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HSP: Mission complete.


Hotaru

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Boring stuff: 

Spoiler

Added a bunch of new mods recently updated to 1.2 (and a couple new ones); my "stock" install now has 20 mods installed (bold = new since last time):

Audio Muffler Redux
Better Burn Time

Chatterer
Distant Object Enhancement
Drop A Maneuver Node
Environmental Visual Enhancements (EVE)
Firespitter (.dll only)
ModuleManager
Docking Port Alignment Indicator
Nebula Decals
PlanetShine
Real Plume
Reentry Particle Effect
Scatterer
--Galileo's Sun Flares
Stock Visual Enhancements (SVE)
Texture Replacer
--Cetera's Suit Pack
--Hotaru's Female Kerbals
--Scart91's Texture Pack
--GreeningGalaxy's Diverse Kerbal Lasses
--necKros's Female Faces
--Diverse Kerbal Heads
--Vaporo's Blue Galaxy Skybox
Kerbal Alarm Clock (KAC)
Alternate Resource Panel
TweakScale
Warp Everywhere

 

Firespitter and Tweakscale are dependencies of Nebula Decals, an old (0.25!) mod that adds resizeable (via Tweakscale) and retextureable (via Firespitter) decals to the game--I like to use them to paint the names on my ships. (Incidentally this might mean I'll finally make a better flag than my current "H.S.P." one, since I can use the decals to print "HSP" on the ships and have a more interesting stock flag for Kerbals to plant.) Needless to say I will not be using Tweakscale to rescale anything other than the decals. 

Better Burn Time, Drop A Maneuver Node, Docking Port Alignment Indicator, KAC, Alternate Resource Panel, and Warp Everywhere are pretty much just quality-of-life mods to make playing the game a little less annoying. They do give slightly more information than is available in a pure stock game and allow slightly more precise navigation, but none of them really radically change how I play (as opposed to something like KER or MechJeb). I did try one launch with Auto-Gravity Turn (Timidity 2, if anyone's curious), but it felt too much like cheating for a supposedly "stock" game so I uninstalled it after that. 

And of course Real Plume makes rocket exhaust much nicer and more realistic. 

 

For the record I'm still calling this save "stock" (rather than "mostly stock," which I called my last career) because I'm not installing any part mods (except the purely cosmetic decals) or mods that substantially change gameplay. Put another way, any mission I do in this save should be reproduceable in a completely mod-free install. 

Boring stuff TL;DR: Installed a bunch of cosmetic and quality-of-life mods, longish list but nothing too radical. Gameplay is still stock. 

 

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The second Kerbounaut class, left to right: Carena, Geneming, Eririne, Mitrie, Lodald, and Thomptrey. 

 

Intrepidity 4, second mission to the Mun.

Spoiler

Although the first mission to the Mun was a success, the Frumious III rocket and Block II Intrepidity lander came up a bit short on delta-v; in response to this, the engineers have developed the Frumious IIIB, an uprated version with longer first and second stages and T30 engines in the boosters, and the Block IIB lander, which has additional fuel tanks and ladders in the right places. 

 

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The first Frumious IIIB launches veteran P1 Kerzer along with rookies S0 Thomptrey and E0 Mitrie on Intrepidity 4, the Space Program's second kermanned mission to the Mun. 

 

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Kerzer's view from the orbital module of the full Kerbin. 

 

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Intrepidity 4 makes a successful landing in the East Crater on the Munar near side. 

 

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After collecting samples and data from the East Crater, the ship lifts off and returns safely to Kerbin without anybody having to get out and push. 

 

 

Rationality 3 through 5, probes to the outer kerbolar system.

Spoiler

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Rationality 34, and 5, the Space Program's first missions to the outer kerbolar system, were launched on Manxome IIB rockets. Rationality 3 will fly by Jool and Eeloo; Rationality 4 will encounter Tylo and Laythe as well as making a close flyby of Jool itself; Rationality 5 will orbit Dres. (The KSC engineers were particularly pleased with themselves for coming up with a strategy to use space station Patience 2 as a reference to launch Rationality 5 directly into the correct inclination for its departure burn for Dres, which saved almost 1 km/s of delta-v compared to a launch into an equatorial orbit.)

 

 

Valor 6B and Intrepidity S-1, missions to space station Patience 2.

Spoiler

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After a few weeks aboard Patience 2, Burmin, Lizdrien, and Tangel boarded Valor 6B to return to Kerbin. 

 

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Although the ship survived reentry and made a safe splashdown, the KSC engineers are not satisfied with the safety record of the Valor program. Three out of seven launches have ended in aborts (compared to two out of twenty for the combined Audacity and Intrepidity programs), three out of seven landings have resulted in damage to the vehicle, and only one reentry from orbit out of three has been completely without incident (that of Valor 5). 

Because of this poor record as well as the fact that the three-Kerman Intrepidity spacecraft is now available, the Valor spaceplane program has been cancelled. 

