GWO Aero-Space Scientific Launch Pads, Carbon Province, GWO North America
The space shuttle faced skyward, mounted to the back of a large red booster rocket and two additional boosters. It was fairly unremarkable as far as space shuttles went, the only thing truly identifying it being the symbol of the GWO Air Force printed on either side, along with "GWO FEDERAL AIR FORCE." The shuttle's name? Moschetto.
But this shuttle was one of five, the others being Libro, Credere, Obbedire, and Combattere.
The event was publicly announced as a satellite maintenence launch, and as such, the press had gathered outside the launch area, filming the launch live from behind an electric, chain link fence guarded by rifle-wielding Federal Guardsmen and occasional mobile SAM vehicles. A no-fly zone had been made within 75 miles of the site, and several F-22 packs were patrolling just outside to deter airborne trespassers.
The shuttles weren't being launched for satellite maintenence. That's what made this launch different. So what was the purpose of the launch?
Operation: Iron Sky. An experiment/operation to militarize the mother fucking moon.
Aboard each shuttle, one would find more than parts for fixing satellites. No, they would find concrete, large algae tanks, solar panels, disassembled airlocks, and disassembled construction equipment designed to be operated in a low-gravity environment, along with other materials one would associate with the first stages of building a missile silo. In actuality, the materials could be associated with building any sort of reinforced building, but that was the truth. The GWO was about to try and build a missile silo on the moon for experimental purposes. Plans had already been drawn up for if the silo was usable, and the high command of the GWO was anxious, of course, to see the results. Understandably, the Cosimofahrers aboard each shuttle were feeling a mixture of revolution and fear. They weren't the first GWOers who would be visiting the moon (surveyers and mappers had visited beforehand), but they would certainly be the first GWOians, perhaps even the first humans, to actually try and build on the moon. For all they knew, though, their efforts could be a complete waste, or their mission could end in complete disaster. Only time would tell.
As the world watched live, the shuttles began their seperated launches. The world's response to the launch was, as of yet, unknown, but the GWO government was waiting.
