Welcome to the thirteenth Dev Diary entry of 'Space Station Designer'. In the previous entry, we covered some of the details behind the Lunar Orbit station, including information about its location at the Earth-Moon Lagrange Point (L1), its associated orbit control and attitude control rules, and the type of resupply spacecraft available. In this second entry, we'll wrap up the overview of this station by delving into some other aspects, including manufacturing, space tourism, research and Industrial R&D, and the connection between the station and the Lunar Space Elevator Megaproject.
Manufacturing of Refined Helium-3
The Lunar Orbit station has specialized manufacturing modules that can produce 'Refined Helium-3' or 'He-3', which is a rare, light, non-radioactive isotope of helium that carries the solar wind. Since the Moon has no atmosphere and a very weak magnetic field, the constant bombardment of solar wind throughout millions of years has embedded a significant of this isotope in the lunar soil.
Helium-3 is very valuable, as it currently has practical applications in Cryogenics and Quantum Technologies. More specifically, it's already used in small amounts for providing ultra-low-temperature cooling (dilution refrigerators for superconducting circuits, quantum computers, etc). Moreover, this isotope could one day be the key to cleaner energy with much less radioactive waste if the technology behind fusion power becomes mature enough.
The 'He-3' manufacturing modules come in three variants: Small, Medium, and Large. Similar to other manufacturing modules, they feature a range of electricity/heat dissipation requirements, so it's important to decide which variant is the most suitable for our station.
Space tourism
The Lunar Orbit station can accommodate space tourists, which provides another revenue stream. Before being able to install space tourism modules in Lunar Orbit though, we'll need to execute a specialized 'Continuous Improvement Program' (CIP) in the 'Space Tourism Facility', which will also enable us to install them in GSO.
Note that currently the mechanics for space tourism in the Lunar Orbit station are the same as in LEO and GSO. However, given the uniqueness of its location, we're planning to increase the rewards provided by space tours in Lunar Orbit in future versions of the game.
Research and Industrial R&D
The acquisition of the 'Station in Lunar Orbit' research technology comes with a series of modules that are exclusive to this station. Since they allow us to conduct research that is not possible in Earth orbit, these modules provide a nominally higher throughput.
Just like it happens with the Earth orbit stations, research modules in Lunar Orbit only produce Research Points when they have an astronaut assigned to them. Since bringing astronauts to the Lunar Orbit station is quite expensive and requires the use of specialized spacecraft, we'll need to take into account the number and type of deployed research modules when planning the layout of our station.
Note that the 'Station in Lunar Orbit' research technology is close to the end of the research tree, and it's a pre-requisite for the 'Industrial R&D Lunar Orbit' technology, which unlocks three new modules.
These modules generate 'Industrial R&D Lunar Orbit' points, which is one of the four types of Industrial R&D points available throughout the game. Having the ability to generate these types of points will allow us to accept some very lucrative contracts. These types of points also play an important role in the development of the Lunar Space Elevator Megaproject.
Construction platform for the Lunar Space Elevator
Lastly, one of the main reasons for establishing a presence in Lunar Orbit is because this station is the platform for launching the construction of the Lunar Space Elevator Megaproject (LSE), which is the ultimate goal of the game. We'll be covering the details behind the LSE in upcoming Dev Diaries entries. For the time being, here's a sneak peek of the various modules required in Lunar Orbit (there's more in GSO, more details in future entries).
Coming Up Next
This blog post concludes the two-part series that covers the details behind the 'Lunar Orbit' station. In the next Dev Diary entry, we'll start another two-part series, where we'll discuss some of the references we used throughout the development of 'Space Station Designer'.
Don't forget that we're currently running a closed beta for the game (more information here). Last week we released another update (version 0.5.72), which includes updated versions of all 26 interactive tutorials, along with several gameplay additions and Quality of Life (QoL) improvements.
We're currently hard at work on the next update, which will feature several QoL improvements and updated content. If you're interested in trying out 'Space Station Designer', please consider applying to the closed beta and help us shape its future.
See you in the next Dev Diary!
--Ignacio, Mauricio, and Nicolas (Polar Motion)