Angelo Kerman

June was about figuring out how the parts fit together, July was about figuring out the textures. Now it’s just a matter of replicating the techniques. I have some small tweaks to finish but things are finally shaping up. Work permiting, August will bring about the hull and deck parts.

It's going to be awhile, since SunkWorks is taking up all of my time. The basic printer is working though.

I worked out my navigation lights for when I have to dock in the dark:

Very interesting discussion on collision detection! It also sounds like KSP2's Krakensbane can be used to simulate warp drives.

At the moment I don’t know if it is possible to sink a kerbal faster while diving, so using a diving bell or submarine remains the best approach for now. I am hoping for another small release this weekend- work has required a lot of my time of late, so I haven’t gotten as far as I would like. I have the cargo deck look figured out, and have texture switching sorted as well. You will be able to switch between the wooden yacht deck and the metallic cargo deck.

Chapter 14 “So, after we ran our diagnostics tests about a dozen times, we still can’t identify it,” Scott said between bites. He was enjoying his lunches with Adsii. He always had great conversation topics. “There are literally tons of the stuff in that asteroid, and we don’t know what it is. It glitters, like gold, even on the nightside. It glows in the dark.” “It sounds like it is phosphorescent,” Adsii responded. “Are you sure your scanner isn’t defective?” “Positive. We have its twin on the ground with the same software update and same calibration. Both can recognize the ore, metal ore, xenon, argon, zeonium, and hexagen, so we know they’re working properly. Whatever it is- 27.56 percent of the asteroid no less- it’s something new.” “If I had to guess,” Adsii said, “I’d say that the scanner- oh- are you by chance using an SSM-2?” “Yeah,” Scott confirmed. “Yeah, the Experimental Engineering Group makes those. It’s not their best work. Under the right conditions the SSM-2 can give false readings. Anyway, I’d guess that the scanner is picking up a bunch of resources mixed together with, oh, maybe strontium aluminate for the phosphorescence, and that is confusing the scanner. If you can bring back a sample, I can analyze it for you and tell you what it’s made of.” “You can analyze it,” Scott asked. “I thought your specialty is astronomy.” “It is,” Adsii confirmed, “but I double-majored in astronomy and geology. I wanted to be a planetary geologist back in the day, but the available positions at KSP were taken so I switched to astronomy.” “Wait, I thought you studied ancient history along with astronomy,” Scott said, “or at least minored in it.” “Oh no, ancient history and languages are just hobbies,” Adsii admitted, “though I probably know enough to teach college courses at this point... But yeah, if you can get me a sample, I can analyze it. Discretely, if needed. I have a geology lab in my garage…” * Bringing back a sample of VDP-762’s mystery substance would be a major undertaking. The Beagle used up all its propellant just trying to reach the asteroid. To return a sample, they would need a bigger probe. The company also wanted to use the asteroid as part of their casino, but it was in a cost-prohibitive orbit. Then Frolie suggested that they alter the orbit. “You’d only need around 415 meters per second of delta vee,” he pointed out. “How,” Scott asked. “Easy. Land an ISRU rig on the surface- we could buy one from the vonKermans- mine the ore, convert it to rocket fuel, and then nudge the asteroid.” It was a brilliant idea, but one that would take time to develop, and the company’s cash reserves were running low. So, Skyranger launched into orbit with Scott (CDR), Maxpond (PLT), Steve (ENG, a freshly trained rookie), and the two tourists aboard. More than just a sightseeing trip, Skyranger carried up Node 1 for the Homestead Hotel along with the Mk-33’s airlock. After attaining orbit, Steve deployed Node 1 and docked it to Skyranger’s airlock. A day later, the spacecraft caught up with Homestead 1 and docked to the module via Node 1. The move officially kicked off the construction of Homestead Hotel- given the company’s current financial constraints, the Board decided to repurpose Homestead 1 to become part of the hotel. Skyranger and her crew enjoyed another day in orbit setting up Homestead 1 before deorbiting and landing. When they returned home, ground crews were already waiting with the next Homestead module- this one was modified specifically for hotel use. A quick turnaround later, Skyranger launched again, this time with Mabo (CDR), Johnsted (PLT), and Frolie (ENG). Both Maxpond and Johnstead were veterans of KSP’s Shuttle Launch System program and first flew on SLS-8. They had flown together many times throughout their career. Maxpond even commanded a few expeditions to KOS. It took until their third flight together, on SLS-24, for the KSP astronaut corps to finally realize that they were married! Given their long history, each only needed a single qualification flight on the Mk-33 before they were allowed to command a Skyranger flight. The flight crew deployed the new hotel module, rendezvoused with Homestead Hotel, and added the new addition. A day later, they returned home. * “I understand that you made your first flight on KS-14,” Karbal Kerman, senior reporter for GNN, said. “That’s right,” Malus Kerman answered. “Kerbal Soar 14, on Ranger. We got to test the first MOLE station prototype.” “And then you went to the Mϋn,” Karbal prompted. “Minmus, actually. That was on Mϋnflight 4, with Pioneer. I walked on Minmus with Tesen. We set up some long-term science…” “And after that you were part of the Skybase 1 mission?” “Uh, right, Tesen, Jofrey, and I were the first crew aboard Skybase, and the last to fly Pioneer…” “It says here that you then made four flights on the Shuttle,” Karbal interrupted for a second time. “Right,” Malus responded, slightly annoyed. “And you recently concluded a six-month tour aboard Starlab,” Karbal stated. “You’ve had quite a storied career!” “Yes,” Malus smiled politely, “I’ve been around…” “So, with you teaching these Space Kampers,” Karbal interrupted. Again. “Does that mean you’re retiring from KSP and going commercial?” Malus blanched. He looked at his orange suit to hide his disgust. It had seen almost as much as him… “Uh, no I’m not,” he said defiantly. Although the thought had crossed his mind… “I’m on loan from KSP to teach these twelve, uh, citizen astronauts, what it’s like to be a professional astronaut. Space Kamp started with 50 candidates- uh, I’m allowed to say that, right?” Allock Kerman, the show’s host sitting to Malus’ left, nodded. “Ok, good,” Malus continued. “Anyway, we started with 50 candidates that went through our training program, and through a process of elimination, we ended up with these twelve…” “You’ll get to see that when Space Kamp airs later this year,” Allock quickly added. She was beaming. Space Kamp was her idea. The corporate media pirates tried to take it from her, but she outmaneuvered them. “Right,” Malus sighed and responded. “These guys will get to experience living and working in space…” “And the top candidates get a chance to join Kerbal Space Program,” Allock interrupted. “The show started with fifty hopeful candidates yearning to reach the stars. Now, only a lucky dozen remain to ride the rocket. Do they have what it takes to be a professional astronaut? Who will make the cut? Find out next fall on: Space Kamp!” Allock looked a bit embarrassed. “Shameless plug, sorry…” Malus, nodded, clearly annoyed. He was about to say something when Karbal interjected. “Commander Maxpond, will any of the top candidates get to join Orbital Dynamics?” “That’s not up to me,” Maxpond, the mission commander sitting to Malus’ right, answered. “I understand that you and your husband, both veterans of the Shuttle Launch System, will be in charge of Space Kamp,” Karbal said quickly. “I’m responsible for the overall mission and crew safety,” Maxpond corrected. She subconsciously tilted her head to her right. “Johnsted is my second in command. We mind the store while Malus and Allock, who are Mission Specialists, run Space Kamp.” “Oh, so while you two are ‘minding the store,’ are you planning anything-” "Orbital maneuvers," Steve, the flight engineer, mumbled and then covered his mouth and coughed to contain his laughter. “We are professional astronauts,” Maxpond said tersely, briefly giving Steve an icy stare and quickly cutting the reporter off. “Our first priority is to the safety of the crew.” “Uh, ok,” Karbal said, a bit flustered by the rebuke, “So, Allock, can you give us some more background on Space Kamp…” I’m looking forward to being done with this interview and getting into space, Malus thought to himself. * Two hours later, after ground crews prepped Skyranger for flight, a record seventeen kerbals boarded the Mk-33 for their trip into orbit. The SSTO launched into space and docked to Homestead Hotel after three hours of matching orbits. They had another forty days on orbit before Space Kamp wrapped up filming and they all returned home… * At Drakken Palast, the station crew packed up the Drakken Kargo with trash before it undocked and conducted its deorbit burn. As it arced to a fiery doom, ground crews prepared Kallisto