Progress: Interesting missions from a generic career game

[EchoLima]

Progress

A few months ago I planned on documenting a new career game I was starting, but I quickly realized had neither the time or inclination to log every launch I did.

Instead, I'd like to use this thread to show some of the more interesting missions I've done in game, while skipping over the more generic early ones.

To add to the challenge, I'm using Kerbalism and Bureaucracy. Other notable mods include JNSQ, CryoEngines, UnKerballed Start, and Career Evolution. 

Astronaut Groups

Spoiler

Group 1

Sidzon Kerman - Pilot **

Doobles Kerman - Pilot *

Jesmore Kerman - Pilot *

Mauing Kerman - Pilot *

Group 2

Ribming Kerman - Scientist **

Peggy Kerman - Engineer *

Army Kerman (Rescue)

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You can find my log of the Early Missions here, before I grew bored of updating it: y0 d0 - y1 d216

Spoiler

Chapter 1: Getting the boring stuff out of the way

Audio 1, the first sounding rocket, launched to a record breaking (heh) altitude of 25km before plummeting to the ground. The spacecraft transmitted telemetry and temperature data the whole way down.

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However, Audio 1 was not in the air long enough to finish its experiments, so its near-identical Audio 2 was launched to finish the job. A reconfigured booster soared up to 32km in KASA’s first night launch.

The agency now had enough data to start producing the more advanced “Shrimp” booster.

[Observations: Kerbalism adds a nice challenge in forcing me to redesign missions to work for longer. KCT, on the other hand, is just annoying. I'm considering removing it if it won’t unbalance Bureaucracy.]

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The next rocket, Audio 3, launched on a Shrimp to 122km, well above the Karman Line. This larger rocket was also the first to carry a camera.

The first picture from space

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Audio 4 gathered more science from space and somehow survived impact.

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Audio 5 was the first rocket with boosters. It only reached 133km because the center core had trouble pointing prograde after staging. This was the first rocket to fly over the Northern Sea.

 

 

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Note: I removed KCT. Bureaucracy' limiting new funds to once a month already limits how many rockets I can launch, and timewarping for KCT was just too tedious.

 

But KASA was not just focused on sounding rockets… Doobles Kerman flew the X-1-0134a to an altitude of 5,500 meters, and achieved a speed just below 300 m/s. 

Attention was turned to the next aviation goal: breaking the speed of sound.

Mauing brought the plane up to 5,500km before plunging into a steep dive.

Just as the airspeed indicator crossed 343 m/s she lost consciousness, but luckily she awoke in time to pull the plane back up and land near KSC (although not all in one piece).

 

Audio 6 launched two new science experiments up to 253km

Audio 7 took a picture from a similar height

I launched a number of other sounding rockets after this, which set new records like: first parachute recovery, first use of LF engines, and reaching the high space biome. I grew tired of all these missions so…

 

 

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Chapter 2: Halfway to Anywhere

 

After an excessive number of sounding rocket launches, engineers finally had the technology to build an orbital rocket, named Juno V (the lower stage has five engines). Explorer 1 was the first spacecraft to reach orbit (278x89km) on this rocket, and there it performed the LITE experiment.

The new Juno V rocket / Explorer 1

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An identical Explorer 2 was sent to a polar orbit. However, because of inattention guidance problems the probe was sent into an equatorial retrograde orbit instead. KASA has declared the mission a complete success.

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Finally, Explorer 3 launched into a successful polar orbit, and ran the MITE experiment there.

 

Muna 1- distant flyby of Mun, had no signal that far out but had free return to Kerbin, transmitted at periapsis

Explorer 4 / Landsat 1 mapped the surface with [radar]

KEOSat - keostatioanry orbit, test of communications for later, perhaps constellations in the future

 

 

After the successful flyby of Muna 1, mission planners set their sites closer to the Mun itself-- or rather to the Mun’s very surface. Although KASA did not yet have the technology to achieve a soft landing, it was decided to crash a modified Muna satellite, named Muna 2, to try and return from data on the way down.

