StarCitizen:Roberts Space Industries

Roberts Space Industries, also known as RSI, is a StarCitizen:Human multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells spacecraft, vehicles, spacecraft components, and StarCitizen:space suits. It is one of the oldest and most influential space technology companies in the StarCitizen:United Empire of Earth (UEE), with origins reaching back to Humanity's first steps into the stars.<ref name="time2075">Template:Cite RSI</ref> Incorporated in StarCitizen:2038, RSI developed the StarCitizen:Quantum drive in StarCitizen:2075 and released the earliest StarCitizen:terraforming machinery used by Humans in 2113.<ref name="galactapedia">Template:Cite RSI</ref><ref name="jumppoint2">StarCitizen:Dave Haddock, StarCitizen:David Ladyman and StarCitizen:Ben Lesnick, Portfolio: Roberts Space Industries, Jump Point, vol. 5, no. 9, pp. 43-46, 2017-09-15.</ref>

File:RSI Fleet.png

The Roberts Space Industries fleet as of the 25th of March, StarCitizen:2956, presenting the StarCitizen:Aurora Mk II.

History

Founding and incorporation

Roberts Space Industries was officially formed in 2038 on StarCitizen:Earth by a young inventor named Chris Roberts, who established the core tenets of the company's philosophy long before he began working on his first creation.

"

Learn from the past, Reach for the future, Fuel innovation, Cultivate talent, Always be relevant

In the StarCitizen:21st Century, traveling to space was a rare and cost-prohibitive event for civilians. Earth was reaching a critical mass of overpopulation, and numerous wars erupted across the planet as the populace faced food, water, and energy shortages. Roberts formed a team to address some of the issues of the day. In StarCitizen:2043, RSI released its first product, a hyper-efficient battery converter for ground-based civilian vehicles. The company's initial products ranged from a compact water-purification system to an energy-efficient power network, and included a small expansion into cricket farming.<ref name="jumppoint2" />

Making space travel affordable

Although RSI found modest success in non-space products, Roberts continued to seek out greater innovations. In StarCitizen:2061, while studying a recent crop of doctoral dissertations from a prestigious engineering school, he came across the work of Dr. Scott Childress, whose thesis envisioned more affordable engine systems for spacecraft.

Because Roberts had long dreamed of making space travel more accessible, he met with the graduate and assembled a team to build a more affordable engine for spacecraft. The process was not without setbacks, but on StarCitizen:2075-05-03 RSI unveiled its prototype StarCitizen:quantum core engine.<ref name="time2075"/>

The StarCitizen:Quantum drive technology was immediately recognized around the world. Exploration missions became feasible, as piloted vessels could now push further into the solar system. Various states (called "countries" at that time) that previously could not afford space travel were suddenly able to embark on missions of their own.<ref name="jumppoint2" />

Death of Roberts and terraforming worlds

File:OffWorldAd.jpg

The Air You Breathe marketing campaign by RSI was instrumental in overcoming the public apprehension about colonization.

Making space more accessible did not solve the overpopulation on Earth, so Roberts pulled together a dedicated team from RSI's various subsidiaries to develop the company's most ambitious technology yet: StarCitizen:terraforming a planet. This pursuit became Roberts' obsession until he died in StarCitizen:2108. Although terraforming remained elusive during his life, the new CEO continued his corporate philosophy of seeking out innovators. After two generations of team members and almost forty years, RSI unveiled the world's first StarCitizen:Atmo-Processor on 2113-04-21, which laid the groundwork for terraforming a world.<ref>Template:Cite RSI</ref>

With a potential solution in sight, governments, corporations, and scientific minds came together to form a global collective focused on terraforming StarCitizen:Mars, which at the time was completely uninhabitable, to relieve the population problem on Earth.

The project lasted decades and suffered an incalculable loss when an accident, known as the StarCitizen:Mars Tragedy, caused the deaths of nearly five thousand early settlers. During the long course of this sprawling project, the chairman's policy of project diversification yielded another achievement. Responding to the difficulties faced by the terraforming division in transporting resources to Mars, RSI's Astro Development Team created the StarCitizen:Zeus, the first commercially available spacecraft.<ref name="jumppoint2" />

In 2460, while Earth was overcrowded and expansion and terraforming had opened vast amounts of territory for Humanity to move to, there was still apprehension among the public. It was not until RSI's "StarCitizen:The Air You Breathe" campaign that people began to move out into the universe, eager to start over on a new world.<ref>Template:Cite RSI</ref>

