To The Planets Beyond

For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond…..” - John F. Kennedy, Rice University Speech, 1962

Alright, so perhaps the DBWI was not perhaps the best idea to tease the timeline, but meh. Whatever. Time to get this show (or timeline) on the road. Welcome to To The Planets Beyond!

Chapter 1: Beginnings (Part I)

"Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine by Norbert Wiener was considered by many to be the inventor of modern computer science, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, servomechanisms and reliable communications. This was especially true not only in the West, but in the Soviet Union as well. When the book was first published back in 1948, Stalin had the opportunity to read the First Edition, although in the months that followed, various factions emerged and when TIME Magazine published its cover story on the Harvard Mark III computer in January 23rd, 1950, Boris Agapov, whom later published a work condemning the scientific field, was removed from his post and replaced by a pro-cybernetics science editor: Petia Nikolaev. Of course, Agapov's article would be removed, and Stalin would use the Literarturnaya Gazeta as a tool to help expand Soviet technological innovations. Had Agapov not been removed, the USSR would have had stagnated, and this decision by Stalin is considered by many historians to be one of the few good things the USSR would have under his rule." - Cybernetics in the USSR; Chapter 2: Early History

"To many historians, President Kennedy's "We Choose to go the Moon" Speech is considered one of the most ironic speeches in human history. However, it also considered to be the speech that ushered in humanity's expansion into the Solar System. After Kennedy had given his speech, it became the front-page news of the American media at the time. The USSR, shortly after this speech became concerned of losing its technological advantage to the Americans, and as a result: Khrushchev turned to the OKB-1 Design Bureau of the Soviet Space Program, and Sergei Korolev, already working on what would become the N1 rocket. This was a rocket that would be the most powerful rocket ever built, with a 75 tonne payload capability and over 24 NK-15 engines (which were unreliable at the time), and 33,927.50 kN of thrust. Khrushchev allowed Korolev to provide time to develop the 75 tonne version of the N1, which was originally designed to be a sort of super-ICBM, now turned into the launch vehicle that would send the Soviet Union to the Moon....." - Kennedy's Legacy in the Modern World, Chapter 4: Space Exploration

Hopefully this does well. :/
 
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Been looking forward to this for a bit. :D

Just out of curiosity, what happened with Agapov OTL?

I have no bloody idea, because apparently, information on the topic is vague at best. How the Computer Got Its Revenge on the USSR

That is how I even knew about Agapov in the first place.

The Soviets with better computers ? it should help the N-1 a bit (guidance system come to mind)

I concur. Just wait until the next few portions of the timeline..... :p
 
Well, time to start the next part of Chapter I.

Chapter I: Beginnings (Part II)

Ever since man first left the planet with the launch of Sputnik 1, the Space Race has influenced the course of human history. From Yuri Gagarin becoming the first human into space to the expansion of humanity beyond Earth at the start of this century, the Space Race changed the course of history and our knowledge of the Universe. Shortly after Sputnik 1, we sent the first mammals into space. We sent the first human into space a few years later, and the world changed forever.

Of course, behind the scenes, there are always those that plan out mission profiles, design the vehicles to get up there and more importantly, make the concepts become reality. The two most famous of their time were Chief Designer Sergei Korolev and Dr. Wernher Von Braun. Sergei Korolev with his N1 rocket and Dr. Von Braun with his Saturn V rocket, both with the intention to reach the Moon. Von Braun began his design first back in 1958 when NASA first began as an organisation. Korolev had his time much more strained in comparison, but also the more powerful rocket in terms of thrust.

With the race to the Moon on, the various methods to reach the Moon emerged from the American Apollo program to the Soyuz program of the USSR, with the latter's respective versions being already in place. What most people think of today when they hear of the Soyuz program is the variant known as the Soyuz 7K-LOK, which of course, was not the first Soyuz spacecraft to leave the Earth's atmosphere. It was the Soyuz 7K-OK that became the first Soyuz variant to leave Earth's atmosphere, and become a successful mission. Of course, months prior to this, Alexei Leonov already made the first of his life's achievements: become the first man to conduct an EVA operation in LEO. This, combined with the successful test of the Soyuz 7K-OK in the Soyuz 1 mission, using a Soyuz rocket to lift it into LEO, set the stage for things to come. The subsequent Soyuz missions conducted a manned orbital docking procedure successfully, although by then, the Gemini 8 mission already beat the USSR to that.

NASA's Apollo program meanwhile suffered a setback. The Apollo 1 mission launched, but a problem with the second stage (which caused the spacecraft lose roll control 4 minutes into the flight) forced the astronauts to eject. They all came back in one piece, but the event was an embarrassment to NASA, who delayed the Apollo 2 and 3 missions for a while to check the problems with the second stage, and 4 through 6 are made unmanned and also delayed.

The year prior, though, Chief Designer Sergei Korolev had passed away due to health issues. However, between Vasily Mishin and Valentin Glushko to take over, one had to be selected. It was then decided to integrate the multiple Design Bureaus into a single bureau, which became N.P.O. Energia, now led by Valentin Glushko. Although he was not comfortable with the use of Korolev's N1 rocket, he knew that the risks of losing the Moon Race were too high to be permitted, so he made the choice to check the NK-15 engines for reliability. As a result, these engines were upgraded and made reliable enough to send a few N1 missions beyond Earth. In the meantime, though, Soyuz missions 4 through 5 began conducting tests of the LK Lander in LEO, and by the next year, testing of the Block G and Block D stages for a Lunar orbit would be in place...... [1]

[1] To clarify, the NK-15 ATL Upgrades are basically making the engines reliable on the level of the OTL NK-33 engines. So, yes. :p

Stay tuned for Chapter 2, and prepare your spacesuits for a time you are not going to forget for a long time!
 
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