SiriusRocketry

Brendal Kerman. First Kerbal to step foot on Duna way back in 1.2 when I did a direct Duna ascent because I had no clue how to dock. Got him into Kerbin's SOI but the ship ran out of fuel when I burned the wrong way and encountered Minmus instead of Kerbin's atmosphere. Jumped out and used used the jetpack to brake into LMO, where, after two hours of trying, I succeeded in picking him up in my first ever rendezvous. Brought him home for good, where he retired and lived a happy life as the KSC gardener.

Back in 0.8, when the fuel tank textures looked like something out of a PS2 game and they were called FLT500s not 400s... I promptly forgot about the game once it came out of 'free' phase and eventually repurchased it in July 2017. Naturally, I had no clue what to do. I think it was 1.1 or 1.2.2 by then. So I guess I had two 'first KSP versions'.

KERBIN LAUNCH ALLIANCE Kerbin's Most Predictably Named Space AgencyTM Welcome to the world's most predictably named mission report! After burning out on KSP several times, and having played about two hours over a six-month period, I began to think 'Well, what if the only reason that I keep burning out is because I keep setting ridiculously high goals?' Thus; the KLA came to be. Born completely out of exasperation and mild disinterest, I decided to create a sandbox mission report where I meander along at my own pace, achieving very little and filling up my hard drive with awful screenshots taken accidentally six times from the same angle. Enjoy! This playthrough runs in a mostly stock 1.3.1 install with a few visual mods. (1.3.1 FTW!) Kea- satellite communication systems that are of no use to anyone Comet- I told you putting a rocket on a plane was a bad idea

I thought no refuelling was allowed? I've been doing the entire thing using only fuel in the initial Kerbin launch.

The landers weren't really the issue: it was the interplanetary vehicle: my fuel ran out too quickly, so I had to cut the 40t of landers loose to continue the mission.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/601675382391046144/694945118431477780/front_Jool_5_mk._2_2.png Launcher from Jool-5 attempt no.2. 530t LKO rated.

@JacobJHC I regret to inform you that my Jool 5 has failed. The Deep Space Transfer Vehicle was too low on dV, and one of the fuel lines on the Tylo lander straight up vanished, for no discernible reason, during Tylo descent. Valentina had to manually abort the Tylo landing during descent, and redocked with the mothership. I transferred all the fuel out of the Laythe and Tylo landers (except for the Tylo lander's upperstage, which will now be repurposed as a Vall/Bop/Pol lander) and abandoned the landers in Tylo orbit. Will continue recording my videos as I plot a restricted mission to Vall, Bop and Pol, then back to Kerbin, where the Space Program is likely to be shuttered thanks to the non-completion of the Jool-5 mission, or at least kept barely afloat thanks to the scant funding from landings on the other moons, resulting in the closure of all missions outside Kerbin SOI for a while. Of course this has all been recorded, and video will be up soon.

Oh dear Christ: he seems to have strip mined a mountain, melted it down into rocketry components, and filled it to the brim with explosive fuel! oh, hold on, it's just another Sunday with Whackjob Glad to see you back!

@JacobJHC Is there any problem with the submission?

Thread for my video submissions

Well, um, here's the first episode. I've only been to Jool once with a badly designed probe so yeah. This required much work.

Jeb sticks the Tylo landing (in testing of course)! (my first ever landing on one of Jool's moons, unless you count crashing a probe into Bop for a 'kinetic' test, which I don't) Even with a poor ascent profile, the lander appeared to be colossally overengineered. The lander climbed to a 65km orbit and still had over 1k dV in the tank. Plans are underway for a tiny LFO refuelling tank to be placed on the mothership, to refuel the Tylo lander's upperstage and send it as the lander for Vall, Bop and Pol. (So an overengineered lander became my greatest success to date, now I don't need to worry about integrating a Vall/Bop/Pol lander) And oops, a previous attempt caused a landing leg to be shot out of Tylo's SOI at 8km/s. Century long solar orbit FTW!

The test launch of the vehicle, with newly engineered and fully capable Laythe Lander. Just need to work on landing on land and compensating for the slowdown effect of Laythe's atmosphere. Very difficult. A lovely Korolev cross from those massive side boosters. Sub-orbital- the sustainer stage has a low TWR of 0.73 but loads of dV so I can forgive the steep ascent. Fairing panels released, stack visible Stack in full view just before orbital circularization burn (for some reason the antenna has vanished, will hopefully fix that for the real launch) And here's testing of the re-entry pod, simulated return to a 38km periapsis from 4.5 km/s. Unfortunately the upperstage destroyed the docking port and parachutes so it did not survive landing, but still a success nonetheless.

Considering your original mission report inspired me to join the forums in the first place, I'm happy to see you here again! Happy landings, @Hotaru!

