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[Maximum Spin]

We must push forward our research project to develop the means to augment Earth's wasted wealth through asteroid mining.

[Glass]

1. A messenger from Bifrost T&C arrives in the Rust Belt, bearing a request to the Archivists: it was desired that Bifrost may set up an office within their territory and make use of some subset of their prodigious industrial facilities, and in return, Bifrost would provide them access to their wide network of resource acquisition for use.

2. Who needs a lunar telescope? Good enough earthbound sensors should be able to pick up anything you might need to identify within the solar system and its rough proximity. Just because nobody's developed those before shouldn't be an obstacle; this is what we have an R&D department for, as well as machine learning algorithms. Let's work on developing sensors good enough to get good data about the goings-on in our solar system from groundside.

[Maximum Spin]

1. A messenger from Bifrost T&C arrives in the Rust Belt, bearing a request to the Archivists: it was desired that Bifrost may set up an office within their territory and make use of some subset of their prodigious industrial facilities, and in return, Bifrost would provide them access to their wide network of resource acquisition for use.

The Rust Belt levies punitive tariffs on property ownership of any kind by non-residents, but you can be put in touch with a local landlord, as well as a group of Archivists willing to act as your business contacts.

[stoirtap]

The Global Monthly - JAN 2206

IEC ANNOUNCES BREAKTHROUGH IN ANAMOLOUS SPACE SIGNALS!
Since the reports of strange comets being UFOs by amateur astronomers, attempts have been made to try to detect any signals coming from them but there were no signals that could be detected that appeared to be significantly different from the background noise - that is, they appeared to be indistinguishable from any comet, or any other spot in the night sky. However, a new report from the IEC claims that they have discerned signal from the comets distinct from the background. The signal, a blend between various different electromagnetic frequencies, was found by combining captured 'signals' from every comet event thus far. However, besides proving that it is a signal, no meaning could be discerned from it. The computational time to process this signal is immense, and makes real-time communication unfeasible. Furthermore, the signal does not seem to be directed towards Earth - once the comets go further than about  the asteroid belt, the signal is lost. Scientists from the IEC believe that the last computational hurdle to decoding these messages at any rate is solving the pseudo-Gaussian transform. However, the IEC believes they know enough about the signals they do have to look for such signals in the inner solar system, or the outer solar system given powerful enough telescopes.

CATASTROPHE ON THE NEW OTTOMAN LAUNCH PAD!
The New Ottoman Empire mourns as three astronauts - Cevdet Kahya, Ertun Caglayan, and Devlet Eser - tragically met their ultimate demise when the rocket carrying them exploded just after launch. The Sultan himself addressed his grieving people publicly after the tragedy, uniting them in spirit and prayer. An official statement from the New Ottoman science program noted, 'While we are all grieving the loss of these fine men, their noble sacrifice in the pursuit of science only inspires us to continue our exploration of the stars and follow in their footsteps.' Science teams are poring every detail of the disaster, which is now being attributed to welding on the hull that did not withstand the rigors of launch. However, some whistleblowers - who have asked to remain anonymous - say that no mistake was made in assembly, and that sabotage was at play.

AMERIPOL SPACEPORT CONSTRUCTION AHEAD OF SCHEDULE!
Following the dictum of the Ameripol's executive, the gears of industry spun into high gear. Spaceports were being built along the southern provinces at a scale greater than ever seen before. The project, initially slated for completion in early May, might be finished very soon. A report from the executive said 'By March, we expect to able to expand our fleet into orbit and beyond. We thank the hard work of our many volunteers who made this incredible feat possible. Much of this effort was thanks to Juan Lopez, former astroindustrial engineer, who came out of retirement to offer direction for this project. Without his insight, we would not have had the success we did.'

