View source for Denobulan Institute of Space Sciences

The Denobulan Institute of Space Sciences  (often abbreviated to D.I.S.S. in the Federation standard language)  is one of the foremost scientific educational and research facilities on Denobula,  located on the eastern side of the expensive and exclusive Denobulan capital city. Primarily focused on the space sciences, such as astrophysics, cosmology, astrogeology and advanced technologies for the study and exploration of space, the Institute has a Federation-wide reputation for excellence and for contributing many noteworthy scientists to other galactic institutions as well as Starfleet.


The Institute is  one of few on Denobula to have more than one campus (space being at a premium on the very highly populated Denobulan continent),  being split into the main theoretical sciences campus and a smaller single-building technology centre  a few miles away across the city. The main campus is composed of three interconnected skyscrapers positioned in a perfect quadrilateral triangle with walkways between all three on every fourth floor, save  for the final ten floors of the newest Lessik Tower and the original Lamet Tower - the oldest and considered to be the primary building of the Institute which stands one hundred feet (thirty metres) taller than the two newer towers (at sixty five stories) and houses the  institute's administrative offices, the bulk of the laboratories and teaching spaces and the Kasmer Observatory on the roof which contains the second most powerful surface-based  telescope in the entire United Federation of Planets. The Lamet Tower is designated a grade two building of planetary importance.


The secondary tower, named for the 23rd century Denobulan physicist Braxel Stands at fifty three stories and houses the larger and more specialised laboratories, offices for attending academics and graduate students, the smaller and more specialised departments, libraries and open workspaces,  the Institute's main computer mainframe and a revolutionary clean energy powerplant created by the Institute's technology centre which provides enough energy for all four buildings  of the Institute and an area of approximately five miles radius around the main campus in every direction. The Braxel Tower is a planet-famous landmark, its entire above-ground presence clad in  an advanced form of see-through solar panel instead of traditional window fittings which reflect the Denobulan sun in an ever-shifting myriad of rainbows across the city. The Braxel Tower is often referred to as the 'Great Shiner' or 'The Great Sun Dial' and the positions of its reflections on the buildings of the city around are monitored via an array of satellites to  to provide exact Denobulan Standard Time (DST, also aligned with DCT – Denobulan Central Time,  often incorrectly referred to as Denobulan Capital Time). The Braxel Tower is designated a grade one building of planetary importance.


The third and newest tower was named for the 24th century explorer Captain Lessik, leader of the world-famous and  eventually (presumably) doomed mission to the edges of known space between 2388 and 2397. The Lessik Tower  is the only one of the three not to adhere to a square floorplan for the entirety of its fifty five story height, instead moving to a right-angle triangle for the final ten floors (or half-floors). These floors house  apartments for the Institute dignitaries, the Chancellor, Dean, senior professors and visiting VIPs.  Moving down the tower is accommodation for graduate students,  professors, lecturers and associates, and further down again accommodation for the undergraduate students. The building has a resident capacity of thirty thousand and of the three towers has the most advanced turbo-lift system  to help service the resident population.  The floors immediately below ground level house an exclusive set of lifestyle establishments including a mall, many restaurants and eateries, two sports stadiums,  gymnasiums,  religious and spiritual centres, A medical centre, Security Centre, a four-theatre holographic cinema, a music studio, concert hall  and many other services  including  a small shuttle port. The Lessik tower has a fifty percent larger footprint than the other two towers at ground level And due to its high population has a state-of-the-art fire suppression system and a strict code of practice on building and furnishing materials and devices that can be used within the tower. The Braxel Tower Is designated a grade two building of planetary importance.


The final building and satellite campus of the Institute is the Arx Derin building or Arx Derin Campus,  located in the northern industrial area of the capital. Relatively diminutive compared to its  counterparts at the main campus the Arx Derin  building stands at any eight stories high, but is situated within a complex of land larger than that of the main campus which contains smaller outbuildings, testing centres and proving grounds. Students and faculty members based at the technology campus are eligible to live and work from the Lessik Tower but  often choose to take accommodation closer to Arx Derin for purposes of practicality. The technology centre takes around four percent of the academic student and staff body of the Institute, yet accounts for a much higher percentage of practical discoveries, benefactors and private and government work.