NOV 5, 3302

Commander Alan Shepard launched his nine-day mission on January 31, 1971 at 4:04:02 p.m. local time after a 40-minute, 2 second delay due to launch site weather restrictions, the first such delay in the Apollo program. Shepard and Mitchell made their lunar landing on February 5 in the Fra Mauro formation - originally the target of the aborted Apollo 13 mission. During the two lunar EVAs, 42.80 kilograms of Moon rocks were collected, and several scientific experiments were performed. Shepard hit two golf balls on the lunar surface with a makeshift club he had brought from Earth. Shepard and Mitchell spent 33½ hours on the Moon, with almost 9½ hours of EVA. Shepard was the oldest U.S. astronaut when he made his trip aboard Apollo 14.[4][5] He is the only astronaut from Project Mercury (the original Mercury Seven astronauts) to reach the Moon.

The mission was a personal triumph for Shepard, who had battled back from Ménière's disease which grounded him from 1964 to 1968. He and his crew were originally scheduled to fly on Apollo 13, but in 1969 NASA officials switched the scheduled crews for Apollos 13 and 14. This was done to allow Shepard more time to train for his flight, as he had been grounded for four years.

In honour of this historic and bold space flight, the SHEPARD Mission will depart from orbit of the Moon, just outside the Galileo Ocellus space station, in effect continuing his journey Alan Shepard began in the mid-20th century.

November 5, 3302

Primary Departure Point: 18:30 UTC [game time] Sol - 10 km outside of Galileo Station (orbiting the Moon)

Alternate Departure Point: 18:45 UTC [for those without Sol Permit] Epsilon Indi - Mitterland Hollow 20km from Barcello Penal Colony [south pole] -71.3082 57.4528

(There is a small clearing at the foot of the mountain near the south pole that provides absolutely stunning views and a panoramic vista of the parent planet passing by. There are ample places to land even the biggest ships here, but be patient as the ground is a little uneven. Set your guidance for Bercello Penal Colony during approach)

MAY 5, 3303

Mercury-Redstone 3, or Freedom 7, was the first United States human spaceflight, on May 5, 1961, piloted by astronaut Alan Shepard. It was the first manned flight of Project Mercury, the objective of which was to put an astronaut into orbit around the Earth and return him safely. Shepard's mission was a 15-minute suborbital flight with the primary objective of demonstrating his ability to withstand the high g forces of launch and atmospheric re-entry.

Shepard named his space capsule Freedom 7, setting a precedent for the remaining six Mercury astronauts naming their spacecraft. The number 7 was included in all the manned Mercury spacecraft names to honor NASA's first group of seven astronauts. His spacecraft reached an altitude of 101.2 nautical miles (187.5 kilometers) and traveled a downrange distance of 263.1 nautical miles (487.3 kilometers). During the flight, Shepard observed the Earth and tested the capsule's attitude control system, turning the capsule around to face its blunt heat shield forward for atmospheric re-entry. He also tested the retrorockets which would return later missions from orbit, though the capsule did not have enough energy to remain in orbit. After re-entry, the capsule landed by parachute on the Atlantic ocean off the Bahamas.

In honour of Alan Shepard's historic Mercury 3 space flight, we will conclude the SHEPARD Mission at Sol - Abraham Lincoln Orbital Station on May 5, 3303 - exactly 1342 years prior. Godspeed Alan.

NOV 6, 3302

The first waypoint of the Shepard Mission is an F-Type star buried in the middle of the cylindrical Orion Nebula, part of the larger nebula cluster around Barnard's Loop - including Orion, Running Man, Flame Nebula, and Messier 78. A region of visually stunning nebulae, all within a few hundred light years radius of each other. Barnard's Loop is the most prominent in this region and acts as a navigational aid to travelers as far afield as the Sagittarius Gap far rim. Deep Space explorers returning from the depths of the galactic core regions know home is ever closer once the tiny but welcoming distant red haze of Barnard's Loop becomes visible through their canopy window. The loop takes the form of a large arc, more than 300 LY across, and centered approximately on the Orion Nebula. The stars within the Orion Nebula are believed to be responsible for ionizing the loop. Orion Nebula is a hyper-dense cluster of Red Dwarf stars that illuminate the region in a linear stroke across the galactic sky.

