Starliner blast due to faulty fuel feed
Wandering Star captain cleared in Review Board hearing
MARS CAROUSEL, Dec. 20 - The explosions that crippled the spaceliner Wandering Star as it was carrying 250 passengers and 24 crew on approach to Mars likely were caused by a faults in the fuel feed system, a Review Board concluded on Thursday.
The board also found that Wandering Star Capt. Hervé Xeonkostas acted properly in ordering that the entire propulsion stage be jettisoned in order to protect the passengers as the liner was hit by a second round of blasts eight weeks ago.
“At that time, it was unclear whether more engines would become involved in the explosions, which had caused significant damage to the adjoining main hull and engineering section,” Review Board Presider and Earth Fleet Admiral Ambrosius Coleridge told the hearing.
“Delay would have put passengers in unnecessary danger and could have led to loss of life or emergency evacuation into the life pods,” Coleridge said.
Xenokostas testified that readings showed a spreading anomaly in the propulsion system at the time he gave the order.
“We really didn’t know if more engines would explode and would that lead to a chain reaction that could blow the hull open,” Xenokostas said.
The initial explosions on Nov. 11 damaged three of the ship’s 33 maneuver engines. The second, more damaging blasts came five days later and tore a jagged gash in the stern of the starliner’s main, half-kilometer hull, forcing three engineering crew to eject.
“Their engineering compartment was blown wide open, and more explosions could have caused a larger hull breach,” said Review Board member and Drover’s Star Capt. Antares Morgan.
The board also praised Xenokostas for his actions in ensuring an orderly and safe evacuation of passengers to other ships in the fleet.
“Any evacuation is fraught,” Coleridge said. “The captain and his crew played an essential role in ensuring that everyone made it to Mars safely.”
Second engine failure on Mars approach this annos
In addition to Coleridge and Morgan, the board comprises Mars DevCo Planetary Manager Elric Balvicar, Mars Carousel Manager Johannes Tycho, and and Peregrinus Aeolus, who served as captain of the fast packet Caraval, which also suffered engine failure on Mars approach in June, although not explosive.
The Wandering Star was brought back to Mars by the explorer scout Boudicca, which used a pairing lattice to attach to the much bigger Wandering Star. The Caraval was brought back by the Boudicca’s sister ship, Beansí (Banshee).
The board found that the explosions on the Wandering Star were most due to failure of flow regulators or shut-off valves in the propellant feed system for the engines.
The board was unable to determine whether the failures were due to equipment or system control issues.
“The data tell us where the problem was but not what caused it,” Tycho said.
While some minor performance issues were identified during the ship’s initial course adjustments leaving Earth orbit, they were deemed within established limits.
“That determination, made by fleet management, will have to be carefully reviewed,” Tycho said.
The board was recommending a thorough investigation into possible manufacturing, industrial process and system control issues at the Earth orbital shipyard that built the propulsion stage, Tycho said.
That investigation should include the control system failure that caused engine failure aboard the fast packet Caraval on its own approach to Mars on the Luna shuttle route from the Astra Earth station, Tycho said.
The Caraval’s engine trouble has been linked to a digital control failure, although no formal conclusion has been released,
The ship continued without engines for eight weeks and arrived three weeks late in early August after being rescued by the explorer scout Beansí (Banshee)
That prompted Mars carousel to set up the Space Rescue service, which included the Cutter Jove and the tug Juno, both of which assisted with the Earth fleet last month
“Clearly, the Space Rescue service has been a timely and effective move, but we’ve been very lucky that there was no loss of life in either incident,” Caraval Capt. Aeolus said. “Still, something is not quite right in the manufacturing, assembly and testing of Mars-bound ship, and we need to make sure that get’s fixed.”
Let's fly away, Mars cities say
Valley towns back regular air travel
ORSON WELLES, Dec. 21 - Cities across the Valles Marineris are backing a recent call by the Xanthe Terra Council for the establishment of regular shuttle flights to foster both travel and trade Valley-wide.
“Right now, it’s easier to get to orbit than to Ius,” Tithonia Councillor Tiberia Hernandez said at Thursday’s City Council meeting for Mars largest settlement. “It’s a 25-sol trip overland to Ius. Great scenery, but still 25 sols.”
Hernandez argued that one of the factors that has been driving skilled workers from the City is the lack of opportunities to travel around Mars and experience the differences between the cities.
