While the Spaceport is treated as one structure for administrative purposes, it is actually a complex of tightly integrated structures that carry out a wide variety of space-related tasks.

First, the Spaceport is a factory. The Spaceport can build launch vehicles as well as various satellites and starship components bound for planetary orbit. The Spaceport is also a warehouse facility, where satellites and starship components can be stored until needed for launch. Launch vehicles must be assembled on the launch pad, and may not be moved to the warehouse for storage. The Spaceport is also a fuel production and storage plant, capable of providing a number of exotic fuels and oxidizers.

Of course, the most obvious function of the Spaceport is to launch rockets, and that it does. In the interest of efficiency, a single pad is used for rocket assembly, fueling, loading, and launching. This pad is also used for landing Reusable Launch Vehicles, and for servicing and refueling them while they are on the ground.

There are two main classes of launch vehicles. The expendable Single-Use Launch Vehicles (SULVs) are operated by both Eden and Plymouth. These vehicles are constructed primarily of composites and lightweight metal alloys and are usable only once. While their payload capacities and capabilities are much the same, Eden and Plymouth use somewhat different configurations. The Eden SULV is a two-stage rocket, using hydrogen/oxygen fuel in both stages, an aerospike engine in the first stage, and more conventional expansion nozzle engines in the second stage. The Plymouth system is a two and a half stage system using somewhat less advanced technology and ejectable strap-on solid-rocket boosters providing the "half" stage. All liquid engines are fueled by liquid hydrogen and oxygen, and use conventional expansion nozzle designs.

Eden has also developed a much more advanced Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV). The RLV uses an all-composite airframe construction for maximum strength and minimum weight. The aerospike engine uses a unique hybrid propulsion. Exotic monoatomic oxygen is used as the fuel for takeoff and final landing burns. For most of the flight, the engine is powered by a gas-core fission reactor, heating liquid hydrogen as a reaction mass. Bleed liquid-hydrogen from the fuel tanks is also used as a heat-shield and critical-component coolant for reentry and landing.

Operational Notes: The Spaceport produces launch vehicles, satellites, and starship components. It stores up to 6 components or satellites, and launches SULVs and RLVs into orbit. Cargo Trucks may dock at the Spaceport to load or unload starship components or satellites. NOTE: This structure explodes when destroyed and may explode spontaneously when damaged.

Tales from New Terra

Carol Rajesh nervously watched the telescopic feed from the Observatory. The descending RLV had just fired its main engines and was beginning to slow. She knew that if she simply opened one of the blast shields over her office window, she could probably see it with her naked eyes.

Somehow, she was more comfortable not doing that. She'd been fine when the RLV had taken off from her launch pad two days before on its maiden voyage. Oh, she'd been nervous enough, and darned proud when it had reached orbit without a hitch and deployed its payload, but this was different.

Carol launched rockets from her Spaceport all the time. They did a countdown, the engines fired, the rocket climbed, and they never saw it again. But this one was coming back, engines firing, and it was going to land, like a video of a launch played backwards, it was going to land on her launch pad.

It was unnatural. It was going to take some getting used to. No, she thought as she headed down to the control room in the safety shelter. She was never going to get used to it.

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