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Gaelan Conquest: 3.2x GPP Through The View Of Gael Rocketry United's CEO | Chapter 30 - Secret Project


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Computer Generated Image Of A Space Station In Another World, Dated Year 105

*Editorial Mode On*

I have finally decided to get back in to KSP. More importantly, GPP! Since 6.4x seemed a big tough to accomplish (especially with no Realism Overhaul & ludicrous DV requirements), I have since decided to go with 3.2x. The main difference between this and my last GPP save is the introduction of several new mods, and the perspective change. This series will be through the eyes of Jimeno Gaelan (Seen Below), the CEO of Gael Rocketry United, and his decisions in the program, including the progress of the space program. Only every now and then I will step in to provide background or details.

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Jimeno Gaelan: Age 55 (Gaelan Years)

 

Also, here's the mod list

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This time, I'm implementing Kerbalism, and a couple new resource mods, including TheGoldStandard. A couple other mods to spice up the game, and my personal favorite for a 3.2x save, Procedual Parts. Always a big fan of making spacecrafts look amazing, and Procedual Parts & it's part textures are the way to do it (I even added an extra texture pack for Procedual Parts).

 

Main features of this career save:

  • Kerbalism (A resource and environment mod which will probably cause me to accidentally kill Kerbals many times)
  • KRnD (A parts upgrade system that uses science to turn into more efficient spacecraft parts)
  • Tourism Plus (A pack which encourages space hotels & other tourism things)
  • The Gold Standard (Which adds Gold and Unobtanium, both things you'd need for a space empire)
  • Scatterer, EVE, SVE, Various other visual enhancers (to make the experience for both me and the readers more enjoyable)

Ground rules:

  • Do stuff in the way that any space program would progress (no unrealistic progression)
  • No overusing of the same kerbal in every single mission
  • Kerbal R&D should be used sensibly, not to make one singular OP part
  • Unique names for spacecrafts!
  • No playing around stories. I will try my best to play this as if it was an actual career mode, and not just a novel waiting to be written. 

Goals for this career save:

  • Build a space empire (with a large amount of funds)
  • Land or flyby every body
  • Not get tired out if I'm stuck at a certain place (or have the struggle of getting back into the game after I need to take a break from pc games, etc finals starting in 2 weeks)
  • Ask the readers for suggestions on as what to do next!
  • Max out the tech tree (duh)

One more thing of note is that I may add GEP in the future, but for now am sticking with just the Galileo System

Now, let's get into the SCIENCE!

 

(Chapters by milestone, not by what the chapters specialized in)                                                                                                                     

 

Crew To Gael Orbit

Chapter 1 - Shaky Beginnings

Chapter 2 - Entering Gael Orbit

Chapter 3 - Moving On Up | Chapter 3.5 - Progress Update

Chapter 4 - Economic BOOM!

Chapter 5 - Iotian Sunrise

Chapter 6 - What In The World Just Happened?

 

Crew To Iota

Chapter 7 - Daring Leaps

Chapter 8 - The Loneliest Gaelan In History

Chapter 9 - Another Cold And Lifeless Rock

Chapter 10 - New (And Borrowed) Technologies

Chapter 11 - Near Disaster In Space

Chapter 12 - Iota Bound!

Chapter 13 - Almost There

 

Crew To Iota's Surface

Chapter 14 - Footprints On Another World

 

Crew To Ceti

Chapter 15 - Paychecks Galore

Chapter 16 - In For The Long Haul

Chapter 17 - Interplanetary + Plans For The Future

Chapter 18 - Caught In A Solar Flare

Chapter 19 - In The Valley Of Harmony

Chapter 20 - What Do You Mean There's No Connection?

