Asteroidal Industries, Incorporated

Asteroidal Industries, Incorporated is a Corporation founded principally by Herschel "Echer" von Dehlin during the Foundation Period. Alongside it's two sister companies Venusian Industries, Incorporated and Mercurian Solar, Incorporated, Asteroidal Industries is one of three primary private space ventures founded by Old Earth families.
The Corporation was the brainchild of a think tank within the University of Sydney, Australia, Echer's alma mater.
The Corporation would become one of the founding members of the Consortium.
== History ==
=== The Think Tank ===
While studying medicine at the University of Sydney, Echer became deeply interested in the harder sciences, especially geology and astronautics. During this time Echer said he simply studied what he felt passionate about in addition to his studies of medicine.
A sharp turning point came for von Dehlin when he, about midway through his sophomore baccalaureate year, when he began hands-on surgical training in the University's hospital. He was continually frustrated by the bureaucracy of medicine and was endowed with a sense of ennui and depression considering that most major diseases and medical problems afflicting mankind had already been eradicated. Echer saw his future as being cycled through "the windmill of post-modern medicine".
Realizing what he really wanted in life was to help people and positively impact people's lives - but it would not be as a surgeon. With this in mind, Echer underwent a two week period of intense, deep reflection. He did not attend his classes, nor did he pursue medicine any further. Largely during these two weeks, Echer would read and write in great binges holed up in his dormitory, while occasionally venturing out to take walks outside or to raid more research material from the Physics and Science departments, and also the library. He ate as little as necessary, fully focused.
von Dehlin had begun his search knowing that space was the true frontier of humanity. There, humanity would face it's greatest challenge yet. That, ultimately, was what Echer sought: challenge. Medicine proved too dull when people on Earth did not often die or experience serious illness aside from usual abnormalities. Space gave him that challenge; he stared into the gaping maw of the void and the void stared back.
Later in his life von Dehlin would recall a "Eureka!" moment in which, at about the middle of the second week, von Dehlin found himself gazing up at the stars in an open space away from the university, so that he could clearly see the stars. He realized that man's eternal struggle was against himself and the environment; in this case, space presented itself as the harshest and most unwelcoming environ humanity has ever known.
von Dehlin decided to devote himself to the advancing of humanity into space. He spent the next few days feverishly researching the economics of the then-nascent space industry and decided that the asteroids of the Main Belt were a fantastic opportunity.
After abandoning medicine and changing his major to astrophysics, he began disseminating his ideas among the students of the University. Soon, a few trusted companions would form the Main Asteroid Belt Think Tank, then at the cutting edge of spacer thought. The Think Tank was composed of an association of students of every major who were all deeply interested in space exploration. They published a quarterly paper from the University which attracted some international attention. Additionally, they regularly published papers and essays on the internet and held discussions on University campus. The attention brought to the Think Tank by their publications led to several sister chapters being formed at a handful of universities around the world, though none of them would rival the size and organization of the parent. 
While working with the Think Tank as a student, von Dehlin created the business model for his future company and called it the Grand Plan. He submitted and successfully defended it as his Master's thesis. 
=== Attracting Investors ===
Upon graduating with his class with a Master's in Astrophysics, von Dehlin decided to pursue the Grand Plan. He took many members of the Think Tank with him; many of these were in his graduating class, but several elected to drop out of the University in favor of von Dehlin's project.
For the next several years, the Think Tank pursued international funding for the Grand Plan while it's members worked in each of their chosen fields. Some of them stayed in Sydney while many traveled abroad both for work purposes and to build a network through which to secure funding for the project. The Think Tank was largely held together through the passionate and steady leadership of von Dehlin.
In 275 BSC, the Think Tank received it's first major backers. Throughout the rest of the year and into late 276 BSC, the Think Tank's reputation would quickly precede itself and by the time von Dehlin was ready to implement the Grand Plan, the Think Tank had gathered a collective initial investment with a higher capitol than some small nations. It broke the world record for the largest amount of capital accrued at start-up for a private company.
von Dehlin finally declared the time was right when the Think Tank received partnership deals from Boeing-Lockheed-Martin and permission from NASA to use Johnson Spaceflight Center, Kennedy Space Center, and Marshall Spaceflight Center. 
=== Founding ===
Asteroidal Industries was incorporated in 277 BSC as an LLC in the United States with Echer von Dehlin as it's CEO and the Think Tank members filling key positions within the company. It's primary offices were placed at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The company received further funding from Congress in the form of grants; NASA's budget increased substantially as well.
It's foundation, alongside it's sister companies, marks the beginning of the Foundation Period, though at the time it was not known as such. There were generally good feelings and a global attitude of positivism, as the decades of peaceful cooperation and coexistence between the major superpowers of Earth through their collaboration on space exploration brought an adventurous prosperity to Earth. 
The company was founded with the explicit long-term goal of colonizing and mining the asteroids of the Main Belt; the resources would be both brought back to Earth and utilized by permanent habitations in the Main Belt itself. However, some of the technology did not yet exist. For example, humans did not yet know how to live in space full time. New variations of the smelting and refining process would have to be discovered in order to have those processes function in vacuum. 
=== The Grand Plan Implemented ===
Therefore, the company operated off of a complex plan with an indefinite timetable to develop such technology and become profitable in the meantime through the sale and Earthside application of the technology developed. The plan had three major milestones to achieve before an attempt at Main Belt colonization should be made:
* Permanent settlement of Luna
* Maintenance of a private Asteroidal Industries space station
* Permanent settlement of Mars
It should be noted that since the beginning, Asteroidal Industries has endeavored to cooperate with it's sister companies, other private space programs, and the nations of Earth to achieve it's goals. 
