Jamestown crisis

* USA:
	+ Jonathan Gatos
	+ Vance Paulson
	+ Gordo Stevens
	+ Tracy Stevens
	+ Sea Dragon 17

The **Jamestown crisis** was a diplomatic crisis between the Soviet Union and the United States over an incident at a mining site on the Moon, which later culminated with a Soviet lunar blockade and an armed attack on the American Jamestown base at Shackleton Crater by cosmonauts. It took place between May and September 1983 and led the two superpowers to the brink of a nuclear war.

## History

### Origins

The crisis took its roots when the Soviet Union learned about the assumed presence of huge amounts of lithiumW at a mining site designated 357/Bravo thanks to a listening device hidden inside the Jamestown base a decade earlier. The site itself was first claimed by the United States on May 21, 1983, but was taken by Soviet cosmonauts only a few days later. In response, the White House instantly ordered to take the site back. This lead to the building of the Moon Marines, the first armed forces in space under the command of Colonel Vance Paulson, which were ready to be sent to the Moon by August 1983 with the mission to retake and secure 357/Bravo and other American assets.

On Earth, the destruction of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, which killed NASA Administrator Thomas Paine and an US Congressman, increased tensions between the US and the USSR and prompted President Reagan to move up the assault. Since Moon Marine Charles Bernitz was not ready to pilot the LSAM on his own yet, it was Tracy Stevens who served as pilot. As soon as the marines dropped on them, the cosmonauts immediately fell back, resulting in a total U.S. victory.

### Incident at 357/Bravo

During a relief of patrol at 357/Bravo, Moon Marine Jason Wilhelm noticed movement on a ridge near the mining site. Colonel Paulson, Major Helena Webster, and Lieutenant Colonel Steven Lopez went to investigate. They discovered two Soviet cosmonauts with crates of material. With Lopez covering them, Webster and Paulson advanced towards the cosmonauts and Webster recited in Russian a pre-written message, which claimed the site as US territory and ordering the Soviets to fall back.

The cosmonauts then walked toward a crate, opening it and searching in it. Thinking they were reaching for weapons, Webster and Paulson fired on them. In doing so, they accidently triggered a fire inside Ilya Yozhkin's suit, burning him to death alive, and wounded Rolan Baranov. When the marines later looked into the crate, they discovered that the cosmonautes weren't rearching for weapons, but for a cheatsheet to communicate with them. Both cosmonauts where brought back to Jamestown.

### Escalation of tensions

On Earth, the incident caused a worldwide uproar, and the USSR demanded the return of it's cosmonauts. Colonel Viktor Tsukanov and Dr. Dimitri Mayakovsky were allowed to enter Jamestown to look after the two cosmonauts, berating the Americans for what they called an "uprovoked act of aggression". Mayakovsky reviewed briefly Baranov's condition who was lying in the infirmary without consciousness, and requested to prepare him for transportation. However, the station's physician, Dr. Kouri, did not allow a transport at that time as this would put Baranov's life on risk. Accordingly, they were then presented the remains of Ilya Yozhkin's burnt body, which they took back to their own base, Zvezda.

Later, Baranov finally woke up with Webster at his bedside, and asked for political asylum in the United States, which was granted by the US government. This worsened the tension with Moscow, who believed that the asylum was just a cover-up for an interrogation.

### Lunar Blockade

Under the pretense that *Sea Dragon 17* was carrying nuclear weapons to the Moon, Moscow decreed a blockade around the Moon lead by the Soviet armed space shuttle *Buran*. In response, NASA ordered their second generation shuttle *Pathfinder*, which was also armed some time before, to escort *Sea Dragon 17* and, if *Buran* tried to stop them, to destroy the Soviet shuttle.

The Kremlin warned the White House that the destruction of *Buran* would trigger a nuclear strike on the south of the United States, a warning that was met with the threat of complete extermination of the Soviet Union. The two shuttles came into a standoff while in the dark face of the Moon, worsened by the news of the Soviet attack on Jamestown.

### Attack on Jamestown

*Main article: Attack on Jamestown*
In response to the death of one of their comrades and what they thought to be the interrogation of the other, the crew of the Soviet base launched an attack on Jamestown, successfully taking the control room, disabling comms, and taking Colonel Alex Rossi hostage. They demanded Baranov's return in exchange of Rossi's safety. However, Jamestown crew was fairly certain that Rossi would be executed anyway, and decided to retake their station on their own.

Paulson and Lopez tried to take the Soviets by surprise with a flank attack, but on their way, they met Tracy and Gordo Stevens locked in the kitchen, who were able to warn Houston by reactivating an old disused comm array of Jamestown. The meeting was interrupted when a cosmonaut attacked the marines, executing Paulson and wounding Lopez, but he was killed by Webster, who brought back Lopez to safety.

However, the firefight damaged the control computer of the nuclear reactor coolant system, triggering a rise of the core temperature that, left unfixed, would lead to a nuclear meltdown and therefore would make Shackleton completely uninhabitable for at least a millenia.

### Resolution

The crisis was resolved thanks to Danielle Poole, commander of the American side of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program, and Stepan Alexseev, commander of the Soviet spacecraft. Indeed, while both Moscow and Washington ordered their respective crews to arbort the mission, both crews decided to ignore their orders and to proceed with the meeting. The worldwide diffusion of the handshake between Poole and Alexseev inspired the leaders of the two superpowers to try to find a peaceful resolution.

Meanwhile, on the dark side of the Moon, Admiral Ed Baldwin on *Pathfinder* finally shot its missiles, but directed them at the Sea Dragon instead of *Buran*, defusing the orbital part of the Jamestown crisis. In Jamestown itself, Tracy and Gordo Stevens used made-up space suits to get to the reactor controls hardware, which were at the outside face of the station hull, and connected the coolant system to the emergency control, which prevented the meltdown at the cost of their own lives. At the same time, the crew of Zvezda recieved the order from Moscow to withdraw from Jamestown and release their hostages.

### Aftermath

Back to Earth, Gordo and Tracy were buried with honour. Soon after Ronald Reagan met with Yuri Andropov for diplomatic negociation for defusing the tension between their two countries.

In 1984, US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Yuri Andropov signed the Lunar Peace Agreement, a bilateral treatyW to split up the Moon and its resources between the two countries.

## Gallery

Mining site 357/Bravo, taken by SovietsMoon Marines prepare for their missionMoon Marines arrive at JamestownMoon Marines on their way to retake the siteMoon Marines after retaking 357/BravoCosmonauts shot by Moon Marines2 cosmonauts visit JamestownThe burnt body of cosmonaut Ilya YozhkinCosmonaut attacks JamestownCosmonauts enter JamestownAlex Rossi kept hostage by SovietsHelena Webster inside Jamestown*Pathfinder* escorting *Sea Dragon 17**Sea Dragon* and *Pathfinder* in lunar orbitThe crew of the *Buran**Pathfinder* preparing its missilesThe missiles are firedSoviet cosmonauts leave JamestownDead bodies of Gordo + Tracy StevensThe famous handshake in spaceHandshake seen by Ronald ReaganPresident Reagan arrives in MoscowReagan meets with Andropov
## See also

* Attack on Jamestown
* Cold War

## References

1. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 1: "Every Little Thing"
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 3: "Rules of Engagement"
3. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 5: "The Weight"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 7: "Don't Be Cruel"
5. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 8: "And Here's to You"
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 9: "Triage"
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2, Episode 10: "The Grey"
8. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 2 (Episodes 9 + 10)
9. ↑ *For All Mankind* TV Series - Season 3, Episode 1: "Polaris" (press review)