Angelo Kerman

I made more suits...

Chapter 13 Emma stepped outside once again to install Pyramid Base’s second solar array. It didn’t take long for her to complete the work thanks to the electrical connectors on the Multipurpose Roof Rack. Next, she grabbed an extendible light fixture and attached it to another MRR that she’d mounted atop one of the Casa modules attached to the base’s lab. Finally, as the sun crept below Duna’s lowlands, she mounted a communications antenna that the Buffabus’s 3D printers had just completed. At last, she had the pleasure of turning on the lights. “It’s very cold in here,” Emma said, sitting in the lab, “but the air pressure is steady. The heaters will warm the place up in time… Pyramid Base is open for business- at least for the next crew. They’ll have to bring the instruments that we can’t make...” “I just want to personally congratulate the Buffabus crew on a job well done,” Charles McKerman, head of the Ministry of Space, said a few minutes after Emma returned to the Buffabus. His eyes kept flickering between the camera and something beside it and out of view. From the tone of his voice, it was clear to Calbro that Charles was less than enthusiastic about delivering his speech. “The crew has made some smashing finds such as the unusual rock formations, the ‘Dunalith,’ the Face, and of course the Pyramid. Your efforts to adapt to the changing situation and the extra work you provided to build the Pathfinder bases have- uh- have paved the way for future expeditions to the anomalies that you discovered.” Charles paused a moment. “Not acknowledging us by name,” Ferwin noticed. The Director of the Ministry of Space continued. “As there are no more anomalies near your location, and given the current state of the Buffabus, I agree with Sir Randal’s assessment that you should return to Duna Base post haste. Unfortunately, a trip to the South Pole would be unwise at this time. It’s time for the Buffabus to return to base. Again, well done. Sir Randal has the specifics about your journey,” Charles concluded. The screen switched to a kerbal in MoSMC. “We estimate that it will take approximately a month and a half to return to Duna Base, accounting for regular maintenance stops as well as unscheduled breakdowns,” Sir Randal McKerman, Flight Director for DBE-1 began… * “It’s an engraving, like what you’d put on a tombstone, and, interestingly, an apology,” Adsii said, during his presentation. Several kerbals moved closer to the edge of their seats. Adsii took a deep breath and continued. “The pyramid is the final resting place of Tut-Un K’vin-Anh. Curiously, I haven’t found any other references to Tut K’vin, but there’s much of Kermantian history that’s either lost or missing. Anyway, the inscription reads, ‘Here lies the great Tut-Un K’vin-Anh, leader of Kermantians, who let our spirits soar.’ “The builders of the pyramid also apologized to Tut-Un K’vin-Anh for not building a larger pyramid befitting his status. They stated that they had limited time and resources to build his tomb, and they hoped that he liked the view of the aurora australis dunae, more popularly known as Duna’s Southern Lights, and what the Kermantians called ‘dancing spirits.’ The Kermantians hoped that after some rest, his spirit would be able to join them. There’s no mention of why Tut K’vin was entombed out in the middle of nowhere on Duna, but we presume that the site had some significance to the Kermantians. Finally, there’s an odd quote on the tomb. It reads, ‘When we left Kerbin, we didn’t see ourselves as giants. We were humbled as our world became small.’ The way it was phrased was… out of character… with the rest of the inscriptions, but we don’t know why. “Now, I’ll take your questions…” * The discovery of the small Kermantian pyramid on Duna spurred the spacefaring nations of Kerbin to ratify the International Space Consortium Charter sooner rather than later. Shortly after Adsii delivered his press conference, the six space agencies- the Kerbal Space Program, the vonKerman Space Agency, the Ministry of Space, and three newcomers- signed the charter and had the networks air the event. Not long after, the ISC took over the Deep Space Exploration Vessel (eXperimental) program. With gravitic technology in its infancy, conventional rockets were still very much in use. Hence, the Ministry of Space fielded their Arrow 6 launch vehicle, which blasted off its pad and flew into space a few minutes later. Upon reaching orbit, A6-5, the reusable upper stage- its companion booster had already landed on an awaiting barge- opened its payload bay and revealed the passenger pod contained within. Three hours later, the upper stage arrived at its destination… With Newton (DSX-01) and Halley (DSX-02) completed, the ISC brought a flight crew to each ship to begin their evaluation. Each crew would spend time flying to the Mün and Minmus and back while evaluating the ship’s performance, and then swap spacecraft and repeat the process. Once completed, both crews would compare notes and present their findings to the ISC to make a final decision. In the case of A6-05's first stop, Hanse vonKerman (PLT), Samny Kerman (PLT), Danwig Kerman (SCI), Richny Kerman (ENG) and Karl vonKerman (ENG) formed the first evaluation crew of the Newton. As the first crew boarded DSX-01, Frolie couldn’t help but feel envious as Steve Kerman, one of his protégé engineers and Orbital Dynamics’ liaison, said his goodbyes and joined the evaluation crew. Frolie would’ve loved to join them- as would Scott- but as the “Father of Gravitics,” his celebrity status would have given Orbital Dynamics an unfair advantage in the evaluations, so he recused himself from the crew. At least he got to see the Newton leave the shipyard and begin its journey… “You are free and clear to navigate,” Dildun Kerman, Air Traffic Control for Magic Boulder radioed. Hanse vonKerman acknowledged the clearance, pitched the ship upward, and gave the gravitic engines a brief pulse. The Newton immediately shot away from the shipyard, but the crew felt no acceleration. “Remarkable,” Hanse said. A couple of hours later, Newton arrived at her first destination: the retired Starlab Kerbin Orbiting Station. The crew noted some abnormalities in the engine exhaust plume operations and didn’t grab any screenshots Steve fixed the plumes made some adjustments to correct the issues. Truth be told, the ship was overpowered, and it took several tries to match velocities with the station. Hanse had to be careful touching the throttle to avoid overshooting. But thanks to his careful maneuvering, Newton approached within a few meters of the aft docking port. Once the crown jewel of the Kerbal Space Program, Starlab was retired and replaced by Sky Reef, Orbital Dynamics’ Oasis-class commercial space station. But in her heyday, Starlab was one of the first permanently staffed stations that was constructed in orbit thanks to numerous Space Shuttle flights. KOS also formed part of the transportation hub that enabled kerbals to venture to both of Kerbin’s müns on a regular basis. But Starlab’s increasing breakdowns required KSP to shut down the aging space station and boost it into a higher “museum” orbit to reduce the increasing traffic in low Kerbin orbit. A few minutes later, Hanse deftly maneuvered DSX-01 to Starlab’s secondary Shuttle docking port and linked up with the old station. Given its condition, they didn’t stay long. This was a test flight, not a service call, after all… The ship took on some xenon gas to replenish their reserves as well as some water that the station no longer needed. “We used more propellium than I would have liked,” Hanse said, taking notes, “and she’s far more powerful than I thought. Pilots will need to be gentle with the throttle, especially when fine tuning our position. Shooting past the station multiple times was a bit embarrassing, I must admit…” “Steve, can we rig up some electrolysis stations in the habs,” Richny asked. “Might as well make use of the water and compost that Magic Boulder stuffed into the cargo pods…” “Absolutely,” Steve responded. It didn’t take long for the engineers to configure the habitation modules’ omni converters. “Can’t we just use the gravitic engines for reaction control too? That would eliminate the need for propellium altogether,” Karl vonKerman said. “That’s… well, actually, now that I think of it, the engine module was built before we had fine control of the gravitics,” Steve admitted. “The Buffapod doesn’t have traditional RCS thrusters, it uses gravitics. So, yeah, I can make a note of that and make sure that the DSX can use them too.” With the first leg of their journey completed, Newton departed from Starlab and the crew said farewell. Hanse programmed the autopilot to orient the spacecraft prograde. Thirty minutes later, DSX-01 performed a maneuver burn towards the Mün. It took a mere 5 seconds to build up the 1km/sec delta-v needed to break Kerbin orbit. The crew barely noticed the acceleration. “Newton can easily enter solar orbit if we’re not careful,” Samny noted. “We’ve got a 3-day coast to the Mün, but with this ship’s engines, we probably could get there in a matter of hours…” * As Newton departed Magic Boulder and headed for the Mün, Arrow 5 also departed the enigmatic construction station and docked with the Space Operations Center an hour later. Hensen Kerman (PLT), Sofia vonKerman (PLT), Rolf vonKerman (ENG), Maxbret Kerman (SCI), and Guest Astronaut Munvan Kerman (SCI) all boarded the Halley (DSX-02). When A6-5 arrived at the Space Operations Center, astronauts could see the contrast between the large cargo shuttle and the smaller Galileo-class shuttle. The Ministry of Space was debating whether to discontinue the Galileo, with its expendable service module in favor of the fully reusable Arrow 6. Both used the Arrow 6 booster, but while Galileo could carry six astronauts, the Arrow 6 Crew Pod could carry twice that. “Reactors on, centrifuge started, fusion engine charging,” Hensen stated as Halley pulled away from the Space Operations Center. The Kerbodyne KF-1 graviolium-catalyzed fusion engine took a full minute to charge before igniting its fusion reactor. Given the amount of electric charge required, the ship’s flight computers stopped the centrifuge’s rotation and paused the redundant recycling systems. Finally, the engine started, and the centrifuge and recycling systems came back online. “Power hog” was the nicest comment that Rolf could make about the engine startup sequence. But at last, the fusion engine became self-sustaining, providing all the power that it needed. The long startup time was a tradeoff for using far less graviolium than the Newton. The Halley lit its engine for the first time to increase its orbit as the first leg of its journey. The crew noted that the spaceframe flexed as the burn continued. The ship’s RCS thrusters compensated for the flexing, and the ship remained on course. Some autostruts software tuning of the engine’s thrust pulses to avoid resonating frequencies resolved the issue. But even with the software changes, the ship had problems staying on its burn path. Leaving the fusion engine on during the coasting burned through some of its fusion pellets, which gave the crew some concerns. At least the ship’s propellium supplies gave it an impressive 25,000 m/sec of delta-v… Three hours later, Halley arrived at its first destination. In contrast to the mothballed and dormant Starlab, Sky Reef was a bustle of activity. The lights were on everywhere, its greenhouses and labs and habitation units were in use, and even its centrifuge module- a leftover from Project Laythe- was spinning. Phildas Kerman, Sky Reef’s current commander, gave the crew of Halley a tour of the new space station. “We have all the amenities of Oasis,” Phildas explained, “including a dedicated Sandcastle 3D print lab, a mobile processing lab, and Homestead habitation modules. The design is less complicated than Starlab while offering more habitation space and modernized facilities.” A couple of orbits later, Hensen and his crew thanked their hosts for their hospitality and then departed Sky Reef. A half-hour after that, DSX-02 performed a four minute, 30-second burn to put it on course for the Mün. Like the Newton, Halley had a 3-day coast to Kerbin’s nearest natural satellite. As planned, Newton had a day’s head start on them, though. Not long after shutting down the fusion engine, Rolf started sneezing uncontrollably, and his eyes itched like crazy. He knew exactly what was happening. “Mulch,” he said, exasperated, “I’ve caught a cold…” * In a first for space vessels, DSX-02 had a sickbay to handle medical situations ranging from minor diseases and injuries to major surgery. It was a breakthrough capability, especially given the microgravity conditions that made medical procedures more challenging to accomplish. Halley’s sickbay could hold up to six patients, though today, as Halley coasted towards the Mün, Rolf was the only patient, and Maxbret took up residence. “I’ve no idea how I caught a cold,” Rolf began, “I was careful and never broke quarantine before launch.” “Maybe you touched a contaminated surface,” Maxbret responded. “I’ll ask the crew to help wipe down anything you touched. Nobody else seems to have contracted anything.” “It’s just embarrassing,” Rolf admitted. “I was supposed to test out the Compact PMV today.” “It’ll wait,” Maxbret declared. “You need to rest. There’s plenty of time in the schedule to test it later. Oh, and check your email.” To distract from his misery, Rolf checked his email. His inbox was full. Not only did he receive well wishes from his own crew, but he 4also received them from the DSX-01 crew and from Mission Control as well. All the good cheer made Rolf even more embarrassed. * As Rolf received his diagnosis, Phoenix Aerospace launched Phoenix Station, a renovated backup to the old Starlab module that formed the core of the now retired Kerbin Orbiting Station. The former Starlab 2 languished for years in storage until the Kerman Air Force acquired it. At the time, Starlab 2’s new mission was to serve as the core of a station designed to discreetly process blutonium from Magic Boulder. When that idea was shelved in favor of simply returning the blutonium to Kerbin, Starlab 2 was shelved along with it. The station module again sat in storage until Phoenix Aerospace