Chapter 240
Chapter 240
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Eyes in the Sky
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In space.
Meanwhile, while chaos was erupting over oil, grain, and war on one front, people's eyes weren't always fixed on the ground.
“Yuri Gagarin flew into space?”
From the moment the Reds launched a manned rocket into orbit, the world's attention turned skyward.
“No, what the hell is the United States doing? The commies are up there in a manned spacecraft saying the Earth looks like a blue dot and all that crap.”
The competitive fire among Americans, briefly tempered by Soviet arms reductions, exploded anew with Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight.
They couldn't lose to the Reds, no matter what. That sentiment whipped them into a frenzy.
“I'm not cutting the space budget one cent.”
Kennedy had no intention of yielding to the Soviets when it came to space.
His approval ratings were already low enough; showing weakness in this ideological showdown could sap his momentum to lead the country.
“Launch our manned spacecraft too.”
NASA quickly prepped Freedom 7 and fired it into space.
“The great United States! I knew they'd pull it off.”
American astronaut Alan Shepard completed a brief 15-minute flight and returned to Earth.
It was nothing compared to Yuri Gagarin's 1 hour and 48 minutes in orbit.
But Americans believed Alan Shepard had restored the nation's pride.
“The true spaceman is Alan Shepard.”
The Soviets didn't even bother scoffing at America's claim.
“What, they splash around in a water rocket once and think they can compare to us? Gotta hand it to those Yankee blowhards.”
Koreans watching the rivalry weren't without their own thoughts.
‘Shouldn't we jump into the space race too?’
Even if they called Korea the world's third superpower, it stung to lag behind in something as visually impressive as this.
Koreans hoped Lee Seong-jun would deliver something here.
The man who'd racked up achievement after achievement—they figured he'd nail this one too.
“We want to see Korea leading the world like a true superpower.”
But Lee Seong-jun had no plans to indulge every public demand.
He drew a hard line on the space race, brutally pragmatic.
“What Korea needs for national interests stops at satellites. Anything beyond that? Unnecessary, and I'm not investing in it.”
Spotting an opening in Lee Seong-jun's firm stance, the opposition pounced.
“The finite resources and opportunities on Earth have already been divvied up. So where does Korea's future lie? Space.”
“Korea must push into space to grasp infinite possibilities.”
The opposition hung the slogan of a spacefaring Korea and hammered the government's passive space policy.
Of course, even they knew the rhetoric didn't match reality.
Humanity hadn't even reached the Moon yet.
Talking resources when they couldn't fetch a single rock from there? Pure fantasy.
Even if possible, the cost-benefit didn't add up.
Just consider the price tag of one rocket launch, and the answer was obvious.
But the opposition couldn't let go of an issue that resonated with the public.
“Logically it doesn't hold water, but when else do we get a shot at cornering Lee Seong-jun?”
Lee Seong-jun met the opposition's attacks head-on.
“I hear some are saying Korea should head to space. Sure, we should. But does it have to be now? Taking one step into space costs astronomical sums. Whose pockets is that money coming out of?”
People hate nothing more than cash coming out of their own wallets.
Lee Seong-jun stabbed right at that nerve.
Taxpayers bought his logic instantly.
“His Excellency's right. Firing off a few rockets won't make our lives any better.”
“It's all a waste of money, pure waste.”
Lee Seong-jun framed the space race as money-burning foolishness.
The Soviet Union and the United States, unexpectedly dissed by the leader of the world's third superpower, could only stare in stunned silence.
“What, our work is just idiotically burning cash?”
“Look at those Koreans—jealous, so they're spouting nonsense.”
Of course, the mainstream in both the US and USSR dismissed Lee Seong-jun's words as not worth a second thought.
But fringe politicians on left and right took his waste-of-money frame seriously.
“It's not wrong. Saving money on space and investing domestically is way more economical.”
“The people come first. Put rocket money into welfare.”
If Lee Seong-jun were a failed politician, it might be different—but he was a leader who'd won victory after victory.
