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Multilateral Space Race
Topic Started: Jan 20 2014, 12:00 AM (181 Views)
Basil Fawlty
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Post Tenebras Lux
What would a true multilateral space race in the 1950s-70s look like?

Simon has done a good job answering this question in Dark Earth, but it has a lot of sci-fi/fantasy elements like aliens and colonization.

An interesting, if a little trite scenario might involve the survival of the old prewar great power system. The German Empire, Britain, the United States and the Russian Empire/USSR would be the clear major players, followed by France and possibly Japan. The space race is certainly one of those things that would fit very well in the Belle Epoque atmosphere of national rivalries.

Alternatively, we could envision several other major players joining the @ race alongside America and Russia... I understand Britain has been mooted once or twice before. ;)
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Simon Darkshade
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Nefarious Swashbuckler
The British Commonwealth programme is the easiest to envisage, as there is the hardware, the plans, the facilities and some ability to supply funding. It would not be comparable to either the Soviet or American programme, but could flow from satellites to manned orbit to space stations and eventually some sense of lunar programme if will and interest is maintained.

A British Empire without one or both world wars would certainly be in it up to the neck.

France is the type of state that would go in for a prestige space programme; getting other European states along expands their funding and options. A great power France without the blows of WW1 and WW2 is even more likely to get involved.

Imperial Germany or a German Republic would have the capacity, industry and economy without the world wars.

Japan could make an entry in the 1970s, even after a historical defeat.

The space race is in some ways similar to the dreadnought arms race - one superpower with enough resources and will to see off a major challenger and forge ahead, with lesser challengers able to build decent niche fleets that can expand later on. Also, those who do the groundwork of 1st and 2nd generation development incur a much greater cost than those who copy successful models; the atomic bomb is another comparison.
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Vonar Roberts
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In my opinion Germany would be in the best position - especially if it retained all of the scientists that migrated to the west because of the rise of Nazi Germany.


The Political will for a rocket program will be important to its success. Remember Von Braun's rocket society was building and launching prototypes of what would become the V-2 rockets on a regular basis in the late 30's and early 40's during a time that the majority of the rest of the world considered spaceflight to be the realm of science fiction. Robert H. Goddard was roundly ridiculed in the American press for his rocketry breakthroughs which were revolutionary at the time so anywhere in Americas prior to the 50's a serious rocket program would be a no go.


I half to question the political will of France, Japan, and England to commit the resources required for serious a rocket program. While there were some political dreamers in the 1900's like Balfour and Rhodes who wanted to conquer the planets around other stars for the most part British and French spaceflight is a pipedream. I could see the British doing something like a transcontinental railway across their holdings in Africa and Asia to secure their imperial interests before the British consider doing a manned space program.

The Japanese are even further behind then Germany, and the European powers. However they have the resources, and probably the political will to do a rocket program.
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Simon Darkshade
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Nefarious Swashbuckler
By the time spaceflight is technologically possible, transcontinental railroads are a bygone memory. Both Britain and France had the will to think big pre-Suez and the proven ability to spend exorbitant sums of money on projects in @.
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