So, I've run into a problem of sorts. I can't seem to make a Laythe lander that a) fits in the mothership design profile or b) has the dV. Design A had the capability to fit, but was way too weak to reach orbit. Design B, while packing the dV and TWR, weighed almost 45 tons and was in danger of putting the already low mothership TWR at under 0.25, while being unwieldy during mothership burns. Design C fixed both but has a hit and miss record with sticking the landing and has a very low TWR. I think part of this is because I refuse to go the atmospheric-engine/plane route due to inexperience? Can anybody share some tips?

I'm going to do the Ultra Noob mission: have only been to Jool with probes and have never landed on any moon. Is Kerbal Joint Reinforcement allowed? My launch vehicle is quite large (309 parts, 992t, 86m high all up) and might need KJR to make sure it is Kraken-ifed... I'll probably upload the mission as a series of short video clips. Launch Vehicle and exploded Mothership view: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/672132906382262300/681619267405348962/front_Jool-5_1.png

My attempt is underway. Just need to unclip some fuel reserves from the Tylo lander's top stage. The nosecones on my Laythe lander's after-burner boosters clip slightly into the 1.25m-2.5m adapter above it, would that be OK? It's not a fueled part or an engine.

What modlist/version are you running? Looks stunning!

Alright, here's the prologue. This'll be a primarily story based report with some pictures thrown in. I do apologise for the small size of the prologue; subsequent chapters will hopefully be a bit longer. Each chapter will have a leitmotif, which is a bit of music that describes the writing, and one in all likelihood that I was listening to or provided the main inspiration during that particular chapter. Anyway, hope you enjoy! Prologue Leitmotif: https://youtu.be/pfA5UqEU_80 It was precisely 7:13 AM when Jebediah Kerman’s world ended. At the time, he was zipped into his specialized heat-conserving tent, 3,470 meters above sea level near the peak of Mt. Marker, within sight of the township of Shoreton, and his workplace, the legendary (or not so much anymore) Kerbal Space Center. However, he was camping behind an outcropping on the western edge of the lower slopes, and so had no view, except that of a ochre-streaked, pointed cliff face directly opposite. Jeb was an avid mountaineer, and had shot to fame by climbing 6,764m to the peak of Mount Melancholia, the tallest mountain on Kerbin. This, of course, was before his hot-headed and reckless younger self signed up to be bolted into manned cruise missiles and shot onto various sub-orbital trajectories around Kerbin. He’d retired from active corps duty three years ago- too much strain on the old back, being compressed under 12 G’s- but had taken up an advisory role on the KSC’s directorial board. Fat lot of good that did, thought Jeb bitterly, nine years we’ve been blasting those bloody things away, and what? Four manned orbits, and a couple probes to Mun and Minmus, which have all stopped working now, of course. Our technology is a shambles. We’ve got one viable liquid fueled engine, for Kraken’s sake! The military’s weapon tests have been to space more than we have! And unfortunately, it was the truth. Kerbin’s nuclear missile program had heated up recently: Lusikrantz to the north had 250 missiles, Jeb’s own nation of the United Kerbinai Republic had about 400, and the crazy eastern stand-up guys in Kolusia were rumored to have tested a ‘super-yield’ bomb, twenty times more powerful than the UKN’s biggest. And that wasn’t even half the threats pointed at Kerbalkind: the civil war in Lusikrantz had some pretty nasty biological bombs being lobbed around, and the mineral drilling off the Alverian coast had caused that 200-meter tsunami a couple years back. Rumor had it at least fifty thousand square miles of the coastline were still flooded. No wonder the scientists had moved the Big Ticker’s hands to fifteen seconds before lunch. Lunch being the metaphorical date that the entire Kerbal species was taken out for ‘lunch’, although what lunch was, nobody knew for sure. Probably best if I stick to the mountains for now, Jeb chuckled inwardly. His thoughts were interrupted by a ear-burning whine, coming from somewhere above his head. Curious and more than a little terrified, Jeb poked his head out of the tent’s front flap, and peeked over the nearest outcrop just in time to see the sky turn from the lightening mauve of early dawn, to a searing, cold white light. All the microhairs on his skin stood on end. Suddenly, there was a distant boom, like the clap of a giant audience, and Jeb was bowled over, cracking his head against a rock and screaming as the lights behind his eyes went out. White. Blink. Snow, cold, orange. Blink. Tent, rock, cliff. Jebediah Kerman, Jr. sat up and rubbed his eyes, massaging his head as he did so. Aw, sap. What on Kerbin happened? he wondered aloud as he shuffled back to his seemingly undamaged tent to collect his supplies. Unzipping the front flap and clutching the threadbare straps of his climbing kit bag, he groped around for the retractor strap that would compact the tent and allow it to fit in his backpack. He grabbed the little red strap at the same moment his right foot slipped. The involuntary reaction caused him to yank the strap while his head was still enclosed in the tent, which instantly closed around Jeb’s head, exactly as the bag had been designed. After a shout and a couple of choice words, Jeb’s first correctly marshalled thought was: Great job, dingus, killed by a tent after a possibly extinction-level event. The Kraken’ll be having a ripe old laugh at that once you get up to Kerballa’s emerald gates. His second, slightly more practical thought was: Right. You’ve only got about three minutes of oxygen in here, but it’s only covering your head. Grab the strap with your hand, and release the tent. A good plan, if truth be told. There was one major flaw, however; he couldn’t see his hands. With immense difficulty, he moved his now shrink wrapped head downward, eyes scanning the orange tinted fabric for a sign of his body. Wait! There! An ill-defined shadow! A hand, maybe? He told his brain to flex his fingers, and the shadow contracted and expanded. *Yes. Definitely a hand. Now, how do I use that hand to get me out? Where’s the tab from here? Jeb’s hand brushed up and down the fabric, probing any gap for a strap hidden in the folds. The air was definitely getting thinner now, Jeb realized, and his head began to feel fuzzy, the symptoms of early-onset oxygen deprivation. Desperately, he clutched at the fabric, scratching and flailing at every square inch. Damn it to Bop! It’s hopeless. Better make peace with- Jeb’s heart skipped a bit as his fingertips glided over a rectangular shape. The..strap… Jeb felt like he was thousands of meters under water. His vision was gone, his face was numb, and he was dimly aware of his own pained gasps. With all his might, he grabbed the strap… and yanked. In about half a second, the text expanded outwards, expelling Jeb from its confines. Jeb himself flew back and landed flat on his back for the second time that day. Wheezing with exhaustion, Jeb laid a hand across his chest, heaving, and struggled to his feet, whispering half-formed curses with his not quite recovered vocal chords. He gently pulled the tent’s deflation flap, stuffed the resulting flat-packed rhombus unceremoniously into his bag, and hoisted himself over the treacherous rocky outcropping, shocked at the sight that met his eyes. Shoreton was gone. Not a single nuclear crater, no buildings, not even a single body. It was as if civilization had been plucked from his immediate field of view, with only the great sentinel of the KSC’s VAB watching on the horizon. It was an ineffable sight, to lose your home and everything you took for granted so inexplicably that no trace of it ever having existed was left behind. A normal kerbal probably would have cried their eyes out or have been reduced to gaping openly at the horizon for at least an hour. Jeb, being the pragmatist, shook himself from his reverie after a few seconds (okay, maybe minutes) of dumbstruck staring, and began the trip down to the base camp in the foothills 2,600m below, where he’d parked his 4x4 three.. Days? How long had it been? He had been knocked out on the morning of the third day, and it has presumably been late afternoon when he had first awoken: who’s to say he hadn’t slept for two days? Or two *months?* Sighing under the weight of all his uncertainties, Jebediah Kerman, Jr. began the long trek down Mt. Marker, heading to the last familiar place left in Shoreton, and for all he knew the entire planet: his trek towards survival was also, unbeknown to him, a trek towards his destiny.

