Guide:AFP-1 - Revision history

Dan at 22:48, 12 August 2023

2023-08-12T22:48:16Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:48, 12 August 2023
Line 22:		Line 22:
	\|auxcraft=		\|auxcraft=
	\|historicalships=		\|historicalships=
	\|design= ''~~Federation~~ Spaceflight Chronology'' (Rick Sternbach)		\|design= ''Spaceflight Chronology'' (Rick Sternbach)
	\|name= ''~~Federation~~ Spaceflight Chronology''		\|name= ''Spaceflight Chronology''
	\|history= ''~~Federation~~ Spaceflight Chronology''		\|history= ''Spaceflight Chronology''
	\|delta= [http://www.starshiptracker.com/deltadynamics/images/0/0b/SRM_AFP1.pdf ''SRM #306'']		\|delta= [http://www.starshiptracker.com/deltadynamics/images/0/0b/SRM_AFP1.pdf ''SRM #306'']
	}}		}}

Dan at 02:30, 15 July 2023

2023-07-15T02:30:42Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:30, 14 July 2023
Line 22:		Line 22:
	\|auxcraft=		\|auxcraft=
	\|historicalships=		\|historicalships=
	\|design= ''~~FSC~~'' ~~Vol 3~~ (Rick Sternbach)		\|design= ''Federation Spaceflight Chronology'' (Rick Sternbach)
	\|name= ''~~FSC~~'' ~~Vol 3~~		\|name= ''Federation Spaceflight Chronology''
	\|history= ''~~FSC~~'' ~~Vol 3~~		\|history= ''Federation Spaceflight Chronology''
			\|delta= [http://www.starshiptracker.com/deltadynamics/images/0/0b/SRM_AFP1.pdf ''SRM #306'']
	}}		}}
	==Background: Delta Dynamics==		==Background: Delta Dynamics==

Dan at 01:49, 15 July 2023

2023-07-15T01:49:49Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:49, 14 July 2023
Line 24:		Line 24:
	\|design= ''FSC'' Vol 3 (Rick Sternbach)		\|design= ''FSC'' Vol 3 (Rick Sternbach)
	\|name= ''FSC'' Vol 3		\|name= ''FSC'' Vol 3
	\|history= ~~Delta Dynamics;~~ ''FSC'' Vol 3		\|history= ''FSC'' Vol 3
	}}		}}

	==Background: Delta Dynamics==		==Background: Delta Dynamics==

	In [[2028]], the ''[[Guide: Galileo\|Galileo]]'' experimental propulsion project ended catastrophically, with 109 deaths and the complete loss of the test vehicle. It was built with lofty goals—exploration and exploitation of the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud and a voyage to the [[Proxima Centauri]] system—and a large amount of capital was expended to build a vehicle with all the perceived equipment and redundancies necessary for such a voyage, despite the reliance on what was still experimental propulsion technology. Additionally, a great deal of public relations “credit” was lavished for all stages of the project, including design, construction, and crew selection. The entire investment by the [[International Space Agency]] (ISA) was simply gone when the helium fuel erroneously leaked into the chamber with the energized laser-fusion exciters during a systems test.		In [[2028]], the ''[[Guide: Galileo\|Galileo]]'' experimental propulsion project ended catastrophically, with 109 deaths and the complete loss of the test vehicle. It was built with lofty goals—exploration and exploitation of the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud and a voyage to the [[Proxima Centauri]] system—and a large amount of capital was expended to build a vehicle with all the perceived equipment and redundancies necessary for such a voyage, despite the reliance on what was still experimental propulsion technology. Additionally, a great deal of public relations “credit” was lavished for all stages of the project, including design, construction, and crew selection. The entire investment by the [[International Space Agency]] (ISA) was simply gone when the helium fuel erroneously leaked into the chamber with the energized laser-fusion exciters during a systems test.

