2001: A Space Time Odyssey (Version 2)

[Michel Van]

Post 23, A Man on the Moon

hi here next post
first do error of my part the Crew of Zond-11 got mix up with Zond-12. and the one month limit is past.
Sorry about that.

This post is dedicated to a man who off all, had the Right to be first on the Moon


Post 23, A Man on the Moon
Beginning in June the Saturn V with Apollo 11 rolled out toward it Launch pad for it's scheduled launch on 16 July, 1969.
However at Baikonur Cosmodrome, things looked different here, they had installed Two Lunar rockets on there Launch Pads.
One had flow successful the LK backup too the Moon.
While Vladislav Volkov and Viktor Gorbatko were Returning to Earth, hardware preparations were ongoing for the Manned Landing on Moon.
The Zond-12 Crew had trained hard for this mission and was ready.

But time was of essential the N1-L9 had to bring Zond-12 on the right phase of the Moon, giving the LK-pilot the right illumination to see boulders and Craters.
At 27 June as the Americans did the Countdown Demonstration Test with Apollo 11 the Soviets gave the starting shot in the for race to Moon, Zond-12 blasted off.

After it entered into a 200 km low earth orbit it remained there for 25 hours, checking the systems and uploaded new information for TLI
28 June Zond-12 made it's Trans Lunar Injection burn. It will need over 5 days to reach the Moon
until Zond-12 entered an elliptical lunar orbit (150x50 km) at afternoon of the 2 July. On 3 July the Crew located the Lunokhod 3 and LK-backup landing site.
LOK pilot Pavel Popovich and Flight Engineer Vladimir Komarov prepared the landing procedure as, the L-3 complex lowered its orbit to 100 km by 20 km
Vladimir Komarov enter his Kerchet Spacesuit and began to EVA to the LK craft, He entered it and started up its systems then detached the LK with its Block-D from the Load-baring structure cover and LOK
Komarov used the Block-D last propellants reserves to brake out of Lunar orbit descending toward the surface, guided by 1000 kHz signal radio beacon from Lunokhod 3.
4000 meter over lunar surface Komarov jettison the Empty block-D and ignite the LK engines.
On July 4 1969 Vladimir Milhaylovich Komarov landed as First human in history on the Moon.
Only 177 meter near Lunokod 3 and 360 meter near LK-backup
While Komarov prepared his EVA, Lunokhod 3 was reactivated and rolled toward the LK
Film by it’s TV cameras, Komarov exit the LK, erecting the Flag of USSR and saluting it, televised world wide by TASS with background music, the Soviet national anthem.
For a moment Komarov looked up at the Earth and said:

"Планета есть колыбель разума, но нельзя вечно жить в колыбели"
Translation: "Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot stay in the cradle forever"

After that Komarov pulled the DALS out the LK and deployed the Scientific equipment packages near by. Then he collected samples of Lunar soil and rocks
He made several photos of his LK, the Lunokhod 3 which followed him via remote control and the LK-Backup at lunar horizon.
After 3 hours of exhausting EVA, he made a report over TV camera outside LK and return into in for the first meal on the Moon and resting. While he was eating something happened as he heard a loud BANG follow by hissing sound, lucky Komarov was inside his Spacesuit with faceplate up, which he close very fast.
It was not the Pressurized cosmonaut compartment, but the pressurized avionic container which depressurized !
and that was even worse, the avionic was cooled by nitrogen gas which ventilated through containers, now that it was depressurized, the electronics started to overheat fast and was now failing.
Komarov report what happen before the LK radios went dead.

