Editing Weltraumgruppen

{{Short description|Spaceflight and extraterrestrial branch of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Weltraumgruppen
| full_name = Weltraumgruppen der Tanoa Einsatzgruppen
| full_name_lang = de
| predecessor = [[Raketenstelle Alt-Georgetown]]
| founded = 4 October 1956
| founder = [[Oberkommando der Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]]
| founding_location = [[Georgetown]], [[Tanoa]]
| dissolved = 30 November 2024
| successor = [[Off-world territories after the collapse of Tanoa|Off-world Command Council]]
| type = Spaceflight and planetary-administration branch
| purpose = Spaceflight, orbital infrastructure, and extraterrestrial administration
| headquarters = [[Georgetown]], [[Tanoa]]
| origins = {{hlist|[[Operation Sternzug]]|[[Raketenstelle Alt-Georgetown]]}}
| area_served = {{hlist|[[Tanoa]]|[[Patagonia]]|Earth orbit|[[Neutanoa]]|[[Eisenwelt]]|[[Grünmond]]}}
| products = {{hlist|Launch vehicles|Spacecraft|City-ships}}
| leader_title = Commanders
| leader_name = {{plainlist|
* [[Walter Dornberger]] (1956-1964)
* [[Celestino Varela Bunge]] (1964-1981)
* [[Néstor Ferreyra Alcorta]] (1981-1987)
* [[Octavio Lascano Biedma]] (1987-1995)
* [[Ramiro Zubizarreta Oribe]] (1995-2010)
* [[Eef Paap]] and [[Daniel Paap]] (2010-2024)
}}
| leader_title1 = Chief scientific architect
| leader_name1 = [[Wernher von Braun]]
| key_people = [[Lisandro Aráoz Valdivia]] (industrial organizer)
| main_organ = [[Weltraumgruppenhauptamt]]
| parent_organization = [[Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]]
| affiliations = {{hlist|[[Allgemeine SS]]|[[Glöbbery]]}}
}}

The '''Weltraumgruppen''' was the spaceflight branch of the [[Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]]. It controlled the regime's orbital infrastructure and extraterrestrial installations.<ref name="tanoa-branch"/> Founded in 1956, the branch remained under the [[Oberkommando der Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]] until the regime collapsed in 2024.

The organization developed from a postwar rocket office built around German V-2 records and personnel obtained through [[Operation Sternzug]]. Argentine aerospace officers later assumed its industrial administration. Recovery of extraterrestrial technology in 1979 allowed the branch to establish permanent off-world industry. By 2014, its [[Planetarische Verwaltung]] governed three planets. The Weltraumgruppen also maintained orbital warships and self-contained city-ships, while its [[Exobiologische Hauptstelle]] registered organisms and materials recovered during survey missions or planetary occupation.

== Origins and formation ==
{{Main|History of the Weltraumgruppen}}
{{See also|Operation Sternzug}}

The Tanoa Einsatzgruppen began its rocket program after the German surrender on 8 May 1945. Allied forces were taking custody of German rocket personnel and technical records at the time. Tanoa could not participate openly in the occupation of Germany, so Jan Paap authorized Operation Sternzug to obtain the same expertise through covert routes. [[Glöbbery]] organized false identities and altered prisoner files. Its network also arranged concealed transport from occupied Germany. Argentine contacts received personnel and technical cargo before their transfer to Tanoa. These contacts extended the Patagonian network through which [[Jan Paap]] had formed the [[Argentine Einsatz]] in 1944.<ref name="argentine-einsatz"/>

The first copied V-2 archive reached Tanoan custody in June 1945. A core Peenemünde group led by [[Walter Dornberger]] and [[Wernher von Braun]] was moved through the network during the following two months. Technical personnel travelled through northern Italy before the first convoy reached Argentina in August. The group arrived in Tanoa in February 1946. Substitute prisoners and altered custody records concealed the removals, while controlled public appearances preserved the postwar careers attributed to the personnel outside Tanoa.

