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"We choose to go to Mars!" - Chapter twelve: An even gianter giant leap for Kerbalkind


michal.don

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've been neglecting this thread recently for two reasons: First - my university studies got a bit in the way (don't you hate when this happens?), and second, I was designing and building the interplanetary ship, which was quite a difficult task, and took a lot of time. Finally, I managed to design something I am quite confident will make it to Mars and back. Since it took so much time, I might allow myself a bit more quickloading and/or reverting than during the Moon missions. I hope you don't mind too much :)

Chapter ten: The ship

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Kerbin Daily

May 18, 1975 

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Glenn V assembled, waiting for the transfer window

As the orbital assembly of the spaceship that will hopefully take Kerbalkind to Mars was successfully finished yesterday, our science editor, Emmett Kerman had a chance to interview one of the original Sheppard seven, and the most experienced engineer of the space program, kerbalnaut Chadus Kerman.

Hello Chadus, thanks for finding a bit of time for me. I believe that the last few days were quite busy?

Hi Emmett, no problem. Yeah, you are right, the last few days really were hectic. We are used to working long hours when there is a mission in progress, but this time it was a bit different for many reasons.

How so? Was it more challenging than, let's say, the assembly of the Skylab station? If I'm correct, the Glenn spacecraft consists of only three modules?

You are correct Emmett. But unlike Skylab, this ship is really heavy. Moving pieces that weigh several hundred tonnes into orbit, and then docking them together is no easy task. Also, this was the first time we had to rendezvous spacecraft that launched for different space centres and were controlled by different mission control teams - the propulsion module was launched from Kourou. And finally, the docking itself on Skylab was controlled by crew stationed there. This time, it was all computer controlled.

I see. When you say "several hundred tonnes" - how huge the ship really is?

It's the biggest thing we have ever sent to space. And probably will be, for a long time. The Grissom spacecraft that took us to the Moon would look like a toy compared to it. To be honest, most of the pilots thought we went crazy when they first saw it, and it was only the first module. Especially Donbree used certain expressions that you would not be able to put in the article.

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And how exactly will something that huge be delivered to Mars?

This was the most complicated part. It would not be possible with the engines used in the Grissom program. A whole new type of engines was developed for several years, exactly for this purpose. These engines also run on a mixture of liquid hydrogen and oxygen, but they are a bit weaker and a lot more efficient. After the ejection burn to Mars, and a correction burn several weeks later, these engines will be discarded and the rest of the mission will run on ususal chemical rocket engines.

So now Glenn V is assembled. What will happen next?

Yes, the asembly itself was finished yesterday, early in the morning. But it was not the last flight to Glenn, by far. The ship is complete, but the fuel tanks are almost empty, so several more launches are required to fuel the thing. A few days before the transfer window, a Grissom class rocket will bring the crew. And then the whole thing hopefully goes to Mars.

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Speaking of the crew - who will be the ones that will fly this historic mission? A lot of speculation is going on about that.

I'm sorry Emmett, but I can't tell you yet. Don't worry, I'm sure they will announce the crew very soon. But I can tell you this - they are the very best that we have.

Ok, thank you for your time Chadus, and good luck.

Thanks Emmett. This mission will be one for the books, I can guarantee you that.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
59 minutes ago, NISSKEPCSIM said:

any news on this?

I'm sorry to say, no news concerning mission progress, but luckily, after a month or so of very busy time, I should be able to continue quite soon. If all goes well, and I manage to transition to RO/RP-0 1.2.2 without much trouble.

If the transition doesn't work out, I'll finish this mission in my 1.1.3 install before upgrading, I'm quite curious how it will all play out :)

Michal.don

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  • 1 month later...

Whoops, it took a lot more time than I expected. The transition to 1.2.2 looked quite painless in the beginning, the only victim being the lunar Struve base, which disappeared because of a not-anymore-supported ladder, but hey - it's not like we are going back to the Moon. So I started launching the refueling vessels and so on, and only then starting to notice the issues. Fuel cells and CO2 scrubbers not working. Action groups not working properly. Fuel crosfeed messed-up. Long story short - the vessel I had in LEO, and which took plenty of time to build, was useless. So my reaction was expected and reasonable, I had a bit of a tantrum, screamed and swore for a while, and I did not touch RO/RP-0 for nearly two months. Huh.

About a week ago, I finally came to my senses a bit, and tried to think of a way to fix most of the issues. As I had no intension of suffering through the several hours of several lag-fiesta-filled ascents and rendezvous, I did the possibly coward thing, and Hyperedited the now fixed and fueled vessel to the proper orbit. Yes, that's technically cheating, but I think it's reasonable under these circumstances. If you are disappointed by my weakness, I sincerely apologize :wink:

So, ladies and gentlekerbs, buckle up, because we are going to Mars!

Chapter eleven: The red planet

1975-1978

The IT guys. There probably isn't anyone that is hated more than the IT guys nowadays. Why you ask? Let me tell you.

Glenn V was ready and almost filled with fuel in low Earth orbit, with around four weeks left until the planned transfer to Mars. The crew was finishing their training, and eager to fly. The old Grissom A rocket ready to take them to Glenn was already standing on the launchpad. And then all hell broke loose. It was supposed to be a routine update of the control room computer systems. A new version called 1.2.2 was installed, ensuring better stability and overall performance. But instead of being the treasure the IT guys assured us it would be, it was a disaster. We lost all communications with our on-orbit assets, our ground stations stopped working, and all work came to a halt. It took a few eeks to get everything going again. But there was no way we could go for Mars this year.