Mission Control in Kaliningrad, react in turmoil and consternation at the news, now everything lies on the flight control crew of the Lunakhod 3 in getting Komarov to Zond 11's LK.
But the question was whether his LK-backup had a similar problem? Komarov inspected his LK, took photos of the depressurized avionic container and took the Sample container to Lunokhod 3.
and climbed on top of Rover, which was driven as fast as they could toward the LK-Backup.
Komarov radioed home with the new LK and without hesitation initiated the ascent order and took off a mere 4 hours after initially arriving on the Moon.
Now it was the turn of LOK Pilot Pavel Popovich, because the LK had a passive rolle in Rendezvous and docking, it was the task of Popovich to manage to catch up the LK and dockt with it, Komarov made his final EVA with his samples and Photos back to the LOK.
On 5 July at 10:59 the LOK jettison it’s Utility module with it dockt LK and return to Earth.
at 8 July around 10:00 the Descent Module entered the Earth's atmosphere for a skip maneuver and re-entered for landing on USSR.

Aftermath:
Vladimir Milhaylovich Komarov was awarded a second time with "The Hero of The Soviet Union“ and "order of Lenin“.

The flight control crew of Lunokhod 3 was awarded with "The Hero of The Soviet Union“ and "order of Lenin“ for rescue of Komarov

The LK malfunction was do to a faulty seal on the pressurized avionic container, which caused the depressuring, reason was a faulty acceptance test at the point of manufacture.

Acting General Sectary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Alexei Kosygin announced the official Soviet program of manned Exploration of Solar system called: Galaktika (Russian for Galaxy)
Comprised of further Moon expeditions and a Soviet Space Station program beginning in the 1970s.

In USA the disappointment was great, on their National holiday, the had commies landed on Moon first and made spectacularly heroic events wordy of a Hollywood Movie.
On 16 July Apollo 11 lifted off to the Moon.
Nixon's first reaction was to fire NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine and entitle George E. Mueller as the New Administrator (the reason for Nixon choice was; Mueller was a Republican)
Now the responsibility lay on Nixon to react to the Soviet victory and challenge.

 

[Athelstane]

Well, if that doesn't get the Saturn V production lines fired up again, nothing will.

Landing on the 4th of July will give the knife an extra hard twist.

 

[ryhs]

Great to see the honor of being the first man on the Moon being granted to Vladimir Komarov. Especially great is the fact that he avoided the horrible title of "the first human to die on a space mission".
As a for several minor things:
"Galatika" was meant to be "Galaktika" which means Galaxy in russian, I believe.
The choice of first words to say on the moon is also a great tribute to the "Farther of cosmonautics", Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.
Also, what is the meaning of "N-KC" in latin on the LK?
And was the depressurization of avionics container revealed to the public? Or just covered up as Soviet Union generally did?
Also, a minor bit on the Tsiolkovsky translation: "колыбель разума" means "the cradle of sentient( or sapient) mind". But yours is an established translation as far as I know. So just some rambling.

 

[Bahamut-255]

IIRC, on 04/07/1969, nearly all of the Nearside Lunar Surface was in night, so being able to land, and spend any significant time there would be at best extremely difficult.

So it would have to be almost at the edge of the Eastern Side of the visible (from Earth) IMHO where the LK rested.

That said, more Saturn Vs I think will be coming.

 

[Michel Van]

IIRC, on 04/07/1969, nearly all of the Nearside Lunar Surface was in night, so being able to land, and spend any significant time there would be at best extremely difficult.

So it would have to be almost at the edge of the Eastern Side of the visible (from Earth) IMHO where the LK rested.

That said, more Saturn Vs I think will be coming.

i look in german Moon calendar about year 1969 for 4 July is moon on Waning gibbous give similar illumination for Cosmonaut like Apollo 11 only that Shadow are opposite direction.
please don't tell me my data is wrong

Great to see the honor of being the first man on the Moon being granted to Vladimir Komarov. Especially great is the fact that he avoided the horrible title of "the first human to die on a space mission".
As a for several minor things:
"Galatika" was meant to be "Galaktika" which means Galaxy in russian, I believe.

yes i notice now that grammar correction strike again making from "Galaktika" a "Galatika"
the Term i found at Anatoly Zak home page "RussianSpaceWeb.com"

