recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
MS-IIIC-2-R

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Launch History

### First flight

2006

The **MS-IIIC-2-R** is a variant of the MS-IIIC-2, but with a detachable thrust structure and recovery hardware implemented.

## Design and recovery:

The thrust structure is split into 2 parts.

The bottom part contains the engines and most of the structural members that distribute the point thrust of the engines.

The top part is permanently attached to the RP-1 tank, and is not reused.

Connecting the 2 parts is a stiffened structural ring that is bolted to the inside of both the top and bottom parts of the thrust structure.

When the separation signal is given, a linear shaped charge severs the connecting ring in the middle. Retrorockets located on the outside of the thrust structure wall then fire, separating the top and bottom parts and exposing the inflatable shield / flotation device.

Two doors in the bottom of the thrust structure and the heatshield) are jettisoned allowing the parachutes to deploy and arrest the fall.

The flotation device is quite wide, to prevent the top-heavy thrust structure from tipping over.
Kennedy Space Center/Vehicle Assembly Building 2

The **Vehicle Assembly Building 2** (**VAB2**) is a large rocket assembly facility located at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.

## Construction:

Construction started in 1973 and the building was operational by 1975, with some finishing work lasting well into 1977. First rockets rolled out of VAB2 while it was still being worked on, mostly on the outside.

## Design:

The building has 2 high bays in a back-to-back layout, and a large storage/preparation area inside.

Main doors are 96 ft (29.26 m) wide.

Each of the high-bays is equipped with a 325 t crane on the ceiling.

## Part of:

Cape Canaveral

Vehicle Assembly Complex
RD-270K

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Performance

### Throttle

unknown

The **RD-270K** was a Soviet/Russian rocket engine development program at NPO Energomash.

It was developed directly from the RD-270 project. The engine ditches hypergolic propellants for Kerosene and Liquid Oxygen.

It was found promising, but scrapped due to lack of funding.
Apollo Applications Program

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Section Header

### End Date

?

Three years prior to the moon landing, in 1966, even before the first Saturn V rocket took to the skies, a group of NASA engineers working under the Apollo Applications Program have proposed that it could be used to launch a "once around" crewed mission to fly by Venus. The **Apollo Applications Program** was created as early as 1966, and studied the feasibility of using Apollo hardware for other peaceful science-based missions.

The AAP also studied how to increase the payload capacity of NASA's new rockets, as part of the Advanced Saturn study.
KatnisssSpaceProgram Wiki

Hey, I'm Katniss, and this is a wiki for my alternate history timeline project.

This project started as just a video I wanted to make in Kerbal Space Program, and gradually evolved into so much more...

As of 2022/09/16, the rough timeline reaches to around the year 2065.

## Purpose:

The purpose of this alternate history project is to establish a somewhat realistic-ish way to have human exploration of outer reaches of our solar system (and eventually interstellar space) happen. Also, it's fun to speculate and design things.

If you're new to this, keep in mind, this is not 100% accurate to the real studied proposals and some changes were made.

Timeline of my tinkerings in KSP https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YEjvPhaFXH6qqEtcRHIVakUY4BfFyAGY7Ozwt1gZOHc/edit

Style guide for editing: here

## Some links that might be hard to get to otherwise:

Rockets (not-launch vehicles)

**Launch Vehicles** (Rocket Families | Instances)

**Rocket Stages** (Stage Families)

**Rocket Engines** (Engine Families)

**Spacecraft**

* Space Telescopes
* Space Stations

**Surface Stations**

**Celestial Bodies**

* Stars
* Planets
* Planetoids
* Moons
* Asteroids
* Comets

**Places**

**Spaceflight programs**

**Development Programs**

**People**

**Organizations**

* Agencies
* Manufacturers

### Miscellaneous:

* Mobile Launcher
* Proposals
* Non-Canon

## Rough chronological order:

☭ Vostok Program

🇺🇸 Mercury Program

☭ Soyuz Program

🇺🇸 Gemini Program

🇺🇸 Apollo Program

☭ Zapad Program (Soviet Moon Landing)

🇺🇸 Skylab Program

☭ Mars Program (Soviet Mars Landing)

🇺🇸 Othrys Program

☭ Yupiter Program (Soviet Jupiter Landing)

🇺🇸 Coelus Program

🇺🇸, 🇷🇺 Russo-American expedition to Neptune Arion\_Program Neptun\_Program

International Space Station

International Lunar Station

International robotic expedition to Pluto

International Lunar Surface Station

International robotic expedition to Sedna

International robotic expedition to Oumuamua

International Asteroid Mining Outpost

International Mars Station

International Mars Base

International robotic expedition to Proxima Centauri

International robotic expedition to Luhman 16

International robotic expedition to Sirius

International colonization of Proxima Centauri b
Interstellar

The first interstellar ships would likely be built at the orbital construction yard and weigh upwards of 10000 tons.

## Crewed:

First we launch smaller and faster single-generational ships. They will arrive to a prepared infrastructure set up by robotic probes.

After we have established presence and better technology, and more resources to spare, we can start constructing large multi-generational ships. Those ships will carry out 2-way trips (likely with refuelling at the destination).
RL-10A-3-1

The **RL-10A-3-1** is an American rocket engine, manufactured by Pratt and Whitney.

