Tag name：liftoff!

1956 SARSA Summary

Program		Units	Safety Factor
1.	Orbital Satellite	1	64%
A.	One Stage Rocket	1	39%

1 Launch Facility at an undisclosed location

Last updated: December 21, 2021 at 19:36 pm

1956 Smaug Summary

Program		Units	Safety Factor
c.	Three person capsule	5	10%

1 Launch Facility at an undisclosed location

Last updated: December 21, 2021 at 19:38 pm

1956

ASA accepts government Challenge

In an official press release, "ASA is proud to announce commencement of a mission to send three of its astronauts into orbit. The first stage will be the development and construction of the first of a planned series of XL rockets at the Space City facility at Woomera". Amongst intense speculation on the make-up of the first crew, ASA has been the subject of a lawsuit from the noted French astrophysicist Dr. Venus who is claiming that despite her doctorate on the gravitational effects of the Moon, Sun and Jupiter on Earth Orbital mechanics she had been reduced to making coffee and fetching the amber nectar for the rest of the team while being referred to as the "French Sheila". At the time of press it was unclear as to when the industrial tribunal will be held.

SHADO makes major breakthrough

Scientists at the space habitation agency have announced a major breakthrough in habitation technology with a highly advanced free standing tent design using curved poles instead of straight poles which allow the tent to be quickly constructed on site while minimising the size of the tent when it is transported. A spokesman for the SHADO board is quoted as saying "This is all very interesting, but I wish our satellite and rocket scientists would do the research they were paid to do rather than plan their next camping holiday..."¹.

Robert Dyer joins SARSA research labs

The noted botanist Robert Dyer has joined the SARSA research labs on secondment from the National Herbarium in Pretoria. It is expected that Dr. Dyer's organisational genius will significantly improve SARSA research capability in the coming year².

Corruption found in GOSsiP

In a story completely unrelated to the move by Dr. Dyer, the Scandinavian governments performing the first annual audit of the research programs started by GOSsiP have been stunned to discover major corruption and outright fraud in the orbital satellite program. A government official is reported as being "very disappointed - First we fund major repairs at Julianehåb and then discover funds being siphoned off - we need some better luck"³.

GOSsiP accused of spying on ASA

Australian officials have accused GOSsiP of spying on their two stage rocket program. However it is not clear quite why the Scandinavians would be funding or performing such an espionage program since they do not have any such program and when challenged on this point the Australians said "All we know is we caught some spies with Danish, Swedish and Norwegian visa stamps in their passports"⁴.

Smaug fires rocket scientists

Smaug Inc has sacked a number of its rocket scientists after the scientists announced that problems with the rocket program could comprise rocket safety. The organisation explained that as they had no rocket programs it was clear that the scientists "don't know what they were talking about and we have fired them". When asked for the names and address of the sacked scientists, the address provided by Smaug Inc. led to the top of an island volcano....⁵

Satellites all the rage

3 agencies (SHADO, GOSsiP and SARSA) have all started satellite programs. The more ambitious program is that from GOSsiP who have an interplanetary satellite, while SHADO's and SARSA's satellites are only capable of earth orbit. However only SARSA and SHADO have an accompanying one stage rocket program. ASA has concentrated on starting a two stage rocket program while Smaug Inc. has started a three person capsule program and has a total of 5 capsules ready for use.⁶

Two launches planned for 1957

Both SARSA and SHADO have announced their intentions to make a launch during 1957. SARSA's press release claims that as "Civilisation started in Africa, so will the conquest of Space" and that suggestions that a native South African will be the first to experience (and/or suffer) weightless as entirely groundless.

Launch Calendar

The provisional calendar for launches planned in 1957 (assuming none of the missions are rushed) is as follows:

12^th Dec: SARSA
13^th Dec: SHADO

Be among the first to see the repaired Julianehåb launch facility.

Watch the polar bears patrolling the site from your very own igloo

See the northern lights

All this from just 1500 kr.

