jasonsnow
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Post by jasonsnow on Apr 1, 2018 0:46:32 GMT
In late 2018, the People's Republic of China rocks the world after becoming the first nation to land a man on the Moon since the early 70's. This event shakes the world stage, becoming one of the most prominent news of the 21st century. China surprises the world by revealing a secret government aeronautics and astronomy project, which has been extensively worked on under wraps since the late 80's. Secretly, China perfected spacefaring, positioning itself over 30 years in the future over any other country on Earth. Utilizing advanced rocket technology and nearly impossible sources of energy, China establishes the world's first Moon base after nearly twenty-three landings, by far the most by any nation. China makes American and Russian rockets look like firecrackers.
But China laughs, as this achievement is measly compared to their next plans. Within a year they perfect their moon base--of Chinese use exclusively--and design an advanced, almost unreal rocket launch base, completed with cargo bays, residences, oxygen and water generators, greenhouses, energy convertors, and a high-tech communications system. Soon they begin sending the parts for a rocket three times the size of the Saturn V: the Beijing 600. Due to the Moon's limited gravity, the rocket requires less fuel but is able to be much bigger, allowing for more supplies and equipment to be carried. In late 2019, the Beijing 600--carrying 5 of China's top astronauts--embarks on its epic journey towards... Mars.
After a long trip, and with the world watching breathlessly, the mission captain--following a safe landing--opens the hatch and becomes the first human ever to step on an extraterrestrial planet. Russia and the US--once the leading spacefaring powers--are the laughingstock. Suddenly, the ISS looks nothing but a cheap tin can safely floating between the protective confines of Low Earth Orbit. While they announced they were going to reach mars by 2025, China beat them to it by five whole years. China is now seen as the dominant global power in technology, a symbol the US once possessed. Morale in the US--especially in NASA--is low.
What will happen next? How would other countries react? Could we see the rise of space colonialism... or another awkward situation similar to Antarctica?
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 1, 2018 9:00:44 GMT
In late 2018, the People's Republic of China rocks the world after becoming the first nation to land a man on the Moon since the early 70's. This event shakes the world stage, becoming one of the most prominent news of the 21st century. China surprises the world by revealing a secret government aeronautics and astronomy project, which has been extensively worked on under wraps since the late 80's. Secretly, China perfected spacefaring, positioning itself over 30 years in the future over any other country on Earth. Utilizing advanced rocket technology and nearly impossible sources of energy, China establishes the world's first Moon base after nearly twenty-three landings, by far the most by any nation. China makes American and Russian rockets look like firecrackers. But China laughs, as this achievement is measly compared to their next plans. Within a year they perfect their moon base--of Chinese use exclusively--and design an advanced, almost unreal rocket launch base, completed with cargo bays, residences, oxygen and water generators, greenhouses, energy convertors, and a high-tech communications system. Soon they begin sending the parts for a rocket three times the size of the Saturn V: the Beijing 600. Due to the Moon's limited gravity, the rocket requires less fuel but is able to be much bigger, allowing for more supplies and equipment to be carried. In late 2019, the Beijing 600--carrying 5 of China's top astronauts--embarks on its epic journey towards... Mars. After a long trip, and with the world watching breathlessly, the mission captain--following a safe landing--opens the hatch and becomes the first human ever to step on an extraterrestrial planet. Russia and the US--once the leading spacefaring powers--are the laughingstock. Suddenly, the ISS looks nothing but a cheap tin can safely floating between the protective confines of Low Earth Orbit. While they announced they were going to reach mars by 2025, China beat them to it by five whole years. China is now seen as the dominant global power in technology, a symbol the US once possessed. Morale in the US--especially in NASA--is low. What will happen next? How would other countries react? Could we see the rise of space colonialism... or another awkward situation similar to Antarctica? Well they have kept in a secret, no rehearsal at all, just like what the Soviets wanted to do and go for it without any testing of the hardware.
