Difference between revisions of "Cislunar Space"

Revision as of 00:40, 5 January 2010

Cislunar Space is the general term for the volume between the edge of Earth's atmosphere and low orbit of Luna. The term doesn't always cover the lower Earth orbits, but is often used as a catch-all by pilots in the area.

Earth Orbit

Earth orbit is the single most crowded place in the entirety of Fenspace. Along with the approximately 2,500 mundane satellites in orbit serving the needs of the planet, there are dozens if not hundreds of fenships and habitats in orbit around Earth at any given time.

Places of Interest

The major attraction of low Earth orbit (aside from the amazing view of Earth) is the International Space Station. The ISS is the last operational piece of unenhanced manned space hardware left in the solar system. Completed in 2010, the station performs microgravity science experiments. While tourists have made their way onto ISS in the past, the station is not equipped or meant as a tourist destination.

Rockhounds asteroid SR-06, occasionally referred to by Fen as Nouveau Paris, is in geosynchronous orbit over Paris, France; the European Space Agency operates it as a satellite maintenance depot. Disney's World, the 'Dane theme park, is in geosynchronous orbit above 158°W (midway between Orlando and Tokyo).

Babylon .5 blah blah setup fishcakes, etc.

(etc.)

Lagrange Points

The Lagrangian points (also Lagrange point, L-point, or libration point), are the five positions in an orbital configuration where a small object affected only by gravity can theoretically be stationary relative to two larger objects (such as a satellite with respect to the Earth and Moon). The Lagrange points mark positions where the combined gravitational pull of the two large masses provides precisely the centripetal force required to rotate with them. They are analogous to geosynchronous orbits in that they allow an object to be in a "fixed" position in space rather than an orbit in which its relative position changes continuously.

Places of Interest

Lagrange 1

(etc.)

Lagrange 2

The Soviet Air Force Deep Space Exploration Forces maintains a staging area here for their larger ships.

(etc.)

Lagrange 3

The Earth-Luna Lagrange 3 (L3) point is relatively empty, being situated on the opposite side of the planet from Luna and far from the other Lagrange points. The emptiness of the local space explains why L3 is the standard parking orbit for Grover's Corners.

(etc.)

Lagrange 4

The L4 point is locally known as the "Danelaw toehold," as this is where most 'Danelaw or Space Power-supported habitats are located. The major habitats cluster around TSAB's Benjamin Franklin Station, a base built out of a converted Rockhounds mining asteroid.

Greenwood, the home of Rockhounds' head office and Greenwood City, is also found at L4 for roughly six months out of the year. Considering that the TSAB is one of their larger customers, this is not surprising.

(etc.)

Lagrange 5

L5 has a long association with the exploration and settlement of space, beginning in the 1970s when Gerald K. O'Neill first suggested using the libration point as a place to house space colonies.

The L5 point was one of the first things settled in any permanent manner, first by the Warsies who built their New Yavin habitat at L5 and maintain a major presence there. The point is also the home of Stellvia station.

Rockhounds asteroids SR-01, SR-02, and SR-05 also sit in the L5 point. SR-01, semi-officially known as Space Station Beta, was originally a NASA experimental station, but passed to Artemis Foundation control after the April Fools' Purchase and has become the Foundation's official point of presence in cislunar space. SR-02 is jointly owned by Dow Pharma and 3M Pharmaceuticals, and is used for medical research and zero-g drug synthesis. SR-05 has been renamed Wonderland, and serves as the major farming station for Stellvia.

(etc.)

Related Links

• Earth
• Luna