The New Texas star system was cataloged by the Hobby-Eberly telescope in 2050 and confirmed by the James Webb Space Telescope in the United States. Its discovery by a Texas observatory is the main reason the system was named New Texas. It was believed to be a prime candidate for habitation due to its close similarity to Sol. It is a major military hub for the American Union and houses one of the largest human populations outside of Sol.

When results came back from the interstellar probes, New Texas was confirmed to have a habitable world with alien life on it. With that knowledge the destination of the first extrasolar colony was decided and in 2102 the first working Superliminal Engine started construction. When it was completed in 2114, an unmanned vessel was sent to New Texas for two missions: to prove the SLE worked and to set up an experimental FTL communication device prior to the arrival of colonists. These scientific milestones restored public belief in American exceptionalism.

Located in the Aries constellation, New Texas is 74.6 light years from Sol. It is younger than Sol at around 3.9 billion years, and is approaching middle age. It is also smaller than Sol at .888 solar masses and .91 of its radius, as well as dimmer at .66 of Sol. The name was chosen because the AU government felt like it evoked the appropriate amount of American frontier spirit and independence. Also, the popular phrase “Everything’s bigger in Texas” made the name especially appropriate when probes revealed that the flora and fauna of New Austin are larger than on Earth.
Due to its dimness and position almost directly behind a brighter star, experts believe it was merely overlooked until the development of new technologies allowed it to be discovered. The system’s SLE is built into a large asteroid 8.89 AU/1.33 billion km above the star at 90 degrees above the orbital plane.

Armstrong Station
New Austin
Houston
Fort Alamo
Rusk

The New Texas star system contains eight planets, two of which are gas giants. It has a total of 12 major moons with many smaller bodies, most of which are around the inner gas giant, and three separate asteroid belts. Each belt contains unnamed planetoids of various sizes.

Roddenberry is the closest planet to New Texas at 19,069,281 km. It’s named after one of the most well-known Texans in the television industry, Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek. Its 10 moons are named after Roddenberry’s most famous characters, nine from Star Trek and one from Andromeda. It is unremarkable as gas giants go, and visually quite boring, looking like a smooth azure globe. This is due to the lack of suitable chemicals in the atmosphere to form clouds.

It is small in size for a gas giant with a radius of 62,000 km, and it has a gravity of 2.66G. It has no rotation and orbits New Texas in 17.62 days. The mean temperature is 493K or 356C.

Named after the fictional Captain James T Kirk. It is the first moon of Roddenberry, orbiting at 83,000 km, and also the largest with a radius of 4561 km. Due to its size and density, it has a gravity of .5G and even has a very faint atmosphere.

Named after the fictional Lieutenant Commander Spock, it is the second moon of Roddenberry and orbits closely to Kirk at 89,204 km. It is the smallest of Roddenberry’s moons with a radius of only 242 km and, a gravity of .03G.

Named after the fictional Lieutenant Commander Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy, it is the third moon of Roddenberry. It has a radius of 692 km, a surface gravity of .12G, and orbits the planet at 97,108 km.

Named after the fictional Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, it is the fourth moon of Roddenberry. It has a radius of 903 km, a surface gravity of .14G, and orbits the planet at 107,521 km.

Named after the fictional Ensign Pavel Chekov, it is the fifth moon of Roddenberry. It has a radius of 944 km, a surface gravity of .03G, and orbits the planet at 228,969 km.

Named after the fictional Lieutenant Commander Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, it is the sixth moon of Roddenberry. It has a radius of 302 km, a surface gravity of .04G, and orbits the planet at 278,903 km.

Named after the fictional Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, it is the seventh moon of Roddenberry. It has a radius of 4066 km, a surface gravity of .13G, and orbits the planet at 343,767 km. It is also the hottest planet with a mean surface temperature of 397C.

Named after the fictional Head Nurse Christine Chapel, it is the eighth moon of Roddenberry. It has a radius of 939 km, a surface gravity of .07G, and orbits the planet at 537,607 km.

Named after the fictional Lieutenant Leslie, it is the ninth moon of Roddenberry. It has a radius of 1734 km, a surface gravity of .14G, and orbits the planet at 680,132 km.

