Per Aspera (Space Agency Plan Quest)

[joe6168]

This is not a good quarter for rockets it would seem.

 

[Strunkriidiisk]

R-2 Gale construction - 13 + 90 + 2(3) = 109/45 -> 19/45 (2 rockets built)
R-3 Snow construction - 68 + 16 + 3 = 87/80 -> 7/80 (1 rocket)
Sao Paolo - 151 + 2(10) = 171/450
Long Beach - 165 + 3(10) = 195/450
Mombassa - 86 + 2(10) = 106/450
Tracking Station - 89 + 84 + 10 = 183/350
R-4 Design - 225 + 67 + 6 + 9 + 5 = 312/300
Satellite Design - 84 + 3(6 + 5 + 3) = 126/150
Spaceplane - 81 + 6 + 9 = 96/100
Supersonic Jet - 130 + 3(9 + 6) = 175/240
Nuclear Power - 341 + 90 + 5 + 6 = 442/400
Rocket Boxes - 171 + 170 + 3(10) = 371/450

 

[trooperist]

Decent enough turn. Though our rocket exploded.
Satellite could have done better. I was hoping it would have finished the first phase.
Rocket Boxes approaches completion. After this phase it's on to North America and Europe, finally finishing the project of inspiring students across the whole world.

Our facilities personnel are certainly doing work. Maybe we can start building Big Ear as soon as they finish their scientific complexes.

 

[Profilozof]

Yeah we finished nuclear studies.

 

[DracoDracul]

That San Pao roll was really good, it was near the average for 3 dice on just 2.

 

[C_Z]

Calculating the probability of finishing the science complex projects with a given number of dice:

	5 dice	6 dice	7 dice	8 dice	9 dice (max)
Sao Paolo (279)	.6409	.8807	.9718	.9950	.9993
Long Beach (255)	.7654	.9364	.9877	.9982	why???
Mombasa (344)	.2682	.6060	.8491	.9573	.9908

Based on the current progress, the optimal probability of success is if we put all 9 dice on Mombasa, 8 dice on Sao Paolo, and 7 dice on Long Beach. Overall probability of success is 97.4%.

 

[Vehrec]

Calculating the probability of finishing the science complex projects with a given number of dice:

	5 dice	6 dice	7 dice	8 dice	9 dice (max)
Sao Paolo (279)	.6409	.8807	.9718	.9950	.9993
Long Beach (255)	.7654	.9364	.9877	.9982	why???
Mombasa (344)	.2682	.6060	.8491	.9573	.9908

Based on the current progress, the optimal probability of success is if we put all 9 dice on Mombasa, 8 dice on Sao Paolo, and 7 dice on Long Beach. Overall probability of success is 97.4%.

Click to shrink...

Or, hear me out, we get pretty good odds with 6 dice on sao- paulo and Long Beach, and 7 on Mombassa. Which leaves some dice for other projects than just the science complexes.

 

[General_Urist]

Just put three dice on everything for the next two turns, and if anything's unfinished in the last quarter put in however many we need for 95% (or whatever) chance then. Too early to be doing detailed calcs.

 

[Hunter531]

Satellite could have done better. I was hoping it would have finished the first phase.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, that one stings like mad. I think we'd better throw 2 dice on it next turn just so we don't have to worry about it not getting done next turn. I want this whole thing done Q3. That way, we can build multiple satellites so we aren't betting everything on a single launch.

Our facilities personnel are certainly doing work. Maybe we can start building Big Ear as soon as they finish their scientific complexes.

Click to shrink...

I'm in favor of it, but we'll probably have to wait until 1955 for that to happen.
Anyways figured I'd pop off a plan draft for the purposes of discussion.
[ ] Plan Draft
Operations 70R
-[ ] Construct an R-4 Dawn 2 dice 70R
--[ ] And launch one (free action for Sounding Rockets)
This is something I'm kinda proud of. I'm trying to get a stockpile of R-4 rockets ready to go for Q4. Then, Q4 we build two additional satellites and fire all three of them into space.
Factilities 205R
-[ ] Build a Scientific Complex - 7 dice, 175R
--[ ] Sao Paolo Aerodynamics Centre (AERO) 2 dice 50R
--[ ] Long Beach Propulsion Research Complex (PROP) [Int(D),UWF] 2 dice 50R
--[ ] Mombasa Computer Science Institute (COMP) [CPAL] 3 dice 75R
-[ ] Tracking Station Construction (Phase I) 1 die, 30R
Pretty basic stuff here. Continue with the 3-2-2 plan.
Engineering 35R+X
-[ ] Conduct Design Studies (First Satellite) (Phase I) [PHYS, FUEL, COMP] 2 dice 30R
-[ ] Conduct Design Studies (Platform) (Spaceplane Development) [AERO] 1 die, 5R
Not sure about where the other two dice go. Nuclear Power Design Studies if we have them. If not, perhaps Balloon Tanks or Alternative Launch Systems, depending upon how much we want to spend.
Research 60R
-[ ] Conduct Supersonic Jet Research [AERO] 4 dice 60R
Keeping on with the promises. We know there's a Phase 2, so we don't have to worry about overkilling the project for now.
Politics 15R
-[ ] Rocket Boxes (Phase 4) - 3 dice, 15R
Keeping on with the Rocket Boxes. Wouldn't be adverse to moving a die to Creative Sponsorships though
Total of 385R+X

 

[Vehrec]

Just put three dice on everything for the next two turns, and if anything's unfinished in the last quarter put in however many we need for 95% (or whatever) chance then. Too early to be doing detailed calcs.