The [[Raketenstelle Alt-Georgetown]] was established in May 1951 to translate the recovered test records and adapt V-2 designs to equipment available in Tanoa. Under Dornberger's military command and von Braun's scientific direction, the German team converted those designs into launch procedures. Guidance and propulsion engineers then adapted the components for production in Tanoa. On 4 October 1956, the Oberkommando absorbed the rocket office into the newly created Weltraumgruppen. Dornberger became its first commander and von Braun became chief scientific architect. The branch retained the Georgetown archive as the technical basis for its first test facilities.

Testing moved from propulsion to complete vehicles during the late 1950s. The branch conducted its first successful static engine test at [[Prüfstand Tuvanaka-Nord]] on 18 March 1957, followed by a high-altitude launch from [[Startplatz Lijnhaven-Ost]] on 9 August 1958. The [[A-10 Georgetown]] placed the first Tanoan payload in orbit on 17 May 1963. A crewed mission followed on 22 November 1968, and [[Orbitalstation Paap I|Orbitalstation ''Paap I'']] entered service in June 1974.

== Argentine leadership ==

Argentine contacts supplied transit and procurement before Tanoa took control of Patagonia in 1953. This relationship gave Tanoa access to [[Argentina|Argentine]] aerospace institutions. Argentina was annexed by the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen in 1965.<ref name="argentina-history"/> [[Lisandro Aráoz Valdivia]] organized industrial procurement for the Weltraumgruppen until 1964. [[Celestino Varela Bunge]] then used the procurement system to turn individual launches into a permanent orbital program.

Varela Bunge headed the branch from 1964 until 1981. His successor, [[Néstor Ferreyra Alcorta]], redirected investment toward military satellites before funding permanent off-world industry. [[Octavio Lascano Biedma]] supervised procurement from 1987 to 1995, and [[Ramiro Zubizarreta Oribe]] controlled the branch from 1995 until 2010 during the city-ship expansion. The Oberkommando then divided planetary government and fleet command between [[Eef Paap]] and [[Daniel Paap]].

== Off-world expansion ==

On 13 September 1979, a Weltraumgruppen survey mission recovered an extraterrestrial propulsion assembly with an intact navigation archive. Engineers reproduced its navigation system before adapting its power equipment. The archive supplied fixed transit routes to extraterrestrial destinations, allowing the branch to move beyond experimental missions around Earth. [[Außenwerk Aconcagua]] opened in April 1986 as the first permanent off-world industrial installation. The branch created [[Planetarisches Bauamt I]] in September 1993 to construct sealed settlements and power networks beyond Earth. The first city-ship hull was authorized through the [[Himmelswerft Schwarzhafen]] program in December 1996. [[Stadtschiff Eef Paap|Stadtschiff ''Eef Paap'']] entered service on 1 May 2003 and supported construction beyond the established settlements. Later hulls were assigned to industrial or command duties.

== Mission and organization ==

The branch was initially responsible for rocket development and launch operations. After 1979, its mandate extended to off-world construction. Orbital transport and planetary occupation became permanent responsibilities as settlements expanded. The Oberkommando approved destinations and occupation campaigns, after which the [[Weltraumgruppenhauptamt]] in Georgetown converted those directives into launch schedules and construction programs. The [[Amtsgruppe Raketenwesen]] developed launch vehicles and propulsion systems before transferring launched spacecraft to the [[Orbitalführung]]. Planetary governors reported through the [[Planetarische Verwaltung]], while the [[Himmelswerftdirektion]] managed orbital ship construction. The [[Exobiologische Hauptstelle]] controlled biological quarantine and the specimen registry. The [[Allgemeine SS]] screened personnel and guarded restricted installations, while technical command remained with the Weltraumgruppenhauptamt.<ref name="departments"/><ref name="allgemeine"/>

== Facilities ==
{{Main|Facilities of the Weltraumgruppen}}

Earth-based administration remained in Georgetown, while the Tuvanaka complex handled testing and launches. Its static-test infrastructure was connected to [[Tuvanaka Airbase]], and the coastal range used the sea east of Tanoa as its launch corridor. The [[Astillero Aeroespacial del Atlántico Sur]] at Puerto Deseado fabricated pressure sections and machinery for orbital construction. The [[Tanoanisches Orbitalzentrum Tuvanaka]] began controlling orbital missions in May 1963. Ravi-Ta housed leadership and communications offices.

