anoldtincan

Having spent all the money on the initial Minmus Base Camp infrastructure, the last few days have been about bringing the program back from the brink of bankruptcy. A slower than expected colony plan for Minmus has led to the Recall of the crew of the KS-1 Valentina from Mun to Kerbin orbit. only problem is, they only had enough fuel to bring their orbit down about halfway from the Mun to LKO, even with the efficiency boost of using the Springbok lander's nuclear engines. Here they are departing: To bring them to a manageable LKO slot, the first RC-1 Pachyderm orbital tug was launched to their aid. Designed to haul base components from LKO to Minmus, the shakedown run is necessary to keep the crew of the Val within reasonable distance of the KSC. Launch took place on a reliable workhorse C-4 Kittewake rocket. And the orbital tug unveiled. Features include two ports, lots of dV and a decent relay dish for when it is idling in orbit around a moon. I tried to maximize the altitude from the booster so as to save fuel, and the result was a cool reentry screenshot from a booster coming in hotter than normal. Back in space, the RC-1 insterted itself right between the Springbok lander and the Val. I am considering using an RC-1 to replace the current obsolete drive section of the Val, which has now been at work for more than a year and a half. Back at Minmus, the KW-4 Stallion science rover, first of the Minmus Base Camp architecture, arrives at Minmus, and immediately encounters issues The monoprop skycrane, on the left, was to detach from the end node and dock with the top docking port, however, the skycrane itself had no reaction wheels, only RCS. Even that short distance to reorient was too much - the RCS/SAS combo went crazy and I was blasting away from the rover before able to dock. Concerned about fuel, I did my best to bring down the skycrane alone, to mark the eventual Base Camp location; it did, but not without losing a landing leg in the process. When the first colonists arrive they already have chores. The rover itself remains in orbit. Without the probe core on the crane it cannot take commands until it is manned. A pilot will have to descend in the rover and use the transfer stage to land - thankfully this is Minmus, and not a higher gravity body. Next to launch was the first base camp structures - a hab module and a science lab, and another skycrane built for the larger modules. without a tranfer stage, it is currently in orbit waiting for the RC-1 to be topped off and push it out to Minmus. This was the first recovery that overshot the LZ - still go most of the cash back though. Next I launched Samman Kerman on the 5th Pipistrelle flight for a tourist. It was relatively uneventful, which was welcome following this craft's rocky start to operations. Only overshot the runway a bit and had to taxi back. While waiting for the Valentina's resupply craft to be built; i flew two missions - I put a Swellshark probe in a high parking orbit to await the Duna transfer window, and flew a survey mission with a KA-9 Tayra, rapidly becoming my favorite little plane to fly at 20,000 m. Final launch was a Bendiri supply ship - version 1.2 includes greater fuel capacity and configurable tanks on the same recoverable bus, although i ditched the landing legs in favor of targeted water landings. Beefed up, the launcher was upgraded from a C-2 Tern to a C-4 Kittiwake. The expense per launch has gone way up (From about 65k funds to almost 200k) but the entire system is recoverable. Here is the supply ship approaching the Val/RC-1 on the dark side of Kerbin. I previously moved the Springbok lander autonomously to join the KS-2 Kujira, freeing up the aft docking port. Still working on getting funds, but with a few tourism contracts in the works, I should be getting Minmus Base Camp up and running by next weekend.