found a use for it: the company wanted to use the refurbished module as a waystation for trips to the Mun’s surface. Phoenix Aerospace hoped to offer tourist trips to paying customers, but business analysts questioned their ability to compete with Orbital Dynamics and their polar orbiting Oasis station. It was a desperation move; things were not looking good for Phoenix Aerospace… Phoenix Station blasted off from Pad A at KSC early in the morning courtesy of an Edna 1F- itself a relic from the early days of Münflight. Though on the verge of retirement many times, Edna survived into the modern day thanks to repeated upgrades. But with gravitic technology making its debut, Edna’s days were finally numbered. Nonetheless, the launch vehicle lifted off the pad flawlessly and climbed into the sky. One minute later, it jettisoned its reusable side boosters while the core booster continued its trip uphill. Five minutes after that, the expendable core stage departed the spacecraft, leaving the upper stage to finish the job. Phoenix Station entered a 119.4 km by 130.6 km orbit and deployed its solar arrays and high-gain antenna. At long last, the venerable station core reached orbit! Four hours later, the E1F upper stage dropped off the module and got out of the way to enable PPE-1 to dock with the module. With its business completed, the upper stage flipped retrograde and made its death burn. Then, after a few false starts, PPE-1 lit its ion engines and propelled Phoenix Station towards the Mün. A course correction six hours later ensured that it would reach its target in three days… A day after Phoenix Station blasted off, Phoenix Aerospace launched a spare Resupply Module along with a tank of xenon gas to refuel PPE-1. The REMO, named Williams after an obscure movie reference, sat in orbit awaiting PPE-1’s return from the Mün… * A day later, Newton entered the Mün’s sphere of influence. A quick calculation showed that the ship would hit the ground if it continued its course, so three hours later, she made a quick correction burn to raise her periapsis to 223.7 km. Once again, the crew had to gently increase the throttle to avoid overshooting their required delta-v. It took another half-day before DSX-01 entered münar orbit and lower it to 22.8 km by 30.5 km. Hanse only cursed twice as he overdid the sensitive throttle… Once safely in orbit, Samny, Karl, and Danwig got the privilege of testing one of Newton’s unique features: its Buffalo Shuttlepod! The trio boarded the diminutive craft, powered up its systems, and extended its wings. Hanse then gave the go ahead to depart, and Pod 1 undocked from Newton. Samny let the shuttlepod drop away for a few seconds before starting its gravitic engine. It was hard for the away team to believe that such a small craft could go anywhere on the Mün from any orbit, but such was the advantages of advanced technology. Five minutes later, Pod 1 executed a 224 m/sec burn- technically an incorrect term, but tradition dies hard- to drop out of orbit. Within minutes they halted their forward velocity and hovered over the ground as they searched for their target. “Amazing,” was all that Samny could say. They searched and searched, and then realized that they missed the target and had to turn around. That was a trivial maneuver for the shuttlepod. “We have to have at least one of these on every DSEV,” Samny said. “If we can find more graviolium,” Karl countered. “Drax found some in their asteroid,” Danwig pointed out, “so we know it’s out there. We just don’t know how much.” “There! 12-o-clock low,” Karl yelled, interrupting the conversation. “We’ve found it.” Samny set Shuttlepod 1 down on the ground- with a heavy thump that broke two of the static electricity dischargers. They’d have to repair them when they get back to the ship. Nonetheless, the craft became the first gravitic-powered spacecraft to set down on another celestial body. “Nice landing,” Danwig quipped. “Hey, you try flying this thing for the first time,” Samny growled. Resting on its side just a few meters away was Miss Piggy, the original Münar Ground Module Rover that Bill and Jeb drove during their famous “road trip” on the Mün. They held the record for the longest off-world land driving distance for many years until the Buffabus utterly demolished that record on Duna. Unfortunately, in an attempt to drive Miss Piggy to Billstown’s new location, the rover hit a rock and broke apart on the landscape as it tumbled to a stop. The Newton away team were the first to visit the wrecked rover in over fifteen years. “With a shuttlepod, rovers are going to be obsolete,” Samny said. “Let’s go take a look.” The away team suited up, depressurized the shuttlepod, and stepped outside for a closer look. They were careful not to disturb the crash to preserve history, but they did take a few pictures of the wreck for closer analysis back home. “Look at that construction,” Karl vonKerman said, admiring the handiwork. “Designed in the Munflight era- you can see some of the standard connections over there. Remarkable. If the vonKerman Republic had resources like your Kerman States did back then…” He walked over to the other side of the wreck. “Look at how sturdy the chassis is. The fuel cell tanks are still intact. Too bad the crew cabin wasn’t as durable.” Once the away team took their pictures and made their damage assessment, it was time to go. They piled back into Shuttlepod 1 and lifted off to their next destination. The craft had no trouble restarting its gravitic engine and effortlessly floated away from the surface. Samny had hoped to find the landing stage of the Own Münar Excursion Module but the away team was unable to do so. With their excursion time running out, Samny elected to point Shuttlepod 1 at Newton and firewall the gravitic engine. A few minutes and failed rendezvous attempts later, Shuttlepod 1 docked to Newton once more. “What an amazing spacecraft,” Samny concluded. “We landed, explored the surface, and got back to the ship before Newton went over the horizon. Absolutely amazing.” * Karl was about to print some replacement electrostatic dissipators for Shuttlepod 1 when he realized that Newton’s 3D printer was out of ore. Then he checked the ship’s stores and found the ore bins empty. “Huh,” he said quizzically. “What’s up,” Richny asked while searching for the EVA maneuvering packs. The search wasn’t going well. “We’re out of printer ore,” Karl stated. “Well, that’s a problem,” Richny answered. “Yeah. Any luck finding those jetpacks?” “No, and I’ve looked everywhere that they should be, and a few places where they shouldn’t.” “Who puts to space without a full load of printer ore and jetpacks,” Karl wondered aloud. They looked at each other. “Better call Halley,” they both said… “Halley, this is Newton,” Sofia vonKerman heard on the ship’s radio. She was taking a turn at piloting the ship while Hensen had other tasks to do. It sounded like Hanse’s voice. “Hallo, Hanse,” Sofia said in their native vonKerman. “Hallo! How is Rolf,” Hanse asked in vonKerman. “Still embarrassed,” Sofia said, chuckling. “Rest of the crew is fine.” “Good to hear! We’ll leave him some get well cards when we swap ships.” Hanse’s voice