For All Mankind

[sanman]

[hektor]

Interesting to know that we will get in Jamestown.

A panel with Shantel VanSanten since she can be seen at the table behind...

[hektor]

[hektor]

[sanman]

In episode 2, when Von Braun is testifying in a Congressional hearing, he says that the next rocket will be able to carry upto a million pounds, or four times the payload of the Saturn-V. Which rocket is he talking about? Was there ever any real-world rocket on the drawing boards that would replace the Saturn-V and have comparable specs? And would that be what brought the Jamestown lunar base module which landed at Shackleton in the final scene of episode 5?

[hektor]

See above. Garett Riesmann says that Jamestown was launched "via Saturn V with nothing above the S-IVB other than the base under a large fairing".

The next launcher could be Nova ?

[su27k]

In episode 2, when Von Braun is testifying in a Congressional hearing, he says that the next rocket will be able to carry upto a million pounds, or four times the payload of the Saturn-V. Which rocket is he talking about? Was there ever any real-world rocket on the drawing boards that would replace the Saturn-V and have comparable specs?

I think he was talking about Sea Dragon (thus my previous comment, chekhov's gun and all that). You can see in the TV monitor when the first time he said this there's Sea Dragon model in his hand, with gigantic single nozzle and blunt nose cone. Also if you try to listen closely, a few minutes later his testimony was repeated, and he continues after the 1 million pounds with something like "this is possible (because it launches from) the sea, (a) Sea Dragon".

[MATTBLAK]

Sea Dragon: when you positively have to kill and also deafen as much sea life as possible!!   

[hektor]

So Truax will pop up at some point ?

[sanman]

Haha, that would be quite a cool twist to do that. Sea Dragon would be a great macguffin to get bigger things sent up to space.

Meanwhile, how is the Jamestown base supposed to survive the lunar night - and at the south pole of all places?

Does anybody think there will be nuclear-powered hardware in this story? It is the Cold War space race, after all.
Maybe we'd see it being used on the Soviet side, at least.

I'm wondering if there's going to be any Cold War confrontation on the Moon?
If hypothetically there's no Watergate scandal, and Nixon stays in office for a full second term, then that should provide enough deus ex machina for plenty of escalatory buildup near Shackleton, in a competition for lunar water resources.

Will water be the new oil?
Or will focus on lunar water as the most valuable reource soon give way to Helium-3?

[nacnud]

Meanwhile, how is the Jamestown base supposed to survive the lunar night - and at the south pole of all places?

If they put Jamestown base in the right place then it could be in near permanent light. So solar and batteries would do it.

From Wikipedia "Even during the worst lunar day the longest period of darkness is ~7 Earth days, with shortest periods of light between darkness of ~3 Earth days"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_of_eternal_light

[hektor]

If hypothetically there's no Watergate scandal, and Nixon stays in office for a full second term, then that should provide enough deus ex machina for plenty of escalatory buildup near Shackleton, in a competition for lunar water resources.

Well they kept Ted Kennedy out of Chappaquiddick, I tend to believe that was for a reason ; my bet is that he will be elected in 1972, being Democratic nominee instead of George McGovern.

[Joris]

I wonder how they will portray the longer duration missions on the moon that are bound to occur.

The lunar component we have not seen in real life, but the 1970's saw skylab and salyut. (That aren't in the shows alternate reality I think). I wonder if the show will keep progressing at its current rate or we'll get to see some things about improved quality astronaut food and more homesteading in episode 6. (Next episode title is 'home again' it appears.)

[hektor]

I thought that 'home again' would deal about post flight life of Molly Cobb and how she (and her husband) adjust to her new found fame.

[sanman]

Well they kept Ted Kennedy out of Chappaquiddick, I tend to believe that was for a reason ; my bet is that he will be elected in 1972, being Democratic nominee instead of George McGovern.

If Edward Kennedy gets elected US president, then maybe he eventually makes a JFK-esque speech calling for Americans to set foot on Mars. They're already framing the Moon as the gas station for travel out into the solar system.

I thought that 'home again' would deal about post flight life of Molly Cobb and how she (and her husband) adjust to her new found fame.

And yet that last scene of Jamestown landing jumps forward a couple of years. Perhaps they'll have her returning 'home again' to the Moon?

[dglow]

I am wondering how they will handle interaction between the superpowers' space programs. ASTP is likely out for this alternate history.
A guess: it begins with something dramatic on the lunar surface, a mishap requiring both sides' impromptu cooperation.

[hektor]

I am kind of hoping they go back in time in Ep. 6 right after Apollo 15. Otherwise we will miss Apollo 18 and what happens with Gordo Stevens and Danielle Poole... following the Outpost sequence of Ep. 5.

[Ronpur50]

I am kind of hoping they go back in time in Ep. 6 right after Apollo 15. Otherwise we will miss Apollo 18 and what happens with Gordo Stevens and Danielle Poole... following the Outpost sequence of Ep. 5.

I am wondering if the Jamestown landing is just a flash forward and they will return to the post Apollo 15 time too.  We will find out this weekend!  Jamestown is a perfect name for an all American lunar base.  Especially in this reality as the space race is continuing.

Did any one else notice the different antennas on the top of the PLSS for the Apollo 15 crew?  Also, they had EVA TV cameras that could broadcast realtime to Earth.  Data was also sent from the SIM during the mission too. Plus a new computer in the LM.  Technology has changed in this reality, very subtly, but things are moving further away from what we had.

[sanman]

They seemed to be streaming everything in realtime, although that was probably more for the benefit of us viewers than anything.
Would a suit antenna be expected to beam directly to Earth? Or would the Seahawk lander likely serve as a relay?

The macguyvering of the lunar buggy into the winch was pretty clever, though. It wasn't clear to me what they were using as a cable for Molly to climb down with.

It seems like Shackleton with its water ice is now the focus of interest on the Moon, which the action will likely center around.
I wonder what kind of hardware they'll use for harvesting that water ice.

[Tobias_Corbett]

I am kind of hoping they go back in time in Ep. 6 right after Apollo 15. Otherwise we will miss Apollo 18 and what happens with Gordo Stevens and Danielle Poole... following the Outpost sequence of Ep. 5.

I'm in the same boat with you there, I imagine that the first african-american astronaut going up in the 70s would make for an interesting storyline.

Also on an unrelated note I would really like to see Deke get a flight in this universe. I imagine ASTP is off the table in this universe, so they would need to find another mission to stick him on. Its probably unlikey, although I feel like seeing Deke finally get into space would (atleast to me) be a really cool bit to see in the show,