The production line is humming and two important payloads launched today: First, the KW-4 Stallion rover, headed uncrewed to Minmus. It will be an important part of the Minmus kolonization plan. Fairings and side boosters separated, core stage headed to orbit. After separation, the rover, transfer stage, and skycrane head to Minmus while the core stage returns to the KSC: First RTLS-recovered booster I've ever done - it is much easier to gauge ballistic trajectories for a rocket vs a SSTO. Career-wise, recovering the core stage with the boosters is awesome since it's about 52k funds per booster recovered. I was pretty excited to have two more recoveries on the way - This is the launch of the first tank section for the Kujira. These launch vehicles are quick off the pad but aren't very maneuverable in flight, so the flight path to orbit is almost at right angles. Thankfully there is plenty of dV to get to orbit and back. Second booster recovery for the day. And third - this core stage was from the Kujira command deck, already in orbit. The first-production model (No.2 overall) didn't include landing legs, but I managed to hit the recover button after the parachutes released but before it fell over. Close to enough funds to upgrade the R&D center to level 3, I deployed Samman Kerman in the new KA-9 basic science aircraft. Cruising at 18,000 m and Mach 3.2, this lightweight recon plane is much easier to handle than the KA-5 previously used, whose tricky handling killed Brooke Kerman. It's speed makes up for it's lower fuel capacity, but retains a very low stall speed (less than 70 m/s) so landings are a breeze. On the first mission Samman completed objectives for 2 surveys, but pushed the aircraft a little too far and ran out of fuel on the way back to KSC. A pretty good glide ratio and high cruise altitude made for a long descent but Samman ended up in the drink with a gentle splash and no damage to the aircraft. I'm really happy to have a decent survey aircraft, without having to spend hours lumbering through the skies of Kerbin. More time for space!

Did some orbital cleanup - decommissioned two early game Mun scanners, one of which involved a 2-km spacewalk to grab the last science results: Also did a Kulan-rover survey in the tundra. At cruising speed of about 150 m/s, these missions take a long time. Third, launched my first resource-hunter satellite in this game. Headed to minmus, it is also my first use of the monopropellant engines, which I haven't seen before this save. This RO-5 satellite is on the way to Minmus to begin prospecting for the soon-to-launch Minmus Base Camp. Have you ever hired a Kerbal you knew deep down was just bad luck and would have a bad time of it? Allow me to introduce Brooke Kerman. First mission, take one tourist to orbit. I built a new Pipistrelle rocket, and loaded up Brooke to take the tourist. Got a flight computer on it this time so I won't make the same mistakes that killed Verlan. Soon after launch, the rocket oversteers and begins to tumble. Nothing even induced from the Launch Failures mod. Brooke aborts and lands successfully back at the KSC, but it took three approaches to the runway to get her down. Not off to a good start. (this pic was snapped right after the booster crashed to the left of the runway, you can see the secondary explosion/bright spot obscured by the contrail.) The Pipistrelle is a good spaceplane system, at only 50k funds per unit and 2/3 recoverable stages. But now it's flight record is 1/4 successes, and I'm beginning to think I may need to re-approach my tourism program. Anyway, next task for Brooke is a mid-air crew report survey over the Northern Ice Shelf. Tired of spending 45 minutes or so IRL on single survey missions, I rolled out the KA-5 high-G trainer/tourism aircraft (designed but never flown for lack of contracts), revamped it into a single seat, long range basic science aircraft. the KA-5-S Weasel cruises at Mach 1.05 or so fully loaded, and hit a top speed of Mach 2.19 after the draggy external fuel tanks were dropped. Aftter a rapid flight north, Brooke completed the surveys with no issues. In less than an hour of flight time Brooke had touched down back at KSC (about 15 minutes at time warp). But the Weasel had a high stall speed, thanks to the tiny wings, and as soon as a tapped the brakes the plane careened off the runway (KSP wheels strike again) and killed Brooke. Her career was unlucky and short. I netted some 120k funds for the survey contract, at the cost of a 19k fund plane and one unlucky Brooke. The road to the stars, in this save at least, is paved with dead pilots. Edit: Photobucket watermark? urgh. Will try to fix but I don't want to pay for photo hosting. Any suggestions?