After a series of board meeting, measures were taken to prevent this sort of setback happening in the future, and a new, alternate transfer window was set for 1978. This would mean that if we did everything right, we would still set foot on Mars before the decade is out, but we had only one shot. Our engineers devised plans to ensure the ship will be able to spend two more years in space without suffering any damage. All the life support, communication and propulsion systems were checked over and over. The crew was disappointed to say the least, but they were professionals, so they agreed they will take a short holiday, and spend the extra two years in training to ensure they will be ready as noone ever was when the time finally comes.

And who will be the crew for this historical mission?

 

The command module pilot: Virbel Kerman

One of the original Sheppard Seven, a Grissom Moon landing veteran. A great pilot, one of the most experienced kerbalnauts, the commander of the Glenn II mission that tested the spacecraft in solar orbit.

"Even after this small setback, I have every confidence in the spacecraft and our ground crews. As the CMP, I will do my best to ensure the spacecraft performs as expected during the whole mission, and especially when the MLV lands on Mars."

The science officer: Gusory Kerman

A Lovell program veteran, a brilliant young scientist, who spent several months aboard the Skylab I space station, performing numerous research procedures.

"While I won't be the one flying the spacecraft, it is my job to ensure we learn as much about Mars as we can during our brief visit. It might not be as exciting as guiding the MLV to the first touchdown on the martian surface, but it is as important."

The commander and MLV pilot, Donbree Kerman

The pilot of the infamous Grissom XVIII mission, which might have been the greatest disaster of the program, if it wasn't for his great decisions and flying under significant stress. It was decided he was the best one to have in command, if anything goes wrong.

"Well, if our guys did their job right, I'll be the one that takes the MLV down and hopefully back up again. If they didn't, I'll sure have a thing or two to say."

 

As the departure day was approaching, the refueling vessels had to do their job again, because almost all the liquid hydrogen and oxyged had boiled off during the two years. The standardised fuel tanks were taken to orbit by a modified Grissom launcher, and autonomously docked to Glenn V to refuel it.

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It took five launches from both Kourou and the Cape to fill the immense tanks of Glenn V.

The final launch took place four days before the departure, and took the crew to LEO to do the final check and to get used to their new home for the three years to come.

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And the day finally came. There were three burns scheduled. One to raise the apoapsis, one to get the vessel interplanetary, and one three weeks later to correct the inclination and tweak the Mars approach. The first two burns were supposed to take about thirteen minutes each.

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The first two burns were precise enough, so the third burn took only a few hundred m/s worth of fuel - a reasonable amount of fuel short of the total dV budget. So far the ship was performing perfectly, but had a long way ahead of it, and there was no simple and fast way back home. As Donbree nicely said - "It's on, guys. We'll all either be famous or dead soon."

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Edited by michal.don
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  • 8 months later...

Ok, the break was pretty long again. But I feel I should finish the report anyway - it's not every day you go to Mars. The last "chapter" will be shorter than the other ones, but more screenshot-heavy - you'll see the unusual flight profile of the lander, and the design of the return part of the vehicle. And as an official release of RP-0 for 1.3.1 is getting near (I hope), I'll be moving to a fresh install and a fresh carreer with it. If you managed to read my report this far, thank you for your time and patience - I really appreciate it. So, let's get to it:

Chapter twelve: An even gianter giant leap for Kerbalkind

1978-1979

 

".... landing radar check complete, all systems nominal. MLV requesting permission to undock. Donbree out."

"So, shall we have one last snack in orbit, before we get an answer in several minutes, Don?"

"Alright Gus, what's on the menu today?"

.....

"MLV, mission control, you are go for undocking, all readings look great on our end. Good luck, and we'll soon be doing the first interplanetary "phonecall" in history"

"Have fun down there fellas, Glenn V out."

"Sure thing, see you soon Virbel. MLV undocking and preparing for landing."

.....

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"Landing burn started, engine cutoff in twelve seconds. Trajectory predictions looking nominal."

 

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"Altitude 90,000 metres, drogue chutes deployed. Monitoring the temperature closely"

 

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"Braking burn underway, temperature dropping. Engine cutoff in thirty two seconds"

 

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"Main chutes deployed, prepairing for a landing burn. All readings nominal, no problems so far."

 

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"Mission control, MLV. We are on the surface. We just landed on Mars."

 

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(Disregard the fire - probably cosmic radiation damage to the photos.... One member of the mission control team claims something about bugs, but that's nonsense - no kinds of insect live on Mars.....)

 

After two short EVAs focused on sample collecting and data gathering, it was time to ascend back to orbit and rendezvous with Glenn V. The landing engines were fired up again and used to gain some altitude before staging.

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"Stage separation confirmed, second stage engines on. See you in a few hours, Glenn V"

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When the transfer window came, Glenn V ditched the spent stage from insertion burn and the MLV and prepared for a transfer burn back to Earth.

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"Transfer burn complete, we're going home."

 

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And that was it. After several years, Kerbalkind made its long lasting dream true. Will Mars be just the first stepping stone in a long project of exploring and potentialy colonising the solar system?

Who knows.

"Even if this one visit of our planetary neighbour was the end, it sure was a hell of a ride." - Donbree Kerman, Glenn V commander

 

 

 

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19 hours ago, Steeeeve said:

Glad you updated us with a post. Great story!

I'm glad you liked it! The story is probably over, I don't think I'll follow with another crewed mission to Mars. Maybe, in the 1.3.1 carreer, when I get to it, I'll have a look at Phobos/Deimos, because I neglected them in this run.... But I thik I'll carry some Kerbals over to the new save, Donbree being one of them..... :)

Also, I'll tag the people that replied to my story the long time ago I started it - Thanks for your help and insight, it took a long time, but this is finally finished.

@UnusualAttitude, @Kosmonaut, @TopHeavy11, @cosimas, @NISSKEPCSIM, @MarkWatney, @CJrm1, @NotAgain

(wow, I actualy had some readers back then :D )

 

Michal.don

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