Taiping Space Program

=Taiping Space Program=

Overview
Since the first satellite was launched into space in the midst of the cold war, a space program is always a vanity symbol, like the ornaments on a poodle or the cover of an Ipod, to nations. And indeed, until recently, it has not been of much use. However, the importance of space technology has only become more obvious as time passed. In War and peace, one of the most important things is Communication, something facilitated by Satellites for decades. Therefore, one who has hegemony over space has hegemony over communications from anything as simple as phones to advanced targeting systems. Knowing this, the Taiping Empire has attributed much of its funding in space against its main rival, the Union of Everett. In the 3-day war of February 2009, the importance of space hegemony was shown to the world when almost a million Everetti and American anti-personnel Combat Droids were completely immobilized by the loss of Everetti and American Satellites. While order was restored within minutes of the end of the war, both the Everetti and the Taiping realized the importance of control over space, and so the second space race began. As of now, the Taiping Empire actively seeks to make use of the planets not only as bases of research, but as colonies or even weapons. As such, it has used a wide mix of new technologies such as Yinghuarite/Sakuradite and Anti-gravity. As of now, it has expanded air combat not only to the atmosphere, but outside of it too.

Current Production-model Systems
Ganymede RP-35 EV Suit: Designed by Ganymede, the EV suit allows the user to survive for some time in the vacuum of space and is far more mobile than space suits. The EV suit is standard issue for Oracle pilots. It allows 36 hours of air and limited communication through old-fashioned radio. EV suits do not allow for much movement through space, but they do have markers that allow the pilot to be retrieved at a later time.

Oracle-classed snubfighter: A fighter based on airplane designs, the Oracle has been adapted to space combat. Its main weapons include rockets, Electromagnetically-propelled cannons, EMP bombs and Antigravity Shields, and the prototype Radiation Wave Missile. However, the user must wear an EV suit in order to pilot, though later designs allow the creation of artificial atmosphere inside the cockpit. While its top speed is about 65,000 MPH, somewhat slower than its Everetti Counterpart, the Raptor Fusion fighter, it can fly for a far longer time in terms of fuel and is far easier to pilot. It is powered by the new Yinghuarite-Fusion Yggdrasil Engine, which lowers energy cost and raises efficiency at the cost of slightly lower power than the Fusion Engine. New Versions use the new Stutterfire Lasers. The Oracle uses 4 of these engines, meaning that, depending on the position, up to 2 of them can be destroyed without any significant effect on piloting.

Yi Soon-Jee-classed satellite: Unmanned satellite capable of attacking other satellites, the Yi Soon-Jee is extremely inexpensive and light and thus can be deployed in bulk, allowing them to outnumber the satellites of almost all other nations and also allowing them to be lost easily. Most are not actually even communication satellites. Its top speed is a paltry 20,000 MPH, but it boasts jamming and hacking equipment and is a good bargain for its price.



Zhang Heng-classed Battlecruiser: The first Taiping Operational Space Combat Battle Station, the Zhang Heng is only 65% of the size of the Liberty and carries a crew of only 6,400, though it can be piloted with a skeleton crew of 6. It carries a squadron of 36 Oracle-classed Fighters and is self-sufficient. Weapons include prototype Lasers, Missile Launchers, EMP Cannon, Electromagnetic Pulse Weapons and Electromagnetically-propelled weapons. Defenses include artificial-gravity built barrier orbits (thousands of pieces of mirrored debris that can be scattered around the cruiser in an orbit to block attacks and dissipate lasers) and limited Anomaly Projectors (fires a missile that suddenly compresses a massive amount of matter and thus creates a massive gravitational anomaly that refract even light (slightly) or simply suck in missiles). Although far smaller, their Yinghuarite technology allow the incorporation of almost the same amount of equipment at 60% the cost of the Liberty. Only Three are exist, two of which are still being built: the Zhang Heng, the Sun Quan and the Seong.

Zhou Yu-classed Cruiser:''' A cruiser still in design stages, it is meant to build on the original failures of the Zhang Heng. It is expected to use the Radiation Wave technology recently devised. It is confirmed that it will employ stutterfire.

Major Technologies
Electromagnetic Core Cannon (ECC): A gun that works much like a railgun, using the power of magnets to forcibly propel a piece of metal at ridiculous speeds. In space, where no inertia is lost, only a tiny amount of energy is needed for less than a millisecond, and, with Yinghuarite technology, the ECC has been shrunk into a tiny, fuel-efficient minigun. It can fire at several thousand times the speed of sound, and, if it strikes any circuitry, the electromagnetic forces used to propel the bullet will remain capable of overloading any exposed circuits.

EMP wave/EMP Mine: Two weapons also used, the EMP wave fires a wall-shaped blast of electromagnetic Radiation that gradually expands enough to be of no effect. However, if hit while still focused, the EMP wave will short out all electronics, meaning that in space it would be an auto-kill. the EMP Mine is simply an EMP of similar function.

Gravity Orbit Defense: A system that uses gravity, it maintains an orbit of debris around the subject, usually a cruiser. The debris is usually reflective foil or the like, but anything will do. When a battle is entered, the gravity is altered so the junk, instead of forming a ring, will form a sphere of debris that will defend the user. Its reflective nature will weaken lasers by a massive amount and deflect some back at the attacker, while its large shape will snag up missiles. In battle, the gravity of one part of hte orb can also be drastically altered so this debris will fly at the speed of a bullet at an opponent and shred them.

Light Reflection Detection System (LRDS): A system developed alongside the Stutterfire system, the LRDS works on the same principle, firing thousands of tiny lasers in all directions and using the strength and direction of the reflected beam to find the opponent. the LRDS system removes the need for Radar and allows accurate sensing of even faster-than-sound objects. Used by all fighters. It can be fooled the same way a Laser can be fooled.

Radiation Wave Technology: A new technology devised due to the effect of radiation on some gases in destabilizing them. The theory behind the Radiation Wave is that a given amount of gas is used as the medium and to amplify a blast of radiation that would break the gas down. With the breakdown, the gas would release massive amounts of energy in a millisecond, and the radiation would also spread into anything that the gas is touching, causing it to destabilize. Sometimes, of course, this destabilization may result in an even MORE powerful version of the material, but in most cases, this will cause the target substance to superheat and then explode. This radiation would also break apart projectiles and energy and usually superheat them, causing to implode. In practice, though, this has remained difficult. The Zhang Heng space cruiser carried a prototype radiation wave projector, while the Baima Frames of the mysterious Irregulars use a variant called the Radiation Arm, which uses canisters of gas. The main problem so far has been preventing the radiation from destroying the cannon and the user. For now, the problem has been replaced with the Radiation Wave missile, which destroys itself with the target and solves the problem of having to defend the user.

Stutterfire: a new concept designed by a rising star in the Laser industry, Aureola Industries. To save the amount of energy wasted on usual lasers, stutterfire fires a weak laser similar to the ones that require nothing more than an AA battery sold in Chinatown. However, its sensors will use the light reflected (there is no object that is completely opaque and does not reflect light) to deduce the distance and strength of the target and fire a precisely timed burst of laserfire of required strength. Due to the speed of light, the whole process takes a miniscule amount of time and limits the amount of energy lost. This allows Oracle-class Fighters to even further streamline its energy so that it can spend days without refueling, and also allows auto-targeting.

Yggdrasil Drive: A system that uses a fusion of the Fusion Reactor and the Yinghuarite Drives. The Yinghuarite drive amplifies power and conducts it, lowering the amount wasted and allowing a Yggdrasil Drive of the same power as a Fusion Reactor engine to use half the energy. This gives vehicles more efficiency and air time.