for its next flight into space. The little space plane launched into orbit without issues and rendezvoused and docked with Drakken Palast a day later. After transferring command of the station to their replacements, the returning crew boarded their Drakken capsule for the trip home. Moving forward, the Kallisto and her sister ships would take over crewed spaceflights to Drakken Palast, so the departing craft was the last to fly to the station. To commemorate the historic mission, the flight crew left the capsule’s orbital module at the station as a souvenir when it departed. The orbital module also gave the station additional living space and served as an alternative docking port for a Kallisto space plane. After making a plane change, the capsule initiated a deorbit burn and landed in the Inland Water a few dozen kilometers away from the Darude Launch Complex. * With more than enough time before the transfer window opened, the Ministry of Space began launching their new Duna Science Probe into orbit. Primarily designed to test components for Project Laythe, the DSP was created to fulfill the mcKerman Kingdom’s dream of reaching the rusty planet. The probe’s mission was to conduct a detailed survey of Duna, gather the science, and return it back to Kerbin safely. To accomplish its mission, the DSP needed enough propellant to reach Duna and back. So, after launching the science probe’s core module- complete with a prototype Cherenkov atomic rocket- the Ministry of Space launched a pair of propellium tanks that joined the probe in orbit. All three launches used the new Arrow 5 heavy lift launch vehicle. With the core components lofted, the Arrow Space Corporation launched an Arrow 4 into orbit. It had a heavily modified Arrow Transfer Vehicle that replaced the cargo cannister with a pair of atmospheric probes. After rendezvousing with the DSP, the atmospheric probes detached and docked with the Duna-bound probe. All they had to do now is wait for the transfer window- which also gave them an opportunity to test the thermal insulation properties of the propellium tanks. Since Jool lacked a MIDAS constellation, the Ministry of Space developed the Jool Relay Satellite System to provide the needed capability. Built around the MIDAS antenna created by KSP, the JRSS added a propellium tank, thermal radiators, and a pair of Neptune atomic rockets for orbital maneuvers. Duna needed its own MIDAS constellation, but atomic motors were deemed overkill for the rusty planet, so the mcKermans swapped solar arrays for the heat radiators and conventional engines for the atomic rockets. Dubbed the Duna Relay Satellite System, Drax Aerospace launched DRSS via their modified Shuttle-C.1 booster- the most powerful rocket available. It was an interim solution designed to use up Drax Aerospace's remaining Shuttle-C hardware before they fielded an even more powerful booster. Shuttle-C.1 had a unique addition; back in the Shuttle Launch System days, engineers proposed adding an aft cargo carrier into the space between the boosters to carry oversized payloads. The proposal was rejected, but Drax Aerospace revised the concept by adding additional propellant capacity via an aft carrier-derived tank extension. Even with the additional propellant, Shuttle-C.1 struggled to attain orbit. It fell into an 89.1 km by 169.6 km orbit after burning nearly all of its propellant. After DRSS deployed its mission antennas and a sustainer solar array, Shuttle-C.1 jettisoned the payload and burned its remaining propellant to push the vehicle into the atmosphere. The propulsion module was technically recoverable, but it landed in a remote and uninhabited area of Kerbin, so recovery was impractical. * Not long after Drax delivered the DRSS into orbit, the Ministry of Space lofted a large inline propellium tank that docked with the DRSS assembly. The inline tank, part of their new Modular Interplanetary Transportation System (MITS), was slated for use on the Nautilus, so flying to Duna provided an opportunity to test it in deep space. As another test, the MoS fielded the MITS’ propulsion section that, unlike the Duna Science Probe, had a prototype Poseidon atomic motor instead of the DSP’s Cherenkov prototype. Though both the Cherenkov and the Poseidon were rejected for Project Laythe, the Ministry of Space hoped to evaluate each one and decide which to bring into production for other interplanetary missions. The Arrow 5 launcher struggled to place the propulsion module into a 100km orbit, but it made it. A day later, the propulsion module reached the DRSS and docked to the growing vessel. A couple of radial tank flights later, the DRSS was ready for its flight to Duna…