Launches and landings today! Flush with cash after recent survey missions, the launch site team started a building frenzy. With the approval for production of the heavy-lift, 100% recoverable C-4 Kittiwake launch vehicle, the KSC has rolled out a production program for not only the KS-2 exploration craft but also the first permanent Minmus base and support craft. Look at this KCT build queue: First off the line is the KL-2 Springbok lander, both Mun and Duna capable and able to operate autonomously. The Kittiwake launcher is a 3.75m core orbital stage with two C-2 Tern-derived side boosters. There is no second stage in the traditional sense, the side boosters separate and are recovered via StageRecovery while the core stage continues to orbital velocity. The core stage has a probe core, solar panels, and antenna to enable recovery after payload separation. The booster separates and burned its remaining fuel to slow down and drop near the KSC. Intended for a water recovery, this booster tipped over a bit too quickly and lost one of the tank pieces but the bulk of the craft was recovered. In the upgraded booster variant i have included landing legs to attempt a return to launch site but have not yet built one with that option. Once in orbit, the lander docked with the KS-1 Valentina. Since the production of the KS-2 is taking longer than expected (thanks KCT) the crew has time to do a shakedown and nab two Mun exploration contracts, and get a ton of science along the way. Archie, Matdorf, and Ted Kerman head out to attempt the first landing on the Mun of this save. Success! Archie and Matdorf made Munfall at the Farside Crater and proceeded to biome hop to the Highlands. Got a good Kerbinrise pic there too, and something like 900 science transmitted, not counting the lab work to be done. Unfortunately, the biome hop used too much fuel so they are currently temporary residents of Mun orbit. Hopefully KSC can get the Minmus base and mining operation running before they run short on supplies; and I can refuel them much cheaper from Minmus. In the meantime, the crew has plenty of science to work on. Next launch was for the command deck of the KS-2, follow-on to the Val. This is the first of 15 or so launches needed to construct the Kujira. This launch was autonomous; crew will be delivered last. Most of the construction should be robotic, although I will need an engineer for some final touches. The final launch of the day was a tourist mission, bringing back the KA-4 Pipistrelle spaceplane. Two tourists wanted an hour in orbit, and as a bonus they got to ride with Verlan, our most decorated kerbonaut. What should have been a milk run ended in tragedy, as many of my missions seem to do lately. Without the benefit of Kerbal Engineer's flight computer (an integration oversight) Verlan brought in the reentry far too steep, trying to hold the runway landing. The cockpit burned killing Verlan, and the two tourists in the cabin pancaked into the ocean. During the long, slow, doomed fall, I considered hitting Alt and F4 to try and recover the mission. But, this is hard mode, and when I make dumb mistakes, my Kerbals pay the price. Here's Verlan's ribbon rack - she is the most senior Kerbal lost so far.

Been away for about two weeks but got back into the my career game after tragically losing Bill and Lealong in an airplane crash. The first of two missions was a supply drone ship to the Valentina, undergoing a gradual refit in prep for her next mission. This was the third flight of the RT-2 and the first that was recovered (mostly) intact after mission completion. The second mission to the Val was the long awaited crew rotation. The Valentina's new crew includes Archibald "Archie" Kerman, command pilot on his tenth mission; Matdorf Kerman on his second mission but first to space as chief scientist; and Theoley "Ted" Kerman, new scientist recruit. Their mission for now is to process Minmus science from Sortie 1, and oversee construction of the as yet unnamed KS-2 exploration ship. Docked to the Val. The crew swap was quick and supplies and fuel offloaded; the Sortie 1 crew was eager to get home. Look how excited they are! A targeted landing attempt put the Vaquita down just off the island airfield. Next, a big Kulan flight - halfway around the world for two survey contracts. Although a ruddervator failed on ascent, Verlan is our most experienced pilot and was easily able to compensate. The aerial one was a cakewalk, and the landing for the second one went flawlessly. Bob hopped out for the surveys and reboarded the plane without difficulty. So close to an earlier survey contract that wasn't completed, Bob elected for the airdrop to wrap it up. It took two approaches to the DZ, and Bob double checked to make sure he was strapped in this time. Verlan circled until she had eyes on a good chute: And then flew back to KSC. Bob wrapped up the last survey marker putting the space program north of 1 million funds for the first time.

