Null Cycles - Epilogue - Updated 2014-04-13 (Image Heavy)

[Cydonian Monk]

Greetings!

(October 2013) For the last few months I've been posting little snippets of mission reports on the Google+ KSP community. It's been my intent the whole time to share those here, and add a bit more of the story to them. For a short while I was posting them to the "What Did You Do in KSP Today" thread. Then I stopped uploading images to my (incomplete) website, and... got behind.

(February 2014) While 2014 has been kinder to me than 2013, I'm still not terribly fond of it yet. Once again I find myself behind on several projects, with more and more knocking on the door, and work being busier than ever. I've also not had the time or energy to post updates to Google+ as I was in the past, so all of these screenshots and notes I take while playing through KSP go unseen and unread. This is my attempt to change that.

(April 2014) The latest round of updates coupled with a desire to completely start over has led me to leave the cycles behind and start a new, fresh save. So for now the cycles have come to an end. Thanks for reading about these Null Cycles!

Enjoy!

---

Last Updated: 2014-04-13

I: The Age of Myth

The Age of Myth was a time when living gods and mighty beasts still held sway. The deeds of Kerbals were unencumbered by corporeal needs, and their empires were driven by forces beyond their reasoning.

2013 - The Dawn of Kerbin - The Universe Before Fios 3 (Available once I've reformatted the posts for the web. Will be an off-site link.)

2013-07-29 - (8) Hudwin's Rescue (Or: The Real First Kerbal on the Mun.) (Link temporarily removed.)

2013-10-10 - (9) Bob and Kirk Crash the Mun Party (Fios 3, this post.)

2013-10-10 - (9) Last Crews for the Dunan-X

2013-10-10 - (9) Dunan-X Departure

2013-10-13 - (9) Camp Mint

2013-10-19 - (9) Dunan-X - Arrival and Landing

2013-10-25 - (9) 0.21 Epilogue - Bob

2013-10-29 - (10-2) Aleph 0 - The Heist - 0.22 Career Mode Begins!

2013-11-01 - (10-2) Kerbal First - Projects Aleph, Bet, Moho... and Wrobel

2013-11-05 - (10-2) MunDust 2

2013-11-08 - (10-2) Continuum - Aurora Kerbalis

2013-11-24 - (10-2) Bill and Jeb's Awesome Trip

2013-12-14 - (10-2) Ares Averted? (or: What About Bob?)

2013-12-30 - (10-2) Return of the Duna Seven

2013-12-31 - (10-2) Planetary Pinball - The ION Probe Missions

II: The Age of Legends

The Age of Legends was a time when the powers of the world were fading. The chaos and great empires of the past were forgotten, ushering in a time of progress and continuity.

2014-01-19 - (11) MunDust Legends - The Monk's Tale

2014-02-25 - (11) MunDust Legends - Returning the Vial

2014-02-27 - (12) MunDust Relics

2014-03-08 - (12) Building Kelgee Memorial Station

2014-03-23 - (13) The Test Pilots

2014-03-25 - (12+13) Transit! ... and the Early Explorations of Moho

2014-03-30 - (12+13) The Eve Gambit... and some Business on Moho and Dres

2014-04-06 - (12 + 13) Heading Home With a Stop by a Rock

2014-04-10 - (12 + 13) This is The End

III: The Twilight Age

The Twilight Age was a time following the exit of magic from the world.

2014-04-13 - Epilogue

Miscellania

How I converted an old sandbox save to Career mode... with Science!

---

What is Null Cycles?

Simply put, Null Cycles is what I call my ongoing Kerbal Space Program universe. This thread is the collection of After-Action Mission Reports and other details related to the Null Cycles universe. Each "cycle" represents a new career save, and thus a reset of the universe and game clock. All of the vehicles and flags that are landed get carried over to the new save, and in some cases all of the satellites and other orbital craft get deleted. There are a few exceptions, such as not resetting the game clock during the Dunan-X mission and not deleting its orbiter. My cycles start at zero (for the demo), and count upwards based on my personal whims. I occasionally merge in my "SkunkWorks" test save into my main universe canon, such as when Hudwin suddenly appeared on the Mun. (I also can't count, as evidenced by two "Tenth Cycles," but that's more a result of me accidentally overwriting the save before I backed it up to DropBox.)

Why use that name?

A multitude of reasons. To quote Wikipedia, "a null cycle is a catalytic cycle that simply interconverts chemical species without leading to net production or removal of any component." So nothing is lost yet nothing is gained. At the end of the cycle you have exactly what you started with. I've enjoyed playing with the new things Squad includes with KSP each release, and wanted a way to start over while maintaining my "accomplishments," i.e.: landers, flags, etc. Of the craft and flags I've placed since I started playing in 0.19, only three are not included in this save. (Because I lost their save before I merged everything in.) So in truth, these are not null cycles as the craft I create remain. But the science and achievements and all the other cruft that gets saved to the persistence file gets cleared, so in a way it is. Except there are those troublesome kerbals that somehow hang around and remember....

---

In Memoriam

The list of all Kerbals who have given their lives in pursuit of the exploration of space. This includes all test pilots and crews from "test" cycles. Many of these were lost testing my early SSTO designs, particularly the crews lost in the ninth test cycle. May their sacrifices not be in vain.

• Demo (Cycle 0): Jebediah, Bill, Bob, Nelsey, Thomlock*
  
• Third Cycle: Jebediah*
  
• Fourth Cycle: Jebediah*
  
• Fifth Cycle: Milbas, Chading
  
• Eight Test Cycle: Jebediah, Bill, Bob, Seeburry, Jonbald, Ludzor, Seesy, Kirbas, Kirbert, Kenke, Henzor, Luke, Charlie, Billy-Boblong, Corcott, Geneton, Newdon, Gusnard, Mitgard, Hudbald, Lobree
  
• Ninth Test Cycle: Jebediah, Bill, Bob, Patnard, Neilnard, Raylie, Geofrick, Seebro, Tomely, Ludoly, Sigdan, Harbal, Albor, Wilvey, Herdon, Thomfert, Tombert, Nelzon, Tom, Sherzor, Charlie, Chadfen, Lenfrey, Sammy, Sonsby, Landan, Will, Phildred, Desbretr, Jedbrett, Philtop, Elbal, Cormin, Ferfrey, Melbrett, Donmund, Danwig, Harbrett, Fredgee, Lubro, Dunsy; Jebediah, Bill, Bob; Jebediah, Bill, Bob, Mitbro, Ellong, Merkin, Dudwin, Matner, Milry, Bursel, Joelong; Jebediah, Bill, Bob, Franklin, Albrett;
  
• First Tenth Cycle: Jebediah, Bill
  
• Tenth Test Cycle: Jebediah, Bill, Bob, Dofrey, Patbro, Hudfry, Philemone, Lancas, Gushat, Bartfred, Ludvey, Romin, Gusgan, Lobald, Sherdan, Luke, Harbas, Matley, Ribrey
  
• Twelfth Cycle Kelgee, Jeddon
  
• Thirteenth Cycle Bartley, Kirmon, Harsby
  
• 
  

* - Indicates crews regarded as "Missing in Action."

---

We'll start with the Fios/Cuairt 3 mission to land on the far side of the Mun....

====

Bob and Kirk Crash the Mun Party

"Wow Bob, I'm looking at the outside of Cuairt 3 from here, and, well, you really did a number on the old bird." (Dudzon Kerman)

Dudzon was lucky to see Bob and Kirk after the Fios/Cuairt 3 "landing" on the far side of the Mun. The grand plan was to land in the "Dark Gorge," conduct a few studies to determine why it formed, and then head home. The gorge is rather perilous due to its rough terrain and steep sides, so it was thought this would be a good measure of the lander pilot's prowess. Plus, no kerbals had yet landed on the far side of the Mun. Naturally Bob, being the ace pilot he is, brought the lander down on an incline and proceeded to roll it.

"Cuairt 3 has landed. Wait, uh..... Aaaahhh!!!!" [Crunch, bump, crunch, screeeeeee] "Uhm, Cape, we may have... may have a bit of an issue here. GET ME OUT OF HERE!!! " (Bob Kerman)

When it finally came to rest at the bottom of the gorge most of the lander's fuel system was shredded, and only one of the solar panels survived. The docking port was an unusable pile of scrap, scattered mostly on the hillside. And the craft may have been venting atmosphere. (Good thing Bob and Kirk had their helmets on.)

(The damage report. Minor, excepting the need for fuel to get back off this rock.)

Of course no one on Kerbin was even watching the landing, despite the video feed being relayed back via Fios 3 and one of the polar Mun mapping satellites. Who cares about landing on the Mun when the "First Dunan Expedition" was launching in just 9 days? Everyone has already seen the two FSK and the two CCHR Mun landings. Why would this one be any different? No, they were more concerned with what color of jumpsuit Jebediah would wear on Dunan-X.

Back on the Mun Bob and Kirk set about patching the holes, inspecting the fuel system damage, and radioing the details back to KSC. Then, while waiting for the Fios 3 to orbit (and for the engineers on Kerbin to determine if it was even possible to launch), they wandered off to take in their surroundings. Even planted a flag.

(Bob inspects the damage and reports back to KSC while Kirk admires something off in the distance. Most likely wreckage from their lander glistening in the sunlight.)

(There's always time to stop and plant a flag. 'Dark Gorge' was the name chosen by Bob, though Kirk was lobbying for 'Gouged By Bob.' Kirk is the short one.)

In contrast to the landing, every kerbal in the universe followed the crippled Cuairt 3's ascent. Kirk Kerman, on his first "successful" mission (the previous two were aborted 2 minutes into flight), was chosen to pilot the ascent module. (He couldn't possibly do worse than Bob.) As the engineers at KSC had calculated, the ascent stage didn't have enough conventional fuel to make orbit.

(Liftoff wasn't easy, and I'm not sure how they managed to miss the edge of the gorge. Couldn't have been more than a few meters away when the craft cleared it.)

"Cape, we are bingo fuel. Repeat, bingo fuel. Altitude... 8km." (Kirk Kerman)

So Kirk completed the orbital insertion using the RCS system.... not an easy feat when the ship's center of mass is so far off. They even had enough monoprop for a full circularization and rendezvous with the Fios 3. Two quick EVAs later and everyone was back in the command module, more than ready to head home.

The analysts in the Kerbal Space Press now consider it doubtful that Bob will be selected as the Dunan-X lander pilot.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk
Image path rationalization.

[Cydonian Monk]

Last Crews for Dunan-X

"And he's away! The last crew ferry for the Dunan-X mission is skybound. Ground controllers from the ISC have just confirmed Dosby Kerman launched the Quest 1 at 2:08AM from Starfarer Island. Now..." Everyone in mission control room KMC-A broke into excessive celebration before Gene could finish his sentence. So he muttered under his breath: "Now for the hard part. Getting them to Duna."

Bob's face changed quickly from one of glee to his usual mask of grave concern. He'd been working on calculations for Dunan-X in KMC-A during down time, and turned away from his terminal to get Gene’s attention. "So, ah, Gene. If that's the 'last' crew taxi to the Dunan-X, how am I getting aboard? Riding up with the science package?"

"You're not going to Duna, Bob."

