Galnet News Digest

In this week's news, we have dramatic footage of the planetary collision that wiped out a settlement. Anti-Xeno organisations are planning a protest about Thargoids in the California Nebula. Lakon's mining trial is going well, and colonisation is making much more progress than exploration.

On the day the Lakon Type-11 Prospector becomes available in early access for anyone with at least 16,500 ARX to spare, Lakon launches a trial to demonstrate just how good their new ship is. Squadron Carriers unexpectedly aquire a Commodities Market. System Architects get to demolish some of what they built. Archon Delaine has four systems confiscated, to make more room for new Commanders. And there's a planetary collision coming up in the Reienadi system.

Lakon Spaceways has made some dramatic improvements to the Type-11 Prospector mining rig ahead of its release next week, making it far and away the best mining ship in the Galaxy.

Scientists are getting impatient waiting for answers about the fate of student Terri Tora and the permit-locked HIP 87621 system, fuelled by evidence that the October Consortium may have something to hide. And the System Map has vanished.

There are rumours that Lakon Spaceways is planning a 2-week trial of its soon-to-be-released Type-11 Prospector. Some eager would-be participants are already in position. The initiative is expected to start on the day the Type-11 Prospector is released for early access, likely some time next week.

The release of the Lakon Type-11 Prospector has been delayed by a week, to allow improvements to its performance. And Zachary Rackham's initiative to search the Galaxy for clues to the Terri Tora mystery has concluded, but with little indication that any progress has been made.

Members of the press have been invited to test-drive the new Lakon Type-11 Prospector. And we have been given a hint that some useful changes to the Galaxy are coming on 23rd September.

In this week's news, we gasp at the price of the Galactic edition of the Type-11 Prospector. And fears remain high for student Terri Tora, who sent missing while investigating the discovery of new alien life in a permit-locked system. Professor Raddix says he's getting his exobiologist colleagues to demand answers.

It's just three weeks since the shake-up of the way Squadrons work, and since the introduction of the Squadron Carrier. In that three weeks, there have been a number of tweaks made. And today, there is another change, a change that will benefit Squadrons with an absentee Leader.

Zachary Rackham says he has convincing evidence of anomalous exobiological readings on at least one rocky moon in the HIP 87621 system. And in the absence of a permit, he's appealing for help finding similar anomalies elsewhere in the Galaxy.

Lakon has announced details of their new dedicated mining ship, the Type-11 Prospector. It has two unique modules, setting it apart from all other ships.

There are rumours that the company behind the Artemis suit might have made a major advance in the study of exobiology. But if they have, it seems they're trying to keep it secret.Commanders searching for missing exobiology student Terri Tora, after her professor, Frank Raddix, sent an appeal for help, have uncovered messages pointing to something mysterious going on in the permit-locked HIP 87621 system.

Commanders have received a time-critical request for help from Professor Frank Raddix. And a new Galactic secret may be about to be revealed.

A mysterious, and - at time of writing - undeciphered message has been discovered in the Jungkurara system. The Communications Beacon was discovered after an anonymous tip-off was posted to social media.

This is not Frontier Unlocked, for the 27th August 3311.

A recap of where to build your starports to get the economy type you want.

The Trailblazer colonisation megaships are back in business, with all the commodities for Colonisation available at six of the Brewer Corporation megaships.

The Galaxy is no longer suffering from flickering shadows, judging by early observations. And an updated version of Squadrons has been released, bringing Squadron Carriers and the ability to transfer credits directly to other Commanders in the same Squadron.

The "Vanguards" change to Squadron organisation is coming in less than a week. Meanwhile, Community Goal records are tumbling, with additional Rail Guns rewards unlocked.

With nearly three quarters of a billion tonnes of supplies hauled, it's not surprising that pirates are beginning to take an interest in the Brewer Corporation's Trailblazer resupply initiative. And now Brewer is offering pre-engineered railguns to anyone willing to eliminate the pirate threat.

Galactic party-pooper Princess Aisling Duval has been instructed to reinstate the supply of cigars that are essential for Commanders wanting to make friends with engineer Hera Tani. And the Pilots' Federation has promised that in future no Power will be permitted to prevent the sale of the five essential Rare Goods that are required for Engineer unlocks.

Many commanders are currently concentrating on trucking for Brewer's Trailblazer colonisation megaships, with huge profits and the promise of enhanced capacity cargo racks. But that's not the only opportunity on offer this week. There's also a rare opportunity to earn merits and improve your Powerplay rank while advancing the cause of your Power and earning good profits at the same time.

A new dedicated mining ship is coming to the Galaxy, with special new mining equipment that will give it a unique advantage over other mining ships.

Brewer Corporation says it has tripled its demands for vast stocks of Titanium, Aluminium, Steel and CMM Composites to give more commanders a change to take part.

A picture of what might be the next large ship has been leaked on social media.

With the Panther Clipper entering service, demand for the commodities needed for colonisation are so high that Brewer Corporation is asking Commanders to bring some of them back. And they're offering high-capacity cargo racks as an incentive.