Today the Valentina returned from Minmus. Wave at the KSC everyone! Here's the Val in frame with the Mun, Duna, and Urlum - DOE and OPM are awesome. With a low supply margin and no fuel after circularizing, a RT-2 supply craft launched early in the morning to the weary crew. RT-2 on approach... And docked! First fresh food for the crew in a while. And enough fuel to drop the orbit a bit lower to facilitate the next project - the KS-1 Valentina will be the support craft for the construction of the KS-2, once the crew is rotated. Verlan, Bob, and Kargard are quite ready to get off the ship for a while - they're just waiting for the finishing touches on the Vaquita crew transport. Back on Kerbin, Lealong, Bill and rookie scientist Matdorf take off in a Kulan for a world tour of survey sites. First up is in the grasslands: I finally worked out most of the kinks in the rover-plane system, so Matdorf was able to roll out, get the survey data, and reboard without too much trouble. After using the interior winch to re-secure the rover, Bill had to break off the anchor, precluding another flight with the rover after disengaging. Flying north, the crew took some aerial surveys before heading to just south of the ice shelf. It was dark, but Lealong landed without trouble and Matdorf drove out to the site. Since the rover could not be secured again, it was agreed that Bill and Lealong would fly back to KSC and a recovery team would get Matdorf in the morning. About 20 km north of the KSC, the Kulan disappeared from local radar. An investigation the next morning recovered only one piece of the aircraft: The investigation determined that the Kulan crew set the altimeter to 500m, per approach settings, but didn't account for the MSL/AGL difference and hit the ground at about 630m MSL. Lealong and Bill were both veterans and slated for the next Valentina mission - they will be missed.

Over the weekend I wrapped up my first Minmus expedition. Three flags on the surface in three different biomes, and about 300 science transmitted per landing - not counting what is being processed in the lab or onboard for recovery. Alas, Kergard is getting homesick, and refuses to work nights if the electricity runs out (quite often at high transmission rates). The other two, Bob and Verlan, are getting their nerves frayed a bit too. Even so, supplies and fuel are running low, so the Valentina broke orbit and headed for an eight-day drop back to LKO. Before departing, they crew left the Oryx lander in Minus orbit, for eventual reuse. Minmus colony plans are second on the priorities list for now, after commissioning a new interplanetary ship. Leaving Minmus behind, the crew keeps themselves busy with processing science gains. The KSC staff are rapidly constructing an RT-2 Benderi resupply craft, and a Vaquita crew return craft. Also in development is a new 2-crew, Mun/Duna capable lander, which may see service with the Valentina soon. Also launched on a C-2 Tern rocket was a deep-space relay RZ-2 "Bandicoot" satellite, stationed in a 30,000-km circular Kerbin orbit. This puts it between the Mun and Minmus, and redirects signal down to the RZ-1 "Bilby" network covering Kerbin. This is the small dish of the SIGINT dishes. Before getting past the Mun it could pick up transmissions from the Minmus lander's whip antenna, so yeah, it's pretty powerful. I might put more in orbit based on need and funds availability. Also worked some on the KS-2 design, the Val's successor, to be assembled in orbit. Still working on finishing touches and a 3.75m lifter to get sections of it to LKO, but it'll be a big one.