You could hear the gears locking up in Bob's brain, unable to comprehend what Gene just said. Then it clicked. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!! I shouldn't have pushed Jeb about what he saw on the Mun! I shouldn't have eaten the last of Dudzon's snacks! And I didn't mean to flip the lander!! It just FLIPPED!" The room quickly grew quiet, and everyone knew where this was leading. Bob would get all worked up about it, let his mind race to some incorrect conclusion, then get more worked up until he would break out into tears.

"C'mon Bob." Gene motioned him out of KMC-A, walking him down the hallway to his office. "It's got nothing to do with the Cuairt 3 landing. Even Jeb would've botched that one." Gene crossed his arms and leaned against the window. "We've got something bigger in mind for you. We're sending you to Vall."

Gears still frozen, Bob's eyes were bouncing left and right. Pure fear and confusion. Then it hit him.

"But I want to go to Duna!!"

====

I finally sent the last of the crews and equipment for the Dunan-X mission to orbit this morning. First launch was the Wczesnie 4 from Sky’s Reach, followed shortly by Quest 1 from Starfarer Island. The Wcz4 didn’t technically have enough fuel to complete the orbit and 20º plane change to rendezvous with the Dunan-X, so I had to send out Corfal from the set-up crew to grab their ship and tug it back.

Perfect morning for a launch at Sky's Reach Cosmodrome. The next to last crew for the Dunan-X are aboard the Wczesnie 4: Luton and Melke, the two representatives from the CCHR, along with mission commander Bilnie Kerman.

(Sky's Reach Cosmodrome, aka "KSC2", in the CCHR, located on that other northern continent, and 20º north.)

Another perfect morning for a launch at Starfarer Island. Aboard is the final member of the Dunan-X mission: Dosby Kerman of the ISC. The FSK-built Eala crew capsule was launched by the (untested) FSK-built Hawk rocket.

(Starfarer Island, located considerably east of KSC, and 10º south.)

After some deliberation, I decided to include a heat shield for the Rothar Series A rover, which made it too large to fit on the accessory docking ports of the IPX-1. So I added a second satellite array to the payload, which will give me 6 microsats and two of the larger ones. This brings the parts count to 467 and total mass to 154,210 tonnes.

(Just imagine there's a nice, big, friendly fairing on this thing. Maybe someday I'll use Procedural Fairings....)

Current mission plans call for entering the system in a highly-inclined orbit to avoid Ike. The planned landing site it at the southern frost line anyway, so this will help save delta-v from the plane change. It will also help the satellite arrays enter into a polar orbit, as they’re only capable of 40º or so of total plane-change on their own. The initial orbit will also be outside of Ike’s orbit, to allow one of the microsats to orbit Ike.

Once the satellite array is fully deployed, I’ll send the Rothar down first, followed shortly by the lander. But that’s 70 or so days away, and there are other projects to get rolling. I’ve lots ‘o things to finish before 0.22 hits, and not much time to do so. Wayward goes the march o' bitter time.

(The completed Dunan-X, with the taxis for the setup crew still attached.)

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk

[Cydonian Monk]

Dunan-X Departure - Official Radio Transcript

MET: 8d:3h:17m:20s

CAPCOM (Shelcan): We have you on Cape tracking now DX. over.

MC (Jebediah): Read you loud and clear Cape. We couldn’t have timed this last burn better. We’ll be right on top of Kerbin City. over.

CAPCOM: Copy DX. T minus 3 minutes to TDI burn 3. over.

MC: T minus 3 minutes. [static] Tell all those schoolkerbs that are staying up past their bedtime to look straight upwards. One last glimpse of us as we take one last look down at home. over.

CAPCOM: Roger DX, I’m sure they’ve already got their eyes glued skyward in rapt anticipation. T minus 1 minute. over. T minus 30 seconds. You have the light, DX. over.

MC: Roger, we have the light. T minus 20 seconds. Commencing main engine burn in T minus 10 seconds. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. [static] We have good burn here Cape. 5 minutes 4 seconds to TDI burn 3 complete. over.

CAPCOM: Copy, 5 minutes to TDI complete. You’re giving us quite the light show down here, DX. Your exhaust trail is nearly as long as the craft. over.

[2 minutes silence]

MC: Cape, Bill wanted to make sure you packed enough toothbrushes for him before we get too far from the last corner store. over.

DLMP (Bill): I did not! Jeb, you’re impossible! [unintelligible noise]

CAPCOM: Sorry DX, we did not copy your last. Care to repeat? over.

MC: Negative Cape, just radio noise. 2 minutes to TDI complete. over.

CAPCOM: Copy. 2 minutes to TDI complete. Communications and tracking will transfer to Starfarer tracking station in 5 seconds. over.

MC: Copy Cape. over.

CAPCOM: We have you on Starfarer tracking now DX. over.

MC: Copy Cape. Read you loud and clear. TDI complete in 30 seconds. It’s been a pleasure providing tonight’s entertainment and light show. We’ll be sure to schedule another in a couple hundred days or so. Main engine shutoff in 10 seconds. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Main engine shutoff. We have TDI Cape, over.

CAPCOM: [background noise] Roger, DX. TDI complete. That noise you hear is KiMCA celebrating the first successful Kerbin escape. We’ll have the boys and girls in the other room run the numbers once they’re done cheering and shaking hands, and get the mid course correction to you when we have it. Kerbalspeed, DX. Have a good flight. CAPCOM out.

(The initial orbits after TDI burn complete. I corrected this a few moments later to under a 200km Duna Periapsis.)

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk

[Cydonian Monk]

Camp Mint

“Got a mission for you Bob.†Bob completely ignored Gene and continued munching on crunchy snacks. He was easy to find, as he’d been sulking in the KSC cafeteria since he was pulled from the Dunan-X, but increasingly hard to talk to. By now he’d probably put on half a kilo in snack fat, and Gene knew something needed to be done to get his third-best pilot’s spirits up.

“The fifth installation of the MALROC landed hard, so we need to send Shelcan up to replace the broken bits. We were planning to put a small rover base on Minmus anyway, so we’re sending that up with you too. You’ll need to pick him up in the Cuairt 4 once he’s done with his work, which is still fully fueled and in Minmus orbit.â€Â

[Crunch. Munch. Crunch.]

“Look, I know how you feel, ok? But right now I need you to get up, chose the third member for your crew, and get back at it.â€Â

“Barrie.†Bob barely stopped his snacking to suggest the name. “He handled the docking with me on Tosach 3. Good pilot.â€Â

“Ok. I’ll get him lined up. Expect to start mission training tonight. We need to get the MALROC to 100 before the Dunan-X gets too far from Kerbin.â€Â

--

Shelcan couldn’t believe his luck. Just a few weeks ago and he was only fixing the test vehicles of the great Kerbalnauts. Now he was one of them. Just last week they sent him up to finish setting up the Dunan-X, and now he was on his way to Munmus. A true Space Mechanic. This was one of the best months of his life. (Not to mention he was getting to spend a full week with two of the legends of spaceflight: Bob Kerman, fifth Kerbal in space and one of the few to land on the Mun, and Barrier Kerman, first pilot to dock in space.)

The flight out was simple and uneventful, using a now-regular Minmus free-return trajectory, and hot on the heels of the Dunan-X. (Ground controllers had warned Barrie and Shelcan to watch Bob and not allow him to plot an intercept for the Dunan-X.) The plan for landing the repair base was somewhat unique. To save fuel in the rover base the trans-Minmus booster was retained through orbital injection and used to deorbit and land.

Shelcan, being the inventive Space Mechanic he is, decided to create some modern art (or maybe create his own Monolith?) on Minmus. He named it the Rockolift. He also named the base “Camp Mint,†shortened by KSC from his first choice “Camp Mint IceCream.â€Â

It was a short 3km drive from the Rockolift over to the MALROC EquiA. Nightfall was just around the corner, so Shelcan set out once his art project was complete. Driving on Minmus is never an easy feat, and Shelcan let the base build up a bit too much speed before hitting the brakes. Thankfully the engineers had decided to include an RCS system at the last minute.

Base upright again, Shelcan set about getting to work on the MALROC EquiA.

Meanwhile aboard the Fios 5 in orbit Bob was busy tracking down the Cuairt 4. The previous Minmus crew had left it fully fueled and in a slightly-erratic 18km orbit. The rendezvous and docking occurred on the dark side of Minmus, which is apparently standard operating procedure for the Kerbal Space Agency. (And KSC engineers have made sure to include docking lights on all craft launched since the early days of kerb’d spaceflight.) Bob decided to wait until morning before going down to pick up Shelcan.

The landing was far more uneventful than Bob’s landing in the Cuairt 3. Even with the strange layer of ice that covers everything on Minmus.

Camp Mint was left behind at the MALROC EquiA, with enough fuel remaining to hop to just about anywhere else on Minmus. The fuel in the roving base, however, is better used as ballast for driving around. Burn too much of it off and the base gets to be so light it can’t get enough traction to drive. Bob and Shelcan didn’t head straight up to the Fios 5, though, and instead took a side-trip to the KS-L2 at Green Dust Lake. Shelcan was less than amused with Bob’s “thrilling†low-altitude flight (less than 100m at 130m/s!), but was used to this type of piloting from the fighterjock-turned-kerbalnauts that made the space program what it was. Along the way Kerbin rose above the horizon.

The KS-L2 was only the second FSK craft to land anywhere other than Kerbin, so it had some historical significance. Perhaps someday in the future a small visitor’s center will be built here, with coin-operated telescopes to look back at Kerbin, and probably some cheap recording of a famous Kerbal physicist explaining the composition of Minmus’ lakes and how the impactor stage of the KS-L2 helped to gain new scientific insights.

From there it was a short hop back to the Fios 5, including another of Bob’s low altitude near-misses on liftoff. Bob and Shelcan EVA’d back to the capsule, fueled up the Cuairt 4, and burned for home. Yet another successful mission.

--

Further out in space, the crew aboard the Dunan-X were watching Kerbin slowly disappear into the skybox. Jeb took a picture, scribbled a message on it, and fired it off to Bob, knowing he’d get it shortly after the burn to leave Minmus. Kerbin would soon be little more than a pale blue dot against the background of the universe. Duna, however, is still many days away. Many, many days away. Space is big, empty, and cold, with very few friends around to help you out when you screw up.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk

[Cydonian Monk]

Dunan-X - The Arrival

"I still can't get a lock on Kerbin, Jeb. The heatshield for the rover is blocking the high-gain."

"OK, thanks Dosby. Just send them something short on the low-gain so Gene knows we made it past Ike. No time to turn the ship to transmit now." Great. Another design flaw. First there was the unplanned encounter with Ike (Why did they bother with the high approach if they were going to hit Ike anyway?), and now this. Not that any of it bothered Jeb. Never did. The whole world could be exploding around him and he'd still keep smiling along.

Bill wasn't as happy. He hated these long burns, and didn't look forward to nine minutes of strange noises and heavy vibrations. At least they weren't trying to aerobrake this collection of junk. And maybe it would drone out the two CCHR highlanders and their strange language. It'd been driving him slightly batty for the last 55 days, not understanding half of what anybody was saying.

Bill pulled his "don't hit this by accident" post-it note from the transfer stage's controls, which garnered an odd glance and a snicker from Jeb.

"What? Can't be too safe." Jeb kept grinning, a grin you could hear across the ship's PA.

"Ok dudes, this ride's about to get bumpy. Make sure you're strapped in. Duna capture burn in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Burn!" He motioned to Bill, who hit the throttle for the main engines. The NERVAs started up perfectly after almost 50 days in the cold, and suddenly the kerbals were punched into the back of their seats. Random bits of floating debris pinged along the back of the capsule. Or was it the bottom? "This outta wake up old Shep!"