(OOC: Really, Valor was only ever meant as a compromise for the lack of an early/mid-game Gemini analog 2-seat pod, which I maintain is the most serious gap currently left in the stock parts lineup (although while we're on the subject I wouldn't say no to a 2.5-meter SRB). Although it was kind of nifty and ended up being interesting as a Dyna-Soar analog, I never intended to continue using it once I'd unlocked the Mk 1-2.)

 

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To replace the Valor system the engineers have developed the Intrepidity S, a shortened version of the Block I Intrepidity CSM launched by a Frumious IB rocket. The Frumious-Intrepidity S system is only slightly more expensive than the Manxome-Valor, and promises to be considerably more reliable. 

The first flight of the new system, Intrepidity S-1, delivered veterans P2 Melxie and S1 Tangel and rookie P0 Lodald to the Patience 2 station. 

 

 

Intrepidity 5, first kermanned landing on Minmus. 

Spoiler

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A Frumious IIIB launched mission commander Burmin along with scientist Eririne and flight engineer Carena to Minmus aboard Intrepidity 5

 

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Burmin's departing view of Kerbin and the spent Frumious second stage from the orbital module. 

 

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During the three-day transit to Minmus (a new speed record, incidentally), the crew observed the Mun's shadow passing across Kerbin during a kerbolar eclipse. 

 

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The ship entered orbit and made a safe landing on the Greater Flats of Minmus. 

 

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Burmin: First Kerman on Minmus!

 

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Obligatory group shot: Carena, spacecraft, Eririne, Burmin, flag. 

 

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Eririne took advantage of the low gravity to collect samples from the nearby lowlands.

 

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The crew stayed on the surface for a full Minmus day (however long that is, nobody was counting) before boarding their spacecraft to return to Kerbin.

 

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Intrepidity 5 lifted off from Minmus and completed a flyby of the Mun on the way back to Kerbin, becoming the first spacecraft to visit both moons on a single mission.

 

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The ship made a safe splashdown after a 21-day mission.

 

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Timidity program, Mun rovers.

Spoiler

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Three Manxome IIB rockets launched unkermanned rovers Timidity 12, and 3 to the Mun to perform temperature and seismic surveys.

 

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Timidity 1 crashed into the Mun, but Timidity 2 successfully landed in the Munar highlands.

 

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After separating from its lander, Timidity 2 completed a series of temperature surveys of the surrounding terrain. 

 

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Timidity 3 landed in more rugged terrain near the north pole, where it completed a set of seismic surveys. 

 

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Not much boring stuff this time, just one small new mod--Speed Unit Changer, which allows the navball to display different speed units as well as AGL or Ap/Pe depending on mode. Mostly just saves a bit of switching back and forth to map view. 

Also I've finally saved up enough science points (1418:science:) and bought the :science: -> :funds: strategy (Patent Licensing I think) at 50% comittment, which will hopefully make the tech tree last a bit further into the late game. 

@Yuri kagarin56 Thanks (and good luck with your science save)! The Kerbin cloud textures are Stock Visual Enhancements (SVE), the atmospheric effects are Scatterer.  

 

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"Kerbinrise" photographed by Carena during Intrepdity 7

 

Endurance 1, Minmus space station.

Spoiler

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A Frumious IIIB lifted off with the core module of Endurance 1, a Minmus-orbiting space station.

 

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Booster separation. The station was launched unkermanned, and carried to its destination by the Frumious second stage, which was modified for this mission to enable it to operate autonomously. (Noting that the stage had almost half its fuel left even after delivering the station, the KSC engineers are considering using it as the basis for an unkermanned tanker ship.)

 

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The station was successfully inserted into a 20 by 20 kilometer equatorial Minmus orbit. The spent rocket stage was automatically deorbited and impacted on the dark side of Minmus. 

 

 

Circumspection reentry vehicle test series.

Spoiler

Still mystified as to the reasons for the loss of Circumspection 1 during entry to Eve's atmosphere, the KSC engineers decided it would be worth making a few test flights of the reentry vehicle before trying again. 

 

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Circumspection A was destroyed when its Manxome IB rocket exploded on the launch pad. 

 

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The problem was traced to a decoupler installed backwards in the upper stage. 

 

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Appropriate people were sacked, the launch pad was repaired, and Circumspection B lifted off on a correctly-assembled Manxome IB. 

 

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The probe was launched into an elliptical Kerbin orbit, then accelerated back towards Kerbin at periapsis to simulate an interplanetary entry. Although it survived and landed safely in the desert (returning some useful science data, incidentally), data from the flight suggests the problem is that the heat shield doesn't fully protect the back shell fairing. 

 

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So another Manxome IB was rolled out carrying Circumspection C, which did not have a back shell fairing. 

 

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Circumspection C made a safe reentry and landing at 3.5 km/s, and its internal components showed no signs of overheating. The engineers are optimistic that this version, although it doesn't look as good as the one with the back shell, will survive entry to Eve's atmosphere. 

