History Lesson 03

2000 to 2010

During this decade very little seemed to change for most people on Earth. 

There was a lot of talk about aliens and what we should do about them. A wide range of optimistic, "Dawn of a new interstellar age of peace." to pessimistic "We must defend ourself and ensure that Humanity is not destroyed by what is out there." These and many other views were debated in cafes and at the highest levels of government. 

The United Nations defined 2 new branches of "world government" EDC Earth Development Council, which was concerned with the general expansion of Humanity into space , and the EDF Earth Defense Force , which was the military arm. 

  

There was a huge boom in the space industries, as the new found technology was put into production. Skylon and VentureStar became the modern space shuttles, using the new gravity control units, they could easily reach orbit. Skylon entered service in 2002, VentureStars VS-mini & VS-max in 2004.

  

 

The Mule became the first space shuttle, built around the GCU as a core part of its design. (the above craft were existing designs adapted to use GCU) The Mule made much better use of the growing understanding of how gravity field control worked. Its prime feature being the ability to carry standard ISO 20x8x8 ft shipping containers. Later models had variable locking points allowing for 40x12x12 pods. It was launched in 2006.

While the expanse to orbit and to the moon was mostly talked about in peaceful terms in public, the military arm of the UN-EDC was hard at work. The first Space Academy established for warfare, a full year before the civilian equivalent opened its doors. The first craft developed for the Space-Force was the X-66 "Dart" based on the VS-mini. It was more like a space fighter than a warship. It entered service in 2006.

The 2 major UN projects during this time were; Gate Way station in high orbit, started in 2005 and Alpha Base on the moon, started in 2007. Although some pressure was put on the UN-EDC for a Mars mission, it declined the idea. The result was a race to Mars between Russia and China. Both nations running programs on their own, outside of the UN. As a sort of counter to this, the USA established its own lunar outpost the Buck Rogers Base in 2008. 

 

In 2007 Russia and China launched manned missions to Mars. They were not serious colonization attempts, but rather small research outposts, “reasons to plant the flag” it was observed. More importantly these missions were proofs of ship design, as each aimed to transport a 200 ton payload as fast as possible to the red planet. The Russians used a Kevekov nuclear reactor and drive system. The Chines used a Yin-Yasheda fission reactor and ion engine system.

The Russians won the race, however their fuel hungry engines had nothing left for the trip home. The Chines laughed at them, their ion drive being much more efficient although offering less acceleration. They laughed until the saw the unmanned flying fuel tank following a week behind them. The Russians had known full well what the outcome would be and planned accordingly.

In 2009 the Arcadia, having repaired itself, accepted a volunteer crew and returned to space to continue its mission of protecting the solar system. The UN wanted authority over the ship, but it refused. This put the crew in something of a gray zone, as they were not directly answerable to anyone.