Bill Kerban - Killed in action

[Retro Starship]

(1.8.1) Well during the night I managed to Kill one of my engineers by accident! Bill Kerban is dead!

Some say it was not my fault. Some do not agree.

I know he is one of the least intelligent of the “original four”    but It happened. This was not by a steep descent from some orbit or testing out a heavily maximized delta-V rocket engine but he was killed by walking under a rocket engine on the launch pad!! 

It was a mistake though and was NOT intentional. His father Buzz Kerman may not believe me but it was during the advanced testing of the Munar excursion module I was making for the soon to be launched "Rocket to the Mun" project that this happened. I was at the keyboard. On the MEM 2 which I was building in sandbox mode, both Jebediah and Bill were selected to test a few parts of the working descent stage. He is after all the engineer who was in charge of the engine's capability to go to the Mun, but had to make sure it worked here on Kerbin first. Testing was needed.

Both Jeb and Bill knew there was not enough thrust to get it off Kerbin. They needed to at least check out its ability to lift the craft a small bit even within Kerbins gravity. A reaction test so to speak with temperature and stability issues were needed to be looked at. Jeb was in the ascent module giving the descent stage a full thrust for 10 seconds and then backing it off to zero so Bill could go out and do temperature tests on the engine itself. For some reason it did NOT go back to zero! It was so fast I dont remember what the final setting was. That was Jeb's job to record what happened at that time.

Bill took out his stock 2Hot Thermometer that had the bug in it from Aug 2015. (The newer ones from KSP 1.7 or later may have warned him) so when he went under the descent stage engine, even with his helmet on, POP!!! No more William Kerbin. So sad, so sad. This may have been my fault at the keyboard, but most of the Kerbals say no, it was the thermometer. Buzz Kerman thinks this was not true.

**************

Here is a picture from the historical reenactment that was made, where Valentina Kerban reenacted Bills approach under the engine. Valentina asked to do this herself to see what happened.  Jeb did not join her because he and Bill were so close.

Note: This is MEM 1 where no engine was installed, and used just for this reenactment.

Yes, I noticed the frown on Vals face as well. There was talk where she and Bill were to be married soon. She does not talk about this anymore.

**************

So sadly, to end this story of Bills demise, no funeral is planned yet but Val and Jeb are going to plant a flag on the Mun, when they get their to remind us all, Bill would have wanted it that way. 

William Kerban (rest in peace)

Note: Jeb's Crew Report about the engine tests could not be found.

 

Happy Halloween Everyone!

[Geonovast]

Poor Bill!  Oh well, he'll find his way back eventually.

 

Moving to Mission Reports.

[TheKSPBeginner]

F

[Retro Starship]

2 hours ago, Geonovast said:

Poor Bill!  Oh well, he'll find his way back eventually.

 

Moving to Mission Reports.

I was hoping to see him with in a few hours. I read in the settings for this sandbox mode that he should be "Crew respawn timer" say in 2 hours by default. I changed to 1 hour this afternoon and still no Bill back in business after almost a day. Not sure what the respawn works really?

[Geonovast]

Just now, Saturn5tony said:

I was hoping to see him with in a few hours. I read in the settings for this sandbox mode that he should be "Crew respawn timer" say in 2 hours by default. I changed to 1 hour this afternoon and still no Bill back in business after almost a day. Not sure what the respawn works really?

It might only be the MIA ones that come back, not the confirmed dead ones.  Sometimes they just go missing.

[TheKSPBeginner]

Bill is KIA. It only respawns “Missing” Kerbals.

The only way to bring him back now is to edit the save file, a reasonably easy task.

[Retro Starship]

3 minutes ago, TheKSPBeginner said:

Bill is KIA. It only respawns “Missing” Kerbals.

The only way to bring him back now is to edit the save file, a reasonably easy task.

 

4 minutes ago, Geonovast said:

It might only be the MIA ones that come back, not the confirmed dead ones.  Sometimes they just go missing.

Ah in the persistent.sfs file. I just read about that a while ago. Hmm maybe if Jeb admits to Val that it was him! Ill bring him back. (hehe)

[KerballingSmasher]

HMMMMMMMM... I cannot but notice that it says HAPPY HALLOWEEN... could this all be but an elaborate hoax, just like the Mun landings?

[Bej Kerman]

On 10/31/2019 at 7:50 PM, Saturn5tony said:

There was talk where she and Bill were to be married soon. She does not talk about this anymore.

Jeb will not like this news.

[Retro Starship]

2 minutes ago, Bej Kerman said:

Jeb will not like this news.

I think Jeb may have planned this, but Bill's father thinks it was my fault.

[Selective Genius]

On 11/1/2019 at 1:20 AM, Saturn5tony said:

William Kerban

Oof! They spelt his name wrong on the memorial flag? On the Mun? Looks like Jeb planned this in advance, and is now rubbing salt on Bill's family's wounds....

RIP William Kerman.

[T-20000]

Well, we could use the power of save file editing to bring him back