Wow. I shudder when I watch space launches live. Wish I could be there. Wish I could be on there.
Space has always fascinated me and I suppose that is why I’m so supportive of space travel. I view it as necessary, inevitable, and FRICKEN MOTHERFUCKING COOL.
Now, while SpaceX does its historical history thing, thought I’d just dump some background notes I have from my in-progress Above Earth E2 serial as a long daylog. I’d put it in its own node, but it is a vanity project not directly connected with the story and subject to change as much as any part of the published narrative and if I post it, it will become “canon”. Whatever the hell that means. (I have strong objections to both authorial trespass and post-mutatio George Lucusum.)
Above Earth is a sci-fi-ish story (space drama, maybe? The sci-fi elements are not the focus of what I’m trying to do) set on the Moon in the near future of what is basically our universe if the Islamic world had a Pope due to the Prophet not making that idiotic decision to not appointing an heir-apparent. So, the Islamic World was united under one government and was a serious competitor to the West in the 1800s. Cue many, many wars and increased tech due to war development.
The result is a world where things are slightly, but only slightly, ahead of schedule. We would have launched the Mars rovers in the 1980s, for example, and while Challenger probably still would have exploded, while Columbia wouldn’t have because by that point the shuttles would have been replaced by, oh let’s say, twenty-minutes-into-the-future (well, maybe a bit more) spacecraft.
Spaceships are expensive, however, and as such the entire combined fleet of every nation on Earth has never exceeded twenty serviceable craft, not counting disposable onetime use craft such as the Russian’s Soyuz, unmanned craft, and private corporation launches. Like nuclear weapons, only a few nations have the technology, know how, and budget to launch spacecraft.
Number of Spacecraft By Country in Above Earth
Canada (1)
China (2)
European Union (2)
Greater Columbia (1)
Japan (4)
Russia (3)
South American Triad (2)
USA (5)
Tranquility City, Moon (3)
Hellas, Mars (4)
Magellania, Venus (2)
Ceres Mining Station (6)
Select Ship Profiles:
USC Potomac (USA)
Class: Westmoreland
Type: Battleship
Length: 1,400 ft
Propulsion: Six Arc-plasma Rockets. 72 neon thrusters.
Range: Theoretically unlimited
Complement: 300
Armament: 2 “rods of god”, 2 laser cutters, 6 380mm projectile cannons, 300 plasma darts, 12 tomahawk missiles, 1 ICBM (variable payload)
Armor: 7000 ceramic tiles, magnetic mesh, steal plating
Launched: 2 May 2056, Space Port America, New Mexico
The USC Potomac is a Westmoreland class Battleship, the second of that class built. The Westmoreland class was designed to replace the United State’s aging battle fleet and is considered a spiritual successor to the USC Bermuda, a ship that saw combat against the Lunar Colonies. After the Lunar Independence, the United States government saw the need for a cheaper, more powerful battleship capable of attacking rogue colonies without needing support and at a distance that was safe to the crew. The USC Potomac is a pretty ship, looking like a blue steal puff of popcorn with black racing stripes that gracefully twist around it.
LSS Daisy II (Moon)
Type: Observation Craft
Proceeded by: LSS Daisy I
Length: 20 ft
Propulsion: One Plasma Pulse Engine. 3 exothermic thrusters.
Range: 7,000 miles
Complement: 2
Armament: None
Armor: Projected Plasma Field
Launched: 16 September 2050, Tranquility City, Moon
The Daisy is a small spacecraft used mainly by the Lunar colonists to observe the far side of the Moon as well as mechanical missions where a moonwalk would not be ideal. The Daisy is launched once every three months to check Tranquility City’s communications array as well as the cables connecting the City to the Japanese Far Side Telescope, an unmanned telescope operating on the far side of the Moon.