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Ad Lunam - Final Update 2015-05-31


Cydonian Monk

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Kerbal Space Program - Ad Lunam

The Mission Reports of Cydonian Monk

Oscar Wilde said:
"Yes, I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."

Index

Introduction and Overview

2014-08-01 - The Record Breakers

2014-08-04 - Project Euclid

2014-08-09 - Long Duration Anxiety

2014-08-13 - The Rescue Missions / Experiments in Scouting

2014-08-16 - Archimedes 1 - Mün Slingshot

2014-08-24 - The Engineering Tests

2014-08-27 - Archimedes 3

2014-09-02 - The Network / Council of Shadows

2014-09-07 - Archimedes 4

2014-09-17 - Moonlight Rookies

2014-09-21 - Eutocius of Minmus / Loss of Signal

2014-10-02 - Thabit of Eve: An Inter-Release Interlude

2014-10-12 - Rebellion

2014-11-26 - Nightfall

2014-12-13 - The Munlit Silence

2014-12-21 - Departures

2014-12-24 - A Kerbal Holiday: A (slightly silly) Inter-Release Interlude

2015-01-01 - Some Assembly Required

2015-01-22 - WildFire

2015-02-01 - Super Departures

2015-02-19 - By the Dying Light of the Mün

2015-03-02 - Origins - The Rocket Stuff

2015-03-08 - Origins - Moving On Up

2015-03-19 - Origins - Around the World in 33 Minutes

2015-03-23 - Origins - Upgrades

2015-04-12 - Origins - Contractual Obligations

2015-04-18 - Duna

2015-04-25 - Shadows of the Mind

2015-05-03 - Silence

2015-05-19 - Requiem

2015-05-31 - Epilogue


Prologue - Stranded

"You ever wonder what it's like up there?" Haloly pointed at the Mün, hand stretched up from the grass where he and Renly were stargazing.

"On the Mün?"

"Yeah."

"Lots of cheese I'd guess."

He sighed, letting his arm fall limply back to the turf. If it was all cheese, where did the milk come from? Did you need to bring your own crackers? What kind of cheese was it? Could you eat it? Would it taste good on a sandwich? Too many questions....

"I'm going there someday. I'm going to build a big house and invite lots of friends over to visit."

"Out of cheese?"

"Hmm... maybe!"

"Get real Haloly, who would want to visit a house made of cheese on the Mün? How would you even get up there to build it?"

"Well, how do Kerbals get to space?"

--

The infernal beeping of his suit pulled Haloly out of his dream.... He groggily looked around for the phone before remembering where he was. Right, still in orbit. Still in space. Still in this tiny spacesuit. He glanced to the right of his helmet's HUD. A blue notification bubble was blinking impatiently. Text message.

"Message Open."

Oh, just another text from his boss. "HAVE FOUND POSSIBLE RECOVERY AGENCY. WILL ADVISE. PLEASE BE PATIENT." Somebody should really tell the guy they don't charge extra for lower-case letters. Haloly let the message close on its own, returning his attention to the endless void.

"Patient is all I can be." His suit beeped back negatively at the unrecognized command. The stars were somehow different today. Different from those in his dream at least. He watched as the Mün crested the limb of Kerbin and wondered if he'd ever make it there to build his house of cheese. If he'd ever be rescued from orbit. He'd given up checking his oxygen levels several orbits ago.

"Well, how *do* Kerbals get to space?" he asked, perhaps of the Mün or the void beyond. His suit beeped disapprovingly. The void responded with cold silence.

20140727_ksp0015_haloly.jpg

Edited by Cydonian Monk
Clean up from forum migration.
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Hello and welcome! I'm back from my long midsummer's vacation and am mostly caught up on that thing called "real life", so it's time to get back to regular KSP Mission Reports and whatnot. The vast changes in 0.23.5 and 0.24 have inspired me to start completely fresh, so I've tossed my old 'In Medias Res' and 'Null Cycles' saves into the archives and started anew. The only things I've copied over are a handful of flags I've planted on Kerbin.

I've decided to move away from my "no mod parts" and "no more Module Manager" playstyles this time, so many craft will not be 100% stock. Though I'm still modifying the "common" mod parts, such as the Engineer tape drive or the hullcams, with radial decouplers should I decide to go full-stock later on. I'm also recompiling most of my plugins from their source code, just to avoid any build peculiarities. (Plus I like to remove parts of the code I don't use or don't like.) I'll maintain a list of the mods I'm using at the end of this post.

Also, Jeb Bill and Bob are off running Jeb's junkyard, and are not regular crews. I'm sure they might make the occasional cameo, but I was getting tired of Jeb sneaking into every little thing I try to launch. :wink:

A quick note - if you're reading through this from the start for the story, you should skip the rest of this second post as it contains "spoilers". Click here to go directly to the next post: Post Three - The Record Breakers


The Premise

Gene, Wernher, and Carl Kerman have set out to start a Space Agency at Cape Kerbal. Again. For the 16th 17th 18th 19th time. Something very strange is going on, and not much has been revealed. They seem to be repeating their past mistakes over, and over, and over, and over. And always falling on their faces just as they start landing on the moons of Kerbin. Yet someone has an idea. A dream that can break them free and set Kerbin back on the course for the stars. If only the powers that be will allow it.


The Missions

That's part of the mystery, now isn't it?

Spoiler

Warning: The formatting on these tables was very badly broken during the forum migration of 2015. I'll clean these up at a later date. For now just skip this unreadable mess.

Earth Dates: 2014-07-22 to 2014-07-23

 

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 100]Mission[/td]

[td=width: 100]Date[/td]

[td=width: 100]Launcher[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:175

[/td]

[td]

X.LR.001

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jebediah. Equipment test for Jeb's Junkyard. Landed atop VAB.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:175

[/td]

[td]

X.SR.002

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Bill. Equipment tests of Jeb's Junkyard.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:175

[/td]

[td]

X.LR.003

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Bob. Equipment tests for Jeb's Junkyard.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

ST.001

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:176

[/td]

[td]

-

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jebediah. Static test of equipment.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

ST.002

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:176

[/td]

[td]

-

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jebediah. Static test of equipment.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 4

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:176

[/td]

[td]

X.LR.004

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jebediah. Equipment test for Jeb's Junkyard.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 5

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:176

[/td]

[td]

X.LR.005

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Bill. Equipment test for Jeb's Junkyard.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

ST.003

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:176

[/td]

[td]

-

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jebediah. Static equipment test.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 6

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:176

[/td]

[td]

X.LR.006

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Bob. Equipment test for Jeb's junkyard. First spaceflight.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 7

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:177

[/td]

[td]

X.LR.007

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Bill. Equipment tests for Jeb's junkyard.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

ST.004

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:177

[/td]

[td]

-

[/td]

[td]

Static equipment test.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

ST.005

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:177

[/td]

[td]

-

[/td]

[td]

Static equipment test.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

ST.006

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:177

[/td]

[td]

-

[/td]

[td]

Static equipment test.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 8

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:177

[/td]

[td]

X.LR.008

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jebediah. Equipment tests for Jeb's Junkyard. First Orbit!

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

ST.007

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:177

[/td]

[td]

-

[/td]

[td]

Static equipment test.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Exeter Probe

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:177

[/td]

[td]

X.SR.009

[/td]

[td]

Multiple equipment test contracts.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Exeter 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:177

[/td]

[td]

X.SR.010

[/td]

[td]

Systems tests.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

ST.008

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:178

[/td]

[td]

-

[/td]

[td]

Static equipment tests.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 001

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:178

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Nedfal (return). Mission to rescue Nedfal Kerman, stranded by Dinkelstein's.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Exeter 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:178

[/td]

[td]

X.LR.011

[/td]

[td]

Systems tests.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Exeter 4

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:178

[/td]

[td]

X.LR.012

[/td]

[td]

Systems tests.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 002

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:178

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Wilmin (return). Mission to rescue Wilmin Kerman, stranded by Goliath.

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

Earth Dates: 2014-07-24 to 2014-07-27

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 100]Mission[/td]

[td=width: 100]Date[/td]

[td=width: 100]Launcher[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:179

[/td]

[td]

LR.001.x

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jeb. Equipment test for Jeb's Junkyard. Landed atop VAB.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:180

[/td]

[td]

LR.002.x

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Bill. Equipment test for Jeb's Junkyard.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:181

[/td]

[td]

LR.003.x

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Bob. Equipment test for Jeb's junkyard.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 4

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:182

[/td]

[td]

LR.004.x

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jeb. Equipment test for Jeb's Junkyard.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 5

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:183

[/td]

[td]

LR.005.x

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Bill. Equipment test for Jeb's Junkyard.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 6

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:184

[/td]

[td]

SR.006.x

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Bob. Equipment test for Jeb's Junkyard. First into space!

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 7

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:185

[/td]

[td]

LR.007.x

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jeb. Equipment test for Jeb's Junkyard. First to orbit!

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 8

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:187

[/td]

[td]

LR.008.x

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Bill. Science mission to LKO.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 001

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:188

[/td]

[td]

LR.009.x

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Bob, Haloly (down). Mission to rescue Haloly Kerman, stranded by Dinkelstein's.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 002

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:190

[/td]

[td]

LV-01A Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Haloly, Guslan (down). Mission to rescue Guslan Kerman, stranded by VacCo.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 9

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:191

[/td]

[td]

LV-01A Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Haloly. Polar and high-orbit science mission.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 003

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:192

[/td]

[td]

LV-01A Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Haloly, Wilfry (down). Mission to rescue Wilfry Kerman, stranded by Rokea.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Archimedes 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:193

[/td]

[td]

LR.011.x

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jeb, Bill, Bob. Systems test for Münar Orbiter. First Mün Flyby.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Archimedes 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:197

[/td]

[td]

LV-06 Ptolemy

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Haloly, Hangun, Wilfry. First orbit of Mün. Crash-landed on Kerbin without parachute. Crew recovered safely.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

X1-001

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:199

[/td]

[td]

X1 Spaceplane

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Guslan. Flight test of X1.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 004

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:199

[/td]

[td]

LV-01A Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Orrigh, Jan (down). Mission to rescue Jan Kerman, stranded by Kerlington.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

X0-002

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:199

[/td]

[td]

X0 Spaceplane

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Guslan. Flight test of X0.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Fourier 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:199

[/td]

[td]

LV-02 Agnese

[/td]

[td]

Science mission to Duna. Mission discovered to have insufficient battery power for transmission, aborted shortly after reaching Kerbin orbit. Debris impacted Mun.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Bernoulli Station

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:200

[/td]

[td]

LV-06 Ptolemy

[/td]

[td]

Science Station launched into service orbit.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Archimedes 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:203

[/td]

[td]

LV-06 Ptolemy

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Orrigh, Aldsey, Jan. First orbit of Minmus.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 005

[/td]

[td]

Y:73 d:206

[/td]

[td]

LV-01A Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Chadory (down). Mission to rescue Chadory Kerman, stranded by Goliath.

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

Missions and Programs of the 18th Kerbal Space Agency

The Eighteenth Kerbal Space Agency was founded with the motto of the three Es: Explore, Exploit, and Expand! The agency is expected to serve the needs of the many brave Explorers on the planet, to Exploit the asteroids and moons to recover valuable minerals, and to Expand the presence of Kerbals into the Greater Kerbol System by providing regular and routine transit options. The agency, now divorced of their original goals and home, has refined their mission to that of the most important E: Exploration.

To accomplish these tasks the administrators of the 18th KSA have established a series of Projects and Programs:

1: Project Euclid

Goals: To reliably transport Kerbals into Kerbin Orbit and return them safely; To gather science data on Kerbin.

Status: Complete.

2: The Herald Program

Directive: To enable reliable communications from every point in the Greater Kerbin System to any point on Kerbin.

Status: 7 Kerbosynchronous primaries and 8 Low-Kerbin Orbit relay satellites launched, one Kerbosynchronous lost due to misfire. 3 Mun satellites launched and in service. (Progress and satellites lost due to bug.)

3: Project Archimedes

Goals: To place Kerbals on the surface of the Mün and return them safely to Kerbin; To construct a science outpost on the surface of the Mün.

Status: Four flights completed, including two landings. On hold.

4: Project Eutocius

Goals: To explore the strange object known as Minmus.

Status: One flight completed. On hold.

5: The Bernoulli Program

Directives: To explore the effects of long-term habitation in microgravity; To perfect the Agency's methods of transporting materials to and from orbit; To construct space stations that are the envy of all Kerbin.

Status: Jacob Bernoulli Station in orbit, first mission complete.

6: Project Thabit

Goals: Place science probes in multiple orbits around every planet and moon.

Status: Moho and Eve probes on station. Contact lost.

7: The Concrete Program

Directives: To relearn the lost technologies of spaceflight;

Project Smeaton: To reach space and orbit Kerbin, again.

Project Aspdin: To reclaim lost objects in orbit.

Project Monier: To reclaim the moons of Kerbin.

Status: Complete / Abandoned

8: The Diophantus Program

Directives: To explore Duna and its moon, Ike;

Status: Crew in training.

9: The Gauss Program

Directives: To explore Jool and its moons;

Status: Munlit Silence mostly assembled in orbit. Crew in training.

Earth Dates: 2014-07-29 to 2014-08-20

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 100]Mission[/td]

[td=width: 100]Date[/td]

[td=width: 100]Launcher[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Alpha-X1

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:369

[/td]

[td]

X1

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jebediah. Equipment test for Jeb's Junkyard. Landed on VAB.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:380

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Shepgee. Equipment test. First to Space. First to Orbit.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 001

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:380

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Milzer, Haloly (down). Mission to rescue Haloly Kerman, stranded by Rockomax.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G1-KSO-A

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:383

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

First node in KSO communications network. 0º.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G1-KSO-B

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:384

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Second node in KSO network. Overburned into escape trajectory. Collided with Mün.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G1-KSO-B2

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:385

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Second node in KSO network. 120º.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G1-KSO-C

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:386

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Third node in KSO network. 240º.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:393

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Meldo. Polar orbit science mission.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 002

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:394

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Dudry, Lengee (down). Mission to rescue Lengee Kerman, stranded by Flooyd.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Relay G1 MKO-A

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:395

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Medium orbit communications relay satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Relay G1 MKO-B

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:396

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Medium orbit communications relay satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Relay G1 MKO-C

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:397

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Medium orbit communications relay satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Relay G1 MKO-D

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:399

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Medium orbit communications relay satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:400

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Podoly. Radio and Plasma Wave experiment.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 003

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:400

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Shepgee, Jorble (down). Mission to rescue Jorble Kerman, stranded by White Owl. (Gee, thanks Matt.)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 004

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:407

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Milzer, Barting (down). Mission to rescue Barting Kerman, stranded by Zaltronic. (Or was he?)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

X1-001

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:407

[/td]

[td]

X1 Spaceplane

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Dudry. Flight test of X1.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 4

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:412

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Haloly. High-altitude test flight. Failed to reach orbit due to launch issue.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Luzhin 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:412

[/td]

[td]

Luzhin

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Meldo, Hally (down). Mission to rescue Hally Kerman, stranded by Staedler. Long-duraton spaceflight test (52 days).