The choice of first words to say on the moon is also a great tribute to the "Farther of cosmonautics", Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.
Also, a minor bit on the Tsiolkovsky translation: "колыбель разума" means "the cradle of sentient( or sapient) mind". But yours is an established translation as far as I know. So just some rambling.

that have I and SpaceGeek from Wikiquote

Also, what is the meaning of "N-KC" in latin on the LK?
And was the depressurization of avionics container revealed to the public? Or just covered up as Soviet Union generally did?

those marking i found picture of LK module i have no idea what they mean, only that something like "Lunnik" is put on Simulators and Models.

 

[Athelstane]

Perhaps it would look a little like this (albeit with less rugged terrain on a first landing).

 

[Bahamut-255]

i look in german Moon calendar about year 1969 for 4 July is moon on Waning gibbous give similar illumination for Cosmonaut like Apollo 11 only that Shadow are opposite direction.
please don't tell me my data is wrong

Took another look, it was a Waning Gibbous, 72% visible from Earth, and with the edge of the Eastern Mare Tranquillitatis being close to the edge of the Sunset. So long as this is correct.

 

[Astronomo2010]

great new update Michel , so the Soviets landed 1st on the moon , Nixon firing NASA administrator , lets see What Apollo 11 will find , and what else The USA Maybe Along with NATO will do to further explore Space .

 

[Michel Van]

I found my error...

wrong landing site, Mare Crisium is on 4 July in darkness
The Cupid was my old Map of the moon i used, it's for Telescope use and printed upside down, with north down and Mare Crisium on left site...

the Landing site is now Oceanus Procellarum.

i have to repost post 20 with new data and edit post 23.

 

[guinazacity]

A red flag on the moon on 4th of july? Now this is how you twist the knife. Komarov should have wished the Americans a happy independence day while on lunar soil.
Komarov was a guy that deserved a lot better than what he got IOTL.

The space race is on for real!

 

[Das Amerikan]

Goddamnit, the commies won the space race.

 

[Michel Van]

Goddamnit, the commies won the space race.

they won the moon race
for Space Race outcome, we have wait on reaction of Nixon
and he has a Space flight crazy Vice President at his side....

 

[SpaceGeek]

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Micheal Collins would have the honour of piloting the first mission to land on the lunar surface, Apollo-11, a historic event by far, if Komarov and the Soviets hadn't beaten them. They all had extensive spaceflight experience already and they had all been training for this mission vigorously for months upon months. Now this mission woud finally be the culmination of their entire carreers.

This launch of the Saturn V was whatched in anticipation by both the President along with thousands of onlookers and spectators arriving from all over the country and even from other countries. An assembly of Soviet scientists and cosmonauts even attended the launch. After an uneventful launch performed entirely to the book, The crew performed the separation and transposition maneuver to dock the Command Module Columbia to the Lunar Module (LM) Eagle, and pulled away from the spent third stage, They then settled in for the three-day trip to the Sea of Tranquility.

After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19. The next day, at 1:46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by Armstrong and Aldrin, separated from the command module, where Collins remained. Two hours later, the Eagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4:17 p.m. the craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston, a now-famous message: “The Eagle has landed.” These weren't the first words uttered on the Moon however, that title is reserved for the less poetic phrase "contact-light"

At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the LEM. As climbed down the module’s ladder, a television camera attached to the craft recorded his progress and beamed the signal back to Earth, where hundreds of millions watched in great anticipation. At 10:56 p.m., as Armstrong stepped off the ladder and planted his foot on the moon’s powdery surface, he spoke his famous quote, which he later contended was slightly garbled by his microphone and meant to be “that’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The recording was clear and audible with the whole world hearing him loud and clear[1]

Aldrin joined him on the moon’s surface 19 minutes later, and together they took photographs of the surface, planted an American flag, ran a few simple scientific tests and spoke with President Richard Nixon through Houston. By 1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module and the hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon, and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module. Among the multitude of items left behind on the lunar surface was a plaque that read: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon–July 1969 A.D–We came in peace for all mankind.”