The quest for higher impulse efficiency continued with the introduction of the RL-10A-3-1. The injector was modified for improved combustion efficiency, and steady-state propellant use reduction (as a result of improved seals and reduced gearbox coolant flow) raised specific impulse to 433 s.
Neptune Landing System

## NLSTS

The **Neptune Landing System** consists of two parts - the Lander and the Transfer Stage.

It's correct to call both just the lander, but also the entire combined system "NLS".

## NLS:

The NLS (Neptune Landing System) is powered by the NLSE engine - a derivative of the Lunar Module Descent Engine.

It's powered by batteries and 3 redundant fuel cells.

It also has enough room, and Delta-V to bring 2000 kg of scientific equipment to the surface of Triton, even more for the other moons.

## NLSTS:

The NLSTS (Neptune Landing System Transfer Stage) is powered by two RL-10A-4-3-3P engines.

It has batteries and a large array of fuel cells. The fuel cells can be fed with propellant from the 2 main tanks via a special pump.
Series 10000 Aluminum Alloys

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

The **Series 10000 Aluminum Alloys**, are a special category of mostly aerospace aluminum specifically composed to be smelted from lunar materials, on the surface of the moon.
Coelus Program Ship

The ship used in Coelus Program.

## Design:

The layout and basic design was very similar to the Othrys Program Ship, with the ship made up of three main sections:

* Uranus Orbital Module (UOM)
* Landing System (LS)
* Transfer Stage (TS)

Uranus Orbital Module consisted of Uranus Insertion Stage, Uranus Escape Stage, Fuel Module, and Habitation Module.

### Transfer Stage (TS):

By far the biggest and heaviest part of the ship. It was used to send the 1,300 ton Uranus Orbital Module on a trajectory towards Uranus.

It consisted of the Transfer Stage Common Core, and 6 Transfer Stage Common Boosters mounted around it.

### Uranus Insertion Stage:

This stage was used to perform a course correction burn, as well as the three burns that put the entire spacecraft into orbit around planet Uranus.

It also housed the solar array experiment.

### Uranus Escape Stage:

This stage was used to escape the Uranus' gravity well and return back to Earth. It was jettisoned shortly after the maneuver.

### Fuel Module:

Fuel module stored extra liquid hudrogen and liquid oxygen for the Multibody Transfer System, as well as extra fuel and oxidizer for the Multibody Lander.

It consisted of 2 primary fuel tanks (one for each Lqd. Hydrogen and Lqd. Oxygen) and 4 smaller tanks between them (covered up by the skin), holding the hypergolic fuel and oxidizer for the lander. The inner space was filled with inert insulation in case of a leak.

### Habitation Module:

Habitation module contained pressurised living space for the astronauts, as well as a small nuclear reactor.

The reactor was positioned in the uppermost part of the hab. It could supply around 10 kW of power to the habitat, and other external systems.

### Multibody Lander & Multibody Transfer System:

Multibody Lander was used to land on the five main moons of Uranus.

Multibody Transfer System was used to ferry the Multibody Lander between the moons and the UOM's parking orbit. It's also where the auxiliary habitat was. Astronauts stayed here for the duration of the transfers.

## Trivia:

The inclusion of solar panels was viewed by many as odd, seeing how they'd have little to no effect on the electricity generation past the orbit of Jupiter. However, they were primarily there to see how solar arrays bahaved after prolonged exposure to deep space.
Baikonur Cosmodrome/Site 110

The **Site 110**, at Baikonur Cosmodrome, is a spacecraft launch facility.

Completed in December 1968, the complex consists of 2 pads. The west (left) pad (110/37), and the east (right) pad (110/38).

The launch complex was originally designed to handle both N1 and UR-700 rockets.

It was modified to handle the UR-700K, and later, UUR-700.
Cronus 3

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Stages

### Stage 2

Reentry Vehicle

The **RLS Cronus Block 3** (RLS - Reusable Launch System, also known as simply **Cronus 3**) is an international launch vehicle, developed in the late 2020s onwards.

It is the first fully reusable launch vehicle to ever fly.

## Design:

The Cronus 3 rocket is a 2-stage launch vehicle, consisting of a Booster and a "Reentry Vehicle".

The Booster is used to loft the RV high and fast, using its powerful engines, after which it returns to the launch site and lands on its launch mount, using lasers for terminal guidance.

The Reentry Vehicle lands sideways on extendable legs, using 2 parachutes and retro motors. It is then lifted by a gantry and placed on the Booster, ready for another flight.

## Landing:

### Booster:

The first stage lands back on the launch mount it took off from. To do that, it performs a boostback burn with one or more of its RO-21 engines, and then uses grid fins to put itself on the correct trajectory. Once it's around 2 kilometers from the pad, and falling almost vertically, the 2 laser receivers located near the bottom of the booster activate and begin searching for the guidance lasers. They lock onto the beams and use them to precisely steer the booster towards the landing area.

The booster has to be guided precisely from the start, as the lasers have a very limited angle.

This system can achieve average precision within 5 centimeters.

After landing, the interface is shaped in such a way as to automatically center the booster on the mount. 6 bolts then come out and rotate in place, locking the booster to the launch mount.

The landing has rain/fog costraints, as well as if the wind is too gusty it can blow the booster off course.