Chapter 21 - Major Plans For The Future

 

Crew To Ceti's Surface

Chapter 22 - Integra To Ceti's Surface

Chapter 23 - Reusability In Mind

Chapter 24 - New Projects

 

Probes To Other Planets

Chapter 25 - Interplanetary Arrivals

Chapter 26 - The Cygnus Program

 

First Fully Functional Station

Chapter 27 - Station Construction

Chapter 28 - End Of The Decade

 

Decade In Review

 

Tourism To Iota's SOI

Chapter 29 - Dreams Of Space Tourism

Chapter 30 - Secret Project

Edited by Steeeeve
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Chapter 1 - Shaky Beginnings 

(Settings)

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*Editorial Mode Off*

 

Year 1, Day 0

It has come to the attention of the great scientists of this planet that there needs to be a new frontier. Every square meter of this great planet we call Gael has been explored, and there is no place to go but up. With our research over the last year (and numerous briberies to our citizens to become test pilots for large paychecks), we have officially commenced:

A New Era Of Exploration

The R&D team has been hard at work to put together a spacecraft that could fly, and on year 1 day 8, we are ready to present this monumental spacecraft, Free Eagle I


Free Eagle I

Spoiler

 

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Well.. not as monumental in size as it is importance. Any who..

This mighty metal bird has the capability to turn solid fuel into a downward thrust which will hopefully propel the spacecraft into a trajectory (hopefully this trajectory is upwards) which will hit high into the Gael atmosphere (we're still figuring out where space starts).

 

The checklist is then finished, and we are ready to commence the countdown!

3

2

1

Liftoff!

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Only partially illuminated by Ciro, this 2 ton steel & alloy projectile helps break records and bring our finest pilot (Galileo Gaelan) to an 18k high apogee

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We reminded the construction team to add 2 extra parachutes (just in case the main one failed), but as it turns out, that was much more than was needed. 

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While Galileo did not reach what is classified as "high in the atmosphere", he did record numerous experiments from his high trajectory, and also set a new altitude record. One which had beaten the greatest mountaineers. The craft did not break any speed records, as numerous medieval siege weapons had launched 90kg payloads much faster.

 

 

With extra cash in the bank from several contracts, the R&D team decided to develop a new kind of rocket. Here, we substituted the solid fuel for a liquid propellant. This seemed more reliable, and also doubled as a good sun cream for those days at the Gael beaches.

 

Without further hesitation, Galileo signed up for the second mission only about 30 days later

 

Free Eagle II

Spoiler

 

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The daytime shots of the spacecraft were amazing, and Galileo seemed to love being able to control his ascent 

 

The spacecraft hit an apogee of 106km, officially hitting space only a couple minutes after launch (where space seemed to start somewhere between 96 and 100 kilometers)

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While all seemed good, the scene at mission control would soon become hectic. 

A doomed descent, one which was categorized by a failure in the engineering department

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The spacecraft failed to right itself upwards, and splashed into the waters soon after at jarring speeds

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Uh oh.

Uh oh.

uh oh.

 

Welp.. Today we sure learned about the dangers of spaceflight. That was quite the kick in the pants to the space program as a whole. 

Well hey, at least we could get out a search crew to investigate the wreckage!

 

The search team managed to recover a couple parts of the spacecraft and Galileo's digital camera. Hmm, only 3 images saved to the camera. 2 copies of the capsule image above, and 1 more of space itself.

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Quite Eerie

Anywho...

Space doesn't come without sacrifice, and so we will have to get past it and start anew. We will also have to remind the engineering team to double check their spacecraft calculations. Their careers depend on it!

 

We will have to do our best to forget this tragedy, and move on to getting a Gaelan safely to orbit.. but only in the next chapter

 

 

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Chapter 2 - Entering Gael Orbit

Despite a major tragedy in the loss of Galileo Gaelan, our program has to work towards moving past this, as well as using our knowledge from this incident. 

Due to the manned spacecraft disaster, the R&D team has been working hard on moving towards unmanned spacecraft. Until then, we have to used manned spacecraft as we wait for more research toward unmanned vehicles 

 

Free Eagle III

Spoiler

 

Year 1, Day 63

The Free Eagle III is constructed and is rolled out to the launchpad. Despite having a recent loss of life in the space program, there was one volunteer who still wanted to take part in our goal of spaceflight: Poody Gaelan. Yup, 100% willing

Spoiler

And maybe a bit of bribery in the form of a hefty paycheck and promise to make it seem as if Poody volunteered to be brave, and not for sweet sweet Gaelan cash

The spacecraft was fairly simple. A 2 stage flight, including a solid fuel stage & a liquid fuel stage

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Other than the safe landing, the flight was rather uneventful (but the flight was pretty dang photogenic)

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The flight topped out at about 100km, but this time we'd be able to bring the science we had lost back to Gael. Seems like we've finally got something going for us!

