Rocketry - Heliomance/Uncharted-Horizons GitHub Wiki

_{Focus Areas · Design document §3}

Available from: CH13 (Rocket Propellant)

16 breakthroughs — CORE 4 · STANDARD 6 · UNCOMMON 4 · RARE 2 — Modern – Space

Builds on: Construction (2) · Warfare (1) · Mathematics (1) · Textiles & Materials (1) · Thermodynamics (1) · Chemistry (3) · Optics (1) · Electricity (2) · Electronics (2) · Nuclear Physics (4) · Quintessic Physics (5) · Quantum Physics (1) · Relativity & Cosmology (1) · Materials Science (1)

Leads into: Nuclear Physics (1) · Quintessic Physics (1) · Quantum Physics (1) · Relativity & Cosmology (2) · Aeronautics (1) · Space Engineering (3) · Energy Systems (1)

_{The numbers count prerequisite links between this focus and the other. How to read the tables.}

Elemental-world equivalence: the propulsion breakthroughs below that name nuclear physics (RK08, RK10, RK13, RK14) have straight elemental counterparts with identical mechanics, gated by the Quintessic chain (QM-E) instead of NP/ES. The Quintessic Reactor (QM-E02) substitutes for a fission core, the Re-Tempering Reactor (QM-E05) for a fusion core. Only the names and flavour change: a Nuclear Thermal Rocket is a Quintessic Thermal Rocket, an Orion Nuclear Pulse is an Alchemical Pulse Drive, and so on. The HIGH_ENERGY_PHYSICS token resolves the prerequisite in either kind of world.

flowchart LR
  n_RK02["RK02 Liquid Fuel Rocket"]:::CORE
  n_RK03["RK03 Multi-Stage Rocket"]:::CORE
  n_RK04["RK04 Orbital Mechanics"]:::CORE
  n_RK11["RK11 Solar Sail"]:::UNCOMMON
  n_RK15["RK15 Mass Driver"]:::UNCOMMON
  n_RK05["RK05 Satellite Technology"]:::CORE
  n_RK16["RK16 Satellite Communications"]:::STANDARD
  n_RK17["RK17 Reconnaissance Satellites"]:::STANDARD
  n_RK06["RK06 Space Station"]:::STANDARD
  n_RK07["RK07 Reusable Launch Vehicle"]:::STANDARD
  n_RK08["RK08 Nuclear Thermal Rocket"]:::UNCOMMON
  n_RK09["RK09 Ion Drive"]:::STANDARD
  n_RK14["RK14 Bussard Ramjet"]:::RARE
  n_RK10["RK10 Fusion Drive"]:::STANDARD
  n_RK13["RK13 Orion Nuclear Pulse"]:::RARE
  n_RK12["RK12 Space Elevator"]:::UNCOMMON
  n_RK02 --> n_RK03
  n_RK03 --> n_RK04
  n_RK03 --> n_RK05
  n_RK03 --> n_RK06
  n_RK03 --> n_RK07
  n_RK02 --> n_RK08
  n_RK02 --> n_RK09
  n_RK02 --> n_RK10
  n_RK04 --> n_RK11
  n_RK02 --> n_RK13
  n_RK09 --> n_RK14
  n_RK04 --> n_RK15
  n_RK05 --> n_RK16
  n_RK05 --> n_RK17
  n_RK07 --> n_RK17
  classDef CORE fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#1d4ed8,color:#0b1b3b
  classDef STANDARD fill:#f1f5f9,stroke:#64748b,color:#0f172a
  classDef UNCOMMON fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#15803d,color:#052e16
  classDef RARE fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#b45309,color:#3b2005
  classDef UNIQUE fill:#fae8ff,stroke:#a21caf,color:#3b0a3f

_{Prerequisites within this focus. Box colour is the tier (blue CORE, grey STANDARD, green UNCOMMON, amber RARE, purple UNIQUE); dotted arrows are alternatives (“or”); a line can pass behind another box, so follow it from its start. 14 of these 16 breakthroughs also need breakthroughs from other foci, which the overview above lists.}

• Tier: CORE · Era: Modern
• Prerequisites: CH13 (Rocket Propellant — solid-fuel rockets) + TH01 + (CH09 or CH09-W)
• Unlocks: Guided Missile (unit; moved here from Solid Fuel Rocket in §7 — guidance is what liquid fuel makes possible). Prerequisite for the space programme (RK03).
• Notes: Bio-ethanol or plant-derived fuels work for rocketry — less efficient but viable.
• Leads to: NP-F03 Fission Fragment Propulsion, RK03 Multi-Stage Rocket, RK08 Nuclear Thermal Rocket, RK09 Ion Drive, RK10 Fusion Drive, RK13 Orion Nuclear Pulse

