{"data":{"id":15528,"title":"Portfolio: Argo Astronautics","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/15528-Portfolio-Argo-Astronautics","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/15528","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/15528","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Portfolio","images":[{"id":5303,"name":"Argo_Logo.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/20kd7qazvek73r\/source\/Argo_Logo.jpg","alt":"","size":449450,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2016-09-21T22:07:50+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/5303","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/5303\/similar"},{"id":5304,"name":"Cute_Lil_Argo.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/91ghcl71rdk00r\/source\/Cute_Lil_Argo.jpg","alt":"","size":238663,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2016-09-21T22:07:48+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/5304","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/5304\/similar"},{"id":22318,"name":"TRAVEL_WARNING.png","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/xoh0h57yqhmror\/source\/TRAVEL_WARNING.png","alt":"","size":18693,"mime_type":"image\/png","last_modified":"2016-05-05T03:15:45+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/22318","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/22318\/similar"},{"id":26463,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/weozjmuuh3hwh\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":843046,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2019-09-19T15:49:32+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463\/similar"}],"images_count":9,"translations":{"en_EN":"Portfolio: Argo Astronautics\nTime to Go\nWhile it may not be a well known company among the general population, since their products are traditionally manufactured for industrial purposes, it is almost a guarantee that Argo Astronautics\u2019 hard work and effort has impacted your life. From the fresh shipment of beans in your morning coffee to the connector ferry you take to the office, Argo has become an institution in its seven centuries of existence, thanks to its varied line of rolling stock, shuttles and utility vehicles. Yet as widespread as the company is now, it all started with a single train.\n\nIn 2243, after close to one hundred years of moving people and cargo across the expanses of North and South America, the aging and complex Trans-America maglev rail line was in desperate need of an overhaul. Spanning from Barrow, USA, to Punta Arenas, Chile, it was the third longest stretch of continuous mono-track on planet Earth and transported tons of freightage daily. However, with sub-orbital transfers gaining a larger share of the overall cargo shuttling market, and the train crossing through so many different territorial governments, few companies wanted to take on the herculean task of upgrading the complex line.\n\nWhile various governmental bodies tried to gain traction for investment into the infrastructure, the plans never gained the critical mass needed to achieve funding. All eyes had turned to the new growing community on Mars, Meanwhile, the new, faster quantum drives from RSI drove more interest, and with it money, toward establishing our place in the solar system, and focusing further and further away from Earth. As delays and breakdowns on the rail line became more and more frequent, it seemed like its fate was sealed. However, a young train engineer thought she had the solution.\n\nA Step in the Right Direction\nAlana Redmond had grown up on the Trans-Am line, spending much of her youth accompanying her mother, who worked as a shift manager aboard the train. Moving from town to town, Alana was fascinated by the way the rails served to bring the world together. How, even as data and information could be beamed around the globe almost instantaneously, it still took people like her mom working tirelessly to physically move goods from one continent to another. It was a fact she would happily discuss with anyone who asked what it was like to ride the rails, so it was little surprise to her family that after finishing her studies, Alana began working at Trans-Am as an assistant engineer.\n\nIt wasn\u2019t uncommon for the crew to have to halt the train to make emergency spot repairs of the aging mono-track when their sensors detected vibrational anomalies from coils warping out of alignment. Difficult and requiring exact precision, the patching process would set the whole schedule back as the prepping, bonding and aligning all took time. Plus, the older the track got, the more patching they were required to do, which compounded the delays. This meant that a single patch could lead to a huge monetary loss for the run, but to continue on without repairing the line was risking a complete break and even bigger delays.\n\nOne day, while waiting for a levitation coil to set, Alana noticed a piece of scrap metal that had been twisted by the magnetic forces from where a train had inadvertently run over it. The curve of bent metal was about as good of a result as the repair equipment they were using on the composite patch. The wheels in her head began to turn and she theorized that she could use the forces being generated by the train to complete the patch instead of the current process, which was time and labor intensive. Inspired, she drew up her plans immediately, even though she knew she couldn\u2019t test her idea on an active run. Instead, she reached out to a friend who worked in the stock yard and sorted out some time with one of the retired engines. With design specs and a test track, Alana cashed in all her saved up vacation time and spent two weeks fusing track bond.\n\nWhen the time was up, she knew she was on to something, but had a choice to make. Nervous and excited, Alana quit her job and used all the money she and her mother had saved up to begin working on developing her new patching process full time. Six months later, in September 2243, a patent was filed by AR-Go Technologies for an automated mono-track repair system that could be mounted to a rail car. The company\u2019s name was a play off Alana\u2019s initials, an idea compliments of her mother. Not only could the system she developed replace the traditional patching method, but by equipping all the cars with the tech, the line could be rebuilt to almost like-new conditions while the trains continued to run, prolonging their operation indefinitely while also finally allowing for some of the newer generation superconducting trains to use the older mono-track as well. Demand for the repair system was enormous, with orders coming in from every major train ine. AR-Go Technologies became a massive success and single-handedly revitalized the rail industry almost overnight.\n\nNext Stop\nOver the next several decades, Alana and AR-Go Technologies continued to introduce new innovations \u2014 a faster cargo latch and lock method, new passenger management systems, and a vibratory recharger just to name a few. Eventually, with the acquisition of Todairo Manufacture and a name change to Argo Transportation, they would transition to producing full rolling stock themselves. The exacting standards and durability of the maglev cars they produced quickly made them an industry leader. This rapid success and expansion would eventually lead to Alana\u2019s boldest (and last) project with the company she founded. A project that would take AR-Go in an entirely new direction \u2014 off-world.\n\nPort Retanus, Mars had grown large enough that the city was seeking bids for a public transit system. Though Argo had never before built a complete transit system from the ground up, Alana\u2019s impassioned presentation to the city\u2019s governing board saw to it that they won the contract. Sadly, she would not live to see her vision for what she called a \u201cradial networked transit hub\u201d come to fruition, but the Port Renatus Rapid Transit System is still heralded to this day by city planners as one of the most elegant public transportation designs.\n\nWhile Alana Redmond was no longer there to oversee operations, Argo\u2019s success on Mars ensured that the company would be able to continue to move along without her. Other major contracts on several planets would soon follow, including the Prime Transit Metrorail on Terra and the Municipal Transit Line on Angeli. However, following Alana\u2019s lead, the new leaders of company would soon take another major step forward as, for the first time, they would leave the rails behind.\n\nGoing Farther\nSeeking to further improve their services and networks, Argo had a dedicated team of designers seeking problem spots that could be candidates for improvements. While analyzing delays with their cargo trains, they discovered that the biggest impact to schedule was often not with their rail systems, but with hold-ups incurred during the transfer process at various ports. Moving goods on and off the trains could take significant time and often be subject to a wide array of traffic problems. In order to streamline the process, Argo sought a way to control the transfers themselves.