The world as we know it begins its transition to Technic civilization. There is already longevity treatment and there are also O'Neill colonies. The Chronos, launched by a Britannic-American consortium, takes eight years to reach Saturn. One task during the voyage is:
"...work on improving the interior of the vessel." (p. 7)
In earlier Andersonian future histories, this was done on interstellar journeys but here it more plausibly applies within the Solar System.
The opening four Technic History instalments each feature several characters that do not recur in the series. In section I of "The Saturn Game," pp. 2-6, we meet:
Mark Danzig/not involved in the game
Jean Broberg/Princess Ricia of Maranoa
Colin Scobie/Sir Kendrick of the Isles
Luis Garcilaso/Alvarlan
Broberg is a physicist, married to Tom, an astronomer, and mother of Johnnie and Billy. A lot of peripheral characters.
7 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
That Britannic-American consortium makes me wonder if an alliance of the English speaking nations was becoming an Anglosphere. I've speculated such an alliance contributed to the rise of the Solar Commonwealth by circa AD 2100.
Happy New Year! Sean
Eight years to Saturn seems long, even for an HSF survey mission of the system; Voyager 1's flight time - granted, for a flyby, not a Saturn system insertion - was a little more than three years. Voyager 2 was a little less than four years. Granted, both missions were able to take advantage of atypical orbital dynamics, but still - propulsion for each were low energy, chemical rockets.
Pioneer 11 - which was a flyby, of course - was six years; Cassini was seven years to the Saturn orbital insertion, but required multiple planetary flybys for gravity assists ...
Seems like a HSF mission - with propulsion via some updated DRM equivalent of an NTR system - should get there sooner. ;)
HSF?
Human spaceflight.
Paul - Correct.
Kaor, Dave!
Once you pointed it out eight years does seem a long time for the "Chronos" to reach the Saturnian system, even using 1980's tech.
Happy New Year! Sean
Checking to see if it is explained. Solar sails? Ion engines?
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