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[DRAFT] To Possibly Go...

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Illahee
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Founded: Jan 21, 2018
Civil Rights Lovefest

[DRAFT] To Possibly Go...

Postby Illahee » Sat Oct 12, 2024 8:22 pm

Decided to get out of my comfort zone and give this a try. Be gentle.

TO POSSIBLY GO...

The Issue:

The @@DEMONYM@@ Space Agency (@@DEMONYMINITIALS@@SA) has proposed building a brand-new state-of-the-art spaceport complex on the outskirts of the capital, right next to the sleepy suburb of Pleasant Glades.

The Debate:

Option 1 - “This is the future, folks,” monotones @@RANDOMNAME@@, the agency’s director who looks like @@HE@@ just walked out of an instructional video. "A spaceport here would be an efficient, centralized hub for our nation’s ventures into space. It’s simply practical. Sure, it may involve some noise and... disruptions, but progress always does. We need this if we want to stay ahead in the global space race. Now, where did I put my slide projector?"

Result - @@DEMONYMINITIALS@@SA spends its budget producing "How to Cope with Gentrification" videos.

Option 2 - “Noise? Disruptions? Try mayhem!" shrieks @@RANDOMNAME@@, a stay-at-home parent clutching a toddler in one arm and swatting two more hyperactive kids as they race around @@HIS@@ legs. "I’m already drowning in screaming, chaos, and toys! Now you want to add rocket launches into the mix? I haven’t had a moment of peace since I don't know when! I just want to drink my coffee without being jolted out of my chair by sonic booms, thank you very much!"

Result - Local coffee shops sell "Serenity in a Cup" by the gallon.

Option 3 - “Sonic booms are the sound of victory," grunts General @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ “Iron Fist” @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, pounding a fist into @@HIS@@ open palm. "This isn’t just about exploring space; this is about dominating it. We need this spaceport for national defense. Think about it: orbital laser satellites, military expeditions to claim distant planets, projecting @@NAME@@’s power across the stars! Let’s seize the high ground before some other nation beats us to it."

Validity - Nation has a military

Result - Concerned citizens can’t decide if the military or alien overlords would be worse.

Option 4 - “Well, if you’ve ever watched Galaxy Trek or read Rendezvous With the Martian, you’d know this spaceport is the first step toward a Type II civilization,” gushes Felix Quibble, pushing up his glasses. "We’re talking wormholes, faster-than-light travel, maybe even a Starforce! This could be the gateway to a utopian intergalactic society like the one in The Vast, but without all the war. I mean, we’re practically on the cusp of the next Golden Age of Science Fiction! Shall I explain how this fits into my 12-part blog series on terraforming?"

Validity - Nation has the internet

Result - Space exploration grinds to a halt as sci-fi nerds insist on optimizing ion propulsion.
Last edited by Illahee on Sat Oct 12, 2024 8:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Illahee (aka Bran Astor)
Founder of The Sasquatch Republic (2018-present)
Delegate (ret.) of The West Pacific (2019-2020)
Member of the Ex-Feeder Tyrant Club

Natives don't exist outside the GCR of their founding.

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Trotterdam
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Founded: Jan 12, 2012
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Postby Trotterdam » Sun Oct 13, 2024 12:29 am

Has any nation actually built their spaceport near the capital? I don't see any benefit to doing so. Spaceports are highly specialized and not useful to most people, so they gain no particular benefit from being near the center of other economic activity, even assuming that's the capital.

Spaceports are usually best located near the equator, where they can use Earth's rotational momentum to give them a head start on achieving orbital velocity. Historically this was a problem for the Soviet Union, which was not known for its sunny tropical climate...

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Australian rePublic
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Posts: 27752
Founded: Mar 18, 2013
Inoffensive Centrist Democracy

Postby Australian rePublic » Sun Oct 20, 2024 1:10 am

No rocket scientist worth their salt would rally for a space port to be built near a populated centre. There's a reason why space ports are located near the Equator and on the east coast of places or places where there's empty desert to the east. Launching rockets eastward and closer to the Equator is the best method of launching rockets, and remote locations are chosen so that any debris which will inevitably fall off would land in the ocean or the desert. I mean, why do you think that the EU's space program is in South America (specifically, French Guiana) of all places? Especially considering the logistics of getting stuff to it (either they'd have to come from far away or be sourced outside of the EU's territory). It's also why the British Empire used to launch from Woomera (one of the BFNist parts of the Australian desert). Sure, maybe someone like Singapore or Hong Kong who have no choice would place a potential space program in the middle of a populated area, but beyond that... Deserts have the disadvantage of being far from the Equator but the advantage of rarely of having to worry about rain or other weather phenomena which would delay launches. And it's not as if an astronaut would be concerned with their proximity to their homes when transiting to the ISS. In addition to everything else, having a spaceport in a major city is a waste of prime real estate. As if running a space program wasn't expensive enough, a capitalist country would want to buy cheap land in the middle of nowhere, and a socialist country wouldn't waste resources like prime real estate

If anything, this should be a crackpot who lives near @@CAPITAL@@ and wants to take his son to watch launces, so he constantly writes to the national space program and is sick of being told "no", so he comes to you with his crackpot proposal
Last edited by Australian rePublic on Sun Oct 20, 2024 2:50 am, edited 6 times in total.
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Australian rePublic
Postmaster of the Fleet
 
Posts: 27752
Founded: Mar 18, 2013
Inoffensive Centrist Democracy

Postby Australian rePublic » Sun Oct 20, 2024 2:48 am

Trotterdam wrote:Has any nation actually built their spaceport near the capital? I don't see any benefit to doing so. Spaceports are highly specialized and not useful to most people, so they gain no particular benefit from being near the center of other economic activity, even assuming that's the capital.

Spaceports are usually best located near the equator, where they can use Earth's rotational momentum to give them a head start on achieving orbital velocity. Historically this was a problem for the Soviet Union, which was not known for its sunny tropical climate...

The only actual benefit of putting a space port near a populated centre would be logistics, but then again major population centres would already be clogged (freight trains where possible actively bypass Sydney due to how busy the city's freight network is, and this is Australia, imagine more densely populated countries...), so I could imagine something as major as a sport port would be a nightmare of a logistics bottleneck and thus counter-productive
Last edited by Australian rePublic on Sun Oct 20, 2024 2:52 am, edited 2 times in total.
Hard-Core Centrist. Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right.
All in-character posts are fictional and have no actual connection to any real governments
You don't appreciate the good police officers until you've lived amongst the dregs of society and/or had them as customers
NS's resident fat, loudmouth Greek Australian----Orthodox Christian
Issues and WA Proposals Written By Me |Issue Ideas You Can Steal


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