A Kerbal Space mission is a fun festival for everyone except the Pilot

[Nivee~]

So this is my Sandbox save and this would be my first 'Real' foray beyond Low Solitude Orbit! As for context, this is the After Kerbin Mod, where the Sun has swollen up, and is called Archangel. Kerbals now live on a terraformed Duna(called Solitude) and Solitude has two moons, Guardian and Nemesis.

The mission started off with much fanfare. Corford Kerman was supposed to be piloting this 1-man (1-Kerb?) lander for visiting Guardian, and hopefully come back in one piece.

The Local Guardian-1, lifted off magnificiently. The lander felt a little underdressed, but the ground control assured that nothing would boil off. 

The SRBs were ejected, this time without busting the core stage, so thanks a lot, Ground team!!

The rocket teared into the void, it's grandeur threatening to undermine that of Archangel!

But, Archangel just said, "Dont you worry! I will tone down my brightness, so you dont have to work extra hard!"and then dimmed. Seriously, the unstable star is freaking everyone out on the ground...The pilot wondered why kerbals only got serious now, when these fluctuations have been taking place for a looooooong time...

Orbit was achieved, and a course was plotted, after an inclination correction maneuver. The goofs at the tracking station saw a red line on the screen for the first time. They secretly hoped there would be an ocean of adventures beyond the Red Line. (For those who dont get this referrence, relax. You are not alone, maybe...)

After the Guardian ORBITAL Insertion burn, the Local Guardian -1 was on its way. 

But something seemed off..

"Oh, I see. I am going to crash face first into Guardian.... Thats actually better than frying myself on the launchpad because the rocket exploded and YOU GUYS DIDN'T MAKE ME A LAUNCH ESCAPE SYSTEM!!" Corford shouted at the Mission Control, 'gently'. 

"Dont worry. If you die, we will release this as a 'To be Continued' meme, and bring a smile on Kerbals' face. You will die a hero!" Gene 'encouraged' Corford, while gesturing the memeist-in-charge to get to work.

"What will be Corford's fate? Will he survive? Or will he turn to debris? Kerbelles and GentleKerbs! Keep watching this webcast to know what happens in the drearyness of space!" Gene continued to speak on the mic. "To be continued!!!"

(This is just a light hearted mission report, please don't consider it my writing style!)

[Dafni]

Nice, thanks for sharing.

I have to say Solitude looks very nice in your game, the atmosphere, clouds etc.

 

Looking forward to more!

 

 

cheers

Daf

[Nivee~]

5 hours ago, Dafni said:

I have to say Solitude looks very nice in your game, the atmosphere, clouds etc

All thanks to EVE and scatterer! Its amazing how much modders can improve the game.. And no one's even paying them!

[Sorabh]

12 hours ago, Nivee~ said:

That's a nice touch, that 'To be Continued' sign... may I steal it?

[Nivee~]

11 hours ago, Sorabh said:

may I steal it?

That was never mine to begin with ! Please, do use it!

[Nivee~]

Part 2:

Now that an inferno seemed imminent, Corford's family was informed about his soon-to-be demise. Meanwhile, Corford just made a 96 m/s maneuver to increase the periapsis to a safe altitude.

And at the  circularized at the periapsis.

The last few drops of fuel in the old faithful core stage were used for the deorbit burn, and the stage was jettisoned.

The braking burn was initiated, and soon Corford became the first Kerbal to land on Guardian. 

After dancing around a little, it was time for the ceremonial flag planting.

Spoiler

Doesn't seem right...

Something's still missing..Oh I know!

Perfection~

After completing all objectives, Corford got back in his space craft and prepared to take off. But he was in for a shock! Darkness engulfed the spaceship, even though it was sunny moments ago!

Archangel had dimmed, again... This is concerning.

Regardless, it was time to take off. Corford checked all the instruments to ensure that they were in working order. But when he was checking the solar panels, a rude shock awaited him!

Blocked by Kerbin?? What is a Kerbin?? WHO is a Kerbin? What's happening!! 
Guardian was spooking the heck out of him, so Corford decided to high tail it out of there. On takin off, he noticed that in addition to Archangel dimming, Solitude had eclipsed it as well.

After a quick burn and a long wait, he finally reached the atmosphere of Solitude, where he ditched the service module.

Woah! Something exploded!! It wasnt me! I swear!

After a fiery re-entry in Solitude's atmosphere, the return capsule splashed down safely.

Corford was awarded with a lifetime supply of Snacks on recovery! Gene secured funding for additional missions! A happy ending for everyone!