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I don't mind the wait at all.

Also I may or may not be able to surf 4chan on my laptop in the back of the class pretending to take electronic notes.

>>24002269

Awesome! Yay real science, too!

>>24003429

Nah, do real space things instead :3 We shall wait

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Okay I lied there is no lab tonight, but there will be a lab every Monday after this.
ANYWAAAAAAAAYS,

You are princess Lydia Tannhäuser Von Cygnus Gates the third. Second in line to the throne, and recently named director of the Royal Rocketry Corps. Your recent efforts have placed an artificial satellite into orbit, much to the Dismay of the Royal Astrological Society.

Summoning you to a secret masked meeting in the dead of night, they explained to you that mankind originally came from the stars, and was cast down to earth for an unknown reason. They also revealed to you the existence of Foe Stars, mysterious moving lights in the sky, Appearing without warning 700 million kilometers above the Ecliptic, and moving across the sky before blinking out of sight entirely. Too small to be natural stars, but shining with the relative intensity of a hundred Radio-reactive warheads.

The society has entrusted you with these secrets, claiming that they can no longer interpret the movements of the stars and must now rely on the new generation to guide mankind just as they have for hundreds of years. It's a very heavy responsibility.

>Wiki page: http://emlia.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=WhatGoesUp.SpacePrincessQuest

All posts must use the royal we. Any suggestion unfitting a princess will be ignored.

>>24005929

That.... is a lot to take in. In the meantime, we shall press on the advantage! We still want the Royal Astrologers to eat some crow in the public eye, at the very least.

Has the press made it sound like our next step is to send a man in space?

(We should consider send a woman. We're lighter)

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You shall meet with Parliament at the end of the turn to petition for a budget increase and for permission to establish a new colony in the eastern islands on which to build a better launch site. This may be difficult because the current head of the treasury is a notorious tightwad with a bone to pick with anything resembling extravagant military spending. Even your peers in the Navy and Air Force have been feeling the pinch, with battleships and squadrons scrapped in the name of austerity.

Currently Col Smith and Profesora Minerva are penning a paper in the academic journals to advance your cause, and the Royal Astrological society has promised to help your endeavors.
You also have a promising future astronaut in the form of Sir Harker, the crimson count and first air-knight to break the sound barrier.

Your current inventory consists of a single Mk2, you have room for 5 more mass units worth of rocket parts, you also have plans for the following components.

Mk2
>Type: Probe, Mass 1, Reliability 4/3
Mk3
>Type: First stage, Mass 1, Reliability 5/4
Camera Module
>Type: Mapper, Mass 1, Reliability 19/14
Guidance module
>Type: unmanned control system, Mass 1, Reliability 19/14
Radolight beacon
>Type: Waylight, Mass 1, Reliability 18/14

You have 10 RnD points and 1 luck point.
Building existing parts costs 1 point per mass,
Inventing new parts costs 3 points per mass,
Improving existing parts costs 1 point per mass per level, up to 5 points per part can be spent per turn.

This quest thread is using Space Core's What goes Up system.
>http://http://emlia.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=WhatGoesUp.WhatGoesUp

>>24005929

Well, armed with this new information, Space surveillance Satellites may be useful for keeping tabs on the 'Foe Stars'.
If we ever move back into a war economy or the defense budget gets massive boosts, we can then propose orbital weapons platforms with the hidden function of defending us from the outside threat.

I would suggest Improving the Camera and Guidance modules. That should allow us to put observational satellites into stable Geo-synchronous orbit, yes? Though brainstorming what it would take to establish a colony in space may be a useful thing which should not consume any materials...

>>24006048
Yes indeed, you have been indirectly quoted saying as much.

Aside from the Colonel and Minerva's paper. There are a lot of stories buzzing around about whether or not it is possible for man to survive in space (Some apothecaries claim zero gravity would disrupt the flow of one's vital humors)

"Rocket corps to send man into orbit"
"Do the Huns have there own rockets?"
"The promise of artificial satellites in strategic and academic pursuits. By Col T Smith and Dame M Pallas."
"The effects of the void on human anatomy."

>>24006146
You would also need a bigger rocket and a way to return the photographic plates back to earth. Transmitting Radiscope images wirelessly might be possible but would require more development into areas beyond your budget.

>>24006240

We should start organizing a tournament for selecting the first space pioneer.

>>24006071
Split the budget between the guidance and camera modules with a bit going into planning for a larger lifter stage. Either a mass 3 or 5. Present the plan to Parliament, talking up the possible economic boons to more accurate mapping and the possibility of using geosynchronous orbiting radio beacons as navigation aides.