A recommended landing spot is on the darkside of moon 4a. Commanders should rely on orbital approach to coordinates because the planet surface is very dark, heading north of the center to an isolated crater with little resounding navigational features.

NOV 8, 3302

Once thought to be the largest known star in the galaxy, VY Canis Majoris is a red hypergiant star located in the constellation Canis Major. It is one of the largest observed stars in the galaxy [1420 solar radii], and also one of the most luminous of its type. If placed at the center of the Sol System, VY Canis Majoris's surface would extend beyond the orbit of Jupiter. Waypoint 2 is the final waypoint before entering Centaurus reach - an immense region of planetary nebulae, more than 35.000 LYs in length.

NOV 10, 3302

NGC 4463 is the first supernova remnant of SHEPARD and is en route to the Carina Arm. Known as an open-cluster planetary nebula, NGC 4463 exhibits a wide colour range from red, yellow, orange, and in some locations, green. The nebula appears like an interconnected-lattice of gaseous clouds. Over time, radiation pressure from the cluster will disperse the molecular cloud. Typically, about 10% of the mass of a gas cloud will coalesce into stars before radiation pressure drives the rest of the gas away. Open clusters are key objects in the study of stellar evolution. Because the cluster members are of similar age and chemical composition, their properties (such as distance, age, metallicity and extinction) are more easily determined than they are for isolated stars.A number of open clusters, such as the Pleiades, Hyades or the Alpha Persei Cluster are also visible with the naked eye from the Sol system.

BASECAMP 1 - Mount Custard: [NGC 4463 Sector RY-R E4-5 3A] -28.00 // 154.00

November 10, 3302 [East 10:00 / Central & West 22:00]

SRV Climb / Race up Mount Custard departing at three different times every 4 hours. No need to sign up, just show up at the basecamp coordinates at whatever time works for you: 18:00 UTC (Nov 10) / 22:00 UTC (Nov 10) / 02:00 UTC (Nov 11).

NOV 14, 3302

CSI-61-15434 is a blue Wolf-Rayet star at the center of a butterfly planetary nebula. The nebula has inflated dramatically due to a fast stellar wind, blowing out into the surrounding disk and inflating the large, wispy hourglass-shaped wings perpendicular to the disk. These wings produce the butterfly appearance when seen in projection. The outer shell is estimated to be about 1,200 years old.

NOV 18, 3302

Eta Carinae is found within the Carina Nebula, a giant star-forming region in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way. The nebula is a prominent naked eye object in the southern skies showing a complex mix of emission, reflection, and dark nebulosity. The nebula is composed mainly of gas ejected during the Great Eruption event in the mid-nineteenth century, as well as dust that condensed from the debris. The nebula consists of two polar lobes aligned with the rotation axis of the star, plus an equatorial "skirt". The dense appearance of the Carina Nebula, and particularly of the Keyhole region, is in a period of reduction in ionising radiation from Eta Carinae since the Great Eruption in 1877. Prior to the Great Eruption the Eta Carinae system contributed up to 20% of the total ionizing flux for the whole Carina Nebula, but that is now mostly blocked by the surrounding gas and dust.

BASECAMP 2 - Blue Jay's Crater: [Eta Carina IR-W D1-18 4] 54.910 // 126.569

November 18, 3302 [East 10:00 / Central & West 20:00]

NOV 21, 3302

GCRV 6807 is a brilliant purple planetary nebula with a Wolf-Rayet primary star toward the end of Leg 1. Waypoint 6 is on the inner edge of the Carina arm. To proceed to the next waypoint cmdrs must cross through the Dryman Ridge to the Scutum Centaurus Arm. This planetary nebula is located within the Carina constellation. The nebula itself is beautiful to behold, but the system contains no landable planets (or planets at all!). However, a nearby system contains a multitude of landable worlds just waiting to be explored. Moreover, nearby is GCRV 7815, an intense blue planetary nebula offering rich saturated colours that illuminate cmdr's ships.

Looking toward the galactic core from this GCRV 6807 cmdrs only see the darkness from a region known as Hawking's Gap. This darkness allows for perfect conditions to perform the first of three Deep Image Scans of the galactic core.