Nine minutes felt like thirty. The drive section of the Dunan-X was designed with the limited availability of nuclear fuel in mind, and only featured 4 of the fancy NERVA engines. When you’re mass is in the “several hundred tonnes†range, those four little engines can take a little while to do much of anything. Still enough to give you a kick after weeks in microgravity.

When the burn was finished the Dunan-X was in a nearly-perfect 400km by 100km orbit inclined at 45°. Just like they'd planned. All the random bits of junk at the bottom of the capsule started to float forward again.

"OK, Bill, lets get the satellites deployed so we can see what we can see. I'd like to get down to that big red rock." Jeb unsnapped his restraints and floated into the back cabins of the ship. Bill looked down to see Shepson asleep in the lower seat. He'd slept through the entire capture. Bill could only shake his head and set about polluting the Duna system with satellites.

--

Deploying the MP-SMC-1 wasn't very easy. They put the craft off-balance at Ike when they dropped the first microsat. Bill decided it'd be easier to fly it remotely and at one-thirds throttle. The good news was it didn't take nearly as much fuel to get it into a polar orbit as Bill had feared. Thank you, lower Dunan gravity.

The MP-SMC satellite array is a relatively simple solution for planets without a communications and mapping network. The package consists of three micro satellites attached to the “mother†MP-SMC satellite. The three microsats can serve as communication uplinks or mapping satellites, and relay data back to Kerbin via the mother satellite. The mother satellite also serves as a local router, directing in-system communications efficiently. The package is topped off with a healthy booster, allowing the satellites to deploy into nearly any desired orbit.

A message from Kerbin crackled on the radio momentarily, then Gene's voice came through clearly. "DX, this is Cape. We're not sure what you meant in your last message by 'Something Short,' and we're hoping you haven't encountered major electrical issues. Please respond when you receive this to advise on your Dunan capture burn. Cape out."

"That guy has no sense of humor" remarked Jeb as he bounced back into the cabin. “We’ll have to wait for the first surveys before we narrow down our landing options. With our orbit, I expect they’ll want us to go for the Category-B sites in the north. Night landings make for bad T.V. But first we need to finish our circularization burn." In the dark, naturally. "And get those satellites working."

The orbits after everything was deployed. Four of the microsats will move into a pseudo-Molniya orbit and become communications satellites following the completion of their initial mapping mission. With Ike guarding Duna-sync orbit, Molniyas are the best option for reliable commsats.

Take On Duna (Descent)

"Look Jeb, I don't think this is safe. It has an automated landing system for a reason." Bill knew this would happen. It was inevitable. Almost as though the mission planners expected it when they added the rover to the mission payload. Here they were, in orbit around Duna, a million kilometers from home, and Jeb was about to do something stupid. "Jeb we haven't even finished the satellite surveys. If something goes wrong we might not be able to find you. It's a big planet."

"Hey, we named it Lucky for a reason, right? There's still an open seat if you're game Bill. It'll be one heck of a ride!"

"You're hopeless Jeb. Just be careful."

The sound of the rover pulling away from the Dunan-X was jarring. After hundreds of Kerbin days in empty space, the most noise they'd heard were the strange sounds that worked up the spacecraft from the main engines. This noise was more of a snap and a shriek, followed by the sound of fairing tethers smacking the side of the ship. Bill just shook his head and returned to the surveys. Only a few more passes then he could join his mad friend on the surface.

As usual Jebediah was heavy on the retrothrusters, getting the Rothar lined up for its entry onto the Dunan stage. "Lucky" they called it. Lucky for Jeb they'd decided to install a heat shield at the last minute, otherwise his trip would be warm and short. Part of the way through the burn Jeb used the rover’s self-righting mechanism to kick the upper fairing away. Don’t want to run into that on reentry. Entry? Retroburn complete, Jeb sat back in the driver's seat and took in the very unique Dunan sunrise.

“Hey Bill!â€Â

“Yes Jeb.â€Â

“You see that big mountain just over the horizon? We should drive over to that when we get the chance. Shouldn’t be more than a day or two. Looks like it reaches up into space!â€Â

“Whatever, Jeb. Just keep us updated on your reentry and landing, ok?â€Â

What a wet blanket. "C’mon Bill! This should be more fun than my Mun landing! I’ll call you when I find the nearest snack machine." Jeb kicked back and braced for the awesome fire and light show of reentry. Entry! First Kerbal on Duna! With style!

Always count on Jebediah to make a crazy theatrical entrance. Enter Jeb, stage sky.

Next Year's Model

Time hasn't stopped back on Kerbin, where the engineers just finished testing the vessel for Bob's mission to Vall, and were proceeding with launch and orbital assembly. First up was the crew lander. The XKV-2 lander is capable of returning from most of the moons in the Kerbol system, and a couple of the planets. While not as roomy as the Dunan-X, it makes up for the lack of amenities with a noticeable reduction in mass. Lightweight parachutes are included for emergency use only. The assembly launches were all unmanned, and crews will launch to finalize the ship at a later date.

Here's a fuel pod being launched. Just imagine there's a nice fairing on that.

The drive segment proved the most difficult to get to orbit. Initial plans were to include only one of the fuel pods and have the main drive use larger tanks. This necessitated the creation of a larger launch vehicle, dubbed the Heron XK. Unfortunately the rushed design failed, resulting in a catastrophic (and radiation-spewing) loss.

A quick design revision (and a hushed nuclear waste cleanup effort) and the new drive section was within the limitations of existing and proven launch hardware. Two of the six nuclear engines were salvaged from the failed first launch, the other four were robbed from another (now delayed) program. The change necessitated the inclusion of a second as of yet unbuilt fuel pod, bringing total module count to four. The new drive section was launched without a hitch.

Initial assembly complete. Presenting the newest ship in the KSA's Interplanetary Exploration Fleet: the "Axiom of Choice."

Total mass in current configuration: 165t. Current part count: 128. Each additional fuel pod adds 55.3t and 20 parts. The lander stage was developed from the proven Dunan-X design, with a reduced part count and a lower mass for operations on smaller moons. The main drive stage features a 50 percent increase in thrust over that used for the Dunan-X. The modular design allows for the inclusion of any mission payload. The fuel pods allow the ship to expand to meet any need. This is truly next year’s model of Interplanetary vessel!

The first mission planned for the AoC is shake-down run to the Mun and Minmus. By then construction of the revised fuel pod will be complete, providing enough fuel to reach and return from Vall with the mission payload.

With the Axiom of Choice launch and initial assembly complete back in Kerbin orbit, it was time to send up the inspection and final set-up crew: Bob. Gene had offered to delay the mission until after the Dunan-X landing, but Bob refused. “I’d rather watch it from orbit. I hear there’ll be fireworks over Kerbin City.†So while Jeb was busy descending to Duna, Bob was headed skyward from Kerbin. Night launch, as is my custom.

This was only the second launch of the Peregrine-based Eala, and everything went perfectly. First rendezvous with the Axiom of Choice was almost two orbit away, and Bob would be back over KSC and Kerbin City just in time to watch the Dunan-X landing celebration from space. The fireworks weren’t as impressive as he’d hoped, but his ship? His new ship? That’s pretty. Now if only he wasn’t so terrified by EVA.

(The Eala 2 was my last launch in .21. Very smooth flight.)

Take On Duna (Awakening) - Jeb

Jeb awoke to a terrible headache. He couldn't remember much of the night before... was it something he ate? What was up with the buzzing sound? The sun was spinning overhead in an agitated way. And bright. Too bright. Thinking about it made his head hurt even more. He crawled around for a bit, decided that wasn't working and pulled himself using the walking stick he was carrying. Walking stick?!? He hobbled around using the stick, taking in the scenery, trying to shake the cobwebs out of his mind.

Why was everything so red?

And what on Bop was that noise!

The Rothar had landed hard. Jeb was knocked unconscious when the rover’s chutes deployed, snapping him back with near-lethal force, causing the heat shield to be jettisoned early in the process. (He was lucky to be alive.) The whole reentry was a bit strange to him anyway. He expected flames, and wind, and noise. The air on Duna was too thin, and it caught him by surprise. He’d disabled the automatic landing system so he could choose the best landing spot, so instead of a soft, RCS-cushioned landing, the rover hit the ground at 20 meters per second. The unconscious Jebediah was thrown from his seat.

That infernal noise! Jeb violently smacked the side of his helmet twice, then glared at the empty Dunan wasteland. Nary a green thing nor a blue thing to see. And of course he’d packed only a few small snacks. Had to make room for this walking stick. Flag! Where did that come from? Flag! Right, flag. Jebediah Kerman, First Kerbal on Duna! (Maybe.)

Jeb remembered he had a radio. And friends in orbit waiting for him to call. "Hey Bill! Got a landing target for you! Big flag, says 'First dude on Duna' or somesuch." Jeb noticed the buzzing went away when he had his hand over the push-to-talk button on the side of his helmet. He played around with it a bit before he realized the problem.

"Good to hear from you Jeb. We were starting to get worried. Send us your coordinates and I'll get started running the numbers for our landing."

"Sure thing, Billyboy! I'll get to it right after I patch this hole in the side of my helmet!"

(I had to fight KSP over this landing. The collision mesh for the self-righting legs is apparently /too/ close to the chairs, which was causing Jeb to be ejected 500m above the surface. Two attempts later I realized I needed to leave the legs extended, but even then the landing was rough. The Rothar flipped, ejected Jeb as debris, then came to a stop upright a short distance away. I had to persistence edit Jeb back to an EVA state.... perhaps the landing really did kill him? Not today. This won’t be an issue in .22, as the update has nerfed the landing legs, making the self-righting design useless.)

Landing the Dunan-X - Bill

It was white knuckle time for Bill. That last bump felt like it was more than just air. After 60 days in a vacuum even the thinnest atmosphere felt like sludge. The sound of the wind rushing past the lander’s windows was reassuring though. Sounded like reentry on Kerbin. Sounded like home. But Jeb was on the surface with a cracked helmet and probably a concussion. No time to waste. No time to screw up this landing.

“What is that eeediot pilot of yours thinking he is doing now? Glupek! [some unintelligible sentence]†Shepson just shrugged and went back to lazily watching the fast-approaching Dunan landscape. It was the most he’d heard out of Luton since they broke orbit. Luton still had a stiff accent, and the only other Highlander in the area was back in the orbital module. No idea what that rant was about, but he was more curious what happened to the parachutes. He thought there’d be more of them.

The chutes took too long to deploy. And since they were still reefed they weren't doing much. The geeks back at KSC had warned Bill he'd need to land on flame, but he didn't think he'd also need to kill his lateral movement with the engines too. Bill decided to trust the guys with the glasses and slide rules and punched the landing gear. Right as the drogues opened up.

The main chutes were less subtle than the drogues, and knocked around everything that wasn’t bolted down. Bill was increasingly nervous. Time to throttle up. No, wait. Coming in too fast, throttle up! 30m/s, still too fast. 25m/s. "It was never this hard in the simulations!" he screamed. Think of the open mic, Bill. Calm yourself. 20m/s. 30 meters.... [bOOM]

That one hurt. All the bumps and fake gravity from the main drive were nothing compared to hitting the ground at speed. The landing legs took some of the force (and prevented any real damage), but they also caused the ship to bounce into the air. Bill was struggling to keep it upright. The chutes cut. The ship fell like a brick. [booM] Another bounce. You couldn't see outside through the fire and smoke or the sand kicked up by the engines. [screeeeeeee] The legs were skidding across the dune, gouging four neat trenches. Bill killed the engines to stop the hovering, hands still gripping the controls tightly. The ship stopped shaking. All the gauges read zero.