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

X2-002

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:415

[/td]

[td]

X2 Spaceplane

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Shepgee. Flight test of X2. Recon mission, circumnavigation of Kerbin.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Euclid 5

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:415

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Dudry. High-altitude science mission, radio and plasma wave experiment.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Relay G1 MKO-E

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:421

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Medium orbit relay satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Relay G1 MKO-F

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:421

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Medium orbit relay satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Relay G1 MKO-G

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:422

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Medium orbit relay satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Relay G1 MKO-H

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:424

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Medium orbit relay satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Alpha X-99

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:424

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Launch escape system test.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G2 KSO-D

[/td]

[td]

Y:74 d:425

[/td]

[td]

Hipparchus

[/td]

[td]

KSO main communications satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

AXE-1

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:3

[/td]

[td]

Ptolemy

[/td]

[td]

Mission to capture Asteroid IJY-192 (Nelsey).

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G2 KSO-E

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:38

[/td]

[td]

Hipparchus

[/td]

[td]

KSO main communications satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G2 KSO-F

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:39

[/td]

[td]

Hipparchus

[/td]

[td]

KSO main communications satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

X3-003

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:52

[/td]

[td]

X3 Spaceplane

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Barting. Flight test of X3. Flew to Puerto Kabat and back.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 006

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:53

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Genekin (down). Mission to rescue Genevan Kerman, stranded by OMB.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G2 Mun-A

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:53

[/td]

[td]

Hipparchus

[/td]

[td]

Main Mün communications satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G2 Mun-B

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:60

[/td]

[td]

Hipparchus

[/td]

[td]

Main Mün communications satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G2 Mun-C

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:68

[/td]

[td]

Hipparchus

[/td]

[td]

Main Mün communications satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Archimedes 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:74

[/td]

[td]

Ptolemy

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Shepgee, Dudry, Barting. First Münar flyby. Conducted gravity scans of Kerbin and Mün.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

X3-004

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:82

[/td]

[td]

X3 Spaceplane

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Hally. Flight test of X3. Crew killed after losing control on landing.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

X4-005

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:82

[/td]

[td]

X4 Spaceplane.

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jorble. Flight test of X4 and Rapier engine.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Archimedes 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:87

[/td]

[td]

Ptolemy

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Milzer, Lengee, Genekin. First Munar orbit. Suffered alternator failure on Mainsail during ascent.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Archimedes 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:104

[/td]

[td]

Ortelius

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Meldo, Haloly, Jorble. First Munar landing. Haloly and Meldo landed at Kerbinview Point. Spent 30m on surface.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

X3-006

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:108

[/td]

[td]

X3 Spaceplane

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Podoly. Flight test of X3. Landed with stuck control surface.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Thabit 1 - Moho

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:108

[/td]

[td]

Ptolemy+

[/td]

[td]

Thabit science orbiter mission to Moho.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 007

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:108

[/td]

[td]

Kodiak SLV

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Gusbrett (down). Mission to rescue Gusbrett Kerman, stranded by DMagic.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Messenger G1-A

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:108

[/td]

[td]

Ptolemy+

[/td]

[td]

Long-distance communications relay satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Archimedes 4

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:174

[/td]

[td]

Ortelius

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Shepgee, Laning, Bobbo. Second Mün landing. Landed at East Crater rim, next to arch.

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

Launch site: Sky's Reach (KSC2) in the former CCHR

Earth Dates: 2014-09-04 to 2014-09-14

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 100]Mission[/td]

[td=width: 100]Date[/td]

[td=width: 100]Launcher[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Thabit 2 - Eve

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:303

[/td]

[td]

Shokalsky

[/td]

[td]

Probe to Eve. Arrived at Eve Y76d10.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Bernoulli 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:306

[/td]

[td]

Cantemir

[/td]

[td]

First space station. Launched into 30° orbit.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Bernoulli 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:308

[/td]

[td]

Agnese

[/td]

[td]

Science module for Bernoulli Station.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Luzhin 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:315

[/td]

[td]

Luzhin

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Loald, Gilvin. First crew for Bernoulli Station.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Luzhin 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:315

[/td]

[td]

Luzhin

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Derbald, Neilny. Second crew for Bernoulli Station. Brought docking adapter.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Eutocius 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:321

[/td]

[td]

Cantemir

[/td]

[td]

Habitat and lander for Minmus mission. Transported Luzhin 4 and Luzhin 5 to Minmus. Lander destroyed by controlled deorbit.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Luzhin 4

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:322

[/td]

[td]

Luzhin

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Shepgee, Sigsey. Crew for Eutocius 1.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Luzhin 5

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:323

[/td]

[td]

Luzhin

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Haloly, Gusbrett. Crew for Eutocius 1.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Eutocius 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:75 d:330

[/td]

[td]

Cantemir

[/td]

[td]

Automated resupply mission to Eutocius Station.

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

Launch site: Lake Fortunate in the badlands of the League of Eight.

Earth Dates: 2014-10-10 to Present

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 100]Mission[/td]

[td=width: 100]Date[/td]

[td=width: 100]Launcher[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Smeaton 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:334

[/td]

[td]

Experimental

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jebediah. Equipment test for Jeb's Junkyard. Landed atop VAB. Again.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Smeaton 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:336

[/td]

[td]

Experimental

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Milzer. Equipment test.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Smeaton 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:338

[/td]

[td]

Experimental

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Meldo. Equipment test.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Smeaton 4

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:340

[/td]

[td]

Experimental.

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Haloly. Equipment test.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Smeaton 5

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:345

[/td]

[td]

Experimental.

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Derbald. Systems test. Reached space.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Smeaton 6

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:346

[/td]

[td]

LV-01 Anaxmiander

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Podner. Reached orbit. Craft tipped over on landing, exploded. Crew recovered safely.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Rescue 008 / Luzhin 6

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:349

[/td]

[td]

LV-08 Luzhin

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Neilny, Lem (down). Mission to rescue Lem Kerman, stranded by Government forces. Crew visited Bernoulli Station to enact repairs.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G3 KSO-G

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:354

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

Third-generation KSO main communications satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Aspdin 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:355

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

First expansion module for Bernoulli Station.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G3 KSO-H

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:357

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

Third-generation KSO main communications satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Herald G3 KSO-I

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:360

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

Third-generation KSO main communications satellite.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Monier 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:363

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Probe to flyby Mun. Calculation error caused probe to impact surface of Mun. Periapsis went from 20k to impact at SOI change, unnoticed.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Monier 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:367

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Probe to flyby Minmus. Went into orbit instead and is sending back considerable science data.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Monier 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:379

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Science probe to flyby Mün. Returned considerable science data.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Munlit Silence A

[/td]

[td]

Y;76 d:387

[/td]

[td]

Custom

[/td]

[td]

Core stage of the Munlit Silence. Placed into 20º orbit.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Munlit Silence B

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:395

[/td]

[td]

Custom

[/td]

[td]

Armatures of the Munlit Silence. Included assembly bot.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Munlit Silence C

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:400

[/td]

[td]

Custom

[/td]

[td]

Drive section of the Munlit Silence.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Jool Science Package

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:414

[/td]

[td]

Custom

[/td]

[td]

Science payload for Gauss Expedition to Jool.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Hydra 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:418

[/td]

[td]

Hydra Custom

[/td]

[td]

Crew for Munlit Silence and Gauss 1: Shepgee, Haloly, Sheptrey, Shepdas, Neilny, Sigsey, Lodbles, Loald, Laning, Podzon, Hudrim, and Dean Kerman.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Munlit Silence TAA

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:1

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Towed-Antenna Array for Munlit Silence.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Monier 4 Mun

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:1-2

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Munar probe.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Kraken's Harvest A

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:104

[/td]

[td]

Psycho Heavy

[/td]

[td]

Assembly launch for Kraken's Harvest.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Kraken's Harvest B

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:119

[/td]

[td]

Psycho Heavy

[/td]

[td]

Assembly launch for Kraken's Harvest.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Kraken's Harvest C

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:126

[/td]

[td]

Psycho Heavy

[/td]

[td]

Assembly launch for Kraken's Harvest.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Kraken's Harvest D

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:128

[/td]

[td]

Psycho Heavy

[/td]

[td]

Assembly launch for Kraken's Harvest.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Kraken's Harvest E

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:141

[/td]

[td]

Psycho Heavy

[/td]

[td]

Assembly launch for Kraken's Harvest.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Kraken's Harvest F

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:150

[/td]

[td]

Cantemir

[/td]

[td]

Assembly launch for Kraken's Harvest.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Kraken's Harvest G

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:153

[/td]

[td]

ALV-SuperHeavy

[/td]

[td]

Assembly launch for Kraken's Harvest.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Kraken's Harvest H

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:157

[/td]

[td]

Anaximander

[/td]

[td]

Assembly launch for Kraken's Harvest.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Thabit 3 Kerbin

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:158

[/td]

[td]

Zagoskin

[/td]

[td]

Planetary probe.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Monier 5 Minmus

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:162

[/td]

[td]

Zagoskin

[/td]

[td]

Probe to Minmus.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Archimedes 5

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:173

[/td]

[td]

Anuchin

[/td]

[td]

Training mission to Mun for Gersted and Billy-Bobford.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Eutocius 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:176

[/td]

[td]

Anuchin

[/td]

[td]

Training mission to Minmus for Podner and Mac.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Thabit 4 Duna

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:322

[/td]

[td]

Zagoskin

[/td]

[td]

Planetary probe for Duna.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Hydra 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:386

[/td]

[td]

Hydra Custom

[/td]

[td]

Crew for Kraken's Harvest and Diophantus Mission, final launch from Lake Fortunate: Milzer, Meldo, Gersted, Jebediah, Derbald, Gilvin, Podner, Billy-Bobford, Bill, Gusbrett, Mitwig, Sigcas, Mac, and Bob.

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

Missions and Programs of the 19th Kerbal Space Agency

The 19th Kerbal Space Agency was founded with the motto of "We Were First." Their directives are to beat the Space Agency of the opposing factions of Kerbin in their goal of reaching space; To establish a foothold for Free Kerbals in the Void; And to ensure the success and glory of the goals of the Unified Government of Kerbin.

Project Kestrel

Goals: Place Kerbals in Orbit; Before the Rebels.

Status: Success!

Project Peregrine

Goals: To fly-by the Mün; Before the Rebels.

Status: Complete / Abandoned; Limited success.

Project Falcon

Goals: To establish the techniques and know-how for landing Kerbals on the Mün.

Status: 2 flights completed successfully.

Project Hawk

Goals: To land Kerbals on the Mün; Before the Rebels.

Status: First flight landed safely on Mün.

Project Osprey

Goals: To land Kerbals on Duna*; Before the Rebels.

(*Subject to the oversight of the Council)

Status: ?

Launch site: Kerbal Space Center at Cape Kerbal in the Free States of Kerbin.

Earth Dates: 2014-10-11 to Present

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 100]Mission[/td]

[td=width: 100]Date[/td]

[td=width: 100]Launcher[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Kestrel 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:337

[/td]

[td]

Kestrel

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Dudry. First to orbit.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Kestrel 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:343

[/td]

[td]

Kestrel

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jervan. High orbit science mission.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Peregrine 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:349

[/td]

[td]

Peregrine x4

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Anny. Intended to flyby Mün. Craft exploded on launchpad. Crew recovered safely.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Kestrel 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:369

[/td]

[td]

Kestrel

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Barting. "Visit" to Bernoulli Station.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Peregrine 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:372

[/td]

[td]

Peregrine x4

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Anny. First Mün flyby. May not have happened.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Falcon 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:377

[/td]

[td]

Falcon

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Jervan, Jack (up), Enlan (down). Münar flyby and Kerbin orbit rendezvous.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Falcon 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:379

[/td]

[td]

Falcon

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Herhat, Enlan (up), Jack (down). Kerrin orbit rendezvous with Falcon 1.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Hawk 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:76 d:402

[/td]

[td]

Hawk

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Anny, Herhat, Enlan. Anny and Herhat landed on Mün at Grand Arch.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Falconaerie

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:4

[/td]

[td]

Hawk

[/td]

[td]

Station for docking Falcons in Low Kerbin Orbit.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Falcon 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:10

[/td]

[td]

Falcon

[/td]

[td]

First crew for Falconaerie: Dudry, Lanlock.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Falcon 4

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:12

[/td]

[td]

Falcon

[/td]

[td]

Second crew for Falconaerie: Geneble, Enlan.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Falconaerie Solar Array

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:49

[/td]

[td]

Custom A2

[/td]

[td]

Large solar array assembly for Falconaerie.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Osprey A

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:63

[/td]

[td]

Hawk

[/td]

[td]

Construction mission for Osprey.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Osprey B

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:78

[/td]

[td]

Ptolemy

[/td]

[td]

Construction mission for Osprey.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Osprey C

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:92

[/td]

[td]

Hawk

[/td]

[td]

Construction mission for Osprey.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Osprey D

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:101

[/td]

[td]

Custom A3

[/td]

[td]

Construction mission for Osprey.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Eagle 1

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:171

[/td]

[td]

Wanderer

[/td]

[td]

First shuttle launch with crew swap for Falconaerie: Flight crew: Danbus, Nelfen; Crew up: Jervan, Anny, Donmore, Sigley; Crew down: Dudry, Lanlock, Geneble, Enlan.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Eagle 2

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:320

[/td]

[td]

Wanderer

[/td]

[td]

Classified. Flight crew: Danbus, Haldan.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Eagle 3

[/td]

[td]

Y:78 d:38

[/td]

[td]

Wanderer

[/td]

[td]

Crew for Osprey: Flight crew: Danbus, Nelfen; Osprey crew: Herhat, Jack, Dudry, Enlan, Donnie.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

Missions and Programs of the Forgotten Islands Space Program

Launch site: Forgotten Islands Space-O-Plex.

