[RSS/RO/RP-1] Career significant mission reports

kurgut · August 20, 2018

RSS-RO-RP-1 Career

I will post here some stuff about significant and important missions in my ongoing career (already started so quite a lot of posts coming. Right know I'm in Moonar landings era, deep space probe, etc). Enjoy!

Difficulty settings:

-general: Hard

-have to purchase parts after researching them

-no crew respawn/no revert flights (save and quickload yes)

-remotetech and all other realism settings and mods: yes

Other things:

I choose to not focus on accurate historical launch dates and take my time (since it was stressful on others games I did).

Sadly, I'm not using Principia because it causes my game crash/performance hungry. And I was not happy with Mechjeb integration, but maybe it's better today I don't know (Say me if yes! EDIT: Yes, now with Lamont's PEG branch)

Summary

Spoiler

X-0 : First manned mission

Sounding rocket Era part2 : V2 and Redstone

Sputnik, first artificial satellite.

Luna-1: First Moon flyby/impactor. Korona-1: First orbit return vehicle

Mercury, first Kerbal in Orbit

Surveyor, first Lunar unmaned soft landing

Mariner 1 and 2, first Mars and Venus flybys

Upgraded Launch vehicle: Titan AJ-7 and Centaur upperstage / Mariner-3, first Mercury flyby

Venera-4, first Venus landing

T(h)rusty spacecraft, firt CREWED Moon flyby (and return).

Lunokhod, first extrabody rover (Moon)

Let's start!

As always, starting with a bunch of sounding rockets launches, and all those lovely testflight engine failures :sticktongue:

First rocket, first contract: The Wac.

Wac: max apoapsis: 96 km. Spinned fins to stabilize trajectory, little unstability at few seconds before engines cut off.

Xaerobee: using the upgraded aerobee engine in XARS configuration. Same as before, but with max Ap around 225 km. I'm also using it for sounding rockets contracts: it can bring a 20 SR payload to space quite easely:

Jus passing the Karman line:

And finally, first recovered rocket, the Xaerobee-Kombak using a modified xaerobee. Scientific payload is 2 biological samples. Ap around 120 km:

Ditch the fairings

Separation of the return stage. Chute aaarmed.

And back. Landing in Cap Canaveral city

Edited September 2, 2018 by kurgut

kurgut · August 20, 2018

First manned mission to bring a Kerbal to space! The X-0 rocket, it uses modified V2 engines, and can reach Ap about 200 km (but cut off engines before for "safe" return). The V2 fuel tank was not changed due to save tooling costs.

Scientif payload is return camera and temperature/pressure experiments.

Crew: Youri Gagarine launched from Cap Canaveral, obviously, the cold war seems to be in a cool way

What a red cloudy day!

Reached space, first stage separation:

Reentry (drogue chutes were deployed at high altitude to slow down a bit)

And back!

Edited July 30 by kurgut

Edited August 21, 2018 by kurgut

kurgut · August 21, 2018

Continuation in sounding rockets era: the V2 rocket from the great Werner Von Braun, to carry a heavier scientific payload to space.

Used for return camera launches, X-0 manned launches, and in two stage rockets with an Aerobee upper stage for sounding rockets contracts.

Here in a return camera/biological sample mission from space:

Good bye V2, have a nice barbecue time in atmosphere :sticktongue:

Landing at Cape Canaveral city, preecious science gathered with those launches.

Later a bit, I started using the redstone engine when researched, to prepare for the first artificial sattelite contract by doing high altitude sounding rockets contracts. By the time the X-0 program ended, leaving great knowledge for future space sploration about human reaction to space environement, and to ascent and "reentry" .

Next, spuuutnik!

Edited August 21, 2018 by kurgut

kurgut · August 21, 2018

First artificial satellite! I'm happy with this early launch vehicle I never made before, it has 11.000 dv, a bit too much right? So I have now a launch vehicle for all my LEO sats contracts (even polar), and maybe for Moon fly by/impactor missions (with a fourth stage added), glorious !

First stage is using redstone engine in upgraded A-7 configuration burning now Hydyne/lqd Oxygen

Second stage is our dear very early AJ-10, and last stage aerobee (AJ-27 upgrade).

Oh yeah, and I had 5 consecutive engines failures before getting one rocket to orbit ( kiss to testflight mod :sticktongue: ).

Second stage firing.

Ap at 15000 km!

Did some orbits to perform temperature/pressure/radiation experiments before releasing Sputnik, alone in earth orbit for decades:

Bip..Bip..Bip..

Edited August 21, 2018 by kurgut

kurgut · August 22, 2018

Our Space Program is now entering in the Satellite era and Lunar exploration:

I launched a lot of sats with my redstone/Aj-10 launche Vehicle to complete polar orbits sats, communication, sun synchronous, also first solar powered sat (Vanguard).

And, as I supposed my early launch vehicle was cappable reaching the moon, by installing a liter probe (Pioneer) and It did the job! But of course, I had to do a direct Moon ascent since my last stage cannot restart, so waiting to have right inclination and phase angle to launch.

Here we are, was succesful after 2 launches (bad calculations).

Quick, quick, transmit all that science before we crash!

Great! So now, research is going well, and we have quite good research points in R&D/VAB. And just unlocked: heatshields, a little piece indispensable for our space program!

So did the first orbit return vehicle, Korona:

Science payload is large return camera and mass ion spectrometers, preparing for manned orbit mission!

Launch:

Reentry

The little Vanguard is safe!

