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The year 2022 as it happened

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And of course there was the Great Blackout of NationStates! I remember it well. It must have been a Tuesday..., or was it a Friday? In any case, Fidel Castro was ready to accept Soviet nuclear arms, and... no; that was the Cuba Crisis. Confusing events. Anyway. It happened.

I mentioned it already in my previous monthly reports: this isn't really a monthly report, since this is the only one that will appear this year. Weekly reports were more my thing. Perhaps that my successor will do a better job with the monthly reports. It really started well, back in 2020, but after already a couple of months I noticed that months passed more quickly than I remembered writing the reports, so they became bi-monthly, then tri-monthly, and suddenly they were annual. Weekly reports are easier; weeks start and end on the same days so there is a fixed rhythm. Subsequent months end on different days (except January and February in normal years) so they are more difficult to schedule the report writing.

To make a long story even longer, here are some more words: ingefära, vachement, 黑鳥, boostât, pericombobulation, naughty, asiakaspalautelomakkeet, လက်ကိုင်ပုဝါ.

Your dispatches
Around 3300 new dispatches were written this year by nations who were at one shorter or longer point residents of The Western Isles. An overview of these dispatches can be found here:

• Daily Happenings of 2022 (Part 5 : November - December)

• Daily Happenings of 2022 (Part 4 : October)

• Daily Happenings of 2022 (Part 3 : August - September)

• Daily Happenings of 2022 (Part 2 : May - July)

• Daily Happenings of 2022 (Part 1 : January - April)

It must be noted that there is a gap between 19 and 28 December: due to the Great Blackout of NationStates, no weekly report was written on 25 December so no dispatches were noted down between 19 December and the start of the blackout on the 23rd.

Graphs and Statistics
So here is the statistical overview of 2022. It was a rather normal year like we had in 2020 and 2021; normal amounts of nations in The Western Islands, albeit slightly above average from March on. But then in August something happened: in the third week of that month, 90 new nations joined TWI at once, which caused a lot of activity on the Regional Message Board as well as in the Dispatch area.

A similar event occurred in the first week of October, then 92 new nations joined at the same time, causing the number of nations in The Western Isles to peak at 514 in the second week of October, which is the largest population TWI had in quite a few years. October as a month outperformed all other months in terms of TWI residents; even in the somewhat weak third week of that month, there were still more TWI dwellers than in any other week outside of October. October also saw 2022's largest number of dispatches written in one week (100), the largest number of nations on the map (75), and the most pages added to the Regional Message Board (24). Of course, it didn't last (in the first week of November, 56 nations left at once) and we're back at 380 nations, but this is still more than any date in 2022 prior to Mid-September.

It is however noticeable that the Delegate endorsements didn't quite catch up: despite the huge number of new nations, only few of them answered to calls to endorse Vancouvia (and Ainslie). The second week of December saw the most endorsements (83). The number of nations on the map also didn't grow that much, although it still did: the maximum number of nations on the map before Mid-August was 62, whereas it went to 75 in the second week of October and didn't fall below 63 in the entire period after Mid-August.

A special mention should go to the number of Embassies with other regions, which is the only item that stubbornly went down for various reasons.

End
2023 has now started and with this new year has come the realisation that I will have been Secretary of Information for three years at the end of January, and although it has been fun, I think it is time to hand over the task to someone else. I therefore informed Vancouvia, Ainslie, and Aizcona last month that I will step down as Secretary of Information at the end of January 2023. If you are interested to succeed me, please inform Ainslie and/or Aizcona of your intention to do so, so that they can organise an election. I will of course be available should you require information about what a Secretary of Information does.

Happy 2023!

~ Nhoor
Secretary of Information

About the Monthly Report
Around the start of every month, the Monthly Report is compiled. This report is presented here in this dispatch. It contains the statistics and most important happenings of the previous month, accompanied by graphical representations of gathered data as well as the results of the Monthly Survey. For historical reports, check out the archives!

The Alteran National Space Agency (A.N.S.A.) was formed following a a stark warning from the then Deputy Praetor for Industry and Infrastructure, Albinus Rector, who stated that:
"Altera is left behind. We are still standing, looking up at the stars and dreaming of our place amongst them; whilst our rivals from across the globe are taking their first steps. This is a great dishonour to the people of Altera - for we continue to declare ourselves as hard workers with some of the greatest business and academic minds ... Yet here we are, still shackled to our little corner of Argus. This, my friends, needs to change."

In conjunction with financial representatives from numerous national companies and government agencies, a meeting was held in December 1968 in the emerging industrial city of Novae - where it was later revealed the newly formed A.N.S.A. planned to construct one of its regional space centres. The meeting was ratified in a convention a year later, where the A.N.S.A. mission was outlined:
"[The]A.N.S.A.'s purpose shall be to provide for, and to promote, for exclusively peaceful purposes, cooperation amongst Alteran companies and governmental bodies in space research and technology and their space applications, with a view to their being used for scientific purposes and for operational space application."