Named after the fictional Captain Dylan Hunt from Andromeda, it is the tenth moon of Roddenberry. It has a radius of 4355 km, a surface gravity of .75G, and orbits the planet in around 9.02 days at 1,106,203 km. It has a light atmosphere of 0.23 atm (N2 49%,O2 30%,CO2 11%,Ar 3%) but the mean surface temperature is 365C making life on the surface impossible.

The second planet in the New Texas system, Seguin often has its status as a planet questioned due to its low size and density. It was named after Juan Seguin, a Spanish-Tejano political and military figure of the Texas Revolution. With a radius of 1384 km, it is even smaller than Earth’s moon. It has been found to have an unusually high percentage of rare earth metals, suggesting it may have once been the core of a planetoid that was exposed through a collision millions of years ago. Numerous unmanned mining facilities dot its surface, bringing its wealth of metals to New Austin and the rest of the AU.

It orbits New Texas at 80,130,850 km and its orbital period is 151.82 days. It has little gravity at .17G and a day on Seguin is 143.3 hours. Its mean temperature is 310K or 37C.

New Austin is the third planet in the New Texas system, and the first planet settled outside of the Sol system and the first planet to confirm the existence of life outside Sol. It also has the distinction of possessing the largest living lifeforms ever discovered as of 2320. It has a wealth of the elements necessary for FTL travel, making it an extremely important strategic location for the American Union. Plans to colonize New Texas were being set in motion as soon as construction of the first SLE on Pluto. When the SLE was completed, it was only two years before the first wave of colonists supported by major corporations began to arrive seeking wealth as miners, prospectors, security, and medical staff. Although they were aware of the dangers, they believed the promise of riches and medical benefits was worth it.
After initially making gains they started taking some losses due to violent dinosaur-like creatures and strange new diseases like the parasitic zombification fungus. In response they recruited private security to protect their investments, beginning a campaign to eradicate species deemed a threat in proximity to their holdings. This early history explains much about the modern political climate in the New Texas system and especially in New Austin. As the population continued to increase on New Austin, the need for an extension of the AU government to handle local affairs grew. A local Congress was formed and New Austin was eventually granted a single Senate seat and a few representatives in the House. Most politicians in New Austin are high-level employees, extended family, or lobbyists for the largest corporations, such as Amazon, Microsoft, WalMart, or Stellar.

The radius of New Austin is higher than Earth at 7066 km, though it is slightly less dense, resulting in a gravity extremely similar to Earth’s at 1.03G. The surface of New Austin consists of a supercontinent bordered to the North and South by oceans containing the majority of the planet’s water. The waters of the two oceans only meet at a narrow Strait between a gulf and a bay. Most of the land is covered by jungle and swamp, the rest by plains and hills with very little mountain. It has an average temperature of 25C or around 77 degrees Fahrenheit, and due to a circular orbit and lack of axial tilt, there are no seasons on New Austin. It orbits New Texas at 104,183,393 km with an orbital period of 225.07 days. A day on the surface is 21.4 hours long, slightly shorter than an Earth day.

The atmosphere is similar to Earth though slightly denser and with a much higher oxygen content at 32.8 percent. Because of this humans cannot live very long on the surface without wearing a device to filter out the excess oxygen. The higher oxygen content enabled the growth of megafauna, notably the Texasaurus Rex, the Super Wolf, the Hell Boar, and the Giant Otter.

Navarro is New Austin’s sole moon, named after Jose Antonio Navarro, a Tejano revolutionary, defender of Tejano rights, and signatory of the Texas Declaration of Independence. It is slightly larger and denser than Earth’s moon, with higher iron content, resulting in a reddish-orange tint to the surface. Though there are many impact craters, none are older than a few hundred million years suggesting geological activity ceased around that time.

The surface of Navarro is dotted with autonomous mines, warehouses, and spaceports. It is the major hub of travel for ships that aren’t designed to land on planetary surfaces. The population at any given time is normally several million, most of which are either just passing through or living on the moon temporarily for work. Those who do spend long periods of time here must take injections and exercise regularly to keep from suffering the effects of living in .28G.

