"Moon Shot" ATL - Prologue

This is my first attempt at a Alternative Time line story. Anyway I have some things sketched out and if people are interested I can continue the timeline. I have written up a prologue and by reading the Prologue you should be able to spot the two main POD's in this ATL. Constructive criticism is appreciated. It is a long time since I have actually tried to write a story like this so the dialog might be a little rough and there is probably a lot of Grammar errors. Appreciate any feedback. - Thanks,

January 4, 1969 outside Deke Slayton’s office at the NASA Space Center in Houston.

Pete Conrad was mulling over in his mind why Deke had asked him to come by his office this afternoon. He figured it would be for upcoming crew assignments. As a veteran of Gemini 5 and 11 he figured he would be in the running for a commander position for one of the initial moon landing mission behind Al and Gus. He was the backup Commander for Apollo 10 so he had a good shot to be the commander for 13. As he neared the office it was confirmed that it was something about the upcoming landings because both Al and Gus where outside Deke’s office. Al was standing and pacing with some annoyance in his eyes at having to wait and Gus was sitting in a chair trying to pretend he was more interested in the Life Magazine than what was happening around him. Al smiled at Pete as he approached and nodded at him. Big Al didn’t have many friends and Pete counted himself lucky that he was a friend of Al. Al and Pete had known each other from Navy Test Pilot’s school and respected each other’s flying abilities. It was Al who convinced Pete to apply again for the astronaut program after the incident during the selection of the first group of NASA astronauts “The Mercury 7”. Pete had gotten so fed up with all the invasive medical tests that he dumped a full enema bag on the desk of the clinic’s commanding officer and walked out. Needless to say he got a recommendation of not being suitable for space flight.

“So Al, do you think that Deke was short for a foursome at the golf course and needed our help?” – Al paused his pacing and then laughed at Pete’s comment.

Gus looked up at Al and Pete and was happy to have Pete here because for the last 5 minutes Al had been pacing and getting more upset at having to wait for Deke. He stood up and shook Pete’s hand. He knew Pete was really busy in training as the backup commander for Apollo 10.
“How is the training going for 10 Conrad?”

“It is going real well, even though Stafford has a rookie in Engle. However, Engle is really sharp and knows his stuff, and you know Young, he is quiet but he is really good at what he does”

Gus knew that already about Young, he had flown with him on Gemini 6 when Young had become the second American to walk in space, and he remembered how calm John was even when he was traversing over to the Gemini 7 capsule to retrieve an exposure experiment on the capsule. John was so cool and collective that he made being an astronaut look easy when it wasn’t. “Is Engle really a rookie, he has already flown the X-15 into space?” It was a sub-orbital flight, barely over 50 miles but so was Gus’s first space flight to.

Pete laughed “Yeah you are right he isn’t really a rookie even though the suits at NASA think he is a rookie”

Just then Deke came walking up “What was that about suits Conrad?” As Deke stood there in a suit and tie, he was every bit the “chief astronaut” and their boss. Deke paused for a moment just long enough to make Pete feel uncomfortable.

Deke opened the door to his office and smiled and motioned all of them to come in.

“Take a seat guys, sorry I was a little late. As you know the end of the decade is fast approaching and we still have a lot of work to do if we are going to keep Kennedy’s promise to land on the moon before the end of the year. The beginning of March we are going to launch Apollo 9 with McDivitt, Scott, and Bean and they are going to test out the Lunar Module in Earth Orbit. In May Apollo 10 is going to take the Lunar Module all the way to the moon and Stafford and Engle are going to go take it to within 50,000 feet of the lunar surface to test it out while Young stays in the Command module. If all this goes according to big plan, which is a big if then the Apollo 11 crew will get the first shoot at landing in July. Al you are going to command 11 and your Command Module Pilot will be Collins and your Lunar Module Pilot will be White. So that means White and you will be the first astronauts to walk on the moon, if you can make the landing.” Deke smiles at Al as he lighted a cigar.

Al, Gus and Pete all looked at each other. Pete was the first to reach out his hand

“Congrats Al, try to not trip on the ladder while climbing down”. Gus also shook Al’s hand.

“Don’t worry Al” As Gus slapped Al’s back “If you guys on 11 cannot hack it then I am sure that one of us can handle being the first to land” Al narrowed his eye at Pete and Gus

“You guys can both screw yourselves; I am going to land, long before you two Assholes”

Deke raised his arms to get back control of his meeting

“OK guys there will be plenty of work for the next several years and many opportunities to walk on the moon in future missions. “Deke paused because he knew that whoever first walked on the Moon would be in the history books and it wouldn't just be another missions ” With Kennedy’s push for more science on the moon landings and not just planting the flag and collecting a few rocks and then going home, we have a lot of work. Right now we got missions and hardware being built for landings out through Apollo 25. Anyway Gus you are commanding Apollo 12, your command module pilot will be Chaffee and your Lunar Module pilot will be Armstrong.”

Gus nodded his head. His crew will also be an all veteran crew. At least he didn’t get Aldrin, that guy talked way too much about rendezvous in space and orbital mechanics. Aldrin was known as Dr. Rendezvous around the astronaut office. “Sounds good Deke we will be ready” Gus paused and looked over at Al “In case Shepard has a problem”

Deke smiled and pointed his finger at Conrad

“Pete, I didn’t forget about you. You will be Commanding Apollo 13 with Cernan as your Command Module Pilot and your Lunar Module Pilot will be Cunningham. You will be all training for the same landing spot in the Sea of Tranquility. So 11 gets the first shot in July, if “Deke pauses and looks at Al” IF Al cannot make the landing then 12 gets a shot at landing in September. If 12 cannot make the landing then 13 gets to make a try in December for the first landing. “

Deke paused and looked over everyone.