The A.N.S.A.'s current Director of Operations, Hang Bantov - who took office in 2015 - re-clarified their mission:
"Today, space activities are pursued for the benefit of citizens, and citizens are asking for a better quality of life on our planet. They want greater security and economic wealth, but they also want to pursue their dreams, to increase their knowledge and they want young people to be attracted to the pursuit of science and technology.
I think that space can do all of this: it can produce a higher quality of life, better security, more economic wealth and also fulfil our citizens' dreams and thirst for knowledge, and attract the young generation to the sciences. This is the reason space exploration is an integral part of overall space activities. It has always been so, and it will be even more important in the future."

Within months of the 1968 agreement, several companies began bidding on the lucrative contracts to supply, build and help maintain a new fleet of space vehicles. Amid a beildering variety of possible spacecraft shapes, stages and engines being proposed by both Alteran and international aerospace companies, the Multi-Astro Logisitical Launcher And Recovery Design (MALLARD) concept stood out to A.N.S.A. engineers. The homegrown team at Alteran Aerospace - the designers of MALLARD, won the contract, with their proposal for a completely re-usable system of manned shuttles, popularly known as 'MALLARD', 'Space Arks' or 'Space Ducks'. With their promise of low-cost to build, maintain and use - MALLARD can be deployed in a cluster or a tandem configuration - depending upon the payload. The 'tandem' (back-to-back/belly) configuration was the preferred launch method by A.N.S.A.

The MALLARD concept was devise in early 1964, but first appears in the public eye in 1971 as the Curia announced their intentions for the national space programme. The basic idea was to have a number of vehicles lifting off together that were identical in external appearance, but only one of which was actually destined for space. The other aircraft used in the launch would reach up to the edge of space, before syphoning extra fuel to the main vehicle, separating and then returning back to base.

Right from their first iterations when launched in 1979, there have been nine versions (known as 'Schemes') deployed by A.N.S.A. over the years. As of November 2020, A.N.S.A. began to scale back MALLARD launches, as the organisation focused more heavily on reusable rockets and lighter launch vehicles. This was, in part, due to the failed bid for MALLARD to launch and maintain the Regional Space Station. In January 2021, A.N.S.A. formally announced MALLARD's retirement. MALLARD will be kept mothballed until 2025, when it will be then sold/passed on to museums around Altera and the region.

Firefly is a partially reusable two-stage-to-orbit medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured by Alteran National Space Agency in the Alteran Republics. It is powered by Hydra engines, which were also developed by A.N.S.A., burning cryogenic liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) as propellants. Its name is derived from the fictional spaceship "Firefly" from the TV show of the same name, as well as the insect native to many parts of the region; notably the Alteran Republics. The rocket evolved as development progress, with the Firefly Mk.I (2002 - 2011), Firefly Mk.II (2013–Present), Firefly Mk.III and Mk.IV (2015–Present and 2018-Present respectfully). Unlike most rockets, which are expendable launch systems, since the introduction of the Mk.II version, Firefly is partially reusable, with the first stage capable of re-entering the atmosphere and landing vertically after separating from the second stage. This feat was achieved for the first time on flight 26 of the Mk.II in April 2016.

Firefly can lift payloads of up to 22,800 kilograms (50,300 lb) to low Earth orbit, 8,300 kg (18,300 lb) to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) when expended, and 5,500 kg (12,100 lb) to GTO when the first stage is recovered.

Development of the Firefly began in the early 21st Century, as it became clear to A.N.S.A. that it would need to modernize the majority of its space-faring equipment. With the MALLARD Schemes 8 and 9 in full development, A.N.S.A. also wished to replace Atri Rosa - which was built using dated technology and was already inadequate for the task of future space missions.

Firefly is aimed to tap into the lucrative market of launching a variety of payloads; ranging from satellites and extra-terrestrial missions. In 2020, both the Firefly Mk.II and Mk.III were put forward as Altera's prime candidate for resupply the then-to-be-launched Regional Space Station; as MALLARD lost out to other international bids to launch the first wave of sections for the station. As development for the Mk.IV continues, A.N.S.A. is confident it can secure the majority of cargo and astronaut transfer missions to and from the Regional Space Station.

The latest version of the Mk.II, Mk.III and Mk.IV features increased engine thrust, improved landing legs, and other minor improvements to help recovery and reuse. The planned Firefly Heavy derivative, introduced in February 2018, consists of a strengthened Firefly Mk.III first stage as its central core, attached to two standard Mk.II first stages used as boosters.

