by nmjoe
Part 0, September 6th
Original
Archive
AiOS flight jacket squadron patch
“Dreams are hopeless aspirations in hopes of coming true. Believe in yourself; the rest is up to me and you.”
– TLC
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Kindly Note: It was audacious enough of me to actually write a technical paper about a space program without being trained in the field (my degree is in Applied Mathematics). I did, however, get to fly backseat in Navy jets off of aircraft carriers, logging over 100 “traps” aboard the USS Ranger and the USS Enterprise. I hope this makes up for any shortcomings. I will now push the boundaries of hubris and be even more audacious.
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This is another short diary.
Now that the technical paper has been written, it is time to focus on what to do with it.
As I mentioned in my previous diary, I am realistic enough to know that my paper will never be fully funded in this universe. But what about one of the quadrillions of multiverses out there?
In other words, the best thing that could happen to my paper is to fully fund it. But what about the second best thing to do? It may even be true that the second best is better than the first best!
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I personally think that the paper would make for a damn good hard science fiction TV series. All of the details for the technological aspects of the series have already been solved.
To that end, I have written the first draft of a series bible.
Wait. A series bible What is that?
Wikipedia:
Curiously, as I was writing my technical paper, it looks like I was unconsciously writing the series bible for it at the same time. Kinda weird (not in a Republican way LOL).
I want to deliver to the DKos community the bible in four installments.
My plan is to update the links in this webpage as the diaries go live.
Click here to review the DKos diary series on the technical paper
Reusable NewSpace: www.dailykos.com/...
Part 1:
Original
Archive
AiOS flight jacket squadron patch
Kindly Note: This is a Daily Kos Series on a TV Series Bible (a reference document used by screenwriters) that I recently completed. To see a list of the other entries in this series, please click the link below. Thanks!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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The Fundamentals of Adventures in Outer Space: The Lieutenants
Our show might well be the first in science fiction television series history to utilize a technical paper about a space program as the basis for all of its fictional technology. This technical paper (written by yours truly) is called Reusable NewSpace [www.reusablenew.space], and uses real NASA rocketry designs that were never funded. It can be considered a worldbuilding exercise, and provides us with a type of technological bible which includes real vehicles and habitable stations with all of the math already worked out. With this level of realism, the storylines become exciting, like watching a TV series about firefighters; they never skimp on authenticity and neither will we.
The comparison of our series with a typical firefighter series is purposeful. They do not create action by using people to fight against other people or having governments fight other governments. They instead create action by using people to fight against nature. This same philosophy will apply to our series where we create action by using our characters to fight the literally thousands of different ways one can die in the dark and foreboding vacuum cold of outer space. Writers will be challenged to create compelling stories that do not involve the “good guys against the bad guys.”
We hope to have the first season completed and ready in time for the 2026 streaming market. We will focus on three main characters to tell the story. They will make excellent role models for all genders. They will be seen coping with the drama that always seems to come in both their professional and personal lives, including the people around them. Which is to say, all of the primal failings (greed, jealousy, etc.) are still at play as flawed humans.
The key to the success of the series will be to unveil the wonder and awe of realistic space travel and still allow for the emotions and interactions of our characters that any audience can and will relate to. Their reality includes flying in spaceships, deploying to the Moon, going outside in a spacesuit, and other thrilling endeavors, all whilst trying to navigate their own private lives.
We will live vicariously through the main characters. Their adventures become our adventures.
Let the adventures begin.
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Logline
Three best friends live exciting lives working for a corporation aptly named Adventures in Outer Space. They get to fly into space, go outside on spacewalks, fly to the Moon, go outside on Moonwalks, etc. Just another ordinary day working extraordinary jobs as commercial astronauts.
Genre
Science Fiction, Adventure, Action, Drama
Rated TV-14
Content Advisory
violence, alcohol use, smoking, foul language, sexual content
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INTRODUCTION
We want to provide our audience with a science fiction experience so realistic as to be virtually indistinguishable from a science documentary experience, with the same high quality inspiration for the characters and stories.
Our series will be one for the history books. Our plan is to be the hardest science fiction series ever produced. Our philosophy is to incorporate the technical paper to provide accurate depictions of spacecraft. This series is thus an alternate timeline where the paper was fully funded and now exists a thriving space exploitation and tourism enterprise called Adventures In Outer Space (AiOS) (Fictional website: www.adventuresinouter.space).
We can also increase our brand exposure by reaching into the high school classroom through a free educational component called S.T.E.M. Adventures in Outer Space (Real website: www.stemadventuresinouterspace.com), where students will embark on imaginary journeys using the Common Core State Standards as it is found in the world of outer space exploration.
People in the real world that actually work in the space business (such as flight controllers at NASA) are going to love this show, and will hopefully tell all their friends and social media followers about their enthusiastic approval. This will lend us legitimacy and credibility. We wish to eventually build our audience into a cult–like following using the best marketing tool ever: word–of–mouth excitement from people in–the–know. This phenomenon happened with the movie The Martian, where space nerds everywhere hailed it for its adherence to science and technology. It was said that the author of the book pretended to have Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ph.D., looking over his shoulder, motivating him to ensure that the science and math were correct. We are trying to do the same thing, Professor Tyson!
This series might one day be compared favorably to the classic series The Expanse and For All Mankind (among others) which were hailed for its authenticity to not only the science and technology, but to the human aspects as well, with all the f–words and the grisly deaths. We will still be gritty entertainment, but want to also appeal to a younger audience who will be inspired by our show to find their passion and pursue it, whatever it is. Hence the TV–14 rating instead of the TV–MA rating, which becomes an additional challenge for the writers.
The series team will use the hardware described in the aforementioned paper, but adapt it to their own production values. Series writers will rely both on this bible and the technical paper to guide them through the story process. The dangers of operating in space, along with the foibles of being human, will provide for dramatic tension, excitement, amusement, suspense, thrills, cliff–hangers, and much more.
Our universe will be the ultimate in Star Trekian idealism, where everyone strives to be the best person possible, instead of striving to be the best at fame and fortune. Additionally, Star Trek was inspired by the US Coast Guard, whilst our series emulates civilian cruise ships. The characters will therefore belong to a pseudo–military organization, which includes cool uniforms and ranks, allowing for a clear chain of command during emergencies.
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Shooting
New Mexico is an ideal location for shoots involving outdoor settings, since the main location for our series is in the southwestern desert of the U.S.A. We can also use the sound stages provided by Cinelease Studios in Albuquerque (www.cineleasestudios.com/...).
Visual
Enough experienced production professionals will have a great time setting up costumes and sets for this series. They will use the images found in the technical paper as their starting point.
Story
We will not be doing the usual tales of parallel universes or time travel or mind control or even aliens. We will instead do stories about real people going through real situations, but in a setting not dissimilar to a firefighting drama.
Science
Our aforementioned space nerds will be looking closely for even the slightest of deviations from scientific and technological norms. Content creators with specialized degrees will be compelled to analyze the show. We want them all to generate buzz and excitement for our series because of our devotion to realism. It will also keep the writers and the production team vigilant.
Characters
Our three main characters have strong personalities who know what they want and are damn good at what they do. They are, however, flawed human beings. Even though they have jobs that are highly revered and respected, we want the audience to connect to the three characters as people, not superheroes.
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ADVENTURES IN OUTER SPACE
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
Whilst the rest of the USA is politically center–right, AiOS is decisively left–of–center and pursues a Progressive business agenda. Which is to say that they remain a private company with no stocks to sell or buyback; they insist on robust union representation; they pay above average wages with high–quality employer–paid health insurance; they offer a 32–hour work week; they insist on one–year paternal and maternal leave; they pay non–obscene executive salaries; they use the technique of reinvesting in the business to receive a low tax bill instead of resorting to accounting tricks (like stock buybacks); they serve vegan dishes to deployed astronauts so that carnivores and vegetarians can participate; they generate a low carbon footprint by using mega–hectares of solar panels; they operate space vehicles using “green” rocket engines, etc.
The technical paper called for tourists to pay for all of the science and industry that will occur in space, with revenue slightly over $12 billion annually and expenses slightly less than $12 billion. Science includes astronomy, oceanography, biology, etc. Industries include electrophoresis for protein synthesis, growing purer and larger crystals used in electronics, etc.
The paper, however, received some pushback from those who did not want to give the more affluent vanity rides into space, when the same amount of money could do much more good back here on the good Earth. According to the paper, the answer is the Overview Effect.
From Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/...
HISTORY
We are an alternate history science fiction series with a twist: our story does not alter our current timeline; instead, our story is an addition to our current timeline. Historical events, such as Presidential elections and private space flights, still occur up to and including the present time. Our series is just another story in the vast and continuing human tapestry.
It all began in the year A.D. 2011, when a retired airline pilot, Andrew Mayhew, 66, met a math teacher, Joe Maness, 53, at a party in Santa Fe, NM. They both had an interest in flying and were surprised that they shared the same politics. They became good friends.
They were having lunch one day when Maness bragged that he knew how to make money in space. His idea called for crowdfunding the enterprise instead of going to a bank. The investors would receive Moon rocks as their Return on Investment. Maness liked to call them “Lunar Diamonds” since the rocks would fetch the same amount of money as a really good diamond.
They both collaborated on the crowdfunding effort, with Maness responsible for the technical aspects and Mayhew responsible for the financial part of the operations. Mayhew had come from a fairly affluent family and used these contacts for the initial call for funds. After about a year, their plans were finalized and they started their crowdfunding campaign.
At first, investors were wisely skeptical, but Mayhew kept up his enthusiasm (his political leanings were probably the reason why the initial funding was difficult). After more than a year, the exhausted Mayhew had finally successfully crowdfunded the endeavor, and AiOS was born.
By mid–2013, operations were set up at Spaceport America (in the southern part of New Mexico, just west of White Sands) sharing the runway with Virgin Galactic until they could build their own runway. There was scant publicity about their company since they never sought attention for themselves. They just quietly went to work in the desert.
By the beginning of 2017, after almost four years of research and development and building, they had transformed the desert. Two long runways were completed and in use. Alongside the southernmost runway was a line of large buildings that housed manufacturing facilities, hangers, a hotel, a museum, spaceflight control center, astronaut training facility, etc.
