1950

January opened with Soviets working up a functioning geological survey sensor. Eager to test it out, Comrade Bushuyev designed a missile that could carry such a sensor to Luna and thus prove Soviet superiority. Stalin agreed and work proceeded to prototype R-2 Geodezist. It would be launched from the same R-10 Desna launcher as the nuclear-tipped R-1 Desna missile.

In April, Americans finally formulated a comprehensive Trans-Newtonian Theory and the White House, together with the Congress, announced massive subsidies and incentives for industry across the board to convert and upgrade to TN-standards as quickly as possible. This government program was accompanied by a massive propaganda campaign created by the best minds in Hollywood and advertising, to ensure swift and as comprehensive compliance as possible. Decisionmakers were growing concerned with the way the USSR was pulling ahead.

Near the end of May, the first Krivak was launched from Baikonur. Kapitan Dubinin was commanding the 4 man crew:
OWP-01 Krivak 001  (Krivak class Orbital Weapon Platform)      479 tons       4 Crew       37.4 BP       TCS 10    TH 0    EM 0
1 km/s      Armour 1-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 5      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 1-20      PPV 3
Maint Life 30.55 Years     MSP 48    AFR 2%    IFR 0.0%    1YR 0    5YR 1    Max Repair 10 MSP
Magazine 20 / 0   
Kapitan tret'yego ranga    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 days    Morale Check Required   


OKB-1 R-10 Desna (2)     Missile Size: 10    Hangar Reload 158 minutes    MF Reload 26 hours
OKB-1 SON-3 Fire Controller (1)     Range 6.2m km    Resolution 1

SKB Pegmantit-1 Area Monitor (1)     GPS 2     Range 1.8m km    MCR 160.6k km    Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction
This design is classed as a Fighter for auto-assignment purposes

Though the Americans did not know it, its two launchers were empy as no missiles had been built yet. Nine more Krivaks would be constructed before the program would pause for review and evaluation. This would change soon as in June, Comrade Bushuyev came through with a functioning R-1 missile, production of which started immediately. In the same month, Americans figured out how to create a backup control deck inside a satellite in case of emergency or battle damage. This was something that the Admirals of the US Navy had been adamant on based on their experience fighting the Japanese across the Pacific and as the Navy was taking a larger and larger role in this new area of military, the admirals got their wish despite protestations from the Army Air Forces which still had not gained its independence from the Army. This was not a surprise as everyone wanted to control the branch that would become the most important one in space and the Army generals correctly estimated that if the Air Force became independent, the Army would be relegated to a lesser importance vis-a-vis the other branches. The bureaucratic fight between the Navy admirals and the reluctantly united Army-Air generals continued.

25 August 1950 would go down in history books as the first Nuclear Scare. Without informing Washington, the Soviets launched two missiles from Krivak 'Moscow'. The missiles were exactly the same size as the R-1 Desna nuclear missiles, that CIA had heard of but had not seen. It was only the fact that that the other two Krivak satellites, 'Leningrad' and 'Stalingrad' remained quiet that the White House did not launch their conventional nuclear bombers into air. In just ten seconds it became clear that the missiles were headed towards Luna and not anywhere on Earth.



The missiles reached Luna in just few minutes and stayed in orbit for several hours before going silent and tumbling against the Lunar surface. On 30 August, the 'Moscow' launched two more missiles. This time Kreml had informed the White House beforehand and the world watched in wonder. Despite pleas from the international scientific community, the Soviets did not release any information publicly. In private, Comrade Stalin was furious that four valuable missiles had been wasted in a very public manner, although Russian geologists pleaded with the Politbyro that just few more missiles would do the trick. Instead, the manned Luna program was approved of. Stalin was mollified when Comrade Zaytsev informed him that the prototype for the DKT 100mm C1 IR Laser would be tested before the end of the year. And indeed, on 29 October, the members of the Politbyro were dazzled to see a giant laser cannon in action.

It is a weird twist to the space race for the Americans to be first into space in this timeline!

A royal decree, made on the 91st day of in the 31st solar year of his ascendency.

