It's The Wrong Red Moon... Adventures of an Alternate History!

[Kimera Industries]

On 9/19/2023 at 8:48 PM, Kimera Industries said:

Deorbit burn. Trial and error to get close to the Baikerbanur Kosmodrome.

Ha, this is funny- before I tried the Trajectories mod, everything was trial and error via quicksaves. Trajectories isn't perfect, sometimes over or under-compensating, but hey- fewer quickloads are required. 

Edited November 23, 2023 by Kimera Industries
Whee! Page 2!

[Kimera Industries]

"The day has finally come. We have finally caught up to the USSR. Our modifications to the Saturn V have been finished quicker than anticipated, and the Russian N-1 for their Korolev 5 mission needs another month at least until it is ready, our sources say."

This Saturn V is like no other. It is much stubbier and shorter than any other Saturn V and is in fact called the Saturn V-C. The decreased length is a result of the substantially less fuel required for a Minmus mission. The crew has been trained for a mission almost as long as Gemini 7, as their only chance to get out and stretch will be the landing. The crew module has been reorganized for more interior space and the design will be kept for future Apollo missions. The Lunar Lander, Aquarius, is simpler, just a single stage now.

April 11, 1970, 19:13 GMT:

Apollo 13.

Launch: 

Spoiler

The Saturn V-C sits gleaming on the launchpad. All hopes of beating the Soviets in this revitalized space race ride on Apollo 13.

"All systems nominal. We are go for launch."

"Liftoff! We have liftoff!"

"Abnormal temperature readings in the center engine, standing by."

"Center F-1 is out! Looks to be some kind of explosion!"

"Roger that. Can we still continue to orbit?"

"Yessir. The lessened weight of the V-C allows for single engine-out capability on ascent. Any earlier and an abort would have been forced, sir."

"Houston, Apollo, we are getting some very large disturbances here."

"LES engaged."

"And as if to add insult to injury, we have single parachute failure. Landing unaffected but slightly bumpier than expected."

"Houston, Apollo- we just lost another parachute! The impact will be fatal now!"

"You have one last chance- ditch the heat shield. It might be enough weight to make a difference."

"It's going to be a close one!"

"OOOF-"

"Houston, Apollo. Crew is safe and sound. *Loud expletive, redacted for  the sake of TV viewers* We've lost!"

Spoiler

Who could have guessed that something would go wrong with a mission called Apollo 13?

Dmitri leaned over and switched off the television set. Pirating that broadcast had technically been illegal, but no one at MISE cared. 

He stood up and said, "Comrades, we've had a stroke of luck here. I want all of you working overtime to get this mission ready, you hear me?"

A chorus of agreements followed. "Da," was the general consensus.

"Good. We've been given a miracle here. Don't waste it."

Edited September 15 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

Randomly, I decided to set the launch of the Saturn V-C mission in January of 1970. I realized that this would be modifying history and that this mission needed a name as it was stealing from a real-life Apollo mission. As I googled an Apollo launch timetable, I decided to settle for whatever mission launched first in 1970, and lo and behold- by sheer coincidence, it was Apollo 13! I guess even in alternate histories that mission is cursed.

This is where the timelines really start to diverge, and as time goes on it will get more pronounced. This is just the first example of the Soviet side modifying the history of the American side, as up to this point the goings on of MISE haven't had a visible effect on NASA. This will be interesting for me to have to think about NASA's side as well, and I will sprinkle in their rival missions once in a while. Alternate Space Shuttle? Yes, please!

Here's a spoiler of what's to come- the Zdaniye modular base system!

Edited March 12 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

NASA Accident Investigation Committee

Apollo 13 incident

Summary: 

Due to the shortening of the fuel tanks, a smaller weight of fuel was available for the F1 engines. The turbopumps could still get all the required fuel, but the unexpectedly low tank pressure caused them to overcompensate. Insufficient testing failed to reveal this problem, but in all 4 outer engines, the thermometer detected an increase in temperature from the increased fuel flow and throttled down accordingly. However, during testing, the thermometer of the center F1 was damaged. Rushed inspections did not discover this and the engine assumed it was at a nominal operating temperature when in reality the heat was increasing beyond the capacity of its regenerative cooling, and the engine exploded. The Saturn continued nominally for almost a minute, but it had been leaking fuel and losing tank pressure. Eventually, a particularly large concentration of fuel reacted with the exhaust from the other F1 engines, resulting in a large thermal expansion. The loss of vehicle structural integrity afterward tripped the abort system, and the crew was pulled to safety.

Conclusion: In any further Saturn V-C launches, special attention will be paid to fuel transfer and engine temperatures.

Edited December 5, 2023 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

Korolev 5 Crew Transport

The Korolev 5 mission is ready. The crew, not so much.