November 21, 3302: Deep-Image Scan I

NOV 25, 3302

The Pueliae AA-A H0 Nebula is the final waypoint for Leg-1, located in Dryman's Ridge en Route to Leg-2 and the less traveled Scutum-Centaurus Arm. Dryman's Ridge is a stellar complex dividing the void into the two regions known as Hawking's Gap and Hipparcos Basin. While some explorers have stopped at this vibrant purple nebula, little is known about its forming origin, as only a few consituant stars remain. It is hoped that planetary prospecting within the nebula may shed light onto the elemental makeup of the nebula, indicating its age and how it may have been formed.

BASECAMP 3: [TBD] xx.xxx // xx.xxx

November 25, 3302 [East 10:00 / Central & West 20:00]

NOV 29, 3302

Oeshorps AM-C B13-0 is the first waypoint of Leg-2, and is the halfway point between Waypoint 7 and Waypoint 9 - a distance of almost 12,000ly! Oeshorps is a desolate region of space within the larger region known as Hipparcos Basin. Happarcos Basin is a vast region of space between two major arms that has been little explored, only a few stars have been cataloged thus far. SHEPARD cmdrs will use this waypoint as a base to explore the immediate area for habitable and earth-like worlds, as well as any other undiscovered astronomical anomalies such as planetary nebula, Black Holes, and rare Carbon Stars.

The primary focus of Leg-2 [in particular Waypoints 9-14] is to explore the death and creation of new stars through a comprehensive stellar analysis of key Neutron Star fields, White Dwarf nurseries, and Black Hole clusters. It is the aim of this Waypoint 9 to serve as a basecamp to analyze stellar assemblages, while discovering new clusters of hyper-activity not observable from civilized space.

There is an alternate Waypoint 8 for the SHEPARD Fleet to rendevous with independent cmdrs from the Galactic Nebula Expedition at its conclusion at ATHAICT CL-Y G2 [a stunning and complex system with binary B-Class stars and 3 Herbig AeBe stars.

DEC 2, 3302

Waypoint 9 [Oob-Free EG-Y G11] is an uncatalogued black hole system that marks the beginning of a 35,000ly peregrination along the length of the Scutum-Centaurus Arm. The Scutum–Centaurus Arm, also known as Scutum-Crux arm, is a long, diffuse curving streamer of stars, gas and dust that spirals outward from the proximate end of the Milky Way's central bar. This strip of the Scutum-Centaurus arm that SHEPARD will traverse is relatively dry of known points of interest, with the exception of a few large nebula. This is partially because this region of the galaxy is so large that it remains relatively unexplored, which is one of the reason SHEPARD is following its path. Secondly, however, the Scutum-Centaurus Arm is incredible rich with black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarves, as well as the rarer Herbig AeBe stars.

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DEC 6, 3302

Also known as Hawkin's Nebula, Waypoint 10 is a prominent and large nebula situated towards the 'western' edge of Scutum-Centaurus arm and is one of the first major 4th Quadrant nebula's discovered. One of the systems (Eock Bluae TW-V C2-0) within the nebula contains a beautiful Earth-Like world (nicknamed 'Douglas World') that due to its stunning nebulous backdrop, may one day become a very distant tourism candidate once atmospheric shielding allows planet-side exploration. - From Galactic Mapping Project

BASECAMP 4: The Cereal Bowl [EOCK BLUAE WC-U C3-0 1A ] -58.8897 // 146.4339

December 6, 3302 [22:00 UTC & 02:00 UTC]

DEC 9, 3302

Waypoint 11 [Systipoi MN-K D8-1] is a White Dwarf system with two stars that will be used to search a nearby neutron star field. After one month of travel, once we have reached Waypoint 11, we are more than 33,000ly from Sol - more than half the distance to Beagle Point.

DEC 13, 3302

A small-medium sized nebula in the heart of the Scutum-Centaurus arm (4th Quadrant region). It is home to approx. 105 stellar systems, including an Earth-Like World and Water Giant (TEGNAE HT-Z D13-6). -From Galactic Mapping Project

DEC 16, 3302

Waypoint 13 [Roefaa IV-P D5-4] marks the end of the Scutum-Centaurus Arm run. The primary star is a Neutron star at the edge of a expansive neutron star field. We will use this waypoint as a base to catalgue any remaining non-sequence stars before crossing through the Tyros Ridge to the end of the Sagitarius Carina Arm. The ridge acts as a crossing point for travelers passing through that remote region and wanting to reach the far galactic rim.