>>24006300
OH, and split it +2/+2 to each camera and guidance and 2 towards developing the lifter.

>>24006240
Spend 5 RP on Camera Module, 16/12.
Spend 5 RP on Guidance Module, 16/12

That's it for this week.

Now, we were promised support with the appropriations committee.
>>24006268
A tournament as you propose, while being good at gaining support among some of the nobles, would hinder us at our committee hearing as just another frivolous use of royal revenue.

>>24006300
We can't make a bigger lifter stage without more funding.

>>24006351
2 is not enough for a Mass 3 Lifter.
2 wouldn't be enough for even a Mass 1 Lifter.

>>24006300
The biggest fist stage you could build would be size 3 and cost 9points to develop. Needless to say that would be you entire budget.

>>24006356
Mk2
>Type: Probe, Mass 1, Reliability 4/3
Mk3
>Type: First stage, Mass 1, Reliability 5/4
Camera Module
>Type: Mapper, Mass 1, Reliability 16/12.
Guidance module
>Type: unmanned control system, Mass 1, Reliability 16/12
Radolight beacon
>Type: Waylight, Mass 1, Reliability 18/14

No budget remaining. Parliament meets at the end of the turn.

>>24006411
Can our Mother or the Prime Minister provide us with a list of the members of the Appropriations Committee and a briefing on each member?
If the Chairman is outvoted by the committee, then that will get us the funds, yes?

If we can get enough votes from other members of the committee, then we don't need him.

>>24006411

We need big first stages anyway... the smallest thing that can carry a person is mass 3, which needs a mass 3 second stage and a mass 6 first stage.

FWIW, in test WGU games a mass-3 opening with clustering has proven to be reliable because it's cheapish to research.

>>24006451
>a mass-3 opening with clustering has proven to be reliable
Do you mean it's possible to cluster 2x Mass 3 Rockets into a Mass 6 First Stage, then use the same Mass 3 Rocket as the Second Stage?
Is this a 2-stage orbital capsule with a re-entry heat shield and life support?

>>24006509

Life support won't last for more than a few hours, but yes, basically. The only thing is that we need some sort of retrorocket to deorbit it.

( IRL, Yuri Gagarin's capsule also worked like this, it used the same rocket design for launch and orbital stage, then it had a solid-fuel retrorocket for deorbiting)

>>24006551
Let's see, according to the rules, a Capsule must be at minimum Mass 2 (because it carries its own Mass -1).

So, our plan for the most basic of basic Manned Orbital Capsules would be:
Stage 1 = 2x Mass 3 Rocket (Cluster)
Stage 2 = 1x Mass 3 Rocket
Stage 3 = Capsule (Mass 2)
Stages 2 and 3 combined equal Mass 5, enough for the Stage 1 to be able to lift.
Should we make a Mass 3 Capsule (Astronaut, Camera)? With the astronaut already doing re-entry, they can bring the film back with them.

>>24006441
Asside from the chairman you have,

General Clay who is a notorious warmonger.
Lady Ethelstan who has a reputation as a phelanthropist and champions anything that improves the lot of the common folk, but despises any form of corruption or dishonesty.
Lord Savard, a minor noble who has managed to work his way into the upper chambers of Parliament by being reliable and taking few risks. he'll probably vote with everyone else.
And Lord Bartly, who is a highly religious man who will probably vote the way the Astrologists tell him.

>>24006637
The problem with assembling such a rocket would be the launch facilities, Fort Adler just isn't big enough, and the Avalon is even smaller.

>>24006694

so, we could assume that Lord Bartly will vote for us as we have kind of gained the support of the Astrologists, General Clay might vote for us if we can show him proposals for orbital weapons platforms, Lady Ethelstan will be a bit more tricky, though the idea of 'Satellite Broadcasting' may win her over as it would allow signals to reach most any part of the world within range of the appropriate satellites...
We will be unlikely to sway Lord Savard directly, and the Chairman is liable to vote against our request either way.

The main focus is to work out something that could win Lady Ethelstan over to our cause.

>>24006637

A Mass 3 capsule allows for (VoidKnight, RCS) as well. RCS can be used for deorbit burns as a special rule, specifically because of Vostok/Voshkod (I wanted to make sure at least a good approximation of histoical spacrcraft was possible) , and also as a fail-safe for more complicated craft. Getting into orbit is hard: getting out of orbit is relativel easy.

>>24006694
We already got the secret support of the Astrologists, so Bartly will vote for us.
We can impress upon Clay the military applications of rocketry, as the most recent ship-based ballistic missile test displayed. Improved guidance systems are necessary for both military and civilian applications.
As for Lady Ethelstan, we can perhaps talk to her about the possible civilian applications of high-altitude and orbital science, such as improved weather monitoring and forecasting, better mapping from the sky, and being able to monitor large areas of farmland and woodland for changes.
In addition, a program of this magnitude will require industry, which means factories, which means jobs. By helping to circulate money around we create wealth.