Dan at 01:49, 15 July 2023

2023-07-15T01:49:18Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:49, 14 July 2023
Line 24:		Line 24:
	\|design= ''FSC'' Vol 3 (Rick Sternbach)		\|design= ''FSC'' Vol 3 (Rick Sternbach)
	\|name= ''FSC'' Vol 3		\|name= ''FSC'' Vol 3
	\|history= ~~Star Fleet Command (wiki)~~; ''FSC'' Vol 3		\|history= Delta Dynamics; ''FSC'' Vol 3
	}}		}}

Dan at 01:44, 15 July 2023

2023-07-15T01:44:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:44, 14 July 2023
Line 24:		Line 24:
	\|design= ''FSC'' Vol 3 (Rick Sternbach)		\|design= ''FSC'' Vol 3 (Rick Sternbach)
	\|name= ''FSC'' Vol 3		\|name= ''FSC'' Vol 3
	\|history= ~~SFC~~; ''FSC'' Vol 3		\|history= Star Fleet Command (wiki); ''FSC'' Vol 3
	}}		}}

Line 68:		Line 68:
	<references/>		<references/>

			<br><br>
	----		----
	* [[Guide: Timo's Guide to Star Fleet\|Back to the Table of Contents]]		* [[Guide: Timo's Guide to Star Fleet\|Back to the Table of Contents]]
Line 73:		Line 74:
	* [[Guide: Of Ship Statistics\|Appendix A: Of Ship Statistics]]		* [[Guide: Of Ship Statistics\|Appendix A: Of Ship Statistics]]
	* [[Guide: Glossary\|Appendix B: Glossary]]		* [[Guide: Glossary\|Appendix B: Glossary]]
	* [[Guide: ~~Starfleet~~ Organization - General Outline\|Appendix C: ~~Starfleet~~ Organization - General Outline]]		* [[Guide: Star Fleet Organization - General Outline\|Appendix C: Star Fleet Organization - General Outline]]
	* [[Guide: Abbreviations From Outside\|Appendix D: Abbreviations From Outside]]		* [[Guide: Abbreviations From Outside\|Appendix D: Abbreviations From Outside]]


			[[Category:Guide\|{{PAGENAME}}]]

Dan at 21:17, 26 January 2023

2023-01-26T21:17:14Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:17, 26 January 2023
Line 2:		Line 2:
	\|image= [[File:AFP-1 (stbd).png\|150px\|AFP-1 experimental propulsion ship]]		\|image= [[File:AFP-1 (stbd).png\|150px\|AFP-1 experimental propulsion ship]]
	\|classname= ''Advanced Fusion Prototype''		\|classname= ''Advanced Fusion Prototype''
	\|category= experimental interstellar propulsion ship		\|category= [[ISA]] experimental interstellar propulsion ship
	\|years= [[2035]]		\|years= [[2035]]
	\|constructed= 1		\|constructed= 1

Dan: /* Notes */

2022-12-05T18:59:24Z

Notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:59, 5 December 2022
Line 60:		Line 60:
	</gallery>		</gallery>

	==~~Notes~~==		==Supporting Documents==
	* [http://www.starshiptracker.com/deltadynamics/index.php/Auxiliary_Blueprints#AFP-1_.282035.29 Blueprints]		* [http://www.starshiptracker.com/deltadynamics/index.php/Auxiliary_Blueprints#AFP-1_.282035.29 Blueprints]
	* [https://www.deviantart.com/revancherm/art/AFP-1-experimental-propulsion-ship-2035-933877994 DeviantArt: AFP-1 experimental propulsion ship (2035)]		* [https://www.deviantart.com/revancherm/art/AFP-1-experimental-propulsion-ship-2035-933877994 DeviantArt: AFP-1 experimental propulsion ship (2035)]

Dan: /* Gallery */

2022-11-10T17:12:02Z

Gallery

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:12, 10 November 2022
Line 42:		Line 42:

	==Gallery==		==Gallery==
			===AFP-1 experimental interstellar propulsion ship ===
	<gallery>		<gallery>

Dan: /* Background: Delta Dynamics */

2022-10-21T18:40:10Z

Background: Delta Dynamics

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:40, 21 October 2022
Line 29:		Line 29:
	==Background: Delta Dynamics==		==Background: Delta Dynamics==

