Cavscout74

I noticed that too. I've had good results sticking a small antenna from another mod under the experiment (so its hidden between the engine & experiment), but it would be nice to have some way to recover the experiment or a built in working transmitter Another thing I noticed - when my Capella plus an antenna stuck between the experiment & engine doesn't fly any higher than the A-4 alone - the Capella engine mass is 0.75 tons in the .cfg but according to wikipedia, sustainer engine loaded mass was only 313 kg & empty mass of 67 kg. Another source (astronautix.com) lists the gross mass of the whole Corporal as 300kg, empty mass of 125kg. In-game TWR was showing about 0.3 while the actual Corporal is over 2 (2.18 if you go with the 313kg loaded mass)

dV requirements for stock scale KSP are a small fraction of reality. I don't have figures handy, but IIRC its somewhere north of 9000 m/s for Earth. That's why SSTO spaceplanes are so (relatively) easy in KSP while we're still waiting on one in the real world. My first reusable rocket was Mammoth powered & recovered with chutes, and a touch of thrust just before landing. I had some large mod landing gear rather than landing on the engine, but otherwise the same setup as you. Worked great till I got tired of landing every first stage. Especially after a busy interplanetary transfer, I might have 8-10 Nexus first stages in LKO that all had to be landed.

Punishment box for misbehaving kerbals? My career has another update posted, highlights include: New single turboprop cargo plane - although a 4-seat version is easily doable also Career-first orbital rescue (followed by 4 more) And a Minmus impactor succeeded in its mission, as well as testing a newly unlocked deep space probe core by smashing it into a moon.

Months 8-9 How to save a life Ongoing Missions: MOLE Station - Ambera continued research on several experiments. Val is bored. A fresh crew is planned to come up soon, consisting of the recently rescued personnel Lodzon, Barnie, Samdy & Adburry Duna Sojourner - Course correction is planned for 01:336 Manned Launches: KSC - 01:247 - Dawngrazer MPV-D - Stripped down MPV with a Titan Instrument Unit in place of the service bay to enable an engineer to perform an orbital rescue without a pilot. Developed into the DG KRV (Kerbal Rescue Vehicle) after most of the MPV fuel was waisted. Rescued Adburry Kerman, a scientist, from a Pea pod stuck in LKO. KSC - 01:252 - Dawngrazer KRV-1 - Developed from the DG MPV-D, it features a smaller upper stage fuel tank, allowing launch without any SRB's. Kelrik went up again to recover Samdy Kerman, another scientist, stuck in an airlock for a surface base. Someone at KSC headquarters really needs to talk to some of the governments about the tests they are running in orbit - and 3 new contracts were received after this rescue!! KSC - 01:259 - Dawngrazer MRV-1 - A new design inspired by the multitude of LKO rescue contracts. The MRV (Multi-Rescue vehicle) can take an engineer to LKO and rescue 3 additional kerbals in a single mission. Tradeoff is substantially higher cost due to using a pair of liquid-fuel asparagus staged boosters. Whatever is going on in the various national space programs, Kelrik is becoming an expert at orbital rescues - picking up Kathberry Kerman (Scientist) from another Pea pod, Barnie Kerman (Engineer) from a lander can and Lodzon Kerman (Pilot) from an aircraft cockpit, then returning safely to the surface. Unmanned Launches: DSC - 01:245 - Jabbit 2 Min Impactor - Entered SoI 01:253 & impacted 01:254. This was a new design, including the first flight of a new "Vorona" probe core intended for deep space missions. Not many pictures because, well, the mission was a success so there wasn't anything to take pictures of afterwards. DSC - 01:258 - Jabbit 2 Min Surveyor-1 - Launched to Minmus to attempt a soft landing in the polar regions. Entered Minmus SoI & adjusted to a polar inclination, currently approaching Pe. Aircraft: Tested a small cargo aircraft, the CC-01 Loadmaster turboprop. With fixed gear & a single Kitty turboprop, it is hardly fast, but handles well & can carry a fair amount of cargo for its size. Other: Started runway upgrade, R&D upgrade still in progress Note: I'm going to start putting dates as YY:DDD rather than trying to keep track of months, weeks, etc. I'm also going to start adding the date to new launches.

