The Sunset is but the Dawn: A Journal of a Space Program.

[DunaManiac]

This thread is intended to be somewhat of a journal. I may include a story, perhaps not. Updates will be sporadic, because this is for me as well as the reader, to chronicle my adventures in a new save for the future. This journal will start in a unique spot: the end of an era. The final manned mission to the Mun and Minmus is under construction. But the end of this era will be a launch pad for a grander project: System Colonization. This campaign began on Year 6 Day 344.

Throughout this save I've been attempting a semblance of progression.

The Program, a newly created space program for the Kerbin Federation, began with just enough funding to begin developing the vehicle that would take kerbals to space: the Multi-Crew Transfer Vehicle, or Merlin. Only later did I realize that it resembled 1950s designs for manned launchers. Perhaps it was my subconscious at work.

Merlin was originally intended to function as a crew ferry from kerbin to Cornerstone, but it ended up becoming a science platform, deploying 5 probes across its 5 year run.

Its greatest achievement was deploying a small unmanned lander aboard Merlin VIII, and deploying 2 satellites in geostationary orbit. After 5 years and 10 missions, the decision was made to retire the Merlin Programme in favor of the Accipiter Programme.

The earliest goal of the Program was Cornerstone, a small low orbit station. Since Merlin VI delivered the first crew, it has been operating continuously, receiving 2 crews and an expansion attempt. It continues to operate as Kerbalkind's sole outpost beyond kerbin.

What replaced Merlin as the Program's tool with which to reach the stars was the Crewed Science Platform, designated Accipiter. It underwent similar testing as Merlin, and Accipiter I launched, just as the Program was due to replace Merlin. Its main goals were to increase payload capacity, necessitating the radical change in design to accommodate a payload capacity greater than a 2.5m service bay. Its somewhat space shuttle-esque but with no payload capacity of its own, and the payload containers of the Buran-Energia.

4 years after the program began, it launched the first kerbals to the Mun and Minmus. The program was called the Nova-E program, calling for 5 missions to visit the Mun and Minmus. The return vehicle (the plane) in question was the Multi Crew Transfer Vehicle-Munar Return Variation, modified version of the original MCTV. The aim was for 5 missions: 2 to the Mun and 3 to Minmus. The plan was similar to apollo missions, except attempting a horizontal landing at the KSC onboard the MCTV.

The Minmus missions required additional constraints to account for the fact that Minmus is so far away, necessitating a dicey orbital rendevous and reassembly with the Oasis Habitation Module. To reuse Oasis we had to undergo an aerobraking maneuvers to have enough fuel to put it back in low orbit for the next mission. The propulsion module was also converted to nuclear propulsion, with Accipiter II providing a lunar impactor demonstrator of the technology prior to Nova-E III.

After Nova-E III, Nova-E IV brought along a rover, with Vermund Kerman driving it nearly 30 kilometers to plant a seismometer station. Nova-E IV will be the last time the previous misson's lander - the harpy - will be used.

Nova-E V will be different. It will plant the first the first step towards making kerbalkind a multi-planet species. It will deliver the core module of Foundation along with it, a station that will become kerbin's second outpost beyond kerbin - and the beginnings of a Minmus colony - opening the door to the rest. Foundation will accommodate 3 crew, and will eventually be expanded into a massive fuel depot.

And by far the most ambitious proposal ever set forth before the program: the IKS Azimov, a vessel so large it can seed entire colonies. Its full length is nearly 70 meters, and powered by 9 nuclear engines. Its first mission will be Phase I of the Minmus Colonization program. It is set for construction to begin as soon as the crew of Nova-E V return home. The end of an era indeed. The end of space travel as a stunt, a novelty, but as a serious endeavor. With IKS Azimov, kerbals will be living on other worlds, while carrying kerbals to space becomes routine with the advent of SSTOs.

However, it is important to note I am using @Snark' SimpleFuelSwitch mod, which allows one to set most tanks to be all liquid fuel or oxidizer. This allows me to better control the liquid fuel-oxidizer mix in SSTOs and store more fuel aboard stations and some craft. As a result, some craft may have larger delta-V values than they do in stock because they can carry pure liquid fuel. Learn more about it here:

Also, here are some previous entries that I've made on the What did you do in KSP Today Thread.

Spoiler

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4279926

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4279255

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4277276

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4276970

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4275708

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4274613

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4273244

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4272608

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4272076

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4267845

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4267505

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4265224

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4264200

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4261477

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4259616

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4258652

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4257339

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4256696

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/27292-what-did-you-do-in-ksp1-today/&do=findComment&comment=4255913

The Future looks bright.

The End of the Nova-E Program
Part 1
Part 2

Minmus Colonization Initiative

Phase I - Foundation and Elysium
Overview
Arrival
Surface Base Assembly
Final Operations and Return
Phase II - Foundation and Citadel
Overview
The Grand Expansion
Messing around at Citadel Base
Further Surface Operations
Final Operations, a Mishap, and Return
Phase III - The Completion of Foundation

The SSTOs
A-4 Overview
A-12 Overview
A-19 Overview

Edited September 23, 2023 by DunaManiac
Added Table of Contents

[DunaManiac]

The next goal for the Program is Minmus Colonization. This will take place in three phases. Phase I will involve the construction of IKS Azimov, Foundation, and Elysium.

Elysium, officially designated the Minmus Temporary Scientific Outpost, will operate for 3 years with a crew of two, before being replaced by a new base. Its purpose is to become a surface outpost, demonstrate key  technologies for future missions, demonstrate a modular base structure, and take surface samples from a variety of places, including a strange multispectral "void" that appears on all scanners several kilometers south of the site. It is composed of two modules: the All Purpose Utility Module containing most of the base's equipment, and the logistics module containing additional habitation, life support equipment, and supply storage.

Planned landing site is in the Flat Grande region of Minmus, very close to the site of Nova-E III's landing(s). Part of the purpose of that mission was to evaluate surface conditions for Elyisum's future landing. This area was chosen for the accessibility of a wide range of terrain nearby, and as there is no ore-mining equipment resource concentrations.

These modules will be delivered to Minmus Orbit by the IKS Azimov in the manner shown here. Accipiter is seen attatched as a return vehicle. However, since the total crew capacity is 9 the crew will have to be delivered in two installments. These missions are planned to be Accipiter IX and X. Azimov will deliver 3 foundation modules in addition to the base modules.

The modules will be delivered down to the surface by the Minmus General Lander. Powered by 4 atomic motors, it will be able to make several landings down to the surface without refueling. It is a direct descendant of the Harpy lander employed on the Nova-E missions to the Mun and Minmus.

[DunaManiac]

Elysium will also have a rover, designed for transporting kerbals long distances.

The Minmus Next-Generation Surface Exploration Vehicle (MNGSEV), otherwise known as the Wanderer, will be the rover of choice on Minmus. It's based off the NASA concept Surface Exploration Vehicle. However, unlike the SEV it does not have a side docking port to attempt a docking with Elysium. In order to get into the rover, the crew will have to physically leave Elysium and board the rover. It has enough supplies for 9 days, a wealth of science experiments, a ground experiment container, a robotic arm, and is powered by twin RTGs.

Seen here undergoing testing at the KSC runway early in the morning. Now, how do you land this, you say?

It has been determined that it is too cumbersome to bring aboard the IKS Azimov. I've already made arrangments for Azimov without the SEV and I don't want to add another vessel to make it even more potentially janky. Therefore, we will bring it on board a lander of its own. Its functions are to land the rover safely at the target site, power the rover until its time to separate, and then safely bring the rover down to the surface for driving. This probably will not be done until the first kerbals arrive at the Elysium landing site after Elysium has been deployed and assembled. This means that the lander will need to have its own power supplies: which it has in the form of fuel cells, which will burn the remaining fuel until its time for deployment.

Once launched, the rover will land at the Elysium site. A ramp will deploy, allowing the rover to safely drive down to the surface autonomously.

Edited May 6, 2023 by DunaManiac

[DunaManiac]

The Minmus Colonization Initiative's Purpose is simple: establish off-kerbin fuel production. In order to do that it will be in two components: an orbital facillity in orbit, and a surface facillity to mine and refine the fuel. This will need a vessel to transport fuel to the station and transport supplies, equipment, and crew to the surface base. The station will also need a vessel that can carry supplies and equipment from LKO for both the station and the surface base's use, and use the fuel mined to refuel the station. This creates a self-sufficient process: the only thing Kerbin has to do is to bring supplies and equipment to LKO. Another important thing is making sure that crew rotations are being done, due to the limitations imposed by USI LS. Thus, crew has to be treated almost like a resource: productivity is limited, and the newer the crew, the higher the productivity, and hence the efficiency of the entire operation.

Minmus Surface Facillity (Citadel) Imports
1. Fertillizer (Transported by Tanker Vessel)
2. Fresh Crew (Transported by Tanker Vessel)
3. Equipment (Transported by Tanker Vessel)

Minmus Surface Facillity (Citadel) Produces
1. Fuel (Transported by Tanker Vessel)
2. Supplies (For use at Base)

Minmus Orbital Facility (Foundation) Imports
1. Fuel (for storage) (Transported by Tanker Vessel)
2. Fertillizer
3. Fresh Crew

Minmus Orbital Facility (Foundation) Produces

1. Supplies (For Use at Station)

IKS Azimov Requires
1. Fuel (supplied by Minmus Surface Facillity)
2. Fertilizer (Supplied by Kerbin)
3. Equipment (Supplied by Kerbin)

Kerbin Produces
1. Fresh Crew
2. Fertilizer
3. Equipment

A crude diagram of the plan.

In other news, several routine missions took place. First up is the Eve Atmospheric Sampling Vessel - based off the concept for the russian Venera (venus) probes, but is most similar to the design of the viking probes. It will enter Eve's atmosphere at 4 km/s, slow down, deploy a parachute at 10km, and then land on its side. Its missions are to evaluate surface conditions, possibly landing in the "ocean" region (but this is unknown, since we have only a rudimentary map of Eve collected by a previous space probe and can hardly predict where it will land).

Another mission is the GECO, or the Gilly-Eve Climate Orbiter, seen here during its beautiful sunset launch. Its mission: using a small space telescope and the largest cameras ever brought on-board a space probe, it will take pictures of Eve's atmospheric formations in great detail, finally answer the question as to whether Eve as oceans or Minmus-style flats, and hopefully explore Gilly in more details.

