I don't see much sense in putting 3 dice towards a project for no reason at all. Sure it would be beneficial. But basically anything would. That particular project is a bunch of very interesting stuff that we just can't build. We can't build them IRL, and in situ, we don't have the materials science to get anywhere close. Those projects are what the Advanced Concepts Office is for. Putting it towards the orbital rocket had the greatest value period.

[X] Plan: Korolev before Vegetables
 
I don't see much sense in putting 3 dice towards a project for no reason at all. Sure it would be beneficial. But basically anything would. That particular project is a bunch of very interesting stuff that we just can't build. We can't build them IRL, and in situ, we don't have the materials science to get anywhere close. Those projects are what the Advanced Concepts Office is for. Putting it towards the orbital rocket had the greatest value period.

[X] Plan: Korolev before Vegetables
I think there's merit to it because we might discover new things that are useful when we start digging. Like, let's say someone starts doing the math on space tethers, and as part of that they are looking into tidal effects on long bodies in orbit, and by the end we've done a lot of the theoretical work behind gravity gradient stabilization and yo-yo despin, that'd be useful even if we'll likely never build a skyhook.
 
[X] Plan: Korolev before Vegetables

I want to keep progressing towards an orbital rocket.
 
I think there's merit to it because we might discover new things that are useful when we start digging. Like, let's say someone starts doing the math on space tethers, and as part of that they are looking into tidal effects on long bodies in orbit, and by the end we've done a lot of the theoretical work behind gravity gradient stabilization and yo-yo despin, that'd be useful even if we'll likely never build a skyhook.
I don't disagree it's useful, there isn't a single thing on that list that isn't useful. But:
  1. Do we need 3 dice on it.
  2. Do we need any of that right now when we have deadlines on promises to keep.
  3. We're still establishing ourselves in the public consciousness. Crazy ideas are cool and useful, yes. But they don't capture and hold public interest like an orbital rocket. Asimov and Clarke inspire some of aerospace's craziest ideas, but it was the rocket launches, orbits, and moon landings that got people into engineering in the first place.
 
I recognize my plan had a critical flaw and in fact I missed that we had that orbital rocket promise since it was in a different place. However, I stand by it.
 
Vote closed
Yeah, this vote is kinda obviously going that way.
Scheduled vote count started by Shadows on Jan 23, 2024 at 10:48 PM, finished with 21 posts and 15 votes.
  • 16

    [X] Plan: Korolev before Vegetables
    -[X] Construct an R-1 Beden - 3 dice (10R per dice, 0/35, costs 1 Build Capacity until complete)
    --[X] [2 launches] And do a recon launch in the North American conflict (gains launch experience)
    -[X] Construct a Hangar Complex and Runway - 2 dice (20R per die, 0/250)
    -[X] Build a Scientific Complex - 3 dice (25R per die, 169/450)
    --[X] Dnipro Aerospace Metallurgy Centre (MATSCI) [Korolev]
    -[X] Conduct Design Studies (R-4 Dawn) (Phase II) [AERO, PHYS, FUEL] - 3 dice (15R per die, 113/300)
    -[X] Conduct Materials Research (Phase 2) [MATSCI] - 3 dice (20R per die, 146/200)
    -[X] Rocket Boxes (Phase 3) - 1 die (5R per die, 338/350)
    -[X] Rocket Reels - 2 dice (5R per die, 0/120)
    [X] Plan Vegetables Before Dessert
    -[X] Construct an R-1 Beden - 3 dice (10R per dice, 0/35, costs 1 Build Capacity until complete)
    --[X] [2 launches] And do a recon launch in the North American conflict (gains launch experience)
    -[X] Construct a Hangar Complex and Runway - 2 dice (20R per die, 0/250)
    -[X] Build a Scientific Complex - 3 dice (25R per die, 169/450)
    --[X] Dnipro Aerospace Metallurgy Centre (MATSCI) [Korolev]
    -[X] Conduct Design Studies (Alternative Launch Systems) [AERO, PHYS] - 3 dice (5R per die, 0/300)
    -[X] Conduct Materials Research (Phase 2) [MATSCI] - 3 dice (20R per die, 146/200)
    -[X] Rocket Boxes (Phase 3) - 1 die (5R per die, 338/350)
    -[X] Rocket Reels - 2 dice (5R per die, 0/120)
Shadows threw 3 100-faced dice. Reason: R-1 Build Total: 169
90 90 24 24 55 55
Shadows threw 2 100-faced dice. Reason: Hangar Complex and Runway Total: 19
13 13 6 6
Shadows threw 3 100-faced dice. Reason: Dnipro Space Metallurgy Centre Total: 170
54 54 43 43 73 73
Shadows threw 3 100-faced dice. Reason: R-4 Dawn Design Studies Total: 90
31 31 44 44 15 15
Shadows threw 3 100-faced dice. Reason: Conduct Materials Research Total: 266
78 78 98 98 90 90
Shadows threw 1 100-faced dice. Reason: Rocket Boxes Total: 63
63 63
Shadows threw 3 100-faced dice. Reason: Rocket Reels Total: 135
34 34 59 59 42 42
Shadows threw 2 100-faced dice. Reason: Launches Total: 117
48 48 69 69
Shadows threw 1 2-faced dice. Reason: Improved Instrumentation Bonus Total: 2
2 2
 