### Reentry Vehicle:

The RV first reenters the atmosphere, just like any other spacecraft, using its ceramic/carbon heatshield and large surface area to slow down. It comes in at around 60-90 degrees angle of attack. It uses 4 large flaps to steer and align itself with its landing area, which is just in front of the launchpad, on the crawlerway. After it has slowed down to a safe speed it deploys 2 parachutes, which both stabilize it further and slow it down. Further retrorockets pointed down fire to perform a propulsive landing at the designated location.

After it has landed a gantry parked on the opposite side rolls over it, lifts it up and transports it either on a crawler transporter or on top of the booster. Depending on the circumstances.

If it was lifted on the booster, after that a mobile servicing structure is rotated into place to service the landing legs and heatshield, and make sure the ship is safe for flight.

## See Also:

Cronus 1

Cronus 2
Arion Hypergolic Propulsion Module

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Launch History

### N.o. flights

>= 3

The **Arion Hypergolic Propulsion Module (AHPM)** is a large American spacecraft that was used in the Arion program to rendezvous and stationkeep the pieces of the Neptune ship.

## Development:

Initially, two variants of the then called "**Arion Maneuvering Module**" were planned. Smaller, with 27.5 m3 of fuel and 2 engines, and larger, with 55 m3 of fuel and 4 engines.

As the design of the mission was narrowed down, the plans for the bigger variant were completely scrapped, and the smaller one was scaled down further, with 22 cubic meters of fuel held in 4 primary spherical tanks for propulsion, and 4 smaller tanks for reaction control. The smaller tanks had elastic bladders inside them, and were not subject to ullage.

## Design:

The spacecraft has a total of 16 R-4D RCS thrusters, 2 AJ-10/165 engines for propulsion.

It connect to other vessels using one of 2 docking systems - either an Arion Docking System (without electrical interface). Or a larger (6.6 m) International Large Docking System (with electrical interface). This was used during the Russian launches to maneuver the NOM Reactor and Docking modules.

The total wet mass of the spacecraft is around 30 tons.

The AHPM has onboard batteries with a relatively large storage capacity, so that it can power itself as well as its cargo.
S-IC

The **S-IC** was an American rocket stage built by Boeing at the Michoud Assembly Facility.

It was the first stage of the Saturn V launcher.

### Forward Skirt:

The Forward Skirt is 33 ft (10.06 m) in diameter and 121 in (3.07 m) tall.

It accomodates the forward umbilical plate, electrical canisters, and vents for the LOX tank.

Around the forward skirt, there are 216 externally mounted stringers, spaced 5 3/4 in (14.6 cm) between the centers of neighboring stringers.

It's constructed out of 7076-T6 and 7079-T6 Aluminum Alloys.

### LOX Tank:

The aft dome is an ellipsoidal structure 137 in (3.47 m) tall. It's constructed from 2219 Aluminum Alloy.

At the bottom of the tank, there was a cruciform baffle designed to limit sloshing and swirling.

The two oxidizer fill and drain lines were 6 in (15.2 cm) in diameter.

The five oxidizer suction lines (delivering LOx to the engines) were 17 in (43.2 cm) in diameter.

### Intertank:

The Intertank is 22 ft (6.7 m) tall.

Around the Intertank, there are 112 stringers.

It's constructed out of 7076-T6 Aluminum Alloy.

### RP-1 Tank:

The RP-1 tank held 768,438 liters of Kerosene fuel.

It had 10 fuel suction lines (2 per engine).

It contained fuel conditioning system, which bubbled nitrogen (sourced from an umbilical connection) through the suction lines and up into the tank to mix the fuel and prevent temperature stratification.

### Thrust Structure:

The Thrust Structure is 19.5 ft (5.95 m) tall and weighs 46,000 lb (20,860 kg).

Around the Thrust Structure, there are 112 stringers.

It has mounting attachments to support 5 F-1 rocket engines. 4 outboard ones, arranged 90 degrees apart, on a 30 ft 4 in (364 in, 9.24 m) circle.

The Center Engine Support Assembly is a cross consisting of four stiffened beams mounted radially, 90 degrees apart, along vehicle position lines and mechanically mated at the center to the Center Engine Thrust Post. The beams are constructed of 7178 Aluminum Alloy and are each 3/8 inch thick by 78 inches high by 175 inches long. The Center Engine Thrust Post is constructed of forged 7079 Aluminum Alloy.

Conditioned air, provided by GSE, was circulated through the thrust structure and forward skirt to control the temperature of electrical components and to prevent accumulation of a potentially flammable or explosive atmosphere. About six hrs prior to launch dry nitrogen replaced air as the circulating medium; this removes any moisture and continues until launch and umbilical disconnect.
MS-IVN

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Performance

### Burn time

unknown

The **MS-IVN** is an American rocket stage powered by a single NERVA I nuclear thermal rocket engine.

It was flown once.

## Design:

The stage is a short and stubby 10.06 m wide stage. It's so short that the tank is almost a sphere/ellipsoid.
NERVA I

The **NERVA I** (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application) is an American nuclear thermal rocket engine.

It was the first nuclear thermal engine ever flown, and the only American nuclear thermal engine until the RO-51.

The engine weighed 10,110 kg, produced 334 kN of thrust, and had an Isp of 825 s.

It was flown once, as a viability demonstrator, but discontinued for environmental concerns.
Proposals/10.06 m S-IVB

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

The **10.06 m diameter S-IVB** was a proposal to increase the TLI payload capability of MLV Saturn Vs without increasing the height of the vehicle, and also preserving the wide 10 m payload fairing.