Like Earth’s moon, it is in a synchronous orbit, so the same side always faces the planet. It orbits at a distance of 398,385 km and a full revolution takes 34.7 days. The mean surface temperature is -57C.

Rusk is the fourth planet in the New Texas system, named for Thomas Jefferson Rusk, the first Secretary of War of the short-lived Republic of Texas and general at the pivotal Battle of San Jacinto. It is the second inhabited planet in New Texas, with a population of around 400,000, though it is by no means cozy at an average mean temperature of -22C. Currently attempts to increase the atmospheric pressure and warm the planet through various methods are underway. For the moment, the few people on the planet live around the equator, which is covered in taiga while the rest of the planet is either tundra or frozen wasteland. Walking on the surface without a breathing apparatus is not advised as the low atmospheric pressure is akin to standing high up on Mount Everest.

It has a radius of 5446 km and orbits New Texas at 135,411,834 km. Its surface gravity is .78G, making it close enough to Earth’s to have few side effects for permanent residents. A day on Rusk is 21 hours and a year is 333.51 Earth days. The atmosphere is 0.89 atm and consists of N2 70.2%, O2 27.62%, Ar 0.6%, CO2 0.81%. It has a Water-Ice index of 71.69.

McCulloch is the fifth planet in the New Texas system, named after Samuel McCulloch, Jr, a free Black soldier who fought for Texan independence and was the first wounded soldier in the Texas Revolution. It’s known for its twin rings, a wide inner ring and a thin outer ring. It is a large, cold planet with a mean temperature of -66C, an extremely dense atmosphere of 12.8 atm and no oxygen making it very hostile to life as we know it. Its exact composition is H2 67%,He 17%,N2 9%,CO2 4%. Its radius is 8137 km and its gravity is 1.66G. It orbits at a distance of 176,075,251 km and one orbit takes 494.51 Earth days. It has a rotation of 40 hours.

Williamson is the sixth planet in the New Texas system, named after Robert McAlpin Williamson, a Republic of Texas Supreme Court Justice and Texas Ranger. It is the smallest planet in the system with a radius of 1126 km. It’s a cold, barren planet with no atmosphere and little mineral wealth orbited by a number of smaller bodies. It orbits New Texas at around 228,964,270 km and completes one revolution in 2.01 years. Its gravity is minimal at 0.16G and its mean temperature is -97C.

Zavala is the seventh planet in the New Texas system, named after Lorenzo de Zavala, a Mexican and later Tejano physician, politician, diplomat, and author who helped draft both the 1824 Constitution of Mexico and the 1836 Republic of Texas Constitution. It is the system’s only ice giant, composed primarily of helium, hydrogen, ammonia, and water. It orbits New Texas at 342,316,865 km and completes one revolution in 3.67 Earth years, has a radius of 27432 km, and gravity of .95G. A day on Zavala is 77.8 hours, and its mean surface temperature is -148C.

The eighth and outermost planet of the New Texas system, Ruby is named after George Thompson Ruby, an influential Texas Senator, journalist, agent for the Freedmen’s Bureau, and advocate for black civil rights. It is a ball of ice nearly the size of Earth. It orbits New Texas at 502,977,227 km and completes one revolution in 6.54 Earth years, has a radius of 6683 km, and gravity of 1.15G. A day on Ruby is 42 hours, and its mean surface temperature is -153C. It has a minimal atmospheric density of .2 atm and its composition is H2 69%, O2 23%, N2 5%.

The innermost asteroid belt, named for Orville and Wilbur Wright, pioneers of human flight who took the first steps towards taking humanity to the stars. It lies at 28,039,153 km between Roddenberry and Seguin and has a width of 2,436,851 km.

The innermost of the two outer belts, Hughes is named for Howard Hughes, business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, film director, and philanthropist. It lies at 1,105,221,029 km, just past Ruby, and has a width of 243,816,642 km.

The outermost asteroid belt of the two outer belts, Musk is named for Elon Musk, business magnate, industrial designer, engineer, and philanthropist. It lies at 1,436,508,275 km, just past the Hughes belt, and has a width of 197381952 km.