Crippen Station

Considered by many to be the most important space station in human history[1],Crippen Station was the first industrial space station put into low Earth orbit in 2005, as the center of the Western Orbital Defense Network (WODeN pronounced Woden, as in the Germanic name of the Norse god, Odin).

History[edit]

Starting in 1994, as part of a joint venture between the United States and Japan, the Crippen Station was a major piece of the Space Defense Initiative (SDI). The project was later renamed the Western Orbital Defense Network (WODen).

Easily dwarfing the Soviet Salyut-8, Crippen Station was larger than any station built previously, housing over 2,000 people, and including modules for scientific laboratories, factories, and recreation areas for the personnel.

In late 2007, the station was upgraded with facilities creating the ability to build and repair the defense network satellites, scientific satellites, and the ships proposed for manned missions to Mars (see AS Altair & AS Columbia).

During this time, the station became the central command for the Western Orbital Defense Network. Additionally it also became the site of the first murder to occur off Terra, when a utility knife was used to fatally stab a crew member in 2010. [2] [3]

Not tasked solely for scientific study, the Crippen Station included sophisticated military technology allowing for the detection, tracking, and jamming of enemy weaponry. The station included energy weapons that played a part in the Second Soviet Civil War destroying hardliner-launched Soviet ICBMs. This prevented millions of civilians from being massacred during that conflict.

After the Second Soviet Civil War ended in March 2014, the station returned to its primary mission of scientific research and study.

In 2016, Crippen Station became the home of the newly formed Alliance Space Command (ASC) tasked with creating the first lunar settlements. After these settlements were completed, the ASC moved its headquarters to Luna and Crippen was retasked to construct the first manned vehicles for Mars exploration. The AS Altair was the first launched in 2017.

The AS Columbia was launched from the station in 2027.

The last major role of the Crippen Station was as part of the Magellan Program. The first interstellar probe, Magellan One, was launched from the station in early 2030 to explore the Tau Ceti system.

The preserved Crippen Station would later serve for centuries as a famous aerospace museum until its obliteration along with numerous other spacecraft in orbit around Terra by a debris cascade caused by the destruction of the massive O'Neil Station during the opening shots of the Amaris Coup.[1]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Strategic Operations, p. 137 "Aerospace Technologies - Space Stations"
  2. Strategic Operations, pp. 244-245 "Aerospace Operations - Combat"
  3. Strategic Operations, p. 258 "Aerospace Operations - Psychological Considerations"

Bibliography[edit]