CHAPTER ONE: NEW TECH Jeb sat silently in his capsule. “Ten meters to docking.†He pulled back on his control stick to slow his approach. The station loomed in his window. “Five meters.†The docking probe slid into the station’s port. “Hard dock confirmed.†Jeb opened the simulator door and took a deep breath. Bob poked his head into the cramped space. “You’ve been at this all day.†He said. “Can you please just come look at what the R&D guys came up with?†Jeb got up and crawled out of the cockpit. “Sure!†Jeb and Bob walked into the “Advanced Technologies†room. Valentina was already sitting in a chair, watching two kerbals explain, well, “What is going on?†Jeb said aloud. One of the kerbals held a small model in his hand. “Well,†he explained, “this is our next generation GNC bay. GNC is Guidance, Navigation, and Control, of course. This contains optical and inertial sensors, plus laser-based range sensors, for docking to a space station.†Jeb looked impressed. The technician wasn’t done though. “And! It has this door that closes over the bay to protect it when we aren’t using the sensors, like during re-entry.†Jeb had one question. “When does it fly?â€Â