 

 

Intrepidity 6, first crew to Endurance 1.

Spoiler

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A Frumious II launched mission commander Kerzer, command module pilot Geneming, and scientist Thomptrey to Minmus for the first mission to space station Endurance 1.

 

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Unfortunately, the rookie pilot Geneming turned out to be a little insane over-enthusiastic, and Intrepidity 6 used up virtually all of its fuel trying to set a new Kerbin-Minmus speed record. 

 

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Intrepidity 6 became the first mission to make the trip in under two days, and, luckily, the ship still had (barely) enough fuel left to stop in Minmus orbit and complete the first space rendezvous and docking beyond low Kerbin orbit. This was Geneming's view of Endurance 1, illuminated by Intrepidity 6's docking lights, during the nighttime rendezvous. 

 

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The crew transferred to Endurance 1, where they will stay until the next crew arrives with extra fuel to enable Intrepidity 6 to return to Kerbin under its own power. 

 

 

Intrepidity 7, yet another Mun landing.

Spoiler

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Intrepidity 7, the first mission to the far side of the Mun, was launched on a Frumious IIIB rocket with mission commander Burmin, flight engineer Lizdrien, and flight engineer Carena. Obviously, the mission needed two engineers because we mixed up the records and thought Carena was a scientist of the difficulties with communications without direct line-of-sight to Kerbin.

 

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Lizdrien plants the first flag on the far side of the Mun.

 

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Obligatory group shot: Burmin, spacecraft, Carena, Lizdrien, flag. 

 

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Intrepidity 7 returned safely to Kerbin.

 

 

Rationality 6 and Circumspection 3, Duna probes.

Spoiler

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Rationality 6, the heaviest interplanetary mission yet, was launched to Duna on a Manxome IIB rocket. In addition to transmitting materials science, it will provide a more robust communications link with Kerbin than the older Rationality 1

 

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Circumspection 3 will be the Space Program's first attempt to land on Duna. Based on the results of the test series, it lacks a back shell fairing. 

 

 

Rationality 3 encounter with Jool.

Spoiler

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Almost a year after its launch on a Manxome IIB rocket, Rationality 3 approaches Jool. The giant planet's gravity is used to redirect the probe towards its primary target, Eeloo. Rationality 3 becomes in the process the first Kerman-made object to acheive the Third Cosmic Speed and permanently leave the kerbolar system. 

 

The probe returns the first close-up images of the Joolian moons:

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Pol and Bop, Jool's two irregular outer moons…

 

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…Tylo, a rocky, airless body and Jool's largest moon…

 

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…Vall, which appears to have an icy surface…

 

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…and Laythe, which is revealed to have a thick, cloudy atmosphere and possibly a liquid surface. Confirmation of this last discovery would make Laythe the first object in the kerbolar system, besides Kerbin itself, known to have stable surface liquid.

 

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Another view of Laythe, taken as the spacecraft passed behind Jool. (The two bright objects above and below Laythe are alien spacecraft background stars.)

 

 

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Rationality 3's departing view of the crescent Jool. The spacecraft will encounter Eeloo 300 days after leaving Jool's sphere of influence. 

 

Edited by Hotaru
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I'm having fun with the current phase of unkermanned interplanetary missions but I imagine they're not the most exciting reading, so I'm trying to get through this part relatively quickly and move on to the first kermanned Duna mission. 

Boring stuff: installed Stock Visual Terrain.

 

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Laythe and Jool as seen by Rationality 4.

 

 

Space station ops.

Spoiler

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Tangel, Melxie, and Lodald returned to Kerbin aboard Intrepidity S-1 after 300 days aboard space station Patience 2. (OOC: I've started using KAC to keep track of who has been on which station for how long.)

 

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A Frumious IB launched P2 Burmin, S1 Laselle, and E1 Mitrie to the station aboard Intrepidity S-2 on a 300-day mission. 

 

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Intrepidity 8 was launched on a Frumious II to Minmus station Endurance 1 with mission commander Lodald, flight engineer Chris, and scientist Tangel (the first mission not commanded by one of the original three Kerbonauts). 

 

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Technical problems* prevented fuel being transferred between the two Intrepidity spacecraft, so Intrepidity 8 was used, unkermanned in case it didn't have enough fuel left to return to the station, to push the nearly empty Intrepidity 6 with Kerzer, Geneming, Thomptrey and onto a minimum-energy trajectory back to Kerbin via a flyby of the Mun. They splashed down safely on Kerbin, while Intrepidity 8 returned to Endurance 1

 

*(OOC: I'm not sure whether it's a bug or an ill-advised "feature," but it seems to be impossible to enable fuel crossfeed for heat shields. I'm pretty sure Gemini, Apollo, and Soyuz must all have some crossfeed--of life support and electricity, if not actual fuel--between their service and command modules in spite of having a heat shield between them. Regardless, the result is the Intrepidity CSM can't be refuelled. I might add a junior docking port to the side--so two of them could dock side-to-side--for emergency refuelling in future.)

