SaturnianBlue

Rapid intensification is really hard to predict. The issue with assuming the worst is that it risks giving the impression of being alarmist, especially if the storm isn't that bad, so people may not heed warnings if a storm really is bad as expected.

Tropical Cyclone Marcus is pretty harmless but Tropical Cyclone Nora is expected to reach Category 4 on the Saffir Simpson scale before making landfall in Northern Australia as the equivalent of a minimal hurricane.

@VelocityPolarisThanks! I'm trying to go for this more story-based format—it lets me be more specific with certain details or ideas.

Well said @VelocityPolaris! Apologies for not responding sooner. The war scenario I wrote was actually quite similar in my opinion, and it is in this very chapter. EVE IN A COLONIZED KERBOL SYSTEM: PART TWO Chapter XXX of Imagining a Kerbal Future Welcome back. The War Scenario Perhaps it was because the other countries had more than enough in regards to the Evian Privateers, which had attacked their convoys of spacecraft mercilessly in response to the embargo imposed against them, which had been a result of the Evian Confederation’s (EC) aggressive expansion on the ice worlds, which only increased with the embargo. Despite only some regions of the EC making attacks, the whole planet is now at war with several groups, though most of the countries on the powerhouse of Kerbin remain neutral. The convoys of spacecraft are now escorted, and no privateer is foolish enough to approach them. With an attack from multiple factions, Eve quickly loses the ice world colonies and one by one lose their asteroid/comet colonies to small raids. Beyond a few months, there is no future for water shipments. Now Eve itself is under attack. These invaders are unlikely to be so preserving of the infrastructure as the Mohonian Corporation War scenario. The enemy fleets approach Eve, outnumbering the defensive space fleet. However, as with any interplanetary invader, they are at a significant disadvantage with few logistics. Supply ships are on their way, but they only come several days after the invasion in order to avoid interception in the case of a failed first step. The enemy can launch high-speed projectile fragments several hours in advance of the fleet at the defenders and possibly cause serious damage to orbital defense platforms. However, the Evian states can use the defenses to possibly shoot the projectiles down, or perhaps place guns, Casaba Howitzers, and bomb-pumped lasers inside asteroids in the path of the invasion fleet. A physical armor defense can be established, with a thin sheet between the target and the projectiles, which can be fairly small, since the speed at which the projectile will be travelling at to avoid interception severely limits maneuvering capability even with advanced rockets. Upon impact with the sheet, the projectile will vaporize and disperse. All these defenses could seriously wear down the fleet and leave it with far less ammunition. Even with the defenses, the invasion fleet is larger, if somewhat less organized, with several factions contributing ships. The defensive fleet has planetside defensive platforms, and multiple stations. An Evian victory will come at a cost—with much of the infrastructure in the path of the invasion, there will be damage to Eve, while the distant settlements of the various invaders have suffered little and can always produce more ships, if we overlook the possibility of low war support resulting in a ceasefire. However, Eve may be able to suppress the damage done by spreading out and concealing their forces during a bombardment. Gilly is arguably less useful in this war to Eve that it usually is, since there is basically no trade being conducted. However, it does act as a major liability—as the dominant port, it has the infrastructure and equipment to repair and restock ships. The Evians will be faced with the option of destroying all the valuable infrastructure there, or let the other factions island hop into their backyard fully supplied. I imagine the submarine laser platforms surfacing temporarily to deliver a less obscured laser shot, before rapidly diving. Last will be the planet itself. This will be the hardest battle. Aforementioned laser platforms, would significantly complicate the invasion with their relative stealth and threat, especially since complete annihilation of the planet is hopefully not the goal of the invaders. The attackers will have to dedicate lots of resources to deal with them. Which brings us to the question of what condition the invaders declare a victory. Perhaps if the negotiations simply mean an end to aggressive expansion by the Evians in return for a continuous supply of water, the two sides might make peace. Some of the Evian side may try to independently make peace, especially