I know it is currently entirely uncompetitive in cost versus grey hydrogen on an industrial scale, but is it really so bad that even for the (relatively) small amounts needed for a mobile rocket fuel factory the average engineer would consider it non-viable?
Yes. Demand for Hydrogen IRL is about 70 MT today, annually, and would require about 3,600 TWh of electricity to produce via electrolysis (or other green methods). That's higher than the annual electricity generation of the entire EU.
In 1975 it was a little over 18.2 MT in 1975 (I'm not able to find any data from earlier) with the majority going towards fertilizer production and oil refining. Extrapolating that out to electricity requirements, that's still 936TWh of electricity to produce.
Put another way, the space shuttle used ~102 metric tones of H2, which would take ~5.4 MWh to produce at average efficiency today. Roughly. That doesn't account for losses in the fueling process itself.
Some people are sticklers for the rules. That, and the fear that letting errors slide would mean those that disadvantage the players would remain too...
You watched the cosmonauts run by outside, jogging together as a group as they did every morning, never in a race to see who could move fastest, only that they all completed the run. The IEC's doctors theorized that being in space might have some variety of health consequences beyond the known radiation issues, and as such wanted the cosmonauts in their best shape to both resist the potential effects and to study the changes to their physiology. It made perfect sense to you.
I'm just glad I don't have to join them, you thought with a small amused laugh that caused Korolev to turn and raise a questioning eyebrow in your direction. You shook your head. "I had a funny thought, that's all. What was the proposal, again?"
He huffed and shook his head. "We - that is, those of us involved in the rocketry design team - spent some time together, looking forward to what our next rockets might be and what we might use them for. The R-5 design is relatively straightforward - one core, four liquid boosters, and a vacuum-optimized upper stage - but the R-6 and R-7 are where there are more disagreements among us. I, personally, believe that a straightforward three-to-four stage design is ideal for the R-6, and that would be large enough to deliver a significant payload to the Moon. Chelomei and Parsons…" he trailed off with a grumble and a look of distaste, "favor something, ah, more complicated in a different manner."
"How so?"
"They seem to want to take the idea of the strap-on booster to its logical extreme… it is a mechanical nightmare, in my opinion." he said, producing a bit of scratch paper with the design in question on it, with notes on one side in Cyrillic lettering from Chelomei, translated helpfully by Parsons on the other. "These were very informal talks, as you can see." he explained, while you looked at it. He wasn't exactly wrong - what you thought of as the first stage was actually, if you wanted to be technical, one and a half - a center, tri-engined core surrounded by three large liquid boosters. The second stage was likewise a stage and a half; it looked like it was the first stage written in half-scale.
"I mean, it looks like it… honestly, it looks like a multi-stage design taken to a bit of an extreme, but it's far from the most insane thing to cross my desk?" you mused, somewhat puzzled.
"That alone would be fine, it is the fact that they want to transfer propellant inward from these liquid boosters while they are running, towards the central core, that makes these a nightmare." he explained. You tilted your head, confused.
"What on Earth is the purpose of that?" you asked quizzically.
"It is not much different from having a side-mounted booster in first place. It is a part of the rocket you get rid of to reduce your mass fraction while you gain velocity. I can see what they are going for - using the side boosters until they are drained and then ditching them, with your central core still fully fueled because of that - but I fear that the additional plumbing concerns and the issues with fluid flow may ruin the idea. Whereas mine is, again, a relatively straightforward single-core rocket - simply writ very large."
You nodded, thinking you mostly understood now. "I see. Are you looking for a decision from me?"
He shook his head. "No, merely delivering an update on what is being thought of on the rocket design team."
"Well, in that case, I do hope you resolve your impasse before we have need of the rocket. With the R-5 mostly locked down, I believe we have quite a bit of time before we may require such an enormous machine." Looking down at your notes for the day, something twigged your attention from the conversation. "Oh, and what of the R-7? What is that one looking like at this time?"
"We haven't even begun to converge on something like a solid idea of what it would do, or be used for." Korolev replied with a shrug. "So, as yet, it looks like nothing."
"Ah. Well, let me know when it does. I'm sure it will blow my mind either way."
HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
ANTARCTICA - The Antarctic Exploration Cooperative has established Unity Station on the coast of Antarctica, intended to be a permanent outpost on the frozen continent. Plans are in works for a chain of related stations stretching to the geographic and magnetic south poles…
TRIPOLI - The Council of Workers in Northern Africa has approved the expansion of the medical university and teaching hospital in Tripoli, beginning a project that is expected to take two years and dramatically increase the availability of medical training and education on the continent. This action is taken in tandem with the Southern Africa Medical Association's expansion of their facility in Johannesburg…
HONOLULU - The World Council issued a statement condemning the continued discrimination against the Roma people in Europe after a series of incidents in former Hungary and Romania, and expanded the statement to include many other marginalized groups in the process. They are expected to propose a generalized anti-discrimination law to the combined Councils of the world come next session…
Resources:
885R (+730R/turn + 5R/turn from Connections - 50R/turn from payroll/dice purchases - 40 from active Programs = +645/turn net)
96 Political Support
1 Curiosity-class Satellite
Objectives of the World Communal Council
Complete Post-War Reconstruction (52000/200000)
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)
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; currently +5)
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)
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. Primitive Photovoltaics - Basic, expensive and inefficient solar cells enable you to greatly extend the on-orbit lifetime of your satellites and probes. Lifting Body - A method by which the body of a spacecraft could be used to generate lift and thus alter its trajectory in atmosphere, potentially reducing the amount of heat shielding required for it to safely return. Multi-Stage Designs - Enables large rockets to be made with three or more stages. Closed-Input Life Support Systems - Enables basic non-regenerative life support for early space vehicles.
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:
Cosmonauts: 7
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 1957Q1. (Int(C))
Build a Launch Facility in Eastern Asia before 1957Q1 (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) (2 types 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, 97/120, 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) - [ ] Add additional solid boosters (2R per booster, max 6, +2 LEO Payload Mass per booster) [REQUIRES LARGER LAUNCH PAD]
--[ ] 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.
[ ] 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) Active
[ ] 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 (8 dice, +10 bonus)
(A maximum of 3 dice may be used on any project - representing 3 shifts of work.)
[ ] Build a new Space Center (Singapore) - 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 2 (302/600), 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)
[ ] 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) (235/450)
[ ] 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, 288/550)
[ ] Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Upgrade - Utilizing new jet technology, the IEC can upgrade its Mogadishu wind tunnel to support higher speed wind flows, improving the results from scale model testing. (2 turns, 20R, +1 to Wind Tunnel AERO bonus)
[ ] Arcjet Wind Tunnel - Utilizing what is, in effect, an argon-burning electric rocket nozzle, the high temperatures of re-entry can be simulated on the ground, enabling much more rapid testing of heat shield materials. This addition to the Wind Tunnel complex will be very beneficial to the IEC as a whole. (2 turns, 25R, +1 to Wind Tunnel MATSCI bonus)
[ ] 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)) (3/6 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. (7/8 turns, 1 locked dice, 20R per turn)
[ ] Crewed Orbiting Stations [CREW] (Advanced Concepts) - A popular concept that regularly makes its way through your Advanced Concepts Office, the idea of a permanently crewed scientific outpost in space, along with industrial ones, is an enticing one from the standpoint of those who like the idea of humanity spreading across the solar system. With crewed spaceflight imminent, perhaps now is the time to begin investigating the matter. (0/450, 20R per dice)
[ ] 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)
[1 LOCKED] 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, 2/3 turns)
[ ] Lander Design Studies - The obvious next step after smacking a probe into the Moon is to land one softly on its face and observe it at ground level, taking measurements and performing experiments for as long as the power lasts. This will require additional study of long-duration fuel handling and in-space relights far from Earth. (4 turns, 15R per turn, 1 dice locked)
[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. (6/8 turns, 1 locked dice, 25R per turn) (Unlocks 1st Generation Terrestrial Fission Power Plants for the world, leads to Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators, 2nd Generation Terrestrial Fission Plants, 1st Generation Space-rated Fission Plants)