“That being said, I know that we really want to make Kennedy’s goal and have him personally congratulate us. However it is more important that all of you come back alive. That is why we have 3 tries here. If 11 does land, then the landing sites and launches dates for 12 and 13 will change and be pushed back. Apollo 12 will then probably launch in November and the target landing site will be the Ocean of Storms. Apollo 12 will become the first H mission with 2 EVA’s and will try to land near enough to Surveyor 3 that we can remove a few parts and bring back to see what long term Lunar exposure does to an object. Apollo 13 will then probably launch around April next year and there is discussion that 13 will be the first landing with a major emphasis on science. “Deke paused and looked at Pete and smiled “That will mean a lot more science training for you Pete”.

Pete grimaced because he already knew that he had trouble staying awake during the Geology training.

Al looked over at Pete “We are going to have to get you a white lab-coat Pete instead of a flight suit”.

Pete scratched an itch on his face with his middle finger pointed at Al.

“Ok guys” Deke put his hand up

“Just letting you know that we have solid future plans beyond just the initial landings” Deke paused because he knew that wasn’t always the case. He knew that just recently as 18 months ago it had been planned that only enough Saturn V’s would be produced to support a limited number of missions. The entire Saturn V production line would be shut down after only 15 rockets being built. However in the in 1967 Kenned had made a push to cement his legacy as the first space president and he had sat down with James Webb (The head of NASA) and had plotted a course through the 70’s for lunar exploration and eventually a lunar base. Von Braun had made a push to go all the way to Mars and Deke knew that this would have been an incredible journey. However Webb and Kennedy had realized that the support wasn’t there for such a massive budget that a Mars mission would have required. Kennedy knew he could get long term support for an overall NASA budget of around 2-2.5% of the overall Federal budget. However the support wasn’t there for the funding levels of the last several years. In 1966 NASA funding had peaked at over 4% of the Federal Budget. Already new versions of the massive F-1 engine and the smaller J-2 engine where being developed and tested, a new Block III command and service module and a new Lunar Module that the Grumman people promised would allow stays for up to 2-weeks on the surface. All this would hopefully allow the establishment of permanent base on the Moon by the mid 1970’s. Kennedy was intrigued by the idea of being able to look at the Moon in the night sky and knowing that humans were up their working and making discoveries. Kennedy had even mentioned that he would love to eventually go the moon on a vacation. He had laughed it off as ridiculous but Webb had told Deke that he really thinks that Kennedy was serious. Deke grimaced to himself and realized that he also wanted to walk on the Moon, however he knew that wasn’t possible unless somehow his erratic heart rate somehow disappeared. The Moon was funny that way how it kind of captured your imagination. He looked over at Al, Gus and Pete and thought about how lucky he was to work with such an elite group of pilots.

“Ok guys that leads us into backup crews. Al you will have Lovell backing you up as Commander with Gordon as the Command Module Pilot and Haise as the Lunar Module Pilot.”

Pete spoke up “Hey how come Al gets “shaky” Lovell as his backup Commander, I wanted Lovell to back me up?”

“I didn’t want to put Lovell through that torture Pete. Who knows what you would do to him”

Pete laughs “That is true Deke”

“Ok so now that is settled, Gus you will have Scott as your backup Commander with Worden as the Command Module Pilot and Schmitt as the Lunar Module Pilot” Deke paused as both Al, Gus and Pete looked at Deke with a shocked look on their faces “I know what you guys are thinking, however Kennedy wants an emphasis on science after the first couple of missions. With Schmitt as the backup Lunar Module Pilot on 12 that means he will be on the prime crew for 15. You guys don’t know this yet but if your missions go well, Apollo 15 will be the first extended duration J mission with a modified Lunar Module for an extended stay on the surface, a Lunar Rover and a total of 3 EVA’s over a 3-day stay on the lunar surface. No offense to you guys “Deke paused and looked at the 3 astronauts” Schmitt is a Geologist and has become a good pilot from the feedback that I am getting while he was in Pilot training. If we really want to learn about the moon. We need to get some scientists to the Moon and Schmitt is a good guy. I wouldn’t have hired him if he wasn’t and if I say he is qualified he is qualified” Deke paused “Any concerns or questions” Deke stared at the 3 astronauts

Al cleared his throat “Deke if you say that Schmitt is qualified then he is qualified”

“Ok that leaves you Pete, After Young gets done with Apollo 10 he will be the backup commander for 13 with Mattingly as the Command Module pilot and Duke as the Lunar Module pilot. Any questions?”

“Ok great, now good luck on all your missions, don’t fuck up and make me look bad for picking you guys. Remember this assignment isn’t official so don’t talk about it yet. Now get out of my office, Al can you stay a moment I need to talk to you.”

After Gus and Pete left, Al walked over and shut Deke’s door.

“So what can I do for you Deke?”

“Al, I have a problem with “Gordo” (Gordon Cooper), I had assigned him as backup on Apollo 7 and with all the chaos Schirra caused on his flight I probably would have been better of sending Gordo up instead of Schirra”
Al grimaced as he remembered that flight. Schirra flight was to the first test of the Block II Command and Service module in Earth Orbit before the flight of Apollo 8 which was going all the way to the moon. It had originally been discussed if the flight was really needed. The Block I Command and Service Module had already been tested twice in Earth Orbit during Apollo 1 and 2. However with all the problems with the Block I. Al remembered he had to threaten to resign before people started paying attention to all the issues in the Block 1, that thing was a death trap before he insisted that all the issues get corrected, starting with the wiring. With all those problems in mind with the Block I, NASA Management had decided that a test flight in Earth Orbit was called for it was decided that Schirra would be the commander with Cernan as the Command module pilot and rookie Schweickart as Lunar Module Pilot.

