NotAgain

That was the most Bad-S mission I've seen in a very long time. That Triti's quite the character.

Hello, good people of the forums. I'm NotAgain, and I've finally plucked up the courage to start a mission report on my mid-game career mode. First, a little bit about my save: I run more mods than I care to mention, but the major ones are This career's been going on since 1.1.2 came out. I do things my own way. if you don't like it, there are a plethora of other mission reports out there, there's something for everyone. I'm not the best pilot. I'm addicted to screenshots, and caffeine, so you can expect (semi) regular updates, usually at least one per week. I operate several different 'space agencies' in my save, courtesy of Kerbal Konstructs. They are all part of one central 'Kerbal Space Agency', but also operate independently. They each have their own Kerbonaut Corps, except for three. I have weird naming schemes. And, potentially most importantly, the glorious @DiscoSlelge is making some wonderful mission patches, which I hope to use on my crewed missions. The Space Agencies are as follows: The Kenairian Space Agency (KSA). The Kenairian civilian space agency, and the most prominent. Launch site: KSC (Kape Kanaveral) Naming schemes: Uncrewed: Girl's names, or acronyms. Crewed: Pubs (Bars) Crewed spacecraft: Metkosmos. The Metarian civilian space agency Launch site: KSC2 (Kaikonur Kosmodrome) Naming Schemes: Uncrewed: Destination-specific random Russian stuff. Crewed: random Russian stuff and names from Tantares parts. Crewed spacecraft: Metarian Army. Does what it says on the tin. And spies on you. Launch site: KSC2 (Kaikonur Kosmodrome) Naming Schemes: Uncrewed: Destination-specific random Russian stuff. Crewed: random Russian stuff and names from Tantares parts. Crewed spacecraft: Elenvarian National Space Agency (ENSA). The Elenvarian space agency. May or may not work for the government. Lanch site: Round Range Naming Schemes: Uncrewed: Random Chinese stuff. Crewed: Random Chinese stuff. Crewed spacecraft: Airnian National Space Exploration Bereau (ANSEB). The Airnian civilian space agency. Lanch site: Great Ez Kape Naming Schemes: Uncrewed: Acronyms. Crewed: Variations on the word Explorer. Crewed spacecraft: The Orbital Access Alliance (OAA). A private space exploration firm. Launch site: Central Lakes Naming Schemes: Uncrewed: Elements. Crewed: Elements. Crewed spacecraft: The University of Ken-Tech. A University. With a space program. (They're Kerbals. What did you expect?) Launch site: KSC (Kape Kanaveral) Naming Schemes: Uncrewed: Names of Tantares parts. The National Airnian University for STEM Studies. Another University with a space program. Launch site: KSC (Kape Kanaveral) Naming Schemes: The word box in many languages. Rocketplane Kerblar. Another private space exploration firm. Launch Site: KSC (Kape Kanaveral)/Goldpool Naming Scheme: Uncrewed: Mission-Specific. Crewed: Acronyms. Right. On with the (somewhat) exciting bit. Half Mun Flight - 20 Mission: Deploy the Serena X and XI communtiactions satellites, and test the new RCS thruster placement. Orbiter: KSS Dauntless (OV-7) Crew: E1 Pepe Kerman (Commander), P1 Duddas Kerman (Orbiter Pilot), E1 Wensie Kerman (Mission Specialist), S1 Bob Kerman (Mission Specialist). The Half Mun orbiter Dauntless launched on her 4th mission carrying the Serena X and XI communication satellites to orbit on a Prometheus - III 122K launch vehicle. The plan was to insert into a 160 x 160km equatorial orbit, deploy the satellites, which would use their own engines to enter eliptical orbits 90 degrees apart. But, of course, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. The payload release mechanism failed. so the orbiter came back with the satellites in the cargo bay. Despite the the payload rendering the orbiter hideously unstable in flight, mission pilot P1 Duddas Kerman sucessfully got the orbiter back to the Kape and deployed the emergency landing parachutes, saving the orbiter, payload and crew. (OOC, I screwed up and forgot decouplers. My bad.)

Oh, mulch... Question: Did the NewShip lose an engine during re-entry this time?

Looks like Tuesday evening updates may become a thing... Grace - XI Mission: Investigate Duna's poles for the first time. Launch Vehicle: Firestorm III - MHUSS Agency/Launch Site: KSA/Kape Kanaveral Another Duna probe is sent aloft on a Firestorm III, this time it's a stationary lander. Grace - IX Mission: Send a new rover to Duna to unlock yet more of its secrets. Launch Vehicle: Firedance IIIA (ACUSS 3rd Stage) Agency/Launch Site: KSA/Kape Kanaveral We finally launch Intrepidity's sucessor, Tenacity. (I swear, @Hotaru, I'm not stealing your names! This was, believe it or not, a coincidence!) Grace - XII Mission: Return some really valuable rocks. Launch Vehicle: Firedance IIIC Agency/Launch Site: KSA/Kape Kanaveral We embark on our most ambitious Duna mission yet: an attempt to discover rocks.