At 5:35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Collins, and at 12:56 a.m. on July 22 Apollo 11 finally began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:50 p.m. on July 24. However the crew remained in quorentine just incase they had been exposed to any lunar pathogens that might wreak havok on Earth.

Finally, humanity was gaining a new perspective. That the Moon and Planets were worlds, actual places with skies, horizons, valleys, mountains and plains. No longer a mere point of light, the Moon was forever a world. And soon the Earth would fade into a mere point of light. A new era was begining. But in order for this new era to truly begin in earnest, there would have to be sticker shock in Congress.

[1] IOTL the crackling of the audio recording of Armstrongs first steps meant we never heard the "a" in "one step for a man". ITTL it's heard loud and clear preventing one of the most commonly repeated misquotes in spaceflight history.

 

[ryhs]

Among the multitude of items left behind on the lunar surface was a plaque that read: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon–July 1969 A.D–We came in peace for all mankind.”

So, did they forget to change the plaque, or just were not able to? Or decided that since "men" is plural and Soviet moon landing included only a "man" the plaque would still be truthful?

 

[Michel Van]

So, did they forget to change the plaque, or just were not able to? Or decided that since "men" is plural and Soviet moon landing included only a "man" the plaque would still be truthful?

Not quite
the problem:
the LM inside payload shroud on top of Saturn V on Launch Pad
you need to get a Technician in it, how has to crawl under LM folded up Legs and unscrew the Plague and screw on the new one, with out loosing a screw !

i guess the americans interpret it as the First two Americans on Moon....

 

[Athelstane]

they won the moon race
for Space Race outcome, we have wait on reaction of Nixon
and he has a Space flight crazy Vice President at his side....

Which raises the question of what "winning the Space Race" actually entails.

But perhaps it's a race that never ends until the Soviet Union does.

 

[Shevek23]

Which raises the question of what "winning the Space Race" actually entails.

But perhaps it's a race that never ends until the Soviet Union does.

And we presume the USSR does not end until after 2000 anyway. I do, here, anyhow, in part because of the title's allusion to parallels with the Clarke/Kubrick story. Parallels that probably won't include the sheer mass of the space installations shown in the movie. This has been pointed out here already, along with the observation that perhaps one does not need 60,000 metric tons of mass to accommodate hundreds of people and provide the infrastructure for a brisk traffic to the Moon.

Also, it does seem that Soviet engineering is somewhat more capable. This may mean little if it is just the stunt of a Lunar hero project to be sure. And of course now we know the MoM's insistence on massive redundancy in the LKs was a justified necessity; considering that nothing like this ever happened to an Apollo LM OTL, one may remain skeptical about Soviet competence. Except of course something very much like this did happen to an Apollo Command Module OTL, endangering not one but all three crewmembers, so the real lesson we ought to take away is that astronautical engineering is quite difficult to do right, no matter how rich or well endowed per capita with technically savvy people your nation is.

Meanwhile the Soviets have patched up their schism with the Chinese, so it seems for now anyway. This gives synergistic opportunities to both Communist superpowers. It also broadens the basis of possible solutions to the problem of maintaining and expanding a satisfactory economic system for resolutely non-capitalist, at least nominally "workers' states." This is as always an ideological issue; quite a lot of people take it as proven by now that no such system is possible, or at any rate it must always remain in every respect inferior to "free" capitalist enterprise and therefore will be undermined and eventually crippled and ditched by a discontented populace, or anyway discontented elites. The objections to alternatives to robust capitalist competition are well posed and weighty, but I feel the champions of the inevitable failure any possible socialist system underestimate and overlook the drawbacks of capitalism, both for general outcomes and for the interests of the vast majority of the population. Recognizing the imperfections and inefficiencies inherent in competitive private capitalism, the bar a Leninist system has to clear is no longer infinitely high perfection but merely overall equivalence. In the mean time, the expectations of the Chinese and even Soviet ruled masses are rather modest; providing a sense of ongoing progress for them shouldn't seem impossible. (OTL of course this is exactly where the Soviets failed in the later 70s and 80s, and the Chinese around that time switched chains to a sort of state-controlled capitalism. And the Soviet weaknesses may have been masked for a time by petroleum revenues from the West, indicating deep-seated problems that may not be salvageable any time after the death of Stalin).

