So with the master version of the game, it appears that it is much harder now, and designed for more time to pass before the first achievements. So bear in mind that the game is designed to take far later for the first satellite, so I have to log more time than usual at once. Also, these are quite tiring to write and I’m not much in the best health, so excuse the short bursts of time warp here.

June 13th, 1951

The Chief Engineer is gathered with a crowd of spectators, some of them his direct bosses. A plume soars into the sky, evidence of a newly launched rocket once more. “So, does this not look good? The engine is having no issues at all, and the guidance is working much better now!” But some are not impressed at all. “This thing took a month to manufacture, cost us a fortune, and does nothing new from the missiles we had for the last few years. Either you impress us, make something better, or spend less money on making it.”

August 9th, 1951

Ellen Fisher is one of 4 test pilots chosen for a new, dangerous job. A fat paycheck, promises of excitement and fame, and half a year of training brought her to be chosen as the first person to go into space. The pressurized cockpit is shielded, and loaded onto a modified A-1 with a propulsive escape system. And the launch goes perfectly. The Vern 1 craft is launched and sends her to 179 kilometers above the sea level. At first, all she sees is darkness, but as the craft spins slowly after the rocket is long shut off, she sees the sun. And then the Earth. For 6 minutes there is weightlessness, and even her laughter….. before she feels deceleration, and weight. For a brief few minutes, the window turns bright orange and yellow with fire. Then the parachutes work, and she lands in the water with a splashdown, the first person to reach space.

February 15th, 1952

In the span of 6 months, 3 more Vern launches, Vern 1-4, will take place, putting Rozalina Yozhova, Eduard Korovin, and Barry Thompson into space respectively. Using the much more advanced A-2 launch vehicle, having fins modified to be similar to that of the first Vern craft but with a better engine that has more efficiency and a safer thrust, these launches go by perfectly, proving the reliability of the A-9 engine, and it’s ability to reach space. They also prove the concept of the Vern’s escape system being able to be used as a retro fire system, to cushion landings.

August 29th, 1952

The A-3 rocket is prepared, and readied for launch. Using pressure fed upper stage engines, and an A-9 lower stage engine, it can send a payload much farther than the A-2 engine. The first launch sends a payload of several hundred kilograms approximately 1,000 kilometers into the air. In this time span, 3 are launched, each one with a painful cost and a huge build time, worth it for their capabilities. And each one is under 20 tons as well, efficient for their weight.