Earth Dates: 2014-12-21 to Present

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 100]Mission[/td]

[td=width: 100]Date[/td]

[td=width: 100]Launcher[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Dojo Ichi

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:45

[/td]

[td]

Cantemir

[/td]

[td]

Small station launch with crew: Deruki, Jaysef

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

FI-Orenji-02

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:387

[/td]

[td]

Cantemir

[/td]

[td]

Crew for Kraken's Harvest and the Diophantus Mission: Deruki, Lorim

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

Missions and Programs of the Independent Southern Coalition Space Program

Launch site: Southern Space Center

Earth Dates: 2014-12-21 to Present

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 100]Mission[/td]

[td=width: 100]Date[/td]

[td=width: 100]Launcher[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

ISC-A2-01

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:49

[/td]

[td]

ISC-L2 (Custom A2)

[/td]

[td]

Crew: Lodrigh, Newwin

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

ISC-A2-02

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:387

[/td]

[td]

Custom A2

[/td]

[td]

Crew for Kraken's Harvest and Diophantus Mission: Newwin, Dercal.

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

Missions and Programs of the Space Operations Consortium of the Highlands (SOCH)

Launch site: Sky's Reach (KSC-2)

Earth Dates: 2015-01-07 to Present

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 100]Mission[/td]

[td=width: 100]Date[/td]

[td=width: 100]Launcher[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

Wczesnie 145

[/td]

[td]

Y:77 d:383

[/td]

[td]

Wczesnie

[/td]

[td]

Crew for Kraken's Harvest and Diophantus Mission: Flight crew: Barvey; Diophantus crew: Danlong, Melden

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[td]

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]


The Personnel

The True Veterans

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Jebediah Kerman

jebediah.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Pilot

16: Euclid 1, Euclid 4, Euclid 8,

17: Euclid 1, Euclid 4, Archimedes 1,

18: Alpha X1, Smeaton 1, Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Bill Kerman

bill.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer

16: Euclid 2, Euclid 5, Euclid 7,

17: Euclid 2, Euclid 5, Euclid 8, Archimedes 1,

18: Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Bob Kerman

bob.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist

16: Euclid 3, Euclid 6,

17: Euclid 3, Euclid 6, Rescue 001, Archimedes 1,

18: Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

The 18th Kerbal Space Agency / Rebels of the League of Eight

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Shepgee Kerman

shepgee.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Program Director

Chief of the Astronaut Corps

Commander, Pilot

1st Kerbonaut Class

18: Euclid 1, Rescue 003, X2-002, Archimedes 1, Archimedes 4, Luzhin 4 (Eutocius 1), X7-007, Hydra 1 (Gauss 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Milzer Kerman

milzer.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Director of Flight Operations

Commander, Scientist (Former Pilot)

1st Kerbonaut Class

18: Rescue 001, Rescue 004, Archimedes 2, Smeaton 2, Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Meldo Kerman

meldo.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Chief of Research and Design

Commander, Pilot

1st Kerbonaut Class

18: Euclid 2, Luzhin 1, Archimedes 3, Smeaton 3, Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Haloly Kerman

haloly.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Director of Mission Operations

Engi, Münar Lander Pilot

Rescued

18: Rescue 001, Euclid 4, Archimedes 3, Luzhin 5 (Eutocius 1), Smeaton 4, Hydra 1 (Gauss 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Podoly Kerman

podoly.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Missing: Location Unknown

Pilot

2nd Kerbonaut Class

18: Euclid 3, X3-006

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Lengee Kerman

lengee.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Missing: Location Unknown

Engineer (Former Scientist)

Rescued

18: Rescue 002, Archimedes 2

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Jorble Kerman

jorble.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Missing: Location Unknown

Engineer (Former Pilot)

Rescued

18: Rescue 003, X4-005, Archimedes 3

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Genekin Kerman

genekin.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Missing: Location Unknown

Pilot

Rescued

18: Rescue 006, Archimedes 2

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Derbald Kerman

derbald.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer

3rd Kerbonaut Class

18: Luzhin 3 (Bernoulli Exp 1), Smeaton 5, Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Gilvin Kerman

gilvin.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer (Former Scientist)

3rd Kerbonaut Class

18: Luzhin 2 (Bernoulli Exp 1), Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Loald Kerman

loald.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Pilot (Former Scientist)

3rd Kerbonaut Class

18: Luzhin 2 (Bernoulli Exp 1), Hydra 1 (Gauss 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Neilny Kerman

neilny.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist (Former Engineer)

3rd Kerbonaut Class

18: Luzhin 3 (Bernoulli Exp 1), Luzhin 6, Hydra 1 (Gauss 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Sigsey Kerman

sigsey.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer

3rd Kerbonaut Class

18: Luzhin 4 (Eutocius 1), Hydra 1 (Gauss 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Laning Kerman

laning.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Chief Researcher

Chief Flight Surgeon

Scientist

3rd Kerbonaut Class

18: Archimedes 4, Hydra 1 (Gauss 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Bobbo Kerman

bobbo.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Missing: Location Unknown

Engineer

3rd Kerbonaut Class

18: Archimedes 4

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Gusbrett Kerman

gusbrett.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist (Former Pilot)

Rescued

18: Rescue 007, Luzhin 5 (Eutocius 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Podner Kerman

podner.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer (Former Pilot)

4th Kerbonaut Class

18: Smeaton 6, Eutocius 3, Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Mitwig Kerman

mitwig.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Recruit, Scientist (Former Engineer)

4th Kerbonaut Class

18: Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Billy-Bobford Kerman

billy-bobford.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer

4th Kerbonaut Class

18: Archimedes 5, Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Gersted Kerman

gersted.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Pilot

4th Kerbonaut Class

18: Archimedes 5, X8-008, Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Hudrim Kerman

hudrim.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Recruit, Crash Test Dummy (Science)

4th Kerbonaut Class

18: Hydra 1 (Gauss 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Sheptrey Kerman

crew.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Recruit, Pilot

4th Kerbonaut Class

18: Hydra 1 (Gauss 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Shepdas Kerman

crew.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Recruit, Scientist (Former Pilot)

4th Kerbonaut Class

18: Hydra 1 (Gauss 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Lodbles Kerman

crew.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Recruit, Scientist (Former Pilot/Engineer)

4th Kerbonaut Class

18: Hydra 1 (Gauss 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Dean Kerman

crew.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Recruit, Crash Test Dummy (Science)

4th Kerbonaut Class

18: Hydra 1 (Gauss 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Podzon Kerman

crew.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Recruit, Pilot (Former Scientist)

4th Kerbonaut Class

18: Hydra 1 (Gauss 1),

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Sigcas Kerman

sigcas.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Recruit, Scientist

4th Kerbonaut Class

18: Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Mac Kerman

mac.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist

5th Kerbonaut Class

18: Eutocius 3, Hydra 2 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

The 19th Kerbal Space Agency

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Gene Kerman

genekerman.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Director of Mission and Flight Operations[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Wernher von Kerman

wernhervonkerman.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Director of Research and Development

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Carl Kerman

carlkerman.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Chief of Radio Astronomy and Telemetry Systems

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Dudry Kerman

dudry.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer (Former Pilot)

2nd Kerbonaut Class

18: Rescue 002, X1-001, Euclid 5, Archimedes 1,

19: Kestrel 1, Falcon 3, Eagle 3 (Osprey 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Barting Kerman

barting.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist (Former Pilot/Engineer)

Exact location unknown.

Rescued

18: Rescue 004, X3-003, Archimedes 1,

19: Kestrel 3,

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Jervan Kerman

jervan.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Pilot

1st 19th Kerbonaut Class

19: Kestrel 2, Falcon 1, Hawk 2, Eagle 1,

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Anny Kerman

anny.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist (Former Pilot)

1st 19th Kerbonaut Class

19: Peregrine 1, Peregrine 2, Hawk 1, Eagle 1,

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Herhat Kerman

herhat.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Pilot (Former Scientist)

2nd 19th Kerbonaut Class

19: Falcon 2, Hawk 1, Eagle 3 (Osprey 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Jack Kerman

jack.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Pilot (Former Scientist)

2nd 19th Kerbonaut Class

19: Falcon 1, Eagle 3 (Osprey 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Enlan Kerman

enlan.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist (Former Engineer)

2nd 19th Kerbonaut Class

19: Falcon 2, Hawk 1, Falcon 4, Eagle 3 (Osprey 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Lanlock Kerman

lanlock.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist (Former Pilot)

2nd 19th Kerbonaut Class

19: Falcon 3,

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Geneble Kerman

geneble.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer (Former Pilot)

3rd 19th Kerbonaut Class

19: Falcon 4,

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Donnie Kerman

donnie.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist

3rd 19th Kerbonaut Class

19: Eagle 3 (Osprey 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Nelfen Kerman

crew.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Pilot

4th 19th Kerbonaut Class

19: Eagle 1, Eagle 3

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Donmore Kerman

donmore.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer

4th 19th Kerbonaut Class

19: Eagle 1,

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Sigley Kerman

crew.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer

4th 19th Kerbonaut Class

19: Eagle 1,

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Danbus Kerman

danbus.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Major, Pilot

Military

19: Eagle 1, Eagle 2, Eagle 3

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Haldan Kerman

crew.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer

Military

19: Eagle 2,

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

The Forgotten Islands

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Deruki Kerman

crew.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Pilot

FI: Dojo-Ichi, Orenji-2

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Jaysef Kerman

jaysef.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Pilot

FI: Dojo-Ichi

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Lorim Kerman

crew.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist

FI: Orenji-2

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

The Independent Southern Coalition

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Newwin Kerman

newwin.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer

ISC: ISC-A2-01, ISC-A2-02

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Lodrigh Kerman

lodrigh.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer

ISC: ISC-A2-01

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Dercal Kerman

dercal.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Pilot

ISC: ISC-A2-02

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

Space Operations Consortium of the Highlands

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Barvey Kerman

barvey.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Pilot

SOCH: Wczesnie 145, Wczesnie 146, Wczesnie 147

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Danlong Kerman

danlong.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist

SOCH: Wczesnie 145 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Joegard Kerman

joegard.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Engineer

SOCH: Wczesnie 146, Wczesnie 147

[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Melden Kerman

melden.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist

SOCH: Wczesnie 145 (Diophantus 1)

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

In Memoriam

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

hally.jpg

Hally Kerman[/td]

[td]

Pilot

Deceased.

Rescued on Luzhin 1.

18: Luzhin 1, X3-004 (KIA)

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

Unaffiliated / No Longer With Program

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 150, align: center]

Lem Kerman

crew.jpg

[/td]

[td]

Scientist/Writer

18: Rescued on Luzhin 6.

[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]


 

 


The Mods and Plugins

(In no particular order....)

2014-08-24 Note: My mod list shrank after I moved away from using ModuleManager and any mod that required it. No problems with MM specifically, aside form not being able to load saves in stock KSP after having played with it... which keeps me from maintaining a "permanent" save file.

General Note: I build all of the plugins I use from source against the latest version of KSP, so some of those linked may not work for you. In general, if I can't build it, I won't use it. The one exception I've made is KSPAPIExtensions (KAE), a dependency for Procedural Fairings. Try as I might I can't get KAE to produce a working library from the source they've provided, but I have no reason to distrust the current maintainers and they generally keep it up to date.

2014-09-16 Note: I'm having continued issues with memory leaks and RAM usage, in large part due to launching from the old KSC. I've also discovered some bizarre issues with the former RemoteTech satellites that I "hacked" to remove the RT modules, though the issue seems to be more with the Engineer7500 parts. As I've been unable to resolve those issues I have decided to retire my communications network. (This will be resolved in-story prior to starting 0.25.) I've also decided to drop HullcamVDS and KerbTown/KerbinSide as a memory-saving measure, as well as all of my resskinned and modified parts. Hullcam may return later. I'm probably going to create my own solution for launching from the old KSC.

Oh, and Kerbal Alarm Clock was the last mod I had that was using Blizzy's Toolbar, but it still has support built into it for a stand-alone GUI button. So I now bid a fond farewell to Blizzy's clever little clutter-reducing contribution to KSP. Thanks dude!

2014-10-09 Note: Fewer mods for 0.25 because KSP on OS-X just doesn't have as much breathing room as it once did. Some of the things I like to use, such as Hullcam and the Deadly Reentry parts, are being shelved to make space for the mods I can't play without. And even then I've trimmed both HGR and Tantares of parts that I'll never use. And, as much as I'd love to use the new overhaul of E/VE, it just murders my framerate. I'll drop it in occasionally to take pictures though.

2014-12-13 Note: Sweet mother of memory! Bought a PC and can do all sorts of wonderful things now. More mods!

Current Mods and Plugins (0.90.0 Beta)

If you see me using your mod and it's not mentioned above, kick me and I'll add it!

If you see me using your mod in some way you don't like, kick me and I'll stop!


Alternate Launch Sites

kerbin_launchsites.jpg

I use two methods for selecting alternate launch sites. The first, and oldest, is KerbTown / KerbalKonstructs. At present I'm only using the Old KSC and Island Runway starting points from AlphaAsh, but I may add some other sites in the future (as RAM allows).

The primary means I use to swap launch sites though is through Real Solar System, as detailed in this post: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/89277-Ad-Lunam-Updated-2015-01-01?p=1599899&viewfull=1#post1599899 The launchsite config you need to make that work is located here: http://0div0.org/files/LaunchSites.cfg Just drop that into the RealSolarSystem folder, make the other config changes as detailed in the post I linked to, and it will mostly work. RSS is having some issues with moving launchsites in 0.90.0, so you will want to check its forum thread for instructions. Also, if my config changes cause RSS to be unstable, ask me first before you go and bother the RSS team, as it's likely something I've broken and may have already fixed.


The References

I make lots of references to things and people, particularly in the names of my missions and launch vehicles. This list is a compilation of Wikipedia links explaining the whos and the whys.

Launch Vehicles

Sorted by payload mounting size. (S = Solid, LV = Launch Vehicle, 0# = 1.25m, 1# = 1.875m, 2# = 2.5m, 3# = 3.75m)

Unassigned or Historic Launch Vehicles

Not sorted.

Missions, Stations and Exploration Programs

Not sorted.

