International Space Settlement Design Competition
Northdonning Heedwell is one of the four major aerospace contractors remaining in the United States. The company has been involved in every major U.S. government space project since the Apollo program in the 1960's and has contributed in some way to every major commercial space venture during that time. The company in its present form resulted from a merger between Northdonning Aviation and Heedwell Grummietta in 2006.
Before the merger, Northdonning Aviation was the world's most prolific supplier of fighter aircraft for the U.S. Air Force and foreign allies. Heedwell Grummietta had a wide variety of product lines in various industries, although it was most recognized in the aerospace industry for being a major producer of expendable launch vehicles (ELV), and for building one-of-a-kind scientific satellites. The company had a modest subcontract for Space Shuttle operations, and built two modules for the International Space Station. The merged Northdonning Heedwell retained these areas of expertise, and added capability for production automation with acquisition of Alliance Electronics in 2012.
After the merger, the company infused some of its experience with efficient military aircraft operations into the space sector of its business, and a search for new product areas quickly turned up candidate projects. Within months, company management made a commitment to invest in commercial development of a new launch vehicle, a two-stage-to-orbit design that would reduce launch costs to $1000 per pound, long considered a maximum launch cost for profitable commercial operations. Within four years, Northdonning Heedwell based a prototype Space Tug at the International Space Station, and initiated a profitable business moving existing vehicles and satellites to and from orbits as high as GEO. A direct result of this service was a change in design philosophy by satellite operators: they came to prefer designs that are serviced and maintained in orbit, rather than being replaced at the end of design lifetimes.
Like other aerospace firms, the company participated in and benefited greatly from the Foundation Society's construction of the Alexandriat space settlement and its solar shield. Northdonning Heedwell's early investment in developing a new launch vehicle design enabled it to go into production in 2016, and the first of the new vehicles flew late in 2021. During the latter phases of Alexandriat construction, the company's fleet of Percheron vehicles literally became the "workhorse" transportation system for equipment launched from Earth to the three full-service LEO spaceports that grew from the original International Space Station. A derived design, the Palomino, carried most of the passengers who became Alexandriat residents. The company's small fleet of space tugs grew, too; Northdonning Heedwell became the leading supplier of transfer vehicles capable of travel between the LEO spaceports, the Earth-Moon L5 libration point, and lunar orbit.
The Alliance Automation Division is the recognized leader in development of automated systems for space applications. It supplied robots to construct and maintain the first Solar Power Satellite (which began operations in 2021), automated systems for several on-orbit materials processing applications, and automated zero-gravity factories for various small high-profit products. This Division also has a fine reputation with the Foundation Society, having supplied robots that automated much of the lunar operation for Alexandriat construction materials, and other robots that maintain the exteriors of the settlement.
Second-Generation Percherons are capable of flying 60,000 lbs. of payload to existing spaceports at 260 miles, for $700 per pound. The payloads are carried in standardized containers that allow a 15 foot nearly-square by 60 foot long payload envelope, and new payloads can usually fly within three months of requesting a flight. The vehicles are 220 feet long, with 35-foot wide fuselages, 94-foot wingspans, and tails 30 feet tall. Third-Generation Palomino vehicles are configured for carrying 130 passengers; each individual's $350,000 fare to a spaceport includes a 300 lb. weight allowance for person and possessions.
The company operates an automated factory at Bellevistat that produces triangular trusses from asteroid materials to customer-specified dimensions, at the rate of 600 feet per hour. Customers are required to provide their own transportation of these structures, although some limited assembly is permitted in the vicinity of this operation. The company's standard triangular truss with 12-foot sections, suitable for zero-g installations, sells for $1000 per linear foot.
The company developed a system for zero-g manufacturing of solar cells from materials available in silicate asteroids. Each unit costs $40 million, not including transportation to deposit it on an appropriate asteroid, where it produces 1 x 2 foot solar panels at the rate of 10,000 per day, each of which is capable of generating 40 watts of power in Earth orbit and weigh two pounds, at a cost of $60 per kW. Solar power continues to be the primary source of electricity in space, despite numerous attempts by Northdonning Heedwell and other companies to create a fusion reactor that can be launched to or built in space. Fusion technology in use on Earth requires a reaction volume too large and too heavy for launch by a practical vehicle, and manufacturing processes for critical components require large quantities of water and power. Even the smallest such installations, 10 MW reactors appropriate for non-industrial communities of about 5000 people, cannot be transported to space.
Northdonning Heedwell won the contract for building the Columbiat space settlement, which will serve as the financial and commerce center of space after it is completed in 2056. The company's successful proposal for this project included extensive use of robots for all phases of construction, which greatly reduced the costs of housing workers, especially during the early phases of the construction process. The company also earned praise from the Foundation Society for amenities designed into the public areas of this settlement; it is the first space community to prominently feature large public artworks and promenades that serve aesthetic needs beyond the utilitarian design of existing settlements.
Whether or not it wins the contract for development of the Aresam settlement in orbit around Mars, Northdonning Heedwell plans to build two large cycler spacecraft, in elliptical solar orbits crossing the orbits of Earth and Mars when the planets are relatively close by. Transfer ships based at Aresam will rendezvous with the cyclers to load and offload cargo and personnel; it is expected that $1500 per pound will deliver cargo from Bellevistat to Mars orbit.