SCEDQuest Q1 2057 Results
Lunar Construction
The first stage of the small research base are the auxiliary robots, 2 RTG packages and a Hab package, slingshotted into the right orbit on the way to the moon with a Union spacecraft. 3 days later they land, their one time braking system dropping off the packages in roughly the same location. Then, remote controlled from Aldrin space centre, the robots begin assembly of an RTG energy delivery system before they cease functioning during the lunar night. Assembly is slow and exhausting for the operators, but before the first night a basic power system is established and sent out robots return with the remaining packages in tow. The remaining quarter is spent assembling the habitat module, first the foundations and the panelling, then the hab modules are dragged in place and life support systems are connected with the remaining RTG modules to the power network. However, the most time is spent scooping up regolith and covering the habitat panelling with it. A task so dull and agonizing that the controller has requested a more specialised excavator robot to speed up the process.
At the end of the quarter however, 5 main habitation units are ready and waiting for the first semi permanent inhabitants.
Gravitic Drive Shuttle Design 373/300
The gravitic shuttle design is simple, at least as simple as a spaceship with a revolutionary propulsion method can be. Assembled from entirely ground produced modules, the vast majority of the shuttle is open to the void storage space. A basic crew section is in the front, with the RTG power module in the back with a thick plate of metal providing radiation protection. Four G drive modules distributed throughout the shuttle are needed to provide full drive coverage.
Celebration over the completion of the design stage was only curbed by the news Commander Leonov brought back to Aldrin after a meeting with Seo Thoki. The treasury would fund the pathfinder test ship and for lack of things to do with the ship have offered the vast majority of mission hours per month to the SCED. In light of this, plans for the G drive shuttle are put on ice for the foreseeable future, something that has caused more than a little frustration for SCED's engineers.
Regolith Sinterer Development 204/100
The Regolith Sinterer is a machine so simple it feels out of place for lunar construction, but it was only ever meant to provide construction material for basic external coverings of structures. The Sinterer can be filled with regular regolith collected off the surface and sinter it into a large porous block at a rate of about 1 every half hour. For now the sinterer can be used to produce a more stable and dust free foundation for future habitats, but with the addition of more molds the utilization could expand for other use cases.
Hard Case Space Suit Development 378/300
The final version of the HCS forgoes an important Zone Suit design convention. Unable to find a translucent material with enough radiation protection, SCED engineers removed the canopy and replaced it with metal. Vision is instead provided via outside cameras connected to a high resolution screen on the suits inside. Another change to the original pitch are the materials used. With long distance payload no longer being an issue due to the G drive, the suits' shell replaced lightweight polymers with ceramics, which, while heavier, provide overall more radiation and micrometeorite protection. Aside from that the suit fits well into the Zone Armor family.
SCEDQuest Q2 2057
This Side Quest was allowed by Ithillid and is supposed to be fun. Things happening in SCEDQuest will be affected by the main one, but unless Ithillid says otherwise it is non canon.
Budget: 65 Capital + 70 Capital Reserve (20 to Research Grants)
Industry Points: 50 IP
Launch Capacity: 80 Space per Turn
Facilities:
[][Carter]Tanegashima Space Center (Stage 3)
With the G shuttle and Gargarin station, SCED already has two projects that have brought their current manufacturing capability to their limits. The third phase of Tanagashima will be a large-scale manufacturing complex to easily produce hull parts for such projects.
(20 Capital per Die 81/400)(+20 IP)
[][Carter]New Johnson Training Center (Stage 2)
With the pool of qualified astronaut candidates thinning, SCED looks at more specialised personnel to bolster their ranks. Qualifications to become an Astrotech are still fairly high and require the right training and preparation facilities.
(25 Capital per Die 80/200)(Allows 1 additional Manned or Research Mission to be active at the same time)(Current Limit: 3)
[][Carter]Gagarin Station (Stage 1)
Another one of the proposed facilities is a space station for SCED's own needs, mainly storage, training and the servicing of the planned G-drive shuttles. The most important one however is an additional step of quarantine for analyzing off world samples.