  • Euclid - Greek Mathematician and Father of Geometry.
  • Archimedes - Greek Mathematician and Engineer.
  • Eutocius - Greek Commenter and Mathematician.
  • Al-Haytham - Arabian Astronomer and Mathematician.
  • Khayyam - Persian Mathematician and Astronomer.
  • Bernoulli - Swiss Family Mathematician.
  • Euler - Swiss Mathematician and Polymath.
  • Kolmogorov - Russian Mathematician.
  • Bogolyubov - Russian Mathematician and Physicist.
  • Thabit - Arabian Mathematician and Astronomer.
  • Hypatia - Greek Mathematician and Astronomer.
  • Agnesi - Italian Mathematician.
  • Diophantus - Greco-Egyptian Mathematician and Father of Algebra.
  • Kovalevskaya - Russian Mathematician.
  • Gauss - German Mathematician, Redeemer, and Polymath.
  • Crous - French Mathematician and Decimalist.
  • Riemann - German Mathematician.
  • Fourier - French Mathematician.
  • Poisson - French Mathematician.
  • Laplace - French Mathematician and Astronomer.
  • Lagrange - Italian Mathematician and Astronomer.
  • Smeaton - English Civil Engineer and User of Concrete.
  • Aspdin - English Bricklayer and Maker of Concrete.
  • Monier - French Gardener and Reinforcer of Concrete.
Edited by Cydonian Monk
Partial clean up from forum migration.
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The Record Breakers

"Alpha-X1, the range is clear. We're ready whenever you are." Gene's voice cracked and popped on the makeshift radio, eliciting a quick thump from Jebediah's fist. The radio squealed briefly in protest, then went back to the cracks and pops.

"I copy you loud and crackly, Gene. Here goes nothing."

Jeb tugged on his straps one last time and pushed the throttle forward. Did he really want to do this? Sure, he'd leased the new Kerbal Space Center for a week to run some equipmemt tests, but was this really a capsule he wanted to fly in? He took a deep breath, flicked the two ignition wires across each other, and immediately fell through his chair's very thin cushions as the craft leapt upwards.

20140724_ksp0002_jeb.jpg

"We show good ignition and liftoff, Alpha-X1. You're clear to 6 kilometers."

Jeb tried to respond, but the violent shaking of the craft only produced an unintelligible stutter. He watched the throttle lever shake its way out of its socket and stretched out his hand to catch it as it clanged off the side of his helmet. It took a few seconds of fumbling before it went back in, after which he throttled back. The vibrations in the capsule became slightly less murderous.

Somehow the altimeter in this rusty old capsule still worked. He watched as the dials spun around - 4.0km. 4.2km. 4.5km. All he needed to do was skip just above 5 kilometers to break his own altitude record. He cut the throttle and watched the gauge. 4.8. 4.9. The needles spun slower as gravity and the thick air ate into his ascent. 5.0. 5.1 "Just a bit more" he whispered. 5.12. 5.13. 5.14... and back down. Small bits of debris briefly floated up from the floor.

"Alhpa-X1 reporting in. You can update that record book and put a big five one four eight after my name. Headed back your way now."

Jeb started pulling on random cords and wires, trying to remember which one he'd rigged for the parachute. Most of them were just useless tie-downs and cables to boxes he'd pulled out and never replaced. One caused the radio to squawk like a chicken. Another released some apparently useless bit of exterior paneling. Finally he pulled one labeled "snack release" and the chutes kicked open.

20140724_ksp0004_jeb.jpg

He pushed the capsule's mirror out so he could see where he was. Would he hit the VAB? Maybe. He started swinging the capsule around under the parachute and pumping the throttle to move closer and closer to the VAB. He lost sight of it briefly when the chute fully unreefed, but was absolutely certain where he was going to land once the swinging stopped. He rode down on a low flame, trying to avoid dinging up a perfectly good rocket nozzle. A short thud, the chute cut, he zeroed the throttle, and was safely down.

He tried to key the radio but had apparently fried it while fishing for the parachute. Oh well. He kicked open the hatch, jumped out, and... quickly grabbed the outside to keep from falling. He looked around, half expecting to see a welcoming committee (and disappointed to find nobody), then waddled his way down the stairs to the front of the VAB.

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Once there he took out the flag he'd been hiding in his suit, shoved it into a gap in the concrete roof, and claimed the VAB in the name of Courage AND Stupidity.... Except Jeb couldn't shake the thought that he'd done all of this before, almost exactly the same way. Something was strangely familiar....

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Euclid 1 - First to Orbit?

"Stage 2 Sep." The mission control announcer was busy reporting on the status of the Euclid 1 while everyone else was fixated on the Big Board's telemetry data. "Stage 3 ignition." Just a bit more and Shepgee Kerman would become the first Kerbal in orbit. "Aaaaand.... Stage 3 cutoff. We have a good orbit." Mission control erupted into a roar.

20140729_ksp0012_euclid1.jpg

Gene Kerman was busy celebrating with the rest of Mission Control when the representative from Rockomax tapped him on the shoulder.

"Could I have a word with you Gene?"

"Sure, Havlock. Shep's scheduled to test your 24-77s here in about ten minutes, once the Euclid 1 is above 88km."

"That's not why I'm here."

"Oh. So what's up?"

"Haloly Kerman's up. In orbit, specifically." Havlock handed Gene a few sheets of paper, the top showing the orbital track and parameters of a very small object. "You can have your radar operator verify it if you like."

Gene looked at the papers, looked up at Shepgee's orbital track, looked back at the papers. Until ten seconds ago Gene was certain Shepgee had been the first Kerbal in space. Now? The look on Gene's face said all Havlock needed to. "How?"

"We had a small, accident, you might say. Our flight test team was trying something new, and poor Haloly here ended up in orbit. And now you see, this is why we're here."

"No, I mean how?" Gene laughed a nervous, semi-casual laugh. "Havlock, we just launched the first Kerbal into space." Gene pointed at Mission Control's Big Board. "So how did this other guy, this, this..." Gene snapped his fingers, trying to recall the name.

"Haloly."

"... Haloly. How did this Haloly get into orbit first?"

"You're not the only space agency on the planet, Gene. Not even the first." The Rockomax man pulled a small book out of his pocket and flipped through a few pages quickly. "Seems you're the eighteenth."

Gene stared back at him for moment, scratched his head, and then wandered over to the radar desk. He handed the papers to Carl Kerman, Chief of Radio Astronomy and Telemetry Systems, then turned back to Havlock. "What condition is his ship in?"

"He's not in a ship Gene. He had to bail out."

"So let me get this straight. You launched without notifying us..."

"Like I said, you're not the only shop in town."

"... stranded a Kerbal in space with only his EVA suit, at least I'm assuming he has a suit on..."

"Yes."

"... and now you want us to go rescue him?"

"There's Roots involved."

"You better believe there are mister." Mission control again broke into open cheers and applause as Shepgee floated through his hatch on his first EVA.

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Gene pulled Havlock in closer to speak up over the roar. "Roots. Rep. And you're the one that gets to explain to Shepgee how he's not the first Kerbal in space."


Rescue in 30 Minutes or Your Pizza is Free

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"Rescue 1, we show you five minutes out. Rendezvous will be in the blind. We'll pick you up again after the next orbit. Good luck."

"Thanks Cape. Hope to have good news for you." Milzer switched off the microphone and turned on the small spotlight on the front of the craft. Not that it'd help much against the sunlight.

Rescue 1 was the rush job of all rush jobs. The mission to recover Haloly Kerman was approved before Shepgee had even started his descent burn. An extra launch vehicle was easy to come by as several LV-01 Anaximanders had been prepped for the Euclid Program, but a two-kerbal capsule? It was only blind luck that the representative from Home Grown Rockets was at KSC to watch Shepgee's flight. (And pure coincidence that a demo Radish Capsule was with him as well.) Rescue 1 was prepped and ready to fly just an hour after Euclid 1 splashed down in the Western Ocean. Gene didn't even have time to tell Shepgee about how his record was broken before he set it. Rush job indeed.

The capsule beeped and some numbers blinked across a small display. Telemetry and life support data from the EVA suit. Milzer grimaced at the numbers: "O2: 0, H2O: 0, Snacks: 0." Not a good sign.

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A short burn and the orbit was roughly matched with Haloly. Should be enough for him to float right by the capsule. Milzer keyed the microphone.

"Rescue 1 calling Haloly Kerman. Please respond. Rescue 1 calling Haloly Kerman, please respond...." A seemingly lifeless body floated past the capsule, face frozen in some strange trance. Milzer sighed. "So, recovery."

20140729_ksp0037_rescue1.gif

Milzer was already unpacking the tethers when Haloly flinched, fired up his jet pack and flew over to the ship. He tapped on the window, looked around inside the capsule, then pointed to the dead battery pack on the front of his suit and shook his head. Milzer grinned form ear to ear, waved back, put his helmet on and started venting the capsule.

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Haloly wriggled his way into the spacecraft, closed the hatch, and pulled his helmet off as soon as the atmosphere in the cabin was thick enough to hear. He took several deep breaths, looked over to Milzer and grinned.

"Seems that leaving your helmet light on causes your suit's battery to drain." Haloly paused to take a sip of water and then started immediately into a story. "So there was this trip I took down to Kerbin City a few years ago on my bike. Nice little thing, good engine, fun to ride. Set some sort of land speed record with it once. Anyway, I'm stopped at this restaurant somewhere along the coast and this greasy-looking suit of a kerb walks up to me and say 'Hey son, how'd you like to ride a real rocket?'"

Milzer couldn't get a word in edgewise the whole way back to Kerbin.

Edited by Cydonian Monk
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Project Euclid

Euclid represents the first kerb'd spaceflight operations of my "18th" Kerbal Space Agency. I had originally planned for 6 flights, but decided to cut the project to 4 after the repeated (and annoying) rescue missions allowed me to complete project goals early, albeit on non-Euclidean missions. The launch failure of the fourth mission resulted in the reintroduction of the fifth and final mission. The Euclid flights focused on testing equipment and science data from low and mid Kerbin orbit.

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Several variations of the LV-1 Anaximander Launch Vehicle were used for Project Euclid. My LV-1 is just your basic early-game simple 2-stage KSP launcher. I had already unlocked most of the early tech nodes during the Alpha rocketry program (which completed the 4 initial "altitude record" contracts), so every Euclid launch was able to use an LV-45 as the first stage engine. Euclids 1-3 used the LV-909 as the second stage engine, while the last two flights used the Rockomax 48-7S. Euclid 1 used a mixture of several smaller engines as its special orbital stage, while Euclids 2 and 3 used a Solid Rocket Booster to provide an extra kick at liftoff (needed to account for added experiment mass).

The scientific and engineering operations of the Euclid flights are detailed below:

Euclid 1

Crew: Shepgee Kerman

Details: "First" orbital flight. Tested LV-1, LV-1R and 24-77 engines in orbital conditions. First tests of EVA systems. Recorded EVA observations of several equatorial Kerbin biomes.

20140729_ksp0014_euclid1.jpg

Euclid 2

Crew: Meldo Kerman

Details: Third orbital flight. Placed into a polar orbit. Recorded EVA observations of the remaining Kerbin biomes. Tested PB-ION drive in orbital conditions.

20140731_ksp0070_euclid2.jpg

Euclid 3

Crew: Podoly Kerman

Details: Fifth orbital flight. Conducted low-orbit Magnetometer and Radio and Plasma Wave experiments.

20140801_ksp0104_euclid3.jpg

Euclid 4

Crew: Haloly Kerman

Details: First test of LV-1A Anaximander launch vehicle. Suffered structural failure during ascent, and failed to achieve orbit. Crew recovered safely.

20140802_ksp0158_euclid4.jpg

Euclid 5

Crew: Dudry Kerman

Details: Ninth orbital flight, final mission of Project Euclid. Conducted high-orbit science and observations. Conducted high-orbit Radio and Plasma Wave experiment.

20140802_ksp0215_euclid5.jpg

And with that, Project Euclid draws to a close.

Edited by Cydonian Monk
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Long Duration Anxiety

The Luzhin was an odd collection of parts that could have only come from the mind of an insane baboon. Wernher was a bit surprised Jeb hadn't painted his logo on every piece of it.

"The next one'll be green, but I was kinda in a hurry," Jeb had chirped as he dropped off the partially assembled craft at KSC.

"What is wrong with the white and the orange and the grey?"

"Oh, nothing. Just seems too Home-Grown like that. Doesn't really scream 'Jebediah.' Well... except the orange parts."

Wernher could only shake his head.

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The vehicle was no small compromise, and all just to keep Jeb happy. The new generation of spacecraft were too heavy for the existing launch vehicles, so the engineering team put out a call for lifters with a greater capacity. And, as expected, none of the designs used Jeb's "recycled" engines. So late one evening Jeb, Bill and Bob cooked up the LV-08 Luzhin. Jeb himself claimed to have tested it.

Designed with the Tantares and similarly sized spacecraft in mind, the Luzhin uses three LV-T30s fed by three partially emptied (or only mostly filled) Home Grown Rockets aerodynamic fuel tanks. The core stage uses a down-rated LV-T45, limited to 70% thrust. As built, the design is capable of placing nearly 6 tonnes of dead weight into LKO, and more if the boosters are fully fueled. The core can be fed with fuel from the boosters for an added punch. All for much less than the cost of the competing designs.

Of course launching the thing is a different story, and it made everyone at KSC more nervous than usual. Never before had a craft so heavy been sent into space, and never before had they willing strapped explosive charges to the side just to discard boosters.

Gene already had his hand over the abort button. "You're sure this is a good idea?"

"Gene, we have tested this very thing," Wernher said, trying to convince everyone. "They will work. It will work." He wasn't so sure himself and looked over to Jeb, who just shrugged back.

"Ok." Gene tapped his microphone "Luzhin 1, you're go for launch. Begin the final count."

Mission control was deathly silent through the countdown, the ignition, and even the ascent. Nobody trusted this crazy design of Jeb's.

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A few minutes into the flight and it was clear something was wrong. Wernher pulled Jeb aside.

"Did you not say you had limited the thrust in the main engine? And set the fuel in the boosters to be less than the core?"

"Yep."

"Then why are the boosters still attached to the spacecraft? They should have burned out 45 seconds ago."

Jeb shrugged. "I must've forgot to save the tweakables." Gene's finger started rubbing circles around the edges of the abort button.

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Finally, after what seemed an impossibly long five minutes, the boosters burned out and separated. Gene let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and relaxed. He took his hand off the abort, locked it back in place, took a sip of coffee, and realized they had never set up an abort procedure in the first place. Jeb jumped up and shouted, eliciting stern looks from the normally stoic crowd.

"Hey, I'm just glad it didn't explode like when I tested it."

--

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The Tantares spacecraft that made up the Luzhin 1 was itself a conglomerated mess. Two very new and very important systems were being tested: the new monopropellant-based Reaction Control System, and the Thunder Aerospace Corporations's Life Support System. Two additional life support scrubbers also made the ride, one for carbon-dioxide and the other for water. The poor Tantares looked like an impossible mess of wires and tubing from the outside, and wasn't much better on the inside.

Meldo punched the microphone. "Cape, Luzhin 1." He had to try that a couple times to get a response out of CapCom. Seems they weren't used to the new continuous-contact communications system they'd built.

"Meldo, old buddy old pal. What's up?"

"Podoly?! Who let you run the board?"

