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Per Aspera (Space Agency Plan Quest)

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January 18th, 1956//Q1 1956
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    • [X] Plan: Disaster Prevention
    [FUND] 1.5% - Going back to 1.5% of the budget would be a difficult sell, but you could point to the ongoing human spaceflight program as justification for it. That didn't mean it'd be easy, of course. Just easier. (+230R/turn, -55PS)
    Deliver a Weather Observation Satellite covering Asia and Europe. (+10PS) (Int(M-L) moves 3d10 steps towards Favor)
    Deliver a Weather Observation Satellite covering North America. (+5PS) (Int(D) moves 3d10 steps towards Favor)
    Deliver a Weather Observation Satellite covering Asia and South America. (+10PS) (Int(C) moves 3d10 steps towards Favor)
    Build a Launch Facility in Asia by 1957Q1. (+10PS, Int(C) moves 2d10 steps towards Favor)
    Build a Launch Facility in Eastern Asia before 1957Q1 (+10PS) (Int(M-L) moves 2d10 steps towards Favor)
    Complete all stages of Tracking Facilities by 1957Q1 (+10PS, CPAL moves 6d5 steps towards Favor)
    Build the Sydney Microelectronics Research Centre by 1957Q1. (+5PS, SDL moves 1d10 steps towards Favor)
    Build 2 points of Industry or Infrastructure in North America (+5 PS, Int(M-L) moves 2d5 steps towards Favor)
    Build 2 points of Industry or Infrastructure in North America (+5 PS, Int(D) moves 2d5 steps towards Favor)
    Build 2 points of Industry or Infrastructure in industrialized regions (+5 PS, SDL moves 2d5 steps towards Favor)
    Launch a Lunar Impactor before 1957Q3. (+5PS, +2 to New Delhi Physics Institute bonus)
    Complete Exploratory Propellant Research (Phase 3) by 1957Q1. (+5PS) (Int(D) moves 2d5 steps towards Favor)
    Complete Exploratory Propellant Research (Phase 3) by 1957Q1. (UWF moves 2d5 steps towards Favor)
    Conduct Transistor Computing Investigation in Mombasa by 1958Q1. (+5PS, CPAL moves 2d10 steps towards Favor)
    Research Support - You have a network of scientific institutions to whom you send a variety of data and perform experiments for. By putting a little extra pressure on those institutions, you can get some help for your internal purposes. (-5PS, +3 to all Science and Engineering dice until 1955Q1)
    Demil Locker Access - In the future, your scientists may come up with ideas for spacecraft that may require access to the kind of parts that can really only be found ready-made within the stockpiles of military equipment lying about. By acquiring pre-emptive permission, you can gain access to things like rocket motors, artillery barrels and the like before they're turned into scrap steel once more. Given the current situation, the giving of this permission may be grudging. (-30PS, eases some Alternative Launch Systems research)
    Request Negotiation Aid - The most time-consuming part of locating appropriate sites for new launch complexes is negotiating with local interests, some of whom are opposed to such projects for a variety of reasons. By asking the regions' Councilors for help, the IEC may find itself in position to more quickly advance its plans in a way that is beneficial for everyone involved. (Lowers progress requirements on Launch Sites, slightly increases R costs) (-10PS)
    Redirect Funding to the IEC - By pulling on the right strings, you can get funding redirected to the IEC beyond the percentage allotment.
    - 8 PS (+40 R/turn)
    [GRAD] Operations
    [GRAD] Facilities
    [GRAD] Politics

    A calm(er) World Council was a new, and slightly unnerving experience for you. Maybe it was because the IEC now had a track record of success, maybe it was a general feeling of either accomplishment or exhaustion or both, but whatever the cause, it had contributed to a largely perfunctory round of negotiations where you'd managed to argue the IEC back up to a higher funding level. Certainly, there were a variety of promises that had had to be made, but that was the way of things.

    You found yourself back in the office on the thirteenth of January; the World Council was still ongoing, and would be til the end of the month, but the part you in particular cared about was now over. Coffee in hand, you made your way to your desk. A giggle from behind the potted plant that took up a corner of the room drew your wry attention, where you noticed a head of ink-black hair and a pair of big, almond-shaped grey eyes peeking back at you.

    "You need to get better at hiding, Iris. You can't very well sneak up on me if you giggle every time you manage to make me not notice you." you chided teasingly, and beckoned her over. "Come here. Where's your sister?"

    "Ally is under the desk!" Iris piped up brightly.
    "Aww!" came the disappointed cry from under the desk, before a near-identical little girl peeked up over it. "You're not supposed to tell, Iris!"

    "But she knew we were here…"

    "She didn't know about me!" humphed the indignant four-year-old.

    "You two aren't ever far apart." you pointed out. "I guessed you were in here as soon as I saw your sister. Now, stop arguing." you said, and cast your eyes about the office, looking for a suitable distraction. Oh, that should do.

    One of the first Rocket Boxes had come to your office for your inspection and approval before the first of those had shipped - and there it had remained, a good conversation piece for when you were talking to new members of various related programs or trying to woo a Councilor. You'd had hinges added to it for ease of access for those little presentations, rather than the more unprofessional method of just leaving the pried-off top "loose" like it would be in so many schools around the world.

