Beyond the Stars!: Dawn of the Space Age Game One Events

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

I will be posting the game events from our current game here in this thread.

The current line up is as follows:

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - Backstab
The United Kingdom of England, Scotland, and Wales - Haegan 2005
The Republic of Japan - Mavikfelna
The Republic of France - Tssha
The People's Republic of China - MrAnderson
The United States of America - Þórgrímr



Cheers, Þórgrímr

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

YEAR 1956

April 15th - Tokyo - (INN)

Tokyo, Japan -- In a bold move, the Prime Minister of Japan has announced today that NASDA (National Space Development Agency of Japan) was close to completing a launch complex at their space facility in Tageshima. Adding to that announcement Japan intends to launch a series of sub-orbital rockets from Tageshima in June, July, and August.

Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

May 25th - Cape Canaveral - (INN)

Cape Canaveral, Florida -- In a stunning announcement this week NASA's (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Director Dickinson announced that NASA's R&D budget would be exhausted by the end of July, bringing to a halt all of his agency's research programs.

After the announcement Senator Chad Snyder from Texas, Chairman of the Senate Oversight Committiee for the Development of Space, immediately called for an investigation of NASA's expenditures and called for the resignation of the current Director.

In a statement from the White House President Eisenhower expressed that Director Dickinson still has his, and the President's Council on the Sciences, full support and stated there was no reason for the Director to resign.

In a biting retort the Director had this to say in response to Senator Snyder's call for his resignation and investigation:

"When President Eisenhower formed NASA earlier this year he gave us a mandate, to take America to space. That is exactly what NASA is attempting to do, but when Congress finally funded our agency they did not give us the resources to do it quickly. So we have to prioritize our R&D dollar wisely.

"And if the good senator from the state of Texas wishes NASA to carry out the President's mandate, maybe he, and his committiee, can loosen the purse strings a little and fund NASA with the means to do so.

"As for what we have done with our limited research budget, the senator and the rest of the world will see soon enough. Thank you."

The world is abuzz with talk about the hint that Director Dickinson dropped in his press conference. What exactly did he mean the world will see? What exactly will the world see?

David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

September 3rd - Cape Canaveral - (INN)

Cape Canaveral, Florida -- "Today, the United States launched Explorer 1, mankind's first orbiting satellite." Director Dickinson announced in a media-filled press conference. President Eisenhower released a statement reaffirming his confidence in the NASA Director, and feels the future is bright for the US space effort under the Director's guidance.

"The Juno I rocket was launched September 3rd, putting Explorer 1 into orbit with a perigee of 222 miles and an apogee of 1,580 miles, having an orbital period of 114.8 minutes. Once Explorer 1 was confirmed to be in orbit, we called this news conference, here at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC and announced it to the world.

"Explorer 1 was designed and built by the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory under the direction of Dr. William H. Pickering. It is the first satellite to carry a mission payload.

"The total weight of the satellite is 30.80 lbs, of which 18.3 lbs are part of the instrumentation package. The instrument section at the front end of the satellite and the empty scaled-down fourth-stage rocket casing orbit as a single unit, spinning around its long axis at 750 revolutions per minute.

"Data from the satellite is transmitted to the ground by two antennas. A 60 milliwatt transmitter feeds a dipole antenna, consisting of two fiberglass slot antennas in the body of the satellite, operating on 108.03 MHz, and four flexible whips forming a turnstile antenna are fed by a 10 milliwatt transmitter operating on 108.00 MHz.

"Because of the limited space available and the requirements for low weight, the payload was designed and built with simplicity and high reliability in mind, using new transistor based electronics, consisting of both germanium and silicon devices. A total of twenty-nine transistors are used in Explorer 1. Electrical power is provided by mercury chemical batteries that make up approximately forty percent of the payload weight.

"The external skin of the payload section is painted in alternating stripes of white and dark green to provide passive temperature control of the satellite. The proportions of the light and dark stripes were determined by studies of shadow-sunlight intervals based on firing time, trajectory, orbit, and inclination.

After the press conference was completed Director Dickinson released the following information on the first manmade object to orbit our planet.

David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network


Statistics on the rocket and satellite:

The Juno I consists of a Jupiter-C rocket, with a fourth stage mounted on top of the tub of the third stage, which is fired after the third stage burnout, to boost the payload and fourth stage to an orbital velocity of 18,000 mph.

This multi-stage system, designed by Wernher von Braun for his proposed Project Orbiter, obviated the need for a guidance system in the upper stages, proving to be the simplest and most immediate method for putting a payload into orbit. Both the four stage Juno I and three stage Jupiter-C launch vehicles are the same height, with the added fourth stage booster of the Juno I being enclosed inside the nose cone of the third stage.

