NationStates Jolt Archive

Official Press Release, Shildonian Flying Corp, For Immediate Release

At 0600 local time, the Shildonian Flying Corp launched the new CloudRaker-class reusable shuttle craft, named Sans Pareil after the steam locomotive by the great Shildonian engineer Timothy Hackworth, from a launch facility close to the southern town of Heignton.
The craft was propelled to an initial altitude of 72.4 kilometres by a liquid fuelled rocket called the CloudRaker First Stage Booster, or CRFSB. The CRFSB has safely landed in the south Shildonian Sea where it was located by a Nimrod reconnaisance aircraft. A Shildonian Navy vessel is currently en route to recover the CRFSB and bring it back to Heignton for refurbishment and re-use.
Another liquid fuelled rocket, this time called the CloudRaker Orbital Insertion Booster (CROIB) then fired for 10 seconds to allow the CloudRaker to reach an altitude of 98.6 kilometers, whereupon the engine shut down and the CloudRaker coasted to it's epogee of 183km, where the CROIB again fired to circularise the orbit.
The Sans Pareil has now safely entered orbit, where it shall complete three orbits before fired the CROIB one last time before being jettisoned to perform a braking burn, allowing the Sans Pareil to return to Earth safely. As this first flight was unmanned the onboard computer will be responsible for landing the orbiter at Heignton Space Port, formerly Heignton International Airport.
If the Sans Pareil's maiden flight is successful, the second CloudRaker-class orbiter Bradyll is expected to make a manned flight early next month.

The Democratic Republic Of Dimmimar would like to congratulate Shildonia and wish them good look in the stars!

Josh Janga
Spokesperson for the Dimmimaran government

The Democratic Republic Of Dimmimar would like to congratulate Shildonia and wish them good look in the stars!

Josh Janga
Spokesperson for the Dimmimaran government

we would like to congratulate you on your wonderful achievements. we are in the process of building shuttles and training astronauts. could you give us any advice?
~J.C. Alcanzar

We would be happy to allow some Arribastani astronauts to come to the Heignton Space Port to train with our astronauts, and once the CloudRaker program reaches full strength we could allow your astronauts the chance to fly as a passenger in the CloudRaker to give them some experience of zero gravity.
We may be able to offer some advice on construction of shuttlecraft, depending on what type of shuttle you will be building. The CloudRaker is primarily designed for short duration flights to our planned space station, rather than performing heavy duty tasks such as launching\recovering satallites and extended missions.

Office of Public Relations,
Shildonian Flying Corps

Official Press Release, Shildonian Flying Corps, For Immediate Release

Earlier today, the CloudRaker class shuttle Bradyll was launched for it's first mission to space, as well as the first manned space flight of the CloudRaker program. Today's flight followed a profile similar to that of the Sans Pareils flight last month, except that the CROIB today carried fuel to perform a longer initial burn, enabling the CloudRaker to reach an epogee of 240km.
The Bradyll was piloted by Flight Lt Walter Frisbee of the Shildonian Flying Corps. No payload was carried on this mission, which is expected to last for four orbits.
The next flight, which is to be undertaken by the Sans Pareil is expected to take place in three months, as soon as the CRFSB has undergone refurbishment. The mission is scheduled to allow the pilot to practise the satallite inspection capabilities of the CloudRaker, and will see the first use of the CloudRaker's robotic arm. The skills gained on that mission will no doubt come in useful during the proposed Shildonia Space Station project, further details of which are likely to be released soon.