Coltastican Space Agency

[Unturned_Fighter]

Coltastican Space Agency

Don't mind the stupid name. I thought it up at a restaurant and had no better ideas. If you need a slightly more backstory, check the About the Person Writing spoiler.

Oh, also, spoilers with anomalies on them (excluding the one at the space center) have a tag stating so. You'll know the tag if you see it.

 

Flight Log (Kerbed missions)

Spoiler

COLTASTICAN SPACE AGENCY FLIGHT LOG (KERBED MISSIONS)

* = First space mission

Mission            Rocket            Objective            Crew            Result

 

Operational Fleet (as of latest update)

Spoiler

Model            Class                        SIN            Name                        Status                        Notes

About the Person Writing

Spoiler

Hello! I see you've found me. I've made one attempt at a "mission report" before, but unfortunately got burned out in the early game, doing things that I could think up that would be considered "fun" for me. This time around, I'm going to take a couple of breaks in between updates/reports/whatever-you-call-them and come back every couple of days. So that's that! Now a little more about me and my game:

Well, I've been playing Kerbal Space Program since around 1.0.4, and had a blast doing so - I first played with the DarkMP multiplayer mod. The nice folks there helped me out a bit with orbital mechanics and all the complicated stuff that comes with picking up a jewel of a game like this. A few years later, on a live stream on my now-dead YouTube channel, I performed my first ever docking in Kerbin orbit building my first space station (without mechjeb, anyway). I have yet to actually complete a career mode, much less a modded one - I made about one million two hundred thousand funds/spacebucks/credits in one of my longest attempts and had ~15-20 objects in orbit, and a couple of probes landed on the Mun, something I haven't done before with RemoteTech.

Earlier this year, I also started up a sandbox save with my longest (in-game) time without going to space. It was ~100 Kerbin days before I sent up a mapping satellite - the reason for that was I was focusing on building a base on Kerbin and having fun doing so. Unfortunately, that save is no longer with us.

Now, a little bit about me (but not too much). My name is Colin, which is where the name "Coltastica" sprouted up. I felt with a name like that I had to tell you - but either way, I honestly don't care if you call me Colin or Unturned_Fighter, I'm used to either. I also happen to be autistic, specifically high functioning, which, fortunately (or unfortunately) leads to compliments on intelligence. I'm also quite the space fan, otherwise, I wouldn't be here. That's about all I'll say for privacy sake.

 

Oh, yes, I forgot - I'm NOT starting with the "Original Four." And for your sake, I bought the game AFTER Valentina was introduced - and I've always known them as "The Original Four," or refer to them using their actual names. I would like you to bear with me on that, too, if for whatever reason I feel a need to reference them sometime down the line.

2

Game Difficulty Settings 

Cosmos Program, first unkerbed missions

Spoiler

Engineers were fairly certain that they could get away with plywood fins instead of "proper" fins. Time will only tell. Anyway, after initial fueling and maintenance checks are completed, Mission Control green-lights the launch and it takes off into the skies, gathering valuable scientific data.

The plywood finds almost melted under the "extreme" temperatures encountered, and according to initial readings on the fins, were slowly cooling down during its doomed descent. Cosmos 1 reached an altitude of approximately 7 and a half kilometers before inevitably coming back down again. Wernher announced one of his new theories: "What goes up, must come down." Once we get into orbit, that theory will be heavily tested. The booster survived impact by some degree of black magic impact absorption. A record-breaking 8.4 science was gained from the flight, and the scientists immediately began work on a bigger, better booster.

With the doomed flight of Cosmos 1 completed, and still lacking parachutes, the engineers immediately started work on Cosmos 2 and it rolled out to the pad. With still unfulfilled contracts, Cosmos 2's mission was to reach the upper atmosphere and take readings while up there. The engineers are still uncertain whether or not it will reach space, but it will be a good milestone nonetheless. And with that, the launch is once again greenlighted, and the mission proceeds!

Cosmos 2 performs it's mission just fine, despite almost having the probe core burn up. Luckily, there was not only a SETI representative, but also a World Firsts Society representative, both of whom noted down the record of reaching the upper atmosphere. Cosmos 2 successfully transmits various readings it took from the upper atmosphere...

...and reaches Space! Both representatives once again note down the record - two records in one flight! With still somewhat barbaric computers some tracking difficulties on the agencies plate, engineers are unsure how high it reached, although estimations are anywhere from 160 kilometers to 250 kilometers. Engineers are, however, 100% certain that Cosmos 2 reached space. However, it was not designed to return alive, with still a lack of parachutes and  wizards from somewhere  throttlable rockets, Cosmos 2 impacted the ground near the space center. After these successful missions, the administrators cancel any further missions that may have been planned, at least for this program.

