Post by allie on Jun 5, 2023 0:56:37 GMT
Built and worked harder than any other spacecraft in Poseidon's gravity well, the six sisters of Prosperity Station's Jumbo fleet are in a class of their own. They have ridden out cyclonic storms on the runway and survived midair collisions with birds unscathed. Their mission is to operate when nobody else will, and their crew take it very seriously.
Jumbos trace their origin to the "crisis of '92," when a rough storm season coincided with the arrival of two slow boats. GEO-2 was still under construction, and the many flights canceled because of ground conditions led to a food crisis in orbit that lasted almost a month. In the aftermath, the GEO concluded that they would need to move people planetside faster and more efficiently than Poseidon's existing space fleet was capable of doing, and began exploring options.
Dundalk's entry to the design competition addressed the problems of 2192 with brute force. Fast fungus problems, for instance, were solved with inorganic metal construction, and avionics improvements made foul-weather operations safer. The most radical element, however, related to refueling during storm season: Dundalk's design carried enough reaction mass to lift off twice. Although it was one of the most expensive designs submitted to the contest, Dundalk's design won the GEO's attention, and Prosperity Jumbo I was completed less than a hundred days after Prosperity Station itself.
At least one Jumbo goes planetside every day, making them the most common way to both leave and visit Prosperity Station; when a new ship arrives in orbit the entire Jumbo fleet is often active around the clock. Most passengers are still recovering from IMHS; screaming, vomiting, and fainting are all common during reentry, and while the flight attendants clean and disinfect the interior after the passengers are disembarked only Prosperity Jumbo IV has been grounded (by a lightning strike) long enough to properly refurbish.
the following details are subject to revision
Dimensions: 824 metric tons
Durability: Yes
Power Source: Hydrogen reaction mass, 630 metric tons
Fuel Range: Planetside and back twice before refueling
Capacity: 8 crew (pilot, copilot, engineer, flight attendants), 100-120 passengers, 2 tons cargo
Availability: Rare
Cost: Not currently for sale
Jumbos trace their origin to the "crisis of '92," when a rough storm season coincided with the arrival of two slow boats. GEO-2 was still under construction, and the many flights canceled because of ground conditions led to a food crisis in orbit that lasted almost a month. In the aftermath, the GEO concluded that they would need to move people planetside faster and more efficiently than Poseidon's existing space fleet was capable of doing, and began exploring options.
Dundalk's entry to the design competition addressed the problems of 2192 with brute force. Fast fungus problems, for instance, were solved with inorganic metal construction, and avionics improvements made foul-weather operations safer. The most radical element, however, related to refueling during storm season: Dundalk's design carried enough reaction mass to lift off twice. Although it was one of the most expensive designs submitted to the contest, Dundalk's design won the GEO's attention, and Prosperity Jumbo I was completed less than a hundred days after Prosperity Station itself.
At least one Jumbo goes planetside every day, making them the most common way to both leave and visit Prosperity Station; when a new ship arrives in orbit the entire Jumbo fleet is often active around the clock. Most passengers are still recovering from IMHS; screaming, vomiting, and fainting are all common during reentry, and while the flight attendants clean and disinfect the interior after the passengers are disembarked only Prosperity Jumbo IV has been grounded (by a lightning strike) long enough to properly refurbish.
the following details are subject to revision
Dimensions: 824 metric tons
Durability: Yes
Power Source: Hydrogen reaction mass, 630 metric tons
Fuel Range: Planetside and back twice before refueling
Capacity: 8 crew (pilot, copilot, engineer, flight attendants), 100-120 passengers, 2 tons cargo
Availability: Rare
Cost: Not currently for sale