Also, Accipiter VII launches, carrying a new crew to Cornerstone. It has been continuously inhabited for nearly 5 years, and this is the first time that Accipiter has visited Cornerstone. Stage separation is nominal.

After a course correction burn and several hours in orbit, Accipiter docks with Cornerstone. The previous crew, Lobas, Luddock, and Hendrin are relieved by Jodin, Claugas, and Lemore Kerman.

After several hours at the station, Accipiter VII separates from Cornerstone and prepares for reentry after a costly plane-change burn.

And touch-down after about 6 hours in orbit. With these routine missions out of the way, the next mission lined up will be the final mission to Minmus: Nova-E V.

[DunaManiac]

Just as Nova-E V finishes construction, the two Eve probes arrive at their destination.

First to arrive is the Eve Climate Orbiter. Intended to replace the inadequate Cloud Piercer space probe, it will be able to explore Eve in much greater detail. It is also the first probe outfitted with an ion engine.

With its enormous camera, the team scrambles to take as many observations as they can before the mission's fateful orbital insertion burn over the next 18 hours. The south polar aurorae are photographed in detail for the first time.

With its puny engine, orbital insertion is staggered across several 5 minute burns. The mission samples Eve's magnetic field, takes upper atmosphere samples, and takes as many photographs as it can.

Eventually the probe restarts science operations after settling into a 2 hour orbit. With so much fuel on board, the mission will be able to study Eve for 2 years before moving to explore Gilly definitely.

Meanwhile, the Eve Atmosphere probe arrives. Its mission: to land in the radar "voids" and determine whether Eve does in fact have oceans.

After a retrograde burn expending the rest of the fuel on board, the satellite bus is jettisoned in preparation for landing.

Reentry is short but fierce. In order to prevent the metal rockomax plate from burning up, the probe is programmed to angle itself slightly out of the reentry flow (this took a lot of tries).

After separation of the heat shield, the probe begins filming for the first time. All it sees is a featureless blur.

Several minutes later, the image has resolved somewhat: the lower cloud layer of Eve. Underneath this haze is a totally unknown surface. At around this time, the aeroshell is jettisoned and parachute deployment commences, slowing the spacecraft down from 200 m/s to only 50 m/s.

However, the image is once again a featureless blur. But at this the scientists celebrate: the first definitive existence of an ocean on Eve!

Soon the science cameras activate one-by-one, revealing Eve's surface. An enormous purple wasteland.

Finally, the motion sensors detect a hard surface, and the spacecraft comes to a stop, its cameras tilting upward towards the skies above. It has landed! The ocean does appear to be denser than water: the spacecraft is easily floating atop the ocean.The probe will continue to collect all the science it can for the next few days before its fuel cells run dry and it shuts down for good.

 

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by DunaManiac

[DunaManiac]

Nova-E V Mission - PART 1

Seen here is Nova-E V - the most complex mission ever attempted by the program. Enormous crowds have gathered around the space center - larger than even those that watched the first Munar mission. All of them are here to see Kerbalkind's final mission to Minmus, the beginning of the Minmus campaign. The plan is for the MCTV-MRV (the plane) to function as habitation for the crew and a return vehicle. Aboard are Tedfred the pilot, Hendrin Kerman, )a Cornerstone veteran brought along as the senior kerbonaut on long-term missions like these) and Bill Kerman, a public hero. I'm splitting this mission into two parts because it takes a long time to put together these posts, and so that this post will not be too long.

The 5 enormous F-1 engines ignite, lifting the rocket slowly off the pad. It gradually picks up speed as it gets higher up.

Orbital insertion begins. Stage separation is nominal.

Once in orbit after about 15 minutes, the space craft begins to reconfigure itself. First, the enormous fairings are jettisoned from the spacecraft.

The MCTV-MRV/Propulsion Module separates from the rest of the assembly, leaving the "Kestrel" lander still mounted to the second stage.

The shielded docking port is unfurled in preparation for docking, and the MM-MRV engine plate is separated from the engine.

The crew carefully redock the Kestrel to the second stage, and once docking is achieved the spent stage is separated. The maneuvering engines attached to the service module is engaged in preparation for rendezvous with the Foundation Core Module.

Several hours later, we arrive at Foundation. Foundation will temporarily serve as a habitation module for the crew, ensuring that the crew's productivity will remain high during their 5 week mission. Unlike the Oasis Habitation module used on Nova-E III and Nova-E IV, it will not be re-used. It will remain in Minmus Orbit, and become the core module for Foundation Station around Minmus.

Finally, the spacecraft is assembled. The last of the maneuvering engines is expended and the bimodal NTR - the primary propulsion module - engages. The crew settle in for their 6 minute long burn.

The journey to Minmus is a rather long one: a 9 day transit. However, the habitation module is more than sufficient to accommodate the crew for the rest of the mission: there are enough supplies on board to sustain them for nearly 2 months.

After a long journey, Nova-E V finally arrives at Minmus.

The orbit is highly inclined to suit our landing site: Point of Interest #1. This site is notable because it is the site of the Stationary Ground Experimenter (SGE) - a relic from the very first mission to Minmus, MIO. By this point it's long dead - the fuel cells powering the craft died years ago. But even now it's still important: it presents a crucial opportunity to recover components that have been on Minmus for a long time to study Minmus' effects on circuitry.

The kestrel lander is much smaller than the Harpy lander used on the previous four missions. The reason for this change is because of Foundation's increased mass necessitating a smaller lander to conserve fuel. It can only carry a single kerbonaut, but it can carry a rover, similar to the one employed on Nova-E IV.

After nearly 10 days in space, Bill finally touches down in the north polar region. The area is noticeably icier than the other areas explored by the previous missions: probably due to the high altitude. Bill plants the flag and takes the final publicity shot for the mission.

However, there is one hiccup. As Bill prepares to decouple the rover from the lander, the force of the separation completely shatters the lander's antenna, interrupting the live broadcast. Bill momentarily loses his composure as he stares at the broken components of the dish. A momentary uproar occurs at the KSC as mission control frantically tries to re-establish connection. However, Bill Kerman's quick thinking saves the day: he turns on the rover's antenna and uses it to re-establish connection. The world breathes a sigh of relieve as Bill's voice comes back on, letting them know that he's still alright.

After mission control calms down, they give Bill the green light to begin the next phase of the mission. The SGE lander is some 5.5 kilometers north from our current position, allowing Bill to drive there in the MLRV.

After about 20 minutes of driving, we arrive at the lander. As Bill attempts to interface with the probe's radiaton-fried circuitry and tease out the critical components, the rover idles a few meters away. This mission is similar to Apollo 12, in which Surveyor 3 was visited by Pete Conrad and Alan Bean.

Bill attempts a plastic smile for the propoganda photos after he finishes assembling a seismometer station: the third such station set up by Nova-E astronauts, and finally allows them to operate as a global network.

After finishing operations at the SGE, the rover turns back towards the lander. After another 20 minute drive, it arrives at the lander.

Bill spends the next few hours at the site, deploying more surface experiments, collecting samples from the surrounding area, and preparing for takeoff.

Takeoff has no issues.

Finally, Bill returns to Foundation to a warm welcome by the rest of the crew. However, the mission isn't over. The next part will detail the next 3 weeks we will spend doing science operations in orbit around Minmus, and finally the crew's return to Kerbin.

 

 

[Kerbalsaurus]

This is really cool. I like your (unintentional) inspiration from early 50's manned spacecraft designs.

[DunaManiac]

Nova-E V Mission - PART 2

The next phase of the mission will involve Foundation remaining in orbit for 15 days, collecting science and observing Minmus. This will make it the longest single mission ever launched. However, in the downtime, it is an excellent opportunity to visit the two remaining functional satellites in orbit around Minmus, both part of the original Moons Advanced Survey Strategy program that was tasked with building satellite constellations around the Muna and Minmus. It's important to make sure that they continue to last - IKS Azimov will mean they will not be replaced for a long time. In order to do this, the excess fuel onboard Nova-E is transferred to the Kestrel lander, a process that takes 6 hours, in addition to relieving the excess CO2, transferring samples and probe components recovered from the SGE, etc. Hendrin Kerman will be the sole crewmember to service these two satellites, as he was specially trained for in-space repairs during his time on Cornerstone, and will put up with the lander can's stringent conditions for over 4 days. His mission: diagnose and resolve any problems he finds onboard the spacecraft.

Several course corrections are made as we aim for the first satellite: Minmus Operations Coordination Explorer, or MOCX.

It takes us 2 days to arrive at MOCX. MOCX, located in a very high minmus orbit, was created to serve as the "brain" of all Minmus operations. All communications are beamed to MOCX for storage, and it's orbital telescope and radar antenna are the largest ever built on a space craft. It is vital that this satellite continues to operate. It was designed specifically with future servicing in mind.

Hendrin attempts the first space walk outside of low orbit to  interface with the probe. After years of being exposed to the elements, its circuits have somewhat degraded, but its nothing that Hendrin can't fix.

Next, Hendrin attempts a daring rendevous mission with MASS 5, otherwise known as OHO. It is located in a very low orbit around Minmus: nearly 6 kilometers above the flats. Its original mission also carried a lander.

Hendrin attempts a second spacewalk to the satellite. Hendrin's mission is to collect extremely valuable samples: particles from Minmus' dusty halo collected over the years its been operated. However, the process is very delicate: the samples cannot be contaminated.

After he stays for several minutes, carefully cleaning the spacecraft's solar panels and inner components, he leaves with the samples back towards the Kestrel.

Once Hendrin is finished, he boosts out one more time to make the plane change maneuver is as efficient as possible, before redocking at Foundation.

Ten days later, the crew prepare to leave. Foundation will be left in Minmus orbit, as well as the Kestrel lander. The systems aboard the MCTV-MRV will be sufficient for about 12 days. This will be just enough time to return to Kerbin.

After an 8 day transit, the MCTV-MRV separates from the service module and prepares for the first of two aerobraking maneuvers. The purpose of these aerobrakes is to slow down enough to insert the craft into a parking orbit, where we can then pick and choose when we land at the KSC at our leisure.

Finally, Nova-E V begins its descent, after nearly 32 days in space.

