Otaran Congressional Space Command
 Emblem | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | May 27, 1959 |
| Jurisdiction | Otaran Congress |
| Headquarters | Kiribaya, Otara |
| Motto | Outward, for eternity |
| Employees | 35,059 (civilian) 6,014 (military) |
| Annual budget | $45.7 billion |
| Minister responsible |
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| Agency executives |
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| Parent department | Ministry of Defence |
| Website | www.OCSC.ocg |
The Otaran Congressional Space Command is a jointly independent and congressional defence agency consisting of a civilian space program and aerospace/aeronautical research program and the Otaran Congressional Military's space force, responsible for expanding and maintaining Otaran interests in space. The organization was established in 1959 with the overarching objective of achieving Otara's objectives for space, both civilian and military. In co-operation with Otaran private space companies Iris and Lukan, as well as prevalent aerospace companies such as Kankaite Aerospace and Lakoa, the OCSC has been responsible for leading the majority of Otara's space exploration efforts. OCSC is responsible for the development, maintenance, and execution of all governmental space initiatives in Otara, both civilian and military.
Mission and functions
The Otaran Congressional Space Command, as a whole, is responsible for the following:
- aerospace and aeronautics research and development
- space exploration
- space technology research and development
- manned and unmanned spaceflight
- space superiority
- space domain awareness (military, civilian, commercial)
- offensive and defensive space control
- command and control of spaceflights and satellites, both civilian and military
- space support to military and civilian operations
- missile early warning and defense
Spaceflight programs
Crewed programs
OHX Program (1959-1963)
The OHX Program was centered around the development of the technology necessary to put a man in orbit and return them safely. Otaran astonauts would mount rudimentary spacecraft known as ballistic capsules. On board a ballistic capsule arried into orbit by an early Messalina II launch vehicle, Leku Tanielu would become the first Otaran in space on December 28, 1961. The launch procedure for this mission required both the use of electronic and human computers, working in tandem, with human computers (Phillip Dowd, Meilani Rameka, Shinji Hirota) cross-checking trajectory equations being run by electronic computers. Through this method, the OHX program brought four Otaran astronauts into orbit before it's termination in 1963.
Kaite Program (1960-1966)
The Kaite Program, developing off of the OHX Program, placed a focus on enhancing the capabilities and practicality of ballistic capsules initially launched under the OHX designation. This led to the development of the Kaite spacecraft, which included multiple features which placed it several steps ahead of the OHX capsules. The Kaite spacecraft was separated into separate modules, including the Adapter module, housing the majority of the craft's critical systems, and the Reentry module, carrying the astronaut. Most notably, it was the first spacecraft to include in flight radar, artificial horizon, and an onboard computer system.
Using the newly created capsules, the Kaite Program placed a focus on researching and enhancing astronaut and spacecraft capability. The program served to adapt Otaran spacecraft for long-duration flights, as well as developing EVA techniques, space rendezvous, docking, and landing techniques that would prove extremely critical for the future of Otaran manned spaceflight. Techniques and methods learnt in this program would translate into every future manned program in some form, primarily in the early stages of the Oaho program.
Oaho Program (1960-1982)
The Oaho Program was one of the most expensive programs ever undertaken by the OCSC. It focused around the development of the largest launch vehicles and spacecraft at the time. The O3 and O3L families of rockets were far larger than any of the launch vehicles that preceded them, and they were necessary to develop in order to launch the Oaho spacecraft into orbit and beyond. The Oaho spacecraft consisted of a command module and service module, in later iterations including a lunar module. The command module housed the astronauts from the launch sequence to the return sequence, and featured an ablative heat shield, a reaction control system, and advanced steering controls such as atmospheric and altitude control. Similar to the Kaite adapter module, the service module included the critical systems necessary to support the command module, including fuel cell power generation with advanced liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen reactants, a reaction control system with propellants, and an antenna for long distance communications from lunar orbit. A Block II variation of the Oaho spacecraft would add on a lunar module, designed to land and stay on the moon using docking equipment innovated from the Kaite experiments.
The Oaho Program would land a total of 18 Otaran astronauts on the moon, the first of them being Ioane Kahuila, who landed on the moon in February 12, 1969. Moon landing missions were carried out in 1969, 1971, 1974, 1979, 1980, and 1982. Astronauts executed a variety of experiments while on the surface of the moon, collecting samples and conducting studies on soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismology, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields, and solar wind. Additionally, the last two landings were noted to include studies related to the feasibility of long-term sustained living both on the moon and in space, which would form the foundations for the Yuru and Kalei programs, launched decades later. The Oaho Program pioneered dramatic leaps in advances across several fields of technology, including avionics, telecommunications, and computers. Information gathered and tried during the program would be made public, and would spur innovators across Otara to develop the foundations for modern electronic infrastructure, long-distance communication, rapid communication, and advancements within the computing industry.
Yuru Program (1993-present)
Noticing the enormous costs of the Oaho Program and the toll they took on the OCSC's funds as a whole, the OCSC refrained from further manned missions to space for over a decade. For most of the intermittent decade, the OCSC dedicated its funds for manned programs towards Earth-based simulations and training using information collated from the Oaho Program, with a specific focus on deep space habitation, extravehicular activity, and accident management, with a goal of breeding the next generation of astronauts meant to participate in the upcoming Yuru Program. The Yuru Program was officially announced in 1993 (though it is estimated that the program had been underway since at least 1988), when the OCSC announced that it had ambitions to return to the Moon for a sustained period of time in the 2010s-2020s and land men on Mars by 2030. The stated goal of the Yuru program was to establish the necessary support infrastructure to achieve further Moon landings and future Mars landings. With such infrastructure in place, the OCSC presented that it could drastically reduce the costs of such ambitious projects, and avoid the funding pitfalls present within the previous Oaho Program.
From the beginning of the Program, OCSC teams worked in tandem with Iris development teams in the construction of two separate space stations - the Exploration Intermittent Platform and the Lunar Gateway Station. The Exploration Intermittent Platform, crewed by 6 astronauts, would be constructed in Low Earth Orbit, with parts being transported via O4 Block II Heavy and O5 Block V rockets between 2000-2005. It consists of an advance modular life support module outfitted with life support systems, crew storage, large laboratory space, and a computerized smart control system, and utility modules for extravehicular activity and maintenance. In 2005, it was transported to L2 Parking Orbit, and serves as a reusable launch platform for deep space exploration, refueling depot, service and maintenance station, telescope hub, and signal relay hub for Moon rovers and other lunar vehicles. The Lunar Gateway Station, a large space station intended to house up to 8 (minimum of 4) astronauts, would be constructed between 2005-2013, primarily utilizing the same O4 and O5 rockets used to construct the EIP, but later, with much more efficiency using O6 and O6 Heavy rockets, developed in tandem with Lukan Aerospace. The Lunar Gateway Station is by far the OCSC's most advanced space station, consisting of reusable support/supply modules, a habitation and logistics outpost (HALO) module, and an advanced propulsion system using solar electric power for Hall-effect thrusters. It serves as the OCSC's modern platform for lunar and deep space habitation studies, with infrastructure for studies the scientific disciplines of planetary science, astrophysics, heliophysics, space biology, and human biology in space.