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Poody Gaelan (Right) standing next to the Free Eagle III (Left)

 

The R&D team had a field day with the newly recovered data, and managed to create a prototype of an unmanned control module. This prototype was quickly assembled on top of a rather potent spacecraft

 

 

Insight II

Spoiler

 

Year 1, Day 163 - Insight II is rolled onto the launchpad

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This 4 stage beast would use 3 separate instances of SRB's, 2 of which would be in space above Gael, just to ensure a stable orbit.

 

As it turned out, the engineers overestimated some (usually a good thing), and the Insight II managed to orbit without the need for the last SRB

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Ground control decided to use the last SRB to launch the insight II into a highly elliptical orbit, and since no extra science was strapped to the spacecraft, this was purely for glamour shots

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Concluding thoughts:

In this first half year of being the CEO of Gael Rocketry United, our organization has gone through many ups and downs. We have accomplished our first yearly goal (orbiting Gael), and so from now on until the end of the year, nothing is off the table. With around 250k funds in the bank, we should be good for a while in terms of funds. Until the next major spaceflight failure at least :)

 

Edited by Steeeeve
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*Editorial Mode On*

I've been playing quite frequently, and since we are still in the early stages of the space program, it's easy to pump out several chapters in a relatively short time. I'm still a bit rusty at the game (while I haven't played in nearly 8 months), but it feels good to be getting back into it

*Editorial Mode Off*

We seem to be progressing quite well in the race to space, and so we hope to continue this progression of spaceflight. The Galileo disaster is long behind us (may he rest in peace), and we are now setting our sights on our moons, Iota and Ceti

Chapter 3: Moving On Up

While our engineers are eager to construct an Iota bound probe, the funds & science are not quite there yet. For starters, we cannot reliably get into space. In fact, sometimes our spacecrafts are more useful as submarines rather than actual spacecrafts

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Insight IV getting it's feet a little too wet (after only hitting a puny 68km in the sky)

 

Regardless, our engineers are slowly improving in their crafts (or so we thought)

 

A suborbital spaceflight, named Insight V was sent to gather extra science before we could get into the real missions

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After we picked up some science and funds from this mission, the Engineering team decided to have a go at a manned orbiting spacecraft.

Free Eagle IV

Spoiler

 

The spacecraft was assembled swiftly, and was then rolled on to the launchpad, with Poody in command.

 

Not but a few seconds later..

Spoiler

*Crash!*

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Yeah, an unplanned disassembly of the spacecraft won't boast well for future spaceflights..

Good thing is Poody was a good sport about it, and decided to take a picture next to the now massive pile of burnt junk

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Back to the drawing board...

 

 

 

 

Free Eagle V

Spoiler

 

Year 1, day 306

The Engineering team got quickly back to work. This time they went for a more simplistic design

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Free Eagle V was packed with about 7k Delta V, enough to orbit and then some.

 

While the program hasn't done many night launches, I must admit they are stunning!

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After a 3 minute burn, Poody becomes the first to orbit Gael. 

While the role of being the first astronaut to orbit Gael is quite luxurious, the capsule.. was not. Poody was cramped and snackless the whole 3 hour flight (the worst way to live)

But still, the views from higher in Gael's orbit were something to marvel at

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After 5 orbits were completed, Poody headed back home

About 80k funds were gained from various contracts completed during the mission, and we also gained about 10 science from the mission, despite having only 2 science instruments on board

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And so.. this is where we are left. A decent bit of funds in the bank, and a decent bit of research being done. We don't quite yet have the technology to do more than a flyby of Iota, but we are surely getting there :)

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-Jimeno Gaelan

 

Edited by Steeeeve
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23 hours ago, The Minmus Derp said:

MOAR!!!!!