Last updated: December 21, 2021 at 19:36 pm

Footnotes

Breakthrough on capsule or module program, but as SHADO has no such program as yet this has no effect. ↩
+1 on every research die purchased during 1957 by SARSA. ↩
-1 on every research die purchased during 1957 by GOSsiP (yes, that does mean a die roll of 1 is reduced to 0). ↩
Counter-espionage - reduce the safety factor of a program in another agency to that in ASA - but as no other agency has a two stage rocket program this has no effect. ↩
Minor rocket problem - but as Smaug Inc has no rocket program at this time - no effect. ↩
Note: Article updated following reinterpretation of GOSsiP's annual report (i.e., I misread the orders 🙁 ) ↩

1955

Smaug Inc announces the first space agency

The engineering company Smaug Inc. announced in March 1955 that it was setting up a new division with which it intends to take ownership of everything outside of the Earth's atmosphere. Smaug Inc. set up the new division with a healthy dollop of cash, an increased expected budget for 1957 and for its first year of operation a significant discount on purchases of equipment from the rest of the Smaug Inc.'s vast engineering experience¹. The new division's motto is "The Big Shiny Thing is ours!".

South Africa determined not to cede space to Smaug Inc.

In June 1955 following a major TV documentary on the risks of space travel (concerning both the risks of conceding space to big corporations, but also highlighting the risks to humans over weightless conditions²), the South African government decided that it must set up its own space agency to prevent Smaug Inc.'s domination of the skies. South African Republic Space Agency (SARSA) has been tasked with conquering space as soon as possible and has been initially granted a cash balance of the same size as that of Smaug Inc. However the South African finance ministry is reported to have already asked the agency to make savings and has imposed a small budget reduction for 1957. The Suitably Arrogant Rabid South Africaaners are expected to make a big impact (preferably into water) in the coming years.

Scandinavians also in the race

During the first few days of September, the Scandinavians also set up a new space agency, the Greenland Outer Space (Satellite and Interstellar) Programme (GOSsiP). After rapid construction of their launch facility at Julianehåb, ideally suited for launching satellites into polar orbits, the discovery that the facility had been built on a moving glacier has consternation and dismay (and the requirement for expensive remedial repairs³). In recognition of the setback this has caused to GOSsiP, the Scandinavian governments have agreed to a significant increase in the expected 1957 budget for GOSsiP should allow the agency to fulfil its motto: "To Infinity and beyond!"

Space Habitation Agency set ups Direct Operations division

The Space Habitation Agency announced in September that it too was setting up a new division with which to conquer space. With its previous experience in designing space missions (if not launching them), the agency has already recognised the need for ground based mission control and is expected to have an excellent safety record⁴. The "Theoretical Operations" division is reported to be relieved that, with luck, the new division will divert media attention from their own operations and has diverted a small amount of its 1957 budget to the new SHADO.

Australia joins the race

Following the re-election of the incumbent Australian government on the 10th of December, the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, announced that, as per his election manifesto, Australia would be setting up space agency to join the race to conquer space. The Australian Space Agency (ASA) has been tasked by the Prime Minister to immediately send a multi-manned mission into space⁵. As a result of the Prime Minister's enthusiasm for the space agency, ASA will have a massively increased 1957 budget.

Last updated: February 9, 2023 at 11:14 am

Footnotes

All equipment purchases during 1956 made by Smaug Inc are half price. This does not apply to the cost of starting a program, only to additional hardware ↩
SARSA cannot recruit any astronauts during 1956 ↩
No launches permitted from this GOSsiP facility until $15,000,000 of repairs have been made ↩
The first ever failed safety check made by SHADO will be rerolled. ↩
ASA's first mission must be manned in a multi-person capsule. If the mission fails ASA's budget will be halved. ASA may reject this order, but if it does so, ASA's 1957 budget will be $48,000,000 instead of $90,000,000 ↩

Liftoff! Newspapers

A Chronicle of the progress of my play-by-email Liftoff! game is kept under this page. So far:

Last updated: January 4, 2022 at 14:19 pm

Liftoff! Mission Types

Liftoff! Mission types

There are several missions that can be made - note that any of the manned missions made by sent as unmanned if desired - this allows for systems testing without the risk of a catastrophic failure. The lists below shown the standard mission types and the safety checks that will be made for the mission. If you wish to do a mission that is not listed, please discuss it with me to determine the mission steps and the bonus and/or penalties that will be applied when the mission is complete.

