Ultimate Steve

What numbers are you using for that? That's 12.6km/s there, at 382s vac and 1800t props that requires a dry mass of 65 tons by my napkin math.

If a single engine failure on landing is causing LOCV, then the landing burn needs to be started earlier.

I am glad you have enjoyed it! literally perfection is pretty high praise, and while I don't think it is exactly perfect myself, I am glad that the story was able to affect you in that way! The man, the myth, the legend Jimself! That means a lot having grown up reading Emiko Station... Man, those were the days, every day I woke up there was a new Plan Kappa or Kerbfleet: A Jool Odyssey or Emiko Station out... I'm glad I was able to join the club of completed stories. Also while you are here, being the KSP 2 writer and all... I am so glad you have enjoyed the story! My writing has definitely improved a lot since 2017 (part of the motivation for the rewrite, should it ever be complete). As for what comes next in Kerbal related writing... It has been delayed a bit, and I likely won't be able to commit to anything long term, but I have a story that has been in the works for a while now. If it ever sees the light of day, it will be a Kerbal fanfiction exploring a world in which Kerbal technology and magic both exist. I don't really write much fantasy, so I get to try my hand at something that isn't strictly sci-fi! Although I've been mulling over the idea of doing standalone non-Kerbal work that I could actually publish someday with no copyright complications. I have no shortage of ideas, just a shortage of time and willpower... The two most prominent ideas both involve airships actually. One set on another world, and one set on 21st century Earth. The story of Meros was actually a standalone story idea before I roped it into Voyage. ========== I would like to issue a sincere thank you to anyone who has ever read any bit of this story. I have a problem with not finishing things. This is without a doubt the single greatest creative work I have ever finished (despite my rocky writing skills at the beginning), and a strong contender for my greatest creative work of all time... so far. The only other contenders are all unfinished (2 musical pieces, 1 Minecraft build, 1 other story, and 1 physical piece are the competitors that come to mind). Without each and every one of your encouraging words and each of those like pings ("YourName has liked a post in: Voyage - The Final Warning (Chapter XX)), it would have taken a lot longer, if it was ever finished at all. Every notification put a smile on my face. Come to think of it, parts of the subpar initial writing can be explained away as Ethan being the author, growing up and maturing. In that way it is incredibly authentic, as the affect of having Ethan mature in the face of existential threats was accomplished by my maturation in the face of slightly-less existential threats! The writing of this story has coincidentally (or maybe not?) spanned almost exactly from start to finish a time in my life that I have come to call "Chapter 1," my first character arc, from disaster to recovery. Loosely from summer 2017 to spring 2023. Not a complete resolution, the war is far from over, but the long battle has been won. A lot of my writing in this story parallels that. Chapter 2 has proven to be a tough cookie so far. Who knows what it will hold, but it will doubtlessly be quite the story. I'm open to answering any questions you may have about the story, but be warned, there's a high chance the answer will be "Because I was 16 and didn't know what I was talking about!" Thank you all for reading, and may the Infinities smile upon you!

