Happy Monday Everyone!
Today I want to bring you the first chapter in my alternate history story, "One Giant Leap: The Voyage Beyond". A story inspired by my thoughts of a Space Shuttle program that returned us to the moon and took us to Mars. I have often seen alternate history stories that talk about either the Shuttle returning humanity to the moon, or taking us to Mars but I have rarely seen stories talk about both. This is my first ever alternate history story which means that any and all criticism is welcomed. I am really excited about publishing this story, so without further ado, enjoy.
Special thanks to @Earthy05 for helping me with this story, she was an enormous help for me and I don't think this would be nearly half as good without her help.
Chapter 1: A Looming Threat
February 20th, 1977, the CIA had just discovered something enormous within the Soviet Space program. They had uncovered plans for a Soviet Super Heavy Lift launch vehicle capable of carrying at least 105 tons to a Low Earth Orbit. This startling discovery caused panic throughout NASA and the U.S. government. Ideas began rapidly spreading around on what this vehicle was capable of, “How could it be used for military applications?”, “What were the true intentions of this rocket?”, and most frighteningly to the minds at NASA, “Was it a moon rocket?”. While the idea of this Soviet beast being a moon rocket capable of launching crews to the moon seemed outlandish to many, the idea nonetheless stuck around in the minds of higher ups at NASA as the maiden flight of Columbia grew closer. In response to these newfound fears, President Jimmy Carter requested an additional $300 million for the Space Shuttle program so that a 1979 launch of Columbia would still be in reach.
March 15th, 1979, with only a week till the maiden flight of Columbia, STS-1, excitement was growing fast, both within the public and NASA. For the public STS-1 being the first crewed launch from American soil since the Apollo half of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975 made this launch special and NASA used the public interest in the flight to excite the public about the possibilities the Space Shuttle introduced and hopefully raise public support for the space program. While the public saw the shuttle as just another rocket, for NASA the Space Shuttle opened up a whole new world of possibilities. It would be capable of constructing massive space stations in LEO, launching science missions that would greatly expand humanity's knowledge of space, and even possibly returning humans to the moon and beyond. It would do all of this while hopefully lowering the cost of spaceflight. The week turned into days, then hours, and finally turned into minutes and before long Columbia was just 20 minutes away from her maiden launch. In the final T-9 hold period Launch Director George Page read a message from President Jimmy Carter to Commander John Young and Pilot Robert Crippen wishing them luck on their flight ending with “John, we can't do more from the launch team than say, we wish you an awful lot of luck. We are with you one thousand percent and we are awful proud to have been a part of it. Good luck gentlemen.” The minutes continued to count down till engine ignition, at T-6.6 seconds the RS-25s ignited and roared to life building up to full power. Seconds later the Solid Rocket Boosters ignited and Columbia lifted off from LC-39A and began her trek into orbit. T+2 minutes into flight the Solid Rocket Boosters shut down and separated from the external tank leaving only the RS-25s to power the shuttle to space. At this moment the entire mission control breathed a sigh of relief, one of the most stressful components of the vehicle had worked successfully, however there were still several milestones Columbia had to achieve till it was in a stable orbit. 8 ½ minutes after liftoff Main Engine Cutoff occurred, the RS-25s had done their jobs and now it was up to the OMS engines to circularize Columbia into orbit. As soon as the OMS engines finished their burn a collective wave of simultaneous relief and excitement came over mission control.
With Columbia safely in orbit many at NASA could relax, however several in the agency still wouldn’t be relieved till Columbia was safely on the ground at Edwards Air Force Base. Over the course of the 2 day mission the crew gave interviews with the media, examined the thermal tiles which included imaging by a KH-11 reconnaissance satellite, and received a telephone call from President Carter on his visit to JSC. Before too long It was time for Columbia to come home. The vehicle performed its deorbit burn flawlessly and began its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. Everyone in mission control was tense, while images from the KH-11 and crew observations showed minimal thermal tile damage in the back of everyone’s mind there was a possibility that the observations had misled them. Shortly before reentry John Young gave one last speech to mission control saying, “On behalf of myself and Robert I just want to thank everyone who worked on this mission, it has been truly an honor to fly this vehicle on her maiden voyage and with that we’ll talk to you on the other side, Columbia out.” Minutes seemed like hours in mission control as the flight team waited for the communications blackout to end. When the blackout was over Young radioed back a playful, “Hello Houston. Columbia’s here.” While most of the flight had been automated, Young would pilot Columbia for the final approach. At 18:21 UTC March 24th, Columbia touched down on runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base. As Columbia came to a stop Young could be heard saying over the radio, "This is the world's greatest all electric flying machine. I'll tell you that. That was super!" As the crew disembarked they had visible smiles on their faces and a sense of pride and accomplishment that was shared by both NASA and the nation. For the first time since the last mission to Skylab, America was dominant in space, however the threat of the Soviet SHLV now named “Energia“ still loomed in people’s minds, and made people less certain on how long America’s new found space dominance would last. While Young and Crippen gave a post mission speech, crews began readying Columbia for her trip back to the KSC where she would be inspected and prepped for STS-2, the mission to save Skylab.
