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Pre-IRC Research Efforts: First Cooperative Ventures(2015-2030)
There were some meager advances in the 2015-2070 timeframe that should be summarized. Again, we're talking about 'space technology' here as the lion's share of investment went to keeping the world's economies from crumbling to a halt.
The most notable scientist for most of this era was Callum Hayward. Somewhat skilled in matters of logistics, his work piggybacked off of much of what was being done to advance renewable fuels used in transportation on Earth, with an eye to applying these new or newly applied substances for use as propellants for spacecraft propulsion. Even more specifically, he was involved in more efficient and reliable types of fuel storage tanks for spacecraft.
His only real contemporary was Michael McLean, who began research into more fully understanding human genetics. Both due to moral and religious objections raised from various quarters, a general ban on genetic engineering practically, and the fact that his work was largely theoretical with no expected immediate application, he received very little funding. It is worth mentioning McLean here though because his dogged determination in pursuing genetic advances, despite the relatively oppositional environment towards his work in the early-mid 21st century, served to both lay a bit of groundwork and act as a catalyst in keeping the field alive as a viable pursuit in the minds of some.
Hayward proved to be a quick study, adept at making intuitive leaps rather than just linear progressions. It's a gift scientists either have, or they don't, and he clearly did. The skill to shortcut a process and produce faster, reliable results in this way is invaluable in a project lead, moreso because of the savings in cost than the time factor. In the early 2020s, he developed working blueprints for versatile fuel tank solutions of various sizes. The most outstanding feature of these was their versatility; they could be used on a variety of potential ship sizes and configurations, with a single-engine design or provide fuel to many simultaneously. It was a significant step towards the realization of larger manned spaceflight ventures, but only one of many that would be needed before it could become a reality. There were four tank designs in all, capable of carrying volumes of 5k, 10k, 50k, or 250k(all in liters) and ranging in size from 2.5 tons to around 250 tons for the largest of them. By the middle of the decade, with such matters of engineering sufficient to handle all needs for even the most remotely imaginable future, he turned his attention to another necessity: high-efficiency spacecraft engines. The principles involved would require a lower power output, but one of the biggest difficulties in space travel and the launching even of the few ongoing unmanned probes that were active beyond Earth's atmospheric reach was getting sufficient fuel into space. An engine that required less fuel would concurrently diminish these costs. Propulsion was not Hayward's field of expertise, but all the fuel tank engineering in the world was of little use with the present difficulty of getting it into orbit, and he agreed to take on the work.
At about the same time, McLean made some breakthroughs allowing him to speed up to pace of his work, which had just barely started despite a decade scraping support together and was at this point well under 1% complete. While Hayward still received the lion's share of resources from the world's space research budgets, McLean's meager piece of the pie grew significantly.
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