Finally, we land successfully. The conclusion of the mission is also the conclusion of an era: the era of contemporary space travel, and the dawn of Kerbalkind as a multi-planet species. However, this moment is bittersweet: it means that the future of the Program is in doubt. There will be no more missions with the sole purpose of landing on Minmus. Instead, they will be building a colony there, a stepping stone to set up colonies further beyond. In a way, Minmus serves as a training ground for interplanetary missions: separate habitation modules and life support modules are necessary due to its 2 week long travel time, and a rescue mission cannot be expected to arrive immediately. These will be the same problems we will face in the future, and this will provide valuable experience in solving those problems.

In the conclusion of this mission, we read the excerpt of the plaque Bill left behind on those Minmus highlands: "To any kerbal who reads this plaque: Salutations!"

[DunaManiac]

As Azimov begins construction, its becoming more and more clear that our present Space Launch System - Accipiter -  will be inadequate. I have KCT installed - which makes time constraints a priority.

Going back to that logistics diagram, what we need to focus on is this area. Kerbin only has to supply cargo to low orbit, but we are currently unable to do this easily. The Harrier I rocket has been used over 3 dozen times, but each launch is a significant expense. However, the main concern is time: it takes 2 months to construct each rocket. Given the amount of cargo we will be transporting to orbit, this will be crippling. This is best illustrated by Azimov. On our first mission, we will require at least 8 crew. The maximum crew capacity of Accipiter is 6. This means we will have to launch 4 crew on one mission, leave them at Azimov for 50 days, then launch a second Accipiter with the remaining 4.

We could remedy this problem in two ways: we could simply expand Accipiter:

Spoiler

One idea (and the most likely to be made) is Accipiter Heavy. Its of a similar design, except it can carry 10 kerbonauts rather than only 6.

The other idea: "Fat Hawk," inspired by the Big G spacecraft proposal. That never flew because frankly, it was a stupid idea that couldn't possibly have an application in the 1960s. "Fat Hawk" is the same idea: scaling up the Accipiter design to mk3 parts. This would increase the crew capacity to 20. It would also be able to carry substantial cargo. We could even attempt a Mun mission with the cargo capacity it could afford!

However, neither of these ideas solve the core problem: time.

The other idea is a Single-Stage-to-Orbit spaceplane. However - this is not possible with our current technology. Except....

Several years ago, the Rapier Engine Demonstration Vehicle (REDV) was launched at the desert airfield. The RAPIER proposal, created by C7 Aerospace, was not only one of the most powerful jet engines ever designed, it has the capability to switch from air-breathing to closed-cycle mode, allowing it to function as both a jet engine and a rocket engine. After stunning static-fire tests, it was selected over the SABRE proposal created by a wealthy research conglomerate for further reasearch. That came in the form of the REDV, a flight from the desert airfield to the KSC to demonstrate the potential of the RAPIER. And indeed it did.

The HLO proposal posed a serious threat to the Accipiter Programme. An enormous space plane, it would be able to do everything that Accipiter could and more.

The REDV managed to pass the Karman line. For a few minutes, it seemed like the RAPIER's future was secure. However, during subsequent reentry the aircraft broke up. The pilot, Isapond Kerman (future veteran of Nova-E II and several Merlin launches) only barely managed to survive by a well-timed ejection. The RAPIER program was mothballed not long after that, despite the fact it was the aircraft frame that failed, not the RAPIER.

The idea has been revived for the Aquilae Program - a program to create an SSTO that will make going to orbit as easy as making an intercontinental flight. However, we will need to evolve towards it first. The A-4 will be the first step towards that ideal. Like the REDV, it will involve two suborbital flights launched by from a Stearwing A300, similar to the X-15 program in real life. After that, we will have a larger scramjet launched from an Stearwing A300 that will do two missions: one to orbit, one to Cornerstone as a proof of concept. After that, it will be developed into Aquilae: a fully functional, orbital spaceplane.

[DunaManiac]

Today the first module of the IKS Azimov launched from the KSC. It is a momentous occasion: the first of 4 major components that will make up the IKS Azimov vessel.

The first module of Azimov is the core module. It contains the primary solar panels and electrical supplies, communications array, primary computer core, and most prominently, an enormous storage area. This marks the largest object ever launched. It weighs in at 19 tons and is nearly 30 meters long, taller than an ordinary Harrier I rocket. For now the OMM (Orbital Maneuvering Module) is left attatched to provide electrical supplies until the solar panels are deployed and stationkeep until the propulsion module arrives.

Meanwhile, the A-4 program makes its debut. The A-4 has made several modifications since the previous iterations, namely increasing fuel capacity and adding canards to make landing more reliably. Slung underneath a modified Stearwing A300 aircraft, it hangs only a meter above the surface. Launching from the desert airfield, we aim to successfully demonstrate the RAPIER engine's hybrid capability, make a suborbital flight past the karman line, and successfully land at the KSC.

Once reaching altitude and heading, Lennand separates the A-4 from the mothership. The RAPIER engine engages for only the second time in its history. Unlike the X-15, the ascent profile is much more relaxed due to the fact the RAPIER has to spool up. The Stearwing A300 subsequently turns back and lands safely back at the desert airfield.

At approximately 25 kilometers, after accelerating to 1100 m/s, the RAPIER automatically switches from air-breathing to closed-cycle mode. This further increases its velocity to over 1900 m/s

After main engine cutoff the A-4 coasts past the karman line into space for several minutes. Lennand experiences weightlessness as he begins running a checklist of several experiments. It reaches a maximum altitude of 81,939m above sea level before it begins to descend. This was higher than planned: the target altitude was 75km above the surface.

Reentry is extremely hot due to the sheer speed and high angle of attack on the descent. Lennand struggles to maintain control of the spaceplane during the descent. Unlike the Merlin or Accipiter spaceplanes, it flies horribly. This was deemed an acceptable sacrifice to include an experiment bay, which Merlin or Accipiter do not have. The service bay means that the center of mass shifts backwards during flight, not forwards. The result of this is that it gets progressively more unstable as fuel is burned. This is why the canards were added, because I couldn't get it to work without them.

However, we successfully landed. The entire flight lasted only 11 minutes, making this the fastest intercontinental flight in history, and the first successful flight using a RAPIER engine. On the surface, it is a vastly inferior version of the Merlin spaceplane. However, it achieved a suborbital flight almost completely under its own power, while Accipiter and Merlin's engines were glorified orbital maneuvering engines. If a spaceplane the same size as Merlin, which had to be launched off a rocket, could almost reach orbit under its own power, then how hard could it be to develop an SSTO from it? All we have to thank for this achievement is the RAPIER, an unfairly maligned and underutilized engine that has the potential to completely revolutionize the space program.

In other news, there were two more routine launches that occured. The first was the Duna Comprehensive Explorer, or DICE, launched by a routine Harrier I rocket. The second was Accipiter VIII carrying the Jool Moon Clipper, the first probe in this save targeting Jool and its moons.

DICE is based of the Mars series of probes created by the Soviet Union. Fun trivia: while the soviet Venera program was a great success, deploying the first (and only) venus landers, several radar-mapping satellites that were the precursors to NASA's Magellan probe, and even the Vega balloons, the Soviet mars program was almost a compete failure. Even though Mars 2, 3, 6,  and 7 carried landers, not a single one managed to reach the surface and function. (Although to be kind to Mars 3, it did in fact land on Mars, even taking a picture, it failed because of a planetary dust storm that was not forseeable and not the fault of soviet engineers). And while Mars 2, Mars 3, and Mars 5 successfully reached orbit, they were able to get much less data than say, Vikings 1 and 2. Sorry if I offended any soviet space program aficionados there.

In any event, the DICE probe is similar to the Mars 3 mission. About 3 hours from approach, the aeroshell containing a lander will separate from the satellite bus. It will descend over the north polar region and make a powered landing. Meanwhile, the orbiter will settle into an elliptical Duna orbit and study Duna's surface and atmosphere as much as it can. We may even be able to visit Ike with it if there is any excess fuel.

The other probe launched was the Jool Moon Clipper. It was part of the original First Light program designed to explore the planets for the very first time. However, it suffered several setbacks. The failure of Accipiter III's FL1 to reach orbit around Eve (due to launching off-window to allow FL2 to launch on window) meant that the Duna probe, Glimpse, was downsized to a Duna flyby instead of a Duna orbiter. However, this mission promises to be different. Despite operating like Cassini and being named like the Europa Clipper, it's actually modeled off Deep Space 1, the first probe to feature an Ion engine. Similarly, an Ion engine was deemed the most efficient propulsion method due to the difficulties of storing chemical fuels for 3 years or more, and that an ion engine gives the craft much more Delta V. It is powered by two large solar panels and features a multispectral scanner, a radar dish, a resource scanner, and two science cameras. Its mission: to visit every moon of Jool at least once. In particular, Laythe. Laythe, due to its distance, is difficult to perform a spectroscopic analysis on, but those that have been done on it have revealed it has an atmosphere. Moreover, this atmosphere appears to be oxygen-rich. There is no geological process that could possibly explain how Laythe has a very high concentration of oxygen.  Its temperature, against all odds, appears to have a temperature allowing for liquid water, albeit with very high salinity. And by far the strangest result, there are certain anomalies in its albedo that seem to show that the planet is somehow emitting light all on its own, that some have theorized to be bioluminescence. All these questions make for a very exciting mission for the Jool Moon Clipper, a mission that could even discover life beyond our planet.

[DunaManiac]

Construction of Azimov has begun in full swing.

When we last left off, the Azimov looked like this: the core module alone in orbit.

The second module is the Habitation Module. It contains two docking ports for the logistics and science modules, living quarters, storage areas, a prominent astrogation module, an airlock, and a command center for the spacecraft.

The docking proceeds according to the plan. The docking of the two largest vessels ever launched has been achieved, with the Orbital Maneuvering Stage being left attached in case future adjustments have to be made. This completes the main body of IKS Azimov.

As you may notice, I could be launching this in a lot more modules. I've elected to launch it in the largest chunks I can to reduce the number of launches I have to perform.

Third up is the Logistics module. Little more than a glorified supply pantry, it will store the majority of provisions onboard Azimov.