The design was about 6 meters shorter than the ordinary S-IVB and held some 30 cubic meters more propellant.
Hale Space Telescope

The **Hale Space Telescope** was originally built as a backup to the Hubble Space Telescope.

After Hubble was successfully launched into LEO, it was decided to launch the backup telescope too.

It was named after Hubble's mentor - George E. Hale.

It is very similar to Hubble, but has a few differences in instruments and construction.

Its primary mirror was built by Kodak.
SA-601

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

The **SA-601** Was the first flight article of the MLV Saturn V-23-L rocket.

The flight SA-601 (with SA standing not for Saturn-Apollo as previously, but for Saturn Applications, and later Saturn Advanced) lifted off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 on september 9th, 1975. This particular flight was solely focused on testing the new first stage and boosters, and as a result, the second and third stages were not used - the former replaced with a boilerplate, and the latter omitted completely. It didn't have a payload fairing either. Instead, a simple nosecone was manufactured just for this flight, and attached to the boilerplate S-II.

A 33 feet wide simplified instrument unit was placed as part of the S-II, in between the dummy stage and the nose, and was used to control the rocket during ascent. It lacked the full instrument suite, and only included the instruments necessary to control the first stage, and booster separation.

The first stage was a standard-length S-IC, which was strengthtened, and four 260 inch liquid fuelled boosters were attached around the outside. Additional thermal insulation was also added to the bottom of the rocket, to cope with the increased heat from 13 F-1 engines.

The test flight itself was successful, with the rocket performing as desired, but the ground infrastructure at LC-39 didn't have as much luck. The flame deflector was almost completely destroyed by the blast of the 13 F-1 engines, as were the walls of the flame trench. The Launch Umbilical Tower suffered heavy damage as well - mostly as a result of the plumes from the 2 inboard boosters impinging on the fuelling arms, with the first arm being completely ripped off.

After it was deemed safe, the Crawler Transporter was rolled to the pad, and brought the damaged tower back to its parking site, where it was repaired and strenghtened. Meanwhile the launchpad was also repaired and heavily reinforced. The walls clad with steel, and a bigger flame deflector was constructed. Weighing over 3 times as much as the original one.

The launch tower avoidance maneuver was modified, and the umbilical arms' design was changed as well.

the way the boosters attach to the core would change later, and the boosters themselves would be stretched too.
Snecma

**Snecma** (*Société nationale d'études et de construction de moteurs d'aviation*) or **Snecma Moteurs**, was a French aerospace engine manufacturer headquartered in Courcouronnes, a suburb of Paris, France.

In 2016 **Snecma** was renamed Safran Aircraft Engines and is now a subsidiary of Safran S. A.
Proxima Centauri c

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

**Proxima Centauri c** is a gas dwarf planet orbiting Proxima Centauri.

It has a mass of 7 *M*🜨 and orbits its host star with the period of 5.2787 Earth years.

Its radius is approximately 2 R🜨

And its surrounded by a ring system extending as far as 5 jupiter radii (around 25-30 times the radius of **Proxima c**)
Mobile Service Structure

The **Mobile Service Structure (MSS)** provides access to the Saturn family of launch vehicles while they are on the pad.

## Saturn V:

This part is a stub too.

Weighs ~4082 metric tons

During transit, the Transporter will carry the Mobile Service Structure by a second set of pickup points located on 90-foot center lines. The resuiting stress reversals are such that the Mobile Service Structure actually required designing a piece of ground support equipment that must meet two sets of circumstances.

There is one additional design criterion to define, mostly because it was unique in itself - personnel access. The requirements for matching certain specific points on the Mobile Launcher with points at the launch pad, indicated that the lowest basic working level (the base deck of the tower) would be 47 feet above the roadway. This meant devising an elevator which could be lowered to the ground and operated as a normal elevator, and then be raised into the structure for clearance when the Mobile Service Structure was in transit. This "elevator within an elevator" made it possible to carry men from the ground level up to the working deck. Once on the Mobile Service Structure, high rise elevators would carry them to the work platforms and fixed lower landings.

Design engineers developed a general tower configuration that consisted of eight tower sections, each approximately 44 feet high. The result was four parallel upright trusses approximately 355 feet high resting on a 22-foot deep base truss complex 130 feet square. Two lateral trusses were formed by the addition of bracing members across the front and rear planes of the tower.

The resulting tower and base structure consisted of 1458 members connected at 416 joints.

The tower's 5 relocatable work platforms range in weight between 50 000 and 250 000 lbs. (combined weight = 945,000 lbs) They are mounted on gear-tooth racks that run the full length of the platform support structure. The 2 movable platforms are powered by electric motors driving gears on the platforms and can move at speeds of 10 feet per minute. In addition, the fixed platforms are locked onto the racks, but can be repositioned with a system of cabies and sheaves using one of the self-propelled platforms as the motive power.

These platforms could not be added to the structure until the basic tower assembly had been completed.

Located in the base portion of the structure is a mechanical equipment room, an operations support room, a communications and TV room, and areas for equipment storage.

## MLV Saturn V:

The MSS for MLV Saturn Vs is modular, and platforms are movable. This was done so one MSS can service multiple MLV variants.