Schirra got a head cold during the mission and he then passed on that cold to Schweickart who also got violent case of motion sickness during the early part of the mission. He had no idea how Cernan didn’t get the cold but Cernan got caught in the crossfire between Houston and Schirra. Schirra openly talked back to Houston and was insubordinate. At several points Schweickart, who was a rookie also started arguing with Houston. Deke was getting more and more frustrated with Schirra’s behavior. Deke finally took over at CAPCOM to try and get Schirra to stop being so argumentative on the radio with Houston. However even that didn’t stop Schirra and when Cernan volunteered to turn on a TV Camera that Houston asked to be turned on and Schirra didn’t want to be turned on. Schirra then preceded to verbally berate Cernan for over a minute on an open mike. The final straw was during re-entry when Houston wanted the astronauts to wear their pressure suits and helmets during re-entry and Schirra didn’t want do. Well Cernan was the only one of the 3 that wore his helmet and pressure suit during re-entry. After that mission Schirra, decided to retire. Which was good because Deke wanted to fire his ass. Kris Kraft was so upset that he didn’t want any of the astronauts from Apollo 7 to ever fly again. However Deke persuaded Kraft that Cernan wasn't to blame and he would place Schweickart in a non-flight position for a couple of years so he could learn some better judgment.

Al came out of this thoughts and he looked up at Deke “Let me guess “Gordo” is not taking the training seriously?”

Deke nodded his head “Gordo is a great pilot and the job that he did during his Mercury Mission when he had to do a manual re-entry was absolutely superb. However the Apollo capsule is much more complicated than either the Mercury or Gemini capsules. He thinks that if he doesn’t know something he can just fall back on his pilot skills and that will not work with the Apollo capsule. He thinks he is going to the Moon but I cannot send him to the Moon when he doesn’t take the training seriously. I am going to need to tell him as of right now he is not on a Moon mission. If he starts taking things more seriously I could think about sending him as a Lunar Module Pilot but he is not anywhere near ready for that let alone a Commander position.”

Al looked at Deke “Gordo is going to be pissed but you have to do what is best and we cannot send him a ¼ Million miles to the Moon with him thinking that he can manually fly the capsule. He will kill himself and the other 2 crew members.”

“Thanks Al I appreciate you re-affirming my decision on this. I suspect that Gordo will probably resign but that might be better for everyone involved.” Deke took a puff on his cigar. “Ok Al well good luck and make sure you think of something good to say when you first step on the Moon”

Al winked at Deke “I am sure I will come up with something to remember” Al stood up and shook Deke’s hand.

Hold on a second Al before you leave “I need you to do be at the Cape with me on January 10th. I know you have a lot of work to get ready for 11 but Kennedy is coming to the Cape as his last official trip as President. I want you there to show him around. NASA can always use some good PR and the press will be out in force. I will be making the official announcement for the crew of Apollo 11. Collins and White will also be there. So make sure your crew is spiffed up and presentable. “

Al smiled “We will be there and will be presentable” Al then turned and left Deke’s office.

Deke sat at his desk and looked at the ceiling for several minutes. He then activated his intercom and told his secretary to get a hold of Gordo Cooper and ask him to come by his office. This was going to be long afternoon.

Wow! Great start- though I do see the potential for a major disaster unless NASA learned something (hopefully not the hard way) or someone told the US about Valentin Bondarenko.

Nice, another space TL !
POD so far (AFAIK) looks like JFK dodged Oswald bullets while Grissom dodged the Apollo 1 fire. Nice to have those two surviving.

Feels like NASA is on track for a lunar base.

It could have been done for the cost of the shuttle program, what was needed was some big, unmanned cargo lander to complement that tiny LM. LH2 / LOX, launched by a single Saturn V straight to the lunar surface without any rendezvous and ahead of the crew. Payload: as much as 25 000 pounds.

Orville_third said:

Wow! Great start- though I do see the potential for a major disaster unless NASA learned something (hopefully not the hard way) or someone told the US about Valentin Bondarenko.

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Thank you for the feedback.

I was looking at two major POD’s to start off the ATL. One of them being no Apollo 1 fire. Unfortunately in or timeline the Apollo 1 fire allowed the congressional enemies of NASA to have an excuse to cut funding back at a critical time in NASA’s history. From my research 1967 was a really critical time for NASA and this is when funding for the Apollo Application program was cut and funding requests for the 16 and 17 Saturn V was cut. At the time Johnson who was distracted by the Vietnam War didn’t have any time to help NASA.

So how do I change things. Well not have Al Shepard get Meniere disease which means he commands Apollo 1. Gus was afraid if he made too much noise about the poor quality control issues he did see on the Apollo 1 capsule he would be fired. Well Al Shepard wasn’t afraid of being fired because he know that being the first US Astronaut gave him some clout. I will get more into this in future additions but Al after he starts to realize the problems with Apollo 1 Capsule he goes ahead and as a former test pilot he makes his opinions well know. He basically refuses as Commander to fly the capsule in its current state and challenges anyone at NASA to go around him and get another crew. After he shows the problems to Deke, he gets full backing from Deke. This backs up the first Apollo 1 flight until later in 1967 but improvements are made because of Al’s instance. The early astronauts like Shepard where well versed in Aerospace systems and knew what to look for in bad workmanship.