"A fair little lady named Bribery. So, have you scooped up Staedler's little lost lamb yet?"

"Negative. I'm still about" Meldo looked over at the rendezvous clock, "five minutes out. No, I called to file a complaint about the CO2 scrubber the boys in R&D glued on this tug. Seems it's either configured for the old TAC system or it's shorted out. Not sure which, but it eats the batteries anytime I turn it on, which for some reason also shuts off the fuel cells."

"Noted. Will you be bringing that part to us or should we send a mechanic?"

"Ha ha. No, I have enough O2 for the duration. Just wanted to have you put a sticky note on the Electrical Officer's desk."

"Will do. Anything else you need? Our pizza delivery service is temporarily out for lunch."

"Nope, looks like the wayward ram is about to drift into radio distance. I should probably go snag this guy before the game decides to kill him off."

"Like that ever happens."

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Same deal as all the rescues: Hally's suit was empty except for his EVA fuel. (Which is presumably breathable and edible in order to keep them alive.) Meldo used the Tantares' RCS to complete the rendezvous with Hally, then spun around so the orbital module's airlock door was facing him. Hally seemed to get the idea.

A few minutes later and he was out of his EVA suit and sliding down into the main, rather cramped, crew cabin.

"Quite a setup your brought just to rescue little old me. Got enough gizmos on this tug to give a watchmaker a headache."

"What, they didn't tell you?"

Hally shook his head. "Tell me what?"

"You've been drafted. Welcome the KSA. This is the Bernoulli Program's Luzhin 1 long-duration spaceflight test. You get to spend another 52 days in orbit."

Hally just stared silently at the instrument panel in front of him for several minutes.

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Finally he turned back to Meldo.

"So, got any snacks?"

Edited by Cydonian Monk
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Didn't realise you could subscribe to your own thread (shirks off to do so!..)

Well thought out report so far and really nicely written with the little details. I could learn a lot from this style, as I'm not sure my current report is working well.

Looking forward to the next installment!

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The Rescue Missions

Since the dawn of time Kerbals have looked to the stars and dreamt of space. Some were so impatient they would take any risk to get there, including large trampolines, balloons filled with lighter-than-air gasses, and even chairs strapped with forty-seven small rockets. So it was only natural several dozen kerbals would find themselves stranded in orbit with no way home. Even though it makes little to no sense.

For the early rescue mission I used a fairly basic launch vehicle, the LV-1 Anaximander with an extra Solid Rocket Booster, tipped with a Home-Grown Rockets Radish capsule. This setup is more than capable of reaching the orbits these unlucky kerbonauts seem to get into. As I'm using the TAC life support mod, these rescues are rather urgent. (Though the crews won't start starving until they come into 2.5m range if an active ship, for RP purposes I assume they're already in trouble.)

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Luzhin 1 and the rescue of Hally was a special case. By this point the rescue missions were becoming more of an annoyance, spawning after every successful return from space. So I wanted to experiment a little, and see if holding a kerbal hostage in orbit would stop new rescues from spawning. The answer seems to be yes, kerbal EVA spawning is stopped when the contracts are still open, but more tests are required.

Going forward I'm planning to use a smaller, automated rescue craft, stocked with a healthy dose of snacks and supplies. The first trial run of these was completed with the sixth rescue mission. These robotic missions have become so ordinary that I barely took any photos. Later rescues will likely be conducted from orbiting space stations, where the rescued kerbal will remain until the next crew rotation.

Rescue missions have already become my primary means of recruiting kerbals, if a bit on the annoying side.

Rescue 001

Crew: Milzer

Mission: Rescue Haloly Kerman, stranded by Rockomax.

Result: Success.

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Rescue 002

Crew: Dudry

Mission: Rescue Lengee Kerman, stranded by Flooyd.

Result: Success.

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Rescue 003

Crew: Shepgee

Mission: Rescue Jorble Kerman, stranded by Winter Owl. (Poor Matt, gets blamed for the trouble even when it isn't him getting into the trouble.)

Result: Success.

20140801_ksp0124_rescue3.jpg

Rescue 004

Crew: Milzer

Mission: Rescue Barting Kerman, stranded by Zaltonic. Also tested early model of ION drive.

Result: Rescue success. ION test inconclusive, but considered success.

20140802_ksp0148_rescue4.jpg

Luzhin 1 / Rescue 005

Crew: Meldo

Mission: Rescue Hally Kerman, stranded by Staedler, and retain in orbit for up to 50 days.

Result: Success. No further rescue missions spawned while crew was in orbit and contract still open.

20140802_ksp0173-2_luzhin1.jpg

Rescue 006

Crew: None - Automated.

Mission: Rescue Genekin Kerman, stranded by OMB.

Result: Success. Test of automated recovery vessel proved satisfactory.

20140803_ksp0279_rescue6.jpg


An Experiment in Scouting

Shepgee was completely engrossed in the latest book in the Special Agent Kirrim series when Gene knocked on his door. He shoved a napkin into the book to mark his place and tossed it off to the side. "Oh, hey Gene. What's up?"

"Shepgee. Got a minute?" Gene closed Shepgee's office door behind him, leaning against it to make sure nobody accidentally walked in. "I know you've got your Archimedes 1 flight to prep for, but there's something that's been bothering me and I'd like you to take a look into it."

"Ok, what?"

"During your Euclid 1 flight the Rockomax rep said, somewhat offhand, that we're the 18th space agency. Except nobody else I talk to has ever heard anything about the previous 17. Nor can they give me a good answer as to how all these kerbals keep getting trapped in orbit."

"How am I supposed to help with that? I'm not really much more than a glorified test pilot."

"And that's exactly why I'm here." Gene walked away from the door, placing a folder full of papers on Shepgee's desk that Shepgee hadn't seen him carrying. "As a test pilot I can send you just about anywhere under the guise of a test flight. The boys in R&D are making progress on the X2 design, and I'd like to to take it," Gene opened the folder and pointed at a spot on a map "and fly it here."

"The deserts and high plains? What's there?"

"Well, we're not sure. So we've rigged a camera package to the front of the cockpit. The plan is to have you circumnavigate Kerbin at high altitude, which is the official test. When you're over the target area, just turn on the cameras. There has to be another launch site somewhere on that continent."

--

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Two kerbals stood in the shadows of the tower, watching Shepgee's X2 flight disappear over the ocean. The taller of the two took a toothpick from his mouth and looked at it quizically.

"You left the heat shielding off of those cameras, right?" The other kerbal nodded an affirmative reply. "Good. Those cameras won't survive past 1500m/s or so. No reason to sabotage the plane itself if we can render it blind. Should buy us enough time."

"What if he sees it himself?"

The tall one tossed his toothpick to the ground and twisted it into dust with his boot. An old habit, no doubt. "Well, sometimes accidents happen on the way to the Mün."

20140802_ksp0184_x2.jpg

Edited by Cydonian Monk
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Well thought out report so far and really nicely written with the little details. I could learn a lot from this style, as I'm not sure my current report is working well.

Looking forward to the next installment!

Thanks!

My advice is to just do what you feel comfortable with, and if you're not happy with what you've got, change it up. Plenty of room to experiment as none of us are in this to win Pulitzers. (I hope.) ;)

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The tall one tossed his toothpick to the ground and twisted it into dust with his boot. An old habit, no doubt. "Well, sometimes accidents happen on the way to the Mün."

Ah, intrigue! Anyway, excellent writing. I'm enjoying this.

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Archimedes 1 - Mün Slingshot

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"And that's it boyos, final burn complete." Dudry closed and locked the cover for the main engine's arming switch as little bits of debris floated forward from the back of the cabin. "Next stop: Mün."

"Too bad we don't get to land."

"Look at it this way Barting. At least we'll be the first Kerbals to see the dark side of it."

"Maybe" said Shepgee as he started working his way down the commander's checklist. "No guarantee there won't be another of you cast-aways already in orbit."

"Awww, poor Sheps. All broke up still about your first jaunt in the jolly dark being the not so first?" Shepgee ignored Dudry's jab and kept working through the checklist. "Still, ya got to admit this is a better gig than flying around in those rattlin' death traps the crazies in the X-Project dream up."

"Yeah, Shep, what happened to that bird of your's last week anyway? Came back with the black scorch along the nose."

"Ah, nothing. Had a cool little camera package rigged up that couldn't handle the heat. Shame, too, took some real pretty shots of the sunset."

"So what'd ya see up there anyway? Your the first to circumnavigate the planet while still in the atmosphere, ya know?"

"Not much, really. It was dark half the time." Shepgee thought for a moment, stuck the checklist and its clipboard back to the velcro, and glanced out of the cabin window. "The stars seemed brighter somehow. And the plasma stream coming off the nose was, well, disconcerting. After a while you get used to it, at least until some small piece of the plane burns off and explodes."

Barting unstrapped himself and floated up to the docking port to take a look around. "So you didn't see anything then? Shame, really." He braced against the inside of the cabin and gave the door's latch a hard twist, just to make sure it was still sealed.

Shepgee went back to his checklist. "Well, I wouldn't say I saw nothing. The second sunset was interesting." He scribbled a few notes at the bottom of the form and stowed the clipboard. "And besides, the desert isn't completely empty. Lots of interesting little towns, like Puerto Kabat, there o nthe Eastern edge of the desert. The market and port in that town looked busy even from 30km up."

Dudry floated up from the lower seat and gasped at the view of Kerbin. "Well would ya look at that? What a beaut. Sure does slink away in a hurry though."

"Get used to it. We've got another day of slinking to do. Best get some rest, too."

20140804_ksp0300_arch1.jpg


"I just don't understand why I have to be outside of the ship for it to count." Shepgee was fumbling around outside the capsule, trying to hurriedly take EVA reports and grab Gravioli readings. "I mean, it's so dark I can't even see the surface! How is another 'Hey, still pitch black' report going to help?"

"Y'know Shep, if you're that broke up about it, I'd be giddy to float around out there and write about the dark of the Dark Side instead." Dudry poked at the main radio again. "We're still in the hole as far as the kiddies on Kerbin know. Until the sats come back around, who'd be the wiser but you and our boy Barting here?"

Just then the hatch flung open and Shepgee shoved a stack of readings into the science compartment. "Ok. Your turn." Dudry wasted no time.

The Archimedes 1 had a simple mission: Slingshot retrograde around the Mün and return to Kerbin. Of course the science team never passed up a chance to test a gizmo and sent along something new: The "Negative Ravioli ThingaMaGig" as Dudry called it. And for some reason its readings had to be removed, kerbally, from outside the ship. Otherwise the science-kerbs back on the ground didn't get as much data. And then the mission planners, still unsure what to do about cameras, decided they'd rather have EVA reports from the crews over selected parts of the Mün. In the dark. Shepgee hoped it all made sense in some geek's brain, because it certainly didn't in his. Dudry chirped in on the radio.

20140804_ksp0305_arch1.jpg

"Whoa. Hey, you boyos might want to look out the window. You'll be the second and third lil' greenies to see a sunrise on the Mün's backside! What. A. View."

Barting took the next EVA duty cycle, but by then the ship was drifting back above the useful reporting altitude. He was just about to climb back inside when Kerbin appeared over the Mün. He didn't bother to mention it to the other two, as the rotation of the ship made it impossible for them to see. Just a private little Kerbinrise.

20140804_ksp0306_arch1.jpg


"Hey Sheps! Did you hear about the big dish the smart lil ones are building out in the Arakebo crater?"

"Nope. Didn't see anything funny when I was flying over it either." Shepgee was back in the lower seat, letting the two junior kerbonauts enjoy the reentry. He'd certainly seen enough plasma as of late.

Barting was busy working the reentry checklist. "Ok, we're coming up on 150km. Time to jettison the service module." He flipped up the toggles to arm the separators for the service module and the heatshield and counted down to 150k. "And, jettisoned." The stack decoupler shook the capsule, the first sound the crew had heard in two days. Jettisoning the service module also threw the capsule a bit off course, which the SAS quickly corrected. Barting still had his fingers on the switches.

20140804_ksp0311_arch1.jpg

"So, Shepgee. You sure you didn't see anything of interest your last time through here?" Barting glanced down into the lower cabin, fingers dangling dangerously on the heatshield ejector.

"Nothing, Barting. Maybe the recovery crews will take us over to look at this new dish of Dudry's."

"Not my dish, oh cap'n my cap'n. And not really a dish, but a big smooth dent inside a big rocky dent."

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The cabin started to rattle as the ship bit into the atmosphere. Dudry glanced over nervously at Barting. The superheated air was already streaming bright red past the window, casting the kerbal in a menacing red glow. He motioned towards the panel, and Barting's lingering fingers. "You oughtta take those switches out to dinner first my boy."

"Hmm?" Barting looked down at his hand and quickly pulled it back, chuckling nervously. "Guess I should watch where I stick em." He closed the cover over the heatshield ejector switch and "That would've made for funny story, huh? Go all the way to the Mün and burn up on reentry because I blew the heatshield off too early. Heh."

Dudry shook his head. "Just don't go botherin' my parachutes, ok? Those fair silken maidens are on my board, over here." Dudry grinned and looked up through the navigation window, where he could watch the Mün setting behind Kerbin. "Maybe next time they'll let us land there."

20140804_ksp0316_arch1.jpg

The recovery crew flew them straight back to KSC, ignoring requests to see the new dish at Arakebo station.


"It's for Kerbals!"

Gene wasn't sure what to make of it. Sure, Haloly had come up with some brilliant ideas since being rescued, but this one? Gene was thinking perhaps he'd been in space without oxygen for a bit too long. He picked up the scrap of paper Haloly had slid across his desk and stared at it for a bit.

20140805_for_kerbals.jpg

"It, uh.... It looks rather uncomfortable."

"It'll be nicer on the inside! And made of cheese!"

Gene thought about it for a moment, looked at the paper one last time, then handed it back to Haloly. "Ok. Get with the guys in engineering and see what you can come up with. And don't..." Gene was interrupted by a loud, rumbling boom, causing his entire office to shake. He looked up at Haloly, extended his hand and fingers, and counted down from four. Just as he reached one the door flew open and a flustered and out of breath kerbal burst in.

"Gene, you better come quick. There's been an accident. Plane landed. Safe. Then exploded."

Gene was already up and heading out of the door. "Who?"

20140805_ksp0334a_explosion.jpg

Edited by Cydonian Monk
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  • 2 weeks later...

The Engineering Tests

Unlike the rescue missions, I find the engineering test contracts to be both enjoyable and realistic. I'm _almost_ convinced the "test part Y under condition X" missions should be the only way to unlock new parts in the game. This is the heart and soul of engineering after all: coming up with a design and testing it until you're ready to let it go. Of course these missions result in some odd looking designs, but my "rocket-like" aesthetic still wins through in most cases.

