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frogblast-the-ventcore · 3 months

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USS Sorcerer (NCC-9670-B), Arlington-class long-range fast dreadnought:

(Arlington-class reference art via @MarcSherwood8 on Twitter)

The Arlington-class dreadnought USS Sorcerer (NCC-9670-B) started her life as an Odyssey-class dreadnought, one of the sister ships of the USS Enterprise-F. Like her famous sister, the Sorcerer was heavily damaged in the 2411 Battle of Midnight, the climactic battle of the Iconian War, fought above Earth. The Sorcerer lay in spacedock above Mars for several years as subsequent events redirected Federation shipbuilding towards new endeavors. Finally beginning reconstruction in 2412, she saw several planned refit suggestions come and go - first, she was to be rebuilt to Odyssey-class standard, then to the upgraded Yorktown-class refit, then the upgunned Lexington-class subclass of the Yorktown-class. Finally, in 2414, it was decided that the Sorcerer would become the second in the newly designed Arlington-class of long-range fast-response dreadnoughts, to spearhead a new Federation effort to explore the Gamma Quadrant alongside the Federation's allies in the Klingon Empire, Romulan Republic, Tzenkethi Coalition, and the newly peaceful Dominion, as well as follow up on issues related to the Hur'q Crisis of 2411. Under the command of Captain Yanute, the vessel was relaunched on January 1, 2416, the 5th anniversary of the Battle of Midnight.

The Arlington-class long-range fast dreadnought:

As a descendant of the Odyssey-class, the Arlington is one of the largest ships ever built by the Federation; the subclass measures 1041.5 meters long, 385.22 meters at the beam, with a draught of over 200 meters, and a mass of over 7.25 million metric tons. With a crew of over 900, space for a full Starfleet Marine Corps battalion of 800+ members, and an embarked air wing of 400 personnel, the immense long-range vessel is thusly provided with a laundry list of amenities ranging from an internal promenade/mall, a dozen holodecks, two arboretums, two internal pool/sauna complexes, three main social lounges, and dozens of observation areas.

Able to maintain quantum slipstream travel for a full six hours, the Arlington-class combines its impressive speed with some of the heaviest firepower ever added to a Federation vessel. Boasting 29 MkXV phaser arrays, 4 light and 4 heavy MkXV pulsed phaser cannons, and a whopping 14 multipurpose torpedo/probe launch tubes. These tubes are capable of fully automated loading of the full Federation probe range, as well as photon, quantum, and transphasic torpedoes, the latter-most only available in limited quantities due to weapons limitation treaties.

In addition, the Arlington-class carries over the Lexington-class's phaser spinal lance, capable of devastating damage against vessels even larger than the Arlington. The phaser lance has been colloquially nicknamed the "Wave Motion Gun" by Lexington- and Arlington-class crew members, as it's immense energy discharge resembles that of a similarly devastating weapon from a late 20th century Earth science fiction franchise.

The Arlington also plays host and mother ship to an Eagle-class light "parasite" escort, itself a formidable and agile vessel, armed with multiple phaser arrays, four phaser cannons, and four torpedo tubes. A full wing of 60 Federation Aerospace Force Valkyrie aerospace fighters, falling under the command of the vessels' Commander Air Group, rounds out the vessels' firepower.

Defenses consist of a quadruple-layer hyper-capacitor-based metaphasic shield array, a full meter of albative armor, and a full suite of phaser- and microtorpedo-based CIWS systems; the Arlington is also fitted for but not with a Nanotech Molecular Ablative Generator field array, based on technology from an alternate 25th century.

#star trek #star trek fanfiction #uss sorcerer #crew manifest

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angelbroad · 16 days

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This Scarab Is Blue

Inspired by an age swap au by @runeiio , but with a colder Khaji-Da

Milagro waited outside the middle school, scrolling through her phone as she waited for her little brother to come out. She had finished school earlier, and mom had asked her to pick up Jaime since she would be working later than expected. The pop of her bubblegum was simultaneous with the ringing of the bell, and Milagro waited and looked at the horde of children leaving the doors to find her own. She finally spotted a poof of brown hair and a blue backpack, and making her way through the children horde, Milagro got a hold of Jaime.

"Ey, Jaime!"

"Hola Mili.", the boy greeted back.

The two were soon on the street, Milagro meeting Brenda and Paco along the way and catching a conversation. Milagro unconsciously toyed with her ring, itching for a flight. Her attention was turned to an empty plot by Paco.

"Didn't this place used to have a building?", he asked.

"Kord.", Brenda confirmed, "And now it's like nothing was ever there."

Milagro looked at the empty plot with a flat mouth. It had been just over a month when her and the other Lanterns had this serious of a mission. Guy was especially cautious about this one, as it involved one of the Corps' oldest enemies. The Reach. Somehow Kord had gotten their hands on an Infiltrator, and Jarvis Kord wished to replicate that technology. Thankfully, they had help from the Blue Beetle, who was sadly lost in the crossfire as well as the Infiltrator. Guy considered it a somewhat win. The scarab was out of sight, and hopefully it would stay inactive and out of mind as well.

The girl noticed that Jaime had gone inside the plot, because he was coming back from it by the time Milagro turned her attention back to him.

"You off exploring little man?", she asked as the group started walking again, Jaime skipping to catch up to the teens.

"H-Hey! Wait up! Yeah, I just went and looked a little bit."

"Bien.", Paco said, "Found anything good, little man?"

Jaime shrugged, "Maybe."

"Oh sweet. Show me when we get home.", Milagro said.

"Mmmm, what if I don't?", Jaime teased.

"Oh you will you little twerp.", Milagro answered with a smile, "'sides, if you don't show me I'll just take it from ya when you're asleep."

"Would you stop stealing my stuff??"

"Naaah."

The two seperated with Brenda and Paco a little further down, the duos going their seperate ways. Jaime and Milagro decided to wait until their parents got home to start eating lunch, Milagro already preparing the food and forgetting about Jaime's supposed discovery. She made it easier on herself by using the ring to multi-task. Yes, mom said no suits in the house, but she wasn't here right now.

"Milagro Reyes."

Ah fuck-

"Sorry mamá.", Milagro said as she made everything disappear and rubbed the back of her head in guilt.

Bianca shook her head with a sigh as Milagro helped her with the bags, "Mili, I just don't want another accident in the house. Do you remember that time when your energy construct made a cabinet fall down?"

"Lo sé, lo sé. Lo siento, mamá."

"Está bien cariño.", Bianca responded, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Just try and keep that in mind, m'kay?"

"Yes ma'am.", Milagro responded, also going to greet her dad.

During the meal, Milagro couldn't help but feel...wrong. Her ring was ringing in her head like crazy, like the alarms blaring at the red flags on your tinder date. The constant rubbing of her temple had her dad ask if she had a headache, which she declined despite herself. It was her turn to wash dishes today, so she had her back turned as Jaime was telling their parents about his day.

"-and I also found something weird in that Kord space."

"Kord space?"

"Where that building was."

"Jaime, hijo, I told you not to go there. It's under construction, it could be dangerous."

"I know, I'm sorry.", Jaime said, "But I'm not hurt."

"What did you find, Jaime?", Alberto asked.

"Oh, I have it in my bag. Let me go get it.", Jaime said before getting up and skipping off.

Bianca looked at Milagro, "What did he find, Mili?"

Milagro shrugged, "I dunno, he didn't tell me." Her back was still turned to the three as Jaime returned, emptying the bag on the table much to his mother's dismay.

"Huh. Now that's something new.", Alberto said.

Jaime nodded, "I picked it up with my backpack, cause I didn't know if it was cool to touch it."

Milagro raised an eyebrow as she looked out the window. What a weird comment to make.

"It looks...weird.", Bianca commented, seemingly picking it up to study the object herself, "A little dirty, but I think it's alright to hold."

The object was handed back to Jaime as Milagro turned around.

"What did you find any...way..."

The thing Jaime was holding. It was the Infiltrator. Its legs started moving, Jaime looking at it with innocent wonder.

"No no no! Jaime put that down!", Milagro moved, but was not fast enough as a shocked Jaime backed away as the scarab climbed up his arm, finding its way to his back where it dug its feet in, making the boy scream in pain.

Their parents were terrified, and Milagro started cursing to herself and then out loud as she transformed. She knelt down to hold Jaime before looking at her parents with a panicked expression.

