rockets

Blue Streak was Britain intermediate range, ballistic missile (IRBM) started in 1954 and canned on April 13, 1960. It was deliberately created as Atlas little brother, engines and balloon tanks included. OTL it was recycled into Ariane ancestor - Europa II - with a French stage 2 (Coralie) and...

What it says on the tin. Starting in 1903ish, what can a rocket program (started for whatever reason) do with a modest but steady amount of funding? What can they get done by 1910? 1920? 1930? 1940?

What if the United States had pushed hard on developing rocketry from the 20's on? Where would the US be by the time of WW2? Is it feasible that by 1945, missile subs could be prowling the waters of Japan? What about rocket assisted airplane take offs from carriers? An early bazooka? Air to...

A/N: This is my first attempt at a serious timeline. All comments, suggestions, and critiques are welcome. Chapter 1: It was the spring of 1955, and planning for the upcoming International Geophysical Year was in full swing. President Eisenhower had just ordered the formation of a committee to...

Hello, everyone! Welcome to yet-another @e of pi spaceflight thread. This one is going to be a bit of an experiment for me--a bit more personal, and focused on a much most recent point of departure. In fact, as everything in this timeline will be happening within the era of the "modern"...

Rockwell Flyer: The Story of the X-33 and Beyond American Rocket News January 2, 2006 Written by Arnold Holmes With the start of Congressional hearings on the factors relating to the decisions involved in the Exploration Systems Architecture, we here at American Rocket News feel it is...

Good evening, everyone! I know it's been a little while since @Polish Eagle and I finished writing Right Side Up (and we're both pleased to thank everyone who offered their votes at the Turtledoves this year). That said, I'm proud to present the following, which is something of a spiritual...

How spaceflight works https://www.alternatehistory.com/wiki/doku.php?id=offtopic:the_space_jockeys Spaceflight has its own rules that makes it unique. They can be obscure at times. This is kind of guide to try and make things a little clearer. Hopefully not too pedantic nor too loaded with...

Remember Abbas ibn Firnas? Here’s what might have happened if his glider had worked. “He flew faster than the phoenix in his flight when he dressed his body in the feathers of a vulture.”—Mu’min ibn Said The earliest known use for the kite was suggested by ibn Firnas himself: courier. Kitings...

The idea of exploding your gunpowder inside of a metal tube to propel a small piece of metal at your enemy is not exactly the most obvious way to use it. The most obvious use of gunpowder, and the one that the Chinese used for centuries, was rocketry and flame-throwers. I believe that if Europe...

ITTL, Werner von Braun is mistakenly targetted by Nazi party members, souring him to the new regime and causing him to join the various scientists and intellectuals who fled Germany prior to the outbreak of war. Now in the United States, can von Braun convince the allies to fund his rocketry...