GarrisonChisholm

While Venturestar was recovered and reconfigured LLL-1 arrived at Laythe, behind LLL-2 simply due to trajectory. Orbital scanning had determined an apparent polar landmass, though what form the crust took was uncertain, so care was taken on orbital insertion to turn its path into a polar one. As LLL-1 descended a broad landscape filled with phosphorescence expanded before its cameras... (watching this unfold live that weird 2001 variating chorus-music started playing in my head...) The probe descended to the surface over a surreal plain spotted with lakes, and upon passing below Kerbol's vision alighted on terrain that seemed remarkably flat with vegetation not dissimilar to what was discovered at the equator. It found the soil was unusual and warranted continued study, and it spent the next several hours sending back the details of all its discoveries. Other missions underway were a long-ignored Kerbol-orbit relay station contract, which with a hefty initial investment that had dramatically boosted KASA's initial accounts finally received its pay-off. The station orbits slightly further out than Kerbin with a slightly longer solar day, and though uncrewed still had modest facilities to support docking and 2 Kerbals for about 2 weeks. The Eeloo Botany Bay Lander was finally rolled out and launched to orbit, with its window for transition to Sarnus about 50 days away. The simulation before launch was nearly perfect, with the probe reaching circular orbit with over 4000 m/s of Dv available for departure. The launch, however, was a complete cock-up. Transition to Prograde Guiding was initiated at 220 m/s rather than 200 in an attempt to avoid some slight steering needs that had emerged in the simulation. This decision actually ended up costing the probe 150 m/s of Dv. A second error was the decision to eject the fairing at 65km while still under thrust. The Program had moved away from split-shell fairings to tri-splitting fairings as they seemed to eject much more cleanly, but despite this knowledge a lingering institutional rule to eject fairings at 65km so-as to allow the atmosphere to slightly help carry them free was still post-it-noted to Flight's monitor. Ignoring the risk of doing so while under thrust, the fairing portions came back and struck 3 of the lateral tanks (which themselves were a terrible ideal) causing slow leaks to begin. The THIRD error occurred as mission control juggled its circularization plan and the need to swiftly pump out the tanks, but due to the low volume of spent fuel in the Transfer Stage a mistake in deciding to drain all the radial tanks rather than just the damaged ones swiftly filled up the available storage by also drawing from undamaged tanks. The net result was that the mission had 300 m/s less Dv than orbital insertion around Eeloo required. It was a F600,000 mission though, the only thing remaining was to proceed and try. The Hangar Team had constructed yet another aircraft to attempt to challenge the Hypersonic barrier, this time choosing to use the so-far untouched experimental bi-mode Scimitar engines, but on this experimental flight traveling at Mach 4, switching to closed-cycle combustion actually caused the vehicle to SLOW DOWN. ...the Mach 5 barrier seemed damnably smug. After the conclusion of its test-flight the crew landed at Island and afforded themselves a visit to the Fallen Kerbals Memorial. Lastly and perhaps most importantly the Eupatride Power Module was sent up on a simple rocket to mate with Democritus, officially forming the core of Cleisthenes Orbital Station. Further work would add Agroponics, Power, Visiting Node A and the Observatory modules. Cape brass was quite excited to see the progress of orbital assembly.

A few weeks later it was time for the Laythe Life Lander's arrival. Fuel balance was an issue on the orbital burn, but eventually orbit was achieved, and the lander had ample reserves to circularize it. A touch-down site near the first lander was chosen, but targeting "shores" rather than "dunes". Touchdown was safely achieved and the data rolled in over the next several hours, with botanists beginning to catalog the 8 varieties of flora prominent in imagery. With the science community satisfied- oh, wait, they are not satisfied, but instead immediately started campaigning for a crewed visit to Laythe, saying it was the most important target in the solar system. KASA could find little to disagree with, and while Cape Day drew crowds hard work behind the scenes began for an Albatros excursion to Laythe. (I had to call it after just the space-planes, adding the jets would have caused my graphics card PTSD...) Venturestar had required 180 days to turn around for a second flight, as integration of its first cargo proved time consuming, however eventually it did launch on its first trip to resupply Albatros. After rendezvousing with the Planetship, Venturestar deployed the resupply tank- - and in 2 minutes went from "hm, that electric charge is rolling down quickly", to "gee we need to get this thing docked fast" to "de-orbit de-orbit de-orbit!!" Unfortunately so swift did the fiasco unfold that no pictures were recorded. However suffice to say it was learned that the resupply tank should have solar panels. After the tank had burned (hopefully) out of orbit the only task remaining was to certify docking of the two remaining vehicles. Valentina and Ronble carted over enough supplies to fill up Albatros' fuel stores, but that was all they could do without a second trip.