Mk-33 1.1 is now available: New Parts (requires Breaking Ground DLC, Kerbal Attachment System recommended) - Payload Crane: This payload crane enables you to hoist payloads in and out of the Mk-33 payload bay. - Payload Crane Control Cab: This single-occupant command pod is designed to operate with the payload crane. - Payload Crane Docking Piston: This specialized robotics part is designed to adjust the height at which the crane can dock to the Mk-33. - LY-C2 Crane Wheel: This retractable wheel enables you to drive the Payload Crane around. Changes - Updated for KSP 1.12 support. You can still fly in KSP 1.11.2. - Increased lift on the probe core, forward tank, and cockpit. - Added stock cargo capacity to the Mk-33 Airlock. - Added optional Snacks support to the Extras folder. - Recalibrated the cryogenic engines patch for Classic Stock Resources. It is calibrated to deliver a maximum of 20.5 tonnes into a 250km orbit in JNSQ. - Recalibrated the cryogenic engines patch for Community Resource Pack. It is calibrated to deliver a maximum of 20.5 tonnes into a 250km orbit in JNSQ.

My suggestion is to install all the WBI mods you want, and at the end, install Wild Blue Tools to ensure that it is the latest.

Welcome back! What version of KSP are you using? Mods aren’t updated to 1.12 yet. They work on 1.11.2. Be sure to manually install from GitHub since CKAN needs some configuration updates

Hm, that's interesting and sad. I'm not sure what I can do to solve that, but I'll investigate. It's definitely not something I'm doing on my end. An underwater scooter is something that I've thought of, but due to the way the animations work, I wouldn't be able to pose the kerbal that way. What I did do though is double the swim speed when you wear the SCUBA Gear.

This I'm happy with:

More better: I probably need to de-emphasize the paneling... Once I get the cargo ship deck texture where I want it, I'll set up the parts so that you can switch between the wooden deck and cargo ship deck.

I cannot stress how delighted I am to see people making underwater statics and anomalies. I cancelled Rocket Shark, my first aquatic parts mod, when I realized that there was so little to explore in the water. Seeing @Caerfinon and @Eskandare making contracts and statics/anomalies, respectively, inspires me to keep making SunkWorks. Well done folks!

I went cruising underwater with SunkWorks handling the diving: There are some parts from Buffalo there as well, but SunkWorks will have submarine parts too once the boat hulls are done.

Had a bit of fun tonight combining parts to make a mini sub. It showcases the versatility of SunkWorks.

For Buffalo- and any part that uses the WBIOmniStorage part module- what I may need to do is have the ballast tank module disable the omni storage when the part is converted into a ballast tank. I'll think about how to do that; SunkWorks is designed to work independently of Wild Blue Tools. Eventually, when SunkWorks is installed, I'll have a ModuleManager patch that disables the older ballast and dive computer system in favor of the up to date SunkWorks system. Meanwhile, I've been working on the keel textures some more. I'm happy with how the wooden deck has turned out, and I'll replicate the techniques with the upcoming deck parts. For reference, the green boxes are 1.875m tall, 1.875m wide, 3.75m long Standard Shipping Containers. The cargo ship deck needs more work... I'm trying to get a look that's similar to a cargo ship or military vessel, but the above look isn't there yet. Finally, I do have plans to add submarine parts to SunkWorks. Some will be revamped from the Buffalo mod, but one will be a Size 1 cockpit similar to this: It'll be in white since most of the Mk1 parts in the game are already in white.

I have a Tourism Plus contract called Space Camp that I've turned into a reality TV show: The show started with 50 hopeful candidates yearning to reach the stars. Now, only a lucky dozen remain to ride the rocket. Do they have what it takes to be a professional astronaut? Who will make the cut? Find out next fall on: Space Kamp!

@nightingaleYour mod has inspired me to turn the Space Camp contract into a reality TV show... w Well done!

Really nice to see that it works well. You could also take the Sea 64's SWDiveComputer part module and tack it onto that command pod up front...

I love it! The Dread Pirate Hallock. Funny enough I just hired Allock in my game. I wonder if they're related...

Yeah, totally unexpected! The asteroid got captured by Kerbin’s gravity back when I was flying shuttles regularly. I always planned to visit it and last weekend when I did, I found out that it is a magic boulder! I would have been happy with a regular asteroid but this changes things…

Buffalo isn't compatible with SunkWorks right now. The dive control system in SunkWorks doesn't work with Buffalo's tanks or dive computer system. Buffalo uses the WBT Omni Storage, and I haven't tested compatibility with it. The ballast control valves might not work with fuel tank switchers like B9PS. Do you have the same resource issues with stock tanks?