The test division of my 18th KSA is split into two groups: The Alpha Team, consisting of rocket and VAB-launched test projects, and the X-Project, which conducts all airplane and spaceplane research. Many of the Alpha tests have been moved to regular scheduled space missions, such as the Euclid and Rescue programs, as noted previously. Still, there is the occasional need for an Alpha launch to occur, such as the early tests of the new parachute and launch escape systems.

20140803_ksp_engineering.jpg

I don't keep very exact records for these one-off engineering test missions, so very little data is available. I also don't tend to take many photos, as these are just short, one-off missions. Especially the static firing tests and the flights where I can't even use the part (because, for example, I have ION drives but no Xenon).

20140824_ksp_staticfire.jpg

The X-Project, on the other hand, draws all the photographers. And why wouldn't it? These X-tests are all conducted with live Kerbal crews, at great risk to themselves and everyone around. (And there's exciting new aircraft designs, too.) The X-Project missions are the most dangerous I fly, and traditionally more of my kerbals have died testing spaceplanes than in any other accident. This has also been the case over the course of the 18th KSA, producing the sole fatality to this point.

To date there have been six X-Project flights, all atmospheric-only. The highest flight thus far was that of the X3-004, piloted by Hally Kerman, which exceeded 50km on two different climbs.

X1-001

Crew: Dudry Kerman

Experiments: Basic Jet Engine, Air Pressure, Temperature.

Results: All experiments successful. Safe landing.

20140802_ksp0136_x1.jpg

X2-002

Crew: Shepgee Kerman

Experiments: Turbojet Engine, circumnavigation of Kerbin, equatorial scouting.

Results: Partial success. Turbojet and circumnavigation successful, scouting mission inconclusive. Camera package exploded due to excess heat buildup. Safe nighttime landing.

20140802_ksp0177_x2.jpg

X3-003

Crew: Barting Kerman

Experiments: Turbojet Engine, Delta Wing.

Results: Successful. Mission to Puerto Kabat (South-Eastern most point of the Desert Continent). Landed at Puerto Kabat, spent night, returned to KSC. Safe landing.

20140803_ksp0259_x3.jpg

X3-004

Crew: Hally Kerman

Experiments: High-altitude use of Turbojet.

Results: Catastrophic failure, loss of crew. The tests of the turbojet were successful, however upon returning to KSC the craft exceeded desirable air speed and proceeded to sustain reentry damage. Craft landed safely, but an event caused the craft to veer hard to the right, off of the runway, and into the surface, resulting in the destruction of the aircraft and the death of the crew. Accident investigation suggests the tires on the right rear landing gear may have lost pressure during the low-altitude overspeed event.

20140805_ksp0323_x3.jpg

20140805_ksp0334_hally.jpg

X4-005

Crew: Jorble Kerman

Experiments: New scramjet air intakes, test of RAPIER.

Results: Success. RAPIER burned through oxidizer at higher rate than expected. Suffered electrical failure on return to KSC. Landed safely.

20140805_ksp0338_x4.jpg

X3-006

Crew: Podoly Kerman

Mission: Survey of points in ocean south of Desert Continent.

Results: Partial success. Returned to the X3 design to verify crash of X3-004 was a fluke. Craft suffered several stuck control surfaces, possibly du to heat buildup and expansion, had to land under duress. Craft and crew recovered safely. Ocean survey successful.

20140814_ksp0009_x3.jpg

It's traditional for the test pilot crews to have photos taken of themselves and their craft after each successful flight. Nobody knows when this practice started (sometime in KSP 0.21 actually), but the program administrators have now made it a standard practice.

20140824_ksp_xcrews.jpg

Edited by Cydonian Monk
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Archimedes 3

20140806_ksp0375_archimedes3.jpg

Gene was pacing back and forth, eying his watch and generally making everybody nervous. As the clock ticked down he started tapping his fingers to mark the seconds. At 5 minutes he blurted out one of his characteristic "Ah Haaa!"s and made the rounds. "Holding at T minus five minutes for preflight checks. CapCom?"

"Go Flight."

"Booster?"

"Go."

"EECOM?"

"We're Go."

"INCO?"

"Go."

"Guidance?"

"Yeah, go flight."

"Range?"

"Sky's clear. Go."

"Archimedes 3, we are all systems go. Begin the terminal count on my mark." Gene tapped his watch, counting out the seconds. This was it, five minutes and next stop: Mün. He waited until the little little hand made its way around to the top. "Mark." Gene picked up his coffee mug and was in the middle of a sip when a bright red light started flashing on his console. INCO's voice crackled on his headset a few seconds later.

"Abort, abort, abort."

"Copy your abort, INCO. All desks abort the countdown." Gene cursed silently inside as he and his controllers worked through the abort checklist and secured the vehicle. When all systems were safe he looked at his watch again and sighed. "Get the crew unplugged and out of the capsule, we'll try this again in the morning." He took off his headset, tossed it angrily on the console, and walked over to the instrumentation officer's station. "Tomsey."

"Hey Gene."

"So what's this abort about?"

"The onboard reported a stuck control surface during automated equipment checks." Tomsey pointed to a random blinking light on his console. "See, this one. Figured it was best to send a tech out to poke at it before we try to launch."

Gene scratched at the back of his head and grinned. "Tomsey, that's one of the jets at the hanger. The Ortelius doesn't have any control surfaces."

--

The intern they sent out to poke at the stuck control surface reported finding the entire craft devoid of strakes, winglets, or control surfaces of any type. "Not surprising," Wernher replied. "We saw no need as the rocket was heading to the Mün. Yet we will add the control surfaces to the spacecraft. It will only take a few minutes."

Six days later they tried it all again.

"Archimedes 3, we show you all systems go. Start the clock on my mark." Gene tapped at his watch again. "Mark." He glared at his coffee cup, wondering what else could go wrong to delay this launch, and paced more nervously than normal as the announcer counted down the final seconds.

"T minus ten. We have main engine ignition. Five, four, service towers pulling away, two, one, and liftoff! Liftoff of Archimedes 3, marking Kerbin kind's first journey to the Mün." Gene wondered how many kerbals were already stranded on the Mün, awaiting their rescue.

20140808_ksp0379_arch3.jpg

"Archimedes 3 has cleared the towers. Goodspeed, Arc 3."

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20140808_ksp0387_arch3.jpg

Gene was surprised by the perfectly normal launch. First stage separation, second stage burn, in orbit, second stage sep, no issues. He had relaxed enough to take a sip of coffee when Jorble's voice came across the comms.

"Uh, Cape? We seem to be venting... something. Not sure what at this point, but there's an obvious stream being emitted from the MEM fairing. Ooh. Now the lights are flickering."

20140808_ksp0390_arch3.jpg

Gene was about to get up when EECOM came on the line. "Flight, EECOM. I'm showing a short in the MEM's main life support batteries. Advise replacement after extraction."

"Copy that EECOM. CapCom, Shepgee, pass EECOM's instructions along to the crew. Also, have Meldo EVA to inspect the MEM following extraction and before they open the docking ports. We are still go for Trans-Münar Injection."

"Copy flight, still go for TMI." Shepgee, who had volunteered to serve as CapCom after his landing was pushed back to Archimedes 4, described the situation and relayed the instructions to the crew. Gene knew what this meant, though. With the primary batteries on the lander dead, and with them using the one spare, they could only safely stay on the surface for one orbit of the command module. 30 minutes should be enough to get the basic science done, but didn't seem like enough. What else could go wrong today?

MEM Extraction was a simple affair. First, the four fairings keeping the Münar Excursion Module shielded from the atmosphere were jettisoned. Next the Command Module broke free from the third stage and the MEM, floating away slowly. The capsule then rotates a full 180º to orient towards the MEM's docking port. Jettisoning the fairing base and other assemblages from the base of the Command Module provides enough force to propel it back towards the MEM, which it then slowly drifts into and docks with.

20140808_ksp0398_arch3.jpg

Afterwards the third stage was jettisoned, drifting off a bit before it fired it engine one last time to direct it into a Münar impact. Once that was done and all the internals hooked up, Meldo ventured out to stuff some Kondo Putty into the leaking tank of "something".

20140808_ksp0407_arch3.jpg

Next stop: Mün.

--

20140808_ksp0412_arch3.jpg

Haloly was busy playing with the camera, trying to get some crew photos before the Münar capture burn. He looked over to the pilots's seat just as Kerbin came into frame. "Y'know, Jorble, you sure are in a good mood for somebody that doesn't get to go with us down to the surface."

20140808_ksp0416_arch3_jorble.jpg

"Just happy to be along for the ride, bud." He glanced out the window at Kerbin just as Haloly snapped his picture. "Would you look at that! Wow!"

The Münar capture burn completed without issue. Jorble set about getting ready for his lonely single orbit while Meldo and Haloly moved supplies down to the lander. They flipped a coin to decide who would be the lander pilot, and thus the first on the Mün. Haloly caught the coin after it ricocheted around the cabin several times, and Meldo conceded the chair to him. Once everything was stowed they said their goodbyes to Jorble, Meldo pulled the hatch shut, sealed it, and disengaged the docking ring. A simple pulse from the RCS system and they were away.

20140808_ksp0461_arch3.jpg

"See you two again in 45 minutes or so, ok?"

"You bet Jorble!" Haloly sounded almost giddy on the radio. "I'll bring you back some cheese!"

Jorble laughed. "Ok, you do that bud. Good luck."

Haloly pushed the lander further away from the command module and set up the descent burn. Their landing site was a preselected point on the retrograde face of the Mün, nicely tucked between a cluster of small craters. The lander had enough fuel to fly over the site should it prove to be too rocky. A crescent Kerbin rose just a few moments after the first burn.

20140808_ksp0467_arch3.jpg

"Wow, take a look at that. Never gets old." Meldo unstrapped from his seat and floated over behind Haloly to take a look.

"Yeah, imagine if we'd already rolled for the second burn. The sights we miss by chance."

"Really seems a shame to have to look away from this." Haloly waited for Meldo to get strapped back in then spun around for the final burns. "Goodbye Kerbin!"

20140808_ksp0475_arch3.jpg

The second burn brought their horizontal velocity down to manageable numbers, allowing them to drift down to the surface on a small flame. At the last second Haloly decided to spin around again to face Kerbin, much to the consternation of the ground controllers. A bit of regolith dust kicked up around the lander, audibly eroding away the sides and bottom of their craft. And then, just like that, they were down. Haloly killed the thrust and he and Meldo worked through the post-touchdown checklist before radioing back home.

20140808_ksp0482_arch3.jpg

"Cape, Kerbinview Heights here. The Archimedes has landed."

The contract completion notices started pouring in immediately. √285,000, just for landing on the Mün and sending back a bit of science. More than twice what the mission cost to launch, and enough to guarantee a sequel. Still, Haloly seemed a bit disappointed.

20140808_ksp0487_arch3.jpg

"It's just rocks and dust."

Meldo slapped him on the shoulder and handed him his EVA helmet. "Cheer up, kiddo. We're on the Mün! Let's go. Lots to do and not much time to do it." He was busy wrestling his way into his EVA suit, ready to get out and play in the endless regolith.

"Where's the cheese? They said there'd be cheese."

"Maybe it's buried under all the dust. Like a preservative or somethin'." He twisted his helmet on and locked the latch, then keyed his mic. "Besides, you're up first. First to orbit, first on the Mün."

20140808_ksp0488_arch3.jpg

Haloly kicked open the ingress/egress hatch and started out on the ladder. There was already a thin cote of dust on everything, no doubt kicked up while they were landing. A small cloud of it was still settling back to the surface.

"Hey Meldo, you think maybe the Mün has an atmosphere? All this dust is just kinda hanging in the, er, nothingness."

"Sure, maybe. You know half of Kerbin is listening to us, right?"

"Really? Hi mom!" Haloly let go of the ladder with one arm and waved back at Kerbin. "Ok now, I'm at the bottom of the ladder. The regolith just beneath the lander is blackened and glazed, probably formed into little beads of glass." He pulled a tapes from the science instruments on the descent module and handed them back up to Meldo. "Hey, hold on to these for me would you?" He then made his way to the bottom of the ladder.

"Ok, I'm stepping off the ladder now. Wow, that sure is a lot of dust." He kicked around at the surface with his boot, digging in a bit. "I still don't see any cheese Meldo."

20140808_ksp0491_arch3.jpg

Just then mission control broke in with congratulations from, well, just about everyone on the planet. Gene was particularly effusive, showering more platitudes on Haloly than he'd ever heard. Haloly wasn't paying attention of course, and skipped off and away from the lander to play in the dust.

Meldo silently made his way down the ladder, bringing the video camera and some other instruments with him. He bounced off to a spot beyond where Haloly was playing and set everything up on a tripod.

"C'mon kiddo, time for a group photo. Smile for the viewers back home, would ya?"

"Flag time!" Haloly jumped up from the surface, pulled out a flag, and drove it deep into the soil as he was coming down. Just like some superhero from a comic book. All right in front of the camera, eliciting cheers from mission control and everyone on Kerbin. (Or at least that's how it went down in Haloly's mind.)

20140808_ksp0493_arch3.jpg

Superhero or not, Zaltonic Electronics was so impressed with his delivery they decided to include an extra √370 on the top of their "Plant a Flag" contract. √95,370 for the flag alone, bringing the total for the mission to √380,370. Not to mention whatever the agency would earn by returning samples and recovering the craft. The administration was dreaming of a third or fourth Mün landing. Gene and Wernher were thinking of Duna. Haloly and Meldo were busy throwing small pebbles at each other.

As with all good things, their time on the Mün was coming to an end. Mission control was being adamant about only staying for one orbit of the command module, even though the mystery leak had never returned and the spare life support battery was working as expected. So Meldo and Haloly packed up their samples and said their goodbyes to the Mün. Meldo climbed up first to get the ascent stage prepped. Haloly paused to watch Kerbin for a while at the base of the ladder.

20140808_ksp0497_arch3.jpg

"Hey Meldo?"

"Yeah Oly?"

"You know were coming back here someday, right?"

"Maybe you, kiddo." He primed the ascent engines as Haloly climbed back in and secured the hatch. "Me, I'm looking forward to a nice, quiet desk job." He looked back to make sure his partner was strapped in, then slapped the big red staging button. "On Duna."

20140808_ksp0498_arch3.jpg

--

20140808_ksp0506_arch3.jpg

The recovery and MEM disposal was quick and went exactly as planned, and the trip back somehow felt shorter than the trip out. Jorble, still giddy from his 2 orbits, spent most of the time chattering about this thing or that. Haloly had his fair share of "did I tell you about the time..." stories, including one which Meldo and Jorble had only heard twice. Meldo was merely trying to get some sleep.

