by Hall, Gerald
“Well, that is why we need the big rocket first. Let’s have IDA do a comprehensive search on rocket designs for us. Then we can select what works out best for us within the current technology level.” Judith replied while drinking something cold from the soda pop machine.
Chapter Eleven:
Cavill Industries Special Research Facility
Derby, Western Australia
November 5, 1955
The Cavill’s underground data center continued to be improved on a regular basis. ‘Experimental’ hardware was constantly integrated into the computer mainframe to improve its speed and data storage capacity in order to safeguard the contents of Harold’s original twenty-first computer database. The computer mainframe had rapidly progressed from vacuum tubes, mechanical gears and tape data storage which typified the first generation of electronic computers had already been upgraded to using semi-conductors, simple integrated circuits and early hard drive technology.
Compared to the Twenty-First Century equivalent, the computer in the Cavill’s data center is massive in size. It is also still far less capable than the little notebook computer that James Stevenson had brought back with him through the time portal. This ‘primitive’ computer was still decades ahead of anything else in the world at this time.
But because this was all hidden from the rest of the world, Judith and her siblings were able to create and maintain their father’s database, free from the concern of losing the entire virtual warehouse of future information due to a hardware malfunction. All of the data from that twenty-first century database had been painstakingly copied over to what was originally massive data banks. As the Cavill’s were able to make advances in their computer hardware, the data was copied again and again into ever smaller and more reliable storage devices. The underground chamber housing these facilities not only ensured their security, but also protected the equipment itself from the scorching heat of the Australian summer that was in full swing more than thirty meters above the underground chamber.
At the same time that the prototype data processing components backing up Harold Cavill’s futuristic laptop were being incorporated into the center, the devices for printing out and displaying the information from the database had to wait to be created from the technology of the day. It was only recently that relatively clear color video images on cathode ray tubes were now available for the Cavill’s data center. Much of this technology was derived from the television control system used on the new combat drone that the newly renamed Cavill Aerospace had designed for the sale to the Royal Australian Air Force.
Like with so many pieces of newly introduced technology, the combat drone was far less advanced than the unmanned combat vehicles of the twenty-first century that existed in James Stevenson’s time. But it was actually very close in concept and sophistication to the American TDR-1 drone that had been introduced during the latter part of the other timeline’s Second World War. The CDR-1, as the Cavill-designed drone was designated, reflected certain advances however that we fairly close to the state of the art of the mid-nineteen fifties. CDR-1 was faster, longer ranged, carried more payload and could be controlled from much longer distances. It could also deliver ordnance far more accurately than the WW2-era TDR-1.
The Australian military liked the drone for a variety of reasons. To begin with, it was much less expensive than a manned warplane. Secondly, it risked far fewer personnel on a combat mission than if manned aircraft were to be used. For a nation like Australia with a relatively limited manpower pool, this was very important.
For the Cavills, this was particularly important. They still remember how Dorothy Cavill lost her life flying a prototype jet fighter on a test flight. They did not want to risk the lives of any more people than they possibly could. So if the application of remotely piloted aircraft could be applied to reduce that risk, the Cavills would utilize it.
Because of the extremely sensitive nature of the technology within the data center, the only people allowed within it were Judith and her siblings. They simply could not risk anyone else learning of their father’s secret and the implications to the rest of the world.
Today, all of Harold’s children were inside the center performing maintenance and upgrades to the electronic equipment there. This weekly exercise was a part of their routine ever since shortly before their father’s death. But the time together gave the siblings an opportunity to discuss openly what was on the database and the implications on their plans for the future.
“Sarah, could you please hand me that circuit board over there?” Her twin sister Beatrice called out from one of the tall mainframe computer racks.
“Sure, sis.” Sarah cheerfully replied as she grabbed one of a dozen similar circuit boards lying on a nearby table.
Beatrice carefully installed the circuit board into the large computer rack to join scores of other similar components. When complete, this computer server would significantly increase the amount of computing power available, even if the futuristic laptop computer were to finally fail.
Harold and his children had painstakingly copied the data from the laptop’s solid state storage device first onto rolls of magnetic tapes and then to early versions of spinning magnetic data storage disks or what would later be known as ‘hard disk drives’.
After the siblings finished their work on the new computer servers for the moment, James and Beatrice walked over to a pair of early CRT computer monitors, turned them on and began to search for information from their computer database from the future.
“Hey, Judith. Take a look at this file here. Father had a bunch of information on this rocket called a Sea Dragon. This looks very interesting.” James called out while looking at the computer workstation video monitor while taking a break from his work on a data storage unit.
Judith walked over from the data processing unit that she had been working on and looked over James’ shoulder at the image on the screen.
“I’m glad to see that the work that we did improving the images from our drone bombers has been put to good use with our computer monitors now. The colors are much more well-defined while the overall images are much crisper. So what are we looking at here, James?”
