BNN News

In a new development that has rocked the entire Balkan region, combined space agencies throughout the Balkan nations have developed FTL travel. After Molvanja's press conference the RSBSA (Royal Slavic Byzantium Space Agency) has made it's own startling one...

"Brothers,

We applaud the efforts of the Molvanjans in beginning colonization efforts in the Magellen Clouds galaxies. Slavic Byzantium however wishes to look at the prospect of colonizing the Milky Way Galaxy and working on a more economical method of transporting our people into space.

We have tens of thousands living permanently in space but would require millions to move into outer space. We simply do not have the resource base to construct the sheer number of vessels required or the sublight drives needed to effectively navigate in system.

Simply put, our technology is not advanced enough and we do not have the trillions to advance this process. It would take us several decades to have the manpower necessary on our Luna and Mars colonies before we can even begin to project our presence onto other systems. We could send one hundred colonists here and there, but that will not do us much good.

With the possibilites of expanding our influence throughout the cosmos our government has authorized two things:

1. In the budget just released today. The national budget has broken the 10 trillion barrier and as such the government has allocated 1.5 trillion denarii per annum towards creating the base we need to project our people into the rest of the galaxy.

2. We invite all space agencies of the region to unite into the Unified Balkan Space Agency to combine our resources and allow us to expand our race into the cosmos. Our goal is to have a combined budget of 10 trillion dollars which will allow us to greatly expediate the construction of colonies, space stations, supply depots, and a space elevator.

Fossil fuel engines eventually will run out of fuel and are detrimental to the environment. A sustained fusion reaction has not been able to output more energy than the input required to kickstart the reaction. Ion engines exert about as much force as a piece of paper on someone's hand. The one solution that would allow us to maintain continual movement of supplies and men is a space elevator. NASA has developed plans to create such a grand idea. The price tag is about one trillion dollars. It involves the use of carbon nanotubes, tethering it in space with an asteroid or some other heavy object, and constructing of magnetic rails along the nanotubes allowing for lavs to move up and down. An uninhabited island in the Adriatic or close to the Med would be ideal. We have already begun fabricating the necessary factories to produce the nanotubes and various equipment to complete it. We will be using one of former Demoritus's uninhabited islands for this endeavour. We estimate it will take one month to complete preparations on the island and in space and a further year to get light lav trains in operation and a further 1-3 for heavy cargo lavs . This time could be reduced by a sizable amount if other space agencies were to assist. With its completion we expect time to complete preparations for expanding into the cosmos with FTL to be cut to a third of our initial projections.

We await all replies with trepidation."

Sprodj and the entire Molvanjan government would like to be the first to agree with you. We will, however, continue to navigate the Clouds of Magellan in hopes of colonization and perhaps even an encounter with sentient life. For the good of the Balkans!