DEC 20, 3302

Waypoint 14 is the point of departure to reach Beagle Point at the start of the Roncevaux Crossing. This route is named as such because it is the point at which a 25.8 LY range Cobra Mk III [The Roncevaux] successfully crossed the eastern edge of the Abyss into the outer galactic arm regions. At this location - more than 55,000ly from Sol - we will make camp for the night, repairing and preparing our ships for the long-haul out to Beagle Point. Qautheia BA-A E0 is also the system of our second deep-image scan of the galactic core.

December 20, 3302: Deep-Image Scan II

BASECAMP 5: GLENN'S PASSAGE [Qautheia BA-A E0 A 2 A ] 2.2603 // -24.3115

December 20, 3302 [20:00 / 02:00]

We have named this basecamp in honor of our fallen hero, John Glenn, who like Alan Shepard pushed the limits of human exploration. This basecamp features a remakable canyon with steep mountain cliffs and is our the last waypoint before the rigorous and final push to Beagle Point.

ATTENTION Shepard Cmdrs attending WP14 [Glenn's Passage]... Please note, the stretch to Beagle Point is long and hard, and we would like to travel together as a fleet as much as possible. There is not much need to mess around at this basecamp too long, as we have more than a week idle at Beagle Point. Therefore, WP14 meeting will be a short get together where we all catch up for about 20-30 min... at which point we wing up and begin the journey to Beagle. Please complete this short questionnaire about your availability at this meeting.https://goo.gl/forms/QWlh2BvsxDMlXQy13

DEC 23, 3302

Leg 2 culminates at the Beagle Point system - the historically distant point in our galaxy. Beagle Point is the first major destination for the SHEPARD Mission, and was the final destination for the Distant World’s Expedition. We will spend a total of 7 days in this region of space, known as the Solitude Void, inclduing Christmas day at Beagle Point. Cmdr ‘Erimus’ Kamzel was the first to reach the far side of the galaxy circa Jan 18, 3301. His most distant system, CEECKIA ZQ-L C24-0, was later named Beagle Point in honor of his Asp Explorer Deep Space Surveyor ‘Beagle.’ He sent a long-range message home a few days later [Jan 23, 3301] stating the following: “On the galactic rim there is nothing but inky blackness outside your cockpit window giving you a real sense of remoteness. The Milky Way looks so distant, just a band of distant bright stars with little colour or structure. Outwards looking there are a handful of stars still further out but they’re beyond the jump range of a long-rangerd Asp, so may never be visited.”

BASECAMP 6 - Darwin's Legacy: [Beagle Point Planet 2] 48.56 // -35.57

December 23, 3302 [East 10:00 / Central & West 20:00]

Darwin's Legacy Week Activities

To Sign Up: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19ktC2Age3KQXKaMZ_iGUDoXu_YVRmLFj7w2BqP3so6A/edit#gid=0

DEC 25 - Christmas Fighter PvP

DEC 26 - SRV Circuit Rally Race

DEC 27 - FSD Endurance - 65,000ly Club

DEC 28 - ‘Day of rest’

DEC 29 - SRV Relay Race

DEC 30 - SRV SCIENCE!!!

DEC 31 - Canyon Jumping Tournament

JAN 1 - 3 vs. 3 SRV Football Match

JAN 2 - SRV King of the Mountain & Demolition Derby

JAN 3, 3303

Leg 3 begins will a trip down Route 33 into the region of space simply known as The Abyss. Leg 3 of the Shepard Mission is the most difficult to plan for, as it will be the portion of the journey most isolated from inhabited space. The aim of leg-3, therefore, is to gather information from over ten nebula on the far side of the galaxy. As information on this gaseous nebula is difficult to obtain from the civilized sector, detailed scans of numerous star systems within these nebulae provides crucial information of the formation of the Milky Way.

Syriae Thaa PJ-I d9-1 is an single A-Star system, and is a frequent stop for explorers daring enough to reach the galactic edge, and marks the return to the more dense regions of the galaxy on the outer edge of the Carina Arm.

