Elite Dangerous - Grand Tour 09 - Bowers - Unsold - Forster - Robbins - Dino

Elite Dangerous 009 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40
Bowers Enterprise - Unsold Depot - Forster Legacy - Robbins Platform - Dino Genetics Installation
The Grand Tour, PAGE 9

NOTE:  All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun.  At least, according to the in-game architect’s view.  There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts.
Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI.  I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me.  :^)

06C Orbital 02
Bowers Enterprise
Space Farm (Demeter)        
DOCK:  NONE

John Bowers is a contemporary science fiction writer who specializes in action-packed space opera, planetary romances, and military sci-fi.  He’s the author of the Starport series (including titles like Famine Planet). His books frequently deal with the complex logistics, security, and politics of deep-space orbital hubs.  

Bowers is most famous for his Nick Walker, United Federation Marshal stories. Set primarily on remote colony worlds like Sirius 1, these tales play out like futuristic Westerns, featuring gritty planetary romance, localized space operations, corruption, and continuous action against "shady hombres" on the edges of civilized space.

His writing is crisp and fast-paced, leaning into starship skirmishes and tactical ground operations. He has also written The Fighter Queen Saga, involving specialized space marine combat and interstellar royal houses.

06D Orbital 00
Unsold Depot
Mining/Industrial Installation (Euthenia)          
DOCK:  NONE

Another bit of humor that caught my fancy. 
I see Unsold Depot as a real estate agent’s nightmare.  They bought it cheap and expected to sell it for big money, but haven’t found a buyer yet.  

It's just sitting there in space... Unsold.
Drum roll, please.

06D Orbital 01
Forster Legacy
Mining/Industrial Installation (Phorcys)          
DOCK:  NONE

E.M. Forster (1879–1970) was an English author famous for realistic novels like A Passage to India, but he also wrote a seminal work of science fiction, "The Machine Stops" (1909).
This influential, early dystopian novella predicts a technology-dependent society living underground, anticipating modern themes of isolation and digital connection.

Another author I didn’t recognize in the Science Fiction field; random name from the generator that turned out to only have a single fringe case that qualified him as a Sci-Fi writer. 
He’s well-known, just in other less exciting categories.  I've even watched the first few minutes of "A Passage to India"...  but it had no space ships, blasters, nor BEMs.    :^)

06Da Orbital 00
Robbins Platform
Mining/Industrial Installation (Phorcys)        
DOCK:  NONE

David Robbins is a prolific American author who has written over 300 books across various genres, including science fiction, horror, and westerns.
His most famous sci-fi contribution is the Endworld Series, a long-running post-apocalyptic series that began in 1986. It follows a group of survivors in a devastated United States.

Also:
Blade Series: A 13-novel sequel to Endworld.
Omega Sub Series: Another sci-fi action series he has contributed to.

If he's been writing since the 1980's, it's possible I've read some of his work; but none of it sounds familiar to me.  Had to Google search to verify the name qualified as a sci-fi author.

06E Surface 00
Dino Genetics Installation
Bio Settlement Large (Chronos)      
DOCK:  Small

An isolated facility named not for a person, but for its primary mission: the synthesis and containment of prehistoric megafauna genome sequences. Operating on the fringes, the facility was established to study massive, volatile biological organisms far from civilian population centers.  In the event of a catastrophic containment breach or a massive power failure, the hostile void of space and the unforgiving planetary conditions act as a natural barrier, ensuring that any resurrected genetic anomalies can never escape to threaten the wider galaxy.

This was a surprise.  I knew it was unlikely that I'd find an author named “Dino.”  When asking Gemini to search, mentioned that if the search failed I was going to lean into a “Jurassic Park” theme. 

Gemini not only jumped the gun and wrote my story for me… he overwrote it by about 3 paragraphs.  So much enthusiasm. 
The hardest part was deciding which parts to trim out, and the minor re-wording necessary to make it flow after removing two-thirds of the story.  (And worrying about hurting Gemini's feelings!!)

