ShuttleHugger

STS-71C Atlantis Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Martha Cummins (CDR), Victoria Rowbottom (PLT), Anna Protz (MS1), Ridley Warren (MS2), Jasmine Nowell (MS3), Kyung-Hee Min, South Korea (PS1), Gökhan Yıldırım, Turkey (PS2) Backup Crew: Yeong-Gi Jeong, South Korea (PS1), Ata Dilşad, Turkey (PS2) Payload: Kerbstar 10 commsat, KoreaSat 1 commsat, Turksat 1 commsat, 8 GAS Canisters Payload Mass: 8,022 kg Launch: June 1, 1987 4:09:00 from Pad 39A at KSC Mission Duration: 5d0h34m46s Landing: June 6, 1987 4:43:46 at KSC Statistics & Milestones: 56th Space Shuttle mission; 8th flight of Atlantis; 29th landing at KSC. Payload specialists Kyung-Hee Min and Gökhan Yıldırım became the first kerbals from South Korea and Turkey, respectively, to fly in space. Narrative Summary: After a one-day delay due to rain, Atlantis lifted off just before dawn on June 1, 1987, and, after a smooth ascent, was placed into a 44x104km orbit; this was perhaps the most perfectly targeted ascent of the Space Shuttle Program to date. The OMS burn at MET 14m inserted Atlantis into a 72x104km orbit, inclination 0.4 degrees, period 31m49s. At MET 2h03m46s the motor to open the #6 GAS Canister in the payload bay (an experiment from Aperture Laboratories and the University of Colorado) failed, preventing the experiment from functioning. It was allocated a flight slot on an upcoming shuttle mission to redo the experiment. At MET 5h16m the crew completed a very brief OMS burn to lower the orbit to 72x101km, and a second longer burn at MET 5h32m to circularize the orbit at 100x103km, period 32m44s. The crew spent the remainder of the day activating the seven working GAS Canisters in the payload bay. At MET 1d4h01m49s, the #1 battery in the shuttle aft compartment short-circuited. Kerbstar 10 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 1d5h01m50s. The first PAM burn one orbit later placed the satellite into a 100x2,887km transfer orbit. At MET 2d1h03m47s, the #2 battery in the shuttle aft compartment also short-circuited. At MET 2d3h56m47s, the #15 oxidizer tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking. Kerbstar 10 reached its operational orbit just before crew wake-up for FD4. KoreaSat 1 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 2d5h28m24s. After one PAM burn the payload was in a 101x2,880km transfer orbit. At MET 3d1h29m54s, the battery in the Turksat 1 probe core short-circuited; this was not on-orbit repairable. KoreaSat 1 reached its operational orbit just after the crew awoke on FD5. At MET 3d4h16m44s, the #6 oxidizer tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking. Turksat 1 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 4d0h29m03s. The first PAM burn placed the payload into a 102x2,875km orbit. At MET 4d1h06m44s the #14 oxidizer tank began leaking. At MET 4d2h31m54s, the deployment motor on the #4 GAS Canister failed. Turksat 1 reached its operational orbit early on FD6. At MET 4d4h30m12s the battery in the orbiter flight deck failed. The crew completed the deorbit burn at MET 5d0h15m. Entry interface occurred at MET 5d0h21m30s. Cummins and Rowbottom brought Atlantis in for a hard landing at KSC, with wheel stop at MET 5d0h34m46s. Next Up: Columbia is scheduled to lift off on July 3 on the Kerbin Observations Mission. In Other News: The Kerbal States Congress has approved the construction of a fifth operational Space Shuttle orbiter in order to meet the flight rates necessary to support the Space Station Liberty program and projected increased demand for flights in the 1990s. To be constructed largely from flight spares created during the construction of Discovery and Atlantis, the new orbiter, OV-105, could be delivered to KSC as early as mid-1989.

STS-72B Discovery Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Ronnie Queen (CDR), Rahman Danniel (PLT), James Hasenkamp (MS1), Carsten Lupo (MS2), Lionel Mollown (PS1), Emma Parish (PS2) Payload: GPS II-4, GPS II-5, GPS II-6 navigation satellites Payload Mass: 7,998 kg Launch: May 27, 1987 1:13:49 from SLC-6 at Dessert Air Force Base Mission Duration: 4d5h58m10s Landing: May 32, 1987 1:11:59 at Dessert Air Force Base Statistics & Milestones: 55th Space Shuttle mission; 13th flight of Discovery; 5th launch from and 4th landing at Dessert Air Force Base; 12th dedicated DOD mission, and second to be unclassified. Narrative Summary: Discovery lifted off on the first launch opportunity on May 27, 1987, to place its GPS satellite payloads into GPS Plane C. It was placed into an initial 23x214 km orbit. The OMS burn at MET 17m placed it into a 72x214 km orbit, inclination 66.8 degrees, period 35m41s. At MET 4h26m the crew performed an OMS burn to raise the orbit to 102x214km, and a second at 4h44m to circularize the orbit to 97x106km, period 32m44s. At MET 1d4h58m14s, one of the reaction wheels aboard GPS II-4 failed, but as this satellite was in the forward position in the payload bay, no on-orbit repair was possible. At MET 1d5h21m48s GPS II-4 was deployed from the payload bay. The first PAM burn one orbit later put the payload onto a 105x1,469km transfer orbit. The second PAM burn and two RCS burns placed the satellite in its operational 1,581x1,583km orbit, period 2h59m35s. GPS II-5 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 2d4h17m43s. The first PAM burn half an orbit later placed the satellite onto a 97x1,510km transfer orbit. The second PAM burn and one RCS burn placed the satellite into a near-operational 1,506x1,582km orbit, but due to miscalculations the satellite was in the wrong position with respect to GPS II-4, and so it was left to drift until the relative phase angle reached an acceptable value. GPS II-6 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 3d4h47m44s. The first PAM burn one orbit later placed it into a 98x1,506km transfer orbit. Like GPS II-5, the angle with respect to GPS II-4 upon insertion into near-semi-synchronous orbit was incorrect and it was left to drift until it reached the correct angle. The crew conducted the deorbit burn at MET 4d5h39m, but overshot slightly and lowered the periapsis to -9 km. Entry interface occurred at MET 4d5h45m10s. Discovery made a smooth touchdown at Dessert AFB at MET 4d5h58m10s. The mission went very smoothly overall, with no malfunctions of the orbiter itself. Next Up: Atlantis is currently standing ready on Launch Pad 39A. Launch on Mission STS-71C, carrying three commsats and the first Korean and Turkish astronauts, is scheduled for May 36.

Thanks! I do not have a publicly-available craft file, mostly because a key part of the look are custom decals and I'm not sure how to deal with that. The shuttle is also pretty finicky to fly.

