It's a Small World From Above

simonbp


LA Times, March 23, 1954

It was billed as the "The Greatest Show (not) on Earth", and it did not
disappoint. When we were let into the Press Room, there was a line of
televisions along the stage, all showing static. At 4:32, the lights were
dimmed and a picture began to form on the televisions of some shapeless white
wisps on a dark background. The general appearance was like the sky on a
partially cloudy day. Gradually, the image shifted to the left and a new shape
appeared. Someone yelled out, "that's Baja California!"

The lights then rose and the heroes of the moment stepped out on stage: Howard
Hughes, Walt Disney, and Werner von Braun, carrying a model of the Pioneer 1
spaceship. The grins on the three men were enormous, and they were instantly
greeted with applause from the usually-reserved press corps. Disney began,
describing in lofty words how now that humanity had touched space and seen the
Earth from afar, we had entered a new era. Space communications would allow all
the world to connect without regard for natural or human boundaries. Weather
will be predictable and could even be controlled one day. Flights across oceans
will take mere hours. All this because of what Pioneer 1 showed today.

Von Braun, Director of the Hughes-Disney Spaceflight Company, then began to
talk about the technical details of the mission. The HD-1 rocket consisted of
two stages, together being about 200 feet tall. After launch from Christmas
Island (south of Hawaii), the first stage's kerosene-oxygen engines burned for
several minutes before detaching. The first stage then fell under parachute to
be recovered in the ocean. The second stage, using a mixture of hydrazine and
nitric acid, then ignited to bring the Pioneer to a 400 mile orbit around the
Earth. The first stage was recovered and though "slightly dented", could in
theory be reused. The spaceship itself is a conical affair, with a television
camera up front and a trio of radio antennas extending from the back. Besides
the images it was returning of the Earth's surface, precise radio tracking of
the vehicle was allowing unprecedented measurements of the Earth's gravity
field and upper atmosphere. A manned flight was planned for "soon", though the
next priority was to launch a satellite into a 24-hour orbit, where it would be
most useful for communications purposes.

Finally, Howard Hughes discussed the commercial aspects of the program. Disney
would be the first customer for a 24-hour satellite, allowing them to broadcast
television shows across the country directly to people's homes. AT&T would be
the next customer with a satellite to facilitate transatlantic telephone calls.
Further discussions are under way with other broadcast and telephone companies.
In addition, the military has expressed some interest in testing high-speed
reentry vehicles. The current schedule is booked solid through the end of 1957,
by which time the larger HD-2 rocket should be ready. Though this was the first
orbital flight, it was the eighth flight of the HD-1, with only two failures so
far. Hughes is confident that they can increase that to a 95% success rate by
the time HD-2 starts flying.

The floor was then opened for questions, with the first being if any of the
three would be on that first manned flight. After a tentative laugh, the
response was "not the first". Talks are under way with foreign broadcast
companies, with Hughes making a point that this was an example of the free
market succeeding where communism has not even tried. Von Braun also confirmed
that a transoceanic passenger transport was in planning, but not ready yet.

LA Times, June 3, 1954

The first stage of the historic HD-1 rocket that launched Pioneer 1 went on
display today at the new "World of Space" exhibit at Disneyland. Lying next to
the flight backups of the second stage and Pioneer, the stage marks the first
time a space vehicle has been put on public display. Also at the exhibit are
televisions showing live images of Earth from the Pioneer.
 

simonbp

There's a lot of butterflies, but the basic PoD is that Hughes never crashes the XF-11. IOTL, that's when both his physical and mental health went downhill...
 

simonbp



Hughes XF-11
Encyclopedia of Aircraft, Random House, 1975

The Hughes XF-11 was a prototype military reconnaissance aircraft, designed and
flown by Howard Hughes for the United States Army Air Force...

The first prototype, tail number 44-70155, piloted by Hughes, almost crashed on
7 July 1946 while on its maiden flight. An oil leak caused the right-hand
propeller controls to lose their effectiveness and the rear propeller
subsequently reversed its pitch, disrupting that engine's thrust, which caused
the aircraft to yaw hard to the right. Hughes feathered the propeller and made
an emergency landing at the Culver City factory...