They produced a space shuttle and other space and lunar vehicles fairly quickly. Two test article shuttles appeared in six months. The shuttles and other vehicles were flight tested and F.A.A. certified, which had held the company in high regard for going over and beyond all safety protocols. The press was starting to notice the company by this time, but reported it as just one of several new space startups.
The historic flight to the Moon later in the year was a transformational event that finally caught the rapt attention of the entire world. AiOS eventually completed several sorties to the Moon, paid off their initial crowdfunding investors by selling “Lunar Diamond” rocks, and had enough money left over to build a space station and a lunar base.
By 2018, the space station was finally completed with Orbital tourism flourishing, paying for science and industry. Once the orbital infrastructure was in place, they returned their attention back to the Moon to build the lunar base.
It is about this time that our three intrepid protagonists joined the organization as astronauts.
AiOS continued to build up its fleet of spaceships and the lunar base was starting to take form. By the end of 2019, the Spaceport was fully operational.
Covid hit the planet in 2020, but AiOS weathered the storm due to their policies, such as masking, vaccinations, believing in science, etc. But it also had a more interesting effect: it uncovered the individuals who were anti–mask, anti–vaccines, anti–science, etc. They were unfortunately ostracized by their peers who asked them why they were working for a business that was antithetical to their beliefs. The employees were never fired, but most of them left the company anyway. Management complained to their employees about the bullying, but not too loudly.
The following year, in 2021, the lunar base was completed and crews and tourists began to occupy the lunar surface.
In 2022, a TikTok influencer named Starla Gaiser became very famous for her posts about the company. Since her last name is pronounced “Gazer,” she went by “Starr Gaiser,” using her nickname to create her online persona. She eventually became the “face” of AiOS, liveblogging news about the space and lunar stations.
2023 saw the first of the lunar habitats to be 3D printed using waste products from the extraction of oxygen from lunar soil, providing the astronauts a larger volume of space. The same year saw astronauts from the lunar base finally reached Shackleton Crater near the lunar south pole.
By the end of 2024, the last of the lunar 3D printed buildings was completed and occupied. The modular base previously used was abandoned and turned into a museum.
The horrific and shocking tragedy in late 2025 really shook the corporation to the core. Investigations revealed that two college students who were upset about the landslide Presidential election the year before had set off what would normally be a benign smoke bomb inside a wall of a module that was docked with the space shuttle. What was intended to be a harmless prank on the space station went horribly wrong. After the device activated, it overheated several key components and burned out a hole, causing an explosive decompression and exposing some of the crew and tourists inside the module and the docked shuttle to the vacuum of space. The students and several crew and tourists were killed. The rest of the station was saved when all the airtight doors were closed and locked.
The stunned and heartbroken AiOS family eventually replaced the damaged module and, a few weeks later, the space station returned to nominal operations.
It is now late 2026, and things have long settled back down to the dull routine in outer space that it was before.
TECHNOLOGY
Since our series is set in contemporary times, we will use contemporary technology. Even though other science fiction series have put forth Herculean efforts to be as real as possible (and should be commended for it), they still relied on speculative technology. For example, Battlestar Galactica had an FTL drive and The Expanse utilized nuclear fusion to provide for torchship capabilities. Star Wars had Lightsabers and Star Trek had Photon Torpedoes. Since the level of expertise for any of this technology does not yet exist, it will not be incorporated into our series.
The technology for our series is instead grounded in what can be built and flown today, not what we might be able to build in some undetermined time in the future. This one simple idea will add even more impact to the reality portrayed in our series.
Part 2
Original
Archive
AiOS flight jacket squadron patch
Kindly Note: This is a Daily Kos Series on a TV Series Bible (a reference document used by screenwriters) that I recently completed. To see a list of the other entries in this series, please click the link below. Thanks!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I
Additional note: The intended audience for this section are Executive Producers who may not have the time to read the technical paper that the series is based on.
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STATIONS AND SPACESHIPS AND SPACEFLIGHT, OH MY!
GATEWAY TO THE STARS
EARTH SURFACE STATION
The primary location is called Spaceport America, located north of El Paso and west of White Sands. The facilities are shared with other aerospace companies, such as Virgin Galactic and others. Employees of the company work here in different shifts around the clock, allowing for 24/7 operations. All flight and spaceflight operations are conducted from this complex, along with spacecraft manufacturing, a hotel and restaurant, Mission Control, astronaut training, astronaut food preparation, museum, hospital, solar panel farm, aircraft and spacecraft hangers, etc. [Image 01].
THE CITY
The small town everyone lives in is also called Spaceport America (it was easier to keep the name than to try to find a new one, since the spaceport facility is central to its economy). The city has grown to 20,000 residences, of which 5,000 people are employed by AiOS, and serves a thriving tourism industry. All of the major retail outlets have locations there, including grocery stores, pet stores, clothing stores, convenient stores, gasoline stations, gyms, restaurants, libraries, schools, breweries, dispensaries, etc.
BERTHING
Astronauts without children rent a small one–bedroom apartment. Astronauts with children purchase houses. Houses are manufactured, shipped to the location and installed. Everyone has access to free high speed wireless Internet, live TV, and a few of the more popular streaming services.
WORKPLACE
Astronauts work in an office environment, with their own desks (just like in a firefighter series). They mostly do paperwork, but every so often, they have to keep their skills up in a flight simulator. They most often take classes on various topics related to safety and the latest operating procedures. They also take turns working some of the consoles as one of the flight controllers at Mission Control.
OFF DUTY HOURS
There are a variety of things to do at Spaceport America, with outdoor activities the most popular among the astronauts. A close second are the breweries, where any employee gets a free ride home. A fairly large percentage of the employees patronize dispensaries since there are no drug tests only because AiOS is a private business with no government contracts.
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SPACE SHUTTLE
REENTRY VEHICLE
The VentureStar Single Stage To Orbit (SSTO), Vertical Takeoff and Horizontal Landing (VTHL), fully reusable Reentry Vehicle (RV) flies our intrepid astronauts to and from the Spaceport and the space station [Image 02 and Image 03]. The RV carries either cargo or passengers, but never both. The RV spaceliner will be controlled remotely in the same way Un–crewed Aerial Vehicles (UAV) drone aircraft are operated remotely. It will operate at an altitude of 901 km and orbit the Earth exactly 14 times per day, allowing for regularly scheduled launches and recoveries since the ground tracks repeat.
VENTURESTAR ESCAPE MODULE
The passengers and crew fly inside the VentureStar Escape Module (VEM). The VEM will be constructed in two parts. The Pressurized Section houses the astronaut crew. The Escape Section houses all of the hardware to escape from the spacecraft [Image 04]. The VEM allows astronauts to safely eject in case of an “unplanned inflight spacecraft disassembly” resulting in a loss of vehicle [Image 05].
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SPACE STATION ALPHA
EARTH ORBIT STATION
The Earth Orbit Station (EOS) is a freight and passenger destination and transfer waystation. It is made up of several habitat modules hooked together to form an environmental whole that is greater than the sum of its parts [Image 06 and Image 07]. It houses 101 crewmembers and 96 hotel guests. Spaceflight crews operate around the clock, with roughly half of the crew on the Day Shift and the rest on the Night Shift, with each shift lasting 12 hours. The station includes a Bridge, Engineering, Sick Bay, Space Traffic Control Center, science areas, etc. Seven different vehicles operate around the station.
BERTHING
Space station crews eat and sleep inside of Berthing Modules [Image 08]. The module has twelve bedrooms, each with its own bathroom that includes a sink, toilet, and shower. Each room also has its own foldable stationary exercise bike. Each module will also contain a larger storage area and a Galley. Storage is for clothing, food, and other items. The Galley will only heat the food, there is NO food preparation in space. All meals are prepared on Earth and stored in the station.
WORKPLACE
Our station looks like any ordinary space station, only this one utilized interior designers and psychologists to ensure that the crew and tourists feel comfortable and safe. There is always a floor and a ceiling in each module, so that the occupants can have a sense of “up” and “down,” hopefully reducing nausea. The internal volume is very large, and can take several minutes to traverse one end of the station to an opposite end. The internal features of the station will be determined by the production team. One–third of the junior officers work in the station.
ORBITAL OUTPOST
Another one–third of the junior officers work in the Outpost vehicle, which is primarily used in support of the station in conducting all maintenance and repairs. The Outpost maneuvers using Utility Vehicles (UVs) [Image 09 and Image 10]. They will also use spacesuits that will be left outside of the spacecraft. The astronauts ingress and egress the suit through the back whilst attached to the side of the spacecraft [Image 11]. Astronauts will use the Outpost to perform EVAs and closeup visual inspections [Image 12].
ORBITAL EXPEDITIONARY
The final one–third of the junior officers work in the Expeditionary vehicle, which is used to conduct science missions that are quite a distance away from the space station. The Expeditionary maneuvers using Orbital Vehicles (OVs) [Image 13 and Image 14]. The crew uses a rocket to achieve a circular orbit with an altitude of 6,422 km, supporting the various free–flying science and industrial modules located there out of harm's way of space junk, and includes all maintenance and repairs [Image 15].
OFF DUTY HOURS
The EOS has several Observation Decks where the crew and tourists can drink alcohol and use vapes to smoke pot. This is the only place these activities are allowed. If there is an emergency they go to their quarters until it is time for their shift to start.
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ORBITAL TOURISM
OVERNIGHT
The least expensive of all the packages allows the tourist to stay onboard the VentureStar one night. They get to explore the space station and visit the Observation Decks. There is no EVA option for this package.
SPACE HOTEL
An extended stay aboard the space station allows the tourist to explore the station in depth during their 45–day adventure. Tourists eat and sleep inside of Berthing Modules [Image 16]. A popular gathering place will surely be the observation section of the EVA module. This area is open like a commons area, only this one has windows. This deck can act as a "porch" for tourists. They incredibly also get to walk in space from their hotel suite several times during their stay.
SPACESHIP
This package also includes a 45–day stay in space, only now aboard a ship that will dock and undock with the space station several times. The tourists get to experience the thrill of EVA on trips out of view of the space station [Image 17].