Size

Height: 69.5 feet
Diameter: 5.8 feet
Mass: 64,070 lb
Stages: 4

Capacity

Payload to LEO: 42 lbs

Performance

First Stage: Redstone (stretched)
Engines: 1x Rocketdyne A-7
Thrust: 93,562 lbf
Specific Impulse: 235 sec
Burn Time: 155 seconds
Fuel: Hydyne/LOX

Second Stage: MGM-29 Sergeant cluster
Engines: 11 Solid
Thrust: 16,490 lbf
Specific Impulse: 214 sec
Burn Time: 6 seconds
Fuel: Solid - polysulfide-aluminum and ammonium perchlorate

Third Stage: MGM-29 Sergeant cluster
Engines: 3 Solid
Thrust: 4,500 lbf
Specific Impulse: 214 sec
Burn Time: 6 seconds
Fuel: Solid - polysulfide-aluminum and ammonium perchlorate

Fourth Stage: MGM-29 Sergeant
Engines: 1 Solid
Thrust: 1,499 lbf
Specific Impulse: 214 sec
Burn Time: 6 seconds
Fuel: Solid - polysulfide-aluminum and ammonium perchlorate


Explorer-1

Operator: Army Ballistic Missile Agency
Major contractors: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Mission type: Earth science
Launch date: 3 September, 1956 at 05:16 UTC
Launch vehicle: Juno-II
Mass: 90 lbs

Orbital elements

Eccentricity: 0.139849
Inclination: 33.24°
Apogee: 1,580 miles (2,550 km)
Perigee: 222 miles (358 km)
Orbital period: 114.8 minutes

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

October 3rd - Tokyo (INN)

Tokyo, Japan -- The Japanese Prime Minister announced today that the Japanese Aerospace Agency is ready to test their new satelite delivery rocket and communications satelite. A successful mission will show that Japan is as capable as the United States in space launch capablity and they believe they will be a safer and less expensive option than American based launches for those nations intersted in launching their own satellites with Japanese help.

Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

October 15th - Cape Canaveral (INN)

Today Director Dickinson announced a large schedule of launches beginning in January of next year. The Director stated that NASA - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration - will be launching one satellite per month, beginning in January and ending in October of 1957.

The Director stated the reason for so many launches is that with a large amount of satellites in orbit transmitting data they will help push the boundaries of orbital science even further.

When the Director was asked to comment about the Japanese announcement that they too were going to launch a satellite he had this to say: "We welcome any peaceful exploration of space, and hope the Japanese launch is a successful one."

David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

October 23rd - Tokyo (INN)

Tokyo, Japan -- The Japanese Prime Minister, Ichiro Hatoyama, held a press conference today announcing the successful launch of a Japanese communications satellite.

"Japan has joined the space age." was Prime Minister Hatoyama's triumphant message to the gathered press. "We have successfully launched and deployed a Tengu-Maru communications satellite aboard a Noboritaiyo-B rocket from our Tageshima launch facility. With this launch we have shown the drive and determination of the Japanese people to rise above the past and peacefully explore our world and its surroundings alongside the United States and other space faring nations."

Minister Hatoyama went on to say that Japan is fully committed to space and its exploration and exploitation for peaceful purposes. There is a great deal we do not yet know about space and we are eager to learn more. It is the hope of the Japanese people that all nations might be able to peacefully explore space and bring a new age of enlightenment and international cooperation to the world.

The speech ended with the Prime Minister affirming that Japan plans on being ambitious in their space program and to expect more successes in the future.

Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

November 3rd - Tokyo (INN)

Tokyo, Japan -- Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama today announced that Japan plans to launch four new communications satellites in January of next year, one per week, and will continue to launch thereafter at a rate of not less than one mission a month though the year.

When asked if this was a response to the American announcement to launch a communications satellite every month through next year Minister Hatoyama replied "The Americans are ambitious in their study of space, just as we are. We welcome the progress of the United States NASA program and hope that we can both share our discoveries and research in this new endeavor. But Japan is not a follower of America, we are here equals in this. We have had long range plans in place for some time now to do this and it is merely a fortunate coincidence that NASA is following a similar strategy."

He further went on to announce that Japan would like to share its communications capacity and infrastructure with all of their neighbor nations. They will be discussing terms on an individual contract basis but they look forward to the improvements in communications and relations that such cooperation will bring.

Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

YEAR 1957

January 6th - Cape Canaveral (INN)

Cape Canaveral, Florida -- Director Dickinson, Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) gave a short press conference today about the scheduled launch yesterday.

"Yesterday, the fourth stage of the Juno rocket failed to fire, and in so doing did not insert Explorer-2 into its proper orbit. In consequence the satellite re-entered the earths atmosphere where it burned up and we lost all telemetry from it."

David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network

Step Two: Orbital Insertion Burn Failure.

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

January 18th - Tageshima (INN)

Tageshima, Japan -- NASDA announced today the loss of their fourth Tengu satellite in a catastrophic launch failure. The launch facility at Tageshima was damaged, but no injuries were reported. The launch scheduled for January 24th will go forward as planned.

Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network


Step One: Launch Failure

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

January 25th - Tageshima (INN)

Tageshima, Japan -- NASDA announced today the successful launch of their fifth Tengu communications satellite. Unfortunately, after the successful launch and orbital insertion the satellite failed it's power up procedures. After extensive attempts to enable the satellite NASDA has officially declared it non-functioning.

Tsunayoshi Amagawa
Tokyo Desk, International News Network


Step Three: Hardware Power-On Failure

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

As an FYI, the game is now into 1958, and the first classes of Astronauts have been recruited and have begun their basic training. 

France:
Jean   Manoury
Octavé   Renaudie
Pascal   Buisson
Rainaut   Larrouse
Jacques   Lapôtre
Joachim   Herbaut
Matthieu   Pallegoix
Julien   Muche
Gérald   Bourget
Johan   Dehaene

Japan:
Shusaku Shionoya
Tadamasa Kajiwara
Thoki Kitabatake
Yoshisada Yamakage
Yuichi Ichimonji
Norinaga Fukusaku
Hokichi Takekawa
Hirotsugu Watari
Yoshimi Chikanatsu
Chikao Miyazawa

China:
Hoong Tzu-yu
Mah Yic
Kan Ai-de
Loh Yuk
Sa Yo
Guo Hsiao-lou
Ba Xi-ku
Pi Yang-cheng
Lang Cheng-en
Ping Bing-de

United Kingdom:
Ora McClellan
Ashley Ginger
Lucius Izett
Delbert McWhirter
Cole Vinson
Adrian Bevin
Kevin Toms
Wilburn Swift
Edwin MacGregor
Thaddeus Ashwin

USSR:
Ivan Anikeyev
Pavel Belyayev
Yuri Gagarin
Valentin Bondarenko
Aleksei Leonov
Andrian Nikolayev
Gherman Titov
Dmitri Zaikin
Vladimir Komarov
Boris Volynov

US:
Scott Carpenter
Gordon Cooper
John Glenn
Virgil 'Gus' Grissom
Wally Schirra
Alan Shepard
Deke Slayton
Iven Kincheloe
Robert Rushworth
Joseph Walker



Cheers, Thor

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

February 6th - Cape Canaveral - (INN)

Cape Canaveral, Florida -- "Today, the United States launched Explorer 3. The satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida at 17:31:00 UTC on February 5th, by the Jupiter-C vehicle," Director Dickinson announced in a short press conference today.

"Explorer 3 was placed in an orbit with a perigee of 117 miles and an apogee of 1580 miles, having a period of 115.7 minutes. Its total weight is 30.80 lbs, of which 18.3 lbs is instrumentation. The instrument section at the front end of the satellite and the empty scaled-down fourth-stage rocket casing orbit as a single unit, spinning around its long axis at 750 revolutions per minute.

"Instrumentation on the satellite consists of a cosmic ray detection package and a ring of micrometeorite erosion gauges. The Explorer 3 spacecraft is spin-stabilized and has an on-board tape recorder to provide a complete radiation history for each orbit. Data from these instruments are transmitted to the ground by a 60 milliwatt transmitter operating on 108.03 MHz and a 10 milliwatt transmitter operating on 108.00 MHz.

"The transmitting antennas on the satellite consists of two fiberglass slot antennas in the body of the satellite itself and four flexible whips, forming a turnstile antenna. The rotation of the satellite about its long axis keeps the flexible whips extended.

"Electrical power is provided by nickel-cadmium chemical batteries, which make up approximately 40 percent of the payload weight. These will provide enough power to operate the high power transmitter for 31 days and the low-power transmitter for 105 days.

"Because of the limited space available and the requirements for low weight, the Explorer 3 instrumentation was designed and built with simplicity and high reliability in mind.

David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

April 4th - Cape Canaveral (INN)

Cape Canaveral, Florida -- Director Dickinson, Director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) gave a short press conference today about the scheduled launch yesterday.

"Yesterday, the first stage of the Juno rocket impacted the second stage upon seperation, causing the rocket to veer off course. The range safety officer ordered the destruction of the rocket to prevent any possible loss of life or damage to the surrounding civilian communities."

David Richlen
Science Desk, International News Network

Step One: Launch Failure

[Þórgrímr (OP)]

April 12th - Beijing (INN)


Beijing, China -- The Director of the CNSA (China National Space Administration) has gone public with the program, after about half a year of silence. "We are preparing to launch communications satellites much like the Americans and the Japanese. These satellites will provide communication services to China, as well as any nations interested in renting them out. The first one is scheduled to launch in December of this year, with four more planned to be launched next year. This is only the first stage of our plans to explore and utilize the final frontier."

CZ-LOR1 Low Earth Orbit lifter:

Maximum capacity: 8500lb

CS-126 Communications Satellite:

"The CS-126 Communications Satellite features recent advances in power systems technology, with two small solar panels and  a set of backup zinc-carbon batteries. The satellite has several receivers and transmitters to "bounce" radiowaves received from one station to another one."

Li Zi-yang
Beijing Desk, International News Network