Kalistan

[Doc]

Kalistan to cooperate with Nadiya before Gaduridos?
As old doors close, new ones open over space and science cooperation
Spencer, Duchy of Suldanor
June 20, 5726


ISCA Fabrication Center at Spencer Space and Test Center increases workforce as new opportunities with Nadiya launch

The Imperial Space and Communication Agency announced that it is nearing a finalized agreement to begin cooperating with the Republic of Nadiya in northern Keris around space exploration. "The deal will include the opportunity for Kalistani astronaut candidates to complete training in Nadiya and then begin serving on joint manned space flight missions launched by the Nadiyan Space Agency," said ISCA Director Nancy West. "This is a new collaboration which is fairly unprecedented in Kalistan, and it is very exciting for us to contemplate." The association and cooperation will also include the building of modular rocket components to assist Nadiya with the development of launch vehicles for their space missions. "Kalistan has a long history of producing our own rockets domestically. We build them here in Spencer, and according to preliminary discussions, realize that we could provide the generic components for the Nadiyan engineers to more or less plug and play for their own domestic rocketry assembly, to serve the needs of their Space Agency."

The move to cooperate, she said, comes at a good time for the Kalistani counterpart. "We have a lot of excess capacity, and have been performing a lot of what are known as 'make work' programs here at the ISCA. With new cooperation with Nadiya, we can keep our people working, and will even need to hire more to meet demands, which will benefit Spencer immensely, given the town's focus on supporting the SSTC. We also look forward to the opportunity to meet our Nadiyan counterparts, and learn a little about them through this cooperation. I think we are most enthusiastic about this being the thing that breaks the ice between Kalistan and Nadiya, and is such a positive thing for all of humanity, not just our two nations."

Three years ago, West says, cooperation with Nadiya on anything was not on anyone's bingo card. "If we were going to cooperate with anyone I would have imagined, back then, that it would have been Gaduridos. That seems like a natural thing, almost a no brainer. But as the days go by and Gaduridos drifts further and further away, sometimes the most pleasant surprises happen which are entire unexpected. Working with Nadiya not only provides new opportunities to learn about and from one another, but it also opens new doors to possible other cooperation in other areas. If enough of these things happen, who knows? Maybe the Empress can move on from the ghost of the past and move more toward the bright light of the future?"

West said there are still a number of things to work out between the two nations. "Naturally, I think the Empire will want to make sure that it is specified explicitly that Kalistani cooperation is for peaceful projects only," said the Director. "This is not to say anything about Nadiya in this particular instance, but that our Nation has had a bad history with ballistic missiles, and while Nadiya, as a sovereign nation can pursue its own programs without Kalistani comment or objection just fine, I am fairly certain that the Foreign Minister and the Minister of Science and Technology, which handles ISCA's budget, will not want anything that Kalistan supplies to be used for military purposes." The director said that ballistic missiles and space rockets are much in the way of the same technology. "In fact, the first space craft were more or less unarmed missiles. The payloads they deployed were satellites, not bombs, but the principles are the same. And Kalistan won't be a part of that, because we believe in peace."

West said she expects the agreement to be fully signed within the space of a year, and after that, Kalistan will begin working with Nadiyan liaisons to set up a training rotation, and start filling orders from the NSA. "We're ready now, actually," said West. She also noted that Kalistan is willing to help other nations with their space programs. "We can cooperate and communicate around the advancement of human knowledge and not let national ego or ambition get in the way. There is a time and a place for that, but cooperation for the advancement of human understanding is timeless and borderless. And we look to be an active partner in that endeavor."

@Orthodoxo