“Apparently, the Americans had been working on a variety of different rocket designs for their moon launch program. This particular design was developed by an engineer named Bob Truax. This rocket is truly massive in scale, but very simple in design. This rocket used pressurized gases like nitrogen to force the fuel into the combustion chamber. The only thing else that the rocket motor would need would be a couple of big valves and an igniter.
The engineers from the Americans’ government space agency, an organization called NASA, wanted to go with a much more efficient design that used very sophisticated and expensive turbopumps to force fuel and oxidizer into the rocket combustion chamber.”
“Would this ‘Sea Dragon’ be able to reliably put enough mass into orbit for our purposes?” Judith then asked.
“Absolutely! In fact, the information here indicates that a full scale version of the Sea Dragon can put about five times as much mass into low earth orbit as the design that the Americans ultimately chose for their moon missions. We could launch an entire cluster of our communications satellites into orbit with just one launch or we could put one of Doctor von Braun’s large rotating space stations into orbit with only two or three launches.”
“But can we build it without bankrupting ourselves, Beatrice?” Sarah asked looking over at one of her younger sisters.
“We should be able to. The rocket itself is made out of ordinary steel. In fact, we could make in our Derby shipyard without too much trouble. This would make building a Sea Dragon type rocket at least an order of magnitude less expensive than the American moon rocket. The information here also says that the first stage of the rocket was durable enough that if it landed in the ocean and was recovered that it could be reused with relatively little refitting. The income that we could earn by launching entir
e constellations of communications satellites will more than pay for the program.”
“I could see why our father was so interested in this idea. But if we are going to use it, we will need to scrub any information of the concept that could hint at its real origins or refer to other technology that is too far advanced. But from what I have seen here, it would not be that far of a stretch beyond Doctor von Braun’s current state of the art rocketry.” Sarah interjected
“The Doctor may not like it very much if we devote resources to build something like Sea Dragon since it is so much different than his own designs, James.” Beatrice said.
“As long as the good Doctor continues to receive adequate funding for his designs, I don’t think that he will complain too much. This beast of a rocket will help him realize his dream to building that big space station and all of the other things that he dreamed of before he ever got involved with the V-2 program. Besides, we need von Braun’s rockets too for some of our other missions. It is much better that we keep him on our payroll, building rockets for putting personnel and materiel into space than for someone else to hire him to go back into making ballistic missiles in any event.” Judith explained.
“Then we get to the real work, like building ships to go to the Moon and then to Mars.” James said.
“We are going to get a lot of attention once we start building rockets and other space-related technologies that no one has thought of in their wildest dreams. That includes combining technologies that we own the edge on: space rockets and nuclear power. It is will bloody shock everyone when they learn that we will be working on going to Mars aboard a nuclear-thermal rocket.” Judith then explained.
“How are we going to build a nuclear-thermal rocket motor for truly long-endurance space flights?” James asked.
“To start with, the answer to your question is ‘very carefully’. The last thing that we need is to have an accident that will scare the hell out of people and turn public opinion against our efforts. For most people, we are looked at as miracle workers since the days of our father. We must ensure that people continue to have confidence in us.
As far as the technical aspects go, our initial design is going to use a conventional solid reactor core that we will be pumping liquid hydrogen through to create thrust. But that is the beginning. It is also technology that is already in our grasp with our current state of the art.
One of our options would be to create a nuclear salt-water rocket to utilize for long endurance cruise motors. That design concept had been proposed by Robert Zubrin for use for flights back and forth from Mars. Doctor Zubrin was very famous in our father’s original timeline as the originator of the Mars Direct manned mission concept. Unfortunately, Doctor Zubrin was never able to realize his dream although our father certainly tried to launch manned flights to Mars.
We could potentially fuel such a rocket with Uranium-233 which we can create sufficient quantities in our liquid metal salt reactors at our own nuclear power stations. A nuclear-thermal rocket of any type would enable us to cut flight times to Mars from eight months to less than two. That makes a massive difference in our ability to support a future human colony on Mars.” Judith explained.
“Have you and IDA made a final decision on what exact model of nuclear engine that we will ultimately use in the long run yet?”
“Not yet. Even that technology for rocket motors using liquid metal salt nuclear reactors was cutting edge in Father’s time. But based on our requirements, we ultimately want to build a version of the liquid metal salt reactor for spaceborne use that will employ a combination of uranium and thorium salts in a molten form to fuel it. Like the reactors that we use to create power on the ground, we will be able to sustain the reactor and even refuel it with additional thorium without having to return to Earth. Then all we need will be reaction mass like the form of liquid hydrogen or even water that we can harvest from the ice that we collect along the way.”
“That might require for the entire engine section to be spun for the design to work however.” Beatrice cautioned.