Early MLV Saturn V MSS's also contained additional hardware and a crane used to mount the side-boosters after the vehicle was rolled out of the VAB.
RL-10A-3-3

The **RL-10A-3-3** is an American rocket engine, manufactured by Pratt and Whitney.

For the RL-10A-3-3 model, the throat diameter was decreased, while maintaining the same inlet and exit diameters. In addition, the fuel turbopump impellers and turbine were redesigned for higher efficiency.

It flew on the Centaur D, first flight in 11.08.1965.
SA-701 pad explosion

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

An accident that happened in 1993.

SA-701 was the first MLV Saturn V-24-L to fly.

It exploded on the LC-39B after liftoff.

The Launch Complex 39B was completely levelled by the blast, the LC-39A received minor damage.
RL-10

The **RL-10** is an American rocket engine family. Designed and manufactured by Pratt & Whitney.

The following engines were designed (in chronological order):

RL-10A-1 - Flew only once (a pair of engines)

RL-10A-3

RL-10A-3-1

RL-10A-3-3

RL-10A-3-3A

RL-10A-3-3-1P - Version for the Othrys program

RL-10A-3-3-2P - Version for the Coelus program

RL-10A-4 (RL-10A-4N) - N version has a nozzle extension fitted.

RL-10A-4-1 (RL-10A-4-1N) - N version has a nozzle extension fitted.

RL-10A-4-3-3P - Version for the Russo-American expedition to Neptune

RL-10A-4-2 (RL-10A-4-2N) - N version has a nozzle extension fitted.

RL-10B-2 - has extendable nozzle.

RL-10B-2-1 - has extendable nozzle.
International Space Exploration Agency

The **International Space Exploration Agency (ISEA,** read: "I see"**)** is an international organization tasked with improving human life and exploring the vast swathes of the cosmos.

It was formed in 1989 by USA and Russia, to oversee their joint expedition to Neptune.

In 2001 it was joined by ESA.

Later it was also joined by JAXA.
MS-IVB-2

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Performance

### Engines

* 1x HG-3-2
* 2x Auxiliary Propulsion System

The **MS-IVB-2** is a stretched and more advanced version of the MS-IVB stage.

## Design:

The stage features lots of orange insulating foam.
Mir 2

The **Mir 2** was a space station launched by Russia in 1990s. It contained a large fuel depo, massing a total of 300t fully fuelled.

It was repurposed in the 2000s, with the new main purpose being a fuel station.

It contains tanks that can hold a maximum of 500t of liquid hydrogen, 600t of liquid oxygen, and 300t of kerosene.
F-1A (late)

Engine

## Development:

In the 1980s, the F-1A engine underwent a major overhaul and redesign.

The new engine was undergoing first static fires and testing in 1987, and was ready for use by the year 1990. With its first flight taking place in 1992. It was designed as a mostly drop-in replacement to the original F-1A.

## Design:

Many components were completely changed, simplified and construction was automated even further. The thrust chamber construction method was changed from brazed pipes, to channel wall. Plumbing was revised, and many internal components were modified to make use of advancements in materials science and manufacturing.

Further tweaks to the thrust chamber shape, injector design, and other also improved the sea level specific impulse by 4 seconds, from 269 to 273 s, while the vacuum Isp increased from 306 to 307.5 s. The nozzle was overall a little bit shorter and narrower than the original F-1A. The nozzle extension was integrated, and the gas generator exhaust was no longer used to cool it. Instead it was just dumped overboard.

The chamber pressure increased from 7.9 to 8.6 MPa. The flow of propellants to the engine was also slightly increased, by around 0.5%, but the inlet diameter remained the same.
MS-IIC

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Launch History

### First flight

1989

The **MS-IIC** is an American rocket stage developed and manufactured by Rockwell International.

A total of 16 were manufactured by Rockwell International at Michoud Assembly Facility between 1987 and 1990.

## Development:

This stage was designed as a replacement of the MS-II, enabling extra 70 tons to be put into low Earth orbit when used on the MLV Saturn V-24-L-MS.

The development of this stage started in 1972, initially being based off of the MS-II, but soon many unforseen difficulties in both manufacturing and design became apparent. The engineers decided to temporarily stop work on this stage and focus on the simpler (and heavier) MS-IIB instead.

The first MS-IIC test article was completed in 1985. And by that time, it had almost nothing in common with the original plans.

## Design:

The entire stage (including the forward and aft skirt, but excluding the thrust structure) is covered in spray-on foam insulation.

### Forward Skirt:

A cylindrical section reinforced by stringers, that's 33 ft (10.06 m) in diameter and approximately 3 m tall.

### Common Dome:

A honeycomb structure approximately 3.5 inches thick.

### Liquid Oxygen Tank:

It held 862 cubic meters of LOX and had an insulated LH2 fuel line going straight through it, similarly to the S-IC.

### Aft Skirt:

A cylindrical section reinforced by stringers, that's 33 ft (10.06 m) in diameter and approximately 3.2 m tall.

### Thrust Structure:

It was the most complicated part of the entire stage (excluding the engine itself).

It was an approximately 2.5 meters long and 7.5 meters in diameter, cone-shaped structure reinforced by stringers.

It was welded directly to the bottom of the Liquid Oxygen Tank.
F-1

The **F-1** was an American rocket engine manufactured by Rocketdyne at their Canoga facility, and used to power the Saturn III/IV and V.

