lunar communications spacecraft!"

     Once in orbit, LCN-1 is deployed 4 hours after launch, and sent towards the Moon where it successfully enters orbit on October 20th, 1984. A day after Atlantis lands at the KSC concluding STS-71H.

     With the year winding down. NASA executives, including Administrator Young, hold a meeting with President Reagan and several high level DoD officials at the White House. Over several days, they outline plans for the Strategic Defense Initiative, including NASA's part to play within it. The DoD wants flights on SDLS, in addition to the Shuttle flights out of Vandenberg. NASA is uneasy to give the DoD these flights, as they see SDLS being prioritized for their own uses. But the Strategic Defense Initiative has immense plans for orbital spacecraft, and will need the heavy lifting capabilities of SDLS. They eventually agree to 5 flights for the DoD to be carried out over the next few years. Without the presence of NASA executives, the DoD officials and the President further discuss how the Soviets have responded to SDI. The main worrisome trend is the buildup of the Soviet military even further, and there are rumors spreading of spaceplanes and space-based weapons projects from the Soviets. But there is no telling what the Soviets are truly up to right now.

   What they are actually up to, is some experimental flight testing of their brand new Orbiter.

     Come fly with me.

Первый полет BTS-02 прошел с ошеломляющим успехом, пилоты Станкявичюс и Волк остались довольны полетами самолета и готовы к более высоким и продолжительным полетам.

Edited March 17, 2023 by track

[BeastHunter]

Amazing! I can’t help but ask, what visual mods do you have installed, especially for clouds/ atmosphere and engine plumes.

[track]

1 hour ago, BeastHunter said:

Amazing! I can’t help but ask, what visual mods do you have installed, especially for clouds/ atmosphere and engine plumes.

The clouds are from the early access of a new Environmental Visual Enhancements update available on blackrack's patreon. I believe the forums don't like the discussion of "paid" add-ons but he definitely deserves the small sum of money for the incredible work he's done.

I'm also using scatterer, and my own TUFX profile which is based on @AmateurAstronaut1969's that he graciously provided to me last year. And I'm running KSRSS Reborn with the 64K Earth addon. Engine plumes come from Waterfall, the Stock Waterfall Effects mod, and SRB Waterfall Effects.

Thank you for the kind words! 

[jjaster]

I've always favored the Classic Saturn V, nice for a basic Mun mission. 

[track]

Return to Luna

     "So help me God."

     A new year for the world, a new year for America, and a new year for NASA. The agency will be undertaking many critical events this year, The most notable of which, of course, being Orpheus 1. This mission will end what NASA hopes will be the last "Moon Gap" of years without manned lunar missions. Orpheus is primed to be a sustainable program, one with the capability to achieve low-cost, high-return exploration of the lunar surface. Cost projections for Orpheus 1 are around 312 million dollars (875 million today) which is the sub-billion number NASA has been anticipating for the program. As SDLS and the Shuttle will get cheaper, and combined with ACOV reuse, NASA thinks they can get the cost permission below 180 million dollars (around 500 million today) which would be a monumental achievement.

     Cost aside, all of the pieces are being brought together at the Cape, with the mission slated for late May/early June. But that is dependent on the first Shuttle mission of the year following through successfully. Atlantis will launch with the second ACOV spacecraft for the final test flight of the vehicle on STS-81A. As previously mentioned, this is a circumlunar flight that will utilize a free return trajectory. This is because there have been a few delays with the Tranquility station, and its core Power and Propulsion Module (PPM) won't launch until the end of February, with the first propellant module to launch soon after it. 

     There is a lot to cover as we start 1985. A pressing issue for NASA is overcrowding at the Michoud Assembly Facility. The building is handling the construction of Shuttle ETs, SDLS core stages, and the LTV Mk2. As the first LTV Mk2 is finally completed and rolled out on the cold morning of January 3rd, there is work being done just a few hundred yards away to address the problem. With a new ample budget from Magellan for infrastructure additions and upgrades, NASA will be building a second building (or "campus") at Michoud to accommodate construction of the LTV Mk2, and eventually, vehicles for Magellan. Ground is broke on January 2nd with John Young being there to contribute to the first shovelings of dirt. 

     NASA isn't the only one gearing up for the year though. This is set to be a major 12 months for the Soviet space program. They are planning to debut 2 new rockets this year. The first being the long awaited revamp and upgrade of Sokol, dubbed Sokol-K. This introduces 4 RD-190 engines on the core stage to replace the NK-33s, and the RD-170 on the boosters in place of the aging and rather inefficient RD-100. The RD-170 is a behemoth of an engine with 4 combustion chambers fed by one turbopump, and it is more powerful than the original F1 engine. The RD-190 is a single combustion chamber version of the engine. This is a positive simplification for manufacturing, and will help reduce costs. On top of this, Proton's second stage is no more, it has been replaced by a new Hydrolox second stage. The idea with Sokol-K is to make it better for higher energy orbits and trajectories, as the heavy lifting capabilities will be accomplished by Energiya and its variants. For the second rocket, it is essentially an Energiya Zenit booster turned into a rocket, and it is named Zenit of course. It has an RD-170 engine on the first stage and an RD-120 on the second stage. A simple no-nonsense rocket for smaller payloads.

     With these new capabilities the Soviets hope to ramp up robotic efforts in the future, which was one of the main tenants of their re-focusing following the cancellation of the lunar program. The falling out after SSTP and Apollo 29's cancellation was only worsened by the tragic shootdown of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, which strained US-Soviet relations overall. The Soviets aren't in a good leadership position either, after Andropov's death in February 1984 he was succeeded by Konstantin Chernenko, who has been in poor health for most of his tenure. The Soviets are navigating a difficult situation, and some are already predicting the USSR to dissolve within the next few years. Change will be needed for the survival of communism in the Soviet Union.

     But we're not here for politics, are we? No no no we are here for spaceflight. Although they may be as intertwined as ever, nothing beats a good old fashioned rocket. The DoD knows this, and they are now working on their Complementary Expendable Launch Vehicles (CELV) program even harder. They have finally downselected to two rockets. The first being Martin Marietta's Titan IV rocket. The DoD selected this over Atlas CELV because of Martin Marietta's plans to vastly simplify Titan infrastructure, and also the many tweaks to the vehicle and changes that will improve it. The main thing being switching back to RP-1 and Liquid Oxygen for the Titan core propellants as American aerospace is beginning to shift away from hypergolics in launch vehicles. On top of this there will be no stretched UA120 booster as previously planned, they will fast-track development of the "Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade" or SRMU booster. All of this is intended to lower costs and increase the launch rate. For the second rocket, the DoD selected McDonnell Douglas and their Delta II rocket, the next evolution of the Thor-Delta family. This rocket will fulfill smaller payloads such as GPS, which is now publicly available in the wake of the previously mentioned KAL 007 tragedy. NASA has interest in both vehicles as supplements to the Shuttle, but that is still a developing interest so we will have to wait and see what comes of it.

     With all of our bases covered to begin the year, we kick things off with ACOV's second test flight on January 26th, 1985.

    "Solid Rocket Booster ignition and liftoff of Atlantis and the second flight of the ACOV spacecraft!"

     Once in orbit, the 4 crew of ACOV (consisting of Robert Gibson, Shannon Lucid, Guion Bluford Jr, and Anthony England) enter the spacecraft, and deploy from the Space Shuttle 5 hours after launch.

     3 days later, as ACOV is just hours from closest approach, Atlantis lands at Edwards Air Force Base, concluding her 11th mission. This flight ties Atlantis with Columbia for the title of most flown Space Shuttle. In Columbia's absence due to her being in Palmdale for OMDP 1, the other 3 Shuttles still at the Cape have had to split flights, with Atlantis taking many important missions as the newest and most capable Orbiter.

     Just a few hours later, ACOV swings past the Moon at closest approach. For the first time since 1977, an Apollo spacecraft is around the Moon.

    Another 3 days later, after swinging past the Moon and back to Earth on the free return trajectory, ACOV re-enters the atmosphere for landing in the Pacific on February 1st, 1985.

    Bobbing around in the waters of the Pacific, the second ACOV vehicle has wrapped up the new spacecraft's test flight campaign, clearing the way for Orpheus 1 at the end of May.

     Following things up just a few days later, Jupiter SDLS rolls out for its third flight. This is for the launch of the much anticipated first component of the Tranquility Space Station. The station has undergone a downsizing to reduce rising costs and keep it focused on the idea of a small lunar orbit station. The initial station doesn't need any habitation capability, just the Power and Propulsion Module (the first component) and one of the refueling depots. Despite finally getting to launch, the station's future is already in jeopardy after the downsizing. Many within NASA are advocating for a modification of the architecture that will result in ACOV getting a bit larger and not needed to be refueled, thus defeating the primary purpose of Tranquility. This is being studied now as a potential "Phase II" of Orpheus for further cost reduction and simplification.

     The future aside, in the here and now, the Power and Propulsion Module is primed for launch and delivery to lunar orbit, with Jupiter 500-A lifting off on February 24th, 1985.

     You may have noticed the new docking port on the PPM, this is a larger docking port called the Modular Docking Adapter System, or MDAS. MDAS is a very wide docking port optimized for space station modules. Tranquility is the first to use it, and NASA hopes to also use it on the successor space station to Skylab, whenever that comes around.

     After a week long transit. The PPM arrives in a polar orbit of the Moon on March 1st, 1985. The first lunar space station is now under assembly. Although the first habitation module won't arrive until next year.

     In between the launches of the first two Tranquility components, the Soviets send the first Sokol-K rocket into the skies on February 29th, 1985.

     Successfully reaching orbit, the first of two new Soviet rockets this year has made its debut. Zenit is expected to first launch in May, shortly after Orpheus 1.

     Now, on March 3rd, the second module of Tranquility is launched on a Jupiter 423-A. This is the first of two fuel depot modules, that will be for refueling ACOV, and perhaps eventually the ALSM.

     A modified Apollo SM is used to transport the depot module to Tranquility, it then separates from the SM tug and docks to the PPM on March 9th, 1985 after reaching lunar orbit.

     With Tranquility now in its initial operating configuration, the path is clear for Orpheus 1 preparations to begin at the start of May. Orpheus is now a simpler 2 launch profile, with the LTV and ALSM being launched together aboard a larger Jupiter 524-A rocket, and then the Shuttle launching with ACOV. The mighty 524-A rocket lifts off into the sunset on May 2nd, 1985.

"We have liftoff of the Jupiter rocket and the start of America's next moon mission!"

     Upon reaching orbit, the LTV and ALSM separate, and head for the Moon.

     Now on their way towards the Moon, the crew of Orpheus 1 will not be too far behind, as Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off with the crew  of Orpheus 1 consisting of Loren Shriver, Frederick Gregory, Sally Ride, Mary Cleave, and Norman Thagard on May 6th, 1985.

"Liftoff of the next American crew to the Moon and the Space Shuttle Challenger with the third ACOV spacecraft!"

     Once in orbit, the same standard deployment procedure follows, with Super Centaur boosting ACOV towards the Moon.

     3 days later, as the ALSM and LTV enter orbit around the Moon, ACOV follows as well just a few hours later. With rendezvous being set up for the next day on May 10th, 1985.

     Once docked, the crew enter the ALSM, power everything on, and prepare for descent. They ensure all supplies are in the lander, and they extend the landing legs. However, there is a problem...

     The RCS thrusters on the ALSM's ascent stage are mounted on rotating booms. These booms fold in for launch to ensure a proper fit inside the fairing for launch. Now at the Moon, they need to be unfolded and ready so the ALSM can move away from ACOV, and then dock with it again upon returning to orbit. The booms will not fold out. This delays landing by several hours, and many fear this will result in an abandoned landing. However, NASA and Grumman, who built the ALSM, believe they can easily perform the mission with the booms folded. ACOV will simply have to perform the docking itself in automated mode once the crew return to lunar orbit.

     Near mission abandonment avoided, the ALSM receives the GO for landing. Powered descent begins about 10 minutes later. Millions tune in on CBS to witness the first Moon landing since December 1982.

"1000 feet. You're right on the money, ALSM."

"Copy that Houston we concur. Right on the money."

"750 feet and nominal descent rate."

"We're pitched over."

"Move a bit forward here... Got a rocky patch there we want to avoid."

"Alright we're easing her over."

"400 feet and nominal descent rate."

"Bit more forward."

"Copy."

"200 feet."

"100."

"50."

"25."

"10."

"5."

"CONTACT light."

"Houston, ALSM, we are on the surface!"

"Great to hear, ALSM, we copy."

"Solar arrays out."

     Houston erupts in cheers, America is finally back on the Moon once again, this time to build a sustainable presence for decades to come.

     President Reagan speaks to the crew 30 minutes after landing. Re-iterating his administration's support for NASA, and congratulating them on the thrilling achievement.

     Festivities aside, EVA 1 begins 2 hours after landing.

     The flag planted, the crew will now begin to set up their surface experiments, and patiently await the final piece for the mission: the EERM rover.

     As the crew of Orpheus 1 explore the surface of the Moon, some programs back on Earth are gearing up for major progress, and potential returns of their own.

После приземления американского корабля «Орфей» мы осознаем, что потенциал новых пилотируемых лунных программ является интересной областью исследований в будущем десятилетии.

Edited March 27, 2023 by track

[Royalswissarmyknife]

So hyped for the next post!

[bokrif]

Well done! It is nice to read!