For the Soviets there is an additional bar to clear of course; keeping control over their Eastern European satellite empire. I certainly meant to say something or other about Michel's earlier post on the politics of 1968, particularly the Kosygin Doctrine as applied to Czechoslovakia and East Germany. If you asked my opinion, I'd say that before '68 OTL, the two Warsaw Pact nations (in the developed western part anyway) most likely to reconcile themselves to Soviet hegemony in the long run would indeed be Czechoslovakia and the DDR. The latter in fact would be retarded in its integration into a consensually accepted Soviet-run system mainly by the fears of the Russians, the rather aged leadership being very much of the generation of the Great Patriotic War and that war remaining very much in living memory of the Soviet populace at large.

I can't say I feel too confident in the suggestion that merely by bumping off Brezhnev and swapping in Kosygin, the Politburo would dare risk the latter's boldly optimistic policies for these two key Bloc nations; I'd think that the consensus would be, as OTL, that such freedoms would surely lead to movements for independence from the Bloc, rejection of the planned economy wholesale, new and reactionary parties taking power that would immediately seek to ally with the NATO bloc, and thus disastrous levels of damage to the Soviet system on three fronts--economic, strategic, and in terms of prestige--the latter along with the other two further disrupting their control over the rest of the bloc and perhaps even of integral Soviet territories such as the Baltics. Perhaps with sufficient police force they could hope to suppress such reactions before they reach a fatal point but of course such repression would make a farce of the good intentions of Kosygin's risky act of faith. In the course of asserting, in their pessimistic conservatism, something like the OTL Brezhnev Doctrine, they'd depose Kosygin while they were at it.

Thus having him take this risk ITTL implies that things have evolved rather differently in this TL's Sixties, especially in East Germany, to bolster not only Kosygin's confidence but a solid majority of the Politburo figures as well that a looser control of the DDR would leave that relatively developed and rich subject nation still safely in the Soviet orbit despite the bad blood between the respective nations in the past, and despite the centrifugal pull of the desire to reunite with West Germany. (Indeed IIRC, Kosygin in the ATL is rather hoping to lure the BRD eastward, toward neutrality or even alliance with the Socialist bloc). As for Czechoslovakia, OTL it came rather close to joining the Soviet bloc by purely democratic means, that required relatively little manipulation by Stalinist stalwarts--had the USSR been more leniently ruled, by someone less scary than Stalin, in the 1940s, I dare say the nation might well have voted itself into the Eastern bloc by a comfortable margin. Avoiding the OTL repression of 1968 means the economic, social, and hence political development of Czechoslovakia is rather up in the air, but there is little reason to predict deep animosity against Russia or any profound longing to join the Western bloc there if the outcomes are reasonably sunny.