After several iterations and frustrations, I got the KA-8-T (yep, I skipped from 4 to 8) Kulan in the air, with a slimmed down survey rover. It just barely crawled off the runway, but has enough endurance once it gets going for some mid-range surface surveys. So, off I flew with Lealong and Bill (no scientists available) to go check out a surface site in the Highlands. Lo and behold, it's getting dark and turns out the survey site might have been closer to the mountains than we thought... Bill: "Hey Lealong, I think we should have left earlier..." Lealong: "Probably. Even so, Not sure I can land in the dark in this terrain. It's not something we considered for this aircraft in the design phase." Bill: "So, what, we turn around?" Lealong: "..." Lealong: "You're parachute qualified, right?" The rover has a chute on it, as a contingency. So the plan is to transfer Bill to the external command seat and air drop the rover - that part, at least, was considered. Bill headed to the cargo back, just as Lealong overflies the survey site, banks hard, and lowers the ramp. Bill was sucked out the back, whips around and immediately loses consciousness. He came to, falling in the dark, and had the good sense to pull the ripcord on his EVA chute. Meanwhile, the rover is released without a driver, but the chute deploys and the Kulan heads for home, since landing is still out of the question. Bill decides to take the night off, sets up camp, and sleeps half the next day away. Next is the relatively short hike to the rover landing site. Once there, he remembers in the trauma of an unplanned night time freefall into the mountains that the brakes weren't engaged. As Bill got close it, it became disloged, and began rolling down the hill, finally settling in the basin to the left. Another hike ensues. When Bill finally got to the rover, all systems checked out, so off to the survey sites. Still in the mountains, Bill nearly rolls the rover a few times, but takes it slow and no major damage is done. Survey complete, and the Bill has never been happier to see a recovery crew. After that excursion, the Valentina crew are about to make a series of firsts. Returning from the edge of Kerbin's SOI, they now cross Minmus' orbit, science lab humming. A few days later they cruise past the Mun, science lab full of results from the first flyby on the way out. Next, they wait almost 40 days for the next maneuver, which will bring them into Minmus' SOI, for a go at orbit and landing. 19 days pass, and finally the tiny minty moon is within reach. Verlan performs a capture burn: And as soon as the orbit is reduced to 30 km and the Oryx lander is prepped, Verlan bid the two scientists adieu and dropped for the surface. A gentle touchdown was reported and Verlan began gathering science, stepped out, and planted a flag. This is the first kerballed landing in this save, and frankly, I'm surprised it's taken this long. The Val-Oryx combo has enough fuel for at least one more landing, maybe two, before needing to head back to LKO for resupply and crew rotation. I earned enough science to begin the design phase for the next crewed science ship, with a planned target of Duna.

I built an supply freighter and topped off the Val for her trip out of Kerbin's SOI. The landing legs were to attempt recovery of the supply ship, but the parachutes deployed too early, burned up, and the it crashed in the ocean. Oh, and the booster decided to miss the StageRecovery speed threshold by less than a meter, so that was a total loss as well. Expendability is flexibility, right? I was able to use the Mun for a gravity assist to get to Kerbin's SOI: much more economical to get out for 800 m/s. And the extra time allowed Bill and Kargard to work on all the science in the lab from the Mun flyby and LKO experiments. I actually had too much data - need to have more than one lab in future ship designs. Once Kerbol orbit was reached, more measurements were taken and the crew burned for home. going to use the Mun again for Kerbin capture, and they need time to get the numbers crunched anyway. Back on Kerbin, flew another survey mission with the Ocelot long range aircraft: Just after takeoff I got a partial failure on the starboard engine - thrust became erratic (visible in this photo). Lealong took it like a champ and kept flying, but the flight was slower, and we were headed halfway around the globe. After wrapping up the aerial survey I noticed a surface survey so close. Too close to resist, despite my earlier issues using planes, especially the Ocelot, as a rover. Landed alright, but naturally, this happened: But I managed to fix it! Lealong, you are earning your paycheck today! (We pay them, right?) I got two of the three survey sites before the unbalanced aircraft tipped again, and this time I lost the engines. No damage to crew and netted a nice amount of funds, plus it's a known issue, so we won't garnish Lealong's wages this time.

I spent nearly 400,000 funds on buying parts, cleaning up my career's craft saves, and designing a new solid-fuel lifter and resupply craft for the Valentina. When all that was done I wanted to actually do something, so I sent Bill and Archie on a survey mission in the improved Antelope aircraft: But, we ran out of fuel even with the extended range version. And, it turns out unpowered turboprops can do a decent stand-in for airbrakes; this is Archie in a full-on dive just to stay above stall speed. This plane cannot glide very far. Archie successfully ditched, in the ocean at night, losing the engines and gear but both crew survived. What a pain. Did get some science, but I'm short on funds again.