\n\nThe solution was found in the purchase of Telluman Shipworks, a struggling company that manufactured recreational shuttlecraft. Retrofitting Telluman\u2019s facilities on Cassell, Argo\u2019s engineering team created an orbital utility craft (OUC) that could move cargo storage containers directly from long haulers onto their train cars. Incorporating their lock and latch system into the craft\u2019s frame, it streamlined the loading process significantly. It wasn\u2019t long before the OUC found a wider audience than just Argo\u2019s own transit systems.\n\nAs more and more pilots experienced the rugged ease with which the OUC operated, they soon started purchasing the crafts secondhand and outfitting them for their own purposes. Argo, seeing that the demand was there, ramped up production and in 2619 released the Argo Multi-Purpose Utility Vehicle, their first publicly available model. At the time of the craft\u2019s initial launch, only a cargo module was available, but before long, people carriers, recovery pods, repair modules and more varieties were sold. If there was work to do, there was an Argo to do it.\n\nThe success of the MPUV led Argo to continue to expand their ship department till it overtook their ground transit division. A restructuring of internal priorities led to one more name change, and in 2665 the Argo Astronautics name that graces so many transportation mainstays emerged.\n\nToday, Argo produces a wide range of utility crafts and transport vehicles \u2014 from shuttle crafts and low-atmosphere skippers to reentry pods \u2014 all working together to get the people and goods of the Empire where they need to go. Even the military has come to depend on the MPUV for their utility needs. And while Argo Astronautics\u2019 scope has certainly expanded from the days of Alana, their dedication to ensuring things are done the best way possible still remains well and firmly intact.","de_DE":"Portfolio: Argo Raumfahrttechnik\nZeit zum Mitnehmen\nObwohl es in der breiten Bev\u00f6lkerung kein bekanntes Unternehmen ist, da ihre Produkte traditionell f\u00fcr industrielle Zwecke hergestellt werden, ist es fast eine Garantie daf\u00fcr, dass die harte Arbeit und der Einsatz von Argo Astronautics Ihr Leben beeinflusst hat. Von der frischen Lieferung von Bohnen in Ihrem Morgenkaffee bis zur Verbindungsf\u00e4hre, die Sie ins B\u00fcro nehmen, ist Argo dank seines vielf\u00e4ltigen Angebots an rollendem Material, Shuttles und Nutzfahrzeugen zu einer Institution in seinem sieben Jahrhunderte alten Bestehen geworden. Doch so weit verbreitet das Unternehmen auch heute ist, es begann alles mit einem einzigen Zug.\n\nIm Jahr 2243, nach fast hundert Jahren, in denen Menschen und G\u00fcter \u00fcber die Weiten Nord- und S\u00fcdamerikas transportiert wurden, war die alternde und komplexe Magnetschwebebahn Trans-Amerika dringend \u00fcberholt werden musste. Von Barrow, USA, bis Punta Arenas, Chile, war es die drittl\u00e4ngste Strecke der kontinuierlichen Monospur auf dem Planeten Erde und transportierte t\u00e4glich Tonnen von Fracht. Da jedoch suborbitale Transfers einen gr\u00f6\u00dferen Anteil am gesamten Markt f\u00fcr Frachtschiffe gewinnen und der Zug durch so viele verschiedene Territorialregierungen f\u00e4hrt, wollten nur wenige Unternehmen die Herkulesaufgabe \u00fcbernehmen, die komplexe Strecke auszubauen.\n\nW\u00e4hrend verschiedene Regierungsstellen versuchten, bei Investitionen in die Infrastruktur an Fahrt zu gewinnen, gewannen die Pl\u00e4ne nie die kritische Masse, die f\u00fcr die Finanzierung erforderlich war. Alle Augen waren auf die neue wachsende Gemeinschaft auf dem Mars gerichtet, w\u00e4hrend die neuen, schnelleren Quantenantriebe von RSI mehr Interesse und damit Geld trieben, um unseren Platz im Sonnensystem zu etablieren und sich immer weiter von der Erde weg zu konzentrieren. Als Versp\u00e4tungen und Ausf\u00e4lle auf der Bahnstrecke immer h\u00e4ufiger auftraten, schien es, als w\u00e4re ihr Schicksal besiegelt. Ein junger Lokf\u00fchrer dachte jedoch, sie h\u00e4tte die L\u00f6sung.\n\nEin Schritt in die richtige Richtung\nAlana Redmond war auf der Trans-Am-Linie aufgewachsen und verbrachte einen Gro\u00dfteil ihrer Jugend damit, ihre Mutter zu begleiten, die als Schichtleiterin im Zug arbeitete. Alana, die sich von Stadt zu Stadt bewegte, war fasziniert davon, wie die Schienen dazu dienten, die Welt zusammenzubringen. Wie, selbst wenn Daten und Informationen fast sofort rund um den Globus verbreitet werden konnten, brauchte es immer noch Menschen wie ihre Mutter, die unerm\u00fcdlich daran arbeiteten, Waren von einem Kontinent zum anderen zu transportieren. Es war eine Tatsache, dass sie gerne mit jedem diskutieren w\u00fcrde, der fragte, wie es ist, auf den Schienen zu fahren, so dass es f\u00fcr ihre Familie keine \u00dcberraschung war, dass Alana nach Abschluss ihres Studiums als Assistant Engineer bei Trans-Am begann.