## Development:

Test firings of F-1 components had been performed as early as 1957.

The first static firing of a full-stage developmental F-1 was performed in March 1959.

The first F-1 was delivered to NASA MSFC in October 1963. In December 1964, the F-1 completed flight rating tests. Testing continued at least through 1965.

Early tests revealed serious combustion instability problems with the engine. These problems were addressed from 1959 through 1961. Eventually, engine combustion was so stable, it would self-damp artificially induced instability within one-tenth of a second.

## Usage:

About 15 hours before launch, ground support personnel filled the thrust chamber tubes with an inert ethylene glycol solution that served to smooth out the starting combustion sequence.

At least 68 F-1 engines were flown.

## See Also:

F-1 (6.7 MN)

F-1 (6.77 MN)
Kennedy Space Center/Vehicle Assembly Building

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Assembly

### Maximum vehicle height

455 ft (138.9 m) (door height)398.5 ft (121.5 m) (above ML)

### Maximum n.o. vehicles

4

The **Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB, VAB1)** is a large rocket integration facility at Cape Canaveral.

## Construction:

In 1963, NASA contracted the Morrison-Knudsen company to design and build the VAB.

Construction began on Aug. 2, 1963. It was part of NASA's massive effort to send astronauts to the Moon for the Apollo program. The building was completed in 1966.

## Design:

The building consists of 4 large high-bays and a central Transfer Aisle between them.

Each of the 4 high-bays has a 250 t crane installed on the ceiling, and an additional 175 t crane is available to move stages within the transfer aisle.

## Overhaul:

In the years 1977 to 1985, the VAB1 underwent a major overhaul.

All four main high bays were widened by 20 ft - from 71 ft (21.6 m) to 91 ft (27.73 m), starting with high bay #2, then #3, #4, and #1.

These bigger doors enabled full assembly of the MLV Saturn V-23-L series to be done within the building. Previously the boosters had to be prepared either on the pad or inside the VAB2.

## Part of:

Cape Canaveral

Vehicle Assembly Complex
Advanced Saturn Study

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Section Header

### End Date

?

The **"Advanced Saturn" study** was an American rocket development study and part of the Apollo Applications Program.

In late 1967, they put forth a list of proposals and recommendations for the Saturn rockets. One of them was to stretch and strenghten the propellant tanks of the first and second stages. The S-IC stage could be reliably stretched by up to 498 inches, with a 240 inch stretch being seen as the most promising, and the S-II could be stretched by additional 41 inches without needing to increase the thrust of its J-2 engines.

The F-1s however would have to be uprated to 1.8 Mlbf of thrust (those would later be called the F-1A) could get the payload of a 2-stage Low Earth Orbit Saturn V up to around 150-160 tons. A version with 3 stages could be used for Translunar flights, but it would be constrained by the fuel load of the S-IVB, since the S-II didn't have hardware for on-orbit restart or attitude control. The study proposed a version that would use the first two stages to put the S-IVB fully fuelled into orbit, where its engines would be ignited to perform Translunar Injection.

A possibility of adding boosters to the Saturn vehicles was also studied extensively. Many proposals were created, ranging from just using two already-existing UA1205s, to four enormous custom-built 260 inch liquid or solid fuelled booster pods, with a myriad of intermediate designs as well.

Another design created by the Advanced Saturn team was the Saturn III/IV. Named such because it was essentially a result of merging two different proposals created previously - the Saturn C-3 and C-4. It had its first flight on April 1, 1973, as Apollo 18. Six months before the liftoff of Apollo 19.

## See Also:

Saturn Launch Vehicle Improvement Program
HG-3-2

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Performance

### Throttle

unknown

The **HG-3-2** is an American rocket engine built by Rocketdyne.

Used on the Coelus Program.

Long duration capable and able to restart up to 5 times and up to 20 years between restarts.

## See Also:

HG-3-1

HG-3-3
Baikonur Cosmodrome/Site 112

The **Site 112**, at Baikonur Cosmodrome, is an assembly facility.

It consists of 4 main buildings

MIK-112, a final assembly and payload preparation facility, which contains 2 high bays and a clean room, among other rooms.

MIK-122B, which contains 2 more high bays for assembly and preparation of launch vehicles

Site 112A, a fuelling facility, originally built for the N1 rocket, later converted into another high bay for UR-700/900 launch vehicle.

A Vibration Test Stand, which is the tallest building at Baikonur.
MS-IX

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Launch History

### First flight

2007

The **MS-IX** (pronounced "ms-nine") is an American advanced rocket stage, used on the MLV Saturn V-29-L rocket.

## Design:

The stage consists of a single giant fuel tank, forward and aft skirt, a thrust structure, and 9 RO-51 nuclear thermal rocket engines.
SE-9-1

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Performance

### Throttle

100%

The **Rocketdyne SE-9-1** is a bipropellant pressure fed rocket motor manufactured by Rocketdyne.

It's mostly used as ullage and attitude control thruster for big spacecraft.
R-4D

The **R-4D** is a small American rocket engine. It's predominantly used as an RCS thruster.

**R-4D (Apollo)**

* exit diameter: 13.9 cm
* thrust: 0.44 kN
* nozzle made out of molybdenum (?)