Click to shrink...

We literally can't do that, you know that, right? There are eight dice, not nine in Facilities.

 

[C_Z]

Or, hear me out, we get pretty good odds with 6 dice on sao- paulo and Long Beach, and 7 on Mombassa. Which leaves some dice for other projects than just the science complexes.

Click to shrink...

I'd rather finish these earlier in the year, then. We're unlikely to finish with a full spread towards them next turn, so why not?

Re. Hunter's plan, should we be launching before our satellite is ready? I don't think we gain any sort of lasting bonus to success chance if we launch early. That said, all for building more orbital rockets. Also, see above comments re. facilities dice. We also might be able to finish off spaceplanes with an Omake bonus if someone can get something relevant done quickly enough, so we could throw that die into alternative launch systems.

 

[Strunkriidiisk]

Because I can't sleep, a project breakdown, which I tentatively will keep up to date:

(Last updated end of Q3 1954)

Spoiler: Scientific/Engineering Specific Field Bonuses

AERO - +19
AVIONICS - +9
CHEM - +11
CREW - +3
COMP - +13
MATSCI - +17
PHYS - +9
PROP - +14

Operations (5 dice, +3 bonus)

[ ] Construct an R-1 Beden - (15RPD, 3/35) 1 die 72%, 2 dice 97%

[ ] Construct an R-2 Gale - (20RPD, 19/45) 1 die 78%, 2 dice 98%

[ ] Construct an R-3 Snow - (25RPD, 7/80) 1 die 30%, 2 dice, 79%, 3 dice 96%

[ ] Construct an R-4 Dawn - (35RPD, 100/120) 1 die 84%, 2 dice 99%

Facilities (8 dice, +10 bonus) (Maximum 3 dice per project per turn)

[ ] Expand the Assembly Complex - (20RPD, 0/350) 5 dice 24%, 6 dice 57%, 7 dice 83%, 8 dice 95%

[ ] Expand the Launch Complex - (20RPD, 0/350) 5 dice 24%, 6 dice 57%, 7 dice 83%, 8 dice 95%

[ ] Build a Scientific Complex - (25RPD, 0/450 each) 6 dice 11%, 7 dice 37%, 8 dice 66%
-[ ] Beijing Institute for Chemical Research
-[ ] Sydney Microelectronics Research Centre
-[ ] New Delhi Institute for Physics

[ ] Tracking Station Construction (Phase I) - (30RPD, 288/350) 1 die 49%, 2 dice 92%

Engineering (5 dice, +6 Bonus to All)

[ ] Conduct Design Studies (Alternative Launch Systems) [AERO, PHYS] - (5RPD, 177/300) 2 dice 79%, 3 dice 99%

[ ] Balloon Tanks [MATSCI] - (15RPD, 100/200) 1 die 24%, 2 dice 86%

[ ] Lifting Body - (10RPD, 0/150) 2 dice 20%, 3 dice 65%, 4 dice 90%, 5 dice 98%

[ ] Nuclear Power Plant Design Studies - (25RPD, 0/500) 8 dice 28%, 9 dice, 54%, 10 dice 76%, 11 dice 90%, 12 dice 96%

[ ] Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications Studies - (20RPD, 0/500) 8 dice 28%, 9 dice, 54%, 10 dice 76%, 11 dice 90%, 12 dice 96%

Science (4 dice, +6 Bonus to All)

[ ] Exploratory Propellant Research (Phase 1) [CHEM] - (15RPD, 0/150) 2 dice 37%, 3 dice 85%, 4 dice 98%

[ ] Conduct Materials Research (Phase 4) [MATSCI] - (20RPD, 4/300) 4 dice 49%, 5 dice 86%, 6 dice 98%

[ ] Weather Studies (Phase 4) [PHYS] - (10RPD, 146/240) 1 die 22%, 2 dice 80%, 3 dice 98%

[ ] All-Sky Survey (Phase 1) [PHYS] - (10RPD, 0/300) 4 dice 27%, 5 dice 66%, 6 dice 90%, 7 dice 98%

[ ] Big Ear [PHYS] - (20RPD, 0/300) 4 dice 27%, 5 dice 66%, 6 dice 90%, 7 dice 98%

[ ] Atomic-powered Ground Launch Concept Studies - (10RPD, 0/300) 4 dice 11%, 5 dice 40%, 6 dice 71%, 7 dice 89%, 8 dice 97%

Politics (3 dice, +10 bonus, reroll 1 failure per turn)

[ ] Bothering Councilors - 1 die automatic completion

[ ] Propagandize for Nuclear Power - (-2PS per die, 100/???)

[ ] Propagandize for Space - (5RPD, 0/???)