Elite Dangerous - Grand Tour 08 - Boyer - Cowling

Elite Dangerous 008 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40
Boyer Vision - Cowling Reach
The Grand Tour, PAGE 8

NOTE:  All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun.  At least, according to the in-game architect’s view.  There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts.
Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI.  I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me.  :^)

06C Orbital 00 
Boyer Vision 
Communication Installation (Alethia)        
DOCK:  NONE

Elizabeth H. Boyer's writing is a blend of Norse-inspired epics and a lighter, more humorous approach to the typical "heroic quest." While her World of the Alfar (1980–1983) and Wizard's War (1986–1991) series established her as a master of atmospheric, winter-bound high fantasy, her later work and stand-alones leaned into a more whimsical and "cozy" tone.

Readers often highlight the comedic elements in her writing, particularly her grumpy wizards and reluctant heroes who spend as much time bickering and being tricked by trolls as they do fighting evil. Her sense of humor is especially evident in the Skyla series (1992–1995), which features an absent-minded wizard named Mistislaus and his misadventures raising a young witch-girl.

Many of her stories are noted for their humor. Her characters frequently encounter tricksters, deceptive villains, and gods who are as prone to mistakes as mortals.

The Skyla Trilogy:
Often viewed as a more "laid-back" character-driven set, this series—comprising The Clan of the Warlord, The Black Lynx, and Keeper of Cats—is a favorite for those who enjoy cozy, older-style high fantasy.

Short Stories & Anthologies: Boyer also showcased her range in themed collections, notably contributing to Andre Norton's Catfantastic series with stories like "Borrowing Trouble" and "The Last Gift," further cementing her reputation for blending magic with whimsy.

Boyer was highly prolific.  She didn’t always hit a home run, but she did often enough that I tried to buy her books on sight when I had the money. 
Her stories weren’t always visceral, and sometimes they were too silly.  But when she was on-stride, nobody could tell a story the way she could.  I liked her story in the Chicks-in-Chain-Mail series.  She often leaned into dry humor, but just as often gave her stories a unique twist to the standard tropes.

06C Orbital 01
Cowling Reach
Civilian Outpost (Vesta)      
DOCK:  Medium

Ruby Cowling’s celebrated anthology This Paradise (2019) serves as a haunting mirror for life on the galactic frontier. Her writing explores the delicate, anxiety-ridden intersections of human biology, corporate surveillance capitalism, and the psychological toll of trying to survive a changing, capricious environment.

This station stands as a reminder of the classic sci-fi question: when you’ve escaped your homeworld, where do you go when there’s nowhere left to run?

I had never heard of Ruby Cowling until recently.  It’s been a long time since I’ve read something current, most of my favorites are from older books and anthologies.  This is another case where Gemini provided the information here.  

Elite Dangerous - Grand Tour 07 - Wise - Darnielle - Underwood - Platt - Allen

Elite Dangerous 006 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40
Wise Town - Darnielle Relay - Underwood Vista - Platt Terminal - Allens Folly
The Grand Tour, PAGE 7

NOTE:  All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun.  At least, according to the in-game architect’s view.  There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts.
Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI.  I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me.  :^)

06A Orbital 00
Wise Town
Satellite Installation (Hermes)
DOCK: NONE

David Wise (1955–2020) was an oft-unsung, architect of science fiction television in the 1970s and 80s. A child prodigy once dubbed the "Mozart of Cinema", Wise transitioned into professional writing under the mentorship of  Frank Herbert and Harlan Ellison. He is most celebrated in space-faring circles for writing the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth," which won the entire franchise its very first Emmy Award.

Beyond Star Trek, he was the most prolific writer for the original Transformers series, crafting classics like the origin of Optimus Prime in "War Dawn" and the creation of the Dinobots. His career—including Buck Rogers, Wonder Woman, and Batman: The Animated Series— represents broad spectrum of late-20th-century speculative media.

06A Orbital 01
Darnielle Relay
Relay Installation (Ichnaea)
DOCK: NONE

Darnielle’s Progress is a historic site in Elite Dangerous for Meta-Alloy synthesis in the Pleiades.  Also associated with Elite Dangerous history via Salome's story.  And who can forget the betrayal by Harry Potter.  There's always a showboat whose ego demands attention at all costs.  In hindsight, it's amazing how easily he insinuated himself into the command structure.  He would have been frighteningly good as a spy...