Now the 2 major things that contributed to the Apollo 1 issues are pure oxygen environment at 16+ psi and the inward opening hatch that couldn’t be opened because of the high atmospheric pressure. It was already planned that the block 2 Command module would use an outward opening hatch. All the Apollo missions used 100% oxygen environment, however in vacumn the cabin pressure was only 5 psi and pure oxygen environment at a lower pressure was a lot less dangerous than a pure oxygen environment at 16+ psi. One of those is already going to be fixed. However other things will be happening. However I don’t believe that the Apollo 1 fire was necessary for NASA to learn/fix the issues with the Apollo Command module.

Thanks for the feedback and I hope I addressed your questions.

Nice new space timeline

My word - the space timelines are popping up all over the place, of late.

I'll have more thoughts after I read this more closely. But I always encourage space time lines here. Especially when they consider different paths that NASA could have taken.

It looks like your real point of departure is Kennedy not being assassinated, yes?

Ooh, a space timeline with no Apollo 1 disaster AND a surviving President Kennedy. I like this.

Athelstane said:

My word - the space timelines are popping up all over the place, of late.

I'll have more thoughts after I read this more closely. But I always encourage space time lines here. Especially when they consider different paths that NASA could have taken.

It looks like your real point of departure is Kennedy not being assassinated, yes?

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And, Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (and the rest of the Apollo 1 crew) lives, extra sweet

Athelstane said:

My word - the space timelines are popping up all over the place, of late.

Click to expand...

I blame the guys from Squad for getting more people interested in space.

Originally Posted by brovane View Post
Gus was afraid if he made too much noise about the poor quality control issues he did see on the Apollo 1 capsule he would be fired. Well Al Shepard wasn’t afraid of being fired because he know that being the first US Astronaut gave him some clout.

modelcitizen said:

I did not know that.


BTW: Subscribing!

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I am taking this from a second hand source which was John Young. He has specifically mentioned in interviews he told Gus how poor he thought the wiring was in the Apollo 1 capsule and that Gus should say something to management. John knew from his navy test pilot days about dealing with bad wiring in aircraft and he knew what to look for and what good wiring looked like. Gus told John that he couldn't say anything or he would be fired. The only two people that know for sure that this conversation took place is John and Gus. However from my knowledge of Al Sheppard he wouldn't be cowed by somebody threatening to fire him. I also think that Gus had a hard time after his mercury capsule sunk so he wasn't somebody to make waves with NASA management. However Al had no problems making waves and making his opinion known.

modelcitizen said:

That's sad.

As for the hatch blowing out on Liberty 7: It's amazing that with all this ground-breaking technology and the unquestionable bravery of the astronauts there would be that much resistance to just accepting that S--- Happens with such extreme circumstances, and having the temerity to insist on blaming Grissom instead.

On the other hand, Gus Grissom nicknamed his Gemini craft "Molly Brown," and when he was asked by NASA to give it a different name, he and crew suggested "Titanic"

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That is true. He flew on Gemini 3 with John Young. This was the last time that NASA allowed astronauts to name their spacecraft until Apollo 9. It is kind of cool all those years later to see John Young in his flight suit with the Gemini 3 Molly Brown patch. I have always liked this picture of John Young with Vice President Bush. If you look closely you can see 5 out of his 6 mission patches. On his right arm is the Gemini 3, Upper Right Chest STS-1, Lower right chest Apollo 16, Upper left Chest(really on his shoulder) Gemini 10 and lower left chest Apollo 10. Most pictures of John in his flight suit you cannot see all of his mission patches.

brovane said:

/Snip


I am taking this from a second hand source which was John Young. He has specifically mentioned in interviews he told Gus how poor he thought the wiring was in the Apollo 1 capsule and that Gus should say something to management. John knew from his navy test pilot days about dealing with bad wiring in aircraft and he knew what to look for and what good wiring looked like. Gus told John that he couldn't say anything or he would be fired. The only two people that know for sure that this conversation took place is John and Gus. However from my knowledge of Al Sheppard he wouldn't be cowed by somebody threatening to fire him. I also think that Gus had a hard time after his mercury capsule sunk so he wasn't somebody to make waves with NASA management. However Al had no problems making waves and making his opinion known.

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Makes you wonder how l felt after the Apollo 1 fire

Archibald said:

Seconded ! This goes far beyond alternate history. I'm impressed by your knowledege here. The fact that Young flew with Grissom on Gemini (I didn't remembered that) give credential to that story. Gemini 3 flew early 1965 and Apollo issues were probably already creeping at the time.
That, and Young flying with Grissom probably got them very close from each other long after that. So Young was a close witness of the events that led to the tragedy.

I for long had doubts that Grisson Mercury incident might have had some influence over the other accident (that is, Apollo 1) but not that way. And I didn't realised John Young place in the whole story. This is amazing. That's one hell of a POD you have here.

So at the end of the day Gus was too shy rocking the NASA management boat because of the Mercury incident, and didn't dared reporting all the issues with Apollo - until it was too late. What a tragedy.

I have no doubts Alan Shepard, by contrast, would open his mouth, and in rather loud way.