 

Rationality 4 initial encounter with Jool. 

Spoiler

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Weeks after Rationality 3 made the first flyby of Jool on its way to Eeloo, Rationality 4 arrived in the system. Unlike the previous mission, the Jool system is the primary target of Rationality 4, and it will make several close flybys of the Joolian moons as well as the planet itself.

 

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The probe first encountered Tylo at a distance of about 770 kilometers, returning the best images so far of the kerbolar system's largest airless body.

 

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Next, it passed within 10 kilometers of the Joolian atmosphere and performed a 200 m/s braking burn to direct it to a close encounter with Laythe.

 

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Rationality 4 passed 56 kilometers from the surface of Laythe, transmitting detailed data and returning images which confirm the existance of a global ocean of liquid water on Jool's innermost moon. The images also reveal what appear to be rocky islands in the ocean which may be the targets of future kermanned missions. 

 

The probe made another engine burn as it passed behind Laythe which captured it into a highly elliptical orbit of Jool. A course correction at apoapsis will direct the probe to two encounters with Vall and one with Tylo on future orbits. 

 

 

Rationality 5 and 6, Dres and Duna orbiters.

Spoiler

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Rationality 5 returned the first close-up images of Dres, confirming that it does, in fact, exist. 

 

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It successfully captured into orbit and transmitted temperature and pressure data, making Dres the third primary kerbolar system body (after Eve and Duna) to be orbited by a spacecraft.

 

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Rationality 6 successfully captured into an eccentric polar orbit of Duna. It returned materials data from Duna orbit and will provide communications for the Circumspection 3 lander when it arrives.

 

 

Circumspection 4, first unkermanned landing on Eve.

Spoiler

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Launched on a Manxome IB rocket, Circumspection 4 arrived at Eve after a 270-day transit.

 

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Unlike the previous mission, Circumspection 4 survived entry to Eve's atmosphere and parachuted to the surface on the planet's dark side.

 

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After the sun came up and recharged the probe's batteries, Circumspection 4 transmitted temperature, pressure, and seismic data to Kerbin via the Rationality 2 orbiter, along with the first images from the surface of another planet.

 

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Boring stuff:

Spoiler

Mod changes:

Uninstalled Stock Visual Terrain; it looked good but wasn't worth the performance hit. I think the performance issues are actually related to Kopernicus, not SVT itself, so I'm not ruling out bringing it back in future.

Installed All Y'all (small mod that adds context-menu buttons to deploy all solar panels and run all experiments) and switched skyboxes from Vaporo's Blue Galaxy to Poodmund's Calm Nebula. Also updated Texture Replacer to the current version which now supports real reflections again.

TL;DR: Uninstalled SVT.

 

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Intrepidity 9 en route to Minmus.

 

Circumspection 3, first unkermanned landing on Duna.

Spoiler

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Circumspection 3, the Space Program's first attempt to land on the surface of Duna, entered the atmosphere on the planet's night side.

 

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The probe survived entry, descent, and landing, returning the first images and scientific data from Duna's surface.

 

 

Rationality 3 encounter with Eeloo.

Spoiler

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Nearly two years after its launch from Kerbin, and 300 days after being sped on its way by the gravity of Jool, Rationality 3 arrived at Eeloo.

 

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The probe passed within 12 kilometers of the planet's surface at a relative speed of 6.3 kilometers per second, transmitting scientific data as well as the first close-up images of the kerbolar system's most distant object. Having been accelerated by Jool above kerbolar escape velocity, the probe will now continue into interstellar space, the first kerman-made object to leave the kerbolar system.

 

 

Space station ops.

Spoiler

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Burmin, Laselle, and Mitrie returned to Kerbin aboard Intrepidity S-2, ending a 300-day expedition on space station Patience 2.

 

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Intrepidity S-3 carried P2 Melxie, E1 Lizdrien, and S2 Eririne to the station for a year-long mission.

 

(OOC: At some point I may stop posting pictures of every single routine crew rotation for the same reason I already don't post pictures of every single contractsat launch.)

 

 

Intrepidity 9, second landing on Minmus.

Spoiler

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A Frumious IIIB rocket launched Intrepidity 9 to Minmus with mission commander Geneming, scientist Laselle, and flight engineer Mitrie. In addition to returning science data from the highlands of Minmus, the mission's goal was to investigate a magnetic anomaly first detected four years previously by the Prudence 2 flyby. Several subsequent missions had failed to detect the anomaly from low orbit.

 

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Scientist Laselle performed an EVA in Minmus orbit to show off the new visor reflections collect science data from the service module.

 

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Intrepidity 9 landed safely in the highlands.

 

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Obligatory group shot: Mitrie, Laselle, and Geneming.

