Space History Reenactment Group
The Space History Reenactment Group are a small group of people who are not the usual sort of fen, as they are more interested in reenacting the 'glorious past' of manned space flight with their ships. At least sometimes. Most of the time they move around in Fenspace and take in the sights.
The SHR Group started out with the arrival of the Apollo at Stellvia in late 2011, causing some ruckus as people realized that the craft was a near 1 to 1 copy of an Apollo Command and Service Module, with only drive and life support being treated with handwavium. Everything else, including the computer, were mundane technology on 60s level.
Apollo was only the first craft, being joined by the Gemini, a not nearly 1 to 1 copy of a Gemini capsule, the Mercury, a rather close 1 to 1 copy of a Mercury capsule, and lately by Sojus TMA-12, an actual Sojus capsule that never got off the ground.
All these vessels are only waved in their life support and drive systems, with the rest being mundane.
A good number of Fen are on the good side with them and the Apollo is always welcome at most stations throughout Fenspace. Only the population of Island One dislike the SHR Group for their positive outlook and celebration of the 'glorious past' that they feels was denied to them.
Generally the age of the people in the SHR Group is at least fifty years over the age of a normal Fenspace Citizen, with Martin Andrews, the pilot of the Mercury, being 65 years old.
At the moment the SHR Group is looking into acquiring an OV-200 shuttle build to near original specs with only its life support and drive being 'waved.
Their homebase if the SkyLab Complex in Low Earth Orbit, constructed from five SkyLab copies build with the help of Whistler Services, who posses the five remaining Saturn V upper stages in space.
A, Thor Heyerdahls.... not related to the ESA ship. Because sometimes it's fun to do the Space equivelant of crossing the Atlantic in a reed boat, just to prove it was possible.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
I do like this...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
A thousand times YES!
A closely related group would be the MCS group. MCS (short for "
Man Conquers Space") types share the ideal of "as little 'wave as possible" (in their spacecraft), but they don't restrict themselves to history. They ask themselves, "What would Space Powers build with hardtech
today if they cared enough about space?". Most bend a little (or a lot) on the "no 'wave" rule in their fixed installations, since they depend on AIs and nonsapient supercomputers to substitute for Height-of-Space Race government R&D departments. (SHR folk don't have this issue because they focus on proven designs of the past.)
Well the SRH Group does use a complex of five SkaLab copies connected to each other as a base...
Now the question would be... What are they? A small faction? Part of an existing faction? Part of a subculture?
Perhaps a friendly rivalry with the guys from MCS?
Under our present guidlines, a subculture of the generalists, both.
Hear that thunder rolling till it seems to split the sky?
That's every ship in Grayson's Navy taking up the cry-
NO QUARTER!!!
-- "No Quarter", by
Echo's Children
Warringer Wrote:... a complex of five SkaLab copies ...
Digression: I know that's a typo for "SkyLab", but now I have to insist the Musicians' Aid Society have a "SkaLab" station somewhere.
We now return to your regular discussion, already in progress...
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
Just extended on the first Idea.
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Minimalist Spacers
The Minimlist Spacers can be called a subculture of Generalists. Through they focus on a very minimalist approach to the use of Handwavium as they use the least possible amount of Handwavium in their exploits.
Generally it can be said that they only handwave their life support and drive systems.
There are three well known subgroups to the Minimalist Spacers, the Space History Reenactment Group, the Man Conquers Space Group and the Future Historians. All of these groups culture a friendly rivalry.
Space History Reenactment Group
The Space History Reenactment Group were the first well known Minimalist Spacers and interested in reenacting the 'glorious past' of manned space flight with their ships. At least sometimes. Most of the time they move around in Fenspace and take in the sights.
The SHR Group started out with the arrival of the Apollo at Stellvia in late 2011, causing some ruckus as people realized that the craft was a near 1 to 1 copy of an Apollo Command and Service Module, with only drive and life support being treated with handwavium. Everything else, including the computer, were mundane technology on 60s level.
Apollo was only the first craft, being joined by the Gemini, a not nearly 1 to 1 copy of a Gemini capsule, the Mercury, a rather close 1 to 1 copy of a Mercury capsule, and lately by Sojuz TMA-12, an actual Sojuz capsule that never got off the ground.
All these vessels are only waved in their life support and drive systems, with the rest being mundane.
A good number of Fen are on the good side with them and the Apollo is always welcome at most stations throughout Fenspace. Only the population of Island One dislike the SHR Group for their positive outlook and celebration of the 'glorious past' that they feels was denied to them.
Generally the age of the people in the SHR Group is at least fifty years over the age of a normal Fenspace Citizen, with Martin Andrews, the pilot of the Mercury, being 65 years old.
At the moment the SHR Group is looking into acquiring an OV-200 shuttle build to near original specs with only its life support and drive being 'waved.
Their homebase if the SkyLab Complex in Low Earth Orbit, constructed from five SkyLab copies build with the help of Whistler Services, who posses the five remaining Saturn V upper stages in space.
Man Conquers Space Group
This was the second group of Space Minimalists to be better known. Where the SHR Group concentrates on the actual past of space flight, the MCS Group concentrate on what could have been.
'What would Space Powers build with hardtech today if they actually cared about space?'
While they mostly follow the rule of 'the least use of handwavium', they are known to bend the rule, since they depend on AIs and supercomputers to substitute for Height-of-Space Race government R&D departments.
Among their projects are the Mars Direct Station in Arabia Terra, Station V in MEO and the HOTOL.
