One of the five gravitationally stable Lagrangian points
where an object in space can remain stationary relative to two much larger objects (two stars, a star and a planet or a
planet and a moon). This Lagrangian point lies on a straight
line connecting the two larger objects. It is between the two larger objects but closer to the smaller of the two. The
first, second and third Lagrangian points are less stable than the other two points, so objects placed at these points
have to have their positions corrected periodically. Scientists, that wish to study their local star, often place a
satellite at this position as its position directly between their colony and their star means that they have constant
radio contact with their stellar telescope and the telescope itself has a constant uninterrupted view of the star.
One of the five gravitationally stable Lagrangian points
where an object in space can remain stationary relative to two much larger objects (two stars, a star and a planet or a
planet and a moon). This Lagrangian point lies on a straight
line connecting the two larger objects. It is further away from the larger object than the smaller object is. The first,
second and third Lagrangian points are less stable than the other two points, so objects placed at these points have to
have their positions corrected periodically. Scientists, that wish to study the outer regions of their star system, often
place an satellite at this position so that it stays in the shadow of their colony and gets less interference from the
radiation given out by their star.
One of the five gravitationally stable Lagrangian points
where an object in space can remain stationary relative to two much larger objects (two stars, a star and a planet or a
planet and a moon). This Lagrangian point lies on a straight
line connecting the two larger objects and also shares the same orbit the smaller of the two objects. It is directly
opposite the smaller body in its orbit at all times. The first, second and third Lagrangian points are less stable than
the other two points, so objects placed at these points have to have their positions corrected periodically. Because the
point is at a colony's blind spot, behind their star, a telescope or radio receiver at this point can detect things that
can not be seen from the colony (however a relay station at the forth or fifth
Lagrangian point is needed). In a
star system with large or advanced military, the local navy often
operates a space station at this position.
Starships based at this station can intercept hostile
starships that try to use this blind spot to sneak deep into the system.
However, if the relay stations between this point and its home colony are disabled the
space station itself can become vulnerable.
One of the five gravitationally stable Lagrangian points
where an object in space can remain stationary relative to two much larger objects (two stars, a star and a planet or a
planet and a moon). This Lagrangian point shares the same
orbit the smaller of the two objects. It is ahead of the smaller object in its orbit and if lines were drawn between all
three objects they would form an equilateral triangle. The forth and fifth
Lagrangian points are more stable than the other three
points, and objects placed here do not usually need to have their positions corrected. Engineers, that wish to build
self-sufficient space stations often construct them at the forth
or fifth Lagrangian points of an
Earth-like colony, as the station then stays inside the star's
habitable zone. If the colony has a large enough
moon, then the forth or fifth
Lagrangian points of that
moon would be equally good locations to the construction engineers. However, the
points relative to the planet have a strategic advantage to the local military, as those points have a clear view of the
blind spot on the far side of a colony's star. The military will usually jointly fund construction and supply of a
station at these points in return for having a permanent presence there. An
asteroid at the L4 or
L5 points of a planet is known as a
Trojan asteroid.
One of the five gravitationally stable Lagrangian points
where an object in space can remain stationary relative to two much larger objects (two stars, a star and a planet or a
planet and a moon). This Lagrangian point shares the
same orbit the smaller of the two objects. It is behind the smaller object in its orbit and if lines were drawn between
all three objects they would form an equilateral triangle. The forth and fifth
Lagrangian points are more stable than the other three
points, and objects placed here do not usually need to have their positions corrected.Engineers, that wish to build self
sufficient space stations, often construct them at the forth or
fifth Lagrangian points of an
Earth-like colony, as the station then stays inside the star's
habitable zone. If the colony has a large enough
moon, then the forth or fifth
Lagrangian points of that
moon would be equally good locations to the construction engineers. However, the
points relative to the planet have a strategic advantage to the local military, as those points have a clear view of the
blind spot on the far side of a colony's star. The military will usually jointly fund construction and supply of a
station at these points in return for having a permanent presence there. An
asteroid at the L4 or
L5 points of a planet is known as a
Trojan asteroid.
One of five gravitationally stable points in space where an object in space can remain stationary relative to two much
larger objects (two stars, a star and a planet or a planet and a moon):
L1 and L2 lie on a
straight line connecting the two larger objects,
L4 and L5 share the same
orbit as the smaller of the two objects and
L3 is both in the same orbit and on the straight line (orbiting
directly opposite the smaller object).
The fourth and fifth points are much more stable than the other three points.
Star system linked to another system by a stable
wormhole. It is 29.45
light-years from Sol. Its
scientific name is L 768-119. Like many colonists living in systems with one
habitable world the inhabitants call both their system and the planet they live on Liberty. Liberty is a
first wave colony.
Liberty was colonised sometime between 114 and 146 AI (2330 and 2360 AD) and
discovered its wormhole sometime between 128 and 150
AI (2342 and 2366 AD).
Liberty developed wormhole technology and built
starships. In 166 AI (2380 AD) they
decided to spread their form of so called communism by force, and the local colonies they visited were absorbed into the
Free Worlds Collective. The Liberty government is
extremely untrusting and does not like to delegate too much power to the enormous FWC
military. Corruption and economic problems are widespread and many experts the
Collective to collapse at some time soon. Liberty is the homeworld of
the Free Worlds Collective.
[Source: A Short History of Mankind]
Small spaceship carried on board a
starship or systemship.
In the event of an emergency the crew can use the lifeboat to land on a nearby planet or dock with a nearby spacestation.
However, unlike a dropship it does not carry enough fuel to take off again.
See also lifepod.
Small spaceship carried on board a
starship or systemship in
the event of an emergency the crew can use the lifepod to escape from the
spaceship. Unlike a lifeboat
or a dropship it only has manoeuvring thrusters and can only move a
limited distance.
Unit of distance (used in starship travel and astronomy). A light-year is
the distance light travels in a vacuum in one Earth year.
1 light-year is equal to:
System of months and days in year. Various calendars exist, usually setting
the year a colony was founded as the year zero. The old AD calendar (with its years and
days based on the orbit and rotation of Earth) was abandoned by most colonies.
Interstellar commerce has meant a need to return to a common time system, with the AI
calendar now being used by most colonies.
[Source: A Short History of Mankind]
Part of the spectral classification system.
The luminosity class of a star indicates the brightness of a star. Luminosity class is related to the absolute magnitude
(true brightness) of a star and not the apparent magnitude (which can vary depending on how far away you are when you
observe it).
Manned base built on The Moon. At least one scientific station was built on
The Moon but was abandoned long before -16 AI
(2200 AD).
The stations were probably built sometime between -196 and -92 AI 2020 and 2124 AD).
Radio telescopes were probably built on the far side of The Moon where they
would have benefited from isolation from interference from Earth. The stations
were probably abandoned sometime between -36 and -16 AI (2180 and 2200 AD).
[Source: A Short History of Mankind]