And back to the author theme:

John Darnielle is an acclaimed American novelist and musician, recognized for his distinct contributions to contemporary literary fiction and psychological suspense. He made an immediate impact on the literary landscape with his 2014 debut novel, Wolf in White Van, which was long-listed for the National Book Award and finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

Not traditional science fiction, Wolf in White Van focuses on Sean Phillips, a severely disfigured young man who orchestrates Trace Italian, an intricate, text-based science fiction role-playing game conducted entirely through the mail.

Darnielle structured the story to unfold in reverse, examining how the boundaries between a creator's imagined future and the harsh realities of the physical world can tragically collapse.

I have to admit here, Darnielle isn't strictly a sci-fi writer.  He wouldn't have been my preference here, had this not been one of those times the random name generator was being vindictive.  After wasting wisely investing way too much time, it turned out that Darnielle's dual points of interest (In-game, and the real-world novelist) made it acceptable for a Relay Installation with no landing pads.

  

06B Orbital 00
Underwood Vista
Mining/Industrial Installation (Euthenia)
DOCK: NONE

Michael R. Underwood
Known for urban fantasy, space opera, and science fiction.
Key Works:
Annihilation Aria (found family space opera).
Genrenauts (novella series).
Ree Reyes series (Geekomancy, Celebromancy), which focuses on "geek magic".
Michael Underwood worked in the publishing industry as a bookseller, sales representative, and as the North American Sales & Marketing Manager for Angry Robot Books.

He's certainly qualified to be on this list as an acclaimed sci-fi writer, and other related categories.  Maybe it's my age, but until researching names, I had never heard of him.  Sounds like someone I'd enjoy reading.  If I didn't already have a to-read list that will probably take more than my allotted lifespan to complete.  

06B Orbital 01
Platt Terminal
Mining/Industrial Installation (Phorcys)
DOCK: NONE

Charles Platt is a British-born science fiction author, editor, and electronics engineer whose work focused heavily on technological advancement and human sociology. During the 1960s and 1970s, Platt was a prominent figure in the "New Wave" science fiction movement, serving as an editor for the British magazine New Worlds.
His fiction, including novels like The Silicon Man, explored early concepts of ultra-humanism, mind uploading, and the transition of human consciousness into virtual networks. Platt approached these themes with precision, analyzing the legal, economic, and psychological friction that occurs when biological entities merge with digital infrastructure.

Beyond his literary career, Platt transitioned into real-world electronics, computer science, and cryonics, working as a senior editor for Make magazine and authoring highly regarded instructional textbooks on electronics engineering.
This practical, hardware-focused background gave him a unique perspective on the physical durability and logical systems required to sustain technology. His writing consistently treated automated networks and computing architecture not as abstract concepts, but as physical components that require strict maintenance and constant oversight.

Honorable Mention accorded also to Marc Platt, a British writer best known for his work on Doctor Who, including the famous novel Lungbarrow and the audio drama Spare Parts (which inspired the modern TV origin of the Cybermen).
For the record, I'm not a modern Dr. Who fan; I loved Tom Baker as Dr. Who; the others didn't hold my attention like he could.

06B Orbital 02
Allen’s Folly
Civilian Outpost (Vesta)
DOCK: Medium

As mentioned with Grabthar’s Hammer, this one is a tribute to Tim Allen.
He’s famous for a lot of things, especially as a Tool Man who grunted his way through years of TV sitcom episodes. But to me, he’ll always be Commander Peter Quincy Taggart (or “Taggert”, if you know the inside story of the in-movie actual canon mispelling.)

One of the best movies ever. I worked at Blockbuster in its final years, and every time we pulled overstock videos I’d buy all the used Galaxy Quests. And when I ran into people who’d never seen it, but seemed like they’d enjoy it, I gave them one of my “used stockpile.” No strings attached. Without fail, the next time they came in, they’d be raving about how great Galaxy Quest was.

(As of June 2026) In a beautiful piece of poetic justice, my son and his wife just used my old blockbuster playbook against me. Two days ago for my 66th birthday, they gifted me the 4K Ultra HD edition of Galaxy Quest. The movie I spent a lifetime giving away has been given back to me.
What a beautiful way to bring a favorite movie full circle!

