Let's play: Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space

[Eternal_Freedom]

Hint taken.

The Great Plan for Spring 1967

Funds: 80 measly MB

R&D:

-Five Teams on XMS-2 (35 MB)
-Five Teams on Strap-On Boosters (10 MB)

Personnel:

-Remove ALL astronauts from Mercury Program
-Recruit Class III Astronauts (15 MB unless I'm mistaken.)

Remaining Funds: 20 MB as reserve

All right, Class III recruits this way please!

PeZook, please don't forget That_Guy's WingCo John May when adding it.

[Simon_Jester]

Oh. One more thing.

The Murcans now have a space shuttle, though it needs a lot of work.

What will they call it?

[Eternal_Freedom]

I was thinking Star-something, or Raven-something, as it's apparently a precursor to the XR-2 Ravenstar.

[ChaserGrey]

Yeah, skipping Gemini was probably a mistake in retrospect. It seemed like economy of effort, but it only worked out if budgets stayed high. They didn't. Sorry about that. :-/

[HMS Sophia]

I think USS Fucking Budgets would be an appropriate name right now.

[Simon_Jester]

Or you could go traditional- USS Enterprise.

I know what my first two shuttles will be named.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Shroomanksi and Pavlyvych?

[ChaserGrey]

God, yeah. Remember, kids- you may not love the fuckin' President, but the President sure does love fuckin' you!

[PeZook]

God, yeah. Remember, kids- you may not love the fuckin' President, but the President sure does love fuckin' you!

Jesus, I'm gonna laugh all day now

Anyways, astronaut applications here, please! You! Weird Kanuckistani? You didn't file your paperwork properly! And no, animals are not permitted without quarantine and customs and taxes, the bear's gotta stay on that side of the border, thank you.

[Simon_Jester]

Actually, I was thinking Potemkin and Avrora after those most glouriously revolutionary hero-ships of the Zenobian Onion, but that is an idle suggestion and obviously prone to change.

Comrade Syrgy Pavylyvych is strongly opposed to naming a space shuttle Pavylyvych.

[OmegaChief]

Perhaps we should name them after glorious revelutionary leaders? Otherwise those names meet approval of the NKDVDROM as appropriatly patriotic.

As damn we really caught a break this time.

[FaxModem1]

Ugh, Zenobian luck. I really do think Cthuluian cultists had something to do with it.

[Scottish Ninja]

I'll throw in some names for astronauts - "Loopy" Louie Hays, "Suitcase" Jefferson, and "Rocket" Randall; all transfers from NASSA.

[Simon_Jester]

I'd like to repeat that nominations for Zenobian cosmonauts are open; who's applying? Any old hands want new guys?

Scottish Ninja, you might want someone other than Petrov; at this point it seems unlikely he'll do much of anything cool.

[OmegaChief]

Ah what the heck, I'll throw in Comrade Conrad Unluckski in for the hell of it, if the worst comes to the worst I can always have the commissar shoot him

[Scottish Ninja]

Indeed. I did suggest a few as filler a few pages back, but as a replacement for Petrov - who is possibly the Zenobian equivalent of Skip Carmichael - hmmm.

Anatoliy Alexandrov, who has so far crashed half a dozen Mick fighters and two helicopters. In Murca he'd be a shoo-in for President. In Zenobia - he's warned to "sit back and for the love of Marx transnational progressivism the God that doesn't exist Kratman don't touch anything!"

[Simon_Jester]

Baikonurek Cosmodrome
Unmanned Planetary Lab
Conference Room A
December 1966

Syrgy Pavylyvych looked around the room. All others were seated; he remained standing- feeling a touch creaky, but standing. The effect was necessary.

He knew most of them were looking at the bundle of papers under his arm.

"Gentlemen, the Mercury flyby is canceled." The Chief Designer stood stock still, his hands flat on the table, until the uproar died down.

"Instead, I want you to concentrate your efforts on this." With a flip of the wrist, he spread the papers across the tabletop. "Our target date for first landing is August 1968."

The uproar resumed, but in a very different tone. Pavylyvych smiled a little.

"I thought you'd understand, comrades."

[Shroom Man 777]

call your space shuttle the SILVER STREAK

[fnord]

I'd like to repeat that nominations for Zenobian cosmonauts are open; who's applying? Any old hands want new guys?

Scottish Ninja, you might want someone other than Petrov; at this point it seems unlikely he'll do much of anything cool.

What the hell, I'll throw in another name for me, and some for general use.

For me:
Borat GOBARGEROV, another Boratistani

General use (piss being taken, if you haven't figured it out by now):
N. YOUCANTSKI
I. CANSKI
W. CANALLSKI
B. FUCKOFFYABITCH
B. SUNUVABITCH
L. CHIPOVICH
A. GOALEVICH
L. MAHOUSESKI
I. GOTTASTICH
D. WICKEDWICH
J. SMITH (I hope I've spelt that correctly)

[Akhlut]

Da. We were lucky,

Of course you were, comrade! You had Boratistani luck on your side! No sooner does Manshuk sign up then everything comes up Zenobian!

[Simon_Jester]

Syrgy Pavylvych chuckles.

"Da, comrade. You have been our luck."

Also, thanks to Comrade Ivanovitch for his assistance in the EVA training lab. Though he is of course permanently grounded, our EVAs could not have gone so well without him!

[PeZook]

A note: lunar probe landings also have a "photo reconeissance" step that's rolled from your current recon level.

[Simon_Jester]

I am aware; I'm planning for a few more lunar probe launches between now and then. I need to think things over a bit more, but the lunar probe and Lapot are my two major goals for the near future.

[Simon_Jester]

Spoiler

This year I could start and research Lapot, but I'd be doing literally nothing else with my money but Lapot research. I actually plan to save a large chunk of my 1967 budget, start Lapot, and pay for a lot of Lapot research in 1968; this places me roughly one year behind the Murcans in shuttle research, but has ancillary benefits. Also, with my larger total budget I will be more able to do concurrent research on other parts of the Moon program.

Plan Pavylyvych Spring 1967

Congratulations to all departments, for the past few months have been a time of much success! That notwithstanding, we have much to do. It is time and past time for a reorganization of the program, with increased orientation toward our ultimate goal of reaching the moon. Resources are being amassed for the construction of an experimental prototype craft, far in advance of anything yet conceived, though much work will need to be done in the coming years before the super-ship is flight-ready.

The Baikonurek Armor Plate Production Plant is encouraged to work all hours and to continue their heroic technoscientific struggle.

Meanwhile, the Unmanned Planetary Lab has announced development of an automated lunar-lander probe. Pursuant to this we will be inserting a number of probes into lunar orbit to map out suitable landing sites, while continuing the manned program on a somewhat reduced scale.

---

Budget: 133 megarubleoids

Hardware Purchase
None. We are scrubbing the Mercury flyby.

Research and Development
Begin Luna probe: 26 MB
3 teams on Luna probe: 12 MB

Total cost: 38 MB
Remaining: 95 MB

Cosmonaut Management
Hire Group III Cosmonauts: 15 MB
Remaining: 80 MB

Schedule Missions
Schedule one unmanned Voskhod docking test.
Schedule one unmanned lunar flyby.

Mission Go/No-Go Status
We are NO GO for Mercury flyby. We are scrubbing that launch in favor of other missions later in the year.

[ChaserGrey]

Pursuant to this we will be inserting a number of probes into lunar orbit to map out suitable landing sites

He said "insert".

We now return you to your normal maturity level.