[OOC I see this as a location where anyone can bring their policy recommendations or criticisms to the attention of all without actually proposing a resolution.]
Greetings my fellow senators and indeed all of humanity. I wish to commend President Casey on the formation of his ministry. It is under them that our people will make historic strides. Whoever will follow in their footsteps, it is these men who will make a lasting impression of what we all labour so hard to build. All have worked hard and long to get us to this point and more will be asked of them and I have no doubt that individually they are up to the task. I do have one criticism. Perhaps it was the quickness the final selections had to be made, perhaps it is the scope of the unknown endeavour ahead of us that has lead him to choose close friends. It is natural to want to work with those you already know, perhaps it is even correct. Only time will tell.
I find myself in the position that has often been called 'The Opposition' or even 'The Loyal Opposition' but I reject those labels and for I actually encourage our leaders to make the hard choices, listen to the voices from the outside and not isolate yourselves amongst your friends. I will be one of those voices from the outside, speaking calmly and rationally when possible, cheering you one when thing go right, but always telling the truth to those in power.
For my first recommendation to the President and his Ministers is what I like to call my "Need for Speed" Initiative. No, it's not a call to reduce the institutional bureaucracy as much as we all would like that. It is a call to devote the necessary resources to improve the technology of our engine systems as a top priority. I realize there will be many technologies competition for limited resources and funding. I just believe that this is a fundamental enabling technology that will show dividends in all sectors of our society. Our President tells us we have developed a space drive that will allow us access to the planets. But our solar system is vast. With the distance from the sun for each orbital position roughly double the previous one. This adds up quickly. Preliminary estimates suggest that technologies on the horizon could provide over a 50% boost to power/mass ration to our current systems. This would lead to either faster ships of the same other capabilities or smaller ship with about the same speeds. Both are useful in different circumstances. In addition, the initial estimates indicate the cost would be less than 30% more than the slower design. This of course does not account for the up front research cost and time, but as engine technology will be widely used, I think it would be a wise investment. For a more complete study and to confirm the finding of my former employer, I suggest the Ministry and this body confer with Dr Vendar.
Here is a basic design that would meet our Commerce Ministers initial specifications of a 25k ton class freighter, est. cost 400
Idlev class Freighter 40,000 tons 338 Crew
860 km/s Armour 1-104 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0
Maint Capacity 6 MSP Max Repair 16 MSP
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
Nuclear Engine (11) Power 62.5 Fuel Use 10% Signature 62.5 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 22.5 billion km (302 days at full power))
And here is a possible version with improved engines, likely cost approximately 500
Idlev II class Freighter 40,000 tons 334 Crew
1375 km/s Armour 1-104 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1
Maint Capacity 8 MSP Max Repair 25 MSP
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 5
[Theoretical 2nd Generation Engines] E1 (11) Power 100 Fuel Use 10% Signature 100 Armour 0 Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 22.5 billion km (189 days at full power)
The range of the above designs is 2 round trips from Earth to Neptune or round 20+ trips to the asteroid belt. The difference is the first design takes almost 10 months and the second one, just over 6 months. This would be a more useful ship if owned by the government and a more profitable ship when used by the corporation. Likewise survey ships could get results faster and naval vessels have more options for both deployment and combat. Theoretical studies suggest that further advances, while likely to show diminishing returns will still be useful.
I would also like to echo the point made recently by, I believe our Minister of Industry, that fuel may be a critical resource, at least in the short term. I would recommend that we improve our fuel efficiency by at least 30% as soon as possible. Any research efforts we make in that area will pay large dividends
Senator Sasha Gagarin
Former Director Tsiolkovskii Applied Space Research Center