 

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The spacecraft landed roughly 2 kilometers from the center of the area established by Prudence 2. Mission scientist Laselle used her EVA jetpack to search the area.

 

Spoiler: Minmus easter egg.

Spoiler

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Laselle discovered the source of the anomaly to be a large black monolith. Its purpose and origin remain a total mystery.

 

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She marked the monolith for future investigation before making the 6.5-kilometer hop back to Intrepidity 9.

 

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After remaining on the surface for a full Minmus day, Intrepidity 9 lifted off to return to Kerbin.

 

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The ship reentered and splashed down safely at the conclusion of a nine-day mission. This was flight engineer Mitrie's view from the command module during reentry.

 

Edited by Hotaru
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Really enjoying the mission reports! I like how you've incorporated space probes as well as kerbed missions. Loved the transcript too! Too bad the Valor didn't work out, it was a nice spaceplane. I created MOLE partly to give myself an early 2-seater spacecraft/station for similar reasons to your Valor, but I like the spaceplane solution you came up with.

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@Angel-125 Thanks! I wouldn't say the Valor didn't work out; it served its purpose (transporting multiple kerbals to space before the Mk 1-2 pod or 2.5m parts) even if it only actually flew two operational missions. Its main trouble was stability; it would work a lot better with a decent autopilot, both going up and coming down. 

A bunch of mods try different approaches the early-game 2-seater problem. In addition to MOLE, HGR and Ven's Revamp both add 2-seat pods (in 1.875m and 2.5m sizes, respectively) and there are a couple of standalone mods, including Corvus and K2, and probably some others I'm forgetting and/or don't know about. My personal favorite is the HGR "Radish" pod, but they're all good mods. I've used some of them in the past and will again in future--but for this save I kind of enjoyed the challenge of coming up with a stock solution that wasn't too inelegant. 

 

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"Joolrise" over Vall as seen by Rationality 4 during its second and final flyby. 

 

Rationality 4: "Grand Tour" of the Joolian system. 

Spoiler

The original goal of the Rationality 4 mission was to make one flyby each of Tylo, Laythe, and Jool itself. But the probe was able to capture into a wide Joolian orbit during its first Laythe encounter, leaving it with about 200 meters per second worth of fuel to continue exploring the Joolian system. 

 

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A few months after entering orbit, Rationality 4 approached the inner Joolian system for the second time. 

 

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Its first objective was Vall, the only one of the three inner moons not yet studied up close. The probe passed behind the dark side of the moon, returning data and images and confirming that it has an icy surface. 

 

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Rationality 4 then made a close flyby of Tylo, returning more detailed data than it had during its initial encounter. 

 

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It then made a second flyby of Laythe…

 

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…and, after a 43 m/s course change, a third.  This encounter allowed Rationality 4 to return the first images of the south pole of Laythe and sent it out of the plane of Jool's equator…

 

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…to the Space Program's first encounter with Bop. 

 

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Rationality 4 returned the first images and scientific data from Bop, before dropping back into the inner Joolian system…

 

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…to yet another flyby of Laythe…

 

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…and another, the fifth and final, which brought the probe back into the plane of Jool's equator and, after two small and extremely precise course corrections, set it on course to encounter…

 

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…Pol, Jool's outermost moon and the last one Rationality 4 had not yet visited. 

 

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The probe passes within a few kilometers of Pol's jagged mountaintops, returning detailed data and the first close-up images of the moon. 


 

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Having now completed close encounters with all five of Jool's moons, as well as the planet itself, Rationality 4 made a final, extremely close flyby of Vall, passing within a kilometer of the icy moon's mountains and sending the probe back into a wide elliptical orbit of Jool. 

Rationality 4 will make one further flyby of Tylo which will send it into an even wider orbit, after which it will use its remaining fuel to raise its periapsis to a permanently stable parking orbit. 

 

Edited by Hotaru
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On 10/13/2016 at 1:25 AM, Hotaru said:

I'm liking the title banner more each time I look at it. @Andem, what kind of filters/post processing effects/whatever do you use on your screenshots? I've been looking at the ones in your thread and they're, if anything, even nicer.

Oh! Sorry I didn't notice this before. On my games I use GEMFX, and for post processing I use my Paint.NET with the Film plugin. :)

Spoiler

I usually start with the Glow effect, and then I go to Soften Portrait and then Film, all under the Photo tab.

 

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@Andem Thanks for the suggestions, especially GEMFX. I've installed it for this update and it has some severely cool effects. Bit of a frame rate drop (weirdly a lot worse in some places than others--especially the VAB, for some reason) but since it can be toggled without restarting KSP I can live with it. Still experimenting with the settings, might take a couple updates before I'm really satisfied. Right now it looks great on the Mun and airless bodies but the atmospheres of Kerbin and Laythe still look a little overexposed, and I can't decide whether the dirt-on-the-lens effect is too harsh or not.