    It was into this box you reached, pulling out a small box of paints and a couple of the cardboard tubes held within. You held them up before the twins, watching as their eyes lit up - they liked the rocket launches you'd taken them to, and they recognized the tubes for what they were without issue. "Why don't you two paint up these rockets? When you're finished, we can go launch them off the big pad, just like a real one."

    They rushed forward to take the rockets-to-be and the paints off your hands, and you ushered them over to the coffee table where you usually met with your various department heads one-on-one, or the more important of your Council backers. With the kiddoes thus occupied and chatting amongst themselves, you finally got to your desk to check on how the projects you'd authorized had gone since you'd been out of office. But first, the paper.

    You brushed a couple of reports off the top of it, intending to get to them once you had caffeine in your system, and turned it over.

    NOBEL-PRIZE WINNING PHYSICIST ALBERT EINSTEIN DIES AGED 77

    Resources:
    695R (+730R/turn + 5R/turn from Connections - 50R/turn from payroll/dice purchases = +685/turn net)
    100 Political Support
    1 R-2 Gale
    2 Curiosity-class Satellite

    Objectives of the World Communal Council
    Complete Post-War Reconstruction (45000/200000)
    Defeat Partisan Forces

    Department of Agriculture (5%)
    -Forestry Commission
    -Aquaculture and Fishing Commission
    Department of Transportation (9.2%)
    -Sea Travel Commission
    -Road and Rail Commission
    -Air Travel Commission
    Department of Industrial Coordination (5%)
    -Occupational Health and Safety Administration
    Department of Energy (8.2%)
    Department of Reconstruction and Disaster Relief (26.0%)
    Department of Health and Welfare (25.5%)
    Department of Education (18.2%)

    Discretionary Funding (2.4%)
    Council Standards Commission (Negligible)

    Interplanetary Exploration Cooperative (1.5%)
    Antarctic Exploration Cooperative (0.1%)
    (Others)

    State of the World
    (Updated at the end of every Quarter)

    Mediterranean/Saharan Africa
    Education: 8
    Electrification: 7
    Industry: 7
    Infrastructure: 8
    Security: 2
    Partisan Activity: 3

    Sub-Saharan Africa
    Education: 8
    Electrification: 8
    Industry: 7
    Infrastructure: 8
    Security: 4
    Partisan Activity: 4

    Eastern Asia
    Education: 12 (LIMIT REACHED)
    Electrification: 10
    Industry: 10
    Infrastructure: 11
    Security: 6
    Partisan Activity: 5

    Western Asia
    Education: 12 (LIMIT REACHED)
    Electrification: 11
    Industry: 11
    Infrastructure: 11
    Security: 6
    Partisan Activity: 4

    Australia and New Zealand
    Education: 8
    Electrification: 7
    Industry: 7
    Infrastructure: 8
    Security: 4
    Partisan Activity: 3

    Europe
    Education: 11
    Electrification: 10
    Industry: 10
    Infrastructure: 11
    Security: 5
    Partisan Activity: 3

    North America
    Education: 9
    Electrification: 9
    Industry: 9
    Infrastructure: 9
    Security: 6
    Partisan Activity: 3

    South America
    Education: 9
    Electrification: 8
    Industry: 8
    Infrastructure: 9
    Security: 4
    Partisan Activity: 2

    Pacific Islands
    Education: 7
    Electrification: 6
    Industry: 5 (LIMIT REACHED)
    Infrastructure: 6
    Security: 1
    Social Unrest: 1

    1 Launch Stand (0-5 tonne) (+1 Operations dice)
    1 Heavy Sounding Rocket Launch Pad (5-30 tonne) (+1 Operations dice)
    1 Expanded Assembly Complex (+2 Build Capacity, +1 Program Slot)
    1 Engineer's Hall (+2 Engineering Dice)
    1 University Affiliate (+2 Science Dice)
    1 Materials Lab (+5 bonus to projects tagged [MATSCI])
    1 Chemical Plant (+5 bonus to projects tagged [CHEM])
    1 Electronics Cooperative (+5 bonus to projects tagged [AVIONICS])
    2 Construction Union Halls (+2 Facilities die)
    1 Publications Office (+1 to all science and engineering fields; coinflip each year to get an additional +1)
    1 Hardened Tracking and Observation (T&O) Complex (+3 to Operations)
    1 Engine Test Stand (+2 to PROP projects)
    1 Isotope Separation and Nuclear Science Facility (Enables Nuclear Technology tree) (fully unlocks 1954Q1)
    1 Computational Research Facility (+3 to all rolls)
    1 Model 1952 'Stormchaser' Mobile Rocket Launch System (+1 Operations dice)
    Advanced Concepts Office (unlocks experimental new programs from time to time)
    1 Wind Tunnel (+3 to AERO)
    1 Flight Complex (+2 Operations dice, enables the construction and launch of air- and spaceplanes.)
    Dnipro Aerospace Metallurgy Centre (+9 MATSCI, +1 Education in Europe)
    Sao Paolo Aerodynamics Centre (+10 AERO, +1 Education in South America)
    Long Beach Propulsion Research Complex (+7 PROP, +1 Education in North America)
    Mombasa Computer Science Institute (+10 COMP, +1 Education in Sub-Saharan Africa)
    Beijing Institute for Chemical Research (+7 CHEM, +1 Education in Eastern Asia)
    New Delhi Institute for Physics (+9 PHYS, +1 Education in Western Asia)
    Equatorial Tracking System (Provides communications and guidance across the equator)
    Big Ear Radiotelescope (+2 PHYS)
    Cosmonaut Training Facilities (Allows for crew and crew training)

