The last quarter had been hectic and exhausting as Mogadishu had continued to expand and build out - both the city and the space center. The launch cadence was poised to increase now that the build teams were fully comfortable with the roles they were fulfilling, and your science types were hammering down your door with proposals for every type of project under the sun.
I should probably take another vacation soon, you thought. Korolev certainly has a solid head on his shoulders and would be more than capable of dealing with the day-to-day affairs when I'm out of the office.
You were about to have to convene another hiring board soon - the new Tracking Stations would need to have local talent located and contacted, then brought on board if they were willing. If there wasn't anyone local, the Cooperative would have to incentivize people to go and staff the station. Then there were the other positions…
Once I've got the hiring boards taken care of, I think I will take that vacation, you thought, nodding firmly and resetting your typewriter. The keys began to clatter and clack as you typed your next memo to the World Council…
Damnit, I have a meeting with Turing in five minutes!
You groaned and stood up from your desk, fixing your dress before scrambling out the door in the most dignified manner you could manage… while still making the most expeditious time possible to his lab.
Resources:
125 (+160R/turn)
40 Political Support
1 2-Stage Sounding Rocket
Council Liaison Reports:
Objectives of the World Communal Council
Complete Post-War Reconstruction (6250/200000)
Defeat Partisan Forces
State of the World
Mostly stable. Occasional brushfire conflicts occurring across the globe. American partisans are fighting local defense forces for control of the Great Lakes region. Southern Africa continues to be in turmoil; unrest is largely centered in former South Africa.
Rebuilding continues unabated in Asia with the clearing of Hiroshima for human habitation being hailed as the WCC's first major accomplishment. Other cities affected by atomic blasts are still in the early-to-middle stages of cleanup.
Mediterranean/Saharan Africa
Education: 5 (+)
Electrification: 2
Industry: 1
Infrastructure: 2
Security: 1
Partisan Activity: 4
Sub-Saharan Africa
Education: 4 (+)
Electrification: 2
Industry: 2
Infrastructure: 2
Security: 3
Partisan Activity: 10 (+)
Eastern Asia
Education: 7
Electrification: 5
Industry: 9 (+)
Infrastructure: 7(+)
Security: 6
Partisan Activity: 11
Western Asia
Education: 8
Electrification: 10
Industry: 10
Infrastructure: 9
Security: 5
Partisan Activity: 12
Australia and New Zealand
Education: 5
Electrification: 5
Industry: 4
Infrastructure: 4
Security: 2
Partisan Activity: 6
Europe
Education: 8
Electrification: 10
Industry: 7
Infrastructure: 10
Security: 5
Partisan Activity: 9
North America
Education: 7
Electrification: 9 (--)
Industry: 10 (-)
Infrastructure: 7 (-)
Security: 8 (++)
Partisan Activity: 15 (+)
South America
Education: 5
Electrification: 5
Industry: 3
Infrastructure: 3
Security:
Partisan Activity: 4
Pacific Islands
Education: 2
Electrification: 2
Industry: 2 (+)
Infrastructure: 2 (+)
Security: 1
Partisan Activity: 4
Facilities:
1 Launch Stand (0-5 tonne) (+1 Operations die)
1 Assembly Complex (+1 Build Capacity)
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)
Scientific Advances (name TBD)
Improved Instrumentation (Gain +1d2 bonus to a random field every 2 launches. Gain +1 to AVIONICS immediately.)
Regenerative Cooling (Starts down the path to more powerful and advanced rocket engines
Second Stages - Can now build 2-Stage Sounding Rockets
Combustion Instability Research - Turns the initial success roll for a rocket from a >60 to >50.
Engine Cycles - Enables Early Orbital engines.
Scientific/Engineering Specific Field Bonuses
AERO - +3
AVIONICS - +6
CHEM - +7
CREW - +0
COMP - +0
MATSCI - +5
PHYS - +0
PROP - +4
Penelope Carter [The Director] - [+10 to Politics rolls, +2 Politics die, +5R/turn in funding from Connections, reroll 1 failed politics roll per turn]
Sergei Korolev - [+5 to Science and Engineering rolls (unless researching [HGOL][FUEL] projects, then it becomes a -15), +1 Science dice, +1 Engineering Dice. Request: Build an Orbital Rocket within 5 years; build a Scientific Complex in former Ukraine within 10 years.]
Promises Made (Expires Q1 1953):
Complete Weather Studies (Phase 3) (+5 PS)
Build Computational Research Facility (+5 PS)
Complete Rocket Boxes (Phase 3)
Do not expand to more than 2 Facilities Dice
Do not pursue Spaceplane research
Operations
-[X] Construct a 2-Stage Sounding Rocket (92/45)
--[X] And reserve it for Weather Studies (68)
-[X] (2 Dice) Weather Studies (Phase 3) (174/160) (+5 PS on complete)
The production teams making the IEC's sounding rockets were settling into a well-oiled cadence of constructing rockets, taking less and less time (on average) to complete each, and with fewer wasted resources. Which is why, during the middle of May, you found yourself looking at a completed two-stage rocket and the beginnings of another.
"We did only order one, you know," you pointed out to the team lead. The burly Indian man shrugged and rubbed the dark stubble on his chin.
