Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - The Galaxy Awaits ... Choose Your Path!(Aurora)

Brian Swartz · 05-05-2014, 01:54 PM

TO BOLDLY GO: EXTRASOLAR EXPANSION BRIEFING

SECURING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: RESOURCE OVERVIEW

The clearest extremely practical reason to expand beyond Sol is simply that there will eventually be a need for additional resources to sustain the economy. There is, however, no compelling need in the short to medium-term. Corundium is the closest with only the 12kt on Schaumasse qualifying as a significant source, but in a pinch there are smaller deposits to tap and when Ikeya-Zang gets closer, its 80kt will end any needs fairly quickly. Duranium and neutronium, the two most vital TN elements, can easily support another century of activity.

A more visionary approach would however suggest that we should know where additional resources are going to come from when they are needed. Mapping other systems is not a short or inexpensive endeavor. By the time a need arises, it will be too late to go looking for the next mother lode ...

It should also be noted that there are three extremely long-period comets that have not yet been surveyed. However, these are almost completely irrelevant. Hale-Bopp(28.9b km) and Brooks(37b) are not only insanely far away, they are getting farther away all the time. It's not even worth calculating the amount of time it would take for them to get as close as, say, Sedna. We're talking centuries here.

McNaught Russell is nearly halfway back to the sun, but still 20b km away, twice the distance of Sedna. It won't become relevant this century. Ikeya-Zang(12.6b km) has had an initial survey revealing mostly the largest deposit of corundium in the system, and in a few decades it might perhaps be worth the effort to send some mines there. The other three are simply not within the realm of practical possibility, and everything else has been surveyed.

DEFENDING OURSELVES AND OUR POSTERITY

A far more compelling reason to act and act now is the simple fact that what we now know about the aliens is that they have access to two systems bordering us: Epsilon Eridani and Lalande 21185. SPACE does not know whether the other systems are 'safe', there is no compelling evidence one way or the other. Deployment of naval forces in Sol is seriously complicated by the fact they could emerge less than a week's journey from Earth at the EE jump point any moment -- or at any of six other points of entry. If some of these could be eliminated or mitigated as likely attack avenues by establishing them as free of alien presence, the value of that information could hardly be quantified too highly.

ALWAYS BE GROWING

Finally of course there is the simple fact that the high value of discovery continues, and the recent sensor advances mean that humanity is now ready for this. There may be no 'fierce urgency of now' but there is a fierce urgency to go eventually, and no compelling argument for waiting.

NEIGHBOURING SYSTEM ASSESSMENT

In order of distance from Sol(and therefore ease of reaching), here is what we know of the seven systems surrounding us:

1. Epsilon Eridani(737m km). By far the closest, it is also as we all know the most dangerous.

Habitable bodies: The second moon of Epsilon Eridani-II is the most obvious choice as it is as inviting as Mars or Luna and contains more accessible neutronium than Sol combined(over a million tons). Several other bodies are in the range of Titan or the Jupiter moons, requiring considerably more effort to settle.

Survey status: 3 of 7 planets were surveyed by the Intrepid on its first, unmolested visit. Tritanium and uridium, along with less-accessible corundium and gallicite, were the major finds aside from the already-mentioned neutronium. With more than half unsurveyed, there may or may not be considerably more to invite us. Possibilities for local fuel harvesting and duranium for construction are significant questions.

2. Lalande 21185(2.68b).

Habitable Bodies: none
Survey Status: 5 planets, 4 of them dwarves, a handful of moons and a bunch of asteroids. Danger aside, there isn't much here. No atmospheric sorium harvesting is even potentially present with no gas giants or superjovians around.

3. Van Maanen's Star(3.15b)

Habitable Bodies: The first moon Van Maanen I is the best target, and makes Titan look like a vacation spot(9.85 colony cost).
Survey Status: All we've done is poke our head in. Van Maanen I is a superjovian, so the potential for fuel there and the possibilities for its nearly 20 moons is the main reason to even investigate. The proximity to the Lalande JP(519m between the two) and the known enemy presence there was a strong enough reason to look no further.

4. Teegardens Star(3.2b)

Habitable bodies: 6 of them, most of them similar to Titan.
Survey Status: No further investigation was done, though the jump point is just 326km away from the star in a very small system. There are five of six planets in quite close proximity, with two gas giants among them, and a couple dozen moons to investigate. It would quite likely be worth the effort ...

5. Luyten 726-8(3.6b)

Habitable bodies: Four, two similar to Titan but Luyten 726-8 A II is similar to Mars/Luna, minimal cost. It also has no mineral resources.
Survey Status: Only the one planet was investigated. There are 8 in all, a mix of different types, with a minimal number of moons and five comets, a rarity to find so far outside of Sol space. This is another interesting system.