[ ] Snapper-1 - The Space Nuclear Power Reactor, SNPR, currently better known to your scientists as Snapper, is a small sub-kilowatt output fission plant well-suited for deep-space probes. The basic model of the Snapper has a roughly two year design lifetime, but the deliverable model the teams are looking to provide will be designed for at least five, enabling long duration high-power missions to Jupiter and beyond. (2 turns, 25R per turn) (Enables 1st Generation Space-rated Fission Plants)
[ ] Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators - The full name of the device was quite a mouthful, but it shortened - helpfully - down to RTG. Differing from a reactor in a number of ways, an RTG was largely a passive, low-power, long-life device, utilizing the thermoelectric effect to convert the decay heat of radioactive material into electrical power and useful heat to keep instruments warm. (2 turns, 25R per turn) (Enables Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators)
[ ] 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)
[ ] Solar Thermal Rocketry [PHYS] - Another theoretical propulsion system, a solar thermal rocket uses large, thin mirrors (or lenses, depending) to concentrate energy on a heating chamber, akin to a normal rocket's combustion chamber, directly heating propellant to useful energies without need for a direct chemical reaction. Highly efficient, though equally low-thrust compared to ion propulsion, and needs progressively larger focusing elements the further one goes from the sun. (0/450, 15R per dice)
(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 (1957Q1)) (1/5 Locked)
[ ] Exploratory Propellant Research (Phase 3) [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, 167/250, 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)
[ ] 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, 2/3 turns)
[ ] Ionic Propulsion [PROP, PHYS] - A new propulsion system has been proposed by members of your scientific teams, using ionized atoms accelerated with a magnetic field to propel a spacecraft. Such a drive would not be very powerful, and would be quite power hungry, but could be very efficient and generate high ending velocities. (0/450, 20R per dice)
[ ] Synthetic Aperture Radar - By taking advantage of the velocity at which IEC satellites cross the Earth, a method of using small RADAR systems to generate very accurate radar imagery of an area has been proposed within the scientific teams, with eyes on producing very accurate maps of the Earth - and, of course, other planets. (1 dice, 20R per turn sum, 0/4 turns)
[1 LOCKED] 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, 2/6 turns)
(Projects that require locked dice can be unlocked at any time, but progress will not be made without a dice locked in.)
[ ] 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) (485/???)
[ ] 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
[ ] Visitor Complex - The Outreach Department has floated the idea of constructing a dedicated Visitor Complex from which future launches can be watched, and even televised. This would be located roughly nine kilometers away in the opposite direction of the line of flight leaving the space center. (257/300, 10R per dice, +1 Politics bonus, +??)
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)
Can't help but feel we're behind on a lot of promises this year. For our facilities projects and our propellant research.
We should really get more construction unions so we can get our 9 facilities dice back.
Maybe time for the R-5.
A few missed updates from last turn:
- Nuclear Power Plant Studies is at 7/8
- One Science dice is locked into Very Long Range Communications
Personally I'd advocate for a compromise between the two. Have a standard core (it makes a recoverable engine pod easier to design), but use UR-700 style boosters. It also helps make things more scaleable; if we want to make a more powerful R-whatever, we can achieve the benefits of a simultaneous addition of boosters and a core-stage tank stretch by bolting on a combined assembly.
ANTARCTICA - The Antarctic Exploration Cooperative has established Unity Station on the coast of Antarctica, intended to be a permanent outpost on the frozen continent. Plans are in works for a chain of related stations stretching to the geographic and magnetic south poles…
This seems like a good test case for satellite phones in a few years; the conditions probably make hard lines hard to maintain, and a Molniya-esque orbit with apogee over the South Pole could provide coverage.
Also, as part of a mutual scratching-of-backs, we can probably get advice from them on long duration habitation in hostile environments.
Anyways, what do we need to do this turn?
Edit: Bare-bones of a plan, covering the points we need for promises
Operations (0/6)
-
Programs (1/1)
-
Facillities (8/8)
-[] [3 dice] Build a new Space Center (Singapore) (Phase 2 (302/600), begins construction, 1 500T pad available when complete)
-[] [2 dice] Build a Scientific Complex (25R per die)
--[] Sydney Microelectronics Research Centre (AVIONICS) (235/450)
-[] [3 dice] Tracking and Communication Station Construction (Phase 3) (30R per die, 288/550)
Science (3+1/5)
-[] [2 dice] Exploratory Propellant Research (Phase 3) [CHEM] (15R per dice, 167/250)
-[] Very Long Range Communications (5R per turn, 1 Science dice locked, 3 turns)
Nuclear Power Plant Studies is currently correct. The last update was incorrect. Vehrec raised an objection to QM errors in your favor.