Firefly Mk.V is still in the planning and development stages, with the major new feature being a reusable secondary stage - featuring its own set of landing legs and de-acceleration Hydra engines.

Front left to right: Firefly Mk.I, Mk.II, Mk.III and Mk.IV

Whilst the Alteran National Space Agency was working with Alteran Aerospace to develop the larger Firefly rocket system, several companies noted that there was still a demand to launch smaller payloads into Polar and Sun-Synchronous orbit. At these lower orbits, many communication companies were interested in launching smaller satellites - but usually only a single or few devices at a time. These companies would have to piggy-back on larger launches.

Engine manufacturer and advanced engineering firm Rowlands envisioned a solution for these requirements. Consisting of a small, lightweight rocket that could be reused, Rowlands designed a system that could be launched from remote sites that required little infrastructure.

Rowlands developed two systems - Venture I and Venture II. Venture I is envisioned for use by small research companies, universities and other academic institutions - ideal for launching small, individual experiments and satellites into Low-Earth Orbit. Many universities also use the system to research in micro-gravity environments. The Alteran Space Defence Force has also expressed interest in the system as a potential base for anti-satellite weapons. Venture II was designed to launch single, or small clusters, of satellites into Low Earth Orbit up to 1,000km from the surface.

Unlike Firefly, which was a mixture private and public development, the Venture system is one of many purely private programmes to develop low-cost space exploration, research and commerce. Funded purely by Rowlands, the Venture system aims primarily to sell its systems to Altera commercial and academic institutions, as well as internationally to governments with small budgets, or lacking the infrastructure for larger space programmes. The Venture system was first tested in 2016. After many false starts and initial technical issues, Rowlands released the Venture I and II onto the market in late 2020.

Front left to right: Venture I, Venture II

Seogsa is a family of military communications satellites, now operated by Van Howell Technologies on behalf of the Alteran Republic's A.N.S.A. and Horizon Inc., which provide strategic communication services to the three branches of the Alteran Armed Forces and to E.C.I.S. forces engaged on coalition tasks. The Seogsa 1 to 4 series were operated by the Alteran Air Defence Force until 2003, and subsequently operated with Seogsa 5 by Van Howell Technologies. Following the launch of the Seogsa 5 series of satellites, the network has been expanded for use of civilian communications - most notably for its use within the Seogsa Global Positioning System (SGPS) network.

Seogsa 5 is the next generation of satellites, replacing the existing Seogsa system. Van Howell Technologies (VHT)were responsible for the build and delivery of Seogsa 5 satellites in orbit, whilst Horizon Inc. is responsible for provision of services to both Council for Defence and civilian networks. Horizon Inc. have also been contracted to provide communications services to E.C.I.S. using spare capacity on the satellites.

The Seogsa 5 satellite is based on the VHT ArgusStar A3000 bus design, weighs about 4,700 kilograms (5.2 short tons), has two solar panels each about fifteen metres long, and has a power budget of five kilowatts. It has four steerable transmission dishes, and a phased-array receiver designed to allow jamming signals to be cancelled out. They will also resist attempts to disrupt them with high-powered lasers. VHT described in 2010 the Seogsa 5 system as having:

• High power 160W TWTAs on all transponders, giving 56 dBW peak EIRP in each transmit spot beam and 41 dBW peak EIRP in each global beam per transponder.

• 15 active transponders ranging in bandwidth from 20 GHz to 40 GHz

• Up to 9 UHF channels

• Multiple fully steerable downlink spot beams

• On Board Active Receive Antenna (OBARA) capable of generating multiple shaped uplink beams

• Flexible switching capability allowing connectivity between any uplink beam and at least two downlink beams Nuclear hardening, anti-jamming countermeasures and laser protection
  

As of 2015, the CfD is specifying the replacement of Seogsa 5, whose operating programme ends in 2022. Van Howell Technologies will build a non-competitively sourced Seogsa 6 satellite planned for a 2020 launch, as a transition to a new architecture. As of 2017, the project Seogsa 5 was viewed as unlikely to be extended beyond 2025. The vision for Seogsa 6 is a flexible system architecture that combines Alteran government, allied and commercial satellites. As of December 2019, the CfD was processing requests for information from potential bidders to operate the ground stations for Seogsa 6, with a possiblity of switching operations back to military personel.

Archived - Atri Rosa

Atri Rosa

Front left to right: AR1, AR2 and AR3

Name	Designation	Max. Payload (kg)	Fairing Volume H x W x D (metres)
Atri Rosa One	AR1	~500	5.4m x 1.9m x 1.9m
Atri Rosa Two	AR2	~900 - 1,200	6.4m x 2.7m x 2.7m
Atri Rosa Three	AR3	~5,000 - 5,600	7.5m x 3.9m x 3.9m

Merito non pareret. | By merit, not birth.