The first Mun landing pics were from the Armstrong Memorial easter egg on the Mun, no mods required to find it. Glad you like the planes. I don't know what happened lately, I used to struggle to make a nice flying airplane. The last few weeks however, almost every plane I make is at least usable right from the start and with a few test flights and tweaks, they get even better. The Islander is based on an almost identical plane I made several versions ago & it struggled to do anything - this one flies great except for being prone to ground looping on landing.

I was wondering if anyone had noticed what I started doing. Glad you are enjoying it Thanks! It's from Completely Non-Aggressive Rocketry mod, which is beautifully done. I thought it would make a great way to kick off the launch a career

Just a short update to my career today, didn't have a lot of time. Details here This is the view I want at work: Second manned mission to Mun for this career:

Months 8-9 Giant steps are what you take, Walking on the moon Ongoing Missions: Duna Sojourner 1 - Enroute to Duna, course correction planned to occur in about 3 months MiFP-1/MiROR-1 - Minmus Flyby Probe 1 arrived in Minmus SoI and transmitted high altitude visible & IR images, temperature & magnetic field readings. Mission control elected to redirect MiFP-1 into low Minmus orbit to complete another contract. Once in orbit on day 239, the renamed MiROR-1 (Minmus Relay & Orbital Reconaissance) sent back substantial information on the surface of Minmus, including from the far side. Due to the proximity of Duna Sojourner-1, a relay link was established through it back to Kerbin even when LoS was lost. Manned Launches: KSC Dawngrazer MPV-4 - Day 235 - Val & Ambera launched from KSC & docked with MOLE station to become the first space station crew. Ambera began work on several experiments while Val monitored the station's systems. The mission is ongoing at this time. DSC Dawngrazer ML2-1 - Day 240 - Launch of the new 2-seat Mun Lander. This was designed to carry a 2-kerbal crew from the surface of Kerbin thru Mun landing & back to Kerbin rather that having to deal with multiple rendezvous & docking for every mission. To further increase the dV budget, the Thumper SRB's used for heavier DG payloads were replaced by new Kickback SRB's. This enabled the transfer stage to start the Mun injection with full fuel tanks, and arrive in Mun orbit with a few hundred dV remaining, stretching the lander's capabilities. Jeb found a nice location near the middle of the East Farside Crater to land, plant a flag & gather science. Kelrik even found a nice sized Mun stone to bring back for study. The return flight was uneventful & showed the ML2 would in the future be capable of one or two short hops on the Mun as it reentered Kerbin with over 1000 m/s remaining. Some redesign may be in order - the Kickback boosters were somewhat overpowered, and a quad arrangement of Thumpers may be a better option, especially if they are tuned to burn out in pairs. Designers are also debating if it would be beneficial to include the combined small docking port, parachute & RCS system from the Dawngrazer MPV in place of the plain parachute Unmanned Launches: None Aircraft: None Other: We currently have contracts in the works for the first LKO rescue, a Minmus Impactor, a return from Minmus & a Minmus soft landing (uncrewed) Thanks @Pleb

I've been using the Buffalo chassis parts for my unmanned rovers for a while now - usually a command part & a single length chassis part, 4 stock mini rover wheels and pile on the accessories (power, antennas, science) and presto - unmanned rover. This is one I did a while back of a slightly larger version (foldable wheels & double length chassis), but same idea (apparently I have no good screenshots of my mini remote rovers ) But other than ones already mentioned, I don't know of any mods to build specific unmanned rovers.

I can't really take credit. Before discovering KSP, I used to play a sci-fi MMO called Wildstar. Far more "-fiction" than "science-", but it was fun. Since it is dead & gone, in memory I've named most of my launchers after animals from that game: 1.25m Jabbit - a squirrel/rabbit mix 1.875m Dawngrazer - Deer-like herbivores 1.875m Steamglider - Manta-like flying creatures 2.5m Girrok - Bear-like predators 3.75m Gronyx - Giant living rock creatures There are a few others I've used here & there, but these have become standardized.