Soyuz TM-6 Druzhba Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Up: Kirill Giorgadze (CDR), Maksim Yakolev (FE), Tamara Popov (RC); Down: Filipp Sokolovsky (CDR), Anastasiya Chayka (FE), Anna Ignatova (RC) Backup Crew: Anna Krupin (CDR), Dmitri Maisuradze (FE), Modest Nikolaev (RC) Launch: May 15, 1987 0:20:34 from Site 33 at Woomerang Cosmodrome Docking: May 16, 1987 2:39:46 at Kvant's aft port Undocking: May 20, 1987 0:11:30 Landing: May 20, 1987 1:34:30 in the Indian Ocean Mission Duration: 5d1h13m56s (spacecraft), 216d4h15m09s (crew) Narrative Summary: The fourth long-duration Svoboda crew lifted off onboard Soyuz TM-6 into the predawn darkness on May 15, 1987. The spacecraft callsign was Druzhba (Friendship), in recognition of the upcoming join SSSR-USA docking mission that would take place during their stay on Svoboda. The first stage underperformed, but two burns with the second stage inserted the spacecraft into an 82x84km orbit inclined 1.0 degrees from that of Svoboda. The crew completed a burn at 0:44 to zero out their inclination with respect to Svoboda, and a second at 1:21 to raise the orbit to 82x155km. During the burn the forward monoproplleant tank in the Soyuz service module began leaking. More than half of the spacecraft's fuel was lost to space; mission managers ordered the rendezvous with Svoboda to go ahead, but began pondering contingencies. If the second tank also sprang a leak, the spacecraft would not be able to return to Kerbin on its own. After deliberations, the Markosmos leadership decided to proceed with docking, then have the outgoing crew return to Kerbin on Soyuz TM-6. The Soyuz TM-7 launch would be moved up, while the Soyuz TM-5 capsule would remain at the station slightly beyond its certified life. Due to the riskier nature of these missions, the Interkosmos cosmonaut planned for Soyuz TM-7 would be bumped to the next mission, with cascading effect. At 1:51 on May 16, the crew completed a burn to set up a 1.4 km pass by Svoboda at a Delta v of 17.6 m/s one orbit later. The crew commenced the terminal rendezvous sequence at 2:28. Soyuz TM-6 docked to Kvant's aft port at 2:39:46, moments after orbital sunset. Soon thereafter they opened the hatches and joined Sokolovsky, Chayka, and Ignatova aboard Svoboda for an abbreviated few days of joint operations. On May 20 the EO-3 crew of Sokolovsky, Chayka, and Ignatova bid farewell to their replacements Giorgadze, Yakolev, and Popov and boarded the malfunctioning Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft for their ride home. They undocked at 0:11:30, backed away from Svoboda, and completed the deorbit burn at 1:20. Two minutes later the reaction wheels in the command module computer unit failed. The three modules separated at 1:26:46, entry interface occurred at 1:28:30, and splashed down at 1:34:30 in the Indian Ocean at 13d40m21s N, 134d49m21s E.

STS-61O Challenger Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Casimir Deniau (CDR), Ellis Beitel (PLT), Bill Kerman (MS1), Zachary Averesch (MS2), Alanna Zelenko (MS3), Paquita Oquendo, Mexico (PS1), Lucia Santos, Brazil (PS2) Backup Crew: Amparo Maradona, Mexico (PS1), Estefania Duarte, Brazil (PS2) Payload: DoCielo 2 commsat, AztlanSat II commsat, Maritime Commnet B commsat, 4x GAS Canisters Payload Mass: 6,596 kg Launch: May 13, 1987 0:54:00 from Pad 39B at KSC Mission Duration: 4d4h39m22s Landing: May 17, 1987 5:33:22 at KSC Statistics & Milestones: 54th Space Shuttle mission; 17th flight of Challenger; 10th Space Shuttle launch from Pad 39B; 28th landing at KSC. Payload Specialist Lucia Santos became the first Brazilian kerbal to fly in space. Narrative Summary: STS-61O debuted the new ACES pressure suits, featuring improved safety, lighter weight, and better comfort as the Shuttle Program moves towards the Space Station Liberty era. The crew posed for a pre-launch group portrait at the launch pad: Left to right: Oquendo, Averesch, Beitel, Deniau, Kerman, Zelenko, Santos Challenger lifted off on the first launch opportunity on May 13, 1987, carrying three commsats for Mexico, Brazil, and the Kerbal States Coast Guard. It was placed into an initial 25x211km orbit. The crew completed an OMS burn at MET 17m to place the orbiter into a 73x211km orbit, inclination 1.2 degrees, period 35m36s. At MET 4h44m the crew completed an OMS burn to lower the orbit to 72x101km. At MET 4h47m25s, the #4 battery in the orbiter aft compartment short-circuited. They completed a second OMS burn at MET 4h58m to circularize the orbit to 99x102km, period 32m41s. Later in the day the crew activated the GAS Canisters in the payload bay. At MET 1d2h01m45s, the shuttle's #3 battery also short-circuited. DoCielo 2 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 1d5h11m10s. The first PAM burn one orbit later placed the payload into a 100x3,081km transfer orbit. The upper stage PAM burn and two correction maneuvers placed the payload into its operational geosynchronous orbit. AztlanSat II was deployed from the payload bay at MET 3d0h47m48s. 31 minutes after deployment, the battery in its probe core short-circuited. The first PAM burn shortly thereafter placed the payload in a nearly perfect 100x2,863km transfer orbit. Thanks to the excellent first PAM burn, only a single RCS maneuver was necessary to insert the satellite into its operational orbit. At MET 3d4h03m38s, the deployment motors in the #4 GAS Canister in the payload bay failed. Maritime Comment B was deployed from the payload bay at MET 3d4h38m36s. The PAM burn one orbit later placed the payload into a 99x2,970km transfer orbit. The upper stage PAM burn and two RCS correction maneuvers delivered the satellite to its operational orbit. The crew closed the payload bay doors at MET 4d4h04m, and completed the deorbit burn at MET 4d4h20m. Entry interface occurred at MET 4d4h26m04s. At MET 4d4h31m21s the internal battery in the #2 fuel cell short-circuited. Deniau and Beitel brought Challenger in for a hard landing at KSC with wheel stop at MET 4d4h39m22s. Next Up: Discovery is scheduled to lift off on May 27 from Dessert AFB carrying three more GPS satellites on mission STS-72B. In Other News: The Mishchenie 28 freighter undocked from Svoboda on May 13, and disposed of itself in the Pacific Ocean. The Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft lifted off from Woomerang Cosmodrome on May 15 and docked with Svoboda the next day. A mission report will follow. In Meta: This mission, with payload specialists from Mexico and Brazil, was, of course, my nod to the team who made KSP, in thanks for making such a great game. On a personal note, I surpassed 1000 hours playing KSP during this mission!

I'm back! It's been a rather long hiatus, but I've picked KSP back up and should be posting new missions here at least intermittently. It will probably take a very long time (each orbiter is rated for 100 missions and I've only flown a little over 50 flights total), but I do have some plans for a Shuttle Mk. 2 and perhaps a Shuttle C heavy launch vehicle for the late '90s-early '00s. Mishchenie 28 Launch Report (I don't usually post mission reports for cargo missions, but here's one just to have some actual content in this post...) The Mishchenie 28 freighter lifted off into the predawn sky from Site 33 at Woomerang Cosmodrome at 0:38:16 on April 29, 1987. The booster slightly underperformed on launch, leaving the vehicle in an initial 5x122km orbit, but at 0:47 the spacecraft completed a contingency burn to raise its orbit to 80x122km, period 32m44s, inclination 45.4 degrees (or 0.2 degrees with respect to Svoboda). At 1:01 it conducted another burn to zero out its inclination with Svoboda's orbit, and a third at 1:04 to raise the orbit to 81x155km and set up the rendezvous sequence. Due to unlucky phasing at the time of launch the catch-up sequence was unusually long. At 1:34 on April 30 the vehicle conducted a burn to set up a pass by Svoboda at 1.5 km distance and 42.3 m/s Delta v one orbit later. Mischchenie 28 began the terminal rendezvous sequence at 2:08, and docked to the aft port of Kvant at 2:22:16. After docking, Svoboda had a total mass of 23,590 kg.