[track]

Update

     Hey everyone! It's been a while. I've been taking a break from KSP but I am still actively writing new parts (minus all of the screenshots of course) for when I start playing again. Thank you for the continued support, it means a lot. 

 

     

     

[Gplong300]

This is, by far, the best alternate space race I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I'm especially excited to see where you take the Magellon program. Keep up the good work! 

[track]

No Mountain High Enough

    Before I start, I just wanted to say thank you all so much! The thread has reached an incredible 10,000 views! I would've never expected such a positive reception, and your support and kind words mean a lot to me as I continue to write this story. 

 Beautiful desolation, as Buzz Aldrin put it. As the crew of Orpheus 1 stand in awe of the lunar landscape, they are reminded that they have a busy surface stay ahead of them. EVA 1 is dedicated to the crew setting up the first set of surface instruments and experiments. On top of this a few deep surface samples are taken. The EERM for this mission is rather different than the original unit used on Apollo 27. After the blatant stability and performance issues, the vehicle's chassis, suspension, and drivetrain were given a complete overhaul. Now looking more like a 6 wheeled lunar pickup truck, the EERM is expected to handle much better for this mission, and NASA expects the crew to put it through its paces.

     Launched 2 days after ACOV departed from the Moon on a Jupiter 423-A, the EERM will be landed once again by an automated LM descent stage. Although this isn't the optimal landing setup, it is the only available option as Grumman begins to jointly study new landing vehicle designs with NASA for missions beyond Orpheus 3. Once the crew complete EVA 1, they are allotted a rest period, as the EERM and its descent stage reach the Moon. The crew begin preparing for EVA 2 after they awake to the song "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", as the rover begins its descent to the lunar surface. The landing site is an area roughly 2 kilometers north of the ALSM's location. The astronauts will take a slower pace walk to conserve oxygen until they reach the EERM.

     Upon landing, the EERM is autonomously rolled off and deployed. The descent stage purges and safes itself, and the crew begin their 1 hour walk to the rover.

     Reaching the rover, the crew step onto the back, as it depressurizes and allows entry for the astronauts. Hatch closed, the rover re-pressurizes and the crew are able to take off their helmets for a much more relaxing ride back to base camp.

     Once they have returned to the ALSM's landing site, they disembark the rover, and conclude the EVA by deploying the second and final set of surface instruments.

     The crew are then given the next 2 days to focus on scientific work on samples and other materials inside the lander, before embarking on Geology Expedition 1. This covers a total of 50km around Mare Crisium, with many stops to collect samples and record data from portable instruments.

     There are 4 such trips throughout the course of the mission, on top of 3 more EVAs. Each of the 4 trips takes a different direction from the landing site, effectively trying to form "quadrants" of exploration around the landing site, with each GE being dedicated to a quadrant. This leads to a staggering total distance covered of nearly 180km. The redesigned rover holds up exceptionally well, and is definitively a necessary component of Orpheus missions going forward.

     But after 2 fruitful weeks on the lunar surface, for the crew of Orpheus 1, their time on the lunar surface comes to an end. Departing from the surface on May 26th in the early morning hours back on Earth, they are content in their job well done on the Moon.

     Rendezvous with ACOV is successful 3 hours later, the crew dock to their spacecraft, transfer all of their equipment and samples, along with themselves, and bid farewell to the ALSM. ACOV then performs a rendezvous maneuver of its own, to reach Tranquility for refueling before the return trip home.

     Arriving at Tranquility, an anxious 2 hours pass as ACOV is slowly refueled. The fueling job is accomplished by a deployable mechanism on the side of the tanker module that attaches to a fueling port on the service module. The same pressure differentiation process, on top of some assistance from pumps on the mechanism, permits the transfer of propellants. There are two mechanisms and two ports to accommodate the transfer of both fuel and oxidizer. As mentioned, the process takes about two full hours, after which ACOV undocks another 30 minutes later, and gains distance from the station before performing the Trans-Earth Injection maneuver.

     The cruise back to Earth is rather uneventful, only characterized by a few (just a few) hiccups with ACOV's new navigation and star tracking system, which is largely derived from the Space Shuttle's. The computer which controls the system has a bad habit of shutting down and rebooting itself with even small errors. This will likely be fixed to make it a more robust system before Orpheus 2.

    Screaming through Earth's atmosphere 4 days later, a gentle thud and blast from the retro rockets concludes Orpheus 1 as ACOV performs the first ever touchdown of a US crew capsule, on the dry lakebed of Edwards Air Force Base. Touchdown, as opposed to splashdowns, are an essential part of reusing ACOV, and will minimize the refurbishment and maintenance necessary between flights.

     With the first of a new era of lunar missions complete, next up is the all-important first half of the Mars Collection finally arriving at the Red Planet. On May 26th, Mars Scout successfully inserted itself into an elliptical orbit between the planet itself and Phobos, the innermost Martian moon. This orbital location is ideal for planned flybys of Phobos and eventual flybys of Deimos as well.

     Following it up, on May 28th, the Erikson lander separates from the orbiter stage a few hours before its insertion maneuver, and comes screaming through the Martian atmosphere, before deploying parachutes, and separating out of its aeroshell, making a soft landing on the Martian surface in the Srytis Major region. However there are some major issues... To start, although yes it is a successful landing, two of the instruments immediately fail after landing, one of these being the main television camera on the lander. This means that the Erikson lander cannot return back color images of the Martian surface, on top of the other failed instrument being the internal hydrometer that was to detect moisture content in collected soil from the onboard scoop.

     Thankfully the rest of the lander is functioning as intended, and will continue to perform the planned scientific mission. The orbiter stage and Mars Scout are also working as intended, and will return their own images of Mars. There is also still a second identical Orbiter/Lander with the second half of the Mars Collection. Keeping the Viking name trend, it is named after the King of Norway during the invasions of England in 1066, Harald Hardrada. The Hardrada mission will launch at the end of 1986 during that transfer window.

    With these missions out of the way, the rest of 1985 is comparatively sleepy. The headline Galileo launch has been postponed to next year due to an issue with one of the spacecraft's electronic buses during environmental testing at JPL. With that major delay and minor PR crisis, NASA looks forward to a positive few Shuttle missions, as Columbia returns to flight on STS-81E with a new crew to Skylab. This flight ties Columbia with Atlantis for the record of most flights by a single Orbiter, and this race continues to heat up as Challenger and Discovery are not far behind and both seeing regular use.

     Speaking of Discovery, the next flight just a few weeks later, STS-81F, performs the second deployment of the Long Duration Exposure Facility. Retrieved back in January 1984, it has proven to be a fascinating platform for space science, which pushed NASA to deploy it a second time as soon as possible. This mission is short and straight-forward, concluding successfully after 3 days in space.

     With all this talk of NASA's accomplishments, the Soviets decide they'd like a bit of the limelight. The world's foremost communist nation has been undergoing quite a lot of turmoil in this part of the 80s. Their leaders keep passing, with Chernenko dying in March of this year. But the newest head of the USSR is different. A man by the name of Mikhail Gorbachev. He brings a new attitude to the world superpower, he stops to talk to civilians on the streets, he is far less threatening and aggressive, and his wife is one of his closest advisors. The Reagan Administration remains weary, but the two are scheduled to meet at a summit in Geneva this November.

     Politics aside, Gorbachev is supportive of the restructuring of the space program, and pushes them to finally select 2 new robotic spacecraft to be launched by 1991. After much deliberation, they choose the unique route, in order to snag a few firsts.

     The first spacecraft, Tserera 1, will be a Ceres orbilander (orbiter/lander spacecraft) that will be the first to visit, orbit, and land on the largest object in the asteroid belt. It is expected to be launched by 1989 or 1990 if all goes well.

     The second spacecraft, Merkuriy 91, will be the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury, the innermost planet. As the name suggests, it is expected to launch in 1991.

     Both spacecraft are expected to launch on Sokol-K, where its new hydrogen upper stage will be very useful.

     To conclude the year, as Reagan and Gorbachev shake hands at the Geneva Summit for the first time, NASA holds a press conference to detail its progress on the Magellan mission architecture. It is, in total, a 3 hour long conference, but a summary is published in the major newspapers the next day.

• Magellan 1 is now NET 1992
• Michoud expansion is expected to be completed in 1988
• Good progress on early architecture pathways, teams are still submitting designs and refining options
• Funding is above threshold, no delays expected from budgetary constraints
• Looking into Japanese and European partnerships
• Long Duration Skylab Endurance Mission (LDSEM) will be conducted next year to study the long term effects of the transit time to Mars.
•      With this promising update, 1985 is concluded. As everyone looks forward to an incredibly busy 1986.

Компонент 1 станции доставлен на Байконур, график запуска остается в соответствии с ожиданиями.

[track]

A Busy Year

     1986 is set to be one of the most action-packed years for spaceflight in a long, long time. There are 3 major science missions set to launch, a moon mission, and a new space station to begin assembly. On top of that, there are several major announcement coming that will determine many key components of the next decade of spaceflight.

     Kicking off the year, NASA makes an important announcement regarding Skylab. In a press conference on January 5th, the final extension of Skylab is declared. The station will be visited for the last time at the end of 1990. This will be followed up by a controlled de-orbit into the Pacific Ocean early in 1991. At that point, the station will be 17 years old, and the Prosperity OWS is already showing signs of aging. After Skylab's retirement and de-orbit, Low Earth Orbit science will be in a limbo phase, but there are already concept studies in the works as to how to move forward through the rest of the 1990s.

     The first quarter of the year is rather slow in terms of spaceflight, with the Shuttle getting off the ground for 2 flights in January as Enterprise launches on another classified mission from Vandenberg in February. ESA also launches the first 100 day crew to Coelus Lab on February 10th. 

     On the government side, a sense of hope for better relations between the US and Soviet Union is brewing after the development of friendship between Reagan and Gorbachev following the Geneva Summit at the end of last year. There are still many points of contention, including Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative program, derogatively nicknamed "Star Wars" by its detractors. The program has lead to a massive buildup of Soviet missiles and their overall nuclear arsenal, appearing to make the situation even worse. This has been a bit of bad press for Reagan's space policy, which has otherwise flourished in the spotlight.

     But government shmovernment, we know what we're here for. May is set to be one of the most exciting months of spaceflight ever. It will host 2 major science missions launching, and the first launch to assemble a new space station. That's right, after many... many years in development, Space Station Mir is finally set to begin assembly. With its new fresh design, a total of 2 modules will be launched this year. The assembly timeline has completion slated for 1991-1992, which by that point Skylab will be in the Pacific Ocean, leaving Mir as the sole modular space station in orbit.

     The 2 science missions are the high profile Galileo mission to Jupiter, which was delayed from last year as you may remember. But it is finally set to launch aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis with a Centaur G'  boost stage, this will be the first use of the G' (G Prime) variant, optimized for deep space probes. Galileo is set to arrive at Jupiter in late 1988 with this launch trajectory, for an initial 4 year science mission. The second spacecraft has kept a low profile, but is also set to visit Jupiter, but not to stay...

     The Ulysses spacecraft was manufactured in Germany, and is being jointly operated by NASA and ESA. This probe is designed to study the polar regions of the Sun, using Jupiter gravity assist to raise its inclination far above the ecliptic to allow for this to be done in any reasonable manner. The responsibility falls on another Centaur G' boost stage to get it to Jupiter, with an arrival also expected in 1988.

     With these 3 major headliners to carry us through May, we get things underway with the launch of the Mir Tvin A module, the first of 2 (nearly) identical modules that will make up the 1986 configuration of the station. Interestingly, both will be launched on Proton, not Sokol. The hypergolic launch vehicle has stubbornly refused to get itself out of service, and it's still expected to fly until at least 1989. That out of the way, it is a beautiful launch at around 2AM from Baikonur Cosmodrome.

    Tvin B is set to launch later in the year, completing this initial configuration. In terms of the first crewed flights, there will be an outfitting crew slated to arrived in mid-June, which will be followed up by the first Mir Expedition set to launch in July. For the future, the large module set to be lifted by Energiya will likely be launched towards the end of 1987, following that vehicle's expected demonstration flights.

     The two headlining Shuttle missions for May launch on the 15th and 20th, respectively. First up is Ulysses, launching aboard Challenger under mission STS-91D. It is a picture perfect afternoon launch, with Ulysses boosted successfully on its way to Jupiter.

"Booster ignition and liftoff of the Shuttle Challenger and the Ulysses spacecraft!"

     After a flawless launch and deployment, Ulysses is on its way to a flyby date with Jupiter in 1988.

     5 days later, on the 20th, Space Shuttle Atlantis takes flight with the Galileo spacecraft. In fact it's almost exactly 5 days later as the launch times are only different by a few minutes. Regardless, it is a successful mission, despite Main Engine No.1 shutting down about .8 seconds early. The SSME may have grown into a reliable engine, but it often proves that it is still an immensely complex and advanced engine, that has many, many failure points.

     Even with one slightly early shutdown, there is negligible impact to the trajectory and performance of Centaur as it successfully boosts Galileo towards Jupiter. At last, the successor to Perdix is on its way towards the Jovian system, with scientists awaiting arrival in 1988.

     With all of these missions out of the way, there is a bit of a summer lull for June and July, only getting major media attention for one announcement.

     In a joint press conference held in London, the UKSA, and NASA, officially announce their joint "Lunar Exploration Program" which will build several robotic landers and rovers to study the South Pole alongside Orpheus missions. The spacecraft will all be built in Britain, and most likely NASA intends to strike a deal with the Air Force to get them launched aboard their newly selected Titan IV and Delta II rockets from CELV. The announcement is received well in both countries, and is a further strengthening of the two nation's growing cooperation in space, as NASA also begins to forge ties with its Japanese counterpart, NASDA.