 

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The third kerbonaut class with a mockup of the Bravado interplanetary spacecraft. Left to right: Jochelle, Ziggy, Agalinne, Lemlock, Gemlina, Alvis, Johndo, Phoberta, Deblian, and Hayberta.

 

Intrepidity 11, yes we're going to the Mun again, shut up.

Spoiler

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A Frumious IIIB rocket launched mission commander P2 Burmin, scientist S1 Tangel, and pilot P1 Lodald aboard Intrepidity 11, the fourth kermanned mission to the surface of the Mun.

 

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The mission is the first flight of the Block IIC lander, with improved avionics and fuel cells instead of solar panels for power generation. It surveyed several possible future landing sites from low orbit, as well as detecting a previously unknown magnetic anomaly in the northern lowlands, before beginning its descent to the Northwest Crater.

 

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Intrepidity 11 made a safe landing in the Northwest Crater. Obligatory group photo: Lodald, Burmin, Tangel.

 

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Mission scientist Tangel performed an EVA to collect science data from the service module once the ship had returned to Munar orbit.

 

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Intrepidity 11 returned safely to Kerbin after a three-day mission.

 

 

Rationality 7, Timidity 4, and Rationality 4, probes to Moho, the Mun, and Jool.

Spoiler

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A Manxome II rocket launched Rationality 7, the Space Program's first mission to Moho.

 

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The kerbolar system's innermost planet is the last primary body not yet visited by spacecraft. After Rationality 7 completes its encounter, only Eve's satellite Gilly will not yet have been visited by at least a flyby probe.

 

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Timidity 4 landed in the Mun's southern highlands, where it completed a series of geological surveys.

 

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Rationality 4, the first spacecraft to visit all five of the Joolian moons, completed its final, distant flyby of Tylo to send it into a permanent elliptical parking orbit around Jool.

 

 

Patience 2 solar array installation.

Spoiler

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A Manxome II rocket launched the first of two solar arrays destined for space station Patience 2.

 

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Station commander Melxie piloted Intrepidity S-3 from the station to retrieve the array from the Manxome second stage and attach it to the station.

 

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The array will provide additional power for a science lab module scheduled to be launched on a later flight.

 

 

Also:

Lodald, Chris, and Tangel returned from Minmus station Endurance 1 aboard Intrepidity 8.

Intrepidity 10B delivered P2 Kerzer, S2 Thomptrey, and E2 Mitrie to Endurance 1. Intrepidity 10, with the same crew, ended in an abort after the service module failed to separate from the Frumious II rocket.

Edited by Hotaru
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  • 1 month later...
10 minutes ago, NotAgain said:

Has something bad happened? I was really enjoying this... I hope it's not dead.

Nope, I'm still around. Real life has gotten a little more interesting the past month or so and I haven't been playing KSP, but I'm looking forward to getting back to it. Taking occasional breaks helps avoid getting burned out in the long run anyway so when I do come back I should be a little more in the spirit of things.

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16 hours ago, Hotaru said:

Nope, I'm still around. Real life has gotten a little more interesting the past month or so and I haven't been playing KSP, but I'm looking forward to getting back to it. Taking occasional breaks helps avoid getting burned out in the long run anyway so when I do come back I should be a little more in the spirit of things.

A) I hope everything's okay.

B) Yay!

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  • 1 month later...

And we're back. No mod changes in spite of the long gap, so far everything still seems to work fine in 1.2.2. One small change in plans, however: since it looks like the PorkJet rocket parts will not in fact be made stock, and I've noticed the engines have slightly different stats to their stock counterparts, I've decided to stop using them.

 

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Space station Patience 2 in orbit, with Intrepidity S-4 docked, after installation of solar array and laboratory modules.

 

Rationality 7 and 8, probes to Moho and Gilly.

Spoiler

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Rationality 7 completed its flyby of Moho, the last primary kerbolar system body still unexplored.

 

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The probe returned the first close-up images of the innermost planet, discovering that it has no surface lava and is therefore more boring than expected. It has been reduced in priority for future exploration accordingly.

 

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The final Manxome II rocket launched Rationality 8 to the Eve system.

 

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The probe's primary objective is Eve's satellite Gilly, the last unvisited body in the kerbolar system.

 

 

Patience 2 crew rotation and assembly flights.

Spoiler

An unexpected dispute with the manufacturer of the LV-series liquid fuel engines necessitated a hurried program to replace them with cheap knockoffs license-built versions.

 

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Intrepidity S-4 was launched to space station Patience 2 on a Frumious IV rocket, the first of the re-engined launch vehicles.

 

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The mission delivered commander P2 Geneming and rookies S0 Alvis and E0 Phoberta to the station aboard the first Block II Intrepidity S spacecraft (which, in addition to having its LV-909 engine replaced, is powered by fuel cells rather than solar panels). The previous crew, Melxie, Eririne, and Lizdrien, returned to Kerbin aboard Intrepidity S-3 at the conclusion of the space program's first year-long mission.