Sure, here is 0.2.5: - Fixed issue with parachutes deploying when the kerbal isn't wearing the SCUBA Gear or Liquid Breathing Pack. - Added new SunkWorks category; it supports both Community Category Kit and Wild Blue Tools' Categories. WIP, NO SUPPORT PROVIDED, PARTS ARE INCOMPLETE - Added SW-75 keel sections. Your new contracts are looking good! Now that I have the basic design concept figured out for the boat parts, in July I'll be fleshing them out more. This release gives you an idea about how they fit together.

Chapter 13 Launched by Freedom during its SLS-41 mission, the Eeloo Surveyor at long last entered Eeloo’s sphere of influence! Barely in contact with Kerbin, Eeloo Surveyor gathered data from its scientific instruments and discovered that the distant planet had two moons: Tam, the outermost, and Celes. Sadly, the little probe lacked the propellant to visit either one. Instead, on Montezu 27, 1999 it made a course correction that put its nearly empty PAM on a path to collide with the planet. Then it corrected once more with the probe’s maneuvering engines to make a high-speed, exceptionally low pass at the planet’s surface. * On Montezu 29, 1999, the Ministry of Space’s Arrow Science Vehicle, parked at MSM Magellan for months, finally returned to Starlab. As Bill refueled the probe and Sara vonKerman cleaned its experiments, Malus stepped outside to pull its science data for further analysis in the Newton Mobile Processing Lab. After its brief stopover, the ASV departed from the station and headed for its next destination: the Mϋn. * Not long after the ASV departed Starlab, two days after entering Eeloo’s SOI, the Eeloo Surveyor detected that the frosty world had an atmosphere! It originally planned to skim the planet a scant 5.2km above the surface, but it quickly realized that doing so would cause the probe to burn up. The Surveyor immediately burned its maneuver engine’s remaining propellant to avoid the atmosphere and found that it extended out to about 80km. Once it reached low orbital space, Eeloo Surveyor ran its instruments and waited until it zoomed past the planet to begin transmitting its results. Adsii was particularly satisfied; he had influenced the design of the Surveyor series, and it was nice to see one of his projects delivering results. “Hm, the multispectral imaging sensor’s data suggests that the white surface isn’t snow, but some kind of complex organic compound,” he said aloud. Other sensors data trickled in as the probe’s onboard radioisotope thermal electric generator slowly recharged the batteries after each transmission. There were no other experiments for the probe to perform, but Adsii remembered the plaque attached to its side. Eeloo Surveyor was headed out of the solar system, but maybe someday, some intelligent species would find it. After the last bit of data arrived, the team celebrated and gave the Eeloo Surveyor a nice farewell party. It was a great way to close out the year- and the century. * 23 days after launch, the Beagle Asteroid Probe matched velocity with Asteroid VDP-762, burning nearly all its propellant in the process. Catching up to it in its shadow, the probe could not get a good look at it, so the science team at Orbital Dynamics requested a fly-around to circumvent the issue. Flight engineers issued commands to arm the grabbing unit and activated the probe’s RCS thrusters for a 0.6 m/s delta-v change towards the asteroid. “I looks glittery,” Sara said, watching the monitors. “Is that gold?” “We won’t know until we get a thorough spectral analysis,” Shanxi Kerman, one of the mission scientists responded. “But if it is, it’s a floating gold mine…” Scott pondered aloud. “Uh, it’s not guaranteed to be gold,” Shanxi pointed out. “It could be pyrite. We won’t know until we capture it and run an analysis.” “If nothing else, it’ll make a nice attraction for the casino,” Sara countered. “GNC is go for asteroid capture,” Frobert Kerman, Flight Director for Orbital Dynamics announced. In space, high above the Western Sea and in international waters, Beagle aligned its approach vector to the asteroid’s center of mass and headed to its surface. It caught its own shadow as it made its final approach. A few minutes later, on Acama 9, 2000, Orbital Dynamics became the first space organization to rendezvous with and capture an asteroid. * “It’s been a while since I flew a shuttle,” Valentina said, but she was honored, nonetheless. When Drax Aerospace learned that Valentina, Chief of The Astronaut Corps, and her crew would be relieving Jeb’s crew on Starlab, they invited her to fly Mϋnraker 1 up to KOS. Since she needed several hours to keep her flight rating, she readily agreed. Her copilot, Corinne Kerman and relief pilot, Manuela Kerman, were both Drax employees- Manuela would handle the shuttle’s undocking and EDL maneuvers back to Kerbin. The shuttle launched into orbit without