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Apr 1, 2018 11:30:40 GMT
In late 2018, the People's Republic of China rocks the world after becoming the first nation to land a man on the Moon since the early 70's. This event shakes the world stage, becoming one of the most prominent news of the 21st century. China surprises the world by revealing a secret government aeronautics and astronomy project, which has been extensively worked on under wraps since the late 80's. Secretly, China perfected spacefaring, positioning itself over 30 years in the future over any other country on Earth. Utilizing advanced rocket technology and nearly impossible sources of energy, China establishes the world's first Moon base after nearly twenty-three landings, by far the most by any nation. China makes American and Russian rockets look like firecrackers. But China laughs, as this achievement is measly compared to their next plans. Within a year they perfect their moon base--of Chinese use exclusively--and design an advanced, almost unreal rocket launch base, completed with cargo bays, residences, oxygen and water generators, greenhouses, energy convertors, and a high-tech communications system. Soon they begin sending the parts for a rocket three times the size of the Saturn V: the Beijing 600. Due to the Moon's limited gravity, the rocket requires less fuel but is able to be much bigger, allowing for more supplies and equipment to be carried. In late 2019, the Beijing 600--carrying 5 of China's top astronauts--embarks on its epic journey towards... Mars. After a long trip, and with the world watching breathlessly, the mission captain--following a safe landing--opens the hatch and becomes the first human ever to step on an extraterrestrial planet. Russia and the US--once the leading spacefaring powers--are the laughingstock. Suddenly, the ISS looks nothing but a cheap tin can safely floating between the protective confines of Low Earth Orbit. While they announced they were going to reach mars by 2025, China beat them to it by five whole years. China is now seen as the dominant global power in technology, a symbol the US once possessed. Morale in the US--especially in NASA--is low. What will happen next? How would other countries react? Could we see the rise of space colonialism... or another awkward situation similar to Antarctica? Well they have kept in a secret, no rehearsal at all, just like what the Soviets wanted to do and go for it without any testing of the hardware. That could be a serious problem as the chances of a nasty accident or two could occur. Either on Luna or the trip to Mars. However if it all comes off there is going to be a panic across the rest of the world at the Chinese demonstration of highly advanced technology and probably a new space race as a number of powers seek to catch up. Russia and the EU might falter because of the expense and the sheer technological challenge involved. The US is likely to be more successful and India or Japan might also become players as they would definitely feel threatened by such a China. Especially if they are tending more toward an autocratic regime as looks increasingly likely.
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jasonsnow
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Post by jasonsnow on Apr 1, 2018 19:24:36 GMT
The world powers will have to draft a renewed Space Treaty prohibiting colonization. However, just as in Antarctica, they would intentionally leave a loophole for claims to be made. China will call dibs, bringing larges swathes of the Red Planet under their banner. I can see an India-China space alliance, perhaps China even allowing India to use their Moon Base, and sharing Mars. If the US is unable to bring up new tech, they'll be left out, but can possibly make a valid claim. Other contenders will be Japan, Russia, and a joint EU claim. The race is on: the first who can assemble a long-lasting colony on Mars will basically run space. China has an easy head start, but nothing is defined.
What if China allows India to use their Moon Base? Perhaps China can share India some of their Beijing 600 technology?
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jasonsnow
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Post by jasonsnow on Apr 1, 2018 21:10:31 GMT
In late 2018, the People's Republic of China rocks the world after becoming the first nation to land a man on the Moon since the early 70's. This event shakes the world stage, becoming one of the most prominent news of the 21st century. China surprises the world by revealing a secret government aeronautics and astronomy project, which has been extensively worked on under wraps since the late 80's. Secretly, China perfected spacefaring, positioning itself over 30 years in the future over any other country on Earth. Utilizing advanced rocket technology and nearly impossible sources of energy, China establishes the world's first Moon base after nearly twenty-three landings, by far the most by any nation. China makes American and Russian rockets look like firecrackers. But China laughs, as this achievement is measly compared to their next plans. Within