Hello, everyone! Thank you for the kind words! I have been a bit too busy to respond to them and TBH I should probably be doing my control systems homework at the moment... Or trying to figure out why the Cubesat's ADCS isn't working... Or catching up on sleep... Or doing optimization homework... Did I mention they are all due today... But I'll do my best to get back to everyone right now! Thank you! The ending has been bouncing around in my head for years now and I'm glad I was able to finally get it in writing. It doesn't completely live up to what's in my head, but I'd say I got about 95% of the way there. I'm glad you enjoyed it! The epilogues were pretty fun to write. Thank you, thank you! Re: first paragraph, I feel the same way, the story has been with me since I was 15. I turned 21 a few days ago! It has been quite an emotional journey. Although it might not be completely over... The idea of doing a second draft has always bounced around in my head and I did test rewrites of chapters 1 and 2 a few months ago that turned out pretty good. Unsure if I'll ever get around to this, if I do, it will be a while. Also have ideas for Galactus related spinoffs. Don't be surprised if I post short spinoffs in this thread every now and then. Re: Second paragraph in the spoiler. This is something that I went back and forth on a lot... Should they stay together? The decision largely came down to my growing up and my personal experiences with that kind of stuff, and the fact that I did not believe I could write a satisfying romantic conclusion... It is very validating that you enjoyed the romance parts, I did not think they were very good at the time. If it makes you feel any better, my headcanon is that they tried for a while and ended up friends for life (musical collabs in the epilogues). One version of the ending that didn't make it into the final story was that they both reached the Pluto monolith together. Re: Third paragraph. PDF/reposting to another site is on the list. I will see what I can do about putting together a definitive version of the first draft but it will likely be a while before I am able to do that. One of my dreams is to get it printed out and actually put into book form so I can have it on a shelf somewhere. However that will likely wait for the hypothetical second draft, which I don't plan to include pictures in if it ever happens, so it should translate much better to novel form. I actually have written a couple things. By far the most successful was a one shot called Mr. President: Looking back on it, it is a bit of a fairytale looking back on it TBH, and the whole Queen and Putin things didn't age too well, but a story is a story! I have actually considered multiple times asking the mods to move this from mission reports into fan works, as the mission report label isn't really accurate any more and hasn't been for several years, but at this point I think it would just confuse people. I'm glad you enjoyed the story! No real comments on what's in the spoiler, just general agreement. I kind of like the idea of them still operating somewhat in stealth mode going forward. Almost six years! I know, right? I'm a bit at a loss for words on how to respond to such high praise, so I'll talk about the galaxy instead. The worldbuilding and the technology and stuff is something I'm very proud of. In the beginning it was just all technobabble but I eventually wrangled it into stuff that makes sense. Speaking of which, the whole quantum spectrum stuff. A semi-canon explanation follows. Quantized spectrum would be a more accurate name, but Quantum spectrum sounds cooler. The main idea is that, well, the spectrum we are all familiar with, the electromagnetic spectrum, on which photons traveling at the speed of light are the carrier particle, is not the only one. By varying some variable that is admittedly still mumbo-jumbo, additional spectrums can be found on which other particles are the carrier particles. These particles may follow different rules, they may interact with normal and exotic matter differently and may travel at different speeds. The "variable" though, is discrete and not continuous, hence the quantization of the spectrums. Every so often in this variable, another usable spectrum appears, and this pattern repeats. Starting at the electromagnetic, or zeroth quantum spectrum, if you go 1, you get the quantum spectrum, 2 for the second quantum spectrum, etc. However the quantization also happens in multiples of pi. So there's a 3.14 spectrum, 6.28 spectrum, and so on... The galaxy as a whole headcanonically uses tau instead of pi (2pi=tau) in everyday use, so the 6.28 spectrum would translate as the tauquantum spectrum, which is the spectrum that the tauquantum gate technology relies on. However, there are actually multiple "variables". The second one that was discovered was just called variable 2, and a prefix was applied to any spectrum discovered - the first Diquantum spectrum, second diquantum spectrum, etc. As more and more variables were discovered, you get stuff like triquantum, quadquantum, pentaquantum, etc. It would make more sense to think of the spectrums as an n dimensional plot where the electromagnetic spectrum lies at (0,0,0,0,0...). There's nothing special about the electromagnetic spectrum other than that it happens to be the one that interacts with the matter that tends to form life the most, so it is the most rapidly understood by a large margin. I never really mentioned variations in multiple dimensions at the same time (There could theoretically be a 1-Quadquantum 4-Triquantum 17-Diquantum Tauquantum spectrum or some other wizardry) so headcanonically variation in more than one dimension at a time tends to make the resulting spectrum difficult to study and not very useful. It would also lead to half of the words in Voyage being complete mumbo jumbo. Indeed it does! Someday, someday... (Additional things I want to quote are on next page, posts will probably merge)

Please don't be between 2:50 and 6:44...