Not sure if the previous construction's extra 10 rolls over or not? Did we start at 0/35 or 10/35? Also, did this on my phone, so apologies for any math errrors.
Construct an R-1 (0/35) - (0+169+9)= 178/35, pentuple success (!)
And launch them...
Construct a Hangar Complex and Runway (0/250) - (0+19+10)= 29/250
Build a Scientific Complex (178/450) - (178+170+15)= 363/450
Design Studies (EOR2) (122/300) - (122+90+45)= 257/300

Materials Research 2 (146/200) - (146+266+42)= 454/200
Rocket Boxes 3 (341/350) - (341+63+10)= 414/350
Rocket Reels (0/120) - (0+101+20)= 121/120


As for some stats to help future planning:
We have a 5.66% chance of failing on the hangar complex and runway if we commit the maximum of 6 dice, 19.42% with 5, and 49% chance of failing if we only commit 4. I'm not going to calculate lower than that because, seriously guys.

We have a 19% chance of getting the scientific complex with only allocating one die, 71.5% chance if we commit two, 94.28% if we commit three, and 99.28% if we commit all four dice (assuming we aren't cutting into the hangar complex stuff).

We have a 63% chance of getting the wind tunnel with one die, 95.04% with two, 99.71% with 3, and 99.99% with 4.

Assuming the same bonuses, EOR3 has a 50% chance of completion after 5.23 rolls, or a 75.77% chance of being finished by the end of the year, putting us on track to launch our first orbital rocket in 1954
 
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We're limited to 3 dice per project as per the anti-shock labor regs, so three dice on Hangar and two on the Metallurgical Complex?
 
We're limited to 3 dice per project as per the anti-shock labor regs, so three dice on Hangar and two on the Metallurgical Complex?
Yeah, the 6 dice are over the next two quarters.
I think that's a good starting point, with a possibility of switching a die to the wind tunnel if we roll really well on the others?
 
June 30th, 1953//Q2 1953 Results
[X] Plan: Korolev before Vegetables
-[X] Construct an R-1 Beden - 3 dice (10R per dice, 0/35, costs 1 Build Capacity until complete)
--[X] [2 launches] And do a recon launch in the North American conflict (gains launch experience)
-[X] Construct a Hangar Complex and Runway - 2 dice (20R per die, 0/250)
-[X] Build a Scientific Complex - 3 dice (25R per die, 169/450)
--[X] Dnipro Aerospace Metallurgy Centre (MATSCI) [Korolev]
-[X] Conduct Design Studies (R-4 Dawn) (Phase II) [AERO, PHYS, FUEL] - 3 dice (15R per die, 113/300)
-[X] Conduct Materials Research (Phase 2) [MATSCI] - 3 dice (20R per die, 146/200)
-[X] Rocket Boxes (Phase 3) - 1 die (5R per die, 338/350)
-[X] Rocket Reels - 2 dice (5R per die, 0/120)

Total R spent: 265R

After spending months barely glancing at the slowly growing pile of newspapers at your desk, you finally gave in, cleared out the pile, and started reading the paper again, and came back to better news than you had been expecting, feeling palpable relief as your worries eased.

HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

CAIRO - A new heavy cargo/passenger rail line between Cairo and Tripoli has been put into service, facilitating the movement of goods and passengers between the two cities and stops in between. The regional council is planning to extend the line to Tangier and Marrakech on the western coast of Africa in the coming year…

MANILA - New inter-island power connects have allowed for electricity to be shared between each island of the Phillipines, and a general rollout of electric services is well underway.

KINSHASA - A new university has been opened in Kinshasa, the keystone element of a new series of schools of all levels recently completed in the Congo region. The new schools are also connected to the regional grid, allowing for the buildings to be cooled in the warmer months, and for electric light to enable the students' studies after sundown.

NORTH AMERICA - The FAS received a resounding defeat at the Third Battle of Indianapolis, routed by a surprise paradrop cutting their supply lines at the same time as the armor-supported main force of the Red Army of the Potomac engaged their forward elements. Twelve hours after contact, FAS forces were pushed back across their entire frontage…

Resources:
45 (+220R/turn)
60 Political Support
3 R-1 Beden
1 R-2 Gale


Objectives of the World Communal Council
Complete Post-War Reconstruction (15500/200000)
Defeat Partisan Forces

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

Mediterranean/Saharan Africa
Education: 5
Electrification: 3
Industry: 4
Infrastructure: 4 (+)
Security: 2
Partisan Activity: 3 (-)

Sub-Saharan Africa
Education: 5 (+)
Electrification: 4 (+)
Industry: 3
Infrastructure: 3
Security: 4
Partisan Activity: 7 (-)

Eastern Asia
Education: 9
Electrification: 6 (+)
Industry: 9
Infrastructure: 8 (+)
Security: 6
Partisan Activity: 8 (--)

Western Asia
Education: 8
Electrification: 11 (+)
Industry: 10
Infrastructure: 9
Security: 7 (++)
Partisan Activity: 11

Australia and New Zealand
Education: 6 (+)
Electrification: 5
Industry: 5
Infrastructure: 6 (+)
Security: 4
Partisan Activity: 3 (-)

Europe
Education: 8
Electrification: 10
Industry: 8 (+)
Infrastructure: 11 (+)
Security: 6
Partisan Activity: 5 (--)

North America
Education: 7
Electrification: 9
Industry: 9
Infrastructure: 7 (+)
Security: 17 (+++)
Partisan Activity: 14 (--)

South America
Education: 5
Electrification: 5
Industry: 4
Infrastructure: 4 (+)
Security: 4
Partisan Activity: 3

Pacific Islands
Education: 4 (+)
Electrification: 4 (+)
Industry: 2
Infrastructure: 4 (+)
Security: 1
Partisan Activity: 3

1 Launch Stand (0-5 tonne) (+1 Operations dice)
1 Heavy Sounding Rocket Launch Pad (5-30 tonne) (+1 Operations dice)
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)
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)

Scientific Advances
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.
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)

Scientific/Engineering Specific Field Bonuses
AERO - +6
AVIONICS - +9
CHEM - +10
CREW - +3
COMP - +3
MATSCI - +8
PHYS - +4
PROP - +7

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 Ukraine within 10 years.]

Promises Made (Expires Q1 1954):
Conduct 2 Recon Rocket launches in North America
Conduct 2 Recon Rocket launches (anywhere)

Build a scientific facility in Eastern Europe by Q4 1954
Employ 10 dice worth of Facilities and Operations personnel by 1954Q1
Conduct Materials Research (Phase 3)
Complete Rocket Reels

Only produce military items in colonized nations
Do not pursue Spaceplane research

Construct an R-1 Beden - (178/35)

The Assembly Teams worked with great efficiency and speed this quarter, pushing out not one, not three, but five new R-1s for the launch inventory. You saw to it they all received an extra week of vacation time for their efforts, along with additional vouchers for luxury goods. They'd earned it.