those not too responsible in the expansion. If that does not happen, however, the conflict will continue. Invading troops would struggle with the high gravity, which would take a while to get used to—time which could be spent fighting more effectively. The invaders can maintain their blockade, and hope they surrender, they can mercilessly use destructive weapons against mining installations, conduct an incredibly risky planetary invasion, or a combination. An invasion should always be the last resort for any invader—with Eve’s high population, sending enough forces to put at least much of the planet under control is nearly impossible. The defenders could flee from the population centers, and disperse their industry, which might be surprisingly easy given 3D fabrication. An underground/guerrilla movement could heavily prolong the conflict to the point that the original reasons for the conflict become irrelevant, and the fight on the invaders side is to fully finish the invasion, while the defenders fight for Eve. At that point, most governments would have trouble maintaining support for the invasion, and morale would steadily decline, developing into a sort of Interplanetary Vietnam. Even if the invasion can be declared an effective "victory", no doubt will it come at great cost. I think the takeaway, at least with Eve, should always be that the only wars they should fight are the ones where they can keep the water flowing. The Evians will resist a blockade for a long time with the right technology, methods, and water reclamation, but in this scenario they were already at a disadvantage from the beginning—presumably because they had an overall loss of water is the reason the conflict happened in the first place. This Eve, or at least part of it, paid the price through damage to much of their infrastructure and harm to their people, even if they sort of won out in the end. Either staying completely neutral and peaceful, or allying with a powerful faction would be key for stability and survival. Demographics Eve has the potential to host millions of Kerbals. In contrast to the barren landscape of Moho, the unique cloud layer experience and the strange landscape that lies below may be a major draw for those who travel to the planet not for work, but more for the reason that they want to and are able to afford it. In addition, there are sure to be many tourists, with a great interest in visiting this strange world. Evians would excel at strength-based sports, I'd imagine. We can expect the average Evian to be short, due to the higher gravity, and probably stronger, the opposite effect of the low gravity faced by most of the Kerbol system. They may suffer from strain on the body as a result of the gravity, but that is merely a guess. If aerostats are cheap to produce, much of the planet-side population will live in the clouds, as a result of the more pleasant conditions, while the surface remains the domain of automated mining. In addition to the planet itself, Evian orbital space will be active for reasons such as resource processing. Aside from providing the resources to build orbital habitats, Gilly could be converted into a terraria, hosting millions. In the meantime, Gilly will likely house several thousands, mostly to operate the port. As mentioned earlier, Evians, mostly those on the surface, may attempt to tweak themselves. These modifications may include greater resistance to heat and adjusting the body for 5 bars of pressure. With that, kerbals should be able to walk on the surface with only a mask, though even that may be rendered unnecessary. Trade Trade will allow Eve to flourish, by bringing the water it needs to survive. The abundant carbon can be used to create products in exchange for water, the main limiting resource. In addition, raw resources for a terraforming effort may be imported. Likely Exports: Raw Resources, Resource Processing, Energy, Machinery, Construction, Entertainment, Residences, and Tourism Perhaps the harsh environment of Eve may encourage highly reliable and tough equipment to be built, which could be exported to other planets. The lack of water would necessitate highly efficient water reclamation methods, which may be exported to other water-lacking worlds. Export, in this case, is not necessarily in the traditional sense with physical products—instead, the actual designs may be transmitted to other locations, with a fee charged for each fabrication. History/Short Story Once pictured a world with massive tropical continents, spacecraft flybys and landings proved otherwise, unveiling a world significantly harsher than expected. The first Kerbals stationed at Eve for any significant period were those on research aerostats that navigated the skies. Eventually, Eve also became a base for mining operations, and a carbon-based