"Call Gardner. Now!"

Alberto moved to get a phone as Bianca stood there with the most shocked expression Milagro had ever seen from her.

"Milagro. What is this??"

"It's an Infiltrator. It-"

Jaime begun to shake as something started to sprout from the scarab, encasing her brother in a black and blue armor as the scarab hid itself in an enlarged beetle on his back like a crude backpack. No no no no no-why?? Out of anyone on Earth, why Jaime?!

"S-Sis...? W-What-t's hap-ppening?"

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay hermano. W-We'll get it out it's just..."

Oh god, she couldn't even recognise her brother's face. Jaime jumped, looking around.

"H-Hello?"

"Jaime?"

"I heard a voice..."

The scarab...Milagro grabbed his arms and made him look at her, "Jaime. Whatever you do, don't listen to it, okay?"

Host: aquired

"H-Host?"

Hello, Jaime

"W-Why?"

"Because it's evil!", Milagro blurted out. Bianca looked like she was about to pass out.

"It went to the answering machine.", Alberto said as he entered the room.

Jaime noticed the backpack was opening up as Milagro turned her head away.

"Well fuck-"

"What are thrusters?", Jaime asked.

Milagro looked at him, "Who-?"

Suddenly, Jaime was flung through the roof, leaving a hole in the ceiling.

"...Oh no you don't.", Milagro said through gritted teeth as she followed the Infiltrator through the hole in the roof.

"W-Where are we going??", Jaime asked as he was practically dragged out of his own house.

Testing flight systems., the voice replied.

"I can see that!"

Don't worry, no harm will come to you

"I find that hard to believe-"

"Jaime!", Milagro called out as she was gaining on them. The Reach could take a lot of things, but her familia was off-limits!

Threat detected: Green Lantern

"N-No, that's just Mili."

A canon manifested on his right arm, his arm moved up by the scarab and towards Milagro.

"Mili! Look out!", Jaime warned, Milagro working to avoid the blasts coming her way and making a shield as she moved behind Jaime to grab him.

"Let him go you damn space bug!", she barked at the scarab. The mandables tried to poke her in the face and neck, but through quick thinking, Milagro made armor for those parts. But as she focused on holding her brother, she failed to pay attention to her surroundings, resulting in her back hitting a building and her grip loosening, which resulted in Jaime escaping. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." Where was Guy Gardner when you needed him??

The flight became more stable the further it went on.

"Why did you do that??"

Elaborate

"You tried to hurt my sister!"

All Green Lanterns are to be eliminated on sight

"Stop using those big words! And my sister is not a threat!"

She is now., it said, Now that you are of the Reach, you are an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps

"But...I'm not...", bad. Jaime wanted to say he was not bad. But the words wouldn't come out for some reason, even when they finally landed in a deserted area. Jaime held himself, shaking. "C-Can we go home...please?"

Negative. Green Lantern will know of our position

Jaime frowned, "For the last time, Mili is my sister! She'd never hurt me!"

Host puts too much trust in family unit

"Says you! Why should I trust you, huh? You took me from my house!"

Green Lanterns are dangerous. Retreat: best option

Jaime's face softened as he realised something, "Are you...scared of Lanterns?"

Nonsense., the voice sounded quite rushed to respond, further confirming Jaime's suspicions.

"You are.", he said, hands on his hips.

I am a warrior of the Reach. Fear is not within my programming

"Liar."

Host: testing patience

"Look, if you take me back home, I'll tell sis to not kick your butt. Okay?"

That didn't seem to convince the scarab, much to Jaime's frustration. He started to walk, the armor feeling weird on him.

"Guess I'll walk then."

It would take at least one Earth day to return 'home'. Insufficient strategy

"Well, if you won't fly me back, I'm walking there."

Meanwhile, Milagro was panicking, having called Gardner at least eleven times as she searched for the Infiltrator. She was sent to the answering machine every time, but on the twelfth time he finally picked up.

"Hey kid, what's the-"

"The Infiltrator has been activated!"

"The what??"

"The Reach Infiltrator! What the fuck were you doing that you couldn't pick up the phone???"

She could hear Guy cursing as he moved his phone away from him before he returned, "You know the host?"

"Yes. Do not lay a finger on him when you find him, or I'm kicking your ass all the way to Antarctica!"

"This is an Infiltrator! It's supposed to be-"

"The Infiltrator took my brother!", Milagro screamed at the phone, "If I see even a scratch on him when I find him and you were involved, you're fucking dead!!"

Guy gulped, eyes widening as he remembered the alarmingly young age of the boy. He should have expected the Reach to stoop this low.

"...You have my word.", he said, flying off to find Jaime Reyes.

#ao3 writer #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #dc #dc fanfic #milagro reyes #jaime reyes #au #dc au #guy gardner #khaji da #angel writes

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dipperdesperado · 1 year

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is solarpunk compatible with space travel?

I am currently a big fan of solarpunk, but my first love in the world of science and science fiction was related to space travel. I realize that space travel is a very tainted concept. Our understanding of space is greatly impacted by colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism. While solarpunk feels like a response to the infinite growth mindset, space is literally described as another frontier. This may be a massive piece of copium on my part, but I wonder, can there be a solarpunk version of space travel? Is it possible to have a decolonial interest in leaving the earth? Can an understanding of the rest of the universe allow us to be in community with it more successfully? I don’t have super developed answers for this right now, but I think it could be interesting to make gestures in that direction.

One of the ways to solarpunk space could be to transition the industry and to locally scaled, community-based initiatives. Right now, space economics are deeply wedded to money and the nation-state model. Instead of a focus on scale, where there are massive agencies that decide how space technologies are explored, there could be more boutique outfits that are based in specific, human-scaled communities. This would probably not be high on the priority list of a community, but could be a nice to have once other needs are met. Maybe, if space travel needs a degree of centralization, there could be an exploration of using federation to collectively decide how to develop space programs on a regional level.

This program could be developed through an open source model, where communities have their own makerspaces and fabrication labs. People could develop and experiment with space tech, and the open source model would allow breakthroughs to be more quickly proliferated. One of the most important things for a solarpunk space program would be that bottom-up, equity-centered approach.

Due to space programs being couched in hegemonic modes of operation, the process tends to be very wasteful. From all of the debris in the atmosphere, to the motivations of various space movements themselves, there is a lack of critical analysis of domineering systems. For space to get solarpunk’d, the economies of creating spaceships and the like would have to be circular, with making sure that there is minimal impact on our environment, moving us towards a degrowth orientation. Even life support systems and on-mission resource management should have a regenerative focus.

The main thing to focus on is the needs and wants of communities. Governments and corps should not dictate what going to space looks like. The design of spaceships and habitats should be participatory. Everyone who has interest should be able to contribute, and anything developed should have a communal focus. In other words, these projects would not just be the machinations of a single eccentric.

This ain’t to say that it’ll be easy. A community-driven space program is hard to imagine, when space travel lives in a very imperial, statist milieu. Maybe we can look at Earth-bound advancements for inspiration. On Earth, we can see the potential for decentralized production, cooperative ownership, and ecological communities. Looking at space through this lens has a lot of potential in my mind.

We can use solarpunk principles to move towards the future in ways that are truly inspiring and ecologically sound. Collective and individual creativity can be harnessed to great ends. So. Can solarpunks go to space? I, selfishly, hope so! But it would have to be to the ends of connecting more with our universe (expanding our definition of nature), and improving the lives of all. We have to prioritize regeneration, equity, and community, to create a cool space program.

#solarpunks #solarpunk #storytelling #space travel

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niqhtlord01 · 1 year

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Humans are weird: Reckoning

Conquest log Archive 1731 Star Date 93745

Scouting detail 831 reports low level broadband communication signals while exploring sector G17. Signals are weak in nature but contain enough complex patterns to imply linguistics.

Requested additional teams and stronger receiver equipment was approved and further investigations begun.

Star date 93763

The unknown signals have increased in frequencies and scouting details have begun narrowing down origin location. With the stronger equipment the signals have been found to be visual transmissions rather than simple audio only communications.

First visuals of the aliens sending the messages have them appearing as bipedal creatures standing upright with two arms and legs. Despite sharing the same form many of them appear to hold individual distinctive features ranging from hair color, skin color, height, tone of voice, body proportions, etc.