My career continued with the first rendezvous & docking, first manned orbit of Mun and the first manned landing. Additionally, the first interplanetary probe was launched to Duna. Full info here New CF-02 Vampire jet, just barely capable of breaking the sound barrier at sea level First Mun landing First probe to Duna

Months 7-8 Fly Me to the Mun Ongoing Missions: Manned Missions: KSC - DG MPV-1 - We started off with an engine failure of the Bobcat during launch, necessitating the use of the LES. Jeb & Kelrik splashed down safely and were recovered after hitting an apoapsis of only 46km. All systems except the engine operated normally. KSC - DG MPV-1b - Second attempt at the rendezvous & docking mission. Launch from KSC went normally, and they were able to rendezvous with KTV-1 within one orbit. Once mission control was satisfied that all systems were working normally, they gave the go-ahead to dock with KTV-1. Docking was achieved with minimal problems, then the combined craft was boosted to a 255km orbit before undocking & MPV-1b returning home safely. WSC - DG OTV-4-4 thru OTV-4-7 More tourist runs out of Woomerang. One noteworthy moment was on OTV-4-5, they received a radio call from Val on her way back from the first manned Mun orbit, closest approach between the two vesseals was around 4000km but it gave the tourists something extra to remember. OTV-4-7 was the last chance to take tourists to orbit for 11700 funds each - now that Val & Ambera completed an orbit of Mun, all the new tourists either want to go to the Mun or don't want to pay as much for LKO tours. KSC - DG MPV-2 - Val & Ambera launch from KSC on the first manned mission to orbit the Mun. To gain some extra dV without changing part count (this mission started building before the VAB upgrade), the Shrimp SRB's are replaced by Thumpers. The mission went off flawlessly, gathering (among other things) the first reports on the far side of the Mun. The crew completed a single orbit then returned home, landing less than 90km from the DSC. KSC - DG MPV-3 - Second manned mission to Mun. This time, Jeb & Kelrik docked with ML1-1. Kelrik transferred to the lander and landed on the Mun near a monument. After gathering science from the area & planting a flag, he returned to orbit and docked with MPV-3. After transferring science from the Mun, they undocked & returned home, landing on day 230. Unmanned Missions: DSC DG ML1-1 - A single seat Mun lander capable of fully autonomous operations. Once in orbit, it transferred to Mun orbit to await a future landing attempt. Was parked in a 32km equatorial Mun orbit with 1751 m/s dV remaining until MPV-3 arrived for the first manned Mun landing. DSC DG GeoComm 2A - Improved geosynchronous comm relay, rendezvoused with GeoComm 1 to take it's place between KSC & DSC. Once established & operational, GeoComm 1A performed a deorbit burn along with the GeoComm 2A transfer stage. Pictured here with GeoComm 1 visible in the background. DSC DG Duna Sojourner 1 - While there isn't enough time or budget for a proper set of probes for the first Duna window, our engineers worked overtime to get a well equipped probe launched in time. Also the second most expensive craft to date at over 32000 funds, although that is soon surpassed by the Mun Remote Rover at 33000. Departed Kerbin on day 218 & left Kerbin's SoI on day 222 DSC DG MRR-1 - Mun Remote Rover-1 - Launched to Mun and landed at Site Alpha for a contract. Successfully explored sites alpha, bravo & charlie to complete the contract to send an automated rover to Mun. And of course, it's destination was on the night side also. KSC DG+ MOLE Station - First space station in Kerbin orbit. Launched on a new design - a triple core Dawngrazer. Heaviest & most expensive launch to date - nearly 85000 funds and over 20 days to build. Launch went flawlessly & entered a 130km circular orbit DSC J3 MiFP-1 - Minmus Flyby Probe launched to perform - you guessed it - a Minmus fly-by. Currently enroute. Aircraft: The new CF-02 Vampire was rolled out & Jeb took it for a test flight. Featuring swept wings & a Wheesley turbofan engine, it is a substantial improvemnt of the CF-01 Star. On takeoff, it lifts cleanly off the runway at about 60 m/s. Near sea level, it can just barely reach mach 1, and at 4500m it can go a bit over, to mach 1.05. The first landing was a little rough, but nothing some gear adjustments can't fix. During testing it was found the angle of incidence was too high - at top speed, it trims nose down to maintain altitude. Angle of Incidence was adjusted and when there was a break in the fast pace of orbital launches, Val took it up for a second test flight. Near sea level, it was able to nudge just past the sound barrier to mach 1.01, while at 4500m it reached 1.07 with the fuselage pretty much level with the horizon. Other: VAB upgrade was completed on day 200. The old UR-1CR surface relay rover was finally retired once GeoComm2A was operational. R&D upgrade started, which will take over 3 months which is unfortunate since I have all 90-point nodes unlocked already - at least I should have some science saved up when the upgrade completes.

