Ad Astra - A Gemini Alternate History Timeline

[ThatBattleCow]

Part XVI: Moonlab

28 July 1972

The Saturn V carrying the Moonlab Lunar Research Outpost sits on LC-39B, ready to launch. 

"T-Minus 15 seconds, we have guidance transfer, the launch vehicle is now on internal guidance."

"10, 9, 8, 7, ignition sequence start, 4, 3 ,2, 1"

"And liftoff of Moonlab, the first lunar base!"

Stage separation viewed from the ground

TLI on the dark side of the earth.

Separation from the SIVB

Moonlab will autonomously place itself in lunar orbit, where the crew of Moonlab I and their LSAM lander will rendezvous and pilot it down.

[ThatBattleCow]

Part 17 on the way!

 

[ThatBattleCow]

Part XVII: A Lab on the Moon

1 August 1972

Moonlab 1 sits on Pad 39A, ready to carry Alan Shepard and, interestingly, Geraldyn M. Cobb, the first female American Astronaut to Shackleton.

 

Shepard boarding Kitty Hawk prior to liftoff.

Ignition

Max-Q, as viewed by the tracking cameras at Coco Beach.

TLI

Shepard flips the switch to free Kitty Hawk from the SIVB.

Kitty Hawk docks with LSAM-1, named Wagtail.

Lunar Orbit Insertion

Rendezvous with the waiting Moonlab.

Shepard undocks Wagtail and pulses backward, allowing Cobb to dock to Moonlab.

Moonlab fires its DPS-II engine briefly to put it on a course to Shackleton, Cobb begins the descent.

"Contact light. Shutdown"

"Copy, Moonlab has landed on the edge of Shackleton Crater."

4 August 1972, first lunar base.

Cobb deploys the LRV-XL rover from its ramp.

While waiting for LSAM touchdown, several experiments are performed.

LSAM touchdown.

The LSAM is put into hibernation, waiting for Moonlab 2 and Excalibur to arrive in two months' time.

Cobb and Shepard continue to run experiments and deploy scientific gear around the base.

New part tomorrow!

[KSPMaster89]

woah ! the moonlab base is all from bdb ?

 

[ThatBattleCow]

3 hours ago, KSPMaster89 said:

woah ! the moonlab base is all from bdb ?

 

Yup, in the 1,12 update they added an LRV and Lunar Shelters

Part XVIII

6 October 1972

Moonlab 2 and Excalibur sit on LC-39A, with an uprated SM and mission module.

Liftoff!

Separation viewed from the ground.

Skipping TLI...

The SLA panels are opened and Excalibur pitches backward to dock with the mission module.

The mission module is extracted from the SIVB

Circularization around the moon.

Then the game crashed....

[KSPMaster89]

ik bro, just installed it. btw this series is really cool

1 hour ago, ThatBattleCow said:

Yup, in the 1,12 update they added an LRV and Lunar Shelters

 

[ThatBattleCow]

2 hours ago, KSPMaster89 said:

ik bro, just installed it. btw this series is really cool

 

Thanks! I never expected anyone to like it, just a passion project.

[AtomicTech]

On 11/6/2022 at 12:55 PM, ThatBattleCow said:

Thanks! I never expected anyone to like it, just a passion project.

A new favorite mission report series