The mining activities of the Weylan-Yutani Corporation began as early as December 21, 2037. Company astronomers, who had long studied the vast area of space beyond the Core Systems, discovered that the star systems within that volume of space were a treasure trove of minerals and natural resources.
These scientists named it the “Outer Veil”. Its outermost perimeter became known as the “Outer Rim”.
Returns on their studies were soon realized. In 2043, metals mined from the Gliese 581 system led to breakthroughs in weapons technology.
By the mid- to late-21st Century, faster-than-light (FTL) technology was discovered and employed. As colonization efforts slowly expanded the reach of human habitation into the Outer Veil, Company mining interests followed.
And flourished.
By the 22nd Century, a fleet of heavy-lift space vehicles, towing mile-long automated processing facilities, began to ply the vast distances between Earth and the mining stations. In 2101, the commercial towing vehicle USCSS Nostromo was just such a vehicle constructed for this task.
When long-range Company stellar surveys revealed tantalizing resources beyond the Outer Rim, those with adventure and riches on their minds contracted to work those circuits.
To others, it was simply just another way to put food on the table.
As of this writing, 13 shipping routes have been established, nicknamed “The Lucky 13” by an ironic staff member whose name has been lost to history:
| KEY | PLANET | STAR SYSTEM | STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mauritius | Ross 128 | Inactive |
| 2 | Harou (“Chciwa Szmata”) | HD 95872 | Active |
| 3 | Facundo | Fomalhaut | Inactive |
| 4 | Bakunin | HIP 79431 | Inactive |
| 5 | Achebe | HD 40307 | Active |
| 6 | Solano | Gamma Cephei | Active |
| 7 | Kisangani | GJ 3942 | Active |
| 8 | Galicia | HD 156668 | Inactive |
| 9 | Grenfell | GJ 9827 | Active |
| 10 | Duteil | HD 40979 | Active |
| 11 | Semarang | HD 42012 | Active |
| 12 | Thedus | Epsilon Reticuli | Active |
| 13 | Tanjong | Kepler-1651 | Active |
Of these routes:
- 5 lie within the sphere of the Core Systems; two are inactive.
- 6 lie within the Outer Rim Territories (a/k/a the Outer Veil); two are inactive.
- 2 extend well beyond the Outer Rim; both are active.
The list of planetary candidates currently under review for future mining stations is classified. (Ref. 937-NOYB-7057).
To further illustrate the scope of mining activities across the Core Systems, the Outer Rim Territories, and beyond, this galactic map has been overlaid with the routes:
Due to the hazardous nature of off-world mining operations, colonies are rarely developed on mining planets, and then only when internal economies of scale dictate.
Instead, the spread of new settlements tends to thrive along the spacelanes that support Company mining investments.
As additional information becomes available, this page will be updated.
RETURN: Overmonitoring Address Matrix
Notes:
- Inspiration for the shipping routes come from The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World, buy Maya Jasanoff. Penguin Random House. 2017. The names of the planets hosting the mining stations come from the text and were chosen with assistance from Michael Scudieri (ASH: A Fan Fiction Comic), Clara Fei-Fei (Yutani Blog), Dominik Śmiałowski (creator of “The Pilot’s Melancholy “), and Scott Middlebrook (The Alien Universe Timeline).
- Star system names come from the Composite Planet Data Table at the NASA Exoplanet Archive and were chosen for their relative distances from Sol system, as shown on the Alien Universe Timeline galactic map.
- Alien universe history comes from The Alien Universe Timeline pages “The Weyland Century (1990-2104)” and “2069-2123”.
+ Last update: July 03, 2018 +
The Nostromo Files 