[ ] Creative Sponsorships - (10RPD, 141/400) 4 dice 39%, 5 dice 75%, 6 dice 93%, 7 dice 99%

[ ] University Rocket Competitions - (5RPD, 0/240) 3 dice 13%, 4 dice 52%, 5 dice 83%, 6 dice 96%, 7 dice 99%

Personnel

[ ] Engineering Job Fair - (5RPD, 56/150) 1 die 17%, 2 dice 74%, 3 dice 96%

[ ] Laboratory Talent Scouting - (5RPD, 0/150) 2 dice 26%, 3 dice 73%, 4 dice 94%, 5 dice 99%

[ ] The Right Stuff - (5RPD, 0/300) 4 dice 17%, 5 dice 52%, 6 dice 81%, 7 dice 95%, 8 dice 99%

Link to the dice calculator

 

[4WheelSword]

Hi Everyone!
I'm currently in the process of restarting Fly me to the Moon (Space Race Council Quest) Council which is a beta-test for a cooperative table-top space race game I'm writing.

I am seeking one (1) councillor to take part in running the Soviet space program! It's the dawn of 1955 and we might be looking at shooting for orbit in a matter of months.
If you have any questions or are interested, please feel free to come post in the thread, DM me, or find our channel on the wordsmiths discord (space-racing).

Posted with permission from QM

 

[Shadows]

Spoiler: "Winning Plan"

[X] Plan Come Fly With Me
-[X] Construct an R-2 Gale 2 dice, 40R
--[X] And launch it (free action for Sounding Rockets)
-[X] Construct an R-3 Snow 1 die, 25R
-[X] Build a Scientific Complex - 7 dice, 175R
--[X] Sao Paolo Aerodynamics Centre (AERO) 2 dice 50R
--[X] Long Beach Propulsion Research Complex (PROP) [Int(D),UWF] 3 dice 75 R
--[X] Mombasa Computer Science Institute (COMP) [CPAL] 2 dice 50R
-[X] Tracking Station Construction (Phase I) 1 die, 30R
-[X] Conduct Design Studies (R-4 Dawn) (Phase II) [AERO, PHYS, FUEL] 1 die 15R
-[X] Conduct Design Studies (First Satellite) (Phase I) [PHYS, FUEL, COMP] 3 dice 45R
-[X] Conduct Design Studies (Platform) (Spaceplane Development) [AERO] - 1 die, 5R
-[X] Conduct Supersonic Jet Research [AERO] 3 dice 45R
-[X] Nuclear Power Studies [PHYS] 1 die 15R
-[X] Rocket Boxes (Phase 4) - 3 dice, 15R

You were, after a moment's contemplation, fairly giddy, all things considered. Good news seemed to have come from all corners this quarter - from within the IEC and from without. The North American conflict continued on, though victory seemed to be in sight; the Dawn was completed, and ready for its maiden flight; the world seemed to be slowly healing, as partisan attacks began to die down; and, on a personal level, you and your partner had adopted a pair of war-orphaned twins.

You were musing over a set of new proposals from the Advanced Concepts Office when Sergei came in. You glanced up and offered him a slight smile; the two of you got along, even if your impression of him as a gentleman had been rather broken the first time you'd come across him cursing out an engineer. You'd had to talk with him after that. "What can I do for you, Sergei?"

He shook his head. "Is what you have already done, not what you can do. Thank you, for both the rocket and the Metallurgy centre. With these, I think we can do great things, start justifying ourselves on more than just hopes and dreams."

You let out a short chuckle. "All I did was sign the authorizations, Sergei; you should go thank the engineers and the Facilities crews for getting it done."

"Easier to thank one person, but, da, I will. I have arranged for a celebration; there is a ship full of vodka and other spirits on its way to us now."

You blinked. "... how much did that cost?"

"Are you sure you wish to know?"

(-5R for booze)

HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WORLD​

TRIPOLI - The North African Spine Railway has been completed for initial operating capability, linking lines from Cairo and Marrakech. This, in turn, allows for train access as far south as Cape Town by means of the East African Spine Railway, which has also linked Cairo, Mogadishu and Cape Town, amongst many other towns and cities between, with those three serving as hubs…

VLADIVOSTOK - The East Asian Coastal Spine Railway has begun construction, starting in Vladivostok, taking advantage of existing rail where possible, and will eventually extend across the entire coast of Asia. Eventually, it will meet with the West Asian Spine Railway (likely in New Delhi, possibly elsewhere) and it will become possible to take a train from Paris to Istanbul to Hanoi to Beijing and Vladivostok - then back home again, this time taking the Trans-Siberian Railway…

NORTH AMERICA - The conflict with the FAS continues on, with an end perhaps now in sight, as the Red Army of the Rockies has pushed south to surround Dallas. The casualties amongst the FAS have been huge, even while reinforcements have been coming from the Internationale at such a rate as to once again expand their total troop numbers on the continent. The Battle of Augusta, close on the heels of Atlanta, continues on, though the smaller city lacks the urban sprawl necessary to turn it into the same slugfest Atlanta was…

PITTSBURGH - Polio, one of the great scourges of the world, has taken a heavy blow in our war against it, as the first group of children to be vaccinated against the disease have received their shots in the city of Pittsburgh. The hope, amongst medical professionals, is to eradicate the disease entirely within a generation…

Resources:
30R (+480R/turn - 35R/turn from payroll/dice purchases = +445/turn net)
58 Political Support
2 R-2 Gale
1 R-3 Snow

Spoiler: Council Liaison Reports:

Objectives of the World Communal Council
Complete Post-War Reconstruction (21500/200000)
Defeat Partisan Forces

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

Mediterranean/Saharan Africa
Education: 6 (+) (Expanded Education access for women and girls)
Electrification: 5
Industry: 5 (+) (Expanded oil and gas extraction and refinement)
Infrastructure: 6 (+) (Tripoli-Cairo-Marrakesh line)
Security: 2
Partisan Activity: 3

Sub-Saharan Africa
Education: 5
Electrification: 5
Industry: 4
Infrastructure: 5 (+) (Cairo-Mogadishu-Cape Town line)
Security: 4
Partisan Activity: 5

Eastern Asia
Education: 9
Electrification: 8
Industry: 10 (+) (Industrial expansion)
Infrastructure: 9 (+) (East Asian Coastal Spine Railway begins)
Security: 6
Partisan Activity: 6 (-)

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

Australia and New Zealand
Education: 6
Electrification: 6
Industry: 6 (+) (New mining)
Infrastructure: 7 (+) (Rail infrastructure expansion)
Security: 4
Partisan Activity: 3

Europe
Education: 9
Electrification: 10
Industry: 8
Infrastructure: 11
Security: 6
Partisan Activity: 5

North America
Education: 7
Electrification: 9
Industry: 8
Infrastructure: 7
Security: 14 (+)
Partisan Activity: 8 (--) (Battle of Augusta, Battle of Dallas)

South America
Education: 5
Electrification: 6
Industry: 6
Infrastructure: 6
Security: 4
Partisan Activity: 3

Pacific Islands
Education: 4
Electrification: 4
Industry: 4 (+) (Agricultural modernizations)
Infrastructure: 6 (+) (Port expansions and modernizations)
Security: 1
Partisan Activity: 1

Spoiler: Facilities

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)
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)

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 - +9
AVIONICS - +9
CHEM - +11
CREW - +3
COMP - +3
MATSCI - +17
PHYS - +5
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.]

Rocket Reels - Adds a coinflip for 1 gained political support per quarter; gain an additional flip for every successful rocket launch.

Promises Made (Expires Q1 1954):
Build the Long Beach Propulsion Research Complex X2
Build the Mombasa AND Sao Paolo Scientific Complexes
Build the Sao Paolo Aerodynamics Centre by 1955Q1.
Conduct Satellite Design Studies and launch the satellite before 1955Q1.
Conduct Spaceplane Development design studies
Conduct Jet Research (Phase 2) X2
Do not conduct military rocket launches or research


Construct an R-3 Snow (7/80) (1 rocket built)

The Assembly teams started the quarter by finishing off the R-3 they had nearly completed last quarter, before moving on to the Gale orders that had been placed at the beginning of this one. The large, single-stage R-3 was sitting in storage before the end of January.

Construct an R-2 Gale (19/45) (2 rockets built)

For the first time in a reasonably long while, the Assembly teams constructed R-2 Gales in the assembly hall. The two-stage sounding rockets were placed in storage ahead of whenever they'd be launched.

Rocket Launches

While the Assembly team was working on new Gales, the Launch team was busy blowing one up.

In the only launch scheduled for the quarter, the intent had been for the Gale to test a new fin configuration, using new shapes pioneered in the wind tunnel complex that looked promising. Unfortunately, due to a flaw in installation (probably), one of the fins broke off, causing the rocket to corkscrew uncontrollably before crashing into the ocean close offshore. It was largely destroyed by the impact, but enough of the fin can remained intact to glean that much information.

Build a Scientific Complex
- Sao Paolo Aerodynamics Centre (AERO) (171/450)

The Sao Paolo Aerodynamics Centre construction started off extremely well, with the utilities and foundation being laid nearly immediately upon project approval, as when the city selections for the research centers had been announced, the local council had decided to pre-site and grade the location they wanted the centre to be built on. A series of warehouses in the cities saw materials stored in them, from structural pieces like beams, concrete, wood paneling, metal sheeting and the like, to the first parts for the Turing computer that would become an integral part of the research team's computing capabilities here.

- Long Beach Propulsion Research Complex (PROP) (195/450)

Construction in Long Beach was off to an excellent start, with the ground graded, the foundation laid, and utilities routed in before the end of the quarter. The first structural elements had been set into the concrete when the foundation had been laid, and the follow-on elements were being prepared while the foundation cured. A series of heavy, bunker-like buildings would hold the testing cells in which the engines would be fired, connected by pipes to a series of tanks which would eventually hold the myriad propellants the IEC might test, with anti-detonation devices placed along the piping in the (likely) future event in which a running engine ate itself spectacularly, to keep the rest of the complex from going up with it.

- Mombasa Computer Science Institute (COMP) (106/450)

The progress on the Mombasa Computer Science Institute was disappointing only in comparison to the blazing pace the other two centers set. Being that this was going to be a research centre devoted to the advancement of computer science, a lot of preparatory work had to be done, routing in enough cooling water for the computers to use, upgrading the local water infrastructure to support that, and then upgrading the local power infrastructure to support both. Meanwhile, the computers and fabrication equipment the centre would need were sourced and began to be produced across the world, to make them ready for delivery when they were ready to be installed.