Additionally, the Plan provided a financial projection for the use of it's initial funding: much of it would be thrown into R&D while it would sponsor a series of both unmanned and manned missions in collusion with NASA to the Main Asteroid Belt and begin construction of it's primary space station. The space station would serve as an additional source of income by contracting with research scientists on Earth and wealthy space tourists who might want to stay on the station. 
Roughly coincidental with the founding of these companies was a global collapse in real estate. Heavy land speculation had led to fluctuations in prices; this combined with the failure of many people to pay back real estate loans and the relative ease with which financial institutions handed out these loans led to the collapse. It affected all areas of the global economy, and led to planetwide unemployment to which the superpowers and various nations responded in a variety of ways. Rather than bemoan the economy, Asteroidal Industries took it as an opportunity and embarked on a heavy public relations campaign advocating space travel and the colonization of the Main Belt as a jumpstart to the global economy. Asteroidal Industries promised to employ hundreds of thousands of people once mining of the asteroids began.
The company quickly developed an entire profile of launch vehicles and primary payloads. The vehicles were engineered from preexisting technology, while the primary payloads were in R&D. 
=== First Major Milestone ===
In 265 BSC, Tranquility Base was established on Luna. Two of the colonists were employees of Asteroidal Industries. The company purchased property near the newly established base and began outlines for a space port and refueling station, in concert with NASA's efforts to mine deuterium there as a nuclear rocket fuel.
Since it's founding, the company developed new propulsion technologies and developed the outline for how a system of mining would work and began production on prototypes of equipment for use on the asteroids. These technologies were sold to governments abroad.
=== Second Major Milestone ===
Shortly thereafter, the construction on Station 12 - the official space station of Asteroidal Industries - was completed. The company had made scientific breakthroughs in optics and laser technology and demonstrated the viability of cold welding in space on their space station. The station was to serve as the future traffic controller for all Asteroidal Industries vehicles in space, as well as a point from which the initial colonization effort could be staged.
=== Third Major Milestone ===
Twenty years into the companies existence, Adele Lylat becomes the first human being on Mars in 256 BSC. She and her mission also are the first permanent Martians, signaling the fulfillment of the basic criteria of the Grand Plan. One member of her team was an geologist working for Asteroidal Industries; they sent back complex analysis of Martian regolith samples to the Corporation and continued to live on Mars until their death.
Late in 256 BSC - several months after the establishment of the colony - Asteroidal Industries, Inc. gives a unique sort of IPO through the creation of mineral bonds. These were promissory notes similar to government bonds, but rather backed by future precious metals promised by the Corporation. They initially functioned essentially identically to stock shares.
By this time, the Corporation employs over a hundred thousand people and has an operating capital of half a trillion dollars annually. 
=== Silver Age ===
Asteroidal Industries makes many scientific and technological breakthroughs, inventing some of the technology commonly seen in Sol System throughout the First Trilogy, and will continue to do so for the next century. The company remains in the hands of the von Dehlin family upon Echer's death.
=== The IntraPlanetary Network ===
In 227 BSC, the fiftieth anniversary of the Corporation's existence, the IntraPlanetary Network is created by the United Nations. Asteroidal Industries is integrated into the network.
Twenty seven years later, mineral bonds begin to become more financially secure investments than precious metals and take the place in Earth economics as a defacto currency. Asteroidal Industries is receiving huge income from it's many patents and the sale of it's innovative technology abroad.
=== Venusian Injuns ===
A brief hiccup occurred in 197 BSC when it's sister Corporation, Venusian Industries, Inc. abandoned it's initial Venusian colonists to death in the Venusian Injuns incident. The subsequent scandal and investigation into VI led to some bad public relations with the general public for Asteroidal Industries due to their association. Reductions in funding and lower profit margins affected the rate at which technology could be developed by the Corporation. 
Around the same time, Mercurian Solar, Inc. begins construction on Mercury of it's solar fields. The project would be completed in 123 BSC.
In the wake of the incident, the Corporation decided to delay it's colonization effort which had been planned for within the decade. In the face of waning public support for the continued effort, however, progress slowed.
In 121 BSC, VI finally establishes a permanent Venusian colony.
=== Golden Age ===
With the entirety of Inner Sol colonized and it's citizens - both grounder and spacer alike - benefiting from the rapid advances in science and technology, the general public once more embraces space travel and emigration from Earth soars with extraterrestrial populations booming on their own. The religion of Architecture is created and the experiment of Noveautrea is founded. 
Meanwhile, the Corporation blows full steam ahead on constructing an entire series of launch vehicles designed to launch colonists and their requisite supplies to orbit. They call this effort the Ceres Program in recognition of the first asteroid discovered by human kind.
A series of fourteen launches to Station 12 - now over a hundred fifty years old, though not without many changes, expansions, repairs, and retrofits over time - provide the entire prerequisite for the Main Belt colonization effort. About six hundred people were sent towards the Main Belt by the company
In 97 BSC, Asteroidal Industries arrives at and colonizes Ceres.
=== Depreciation ===
50 BSC was largely regarded as the height of the power of the Corporation. For the year, mineral bonds finally plateau in value.
Category:Foundation Period
Category:Technology
Category:First Trilogy