Before every MISE mission, the crew gets one week of resting and quarantine. Procedures are reviewed, jokes are cracked, and the crew generally has a good time. The problem is, the location of this getaway retreat- erm, psychological healing location is on the southernmost island under the influence of the USSR. The lower latitude, coastal location, and dormant volcano make it very warm, approaching tropical temperatures during the summer, but it is very far away from the MISE facilities. As a result, the crew is transported from the island usually the day or two before the launch.

May 26, 1970, 8:30 VLAT: 

Spoiler

Charlie 1 has taxied onto the runway.

Spoiler

Guys it's an island in southern Russia and not the Island Runway I promise

"Yuri Kerman to Tower, we are go for takeoff."

"Roger that, Yuri. Going to be a nice, routine flight."

Yuri Kerman is the Korolev pilot for K5. He will stay behind in the Korolev while Dmitri and Valentina Kerman go down to the surface. Normally, the lander would only carry one person, but the lighter gravity of Minmus allows for more of everything in general.

"Wheeeee!"

"It'll be smooth sailing from the mountains onward."

"See you in a few, Yuri."

"We've got a bogey at 6 o'clock! What is it?"

"It looks like an American fighter plane! I-it's armed! They're trying to stop us!"

"Sneaking up on our radar like that, huh? Well, this plane's got a few tricks of its own! Engaging afterburner!"

From the attack plane: "This was supposed to be a repurposed business jet! They didn't say anything about it going Mach 1! Deploy the missile while they're still in range!"

"Yuri! Behind us!"

"I know. Deploying counterattack."

Attack plane: "What the Kraken- it's armed too!"

"Missile one, away!"

"Their missile is incapacitated! Yes!"

Spoiler

Sorry guys tried to get cool explosion FX but missile was not cooperating

"Missile two, away. Pulling out of range of the enemy's guns."

"We're hit! Eject! Eject!"

"The American plane is down. Good work, Yuri."

"Ok, now from here on is smooth sailing, I think."

Dmitri's view

"Approaching Baikurbanur Kosmodrome Runway now."

"There's that desert temple again. One of these days we should investigate. Say,-"

"Yuri, that's a negative. Do not land near the temple."

"Fine. You guys are no fun."

"Please stow all trays in the upright position and make sure you are buckled in."

"Touchdown! The crew of Korolev 5 is safe and sound!"

"Now that. Was quite the adventure." Valentina said.

"Not as good as the one we're going to have." replied Dmitri.

Just a fun little showcase of a fraction of the possibilities of the Airplane Plus mod.

Coming up next- the moment we've all been waiting for- the first crewed mission to land on Minmus, Korolev 5!

Edited December 5, 2023 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

Korolev 5

A majestic rocket, taller than any crewed rocket launched before it at Baikurbanur, sits gleaming in the faint summer sun. Slowly, the crew make their way to the top.

Countless tests. Countless inspections. The rocket is ready. The crew is ready. Ground control is ready.

May 28, 1970, 9:45 MSK:

"Korolev 5, we are go for launch."

Spoiler

"10...9...8...Ingition start...6...5...4...3...Ignition...1..."

"Liftoff! We have liftoff!"

"Ah, the power! It's so loud!"

"Whaaat?"

"Never mind."

The full power and glory of the N1 perfectly reflects the might of the Soviet Union.

"Flawless hot staging."

"Dmitri here- bleg- speak for yourself!"

"It's a slow buildup into orbit."

"Korolev 5 in orbit! The first phase of this mission is a success!"

Cheering erupts from the mission control center in Moscow. Meanwhile, around the globe, a CIA agent tweaks the television set in the White House. Getting that camera planted had certainly been a hair-raising operation, but everyone wanted to know- would this be it? The fall of the capitalistic system?

"How soon could we get our own Minmus landing?" the President asked.

"No sooner than Thanksgiving, Mr. President." replied the agent.

"Not soon enough, I see."

"Phase 1 success! We are ready for Trans-Minmus Injection."

"Ugh, TMI."

Spoiler

"The sky is so beautiful from up here. You know, I could almost swear I could hear-" Dmitri cut off.

"Hear what?" asked Val.

"Nothing."

Val kept to herself but made a mental note to keep an eye on Dmitri. He was supposed to go down to the surface with her, and she wanted to be sure he was in good health.

"Bye-bye, Kerbin. See you again soon..."

"Hello, Minmus!"

"Inserting into Minmus orbit! We are so close!"

"Yeah, well, the real trick is getting back."

"Phase 2 complete- begin landing procedures."

Spoiler

"K5 detach. Ready for docking."

"Contact, and- hard dock complete!"

Due to our obviously superior technology, the crew must go on EVA to enter the lander.