Seventy years in the past aerospike engines had become the new rocket motor "It Girl", but their promise had flagged at the post. KASA had tried them numerous times and despite the ISP and variable ideal thrust range they just hadn't proven to be more useful than a different option for an orbital engine. When the hats for the 4th or 5th Albatros Resupply rocket had been tossed down and stomped upon, Kerbodyne contacted KASA and suggested an old alternative be reconsidered. In the early 2000s a single-stage-to-orbit vehicle known as Venturestar had been proposed, but due to the high cost of the part buy-in and their complete dissatisfaction with aerospike performance thus far KASA had scarcely looked into it. Now, with promise of a much more mature technology and sitting on fresh fund rewards from the first Duna landing, KASA had made the plunge. (disclaimer-) Venturestar did not deliver on its advertised ability to 'return to runway' as the ship was just too unmaneuverable in-atmosphere, however simulations had proven it could return safely for a splashdown recovery, and its potent performance to orbit just too good to pass up. It was estimated that it could lift 80 tons to an equatorial orbit, and a whopping 150 to select inclined orbits. KASA was specifically interested in reliable delivery of resupply for Albatros, however on this maiden launch that was not its cargo, but rather the first module of the new Cleisthenes Orbital Station. The Democritus Science/Supply Module was placed into an 81 kilometer orbit, to be joined in a few months by the power module. (Sponsorships sought!) After availing themselves of the massive crew compartment and giving a basic once over of critical systems Valentina and Ronble returned safely. KASA also assessed the direction of their future research, and finally deemed there was no reason to wait as suitable progress had been made in all other areas and no deficiencies in capability had been noted. Therefore the long bypassed nuclear power path was finally vested in. Top brass were uncommitted to using any particular technology, but the research would be sure to open new doors unforeseen.

7 months later Albatros returned to the Kerbin system. Wehrden was doing ok, sometimes on duty sometimes off. He would have to have gall bladder surgery after he returned, but with careful attention he had made it back fine. They were all pleased with their insertion plot, and with just enough fuel on hand. The final four days ticked off as with little drama they entered orbit. Once Albatros was securely in orbit Icarus was launched to retrieve them. Three hours later they parachuted into the warm midday-seas just 30 minutes west of the Cape, to much relief and joy. And as recovery forces converged on their position, on the other side of the planet dawn was breaking over Site 11A as the new answer to their reliable replenishing of Albatros was lifting off on its inaugural flight.

(Honest to Pete, is our modding community awesome or what) The ensuing year-and-change did indeed contain a lot of both, but the Duna exploration beyond a kilometer from the Eastern Canyon Complex turned out to be entirely automated. Originally it had been planned to make an excursion about 20km north and collect samples to return from both the Midlands and the Highlands regions, however the descent back into the canyon turned out to be so perilous and precarious that the Cape axed any further journeys after they had just returned the DEV from an automated climb to the rim and back. The Lander at 12km was still too far away to afford losing the rover, let alone the crew perhaps getting injured. They would have to settle for the single automated sampling of the Midlands, and no additional surface samples. None-the-less there was plenty to do with geological experiments queued-up for virtually every authorized EVA session. The day finally came however, so after Merson powered down the base the two kerbals loaded up all their samples and data to drive back to the lander. After they returned Werhner climbed in to start going through checklists while Merson first stowed the samples in the air-lock storage and then went to take a look at how the engine was faring. "- Commander." Wehrner was immediately concerned, they'd never used titles since they'd first met to start training for the mission. "Go ahead. What's the story?" In the last 15 months substantial corrosion had occurred, and while the gauges still showed 100% on the propellant the engine bell had actually started to fragment, which was terrible to behold considering the bell used regenerative cooling. Merson and Werhden considered how to address the problem, even going so far as to fish out an Abba cassette, however in practicality Merson knew there was nothing to do because the main ascent engine was just too massive for him to work with in gravity. So they finished their pre-launch checklists, trying to banish the uncertainty that hovered around them... 100 years ago, an engineer had designed the first Pug rocket motor. The engineer had known that the Pug would be the first engine to be relied upon to bring astronauts back from space, and so it had been constructed with that trust in mind. It carried 3 tanks of oxidizer and 3 of RP-1 integral to the engine so that fuel starvation could not be a problem. It was proven to ignite with a perfect mix and a terrible one. It could be ignited electronically or mechanically. It could be ignited with the oxidizer at 55 kelvin. It could be ignited at 90 kelvin. It could be ignited with the bell blocked. It could be ignited under water. It could be ignited with the whole engine enveloped in re-entry plasma at 2500C. It could be ignited while a blacksmith hammered out The Anvil Chorus on it *and* spit in a corridor. So when Werhner initiated the start procedures and the computer counted down the 2 minutes it conducted its equipment poll and advised the crew of the poor engine status, to which Merson simply tapped "Override." The final 5 seconds were ticked off and the computer passively intoned; Based on the performance numbers it seemed their main engine's exhaust was particularly "engine rich", however it provided what was needed and they safely ascended to orbit and got to their rendezvous. Once on board they were finishing their astrogation checks when they noticed Kerbin peeking over the rim of Ike, a promising sight- - and nine days later they burned for home. The crew was on its way back, though just a few days into their trip Werhden started to exhibit signs of some kind of abdominal infection, and KASA wished they could hurry while advising Lenlas on how to treat him. (I am going to roll a d20 each month of their trip, on a 20 he recovers, on a 1,... O.O )