	In 2028, the Galileo experimental propulsion project ended catastrophically, with 109 deaths and the complete loss of the test vehicle. It was built with lofty goals—exploration and exploitation of the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud and a voyage to the Proxima Centauri system—and a large amount of capital was expended to build a vehicle with all the perceived equipment and redundancies necessary for such a voyage, despite the reliance on what was still experimental propulsion technology. Additionally, a great deal of public relations “credit” was lavished for all stages of the project, including design, construction, and crew selection. The entire investment by the International Space Agency (ISA) was simply gone when the helium fuel erroneously leaked into the chamber with the energized laser-fusion exciters during a systems test.		In [[2028]], the ''[[Guide: Galileo\|Galileo]]'' experimental propulsion project ended catastrophically, with 109 deaths and the complete loss of the test vehicle. It was built with lofty goals—exploration and exploitation of the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud and a voyage to the [[Proxima Centauri]] system—and a large amount of capital was expended to build a vehicle with all the perceived equipment and redundancies necessary for such a voyage, despite the reliance on what was still experimental propulsion technology. Additionally, a great deal of public relations “credit” was lavished for all stages of the project, including design, construction, and crew selection. The entire investment by the [[International Space Agency]] (ISA) was simply gone when the helium fuel erroneously leaked into the chamber with the energized laser-fusion exciters during a systems test.

	However, lost in the stream of the news and investigations of the explosion was the validation of the nuclear thermal propulsion design, which had been anticipated to achieve 0.37c, a high-water mark for subluminal drives of the time (though that descriptor was only utilized by the very few subspace physicists, since faster-than light travel was still considered impossible). The drive itself had not even been completely installed (as it was awaiting the fusion reactor’s arrival), so the general public was working from the ~~misassumption~~ that the propulsion technology itself was dangerous and flawed. In reality, the ISA had not abandoned interest in this particular concept for advanced thrust.		However, lost in the stream of the news and investigations of the explosion was the validation of the nuclear thermal propulsion design, which had been anticipated to achieve 0.37c, a high-water mark for subluminal drives of the time (though that descriptor was only utilized by the very few subspace physicists, since faster-than light travel was still considered impossible). The drive itself had not even been completely installed (as it was awaiting the fusion reactor’s arrival), so the general public was working from the mis-assumption that the propulsion technology itself was dangerous and flawed. In reality, the ISA had not abandoned interest in this particular concept for advanced thrust.

	Fission drives based on the Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems-derived ion technology were continuing to progress in maximum thrust capacity, though an upper velocity limit was anticipated. However, the same advancements in both engine design and miniaturization were applied to the Earth-bound static model of the ~~Galileo’s~~ NTR drive and hybridized with niche research of microwave resonance drive theory, otherwise known as an EmDrive. When the ISA was prepared to take another chance on the experimental tech, they unveiled the Advanced Fusion Project-1, with its hybrid NTR/EmDrive thruster.		Fission drives based on the [[Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems]]-derived ion technology were continuing to progress in maximum thrust capacity, though an upper velocity limit was anticipated. However, the same advancements in both engine design and miniaturization were applied to the [[Earth]]-bound static model of the ''Galileo''’s NTR drive and hybridized with niche research of microwave resonance drive theory, otherwise known as an EmDrive. When the ISA was prepared to take another chance on the experimental tech, they unveiled the '''Advanced Fusion Project-1''' ('''AFP-1'''), with its hybrid NTR/EmDrive thruster.

	“Unveiling” is a rather hyperbolic description of the vessel’s launch, as the ISA did a figurative 180 with this follow-on project; no publicity preceded the event and it was announced with a simple press release. Built at an understated L-1 construction station, the intent was to stepdown expectations for the project and just “do the science”. The vessel was just over half the length and mass of the Galileo and crewed by only 14. It was never going to visit another star system and it was not built with that capability. Instead, life support was focused almost exclusively on operational support, not habitability; even the medical bay onboard amounted only to the space of a typical closet. A majority of the non-propulsion equipment was geared towards sensing, recording, and reporting all possible data in the thrust cavity, the fuel tankage, and the external hull. This was a prototype and all members of the project treated it as such; the intent was to test, correct, and refine a potential motive benchmark in Human space travel.		“Unveiling” is a rather hyperbolic description of the vessel’s launch, as the ISA did a figurative 180 with this follow-on project; no publicity preceded the event and it was announced with a simple press release. Built at an understated L-1 construction station, the intent was to stepdown expectations for the project and just “do the science”. The vessel was just over half the length and mass of the ''Galileo'' and crewed by only 14. It was never going to visit another star system and it was not built with that capability. Instead, life support was focused almost exclusively on operational support, not habitability; even the medical bay onboard amounted only to the space of a typical closet. A majority of the non-propulsion equipment was geared towards sensing, recording, and reporting all possible data in the thrust cavity, the fuel tankage, and the external hull. This was a prototype and all members of the project treated it as such; the intent was to test, correct, and refine a potential motive benchmark in Human space travel.