RealChute is the only one I'm aware of:

Large landing legs have been badly needed in KSP for a long time, either for Falcon 9 style rockets or just large landers.

Mountains at sunset

My career continued, with upgrades completing to the astronaut complex & tracking station. Tourist missions were my most numerous category of launch - funding said building upgrades, as well as the in-progress VAB upgrade (still a few weeks left there). Science & exploration missions took a backseat while we were waiting on the building upgrades. Full notes available here Highlights: First probe return from Mun: Inaugural flight of Kerbal Express Airlines, KSC to the desert & back First EVA Flight to the northern ice cap

Month 5-6 - Take your protein pills and put your helmet on Ongoing Missions: None Manned Launches: WSC Jabbit 2+ OTV-2-3 - Day 133 - Val took up another pair of tourists from Woomerang. This launch experimented with using a pair of Thumpers in place of the Hammer SRB's. Except I forgot to reduce the thrust on the Thumpers, so I ended up with a very poorly optimized gravity turn and didn't really gain much of anything. DSC Jabbit2D-3 - Day 137 - Ambera launched from DSC in a Jabbit 2D pod to test some new science experiments (gamma ray spectroscopy & dust collectors) in low & high Kerbin orbit before returning home after a single orbit. Last manned launch of a Jabbit 2. KSC Dawngrazer OMV-1 - With the development of the Bobcat engine, the new Dawngrazer launch vehicle immediately becomes the preferred crew launch vehicle. For the first non-test launch, Jeb & Kelrik are launched into LKO to perform the first EVA as well as experimenting with working in space, with Kelrik tasked with attaching a small solar panel to the craft. Reentered & splashed down safely after just 2 orbits. DSC Dawngrazer OMV-2 - Val & Ambera launched into an elliptical 90x255km orbit to perform the first EVA in high orbit. Reentered & splashed down safely. WSC Dawngrazer OTV-4P-1 - Jeb took up a load of 4 tourists in the new OTV-4P (Orbital Tourist Vehcicle, 4 passengers, piloted) brought them home safely. Launching from Woomerang & turning east puts them on roughly a 45 degree inclination, and a splashdown zone in the ocean southeast of DSC. WSC Dawngrazer OTV-4P-2 thru OTV-4P-6 - Alternating between Val & Jeb hauling 4 passengers at a time to LKO & back. The only one worth special mention is OTV-4P-4, where Jeb encountered an engine overheat near the end of the first stage burn, but reduced thrust & continued to orbit. WSC Dawngrzer OTV-4-1 thru OTV-4-3 - Probe controlled Orbital Tourist Vehicles. A Titan Instrument Unit & 1.875 to 1.25m adapter tank filled with monoprop replace the Appaloosa command module. Nothing to report except 12 happy tourists. Construction was started on the DG OMV 2, utilizing the new Mk 2 pod in place of the Mk1 pod plus Appaloosa. Jeb & Kelrik are scheduled to perform the first mission, rendezvous & docking with KTV-1 in LKO. This should open the door to future missions around the Mun, including a manned landing. Designs are already being evaluated for this plan. Unmanned Launches: KSC Dawngrazer MSR-2 - Day 138 - The second prototype Dawngrazer launch vehicle was used to loft the improved MSR-2 (Mun Sample Return) into orbit. It turned out to be an SSTO - the first stage had 111 m/s dV remaining upon reaching LKO. I already suspected it could make it, so it was fitted with a Tac Self-Destruct charge. I used the remainder of the first stage to start the Mun transfer before staging & finishing on the MSR-2's twin Cub engines. Mun transfer went smoothly & it entered orbit, & landed within sight of a strange arch. With the primitive control systems & limited dV, it was decided just to mark the location for future missions rather than attempt to move the lander closer. As it was, it nearly tipped over on landing but a quick burst of thrust lifted it back up & landed safely. Samples were taken, then it launched back into Mun orbit, then performed another maneuver to return to Kerbin. The last ~200 m/s of fuel was expended just after entering Kerbin's atmosphere to drop the entry speed a little before staging away the lower stage. Reentry was warm on the probe core but not excessively so, and the parachute deployed on schedule allowing for a soft landing in the rolling hills far from KSC or anywhere else. The completed "Automated Sample Return from Mun" contract and the science brought home from the surface allowed Kerbal scientists to finish development of heavy rocket engines, bringing the Bobcat engine - and the Dawngrazer Launch Vehicle -out of prototype status & into regular production. Recognizing there was still science to be gained from Kerbin orbit, several SRL-1 liquid fueled sounding rockets were launched from KSC & DSC into high suborbital trajectories. KSC Dawngrazer KTV-1 - Kerbal Target Vehicle-1 launched into an 85km circular orbit, pending upgrades to the tracking center to make rendezvous & docking feasible. KSC Dawngrazer OSP-1 Orbital Science Probe-1 launched into a high suborbital trajectory, capturing science bay & goo science in low & high space around Kerbin before reentering Aircraft: Kerbal Express Airlines launched its inaugural flight 120, KSC to DSC in a CP-01B Jetlander piloted by Jeb, carrying four passengers to the Desert space center & back with no problems. Two more flights followed in the ensuing weeks. Val took a modified CF-01 Star (the CF-01A SuperStar) modified with MRS jet engines, pushing top speed over 300 m/s. First flight was to the last magnetic anomaly detected on Kerbin, in the mountains southeast of KSC. She actually landed in one piece (a first ever), but taking back off was unlikely so I recovered her from the peak. Jeb took a second flight of the SuperStar up to the arctic to investigate another anomaly, then returned to KSC Other: On day 148, the Astronaut Complex finished upgrading and trained the crews in EVA operations. On day 185, the Tracking Center upgrade finished. Kelrik & Ambera took a new UR-2 utility rover out for a trip into the foothills near KSC to test deployment of some of the new surface experiments being developed.