material manufacturing industry brought significantly more people to Eve. The construction of skyhooks was a major boost to exports, as earlier travel relied on laser launch or more conventional rocketry for the entire journey to space. Hotels on Eve would also become a major draw for stationing people there, as interplanetary travel decreased in cost and time, and this progressed into living spaces as well. You disembark from the beamliner station, after a several week trip on the aptly named MatterBeam Spacelines on the Kerbin-Eve route. You notice a behemoth of a spaceship with a torus and huge fuel tanks—the Edball Kerman, only the fifth interstellar settlement ship. Eve’s major industry and slight advantage in electricity over Kerbin has allowed the city-states of Eve to collaborate on the first of a grand convoy to the stars. Almost all passengers pass through the Port of Gilly, and after officially entering it, you step into the massive torus overlooking Gilly, housing tens of thousands in a massive city. You notice that there are appear to be three toruses nested inside of each other. The reason why? The Port of Gilly is meant to serve passengers from a variety of gravity backgrounds. For this reason, there is a torus at 1/3rd of a G, accommodating those from the Mun, Duna, and Moho; 1 G, accommodating Kerbin, most orbital habitats, and Laythe; and the full 1.7 Gs of Eve. It is rather expensive to implement this design, explaining why other habitats around Eve go for full Evian gravity, though this means they cannot serve as a port as well. The outer torus also allows visitors to become better used to the gravity of Eve, and if it proves too much, they can stick to the inner levels for the torus. However, having come from Kerbin, you adjust fairly quickly, and board the massive shuttle bound for Eve. The shuttle “lands” onto a launch loop and is then decelerated. Once the shuttle stops at the terminal, you board a large lift and prepare for the descent into the purple yonder. Finally, the glittering, brilliant clouds of Eve fill your view, and the cloud city of well, Cloud City awaits. They say that it was a reference from some 2-dimensional movie some 700 years ago, but it strikes you as rather unoriginal, if accurate. Several dozen massive bubbles float in the sky, each interlinked. Small blimps come and go, headed for no doubt other cities, as do small electric aircraft, providing an express service. As you make your way to the central blimp, you see what look like birds in the sky, but you know that cannot be right. Indeed they are not! They are hang gliders, wearing nothing more than some protective gear and a gas mask. At last, you arrive at the blimp, and you need to wash your hands. When you navigate the city, however, you realize that there are no stairs or escalators! Only ramps and elevators. The high gravity makes a fall very dangerous—as a result, measures have been taken to prevent the fall in the first place. Once you get to the washing station, you are annoyed that you have to set everything to the higher setting you prefer, and you start it up, but an Evian stops you. He explains that one should try to keep track of their water, and conserve usage, pointing out how Eve would have run out of water in the water shortages several Kerbin decades ago, had it not been for the careful tracking of water. Having come from Kerbin, you had hardly considered the thought. You are about to leave when he excitedly mentions the Holiday of the First City is tonight, and several cities are coming together to celebrate—a must-see. Checking the time through your interface. You recall that Eve has a 22 hour day, but you only see the hours go up to 6. Why? The reason is that the Evian city-states travel at the cloud layer, the winds of which provide a significant boost to the cities and provides the appearance of a 6 hour day. The surface dwellers have also adopted this, as the surface is dark even in the daytime, shielded by clouds. You look out the observatory, and in the distance you can see two other great cities in the green palette of sunset slowly approach. Role & Conclusion So what, then, is the role of Eve in the Kerbol system? Overall, Eve is set to be one of the main “centers” of the colonized Kerbol system. With the advantage of being one of the most populous worlds, Eve is likely to have become a rising cultural capital, with a unique Evian identity developing with time. As a world with a single major resource deficit, Eve may be committed to relative peace, and choosing to stay neutral in times of conflict, and trying to maintain friendly trade relations with the rest of the Kerbol system. Perhaps one of Eve’s more notable roles maybe that of peacemaker. Thanks for Reading! Next: The Kerbin System In A Colonized Kerbol System, Part ONE

