A History of Excellence
Founded as Earhart Noonan by the pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart in 1934, three years before her disappearance over the Pacific. The Los Angeles based company initially specialized in airfield planning and construction, and saw huge demand during the Second World War. Thanks to this success the company was awarded contracts by the US Atomic Energy Commission to build nuclear reactors for the rapidly modernizing American population.
In 1961 as the Apollo program was starting to select contractors, EAI created a subdivision to tackle the challenges of the upstart space industry, naming it EAI Celestial. This wing of the firm used their expertise and experience to win contracts with NASA to construct launchpads and facilities at the Cape Canaveral Space Center. EAI Celestial outgrew EAI and the companies were re-merged in order to strengthen the marketability of other operations.
Ever since, EAI has hired NASA engineers to strengthen their spacecraft design and construction capabilities, which won them contracts for modules of the ISS in the mid 1980’s. In 2014 EAI started a material research skunkworks which led to the development of advanced nano-bot forging techniques. Their proprietary nano-bots have revolutionised additive manufacturing, with novel applications developed by thousands of users.
In 2024, EAI made a huge leap in material research, they developed a titanium alloy that had incredible tensile properties but was also a soft magnetic material. This combination of properties allowed EAI to build the famous Ha Long Floating City. The entire settlement, nestled among the towering islands of the Vietnamese peninsula, magnetically floats 30 meters above sea level and has become a hub for technological progress and research activities (although not those which are sensitive to magnetic fields).
"The Old Guard"
Zariah Khan, the founder of OMTC, famously criticised EAI as being the “Old Guard” among the active prime contractors. EAI have embraced that sentiment, drawing strength from its long experience in the field and cautious attitude. While being the oldest company competing for Foundation Society contracts, EAI does not treat its history as baggage. Indeed its success adorned heritage gives its engineers and innovators legitimacy to design the newest and most advanced settlements that humankind has conceived of.
The Only Way is Up
In 2030, EAI acquired the launch service provide VALIANT, that company becoming Earhart-VALIANT. This acquisition gave EAI the ability to operate its own construction schedules in space, as well as on Earth, removing the last roadblock in EAI’s provision of an integrated end-to-end service. Foundation Society fair-competition rules prohibit launch provider from quoting less that 80% of the price that they would offer to an external purchaser of that service.
Earhart-VALIANT operates two classes of vehicles, Aquila and Gryphus. The small Aquila vehicle, originally developed to support lunar mining, hold the distinctions of being the most-launched platform on Earth. Gryphus is a specialist vehicle, comprising two Aquila hulls joined in tandem, allowing higher payload masses at the expense of greater operating cost. Details of their lift capacities are listed on their transport subcontractor page.
Core Competencies
Earhart Advanced Technologies prides itself on being an innovator, developing both new techniques and being the first to employ them in the field. Over its history, EAI has developed proficiency with material science and launch services, which are managed by our commercial subsidiaries:
- Soft magnetic Titanium alloy developed in the Earhart Skunkworks
- Ownership of VALIANT Launch Corporation, providing 20% reduction in launch costs on Foundation Society projects
“Never do things others can do and will do if there are things others cannot do or will not do.”
Amelia Earhart
This webpage refers to a fictional company which is part of the UK Space Design Competition. This fictional company is named in tribute to a real person, but no information presented here or implied herefrom should be regarded as factual. Any similarities with real events, places, or persons are purely coincidental.