Timeline (Ascent 1967)

Timeline 1944-1970
1940's

1944: Production of the V2 is put on hold as the Red Army comes closer to Berlin

1945: Operation Paperclip is launched by the Americans, many Nazi scientists leave Europe with their familes to the US and work with the government. MI6 launches a similar operation to retrieve intelligance and hears about Operation Paperclip.

1946: WIth the Second World War over the remaining Nazi scientists in the UK are granted citizenship through MI6's knowledge of OP. A young scientist going by the name of Whrener von Braun moves to the US with blueprints of the Vergeltungswaf fen (Vengence weapon)

 1947:   Soviet scientists gain access to some V2 craft in the now Soviet occupied East Germany. Now British citizens, the German scientists warn the government that the Soviets may have other scientists working on nuclear weapons. The US on the other hand, start looking at upgrading the V2 for military purposes. Von Braun; inspired by the science fiction novels, thinks about using the missiles for scientific progress.

 1949:   Von Braun outfits a V2 with a small payload of atmospheric sensors and a camera, the altitude peaked to 64 km. The payload comes back with some data that Von Braun shares with the scientific community.

 1950's  

 1950:  Soviet nuclear tests are revealed to the newly formed NATO as the US test their new rocket designs. The British Parliment authroizes German scientists to work on the V2 weapons and weaponise them. Von Braun and a small group of scientists start to work on a manned space craft with the USAF, the Army and Navy attempt to do the same but all three groups are marked with constant failures.

 1951:  The US armed forces seperate attempts at buliding manned and unmanned spacecraft have flopped. With funding being withdrawn Von Braun opts for a seprate entity to be made for the purpose of space exploration. He isn't taken seriously but some members of Congress apporve of his idea.

 1953:  The United Nations attempt to intervene with the nuclear tests. All US and Soviet tests end by 1958. The USAF space program succeeds in leaps and bounds as intelligence suggests that Soviet scientists may be doing the same.

 1954:  Von Braun designs an unmanned craft to study space, the prototype is named Explorer. Soviet scientists reverse engineer V2 technology and work on a satellite named Sputnik.

 1955:  Sergi Korolev, the chief designer of the Soviet space program attempts to launch a prototype of Sputnik, but explodes on the launch pad, incinerating three technicihans.

1956: After years of working with the USAF, Von Braun submits his idea of a government funded space program to Congress, they approve of his idea. NASA is created with Von Braun as head of staff.

1957: The USSR launch the first artifical satlelite Sputnik 1. This is a shock to the US as they struggle to launch the Explorer prototype, but eventually succseed. Britian looks at a crown funded space program. The USSR celebrates their success on state raidio and television.

1958: President Kennedy challenges the Soviets to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. The Russians reply with sending Luna 1, but impacts into the lunar surface, a blow to the Soviet space program. Meanwhile the British launches a small satellite but crashes into the English Channel.

1959: The British Government gains assistance from the newly formed NASA, helping the British Space Agency. Project Mercury is started at Huntsville, Alabmba to achieve manned spaceflight. Soviet probe Luna 2 makes a hard landing on the moon, the first probe to do so.

1960's

1960: The US unmanned lunar program flops with most probes crashing into the lunar surface, the USSR's manned program is going swimmingly with some candidates already being chosen as the US does the same with the Mercury project. The US follows the Russians sucsess with Luna 2 by landing the Ranger probes, the first two fail at launch but Ranger 3 sends back images of the moon to an excited public.

1961: The USSR shocks the world by sending the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin spent 2 hours in space before landing in Kazakhstan. The US catches up three months later with John Glenn in a suborbital trajectory, the Mercury project is a succsess for NASA and boosts US morale. To help practice with rendezvous with other spacecraft and practicing EVA's, NASA puts the greenlight on Project Gemini, with applicants being selected.

1962: Vostok's 3 and 4 orbit simultaniously as the USSR work on their lunar program, the US looks at the possiblity of an armed spacecraft. The US lunar program starts with a prototype Lunar lander being desgined. The program is named Apollo with the first test flights starting in 1964.

1963: The first manned version of Gemini, Gemini 3, is launched at Cape Canaveral, with Gus Grimmson and John Young at the controls. The flight is a sucsess and they land safely in the Pacific Ocean. Gemini 4