Rockets Away—the space program hastened

[NHBL]

Rockets Away—the space program hastened

I did this ATL for an Alternate History challenge on the old board, and posted it again in response to another space flight thread. I’ve cleaned it up some, and would be interested in thoughts—worth detailing more? Any questions will likely help me flesh it out as I answer them.

When the Washington Naval Treaty was signed, Japan was not happy with the results. Before the ink was even dry, clandestine plans were already being made to cheat on the treaty when the time was right. The 18” guns for the next generation of battleships were put in storage and more built, ostensibly for coast defense purposes. Other materials were slowly stockpiled, and the twin 18” turrets were built—also justifiable for coast defense batteries, should anyone discover them. Even the turbines and reduction gears could be used for other purposes. (The turrets, guns, turbines, and reduction gearing are the longest lead time items for a battleship, and there are some legitimate reasons to stockpile heavy armor—such as repairs to existing ships) A few naval officers questioned the stockpiles, but were cajoled by just this line of reasoning.
In 1930, as the Japanese started becoming more militaristic, construction was started on the next generation of battleships. Secrecy was of course paramount, and there was a fear that the Americans might find out something. Should that happen, an American building program would negate the Japanese advantage.
To prevent just such a situation, the Japanese developed an elaborate decoy scheme. A rocket program was started, with tight—but not perfect—security. Perfectly legal, and an explanation for where the vast resources were going. It would also, it was hopes, divert American resources into a fruitless, time wasting project. The project was never intended to produce major results, but did bear some fruit. Japanese aircraft tested the new rockets against the Chinese ground forces in 1934, and when the Kamikaze was introduced, the Oka was developed earlier—and was longer ranged. Heavy air to surface (unguided) rockets were used at sea on some occasions, with mixed results.
As a result, Japan managed to keep the four new super-battleships secret.
In the USA, word leaked out of Japan’s rocket program. Naturally, the USA had to develop a better program just in case there was something to it. Goddard was brought on board, and the project really took off. As a result, the heavy bomber program was less intense.
By 1940, the US had a missile similar to the V-2, and a limited number of rocket planes (short ranged, finicky, well armed, and very fast.) Larger rockets were on the drawing boards—the accuracy of the current ones was unacceptable.
December 7, 1941: The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on schedule. The results were devastating for the US, although the two rocket planes that managed to get off the ground destroyed at least a dozen aircraft between them. One of the American planes was hit, and simply vanished as its fuel was ignited.
Reports of the performance of the planes was doubted, although one Zero’s gun camera got a poor quality picture. In the wake of the spectacular success that day, Japanese analysts didn’t recognize the significance of the smudged photograph until after the Battle of Midway. In addition, most of the planes seen were conventional piston engine aircraft.
The first half of 1942 went much as historical, as the US build-up commenced. In June, the Japanese attacked Midway. It was decided that that was the place to use rocket aircraft, since the island HAD to be held. When the first strike came roaring in, it was torn to shreds by American rocket-fighters. The rockets shot down numerous fighters, leaving the bombers exposed to the Buffaloes and Wildcats. A second strike was sent in as well, also loosing the majority of the attacking force. The losses were so heavy that a third attack was cancelled, despite the huge explosion seen on the island—the rocket fuel had been hit. As the carrier force retreats, the American carriers manage one attack, damaging three of the Japanese carriers. Nagumo’s force turned for home with empty flight decks and hangars, but all the carriers were repaired.
It was also in mid 1942 that the bombardment of Germany commenced. For six months, the US had been stockpiling missiles while the bombing of Germany was also being carried on by conventional means. On June 10, with the US rocket program out of the bag at Midway, the second half was unveiled. In 3 days, over 100 rockets fell into industrial Germany. The explosions weren’t as bad as a bomber raid, but they came with no warning. After this surge, rockets fell into German on a regular basis—a minor supplement to the strategic bombing. Naturally, the Luftwaffe tried to take out the missile sites, but with minimal results; German aircraft were relatively short ranged, and radar allowed American rocket interceptors to strike the attackers. These desperate actions proved conclusively that piston engine aircraft could not survive in the presence of rocket propelled fighters.
The rocket powered fighters were of little offensive use due to their short range, but they inspired faster development of the Komet and ME-262 jets. They were also absoultely unsuited to carrier opperations; they had a bad habit of exploding in a hard landing. The German jets and rockets started flying in force by early 1943, rendering the strategic bombing campaign far more costly.
Naturally, the RAF and USAAF pushed development of jets, but they were well behind the Luftwaffe. Another development in American aircraft soon followed to overcome the limited range of the rocket planes. Grumman introduced a long-range piston engine recon plane with a rocket booster to get away from pursuers.
Even the Americans had to accept that night bombing was necessary after severe losses to jet fighters. The Americans focussed on strategic rocket development, and by late 1943, the accuracy was much improved. At the same time, heavier defensive armament was added to the bombers—a few 20 mm Oikerlons, and even a try at including single mount 40 mm Bofors in powered turrets. Even these extremes didn’t allow for daylight bombing over Germany to resume, though.
When the war ended (about the same time as historical) the Americans were lobbing missiles into Japan from Okinawa—and hitting the intended targets regularly.
Unfortunately, when the Manhattan Project bore fruit, there wasn’t a plane ready that could both lift the new bomb and escape its blast—the B-29 had been delayed due to the resources devoted to the missiles—and the missiles couldn’d loft the massive nuclear weapons.
Eventually, the bomb was delivered by a radio-controlled Lancaster, the first nuclear guided missile, and the war ended.

