![]() Space Suits and Tugs - Atomic Rockets. This is from Robust Lunar Exploration Using an Efficient Lunar Lander Derived from Existing Upper Stages and A Commercially Based Lunar Architecture, both from United Launch Alliance (ULA). The ULA's Advanced Common Evolved Stage (ACES) is basically a ULA standard propulsion bus. The idea is to avoid relying upon gigantic expensive launch vehicles such as the Ares. ULA proposes using the tiny ACES refueled with the miracle of orbital propellant depots so that smaller inexpensive commercial launch vehicles can be used instead of the expensive Ares V. A term used in many role-playing and strategy games to describe attacks or other effects that affect multiple targets within a specified area. For example, in the. It is as if you were doing work, a new browser game by impish developer Pippin Barr, simulates puttering around inside Windows 95, clicking dialog boxes and mashing. Artwork by Noel Sickles for Rocket to the Moon, LIFE magazine January 17, 1949. Note the built-in binoculars. Mediagazer presents the day's must-read media news on a single page. Without the support of orbital propellant depots, the ACES would have to lug along all the propellant needed for the entire freaking mission. Since Every gram counts, this would bloat the ACES design to the point where there was no choice but to use the pricy Ares V. According to the second ULA report: . ![]() Archives and past articles from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com. Latest Articles by Martin Tillier. Martin Tiller's new must-read column on the markets Enlightening. Entertaining. Only at NASDAQ.com. Features Editor, Kotaku. Japanese curry aficionado. Author of the books Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life and the upcoming Final Fantasy. Total CPI was unchanged (Briefing.com consensus 0.0%) in June while core CPI, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.1% (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%). Establishing a propellant depot at the Terra- Luna L2 point will assist exploration outside of the Terra- Luna system. Since 7. 5% of the mass being boosted to LEO is propellant, it is cheaper to use commercial launch vehicles. This also encourages conducting lunar exploration as a continuous process instead of a series of disconnected missions. In addition to using propellant depots, the strategy includes using a common propulsion stage, the ACES module. Ideally the various components of the ACES should be commodities, that is, be off- the- shelf components available from several companies instead of just from ULA or NASA. ACES 4. 1The ACES module uses its basic liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen for main propulsion, propellant pressurization, RCS, power from fuel cells, and heat radiators. E. g., helium tanks to pressurize the propellant, MMH/NTO for RCS, and solar panels for power are just three more systems that can break. ULA's buzzword for this concept is Integrated Vehicle Fluids. This makes the ACES module a valuable component of a modular design spacecraft. It is doing its level best to be an . The stretching of the design is possible since all the subsystems are concentrated on the aft- mounted equipment deck, just forwards of the engines. All that needs to be done is add side- wall segments. Due to the clever planning of the orbital propellant network, only a 4. ![]() They can handle all the necessary tasks in the mission plan. The tank has a diameter of 5 meters. It drastically reduces cryogenic propellant boil- off by a variety of methods: tank geometry, low conductivity tank structures, passive thermal protection, and vapor cooling. In addition the cryogenic propellant is subcooled so it can last longer. The tank's exposed surface is covered by a thick multi- layer insulation blanket, to reduce heating from Terra or Sol. As preveviously mentioned, the ACES has no helium pressurization system, hydrazine fed RCS, nor solar power panels. Instead these functions are performed using the already present supply of LH2/LOX. But the major feature is the tanks are designed to be refilled with propellants once in space. Practically no existing spacecraft can do this, but it is a sine qua non for utilizing orbital propellant depots. ACES mounts 2 to 4 RL1. In the lunar mission plan, the ACES module will be used for four primary in- space mission functions: As service module propulsion system for an ACES 4. Orion spcecraft. As the descent propulsion system for an ACES 4. Altair lunar lander. As an ACES 7. 1 propellant tanker. As a component of an ACES 7. LH2 capacity)ACES/Orion spcecraft. Add to an ACES 4. ECLSS) Module and an Orion Crew Module, and you have an Orion spacecraft. The ACES 4. 1 is acting as a . The ACES provides the propulsion, half of the RCS (other half is on Orion), electrical power, and heat radiator. The ECLSS provides the Orion Crew Module with N2 replenishment, CO2 scrubbing, and voice communication. ACES/Tanker. This is a . It will be used as a propellant tanker (7. LH2 storage section of an depot (1. ACES/Depot. This is an ACES 4. ACES 7. 