The Western Isles Space Station (OOC, TWI Only)

[Corindia]

If you're a member then you're certainly free to contribute to systems or experimental mini-modules which will go on the !Kibo, I would recommend building up some factbooks as well.

What type of fact books should we have for our modules, any sources/suggestions

Here's a good example: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1285520 (thanks, AM!), but in his case I would like to see really any fleshed out factbooks about his nation

[The Free Alliance]

What type of fact books should we have for our modules, any sources/suggestions

Here's a good example: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1285520 (thanks, AM!), but in his case I would like to see really any fleshed out factbooks about his nation

I'll take a swing at a bit of world building over the next few days, time permitting.

Based on my issues over the last few years I have a few baselines for my nation.

1. Nuclear power and weapons.
2. A military funded space program (separate from the civilian program).
3. A information technology industry, requiring lots of satellites.
4. Huge government spending on science.
5.

I think I'll initially focus on a ICBM converted to a launch vehicle, like the Soviet R7 series of rockets, which not only got humanity into orbit, but also evolved into the Soyuz rocket.

The Alliance is supposed to be a big nation, so maybe we can provide launch facilities or something. (If I get the factbooks written)

[Corindia]

Here's a good example: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1285520 (thanks, AM!), but in his case I would like to see really any fleshed out factbooks about his nation

I'll take a swing at a bit of world building over the next few days, time permitting.

Based on my issues over the last few years I have a few baselines for my nation.

1. Nuclear power and weapons.
2. A military funded space program (separate from the civilian program).
3. A information technology industry, requiring lots of satellites.
4. Huge government spending on science.
5.

I think I'll initially focus on a ICBM converted to a launch vehicle, like the Soviet R7 series of rockets, which not only got humanity into orbit, but also evolved into the Soyuz rocket.

The Alliance is supposed to be a big nation, so maybe we can provide launch facilities or something. (If I get the factbooks written)

We don't use issues or really anything on the nation home screen when RPing in this region

[Vancouvia]

Here's a good example: https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1285520 (thanks, AM!), but in his case I would like to see really any fleshed out factbooks about his nation

I'll take a swing at a bit of world building over the next few days, time permitting.

Based on my issues over the last few years I have a few baselines for my nation.

1. Nuclear power and weapons.
2. A military funded space program (separate from the civilian program).
3. A information technology industry, requiring lots of satellites.
4. Huge government spending on science.
5.

I think I'll initially focus on a ICBM converted to a launch vehicle, like the Soviet R7 series of rockets, which not only got humanity into orbit, but also evolved into the Soyuz rocket.

The Alliance is supposed to be a big nation, so maybe we can provide launch facilities or something. (If I get the factbooks written)

You also should/need to become a member nation

[The Free Alliance]

I'll take a swing at a bit of world building over the next few days, time permitting.

Based on my issues over the last few years I have a few baselines for my nation.

1. Nuclear power and weapons.
2. A military funded space program (separate from the civilian program).
3. A information technology industry, requiring lots of satellites.
4. Huge government spending on science.
5.

I think I'll initially focus on a ICBM converted to a launch vehicle, like the Soviet R7 series of rockets, which not only got humanity into orbit, but also evolved into the Soyuz rocket.

The Alliance is supposed to be a big nation, so maybe we can provide launch facilities or something. (If I get the factbooks written)

You also should/need to become a member nation

Way ahead of you, just slowly getting my factbooks organized, had a bunch of drafts on a now very dead laptop

[Brulafi]

I might just put a section for the module in my space agency factbook just to avoid clutter.

[Scantarbia]

In line with my space capability revamp, Scantarbia is able to provide a module to the station. That, or the truss section.

[Corindia]

In line with my space capability revamp, Scantarbia is able to provide a module to the station. That, or the truss section.

Ironically considering your space activity I don't know if we have you down for a full module. There's the arm, panels, and I think some of the life support under your name though which is significant. One thing I wanted to add still was something like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TransHab or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis_II, which I think would be a very achievable way for us to further expand the system if necessary, so if you're interested in that we can send one up at some point.

[Alteran Republics]

In line with my space capability revamp, Scantarbia is able to provide a module to the station. That, or the truss section.

Ironically considering your space activity I don't know if we have you down for a full module. There's the arm, panels, and I think some of the life support under your name though which is significant. One thing I wanted to add still was something like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TransHab or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis_II, which I think would be a very achievable way for us to further expand the system if necessary, so if you're interested in that we can send one up at some point.

Altera would be on board for collaborating with a/several nations on such a module; particularly the electronics and the radiation and ballistic shielding.