I too have reservations, Kathelyn... That seems like an awful lot of boom for a fairly small tin.

I am in no way disappointed. You updated the thread in spite of adversity. Looking forward to Mars.

Ike 2 Mission: Experience some serious de ja vu, and launch another Ike lander. Launch Vehicle: R - 6(O) Agency/Launch Site: Metkosmos/Kaikonur Kosmodrome In the (disturbingly likely) case of emergency, there's a second, identical ship a few days behind. Grace - X Mission: Probe Ike in an explosive fashion. Launch Vehicle: Prometheus III 050 Agency/Launch Site: KSA/Kape Kanaveral We're going to deliberately crash a little probe with a lump of Plutonium aboard into a moon for science and funds. It doesn't get much more 'Kerbal' than that. Also, for those wondering where Grace - IX is, we discovered a problem with her on the launch pad, and had to roll the mission back to be fixed. Also: Whoop! 300 rep! Thanks, everyone!

StrutCo 2 Mission: Send another commercial space exploration probe out to its destination (Duna). Launch Vehicle: Etoh Heavy B Agency/Launch Site: KSA on behalf of StrutCo/Kape Kanaveral StrutCo make another interplanetary foray.

I love SpaceSheepTwo. Do you mind if I use it in my mission report? (Obviously, I'll give you full credit.)

This is my Etoh Heavy launcher, basically three etoh cores strapped together with an LV-909 or Belle upper stage. It can put three or four tons into orbit, and send several hundred kilos to Duna, which is what it's doing in this image. (The Grace - VII Duna mapping satellite.)

I'd love to know what's wrong with asparagus staging. It's not exactly cheating. The real-life Delta IV Heavy sometimes uses it, if I recall correctly.

Just to warn you lot, as term starts tomorrow for me, it's unlikely that I'll be able to post very frequent updates, but I'll try and get something up at least once per week.

Am I the only one that sees Tintin's Moon Rocket here?

Launcher List Part 1 Some time ago I promised @SBKerman a list of my currently active launch vehicles. Here's the long-awaited first installment. R - 5a Stages: 2 (with boosters) Agency: Metkosmos (MASF has access sometimes) Notable Payloads: DJCS 1, Kulak - 4, Evera 1, Evera 3, Duna 1. Actually, this should classified as a historic lifter now, as it's made its last flight, carrying Kulak P - 2 to Besstrashnyy. The R - 5 family has been the staple lifter of Metar's civilian space agency, Metkosmos, for years. It was actually developed by the Metarian Army Space Force, who then discovered that they had practically no use for it after a few months, and handed over the rights to the design to Metkosmos, who set about rapidly improving the R - 5 into the R - 5a. The lifter can be relied on to put around 15 tons into LKO these days, and has recently had fins added to boosters to allow for wider payloads. The R - 5a has been in service since early Year 3, and I've lost track of all the missions it's launched. Black Lancer 1A Stages: 1 (with boosters) Agency: KSA (ANSEB has access, as they designed and supply the main engine and all of the KSA's capsules.) Notable Payloads: StrutCo 1, Katrina 1 Rescue Mission. Again, this is actually a historic lifter now, as the Black Lancer 1B is on the verge of replacing it, but it's been the mainstay of the KSA's small crew Kerbin Orbit missions for years. Every few weeks one of these sends up a Blue Anchor Block IV, a brilliant multi-purpose crewed spacecraft that we use for rescue missions and carrying crews to Kerbin Outbound. We also use these to launch probes (like StrutCo 1) and small space station modules (like the Kerbin Outbound CADS adaptor). The original Black Lancer 1 was built in an effort to fire two crew into High Kerbin Orbit on a shoestring budget to replace the failed reaction wheels of the Katrina 1 Jool probe (which ended up being slain by the Kraken a couple of weeks later, before it even arrived). we had about 40,000 available, and we managed to slap together a launcher and what ended up being the first prototype of the Blue Anchor Block IV, and then Gene went "Hey, we can use this for other stuff", and so the Black Lancer 1 was born. Firedance III Family Stages: 2 (various types of booster available) Agency: KSA Notable Payloads: Blue Anchor Block III Munar Landing Missions, Grace - IX, Grace XII, Eleanor A resupply vehicles, Orblab 2, Kerbin Outbound Core. The Firedance III is our primary Medium - Heavy lift launcher, with four different primary variants and a fifth in the works it's massively capable, launching anything from interplanetary probes to crewed Munar landers to large resupply missions to large space station modules. It's not exactly a cheap launcher, but every variant currently in service (not the original Firedance III) has a flawless safety record, and the KSA's administrators are willing to trade cost-effectiveness for extreme reliability and ease of operation. While the Firedance I and II are retired, and we're phasing out the Firedance IV, we have no current plans to retire this workhorse of a family while it's performing so well. Firedance IV Stages: 2 (3rd stage can be added) Agency: KSA Notable Payloads: Kerbin Outbound's Tank, Castle Minmus landing missions, KSS Of The Twilight, The Darkness (OV - 8). The Firedance IV is, simply put, the most powerful launcher ever flown by any agency. The Metkosmos NK - 1 is the only launcher that realistically comes close. Capable of putting over 100 tons of payload into Low Kerbin Orbit, this is the vehicle that we turn to when we need to launch a monstrosity into orbit. It's not cheap, but performance like that never comes cheap. In fact, it comes in at around 300,000 per launch, so we're trying to phase it out by the end of Year 12 and replace it with the Firestorm IV, but we may have to keep it in limited service until Year 25, or possibly Year 27 in order to launch huge payloads to Duna. So watch this space. Firestorm I Family Stages: 2 (boosters available) Agency: KSA Notable Payloads: Lauren - I, Black Bull - Firestorm I, Debris Retrieval Vehicles. The Firestorm I was, honestly, an attempt at a cheap, stop-gap fourth generation launch vehicle using existing technology. I suppose it's more of a Generation 3.5 launcher, actually. Whatever it is, though, it's proved its usefulness dozens of times, launching anything from rescue missions to Moho probes, and it continus to excel thanks to its simple design, low cost and massive adapatability.

