ITS-244
ITS-244
Enodia in low Earth orbit, roughly 74 hours before departure.
| Names | Interstellar Transportation System-244 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Crewed Shapley landing |
| COSPAR ID | 2388-231A |
| SATCAT no. | 68891 |
| Mission duration | 22 years, 7 months, 29 days (Earth time) 5 years, 4 months, 21 days (Onboard time) |
| Distance travelled | 21.17 ly |
| Spacecraft | Stellar Shuttle Enodia |
|---|---|
| Launch mass | 217 metric tons |
| Crew size | 25 |
|---|
| Launch date | September 28, 2388, 07:17:50 UTC |
|---|---|
| Launch site | LEO Belt-720 |
| Landing date | October 15, 2410, 23:51:11 UTC |
|---|---|
| Landing site | Shapley Outpost 1, LZ-2 |
ITS-244 (also known as LEP-1C) was a Stellar Shuttle mission to the Laniakea System flown by Stellar Shuttle Enodia. Enodia departed low earth orbit on September 28, 2388, for her 7th mission at 07:17:50 UTC. This was the first crewed flight to the Laniakea System, and the first flight to the system in more than 50 years.
The mission is also referred to as LEP-1C by the Laniakea Exploration Program. The main goals of the mission were to set the first human presence on Laniakea-B I-C (also known as Shapley) since the first robotic missions more than 50 years prior. The journey took slightly over 22 years, or about 5 years on board due to time dilation at near relativistic speeds.
ITS-244 was the first flight of a previously Jupiter-bound Shuttle, with Enodia having 27 round trips to Jupiter prior to ITS-244. The conversion was made due to the low demand for Jupiter-bound Shuttles.
ITS-244 was also the first interstellar mission to use a one year hibernation schedule instead of the previous six months hibernation schedule. All 25 crew members would enter induced hibernation for a year and wake up for maintenance and personal matters for the following year, and repeat until they arrive at the destination.
After ITS-244, Enodia will remain on Shapley and be decommissioned.
Mission background
Flyover of Enodia to the Lunar Orbital Assembly Station (LOAS) occured on Janurary 17, 2387, with refurbishment and upgrades commencing shortly after. Notable changes include the intstallation of a 17th Gen Tokamak Reactor and hibernation support systems. Flyout to LEO Belt-720 was completed on August 20, 2388.
The crew docked with Enodia 72 hours before departure to conduct system checks, and closed the hatch about 45 hours before departure. Enodia was given the go-ahead for departure on September 27 at 08:20 UTC.
Mission timeline
September 28 - November 11 (2388)
Following the successful ejection from Earth's Sphere of Influence, the flight crew conducts final system and trajectory checks before entering Hibernation-1. A trajectory was set to use a gravity assist off Jupiter to final tune the course towards the Laniakea System.
November 12 - December 21 (2388)
Crew members begin preparing for Hibernation-1, with the very last crew member entering hibernation on December 21, 00:37:55 UTC. Enodia's trajectory is finalised and on course towards the Laniakea System, with a constant acceleration of 1.2G. The following years have been adjusted to an external time frame, the crew experienced time roughly 4.4 times faster due to travelling at relativistic speeds.
2389 - 2393
The crew enters Hibernation-1. Enodia passes the Sun's bow shock on March 14, 2390, officially earning it the status as "interstellar".
2393-2397
All crew memebers wake up to conduct regualr system checks and send mission updates back to Earth.
2397-2402
The crew enters Hibernation-2. Later transmissions reveal that Enodia made a close encounter with an object with a mass slightly less than half of the moon, likely a rouge dwarf planet. Enodia's trajectory was nudged slightly off couse, but was quickly corrected. The encounter lasted about 1.2 minutes, no crew was awake during this time. Enodia also performs the flip maneuver and begins it's deceleration phase.
2402-2406
All crew memebers wake up to conduct regular system checks and send mission updates back to Earth. Data transmission of the unknown object back to Earth was made during this time.
2406-2409
The crew enters Hibernation-3. Enodia passes Laniakea's bow shock on April 1, 2409. Communications were established with Shapley Outpost 1 75 hours later.
2409-2410
The crew wakes up and prepares for orbit insertion around Shapley, with the maneuver completed on October 9, 2410. The crew spends a week in orbit around Shapley and recieves regular status updates of the landing site at Shapley Outpost 1, with a landing window opened between October 15 to 17. Enodia conducts the de-orbit maneuver on October 15 and touches down at 23:51:11 UTC.