\n\nEs war nicht ungew\u00f6hnlich, dass die Besatzung den Zug anhalten musste, um Notfallreparaturen an der alternden Monospur durchzuf\u00fchren, als ihre Sensoren Vibrationsanomalien von Spulen entdeckten, die sich aus der Ausrichtung heraus verzogen. Der Patch-Prozess ist schwierig und erfordert genaue Pr\u00e4zision und w\u00fcrde den gesamten Zeitplan zur\u00fccksetzen, da das Vorbereiten, Kleben und Ausrichten viel Zeit in Anspruch nahm. Au\u00dferdem, je \u00e4lter die Strecke wurde, desto mehr Patches mussten sie machen, was die Delays noch verschlimmerte. Dies bedeutete, dass ein einziger Patch zu einem enormen finanziellen Verlust f\u00fcr den Lauf f\u00fchren konnte, aber ohne Reparatur der Linie weiterzumachen, riskierte einen kompletten Bruch und noch gr\u00f6\u00dfere Verz\u00f6gerungen.\n\nEines Tages, als Alana auf das Setzen einer Schwebespule wartete, bemerkte sie ein St\u00fcck Schrott, das durch die magnetischen Kr\u00e4fte verdreht worden war, von wo aus ein Zug versehentlich dar\u00fcber gefahren war. Die Kurve des gebogenen Metalls war etwa so gut wie die Reparaturausr\u00fcstung, die sie f\u00fcr den Verbundpatch verwendeten. Die R\u00e4der in ihrem Kopf begannen sich zu drehen, und sie theoretisierte, dass sie die Kr\u00e4fte, die vom Zug erzeugt wurden, nutzen k\u00f6nnte, um das Pflaster zu vervollst\u00e4ndigen, anstatt den aktuellen Prozess, der zeit- und arbeitsintensiv war. Inspiriert, entwarf sie ihre Pl\u00e4ne sofort, obwohl sie wusste, dass sie ihre Idee bei einem aktiven Lauf nicht testen konnte. Stattdessen wandte sie sich an einen Freund, der auf dem Lagerplatz arbeitete und einige Zeit mit einem der ausgemusterten Motoren verbrachte. Mit Designspezifikationen und einer Teststrecke kassierte Alana all ihre gesparte Urlaubszeit ein und verbrachte zwei Wochen mit dem Verschmelzen der Gleisverbindung.\n\nAls die Zeit abgelaufen war, wusste sie, dass sie an etwas dran war, hatte aber eine Wahl zu treffen. Nerv\u00f6s und aufgeregt k\u00fcndigte Alana ihren Job und nutzte all das Geld, das sie und ihre Mutter gespart hatten, um mit der Arbeit an der Entwicklung ihres neuen Patch-Prozesses in Vollzeit zu beginnen. Sechs Monate sp\u00e4ter, im September 2243, wurde von AR-Go Technologies ein Patent f\u00fcr ein automatisiertes einspuriges Reparatursystem angemeldet, das an einem Schienenfahrzeug montiert werden konnte. Der Name der Firma war ein Spiel mit den Initialen von Alana, eine Idee, die von ihrer Mutter stammt. Das von ihr entwickelte System k\u00f6nnte nicht nur die traditionelle Patch-Methode ersetzen, sondern durch die Ausr\u00fcstung aller Wagen mit der Technologie k\u00f6nnte die Strecke w\u00e4hrend des weiteren Betriebs auf fast neue Bedingungen umgebaut werden, wodurch der Betrieb auf unbestimmte Zeit verl\u00e4ngert und schlie\u00dflich auch einigen der supraleitenden Z\u00fcge der neueren Generation erm\u00f6glicht w\u00fcrde, auch die \u00e4ltere Monospur zu verwenden. Die Nachfrage nach dem Reparatursystem war enorm, und die Bestellungen kamen von allen gro\u00dfen Z\u00fcgen. AR-Go Technologies wurde zu einem massiven Erfolg und revitalisierte die Bahnindustrie fast \u00fcber Nacht mit eigener Kraft.\n\nN\u00e4chster Halt\nIn den n\u00e4chsten Jahrzehnten f\u00fchrten Alana und AR-Go Technologies immer wieder neue Innovationen ein - eine schnellere Frachtverriegelung, neue Passagiermanagementsysteme und ein vibrierendes Ladeger\u00e4t, um nur einige zu nennen. Schlie\u00dflich, mit der \u00dcbernahme von Todairo Manufacture und einer Namens\u00e4nderung in Argo Transportation, w\u00fcrden sie den \u00dcbergang zur Produktion von vollst\u00e4ndigem Rollmaterial selbst vollziehen. Die hohen Standards und die Langlebigkeit der von ihnen hergestellten Magnetschwebebahnen machten sie schnell zu einem Branchenf\u00fchrer. Dieser schnelle Erfolg und diese Expansion w\u00fcrde schlie\u00dflich zu Alanas k\u00fchnsten (und letzten) Projekt mit dem von ihr gegr\u00fcndeten Unternehmen f\u00fchren. Ein Projekt, das AR-Go in eine v\u00f6llig neue Richtung f\u00fchren w\u00fcrde - off-world.