Spoiler

My finals start next Thursday, and so I will attempt to get at least 2 more chapters out by this weekend. By then I'll take a 1 1/2 week hiatus until finals are finished (by the Thursday after that)

 

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Chapter 3.5 Progress Update

Spoiler

Year 1, Day 309:

Not a lot in the way of spacecrafts. Most time is being spend on tests & infrastructure

But, our finance team has been working with Strategia Co. , and as it appears now, we are going to Iota!

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First with probes of course... I'll get back to you on the tests in a couple months or so.

 

Year 2, Day 2

 

Year 2 is finally here! Our year 1 goal was to Orbit Gael with both unmanned & manned spacecraft, and we ended up achieving that goal. Our year 2 goal would be to orbit Iota (so let's hope we make it!)

 

We just launched a test re-entry spacecraft (which had plans to orbit Iota, but some fuel miscalculations led us to only launch it into high orbit)

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We really gotta invest in larger individual parts, but we don't really have the funds or science at the moment! This leads to low reliability in spacecrafts like these. If we had had a better launch, we probably could've flown by Iota :(

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We did actually pick up some science from this trip, so it wasn't all a total loss!

And now, this is where we are now. Our R&D team is researching on electrics (and bulkier probe bodies), and so hopefully this will help us get to Iota! At the moment, Iota is a bit of a stretch for a trip, especially in the funds department. At the moment, we are sitting near 80k funds, and so once we figure out Iota bound probes, the cash should start flowing in. 

 

Spoiler

Yeah, I learned now that trying to get a chapter done in the span of an hour and a half of free time really isn't a good idea. I ended up hurting our funds more than anything. Not sure if I can get an chapter done until finals are done, but we shall see. 

 

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It seems as if we have finally found our way to strike it rich in the space industry! Iota is currently the only goldmine we can actually get to, and so we will have to put in all our research towards getting there! After one long year, the time has come to work towards landing a Gaelan on Iota, possibly within the next 5 years or so :)

Chapter 4: Economic BOOM!

Year 2, Day 118

Sorry for the long hiatus between logs of progress! For most of these 100 days our R&D team has been consuming most of the resources and funds we have towards solar panels & probe bodies. The research is finally finished, so we can get back to space travel. 

Only issue is that we are quite low on funds with only 80k in the bank. 

To compensate for this lack of funds, we ended up signing a Gaelan endurance contract. The contract supplier wants us to put a Gaelan in orbit for 30 days. Not too interesting, but It's the only way to gain funds so that we can send probes to Iota. Will be back here in 2 weeks!

 

Solaris I

Spoiler

 

Year 2, Day 144

The construction/engineering team have designed the Solaris I, which marks the start of the Solaris program. This program will go towards manned spacecraft which will eventually take long haul trips towards our neighboring moons. For now, we're sticking in Gael orbit

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Since we're tight on funds, we cannot hire any other pilots, so Poody is still in command. She seems fine with having to be on mission after mission.

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A hop, skip and a jump away & then we are in orbit!

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Gonna have to apologize in advance to Poody.. That pod is incredibly cramped and is not meant for a 30 day spaceflight. Hopefully she finds something to pass the time.

 

See you next month!

 

Year 2, Day 174

Another thing that sucks about being low on funds is that we cannot pass the time constructing other spacecrafts, so most of the time was spent towards gathering any useful data about long spaceflights & the affects they have on Gaelans 

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With this completed contract, we gain tons of economic opportunity. Poody seems pretty excited too (especially since this means she will come home soon!) . Let's not screw it up!

 

After Poody returned, the engineering team got quickly back to work on a Real Iota bound spacecraft. With smaller parts it was tough, but no feat is impossible for our group of engineers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iota Expedition Mk I

Spoiler

 

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By far our most complicated spacecraft yet. This spacecraft is set to flyby Iota & return home with the data. Good news is we actually do have some room financially in case this mission fails (about 130k in the bank!)

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After a couple burns, we are set for a flyby of Iota! Let's make history!!

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Well.. the flyby wasn't as much of a flyby as a wave "hello" from a distance, but it counts as a flyby nevertheless!