The second is only incorrect on turn count. Should be 2/3.
Nuclear Power Plant Studies is currently correct. The last update was incorrect. Vehrec raised an objection to QM errors in your favor.
The second is only incorrect on turn count. Should be 2/3.
[] Plan: Knocking out Obligations
- [] Construct an R-4 Dawn - (35R per dice, 97/120, costs 1 build capacity til complete) (2 Payload Mass capacity) (2 dice)
-- [] And launch it (1 Operations dice; specify payload)
- [] Construct a Payload
-- [] Curiosity-C-class Satellite (30R) (2 payload mass) (16 quarter lifetime) (1 die)
- [] Build a new Space Center (Singapore) (3 Dice) (Phase 2 (302/600), begins construction, 1 500T pad available when complete)
- [] 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) (235/450) (2 Dice)
- [] Tracking and Communication Station (30R per die, 288/550) (3 dice)
- [] Prototype Spaceplane (0/300, 15R per dice) (3 dice)
- [] Exploratory Propellant Research (15R per dice, 167/250, unlocks fuel mixtures and further fuel development) (Phase 2) [CHEM] (3 dice)
- [] Very Long Range Communications (5R per turn, 1 Science dice locked, 2/3 turns) (1 die)
- [] Propagandize for Space (5R per die) (138/???) (2 dice)
- [] Visitor Complex (257/300, 10R per dice, +1 Politics bonus, +??) (2 dice)
- [] Laboratory Talent Scouting - (0/150, 5R per dice, -5R per turn on completion. Gain +1 Science dice) (1 die)
This is a basic plan. I think this sets up to get all of our obligations done and dusted and some extra too. I'm open to change on the politics section and the engineering section. Science section is pretty locked in honestly.
any of the dice/per turn options looks good. apart from the one that gives -ps
max singapore, 2 or 3 on the computer thing, 2 or 3 on the tracking.
uhm nothing standing out that need doing right now thou. when we get a moment do some expanding on our home landing pad or some more mission control stuff.
edit: kind of want too see what The Antarctic Exploration Cooperative been up to? wonder how well that project is going.
Fixed various errors, added in a new project under Science.
[ ] Solar Thermal Rocketry [PHYS] - Another theoretical propulsion system, a solar thermal rocket uses large, thin mirrors (or lenses, depending) to concentrate energy on a heating chamber, akin to a normal rocket's combustion chamber, directly heating propellant to useful energies without need for a direct chemical reaction. Highly efficient, though equally low-thrust compared to ion propulsion, and needs progressively larger focusing elements the further one goes from the sun. (0/450, 15R per dice)
I want to build an R-4a and use it to fling something into a high-earth orbit. Hell, I'd like to build several R-4As and launch them all!
On the other hand, Solar Thermal and Ion rockets can take a break on the backseat of proposal town. We aren't in a great hurry to do anything where a high efficency/low thrust engine might be useful.
It's fascinating living this quest through the early age of rocketry when the greats are making all sorts of crazy napkin sketching for mega rockets. The "drop tank" design makes sense, but sounds like a huge challenge in practice.
HONOLULU - The World Council issued a statement condemning the continued discrimination against the Roma people in Europe after a series of incidents in former Hungary and Romania, and expanded the statement to include many other marginalized groups in the process. They are expected to propose a generalized anti-discrimination law to the combined Councils of the world come next session…
OTL a lot of anti-Roma laws were disguised as anti-vagrancy laws, or just in general laws getting written in a way that made zero room for non-sedentary people. Question is, is the world congress favorable enough to nomadism to recognize that?
[ ] Solar Thermal Rocketry [PHYS] - Another theoretical propulsion system, a solar thermal rocket uses large, thin mirrors (or lenses, depending) to concentrate energy on a heating chamber, akin to a normal rocket's combustion chamber, directly heating propellant to useful energies without need for a direct chemical reaction. Highly efficient, though equally low-thrust compared to ion propulsion, and needs progressively larger focusing elements the further one goes from the sun. (0/450, 15R per dice)
This feels steampunk, and pretty cool. But given the lack of OTL interest for this, I suspect there's a reason it has seen little development. You can't develop higher propellant temperatures than with a conventional rocket due to materials limitations. One advantage is that it's not picky about the propellant and you can carry just one simple material instead of separate propellant and oxidizer. Something of a bargain bin NTR. Wonder if you could drip-feed a light atom that's smaller solid at room temp like Lithium to avoid storage issues.