Available today in early access, the Zorgon Peterson Panther Clipper looks set to make light work of hauling tasks, including community goals and system colonisation.

There's no such thing as bad publicity, and cynics among the Galactic news community suspect starship manufacturer Zorgon Peterson of engineering a crisis to get some community engagement ahead of the launch of their long-awaited Panther Clipper Mk II bulk carrier early next week. But there's no denying the appeal of the exclusive rewards being offered to those that take part.

The biggest pilotable ship in the Galaxy is coming on Tuesday - and in early tests it appears to perform well.The Zorgon Peterson Panther Clipper Mk II can carry up to 1,238 tonnes of cargo.

Concern is growing that war between Zemina Torval and Pranav Antal is inevitable, following in the footsteps of all the other Power Leaders.

Commanders hoping to colonise a system so they can study exobiology are being warned that the act of colonisation may destroy the very life they have come to be near.

The team behind the Distant Stars, Distant Worlds and Distant Worlds 2 expeditions is back, with the sign-up now open for their fourth event, Distant Worlds 3.

The Sirius Corporation and the Republican Party have simultaneously attacked a total of six systems belonging to Imperial Princess Aisling Duval, with conflict breaking out round a number of Imperial outposts in the contested systems.

The Panther Clipper Mk II will cost more ARX for early access than any other of the latest generation of Supercruise-overcharge optimised ships, apparently because of its size.And CMDR LCU NoFoolLikeOne is building low-cost, affordable housing in Synuefe WH-F c0, a system where two moons collide every seven days.

Zorgon Peterson has clarified that the maximum cargo capacity of the new Panther Clipper will be 1,238 tonnes, with only one each of the size 7 and size 8 bays able to accommodate the Mk II cargo racks.

The new Panther Clipper could hold up to 1,430 tonnes of cargo, according to its designers. And it will be available in early access on Tuesday 22 July.Note: The actual capacity turned out to be a little less than we had hoped. See the next episode for clarification.

Tomorrow, we're finally going to get some facts about the new Panther Clipper Mk II, a ship that's likely to be ideal for trucking around the vast amounts of commodities required to colonise new systems and build new settlements, installations, outposts and ports.

We examine the scandal of the Pod People.Imperial and Federal citizens rescued from the Thargoids remain in isolation, under observation by scientists who apparently suspect them of having been brainwashed by the Thargoids, despite no evidence of this having been discovered.

Imperial forces fighting for the Emperor in Beta-3 Tucani are enjoying punishing Pirate King Archon Delaine so much that they have decided to continue far past their original goal, and are now aiming to hand out 500 billion credits by the end of next week.

The Empire strikes back against the Pirate King. Data terminals are taken off-line in the Sol system as the Pilots' Federation investigate hacking allegations. And if you want a steam-powered spaceship, you might just be in luck.

An advert for a photo competition, now sadly concluded. Included here for completeness.

Brewer Corporation has introduced new ways to make your Trailblazers colony work the way you want it. And for the first time they've spelled out how you can get the station services you want.A guide to getting the station services you want in your Trailblazers starport.

There are renewed claims that Salvation survived the Proteus Wave disaster. And Test Subject D-2 plans to hunt him down.

The Pilots' Federation has announced Squadron Carriers, five years after they were originally planned. Coming within the next few months, these super-sized Fleet Carriers will be owned and run by the Squadron, with a shared bank, space for shared commodities and a sort of lending-library for ships.

Councillor Nakato Kaine has pledged that she will match Prime Minister Mahon's promise to hand out two sets of Power Distributors to everyone in the top 75% of contributors to her trade initiative, even if, as seems inevitable, the Prime Minister's initiative is more successful.

Commanders pledged to Edmund Mahon and Nakato Kaine can do more for their Power by working for the other side, selling goods at the other Power's destination starport.

Following last week's vote to end the anti-xeno defence pact with the Sirius Corporation, Councillor Nakato Kaine is advocating on an "Alliance first" trade policy, buying from Alliance-based corporations, while Prime Minister Mahon wants to continue the Alliance's dependence on external mega-corporations like Sirius. Alliance systems have split along these lines, with Kaine and Mahon keen to show that their policies will deliver better growth for the economy.

The Alliance Assembly is kicking out the Sirius Corporation, ending a defence pact that has been in place for more than three years.

Supporters of President Winters are celebrating victory in the Platinum mining initiative after they turned in dramatically more of the precious metal than disgraced rebel Yuri Grom.

Commanders with a Fleet Carrier may once again buy and sell Titan Drive Components, after a four-month ban expired earlier today.

Sore loser Yuri Grom has sparked a conflict after it became clear he could not win the ongoing mining initiative.Grom is failing to deliver enough Platinum to the people of LP 855-34, and it seems inevitable that the system will be won by Grom's bitter Rival, President Winters, whose deliveries of Platinum have been far more satisfactory.