These are the words of the Pharoah, he who sits on the throne, by whose will mankind was saved:
"The bounty of the heavens is manifest, the potential of our home system finally within our grasp.  It is my will that these abundant resources be tapped, and brough to serve humanity as we reach for the greater unknown beyond Sol's warm light.  Every effort shall be bound to this task, and I do not doubt my loyal servants shall rise to the occasion.

I Nahtahmedt, do decree:
- Luna shall become the first jewel of the Empire, to be settled as soon as vessels and infrastructure is avaliable.
- As we repair the damage done by the sins of our fathers, so too shall we begin to bring mars to life.
- In the cradle of Jupiter's rings, the mines of Ganymede shall provide the Corundum to leverage
- Earth possesses not the Sorium to sustain us, and so great Jov must help us until we can venture beyond for this dearly needed fuel.

I have also instructed the office of Xenogeology to begin issuing licenses to exploit the resources of comets and asteroids, and those who seek fortune and favor in my sight are encouraged to go and bring forth the bounties of the system's lesser bodies to Earth.

Behold, a new era for humanity begins in earnest: for now we begin our expansion into the void!"

Attachment: Mineral Data for Sol System, 92nd day of Y31

1946

In March, Soviet scientists come up with a Conventional Composite Armour, promising increased performance for the Red Army. This led to a new table of organization and equipment for the venerable Rifle Battalion, the backbone of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. While their weapons were not to be upgraded, the introduction of personal armour in the vein of better helmets, bulletproof vests, arm- and leg-guards promised significantly increased fighting power. The Red Army would replace its war-era forces with this new organization, though the possibility of even more advanced composite materials loomed on the horizon. In April, Americans make the same breakthrough but decide to wait until the advanced composites are possible before reforming their ground forces which have just about finished their demobilization process.

In June, the Soviets crack how to make even more Advanced Conventional Composite Armour. This time STAVKA decides that this justifies a complete overhaul of their primary armoured fighting vehicles. The new types would be T-34/85M, the mainstay of tank units, ISU-152 Zveroboy, a self-propelled double-barrelled howitzer, and IS-4, which replaced the old heavy gun of the IS-3 with a medium calibre autocannon. This last tank would be introduced to compliment the venerable T-34 as a breakthrough tank. In October, the Americans made the same discovery. Pentagon authorizes re-armouring of all their primary combat vehicles as well as the introduction of personal protective garments for their infantry. This led to the introduction of the M26E1 Pershing, that would become the main American tank, the M37B1 105mm Howitzer Motor Carriage for the field artillery, the M24A2 Chaffee light tank for reconnaissance units, and three different versions of the M113 armoured personnel carrier.

1947

In July, Soviets opened another ground force construction complex and in November, the first human Spaceport opened in Utah.

1948

Nothing particularly interesting happened.

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Thanks nuclearslurpee! The hope is to get more neutral countries involved too as the time goes by but since 2.4.0 is on the horizon who knows how long this'll last. Plus, while I was smart enough to boost the populations to get enough factories and research labs to start with, I went with limited research admin and didn't realize how much it would slow the initial research that is absolutely mandatory in a conventional start. Might be that I'll restart this once 2.4 is out.

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It is the year 1946. The greatest conflict in human history, Second World War, has barely ended. Most of the world is picking up the pieces, yet a new conflict, possibly even greater than WW2, is already brewing. The looting of the #### scientific establishment had revealed the existence of Trans-Newtonian minerals and their near-magical properties. Luckily, the atomic bombing of Berlin had prevented the ####s from utilizing these miraculous discoveries to their advantage. Seeing the utter destruction that the American A-Bombs had done to Berlin and Hamburg, the Japanese had surrendered in short order. But now politicians, soldiers and scientists in Moscow and Washington DC were putting their heads together to figure out how to nest exploit this new knowledge. The fragile wartime alliance between the two new superpowers was about to fall apart. But could this new Trans-Newtonian science provide a way for the fading Great Powers of yesterday to make a comeback? And could they accelerate the rise of the emerging powers? The battle for the Solar hegemony is about to start!