REPCONN Aerospace

REPCONN Aerospace (Rocket Engineering and Production COmpaNy of Nevada) was a company based in Henderson, Nevada that specialized in rocket manufacture and production of alternate fuel sources, both plasma and fission based, primarily for the U.S. government. Their headquarters and test site can still be found in the Mojave Wasteland.

Background
Formed in 2054 after the famous Delta IX rocket was developed and launched, its original purpose was to develop new orbital propulsion systems in response to the energy crisis of 2052. Its first line of research was nuclear fission-based propulsion, which was soon succeeded by plasma-based propulsion. Their earliest experiments in flight were almost uniformly disastrous, Tour guide: ''"Ready for the REPCONN tour, Rocketeers? Courtesy of the fine folks at RobCo, I'll be your guide today on the path of... Scientific. Discovery. In the lead-lined case behind me is a spent radioactive rod from of our old reactors. No need to stand too close, let's move along, shall we? Look here - a row of multi-colored plasma fuels! Careful, they may look safe to drink, but your stomach is the last place they should be. Why the difference in cylinder size? Refining our production methods has resulted in higher yields of fuel over time, that's why! To my right you can see a sample of some old "safety barrels" REPCONN once used to store radioactive waste. Perfectly safe. On my left is an example of a mountain of REPCONN safety barrels some legislators claim are poisoning our environment. Ridiculous. Behind me is our most recent rocket project, which we're keeping under our hats... until "launch," if you'll pardon the expression. And in front of me is a model - not actual size - of the launch dome we are using to send our rockets screeeeaming into orbit. Now these colorful fellows behind me are REPCONN's earliest... experiments in flight. Feel free to read the plaques and learn, Rocketeers! Now for the highlight of our tour! Due to a generous donation from RobCo, this next exhibit showcases the wondrous world of - robots! Around you are the incredible Eyebot, the fearsome Sentry Bot, and the always-helpful Mr. Handy. That helpfulness runs through our whole line! This is the final stop on our tour. This model of our solar system is a small example of where the partnership between RobCo and REPCONN hopes to go. See those little rockets zipping about? They are manned by robots, tirelessly looking for resources to mine on planets beyond our own. And that's it for our tour today, Rocketeers - RobCo and its tiny partner REPCONN thank you! Any further questions, please, feel free to ask."'' (Tour guide's dialogue) but the company managed to continue functioning and expanding. As REPCONN was dealing with slow business, two corporate giants, Poseidon Energy and RobCo Industries, made attempts to buy out the company. The former's bid was seen off by a decisive action by REPCONN's board of directors under the lead of Vice President Leonard Steeple and Chief Financial Officer Julia Masters, maintaining Steeple's intention to keep the company as far away from defense contracts as possible.

RobCo eventually managed to acquire the company after a year of buying shares from 2075 to 2076, when Steeple's allies turned against him. The Vice President tried to rally the board again and sought help from Masters, but while the CFO officially agreed to support him, she was actually working with General Manager Piers Isley to sell the company. Citing the profit of a merger with RobCo (not to mention avoiding a hostile takeover and a much less amicable transition), Isley and Masters managed to undermine Steeple's position in the company and get the board of directors to pass a vote of no confidence against Steeple, after he refused to even consider selling his part of the company, in order to maintain their independence and integrity. Failing the vote, Steeple stepped down from his position as Vice President.

All the time, the company continued its research into rocketry and astronautics. However, the research efforts were severely hampered by a disaster during one of the experiments, where a poor work ethic, cutting corners, and an underqualified team caused a disastrous radiation spill that would take decades to clear up, significantly weakening REPCONN's position with RobCo. The launch facility manager responsible for the disaster, Steve Reynolds, used his old friend, Martin Neimeyer, as scapegoat.

With no obstacle in the way, the company was acquired by RobCo Industries. Carl Rook, transferred from RobCo's security division, became the next Vice President, focusing on improving the security within the company. Robert House, CEO of RobCo, used the newly acquired company for a weapons research program for Colonel Moretti of the US military, repurposing REPCONN's proprietary plasma rocket propulsion system. However, the program was not free of setbacks: a mole was leaking information on the development of the project to Poseidon Energy. Although this was detected by REPCONN's IT specialist Sara Wang, who managed to partially decode them, there was not enough concrete evidence to take official action against Poseidon.

 By 2077, the Matter Modulator project completed, with the first fully working prototype assembled and working. In an ironic twist, it was made possible by Project Semele schematics, acquired by Xuan Duong's sources inside Poseidon Energy. Called the "urban plasma rifle," these new weapons were slated to enter full military service. Poseidon Energy's mole, Julia Masters, was tasked with intercepting the prototype on its way to the Department of Defense. The weapon was never delivered, interrupted by the Great War.

Products

 * A3 Rocket
 * Delta IX rocket, commissioned by the USSA
 * Delta XI rocket
 * R77-239A Needlenose rocket
 * V29-329G rocket
 * Q-35 matter modulator
 * Z43-521P rocket
 * "Safety barrels"

Behind the scenes

 * REPCONN is most likely a reference to the real company PEPCON, which until the 1990s operated a space fuel production facility also in Henderson, Nevada, near Las Vegas. The PEPCON facility was destroyed in a fire and subsequent massive explosions of improperly stored Space Shuttle fuel oxidizer. The REPCONN experiment demonstration for RobCo that ended in disaster is likely a reference to this incident.
 * The REPCONN logo also resembles the font style and logo of Boeing, a major defense/aerospace manufacturer.
 * The tour guide gives two dates for RobCo's procurement of REPCONN: 2075 and late 2076.

Bugs

 * REPCONN is spelled "REPCON" on each of the four security awareness posters.