(0/2 Gagarin Station Parts, 10 Launch Capacity per Part)
Moon Base:
Current Moon Construction: 11
Lunar Power: 0
Habitat Space: 1
Current upkeep: 1C per Turn
Infrastructure:
[][Carter]Construct Habitat 0/6MC
(Lunar Power -4, MC -1, Hab Space+1, Req: 1 Habitat Package, 10 Launch Cap)
[][Carter]Send Auxiliary Robots
(Lunar Power -4. If power can be provided on arrival: MC+12, if not: +6, Req; 1 Auxiliary Robots, 20 Launch Cap)
[][Carter]Turn Hab Space into Living Quarters 0/4MC
(-1 Hab Space, +6MC, Upkeep +1 Req: 1 Manned Mission Cap, 5 Launch Cap, 8IP)
[-][Carter]Set up hydroponic system 0/6MC
(Lunar Power -4, Hab Space-1, MC -3, Upkeep -2, Req: 10 IP, 20 Launch Cap)
[-][Carter]Set up material laboratory 0/6MC
(Lunar Power -1, Hab Space-1, MC -4, Upkeep +1, Research Dice +1, Req: 20 IP, 20 Launch Cap)
Industry:
[][Carter]Construct RTG Array 0/2MC
(Lunar Power +4, Req: 1 RTG Package, 5 Launch Cap)
[][Carter]Construct Solar Array 0/8MC
(Lunar Power +12, MC -1, Req: 1 Solar Package, 10 Launch Cap)
[][Carter]Send Regolith Brick Maker 0/2MC
(Lunar Power -4, MC -1, Req: 1 Regolith Brick Maker, +6MC, 5 Launch Cap)
Assembly:
[][Carter]Produce Hard Case Space Suits 0/15 IP
(Living Quarters provide 10 Base Construction but require also 1 additional power)
[][Carter]Construct Part for Gagarin Station 0/10 IP
(+1 Gagarin Station Part)(10 Launch Cap)
[ ][Carter]Communication Satellite 0/2 IP
(+1 CSAT)(1 Launch Cap)
[ ][Carter]Hermes Orbiter Probe 0/3 IP
(+1 Orbiter Probe)(1 Launch Cap)
[ ][Carter]Opportunity Rover 0/4 IP
(+1 Rover)(1 Launch Cap)
[][Carter]Ion Drive Module 0/3 IP
(+1 Ion Drive Module)(1 Launch Cap)
[ ][Carter]Leopard Class Transport 0/30 IP
(+36 Launch Capacity)
[ [Carter]]VTOL Leopard Class Transport 0/35 IP
(+20 Launch Capacity)
[ ][Carter]Union Class Transport 0/40 IP
(+40 Launch Capacity)
Luna:
[][Carter]Lunar Habitat Package 0/10 IP
(+1 Habitat Package)
[][Carter]Solar Package 0/15IP
(+1 Solar Package)
[][Carter]RTG Package 0/5IP
(+1 RTG Package)
[][Carter]Auxiliary Robots 0/20IP
(+1 Auxiliary Robots)
[][Carter]Regolith Brick Maker 0/5IP
(+1 Regolith Brick Maker)
Development (5 Dice) +20
[ ][Carter]Surface Exploration EVA Development 0/500 (2C/Die)
Remote controlled rovers suffer from the, over interstellar and interplanetary distances, slow speed of light. It takes about 5 to 20 minutes for a message to travel between earth and mars. Surface missions even further out will require local rover autonomy to some extent. The EVA unit will need to navigate, take samples and recognize when a problem needs a solution from earth, on its own. General reluctance in regards to autonomous vehicles means that GDI has limited knowledge of such use cases compared to other AI applications, making the creation of such an EVA more difficult.
