WX Ursae Majoris

Overview
WX Ursae Majoris is a binary star system located approximately 15.8 ly from the Sun. It is designated as a free buffer system.

Astronomy
WX Ursae Majoris, originally catalogued as Gliese 412, is home to two dim red dwarf stars, of spectral types M2V and M6, and relative masses of .48 and .10 respectively. The stars orbit each other at approximately 180 AU.

Two planets are present in the system. One, designated WX 9 AB, is a mineral-rich planet with an extremely thin atmosphere composed largely of nitrogen and sulfur dioxide, requiring mining operations to provide their own life-support systems. Extraction of extremely high-quality copper ore has been possible, minimizing the need to import bulky and expensive concentrators. The other planet, designated WX 9 AC, is extremely cold and boasts an atmosphere composed largely of carbon dioxide. Its surface boasts large quantities of water ice, as well as various mineral deposits. These primarily consist of low-grade bauxite deposits, though several areas of high-quality platinum have been claimed and developed by UNCS-affiliated corporations.

Politics and Government
The system, as a buffer zone, has maintained its independent status for the last several decades since its original colonization and development. Some consideration has been given to joining the Northern Systems Coalition alongside 40 Eridani, ostensibly for security purposes. WX Ursae Majoris' population is concentrated on WX 9 AB, home to approximately twenty thousand miners, dependents, and support personnel. The second population base is located on the permanent space station X337K9, a four-drum centrifugal facility primarily given over to refueling and cargo handling. Its population numbers nearly eight hundred. WX 9 AC has been largely unsettled, thanks to UNCS interference in violation of the Van Maanen Treaty. This includes stationing aerospace and orbital-combatant forces on and around the planet, in an effort to maintain a monopoly on its mineral resources. The UCSA has been generally reluctant to interfere, as the Confederacy's member system-states are primarily viewed as competition for WX 9 AB's copper production, and support for it is not particularly high. However, a small Provisional IRA cell has been reported to operate in the vicinity of WX 9 AB and X337K9, and is rumored to have participated in a raid on UNCS mining facilities in conjunction with a UCSA-flagged bulk freighter.