--[2 launches] And do a recon launch in the North American conflict (gains launch experience) (48, 69) (Improved Instrumentation: +1 to PHYS bonus)

The IEC finished out its required number of reconnaissance launches in North America successfully, using a pair of R-1s from the inventory to fly out over FAS lines near Indianapolis and photograph positions there. Two days after that, the offensive the Red Army had planned began, and a letter from their marshal informed you that the IEC's photographs had been of particular assistance in finalizing their plans and thanked you for your help.

On the one hand, you were glad. On the other, you were less than thrilled about it.

Construct a Hangar Complex and Runway (29/250)

If the hangar complex construction had gone as smoothly as everything else had, you would have been an extremely happy woman. Unfortunately, it hadn't - because one of the few things the FAS had been able to do of note this quarter was raiding the Red Army's sea lane supply. One of their minisubs happened upon the freighter carrying the precision machinery that was bound for your new production floors and sent it to the bottom of the ocean. As a result, you had a graded strip of land where the tarmac would go, and the frames for sixteen empty sheet steel hangars with absolutely nothing to go inside them.

Despite not being a man particularly enamored with space planes, you happened upon Sergei drinking the morning the news broke, bemoaning the loss of the machine tools. After a moment's deliberation, you joined him.

Build a Scientific Complex (363/450)
-Dnipro Aerospace Metallurgy Centre (MATSCI)


The work on the Dnipro facility went much more smoothly than the flight complex had, with the best tools and testing equipment the world could offer beginning to arrive in the now-finished complex's buildings. Everything a materials scientist could dream of having would be there in at least triplicate, and your science teams were salivating over the opportunity to start putting them to use. All that remained to be done was moving the equipment in, installing it, and furnishing the offices.

Conduct Design Studies (R-4 Dawn)
(Phase II, 257/300)


The design work on the R-4 continued, and your project lead informed you that he thought that it would be ready to move into the final prototyping and testing stage before the year was out. The actual design itself was nearly finalized, now, as well, and a blueprint would be on your desk the moment they were ready to move onto that last phase.

Conduct Materials Research
(Phase II, 454/200)
(Phase III, 254/250)
(Phase IV, 4/300)


In news tangentially related to the work being done in Dniepro, your materials scientists were on fire this quarter, reporting that the influx of funding had allowed them to not only look into new engine alloys for higher-performance designs - copper-chromium and titanium alloys - but also to find a new aluminum alloy for your tankage in the future - aluminum-lithium, lightweight, somewhat expensive, but strong at cryogenic temperatures. All this without the facilities Dniepro would offer. You were elated, excited, and somewhat disturbed at what they would be able to do with it.

New Advances
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.)

Rocket Boxes (Phase 3, 414/350)
(Phase 4, 64/450)


The Rocket Box rollout in Australia and New Zealand finished out at last - though you barely noticed it, as the Outreach department had forwarded the most impressive and endearing stories and photographs from participants there (and everywhere else, as they had been already) from the moment the boxes had begun to be shipped. The Outreach department was ecstatic about the continued support they were receiving, and told you as much. They also immediately pivoted to South America and the Pacific Islands as soon as the operation in Australia and New Zealand was ticking along in its (current) final configuration.

Rocket Reels (121/120)

The Outreach department's elation redoubled when you finally greenlit their Rocket Reels project, and immediately began setting up equipment to record launches as they happened. They weren't able to get their gear set up in time for the two launches over the battle lines, but that would likely not have been allowed for operational reasons, and you'd not have liked it besides.

(Gain a coinflip for 1 additional Political Support per quarter; successful rocket launches give you an additional coin flip for each launch.)
 