became more serious. “Uh, Halley, Newton,” Hanse said, switching back to Kerman- the official language of the ISC- “do you have any printer ore aboard, or any jetpacks?” “Uh, that’s an unusual question, Newton, any particular reason why you ask,” Sofia asked. “Humor me,” was all Hanse would say. With Rolf out sick, Maxbret conducted the inventory. “We don’t have any jetpacks,” he reported a few minutes later. “Huh,” Sofia responded. “Well, we can print them up in the ship’s Sandcastle printshop. How much ore do we have?” “None,” Maxbret said. “Ok, great. We can- wait, none?” “None,” Maxbret repeated. “Uh, Newton, Halley,” Sofia began over the radio. “We have zed jetpacks and no printer ore.” “Same here, Halley,” Hanse radioed back. “Someone forgot to stock up our inventory and resource stores- on both ships.” * Forgetting vital provisions for one ship was an oversight. Forgetting them on two ships was a process error, one that the ISC intended to correct. That would take some time and wouldn’t alleviate the situation aboard DSX-01 and DSX-02. In the meantime, Mission Control scrambled to find jetpacks, ore, and repair kits, which both ships also lacked. While looking through their resources, they realized that Sky Reef had what the two ships needed- they just needed to get them out to the Mün. Fortunately, Phoenix Aerospace had the answer: their REMO Williams, currently waiting in orbit for PPE-1 to return. A quick consultation and negotiation session later, Phoenix Aerospace agreed to fly REMO Williams over to Sky Reef to be refueled and have some of its monopropellant replaced with some ore for Newton and Halley. The station crew would also add a small cargo box stuffed with the needed jetpacks and repair kits. So, while neither ship was originally scheduled to dock with a space station while orbiting the Mün, ISC quickly changed their plans and directed both Newton and Halley to rendezvous and dock with Phoenix Station when it arrived in münar orbit, and then wait for REMO Williams to reach the station as well. It wasn’t ideal, but it would give the two DSX crews opportunities to compare notes on their respective vessels, and Phoenix Aerospace would get their REMO to the Mün sooner… When the Sky Reef’s station crew got their new directives, they were in the process of replacing their Power Tower solar array. An accident with their PMV shattered most of the Payload Maneuvering Vehicle’s solar arrays and both arrays on the Power Tower. Orbital Dynamics quickly printed up a replacement and sent it over. The station crew swapped out Power Towers without incident, and the broken tower deorbited since its support vehicle didn’t have the propellant needed to return to the Orbital Dynamics Shipyard. By the time that they finished their work, Sky Reef experienced its latest orbital dawn… As Halley crossed over into the Mün’s SOI and plotted a maneuver burn to raise its periapsis, Phoenix Aerospace worked with ISC to bring REMO Williams to Sky Reef. As soon as it docked with the station, the crew refueled its propellants and converted four of its monopropellant tanks into ore tanks. Then, the station’s 3D print lab got to work printing up a pair of small cargo containers and veteran astronaut Gerrim Kerman stepped outside to attach them to REMO’s flanks. Finally, she filled the containers with jetpacks and repair kits. With the work completed, REMO departed Sky Reef for its trip to the Mün. * Back at the Mün, Halley took several minutes to power up her fusion engine in preparation for her orbital insertion burn. Once again, the ship’s flight computer stopped the centrifuge to conserve electric charge, but this time it shut off several lights as well. Nonetheless, Halley powered up her engine in time for the insertion burn. By engine stop, DSX-02 entered a 412.6 km by 416.9 km orbit. “The problem is the amount of charge needed to start the engine,” Rolf said between coughing fits. “We need about ten times more electric charge than the ship has. We could probably retrofit the Halley to add extra batteries, but we need a shipyard to help us...” Three hours later, Phoenix Station and PPE-1 entered the Mün’s SOI. It took another eight hours to settle into low münar orbit, but once completed, it waited for its first visitor. DSX-02 arrived first and docked to the forward docking node. Once it took over support and power generation for the diminutive station, PPE-1 folded its solar arrays and antennas in preparation for the next phase of operations. Then, Halley demonstrated another one of its unique features, a hangar! DSX-02 had a small hangar bay to house the ship’s Compact Payload Maneuvering Vehicle. The Compact PMV made it possible for the ship to maneuver components around without the need for a space station. In this case, the PMV latched onto PPE-1 and docked it to Halley’s dorsal docking port to make room for Newton’s arrival… Two hours later, Newton docked with Phoenix Station, and for the first time, the two spacecraft met each other in space. Both ship crews welcomed each other and gave their counterparts a tour of their ship- something they weren’t supposed to, but there wasn’t much else to do while they waited for REMO Williams to arrive. “How do you like the sickbay,” Danwig asked. “What’s it like flying the Shuttlepod,” Sofia asked, and so on. Granted, the two crews were supposed to compare notes, but not until they swapped spacecraft… It took another two days for REMO Williams to arrive at Phoenix Station, where Hanse vonKerman took manual control and docked the craft to the station’s ventral port. Everyone at Mission Control breathed a sigh of relief when it docked and brought much needed supplies to the two prototype Deep Space Exploration Vessels. REMO Williams resupplied PPE-1 as well as Newton with xenon gas; Shuttlepod 1 used up more than expected. Both crews also unloaded the supply ship’s stores of repair kits, jetpacks, and printer ore. Next, with its larger print shop, Halley made several new sets of plasma contactors to repair Shuttlepod 1 with. Finally, both ship crews gave REMO Williams’ Edna 1F Upper Stage a grateful sendoff as it departed Phoenix Station for its destructive deorbit. Its münar adventure was at its end. Mission Accomplished! With both prototypes resupplied, it was time for them to depart Phoenix Station and resume their respective space trials. Newton departed first, using her gravitic engines in reverse to back away, to free the aft docking port for PPE-1. Then, after putting the Power and Propulsion Element back in its place, Halley stowed its Compact PMV and resumed its mission as well. And on behalf of the International Space Consortium, Gene Kerman sent Phoenix Aerospace’s CEO a personal thank you letter for their help with resupplying both experimental spacecraft. Little did Gene know that Phoenix Aerospace was in serious financial trouble. * Newton (DSX-01) and Halley (DSX-02) both departed the Mün not long after resupplying at Phoenix Station. Halley’s crew were envious of Newton; they had to wait a few minutes to charge up the fusion engine before igniting it, compared to just a few seconds to start Newton’s gravitic engines. Both ships exited the Mün’s SOI within hours of each other… The boring parts of spaceflight stuck again as both ships fell back down Kerbin’s gravity well and executed another burn to reach Minmus in a couple of weeks. Someone suggested that they “try out” each ship’s cryobay to relieve boredom, but with no stasis fluid aboard either ship, that was out of the question, So, both crews occupied their time by running various drills to test their respective ship’s capabilities, met with the designers over video link, and gave their feedback. They had hundreds of comments like: ‘We love the shuttlepod!’ ‘The sickbay is a must for DSEV.’ ‘The hangar is great for protecting small craft from micro meteors.’ ‘We have gravity engines. Do we really have to wait for orbital launch windows?’ ‘With a crew of 12, we could have three standard watches of four hours each.’ ‘Can we get actual beds to sleep in? I feel like a hitchhiker stuck in a storage can. Even hot bunking would be better than this!’ ‘Every time we power up the fusion engine, we lose the lights!’ Both design teams recorded and collated everything and tried not to take the criticisms personally. They also knew that they’d have to repeat the process when the crews swapped ships… As the Buffabus reached the midpoint of their journey back to Duna Base, DSX-01 and DSX-02 reached Minmus’ SOI. For the all-veteran crews, it wasn’t anything new to them, but they welcomed the sight nonetheless. For their next stops, Newton navigated towards Gateway Station while Halley headed towards Drax Aerospace’s Minmus Fuel Depot to refuel. Strictly speaking, Halley didn’t need to refuel as she had over 75% of her propellant remaining. But the space trials required both experimental Deep Space Exploration Vessels to test their refueling capabilities. DSX-02 had no trouble docking to the Minmus Fuel Depot, but DSX-01 had to perform some careful maneuvering to link up with Gateway Station, including flipping upside down relative to the station’s orientation- it was a tight fit! “Halley better park on Magellan’s nose,” Hanse vonKerman noted. Newton’s arrival at Gateway Station provided a stark contrast between DSX-01- one of the most advanced spacecraft in Kerbal history- and Magellan, the Mϋnar Shuttle Module, first flown during the Shuttle era. Originally just a simple orbital transfer vehicle that used a cryogenic space tug to get around, Magellan underwent several refits as it gained and lost various space tug designs, obtained a laboratory/support module, and was eventually cut apart and rebuilt- in orbit- to add additional crew quarters. Its final configuration, Magellan was powered by a nuclear variant of Orbital Dynamics’ Orbital Cargo Transfer Vehicle while its laboratory/support module sprouted various converters and external storage boxes and other equipment tacked on in “after the fact” fashion. For its day, Magellan offered much more comfortable living and working arrangements for crews heading to and from Kerbin’s müns compared to the cramped quarters of the Münflight-era K-20 KerbalSoar. But its days were numbered- the winner of the DSEV(X) competition would replace Magellan and help train crews to fly the next-generation Deep Space Exploration Vessels. * With Karl vonKerman finally feeling better, he and Hanse vonKerman took Shuttlepod 1 down to Minmus’ surface for their away mission. They had no trouble undocking from Newton and deorbiting; a half-hour later, the two kerbonauts were hovering over the surface and searching for their landing zone. “The Shuttlepod needs lights,” Hanse commented- Shuttlepod 1 was landing at night. “There it is,” Karl said, pointing towards the ground. Despite the years, the object’s LED lights still functioned. Shuttlepod 1 landed on Minmus for the first time, right next to a piece of history. Drakken Hause 3 was just over eleven years old, but it had been abandoned not long after Project Laythe reached Jool. It was a product of the latter half of the Kold War, what the Kermans had called the “Shuttle Era” after their Shuttle Launch System. While the Kermans focused on launching and building their “Starlab” Kerbin Orbiting Station via their Shuttle orbiters, the vonKerman Republic used their tried-and-true Fliegenross (“Flying Steed” in Kerman) rockets to launch their own stations- the Drakken Hause series- into orbit. Though ailing and badly in need of retirement, Drakken Hause 1, known officially as Drakken Palast, was still in use today, circling endlessly in Low Kerbin Orbit. Drakken Hause 3 was a product of the Kold War, built during a time when the vonKerman Republic and the Kerman States competed for the prestige of space exploration. The outpost was the VKR’s answer to Billstown, the Kerman States’ outpost on the Mün. Originally slated to expand Drakken House 1, the third Drakken station was hastily fitted with wheels and further modified to handle landing on Minmus. Later, the VKR sent three additional modules to extract ore and process it into propellants that were then shipped to awaiting tankers parked at Unity Station. The whole operation was a testament to vonKerman ingenuity- but it was rendered obsolete thanks to the vehicle sitting next to it. The two kerbonauts spent the better part of an hour switching on the base’s lights and performing diagnostics and noting the smell of aging plastic in the air. By Minmus sunrise, they’d completed their tasks and headed outside to inspect another Kold War relic sitting a couple hundred meters away. “A first-generation Drakken Tanker Tug, modified to handle landing on Minmus,” Karl said, whistling. “My dad worked on these. The original design lacked a heat shield up front and landing legs on the bottom. This iteration was the first attempt at bringing propellants back to Kerbin.” “They didn’t work too well, as I recall,” Hanse mentioned. “No, they didn’t. They kept exploding during aerobraking. We eventually switched to the inflatable heat shield design, of course, but we kept this one around to ferry propellant up to Unity Station…” The two kerbals made their way back to Shuttlepod 1 for the return trip to orbit. Karl noticed that the lower plasma contactors were gone- again. “Those bottom contactors are in the wrong place,” Hanse noted. Before long, they were back in orbit and on their way to their next destination. Three and a half hours later, they arrived. They found an old Fliegenross Upper Stage that had orbited Minmus for over fifteen years. There were no records of what mission it belonged to, but it looked like one that delivered a landing craft to Minmus’ surface. There was nothing else they could do with it, so Shuttlepod 1 headed back to Gateway Station and arrived after a day of travel… With their tasks completed at Minmus, Newton and Halley departed the Mint Mün and headed back to Kerbin. 11 days later, they both docked to Sky Reef for a brief stopover and crew swap. Over the next three weeks, the two crews evaluated the other ship, provided their feedback, and wrote endless evaluation reports before the two vessels returned to Sky Reef and boarded their ride for the trip home. The International Space Consortium thanked both DSEV(X) teams for their efforts and began their final evaluation process.

