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

[PeZook]

Frankly, the Murcans coul've already planned two docking missions for this season: now they let one turn slip by without critical flights happening, while Zenobians keep trying for their crucial milestone. They won't keep failing at that probe landing forever...

[ChaserGrey]

Yeah, I didn't feel like being nitpicky like that though.

[Simon_Jester]

I have simply been too tired to work out a plan these past few days- too busy with the vacation, and somewhat depressed over long term issues (which, come to think of it, undermine the purpose of the vacation...)

The situation is complicated in a good way because of the 50% off deal- I want to buy the hardware, but I still need to maintain my lead in kicker research and push forward on Lapot, which limits my options.

If anyone wants to draft plans for me to sign off on, that's fine, and I want them to think very carefully about the need to balance the following priorities:

-Ongoing Kicker/Lapot research for this year
-Luna probe landing (made cheaper by the hardware deal, but we still have that "10 MB for 10% reliability" problem to take care of)
-Desire to start programs and purchase additional minishuttles (N-1 and a second (third?) Lapot being the obvious candidates; the Duet lander doesn't actually cost that much money, so halving the price doesn't help us that much)

I might then simply take that post proposal and rework it into a budget of my own with some slight modifications, I don't know.

[Scottish Ninja]

All right, let me work the numbers for a bit.

Maximum Purchase Plan: where we buy as much as possible right away. Note that this is not a serious plan, given the pressing needs of research - just a thought experiment.

Budget: 122 MB
Start up N1: 42 MB. Remaining: 80 MB.
Start up Duet: 17 MB. Remaining: 63 MB.
Buy 2x Lapot: 30 MB. Remaining: 33 MB.
Buy 2x N1: 18 MB. Remaining: 15 MB.
Buy 5x R-7: 5 MB. Remaining: 10 MB.
Buy 5x Booster: 10 MB. Remaining: 0 MB.*

*Alternatively;
Buy 2x Duet: 8 MB. Remaining: 7 MB
Buy 3x R-7: 3 MB. Remaining: 4 MB.
Buy 2x Booster: 4 MB. Remaining: 0 MB.

Or:
Buy 2x Comrade Module-bis: 6 MB. Remaining: 9 MB.
Buy 3x R-7 and 3x Booster: 9 MB

Or:

Buy 2x Proton: 12 MB
Buy 1x Comrade Module-bis: 3MB

I won't go through every possible permutation; I'm just trying to think of our possible future flight schedules and buying things on that basis.

Maximum Research Plan: As above, a thought experiment.
Budget: 122 MB

Hardware Purchase:
1x Duet: 17 MB

Remaining: 105 MB
Research:
2 seasons, 5 teams on Lapot: 70 MB
2 seasons, 5 teams on Comrade Module-bis: 20 MB.
Spring, 5 teams; Fall, 2 teams on Duet: 14 MB

Remaining: 1 MB

Not enough to start N1 but we could get a start on researching Duet (it starts at 10% so that needs time)

Or we could pick up some extra equipment instead of doing Duet. I don't really want to go through figuring out what to spend that remaining budget on when I'm not really sure of our future flight schedule though; that's 32 MB to spend on other stuff though.

So with those extremes defined, here are some more defined plans:

Mishingun Plan Alfalfa, Spring 1970 - Priorities in order: Lunar probe landing, N1, Lapot and Kicker-B research

Budget: 122 MB

Luna Probe Landing Budget:
Buy 1x Proton and 1x Luna probe - 9 MB
FIX the Luna probe - 10 MB

Remaining: 102 MB.

Other hardware purchase:
Start N1 - 42 MB

Remaining: 60 MB

Research:
5x Lapot: 35 MB
5x Kicker-B: 10 MB

Budget reserved for Fall 1970: 15 MB (Not a lot left for research, but I see getting half off on that N1 startup as a serious priority - we won't get a chance like this again)

Mission Status:
Pad A: SCRUB the Lunar Flyby
Pad B: LAUNCH the Lunar Probe Landing
Pad C: SCRUB the Mercury Flyby

Mission Scheduling:
None.

Mishingun Plan Beets, Spring 1970 - Priorities: N1, Research

Budget: 122 MB

Hardware Purchase:
N1 Startup: 42 MB

Remaining: 80 MB

Research
5 teams Lapot: 35 MB
5 teams Kicker-B: 10 MB

Mission Status:
SCRUB ALL MISSIONS.