    Scientific Advances
    Improved Instrumentation - Gain +1d2 bonus to a random field every 2 launches. Gain +1 to AVIONICS immediately.) (Made obsolete by First Satellite)
    Regenerative Cooling - Starts down the path to more powerful and advanced rocket engines.
    Second Stages - Can now build 2-Stage Rockets.
    Combustion Instability Research - Turns the initial success roll for a rocket from a >60 to >50.
    Engine Cycles - Enables Early Orbital engines.
    Mobile Launch Operations - Can launch Sounding Rockets without the need for a launch pad.
    Improved Stringer Alloys - New (expensive) alloys improve the performance of structural tanks. (+5 to R cost of Heavy Sounding Rockets and above)
    Copper-Chrome combustion chamber alloys - New combustion chamber alloys with higher heat transfer efficiency allow for hotter (and thus more efficient) chamber temperatures, leading to the ability to produce more powerful engines. (Future rocket designs will be higher performing.)
    Aluminum-Lithium monolithic tanks - New tank alloys enable lighter, higher performing tankage to be produced for new rocket designs. (Future designs that use Al-Li tankage will be more performant, but more expensive in R terms.)
    First Satellite - With the launch of the Curiosity I, the IEC and the world have entered a new era of spaceflight, and the horizons of science and engineering broaden ever further. (+10PS, Improved Instrumentation bonus deactivated. Gain +1d2 bonus to a random non-CREW field per two satellite launches.)
    Van Allen Belts - An area of charged particles from the Sun, trapped by Earth's magnetic field. These belts have caused several minor hiccups with the Curiosity I satellite, and given the transmitted radiation readings, care must be taken if the IEC intends to launch humans through them. Staying for any significant length of time would be... ill advised.
    Inconel turbine parts - Enables higher-performance rocket engines to be constructed.
    Hastelloy-N reactor parts - Enables higher-performance nuclear reactors and nuclear engines to be constructed.
    Rudimentary Heat Shielding - An ablative heat shield made of a pourable elastomer laid over a resin-impregnated hemp honeycomb, rimmed with a carbon cloth that together made an effective protection against the heat of Low Earth Orbit re-entries. (Enables return of film, sample, and crewed capsules/craft)
    High-Carbon Carbon Fiber Composites - Useful both for you and for general civilian industry in applications where high strength and/or high-temperature conditions are found, produced from an initial rayon feedstock. Examples: Rocket fuel tanks, airplane wings, bicycles, light boats, etc.
    Turbine enamel formula - A ceramic enamel formula ideal for protecting rocket engine turbines from being attacked by their oxidizers. Enables high-performance Staged Combustion engines. (IRL: This is how the Soviets worked their space magic. It's probably also how Raptor is made.)
    Isogrid/Orthogrid manufacturing - A different way of forming tankage, pressing or milling out a grid of equilateral triangles in the tank material chosen, in order to reduce its weight while maintaining compressive and lateral strength. Orthogrid is very similar, except it uses a grid of squares or rectangles. Enables higher-performing tankage, improving rocket payload performance.
    Stainless Steel Mass Manufacturing - A collection of techniques and technologies centered around improving the production of stainless steel, including argon-oxygen decarburization processes (to remove sulfur and carbon), hot rolling, continuous casting, and more. Primarily good for civilian applications. Enables stainless steel tankage, stainless steel parts for use in applicable applications such as probes.
    Alternative Launch Systems - A series of high-technology or infrastructure-intensive launch systems projects that may or may not come about in the future.
    Lightweight Foamed Alloys - offers an expensive but potentially worthwhile method for lightening spacecraft or providing shock absorption for landings.
    Aramid - an aromatic polyamide fiber that shows great promise for any application where a tear-resistant, fire-resistant, strong and elastic material would be of use. Such as spacesuits, parachutes…
    Kapton - a tape-like film with excellent insulation properties for various space and ground-side applications, largely under your level of abstraction but providing a small buff to reliability for spacecraft built after 1955Q3.
    Vacuum Nozzles - Enables the use of vacuum-optimized engines.

    Scientific/Engineering Specific Field Bonuses
    AERO - +19
    AVIONICS - +10
    CHEM - +18
    CREW - +3
    COMP - +13
    MATSCI - +17
    PHYS - +18
    PROP - +14

    IEC Leadership:

    Director of the IEC:
    Penelope Carter [The Director] - [+10 to Politics rolls, +2 Politics die, +5R/turn in funding from Connections, reroll 1 failed politics roll per turn]

    Assistant Director of the IEC:
    Sergei Korolev [The Engineer] - [+5 to Science and Engineering rolls (unless researching [HGOL][FUEL] projects, then it becomes a -15), +1 Science dice, +1 Engineering Dice. Request: Build and launch a 2nd Generation Orbital Rocket within 5 years. Demonstrate crewed orbital spaceflight within 5 years.]