 

Project Explorer

Spoiler

In an effort to introduce the readers to the yet-unseen kerbonauts  explore Kerbin and gather scientific data from it, administrators invest in Project Explorer. Engineers immediately begin building The Explorer and drive it out of the hangar. Despite the newly found concept of headlights, tail lights, and brake lights, the engineers proceed without major problems.

From left to right: P0 Macbert, P0 Kendin, P0 Theoler. This short expedition is also their first ever mission with the agency, and is considered a training mission for them. All of them are pilots, (Red = pilots, gold = engineer, blue = science) as the space program has no need for scientists or engineers at this point.

All three kerbonauts board the Explorer and set off for the Grasslands biome to gather more science. Once the Explorer reaches the Shores biome, Macbert performs a short EVA to collect an EVA report and stuff the reports from the experiments on top into his quarters. The rover is also permitted to "recharge" before they begin the next jaunt into the hills.

Not quite in the hills biome, and with the engine struggling to get up the hill, the crew is forced to stop and let the Explorer recharge again. After it recharges, the rover sets off again to try to get into the Grasslands. The Explorer soon after enters the Grasslands biome. Once again, Macbert performs an EVA to collect data and get another report. After that, the Explorer attempts to return to the space center, but due to an error by Theoler, the rover flips and destroys all the science experiments. Thankfully, however, all the science is stored in the rover and not the experiments.

With the data collected, Project Explorer is placed on hold until more powerful wheels are invented, and I don't have to use hyperedit to recharge the rover solar panels are invented so we don't have to build Tesla recharging stations every 30 feet.

 

Next time: Tons more missions, lost of failures, first orbit, and first orbit and recovery (all unkerbed - only one kerbed test flight is completed, and i'm also excluding rover missions)

Edited June 30, 2018 by Unturned_Fighter

[Unturned_Fighter]

The first missions were conducted last time - this time, I have a lot more!

Project Patriot

Spoiler

The agency was still strapped for cash and needed quite the funds boost. 

Cosmos 1 was called upon, and engineers removed the plywood fins and replaced them with proper fins. The rocket was green-lit for takeoff, and it did so, designed to take lower atmospheric pressure data for a science agency.

Then Cosmos 2 was called upon and modified with the new-fangled parachute, to take upper atmospheric pressure data. After that, the contract gave us a net increase of nearly double our funds at the time.

But the probe predeploys its parachute at 10 kilometers...

...and was recovered by a helicopter team.

2

Project Explorer Reboot

Spoiler

The Explorer made its quickest ever ascent up the hills, and after Commander Theoler took a break for the engine to recharge, Flight Officer Kendin set a waypoint  using Waypoint Manager using a small computer provided for the expedition. This short expedition was to fulfill a request by the Field Research Team of the Science Department. After the expedition, the rover went around taking science data from the space center.

 

Project High Space

Spoiler

 

Cosmos 2 was modified, adding an RT-10 Hammer lower stage booster. Engineers were fairly confident that it could make it to the fabled "upper space", a point in space that appears in many religious and folk tales shared by kerbals far and wide.

 

However, the probe spun out of control around 30 seconds into the flight. The command center hurriedly changed its staging and decoupled from the booster and the probe parachuted to a safe landing, and was recovered by SPH employees who were on their lunch break at the time.

Appropriate employees were stuck in the dumpster, and another version lifted off with eight fins. This version had no aerodynamic issues and in fact, broke the 200-kilometer mark, but just barely.

A completely new version was made with new, more advanced fins that are able to be angled. The first stage consisted of an LV-T45 booster, and an FLT-800 fuel tank, which that alone made it to space, even with the upper stage and payload.

Once near apoapsis, the Flea solid fuel booster activated and propelled the rocket to nearly 300 kilometers. Entirely different readings were taken at the 250 kilometer mark, and as a result, an independent panel of scientists declared "upper space" to officially exist on Kerbin. Kerbals, many of whom religious, flocked to the space center to try to buy tickets for a ride to "upper space", however were broken-hearted when they were turned down based on the fact that nobody had crewed capsules yet. Despite having a parachute, the probe came in too quickly to be safely recovered and burned up in the upper atmosphere.

3

Project Diplomat

Spoiler

With enough science finally scrounged up from the couches gathered from the local area, administrators green-lit Project Diplomat, a program to get an artificial satellite into orbit around Kerbin.

Diplomat 1 lifted off from the pad...

...and immediately flipped out of control. (OOC: At this point, I had 3 grand left in the bank and the rocket cost nearly 30 grand, plus the payload, so I felt justified to enable the "revert to launch" difficulty cheat. It has since been disabled.)

Following a similar trajectory to Diplomat 1, Diplomat 2 took off, reached space, and...