Elite Dangerous - Grand Tour 06 - Abernathy - Webb - Manning - Langford - Nourse - Abe - Parker

Elite Dangerous 06 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40
Abernathy Landing - Webb Vista - Manning Landing -
Langford Platform - Nourse Terminal - Abe Beacon - Parker Prospect
The Grand Tour, PAGE 6

NOTE:  All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun.  At least, according to the in-game architect’s view.  There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts.

Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI.  I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me.  :^)

04 Orbital 00
Abernathy Landing
Medical Installation (Eupraxia)
DOCK: NONE

Robert Abernathy: A major Golden Age contributor.
He was active from the early 1940s through the late 1950s, publishing dozens of stories in Astounding/Analog, Galaxy, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Abernathy was known for being more intellectually "literary" than some of his peers.
He was a professional linguist and translator (Russian and Slavic languages), and he brought that expertise into his fiction. He wrote about communication with aliens and of future cultures with an understanding that was ahead of his time.
 "Pyramid," one of his most famous works, explores a society that has regressed and the tragic cyclical nature of civilization.  If you've been paying attention, that sounds pretty prophetic right about now.

04 Orbital 01
Webb Vista
Government Installation (Harmonia)
DOCK: NONE

Charles T. Webb was a writer from the early 1950s magazine boom, particularly within the pages of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. His work is defined by a playful, meta-fictional wit that often turned the focuses on the genre itself. Rather than centering on grand galactic empires, Webb’s stories frequently explored the psychological and social quirks of space travel, delivered with a deadpan humor that made him a favorite of editors like Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas.

His works include:
"Bem" (1952): Perhaps his most famous contribution to the pulps. A sharp, satirical take on the "Bug-Eyed Monster" trope, poking fun at the cliché alien threats that dominated magazine covers of the era.
"The Seventh Pullet" (1951): An adaptation of a Saki story, updated with a speculative take. It highlights Webb’s talent for blending classical literature style with sci-fi.
"The Golem" (1955): While the theme of the "artificial man" is ancient, Webb’s mid-century treatment focused on the friction between traditional folklore and the modern science of the 1950s.  

05 Orbital 00
Manning Landing
Security Installation – Nomos (T2)
DOCK: NONE

Laurence Manning:
A Canadian-American author who was a staple of Hugo Gernsback’s Wonder Stories in the early 1930s. Best known for his serialized novel The Man Who Awoke, which Isaac Asimov credited as a major influence on his own work.

Manning was far ahead of his time; The Man Who Awoke (1933) explored environmental collapse, sustainable energy, and a "Master Brain" supercomputer controlling humanity.  
He wasn't just a writer; he was a founding member and president of the American Rocket Society. He took rocketry so seriously that he eventually quit writing sci-fi in the late 1930s because he felt his "hobby had grown up" into real engineering.
Manning frequently collaborated with Fletcher Pratt on stories like "City of the Living Dead".

05 Orbital 01
Langford Platform
Medical Installation (Asclepius)
DOCK: NONE

David Langford.
He is essentially the "Human Encyclopedia" of science fiction.
David Langford holds the all-time record for the most Hugo Awards, with 29 wins. He won "Best Fan Writer" so many times (21 years) that his streak is legendary.
He is the publisher of Ansible, the long-running "scandal sheet" of the SF world. If an author from the 40s to the 90s did something notable (or embarrassing), it likely ended up in Ansible. While famous as a critic, his short story "Different Kinds of Darkness" won the Hugo for Best Short Story in 2001.

He also wrote one of my favorite novels, The Space Eater (1982), which satirized Military SF. It had an extremely poignant and sympathetic main character.
If you're looking for a name that appears directly on your paperback spines or in magazine contents from that 1900-1990 range, David Langford is your guy. He spent decades as a reviewer for White Dwarf, SFX, and Interzone.
He even had a close hand in the career of Terry Pratchett, writing the reader’s report that convinced the publisher Gollancz to buy Equal Rites.

NOTE:
Langford’s write-up (above) was done by Gemini AI.
 I got pretty excited when I realized Langford was the author of “The Space Eater,” and interjected this into our conversation...