    Chief Scientist of the IEC:

    Assistant Director of the Cosmonaut Assembly    :

    Passive Effects

    Rocket Reels - Adds a coinflip for 2 gained political support per quarter; gain an additional flip for every successful orbital rocket launch. [UPGRADED]

    Nuclear Power Authorization - The World Council has been successfully convinced to support the IEC conducting peaceful, power-generating nuclear experiments. (Current WC approval status: Given, Apprehensive; Current public approval status: Apprehensive)

    Demil Locker Access - Access granted to the world's stockpiles of military equipment in the process of being decommed. (Lower progress requirements for spaceplanes, space-gun experiments, etc.)

    Research Support - You have a network of scientific institutions to whom you send a variety of data and perform experiments for. By putting a little extra pressure on those institutions, you can get some help for your internal purposes. (+3 to all Science and Engineering dice until 1957Q1)

    Promises Made (Expires Q1 1957 unless otherwise stated):
    Launch a Venus probe before 1960Q1. (+2 to Dnipro Aerospace Metallurgy Centre's bonus on completion) (Int(M-L)
    Launch a probe to Mars by 1960Q1 (+2 to Long Beach Propulsion Research Complex's bonus on completion) (Int(D)))
    Conduct Nuclear Power Plant Design Studies (FWW) (Does not expire as long as the dice is locked)
    Deliver a Weather Observation Satellite covering :
    • Asia (Int(M-L),Int(C))
    • Europe. (Int(M-L)
    • North America (Int(D))
    • South America (Int(C))
    Build a Launch Facility in Asia by 1958Q1. (Int(C))
    Build a Launch Facility in Eastern Asia before 1958Q1 (Int(M-L))
    Complete all stages of Tracking Facilities by 1957Q1 (CPAL)
    Build the Sydney Microelectronics Research Centre by 1957Q1. (SDL)
    Build 2 points of Industry or Infrastructure in North America (Int(M-L), Int(D))
    Build 2 points of Industry or Infrastructure in industrialized regions (SDL)
    Launch a Lunar Impactor before 1957Q3. (+2 to New Delhi Physics Institute bonus)
    Complete Exploratory Propellant Research (Phase 3) by 1957Q1. (Int(D), UWF)
    Conduct Transistor Computing Investigation in Mombasa by 1958Q1. (CPAL)

    Operations (6 dice, +3 bonus) (1 type of Rocket may be built at a time)

    Rockets

    [ ] Construct an R-1 Beden - Standard Sounding rocket launches are now something of an old hat. Still perfectly useful, of course, and they're not actually that old, but the two stage rockets have stolen some of their thunder. (15R per dice, 3/35, costs 1 Build Capacity until complete)
    -[ ] And launch it (free action for Sounding Rockets) (gains Scientific Data, launch experience, results to show the people funding you)

    [ ] Construct an R-2 Gale - The IEC's engineers and scientists have come up with a moderately reliable stage separation system for multi-stage rockets. The Gale has seen active use for two years, now, and is turning into quite the reliable workhorse. (20R per dice, 19/45, costs 1 Build Capacity until complete)
    -[ ] And launch it (free action for Sounding Rockets) (gains Scientific Data, launch experience, results to show the people funding you)

    [ ] Construct an R-3 Snow - The Heavy Sounding Rocket, now known as the Snow, is ready for construction. It's a sizeable rocket, but thankfully you have a sizeable pad to launch it from. Unfortunately, it won't ever fit on a Stormchaser. (25R per dice, 7/80, costs 1 Build Capacity until complete)
    -[ ] And launch it (free action for Sounding Rockets) (gains Scientific Data, launch experience, results to show the people funding you)

    [] Construct an R-4 Dawn - The first Orbital-class rocket, the Dawn is capable of lifting 200 kilograms to low Earth orbit. It may be able to do more, in time, but for now that would suffice. It can only launch on the Heavy Sounding Pad or heavier, as yet unbuilt ones. (35R per dice, 18/120, costs 1 build capacity til complete) (2 Payload Mass capacity)
    -[ ] And launch it (1 Operations dice; specify payload)
    –[ ] Sounding payload (inert payload for testing)

    [] Construct an R-4a Dawn - A refined version of the R-4, capable of carrying several times the payload to orbit and is even capable of launching small crewed capsules or interplanetary probes. (30R per dice, 0/100, costs 1 build capacity til complete) (12/4/2 Payload Mass capacity) [Requires finishing Human-rated Rocketry]
    - [ ] Add additional solid boosters (2R per booster, max 6, +2 LEO Payload Mass per booster) [REQUIRES LARGER LAUNCH PAD] [REQUIRES STRAP-ON BOOSTERS]
    --[ ] And launch it (1 Operations dice; specify payload)
    ---[ ] Sounding payload (inert payload for testing)

    Note here: the 12/4/2 are the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) / Geostationary/synchronous Orbit / Beyond Earth Orbit payload masses. For every 3 LEO payload, gain 1 GEO/GSO payload. For every 6, gain 1 BEO payload.