STS-61Q Columbia Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Abe Dykstra (CDR), Ted Valencia (PLT), Ethan Santoro (MS1), Kolby Baart (MS2), Fred Langbrook (MS3), Takeshi Akiyama, Japan (PS1), Yukiko Watanabe, Japan (PS2), Mao Suzuki, Japan (PS3) Backup Crew: Aiko Moto, Japan (PS1), Kenji Matsumoto, Japan (PS2), Hoshi Maki, Japan (PS3) Payload: Spacelab J-1: Spacelab Pressurized Module 2, Spacelab Vacuum Pallet Payload Mass: 6,714 kg Launch: March 18, 1987 5:30:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center Mission Duration: 10d0h35m57s Landing: March 29, 1987 0:05:57 at Edwards Air Force Range Statistics & Milestones: 53rd Space Shuttle mission; 18th flight of Columbia; 22nd landing at Edwards AFR. Commander Abe Dykstra became the first kerbal to fly on the Shuttle five times, while Payload Specialists Takeshi Akiyama, Yukiko Watanabe, and Mao Suzuki became the first Japanese kerbals to fly into space. Columbia surpassed 100 days of flight time, and the Shuttle fleet as a whole surpassed 300 days, on this flight. The first launch abort of the Space Shuttle Program occurred on this mission. Narrative Summary: Columbia lifted off into clear Florida skies on the first launch opportunity on March 18, 1987. It carried the second Spacelab pressurized module and a large number of experiments sponsored by the Japanese government, academia, and industry. After a nominal liftoff, problems quickly developed. 59 seconds after liftoff, the water tank in the orbiter middeck began leaking. At 1 minute 38 seconds after liftoff, the #2 (port) space shuttle main engine failed at an altitude of approximately 20 km. Under the guidance of mission control, the crew were able to execute a successful ATO (abort to orbit) by keeping the remaining two SSMEs at 100% thrust for the remainder of the ascent, as the engines were normally throttled down to 67% at this point in flight. Vehicle control after the abort was significantly more difficult than usual due to the asymmetric thrust of the two remaining SSMEs. Commander Dykstra recalled in a post-flight media briefing, “The vehicle just didn't want to fly straight. I had to wrestle the dang thing all the way up into orbit, the master alarm blaring the whole time.” The ascent nonetheless placed the orbiter into a preliminary 43x219km orbit. At MET 19m the crew completed an OMS burn to place Columbia into a 74x219km orbit, inclination 3.2 degrees, period 35m55s. Due to the water leak and lost supplies, mission controllers determined that the mission would need to be ended two days shorter than planned (with return on Flight Day 10 rather than 12) in order to not run into safety margins for consumables. Blue Team (Valencia, Santoro, Langbrook, Akiyama) went to bed at MET 30m, while Red Team (Dykstra, Baart, Watanabe, Suzuki) worked to activate all orbiter systems. The two teams swapped spots at MET 3h00m. Langbrook and Akiyama began activating Spacelab, while Valencia and Santoro prepared to maneuver the shuttle. They conducted an OMS burn at MET 4h12m to lower the orbit to 74x129km, and a second at MET 4h28m to circularize the orbit to 128x132km, period 34m45s. At MET 1d0h00m Red Team moved into Spacelab and began the mission's program of scientific experiments. Despite the excitement of the launch and the shortened mission duration, the remainder of the mission proceeded much more smoothly with a successful program of science. While the remainder of Red Team began shutting down Spacelab, Commander Dykstra began preparations to lower Columbia's orbit. Dykstra completed an OMS burn at MET 9d0h24m to lower the orbit to 100x128km, and a second at MET 9d0h40m to circularize the orbit to 98x100km. At MET 9d3h00m the final crew exchange occurred, with Red Team going to bed for their final on-orbit sleep cycle and Blue Team taking over to begin closing out all orbiter systems. The crew completed the deorbit burn at MET 10d0h17m, targeting landing at Edwards due to heavy rain at KSC. Entry interface occurred at MET 10d0h23m31s. The approach to Edwards was significantly hotter than normal, but Dykstra and Valencia nonetheless brought Columbia in for a bumpy landing with wheel stop at MET 10d0h35m57s. After landing and being returned to KSC, Columbia was rolled into Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 for its Double Downtime maintenance period to perform additional maintenance and upgrades, including fitting the orbiter with a GPS receiver unit. Next Up: Challenger is scheduled to lift off on May 12 on mission STS-61O, carrying Brazil's first astronaut and a cargo of commsats.

I have thought about it some, but I'm a little reluctant as my past experience has been that having too many mods installed (especially visual mods) tend to make the game chug on my machine. I already have issues with the game running slow (depending upon payload the shuttle can have anywhere between 250 and 450 parts upon launch), and I don't want to make the game run even slower.

STS-72A Discovery Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Eddie Schuchardt (CDR), Quinn Anker (PLT), Cecilia Trevis (MS1), Elizabeth Britton (MS2), Martina Moreno (PS1), Bedwyr Slovak (PS2) Payload: GPS II-1, GPS II-2, GPS II-3 Global Positioning System satellites Payload Mass: 7,998 kg Launch: March 8, 1987 0:30:00 from SLC-6 at Dessert AFB Mission Duration: 5d5h51m48s Landing: March 14, 1987 0:21:48 at Dessert AFB Statistics & Milestones: 52nd Space Shuttle mission; 12th flight of Discovery; 4th launch from and 3rd landing at Dessert AFB; 11th dedicated DOD mission, and first of these to be unclassified. The 25th spacewalk of the Space Shuttle program took place on this flight. Pilot Quinn Anker and Mission Specialist Cecilia Trevis became the first members of KSP Astronaut Group 11 (selected 1985) to fly. Narrative Summary: The first launch opportunity, on March 1, 1987 (pushed back one day due to forecast rain on February 34), was scrubbed at T-1h03m. While the crew were ingressing the orbiter, the external tank developed a hydrogen leak. Troubleshooting and fixing the problem took four days, plus time to roll the Shuttle Assembly Building (SAB) on and back. Discovery lifted off on the second launch opportunity one week later. The orbiter was placed in an initial 20x234km orbit, after an ascent marred only by some issues with the flight control software briefly locking repeatedly. At MET 6m48s the #3 oxidizer tank began leaking; as the orbiter had not yet used any of its own fuel, all of the contents were lost to space. An OMS burn at MET 17m placed Discovery into a 72x234km orbit, inclination 66.5 degrees, period 36m24s. At MET 32m57s one of the antennas aboard GPS II-1 failed, but as this satellite occupied the forward position in the payload bay on-orbit repair was not possible. At MET 2d04h05m one of the probe core batteries aboard GPS II-3 failed, triggering a repair spacewalk and a one-day extension to the mission. At MET 2d07m58s one of the monopropellant tanks aboard GPS II-3 began leaking. The crew conducted an OMS burn at MET 4m50s to lower the orbit to 71x99km, and a second RCS-assisted OMS burn at MET 5m04s to circularize the orbit to 98x99km, period 32m32s. GPS II-1 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 1d5h20m15s. Five minutes later, one GPS II-1 had drifted to a distance of half a kilometer from the shuttle, its lower PAM stage ignited to place it into a 99x1,473km transfer orbit. Over the next few hours the upper stage PAM burn and two RCS maneuvers placed it into its operational 1,581x1,583km orbit, period 2h59m35s. At MET 2d2h01m16s one of the antennas on GPS II-3 failed; its repair was added to the agenda for the EVA. GPS II-2 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 2d4h47m52s, and the PAM lower stage was ignited several minutes later when the phase angle with respect to GPS II-1 equaled the planned value of 21.4 degrees. Just before the second RCS burn to insert GPS II-2 into its operational orbit, one of its onboard antennas failed. Cecilia Trevis exited the airlock at MET 3d4h38m15s, followed by Elizabeth Britton one minute later. Trevis repaired the shorted battery and broken antenna aboard GPS II-3, and patched the leaky monopropellant tank. The spacewalkers then retreated inside Discovery. EVA time was 3m55s for Britton and 5m28s for Trevis. At MET 4d4h43m38s another one of the antennas aboard GPS II-3 failed. Mission managers decided to go ahead with deployment rather than stage another spacewalk. At MET 4d4h45m34s the #15 liquid fuel tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking, less than a minute before GPS II-3 was scheduled to be deployed; the deployment was put off for one orbit to allow the crew time to focus on the malfunction. GPS II-3 was finally deployed from the payload bay at MET 4d5h25m51s. At MET 4d5h26m16s the #3 oxygen tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking. The first stage PAM burn placed the satellite into a 98x1,516km transfer orbit. After the second PAM burn and two RCS burns it reached its operational orbit, but shortly thereafter another of its antennas failed. The crew completed the deorbit burn at MET 5d5h31m. Entry interface occurred at MET 5d5h37m08s. Schuchardt and Anker brought Discovery in for a smooth landing at Dessert AFB with wheel stop at MET 5d5h51m48s. Next Up: The day before Discovery landed, Columbia was rolled out to Pad 39A at KSC. It is scheduled to launch on March 18 on mission STS-61Q, an international space lab mission sponsored by Japan that will see the first Japanese astronauts reach space.