Poland and Hungary, in that order, with the former by far the worst, are the biggest headaches the Kremlin must face now within their own sphere. The Poles, I fear, will never be reconciled to captivity within the Soviet bloc; the Hungarians have ample reason to be mistrustful and resentful, just a bit over a decade after their own repression by none other than the Stalin-denouncing Khrushchev. (And what role did Kosygin play during the Hungarian crisis of the late 1950s?). South and east, aside from schismatic Yugoslavia (which might be enticed back toward the Comecon fold by suitably effective and sweet economic offerings, along with credible assurances Moscow will keep hands off internal policy) and psychotically isolationist Albania, there are Bulgaria and Romania. The former, so I gather, has a traditionally pro-Russian leaning. Romania suffers from its current (that is, OTL/ATL 60s-70s) dictatorship; a kinder, gentler Soviet bloc would have to take a violently firm line here to kick him out and impose something less corrupt--but can they do that with properly Romanian leadership, or must Romania become some sort of protectorate? Discontented dependency or feared and dysfunctional dictatorship, either way Romania is an albatross around the Kremlin's neck right alongside seething Poland.

Actually, with the prescience OTL brings us, I can foresee a Polish solution of sorts. Anti-Soviet dissidence seethes throughout the bloc, but nowhere worse than in Poland. The Solidarnosc movement led by Lech Walensa may still well form and exert serious power in the dockyards of Gdansk; what if by them the Kosygin-led Politburo sees a possibility of elevating the union into serious power-sharing with the Kremlin-blessed Party that rules? What if indeed Solidarnosc pretty much undermines and renders the Party irrelevant and takes effective control of Polish internal policy...Poland is still surrounded by the rest of the Warsaw Pact and borders directly on the USSR. Perhaps the Politburo will recall Stalin's alleged remark about not caring if Poland is a monarchy, as long as its foreign policy stays aligned with Soviet policy. Conceivably, if the ties to the rest of the Pact strengthen rather than weaken, and the Soviet economy grows on a planned basis solidifying Soviet morale, could Poland be largely let go--the Workers/Peasant Party ousted from power, internal policy devolved to Solidarnosc (or more reactionary parties that might form--"Solidarity" itself was after all a union) and Poland even allowed to withdraw from the military pact itself (provided its now independent armed forces are cut down to a small size--without Soviet subsidy I would guess autonomous Poland might be ill able to afford serious military force anyway--and of course provided that no ties between them and the Western alliance ever be formed, which is why Western subsidies to a Polish military would also be forbidden). Ironically then the Warsaw Pact would not include Warsaw any more; perhaps the Kremlin would take the opportunity to renegotiate their deals into a new Pact, in Prauge for instance.

I'm dubious; leaving a hole in their wall against the West, and indeed a hostile anti-Soviet hole at that, seems very risky, even if it is walled off by East Germany and Czechoslovakia from direct Western contact. And letting Poland off the Comecon hook implies that any Bloc "ally" that wants to escape Kremlin control need merely facilitate a sustained national tantrum, and they too might wind up with a reactionary Catholic theocracy or clique of mobster-businessmen with no socialist agenda running their country!

On one hand then I think it is obvious the Kremlin, no matter how relaxed and magnanimous, cannot contemplate willingly letting Poland go that far out of control, even if they still retain a foreign-policy veto. On the other, Soviet-run economic and social policy must be of sufficiently gratifying nature that a Mafia regime or theocracy does not look attractive by comparison to the elites of the other Bloc nations, for the Bloc to hold together on positive grounds rather than merely under Red Army coercion.

Relations with Poland in particular are going to be involved as well with the entire Catholic Church throughout the world if as per OTL the person who became Pope John Paul II is elected to the Papacy under any name, at any time. And barring either his assassination, imprisonment, or disgrace, it seems likely to me that he will be--nor would he be butterflied as his clerical career was settled on long before 1960 and our POD.

Whatever dramatic events happen in Poland, the Pope will be involved and if the Kremlin can negotiate something to keep their own version of the peace there, I imagine that as Bishop of Krackow or as Pope, this person will be a party at the table.

