Olympic Project

The Olympic Project was an exploration project of the planet Republic, undertaken by the Ministries of Space, Science, and Progress to send probes to other known or suspected colony systems of the former Galactic Commonwealth. The probes were launched over a period of ten years from APR 6460 - 6670. 
100 probes were originally planned, all of which were to be manned by crews of 10-12 people. Due to budgetary constraints, the number of crewed probes was reduced to 61, with the remainder being uninhabited. The uninhabited probes were designated for systems with less than 50% certaintly of colonial inhabitation. Most of the manned probes were reduced in scale to accommodate 1 or 2 person crews, although the first four probes contained crews of 5, 5, 5, and 4 respectively. The crews were to be held in suspended animation until reaching their targeted systems. 
The Olympic probes were constructed on the planet Republic and then transported to Olympic Station; a purpose-built facility constructed in interplanetary space between Republic and Archon. The Olympic Facility was constructed to propel the craft into hyperspace through a hyperspace lens. The ships would travel through hyperspace for a preset period of time and then emerge in the vicinity of the targeted systems, completing their voyages using standard anti-graviton propulsion. 
The journeys were envisioned as one-way trips; there being no practical way to bring the ships back in a timely manner. Olympic pilots were expected to accept this risk. The probes were equipped for atmospheric penetration and landing. The pilots were given supplies of food and water sufficient for 100 days of survival on land. Each ship was equipped with neutrino pulse transmitters capable of interstellar communication at light-speed; which meant that messages from the probes would take years or decades to reach homeworld. 
However, after being launched, none of the probes, either manned or unmanned, was ever heard from again. Various theories have been promulgated to explain this: 
* Hyperspace was not well understood at the time, and it is entirely possible all probes missed their destinations. 
* It is also possible that none of the probes survived transition into hyperspace. 
* It is possible that the probes were systemically flawed and incapable of completing their missions intact. 
* Prior to the success of the Odyssey Project, one theory of the Olympic Project's failure was that they had encountered and were destroyed by the Tarmigans; a race of highly advanced aliens believed responsible for wiping out the Human Galactic Commonwealth in the 54th Solar Century. 
Due to the failure of the Olympic Project, interstellar exploration was delayed for over a century until the advent of the Odyssey Project. The failure was also a blow to the Unified Government of Republic, and contributed the public's loss of confidence in their planetary government.
Category:Background
Category:Technology