     The second half of the year looks to be extremely exciting. The Hubble Space Telescope will finally take flight and begin its studies of the cosmos, the second half of the Mars Collection will launch, and a wintertime mission to the Moon will take place with Orpheus 2.

     All of this, as the Soviets begin to restructure themselves silently, planning for the future, and the long term...

      В последних сообщениях указано, что 1.01 будет завершен этой осенью, график держится.

[Falcon Aerospace]

wen mars?

[KerballingSmasher]

I second this

[track]

Hubbleing, Launching, and Landing

     The second half of 1986 is set to be one of the busiest in NASA's 28 year history. It is packed with 3 major scientific missions, and the whole Orpheus 2 mission which will take up the first 3 weeks of December. It's not just an important time for NASA either, as the Soviets will launch the second module of Mir, and make final preparations for their most important year of spaceflight since the N1 first took astronauts to the lunar surface in 1970. ESA is also preparing to launch the second Coelus Lab at the start of 1987, upgraded and improved from its original predecessor.

     For NASA, this busy schedule kicks off with the much anticipated launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. The venerable Orbiter, once the newest in the fleet but now one of the most experienced, is rolled out to LC-39A on August 10th. Several rehearsals and countdown tests with the crew (consisting of Story Musgrave, Charles Bolden, Bruce McCandless II, Steven Hawley, and Kathryn Sullivan) are performed before Hubble is loaded into the payload bay on August 16th, 4 days before launch. The crew are interviewed by CBS on August 18th, with NASA's own press conference taking place on the 19th. The crew are on the cover of every major American newspaper the morning of launch, as millions tune in from work and school to watch Atlantis take flight with the largest space telescope ever built.

     "T-12, 11, 10, 9, We have a GO for Main Engine Start."

    "6, 5, 4, 3, We have 3 engines running, 1..."

     "Solid Rocket Booster ignition and liftoff! Liftoff of the Shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope, ushering in a new era of space-based astronomy!"

     Upon reaching orbit, the crew are given a few hours of rest, until they spend the last bit of Flight Day 1 working on experiments brought up with the Shuttle, as well as speaking with President Reagan. Flight Day 2 begins with operations to extend the Canadarm, and deploy Hubble. However, a few minutes in, they quickly run into issues with the Canadarm's primary pivot joint. It appears to be severely jammed, and unable to move further upward. On top of this, the elbow joint appears to have rattled about quite a bit during launch, and has sustained damage, making it inoperable too.

     The Canadarm is (supposedly) necessary to deploying Hubble, and after several hours of troubleshooting to no avail, the crew and teams on the ground are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Shuttle isn't balanced to return with Hubble, and the telescope wouldn't take too kindly to it either. Therefore, there is only one viable solution. The latching mechanism holding Hubble in the payload bay will be released, and the Shuttle's RCS will be used to move the Orbiter away from Hubble, allowing it to deploy its solar arrays and power up. The Shuttle will station keep during this process, before moving away following full deployment.

     So at the start of Flight Day 3, majorly behind schedule, the latches are released, and the Shuttle's RCS begins a ballet to guide Hubble out of the payload bay.

     With some absolute mastery of the manual controls, and proper assistance from Houston, Hubble is safely deployed and powered up, opening its telescope door for the first time 3 days later, to begin calibration and testing before scientific operations begin at the start of 1987.

     As Hubble floats free in orbit, Atlantis comes to a stop at Edwards on Runway 22, concluding STS-91G.

     With Hubble finally in orbit after many years of development, the autumn rush begins to truly kick in, as the final 2 spacecraft of the Mars Collection, and Orpheus 2, are preparing to take flight. These final two spacecraft of the Mars Collection will complete an incredible program, that is paving the way for Magellan and future exploration of the Red Planet. The spacecraft, Hardrada, an exact copy of Erikson, and MaSORN (Mars Sounding Orbital Radar Network) will be launched aboard Jupiter 423-A, and Jupiter 500-A, respectively. Hardrada is up first, and is launched on a chilly Florida night on October 11th, and is successfully boosted on its way to Mars with the TMI maneuver 2 orbits after launch.

"Liftoff of the Jupiter rocket and the Hardrada mission to Mars!"

     Hardrada will arrive at Mars in July 1987, hoping to land on Mars once again, although preferably this time with a working camera.

     MaSORN follows up this launch on October 26th, 15 days later. This launch is in quite the opposite conditions, it is a humid, warm Florida morning, as Jupiter 500-A rises into the skies on those beautiful nearly transparent hydrogen plumes.

"We have liftoff once more of the Jupiter rocket, as another mission to Mars gets underway!"

     Although spectators left with many mosquito bites, covered in sweat, and maybe a little bit of a sunburn, they were treated to quite the spectacle, and MaSORN is now on its gentle coast towards Mars, slated for an early August arrival at the Red Planet.

     With these 3 major science missions now in space, the focus is solely on wrapping up the year with Orpheus 2. This will be to an area near the South Pole, but not quite in the geographic area of it, still firmly in the sunlit areas of the surface. Orpheus 2 is also scouting this location as a potential place to set up a robotic outpost, which is one of the potential long term goals of the partnership with the UKSA.

     It all kicks off on November 26th, as Space Shuttle Challenger takes flight with ACOV once again, with a veteran crew in tow.

     The 5 crew aboard ACOV are successfully boosted on their way towards the Moon, while Challenger returns 2 days later to land at Kennedy, concluding STS-91H.

The next day, on the 27th, a Jupiter 524-A launches the ALSM and accompanying LTV Mk2.

     ACOV arrives around the Moon on November 29th, with the ALSM arriving the next day on the 30th. Once their orbits are aligned, ACOV sets up for a rendezvous on December 1st. But on the 30th, the EERM is launched aboard a Jupiter 423-A once more, an Orpheus mission simply isn't complete without the lunar chariot for its astronauts.

     Early in the morning hours of the 1st, the ALSM comes into visual contact with ACOV, docking at 6 AM Eastern, as they move into orbital nighttime. The crew are given 2 hours to rest, before they begin transferring their equipment, and themselves, into the ALSM. Commander John Blaha receives the GO for undocking at 10 AM, and at 11:16, the 2 descent engines of the ALSM fire up, beginning the descent to the lunar surface.

     Millions watch live, as the 5 astronauts slowly descend to the surface of the Moon, the atmosphere in Houston is calm, but tense. At 1km above the surface, the lander pitches over, and acquires its landing sight about 200m to its northeast. Dancing across the lunar skies, the ALSM gracefully touches down at 11:33, to applause and cheers from Mission Control.

     3 hours after landing, Blaha steps foot on the lunar surface, as his fellow astronauts follow behind him. As there is a non-American on this flight, that being Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier, the flag of both the US and Switzerland is planted at the landing site. EVA 1 is then spent as usual, setting up surface instruments and obtaining some early samples of the surrounding area. Once they are back in the ALSM after 4 hours outside, Nicollier is interviewed by a Swiss television network, which is broadcast back in his home country to his 6 and a half million countrymen.

     The next day, the crew embark on the same journey as did the crew of Orpheus 1, their glorious march to the landing site of the EERM, which has safely touched down half a kilometer north of them. They are very pleased when they hear of the relatively short distance they must walk, as opposed to the 2 kilometers for the aforementioned Orpheus 1 crew. Reaching their rover after a brisk 30 minute walk, their 6 wheeled chariot carries them back to the landing site, where they complete their work started on EVA 1 by deploying the last surface instruments that remained stowed away.

     The general Geologic Expedition plan is similar to Orpheus 1, five total trips, each covering roughly 60 kilometers total. Over the span of their 19 day stay, the crew cover a total of 303km in their mighty lunar rover, collecting 500kg of samples, and obtaining valuable data. On top of this, they find a prime location for the previously discussed robotic outpost, located 5 kilometers away from the ALSM's landing site. Data is shared heavily with the UKSA and ESA, the former of which concurs on the prime location discovered.

     But all lunar missions come to an end, and Orpheus 2 is no exception. After a very bountiful 19 days on the surface, the ALSM makes for orbit to rendezvous with ACOV on December 20th. Arriving just 4 hours later, the crew transfer their samples, equipment, and themselves once again into their spacecraft, and depart from their lander to make for Tranquility to refuel. During the summer lull, Tranquility was in fact refueled by an ALRV vehicle launched aboard a Jupiter 424-A, these hypergolic propellants are happy in the lunar environment, which allows Tranquility to be refueled at practically any time.

     Refueled and ready to go, ACOV performs its Trans-Earth Injection maneuver, and begins the 4 day coast back to Earth. The crew will arrive home just in time for Christmas.

     "We have 3 good main chutes."

     "Feet deployed."

    "Good start on all landing motors."

     "Confirmed soft touchdown, we welcome home the crew of Orpheus 2!"

     With a gentle touchdown on a dry California lakebed, Orpheus 2 is concluded, and so is the year 1986. One of the busiest years in spaceflight for the world as a whole. The rise of a new space station, 5 major scientific missions launching, and major steps taken towards the future of exploration once again. 1987 may not be as action packed, but it is still filled with excitement across the board, especially for a country that is now ever-changing, and facing many dilemmas that it must solve if it is to survive the next decade.

Завершена окончательная сборка 1.01, машине присвоено рабочее наименование «Буран», сейчас она проходит испытания в МИК ОК. Мы придерживаемся графика и ждем окончательного отчета от руководства «Энергии».

[track]

A Subtle Reminder

1987 is, well, it's sleepy. Besides Orpheus 3 at the end of the year, this is a pretty standard 12 months for NASA. Although the importance of Orpheus 3 should not be understated, it is the mission that will scout out Amundsen Crater for the exact location of the upcoming lunar base, which we will talk about shortly. The EERM will be essential for this task, and it will require up to 7 expeditions throughout the planned 25-day surface stay. Once the proper location within the massive crater has been found, ideally close to the permanently shadowed regions which contain water ice, it will be mapped out, surveyed, and will be incorporated into all future planning for the lunar base.

     Amundsen was chosen as the location for NASA's lunar base because of its (relatively) shallow sides, and very flat crater floor, it also has permanently shadowed regions which, as previously mentioned, are home to considerable amounts of water ice. These favorable characteristics were identified in the early 70s, and since then it has been the #1 choice for NASA. But let's talk about that lunar base.

     NASA has been "planning" a lunar base since the beginning of Apollo, but a singular design and plan emerged, beginning in 1980. After some delays as Magellan begins to get more and more of the budget for its Martian ambitions, the base is finally a completed design, with funding underneath it and a proper roadmap to its construction laid in front. The base will consist of "common modules" that are linked via pressurized hallways, with each module being outfitted for different purposes. They will be landed by a "sky crane" lander of sorts, the same one that is in the works for the EERM. The base's name has been kept a total secret, for many years at this point. It's a name that has been decided on by both NASA, its Administrator John Young, and the collective Astronaut Corps. But finally, on January 10th, 1987, in a press conference held at Johnson Space Center, the name of America's lunar base is unveiled.

     Lunar Outpost Virgil

     In honor of one of the greatest astronauts who ever lived, Virgil "Gus" Grissom, who tragically lost his life in the Apollo 1 disaster.

     This name pays homage to a man who inspired every astronaut in the Corps today, and a man who John Young himself flew with on the very first crewed Gemini mission over 20 years ago.

     The name is loved by the public, and NASA further announces that the first module is set to launch in 1988, with Orpheus 4. It is in fact now in assembly at Marshall Space Flight Center and is expected to be delivered to the Cape in the spring of next year.

     The Space Shuttle gets off to a pretty normal year starting in February, with Columbia delivering a new crew and supplies to Skylab on STS-101A. That mission is also the second in recent years focused on minor refurbishment of the station in its final years, with now under 4 years left until America's space station is de-orbited into the Pacific Ocean. Then in April, the beginning of many joint US-Japan Shuttle flights, Atlantis launches the Sutāraito (Starlight) spacecraft in April. It has been heavily delayed, originally intended to launch in 1984, but it has finally made its way to space. Sutāraito is designed to make observations of star clusters and observe our Sun as well. NASDA remains heavily interested in robotic spacecraft, and potential exploration missions, and they continue to negotiate with NASA on potential joint spacecraft in the coming years.

      However, in March, just as Enterprise returns from a classified West Coast mission, she is flown back to the Cape just for a little while, to bring all 5 Space Shuttles together as NASA celebrates the 10-year anniversary of STS-1. Reagan gives a speech, as well as John Young, Bob Crippen, and Story Musgrave, who were the crew of that historic test flight. On top of this, the occasion is marked by the opening of the Space Shuttle Pathfinder display at the Smithsonian. The structural test article which performed tests at both Vandenberg and the Cape for the launch sites, and was essential in the development of space-worthy orbiters. It is on display with the prototype Spacelab that was presented to NASA in 1976 by ESA, as well as some components recovered from the S-IC boost stage by a diving expedition. That expedition occurred in 1985, and the Smithsonian scrambled to get them for the display and anniversary celebrations.

     With some early spring festivities out of the way, NASA settles down for a calm year of Shuttle flights. But meanwhile, it is no standard year for the Soviets. 

     The bear has awakened again.

  

     After 10 years of arduous, and costly development, the Soviets have their replacement for the failed N1. This rocket has quite literally taken the Space Shuttle's STS stack, and given it a characteristically Soviet spin, a rocket whose name simply means "Energy" and a rocket that will propel the aspirations of a reforged Soviet Union for the coming decades. All Hail Energiya.