ROCKETSHIP
The tourists get to go to a distance that even NASA can’t go: over 750,000 km away, which is three times the distance to the Moon. At this distance, the Earth–Moon system should be visible together in the same part of the sky. They will spend 28 out of 45 days in “Rocket” mode whilst climbing to maximum altitude and back, with the rest of the time in “Spaceship” mode. [Image 18 and Image 19].
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CISLUNAR SHUTTLES
CISLUNAR CARGO
Cargo is flown on a Cargo Moon Shuttle and a Cargo Lunar Shuttle [Image 20 (cargo not shown)]. The Cargo Moon Shuttle carries cargo from the space station to lunar orbit and back. The Cargo Lunar Shuttle carries cargo between the lunar surface and lunar orbit.
CISLUNAR PASSENGER
Passengers are flown on a Moon Shuttle and a Lunar Shuttle [Image 21]. The Moon Shuttle carries passengers from the space station to lunar orbit and back. The Lunar Shuttle carries passengers between the lunar surface and lunar orbit. The Moon Shuttle originates at the space station and the Lunar Shuttle originates at the lunar base.
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MOON BASE ONE
LUNAR SURFACE STATION
The Lunar Surface Station (LSS) is of a modular design, just like the orbital space station [Image 22]. It houses 48 crewmembers and 48 hotel guests [Image 23]. Lunar crews operate around the clock, with roughly half of the crew on the Day Shift and the rest on the Night Shift, with each shift lasting 12 hours. The base includes a Bridge, Engineering, Sick Bay, Lunar Traffic Control Center, science areas, etc. Seven different vehicles operate around the station.
BERTHING
Lunar base crews eat and sleep inside of Berthing Modules [Image 24]. The module has six bedrooms, each with its own bathroom that includes a sink, toilet, and shower. Each room also has its own foldable stationary exercise bike. Each module will also contain a larger storage area and a Galley. Storage is for clothing, food, and other items. The Galley will only heat the food, there is NO food preparation in space. All meals are prepared on Earth and stored in the station.
WORKPLACE
Our base looks like any ordinary lunar base, only this one utilized interior designers and psychologists to ensure that the crew and tourists feel comfortable and safe. The internal volume is very large, and can take several minutes to traverse one end of the station to an opposite end. The internal features of the station will be determined by the production team. One–third of the junior officers work in the base.
NEW 3D PRINTED BUILDINGS
The waste product of Lunar Liquid Oxygen production is a metallic alloy that can be printed into sturdy habitat modules. There are many designs that are printed, with the “Quonset hut” style the favorite [Image 25]. They are attached to the existing modular base to add more internal volume to the station.
LUNAR OUTPOST
Another one–third of the junior officers work in the Outpost vehicle, which is primarily used in support of the base in conducting all maintenance and repairs. The Outpost maneuvers using Surface Vehicles (SVs) [Image 26 and Image 27]. They will also use spacesuits that will be left outside of the spacecraft. The astronauts ingress and egress the suit through the back whilst attached to the side of the spacecraft. Astronauts will use the Outpost to perform EVAs and closeup visual inspections [Image 28].
LUNAR EXPEDITIONARY
The final one–third of the junior officers work in the Expeditionary vehicle, which is used to conduct science missions that are quite a distance away from the lunar base. The Expeditionary maneuvers using Lunar Vehicles (LVs) [Image 29]. The Expeditionary flies to different locations on the lunar surface to drop off instrumentation, maintain the Apollo landing sites, maintenance and repair of sensors, etc. [Image 30].
OFF DUTY HOURS
The LSS has several Observation Decks where the crew and tourists can drink alcohol and use vapes to smoke pot. This is the only place these activities are allowed. If there is an emergency they go to their quarters until it is time for their shift to start.
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LUNAR TOURISM
MOONSHIP
The first of the lunar packages has the tourists leave the confines of planet Earth on their way to the Moon [Image 31]. The Moon Ship ignites its engines to perform a circumlunar “loop around the Moon” and return home, with the round trip lasting 7 days. The tourists also get to see the most spectacular vision imaginable: Earthrise. There is no EVA option for this package.
LUNAR HOTEL
An extended stay aboard the Moon base on the lunar surface allows the tourist to explore the station in depth during their 45–day adventure. Tourists eat and sleep inside of Berthing Modules [Image 32]. A popular gathering place will surely be the observation section of the EVA module. This area is open like a commons area, only this one has windows. This deck can act as a "porch" for tourists. They incredibly also get to walk on the Moon from their hotel suite several times during their stay.
LUNAR ROVER
This 45–day package lets the tourists leave the Moon base in their own lunar surface vehicle [Image 33]. The Lunar Rover will go in any direction the tourists wish, allowing them to go on excursions to different locations on the lunar surface near the base. They also get to EVA from the Rover several times during their stay.
LUNAR LANDER
The best tourist package is also the most expensive. It uses a lunar lander [Image 34] to fly tourists to several historic destinations on the Moon. The tourists will visit all six Apollo landing sites, plus the lunar Far Side and Shackleton Crater. They will have enough propellant leftover to go where no one has gone before on excursions to different locations on the lunar surface. They also sometimes meet the Expeditionary at a remote location to observe and maybe participate in placing instruments and sensors.
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SPACEFLIGHT SCHEDULES
UNIFORMS
All AiOS astronauts wear a uniform whilst on duty [Image 35], in the same way crews on civilian cruise ships do. The uniform has a nautical theme, with the outer garment Navy Blue, which is worn like an ordinary military flight suit. Each uniform displays the rank of the individual. Rank is displayed on sleeves [Image 36], and on shoulder boards [Image 37]. Underneath the flight suit, the astronaut wears underwear, a shirt, Bermuda shorts, and white socks. The color of the shirt determines the division, similar to the different color shirts found on aircraft carriers. There are seven shirt colors representing seven divisions:
Tourists will wear the same style uniform as the crew, except their shirt will be white so that injuries can be more easily spotted [Image 39].
CYCLES AND ROTATIONS
The command structure for both the EOS and LSS is essentially the same, with the space station roughly twice the size as the lunar base [Image 40 and Image 41]. A Blue Shirt Admiral is the Commanding Officer (CO) of the space station, whilst a Gray Shirt Captain is the CO of the lunar base. Other senior officers are in charge of their division and departments. Only junior officers are allowed to EVA.
Crews will be rotated through their deployments similar to the military, which is appropriately called a Rotation. Each Rotation is three fiscal quarters, or 274 days.
SHORE DUTY 68 days: Crew has a normal workday at the Spaceport
WORKUPS 23 days: Crew gets ready for the upcoming deployment
DEPLOYMENT 91 days: Crew is deployed to the EOS or the LSS
SHORE LEAVE 23 days: Crew on vacation
SHORE DUTY 69 days: Crew has a normal workday at the Spaceport
ROTATION 274 days
Shore Leave after every Deployment allows the astronauts vacation time to do whatever they want. Regular vacation time is therefore not needed because of the large number of Shore Leave days.
Crews on Shore Duty act as backups in case another astronaut can't deploy (because of pregnancy, accident, etc.). When the astronaut is cleared for duty, they will be returned to crew replacement status. Astronauts are also allowed to switch Rotations with each other.
Junior officers have three duty rotations within their Deployment. Only the Ensigns clean the stations (they call it “Doodie”), and only the Lieutenants fly the Expeditionary.
ENSIGNS LIEUTENANTS
1. Cleaning “Doodie” 1. Expeditionary Duty
2. Station Duty 2. Station Duty
3. Outpost Duty 3. Outpost Duty
Duty assignments are 30 or 31 days. All senior officers have Station Duty only.
Three Rotations (2.25 years) completes one Cycle, which is usually two Orbital Deployments and one Lunar Deployment. We will only allow the crew to work as astronauts for eighteen Cycles (40.5 years) due to the amount of radiation absorbed during their careers.
DAILY ROUTINE IN SPACE
The morning routine is typically the naval practice of “shit, shower, and shave” with one addition: the exercise portion of the equation using the foldable stationary bike found in every berthing module. The astronauts now call it “shit, shweat, shower, and shave” in keeping with the “sh” motif. Of course, other people may have different routines.
After breakfast, they relieve their counterparts and start their shift. They eat lunch at around the same time, taking turns so that nothing is left unattended. After the shift is over, they eat dinner and have personal time until the sleep period begins, with most of the crew relaxing at one of the many Observation Decks. Lather, rinse, repeat.
All orbital and lunar crews will have identical schedules, with two shifts of 12 hours each. This schedule will ensure 24/7 operations at each location.
Part 3
Original
Archive
AiOS flight jacket squadron patch
Kindly Note: This is a Daily Kos Series on a TV Series Bible (a reference document used by screenwriters) that I recently completed. To see a list of the other entries in this series, please click the link below. Thanks!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I | PART II
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CHARACTER BIOGRAPHIES
LIEUTENANT MICHELLE BERNAL
She is 38 years old, Hispanic with black hair and brown eyes, physical, single, and no children.
She was born in A.D. 1988 and knew that she wanted to fly with the military at a young age. Curiously, she had no desire to be a pilot. She eventually found out about the Flight Engineer (FE) position and was thrilled to see that it was an enlisted billet, which meant that she did not have to have a college degree to be in a cockpit.
Her grandfather was not pleased when he heard the news. He had wanted her to go to college, knowing that a higher education would be helpful for advancement opportunities. She promised him that she would complete her degree – in the military. Her grandfather grudgingly approved. She did not realize at the time how this decision to please her grandfather would one day change her life forever.
In the spring semester of her Senior year in high school, she took and passed the ASVAB with a score high enough to qualify for the vast majority of billets in any of the armed services. So shortly after graduation, she enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at the age of 18 to become a C–130 aircraft [Image 42] FE. Her plan was to stay in the military as long as she could fly and retire only when she was grounded by the Flight Surgeon or when she obtained a rank high enough to fly a desk. She was on the cusp of realizing her dreams.
She trained intensely and was happy to be exactly where she was. Training on the airplane itself was the fulfillment of a dream. After more than a year, she finally earned her wings. It was the proudest moment of her life. Her grandfather was at the small graduation ceremony the Marines had held for her and the other honorees.
She absolutely loved her job, and thrived in the military. She loved going on deployments to different parts of the world. Everything was just like she had imagined. She liked wearing the olive green flight suit, making her indistinguishable from an officer. She loved her position in the cockpit sitting in between the two pilots. She always beamed with pride in the knowledge that it takes three crew members to fly the airplane, not two. She was in charge of making sure the airplane was healthy enough to fly while the pilots did their “pilot shit.”
