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IMHO, it's possible with more than one Launch Service Provider (in this instance, Kistler & SpaceX) they might become worried enough to seriously put effort into reusable hardware (if not full stage reuse) to keep some advantage over the newcomers. After all for the time being, their biggest...

The idea that Jupiter's Radiation Belts could play havoc with the Yupiter 1 probe is not unreasonable, given that Said Radiation Belts are some 20,000 times more powerful than that of Earth's, so anything sent into that vicinity must be specially hardened to cope. That said, usually Soviet...

A valid point. IOTL the USSR were the only ones able to soft-land anything on Venus, their tendency towards big, heavy, robust working to their advantage in the Venusian Environment. IIRC, their first successful Venus Lander was built to withstand 200 Bar Pressure, ensuring that it could...

Most likely they're counting on the payoff being enough to justify the pain. IIRC they were managing ~850s Isp with NERVA Engines prior to ceasing hardware testing and a Thrust/Mass Ratio of about 7:1. Since they're committing to a Manned Mars Mission, I can see them trying to push those...

Not a good approach to take. AFAIK Opposition Class Mars Missions have a higher delta-v requirement than Conjunction-Class Missions, and expose the crew to a higher radiation dosage in a smaller timeframe, thanks to spending virtually all their time in interplanetary space. And worse...

Sustainability for certain. Feels to me like the architecture is being built with the Aim of Getting There, and that's it. Which while great at achieving a predetermined goal - in this case Manned Mars Landing - is ill-suited to continued presence. This is the #1 failing of the Apollo...

Of course with the benefit of hindsight, we know IOTL what a costly detour STS turned out to be. In part due to the sheer difficulty and complexity of reusable launch vehicles in and of themselves, but mainly due to how they had to build it in order to get it built at all - in many ways like...

It's about the best the Soviets can get with the N1 at this point IMHO. I'd go so far to say they enjoyed too much good fortune in 'Red Star'. 50% Success Rate thanks to N11 tests and more time? Perfectly plausible to me.

It's possible, most likely due to NA & NASA deciding not to chance a tank that had been dropped and doesn't empty properly following these events. It feels to me like NASA may try to 'Shift the Goalposts' by having the Decade referring to the 10-year period since Kennedy made his Pledge...

Not good. Blowing an RCS Thruster Quad if I read it right. What happens next I suppose depends entirely on if this situation is recoverable or not.

I only just noticed this. It's a bit tricky to follow in places, but I think I got the jist of it. Krisler managing to make it if I'm reading this right, should be interesting. IIRC, until the SpaceX Merlin engines were developed (or got uprated), the NK-33 held the title of greatest TW...

Fascinating TL here, even though Mars in the 1980's is stretching credibility to the limit to be generous, I'll be keeping an eye on this nonetheless. And yeah, an earlier N1 development is the single biggest requirement for any Soviet Lunar Mission to work IMHO, not least because it allows...

OOC: The 250 Tristars Sold you seem to be quoting is the OTL Sales. This DBWI stated already that here, it was a commercial success so had to have sold more than twice that, as so to recoup the Development Cost - which was achieved by around '83. IC: But even that rebranding couldn't help...

I heard about those Cargo Doors too, amongst other things... An Emergency Nationalisation is an "issue"? True, Rolls-Royce did eventually manage to produce a fantastic engine for Lockheed, but they sure took their time getting there. That said, Orenda being one of two willing to make the...

The Lockheed L-1011 Tristar Essentially a return to Civil Aviation for Lockheed since the Constellation IIRC, and made back it's Development Cost by ~1983. The question I have is: What would have happened had the Tristar - a plane that had to, and actually did, live up to its Promise of...

AFAIK one reason the Wankel Rotary Engine produces so much power for its size is down to its design, allowing it to produce power almost all the time versus a conventional 4-stoke piston engine that only produces power for one portion of one stroke, necessitating multiple cylinders to smooth out...

Well consider that Germany was in a State of Ruin - and being kept that way by certain parties - for the first half of the 1920's and you can see where he's coming from. Such ruination breeds extremitism, makes it easier to build support for it. Perhaps a failure to revise the Treaty of...

Actually, when properly designed, the Boiler can be the safest part of an ECE. Namely with the use of overpressure valves and/or making the pipework the weakest link. I know that Stanley Steamers did the latter for sure. And IIRC (I might be wrong about this one) once the US entered WWII...

It seems to me you're only looking at a few narrow aspects of the points raised, namely efficiency and weight of ICE versus ECE. And the points made are less about overcoming engine efficiency issues, and more about improving the production and R&D practices to keep them updated, and their...

A bit of a tricky WI here, given how quickly ICE overtook ECE once Starter Motors became the norm. So to figure it out, let’s first look at the main factors for the decline of the Steam Car: Aforementioned Starter Motor - once this eliminated the need for a Crank-Start (which if done...