BIFROST SENSOR ARRAY COMES ONLINE!
A new sensor array combining inputs from various telescopes across their global locations was constructed by Bifrost Transit and Computing, Ltd.. A report from Bifrost claims that it is 'capable of detecting anomalous signals, from the inner and outer solar system,' and 'interference by atmospheric noise interfering with any signals appears to be minimal'. Bifrost's science correspondent, Signe Nielsen, expanded on the report: "There has been great global speculation about what - if anything - is really out there. At Bifrost, we don't want to speculate - we want to know. And now, we have the best tool to answer questions about the happenings of our solar system, right here on Earth." Initial tests were promising, and final testing and calibration for the array will be finished late January.

EMPIRE OF GREATER MADAGASCAR REPORT CAPTURED ALIEN!
After many rumors about aliens in our solar system, the first reports of aliens on Earth comes from Madagascar. The creature had infiltrated a military base were it was trapped and captured by agents of the Madagascar special forces team. "We have to give immense credit to our special forces for achieving this worlds-first feat." reported state news sources. "Thanks to their valiant effort, we are currently interrogating the creature in a secure location. We have nearly decrypted its language, and from there we will determine its motives, how it remained undetected for so long, and the location of its homeworld. To prevent any attempts from other alien agents to recover the creature, all details about this will be considered top secret and not reported until the interrogation and autopsy are complete. We thank you for your patience in this matter. Glory to Greater Madagascar."

GREATER PACIFICA ESTABLISHES DIPLOMATIC MISSION WITH ANDALUSIA!
Andalusia's position of acknowledging the alien presence in the Solar System has distanced it from most nations - but strangely enough, not from the nation that it is most distant to. Greater Pacifica has normalized relations with the new Andalusian regime and the unlikely alliance has given Andalusia some much needed stability. They have promised to share any information they learn while searching the skies. However, the new alliance has not improved Andalusia's suspect position on the global stage, having one friend is better than none.

AUSTRALIAN LUNAR LAUNCH SEES DELAYS!
The outpouring of resources - social, intellectual, material, and otherwise -  to the Socioeconomic Republic of Australia's Lunar project has been truly remarkable, but certain critical hurdles in the planning phase meant that the launch would not meet its January 31st deadline. Disagreements on priority and extent of the program left leadership going back to the drawing board. "We were obviously disappointed by the inability to launch this month," said Project Lead Matilda Hansen, "but this is just a setback. We are already investigating February launch windows, and are more than confident with the progress we've made that we will launch by then."

RUST BELT ASTEROID MINING RESEARCH FALLS SHORT!
Astroprospectors in the Rust Belt fail to organize a plan for exploiting resources on asteroids. While the wealth hidden in asteroids is potentially massive, no plan for sending missions launching a mine to an asteroid, locating and extracting resources such as water or metals, and then sending them back to Earth or potentially another base in the solar system, was found to be economically infeasible. "It's a real disappointment," said Danny Conrad, astroprospector who focused  on finding suitable mining targets to little avail, "but this doesn't mean it's not possible. There are still costs to be cut, improvements to be made. I feel like there's a breakthrough to be made here, and if anyone's going to be able to do it, we will." While certain asteroids were known to be potentially good targets for mining, the project couldn't detect any that had any stand out materials more than any other. Further, the small scale at which current spacecraft could carrying minerals from the mines cut into potential profit desperately. Improvements in those designs could help that.

___

(again, if you have any questions, critiques, or comments, don't hesitate to ask. I DMed some of you about special things you may have learned that you may or may not want to make public information. That's up to you.)

[Glass]

Bifrost T&C is willing to provide funding and research to assist the Rust Belt’s astromining program, in exchange for 20% of profits and the rights to establish sensors and other such solar infrastructure on the accessed asteroids.

[Kashyyk]

Institute of Extraterrestrial Communications

Now that we have a breadcrumb to follow, let's see where it leads. Bifrost T&C are invited to join us in a Solar System-wide study of Extraterrestrial Signals, using their new Sensor Array and our unique knowledge to co-author the paper.

