Space Agency of Packilvania

The Space Agency of Packilvania is an independent agency of the government of Packilvania responsible for administering extraterrestrial research by the state and encouraging space research more generally. It has existed since 1961 when the space research component of the People's Aeronautical Agency was separated into its own body: the People's Space Research Agency. The name of the body was simplified in 1985 to the Space Agency of Packilvania but it remained largely unchained in its functioning and structure. Its director is appointed by the Prime Minister of Packilvania and runs the agency without interference from the government. The agency is funded by the state but it may receive donations, pursue commercial operations, and research grants from other bodies. The body has an illustrious history of space research which involved sending animals and astronauts to space, and landing probes on Olune and building and managing telescope arrays on land and in space that have contributed to knowledge about cosmology, particle physics and astronomy.

Telescope Arrays

The People's Aeronautical Agency started by using telescopes to study astronomical objects and measure their paths. It built on the work of the Imperial Observatory in Bingol which was built by the Demir dynasty to study the skies. Various universities maintained their own observatories. There was a lack of coordination among these bodies and by the 50s, it was apparent that Packilvania was falling behind in its space observation goals. Thus, the People's Aeronautical Agency focused on building larger and more sensitive telescopes. When the Space Agency of Packilvania was established, it took over much of this role but much of its work was suspended or significantly curtailed during the Second Packilvanian Civil War.

In 1994, the SAP built the Sultan Amhoud I Telescope Array in the Northern Shakar Desert. The area spanned an area of 0.3 square kilometres and consisted of over 40 telescopes. Unobstructed by artificial light from cities and towns and pollution, the Sultan Amhoud I Telescope Array has enabled Packilvania to discover various astronomical objects such as solar systems, galaxies, planets, moons, galaxy clusters, nebulas, supernovae, stars and most recently black holes.

They added the Sultan Amhoud II Telescope Array in Ashura which measures and detects gravitational waves from explosive cosmologivsl events such as quasars. It was built in 2004 about 400 kilometres from the nearest major cities. In 2012, the SAP built the Sultan Namdun III Telescope Array in empty plains and mountains of northern Jumhurikesh to detect and study cosmic rays and the various particles entering the atmosphere. In 2018, SAP sent a satellite to space to enable unobstructed views of a fixed part of the sky at the star system's stable point. The Eshad Nabrouk Space Telescope has enabled the collection of data on high energy particle bursts, the cosmic microwave background and the early universe.

Extraterrestrial Probes

In 1967, the SAP sent a rover to the second planet of the Teplar system. The rover was called Modul and lasted about a few hours before being damaged by the intense winds, flying debris and heat. Nevertheless, the rover sent back images of the planet that have contributed to our understanding of its properties and features. In 2008, the SAP sent the Nazar probe to the light side of Olune launched from the Ajimad Spaceport in Antimovo and Samokov. The Nazar probe was carried by the Khormood rocket. The Nazar probe is a small semi-auto pilot and semi remotely controlled roving vehicle that has taken pictures of Olunes surface. This work has revealed interesting information about the configuration, structure and history of Olune's surface. Nazar was followed by the Jamid rover in 2021 which has begun collecting samples from the fourth planet of the Teplar system. The Jamid rover has brought back stunning image of the rusty red surface. It has discovered water beneath the surface of the planet and sent back data about the geology and meterology of the planet.

Spaceflight

In 1953, the SAP sent the monkey Nayabiya to space via phase 1 of the Toruk spaceflight program which aimed to put sentient beings into space. The monkey eventually died from a lack of air, food and water but the data collected from its life in space proved invaluable to designing future missions for Packilvania to send sentient beings to space. In 1960, three scientists and astronauts, Kaleeb Namid, Eshmad Ulihar and Khayad Durmadeen were launched to space in phase two of the program. They made it in a safe orbit around the earth. Unexpected burst of solar particles in what was believed to be a solar storm caused some of the instruments to malfunction such that on reentry, the scientists perished.