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From my understanding of the name Molly Brown, NASA management still tried to keep the name out of the press etc. Well this all got blown when Gordon Cooper who was CapCom for the launch announced on the radio as Gemini 3 lifted off "You are on your way Molly Brown". Of course on this flight their was the entire corn beef sandwich incident. Schirra was the backup command pilot for the mission and the backup crew pre-flights the vehicle and is basically out on the pad as the prime crew gets strapped in. Well Schirra being Schirra had gotten a corn beef sandwich from a local Deli and handed Young the sandwhich as he was being strapped in to the capsule. Young put it in his pocket of his spacesuit and once in orbit brought the sandwhich out and asked Gus if he was hungry. Which really surprised Gus because John being John was totally deadpan about the sandwhich offer as if it happened all the time. After they landed it became a minor scandal in the press that crews where bringing non flight approved food on-board. Young thought it was ok since Schirra had handed it to him.

Ah, that sandwich story - and Molly Brown. Two more controversies for Grissom. So in the end poor Grissom never had a quiet space flight; he was always marred by scandal or controversy, one way or another. It is no surprise then that he feared another scandal when dealing with Apollo flaws. Damn.
That somewhat remind me of Ayrton Senna or Gilles Villeneuve - best of the best pilots (no question about that), yet controversial at times, up to their lives ending in tragedy doing the job they liked.

Update - JFK

Short update dealing with the attempted assassination of JFK and the aftermath. I kind of feel that it is rough since Political History is really not by focus. Just presenting the POD that Kennedy isn't assassinated. The next update will start to focus on the Gemini missions and the changes that will happen with Shepard being the rotation. Anyway enjoy this update and any feedback is appreciated. Just as a fyi, my major focus will be on space so the Vietnam War and political action will not get to much detail.

November 22, 1963 – Dallas, Texas

The motorcade of John Fitzgerald Kennedy slowly wound its way through the streets of Dallas on its journey to the Dallas Trade Mart for the luncheon that the President was going to attend. Kennedy was not happy that because of the rain in Dallas the Secret Service had decided to leave the bubble top on the presidential limousine. He wanted the crowd to be able to see him easier and he didn’t like the top up on the limousine. However he knew with the rain and drizzle that was still hanging around the skies of Dallas, it was the correct decision to leave the top up. Kennedy knew they were getting close to the Trade Mart and they were only a couple of minutes behind schedule. The Limo turned onto Elm Street and passed by the Texas School Book Depository. All of a sudden Kennedy felt something hit him in the right side and he fell forward in his seat.

“Shots fired, Shots fired” Secret Service Agent Roy Kellerman shouted on the radio.

For the driver of the limousine, Agent Bill Greer his training immediately took over and he slammed on the accelerator of the almost 4 ton limousine. The 350-hp Ford engine surged the vehicle forward. A second shot rang out and he heard it hit the rear of the limousine.

“Everybody down, down, get down” Agent Kellerman shouted as he twisted around in his seat.
“Oh, no, no, no My God. I have been shot” shouted Governor Connally who was sitting directly behind Agent Kellerman.

Agent Kellerman ignored the Governor because his focus was on the President above anyone else in the limousine, even Mrs. Kennedy. He heard another shot hit the rear of the limousine but this passed through the top and out the side without hitting anyone. He could see that the president was hit and was clutching at his right side and blood was coming out around his fingers.

“Greer take us to Parkland Hospital, the President is hit.” Agent Kellerman then keyed his radio ” The President has been hit and we are taking him to Parkland.”

The Presidential limousine arrived at Parkland Hospital a few minutes later. Nobody was outside but Agent Kellerman quickly ran into side to get someone. Agent Greer got out of the car and opened the door where the president was laying. He could see that Mrs. Kennedy was completely panicked.

“Oh my God have they killed him? Somebody help him!!” Mrs. Kennedy Shouted.

At this time Kellerman came out of the Hospital with a wheelchair and an orderly following behind him. They quickly got the President out of the car and into the wheelchair. Kellerman pushed Kennedy into the emergency room and he was quickly tended to. It was only then it was discovered that governor Connally had also been hit. He was also quickly moved into the hospital and was tended to. The President and been hit on his right side in the back and the bullet had pass through him and he had a collapsed lung on the right side. Both the President and Governor Connally where prepared for surgery. About 15 minutes later Vice-President Johnson arrived. The secret service had wanted to move Johnson to Air Force One but Johnson insisted that he wasn’t leaving until the president’s condition was stabilized. The Surgeons worked over the next hour in surgery to stabilize the president. The President came out of surgery in critical but stable condition. Unfortunately Governor Connally’s condition was graver and he passed away on the surgery table from his wounds. Only after the President was stable, did Vice President Johnson allow himself to be flown back to Washington DC.

The president remained at Parkland for the next week with Mrs. Kennedy before he was well enough to be flown home. The shooter was cornered in a movie theater and apprehended within a couple of hours the shooting. The shooter was identified as Lee Harvey Oswald. He would be charged with the attempted assassination of President of the United States and the murder of Governor Connally. Since Robert Kennedy knew that Texas justice was swift he allowed the state to pursue its case against Oswald before any federal trial. Oswald would later be found guilty in state court and he was sentenced to electric chair.

Some would say that the assassination attempt was a defining moment for the Kennedy administration. After he recovered he found the American public was more receptive to his ideas and he was re-elected to 2nd term in the 1964 presidential election by a wide margin. Johnson would remain as his running mate. Robert Kennedy left his brothers cabinet in early 1964 to run for a set in the US Senate representing New York. He won this election with some assistance from both his brother, who carried New York by a wide margin and assistance from Vice President Johnson. To Kennedy’s surprise with his brother Robert no longer on his cabinet he enjoyed better relations with Vice President Johnson.