\n\nPort Retanus, Mars war so gro\u00df geworden, dass die Stadt Ausschreibungen f\u00fcr ein \u00f6ffentliches Verkehrssystem einholte. Obwohl Argo noch nie zuvor ein komplettes Verkehrssystem von Grund auf aufgebaut hatte, sorgte Alanas leidenschaftliche Pr\u00e4sentation vor dem Stadtrat daf\u00fcr, dass sie den Auftrag erhielten. Leider w\u00fcrde sie ihre Vision eines so genannten \"radial vernetzten Verkehrsknotens\" nicht mehr erleben, aber das Port Renatus Rapid Transit System wird von Stadtplanern bis heute als eines der elegantesten Designs des \u00f6ffentlichen Verkehrs bezeichnet.\n\nW\u00e4hrend Alana Redmond nicht mehr f\u00fcr die \u00dcberwachung der Operationen zur Verf\u00fcgung stand, sorgte der Erfolg von Argo auf dem Mars daf\u00fcr, dass das Unternehmen ohne sie weitermachen konnte. Weitere Gro\u00dfauftr\u00e4ge auf mehreren Planeten w\u00fcrden bald folgen, darunter die Prime Transit Metrorail auf Terra und die Municipal Transit Line auf Angeli. Doch nach Alanas F\u00fchrung w\u00fcrden die neuen Unternehmensf\u00fchrer bald einen weiteren gro\u00dfen Schritt nach vorne machen, da sie zum ersten Mal die Schienen hinter sich lassen w\u00fcrden.\n\nWeitergehen\nArgo war bestrebt, seine Dienstleistungen und Netzwerke weiter zu verbessern und verf\u00fcgte \u00fcber ein engagiertes Team von Designern, die nach Problemstellen suchten, die Kandidaten f\u00fcr Verbesserungen sein k\u00f6nnten. Bei der Analyse von Versp\u00e4tungen mit ihren G\u00fcterz\u00fcgen stellten sie fest, dass die gr\u00f6\u00dften Auswirkungen auf den Zeitplan oft nicht bei ihren Schienensystemen, sondern bei Verz\u00f6gerungen w\u00e4hrend des Transfervorgangs in verschiedenen H\u00e4fen zu verzeichnen waren. Der G\u00fcterumschlag in und aus den Z\u00fcgen kann viel Zeit in Anspruch nehmen und ist oft mit einer Vielzahl von Verkehrsproblemen verbunden. Um den Prozess zu rationalisieren, suchte Argo nach einer M\u00f6glichkeit, die Transfers selbst zu kontrollieren.\n\nDie L\u00f6sung wurde durch den Kauf von Telluman Shipworks gefunden, einem angeschlagenen Unternehmen, das Freizeit-Shuttle herstellte. Das Ingenieurteam von Argo hat ein Orbital-Utility-Boot (OUC) entwickelt, das Ladungslagercontainer direkt vom Langstrecken-Transporter auf ihre Triebfahrzeuge bringen kann. Durch die Integration des Verriegelungssystems in den Rahmen des Schiffes wurde der Ladevorgang erheblich vereinfacht. Es dauerte nicht lange, bis die OUC ein breiteres Publikum fand als nur die eigenen Transitsysteme von Argo.\n\nAls immer mehr Piloten die robuste Leichtigkeit, mit der die OUC arbeitete, erlebten, begannen sie bald, die Boote aus zweiter Hand zu kaufen und f\u00fcr ihre eigenen Zwecke auszur\u00fcsten. Argo, der sah, dass die Nachfrage da war, steigerte die Produktion und brachte 2619 das Argo Mehrzweck-Nutzfahrzeug auf den Markt, ihr erstes \u00f6ffentlich zug\u00e4ngliches Modell. Zum Zeitpunkt des ersten Starts des Schiffes war nur ein Frachtmodul verf\u00fcgbar, aber schon bald wurden Personentransporter, Rettungskapseln, Reparaturmodule und weitere Sorten verkauft. Wenn es Arbeit zu tun gab, gab es einen Argo, der es tat.\n\nDer Erfolg des MPUV veranlasste Argo, seine Schiffsabteilung weiter auszubauen, bis sie ihre Abteilung f\u00fcr den Nahverkehr \u00fcbernahm. Eine Umstrukturierung der internen Priorit\u00e4ten f\u00fchrte zu einer weiteren Namens\u00e4nderung, und 2665 entstand der Name Argo Astronautics, der so viele tragende S\u00e4ulen des Transports ziert.\n\nHeute produziert Argo eine breite Palette von Gebrauchsfahrzeugen und Transportfahrzeugen - von Shuttlefahrzeugen \u00fcber Low-Atmosph\u00e4re-Skipper bis hin zu Reentry-Pods -, die alle zusammenarbeiten, um die Menschen und G\u00fcter des Reiches dorthin zu bringen, wo sie hin m\u00fcssen. Auch das Milit\u00e4r ist inzwischen auf den MPUV angewiesen, wenn es um den Versorgungsbedarf geht. Und obwohl sich der Anwendungsbereich von Argo Astronautics seit Alanas Zeiten sicherlich erweitert hat, bleibt ihr Engagement f\u00fcr die bestm\u00f6gliche Umsetzung der Dinge dennoch gut und fest intakt.","zh_CN":"Portfolio: Argo Astronautics\nTime to Go\nWhile it may not be a well known company among the general population, since their products are traditionally manufactured for industrial purposes, it is almost a guarantee that Argo Astronautics\u2019 hard work and effort has impacted your life. From the fresh shipment of beans in your morning coffee to the connector ferry you take to the office, Argo has become an institution in its seven centuries of existence, thanks to its varied line of rolling stock, shuttles and utility vehicles. Yet as widespread as the company is now, it all started with a single train.