JAN 6, 3303

Pyrivo DL-Y G5 is a Herbig Ae/Be Star System within the Galactic Aphelion en route toward the Dryiquae AA-A H32 Nebula. As the name implies, the Galactic Aphelion is located opposite to the Sol system on the galactic disc. The region loosely corresponds to the part of the Scutum-Centaurus arm that lies opposite to the Orion-Spur. Not much is known about this region of space, with much of the systems still a mystery. Waypoint 17 is located in the smaller cluster of stars known as Masefield’s Ocean, a molecular cloud complex with active star formation. For more information on Masefield’s Ocean, refer to the galactic mapping project region description.

Herbig Ae/Be stars are young pre-main-sequence stars embedded in gas-dust envelopes and are sometimes accompanied by circumstellar disks. They are 2-8 Solar mass still existing in the star formation (gravitational contraction) stage and are not yet fusing hydrogen in their center, and are thus located to the right of the main sequence.

BASECAMP 7: CARRIE'S FISSURE [PYRIVO VU-M D8-73 B 1 A] 2.6909 // 5.8627

January 7, 3302 [20:00 / 02:00]

JAN 10, 3303

Between the northern fringe of the Norma arm and the Scutum-Centaurus arm lies a treacherous region named the Styx. Like a dark and murky river, the Styx flows between the galactic arms, leading the unwary explorer astray. Dryiquae OI-B D13-4 is a Neutron Star at the center of Dryiquae AA-A H32 Nebula. This nebula is located along the northwestern edge of the Styx and is well below the galactic plane making it difficult to get to. Ships with limited jump range may be able to cross the Styx by seeking an easterly route and do the crossing north of the Eurus region. There are a collection non-sequence stars in this region that are waiting to be scanned. At this point, SHEPARD cmdrs will have surpassed 100,000ly of travel.

JAN 20, 3303

Bleethue AA-A H36 Nebula is one of the largest in a local cluster of seven nebulae in an area of the Outer Norma Arm known as the Boreas. The nebula is filed with remarkable red and blue gases, and is littered with over 30 Neutron Stars, a black hole, and a few Blue Giant stars. Located north of the galactic core, Boreas (Northern Wind) is a distinct white region bordered by the golden Eurus region to the east and the blue Zephyrus region to the west. Located centrally in Boreas is the Tristar Beacon, marking this region as the last safe shores for exploration vessels heading north with jump ranges below 30 LY. We will use this nebula as a basecamp to explore the region: Phroea Gree AA-A H34 Nebula Teqo AA-A H45 Nebula Phoi Bre AA-A H8 Nebula Phleedgoea AA-A H108 Nebula Scheau Byoe AA-A H187 Nebula Vegnue AA-A H17 Nebula

BASECAMP 8: [BLEETHUE FL-Y E396 2B] 38.4910 // -113.3502

January 20, 3303 [20:00 // 02:00UTC]

Named after recently decreased astronomer Vera Rubin, it is actually a small moon as part of binary moons orbiting a lava world, itself orbiting only 1000ls from a B-Class Subgiant star. The planet is low g (0.06) so for those of you brave enough, we are going to try to jump this canyon in our SRV... You may also note the planet is rich in jumponium materials for those of you looking to stock up after Beagle Point!

JAN 31, 3303

Phraa Byoe AA-A H14 Nebula is in the center of many large nebula nearby within the larger Perseus Stem - an enormous expanse of stars approx. 20,000 LYs wide and 5,000 LYs across, on the far side of the galactic core. The region is where the Perseus spiral arm emerges from the far edge of the galactic bar - including the permit locked BLEIA5 YE-A H30-0 Nebula. It is hoped by the time we reach this region of space in later January 3303 that our ships’ guidance computers will allow us access to these systems to search for alien life forms.

BASECAMP 9: [TBD] xx.xxx // xx.xxx

January 31, 3303 [East 10:00 / Central & West 22:00]

FEB 7, 3303

Hypuae Briae AA-A H268 is a large vivid purple nebula along the inner Perseum Arm near the galactic core. Located within 2ly of Waypoint 21 [Pheia Briae CE-B D3874] are 2 Neutron Stars within the nebula. A neutron star is the collapsed core of a large star (10–29 solar masses). Neutron stars are the smallest and densest stars known to exist. With a radius on the order of 10 km, they can, however, have a mass of about twice that of the Sun. They result from the supernova explosion of a massive star, combined with gravitational collapse, that compresses the core past the white dwarf star density to that of atomic nuclei. Most of the basic models for these objects imply that neutron stars are composed almost entirely of neutrons, which are subatomic particles with no net electrical charge and with slightly larger mass than protons. They are supported against further collapse by neutron degeneracy pressure, a phenomenon described by the Pauli exclusion principle. If the remnant has too great a density, something which occurs in excess of an upper limit of the size of neutron stars at 2-3 solar masses, it will continue collapsing to form a black hole.