Major improvements to both my aerial survey and kerballed-space programs today. First, A survey mission with the Antelope rover-carrier, but now with turboprops instead of jets: This variant (1.2) flew one survey mission, but landing in the highlands the props didn't have enough ground clearance with small landing gear and lost both engines. The rover and crew were unhurt, so the mission was completed although I couldn't fly back to the KSC. My newer version (1.3) has medium landing gear, improved outboard fuel droptanks and about 25% better range. Being constructed now for a future survey mission. I launched the improved drive section for the Valentina a few days back: Although fairing deployment knocked out the solar panels after reaching orbit. Today's mission was to rescue the drive section, rendezvous with the Val, upgrade the Val's main docking port to 1.25m, demolish and recycle the old drive section, transfer an additional scientist for the crew (Lealong), and offload Supplies and fuel, and configure it all for a trip outside Kerbin's SOI. A night launch for the crew of the first KR-3 Vaquita, LKO workhorse. Archibald "Archie" Kerman is command pilot, with Bill as flight engineer, and Lealong headed to the Val for science lab duty. Vaquita 1 in orbit. Configurable containers can be adopted for supplies, fuel, and cargo. For this mission, extra fuel for multiple rendezvous and supplies to replenish the the Valentina. Approach to the Val after rescuing the M-1. Note the forward docking port at this time is a Jr. The 1.25m port is in the KIS container cargo hold of the M-1. Docked laterally to allow front port access. Verlan moved the lander to an auxiliary port. Bill, post-docking port R&R. I didn't get a pic but he also demolished the existing drive section attached to other end of the ship, and repaired the Val's broken solar panel. Archie moved the drive section in place to dock with the Val, since she has no RCS on her own. Operation complete! The cupola is now the forward module, and the Vaquita (less Lealong) returned safely to Kerbin. Now just one or two refueling missions and we'll be off to deep space!

A training mission to the Island Airfield went well, until the hard landing: Sent an Oryx lander up to rendezvous with the Valentina. This will be used for Minmus expeditions, but we can't leave yet because we need more fuel. I've got another module in the works, a better drive section for the Val that is under construction. Also sending out rover missions, to build a spaceplane ILS for KSC and gather local science. I put three flags leading to the runway 10 km apart, with the farthest marked for 1000m altitude and the inner marker 500m. Should help to prevent steep descents and hard turns on final. Finally, I launched Tito Kerman as the first tourist in this save, aboard the KA-4 Pipistrelle spaceplane. First attempt required a ascent abort, which worked well although we lost the booster. The Pipistrelle in orbit, and gliding back to KSC. I messed up the reentry and landed in the desert, but accuracy should improve with experience.

Worked on getting the Science Station Valentina ready for her shakedown cruise to Minmus. This involved sending up a refueler to LKO and conducting this save's first docking: Also sent the first Antelope cargo aircraft out to a survey site. During said survey, Bob got a pretty commanding view of the local cove since one of the survey sites was on a hill. The rover handled it way easier than a Mongoose or Ocelot plane could have. I couldn't get the rover to reconnect but Archie and Bob flew home. Without the rover weight, the Antelope became the first of our aircraft to break the sound barrier. Also did some development work in the VAB. Worked on a rocket-launched spaceplane for tourism contracts and a Minmus lander, hope to progress on those in the near future.

Today I executed a repair/salvage mission for my multi-spectral scanning satellite. Archibald Kerman, our new pilot recruit, launched on a Boto mission into polar orbit, and managed to rendezvous with the scanner. It was healthy but the antennas were not deployed, and after a quick EVA Archie cranked open the antennas and brought it back from the dead. His secondary mission was science gathering, and since he was in a polar orbit he got most of the crew and EVA reports over Kerbin's biomes, before coming back with a solid amount of science. Next, I worked on maximizing the range of my Ocelot aircraft for a midair survey mission halfway around Kerbin. I added 6 drop tanks, and the rotation speed jumped from ~50 m/s to 100 m/s. Here is Verlan dropping tanks 2 & 5 on the way out to the survey site: She successfully completed the contract and landed after a record-breaking 3h50min flight. Upon landing, she damaged an engine, but she walked away unhurt. After losing Jeb, leadership decided another approach was needed for survey contracts since the plane can't always be landed precisely. Development has progressed on the KA-T-3 Antelope, with a belly-slung science rover. Tests so far have been promising but I'd like to extend the range a bit for longer-haul surveys. Finally, a three-star contract came along for a station in solar orbit. My plan is to fulfill said contract and then use the station as a base for Mun, Minmus, and possibly Duna or Eve expeditions. With a hefty advance and a good chunk of science, development began on the station and a lifter large enough to launch it. This 2.5 m LFO engine from the Karbonite mod is a huge boon this early in the game - it has twice the power of a mainsail but no thrust vectoring, hence the additional engines on the side. The upper stage is powered by a Swivel engine. And deployed in LEO is our first space station, christened the Valentina in honor of our fallen kerbonaut. She needs to be refueled before breaking orbit for Kerbin's SOI edge. Planned upgraded include replacing the clamp-o-tron jr's with 1.25m size docking ports, increasing power generation capacity (one solar panel was destroyed by the fairing deploying), and adding more modules for whatever the current mission calls for. I never get tired of the views in KSP.