Orbital Satellite

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Orbital Satellite)
Orbital Activities (Orbital Satellite)

Manned Sub-Orbital

Liftoff (Rocket)
Re-enter (Capsule)
Recovery (Capsule)

Manned Orbital

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
Earth Orbital Activities (Capsule)
Earth De-Orbit Burn (Capsule)
Re-entry (Capsule)
Recovery (Capsule)

Manned Orbital and Spacewalk

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
Earth Orbital Activities (Capsule)
Spacewalk (EVA)
Earth De-Orbit Burn (Capsule)
Re-entry (Capsule)
Recovery (Capsule)

Manned Orbital and Docking

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
Earth Orbital Activities (Capsule)
Docking Module Power-On (Orbital Satellite)
Docking (Docking)
Earth De-Orbit Burn (Capsule)
Re-entry (Capsule)
Recovery (Capsule)

Manned Orbital, Docking and Spacewalk

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
Earth Orbital Activities (Capsule)
Docking Module Power-On (Orbital Satellite)
Docking (Docking)
Spacewalk (EVA)
Earth De-Orbit Burn (Capsule)
Re-entry (Capsule)
Recovery (Capsule)

Lunar Satellite Fly-by

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Earth Mission Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Lunar Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Lunar Orbital Activities (Interplanetary Satellite)

Lunar Probe Landing

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Lunar Probe)
Earth Mission Burn (Lunar Probe)
Lunar Orbital Burn (Lunar Probe)
Lunar De-Orbit Burn (Lunar Probe)
Photo Reconnaissance (Photo Reconnaissance)
Lunar Landing (Lunar Probe)

Mars Satellite Fly-by

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Earth Mission Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)

The following two steps are checked in the following year

Mars Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Mars Orbital Activities (Interplanetary Satellite)

Venus Satellite Fly-by

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Earth Mission Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)

The following two steps are checked in the following year

Venus Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Venus Orbital Activities (Interplanetary Satellite)

Lunar and Mars Fly-by

Note: This mission type has a compulsory 1d10 month rush applied to it.

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Earth Mission Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Lunar Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Lunar Orbital Activities (Interplanetary Satellite)
Lunar/Mars Transfer Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)

The following two steps are checked in the following year

Mars Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Mars Orbital Activities (Interplanetary Satellite)

Lunar and Venus Fly-by

Note: This mission type has a compulsory 1d10 month rush applied to it.

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Earth Mission Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Lunar Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Lunar Orbital Activities (Interplanetary Satellite)
Lunar/Venus Transfer Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)

The following two steps are checked in the following year

Venus Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Venus Orbital Activities (Interplanetary Satellite)

Mars and Venus Satellite Fly-by

Note: This mission type has a compulsory 1d10 month rush applied to it.

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Earth Mission Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)

The following three steps are checked in the following year

Mars Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Mars Orbital Activities (Interplanetary Satellite)
Mars/Venus Transfer Orbital Burn

The following two steps are checked in the following year (i.e., two years after launch)

Venus Orbital Burn (Interplanetary Satellite)
Venus Orbital Activities (Interplanetary Satellite)

Manned Lunar Pass

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
Earth Mission Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
En route Activities (Capsule)
Lunar Mission Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
En route Activities (Capsule)
Earth Orbital Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
Earth Orbital Activities (Capsule)
Earth De-Orbit Burn (Capsule)
Re-entry (Capsule)
Recovery (Capsule)