\n\nIn 2243, after close to one hundred years of moving people and cargo across the expanses of North and South America, the aging and complex Trans-America maglev rail line was in desperate need of an overhaul. Spanning from Barrow, USA, to Punta Arenas, Chile, it was the third longest stretch of continuous mono-track on planet Earth and transported tons of freightage daily. However, with sub-orbital transfers gaining a larger share of the overall cargo shuttling market, and the train crossing through so many different territorial governments, few companies wanted to take on the herculean task of upgrading the complex line.\n\nWhile various governmental bodies tried to gain traction for investment into the infrastructure, the plans never gained the critical mass needed to achieve funding. All eyes had turned to the new growing community on Mars, Meanwhile, the new, faster quantum drives from RSI drove more interest, and with it money, toward establishing our place in the solar system, and focusing further and further away from Earth. As delays and breakdowns on the rail line became more and more frequent, it seemed like its fate was sealed. However, a young train engineer thought she had the solution.\n\nA Step in the Right Direction\nAlana Redmond had grown up on the Trans-Am line, spending much of her youth accompanying her mother, who worked as a shift manager aboard the train. Moving from town to town, Alana was fascinated by the way the rails served to bring the world together. How, even as data and information could be beamed around the globe almost instantaneously, it still took people like her mom working tirelessly to physically move goods from one continent to another. It was a fact she would happily discuss with anyone who asked what it was like to ride the rails, so it was little surprise to her family that after finishing her studies, Alana began working at Trans-Am as an assistant engineer.\n\nIt wasn\u2019t uncommon for the crew to have to halt the train to make emergency spot repairs of the aging mono-track when their sensors detected vibrational anomalies from coils warping out of alignment. Difficult and requiring exact precision, the patching process would set the whole schedule back as the prepping, bonding and aligning all took time. Plus, the older the track got, the more patching they were required to do, which compounded the delays. This meant that a single patch could lead to a huge monetary loss for the run, but to continue on without repairing the line was risking a complete break and even bigger delays.\n\nOne day, while waiting for a levitation coil to set, Alana noticed a piece of scrap metal that had been twisted by the magnetic forces from where a train had inadvertently run over it. The curve of bent metal was about as good of a result as the repair equipment they were using on the composite patch. The wheels in her head began to turn and she theorized that she could use the forces being generated by the train to complete the patch instead of the current process, which was time and labor intensive. Inspired, she drew up her plans immediately, even though she knew she couldn\u2019t test her idea on an active run. Instead, she reached out to a friend who worked in the stock yard and sorted out some time with one of the retired engines. With design specs and a test track, Alana cashed in all her saved up vacation time and spent two weeks fusing track bond.\n\nWhen the time was up, she knew she was on to something, but had a choice to make. Nervous and excited, Alana quit her job and used all the money she and her mother had saved up to begin working on developing her new patching process full time. Six months later, in September 2243, a patent was filed by AR-Go Technologies for an automated mono-track repair system that could be mounted to a rail car. The company\u2019s name was a play off Alana\u2019s initials, an idea compliments of her mother. Not only could the system she developed replace the traditional patching method, but by equipping all the cars with the tech, the line could be rebuilt to almost like-new conditions while the trains continued to run, prolonging their operation indefinitely while also finally allowing for some of the newer generation superconducting trains to use the older mono-track as well. Demand for the repair system was enormous, with orders coming in from every major train ine. AR-Go Technologies became a massive success and single-handedly revitalized the rail industry almost overnight.