Despite addressing the propeller issue, the XF-11 still lost out to the
Northrop XF-15 (based on their P-61 fighter-bomber) on grounds of low-speed
stability and cost to build. After the failure of the XF-11, Hughes abandoned
work on aircraft and focused on rockets and missiles instead. Thus the XF-11
was the last propeller-driven fixed-wing aircraft developed by Hughes.

Hughes SSM-A-5
Encyclopedia of Rockets and Missiles, Random House, 1978

After the success of the AIM-4 Falcon Air-to-Air missile, Hughes Aerospace
began work on ever more advanced rockets. The first truly large one was the
SSM-A-5, missile design to launch from US bases in Germany and reach the Soviet
Union. The missile was similar to the contemporary NAA Navajo design, but
rather than Navajo's Boost-Cruise mission profile, the SSM-A-5 had a large,
winged first stage and a smaller second stage. The first stage would climb to
a high altitude and climb rate, and the second stage would ignite to
ballistically loft the payload towards the target. The concept was very
innovative, but the design was beyond the capabilities of the time. The winged
first stage proved especially troublesome, requiring a very heavy construction
to survive the flight loads. However, after the USAF study contract ended, work
on the engines (developed by Aerojet) and upper stage continued, and laid the
groundwork for the eventual HD-1 orbital rocket.


 

simonbp

Dr. Space: The Life of Werner von Braun
Bob Ward, Naval Institute Press, 2005

After being transfered to the Redstone Arsenal in 1950, von Braun and the
remaining Peenemünde team were assigned to develop a successor to the V-2,
codenamed simply "the Redstone Missile". The rocket was small (only slightly
larger than the V-2), and the work did not pay well. To supplement his income,
and provide an outlet for his dreams of space, von Braun began to publish
newspaper articles and give public talks about spaceflight. It was at one of
these talks in 1951 at Pasadena, California (after a meeting with his
counterparts at the Jet Propulsion Lab) that one of Walt Disney's aides first
heard von Braun's argument and mentioned to his boss. About a month later, in
June, Disney and von Braun first meet.

At the meeting, von Braun sold Disney on the concept of a near-future science
fiction movie loosely based on his "Das Marsprojekt" novel, written while a
prisoner of war in 1948. Von Braun would serve as the technical advisor for the
movie, as well as hosting an introductory segment explaining just how plausible
the story is. Production commenced a few weeks later, and von Braun would spend
much of the next six months shuttling back and forth between Los Angeles and
Huntsville. He spent enough time flying (and made enough from the Disney deal)
to buy a used Beechcraft D17 Staggerwing and fly himself.

...

It was at the apron of LAX that von Braun first met Howard Hughes. Von Braun
was waiting for his red-and-yellow Staggerwing to be refueled when Hughes, who
recognized him from a magazine article, came up and introduced himself. The two
men got to talking and Hughes mentioned that he really wanted to continue the
work they had done for the SSM-A-5. Von Braun, doing some quick mental
calculations, assured Hughes that they had the potential for an orbital rocket,
though selling the military on the idea would not be easy. Hughes responded by
giving von Braun the card of his personal secretary and offering him a job if
he ever got tired of working for the government.

...

Disney's "The Mars Project" was released in November of 1951, and quickly
became a smash-hit. It easily beat out MGM's Roman-era "Quo Vadis" to become
the highest-grossing film of the year. Space Toys were were the thing to get
that year for Christmas, and chapters of the Disney-sponsored "Junior Rocketry
Club" began to spring up across the country. Von Braun was in such high demand
for interviews that he had to limit himself to two per week. A New York Times
editorial proclaimed that "the space craze is in full swing", and few could
argue.

Those that did disagree, however, tended to be in the Department of Defense.
The Air Force was dubious of the utility of orbital reconnaissance when U-2s
were working so effectively, and the Navy vetoed orbital bombardment as being
too similar to their new nuclear submarines. Von Braun's superiors in the Army
were especially dubious, and shot down all suggestions beyond the basic
Redstone rocket. It was after a particularly infuriating argument in February
1952 that von Braun called his wife Maria and asked her how she felt about
moving to California full-time.
 
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simonbp

Thanks!