The linguistics corps is attempting to create a foundation for understanding their primitive language but Warlord Xulien has instead diverted manpower to analyzing their current technological level. He has taken interest in the signals; though he appears less interested in the species themselves and is more invested in the world they occupy.

What little he has seen of the planet through the transmissions has convinced him that it would be the next prime candidate for the colonization corp and would become the new frontier outpost for his forces to base in for their westward expansion.

Star Date 93771

With the combined efforts of the increased scouting details the alien’s believed homeworld has been located; a medium sized binary star cluster with five orbital masses circling the twin suns. Four of the planetoids have their orbital curves sending them too close to the suns to be bathed in lethal radiation or too far and ending up as a frozen orb. The fifth planet finds itself in perfect synchronization with the two suns and found itself in the so called “Green Zone” orbit that can sustain life.

Scouting detail 831 received the honor of sending the first ship into the system. Primary focus was altered at the command of Warlord Xulien to focus on military capabilities present in the system.

First visuals were reported back and found to be unimpressive.

The species, while having advanced far enough to obtain space flight, showed limited space presence aside from an array of artificial satellites and small mining craft that were sent to the four desolate planets in the system for raw materials.

On the surface there were several large cities with a few dozen smaller settlements scattered around the planet. A network of roadways and rail lines connected each grouping into a vast network allowing easy movement across the planet.

With the closer proximity to the signals origins the linguistics corps was able to better translate the information and has finally learned the name of the species.

They call themselves “Humans”.

Star Date 93775

Warlord Xulien has assembled his war host and launched a full invasion of the system.

Protests from the science and diplomatic corps were overridden as Xulien made a convincing case to the senate that these “humans” were too primitive to be of any real benefit to the empire and that their world would be put too much better use under their people’s watchful gaze.

The first wave of ships have flooded into the system and secured total control. The small fleet of human ships was easily wiped out in the initial engagement, though many of the satellites remained unharmed due to their small size making them more difficult and tedious to destroy.

Star Date 93776

Following the control of the surrounding space the main force has entered the system. The transports carrying the war host lumbered into orbit around the human homeworld and begun landings.

Warlord Xulien has forbidden the use of orbital strikes to minimize collateral damage to the planet. He has been recorded saying that his forces need to stretch their legs after such a journey and welcome a ground war challenge.

Numerous communication signals have been detected coming from the surface of the planet but Warlord Xulien has ordered the fleet to ignore them. He believes they are the humans attempting to establish peace talks which he has no interest in.

Star Date 937780

Final resistance of the humans has been wiped out.

The war chorus Helion has captured the human leader and is bringing them aboard the flagship to meet with Warlord Xulien.

Orders for colonization fleets to assemble have been sent.

Star Date 937780b

Multiple jump signatures detected along the edges of the system.

Three hundred unknown space fairing vessels have bypassed long range scanners and have formed a tightening noose around the war host.

Ship classification unknown but all bare the mark of humanity. The lead ship at the center of this new armada is several times larger than Warlord Xulien’s personal flagship.

Orders have been issued to recall ground forces as the fleet assembles.

Star Date 937781

War host fleet has been wiped out.

It has been discovered that the world previously thought to be the human homeworld was in fact a recent colony; a colony that was part of a much larger and more advanced domain of human controlled territory.

Reports of massed barrages of human weaponry far more advanced than what the colonists had shattered the fleet shields in the opening seconds. With their shields disabled the human flagship then deployed a large scale electromagnetic pulse weapon of some kind and disabled the entire war host fleet. All contact with the fleet was then lost save for a single transport vessel that had landed on the surface and continued to transmit back to the empire.

Scanners detected that multiple smaller craft were then launched from the human ships and latched on to the war host fleet vessels. Military analysts theorize that these were boarding parties and that the war host ships were taken one by one.

The remaining war chorus’s on the planet’s surface reported massed landings of human vehicles dropping off scores of heavily armed warriors before all communication was lost.

Star Date 937923

The general public continues to remain unaware of the events that took place on the human colony world. Official reports list that in a final act of defiance the humans detonated a device near one of the binary stars that sent it cascading into a deadly supernova that consumed the entire system.

A memorial was held for Warlord Xulien and his war host, while all official information of the events that transpired have been scrubbed from the records save for the highest level archives.

All warlords have been informed of the fate of Xulien and have been instructed to prepare for a pending conflict with humanity. Many have called for retribution for the loss of one of their own, but it is far more likely that they are eager to secure the honor and prestige of avenging the first ever death of a warlord of the empire.

Star Date 937969

Jump signatures have been reported at the edge of empire space. Scouting details have been dispatched to investigate.

Star Date 937975

All contact with scouting details has been lost.

War Hosts have been ordered to battle stations.

Star Date 937976

Massed fleet of ships detected orbiting colony world of Xu-zin. Orbital facilities report seven hundred ships before destruction.

Emblem of humanity seen on the prow of the lead ships.

Star Date 937981

General public informed of new threat and the destruction of Xu-zin colony world.

Last recorded video files of deadly orbital bombardments released to general public to stir war fervor.

There was no communication made between the human fleet and the colonists below before the attack. Orbital strikes have been reported to have decimated 96% of the planet’s surface and destabilized the orbital rotation.

Star Date 937990

Colonies Ring Reef, Zavens Throne, Dren IV, and Pul have all been destroyed.

Human fleets emerged over each world and bombarded them from orbit until all life on the surface was extinguished.

Science corps believes the humans were able to obtain star chart information from capture war host fleet and are operating with detailed information of the empire.

Warlord Din’mar led his war host over the moon of Xerebeck against a human fleet there. 83% of the war fleet was destroyed before the order to withdraw was given. One human vessel crippled during the engagement.

Star Date 937994

Mid ring worlds breached.

Heavily populated world of Lechen’s Reach attacked by large human fleet of two hundred ships.

Orbital defenses prove stronger deterrent and inflict first confirmed losses to human fleet.

Human fleets retreat to safe distance out of range but do not leave the system.

Star Date 937995

Human fleets surrounding Lechen’s Reach reinforced by a further eight hundred ships and renew assault on planet. Orbital defense platforms decimated by concentrated weapon fire before planet subjected to extensive orbital bombardment.

Star Date 937997

Human’s have gained access to the wider empire broadcasting network and have begun streaming a constant feed of their destruction of the colony and mid ring worlds as well as the destruction of the war fleets for warlords Hentuk, Bendni, Arura, and Hafen.

Government denies all feeds as enemy propaganda but panic across the empire spreads beyond control.

Warlords Zin and Frick have refused all commands from the central government and have taken their fleets elsewhere. They no longer respond to command and are believed to be fleeing with what resources they have at their disposal.

Star Date 938000

Human fleets have finally arrived at the homeworld.

Orbital defenses have fallen an hour ago yet the expected orbital attack has not yet come.

I make this final entry as I see their landing craft breaching the clouds and descending upon my home with trails of fire.

I do not know what horrors they plan to unleash upon us, but I fear that this will be my final day.

I send this last recording now and hope that whoever discovers this will know of my people’s fate and learn from it.

Learn that to stir the beings known as humans, is to stir death itself from its slumber.

#HUMANS ARE WEIRD #humans are insane #humans are space orcs #humans are space oddities #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01 #ai generated art #deviantart dreamup

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tanadrin · 2 years

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Following first contact with the closest neighboring species--the Helvetosians, Titawenese, Chalawani, and Osmians--more than a century passed as gradual cultural, diplomatic, and economic ties were built up between these five species. Although marine creatures native to a frozen ocean, the Osmians proved most like humans psychologically, and due to the disastrous nature of first contact with them, in which human explorers were inadvertently responsible for the devastation of the Osmian homeworld, the United Nations Extrasolar Service worked assiduously to help rebuild Osmian society, and to establish Osmian colonies on Earth and throughout the Solar System. The Helvetosians, Titawenese, and Chalawani were already known to one another, but their ongoing contact was limited, both because they lacked efficient interstellar propulsion technology, and because of a tumultuous diplomatic history.