a year they perfect their moon base--of Chinese use exclusively--and design an advanced, almost unreal rocket launch base, completed with cargo bays, residences, oxygen and water generators, greenhouses, energy convertors, and a high-tech communications system. Soon they begin sending the parts for a rocket three times the size of the Saturn V: the Beijing 600. Due to the Moon's limited gravity, the rocket requires less fuel but is able to be much bigger, allowing for more supplies and equipment to be carried. In late 2019, the Beijing 600--carrying 5 of China's top astronauts--embarks on its epic journey towards... Mars. After a long trip, and with the world watching breathlessly, the mission captain--following a safe landing--opens the hatch and becomes the first human ever to step on an extraterrestrial planet. Russia and the US--once the leading spacefaring powers--are the laughingstock. Suddenly, the ISS looks nothing but a cheap tin can safely floating between the protective confines of Low Earth Orbit. While they announced they were going to reach mars by 2025, China beat them to it by five whole years. China is now seen as the dominant global power in technology, a symbol the US once possessed. Morale in the US--especially in NASA--is low. What will happen next? How would other countries react? Could we see the rise of space colonialism... or another awkward situation similar to Antarctica? Well they have kept in a secret, no rehearsal at all, just like what the Soviets wanted to do and go for it without any testing of the hardware. Let's say the recent Chinese launches of 2016 and 2015 for their future space station are rehearsals of their Beijing 600 tech, only other countries didn't knew because they kept the specs of it classified. So, the boosters work well, the technology is there. They simply craft a bigger version of the boosters and name the rocket Beijing 600.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 1, 2018 21:13:39 GMT
Well they have kept in a secret, no rehearsal at all, just like what the Soviets wanted to do and go for it without any testing of the hardware. Let's say the recent Chinese launches of 2016 and 2015 for their future space station are rehearsals of their Beijing 600 tech, only other countries didn't knew because they kept the specs of it classified. So, the boosters work well, the technology is there. They simply craft a bigger version of the boosters and name the rocket Beijing 600. Would it look like this. According to this site: Chinese Lunar BaseIn fact, Chinese plans published in 1992 (by not funded at that time) were for a modular 306 tonne Lox/Kerosene booster stage and a 57 tonne Lox/LH2 upper stage that could be combined and clustered in order to achieve a variety of payloads in low earth orbit. This concept was very similar to the Russian Angara or American EELV (Atlas 5 or Delta 4). The largest variant discussed was the Type E, which would use seven booster units to achieve a payload of 70 tonnes to a 200 km x 500 km, 60 degree inclination orbit. Therefore two such launches - one of the lunar injection stage, one of the Shenzhou-derived lunar lander - could place the necessary payload into earth orbit. After docking with the booster stage, the Shenzhou would be boosted to a direct landing on the moon. The direct landing approach was shown in Russian studies of the 1970’s to be the most practical method for emplacment and support of a lunar base (lunar orbit rendezvous methods restrict possible base locations to a narrow band around the lunar equator).
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jasonsnow
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Post by jasonsnow on Apr 1, 2018 21:21:24 GMT
Let's say the recent Chinese launches of 2016 and 2015 for their future space station are rehearsals of their Beijing 600 tech, only other countries didn't knew because they kept the specs of it classified. So, the boosters work well, the technology is there. They simply craft a bigger version of the boosters and name the rocket Beijing 600. Would it look like this. According to this site: Chinese Lunar BaseIn fact, Chinese plans published in 1992 (by not funded at that time) were for a modular 306 tonne Lox/Kerosene booster stage and a 57 tonne Lox/LH2 upper stage that could be combined and clustered in order to achieve a variety of payloads in low earth orbit. This concept was very similar to the Russian Angara or American EELV (Atlas 5 or Delta 4). The largest variant discussed was the Type E, which would use seven booster units to achieve a payload of 70 tonnes to a 200 km x 500 km, 60 degree inclination orbit. Therefore two such launches - one of the lunar injection stage, one of the Shenzhou-derived lunar lander - could place the necessary payload into earth orbit. After docking with the booster stage, the Shenzhou would be boosted to a direct landing on the moon. The direct landing approach was shown in Russian studies of the 1970’s to be the most practical method for emplacment and support of a lunar base (lunar orbit rendezvous methods restrict possible base locations to a narrow band around the lunar equator).