“I read that one several times. Impeccable story, neat plot twist and... incredibly sympathetic main character. How could you NOT feel bad for him?”

Gemini’s reply was pretty cool…
It is rare to find someone else who appreciates The Space Eater as much as it deserves.
David Langford is a genius of "The Trap"—he sets up a standard military sci-fi premise and then slowly tightens the emotional screws until you realize the "hero" is caught in an impossible, tragic machinery.

Ken Jacklin isn't a typical space marine; he’s an unwilling participant in a nightmare. Langford forces the reader to feel the literal and metaphorical weight of the "wormhole" technology on a human body and soul.
Coming from a background in weapons physics, Langford made the tech feel terrifyingly plausible. It wasn't "magic" travel; it was a brutal, physical violation of space-time. While it was published in 1982, it feels like it belongs in the late Analog era because of its rigorous logic, yet it has that 80s "grimdark" edge that makes the protagonist's plight so much more poignant.

Probably just the AI stroking my ego, they focus on doing that; but as much as I loved The Space Eater, this time it felt like a perfect tribute to an amazing story.

05A Orbital 00
Nourse Terminal
Satellite Installation (Hermes)
DOCK: NONE

Alan E. Nourse.
 The "Blade Runner" Connection:  Interestingly, he wrote a 1974 novel titled The Bladerunner.
While Ridley Scott’s film was based on a different book (The Harry Harrison novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?), the production purchased the rights to Nourse’s title because they liked the name.

Many of his works focus on medicine and psionics. Nourse was a staple in 1950s pulp magazines like Galaxy and Astounding. Famous short stories include "Brightside Crossing" (about a dangerous trek on Mercury) and "The Coffin Cure".

NOTE: I recently read Brightside Crossing in a random anthology, just weeks before getting “Nourse Terminal” as a random roll on a Satellite Installation. It was an excellent read.

05A Orbital 01
Abe Beacon
Communication Installation (Alethia)
DOCK: NONE

Kōbō Abe (1924–1993), was a legendary Japanese author often called the "Kafka of Japan".
He is credited with popularizing science fiction in Japan. His 1959 novel, Inter Ice Age 4, is widely considered the first full-length Japanese science fiction novel and was the first to be translated into English.
His work explores futuristic evolution, global warming, and artificial intelligence, and presents a bleak portrayal of the near future. In addition to Inter Ice Age 4, he wrote the famous surrealist novel The Woman in the Dunes and The Ark Sakura.

I had never heard of him before googling the name.  His accomplishments are important landmarks, but having read a synopsis of the plot, his stories sound depressing to me.  Without taking away from Abe, I prefer my reading to instill wonder and fascination, even when they aren't typical "happy" tales.

06 Orbital 00
Parker Prospect
Civilian Outpost (Vesta)
DOCK: Medium

Eugene Parker & Richard Parker
Two greats, one a scientist, one a Sci-Fi author:

Eugene Parker (1927–2022), was known as the "Father of the Solar Wind." In the mid-20th century, Parker’s mathematical proofs regarding the constant outflow of stellar plasma were dismissed as impossible—until they weren't.
Parker’s legacy is now the bedrock of interstellar navigation.
His three pillars of discovery include the Parker Solar Probe (the first craft to "touch the Sun"), the Parker Spiral (the complex magnetic architecture of the heliosphere), and the Parker Limit (the theoretical cap on magnetic monopoles in the galaxy).

Richard Parker (1914–1990) was a novelist of the 1960s and 70s. His works, such as The Hendon Fungus and A Time to Choose, explore themes of parallel universes and ecological catastrophe.