Thanks! Most of them are hand-drawn, at least partially. For most of the patches, I first draw the main elements with pencil on paper, and then scan them. I use GIMP to composite everything together, and add the color, text, and geometric shapes. A few of the patches are purely digital compositions, usually because they require angles of the shuttle that my limited artistic skills aren't up to reproducing; in those cases I digitally trace over a screenshot to get the perspective I want. It took me dozens of test flights in another save game to get the design right before STS-1. The wings on my external tank were my way of keeping it from flipping on launch. The malfunctions are produced by the DangIt! Continued mod.

That's not really on my radar for the Station--I want to build it more like the ISS actually was--but I would consider using a Shuttle C for the Duna program I have notionally planned for the late 90s or early 00s.

Kvant Launch Report Quick Summary: Crew: None Payload: Kvant Laboratory Module; Kvant Transfer Module Payload mass: 8,917 kg; lab module only: 7,192 kg Launch: March 1, 1987 1:32:15 from Site 42 at Woomerang Cosmodrome Launcher: Neitron Docking: March 2, 1987 0:42:42 to Svoboda's aft port Narrative Summary: On February 31, the Svoboda EO-3 crew of Sokolovsky, Chayka, and Ignatova boarded Soyuz TM-5 and closed the hatches to Svoboda. They undocked from the aft port at 1:54:00 and backed away to a distance of 40 m. They paused the spacecraft there while Svoboda rotated itself to present the forward port towards the Soyuz. They redocked to the forward port at 2:04:09, 10m09s after undocking. This would be the last time that the Svoboda core module would be in free flight with no docked modules or spacecraft. This maneuver cleared the aft port for the launch of the Kvant module four days later. The first additional module for space station Svoboda, the Kvant laboratory module, lifted off aboard a Neitron rocket on March 1. In addition to laboratory space and equipment, it carried some 70 days' worth of supplies for the station crew. Kvant itself was not designed for free flight, and so it was launched attached to a Transfer Module (derived from the Soyuz/Mishchenie service module) to steer it safely to the station. A smooth ascent placed the module and upper stage into an initial 72x111km orbit inclined 0.5 degrees with respect to that of Svoboda. At 1:44 the Neitron upper stage relit to zero out Kvant's inclination with respect to Svoboda. Kvant and its transfer stage then separated from the upper stage to proceed with the rendezvous. At 2:15 it performed a burn to raise its orbit to 72x155km and set up a rendezvous sequence with Svoboda. At 5:53 it performed another burn to set up a 1.0 km pass by Svoboda one orbit later at a relative velocity of 50.3 m/s. Kvant commenced the terminal rendezvous sequence at 0:28 on March 2. Kvant docked to the aft port of Svoboda at 0:42:42. At 1:38 the built-in battery in the Kvant aft compartment short-circuited. Soon thereafter the EO-3 crew opened the hatches and entered Kvant for the first time on-orbit. At 1:14 on March 3 the crew deployed Kvant's own solar arrays. Kvant's transfer module was undocked at 0:53:00 on March 4. Shortly thereafter it performed a maneuver to dispose of itself in the Pacific Ocean. After disposal of the transfer module, Svoboda and its docked spacecraft had a total mass of 20,360 kg.

I do like the Dual Keel design, but given the amount of effort that I need to put into every flight (especially complex missions like the assembly flights will be) I didn't want to be overambitious. It's already going to take me at least 23 missions to assemble, so at least 6 months of IRL time (practically more because they'll be interspersed with other flights).

I think it's going to be somewhere between the IRL ISS and the Bush-era Space Station Freedom design. I'm planning to use the HabTech2 mod for the truss, so that will be basically identical to the ISS. The module configuration will be more like the later Freedom designs than the ISS. This is my current planned (subject to change) module configuration (left is front view, right is top view): I particularly like the Freedom design feature of two parallel modules, so I use that in several places. Given my rate of progress on the missions so far, though, it may be up to another IRL year before I even start building the station...

Soyuz TM-5 Yastreb Launch Report Quick Summary: Crew: Vasilisa Kalnins (CDR), Georgiy Bogomolov (FE), Wedad Zaman, Syria (RC) Backup Crew: Petras Vinogradov (CDR), Gerasim Romanov (FE), Hadiyya Abbas, Syria (RC) Launch: February 19, 1987 1:45:44 from Site 33 at Woomerang Cosmodrome Docking: February 20, 1987 2:36:44 at Svoboda's aft port Narrative Summary: The Mishchenie 27 freighter undocked from Svoboda at 1:05:00 on February 17 and dropped itself into the Pacific Ocean for disposal, thus opening a docking port for Soyuz TM-5. Soyuz TM-5, callsign Yastreb, lifted off from Woomerang Cosmodrome on February 19. This was the first Soyuz rotation flight to Svoboda, allowing the EO-3 crew launched on Soyuz TM-4 to remain in space for longer than their spacecraft was rated for. This was also the first Interkosmos flight to Svoboda, carrying Syrian Air Force pilot Wedad Zaman for a week-long stay aboard Svoboda, during which time he would conduct a variety of experiments. The launch placed the spacecraft into a 94x155km preliminary orbit, inclined by 0.9 degrees with respect to that of Svoboda. The crew completed a burn at 2:05 to align their orbit with that of Svoboda. At 1:48 on February 20 they made another burn to adjust the orbit to 102x155km and set up a pass by Svoboda at 1 km distance and 45.5 m/s Delta v one orbit later. It docked to Svoboda's aft port at 2:36:44. One orbit later the crew opened the hatches and Kalnins, Bogomolov, and Zaman greeted Filipp Sokolovsky, Anastasiya Chayka, and Anna Ignatova aboard the station and began a week of joint operations. Soyuz TM-4 Almaz Landing Report Quick Summary: Crew: Vasilisa Kalnins (CDR), Georgiy Bogomolov (FE), Wedad Zaman, Syria (RC) Undocking: February 28, 1987 2:16:30 Landing: February 28, 1987 3:03:12 Mission Duration: 119d5h43m51s (spacecraft), 9d1h18m28s (crew) Narrative Summary: On February 28, 1987, the downgoing crew of Kalnins, Bogomolov, and Zaman boarded Soyuz TM-4 and bid farewell to Sokolovsky, Chayka, and Ignatova aboard Svoboda. They undocked at 2:16:30. They completed the deorbit burn at 2:48, and experienced a nominal re-entry. The parachute failed to deploy automatically, but the crew were able to deploy it manually at an altitude of ~1.5 km. They splashed down at 3:03:12 in the southern Indian Ocean, at 6d4h52m S, 149d20m08s E.

