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 2020 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 2020. Its first line of research was nuclear fission-based propulsion, which was soon succeeded by fossil fuel and 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. Some of the results of these disasters were beneficial for future experiments and exploits, such as the destruction of the original launch facility providing research into better shielding, 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, despite numerous setbacks, accidents and disasters. Although all of these incidents were regulated to the Henderson area, along with nearby towns and communities, they would quickly become popularized due to various incidents, including, but not limited to: The REPCONN Shakes, an illness caused by children thinking the Isotope-239 igniting agent inside was Nuka-Cola, requiring the company to lock them away. Careless radioactive waste disposal would also come into play due to legal concerns and downplaying environmental damage. 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 into a quantum matter modulation-based weapon. 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. However, research continued into creating rocketry that would one day visit distant planets to mine for resources to send back to Earth.

By 2077, the quantum matter modulator project had completed, with the first fully working prototype assembled and working. 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.

Behind the scenes
REPCONN Aerospace is based on the real world PEPCON (Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada), a chemical plant formerly located in Henderson, Nevada, that produced ammonium perchlorate, an oxidizer used in solid propellant rocket boosters. The plant was destroyed due to a series of explosions determined to be caused by incorrect storage of the chemicals, known as the PEPCON disaster. The facility was rebuilt, but the company ultimately rebranded and relocated to Utah.