...burned for orbit. Controllers were holding their breath during this entire burn, carefully monitoring fuel levels...

...until it successfully achieved a ~100x100 kilometer orbit, and automatically detached from the booster. The success brought money to the agency, which permitted the construction of Diplomat 3.

Now, Diplomat 3 was unique - it was the first probe ever to return from orbit. Controllers nominated to perform 2 orbits before returning. However, after 2 orbits, the probe was quickly approaching the pitch-black (literally!) dark side. After a few emergency meetings were held, and with the consent of administrators who happened to be present, it was elected to let the probe perform a half-orbit before reentering on the light side...

...and that it did! Heat data was monitored, and there was absolutely 0 sign of overheating...

...and successfully splashed down outside of connection range. It was quickly recovered and whisked away for study.

2

Project Kerbal

Spoiler

Whenever the engineers weren't needed in the Command Center, they were busy mucking about in their cold, dark corner of the VAB, making crewed capsules and testing them. One of them had the idea to stick one on a heat shield, stick a parachute on top, and attach a decoupler to the heat shield, and then put a booster with fins on the decoupler. The result? Kerbal 1. It's goal was to put the first kerbal in space.

And while for the most part, it worked...

...it only made it up to 50 kilometers. Flight Officer Theoler aborted the mission, having not much else he could've done, and returned to Kerbin with the heatshield attached. He then deployed the parachute, jettisoned the heat shield, and returned safely near the space center and was recovered by SPH employees once more.

3

Next time: First space station, Mun flybys and orbits, and kerbed orbits and return (not necessarily in that order).

Edited July 1, 2018 by Unturned_Fighter

[SiriusRocketry]

Nice work! I'm getting interested more and more in mission reports, and yours is in the 'early' stages, which I love to read about. Followed!

[theJesuit]

9 hours ago, Unturned_Fighter said:

the probe parachuted to a safe landing, and was recovered by SPH employees who were on their lunch break at the time

I LOLed.

I'm enjoying this.  Nice early career.

Peace.

[Unturned_Fighter]

Another update, not quite as long.

Kerbal 2

Spoiler

Theoler makes the loneliest walk to the rocket, before boarding it and lifting off for orbit.

Liftoff and ascent is nominal...

...and Theoler makes the orbit burn...

...and watches Kerbin rush by him below for two orbits, before making the de-orbit burn. This is his view.

Theoler successfully reenters, deploys the parachute, and jettisons the heatshield to bring the mission to a close.

4

Target Buoy

Spoiler

SETI contacted the agency and requested a target buoy be launched with a docking node.

It successfully makes orbit and awaits Theoler to dock with it.

Which, of course, he does after a few days of construction. You can see the new service module below the capsule. The service module still has plenty of fuel for another rendezvous maneuver.

After passing by the dark side, Theoler steps outside of the capsule to make the only scheduled EVA for the mission before returning.

Theoler Kerman: first kerbal to dock!

4

Eternity 1, first space station

Spoiler

Launched unkerbed, Eternity 1 has two docking nodes and a singular airlock that also, for now, serves as the crew module.

It successfully reaches the upper atmosphere, still looking good...

...and deploys itself!

After more construction, Theoler prepares to blast off yet again...

...and docks with the space station before the dark side. Theoler will be on the station for half a year, before the next crewmember relieves him, which will be part of the agencies new class of kerbonauts.

Theoler also preforms one of many scheduled EVAs.

5

Tourism

Spoiler

Millionaire Tito Kerman wishes to go to space, and space he shall go! Kendin piloted this mission, before he had to abort due to power problems. He then proceeded to relaunch, with solar panels, and fulfills Tito's itinerary, and returns back to Kerbin.

Mun Probes

Spoiler

Mun probes! Who doesn't love 'em? Harmony 1 lifted off, and made a flyby of the Mun, but was unable to communicate with Kerbin, and as a result, entered a keliocentric trajectory. Harmony 2 lifted off, with better antennas, and made the flyby and successfully transmitted data to Kerbin, but was also unable to return to Kerbin orbit and entered a keliocentric trajectory as well. They remain the only two kerbal-made objects to escape Kerbin's sphere of influence.

2

That's all summed up in about 2 hours of playtime.

Next time: station experiments, more mun probes, kerbin ops (and maybe a surprise)

[SBKerman]

On 6/29/2018 at 12:48 AM, Unturned_Fighter said:

Wernher announced one of his new theories: "What goes up, must come down."

I think he might onto something.

[Unturned_Fighter]

Apologies for not maintaining this thread in a while. I was anxious to have my birthday, and in addition got a little burned out, and me and a friend were playing the DarkMultiPlayer mod and I totally forgot about this.

 

First of all, thanks @SBKerman for the reminder!

Second, you should expect a post in the next few days.