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July 1st, 1953//Q3 1953
A new quarter was dawning, and there was excitement in the air in Mogadishu. Everyone at the space center knew that the Dawn was approaching at an accelerating pace, and the local population had picked up on that through their interactions with the people who worked on it directly. The papers, of course, had long since known, but over the long months of work it had simply not been something they had been reporting on. But soon, they would.

You were less anxious than you'd been in a while. Despite various setbacks for the programs you oversaw, everything was looking skyward.

Resources:
265 (+220R/turn)
65 Political Support
3 R-1 Beden
1 R-2 Gale

Objectives of the World Communal Council
Complete Post-War Reconstruction (15500/200000)
Defeat Partisan Forces

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

Mediterranean/Saharan Africa
Education: 5
Electrification: 3
Industry: 4
Infrastructure: 4
Security: 2
Partisan Activity: 3

Sub-Saharan Africa
Education: 5
Electrification: 4
Industry: 3
Infrastructure: 3
Security: 4
Partisan Activity: 7

Eastern Asia
Education: 9
Electrification: 6
Industry: 9
Infrastructure: 8
Security: 6
Partisan Activity: 8

Western Asia
Education: 8
Electrification: 11
Industry: 10
Infrastructure: 9
Security: 7
Partisan Activity: 11

Australia and New Zealand
Education: 6
Electrification: 5
Industry: 5
Infrastructure: 6
Security: 4
Partisan Activity: 3

Europe
Education: 8
Electrification: 10
Industry: 8
Infrastructure: 11
Security: 6
Partisan Activity: 5

North America
Education: 7
Electrification: 9
Industry: 9
Infrastructure: 7
Security: 17
Partisan Activity: 14

South America
Education: 5
Electrification: 5
Industry: 4
Infrastructure: 4
Security: 4
Partisan Activity: 3

Pacific Islands
Education: 4
Electrification: 4
Industry: 2
Infrastructure: 4
Security: 1
Partisan Activity: 3

1 Launch Stand (0-5 tonne) (+1 Operations dice)
1 Heavy Sounding Rocket Launch Pad (5-30 tonne) (+1 Operations dice)
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)
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)

Scientific Advances
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.
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.)

Scientific/Engineering Specific Field Bonuses
AERO - +6
AVIONICS - +9
CHEM - +10
CREW - +3
COMP - +3
MATSCI - +8
PHYS - +4
PROP - +7

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 1954):
Build a scientific facility in Eastern Europe by Q4 1954
Employ 10 dice worth of Facilities and Operations personnel by 1954Q1
Only produce military items in colonized nations
Do not pursue Spaceplane research

Operations (3 dice, +3 bonus)

[] 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)
-[] And do a recon launch in the North American conflict (gains launch experience)

[] 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 a year, now, and is turning into quite the reliable workhorse. (20R per dice, 13/45, 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. You don't have anywhere to launch it from yet, but hopefully by the time the rocket is finished you will… (25R per dice, 0/80, 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) (Unlocks Weather Observation Campaigns)

[] Construct an R-4 Dawn

Facilities (5 dice, +5 bonus)
(A maximum of 3 dice may be used on any project - representing 3 shifts of work.)

[ ] Construct a Hangar Complex and Runway - A group of pilots and engineers approached you with the idea of constructing a spaceplane. Such an endeavour would surely benefit the construction of normal aircraft as well, making it a potentially easy sell to the People's Forum. First, though, the IEC would need a place to actually, well, build them and fly them. This included a series of production hangars and a 6 kilometer Runway, as well as control towers and radars. (20R per die, 29/250, +2 Operations dice, allows constructing spaceplane prototypes, launching and landing air and spacecraft)

[ ] Construct a Wind Tunnel - In order to do advanced studies on the shape of air and spacecraft at various speeds, you'll need a safe space that you can push a lot of air into, quickly. You've been assured by literally everyone involved that this will be useful. Personally, you're half-convinced it's just the air/spaceplane research crowd looking for every possible excuse to acquire jet engines and jet engine parts. But… (10R per die, 37/80, +3 to projects labeled AERO)