My career started getting into the space tourism business, with 2 flights so far and more planned. I also did some testing of new aircraft designs for Kerbal Express Airlines and a few other things, details available in the mission report Tourists heading to LKO Searching for an anomaly north of KSC Airliner testing

Month 5 - Leaving on a Jet Plane Rocket Ongoing Missions: None Manned Launches: WSC Jabbit 2+ OTV-2-1: First tourist flight, Val brought a pair of passengers into an 82x75km orbit then reentered, landing to the east of DSC. There is a line of tourists waiting for us to take their money. WSC Jabbit 2+ OTV-2-2: Second tourist flight, piloted by Jeb. Unmanned Launches: DSC - Jabbit 2 MSR-1: Experimental Mun Sample Return probe. Launch & Mun insertion went normally, but it was found that there was insufficient dV to enter orbit, land, collect science, & then reenter Mun orbit, so the craft was set on a collision course with the Mun. This marks the first failure since some problems with sounding rockets. KSC Jabbit 2 MRP-2: After the failure of MSR-1, a second Mun Return Probe was launched, entered Mun orbit and returned to Kerbin. Although it lost signal before it was able to jettison the orbital stage, the altitude controller worked correctly and deployed the drogue & main chutes as well as staging the spent orbital stage. The completed second part of a Mun exploration contract, even if it wasn't quite in the spirit of the contract. Aircraft: Jeb performed a test flight of the new CP-01 Islander 4-passenger twin turboprop airliner, with a trip to the island airfield and back to KSC. A few adjustments were needed, but overall it performed well. Speed is too low (~170 m/s) to seriously consider using it for trips between KSC & DSC. Another magnetic anomaly was investigated by Jeb to the north of KSC. He took a CFP-03 Tigercat up to investigate, making a successful landing in the mountains. He got out to investigate and as he did the Tigercat's brakes temporarily failed, allowing it to roll down the hill he had parked on. When he tried to chase it down, it turned & rolled back up the hill till it got to him & stopped. Obviously, strange forces are at work around these anomalies. It was definitely not due to the engines - one was shut down (to avoid slicing & dicing Jeb as he got out of the cockpit) and the other was at idle. A few days later, a Juno-powered version of the Islander was made available. Dubbed the CP-01B Jetlander, Val took it on the trip to from KSC to the Desert space center at ~270 m/s, and only burned 198 of its 320 units of fuel, at a 5500m cruising altitude with throttles set to about 90%. While it will need refueling at the mid-point, it is capable of routine airline service between the two space centers in an acceptable amount of time. For future reference, I need need to reduce the snack supplies on board which will reduce mass & therefore should save some fuel - and I also need to got back & do the same to the Islander. Other: Another test contract for the Bobcat engine was received, which solves the problem of building a Mun sample return probe with 30 parts as the prototype Dawngrazer launcher provides substantially more dV than the Jabbit 2 (nearly enough to circularize in LKO) and can haul a 1.875m lander, providing yet more dV (well over 3000 vs ~2500 in LKO). Construction is under way for a launch from KSC.