“Possibly. We will have to design and then thoroughly test such an engine before we can even think about launching it into space as the primarily propulsion system for manned flights beyond earth orbit. But it also holds the promise of being able to provide electrical power for a space vehicle in addition to the craft’s propulsion.” James noted.
“Obviously, it will take years, if not decades, for us to integrate the advanced technologies that we will need for manned flights to Mars and back. Likewise, it will also take some time to develop the technologies for humans to be able to live permanently on Mars. However, we can certainly send people to the moon and build a permanent manned presence there much sooner than that.
The Sea Dragon rocket that we are currently developing can push very large payloads into lunar orbit. Among those payloads will include habitat modules for people to live in on the lunar surface, nuclear and solar power production systems to keep a lunar colony running, greenhouses to grow food so that a lunar colony can feed itself and whatever else the colony requires for self-sufficiency.
We can use the lessons learned keeping people alive on the Moon, only a couple of days flight time using conventional chemical fueled rocket, to help develop what we will need to build a viable colony on Mars. At the same time, scientists can use the lunar surface to observe the rest of the universe without the interference of Earth’s atmosphere.” Judith emphatically explained.
“There are going to be scientists all around the world who would kill to have access to a lunar site to do their research from.” Sarah said.
“Yes, I know. We have to be very careful that we don’t become the victims at the same time. There are also some people who would also kill to prevent the sort of scientific advances that our father began four decades ago. We must redouble our security measures so that when the rest of the world learns about our plans, they won’t suffer the same fate that the human manned space program suffered in Father’s future.”
Chapter Twelve:
Headquarters, Royal Australian Navy Admiralty
Canberra, New South Wales
February 11, 1956
“Good afternoon, Admiral. Thank you for taking the time to see me on such short notice.” Judith Cavill said after being ushered into Admiral Clayton Hawkes’ office by his aide. Judith carried a non-descript black satchel full of documents and other items as she walked into the office.
“We at the Admiralty have had few visits from your family since your father passed away, Ma’am. Your shipyards and factories have remained very important to the Royal Australian Navy for quite some time. I would be a fool not to make time when the head of Cavill Industries requests a meeting.” The short, stocky man with graying temples replied with a warm smile.
“We’ve worked very hard to ensure that you have the most capable force possible given the circumstances. We still appear to be working well towards meeting both our budget and deadline targets for getting the first pair of your submarines refitted and back into service. Your sailors are going to be very impressed with the boats that we will be giving them, I promise.”
“I would have to say that was a safe bet based on what you have done for us in the past. We are still assessing your proposals to upgrade both of our aircraft carriers and our entire destroyer fleet. I expect that with the exception of the vessels that we have determined are overage or are in too poor of condition to justify reconstruction, we will accept your proposals. Of course, the new missiles that you want to arm our warships with will be quite a gamble for us. No one else has armed their ships with weapons as advanced as the systems that your proposals have indicated.”
“Naturally, all of our new missiles have been thoroughly tested at our Kalumburu facilities.
We are very confident in their capabilities and reliability.”
Kalumburu was not only the center where Werner von Braun’s space rockets were being assembled and launched. It was also Cav
ill Industries’ central research, development and testing facility for its other rocket and guided missile programs. The location’s isolation from most large population centers not only provided a large degree of safety in case of an accident, but also aided security for the various Cavill projects there.
“That is very good to know, Ma’am. My sailors are going to be relying upon those missiles in the event that we have to go to war again.”
“They are my countrymen too, Admiral. Their safety matters very much to me also. We also expect to offer those same weapons to the British Admiralty in the near future. If the British adopt our missiles into service, that will further reduce the per-unit cost of the missile systems and the missiles themselves.
Besides, it will be very helpful to have allies who utilize the same equipment that we do. You just never know when we just might have to work together once again.”
“That is very true, Ma’am.” Admiral Hawkes replied with a slight nod.
“Now, if we can just convince you and Parliament to let us build you some new destroyers and a couple of cruisers that are built from the keel up to be armed with our latest gun and missile systems. Then, there won’t be a navy in the entire Pacific who can defeat us. I don’t even think that even the Americans have any ships planned that will be nearly as advanced as what we have designed.”
“It is clear that you are just as ambitious as your father, Miss Cavill. I have to admit that I would love to have you build those ships for us. But we bloody well just don’t have the money, thanks to the damned, miserly politicians in Parliament. They just don’t think that we could be drawn into another war anytime soon.”
“I know, Admiral. Politicians just don’t bear in mind just how long it takes to build a new warship or even a new jet fighter. War from this point on relies so much on technology that it will be fought only with what you have on hand. After that is gone, everyone will be resorting to rifles and whatever they can scrounge up from the wreckage, I’m afraid. We will be targeting our enemy’s means of production, just as they will be targeting ours.”