FEB 14, 3303

Waypoint 22 marks the start of a dramatic climb to the galactic ceiling using the newly discovered Pulsar FSD-Boost technology. Aowroae GW-N E6-824 is a neutron star among a vast neutron star field and white dwarf nursery. It is significantly above the galactic plane [around 3,000ly], and as such serves as a great basecamp before climbing to the very limits to the galactic ceiling. Once we have reached the highest points recorded in the galaxy. the pilots will perform the third and final super high-resolution photographic Deep-Image Scan of the galactic core.

February 14, 3303: Deep-Image Scan III

BASECAMP 10: [TBD] xx.xxx // xx.xxx

February 14, 3303 [East 08:00 / Central & West 20:00]

February 17, 3303: Climb to the Galactic Ceiling Using Pulsar FSD Boost

FEB 21, 3303

Waypoint 23 [Scheau BLI EX-A D14-801] is a system within the Scheau BLI AA-A H154 Nebula, also known as the Inner Ring Nebula. Situated near the inner edge of the galactic core, this large pinkish nebula is pock-marked with black hole star systems - making it not only a place of visual beauty, but also of scientific interest too. This waypoint is the last before entering the galactic core, and features a nearby white supergiant and a supernova remnant with a neutron star.

FEB 24, 3303

Waypoint 24 is a supernova remnant with a neutron star, making it the first waypoint of Leg-4 and the first waypoint of the galactic core. Nearby is a stunning black hole planetary nebula, a system with binary Herbig AeBe stars. Leg4 of the Shepard Mission is a detailed reconnaissance and observation of massive planetary nebulae and supernova remnants in the galactic core. This leg of the mission will also feature visits to fifteen newly formed planetary nebula - including Dryio Bli CG-X E1-1498, a pulsar nebula.

BASECAMP 11: [Eorld Byoe BI-Q d6-989 9B] -62.1374 // -141.4365

Basecamp for Friday at WP 24 - titled simply 'The Junction'. Rose Nebula sits at the conflux between the galactic core and the Inner Persues Stem... and therefore marks the edge of the core for explorers travelling back from Beagle Point. Our leanding spot it sick as hell. Has a close orbitting moon and the parent Class 1 Jovian Gas Giant, as well as the perfect backdrop of the planetary nebula known as 'Rose Nebula'... also, nearby is a crater with an almost perfectly circular mound in the middle, as well as a canyon with dark oranges.

February 24, 3303 [Meeting 1 20:00-22:00UTC // Meeting 2 02:00-04:00UTC]

FEB 28, 3303

Waypoint 25 [Dryuae Chruia OI-S E4-8192] is the a supernova remnant with a Neutron Star located withing 1000ly of more than 4 other nebula.

MARCH 7, 3303

Juenae WJ-R E4-898 is a bright Supernova Remnant with a Neutron Star located roughly 25,000ly from Sol. There are two other planetary nebula within 700ly of this system - indicating that this sector of space is rich in elements and a potential for new star nurseries. The first planet from the primary neutron star is roughly 1000km in diameter, and will be the site of our Endurance SRV Race - a planetary semi-circumnavigation race from pole to pole. The SHEPARD Mission will spend 10 days at this waypoint (with 2 optional waypoints nearby). SHEPARD cmdrs will collectively orbit the planet scanning and photographing its mountains, valleys, landmarks, ultimately designating and denoting regions on its surface. A route with various checkpoints will be organized, and cmdrs will race in the 6-hour endurance challenge competing for the ultimate honour [S.H.E.P.A.R.D. Surveyor I]. The winning cmdr will be allowed to name the planet and a custom SHEPARD Surveyor patch will be ordered with the Cmdr's name included.

