Jovian Helium Cooperative

Every helium-3 fusion drive in the solar system eventually traces its fuel to a gas giant, and the Jovian Helium Cooperative is the biggest supplier. Founded on Ganymede in 2147, the cooperative refines helium-3 and deuterium from Jupiter's upper atmosphere and sells pellets to shipping lines, power stations and shipyards.

Twelve Nimbus Gas Skimmers do the hard work. A Nimbus dives into Jupiter's atmosphere and scoops hydrogen into its fusion ramjet, refuelling itself as it goes, so its net consumption is only about 0.6 tonnes per 100 AU. Each skimmer returns with up to 9,000 tonnes of raw gas and is flown by two pilots. At 235 million credits apiece, the cooperative says a Nimbus earns back its price in under three years at current helium-3 prices.

Three Polaris Relay Tenders keep the cooperative's radiation-hardened beacons and weather satellites working in Jupiter's punishing magnetosphere, and two Atlas Heavy Freighters carry refined pellets sunward in 52,000-tonne lots.

Operating in the Jovian radiation belts is hard on crews and electronics alike. The cooperative rotates skimmer crews every 40 days, and the Nimbus cockpit is shielded with water jackets drawn from the ship's own reserves. The cooperative's members are mostly families from Ganymede and Callisto, and profits are shared by flight hour, which keeps the fleet flying close to the clock.

In 2186 a Jovian skimmer crew rode out a storm system near the Great Red Spot for nine hours, an episode that led Halcyon to strengthen the Nimbus scoop intakes. Kenji Watanabe of Halcyon's sales engineering team supports the account.