Satellites

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**Satellites** are facilities in orbit around a world to make it more habitable for life to evolve.

After a player has built a spaceport, they can launch a number of satellites, each with a specific benefit to planet. Satellites are not available in Beginner Mode. On Expert Mode, only the Space Elevator and the Planetary Defense Network are available. On Normal Mode, all satellites except the Planetary Defense Network are available (except playing on Cretacea). Some satellites cost 50% less to build depending on the chosen factions. TRAPPIST-1 worlds (except Huanca) can access the Tresuunak without a spaceport.

A Spaceport is not required to maintain Satellites. Once an artificial satellite is launched or a Habitation facility on a Natural Satellite is built, even if the Spaceport is disabled or destroyed, the Satellites section can still be accessible, and more can be launched. If the Spaceport is disabled while the satellite is being constructed, the construction will continue. Satellites don't have a maintenance cost.

Building all satellites will cost 250 million to 275 million credits in normal mode (300 to 325 million in Cretacea), and 100 to 150 million credits in expert mode.

## Natural satellites

Some planets have natural satellites. For example, Earth has the moon, Mars has Phobos and Deimos, Pluto has Charon, Nix, Hydra, Styx, and Kerberos, Eris has Dysnomia, etc. These satellites can be colonized, and basically function as a very limited city.

Players can build habitation facilities, as well as buildings that increase population such as the Children's Creche, the Transit Network and the Spaceport. Terraforming buildings is unavailable on natural satellites, because they cannot contribute to the terraforming of the planet.

Natural Satellites have different size classes. The number of facilities can be built on a natural satellite depends on its size class, and population does not affect this. Earth's Moon is a size class III (Average), Mars' Phobos is size class II (Small) and Deimos is I (Tiny), Pluto's Charon is Class 3 (Average), Nix and Hydra are Class 2 (Small), and Styx and Kerberos are Class 1 (Tiny), Ragnarok's Muninn is IV (Large) and Huginn is V (Huge).

As of version 6.35, Pluto's moons are now 1 size smaller. Also, Styx and Kerberos have been removed.

Habitations like complexes or domes do not give either water, biomass or oxygen, transit networks cannot remove oxygen into the air/consume biomass, and spaceports will give money on natural satellites, however, they will not give pressure. This makes Natural Satellites a great source of credits. (only applies in normal mode)

Natural satellite appearance cannot be seen, but only shown as a crescent shape icon.

 II (Small)
 III (Average)
 IV (Large)
 V (Huge)

## Space Elevator

*Without question, the most dangerous and expensive part of interplanetary travel is landing on and launching from a planet's surface. The creation of a space elevator, with an orbital station tethered to the planet's surface by a long traversable cable at the equator, will not only stimulate an explosion of safe and affordable immigration, but will also be a massive boost to the local economy.*

The space elevator costs 100,000,000c to build, and that price is halved for those who pick the Far-Future Institute. Building it takes 36 hours (may take a little longer or shorter depending on the world's culture and Keahi Malae's effect), making it the longest to build and *most expensive* to pay for the construction. So, try not to spend a lot of credits to build this over and over again (if socket city gets destroyed).

It provides a boost of +250 population increase per minute and +50,000c revenue in the socket city, the city where it will be launched, which has to be less than 3**°** latitiude and in possession of a spaceport.

All other cities receive a +100 population/minute boost.

If, by any chance, the socket city gets destroyed, the space elevator will be destroyed as well and it must be rebuilt all over again.

The population and revenue boost the space elevator provides cannot be neither boosted with governors, no affected by culture settings.

### Socket city

**Socket cities** are cities that are within or below 3° of the equator. A player can build multiple socket cities, but only one is assigned for a space elevator to be built (example: If the world has 2 sockets and you decide to build the space elevator, one of the cities can have a space elevator). In which city will become socket city depends on elevation level, generally the one with highest elevation.

Fun Fact: Iapetus has an equatorial ridge that spans ⅔ of it, so it is a great marker for socket cities.