Over the last two annos (nearly four years), the City has lost several hundred workers who simply left their jobs and habs and moved to other Ius and cities in other chasmata.
“Tithonia is beautiful, but it feels smaller and smaller over time,” Hernandez said. “For people who traveled a half billion kilometers to get here, it’s frustrating to not be able to travel a thousand kilometers on Mars. Heck, it’s 10-sol round trip to the Noctis Grange Hall and that’s just a couple hundred kilometers. We could do better than that.”
Noctis has proposed a building a printed road northeast to Ares Port, which houses most of Tithonia’s indsutry, and west to Ius, which would cut travel time by two-thirds.
Still, air travel would reduce travel time from weeks for long-distance roues, even with a printed road, to a matter of hours.
Faster travel for people and goods is a necessary step in building a thriving Valley- and Mars-centered economy, Corprates Councillor Perseverance Mendez said.
“We may as well be on other planets,” said Mendez, who noting that the land journey from Tithonia to the city in the Sibiti crater on the floor of Coprates Chasma takes 50 sols one way. “It’s one thing if you’re in a supply train or caravan, but it’s about as slow as it was with sailing ships on old Earth.”
While the local economies in all of the chasmata have to support practically all of their own needs, each of the Valley cities, has their own specific strengths.
For Coprates, that’s agricultural science and technology, Candor is more industrial focused and for Melas, it’s water recovery and mining as well as aquaculture and hydroponics, Melas Councillor Vita Ravenhill said at Wednesday’s council meeting space in the Auquarium Dome.
“We could all eat a little better if we were able to trade foodstuffs from chasma to chasma,” Ravenhill said.
Does Mars depends on DevCo?
In Tithonia, City Council President Claude Paddingbury said the establishment of the separate Valley settlements had been a crucial step in ensuring the survivability of Earth immigrants and first-generation Martians.
“And, we have to remember, scientific pursuits aside, that we exist because DevCo and its shareholders decided to make huge investments on Mars and in Mars orbit,” Paddingbury said. “We are no longer solely a company-town but we depend to a very large extent on the company’s willingness to continue to invest in Mars. For that, we need to continue to provide an adequate return on their investment.”
Increased air travel would require the approval of Mars DevCo, which regulates shuttle traffic on the planet and to the orbital facilities, including the Mars Carousel.
A company official said any such service would have to be shown to help the company meet its overall mission of increased trade with Earth, which is the keystone of its business model.
“Everything we do on Mars is tied to developing industry in orbit and on the surface that can support profitable trade between our facilities here and on Earth,” Mars DevCo Transportation Chief Hartley Adams said.
Asked whether DevCo would be amenable to a private company or local councils initiating independent shuttle service, Adams said they would have to make a case that it would support the company’s overall goals on Mars.
The pace of DevCo’s earnings growth has slowed, and Earth-based industrial analysts have cautioned that recent mishaps, including the engine failure on the Wandering Star passenger liner and the deployment trouble holding up the orbital factories, could affect future results.
The question is whether those problems indicate wider issues within DevCo’s core shipbuilding and space industry segments.
Adams repeated DevCo’s statement that all of its industrial facilities continue to perform to the highest standards.
Being overly reliant on DevCo is in itself an obstacle to the development of local industry and trade, argues Candor Councillor Artemis Tungolwys, who took a long and circuitous land route from the City to Candor, which has a growing industrial base.
“As the home of the BarVoom compact fusion plants, Candor has fueled much of the independent growth on Mars,” Tungolwys said. “As long as we remained tied to Earth-based corporations, we will be unable to fulfill our pull potential as Martians.
- Kenzo Hsing (Ius), Sorcha Kasei (Coprates), Icario Manus (Candor) and Susmita O’Reilly (City)
Coprates to complete first section of Ring City by February
Sunshade deployed
COPRATES CHASMA, Dec. 19 - The covering for the first 4 km of the envisioned Coprates ring-shaped city around the rim of its home crater should be completed by the end of January, the Council heard on Wednesday.
“We’re well ahead of schedule for this section,” new Councillor and construction supervisor Raj Perekh told the council at its Wednesday meeting.
The work to date only includes the half-arch sandglass corridor being built from the ground to the wall of the 78 km circumference crater, Perekh said, and no new interior structures.
