Courage program
 The Courage program's historic launch of the Blue Eagle rocket with 16 astronauts aboard in the first manned-interplanetary mission to Eirus, June 5th, 2021 | |
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The Courage program is a internationally-funded human spaceflight program that has the goal of "landing man on Eirus", specifically at the south pole region by 2023. The program is carried out predominantly by the ZSA, Zamastanian commercial spaceflight companies contracted by ZSA, and international partners including the ASP (Avergnon), CSRDA (Cadair), RCI (Ruskayn), CTA (Durnstaal), VCA (Vulkaria), YSEI (Yuan), DLR (Drambenburg), and BESA (Beleroskov). ZSA is leading the program, but expects international partnerships to play a key role in advancing Courage as the next step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Eirus, laying the foundation for private companies to build a planetary economy, and eventually sending humans to other possibly habitable planetary bodies.
Since the early 2000s, ZSA had worked on numerous projects designed to test human limitations on the surface of other planets for possible habitation and colonization. The concept operates through three distinct phases leading up to fully sustained colonization. Zamastan has several robotic missions currently exploring Eirus, with a sample-return planned for the future. The Albatross Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is intended to serve as the launch/splashdown crew delivery vehicle, with a Deep Space Habitat module providing additional living-space for the 16-month-long journey.
The first stage, already underway, is the "Iearth Reliant" phase. This phase continues using the Coalition Space Station until 2026; validating deep space technologies and studying the effects of long-duration space missions on the human body. The second stage, "Proving Ground," moves away from Iearth reliance and ventures into cislunar space for most of its tasks. The stage would test deep-space habitation facilities, and validate capabilities required for human exploration of Eirus. Finally, phase three is the transition to independence from Iearth resources. The "Iearth Independent" phase includes long term missions with surface habitats that only require routine maintenance, and the harvesting of Eirusian resources for fuel, water, and building materials.
On December 27th, 2020, ZSA Director Thibault Berger and Secretary of Space Science, Development, and Exploration Piyush Goyal announced that the Zamastanian Space Agency would be leading an internationally organized manned-mission to Eirus, the fourth planet in the Estrella System, in the goal of setting up a long term habitation and colonization program on its surface. The mission, named the Courage program, and with the first launch consistent of 16 astronauts (6 Zamastanian, the remaining 10 from Durnstaal, Vitosium, Caspia, Yuan, and Avergnon), launched on June 5th, 2021, and will arrive at Eirus in January 2022. The second flight is expected to launch on February 3rd, 2022.
History
Planning
Test stage
Manned mission
Courage 1
On June 5th, 2021, the Blue Eagle rocket launched from Tregueux International Space Center with 16 astronauts from six nations aboard for the first manned-interplanetary mission, traveling to Eirus in order to establish a colony. It is set to touchdown on January 13th, 2022. The flight is non-returnable, meaning the astronauts will be permanently remaining on Eirus establishing and monitoring the colony. The first steps of the mission upon arrival is to establish the colony site, known as Site A, specifically to construct the basic utilities (oxygen, power, local communications, waste disposal, sanitation and water recycling), habitats, storage facilities, shop workspaces, the airlock, for pressurization and dust management, resource extraction equipment—initially for water and oxygen, later for a wider cross section of minerals. The mission will also bring building materials and equipment for energy production and energy storage, mostly in the form of solar farms. Components of a Eirus crewed-rover will also be brought to the site on the first mission, made with a joint Quetanan and Beatavic design.
Courage 2
Courage 2, the second manned flight in the courage program, is slated to launch on February 3rd, 2022. It is set to touchdown on September 18th, 2022. Upon arrival to Eirus but prior to touchdown, this crew will dispatch multiple orbital satellites to further integrate communications and efficiency with equipment on Eirus and Iearth respectively. The mission will also bring equipment for food production spaces and propellant production equipment in hydrogen and methane through the Sabatier reaction for fuel—with oxygen oxidizer—for chemical rocket engines. The last components of the rover will be delivered upon this arrival as well.
Courage 3
Courage 3, the second manned flight in the courage program, is slated to launch on June 11th, 2022 and arrive on January 12th, 2023. Fuels or other energy source for use with surface transportation will be transported alongside this mission, with carbon monoxide/oxygen (CO/O2) engines suggested for early surface transportation use as both carbon monoxide and oxygen can be straightforwardly produced by zirconium dioxide electrolysis from the Eirus atmosphere without requiring use of any of the water resources to obtain hydrogen. The first components of a nuclear-energy production reactor will also be delivered in this stage, to be completed upon the arrival of Courage 5 in 2024.
Supporting Programs
Launch Vehicles
Spacecraft
Landers
Astronauts
Courage 1
The astronauts who are slated for the mission are as follows:
- Joel Simpson (Zamastan)
- Kayla Marshall (Zamastan)
- Zachary Davies (Zamastan)
- Trevor Sykes (Zamastan)
- Walter Cochran (Zamastan)
- Jayden Richards (Zamastan)
- Gauti Anorsson (Caspiaa)
- Jessica Meir (Avergnon)
- Oksana Seitz (Durnstaal)
- Karsten Boyko (Durnstaal)
- Armando Nariatra (Vitosium)
- Sintia Lavaliotti (Vitosium)
- Ma Jing (Yuan)
- Huang Cheng (Yuan)
- Zi Ruogang (Yuan)
- Eugeni Ruslanovich (Beleroskov)
Courage 2
The astronauts who are slated for the mission are as follows:
Courage 3
The astronauts who are slated for the mission are as follows:
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