Today I want to bring you the first chapter in my alternate history story, "One Giant Leap: The Voyage Beyond". A story inspired by my thoughts of a Space Shuttle program that returned us to the moon and took us to Mars. I have often seen alternate history stories that talk about either the Shuttle returning humanity to the moon, or taking us to Mars but I have rarely seen stories talk about both. This is my first ever alternate history story which means that any and all criticism is welcomed. I am really excited about publishing this story, so without further ado, enjoy.
Special thanks to @Earthy05 for helping me with this story, she was an enormous help for me and I don't think this would be nearly half as good without her help.
Chapter 1: A Looming Threat
February 20th, 1977, the CIA had just discovered something enormous within the Soviet Space program. They had uncovered plans for a Soviet Super Heavy Lift launch vehicle capable of carrying at least 105 tons to a Low Earth Orbit. This startling discovery caused panic throughout NASA and the U.S. government. Ideas began rapidly spreading around on what this vehicle was capable of, “How could it be used for military applications?”, “What were the true intentions of this rocket?”, and most frighteningly to the minds at NASA, “Was it a moon rocket?”. While the idea of this Soviet beast being a moon rocket capable of launching crews to the moon seemed outlandish to many, the idea nonetheless stuck around in the minds of higher ups at NASA as the maiden flight of Columbia grew closer. In response to these newfound fears, President Jimmy Carter requested an additional $300 million for the Space Shuttle program so that a 1979 launch of Columbia would still be in reach.
March 15th, 1979, with only a week till the maiden flight of Columbia, STS-1, excitement was growing fast, both within the public and NASA. For the public STS-1 being the first crewed launch from American soil since the Apollo half of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in 1975 made this launch special and NASA used the public interest in the flight to excite the public about the possibilities the Space Shuttle introduced and hopefully raise public support for the space program. While the public saw the shuttle as just another rocket, for NASA the Space Shuttle opened up a whole new world of possibilities. It would be capable of constructing massive space stations in LEO, launching science missions that would greatly expand humanity's knowledge of space, and even possibly returning humans to the moon and beyond. It would do all of this while hopefully lowering the cost of spaceflight. The week turned into days, then hours, and finally turned into minutes and before long Columbia was just 20 minutes away from her maiden launch. In the final T-9 hold period Launch Director George Page read a message from President Jimmy Carter to Commander John Young and Pilot Robert Crippen wishing them luck on their flight ending with “John, we can't do more from the launch team than say, we wish you an awful lot of luck. We are with you one thousand percent and we are awful proud to have been a part of it. Good luck gentlemen.” The minutes continued to count down till engine ignition, at T-6.6 seconds the RS-25s ignited and roared to life building up to full power. Seconds later the Solid Rocket Boosters ignited and Columbia lifted off from LC-39A and began her trek into orbit. T+2 minutes into flight the Solid Rocket Boosters shut down and separated from the external tank leaving only the RS-25s to power the shuttle to space. At this moment the entire mission control breathed a sigh of relief, one of the most stressful components of the vehicle had worked successfully, however there were still several milestones Columbia had to achieve till it was in a stable orbit. 8 ½ minutes after liftoff Main Engine Cutoff occurred, the RS-25s had done their jobs and now it was up to the OMS engines to circularize Columbia into orbit. As soon as the OMS engines finished their burn a collective wave of simultaneous relief and excitement came over mission control.
With Columbia safely in orbit many at NASA could relax, however several in the agency still wouldn’t be relieved till Columbia was safely on the ground at Edwards Air Force Base. Over the course of the 2 day mission the crew gave interviews with the media, examined the thermal tiles which included imaging by a KH-11 reconnaissance satellite, and received a telephone call from President Carter on his visit to JSC. Before too long It was time for Columbia to come home. The vehicle performed its deorbit burn flawlessly and began its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. Everyone in mission control was tense, while images from the KH-11 and crew observations showed minimal thermal tile damage in the back of everyone’s mind there was a possibility that the observations had misled them. Shortly before reentry John Young gave one last speech to mission control saying, “On behalf of myself and Robert I just want to thank everyone who worked on this mission, it has been truly an honor to fly this vehicle on her maiden voyage and with that we’ll talk to you on the other side, Columbia out.” Minutes seemed like hours in mission control as the flight team waited for the communications blackout to end. When the blackout was over Young radioed back a playful, “Hello Houston. Columbia’s here.” While most of the flight had been automated, Young would pilot Columbia for the final approach. At 18:21 UTC March 24th, Columbia touched down on runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base. As Columbia came to a stop Young could be heard saying over the radio, "This is the world's greatest all electric flying machine. I'll tell you that. That was super!" As the crew disembarked they had visible smiles on their faces and a sense of pride and accomplishment that was shared by both NASA and the nation. For the first time since the last mission to Skylab, America was dominant in space, however the threat of the Soviet SHLV now named “Energia“ still loomed in people’s minds, and made people less certain on how long America’s new found space dominance would last. While Young and Crippen gave a post mission speech, crews began readying Columbia for her trip back to the KSC where she would be inspected and prepped for STS-2, the mission to save Skylab.