	The hybrid drive was self-contained in what a first impression might suggest was a nozzle extension for an enormous thrust engine, but instead was a housing for the hybrid drive, with a flattened aft surface broken only by the thruster’s diminutive exhaust port. The energy provided by the fusion reactor (located just forward of the cavity) would be rhythmically-pumped into the chamber, bounced against the semi-absorptive material on the flat aft bulkhead, and then perfectly-reflected back onto a specially-modified ion engine’s vibration receiver by the angled panels of the forward and side portions of the cavity. The theory held that the resonance that developed within the void-space imbued multiplying and stabilizing effects upon the thrust generated by the ion engine alone, with a theoretical top velocity of 0.47c for the AFP-1 vehicle as a result. This was extremely more efficient and capable than the best performing ion-only thruster, presently operating at 0.23c on some other test vehicles.		The hybrid drive was self-contained in what a first impression might suggest was a nozzle extension for an enormous thrust engine, but instead was a housing for the hybrid drive, with a flattened aft surface broken only by the thruster’s diminutive exhaust port. The energy provided by the fusion reactor (located just forward of the cavity) would be rhythmically-pumped into the chamber, bounced against the semi-absorptive material on the flat aft bulkhead, and then perfectly-reflected back onto a specially-modified ion engine’s vibration receiver by the angled panels of the forward and side portions of the cavity. The theory held that the resonance that developed within the void-space imbued multiplying and stabilizing effects upon the thrust generated by the ion engine alone, with a theoretical top velocity of 0.47c for the AFP-1 vehicle as a result. This was extremely more efficient and capable than the best performing ion-only thruster, presently operating at 0.23c on some other test vehicles.

	History would, as Mark Twain quipped, end up rhyming for the AFP-1 project. The vessel exploded without warning on February 8, 2035. There were no indications of what went wrong; no tests were scheduled and the full crew was involved in operational training, without any energized engineering equipment, while on shore power. The helium tank was only partially filled (reports indicate a volume of some amount between 2 and 6 percent of capacity) and did feed the secondary explosions, but there was no evidence it was the origin of the event. Despite the ISA’s intensive investigation, the review board could provide no concrete reasoning for the vehicle’s sudden loss. There was considerable speculation from the possible (such as a faulty fusion injector that randomly fired, for cause unknown) to the absurd (claims that future-infamous Colonel William Green blew it up, despite his being a relatively obscure first lieutenant in the U.S. Army at the time). Due to both the uncertain results of the incident review and the paucity of historical records in World War Three, the actual cause of loss will likely remain forever unknown.		History would, as Mark Twain quipped, end up rhyming for the AFP-1 project. The vessel exploded without warning on February 8, [[2035]]. There were no indications of what went wrong; no tests were scheduled and the full crew was involved in operational training, without any energized engineering equipment, while on shore power. The helium tank was only partially filled (reports indicate a volume of some amount between 2 and 6 percent of capacity) and did feed the secondary explosions, but there was no evidence it was the origin of the event. Despite the ISA’s intensive investigation, the review board could provide no concrete reasoning for the vehicle’s sudden loss. There was considerable speculation from the possible (such as a faulty fusion injector that randomly fired, for cause unknown) to the absurd (claims that future-infamous Colonel [[William Green]] blew it up, despite his being a relatively obscure first lieutenant in the U.S. Army at the time). Due to both the uncertain results of the incident review and the paucity of historical records in [[World War Three]], the actual cause of loss will likely remain forever unknown.
	In 2028, the Galileo experimental propulsion project ended catastrophically, with 109 deaths and the complete loss of the test vehicle. It was built with lofty goals—exploration and exploitation of the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud and a voyage to the Proxima Centauri system—and a large amount of capital was expended to build a vehicle with all the perceived equipment and redundancies necessary for such a voyage, despite the reliance on what was still experimental propulsion technology. Additionally, a great deal of public relations “credit” was lavished for all stages of the project, including design, construction, and crew selection. The entire investment by the International Space Agency (ISA) was simply gone when the helium fuel erroneously leaked into the chamber with the energized laser-fusion exciters during a systems test.