6. Sirius(5.1b)

Habitable bodies: 7, 6 of which are quite habitable. Two are Mars/Luna range, the other four less so but all much better than Titan or the Jupiter moons. Even better, Sirius A II could be terraformed with minimal expense, needing only a bit thicker of an atmosphere with a little more oxygen to become the closest thing to a second Earth by far that we have yet encountered.
Survey Status: Sirius-A I and II were surveyed with nothing to show for it. That leaves a bunch of asteroids and the Sirius-B star, which has a gas giant boasting 23 moons(four of them among the fairly habitable targets).

7. Barnard's Star(5.9b)

Habitable Bodies: Two, both similar to Titan.
Survey Status: One gas giant with 17 moons. Combined with the habitability issues and distance, this precluded any further investigation.

THE FOX DOCTRINE

This is the name that has been given to the general strategic approach to exploration and expansion, wherever SPACE decides to go. It is named of course for former administrator Herman Fox, one of the martyrs of the Epsilon Eridani tragedy, who articulated the basic concept well ahead of his time.

The central principle guiding the Fox Doctrine is to gain the maximum information while exposing SPACE assets and personnel(not to mention human pride) to the minimum possible risk. Specifically, it calls for the use of small, specialized vessels to carry out the surveys while communicating with and receiving logistics support, fuel, etc. from a larger ship or ships stationed at the entry point into the system. In the event of a disaster, these 'carrier' ships could evacuate, limiting loss of men and materials to the smaller, more expendable craft. This is the opposite of the all-in-one approach of Operation Uncertain Hope that led to the Pioneer science vessel. These smaller vessels would, in addition to being more expendable, also have the capability of being more difficult to detect.

NAVAL COMBAT ASSESSMENT

The known capabilities of enemy ships come from nearly two decades ago, but they are all we have to go on.

Top Speed: 6500 km/s. Nimitz and Brooklyn-class 'warships' operate at 2400 km/s, or less than 40% of that.

Sensors: Considered to be similarly advanced beyond our capabilities, although the gap has likely closed somewhat with the dedicated effort made to improve ours in the intervening time.

Armor/Shields: Completely unknown.

Size: Completely unknown.

Weaponry: Two flights of 10 missile-type objects impacted the Hyperion, traveling at speeds estimated to be 15k-30k km/s. By comparison, our best missile, the Defender II, is capable of 13.5 km/s. The best anti-missile missiles we can design would have about a 8-9% hit chance against such an incoming weapon, and the absolute best tracking speed we can get with our beam fire controls is 15-16k km/s.