      But what's scarier, is what it carries on this first flight. In fact, it is so scary, there is an emergency meeting of the top Pentagon and NASA officials alongside President Reagan. A spacecraft carrying a one-megawatt carbon dioxide laser, capable of destroying any US satellite at will. The Soviets call it Polyus, and it has, quite literally, put the US in check.

     They may not be going to the Moon again anytime soon, but the Soviets are still here, and they're still a threat, and they cannot be ignored any longer.

     Reagan will get his Star Wars.

[track]

I See A Red Moon Rising

          "My fellow Americans, thank you for joining me tonight. 3 months ago, the Soviet Union performed one of the most provocative, and aggressive moves in the history of spaceflight. By launching a space-based laser weaponry satellite, which they call the Polyus. In these past three months, the Soviet Union has been unwilling to negotiate a deal that would result in the deorbit of the Polyus satellite. Thus, we face a threat to our national security, as well as the largest threat to the peaceful usage of outer space ever seen. I ask you, my fellow Americans, to recognize the reality of the Soviet condition. This is a maneuver orchestrated by the sword-rattling military bureaucrats of the Soviet state, they have resorted to jeopardizing a long agreed-upon peaceful boundary, where our nations can come together peacefully. Aggression of this kind simply will not be tolerated, and I call upon General Secretary Gorbachev to take action, and agree to our terms that ensure the peaceful use of outer space."

     "We will not allow outer space to become another victim of Soviet aggression, it is the final frontier that is shared by all mankind. It has united us in the darkest of times, it has been the catalyst for peace and prosperity in the modern world. We, all Americans, and all peoples share a vision for the peaceful exploration of the cosmos, and it should not be jeopardized by blatantly provocative acts such as this very one taken by the Soviet Union."

     "I call upon all Americans, and all peoples, to support our national efforts in space, and the efforts of our allies. And I call upon the Soviet people, to protest this terrible action, to fight for your freedoms and rights that you deserve, for we support you in these trying times."

     "The United States of America will not be pushed around by tyranny, and if the Soviet Union cannot meet us in the middle, we have no choice but to take defensive actions that we have prepared."

     "Thank you, goodnight, and God Bless you."

     We pick up 3 months after the inaugural launch of Energiya, and the deployment of Polyus. It has been a time of rapidly growing tension between the world's two superpowers. What sparked Reagan's address to the nation was that up until the day prior, Polyus had not fired its laser once. That changed on August 15th, when it destroyed a Soviet test satellite launched by Zenit the day prior. Debris scattered across the sky, and even resulted in a NOAA satellite having to divert its trajectory to avoid a cloud of orbital debris.

     Through the tension and the worry, NASA has been preparing for Orpheus 3, amongst a litany of other activities. Space Shuttle Enterprise has returned to Cape Canaveral after 3 years serving as the West Coast Shuttle, a role that will be fulfilled now until 1990 by Discovery. Enterprise will fly for the first time under NASA insignia since 1983 at the start of next year, with the second joint US-Japan Spacelab mission, Spacelab-N2. Discovery rolls into Vandenberg under darkness on the night of August 26th, with the Air Force insignia now on the side of her payload bay doors. With the launch of Polyus back in May, the DoD has accelerated work on one of their SDI projects, to counter the Soviet weapon. Known primarily by its garbled acronym, the High Output Carbon Dioxide Orbital Defense, or HOCDOD. Many engineers prefer to call it by the name of one of their coworkers who originally envisioned its design, Floyd.

     Whether you want to call it HOCDOD or Floyd, it is truly a revolutionary spacecraft. Although not as powerful and large as Polyus, it can (effectively) destroy any Soviet spacecraft, including Polyus. Its existence is one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Department of Defense, and it will be the first thing Discovery launches from the West Coast, at the beginning of next year.

     This silent conflict is not over, and likely won't be for some time. But in the midst of that, there's a mission to the Moon ready to go.

     Orpheus 3 is another major step, the final mission before the construction of Virgil Base begins (the name was changed in July) and the crews settle down in Amundsen Crater. This mission will be visiting Amundsen Crater, and as discussed previously, scouting out the final location for the base within the crater floor area. Orpheus 3 will also be testing several changes to the mission profile. Which will all be fully implemented for Orpheus 4. The most important of these changes is with ACOV's launch and deployment. Super Centaur will no longer be used, and instead, ACOV will loiter in orbit until the LTV and ALSM are launched. Then it will dock to the ALSM, and be taken to lunar orbit by the LTV. This is seen as a more effective solution, and will also eliminate the safety hazards of Centaur in the Shuttle, and the need to refuel ACOV at Tranquility.

     Now you may think this leaves America's lunar station in limbo, with its primary purpose obsolete. However, that is not the case, because of another change we will discuss when the time comes. Enough chit-chat though, let's escape from this chaos a little and take a ride to the Moon.

September 20th, 1987

     "9, 8, We have a GO for Main Engine Start... 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... ZERO."

    "LIFTOFF OF ATLANTIS, AND THE ORPHEUS 3 MISSION TO THE MOON!"

     After a successful launch, ACOV is deployed and sent on its way to the Moon.

     Then, on the foggy morning of September 21st, the ALSM and LTV are launched together. The LTV then boosts itself and the ALSM toward the Moon about 90 minutes after launch.

     As per usual, both spacecraft arrive in a polar orbit around the Moon just a few hours apart on September 24th. ACOV then performs a successful rendezvous in the early hours of September 25th, docking to the ALSM at 04:00. The crew, consisting of Charles Bolden, Guy Gardner, William Shepherd, and Tamara Jernigan, then transfer themselves into the ALSM, and 2 hours later, begin their descent to Amundsen Crater.

"Alright, pitch 'er over."

"800 feet."

"Landing site acquired. Bit rocky but we can make it work."

"We're on the way down, 600 feet. Nominal descent rate."

"400 feet."

"200."

"100."

"50."

"25."

"10."

"5."

"CONTACT LIGHT."

"Shutdown."

     "Solar arrays out."

     The EERM, which launched on September 22nd, follows not too far behind. But first things first, the crew goes on EVA to plant the flag and deploy surface instruments.

     The crew is then allowed a few hours of rest after completing EVA 1. Then, they awaken to begin EVA 2, which is the traditional march to retrieve the EERM. Now only landing 400 meters away! Their brisk walk cut down to 25 minutes, the crew arrives and returns the EERM to the rocky landing site, having to park further away because of this.

     Their work is mostly confined to exploring Amundsen Crater, rather than doing research. They log geographic features, and on Expedition 7, they finally located the ideal spot for the base. A flat, smooth area 9 km away from the ALSM. It is logged and heavily photographed, the crew then takes their remaining 3 rover expeditions to do some research work around the crater floor.

     Then on October 20th, the crew make for lunar orbit to rendezvous with ACOV, in a different manner than usual.

     The descent stage is coming along for a little ride.

     Tranquility's purpose, from Orpheus 4 onwards, will be to refuel the ALSM and prepare it for another surface mission, making it a reusable lander. This will further decrease the cost of each individual Orpheus mission, and allow for Tranquility and Virgil Base to grow into larger facilities for manned lunar research and exploration. 

     On this mission though, they just want to test out how getting to orbit with the descent stage will work before ditching it. Essentially. the ascent stage's motors will start up after the remaining fuel in the descent stage is depleted, and carry it the rest of the way to orbit. It will still be able to separate for abort and safety purposes, but in a nominal mission case, it will not.

     Successfully returning back to ACOV, the crew transfer themselves, their samples, and equipment into their spacecraft, before ditching the ALSM's ascent stage. They then rendezvous with Tranquility the next day on October 21st, refueling and then heading back to Earth.

     Then on October 25th, screaming through the atmosphere, down over the dry lakebed of Edwards Air Force Base, ACOV descends to a landing, concluding another successful mission to the Moon.

"50 feet."

"25 feet."

"Landing motors on."

"15."

"10."

"5."

"Touchdown! Welcome home Orpheus 3!"

     While the crew receives a hero's welcome back in the US, there is a flurry of activity in the deserts of Kazakhstan.

The Shuttle's Soviet Cousin has arrived.

 

«У нас есть запуск двигателя-ускорителя!»

"Старт корабля ВКК и ракеты "Энергия"!"

«Отключение основных двигателей и номинальное отделение «Бурана».

     Unlike STS-1, this flight is uncrewed and has a primary payload. Where Enterprise just carried some experiments, Buran is delivering its docking module to Mir, without a crew. The Soviets are going all-out to demonstrate the capabilities of their own Space Shuttle and make a message to the world that they haven't gone anywhere.

     12 hours later, Buran is approaching the station.

     Not only was the launch boasted about just hours after reaching orbit, and has spread across world news. But the automated docking to Mir is now being broadcasted live across the world. The Soviets may not be the ones landing on the Moon every year, but they are still making impressive feats of their own.

     After a day on station, Buran undocks, and returns to land at Baikonur.

     Trailed by MiG interceptor jets, coming down towards its runway on a gloomy December day, Buran lands back at Baikonur, concluding the first flight of an orbital Soviet spaceplane. The mission sends shockwaves through NASA, it is clear that the Soviets managed to get their hands on the designs of the Space Shuttle. Not only has it been a breach of security, but they have managed to make a vehicle that will bolster their in-space capabilities, and pose an even greater threat to US national security.

     With the DoD believing that Buran's next flight may be manned, to service a believed fault in the Polyus spacecraft, the time to respond is now.

     Discovery will launch America's counter-weapon on January 1st.

     Полностью успешный первый полет 1.01, ожидаем первый пилотируемый полет следующим летом.

[track]

When The World Held Its Breath

     January 1st, 1988. The inevitable final year of President Reagan's administration is being kicked off under less-than-optimal circumstances. The Polyus satellite -despite the DoD's belief that it has encountered several faults and requires on-orbit repairs- continues to loom overhead, almost taunting the nation and gloating about presumed Soviet superiority. But America doesn't take this lying down, although Polyus has been in orbit for 7 months now, a response is finally ready for flight.

     As discussed previously, this response is the High Output Carbon Dioxide Orbital Defense or HOCDOD. This satellite is smaller and less powerful than Polyus, but its systems are more advanced and it could still easily take out Polyus. Thus, HOCDOD is an adequate counter to the now-infamous Soviet weapon. Entrusted with its launch is Space Shuttle Discovery, now operating from the West Coast in place of Enterprise, which is preparing for its first launch from the Cape since 1983, carrying the Spacelab-N2 mission. Shortly after it, 2 days later, will launch Challenger with TDRS-G. But the Cape operations aside, Discovery is poised for the first night Shuttle launch from the west coast. The dark skies acting as the perfect cover for this top-secret mission. Onboard will be a small crew of 3 veteran Air Force astronauts, entrusted with one of the most important payloads the Shuttle may very well ever launch. 

     The launch was planned for 4 AM, but a valve leak in the TSM has to be fixed by the ground crew, which delays the launch about 2 hours, to 6 AM, and then, a GSE leak causes another hour and a half delay. But finally, the HBOIs fire off at 7:30 AM, and Discovery takes flight with a spacecraft to match the Soviet's orbital weapon.
 

Spoiler

   "Main engine start."

     "Liftoff."

     Upon reaching orbit, the crew gets to work immediately. This mission will be the shortest in Space Shuttle history, lasting roughly 12 hours until Vandenberg gets to the other side of the Shuttle's orbit for a landing. To deploy Floyd, an IUS cradle has been modified to attach to the spacecraft bus and rotate it upwards.

     Floyd is successfully deployed 30 minutes after reaching orbit, it will boost itself up to a higher vantage point, in order to keep its laser trained on its Soviet counterpart at all times.

     A successful deployment, Discovery lands back at Vandenberg 11 hours later, completing STS-112A.

     "My fellow Americans, I am proud to announce to you, the people of this great country. We have met our adversaries in space, answered their acts of aggression, and installed a system to defend the peaceful use of outer space. We have put the Soviets in check and to the best knowledge of my senior advisors, the Polyus satellite is non-functional. Their saber-rattling tactics will not bear fruit for them in this day and age, they must come to the table with the other powers of the world, and negotiate as we do. This is a victory for democracy, freedom, and the future of outer space."

     The Soviets do respond on January 3rd, with a statement that although it does not directly say that Reagan is lying, it is implied by their wording. But in secret, the Soviet higher-ups know he isn't bluffing, Floyd has an eye on Polyus for roughly 65% of its orbit, and the Soviets believe that the US will launch another, meaning that even if Polyus destroys Floyd in a first strike, a second could immediately respond and destroy Polyus. Never mind the fact that Polyus is currently non-functional.

      They are in check, and all they can do is accept the situation, and finally come to the negotiating table. A summit is scheduled for February 1st in Geneva, but until then, Reagan takes a visit down to Cape Canaveral, to see Enterprise take flight from the Cape for the first time since 1983.

     This flight, STS-111A, is also known as Spacelab-N2, and it is the second joint US-Japan Spacelab mission. Aboard is Mamoru Mohri, who will be the first Japanese person in space. The research for this mission is primarily focused on research in the Low Earth Orbit environment. But not just that, there is also a set of three telescopes right behind Spacelab, which will be used for astronomy.

     This action-packed mission kicks off on January 18th, 1988, with Challenger on 39B, awaiting the launch of TDRS-G on January 21st.

Spoiler

     "We have Main Engine Start... 3... 2...1..."