Tracking Station Construction (Phase I) (183/350)

More tracking stations were started this quarter, and some of the initial stations were even now online, giving the IEC partial coverage for tracking all the way to the southern tip of India. These stations would eventually also have the task of communicating with orbiting satellites, relaying information across the globe - in theory, anyway.

Conduct Design Studies (R-4 Dawn) (Phase III) (312/300)

The first orbital-class rocket ever built was finally complete near the end of March.

It weighed in at twenty-eight tonnes, had three stages, and could put around two hundred kilograms into low Earth orbit. It was also, perhaps, the silliest thing you'd ever seen, reminding you of nothing so much as a multi-story tall toothbrush. Your engineers, though, assured you that, provided that luck was on the IEC's side on launch day, it would in fact make it to orbit with a usable payload.

Which you didn't have, yet, but were working on. So, into the storage bay it went, waiting for its moment in the sun.

Conduct Design Studies (First Satellite) (Phase I) (126/150)

The first satellite studies were off at an absolute clip, and you had the feeling that a distinctly non-zero number of your engineers had had a sheaf of ideas riding in their briefcases for at least a year, waiting for the day you finally authorized the studies to commence. By the end of March, they were zeroing in on one of two ideas - minimalist, and maximalist.

The minimalist design was essentially a cheap steel ball filled with batteries and a radio transmitter whose sole ability to contribute to science would be being successfully inserted into orbit and having the orbit's decay measured by the changes in the radio signal over time.

The maximalist design was also a cheap steel ball filled with batteries and a radio transmitter, but it also contained a small video camera and a geiger counter, the latter of which would transmit its readings via the transmitter, while the camera filmed the Earth passing by below. A tiny deorbit motor on the front of the satellite would push it back into Earth's atmosphere, where it would land (likely in the ocean) and could be recovered, along with its camera film.

Conduct Design Studies (Platform) (Spaceplane Development) (96/100) - Within 5 - COMPLETE

There was a very enthusiastic set of engineers who weren't engaged in either rocket prototypes or devising satellites, who were elbow deep in slide rules and bearing ink-stained hands as evidence of their fervor. On multiple occasions you had to remind some of them to go home before midnight, though those were thankfully very much a minority amongst the group. The initial results pointed at certain kinds of spaceplane being very much doable, but also very dependent on what you wanted to do with them. Taking off from a runway and launching into space might or might not be possible, but if a spaceplane were to be mounted to the top of a sufficiently powerful rocket it would be very possible to use it as a crewed vehicle with the ability to control its descent into the atmosphere upon re-entry, enabling low G-load returns that might be favorable in the event of some emergency in the future.

Needless to say, they wanted to do more research, but at least now they had a good starting point to begin looking into the possibilities.

Conduct Supersonic Jet Research [AERO] (175/240)

A very closely related group of scientists flocked to the wind tunnel complex all quarter, and every day it seemed they had a new scale model to throw into the tunnel for testing. They learned a lot, there, about how lifting and control surfaces behaved when an aircraft was passing through the sound barrier and then beyond it, though the tunnel could only manage so high a windspeed. Swept back wings appeared to be the way to go, as opposed to the straight-winged subsonic jets that had dominated the skies in the Third Great War. The concept of the area rule was discovered, in addition; it was a calculation which described the ideal wing size and configuration for supersonic flight, which was something that would be useful in the future, and proved to be the undoing of a Gale sounding rocket in the present, as a set of prototype fins designed using the new knowledge ended up coming apart.

Nuclear Power Studies [PHYS] (442/400)

The first round of nuclear power studies was completed by March. The results were promising; nuclear power had the capacity to revolutionize energy generation across the world, providing cheap, nearly-endless power. It had the potential to propel spacecraft across space at incredible speeds. It could even, if one were crazy enough, potentially be used to launch enormous masses from the Earth's surface.

There was, of course, a catch. It was nuclear. In a world that had recently seen the horrors of general atomic warfare, and was still recovering. Getting authorization for any of that might be a Sisyphean task - save, maybe, the power.

(Adding previously noted projects to your plan options.)

Rocket Boxes (Phase 4) (371/450)

The fourth, and for now final, phase of Rocket Boxes was nearly completed this quarter, with tens of thousands of Rocket Boxes made across dozens of workshops in South America and shipped to classrooms in every elementary, middle, and high school, and every college besides. The Outreach department had even thought to create intermediate and advanced boxes for the high schools and the colleges, respectively, making sure that the way the material was presented was updated for the age group it was intended for while still being fun. Of course, nothing stopped schools from requesting higher graded Boxes to teach their students with, for advanced classes.

Advanced Concepts Office

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)

Lifting Body - Work with the Wind Tunnel and on the Spaceplane studies had revealed a new configuration for air- and spacecraft fuselage design - the concept of the lifting body, where the wing area was minimized to reduce drag at high speeds, with the body itself providing the lifting force used. While not terribly useful for aircraft, it was potentially very useful for spacecraft design. (10R per die, 0/150)

 

[TheArcanist]

spending enough on vodka in one go to be legible on the balance sheet of a world-spanning scientific bureaucracy is the most russian shit ever, i love it

 

[Hunter531]

spending enough on vodka in one go to be legible on the balance sheet of a world-spanning scientific bureaucracy is the most russian shit ever, i love it

Click to shrink...

I suspect transportation of said alcohol was the main contributor to that astronomical price tag. I can't imagine there were enough vodka drinkers in all of Africa to warrant building a production plant anywhere near here pre-War, and the World Congress has better things to do than build vodka distilleries at the moment.

 

[General_Urist]

(-5R for booze)

Click to shrink...

AHAHAHAHAHA. Did we get a low random event roll? Or was this just for QM lulz? Either way, I love this. Helps things feel alive!

What happened in Western Asia? It had "partisan" activity go down by the same amount as North America which suggests some pretty intense fighting. I am very curious where the hot spots are. And who's the main victim of the brutality.

Thinking back to the quest's early stages, I am REALLY glad the Imperial Ministry did not win the second vote. While the Empire isn't nazi Germany, it's still the ills of teutonic militarism at full force. Assuming the timelines would be largely identical aside from the outcome of the Third Great War, we'd still have: Warcrime happy generals[1], an alliance with motherfuckin' Imperial Japan, occupation policies repressive enough to give us uniquely bad problems with partisans, the sort of callousness about safety on important projects to get an utter death trap of a nuclear reactor, oh yeah it's WW2 we probably used some nukes to get us those oppressed subjects, a general terror bombing doctrine, possible questionable domestic policies even beyond all that[2], and a ruler that's an utter megalomaniac (gib moon!) on top of authorizing all of the preceeding.

We very much would have been playing as the baddies. World Revolution is much more comfy. The idealism fits us space nerds well.

[1]Rommel was bad enough to be executed for war crimes, I'm sure the other big names are just as bad or worse.
[2]It was one of two options with an "intact industrial base", but unlike the USSR victory scenario it does not have "will slowly improve". That could just be QM oversight. But if not, it has many not good implications

 

[Shadows]

AHAHAHAHAHA. Did we get a low random event roll? Or was this just for QM lulz? Either way, I love this. Helps things feel alive!

What happened in Western Asia? It had "partisan" activity go down by the same amount as North America which suggests some pretty intense fighting. I am very curious where the hot spots are. And who's the main victim of the brutality.

Thinking back to the quest's early stages, I am REALLY glad the Imperial Ministry did not win the second vote. While the Empire isn't nazi Germany, it's still the ills of teutonic militarism at full force. Assuming the timelines would be largely identical aside from the outcome of the Third Great War, we'd still have: Warcrime happy generals[1], an alliance with motherfuckin' Imperial Japan, occupation policies repressive enough to give us uniquely bad problems with partisans, the sort of callousness about safety on important projects to get an utter death trap of a nuclear reactor, oh yeah it's WW2 we probably used some nukes to get us those oppressed subjects, a general terror bombing doctrine, possible questionable domestic policies even beyond all that[2], and a ruler that's an utter megalomaniac (gib moon!) on top of authorizing all of the preceeding.

We very much would have been playing as the baddies. World Revolution is much more comfy. The idealism fits us space nerds well.

[1]Rommel was bad enough to be executed for war crimes, I'm sure the other big names are just as bad or worse.
[2]It was one of two options with an "intact industrial base", but unlike the USSR victory scenario it does not have "will slowly improve". That could just be QM oversight. But if not, it has many not good implications

Click to shrink...

The Russian Booze Boondoggle of 1954 was purely due to me having a giggle about the thought of what a container ship full of booze might cost.

And, yeah, the Imperial start was going to be Not Good for a lot of people who weren't You. But, I would have been offering opportunities to change the system at risk to yourself if you had chosen it.

 

[ZabetTheRabbit]

Good turn for us all around, and plenty of things to keep ourselves busy with for the time being. Don't think we should touch using nuclear power with rockets anytime soon--really, it might be decades before more then talk could be done with that--but nuclear energy is promising. Might help hasten change in public opinion. However, researching and creating nuclear power plants isn't really part of our mission statement? We're the space agency, not the department of energy. Not that nuclear isn't a boon for space travel, but the basic research needed to do it is a bit of a distraction in my opinion. I wonder if we could try pushing for some sort of international co-operative, like us and the Antarctic researchers, for this and potentially other futuristic tech?

 

[General_Urist]

Yeah. We're officially the space guys not the everything research guys. I'm sure we can start work on small radiothermal generators or such for power but I suspect if we jump head-first planning and building powerplants in the multi-megawatt range we'll get nasty side-eyes even without accounting for radiophobia.

Actually, what IS the minimum physical size of a nuclear reactor? I assume it's dependent on how enriched your uranium is, but the more we enrich the more stink eyes will be getting.

 

[Shadows]

You were nursing a rather unpleasant headache the day after Sergei's shipful of spirits arrived, as were, you suspected, at least ninety percent of the people working here, judging by the uncharacteristic quietness of the whole facility. Normally, there was the sound of someone somewhere hammering, welding or cutting on something, or the roar of the wind tunnel turbines, or… well, something. But it was quiet, which suited you just fine, thank you. It made your day of quarterly authorizations far, far more pleasant than it had been shaping up to be.

