The WF Hokusai (Patreon)

Name, design, and background in collaboration with 61 Cygni supporter Colin Sinclair.

When Sora Ruku, as head of R&D of Kawarimasu-Ruku Astrotech, finally managed to win a contract to build a WF ship, many in Japan - including the big manufacturing players - laughed. How could this upstart company, known only for manufacturing equipment for gene therapy and other pharma industries, possibly build a Weird-Field Spaceship. Unknown to everyone else, KRA had secretly been building WF tech components for several years, perfecting the processes and techniques needed to construct a spaceship. Using this knowledge to develop their skills across a broad range of areas. Once the licence and instruction set was received, KWA amazed the world by having the WF Hokusai built and operational in only seven months, and significantly under predicted budget. 

Naming the ship the Hokusai, after the 18th/19th century painter - famous for his ‘Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji’, was a direct snub to the established companies of Japan who had shown KWA so little respect.

Planning remains the watchword for KRA in all of its endeavours; every action taken by the company another considered step towards its longer term goal of positioning itself as a major player in the development of WF-tech dependent gene therapies. The WF Hokusai gave KRA low-cost access to space--without the necessity of relying on other companies and their ships or launch facilities--and this first foot-hold led to the company's early explorations of the inner planetary orbits and the asteroid belt. This highly publicised series of survey missions not only provided substantial amounts of valuable data for scientists, governments, and other corporations, but was also essential in determining the prime location for the first of KRA's off-planet research stations.