any difficulties and docked with Starlab a day later. As the combined crew unloaded supplies, Bill took a walk outside to collect the unused power data grapple fixtures. With station assembly completed and the station arm showing signs of robotics drift wear and tear, they were headed back down in the shuttle’s logistics module. With that task completed, Bill grabbed the external rack mounts that Mϋnraker 1 brought up and installed them onto the permanent logistics module. For his last task of the day, he grabbed the new micro ISRU converters and mounted them to the racks. With tonnes of mϋnar ore to spare, the new ISRUs would be used to convert some of it into useful propellants. * 145 days after their mission began- nearly 5 months- the MSM Magellan finally completed their study of the Mint Mϋn and broke orbit. Eight days later, they began their aerobraking maneuvers. And 3 days later, the ship docked at Starlab on Acama 21, 2000. For the first time, all the Original Four were on orbit at the same time and in the same spacecraft. Starlab was crowded; a whopping nineteen astronauts and kerbonauts were aboard (two in deep freeze for another six months), setting a world record. The cramped conditions did not last long though; Ribler McKerman, Diltrey McKerman, Glesby McKerman, and Bob Kerman all boarded their awaiting Arrow Crew Vehicle and undocked for their trip home. The ACV landed in the Western Sea 41km away from KSC. The rescue crew flew out in one of the new K-25 Sea King amphibious cargo planes that the space center had been experimenting with. After retrieving the capsule crew, divers attached a winch cable to the ACV and hauled it aboard the Sea King before the seaplane flew back to the space center. * Magellan’s mission to Minmus revealed some deficiencies in the design that needed to be corrected. Namely, the Mϋnar Shuttle Module lacked sufficient electricity to power the vehicle when it orbited on the nightside. The ASV helped, but when it returned to Starlab, Magellan felt the loss of its supplemental power. To remedy the situation, Mϋnraker 1 brought up several new parts during its supply run to the Kerbin Orbital Station. After the ACV departed, Bill got to work attaching Magellan’s new solar arrays, micro ISRUs- configured for power generation and emergency fresh air production- as well as Buckboards holding batteries and liquid fuel and oxidizer to power the new generators. With that done, he reconfigured some tanks to contain additional supplies of fresh air- Magellan reached dangerously low levels during her mission, and the recyclers barely kept up. Satisfied with his work, he went back inside and stocked the station's stores with solid oxium candle system canisters for good measure. He also wanted to stock some repair kits just in case something broke down, but Magellan neither had the space nor the kits to do so. Maybe the relief crew could use the Newton lab's experimental 3D printer and spare some ore to create some... A day later, after transferring command over to Valentina, Jeb, Bill, and the rest of the relieved station crew boarded Mϋnraker 1 and departed Starlab for their return trip to Kerbin. While the orbiter missed the KSC EDL corridor by a wide margin, it had sufficient range to reach the space center from 212km away- something that the older Block 1 orbiters could not have accomplished. * The Advanced Propulsion Physics Laboratory (APPL) at KSC, jointly run by the Kerbal Space Program, Ministry of Space, and vonKerman Space Agency, finally achieved a breakthrough. During their research They created several prototype nuclear motors like the 60 kilonewton Nerv and the more powerful- and larger- 300 kilonewton Cherenkov, but those engines could “only” achieve a maximum specific impulse of 900 seconds. Further research into combining tri-modal propellium and oxium burning atomic rockets with built-in nuclear reactors resulted in the Neptune and Posidon, but those engines barely exceeded their predecessors’ specific impulse rating. While the prototypes showed promise for smaller spacecraft, they simply did not fit the needs of Project Laythe. To get the high thrust and high specific impulse that they needed for their atomic rocket, they needed to heat the propellant to such a high level that a solid core nuclear reactor would rapidly melt the engine. Various attempts to create sufficiently heat resistant metals outright failed to achieve the necessary results. Then a vonKerman scientist had a brilliant idea, and they transformed the Emancipator from a solid-core into a gas-core nuclear rocket. By allowing the nuclear fuel to vaporize, it could superheat the propellium much hotter and faster and be expelled out the nozzle before it could melt the engine. Unfortunately, making the exhaust highly radioactive was a consequence of the gas core design. It was a controversial solution, and one that would