In retrospect, it seems pretty clear that Pope John Paul II played a major role in the downfall of the Soviet bloc OTL. What if instead, early in his Papal career, he agrees to a modus viviendi in Poland with the Soviet leadership, one that leaves Poland adequately better off and yet also leaves the Warsaw Pact intact? I'd think the involvement of the Catholic Curia in such a deal would tend to rope the Western governments involved in NATO to also commit to formal provisions for detente. By no means could the East/West division be healed up completely (not without either the West going socialist or the East abandoning socialism, anyway) but the level of tension might go down, levels of contact and intercourse go up, interlocking international ties might make mutual destruction less tempting and bellicose posturing more awkward.

I'd think if the Kremlin wants to keep Eastern Europe on board by any means other than terroristic repression, they need to devolve a lot of power back to the separate nations, and flatter the pride of the Eastern European peoples by incorporating them as equal colleagues in more and more visible fields of endeavor. One of these would be the Cosmonaut program of course! Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Romanians--yes, even Poles!--would have to be seen to be key, regular members of the Cosmonaut corps and not mere one-time guests.

Given though that the grandiose sweep of space programs of both blocs implied by the title suggests that orders of magnitude more people will have been launched into space by 2000, and indeed some of them might remain there for many years or the rest of their lives even, the opportunities to include Bloc cosmonauts on equal terms with Soviet-born ones will be much increased relative to OTL.

So perhaps even Poland can be reconciled, if grudgingly, to Soviet hegemony, and if Poland can be kept onboard, the others can as well I'd think.

 

[Medicus]

I would think that Armstrong's first words would be different ITTL to OTL, given that Komarov beat them to the surface. There was no agreed upon words he was supposed to give - Neil had thought of what he was going to say, but he kept it to himself until the moment came.

 

[Shevek23]

I would think that Armstrong's first words would be different ITTL to OTL, given that Komarov beat them to the surface. There was no agreed upon words he was supposed to give - Neil had thought of what he was going to say, but he kept it to himself until the moment came.

Both the unfortunately superseded phrases ("Men first came..." "one giant leap for mankind...") are, to a pettifogging frame of mind, still technically true. As pointed out above, Komarov is just one man, Armstrong and Aldrin are two men, so the plaque is not technically wrong. Neither is Armstrong's phrase--especially in the perspective of OTL! We know that if it were just one power making it there and the other bowed out of the race, there is a good chance (realized OTL) that after the momentum of the moon race program runs out, no one would go back, for decades anyway, and humanity might blow itself up and never again venture into space. With the Americans now having something to prove (a lot, actually, having been aced out of first by the Russians quite repeatedly) and the Soviets revved up with a developed and largely proven capability (that blowout in the LK Komarov came down in is pretty alarming, right up Athelstane's skeptical alley...but I've been suggesting for some time now LK is just a first step for the Soviets, and OTL plans tend to back that up) both powers can be expected to plan on doing a lot more.

Aside from the fact that the Americans are pretty deflated making all their brave terse Chuck Yeageresque phrases ring hollow, in context they do seem a bit insincere and ominous. What, Komarov and his Rodina are not part of "all mankind?" "Came in peace...." really?

Well, it can spin a number of ways from here, degenerate into something ugly, or both superpowers can try to live up to their noble ringing phrases--or anyway not want the other to point out their massive hypocrisy by avoiding its appearance. I'm optimistic, and we'll see.

If it gets ugly the Last Armageddon War we've avoided hitherto OTL might be triggered in space long before 2015 and the words are especially ironic--we start coming out of the womb only to miscarry; we come in false and hypocritical peace to assert dominance over all mankind--the giant step is into oblivion.

All possible. All regrettable, and even the political klutzes of OTL have steered away from that abyss, though they do sometimes find themselves playing chicken on its crumbly edge.

I don't think this ATL turns out worse than OTL anyway. Like the Soviet economy being as good as Western capitalism, it is not such a terribly high bar to clear.

 

[Astronomo2010]

another great update , NASA has landed on the Moon, lets See what new Space Policies will be implemented By Nixon , Maybe further Exploration of the Moon , finding some kind of amazing Discoveries. Cant hardly wait for the next update.