Opportunity Program
Country of origin | Empire of Ela'r'oech |
---|---|
Purpose | Acquire flight. |
Status | Concluded as of 23 April 2023. |
Program history | |
First flight | 20 September 2020 |
Last flight | 2022 |
Successes | Opportunity I |
Partial failures | Opportunity II |
Launch site(s) | Da'a'ck, Ela'r'oech |
Vehicle information | |
Vehicle type | Privately engineered rocket (Opportunity I)
Publicly available drone (Opportunity II) |
Crew vehicle | O-001 ODX-002 |
The Opportunity space program, also known as the Opportunity project, was the first space program initiated by the Empire of Ela'r'oech. The main goal was to get any sort of 'flight,' whether it be space flight or general flight. It was not initiated while the Elarian National Space Program was active, however it is since retroactively known as the first program in the ENSP.
Launches
Opportunity I
Opportunity I involved the building of a small engine and an area of fluff and metal to bring a posthumous squirrel to space. They had no specific goal other than getting the squirrel to space. There was a camera in the build which unfortunately died around 2 km, and it was assumed the build reached 8 km. Around 20 September 2020, some debris landed back on Earth and Charles was able to bring it to his house. However, Charles moved a year later and no longer has the debris.
Opportunity II
Opportunity II was the first publicized event of the National Space Program, it was a failure. The drone was unable to reach heights of even 10 km during the tests and crashed numerous times. However, it's goal was to reach up to 20–25 km in the sky. The event was broadcasted live through the official Empire of Ela'r'oech Discord server. Opportunity II's vehicle was an unmodified drone rebranded to fit the Elarian National Space Program's standards.
Reactions and legacy
Ela'r'oech and other Bayou Sector nations congratulated the feat, and Opportunity would eventually become a historic milestone in Elarian history and culture. However, Opportunity was extremely controversial, criticized for it's lack of safety as well as a lack of records to help archive the project when it was initially started. However, it should be noted that Opportunity I was intended to be a one-time mission, with no Opportunity II, Lotus project, or Space Program afterwards.