LOL I didn't know Valentine was from a dock-worker family that's wonderful stuff.

Merson went first to the Power Bank, and after a few minutes it was indeed able to be repaired, followed by resetting the garish RTG lights and then repairing each foundation brace. While he worked Wehrner observed the cliff-rise to the north from the Command Cabin. It was at this point that Merson remembered they'd brought along an extra small radiator panel to attach to the Power Bank... which was still stowed back at the lander. He advised Wehrner where he was headed and that he'd be back in 20 minutes, to which Wehrner responded, "- in a dust storm?" Merson was sure he'd be instructed to wait if they asked, so he just hopped in the DEV and headed back as the visibility varied wildly. Once there Merson retrieved the radiator and propped it in the back seat for the drive back. (It was too heavy for Merson to carry so I had to just weld it to a seat) Once back home Merson attached the radiator and did the last of his necessary housework before settling in for a long life-sciences stay. Meanwhile in Orbit, Lenlas attempted to find out what the Additional Tanks Jettison should look like- And lastly, back at the the Cape, the new orbital crew vehicle that stemmed from the hypersonic USC testing was taken on its inaugural flight. It couldn't quite make it back to Island Runway 09 and had to ditch, but it did so safely and demonstrated a very inexpensive path to LKO, finally causing the Program to consider whether or not to construct a low-orbit space station. The ensuing 2 1/2 years before Wehrner and Merson returned would be filled with cross-Duna exploration and design study meetings for an 80km permanent space station. (I've never built a space station, so if I decide to it will be another bucket-list item checked off in this save!)

"What's it look like?" Wehrden "It's hard to tell right off- " Merson "- ok, the bell of 1 is compressed, ... there's quite a bit of constricted tubing." Merson "Is it leaking anything?" Wehrden "Neg. No frost, no discoloration." Merson "That matches the gauges, both steady. ...will it start?" Wehrden "...I don't think I'm qualified to answer that." Merson (despite the possibilities offered by the Repair button, clicking it did nothing) They both knew that if they reported damage they would be ordered to re-launch immediately. If they reported an anomaly they'd be ordered to send pictures and descriptions, and then most likely re-launch immediately. They also knew that they had Years of sustenance just 12km away, and they had trained for this mission. They also weren't going to lie to their superiors, so when they re-keyed vox for the next 30 minutes of voice transmission they reported touchdown and that Merson found no damage to the landing legs and then swiftly went on to marveling about the view, dancing around the "unsaid" bits. They would find out in two years if the engine would fire, after they had completed their work. After planting the flag for DUAL-2 they called for an Uber, and with a chuckle Mission Control activated the Duna Excursion Vehicle. The DEV's automated piloting was genuinely astonishing. Slowly Mission Control allowed it to get faster as it proved able to make small trims without any serious yaw. Eventually it was closing on the DUAL Lander at over 100kph, arriving in less than 10 minutes. The stop also went a long way towards lifting trust in the machine as it drifted to a slow roll with not a hint of instability. The crew watched the dust settle as their ride stopped just outside. Given the success demonstrated by the rover driving itself over, Mission Control allowed them to continue on to the Duna Life Lander that was just 2.8 klicks away. Wehrden began to get a feel for the DEV's stability, and started allowing himself to have fun. Just as the probe hove into view Merson drew a breath to caution against turning and breaking at the same time- Merson rolled over in the acrid red dust and applied emergency patches to two holes in his suit, then stood up. Wehrden had managed to stay strapped in, and had just brought up the DEV. Merson knew he didn't need to say anything as Wehrden asked how he was doing, and just walked over to the probe. The drill was indeed crazily mangled, but Merson could see it was just a few panels popped out of place, and just a couple minutes of work was able to repair it. He then went about collecting data, which was more trouble than it should have been because the data storage unit wouldn't respond. Mission Control had to ask KPL to have the probe re-run all of its experiments so that Merson could just collect the results from each experiment. That was done in just a few minutes, and then Merson climbed back in and tied his seatbelts where the buckles had snapped before they started the long drive to their B&B. Home sweet home. Wehrden carefully parked the DEV and then jumped out to get on board and begin the system start-up procedures, while Merson went straight to his rehearsed walkabout to make sure the Power Bank was repairable. They wouldn't starve for a while at least.