“We’ve provided the necessary grading for the printing of the sandglass covering, which includes a number of existing habitats built into the crater rim,” Perekh said.
The overall scheme includes so-called villages spaced at roughly 2 km intervals along the rim with farms and aquaculture ponds as well as orchards and ornamental trees and shrubs to assist in maintaining the atmosphere and for the greenery.
“We’ve also prepared the ground work for the first village, but it will be up to the Planning Commission and the City Council to lease out those sites for building,” Parekh said.
The long-term plan, approved by the Council in August, envisions domes spaced at 10 km and similar in size to the 1.6 km Chandrasekar Dome, which was built into a depression left over from an ancient crater.
Parekh also reminded the Council that it has yet to act on the question of whether to bore out a transit tube beneath the ring as construction progresses, Perekh said.
“We can be doing this as we are completing the covering, as a great deal of the equipment, except for the boring machines, are already on hand,” Parekh said.
The boring machines pose an obstacle as they would have to be brought in overland from Candor Chasma, about 700 km overland, said Councillor Patroclus Quinn, a member of the development committee. “We could try to get some used boring machines from Noctis, but that’s 1,600 km west of here and Ares Port is another 250 km from there.”
Stowaways hired on to fix orbital factory jam
And make loading easier
MARS CAROUSEL, Dec. 17 - The two Earth orbital workers who shipped themselves her in a cargo container have taken on temporary assignments with the O’Cealeachair (O’Kelleher) orbital shipyard to assist with the jammed orbital factory unit that has so far failed to self-deploy.
Four prefabricated factory ships arrived with the Earth fleet Nov. 30, and so far three have successfully completed their orbital deployment.
Orbital technicians have so far been unable to successfully deploy the fourth unit, which jammed when it was only partially deployed due to what orbital management has called a misfold.
One of the stowaways, Orla Calaveras, has proposed a solution that involves retracing several steps of the deployment and resuming in a different sequence.
The proposal by Calaveras deviates from the original schematics, but would facilitate easier cargo loading for the unit.
That three other factory units could be rearranged to take advantage of the same configuration.
The four factory ships, designed for zero, micro and low gravity manufacturing, have taken up their permanent orbital slots above the Pontus Caelestis orbital, known as the Mars Carousel.
The factories are designed to produce high-value goods and components for export to Earth and for use on Mars and in orbit.
Calaveras and her companion Luis Roving traveled to Mars in a heavily modified double container on the cargo ship, but have been barred from completing their journey
Mars DevCo has said the couple will not be permitted to transfer to the surface of Mars and would only be allowed to stay on the Carousel until a berth opens up on a return flight to Earth.
Calaveras and Roving are taking on the assignment with the O’Ceileachair group, and will not work directly for DevCo’s orbital operations.
- Alfwinna Webster
Contract Chaos - Starliner evacuees get contract break
TITHONIA, Dec. 18 - The 250 passengers who were forced to evacuate the spaceliner Wandering Star after a series of engine explosions left the ship powerless on its approach to Mars will see a half-annos reduction in their standard 3-annos transportation contracts, the City Labor Commission announced Tuesday.
All contract workers receive a half-annos credit for the journey to Mars, meaning they have to serve 2,5 annos (4.6 years) before being able to take on other positions or to move from the City without approval.
For the evacuees, the additional reduction brings their remaining contract term down to 2 annos (3.6 years).
“Space travel is inherently dangerous, and that danger is specified as a risk within the contracts that all workers sign, but we are extending the contract reduction to the affected newly arriving workers as a courtesy,” the Labor Commission said in a statement.
In other matters, the Commission said it has received no fewer than a dozen challenges to initial job assignments from among the 1,983 contract workers who arrived with the Earth fleet Nov. 30 and have just opened their assignments.
The Commission said it will look into each of the challenges in due time, but that the workers in question are still obligated to report to their assigned jobs and to perform them to the required standards.
- Mirihi Merced
Calendar
City Guides Arrivals Week 3 recap
Meeting for City Guide volunteers helping the new arrivals. Week 3 debrief and planning for Arrivals Week 4. You can still volunteer. Refreshments. Monday Hab 1 Terrace 8 outside Council Hall. 19:00
The Opera Tithonia.
