22 September, 1899

Final Entries for Lunar Ellipse Confirmed

CROWN COLONY OF SINGAPORE--The final entries in Her Majesty's Lunar Ellipse have been confirmed, and await launch time at the Singapore Royal Aerospace Base. These entries are:

Ariane, Department d'Aerospace Française - Marc Colbert, Marie Curie, Pierre Curie, Hannah Fisher, Raoul LeBrun, Etienne Sevigné

Emma, Dutch Space Travel and Development Agency - Capt. Erik Maestricht, Anna Adrianszon, Christiaan Eijkman, Jacobus van't Hoff, Dr. Juliana de Ruyter, Hugo Swammerdam

Kaiser Wilhelm, Prussian Aerospace Office - Col. Hugo Junkers, Alfred Blücher, Manfred Leidner, Robert Ludwig, Lothar Stors, Soren Vogelsang, Wilhelm von Pfung

Pacifica, USSA/NSEA/JIMA - Col. Jeremiah McCoy, Murasaki Fujiwara, Tensai Matsuri, Dr. Sarah Osgood

Tsar Alexander, Russian Department of Air & Space - Capt. Vladimir Abramov, Tatiana Ivanova, Igor Kalugin, Alexander Popov, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Valentina Yudina

Verne's Folly, Dutch Interplanetary Company - Jan van Hoogelräar, Jamila Kapunitan, Peter John Ulrich, Ghiselle van Wyk, Beatrix Vliet

Victory, British Interplanetary Company - Cmdr. Sir Angus Fitzgerald, Major Sir Alastair Waverly, Capt. James Burke, Lt. Christopher Markham, Lt. Daniel Rose, Capt. Arthur Eggleton, Sgt. Wesley Windmere, Corp. Grace O'Malley, Corp. Michael McBride, Yeomen Lewis Carter-Cox, Ian Frazer, Owen Jones, Martin Masterson, Tuhoto Smith, Daniel Woo, Dr. Roland Dowdeswell, Dr. Neelam Singh, Jawaharlal Dharmasiriwardene, Rajendra Jatawickrema, Henry Gibson O'Neill, Gabriel Rhys-Williams, and The Right Honourable Miss Sophonisba Hawkwood.

22 September, 1899

USSA, JIMA Announce Plans for Orbital Station

WASHINGTON, D. C., USA--The United States Space Agency and the Japanese Imperial Ministry of Aerospace announced their plans to build an international orbital station, Sunrise, starting in the spring of 1902. Senator Dalby in his opening remarks, stated "The United States and our [sic] ally, the Empire of Japan, have lagged behind in conquering the celestial frontier, and it is out intention to apply what we have learned from building the Pacifica to this new project." [The Pacifica is the joint USSA/NSEA/JIMA entry in Her Majesty's Lunar Ellipse, the launch for which is scheduled for tomorrow morning.--Ed.] An application for orbital position has already been filed with the International Aerospace Union, in Geneva, the regulatory body responsible for orbital "real estate" and Aerospace standards.

USSA Scientific Director Dr. Edward Morley went on to describe the plan for the construction of the Sunrise. Plans call for the station to be manufactured in sections, lifted into orbit by unnamed means, and assembled in space. Several other nations, including the British Empire, already use microgravity construction facilities, and techniques and information are widely available. Aerospace industry observers have described the Sunrise project as everything from "ambitious" to "entirely premature." Nonetheless, the United States and the Empire of Japan are determined to move ahead, "at full steam" according to Dr. Morley.

CROWN COLONY OF SINGAPORE--Five of the seven Lunar Ellipse entries launched this morning, the anniversary of the late Thomas Edison's invention of rocket propulsion. The Ariane's shuttle, Phèdre; Kaiser Wilhelm's shuttle, Ferdinand; Pacifica, Verne's Folly, and Victory's shuttle, Nike, are speeding towards Aurora Orbital Station, the first extra-terrestrial stop on the Lunar Ellipse. The crews of the Ariane, Kaiser Wilhelm, and Victory will meet their respective ships either at Aurora or in a parking orbit nearby. The Tsar Alexander remains on its launch pad in Singapore, presumably as a result of mechnical difficulties. Neither Captain Vladimir Abramov nor the rest of the crew were available for comment at press time. The Emma suffered an explosion of some sort at approximately 1000 feet of altitude, and broke into several large pieces, which splashed into Singapore's harbour. The Emma's crew capsule, entirely engulfed in flame, was recovered almost immediately by the Royal Navy ship Intrepid. Captain Sir Edward Walbridge, gave the following account of the rescue.

"Our lookout spotted the Emma's explosion almost immediately, although it took a a minute or so to determine which ship had suffered the accident. Our medical personnel, rescue, and fire crews were immediately called to duty, and we sailed under low power to the location of the crew capsule. The water landing served to put out some of the flames, and our fire crews took care of the rest in record time. I'm told that the crew capsule was designed for 'atmosphereic re-entry' and was therefore constructed of fire-resistant materials.

As soon as it was safe to enter the capsule--aerospace fuel burns at an extremely high temperature--Intrepid's crack rescue squad was able to remove the Dutch crew, and medical treatment was begun immediately. Fortunately, everyone was alive when we arrived, although there are some nasty injuries, and no one in the capsule was conscious."

The crew capsule and several other pieces of the Emma have been retrieved and stored in a large warehouse loaned by the Royal Aerospace Force. The STDA, in cooperation with the Royal Navy, hopes to retrieve additional, sunken pieces of the ill-fated ship in order to assist in its investigation. Most of the crew members have broken bones and internal injuries of varying severity, and Chief Engineer van't Hoff is reported to have suffered electrical or chemical burns. None are sufficiently well to speak to investigators or the press.

The cause of the explosion remains unknown at press time, and without the information known only to the Emma's crew, is likely to remain so for some time. Rumours of sabotage directed at the Pacifica were rampant in the hours immediately preceding the launch, and neither the STDA nor the RAF are willing to rule out the possibility in this case.

CROWN COLONY OF SINGAPORE--Singapore's Royal Constabulary is in the process of "following leads" in the murder of inventor Thomas Edison, according to police spokesman Sean MacNamara. "Nothing solid has turned up yet," MacNamara told the Times, "but we have every available detective on the case, and I am confident in our ability to bring the murderer to justice." MacNamara declined to provide details about the Constabulary's efforts, but another source indicated that the Royal Constabulary is investigating several Chinese secret societies. "As soon as we feel confident in releasing information, the public will be informed. In the mean time, we are taking this murder very, very seriously."