From the chilly island of Novaya Zelmya Alexander made another flight to one of the largest territories of the Ruthenian Empire, Kazakhstan.
The territory of Kazakhstan was conquered by the Ruthenian Empire during its conquest of Central Asia which took place in the second half of the nineteenth century. Not only was it one of the largest territories by size but also of strategic importance. Thinking that the world is geographically the same as his original world, then the land of Kazakhstan holds the world's largest uranium reserves in the world with over three hundred thousand metric tons.
Alexander knew the importance of uranium for his nuclear energy and weapons program and its application for military purposes such as the depleted uranium for tank armor and ammunition.
The Ruthenian Empire may be landlocked and had no easy access to the world's ocean to trade but one cannot deny the fact that the Ruthenians have massive resources in their backyard that Alexander utilized to fuel the economic growth of the empire.
Alexander landed in a designated airfield designed to accommodate the huge and expensive personal aircraft.
The flight took four hours and by looking out of the window, Alexander could tell that the sun was beginning to set as the orange glow of the sun dyed the flat, sandy, arid desert landscape below into a dark shade of red.
But despite his perception, as soon as he got out of the plane, Alexander could feel the chilly wind blowing against his skin, making him shiver lightly. Little did he know that Kazakhstan also has a winter season that starts in October to April.
Climbing down the stairs, a whirring sound of the helicopter blades permeated above. Alexander looked up and saw a Black Stork glinting from the setting sun as it carefully made a descent to the ground.
Winds generated from the downwash of the helicopter cause the sands and dust below it to rise like waves of fog that travel outward.
Alexander covered his eyes with his arm, not wanting any particles of sand to get into his eyes. When the Black Stork finally made it to the ground, Rolan gave him a light tap on the back, beckoning him to walk forward.
A red carpet was laid to serve as a walkway for Alexander and on either side of the carpet stood Imperial Guards holding ceremonial swords forming a roof-like canopy.
They lowered their sword as soon as Alexander walked past them. It is customary for the Imperial Guards to conduct such a performance when an emperor, empress, member of the royal family, or high-ranking officials visit a Ruthenian territory.
The Black Stork's door slid open, revealing a man in a white coat. Alexander recognized the guy, it was Wegener von Braun, his chief scientist for his space program. He is also the one responsible for producing missiles for the military under his guidance.
It's kind of a shame that most of his chief scientists are poached from the Deutschland Empire. He sees it as a weakness of the state and that's why he is willing to spend billions of rubles on education which will give birth to future generations of scientists and engineers who will serve the Ruthenian Empire and make it better with the use of their newfound knowledge.
Von Braun came closer, giving Alexander a bow as he said "Greetings, Your Majesty". Alexander replied.
"Looking good, huh?" Alexander joked. Von Braun laughed a little, saying.
"You think so, Your Majesty? I think this is because I'm a step closer to realizing my dream of going to the moon and I have to dress well, especially if what we are doing is going down in history," Von Braun giddily responded as he began beckoning him to enter the helicopter.
He sure is excited to see his creation. No, their creation to go into space. But before that, Alexander has to do something first.
"Von Braun, I'm sure you know my National Security Advisor, Sevastian. He's with me to see the rocket launch and help us pass the hardliners in the Imperial Council."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Wegener von Braun," Sevastian politely greeted while giving an obligatory handshake.
Wegener shook his hand warmly. "It's an honor, Sir Sevastian. I hope the government will fund the space program and help Ruthenia to dominate space."
"Well, just give us a favorable result and its importance to the Ruthenian Empire, and you will get your funding," Sevastian said.
"Speaking of funding, has the special committee created by the Ruthenian Senate Armed Forces Committee arrived in the spaceport?" Alexander inquired.
"Yes, Your Majesty, they just landed two hours ago. They are waiting for us in the Baikonur Spaceport."
"Good," Alexander nodded in satisfaction, "Let's get going then."