Selections from the Strauss opera Der Fledermaus. Stage 1 on Terrace 2 (HabTube 1). Saturday-Sunday noon
City Strings "Coming Home Concert"
Ensemble performs selections from Dvorak's "New World Symphony." " Refreshments. Mariners Hall. WestHill Terrace 4. Friday-Sunday 16:00
“High Seas”
“High Seas” Pirates plague the ancient northern sea of Mars. Adventure threedee. Stage 3. Hab 1. Terrace 8 Dec. 27-33, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
Samba Marte Dancing and Music.
Hab3 Terrace 2 by the bamboo grove. Friday-Saturday 19:00. Sunday Family dance 14:00
Rhumba Cats and City Samba.
Team up for MarsSamba and dancing. All acoustic. Hab 1 Terrace 4 outside the Canteen C. Refreshments. Just one flight up from the Cubbies. Saturday-Sunday 15:00
City Social
Mix and mingle with new arrivals and old hands. Acoustic music by Harris and Fitz. Harris and Fitz acoustic duo. Learn where single socks end up. Hab 2. Terrace 4, by Tithonia Gardens. Friday 17:00
Las Panteras de Marte
Singer Monique Solis, guitarist Hernando Senatobia and accordionist Ignacio Beck, play Mars-style Norteño music. You’ll dance. You'll love it! Ius Forum. Saturday 19:00
Marsball
Kind of like basketball, with really high baskets. Rules and regulations are evolving. They'll take it easy if you're just finding your feet. Hab 3 Terrace 1 Gymnasium area Saturday 08:00
Volleyball
Get ready to jump without worrying about the ceiling. Learn to play volleyball at the new Hab3 beach. Saturday, Sunday sessions 08:00, 10:00, 12:00. North Beach Hab3 Terrace 1
Lawn bowling
Learn how to play the lawn bowling game of bocce (bot-chee). WestHill Terrace 2 by the terrace edge. 10 am. Message City Parks for information.
City farmers' market
Going green with veggie envy? Get to the City farmer's market. Stalls available by appointment. Industrial Tube Terminal. Saturday 0900-1500
- Merry Grace, lifestyle correspondent
Classified Ads
SHIP REFITTING, BREAKING All craft, parts and refurb. PONTUS 100 751
DUST MAGNET. Won’t let the dust get past the airlock. CANDOR 286 87919
FURNITURE Printer Stock. And cushions for a comfy seat IUS 278 58897
WALL PRINTERS All shapes and contours. MELAS 285 45672
SURFSUIT Refurbishing. Fabric and boot repair, seal replacement, visor refurbishing, comms upgrades. COPRATES 297-14210
CARGO HANDLERS. Space experience required. Contract exemptions considered. PONTUS 100 419
ROCKET SCIENTIST. Engine upgrade project, Ex-contract only. PONTUS 100 637
SHUTTLE MECHANICS. Experienced preferred, but we’ll train you if you have the skills. Ex-contract only. PONTUS 100 635
CONSTRUCTION All specialties. Some outside. Ex-contract only. GERYON 278 68034
DRILLING specialists, supervisors and crew. Ex-contract only MELAS 285 13941
APPRENTICES Recycling systems. 8 annos and up. IUS 278 98559
APPRENTICES Metal smith, forging, casting, 8 annos (14 years) and up. URBS 269-37728
APPRENTICES Machine repair 8 annos (14 years) and up. NOCTIS 260 21188
APPRENTICES Hydroponics. 8 annos and up. URBS 269 44085
APPRENTICES Environmental systems. MELAS 285 74223
SPACE CAMP. Get ready for orbital work. All ages. ARES PORT 268 00910
BALLET Poise, strength, balance, beauty. Très grands jetés URBS 269 62577
RAAS / GARBA Dance performers for existing troupe. COPRATES 295 45788
CRICKET Mars style. Two teams. Unfamiliar? They’ll explain it. COPRATES 295 21508
MARTIAL ARTS. Conditioning and confidence. Weighted and natural. GERYON 278 71435
The header photo is the iconic mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars from 2,500 km above the surface taken by the Viking Orbiter. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
The Candor Chaos Courier, Candor Chaos, Valles Marineris, Mars
The Chaos Courier gets you over the rough spots
Future News from Small Town Mars
Copyright © 2025, M. Fitzpatrick, all rights reserved
Photomosaic: Viking Orbiter: NASA/JPL-Caltech