05-05-2014, 01:54 PM	#258
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	TO BOLDLY GO: EXTRASOLAR EXPANSION BRIEFING SECURING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE: RESOURCE OVERVIEW The clearest extremely practical reason to expand beyond Sol is simply that there will eventually be a need for additional resources to sustain the economy. There is, however, no compelling need in the short to medium-term. Corundium is the closest with only the 12kt on Schaumasse qualifying as a significant source, but in a pinch there are smaller deposits to tap and when Ikeya-Zang gets closer, its 80kt will end any needs fairly quickly. Duranium and neutronium, the two most vital TN elements, can easily support another century of activity. A more visionary approach would however suggest that we should know where additional resources are going to come from when they are needed. Mapping other systems is not a short or inexpensive endeavor. By the time a need arises, it will be too late to go looking for the next mother lode ... It should also be noted that there are three extremely long-period comets that have not yet been surveyed. However, these are almost completely irrelevant. Hale-Bopp(28.9b km) and Brooks(37b) are not only insanely far away, they are getting farther away all the time. It's not even worth calculating the amount of time it would take for them to get as close as, say, Sedna. We're talking centuries here. McNaught Russell is nearly halfway back to the sun, but still 20b km away, twice the distance of Sedna. It won't become relevant this century. Ikeya-Zang(12.6b km) has had an initial survey revealing mostly the largest deposit of corundium in the system, and in a few decades it might perhaps be worth the effort to send some mines there. The other three are simply not within the realm of practical possibility, and everything else has been surveyed. DEFENDING OURSELVES AND OUR POSTERITY A far more compelling reason to act and act now is the simple fact that what we now know about the aliens is that they have access to two systems bordering us: Epsilon Eridani and Lalande 21185. SPACE does not know whether the other systems are 'safe', there is no compelling evidence one way or the other. Deployment of naval forces in Sol is seriously complicated by the fact they could emerge less than a week's journey from Earth at the EE jump point any moment -- or at any of six other points of entry. If some of these could be eliminated or mitigated as likely attack avenues by establishing them as free of alien presence, the value of that information could hardly be quantified too highly. ALWAYS BE GROWING Finally of course there is the simple fact that the high value of discovery continues, and the recent sensor advances mean that humanity is now ready for this. There may be no 'fierce urgency of now' but there is a fierce urgency to go eventually, and no compelling argument for waiting. NEIGHBOURING SYSTEM ASSESSMENT In order of distance from Sol(and therefore ease of reaching), here is what we know of the seven systems surrounding us: 1. Epsilon Eridani(737m km). By far the closest, it is also as we all know the most dangerous. Habitable bodies: The second moon of Epsilon Eridani-II is the most obvious choice as it is as inviting as Mars or Luna and contains more accessible neutronium than Sol combined(over a million tons). Several other bodies are in the range of Titan or the Jupiter moons, requiring considerably more effort to settle. Survey status: 3 of 7 planets were surveyed by the Intrepid on its first, unmolested visit. Tritanium and uridium, along with less-accessible corundium and gallicite, were the major finds aside from the already-mentioned neutronium. With more than half unsurveyed, there may or may not be considerably more to invite us. Possibilities for local fuel harvesting and duranium for construction are significant questions. 2. Lalande 21185(2.68b). Habitable Bodies: none Survey Status: 5 planets, 4 of them dwarves, a handful of moons and a bunch of asteroids. Danger aside, there isn't much here. No atmospheric sorium harvesting is even potentially present with no gas giants or superjovians around. 3. Van Maanen's Star(3.15b) Habitable Bodies: The first moon Van Maanen I is the best target, and makes Titan look like a vacation spot(9.85 colony cost). Survey Status: All we've done is poke our head in. Van Maanen I is a superjovian, so the potential for fuel there and the possibilities for its nearly 20 moons is the main reason to even investigate. The proximity to the Lalande JP(519m between the two) and the known enemy presence there was a strong enough reason to look no further. 4. Teegardens Star(3.2b) Habitable bodies: 6 of them, most of them similar to Titan. Survey Status: No further investigation was done, though the jump point is just 326km away from the star in a very small system. There are five of six planets in quite close proximity, with two gas giants among them, and a couple dozen moons to investigate. It would quite likely be worth the effort ... 5. Luyten 726-8(3.6b) Habitable bodies: Four, two similar to Titan but Luyten 726-8 A II is similar to Mars/Luna, minimal cost. It also has no mineral resources. Survey Status: Only the one planet was investigated. There are 8 in all, a mix of different types, with a minimal number of moons and five comets, a rarity to find so far outside of Sol space. This is another interesting system. 6. Sirius(5.1b) Habitable bodies: 7, 6 of which are quite habitable. Two are Mars/Luna range, the other four less so but all much better than Titan or the Jupiter moons. Even better, Sirius A II could be terraformed with minimal expense, needing only a bit thicker of an atmosphere with a little more oxygen to become the closest thing to a second Earth by far that we have yet encountered. Survey Status: Sirius-A I and II were surveyed with nothing to show for it. That leaves a bunch of asteroids and the Sirius-B star, which has a gas giant boasting 23 moons(four of them among the fairly habitable targets). 7. Barnard's Star(5.9b) Habitable Bodies: Two, both similar to Titan. Survey Status: One gas giant with 17 moons. Combined with the habitability issues and distance, this precluded any further investigation. THE FOX DOCTRINE This is the name that has been given to the general strategic approach to exploration and expansion, wherever SPACE decides to go. It is named of course for former administrator Herman Fox, one of the martyrs of the Epsilon Eridani tragedy, who articulated the basic concept well ahead of his time. The central principle guiding the Fox Doctrine is to gain the maximum information while exposing SPACE assets and personnel(not to mention human pride) to the minimum possible risk. Specifically, it calls for the use of small, specialized vessels to carry out the surveys while communicating with and receiving logistics support, fuel, etc. from a larger ship or ships stationed at the entry point into the system. In the event of a disaster, these 'carrier' ships could evacuate, limiting loss of men and materials to the smaller, more expendable craft. This is the opposite of the all-in-one approach of Operation Uncertain Hope that led to the Pioneer science vessel. These smaller vessels would, in addition to being more expendable, also have the capability of being more difficult to detect. NAVAL COMBAT ASSESSMENT The known capabilities of enemy ships come from nearly two decades ago, but they are all we have to go on. Top Speed: 6500 km/s. Nimitz and Brooklyn-class 'warships' operate at 2400 km/s, or less than 40% of that. Sensors: Considered to be similarly advanced beyond our capabilities, although the gap has likely closed somewhat with the dedicated effort made to improve ours in the intervening time. Armor/Shields: Completely unknown. Size: Completely unknown. Weaponry: Two flights of 10 missile-type objects impacted the Hyperion, traveling at speeds estimated to be 15k-30k km/s. By comparison, our best missile, the Defender II, is capable of 13.5 km/s. The best anti-missile missiles we can design would have about a 8-9% hit chance against such an incoming weapon, and the absolute best tracking speed we can get with our beam fire controls is 15-16k km/s.