 

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Another Frumious IV rocket launched a science lab module to the station. Mission commander Geneming piloted Intrepidity S-4 to retrieve and install the module.

 

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The first Manxome V rocket--the re-engined version of the old Manxome IIB--launched the station's second solar array, which was also successfully installed and deployed. 

 

Edited by Hotaru
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Your Frumious rockets really open up the solar system for crewed spacecraft. I'm wondering if you're going to use them to enable an interplanetary mission soon or will you use them to develop infrastructure within the Kerbin SOI?

Either way, looking forward to future installments!

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5 minutes ago, DunaRocketeer said:

I'm wondering if you're going to use them to enable an interplanetary mission soon or will you use them to develop infrastructure within the Kerbin SOI?

Both. They will continue to launch modules to space stations in the Kerbin system, after which they will be used for the first stages of kermanned interplanetary exploration--preliminary missions to Duna, Ike, and Gilly. The screenshot a couple posts back shows a mockup of the interplanetary ship, based on an Intrepidity lander and a modified Frumious upper stage. That system will use three Frumious launches for each interplanetary mission--transfer stage/orbital module, tanker, and lander.

Eventually the Frumious will be replaced by something built around 2.5-meter engines (due to lag if nothing else), but for the time being I'm kind of enjoying seeing how far I can get with only T30s and T45s.

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Boring stuff: Installed Engine Lighting.

 

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Night launch of Intrepidity 12 on a Frumious VI rocket.

 

 

Intrepidity 12, an even more repetitive mission to the Mun than usual.

Spoiler

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Intrepidity 12, the fifth kermanned mission to the Munar surface, was as much a test of the re-engined Frumious VI rocket as anything.

 

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Rookie scientist Johndo observed the Mun's shadow on Kerbin during an EVA to retrieve science data from the Intrepidity service module during the outbound journey.

 

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Mission commander Lodald and engineer Deblian piloted the ship from the orbital module during the descent to the Munar surface.

 

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Intrepidity 12 landed safely at a site in the Munar lowlands surveyed by the previous mission. The scientists at KSC were baffled as the data initially radioed back was identical to lowland data returned by Intrepidity 11. Everyone in Mission Control was quite sure there had to be a reason they had wanted to visit this site, and they scrambled to figure out what it might have been. After much hunting through old data, the controllers finally realized that after the Intrepidity 11 lowlands landing, nobody had ever thought to delete the waypoint from the database, and Intrepidity 12 had accidentally been sent to the exact same spot on the Mun as its predecessor.

 

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There wasn't enough fuel in the lander to hop to another biome, so the crew collected what data they could (still a fair amount, as it turned out) and took the obligatory group shot with the flag. Left to right: E0 Deblian, S0 Johndo, P2 Lodald.

 

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Lodald made the 1.5-kilometer hop to the flag left by Intrepidity 11, making this the first site on the Munar surface to be visited twice by kerbonauts.

 

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After a brief surface stay, Intrepidity 12 returned safely to Kerbin.

 

More probe launches.

Spoiler

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Another Frumious VI launched Sagacity 1, the first of a new class of orbiter.

 

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By far the most ambitious (and expensive) interplanetary mission yet, Sagacity 1 will enter a polar orbit of Jool, where it will return materials data and provide communications for future unkermanned landings.

 

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A Frumious V sent the identical Sagacity 2 on its way to Ike, where it will also provide a communications link for future missions.

 

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Finally, a Manxome VI launched the Timidity 5 rover, which will make the Space Program's first unkermanned landing on Ike and complete a series of seismic surveys.

 

 

Rationality 8 at Gilly.

Spoiler

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Rationality 8 arrived in the Eve system and completed a series of maneuvers to encounter Gilly--the last unexplored body in the kerbolar system.

 

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The probe returned the first scientific data and close-up images from Eve's small satellite.

 

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After completing its primary objectives in Gilly orbit, Rationality 8 made a soft landing on the moon's surface. After returning images and data, the probe hopped several kilometers to a second landing site, then returned to a high parking orbit.

 

Edited by Hotaru
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Almost, finally, getting to the point of starting kermanned interplanetary missions. Current plan is for a kermanned Eve flyby, Bravado 1, to be launched at the next window--the vehicle is already built & its departure should be in the next update. Hopefully. Unless it isn't.

 

Boring stuff:

Spoiler

Big mod changes for small reasons. Installed Kerbal Inventory System and dependencies (but not KAS) for the sole purpose of using Enceos's Wearable KIS Props, which provide (amongst other things) helmet lights that illuminate Kerbals' faces even in the dark. Still trying to keep my gameplay stock, so I won't be using KIS for anything other than cosmetics, and in fact I've removed its parts folder.

Also I've installed Hullcam VDS, again only for cosmetic purposes (I wanted to take some movies) & won't be using its parts for science instruments. Although the first-person view it provides does make EVAs slightly less of a pain.