Manned Lunar Orbital

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
Earth Mission Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
En route Activities (Capsule)
Lunar Orbital Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
Lunar Orbital Activities (Capsule)
Lunar Mission Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
En route Activities (Capsule)
Earth Orbital Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
Earth Orbital Activities (Capsule)
Earth De-Orbit Burn (Capsule)
Re-entry (Capsule)
Recovery (Capsule)

Manned Lunar Landing

Liftoff (Rocket)
Earth Orbital Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
Earth Mission Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
En route Activities (Capsule)
Docking (Docking) - may be skipped if using the four person capsule/module
Lunar Orbital Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
Lunar De-Orbit Burn (Lunar Module)
Photo Reconnaissance (Photo Reconnaissance)
Lunar Landing (Lunar Module) - only crew members in the module count as crew for this mission step
Moonwalk (EVA) - only crew members in the module count as crew for this mission step
Lunar Launch (Lunar Module)
Lunar Orbital Activities (Capsule) - may be skipped if using the four person capsule/module - if not using the four person capsule/module at least one astronaut must be left in the capsule who will be the only crew for this mission step
Docking (Docking) - may be skipped if using the four person capsule/module
Lunar Mission Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
En route Activities (Capsule)
Earth Orbital Burn (Capsule (or Kicker if used))
Earth Orbital Activities (Capsule)
Earth De-Orbit Burn (Capsule)
Re-entry (Capsule)
Recovery (Capsule)

Mission Pre-requisites

The mission types shown above should be completed in order. It is permitted to skip these missions but the agency doing so takes additional risks. For each skipped mission there is a cumulative 3% penalty to each mission step. Once a mission has been completed successfully it counts as having completely both that mission and the earlier ones in the sequence for the purposes of this rule. For example, if your first ever mission is a Manned Lunar Pass, that mission will be subject to a 9% penalty on all its safety checks. If successful that penalty is removed and the agency can attempt that mission and any of its pre-requisite missions without penalty.

Notes

Manned capsules must be fully crewed unless performing a rescue mission or sent as an unmanned mission (in which case the capsule and/or lander must be sent completely empty).

Last updated: January 12, 2023 at 11:31 am

16^th May 2017: Clarify that manned missions must be sent with full crews in almost all cases.
1^st Nov 2017: Remove spurious dash symbol

Liftoff! Research and Development worksheet

Liftoff! Research and Development Worksheet

Program	Initial Cost	Unit Cost	Unit Weight	Max Payload	Initial Safety Factor	R&D Cost per Die	Max R&D	Max Safety Factor	Notes
1 - Orbital Satellite	6	1	300		40%	1	95%	98%	2 - 50%, 3 - 60%
2 - Interplanetary Satellite	24	4	600		40%	3	90%	95%	1 - 45%. 3 - 50%
3 - Lunar Probe	30	6	1200		40%	4	85%	88%	1 - 45%, 2 - 50%
4 - Docking Module	18	2	300		45%	n/a	n/a	100%	A Docking Module required for all dockings except to a two person Lunar Lander. Once launched it can be reused for up to six months.
A - One Stage Rocket	24	3		500	10%	2	85%	98%	B, C, D, G - 35%
B - Two Stage Rocket	60	12		1500	10%	4	90%	98%	A, D - 25%, C, G - 40%, (A, D)&(C, G) - 65%
C - Three Stage Rocket	84	18		3200	5%	6	95%	98%	A, D - 15%, B, G - 35%, (A, D)&(B, G) - 60%
D - Liquid Fuel Strap-Ons	12	3		+1000	10%	2	85%	98%	A, B, C, G - 30%
F - Kicker	12	3	300		10%	1	95%	98%	A, B, C. D, G - 25% Required to lift a two person capsule out of earth orbit
G - "Mega" Stage Rocket	150	30		4800	5%	7	95%	98%	A, D - 10%, B, C - 25%, (A, D)&(B, C) - 35%
EVA Suits	18				30%	1	98%	98%	Once this program is purchased, all crew members will be assumed to wearing an EVA suit.
a - One Person Capsule	18	2	500		10%	1	80%	93%	b, c, h - 40% Cannot travel beyond earth orbit.
b - Two Person Capsule	24	6	700		10%	2	85%	98%	a - 20%, c, h - 40% Kicker required to lift out of earth orbit.
c - Three Person Capsule	36	12	1300		10%	5	90%	98%	a - 20%, b - 30%, a&(b, h) - 40%
d - Two Person Lunar Lander	30	8	1500		10%	2	90%	98%	e - 30%, h -40%
e - One Person Lunar Lander	42	8	700		10%	4	90%	98%	d -30%, h - 40%
f - Three Person Minishuttle	60	30	1000		5%	7	95%	98%	Can be reused if its return to earth is not catastrophic and $2m is paid to refurbish the minishuttle.
h - Four Person Capsule/Lander	60	30	4300		5%	7	90%	98%	a -10%, b - 15%, c -25%, (a,b,c)&(d,e) - 35% Unlike the other Capsules and the minishuttle this vehicle can land on (and lift off from) the lunar surface.

