From our Kordoss correspondent
The government of Kordoss is continuing its search for a replacement for the recently collapsed space elevator. Several offers have been made, and some of those have already been turned down.
The first offer made was by Haroldson B. Hunt of Kordoss Melters Inc., who suggested on-the-site refinements of the ores, followed by an space-bridge consisting of a fleet of small cargo shuttles to form this space bridge from the smelters to the awaiting cargo ships in orbit. The government officials questioned the cost estimations of this offer, being estimated as 1.3% cheaper than the previous space elevator, as well as complaints from the Miners’ Union, who protested against the full dependence of the government upon two private companies, of which either one withdrawing on made deals would mean a cessation in delivering goods to orbit.
Another offer was made by the students of the Thomas Walsh Institute for Physics. They proposed an ore slingshot system, which would shoot the raw ore into orbit from which it could be gathered using simple ore scoops. This plan was rejected due to the unstable and unpredictable orbits of the ore The erratic orbits would be a menace to any ships passing through this layer. Furthermore, there were concerns being raised about the effects of the projectiles traveling at high velocities through the lower layers of the atmosphere. The lower costs of this proposed system would not, according to government officials, weigh up against these concerns. Concerns about possible re-entering of the atmosphere of some of the ore sealed the future of this offer.
Some people may wonder about the rejection of this system, as the Kordoss Cargo Railgun (KCR) system was the original method used to bring the ore to orbit. The problem is, that this system is not even close to being able to deal with the quantity of ore that is required nay demanded by our clients throughout the Solar System and Alpha Centauri. The catching system which prevents the flaws of the current offer does not lend itself well to upscaling to any scale significantly larger than the current incarnation.
There seems to be a good chance of an end to the search though, as UAC has made an enticing offer to the Kordoss government. They offer to build a new space elevator, funded and maintained by them, and place that under control of the Kordoss government. UAC does require a vote in the governing of Kordoss similar to the Miners’ Union. This accord can be ended from either side with a 2 months notice. If the offer is broken, control of the elevator reverts to UAC completely, but Kordoss would be free to build an elevator of their own or seek other alternatives.
The government, the Miners’ Union , and representatives from UAC are currently discussing the finer terms of the UAC offer.