1. The ACES 7. LH2 storage, and the ACES 4. LOX storage. The modified ACES 7. LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) shifted in order to maximize LH2 storage. The engines are removed and a deployable sunshield is installed. The depot has multiple interfaces for transferring propellant to and from the depot tanks. It can also supply power and support services to docked vehicles for extended periods. The proposed orbital propellant depot network will have one depot in LEO and the other at L2. Yes, I am aware that other experts are of the opinion that L1 is superior to L2 when it comes to siteing Terra- Luna propellant depots. However ULA wants the depot at L2 to assist missions to Mars and other points outside the Terra- Luna system. An L2 depot can replace an L1 depot, but an L1 depot cannot replace an L2 depot. The entire depot structure (both ACES 4. ACES 7. 1) is launched with the ACES 7. Since the ACES 7. After launch into LEO, the ACES 4. It will transfer the residual LH2 into the ACES 7. LOX. Remember that the ACES 7. LH2 storage while the ACES 4. LOX. The depot will become the LEO orbital depot. Subsequent launches will fill the tanks and keep them filled. The second depot launched into LEO is destined to be installed at L2. Once it reaches LEO, the ACES 4. LH2 and LOX, since it will be used as a tug. The ACES 7. 1 section will just be filled with LH2 since it is basically payload. The ACES 4. 1 section transports the entire depot to L2. The L2 depot will be kept topped up by periodic visits from a propellant tanker based on an ACES 7. EAch LEO to L2 trip will deliver 2. Temperature conditions are very different in LEO as compared to L2. LEO is a hot place, with thermal radiation from Terra heating up the depot tanks and boiling off propellant. L2 is relatively cold. The depot uses a passive thermal protective system. It deals with the problem by being designed to primarily boil- off and vent gaseous hydrogen (since it has about ten times the thermal capacity of oxygen). It will boil- off about 2. The liquid hydrogen is used to cool off the liquid oxygen, in other words. As it turns out, objects in LEO need lots of RCS action to keep the depot in its assigned spot and not falling out of orbit to a fiery doom or something like that. The boiled- off gaseous hydrogen can be used in RCS attitude jets to prevent that unhappy fate (Isp of 3. V per day). The boil- off and station- keeping needs can be balanced. At L2 the heating rate is far less, boil- off of only one kilogram a day or so. Luckily at quasi- stable L2 the station- keeping requirements are also low. The LEO Depot will lose about 1. However, since the plan has over 3. LEO Depot in a year, the heating loss is less than 4%. ACES/Altair. For Lunar operations, a belly lander spacecraft based on the ACES 4. This is called the Dual Thrust Axis Lander (DTAL) since it has two thrust directions: aft like a tail- sitter, and dorsal like a belly- lander. The DTAL- R is a robot controled cargo landing vehicle, the DTAL- Crew is a manned cargo landing vehicle. Basic Element Mass Summary. Vehicle Element/Assembly. Dry Massmetric tons. Propellantmetric tons. Basic ACES 4. 15. Basic ACES 7. 1/ Tanker. Orion Command Module. Orion ECLSS Module. Orion Crew & Associated Cargo. Altair Cargo/Descent Module. Altair Ascender. 3. Altair Light Cargo. Altair Heavy Cargo. Depot Systems Module. ACES Depot (2 docked ACES)1. Vehicle Assembly Mass & Performance Summary. Vehicle Assembly. Total Massmetric tons. Delta VCapacitym/s. Nominal. Delta VDemandm/s. Nominal. Residual. Propellant. ACES/Orion @ LEO Departure. ACES/Orion @ L2 Departure. ACES /Altair @ LEO Departure. ACES/Altair @ L2 Departure. ACES/Altair Cargo @ LEO Departure. ACES/Altair Cargo @ L2 Departure. Variable. 2,9. 00. ACES/Tanker @ LEO Departure. Ascender @ Lunar Departure. Lunar Transport Operations. In ULA's master plan there are seven . They are mostly concerned with the orbital propellant depots. Tasks 4, 5, 6, and 7 are the Crew Transport Stream, and they are handled by NASA with help from contractors. They are mostly concerned with astronauts and exploration missions. The important point is that the two streams are not closely coupled, they need only loose choreography. So the commercial services keeping the depots topped up do not need to keep close tabs on what NASA is doing. They only need enough cooperation to ensure that there will be propellant at the depot when NASA needs it. The Logistics Stream. Trying to do space missions without propellant depots can waste lots of expensive equipment and propellant. With propellant depots you always get the maximum value out of each vehicle and drop of propellant. Without depots, each spacecraft stage is designed for the worst- case scenario. If the payload turns out to be lighter than expected or there is a favorable launch window or if the stage performs better than you feared, the end result is you have to throw away tons of expensive propellant at staging. What a waste! But with depots, if you have left over propellant, you can load it into the local depot at the end of the trip leg. The baseline plan is delivering about 3. This can be done by a wide range of launchers and providers, which is a good thing. Insuring against interruptions of service by a single provider is always prudent. This will be a great area for startup companies, since accidentally blowing up a tank of liquid hydrogen is no great loss. At least compared to accidentally blowing up a $2. With competition launch