...Now that I write all that, it sounds very good. What's the catch? Is it that ion engines can be almost equally as fuel-flexible while being more efficient, meaning this thing is obsolete as soon as said engine and photovoltaics are perfected?
[] Plan: Can, Should, Must, and Will
Resources: 260/885
Political Support 90/96
Operations (6/6 dice, 1/1 programs, +3 bonus, -180R)
-[] Construct an R-4a Dawn (0/100) (6 dice, -180R)
Facilities (8/8 dice, +10 bonus, -245R)
-[] Build a new Space Center (Singapore) (302/600) (3 dice, -105R)
-[] Build a Scientific Complex
--[] Sydney Microelectronics Research Centre (AVIONICS) (235/450) (2 dice, -50R)
-[] Tracking and Communication Station Construction (Phase 3) (288/550) (3 dice, -90R)
Okay, here's a plan. It's 680R; slightly over our steady-state value but still permissible. Rationale behind the choices that aren't just finishing promises:
Operations for this turn is focused on building rockets and payloads to go sit in the visitor's centre since we don't need to launch a lot of R-4s right now. This is mostly a roleplay conceit, but I think having a museum of all of our rockets and key satellites is nice. Didn't quite understand the build capacity; it's now making small progress on the visitor centre collection while also building a lot of R-4as and putting them in stockpile until next year so we canuse them for launches of new satellites, boilerplate capsules, etc.
We'll want to be looking into the R-5 around 1960 or so, and redesigning the R-3 into a testbed for the technologies we want to use for the R-5's lower stages means we can hopefully do faster and cheaper iterative development on a sub-scale model.
Lander design studies is just a nice-to-have thing.
SAR and STR are for our eventual Venusian and Martian probes. Solar Thermal gives us a way to make relatively cheap high-energy upper stages, and Synthetic Aperture Radar can be used by a probe doing a fly-by to do radar mapping with a smaller antenna to save mass. Since we need to launch interplanetary probes by the end of the decade, IMO this is a good idea.
[] Plan: Looking to the Future
Operations (6+0/6) (165R)
-[] [1 die] Construct an R-1 Beden (15R per dice, 3/35, costs 1 Build Capacity until complete)
--[] And give it to the visitor's centre
-[] [5 dice] Construct an R-4a Dawn (30R per dice, 0/100, costs 1 Build Capacity until complete)
--[] And place it in stockpile
-[] Construct a Payload
--[] Curiosity-class Satellite (20R)
---[] And give it to the visior's centre
--[] Curiosity-B-class Satellite (25R)
---[] And give it to the visior's centre
Programs (1/1) (0R+40R)
No change
Facilities (8+0/8) (245R)
-[] [3 dice] Build a new Space Center (Singapore) (Phase 2) (35R per dice, 302/600)
-[] [2 dice] Build a Scientific Complex (25R per dice)
--[] Sydney Microelectronics Research Centre (AVIONICS) (235/450)
-[] [3 dice] Tracking and Communication Station Construction (Phase 3) (30R per dice, 288/550) (3 dice, -90R)
Engineering (3+3/6) (45R+55R)
-[] [1 die] Design/Redesign an Orbital Rocket (15R, 2 turns, 1 die locked)
--[] Redesign (R-3)
-[] [1 die] Lander Design Studies (15R, 4 turns, 1 die locked)
-[] [1 die] Solar Thermal Rocketry [PHYS] (15R per dice, 0/450)
We don't, but that's mostly because we've been doing it one way for so long that it's cheaper to keep doing that. Solar Thermal in the '60s can get Isps of upwards of 600 seconds easily (I've seen 1040 s for more modern stuff, but I'm doubtful we can do that without some exotic materials). That's a significant savings when trying to launch things on interplanetary trajectories, which we want to do by the end of the decade, and I don't think our astrodynamics or solar cells are good enough for an ion burn that'll send us to Mars.