	However, lost in the stream of the news and investigations of the explosion was the validation of the nuclear thermal propulsion design, which had been anticipated to achieve 0.37c, a high-water mark for subluminal drives of the time (though that descriptor was only utilized by the very few subspace physicists, since faster-than light travel was still considered impossible). The drive itself had not even been completely installed (as it was awaiting the fusion reactor’s arrival), so the general public was working from the misassumption that the propulsion technology itself was dangerous and flawed. In reality, the ISA had not abandoned interest in this particular concept for advanced thrust.

	Fission drives based on the Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems-derived ion technology were continuing to progress in maximum thrust capacity, though an upper velocity limit was anticipated. However, the same advancements in both engine design and miniaturization were applied to the Earth-bound static model of the Galileo’s NTR drive and hybridized with niche research of microwave resonance drive theory, otherwise known as an EmDrive. When the ISA was prepared to take another chance on the experimental tech, they unveiled the Advanced Fusion Project-1, with its hybrid NTR/EmDrive thruster.

	“Unveiling” is a rather hyperbolic description of the vessel’s launch, as the ISA did a figurative 180 with this follow-on project; no publicity preceded the event and it was announced with a simple press release. Built at an understated L-1 construction station, the intent was to stepdown expectations for the project and just “do the science”. The vessel was just over half the length and mass of the Galileo and crewed by only 14. It was never going to visit another star system and it was not built with that capability. Instead, life support was focused almost exclusively on operational support, not habitability; even the medical bay onboard amounted only to the space of a typical closet. A majority of the non-propulsion equipment was geared towards sensing, recording, and reporting all possible data in the thrust cavity, the fuel tankage, and the external hull. This was a prototype and all members of the project treated it as such; the intent was to test, correct, and refine a potential motive benchmark in Human space travel.

	The hybrid drive was self-contained in what a first impression might suggest was a nozzle extension for an enormous thrust engine, but instead was a housing for the hybrid drive, with a flattened aft surface broken only by the thruster’s diminutive exhaust port. The energy provided by the fusion reactor (located just forward of the cavity) would be rhythmically-pumped into the chamber, bounced against the semi-absorptive material on the flat aft bulkhead, and then perfectly-reflected back onto a specially-modified ion engine’s vibration receiver by the angled panels of the forward and side portions of the cavity. The theory held that the resonance that developed within the void-space imbued multiplying and stabilizing effects upon the thrust generated by the ion engine alone, with a theoretical top velocity of 0.47c for the AFP-1 vehicle as a result. This was extremely more efficient and capable than the best performing ion-only thruster, presently operating at 0.23c on some other test vehicles.

	History would, as Mark Twain quipped, end up rhyming for the AFP-1 project. The vessel exploded without warning on February 8, 2035. There were no indications of what went wrong; no tests were scheduled and the full crew was involved in operational training, without any energized engineering equipment, while on shore power. The helium tank was only partially filled (reports indicate a volume of some amount between 2 and 6 percent of capacity) and did feed the secondary explosions, but there was no evidence it was the origin of the event. Despite the ISA’s intensive investigation, the review board could provide no concrete reasoning for the vehicle’s sudden loss. There was considerable speculation from the possible (such as a faulty fusion injector that randomly fired, for cause unknown) to the absurd (claims that future-infamous Colonel William Green blew it up, despite his being a relatively obscure first lieutenant in the U.S. Army at the time). Due to both the uncertain results of the incident review and the paucity of historical records in World War Three, the actual cause of loss will likely remain forever unknown.