20140808_ksp0514_arch3.jpg

The landing was perfectly planned, with an aerocapture by Kerbin at thirty-some-thousand meters, and a predawn splashdown just off the coast of KSC. Almost like it'd been planned.

20140808_ksp0521_arch3.jpg

The astronaut corps all chipped in to surprise Haloly with what was nearly a lifetime supply of cheeses from every corner of Kerbin. He ate like a king and wore a huge smile for münths. (And was quietly thankful this cheese tasted better than the dust did on the Mün.) Afterwards the three new heroes went on the requisite tours, junkets, and photo ops. More exhausting than the entire 3 days trip had been.

Yet for once they felt they all had a reason to celebrate.

Edited by Cydonian Monk
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The Network

When I started this save I did so with the intent of using Remote Tech. I've toyed with it in the past, and while it was fun it was also very buggy. The new release from the new dev crew seemed to be less so, so I decided to give it another shot. And I'm glad I did.

My early flights were all flown with kerbals inside a can, so connectivity wasn't an issue. By the time I felt the need to launch a probe, placing a comsat in Kerbin-Synchronous Orbit (KSO) was as easy as any other launch. The first series of KSO sats were the Herald G1, which formed the primary backbone of the network. Three were launched in the first batch, spaced roughly 120° around Kerbin. Each had three main dishes: one for talking to the active vessel, two for talking to the neighboring satellites. The uplink, which communicated directly with Mission Control, didn't have a spare for talking to the active vessel, creating a small but manageable hole in the very-early network. (Because generally if you're blocked from view of the other two KSO sats, you were also directly overhead KSC.)

Here's the second Herald G1 on ascent.

20140730_ksp0061_herald_g1.jpg

I hadn't yet unlocked the Communicatron 32, so I also needed a series of lower orbit relay satellites. These filled in the communications gap, and were placed in a orbit such that they could reach both the ground and one of the KSO primaries. (Roughly 1067km.)

20140731_ksp0097_relay_g1.jpg

This produced an early network looking something like this:

20140802_ksp0223_early.jpg

When the time came to expand the network to the Mün, I decided to downrate the three primaries (Herald G1 A-C) to secondaries, and replaced them with three new satellites featuring 6 dishes each. 2 for crosstalk with the neighboring satellites, one pointed at Kerbin's surface (which also handles uplink from Mission Control), 1 for active vessels, 1 pointed at the Mün, and the final pointed at Minmus.

20140802_ksp0229_herald_g2.jpg

Three new satellites were then placed into a 24-hour orbit around the Mün, which is the best I could do without the ability to place one in a Münar-Stationary Orbit. These satellites are identical to the new G2 series Herald, yet only use 4 of their dishes: 1 for the active vessel, 1 aimed at Kerbin, and 2 for crosstalk with the neighbors.

20140803_ksp0283_herald_g2mun.jpg

The network around the Mün following deployment:

20140803_ksp0285_munnet.jpg

And the overall network:

20140803_ksp0286_mid.jpg

Had they been built and launched, the three Minmus satellites would have been identical to those at the Mün, except in Minmus-Stationary Orbit.

The final pieces in the network are the Messenger satellites. Designed for long-range interplanetary communication, each would be launched with four large dishes, locked onto a specific satellite around a far-off planet. So far only Messenger 1 has entered service, communicating with the Thabit 1 probe around Moho. Once the initial foothold in a system is established, a later Messenger probe would enter into a very high polar orbit around the target body.

Here's the Thabit 1, on its way to Moho:

20140816_ksp0067_thabit1.jpg

And here's a shot of the Messenger 1, suffering from the decoupler glitch that has been plaguing me in KSP 0.24.2. Fortunately nothing important was destroyed.

20140817_ksp0079_messenger.jpg

For me, the coolest part of having a working RemoteTech network is watching the paths shift as various craft orbit. For example, this is Bobbo Kerman in the orbital module of the Archimedes 4 staying in contact with Mission Control while Shepgee and Laning are busy playing around down on the surface. (But more on those 3 later.) I'm putting this inside of a Spoiler tag because... nausea inducing motion. If anyone has an image stabilizer they could run this through I'll gladly throw some forum rep your way.

20140822_ksp0197_network.gif


Council of Shadows

The lights in the council room were dark. Deliberately. Seven shadows sat around a circular table, their faces occluded, the table illuminated only by the cold glow of its mysterious holographic lights. A door opened, casting a brightness across the room that briefly lit the faces of the assembled. The silhouette of a kerbal appeared, entered, and then the door closed once more. This eighth shadow took its seat, and spoke in a stern and gravelly voice.

20140902_ksp0042_council.jpg

"Gentlekerbs, we have a WildFire Scenario on our hands." Eight screens appeared from nowhere in the center of the desk, each showing the same video feed: Jets from Kerbal Space Center going out on patrol. "This Gene is on to us, and has been spending considerable assets trying to locate our auxiliary launch site. As such we've been forced to abandon and bury the facility."

A shadow spoke. "I told you stranding kerbals in orbit was a bad idea. TV ratings or no."

"Indeed you did." The video feed changed again, this time to an unidentified construction site. "Unfortunately, this iteration of the Space Agency has captured more attention than we desired, possibly due to this ill-planned marooning of kerbals. Certain constitute nations of our organization have started constructing their own spaceports, as seen here."

"WildFire."

"Precisely." The screens disappeared again, casting everything back into the room's natively dull darkness. "We all remember the actions taken by this council to put out previous WildFires."

Seven voices simultaneously whispered "Zed dot eighteen."

"That history is behind us, buried in the very desert it created. We can not risk another impact of that magnitude." The screens blinked back to life. Scenes of fire, dust, and blowing sands flickered past, followed by images of endless convoys of refugees. Kerbals driven from their homes by the chaos. The screens paused on a particularly poignant shot, then blinked out of existence once more. "A second event of that scale may permanently destroy the economy of our planet. Nor can we risk another event such as the upheaval of the oh dot twentyone. This Gene and his crew would certainly discover us."

"So what then?" A different shadow spoke up. "Just allow these other two sites to reach completion?"

"Yes, or at least continue. Those responsible will be found and dealt with. First, however, we must put an early end to this incarnation of the KSA. Removing ourselves from their sight will allow us to move undetected, and putting them out on the street is the easiest way to accomplish that. Agreed?"

All nodded in agreement, silently and invisibly.

"Very well. I'll make the necessary arrangements. Hopefully we can stop this fire before it spreads."

Edited by Cydonian Monk
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Archimedes 4

20140820_ksp0120_arch4.jpg

"Ok, I've got a good view of the lander now. Oooh. Would you look at that. Kerbin, too." The radio crackled briefly, then Bobbo continued. "Everything checks out from here. Have fun down in the East Crater you two."

"Thanks, Bobbo." Shepgee stowed the lander checklist in a pocket next to his controls. "Don't get too lonely up here now. We'll be back in four or five days."

"Sunrise to sunset. Don't stay out any later than dark. That's when the ghosts and monsters come out."

Shepgee laughed, then used the lander's RCS system to kick themselves laterally out of the orbiter's path. Once clear he lined up for the first descent burn, glanced over his shoulder to make sure Laning was ready, then gave the main engine a test burn.

"Doesn't have as much kick as that one Haloly got for the Arc 3, huh boss?"

Shepgee chuckled. "No idea Laning, but with the smaller engine I'd guess not."

The engineering department had spent several münths redesigning the Archimedes-series lander after the Archimedes 3. An order had come down from on high dictating that "All permanently deployed equipment must use only stock parts." Wernher replied that they had several of the HGR landing engines in stock and would prefer use those. The administration then detailed exactly which parts they meant, much to the bafflement of the designers.

In the end they created a descent stage that was both more versatile a cheaper, if a slight bit underpowered. Initial validation testing at KSC proved successful, so the new model was packed up and sent along with the Arc 4.

20140817_ksp0081_arch4.jpg

Several minutes later they were nearing the terminator again. This would almost be a night landing, with how the crater's rim was casting long shadows across the basin. Then Shepgee noticed something. He rotated the craft around to get a better view.

20140820_ksp0134_arch4.jpg

"Hey Laning. You see that long shadow down there? North side of the rim?"

Laning unstrapped a floated over behind Shepgee. "Isn't that us?"

"No way. We're still several kilometers up. Looks to be a large pillar or something. Made of stone, maybe." Shepgee watched for a few more seconds then made a decision. "Get strapped back in. I'm changing our landing site." He burned early and heavy to bring them down over the rim of the crater, then brought the lander to a hover.

20140820_ksp0146_arch4.jpg

"Looks like some sort of hoop. Or loop."

"Great boss, now can you land us before the fuel's all run out?"

"Ok, bringing us down by the base of it on the East side. I wonder what the boys back in Mission Control think about this." He rocked the lander around a bit, found a nice flat spot, and landed ever so gently.

"Cape, the Archimedes 4 has landed."

20140820_ksp0148_arch4.jpg

"We copy you down, Archimedes 4. The experts here are quite miffed by your stone hoop. Think it may be the result of a lava flow. Be advised they expect you to bring back samples, and are quite disappointed that you've missed the East Crater."

Shepgee, already busy unstrapping from his seat, muttered something silent about not being able to please some kerbals. In no time at all he had his EVA suit and helmet on, and was bounding down the ladder to the Münar surface.

20140820_ksp0150_arch4.jpg

Gene's voice crackled onto the radio. "Archimedes 4, Flight here. Be advised the PAO would like to keep your find under wraps. All photos and imagery sent back to Kerbin need to be angled such that the object is not in view. Take detailed shots of the object for later analysis, but do not transmit. Do you copy?"

20140820_ksp0154_arch4.jpg

Shepgee stopped bounding across the surface and looked back to the lander. Naturally the permanent video camera was pointed directly at the large stone arch. "Sure Cape, we copy. What about the camera on the lander? Should I move it?"

"Negative. We control the feed from that. Cape out."

Laning bounced over to Shepgee, flag and camera in tow. "So boss, how're we gonna keep that thing out of the pics?"

Shepgee looked up, back at the lander, then turned to Laning. "We're not. Forget it. We'll just take pictures as best we can." He took the flag from Laning and stabbed it into the loose surface. "Here, get a shot of me with the flag. Then go over to the lander and I'll get a shot of you with Kerbin. That should keep Gene and the PAO happy."

20140820_ksp0155_arch4.jpg

20140820_ksp0153_arch4.jpg

Afterwards they set up the camera and took a group photo with the arch in the background. Maybe nobody would ever see it, maybe everybody would. But at least Shepgee and Laning would have proof they were here.

20140820_ksp0160_arch4.jpg

--

"Gene, can we have a word?" Scott Kerman, the head of the program, had snuck up behind Gene while everyone was transfixed on the Archimedes 4 landing.

"Sure Scott. What's up?"

"Just follow me to your office."

"Sure. If this is about that thing Shepgee found, we're trying to keep it quiet until we know what it is."

"It's not that Gene." They walked the rest of the way in silence. Scott opened the door to Gene's office a motioned him inside, where three other kerbals were waiting: Jimly, one of the government's chief accountants, his assistant, and Senator Robert Kerman, their main supporter in the congress.

Scott motioned to a chair in the middle of the crowd. "Have a seat, Gene."

"Think I'd rather stand."

"As you wish." Scott walked over to the windows and leaned against them, facing the crowd. "Gene, we've got a buyer for the land KSC currently occupies. An oceanic ship builder who could use the VAB to build a new fleet of cargo ships."

Gene laughed. Nervously, but still a laugh. "You're kidding, right? There's all sorts of free ocean-front land around here, why not use some of that?"

"Well." Scott cleared his throat nervously, then motioned to the accountants. "Jimly, could you fill Gene in on what you've told the rest of us?"

"Y'yes." Jimly looked down at the stack of papers he was holding then back to Gene. "Mr Kerman, it's come to our attention that the KSA is not paying any rent for this facility." Gene started to speak but Scott motioned him to stay quiet. "Additionally, we've discovered that none of your astronauts are being compensated for their activities." Everyone looked to Gene except the senator, whose eyes had been transfixed on something outside since they arrived.

Gene was dumbstruck. "I don't understand. We're a government agency. None of us get paid to do any of this. And why would we need to pay rent for land we already own?"

Jimly was about to start into another review when Scott stopped him. "Gene, look, we're doing this for the prestige of the Free States of Kerbin. For the planet full of Kerbals that fall under our protection. We can't have a squatter running a space program using slave labour. It just looks bad."

"Slaves? C'mon Scott, get real. Nobody in the FSK earns a salary these days. It's all snack stamps and free housing! Why that's the...." A chair crashed against the far wall, interrupting Gene and making the accountants jump. The Senator had awoken, and was walking towards Gene aggressively.

"You just don't get it, do you? Just had to go nosin' around in other people's business. Do you have ANY idea how much of a headache you caused by flying a squadron of planes into former Highlands territory?!?" He was now mere inches from Gene, breathing down on him with malice uncharacteristic of a kerbal.

"That was one at a time and on official KSA business. Looking for an alternate launch site in case..."

"In case what? In case you felt the need to conduct business in secret? In case somebody else might beat you to the Mün? Ha." Senator Kerman turned around and walked to the window, watching the ground crews at the hanger go about their business. It was quiet enough to hear the clock ticking away on the bookshelf. He continued without turning away from the window.

"You're done, Gene." He waved his hand at the hanger crew. "All of them, too, just as soon as this idiotic Mün mission of yours is over. You can go play with your rockets using some other government's money." He turned and looked Gene square in the eyes, grinning. "If you can find another government, that is."

--

A few days later Shepgee and Laning took one last group photo on the Mün.

20140820_ksp0167_arch4.jpg

Sunset meant it was time to leave, as the little lander capsule didn't have enough batteries to make it through the long Münar night.

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They had spent the last several days jetpacking ariund to collect surface samples and EVA reports, especially from the area in the East Crater where they were supposed to land. The crews on Kerbin had been suspiciously unexcited when Shepgee returned with a sample from the Mün's Polar Lowlands (despite having not wandered far from the landing zone). He could only assume it was ejecta from an ancient impact, but nobody on Kerbin wanted to discuss it. Or much of anything for that matter.

"I think somebody died," Shepgee remarked while they were watching the sun sink behind the crater rim.

"Lots of kerbs die, boss. All the time. The mystics used to say their spirits flew up here to the Mün afterwards."

"No, I mean back at KSC. They haven't sounded this somber since Hally." An alarm beeped in both their helmets. "Ok, time to pack up and go. Bobbo's about to make another pass, and we won't survive until the next one."