"Moon Shot" - Gemini - Part 1

March 23, 1965 Launch Complex-19, Cape Canaveral Air Force station, Gemini 3 launch

Alan Shepard tried to get comfortable in the cramped seat of the Gemini capsule. This would be the first manned launch of the Gemini Capsule. Sitting next to him in the capsule was Thomas Stafford who was part of Astronaut Group 2 “The New Nine”. The Gemini capsule itself was much more sophisticated than the mercury capsule that he flew on MR-3 and the rocket he would be riding was a whole lot more power. The Redstone rocket that he rode on MR-3 had only one stage that put out less than 100,000lb of thrust and pushed his mercury capsule onto a sub-orbital trajectory of a little over 100+ miles. The Titan II rocket he now sat atop of 1st stage alone put out over 400,000lb of thrust. The 2nd stage would then put out 100,000lb of thrust for over 5 minutes to place the 7,000lb plus Gemini capsule into orbit.
“Well Tom I don’t know about you but I am about ready to get this candle lit.”
Tom chuckled “This is some candle Al”
They got interrupted by Gordon Cooper on Capcom “Gemini 3 everything looks good now and we are going to continue the countdown at T-minus 3 minutes”
Both Al and Tom adjusted themselves in their seats again.
“Don’t fuck up, Shepard……” Al said quietly to himself.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – The Titan II rocket ignited and pushed both Al and Tom into their seats. They both kept their hands on the ejection seat D-ring. However they hoped that they would never have to pull it. The heavy hatches where supposed to be blown free before the ejection seat fired but neither Al nor Tom really wanted to test the ejection system. They could feel the g-forces building up as the rocket pushed them upwards into the sky. The Titan rocket got lighter and lighter as fuel was burned off and the G-forces built up to a little over 5G. Then suddenly staging happened and the 1st stage burned itself out and they were pushed forward and then backward against the straps as the 2nd stage ignited and continued pushing them upwards and the G-forces built up again until a little over 7G’s before they were in orbit. This was much different than what Al remembered from his brief time in Zero G several years earlier. Al and Tom were now in orbit and the view was magnificent as they circled the globe. However there wasn’t much time to see the sights. The short 3 orbit flight was crammed full of tasks that need to be completed. The Gemini capsule was a brand new spacecraft and one of its key abilities that was going to be tested on this mission was the ability to change orbit.
The old Mercury spacecraft only had altitude control which allowed the spacecraft to change its pitch, yaw and roll orientation in space. However the Gemini Spacecraft was equipped with an Orbit Attitude and Maneuvering Systems (OAMS) which would allow Al to perform changes in all 3 axes (forward/backward, left/right and up/down). This new maneuvering would allow the Gemini spacecraft to perform rendezvous and docking with other spacecraft including the new Agena Target Vehicle. This new un-manned vehicle had its own rocket engine and would allow them to achieve even a wider range of orbits including much higher orbits above the Earth. For the first time Al really felt like he could actually fly a spacecraft and he was really in control.
During the next 3 orbit’s Al was able to change the orbit of the Gemini Spacecraft several times. The other important test that the medical team wanted to find out was if you could execute a “Bowel movement” in Zero-G. This was an essential fact that had to be found out before a Moon trip could happen. You couldn’t go to the Moon and back with having to take a Shit. Being the mission commander he had decided to delegate this critical task to Tom and during the second Orbit Tom was able to conduct the necessary contortions in the spacecraft to make use of the fecal matter collection bag in Zero-G. The 3 orbit mission passed quickly and before it was time for re-entry. Al fired the retro-rockets and this reduced the velocity of the spacecraft enough that it would start dropping into the Earth Atmosphere.
Unfortunately during re-entry because of a miscalculation by ground control, the spacecraft came in 60 miles short of its landing zone. However within 30mins the navy was onsite at the capsule and recovery of the astronauts and the spacecraft went smoothly.

March 29, 1965 NASA Space Center in Houston – Director Robert R. Gilruth office
“Deke we really need to push things forward on doing an EVA. The Russians have got another first again with the first spacewalk. This is coming down all the way from President Kennedy. He is getting tired of the Russians beating us to firsts in space. We need to get a spacewalk added to the mission for the upcoming Gemini 4. Nothing too complex but we need to show they we are not far behind the Russians. I want you to start having the astronauts prepare for the EVA in secret. If we find out that we are not ready for it then we will not do it. However we really need to get this done. “
Deke nodded his head “Ok Robert I will talk to Schirra and we will set some things up to start practicing for the EVA. We will get back to you if we think it is doable or not on Gemini 4. “

March 29, 1965 NASA Space Center in Houston – Deke’s Slayton’s office

“What the Hell do you mean you want to add a full EVA to Gemini 4? This is a brand new spacecraft, it has been barely tested by Al and Tom in orbit. Now you want to add a full EVA where Ed will actually step out of the capsule and float around? Don’t you think we are trying to rush things Deke?”
Deke sighed, he knew that Schirra was right, that things were being rushed but he wished that Schirra would take a step back sometime and see the bigger view.
“Look Wally I understand where you are coming from. However the Russians beat us again and we need to follow up quickly and get an EVA completed. Leonov EVA earlier this month really caught us by surprise. Kennedy is getting tired of how the Russians keep beating us. I know originally we just talked about just opening the hatch up and taking some pictures with the hatch open. However we are now being asked to look at doing a full EVA where White exits the capsule and maneuvers around outside. Can you please just work with us on this? Let’s evaluate things and see if this is doable. How does that sound?”
Wally frowned at Deke. He could see that minds where already made up. He didn’t like rushing things and he felt like this EVA was being jammed down this throat.
“Ok Deke let’s see what type of simulations we can put together and I will talk to Ed.