     "Liftoff of Shuttle Enterprise and the second US-Japan Spacelab mission!"

     "Nominal booster separation."

     Upon reaching orbit, the payload bay doors are opened, and the crew settles down for their 16-day mission in orbit.

     The next day, while the management team and engineers perform a routine review of the launch film, they complete their first review successfully. However, when they review a slowed-down tracking shot from T+1:50 to T+2:30, they keep rewinding it, again and again, there's something that has caught their eye. A visible cloud of debris, likely ablative material on the SRB nose caps, appears at SRB separation and seemingly strikes the Orbiter's underside. Initially, they aren't concerned that much, but further review from another angle indicates a serious issue has been created.

     They are not sure of what to do, but they decide to postpone the launch of Challenger indefinitely until they can figure out a way forward.

     John Young, still Administrator, is brought in to look at the film, and he urges them to tell the crew of the situation. However, they are hesitant, and an argument breaks out. They don't want to alarm the crew, and they want them to stay focused on their mission. Young does not like this response and has some strong words for them. If this is as serious as it appears, the crew deserves to know. Richard Covey, Roy Bridges, Sally Ride, Marsha Ivins, Mark Lee, David Leestma, and Mamoru Mohri, are all told of the situation during a briefing on January 21st, and they are shown the same report compiled for Young and the mission management team in Houston. The crew keep themselves calm, and stay busy with their work, but are grateful to have been told. One crew before was never told about what happened during their ascent, that of STS-31F, it won't happen again, not on Young's watch.

     As January 22nd rolls around, Challenger remains on 39B, and a report from the crew has some worrying news. The aileron on the right wing does not respond to any movement commands. It may have been damaged by debris. However, it appears to start moving again in another test and doesn't repeat the same issue.

     Still, this is concerning, and NASA does not want to strand a crew, or worse, lose them. They aren't in Skylab's orbital plane, so there is no way to get there as a refuge. The only possible way to get the crew off of Enterprise is to put 2 extra seats on Challenger's mid-deck and perform a very difficult orbital operation to retrieve the crew of Enterprise.

     They have until at least February 3rd to do this, perhaps longer with contingency power usage on Enterprise to stretch the mission out a few more days. But preparation and planning begins in haste on January 23rd, with the crew being fully involved, as well as other astronauts on the ground. 

     As per standard safety practices, all 7 EVA suits are aboard Enterprise, but no Canadarm or MMU. The plan will be for Challenger to launch with a pair of MMUs, for safety during the planned transfer operation. The 2-man crew of Challenger will have to perform an incredibly risky rendezvous and approach, with the 2 shuttles appearing to be docked together with how close they will get. Challenger's cabin must slip behind Enterprise's and right over the payload bay. The crew of Enterprise will then get on a tethered EVA, and with the use of handrails and help from the crew of Challenger in the MMUs, they will board from the internal airlock one by one, a process that will take about 3 hours for all seven crew members, accounting for breaks due to orbital nighttime.

     With the plan sorted out, and the crew in agreement, TDRS-G is unloaded from Challenger's payload bay on the 25th, and the 2 MMUs loaded in that night. The 2 astronauts that will launch aboard Challenger are the Commander and Pilot of the originally planned mission, Dan Brandenstein, and Robert Gibson. They are two highly experienced astronauts, who are capable of the demanding mission that awaits them.

     With no further delays, they board their spacecraft on the morning of January 27th and take flight on a mission to save the crew of Enterprise.

     "We have liftoff of Challenger and a 2-man crew to retrieve the 7 astronauts aboard Enterprise in orbit!"

     Cheering on these 2 are 80,000 spectators, as the rescue mission has become worldwide news.

     Due to the less-than-optimal alignment, it will take 2 days to catch up to Enterprise, but they are on their way.

     On the morning of the 29th, the crew of Enterprise get eyes on their ride home, as Brandenstein and Gibson move their Space Shuttle in much too close for comfort.

     Enterprise performs the Skylab backflip, allowing Gibson to take photos of the underside. There is clear evidence of the damage, leading all the way down the right wing. There is no live video, but news stations are waiting outside JSC for any updates they can get as things unfold in orbit.

     NASA just wants to get its astronauts home safely, and that operation begins swiftly. After about 20 minutes, Challenger and Enterprise are mere feet from each other, as Marsha Ivins and Mamoru Mohri suit up to be the first to head into Challenger.

     Gibson goes on EVA, and straps in to one of the MMUs, while Brandestein, in his EVA suit, keeps Challenger steady. 

     Mohri is first out, and the long operation truly begins.

     Mohri boards safely.

     Then Ivins.

     Then Lee

     Then Leestma

     Then Ride

     Then Bridges.

      Finally, last out of his ship, Covey sets up Enterprise in an automated operating mode, and boards Challenger.

     As the airlock closes behind Covey, Mission Control erupts in applause and cheers, some are crying, and some lay their heads down at their consoles. They have done it.

      Challenger then moves away from Enterprise, as it is bid farewell. Nobody is sure if it will survive re-entry in its automated guidance mode, but it would be a miracle for it to land back at Edwards.

     The 9 astronauts aboard Challenger safely land the next morning at the Shuttle Landing Facility and are all given a hero's welcome as they exit their Shuttle and down the stairs.  The Navy awards Space Shuttle Challenger (OV-099) with an honorary service star for its actions in rescuing the crew of Enterprise, as well as the crew themselves.

     7 lives were saved this day. It will be remembered, and the resilient spirit of those 7 will be celebrated.

     ...

     On the morning of the 31st, Enterprise begins an automated descent, beginning with the de-orbit maneuver, with the landing site targeted for Edwards Air Force Base, on the dry lakebed. A landing is not guaranteed, neither is even getting past re-entry, the Shuttle is always automated up until around Mach 5 after re-entry, when it hands over control to the Commander. It will instead have to fly all the way down, and this has never been fully tested.

     Enterprise hits entry interface at 7:04 AM, immediately, thermal sensors go off, and they reach extremely high temperatures, well above normal, but the aluminum frame of Enterprise manages to hold. There are several moments where it nearly loses control, and then, just 30 seconds after peak heating, the cabin de-pressurizes. Those on the ground are completely at a loss for words, but somehow, Enterprise has held together structurally until this point. Then, as atmospheric re-entry comes to an end. Shenanigans with the GPCs ensue. Each Shuttle has five general-purpose computers (GPCs) which control it. They are redundant and can vote faulty ones in their bunch out of control. But after cabin de-pressurization, none of them are acting normal, and they begin to rapidly vote each other in and out, with GPC 2 being the only one that stays constant. Eventually, it's the only one functioning, and it is fighting the right aileron which is losing hydraulic pressure as the Shuttle begins to come around over Edwards Air Force Base.

     Each second feels like an hour as Mission Control watches on. Below 1,000 feet, Enterprise begins to shake, and eventually, the right aileron siezes, followed by the left one, and then the body flap locks up. The airbrake fully deploys, and there's only enough hydraulic pressure left for the elevons, which are fully pitched up as Enterprise skims across the dry lakebed, gear down, at 180 mph, before hitting the sandy surface, and coming apart.

     It is a painful sight, but it is not lost on NASA and those that come up to what remains of the first Space Shuttle, that there could have been seven humans on it. What matters most is the human element, those who were rescued, who can go home to their families.

     ...

     Enterprise will be preserved as much as possible, but it cannot be rebuilt. The Navy awards her an honorary service star, the same as Challenger.

     Godspeed, Enterprise.

     Sunrise on February 1st, 1988.

     Handling this heavier topic in this part, in a story that has generally been light-hearted, has not been lost on me. I've tried to write this part with the utmost respect for the 14 people who lost their lives in the Challenger and Columbia tragedies. They should be forever remembered, they were great people who inspired many, and we will not soon forget any of them.

     Thank you all for reading.

     Hail Challenger, and Hail Columbia.

[track]

Where Do We Go Now?

     "Thank you for joining us with a CBS Special Report this evening. We bring you news from the Caucasus region of Southern Europe, the Armenian SSR, a member state of the Soviet Union, has declared its independence, officially forming the Republic of Armenia. There are unconfirmed reports of combat between the Soviet military and local militia, but this is denied by the Soviet government. This comes as protests in the Ukraine have ramped up and have spread to other member states. General Secretary Gorbachev has objected but has stated that he will not interfere with the will of the Armenian people. While he begins to push internal economic and political reforms within the Soviet state, citing them as necessary for the nation's survival."

     On the 16th of April, 1988, the Republic of Armenia is formed. The Soviet Union is facing a crisis, internal turmoil, and economic stagnation have driven Armenia to independence, and it seems as though Ukraine will follow suit eventually. Gorbachev is beginning a series of reforms to preserve the state, which may lead to a completely new Soviet Union in the coming years.

     But politics shmolotics, we're here for some space exploration. On that front, there is still a lot going on in the rest of 1988.

     For NASA, their plans have had a wrench thrown in them, as the Shuttle is now grounded at least until next year after the Enterprise incident. That mission has revealed some long-standing issues that NASA has otherwise ignored or tolerated. A Congressional hearing on February 10th has much of this come to the surface. Nobody is taking this lightly, it was a miracle that Challenger was supposed to launch 3 days later and was ready to fly. Had it not been, the crew would've had no chance of rescue.

     This is the first time NASA's faith in the Space Shuttle has been shaken. The Congressional hearing brings a heap of information against the Shuttle, with one particular bit being how long it has been since the Operations & Safety Manuals were updated, with the last minor revision in 1985, and the last new edition in 1982. Even that edition still contains much from the original 1977 manual,  for Saturn-Shuttle. John Young has done his best to keep everyone in line, but he has found himself fighting a losing battle since around the end of '84. Those below him have run wild and although he has managed to keep the agency functioning well, a lot has slipped through the cracks.

     But this is a chance to right the ship and get it heading on the right path as it heads into a new decade. Seizing that chance, the Space Shuttle Future Committee is established, to determine the path forward for NASA's Space Shuttle.

     Different teams from both NASA and Rockwell are allowed to present their plans. But one stands out amongst the sea of pro and anti-Shuttle plans. A plan that will keep the Shuttle going, better than ever, and pave the way for a future successor down the line. This plan was originally outlined back in the January 1984 Space Shuttle Technical Report, from Dryden and Ames, but it has been presented to the committee now as a solution to the uncertain future of NASA's winged icon.

     It is called the Shuttle Improvement Program, or SIP. Although some of its ideas are a bit outlandish and unnecessary, it has many good solutions to the common problems the Shuttle faces. Mostly to do with the high cost of processing and maintaining it. But it also has many suggestions to improve operational safety and procedures. The committee eventually agrees to a revised version, with some removals and additions. The core components of it are changes to the TPS tiles for easier maintenance and access to the hardware behind them, and a new propellant for the OMS and RCS systems. That propellant is a mixture of Ethanol and HTP, affectionately named E-HTP. This change also means new APUs to finally rid the Shuttle of toxic hypergolic propellants. With all of these changes, Shuttle processing should become much cheaper and easier, as well as quicker. With the SIP team estimating 30-day turnarounds being possible.

     On top of the SIP program, NASA decided to extend the grounding of the Shuttle program until the autumn of 1989. This is to allow for a massive amount of maintenance and upgrade work to the Shuttles, which have fallen behind on upkeep due to the demanding flight rate. With only 4 Shuttles now in the fleet, and only 3 at the Cape, they need to stay in top-tier condition. They will all, besides Columbia, receive their first major round of upgrades during this extended fleet grounding.

    All of this means that Orpheus 4 has been delayed a whole year. But no worries, it gives more time to prepare all of the necessary hardware on the bright side. As well as giving NASA more time to review their operational safety and change things up.

   In June, a major step for the Magellan program is completed. The expansion of the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana is completed. A new "second campus" of sorts that will be dedicated to LTV and Magellan MTV construction. Speaking of the Magellan MTV, its design has been finalized, and it has been publicly announced as the "Multi-Mission Exploration Transfer Vehicle" or MMETV. It is a single-core design, and it will use 7 of the same NTR motors used on the LTV Mk2. Optimized for carrying 50t to Mars and back, two will be used on a normal Magellan mission.

    NASA is committed to launching Magellan 1 in 1992, and it is to be foreseen if that target holds.

    Now let's talk a little about the aftermath of the Enterprise incident. In the weeks following, Enterprise was slowly recovered from the dry lakebed of Edwards Air Force Base, with major pieces being flown back in the Super Guppy. The recovery was made difficult due to a puncture in the OMS pods that had hydrazine leaking everywhere, but that was cleaned up, and the rest of the propellant drained, as it miraculously didn't explode. Nevertheless, after returning to the Cape, the components were laid out in one of the Shuttle maintenance hangars at the Cape for inspection and assessment. About 70% of Enterprise was able to be recovered, so NASA has not ruled out the potential for a reconstructed display at some point. But for now, Enterprise will be contributing to studying the Shuttle's structure under the conditions it faced, to help with SIP.

     On top of Enterprise, Spacelab was also damaged beyond repair, but both NASA and ESA have been talking about a brand new "Spacelab 2" of sorts for use between Skylab's de-orbit and the beginning of the successor station. That idea has been accelerated with the destruction of Spacelab. It will be similar to its predecessor, but with a flat top, to finally get rid of an emergency procedure issue the original always had. If the astronauts had to go out on EVA and manually close the payload bay doors, they would be stuck in there throughout re-entry with the original Spacelab, as they could not get back to the airlock. This will be fixed with Spacelab 2.