Domestically, an unmanned CRV resupply mission was recently sent to Cornerstone to refill Cornerstone's dwindling supplies. This is the second such mission to Cornerstone since it was constructed. The mission has already been delayed several times in order to get the IKS Azimov's construction underway. The long awaited mission stayed for several hours while the crew moved the supplies over to the station's reserves, and putting on uneeded materials. Not long after, it promptly undocked and de-orbited.

However, there has lately been a new wrinkle in our plans. Seen here is the Presidor of the entire Kerbin Federation delivering a recent speech. In it, without consulting his advisors or the space program at all, he pledges that "Our time is now. The cosmos will fall before the inevitable gears of progress of the Kerbin Federation! As one planet and one people, we will conquer Minmus... Within Five Years!"

This means that as of now, Year 8 Day 326 since the Program's founding, Phase I, II, and III must be completed within 5 years. This created a huge headache for Program Administration. They neither needed or asked for a deadline, especially one that they weren't even consulted on. But the genie is out of the bottle, and the public is abuzz about the five year deadline and the grand potential of Kerbalkind.

Calculations anticipate that we will complete Phase I within 2 years. Phase II will take a similar amount. However, to finish Phase III in 5 years, we will need a massive new influx of skilled workers into the R&D Department and Construction. What's really unstoppable is the endless drive to incorporate private corporations into the Program. The 5 year deadline announcement was the final impetus for the Program to merge with the Rockomax Aerospace Corporation, one of the largest missile producers on Kerbin. The program will do whatever it takes to meet this deadline.

Edited May 18, 2023 by DunaManiac

[DunaManiac]

This installment is somewhat of  a hodge-podge of several different events.

The first is the launch of the science module of the IKS Azimov. Aboard a Harrier I rocket, the Ariane-esque workhorse of the Program, it launches from the Main Launch pad.

Docking is successful. The science module has several functions. It contains fertillizer storage (albeit this is not needed at the moment), but this is used mainly as a counterweight to offset the weight of the logistics module. It contains science experiments, including scanning equipment, a magnetometer, and various radiometric experiments.

The Orbital Maneuvering Module is soon separated from the the module and deorbited. The addition of the science module marks the complesion of Azimov's modules (excluding the propulsion module, which will be one of the last additions).

At Minmus, Foundation Station will be constructed both by Azimov during Phase I, and through ordinary rocket launches directly from Kerbin to Minmus. This will be the lab module and the General Quarters module. This launch carries the Science module for Foundation. It contains some of the solar arrays that Foundation will use, a dedicated lab facility, ground experiment storage, and a magnetometer.

Docking at Foundation is successful. The solar panels will be left undeployed until Azimov arrives with the crew.

Meanwhile, DICE has arrived at Duna. Its mission: to deploy an orbiter into orbit, and deploy a lander to explore a potentially water-rich canyon photographed by the Glimpse mission. This ambitious mission is only the second to see this enigmatic world.

Separation is not the gentle separation that I expected. It's a rather large jolt due to the fact I absentmindedly added batteries to the top of the decoupler, causing them to clip into the structure. The result is I spent half an hour attempting to achieve the perfect separation to land where I wanted to, made worse by the fact that the descent module has no propulsion of its own.

While the orbiter fires a brief burn to make sure that the descent module does not reenter at the same time that the orbiter is making its orbital insertion burn.

Due to the thinness of the atmosphere, there is no visible flames.

After the heatshield is jettisoned, the cameras begin to roll. However, it's clear immediately that we will miss our target considerably. Rather than landing in the canyon, we will land in the less scientifically valuable hills.

The aeroshell is jetissoned, the parachutes are cut, and the lander makes a powered descent to the surface. From the camera footage, it is clear that the surface is composed of dunes and small craters. Not particularly suitable for life.

The lander has successfully touched down on Duna, the first man-made object on another world. The scientists waste no time in deploying the experiments designed to detect life. The atmosphere in the KSC is tense. However: all results are negative. There is no life, not even organic material on Duna. We have failed to detect life on Duna. However: the search for life has just begun, and the lander will continue to collect all the science it can about the surface and atmosphere until its fuel cells run dry and it shuts down.

Meanwhile, the orbiter settles into an elliptical orbit of Duna, were it will monitor Duna for the next 1.5 years, after which perhaps we can go even further afield and explore Ike.

To end, we focus on the Jool Moon Clipper at its mid course correction. It already holds the record for the farthest probe ever launched. This moment is a little bit of a special occasion. It will be firing its ion engine for the first time. Mission control is tense as they wait for the indication it has fired.

However, there was nothing to worry about. The engine fired successfully, and it continues out on its two year journey towards Jool, where perhaps we can discover life after all.

[DunaManiac]

Three Pillars of Space Colonization

Sustainable low orbit Infrastructure
Developing Single Stage to Orbit Spacecraft
Expanding cargo capabilities
Increase Workforce and Facillities at the KSC

Investing into Mega Interplanetary Transport System (MITS)
Construction of IKS Azimov
Development of the ISS Anacreeon
Development of the Intra-Kerbin-System Fuel Transport Vehicle (IKS-FTV)

Construction of Extrakerbin Infrastructure
Maintaining Cornerstone
Foundation and Expansion
Elysium & Citadel
The Grand Plan

 

In this installment, we will be focusing on the first pillar, specifically the continued development towards a working Single Stage to Orbit prototype.

The A-4 Suborbital Research plane makes its second, and planned final launch. The mission is the same plan as the first: launching from the Desert airfield, boosting into a suborbital trajectory, and landing at the KSC.

Slung underneath the Stearwing A300's fuselage, it separates from it via a Clamp-O-Tron port, of similar design (but smaller) to the ones used by Cornerstone.

Several changes have been made to the ascent profile since the first flight. It launched from only 3 kilometers up rather than 4, and the ascent profile was shallower. The results were immediate, with the craft accelerating to 1213 m/s - the fastest velocity achieved by any aircraft solely through jet engines. The RAPIER switches to closed-cycle mode successfully.

The A-4 manages to reach a maximum altitude of 83,360 meters above sea level - breaking the altitude record set by the previous mission by nearly 2 kilometers!

Reentry went according to plan, although the craft did not manage to bleed off enough speed in time. As a result, it did a U-turn and came at the runway from the west, successfully touching down.

The next step in the Program is an orbital mission. Below you see the A-12 Spaceplane, contrasted with the A-4 above it. It has made a number of changes to the original A-4 design. The canards were removed mostly for safety reasons, but this means that the aircraft flies like a brick when out of fuel. The A12 is designed specifically for an orbital mission, and will precede a true SSTO model. It will make two missions: the first as a demonstration flight to low orbit, and a second flight to rendezvous and dock with Cornerstone.

A lot more work was put into how the fuel would drain than the A-4 did. What is imperative is that the center of mass did not shift forwards as fuel was being burned, as this would decrease the plane's pitch authority, and hence make it more unstable. A diagram is shown here demonstrating how the fuel will be drained. Other design changes include increasing fuel capacity for orbital flights, a double tail rather than a single one the A-4 used, shifting the utillity bay more aft, adding solar panels and antennae, and increasing the wing area.

Similar to the A-4, the A12 will be mounted underneath the body of a Stearwing A300.

Taking off from the KSC is the second module due for Foundation, launching aboard a Harrier II rocket. It will be the final module added directly from Kerbin: the rest will be brought aboard Azimov.

After the rocket circularizes into a parking orbit, it sets out for Minmus.

We make an orbital insertion burn, then arrive at Foundation.

Seen here is the module docked. You may notice a circular object floating along with the station: this is because the separation point is an Airlock, and scientists did not want a decoupler to potentially stick to it and ruin the airlock. The new module, the General Quarters Module, will provide sleeping and common quarters for the 3 crew of Foundation, contains more life support and radiator supplies, and the primary airlock.

Meanwhile, construction of the IKS Azimov continues with the launch of the first three Foundation and Base modules to the vessel. First up is the Foundation Fuel Storage Module. As its name suggests, it will store fuel aboard it.

Everything goes according to plan, except when we try to dock. To my horror, I discovered that the tug's solar panels were too long to fit into the bay! To make things worse, these were the nonretractable version of solar panels. (Perhaps we could concoct a story to the public that they are retractable, its just that the mechanism failed).

After several minutes of trying and failing to fit in the tug, and with few options left, I smashed one of the solar panels, taking the primary antenna with it also.

With a smashed solar panel and primary antenna, the job is done: we have successfully docked the first module to Azimov.

Second up is the Elysium Logistics module, which will store life support supplies on the Minmus surface base.

Once we rendezvous with Azimov, a complicated dockign maneuver ensues. Since we don't have enough room for the tug, nor for the OMM, we detatch the OMM, and prepare to move the entire vessel to dock with it. Instead of putting the module in the bay, we will be putting the bay on the module, if you will.

However, docking is successful, and Azimov is ready to accept the next module.

The final launch for this installment is the Foundation Logistics module. It will provide supply and regular storage for the Minmus Station, as well as an agroponics bay.

Docking at Azimov is successful, with the OMM jetissoned not long after. 3 launches down, only 5 launches left to go!

 

[DunaManiac]

It is now just before dawn at the Desert Airfield. An interesting story about the Desert Airfield: it was once a pre-war missile range that was shut down and fell into disarray, not unlike the way the Island Airfield is now. When the Kerbin Federation decided to rebuild the site, it was registered as simply "Southwest Mountains Desert Airfield." However, whoever wrote its registry license wrote it as the "Dessert Airfield." Thus, the Dessert Airfield became somewhat of an inside-joke with workmen at the site. It now mostly exists as an experimental millitary site, testing some of the most advanced and secret aircraft ever built. The A-12 "High Altitude Research Vessel," a partnership between the Program and the Millitary, is Kerbin's first Single Stage to Orbit spaceplane. It's not the first spaceplane ever launched, nor is it a true SSTO because it must be taken up to altitude by a modified Stearwing A300, but it promises to reach orbit based purely off a RAPIER hybrid propulsion engine.

Unlike its predecessor, the A-4, the A-12 is a much more hushed up affair; the KSC is not involved at all save for the construction of the A-12 vehicle. This is because there are special applications for orbital capable aircraft that are none of the Program's business.