June 3, 1965, Earth Orbit, Gemini 4

“Ok Gus we are about ready to open the hatch and have Ed step outside now, do you copy that?” Wally Schirra keyed his mic.
“Roger that Gemini 4, Cabin is depressurized and you are ready to open that hatch. You are go for EVA.” Gus Grissom responded, working CAPCOM in Houston
“Hey Wally? There is a problem with this damn latch on this door. I cannot get it to open?” Ed reported
“Crap let me take a look. We had a problem like this in one of the tests on the ground. Let me walk you through how to get that latch to work. “
Wally was able to help Ed get the hatch open and Astronaut Ed White took the first spacewalk by an American in space. After about 20 minutes of floating around outside and doing some maneuvering Ed re-entered the capsule and they were able to get the balky hatch closed again. The Gemini 4 lasted a little over 4-days and was the longest duration flight so far for the US space program.
The next mission of the Gemini Program would be Gemini 5 which would have Gordon Cooper as Command Pilot and Pete Conrad as Pilot. This mission would be the first mission that would use fuel cells for the Capsules main source of power and would set a new duration for length of time in orbit of 8-days.

October 25, 1965 Launch Complex-19, Cape Canaveral Air Force station, Gemini 6 launch

Gus waits patiently for the liftoff of the Agena Target vehicle. Once it is confirmed that the vehicle had successfully lifted off and achieved orbit then Gemini 6 will lift off with him and John Young for a planned 2-day mission. This would include the first rendezvous and docking in space with the Agena Target vehicle. The Agena Target vehicle would be lifted into orbit by an Atlas booster.
Being strapped inside the Gemini Capsule Gus and Young couldn’t see or even hear the launch of the Agena target vehicle. However Gus and Young where able to listen in to the radio conversations going on about the launch. Everything seemed to be going fine until it was time to fire the Agena engine to finish getting the vehicle into orbit. At this time Gus heard some chatter on the radio that Telemetry was lost on the Agena. Shortly afterwards Radar picked up pieces of the vehicle falling into the Ocean.
Gus looked over at John “Well John I don’t think we are launching today. We lost or target for the rendezvous. “
John shook his head “Looks like we are staying grounded today, I get to keep my silver astronaut pin for a little longer”
“Gemini 6 this is Cape Launch Control we are going to have some discussions but as you heard we lost the Agena target vehicle and we are probably going to abort the launch today.”
“Roger that Cape, John and I are just going to sit here and take in the sights and you let us know what Houston wants to do” Gus sighed, looks like finally getting into orbit was going to take a little longer.
After waiting for almost an hour, the launch was finally scrubbed and Gus and John where pulled out of the capsule.

October 28, 1965, Houston Space Center

“Ok thank you all for showing up today. “ Director Robert R. Gilruth looked around the room.
“We will not have another Agena target vehicle until after the first of the year available. However we cannot afford to wait that long. We need to come up with some alternatives. “
Over the next several hours there was heated discussions about alternatives. Finally it was decided to make use of the Gemini 7 mission. Gemini 7 was scheduled to launch in December with Frank Borman and Jim Lovell on a long duration 14-day mission. If they hurried up on the pad turn around at the Cape they should be able to launch the two missions within 8 days of each other. Gemini 7 would launch first and then 8-days later Gemini 6 would launch and they would do the first rendezvous in orbit. They would not be able to dock but they could rendezvous. The first docking would wait until Gemini 8 when another Agena Target vehicle was available for launch. At one point there was a discussion of an EVA where Jim Lovell and John Young would swap space-crafts. However Frank Borman vetoed that since that would mean that Jim would have to wear an uncomfortable full EVA spacesuit on the 14-day mission. However it was decided that an EVA would be done by Gemini 6. John would traverse over to the Gemini 7 capsule and retrieve a micro-Metroid experiment plate from the back of Gemini 7 Equipment Module and then bring it back to the Gemini 6 capsule.

December 4, 1965 Launch Complex-19, Cape Canaveral Air Force station, Gemini 7 launch

Command Pilot Frank Borman and Pilot James Lovell where about to be blasted into space on the longest space flight in human history. If all went according to plan they would spend 14 days in orbit and would also conduct the first rendezvous’ with Gemini 6 in space. At 2:30 in the afternoon on December 4, 1965 the Titan II rocket carrying Gemini 7 lifted off LC-19 exactly on time and 6 minutes later the capsule was in-orbit to begin its 14-day mission. The mission would be full of medical experiments so it could be evaluated what would happen to the human body during a 14 day mission which would be about the expected time it would take to go the moon and back.
As soon as Gemini 7 took off the work started to clear and prepare the pad for the Gemini 7 launch. It had been expected that it would take around 8-days to repair the damage from the Gemini 6 launch and erect the Gemini 6 rocket. Originally the pad crew had been skeptical that it could be accomplished however an abbreviated schedule had been prepared.