Actually, if an end attach node is available, they can get stuck on there the offset/rotated to a more desirable position. I have a refueling base design that has a vertical mounted convert-o-tron with a tcs panel mounted on top.

My career succeeded in placing a probe safely on the Mun's surface, along with a pair of geosynchronous comm relays and a few other successful missions. Details here Jeb & Kelrik returning from a week in space I also did some tinkering in sandbox with a low tech tourist rocket, but it was just too ridiculous to actually use in this career:

Months 4 - 5 Wish you were here! Manned Launches: (Continued) Ambera finished her five day stint in polar orbit & reentered safely. Caught a nice view of the aurora before reentering: DSC Dawngrazer OMV-TX: A test contract was received to test a prototype Bobcat engine, which happened to coincide with the launch pad upgrade finishing. Jeb & Kelrik boarded the new OMV-TX (Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle-Test/Experimental) and were shot to orbit by the new Bobcat, completing the test contract and another contract to launch 2 kerbals to orbit. Since it was just a test, they returned home after just one orbit. Although useful for carrying 2 kerbals, the OMV design (a Mk 1 pod bolted to a Mk 1-85 Appaloosa "backseat") isn't ideal as the two modules are physically separate. It may be the only option for now until more advanced pods become available. WSC Jabbit 2+ OTV-2-TX: To test a 2-passenger Orbital Tourist Vehicle and complete a contract to spend a week in orbit, Jeb & Kelrik loaded into the OTV-2-TX and launched out of Woomerang into a 45 degree inclined orbit. The Jabbit 2+ launcher adds a pair of Hammer SRB's to get a slightly larger payload off the ground, but pushes the total vehicle mass above 18 tons, so it had to wait for the pad upgrade to complete. The launch went reasonably well but it was found that the Pug orbital engine is somewhat weak for use on the OTV-2 so future vehicles will replace it with a Terrier. The "TX" version added additional snacks for the 1 week mission and a solar panel to keep it powered, whereas the production OTV-2's will carry a bare minimum of snacks for the pilot & 2 passengers and rely on internal batteries due to the short duration of the intended flights. After the 1 week endurance test, Jeb deorbited the pod & they splashed down safely in the waters southeast of the DSC Unmanned Launches: DSC Jabbit 2 MRCO-2: An improved MRCO probe was launched to Mun, entering a retrograde 33x40km orbit. Some new images of the near side of Mun were sent back as well as data from an electro-static experiment. The altitude also allowed Marco-2 to snap an image of the Farside Crate before losing signal back to Kerbin. The remainder of the far side of Mun remains a mystery until we can get additional relays into orbit. KSC Jabbit 2 GeoComm-1: First launch from the upgraded KSC pad, launched a communications satellite to keostationary orbit (pretty much). Due to a loss of comm's on the first orbit, I had to wait for the second orbit to transfer to the synchronous orbit - which ended up with the relay over the ocean between DSC & KSC, which was just about perfect. DSC Jabbit 2 Surveyor-1: First soft landing on Mun, landed where Kerbin is just peeking over the horizon KSC Jabbit 2 GeoComm-2: Launch of a second keostationary comm relay. This one launched into an orbit nearly 180 degrees opposite GeoComm-1. While not ideal, the two should cover all near-equatorial and most high inclination orbits that previously experienced significant communications blackouts. Other: Launch pad level 2 & Misison Control level 2 upgrades were completed. Upgrade started on level 2 astronaut complex.