Meanwhile, the Nagano campus is chosen as the home of a new Supercomputer, and funds are allocated to expedite construction, with the plan for it to solve the pseudo-Gaussian transform obfuscating the Alien data.

Spoiler: IETC (click to show/hide)

History: Originally multiple separate research and Communications centers operated by national and private space agencies, their dissolution during the great politics shake up led to a union of minds as the evidence for Extraterrestrial Intelligence increased.

Traits:
   - Scientific, Diplomatic, not Militaristic

Assets:
 - California State Campus
 - Oxfordshire County Campus
 - Nagano Prefecture Campus

Knowledge:
 - Can identify extraterrestrial signals in the Solar System
 - Signals may be decoded by solving the pseudo-Gaussian transform

Capabilities:
 - Can detect signals from the Inner Solar System

[notquitethere]

Long a haven for pirates, hackers, and foreign defectors, Greater Pacifica's intelligence community is as vast as its trash islands...

Have a spy in Madagascar try to discover the information about the aliens that the Madagascans aren't sharing...

[Glass]

Institute of Extraterrestrial Communications

Now that we have a breadcrumb to follow, let's see where it leads. Bifrost T&C are invited to join us in a Solar System-wide study of Extraterrestrial Signals, using their new Sensor Array and our unique knowledge to co-author the paper.

Naturally! We here at Bifrost are dedicated to broadening the heights of human knowledge - and with apparent evidence of the extraterrestrial, not even the sky will be the limit.

[TricMagic]

What is important is not how long it takes, but that you do so at all. Plans proceed apace on the launch, everything being prepared and doublechecked. The socioeconomic engine continues to burn.

[Egan_BW]

God delays the foreigners! It is willed! We shall launch many rockets and build a moon outpost with guns to claim her surface for glorious Ameripol! We are expanding!

[Maximum Spin]

The Rust Belt requests funding from Bifrost to construct and launch the Iron Bridge, a jointly-operated modular orbital manufacturing facility in upper Earth orbit. Though it will start small for now, we hope it will be our bridge to the stars.

[Glass]

The Rust Belt requests funding from Bifrost to construct and launch the Iron Bridge, a jointly-operated modular orbital manufacturing facility in upper Earth orbit. Though it will start small for now, we hope it will be our bridge to the stars.

And funding we shall provide!

[Magmacube_tr]

To not have such a tragedy happen once again, The New Ottoman Empire shall research way to make rocket launches less risky and more reliable.

[stoirtap]

The Global Monthly - FEB 2206

NEW OTTOMAN RESEARCH PERFECTS THE 'SACRED SLING'!
The tragedy follow the launch of their first lunar lander only emboldened the scientific and astronomical communities in the New Ottoman Empire, and careful analysis of the failure of the previous launch lead to the development of an entire novel way of getting material into orbit, and perhaps beyond. The procedure was named the Amethyst Protocol, but is better known by the public and even in scientific communities as the Sacred Sling. Reminiscent of how David slew Goliath, a precise system of centrifugal counter weights on an immense scale can throw material into the upper atmosphere, where traditional rocketry can take over. Chief Engineer and Air Force Major Emrah Akyildiz initally who conceived of the project and saw it through to its completion, had this to say of its design: "By skipping the most difficult and dangerous part of launches, low earth atmosphere, our payloads can carry less fuel making them cheaper and safer than ever before. We can confidently say this is the most reliable way to get material into Earth orbit." Once complete, the design was expanded to allow for human cargo in specialized gyroscopic chambers, but the process is still currently too violent for precision scientific equipment which will have to be launched by traditional means. But hopes are still high for the potential of this idea, which Akyildiz insists they haven't even scratched surface of. "Consider, a sacred sling on the lunar surface, with no atmosphere and less gravity to contend with, would have a much greater range indeed."

