Royal Orbital Service and Space Command

Royal Orbital Service and Space Command

Agency overview
Abbreviation	ROSSC
Formed	13 April 1952
Type	Space agency
Jurisdiction	Government of Urcea
Headquarters	Urceopolis
Administrator	Cillo Man
Adjunct Officer	Pra. Sen. Kelly Bé
Primary spaceports	Lucás IV Starport and Launch Facility (LSLF), Halfway
Owner	Urcea
Employees	89,401 (2025)
Website	ROSSC.urc

The Royal Orbital Service and Space Command (ROSSC) is a subordinate part of the Urcean Royal Air Force responsible for both the civilian and military space program of Urcea, as well as serving as a research organization for space and aeronautical studies in addition to serving as the primary space launch regulator of private space companies in Urcea. The ROSSC was established by a merger of the Royal Air Force's Royal Space Command, established in 1947, and the Ministry of Commerce's Royal Orbital Service, which handled military and civilian applications and research, respectively. The ROSSC briefly had control over the nation's intercontinental ballistic missile program from its creation, but that program was returned to a separate, military-exclusive portion of the Royal Air Force in 1963. Most of the ROSSC employees and researchers are civilian.

As part of the military, the ROSSC has both a civilian and military administration, although in practice the civilian leaders have the day-to-day administrative control of the operation, with the military ensuring the proper classification and site security of sensitive military-related space projects. The ROSSC is administratively managed by the Agency for the Administration of Orbital and Outer Space Operations.

History

The Royal Orbital Service and Space Command (ROSSC) began as two separate organizations, with the Royal Orbital Service being formed as a civilian part of the Ministry of Commerce in 1952. Seeing the Kingdom falling behind to both Fiannria and Caphiria in terms of spaceflight and research, the Royal Orbital Service was envisioned for the purposes of both scientific exploration and civilian exploitation of space. Though civilian and economic exploitation of space were not necessarily feasible in the 1950s, the ROS managed to put a man in space by 1960 and a Urcean in orbit by 1962, before following that up with a fully manned space station in 1973. Though fully contained within the Ministry of Commerce, the ROS worked closely with the Collegium Scientificum in its various scientific exploits.

In 1956, with the advent of the practical intercontinental ballistic missile a few years prior, the Royal Space Command was established within the Royal Air Force to manage and oversee the military use of space, especially with regards to nuclear missile use but also the practicability of future plans to shoot down enemy satellites and missiles. Though the RSC was created with the task of defending Urcea from any threat, it was primarily formed to prevent a nuclear attack on Urcea by Caphiria during the Occidental Cold War. Following a decade of research and development, the Royal Space Command boasted of an arsenal of somewhat-functional anti-satellite missiles by the mid-1960s. During that time, the very first anti-ICBM systems began development, typically coming in the form of using nuclear weapons to detonate incoming nuclear missiles.

In the early 1970s, various reorganization efforts of the Government of Urcea and Conshilía Purpháidhe began in order to reduce administrative redundancies and ensure unified command structures for similar areas of public concern. Consequently, the Conshilía Daoni began to hold hearings in 1973 regarding the Royal Orbital Service and the Royal Space Command. It was decided in 1974 that the two organizations would merge under the military's purview beginning in 1975, and on January 1st, 1975, the Royal Orbital Service and Space Command (ROSSC) was formed. While there were continued leaks on behalf of the former-ROS employees that the organization was becoming too regimented, it became clear by the late 1970s that the merged organizations were working well together as innovation in space flight and missile defense moved forward. The ROSSC landed the first Urcean on the moon on May 1st, 1978; though it was not the first manned moon landing, contemporaries noted that the landing was "significantly more advanced and precise" than its predecessors and that the ROSSC's craft and personnel were "exemplary".

In the 1980s, the ROSSC launched several more space stations and began the highly controversial Strategic Defense Initiative, which promised to entirely shield the nation from missile attacks. This sparked an arms race with Caphiria as both superpowers attempted to build up their missile defense, but by 1983 it was clear that neither nation had a practical solution and both agreed to a strategic arms reduction, shifting ROSSC's focus primarily towards the civilian end. A great number of civilian satellites began to be launched in the 1990s, and during this time ROSSC became the primary orbital ferry for the nations of the Levantine Union besides Fiannria, a role it has maintained since. As the Occidental Cold War came to an end in 1984 with the Assumption Accords, the Royal Orbital Service has seen increased funding as it aims for an international permanent moon base by the late 2030s.

Organization

The Royal Orbital Service and Space Command is divided into several task-specific divisions as well as the Central Administrative Division based in Urceopolis. The principal administrative officer of ROSSC is the Administrator, a civilian with a scientific background. The Administrator is joined by the Adjunct Officer, a Royal Air Force military officer who directly reports to their superiors within the Air Force and is responsible for ensuring proper classification and site security for sensitive projects. The Adjunct Officer is also the nominal commanding officer of all military personnel assigned to the ROSSC. The Adjunct Officer is typically a Prafáti Senior, the lowest ranking flag officer within the Armed Forces of the Apostolic Kingdom of Urcea.

Aeronautical Sciences Division

The Aeronautical Sciences Division is the body within the ROSSC responsible for studying and analyzing atmospheric conditions, including both practical weather monitoring in consultation with the Agency for Atmospheric and Oceanic Oversight as well as theoretical scientific research. The Division is responsible for monitoring and providing launch information to the rest of the ROSSC and furthering research into the interplay between the atmosphere and space vehicle launch. The senior research and administrative staff of the Aeronautical Sciences Division is based within the Royal Sciences Administrative Building (RSAB) in Urceopolis where advanced modeling computers and other equipment is based, but a majority of the personnel of the Division are based in field stations or are embedded within the Collegium Scientificum in its various locations. The ROSSC works closely with the Ministry of the Environment and Energy in many of its responsibilities, including climate monitoring.

Facilities

Royal Sciences Administrative Building (RSAB)

The Royal Sciences Administrative Building is the central headquarters building for the ROSSC in Urceopolis and houses the Central Administrative Division as well as senior staff from the Aeronautical Sciences Division.