"The Baikonur Spaceport is forty kilometers from here. We will get there in ten minutes," Wegener said as he boarded the helicopter.
Alexander, Sevastian, and Rolan got in also before one of the crews of the Black Stork closed the door.
The helicopter began lifting off of the ground as Alexander wore his headset to dampen the noise produced by the rotor blades.
And just as Wegener said, it took ten minutes to get into the spaceport. Alexander peered through the windows and gasped in amazement the moment he saw the rocket on the launchpad.
When Alexander was a kid, he took a liking to rockets, it was like love at first sight to him that made him pursue his dream to become an engineer and make one himself.
The rocket on the launchpad is similar to the design used by the Soviet Union in 1957 for the launch of the first man-made satellite, the R-7 rocket. He purchased the blueprint from Russia for ten million dollars, allowing him to learn every crook and cranny of the design that will help him recreate it.
In his original world, he was able to recreate the rocket. He didn't expect himself to recreate the same rocket again in another world.
The plan today is to send the first satellite launched from his original world to space as proof of the concept that humans can go into space. Sputnik 1, a satellite the size of a beach ball with four antennas sticking out. In its first two months in orbit, the Sputnik orbited the Earth 1440 times before falling out of the sky.
The helicopter landed on the designated helipad and the guards in the spaceport began escorting them to a room similar to the command and control room where they can safely spectate the rocket launch.
To protect the space program from getting known around the world, Alexander placed a strict measures of closing the city. Only authorized personnel can enter a 500-kilometer radius of the Baikonur spaceport.
The reason why Alexander chose this spot is that Baikonur is close to the equator. giving a rocket a push of around 500 kilometers per hour to achieve escape velocity. What's important about the equator, well anything on the surface of the equator is traveling fast there because of the first law of inertia, which states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. So if you are living near the equator, and the equator moves at a speed of 1,625 kilometers per hour, you are also moving at 1,625 per hour.
Not only will it give a rocket a push but save fuel as well, making it economical and vital for space launches in the coming future.
Arriving at the command and control room, a huge LCD screen is mounted on the wall, giving different views of the rocket. The engineers and scientists were in their station, keeping an eye on the monitor.
The special committee was seated in an observation lounge. Alexander approached them and gave them a handshake before proceeding to a podium in the center of the control room.
Everyone kept their mouth shut despite feeling an urge of speaking that it was their emperor in front of them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Ruthenian Empire is about to make a history of humankind launching a rocket into space. For over two million years of human culmination that we once feared. We defeated the night with fire, sailed across the ocean with boats, and flew along with birds with planes. Now, humanity is going to take another huge step of putting a man-made object in space symbolizing that human beings can reach farther than the heavens and reach beyond the clouds!" Alexander proudly proclaimed and continued. "Today we launch R-1, a collaborative effort between scientists and engineers in the Ruthenia Empire. And this will bring us one step closer to going to the moon, and from there, to Mars. There will be setbacks along the way and there are risks to every great endeavor. But greatness was never won without suffering. I'm so proud of you, my people. Now, without further ado, with a press of a button, I will now launch the R-1."
Alexander pushes the red button but nothing happens. Nearby, Wegener lifted a cover and pushed the real red button. Alexander walked over to him and stood next to his side.
On a huge screen dominating the far wall of the control room, flames, and vapors from underneath the rocket. The booster nozzles ignited. The rocket lifts off, leaving a roiling cloud of vapor. The rocket surges upwards into the hazy sky above Kazakhstan. On the control room screen, the rocket glides through a cloud bank until it reaches orbit.
"Your Majesty...R-7 is in orbit!"
Wegener and Alexander embraced each other tightly, tears of joy flowing down from Wegener's eyes.
"Thank you, You majesty! This rocket has been a true inspiration to me!"
"Thank you too for building this rocket."
Everyone in the control room cheered and clapped their hands as they celebrated the success of the launch of the R-1 rocket.