US anti-space-development voices amplified his logic through every megaphone they had.
As a result, opposition to projects like Apollo—and the broader US-Soviet space race—grew louder than ever.
“Let's invest in real needs like Korea does. What does fiddling with rocket toys have to do with people's daily lives?”
“Congressman, toys? The space race isn't just competition. It's a scientific battle for future dominance.”
“Oh, who doesn't know that? The costs are unaffordable.”
Meanwhile, the very Korea that had slapped other nations with the waste label was quietly ramping up its own space budget.
Not for Moon landings or deep-space probes like the Americans or Soviets, of course.
Korea's focus remained firmly on Earth's surface, as always.
“First up: SIGINT satellites for eavesdropping.”
“Yes, sir.”
Next came eyes from orbit: optical reconnaissance satellites peering down at the ground.
While others chased the Moon, Korea built systems to listen more precisely to Earth's whispers and watch more closely.
The results showed up by late 1961.
Korea's first SIGINT satellite, Arirang, successfully intercepted ground communications.
Sure, it was deliberate transmissions from the Korean mainland, but success was success.
“Having to stage it artificially for intercepts means we've got a long way to go.”
“We'll keep improving, sir.”
Korea was charting a different path from the US and USSR.
Naturally, they weren't blind to Korea's moves.
“The Koreans are sneaking more satellites up?”
“They've launched five this year alone.”
“Calling others wasteful while doing God-knows-what behind the scenes.”
They said that, but Korea's two-faced approach felt eerie depending on how you looked at it.
Pyotr Ivashutin, head of the Soviet military intelligence GRU, compiled Korea's activities and reported to the General Secretary.
“Despite their public stance, the Koreans clearly see value in the space race. To keep up, we need extra budget for satellite launches.”
“We just started arms reductions, and now you want more money? Absolutely not.”
Khrushchev shot down the proposal flat.
The Union's budget was too tight for satellites, which weren't even key to the ideological contest.
They were already scraping for every penny for agriculture.
The Soviets showed no interest in competing with Korea, but America was different.
Washington still had room for a bleeding contest.
“What exactly are those Korean satellites?”
“We can't pinpoint the purpose, but they seem geared for communications.”
“And they're cranking them out one after another?”
“Maybe they're building a space comms infrastructure.”
If so, they couldn't afford to lose.
Infrastructure was one area where falling behind made catch-up brutal.
To crush the momentum of potential rival Korea, Kennedy decided they couldn't lag in satellites.
“Korea's launched five? Then we'll do ten.”
America didn't hide its aggressive posture.
“The United States will prepare for the satellite communications era by 1970.”
NASA's declaration was a clear provocation at Korea, but Lee Seong-jun showed zero reaction.
“Satellite comms? Go ahead and hustle.”
Korea was prepping comms satellites too, but their main focus was SIGINT birds.
Comms?
Nice to have, but skipping it wasn't a big loss.
Korea preferred defense over offense.
To run these SIGINT sats systematically, Korea spun off part of the Intelligence Command.
The new outfit: Reconnaissance Command.
Reconnaissance Command handled ops for SIGINT and optical recon sats, watching adversaries from space.
New orgs meant bigger budgets.
Korea's space spending surged over 10%.
America called out Korea's hypocrisy.
“They call it waste, but look at them pouring money into space. Even the Korean government knows development has value.”
NASA used Korea as exhibit A to shred Apollo opposition.
Even the protesters who'd name-dropped Korea shut up upon hearing about the sneaky budget hikes.
Korea watched the debate with satisfaction.
“Keep underestimating us. If you think we're late to the party, that's music to our ears.”
Of course, America wasn't ignoring recon entirely.
They had optical recon and SIGINT sats in the works too.
It was just that Korea, pouring national resources into it, was pulling ahead.
In the shadows of the space race Washington hadn't noticed, Korea was outpacing America in ways the Soviets never tried.
Washington didn't know it yet.