 

We also installed some sweet rotatable camera on the spacecraft so we could capture amazing pictures of the cold dead Iotian rock

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Iota Expedition Mk I also took some photos of Gael

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Following a rather brutal re-entry, we returned home with the science & probe in tact!

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And this is the time you all have been waiting for..

HERE COMES THE FUNDS :funds::funds::funds::funds::funds::funds::funds:

After this lengthy mission, we picked up about :funds:800,000 (and no, I did not add an extra 0 by accident!) from various contracts & milestones. For now, our program is funded for at least 2 years (and this doesn't even count future contracts and milestones). The economic boom is here & it's here for good :cool:

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We already spent a decent chunk of science gained on parts & electrics, but anyways, it's upgrading time!

-Jimeno Gaelan

 

 

 

Edited by Steeeeve
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Spoiler

And yes, this will be my last Chapter until after finals (which end on June 7th). Wanted to make sure I got the 2 out as I promised, especially since the 1st update had basically nothing happen whatsoever. Glad to end on a high note just in case I come back and mess up a mission or two after finals. Cheers :)

 

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4 hours ago, JadeOfMaar said:

GPP and Sigma Replacements do this. ;) 

One of my favorite additions to this save is Sigma Replacements. Adds a ton of little things that make the game feel better, including the glorious navball seen in this mission report, and even littler things such as new home screen scenes! Overall, two thumbs up 

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Spoiler

Ok, I know I said I wouldn't post until finals are done, but I've been fairly tempted to post since then. I had a couple hours free last night so I decided to run some missions & post them to tide you guys over. After today I won't have any free time until finals are over, so there will be no posts by temptation. Enjoy!

At this moment and time, our space program is going rather swimmingly. While we haven't done much with manned spacecraft, we proved to Gael that we can launch probes towards other worlds. We still have a lot of testing to do until we can land on Iota, but I suspect it isn't far off.

Chapter 5 - Iotian Sunrise

With the launch of the Solaris manned program, our campaigning team have decided to go out and find more pilots, engineers, and scientists to add to our crew. While the salaries for these astronauts are rather hefty, we have the money to spare.

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Kirbald, Wilnda and Philemy, welcome to the team :)

 

With the hiring process out of the way, it's about time we get back to building spacecrafts!

While we've sent 2 manned spacecrafts to orbit Gael, we have not sent a single Gaelan out for an EVA. Our spacesuit technology has been there for quite a while, but our EVA propulsion technology has not. This is crucial to EVAs around Gael in terms of space stations and satellites, but not as much towards Iota spacewalks. Regardless, our R&D team got to work on that while our construction team got to work on the Solaris II

 

Solaris II

Spoiler

 

Year 2, Day 302

Solaris II is rolled out onto the launchpad

Mission: Have a Gaelan EVA for the first time in Gael orbit/Test new launch boosters

Pilot: Kirbald Gaelan

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We have 1.5m boosters now! While only slightly larger than their 1.25 meter counterparts, this opens up the window to more compact launching systems. The bottom booster complex was dubbed the Grissom-1A, and it packs quite the punch!

The pre-flight checklist is gone over & we begin our flight!

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Kirbald is swiftly launched into a 100x98km orbit (rather shallow), and the EVA will soon commence

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"Wow", says Kirbald. "This was the life I was missing out on"

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The EVA was rather brief, only about 7 minutes, but future spacewalks will certainly be much lengthier 

 

After 6 orbits, Kirbald heads home

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Another successful mission! We seem to be getting the hang of this space stuff


 

Again, back to work, but this time towards getting unmanned probes to the surface of Iota

 

Polaris Research Probe

Spoiler

 

Year 2, Day 320

Polaris Research Probe is rolled out onto the launchpad

Mission: Polar comms satellite/testing boosters/testing science devices

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A rather unimportant launch with no scientific value. The Polaris Research Probe features a larger booster complex (The Grissom-1B) which will boost 2 probes into a polar orbit at a single time. This booster will also be used to send probes to Iotian orbit (but not landings. We will need larger boosters for that).

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Hello North pole!

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Once we're near the North pole, the two satellites are separated. The farther one out is the comms satellite

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I simply cannot get enough of these photos :)

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No science was gained from this mission, but now we're ready for an Iota orbit!

