Cloudraker

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CloudRaker Reusable Light Lift Shuttle

The CloudRaker RLLS was the first reusuable space vehicle to be used by the Shildonian Space Agency. All together a total of fourteen CloudRakers were built, which were used primarily for research purposes, but also saw service in the space denial role, until they were finally retired with the introduction of the RHLS. The CloudRaker was launched into orbit atop a staged rocket system. The first stage consisted of a Shuttle Booster Rocket (SBR), which took the CloudRaker up to an altitude of over 70km before falling away for recovery and reuse. The second stage was the Orbital Manouvering Stage (OMS), which was used for orbital insertion and for the retro burn to take the CloudRaker out of orbit, as well as for other manouvers in orbit such as plane changes and altitude adjustments. Finally, there was the CloudRaker itself. This was a small winged glider, capable of carrying one pilot and up to four passengers in a pressure suit environment, or one pilot and up to 500kg of cargo. This low cargo capacity, and the cramped conditions for the crew made the CloudRaker unsuitable for anything other than short duration flights to the planned Shildonian Space Station (SSS). Unfortunately, delays in the construction of the SSS meant that the CloudRaker never carried out its intended role of ferrying astronauts to and from the SSS, a role now carried out by the RHLS. However, the data gathered during the CloudRaker program led to the development of the Emergency Reentry Vehicle, designed to allow the crew of the SSS to safely return to Earth in the event of an emergancy.

List of CloudRakers

All in all, a total of fourteen CloudRaker orbiters were built, all were named after steam locomotives built by the illustrious Shildonian engineer, Timothy Hackworth. They were, in order of first flight:

  • Sans Pareil
  • Bradyll
  • Royal George
  • Majestic
  • Coronation
  • William the Fourth
  • Northumbrian
  • Lord Brockett
  • Shildon
  • Globe
  • Samson
  • Hercules
  • John Buddle
  • Derwent

CloudRaker Achievments

The CloudRaker program resulted in many firsts for the Shildonian space program, some of which have since been surpassed by the RHLS and SSS programs. These records that no longer stand are marked with a *

  • First Shildonian Spacecraft to fly twice (Sans Pareil)
  • First Shildonian Spacecraft to rendezvous with a satellite (Sans Pareil)
  • First EVA by a Shildonian astronaut (Bradyll)
  • First docking between two Shildonian Spacecraft (Lord Brockett and Majestic)
  • Largest crew aboard a Shildonian Spacecraft (five, Royal George)*
  • Highest altitude reached in a manned Shildonian Spacecraft (700km, John Buddle)
  • Longest mission in a Shildonian Spacecraft (12.3 days, Northumbrian)*