Shepson yawned audibly. "Are we down yet?"

The Dunan-X had arrived.

--

It didn’t take Jeb long to drive the half kilometer to the landing site. It did, however, take him entirely too long to find a spare helmet that matched his old one. The rest of the crew had managed to do their “first so and so on Duna!†ladder descent. Interviews, big speeches, famous phrases. Jeb rubbed the inside of another helmet from the storage bin and tossed it aside. Not the one.

“Jeb, they’re all the same! Just, c’mon, you’re holding up the flag ceremony!†Bill was growing impatient as usual. Time to go outside and wear a fake smile for the cameras. If they could see it through the cheap space helmet.

From left to right: Dosby Kerman of the ISC, Luton Kerman of the CCHR, Bill Kerman, Shepson Kerman and Jebediah Kerman of the FSK. The plaques on their respective flags read “In Unity for all Kerbalkind†or some equally motivating phrase in the language of their respective nations. We think. (No one really bothered to check the translations before shoving them on the ship 70 days ago.)

(Yes, I had to edit in the different flags in the persistence file. It'd be nice if KSP allowed us to choose the flags at planting, but I'm happy just to have them now.)

The Dunan-X was my final 0.21 mission, bringing the Ninth Cycle to an end. There will be a short epilogue before I jump into .22. Thanks for reading!

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk

[Cydonian Monk]

0.21 Epilogue - Bob

Bob wasn't sure what was going on anymore. Not that being afraid and confused was anything new, but the last three months had been the scariest and most confusing of his life. Earlier today all was well and he was in orbit, safe and sound aboard the Axiom of Choice. Now? Now he was hurtling towards the ground in a dead spaceship.

It all started during a routine systems check on the Axiom of Choice. Nothing abnormal, all systems nominal. Then the main computer shut down. Not unexpected, really. New systems are prone to bugs. Then communications failed. Ok, this is getting weird. Then the life support system shut down. And then the lights went out.

Panic started to chip away at Bob's already unstable mind. How did he get this ship back online? Dark. Why does it have to be so dark! Where is the main computer even located? Dark. He wished he had his helmet lights. He fumbled his way to the airlock by memory and put on his EVA suit. Tore through the AoC's manual, trying to find the restart sequence. Kicked and cursed at the main computer. Nothing. He'd decided to ditch in the Eala crew taxi and come back to fix the AoC later. Preferably with a good mechanic. Or three.

Only after be was away from the Axiom did he notice the Eala was also dead. No guidance computer. No communications. No landing programs. Nothing. Ok, not the first time Bob had to fly manually, and the Eala was built for it. He took out the orbital map, ran some quick back-of-the-notebook calculations. The dust from the pencil clouded around him, some clinging to the arms of his suit. Quick and violent erasures only caused more dust. Why did it have to be so dark! He would land short of KSC and save himself a swim. With comms down he wasn’t sure they’d know to come get him.

One quick burn and reentry was set up. Hopefully this was right. What if it wasn’t? Bob could feel the panic welling up. Fear. That's all he could feel right now: Fear. Reentry in a cold, dead, somewhat unresponsive spacecraft. Unexpected by anyone on the ground. Alone. Nobody to catch him if he messes this up.

--

Bob’s calculations were close, but he failed to account for the drag of the entire craft instead of just the capsule, and came in 60 kilometers short. Short of K2 (mercifully), but also far short of KSC.

In the twilight Bob couldn’t tell how close he was to the ground. Nothing to fire the soft landing thrusters for him, and he waited too long to do it himself. The impact was jarring and painful. Enough to shatter bones and teeth. Enough to snap Bob’s harnesses and throw him from the chair, breaking several ribs. Now Bob only knew pain. Something sparked and started to smoke in the capsule. The capsule door was blocked by the ground, so he crawled through the airlock. Out into the twilight. The dark. He hit the soft ground with a thud....

And promptly blacked out.

--

He came to in what he thought was a hospital. White walls, white sheets, tubes, needles, a dull ache in his chest. A cute nurse kerbal by the wall. A guard at the door. With a weapon. Bob hadn’t seen a weapon since the war. Someone speaking next to him, strange language. Bob turned, winced in a sudden pain.

"Ah, you are avake. We had been vondering if you were ever going to vake up." Strange looking doctor. Obviously from the Westlands with the accent, probably moved here after the war. "I am Verner, and we have some questions for you. Nurse, please leave."

The nurse protested, but left anyway. This "Verner" was not alone, and clearly had the help of the military. Verner... Verner.... Werner? von Kerman? The whackjob scientist who started the program so many years ago? Couldn’t be. Could it? Wouldn't he know who Bob is?

"Now," he continued, "you see, we have been trying to build und rocket kraft since the krieg. And now here you come, dropping from the sky, floating like the leaf of the Fera Tree. And you bring me eine rocket kraft! A gift from the heavens!" Verner paused to let him excitement abate. He pulled a notebook from his many pockets, pushed his glasses up with a pencil, then continued. "So now you vill be helping us, not that you are being given any choice in this matter. Let’s start with the name. What do you call yourself on the planet from where you come?"

Bob could only cry, his fragile mind utterly broken.

----

(With that, my .21 campaign comes to a close. I've now merged all of my previous saves into a new "Career Mode" game. On to science!)

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk

[DMagic]

Wow, these are really great missions and designs. I like these kinds of intricate and unique crafts. Those Duna rovers and their landing systems are interesting. The satellite system setup by the mothership is very impressive too.

And that tall, portrait screenshot of the Axiom launch, the drive section I think, is really nice. It's a good example of those kind of "launch observer" shots, a really zoomed out view that gives you a wider perspective on the launch.

[Cydonian Monk]

Thanks!

I was happy to finally have a use for the parachutes on my rovers. I'd designed them back in early .20 and had only used them on the Mun or around Kerbin. Chutes on the Mun are only there to look pretty. (Maybe they packed extra snacks in them?)

[Cydonian Monk]

Aleph 0 - The Heist - 0.22 Career Mode Begins

“Somebody remind me why we’re doing this again?†Bob was nervous, as usual. Sneaking around KSC at night was one thing, but stealing one of the R&D lab’s rockets? That’s something else entirely!

“Shhh!†Jeb motioned to Bob and Bill to be quiet. “Look, that Wernher kid keeps saying we can’t fly these things. That we don’t have the skills to control rockets. So I’m going to prove him wrong. I wanna fly! Help me up into this truck now, ok?â€Â

The “heist†wasn't much to write home about. There weren’t any guards inside the gate as every Kerbal here was "trusted." So they borrowed a truck, backed up to R&D storage, loaded up Jeb's chosen rocket, and booked it for the launchpad. Bill riding shotgun, Bob hanging on the door.

It was a small rocket, and didn't take much to get out of the truck and upright on the pad. Jeb climbed into the capsule from the truckbed, stopped by Bill as he was pulling the door closed. “Just be careful, ok?â€Â

“You kidding? It’s me! I’ll see you on top of the VAB in two minutes!â€Â

Bob and Bill were just barely clear of the launchpad when Jeb hit the ignition. There was no hiding now, not with that noise. No doubt the guards were headed their way. Jeb throttled up slowly until the craft hovered above the ground. He moved left and right, then towards the truck to taunt his scared friends. No, best not melt them with rocket flame he decided, and moved for the VAB. Not much fuel in this thing!

Jeb managed a powered landing atop the VAB, though his hand has hovering over the parachute release the entire time. He even had time to plant a flag before the guards arrived, claiming the VAB in the name of courage and stupidity.

The Project Aleph administrators were not amused.

--

Wernher von Kerman, head of Project Aleph, barely noticed the flight despite being next door in the hanger. He had been staring at his "Fera Leaf," the craft which "Bob" had called Eala, for what seemed like several years. The capsule construction and fuel tanks were simple, and easy to replicate. But those tiny rocket engines? Wernher had yet to find a technician with the skill for such tiny fuel systems. Not now, and not five years ago when it landed. How very peculiar.

"Woher bist du?" he asked silently. And how did that insane Bob character ever fly you? Doesn't matter. The knowledge gained from this craft had propelled Kerbal science further than anyone would have believed. Sure, there were the crazy ones in the press that claimed alien tech was the source, but only a handful of Kerbals knew the truth.

Wernher was now certain he could fulfill his dream. Soon it would be possible to reach up and pluck Duna itself from the sky. 70 kerbals... 290 days... such a short trip, a bit under three years. So close. And with small, lightweight equipment such as the Eala? Perhaps this "Bob" really did have friends there.....

--

--

I merged all of my previous saves into a new .22 career mode game. At least all of the saves I still have. That's everything from the 18.3 demo up through the Dunan-X save. In the conversion I changed everything that was already above the surface of Kerbin to "Debris," so the map screen is empty when first loaded. All previous Kerbals that weren't on a mission were "killed" until I need them, so they don't appear in the Astronaut complex.

My house rules are simple - I can only use craft that were in a previous save after they've been "repaired" (i.e. - I reach the tech unlocks for those parts or explain it through story). I will occasionally edit in another craft that /might/ be beyond the current tech level, but only when it works for the story (this will be explained). Finally - Existing equipment WILL NOT be used for Science. Only NEW equipment launched by the CCHR or the FSK.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk

[Cydonian Monk]

Kerbal First - Project Aleph, Bet, Moho... and Wrobel

Project Aleph and Project Bet were established shortly after the war to explore Kerbal'd rocketry. Both programs were administered by the International Committee for Education and Research, and included the "best" minds from the Free States of Kerbin, Indepenent Southern Coalition, Alliance of Concerned Kerbals, Westlands Consortium, and the Monastic Order of Cydonius. Research and launches for both projects was administered from Cape Kerbal in the FSK.

Following Jebediah's stunt in the “borrowed†Aleph 0 rocket, the FSK decided the international teams were moving too slowly. The administration in Kerbin City held the opinion that a "Kerbal First" approach would best keep the public's interest. Thus was born Project Moho, both from a desire to place Kerbals First, and from the need to keep pace with the CCHR. Jebediah, Bill, Bob, Nelble, Buzz, Geofgan and Erry Kerman, were introduced as the Moho Seven to much fanfare. (Comments regarding the lack of originality in naming the program were ignored entirely.)

The Moho launches each had a specific scientific purpose. Jeb investigated the effects of orbit on Goo (and Kerbals). Bill conducted the first northward launch to test polar launches, and was to be the first to land at the North Pole. Bob ultimately became the first to land at the North Pole after entering into a polar orbit. Nelble explored the northern Tundras. Buzz flew to a record altitude and landed in the FSK's deserts. Geofgan reached even higher to investigate rumours of increased solar radiation. Erry studied the effects of long-duration orbital flight in preparation for trips to the Mun.

(Kerbal First: 2048x1152 @ 1.4MB)

Bob made it close to the North Pole. Still a few kilometers off, but close enough to plant a flag. Could a probe plant a flag? There's the benefit of the Kerbal First agenda!