    [ ] Construct a Prototype Spaceplane -

    Payloads

    [ ] Construct a Payload
    –[ ] Curiosity-class Satellite (20R) (1.5 Payload Mass) (lasts one quarter)
    --[ ] Curiosity-B-class Satellite (25R) (2 Payload Mass) (2 quarter lifetime depending on mission)
    --[ ] Curiosity-C-class Satellite (30R) (2 payload mass) (16 quarter lifetime)

    Programs (1 slot available)

    [ ] Activate Weather Observation Satellites (1 slot required) - Dedicates a portion of the Assembly Complex to the serial production of weather satellites and the rockets required to launch them, leading to savings from the assembly-line nature of the operation. By using specially-built observation satellites, the IEC can provide real- or near-real-time observation of weather phenomena across the globe. This has obvious benefits for forecasting and emergency alerting, and would be a valuable way of cementing the IEC as a permanent fixture of the Council. (40R/turn) (Delivers polar-orbiting satellites every turn starting 1956Q3 until required slots are filled, beginning with a satellite covering the Americas and East Asia, followed by one covering Europe, Africa, Australia) (Deactivates on completion, returning slot until satellites need replenishing)

    [ ] Activate Sounding Rocket Programs (1 slot required) - Begins a more rigorous, regimented program of sounding rocket launches, opening the doors for more cooperation with universities across the world. (10R/turn) (+5PS/year) (removes Sounding Rockets from build queue)

    Facilities (9 dice, +10 bonus)

    (A maximum of 3 dice may be used on any project - representing 3 shifts of work.)

    [ ] Build a new Space Center- Mogadishu was an excellent site (and it had all your stuff), but a growing space program needed to expand to new sites to service different orbits and different communities. Doing so was a major undertaking, of course, and would necessarily need a great investment. (35R per dice) (Phase 1 (0/250), select site and perform negotiations with the locals (negotiation bonus applied, rejection not a concern for sites named) (-1 Facilities dice when complete)
    (Phase 2 (0/600), begins construction, 1 500T pad available when complete)
    (Phase 3 (0/600), continues construction, 3 500T pads available when complete)
    (Phase 4 (0/500), local Assembly Complex completed, +2 Program slots)
    -[ ] Singapore
    -[ ] Kourou, Guiana
    -[ ] Vladivostok
    -[ ] Vandenburg
    -[ ] Write-in (will be evaluated for actual suitability)

    [ ] Expand the Launch Complex - You have two launch pads (one of which has gone entirely unused, so far) but, soon enough, you expect to need additional pads to account for the maintenance and upgrades the existing ones will certainly need. Getting a head start on that need may be a good idea. (20R per die, 0/350, gain two 500t launch pads)

    [ ] Build a Scientific Complex - While there are a significant number of people within the IEC who want to keep the Cooperative's footprint confined to Mogadishu - at least for now - there is definitely an argument to be made for building dedicated facilities in other locations to build up buy-in from the rest of the world by providing them something tangible in return. One of those ideas is for a dedicated Scientific Complex, dedicated to a particular discipline, much like the Soviet closed cities - just not closed. This has the potential to greatly increase your scientific output and your political sway at the same time. (25R per die, opens up new research possibilities, +1d5+5 bonus in the associated field, +1 Education for the region)
    -[] Sydney Microelectronics Research Centre (AVIONICS) (0/450)

    [ ] Build a Mission Control Center - As the IEC's operations continue to expands, it finds itself in need of additional control space dedicated to both new and ongoing missions. That control space will need significant computing capability, as well as dedicated communications links - both of which are power-hungry. The benefits, however, could be worth it. (25R per die, 133/250) (+3 to Operations) (+1 Program slot (runs repeatables in the background))

    [ ] Tracking and Communication Station Construction (Phase 3) - The final stage of Tracking Stations rolls out tracking stations in between the poles and the equator, providing access to satellite communications (when that happens) and tracking for every region. (30R per die, 0/550)

    [ ] Construction and Reconstruction Support - The IEC has a fairly sizeable and very skilled Facilities department that, if desired, could be of help in rebuilding the world's ruins and advancing the state of humankind besides. This can be done with or without a promise owed to someone, and will always be a good way of improving your relationships with the people you serve. (0/250) (can be done multiple times in parallel)
    -[ ] Specify Region
    --[ ] Electrification (25R per dice)
    --[ ] Industry (30R per dice)
    --[ ] Infrastructure (20R per dice)

    Engineering (6 dice, +6 Bonus to All, +3 from Research Support (1956Q1)) (2/6 Locked)

    [1 LOCKED] Human-rated Rocketry - Satellites would certainly be useful for many things that you didn't want to spend precious human time on, nor deal with the constraints involved in getting them back. But, should the need arise, it would be a good idea to develop a way to get a human into space, then orbit, and back, alive. (5/8 turns, 1 locked dice, 20R per turn)

    [ ] Prototype Spaceplane - Your spaceplane enthusiasts returned to your office with another proposal, building off the back of the design studies they had undertaken through the winter of 1954. Their desire was to create a crewed 'space' plane that would be towed behind or carried underneath a carrier aircraft, be released, and activate a rocket engine that would take it up over the Karman line. It would have a multitude of sensors, of course, and would also need air supplies and likely a heated flight suit to keep the pilot alive and able to work. (0/300, 15R per dice)