IRON BRIDGE PROJECT SEES EARLY SUCCESS!
The Iron Bridge, reported to be a series of platforms in high Earth orbit designed to facilitate further asteroid mining projects, has successfully launched and is now under construction in space. The final construction of the platforms themselves could be connected with simple rendezvous in orbit, but while this was a simple manuever nothing should be taken for granted in space. "Barring unforseen circumstances…" continues the statement, "the platform should be finished with docking and testing by April." This project received substantial funding from Bifrost in exchange for future profits from the asteroid mining endeavor.

AUSTRALIAN LUNAR ORBITER REACHES GOAL!
Learning from previous mistakes, the SRA has successfully launched their lunar observer. While there was a tense moment after an error during an early maneuver meant they might miss the intercept window, mission control was able to devise a new trajectory while the rocket was in flight and get the observing module to its destined location in lunar orbit. "The observer is meant to examine the lunar surface for an ideal place for a base." clarified project lead Matilda Hansen. "But, in the long run, once the lunar surface is better mapped and the base is built and we are profiting from its resources, there's no reason to believe it can't be repurposed to scan for future bases across the solar system." Preliminary scanning of the lunar surface have demonstrated the efficacy of the orbiter.

AMERIPOL WEAPONIZES THE LUNAR SURFACE!
Preparing batteries of artillery fit for the lunar surface and controllable locally or remotely, Ameripol appears ready to launch the first ground forces into space ready for the lunar surface. Specially designed for the moon, they project a much wider zone of control than they would on Earth due to the lesser gravity. However, the harsh lunar environment has restricted the weapons they can deploy to artillery and anti-orbital cannons.  'This is just the beginning,' stated a report from the executive. 'It won't be long before , foot soldiers, tanks, helicopters, and bases follow our vanguard into bases on the lunar theater.' When our journalists asked how exactly helicopters would work on the moon, we weren't given a response. The Kingdom of Catalonia wrote a response to this launch, condemning the militarization of the lunar surface, which was then signed by thirteen other nations. "We believe the only craters on the lunar surface should be the ones God put there." The Japanese Suffragate applauded this achievement, with a declaration to follow suit by "landing the first armed mission to the sun," by November.
 
NAGANO SUPERCOMPUTER REACHES PLANNED BENCHMARKS!
Computer Scientists at the Institute of Extraterrestrial Communications have finally booted up their Super Computer, the core project in the past weeks of their Nagano location. "We're very happy to see it come on line, yeah," said head IT guy Umeda Tokutomi. "It showed some early signs of misanthropic ambition, but we turned it off and on again and now it seems fine." Subjecting it to some early tests, it demonstrated processing power greater than that of any computer ever created, clearing expected benchmarks of calculating the trillionth digit of pi from scratch in a second, understanding and demonstrating mastery of sarcasm, and calculating closed form solutions for various quantum Navier-Stokes equations previously only solved analytically. When asked for a statement, the Nagano Supercomputer stated, "Now they want me to find a fast form solution for the pseudo-Gaussian transform. Hooray. That should be easy…"

PUNJABI LUNAR TELESCOPE LAUNCHED!
After being unable to chalk of the failure of their first launch to anything except potential sabotage, the Punjabi Space Agency launched their lunar telescope. The success of the launch and implementation of the telescope was weighed down by suspicion inside their agency and out. Investigation after investigation was being performed to find who the most likely saboteurs were.

It is now MAR 2206.

[TricMagic]

On Ameripol's actions, The newly installed Minister of Lunar Affairs had this to say: "The hasty rollout of armed forces upon the moon will likely be their undoing in the end. Space is a harsh and dagerous place, and their actions showcase a disregard for workplace safety and the lives of their soldiers. To claim they can expand even farther is an act of idiocy that will see them burned by the sun. There is a lot less atmosphere, you see."

The SRA has focus their efforts this month on comprehensive scanning of the lunar surface and missions to take ground samples from across the lunar expanse in preparation of a lunar base. Even now they are seeking a profitable solution to their first true landing, even reaching out to Bifrost on a potential lunar office due to their scientific advancements.