Editing First Persistent Venus Aerostat (section)

=== First Deployment and Commissioning ===
Commander Pilar Suárez-Ibáñez and the inaugural crew of six transferred to the station by descent vehicle on 22 March 2102 CE, completing crew-in-station operations four days after the envelope achieved stable float. The first month of operations confirmed that the buoyancy regulation system performed within design tolerances, and that Tanaka's laminate envelope was surviving acid exposure at rates significantly lower than the worst-case projections from the VB-12 record. Within six months, Suárez-Ibáñez reported to Vronsky that the platform appeared capable of exceeding its ten-year design service life — a projection that ultimately proved conservative by seven years.