The Moho missions were not without controversy. Jebediah reported being followed by another orbital object and recorded many other strange encounters. Bill claimed his rocket was sabotaged by Bob, keeping him from reaching the North Pole first. Erry claimed to have witnessed a launch from the vicinity of KSP which later passed him and entered into a higher orbit. All crews reported seeing other objects in near-polar orbits, though never close enough to see with any detail. None of these claims were officially supported by the ground crews.

The concerns about the CCHR's space program were justified, as they placed their first Kerbal into orbit shortly after the launch of Moho 7. Orski Kerman, chosen as the most durable of all CCHR pilots, rode beyond the sky aboard the Wrobel 1. "Worker Kerbal in Orbit! Highlands Above All!" read the headline in the CCHR's official newspaper. KSA engineers were not blind to the similarities of several of the major components in the Wrobel to their own designs. There was clearly a leak somewhere....

Projects Aleph and Bet continued, with Jeb, Bill and Bob remaining aboard as the only test pilots. Many of the smaller test flights were not recorded, and to date only Aleph 1 entered into space (however briefly). There were a number of mistakes and accidents, none costing the life of a Kerbal. One noteable example is Aleph 0f, which landed on the slopes of K2, and promptly tipped over and started to roll down the mighty mountain. Only Jebediah's quick reaction saved the craft and the valuable science on board.

With the FSK's Project MunDust fast approaching, future Project Aleph missions are doubtful. Project Bet is expected to see the most interest from the international community, and hopes are high for the project continuing following the announcement of a probe mission to Minmus.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk

[Geschosskopf]

Wow, take a couple weeks off and all sorts of amazing things show up. Great thread!

Question: How do you launch from the Other KSP and that island?

[Cydonian Monk]

Wow, take a couple weeks off and all sorts of amazing things show up. Great thread!

Question: How do you launch from the Other KSP and that island?

Thanks!

I launch from the other KSC (KSC2, what I call Sky's Reach) by editing the persistence file. First I start the "Launch" process to place the craft at KSC, then exit to the main menu and replace the lat, lon, and rot values for the VESSEL as follows: lat = 20.6634488482173, lon = -146.420919536081, rot = 0.2746611,-0.7280167,0.4987945,0.3817816. I also add 357 to the alt to account for the elevation change. That places the craft almost perfectly centered on the other launchpad, and rotated to place west to the right (backwards of KSC).

There are easier ways through mods, though I've been told HyperEdit doesn't work quite right for this purpose (and KerbTown adds too much other fluff for me.). I just prefer using vim.

The only things I've launched from the island are airplanes that I also landed there, but you could use the same process as for KSC2.

[Captain_Party]

How did you launch something from KSC 2?

EDIT: D'oh.

[Geschosskopf]

I launch from the other KSC (KSC2, what I call Sky's Reach) by editing the persistence file. First I start the "Launch" process to place the craft at KSC, then exit to the main menu and replace the lat, lon, and rot values for the VESSEL

Schweet! Thanks muchos.

[Cydonian Monk]

MunDust 2

“Bill, we've got some bad news.†It was Chris Kerman, director of flight operations. If he was on the horn then the news really was bad. “Seems the geeks down the hall miscalculated a bit. The samples you picked up at the three landing sites were more significant than we anticipated. And with the extra fuel you used to land at the rim, you don't have enough left to reach Kerbin conventionally.â€Â

Great. All that work to get Mun rocks and now they won't make it back. Bill wasn't worried about himself as there was more than enough time to send a rescue mission. But the science? Those samples? That was more valuable than anything on Kerbin. And now it was stuck here.

“We have a plan."

--

Three hours earlier... The mission was a resounding success. The launch was perfect and on a mostly clear and bright day. The first two all-solid stages of the MunDust lifter performed flawlessly, and gaining orbit was easy for the Hawk's boost and insertion stages.

Even the transfer burn went off without a hitch. Bill arrived in an inclined orbit and proceeded to study the “boring†parts of the Mun Jeb had skipped on the MunDust 1. The North Pole, his selected landing site, was rougher than any kerbal had dreamt. A landing site was selected that allowed Bill to visit three distinct sites with minimal fuel usage. The keologists were salivating at the prospect of more Mun rocks to study.

The MunDust is a simple craft, born from a need for "science." Built around the materials science bay, the craft features a number of specialized experiments. The lander is a two-stage design, using a pair of drop tanks to allow for multiple landings. The entire core of the craft returns to Kerbin full of samples and science data, leaving behind only the jettisoned tanks.

Bill's first landing was more than a bit nail biting, and he secretly suspected they'd selected it to keep the public interested. Everyone had grown tired of “The Jebediah Kerman Show." "Is this a rerun? Feels like we've seen this before...." Very few were still watching when Jeb completed his second landing, fewer when he returned to Kerbin. This sort of harrowing landing amidst the Mun's craggy north would really fit the bill.

The landing turned out to be easier than expected, despite MunDust 2's strange tilt. A gorgeous view of Kerbin presented itself towards the south, inspiring the name “North KerbinView.â€Â

Samples collected, flag planted, tests run, reports complete. Move on to site two.

The next site was a crater within a much larger crater. This one presented a bit of trouble...

... but nothing Bill couldn't recover from. Witness the “Precarious North Rim.†He managed to lose the rear solar panels in the "non-standard" landing, but they weren't too useful now anyway. Samples, flag, tests, jettison the fuel tanks, move on.

The third and final site was a bit further down in the Mare Polaris. The dust here was blackened, possibly from volcanic action following a collision with another large body. Bill likened the surface to coal dust, and named the site accordingly: "Mare Coal Dust."

Samples loaded, tests run, reports written. Time to go home!

--

Or not.

"Even if you chuck the samples out of the lander there's still not enough fuel. You burned that up on launch. The EVA suit, however, had three extra canisters in case you wanted to fly around the surface. The calculations we've run all show you coming up 30m/s short after your Munar Escape Burn. Given the present mass of your craft, including the samples, two and a half continuous burns from your suit should be sufficient to bridge the delta-v gap.â€Â

“Seriously? You want me to get out and push?â€Â

“Yes. After you've exhausted the fuel for the MunDust's main engines. We'll get back to you with the timing data. Cape out.â€Â

There was no questioning the logic. No other propellant was left anywhere aboard the ship (aside from the oxygen he was breathing), and his EVA suit had more than enough to spare. Just a matter of getting out and doing it. The first push was easy. No need to worry about the engine bell, so Bill shoved his head in and blasted forward with his jetpack. He stopped at the 20 percent full mark and went inside to confer with the Kerbals on the ground.

“Good job, Bill. That burn brought us down to 230km. Two more should be enough.â€Â

The second burn proved troublesome, and Bill slipped and lost hold of his jetpack controls. Spinning end over end, screaming through empty space, Bill drifted almost 200m from the MunDust 2 before he found his controls again. “We'll not do that again†he whispered.

Last burn. This time Bill decided to push the craft sideways, wedged between the ladder and the increasingly deformed engine. He went as far as the pack would allow since the previous push was cut short, leaving only enough to get back to the ship if he broke free. Burn completed, Bill floated around the MunDust for a few minutes, quietly taking in the view. Something he had neglected to do with all the rush and urgency of the experiments. It really was beautiful up here, craters and all.

That last burn was just what was needed, and Bill was now Kerbin-bound. He came in too shallow the first time and the MunDust 2 skipped back into space. His new landing site raised some concern – deep within the CCHR. No doubt they would scrape the science from the MunDust 2 to further their own space program. Probably arrest Bill on one trumped up charge or another. Nothing Bill could do about that now.

The landing on Kerban was far more relaxing than his three on the Mun. He glided down to the surface under fine silk sheets and landed amongst a grove of very large trees. A serene and safe ending to a long and harrowing mission.

Bill was not harassed by the CCHR's police. Quite the opposite - He was hailed as a global hero. When his machine failed, he did the work himself. Something every worker kerb could aspire to! All in the name of science! Bill and his craft were returned to the FSK promptly, though there was some evidence the sample containers had been tampered with. Regardless, the scientific knowledge gained was well worth the trip.

And Bill was home safe, of course. Kerbal First.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk

[Cydonian Monk]

Continuum - Aurora Kerbalis

The Mun! Bob was excited. All the time he'd spent as a test pilot with Project Aleph flying random monstrosities of engineering, dodging death at every corner, waiting just long enough that he could retire with good benefits. “Just a bit more†he'd say every night. That “bit more†had now put him on the Mun. The Mun!

He was coming down for his second landing in the MunDust 3 when he saw a small flash on the crater rim, the sun reflecting off of... something. Only a kilometer away, so he wasted no time jetting over to it. A small probe labeled by the CCHR? How did they launch a mission to the Mun when they'd only placed a single Kerbal into orbit? Peculiar.

The probe was inactive, dangling a single leg over the edge of the crater. He checked around for other identifying marks. Zdobyc 1. Launched from Sky's Reach over 5 years ago? That can't be right. Bob took photos, lots of them, and decided best not to report this over the air. What other mysteries were waiting out in the inky black of space?

--

(Three weeks earlier....)

The boat's captain was less than talkative, and would just shake his head when questioned. When they had reached their destination he only pointed towards the island and said "Go find Z. He'll explain." He was gone as soon as the three Kerbals were off his boat.

Shelcan was just happy to be free. Five years in an asylum can do funny things to a Kerbal. Was this just another test? Perhaps for that long Vall mission? No, this was something else. Something odd. One day everything was fine. The next, and nobody knew anything about the space program. Jebediah who? Shelcan kept asking questions. Strange ones about Kerbals on other planets. Dangerous questions about the military and their aircraft. The authorities in the FSK did they only thing they could: they locked him up.

One day a stranger arrived. The three "Crazy Kerbonauts," Shelcan, Ellie and Corfal, were to be transferred to a new facility. Two weeks later they were deposited on this island with vague instructions to talk to “Z.â€Â

“Bossman say go steal a plane from da Skunks. So I steal a plane. Bossman say ta wait for ya tree on the island. So I an I wait. Bossman no say nothin' 'bout waitin' two years! No worry tho, island be home.†Z wasn't much for introductions. “Here." He handed Shelcan what looked to be an ancient radio. Heavy one at that. "Bossman want ta talk wit you. Im explain your troubles. Plug that there" he pointed to a mess of cables dangling from the box "in ya TV in 'Rora cabin." Z pointed to the plane in the hanger behind them. "Mighty bird. Make orbit silky smooth, glide right up ta space. We go." So they loaded up the Aurora with supplies and climbed aboard.

"How are we going to get off the ground? The runway's a bit short for a plane this big."

"Don't worry little C. I give Rora kick, then we climb. 'old on."

The ascent really was smooth, and the Aurora powered her way straight to 26km. Z leveled off there building up speed before firing the main thrusters and going orbital. The rush of the air outside faded to only a dull roar from the engines, and Shelcan took the opportunity to figure out the mess of cables on the mystery box. Didn't take for the Great Space Mechanic Shelcan to figure out, and soon the screens in the Aurora's cabins were glowing. A ghostly backlit shadow of a kerbal came into focus.

“Good morning Kerbals.†It was already late afternoon. “I'm Albro, the Director of the Continuum Program. First, I offer my apologies. Arranging your transfer took longer than I expected."

Shelcan broke in. "I think I can speak for all of us when I say we're just happy to be out of there. What happened to the space program? How did we get into this spot in the first place?"