prices will drop with time. TASK 2: Move propellant from LEO Depot into L2 Depot. Because the LEO environment is so thermally hot compared to L2, you want to move propellant to L2 as fast as possible before it all boils away. Use it or lose it. Given the capacity of the LEO Depot, the baseline is a propellant transfer to L2 roughly every other month. This can be done with a dedicated ACES Tanker, or with the left- over propellant from Altair or Orion visits. Since these craft can make the trip to L2 with propellant to spare, each trip is also a small tanker mission. Games That Simulate Boring Jobs. It is as if you were doing work, a new browser game by impish developer Pippin Barr, simulates puttering around inside Windows 9. Depending on your real job, it’s a relaxing desktop toy or a horrifying parody of your waking life. It’s a fine example of the overlooked (and previously unnamed) gaming genre of officecore. While many games explore exciting professions like pilot, city planner, or hitman, officecore focuses on the drudgery of a desk job. The job’s details are usually generic, its fictional results obscured to heighten the potential relatability. While the average gamer will never slaughter demons or conquer France, they will probably spend some time, maybe all their time, working at a desk, so here’s a chance to help them reinterpret a familiar environment. As a player, you might use officecore to work out your workplace frustrations. You might find it useful for discreetly passing the time at a dead- end job. Or you might even learn something about yourself and realize you’re approaching your career all wrong. If the idea of playing a game that looks like your day job is off- putting, that already tells you something. Whatever your chosen profession, we all have something in common: We're trying to do the best. Desktop sims turn the computing environment into a puzzle or arcade game; office sims explore the workplace as a weaponless first- person shooter, RPG, or adventure; and corporate sims work like top- down simulations such as Sim. City or Roller Coaster Tycoon. Each provides a different commentary on the modern white- collar workplace. Desktop Simulation Games. Desktop sims imitate a typical computer interface, with a varying degree of verisimilitude. While in almost any other desktop game, the player’s inputs correspond to some fictional or metaphorical outputs, here they map quite directly; clicking a fictional dialog box is no different than clicking a real one. A desktop simulation’s unique relationship to the surrounding computing environment lets it play with the boundaries and directly provoke the player. It is as if you were doing work. Despite its retro design, It is as if you were doing work takes place in a post- labor world of “9. Randomized dialog prompts and document headings describe futuristic technologies like biofuels, tricorders, and gene doping, while the documents you “type” give self- help advice. Stock photos of office work pop up, with headers like “There is joy in work” and “No one ever drowned in sweat.”You are constantly validated and “promoted” for your simple tasks. You feel the condescension from whatever computer handed you this “work,” and you realize you’re neither important nor useful. The only real change you can effect is choosing from four desktop wallpapers and four background MIDI tracks. It’s an interesting preview of a future (and a present) where human work is mere decoration around automated labor. Can’t You See I’m Busy! While many games can be discreetly played inside a real copy of Excel, the 8- year- old game suite Can’t You See I’m Busy! Breakdown is a Breakaway clone inside a Word doc; Leadership is Helicopter inside a line graph. Crash Planning is a Bejeweled knockoff disguised as a calendar; Cost Cutter is a quirky tile matcher inside an animated bar chart. The idea is that you can play these games at the office without anyone noticing; there’s even a “boss button” to hide the most egregious game elements. The ruse is a bit thin, especially now that the fake software looks ancient. So the faux desktop interface is more stylistic than practical, and it emphasizes the relative monotony of the games themselves. To open a game, you click a button that oscillates between “start game” and “start work,” a winking gesture that feels sadder each time it loops. These games are designed to make time pass. To play them is to admit that you don’t even need to be entertained, just distracted. To play them is to admit you are wasting your life. The whole genre of games that look like work share a muddy boundary with work that looks like games, a manifestation of crumbling work- life balance and the rise of social networking, the ultimate grey area between work and pleasure. The desktop sim genre has stagnated in the past few years, maybe because the office drone found a better time waster in social media. There are spreadsheet interfaces for hiding your Twitter and Facebook use, but this isn’t even necessary in the growing number of jobs that include social media management. When work is play and play is work, neither are very satisfying. Looking busy has a bad rap. Sometimes you have to look busy so you can actually work on the things. While the player might advance up the ranks, gameplay never