Resources:
475R (+480R/turn - 35R/turn from payroll/dice purchases = +445/turn net)
58 Political Support
2 R-2 Gale
1 R-3 Snow
1 R-4 Dawn

Spoiler: Council Liaison Reports:

Objectives of the World Communal Council
Complete Post-War Reconstruction (21500/200000)
Defeat Partisan Forces

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

Mediterranean/Saharan Africa
Education: 6
Electrification: 5
Industry: 5
Infrastructure: 6
Security: 2
Partisan Activity: 3

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

Eastern Asia
Education: 9
Electrification: 8
Industry: 10
Infrastructure: 9
Security: 6
Partisan Activity: 6

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

Australia and New Zealand
Education: 6
Electrification: 6
Industry: 6
Infrastructure: 7
Security: 4
Partisan Activity: 3

Europe
Education: 9
Electrification: 10
Industry: 8
Infrastructure: 11
Security: 6
Partisan Activity: 5

North America
Education: 7
Electrification: 9
Industry: 8
Infrastructure: 7
Security: 14
Partisan Activity: 8

South America
Education: 5
Electrification: 6
Industry: 6
Infrastructure: 6
Security: 4
Partisan Activity: 3

Pacific Islands
Education: 4
Electrification: 4
Industry: 4
Infrastructure: 6
Security: 1
Partisan Activity: 1

Spoiler: Facilities

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)
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)

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 - +9
AVIONICS - +9
CHEM - +11
CREW - +3
COMP - +3
MATSCI - +17
PHYS - +9
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.]

Rocket Reels - Adds a coinflip for 1 gained political support per quarter; gain an additional flip for every successful rocket launch.

Promises Made (Expires Q1 1955):
Build the Long Beach Propulsion Research Complex X2
Build the Mombasa AND Sao Paolo Scientific Complexes
Build the Sao Paolo Aerodynamics Centre by 1955Q1.
Conduct Satellite Design Studies and launch the satellite before 1955Q1.
Conduct Jet Research (Phase 2) X2
Do not conduct military rocket launches or research

Operations (5 dice, +3 bonus) (1 type of Rocket may be built at a time)

[ ] 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 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) (Unlocks Weather Observation Campaigns)

[] 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, 0/120, costs 1 build capacity til complete)
-[ ] And launch it (1 Operations dice; specify payload)
–[ ] Sounding payload (inert payload for testing)
–[ ] First Satellite

Facilities (8 dice, +10 bonus)

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

[ ] 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 Build Capacity to 1 Program slot, enabling campaigns to be run 'in the background', passively gaining experience and science, +3 Build Capacity)

[ ] 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)
-[] Sao Paolo Aerodynamics Centre (AERO) [CPAL, Int(C)] (171/450)
-[] Long Beach Propulsion Research Complex (PROP) [Int(D),UWF] (195/450)
-[] Beijing Institute for Chemical Research (CHEM) (0/450)
-[] Sydney Microelectronics Research Centre (AVIONICS) (0/450)
-[] Mombasa Computer Science Institute (COMP) [CPAL] (106/450)
-[] New Delhi Institute for Physics (PHYS) (0/450)

[ ] 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, 183/350, adds equatorial tracking for rocket launches)

Engineering (5 dice, +6 Bonus to All)

[ ] Prototype Spaceplane [AERO, PROP, CREW] - 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)

[ ] 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 (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) (126/150) <- 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)

[ ] Lifting Body [AERO, PHYS] - Work with the Wind Tunnel and on the Spaceplane studies had revealed a new configuration for air- and spacecraft fuselage design - the concept of the lifting body, where the wing area was minimized to reduce drag at high speeds, with the body itself providing the lifting force used. While not terribly useful for aircraft, it was potentially very useful for spacecraft design. (10R per die, 0/150)

[ ] Nuclear Power Plant Design Studies [PHYS] - 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. (25R per die, 0/500, -30PS on completion UNLESS given WC authorization) (Unlocks 1st Generation Terrestrial Fission Power Plants for the world, leads to Radioisotope Thermal Generators, 2nd Generation Terrestrial Fission Plants, 1st Generation Space-rated Fission Plants)

[ ] Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications Studies [PROP, PHYS, MATSCI] - A side-effect of the nuclear power studies lead 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)

Science (4 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, 175/240)

[ ] 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)

[ ] Atomic-powered Ground Launch Concept Studies [PHYS, PROP, MATSCI] - 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)

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, along with other possibilities besides. (-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, 371/450. 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 - (56/150, 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)

[ ] 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. (0/300, 5R per dice, gain astronaut candidates)

 

[Vehrec]

Satellites that didn't fly first.

While the IEC had several proposals for 'first satellite' there were many which were impractical impossible or simply not practicable within the limits of time, technology and good sense. Here presented are several projects that were rescued from the waste-bin of Korolev's desk.

Mercury Boiler Testbed: While batteries may suffice for short-term power generation, this satellite was intended to gather solar power-via heating mercury in a tube with a series of solar power concentrates, until the metal vaporized and turned a tiny turbine. This energy would then recharge batteries, increasing the on-orbit powered lifetime of a very simple radio. This was held up as superior in reliability and power generation to photovoltaic cells, and a proof of concept that could be expanded for larger and larger space-stations. It was, at the time, projected that at least 50 crew would be needed for three geostationary weather-stations powered by the descendants of such devices.