     With NASA sorting itself out for the rest of the year, the spotlight goes onto the Soviets, and wait... Japan??

     That's right, Japan makes a thrilling announcement in September, that they are beginning work on their first domestic launch vehicle, moving away from licensed versions of Thor-Delta. Not much else is revealed, other than that they're starting work on it and they hope to have it ready around 1993. So not too thrilling, but certainly interesting.

    Otherwise, the spotlight is on the Soviets, as they take flight with Buran for the second time, with crew. That's right, with Igor Volk and Aleksandr Ivanchenko at the helm of the Soviet's shiny new Space Shuttle, they take flight on a 2-day solo mission, with a scientific payload in the back, to demonstrate manned operations. This mission takes flight on November 10th, 1988, the same day Orpheus 4 was planned to land on the Moon.

     Buran lands under a clear night sky at Baikonur 2 days later, with this mission again making headlines around the world. The Soviet Space Shuttle may have just arrived on the scene, but its making a name for itself even ahead of the Soviet propaganda surrounding it. With a second one now under construction, to be named  Sarma, it looks as if the Soviets are committing to this fancy new spaceplane.

    The year wraps up with the 1988 Presidential elections, to replace Ronald Reagan, as his 2 terms are up. It comes down to his VP, George H.W. Bush, against the Democrat nominee Michael Dukakis.

     Bush wins in a landslide.

     As Reagan's VP, he championed both the Orpheus and Magellan programs since their inception and has stated throughout his campaigns his intention to continue the pro-space exploration policies of Reagan, and even expand on them.

    Another good administration for NASA, to be foreseen about the country.

     Рейс 3 в Полюс

[track]

The Old And The New

     1989 is a year of new things, a new presidency, new launch vehicles, and new ideas. With the Shuttle still grounded, Skylab has had to rely on ESA's MPCS to keep going, with the crew of Skylab 28 now aboard the station. This has brought NASA and ESA even closer, as they begin to cooperatively work on Skylab's successor station this year. This first half of the year is uneventful for NASA specifically,  but not for the rest of American spaceflight. However, it's not too uneventful, as construction of the first Multi-Mission Exploration Transfer Vehicle begins at the newly completed second campus of Michoud Assembly Facility. This will be the MMETV for Magellan 1, slated to launch in 1992. But that aside, the year kicks off with the first of 3 new launch vehicles to debut in this first half of the year.  It is the next in the long line of Delta rockets, the largest and most capable yet, still sporting that lovely teal paint job. It's Delta II.

    "Liftoff of the first Delta II rocket and a new GPS satellite!"

     It is a successful first flight for the newest Delta, which will hopefully become a workhorse for the Air Force, and maybe even for some of NASA's smaller payloads that it hopes to fly in the coming decade. But this is just the first of the two CELV program rockets to debut this year. This next one is the much-discussed and anticipated successor to Martin Marietta's triumphant Hercules rocket, which has retired with 52 flights in 12 years of service. It is an evolution upon both Hercules and Titan IIIE, adequately dubbed Titan IV. Bringing back the kerolox propellant of Titan I, as well as massive changes to pre-launch processing to make it faster and cheaper. Most notably moving vehicle assembly entirely to the launchpad, as opposed to having the SMARF and SMAB buildings, which will now be used for storage and payload processing. For these first few flights, it will use 7 segment UA120 boosters, due to delays with the planned Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU) boosters, but they will debut at the end of next year hopefully, on the variant dubbed Titan IV-B. This flight then, is a Titan IV-A, with an IUS third stage, carrying the 14th Defense Support Program satellite.

    "Liftoff!"

     The Air Force sees Titan IV and Delta II as the solution that they've needed to the never-ending battle with NASA for flights on the Space Shuttle. With their aging launchers replaced, they can breathe a sigh of relief, and in the end, both parties come out happy. 

     Finally, last but not least, is the next evolution of ESA's main-line Ariane rockets. They have been wanting a major upgrade of the Ariane family for a few years now, which lead to a redesign early on in the development process that has pushed the maiden launch back by about a year, but this new modular lifter will suit the growing needs of both ESA and the commercial market. Its maiden flight will be in its heaviest configuration, with a third stage mass simulator and dummy payload equating to about 9t of payload, to be boosted to Geostationary Transfer Orbit.

     Enter Ariane 4.

"Décollage!"

    

     The flight is a complete success much to the delight of ESA, and wraps up our 3 part maiden flight extravaganza here in 1989. But that's not all for this first half of the year.

     You see, even as Floyd keeps itself trained on Polyus, effectively putting the whole space laser situation in a stalemate, the Soviets aren't giving up on their mighty space weapon, and with Buran now having demonstrated manned flight, it is time to head up there and bring it back to fully functioning status. The situation has been made more urgent by the failure of the orbital engines board Polyus at the start of last year, which means its orbit is just days from decaying as 4 cosmonauts board Buran for its third trip into space, and its first night launch as well.

     The countdown proceeds as normal, with Energiya and its boosters being fueled up, and the crew configuring Buran for flight. However, as the aero surfaces are being tested just a few minutes before launch, they seize up. The hydraulic pumps have completely cut off, and there is no data from the hydraulic systems onboard. As the control team and the crew try to sort it out, matters are made worse as one of the APUs burns itself out and a small fire spreads to another one. The situation is increasingly more chaotic and ground control decides to allow the crew to egress. The crew are carried away from the launchpad in vans, and wait for another hour in their suit-up building, wondering if they'll have to go back as teams try to recycle for a launch at sunrise.

     But alas, detanking of Energiya begins, and ground control bitterly abandons their launch attempt. Buran does not have the same pad infrastructure as the Shuttle, so any major repairs or work mean it has to roll back to the assembly building and be taken off of Energiya. This means at least a few weeks of delays, time that Polyus may not have.

     And it doesn't.

     On July 6th, 1989, as Buran is being worked on in its hangar, the Soviet satellite Polyus re-enters over India and Pakistan. The terror from above is gone, and Floyd remains in orbit, now in the situation its counterpart was 2 years before, the sole weapon in space.

     The Energiya launcher intended for Buran is refitted, and the long-delayed mega-module for Mir, dubbed Gavan will be launched on it in August.

     Meanwhile, Columbia rolls into the VAB on July 29th.

     The Shuttle's Return to Flight campaign begins.

[track]

 

Back in Black

     As Columbia is lifted into High Bay 3, NASA has returned to its usual busy form. 20 months have passed since STS-111A, and the Shuttle has emerged safer and better. With Atlantis undergoing SIP upgrades at Plant 42, Challenger being prepared for Orpheus 4, and Discovery having been returned to the Cape temporarily. The fleet has lost its oldest member, but nobody in the program has lost determination. The same may not be able to be said about NASA management, whose unwavering faith and support of the Space Shuttle has been diminished. The program's costs have exploded in the past year and a half, proving how much the Shuttle's low cost was supported by its forced high flight rate. These costs have filled a gap in a budget that for the first time since 1980, shrunk just a little. Mainly due to a program from the new Bush administration to restructure the government budget. With Orpheus, Magellan, and the Shuttle all needing funding, NASA has had to delay several spacecraft projects further into the 1990s, to the benefit of some of them as they will get better launch trajectories.

     Nevertheless, the Shuttle isn't quite first up here, as the following events from Buran's canned launch and the destruction of Polyus soon follow from where we left off. As I mentioned, the Energiya launcher from that mission, OK-1K3, is now refitted (and repainted) for the launch of the long-awaited and significantly delayed mega module for Mir. This module, named Gavan, will be the first payload to use the "Buran-T" payload container for Energiya. The size of Buran-T allows for very large and sensitive payloads that could not be directly side-mounted to Energiya like Polyus was. Gavan will be the primary propulsion and habitation module for the station after its addition, and it takes flight in the early afternoon of August 6th from Baikonur.

Spoiler

Spoiler

     After deploying from Buran-T, Gavan takes about 18 hours to reach Mir as it passes over South America.

     The next module is set to launch in the summer of next year.

     Right afterward, on August 29th, Energiya launches 3 missile detection satellites, enclosed within the massive Buran-T container.

     

     OK-1K4 is set to launch sometime next spring. Thus, 1989 in spaceflight is wrapped up for the Soviets.

     On September 2nd, Columbia rolls out to LC-39A to begin a 3-week long campaign on the way to the Shuttle's Return to Flight. Even though costs have ballooned to over 1 billion dollars, for this flight, and over 2 billion for the whole program since January 1988, the Shuttle program has remained persistent and is finally ready to return to space.

Things kick off with a Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) on September 9th. This 20-second firing of the 3 SSMEs validates that the Shuttle is ready for flight.

Spoiler

Spoiler

     "We have 3 engines up and running."

     "Good shutdown, nominal 20-second burn time on all 3 engines."

     This is the first flight with the new Phase II SSMEs, they have a number of improvements for safety, as well as a new 109% RPL (Rated Power Level) for emergency scenarios. The engineers at Rocketdyne are continually improving the engines, and the development of the expendable SDLS variant has fed into the Phase II SSME.

     After the FRF, several more countdown and fueling tests are done, including a simulated RSLS abort with the crew to test updated safety procedures. Speaking of the crew, they are Robert Crippen and Bob Cabana. This will be Crippen's last spaceflight, as he is expected to take up a management position within the agency.

     On the morning of September 23rd, both astronauts board Columbia, and America's Space Shuttle takes flight for the first time in 20 months.

     "T-12, 11, 10, 9, we have a GO for Main Engine Start, 6, 5..."

     "4... 3... All Engines Running..."

"1... BOOSTER IGNITION AND LIFTOFF OF COLUMBIA! AMERICA'S SHUTTLE RETURNS TO FLIGHT!"

     "Roll Program!"

       "Roger Roll, Columbia!"

     A triumphant launch of Columbia, as the Shuttle orbits the Earth for the first time since January 1988.

     The objective for this flight is to deploy TDRS-G, which was the original payload for STS-111B, but was bumped as Challenger was reassigned to rescue the crew of Enterprise. The mission is short, only 3 days in duration, and will test some new subsystems and hardware alongside the deployment of TDRS-G and its IUS booster.

     But that deployment is the primary objective upon reaching orbit. 6 hours after launch, the IUS cradle is rotated upwards, and the 7th TDRS satellite is sent on its merry way.

     TDRS-G successfully reaches Geostationary Orbit and is officially designated TDRS-7 upon its arrival. The network is near to the point where the Shuttle can use it during ascent, which will allow for better tracking and telemetry data.

     2 days later, on the 25th, Columbia returns to land at the Cape, concluding STS-121A, and the Shuttle's return to flight.

     As Columbia comes to a stop, she concludes a triumphant return to flight for NASA's Space Shuttle. There will be two more Shuttle launches this year, both in December. The first will be a launch from Discovery to perform a Skylab crew rotation for the first time since 1987, relieving MPCS of its interim duties. This will be delivering the crew of Skylab 29 and returning the crew of Skylab 28. This mission launches under foggy winter skies, and is a complete success, launching on December 1st and landing on December 11th.

 

     With the Shuttle now back to flight status, the focus shifts to the mammoth task of Orpheus 4. This mission is the most important one to the Moon since Apollo 11. As the crew will be establishing the first lunar outpost. Virgil Base is finally ready to begin assembly, and things will kick off on this mission with the core module. A circular hab packed with instruments and equipment, designed to be sustained on its own. It will be joined by 3 other modules in the bases' final design, as well as a field of solar arrays for power generation.

     On December 14th, a Jupiter 524-A lifts off with America's lunar outpost.

Spoiler

LIFTOFF OF THE JUPITER ROCKET AND VIRGIL BASE!"

     Now originally, the core of the base was to be landed by a skycrane, but that skycrane had many technical complications during its development, especially with orbital insertion. And with minor changes to the base's design, including a spotlight tower, and landing engines, a change was made. An ALSM descent base was taken and given automated avionics and hardware, as well as a vacuum-optimized LR-87 that was still in surplus. This then will be used for orbital insertion and most of the descent, until it is separated and the base lands itself.

     3 days later, this plan is put into action, as Virgil Base begins its descent down to the lunar south pole.

     "Descent Base Separation. Landing Engine Startup."

     "2,000 feet. Landing radar is ON."

       "1,500 feet. Nominal descent rate."

       "1,000 feet. Landing site acquired on radar."

        "500 feet."

        "250 feet."

         "100 feet."

         "50 feet."

         "20."

         "10... 5... CONTACT."

     A smooth touchdown, on a bit of an incline, but still suitable for the base. With this, Orpheus 4 can get underway. The mission will not have an EERM rover, as it will be focused on setting up the base. Orpheus 4 is also bringing many changes to the mission profile.

    Most notable is that Super Centaur will no longer be used. Instead, the Shuttle will launch ACOV with the crew into LEO, which will then rendezvous with the LTV, which will loiter in Earth orbit for a day. It will dock to the ALSM's docking port, and the LTV will bring them both to the Moon and into orbit before separating from it.

    So with that, another Jupiter 524-A takes off from LC-39D on December 19th, with the LTV and ALSM.

     Because the second stage isn't quite enough, the LTV has to do a short burn to enter the circular parking orbit.

     The next day, on the 20th, Challenger takes flight with a crew of 7.

     A new version of the retractable crew tunnel is debuting for this mission, and it utilizes part of the Spacelab crew tunnel alongside a retractable piece that, like the previous version, locks into the APAS-75 port on ACOV.