From the end of the 24th century, the human species began undertaking large-scale exploration and colonization projects. UNES' primary mission was exploration, with a secondary focus on contacting worlds that had been settled during the Second Space Race; many of these worlds subsequently acceded to the framework on intra-human interstellar relations, the so-called Archipelago System. The Osmian colonies acceded directly to this system, and eventually the Osmian homeworld as well. But the Archipelago remained primarily a human system intended to solve human problems, and even as cooperation with other alien societies deepened, it was difficult to see how any real, long-lasting integration could be achieved for creatures of such different psychologies and habits of life.

Humanity could not simply be overlooked by these older and more powerful species. The initial rapid burst of expansion, the development of the warp drive, and the unique blend of human, Osmian, and machine life which characterized the burgeoning civilization centered on Sol all spoke of the kind of upheaval to the status quo of the Local Sector that no one could ignore. And since despite their very different natures, these four civilizations shared a fundamentally cooperative and peaceful outlook, alliance was preferred far more than confrontation. In 2456, a conference was convened at Arrokoth to create a formal framework for relations between polities of different species. Twelve years of negotiations, standards-setting, and political wrangling produced an agreement acceptable to most polities of the five species present.

Called the Arrokoth Convention or the Primary Accord, this was part xenology handbook, part treaty, and part aspirational statement of principles. It was, and was only intended as, a starting point. Twelve major amendments to the obligations of state and private actors were added from 2469 to 2483, and a permanent diplomatic congress was created on Earth in 2485 to make future alterations easier. In 2497, this congress decided to change the basic structure of the Convention. A distinct legal personality was created, of which this congress became the legislative council, and an executive was appointed. Supranational and interplanetary unions within this structure, like the United Nations, would continue to exist, as did individual states. Indeed, when it was first formed, the Foundation (as it came to be called) had few responsibilities at all.

The reason for this distinct legal personality was to create a common corps of representatives when the Convention wished to negotiate with outsiders, as well as to support major projects, like colonization and terraforming, which were in the interest of all members, but difficult for any individual member to fund alone. Foundation was also given the authority to provide legal guarantees for citizens of all member states, and though not as hands-on as Control in UN states, it has a similar function.

Because of the unique nature of individual worlds, most states in Foundation space (if they exist on multi-state worlds) have tended to make their own local arrangments for planetary matters. Thus, the primary active function of Foundation is in space-based projects. To that end, Foundation operates five space services, each geared toward a separate major function.

Expedition is the colonization, terraforming, and planetary science service. It is geared toward one-off projects that require significant up-front investment, and usually ceases to be involved in those projects once they become self-sufficient. As a result, it maintains few permanent space stations and no ships, but employs an army of scientists, planners, engineers, and consultants.

Frontier is the deep space exploration service. Frontier's mission is to go where no one has set foot, pseudopod, or claw before, and, if possible, to befriend whatever it finds there. It is widely considered the most prestigious service, due in no small part to its romantic appeal, but also the most dangerous.

Contact is the collective diplomatic and xenology corps; it also engaged in various xenoarcheology and exploration missions as an adjunct to its xenological mission. However, unlike Frontier, Contact is better suited to building ongoing diplomatic relations with aliens.

Integration is the space-based construction service, responsible for building and maintaining much of the Foundation's infrastructure. They also assist on major planetary engineering projects and any unusual science problems encountered by Frontier or Expedition.

Sentinel is the smallest service. In times of peace, it is effectively a strategy think-tank, with some external intelligence-gathering functions. However, in the (so far blessedly rare) times of conflict, Sentinel becomes the core of the Foundation's space navy, activating ships and officers from the other services as needed for collective defense. So far, Sentinel has had to fulfill this function only a handful of times, most notably during the Gotol Cluster Crisis. One of the most important functions of Sentinel is identifying potential threats before they become serious and coming up with plans to deal with them should they prove hostile.

None of these five services operate under military discipline, not even Sentinel. Sentinel and Contact do operate with a much stricter formal hierarchy than the others, but Frontier, and to a lesser extent Integration and Expedition, tends to operate autonomously most of the time.

These are far from the only options for someone considering an exciting, space-based career. Hundreds of states, planets, and supranational associations maintain their own exploration, colonization, and development agencies, all of which can draw on Foundation expertise and technology as necessary. However, the Foundation definitely operates the services with the broadest reach and that face the biggest challenges, so it is no surprise that many of the most ambitious individuals end up there, and particularly in Frontier. If your ambition is equally great, you may well end up in Frontier, too; just be sure to weigh that ambition against the risk of being sent home in a small plastic box labeled "biohazard."

--So You Want a Job in Space? informational pamphlet, ca. 2600 CE

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spacetimewithstuartgary · 6 months

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Hydrogen detected in lunar samples, points to resource availability for space exploration

U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) researchers have discovered solar-wind hydrogen in lunar samples, which indicates that water on the surface of the Moon may provide a vital resource for future lunar bases and longer-range space exploration. Space-based resource identification is a key factor in planning for civilian- and government-led space exploration.

“Hydrogen has the potential to be a resource that can be used directly on the lunar surface when there are more regular or permanent installations there,” said Dr. Katherine D. Burgess, geologist in NRL’s Materials Science and Technology Division. “Locating resources and understanding how to collect them prior to getting to the Moon is going to be incredibly valuable for space exploration.”

The Apollo lunar soil samples were provided by a NASA-funded research mission to NRL scientists for investigation and testing. The research team, led by scientists in NRL’s Materials Science and Technology Division, continues to study lunar surface and asteroidal samples to gain understanding of how surfaces interact with the space environment, which is known as space weathering. Previous testing from additional Apollo samples confirmed location of solar wind helium in lunar soil grains.

“This is the first time scientists have demonstrated detection of hydrogen-bearing species within vesicles in lunar samples,” said Dr. Burgess. “Previously, the same team at NRL used state-of-the-art techniques such as scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy to detect helium in lunar samples, and other researchers have found water in other planetary samples, but this is the first publication to show hydrogen in-situ in lunar samples.”

The research article was published to the Communications Earth & Environment journal on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023.

About the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps from the seafloor to space and in the information domain. NRL is located in Washington, D.C., with major field sites in Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, Key West, Florida, and Monterey, California, and employs approximately 3,000 civilian scientists, engineers and support personnel.

IMAGE....Katherine Burgess, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory geologist, places a magazine holding several transmission electron microscopy samples into a Nion UltraSTEM-200x microscope in Washington, D.C., November 16, 2023. Burgess studies lunar grains that were collected during Apollo missions to the moon. (U.S. Navy photo by Jonathan Steffen) Credit Jonathan Steffen/U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

#science #space #astronomy #physics #news #nasa #esa #astrophysics

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chillingcinemachronicles · 6 months

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Top 5 Mind-Bending Sci-Fi Films on Netflix

Embark on an interstellar journey with the Top 5 Sci-Fi Movies that transport you to otherworldly realms. From mind-bending concepts to futuristic landscapes, these films redefine the boundaries of imagination. Explore the wonders of advanced technology, encounter extraterrestrial beings, and unravel the mysteries of the cosmos. Each cinematic gem in this list captivates with its unique blend of science, fiction, and awe-inspiring visuals, leaving an indelible mark on the sci-fi genre. Get ready for an escape into the unknown with these stellar adventures that push the boundaries of what’s possible.

5. Dune (2021)

A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

4. Okja (2017)

For 10 idyllic years, young Mija (An Seo Hyun) has been caretaker and constant companion to Okja-a massive animal and an even bigger friend-at her home in the mountains of South Korea. But that changes when a family-owned multinational conglomerate Mirando Corporation takes Okja for themselves and transports her to New York, where image obsessed and self-promoting CEO Lucy Mirando (Tilda Swinton) has big plans for Mija’s dearest friend. With no particular plan but single-minded in intent, Mija sets out on a rescue mission, but her already daunting journey quickly becomes more complicated when she crosses paths with disparate groups of capitalists, demonstrators and consumers, each battling to control the fate of Okja…while all Mija wants to do is bring her friend home. Deftly blending genres, humor, poignancy and drama, Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer, The Host) begins with the gentlest of premises-the bond between man and animal-and ultimately creates a distinct and layered vision of the world that addresses the animal inside us all.

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3. Elysium (2013)

Neill Blomkamp’s second film, Elysium, envisions a future where the Earth is dying and the rich and powerful live in luxury on the orbital space station Elysium. Matt Damon stars as Max Da Costa, an ex-criminal-turned-day laborer on Earth who is exposed to a fatal level of radiation. Since the cure for his condition can only be found on Elysium, Max accepts a risky job to attack Armadyne Corp CRO John Carlyle (William Fichtner).

