Station Spokoystviye

"Hold on, there's something new coming down..."
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Eurasian Soviet Station Spokoystviye (Russian: "Tranquility") was an indefinite-duration lunar colony in the Sea of Tranquility operated by the space program of the Eurasian Soviet, giving it a quasi-military status. However, in keeping with the wikipedia:Outer Space Treaty, the facility was largely staffed by civilians and was, at least officially, an unarmed facility. Neither the first nor largest project of its kind, Station Spokoystviye is best known for being the site of the Sea of Tranquility Affair. The station was in service from 2025 to 2037.

The station was of the above-ground, water-shielded-tube construction typical of Soviet lunar architecture at the time, save for its central module, which had a geodesic dome upper deck and two decks of below-ground annexes, added in the 2030 and 2037 refits, respectively. The station's stated mission was scientific analysis of long-term effects of lunar habitation on humans, which was under consideration for Soviet industry and possible future exploration and colonization of the moon.

Station Facilities

Life Support

The station had a life support system capable of more or less indefinitely sustaining human life within the confines of the station provided no accidents were encountered. In practice, this system required frequent supplementation, and the station remained reliant on earth for consumable supplies such as system components, food, and other sundries.

Launch Field

Toward the lunar north of the station, less than 1 kilometre distant, was the station's launch field, consisting of a blast-sintered pad suitable for use with the Soyuz-L. This provided a rudimentary facility for landing and lighting both cargo and crew from the base.

L-SCALA

The facility had an impressive L-SCALA master computer in the center module which occupied much of its main floor, later expanded into the first basement annex during the 2037 refit. L-SCALA had complete control of the entire station through an impressive ICS wiring harness, and was capable of keeping the station in more or less good repair more or less indefinitely in the event it was ever abandoned.

L-SCALA was an impressive facility by the standards of the time, and provided corroboration to the cause and manner of the destruction of the base on subsequent exploration of the base in 2055.

Science Facility

In addition to a robust medical center in one of the outrigger modules, a second module, designated the Science Facility, provided compact, but general scientific instrumentation suitable for most lunar tasks. The facility was as capable of performing analysis of specimens from the crew as it was studying minerals found in routine spacewalks around the station.

Crew Accommodations

Station Spokoystviye nominally had a capacity for 24 crew. Most of the time, including during its destruction, its operating crew was only 12 individuals.

History

Establishment

The first module of the Station was landed at its final location in 2025, with final landing and assembly of the original 15 modules completed by the end of the following year.

2030 Refit

A 2030 refit expanded L-SCALA with several additional modules, added 2 new "observatory" modules to the station, and added the central module's domed observation gallery. The two observatory modules were reportedly telescopic in nature, however, no records of their layout or loadout survived the Third World War and the modules themselves were irrecoverably destroyed during the Sea of Tranquility Affair.

2037 Refit

In January 2037, additional excavation equipment was delivered to Spokoystviye, which was used by the crew to expand the central module two full levels down into the lunar regolith. These under-base levels were eventually sealed against environment loss and used in part to expand L-SCALA and to move several habitation modules' worth of equipment into the regolith, where the radiation shielding was better.

There is evidence that other materiel was delivered and installed in the former habitation modules. The exact nature of this equipment is lost to history as it was destroyed along with the rest of the base.

Destruction

See Also: Sea of Tranquility Affair

On October 1, 2037, Station Spokoystviye was destroyed, ostensibly by CASA astronauts, ultimately leading to the complete loss of the crew and the declaration of war between the Eurasian Soviet and Free Market Block, beginning the Third World War. While much of the equipment loss was due to fires, it is believed that the likely cause of death for the crew was asphyxiation or rapid decompression following multiple hull breaches in the structure of the station.