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- from Space Systems Directory 2153 edition The Burchismo Aerospace Medium Utility Lander (MUL) has been one of the workhorses of space infrastructure for over 100 years. The core of the MUL is a standardized framework upon which main ship systems such as fuel, propulsion, life support, communication and payload support systems are mounted. Part of the BA Local Space Transportation System series of modular spacecraft component-based products, the first MUL made its maiden flight in 2029, after being assembled in LEO from components manufactured entirely on Earth. As with other LSTS ships, manufacturing of the MUL family of vehicles and associated equipment was steadily moved off Earth, and by the time the total number of vessels numbered ten, all manufacturing and assembly was done in LEO or on the Moon. After 2060, complete units began to be manufactured elsewhere, and by the mid 2090s, more units were being manufactured outside of Earth local space than otherwise. Burchismo does not publish a complete catalog of all vessel registry numbers in the series, and some MUL vehicles are known to operate with no current registry, but are also not recorded as destroyed, so a definitive accounting is not possible. Further complicating the job of coming up with a total is the modular nature of the spacecraft. Estimates of total production of operable foundation frames range from under 60 to over 80 as of 2153. The best total count of all official registrations is 52 vehicles, with 26 currently working in the lunar region, and the rest spread across the asteroid belt and Jovian and Saturnian systems, with a few known to have been moved into cometary space. Access to information regarding MULs in the Saturnian system is obviously limited, adding further uncertainty to the job of compiling a reliable list. The most common configurations of the MUL are as a crewed surface shuttle equipped with a standard Burchismo LSTS command module and a pressurized payload adapter at the forward end of the thrust frame, and as a drone "lander mule" with slightly larger main engine fuel and oxidizer tanks. The wide and high stance of the MUL's landing legs is designed to accommodate the standard BA passenger module, seating ten and with an internal airlock at the aft end. The landing legs reract to minimize exposure to the main engines' exhaust. The payload zone also accommodates one standard size or two half-size pressurized cargo containers with "box-rack" payload adapters. |
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The design criteria for the MUL were defined by two primary factors: carriage of a 10-passenger pressurized module, and sufficient delta-V to make an unrefueled, fully-loaded round trip between the lunar surface and low lunar orbit. At the time the latter specification was set, it was known that the two principal near-side settlements -- Heinlein and Brighton Beach -- were located at a distance from each other such that a one-way non-ballistic transit between them would require almost precisely the same energy as a low lunar orbit round trip. So from its earliest service, the MUL was also employed as one of the primary means of moving people and goods between the two locations. As the two cities cotninued to grow, so did the MUL fleet, with the largest operator, Heinlein TransPort, employing as many as eight of the core thrust frames in the years before the Lunar Jihad. Four MUL thrust frames were completely destroyed during the Lunar Jihad, two of them on the first day of the incident. During the disruptions of the mid-2070s, MULs saw a good deal of unusual service, including military and paramilitary operations, rescue and emergency resupply of a number of isolated lunar facilities. But before and after this period, they were a constant sight in lunar space, so much so that it is possible to say that their role in lunar economic development has been under-appreciated. Equipped with various expeditionary modules, the MUL has often been the first vehicle to establish new outposts on the moon and on every other airless body, and a number of manned and unmanned rovers have been designed to fit within its payload envelope. In more developed settlements, the MUL is usually mated to its payload in a pressurized hangar, and then moved to a nearby launch site with a wheeled ground utility vehicle that mates to the attachment point at the top center of the thrust framework. "If you're going to let monkeys pretend that they're flying spaceships, you might as well give them a good view." -- interview with Greg Burch, Goddard City, 2137
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Burchismo Aerospace and many others manufacture a wide variety of pressurized modules designed to fit the MUL payload envelope. The BA-10PM series of 10-place passenger modules is typical of such units in service today. Equipped with a standard docking port on its forward end and an internal airlock in the rear, this module is used in many applications, from regular passenger shuttle service to support for expeditionary work. The BA-10PM has internal fuel cell power and life support capacity to support ten standard bio-humans for 36 hours, and is also designed to interface with MUL power and life support systems for operations of longer endurance. Each passenger station has a toilet unit and fabric privacy screen. The airlock can be outfitted for a variety of applications, from standard pressurized and mated shirtsleeves passenger pass-through, to tough-duty work in exploration and mining. Standard equipment includes a folding platform and stair assembly at the rear, which can be removed for applications involving pressurized mating to other units. |
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| The MUL's primary propulsion is provided by its hover engines, so the majority of orbital velocity is achieved by pitching forward after liftoff. Standard lunar orbital flight involves achieving three-fourths or more of orbital velocity with the hover engines, then levelling off and coasting to an apogee burn with the z-axiz engines. Deorbit is achieved the same way: Begin with the MUL levelled to the horizon along the velocity vector, then pitch back to -90 degress to scrub off 75% or more of orbital velocity with the hover engines. Then pitch forward to level and use your map MFD to monitor your constant impact point as you control descent rate with the hover engines and continue to reduce forward velocity with the minus-z engines. |
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ADDON ELEMENTS Multiple versions of some elements of this addon are offered, with varying mesh sizes to accommodate users with a wider variety of computer capacity. The larger meshes are suitable only for the most powerful computers. The table below sets out the included addon elements with some information about their size and other miscellaneous characteristics.
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DEVELOPER'S NOTES This is the second addon in the recreation of my Local Space Transportation vehicles and other Orbiter elements, such as cargo containers and other support equipment. With this addon, I return to the first subject in the original Local Space Transportation series, the passenger lander, but in a way that is more modular from the beginning. My model-building, texturing and animations skills have improved a little since then, so this addon represents yet another incremental upgrade to the "Burchismo universe." As I indicated in the notes to the first in the new series, my intention is to recreate all of my original work in Orbiter standard scale, and also add elements that I have thought of since the first series was released. As always, I am deeply grateful to all those who have worked so hard and been so generous to create the Orbiter space simulator and the community of supportive developers and users that have come to enrich it even more. --- Greg Burch August, 2008
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