[Corindia]

Ironically considering your space activity I don't know if we have you down for a full module. There's the arm, panels, and I think some of the life support under your name though which is significant. One thing I wanted to add still was something like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TransHab or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis_II, which I think would be a very achievable way for us to further expand the system if necessary, so if you're interested in that we can send one up at some point.

Altera would be on board for collaborating with a/several nations on such a module; particularly the electronics and the radiation and ballistic shielding.

Awesome! I think stuff like this would be a likely avenue for nations like ours if we really were pursuing a space station IRL. Cheaper and easier to launch make our lives a lot easier. I'll try to keep an eye out for other, similar concepts.

[Ioudaia]

If people can still join, I'd like to propose a microgravity applications module, for the study of making things in orbit. Ioudaia can provide that, but since I'm still working on my space program, I don't know if it'll be able to launch it.

[Corindia]

If people can still join, I'd like to propose a microgravity applications module, for the study of making things in orbit. Ioudaia can provide that, but since I'm still working on my space program, I don't know if it'll be able to launch it.

I don't think we really have the capability for a dedicated module, but the https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1285520 could certainly make microgravity experiments possible

[Ioudaia]

If people can still join, I'd like to propose a microgravity applications module, for the study of making things in orbit. Ioudaia can provide that, but since I'm still working on my space program, I don't know if it'll be able to launch it.

I don't think we really have the capability for a dedicated module,

I'm not sure I follow. What sort of capability do we lack? We seem to have people with heavy-lift launchers, and since the station seems to be modular, it's just another module to stick on to some empty attachment port.

but the https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1285520 could certainly make microgravity experiments possible

Right. RL ISS some racks and other small spaces set up for small, modular experiments, but nothing dedicated. While I wasn't going to have the microgravity module produce anything useful, it's a representation of national/regional hopes and ambitions for a space-borne civilization.

[Corindia]

I don't think we really have the capability for a dedicated module,

I'm not sure I follow. What sort of capability do we lack? We seem to have people with heavy-lift launchers, and since the station seems to be modular, it's just another module to stick on to some empty attachment port.

I think we should probably be conservative with the modules we add, this is intended to be more of a Mir size station than an ISS size one simply because us having a station is already pushing the bounds of realism. If we were to really buckle down and audit the realism of everyone in the region, the scope of our space programs probably wouldn't be defensible, and while I don't think we should do that, I think it's best we keep in mind that we don't want to push the envelope too far on what our nations can accomplish. It's easy to slip from MT to 15 minutes into the future. There's already going to be an inflatable module added as well, and I'd like to somewhat limit further scope creep.

[Corindia]

The kg of LEO launch capacity per capita of this region must be at least 100 times higher than that of the real world, if we based our actual satellite tonnage off of that we'd be in a strange place.

[Ioudaia]

I'm not sure I follow. What sort of capability do we lack? We seem to have people with heavy-lift launchers, and since the station seems to be modular, it's just another module to stick on to some empty attachment port.

I think we should probably be conservative with the modules we add, this is intended to be more of a Mir size station than an ISS size one simply because us having a station is already pushing the bounds of realism.

OK, got it.

If we were to really buckle down and audit the realism of everyone in the region, the scope of our space programs probably wouldn't be defensible, and while I don't think we should do that, I think it's best we keep in mind that we don't want to push the envelope too far on what our nations can accomplish.

Yeah, I've been trying to figure out how TWI balances fun and realism while looking at people's factbooks, and I've come to the conclusion that fun is more important. Or government spending is a far greater share of GDP than people admit.

It's easy to slip from MT to 15 minutes into the future. There's already going to be an inflatable module added as well, and I'd like to somewhat limit further scope creep.

Could I get three minutes into the future?

The kg of LEO launch capacity per capita of this region must be at least 100 times higher than that of the real world, if we based our actual satellite tonnage off of that we'd be in a strange place.

Right. So, any advice on how we should look at spending on space programs and/or launch capacity? Before I saw this thread, I was thinking of starting a thread on the region developing manned spaceflight, not realizing how many countries already had their own programs. Silly me.

[Corindia]

I think we should probably be conservative with the modules we add, this is intended to be more of a Mir size station than an ISS size one simply because us having a station is already pushing the bounds of realism.

OK, got it.

If we were to really buckle down and audit the realism of everyone in the region, the scope of our space programs probably wouldn't be defensible, and while I don't think we should do that, I think it's best we keep in mind that we don't want to push the envelope too far on what our nations can accomplish.