Not a great day to be a KSP pilot in my career game. I'm at the point in late-beginning, almost-mid-career where survey contracts are making a big portion of my income. Started off with Verlan (Val's replacement), in a Mongoose overshooting the survey landing target in the desert, stalling, and crashing. Luckily she walked away from the accident, but no funds were collected and most of the 14k-fund aircraft were lost. With an upgraded SPH I finally got the KA-2 Ocelot in the air. Jeb completed a part test contract, but once again had a hard landing while trying to land in the hills for a survey. For those keeping track, I'm now 0 for 2. This is Jeb's smug, 'At-least-I-don't-have-to-pay-for-this' post-crash face. Next, Jeb again. New Ocelot plane, about 40,000 funds each. Flying out for a long-haul survey contract, three points in the highlands. I take my time, line up on a good approach, and manage to bring it down without any explosions! Jeb completed one survey site before taking off again, but the terrain was too rough. Jeb bounced, but without enough speed to stay airborne, crashed back down and crumpled the nose and a wing. Jeb did not survive the crash; it was his 7th mission. All survey contracts were put on hold pending a reassessment of the craft's abilities. His smugness will be missed. Meanwhile, Verlan became the first Kerbal to flyby the Mun, launched in a 'Boto' one-kerbal capsule on a Hornbill-B medium lifter. Some precarious EVAs later, she came down to land relatively gently in the desert, under the stars. I also unlocked the multi-spectral scanner, and modified my previous scanner sat to complete a similar mission. Upon achieving orbit, the craft's control antennas were not deployed before losing power, and now the sat requires a Kerballed repair mission or a replacement. At this point, money is getting tight without the survey contract revenue. With a stern "Be careful!" Verlan is cleared to attempt another survey mission in an Ocelot plane...and is finally successful, completing two surveys with the Ocelot's incredible 3 hour plus flight time (A Mongoose has about 1hr 55 min). This brings our aircraft survey record for today to 1-4, and down our most experienced pilot. With the coffers once again full, and the science collected from the Munar flyby, R&D has been upgraded and the plans for a LKO space station are in the works.

Eventful day today. After more than 100 days in space, my first satellite in this save returned to Kerbin, after flybys of the Mun and Minmus. It actually survived reentry but plunged into the ocean because the antenna burned off, and without control I couldn't deploy the parachute. Oh well, that would have been a bonus. I modified my Mongoose aircraft to fly much farther while staying under 30 parts, so I managed a long-haul survey contract, plus another ground survey along the way. This is the vista on the way out: just Kerbin's ocean, horizon to horizon, all the way around. Jeb ran out of fuel halfway back (with almost two hours of flight time) and had to land and wait for the recovery team. I finished my comm network of 6 HEO sats in 8500x90 km orbits, two polar and four equatorial. No significant issues, except for the probe I had out at Minmus. I sent up a SCANSat bird, with 2500 extra dV I hope to take to Minmus and the Mun. The Minmus scan is under contract so I'll probably head there first. Development and testing continued for the first Kerbal to orbit, with a capsule I'm calling Porpoise, with a new Hornbill rocket with SRBs and a Swivel engine swapped in for the first stage Reliant. Two simulations worked out the kinks and should launch in a month or so. Finally, tragedy struck. Shortly after takeoff (pictured) I switched to map mode to try and activate navigation for the survey contract. I accidentally clicked warp to Ap since it was right on top of the waypoint, and Valentina's attitude turned and dove. I managed to cut the warp but by then Val was at a 30 degree dive at 150 m/s, only 200m off the deck. I cut the engines and tried to shallow it out but the fully loaded plane wasn't responsive enough. The first crash took the nose and wings, the cockpit bounced but exploded shortly after. It was her third flight. She was posthumously awarded the Collision Ribbon and Inter Sidera. Since I'm playing hard mode, she's not coming back. What have we learned? Set navigation aids before takeoff, or at least once we're at safe altitude.

