Kalistan

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Kalistan successfully places artificial Satellite into Orbit
"Proof of Concept" object sends radio signals to Kalistan four times before falling out of orbit
Spencer, Duchy of Suldnor
January 2, 5572


ISCA's Solaris 1 Rocket produces 39,000 foot/tons of thrust

The Imperial Space and Communications Administration has successfully launched a man made object capable of emitting a radio signal that was received in Kalistan, making it the first satellite launched from Kalistan.  The satellite, which entered Terran Orbit at an average height of about 350 miles, and began with an average speed of more than 20,000 miles per hour circled Terra four times, before its orbit decayed to the point that the gravity of Terra was strong enough to pull it back into the atmosphere.  As it hit the upper layers of the atmosphere, it was still travelling at about 18,000 miles per hour, and immediately burned up on entry.

"The radio transmitter that we launched was about the size of a basketball and it weighed over 100 pounds all told," said project leader Dena Alonzo.  "To propel this item to the appropriate location where it could complete even a single orbit, we needed to design and test a new rocket that would not only go to the edges of space, but would be able to arrive there faster and then burn much longer than the spear design.  In 5568, following the first successful rocket launch, we began working on the design for the Solaris rocket, which is still a single stage liquid fuel rocket similar to the Spear, but carries a significantly higher amount of fuel, and redesigns the nozzle to increase efficiency during burn phase."

The standard rocket design, which Kalistan seems to have perfected, would still not be enough to achieve orbit speeds and distances.  "We had to overcome this problem by developing a remote throttle to power the rocket back once the forces of gravity affected the rocket body less.  In other words, after the initial roll sequence that aligned the rocket with the proper trajectory to achieve orbit, and after escaping the atmosphere, it was possible to throttle the engine back to about 60 percent, and conserve fuel.  Then for the final roll, we could throttle the engine up, expend the fuel, separate the rocket body from the payload and deploy the satellite.  We worked out all the math here in Spencer, and we so incredibly thrilled that it worked."

Once deployed, the satellite switched on to begin broadcasting a short radio message in Morse code.  Anyone with the proper listening device could hear the message as it flew from north to south over the poles.  "The message said 'I want my M7'," said Dr Alonzo with a laugh.  "Can you imagine that being the first message Kalistani receivers got from space from our very first Satellite? How ridiculous and appropriate for this country."  The satellite completed four longitudinal orbits over the Anantonese Ocean before decaying in the air over Dovani.  "We heard the satellite once every 100 or so minutes as it came across out horizon, travelling south to north," said Dr. Alonzo, "and everyone was a little sad as we waited for the fifth time, but realized it was never going to fly back to our side of the planet."

Dr. Alonzo said that ISCA has declared the launch and mission a complete success.  "It has given us valuable insights into where to go next," said Dr. Alonzo.  "I think our launching of a satellite was very risky.  We are about a year and a half ahead of schedule for that, and will spend some time developing the next device which we hope to have a significantly longer shelf life than little Sally (the name ISCA started calling the Satellite after the mission ended.)  But this one was a great first effort, because we have learned a lot more about how orbits decay, why satellites might need more speed, and how we might create objects to maintain stable orbits."  Accomplishing this will require Kalistan to return to the planning phase, as it continues testing the Solaris Rockets.  "We will obviously need an engine that can produce more thrust even than the Solaris.  I think the most basic form of rockets capable of reaching stable terra orbit would require about four times the amount of thrust that we have at our disposal currently so, we have some work to do."

Dr. Alonzo said that the satellite is inspiring.  "People on our team are beginning to ask about geosynchronous satellites, that will provide Kalistani controlled GPS, which could have all sorts of civilian and military applications.  We already know the theory in GPS, but the problem is, Kalistan relies on other countries for their GPS transmissions.  We can't use those for military purposes, and any country anytime who maintains GPS satellites in orbit can just choose to shut Kalistan out whenever they like.  If we own our own satellites, there isn't a nation in the world who can have the power to deny us access to the things we need to get weather forecasts, manage traffic flows, or conduct effect command and control on the battlefield.  I know there are some nations that would like to prevent us from having these things, but now that we have successfully orbited a satellite, geosynchronous satellites are a when, not an if."

Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Pavlina I Ananto hailed the launch, and noted that she and Crown Princess Carolina Ananto-Hulanevek tuned into the broadcast in Eveari.  She reportedly added that she approved of the message as a word of good will toward the human race.