[ ] Expand the Assembly Complex - A proposal to expand the Assembly Complex to allow for more rockets to be constructed simultaneously has hit your desk. This will significantly up your launch cadence, you are told, and allow for multiple rocket programs to be run in parallel, as well as future proofing you somewhat against the upcoming orbital rockets. (20R per die, 0/350, changes 2 Operations dice to 1 Program Slot, +4 to Operations and Programs, +1 Build Capacity)

[ ] 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, 363/450, opens up new research possibilities, +1d5+5 bonus in the associated field, +1 Education for the region)
-[] Dnipro Aerospace Metallurgy Centre (MATSCI) [Korolev]
-[] Sao Paolo Aerodynamics Centre (AERO)
-[] Long Beach Propulsion Research Complex (PROP)
-[] Beijing Institute for Chemical Research (CHEM)
-[] Sydney Microelectronics Research Centre (AVIONICS)
-[] Mombasa Computer Science Institute (COMP)
-[] New Delhi Institute for Physics (PHYS)

[ ] Tracking Station Construction (Phase I) - The first stage of Tracking Stations rolls out the facilities along the equator as best as possible where land exists, and deals with constructing the first of the fleet of tracking vessels the IEC will need to cover all those thousands of square kilometers where there is no land to be had. Thanks to the decision to use converted warships for the base of the tracking vessels, the process will be somewhat quicker, though also more expensive. (30R per die, 0/350, adds equatorial tracking for rocket launches)

Engineering (3 dice, +6 Bonus to All)

[ ] Conduct Design Studies (Platform) (Spaceplane Development) [AERO] - If you're going to be building spaceplanes, it would be a good idea to develop a working design to build in that hangar the spaceplane gang had wanted. Your engineers were talking about things like payload fraction and use cases and aerodynamic loading - all of which went more or less over your head but it certainly seemed they knew what they were about. (5R per die, 0/100, unlocks Prototype Spaceplane)

[ ] Conduct Design Studies (Alternative Launch Systems) [AERO, PHYS] - Still more of your engineers were talking about investigating different ways of potentially getting to space. Jules Verne stuff. Big guns and space towers and the like. You didn't think them likely to work, but having the knowledge wouldn't hurt. (5R per die, 0/300, ???)

[ ] Conduct Design Studies (R-4 Dawn) (Phase II) [AERO, PHYS, FUEL] - The initial design and engineering challenges have been tackled, an engine has been made that meets requirements, and now it's time to begin testing the tankage that will serve as the main structure and fuel supply for the IEC's orbital rocket pathfinder. (15R per dice) (Phase II) (257/300)
(Phase III) (0/300) (Unlocks Early Orbital Rocket) (2.4m diameter, 2 Payload, 35 RpD)

[ ] Conduct Design Studies (First Satellite) (Phase I) [PHYS, FUEL, COMP] - With your first orbital-class rocket nearing design lock, it's time to start thinking about what will go in it. Some are thinking small - essentially a bucket of batteries and a radio transmitting a fixed signal that would nevertheless allow some important science to be done - while others are… somewhat more grandiose. Radiation detection experiments are chief among those.
(Phase I, 15R per dice) (0/150) <- Rollover limited to 25 progress towards Phase II
(Phase II, 25R per dice) (0/200) <- Construction of prototype complete

[ ] Balloon Tanks [MATSCI] - A curious phenomenon has been observed with the use of stainless steel for tankage. If made very thin, it is flimsy - but if the material is then appropriately pressurized, it regains significant structural strength, saving greatly on weight at the cost of being much more expensive to manufacture. This could be ideal for some applications that the IEC has in mind where cost is not an issue while performance is, but needs further testing beforehand. (15R per dice, 0/200, unlocks balloon tankage for use in later rockets)

Science (3 dice, +6 Bonus to All)

[ ] Exploratory Propellant Research (Phase 1) [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, and 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, 0/150, unlocks fuel mixtures and further fuel development)