The first supersonic flight occurred in early 1944 using a rocket-powered plane, but no supersonic fighters were deployed by war’s end.

The USA had an incredible edge in rocketry, which was further added to when the US captured some of Germany’s finest. In 1949, just after the USSR exploded its first nuclear bomb, the USA fired its first intercontinental range missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Although it wasn’t very accurate, it could hit a city sized target. Close is good enough with horseshoes, hand grenades, and nuclear weapons.

The existence of Soviet planes with nuclear capability spurred American air to air missile development, although the American ICBM’s were thought to be an effective deterrent for the moment. Still, the potential of Soviet advances—or outright theft of American technology—spurred the US to stay ahead. The ICBM launchers were ideal for lofting cameras-and the first satellite orbited in late 1949, with the first manned space shot in 1950. This development was originally done by the United States Navy, which saw a need for a way to watch entire oceans from above. By the time the army realized what was happening, the navy had established undisputed control of the space program, a control it never relinquished even to this day.
NATO is almost seen as unnecessary by many people, as the United States clearly doesn’t need help keeping the Soviets at bay, and some of the nations decide that signing onto NATO would almost be giving the nation away to the USA. Others felt that staying with the US—with its huge supply of rebuilding resources—was the way to go. Europe became a patchwork of nations—some neutral, secure that the US would fight the USSR regardless if they ever came, some Soviet dominated, and some in the NATO alliance.

The space program was seen by many nations as a foolish waste, but the USA soon started making more use of its monopoly. Cameras were mounted on satellites—first for military purposes, and soon enough also for weather prediction. With the military firmly behind a further manned presence in space, by 1955, Space Station Lewis and Clark looked down on Earth.
(A note on technology: With manned space flight a reality before electronics were able to be truly miniaturized, the continuing assumption was that difficult missions would require a human presence.
Future generations would forever mark July 4, 1957 as the beginning of a new era. On July 4, four astronauts disembarked on the space station. Never again would space be deserted. So promised the President of the United States in the “Independence Day Speech”—and the promise was kept. The United States Navy Orbital Command made sure of it.
When the USSR first put a man into orbit, the American reaction was swift—America would maintain its reputation for high technology by putting a man on the moon. In 1961, the Eagle landed. The American lunar craft was quite different from anything in our timeline, since the ship could start from the orbiting station. A portion of the first ship remained in Lunar orbit to act as a base for further exploration.
When the next crisis with the USSR happened (as they always did in both timelines,) the USA revealed that it had missiles out of reach of the Soviet arsenal—both the space station and the lunar orbiting base were armed with nuclear missiles.