Wow... It's happening, isn't it?

I have had mixed experiences with large Discord servers. However I find that it is very good for small groups, like a bunch of friends running a Minecraft server. Easy to set up what you want to be notified about, easy to share media, easy to switch between text, audio, and visual communication... Basically, actually convenient instant communication. Easy to throw in bots for anything you want as well. Free (unless you want to send large files), no ads, web or desktop or mobile based. TLDR, convenient way to enable multiple methods of communication and information dissemination for small groups.

Don't forget, they have a significant engineering advantage as well. As the age old saying goes, "Rockets aren't Lego." Well, here, they literally are.

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Epilogue I: A New Cetidra Epilogue II: Harmony Of The Heavens Epilogue III: The Voyages' End Epilogue IV: A Space Odyssey Epilogue V: Faster Than Light Epilogue VI: Stories And Starships Epilogue VII: The Uncertainty Principle Epilogue VIII: The Hearth Tenders Epilogue IX: Hoarders Of Hope Epilogue X: Let There Be Light

Chapter 36 - May The Infinities Smile Upon You

Chapter 35 - The Meaning Of Happiness

Chapter 34 - The Battle For Kerbin

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Fantastic! Just saw your Discord message, I'll get back to you with more details when I'm less busy (University, cubesat project, KSP 2 stuff, etc). My best design had in theory gone as low as 8.8 tons, but I was never fully able to test it, and I don't think I ever managed to successfully fly the Tylo lander even if it is successful on paper. Eve vehicle got down to ~1.4 tons but had to fight instability from using the basic fin layout (interestingly enough the Cub was used on this design as bizarrely it was somehow the best engine for the job). Another Eve design has no instability but uses the slighlty heavier actual wings.

Can confirm my Mun orbits gradually decay as well.

Hmm, this is an interesting observation. I might try installing the game on my backup drive as my hard drive is always pegged at 100%.

So that's how you are all doing it! I was assuming you all were using clear input locks or something, I swear I didn't send 2 Kerbals in the grand tour just to show off, lol.

Fantastic! It is amazing that they are all finally compiled in one place! Question about this. Does "Pilot" also include up to one EVA jetpack and one EVA parachute per Kerbal? Assuming the wiki is correct, Kerbals are 45 kilograms, the jetpack is 40, and the chute is 4, totaling 89 (I think KER would be a better measure as I remember the total being 90, so we would have to check). It might be worth clarifying in case it causes trouble going forward. The 11,488kg grand tour could be counted as low as 11,358kg subtracting both Kerbals and the jetpack (I counted total liftoff mass). I think this is worth clarifying seeing as Kerbals are no longer discrete ~89kg units, but now have themselves, and optional jetpacks and parachutes. Also, Who is working on the grand tour record? I have some very interesting design optimizations that could see the record drop by potentially another couple tons, but I am far too impatient to fly the mission as pretty much all user friendliness is stripped out. I would probably be happy to collaborate with someone, pooling our ideas and patience and varied piloting skills for a co-operative mission and shared credit.