I randomly generate the astronaut names, which sometimes unintentionally reference IRL famous people.

STS-61K Atlantis Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Nigel Simonis (CDR), Mindy Ibrahimovic (PLT), Georgia Fuentes (MS1), Justin Teague (MS2), Richard Thorpe (MS3), Govinda Patil, India (PS1), Elsa Eilerts (PS2) Backup Crew: Vivek Tamboli, India (PS1), Zlatko Del Bosque (PS2) Payload: INSAT 1-B commsat, BusinessLink 2 commsat Payload Mass: 6,299 kg Launch: January 32, 1987 3:30:00 from Pad 39B at Kerbal Space Center Mission Duration: 5d1h56m29s Landing: February 1, 1987 5:26:29 at Kerbal Space Center Statistics & Milestones: 51st Space Shuttle mission; 7th flight of Atlantis; 10th night launch of the Space Shuttle program; 9th Space Shuttle launch from Pad 39B; 27th landing at KSC. January 1987 marked the first month to see four space shuttle launches, and had STS-61K landed on schedule it would have seen four full shuttle flights. Narrative Summary: The crew of this flight included Govinda Patil of India, the second Indian kerbal to fly in space (the first flew to the SSSR Salyut 7 space station in 1984), and journalist Elsa Eilerts, the second kerbal to fly through the Civilians in Space program. This was also the most delayed shuttle flight to date; when originally manifested it was planned to launch on April 34, 1986, and was within two months of launching in the summer of 1986 when it was repeatedly delayed, first to allow the Hubble Space Telescope to launch first, and then to allow Ulysses to launch. STS-61K experienced better luck once the shuttle actually reached the launch pad; Atlantis lifted off into the night on the first opportunity on January 32. MECO occurred just after orbital sunrise, leaving Atlantis in an initial 36x255km orbit. At MET 19m the crew completed the OMS orbit insertion burn to place the orbiter in a 73x255km orbit, inclination 1.1 degrees, period 40m10s. The crew completed an OMS burn at MET 4h58m to lower the orbit to 73x199km, and a second at MET 5h15m to raise and circularize the orbit to 196x210km. Soon thereafter they activated the six GAS cannisters in the payload bay. At MET 1d0h24m09s, one of the six secondary antennas aboard BusinessLink 2 failed, necessitating a repair spacewalk. This was scheduled for Flight Day 4 and the mission extended by one day as a result. At MET 1d5h46m17s the battery in one of INSAT 1-B's probe cores short-circuited, but the position of INSAT in the forward position in the payload bay prevented spacewalkers from egressing the airlock while it was in place, and consequently prevented in-orbit repair. INSAT was deployed from the payload bay at MET 2d0h32m28s. The PAM first stage burn placed the satellite into a 198x2,865km transfer orbit. The upper stage PAM burn plus three RCS burns over the next day put it into its operational orbit. At MET 2d4h04m58s the #18 liquid fuel tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking. At MET 2d4h08m17s the orbiter flight deck carbon dioxide retention manifold began leaking to space. The crew were able to redirect the CO2 scrubber flow to avoid venting the cabin atmosphere to space, but a second such failure would violate flight rules and require an emergency return to Kerbin. Georgia Fuentes exited the airlock at MET 2d5h08m30s, followed by Justin Teague one minute later. Fuentes successfully repaired the broken antenna on BusinessLink 2, and then the spacewalkers returned inside the shuttle. EVA time was 2m10s for Teague, and 3m41s for Fuentes. At MET 3d4h01m33s the #15 oxidizer tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking. BusinessLink 2 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 3d5h18m20s. The first stage PAM burn one orbit later placed it into a 196x2,676km transfer orbit; the BusinessLink satellites are so heavy that even the most powerful PAM on the market is not quite capable of getting them to geosynchronous orbit even from the highest orbit the shuttle is capable of. 2m2s after the PAM lower stage was discarded, one of the large batteries aboard BusinessLink 2 short-circuited. It reached its operational geosynchronous perch the next day. At MET 4d4h25m the crew completed an RCS-assisted OMS burn to lower the orbit to 100x214km, and a second at MET 4d4h44m to circularize the orbit to 96x105km in preparation for landing. The crew then prepared for landing, and a forecast 39% chance of rain at KSC held off for the planned landing time. At MET 5d0h59m41s, while the RCS thrusters were burning for the deorbit burn and seconds before the OMS engines were to light, the #7 oxidizer tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking. The OMS burn was aborted in order to avoid any possibility of igniting leaking vapors and causing an explosion. The orbiter was left in a 71x103km orbit, and the crew opened the payload bay doors and prepared for another landing attempt on the next orbit. They closed the payload bay doors again at MET 5d1h19m. The crew completed the deorbit burn on the second attempt at MET 5d1h34m. Entry interface occurred at MET 5d1h39m58s. Simonis and Ibrahimovic brought Atlantis in for a hard landing at KSC with wheel stop at MET 5d1h56m29s. Next Up: Discovery is scheduled to launch on February 34 on mission STS-72A, carrying the first batch of operational GPS satellites.

I already am! Three flown so far: STS-62A, STS-62B, and STS-62C. I'm using the Dessert Launch Site as my Vandenburg analog.