"Your previous lives have ceased to exist. The space program you remember is gone. Everything you accomplished has been erased, and is remembered by only a lucky few. This was an event beyond our control and our understanding. It was not the first such event, nor will it be the last."

"The whole world's an asylum now? Great." Shelcan rubbed his hand against the side of his helmet, mimicking a head-scratch. “Are you in this Continuum business, Z? Is this legit?â€Â

“Aye. I an I visit the stars, just like you. Many years ago now. All that wash away thrice, mos bad.â€Â

"Shelzon, whom you call Z, was one of my first recruits. He was a test pilot for the Orbital Test Science's SkunkWorks division, and the first of our kind to successfully take a spaceplane to orbit. That experience alone was useful."

Ellie chimed in from the other cabin. "So why us?"

"Yeah?" Corfal too. "What did I do to get roped into this Containium Consortium thing?"

“Continuum. I chose the three of you specifically. Corfal, you are a master astrogator. Ellie, an expert programmer. Shelcan, a talented mechanic. Shelzon a pilot without match. The four of you comprise Team 9A. Your goal is to locate and repair satellites and spacecraft you launched during the previous cycle. Use the Axiom of Choice as your base of operations. Bob left her in a 132km by 128km orbit, which has decayed to 130km by 122km. Z has the details. I will contact you again once you have restored the Axiom's comms system. Good luck.â€Â

The ghostly image of Albro faded away, leaving behind only the dull roar of the engines. The Aurora had reached 70km by the time the conference was over, and Z was now pushing their apoapsis up to 130km. It would take a few orbits to positively identify the Axiom, a few more to synchronize with it. The engines cut out and freefall took over. The deafening silence and empty darkness of space startled Shelcan, reminding him of his long forgotten past.

Time to go back to work.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk

[Cydonian Monk]

Bill and Jeb's Awesome Trip

(The Kerbalizer includes bowler hats, which gave me what is probably a terrible idea.... And this preface is something I've had planned since I first put the rover on the Dunan-X mission. With apologies to Samuel Beckett.)

Dosby, sitting on a low dune, is trying to take off his boot. He pulls at it with both hands, panting. He gives up, exhausted, rests, tries again. As before.

Dosby: "Nothing to be done."

Luton: "I'm starting to agree with you. All my life I've been chasing something, and yet here we land, surrounded by nothing." Luton removes his helmet, looks about the inside of it quizzically, then returns it to his head. "What are you doing?"

Dosby: "Taking off my boot. Did that never happen to you?"

Luton: "To me? Absurd. Boots must always be taken off, just never when there's so much dust about." Luton takes off his helmet again, turns it upside down and shakes. "Funny." He taps on the crown of it as though to dislodge something, looks at the inside of it, feels around for a bit, then gives up and puts it back on. "How's your foot?"

Dosby: "Swelling visibly."

Luton: "Well that's bound to happen with the thin air."

Dosby: "Let's go."

Luton: "We can't."

Dosby: "Why not?"

Luton: "We're waiting for Bob."

Dosby: "Oh." (Pause) "You sure it was here?"

Luton: "He said by the rock." They both look at the rock. "Do you see any other?"

Dosby: "Well, yes. Everywhere I look. All I see are rocks!" (Pause) "Wait, what did we ask him for?"

Luton: "Who?"

Dosby: "Bob."

Luton: "Oh.... Nothing very definite." Luton paces about, glancing at the rock in a hostile fashion, pauses, and then points down the hill. "Wait, what's that?"

Dosby: "Is it him?"

Luton: "Are we saved?"

(Enter Jeb and Lucky. Jeb drives Lucky from his seat on the front left of the rover. He stops short, causing a great deal of clatter and noise from the soft ground and loose bits of kit on the rover.)

Jeb: "Hey, you two want to go for a ride?"

Dosby: (To Luton) "Is that him?"

Luton: "Who?"

Dosby: "Bob?"

Jeb: "No, I'm Jeb." (Silence) "Jebediah?" (More silence.) "Does that name mean nothing to you?" Dosby and Luton look at each other questioningly.

Dosby: "We are not from these parts, sir."

Jeb: "You are Kerbals, none the less. Look, me and Bill were going to take Lucky here down to that big impact crater, and wanted to know if you'd like to ride along. On Lucky's back, perhaps?"

Dosby walks up to Lucky and kicks a tire with his bare foot, bruising it badly. "Ouch!"

Luton: "Well what did you expect, you old fool? Get up." Luton looks at Dosby. Looks to Jeb. Looks back to Dosby and shakes his head disapprovingly. He looks around at the landscape. "Will night never come?"

All three look up at the sky.

Dosby, having got back up after hurting his foot: "Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it's awful!"

Jeb: "Look, I don't know what the two of you are up to, but I need to be off. If you need anything, let Shepson know. Ok?"

(Exit Jeb and Lucky. While leaving, a spare helmet falls off Lucky and is deposited in the nearby dirt.)

Dosby: "What do we do now?"

Luton: "I don't know."

Dosby: "Let's go."

Luton: "We can't. We're waiting for Bob."

Dosby: "Oh."

--

"I'm just not sure, Shepson. Those two are crazier than me!" Jebediah hadn't bothered to climb down from the rover, and just watched as Bill loaded up snacks for their trip. "Make any progress on the engine repairs?"

"Yes and no. No throttle control yet, but we've got on/off working. It would probably be enough to get us to the transfer tug in orbit, assuming Melke and Mattlock are still there. Or alive."

"Ok, good. The next return window opens in a few Munths. Hopefully we can get the comms working by then." Jeb helped Bill up into the seat (quite a climb for a small Kerbal) then released the rover's brakes. "Shepson, just keep an eye on those two. We'll be back in a few days."

Bill was barely buckled in when Jeb pulled away. "I packed a bunch of extra flags, just in case we want to mark our path. Breadcrumbs and such."

"Nifty! Let's rock!"

This was the first long trip they'd taken since Jeb and Shepson repaired the rover. Whatever had knocked out the computers aboard the Dunan-X also damaged most of the automated systems aboard Lucky. They had to salvage parts from the self-righting "legs" from the back to repair the Dunan-X, and wired the motors directly to the controls in Jeb's seat. Most of the secondary systems and remote operator controls were gone for good, but they wouldn't need those with Jeb at the helm!

Their destination was the large Hellas-like impact crater, about 80km south of the Dunan-X landing site. The terrain between them and the edge of the basin was relatively flat, but then the elevation drops to about 300m in the basin, and rises back to 4km to the twin peaks in the center. The first stop was the small hill to the southwest of the lander, the furthest anyone had driven to date. “Little Red Hill†they'd been calling it.

Bill let Jeb plant this flag. He looked back to the distant Dunan-X for a few moments while Jeb ran around playing in the red sands. "We've been here what, now? Five Kerbin years? Six since we left home, and this is the first time we'll be out if sight of that ship."

"Exciting! Isn't it?"

"Not especially. Not with you driving. Horrifying, perhaps."

"Bah! C'mon, let's get rolling. We need to reach the edge of the basin by nightfall."

Jeb's driving was as reckless as ever, and he would often catch air after cresting a dune. Bill was already wearing out the armrests on his chair, holding on for dear life, though occasionally he couldn't help but smile.

They made it to the rim of the impact basin in no time.

"We should name this place something cool!"

"It's already got a name, Jeb. Red Impact something."

"Something like Hellas Hole. Or maybe Twin Peaks."

"Let's just stick to the books. The ancient Kerbal astronomers named most of these places centuries ago." Bill rummaged around in his bags until he found the large Rand-McKerman atlas. He opened to the pages for Duna and pointed to their location. "See, Red Impact Basin."

"You're no fun at all sometimes!"

--

They camped at the rim's edge, preparing themselves for the slowest and most dangerous part of the trip. With the self-righting mechanism broken they couldn't risk flipping the rover. And with the loose sands they couldn't keep traction driving downhill. So they had to zig and zag down the edge of the basin, descending 3.5km over the 20km distance.

That didn't stop Jeb from occasionally being Jeb.

They made one more stop a bit further down, where the slope leveled out a bit before getting much steeper. From here they could see the entire basin below them, and most of the climb up the peaks at the middle. They planted flag and named it "Red Basin View." A long, even slower descent was ahead of them.

The air at the basin bottom was thick enough to breathe, but neither felt like taking off their helmets. The soil itself was still mostly sand, but felt thicker and heavier.

"There's a good chance there's some water ice trapped in this sand, Jeb. Pretty thick stuff." Bill was digging a hole with his boot, kicking the lighter sand aside to reveal a darker, thicker soil beneath. “Might even be able to plant something here. There's probably enough CO2 in the air.â€Â

"Ok. Go ahead and grab a sample. We'll have to drive through the basin again when we head back to the ship, but I expect that'll be further east and higher up."

"We aren't camping here tonight?"

"Nope! I wanna make summit by sunrise. Driving uphill is easy!"

Night was on them before Bill could plant the flag. Twilight wasn't as short as at higher elevations, but the thin atmosphere did nothing to refract light down to them. Jeb pushed on through the dark, the sands in front of them illuminated by the rover's headlights and their helmet lights. The driving along the basin bottom and up into the hills wasn't bad at all.

At first.

"Look, Bill, I said I'm sorry! What more do you want?"

"Just get this thing upright again so I can get out of this seat! How did you manage to plant it straight up and down like this anyway?"

"Talent! Just hold on while I smack into it with my jetpack."

The rover crashed over after one hit, landing with a dull crash. They recomposed themselves, repacked all the junk that was scattered about, and took a few minutes to rest. For some reason Jeb decided to name the place "Camp 27." It was only their second campsite. They set out in plenty of time to make summit by sunrise. They stopped at the highest peak first, West Peak at 4km, and made it to the East Peak just in time to catch a unique sunrise / eclipse combination.

(Both Bill and Jeb) "Wow."

Perfect spot for a long nap, so they made camp at summit. Bill tried to reach Shepson on his suit radio to tease him, but 80km without line of sight was a bit much to ask. Especially with the ship's comms still down and a limited ionosphere to bounce radio signals back down.

A few minutes later something crackled back on the radio. Bill was drifintg off to sleep, and wasn't sure if he'd really heard it.

"Orbiter calling Dunan-X Lander. We received your earlier transmission. Please respond."

"Matlock?!" Bill kicked Jeb to wale him up. "Jeb! Get up! It's Matlock!"

"Ghrunh??" Jeb rolled over and went back to sleep.

"Read you loud and clear, Billy boy. We've just now got the radios working, and hadn't heard a peep from anyone yet. How'd the two of you get yourselves all the way down to that crater?"

"We drove! Had to fix up the rover, but Shepson took care of that." Bill kicked Jeb again, this time eliciting an angry response.

"I'm up already!"

"Where are you? Still in the same orbit?" Bill motioned to get Jeb's attention, then pointed upwards and mouthed out "Matlock." Jeb just looked back, sleepy, angry and confused.

"More or less. We'll be passing over the horizon here in a bit. We're hoping to get at least one of the satellites back online soon, which should allow us to stay in contact more consistently. Concensus is they're probably just safed. No word from Kerbin yet. We'll call you back in a (static)..."

Jeb, still sleepy, yawned and sat up. "Which ghost was that?"

"You're hopeless, Jeb. Go back to sleep."