BASECAMP 12: [TBD] xx.xxx // xx.xxx

March 7, 3303 [East 10:00 / Central & West 22:00]

March 10, 3303: SRV Reconnaissance & Endurance Planetary Race

MARCH 17, 3303

While Waypoint 26 is significantly below the galactic plane, but near Sagitarius A*, Waypoint 27 is above the galactic plane - and will be the second 'highest' waypoint of the SHEPARD Mission. This infrequently visited buterfly planetary nebula features a black hole as its primary star, allowing for spectacular views of the nebula and galactic core.

BASECAMP 13: [TBD] xx.xxx // xx.xxx

March 17, 3303 [East 10:00 / Central & West 20:00]

MARCH 24, 3303

Perhaps one of the most brilliant and unique planetary nebula in the galaxy, Shrogaei DL-P E5-3604 is a small reflection nebula of rich blues and violets. We are not sure if this nebula is a supernova remnant (the black hole at its center gives us this clue), or if it is merely a dense reflection nebula (its color and formation gives us this clue). Reflection nebulae are clouds of dust which are simply reflecting the light of a nearby star or stars. Reflection nebulae are also usually sites of star formation. They are usually blue because the scattering is more efficient for blue light. Reflection nebulae and emission nebulae are often seen together and are sometimes both referred to as diffuse nebulae. Its primary star, a black hole, is accompanied by a small but bright K-Type star. This nebula is surrounding by G-Type and F-Type stars, making it a potential place abundant with undiscovered Earth-like Worlds. This is the last planetary nebula we visit before entering the deep core en route to the Great Annihilator and Sagitarius A*.

MARCH 28, 3303

1E1740.7-2942, or the Great Annihilator, is a large binary black hole thought to be located in the core region of the Milky Way, near the supermassive black hole Sag A* at the Galactic Center. It is one of the brightest gamma ray sources found in the Milky Way, producing massive amounts of photon pairs at 511 keV, which usually indicates the annihilation of an electron-positron pair. The Great Annihilator also has a radio source counterpart that emits jets approximately three light-years long. These jets are probably synchrotron emissions from positron-electron pairs streaming out at high velocities from the source of antimatter. A binary black hole (BBH) is a system consisting of two black holes in close orbit around each other. Like black holes themselves, binary black holes are often divided into stellar binary black holes, formed either as remnants of high-mass binary star systems or by dynamic processes and mutual capture, and binary supermassive black holes believed to be a result of galactic mergers.

For many years, proving the existence of BBHs was made difficult because of the nature of black holes themselves, and the limited means of detection available. However, in the event that a pair of black holes were to merge, an immense amount of energy should be given off as gravitational waves, with distinctive waveforms that can be calculated using general relativity. Therefore, during the late 20th and early 21st century, BBHs became of great interest scientifically as a potential source of such waves, and a means by which gravitational waves could be proven to exist. BBH mergers would be one of the strongest known sources of gravitational waves in the Universe, and thus offer a good chance of directly detecting such waves. As the orbiting black holes give off these waves, the orbit decays, and the orbital period decreases. This stage is called binary black hole inspiral. The black holes will merge once they are close enough. Once merged, the single hole settles down to a stable form, via a stage called ringdown, where any distortion in the shape is dissipated as more gravitational waves. In the final fraction of a second the black holes can reach extremely high velocity, and the gravitational wave amplitude reaches its peak.

The existence of stellar-mass binary black holes (and gravitational waves themselves) were finally confirmed when LIGO detected a distinctive gravitational wave signature of two merging stellar-mass black holes of around 30 solar masses each, occurring about 1.3 billion light years away. In its final moments of spiraling inward and merging, this event released around 3 solar masses as gravitational energy, peaking at a rate of 3.6×1049 watts — more than the combined power of all light radiated by all the stars in the observable universe put together. Supermassive binary black hole candidates have been found but as yet, not categorically proven.

MARCH 31, 3303

The final waypoint of Leg -4 will be reached on April 7, 3303 - Sagittarius A. Sagittarius A is a super massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Only theoretical speculation during the 20th and 21st centuries, Sag A was first discovered, observed, and explored by a human in late November 3300 by Commander Zulu Romeo - in his explorer-class Cobra Mk III. Sagittarius A is a bright and very compact astronomical radio source at the center of the Milky Way, near the border of the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius. It is part of a larger astronomical feature known as Sagittarius A.