     The crew of Orpheus 4 consists of Bryan O'Conner, Sidney Gutierrez, Carl Meade, Linda Godwin, and Mae Jemison. Jemison is the first African-American woman selected as an astronaut, and she will be the first African-American to land on the Moon. 

     The group of 5 board ACOV, and the docking tunnel retracts, as they prepare for deployment from the Shuttle's cargo bay.

     "Confirmation of good ACOV deployment."

        "Good solar array and tracking antenna deploy."

'

     12 hours later, ACOV performs rendezvous and docking with the LTV.

     On Christmas Eve, the ensemble of spacecraft arrives in lunar orbit, and the ALSM separates itself and ACOV from the LTV.

     3 hours later, the 5 astronauts strap into their seats inside the ALSM's cabin, and undock from ACOV.

     Another orbit around the Moon, and the descent begins.

     Target: Virgil Base

     "ALSM you've got a nominal trajectory."

     "Alright, pitch over look for the base."

       "I see it, we over-shot it, we'll have to correct."

       "Pitching back, got in my line of sight."

       "10% propellant margin, 2 thousand feet."

       "5% propellant, 1 thousand feet."

       "We're right on top of it, 500 feet."

       "Shift over, shift over!"

       "200 feet, 1.6% margin."

       "100 feet, shift, shift, shift."

      "50, 0.4% margin."

      "10."

     "CONTACT LIGHT, 0% MARGIN."

     Too close for comfort.

     The ALSM has no propellant margin left for ascent to orbit. Thankfully with some new changes to the lander this shouldn't be an issue, they will be discussed when we get to our return to orbit. 

     But for the astronauts, that lies a whole month in the future, as this is the longest surface stay of any moon mission ever. They have a lot of work ahead of them. EVA 1 is more of just a walk to the base, as they will spend their first few days setting up things inside it.

 

     For the first time ever, an inhabited outpost on another celestial body exists. 20 years after Apollo 11, humanity has made the next big step towards a permanent presence amongst the stars.

 

     Enough philosophy though, on Day 9, Carl Meade, Linda Godwin, and Mae Jemison exit the base to begin setting up the field of 7 solar panels for the base. It takes 2 EVAs through Days 9 and 10, but eventually, they've done it.

     With all of the panels set up and their power cables link, Carl Meade then takes the master electrical connector and plugs it into the external breaker of the base's core module. allowing for more power availability as the crew now begin to set up more power consuming equipment inside the base.

       Inside, the crew set up a small centrifuge, a series of vacuum chambers for experiments. The crew also install window shutters this day.

     On January 25th, with the base fully set up, and some housewarming gifts left for the crew of Orpheus 5. The crew depart their home sweet home away from home to return to orbit.

     This is where one of the new upgrades to the ALSM comes from. The ascent stage fuel can be fed into the descent stage, so the abort engines don't have to be used, as they do some thermal damage to the descent stage.

     Once the crew transfer their samples, themselves, and their equipment back into ACOV, they undock from the ALSM. Which will be refueled in a few months time for a demonstrated reuse landing. Also, because the LTV brought ACOV into lunar orbit, it doesn't have to refuel at Tranquility, so the crew head straight home.

     They rip through the atmosphere on the 29th, landing back at Edwards AFB, and concluding the first mission to Virgil Base.

     A soft landing on the dry lakebed of Edwards later, and this crew of 5 pioneers are back home. Although they missed Christmas, they find themselves in a new decade.

  Welcome to the 90s.

[track]

A Changing World

     "We apologize for interrupting our normal programming here on this New Year's Day, but we are bringing you another CBS Special Report from Kiev in Ukraine. It appears that the Ukrainian SSR has finally voted on independence, and it has passed in an overwhelming majority. This marks the second departure of a Soviet member state, with the first being Armenia 2 years ago. We will continue to bring you updates on this developing situation, but for now, we will return to normal programming, and we wish you a happy New Year at the start of this new decade."

     A bolder, new world emerged out of the 1980s. Discontentment with the government? Just a little maybe. The fall of communism? On the horizon, it seems. At the center of it all, space exploration has somehow managed to remain a major part of global culture. The 80s were tumultuous and not easy at times, but these are fresh waters we're diving into. Music, politics, and society in general, it's all at a crossroads. We begin these divisive times with... what do you mean they're changing the naming scheme?

    Maybe to prevent mass confusion, maybe to alleviate the headache. The STS alphanumeric mission naming scheme is being abandoned, in favor of the original one starting this year. A mission by Columbia will have the honor of bringing back this original scheme. The objective of this mission is to retrieve the long overdue for return LDEF. It seems as if NASA just cannot bring it back on time. Launched for a second time back in 1985, it was intended to be returned in 1988, but after the Enterprise incident, it was left to orbit for 2 more years, and it is now just a few weeks away from de-orbiting... again. This isn't the only noteworthy part of the mission, however. The right SRB is partially painted with a new anti-fungal (yes because Florida) material that is black in appearance, this will be used on the FWC Carbon Composite SRBs when they begin use for missions from Cape Canaveral in 1992.

    With that out of the way, the Shuttle begins its second (full) decade of flight early in the morning of January 9th, 1990.

     STS-90, as it is called (despite being the 89th Shuttle mission) is a complete success. Columbia lands at Cape Canaveral, LDEF safely stowed in the payload bay, on January 16th.

     On January 30th, NASA holds a press conference to discuss the finalized plans for Skylab's deorbit, slated for February of next year. The crew about to launch on STS-92 in June, Skylab 30, will be the final operational 200-day mission aboard the station, wrapping up nearly 17 years of service in space.

     STS-95 will launch with only a crew of 2, to retrieve the 5-person crew of Skylab 30, and they will then set up the Station Deorbit Vehicle (SDV) that will be carried in the Shuttle's payload bay on the Multi-Purpose Laboratory's docking port. The crew will then depart in the Shuttle, and just a week or so later, Skylab will deorbit into the Pacific Ocean.

     The successor station, intended to be a collaboration between the US, Europe, and Japan, has been pushed back by several years, as the Magellan program remains the top priority. Pessimists may say it won't begin assembly until the turn of the new century, and it is to be seen if they are right.

     Nevertheless, the station gap will be filled by the arrival of Spacelab II, so the Shuttle will be flying far more research missions than it has been in the past. This in turn means the OMLET mission extension kit may finally be of some use for longer missions of this type, even though it only flew once way back in 1983. There have been several studies and proposals for a small "Interim Station" to be built in cooperation with ESA, but these have ultimately been rejected as it will only be useful for a very short amount of time, and Spacelab II will be ready sooner.

     On February 20th, Space Shuttle Atlantis finally returned to the Cape, having become the first orbiter to be fully fitted with the new Ethanol and Hydrogen Peroxide OMS/RCS propellant systems. Atlantis also received the rest of the smaller SIP upgrades that the other Shuttles have, but this is the biggest piece of the puzzle. The rest of the Shuttles will get this upgrade during their scheduled Orbiter Maintenance Down Periods (OMDPs) that occur regularly. Every Shuttle should be using the E-HTP propellants by 1993.

     Then, on March 11th, NASA holds another press conference, having (finally) completed their architectural plans for Magellan, just 2 years before Magellan 1 is slated to fly. The Mars Ascent and Descent Vehicles will now be of the same design, and they have been contracted out to Boeing. The habitat will be similar to the Virgil Base core to some degree and is being built by McDonnell Douglas. Martin Marietta is responsible for the MMETV, which is already under assembly. With these major components now contracted out, work can finally kick into high gear to meet the 1992 deadline for the first mission to Mars.

     As we move into April, in the midst of chaos within the Soviet Union, they are preparing to launch a triumphant robotic mission to a new unexplored world. Tserera 1 is finally poised for launch at Baikonur aboard Sokol-K. It should arrive at Ceres sometime in 1992 if all goes well. The launch is broadcasted internationally, as the nation could really use some good PR right now.

«Запуск первой в истории миссии на Церере!»

     The flight is proceeding nominally.

     Until a sudden pressure drop in one of the booster tanks.

 

"Что?"

     Tserera 1 is lost in the subsequent explosion of Sokol.

     It may have not been the best idea to broadcast the launch worldwide after all. But to make matters worse, Soviet engineers are completely dumbfounded by the failure. The Zenit boosters have been a very reliable system so far, and this failure means that not only is Sokol grounded, but so is Energiya and Zenit, and by extension, Buran. OK-1K4 was just about to roll out to Site 110, but yet again, the stack has to be disassembled and the Zenit boosters are hauled off to be checked and investigated.

     If they want to launch Merkuriy 91 next year, they will have to figure things out and implement a fix quickly, or else they will be waiting a couple of years for another launch window.

     While this is going on, in the wake of Ukraine's secession, Gorbachev launches a massive set of economic reforms within the USSR, designed to bring it into a more moderate and hybrid socialist economic standing. He claims this is the only way for the union to survive, but he is facing a lot of opposition from the party hardliners, it remains to be foreseen what will happen to the decaying Soviet Union.

      To juxtaposition back to the US at our conclusion here, the Orbital Sciences corporation has reached a massive achievement. Orbital's brand new air-launched rocket, dubbed Pegasus takes its first flight on April 9th, 1990. This is the first privately developed launch vehicle to achieve orbit. And it has caught the attention of both NASA and the Air Force. It remains to be seen how this "commercial market" may develop over this new decade.

     Finally, to round things out, in May, NASA officially waives Rockwell's proposal for a Shuttle orbiter to replace Enterprise. Even with the spares, it simply isn't worth it. Instead, many within the agency are beginning to look towards the new century, and what it may hold for new options.

     A New Shuttle, perhaps?

Отчеты должны быть представлены к июлю.

Edited August 2, 2023 by track

[track]

A Changing World: Part Two

     There's not much in the way of "quantity" for the second half of 1990. The year that begins a new decade was certainly front-heavy, but that doesn't mean we don't have some interesting stuff to cover here. To kick things off, work continues in preparation for Magellan 1, which is still slated for the 1992 launch window to Mars. At Michoud,  the MMETV is finished with its primary assembly and will have its engine section and nuclear thermal rocket motors mounted over the winter. Its manufacturing and assembly have been relatively smooth, which has helped the mission stay on schedule. As for the other components of the mission. The twin Ascent/Descent Vehicles are under construction at the KSC to save space in Michoud. They are the items most lagging behind, and they will likely be delivered just in time if the schedule holds. There is debate about whether Magellan 1 can be modified from its "all-up test" mission profile should they encounter severe delays. But for now, NASA is not entertaining that idea.

     Another important development arrives in August, as Space Shuttle Atlantis rolls out for its first mission to space since late 1987. It is the first orbiter to use the new Ethanol/Hydrogen Peroxide fuel mixture for the Orbital Maneuvering System and RCS. This flight will be carrying a series of commercial satellites, alongside performing tests with the new propellant systems.

     Atlantis takes flight on August 19th, 1990, into clear afternoon skies.

     The new propellants perform flawlessly, and Atlantis returns to land at the Cape 4 days later. Without the need for protection equipment or hypergolic purging, the turnaround to get Atlantis back to the OPF is far quicker. Although this is the only flight for Atlantis this year, NASA has set forth a test to see if it can be turned around and ready for flight in less than 45 days. We will come back and see how that holds up.

     As for the rest of the year, all eyes are on Orpheus 5. With Virgil Base now set up, this mission will be dedicated to exploration and research. In September, an EERM is launched to be the base's permanent rover. It arrives safely and parks up automatically on a nearby hillside so its solar panels can acquire charge.

    Although the second base module won't be added until Orpheus 6, there is a second complementary mission launching. It is the first British mission to the Moon. That's right, in cooperation with the Orpheus program, the UK Space Agency has developed its own lunar radar satellite dubbed LuSoRa (Lunar Sounding Radar) that is now poised for launch aboard Comet B. It is not a large spacecraft, only weighing in the neighborhood of 300 kilograms. But it has a very powerful compact twin-radar system developed by British Aerospace, who also built the rest of the satellite.

     On October 29th, Comet B takes flight from Scapa Flow carrying LuSoRa.

     5 days after a successful launch, LuSoRa ignites its 2 thruster packs and slows down into a low polar orbit of the Moon. It is the first non-American/Soviet probe to orbit the Moon. Not even ESA has made a lunar spacecraft yet.

     On November 19th, the LTV and ALSM are launched, and the next morning, Challenger launches with ACOV and its crew in tow.

     Three hours after launch, ACOV deploys from the payload bay of Challenger.

     6 hours after that, ACOV successfully performs rendezvous and docking to the ALSM.

     The LTV departs Earth, arriving in lunar orbit on the 24th. The ALSM and ACOV separate from the LTV, and the crew wait for another 2 orbits before entering their lander and undocking from ACOV to begin their descent to Virgil Base.

     "1,500 feet and nominal descent rate."

     "Shift 'er over a tad."

     "We're in a clear spot here just watch that slope."

     "Right on our base landing zone."

     "500 feet now."

     "350."

     "200."

     "100."

     "50."

     "20."

     "10, 5..."

     "CONTACT LIGHT."

     Right on the money. The 5 astronauts aboard the ALSM are then given an hour or so to rest and prepare for the first EVA. Unlike most other first EVAs this will be to simply walk over to the base. However, upon egressing their lander the crew discovers that the old flag planted by Orpheus 4 had been knocked over. so they stop for a short while and replant it closer to the base. Then taking advantage of a little photo opportunity, as the Earth is perfectly positioned above them in the lunar sky.

     The rest of the 8 total EVAs are intended to be rover trips, although EVA 3 is repurposed shortly before it begins to perform some repairs to the solar array field's batteries.

