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Rhiannon
The Rhiannon space station was the first station to employ simulated gravity as a standard feature, and would eventually serve as the first conference hall of the Solar Council. Designed by American engineer Stephen Kerrigan in 2086, his modular design system became the base standard for space station designs, and remained in use for nearly a century. Rhiannon was also the first station to employ a weapons platform; the political climate of the late twenty-first century made this an unpleasant but necessary feature. Fortunately, this system was only used twice during Rhiannon's first tour of service (2091-2106), and in neither case was it necessary to use lethal force.
This image of Rhiannon was taken in 2091, shortly before it became fully operational. Upon inspection, a viewer can tell that several module ports are still empty. This was actually a deliberate move on the part of the building agencies, who wanted to leave ports available for future expansion, or as locations for temporary modules. Oddly enough, Rhiannon was never truly "finished," as modules and systems were rotated out and replaced on a regular basis. During Rhiannon's long tenure of service, every module of the station was replaced at least twice.
Rhiannon's first function was as a scientific research platform, aimed at continuing projects carried by previous structures. Rhiannon's ability to comfortably house up to 120 people at a time (a record for the time) allowed for unprecedented progress in all fields of space research. When the decision was made, in 2106, to continue operating the station beyond it's original projected time frame, it was partially re-configured to serve as a meeting place for representatives of the World Council and the breakaway Lunar factions. When the later were granted full independence as the Selinite Federation, Rhiannon was the logical choice for the first meeting of the newly chartered Solar Council in 2112. It served in this capacity until a dedicated facility was opened in 2124. At that point, Rhiannon reverted to being a research platform, and remained so until 2136, when it was decommissioned and turned into a museum.
Rhiannon continues to serve as a museum, and is a popular stop for tourists and historians. Most of the station's original systems are no longer functional, but thanks to it's robust design, even modern engineers believe that it could again be made operational to modern specifications, should the need arise.
- Citation: Eeq's technological history of the Solar Council, 6th ed.
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Footnote one: Those who know me personally my find this "hauntingly familiar" to a fan project I ran several years ago. Behold it's new incarnation.
Footnote two: Rhiannon, the Solar Council, Eeq, and all other specifics belong to and are copyrighted by ME! 'Nuff said.
Footnote three: This was rendered using Space Station Manager, an open source space station simulation program.
The Rhiannon space station was the first station to employ simulated gravity as a standard feature, and would eventually serve as the first conference hall of the Solar Council. Designed by American engineer Stephen Kerrigan in 2086, his modular design system became the base standard for space station designs, and remained in use for nearly a century. Rhiannon was also the first station to employ a weapons platform; the political climate of the late twenty-first century made this an unpleasant but necessary feature. Fortunately, this system was only used twice during Rhiannon's first tour of service (2091-2106), and in neither case was it necessary to use lethal force.
This image of Rhiannon was taken in 2091, shortly before it became fully operational. Upon inspection, a viewer can tell that several module ports are still empty. This was actually a deliberate move on the part of the building agencies, who wanted to leave ports available for future expansion, or as locations for temporary modules. Oddly enough, Rhiannon was never truly "finished," as modules and systems were rotated out and replaced on a regular basis. During Rhiannon's long tenure of service, every module of the station was replaced at least twice.
Rhiannon's first function was as a scientific research platform, aimed at continuing projects carried by previous structures. Rhiannon's ability to comfortably house up to 120 people at a time (a record for the time) allowed for unprecedented progress in all fields of space research. When the decision was made, in 2106, to continue operating the station beyond it's original projected time frame, it was partially re-configured to serve as a meeting place for representatives of the World Council and the breakaway Lunar factions. When the later were granted full independence as the Selinite Federation, Rhiannon was the logical choice for the first meeting of the newly chartered Solar Council in 2112. It served in this capacity until a dedicated facility was opened in 2124. At that point, Rhiannon reverted to being a research platform, and remained so until 2136, when it was decommissioned and turned into a museum.
Rhiannon continues to serve as a museum, and is a popular stop for tourists and historians. Most of the station's original systems are no longer functional, but thanks to it's robust design, even modern engineers believe that it could again be made operational to modern specifications, should the need arise.
- Citation: Eeq's technological history of the Solar Council, 6th ed.
====
Footnote one: Those who know me personally my find this "hauntingly familiar" to a fan project I ran several years ago. Behold it's new incarnation.
Footnote two: Rhiannon, the Solar Council, Eeq, and all other specifics belong to and are copyrighted by ME! 'Nuff said.
Footnote three: This was rendered using Space Station Manager, an open source space station simulation program.
Image size
700x525px 63.66 KB
© 2008 - 2025 rjpugh
Comments2
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Wow, really cool concept. 