	==Gallery==		==Gallery==

Dan at 18:29, 21 October 2022

2022-10-21T18:29:16Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:29, 21 October 2022
Line 26:		Line 26:
	\|history= SFC; ''FSC'' Vol 3		\|history= SFC; ''FSC'' Vol 3
	}}		}}

			==Background: Delta Dynamics==

			In 2028, the Galileo experimental propulsion project ended catastrophically, with 109 deaths and the complete loss of the test vehicle. It was built with lofty goals—exploration and exploitation of the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud and a voyage to the Proxima Centauri system—and a large amount of capital was expended to build a vehicle with all the perceived equipment and redundancies necessary for such a voyage, despite the reliance on what was still experimental propulsion technology. Additionally, a great deal of public relations “credit” was lavished for all stages of the project, including design, construction, and crew selection. The entire investment by the International Space Agency (ISA) was simply gone when the helium fuel erroneously leaked into the chamber with the energized laser-fusion exciters during a systems test.

			However, lost in the stream of the news and investigations of the explosion was the validation of the nuclear thermal propulsion design, which had been anticipated to achieve 0.37c, a high-water mark for subluminal drives of the time (though that descriptor was only utilized by the very few subspace physicists, since faster-than light travel was still considered impossible). The drive itself had not even been completely installed (as it was awaiting the fusion reactor’s arrival), so the general public was working from the misassumption that the propulsion technology itself was dangerous and flawed. In reality, the ISA had not abandoned interest in this particular concept for advanced thrust.

			Fission drives based on the Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems-derived ion technology were continuing to progress in maximum thrust capacity, though an upper velocity limit was anticipated. However, the same advancements in both engine design and miniaturization were applied to the Earth-bound static model of the Galileo’s NTR drive and hybridized with niche research of microwave resonance drive theory, otherwise known as an EmDrive. When the ISA was prepared to take another chance on the experimental tech, they unveiled the Advanced Fusion Project-1, with its hybrid NTR/EmDrive thruster.

			“Unveiling” is a rather hyperbolic description of the vessel’s launch, as the ISA did a figurative 180 with this follow-on project; no publicity preceded the event and it was announced with a simple press release. Built at an understated L-1 construction station, the intent was to stepdown expectations for the project and just “do the science”. The vessel was just over half the length and mass of the Galileo and crewed by only 14. It was never going to visit another star system and it was not built with that capability. Instead, life support was focused almost exclusively on operational support, not habitability; even the medical bay onboard amounted only to the space of a typical closet. A majority of the non-propulsion equipment was geared towards sensing, recording, and reporting all possible data in the thrust cavity, the fuel tankage, and the external hull. This was a prototype and all members of the project treated it as such; the intent was to test, correct, and refine a potential motive benchmark in Human space travel.

			The hybrid drive was self-contained in what a first impression might suggest was a nozzle extension for an enormous thrust engine, but instead was a housing for the hybrid drive, with a flattened aft surface broken only by the thruster’s diminutive exhaust port. The energy provided by the fusion reactor (located just forward of the cavity) would be rhythmically-pumped into the chamber, bounced against the semi-absorptive material on the flat aft bulkhead, and then perfectly-reflected back onto a specially-modified ion engine’s vibration receiver by the angled panels of the forward and side portions of the cavity. The theory held that the resonance that developed within the void-space imbued multiplying and stabilizing effects upon the thrust generated by the ion engine alone, with a theoretical top velocity of 0.47c for the AFP-1 vehicle as a result. This was extremely more efficient and capable than the best performing ion-only thruster, presently operating at 0.23c on some other test vehicles.

			History would, as Mark Twain quipped, end up rhyming for the AFP-1 project. The vessel exploded without warning on February 8, 2035. There were no indications of what went wrong; no tests were scheduled and the full crew was involved in operational training, without any energized engineering equipment, while on shore power. The helium tank was only partially filled (reports indicate a volume of some amount between 2 and 6 percent of capacity) and did feed the secondary explosions, but there was no evidence it was the origin of the event. Despite the ISA’s intensive investigation, the review board could provide no concrete reasoning for the vehicle’s sudden loss. There was considerable speculation from the possible (such as a faulty fusion injector that randomly fired, for cause unknown) to the absurd (claims that future-infamous Colonel William Green blew it up, despite his being a relatively obscure first lieutenant in the U.S. Army at the time). Due to both the uncertain results of the incident review and the paucity of historical records in World War Three, the actual cause of loss will likely remain forever unknown.
			In 2028, the Galileo experimental propulsion project ended catastrophically, with 109 deaths and the complete loss of the test vehicle. It was built with lofty goals—exploration and exploitation of the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud and a voyage to the Proxima Centauri system—and a large amount of capital was expended to build a vehicle with all the perceived equipment and redundancies necessary for such a voyage, despite the reliance on what was still experimental propulsion technology. Additionally, a great deal of public relations “credit” was lavished for all stages of the project, including design, construction, and crew selection. The entire investment by the International Space Agency (ISA) was simply gone when the helium fuel erroneously leaked into the chamber with the energized laser-fusion exciters during a systems test.