The A-12 is released from the Stearwing A300 at the scheduled drop off altitude of 4km. Due to the properties of the RAPIER engine, it reaches peak thrust once it passes Mach 1.2. Unlike the smaller A-4, the heavier A-12 needs some coaxing to get past that hurtle. This has unnerved some analysts at the Program, who worry that the a true SSTO would be too draggy to pass Mach 1.2 with a single RAPIER engine. Those worries nonwithstanding, the A-12's launch goes according to plan. A maximum speed of 1143 m/s is reached at 28 kilometers before engine-switchover occurs, transitioning the RAPIER from ramjet mode to closed cycle.

Engine is cutoff once the A-12 reaches an apoapsis of 80 kilometers.

Once in  orbit, Gemdrin settles into the cockpit for a long 6 hour long stay in low orbit. Several scientific experiments are deployed, including ionographers, thermometers, GRAVIOLI detecters, and several cameras. The purpose of this mission is to test how the RAPIER engine will react to long periods in space. Its response will be critical for longer missions in low orbit.

Reentry is begun, on an exceedingly shallow trajectory due to fears that it may burn up in the atmosphere if a steep trajectory is taken.

Unlike the graceful Merlin and Accipiter spacecraft currently used to transport crews to low orbit, the A-12 flies like a brick. This is because the center of gravity is quite far in front of the center of pressure, despite all the fuel-pumping trickery involved to keep it as stable as possible. Gemdrin purposefully undershoots the runway (which isn't hard to do), in order to fulfill one of her mission objectives: refiring a RAPIER engine in airbreathing mode after 6 hours in space. Because of the difficulties of conducting a static test firing in a small vacuum chamber, the results were completely unknown.

However, the engine relights, proving once again the durability of the RAPIER engine.

Gemdrin successfully lands the A-12, concluding a mission of 6 hours, 13 minutes, and 27 seconds. She becomes the first kerbonaut to enter orbit while not onboard the rocket launched MCTV, MCTV-MRV, or Accipiter spaceplanes. She has proven that a true SSTO can be done: it is only a matter of time before they replace rockets as our primary way of reaching space.

At TLC 41, the next module bound for Azimov is launched. It carries onboard the Minmus Resource Study Module: A module jam packed with science experiments. It will eventually be part of Foundation station in Minmus orbit.

The module contains a mass spectrographic antenna (center), an infrared camera, a small telescope, a viewing cupola, and several other science experiments bound for Minmus.

The OMM leaves Azimov with the MRSM safely attatched.

However, these Azimov launches have also come at a toll. Today we mark a grim milestone: contact was finally lost with MASS 5, a satellite with the largest radar antenna ever launched on a spacecraft, after 6 years of continually mapping the Mun. More than that, we are now left with no operational satellites in orbit around the Mun. It highlights the failure of the Program to establish further steps for exploring our nearest moon after the original Moon Advanced Survey Strategy probes were launched now 7 years prior, and the sheer squeeze that the construction of the IKS Azimov has been putting on the Program's resources.

However, this is planned to be changed with the Distant Whispers program. A series of 3 identical probes, they will rebuild our Munar Satellite Network, as well as landing three rovers to explore several Sites of Interest. Unlike the first munar rover, MASS 2 (now long-dead), it is somewhat of a lander/rover hybdrid. It lands under its own power, but it can drive around on rover wheels. It is armed with a drill and a robotic arm, as well as a number of cameras to map these Sites of Interest in detail. The program was long aware of these areas, it was just that there was no way to explore them after Nova-E II took off from the Lunar surface. They will be the first kerbal-made objects to touch the Mun since that mission. They will be launched aboard Accipiter XI, XII, and XIII. The Accipiter program itself has been suspended since a Temporary Hold was announced after Accipiter VIII landed at the KSC, once again reflecting the fact that the Minmus Colonization Initiative controls 90% of the program's resources.

However, with that vice-like grip slowly easing as we are now in the tail end of Phase I construction, the impoverished planetary science program will finally be granted more resources. New discoveries are only a year and a half away with the arrival of the Jool Moon Clipper, a new advanced Duna lander, and a planned Gilly Orbiter.

[DunaManiac]

After Accipiter VIII, there was an official Hold announced for the Accipiter Programme to devote more resources to the IKS Azimov Programme. It sparked a small public outcry, as it ended a nearly 9 year long continous streak of manned missions to low orbit, going back to Merlin I, the very first manned flight of the Program.

Spoiler

In some of these pictures you may note that the service bay is in fact open, this was unintentional and realized only after the fact.

However, the Hold was lifted as the scheduled term for the 3rd Cornerstone Crew reached its end. Thus, Accipiter IX kicks off one of the most complex missions ever attempted to Cornerstone. It takes advantage of a happy accident: The A-12 "High Altitude Research Plane" prototype was ready for its second launch at the same time, and it was decided that it would attempt the first rendezvous ever attempted by a Single Stage to Orbit spaceplane.

Accipiter IX, carrying Tedfred and Lomal Kerman as pilots, as well as Haylie, Glead, and Dudner Kerman making up Cornerstone Expedition 5. The last name, Dudner, is somewhat of a famous one: he is a munar veteran who accompanied Valentina Kerman on Nova-E II, becoming the 4th person to walk on the Mun's surface. He serves as commander onboard this mission.

After nearly a day slowly approaching the target, Accipiter IX arrives at Cornerstone.

Meanwhile, at the Desert Airfield, the A-12 High Altitude "Research Plane" is ready for its second launch.

Accipiter IX has been fitted with a new, larger docking port that makes it nearly impossible to break Mach 1.2 with a single RAPIER. It proves that the A-12 successor must have an inline docking system, the first of its kind.

Piloted by Gemdrin Kerman, the A-12 accelerates from Mach 0.5 to nearly 3.3 using Airbreathing mode. Subsequently, at 28 km she changes from airbreathing to closed cycle mode, the RAPIER changing effortlessly in only a few seconds.

Once in orbit, the craft deploys its single solar panel, and coasts towards the Cornerstone for the highlight of the mission: two spacecraft docked to Cornerstone. The task requires immense skill, requiring the most elite pilots on the planet. They must be capable of both handling the A-12's infamous performance, conduct a rendezvous and docking, and do it all alone.

Gemdrin maneuvers the A-12 into position, poised to make history.

And docked! With the A-12 docked, we have both a world record of two spacecraft docked to Cornerstone at one time, as well as the most kerbals onboard at one time: 9. However, it's also a symbolic victory for the SSTO concept: two vessels are docked to Cornerstone. One represents the tried-and-true spaceplane model, and the other representing an upstart but revolutionary technology. Accipiter still has the leg-up among the top-brass and bluesuiters at the KSC: it is the only manned vehicle capable of transporting cargo to low orbit. The A-12 has a number of limitations. It cannot be re-used like the Merlin and Accipiter spaceplanes could, it cannot carry any cargo or crew, and is ultimately only a demonstration vehicle. However, it is only a matter of time before SSTOs using the RAPIER technology are capable of carrying the same at a fraction of the cost.

Gemdrin aboard the A-12 is the first to leave Cornerstone after only a few hours. The primary reason is to avoid straining Cornerstone's life support system, which was designed to accommodate only 7 merely for brief periods.

The A-12 lands at the KSC rather than the desert airfield, primarily due to performance concerns during reentry.  The A-12, originally an above top secret aircraft, lands to a small crowd at the KSC, marvelling at how such a tiny plane could have travelled to orbit and back. The reporters are shooed away as the A-12 taxis to a hangar, where it will be airlifted back to the desert airfield.

Around two hours later, Accipiter IX also leaves Cornerstone, having completed its mission to service Cornerstone.

Briefly, reentry looks dicey. Too much velocity was bled off during the descent, threatening the possibility of having to conduct an emergency landing in the suburbs north of the KSC in the middle of the night. A timely engine burst, however, avoids this prospect, and Accipiter IX lands safely at the KSC.

As for the Accipiter Programme's future, Accipiter X and XI will deliver the first crew to the Azimov. Due to the size of Accipiter this will have to be done in two installments nearly a month apart. However, it does give time for the regular Azimov crew to work out any performance issues before Azimov sets out on its first mission. Beyond that, Accipiter XII, XIII, and XIV will be lifting the Distant Whispers probe to the Mun, Accipiter XV will probably be transporting Cornerstone Expedition 7 to the station, and Accipiter XVII being a possible munar return mission. More on that later...

[DunaManiac]

After the Success of the A-4 and the  A-12, no expense was spared to develop its successor: the A-19. Unlike its predecessors, the A-19's purpose is to be able to launch and insert into orbit totally under its own power, without a Stearwing A300 to bring it up to altitude. This was a key goal of the Phase I of the Minmus Colonization Initiative.

Several criterion went into its design. The atmospheric data collected by the A-4 and the A-12 indicated that the primary trouble points for drag were the Stearwing A300 point, and interestingly, the RAPIER itself. To solve this, the spaceplane must have an inline docking system, the first of its kind. These were generally avoided by the Program because the drag costs were meaningless in a rocket, and it would needlessly lengthen the prototype. However, the A-19 will undergo enormous strain, increasing speed from 0 to 1300 m/s in only a few minutes. Thus, to shield this port, there must be a custom-made opening cargo bay, in similar fashion to the standardized service bays used aboard various space craft.

The first crack at the problem was the A-18 Surface to Orbit Capable Spaceplane, a radical departure from the previous designs. Its dual rapiers were specially modified to add a small cover to the center of the RAPIER, reducing the amount of drag that the RAPIERs created. The aim of its unique wing structure was to improve pitch authority compared to the A-12's infamous lack thereof (there was a reason why it was nicknamed "the flying brick" by its test pilots) by locating the elevators close to the center of mass, while the rest of the wing was swept back to stabilize the aircraft. However, the A-18 had numerous problems, the first of which that it performed even worse than the A-12. The ailerons were shifted too far back, and no amount of tweaking or clever fuel pumping could make it flyable. The only solution was to add canards, which was strictly probhibited due to the drag it would create, as well as the difficulty of heatproofing them. The aircraft had problems with hard landings that would shatter its twin tails, and the dual RAPIERs were simply too powerful for its own good. Engineers were horrified to realize that the force delivered by the RAPIERs would cause such heat to cause total structural failure of the cockpit during ascent. Ultimately, the design was simply shelved, and the engineers went back to the drawing board to completely start over.