--

The Orbiter crew called back next orbit, and filled Bill and Jeb in on their status. So far they hadn't been able to get the engines online, and their computers were still down. Life support aboard the orbiter was run directly from an RTG, but nothing else. Including the lights. They had spent the last several years with only intermittent sunlight and their helmet lights to work from.

They also mentioned another signal they'd been picking up. A faint beeping noise, coming from somewhere a few kilometers south of Bill and Jeb on the peak. That's where Bill and Jeb found the rover.

"It's not the first time I've seen something like this." Jeb poked around under the little robot's solar panels, looking for signs of life. Nothing. Just enough power to keep it faintly beeping. "They asked me not to talk about it."

"About what? This rover?"

"No. About what I found on the Mun. The other flags. The other probes. The other landers. All left there by another me. Said if I talked, they'd label me as space crazed and lock me up."

"Wow." Bill thought it was a stretch to imply Jeb wasn't crazy, but.... "OK, so what do we do about this one?"

"Nothing. Plant a flag and go back to the ship. We'll report it if we ever get the comms to Kerbin working again."

"Ooh! Look at the skycrane wreckage!" Jeb wasted no time, and ran straight for the pile of crushed and twisted metal. In no time he was jumping up and down on the wreckage. "Sounds like there's still a bit of fuel!"

"Didn't seem to make it very far. Wonder why we'd send a rover to a spot halfway up the side of a mountain?"

"Who knows. Probably some important rock nearby.†They both glanced over to the large stone they'd parked Lucky next to, then shrugged their shoulders. “Let's get back to the ship and help Shepson with repairs. I wanna go home!"

The trip back was completely uneventful. They worked around the East Peak, dropping down to the basin bottom before heading straight up to the rim elevation. Easy driving from there back to the Dunan-X. total distance covered? No idea. But the rover was a bit more than 90km form the ship. Probably drove a total of 250km just to get there, with all the zig-zagging.

--

(Back at the rock with Dosby and Luton.)

Luton: “How they've changed.â€Â

Dosby, still on the ground wrestling with the boot on his other foot. “Who?â€Â

Luton: “Those two.â€Â

Dosby: “I suppose, but I don't know them.â€Â

Luton: “Yes you do know them. We know them. You forget everything.†(Pauses. To himself.) “Unless they're not the same....â€Â

Dosby: “Why didn't they recognize us then?†Continues wrestling with his other boot. “Ow! Ow!†He hobbles off towards the rock, but collapses and falls over, still trying to remove his boot.

Shepson (offstage): “Dosby?â€Â

Dosby halts. Both look to the voice.

Luton: “Approach, my child.â€Â

(Enter Shepson, boldly. He stops before the two.)

Shepson: “I'm not your child, you loon.â€Â

Luton: “What is it? You have a message from Mr Bob?â€Â

Shepson: “No, why would I? Look, Jeb called on the radio a little while ago and said he and Bill would make it back sometime in the morning. Also, Matlock and Melke got their radios working in orbit, and seem to be ok. They all wanted me to check in on you.â€Â

Luton: “Haven't I seen you before?â€Â

Shepson: “Of course. We flew here together.â€Â

Luton: “It wasn't you that came yesterday?â€Â

Shepson: (To himself.) “Hopeless.â€Â

Dosby: “Speak up, boy!â€Â

Shepson: “Look, Jeb was right about you two. You're both completely nutters. Bob hasn't called, hasn't sent any notes, and as far as I know isn't coming. If you two won't come back to the ship, at least put your boots back on. I'm going back now.†(Exit Shepson.)

Dosby: “At last!†Dosby finally removes his other boot. He gets up and goes toward Luton, a boot in each hand. He puts them down at the edge of the rock, and contemplates the stars in the sky.

Luton: “What are you doing?â€Â

Dosby: “Thinking on the lack of a moon. I thought it would have risen by now.â€Â

Luton: “Your boots, what are you doing with your boots?â€Â

Dosby, turning to look at his boots. “I'm leaving them there. Another will come, just as me, but with smaller feet, and they'll make him happy.â€Â

Luton: “But you can't go barefoot!â€Â

Dosby: “Bob did. All my life I've compared myself to him.â€Â

Luton: “But where he lived it was warm, it had air!â€Â

Dosby: “Yes, and they crucified him quick.â€Â

Luton: “Huh?†(Pauses.) “We have nothing more to do here.â€Â

Dosby: “Nor anywhere else.â€Â

Luton: “Let's go.â€Â

They do not move.

Night falls, casting the pair and the rock and Dosby's boots in total darkness.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk

[DMagic]

Another nice addition, keep up the good work.

[Cydonian Monk]

Ares Averted? (or: What About Bob?)

“Can you fly?â€Â

Bob wasn't paying attention, and had zoned out several minutes ago while Wernher von Kerman was apologizing for the past several years. The house arrest was for Bob's own good. Not letting him go after his friends on Duna was also for his own good. Keeping him cut off from the rest of society, too. So the question of whether he could fly was rather sudden and odd.

“Can I fly? How do you think I got into this mess to start with?â€Â

“Good! Bob, you and I are the only who know the truth. And perhaps a few others. The IASE wants to send a craft to Duna, which is something we can not allow. If they find your friends, their ship, they vill think ze Highlanders have beaten them. This might lead to another krieg. The final krieg. This, naturally, is were you come in.â€Â

“Go on.â€Â

“Some years ago I was approached by a former colleague of yours, one Albro Kerman. He was quite willing to help out with our current predicament, repairing your vessel, in exchange for some misplaced prototype equipment. It was the most, shall we say, expedient solution?â€Â

“To what end?â€Â

“Retrieving your friends, if they are still alive, and their ship. From Duna, of course. As you were arriving I was already preparing your exit. You see that little plane over at the hanger? An SJ-1 Azimuth. New. Only two have been taken to orbit thus far. It is loaded with the food and supplies you vill need to travel to Duna.â€Â

“I'm going to fly that little thing to Duna?â€Â

“No, no. Of course not. You will fly the craft to your spaceship, and then you will fly that to Duna. Albro has had a team in orbit repairing it for some months now. Nothing more than a little radiation damage and a wiped computer. There's a flight suit for you in the next room. Good luck.â€Â

--

Sunlight. Bob had seen precious little of it in the last several years. Freedom. Possibly the one thing he had been living without. The government had kept him well fed and entertained while under house arrest, but they never let him go anywhere without an escort. Now he was free, with a spacesuit, and a spaceplane waiting for him. True freedom.

Bob let Von Kerman's words run through his head while sprinting for the hanger. “If they are still alive.†They had better be, no matter how doubtful it was. Sure, they had enough food, and enough air, but why hadn't they flown back to Kerbin on their own? Were they waiting for Bob to come rescue them?

“Heya Bob!†Some unknown Kerbal was working on the wing of a spaceplane. “They told me you'd be by to check out the new SJ-1s. That's your plane there, all fueled up and ready to go.â€Â

“Yeah, uh, thanks. Kerman.†Bob took a look around the plane to get a feel for it. Far more advanced than anything he'd flown during his military career. Heavier, too, though it didn't look it. He was climbing into the cockpit when the strange Kerbal spoke up again.

“Say, aren't you supposed to be on the Mun right now?â€Â

“Not on your life, hotshot. I'm headed for Duna.†With that he slapped the canopy closed, fired up the main engine, and taxied to the runway. “Now let's see what this bird can do.â€Â

Bob got the Azimuth up to a cruising altitude before he realized exactly how frightening the whole situation was. What if they changed their mind? Were they just doing this to get rid of him? Keep him quiet? Who was this Albro character von Kerman had mentioned? An alarm sounded in the cockpit, and Bob almost hit the eject button. He calmed down to find the plane was only telling him it had reached max atmospheric velocity. Time to hit the rockets. Next stop: The Axiom of Choice.

--

The Axiom was easy to find. The ground crews had been tracking it for several years, unknowingly with Bob's help. It was the only large blip on the onboard map with an “Unknown†label. Even the CCHR satellites had at least some information. He pulled up alongside it to discover the lights were on and the ship was active. Strange. Must be the setup crew von Kerman was talking about.

The docking was simple for an old pro like Bob, even after so many years away from the game. The nature of the Azimuth's docking clamp forced him to transfer to the Axiom via EVA. He was half way to the Axiom's hatch when he made the mistake of turning around and looking down at Kerbin. That view had always freaked him out. (Like most everything else.)

He took a look inside before popping the hatch. Nobody home. The setup crew must have already come and gone. He transferred supplies over form the little spaceplane, sealed the hatch, and repressurized the capsule. The Axiom was in much better shape than when he left it, though the main computer seemed to be missing a few things. Nothing major. He ran the numbers for a Duna transfer (a window was conveniently coming up in about a day), and decided on a two-burn transfer.

No time to waste. He undocked form the Azimuth, waved goodbye to the useful little plane, and got set up for the first burn. Then the radio beeped. Somebody calling him from the ground.

“Axiom of Choice responding. Over.â€Â

“Bob. You don't know me, but my name is Albro, and I'm the director of the Continuum Program.â€Â

“You're the one that fixed my ship, right?â€Â

“Correct. The mission you are on is of the absolute secrecy, and it must remain that way. Tensions between the Free States of Kerbin and the Commonwealth are at an all-time high. The brink of war, perhaps. If either side discovers the truth, that they weren't the first to go into space....â€Â

Bob interrupted. “Look, chief director thing, I don't have time for any more long-winded rhetoric today. I'm going to Duna and I'll call you when I'm in the neighborhood again, ok?†Bob turned off the radio and put the throttle at max. He had some stranded friends to rescue and was tired of waiting.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk

[Brotoro]

Great thread, excellent images! Keep it up.

[Cydonian Monk]

Thanks! Trying to wrap up my 0.22 write-ups this weekend... considering I finished plating most of it a month ago. ('tis the Busy Season.)

[ElJugador]

note: For those of us not immersed in your roleplay headcanon environment, could you explain what the nation acronyms mean? (FSK, CCHR, etc.)

[Cydonian Monk]

note: For those of us not immersed in your roleplay headcanon environment, could you explain what the nation acronyms mean? (FSK, CCHR, etc.)

Sure. I never really went into much detail on them, somewhat deliberately, but I can see the point for confusion. (Really, I could argue this entire thread is confusing.) In short, the FSK and CCHR are simply parallels to the USA and áááà. I've never really defined borders, leaders, or anything beyond tying a name to a flag.

CCHR: Commonwealth of Central Highland Republics

When I started launching from the second space center (back in .20) I felt it needed a separate country and flag. KSC2 is located in the highlands (obvious even before there was a biome map), hence they became the Highlanders. I worked backwards from that to CCHR, though the CC part didn't have a set meaning until much later. They march forth under a red flag bearing three mountains.

FSK: Free States of Kerbin

These would be the USA equivalents, launching craft from the proper KSC. Probably some quasi-religious theocracy posing as a democratic republic, but again I never really cared to define them beyond the name.

ISC: Independent Southern Coalition

An organization of states on the continent southeast of KSC. They launch from Starfarer Island, the large island roughly 10°S of the equator. Green flag, white dots.

IASE: International Association for Space Exploration (I think....)

Just a bunch of Kerbals firing space probes off into the void. Ugly blue flag with a bunch of random symbols attached to it.

Westlands

Not defined beyond being the Germany parallel from which Von Kerman emerged.

That's basically it. Most of these are going away with 0.23....