There'll be one more catch-up update on the HD-1 itself, and then on to its actual use (and butterflies therein).
 

simonbp


Dr. Space: The Life of Werner von Braun
Bob Ward, Naval Institute Press, 2005

What would become the HD-1 began life as small side project at Hughes Aerospace
and Aerojet with less than ten people working on it at any one time. Howard
Hughes had wanted to build a large missile for the Air Force, but after the
failure of the SSM-A-5, and with a distinct lack of any hydrogen bombs small
enough to fit on it, they were not interested. Convinced that he could find a
customer, Hughes devoted some private funds to keep the high-level design work
going on the "Big Rocket" (BR).

When Werner von Braun became the Director of Hughes Aerospace in 1952, he (and
the 23 Peenemünde team members that followed him) took charge of the BR
project, and began to inject some welcome doses of practicality into what had
been a highly theoretical effort. BR slowly took shape as having the same basic
layout of SSM-A-5, but eschewing the wings for a larger kerosene-fueled first
stage. The second stage evolved gradually, and gained the ability to relight
in-flight. This feature, thanks to the hypergolic propellants, allowed a
payload to launched to a much higher orbit without the need of a third stage
(and the additional complexity therein). This wasn't a feature that was not
necessarily useful for an ICBM (though von Braun would sell it as being so),
but which increased the orbital practicality of the rocket considerably. The
design began to close around a payload of 3000 lb to a 200 nautical mile
low orbit, or 1000 lb to geosynchronous orbit.

With this design in hand, von Braun pitched the BR to Hughes himself. Hughes
really liked it, but had nowhere near enough money to fund the development
himself. Von Braun mentioned that Disney might be a potential customer, and
that he could talk to Disney about a partnership. Hughes gave him the go-ahead,
and after a few weeks of negotiations, Disney agreed to 50% in a joint venture
with Hughes (40%) and Aerojet (10%) to develop communications satellites and
the rockets to launch them, to be called the Hughes-Disney Spaceflight Company.
A sister company, the Disney Satellite Network (DSN), would be able to purchase
satellites and launch services at-cost. The first operational DSN satellite was
tentatively scheduled for 1955.

The BR project, and most of Hughes Aerospace, was transfered to HDSC to become
the HD-1. With the Disney money rolling in, Aerojet immediately began testing
of the new engine. Flight testing was another matter, as the military was wary
of letting a fully-commercial project use their test ranges. Seeking to avoid
military restrictions, HDSC obtained a five-year lease on nearly half of the
island of Kiritimati (Christmas Island), then a British possession in the
Pacific Ocean. Kiritimati allowed launches to nearly any orbital inclination
without overflying land. It was especially well-placed for the low-inclination
geosynchronous orbits planned for the DSN. Construction of the launch site began
in October of 1952.

The first launch of an HD-1 (with a dummy second stage and payload) occurred in
January 1953. It went well for the first minute, before the control system
failed, causing the vehicle to pitch over and disintegrate. Three successful
single-stage tests followed. The first launch with an active upper stage
(HD-1-5) went perfectly, but the second stage failed on the follow-up HD-1-6.
The final suborbital test was HD-1-7, which launched a simple reentry vehicle
with a film camera that landed off of Grand Bahama. It was this flight, tracked
closely by NORAD, and not the orbital HD-1-8, that really piqued the interest of
the Department of Defense.
 

simonbp

LA Times, April 8, 1954

Disney Satellite Network Launched

With the successful launch of the Pioneer-1 satellite last month, the Walt
Disney Corporation announced that they would begin broadcasts in the Los
Angeles area of their new television channel, the Disney Satellite Network.
The Network will initially be broadcast only in a few cities, but will go
national in 1957 with the launch of the Mickey-1 satellite. The satellite will
be in a special 24-hour orbit that will keep it constantly above the United
States. Anyone in the country will then be able to receive it with a special
DSN antenna and subscription service.
 

simonbp


Sirius: 20 Years of Spaceflight
Penguin, New York, 1976

The HD-2 "Sirius" was direct evolution of the HD-1 orbital launch vehicle. Its
"zeroth stage" (to avoid confusion) consisted of seven first stages, stretched
50% and connected by a common-feed manifold (to allow engine-out). With the
HD-1 first stage on top, Sirius could deliver 10 tonnes to LEO, or 15 tonnes
with the addition of the HD-1 second stage. Likewise, the three stage version
could deliver 7.5 tonnes to geosynchronous orbit, more than ten times that of
the HD-1, and enough for the very large satellites that DSN and AT&T now
wanted.