\n\nNext Stop\nOver the next several decades, Alana and AR-Go Technologies continued to introduce new innovations \u2014 a faster cargo latch and lock method, new passenger management systems, and a vibratory recharger just to name a few. Eventually, with the acquisition of Todairo Manufacture and a name change to Argo Transportation, they would transition to producing full rolling stock themselves. The exacting standards and durability of the maglev cars they produced quickly made them an industry leader. This rapid success and expansion would eventually lead to Alana\u2019s boldest (and last) project with the company she founded. A project that would take AR-Go in an entirely new direction \u2014 off-world.\n\nPort Retanus, Mars had grown large enough that the city was seeking bids for a public transit system. Though Argo had never before built a complete transit system from the ground up, Alana\u2019s impassioned presentation to the city\u2019s governing board saw to it that they won the contract. Sadly, she would not live to see her vision for what she called a \u201cradial networked transit hub\u201d come to fruition, but the Port Renatus Rapid Transit System is still heralded to this day by city planners as one of the most elegant public transportation designs.\n\nWhile Alana Redmond was no longer there to oversee operations, Argo\u2019s success on Mars ensured that the company would be able to continue to move along without her. Other major contracts on several planets would soon follow, including the Prime Transit Metrorail on Terra and the Municipal Transit Line on Angeli. However, following Alana\u2019s lead, the new leaders of company would soon take another major step forward as, for the first time, they would leave the rails behind.\n\nGoing Farther\nSeeking to further improve their services and networks, Argo had a dedicated team of designers seeking problem spots that could be candidates for improvements. While analyzing delays with their cargo trains, they discovered that the biggest impact to schedule was often not with their rail systems, but with hold-ups incurred during the transfer process at various ports. Moving goods on and off the trains could take significant time and often be subject to a wide array of traffic problems. In order to streamline the process, Argo sought a way to control the transfers themselves.\n\nThe solution was found in the purchase of Telluman Shipworks, a struggling company that manufactured recreational shuttlecraft. Retrofitting Telluman\u2019s facilities on Cassell, Argo\u2019s engineering team created an orbital utility craft (OUC) that could move cargo storage containers directly from long haulers onto their train cars. Incorporating their lock and latch system into the craft\u2019s frame, it streamlined the loading process significantly. It wasn\u2019t long before the OUC found a wider audience than just Argo\u2019s own transit systems.\n\nAs more and more pilots experienced the rugged ease with which the OUC operated, they soon started purchasing the crafts secondhand and outfitting them for their own purposes. Argo, seeing that the demand was there, ramped up production and in 2619 released the Argo Multi-Purpose Utility Vehicle, their first publicly available model. At the time of the craft\u2019s initial launch, only a cargo module was available, but before long, people carriers, recovery pods, repair modules and more varieties were sold. If there was work to do, there was an Argo to do it.\n\nThe success of the MPUV led Argo to continue to expand their ship department till it overtook their ground transit division. A restructuring of internal priorities led to one more name change, and in 2665 the Argo Astronautics name that graces so many transportation mainstays emerged.\n\nToday, Argo produces a wide range of utility crafts and transport vehicles \u2014 from shuttle crafts and low-atmosphere skippers to reentry pods \u2014 all working together to get the people and goods of the Empire where they need to go. Even the military has come to depend on the MPUV for their utility needs. And while Argo Astronautics\u2019 scope has certainly expanded from the days of Alana, their dedication to ensuring things are done the best way possible still remains well and firmly intact."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":81,"created_at":"2016-09-21T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"9 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-07 22:44:58","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":15527,"next_id":15532}}