Skinner Box Satellite: Named for the famous behaviorist, this satellite would have featured two rats or one cat, a medical monitor, and a simplistic timer-based retro rocket to return the living payload to earth after 24 hours. Notably featured no way to orient itself for re-entry, as the entire satellite weight was already taken up with various life-support, making survival or even locating the tiny capsule hugely unlikely. This could also be no more informative than suborbital sounding rockets in many ways.

Big Bouncy Ball: Proposed by native Somali worker Yasin Ali, who says that the first satellite should be visible to all. He proposes a very basic satellite of only 100 kilograms, which can be boosted into a higher orbit, consisting of a 100 meter weather-balloon like structure, covered in silvered plastic, and a small canister of gas to inflate the entire thing. This would reflect sunlight, and others added, radio waves. Yasin Ali's plans were rejected as too simplistic and likely to rip itself in half.

GeoPhoto One: Proposed by the Rochester NY Kodak Kollective of Film Studies (thank god they can't find space for another K in there.) GP1 was a proposed camera satellite that would orbit the earth, snapping photos and returning the film in an armored capsule to earth. It was rejected as the size of the proposed camera left no room for other experiments, the film-return canister was over-engineered, and the satellite, again, lacked a good orientation system to point it's high-power camera on target.

Maneuver Test Satellite: A radio antenna, six hydrogen peroxide maneuvering jets, and a timed series of firings. Canned because it did nothing but test it's ability to move around, and time it's changes in position via a series of beeps. However, it has been suggested that the concept be looked at in more detail for future satellites.

Skinner Maneuver Test Satellite: Do you hate pigeons? Do you want to test a pigeon's ability to perform tasks in a slowly overheating metal box, in zero gravity, while surrounded by tanks of hydrogen peroxide as it bakes alive? This proposal is a cruel pigeon-killing machine that doesn't actually teach us anything because we can't observe the bird except for the result as it pecks at tiny control levers to boost itself into a higher orbit where it will die.

 

[trooperist]

We're officially past the 10% completion point of world reconstruction.

Guess we're not doing any more nuclear research until the next World Council. Hopefully we'll get a discount on PS loss since we have a legit concept to present.

Also no Rocket Boxes for North America and Europe?
Looking back it was:
Phase 1: Africa
Phase 2: Oceania and Asia
Phase 3: Australia and New Zealand
Phase 4: South America and the Pacific Islands

 

[Shadows]

We're officially past the 10% completion point of world reconstruction.

Guess we're not doing any more nuclear research until the next World Council. Hopefully we'll get a discount on PS loss since we have a legit concept to present.

Also no Rocket Boxes for North America and Europe?
Looking back it was:
Phase 1: Africa
Phase 2: Oceania and Asia
Phase 3: Australia and New Zealand
Phase 4: South America and the Pacific Islands

Click to shrink...

Would you put rocket boxes on the continent currently fighting a hellwar?

@Vehrec - Canon. Have a 5 point bonus.

 

[C_Z]

However, researching and creating nuclear power plants isn't really part of our mission statement? We're the space agency, not the department of energy. Not that nuclear isn't a boon for space travel, but the basic research needed to do it is a bit of a distraction in my opinion. I wonder if we could try pushing for some sort of international co-operative, like us and the Antarctic researchers, for this and potentially other futuristic tech?

Click to shrink...

Nuclear is good for high-power requirement, low-altitude satellites. You know what needs a hypothetical high-power, low-altitude satellite? A super-TRANSIT global positioning system. We're in the early stages of research into solar panels where they're really not that great for high power applications.

It's also really good for missions to other bodies, but we're a bit of a ways out from that.

EDIT: Also, we need breeder reactors to make Pu-240 for RTGs.

Actually, what IS the minimum physical size of a nuclear reactor? I assume it's dependent on how enriched your uranium is, but the more we enrich the more stink eyes will be getting.

Click to shrink...

It is. Natural uranium reactors are quite large, but if you want to make it out of weapons-grade uranium (or plutonium!) you can shrink it down to much smaller sizes. Kilopower's demonstration unit is 150 kg and produced around 1 kWe.

Big Bouncy Ball: Proposed by native Somali worker Yasin Ali, who says that the first satellite should be visible to all. He proposes a very basic satellite of only 100 kilograms, which can be boosted into a higher orbit, consisting of a 100 meter weather-balloon like structure, covered in silvered plastic, and a small canister of gas to inflate the entire thing. This would reflect sunlight, and others added, radio waves. Yasin Ali's plans were rejected as too simplistic and likely to rip itself in half.

Click to shrink...

#TeamBouncyBall #YasinWasRobbed

Skinner Maneuver Test Satellite: Do you hate pigeons? Do you want to test a pigeon's ability to perform tasks in a slowly overheating metal box, in zero gravity, while surrounded by tanks of hydrogen peroxide as it bakes alive? This proposal is a cruel pigeon-killing machine that doesn't actually teach us anything because we can't observe the bird except for the result as it pecks at tiny control levers to boost itself into a higher orbit where it will die.

Click to shrink...

You have too little faith in comrade pigeon.

Edit: As for the vote, our tracking stations now reach far enough downrange that they'd cover orbit insertion of a Saturn V-like trajectory (the first one I bothered to google with a clear diagram). As such, I think we can put all our facilities dice into research complexes.