Still working on the comm network today. Night launches so no pictures. Only two more to go, but the network is pretty robust already - I was able to fly this guy on a Mun flyby: And it worked out such that with one more maneuver RO-1 should encounter Minmus, in about 20 days or so, and still have enough dV for disposal. I also worked on designing a long-haul survey aircraft, designated XKA-2 Ocelot: The first hiccup was part count - I had to strip communications, science, and telemetry equipment, and two pairs of control surfaces to get it to 30 parts. The stripped down experimental version is what Val took for a ride in the sim. My aim was an easy sailplane/flying wing style cruise aircraft, and although it flies easily and has long range, I was hoping for a higher max altitude for certain survey contracts. The Wheesley engines just don't have the oomph to get it above about 12,000 m, 6,000 m short of target. Once I can get some higher performance engines and upgrade the hangar for higher part count, I expect it to be useful for long-range biome science and survey contracts.

I was vacationing for a week but got back to it today. Started building my communications network, a first for me, since I haven't played a version that included it until now. I'm planning on a six-sat constellation with four equatorial and two polar sats, in 90x8.5k HEO's. Got the first two in position today, which was somewhat challenging without ground links, passive probe control, and maneuver nodes. To make some money I picked up quick survey contracts and took the Mongoose out for another flight, netting 100k funds and allowing KSC upgrades to commence. Finally did some simulations with the Mongoose, trying to test EVA chutes...but that is not a feature in 1.3.1, but thankfully, there's a mod for that. I'm sure Valentina is a bit shaken at the prospect of skydiving-sans-parachute, but that shouldn't be the case anymore.

Today I'm still working early career stuff. Two sounding rocket launches - only one was planned but the first lost the science payload on touchdown, so I had to repeat the mission. Pretty sure I caught Eve and Moho transiting too. Next was the orbital shot with the RO-1S Spadefoot science satellite atop a Hornbill rocket, which was fairly successful. (Sorry for the bad screenshot.) And finally two Mongoose flights for survey contracts. Jeb lost a tail fin (Kerbal Launch Failures) and had to RTB but Val managed to get to the island airfield and back after repairs and a thorough pre-flight inspection. Next up is designing and building a relay network and upgrading the KSC facilities.

Today I got a brief amount of time to work on early career - I got outside the atmosphere with my SR-1 Sparrow sounding rocket, so although I've got another SR-1 being constructed I put some work into scaling up the concept into hopefully an orbit capable satellite. Simulations showed that instability sets in shortly after second stage ignition. I'm worried about adding more mass (fins) and losing my margin to get to orbit (if it's even there.) I also added finishing touches to my first manned aircraft, the KA-1 Mongoose. Should be ready to fly in two weeks. This should work fine, I've tested it previously and added ailerons so we'll be slipping the surly bonds of Kerbin soon enough.

Hi everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster. I started a new career today in 1.3.1 since the upgraded mod repository is much better than 1.4.x. I have been playing KSP since 2013. My last career was cut short by a corrupted save file, but the goal remains the same - Sarnus and Eve colonies to get that sweet sweet karborundum. Today was the usual early career stuff - sounding rockets and early airplanes. Here's a few iterations of the SR-1 Sparrow: Looking forward to posting more here as the game progresses.