Cenaesian Space Authority
Cluaine na Córoine | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | CSA |
|---|---|
| Motto | Cras Es Noster |
| Formation | 1979 |
| Headquarters | Moscou, Crown Kingdoms |
Official language | Cenaesian, Rhineish, Midland |
Administrator |  |
| Cenaesian Orbital Tether Hub, Terra | |
Parent organisation | Member states |
Budget |  $751.00 billion (2067) |
Staff | 75,987 |
The Cenaesian Space Authority (CSA) is a Supranational Union created to develop, enforce, and coordinate standards for activty in Terran orbit and beyond by national governments and private entities alike. Since its inception the Cenaesian Space Authority has assisted in individual national space programs to coordinate and collaborate with other Cenaesian, and occasionally non-cenaesian, space programs to develop joint rocketry and scientific programs. CSA has a staff of over seventy-five thousand personnal spread between various missions, projects, and facilities. The organization was first founded as a way to facilitate the legal and standardization discussions needed to make plans for an international space station come to fruition.
The Cenaesian Space Authority effectively regulations space travel in the Sol System, and is the principal operator of the Terran Orbital Tether Network and coordinates efforts for the development and maintenance of the Terran Orbital Defense Matrix.
History
Early Operations (1979-1981)
The Cenaesian Space Agency was formed in October 1979 in order to facilitate the necessary bureaucratic functions needed to create an international space station which was interoperable with the equipment of the various national space programs of the Cenaesian continent. Specifically, the space station was meant to eventually house ten spásaire (Rhineish: Astronaut) concurrently. In order to accomplish this, the space programs of the Crown Kingdoms, Midland Republic, and the Republic of Tortuga Blanca created the original charter of the CSA— empowering the organization to set binding technical standards and procedures. z Among the first standards developed was a new universal docking adaptor known as the Universal D'ocking Mechanism, capable of providing access for personal as well as the connection of utilities such as power, communications, and fuel between voidcraft. In the interim, to minimize expenses, a universal adaptor series was designed which had on the exterior facing side the newly standardized connections of the UDM and on the interior crossover connectors compatible with each of the nations disparate standards. As a result the three adaptors were dubbed the Universal Docking Mechanism Adaptor Series A/B/C. Each letter represented the nonstandard docking port which it was compatible with.
| Universal Docking Mechanism Adaptor Series | Equivalent Docking Mechanism | Nation |
|---|---|---|
| UDMAS-A | Mk3 Intra-Voidcraft Access Way | Crown Kingdoms
|
| UDMAS-B | Voidcraft Docking Ring | Template:Country data Midland Republic |
| UDMAS-C | Transfer Node Adaptor | Template:Country data Tortuga Blanca |
In addition to developing standardized docking specifications, the CSA developed a detailed roadmap to identify key timelines and goals of the joint space station. Specific goals included scientific research projects, the examination of space upon the human body, and the development of advanced space construction and manufacturing techniques. The last objective was of particular interest to officials in the Crown Kingdoms.
Out of the roadmap the decision was reached to utilize a service module initially designed for use aboard the Mag Mel Space Station series, developed and launched by the Imperial Cenaesian Crown Space and Aerospace Ministry (ICCSAM). In order to launch it into orbit a Duck VI Medium Lift Rocket from the Midland Republic.
International Station (1981-1990)
With the development of the roadmap, dubbed the Cenaesian Consensus Upon Low Terran Void Exploration Development, ground was broken on a facility in the Highlander Federation. Located in Rockwall along the edge of the Meridian Bay, the facility would serve as a physical research and development center for the CSA to develop physical standards further. Additionally, the facility would be the most advanced center for voidflight in the whole of the Highlands as the nation became a signatory and member of the CSA.
In October of 1984, the Union service module was shipped to the newly opened Rockwall Voidflight Research and Monitoring Campus for final testing and evaluation before being shipped to Tojo Republican Voidflight Launch Complex in the Midland Republic. Poor weather delayed the launch multiple times until finally, the module launched aboard a Duck VI rocket. Communication was established and its solar arrays were deployed a day later, with mission control occurring from Tojo Launch Complex and tracking from Rockwall Campus.
Additional progress was made rapidly, as CSA facilities expanded alongside ground facilities of other national space programs in Cenaesia. Notably, CSA and ICCSAM research teams collaborated on the design and construction of the Moscou Voidcraft Materials Testing and Handling Laboratory. The campus was an expansive 250,000 square meters of manufacturing, research, and final assembly space. The laboratory would go on to eventually design the Tortuga launch vehicle, a cheap medium-lift vehicle which was later used as the base for the Imperial Cenaesian Navy's Tech Duinn ballistic missile, a submarine-launched weapon.
Prior to its decommissioning in 1989, the International Void Station grew to approximately 180 tons. This weight was composed of four solar arrays, two radiators, and four modules alongside a support truss. The station generated valuable scientific insight and provided a jumpstart to the commercial satellite industry as commercial payloads hitched rides aboard rockets bringing new supplies and modules to the station.
Economic Downturn (1990-1991)
The 1990 stock market crash brought the Terran economy to its knees for several quarters, and economic growth slammed to a measly .3% worldwide from its 1989 5.3%. Subsequently, budgets for space travel were slashed in all member states. Smaller budgets and the success of the International Void Station resulted in the remaining nations of Cenaesia to pool their resources as members of the CSA. Additionally, the rapid decline of commercial launches of satellites and other payloads during the crisis resulted in the financial collapse of financially overextended launch companies such as the Cenaesian Launch Consortium. These launch companies, however, were almost entirely state-owned. Resultingly, governments eager to generate additional revenue sold the financially distressed assets to two of the largest players— the Crown Kingdoms owned Crown Void Services and the privately owned Void Interest Consortium.
This consolidation of firms resulted in the number of different launch systems dropping from an estimated forty systems to a mere ten. As governments cut interest rates and the economy recovered, the newly gained power of the CSA allowed it to press forward with a new mission. In November of 1991, the Tojo Launch Complex was reactivated for non-military use as plans for a new joint voidstation, dubbed Cenaesia II, were developed.