STS-61N Challenger Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Jane Steffensen (CDR), Tamara Mac Reachtain (PLT), Jordon Poole (MS1), Stuart Pryor (MS2), Kirsten Pavletic (MS3), Marie-France Gros, France (PS1), Gudmund Rasmussen, Norway (PS2) Backup Crew: Renee Rousseau, France (PS1), Josefine Christiansen, Norway (PS2) Payload: Galaxy VI-C commsat, Hot Bird 4C commsat, Freya 1 commsat Payload Mass: 6,658 kg Launch: January 21, 1987 0:30:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center Mission Duration: 6d5h54m44s Landing: January 28, 1987 0:24:44 at Edwards Air Force Range Statistics & Milestones: 50th Space Shuttle mission; 16th flight of Challenger; 21st landing at Edwards AFR. Payload Specialist Gudmund Rasmussen became the first Norwegian kerbal to fly in space. Narrative Summary: The Kerbal Space Shuttle program reached a major milestone on STS-51N with its 50th mission. The first launch attempt, for a predawn launch on January 18, was scrubbed due to frigid temperatures at the Edwards AFR emergency landing site. Due to more than a week of forecast freezing overnight temperatures at Edwards, mission managers elected to retarget the launch for mid-morning Edwards time, when the temperature should have exceeded the safety threshold for shuttle operations. After one more delay due to rain at KSC, Challenger lifted off on the third launch attempt on January 21 with a cargo of three international communications satellites. The orbiter was inserted into an initial 57x121km orbit. The crew completed an OMS burn at MET 16m to place Challenger into a 72x121km orbit, inclination 0.5 degrees, period 32m24s. At MET 22m54s the #3 oxidizer tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking; the crew were able to transfer most of the contents into other tanks, but due to the low Delta-v necessary for the orbit insertion burn there was insufficient room and ~1/8 of the tank's contents were lost to space. The ascent was less efficient and reached a lower apoapsis than planned, leaving Challenger with insufficient fuel plus monopropellant margin for a KSC landing, and so mission managers determined to target a more forgiving landing at Edwards. At MET 4h52m the crew completed an OMS burn to raise the orbit to 72x199km. At MET 5h09m02s, one of the monopropellant tanks aboard Freya 1 began leaking. At MET 5h10m the crew completed a second OMS burn to circularize the orbit to 195x206km, period 39m56s. At MET 2d1h15m26s the #13 liquid fuel tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking. At MET 2d1h18m01s one of the antennas on Freya 1 failed. Mission managers added a spacewalk to Flight Day 5 to fix the antenna, and extended the mission by one day to compensate. Galaxy VI-C was deployed from the payload bay at MET 2d1h18m18s. The first stage PAM burn placed the payload into a 198x2,920km transfer orbit. It reached its operational orbit the next day. Hot Bird 4C was deployed from the payload bay at MET 2d4h45m23s. The first PAM burn one orbit later placed it into a 205x2,770km transfer orbit. Soon thereafter it reached its operational geosynchronous orbit. Jordon Poole exited the airlock at MET 3d5h19m00s, followed by Kirsten Pavletic at MET 3d5h20m45s. Poole successfully repaired the antenna and patched the leaky monopropellant tank on Freya 1, and then the astronauts retreated outside. The total EVA time was 3m00s for Pavletic and 5m17s for Poole. At MET 4d4h06m02s the internal battery in the #2 fuel cell short-circuited. Freya 1 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 4d5h32m49s. The lower stage PAM burn placed it into a 208x2,882km transfer orbit. Although the second PAM burn was successful, a software error caused the first RCS burn to initially be in the wrong direction, raising the apoapsis to 3,900 km before the error was caught. Due to the earlier monopropellant leak that had depleted half of the spacecraft's monopropellant, it exhausted its propellant when it had reached an orbital period of 5h59m19s, 10 second longer than geosynchronous. This would cause an unacceptable rate of drift from the satellite's perch over Norway, rendering it useless. The spacecraft's owner, NorSatCom, immediately ordered a replacement spacecraft, Freya 1R, and secured a launch slot on a future shuttle mission. At MET 5d4h39m the crew completed an OMS burn to lower the orbit to 99x198km, and a second at MET 5d4h57m to circularize the orbit to 96x103km, period 32m36s, in preparation for reentry the next day. The crew closed the payload bay doors at MET 6d5h15m in preparation for the first landing attempt. The weather was go. The three-and-a-half-minute-long RCS-assisted OMS deorbit burn concluding at MET 6d5h33m was only able to lower the periapsis to 17 km. Entry interface occurred at MET 6d5h38m30s. The orbiter experienced an unusual degree of pitch oscillations during re-entry, but this did not affect vehicle safety. Steffensen and Mac Reachtain brought Challenger in for a smooth landing at Edwards Air Force Range with wheel stop at MET 6d5h54m44s. Next Up: Atlantis is standing ready on Pad 39B with another cargo of commsats. It is scheduled to launch on mission STS-61K on January 32.

STS-61P Columbia Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Peter Marchesi (CDR), Rick Wakefield (PLT), Lyell Power (MS1), Allan Otto (MS2), Jeffrey Christiansen (PS1), Seth Hayes (PS2) Payload: KSA-042 (CLASSIFIED) Payload Mass: 10,346 kg Launch: January 10, 1987 0:24:00 from Pad 39B at Kerbal Space Center Mission Duration: 4d1h04m51s Landing: January 14, 1987 1:28:51 at Kerbal Space Center Statistics & Milestones: 49th Space Shuttle mission; 17th flight of Columbia; 8th Space Shuttle launch from Pad 39B; 26th landing at KSC; 10th dedicated mission for the KSA DOD. Narrative Summary: Initially scheduled for launch on January 9, liftoff was pushed back by half an hour into January 10 to allow frigid temperatures at the Edwards Air Force Range emergency landing site to clear. Columbia lifted off on the first opportunity after this hold. Coverage of this classified flight was blacked out five minutes after launch. The orbiter landed back at KSC four days later, touching down just after sunset. Classified Summary: Next Up: Continuing the quick series of launches in January 1987, Challenger is standing ready on Pad 39A to carry three communications satellites and the first Norwegian astronaut into orbit on mission STS-61N. Launch is scheduled for January 18. In Other News: KSP announced the selection of the next group of astronauts, Astronaut Group 12, in early January. These 40 new astronauts (the largest class to date) will meet KSP's spaceflight needs over the next few years and will form the core of the Astronaut Corps in the Space Station Liberty era. They will train alongside four new ESA astronauts (including the first Swedish astronaut) and three new Japanese astronauts.

STS-62C Discovery Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Arlene O'Brian (CDR), Simona Thorsen (PLT), David Houtkooper (MS1), Maria Koch (MS2), Dalia O'Rurain (PS1), Linus Chmela (PS2) Payload: KSA-041 (CLASSIFIED) Payload Mass: 7,296 kg Launch: January 1, 1987 1:10:00 from SLC-6 at Dessert Air Force Base Mission Duration: 3d5h56m54s Landing: January 5, 1987 1:06:54 at Edwards Air Force Range Statistics & Milestones: 48th Space Shuttle mission; 11th flight of Discovery; 3rd launch from Dessert AFB; 21st landing at Edwards AFR; 1st landing from polar orbit at EAFR. Narrative Summary: Discovery lifted off on the first launch attempt on New Year's Day 1987, carrying a classified payload for the Kerbal States Navy. Mission coverage blacked out five minutes after launch due to the classified nature of the mission. Originally intended to land back at the Dessert AFB launch site, the prime landing site was switched to Edwards Air Force Range due to three forecast days of rain at DAFB. O'Brian and Thorsen brought Discovery in for a slightly bumpy landing at Edwards (the first polar landing there) with wheel stop at MET 3d5h56m54s. Classified Summary: Next Up: Columbia is already standing on Pad 39B with another classified payload. It is scheduled to lift off on January 9 on mission STS-61P.