     The EERM handles extraordinarily well in the rugged terrain of the lunar South Pole, and the crew manages to cover 332km in their 35 days on the lunar surface, more than any other mission thus far.

'

     On December 30th, the crew leave their gifts for the crew of Orpheus 6 and return to the ALSM, departing the lunar surface.

     From this point on there's a bit of a change in plans. Weather reports come in, and heavy storms are expected to be over Edwards on the landing date. So ACOV will have to perform one of its good old-fashioned Pacific Ocean splashdowns. The Navy always keeps a few ships on standby in case of situations like these, and they are sent out and waiting as ACOV comes ripping through the atmosphere on January 3rd, 1991.

     A safe splashdown, concluding the fifth Orpheus mission to the Moon. The Orpheus program has, so far, managed to hold itself together and mostly deliver on its promises of lower costs. Although issues with ALSM and ACOV reusability have caused delays for those respective projects, the missions themselves are returning valuable scientific data, and have finally put a home for humans on another world.

     Before we wrap things up here, I mentioned the "turnaround test" for Space Shuttle Atlantis. So how did it do?

     37 days.

 

Отчет комиссии, поступивший 10 января.

[track]

Goodbye, Old Friend.

     Some would call it bittersweet, but others may call it just bitter. As the date turns over to 1991, the main thing on the minds of those at NASA is the imminent de-orbit of Skylab. After nearly 17 years of service to the country and its space agency, it has finally reached the end of its life and is to be de-orbited into the Pacific Ocean. But not before a series of events to ensure everything of value (that can be returned) is removed from the station. On top of this, Space Shuttle Discovery, which is set to launch to recover the astronauts of Skylab 30, will bring an automated "Skylab Deorbit Vehicle" or SDV which will use its thrusters to ensure a clean deorbit into the target area over the Pacific.

     Discovery will launch with just 2 astronauts, leaving 5 empty seats for the crew onboard the station for their return home. Once the Shuttle has arrived and is ready to dock, the MPCS will undock, and the SDV will be released from the Shuttle's payload bay. The Shuttle will then dock at the MPCS port, and the SDV will maneuver to the other side of the station to dock at the Shuttle's standard docking port on the aft of the Multi-Purpose Laboratory.

     On January 14th, 1991, STS-95 takes flight with 2 astronauts, Charles Bolden, and Curtis Brown.

     "LIFTOFF! LIFTOFF OF SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY TO DECOMMISSION THE SKYLAB SPACE STATION."

     "Nominal booster separation."

     Discovery will take a day to reach Skylab, meanwhile, the crew onboard the station prepares the MPCS for departure upon Discovery's arrival.  They also continue to remove hardware and place it in storage containers that will be loaded into the Spacelab Mini Module, which is being carried in Discovery's payload bay alongside the SDV.

     Much of the external hardware has already been brought back by the last two Shuttle visits, including everything on the external payload carriers. In many ways, it has felt like a home being moved out of for not only Skylab 30 but also 29. Less research and more just general work to decommission the station. It has begun to show its age since around 1986, and there was work to keep it going, but ultimately it is of early 70s design and construction. But NASA has learned greatly from Skylab, and there are already plans in place for a new space station to begin construction before the new millennium.

     At 1 PM on the 15th, Discovery comes in sight of the station, as the MPCS undocks and moves away to a safe distance. the SDV is then released from Discovery's payload bay. It moves over to the MPL docking port and safely puts itself in position.

     With the SDV in position, Discovery moves to dock at the MPCS port. Originally the Shuttle used to dock at the station here at this port, until the MPL was added as the final component of the station and provided a better location for docking. Nevertheless, both vehicles are successfully docked to the station.

     Then, for the final time, the ceremonial meeting inside the Destiny module of the two crews is completed. President George H.W. Bush holds a teleconference with the astronauts and congratulates them and all of the astronauts who have worked and lived aboard the station for their service. 

     3 days are spent docked to the station, as hardware and other cargo is loaded into the Spacelab Mini Module as well as the Shuttle's mid-deck. On the 19th, the crew of Skylab 30 enter the Shuttle and close the hatch to the station for the last time. NASA broadcasts the final Shuttle departure from Skylab on national television, starting just as undocking procedures begin.

     "On behalf of everyone who has stayed aboard, thank you Skylab, for your years of service to our country in space, and for being a home in space to all of us. Godspeed you hunk of junk."

     As the astronauts back away, some of them get a little teary-eyed. Bolden has stayed aboard the station twice, it felt like a home away from home to him. For O'Conner, his first flight into space was to Skylab. To go to Skylab was an incredible opportunity for any astronaut, not just American ones. The station had played host to 16 international visitors. It had seen the retirement of Apollo-Saturn and the rise of Shuttle-Jupiter, it had become a multi-generational constant in space, but its time orbiting our home planet had come to an end.

     That afternoon, while orbiting over Central Asia and China, the SDV performed its nearly 10-minute-long de-orbit burn for the station.

     The final commands sent to the onboard guidance computers inside the Prosperity Orbital Workshop were to orient the station upwards, for maximum drag effect.

     16 years, 8 months, and 20 days in orbit.

     The drag effects hit, and the station is spun around, as the S3 truss is pulled off by the g-forces.

     Maritime onlookers see a series of bright flashes, and then plasma trails streaking across the sky.

     One final bright flash, as the temperatures become too much even for the rugged Prosperity core module, the original Skylab orbital workshop itself.

     ...

     Godspeed, Skylab.

[track]

Leap of Faith

     With the decommissioning of Skylab, NASA has fully set foot into a new era. Endeavours beyond Earth will shape this new chapter of its history. These will bring not only America but humanity as a whole into a great new part of its history. But there's a long way to go until then, and the attention NASA has so enjoyed for these past few decades is beginning to dwindle. Criticism over the costs of Magellan and Orpheus on top of the Shuttle's severely reduced flight rate since the Enterprise incident has left the agency in a constant start of warring with Capitol Hill. The top executives at NASA are firmly of the belief that Magellan 1 is their way to turn opinion around, it must succeed.

     For the world, it is a time of intense turmoil. The Gulf War concluded with a coalition victory, and the Soviet Union is facing an absolute crisis. Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia have all voted in favor of independence. What was once a country that many considered stronger than America has deteriorated severely. The cracks in the hammer and sickle are showing more and more as time passes, and the strain may not be bearable for much longer.

     But of course, politics shmolotics. We're here for space exploration. There is plenty of that for the rest of 1991. After nearly 2 years of being confined to the Earth. Sokol and Buran-Energia are geared up for their return to space. The Zenit booster issues have been resolved and operations can resume at last. Those operations will begin with the long-awaited launch of Merkuriy 91, intended to be the first spacecraft to orbit the innermost planet. Sokol-K is being entrusted with the launch on the late night of May 2nd, 1991.

     The launch is a perfect success and a much-needed victory for the Soviet space program. But that's not all, following that up in July is the much-awaited return to the assembly of the Mir Space Station.

     As the sole space station in orbit, as ESA's Coelus Program is between Lab units, Mir has sat changeless since the summer of 1989, but at last, it will receive the portside experiment module dubbed "Zakat". This launch will see the debut of the Sokol-KM variant, which is the standard launch vehicle without the Zenit boosters.

     Launch and rendezvous are successful. However... as Zakat begins to approach its docking location on the port side of the behemoth Gavan module, its RCS systems suddenly deactivate. Multiple attempts are made to reactivate them and get the docking back on track, but they are unsuccessful. They deliberate on what to do afterward for another hour or so. Ultimately, controllers in Moscow make the decision to have Mir dock to Zakat. 

     It is not an easy operation, and the station has to expend more propellant than controllers would like to equal the velocity difference. The station slowly lumbers over to Zakat and safely docks with it 2 and a half hours behind schedule.

     Hectic docking operations aside, Mir's assembly is at last back on track as the next module is set to be delivered late next year.

     As summer turns to autumn, NASA embarks on an ambitious mission as the Sun gets closer to rising over Virgil Base. The second component of the base is here for delivery.

     This second cylindrical hab is mostly identical to the core module, with the notable exception of its large angled solar array at the top. This array, which can turn and be angled with the use of several electric motors will power the station as it continues to expand over the next few years. Inside, the module is home to dedicated sleeping quarters for the crew, giving them some much-needed personal space. 

     The module successfully lands itself right next to the core, and with a bit of a shimmy of the engines and extending lockers on the connection ports the two modules are successfully connected and their internal pressure equalized.

     NASA's home away from home has begun to expand, with the next module to be delivered before Orpheus 7 in 1993. The base itself will remain in low-power standby mode until the sun rises in October.

     Orpheus 6 then kicks off on November 1st, with the launch of a refueling tanker for the returning LTV and ALSM. Starting with this mission, both the LTV and ALSM will be reused. Most of the mission-specific equipment was packed into the new base module, so it will be there on the Moon for them when they arrive.

     Following ACOV's return to Earth, the LTV performed a rendezvous with the empty ALSM, which retracted its landing legs and docked back into place autonomously, despite needing a few attempts and being bumped around a little. The LTV then spent its remaining fuel to return to Earth and place itself and the lander in a parking orbit, awaiting the refueling tanker. It arrives after a successful launch and 12 hours of catchup in orbit. The tanker is essentially of the same design as the LTV, minus the nuclear engines, and with more maneuvering thrusters alongside tanks and a refueling boom for the ALSM's hypergolic propellants.

     After the successful fuel-up, the tanker de-orbits itself over the Pacific Ocean, with a job well done.

     This successful demonstration comes at a time when NASA has come to the realization that the ALSM is far too large and overkill for its new role of simply being a ferry to and from Virgil Base. This is why, in a few years, they plan to open up a commercial competition for a smaller replacement lander. It's not simply a matter of cost but a matter of technical complexity, and also the lander occupies a lot of space when landed near the base. It will serve for at least 5 more missions, however.

     Future landers aside, Columbia takes flight with ACOV on November 3rd, with a successful deployment 4 hours after launch. The now oldest Shuttle in the active fleet returns to land at the Kennedy Space Center on the 5th, concluding its 20th mission.

     ACOV is also being reused for the first time on this mission. The capsule for this mission was previously used on Orpheus 4 and is set to demonstrate the first-ever reuse of a crewed space capsule. 

     Docking with the ALSM and the LTV 18 hours after launch and 14 after deployment, the mission is smoothly on its way to the Moon after a successful trans-lunar injection 8 hours later. The cruise phase is relatively smooth, except for an unexpected communications blackout 2 days in that lasted for around 3 hours. That scare aside, the crew arrive safely in LLO on November 7th.

     However, at this point, another problem presents itself. The ALSM has a landing radar that is important for clearing large objects on the surface, and in this case, making sure they don't land right on top of the base. Before departing ACOV to begin the descent to the surface, the crew has a (very long) checklist to run through to make sure the lander is go for landing. One of these is powering on the landing radar and cycling it to make sure it works as intended. It does not turn on. The crew relays this information to Houston, who are perplexed by the issue. The radar has one of the most redundant power systems onboard, connected to the emergency power bank and with 2 sets of wiring connections in case of an electrical issue on one of them. Houston instructs the crew to open up the floor panel that has a lot of the wiring connections to the radar, but they find nothing. 

     They try several more times to get the landing radar to turn on, and at this point, the landing is in jeopardy of being full-on canceled. The crew checks every connection they can get access to, every backup power reroute, everything, but still no shut-on. Until Houston instructs them to try one last thing. In a floor panel, there is a set of switches for isolating and cutting off the 3 power buses onboard the lander. The radar is connected to bus 2. Wouldn't you know it, right underneath the label "BUS 2" the black hand switch is turned just a bit towards off, and it feels rather loose. After further speculation, it seems that during all of the bumping around as the ALSM tried to dock to the LTV, the bus switch, which didn't have enough tension on it to be locked to "ON" got thrown out of that position and cut itself off. Then because the bus was "manually" switched off the auxiliary power system didn't think it was an emergency issue or failure.

     With a small crisis concluded, and the mission now being firmly behind schedule, the timelines are altered and they are GO for landing. Then in just a short 45 minutes, after several hours of fiddling with power systems, the crew of Orpheus 6 arrive at their home sweet home for the next 35 days.

     From there, the mission is mercifully boring, dedicated to further research and exploration of Amundsen Crater. Most notably, the crew recovered the first ice samples from the crater, which is a massive step forward. They are sealed in sterile cold containment boxes as NASA wishes to preserve them as much as possible, bringing two back to Earth with the crew.

     35 peaceful days on the Moon well spent, the crew of Orpheus 6 then return to ACOV, and cruise their way back to Earth, ice samples in tow. After an unexpected splashdown for Orpheus 5 which made that capsule likely unable to be reused, this time around it's all sunny skies at Edwards as they come to a gentle stop on the lakebed.

     But that's not all...

     Buran is back.

     On December 16th, in the face of continual protests in Moscow, and political turmoil around the crumbling USSR. Buran provides a bit of hope for everyone in the country, as it flies for the first time to perform a crew rotation at Mir.

     Sadly, this hope would be short-lived, as this would be the last ever mission to space flying under the red banner of the Soviet Union.

     On December 26th, 1991, Georgia and Azerbaijan officially declare their independence from the USSR. The next day, Mikhail Gorbachev, and the leaders of the 5 Central Asian SSRs sign the official document dissolving the USSR, resigning from their posts, and reforming the 6 remaining Soviet states into the new Soviet Federative Republic.

     The Cold War has ended...