It is the eve of KSP 2! Let's all show off our KSP 1 ribbons! For the uninitiated, they can be generated at https://www.kerbaltek.com/ribbons. They are a good way of summing up most KSP 1 achievements in a small image and have been around for many years. I remember the first batch of ribbons I generated, I probably hadn't even landed on the Mun yet, if so, just barely. Maybe Minmus too. I was so proud that I tried to make them in real life out of cardboard, markers, paper, and glue. I plan on doing something similar, but more professional, for KSP 2's achievements. My final (at least before KSP 2 comes out) KSP 1 achievements: (Some Kerbals lost and saved not included - all of the ones present are just the notable ones because I have forgotten. My memory is shoddy so it may not be 100% accurate) Each symbol here was not necessarily chosen as the most impressive thing I have done, but the most memorable. Sun: Station to honor Icarus station from my YouTube series Solar Station, which exists in Low Polar Kerbol Orbit at what I think is the lowest altitude a solar station has ever been built at. It will contain craft to go lower when I get around to finishing it. Asteroid: I had an old 1.3.1 no reverts save where I constructed a giant refueling station in low Kerbin orbit and I have fond memories from that station. This old 1.3.1 save is technically from my old report Project Timberwind/Bob and Sily but that should never have gotten a story TBH, it fared much better as a private save. Moho: Never got around to a base, but chose Lander because I landed a massive mothership there in Project Intrepid. I also contributed a lot of stuff to the Project Upsilon Moho phase, including a docking standard which went on to play some part of the rest of the project, and a space fighter for the Moho series. Eve: Did create a massive base but also landed a massive skyscraper so was really considering going with monument on this one. Both of these were part of my YouTube series Eve and Back. Also did an SRB only ascent, in my short lived SRB grand tour series (I only ended up getting halfway to Moho before the SRB "refuelings" became too much - this was back when the Kickback was the largest SRB). Gilly: No permanent presence, so chose multi part ship to honor my first major Eve expedition, which was basically a copycat of Kuzzter's mission. The rover was a very cool thing that used reaction wheels to roll around. Anomaly due to my investigations of the Gilly rift, one of the few times I felt I did actual science in the game. Kerbin: Space station to honor Space Station Epic V, which I never finished, and is several years old at this point. There have been many stations, though, and this can honor all of them. Kerbal lost to honor the 6 Kerbals who perished in an SSTO accident (stupid runway lights lol) in a no reverts save, and one pilot who died in a plane crash in that same save. Mun: Base to honor my largest Mun base in an old 1.3.1 save, and also for my SRB only Mun base I made many years ago and probably never posted. Kerbal lost to honor the numerous Kerbals I've crashed into the Mun, Kerbal saved to honor one specific Kerbal who jumped from a fuel depleted lander in that 1.3.1 no reverts save, just barely making it to safety. Minmus: Base to honor my largest Minmus base in that same old 1.3.1 save, and also the (very much edited in) Minmus Shipyard from Project Intrepid. Duna: Base to honor my two Duna bases, one in that no reverts 1.3.1 save, and one small one from Project Intrepid. Ike: Base to honor my Project Intrepid Ike base. Dres: Torn between armada and rover (base?) to honor the Project Intrepid Dres activities, chose Armada because of the mega cool moment I had where one giant mothership was out of fuel screaming by Dres, and the second ship refueled, rendezvoused with it, transferred fuel, and there was this amazing few minutes where both ships were burning together in formation to enter Dres orbit. Jool: Was a very very close decision between armada honoring Jool Expedition 1, my first no holds barred armada mission, way back in the pre-Intrepid days, or multi part ship honoring Voyage: The Final Warning. I ended up choosing multi part ship, but both missions are very important and meaningful to me. If I had flown the Project Intrepid JAVELIN Jool Ascent Vehicle before abandoning that save, I would have also appended the atmospheric bar. Laythe: Base to honor two bases, one from a private save which involved the short lived attempt to colonize Laythe, and the other for my contributions to a community save back in the day, can't remember what it was called, which involved a massive, probably 50 Kerbal monolithic Laythe base. Kerbal to honor (Voyage: The Final Warning Spoilers). Come to think of it, I should add Kerbal saved. Vall: There is no good symbol for "MY LANDER WON'T WORK SO I WILL BRING THE MOTHERSHIP DOWN AND HOVER IT JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE WHILE I JUMP OUT, PLANT A FLAG, AND HOP BACK IN!!!" so I chose base instead (I did not ever make a base there). That was one of my most memorable KSP 1 moments ever. Tylo: Rover, but well, base, but a very minor base consisting of a small collection of vehicles from the Project Intrepid days. I chose rover to be conservative because I do not fully remember how in depth it was, but it could house at least one Kerbal internally, maybe a few more externally, and could refuel visiting landers. Bop: Extreme EVA to honor two extreme EVAs (one of which might have occurred on Pol, I don't recall at the moment). Ethan's monumental extreme EVA in Voyage: The Final Warning, and Jebediah's battle with the Deep Space Kraken in Nightmares/Project Intrepid. Pol: Landing to honor various Pol landings. I never did a lot of cool stuff at Pol, I always meant to send a base because its a cool looking little moon. Eeloo: Multi part ship to honor my first Eeloo expedition, waaaay back in the windows movie maker era of my YouTube presence. I forget the ship's name, but it was I think just under 10 launches and had a lot of cool stuff. Fond memories from being out that far for the very first time. Grand Tour: I could have chosen Project Odyssey, my first grand tour, with a really really cool ship, but I ended up choosing my 11.5 ton single launch grand tour to put on this ribbon, what I consider to be my greatest KSP 1 achievement, and my sendoff to the game. It is represented by the aircraft symbol. What do your ribbons look like, what are the stories behind their missions, and which ones are you the most proud of?