Pretty sure "operationally" is noting that this was what it was reported as during the time of the storm, when the info was being used to advise people and such.

I just noticed they downgraded Hurricane Irma from a peak intensity of 185 mph as initially reported, to 180. I'm also fairly sure that several changes in the intensity of some of the tropical storms have been reanalyzed. There's still several storms that haven't been reviewed, notably Gert, Maria, and Nate.

A month ago I submitted an entry to the Ames Space Settlement Competition, and they released the results! For privacy reasons, I won't explicitly state in which category I won, but in any case, I got 1st!

"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge" Rest in peace, Stephen Hawking.

The newest chapter used Kerbal Konstructs for their domes—they come with the "full" pack for Kerbinside, I believe, and I was able to place them with a window that comes up with I believe control-K. Funny enough, the Kerbol Rising series is the reason that I considered using that!

@MatterBeam I certainly hadn't considered that idea. That would probably help resolve the territorial issue.

EVE IN A COLONIZED KERBOL SYSTEM: PART ONE Chapter XXIX of Imagining a Kerbal Future “Above the sweltering continents and unusual seas the cloud deck awaits” In this chapter, we return to the planet, Eve, the world of cloud cities and enormous mining installations. The colonization chapters all focused on designing the setting that a story may take place in, and how it may have come to be. These chapters go past the physical structures and I hope to do so in this chapter. Government In contrast to Moho, which will be colonized in a time of significantly decreased in-space transportation by enormous megacorps which likely already own a lot of the infrastructure to undertake such an effort, Eve shows greater promise in the near-future, as one of the main targets for early colonization efforts, which will no doubt be located in the cloud layer or inside the rock of Gilly. Taking advantage of the infrastructure setup in Kerbin space in addition to giant rockets, wealthy individuals may set their sites on Eve, no matter how irrational their reasons are for doing so. Or perhaps it may be the Glorious Order of Snacks in their quest for more purple. I for one, cannot make the judgment of who will be colonizing Eve first. As long as they are willing to put up with the high gravity of Eve, care fairly little about getting an enormous amount of money back, Evian colonization could be conducted by a wide group of people, making it less definite what kind of governments are set up on Eve. I can easily imagine different cloud city-states being built by different entities, each with their own unique government, allies, and enemies. However, this by no means excludes corporate colonization. A carbon manufacturing industry could take hold, using the abundant solar energy for what are likely high-energy processes, and the surface mining could aid the construction of structures around Eve, not to mention the possibilities for tourism. As for how Gilly is governed, I imagine it could potentially be governed like a port authority. Gilly would become a port, with a beamliner station to accelerate and decelerate packages. Since Gilly can use its own resources to expand facilities, it would have a head start before any orbital habitats, therefore funneling much of the cargo to Gilly. The cargo is taxed, supporting Gilly financially. As for the governance of the authority itself, I imagine a board of directors being selected by the governments on Eve and by the people of Gilly, not dissimilar to the system discussed in the Moho chapter. The Issues of a Colonized EVE Eve has no immediate source of water. As a result, water must be gained from distant sources. The first approach is to establish mining operations on other worlds, primarily asteroids. Large asteroids will be refined on-site, since the amount of water available justifies a long-term operation. On the other hand, smaller asteroids will simply have the raw resources launched on mass drivers in small capsules down to Eve. The next solution is to import the water, an option available as long as the controllers of Eve are not isolated or blockaded from their trade partners. Alternatively, only hydrogen is imported, combined with the oxygen retrieved from carbon dioxide in Eve’s atmosphere. This would likely be the most mass-effective option, since hydrogen is significantly lighter and as a result takes less propellant or energy to transport. Be careful, this one might have missiles onboard! The last option is perhaps the most extreme—piracy. A direct invasion of the source of water will result in too much damage, but privateers will not. If Eve is shut off from imports, and the asteroids do not provide enough water, this may be the last hope. In return for capital, and a base of operations, the pirates will give Eve the water it needs, not to mention other goods carried onboard and more ships. Piracy could be particularly effective on beamliner network routes, since the propulsion of the beamliner ships is limited to only during the acceleration phases. Let's just say that the border disputes are numerous... In the skies of Eve, the cloud-cities are constantly travelling along with the winds, which means that borders with longitudes in the sky are essentially useless. Two solutions that I can think of exist: first, the cities are given latitude “lanes” to travel in, or are given spheres of control, with spheres depending on the size of the settlement. One of the first conflicts that I thought of for Eve is one between the cloud-dwellers and the surface-dwellers. If aerostats are difficult to build, then living there is only for those who can afford it. In contrast, the surface is shrouded by clouds, and the domes on the surface might be more affordable. The contrast in lifestyle might create a physical divide between the rich and poor if there is high inequality on Eve and useful in establishing a difference in the two worlds to portray the conflict in a story. Another conflict may be within those who want to heavily tweak themselves to the surrounding environment, to the point where walking may be possible on the surface with no gear, and those who would like to keep habitats liveable, especially to the un tweaked. The second group people likely live in the cloud cities, which are very similar in environment to Kerbin, and would therefore be a sought after place to live for baseline kerbals, not to mention the loss in tourism, since the tourists can no longer visit. A key issue that will define Eve will be the debate of whether to terraform or not to do so. The decision will be divisive—there will be proponents on both sides. Not only that, the decision must be decisive—if there are multiple countries on Eve, they may answer to the terraforming question very differently, and as a result run (anti-)terraforming operations that are only counterintuitive. Cloud dwellers will almost certainly advocate keeping Eve’s climate the same—at the cloud