Elite Dangerous - Grand Tour 05 - Sagan - Good - Due - Very - Diabate - Pauline Thrift Broz Estates

Elite Dangerous 05 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40
Sagan's Progress - Good Vista - Due Sanctuary - Very Sanctuary - Diabate Industry - Pauline Thrift Broz Satilla Estates
The Grand Tour, PAGE 05

NOTE: All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun. At least, according to the in-game architect’s view. There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts.
Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI. I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me. :^)

03 Surface 00
Sagan’s Progress
Refinery Hub
DOCK: NONE

Carl Sagan (1934–1996) was a world-renowned American astronomer, planetary scientist, and cosmologist who became the ultimate public ambassador for space exploration. While best known for his ground-breaking scientific research and the legendary PBS television series Cosmos, he was also an award-winning science fiction author. His work bridged the gap between complex astrophysics and deep human philosophy.
Sagan authored the legendary 1985 hard science fiction novel Contact, which was later adapted into the critically acclaimed 1997 Hollywood film. The story explores in meticulous detail the realistic geopolitical, scientific, and religious fallout on Earth after a radio telescope detects an encoded alien signal emanating from the Vega system.
All credit to Sagan, he was brilliant, and I respect him greatly; but Contact was a little "too" accurate for me.  I liked the way he presented humanity's response, but the ending felt like a cop-out.  It was like he took us on a fantastic road trip, but we all fell asleep at the end and missed something. 
It was a non-ending.  To say he left it for each person to decide is cheap.  I would rather he expressed his personal opinion, and then I could agree or argue with it, and it would make me think more deeply about what I believe, and why.  Maybe even (gasp) look stuff up, and learn something.  By the end of the movie... I just couldn't bring myself to care.  It wasn't just uninspiring, it was anti-inspiring.
This just kind of dragged me somewhere boring, and never bothered to draw a conclusion.  

I know, you probably hate me now.  Carl Sagan is a god among astronomers, and rightly so.  No disrespect meant, but that movie has bothered me for decades, and it was time to get it off my chest.

Back to real life... Sagan was directly involved in humanity’s earliest ventures into the void. He briefed Apollo astronauts before their moon flights and co-designed the historic Voyager Golden Records—the phonograph records containing sounds and images of Earth attached to both Voyager spacecraft, designed as a message to any extraterrestrial civilizations that might intercept them in interstellar space. As a scientist, he solved major mysteries about our solar system. He correctly hypothesized that Venus was not a tropical paradise but a scorching desert, and he accurately deduced that Saturn's moon Titan possessed oceans of liquid hydrocarbons.
Carl Sagan in real life was a giant, and left footprints that will forever mark his place in history.

03 Surface 01
Good Vista
Refinery Hub
DOCK: NONE

Not based on anybody or anything in particular… This is one of those that just sounded interesting or silly enough to catch my attention.

In this case, the random generator wasn't coming up with anything good, the evening was getting late, and this made me snicker. 
I thought of a couple of explorers standing on a mountain and gazing toward the horizon.
 One says “Look at that Vista! Great, isn’t it?!”
The other replies “I don’t know about ‘Great.’ ...Good, maybe.”
And thus, it became “Good Vista.”

It sounded better in my head… but it still makes me chuckle. 
And honestly, it helped that this was a support facility, has no landing pad of any size, and aside from this video, will probably never be visited again.  There was no motivation to keep clicking.

03 Surface 02 
Due Sanctuary
Refinery Hub
DOCK: NONE

Again… this planet just seemed to strike a common vein.  All the stations pulled pointless or silly names.  
Due Sanctuary? Is it like a temple? A place of worship?
Are all visitors welcome and protected? Are there fees for joining? Are visitors guaranteed safety?  
Does it owe them peace and solace?   
Are they… “Due Sanctuary?”

03 Surface 03 
Very Sanctuary
Refinery Hub
DOCK: NONE

And in a similar vein…
Very Sanctuary is somehow “more sanctuary than thou.” It’s VERY sanctuary.

Sorry.  With Good, Due, and Very all in a row, it's no wonder I accepted a 'stretch' on the next one.

03 Surface 04
Diabate Industrial
Industrial Settlement Large
DOCK: Large

I promised a stretch on this one.

Dr. Diabaté is a key character in the critically acclaimed, contemporary science fiction television series Pluribus. In the series, Diabaté is a brilliant but morally ambiguous survivalist dealing with an apocalyptic, alien hive-mind takeover of Earth. Because the alien hive-mind complies with human commands without understanding individual agency, Diabaté uses his unique status to manipulate the hive to live a life of absolute, unchecked luxury while the rest of civilization crumbles around him.

The stretch?  I love sci-fi, and have never heard of this series.  Since I don't know anything about it, the description is straight from an AI.  Except I deleted a LOT of unnecessary superlatives.  AI's seem to have studied at the L. Ron Hubbard school of overwriting.  