BASECAMP 14 - Armstrong Landing: [STUEMEAE KM-W C1-342 1B] 57.25 / 78.06

March 31, 3303 [East 10:00 / Central & West 20:00]

APRIL 4, 3303

A blue planetary nebula just beyond the Neutron Star fields adjacent to the Near 3kpc Arm. Located on the inhabited side of the center of the galaxy, the Near 3kpc Arm stretches from one end of the Galactic Bar to the other. Star density is very high here, making route plotting difficult. It is a region particularly rich in planetary nebulae. Located within this region is also 'New Botany Bay' - a single star system containing four Earth-like worlds. This system makes for one final view of the dense galactic core before heading back toward the inhabited sector of the galaxy.

APRIL 7, 3303

Waypoint 32 is a supernova remnant with a black hole in a region of space known as the Sidereal Wall - a vast expanse of stars located at the very root of the Norma-Outer Arm, that travelers crossing the Norma Expanse encounter when heading coreward.

BASECAMP 15: [Dryaa Flyi FH-U e3-9159 X] 08.000 / -136.010

April 7, 3303

APRIL 11, 3303

A neutron star in a planetary nebula, Byua Aim MR-W E1-91 is orbited by 2 main sequence stars, an M-type and K-type. The nebula itself is very visible from the entire system, and from several nearby systems as well. This includes Byua Aim WN-T d3-790, the system which will serve as the Basecamp for this waypoint. This system has a silver A-type star, orbited by 6 landable planets. The second, a tidally locked high metal content world, has an excellent landing site with both the star and nearby nebula clearly visible in the sky, against the backdrop of the Milky Way.

NOTE - We will spend a total of one full week at this basecamp exploring this region of the galaxy. There is enough time allocated at this waypoint for cmdrs with damaged ships, or those who just need to refill supplies, to stop by Colonia Nebula and the famous Jaques Station.

BASECAMP 17 - Canary Ravine: [Byua Aim WN-T d3-790 A 2] 60.0370 // 6.2797

April 11, 3303

April 14, 3303: Trip to Jaques Station & 6 Black Hole System

ARPIL 18, 3303

Prua Phoe US-B D61 is a silver A-type star in the Skaudai AA-A H7-1 nebula. In the system are 3 gas giants and a brown dwarf, each with a number of moons. The first moon of the brown dwarf has a great landing site, near a canyon perfect for SRV races. The moon, and whole system, offer excellent views of the inside of the Skaudai nebula. Meanwhile, this system is only 50Ly from the fourth of the new refuelling stations on the way to the Colonia nebula, Sacagawea Space Port:

Hillary Depot – Blu Thua AI-A c14-10, planet A 4 A

Amundsen Terminal – Lagoon Sector NI-S b4-10, planet 1

Eagle's Landing – Eagle Sector IR-W d1-117, planet 2 A

Sacaqawea Space Port – Skaudai CH-B d14-34, planet 1 A

Gagarin Gate – Gru Hypue KS-T d3-31, planet 4

Polo Harbour – Boewnst KS-S c20-959, planet A 2 A

APRIL 28, 3303

NGC 6820 Sector PD-S b4-6 has 3 landable bodies within 40Ls of the arrival point, 2 of which are tidally locked. The first of these, planet 1, has a ravine with a plateau that makes an excellent landing site, and although it is on the light side of the planet, the nebula is still very visible in the celestial sky.

BASECAMP 17 - The Minor Divide: [NGC 6820 Sector PD-S B4-6 1] 7.9681 // -33.9953

April 28, 3303

MAY 2, 3303

CSI+19-20201, also known as Blue Flame Nebula, is a Wolf-Rayet C star inside a blue and violet planetary nebula on the fringe of the Orion Spur and the Sagittarius Gap. Although there are 2 high metal content planets in the system, neither one is landable. However, there are 4 landable planets within 200Ls of the arrival point in the nearby Blue Flash Sector RY-R b4-0, 3 of which are tidally locked.

MAY 4, 3303

Veil West Sector DL-Y d66 is a system within one of the most brilliant nebulae in the galaxy. This system has a landable planet at 4kLs from arrival point, an icy moon orbiting a class 3 gas giant. although the planet isn't tidally locked, the glow from the nebula means that landing is never done in the dark. This is our final waypoint before returning to inhabited space.