The Marines also offered her plenty of opportunities to take classes in pursuit of her college degree, and she took advantage of it, with her grandfather always in mind. The classes helped when it came time for promotions, just like he had said. She worked hard, and after four years, reenlisted for another four. As she completed more of her studies, she rose faster in rank.
In 2014, after four more awesome years, she happily reenlisted once again. Two years later, and after ten years in the Marines, she graduated with her four–year college degree. Her grandfather was at the small graduation ceremony the Marines had held for her and the other graduates. He was so proud of her, and she was happy that her degree had made him happy. Shortly afterwards, she was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant.
Two years later, AiOS announced that they were hiring more astronauts, and so she and most of the flight crew in her squadron decided to apply. To the shock of everyone, she was selected! So instead of continuing with her career and reenlisting, she was to muster out of the service in a couple of months and report for training at Spaceport America. She was going to be an astronaut as a Gray Shirt Engineering Officer!
Her last flight as a Marine Corps C–130 Flight Engineer was an emotional and bittersweet moment for her.
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LIEUTENANT ALEXANDRIA JEFFERSON
She is 38 years old, Black with black hair and brown eyes, physical, single, and no children.
She was born in A.D. 1988 and knew that she wanted to fly helicopters with the military at a young age. She was thrilled to discover that the US Army allowed enlisted personnel to become pilots, which meant that she did not have to have a college degree to be in a military cockpit.
She had always wanted to go to college anyway, knowing that a higher education would be helpful for advancement opportunities during and after graduation. And so she was doubly pleased to find out that she could complete her degree – in the military. She did not realize at the time how this decision would one day change her life forever.
In the spring semester of her Senior year in high school, she took and passed the ASVAB with a score high enough to qualify for the vast majority of billets in any of the armed services. So shortly after graduation, she enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 18 and became a helicopter mechanic on a UH–1 helicopter [Image 43]. Once mechanic training was over, she took college classes with the Army while becoming more proficient at her maintenance duties, hoping to one day fly the same type of helicopter she was working on now.
After two years of solid duty as a soldier, she was thrilled to learn that she was to be promoted to Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) and become a UH–1 helicopter pilot. The classes she took and all her hard work had paid off. Her plan was to stay in the military as long as she could fly and retire only when she was grounded by the Flight Surgeon or when she obtained a rank that only allowed flying a desk. She was on the cusp of realizing her dreams.
She trained intensely and was happy to be exactly where she was. After more than a year, she finally earned her wings as a fixed–wing pilot. It was the proudest moment of her life. Her parents were at the small graduation ceremony the Army had held for her and the other honorees. But her training had only just begun: the Rotary–Wing certification was an add–on to the Fixed–Wing license. Training on the helicopter itself was the fulfillment of a dream. After many more months of intense training, she graduated from helicopter flight school and was now a full–fledged Army helicopter pilot!
She absolutely loved her job, and thrived in the military. She loved going on deployments to different parts of the world. Everything was just like she had imagined. She liked wearing the olive green flight suit. She loved her position in the cockpit sitting in one of the two front seats, doing her “pilot shit.”
The Army also offered her plenty of opportunities to continue taking classes in pursuit of her college degree, and she took advantage of it. The classes helped when it came time for promotions, and was soon a WO2.
In 2016, after ten years in the Army, she graduated with a four–year college degree. Her parents were once again at the small graduation ceremony the Army had held for her and the other graduates. Shortly afterwards, she was promoted to WO3.
Two years later, AiOS announced that they were hiring more astronauts, and so she and most of the flight crew in her squadron decided to apply. To the shock of everyone, she was selected! So instead of continuing with her career, she was to resign her commission and muster out of the service in a couple of months and report for training at Spaceport America. She was going to be an astronaut as a Blue Shirt Astronautics Officer!
Her last flight as a U.S. Army H–1 Pilot was an emotional and bittersweet moment for her.
::
LIEUTENANT JENNIFER DOMINIC
She is 38 years old, Caucasian with blonde hair and green eyes, physical, single, and no children.
She was born in A.D. 1988 and was never bitten by the flying bug. Instead, she wanted to be a high school science teacher.
So off she went to a small community college after high school, working a 50–hour per week job as a food server at a fairly upper scale restaurant and going to school part–time. She had planned on taking an Educational Assistant (EA) job with a public school, but was horrified to know that her restaurant job paid substantially more. So she had the means to not only pay for school but also to party when not at work or studying. She enjoyed her time in school, and had a memorable celebration on her 21st birthday. A year later, and after four years working, studying, and partying hard, she graduated with her Associates Degree in General Science.
However, while it was nice to have a 2–year degree, she was disheartened to know that she still had another four years of hard work to complete for her 4–year degree. She was sick of her restaurant job, but didn’t want to reduce her income by taking an EA job. One day a friend suggested that she join the military, where she could get her college degree for free. The idea intrigued her, so she did her own research.
But what to do in the military? Be in a tank? On a ship at sea? She eventually stumbled upon flying, and was thrilled when she discovered that there were several enlisted flying billets, which meant that she did not have to have a college degree to fly. She also knew that she could complete her degree – in the military. Once she had her diploma in hand, she would apply to become a commissioned officer. She did not realize at the time how this decision would one day change her life forever.
She took and passed the ASVAB with a score high enough to qualify for the vast majority of billets in any of the armed services. So shortly after graduation, she enlisted in the United States Air Force at the age of 22 and became a Sensor Operator on the E–3 aircraft [Image 44]. Her plan was to stay in the military for 20 years, then begin her second career as a science teacher, with her military pension supplementing her teacher income. She liked to picture herself on the high school campus wearing her green Air Force flight jacket. She was on the cusp of realizing her dreams.
She trained intensely and was happy to be exactly where she was. Training on the airplane itself was the fulfillment of a dream. After more than a year, she finally earned her wings. It was the proudest moment of her life. Her parents were at the small graduation ceremony the Air Force had held for her and the other honorees.
She absolutely loved her job, and thrived in the military. She loved going on deployments to different parts of the world. Everything was just like she had imagined. She liked wearing the olive green flight suit, making her indistinguishable from an officer. She loved her position in the airplane, facing forward sitting behind a large desk brimming with displays. She always beamed with pride in the knowledge that it takes a crew and teamwork to successfully accomplish their mission.
The Air Force also offered her plenty of opportunities to take classes in pursuit of her college degree, and she took advantage of it. The classes also helped when it came time for promotions. She worked hard, and after four years, reenlisted for another four. As she completed more and more of her studies, she rose faster in rank.
Two years later, in 2014, and after six years in the Air Force, she graduated with a four–year college degree. Her parents were at the small graduation ceremony the Air Force had held for her and the other graduates. Shortly afterwards, she was promoted to Technical Sergeant.
Two years later, AiOS announced that they were hiring more astronauts, and so she and most of the flight crew in her squadron decided to apply. To the shock of everyone, she was selected! So instead of continuing with her career and reenlisting, she was to muster out of the service in a couple of months and report for training at Spaceport America. She was going to be an astronaut as a Khaki Shirt Science Officer!
Her last flight as a U.S. Air Force E–3 Sensor Operator was an emotional and bittersweet moment for her.
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COMMONALITY
Note: The career trajectory of our three protagonists are similar, and so will be discussed as a group instead of individually.
Too soon for them, all three left the military and reported for training as new Ensigns on the Night Shift. It was during training that our protagonists met and quickly became best friends forever.
Since they had already flown professionally for the military, the training AiOS provided was more of an overview of the art of being an astronaut, including space shuttle emergency escape procedures, spacecraft safety and operations, spacewalk and Moonwalk procedures, etc.
After six months, they deployed together to Space Station Alpha for 91 days as Ensigns on the Night Shift. Their first launch into space was a thrillride of three–gees followed by microgravity. The view outside took their breath away; they had become infected with the Overview Effect. They loved their job as astronauts even more than flying with the military. Night Shift was really cool, in that there was no one with the rank of Commander and above that was awake at the time. Even the tourists were asleep. The station was all theirs.
All three remained on the Night Shift a total of three years, after which AiOS hired more astronauts as a result of the Moon base becoming operational, and they were promoted to the Day Shift. Their duties did not change, but the station and base seemed busier with all the people now awake and moving around, including tourists.
They remained on the Day Shift for two years before being promoted to Night Shift Lieutenant after the 3D printed lunar habitats became operational. All three agreed that being promoted was great, but they were back on the Night Shift, which was not so great. However, they were one of the people in charge of the lunar base during the night. They especially liked that there would be no more “doodie,” as only Ensigns are consigned to that fate. Instead, their third duty was the Expeditionary, where they would ride a rocket up to a higher orbit for satellite maintenance and refurbishment, or land on the lunar surface in a place that no one has ever been before.
Their quick promotion to the Day Shift after three years came as a result of the accident on the space station in 2025. Many others were also promoted to replace the crew members that had died that day.
It is the following year when the series begins, and our three protagonists are now recently promoted Lieutenants on the Day Shift.
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OTHER RECURRING CHARACTERS
Starr Gaiser is a Tik Tok influencer who has a show called “Space News Update,” and is the unofficial spokesperson for the company.
Just like the military, a plethora of characters with various ranks and duties will come and go, interacting with our three main characters on a regular basis, whether on the ground or in space.
All other characters are non–astronauts who support the entire infrastructure for the astronauts whilst on the ground, in the same way the vast majority of the people working aboard an aircraft carrier support the relatively few who fly. They are flight controllers, trainers, chefs, manufacturing specialists, maintenance experts, medical professionals, etc.
Additionally, celebrities would be occasional guest stars and play themselves as orbital and lunar tourists, since they can in reality afford the price of the tickets. These celebrity guest stars will attract new viewers to our series.
Part 0, September 6th
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“Dreams are hopeless aspirations in hopes of coming true. Believe in yourself; the rest is up to me and you.”
– TLC
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Kindly Note: It was audacious enough of me to actually write a technical paper about a space program without being trained in the field (my degree is in Applied Mathematics). I did, however, get to fly backseat in Navy jets off of aircraft carriers, logging over 100 “traps” aboard the USS Ranger and the USS Enterprise. I hope this makes up for any shortcomings. I will now push the boundaries of hubris and be even more audacious.