 

Minerva 3 (Minmus landing) y7 d243

Spoiler

The purpose of the Minerva program is to put footprints on Kerbin's moons. The first two missions saw orbits of Mun and Minmus, respectively. Although the Mun was orbited first, it was decided to land in Minmus first as landing there would be far easier.

Landing went smoothly, and Sidzon Kerman descended to the surface and took kerbalkind's first steps on an alien world. After taking a contingency surface sample, he attempted to place experiment packages on the ground, but failed.

After this, he hopped the lander over to second biome, gathered science, and then returned to dock with the command module. Return home went nominally.

 

Discovery Rover (Duna Rover) y8 d273

Spoiler

This mission was both the first landing and rover to reach Duna's surface. Powered by solar panels, it descended like Curiosity, using a heatshield, drogue chutes, and finally a skycrane.

After numerous landing tests on Kerbin, Discovery launched on a 2.5m rocket, Daled I, powered by hydrolox engines. A few days later, a relay satellite was launched to Duna as well.

Landing went better than expected, and the rover landed intact. It proceeded to sample surface blueberries with it's robotic arm.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by EchoLima
Added images

[EchoLima]

Liberty Station y8, d315

Spoiler

In preparation for long term exploration of Minmus and the Mun, and for an eventual Duna expedition, a space station was launched. Named Liberty, it gives mission planners a place to test out long term space missions in the relatively safe environment of Low Kerbin Orbit. Liberty Station was launched on a Daled 1 and placed in a 200km circular equatorial orbit.

 

Then, the new Multipurpose Crew Module - LKO Variant was debuted (I couldn't think of a name). Launched on a shortened Daled 1 with no boosters, it was designed to ferry three kerbals to Low Kerbin Orbit and back. On this first launch, a docking tunnel was brought along which included a Jr docking port side for the command module and a regular docking port side for the station.

 

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by EchoLima

[KerballingSmasher]

13 hours ago, EchoLima said:

Multipurpose Crew Module - LKO Variant

Hmm... what about a MCM or a CTV (crew transfer vehicle) for short?

[EchoLima]

I'm back! I took a break from KSP, and upgrading to 1.10 took a while, but I got it done...

Minerva 4 (Mun Landing)

Spoiler

After the success of Minerva 3 to Minmus and the first Liberty expedition, it was time to send kerbals to the surface of the Mun. While Minerva 3 saw one kerbal land, this mission will bring an additional kerbal to the surface. As such, the larger Mk1-3 capsule was used, launched on the largest rocket yet, the Sarnus 3.

The LMP snapped a great shot of Kerbin rising over the Mun's horizon.

Then, it was time for landing! Doodbles piloted, while Sidzon gave callouts all the way down.

An alien landscape.

Documenting every step gets boring... You know the drill.

 

 

Etiam (Asteroid visit)

Spoiler

During a routine check of the nearby Kerbin asteroid field, KASA scientists were shocked to discover a small A-class asteroid that travelled in a significantly different orbit than its neighbors. After some time,  the news was confirmed - Kerbin had gotten a third moon! A unmanned vehicle, Etiam, was quickly sent out to explore this conveniently located rock. The craft used a robotic arm to grapple to the asteroid's surface. Unfortunately, onboard sensors did not find a distinction between the rocky surface and the encompassing vacuum (some managers at KASA are pointing a finger at the software designers). Preliminary plans are now being drawn up to send a modified CTV to the asteroid - perhaps kerbals' eyes can pick something out that the instruments can't!

CTV - Rescue 1

Spoiler

A crew embarked on a classified mission to Low Kerbin Orbit. 

That's all the military public affairs officer will say anyways.

What is know is that the (heavily redacted) flight log released before the flight lists a crew of two, but customs forms filled after the flight shows a returning payload named "Army Kerman".

Here's a rendering of the CTV!

 

Edited October 6, 2020 by EchoLima
added Etiam story, Army rescue

[Kerminator K-100]

Good luck with your missions! I play Kerbalism too and it isn't the easiest way to play.