			However, lost in the stream of the news and investigations of the explosion was the validation of the nuclear thermal propulsion design, which had been anticipated to achieve 0.37c, a high-water mark for subluminal drives of the time (though that descriptor was only utilized by the very few subspace physicists, since faster-than light travel was still considered impossible). The drive itself had not even been completely installed (as it was awaiting the fusion reactor’s arrival), so the general public was working from the misassumption that the propulsion technology itself was dangerous and flawed. In reality, the ISA had not abandoned interest in this particular concept for advanced thrust.

			Fission drives based on the Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems-derived ion technology were continuing to progress in maximum thrust capacity, though an upper velocity limit was anticipated. However, the same advancements in both engine design and miniaturization were applied to the Earth-bound static model of the Galileo’s NTR drive and hybridized with niche research of microwave resonance drive theory, otherwise known as an EmDrive. When the ISA was prepared to take another chance on the experimental tech, they unveiled the Advanced Fusion Project-1, with its hybrid NTR/EmDrive thruster.

			“Unveiling” is a rather hyperbolic description of the vessel’s launch, as the ISA did a figurative 180 with this follow-on project; no publicity preceded the event and it was announced with a simple press release. Built at an understated L-1 construction station, the intent was to stepdown expectations for the project and just “do the science”. The vessel was just over half the length and mass of the Galileo and crewed by only 14. It was never going to visit another star system and it was not built with that capability. Instead, life support was focused almost exclusively on operational support, not habitability; even the medical bay onboard amounted only to the space of a typical closet. A majority of the non-propulsion equipment was geared towards sensing, recording, and reporting all possible data in the thrust cavity, the fuel tankage, and the external hull. This was a prototype and all members of the project treated it as such; the intent was to test, correct, and refine a potential motive benchmark in Human space travel.

			The hybrid drive was self-contained in what a first impression might suggest was a nozzle extension for an enormous thrust engine, but instead was a housing for the hybrid drive, with a flattened aft surface broken only by the thruster’s diminutive exhaust port. The energy provided by the fusion reactor (located just forward of the cavity) would be rhythmically-pumped into the chamber, bounced against the semi-absorptive material on the flat aft bulkhead, and then perfectly-reflected back onto a specially-modified ion engine’s vibration receiver by the angled panels of the forward and side portions of the cavity. The theory held that the resonance that developed within the void-space imbued multiplying and stabilizing effects upon the thrust generated by the ion engine alone, with a theoretical top velocity of 0.47c for the AFP-1 vehicle as a result. This was extremely more efficient and capable than the best performing ion-only thruster, presently operating at 0.23c on some other test vehicles.

			History would, as Mark Twain quipped, end up rhyming for the AFP-1 project. The vessel exploded without warning on February 8, 2035. There were no indications of what went wrong; no tests were scheduled and the full crew was involved in operational training, without any energized engineering equipment, while on shore power. The helium tank was only partially filled (reports indicate a volume of some amount between 2 and 6 percent of capacity) and did feed the secondary explosions, but there was no evidence it was the origin of the event. Despite the ISA’s intensive investigation, the review board could provide no concrete reasoning for the vehicle’s sudden loss. There was considerable speculation from the possible (such as a faulty fusion injector that randomly fired, for cause unknown) to the absurd (claims that future-infamous Colonel William Green blew it up, despite his being a relatively obscure first lieutenant in the U.S. Army at the time). Due to both the uncertain results of the incident review and the paucity of historical records in World War Three, the actual cause of loss will likely remain forever unknown.