"It wasn't as if we didn't know we would be asked to make another, Director." he replied in a crisp British accent, an artifact of that Empire. "We thought we had best get started on the next." You couldn't fault that logic, and went on your way.
And, indeed, by the time the Weather Science team had their payload ready for that quarter's launch, the second rocket was already finished and being placed in storage. The weather studies launch itself went smoothly, carrying its payload into space and back down into the upper decks of a thunderstorm, recording data as it decelerated on its parachute. While not as exciting as the launch into the cyclone months prior, the duration of the data collection period on this launch as far longer, relying on a slow descent through the less-tumultuous storm to prolong its observations.
"Our next objective, I think, should be to study a blizzard." one of your scientists remarked to you after the launch.
"Why a blizzard?" you asked, honestly puzzled, but also trying to figure out if there was anywhere within a thousand kilometers of Mogadishu that even experienced them. You came up with a blank.
"Partly to study the blizzard itself, its structure, how it works. But, also, to study ice formation on the body of the capsule and its instruments. It could be valuable!" they said, bouncing excitedly.
"I will…uh… try to find us a blizzard to launch into, then, provided a rocket is ready at the appropriate time." you replied, groaning internally.
(-15R, +1 additional 2-Stage Sounding Rocket, +5 PS)
(Extra Progress now applies to additional rockets of the built type.
E.g., rolled 92, rocket 1 0/45->45/45+Rocket 2 45/45+Rocket 3 2/45)
Facilities (2 dice, +0 bonus)
Construct a Computational Research Facility (103/180, +3 to all projects) (High Priority).
The vacuum tube sourcing issues of last quarter had been resolved via judicious application of extra funding to convince the manufacturing cooperatives making them to expand their operations in a more permanent fashion. "The world will come to love the power of the computer," Turing had told their representatives, "and you will not lack for demand once you expand your production."
The statement was true on a variety of fronts - the power of the computer was evident to the planners on the World Council and at the local community level. The Marxist-Leninist wing of the Internationale, in particular, was fascinated with the possibility of an equitable distribution system for goods and labor controlled by an advanced computer system. The technology, of course, wasn't there yet. For the IEC's part, nearly everything you were building would need more and more computer power, and if nothing else you could fully see the Cooperative becoming an anchor customer for the various electronics syndicates.
The building itself was complete by now; the lab equipment and electronics were all that was left, but made up nearly half the total effort. Perhaps by the end of the next Quarter, Dr. Turing would have a place to work from.
Engineering (3 dice, +6 Bonus to All)
-[X] (3 Dice) Conduct Design Studies (Early Orbital Rocket) (Phase I) [AERO, PHYS] (15R per dice, 59/300)
The first moment you knew that developing an orbital rocket was going to be harder than expected was when the first engine test article detonated like a bomb on the test stand.
The stand itself was fine; it had been built with unforeseen rapid disassembles of engines in mind. The test engine was spread across half of the space center's unused land area. Thanks to the extensive sensors monitoring the event - to include high-speed cameras - the engineering teams were at least able to assure you that the resource expenditure hadn't been in vain. They were eventually able to pinpoint the issue as a production imperfection in the combustion chamber that, when operating pressure had been achieved by the engine (which was several dozen atmospheres, you were told), had ruptured spectacularly - which was soon followed by the rest of the chamber, and then the engine.
All there was to be done was to build a new test article and press forward with engine tests.
Science (3 dice, +6 Bonus to All)
-[X] Tracking Station Surveys (27/150, unlocks Tracking Station Construction project for Facilities)
The surveys for tracking station sites were underway without fanfare or much to do. Locating the sites was relatively easy - given the equatorial location of the launch site, the IEC just needed other locations along the equator and near to it.
The problem was the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Their vast reaches had very few islands conveniently placed, and what few there were weren't quite located correctly for complete coverage. This, of course, meant the IEC needed ships to take over coverage where land lacked. The second problem? Nobody made tracking ships. So the IEC would have to build and crew them. Not the tallest order - there certainly still were shipbuilding. But it was mildly inconvenient.
Beyond that, the land-based station sites would have to be requested from the local councils - if any - and then staffed. Those would both be the work of at least another quarter.
Politics (3 dice, +10 bonus, reroll 1 failure per turn)
Outreach
-[X] (3 Dice) Rocket Boxes (Phase II) (5R per die, 303/300. Gives Rocket Boxes to every middle-school, high-school and university or equivalent in Asia and Oceania. Encourages future scientists and engineers - some of whom will even come work with the IEC.)
The IEC pulled absolutely zero punches when it came to moving the Rocket Boxes abroad. Resources positively rained on anyone who was willing to devote shop space to producing components for the program, and before the quarter was out the first Boxes were hitting the doors of educational institutions all across Asia and Oceania, from Istanbul to Yokohama, from Siberia to Papua.
Many of those locations lacked significant educational infrastructure, thanks to reasons ranging from imperialism to the wealth concentrating effects of capital pulling from those regions, to simple lack of modern economic drivers. The effect of the boxes was, thus, reduced - but that was a problem that could be remedied by the World Council. For now, there was fully enough production to saturate the institutions that did exist (especially in former India, China and Japan) and drive a hobbyist element besides.
