Valo Ilati

Valo Ilati (born 9 February 1951) is a Ordrish and  as well as former  and  during the Ordrish Revolution. He flew aboard the Tripartite Selene-8 lunar landing mission from 25 June to 4 July 1981, becoming the first Ordron in space and the second person to walk on a beyond Vanatas. Ilati was a delegate to the Aarneiu Fraternity for the Workers' Party of Ordrey between 2006 and 2012, and served as the Ordrish ambassador to Velorenkya from 2012 to 2018.

Early life and military career
Ilati was born on the 9th of February, 1951 in the city of Lemdon. His father, Aldis Ilati, was a fighter pilot during the Second World War, which influenced Valo to pursue a career in aviation himself, taking a keen interest in the mechanical operations and upkeep of aircraft and working at a small hangar outside of Lemdon proper where he quickly took to a career as a mechanic between his studies. He would additionally receive awards for a number of events during his secondary school years, and graduated in 1968, from hence he received his piloting license and continued his career as an airplane mechanic, primarily working on smaller single- and dual-engine propeller-driven planes for use in local and regional flights. At this point, he began engaging in local politics by campaigning for the Social Democrats in the Lem region, and was a campaign staffer for SDP candidate Tito Comanis during the 1969 Presidential Elections. Due to the ongoing effect of the East Alutran Recession in late 1969, the hangar where Ilati was employed went out of business, and was convinced by his father and former coworkers to take on a career in military aviation after becoming disillusioned with the SDP after the victory of Gueric-Jacoub Omnes in the 1969 elections.

Ilati enlisted with the Republican Ordrish Air Force in the spring of 1970, where he quickly advanced to the OAF fighter pilot program thanks to his prior experience and familial background in the service. He trained first in a Methinsirn A-14b Damath, and would pilot during his term of service. Upon completing his initial training program, he attended the Wallis Contani Air Force Academy in Vernon from 1970 to 1974, and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the OAF with the 5th Air Fighter Regiment. During this time following his commission, he would meet his future spouse, Nina Jaffre, which helped to rekindle his interest in government through her familial connections to the mining industry in the north of the country. The two would keep a close eye on the worsening circumstances of the ongoing Miners' Strike, and would quietly support the strikers in his community, volunteering in a community kitchen during time between training operations. He would later be barred from participating in supporting the striking miners and colliers directly by his commanding officer, much to his chagrin, due to the "depoliticization" measures that the Omnes government placed on the military.

1975-1980
With the declaration of the SRNO Government in opposition to Omnes' increasingly authoritarian tendencies and refusal to work with the striking miners in the face of the continuing recession, Ilati was called up, alongside other active-duty personnel, to high alert in January of 1975. His writings at the time suggest that he worried for the future of the country, but was not yet convinced that the Second Republic was irreparably damaged by Omnes. This changed following the Battle of Lagadec Ridge in February and the generally-recognized beginnings of the Ordrish Revolution, where he was alarmed at the deployment of the Army to raid an SRNO-affiliated community. When the Air Force was called in to engage in limited bombing runs of the now openly-rebelling parts of the country, Ilati joined the bulk of the 5th Air Fighter Regiment in a mutiny against the local top brass, and pledged loyalty to the SRNO.

Throughout the Ordrish Revolution, Ilati would engage in a number of missions to intercept Republican aircraft, disrupt materiel and personnel convoys, and engaged in a number of confrontations with enemy fighter planes. One particular event, where an enemy missile salvo came within meters of the cockpit of his Comet, earned him the nickname "Maíbar" (lit. "flat top"), as a fellow pilot later remarked the strike grazed close enough to shave his head clean. Throughout the conflict, Ilati would down 6 enemy planes, earning him the designation as a and becoming a minor propaganda figure late in the war, being recognized during reconstruction for his participation in the conflict with the title of Hero of the Ordrish Revolution. Following the conflict's conclusion, he was often tapped to participate in the testing of new experimental aircraft, and was consulted during the early phases of development of the which began as reconstruction efforts came to a close.