• Tier: CORE · Era: Atomic
• Prerequisites: RK02
• Unlocks: SS Booster (spaceship part, up to three — canonical, requires Aluminum); ⟨Triggers a [First Orbit] event⟩ on discovery (Events.json — the space race begins, and everyone hears it).
• Leads to: RK04 Orbital Mechanics, RK05 Satellite Technology, RK06 Space Station, RK07 Reusable Launch Vehicle, SE02 Orbital Assembly

• Tier: CORE · Era: Atomic
• Prerequisites: RK03 + MA05 + RC01
• Unlocks: Apollo Program (national wonder — the canonical enabler of spaceship parts); Space Agencyⁿ [250/1; +2 Gold]. ⟨[+10]% Production when constructing [SS Booster] units [in all cities] <for every [min([Researched [Propulsion] Technologies], 3)]>⟩ — the Boosters are the ship's sub-light stages, so they draw on its propulsion: +10% for each breakthrough tagged ⟨Propulsion⟩ that the civilisation knows, up to three.
• Leads to: RK11 Solar Sail, RK15 Mass Driver

• Tier: CORE · Era: Atomic
• Prerequisites: RK03 + EN03
• Unlocks: Hubble Space Telescope (world wonder — two free Great Scientists, +25% to spaceship parts in its city, a free Spaceship Factory); SS Cockpit (spaceship part); ⟨Reveals the entire map⟩ (the canonical Satellites unique); ⟨[+25]% spy effectiveness [in all cities]⟩ (<when espionage is enabled> — spy satellites).
• Leads to: QM-E19 Celestial Current Survey, RC05 Dark Matter Identification, RC06 Dark Energy Understanding, RK16 Satellite Communications, RK17 Reconnaissance Satellites, SE13 Planetary Defense, ES11 Beamed Power

• Tier: STANDARD · Era: Space
• Prerequisites: RK03 + CO15 (Orbital Construction)
• Unlocks: ⟨[+2 Gold] from all [Spaceship Factory] buildings⟩ — orbit pays. Space Stationⁿ [world wonder; 1500; +8 Science, +4 Gold; ⟨[+10]% [Science] [in all cities]⟩] — research in zero gravity, and tourists paying for the view.
• Notes: Managed from Earth.

• Tier: STANDARD · Era: Space
• Prerequisites: RK03 + MS01 (Composites)
• Unlocks: Space Portⁿ [1000/3; ⟨Can only be built <in [Capital] cities>⟩; ⟨Destroyed when the city is captured⟩; ⟨Launch Complex⟩ (tag); ⟨Remove [{Launch Complex} {non-[Space Port]}] [in this city]⟩; ⟨[+25]% Production when constructing [Spaceship part] units [in all cities] <if [Space Elevator] is not constructed>⟩] — routine launch from the capital, where every part must go to be launched; the first of the capital's launch complexes, each replacing the last.
• Leads to: RK17 Reconnaissance Satellites, QM-E23 Current Sail, SE09 Advanced Solar Power

• Tier: UNCOMMON · Era: Space
• Prerequisites: RK02 + HIGH_ENERGY_PHYSICS (NP03 Fission, or QM-E02 Quintessic Reactor)
• Unlocks: ⟨Propulsion⟩ (tag), counted toward the Boosters' propulsion by Orbital Mechanics (RK04): nuclear-thermal upper stages. In elemental worlds, where nothing is nuclear, it is named for its reactor as that world's science understands it: Quintessic Thermal Rocket (Substance) / Overcycle Thermal Rocket (Process). (The earlier "Deep Space Probe" is gone: Unciv has no probes.)

• Tier: STANDARD · Era: Space
• Prerequisites: RK02 + EL06 (Electric Generator — the motor) + (QP05 Quantum Field Theory, or QM-E04 Unified Field Theory)
• Unlocks: ⟨Propulsion⟩ (tag), counted toward the Boosters' propulsion by Orbital Mechanics (RK04); prerequisite for Asteroid Prospecting (MI12). (Probe range has no Unciv mechanism.)
• Leads to: RK14 Bussard Ramjet

• Tier: STANDARD · Era: Space
• Prerequisites: RK02 + (NP04 Fusion or QM-E05 Re-Tempering Reactor)
• Unlocks: ⟨Propulsion⟩ (tag), counted toward the Boosters' propulsion by Orbital Mechanics (RK04) — the fastest drive. The atomic route requires Nuclear Fusion (NP04), so it is unavailable in FQ2-Impossible worlds; the elemental route runs on the Re-Tempering Reactor (QM-E05).