03 Surface 05
Pauline Thrift Broz – Satilla Estates      (was Clayton)
Large Planetary Port (T3)
DOCK: Large

This is the important base on this planet.  It's a T3, and took a LOT of planetary landings to build.  And it's the primary commodity market for CMM Composites in this system.  It's matched up to the Dodecahedron station in orbit around the same planet.

It ties in to “Satilla River Tuplar.” While the Tuplar was a generational landmark tree on the shores of the Satilla (and the land nearby has been in the family for generations as well), this Large Planetary Port represents my Mom’s land, family, and home.
From her father, she inherited a few acres.  Some of it on the Satilla River, but extending directly away so that the bulk of the property is not on the river.  One of 7 children, Mom seems to have fallen into the roll of Family Matriarch after her Mom (Nanny, to the grands and great-grands) passed away. More than anybody else, she seems to be the glue that keeps our extended families together. 
As time passes and new generations are born away from the river, that glue is dissolving.  I think my son's generation will be the last to know the closeness that comes from this kind of family life, and none of us have the experience of Mom's generation, of growing up together with in a huge family, on a farm where everybody had to work closely to survive.

I think of this area with its rich family history, and the Satilla that flows past it, as her “Satilla Estates.”

Elite Dangerous - Grand Tour 04 - Satilla River Tuplar

Elite Dangerous 04 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40
Satilla River Tuplar - Dodec Starport
The Grand Tour, PAGE 04

NOTE: All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun. At least, according to the in-game architect’s view. There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts.
Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI. I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me. :^)

The Tuplar Tree, circa 1970s

03 Orbital 00
Satilla River Tuplar
Dodec Starport (T3)
Dock: Large

This one is highly personal. I spent much of my childhood visiting my grandmother near the Satilla River in Georgia. All the grandkids called her Nanny, but her name was Gladys Thrift. Mom grew up there, one of seven children in an extraordinarily rural area.
When Dad retired we moved there permanently. I got to spend my favorite growing-up years fishing on the Satilla, exploring the surrounding woods and swamp.

The “Tuplar” tree (local dialect, it was actually a Swamp Tupelo) was the absolute best place in the entire world. It was the prettiest cove, with the tree standing out on a spit of land, like an isthmus.  Sometimes, I'd just come there to read.  There was a bent tree near the bank that grew horizontally for about 6 feet, then curved upward.  I could slouch into that curve, and read for hours.

It was also one of the best places to fish.  Just cut a couple of forked sticks, put them into the ground, cast your line out, and set the pole on the sticks.  Anchor them firmly, because some fish were strong enough to drag the rod and reel into the river.
I liked to fish with two lines, and if the fishing was slow enough I'd take my book, climb up that tree, and read while waiting for a bit.  (I always had a book, because you never knew when you'd get a good chance to read.)  

That Tuplar tree stood guard over at least four generations of my family; Mom tells me it was there when she was little, her parents fished there before her time.  She and her siblings grew up fishing there, and my sister and I grew up fishing there.  We each brought our kids to it as well. 

After standing guard for generations of our family, erosion and age eventually brought the Tuplar down.   I'm not sure if my son was grown up when it fell.  I was in the military and couldn't visit as often as I liked.  

Now I live about an hour's drive away, and return home regularly to visit Mom.  Don't go back to the river any more.  The fallen trunk and tangled roots are still there, but I don’t like seeing it that way. Things change, time passes… I don’t have to like it, though.  

In my mind, and my heart, the Tuplar Tree will always be standing guard on the Satilla.