Yeah, I've been trying to figure out how TWI balances fun and realism while looking at people's factbooks, and I've come to the conclusion that fun is more important. Or government spending is a far greater share of GDP than people admit.

It's easy to slip from MT to 15 minutes into the future. There's already going to be an inflatable module added as well, and I'd like to somewhat limit further scope creep.

Could I get three minutes into the future?

The kg of LEO launch capacity per capita of this region must be at least 100 times higher than that of the real world, if we based our actual satellite tonnage off of that we'd be in a strange place.

Right. So, any advice on how we should look at spending on space programs and/or launch capacity? Before I saw this thread, I was thinking of starting a thread on the region developing manned spaceflight, not realizing how many countries already had their own programs. Silly me.

The realism/fun balance is always going to be tough, I usually just take a more holistic approach to it where I don't exactly feel people need to have an itemized receipt for everything their nation spends money on (good for them if they do though) as much as just not seem fake. Obviously that's subjective, but for the most part it seems that it works

[Ioudaia]

We'd still like to contribute, so is there room in any of the planned modules for equipment for microgravity experiments? I was thinking something like Microgravity Glove Box and a rack for plugging in self-contained experiment modules.

[Corindia]

We'd still like to contribute, so is there room in any of the planned modules for equipment for microgravity experiments? I was thinking something like Microgravity Glove Box and a rack for plugging in self-contained experiment modules.

There is, both external and internal!

[Corindia]

We'd still like to contribute, so is there room in any of the planned modules for equipment for microgravity experiments? I was thinking something like Microgravity Glove Box and a rack for plugging in self-contained experiment modules.

There is, both external and internal!

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1285520
More specifically, the existing external racking and internal storage space would be found on this module. That said, if you want to provide your own racking then it could potentially be attached to the Brulafi made structure which the heat dissipation is mounted on, and then serviced by the ScantARM. That also gives us some more room for external experiments

[Vancouvia]

Who is supplying the solar arrays themselves

[Ioudaia]

There is, both external and internal!

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1285520
More specifically, the existing external racking and internal storage space would be found on this module. That said, if you want to provide your own racking then it could potentially be attached to the Brulafi made structure which the heat dissipation is mounted on, and then serviced by the ScantARM. That also gives us some more room for external experiments

Oooh! If there's external space, how about something like the Wake Shield Facility? Perhaps it could be mounted on a boom, and the ScantArm used to move it back to an airlock so astronauts could change the experiment modules on it.

The Microgravity Glove Box is meant for internal use, in the station's shirt-sleeve environment.

---

Based on my extravagant spending on unmanned missions, I'm going to say that my manned space program is still under development. Since you wanted to avoid getting "15 minutes into the future" what about a spacecraft that combines technologies from previous/existing ships? For example, a heavily modifed Soyuz using the Space Shuttle's ceramic tiles for full reuseablity, and landing like the prototyped Gemini hang-glider system. It doesn't break any new scientific ground, it's just a little clever engineering. I don't think it's too different in concept from many of the weapons people are selling in the region.

[Alteran Republics]

If we're talking about walking the line between realism and sci-fi, I guess I should stay quiet for now ...

[Corindia]

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1285520
More specifically, the existing external racking and internal storage space would be found on this module. That said, if you want to provide your own racking then it could potentially be attached to the Brulafi made structure which the heat dissipation is mounted on, and then serviced by the ScantARM. That also gives us some more room for external experiments

Oooh! If there's external space, how about something like the Wake Shield Facility? Perhaps it could be mounted on a boom, and the ScantArm used to move it back to an airlock so astronauts could change the experiment modules on it.

If it's just mounted on a boom what makes this any different than the external mounting options that already exist?

Based on my extravagant spending on unmanned missions, I'm going to say that my manned space program is still under development. Since you wanted to avoid getting "15 minutes into the future" what about a spacecraft that combines technologies from previous/existing ships? For example, a heavily modifed Soyuz using the Space Shuttle's ceramic tiles for full reuseablity, and landing like the prototyped Gemini hang-glider system. It doesn't break any new scientific ground, it's just a little clever engineering. I don't think it's too different in concept from many of the weapons people are selling in the region.

That's novel, but I don't see any reason why this wouldn't work. Would be an interesting addition to the potential resupply fleet

Who is supplying the solar arrays themselves

Scantarbia, I believe

[Corindia]

If we're talking about walking the line between realism and sci-fi, I guess I should stay quiet for now ...

We've all been there honestly. Do you still use those British MUSTARD shuttles strapped together? Those were neat