Final hull assembly later moved away from Earth. [[Orbitalstation Paap I|Orbitalstation ''Paap I'']] handled tracking and crew transfer, while [[Außenwerk Aconcagua]] supplied processed metal to [[Himmelswerft Schwarzhafen]]. The orbital shipyard assembled hulls too large for terrestrial ports. This arrangement kept design administration in Georgetown and placed heavy ship construction beside the vessels it supported.

== Planetary administration ==
{{Main|Planetary territories of the Weltraumgruppen|Planetarische Verwaltung}}

The Planetarische Verwaltung assigned fully controlled status after a military governor took command of orbital access and permanent settlements. The same governor controlled extraction corridors and local transport. Planetary command also administered unpopulated survey zones beyond those corridors.

[[Neutanoa]] received its first permanent settlement, [[Siedlung Neutanoa]], in February 1991. [[Georgetown-Neu]] opened as its administrative capital in July 2006. The military governor assumed control of the planet's orbital approaches on 18 August 2010, making Neutanoa the first fully administered planet.

[[Eisenwelt]] received a permanent mining base in April 1994. Its deposits of [[Ferrum nigrum|ferrum nigrum]] supplied dense armor plate for orbital vessels. Heat-resistant ceramics from the same extraction corridor were used in engine compartments. Military settlements secured the corridor before the planetary governor assumed full authority on 22 March 2012.

[[Grünmond]] supported agricultural settlement rather than heavy extraction. Its first enclosed growing complex, [[Grüngürtel I]], began operation in May 1998. Reservoir works supplied the later settlement corridor and city-ship farms. Grünmond entered fully administered status on 14 September 2014 after its orbital approaches and permanent settlements passed to a single governor.

[[Umbrarheim]] remained a restricted biological zone under Weltraumgruppen security. [[Schwarzhafen]] operated under a shipyard administration, while [[Aconcagua Prime]] was governed as a military extraction territory. These commands remained separate from the planetary governments.

== Fleet ==
{{Main|Fleet of the Weltraumgruppen}}
{{See also|List of Weltraumgruppen launch vehicles|List of spacecraft operated by the Weltraumgruppen|List of city-ships operated by the Weltraumgruppen}}

The fleet developed from the branch's V-2-derived launch vehicles. High-altitude testing produced the first orbital launcher, followed by heavy-lift systems for construction payloads and reusable shuttles for crew transfer. These vehicles connected the Tuvanaka launch complex to the orbital infrastructure established during the 1960s and 1970s.

Armed spacecraft protected orbital approaches and escorted construction convoys. Carrier vessels moved survey craft between systems, while landing ships delivered prefabricated settlement sections to planetary surfaces. Interceptor units controlled access to occupied orbital corridors and defended the off-world shipyards.

City-ships contained residential districts supported by enclosed agriculture. Internal reservoirs maintained the water supply, while heavy repair facilities serviced the accompanying fleet. Their closed systems reduced dependence on supply traffic from Tanoa during long deployments. Individual hulls were configured for settlement transport, mining support, communications or fleet command. This allowed the branch to support planetary occupation from mobile infrastructure instead of relying entirely on fixed orbital stations.

== Exobiology ==
{{Main|Exobiologische Hauptstelle}}
{{See also|List of extraterrestrial organisms recorded by the Weltraumgruppen|List of extraterrestrial materials in Weltraumgruppen records}}

The Exobiologische Hauptstelle maintained separate registries for organisms and non-living material. Field teams assigned temporary recovery numbers at collection sites, after which quarantine staff issued permanent Weltraumgruppen codes. Biologists used Latinized binomial names for organisms while mission reports retained their common names. The [[Borvă]], classified as ''Borva umbrensis'', carried the registry code WG-BIO-0142 before its transfer to Snubable custody. By the 2010s, the master registry contained hundreds of entries.

