The History of a Three-Way Space Race

[Goodn_plenty]

I have seen mission reports here that detail the histories of space programs, and so I have been inspired by them to put my own scenario to paper, or keyboard I guess... introducing...

The History of a Three-Way Space Race

~~~The Beginning~~~

This Earth in 1940 is split between 3 Superpowers; Kiwet, Copernia, and Sunda. The world has entered a "cold war," driven by the recent invention of Nuclear Weapons, which if used in a full-scale war would cause untold damage.  In 1942, Kiwet started a secret program to develop rocket technology that could enable the delivery of nuclear bombs to locations halfway around the world faster than any other method. This program to develop ICBMs would reach a big milestone in 1945 with the maiden flight of the Icarus V rocket.

 

 

The Icarus V sits on the pad in White Sands awaiting launch

 

Icarus V launchs, the launch clamps unclamp

 

 

 

 

The Icarus V crosses the Karman Line, becoming the first artificial object to enter space

 

 

The flight of the Icarus V would last less than an hour, ending with it re-entering the atmosphere burning and crashing about 100 km downrange, 

However, Kiwet's ICBM program isn't as secret as they would hope, as it is infiltrated by spies from both Copernia and Sunda, through espionage, the plans for the Icarus V and other rockets make it way to the other Superpowers, sparking their own rocket programs, and seeding the space race. After many years, the first succesful ICBM would be assembled onto the launch pad in 1951

 

 

Edited November 1, 2023 by Goodn_plenty
fixed mistake

[Vanamonde]

Set on Earth? 

[Goodn_plenty]

Yes, but different countries and Kerbals not humans

Edited October 22, 2023 by Goodn_plenty

[Vanamonde]

I see.

[Kerbalsaurus]

This is a really cool concept for a space race! The only criticism I have is the names of the nations, but other than that you have a pretty solid mission report in store!

[Goodn_plenty]

Thank you  !    I can see how the names of the nations leave room for improvement, I have been thinking of changing the names but any names I could come up with aren't good enough to be worth changing the names. If you can come up with better ones I'd be happy to hear them

[Kerbalsaurus]

1 hour ago, Goodn_plenty said:

Thank you  !    I can see how the names of the nations leave room for improvement, I have been thinking of changing the names but any names I could come up with aren't good enough to be worth changing the names. If you can come up with better ones I'd be happy to hear them

Maybe for the North-American empire, I propose the name Kiwetenwi, which is Algonquian for north. For the European empire, maybe Copernia, named after Copernicus? And for the Australian empire, I have no clue. I want to make it a name in one of its indigenous languages, but unfortunately it's very hard to find a translator for any of them. It's your mission report though, so you do what you want with it. Maybe you keep these, or maybe you find these names absolutely stupid.

[Goodn_plenty]

Those are actually very great names!  I will use these, thank you very much,   the only modification I might make it shortening Kiwetenwi.

[Goodn_plenty]

The First ICBMs

 

Once the World's other two superpowers Copernia and Sunda got their hands on the plans for Kiwet's Icarus V rocket, they quickly founded their own ICBM programs. Throughout the next 6 years, Sunda slowly progressed towards a functional ICBM. Their first rockets were almost directly copies of the Icarus V, but as the rockets got bigger and better, their design drifted from the Icarus V, they achieved their first sucess in 1951, when they developed the C-5 ICBM. 

The C-5, weighing about 250 t, was designed to deliver a 5t nuclear warhead to Copernia from the edges of Sunda's territory. With it's range being around 7000 km, it became the first ICBM. However, the ICBM had limitations, as its other enemy, Kiwet was out of reach of the C-5. For this reason an even bigger series of rockets, the D-series, started development in late 1951.

~~~

The first D-series rocket was the D1, weighing 340t and could deliver a payload of ~6t to a location on the other side of the Earth. The first flight-ready one was delivered to launchpad in Wenchang on February 7, 1953.

First Test of the D-1

Spoiler

Wenchang Rocket Facility - February 7, 1953  6:00 AM

D-1 sits at the launch pad

 

 

Engines Ignition

 

 

Launch clamps unclamp; Liftoff

 

 

D-1 clears the launch pad; SAS attempts to correct the rocket's yaw

 

 

T+50s  -  Program malfunction causes left booster engine to shutdown

 

 

D-1 begins to tumble

 

 

T+60s   -    D-1 comes apart and explodes about 10 km above the Wenchang Rocket Facility 

Debris from the rocket would rain down on the facility, warranting significant repairs if the facility was to ever launch another rocket

~

Due to the damage done to the Wenchang Launch Facility by the D-1's first flight test, it would not be until May that they next D-1 could be launched from there.

Second Test of the D-1

Spoiler

Wenchang Rocket Facility - May 18, 1953  12:30 PM

D-1, awaiting launch

 

 

Engine Ignition

 

 

Launch clamps unclamp; Liftoff

 

 

 

T+51s   -   Pitch and roll program started

 

 

T+130s   -   Booster engine cutoff

 

 

T+135s   -   Booster seperation

 

 

T+210s Main Engine Cutoff; Seperation of first-stage

 

 

T+570s   -   Second Stage Engine Cutoff

 

With it's burns completed, the second stage crusises to it's apogee of 3000 km, in the process becoming by far the highest altitude ever achieved by an artifical object

 

 

The rocket reaches it's highest point just as the sun dips below the horizon, and begins its fall back down. It re-enters the atmosphere above the Atlantic ocean at over 8500 m/s, and burns up.

 

~

 

After the success of the second D-1 test, the go-ahead is given for production. In the following year, over a hundred would be made.

~~~

The leader of Sunda's space program, Wernon, had even bigger plans for the D-1 rocket, he was very enthusiastic about the concept of space travel, it was what had led him into the field of rocketry in the first place. He proposed the Mun Program, which aimed to put artificial moons(satellites) in low earth orbit.

Despite his adamance, it would not be until 1953, after many years in limbo, that his program would finally be given the go-ahead after the second D-1 Test. Immediantly work started on converting the D-1s given into launch vehicles for the Mun Program, with the first mission, Mun-2, planned to launch before 1955.

Edited November 1, 2023 by Goodn_plenty

[Goodn_plenty]

Are there any improvements I could make for the future?