Alternate Space Equipment and Programs

[hlovell]

So anyways, I've been pondering on the ideas of space programs that could have, but never been. What if the CSA survived long enough to launch its own space program? What if there was a space race between the Allied and Axis powers of WWII? How about the Entente and Central powers of WWI? What if we had a Russian Tsar in power in the 1950s, overlooking the launch of Russian Empire's first satellite from a space center in Russian Alaska?

Think away at it, my friends.