Gauthic
24-01-2007, 20:57
Gauthic, Northpoint Island 01, On the Equator
Weather: Clear, Mild Winds
5/14/2007, 1138 Local Time
Much of the space of the small, flat, mostly barren island was devoted to what now stood as a sprawling and new base. Several miles worth of runways, large ports, fabrication facilities, and a major telecoms hub, all built on an island that was half the size before dredgers dug up and fortified more soil to stand on the edges all around the island.
On maps, the island was still microscopic compared to the speck that denoted it's location on the map.
Still, it was one of many projects that had been pushed forth by the Prime, the government, the people, and the corporations of Gauthic.
Several satellites orbiting over the island had been rented, many ships and aircraft circled the island, and every single bit of available personnel all watched as this event of Gauthic's history was being prepped.
It looked like a flying saucer with a needle sticking out of it's bottom. The first of what hoped to be many reusable, small, multi-ton payload launch vehicles. It was spinning at several thousand RPMs, the external, ground based motors priming it. The spin would take in and compress air to be blown through the ignitor ring on the edges.
Comptroller gave the final countdown, it was go time, "Four, three, two, one, Ignition." The red button was pressed, barely a click sounded in the command room as everyone watched the vehicle on the screens.
Underneath the launch vehicle the needle lit up for less then a second when the blue crystal laser washed over it's surface. The heat caused it to change shape and smooth out, the expensive custom steel alloy directing the laser along the flat bottom of the craft and out to the edge of the ring to meet and ignite the very air itself. Fire, a white amber color flared out from the edges of the saucer, forcing the vehicle up several feet to push with all it's might against the external motors and clamps that held it in place. The comptroller then stated the next phase of launch as he initiated it, "Disengaging external motors, releasing clamps." The vehicle was spinning fast under it's own power, and the clamps that held it on either side were pneumatically launch at several meters a second to be well clear of the vehicle as it shot up from it's bunker.
Rising at incredible speeds, the vehicle appeared as nothing more then a flickering light tearing into the sky. Rising out of the atmosphere. It couldn't rise on oxygen alone as it got thinner, and began releasing it's own supply of liquid oxygen into the mix of air to maintain thrust. This continued until the distance was becoming too great for the laser to maintain strength, and liquid hydrogen was introduced to maintain ignition. Fifty kilometers, halfway to space and the saucer was only just now using onboard fuel. It wouldn't be long before the craft's internal altimeter could no longer read, and relied upon ground telemetry to report it's altitude.
Emergence from atmosphere. Low Orbit. Release payload and drop. The top of the saucer open and flung out the tiny satellite, which proceeded to unfold it's instruments and engage thrusters to put it into proper orbit. The launch vehicle, a shelled out saucer, was now making slow decent into the atmosphere. Eventually it would glide, traveling close to 60 kilometers per hour, engage parachutes and aim straight for it's island, point of origin.
Comptroller, "The time now is 1152 hours... Month 5, day 14, Anno Domini 2007... we did it!" Anthony Malcolm, Prime of Gauthic had been holding the bottle of champagne, and had the honor of uncorking it as the crews all across the island went absolutely wild.
Gauthic had a spacecraft in orbit.
Weather: Clear, Mild Winds
5/14/2007, 1138 Local Time
Much of the space of the small, flat, mostly barren island was devoted to what now stood as a sprawling and new base. Several miles worth of runways, large ports, fabrication facilities, and a major telecoms hub, all built on an island that was half the size before dredgers dug up and fortified more soil to stand on the edges all around the island.
On maps, the island was still microscopic compared to the speck that denoted it's location on the map.
Still, it was one of many projects that had been pushed forth by the Prime, the government, the people, and the corporations of Gauthic.
Several satellites orbiting over the island had been rented, many ships and aircraft circled the island, and every single bit of available personnel all watched as this event of Gauthic's history was being prepped.
It looked like a flying saucer with a needle sticking out of it's bottom. The first of what hoped to be many reusable, small, multi-ton payload launch vehicles. It was spinning at several thousand RPMs, the external, ground based motors priming it. The spin would take in and compress air to be blown through the ignitor ring on the edges.
Comptroller gave the final countdown, it was go time, "Four, three, two, one, Ignition." The red button was pressed, barely a click sounded in the command room as everyone watched the vehicle on the screens.
Underneath the launch vehicle the needle lit up for less then a second when the blue crystal laser washed over it's surface. The heat caused it to change shape and smooth out, the expensive custom steel alloy directing the laser along the flat bottom of the craft and out to the edge of the ring to meet and ignite the very air itself. Fire, a white amber color flared out from the edges of the saucer, forcing the vehicle up several feet to push with all it's might against the external motors and clamps that held it in place. The comptroller then stated the next phase of launch as he initiated it, "Disengaging external motors, releasing clamps." The vehicle was spinning fast under it's own power, and the clamps that held it on either side were pneumatically launch at several meters a second to be well clear of the vehicle as it shot up from it's bunker.
Rising at incredible speeds, the vehicle appeared as nothing more then a flickering light tearing into the sky. Rising out of the atmosphere. It couldn't rise on oxygen alone as it got thinner, and began releasing it's own supply of liquid oxygen into the mix of air to maintain thrust. This continued until the distance was becoming too great for the laser to maintain strength, and liquid hydrogen was introduced to maintain ignition. Fifty kilometers, halfway to space and the saucer was only just now using onboard fuel. It wouldn't be long before the craft's internal altimeter could no longer read, and relied upon ground telemetry to report it's altitude.
Emergence from atmosphere. Low Orbit. Release payload and drop. The top of the saucer open and flung out the tiny satellite, which proceeded to unfold it's instruments and engage thrusters to put it into proper orbit. The launch vehicle, a shelled out saucer, was now making slow decent into the atmosphere. Eventually it would glide, traveling close to 60 kilometers per hour, engage parachutes and aim straight for it's island, point of origin.
Comptroller, "The time now is 1152 hours... Month 5, day 14, Anno Domini 2007... we did it!" Anthony Malcolm, Prime of Gauthic had been holding the bottle of champagne, and had the honor of uncorking it as the crews all across the island went absolutely wild.
Gauthic had a spacecraft in orbit.