A Lagrange station, is a space station which occupies a Lagrange point, where the gravitational forces between two celestial bodies (be it a star and a planet, or a planet and a moon) balance.[1]
Overview[]
In the Sol system, the term "Lagrange station" is nearly synonymous with the thousands of space stations orbiting in the Lagrange points of the Sun-Earth system - though any pair of orbiting bodies can support them. Each Lagrange point's gravitational influence extends around 800,000 kilometres in diameter, meaning that even the more densely-packed L4 and L5 points (containing thousands of space stations) are still such that no two stations would be able to view another without the assistance of a telescope.[1]
Most Lagrange stations rely on spin gravity, generally towards the lower end due to expense, but otherwise can be wildly different to one another, with varying factors such as their owner (ie governments or corporations) and purpose (ie defence, repair facilities, entertainment, operations, private use, etc). Some stations exist that emulate environments closer in nature to Earth, but the expense involved in such an endeavour mean that most of these stations are naturally situated in the Inner Planets, close to Earth.[1]
The distance between Lagrange stations means that travel to or from them is something measured in days, meaning that regular travelers maintain a schedule where they alternate a few days on-station with a few days at home. A smaller, but still sizeable, number of people live on the stations as a full-time population, with life on-station akin to life in the Asteroid Belt.[1]
For Earth's Lagrange station, the L1 and L2 stations are easiest to visit from Earth, being only a few hours' flight from Earht. L3 is the furthest, being situated on the far side of the sun - making it an extremely unpopular destination.[1]
Sun-Earth Lagrange stations[]
There are several military, governmental and commercial space stations orbiting Earth at one of the Lagrange points of Earth and Luna.
| Station | Lagrange point | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aditya-L1 | L1 | One of few L1 stations in operation, used for solar observation. |
| Applied Biogenesis | Unknown | A small research station run by the company of the same name, doing genetic research and experimentation.[1] |
| Comm Relay 12 | Unknown | One of dozens of typically-unmanned stations run by the United Nations, used for relaying tightbeam communications.[1] |
| Counter-Earth | L3 | A station veiled in secrecy, constructed by Counter-Earth Incorporated.[1] |
| Darkside Point | L2 | A permanent habitat totally shielded from the Sun; used for interstellar observations and one of the astronomer's brewed beer.[1] |
| FutureVeg Habitat | Unknown | Built to test new methods and technologies for growing vegetable and fungal life in space.[1] |
| Mao Station | L5[2] | Owned by Mao-Kwikowski Mercantile, and used by Jules-Pierre Mao as a personal hangar for his private fleet of spacecraft.[1] |
| Lagrange Repairs | L4 and L5 | Two sister stations that offer spacecraft repairs and maintenance.[1] |
| L-5 Feeds | L5 | A small news station that manages the transmission of several feeds to and from the Asteroid Belt and Inner Planets.[1] |
| L-Vegas | L4 | A massive ring station with facilities for drinking, gambling, dining, shopping, and other, more hedonistic activities.[1] |
| Proserpina Starworks 7A | Unknown | Colloquially termed "Sunflare Station", run by Proserpina Starworks and used as a shipyard for their racing spacecraft.[1] |
| RCE-L4 | L4 | Used by the Royal Charter Energy corporation as a staging ground for their colony ships.[1] |
| Solar System Tours | Unknown | A tourist hotspot for tour packages of famous locations of the Solar System.[1] |
| Spacemall | Unknown | A niche shopping venue catering to space travelers.[1] |
| TSL-5 | L5 | A transfer station established by the Transport Union.[3][1] |
| The Happiest Place Off Earth | Unknown | A theme park in orbit, catering to visitors with high disposable income but little taste for the rigors of space.[1] |
| Van Leeuwen Residence | L3 | The personal residence of the wealthy recluse Charles van Leeuwen, who dreamt to live as far away from Earth as possible, while still being able to recieve supply shipments.[1] |
Other Lagrange stations[]
| Station | Lagrange point | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Anderson Station | Sun-Ceres L3 | A large resupply for Anderson-Hyosung Cooperative Industries Group, based at the opposite orbit to Ceres.[4] |
| Jovian Distribution Habitat | Sun-Jupiter L5 | A coordination centre for the distribution of goods coming to and from the Jovian system.[1] |
| MCRN-L4B | Sun-Mars L4 | A Martian military station used for microgravity training.[1] |
| Venus Observer | Sun-Venus L1 | An unmanned observation station placed in orbit near Venus to observe the planet after the Eros Incident and the arrival of the protomolecule on the planet.[1] |
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 The Expanse Roleplaying Game: The Sol System, p.33-36
- ↑ The Expanse Novel Caliban's War - Chapter 30: Bobbie
- ↑ The Expanse Novel Persepolis Rising - Chapter 1: Drummer
- ↑ The Expanse Roleplaying Game: core rulebook, p.171