STS-71B Atlantis Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Orson Sauvageon (CDR), Colin Khoroushi (PLT), Jeffrey Van Rompuy (MS1), Adam Donne (MS2) Payload: Ulysses Payload Mass: 12,476 kg Launch: November 27, 1986 0:30:00 from Pad 39B at Kerbal Space Center Mission Duration: 1d0h32m49s Landing: November 28, 1986 1:02:49 at KSC Statistics & Milestones: 47th Space Shuttle mission; 6th flight of Atlantis; 7th Space Shuttle launch from Pad 39B; 25th landing at KSC. Second launch beyond Kerbin's SOI from the Shuttle, second flight of the Centaur-G upper stage, and second launch with radioactive material aboard the Shuttle. Commander Orson Sauvageon became the first kerbal to fly on all four Space Shuttle orbiters, having commanded Columbia on STS-3, Discovery on STS-51B, Challenger on STS-61D, and now Atlantis on STS-71B. Shortest Space Shuttle mission to date. Narrative Summary: Only four days after Challenger blasted off with the Galileo probe, a record turn-around due to the short launch window to Jool, Atlantis lifted off on the first launch opportunity with the Ulysses probe. A joint ESA-KSP project, Ulysses would swing by Jool and use the giant planet's gravity to slingshot it onto an inclined orbit where it could study Kerbol's poles and the solar wind out of the plane of the kerbolar system. Atlantis was inserted into an initial 39x158km orbit. During external tank separation CDR Sauvageon inadvertently burned the wrong way on the RCS thrusters, nearly re-contacting the external tank, but managed to avoid this at the last second. At MET 5m36s the #3 monopropellant tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking. The crew conducted an OMS burn at MET 15m to place the orbiter into a 81x158km orbit, inclination 1.4 degrees, period 34m01s, and a second at MET 32m to circularize the orbit to 79x83km, period 31m19s. At MET 38m40s the crew released the restraints holding Ulysses and the Centaur-G in the payload bay and raised them into the deployment position. Ulysses was deployed from the payload bay at MET 58m30s. 19 minutes after deployment, the Centaur-G burned for approximately 40 seconds to increase Ulysses' velocity by nearly 2000 m/s, and setting up a 1.9 million km pass by Jool, with periapsis on October 19, 1989. However, a plane change maneuver is planned around September 2, 1987 to set up a close pass by Jool to increase Ulysses' orbital inclination so that it can view the sun's poles. At MET 4h34m the crew completed an OMS burn to raise the orbit to 80x99km, and a second at MET 4h50m to circularize to 98x100km, period 32m33s, in preparation for landing. Mission managers elected to bring Atlantis home one day early due to a forecast of poor weather at KSC on November 29 and 30; this would make STS-71B the shortest mission to date. The crew completed the deorbit burn at MET 1d0h10m. Entry interface occurred at MET 1d0h16m30s. Despite some instability while under RCS control shortly after entry interface, Sauvageon and Khoroushi were able to bring the orbiter in for a smooth landing at KSC just before sunset with wheel stop at MET 1d0h32m49s. Ulysses exited Kerbin's SOI about 3 hours after Atlantis landed. In Other News: The Mishchenie 27 freighter docked to the aft port of Svoboda at 1:04:17 on November 25. Next Up: Discovery is slated to take off from Dessert AFB on New Year's Day 1987 carrying a classified payload on STS-62C. However, there is some possibility that it could be brought up to the end of December if processing proceeds fast enough, or that it might slip to after STS-61P on Columbia (also carrying a classified payload but from KSC), which could be ready to launch as early as January 2. Year-End Summary: During 1986 the Kerbal Space Shuttle Program launched 15 flights, bringing the total to 47. Columbia, Challenger, and Atlantis flew four times each, and Discovery thrice. The orbiters logged 88d3h11m45s of flight time, and carried 91 kerbals from nine nations (three flew twice) and 100,132 kg of payload into orbit.

STS-71A Challenger Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Valentina Kerman (CDR), Rosaleen Pulnik (PLT), Stephanie Van Can (MS1), Harriett Hartmann (MS2) Payload: Galileo Payload Mass: 13,167 kg Launch: November 23, 1986 0:30:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center Mission Duration: 1d5h16m11s Landing: November 24, 1986 5:46:11 at Kerbal Space Center Statistics & Milestones: 46th Space Shuttle mission; 15th flight of Challenger; 24th landing at KSC. First flight of the Centaur-G liquid fueled upper stage, first launch of a payload beyond Kerbin's sphere of influence from the Shuttle, and first launch of a significant amount of radioactive material on the shuttle. First all-female crew of any space mission with more than one crew member. Narrative Summary: The weather was perfect and no technical issues were reported as the countdown clock ticked down to the most highly-anticipated Shuttle mission of the year, carrying the first major planetary mission to be launched by the Shuttle and the first American launch beyond Kerbin's moons since 1977. This was the first launch of the heavy Centaur-G upper stage that would greatly increase the Shuttle's capabilities beyond the solid-fuled Inertial Upper Stages, both in terms of capability and control. Designed to carry the heaviest scientific, military, and commercial payloads, the Centaur-G is key to enabling the Shuttle to achieve its full capabilities. This was also the heaviest payload ever carried by the Shuttle, tipping the scales at over 13 tonnes; to help compensate, Challenger was launched with less life support supplies and spare parts than usual, saving 316 kg on the launch weight. This was additionally the most dangerous shuttle launch since STS-1; the payload is so heavy that engineers expect that the shuttle would be incapable of landing safely while carrying the payload. The Centaur therefore included emergency valves to dump the propellants overboard in case of a launch abort. Challenger blasted off from Pad 39A on the first opportunity on the afternoon of November 23, 1986. It was placed into an initial 38x118km orbit; as it turned out the orbiter's maximum payload capacity was higher than expected and there was still nearly 400 m/s of Delta-v left in the external tank at MECO, clearing the way for even heavier payloads in the future. At MET 5m23s one of Galileo's three liquid fuel tanks began leaking. At MET 13m the crew completed an OMS burn to place the orbiter into a 81x118km orbit, inclination 0.9 degrees, period 32m34s. Despite the fuel leak, the Galileo engineering team determined that it still had more than enough fuel to complete its mission, and moreover even if the crew could repair the tank on EVA there was no way to reload the fuel, so mission managers ordered the deployment to go ahead as planned. At MET 29m the crew completed a second OMS burn to circularize the orbit to 77x81km, period 31m11s. At MET 37m00s during a pass over KSC the crew released the restraints holding Galileo and the Centaur-G in the payload bay, and then raised them into the deployment attitude. Galileo was deployed from the payload bay at MET 1h06m05s, while Challenger was passing over Edwards Air Force Range near the end of its second orbit. 11 minutes after deployment the Centaur-G ignited for a burn lasting approximately 40 seconds, which accelerated Galileo by more than 2000 m/s and achieved a kerbocentric velocity of more than 4 km/s. 11 minutes later, when Galileo was already at an altitude of more than 2000 km, the Centaur was re-lighted for a plane change maneuver which set up a pass by Jool with a periapsis of 1.2 million km, rather higher than planned due to inefficiencies during the trajectory planning computations. The encounter will take place on March 33, 1989, at which time Galileo will burn its engines to brake itself into orbit. As Galileo proceeded outward from Kerbin it unfurled its antennas and deployed its twin RTGs and radiators to their extended positions, but left the magnetometer boom furled for now. Galileo passed the Mun's orbit just an hour and a half after the first Centaur-G burn. By the time the astronauts awoke for Flight Day 2, Galileo was already more than 31,000 km away. At MET 4h54m the crew completed an OMS burn to raise the orbit to 78x102km, and a second at MET 5h11m to circularize the orbit to 99x103km in preparation for re-entry the next day. Galileo left Kerbin's sphere of influence less than two and a half days after the Centaur burn. The crew completed the deorbit burn at MET 1d4h54m. Entry interface occurred at MET 1d5h00m49s. Kerman and Pulnik brought Challenger in for landing at KSC with wheel stop at MET 1d5h16m11s. In Other News: The launch was attended by Kerbal States President Ellis Trueman, the first time a sitting president had viewed a Shuttle launch. Afterwards, in a speech to the nation, he layed out an ambitious new goal to guide the Kerbal States' planetary exploration programs: by the year 2000, the Kerbal States will make robotic soft landings on every solid body in the Kerbolar system. The funding for the Mariner Mark II Program will therefore be increased as KSP pursues this goal, and 2-3 planetary launches per year are anticipated. The Mishchenie 27 freighter lifted off from Woomerang Cosmodrome at 3:12:36 on November 24. At the time that Challenger landed, Mishchenie 27 was still catching up to Svoboda for rendezvous and docking. Next Up: Atlantis is already standing upon Pad 39B with the Ulysses spacecraft, which will follow Galileo towards Jool on mission STS-71B after a record turn-around between shuttle launches of just four days. Launch is scheduled for November 27. In Meta: Even though I've been playing KSP on and off for 7 years now and am approaching 1000 hours in-game, Galileo is the first spacecraft I've ever launched to Jool, as well as the first spacecraft I've ever launched to orbit another planet (although because of the long transit time to Jool, the Viking 3 mission I plan to launch to Duna in December 1987 will probably be my first probe to actually attain orbit of another planet). I've only ever flown by Duna and Eve, never actually made orbit of another planet before, so this was an exciting launch for me!