level, it is pretty much Kerbin-like aside from the high gravity. If terraforming began, which would entail the removal of atmosphere in some form, the aerostats would lose buoyancy. The nature of the terraforming project means that even gradual changes will take a long time, allowing the people and equipment on the cloud cities to be moved down to the surface. Nonetheless, there will be opposition to something that uproots their very way of life. Surface dwellers, on the other hand, will favor it, as will mining corporations. The rich resources of Eve become much easier to tap into, and it will be possible to walk on the surface with little more than an oxygen tank and protective layers. Military and War Eve could likely muster the capability for a large military, thanks to the large availability of resources and an excellent base (Gilly). If Eve is heavily reliant on sources of water they don't control, there would be a need for a medium-sized defensive military, making sure that their water supplies are not attacked, and to defend the world itself. In this case, the fleet would likely consist of a large number of smaller vessels, tasked with escorting ships. If they are relatively self-sufficient, they would also place their forces near their sources of water, to discourage any kind of attack. Self-sufficiency would also grant Eve the capability to be more on the offensive, with Eve building larger ships. I see Eve as being a world where a war of independence could succeed, since it is largely self-sufficient, except for water. Speaking of water, that could very well be another way war begins—for whatever reason, the other factions refuse to export water. I personally think it is unlikely that Eve does not have the capability to establish mining operations to keep up with its demand, especially given the technology available in a future setting, but it is possible. This may be the backdrop for the privateer operations to take place. The conflict between the cloud and surface dwellers could potentially descend into military conflict, and be fed by the terraforming issue. The cloud dwellers would avoid military conflict as much as they can—they know that their habitats are vulnerable to damage and destruction. The surface dwellers are vulnerable to the pressure difference between the habitat and the ambient pressure, but they can also better armor themselves. An invasion against Eve may have less incentive to preserve the infrastructure—it is less likely that their interests are monetary, unlike the corporate wars on Moho. It should always be remembered, however, that there is really no way to know what a “realistic” war in space may be like. Strategies and Weakpoints A raid on an Evian water mine, as carried out by two corvettes (depicted at 1:10 scale). For an invading fleet, the first strategy to follow will be to follow the water, and take out the source. This means taking out the asteroid mines, and in the case that water ships are in heavy use, they will be escorted to drive away privateers, forcing Eve to attempt a risky invasion of water mines or eventually fall. The final method for stopping water from getting in will be by gaining space superiority around Eve. Unless the Evians find some unlikely source of water, they will be forced to give in eventually. The defenders do have a trick in case they lose space superiority—they can install lasers below the clouds, either on the ground or even in the ocean. The lasers will have to penetrate the atmosphere, and the beam could be reduced in strength drastically. If much of Eve still relies on Gilly for their metal supplies, then that is yet another target. By conquering or destroying the metal supplies, the mines on Eve will have to be expanded to fill the demand, and in the meantime will hinder the war effort due to the lack of resources. If Gilly is conquered, it also provides an excellent base for invading Eve directly, with plenty of metals, and close proximity. However, it will be a hard base to maintain, with the threat of constant attack by the defending Evians persisting. The cloud habitats are highly susceptible to attack. The habitats have quite the stealth advantage, since they may be able to conceal themselves in the clouds visually and in the infrared, and possibly dip below clouds in addition. However, the thinly-layered balloons would be shredded to pieces, so the cloud cities must be evacuated or there will be massive casualties. As for underground colonies, they will be well protected by the atmosphere, which will burn up most projectiles or force them to approach at speeds where defenses can destroy them, perhaps with the exception of a giant laser. As for a direct invasion of the planet itself, boarding a cloud city might be fairly easy—a convincing threat of breaching the balloon might be enough. However, taking on the surface outposts may be an earlier priority, since a blockade and the capture of surface outposts cuts the cloud colonies from much of their supplies, starving them even more. This will be difficult, since the defenses must be neutralized in order to allow a nearby landing. What happens next will depend on the design of the city—is it a relatively simple dome, which can be breached and entered fairly easily, or perhaps something underground, which will have to be fought through? An armed conflict between two cloud cities is unlikely, as a result of their obvious vulnerability. Railguns, with their high velocity and small projectiles, will quickly cause lots of damage and threaten an aerostat, unless the aerostat is able to quickly repair small perforations. I don’t recall the atmospheric composition of Eve, but if it is nearly all Carbon Dioxide, lasers could cut through the atmosphere without much loss. If not, however, they would mainly be relegated to a defensive role against the next weapon, missiles. Missiles could cause enough damage to prevent any immediate repair if detonated. Missile types, I would imagine, would come in two categories. The first would travel purely in the atmosphere, perhaps getting a speed boost and cutting travel distances with the use of a nuclear jet powered bomber as the launch platform. If such a jet is used, it may make Eve the only place to have a significant presence of military “aircraft”, as most other worlds would no longer use them due to their vulnerability from space or ground weapons. Looking back, it would've been advisable to space the release of the missiles by a second or two... The second would be the ones that go far above most, if not all the atmosphere. These would travel at far higher speeds, and would likely use either nuclear or laser sources for propulsion. Of course, these would be very vulnerable to space-based Anti-Missile platforms. I would like to provide a section on a ground forces battle, but admittedly I have even less idea as to what that might be. This wraps up this delayed first part of the Evian chapter. Next time, we’ll take a look at a war scenario and a look at a potential Evian culture... Thanks for Reading! Next: Eve In A Colonized Kerbol System, Part Two