Messer Era

In the early 27th century, during the StarCitizen:Second Tevarin War, as the StarCitizen:Messers became more entrenched in their position, RSI lost its military contracts to StarCitizen:Aegis Dynamics, the manufacturer that built the weapons of war favored by StarCitizen:Ivar Messer. Several of RSI's divisions continued to work closely with the scientific bureaus and terraforming oversight committees in the StarCitizen:UPE, but the company as a whole converted into a primarily commercial and civilian corporation.<ref name="galactapedia" />

In StarCitizen:2757, in response to the death of StarCitizen:Anthony Tanaka, a twelve-year-old boy who had refused to work, RSI CEO StarCitizen:Avel Gedima acknowledged the death and ordered a complete evaluation of all RSI facilities to ensure that they adhered to health and safety standards. A few months later, Ulysses Messer X released "damning and incontrovertible evidence of corporate malfeasance" to the NewsOrgs, claiming that Gedima had embezzled imperial finances for personal use. The case languished in the courts for years, but the constant barrage of evidence forced Gedima to step down.<ref name="jumppoint2" /> RSI's military contracts were not reinstated until the end of the Messer Era.<ref name="galactapedia" />

Departments

Astro Development Team

The Astro Development Team (ADT) is responsible for designing and manufacturing smaller civilian-focused spacecraft, including the StarCitizen:Aurora and StarCitizen:Constellation lines. It is the team most aligned with the company's original vision of affordable spacecraft. All ship lines designed by the ADT are distant descendants of the original StarCitizen:Zeus (the Zeus name was retired in favor of the current star-themed naming around 2550).<ref name="jumppoint">StarCitizen:David Ladyman and StarCitizen:Ben Lesnick, Portfolio: Roberts Space Industries, Jump Point, vol. 1, no. 5, pp. 27-29, 2013-04-27.</ref>

Capital Development Team

The Capital Development Team (CDT) is responsible for designing and manufacturing larger spacecraft, usually under military contract. In addition to manufacturing civilian designs such as the StarCitizen:Mover transport, it serves as the prime contractor for the StarCitizen:Bengal carriers, among other projects. The CDT is involved with several dozen spacecraft lines at any one time, either as a prime contractor or as a system developer. Its headquarters is located at L5, where larger spacecraft can be constructed in orbit.<ref name="jumppoint" />

Engine Development Team

The Engine Development Team (EDT) is responsible for designing and manufacturing engine components such as the StarCitizen:Quantum drive, StarCitizen:jump engine, StarCitizen:power plant, and thruster systems. The EDT is the organization from which the company evolved, and it continually refines the Quantum drive technology the company patented almost 900 years earlier. Modern jump engines are made more efficient over generations of development, with a significant safety increase in each iteration. The EDT also develops in-house power plant and thruster systems for RSI spacecraft, with the overall goal of reducing cost in pursuit of the founder's dream of affordable private space travel. The EDT is headquartered in StarCitizen:Moscow, where its design facilities and prime engine factory are located.<ref name="jumppoint" />

Experimental Development Team

The Experimental Development Team (XDT), commonly referred to as Skunk Works, is responsible for top-secret government contracts and experimental projects using previously undeveloped technology. XDT efforts are not formally budgeted by RSI, and its projects never appear on any formal rosters. It is rumored that the XDT is responsible for much of the tear-down work done on StarCitizen:Vanduul technologies captured on the frontier. The XDT is headquartered on the dark side of StarCitizen:Luna, where vast tracts of territory were signed over to RSI in the early 23rd century for engine testing.<ref name="jumppoint" />

Future Foundation

The Future Foundation is a division of the company devoted to charitable foundations and grants, established after the fall of the Messer regime. It awards millions of credits a year to help promote education, fund new research, and provide housing opportunities.<ref name="jumppoint2" />

Trivia

• RSI partnered with PAW to set a standard for sustainable shipbuilding with the release of the StarCitizen:Meteor, which was designed with a commitment to protect [[StarCitizen::Category:Fauna|wildlife]], preserve habitats, and ensure clean materials throughout the manufacturing process.<ref>"RSI has partnered with PAW to set a new standard for sustainable shipbuilding with the release of the new Meteor. Designed with a commitment to protect wildlife, preserve habitats, and ensure clean materials throughout the entire manufacturing process.", @RobertsSpaceInd, Twitter, July 31 2025</ref>
• The name is sometimes misspelled by players as Roberts Space Industry.

See also

• Roberts Space Industries (video game publisher)

References

<references />