Rex Wall IV from Aviation Leak here, can you elaborate on what a "landing pylon" is?

I finished some new Slim suits based on an old mission report...

I've spent too much time on this, but I've gone ahead and recreated the Kerbfleet uniforms: Anyway, if allowed, I'll publish the Kerbfleet mod for those interested.

I built some gravimetric generator nacelles to enable Scout to haul asteroids: It can just barely move JNSQ Type A asteroids around, so I needed more powerful generators: Now she can haul the mail.

@Nimzo Kerman: This recreation is as faithful as I can get while adhering to modernized KSP and mods. Some parts of the ship had to change due to limited screenshot coverage and updates to the game and mods. Hopefully Bill can explain the differences... At a minimum you'll need: Wild Blue Tools: https://github.com/Angel-125/WildBlueTools/releases/tag/v1.89.2 Kerbal Planetary Base Systems: https://spacedock.info/mod/173/Kerbal Planetary Base Systems# Kerbfleet Flags (with the craft file, minus life support parts): See DM. I highly recommend Restock and Restock Plus if you haven't seen those already. I also found the Counter-Kerbin: by @GregroxMun: https://spacedock.info/mod/502/Kerbfleet Planet Pack: The Kerbulus System One more teaser image and a theme song: Happy Holidays!

Definitely can grab asteroids and warp them around. You definitely will need Moar Power: It also helps to grab small asteroids...

Yeah, warp effects need an update...

I worked on the successor to the two prototype ships: Then I tested another, more advanced prototype:

Two prototype next-generation Deep Space Exploration Vessels- Newton (DSX-01) and Halley (DSX-02) are undergoing space trials in my game. Each has unique features to offer, such as gravitic engines and a Shuttlepod (Newton), and a sickbay and a hanger with a Compact Payload Maneuvering Vehicle (Halley). Both designs are being evaluated to determine which direction to go for the next DSEV craft. Unfortunately, someone forgot to pack jetpacks, repair kits, and 3D printer ore on both DSX ships, so they stopped off at Phoenix Station to stock up before heading back out on their respective evaluation flights. With that oversight corrected, the two vessels depart...

Hey all, apologies for going radio silent. I started a new job about this time last year, and since June, the work has been excessive. That, and the huge disappointment of KSP 2 drove me away from both games. Anyway, I'll see what I can do about addressing these issues. @Ooglak Kerman: I don't think you can select what parts of the waterfall effects to switch on or off, but @JadeOfMaar has you covered with a Module Manager patch. It's no secret that I based the effects on Star Citizen, and I'm looking to revise the "neon tube" effect with more of a streaking lights effect (and yes, Star Citizen recently updated their warp effects). I'll look into interstellar resource utilization as well... @StormxWolf I'll have to look into why the isKnown isn't working for you; I suspect that it may be related to not having visited the destination gate yet. @JoE_BoT That's a quirk of how KSP 1 calculates part cost; I'll have to account for the cost of the graviolium that's not added by default. @dprostock With sufficient engine power and warp coils, yes. But keep in mind that asteroids and comets weigh thousands of metric tons. @GalliaRaxus Yeah, I'd suggest cloning the config files and setting the rescaleFactor accordingly. For Size three, you could take the Size 2 warp coils/bussard collector/plasma vents and setting rescaleFactor to 1.5. You'd also need to scale up the particle effects. It's also clear that I need to review the cost of some parts... the Size 2 Bussard Collectors and plasma vents are the same cost as the Size 1 parts! Making whole new parts is more difficult right now since my 3DS MAX license expired last year, and it became cost prohibitive renew it. I'm slowly learning Blender, but work, life, and a disappointing KSP 2 killed my interest and put that effort on hold. Regardless, there are a few tricks that I can do in Unity to make some small tweaks. One thing I'd like to do is build some S1, S2, and Mk2 Warp Coil part variants that let you specify the number of segments that you want- with corresponding cost, mass, and performance increases. That should also help reduce vessel part count.

Not I, but awhile back I toyed with a Galaxy Quest-type mission report where the kerbals read the "historical documents" from Kerbfleet, got to the cliffhanger, and, with no end to the series, they build their own ship... If I did something like that today, maybe it would be a reimagined "Strange New Worlds Kerbals" type adventure. But I'd have to get @Kuzzter's blessing to use a ship based on his design, and he hasn't been on the forums in years.