Another hint: a ship that attacks other ships, but avoids armed ones...

If it were up to me, I would armor those, so they are not troop carriers.

I'll give you a hint: it isn't armored at all!

The first part of the Eve chapter should be coming out in a few days. The chapter as a whole has been completely written up, so the following chapter should come out relatively quickly after the first one. In the meantime, here's a screenshot of one the craft featured in the next installment! It may appear to be an innocent looking freighter, but as we'll find out in the next chapter, that is NOT the case!

I tested another "low-cost" heavy lift launch vehicle. The 8 or so boosters on the side give the rocket the kick it needs for relatively low cost, and the central core stage is powered by Methalox for high Isp and fair density. A big advantage of the rocket is the large upper stage, which provides both the thrust and propellant to put large payloads in orbit. Currently, the rocket can place about 60 tons into LKO, with some struggle, and around 30 tons to the Mun. If I recall correctly, the whole assembly adds up to around 80,000 funds, working to more or less 1 1/3 a fund per kilogram, which I would say is quite effective! I also tried to make some sort of rendition of a Falcon 9 FT. The main problem proved to be thrust, which was low enough that it would practically crawl off the pad. I attempted to return the first stage to the KSC, but the graphics mods created a low enough frame rate that trying to carry out the landing was quite the struggle and it slammed into the ocean at high speed.

