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Old 07-30-2019, 08:32 AM   #6
TGLS
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Default Re: [Psionics] The Spice Must Flow... from Skylab

Quote:
Originally Posted by Prince Charon View Post
Big Gemini is something they're researching, which will be scaled down (though scaling it down is not currently the plan for either NASA or McDonnell Douglas; reality still bites, even in a world where psychic powers are real). Think of it as a compromise between Big G and G-Ferry.
The way I'm understand it, Titan rockets were the cheapest rockets available to the Americans at the time, and the Gemini capsule just fit inside the Titan II. A minor (and by minor I mean millions of dollars) revision to Gemini to make it usable as a ferry would probably please accountants and those who want the soonest option. NASA would probably have to get over the "Not Invented Here" issues they have with Titan (like they did in the 80s in our timeline.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Prince Charon View Post
It isn't, they just really need to continue manned spaceflight, preferably with something cheaper than Apollo (because discovering the Spice and then not having access to it for several years, during which the Soviets might discover it and do have an ongoing space station program, is completely unacceptable to the people in charge in the USA). This will delay the shuttle and alter the design, though.
Well, the way I see it, any big revisions to another kind of spacecraft (in other words, Big Gemini), is going to push the Shuttle way back, possibly beyond your 1993. The people behind the shuttle at NASA are still going to press for the shuttle for the same reasons they did on our timeline, namely the overoptimistic launch costs. If a long delay occurs for the shuttle program, an expendable manned program may very well become so cheap that even the most optimistic of the shuttle backers give in.

If a Big Gemini type plan is pursued, a new rocket will need to be man-rated. I'm sure there would be some people in the Air Force who will want to revive the Titan IIIM, but if it were pursued I'd figure they would end up man-rating an existing Titan III rocket instead. Either way, the Big Gemini spec as planned could fit within SRB boosted Titans.

Building a capsule big enough to work in is probably going to be a major goal; repeating the experiment outside of Skylab will be something everyone involved will be interested in, to determine how much concern the Russians pose and whether the Skylab needs to be protected at all costs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Prince Charon View Post
The re-entry capsule for Skylab Rescue Apollo might be added to the station as an escape pod. It's something I've been considering since I found out it existed while reading up on Skylab for this worldline.
Thinking about additional Apollo missions, I'd bet the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project would end up being canned in favour of a Skylab 4/5 mission, though this may be politically imprudent.

Last edited by TGLS; 07-30-2019 at 08:39 AM. Reason: Spelling. Thought.
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