What they came up with was the A-19 "Superplane." The A-19's more conventional wing design was shifted towards the center of mass, providing luxurious performance even when out of fuel. It swapped the duel RAPIERs for a single one, which despite the A-19's much larger size compared to the A-12 was actually better able to reach Mach 1.2 than its predecessor. Its ascents were much gentler than the A-18 due to the reduction in thrust. The A-19 can carry a total of 6 passengers to low orbit, an even higher number of seats than Merlin or Accipiter. The inline docking system was also successfully implemented, an innovative system that shielded the port behind bay doors, which once deployed the port could telescope outward for ease of docking.

The A-19 also had influences from the Accipiter aircraft. It has a simple dual tail design that Accipiter had, but with an innovation on the concept. The previous Accipiter used deployable airbrakes installed after Accipiter I to bleed off speed during the final approach to the KSC. These did their jobs well, but they also had the potential to cause the aircraft to undershoot if misused, and could only be used below Mach 2.3. Rather than airbrakes, the A-19 had a unique rudder deployment system that allowed pilots more controlled over the rate of velocity loss by controlling the deployment angle. These modified rudders also give the spaceplane the look of an eagle with its wings outstretched when deployed.

Even though the future of the SSTO program looks bright, some within the Program are still skeptical due to the fact that the whole program was a partnership with the Millitary, and future development would always come with millitary strings. Just how large their influence in the project and it's future is still unknown.

[DunaManiac]

The End of Phase I

Phase I is Kerbalkind's plan to lay the foundation for an Extraterrestrial colony. This outpost will consist of two parts: Foundation, a small orbiting station, and Elysium, a two module base capable of carrying two kerbals for nearly 4 years. The final few launches of this ambitious plan are upon us.

Launch #9 is the core module of Elysium. As its name suggests, it contains most of the utilities to maintain a small base: habitation, power, storage, all except for provisions: these were included on the logistics module.

The module docks to the aft starboard port. It's important that we leave at least one aft port available for the Accipiter spaceplanes to dock with Azimov and transfer their crew aboard.

After this, the next module due for Azimov is the Minmus General Lander. It will carry aboard a capacity of 6 for surface excursions and crew transfers. However, the reason for its odd structure is for it to be able to transport base modules to the surface of a base. It is the first lander ever built by kerbalkind powered by the Nuclear Engine prototype, originally tested by Accipiter II all those years ago.

Prior to its arrival, we finally jetisson the OMM we had left at the bow of Azimov in case of any adjustments. They turned out to not be necessary.

In its place, the Minmus General Lander can dock to Azimov. Now only a single module is left to be added to Azimov: that being the propulsion module.

The penultimate launch of Phase I was that of the Minmus Roving Vehicle. It will land at the site of Elysium, our surface base, along with our rover, and wait there until kerbals arrive to deploy it from there.

Once it inserts into orbit, it aims for the landing site. Said landing site is visible in the lower screenshot. It has a bit of history: this was the first site ever visited by a manned mission: Nova-E 3. Using their lander's fuel capacity, they were able to sample sites all across Terra Pacis, a collection of flats to the left of the rover in this image. They perhaps hold the key to the question: what are the flats? What is their chemical composition? Are they frozen bodies of water?

The rover lands autonomously at the landing site in the great flats, ready to deploy once the kerbonauts arrive.

The final launch is truly fit for the honor: the largest launch ever attempted by the KSC. Even when compared with the previous largest rocket, Nova-E block II, it is enormous. Powered by 5 "Mastodon" engines, 4 liquid fuel boosters, and two enormous solid rocket boosters - purely to give it enough thrust to get off the pad! Its mission is to transport the propulsion module, topped off with liquid hydrogen, to the IKS Azimov.

Booster separation occurs mostly as expected. There was a brief moment of horror within mission control as ground-based operators reported an abnormal debri cloud that could indicate a breakup, but a quick check confirmed they were recieving telemetry and engines were firing as expected. It turns out that the debri cloud were the boosters shredding themselves as they fell away from the rocket. The final stage will propel the module into orbit.

The final OMM still attached to Azimov is jettisoned to allow the propulsion module to dock. Despite the fact that there are 3 separate pairs of the largest RCS thrusters available, the mass of the module was so massive that it nearly ran out of fuel attempting to dock. Even the propulsion module itself is massive: powered by 7 nuclear engines, it can hardly propel something as massive as the IKS Azimov.

After an hour of a tense docking, the IKS Azimov is finally complete. However, the Azimov is still empty of crew. The final portion of the mission is nigh: Accipiter X and XI which will bring in two installments, a crew of 8 for the IKS Azimov.

[DunaManiac]

Phase I - Objectives

With Azimov complete, the final step is to launch its crew. The crew manifest is as follows:

                                                                                                                                                                Accipiter X - Azimov Expedition 1
                                                                                                                                                                Pilots:  Isapond  Kerman (Pilot)
                                                                                                                                                                                Vasya Kerman (Pilot)
                                                                                                                                                                IKS Azimov Operation Crew
                                                                                                                                                                                 Maxlie Kerman (Scientist)
                                                                                                                                                                                 Sherdon (Pilot)
                                                                                                                                                                                 Nelbro (Engineer)
                                                                                                                                                               Mission Coordinator: Agamin Kerman (Engineer)

                                                                                                                                                               Accipiter XI - Azimov Expedition 2
                                                                                                                                                               Pilot: Jebediah Kerman (Pilot)
                                                                                                                                                               "Emergency Civilian Consultant"  -  Valentina Kerman
                                                                                                                                                                Foundation Crew 1
                                                                                                                                                                              Agamin Kerman (E) Acting as Mission Coordinator
                                                                                                                                                                              Newory Kerman (Scientist)
                                                                                                                                                                              Shelvan Kerman (Scientist)
                                                                                                                                                               Elysium Crew 1
                                                                                                                                                                             Rovin Kerman (Scientist)
                                                                                                                                                                             Lemore (Engineer)
                                                                                                                                                                         

Total Crew: 8

The manifest is filled with heavyweights: Agamin Kerman, the original mission commander of the first permanent Cornerstone crew, Isapond Kerman, part of the original "Big Five,"  and Jebediah Kerman. The program made it a priority to include at least Kerbal who had been onboard Cornerstone for a two year term on these long-term missions due to their experience with long-term spaceflight. And these veterans are also scattered by new faces: this is Newory, Shelvan, Rovin, Sherdon, and Vasya's first flight. Jebediah Kerman, with a long list of records: first kerbal to orbit, first kerbal to geostationary orbit, first kerbal to set foot on the Mun, first to fly the Accipiter spaceplane - has been semi-officially retired since his flight aboard Nova-E I. However, he insisted he come aboard on Accipiter XI to see off the crew of Azimov on its very first mission. He wanted to show his support for the Program's continued evolution, while a pioneer, is a relic of the older days of the space program when even landing on the Mun was a faraway pipe dream.  Agamin will once again be part of the first crew of a space station - Foundation Station in Minmus Orbit, as Mission Coordinator for all Minmus operations.

Some may be confused at Valentina's listing as a "Emergency Civillian Consultant" rather than a pilot. For the answer to that question, we must look back at the fateful flight of Accipiter III - the Program's first serious PR disaster.

That mission was supposed to launch the first in a series of probes to explore the nearby planets: the "First Light" program. It was to become the first spacecraft to orbit Eve. Valentina was acting as Mission Commander. At that time, the twin external tanks were seperated purely by radial decouplers - they had no sepatrons like they did today. Most training involved a failure to separate rather than a botched separation, however, the official procedure was to shut down engines, wait several seconds, and then re-engage engines to allow time for the boosters to clear the spaceplane. Valentina however, fired the throttle to re-engage engines after only 1.2 seconds, causing the the boosters to totally sever the adapter between the spaceplane and the payload bay. By a miracle, the payload was able to survive and get free of the main engine.

However, the fuel expended meant that FL1's orbital mission became a flyby. It did reach Eve, but trailing in disgrace behind the much more successful Cloud Piercer spacecraft launched by a conventional rocket. But the disaster put into question whether Accipiter could even deliver spacecraft into orbit, something it was eventually able to do. However, Valentina was blamed for the failure, and a special committee determined she was at fault for re-engaging engines too early. She managed to escape a total court-martial however, due to the lack of official protocol on this scenario, and that the limited visibility of the Accipiter cockpit meant there was no way for her to visually confirm the boosters had cleared the spaceplane. Due to this mission, sepatrons were added to the external tanks, as well as radars to automatically re-engage engines once it no longer detected the boosters. Ultimately, she was "Suspended Indefinitely" but resigned from the Program not long after.

However, she asked to be placed onboard Accipiter XI in some capacity, and she eventually agreed to act as an"Emergency Civillian Consultant." Even though she is legally forbidden to touch the controls, if Jebediah ever becomes incapacitated for whatever reason, she is cleared to take control of the plane and fly it to safety.

 

The objectives of Phase I are as follows:

The first installation that Azimov will construct involves Foundation Station. It will function as a space station in low orbit. Its size is similar to that of Cornerstone now in low Kerbin orbit. It consists of 6 modules: the first launched by Nova-E V, two launched via Harrier II rocket, and the last three to be transported from Kerbin aboard the IKS Azmiov. It has various experiments to study Minmus, a small hydroponics bay, and various orbital science experiments. The objective of Phase I is to complete the station and bring its first crew. Across Phase II and III, the space station will be eventually expanded into a much larger concept.

The second base to be constructed is the Temporary Operations Service Base, otherwise known as Elysium. Its two modules are equipped with an antenna, experiment storage, life support supplies and recyclers, a fully functional airlock, and even a cupola. It can sustain two kerbals for a period of 4 years. After the four years have elapsed, the base will be abandoned during Phase II, in favor of the much larger Citadel base currently under development. As it is meant purely as preparation for a larger base, it has no mining equipment onboard. They will be brought to the surface separately, and assembled on the surface using a separate assembly vehicle designated as the "BAV."

This buggy, the Minmus Next-Generation Exploration Rover, will act as the Elysium Crew's way of exploring the surface of Minmus. Powered by two RTGs, its electric engine can theoretically take it huge distances, putting the entirety of Flat Grande within reach of exploration.