Gort: Klatu, Verata, Ne-*clears throat*

Kudos to you @Falki for making the nationalities and names and such customizable! In my current KSP 1 game, I have nations like the Kerman States, vonKerman Republic, and the mcKerman Kingdom. Having H.U.M.A.N.S. in a KSP 2 game would let me continue that trend- and add more nationalities.

Neat! That's a great way to do it. It sounds like you have to first escape Minmus SOI, then drop your orbit, and when at Kerbin periapsis, boost all the way out of Kerbin's SOI. Could you also wait for Minmus to line up, then boost out of Minmus orbit and directly on escape trajectory, or is that too tricky to pull off? Also, would that affect your correction burns to Duna later (in Kerbolar orbit)? *** I've always started from LKO, never tried a boost from Minmus or when dropping from Minmus orbit. I can never get the angles right...

When your tugs burn for Duna at Kerbin periapsis, are they in circular orbit around Kerbin? Science editors of Kerbal Space Science Report would like to know. How do you time it so that the tugs are in the right position to burn for Duna when they're departing from Minmus and arriving at Kerbin to do their work?

Nice to see something like Snacks in KSP 2.

I flew a Starship/New Glenn mashup: They delivered a flight crew to conduct space trials for this:

Found one more from my archive...

TY! Voyager didn't have the auxiliary spacecraft since I couldn't get good enough pictures of them to replicate their designs. The same can be said for the probes. My "refit" version would need new craft. If I were to update the Voyager today, I'd use my Buffalo 2 mod in place of Kerbal Planetary Base Systems and replace the engines with gravitic motors from Kerbal Flying Saucers. I might give her a warp drive from Blueshift as well. It makes me think of a what if: What if kerbals from a different save received the "historical documents" of Kerbfleet: A Jool Odyssey, reached the cliffhanger, and got so frustrated, they built their own Intrepid-like ship to go find out what happens next in the Kerbfleet story? But that's for another thread. I'd love to see @Kuzzter at least tell us what he had planned for his story if he doesn't have time to finish his webcomic...

Having nostalgia (and some depression) back in the height of the pandemic, I built a near-replica of the Intrepid using modern KSP: Sort of like a refit of the Intrepid-class in the Star Trek The Motion Picture era. Maybe someday we'll see the exciting conclusion to this story line. Meanwhile, many of my KSP 1 mods feature Kuzzter Instruments, a powerhouse computer manufacturer named after @Kuzzter More screenshots: https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/page/2335/#comment-4036671

Chuck Y. Kerman derides the astronauts who fly in that as "Spam in a can." Nice to see your mission report taking flight again.

