The Cuban Space program

[stephen_dean]

Lets say the soviets, in the 80's decide to throw some money and tecnology Cuba's way, and that the Cuban's turn out to be natural cosmonaughts, and Fidel gets a huge prestige tool on the world stage. To do this as a TL, i need to figure out a way to get Cuba the tecnology, the infastructure and the ability to mantain this past the soviet unions fall. Any ideas?

thanks, Stephen

 

[Brilliantlight]

Lets say the soviets, in the 80's decide to throw some money and tecnology Cuba's way, and that the Cuban's turn out to be natural cosmonaughts, and Fidel gets a huge prestige tool on the world stage. To do this as a TL, i need to figure out a way to get Cuba the tecnology, the infastructure and the ability to mantain this past the soviet unions fall. Any ideas?

thanks, Stephen

Why in God's name would the Soviets throw that much money at CUBA? Cuba is a minor power it would make much more sense for the USSR to throw it at an Eastern European counrty if they wanted a non-Soviet Communist government to have a space program for some odd reason.

 

[stephen_dean]

Why? Thats what im trying to think a POD for, and im aware that its a minor power on the world stage. Perhaps China and the USSR both court Fidels favor as happened in the 1960's, but that would require Che not going to Bolivia and being tracked down and killed by the CIA and Bolivian Army.
And i would think that if the decision occurs early enough, there would be the political will to back it. Perhaps Cuba becomes a leader in sattelite lauching or something. Anyone have any plausable or possible reasons ideas for this to happen.

 

[Leo Caesius]

The Soviets did invite the Syrians into space. They told Hafez al-Asad to provide three trained Cosmonauts, which he did - he found three guys living in Ma'lula, a small village in the Anti-Lebanon Mtns, who weren't even Arabs - they were Aramaeans (speakers of a modern dialect of Aramaic). Thus the first Syrians into space were, by design, the first Syrians (full stop).

 

[Brilliantlight]

The Soviets did invite the Syrians into space. They told Hafez al-Asad to provide three trained Cosmonauts, which he did - he found three guys living in Ma'lula, a small village in the Anti-Lebanon Mtns, who weren't even Arabs - they were Aramaeans (speakers of a modern dialect of Aramaic). Thus the first Syrians into space were, by design, the first Syrians (full stop).

Putting three Syrians in space via a Russian rocket is a lot cheaper then building the entire infastructure in Syria not talking about a country as far away as Cuba.

 

[Leo Caesius]

You're just a contrarian by nature, aren't you?

Putting three Syrians in space via a Russian rocket is a lot cheaper then building the entire infastructure in Syria not talking about a country as far away as Cuba.

Well, I'm fairly certain that Cuba would provide a much better location for a space program than Syria. Our own space program is not located too far from Cuba. The Russians were attempting to install missle silos there, and I don't imagine that a functional rocket pad would be too much more of a stretch.

Incidentally, islands (particularly those near the equator) make for good locations for missle ranges and rocket programs. We ourselves have missle ranges in Hawaii, on Wake Island, in the Marshall Islands, and so on. The Russians don't have the benefits of owning such islands.

 

[Brilliantlight]

Well, I'm fairly certain that Cuba would provide a much better location for a space program than Syria. Our own space program is not located too far from Cuba. The Russians were attempting to install missle silos there, and I don't imagine that a functional rocket pad would be too much more of a stretch.

Incidentally, islands (particularly those near the equator) make for good locations for missle ranges and rocket programs. We ourselves have missle ranges in Hawaii, on Wake Island, in the Marshall Islands, and so on. The Russians don't have the benefits of owning such islands.

The problem is shipping all the equipment and infastruture to Cuba, it is a long way from Russia. Space flight is even more complicated then short ranged missles and so needs even more infastructure.

 

[stephen_dean]

Perhaps the Cuban missile crisis is just what i need for this. Instead have the soviets explain that the launch pads are for space rockets, or something like that, and since they have said its for this sort of thing, the USA is faced with a new crisis. I think at such an early stage, you could have a while, 40+ years, for Cuba to advance into space flight. As far as logistics, you have ships going back and force for the troops stationed there, the sugar send to the USSR, and all the free equipment that the soviets showered on the Cubans in OTL. I think the capacity is there. So how would a lack of the Missle crisis, or altering it to the Cuban Sattellite crisis or something. Comments or conjecture welcome.

 

[Norman]

The problem is that a space program is expensive, and Cuba can barely feed its own people.

So to do this you have to have a better economy, which, unfortunately, demands some sort of free market and includes allowing wealth to be amassed by innovators and entrepreuers.

On the other hand, what if Fidel offers Cuban facilities to the European Space Program - Gratis. Then cooperates to such an extent that it becomes the space equivilant to Hong Kong?

 

[stephen_dean]

So post fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba's goverment is going to tell the EU that it can use its existing facilities and its personel for some trade concessions, Support against its Northern antagonist, and some other fringe benefits. Combined with Cuba's bio-tec and medical industry, Cuba is certainly doing better than our timeline. One catch here is that i want it to remain at least modestly Communsit, or at least as Socialist as possible.
So its 2003, what does Cuba look like compared to OTL Cuba?

a larger presence of Europeans, of course, and more than just tourist.

Better kept infastructure, hard currency, and political support.

a couple sattellites and a plan to be on the moon by 2030 in some vehicle called the Gueverra?

 

[aktarian]

On the other hand, what if Fidel offers Cuban facilities to the European Space Program - Gratis. Then cooperates to such an extent that it becomes the space equivilant to Hong Kong?

Would Europeans go for it? Considering Guyana is nearby and already has facilities.

 

[stephen_dean]

Within the framework of the joint flights the candidates from Czechoslovakia, Poland and GDR (two people of each) arrived at the Center in December 1976. The candidates from Bulgaria, Hungary, Cuba, Mongolia, Romania joined them in March 1978 and in April 1979 Ц from Vietnam. Totally there were nine manned missions with the crewmembers from the mentioned above countries under the Intercosmos program. So there is a precedence of this sort of international Cooperation. Perhaps Cuba could involved itself with the Brazilian space program or something. So to make this more realistic, lets make the goal to have Cuba have alot of highly trained staff, and experienced cosmonaught, and some infastructure they could sell to the highest bidder. Kind of like the atomic scientist do today, at the very least they would have a pretty good idea on how to build missles. So perhaps Venezuela and the Cubans make a deal, expertise for oil, and hard currency from the brazilians. So the results are Cuba getting to be in the countries selling WMD or missle tecnology

 

[Robert Sullivan]

OK, I'll give you the benifit of a doubt, and say that Cuba does get a space program. After Cuba does this, wouldn't that become a major problem for Castro? The people want a way out of Cuba, so maybe they'd hijack the planes.

 

[stephen_dean]

do you mean the space planes? I do not see this as being a very effective way of getting out of cuba? could you clarify this a bit for me?