OSS program
In 1980, Ilati was selected to be part of the new 1st Ordrish Spaceflight Wing, a precursor to the modern OSS which formed in conjunction with their Velorenkyan counterparts due to his mechanical expertise and reputation in both aeronautics circles and the young post-revolution government. He would participate in the Brisnath Program, which was largely managed by the Velorenkyan Space Agency but constructed and ran entirely in Ordrey, and would first enter space on the Brisnath-4 Mission in 1980. While originally slated to operate out of the [VELORENKYAN COSMODROME], the more recent construction and favorable weather conditions in Ordrey saw the Selene Program, which begun in 1977 as a series of unmanned probes and manned flybys of Vanatas' nearest stellar neighbor, move to the now-proven and fully operational Muir Donnagin Astrodrome with the establishment of the Tripartite Agreement on Space Exploration between Velorenkya, Ordrey, and Lathadu in 1980. It was then announced that the three signatory nations would participate in its own lunar landing, following the footsteps of [FIRST MOON LANDING] with the intention to locate a suitable site for a permanent installation on Selene.

After several months of preparation, Ilati, alongside fellow astronauts Bertelan Faric of Velorenkya and Eamon Piper of Lathadu, departed from the planet on the Selene-8 Mission on 24 June, 1981, reaching the landing site at the Drai Rosana on the 29th. Ilati would be the first to leave the landing capsule at around 11:52 UTC, followed by Faric 21 minutes later. Piper remained in the command module, and awaited the completion of the pair's experiments and served as a relay between the command center at Donnagin and the astronauts as they recorded a broadcast which would be shown live on television among many of the world's nations. The most famous cultural relic of the mission was the "Celestial Handshake" between Ilati and Faric, a gesture which stood in sharp contrast to the first lunar landing's image of a [FIRST FAMOUS LUNAR LANDING PHOTO], and in many ways would seem to shape the character of future space missions engaged in by the participating nations, according to many historians.

Following the return of the Selene-8 Crew, Ilati was celebrated in a number of public appearances, meeting with workers at a number of factories, mines, and farms, alongside making an appearance at several major schools, culminating in an appearance before the Federal Assembly, where he was recognized by then-First Commissar Semla Menes alongside Faric and Piper, each receiving the Order of Acoul Noyon.

Ilati would work on the ground as a trainer for future astronauts until 1988 when he was reassigned to the Air Force as a commanding officer. In the years following his departure from the space program, Ilati would recieve other accolades for his participation in the early Ordrish space program and the Selene-8 mission, and would make numerous public appearances recounting the events and promoting the sciences in presentations to students.

Later military career (1988-2000)
Following his departure from the OSS, Ilati was promoted to the rank of Captain in the Ordrish Air Force, and was placed at the command of the 2nd Air Defense Division, based out of Giry, which oversaw the Céthitunac military district. He would hold this post until his retirement in 2000, following a renewed correspondence with Eamon Piper, who had used his position as a notable figure in Lathadun culture following the Selene-8 Mission to enter into public office to promote demilitarization and advancement of education in his home country. Ilati served a total of 30 years in the Ordrish Air Force.

Political career
Ilati, while engaged in politics on a smaller scale throughout multiple phases of his life, only after his departure from the OAS would hold a public office. Due to his role in the advancement of cooperation between Ordrey and Lathadu during his time in the OSS, he was appointed by the Workers' Party of Ordrey to serve as their official representative in the newly-formed Aarnieu Fraternity, where he would promote the advancement of the sciences and development of orbital infrastructure among the Sedic Nations to engage in climate research and alternative energy, as well as being a staunch opponent to bureaucratic growth in the AF. He would serve two full terms in the AF on behalf of the SiCO before being chosen in a symbolic gesture to become the Ambassador to Velorenkya in 2012 following his compatriot Bertelan Faric doing so as the Velorenkyan Ambassador to Ordrey the prior year. This was not without practical motivation, however, as with the intensification of the harvesting and transportation of materials to and from Rosana Base over the past decade, it was seen as a vital link to keep space on the forefront of the foreign relations between the two nations.

Prior to completing his term in 2018, he announced his retirement from politics, and would depart the office in December of that year.

In popular culture
A statue of Ilati and fellow astronaut Bertelan Faric was erected in 1990 in Ilati's hometown of Lemdon. A statue of Ilati and Eamon Piper was erected in the latter's hometown of Ushteyghoo in 2002. In addition, Ilati's place in the scientific history of Ordrey has resulted in a number of references to him in science fiction media from East Alutra.

Quotes

 * "May we remember on this day that a soldier is not a sword, but a shield of their people, their conscience, and the freedom we all cherish for ourselves and our children." - Ilati's closing statement on the broadcast announcing the 5th Air Fighter Regiment's defection from the Republic.
 * "Today, we are not Velorenkyans or Ordrons. We are brothers taking the first tentative steps into the future of all mankind." - ''Ilati's statement following the "Celestial Handshake" with Bertelan Faric during the Selene-8 landings.