MoS, part XV
Part XV
One ought never to turn one's back on a threatening danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half!
- Winston Churchill.
The discovery of life on another planet is potentially one of the most important scientific advances of this century, let alone this decade, and it would have enormous philosophical implications!
- National Research Council
As the year 2000, and thus a new Millenium, drew nearer the Commonwealth Space Agency still led the way into both the future and into space. Several missions were undertaken to insure the succes of the comming Mars mission as the spaceborne infrastructure was beefed up considerably and prospecting of the main asteroid belt undertaken in earnest. The CSA hoped to extradite raw materials from the belt sometime within the next 20 years or so.
In the late 90’s some 20 upgraded Black Duchess rockets were launched with supplies and other loads of necessary eqiupment for the construction of the Mars mission ship and several others were launched directly at Mars to place supplies on the Red Planet in advance of the mission itself. These new Black Duchess Rockets, known as the G and Z variants, had their original engines replaced by newer ones. Ironically enough the new engines were based on the old Soviet designs for rocket engines. CSIRO, and thus the CSA, had learned a lot from the now defunct Soviet Union, amongst others how to build incredibly powerfull engines. A brand new series of super heavy rockets, the Black Lions, were more or less constructed around the Soviet Energija engines – named Vulcan in english -, and would enter service in 2005.
In Gabon, French Equatorial Africa, the impressing Franco-German spacegun, Project Bonaparte, was test fired in early 1999. Pictures of an exuberant Gerald Bull, a smug General Albert Duprecht, the C-in-C for space related programmes and weapons, and an even - if possible – more smug French President, Bruno Megret, watched as the first 1 tonnes projectile was fired into space from the nearly 200 meters long gun barrel.
Eventhough Project Bonaparte had proven a succes, it was close to nothing compared to the Commonwealth space programme. Still, the Franco-German succes spured the Americans into action after some fruitless years commemorating the failure of Orion.
In the USA, the newly formed National Aeronautics Agency, NAA, was finally beginning to get its act together, so to say. After having spent quite some time rearranging its structure and the merging of the United States Navy Advanced Research Projects and the Air Force Space Operations Angency , and, perhaps more importantnly, getting over the horrible Orion catastrophe, the NAA began to play a role in space. Eventhough the Americans had sent several missions into to space in the early 90’s and placed nummerous armed space stations and habitats in space in the late 90’s, NAA’s achievements paled compared to that of the Commonwealth’s Space Agency – something President Bush and his successor, Robert “Bob†Dole, was acutely aware of. The growing ambitions of the Americans was shown when Presidnet Dole in ’98 announced that the NAA would launch a Moon mission of their own and built a Lunar base within the next 5-6 years. This quite naturally got the Commonwealths attention, but it was ultimately up to PM Portillo to answer the unspoken American challenge to the Commonwealth’s space hegemony as the General-Secretary of the Commonwealth, Rajiv Ghandi, had proven quite unable to act the part of statesman.
As it once again befell the British PM to establish a common policy, he did so with typical elan, just as he had stopped the senseless slaughter in the Balkans and Eastern Europe previously. This time, however, Portillo chose a moment when he left Downing Steet for a meeting with Field Marshall Rose – the Chief of Staff – to deliver his messenge. The PM’s speech, directed more or less to President Dole personally, made the British stand very clear indeed: “Some 24 hours have passed since the Americans made their intentions in regard to the Moon clear. The British people and that of the Commonwealth, who have, at the sacrifice of many a good man, accepted the burden as the world’s prime arbitrator and in the end policeman, have a right and a duty, in conjunction with its allied nations and friends, to call upon the United States of America not to place obstacles in the way of peace and the common good. I therefore say to you, Mr. President, stop this foolishness and withdraw from the path of insecurity and hostility!â€
As Commonwealth space force was placed on alert, among them the HMSS Churchill with its reinforced Near Orbit Squadron, the Elizabeth Moon base with its now two Lunar Squadrons and of course the much feared – after the operations angainst the Soviet space installations - Commonwealth Space Reaction Force, the Americans saw sense and after some tense negotiations finally backed down. A compromise was reached in November 1999, where the NAA got Commonwealth permission – stated somewhat differently in the offficial documents – to send a mission to the Moon, but not to operate any bases there. American astronauts and scientists got several seats on CSA rockets and access to the Edward Moon Base, though.
All was not, however, trouble, hostility and fear. Not only did the year 2000 bring the Olympics to London, it also heralded a new Millenium, and the launch of the long awaited Mars Mission. All over the country, and the Commonwealth, Commonwealth Day, the Olympics, the Millenium and Launch Day was celebrated, and nowhere more so than in London. The old city truly seemed like the world's capital for while as celebrations of every kind and magnitude, from a few friends having a warm beer together to gigantic public festivals and improvised parties in the streets. Nummerous exhibitions that highlighted the most impressive aspects of the Commonwealth’s many advances was on show; rockets, planes, computers, cars and lots of others high tech gadgetry.
Especially Commonwealth Day 2000 was an impressive event as thousands of troops paarded through every major British city to the sound of patriotic anthems played by military bands. Marching among the troops were the elité Commonwealth Space Reaction Force in their dark grey uniforms and Commando-green berets. The CSRF recieved an applause nearly equal to that bestowed upon the Queen later in the day.
As the infrastructure on the Moon grew and the bases and outposts began to be connected by first primitive rails links, then the more advanced mono-rails, the Lunar population, and the various mining operations, boomed. Furthermore two mono-rail spurs were laid to reach the ice deposits at the poles. With access to ice, and thus water, living conditions improved dramatically, and it’s expented that the Moon bases will be more or less self-sufficient in 2010. During the greately expanded mining operations, Helium 3, an isotope which should be able to be used to obtain fusion, was discovered. As a result CSIRO stepped up research in this field.
On June the 8th, 2000, the first manned mission to the Red Planet, Mars, was launched under command of Rear Admiral Richard Noble, the hero of the Moon landings back in the late 80’s. A huge cycler – an open structure with four arms each with its cargo, both human and otherwise, placed at its ends -, the HMS Royal Sovereign, had been constructed in orbit and was now launched. Flight time was calculated to about 16 months. The cycler, and the mission in itself, represented the greatest leap in technology and man’s ability to achieve the unthinkable thus far.