The numbers and letters in the notes column refer to safety factor starting levels if similar programs have already reached 75%.

Note that when you start a new research program you get a free example of the program.

When the safety factor of a program changes, the new safety factor applies to all examples of that program from the relevant agency¹.

An astronaut program must be started at a cost of $18,000,000 before astronauts can be included on a mission (the $18,000,000 includes one astronaut). Additional astronauts can be trained at a cost $2,000,000 each.

Additional Launch Facilities can be purchased at a cost of $30,000,000. Only one launch per year can be made from each facility (unless superseded by events).

Last updated: December 21, 2021 at 19:38 pm
Updated 16^th May to add astronaut program and additional launch facilities.

Footnotes

Except in the case of sabotaged equipment traded to other agencies, where I will track the safety factor of that unit as required. Reductions of safety factor will apply to such traded units ↩

Liftoff! Mission Budget Effects

Mission Type	First Nation Bonus	Second Nation Bonus	Third Nation Bonus	Subsequent Mission Bonus	Failed Mission Penalty
Orbital Satellite	+16	+10	+6	+2	-3
Manned Space Mission	+24	+12	+6	+2	-10
Manned Orbital	+16	+10	+6	+2	-10
Manned Docking	+11	+7	+4	+1	-2
Space Walk	+11	+7	+4	+1	-2
International Docking (Each)	+12	+6	+4	+2	-4
Two-Person Craft	+10	+4	+2	0	-10
Three-Person Craft	+20	+10	+5	0	-10
Four-Person Craft	+30	+16	+10	0	-10
Reusable Shuttle	+30	+16	+10	0	-10
International Crew (Each)	+12	+6	+4	+2	-4
Lunar Fly-by	+6	+4	+3	+2	-3
Mars Fly-by	+8	+6	+4	+2	-3
Venus Fly-by	+8	+6	+4	+2	-3
Manned Lunar Pass	+15	+7	+3	+1	-10
Manned Lunar Orbit	+30	+14	+10	+4	-10
Lunar Probe Landing	+20	+12	+8	+4	-6
Rescue Attempt	+12	+12	+12	+12	+8

If a mission is successful and qualifies for more than one bonus, all will apply (for example if the first manned orbital mission is also the first two-person crew then your mission bonus will be $26m.

Only the worst mission penalty will apply (so if the two-person manned orbital mission failed, the penalty would be $10m).

If a large crew (3 or 4 person crew) mission happens before a smaller crew, only one crew bonus is awarded and the smaller crew bonus will not longer be available.

If a manned lunar orbital mission happens before a manned lunar pass only the bonus for the orbital is awarded and the lunar pass bonus will not longer be available.

Last updated: January 4, 2022 at 14:19 pm

Liftoff! Rules Summary

Money

Money is measured in millions of dollars and each agency has a budget allocated to it by its government which is paid into cash in hand each turn. Luckily unspent funds are carried forward and not clawed back. Your budget is affected by events and by the success or failure of missions.