**R-4D-11 (164:1)**

* mass: 3.76 kg
* thrust: 0.49 kN
* Isp: 311 s
* chamber pressure: 7.45 Bar
* mixture ratio: MMH+MON3 1.65
* diameter: 27.9 cm

**R-4D-11 (300:1)**

* mass: 4.31 kg
* thrust: 0.49 kN
* Isp: 315.5 s
* chamber pressure: 7.45 Bar
* mixture ratio: MMH+MON3 1.65
* diameter: 37.7 cm

**R-4D-15 (HiPAT) (300:1)**

* mass: 5.2 kg
* thrust: 0.45 kN
* Isp: 326 s
* chamber pressure: 9.4 Bar
* mixture ratio: MMH+MON3 1.65
* diameter: 32.5 cm

**R-4D-15 (HiPAT) (375:1)**

* Mass: 5.44 kg
* thrust: 0.45 kN
* Isp: 329 s
* chamber pressure: 9.4 Bar
* mixture ratio: MMH+MON3 1.65
* diameter: 36.2 cm
Manned Titan Lander

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Performance

### Delta V (total)

>6,000 m/s

The **Manned Titan Lander (MTL)** was a spacecraft used in the Othrys Program to land humans on Titan, Rhea and Iapetus.

## Design:

The lander consisted of two parts. The lower Titan Ascent Stage, and an **upper stage**, that was also a fully functional lander in itself.

The crew module was based off of a lightened Apollo Capsule, due to time constraints.

### Upper Stage

The upper stage of the MTL was used to land on Rhea and Iapetus. It was powered by 2 LMDE-derived engines

### Titan Ascent Stage:

Titan required additional help from the ascent stage to get out of the thick atmosphere. It was powered by a "Titan Ascent Engine".

The Titan Ascent stage also contained parachutes (located in the shroud surrounding the Upper Stage), a detachable heatshield, and additional landing legs and ladders.

The heatshield also had solid rocket motor separation assist, which was thought necessary due to Titan's thick atmosphere and the large drag created by the shield.
Gemini Program

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

The **Gemini Program** was NASA's second human spaceflight program. It started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini Spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew.

Gemini's objective was the development of technology, procedures, and systems to support the Apollo missions to the Moon.

In 1964 and 1965, two Gemini missions were flown without crews to test systems and the heat shield. These were followed by 10 flights with crews in 1965 and 1966. All launched by the Titan II GLV rocket.

Gemini 1 - uncrewed

Gemini 2 - uncrewed

Gemini 3

Gemini 4 (LC-19)

Gemini 5

Gemini 6

Gemini 7

Gemini 8

Gemini 9

Gemini 10

Gemini 11

Gemini 12
UR-700

The **UR-700** (GRAU: 8K86) is a Soviet super-heavy launch vehicle.

## Development:

The development of this rocket started in parallel with the Korolev's N1 launcher.

The N1 was found more promising, and the work on UR-700 was halted.

After the first N1 exploded mid-flight, Chelomei was allowed to resume work on his rocket.

After the N1 failed 4 times, the focus was again on the UR-700.

## Usage:

This rocket was used to land cosmonauts on the surface of the Moon.

It launched 3 times for the lunar program, before Soviets moved on to landing on Mars.

## See Also:

N1

UR-900A
General Dynamics

**General Dynamics** was an American aerospace and defence corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

## History:

General Dynamics traces its ancestry to John Philip Holland's Holland Torpedo Boat Company. In 1899, Isaac Rice bought the company from Holland and renamed it **Electric Boat Company**.

Aircraft production became increasingly important at Canadair, and Hopkins argued that the name "Electric Boat" was no longer appropriate, so Electric Boat was reorganized as **General Dynamics** on 24 April 1952.
RO-11

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Performance

### Throttle

60% - 100%

The **RO-11** is an oxidizer-rich staged combustion Kerosene/Liquid Oxygen rocket engine developed jointly by USA and Russia in 1990s.

It's manufactured by Rocketdyne (later Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, and Aerojet Rocketdyne) in the USA, and by NPO Energomash in Russia.

## Development:

The idea to build a staged-combustion derivative of the F-1 engine in the United States can be traced to as far back as 1975, to the project that would eventually result in modernization of the F-1A to the F-1A (late) (a.k.a. F-1A-CW).

The Soviet Union on the other hand, already had a working staged combustion engine of comparable thrust - the RD-270. The only caveat - it was running on hypergolics.

Later, in early 1980s, they had a program to develop a version running on Kerosene and Oxygen - the RD-270K.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1987, talks between the US and Russia on space exploration took on a new level of seriousness. The Russians had expertise in building large staged-combustion rocket engines, and the Americans had experience with kerosene and oxygen propellants. Together, it was decided that a new, cutting-edge engine would be developed for use by both nations. The result of this collaboration was the RO-11 engine.

The RO-11 used a new "international" designation scheme - the RO scheme, named after the initials of its creator. The first '1' stoof for a kerosene/oxygen propellants, and the second '1' was because it was the first engine of that category.

## Design:

The RO-11 features a completely new turbopump assembly, new combustion chamber and injector, and a nozzle adapted from the F-1A (late), but shorter and narrower, with smaller throat.

It uses an oxidizer-rich staged combustion power cycle.

The powerhead assembly, which houses the turbine and pumps, is covered by a sheet of insulation and bolted to a framework of beams and struts. This protection is necessary due to the intense heat generated by 5 or more of these engines that are clustered on many first stages.