So I had a challenge idea: land on the Mun and return with demo parts. This means no gimbal, no liquid fuel engines other than LVT-30, no control surface fins etc. Along the way, I got rather attached to Jeb, and built a story around this mission: why is he alone? Why are the parts so primitive? What drove him to spend a space visit locked up in a conical metal box? So here it is: The story of one kerbal. One Mun. One destiny. For Jebediah Kerman, this is... The Final Option Stay tuned for the prologue!

No, sorry to disappoint I say @Barzon.

I have tried so hard over these last two and a bit years to connect and enjoy the prescene of those associated with this community. I have wanted to write stories for as long as I can remember, and KSP was a perfect outlet for this. It was through writing that the trouble with a rotted, disgusting side of this community began. I'm not naming names but they know what happened. It's driven me to the edge and over it. Two years, some of the best years of my life. But as they say all good things will come to an end. This account will remain open for 24 hours if you want to say goodbye. If you know me on Discord, hit me up, don't hesitate. I'm sad that my writing never reached what it could have. @DarkOwl57 I'm sorry that I will never finish Find The Gap. @KSK, @Kuzzter and all assorted soforth in the Thread for Writers to talk about Writing, I apologise for never delivering on the promise I made to show you what I thought. You are all wonderful people, and I wish you every success. [snip] I'm sorry for what I did. I hope you can forgive me. Lastly, to [snip]. I somehow still respect you slightly after all you did. Stay sharp, and try to be a bit more understanding with the next guy who comes across your path seeking help. Thanks to this forum. You are the greatest community ever, and I pray you carry on the that torch. May your rockets fly ever straight! @Vanamonde and you mods, keep it the way it is. May your iron rule never be disrupted And on that bombshell, it's time to end these glorious two years with you guys. So long and thanks for all the fish.

Very nice! I'll have to save these for a wallpaper

I've started building little people in my mind on the writing forumers based on profile pics and conversation. Weird but satisfying...

Almost got hit with a train today, the driver's face made me feel awful. Poor guy nearly liquided himself. Luckily the natural human instinct of 'HOLY excrements GET OUT THE loveING WAY" overpowered my "just loveing die already" instinct. Plus, some poor excrements would've needed to scrape my brains off the train grill and I would've hated to be an inconvenience. Welcome to my wonderful excrementsty life. @Barzon Kerman Orright, mam. Oi did sleep.