Let's say WWII goes differently. Germany conquers the Soviet Union (but still can't crack the British Isles), while America still beats Japan in the Pacific.
In this scenario, how would the Space Race proceed during an Axis Cold War?
I predict that Wernher von Braun will stay in Germany, while Sergey Korolev will manage to escape to the United States in the confusion and spearhead their rocketry efforts. The Germans will have a bit of a headstart since they still have their V-2 missiles, though it stands to reason that the CIA or MI6 could steal a copy the plans, and if not that, a defector will bring the plans with him.
In my prediction, the Germans, having conquered the USSR, use Baikonur as their launch site, while the United States still uses Cape Canaveral. Since the two lead rocketry scientists are now on opposite sides, I couldn't predict what the early rockets would look like, though I do predict that, for Germany, later rockets, spacecraft, satellites, and probes would look closer to the Soviet and Russian rockets in OTL. Same with the American space program (ie Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo would still happen).
I predict that the Space Race will end the same way as it did in OTL: Apollo 11 lands in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969. The first man on the moon depends on whether or not the Apollo 1 fire (or a similar incident) occurs. If it did, Neil Armstrong is still the first man on the moon. If not, Gus Grissom is (Deke Slayton did say that he would have been first had the fire not occurred).
After that, though, the Germans are very persistant in developing space weaponry, and they manage to land a man on the moon in 1971. After Germany launches a space station in lunar orbit, America responds by continuing the Apollo program, launching Lunarlab and building a lunar base. In the 1980s, America launches the SDI program, which includes the Space Shuttle (originally intended to supplant Apollo, but ultimately becoming a support craft), Space Station Freedom, and multiple "space guns" that can intercept ICBMs. Rumors also crop up that the United States has launched a classified space station called the "Manned Weapons Platform", which allegedly carries reentry vehicles, and was launched for pinpoint strikes that can't be easily intercepted.
How do you think the Space Race would go in an Axis Cold War?
In this scenario, how would the Space Race proceed during an Axis Cold War?
I predict that Wernher von Braun will stay in Germany, while Sergey Korolev will manage to escape to the United States in the confusion and spearhead their rocketry efforts. The Germans will have a bit of a headstart since they still have their V-2 missiles, though it stands to reason that the CIA or MI6 could steal a copy the plans, and if not that, a defector will bring the plans with him.
In my prediction, the Germans, having conquered the USSR, use Baikonur as their launch site, while the United States still uses Cape Canaveral. Since the two lead rocketry scientists are now on opposite sides, I couldn't predict what the early rockets would look like, though I do predict that, for Germany, later rockets, spacecraft, satellites, and probes would look closer to the Soviet and Russian rockets in OTL. Same with the American space program (ie Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo would still happen).
I predict that the Space Race will end the same way as it did in OTL: Apollo 11 lands in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969. The first man on the moon depends on whether or not the Apollo 1 fire (or a similar incident) occurs. If it did, Neil Armstrong is still the first man on the moon. If not, Gus Grissom is (Deke Slayton did say that he would have been first had the fire not occurred).
After that, though, the Germans are very persistant in developing space weaponry, and they manage to land a man on the moon in 1971. After Germany launches a space station in lunar orbit, America responds by continuing the Apollo program, launching Lunarlab and building a lunar base. In the 1980s, America launches the SDI program, which includes the Space Shuttle (originally intended to supplant Apollo, but ultimately becoming a support craft), Space Station Freedom, and multiple "space guns" that can intercept ICBMs. Rumors also crop up that the United States has launched a classified space station called the "Manned Weapons Platform", which allegedly carries reentry vehicles, and was launched for pinpoint strikes that can't be easily intercepted.
How do you think the Space Race would go in an Axis Cold War?