Normally, you throw a payload directly into either LEO or GTO, which means you want a quick-burning upper stage (and circularizing at GEO is simple enough that you don't need to bother with anything fancy). If you're going to another planet, you accept it as a relative rarity and use a regular chemical upper stage because you already have it.
Where a solar thermal rocket excels is relatively slowly going from LEO to a higher-energy orbit. You don't need the sudden kick of thrust to make sure you don't fall back into the atmosphere, but you get a way higher specific impulse and a decent TWR. Nowadays, we do the same thing with ion and hall effect thrusters, which are a more extreme form - having multiple times the specific impulse of a solar thermal rocket, but even lower thrust.
Solar thermal also doesn't scale great, since higher thrusts require bigger and bigger collectors which can be cumbersome to deal with. For small spacecraft, however, this is fine.
In our case, solar thermal is quite appealing because it's a way of improving the ratio of mass outside of Earth's gravity well to mass in LEO over what we'd get with a standard propalox upper stage, and we want that for our upcoming missions to Venus and Mars. It can also be useful to GEO, but that requires some funny launch architecture that we'd have to specifically design for.
Thanks for the info @C_Z . That sounds moderately useful. I think the point in time where we're sending payloads out of LEO that are large enough that the limitations of a chemical rocket are a serious concern are pretty far away so there's still no need to spend dice doing it now. But I'm not strongly opposed if everyone else prefers it.
[ ] Plan A New Machine 615 R spent,
-[ ] Construct an R-4a Dawn (0/100) (5 die, -150R)
--[ ] And Launch it x1 dice
---[ ] With a Curiosity-b Science satellite x1
---- ]Into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (and return photo-capsule before attempting Geostationary insertion)
-[ ] Build a Space Center (Singapore) (302/600) (3 dice, -105R)
-[ ] Build a Scientific Complex
--[ ] Sydney Microelectronics Research Centre (AVIONICS) (235/450) (2 dice, -50R)
-[ ] Tracking and Communication Station Construction (Phase 3) (288/550) (3 dice, -90R)
-[ ] Human-rated Rocketry (7/8 turns) (1 die, -20R)
-[ ] Crewed Orbiting Stations (0/450) (1 die, -20)
-[ ] Nuclear Power Plant Design Studies (6/8 turns) (1 die, -25R)
-[ ] Impactor Designs (2/3 turns) (1 die, -10R)
-[ ] Lander Design Studies (0/4 turns) (1 die, -15R)
-[ ] Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (0/2 turns) (1 die, -20R)
-[ ] Exploratory Propellant Research (Phase 2) [CHEM] (167/250) (2 dice, -30R)
-[ ] Very Long Range Communications (1/3 turns) (1 die, -5 R)
-[ ] Transistor Computing Investigations (2/6 turns) (1 die, -20R)
-[ ] Synthetic Aperture Radar (1 die, -20R)
-[ ] Propagandize for Space (138/???) (4 dice, -20R)
-[ ] Visitor Complex (257/300) (1 dice, -10R)
Okay, so here's my plan idea. We throw 5 dice at building R-4as, so we can build at least two, and YEET one of them upwards into the sky. The other one and it's buddy of leftover scraps in the machine shop get to launch lunar impactors next turn. The one this turn is a test launch. Construction is construction, we have no options there. Crewed orbiting stations is a very historical thing to research, and I'm eager to get started-slowly. And Space gets some much overdue propaganda.
Thanks for the info @C_Z . That sounds moderately useful. I think the point in time where we're sending payloads out of LEO that are large enough that the limitations of a chemical rocket are a serious concern are pretty far away so there's still no need to spend dice doing it now. But I'm not strongly opposed if everyone else prefers it.
Think of it as a ratio, not as a raw number. We can send, rougly (assuming Shadows' numbers are right), 1/6th of the mass we can get to LEO to Mars with our current capabilities. That means if we can put 12 metric sputniks into orbit, we can have 2 fly-by Mars. If we can put 120, then we can have 20 fly-by Mars.
However, higher-performance transfer stages change that ratio to favour us. Now, our 12 metric sputniks in LEO is putting 3-4 metric sputniks on a collision course with Mars. This can be a significant difference - we COULD squeeze a minimal Mariner-esque probe into 2 metric sputniks, but why not use a higher performance stage and avoid the hassle?