    [ ] Design/Redesign an Orbital Rocket - Now that our first orbital rocket has flown to space and delivered payloads, we can begin to look at what may be improved about it. We can also, if we wish, begin thinking about other, new designs. (15R) (4 turns to Design) (2 turns to Redesign) (Triggers subvote)
    -[ ] Design
    -[ ] Redesign (Rocket name here)

    [ ] Lifting Body - Work with the Wind Tunnel and on the Spaceplane studies had revealed a new configuration for air- and spacecraft fuselage design - the concept of the lifting body, where the wing area was minimized to reduce drag at high speeds, with the body itself providing the lifting force used. While not terribly useful for aircraft, it was potentially very useful for spacecraft design. (10R per die, 30/150)

    [ ] Strap-on Boosters - By utilizing additional, solid-or-liquid-fueled boosters attached to the side of a given rocket, we may be able to significantly increase its payload without needing an entirely-new rocket. (10R per dice, 157/250) (Enables the use of boosters to increase payload capacity at the cost of Progress and Resources (flat))

    [ ] Multi-Stage Designs - Through the use of additional stages, we can give rockets the capability to throw payloads further out into space - potentially even interplanetary distances. (15R per turn) (2 turns) (Enables the use of third stages and up for sending payloads to geostationary orbit and beyond at the cost of Payload Mass)

    [ ] Impactor Designs - One of the proposed methods of probing our neighboring planets and Moon is by, quite literally, hitting them with a sizeable weight going at incredible speed and seeing what we can learn from the resulting dust plume (in the case of the Moon) or following the instrumentation's readings as they transmit on their way to impact. Or both. (10R per turn, 1 engineering dice locked, 3 turns)

    [1 LOCKED] Nuclear Power Plant Design Studies - Now that initial work had been completed verifying that, at the lab scale, nuclear energy could be used to generate power, now it was time to actually forward that knowledge into a practical, useful form. It would not be cheap, but, hopefully, it would be worth it. (4/8 turns, 1 locked dice, 25R per turn) (Unlocks 1st Generation Terrestrial Fission Power Plants for the world, leads to Radioisotope Thermal Generators, 2nd Generation Terrestrial Fission Plants, 1st Generation Space-rated Fission Plants)

    [ ] Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications Studies - A side-effect of the nuclear power studies led to several of your researchers realizing that the heat a reactor produced could be harnessed for things other than turning a turbine. By passing propellant over a reactor's core housing you would cool the core and heat the propellant alike - and the propellant would be very hot indeed, making it an attractive candidate for being flung out the back of the spacecraft at extremely high speeds. (20R per die, 0/500, -30PS on completion UNLESS given WC authorization) (Unlocks 1st Generation Nuclear Thermal Propulsion for spacecraft)

    (Projects that require locked dice can be unlocked at any time, but progress will not be made without a dice locked in.)

    Science (5 dice, +6 Bonus to All, +3 from Research Support (1956Q1)) (1/5 Locked)

    [ ] Exploratory Propellant Research (Phase 2) [CHEM] - A group of chemists attached to the IEC came to you with a proposal to conduct an exhaustive campaign characterizing just about as many propellants as they could come up with. While expensive, dangerous, and potentially deadly, the knowledge gained could also be invaluable for nailing down mixtures and ratios of fuels that could help the IEC achieve its objectives. (15R per dice, 3/200, unlocks fuel mixtures and further fuel development)

    [ ] Conduct Supersonic Jet Research (Phase 3) [AERO] - Basic testing has been completed, and interesting phenomena observed when experimenting with the engines that have been built. More can be done, of course. (15R per die, requires a completed Hangar Complex and Runway to finish, can be started without, 147/640)

    [ ] All-Sky Survey (Phase 1) [PHYS] - The Science Committee at the WCC put forward the proposal to perform an All-Sky Survey, mapping the entire night sky with telescopes across the world. The first such survey, the Carte du Ciel, had never actually finished, despite starting nearly three quarters of a century ago. With advancements in photography and optics, the science teams predict that they will be able to perform the task… in roughly a decade. First, though, you needed to wrangle observatories… (10R per die, 124/300) (+5 PS, ???)

    [ ] Atomic-powered Ground Launch Concept Studies - The idea of in-space nuclear propulsion, brought down to Earth. This program would study the possibilities for using nuclear power to get from the surface to space, both directly and indirectly. (10R per die, 0/300, -5PS on start, and an additional -10 on completion)

    [1 DICE LOCKED] Photovoltaic Investigations - Batteries are all well and good for powering spacecraft, but are also heavy and do not generate power on their own - once they're discharged, they're done. Your scientists suggest that by utilizing the photovoltaic effect, it might be possible to power spacecraft with it. (3/4 turns, 1 Science dice locked; 20R per turn)

    [ ] Very Long Range Communications - In order to properly communicate with probes we send out into the solar system to explore our neighboring worlds, we will need to begin studying ways to communicate more efficiently at these incredible distances. (5R per turn, 1 Science dice locked, 3 turns)

    [ ] Closed-Input Life Support Systems - We know from high-altitude flights during the Third Great War that systems can be designed to provide breathable air and a temperature-controlled environment for high-flying pilots. By taking that knowledge and acknowledging the lack of oxygen in space from which to replenish breathable air supplies, we can design a system capable of keeping a human alive for at least a short time (days) in space with no external inputs. (10R per dice, 126/200)

    [ ] Transistor Computing Investigations - After some pestering by Dr. Turing, a program to more fully investigate the possibilities related to transistor-based computing has been authorized. One part investigating how to best build one, one part trying to improve on that method, and one part trying to use them for things. He promised that it'd be worth it, and you believed him. (20R per turn, 6 turns)

    (Projects that require locked dice can be unlocked at any time, but progress will not be made without a dice locked in.)