The craft that will bring the two modules of Elysium, and more in the future, is the Minmus General lander. With a crew of 2 pilots and 4 passengers, it will serve as the bridge between low orbit and the surface base: it can transport modules down to the station, as well as crew. Its open structure is a descendant of the original Nova-E "Harpy" lander used onboard Nova-E 1-4.

First to arrive at Azimov is Accipiter X, delivering 4 crew to the vessel in order to wake up its systems and prepare it for its maiden journey.

First order of business after pressurization is to sweep the interior of the vessel. Seen here is the Spacecraft Control Center located at the very tip of the spacecraft (above) and the central common area (below), with various amenities, including an airlock.

Secondly, Agamin Kerman goes on a spacewalk to survey the spacecraft and supervise solar panel deployment. The enormous solar panels  - the largest ever designed - require enormous care to deploy properly.

After nearly 5 days in orbit, the spacecraft was declared "Safe" and Vasya and Isapond were cleared to return Accipiter to the KSC.

The engineers of Accipiter XI were given a significant task: ready Accipiter XI from scratch within 6 weeks. The reason for the urgency was because the longer Accipiter XI took to return to Azimov, the longer it would be before they could be fully crewed. The remaining crew were forced to twiddle their thumbs until the full crew arrived, wasting precious supplies. As a result, Accipiter XI had to reach Azimov as quickly as possible, so that Azimov could get underway as quickly as possible. The engineers succeeded - launching Accipiter XI only 38 days after Accipiter X returned to Kerbin.

Leaving was a difficult decision to make, and this is for more than sentimental reasons. The original plan for Phase I was to have Accipiter XI remain onboard Azimov for the duration of the mission, travelling with it to Minmus, and then returning the 3 Operation Crew to Kerbin. The idea was to avoid having to launch a third Accipiter mission to Azimov to return the remaining crew. However, this left the KSC with three options. The first option was to take along two more pilots than planned, who would serve essentially no purpose except to fly Accipiter XI to and from Azimov and strain life support even further. The second was to launch totally via remote control or automated system, which meant that while the crew could take control in an emergency, they would be basically flying at the mercy of a computer.  A remote control system was developed for the A-19 SSTO, but since the Accipiter XI spacecraft has a much more complex mission than the A-19's maiden flight, that option was eventually struck off due to the system having a nearly 20% chance of crashing the spaceplane in the simulators. The third option, and least desirable, would be to use the A-19 SSTO to transport the three remaining crew back to kerbin after the mission was over. Although the A-19 was the only other spacecraft capable of returning the crew from Accipiter, it was still weeks away from its first remote-controlled test flight, and the top brass was even less enthusiastic about using a totally untested vehicle to recover three crew than it was entrusting an established spacecraft to a glorified autopilot. As a result, it was decided that Accipiter XI would leave after all, and Accipiter XII would recover the remaining crew once it was ready, about two months after Accipiter XI. However, being forced to launch Accipiter three times just to bring and return its crew from Azimov did shake their confidence in Accipiter's continued use, and made them more open to using the A-19 to transfer crew to and from Azmiov, which it could do much more quickly and cheaply. Accipiter's days as kerbalkind's sole manned launcher looks to be at an end.

 

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by DunaManiac

[DunaManiac]

Phase I Part 1

It is a tense moment aboard the IKS Azimov. Now fully loaded with supplies, equipment, and crew they are ready to reach Minmus. One hurdle stands in their way: time. I initially established Azimov in an equatorial orbit, the rationale being that if I launched at a certain time, I didn't have to waste any fuel on a plane change burn. I came to regret this later, because Foundation's right ascension of the ascending node is about 30 degrees off from where Azimov could enter Minmus' SOI. After an hour trying to finagle with a 400 part vessel at 15 fps to get a better intercept I ended up waiting for about 5 days to finally launch to Minmus. However, whether we can launch is dependent on whether the nuclear engines fire. IKS Azimov is powered by 7 of them (the most ever launched aboard one spacecraft), and they are still not ready to fire. The crew brace themselves as they pull the fateful throttle lever.

The nuclear engines do in fact begin, and the crew breathes a collective sigh of relief. They settle in for the first of three burns to Minmus. This is necessary because despite having 7 nuclear engines, Azimov is so heavy that they provide hardly any force.

20 days after Accipiter XI leaves Azimov, it arrives at Minmus. They've been in transit for nearly two weeks, and the sight of Minmus is a welcome sight. The first order of business for Azimov will be to rendezvous with Foundation Station in LKO.

Foundation was founded by the Nova-E V mission, which brought its core module to Minmus orbit. Its first function was to serve as a base for Nova-E V, the previous longest-running single mission. Now, it already has three modules - the aforementioned core module, the science module, and General Quarters.

Once in orbit, Azimov conducts a 30 degree plane change in order to reach Foundation.

Docking is quite a challenge. Azimov's enormous size means that doing a full turn takes several minutes, and its RCS thrusters are woefully underpowered. The approach takes an hour, while the crew tensely maneuver Azimov into position.  But slowly but surely, the Azimov approaches the station at just 0.5 m/s. I plan to use the unused docking port to dock with the opposite facing docking port visible on Foundation. This will make it easier for us to assemble the station.

Docking is still quite an involved process. It's not so much as Azimov mooring to Foundation, as Foundation mooring to Azimov. The crew managed to hack into the Kestrel lander's controls, making the docking easier by rotating the station 90 degrees to avoid bumping into the truss.

Finally, after nearly half an hour, docking is complete, and the crew breathes a sigh of relief. Azimov has docked with Foundation, the largest such docking in history. Now we can finally do what we set out to do, and spent two years preparing for: using the modules onboard Azimov, and putting them in their proper places on Foundation. This marks a totally new method of constructing space stations: sending up the modules on a mothership, and constructing the station right next to it. However, in my infinite wisdom, I decided to launch the final module of Foundation, the Fuel reserve, before Elysium's logistics module. Thus, we have to wait until after Elysium is set up before we can finish Foundation.

The first priority is the Logistics module. As it's appearance suggests, it stores the supplies for Azimov. The crew decided it was best if that was undocked first due to its sheer inertia making it difficult to dock using the puny tug.

Under the tight watch of the crew and manually controlling the tug, it undocks from Azimov and glides underneah the GQ module. Once there, it does a harrowing 180 degree turn to bring it into position on the other side. Special care is paid to the orientation, because the orientation of the solar panels must mtch the orientation of the Science module on the right side of Foundation. However, we manage the docking.

The second docking is the MRSM module. It will be positioned on the final spare docking port on Foundation's node. Due to the fact it has no bottom attatch node, I haphazardly placed a floating docking port with a decoupler to detatch it below the module, and added a few struts to make it look like it was supported.  Docking will entail a 90 degree turn to bring it into position.

However, we manage to dock after just a few minutes. The first phase of the mission is over: and Kerbalkind has its first true station in Minmus orbit. We'll remain attached to it for the duration of this mission, which will be about two months. After that, we will transfer the crew aboard, and leave them onboard the station. This is somewhat problematic since they don't have a dedicated escape vehicle. The General Lander does have enough fuel onboard to transfer the entire crew back into low orbit using most of its fuel capacity, but it isn't perfect. As such, on the next mission to Foundation, the KSC has considered attaching an MCTV-MRV to the station to evacuate the crew. For now however, it will operate basically as an extension of Azimov's living space. It will accommodate three crew for the next two years.

The next phase of the mission will be simple: we will establish kerbalkind's first surface outpost on another world. This is something that has only been dreamed of back on Earth, but with a vessel as large as Azimov, it can construct it with just a single trip.

[DunaManiac]

Hello Everyone, I'm releasing this statement to deliver some bad news about this journal.

I've been having problems with the game freezing after about 30 minutes to an hour of gameplay, requiring a complete restart. I've done some reasearch about the problem, and it isn't good. It will progressively worsen until the game is totally unplayable. I've decided to totally reinstall the game and re-install everything back manually, and then transfer my save into the new install to see whether it fixes the problem. If it's a save related issue, then that will probably be the end of the journal. I hope that it's the former.

[DunaManiac]

Update a very long time coming:

After TLA_STACK_LEAK issues forced a total re-install of my game, I've finally gotten around to completing the re-installation of the game and I am happy to say that it appears to be working fine. I reinstalled almost every mod completely fresh from the original save, and the transition occured much smoother than I thought it would be. After some issues with visual mods that were quickly resolved, I was able to transfer the save file over to the new install. After playing the game for several hours, I appear to no longer be having issues. However, there are a few side effects to this, namely all craft files made before the save have "missing part modules" related to the fact I did not reinstall BD Armory that appear to be harmless, and all my vessels flags have glitched, forcing all my craft to bear the white flag of the Paris Commune.

However, these are only minor issues, and I am looking forward to sharing my latest progress.

[DunaManiac]

First order of business: deploying the Elysium surface base. First down is the primary module. How do we bring the mdoules down to the ground, given the fact they have no propulsion of their own? They will be brought down by the Advanced Lander.

The crew, Agamin, Nelbro, and Sherdon Kerman, stand together for a group shot.

Next module coming down is the logistics module, which is quite heavy due to the sheer amount of fuel contained onboard.

After everything is landed, we are now ready to commence the construction of the base. Both modules will be docked to each other, via the Base Assembly Vehicle (BAV) shipped together with the logistics module. This will hopefully allow us to simply drive the module and dock them together without any shenanigans.

However, I found that whether due to the kraken insidiously altering my designs after being docked to a 200+ part vessel or due to the reinstallation, I was having problems with clipping meaning I could not drive it whatsoever. Instead, I decided to try and drive the primary module instead.

After an extremely difficult driving session that can hardly be called "driving," (I was forced to use the reaction wheels to drag the front heavy module into position), Elysium was finally docked.

Advanced Lander and Azimov pilot Sherdon, Scientist Rovin, and Mission Specialist Lemore Kerman pose for a victory shot next to Kerbalkind's first outpost on another world.

Meanwhile, the next order of business is to deploy the rover. For some reason it was missing a landing leg, but it did not seriously affect our task. Rather than force them to walk, Sherdon kindly maneuvered the Advanced lander over rather than forcing the kerbonauts to walk 800 meters over to initiate deployment.

With Lemore as the driver, the rover was maneuvered and parked next to the Elysium base. Getting in is merely a short spacewalk from the airlock.