The gimbal mount and gimbal actuators were initially designed so that the engine would fit on the MS-IC stage, but soon it became clear that the mount would require strenghtening, due to the extra thrust of the RO-11. It also uses a different mixture ratio, rendering all the existing tankage all but useless. Despite this, the arrangement persisted.

## RO-12:

The russians adapted this engine further, to use their Liquid Fluorine/Liquid Oxygen mix instead of just Liquid Oxygen. This modified engine was called RO-12.

## See Also:

F-1

F-1A

RD-270

RD-270K
Halberd Infantry

EvDigg's Thoughts:

These are fairly indistinguishable from similar entry-level melee troops in other civilizations. They're cheap, but they won't do a whole lot of damage, they have minimal health and defense, and their speed of 5 means they won't be attacking until after most other troops (or they may be dead before they get a chance to attack).

Personally I don't see much use for these and similar entry-level melee troops, even if they are upgraded, other than as meat shields used to slow down the advance of enemy troops.
MS-IC-LFB

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Performance

### Engines

* 2x F-1A
OR
2x F-1A-CW

## Performance

### Engines

* 2x F-1A
OR
2x F-1A-CW

### Burn time

153 s

The **MS-IC-LFB** (also referred to as *Saturn V Booster*, or *MS-IC Booster, LFB stands for Liquid Fuelled Booster*) was an American liquid fuelled rocket booster designed for the Saturn V rocket.

The boosters were manufactured by Boeing inside NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility.

Can be mounted to the strenghtened MS-IC-240, and MS-IC-337 stages. The basic S-IC doesn't have the structural interfaces nor the strength required.

## Development:

The first design of the booster had oxidizer lines running on the outside of the tank - to increase propellant load. However, this caused problems with propellant not feeling properly. No boosters of this design were flown, although two of them that were manufactured underwent static firing tests.

All subsequent and production boosters had their LOX lines running through the RP-1 tank, similarly to the S-IC, and S-IC-derived stages.

## Design:

The booster's design is similar to the MS-IC core stage. This was done on purpose, to minimize costs.

The booster has 3 variants:

* MS-IC-LFB-240
* MS-IC-LFB-337
* MS-IC-LFB-2

The first two only differ in the length of the forward skirt, which holds the forward mounting interface. The rest is unchanged.

The MS-IC-LFB-2 was a modernized version designed alongside the MS-IC-2 core stage.

The MS-IC-LFB's dimensions are identical for all variants, except the forward skirt, which has different lengths to accomodate different core stages.

### Nosecone:

It's a conical structure 260 in (6.6 m) in diameter at the base, and 22.5 ft (6.59 m) tall.

### Forward Skirt:

It's a cylindrcal section that's 113 inches (2.87 m) tall on the -240 variant, 210 in (5.33 m) tall on the -337 variant, and even taller on the -2 variant.

Around the forward skirt there are 130 (?) stringers.

### LOX Tank:

The Forward Dome of the LOX tank is approximately 2.9 m tall.

### Intertank:

It's a cylindrical section that's 260 in (6.6 m) in diameter and 235 in (5.97 m) tall.

Around the intertank there are 130 (?) stringers.

### Thrust Structure:

It's very similar to the one found on the MS-IC stages. However it lacks the central crucifix and the center engine thrust post, as no center engine is mounted on the booster. It is 260 in (6.6 m) in diameter and 19.5 ft (5.95 m) tall.

## See Also:

MS-IC-240

MS-IC-337

MS-IC-2
Terminus

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

**Terminus** is the 9th planet of the solar system, orbiting at around 400 AU from the sun.

It is the cause of the perceived assymmetry in the distribution of orbits of ETNOs as well as source of disturbances providing some of the long-period comets.

It has several dozen small moons orbiting at various distances and inclinations, most likely captured asteroids.

## Discovery:

The planet was discovered around the year 2030 (?) using gravitational microlensing and powerful infrared telescopes.

Previously, it was theorized to exist based on the observed asymmetry in the orbits of extremely distant solar system bodies.

Later observations with new and powerful telescopes confirmed this distribution, and soon after, Terminus was observed.

## Etymology:

The 9th planet is named after the roman god who protected boundary markers, referencing the extreme distance at which this planet orbits.

## Trivia:

This planet is based on the "Planet Nine" concept.
MS-IC-2

*The information presented in this article is **true for my alternate history**, but either completely false, or only partly true for real life.*

## Launch History

### First flight

2001

The **MS-IC-2** is an American rocket stage, manufactured by Boeing.

## Development:

This stage was developed and designed alongside its booster counterpart - the MS-IC-LFB-2. They both share a lot of the technology, similarly to how previous gen MS-IC shares technology and parts with the MS-IC-LFB.

The development of RO-11 showed promises of an increase of thrust. To account for that, the tank was stretched an additional 29 inches, bringing the total stretch (compared to S-IC) up to 366 inches.

## Design:

It now uses composites in its structure, as well as other advancements.

The thrust structure was updated, to withstand the monstrous thrust of the new engines.

The liquid oxygen tank is covered with insulating foam to decrease boiloff on the pad, making this stage look quite distinctive with its orange top and black/white bottom.

All of these improvements brought the average mass of the stage per unit area down by about 10%.

## See Also:

S-IC

MS-IC-240

MS-IC-337