    Politics & Management (5 dice, +10 bonus, reroll 1 failure per turn)

    Political

    [ ] Bothering Councilors - The year's budget is set, but next year's is very much not. You can influence investment priorities if you want to apply enough political pressure to the right people to convince them to fund, say, better roads out of Mogadishu… elementary and secondary schools in Africa… that kind of thing. (-10 PS, roll a quality dice to give options for influencing infrastructure funding, triggers subvote)

    [ ] Propagandize for Nuclear Power - As the IEC has gained more and more knowledge on the subject of nuclear power, it's become apparent that if you want to put this knowledge to good use for humanity, you'll need to start working against the (justified) stigma nuclear as a whole has in order to realize its full potential. (-2PS per die) (155/???)

    [ ] Propagandize for Space - Now that you've gotten your first orbital class rocket (and soon your first satellite), now is the best time to start touting the benefits of space exploration and access to space to the public. You'll need to find ways of engaging everyone in the idea, and there was no better time to start than now. (5R per die) (138/???)

    Outreach

    • "All's quiet on the Outreach front, Director. Or, well, it's not, but our hands are full enough at the moment."

    Personnel

    [ ] Engineering Job Fair - (33/150, 5R per dice, -5R per turn on completion. Gain +1 Engineering dice)

    [ ] Laboratory Talent Scouting - (0/150, 5R per dice, -5R per turn on completion. Gain +1 Science dice)

    [ ] There is Power in a Union - The PAO says you should expand your physical footprint so more people can interact with the IEC. Preparations and initial expansions have already been made, but your facilities unions need more able bodies to do more with. (0/150, 5R per dice, -5R per turn and -5 PS on completion. Gain +1 Facilities dice.)

    [ ] The Right Stuff - With work underway on several programs that would require the services of skilled and courageous pilots, you would soon need to begin finding them so they could be integrated into the IEC - and someday, they would become your first astronauts. (75/300, 5R per dice, gain astronaut candidates)
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Heads up: I failed to update the due-by date of the Launch Facilities promises like I should have. You have until 1958 to finish whatever site you pick.
     
    Rockeye said:
    That's... A lot of promises, even accounting for how some can be combined...
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    Big ones for this year/next 4 turns are these:
    Shadows said:
    Deliver a Weather Observation Satellite covering :
    • Asia (Int(M-L),Int(C))
    • Europe. (Int(M-L)
    • North America (Int(D))
    • South America (Int(C))
    Build the Sydney Microelectronics Research Centre by 1957Q1. (SDL)
    Build 2 points of Industry or Infrastructure in North America (Int(M-L), Int(D))
    Build 2 points of Industry or Infrastructure in industrialized regions (SDL)

    Complete Exploratory Propellant Research (Phase 3) by 1957Q1. (Int(D), UWF)
    Click to expand...
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    Rest have more time, but year good amount of work, even with us aiming to complete pretty much all of the stuff we picked anyway.
     
    Well i hope those dices that we invested in making the children like SPACE go around to get us more recruitment because damm, more dices really wouldn't hurt here.
     
    we should look at proposing other types of renewable energy generation like wind , geothermal, tidal, dams(maybe not due to the effect they have on the environment of the rivers they are on), and biofuels

    we don't have to be the ones to test and develop them, we could just theorize that they exist and have someone else do the research on them
     
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    So I would like to start out with just doing the things we promised, then flesh out the plan from there. To start:

    [] Plan: Bare Minimum to Fulfill Promises (use for further development, don't actually use this)
    Ops:
    -[] (6 dice) Construct an R-4 Dawn (35R per dice, 97/120, costs 1 build capacity til complete)
    -[] Activate Weather Observation Satellites (1 slot required) (40R/turn)
    I'm building up a stockpile of rockets here; once we get the weather satellites launching we can give all the boosters to the satellite program and use them to launch multiple in a quarter instead of just one.
    Facilities:
    -[] (3 dice) Build a new Space Center (Phase 1 (0/250)
    -[] (3 dice) Build a Scientific Complex (25R per die, opens up new research possibilities, +1d5+5 bonus in the associated field, +1 Education for the region)
    --[] Sydney Microelectronics Research Centre (AVIONICS) (0/450)
    -[] (3 dice) Tracking and Communication Station Construction (Phase 3) (30R per die, 0/550)
    We can do 3 simultaneous facilities projects. Because of how the math works, we need to start the new launch complex right away if we want to get level 3 done on time. Construction & Reconstruction can be crashed or done with political dice, so I'm putting it off until last.
    Engineering:
    -[] Strap-on Boosters (10R per dice, 157/250)
    -[] Multi-Stage Designs (15R per turn, 1 engineering die locked, 2 turns)
    -[] Impactor Designs (10R per turn, 1 engineering dice locked, 3 turns)
    Setting the foundation for our end-of-the-decade promises. There's one unused eng die at this point.
    Science:
    -[] (3 dice) Exploratory Propellant Research (Phase 2) [CHEM] (15R per dice, 3/200, unlocks fuel mixtures and further fuel development)
    -[] Transistor Computing Investigations (20R per turn, 6 turns)
    This is purely doing promises as fast as possible.
    Politics:
    Nothing is strictly needed for the bare minimum plan yet.

