 | ||
| Ballad | ||
|---|---|---|
| System | Hearth | |
| Type | Planet | |
| Astronomical Classification Index | TTOCL/H-35E | |
| Habitable | Yes | |
| Affiliation | Colonial Administration of Ballad | |
| Location | Cygnus | |
| Artificial Satellites | Amundsen Station, Kurma Observatory | |
| Discovery Date | December 2011 | |
| Population | 1,020 (2114) | |
| Equatorial Radius | 15,490 km | |
| Gravity | 4.3848 g | |
| Atmosphere | N2, O2, Kr | |
| Rotational Period | 6h 05m 40.06s | |
| Axial Tilt | 107° 41'17.83' | |
| Mass | 35.002 M🜨 | |
| Tidally Locked | No | |
| Orbital Period | 289.862 days | |
| Orbital Speed | 31.86 km/s | |
| Orbital Eccentricity | 0.000 | |
| Aphelion | 0.8490 AU | |
| Perihelion | 0.8490 AU | |
| Inclination | 89° 45'50.39' | |
Ballad, officially known as Kepler-22b, is a terrestrial planet located in the Hearth (Kepler-22) system in the constellation of Cygnus. Charted and mapped by the LCR-70 Eunomia, Ballad is the fifth habitable earthlike exoplanet discovered by the Final Frontier Project, hosting exceptionally favourable atmospheric and environmental conditions for human settlement. The planet is joint-governed by the semi-autonomous self-sufficient Colonial Administration of Ballad and the Sol Defence Corps.
The initial mission to Ballad took place on the 10th and 20th of January 2114 with the use of an Alcubierre faster-than-light drive, which allowed the crew of the Eunomia to reach Ballad, a planet 587 lightyears away from Earth, in two and a half years. This duration remains the fastest possible travel time between Sol and Hearth, making Ballad the most isolated colony under SDC occupation.
Planetary Information
Ballad possess a breathable nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere with an estimated 0.3% concentration of krypton in the planet's atmosphere, requiring no breathing apparatus. Ballad is classified as a megaterra, being 35 times the size of Earth. The planet's surface is primarily covered in a massive saltwater ocean dotted with a number of small archipelagos and the microcontinent Hyperborea, which hosts the two human settlements on Ballad, Unity and Nytthjem. The microcontinent was dubbed Hyperborea for it's proximity to the planet's subarctic latitudes and was the initial landing site of the first FFP colonists to step foot on Ballad.
Being in the habitable zone of it's parent star, the massive ocean composing the surface of Ballad hosts early life in the form of microbial life sparsely populating the ocean, typically concentrated into large colonies surrounding geothermal vents.
The islands that make up the surface of Ballad possess early flora as well, hosting grass and other xenoflora growing in arable soil allowing for agriculture on Ballad. Colonists have found that a number of species of grain and vegetable struggle to grow in the soil of Ballad whereas some others have better luck. The composition of the soil and it's selective influence on certain grains and vegetables is being studied by scientific personnel employed by the Sol Defence Corps
Ballad possesses no natural satellites and is the only exoplanet in the orbit of it's parent star Hearth. In place of natural satellites, however, Ballad hosts two artificial satellites established by colonists - Amundsen Station, which serves as the communications relay post, cargo checkpoint and spaceport for arriving and departing SDC vessels, and Kurma Observatory, a research station focused primarily on astronomical charting, possessing the advantage of a considerable distance from Sol which allows them to study certain far-off star systems with better results.
History
Ballad was first discovered in 2011 through the transit method and was one of the first exoplanets discovered by humanity. For a very long time little was known about Ballad, then known to the public simply as Kepler-22b, though it's largest defining characteristic - it's position in it's parent star's orbit - made the planet something to be sought after by humanity. Ballad was one of the first exoplanets discovered and was also discovered to be in the habitable zone of Hearth. Leading theories at the time suggested that Ballad was either a mini-Neptune gas giant, or an oceanic terrestrial world, but the hopefulness of society at the time lead many to strongly believe that Ballad would be a habitable - or formerly habitable - exoplanet and location for colonisation.
When the Final Frontier Project was founded by the United Nations in 2090, Ballad had a spot firmly established on the project's roadmap as an exoplanet for exploration. Despite this, however, Ballad was one of the last planets to be travelled to due to it's massive distance from Sol. It was the fifth and final planet in the first FFP roadmap to be travelled to with the LCR-70 Eunomia making it's initial voyage from Sol on June 12th, 2111, and arrived at Ballad on January 10th, 2114. Surveys immediately showed that Ballad was an oceanic terrestrial planet and missions to the surface in the ten-day timeframe of the expedition had concluded that Ballad was a habitable planet.
After the mission to Ballad concluded, colony vessels were sent to Ballad to establish a presence there. With it's long travel time and isolation from Sol, the United Nations and the Final Frontier Project organized the colonisation of Ballad to establish a self-sustaining semi-autarky on the planet. While the colonists of Ballad came to establish the two cities of Unity and Nytthjem, and were aided in the construction of their two stations, which allowed them to both produce food and practice industry independently. Three vessels make transit between Hearth and Sol regularly, being the ice-water freighter Zanderloft and mineral-gas freighter Leonard Nimoy, both civilian vessels, as well as the the SDCA Raymond Banks, an auxiliary ship and mobile refinery. These ships contribute greatly to Ballad's livelihood, but Ballad is looking to limit dependency on Sol civilian vessels and SDCN vessels once further infrastructure has been established on Ballad as the expenses of travelling to Ballad are beginning to become too great and allow the Colonial Administration of Ballad to operate more thoroughly under UN executive administration.
Ballad was originally contributed to Starship Roleplay by user HikariGlace. View their original article here.