Nasa conclusion in a public conference about this mission was: "If a piece of metal can do it, a Kerbal can do it".

Preparing for Mercury Program

kurgut · August 29, 2018

First Kerbal in Earth orbit! I now have a new launch vehicle, my favorite, the Titan, because well suited for interplanetary, Moon landing, Gemini, Mercury, etc. Actually, early model burning Kerosene/Lqd Oxygen. Payload to LEO is 2/3 t. First Stage is LR-87 boosters, and second stage LR-91.

Crew: Youri Gagarine.

Standing by to launch:

Youri's photograph from launch tower for his wife when back:

Initial ascent

First stage separation:

LES jetisoned:

Ooooorbit! now Mercury spacecraft separation

Youri stayed 1 day in Earth orbit, completing visual tracking, and liquids in microgravity experiments.

Then deorbited with the retrograde engines; aiming periapsis at ~68 km for safe reentry.

Reentry, flying above Asia

And back, what an historical day!

5

I Launched 4 others Mercury missions, with different crew, and different onboard experiments to get better knowledge about human (well kerbal) reaction to microgravity environment.

kurgut · August 29, 2018

First Lunar Soft landing: Surveyor. Still using the Titan Launch vehicle in early configuration (Kersone/lqd Ox) with 4 castor boosters added to help with initial TWR and to achieve

The lander is designed using a Pioneer probe and propelled with two 1 kn engines. Also attached to the lander, 3 little solid boosters to help orbit the moon ( and then jetisoned, and have hopefully enough delta/v to land). I did it 3 times, first time failed, 2nd and 3rd I had less than 100 dv left in my lander!

Transfer burn is done with AJ-10 (early model) upper stage.

launch:

Surveyor arrival:

Moon boosty capture

Final descent

Landed, and a looot of science gathered

Edited August 29, 2018 by kurgut

kurgut · August 30, 2018

First Venus and Mars flybys, Mariner 1 and 2!

Launched with early Titan (still burning Ker/lqd Ox), Interplanetary transfer with early AJ-10, and for adjustement maneuvers two 1kn engines. I did my midcourses corrections to have flybys in both high atmospheres (without burning up hopefully) = more science! and to have working connection to Earth= can transmit science= mooore science!

And science payload is.. well, a bunch of things. Probe used is explorer-6.

Venus:

Arrival

Soon flying high:

Good bye Venus

Mars: (maybe one day we'll send some kerbals to visit this )

Arrival above North pole

Flying high:

Good bye Mars:

With that done, we'll soon upgrade our Launch Vehicle, and have the tech to implement our first Hypergolic upper stage, Centaur, with the great RL-10 engines.

By the time, also starting thinking to the gemini program

kurgut · August 30, 2018

I've just upgraded my Titan LV in AJ-7 configuration (1964 tech), now burn Aerozine/NTO, and added great Centaur upper stage with restart capacity, making payload to orbit about 7 t. I've also unlocked lunar rated heatshield, meaning I can't return from the moon (what I did, with unmanned orbiter, but not landing), and land at Mars/Venus! Also unlocked the gemini stuff, so preparing for Gemini missions

Preparing to launch:

Inititial ascent

Second stage (LR-91) firing

Centaur stage finshing ( the whole thing take 11 min to make orbit!)

Here I launch a probe to a Vesta flyby (Vesta is kind of big Gilly protoplanet orbiting in the asteroid belt)

Also my third Mariner mission arrived to Mercury, goodness, it's hot here; just to see I put a maneuver node to see how much it takes to circularize, .. and was about 10000 d/v needed = not for now

Very low flyby:

Good bye Mercury:

Lot of science gathered, and we have good research points in VAB/R&D.

kurgut · August 30, 2018

First Venus (soft) landing! the Venera-4 mission launched by Titan-Centaur Launch Vehicle, Transfer stage is AJ-10 advanced version.

Lander separation, chute armed and programming the flight computer since I will not have working connection during reentry and landing.

Reentry, hot hot hot!

Final descent. And, our scientist were wrong, Venus surface is not white, those are clouds that oclude it! how stupid! ()

It's hot here, the whole thing almost overheated, but was fine finally. Have to wait 50 days to have connection and transmit the herculeous amount of science gathered.

One thing sure, we'll not send any kerbals here, but wait, why not?

kurgut · August 31, 2018

First Moon Flyby (Crewed!!). The rocket is called T(h)rusty, because it has juuuuust the right amount of deltav to do a free return moonar flyby: when achieved orbit, had 27 dv left, and after lunar transfer, well 0 dv left, (had to finish with RCS).

The rocket is a Titan (AJ-7) and centaur upper stage, transfer stage is AJ-10 (advanced) with restart capacity. First stage improved with 2 early Titan solid boosters, which raise the launch mass at 510t, and initial thrust is 5 MegaNt! Crew: (always) Youri Gagarine, maybe his last mission, he start getting old and will retire soon.

Pre-launch:

LAUNCH!

LES jetisoned (with some unplanned nice explosions.. )

Centaur stage getting hard to finnish this orbit:

T(h)rusty spacecraft separation:

After transfer burn and 2 days of travel, arrived at Moon, Youri is so gloriously happy

Aimed return periapsis at 71km, to capture first and second reentry to land (precaution, and had some life support left)

BUT: After what seems to be a bad design from Werner Von Braun, the antenna decoupler, under which is packed the main parachute failed to decouple (I put it the wrong way whe designed.. ), letting the chute blocked.. so had to quicly get out of that pod with the science and using EVA personnal chute to land.