...

While the Sirius was initially trumpeted as a Geosync machine, it was actually
scaled around the goal of launching men into space. This was a goal shared by
all three of the key figures in HDSC, and shortly after the flight of Pioneer
1, von Braun received authorization to put out a request for proposals to build
a manned spacecraft. Most of the major US aircraft companies responded, with
Martin and North American putting in especially good proposals. However, it was
the two non-US proposals that really stood out from the pack.

The Avro Canada proposal was comparable to the Martin proposal (though a bit
weaker technologically). Attached to it, though, was a letter from the Canadian
Government declaring that if Avro Canada were chosen (and a Canadian aboard for
the first flight), Canada would find a way to obtain Kiritimati and the rest of
the Line Islands from the UK. And if this was successful, HDSC could legally
reincorporate on Kiritimati for 25% of the current tax rate they were paying in
the US. On the other hand, the Saunders-Roe proposal was the most technologically
exciting, with a stubby-winged three-man orbiter designed for a runway landing,
but came with no government incentives. Talks immediately began on combining the
two proposals.

After weeks of transatlantic flights and meetings, a compromise was finally
reached in July 1954. Hawker Siddeley (Avro Canada's parent company) would form
a joint venture with Saro incorporated in the UK as Spaceplanes Ltd. HSFC would
then contract Spaceplanes to build the "Skylark" spacecraft, with Saro
subcontracted to do the engineering work, and Avro Canada constructing the
vehicles. The Line Islands would become Canada's third federal territory on
September 1, 1954, after which HSDC would reincorporate itself there, and take
a 50-year lease on most of the island of Kiritimati. The Skylark project was
thus an Anglo-Canadian effort, with the US contribution limited to the HDSC
factory and offices in Long Beach, where the Sirius was made.
 

simonbp

The OTL Martin Titan I, which I'm using as a basis for the TTL's HD-1.

Titan_1_ICBM.jpg
 

simonbp


A History of High-Performance Computing
Oxford University Press, 2005

When the first large rockets became operational, the analog computers of the
time were far too large to fit on them and provide true closed-loop inertial
navigation. Instead, ground-based radars and computers were used to provide
real-time guidance commands to the vehicle. The first of these was the OWL
Computer developed by Engineering Research Associates (ERA) in 1952 for the
HDSC HD-1 launch vehicle. OWL consisted of two redundant computers at
Kiritimati and two more in British Honduras. The OWLs, designed by Seymour
Cray, used a Harvard architecture (rather than von Neumann) due to the lack of
need (or ability) for reprogrammability. The OWL was sufficiently successful
that HDSC bought ERA in 1955 and incorporated as the Control Systems Division.
 

simonbp

chibile said:
Now if only he wouldn't a raving anti-semite, this TL would be even more sunshine and daisies. :p
Click to expand...

Honestly, most of that's people making up stuff in order to have a reason to dislike a famous person. Disney was certainly a ruthless businessman, but the evidence of him actually being anti-semitic is sketchy at best. Indeed, IOTL he was named "Man Of The Year" in 1955 by the B'nai B'rith chapter in Beverly Hills!

Likewise, von Braun was never a political ideologue, Nazi or otherwise. During the war, he complained at a dinner party that he didn't want to build war rockets, and was promptly bundled off to the nearest Gestapo prison for two weeks. He got out on the person pardon of Hitler, and the condition that he keep his mouth shut. He did, which was both cowardly and pragmatic (and I honestly can't say I'd do any different).

With both these men (and Hugues, the PoD), I've tried to put them in a position to be able to advance humans into space without having to do anything morally questionable (OTL WvB's Redstone could have killed a lot more people than V-2 ever did) and making a tidy profit along the way (thus keeping them at it). I agree it's a somewhat idealized scenario, but it's fiction, and there are enough depressing Cold War TLs already.
 
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