Chapter 12 “You weren’t supposed to plant the ISC flag,” Charles mcKerman, head of the Ministry of Space, thundered. Given the time delay between Kerbin and Duna, the chewing out wasn’t live, and Calbro mcKerman took advantage of that fact to pause the video. They had printed up the new flag- the proposed new flag- of the soon-to-be International Space Consortium to check out the new design, and Calbro mistakenly grabbed it instead of the Kerbin flag. Then Calbro planted it before a “live” audience at the base of the giant carving, only realizing his mistake partly through the unveiling. They were already in trouble for using the Kerbin flag instead of their respective countries’, and now they were in even more trouble for showing one of the international space exploration organization’s proposed flags for all the world to see. Now, the spacefaring nations of Kerbin had to scramble to finalize and approve the International Space Consortium Treaty before the avalanche of reporters bombarded them with their inevitable questions… “You have no idea what a mess you made,” Charles said, after Calbro unpaused the video. “Thanks to you, we’re not going to be called the International Space Exploration Agency. The International Space Consortium was a rejected name! Now, countless reporters from around the world are asking us about the new flag. And they couldn’t help but notice not three, but six countries on the flag, before anyone had a chance to even sign the ISEA- no, the ISC Charter, let alone announce it! I will personally make sure that you and your team never flies again!” This time, Ferwin paused the video. “So, he’s going to ground the kerbals that made the greatest discovery in kerbalkin history since the discovery of phytoplankton on Laythe,” he mused. “Good luck with that…” Calbro chuckled and again unpaused the video. The two listened to Charles mcKerman rant about their colossal error for several minutes before he finally ran out of epithets and abruptly ended the transmission. “So, uh, yeah,” Dudmon said finally, over the video link, “we’re in big trouble back home. But I agree with Ferwin, it’ll look bad if they ground us, especially after you made that amazing discovery. Discoveries, plural. The news outlets are going crazy with ‘Ancient Astronaut’ theories about how the Kermantians, with their primitive, Neolithic technology, made it to Duna and created the Face on Duna- that’s what they’re calling it. And you should see the documentaries that they’ve been airing on you guys, ‘hero explorers’ and all that. Anyway, you’ve been ordered to set up a base at the… anomaly… and conduct an extensive study of it. You’ll be receiving printer instructions for the Pathfinder base components shortly…” * Drax Kerman, former CEO of Drax Aerospace- the company that he founded- looked at his orange prison jumpsuit and sighed. Not long ago, he led a decadent lifestyle befitting his aristocratic origins. But his ambitions got the better of him. In his youth, he concocted a brilliant plan to make the world depend upon his company when he defaced carvings on an ancient Kermantian pyramid to make it look like the world was going to end. He kept everything secret and over the decades he slowly unfurled his plan, hooked the necessary world leaders, and got the contracts flowing. Things were going well: his company squashed any attempts to use the Lindor 5 rocket for the new reusable orbiter in favor of his Shuttle Launch System. Next, he pressured the government to make Drax Aerospace one of the commercial contractors for KOTS- the Kerbin Orbital Transportation Services program that freed KSP funding for Project Laythe, the first mission to Jool’s nearest moon. Then he maneuvered Drax Aerospace so that it received the lion’s share of the contracts needed to assemble the First Jool Fleet. Finally, he muscled his way into the commercial space markets pioneered by Orbital Dynamics- their chief rivals- and were poised to take over the markets despite their rivals’ technological edge. And then it all fell apart. Practically overnight, someone figured out Drax’s plan as well as his attempt to poof Dolores Kerman, the other student with him on that Kermantian expedition so long ago, and the only other person at the time who knew the full extent of Drax’s plans. As it turned out, Leando Kerman- one of his executives- also found out about his plan and turned over evidence in exchange for leniency. And just like that, Drax Kerman was quickly convicted of the attempted poof, given the harshest sentence possible, and thrown into a maximum-security prison. Drax thought that with him in prison, that would be the end of the fallout from his hoax, but apparently not… Like the meeting with him that they just concluded, federal investigators questioned him vigorously for several days about Project Eve, the unofficial name for his grand hoax. So named for its fake proposal to send kerbals to Eve using a modified SkyBase space station, Project Eve detailed how Drax intended to use the “end of the world” to funnel vast amounts of funds into his company. The investigators were especially interested in his plans for Duna for some reason, but he insisted that he had none. They even used truth serum and multiple lie detector tests- oh, the indignity! But he spoke the truth: he had no plans for Duna, no secret missions to the rusty planet. The stone tetrahedron launched into high Kerbin orbit- at great expense- was the extent of his “alien” hoax, but no, he didn’t secretly send any kerbals to Duna. And he knew that their meticulous search through Drax Aerospace’s records would prove his claims. Harsh as it was, their rigorous questioning was intriguing to the former CEO. What did they find on Duna? They said nothing, of course, but whatever it was, he wasn’t a part of it, and that angered him. No, the fact that he was permanently banned from anything to do with space exploration angered him. While Project Eve was a hoax, he had to admit that he caught “space aficionado fever” like so many others. He yearned to explore the worlds above, to be the first to set foot on new lands, to go where none have gone before. Oddly, it wasn’t until he was forced out of his CEO role that he realized his calling. Perhaps he was just too busy focusing on his company and his plot to really notice… But now, here in prison, he was denied his new obsession. And Drax Kerman was determined to not let that continue… * Project Pathfinder- not to be confused with the Drax thermalnuclear space shuttle of the same name- was an old design proposal from the early days of the space program. It consisted of several prefabricated modules- essentially airtight tents- that crews unpacked and assembled and outfitted with various types of equipment. Standard air pressure and an internal frame kept them expanded, but their modular design enabled crews to pack them up again so that they could move to another location. The DSEV-01 crew even tested a prototype module on Laythe that had shipped with Laythe Base. For the ongoing “road trip” mission, KSP engineers redesigned the Pathfinder base components so that they could be 3D printed by the Buffabus’s printer. It was slow work, so the scientists occupied their time by setting up a research station to let remote scientists study The Face. They immediately regretted the actions; they received endless requests to get closeups of this or that, take more aerial photos, and even chip a sample here and there for analysis. From what Ferwin and Calbro could determine, the Face was carved from ordinary granite, but the devices used appeared to be a combination of Neolithic tools and advanced, precision cutting instruments. In fact, the Dunalith seemed to share the same advanced techniques as parts of the Face, suggesting that they both were created similarly. Exactly how the advanced techniques avoided cut marks remained a mystery, but some experts suggested that high pressure water could do the job. So, if aliens helped the Kermantians reach Duna and carve The Face, as some Ancient Astronaut theorists believed, then why were there no mentions of them in Kermantian texts? And if there weren’t aliens involved, then where did the Kermantians get their advanced technology from- and where is it today? It was a question that none could answer… After three weeks of work, the team finally completed the Pathfinder outpost, dubbed Face Base by the media. The specialized equipment needed for extensive research of The Face had to be shipped from Kerbin. Until then, Ferwin and Calbro had their samples and pictures and other research to keep the scientists back home busy for a while. As a bad sandstorm rolled in, the team boarded the Buffabus once more for the long trek to the next anomaly a “mere” 885 km away… What felt like weeks was only days later, but the Buffabus made it to their next destination. The team found another artificially created arch- it seemed that the Kermantians really liked building them for some reason. After their previous discovery, finding yet another arch felt like a letdown; hoping for something more exciting like a Lost City or a crashed spaceship, the media barely gave it a mention in their broadcasts. Nonetheless, the team cataloged the find and noted its location, but Mission Control elected to not set up any science instruments to study the structure. It appeared just like the other crude stone arches built on Duna. Instead, they pressed onward to the last anomaly on their list… Looking at their map, their last stop was another 480 km distant- not including detours around mountain ranges. It would take a couple of days at least to get there. If nothing else, at least their destination, Sector SNJ3, would give them a view of Duna’s Southern Lights. The crew took turns driving the Buffabus (more like letting the autopilot drive, and just monitoring the instruments), and a couple of days later, they approached the last anomaly on their list. According to Dudmon, the casinos back home were taking bets on what they would find. Another Face? Another Dunalith? Another arch? Perhaps another forgotten space probe. As they got within 20 kilometers of the anomaly, their BTDT sensor started pinging, helping them home in on the exact location. What they found had 200:1 odds on the betting circuits. “Holy mulch…” Ferwin said and trailed off. “That’s not something you see every day,” Emma finished for him. * If there was any doubt that Kermantians had somehow visited Duna seemingly without advanced technology, all those doubts were shattered by Team Buffabus’s latest discovery. Though several times smaller than the Pyramid of Tut-Un Jeb-Anh, there was no question that the construction of the stepped pyramid matched its Kerbin cousin. Why the Kermantians built the mini pyramid out in the middle of nowhere was a mystery, but hopefully the inscription on its base would help solve that mystery. Adsii Kerman, an astrophysicist and astronomer by trade, was the foremost expert on Kermantian history and language. His expertise resulted in his sudden departure from KSP’s science division in pursuit of his hobby. Only a handful knew that Adsii’s investigation into Kermantian history led to the downfall of Drax Kerman and his elaborate hoax that the world was ending. “I leave on sabbatical and the world goes to mulch,” Adsii grumbled. He looked forward to settling into his new role at Orbital Dynamics when he got a call to aid KSP once more- this time, translating the inscriptions on the Dunalith- which was interrupted to translate the glyphs on the pyramid. Once he got over his shock that Kermantians somehow toured the solar system, he got to work…