Edited December 17, 2013 by Cydonian Monk

[Cydonian Monk]

Return of the Duna Seven

(Apologies for any grammatical or even logical errors in this post... I'm busier than I expected at the moment, and really don't want to hold this back to give it another pass, what with 0.23 out for a couple weeks now. Time to move on, mistakes be --self-censored--!)

60 days later and the Axiom of Choice was approaching Duna space. Bob spent most of the transit listening to static on the radio. It was easy to focus the high-gain on various points of the sky with a ship as maneuverable as the Axiom. Occasionally he would pick up the telltale sounds of pulsars, but mostly he heard only the steady static of the stars. Never did he hear an obviously Kerbal transmission.

The arrival at Duna was lucky and avoided Ike entirely. Bob continued listening for the Dunan-X while approaching the planet, without luck. As he was setting up the capture burn he wondered if he should bother, or just continue back into interplanetary space. No, no reason to come all this way just to bail at the last minute.

The burn placed him into a highly inclined and elliptical orbit. The radio crackled not long after capture, and the Dunan-X Orbiter came into view over the horizon. Matlock and Melke sounded ecstatic on the other end of the call, and Bob set about arranging the rendezvous burn. (Which required a rather significant plane change maneuver.)

The Dunan-X lander came into range while Bob was setting up the adjustment burn. Bob really wasn't sure what to say to friends that had been gone for so many years. “Interplanetary Parcel Service calling. I've got a delivery here for one Jebediah Kerman.â€Â

“Bob? What took you so long? I order that at least five years ago.â€Â

“Well, you know how it goes. So, are you able to fly up and sign for this, or should I schedule a second delivery? Perhaps leave it with a neighbor?â€Â

“We've got some confused dudes down here, but I think we can get them back aboard. Say, have you rendezvoused with the orbiter yet?â€Â

“Couple hours out. Can't wait to hear about your adventures in person Jeb. It's been... interesting back on Kerbin, to say the least.â€Â

After the orbiter rendezvous and taking some time to send over fresh supplies, Bob set about reconfiguring the two ships into a single craft. With the main computer still down on the Dunan-X (it has only a hitchhiker module anyway) this would be the best way to control the burn back to Kerbin. The first couple of attempts discovered new parts collisions and configuraitons that just didn't work (such as placing the two drive units directly in series).

Eventually a solution was found.

Now to get the lander back into orbit.

–

Convincing Dosby and Luton to get back to the ship took a bit of work, and eventually Jeb had to call up Bob to convince them that “Mr Bob†really was waiting for them in orbit. Didn't break them out of their continuing delusion, though, and getting them to ride on Lucky's “back†took most of an hour. And for some reason they kept acting as though Jeb was blind....

After some discussion, Bill and Shepson agreed with Jeb that Luton and Dosby were best locked up in the lander compartment. As long as the controls were isolated there was little damage they could do there. It would be more than half a day before the orbiter was back in range, so they all climbed aboard and took a nice long nap.

Jeb took one last look to the south, wondering how long the flags he and Bill planted on their trek would survive in the occasional Dunan dust storms.

They blasted off at first light. After more than four Kerbin years the Dunan-X had finally left the surface of the red planet.

--

“Ok Jeb, we've got you on approach. The plan is to dock your lander to the front of the Axiom.â€Â

“Wait, will that hold? Seems unstable.â€Â

“We'll be fine. We'll have to split the burn over two passes anyway, so as not to overheat the nukes. The lower G-forces from the split burn shouldn't cause any problems.â€Â

“Ok, we're getting lined up for docking now. See you and your fresh snacks in a bit.â€Â

Some shuffling and a quick crew exchange later and the “Axiom of Duna†was ready to head back to Kerbin, jut as soon as a transfer window openned up. In total the craft was 338 parts and a mass of 235 tonnes.

The first burn extended their orbit to well past Ike. Ike, which was going to have a say in their leaving whterh they liked it or not, as after the next orbit if they didn't complete the second burn, their encounter with Ike would slow them enough to plummet to the surface of Duna.

Not today, Ike.

Final burn completed and they were free from Duna. Forever. Jeb jumped out when they were passing Ike to take a closer look.

--

Munths later Kerbin started to appear in the windows. First a small speck, then the Mun and Minmus came into view. Then they were right on top of the planet. (I still think watching the Mun/Kerbin system from a high orbit is one of the coolest things in KSP. Reminds me of watching the Galilean moons in the Jovian system through a telescope over several nights.)

They avoided an aerocapture with the large ship, and opted for a normal, long, single burn. This placed them into a slightly inclined orbit that would pass over KSC on their next orbit.

Discussion during the descent from Duna to Kerbin focused on how to inform the “new†space program of their existence. Bob's short conversation with the “powers that be†left him with the impression that no one should know about their existence. Landing both ships at KSC in broad daylight was therefore the only logical option. (Jeb wanted to land in downtown Kerbin City, but was vetoed by everyone on board. Including the two lunatics.)

Both landers broke away from the transfer ship and began their descent on the next orbit. Jeb, Bill and Bob were in the Axiom of Choice, with Shepson, Dosby, Luton, Melke and Matlock in the Dunan-X lander. Jeb Bill and Bob went in first, followed by the others an orbit later.

The Axiom's lander cabin was shaking violently during the descent, never intended for a reentry on Kerbin. Bill and Bob were both gripping the handrests on their seats with as much force as they could muster. (It was all they could do, having never been told that the secret to surviving space travel was walking around barefoot and making fists with your toes.) Jeb, too, was fighting the controls, trying to keep the lander aligned properly. Bits of tat were burning off as they sped into the thicker parts of the stratosphere.

And then the roughness subsided. Jeb flared the engines and set up his approach. He had brought them in ahead of KSC in case they needed to bail into booster bay, but with full control restored he went back to his first plan: Landing atop the VAB.

“Jeb, look!†Bill was pointing excitedly towards KSC. “There's a ship on the launchpad!â€Â

“We'll worry about that once we're down.â€Â

Many years and two space programs after they had left, Bill and Jeb had returned home. The three of them practically jumped out of the lander, Bill and Jeb both walked uncomfortably in the heavy gravity. They gathered at the front of the VAB and looked up, just as the three occupants of the craft on the launchpad looked back. For one short moment there were two Jebs, two Bobs, and two Bills looking at one another.

Meanwhile there was panic in the control room. Security vehicles were streaming in from the facility gates to “secure†the VAB. No one was quite sure what was going on, just that the craft on the roof of the VAB wasn't supposed to be there. And then when things were just starting to calm down the Dunan-X came in for a landing.

The return of the crews of the Dunan-X and the Axiom of Choice had an oddly chilling effect on the space program, as Albro had warned. There were inquiries and inquests, reviews, interviews, interrogations, endless questions. Who were these new Kerbals? Why were there two Jebs? Two Bills? Two of that other guy that everyone always forgets? The fuss over the return of the Duna 7 lasted long enough for 0.23 to be released.

--

In time the adventure to Duna was surpassed by greater trips and forgotten to the cycles of KSP. Only the lonely flags left by the crews still remain, standing vigil atop red mountains, fading away under a red skies.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk

[Cydonian Monk]

Planetary Pinball - The ION Missions

I decided to revisit some old ION probes while I was waiting for 0.23 to be released. First up were two probes I'd launched back in 0.20 - the Nomad 1 and the Phantom 1. Both were in a solar orbit that roughly intercepted Kerbin's orbit. Long burn times had caused me to abandon them shortly after launch, so I set out to conduct their long burns while I was asleep.

After a 4 hour overnight burn at Solar periapsis, Nomad 1 ended up in a large and eccentric orbit with an apoapsis roughly in the neighborhood of Dres. Nothing really that interesting. Here's a shot (of what was only my second ION probe) for posterity's sake. Remember - when I built this there were no such things as reaction wheels - all maneuvering had to be done by RCS.

Phantom 1, on the other hand, had an upcoming encounter with Kerbin. Perfect opportunity for a gravity assist! After playing around with the maneuver nodes, I discovered I could burn three tanks worth of Xenon overnight (with three ION engines) and have a Jool encounter in... a couple years.

I was up long enough to get a shot of the Kerbin flyby, because why would I miss that? Reminiscent of Juno's recent Earth flyby.

I decided to play around a bit more and built a "new" ION probe, named the Wayward 1. I didn't record exactly what day I launched it on, so all of the following updates are based on Launch Day = 0. It was a nice early morning launch with perfectly clear skies.

First stop for Wayward 1 was Moho, an intercept which was achieved using the conventional and NERVA rockets it was launched on. I expected to get /something/ of a gravity assist from Moho, but no such luck. Still, it helped set up the next encounter...

... which was Eve. Wayward 1 had two Eve encounters over its lifetime, both providing a significant boost thanks to gravity. The first encounter with Eve pouched me form a Moho-Kerbin orbit out to a Moho-Duna orbit without a burn. Isn't gravity fun?

Days later and we almost hit Duna! Just skimmed the atmosphere to push us part of the way out to Dres. The small burn performed here was to set up the second Eve encounter, which provided the majority of the velocity we needed to slingshot out to Dres.

Back at Eve and we're doing another small course correction burn. This flyby of Eve was considerably slower than our initial flyby, but helped fling us out past Dres.

Starting with Dres I needed to use Ions for most of my orbital mechanics. Up to this point I had barely used one tank's worth of Xenon, with seven tanks left. The burn at Dres was done to lower my Solar periapsis, with the ultimate goal of hitting Eeloo, followed by Jool. Timing the Eeloo encounter proved to be a bit difficult....

While awaiting Wayward's Eeloo maneuvers, the Phantom /finally/ completed its trip through the Jool system. Phantom took some excellent reading and images of Jool and Laythe, and gained enough of a boost form Jool (and the remainder of its Xenon) to escape the Kerbin system.

Back to Wayward. I discovered at Solar periapsis that I could more easily set up a Jool encounter than Eeloo, and still remain in the Kerbin system. After some more maneuver node tweaking I discovered the best way to hit Eeloo was to reduce my orbit by passing in front of Jool (thus reducing Wayward's overall period), then another burn at Solar periapsis to head out to Eeloo again.

One free Laythe encounter is included in your Joolian travel package!

Back down to Solar Periapsis one more time....

... a short burn later and I was set up for my Eeloo encounter. Only a 700 days after our first Jool encounter!

I used the Eeloo encounter and one fin at Solar periapsis to set up the last encounter with Jool. At Jool, Wayward 1 would burn the remaining 2 tanks of Xenon to achieve escape velocity. (Though in actuality, the burn was only needed to make the escape take less time. We gained enough for escape with the last Jool encounter anyway.) So 400 days after Eeloo was make our last flyby of a planetary object in the Kerbol system.

Wayward 1 is now on its way out of the Kerbol system. In all it took a little over 5 and a half years after launch to visit every planet in the system, though that could be reduced with changes to path and launch date. I let the clock run for another 10 years after this, just to see how far it got and may come back to it someday.

Once all of its 8 canisters of Xenon gas were expended, Wayward 1 had a total mass of 1.3t (and probably a shade less). That xenon was traded for a total of 22,784m/s of ∆v, half of which was expended on the final escape burns at Solar Periapsis (day 2300 or so) and the final Jool flyby.

As one respondent in our Google+ community said, "and as this chapter closes *weep**weep**weep*."

So ended my 0.22 gameplay. On to 0.23!

Edited October 7, 2014 by Cydonian Monk