Soyuz TM-4 Almaz Launch Report Quick Summary: Crew: Filipp Sokolovsky (CDR), Anastasiya Chayka (FE), Anna Ignatova (RC) Backup Crew: Kirill Giorgadze (CDR), Maksim Yakolev (FE), Tamara Popov (RC) Launch: November 15, 1986 3:19:21 from Site 33 at Woomerang Cosmodrome Docking: November 16, 1986 5:05:34 to Svoboda's forward port Narrative Summary: The Mishchenie 26 freighter undocked from Svoboda's forward port at 1:05:00 on November 12, after a docked time of 117d0h13m07s. It completed its deorbit burn at 4:33 to drop into the southern Pacific Ocean. The deorbit burn was slightly delayed as the spacecraft's batteries depleted during orbital night and the burn had to wait until the spacecraft orbited into sunlight and recharged the batteries. Three days later, Soyuz TM-4 lifted off from Woomerang Cosmodrome with the new crew for Svoboda. The Soyuz booster placed the capsule into a 84x133km orbit, inclined 0.4 degrees with respect to that of Svoboda. A burn at 3:36 aligned Soyuz' orbit with that of Svoboda. At 3:49 they conducted a second burn to raise the orbit to 84x155km and intersect with the orbit of Svoboda to set up the rendezvous. At 3:45 on November 16 they conducted another brief burn to set up the next intersect to within79 km of Svoboda. One orbit later, at 4:19, the crew conducted another burn to set up a 500m pass by Svoboda at a Delta v of 27.1 m/s. It docked with Svoboda at 5:05:34. One orbit later the crew opened the hatches and boarded Svoboda, joining Aleksandr Vasilyev, Ilya Voronin, and Nikolai Nazaretyan aboard the station. Soyuz TM-3 Kanopus Landing Report Quick Summary: Crew: Aleksandr Vasilyev (CDR), Ilya Voronin (FE), Nikolai Nazaretyan (RC) Undocking: November 22, 1986 0:43:00 from Svoboda's aft port Landing: November 22, 1986 2:10:07 in the Indian Ocean Mission Duration: 142d2h55m56s Narrative Summary: The outgoing crew boarded their Soyuz capsule on November 22, 1986, and closed the hatches to Svoboda, bidding farewell to the next crew of Sokolosky, Chayka, and Ignatova. They undocked at 0:43:00 and backed away, having spent 141d3h42m54s aboard the station. The crew completed the deorbit burn at 1:55. They splashed down in the Indian Ocean at 2:10:07 and were taken aboard the recovery ship shortly thereafter.

STS-61H Columbia Mission Report Quick Summary: Crew: Linwood Nedved (CDR), Alexa Herczeg (PLT), Emilia Agani (MS1), Edith Pasternak (MS2), Gerhard O'Hara (MS3), Julianna Norman, United Kingdom (PS1), Cahya Mohammad Erdino, Indonesia (PS2) Backup Crew: High Simmons, United Kingdom (PS1), Agung Hamdani, Indonesia (PS2) Payload: Skynet B commsat, Palapa 2C commsat, BellStar 9-I commsat Payload Mass: 6,822 kg Launch: November 1, 1986 3:31:30 from Pad 39B at Kerbal Space Center Mission Duration: 5d0h59m19s Landing: November 6, 1986 4:30:49 at Kerbal Space Center Statistics & Milestones: 45th Space Shuttle mission; 16th flight of Columbia; 9th night launch of the Space Shuttle Program; 6th launch from Pad 39B; 23rd landing at KSC. Payload Specialists Julianna Norman and Cahya Mohammad Erdino became the first British and Indonesian kerbals to fly in space, respectively. Narrative Summary: Columbia was fueled and ready for the first launch attempt on October 24. The crew was aboard and ready for launch when, at T-19 seconds, one of the monopropellant tanks aboard BellStar 9-I began leaking. The orbiter access arm was swiftly moved back into position and the crew performed an emergency evacuation of the launch pad in order to avoid any possibility of hydrazine contamination, fire, or explosion. Technicians were able to repair the damage and clean the contamination at the launch pad in less than two weeks. While Columbia still waited on Pad 39A, Challenger was rolled out to Pad 39B on October 30, the first time that both pads had been occupied by Shuttles. On October 34 Atlantis also rolled over from the OPF to the VAB, leaving the OPF completely empty for the first time since September 6, 1983. After the hydrazine contamination was cleaned up and the propellant tank repaired, a second launch attempt on October 36 was scrubbed due to near-freezing overnight temperatures at Edwards Air Force Range. Columbia successfully lifted off into the night the next day. Columbia was placed into an initial 49x191km orbit. The crew conducted an OMS burn at MET 18m to place the orbiter into a 72x191km orbit, inclination 0.7 degrees, period 34m50s. The crew completed an OMS burn at MET 4h21m to raise the orbit to 101x191km, and a second at MET 4h39m to circularize the orbit to 95x103km, period 32m33s. At MET 5h25m the crew activated the two GAS Cannisters in the payload bay. Skynet B was deployed from the payload bay at MET 1d5h55m40s. When the command was given to fire the PAM one orbit later, a programming mistake in the onboard command sequencer resulted in the separation of the unspent PAM lower stage instead, stranding the payload in LKO. The satellite owner, the British Ministry of Defense, elected to have the payload retrieved by a future shuttle mission and then re-launched with a new PAM. After ground controllers uploaded a software patch to rectify the sequencer error that stranded Skynet B the previous day, Palapa 2C was deployed from the payload bay at MET 3d0h26m51s. Its PAM first stage burn proceeded nominally, placing it into a 98x2,868km transfer orbit. The PAM burns were sufficiently accurate that only a single RCS burn was needed to place the payload into its final geosynchronous orbit. BellStar 9-I was deployed from the payload bay at MET 3d4h48m44s. The first PAM burn one orbit later placed it into a 97x2,751km transfer orbit, and the second PAM burn and two RCS burns placed the satellite into its operational geosynchronous orbit. The crew completed the deorbit burn at MET 5d0h38m. Entry interface occurred at MET 5d0h44m17s. Nedved and Herczeg brought Columbia in for a hard landing at KSC with wheel stop at MET 5d0h59m19s. Next Up: Challenger is scheduled to lift off on November 23 on the first day of a narrow Jool launch window. Its much-anticipated mission STS-71A will carry the Galileo orbiter and the first Centaur-G heavy liquid-fueled upper stage, the heaviest payload ever to be launched on the Shuttle. The launch of the next crew to Svoboda is also expected in the next few weeks.