"Your solar panels are looking good. Godspeed, little lander."

"See you in a few, Yuri."

The lander will take care of the transfer stage, impacting it into the surface and using it to slow down.

"Lander detach. We are truly on our own now."

"It's just a fuel tank and engine. We've been on our own for a while now."

"Shhh, I'm trying to sound profound to future historians."

"Engine ignited! The descent is flawless!"

Everyone in mission control sits on the edge of their seats. These crucial moments will determine their futures and their country's fate.

"Contact! We did it! We did it! We have landed on  the surface of Minmus!"

Mission control explodes. The President of the United States, watching one of the rare live broadcasts from the Soviet Union, simply puts his head into his hands.

"Phase 3 success! Kerbals are about to set foot on Minmus for the first time!"

Spoiler

"Moscow, Korolev 5, we are ready for surface operations to begin."

"Roger that, Korolev 5. Begin suitup."

"Dmitri Kerman here. I have disembarked the vessel and am ready to make history."

"Make us proud."

"The ground is so close I can taste it!"

"What does it taste li- never mind."

June 2, 1970- The USSR makes history by putting the first kerbals on Minmus.

"The stars are not out of reach. Let our gaze be set on the entire cosmos. To the stars, comrades, to the stars!"

"Stupid, the stuff they make you memorize."

"That was from the heart, Val."

"Oh, uh, look at that, I have, uh, something else to do!"

"Careful on the ladder."

"It really is a minty green, isn't it?"

"We have fulfilled our immediate goal, but let us not forget our long-term goal: Living amongst the stars!"

Spoiler

Dmitri glanced over at the nearby hill and went quiet. To Val, it almost looked like he was instead looking at something behind it. Dmitri shook himself out of his stupor and said: 

"Let's get on with our duties, shall we?"

Val nodded but gave him a wary look as he stooped over to collect a sample.

The main surface operations complete, Dmitri decided to take a photo of the landing site from a distance, as Neil Armstrong did on Apollo 11.

"Say cheese, Val!"

"Cheeese!"

*click*

Val couldn't see much from this distance but she could see that Dmitri had suddenly dropped the camera. It landed with a silent puff of dust and regolith. Suddenly, she became very concerned for his health- had he had a heart attack? Was he going insane?

"Dmitri! Dmitri! Are you okay?"

His reply was soft: "I can hear them..."

"Dmitri, hear what? Come back to the lander, you aren't well!" Val started cautiously heading toward him.

"Hear them singing... the stars..."

Val began leaping and bounding toward his location. As she reached him, she saw he was facing the same direction as when he'd gone quiet earlier. Looking that way, she saw nothing but the large hill, and once again got the sense that wasn't what he was looking at.

"Dmitri, snap out of it!"

She grabbed his helmet and shook gently. He seemed to pull himself together.

"Val, what happened? My head hurts..."

"You phased out of it for a moment there. Did you see something? You said you could hear something. "

"I- Val, I don't know what happened. One moment I was taking the picture, the next- I could hear something. It was... talking to me."

"What did it say? I thought you heard singing."

"Val, it was... like singing. It was quiet, but I thought I could hear- in my mind- 'Come to us.'"

Val grabbed him by the shoulders. "No one is going to find out about this, okay? We must keep our mouths shut."

"Roger that. I- Val, is something wrong with me?"

"I don't know, Dmitri. I don't know."

Val and Dmitri climb back into the lander, still shaken from their experience. Dmitri pauses on his way up the ladder.

For just a split second, he glances back at the source of the mysterious noise. He hears it, briefly, before it fades.

"Moscow, Korolev 5. We are ready to take off from the surface."

Spoiler

"Do svidaniya, Minmus!"

Yuri prepares for docking. It's the most exciting part he gets to do himself.

A swift approach, as Yuri is a wizard on the control stick.

"Contact! Redocking successful."

"They call me Yuri the Magnificent"

EVA to get back into K5.

The latches are removed, and the lander's computer autonomously deorbit it.

Korolev 5 prepares to leave Minmus.

"Bye-bye, Minmus..."

"Hello, Kerbin."

Spoiler

"Command capsule detached. We've picked up a bit of a spin here, but it's nothing serious. It'll right itself on reentry."

The service module explodes from the high heat.

"Parachutes deployed, we are on track for a landing right by the space center!"

"Touchdown! The crew is safe!"

Later that day, the director of the space program gathers everyone to make an important announcement.

"Comrades, we have done the impossible, and the government has recognized our efforts. The space program is being rebranded as the Kerbal Soviet Space Program, or KSSP! MISE will become the head department of the KSSP and funding is through the roof!"

The Soviets have etched a chapter of triumph amongst the stone of history. Much more is to come, and I can't wait to show you!