    As an aside, that sounding rocket program is pretty cost-effective if we can get another program slot for cheap.

    Ryzer said:
    Well i hope those dices that we invested in making the children like SPACE go around to get us more recruitment because damm, more dices really wouldn't hurt here.
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    We're more resource limited than we are dice limited at present. I think the investment will pay off the most when those children are old enough to influence the world congress, meaning that 1.5% budget will hopefully cost less PS.
     
    Shadows said:
    [ ] Build a new Space Center- Mogadishu was an excellent site (and it had all your stuff), but a growing space program needed to expand to new sites to service different orbits and different communities. Doing so was a major undertaking, of course, and would necessarily need a great investment. (Phase 1 (0/250), select site and perform negotiations with the locals (negotiation bonus applied, rejection not a concern for sites named) (-1 Facilities dice when complete)
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    Anyone else concerned that we might have to do all of the listed ones in order to get weather satellites in the correct orbits?
     
    Rockeye said:
    That's... A lot of promises, even accounting for how some can be combined...
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    It is! And it hasn't backfired so the questors here will keep pushing for more instead of occasionally considering the value of pulling back.

    C_Z said:
    We're more resource limited than we are dice limited at present. I think the investment will pay off the most when those children are old enough to influence the world congress, meaning that 1.5% budget will hopefully cost less PS.
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    Historically, the space program tends to get less funding, not more, as time passes. Unless this world is different. Probably, admittedly, depending on how the IEC retains control of the satellites.
     
    Research Support - You have a network of scientific institutions to whom you send a variety of data and perform experiments for. By putting a little extra pressure on those institutions, you can get some help for your internal purposes. (-5PS, +3 to all Science and Engineering dice until 1955Q1)
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    but it's currently 1956 though ^^
     
    wonder who`s budget we cut too get our .5%

    wonder how that artick project is going?
    would not mind a nega quest like thing about them.

    i feel like with all this funding we should have more ppl working all kind of jobs/more dice then we have but i am sure it be fine.

    hope general science / schooling going up with help from our efforts
     
    Hunter531 said:
    Anyone else concerned that we might have to do all of the listed ones in order to get weather satellites in the correct orbits?
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    Launching into higher inclinations (like sun synchronous orbits for optical earth observation and polar orbits for weather sats) carries a lower hit to total payload than launching into lower inclinations.

    And since our launch site is on the equator, all inclinations are higher inclinations. :V
     
    C_Z said:
    We can do 3 simultaneous facilities projects. Because of how the math works, we need to start the new launch complex right away if we want to get level 3 done on time. Construction & Reconstruction can be crashed or done with political dice, so I'm putting it off until last.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Doing it with Political dice takes 3 turns from when we start, so we can't use that option in an emergency situation. As for crash building our infra requirements, there's a limit to that. Each "stack" will probably require at least 4 dice, which is beyond what we can do in a single turn. Given that we'll be out 30 PS if we fail here, I'm fairly reluctant to ignore it.
     
    General_Urist said:
    I'm surprised the R-4a is projected to cost less as a base than the R4. Does it benefit that much from improve assembly techniques?
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    I mean, most of the improvements were to assembly technique. We're using less (wasted) material, and the difficult tanks are being assembled in a more efficient manner.
     
    Redhead222 said:
    wonder who`s budget we cut too get our .5%
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    Comparing the two budgets:
    - Department of Transportation increased by 0.2% (9.2%)
    - Department of Reconstruction and Disaster Relief decreased by 2% (26%)
    - Department of Health and Welfare increased by 1% (25.5%)
    - Department of Education increased by 1% (18.2%)
    - Discretionary Funding decreased by .2% (2.4%)

    Also the World Council is spending 101.1% of their budget. Truly all things are possible through anarchism.
     
    KNakamura said:
    It is! And it hasn't backfired so the questors here will keep pushing for more instead of occasionally considering the value of pulling back.
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    1955 was a year where we did pull back, dropping from 1.5% funding to 1% in preparation for this year's push forward.
    This was also mathed out as being probably achievable, and it looks like we have decent odds of completing most of it.
    KNakamura said:
    Historically, the space program tends to get less funding, not more, as time passes. Unless this world is different. Probably, admittedly, depending on how the IEC retains control of the satellites.
    Click to expand...
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    There are different motivations here; we're not justifying our space program on "need to show the Russians how big our dick is". Funding may cost more in the future but outreach will probably still help with that.
     
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