[][Carter]Small Scale Nuclear Reactor Development 0/100 0/5IP (5C/Die)
GDI already has great experience in using small scale nuclear power for a variety of applications. To fit into SCED's modular part strategy they need to redesign some of the system however.
[][Carter]RemoteDoc Planning Stage 0/200 (5C/Die)
With the number of astronauts and astrotechs far away from earth rising in the next few years, potentially on very remote missions, RnD has proposed the development of a remoteDoc based on SCEDs auxiliary construction robot that can be controlled regardless of light lag using packaged commands. Should an emergency occur and no qualified doctor be reachable, a team of surgeons can take remote control of the remoteDoc and perform a wide variety of operations. The concept has so far not left preplanning and will require extensive collaboration with medical professionals.
[][Carter]Regolith Printer Development 0/150 0/8IP (5C/Die)
3D printing is not a new technology to the Initiative, it has made and continues to make use of this technology, using a variety of arrangements of the printing assembly, feedstocks and heating systems for best effect. SCED's bold plan for a regolith printer requires solutions to 3 problems. 1) How to make sure the material stays put when heated in a vacuum, 2) how to melt and control a material at an approximate temperature of 1500 Kelvin and 3) how to do so without melting the printer assembly itself.
[][Carter]Lunar Excavator Development 0/50 0/4IP (5C/Die)
The Lunar Excavator project has two proposals currently competing for resources. The first proposal takes the Lunar Auxiliary Robot frame and replaces the multitool capabilities of the auxiliary robot with a dedicated scoop and bin arrangement, combining a backhoe excavator with a dump truck. Its main advantage is the small number of moving parts in direct contact with the highly abrasive regolith. The second proposal is more audacious, positing that tiberium harvesters do the exact same job as the excavator is supposed to do, and that the entire technology can be adapted to a remote controlled or automated vehicle that will gather regolith into sealed containers, ready for further processing in dedicated facilities.
[-][Carter]Lunar Habitat MK II Development 0/200 (5C/Die)
With the current inflatable Habitat still needing enormous amounts of earthside materials and work per square meter of living area. The next stage in lunar habitats would be one built mainly from on site materials, the less processed, the better.
[][Carter]Pathfinder Lander Development 0/250 (5C/Die)
With GDIS Pathfinder likely to complete construction before the end of the year, SCED has a new set of requirements for the Martian lander program. One of the most significant is the Pathfinder herself. While the ship does come equipped with a top opening cargo bay, it is not as flexible with its cargo space as the proposed design for the SCED shuttlecraft, meaning more restrictions for designing and fitting an orbit/surface package.
Space Command Mission Planning (3 Dice) +5
[][Carter]Mission: Orbital Scan (Write-in) (for example: Luna, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter) 0/50
-Mercury 31/50
[][Carter]Mission: Surface Exploration (Write-in) 0/200
-Ceres 0/150
-Venus 58/150
[][Carter]Mission: Manned Landing (Write-in) 0/500
-Mars 279/450
[][Carter]Mission: Research Base (Write-in) 0/1000
-Mars 0/800
Mission Tracker, Look in the Mission Tracker!
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YAhLAoy0BTHB1CPYHeDffyDNwkrM6_dy7u0PL4yZ8_E/edit?usp=sharing
To Launch Missions, it must be "Ready for Launch" in the mission tracker and the requirements must be fulfilled. Then add []Launch Mission X: Requirements in your plan + the needed Launch Capacity.
Requisition:
[ ][Carter]Leopard Shuttle System 0/60C
[ ][Carter]Union Shuttle System 0/80C
Max 5 from following List
[ ][Carter]Hermes Orbiter Probe 10C Cost
[ ][Carter]C-SAT 10C Cost
[ ][Carter]LCR-SAT 10C Cost
Max 5
[][Carter]Ion Drive Module 5C Cost
Inventory:
-2 VTOL Leopard
-1 Union
-64 Hermes Probes
-57 Ion Drive Modules
Vote by Plan, Vote closes in 24h-ish.