I like the way you think. Just rename that bad boy and you got yourself a Moon lander. Now the Mars rocket will be made especially for the Moon's gravity. It wouldn't need much fuel but can be towering. Also, you'll need a specialized version of the Beijing 600 (a version I like to call Beijing Iron Dragon 600-C) to transport the new rocket's parts to the Moon Base.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 1, 2018 21:25:19 GMT
Would it look like this. According to this site: Chinese Lunar BaseIn fact, Chinese plans published in 1992 (by not funded at that time) were for a modular 306 tonne Lox/Kerosene booster stage and a 57 tonne Lox/LH2 upper stage that could be combined and clustered in order to achieve a variety of payloads in low earth orbit. This concept was very similar to the Russian Angara or American EELV (Atlas 5 or Delta 4). The largest variant discussed was the Type E, which would use seven booster units to achieve a payload of 70 tonnes to a 200 km x 500 km, 60 degree inclination orbit. Therefore two such launches - one of the lunar injection stage, one of the Shenzhou-derived lunar lander - could place the necessary payload into earth orbit. After docking with the booster stage, the Shenzhou would be boosted to a direct landing on the moon. The direct landing approach was shown in Russian studies of the 1970’s to be the most practical method for emplacment and support of a lunar base (lunar orbit rendezvous methods restrict possible base locations to a narrow band around the lunar equator).
I like the way you think. Just rename that bad boy and you got yourself a Moon lander. Now the Mars rocket will be made especially for the Moon's gravity. It wouldn't need much fuel but can be towering. Also, you'll need a specialized version of the Beijing 600 (a version I like to call Beijing Iron Dragon 600-C) to transport the new rocket's parts to the Moon Base. Here is a nice article, but it is of the year 2039 and not you intended 2018 mission: How China's Planned Moon Landing Will Differ From America's Moon Landing
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jasonsnow
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Post by jasonsnow on Apr 1, 2018 21:30:52 GMT
I like the way you think. Just rename that bad boy and you got yourself a Moon lander. Now the Mars rocket will be made especially for the Moon's gravity. It wouldn't need much fuel but can be towering. Also, you'll need a specialized version of the Beijing 600 (a version I like to call Beijing Iron Dragon 600-C) to transport the new rocket's parts to the Moon Base. Here is a nice article, but it is of the year 2039 and not you intended 2018 mission: How China's Planned Moon Landing Will Differ From America's Moon Landing That's actually not bad. However, I believe that--in order to achieve a proper Moon Base--the Beijing 600 will reach the Moon all full and once Lunar orbit is achieved, the payload cargo would detach and land on the Moon as an unmanned probe. The rest of the rocket would then detach into a tiny capsule carrying the crew, which would then manually reach the rest of the payload. Then the astronauts would retrieve the payload's cargo and start building. I see this diagram working for the Moon-Mars mission, which involves only astronauts and no payload. Still with me? Good.
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jasonsnow
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Post by jasonsnow on Apr 1, 2018 21:32:26 GMT
The Beijing Iron Dragon 600-C would be a smaller version of the Beijing 600, all payload and fuel. It can crash-land into the Lunar surface just as a tumbler, similar to how Martian rovers land.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 1, 2018 21:32:29 GMT
That's actually not bad. However, I believe that--in order to achieve a proper Moon Base--the Beijing 600 will reach the Moon all full and once Lunar orbit is achieved, the payload cargo would detach and land on the Moon as an unmanned probe. The rest of the rocket would then detach into a tiny capsule carrying the crew, which would then manually reach the rest of the payload. Then the astronauts would retrieve the payload's cargo and start building. I see this diagram working for the Moon-Mars mission, which involves only astronauts and no payload. Still with me? Good. Still with you, and the Chinese are known to do things in secret, if the moon mission had failed, when nobody would know except the rumors that tend to come out.
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jasonsnow
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Post by jasonsnow on Apr 1, 2018 21:36:07 GMT
Exactly. That's what makes all this so plausible.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 1, 2018 21:38:04 GMT
Exactly. That's what makes all this so plausible.Same thing as the Soviets where planning to do you mean, launch and if it succeed before the landing of Apollo 11, then great, if it fails, well to bad, but who is going to know.
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jasonsnow
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Post by jasonsnow on Apr 1, 2018 22:04:43 GMT
Yeah. However, they did make it, and now they essentially own space. China has conquered two celestial bodies in less than a decade, which is both terrifying and amazing.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Apr 2, 2018 9:58:16 GMT
Yeah. However, they did make it, and now they essentially own space. China has conquered two celestial bodies in less than a decade, which is both terrifying and amazing. Doubt landing on the Moon and Mars is enough to own space, they need to do a lot more to do that, and also the United States will follow up, i doubt if they like being number two.
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