Future Historians
This is the strangest and by far most eccentric group of the Minimlist Spacers, through they may be called Pulpers as well. Never to their faces through.
The Future Historians use more handwavium then other Minimalist Spacers, but that is because they sorely focus on the strangest space designs ever dreamed up by mankind in the past hundred years. Things that never, ever got past the planning stage, or even art stage. However everything may have been build with enough money.
Their main base of operation is the 1950s Collier's Space Station in LEO, their main transport are the Sänger and the Orion 'nuclear pulse powered' ship. Please note that the Orion is not actually 'nuclear pulse powered'.
Quote:Please note that the Orion is not actually 'nuclear pulse powered'.
...but simulates it with a realism that has proven to be somewhat... distressing to those unaware of it.
I like this rewrite quite a bit. The FH ought to have a classic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willy_Ley]Willy Ley SSTO rocket among its "fleet" (unless the
Sänger is one already).
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
I guess that the guys in NORAD where close to panicing when the Orion first set out to Mars. Until they found absolutely no radiation. Not to mention no one with burned eyes from looking into the 'drive explosion'.
Yes, I think the US would be close to "we have to do something about this" when the "simulated orion" starts...
***************
And now something completely different...
"To state it once again, the reason for the Little Big Bang Labs is NOT to equip Jenga with an Orion style drive system!"
- Cathy in 2018
"Mr President, we have confirmed. The source of the detonations was a fen launch. Apparently, someone managed to build an Orion"
"Orion?"
"Nuclear Pulse Propulsion sure. Using nuclear bombs to send a rocket into space. Only, they weren't real nukes."
"what where they?"
"Waved pop-rocks and soda? We don't know sure. Just that, when it launched from Kazakhstan it generated a signal almost identical to a Russian launch."
"Please tell me we can self-destruct our missiles before they reach their targets, general."
"Yes Sir, that should be no problem. However, I'm not certain we can do the same to the inbound Russian missiles."
There was a terrible, terrible silence.
There was a wonderful, brilliant light.
There was a terrible, terrible silence.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
@Dartz: That could be the beginning of a bad ending for Earth... ^^
Who said that the Orion would have been build on Earth?
Warringer Wrote:Who said that the Orion would have been build on Earth?
Dartz did for his crazy/funny fiction fragment. *G*
Tentive write up for the SHR Groups craft:
Apollo
Base Hull: 1 to 1 copy of the Apollo craft
Length: 36.2ft (11.03m)
Mass: 66,871 lb (30,332 kg)
Drive Type: reactionless drive
Drive Rating: Max Speed 0.06c
normally limited to up to 5 minute bursts of 3g
Owner: Space History Reenactment Group
Date Launched: November 11, 2011
Crew: Andy Cramer (mission commander)
Michael Davis (pilot)
Thomas McClain (mission specialist)
Status: Active
The Apollo is one of the first Fencraft that is a 1 to 1 copy of an existing space craft and uses the least possible amount ot handwavium in its construction.
That means that it lacks most of the anmities of common Fencraft, such as an independent navigation computer (outside an Apollo era computer that needs to be purpose programmed with Assembly prior to calculation), artificial gravity or modern digital communication (only high gain analogue radio).
While Command and Service Modules can separate, putting them back together is a work of a good day.
Known Vehicle Quirks:
Fly me to the moon: To unlock the full speed setting of the drive, the crew needs to play an original 1969 recording of 'Fly me to the Moon' by Frank Sinatra.
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Gemini
Base Hull: 1 to 1 copy of the Gemini craft
Drive Type: reactionless drive
Drive Rating: Max Speed 0.09c
lormally limited to up to 1 minute bursts of 1g
Owner: Space History Reenactment Group
Date Launched: March 5, 2012
Crew: David Mallard (mission commander)
William Thomson (pilot)
Status: Active
The Gemini is the second craft of the Space History Reenactment Group and a 1 to 1 copy of the historic Gemini craft.
Known Vehicle Quirks:
Fit Plug A into Slot B: Docking the Gemini is VERY hard and most likely will lead to the Gemini to miss the intended Docking port and dock with another. Even if its on the other side of the station. Especially if there is another dock on the other side of the station.
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Mercury
Base Hull: 1 to 1 copy of the Mercury craft
Drive Type: reactionless drive
Drive Rating: Max Speed 0.1c
lormally limited to up to 1 minute bursts of 1g
Owner: Space History Reenactment Group
Date Launched: July 21, 2012
Crew: Martin Andrews
Status: Active
The Mercury is the third craft of the Space History Reenactment Group and a 1 to 1 copy of the historic Mercury craft.
Known Vehicle Quirks:
Shepards Prayer: The pilot needs to utter Shepards Prayer before the start of a mission.
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Sojuz TMA-12
Base Hull: Sojuz TMA craft
Drive Type: reactionless drive
Drive Rating: Max Speed 0.08c
lormally limited to up to 5 minute bursts of 1g
Owner: Space History Reenactment Group
Date Launched: March 5, 2012
Crew: Sergei Kolojewich (mission commander)
Yuri Serpolin (pilot)
Jevgeni Popov (mission specialist)
Status: Active
The Sojuz TMA-12 is the only craft of the Space History Reenactment Group that happens to be an actual space craft that had been slated for launch to the ISS, but failedto be used thanks to the appearance of Handwavium.
Known Vehicle Quirks:
I like money: All crewmembers need to proclaim that they are capitalists to have the Sojuz start up at all.