Edwin Hade

Edwin Hade (October 23, 1943-January 27, 2020) was an Vlokozuian Astronaut and test pilot who became the first Vlokozuian in space in 1971.

Early Life.
Edwin Hade was born on October 23rd, 1943, in what is now Remmington, Vlokozu Union. He attended the Irvington School for Boys when he was young and was known for being a bit of a wildcard, he had at some point attended flight school and was certified as a pilot.

Career as a Test Pilot.
After graduating in 1961 he joined the East El Kadsreian Air Force where he became a fighter pilot with his plane being a former U.S. Air Force F-86 Sabre, quickly he proved he was capable and was soon assigned to a classified supersonic flight program where he and a couple others were able to break the speed of sound in a two-seater Rocketplane known only as the Hades, other than these flights, much information about the program is highly classified information.

Career as an Astronaut.
Late in 1969, Hade and many other test pilots were given a choice to either stay or join the newly formed Vlokozuian Space Agency many stayed as test pilots while Hade, who wanted to try something new joined the program, shortly after launching the first Vlokozuian satellite named Glory on a Meteor I rocket, he was selected as Commander and sole crew member of the Brave I mission, he began a seven month long Astronaut training program the agency had money for which included reportedly dumping a dummy capsule with Hade into a closed public pool to test the life support systems.

Brave I spaceflight.
On the 30th of November 1971, Edwin Hade boarded the Brave I space capsule which was sat on top of a Meteor I launch vehicle, he later reported that he "felt a bit uneasy however I reminded myself that this wasn't too different from Hades." And with the roar of the engines the Meteor I lifted off from Launchpad 1A at the Vlokozuian Launch Complex, A couple of years later during an interview, Hade said that "The first couple of minutes after liftoff felt slightly calm in a way, the silenced noise and shake of the engine were the only things I felt or heard, however when the second engine started, the noise became so much louder to the point where I almost felt I was losing control." despite the slight uneasiness the Brave I capsule soon passed above the Karman line making Edwin Hade the first Vlokozuian in space. Shortly afterwards, the second stage was separated and the third and final stage thrusted the craft into Low Earth Orbit. some of the experiments performed have not been declassified however one experiment noted was pouring out a bottle of water in space to see how it behaves. After a total of seven orbits around Earth the Brave I began its retrorocket deorbit burn after flying over Africa, with the third stage jettisoned, Hade and his capsule safely reentered the atmosphere and landing just off the coast of the Vlokozu Union and being rescued by the newly built VUS Cranic.

Final Flight
Hades final spaceflight would be serving as Commander of the Brave VII mission along with Ned Canton who later would serve as scientist of the first Vlokozu Orbital Lab mission. Lifting off on April 14th, 1975, the Meteor IB propelled the crew into Low Earth Orbit where they would then rendezvous and dock with the previously launched Brave VI mission in order to prepare for the Vlokozu Orbital Lab missions, after returning on April 17th, 1975. Hades officially became a spokesman for the Agency.

Later Life
Following his time as an astronaut, Edwin continued to work as a spokesman for the Vlokozuian Space Agency often endorsing the program until its end along with the Vlokozu Union, afterwards he worked also as an associate with the EKASA however would also work as an engineer by trade. On January 27th, 2020, Edwin Hade passed away at the age of 77.

Legacy
The story of Edwin Hade and more specifically his famous Brave I spaceflight has been the subject of multiple movies and books.