Gimp-1 Launch Vehicle

The **Gimp-1 Launch Vehicle** is a two-stage-to-orbit medium-lift launch vehicle designed and built by the Yonkastic Space Agency, named for its use of one first-stage engine. The Gimp-1 is powered by engines burning liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, and liquid methane propellants.

The first class of rocket built by the Yonkastic Space Agency, the Gimp-1 was originally based on ballistic missile schematics acquired from the People's Republic of China. Following an expense report that forecasted prohibitive costs, the rocket was completely redesigned with full reusability in mind. After years of design work, construction, and testing, the craft was introduced in 2010 with the start of Project Stargazer. The Gimp-1 was quickly rated for human transport and first delivered Yonkastic astronauts to space as a part of Project Icarus in 2015. It is expected that the rocket will be used for human spaceflight until the mid 2020s and for satellite launches until the late 2030s.

## Reusability and Cost

The first stage of the rocket or the Gimp-1A Booster is fully reusable; all other components of the rocket need to be replaced between launches (except for the Humbug spacecraft, the crew habitation module of which can be reused). Publicly available figures indicate that preparing the booster for another launch requires "roughly 143,300 kilograms of liquid oxygen and 18,100 kilograms of liquid hydrogen", costing the country a total of around $90,000 USD. The coupling ring, fairings, and refurbishment have been stated to "bring the total up to the neighborhood of $2 million USD" by the Space Agency. Using a Humbug for the second stage has been stated to add another $3 million USD to the cost, while the satellites launched as part of Project Stargazer were declared to cost an average of nearly $1.5 million USD each.

## Inventory

The Republic of the Yonkage currently owns three Gimp-1 Launch Vehicles and has committed to building one more after a lengthy debate that gripped the public. The first booster constructed was allowed to crash into the Pacific Ocean after delivering the Stargazer 1 satellite into Low Earth Orbit. The second booster constructed was lost after its engine cut out during the recovery phase, rendering it unable to maneuver and culminating in a fiery descent that brought it right over downtown Kelänsen. All subsequent boosters have been recovered and reused.

## As a Terror Weapon

In late February of 2018, just as tensions between Costa Azul and the other countries of Gimp Island were reaching a head, Supreme Yonk Oliksten ordered that the Yonkage's Gimp-1 fleet be converted into ballistic missiles. Studies indeed showed the Gimp-1 to be a terror weapon of unrivaled potency, capable of obliterating large swathes of a city unfortunate enough to be fired upon. Fortunately, tensions wound down after Duke Jeremany withdrew his country from international affairs, Costa Azul was spared, and the rockets were restored to their intended function as instruments of science. The Yonkastic government, however, kept a contingency in place to arm the rockets with conventional warheads, especially with the rumors of Klaus's nuclear program.