Money can be spent on:

Resolving events: After receiving its budget each agency draws an event card which will be immediately resolved. Some events require the immediate expenditure of cash. Following resolution of the event each card typically modifies the budget of the agency for the following year (Agencies with a high budget will typically see that budget fall while those with a low budget will typically see an increase).
Starting new research programs: Each research program has an initial cost to start the program and comes with a free example of the hardware. If you have an existing similar program your new program will start at a higher initial safety factor as shown on the R&D worksheet.
Buying new hardware: When you need an additional examples of the hardware after the first one you must buy the additional pieces of equipment either from your program or, if you can negotiate it, from another space agency
Buying R&D dice: Each program will require research in order to improve its safety factor. Each turn you can buy up to 8 six-sided dice of research for each of your research programs with each die costing the stated amount on the R&D worksheet.
Training new astronauts: While you don't have to pay for the astronaut's living costs, you do have to pay for the initial training at a cost of $2m each (except for the very first astronaut hired by an agency, whose training costs $18m)
Buying new launch facilities: Every mission launched needs to be launched from a launch facility. Your space agency starts with one launch facility (which allows one launch per year). Additional launch facilities cost $30m
Repairing damaged launch facilities: Damaged facilities (either from storms or from rockets exploding) can be repaired at a typical cost of $15m

Budgets and Cash-in-hand will be declared in the newspaper and hence you will be able to see this information about your rival agencies as well as your own.

Research and Development

Every program has a safety factor recorded as a percentage value. This starts at an initial value (typically 10%) as shown on the R&D worksheet and has a maximum rating that can be achieved by performing Research and Development and an absolute maximum. When a piece of equipment is used on a successful mission it is granted a 1% boost to its safety factor (up to the absolute maximum). When a piece of equipment is the cause of catastrophic failure (i.e., it caused the death of an astronaut) its safety is reduced to its initial value. In this case it may be researched back up to the best value it has ever had.

Your agency automatically has the Photo Reconnaissance program at no cost. This has an initial safety factor of 65% and may be raised to 100%. However it can only be raised by missions that include a "lunar orbital activities" safety check (whose success raises the safety factor by 5%) or by Lunar Probe Landing missions (which, if successful, raise the safety rating by 15% and, if not successful, but did complete a lunar de-orbit burn raise the safety rating by 5%).

Docking can not be improved by research but only by practice. Every attempt at a docking raises the safety rating by 5%, plus an additional 10% if the docking is successful.

Choosing Future Missions

You must plan in this turn exactly what missions you intend to launch in the following turns. The mission plan must state what the mission is (from the list of available missions), what kind of equipment is to be used and who (if any) the astronauts who will fly the mission. You may also designate a backup crew for the mission in case a member of the primary crew is affected by a event or death. Any given astronaut may only take part in one mission per year. You also need to declare the order of the missions you have planned.

All of these plans are declared as part of your orders for the turn, but only the number of launches you have planned will be announced to other players via the newspaper unless you order otherwise or the mission is a joint one.

Deciding whether to rush any of this year's missions

Normally missions are launched in December in order of agency's budgets, with the agency with the lowest budget launching first. However if you wish to launch earlier than this, you may choose to rush one or more of your launches planned for this turn. Each month of rushing costs $1m and the rushed mission has a 1% (per month of rushing) penalty on its safety factors on every mission step.

Deciding whether to "scrub" any of this year's missions

If, as a result of bad research, lack of hardware or as a result of catastrophic failure of an earlier mission, you feel it is unwise to launch one or more of the missions you have planned you can scrub the mission. Each mission that you scrub will count as a failure, but not a catastrophic one. If only the launch of the scrubbed mission was announced, the press can only assume that it was a orbital satellite and your budget will only be reduced by $3m.