Now THIS was the reason I got the GEA and G3P Mods!

A sketch of a Martian polar ski trooper of sorts, I guess? The idea is that not only has Mars been somewhat terraformed, but the people themselves have also adapted themselves to suit the climate as well, so they no longer wear spacesuits (although they carry an oxygen tank in case they run across someone else). I think coloring is the next step—it'll definitely make it obvious that this is in fact Mars and all, and will bring out the details (especially the red-green-blue flag of Mars).

I believe last week I was attempting to launch a 1,000 kg survey satellite into orbit with the small satellite launcher, and the launches failed. After several launches and multiple modifications to the satellite (not the rocket), I have managed to get two of these in orbit. Both launches were extremely close to failing—the first one I chose to burn till depletion on the second stage and had to burn with RCS to get into a relatively elliptical orbit. The second time the launch went less smoothly and ran out of fuel before reaching orbit, so I had to deplete all the RCS on the second stage and 2/3rds of the RCS on the spacecraft to reach a lower, though circular orbit. I also used the same spacecraft to launch a small communication satellite into KTO. Again, the spacecraft used onboard propellant to reach the desired orbit. Next, I made a larger launcher emphasizing low funds. This expendable rocket costs around 22,000 funds but can carry about 12 tons into orbit. I used a 1.875 meter cryogenic upper stage, in order to save mass and cost (hydrogen fuel means less fuel, lower cost). The central core was intended to be an SRB but this gave less choice in maneuvering during launch and actually proved quite expensive, so I chose a Methalox booster. On the side are 4 SRBs, costing around 900 funds each. At first, I was expecting to lift significantly more, but I had screwed up the staging, so I thought that the station above could reach a Trans-Munar Orbit. The rocket certainly was not tuned to launch medium-sized payloads into space. The second stage engine had low thrust, so it had to be enlarged to carry the ~12 ton station only into LKO. If the rocket was made mainly for LKO, it would've been better to use a higher-thrust/mass Methalox booster. In the end, this rocket is probably best suited for launching manned capsules to the Mun or massive probes to distant planets.

How do you suppose the space elevator operates on Mercury, since the altitude for a stationary orbit is far above the SoI? I would imagine mass drivers or skyhooks being more adapted for use on Mercury.

@Kosmonaut I'm not sure of the specifics of helium-3 refining, so I cannot speak for the refining process, but wouldn't helium-3 be at best a side product? I would think that the other material extracted from regolith would overall be worth more to the colony through sheer volume, especially metal ores and the sort.

I stumbled upon a paper by NASA researchers that argues that starting from 12 tons of equipment landed on the Moon, a self-replicating (though more accurately expanding) factory can over a few decades bootstrap itself to self-sufficiency. Earlier studies (notably a major study from 1980) also explored the idea of such a factory, but this one takes in advances in robotics and 3D printing to decrease the size of the initial factory. An important method to reducing the cost of the initial seed is to start with a factory with only some manufacturing capabilities, using the local material to create a crude second generation of the factory, and slowly becoming more and more capable. If the growth of the factory is unstopped, it could easily grow to have an industrial capability exceeding whole countries. The authors generally argue for teleoperation, with operations of the base being done through robots (think ones like the Robonaut), and gradually using Artificial Intelligence on-site for operation. A lot of the paper is dedicated towards the industries of the factory, and the results of modeling the growth rate of the factory through various metrics and scenarios. It should be pointed out that this isn't a full study with detailed cost estimates of the sort, but the paper does imply that the initial and overall costs would be pretty low, certainly lower than sending the ISRU equipment all from Earth. For the more futuristic possibilities of such a factory, Space Based Solar Power could become more cost effective, since the assembly of parts on the Moon decrease transportation costs and manufacturing costs. The rapid growth of a factory would drop expenses and provide space settlements the material to get them built. The report itself is not that long a read—around 20 pages or so.

The only other example I know of would be 2312 from KSR.