 

 

Carlin Research Probe

Spoiler

 

Year 2, Day 353

Carlin Research Probe is rolled out onto the launchpad

Mission: Orbit Iota

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Larger SRB's, but the same rocket more or less

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Despite a shaky launch, we have the dV requirements to orbit Iota with some fuel to spare. Over engineering works once again. I really need to give those guys a raise :)

About 9 days later, the Carlin Research Probe arrives at Iota. Time to science away!

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After a day of transmitting data, we gained around 110 :science: for the boys in the lab to work with. After that, the probe was focused on taking gorgeous (higher resolution!) photos with our new cameras!

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And finally, I leave you all with one of the more glorious photos. An Iotian sunrise, a sunrise from another world.

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-Jimeno Gaelan

 

 

 

 

Edited by Steeeeve
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Spoiler

Hey everyone! I am 60% done with my finals! My next final after the one I just took today is Monday, so I figured I'd play a session to update the series, as a gift to you guys, and as a miniature reward for the finals I have completed! Enjoy :)

So, here we are. It is officially year 3, and we've still got a lot of funds in the bank. Just about enough to fund the entire Solaris program! We still need money for the research and unmanned missions to lead us up to the landings on Iota, so we've sparked up some contracts. 

 

Yes, it's official. We are going to put a Gaelan on Iota, whether it's sooner or later :)

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Chapter 6 - Getting There What In The World Just Happened?

 

We are still in the relative dark ages in terms of our technology. Our R&D team has been attempting to develop a large bottom stage booster, but as of now the reliability isn't where we'd like it. Instead, our engineers improvised.

It we want to land a probe on Iota, we're gonna have to earn it!

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4 boosters were strapped together to make it appear as if it was one large booster. Genius! With this, we won't have to worry about the large booster having leaks. The perimeter of these boosters is a decent bit smaller. More like a mix between a 1.25 meter booster and a 2.5 meter booster. It's all we really need for now.

 

Galileo Iotian Lander

Spoiler

 

Year 3, Day 68

Galileo Iotian Lander is go for launch

Mission: Land on Iota (simple as that!)

 

In the name of our first lost Astronaut, Galileo Gaelan, this probe will commemorate him and his service to spaceflight. 

 

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One of the more beautiful spacecrafts our engineering team have put together. It's too bad that this will likely be the only time this model of spacecraft flies.

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Minute 30

After that awfully majestic launch, a burn is performed to insert the probe into a flyby of Iota. Almost there!

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The probe will be put to sleep for 7 days, and I will update this about a day later once it's landed

 

Year 3, Day 76

 

Well hello there Iota!

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It's a shame to leave some space junk in orbit of Iota, but that's just what you've got to do..

We did in fact have enough fuel for one landing, and so the de-orbit burn commenced, and the puny engine took course to land the probe on Iota

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The engine was so puny because it's TWR (even on Iota) was about 2.5, and so the burn was rather lengthy.

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As a special request from yours truly, some blue lights were installed on the bottom in case of a nigh landing, as it was up in the air at what time of day we'd land on at Iota. They weren't needed though!

 

And....

Touchdown!

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This is for you Galileo.. wherever you are

 

With our milestone achievements and science from the instruments on board, we are ready to Upgrade!

Yes, this means larger boosters! The effects on larger booster tanks in a vacuum are being fully recognized, and it seems like we are on the right track to getting a Gaelan on Iota. 


 

 

 

 

Solaris III
 

Spoiler

 

Year 3, Day 105

Solaris III is rolled onto the launchpad

Mission(s): First scientist in space/Large booster tank test/Bring Gaelan into radiation belt (temporarily)

Pilot: Bobert Gaelan

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Well hello there Cirorise :cool:

 

Anyways.. here we go!

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The tank holds just fine, and is really efficient. Our apogee is near the roof of the atmosphere before we even eject that bottom stage. Now that is efficiency :cool:

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We then promptly commence the burn to high orbit. See you there!

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After some experiments are done on various instruments, Bobert begins his spacewalk. At the moment the spacewalk took place, he was basically touching the radiation belt, outside of our little Gael bubble.