What Max doesn’t know is that the info he stole from Carlyle’s head is proof that Defense Secretary Jessica Delacourt (Jodie Foster) is attempting to pull off a coup and assume control of Elysium. That’s why she sent a psychotic killer, Agent M. Kruger (Sharlto Copley), to retrieve the info at any cost.

2. The One (2001)]

Jet Li’s Gabe Law is the title character of The One … or is it Gabriel Yulaw? As a member of the Multiverse Authority, Gabriel had the bright idea of killing all of his other counterparts in the multiverse in the hope that this would give him god-like powers. Gabriel betrayed two of his colleagues, Evan Funsch (JasonStatham) and Harry Rodecker (Delroy Lindo), in pursuit of his mad plan. Now, Gabriel’s ambitions are close to being realized.

As the last living variant of Gabriel, Gabe is also gifted with extraordinary powers. And when Gabriel arrives in his universe to kill him, Gabe is the only one who can stand up to him.

1. Bird Box (2018)

t’s understandable if you get some Quiet Place vibes from Bird Box. Both are sci-fi horror movies that deal with monsters that directly connect with human senses. In this flick, the creatures can make anyone who sees them become insane with suicidal urges. Hence the constant blindfolds to keep the entities out. Sandra Bullock plays Malorie Hayes, a woman struggling to survive in this horrific new world, while flashbacks explore how she dealt with the end of life as she knew it. Not all of the moments land, but Bird Box has its share of real scares.

Lights, camera, VPNaction! Elevate your movie nights with NordVPN. 🎥🔒secure your connection and Download NordVPN . Click now to unlock global cinematic thrills!

#movies #film #scifi #sci fi #science fiction

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babblingfishes · 1 year

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So your internet is supposed to be fast but instead it is terrible, and you want to file a complaint about it.

SOME NOTES BEFORE WE BEGIN:

This is a guide to filing a free informal complaint to the United States FCC. I am not a lawyer. I am a nerd. This is NOT a guide to filing a formal complaint.

This guide is not for your average internet problems. There are a lot of reasons internet can be slow: a bad router or modem, wifi interference from neighbors with overpowered routers (try an ethernet cable!), your microwave getting in the way of the wifi signal (ethernet cable!), your Amazon Alexa eating up bandwidth sending everything you say to Amazon, your roommate binging Netflix on their terrifying 4K smart TV... Make sure the problem is coming from outside the home. Specifically coming from your internet service provider.

Contact your provider directly first. They do typically want their service to work. If they keep blowing you off, that's when you get out the paperwork.

Make sure you know the download and upload speeds you are paying for. (Yes, even if it officially only says "up to". If it is "up to 500 mbps" and you are getting 1 mbps that is a major issue.) These will typically be listed when you log onto your account on the ISP's website. You could probably also call and ask customer service, or even visit their office in person if you are scary and I'm afraid of you.

We'll begin our journey at the FCC Broadband Map

This is a government website that lists, for every address in the US, which internet providers are available, what kind of connection they use, and the maximum download and upload speeds they offer.

This is an excellent resource that I highly recommend checking when house/apartment-hunting, especially if you expect internet service to be part of your bills. It's not always 100% accurate, but it is an official record, so if you're getting less than you're paying for you have grounds to challenge it.

If your ISP's stats here are total ass (for example, if they use antique copper wiring that can handle a max 0.2 mbps upload speed) you'll probably be better off switching providers. Even the cheapest fiber or cable plans are going to be faster, better maintained, and more reliable than satellite or copper.

(Sorry, I got really distracted here because I was wondering who the fuck "Space Exploration Technologies Corp." is, offering high-speed satellite to the middle of nowhere. It's Musk. It's Musk and his telescope-ruining yacht-internet. Anyway.)

If your ISP looks good here, and your connection is still hot garbage, it's time to bother them about it.

Gathering data for the complaint

I approach this as a combination bug report and legal case. You'll want to be as detailed as possible. If your ISP doesn't think there's a problem, then they also probably don't know what the problem is, so the more evidence you can supply the easier it'll be to fix. Also, unhappy customer with lots of evidence is VERY scary.

If you get no internet at all, then there's not much data to gather. Just do your best to estimate what time(s) the internet went out and for how long. You might take screenshots of your lack of internet beside your computer clock, or your router's connection status page.

If your internet is only bad during part of the day, take note of when that is. Try to test it when it's working AND when it's not. Take screenshots of the results with your computer time/date visible. Remember that you'll get the most accurate reading when your computer is the only one using the network.

Your biggest tool will be speed tests. If you're here you have probably used this a lot by now. The classic speed test that most people use is Ookla's Speedtest.net. Some ISPs even use it themselves. I've heard claims that providers pump up your speeds to this site to pass these tests, but typically if your connection is that bad, it'll show anyway. (Mine sure did.)

If you don't like Ookla's speed test, Fast.com is another popular speed test by Netflix (make sure you press "show more info" to get the upload speed). There's others out there too, but imo the more mainstream the better if you're trying to back up a legal complaint.

Another, less common thing you can check for is packet loss -- this is when the information your computer sends or receives gets lost in transit (which is bad). This can result in a connection that is both weird and slow, sites loading halfway and proceeding to shit themselves, voice calls connecting but being unusable, etc. Here's a handy HowToGeek article on how to test for it. (Although instead of a random website url I highly recommend using a DNS server like 8.8.8.8 -- this is Google's DNS server which should be extremely fast to respond.) Typically packet loss should be less than 5%. More than than 10% is Bad.

You may also want to keep note of interactions you've had with your ISP if relevant (for example, if their happy-helpful-official-web-chat-support guy told you this was all because of an outage they expected to have fixed by June 1st, and every time you ask them about it, they just keep pushing it back). If your ISP is mega-evil and you think you might end up Actually Suing Them or something, make sure you have copies of bills, documentation of the speeds you are paying for, etc.

Locate that informal complaint page baybeeeee

The FCC's site for formal and informal complaints is here. I recommend reading some of their FAQ's and stuff.

You will want an informal internet complaint, which is free to file. That form is currently here.

Now write the complaint

Again, there's a good chance your ISP doesn't actually Think There's A Problem, let alone Know What The Problem Is, so you'll want to be detailed and to the point.

Pinpoint when the problem started to the best of your ability ("sometime between November 12-13" is fine if that's all you recall). If your connection is only bad sometimes, you'll want to specify when. Explain what rates you are paying for and what happened when you called the company. Be reasonably polite. We are presenting only facts here.

I also like to emphasize the problems this is causing, especially if they can be phrased as common things that a Scary Businessman would expect from the internet, and *especially* if they are things that could be interpreted as losing money. "This is unacceptable because I am completely unable to attend voice calls and video meetings" is a great one. "This prevents me from accessing the tools and videos on my employer's website" is also fun. This reminds your ISP of capitalism and lawsuits, which will give them scary nightmares.

Don't forget to add your screenshots of tests and any other useful attachments.

I suggest keeping a copy of the complaint and everything you attached to it for your own reference as well.

Note: that you will be contacted by your ISP about this! They are required to contact you within 30 days. They will send you a written response and might call as well for more info. Don't freak out.

Ideally this will at least get you in touch with someone in charge of Why Your Internet Isn't Working instead of a random call center employee. Plus the FCC is there to be menacing, now. Good luck!

#i am putting this together for one person but i figured more people might need it. so.#if you know more than me and i should add things pls let me know #fcc #informal complaint #internet complaint

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 1 year

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The unsolicited proposal from Elon Musk’s tunnel-building venture arrived in January 2020. To the local transportation authority, it felt like finding Willy Wonka’s golden ticket.

Officials had started planning for a street-level rail connection between booming Ontario International Airport and a commuter train station 4 miles away, with an estimated cost north of $1 billion. For just $45 million, Mr. Musk’s Boring Co. offered to instead build an underground tunnel through which travelers could zip back and forth in autonomous electric vehicles.

Dazzled by Boring’s boasts that it had revolutionized tunneling, and the cachet of working with the billionaire head of EV maker Tesla Inc., red down pointing triangle the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority dumped plans for a traditional light rail and embraced the futuristic tunnel.