And thus concludes

Chapter 1: Discovery

Edited September 16 by Kimera Industries
Trimmed down.

[TwoCalories]

Is Dmitri... insane? Wut...

[Kimera Industries]

2 minutes ago, TwoCalories said:

Is Dmitri... insane? Wut...

No spoilers, but...

Spoiler

All I'll tell you is I have something of a story planned involving the anomalies...

[Kerb24]

Just now, Kimera Industries said:

All I'll tell you is I have something of a story planned involving the anomalies...

This story is evolving in strange and interesting ways. Keep up the good work!

[Kimera Industries]

1 minute ago, Kerb24 said:

This story is evolving in strange and interesting ways. Keep up the good work!

Will do! I really appreciate the support because these missions are very long to do all in one go, and editing them for these posts takes quite a while.

Spoiler

Anybody know how to make a poll/ voting thing without making an entirely new thread?

[TwoCalories]

8 minutes ago, Kimera Industries said:

Anybody know how to make a poll/ voting thing without making an entirely new thread?

If you edit the original post, it will show a "poll" option at the top. It'll then give you a new interface that allows you to create a poll, or several polls. It gives you options like adding a name, questions, etc.

[Kimera Industries]

9 minutes ago, TwoCalories said:

If you edit the original post, it will show a "poll" option at the top.

I'm not seeing this.

[TwoCalories]

3 minutes ago, Kimera Industries said:

I'm not seeing this.

Here, hopefully this clarifies it.

So, go to the very first post that you made in this thread (I called it the original post), and click edit.

And there, circled, is the Poll button.

[Kimera Industries]

Oh, in the original post, I see. Thanks!

There's a poll now! Vote, or vote not. There is no try.

Edited November 23, 2023 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

Even more important, is that I have learned there is a dark theme for the forums now, and I'm never going back.

[TwoCalories]

For the poll: I think we should continue with expeditionary missions before continuing to the Minmus station. So that'd look a little like the early Apollo missions, exploring the surface and such, maybe with a small rover.

[Kimera Industries]

20 minutes ago, TwoCalories said:

For the poll: I think we should continue with expeditionary missions before continuing to the Minmus station. So that'd look a little like the early Apollo missions, exploring the surface and such, maybe with a small rover.

So, option 2?

The challenge is to keep it interesting and not redundant in its missions because that's why people lost interest in Apollo- it all felt the same to them. I might end up skipping some missions, (or at least mission numerals), e.g. go from mission 1 (which has interest for being the first) to, say, mission 4 (which has interest for doing something new.) The plan is:

Skip to Korolev 7, the first to use a rover

Skip to Korolev 10, the first to land in the Minmus highlands

Edited November 23, 2023 by Kimera Industries

[Kerbalsaurus]

Just asking, how did a fighter jet attacking a Russian civilian airliner not start WWIII?

[Watermel00n]

Bet they kept it sneaky weaky...

[Kimera Industries]

7 hours ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

Just asking, how did a fighter jet attacking a Russian civilian airliner not start WWIII?

@Watermel00n is right about it being kept very quiet, as both sides realize that the reveal of this information could cause *the end of the world.* The American fighter is also part of a group in the military that believes that attacking the USSR is the only solution, and several officials with those beliefs simply turned a blind eye to the long-range, armed fighter heading for the Soviet Union. And to be fair, the Russian jet isn't exactly a civilian airliner. It's got missiles and afterburner, with a radar designed for combat. This is all as a precaution, mind you, but it still has those.

Edited November 24, 2023 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

The poll will be closing in a few hours. Get your votes in if you haven't! 

[Kimera Industries]

The poll has now closed! The next mission will be Korolev 7, a kerbaled mission exploring one of Minmus's plains with a rover. Thanks to all who voted!

Edited November 24, 2023 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

The name of the lander is the LIG "Feather." A lightweight, 2-person Minmus lander capable of landing under its own power, deploying a rover, and holding cargo for surface science, its name in Russian is Legkiy Geolander, or "Lightweight Geolander." A project that may be scrapped with the introduction of the Zdaniye modular base system was the LUG lander, the Lunnyy Universal'nyy Gruzovoz, or Lunar Universal Cargo Carrier. But I like that name, so it may stay.

Edited November 16 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

The Korolev Launch System is now available on KerbalX! Feel the rush as you pilot your kerbals to orbit on this Soyuz derivative!

https://kerbalx.com/Kimera_Industries/Korolev-LS

Enjoy! More ships coming soon! 

[Kimera Industries]

. . . And now Myatnee I!

https://kerbalx.com/Kimera_Industries/Myatnee-I

Have fun exploring Minmus with your favorite unkerbaled lander!