In 1983, the space race is heating up. But a massive solar flare may put the Jamestown lunar base in jeopardy.
Tropes
- Actor Allusion: The newscaster who reports the first space shuttle being named Enterprise after the NCC-1701? Linda Park, who starred in Star Trek: Enterprise.
- For Want Of A Nail: The opening montage shows scores of changed events in this history.
- Ted Kennedy lost the 1976 election to Ronald Reagan.
- Roman Polański is arrested while trying to flee to Canada after sexually assaulting a minor.
- John Lennon and Anwar Sadat survived their assassination attempts but Pope John Paul II did not.
- Rather than invade Afghanistan, the Soviet Union focuses on devoting resources to the space program.
- The raid to rescue the Iranian hostages succeeds and helps Reagan win re-election in 1980.
- The Camp David Peace Accords never occur and Egypt and Israel remain enemies.
- Because of technology developed for the Jamestown moon base, the Three Mile Island meltdown doesn't occur.
- The U.S. men's hockey team loses the 1980 Olympics to the USSR team.
- Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles instead of Diana.
- Thanks to the wide use of lunar technology, electric cars are plentiful in 1983. This follows President Reagan refusing to bail out Chrysler.
- The Panama Canal Treaty was never signed under Reagan which leads to Panama dictator Omar Torrijos allying the nation with the Soviet Union as he demands the Canal be returned.
- The first real-life astronaut of the era to appear is Dutch astronaut Wubbo Ockels, who is one of the European Space Agency astronauts at Jamestown. In the OTL, he flew to space on Challenger's final successful mission, STS-61-A in October 1985.
- Hypocrite: While understandable due to security reasons, Margo has to note how it looks bad for President Reagan to put out a statement to the American people everything is okay...while he's on Air Force One just in case the Soviets launch an attack.
- In Spite of a Nail:
- Sandra Day O'Connor becomes the first female Supreme Court Justice.
- Judging by his appearances in the newscasts, Michael Jackson is still as huge a star as he would be in our world.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When a general is concerned the Soviets might take advantage of the U.S. being blinded by the solar storm to launch a strike, Margo jokes "if it makes you feel better, they'll probably lose half their satellites over the U.S. too." Instantly, the general is on the phone to order NORAD to go to DEFCON 3.
