Introduction
The binary planet system has changed drastically since its discovery back in 1930. In the next fifty years or so, the minor planet was visited infrequently by other probes, surveying the system and learning more about it. In 2089, the planet was chosen as an ideal place to build the first Superluminal Engine, SLE. In the modern day, the binary pair of dwarf planets serve as the main entry and exit point for the Sol system.
Pluto/Charon
Timeline
1930 - Discovery of Pluto
1978 - Discovery of Charon
2006 - IAU classifies Pluto as a minor planet
2015 - Flyby by New Horizons probe
2051 - First probe to orbit Pluto/Charon
2089 - Pluto is chosen as the site for the first Superluminal Engine
2096 - Construction of Port Elysium
2102 - Superluminal Engine Construction begins
2115 - First Large Scale Superluminal Engine completed on Pluto
2116-21 - Accidents with the SLE Happen
2136 - Asphodel is founded
2150 - Construction of the River Styx begins
2285 - Completion of the River Styx, with the final connection hooking up the two halves to Nix and Port Elysium
2300 - Census finds that the system is filled with 320,000 residents
History
The pair of binary planets have come a long way since they were downgraded from the ‘planet’ classification in 2006. After FTL was first discovered in 2070, the search was on for an ideal place to build the first Superluminal Engine. In 2089, the planet was chosen by the AU and GDW as an ideal place to build the SLE due to the easy access of resources on and near the planet, as well as it’s isolated nature lending a large safety margin in case of failure.
As completion of the SLE neared, the AU realized that if the construction was sped up, they’d make the hundred year anniversary of the New Horizons flyby. Not letting a good marketing opportunity go to waste, like all good Americans, the construction was rushed to hit the July 2115 deadline, it was a near miracle that the demonstration flight on the Fourteenth wasn’t a disaster, being loaded to bear with dignitaries and other VIPs. Unfortunately, there were some teething issues afterwards, a few flights failed to be sent out at all and one was even destroyed when the SLE’s array malfunctioned. These were sorted out in the next few years, with the last accident taking place in 2121.
After a few decades of operation and the founding of the next major city, Asphodel, the system was getting more developed and the idea of tying Pluto and Charon together with a space elevator was proposed. After the idea was fully explored and feasibility studies were conducted, they decided to go for it and start the construction of the ‘River’ Styx. The first section started on Pluto at Asphodel, in the Tombaugh Regio, while Charon’s was anchored to the Clarke Montes. At the same time, Charon and Nix had their orbits ‘nudged’, with the liberal application of fusion rockets and mass drivers. While the construction missed the original hundred year timeline, the space elevator was completed in the late 23rd century, easing the traffic from Asphodel and the Port.
As the 24th century came, a census was conducted and found that the system had 320,000 residents, between Port Elysium, Asphodel, and other minor settlements, though hundreds of thousands of transients go through the system every year.