Also I've decided to stop italicizing mission names cause I'm getting sick of fighting with the text editor & NASA never italicized its mission names anyway so I'm not quite sure why I started doing it in the first place.

TL;DR: KIS for helmet lights, Hullcam VDS for cameras.

 

Intrepidity 15 mission to the Munar Farside Basin in convenient YouTube form:

 

 

 

Sagacity 2 and Timidity 5: exploring Ike.

Spoiler

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Sagacity 2 arrived in orbit of Ike, where it observed the moon's shadow on Duna, returned new science data, and parked in an elliptical orbit polar where it will provide communications for future missions.

 

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Timidity 5 made the first landing on Ike and completed a series of seismic surveys. (OOC: My first ever rover outside the Kerbin system.)

 

 

Patience II and Endurance I assembly and crew rotations.

Spoiler

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A Frumious IV rocket launched the final two modules--a hab and a node--to space station Patience II, which is now complete as planned and operational. The crew of Intrepidity S-4 returned to Kerbin at the end of a year-long tour, while P2 Lodald, S1 Johndo, and P0 Lemlock arrived on Intrepidity S-5. The upcoming Intrepidity S-6 will deliver another three-Kerman expedition, bringing the station to its full operational crew of six for the first time.

 

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A Frumious VI delivered a science lab module to station Endurance I in Minmus orbit. Intrepidity 10B returned to Kerbin, Intrepidity 14 arrived with veteran commander Burmin and rookies Hayberta and Agalinne.

 

 

Intrepidity 13 and 15: new discoveries on the Mun.

Spoiler

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Mission commander Melxie, flight engineer Jochelle, and scientist Ziggy landed aboard Intrepidity 13 near the site of an anomaly surveyed by a previous mission.

Spoiler: Mun anomaly (possibly random).

Spoiler

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Ziggy explored the anomaly, which proved to be another monolith of the same type discovered on Minmus by Intrepidity 9. Its origin and purpose are still a total mystery.

(OOC: I suspect this is one of the new "randoliths," not a placed easter egg, but I'm not sure.)

 

 

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P2 Geneming, S1 Alvis, and E1 Phoberta explored the Mun's Farside Basin and surveyed possible future landing sites during Intrepidity 15.

 

 

Pugnacity RCS pod: exploration of Minmus.

Spoiler

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The new Pugnacity spacecraft is a one-kerman lander designed for exploration of small airless bodies; the prototype arrived at Endurance I aboard a Frumious IV rocket.

 

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Station commander Burmin took the lander down to the surface for its first landing, collecting samples and data from the lesser flats of Minmus.

 

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Rookie pilot Hayberta completed a second landing in the lowlands.

 

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On ‎21‎/‎01‎/‎2017 at 9:04 AM, Hotaru said:

Sagacity 1 will enter a polar orbit of Jool, where it will return materials data

Materials (and Goo) have to be returned to Kerbin for full science return.

Oh, and I loved the Intrepidity 15 video. Wonderful. Great work.

Edited by NotAgain
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47 minutes ago, NotAgain said:

Materials (and Goo) have to be returned to Kerbin for full science return.

True, but about a third of the full science value can be transmitted, which is still a fair amount of science from distant targets.. (My use of the word "return" in that sentence may have been misleading, needless to say that probe will transmit data but not actually return to Kerbin for recovery.)

 

Quote

Oh, and i loved the Intrepidity 15 video. Wonderful. Great work.

Thanks! Videos are a lot more work than screenshots so don't expect them too often, but I do plan to make more in the future.

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FdqP9Uz.jpg?1

 

 

Bravado 1 underway.

 

Intrepidity 16 and Minmus ops.

Spoiler

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Intrepidity 16 was the first mission to enter a polar orbit of the Mun.

 

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Veterans Kerzer and Eririne and rookie Gemliana completed surveys of possible future landing sites in the polar regions--including a new anomaly--before landing in the midland craters.

 

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Hayberta surveyed the Great Flats of Minmus in station Endurance 1's Pugnacity pod.

 

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A Frumious VI rocket delivered a science module and a habitat module to Endurance 1.

 

 

Bravado 1: first kermanned flyby of Eve.

Spoiler

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Bravado 1, kermankind's first mission beyond Kerbin's sphere of influence, lifted off on a Frumious VI rocket. The crew are mission commander Geneming, flight engineer Lizdrien, and scientist Laselle.

 

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Once the main spacecraft was safely in low Kerbin orbit, another Frumious VI launched unkermanned tanker ship Aqualung 1, carrying the Bravado communications array and additional fuel.

 

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After separating from the Aqualung, the T-45 engine reignited to send Bravado 1 beyond the Second Cosmic Speed and onto its trajectory for Eve.

 

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Four days after the departure burn, the ship left Kerbin's sphere of influence.

 

Also: Kerzer, Tangel, and Chris arrived at station Patience II aboard Intrepidity S-6, bringing the station to its full operational crew of 6 for the first time.

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