/sen/ - The Senate

This is a bright day for the Senate.

I, as Secretary of the UCFP, hereby give this project unlimited and immediate funding from the UCFP coffers. Don't let the UCFP down, Weil.

With the funding provided by UCFP Secretary and Operational Director Kane, the ACP has moved up its subsequent launch dates. Three more payloads have been delivered to orbit today, with another four planned by tonight. Though incredibly costly, this will allow the station to reach operational status by early tomorrow morning, at which point testing of key systems will begin.

The first launch, delivered by a modified Saturn V rocket, carried a central habitat module and several other key components, including the first of twenty Hyperion compact nuclear reactor power modules, rated at 25MW peak output, and a handful of the plasma wakefield accelerators slated for installation. The three subsequent launches carried several more Hyperion reactors, capacitor banks, and much of the structural materials and framework. It is hoped that the extensive array of equipment being installed aboard the station will allow its crew to replicate many of the particle, quantum, and astrophysics tests previously run on Earth, as well as a variety of new experiments and procedures which could lead to breakthroughs in their respective fields.

Passive and active collision prevention systems will also be installed on board (once the required parts have been delivered to orbit) in order to protect the station from micrometeorites, harmful forms of energy, and other threats, given the considerable investment this project represents.

The habitat module will be expanded eventually, but the initial module is capable of housing up to twelve occupants comfortably, including sleeping, living, recreational, and eating accomodations, as well as the operations center. The life support system features a new method of recycling that boasts a 50% increase in efficiency, resulting in full reserves supporting a full crew complement for up to a year, with a three month emergency backup in place. A CHNOPS synthesiser will also be included, eliminating the need for all but raw material when restocking.

The last of the launches carrying the components required for the LEOPARD station delivered its payload roughly an hour ago today. Assembly has all but finished, and technicians are installing the various experimental modules, expansions, and shielding. Testing phase is scheduled to begin in roughly nine hours, at which point the station will become fully operational.

With a total power output of 500MWe, thanks to the Hyperion reactors, the habitat module has been expanded to allow for a full crew complement of 93 to be sustained for up to 548 days, an unprecedented achievement.

>>11452

The CHNOPS synthesiser, as its name implies, is stocked with raw Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur. These are the base necessities required for humans to survive, and the synthesiser compiles them into edible material for sustenance.

The station itself and its modular components are made from a combination of structural-integrity (high tensile strength) carbon steel sheets with a 'honeycomb' design on a microscopic level. The 'chambers' are filled with a compound similar to concrete and lined with lead to help keep out solar and cosmic radiation. The hull is layered with an ablative armour designed to shear away in layers upon being impacted by incoming kinetic projectiles, such as micrometeors and debris. It can be remotely repaired by automated drones kept on board the station using 3D printing technology.

An experimental energy shielding apparatus is also being installed to better protect against damaging or interfering radiated energies. This shield system is currently classified, as it has not yet been tested, but once it is fully functional we will release more information about it.

Station assembly has been completed ahead of time, and testing is currently underway. Current measurements show that the station is functioning at 83% operational capacity as of now, and it appears that peak capacity will be reached within the hour.

Meanwhile, both Station Commander Weil and Operational Director Kane continue to observe the state of affairs below as the peacekeeping forces of Alobe move into position against the militarised occupational forces of the NF/KKK and Supremo in Sabah.

>>11469
As a show of good faith from SPQR, we can provide carbon in the form of an easily-stored block of graphite, the gaseous forms of hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, white phosphorous for more compact storage, and any number of sulfuric compounds. As an ally, I'm going to request that the Advancement Coalition Party provide SPQR with the schematics for such a station to ascertain the cost of potential fabrication for more long-term orbital living, although again, as a sign of good faith, if there are sensitive materials which would pose any sort of security risk to either your party or crew members, you are free to either redact them (while noting their redaction) or else ensure that you are our sole supplier. It is our hope that this exchange might further the bonds between our parties and strengthen both as two of the most forward-thinking parties on /sen/.

Besides, chemical engineering and astrochemistry are two sexy fields that are even sexier together.