When it came time to formalize the partnership and get to work, Boring itself went underground—just as it has done in Maryland, Chicago and Los Angeles. Boring didn’t submit a bid for Ontario by the January 2022 deadline.

The six-year-old company has repeatedly teased cities with a pledge to “solve soul-destroying traffic,” only to pull out when confronted with the realities of building public infrastructure, according to former executives and local, state and federal government officials who have worked with Mr. Musk’s Boring. The company has struggled with common bureaucratic hurdles like securing permits and conducting environmental reviews, the people said.

“Every time I see him on TV with a new project, or whatever, I’m like: Oh, I remember that bullet train to Chicago O’Hare,” said Chicago Alderman Scott Waguespack. Boring had backed away from its proposal for a high-speed tunnel link to the airport there.

Mr. Musk and Steve Davis, president of Boring, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Boring’s only tunnel open to the public is a 1.6-mile “loop experience” under the Las Vegas Convention Center. There, Teslas with hired drivers ferry convention-goers through neon-lit white tunnels at speeds of about 30 miles an hour.

Boring has yet to make good on its most ambitious pitch: that it can design tunnel-boring machines that are so fast to operate that they will drive down costs and shake up the industry. Tunneling industry veterans question some of Mr. Musk’s claims.

The company has believers. This spring, tech-focused venture-capital firms Sequoia Capital and Vy Capital led a $675 million fundraising round that valued Boring at $5.7 billion. Major real-estate firms including Brookfield, Lennar and Tishman Speyer are among the investors.

“Their technology is now past the state-of-the-art, and improving at an exponential rate,” Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire wrote in a post on the firm’s website, announcing the round.

Mr. Maguire declined to comment and the other investors didn’t respond to detailed requests for comment.

Mr. Musk has frequently criticized government regulation, calling it an impediment to building new infrastructure. At a WSJ CEO Council event in 2020, he said he had moved from California to Texas, where Tesla was building a new factory, in part because of government regulations. Government should “just get out of the way,” he said.

The Boring Co., based in Pflugerville, Texas, occupies an odd place in Mr. Musk’s business empire, which includes Tesla, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, and most recently Twitter Inc. He launched the tunneling venture with a tweet in December 2016 that many took as a joke. “Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging…” Mr. Musk wrote.

“I am actually going to do this,” he added in a second tweet.

At Boring’s helm is Mr. Davis, a longtime lieutenant to Mr. Musk who came from SpaceX. Some of the space contractor’s investors have complained about Boring soaking up SpaceX’s resources, including employees and equipment purchased with SpaceX funds.

Mr. Musk’s leadership style—he recently told his Twitter employees they must be “extremely hardcore” or resign—pervades Boring, too, several former senior executives said. Boring employees work long hours and weekends, and the company has struggled to retain employees, particularly in technical positions such as engineering, they said.

For years, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority had sought a solution to an enviable problem: Freight-focused Ontario International was steadily gaining passengers. Airport officials decided a link to a nearby commuter rail station would help it grow even more.

The authority issued a request for proposals for a light rail line, estimated to cost between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, when Boring’s pitch showed up.

The authority struck a preliminary deal with Boring in February 2021 for a narrow-diameter tunnel filled with autonomous EVs for $45 million.

“When I went to the public and shared this, the enthusiasm was overwhelming, just for something new and different,” said Janice Rutherford, a county supervisor and transportation authority board member. “And it’s the Boring Company, so Elon Musk brings that kind of sexiness to it, if you will.”

Over time, the company and the transportation authority dropped references to autonomous vehicles. By late 2021, cost projections rose to almost $500 million, agency documents show.

The authority asked for a third-party environmental review, required by state law, of the Boring proposal’s impact, records show. That’s when the process came to a halt.

“We tried to reach agreement with them,” said Carrie Schindler, the authority’s deputy executive director. “We went through the standard request for proposal process. And ultimately at the end of that process, they decided not to propose.”

Boring had powerful boosters from the time Mr. Musk declared his war on traffic in late 2016. Trump administration officials counseled the billionaire on how to pursue his stated goal of building an underground Hyperloop from New York to Washington. The Hyperloop, a concept Mr. Musk revived based on a proposal from the 1970s, calls for moving passengers through vacuum tubes at around 700 miles an hour. Despite an influx of investor interest, no commercial system has ever been constructed.

Mr. Musk tweeted in July 2017 that he had “verbal govt approval” for Boring to begin building the Hyperloop. Besieged by calls from the media and government officials, White House staff helped come up with a follow-up tweet, according to former government officials. “Still a lot of work needed to receive formal approval, but am optimistic that will occur rapidly,” Mr. Musk later tweeted.

That fall, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan was standing at a fenced-off site affixed with Boring signs near Fort Meade and telling a videographer to “get ready” for a high-speed train from Baltimore to Washington. Mr. Hogan declined to comment.

An aide to Mr. Hogan toured a parking-lot test site at the company’s then-headquarters near Los Angeles International Airport, getting a look at a tunnel-boring machine the company purchased secondhand. Boring named it Godot, the title character in Samuel Beckett’s play about a man who never shows up.

The Republican Hogan administration sped up the bureaucratic process for Boring, granting a conditional permit in October 2017 and an environmental permit a few months later.

All Boring had to do was bring its machine and start digging, former Maryland officials said. But months, and then years, passed. Maryland was waiting for Godot.

Boring deleted the Maryland project from its website last year.

The company also captured the attention of Chicago’s then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who wanted a high-speed rail link between O’Hare International Airport and the downtown business district.

In 2017, Mr. Musk proposed a Hyperloop-like solution, in which 16-passenger pods would be propelled through an underground tunnel on electric “skates” moving up to 125 miles an hour. Mr. Musk said he could do it for less than $1 billion, and that Boring would finance the job and keep the fare revenue for itself.

Mr. Emanuel’s Democratic administration selected Boring to develop the system. At a press conference with Mr. Musk, the mayor dismissed “doubters,” who he said also would have questioned other landmark projects, like the 1900 reversal of the flow of the Chicago River.

Mr. Waguespack, the alderman, and other elected officials challenged the cost estimates as absurdly low, warning that taxpayers would be on the hook if Boring couldn’t build as cheaply as it proposed. “It was a lot of flash and dash and not any kind of public discussion about whether it was even necessary or not,” Mr. Waguespack said.

Mr. Emanuel said in an interview that the company had promised to assume financial risk for building the proposed tunnel. The proposal didn’t go any further after Mr. Emanuel decided not to seek a third term.

Other Boring projects announced with fanfare, including a 3.6-mile underground high-speed transportation link from the Hollywood subway line to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, also have failed to materialize.

Some sites where Boring once courted public attention are now abandoned. The entrance to its first demonstration tunnel sits behind a chain-link fence in a lot near SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. In the California desert town of Adelanto, where city leaders once hailed the arrival of a Boring research operation, stacks of concrete lining segments sit alongside a short U-shaped section of tunnel partially blocked off with plywood amid rattlesnake warning signs.

For the past year, Boring has been directing potential clients to its work in Las Vegas as a showcase for what systems in their cities could look like.

“We’re fans of the Boring Company,” said Steve Hill, chief executive of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “We’re fans of clean transportation systems that are great. So we want to help.”

The convention authority paid Boring about $50 million to build two 0.8-mile single-direction tunnels connecting different wings of the sprawling convention center. It opened in the spring of 2021. This year, Boring completed a short offshoot between the facility and Resorts World casino and hotel.

The Clark County and Las Vegas city government councils have approved a 34-mile loop of tunnels that Boring will finance. Private casino and resort owners are being asked to pay for stations. The company plans to break ground soon on segments, Mr. Hill said.

Boring signed a 50-year contract to operate the Vegas loop and will collect revenue from ticket sales, sharing a small percentage with the city and county after crossing a quarterly revenue threshold.

To get a permit to begin operating the convention loop, Boring had to run a demonstration showing that it could move 4,400 passengers an hour.

Boring passed the test and received its permit, in a category called ATS, for Amusement and Transportation Systems—the same one that local officials award to roller coasters.

Crowds strain the network of individually driven cars far more than mass transit like light rail, according to some of the former executives. In social media postings, visitors have documented the loop’s Teslas sitting, underground, in traffic. The fleet of required accredited drivers adds to labor and administrative costs.