DOVE (Duna OberVEr) Mission: Collect high-definition images of Duna (and possibly its moons) in various normal, infra-red and ultra-violet light, among other things. Launch Vehicle: Matchsitck II - CES Agency/Launch Site: ANEB/Great Ez Kape ANSEB join this window's Duna flotilla. Actually, I'm not sure that I can legitamately classify this as a flotilla anymore. Pretty sure it's a full fleet now. Grace - VIII Mission: Produce a high-definition map of Duna's moons; Ike and Nyke. Launch Vehicle: Firestorm III - Perseus Agency/Launch SIte: KSA/Kape Kanaveral In an attempt to ensure the safety of our (often bumbling) Kerbonauts, we fling a mapping probe at Ike and Nyke. Ike 1 Mission: Land on, and science the Mulch out of Ike. Launch Vehicle: R - 6(O) Agency/Launch Site: Metkosmos/Kaikonur Kosmodrome Metkosmos heads out to grab another interplanetary first.

Why are those radiators so hot?

Orion - 3 Mission: Launch a probe with an experimental new antenna to Duna. Launch Vehicle: Daleth N Agency/Launch SIte: University of Ken-Tec/Kape Kanaveral Ken-Tec finally make an appearance. They're off to Duna. Duna 4 Mission: Launch Duna 4, and her daughter craft, Dunakhod 1, out to the red planet. Launch Vehicle: ALV Agency/Launch Site: Metkosmos/Kaikonur Kosmodrome Metkosmos go big-style and cute at the same time, somehow. Grace - VII Mission: Make a high-resolution terrain and altimetry map of Duna. Launch Vehicle: Etoh Heavy B Agency/Launch Site: KSA/Kape Kanaveral The KSA heads off to map out Duna. Guan Yu 2 Mission: Inflate Glorious Leader's ego. Launch Vehicle: Rongyu Long 5 Agency/Launch Site: ENSA/Round Range Elenvair finally make an appearance.

I've got a hat that's screaming out for one. I'd happily pay £10 of so for one of these.

Now where have I heard that one before..?

I've been busy... I launched that base for a contract more than two years ago, and I've finally gotten around to sending a crew up there. I've now got a flag planted, a Mark II Munar Roving Vehicle on site and assembled, and an RTG array built and connected up for power during the long Munar nights.

Kulak P - 2 Mission: Launch Besstrashnyy Expedition 2 Launch Vehicle: R - 5a Crew: S1 Crisla Kerman (Commander), E1 Stelice Kerman (Mission Specialist), S1 Vergee Kerman (Mission Specialist) Agency/Launch Site: Metkosmos/Kaikonur Kosmodrome Today, we send Expedition 2 to Besstrashnyy aboard a Kulak P. The plan is to send three Kosmonauts up for a 160 day stay at the station, and keep it constantly crewed.

Crumbs. That's a lot of Vorpal. Congratulations on a successful Eve ascent, @Hotaru.

This, I cannot fathom...

Rose - I Arrival at Dres Nowhere Oh, look. I'm back. This probe launched a few weeks before this report started, on a Muo V, a relatively major lifter that you guys somehow haven't encountered. Sorry for the two-week absence, people, I've been on a disappointing holiday. Anyway, there's a couple of minor changes that I'm going to be making to this mission report. Firstly, I'm going to stop covering EVERY SINGLE MISSION. The boring and repetative ones, like station resupply missions and trajectory changes, will be briefly summarised every few days. Also, I'm beginning to shift towards huge interplanetary missions, so expect some weird and wonderful spacecraft, and a ridiculous new Metarian lifter. EDIT - And a Kenairian one, too.

I am indeed. I'd reccomend not letting your list of agencies get out of control, like mine has. Also, a little bit of backstory/plot to the two agencies would probably be great, like the friendly (but highly politicised) rivalry between the KSA and Metkosmos, which I should honestly expand upon. *Goes and starts writing*