I don't remember how far away the GU stars are, but I've been using NFT to go to the Other Worlds star system just fine, although I am using better time warp and the trip does take 150 years. There's hoops to jump through, yes, but it isn't physically impossible assuming the stars are at a similar distance. Having a 19,000s isp ion engine solves a lot of problems.

Hmm, I wonder what it stands for. Personal Artificial Intelligence Guidance Expert?

This seems like a really awesome thing to do. I don't have that much time left (University, work, cubesat stuff, and enough free time to stay sane), but I'd love to do something for this... One problem, though. How do I top this? I got done with this a bit too early for me to consider it a true sendoff mission, but I guess it is a sendoff in spirit... I mean I suppose I could try to finish Voyage. That would be a decent sendoff, probably ~5 years of storytelling coming to an end. I probably don't have the time to do a more impressive mission than what is above. Worth noting that I have a mostly finished design that can theoretically complete a grand tour in under 9 tons, but I got there by stripping all user friendliness out of the above design. You would have to pay me to fly it, lol, but it would top that. Any ideas on what I can do that I haven't done before, with a very tight schedule? Actually come to think of it I've never done Jool ascent... I built a craft that could do it waaaaay back in the Project Intrepid days but Project Intrepid died before it arrived at Jool... That's one option.

Roger that, installing near future stuff now. I was totally ready to try to cram everything needed into 2 ton packages though!

May I ask what you recommend as far as interstellar transportation goes? It seems like it is supposed to be done with the lasers. In order to have reasonable travel times as I found with the sprites, you have to be going really fast (multiple tens of kilometers per second). This brings the problem of slowing down at the other end, as you would need stacks of xenon to be able to slow down from those velocities. The solution I thought was obvious was to bring a laser to the Cercani system. I did some LKO testing, and wow, the laser power drops off very quickly, like halfway to the Mun and I wasn't getting any reasonable acceleration from my space based laser. No biggie, I thought, I just need to be extremely accurate when approaching Cercani, basically getting a really close approach with my deceleration laser. As for how to get the laser there in the first place, I had the idea that I would drop off a sacrificial laser in front of me to slow me down. This is the setup, it is about 40 tons, and only manages 0.2-0.5g or so using the KSC's lasers, which is not enough. I spent several minutes accelerating using the Kerbin lasers, and by the time the acceleration dwindled down to nothing due to distance, I was still 500m/s short of Kerbol escape (and I had to sit there for several minutes spam buying time on the KSC laser, if I was in career it would have been several tens of millions of funds if not more). Is there a way to upgrade the lasers? I notice my space based lasers say 0.5 gen next to them. Is there a way to upgrade them that I missed? I have not been to Cercani yet except with a very inaccurate sprite flyby. Even when I get there I doubt my ship lasers will do much to slow me down, as I was only getting 0.003g from my orbiting laser out of this thing. Am I completely missing the intended method to get places? Or are the travel times supposed to be measured in centuries? Basically, what am I missing?