1965 sees the first reusable surface to orbit spacecraft flying, but it proves disappointing, and somewhat dangerous.

France, ever more weary of American domination, started a quiet technological exchange program with the USSR, and publicly declared that it would join the Americans on the moon. The French worked on the delicate technology, while the USSR focussed on the big boosters. With the combined efforts, shameless copying, and a disregard for risk that costs several cosmonauts their lives, they put a station into orbit, and then followed with a lunar landing.
The American response is swift—tentative plans for a trip to Mars for research are hastened and made definite. Previously, it had been a project for scientific purposes, but it was suddenly a matter of prestige—no one would take the American’s place as the premier space power.
The USA expands its space station for both military and civilian purposes, and by 1972, there are 5 major permanent orbiting stations—3 American, 1 Franco-Soviet, and the American Selene Station orbiting the moon. In 1972, the first child is born in space.
The second generation shuttle takes wing in 1971, as does a reusable massive booster, allowing a larger population to be supported in orbit. The massive booster also allows enough personnel and equipment to be transported to the moon for a working colony to grow—it soon proves cheaper to boost lunar materials to orbit than it does to boost Earth’s material from the gravity well. It also allows for the Mars mission’s first ship to be completed ahead of schedule, using lunar materials for the frame and plating, and American precision parts shipped from Earth. USS Ares is intended to become an orbiting base on arrival, with the spent fuel tanks made into living quarters. A much smaller craft, intended to carry the crew and samples from Mars orbit to Earth orbit, is the crew’s trip home.
The mission is initially a success, with Ares blasting off in 1975, but tragedy strikes at Mars—one of the landers crashes and all aboard are killed. With only one lander available-and many crew dead—the mission’s options are severely reduced. Some exploration is accomplished, but a pall descends over the entire crew.
Another close call ends the exploration mission early—the second lander refuses to take off after one of the visits. The crew manages to jury-rig it to return to Ares, but permanent repairs are impossible in Martian orbit. The lander can—and does—explore Mars’ moons while it’s there. The crew can’t return to Earth early—they have to wait until the planets are properly aligned—so they use their time to thoroughly explore the two moonlets and complete the conversion of the fuel tanks into living quarters.
The supplies for building a permanent planetary base wait with Ares—as does the one lander—while the surviving crew returns to Earth.

An ion engine is in the works, although Ares II will once again have conventional engines. Some consideration was given to delaying until the new engines, and a ship for them, could be ready, but the scientific data gathered by Ares I was maddeningly tantalizing—and the USA refused to accept failure, or near failure-in the face of a possible Franco-Soviet mission.
Ares II also carries German, Irish, British, and Swedish crewmen and women—the first international interplanetary mission. Ares II also carries parts for the lander from Ares I, and two ships capable of returning to Earth. The plan is for one ship to return to Earth in a little over a year, while the other will remain on or orbiting Mars until the next ship comes. Should the next ship not come, the second ship can carry the crew home.
The two Ares spacecraft are intended to be permanently joined as a Mars base, since they will be obsolete as interplanetary ships when the first of the constant-boost ion engine ships are in service.
In 1982, the United States Navy launches the first constant-boost ion engine craft, and the era of the long-range interplanetary rocket came to an end.
The new ion engine ships, with a long lasting fission engine, and using tiny amounts of fuel, can roam anywhere in the solar system. They also have enough boost capacity to lift non-essential systems—such as weapons


This is a very rough sketch, with holes big enough to sail USS New Hampshire (BB 70) through. If people find it plausible and interesting in the rough, I’ll probably work on it more.

The world alliances in 1960

NATO:
USA
Britain
Canada
West Germany
Some minor European nations

Warsaw Pact:
Largely as historical

There are more neutral European nations than historical

The Franco-Soviet pact is one of the stranger cooperation treaties of the 20th century. France under the virulently anti-Communist Charles De Gaulle and the USSR under Nikita Kruschev would seem the most unlikely partners. Despite this, a mutual—and very great—need brought them together. France’s strong nationalist pride demanded that France not be left on the ground combined with Soviet paranoia about the USA led first to quiet technological exchanges, then public ones. It is not a military alliance, just a technological one.