With those 3, we should be able to get Savard on board, and then we'll have the entire Appropriations Committee aside from the Chairman, who we'll simply sideline.

>>24006812

Sounds sensible to me. Weather forecasting is a ways off without a way to beam pictures planetside, but baby steps.

Lord Savard should be taken aside and told that this can be his pet cause if he wants to be remembered for ANYthing.

Do you wish to contact any of the committee members in advance, or are you ready to timeskip to the hearing? And do you want to launch your single MK2 for the hell of it?

>>24007063
Let's meet with General Clay first, so that we can talk about the ballistic missile tests and get his support first.

Then meet with Bartly to make sure he'll toe the party line.

I'm unsure about Lady Ethelstan or Lord Savard.

>>24007063

It's a ballistic missile. It can be used to test a better guidance system, or given to the Navy.

>>24007063

I vote skip.

>>24007091

Seconding on not firing a Mk 2. Launching it for no reason will not help our cause when requesting additional funds. it also saves us having to spend points on creating a new one to test things on.

>>24007147

We really need more poetic names for our rockets...

Skip or talk to Clay first. Remember making him too excited might give the chairman more ammunition and scare away Ethelstan and Savard.

>>24007253

The old war hawk probably already is excited about these enomous, earth-shaking --

Not going there. We can assume that the ability to strike anywhere on the planet is obvious to both our generals and those of other nations by now; if anything we'll have to tone that down at the meeting!

>>24007276
Even better we could possibly have footage of our troops so that we may better coordinate or order them to safety.

Even better during a disaster we would have an eye in the sky to assist in rescue ops.

>>24007253
If he's about to get too excited, then perhaps we should make sure to speak with him and impress upon him the need to stay focused and calm, in order to secure allies.

>>24007442

You're right.

>>24007442
>>24007276
General Adler introduces you to his superior General Clay, who is indeed excited about the possibility of orbital weapons. He also seems slightly worried about the possibility of the Northerners developing radio-reactive weapons of there own. he says the chairman just doesn't understand the risk of backing down now. The war may be over, but those Huns always return eventually. He thinks gaining a foothold in space before they do would be a perfect way to strike while the iron is hot.

>>24007542

We should agree in private, but impress upon him that this is a peaceful effort in the public eye -- anyone with a brain, like himself, should be able to see the military applications anway without them being spelled out to the common folk.

"The radio-reactive genie is out of the bottle; let us be sure that when they do, we have something better."

>>24007632
Seconding this. Also, that not all applications of rocketry need be direct; how would he like to see anywhere on the globe?

>>24007632
I agree and if and when we are able to get photo capability we could have a satellite over the gun lands watching for invasion preparation. This is my last post fellow princesses as I am about to fly from Hawaii to Texas. Have fun and roll no ones.

The General agrees to focus on the Intelligence applications over the offensive ones. He also says he'll try to see that Savard also sees things this way.

Do you meet with anybody else or procede with the hearing?

>>24007795

We shall put on our best hat and go face the music!

(I'm out, got to be up at 0500 for a field job. Sorry!)

>>24007795
Tell the General to have a light touch with Savard. If things go our way, then we will have the others of the Committee dancing our tune, and it would not be wise to unduly antagonize those who we might need to request additional funds from in the future.

We shall meet with Lord Bartly, to make sure that he'll vote with the party.

>>24007795
>Lady Ethelstan

We should explain that we have met with the general in hopes of explaining the practical application of rockets and a space program. Hopefully we can talk and find out what she thinks is importantfor the ccommon people in this project.

Oh dear, I fear I'm moving too slowly. Is everyone in bed now?

I have work tomorrow and wanted to get this hearing over before then.

>>24007870

I can be around for a bit but should really go splat. Hey, this isn't any less interesting, just derpy timing :) Now we defiitely have to go see what's up there!

>>24007870
I fear that we will not be able to get the hearing over today.
I myself need to go to bed soon.

If it'll speed things up, can we simply get confirmation that Lord Bartly will vote for us? It's not needed to actually talk it out, just need confirmation.

>>24007906
He'll probably vote for you if the general bullies him. But you need all four of them to outvote the chairman's possible veto. And you haven't talked to Lady Ethelstan yet.

>>24007947
Alright. We'll talk with Lady Ethelstan next.
Lord Bartly shouldn't be too hard to convince since he'll listen to the Astrologers, who have pledged their aid to us.

