Severyan National Space Agency

The Severyan National Space Agency (Sniatyn: Северьян Национальное космическое агентство) is the governmental body responsible for the managing of the space science program of Severyane as well as being in-charge of general aerospace research. It was established on the basis of the now defunct Union Space Division in 1531.

The Headquarters of the SNSA is located in Severograd, and launch mission control is located near Delynogorsk in the Velikansha Steppes. Template:Infobox government agency

Creation

The Severyan National Space Agency was created following the final dissolution of the Union of People's Republics. The SNSA's operations and command structure is very much the same as the USR/UPR's Union Space Division's.

Severyans began their flirt with spacefaring in the year 1494, when the then Union of Socialist Republics tested a rudimentary rocket they had built using designs acquired from a defected Kaljuran Rocket Scientist. This first rocket was dubbed the Drotik-1 and was launched from a base deep in the heartland of the Velikansha Steppes in the South-Eastern reaches of the Severyan FSR. The initial tests of the Drotik-1 turned out poorly. Several of the rockets exploded on the pad and only one successfully made it airborne before crashing back down to the ground, only reaching a height of ten meters.

The USRAF was not to be discouraged, however, as they spent two years re-designing the crude Drotik-1. In 1497 the USRAF launched the Drotik-2 which successfully cleared Siora's atmosphere. The rocket ran out of fuel upon breaking through the atmosphere and was thrown into an unstable orbit, in which it stayed for 20 years before de-orbiting and burning up in the atmosphere. The design was eventually refined into a surface-to-orbit launch platform that had the ability to deliver small satellites into stable orbits around Siora.

Following the success of the Drotik Program the People's Council established the Union Space Division in early 1500.

In between 1500 and 1508 the Union Space Division launched several dozen satellites with various purposes, and developed a larger surface-to-orbit launch platform. In 1504 they also began development of a manned module and retrieval equipment which would be completed in early 1508. In an effort to display their spacefaring prowess to all of Siora, in 1509 the Union of Socialist Republics televised and launched a manned mission that sent two Cosmonauts, a Severyan and Kubanizan, into orbit around Siora. The two men orbited Siora a total of five times before their crew module de-orbited and splashed down in Viska Bay where they were safely retrieved.

In 1516, the Union Space Division launched an unmanned rover to Lun in an attempt to at least match the successful Nylander Lun mission. The mission was a success and the rover transmitted data back to Siora until it wass shut down in 1518. In 1526, the Union Space Division successfully put two Cosmonauts on the surface of Lun, becoming the second nation to do so.

In 1531 the Severyan National Space Agency was established by decree of the People's Council. Those who ran and worked in the Union Space Division preceding the collapse of the Union of People's Republics are called in to once again serve at the helm of the new Severyan initiative. Many answer the call and after some years of settling in the space program was running as efficiently as it had been.

Space flight programs

Manned programs

Privideniye (1542-1578)

Privideniye is the name given to the first Severyan space station. The station served as a microgravity research laboratory in which crews conducted experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and spacecraft systems with a goal of developing technologies required for permanent occupation of space.

Development began on 19 Fein 1542. The same design team that had developed the Bezbiletnik-1, with the exception of Doctor Vitaly Kirchin, began work on three modules that would make up the entire station: A habitat, a research lab, and a power-plant. The power-plant was launched in 1549 using the Buksir-9 Launch Vehicle, after the successful launch the Buksir-9's third stage carried the station module to an orbit of 290 Km. The habitat module and docking port were launched in 1552 and were similarly carried to the rendezvous point by the Buksir-9. The power-plant and habitat were assembled remotely. The third and final module was launched in 1555 and was attached remotely to the rest of the station, however final assembly was conducted in 1556 when the first Cosmonauts to inhabit the station were sent up.

In 1578 the station was de-orbited, and burned up somewhere over the Laural Sea.

Unmanned Missions

Project Bezbiletnik (1535-1538)

Project Bezbiletnik is the name given to the first real project undertaken by Severyane's newly established space agency. Those participating in the project had the goal of creating an unmanned lander with the purpose of penetrating the dense atmosphere or the Solen system's second planet Oren and transmitting data back to Siora.

In 1535 researchers based in the newly established SNSA Research Headquarters began development of the initial prototype lander. The design team was headed up by Doctor Vitaly Kirchin, a renowned engineer and physicist who served in the Union Space Division program. The early issues faced by the design team included: designing a battery that would maintain charge long enough to collect and transmit the desired data, designing transmitters and telemetry equipment that could cut through the thick atmosphere, and designing a chassis that could withstand the significant pressure present in the atmosphere of Oren.

In 1537 the initial design was completed, constructed, and tested in an artificial pressure chamber built specifically for the lander, named Bezbiletnik-1. It seemingly passed the pressure test and was given the green light, with a launch date set in the early weeks of 1538. Following launch the Bezbiletnik-1 successfully completed its initial escape trajectory towards Oren, it arrived in mid-1538. After its arrival and stabilization of orbit it transmitted several thousand pictures taken over several hundred orbits. The flight engineers initiated the landing sequence and guided Bezbiletnik-1 into the upper atmosphere. Initially all went well, and a treasure trove of scientific data was transmitted back to the command center. However upon reaching the lower atmosphere of the planet Bezbiletnik-1 was crushed under the intense pressure.

Following an investigation it was determined that the pressure chamber used to test the prototype probe was faulty and provided false-positive results.

Strannik (1555-1562)

The Strannik was an unmanned rover sent to Lun in order to collect samples of Lunar rock and soil. It was designed in 1555 and approved for launch in 1560 and it was carried into orbit by the Buksir-9 launch platform.

The Strannik module arrived on the surface of Lun three days after it was initially parked in orbit around Siora. Once touching down the Strannik rover exited the capsule and began the collection process. It remained on Lun for a total of two years collecting data and samples before returning to and reembarking upon the capsule. The capsule, using its five rocket engines, departed the Lunar surface for its three day return trip to Siora. The Capsule touched down in Viska Bay on 12 Elva 1562 and was successfully retrieved by the Severyan Naval ship SNV Uragan.

Facilities

SNSA Headquarters

The Main SNSA Headquarters is located on the outskirts of Severyane's capitol city of Severograd. The building resides on a specially constructed campus and the main road leading to the facility is named Nebula Court (Sniatyn: Туманность Суд). The campus itself, serving as an Engineering University, is a total of 20.54 km². The main headquarters building is a low-rise building in the center of the entire campus. The building houses SNSA leadership who provide overall guidance and direction to Severyan People's Council and the Premier under the leadership of the SNSA Director.