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This is another short diary.
Now that the technical paper has been written, it is time to focus on what to do with it.
As I mentioned in my previous diary, I am realistic enough to know that my paper will never be fully funded in this universe. But what about one of the quadrillions of multiverses out there?
In other words, the best thing that could happen to my paper is to fully fund it. But what about the second best thing to do? It may even be true that the second best is better than the first best!
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I personally think that the paper would make for a damn good hard science fiction TV series. All of the details for the technological aspects of the series have already been solved.
To that end, I have written the first draft of a series bible.
Wait. A series bible What is that?
Wikipedia:
It is my first attempt at a document like this.
Curiously, as I was writing my technical paper, it looks like I was unconsciously writing the series bible for it at the same time. Kinda weird (not in a Republican way LOL).
I want to deliver to the DKos community the bible in four installments.
My plan is to update the links in this webpage as the diaries go live.
- Adventures in Outer Space: The Lieutenants, Part I
- Adventures in Outer Space: The Lieutenants, Part II
- Adventures in Outer Space: The Lieutenants, Part III
- Adventures in Outer Space: The Lieutenants, Part IV
- Adventures in Outer Space: The Lieutenants – Initial Marketing
- Adventures in Outer Space: The Lieutenants – Initial Marketing Update 1
Click here to review the DKos diary series on the technical paper
Reusable NewSpace: www.dailykos.com/...
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Kindly Note: This is a Daily Kos Series on a TV Series Bible (a reference document used by screenwriters) that I recently completed. To see a list of the other entries in this series, please click the link below. Thanks!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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The Fundamentals of Adventures in Outer Space: The Lieutenants
Our show might well be the first in science fiction television series history to utilize a technical paper about a space program as the basis for all of its fictional technology. This technical paper (written by yours truly) is called Reusable NewSpace [www.reusablenew.space], and uses real NASA rocketry designs that were never funded. It can be considered a worldbuilding exercise, and provides us with a type of technological bible which includes real vehicles and habitable stations with all of the math already worked out. With this level of realism, the storylines become exciting, like watching a TV series about firefighters; they never skimp on authenticity and neither will we.
The comparison of our series with a typical firefighter series is purposeful. They do not create action by using people to fight against other people or having governments fight other governments. They instead create action by using people to fight against nature. This same philosophy will apply to our series where we create action by using our characters to fight the literally thousands of different ways one can die in the dark and foreboding vacuum cold of outer space. Writers will be challenged to create compelling stories that do not involve the “good guys against the bad guys.”
We hope to have the first season completed and ready in time for the 2026 streaming market. We will focus on three main characters to tell the story. They will make excellent role models for all genders. They will be seen coping with the drama that always seems to come in both their professional and personal lives, including the people around them. Which is to say, all of the primal failings (greed, jealousy, etc.) are still at play as flawed humans.
The key to the success of the series will be to unveil the wonder and awe of realistic space travel and still allow for the emotions and interactions of our characters that any audience can and will relate to. Their reality includes flying in spaceships, deploying to the Moon, going outside in a spacesuit, and other thrilling endeavors, all whilst trying to navigate their own private lives.
We will live vicariously through the main characters. Their adventures become our adventures.
Let the adventures begin.
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Logline
Three best friends live exciting lives working for a corporation aptly named Adventures in Outer Space. They get to fly into space, go outside on spacewalks, fly to the Moon, go outside on Moonwalks, etc. Just another ordinary day working extraordinary jobs as commercial astronauts.
Genre
Science Fiction, Adventure, Action, Drama
Rated TV-14
Content Advisory
violence, alcohol use, smoking, foul language, sexual content
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INTRODUCTION
We want to provide our audience with a science fiction experience so realistic as to be virtually indistinguishable from a science documentary experience, with the same high quality inspiration for the characters and stories.
Our series will be one for the history books. Our plan is to be the hardest science fiction series ever produced. Our philosophy is to incorporate the technical paper to provide accurate depictions of spacecraft. This series is thus an alternate timeline where the paper was fully funded and now exists a thriving space exploitation and tourism enterprise called Adventures In Outer Space (AiOS) (Fictional website: www.adventuresinouter.space).
We can also increase our brand exposure by reaching into the high school classroom through a free educational component called S.T.E.M. Adventures in Outer Space (Real website: www.stemadventuresinouterspace.com), where students will embark on imaginary journeys using the Common Core State Standards as it is found in the world of outer space exploration.
People in the real world that actually work in the space business (such as flight controllers at NASA) are going to love this show, and will hopefully tell all their friends and social media followers about their enthusiastic approval. This will lend us legitimacy and credibility. We wish to eventually build our audience into a cult–like following using the best marketing tool ever: word–of–mouth excitement from people in–the–know. This phenomenon happened with the movie The Martian, where space nerds everywhere hailed it for its adherence to science and technology. It was said that the author of the book pretended to have Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ph.D., looking over his shoulder, motivating him to ensure that the science and math were correct. We are trying to do the same thing, Professor Tyson!
This series might one day be compared favorably to the classic series The Expanse and For All Mankind (among others) which were hailed for its authenticity to not only the science and technology, but to the human aspects as well, with all the f–words and the grisly deaths. We will still be gritty entertainment, but want to also appeal to a younger audience who will be inspired by our show to find their passion and pursue it, whatever it is. Hence the TV–14 rating instead of the TV–MA rating, which becomes an additional challenge for the writers.
The series team will use the hardware described in the aforementioned paper, but adapt it to their own production values. Series writers will rely both on this bible and the technical paper to guide them through the story process. The dangers of operating in space, along with the foibles of being human, will provide for dramatic tension, excitement, amusement, suspense, thrills, cliff–hangers, and much more.
Our universe will be the ultimate in Star Trekian idealism, where everyone strives to be the best person possible, instead of striving to be the best at fame and fortune. Additionally, Star Trek was inspired by the US Coast Guard, whilst our series emulates civilian cruise ships. The characters will therefore belong to a pseudo–military organization, which includes cool uniforms and ranks, allowing for a clear chain of command during emergencies.
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Shooting
New Mexico is an ideal location for shoots involving outdoor settings, since the main location for our series is in the southwestern desert of the U.S.A. We can also use the sound stages provided by Cinelease Studios in Albuquerque (www.cineleasestudios.com/...).
Visual
Enough experienced production professionals will have a great time setting up costumes and sets for this series. They will use the images found in the technical paper as their starting point.
Story
We will not be doing the usual tales of parallel universes or time travel or mind control or even aliens. We will instead do stories about real people going through real situations, but in a setting not dissimilar to a firefighting drama.
Science
Our aforementioned space nerds will be looking closely for even the slightest of deviations from scientific and technological norms. Content creators with specialized degrees will be compelled to analyze the show. We want them all to generate buzz and excitement for our series because of our devotion to realism. It will also keep the writers and the production team vigilant.
Characters
Our three main characters have strong personalities who know what they want and are damn good at what they do. They are, however, flawed human beings. Even though they have jobs that are highly revered and respected, we want the audience to connect to the three characters as people, not superheroes.
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ADVENTURES IN OUTER SPACE
CULTURE AND SOCIETY
Whilst the rest of the USA is politically center–right, AiOS is decisively left–of–center and pursues a Progressive business agenda. Which is to say that they remain a private company with no stocks to sell or buyback; they insist on robust union representation; they pay above average wages with high–quality employer–paid health insurance; they offer a 32–hour work week; they insist on one–year paternal and maternal leave; they pay non–obscene executive salaries; they use the technique of reinvesting in the business to receive a low tax bill instead of resorting to accounting tricks (like stock buybacks); they serve vegan dishes to deployed astronauts so that carnivores and vegetarians can participate; they generate a low carbon footprint by using mega–hectares of solar panels; they operate space vehicles using “green” rocket engines, etc.
The technical paper called for tourists to pay for all of the science and industry that will occur in space, with revenue slightly over $12 billion annually and expenses slightly less than $12 billion. Science includes astronomy, oceanography, biology, etc. Industries include electrophoresis for protein synthesis, growing purer and larger crystals used in electronics, etc.
The paper, however, received some pushback from those who did not want to give the more affluent vanity rides into space, when the same amount of money could do much more good back here on the good Earth. According to the paper, the answer is the Overview Effect.
From Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/...
The theory, so it goes, is that a nonzero number of the morbidly wealthy who take a vacation in space will experience this effect, and thus become allies in the battle for a more Progressive and just world. Well, that’s the theory anyway.
HISTORY
We are an alternate history science fiction series with a twist: our story does not alter our current timeline; instead, our story is an addition to our current timeline. Historical events, such as Presidential elections and private space flights, still occur up to and including the present time. Our series is just another story in the vast and continuing human tapestry.
It all began in the year A.D. 2011, when a retired airline pilot, Andrew Mayhew, 66, met a math teacher, Joe Maness, 53, at a party in Santa Fe, NM. They both had an interest in flying and were surprised that they shared the same politics. They became good friends.
They were having lunch one day when Maness bragged that he knew how to make money in space. His idea called for crowdfunding the enterprise instead of going to a bank. The investors would receive Moon rocks as their Return on Investment. Maness liked to call them “Lunar Diamonds” since the rocks would fetch the same amount of money as a really good diamond.
They both collaborated on the crowdfunding effort, with Maness responsible for the technical aspects and Mayhew responsible for the financial part of the operations. Mayhew had come from a fairly affluent family and used these contacts for the initial call for funds. After about a year, their plans were finalized and they started their crowdfunding campaign.
At first, investors were wisely skeptical, but Mayhew kept up his enthusiasm (his political leanings were probably the reason why the initial funding was difficult). After more than a year, the exhausted Mayhew had finally successfully crowdfunded the endeavor, and AiOS was born.
By mid–2013, operations were set up at Spaceport America (in the southern part of New Mexico, just west of White Sands) sharing the runway with Virgin Galactic until they could build their own runway. There was scant publicity about their company since they never sought attention for themselves. They just quietly went to work in the desert.