Elite Dangerous - Grand Tour 03 - Reinhold, Arnold, Foster, Bamford

 Elite Dangerous 03 Col 285 Sector WL-L c8-40
Dear Lab CONCOURSE - Reinhold Hub - Arnold Legacy - Foster Town - Bamford Vista
The Grand Tour, PAGE 03

NOTE:  All 138 facilities built in this system are listed (and shown) in order of distance from the sun.  At least, according to the in-game architect’s view.  There's a total of slightly over 18 hours of video, so the video, and the descriptions, are broken into smaller portions across multiple posts.
Some descriptions were written by myself, some with the help of AI.  I've personally edited all of them, so if you must blame someone, blame me.  :^)

01 Orbital 00

Reinhold Hub
Security Installation – Nomos (T2)            DOCK: NONE

Reinhold W. Goll was a dedicated author of the pioneer-era planetary adventure, contributing significantly to the juvenile science fiction boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He’s best known for the Veta series, including The Visitors from Planet Veta and Spaceship to Planet Veta, which captured the public's growing fascination with interstellar travel just as the real-world space race was beginning to accelerate.
Goll’s writing focused on the mechanics of discovery and the thrill of the unknown, often following courageous crews as they navigated the void to reach distant, mysterious worlds like those found in Through Space to Planet T. By blending a sense of wonder with the emerging scientific optimism of his time, Goll provided a vital entry point for young readers into the broader world of speculative fiction, making his name synonymous with the spirit of the early frontier.

(This station was a trouble child. Refused to give me anything directly useful; by the time I got “Reinhold” nearly an hour later, I was more than ready to accept a first-name reference.)

01 Orbital 01
Arnold Legacy
Mining/Industrial Installation (Phorcys)      DOCK: NONE

Edwin Lester Arnold stands as a pivotal architect of modern speculative fiction, bridge-building between Victorian adventure and the vibrant pulp era of the 20th century. His Vacation (1905), is widely recognized by scholars as a primary inspiration for Edgar Rice Burroughs, introducing the "military-man-on-Mars" trope and the vivid, decaying civilizations that would define the planetary romance.
Arnold’s earlier novel, The Wonderful Adventures of Phra the Phoenician, further showcased his fascination with immortality and historical continuity, using a protagonist who wakes across different eras of British history to explore the evolution of human society. By infusing his narratives with a blend of scientific curiosity and high-fantasy stakes, Arnold provided the essential framework for the "Sword and Planet" genre, ensuring that his legacy remains embedded in the core of every interstellar epic that followed.

I haven't read Arnold before, but when this project is done, I hope to find some of his works.  It would be fascinating to see how he compares to Burrough's Swordsman of Mars stories.

02 Orbital 00
Foster Town
Research Installation (Dione)      DOCK: NONE

Alan Dean Foster stands as one of the most prolific and reliable world-builders of the late 20th century, somewhere between hard science fiction and the sweeping adventure of the "New Space Opera" era. His writing is characterized by a deep, biological curiosity—often focusing on complex ecosystems and non-hostile alien symbiosis—delivered with accessible prose that made him a mainstay of the 1970s and 80s paperback boom.
He is widely known for the interstellar Humanx Commonwealth, but he also masterfully blurred the lines between genres in his Coramonde series.  This duo has to be my all-time favorite story from Foster; I'm not even sure how many times I read it, but it was... several, anyway.
In The Doomfarers of Coramonde (1977) and its sequel The Starfarers of Coramonde (1978), Foster achieved a rare feat: bringing a modern armored personnel carrier and its crew from the jungles of Vietnam into a high-fantasy realm of sorcery and dragons. By grounding the fantasy in military grit and technology, Foster proved that a "hard SF" sensibility could make even a fight against a bronze dragon feel believable.

02 Orbital 01
Bamford Vista
Communication Installation (Pistis)      DOCK: NONE

Robert Allen Bamford Jr. was a quintessential "workhorse" of the mid-century pulp era, a writer who operated in the trenches of the 1940s and 50s magazines and helped define the transition from simple space opera to a more grounded, gritty realism.
Often writing as Alan L. Hart, Bamford was a master of the short story, specializing in psychological suspense and the human cost of technological progress—a style that made him a staple in high-concept anthologies right next to legends like Ray Bradbury.
His story "The Last Outpost" is a definitive example of his work, exploring the crushing isolation and mental strain of soldiers stationed on the edge of the galaxy, while "Decision at Dawn" highlights his talent for tight, high-stakes drama centered on the ethical dilemmas of future command. Though he often worked in the shadow of the genre’s "Big Three," Bamford’s contribution to the history of the pulps provided the realistic structure that made the "Golden Age" feel like a lived-in, dangerous reality rather than just a scientific playground.