shifts into the top- down style of a god game or a Sim. City. The most common format is first- person. Most tabletop officecore games also play out on this level, focusing on interaction between characters. The Stanley Parable. The Stanley Parable is a video game about video games, but it’s also about exercising free will and challenging the limitations we unconsciously accept. Before it spirals into Matrix- like ontological absurdism, the game opens in a mundane office, depicting a mundane job. The later game’s mechanics, and even much of its message, could have been mapped onto all kinds of settings. But the modern office ties strongly into those free- will themes. To imply authority and obedience, the game could have started in a prison or a mental institution, but the office environment projects the same qualities with a subtler horror. It also turns The Stanley Parable into a power fantasy. When Stanley disobeys the narrator, he’s like Office Space’s Peter Gibbons ignoring Lumbergh and dismantling his cubicle. Every office drone has wanted to reject the system like this. Job Simulator (Office Worker level)2. VR game Job Simulator also takes place in a computer- automated post- job world, where museum- goers try out extinct occupations like auto mechanic, gourmet chef, store clerk, and office worker. The office level particularly highlights the disassociation between workday and product. As a chef, your job is to make a pizza; as an office worker, you have to “make job happen.” As at so many real office jobs, tasks like drinking coffee and chatting up co- workers are as important as doing any actual work. Job Simulator is a fumblecore game where half the fun is struggling with awkward controls. The incompetent feeling of this interface is reinforced by a tutorial bot that treats office rituals like exotic local customs, and who suggests you use “an ancient human technique called . Comfortingly, the robots seem to be just as clueless as you are about how business works, and they congratulate you for banging on your two- button keyboard or assembling a dadaist Power. Dot deck. You can’t really fail at this job. Payroll. Payroll is a first- person adventure game set in a 9. While one playthrough takes just 2. There’s no heavy satire here, no frame story or fourth wall to step behind. Your goals are typical work goals. You can get fired, or you can do your job and earn retirement. For an office sim, it’s optimistic and peaceful. The bitterest this game gets is a charmingly dreary simulation of an office birthday party. Generic Office Roleplay. The Generic Office Roleplay Facebook group is more of a sandbox than a game. Australian teen Thomas Oscar created it in 2. Oscar shut out unfunny ideas, striving for realism, rejecting friends who all wanted to play as janitors. Like any good DM, Oscar set boundaries around the roleplaying. But as discussed on Reply All, newer players got much sillier, replacing all the subtle jokes about fonts and social tension with goofs about iguana invasions and golden staplers. Years later, the current content is mostly middling, but this is still a fun destination for casuals. Synergon. Serious office roleplayers should consider Synergon, a loose RPG system presented satirically as a LARP, or live action roleplay. Skills include “integrity,” “yes man,” and “hereditary wealth.” Usable items include “cat calendar,” “power tie,” and “letter opener” (which “gives +1. Threats of Physical Violence.”)Supposedly, every business douche who fakes their expertise by throwing around jargon and management fads is unwittingly playing Synergon. They don’t know what they’re talking about, they just know they’ve heard all the words before.”While the site is mostly meant as satire, and no guidelines are given for true LARPing, a good dungeon master could mold Synergon into a playable tabletop or Skype game, though you’d need to flesh out your own campaign. It’s an especially attractive option for creating a customized revenge fantasy, or trying out the vicious office politics you avoid in real life. Panopti. Corp. This Nordic- style LARP, played just twice (2. Norway and 2. 01. Copenhagen), immerses players in a 3. Each player took on the role of an employee or executive, dressing the part and developing a backstory. A report on the 2. NPC “customers,” includes post- game analysis by players and organizers. As described in the minidoc above, players disappeared into their characters and surprised themselves with cutthroat behavior. Both playthroughs included online and social media elements, which felt exotic in 2. Players had to decide whether to sleep or keep working, and constant online updates raised the pressure to pull an all- nighter. One player had to take a break and cry before diving back in. Some players told Eirik Fatland, one of the game’s creators, that they regretted playing. I am also troubled,” Fatland writes in the report. Emergent player behavior in Panopti. Corp resembles the behavior of subjects in the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment, where volunteer “guards” treated “prisoners” so badly that the study was halted early after just six days. The Stanford experiment pointed to obvious dehumanizing effects of the real prison system; Panopti.
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