My 1.8 career expanded to the Mun with an impactor/orbiter (not two craft, one craft that impacted the Mun and completed an "orbit the Mun" contract somehow), a fly-by & return, plus more kerbals in orbit, early comm relays - including one that nearly failed during launch due to lost comm's. Complete details here Mun fly-by & return probe launch from Desert Space Center, seen here staging away the booster engines Atlas-style My first uncontrolled reentry of a probe meant for recovery, controlled only by ballast & aerodynamics. Worked on the first try, although it did have a noticeable but not excessive wobble in pitch. I've resisted clicking the "Require signal for control" button for a long time, and it has definitely added a new challenge. POLO-1 (Polar Observation & Link Orbiter), modified from the first Mun probe MRCO-1. So now I have Marco & Polo in orbit around Kerbin. Losing communications during launch nearly spelled disaster, especially since the booster stage hadn't even separated yet. But it stayed straight & managed a 129km Ap and comm's were reestablished before reentering so it all worked out

@XLjedi and @Brikoleurmade really nice tutorials on prop & helicopter guides, but it is kinda crazy that Squad didn't include their own with the DLC.

Weeks 10-12 Learning to Live (in space) Other: KSC - Upgrades were started to the mission control building. Since cardboard & aluminum foil are acceptable building materials, construction time will be much faster than the launch pad that requires steel & concrete and they should finish about the same time. KSC - Ambera took a UR-1 utility rover to investigate an anomaly that erupted from the earth near the space center after the first Mun flyby. Not surprisingly, she was able to gather data around the black object without difficulty & head back to KSC. Manned launches: DSC - Jabbit 2D-1 launch - day 70 - Adding a small probe core to the Jabbit 2 pod allows non-pilot rated kerbonauts the chance for an orbital flight and a small solar panel allows for extended missions. Kelrik was picked for the first flight of the upgraded design, with the intent to stay in orbit for 5 days. After entering an 80x80km orbit, Kelrik then eyeballed the inclination, bringing it down to just over 2 degrees. After running a few experiments, it was time to wait. Upon completion of the 5 day mission and with snacks running low, Kelrik performed the deorbit burn and managed to bring his pod down within 10km of the island airfield. WSC - Jabbit 2D-2 - day 84 - Ambera became the 4th kerbonaut in orbit and the first launched into a polar orbit. On board was a new electrostatic experiment. Like Kelrik's, Ambera's mission was planned to remain in orbit for 5 days. Her mission is ongoing Unmanned launches: WSC - Jabbit 2 POLO-1 - day 72 - With minor changes, the Marco-1 Mun fly-by probe was reconfigured into a Polar Observation & Link Orbiter and launched from Woomerang to see if we can successfully place a satellite into a polar orbit. Prior to booster engine separation, there was another loss of comms due to poor launch timing (Marco-1 was on the opposite side of the planet). Although not a very efficient flight profile, a 129km apoapsis was reached before fuel exhaustion which allowed POLO-1 time to reestablish communications with Nye Island to stage away the first stage & fairing, then establish a 345x1526 km polar orbit. It did manage to capture a single image of the southern ice shelf before climbing out into high orbit where it became the second comm relay around Kerbin (after Marco-1's return from Mun fly-by into a 250x1300km orbit) DSC - Jabbit 1 MISO-1 - day 78 - Dusting off an old A4 guidance core, it was turned into the command section of the Mun Impact Science Observer. Launched atop an upgraded Jabbit 1, MISO-1's sole mission is to not miss the ground and it was accomplished in grand fashion. Also, through some means not understood by Kerbal science, a contract to orbit the Mun was completed upon impact. All hail the mighty Kraken!! DSC - Jabbit 2 MRP-1 - day 85 - Launch of the Mun Return Probe to test the ability of a craft to survive a reentry from a Mun return. Launch & Trans-Mun insertion were uneventful. There was a brief loss of power passing through Mun's SoI but luckily the solar panel was still facing the sun, allowing it to recharge the batteries again. Reentry went surprisingly smoothly despite the loss of comm's. Aircraft: After finding the KSC magnetic anomaly, reports started coming in of other anomalies across the planet. The closest one was reported in the mountains west of KSC, so Jeb fired up a venerable CFP-01 Bison and went to investigate. The landing was less than ideal, but he found the anomaly. Next up was another anomaly reported north of the Desert Space Center, so Val took a CF-01 Star up to investigate. She landed in one piece, investigated the anomaly and returned to the DSC with news of an abandoned and partially buried space center!!