• Tier: UNCOMMON · Era: Space
• Prerequisites: RK04 + OP07 (Laser)
• Unlocks: ⟨Propulsion⟩ (tag), counted toward the Boosters' propulsion by Orbital Mechanics (RK04) — free propulsion from sunlight and the laser. The parallel of the Current Sail (QM-E23).

• Tier: UNCOMMON · Era: Space
• Prerequisites: TX08 (Carbon Fiber) + CO15
• Unlocks: ⟨[+25]% Production when constructing [Launch Complex] buildings [in all cities]⟩ — the tether's materials serve every launch site. Space Elevatorⁿ [world wonder; 1500; +5 Production; ⟨Can only be built <in [Capital] cities>⟩; ⟨Remove [Launch Complex] [in this city]⟩; ⟨[+50]% Production when constructing [Spaceship part] units [in all cities]⟩ — it retires the capital's launch complex, and while a civilisation holds it (built or captured) every complex's bonus lapses] — the end of launch costs, for one city in the world.

• Tier: RARE · Era: Space
• Prerequisites: RK02 + (NP05 Nuclear Weapons, or QM-E20 Quintessic Warhead)
• Unlocks: ⟨Propulsion⟩ (tag), counted toward the Boosters' propulsion by Orbital Mechanics (RK04); ⟨[-1 Happiness] [in all cities]⟩ — a drive made of bombs, and everyone knows it. In elemental worlds: Orion Quintessic Pulse (Substance) / Orion Overcycle Pulse (Process). RARE.

• Tier: RARE · Era: Space
• Prerequisites: RK09 + (NP04 Fusion or QM-E05 Re-Tempering Reactor)
• Unlocks: ⟨Propulsion⟩ (tag), counted toward the Boosters' propulsion by Orbital Mechanics (RK04) — a ramjet that gathers its fuel between the stars. The atomic route requires Nuclear Fusion; the elemental route the Re-Tempering Reactor. RARE.

• Tier: UNCOMMON · Era: Space
• Prerequisites: (WA19 (Railgun) or EL11) + RK04
• Unlocks: Mass Driverⁿ [1500/3; ⟨Can only be built <in [Capital] cities>⟩; ⟨Destroyed when the city is captured⟩; ⟨Launch Complex⟩ (tag); ⟨Remove [{Launch Complex} {non-[Mass Driver]}] [in this city]⟩; ⟨[+33]% Production when constructing [Spaceship part] units [in all cities] <if [Space Elevator] is not constructed>⟩] — cargo thrown to orbit by electromagnetism.

• Tier: STANDARD · Era: Atomic
• Prerequisites: RK05 + EN11
• Unlocks: ⟨[+2 Gold] from each Trade Route⟩; ⟨Resting point for Influence with City-States is increased by [5]⟩ — no distance on a satellite link. The atomic twin of Aether Telegraphy (QM-E18); prerequisite for Quantum Communication (QP14).
• Notes: Relocated from the former Communications focus.
• Leads to: QP14 Quantum Communication

• Tier: STANDARD · Era: Space
• Prerequisites: RK05 (Satellite Technology) + RK07 (Reusable Launch Vehicle)
• Unlocks: Spy Satelliteⁿ [unit; its own unit type, Satellite, so no ordinary detector filter matches it; statistics set at spec — high movement and good sight; ⟨Ignores terrain cost⟩; ⟨May travel on Water tiles without embarking⟩; ⟨Can pass through impassable tiles⟩; ⟨May enter foreign tiles without open borders⟩; ⟨Cannot attack⟩; ⟨Invisible to others⟩; ⟨Limited to [2] per Civilization⟩; orbital (fork engine work: occupies no tile slot, cannot block, be captured or be attacked)]. An endgame scout that gives sight where nothing else can — and since paradrops land only on visible tiles, satellite first, then the drop. Optics' orbital tracking (detectors with ⟨Can see invisible [Satellite] units⟩) belongs to Optics' Space-era pool (deferred).
• Notes: W18 (Rocketry, settled) — the one new row; ship-focus prices stay as they are.