## Sky Farm

*The single greatest strain that can be placed on an ecosystem is requiring it to support a human population. Utilizing the latest advances in the fields of hydroponics and zero-G biology, we can construct a network of orbital farms and ranches massive enough to feed our entire population. This will allow us to eliminate our global consumption of biomass, and even survive on the surface of a world devoid of water or life.*

The Sky Farm costs 50,000,000c to build, and that price is halved for those who pick the Sons of Hephaestus. Building it takes 24 hours (may take a little longer or shorter depending on the world's culture and Neil Jansson's effect).

When the Sky Farm is operational, the population consumes 0 biomass (biomass mode only), and biomass/biospheres and water requirements are no longer necessary for habitability. The latter **only** applies to human habitability — if the planet has too little water to support plantlife, Sky Farm does **not** lift the requirement for plants (and animals) It also only counts towards the "habitable" status, as long as the other requirements are met. And it does not allow to skip the water & biomass/biospheres requirements for Paradise habitability for the Daughters of Gaia victory condition.

**Warning:** Sky Farm does not prevent flooding! It does not control the actual sea/ice/vapor level, which could still destroy the cities and outposts.

## Soletta

*Combining the strengths of a solar shade and an orbital mirror, and automating them with advanced A.I. programming and sensor arrays, the Soletta is the ultimate tool for regulating a global climate system. Dampening and amplifying solar radiation whenever necessary, the Soletta reacts automatically to maintain the ideal temperature across the entire planet.*

The Soletta costs 50,000,000c, and that price is halved for those who pick the Daughters of Gaia. Building it takes 24 hours (may take a little longer or shorter depending on the world's culture and Alana Freyja Lee's effect).

Soletta raises or lowers temperature by 10% of the difference between the current temperature and the target temperature every minute. The Soletta's target temperature must be between 187,000 and 387,000 mK. If you input a value that's less than 187,000 mK, greater than 387,000 mK, or tap on the "Disable" button, the Soletta will be disabled.

* It will take approximately 30 minutes to reach the temperature milestone if you stay in the game.
* It will take approximately 9 minutes to reach the temperature milestone if you close the game and then rejoin it after the 9 minutes.

**Warning:** Since Soletta works by percentages of a total instead of a small flat amount like all other buildings, it is extremely powerful and takes effect immediately. Since temperature controls the state of liquid water/ice/vapor, it can change water levels dramatically and flood the cities and outposts in seconds if not monitored carefully. Be very aware of the total water in the system before fiddling with Soletta. Percentage changes means that the changes the Soletta causes are significantly large at the beginning, and then it reduces every second the closer it is to the desired temperature.

When Soletta is set at a desired temperature, it will work not only to reach it, but also to keep it stable. If something is changing the temperature value, Soletta will intervene to counteract it. But, since it works with percentages and not with mK/min, the effects will be visible only when the gap between the desired temperature and the current one is big enough. For example, if you have activated something that increases the atmospheric pressure, and it increases the temperature by 40 mK/min, the Soletta will only stop the growth once the temperature is 400 mK above the goal. When the Soletta is disabled, the cause of temperature changing will prevail again, and the cycle repeats. Make sure to remove the cause of the change first, and then let Soletta do the rest.

## Lagrange Academy

*Fixed in orbit at the L4 Lagrange point, the Lagrange Academy literally leads the world in higher education. Elite enough to carry incalculable prestige but large enough to educate vast swathes of public servants, entertainers, lawmakers and regular citizens, this facility will allow for an unprecedented level of cultural guidance, transforming our global culture from a rigid set of traditions into a fluid, adaptable entity.*

The Lagrange Academy costs 50,000,000c, and that price is halved for those who pick the United Nations Space Administration. Building it takes 24 hours (may take a little longer or shorter depending on the world's Culture and Layla al-Battani's effect).

After the Lagrange Academy is operational, the culture sliders can be adjusted freely and bypass the faction restrictions without any cost.

Be careful with large adjustments with it, especially Eco-Policy as **habitation capacity decrease can cause massive population loss** if the planet is not yet habitable, with no warning. Restoring the habitation capacity will not restore lost population. Daughters of Gaia start off with a -15% decrease in habitations, so not much people can fit inside the habitations.