require careful negotiations between nations for its use, but it solved the problem of moving large masses out to Jool. After weeks of negotiation, the various nations of Kerbin agreed that the engine could be used, but only from a minimum orbital altitude of 1,000 kilometers, and it could not be used if any vessel approached within 500 kilometers. Additionally, the engine could only be used in orbit; it was simply too dangerous to be used in an atmosphere or near the surface of an airless world. With those guidelines in place, KSC meticulously prepared a spacecraft to test the new engine and scrutinized the Drax Aerospace Shuttle-C that would launch it. If anything went wrong, it would be a political and environmental disaster for the space agency, even with the safeguards in place. Everyone from the launch team to the protestors- both for and against atomic rockets- were on the edges of their seats and barely containing their fear as the Shuttle-C lifted off with its dangerous cargo. The launch went flawlessly. As soon as Shuttle-C cleared the tower, it rolled over to its launch azimuth and continued climbing. Right on time, the solid rocket boosters burned out and dropped away. As soon as it exited the atmosphere, it jettisoned its payload fairing and aero cone, and ignited its OMS engines for an additional boost. Keeping its 45-degree pitch angle throughout the whole time, it had no intention of attaining orbit. Instead, Shuttle-C burned its propellants to exhaustion to ensure that the payload’s nuclear engine could ignite at the requisite 1,000 km minimum altitude. As it crossed the threshold, the payload, known as MIDAS-D, activated its new SAFER atomic reactor, deployed its radiators, and warmed up the Emancipator. It then oriented itself so that its atomic exhaust had no chance of striking Kerbin. As the Shuttle-C’s external tank and propulsion module fell away, MIDAS-D ignited its engine for the journey outward. The first engine burn put it on an escape trajectory to ensure that should anything go wrong it would never harm Kerbin. Two days later, on Acama 24, 2000, MIDAS-D left Kerbin’s sphere of influence. During its journey to Kerbin’s gravitic edge, Mission Control checked the probe’s various systems and verified that they were working perfectly. Between the SAFER providing a new source of electricity for spacecraft, the new active cooling system for the cryogenic fuel tanks and new radiators shedding heat from the atomic rocket and tanks, the three space agencies celebrated developing their newfound advanced technology. At last, they had everything they needed to reach Jool. But MIDAS-D’s mission was not done yet. Mission Control noticed that the Eeloo Surveyor barely had a connection to KSC when it transmitted its science data, and it was clear that the existing Multi-platform Interplanetary Deep-space Array System launched into high Kerbin orbit by the Shuttle Launch System, would not have enough range to reach the Nara Surveyor and Hamek Surveyor probes that were still outbound. MIDAS-D was an attempt to remedy that situation. Its job was to enter solar orbit out between Jool and Lindor and relay signals to and from the probes headed to the outer planets. In another 4 months, KSC intended to launch MIDAS-E, and in 8 months, MIDAS-F, both spacecraft based on MIDAS-D but also designed to test more components needed for Project Laythe. But in the meantime, MIDAS-D ignited its engine once more to push its apoapsis roughly midway between Jool and Lindor, and then deployed its massive relay antenna before settling into its 4-year slumber… * “We had to correct a software glitch and correct for the probe burying itself into the regolith,” Shanxi began, “but we finally have an analysis of VDP-762. Take a look.” “Let’s see… Mass is 11,464.45 tonnes, 9,415.8 tonnes of which consisted of mineable resources. Ore is 7.15 percent,” Scott read aloud, “Nice. Xenon and argon gas are both point 81 percent. So is hexagen and zeonium. Oh, nice, metal ore is 6.14 percent. But what’s this question mark? The readout says that it is 27.56 percent of the asteroid. Is that our gold?” “It’s unknown,” Shanxi said nonchalantly. “The scanner can’t identify it.” “Is it a software error,” Scott asked. “Possibly. We’ll have to run some more diagnostics. Whatever it is, there’s a lot of it.” “Hey,” Sara chimed in, “I’m looking at some pictures that Beagle took of the nightside of 762 during its approach. Has anybody noticed that the gold veins glow in the dark? Here, let me put the image up on the monitor...” “Neither gold nor pyrite glow in the dark,” Shanxi pointed out. “Then what is it,” Sara asked. Shanxi did not have an answer.

You'll need to speak with @raidernick about using their content. Assuming raidernick agrees, then message me about the license agreements and I can restore the link. But you'll need to work things out with raidernick first.