I love those newspaper headlines, that's the one thing that I wish I could have had in my game. Ah well, next time.!

Heh. It'll be a while to pay-off.

As the time for departure approached Wehrden and Merson climbed into the DUAL lander and went through their checklists. Batteries engaged, mono-prop valves were opened, and the descent program uploaded. Given the Base Complex had targeted the lander probe the same point was selected to deliver the crew. "-decoupled." Into the dark side of their orbit they initiated their burn. As they came down into the Eastern Canyon it began to look like they would be going long- Fortunately they had the rover to facilitate their travels, so when they saw the distance to the Complex would be 12km they were not terribly concerned. The chutes triggered, and Wherden watched the rate of descent tumble, and seeing it fall within parameters opted to pass on a power-assisted landing. " ...touchd- "

The crew of Albatros IV arrived at Duna, their landing site in view as they approached their low-orbit insertion burn. They would now settle in for 10 days as they prepared to descend to the Eastern Canyon Complex, which would also allow the Cape to focus on getting the two Laythe Landers under way from their current LKO parking orbits. The VAB dug into its archives and was able to provide this image of what the Albatros Launch Assembly looked like. Quite an expensive collection of hardware, but there were now test plans for 3 other missions of similar magnitude, and one was actually under construction.

Thank you, I'm pretty proud of that. Maybe I should do an airshow, and just park them all out and label them.

There were only two launches in the 200 days until Albatros' trim maneuver. Both Laythe Life Landers were launched into orbit to await their transfer windows to Jool. The remaining Program activity stemmed exclusively from the Hangar Team. Firstly that postponed arctic science study was completed, though the crew did not like the timing of their departure to the sun-angle near their first waypoint. "Oh, hey. I thought that was a cloud. Nope, its a mountain." The KSC had acquired a wide variety of aircraft, some former military, some purely experimental. The crown jewel at the moment was their Mik-27, which had proven the utility of bi-modal flight. The aircraft had managed a 35,000 foot dry circumnavigation at Mach 2.3 to land back where it departed with 2.2 kilograms of fuel remaining. The Program had a long history of trying to push the boundaries, most notably during the test-flight of their Mik-13 almost 40 years ago, after the original Phoenix had departed for Eve. Burvan Kerman had the craft in a shallow high-speed dive attempting to approach hypersonic speeds. When at 10,000 feet it became clear that he wouldn't get above Mach 4.5 on this run he buried the stick pulling up. When he regained consciousness is engines had starved and his control surfaces had very little bite, as he was on an unplanned ballistic sub-orbital trajectory. So back in the present day the team managers wanted to challenge the purely air-breathing hypersonic mark of Mach 5, which had never been achieved by atmospheric power alone. The USC-2 was designed to accomplish this, employing an almost ridiculous oversized engine. Burvan and Sudas took the ship up, circumnavigating the globe but never getting faster than Mach 4.94, despite numerous changes in test profile. The USC-2 sweats out its workout after a bumpy landing. It really seemed that the excessive power could not be harnessed, so a revision to the more reasonable engine used in the Mik-13 was completed, however sim-testing showed it could never climb to even Mach 4.5, so there being no reason to rebuild the aircraft the existing airframe was broken up. Some new things had been learned though, and so a new, cheaper way for crew to access low orbit was realized, mocked up and ordered into construction. So with mixed results from work in airborne flight, Albatros IV reached its trim-manuever in space-flight, setting up its orbital breaking burn in about 90 days.

You have successfully elicited one "LOL" moment, for which I am grateful I was not sipping the coffee.