>>24007973

Clearly a full-on charm offensive is required. Would she care to join us for tea? We can discuss how this whole space effort is the one time we might ever get to divert military funds towards civil development instead of the other way round.

>>24007973
Lady Ethelstan greets you pleasently, but seems slightly ignorant in the field of rocketry. Although she is well educated, her studies are on more worldly subjects, and still associates rocketry with Radio-reactive power and the military.

How will you re-assure her?

>>24007998
She laughs a little at that, telling you if the chairman had his way, it would happen all the time. Although she has little love for the military, she does remember the war and is worried such a thing could happen again were the kingdom not securely defended. The problem she says is not cutting the military off but rather reigning them in.

>>24008070

"But that's the interesting thing that the short-sighted war hawks don't see. A weapon that can strike anywhere and level a city is useless for conquest as it cannot hold land and yields only rubble, but excellent for defense, for nobody would dare attack us."

>>24008112
She frowns at this and there is an awkward silence for a while, before she asks you if there is any non military use for satellites.

>>24008142
Of course!
Weather monitoring, global radio communication, geographic mapping using orbital photography.
Not to mention being able to push the boundaries of science by experimenting in an environment where the grasp of gravity no longer holds sway.

>>24008142

"Our merchant mariners and aviators will never be lost or want for a bearing as long as their radios work, and may even become able to call for help from anywhere in the ocean eventually. Our farmers will know what weather to expect seasons in advance. Our travelers would never be lost again. And who knows what wonders we may discover!"

>>24008195

( It was first thought that weather sats would let us figure out a chaos-proof global weather paradigm, in fairness)

>>24008176
>>24008195
Lady Ethelstan is reassured by this line of discussion. Although she says she'll have to give it some thought and won't promise anything until the actual hearing.

The day of the hearing draws closer. Are there any last minute preparations to be made?

>>24008275
Talk with Lord Bartly. We need to make sure that he votes with us.

>>24008275

See if there's a rumor that the Southlanders may beat us to a person in space, and if there isn't, see if anyone can be bothered to start one?

Go do something innocent and fun with Amelia to try and relax a little?

Possibly combine the two?

>>24008286
Lord Bartly pledges his support and seems well informed of the scientific promise of space exploration and necessity of an equatorial launch site.

>>24008346
Right now people seem most concerned with the possibility of the Huns developing there own rockets.

Amelia tells you that you should appear as a guest on MR Radio's Jazz show. She tells you it is very 'hip' whatever that means.

>>24008403

That might be uncouth for a royal, but it certianly sounds like fun. We are fairly sure that our satellite going beep-beep-beep got better ratings than he did when it came onlne, anyway...

>>24008403
Before we appear on the radio show, we should listen to several episodes first, to get a sense of the type of show, and how we will be treated.

We don't want to go in blind.

>>24008403
While the radio show may be fun, it might be prudent to meet with Lord Savard, even if only for a little bit.
We've already met with the other members of the Committee, and to not meet with him might be considered rude.

>>24008481

We should (diplomatically of course) point out that the space effort is the chance he has to be remembered for championing a cause.

>>24008526
Of course.

>>24008481
>>24008526
You don't have much time to meet him personally but manage to pen him a letter thanking him for his support. You hope that's enough.

>>24008464
Mr Radio is a smooth talking yet bombastic suthern gentleman. His show plays a fashionable new style of music called 'Jazz', but he also does a lot of talking with guests. He is the main source of both news and entertainment for many Midlanders, particularly in Hafenstad. Amelia is a big fan, and you believe some of the RRCs enlisted staff also listen, but you haven't heard much of this 'Jazz' yourself.


(OOC note: If anybody has forgotten, the Suthern kingdoms are afro-grecian democratic city states, Havenstad is the crime ridden industrial center of Midland)

>>24008588

(This is very awesome, but I need at least six hours of sleep before I deploy. Good night!)

Guys guys guys
Have we forgotten something?
ALIENS
FUCKING ALIENS
Tell those Astrologers we need to let the government know about this so we can work hard on getting rockets capable of intercepting them before they become a threat, to ram into their ships if they seem to be heading for earth.
Once we can defend ourselves, next step is making contact with them.

>>24008648

No, the next step is to set up a council of funding nations to support our effort, possibly while it's masqueraded as a space race.

Then we have to hire a bunch of green recruits and send them at any aliens we intercept with absolutely no body armor and Guile haircuts.

(I should go to bed)

>>24008708
Green as in new, or green as in Kerbals?

I'm calling it for tonight too.

No game tomorrow because work, but I will return on Wednesday.

>>24008648
We've been told to keep it quiet, and we already agreed to do so for their support.