"Maybe we join those ghosts I was ruminatin' about, eh?"

"Not on my watch." Shepgee let Laning climb up first to take the pilot's seat, then was struck by the peculiarity of his comment. "You know, Laning, you're really a bit strange for a scientist. What's your field exactly?"

Laning, already loaded up and busy strapping himself into the pilot's chair, thought about it for a second. "Dead kerbals" he replied, nonchalantly, then continued the preflight checks. "See, I was trained to figure out what made them dead. Like a coroner, but different." Shepgee pulled the hatch closed, stowed some odds and ends, then strapped into the ride along seat. Laning wasted no time.

20140820_ksp0174_arch4.jpg

"See, sometimes us Kerbals go dead in dangerous places, like on the slopes of K2 or here on the Mün. The squishy docs are worth too much to send out alone, so they train guys like me to do the dirty work."

"So how'd you get this assignment? There aren't any dead Kerbals on the Mün, right?"

Laning laughed. "I already told ya boss, ALL the dead Kerbals are on the Mün." He made a quick adjustment to fly over a rather high-ridged crater. "And maybe somebody was afraid there'd be a couple more after that last flight, right? Figured if I was trained like one of you, I'd be able to go smoke out the whys and the hows. How could I say no? It's the Mün!"

Edited by Cydonian Monk
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A quick note or three about where I'm headed with this. Following the Archimedes 4 mission (and the arrival of Thabit 1 at Moho) I stopped using Module Manager and and several mods that required it. I did this for two reasons: 1) I like to keep a "Permanent" save which can be opened in Stock KSP and using module manager prevents that, as the tweaked vessel and part modules confuse stock KSP. 2) 32-bit KSP on OS-X is up against the RAM wall. And since I play on a 13" MacBookPro with Intel HD integrated graphics, I've got it a bit worse. Once I hit 4GB of Virtual Memory, the game is done. Since 0.23.5 added the NASA parts and 0.25 looks to add Spaceplane+, the future for me looks particularly mod-free. Not by choice. (I'm not even convinced I'll be able to play 0.25 based on the DevNotes discussing graphical updates.)

Anyway, a few weeks back I sat down and ran my persistence file through vim and some regex magic to remove all the extra ModuleManager-added modules; to change all the RemoteTech antennas back to stock antennas; and to generally remove any non-stock parts. This included replacing the descent stage of the Archimedes 3 with the one from the Archimedes 4, as the previous used Home Grown Rockets parts. With that done, the persistence file was back to "stock." Now I needed to review my mod and plugin list to get things pared down to a size that would fit inside the 4GB Virtual Memory limit. The results of that effort are in the second post of this thread. I'm leaving behind a few mods I really like, like DMagic's Science Parts and DangIt!, but in exchange I can continue playing the game. More will fall as we move into KSP 0.25 (and they become redundant).

So... starting over. I'm not going to start over with this move, but I intend to start over from "scratch" when 0.25 is released. Any of you that have read through my old Null Cycles thread already know I like starting over from near-scratch every time KSP hits a new release. Creating a nomadic space agency is my new solution to this. Once 0.25 is released and stable (whether as 0.25.1 or 0.25.9), I'll start a new game, copy all the vessels from this save over, update the clock to the Standard Accepted Kerbin Era, and start with a clean tech tree. This will probably confuse the game a bit and cause it to give me weird contracts, but so be it.

We're not there yet, though, so stick around for the rest of 0.24. Cheers.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Moonlight Rookies

Rogue "18th" Kerbal Space Agency

Sky's Reach

Year 75 day 306

20140906_ksp0059_bernoulli.jpg

"You know, if the spacecraft explodes, we will be instantly immolated, yes?"

Gene gave Wernher a sour look. "Wernher, why, you're just positively exploding with optimism today." Gene looked down cautiously from the roof of the VAB at the spacecraft waiting on the launchpad. "Watching the launch from the roof was your idea anyway."

Wernher shrugged, then looked up at sky. "I think it might rain later."

"What? There isn't a cloud in the sky. Anywhere. Relax, we'll be fine." In truth Gene was worried too. This would be their first significant launch since they were evicted from KSC several Münths ago. For a while they had even been forced to get "real" jobs. Gene and Wernher kept their moonlight space program together while searching for a new home. Eventually Jeb made them a somewhat curious offer.

Jebediah's Junkyard was in the process of dismantling and recycling an old and nearly forgotten launch facility in the remote highlands of the Western Continent. Constructed some 75 years previously, the Sky's Reach Cosmodrome was once the pride and joy of the space program of the Commonwealth of Central Highland Republic. When constructed it rivaled the FSK's facility at Cape Kerbal, leading most to call it KSC-2. All of the CCHR's historic missions had launched from here.

Yet to all things a season (except Kerbin), and as the CCHR collapsed under the spreading deserts of their continent, so did their space program. The facility was too far from any of the major cities or surviving republics, and was soon forgotten. Jeb had purchased it from a group of monks some years ago, and had been slowly scrapping and relocating bits and pieces. Jeb agreed to lease them to the wayward band of starfarers until they could afford to construct their own, newer facility.

Gene finished his go/no-go checks and gave the go-ahead for launch. Ignition was instantaneous, surprising both Gene and Wernher. The kerbals back in their makeshift control room at the tracking station wasted no time with pleasantries like a "clock."

20140906_ksp0062_bernoulli.jpg

The first segment of Bernoulli Station screamed into the heavens atop its LV-15 Cantemir Launch Vehicle. The original plans drawn up by Wernher had called for launching atop another LV-30 Ortelius, as used by the Archimedes landers. Yet their eviction had come with other restrictions: The suppliers based in the former FSK were prohibited from exporting to the now-rogue space agency. This included Rockomax, Kerbodyne, Kerlington, and a few other minor players. Wernher was forced to compromise.

20140906_ksp0067_bernoulli.jpg

The Cantemir is constructed mostly using parts from Home-Grown Rockets. Six aerodynamic boosters arranged in a parallel "asparagus" configuration. (I prefer Celery, personally.) The fuel lines are rigged such that three of the boosters will run out of fuel first, allowing their dead weight to be jettisoned. Later the three remaining boosters are also jettisoned, and the core stage continues on alone. All six boosters are recovered using parachutes, making for a very cost effective if complicated launch vehicle. In all, the Cantemir is capable of placing 17 tonnes into LKO.

20140906_ksp0074_bernoulli.jpg

Today's payload was the first of the Bernoulli Stations. This module, named Jacob Bernoulli by the crews, is intended to operate for a few years before being moved to the Mün or being deorbited. It's based on some designs from Haloly, which he claims came to him "in a dream" about a Lab in the Sky. This iteration of Bernoulli is little more than a lab and a hitchhiker can.

20140906_ksp0082_bernoulli.jpg

Three docking ports allow for two visiting crews plus the auxiliary science pod. The station itself features only minimal life support and supplies, so crew maintenance must be performed by any visiting vessels. The launch placed Bernoulli Station into a 30° orbit, making it easier to reach from the high latitude of Sky's Reach (and from the latitude of my planned future launch site).

20140906_ksp0089_bernoulli.jpg

Next step was to launch the auxiliary science pod. Scheduling and completing a rendezvous with a craft orbiting at and inclined orbit from a launch site at a non-zero latitude requires a bit of math. This is math I learned in college and have since forgotten, so I had to relearn it. It's fairly easy to work, but to save myself from trying to explain it and fail I'll just point you here: http://www.orbiterwiki.org/wiki/Launch_Azimuth. Long story short, from Sky's Reach at 20.663º North, to rendezvous with a craft in a 30º orbit I need to launch to a heading of 66º or 114º, depending.

The auxiliary science pod (ASP) was the largest compromise made to launch Bernoulli Station atop a Cantemir. I had originally intended for these parts to be a permanent part of the station, but having them on a separate pod made it small enough to allow for use as an independent sample return vehicle. Bernoulli 2 with the ASP was launched atop an LV-10 Agnese, another vessel built entirely from Home-Grown Rockets. (Though also reskinned olive/green.)

20140907_ksp0099_bernoulli2.jpg

Launched at a heading of 66° and into a 30º orbit, the Bernoulli 2 was at the correct inclination, but well ahead of the station. It needed to orbit for several hours to allow Bernoulli to catch up to it. When docked directly to the laboratory, the ASP gives crews ready access to its various experiments. It also provides an extra array of photovoltaic cells to augment those already on the station.

20140907_ksp0115_bernoulli2.jpg

And now we need a couple scientists to run the lab.


Rogue "18th" Kerbal Space Agency

Sky's Reach

Year 75 day 315

Luzhin 2

"Why are we here?"

"Well, that's the big question, isn't it?" Gilvin was busy checking his straps (again) while answering Loald's question, but didn't let up on his response. "Why are we here? What's our place in the big universe? Are we just little green dudes, flying about space at the whims of a superior intelligence? Or are we free beings, in total control of our fate? Do we become one with the universe after we die, transported to the afterlife on the wings of the Kraken? Or do we just fade into nothingness?" He was surprised at the gobstruck look on Loald's face when he looked back to him. "What?"

"Dude, why are we here, on this rocket? We're a couple of rookie scientists. Where are the veterans?"

"Oh." Gilvin thought for a minute. "Well, Shepgee and Haloly are both busy getting ready for their Minmus trip. Milzer and Meldo are both away on some secret parts-procurement mission. And I guess the others are getting prepped for whatever missions Gene has lined up for them."

"Hmm. Good points." Loald looked hopefully out of the window, only to find the view was still blocked by the fairing. They hadn't even left the launchpad yet. "Say, what was all that stuff about life and the universe?"

"Nothing."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Nope." The craft started rumbling beneath them. "No time. Hold on to something, they say the first jolt is the..." The craft leapt upwards as the clamps released and the engines throttled up to full. The first "jolt" lasted for several minutes.

20140907_ksp0119_luzhin2.jpg

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Several hours later once the Luzhin 2 had caught up with Bernoulli Station, Loald set up for the rendezvous. He moved into the Tantares capsule's small orbital module and strapped into the seat at the docking controls. He moved the ship in to dock, just as they'd taught him in the simulators, except it kept failing. Each time he'd get close enough for the docking magnets to kick in, nothing would happen. Eventually he went out to take a look.

"Uh, Luzhin 2 to Ground."

"Sky's Reach here, go ahead Luzhin."

"Yeah, say, can you have Wernher check his records? I think he might have forgotten something. Like the proper size of docking port."

20140907_ksp0139_luzhin2.jpg

Even I make engineering mistakes. Often.


Luzhin 3

Rogue "18th" Kerbal Space Agency

Low Kerbin Orbit

Year 75 day 315

20140907_ksp0149_luzhin3.jpg

"You sure that's going to work here, Neilny?" Derbald was looking at the schematics for the rush-built adapter they had brought with them on the Luzhin 3. Gene had initially wanted to hold the second crew for Bernoulli until later in the year, but they accelerated the program after their two rookie scientists arrived at the station with no way to get in.

"Well, master Wernher signed off on it. It's not really that complicated, either. We meet up with the two eggheads, dock them up to this adapter, then they go in and get to work. If the good Doc Von says it'll do, then it'll do. Usually. Maybe. Sorta."

20140907_ksp0155_luzhin3.jpg

A few minutes later and they were docked up with their partners in crime. Gilvin wriggled through the tiny Tantares docking port and into the Luzhin 3, just to prove it worked. He offered up a bag of snacks to Derbald and Neilny in gratitude for bringing them the key to Bernoulli Station, then backed out into his craft and closed the normal sized docking port behind him. In no time at all they undocked and the Luzhin 2 was drifting slowly away from the Luzhin 3.

"Well," Derbald said as he was getting strapped back in. "At least we don't have to hang out with that Laning dude for several Münths."

"No kidding. That guy really gives me the creeps." Neilny was watching the Luzhin 2 dock with Bernoulli Station. He made note of how the photovoltaic arrays shuddered when the tiny Tantares craft hedged its way into the forward docking port. Something he could fix in future designs, perhaps. "Did you know he's the head of the science department?"

20140907_ksp0162_luzhin2.jpg

"Where?"

"Here! He took over after that intern of Wernher's went back to college. Supposedly he's the smartest kerbal ever tested, with an SQ in the 0.0008 range." Neilny pushed back form the window and strapped himself back in.

"No way."

"Yeah. I'm telling you that accent's all for show. Anyway, they're all docked up over at the station, time for us to head in." Neilny activated the reaction control and docking systems and maneuvered the Luzhin 3 around to face their target docking port.

20140907_ksp0165_luzhin3.jpg

Derbald was absentmindedly watching the planet float past underneath them as Neilny moved in to dock. "All I know is he's way better than me at Chess. Maybe it's that dead stare he has." Neilny laughed, and flashed his best imitation of Laning.

"Not hardly, boss. Just luck, see?" Both chuckled for a moment, the Luzhin gliding silently into the station's dorsal docking port. "Still, if I was stuck on an island with a pilot, his absent-minded first mate, two old folks and some kerbettes, I'd definitely want that dude with us. Crazy smart. He could probably make a rocket out of nothing but coconuts." The ship shuddered, sound suddenly returning from the outside universe. "Guess we're here."

The docking port opened from the station side and Loald floated in. "Hey dudes! Welcome home!" Derbold groaned. Neilny stared blankly. Neither replied in a positive way so Loald continued. "Anyway, it's the closest to a home we'll have for the next several münths. Besides, Gilvin has already started up a special brew in the lab. Just don't tell the boys on the ground, okietay?" Loald laugh echoed back into the Luzhin 3 as he floated back up the docking tube and into the station. Neilny was surprised to see a grin on Gilvin's face when he glanced over.

"Hey, maybe those two aren't so bad after all."

20140907_ksp0168_bernoulli.jpg


A shadowy yet well dressed figure was leaning against the shady side of the VAB, watching carts come and go as the teams prepared for the next mission. The first launch of many to Minmus. Another equally well dressed kerbal walked up to him and watched the silently watched the activity for a few moments. He spit out the stub of a toothpick and pulled another form his coat pockets.

Finally the taller one spoke. "You know, it's cold enough here that things might blow up, even without our help." The shorter one just grunted and kept watching the action. A chill breeze moved him to snap the collar of his coat up. Boredom eventually led him to speak up.

"Y'know, I think that Gene guy may be on to us. Or at least Shepgee. One or both of us should be on this jaunt to Minmus."

"Nah, see, that's the council pulling strings. They have us right where they want us. Here, waiting until they have enough dirt to bust everybody." He watched ominously as Wernher and some new assistant made their rounds, inspecting the launchpad, the refueling valves, and everything in between. "And I do mean everybody."

Edited by Cydonian Monk
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