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"Be careful Bobert, your gloves were only meant to hold 5 fingers, not 8 or 9. Don't be out in the radiation for too long".

After about 1 day in this eccentric orbit, Bobert was commanded to de-orbit the spacecraft. He even got to see Cyclone Cristobal make landfall through his window on the way down.

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[Cyclone Cristobal as seen by Bobert Gaelan. Taken by Bobert Gaelan on Year 3, day 106, 3:24 KT]

 

After the one day and 2 hour mission, Bobert set many records, including being the first Scientist Gaelan to trek into space, and for being setting an altitude record of 1059 km (previous was 1034 km by Poody Gaelan).


 

And now.. back to work!

 

Ilios I

Spoiler

 

Year 3, day 123

Ilios I is prepared for launch

Mission: Booster test + first probe to escape the Gael system and enter Ciro orbit

UMkmXug.png

This time the main 2.5 meter booster is accompanied by two 2.5 meter SRB's on the side, to give the lifting vehicle an extra "kick!".

 

And.. SRB separation!

xUn3Zyv.png

And.. main stage separation!

pvxQGZh.png

Now.. faring separation!

 

...

...

...

!?

 

?!??!
1/!?
!??

 

uhh..

5U8P2wu.png

Malfunction of some sorts? Let's see what our ground cameras have to say on the whereabouts of the spacecraft..

FSaZe9U.png

Nope.. very pixelated zoomed in shot shows that the spacecraft seems to be in tact.. Any cameras inside the fairing in tact and are able to sent pictures?

kGAAls5.jpg

Ah, I see now. The fairing is.. in tact? The payload is gone though? I have many questions. The ground crew is gonna have to investigate this further. Regardless, we lost our payload, and so this counts as the 2nd major space disaster we've had, with the 1st of course being Galileo. Luckily this wasn't manned!

 

Anyways, we will look into the problem and hope to resolve it whenever we can. Until next time

 

-Jimeno Gaelan

 

 

 

 

Edited by Steeeeve
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22 hours ago, Steeeeve said:

Ah, I see now. The fairing is.. in tact? The payload is gone though? I have many questions. The ground crew is gonna have to investigate this further. Regardless, we lost our payload, and so this counts as the 2nd major space disaster we've had, with the 1st of course being Galileo. Luckily this wasn't manned!

??? A kraken?

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Progress Update

Spoiler

 

Year 3, Day 204

Pilot Training near the GSC (Kirbald In Command)

5UuC8Ez.png

J8k6imY.png

 

Year 3, Day 252

First Iota Lander Prototype. Strutting Malfunction is to blame for the odd looking spikes on the vessel. 

nCncza3.png

[Poody And Sigma Gaelan pose next to the 8 meter tall 2 stage lander, capable of landing Gaelans on the surface of Iota and bringing them back using the 2nd stage. Dated Year 3, Day 252, 8:29 KT]

 

That is all. Slow goings in the space program. We will be Iota bound in the near future

 

-Jimeno Gaelan

On 6/1/2018 at 2:35 PM, JadeOfMaar said:

??? A kraken?

Follow ups on the incident have concluded that the probe must have disintegrated following a false decouple inside the fairing. Most likely friction related. Fairing somehow withstood most of the friction and the potential fireball afterwards

Spoiler

Real Answer: Decoupling before the KW Rocketry fairing just caused the probe to break. Probably due to stress. I accidentally right clicked the decoupler inside the fairing rather than the fairing itself, and so that's what caused it. 

 

Edited by Steeeeve
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BREAKING:

Year 3, Day 389

The launch of Solaris IV is planned to occur in just a few months, and will undergo a manned flyby of Iota. Candidates are being chosen for the mission and one will be chosen soon.

Kirbald Gaelan is the most likely candidate at this moment.

While scientists are still very uncertain about the radiation, they believe that a Gaelan could survive up to 2 weeks in a capsule without any specialized protection against radiation. We are not fully sure yet, but Kirbald says he is up to the risk, even if this means his death in the pursuit of science.

More details coming very shortly.

 

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