Mission Scheduling: None
Budget reserved for Fall 1970: 35 MB - enough to do 5 teams on Lapot, or 4 teams on Lapot and 3 on Kicker-B

Mishingun Plan Vegetable, Spring 1970 - Priorities: N1, extra Lapot, Research

Budget: 122 MB

Hardware Purchase:
N1 Startup: 42 MB
1x Lapot: 15 MB

Remaining: 65 MB

Research
5 teams Lapot: 35 MB
5 teams Kicker-B: 10 MB

Remaining: 20 MB

Mission Status:
SCRUB ALL MISSIONS.

Mission Scheduling: None

Mishingun Plan Gringo, Spring 1970 - Priorities: Lunar Probe Landing, N1, extra Lapot, Research

Budget: 122 MB

Hardware Purchase:
N1 Startup: 42 MB
1x Lapot: 15 MB
1x Proton: 6 MB
1x Luna: 3 MB
1x R-7: 1 MB

Remaining: 55 MB

Research
5 teams Lapot: 35 MB
5 teams Kicker-B: 10 MB

Remaining: 10 MB

FIX the Luna probe: 10 MB

Remaining: 0 MB

Mission Status:
Pad A: Lunar Flyby is NO-GO
Pad B: Lunar Probe Landing is GO
Pad C: Mercury Flyby is NO-GO

Mission Scheduling: None

Budget reserved for Fall 1970: ZERO MB. Not great, but we might survive doing nothing next turn, especially if the probe landing works.

[Simon_Jester]

These are good; I'll make up my mind this evening.

[OmegaChief]

Hmmm, I'd lean towards plans Beets amd Alfalfa, with a heavy leaning towards Alfalfa, getting our moon rocket and probe both sorted now will help us keep the edge on the Muricans and take the best advantage to get our most expensive program started while we have this oppertunity.

[ChaserGrey]

The Herr Direktor has asked me to come up with a plan for him, which I'll do tonight after I get home from work. More later, just wanted people to know the Murcan side was showing signs of life.

[PeZook]

Director Von Braun obviously knows how to delegate his work properly, da!

[Simon_Jester]

One point is that the final plan will probably put less than full research on Lapot- we need to do about ten teams' more research on Lapot anyway, and committing to finishing the Lapot research this year makes it very difficult for us to take full advantage of this event.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Director Von Braun obviously knows how to delegate his work properly, da!

Naturlich, we Thanasians are used to detailing work to the untermensch...

[OmegaChief]

We could sacrifice some research on the Comrade Modual to get the N1 started and keep our goals on the Lapot, we do still need to do a couple of Earth orbit duration flights first after all, maybe with even more docking? As our research intoit bottoms out sooner, and it really really really would be silly of us to miss this oppertunty to get the N1 at half price.

[Simon_Jester]

I fully plan to begin N-1 this season.


Zenobian docking reliability is rather high at this point; we can do a few more tests profitably, and we will, but the first round of Lapot tests will be unmanned suborbital flights to check performance of the heat shield and telemetry systems. At this point, though, Lapot research will likely be delayed- the minishuttles will not be flight ready until early 1971 at best, and possibly not until late 1971.


I do not think it wise to sacrifice research on the Comrade Module. Under the present schedule it will be ready within one year, and once we have it ready, Good Things happen. Because we can, any time we wish, do a lunar pass (Apollo 8-ski), using a boosted Proton to lift a Voskhod/Kicker-B combination to send two cosmonauts around the moon.

That wouldn't require us to reach the Duration-D milestone, since Lunar Pass is only a Duration-C mission. And it would be a major prestige coup for us, since at this point it's effectively impossible for the Murcans to perform a lunar pass before 1972 just because of the time it will take them to do kicker research.

The only problem with that is that the inherent risk for a Voskhod lunar mission is pretty significant, even at 92% capsule reliability and with a CAP 4 pilot, so I have some misgivings- odds of no mission failures are somewhere between one in two and two in three, and I'd have to do the math in more detail than is practical at the moment.

Also, Lapot research is so expensive (7 MB per team) that you have to sacrifice a great deal of Kicker-B research (2 MB per team) to accomplish anything meaningful with Lapot. It doesn't strike me as being worth it.

[Simon_Jester]

My current draft plan has N-1, a second Lapot, and a fairly ambitious unmanned program for 1970 budgeted, at the cost of getting only four teams on Comrade Module-bis and two teams on Lapot before the end of the year.