The material registry recorded ores separately from biological substances. Reactive compounds received handling records based on their behavior during transport or testing. Each entry identified the recovery site before describing the material's industrial or research use. This kept biological classification separate from the resource records used by planetary administrators and shipyard engineers.

== Snubable Enterprise and Project Umbrar ==
{{Main|Snubable Enterprise|Project Umbrar}}

On 19 June 2021, [[Iakob Rambam]] accompanied a Weltraumgruppen retrieval mission operating under the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen. The mission returned with the living Borvă later transferred to [[Snubable Enterprise]]. Snubable registered it as Specimen UB-01 under [[Project Umbrar]].<ref name="iakob"/><ref name="snubable"/> Rambam supported containment transfer and sanitation after the organism entered Snubable custody. He moved contaminated equipment and waste from restricted storage areas.

The project attempted to combine human biological material with tissue taken from UB-01. The trial bodies did not survive reliably, and the program never reached stable production. Snubable halted the Borvă work on 3 November 2022 after its resources declined and external pressure increased. UB-01 was killed during the shutdown.<ref name="snubable"/>

== Dissolution ==
{{Main|History of the Weltraumgruppen#Collapse and off-world separation|Off-world territories after the collapse of Tanoa}}
{{See also|History of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen}}

The Weltraumgruppen lost its political leadership during the collapse of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen from 24 to 30 November 2024. Its Georgetown headquarters ceased issuing orders on 30 November, when the Tanoan state ended as an organized entity.<ref name="tanoa-collapse"/> Planetary governors and fleet commanders assumed emergency authority after the central branch ceased functioning. They rejected post-collapse Earth orders because the Georgetown signing authority no longer existed. Regular traffic to Earth ended in March 2025, while the three planets and surviving city-ships continued operating through their off-world supply network. Records held on Earth were divided among abandoned offices and captured storage facilities. The collapse also removed support from Snubable Enterprise and the [[Bucharest Butchers]], whose remaining structures were dismantled in 2025.<ref name="butchers"/>

== See also ==

* [[Weltraumgruppen city-ship program]]
* [[List of settlements administered by the Weltraumgruppen]]
* [[Biota of Neutanoa]]
* [[Biota of Eisenwelt]]
* [[Biota of Grünmond]]
* [[Natural resources of Neutanoa]]
* [[Natural resources of Eisenwelt]]
* [[Natural resources of Grünmond]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="tanoa-branch">"[[Tanoa Einsatzgruppen#Military and security|Military and security]]". ''Tanoa Einsatzgruppen''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>

<ref name="tanoa-collapse">"[[Tanoa Einsatzgruppen#History|History]]". ''Tanoa Einsatzgruppen''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>

<ref name="argentine-einsatz">''[[Argentine Einsatz]]''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>

<ref name="argentina-history">"[[Argentina#History|History]]". ''Argentina''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>

<ref name="departments">"[[Departments of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen#Allgemeine SS|Allgemeine SS]]". ''Departments of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>

<ref name="allgemeine">"[[Allgemeine SS#Armed units and divisions|Armed units and divisions]]". ''Allgemeine SS''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>

<ref name="iakob">"[[Iakob Rambam#Space missions|Space missions]]". ''Iakob Rambam''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>

<ref name="snubable">"[[Snubable Enterprise#Non-human research|Non-human research]]". ''Snubable Enterprise''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>

<ref name="butchers">"[[Bucharest Butchers#Snubable Enterprise|Snubable Enterprise]]". ''Bucharest Butchers''. ''Vrienden Universe Wiki''.</ref>
}}

{{Weltraumgruppen}}
{{Government and politics of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen}}

[[Category:Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]]
[[Category:Tanoa Einsatzgruppen organizations]]
[[Category:Organizations]]
[[Category:Military organizations]]
[[Category:Space programs]]
[[Category:Middenvader Era]]
[[Category:Vriend Era]]