Carrying out of missions

Each mission is made of a set of mission steps. On each step a percentile die is rolled against the safety factor of the relevant piece of equipment (for example, the initial step of every mission is rolled against the rocket used). If the roll is equal to, or less than, the safety factor, the mission step is successful and mission proceeds. If the roll is higher than the safety factor, a problem arises with that piece of kit and a roll is made against the failure chart of that mission step. The result may be a minor problem (e.g., a problem with the countdown that is resolved the same day), more serious or even catastrophic (e.g., the rocket explodes on the launch pad).

In some cases the failure may leave the astronauts stranded in space. If they are not rescued by the end of the year they will die and the failure counted as catastrophic (if rescued, the astronauts survive and the mission counts as merely "failed").

Budget effects of missions

If a mission is successful your agency's budget will be immediately increased. If this the first time a particular mission has ever succeeded (across all agencies), the increase will be substantially increased (with smaller increases for the second and third agency to successfully complete a mission).

If a mission fails your agency's budget will be reduced.

Successful rescues increase your budget by $12m, while failed rescues still increase your budget by $8m. If multiple agencies participated in the rescue every agency gets the relevant increase.

Diplomacy and Capitalism

Joint missions may be conducted if both (or all players) include the joint mission in their orders (it is a failed mission for all participants if the mission fails to launch for any reason). The orders need to indicate who is providing which components of the mission.

Players may sell equipment (but not programs or research) to each other. The seller may choose (secretly) to reduce the safety factor of the equipment provided but if the equipment fails catastrophically, the provider of the equipment will be forced to reduce the safety factor of that program to its initial value as usual (the user of the equipment will suffer the budget effects of the failure).

Astronauts

Every astronaut has a chance to recover a mission from many of the effects of a component failure (e.g., an astronaut may be able to fix radio but they will be unable to prevent a rocket from exploding). Every previous mission that an astronaut has flown gives that astronaut a 10% percent chance of fixing those problems that can be fixed. For a multi-person crew, the chance will be averaged across the members of the crew.

Maximum Lift capacity

Every rocket has a maximum lift capacity rating. The total weight of equipment launched by a rocket may not exceed that maximum. Multiple missions may be launched from a single rocket as long as this maximum weight is respected (Obviously, if the rocket explodes on launch, all the missions being launched will count as failures (and catastrophic ones if the relevant missions were manned).

Liquid Fuel Strap-ons are not independent rockets, but are "strapped onto" another rocket to increase its maximum lift capacity by 1000. When Liquid Fuel Strap-ons are used, the safety factor for launching the rocket is the average of both the liquid fuel strap-ons and the rocket to which it is attached.

Images on this page from nasa.gov (directly or indirectly) or listed on wikimedia.org as public domain except for the first image which is (indirectly via wikipedia) courtesy of Heritage Auctions and the last image which is CC-BY-SA by "SchuminWeb, Craigboy" (according to wikimedia).

Last updated: January 12, 2023 at 11:26 am

Liftoff!

Liftoff! box cover

Liftoff! is a 1989 board game by Fritz Bronner and originally published by Task Force Games. I'm going to run a play-by-email version of the game, so here is a summary of the rules, a copy of the Research and Development Worksheet, details of the various mission types and the newspapers that record the outcome of the turns.

The aim of the game is to land a person on the moon and return them safely to earth.

The basic sequence of play for this version is:

Read the newspaper for the outcome of the previous turn and to review your space agency current status
Submit order for your space agency
Resolution of research and development (performed by the referee)
Carry out missions (performed by the referee)
Modify Budgets to reflect the outcome of the missions (performed by the referee)
Add the current budget to cash in hand (performed by the referee)
Draw Event Card (performed by the referee)
Write Newspaper (performed by the referee and records the results of the turn

Your order for your space agency needs to include:

New research programs started and new hardware purchased
Exchange of money and/or hardware with other players
Number of R&D dice purchased (and on which programs)
Declaration of the planned missions for the following turns
Declaration of the scrubbing of planned missions for this turn (if any)
The rushing of this launches (if any)
What, if any, provisions have been made for rescue missions (of either your own agency's mishaps or, if desired, those of other agencies.

Last updated: January 4, 2022 at 14:19 pm