By the beginning of 2017, after almost four years of research and development and building, they had transformed the desert. Two long runways were completed and in use. Alongside the southernmost runway was a line of large buildings that housed manufacturing facilities, hangers, a hotel, a museum, spaceflight control center, astronaut training facility, etc.
They produced a space shuttle and other space and lunar vehicles fairly quickly. Two test article shuttles appeared in six months. The shuttles and other vehicles were flight tested and F.A.A. certified, which had held the company in high regard for going over and beyond all safety protocols. The press was starting to notice the company by this time, but reported it as just one of several new space startups.
The historic flight to the Moon later in the year was a transformational event that finally caught the rapt attention of the entire world. AiOS eventually completed several sorties to the Moon, paid off their initial crowdfunding investors by selling “Lunar Diamond” rocks, and had enough money left over to build a space station and a lunar base.
By 2018, the space station was finally completed with Orbital tourism flourishing, paying for science and industry. Once the orbital infrastructure was in place, they returned their attention back to the Moon to build the lunar base.
It is about this time that our three intrepid protagonists joined the organization as astronauts.
AiOS continued to build up its fleet of spaceships and the lunar base was starting to take form. By the end of 2019, the Spaceport was fully operational.
Covid hit the planet in 2020, but AiOS weathered the storm due to their policies, such as masking, vaccinations, believing in science, etc. But it also had a more interesting effect: it uncovered the individuals who were anti–mask, anti–vaccines, anti–science, etc. They were unfortunately ostracized by their peers who asked them why they were working for a business that was antithetical to their beliefs. The employees were never fired, but most of them left the company anyway. Management complained to their employees about the bullying, but not too loudly.
The following year, in 2021, the lunar base was completed and crews and tourists began to occupy the lunar surface.
In 2022, a TikTok influencer named Starla Gaiser became very famous for her posts about the company. Since her last name is pronounced “Gazer,” she went by “Starr Gaiser,” using her nickname to create her online persona. She eventually became the “face” of AiOS, liveblogging news about the space and lunar stations.
2023 saw the first of the lunar habitats to be 3D printed using waste products from the extraction of oxygen from lunar soil, providing the astronauts a larger volume of space. The same year saw astronauts from the lunar base finally reached Shackleton Crater near the lunar south pole.
By the end of 2024, the last of the lunar 3D printed buildings was completed and occupied. The modular base previously used was abandoned and turned into a museum.
The horrific and shocking tragedy in late 2025 really shook the corporation to the core. Investigations revealed that two college students who were upset about the landslide Presidential election the year before had set off what would normally be a benign smoke bomb inside a wall of a module that was docked with the space shuttle. What was intended to be a harmless prank on the space station went horribly wrong. After the device activated, it overheated several key components and burned out a hole, causing an explosive decompression and exposing some of the crew and tourists inside the module and the docked shuttle to the vacuum of space. The students and several crew and tourists were killed. The rest of the station was saved when all the airtight doors were closed and locked.
The stunned and heartbroken AiOS family eventually replaced the damaged module and, a few weeks later, the space station returned to nominal operations.
It is now late 2026, and things have long settled back down to the dull routine in outer space that it was before.
TECHNOLOGY
Since our series is set in contemporary times, we will use contemporary technology. Even though other science fiction series have put forth Herculean efforts to be as real as possible (and should be commended for it), they still relied on speculative technology. For example, Battlestar Galactica had an FTL drive and The Expanse utilized nuclear fusion to provide for torchship capabilities. Star Wars had Lightsabers and Star Trek had Photon Torpedoes. Since the level of expertise for any of this technology does not yet exist, it will not be incorporated into our series.
The technology for our series is instead grounded in what can be built and flown today, not what we might be able to build in some undetermined time in the future. This one simple idea will add even more impact to the reality portrayed in our series.
Part 2
Original
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Kindly Note: This is a Daily Kos Series on a TV Series Bible (a reference document used by screenwriters) that I recently completed. To see a list of the other entries in this series, please click the link below. Thanks!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I
Additional note: The intended audience for this section are Executive Producers who may not have the time to read the technical paper that the series is based on.
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STATIONS AND SPACESHIPS AND SPACEFLIGHT, OH MY!
GATEWAY TO THE STARS
EARTH SURFACE STATION
The primary location is called Spaceport America, located north of El Paso and west of White Sands. The facilities are shared with other aerospace companies, such as Virgin Galactic and others. Employees of the company work here in different shifts around the clock, allowing for 24/7 operations. All flight and spaceflight operations are conducted from this complex, along with spacecraft manufacturing, a hotel and restaurant, Mission Control, astronaut training, astronaut food preparation, museum, hospital, solar panel farm, aircraft and spacecraft hangers, etc. [Image 01].
THE CITY
The small town everyone lives in is also called Spaceport America (it was easier to keep the name than to try to find a new one, since the spaceport facility is central to its economy). The city has grown to 20,000 residences, of which 5,000 people are employed by AiOS, and serves a thriving tourism industry. All of the major retail outlets have locations there, including grocery stores, pet stores, clothing stores, convenient stores, gasoline stations, gyms, restaurants, libraries, schools, breweries, dispensaries, etc.
BERTHING
Astronauts without children rent a small one–bedroom apartment. Astronauts with children purchase houses. Houses are manufactured, shipped to the location and installed. Everyone has access to free high speed wireless Internet, live TV, and a few of the more popular streaming services.
WORKPLACE
Astronauts work in an office environment, with their own desks (just like in a firefighter series). They mostly do paperwork, but every so often, they have to keep their skills up in a flight simulator. They most often take classes on various topics related to safety and the latest operating procedures. They also take turns working some of the consoles as one of the flight controllers at Mission Control.
OFF DUTY HOURS
There are a variety of things to do at Spaceport America, with outdoor activities the most popular among the astronauts. A close second are the breweries, where any employee gets a free ride home. A fairly large percentage of the employees patronize dispensaries since there are no drug tests only because AiOS is a private business with no government contracts.
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SPACE SHUTTLE
REENTRY VEHICLE
The VentureStar Single Stage To Orbit (SSTO), Vertical Takeoff and Horizontal Landing (VTHL), fully reusable Reentry Vehicle (RV) flies our intrepid astronauts to and from the Spaceport and the space station [Image 02 and Image 03]. The RV carries either cargo or passengers, but never both. The RV spaceliner will be controlled remotely in the same way Un–crewed Aerial Vehicles (UAV) drone aircraft are operated remotely. It will operate at an altitude of 901 km and orbit the Earth exactly 14 times per day, allowing for regularly scheduled launches and recoveries since the ground tracks repeat.
VENTURESTAR ESCAPE MODULE
The passengers and crew fly inside the VentureStar Escape Module (VEM). The VEM will be constructed in two parts. The Pressurized Section houses the astronaut crew. The Escape Section houses all of the hardware to escape from the spacecraft [Image 04]. The VEM allows astronauts to safely eject in case of an “unplanned inflight spacecraft disassembly” resulting in a loss of vehicle [Image 05].
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SPACE STATION ALPHA
EARTH ORBIT STATION
The Earth Orbit Station (EOS) is a freight and passenger destination and transfer waystation. It is made up of several habitat modules hooked together to form an environmental whole that is greater than the sum of its parts [Image 06 and Image 07]. It houses 101 crewmembers and 96 hotel guests. Spaceflight crews operate around the clock, with roughly half of the crew on the Day Shift and the rest on the Night Shift, with each shift lasting 12 hours. The station includes a Bridge, Engineering, Sick Bay, Space Traffic Control Center, science areas, etc. Seven different vehicles operate around the station.
BERTHING
Space station crews eat and sleep inside of Berthing Modules [Image 08]. The module has twelve bedrooms, each with its own bathroom that includes a sink, toilet, and shower. Each room also has its own foldable stationary exercise bike. Each module will also contain a larger storage area and a Galley. Storage is for clothing, food, and other items. The Galley will only heat the food, there is NO food preparation in space. All meals are prepared on Earth and stored in the station.
WORKPLACE
Our station looks like any ordinary space station, only this one utilized interior designers and psychologists to ensure that the crew and tourists feel comfortable and safe. There is always a floor and a ceiling in each module, so that the occupants can have a sense of “up” and “down,” hopefully reducing nausea. The internal volume is very large, and can take several minutes to traverse one end of the station to an opposite end. The internal features of the station will be determined by the production team. One–third of the junior officers work in the station.
ORBITAL OUTPOST
Another one–third of the junior officers work in the Outpost vehicle, which is primarily used in support of the station in conducting all maintenance and repairs. The Outpost maneuvers using Utility Vehicles (UVs) [Image 09 and Image 10]. They will also use spacesuits that will be left outside of the spacecraft. The astronauts ingress and egress the suit through the back whilst attached to the side of the spacecraft [Image 11]. Astronauts will use the Outpost to perform EVAs and closeup visual inspections [Image 12].
ORBITAL EXPEDITIONARY
The final one–third of the junior officers work in the Expeditionary vehicle, which is used to conduct science missions that are quite a distance away from the space station. The Expeditionary maneuvers using Orbital Vehicles (OVs) [Image 13 and Image 14]. The crew uses a rocket to achieve a circular orbit with an altitude of 6,422 km, supporting the various free–flying science and industrial modules located there out of harm's way of space junk, and includes all maintenance and repairs [Image 15].
OFF DUTY HOURS
The EOS has several Observation Decks where the crew and tourists can drink alcohol and use vapes to smoke pot. This is the only place these activities are allowed. If there is an emergency they go to their quarters until it is time for their shift to start.
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ORBITAL TOURISM
OVERNIGHT
The least expensive of all the packages allows the tourist to stay onboard the VentureStar one night. They get to explore the space station and visit the Observation Decks. There is no EVA option for this package.
SPACE HOTEL
An extended stay aboard the space station allows the tourist to explore the station in depth during their 45–day adventure. Tourists eat and sleep inside of Berthing Modules [Image 16]. A popular gathering place will surely be the observation section of the EVA module. This area is open like a commons area, only this one has windows. This deck can act as a "porch" for tourists. They incredibly also get to walk in space from their hotel suite several times during their stay.
SPACESHIP
This package also includes a 45–day stay in space, only now aboard a ship that will dock and undock with the space station several times. The tourists get to experience the thrill of EVA on trips out of view of the space station [Image 17].