December 12, 1965 Launch Complex-19, Cape Canaveral Air Force station, Gemini 6a launch

Gus Grissom and John Young both sat back got comfortable in the Gemini capsule. The launch countdown was going well and hopefully they would soon be in orbit and preparing to rendezvous with Gemini 7.
10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 – Both Gus and John felt the engines ignite on the Titan rocket and then it immediately cut off. The clock had started on the panel indicated that the rocket had moved upwards however neither Gus nor Young had felt the rocket move. At this point with a fully fueled rocket they should pull the injection handle however Gus and John didn’t want to test the ejection system and their asses where telling them that the rocket had not moved. They both sat their holding their breaths and wondering what to do. The malfunction system on the Titan II rocket had stopped the fuel flow to both engines because it had sensed that something was wrong. Once it was determined that the rocket wasn’t going to explode the erector was put back up and Gunther Wendt and his McDonnell Pad team got Gus and John out of the capsule.

December 15, 1965 Launch Complex-19, Cape Canaveral Air Force station, Gemini 6a launch

Gus and John where back in the Gemini 6a capsule. The team at the Cape had been able to quickly diagnose the issue with the Titan II rocket and get everything turned around in record time for a try at a re-launch. The clock was ticking since the Gemini 7 capsule had already been in orbit 11 days and could only stay up a couple of more days. They needed to get into orbit today.
This time the Titan rocket ignited and didn’t stop and shortly after ignition the Gemini 6a capsule was in orbit. The rendezvous was planned for the 4th orbit. After being placed into orbit the capsule made a serious of orbit adjustments until it was in position to catch up to the Gemini 7 capsule. Due to how orbital mechanics worked if you wanted to catch up to an object in orbit you travelled in a lower orbit that was faster and by the 3rd orbit the Gemini 6a capsule was able to get a radar return on the 7 capsule and Gus then put the Gemini computer in charge of the rendezvous. By the fourth orbit the 6a capsule had closed to within 150 feet of the 7 capsule. The two capsules where easily able to station keep with one another fairly easy and at one point approached to within 1 foot of each other. After spending about 2 orbits easily station keeping Gus made the decision to postpone the EVA until after the sleep period. Both John and Gus had worked hard throughout the day with the launch and rendezvous and Gus though it was better to try the EVA after some rest. Houston agreed with this assessment. Gus then backed the 6a capsule away from the 7 capsule to put some distance between them and then both crews settled down to rest.

December 16, 1965 Earth Orbit.

Gus and John after waking up, got prepared for today’s EVA. The first thing Gus had to do was to get within a couple of feet of the Gemini 7 capsule. It felt strange to be looking out the small capsule window and to see another capsule floating just a couple of feet away.
“Ok Houston we are ready for John to open up the hatch and talk a walk” Gus radioed to Houston.
“Roger that Gemini 6, we copy you as ready for EVA. You are clear to open the hatch and start”
“Roger that Houston John is now opening the hatch”
John slowly opened the hatch and stood up in the seat. The view was spectacular of Earth. John had to force himself to concentrate on the task at hand. John pushed himself out of the hatch and he floated over to Gemini 7. John could see both Frank and Jim through the small windows of the Gemini 7 capsule, he wanted to wave but he had to keep focused on the EVA.
“Oh crap Gus” John had pushed himself a little too much and he had too much velocity when he landed on the Gemini 7 capsule and he couldn’t get a good hand-hold. He literally could feel his finger go across the capsule and then was beyond it. He used his HHMU (hand-held maneuvering unit) that discharged Nitrogen to null out his forward momentum. However he was now floating on the other side of the 7 capsule. He had to use the HHMU to get himself back to the 6a capsule hatch.
“Gus they should really put some better hand-holds on the outside of these things.” John complained to Gus
“You ok John?” Gus was concerned because he had seen John’s wild tumble across the top of the 7 capsule.
“I will be fine Gus, just getting myself together for another attempt at this, this is a lot harder than it looks”
This time John slowly pushed himself off and used the HHMU to propel himself back over to the 7 capsule. He was able to work himself around to the rear of the Equipment Module. He was able to find the micro-Metroid plate and removed it without too much fuss. He then used the HHMU to move himself back over the 7 capsule. He stopped and made a motion of wiping the outside of the 7 capsule windows for Jim and Frank.
“Hey John, Frank has asked if you could check the oil while you are at it?” Gus radioed to John
John chuckled and gave Frank and Jim a thumps up “Gus tell Frank no problem, everything looked good while I was back there”
John was able to maneuver himself back over the 6 capsule. He discovered that working in zero-G was unlike anything else he had every done and you had to work slowly and not try to fight Zero-G to get your tasks completed. After a little over 95 minutes, America’s second spacewalk had been completed and John Young had done a lot more than just float around outside for 20 minutes.

December 18, 1965 Atlantic Ocean

Because of the delay in the Gemini 6a launch both 6a and 7 where schedule to both splash down on December 18th. It was decided that 6a would land first and then 1 orbit later 7 would land. The Carrier Wasp was on station and both spaceships and crews where recovered easily. Which was a relief to Gus since his last spacecraft had sank during recovery. Gemini 6a and 7 would be known as a record breaking mission. NASA had now proven that man could survive 14 days of zero G which would be more than enough time to go to the moon and back. The mechanics necessary for orbital rendezvous had also been practiced. Also the ability to successfully work in zero-G had been demonstrated. By the end of 1965 NASA was well on its way to being able to land on the moon by the end of the decade. Also for the first time NASA felt comfortable that it was finally starting to beat the Russians in the space race. Looking ahead there would still be Gemini 8,9,10,11,12 missions before the Apollo missions would start which would get the US closer to its goal. However 1965 had been a great year for the US space program and everyone was looking forward to 1966. President Kennedy was extremely pleased at the progress he was seeing. Already some people at NASA where talking about trying to get to land on the Moon by the end of 1968. So they could land while Kennedy was still in office.

I have relaunched this ATL on another thread.

https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=313749