Basset Space Center is a spaceport and rocket-launch facility located on the southern coastline of the Osean Federation, southeast of McNealy Air Force Base. During the Circum-Pacific War, the Union of Yuktobanian Republics attacked Basset in an attempt to prevent a scheduled SSTO launch.
Description[]
Basset Space Center is found on a relatively flat stretch of land along the coast of the Ceres Ocean. The center's 7.5-mile-long mass driver was constructed through the joint efforts of Yuktobania and Osea in the peace that followed the Belkan War;[2] Basset was planned to be the first steps towards the realization of an international space station. The Osean President, Vincent Harling, made considerable cuts to his nation's defense budget to fund the construction project.[3] In addition to its mass driver, the facility is protected by a defensive line of pillboxes and supports several launch stations for standard, vertically launched rockets.[1]
History[]
Circum-Pacific War[]
On October 3, 2010, Basset Space Center was in the process of launching an SSTO craft into low orbit that would arm the Arkbird with an A-SAT laser module. Wardog Squadron, which had been refueling at nearby McNealy Air Force Base, was scrambled after several Yuktobanian C-130 transports began dropping airborne tanks over Basset Space Center. Wardog intercepted and destroyed the airborne tanks by shooting their parachutes and letting them plummet to the ground. After the failed ground invasion, YAF B-2A bombers began firing cruise missiles at the mass driver in an attempt to destroy the base. Wardog held the cruise missiles and bombers at bay long enough for the SSTO to successfully launch.[1]
Yuktobania's true intentions for attacking the space center did not become clear until later in the war: Yuktobanian forces had concealed explosives in a cargo shipment bound for the Arkbird. These explosives later detonated and damaged the Arkbird, rendering it inoperable[4] until the Grey Men repaired it in secret.[5]
Gallery[]
Basset's mass driver terminates over the coastal inlet at the eastern end of the facility
An OADF F-22A Raptor and two YF-23 Black Widows over Basset
Space center concept art from Aces At War: A History
high-res view of Basset Space Center
high-res view of Basset Space Center
Ares V Cargo Launch vehicle at Basset Space Center
western end of mass driver at Basset Space Center
payload terminal of mass driver at Basset Space Center with SSTO shuttle ready for take-off
Trivia[]
- Basset Space Center's name is derived from the Basset Hound, a breed of dog.
- The row of launch pads is based on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's "Missile Row".
- A highly difficult stunt can be performed involving the space center's mass driver: using a small aircraft, such as the Hawk, the player can fly along between the upper rails and the mesh fence on the end of the mass driver. This stunt is quite difficult, as the area between where the mass driver's launch rails and its support columns meet is very small.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 White Bird (Part I), Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ "Accelerating the Peace Process", GAZE: Arkbird Declaration Summit 2008. Published August 21, 2008.
- ↑ Cutscene prior to White Bird (Part I), Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ Cutscene 08, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.
- ↑ White Bird (Part II), Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War.