Finally, after we take one last look at our burgeoning outpost, (regrettably no deployable experiments, I should have brought some to give the base a little more character), Sherdon leaves Rovin and Lemore to their 2 year stay at the outpost, while he takes the Advanced lander back to Azimov.

They will remain there for the next 2 months, before Azimov will leave Foundation Station to its work, and finally returns to Kerbin. However, as all of this happened, there were also a few minor events that occured as well.

The Duna Advanced Exploratory lander, a much upgraded lander compared to the original DICE lander, was deployed to Duna's polar region with the aim of sampling its surface for water ice. Equipped with a scan arm, it was able to take a 3 dimensional picture of its surroundings. The poles, a rather baren place, appear to be quite hilly, and with relatively few boulders around.

Also news swallowed up by the breathless headlines of kerbonauts walking on Minmus, the Program's first ever full SSTO, the A-19 Aquilae, launched not long after the crew wrapped up at Elysium.

For its first test flight, it was launched fully autonomously, for fear that the aircraft would not be stable during reentry. I quite like its novel aerobraking system, and that it preserves the passenger's lovely view of their surroundings. Overall, I believe that it's quite a unique SSTO. However, there's something about its look that just grates on me, so perhaps this will not be the last descendant of the A-4 suborbital vehicle. However, this vehicle is quite capable of totally replacing LKO crew rotations to Cornerstone, a significant cost-saver for the program.

Landing proves to be uneventful, and in true computer fashion: practically right on the western edge of the runway.

[DunaManiac]

Back in Minmus orbit, at the end of a two month stay assisting the Foundation crew in setting up the station for permanent habitation, the Azimov is finally ready to leave. Substantial preparations must be made before it can though.

The first order of business: regrettably, the Kestrel lander simply cannot be accommodated by Foundation at this time. It was deorbited and destroyed autonomously, perhaps an unceremonious end for the last mission of the Nova-E program.

Next order of business is to retrieve the fuel storage module. This was done by emptying the fuel out into the main Azimov tanks in order to make it much easier to maneuver with the tug, and once the docking was completed, the fuel was transferred back into the module. The General Lander was also manuevered over.

And with that: we are ready for separation.

With that, we have completed Foundation. Commanded by Agamin Kerman, along with Newory and Shelvan Kerman, the three man outpost will provide a base of operations for all Minmus operations henceforth.

Spoiler

The pride and joy of Foundation Station: the Minmus Resource Science module. The suite is one of the most advanced ever built.

Outfitted with an observation port, a resource scanner, a multispectral scanner, an infrared telescope, and a large optical telescope, no expense has been spared in outfitting this module. This will allow us to study nearly the entirety of Minmus 24/7, in nearly every medium available. This monitoring of Minmus will grant us more data than a satellite ever could.

However, Azimov, having completed its mission, is ready to return to LKO. Sherdon, Maxlie, and Nelbro, the remaining crew, are simply there to pilot Azimov back to a parking orbit, and subsequently be extracted by Accipiter XII.

After several days and two 3 and a half deceleration burns, Azimov has finally arrived back in LKO.

With Tedfred and Vasya Kerman piloting, Accipiter XII launches from the KSC in the early morning to extract the crew, and finally return them to Kerbin after their long mission.

After a night docking, Accipiter has successfully docked to the vessel, and the Azimov crew finally say goodbye to the vessel they've called home for the past 6 months.

And with its successful landing, Phase I is officially completed. Foundation has been set up, as well as Elysium. Now, the planners at the KSC behind the program finally allow their minds to turn to the next step: Phase II.

 

[DunaManiac]

It's hard to begin Phase II without first describing where we're going.

The purpose of Phase II will be to create the beginnings of our self sufficent ISRU operation.

If you remember this diagram, our base will be sustained by periodic resupply missions, which will be in turn sustained by fuel mined on Minmus. This requires both a surface facility to mine and process the fuel as well as a large station to store and refuel our resupply vessels.

The second mission to Minmus aims to mostly complete Foundation, our station in low Minmus Orbit. The primary goal will be to add the gravity wheel and docking center, as well as expand the science array by moving the MSRM and adding a hydroponics module and more general science module. Another implication of a state of the art cryonics laboratory: allowing various biological samples, animals, even kerbals to enter cryosleep for a short amount of time. These cryonics experiments will perhaps prove important for eventual missions to Jool. Another highlight is the largest gravity wheel ever designed, which will function as primary living and sleeping quarters for the crew. However, the fuel tank array (capable of storing 80% of Azimov's entire fuel capacity) will have to wait until Phase III, because the 7 modules we will already be transporting is close to Azimov's limit.

The modules will be deployed onboard Azimov in this manner. It will carry a crew of 12: 3 Azimov pilots, 6 fresh crewmen for Foundation, 2 fresh crew for Elysium, and a drill specialist. Where does a drill specialist fit in here?

A second priority (conceptualized here) is the first two modules of Citadel base: the eventual replacement to our current base, Elysium. Seen here is the core module and a drilling unit, containing most of the power and radiator equipment of the future base. In Phase III we will be deploying the rest of the 5 modules. Even with this bare mininmum, estimates point to be able to mine and process enough ore to fill an entire Jumbo-64 tank in the span of 5 hours. However, these will not be able to fit on Azimov. Instead, our plan is to launch these separately, but they are simply too heavy to bring along a whole separate skycrane. Rather, we'll deploy the modules to low Minmus orbit, and use the General Lander deployed by Phase I to deliver them to the surface. Once Azimov arrives, we'll bring a substantial team down to the surface, including the drill specialist, and mate the two modules together, and use the fuel to refill the General Lander. However, the tanker that will link the base to Foundation will have to wait until Phase III.

Meanwhile, the Program barely rested before beginning production of Phase II in full force. Already we have launched two of the seven modules for transport to Minmus. Our engineers are confident Phase II will be completed in just two years: and then we'll be able to set our eyes on a target yet higher than Minmus: the interplanetary frontier.

[DunaManiac]

In the darkness of space, lies the Jool Moon Clipper, hurtling towards its target, Jool and its five moons. We have elected to conduct a direct orbital insertion rather than a Tylo intercept to capture, as we just don't have enough information about Tylo's orbit or position to attempt a gravity assist properly, as well as the fact we have the delta V to conduct an orbital insertion.

The orbital insertion proves to us a valuable lesson: even with two "Gigantor" solar arrays, at Jool, the Ion engine sucks up more power than we can replace. This can translates to about 10 minutes of thrust before we must recharge.

Our first order of business after insertion is to conduct two short correction burns, one to increase our periapsis and the second to match planes with the moons. The plan is to first encounter Laythe, which will give us an encounter with Tylo 1 month later, from which we'll be able to get much closer looks at the inner two moons. In the meantime, we'll be able to make extremely close passes of Jool, allowing us to learn everything we can about the enigmatic giant.

If Laythe is the most intriguing mystery of the Joolian system, Jool itself is not far behind. JMC confirmed ground telescope's findings of a strong green spectral line in the visible spectrum - It's green. How it's so vibrantly green, however, is unknown. Chlorine could cause that sort of coloration, but it's not feasible it could have been amassed in such concentrations. Another proposal is copper oxide (with the same problem), even microscopic life-forms floating in Jool's atmosphere. However, to truly confirm those suspicions, we will need a mission to find out.

Orbiting deep within Jool's gravity well, Laythe is by far the most intriguing moon of Jool. Scientists using ground based telescopes have always suspected Laythe had an oxygen rich atmosphere, even an ocean, but these reports from JMC were unbelievable, in every sense of the world. Eagerly watching as Laythe grew from a few pixels to a world of its own, Laythe has an atmosphere, 20% Oxygen, 80% nitrogen, just like back home. It has oceans: not glorified lakes or ponds, but oceans covering the entire planet, a good deal more even than on Kerbin.

As we approach, the moon becomes even more tantalizing. Scientists leap at the chance to finally study Laythe up close, however briefly, as we pass within 500 kilometers of Laythe's cloudtops. Too far for most of our instruments, but enough to snap detailed images of Laythe's surface. There are clouds: white water vapor clouds, and islands within the deep sea. JMC uncovers evidence of plate tectonics and abundant cryovolcanism, as well as hints of a more violent past: the crater in the top right of the image. It's almost too good to be true, and the questions begin popping up. How can Laythe have watery seas and an oxygen atmosphere, this far from the sun? Wouldn't radiation from Jool's enormous magnetic field fry any life on the surface? Does the required energy come from tidal activity from Jool, and how is it disseminated into the environment?

                     

On the left is a typical cloud formation on Laythe: white vapor clouds like our won, apparently high up and thin, swept by apparent strong winds in Laythe's atmosphere. On the right is a far, far more interesting feature. First apparent even from the first observations, were strange signatures in the spectrograph, as if Laythe was emitting light. These soon proved to be too large for a simple anomaly, and answering this question was a priority for JMC. The answer was phenomenal. These are seemingly clouds high up in the atmosphere, distinct from the bright water vapor clouds. These are comprised of organic material, glowing in the dark of Laythe's night side. Whether these are just chemical reactions activated by Jool's radiation in the upper atmosphere, enormous auroras, or something else is an open question. A daring new theory based off these observations is that these are in fact, enormous colonies of bioluminescent bacteria floating in the atmosphere, a tantalizing possibility too interesting to discount. If anything has been learned from this mission, it's that another is paramount.

Second from Jool is Vall, an enigmatic, icy moon. From the thin halo clinging to the moon, there is also quite strong cryovolcanism, but it is not close enough to experience the same tidal forces to melt the surface as Laythe. Instead, volcanoes belch icy gasses into space, forming a small "atmosphere" out of nitrogen, ammonia, and methane gas and ice particles. Vall would most likely be quite similar to Laythe in composition, and perhaps if Laythe and Vall were to simply switch places, not much would be different. In terms of size, it's smaller than Laythe and Tylo, but still much larger than our own Mun. It's icier composition, however, means that it is less dense than rocky Tylo.

Last but not least, we now have our best yet image of Pol, a mere four pixels! However, this in itself is interesting: Pol is small, and quite strongly colored. A minor, but important, discovery indeed. To close, we are left with this image of Laythe's night side as we leave. A picture speaks a thousand words.

Edited August 22, 2023 by DunaManiac