ROCKETSHIP
The tourists get to go to a distance that even NASA can’t go: over 750,000 km away, which is three times the distance to the Moon. At this distance, the Earth–Moon system should be visible together in the same part of the sky. They will spend 28 out of 45 days in “Rocket” mode whilst climbing to maximum altitude and back, with the rest of the time in “Spaceship” mode. [Image 18 and Image 19].
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CISLUNAR SHUTTLES
CISLUNAR CARGO
Cargo is flown on a Cargo Moon Shuttle and a Cargo Lunar Shuttle [Image 20 (cargo not shown)]. The Cargo Moon Shuttle carries cargo from the space station to lunar orbit and back. The Cargo Lunar Shuttle carries cargo between the lunar surface and lunar orbit.
CISLUNAR PASSENGER
Passengers are flown on a Moon Shuttle and a Lunar Shuttle [Image 21]. The Moon Shuttle carries passengers from the space station to lunar orbit and back. The Lunar Shuttle carries passengers between the lunar surface and lunar orbit. The Moon Shuttle originates at the space station and the Lunar Shuttle originates at the lunar base.
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MOON BASE ONE
LUNAR SURFACE STATION
The Lunar Surface Station (LSS) is of a modular design, just like the orbital space station [Image 22]. It houses 48 crewmembers and 48 hotel guests [Image 23]. Lunar crews operate around the clock, with roughly half of the crew on the Day Shift and the rest on the Night Shift, with each shift lasting 12 hours. The base includes a Bridge, Engineering, Sick Bay, Lunar Traffic Control Center, science areas, etc. Seven different vehicles operate around the station.
BERTHING
Lunar base crews eat and sleep inside of Berthing Modules [Image 24]. The module has six bedrooms, each with its own bathroom that includes a sink, toilet, and shower. Each room also has its own foldable stationary exercise bike. Each module will also contain a larger storage area and a Galley. Storage is for clothing, food, and other items. The Galley will only heat the food, there is NO food preparation in space. All meals are prepared on Earth and stored in the station.
WORKPLACE
Our base looks like any ordinary lunar base, only this one utilized interior designers and psychologists to ensure that the crew and tourists feel comfortable and safe. The internal volume is very large, and can take several minutes to traverse one end of the station to an opposite end. The internal features of the station will be determined by the production team. One–third of the junior officers work in the base.
NEW 3D PRINTED BUILDINGS
The waste product of Lunar Liquid Oxygen production is a metallic alloy that can be printed into sturdy habitat modules. There are many designs that are printed, with the “Quonset hut” style the favorite [Image 25]. They are attached to the existing modular base to add more internal volume to the station.
LUNAR OUTPOST
Another one–third of the junior officers work in the Outpost vehicle, which is primarily used in support of the base in conducting all maintenance and repairs. The Outpost maneuvers using Surface Vehicles (SVs) [Image 26 and Image 27]. They will also use spacesuits that will be left outside of the spacecraft. The astronauts ingress and egress the suit through the back whilst attached to the side of the spacecraft. Astronauts will use the Outpost to perform EVAs and closeup visual inspections [Image 28].
LUNAR EXPEDITIONARY
The final one–third of the junior officers work in the Expeditionary vehicle, which is used to conduct science missions that are quite a distance away from the lunar base. The Expeditionary maneuvers using Lunar Vehicles (LVs) [Image 29]. The Expeditionary flies to different locations on the lunar surface to drop off instrumentation, maintain the Apollo landing sites, maintenance and repair of sensors, etc. [Image 30].
OFF DUTY HOURS
The LSS has several Observation Decks where the crew and tourists can drink alcohol and use vapes to smoke pot. This is the only place these activities are allowed. If there is an emergency they go to their quarters until it is time for their shift to start.
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LUNAR TOURISM
MOONSHIP
The first of the lunar packages has the tourists leave the confines of planet Earth on their way to the Moon [Image 31]. The Moon Ship ignites its engines to perform a circumlunar “loop around the Moon” and return home, with the round trip lasting 7 days. The tourists also get to see the most spectacular vision imaginable: Earthrise. There is no EVA option for this package.
LUNAR HOTEL
An extended stay aboard the Moon base on the lunar surface allows the tourist to explore the station in depth during their 45–day adventure. Tourists eat and sleep inside of Berthing Modules [Image 32]. A popular gathering place will surely be the observation section of the EVA module. This area is open like a commons area, only this one has windows. This deck can act as a "porch" for tourists. They incredibly also get to walk on the Moon from their hotel suite several times during their stay.
LUNAR ROVER
This 45–day package lets the tourists leave the Moon base in their own lunar surface vehicle [Image 33]. The Lunar Rover will go in any direction the tourists wish, allowing them to go on excursions to different locations on the lunar surface near the base. They also get to EVA from the Rover several times during their stay.
LUNAR LANDER
The best tourist package is also the most expensive. It uses a lunar lander [Image 34] to fly tourists to several historic destinations on the Moon. The tourists will visit all six Apollo landing sites, plus the lunar Far Side and Shackleton Crater. They will have enough propellant leftover to go where no one has gone before on excursions to different locations on the lunar surface. They also sometimes meet the Expeditionary at a remote location to observe and maybe participate in placing instruments and sensors.
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SPACEFLIGHT SCHEDULES
UNIFORMS
All AiOS astronauts wear a uniform whilst on duty [Image 35], in the same way crews on civilian cruise ships do. The uniform has a nautical theme, with the outer garment Navy Blue, which is worn like an ordinary military flight suit. Each uniform displays the rank of the individual. Rank is displayed on sleeves [Image 36], and on shoulder boards [Image 37]. Underneath the flight suit, the astronaut wears underwear, a shirt, Bermuda shorts, and white socks. The color of the shirt determines the division, similar to the different color shirts found on aircraft carriers. There are seven shirt colors representing seven divisions:
- BLUE: Astronautics
- BLACK: Spaceflight
- GRAY: Engineering
- KHAKI: Science
- YELLOW: Tourism
- GREEN: Medical
- PURPLE: Aerospace
Tourists will wear the same style uniform as the crew, except their shirt will be white so that injuries can be more easily spotted [Image 39].
CYCLES AND ROTATIONS
The command structure for both the EOS and LSS is essentially the same, with the space station roughly twice the size as the lunar base [Image 40 and Image 41]. A Blue Shirt Admiral is the Commanding Officer (CO) of the space station, whilst a Gray Shirt Captain is the CO of the lunar base. Other senior officers are in charge of their division and departments. Only junior officers are allowed to EVA.
Crews will be rotated through their deployments similar to the military, which is appropriately called a Rotation. Each Rotation is three fiscal quarters, or 274 days.
SHORE DUTY 68 days: Crew has a normal workday at the Spaceport
WORKUPS 23 days: Crew gets ready for the upcoming deployment
DEPLOYMENT 91 days: Crew is deployed to the EOS or the LSS
SHORE LEAVE 23 days: Crew on vacation
SHORE DUTY 69 days: Crew has a normal workday at the Spaceport
ROTATION 274 days
Shore Leave after every Deployment allows the astronauts vacation time to do whatever they want. Regular vacation time is therefore not needed because of the large number of Shore Leave days.
Crews on Shore Duty act as backups in case another astronaut can't deploy (because of pregnancy, accident, etc.). When the astronaut is cleared for duty, they will be returned to crew replacement status. Astronauts are also allowed to switch Rotations with each other.
Junior officers have three duty rotations within their Deployment. Only the Ensigns clean the stations (they call it “Doodie”), and only the Lieutenants fly the Expeditionary.
ENSIGNS LIEUTENANTS
1. Cleaning “Doodie” 1. Expeditionary Duty
2. Station Duty 2. Station Duty
3. Outpost Duty 3. Outpost Duty
Duty assignments are 30 or 31 days. All senior officers have Station Duty only.
Three Rotations (2.25 years) completes one Cycle, which is usually two Orbital Deployments and one Lunar Deployment. We will only allow the crew to work as astronauts for eighteen Cycles (40.5 years) due to the amount of radiation absorbed during their careers.
DAILY ROUTINE IN SPACE
The morning routine is typically the naval practice of “shit, shower, and shave” with one addition: the exercise portion of the equation using the foldable stationary bike found in every berthing module. The astronauts now call it “shit, shweat, shower, and shave” in keeping with the “sh” motif. Of course, other people may have different routines.
After breakfast, they relieve their counterparts and start their shift. They eat lunch at around the same time, taking turns so that nothing is left unattended. After the shift is over, they eat dinner and have personal time until the sleep period begins, with most of the crew relaxing at one of the many Observation Decks. Lather, rinse, repeat.
All orbital and lunar crews will have identical schedules, with two shifts of 12 hours each. This schedule will ensure 24/7 operations at each location.
Part 3
Original
Archive
AiOS flight jacket squadron patch
Kindly Note: This is a Daily Kos Series on a TV Series Bible (a reference document used by screenwriters) that I recently completed. To see a list of the other entries in this series, please click the link below. Thanks!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I | PART II
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CHARACTER BIOGRAPHIES
LIEUTENANT MICHELLE BERNAL
She is 38 years old, Hispanic with black hair and brown eyes, physical, single, and no children.
She was born in A.D. 1988 and knew that she wanted to fly with the military at a young age. Curiously, she had no desire to be a pilot. She eventually found out about the Flight Engineer (FE) position and was thrilled to see that it was an enlisted billet, which meant that she did not have to have a college degree to be in a cockpit.
Her grandfather was not pleased when he heard the news. He had wanted her to go to college, knowing that a higher education would be helpful for advancement opportunities. She promised him that she would complete her degree – in the military. Her grandfather grudgingly approved. She did not realize at the time how this decision to please her grandfather would one day change her life forever.
In the spring semester of her Senior year in high school, she took and passed the ASVAB with a score high enough to qualify for the vast majority of billets in any of the armed services. So shortly after graduation, she enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at the age of 18 to become a C–130 aircraft [Image 42] FE. Her plan was to stay in the military as long as she could fly and retire only when she was grounded by the Flight Surgeon or when she obtained a rank high enough to fly a desk. She was on the cusp of realizing her dreams.
She trained intensely and was happy to be exactly where she was. Training on the airplane itself was the fulfillment of a dream. After more than a year, she finally earned her wings. It was the proudest moment of her life. Her grandfather was at the small graduation ceremony the Marines had held for her and the other honorees.