Since this satellite can allow to change the culture unlimited times, and research/construction time are not changed once started. It can be used to maximize the progress efficiency. For example, if you need to engage research labs quickly while keeping the revenue stream healthy, switch the Values to +50% Knowledge, start a research project, then turn the culture back to +50% Wealth. Similarly to the construction and biomass, set the Economy to +50% Industrial, order a building construction, then set it to +50% Ecological. it can even override the Culture limitations of each faction. Or even slide it in 0/0 or 50/50 if you need normal stats.

## Orbital Surveyor

*Ground-penetrating scanner technology mounted on a massive orbital platform will now allow us to pre-scan the area around outposts for valuable resources, so our miners know exactly where to dig before they even break ground.*

The Orbital Surveyor costs 50,000,000c, and that price is halved for those who pick Horizon Corporation. Building it takes 24 hours (may take a little longer or shorter depending on the world's culture and Appolo Matiba's effect).

After the Orbital Surveyor is operational, resource distributions will be visible when placing new mines, saving a lot of time when moving the scanner around. The whiter a spot is, the more production it get.

However, it loses the ability to see whether a spot is underwater. So, turn off the Surveyor map and you will see if the mine is being built underwater. **(that doesn't sound like much, but miners can also have mining underwater too!)**[just kidding]

## Planetary Defense Network

*As a new home for humanity this world must not only be cultivated and developed, it must also occasionally be defended. A Planetary Defense Network will allow us to track nearby asteroids and meteors, as well as take action when one of them gets too close.*

*Enables Defense Against Worldkiller Asteroids.*

The Planetary Defense Network costs 50,000,000c to build. Building it takes 24 hours (may take a little longer or shorter depending on the world's culture). Once it is operational, multiple mission plans become available for dealing with an incoming asteroid, accessible by tapping/clicking on the asteroid warning that listing time remaining until impact. These options are as follows:

* **Change Its Course:** Altering the trajectory of the asteroid so it misses the planet entirely. Requires the most time, with a middling cost and the highest chance of success.
* **Break It Into Small Pieces:** Presumably with the aid of Ed Harris. Breaking the asteroid into small pieces that burn up before hitting the planet. This is the fastest and cheapest option, but it is also the least likely to succeed.
* **Vaporize It Entirely:** Performed by having the asteroid aerobrake through the atmosphere and burn up. This is the most expensive option, requiring a middling amount of time and with a middling chance of success.

Cost, chance of success, and required mission time are affected by the training, equipment, vehicle, and number of teams deployed for the mission, all of which are customizable. Chances of success are maximized by reacting as quickly as possible when a worldkiller asteroid is detected and having enough credits saved up to conduct a mission before the need for it arises. It is not possible to arrange a mission which takes longer than the time remaining before impact and then speed it up with GP.

This satellite is a **MANDATORY OBJECTIVE** for all expert difficulty game saves because an asteroid can either ruin a perfectly good planet or offset the progress towards paradise habitability by days.

The table below illustrates required mission time, chance of success, and cost for various interception plans employing a single team. Cost is flatly doubled or tripled when the number of teams is increased, with a corresponding increase in chance of success.

Basic equipment
Disposable vehicle
32% chance of success
11,250,000c
11% chance of success
5,625,000c
21% chance of success
 Standard training
Standard equipment
Refitted vehicle
75% chance of success
20,000,000c
25% chance of success
10,000,000c
50% chance of success
 Rigorous training
Cutting-edge equipment
Custom-made vehicle
100% chance of success
31,250,000c
49% chance of success
15,625,000c
98% chance of success
78,125,000c

The planetary defense network is not available on Beginner and Normal modes (with the exception of Cretacea), because worldkiller asteroids do not appear in those modes.

## Trivia

* Lagrange Academy's background is based on the the real-life astronomical concept of Lagrangian points. To put it simply, they are points in which satellites can stay at relatively fixed distances from two bodies (e.g. a planet and a moon) with their gravitational pulls balancing each other. L4 point in particular is one of the more stable points, and a satellite at this point is essentially orbiting the larger body slightly ahead of the smaller body (the one here hominizing), hence "literally leads the world". Creator Alexander Winn has stated that this stems from a dad joke aimed at making his wife and business partner, Lacey Winn Hannan, groan.