[ ] Conduct Materials Research (Phase 4) [MATSCI] - Better alloys and manufacturing techniques would lead to higher-performing engines and lighter rockets, you were told. A fair deal of research had already been done into the subject, giving you a much-improved set of materials with which to build your rockets and engines out of, but there was much more that could be done. (20R per die, 4/300, provides access to new manufacturing techniques)

[ ] Conduct Supersonic Jet Research [AERO] - While the IEC's remit wasn't extended to the design and testing of new jet aircraft, there was an argument to be made that studying what shapes worked under what conditions at high speed and why very much was something you had good cause to be interested in. You had a couple of buildings full of engineers; some of them would certainly be interested. (15R per die, requires a completed Hangar Complex and Runway to finish, can be started without, 0/240)

[ ] Weather Studies (Phase 4) [PHYS] - With the weather observation program started, keeping it going is now almost a given. The returns have been very valuable for the meteorological community at large, and the PAO has received numerous calls from various localities across the globe asking for the IEC to put up instruments where they are, each hoping to reap the rewards of more accurate weather prediction. (10R per die, requires a 2-Stage Sounding Rocket, requires Mobile Launch Operations, 14/240) (+5 PS on complete)

[ ] 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, 0/300) (+5 PS, ???)

[ ] Big Ear [PHYS] - The scientists working for the IEC have latched on to the opening the new broadcast regulations have given them, and are clamoring for funding to construct a radio telescope in a remote part of Africa. It might need a bit of infrastructure run out to it, and probably a security force of some sort to dissuade partisans, but it looked doable. Personally, you thought it was also a good excuse to help electrify somewhere that needed it. (20R per die; At least 1 dice must be Facilities, 0/300) (+1 Electrification and Infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa, +2 to PHYS)

[ ] Nuclear Power Studies [PHYS] - You now had a rather absurd amount of nuclear infrastructure making its way to Mogadishu. This included a number of nuclear physicists, some of whom had very big names, coming to join the IEC. While the world was still scarred by the horror of the atom's splitting, it was possible to use the technology for peaceful purposes - the IEC just had to show them. (15R per die, 0/400) (-15PS on completion, +4 to PHYS) (Opens further nuclear research)

Politics (3 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)

Outreach

[ ] Rocket Boxes (Phase 4) - The third phase of Rocket Box deployment was a complete success, and your Public Affairs Office wants to keep up the momentum by shifting their focus to South America and the Pacific Islands. The rocket motors will likely still be made near Mogadishu, but they plan to contact workshops across those two regions to supply everything else. (5R per die, 64/450. Gives Rocket Boxes to every middle-school, high-school and university or equivalent in South America and the Pacific Islands. Encourages future scientists and engineers - some of whom will even come work with the IEC.)

[ ] Creative Sponsorships - A junior physicist has made the suggestion that by sponsoring the work of fiction authors (particularly science fiction), interest in space, science, and the IEC could be generated outside the bounds of colleges and classrooms. This sparked another suggestion from one of the Outreach department's people - broaden the sponsorship from simply authors to filmmakers and more traditional artists as well. This would help reach even more people than before, they thought. (10R per die, 0/400) (-5R per turn when done, provides additional variable passive PS income and can result in shuffled costs and requests at World Council meetings.)

Personnel

[ ] Engineering Job Fair - (0/150, 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, +5 to Facilities rolls)[/SPOILER][/spoiler]
 
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[ ] Creative Sponsorships - A junior physicist has made the suggestion that by sponsoring the work of fiction authors (particularly science fiction), interest in space, science, and the IEC could be generated outside the bounds of colleges and classrooms. This sparked another suggestion from one of the Outreach department's people - broaden the sponsorship from simply authors to filmmakers and more traditional artists as well. This would help reach even more people than before, they thought. (10R per die, 0/400) (-5R per turn when done, provides additional variable passive PS income and can result in shuffled costs and requests at World Council meetings.)

This seems like a trap that will lead to Councilors asking for some truly outrageous bullshit.
 
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