At the convention’s jam-packed auto products show this month, visitors queued in 10 lines in a subterranean station, waiting to hop into Teslas that drivers steered through a pair of tunnels just inches wider than the sedans themselves.

Boring employees directed attendees into cars. Mr. Davis, in a safety-orange sweatshirt, paced among them and talked to convention officials who later said he often manages operations on site. When approached by a reporter, he declined to comment.

Mr. Musk has lately tweeted videos of a Boring-designed machine, nicknamed Prufrock after the title character of the T.S. Eliot poem, digging test holes in the Texas dirt. Boring says Prufrock is designed to dig at one mile a week, and that a succeeding version will be able to dig 7 miles a day.

Boring says it can improve tunneling speeds with fully electrified machines and by digging continuously, rather than stopping to assemble sections of the tunnel wall. The company also says angling machines in from ground level will help avoid the cost of first digging a shaft to launch the machine.

Veterans of the tunneling industry note that tunnel-boring machines have been electrified for decades, and that neither continuous construction of the tunnel lining nor digging in from aboveground is new.

Boring’s speed claims are “totally unrealistic,” said Lok Home, president of the Robbins Co., a leading maker of tunnel-boring machines. “There’ll be improvements here, for sure, but there’s not going to be a revolution.”

Industry veterans said that in terms of cost, factors like property acquisition, permitting and engineering work, and the sheer complexity of digging through rock or soil matter far more than tunneling speed.

As for most of the tunneling Boring has done, in the desert soils of Las Vegas, Mr. Home said, “That’s about as easy as it gets.”

Public officials across the country remain eager to land Boring projects, and some are eyeing the roughly $1 trillion federal infrastructure law as a source of potential funding.

In Fort Lauderdale, Democratic Mayor Dean Trantalis is pointing to the availability of the funding as he tries to sell the public on a $100 million pair of Boring-built tunnels that would ferry beachgoers back and forth from downtown. Mr. Trantalis said that he was awe-struck by Boring’s Las Vegas project, which he toured last year.

North Miami Beach officials want to use federal infrastructure money to pay Boring for a tunnel project to reduce traffic.

On a lark, Vice Mayor Michael Joseph tweeted at Boring and Mr. Musk in February 2021. Company officials quickly expressed interest. “They just called me out of nowhere and said, ‘Hey, this is Boring,’” Mr. Joseph said. “I was very surprised they responded to my tweet.”

In Ontario, the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority hasn’t abandoned its tunnel dream. The authority is seeking bids from other construction companies to build tunnels, and from operators to run electric vehicles inside.

Ms. Schindler credited Boring with introducing local officials to the possibility of subterranean transportation that might cost less than more conventional aboveground systems.

“While I’m disappointed we’re not in design at this point and headed towards construction, I’m grateful for the disruption that I think got us going in a really viable direction,” she said.

The authority said it would still welcome a bid from the Boring Co.

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meret118 · 10 months

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In 1962, less than a year after Alan Shepard became the first American to go to space, a young girl named Linda Halpern wrote to President John F. Kennedy. Like many Americans, Halpern was enraptured by the space race, from scientists’ use of futuristic technology to their exploration of new frontiers. She asked the president what she needed to do to become an astronaut herself. NASA’s Office of Public Services and Information responded on Kennedy’s behalf, replying, “Your willingness to serve your country as a volunteer woman astronaut is commendable. However, … we have no present plans to employ women on space flights because of the degree of scientific and flight training, and the physical characteristics, which are required.”

Where Halpern was barred, Barbie prevailed—at least symbolically. In 1965, Mattel embraced the space craze by launching Barbie into orbit with a new title: Miss Astronaut. Dressed in a silver suit reminiscent of the uniform worn by members of Project Mercury, the NASA program that first put Americans in space, Barbie donned spacefaring gear 13 years before NASA welcomed women into its astronaut corps in 1978 and 18 years before Sally Ride became the first American woman to travel to outer space in June 1983.

After Ride’s history-making spaceflight, Halpern—by then a successful Texas attorney—shared the letter she’d received from NASA with the astronaut. As the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum noted in a 2016 blog post, Halpern wanted Ride to “know that she was fulfilling so many young girls’ long-deferred dreams of spaceflight. … Ride kept [the letter] in her files for the rest of her life.” Today, the museum houses both the missive and a Miss Astronaut doll (plus her helmet, boots, mittens and American flag) in its collections.

#Barbie

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theunaligneddemonprince · 1 year

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The Usurper

Name: N/A

Old name: Lance.

Titles: Usurper, Herald, Daemon Prince, Devourer, Captain.

Specie: Daemon-fiend

Gender: Male

Affiliation: Human Enclave

Occupation: Soldier of The Space Marine Corp. Unofficial Leader and Champion of the Human Enclave.

Background:

Back in the 25M. Lance, alongside a group of brilliant people, was chosen to join a fleet to go and explore and study the warp storm that was consuming the galaxy. After they crash-landed in daemon world during the ill-fated voyage into the warp, he and the fleet eventually escaped into the material world, settling in a new colony north of the eye of terror near the planet they used to call home. He now serves as a heroic figure among the people of the Human Enclave.

Forms

Human form:

The form he had before his ascension is primarily used as a disguised or to operate military equipment. Even in his human form, he is still beyond human, thanks to the genetic enchantments given to the fleet members to survive their exploration of the warp.

Daemonic form:

There is a form that appears to combine technology, dark forces, and the human body into a frightening creature. It is unclear how Lance obtained this form or who granted him such power. What is known, however, is that it possesses a devastating ability to give daemons their true death and becomes stronger with each daemon or warp entity consumed. Additionally, it has the remarkable power to sever the ties between chaos servants and their gods, including daemons.

#Muse #warhammer 40k

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robeight · 2 years

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Astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann To Become 1st Native American Woman In Space

When NASA launches its new crew to the International Space Station this fall, one astronaut will be making history. Nicole Aunapu Mann is set to become the first Native American woman in space when she serves as the commander of the SpaceX Crew-5 mission. She’ll be joined by astronaut and pilot Josh Cassada, astronaut Koichi Wakata from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina.

Mann, an enrolled member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, was born in California, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, earned her master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford and went on to become a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. She’s been deployed twice to serve on aircraft carriers, where she flew missions to support combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and she’s earned six medals for her military service. This will be her first space flight since becoming an astronaut in 2013.

During the upcoming mission, which is set to launch on Monday, October 3rd, Mann and the team will do scientific experiments to help life on Earth and prepare for human exploration of outer space and they’ll get the chance to do a couple of spacewalks, too. In her allocated 3.3-pounds of personal items, Mann plans to bring her wedding ring and a gift her mom gave her when she was young - a dream catcher.

“It really doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or a man or what country you’re from, or your gender or race,” she says. “We’re coming together as a human race. And our mission on board the International Space Station of developing this technology and research to benefit all of humankind is really what brings us together.”

Source: Good Morning America

#GoodNews #Good News #Astronaut #Native American #International Space Station #ISS #Space #NASA

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n3v1n-blogs · 2 years

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Space News!!!

Introduction

Space is the final frontier, and we're learning more about it every day. From new moons to missions to Mars, here are some of the biggest space stories from this week:

Elon Musk's SpaceX successfully test launched the Falcon Heavy to Mars.

The Falcon Heavy is the most powerful rocket in the world, capable of lifting more than twice the payload of any other rocket in its class. It's also capable of taking off from Kennedy Space Center and landing vertically on Earth again (or even returning to land).

Falcon Heavy was launched on its maiden flight during a test flight that began at 9:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday night, according to Spaceflight Now. The launch took place at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida where it was built by SpaceX—the same company that owns Elon Musk's Tesla electric car company as well as his private space exploration firm named after his youngest son, "Space Exploration Technologies Corp."

Artemis 1 Timeline

The Artemis 1 mission is the first manned mission to the Moon, and it will be launched on 29th of August 2022. You've probably heard about this already, but here's a quick refresher: NASA has selected three teams from around the world that have been chosen as members of this historic mission.

The Artemis 1 will return to Earth after spending seven days on its journey around our planet (and maybe even more if we get lucky).

NASA has announced the next Discovery class mission will be called Lucy, and it will explore Trojan Asteroids.

It's an exciting time in space. NASA has announced the next Discovery class mission will be called Lucy, and it will explore Trojan Asteroids. The mission is expected to launch in 2023, using a solar-electric propulsion system to explore Trojans.