It's not ready to post, but it's mostly laid out.

Hopefully I'll be able to get both those programs to max R&D by the end of 1971, though.

[ChaserGrey]

Okay, here's the plan. It's crazy but it just might work.

Hardware Purchases

3 Titan Booster- 36 MB
2 Booster- 8 MB
Docking Module x2- 20 MB [18 to start program, 2 MB for a second]
Ranger x1- 5 MB
Kicker-B- 18 MB

Repair launch pad A- 20 MB

R&D

5 teams on Kicker-B

Future Missions

Pad A- Lunar flyby
Pad B- Unmanned orbital docking
Pad C- Unmanned orbital docking

This should get us back on track- we've got to get flying. By the time we've burned through that hardware, we'll have a new budget. Sorry 'nauts, but I just couldn't justify risking a crew for a manned docking mission yet. If we have a Hermes accident now we are fucked.

Hopefully, with our lead in shuttles we should be able to beat the Commienists to sending people around the Moon. Pull that off, and this whole thing might still work.

Might.

Hell, we'll give it a shot.

Kicker-B- 18 MB

[Scottish Ninja]

Ah, Chaser, Murcan docking modules are overengineered and overcomplicated and cost 3 MB instead of 2.

I think I'm starting to get to be an absolute bastard when it comes to budgeting. What's interesting is that I do quite enjoy playing the game like this; having the time to sit back and really think about what we're doing and why, and how much money we have, is a wholly different experience than having everything at your fingertips and getting it right away.

[ChaserGrey]

Well, shit. My copy of the game says 2.

Ah well. We'll cut back on research next turn.

[Simon_Jester]

Aaargh. Sorry, guys. Lost track of time. My post will have to be tomorrow afternoon or evening- I have the budget worked out, but not the launch plans.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Okay, here's the plan. It's crazy but it just might work.

Hardware Purchases

3 Titan Booster- 36 MB
2 Booster- 8 MB
Docking Module x2- 20 MB [18 to start program, 2 MB for a second]
Ranger x1- 5 MB
Kicker-B- 18 MB

Repair launch pad A- 20 MB

R&D

5 teams on Kicker-B

Future Missions

Pad A- Lunar flyby
Pad B- Unmanned orbital docking
Pad C- Unmanned orbital docking

This should get us back on track- we've got to get flying. By the time we've burned through that hardware, we'll have a new budget. Sorry 'nauts, but I just couldn't justify risking a crew for a manned docking mission yet. If we have a Hermes accident now we are fucked.

Hopefully, with our lead in shuttles we should be able to beat the Commienists to sending people around the Moon. Pull that off, and this whole thing might still work.

Might.

Hell, we'll give it a shot.

Kicker-B- 18 MB

Plan Approved by the Office of the Director

[Simon_Jester]

Proton rocket and booster stage reliability are at 98% already, da?

[PeZook]

Da!

[Simon_Jester]

Actually... I double-checked. Boosters are at 98%, but Proton is at 97% as of the last picture I saw in a turn-by-turn.

[PeZook]

Hmm. I was certain it was topped off...I can't check now as I don't have the saves handy.

[Scottish Ninja]

Yes, it was 97% in Fall '69 and we haven't launched a Proton since then. See here.

[Simon_Jester]

Plan Pavylyvych Spring 1970

Greetings, comrades of the Baikonurek Cosmodrome! The great Shroomanski has been so kind as to give us top priority for production in this bright new decade, permitting industrial acceleration that will surely drive the program to the top!

---

Budget: 122 megarubleoids

Hardware Procurement

42 MB: Begin N-1 rocket program
15 MB: Purchase Lapot shuttle
10 MB: Refurbish Luna probe
6 MB: Purchase two Luna probes.
2 MB: Purchase two Cosmos probes.
24 MB: Purchase four Proton rockets.

Total cost: 99 MB
Remaining budget: 23 MB

Research and Development
2 teams' research on Comrade Module-bis: 4 MB
1 team's research on Lapot: 7 MB

Total cost: 11 MB
Remaining budget: 11 MB
(for 2 teams on Comrade Module and 1 team on Lapot in Fall 1970)

Schedule Missions
Schedule a lunar probe landing on pad A

Mission Go/No-Go Status:
We are GO for lunar flyby on pad A.
We are GO for lunar probe landing on pad B.
We are GO for Mercury flyby on pad C.

[Simon_Jester]

I didn't really have the energy for a big lead-in text; I hope no one minds.