Primary Mission: Capture and Study Class D Asteroid (Operation Shiny Rock).
Mission Description: A class d asteroid has been spotted in solar orbit on a path that will pass within feet of several satellites in HEO around Kerbin. This has given our scientists the idea to use this close approach to capture the asteroid with the dubiously named Asteroid Graboid Mk1. This craft will be designed to both capture and decelerate the Class D Asteroid in order to bring it into a polar orbit at an altitude of 500,000km.
1.) Operation Shiny Rock:
a.) First Attempt: Complete failure. Our first attempt with Asteroid Graboid Mk1 resulted in a spectacular explosion after tumbling end over end shortly after reaching an altitude of 5135km. The KSC R&D department has yet again suggested funding and developing a system to test rocket designs prior to launch. Luckily the aforementioned spacecraft was unmanned so Jeb didn't get lost in mountains again.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003953227/screenshots/
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003953227/screenshots/
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003953227/screenshots/
b.) Second Attempt: Partial Success. Our first attempt with the updated (added much needed space tape, fins, and boosters) Asteroid Graboid Mk2 resulted in a partial success of mission parameters. We were able to capture the asteroid, which KSC has named CHAD (Collision Hazard-Asteroid D-Class) and decelerated it into a HEO around Kerbin, but ran out of fuel before getting CHAD into a 500,000km polar orbit. R&D department went on vacation following the successful launch of AG Mk2 and will be gone for the next week. Because of this we decided to launch another AG Mk2 into space to reposition CHAD into the required orbit for the CHAD Research Station that has now been sitting on the desert launch pad for 5 months.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003953227/screenshots/
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003953227/screenshots/
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003953227/screenshots/
c.) Third Attempt: After launching our second AG Mk2 we were able to capture and reposition CHAD into a polar orbit and at long last the science station was launched and rendezvoused with CHAD. Future missions will relocate CHAD to low orbit over the Mun and eventually Minmus.
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003953227/screenshots/
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003953227/screenshots/
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003953227/screenshots/
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003953227/screenshots/
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003953227/screenshots/
d.) Mission Success!!!
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003953227/screenshots/
Lessons Learned:
-Do better maths for figuring out fuel needs.
-If all else fails, add more space tape and boosters.
-Contrary to the mission name this Asteroid is not shiny
-Will need to negotiate a larger budget since we went well over what we were allotted. (Total Cost: 2,526,246.20 Kerbal Bucks)
