Uranus
Description
Uranus is the third gas giant of the solar system, counting outwards from the sun, and the first of the ‘ice giants’, paired with its twin, Neptune. Uranus is smaller than the other gas giants with fewer significant moons and a faint ring system to match Saturn’s, although Uranus’ rings are vertical, rather than horizontal. Uranus is a curiosity in many ways, the coldest of the gas giants, despite being closer to the sun than Neptune, tipped upon its end, with rings, moons and a peculiar atmosphere that defies attempts to probe and understand it. Uranus is of interest only as a scientific curiosity and remains relatively unexplored and unexploited, home only to a joint scientific mission that is attempting to unlock the secrets of its atmosphere and the primordial cause of its tilt.
Government
The Uranus observation station (UOS), little more than a few docked together freighters and empty fuel tanks, is governed by its sponsors, astrophysics departments of numerous universities and grants from governments awarded to the project through those universities. The UOS is beholden to these sponsors and, while its main focus remains upon solving the Uranus enigmas, it is also required by those sponsors to carry out experiments according to their whim, even though most of these could be carried out more cheaply and effectively in Earth orbit. The crew of the station, twelve thousand in total, rotates half its number every year with each crew-member remaining for two years upon the station. Working in isolation upon these problems is recognized to be a shortcut to a first class degree and so many underachieving or overambitious students opt for duty aboard the station, bringing more campus and family politics with them. Day to day decisions are made by a duty captain, the one member of the crew on each rotation who has genuine spacing experience. On lesser matters where a command decision is not required a poll of the crew determines what course should be taken, the poll run anonymously via the station computer.
Geography
Uranus itself is a crushing gas giant with extremely cold temperatures, hyper-powerful winds and immense gravity, one of the most hostile sets of planetary conditions in the solar system along with its near twin Neptune. Its moons are all small and made up of around 50/50 ice and rock, making them unsuitable in many ways for long term settlement, despite the presence of water. The UOS occupies a geostationary position above Uranus’ pole and helps earn its keep by running experiments for companies and governments that cannot afford their own stations and by acting as a communications relay for surrounding traffic. The station itself was originally built from two Hyperion class freighters, outdated interplanetary ships, permanently docked together and welded with their large auxiliary fuel tanks pressurized, shielded and filled out with laboratories and living quarters. It has since expanded with numerous expansions and an array of similar stations. It is a cramped place in which to live, more spacious than the old 21st century International Space Station, but not by much.
Starport quality
C, Research
Size
A
Atmosphere Type
F
Hydrographic Percentage
6
Population
9
Government Type
2
Law Level
7
Tech Level
E
Price Multiplier
2
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments