Spetchkov put his hands together and asked a very pointed question, "But comrade, didn't you accuse Pavylyvych of the very same cautious approach you are now proposing, criticizing it as too cautious and prone to costing Zenobia the space race? It is no good to us to get to the Moon second place, and your proposal, as I understand it, will require a great many test flights, will it not?"

Ivan Ivan Ivanovich packed a bag, tears streaming down his cheeks. He turned to his fellow cosmonauts.

"Comrades, please, in memory of Comrade Ivanov and myself, please, someone piss on Murca from the depths of space and put a giant statue of Comrade Lennon on the moon."

Earth/Lunar Orbit Rendevous
This allows us to launch the various components of the lunar landing system (the manned capsule, the lunar lander, and assorted docking and 'kicker' modules as needed) on multiple rockets, then link the components up in orbit around the Earth or around the moon. It is somewhat more complicated, but we can do it without developing the N-1. On the other hand, the extra investment in Proton boosters required to do each joint mission is significant. Also, using two launches means double the risk of one of the rockets exploding and ruining the whole mission, which is not to be sneezed at.

We can, in principle, send Voskhod (a modified version, I'd think) to the moon. This will, again, require a kicker. We would also have to develop a more expensive one man lunar lander, since we need one guy to stay with the Voskhod command module while the other guy goes down to the moon. This will be lonelier on the lunar surface.

You see, Comrade Spetchkov? We can do this easily- within a few years! And using almost entirely technology we already have! We can beat the Murcans by years, if not decades! And do it cautiously, because their egos will demand one giant -and hard to build- rocket!"

http://bbs.stardestroyer.net/viewtopic.php?p=3519292#p3519292

...

3) Earth/Lunar Orbit Rendevous
This allows us to launch the various components of the lunar landing system (the manned capsule, the lunar lander, and assorted docking and 'kicker' modules as needed) on multiple rockets, then link the components up in orbit around the Earth or around the moon. It is somewhat more complicated, but we can do it without developing the N-1. On the other hand, the extra investment in Proton boosters required to do each joint mission, scaled over the cost of the equivalent of multiple Apollo missions (say, Apollo 8, 10, and 11), is significant. Also, using two launches means double the risk of one of the rockets exploding and ruining the whole mission, which is not to be sneezed at.

...

4) We can, in principle, send Voskhod (a modified version, I'd think) to the moon. This will, again, require a kicker. We would also have to develop a more expensive one man lunar lander, since we need one guy to stay with the Voskhod command module while the other guy goes down to the moon. This will be lonelier on the lunar surface.

Really, Doomy, you could try to do some of your own research, rather than just directly quoting my own remarks.

You see, Comrade Spetchkov? We can do this easily- within a few years! And using almost entirely technology we already have! We can beat the Murcans by years, if not decades! And do it cautiously, because their egos will demand one giant -and hard to build- rocket!"

Well gentleman, we have a presidentail mandate and a demand from the Murcan people.

-Recruit second class of astronauts
-Schedule a Atlas/Explorer launch. we need to boost prestige somehow!

Oh, and as to Akhlut's remark that Ivan was the first mang to orbit the Earth, no dice! OhJesus was there first!

I think that was his point. He is using your plan, because it's the best one

Oh, and as to Akhlut's remark that Ivan was the first mang to orbit the Earth, no dice! OhJesus was there first!

Doesn't actively training improve satisfaction rating?

"You know...", Spetchkov shuffled some papers. He couldn't shake the thought that he's heard von Evilstein's briefing before somewhere, "...grand promises are all well and good, but just how fast is 'a few years'? You do know president Teddy just comitted to a landing by the end of the decade, da? So, in your expert opinion, should you replace Syrgy Pavylyvych as the man in charge, exactly how fast can you do it?"

It is my duty to make an accounting of the life and passing of Captain Ivan Ivanovitch Ivanov, veteran of the First Guards Aviation Division.

During the Great Patriotic Salvation War, Ivanov fought bravely against the Ratzi invaders, battling the enemy behind, above, and in front of the line of battle. He distinguished himself repeatedly for his courage and skill, both of which traits he carried forward into the Jet Age after the war ended, demonstrating his ability at the forefront of Zenobian aviation with ever more complex and sophisticated ZiG and Yakski fighters.

From his first days with the cosmonaut program in 1958, I became convinced that Captain Ivanov was the best possible candidate for orbital spaceflight; if any man could triumph over a strange and unknown environment, Ivanov would be that man. His performance in arduous training supported my conviction, as did his bearing and efficiency during his final mission.

I was privileged to be in radio contact with Captain Ivanov for the majority of his twenty-two hour flight through the heavens. He acted admirably in all respects, particularly in his mastery of his capsule's maneuvering controls during mid-orbit tests, something which Comrade Faaabio had not been able to explore during the much shorter suborbital flight.

Ivanov reported discomfort and disorientation at first, but pressed on through his checklists and kept up a steady stream of reports, many of which were heard on radio frequencies around the world as he circled the globe time after time. He exchanged courteous greetings with Premier Shroomanski after his first orbit as he flew over Zenobian territory at a speed of over seven kilometers per second, and on following orbits transmitted photographs of himself which will hold an eternal place in the annals of Zenobian exploration.

History will record that Captain Ivanov was the first man in the history of civilization to do many things; among them, he was the first to sleep in orbit. After performing a wide variety of tasks and checks, including some which proved quite challenging, which I do not know if a lesser man could have handled, ground control advised the captain to take a rest. He did so, settling in for a long, peaceful slumber while floating in the zero-gravity of his capsule. By his own report, he slept quite well, "like a baby."

After awakening, Ivanov shook off his disorientation, seemingly like a bull shrugging off a bothersome fly, twelve orbits into his mission. He handled the de-orbit burn deftly despite technical difficulties with the retro-rocket pack, and was almost precisely on course for reentry, prior to the failure of the capsule's heat shield as it approached radio blackout. To the last, he was calm and composed.

Comrade Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov was a true hero of the Zenobian people; there is no man I have ever been more proud to know and to work with.

*Author's note: I am basing the events of Ivanov's time in orbit off the historical Vostok 2 mission flown by Titov, which was of comparable duration and thus, I presume, of comparable complexity. Titov did experience space-sickness; since Ivanov's endurance score is equal to that of Titov in-game, I thought it reasonable that Ivanov would experience the same, and handle it as well as Titov did.

OOC, in all fairness, Simon, I was in a hurry when I quoted you. That was, in my opinion, the plan that could be enacted the fastest, and I needed a good explanation of it in under a minute or two because I had to be out the door then to catch my bus. I would have written my own, I just didn't have the time at the time. Hell, if you want I'll write my own and we can all act like I said that instead.

"Well, Comrade Spetchkov, he says that Murca will do it by 1970? I will be ready to launch in the fall of 1967. Five years. I promise you- Zenobia will have a cosmonaut on the Moon in five years."