The principal investigator for this exciting new mission is Harold Levison, who has worked on other NASA missions like New Horizons, which led us all over Pluto!

The Mariner 2 mission launched on 26 August 1962 and flew past Venus, becoming the first spacecraft to make a successful planetary encounter.

The Mariner 2 mission launched on 26 August 1962 and flew past Venus, becoming the first spacecraft to make a successful planetary encounter. The spacecraft was sent into orbit around Mercury in 1965, but did not meet its objectives because it lost contact with Earth at some point during its journey.[13] This failure led NASA to develop the Mariner 3 project where they tried again by sending another probe deeper into space than ever before.[14]

Juno completed its 5th flyby of Jupiter, returning close-up images of Jupiter's north pole.

Juno is a NASA spacecraft, and it has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016. Juno completed its 5th flyby of Jupiter, returning close-up images of the planet's north pole.

Juno was launched in 2011 and entered orbit around Jupiter in July 2016. It is still gathering data on the giant planet's atmosphere and magnetic field, which will help researchers understand what causes some of the most intense solar storms ever recorded on Earth (and possibly also how such storms might affect life here).

We're learning more about space exploration every day!

Space exploration is one of the most exciting and important things that humans do. It’s also an excellent way to learn about the world and universe around us, which makes it a great educational tool!

The space industry has grown rapidly over recent years, with more than 15% growth in 2016 alone. This growth can be attributed to increased public interest in space exploration, as well as technological advances that have made it easier for companies like SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation) or Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos-led private company) to create their own rockets.

Conclusion

We've come a long way since we first started exploring space. From the Mariner 2 mission, to today's advances in technology and exploration, there's no limit to what we can do here on Earth when it comes to learning about our solar system.

#spacex #artemis 1 #space #nasa #space exploration

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scottbethel · 14 days

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Air and Space Forces Association Initiatives to Further Education

The Air & Space Forces Association (AFA), established in 1946, protects and promotes strong air and space power for national security. It has over 140,000 active duty and former armed forces members. AFA’s core mission is to secure adequate military resources, support air and space force personnel, and raise public awareness about the societal benefits of aerospace technology.

The association’s educational initiatives are central to its mission. AFA runs CyberPatriot, a national program encouraging K-12 students to pursue cybersecurity and STEM careers through various educational initiatives. The program’s highlight, the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, challenges middle and high school students to secure virtual networks and maintain critical systems, simulating real-world IT jobs. Other key components include summer cyber camps to teach cyber safety hands-on, elementary school modules on basic online safety, and a senior cyber education program and caregiver certification to help older groups avoid common scams.

Through its National Space Design Competition, AFA’s StellarXplorers program engages middle and high school students in authentic space exploration challenges. Participants gain valuable experience planning satellite orbits, designing spacecraft components, and coordinating launch operations. This hands-on experience exposes students to the field, enabling informed career choices.

Another initiative is the Teacher of the Year program, which recognizes educators’ exemplary classroom performance, educational leadership, community outreach, and impact. This Rolls-Royce-sponsored program understands that teachers are instrumental in nurturing the innovators and problem solvers of tomorrow and thus honors them at the chapter, state, and national levels. For example, teachers have received honors for cultivating student enthusiasm and highlighting practical STEM applications through innovative lesson plans and projects.

Similarly, AFA’s Education Fellowships program honors individuals and organizations who have significantly contributed to aerospace education. Created years ago by Senator Barry Goldwater, this annual program provides fellowship awards at various levels to generous supporters of AFA’s Aerospace Education programs and those sustaining its efforts to inspire students and educators through initiatives that foster interest in STEM fields critical to national security and innovation. Although the contribution levels have changed over time, the fellowships remain a meaningful way for AFA chapters to shape future Air and Space Forces leaders.

Furthermore, the Doolittle Leadership Center, a division of the Air Force Association, is committed to accelerating leadership development at all levels through specialized training programs and workshops. Rather than relying solely on experiential learning over time, the center aims to expedite leader growth. It mentors cadets at their facility and annually offers customized coaching to hundreds of airmen and guardians stationed at nine bases worldwide.

Every year, the Air Force Association awards over $230,000 through its scholarship program to support the higher education pursuits of airmen, guardians, and their families across various undergraduate and graduate fields of study. The scholarships, ranging up to $10,000 for pilot training courses, are renewable yearly. The organization accepts applications each winter, announcing selections the following summer. Past recipients have said that AFA scholarships significantly empowered them to achieve their career aspirations and dreams.

In addition to scholarships, the association awards competitive education grants annually to empower innovative teachers. This amount is supplemented by smaller grants supporting aerospace education initiatives through Civil Air Patrol and JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps) programs. AFA’s $20,000 Educator Grants enable 40 projects annually, which are evaluated for their potential impact. Furthermore, AFA provides $500 grants to JROTC units twice yearly and $250 grants to Civil Air Patrol units biannually to enhance aerospace and STEM education.

#Scott Bethel

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factmrlokesh · 14 days

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Sleeping Bags Market Projected to Reach US$ 3.46 Billion by 2032, Growing at a CAGR of 7.1%

The global sleeping bag market is expected to grow at a notable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1%, from a market valuation of US$ 1.74 billion in 2022 to US$ 3.46 billion by the end of 2032.

Sleeping bags with ample space to roll over and spread out are typically preferred by hikers and campers. Rectangular sleeping bags are therefore more common. It is also essential to select the appropriate type of insulation for sleeping bags in order to achieve optimal outcomes.

Download a Sample Copy Of Report:

The sleeping bag industry is changing as a result of consumers' growing preference for comfort and ease during outdoor activities. Demand for high-performance sleeping bags is rising among outdoor adventurers, trekkers, and camping aficionados. Let us explore the most recent developments and trends influencing this ever-changing sector.

Eco-Friendly Designs and Sustainable Materials:

As customers become more conscious of the environment, they are drawn to sleeping bags composed of eco-friendly materials like organic cotton, recycled polyester, and biodegradable insulation. In order to meet this demand and keep up with the growing trend of responsible consumption, manufacturers are implementing eco-friendly designs and production methods.

Key Companies Profiled:

Johnson Outdoors

Oase Outdoors

Big Agnes

AMG Group

Columbia Sportswear

Jarden Vaude

Exxel Outdoors

Gerlert

Jack Wolfskin

V F. Corp

Snugpak

Lightweight and small Designs:

Advances in material science and construction methods have produced sleeping bags that are both lightweight and small, providing excellent warmth and insulation without adding bulk. In particular, ultralight thru-hikers and backpackers are pushing demand for sleeping bags that combine weight, warmth, and packability perfectly.

Flexibility and Multipurpose Use:

Modern customers look for adaptability in their equipment, and sleeping bags are no exception. Convertible designs are being introduced by manufacturers to accommodate different sleeping situations and weather conditions. Versatility is turning becoming a major selling factor in the market, with devices ranging from 3-in-1 systems to hybrid sleeping bag-quilt combos.

Technological Features:

With features like integrated insulation, textiles that wick away moisture, and temperature regulating systems that improve comfort and performance, sleeping bags are experiencing a revolution in the market. Smart sleeping bags are also becoming more and more popular. These bags have IoT sensors and connectivity built in, enabling users to monitor sleeping conditions and get the most out of their sleep.

Personalization and Customization:

As customers look for items that meet their unique requirements and tastes, sleeping bag customization and personalization choices are becoming more popular. Brands are providing unique solutions to meet a wide range of client requests, from temperature ratings and configurable sizes to customized color schemes and add-on functions.

Key Segments Covered in Sleeping Bags Industry Research:

Sleeping Bags Market by Product :

Rectangular Sleeping Bags

Barrel-shaped Sleeping Bags

Mummy Sleeping Bags

Double Sleeping Bags

Sleeping Bags Market by Distribution Channel :

Specialty Retail Stores

e-Commerce

Sleeping Bags Market by Region :

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa

The market for sleeping bags is changing quickly due to a mix of rising customer demands, technology improvements, and environmental measures. For outdoor enthusiasts everywhere, the future of sleeping bags seems to be one of increased comfort, performance, and sustainability as producers keep up with technological advancements and fashion changes.

#marketresearch #markettrends #datadrivendecisions

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