She absolutely loved her job, and thrived in the military. She loved going on deployments to different parts of the world. Everything was just like she had imagined. She liked wearing the olive green flight suit, making her indistinguishable from an officer. She loved her position in the cockpit sitting in between the two pilots. She always beamed with pride in the knowledge that it takes three crew members to fly the airplane, not two. She was in charge of making sure the airplane was healthy enough to fly while the pilots did their “pilot shit.”
The Marines also offered her plenty of opportunities to take classes in pursuit of her college degree, and she took advantage of it, with her grandfather always in mind. The classes helped when it came time for promotions, just like he had said. She worked hard, and after four years, reenlisted for another four. As she completed more of her studies, she rose faster in rank.
In 2014, after four more awesome years, she happily reenlisted once again. Two years later, and after ten years in the Marines, she graduated with her four–year college degree. Her grandfather was at the small graduation ceremony the Marines had held for her and the other graduates. He was so proud of her, and she was happy that her degree had made him happy. Shortly afterwards, she was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant.
Two years later, AiOS announced that they were hiring more astronauts, and so she and most of the flight crew in her squadron decided to apply. To the shock of everyone, she was selected! So instead of continuing with her career and reenlisting, she was to muster out of the service in a couple of months and report for training at Spaceport America. She was going to be an astronaut as a Gray Shirt Engineering Officer!
Her last flight as a Marine Corps C–130 Flight Engineer was an emotional and bittersweet moment for her.
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LIEUTENANT ALEXANDRIA JEFFERSON
She is 38 years old, Black with black hair and brown eyes, physical, single, and no children.
She was born in A.D. 1988 and knew that she wanted to fly helicopters with the military at a young age. She was thrilled to discover that the US Army allowed enlisted personnel to become pilots, which meant that she did not have to have a college degree to be in a military cockpit.
She had always wanted to go to college anyway, knowing that a higher education would be helpful for advancement opportunities during and after graduation. And so she was doubly pleased to find out that she could complete her degree – in the military. She did not realize at the time how this decision would one day change her life forever.
In the spring semester of her Senior year in high school, she took and passed the ASVAB with a score high enough to qualify for the vast majority of billets in any of the armed services. So shortly after graduation, she enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 18 and became a helicopter mechanic on a UH–1 helicopter [Image 43]. Once mechanic training was over, she took college classes with the Army while becoming more proficient at her maintenance duties, hoping to one day fly the same type of helicopter she was working on now.
After two years of solid duty as a soldier, she was thrilled to learn that she was to be promoted to Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) and become a UH–1 helicopter pilot. The classes she took and all her hard work had paid off. Her plan was to stay in the military as long as she could fly and retire only when she was grounded by the Flight Surgeon or when she obtained a rank that only allowed flying a desk. She was on the cusp of realizing her dreams.
She trained intensely and was happy to be exactly where she was. After more than a year, she finally earned her wings as a fixed–wing pilot. It was the proudest moment of her life. Her parents were at the small graduation ceremony the Army had held for her and the other honorees. But her training had only just begun: the Rotary–Wing certification was an add–on to the Fixed–Wing license. Training on the helicopter itself was the fulfillment of a dream. After many more months of intense training, she graduated from helicopter flight school and was now a full–fledged Army helicopter pilot!
She absolutely loved her job, and thrived in the military. She loved going on deployments to different parts of the world. Everything was just like she had imagined. She liked wearing the olive green flight suit. She loved her position in the cockpit sitting in one of the two front seats, doing her “pilot shit.”
The Army also offered her plenty of opportunities to continue taking classes in pursuit of her college degree, and she took advantage of it. The classes helped when it came time for promotions, and was soon a WO2.
In 2016, after ten years in the Army, she graduated with a four–year college degree. Her parents were once again at the small graduation ceremony the Army had held for her and the other graduates. Shortly afterwards, she was promoted to WO3.
Two years later, AiOS announced that they were hiring more astronauts, and so she and most of the flight crew in her squadron decided to apply. To the shock of everyone, she was selected! So instead of continuing with her career, she was to resign her commission and muster out of the service in a couple of months and report for training at Spaceport America. She was going to be an astronaut as a Blue Shirt Astronautics Officer!
Her last flight as a U.S. Army H–1 Pilot was an emotional and bittersweet moment for her.
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LIEUTENANT JENNIFER DOMINIC
She is 38 years old, Caucasian with blonde hair and green eyes, physical, single, and no children.
She was born in A.D. 1988 and was never bitten by the flying bug. Instead, she wanted to be a high school science teacher.
So off she went to a small community college after high school, working a 50–hour per week job as a food server at a fairly upper scale restaurant and going to school part–time. She had planned on taking an Educational Assistant (EA) job with a public school, but was horrified to know that her restaurant job paid substantially more. So she had the means to not only pay for school but also to party when not at work or studying. She enjoyed her time in school, and had a memorable celebration on her 21st birthday. A year later, and after four years working, studying, and partying hard, she graduated with her Associates Degree in General Science.
However, while it was nice to have a 2–year degree, she was disheartened to know that she still had another four years of hard work to complete for her 4–year degree. She was sick of her restaurant job, but didn’t want to reduce her income by taking an EA job. One day a friend suggested that she join the military, where she could get her college degree for free. The idea intrigued her, so she did her own research.
But what to do in the military? Be in a tank? On a ship at sea? She eventually stumbled upon flying, and was thrilled when she discovered that there were several enlisted flying billets, which meant that she did not have to have a college degree to fly. She also knew that she could complete her degree – in the military. Once she had her diploma in hand, she would apply to become a commissioned officer. She did not realize at the time how this decision would one day change her life forever.
She took and passed the ASVAB with a score high enough to qualify for the vast majority of billets in any of the armed services. So shortly after graduation, she enlisted in the United States Air Force at the age of 22 and became a Sensor Operator on the E–3 aircraft [Image 44]. Her plan was to stay in the military for 20 years, then begin her second career as a science teacher, with her military pension supplementing her teacher income. She liked to picture herself on the high school campus wearing her green Air Force flight jacket. She was on the cusp of realizing her dreams.
She trained intensely and was happy to be exactly where she was. Training on the airplane itself was the fulfillment of a dream. After more than a year, she finally earned her wings. It was the proudest moment of her life. Her parents were at the small graduation ceremony the Air Force had held for her and the other honorees.
She absolutely loved her job, and thrived in the military. She loved going on deployments to different parts of the world. Everything was just like she had imagined. She liked wearing the olive green flight suit, making her indistinguishable from an officer. She loved her position in the airplane, facing forward sitting behind a large desk brimming with displays. She always beamed with pride in the knowledge that it takes a crew and teamwork to successfully accomplish their mission.
The Air Force also offered her plenty of opportunities to take classes in pursuit of her college degree, and she took advantage of it. The classes also helped when it came time for promotions. She worked hard, and after four years, reenlisted for another four. As she completed more and more of her studies, she rose faster in rank.
Two years later, in 2014, and after six years in the Air Force, she graduated with a four–year college degree. Her parents were at the small graduation ceremony the Air Force had held for her and the other graduates. Shortly afterwards, she was promoted to Technical Sergeant.
Two years later, AiOS announced that they were hiring more astronauts, and so she and most of the flight crew in her squadron decided to apply. To the shock of everyone, she was selected! So instead of continuing with her career and reenlisting, she was to muster out of the service in a couple of months and report for training at Spaceport America. She was going to be an astronaut as a Khaki Shirt Science Officer!
Her last flight as a U.S. Air Force E–3 Sensor Operator was an emotional and bittersweet moment for her.
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COMMONALITY
Note: The career trajectory of our three protagonists are similar, and so will be discussed as a group instead of individually.
Too soon for them, all three left the military and reported for training as new Ensigns on the Night Shift. It was during training that our protagonists met and quickly became best friends forever.
Since they had already flown professionally for the military, the training AiOS provided was more of an overview of the art of being an astronaut, including space shuttle emergency escape procedures, spacecraft safety and operations, spacewalk and Moonwalk procedures, etc.
After six months, they deployed together to Space Station Alpha for 91 days as Ensigns on the Night Shift. Their first launch into space was a thrillride of three–gees followed by microgravity. The view outside took their breath away; they had become infected with the Overview Effect. They loved their job as astronauts even more than flying with the military. Night Shift was really cool, in that there was no one with the rank of Commander and above that was awake at the time. Even the tourists were asleep. The station was all theirs.
All three remained on the Night Shift a total of three years, after which AiOS hired more astronauts as a result of the Moon base becoming operational, and they were promoted to the Day Shift. Their duties did not change, but the station and base seemed busier with all the people now awake and moving around, including tourists.
They remained on the Day Shift for two years before being promoted to Night Shift Lieutenant after the 3D printed lunar habitats became operational. All three agreed that being promoted was great, but they were back on the Night Shift, which was not so great. However, they were one of the people in charge of the lunar base during the night. They especially liked that there would be no more “doodie,” as only Ensigns are consigned to that fate. Instead, their third duty was the Expeditionary, where they would ride a rocket up to a higher orbit for satellite maintenance and refurbishment, or land on the lunar surface in a place that no one has ever been before.
Their quick promotion to the Day Shift after three years came as a result of the accident on the space station in 2025. Many others were also promoted to replace the crew members that had died that day.
It is the following year when the series begins, and our three protagonists are now recently promoted Lieutenants on the Day Shift.
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OTHER RECURRING CHARACTERS
Starr Gaiser is a Tik Tok influencer who has a show called “Space News Update,” and is the unofficial spokesperson for the company.
Just like the military, a plethora of characters with various ranks and duties will come and go, interacting with our three main characters on a regular basis, whether on the ground or in space.
All other characters are non–astronauts who support the entire infrastructure for the astronauts whilst on the ground, in the same way the vast majority of the people working aboard an aircraft carrier support the relatively few who fly. They are flight controllers, trainers, chefs, manufacturing specialists, maintenance experts, medical professionals, etc.
Additionally, celebrities would be occasional guest stars and play themselves as orbital and lunar tourists, since they can in reality afford the price of the tickets. These celebrity guest stars will attract new viewers to our series.
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