TheKrakenHerder

K-HAB/Horizon SM-1 (Yes I did promise to post this on Wednesday shut up) And we're back! The mission architecture for this program involves a Gateway-like station, which I've named Horizon Station. I decided to launch this and achieve Initial Operating Capacity before any landings. Without further ado. With the Krakatoa V Heavy Cargo Launch Vehicle not yet ready, the K-HAB was launched on a Kolossus-122 definitely not a Titan IV Solids burn out and separate at about 40-50 kilometers. The upper stage pushes it into parking orbit, shortly before beginning the TMI burn. A few days later, the K-HAB arrived in a low Munar orbit. So, the K-HAB is essentially a mini space station on its own. It can technically support Munar landings, but that's for later. Now that the K-HAB's in position, the next step is installing the APB (Avionics and Propulsion Block). (Bonus development photos!) Jeb & Co. take the prototype Munar Terrain Vehicle for a little Sunday drive. (The rear half/trailer is detachable) (Sorry that this chapter is short and a little dry, I kind of rushed it because I didn't get it out on Wednesday.) See you next time.

New post hopefully later today.

I’ll probably go with checkered white, it looks similar to Krakatoa 1. Thanks guys.

A query for you all: For The Big Boy™ (Krakatoa 5), should I paint it black and white, Saturn-style, or should I use bare, SLS-style orange foam? Reply with your opinion.

While we await the results of the Totally Free and Democratic Poll™ with bated breath, it's time to talk about the crew vehicle. I didn't want to go with a typical capsule, and I wanted to do something with the Hitchhiker, so I decided to make this interesting cylindrical design. I've named it "Hyperion", and it's capable of transporting four kerbals to the Mun and beyond. You'll notice just at first glance the similarities between it and the Kerbal Landing System. Now, I originally had plans for a monolithic liquid fuel rocket to launch this sucker, but it looked really bad and boring, so I instead decided to go for... Death Corndog: Requiem Four Kickbacks strapped together to form what is no doubt the most terrifying and unsafe launch vehicle in history. It has the working title of Krakatoa 1, and I would not want to be alone in a room with it. Also I was too lazy to bind the abort tower on the first launch so good luck! So, once I had finished this heinous affront to god safe and reliable launch vehicle, Death Corndog Krakatoa 1 took to the skies with a Hyperion on top to put them both through their paces. Herakles 1: Hyperion/Krakatoa 1 Unmanned Orbital Flight Test Miraculously, the launch vehicle performed perfectly, and Hyperion ended up in a nice stable orbit. After verifying that everything was fine, the spacecraft began boosting into a highly elliptical orbit, almost out to the Mun, to test reentry from that distance. A few hours later, the spacecraft underwent its trial by fire, and totally passed with flying colors. The author made a boo-boo and aerobraked way too low so the crew module burned up No pictures were taken of the splashdown, but the craft was recovered safely off the coast of the Western Crater. An image of Hyperion during reentry. Note the complete lack of a crew module due to it being metal rain over half the continent the unusual shapes formed by the airflow. That's all for today, see you next time!

Some of you may know me, some of you may not. I've been on these forums for a while, and I always wanted to do a mission report, but wasn't really sure what to do it on. At the same time, I always wanted to do a big Artemis-style "Mun-to-Duna" program, but I'd always run out of motivation. Putting them together, I decided that writing a mission report would give me the motivation I needed to do what I want. Without further ado, I give you Per Aspera Ad Astra So, first order of business is development of the spacecraft. I decided to do the lander first, and I wanted to do a HLS style contract for it. All of these craft are made by me, and I will let you guys vote to decide which one should be chosen. Here are the three bids: National Space Consortium "Kerbal Landing System" Large, heavy, and reliable, the Kerbal Landing System was designed by the National Space Consortium, an alliance between Green Origin, Kheed Martin, and Koeing. Pros: +Heavily derived from the Hyperion capsule, meaning it will take less time to design +Large margin of error. +Capable of being launched on existing LVs. +Trusted supplier. +Adequate mining infrastructure. Cons: -Quite pricey, at 21,000 funds per article. -Landing on a hill = Loss of crew/Loss of vehicle due to its tall and thin shape. KerbeX "Munar Clipper" A lean, mean, new breed of rocketry, the Clipper fleet is KerbeX's vision of the future of space exploration. Pros: +Larger crew capacity than competitors, seating six. +Reliable engines. +Stable on descent and ascent. +Good visibility from cockpit. Cons: -No mining gear to speak of. -Unstable post-landing. -Most expensive of the three, at 35,000 funds per article. -"Split" propulsion system not fully tested. Southrop Kermann "VICUNA" From the company that built the original MEM, this innovative lander design could be the future. Pros: +By far the cheapest of the three, at 16,000 funds per article. +Adequate mining gear. +Small, nimble, yet flat design allows it to remain completely stable while still being maneuverable. +Trusted supplier. Cons: -Unclear if it will have adequate fuel capacity. -Only seats two, unacceptable in the long run. Vote! (I reserve the right to completely invalidate and ignore the result of this poll if the stupid knockoff Lunar Starship appears to win)

I've decided to redo "Per Aspera Ad Astra" from my perspective, not the perspective of Kerbals. Without further ado...

Hey everyone, so this report is cancelled, however this is not the end. I decided that writing a story-based report isn't really what I wanted to do with this. Rather, I'm going to create a new thread and write about my Artemis-style program from my perspective rather than the perspective of Kerbals. See you soon!

Currently on hold while I play with JNSQ and think of where I want the story to go, will return.

Would like to also inform people that real missions, when they happen, will not be written from the perspective of characters.

Chapter 2 Harmony Space Station, 300 kilometers above Kerbin, 27/3/2011 As Bill stared at Kerbin, transfixed, the radio crackled to life, bringing him back to reality. "Bill, time to come in. Control wants to talk to all of us." Bill stole one last glance at Kerbin's glittering seas before jetting over to the airlock. Once the crew had all gathered in Kopernicus, the Kerbal States hab module, mission control relayed the bad news that the crew was expecting; They would not be coming home as planned. "If KASA's done with Baikal, how are we going to get home?" "We'll need a resupply, that's for sure." Bill floated out of Kopernicus, over to the Service Module. His buddy Doodny wanted to talk. Something about this company "Korbital Industries". As Bill listened to Doodny's idea, he immediately knew how they were getting home. Korbital Industries "Dunes Spaceport", 28/3/2011 Doodny was hot, tired, and wondering where he was. After pitching his idea and getting KASA's blessing, he had spent the previous night repeatedly calling the CEO of Korbital, but getting stonewalled. Yet when he came into work the next morning, there was a sleek private jet with the Korbital logo on it idling on the runway. He was told that he needed to come with them, and they wouldn't take no for an answer. After a long flight, the plane landed at a small facility in the deserts. They hadn't told him where it was, but he suspected he wasn't even on the same continent anymore. As soon as he descended the airstairs, he found a man waiting for him with a jeep. "Welcome to Dunes Spaceport! I trust you had a comfortable flight?" "Uhm. Yeah, thanks. If you don't mind me asking, who are you?" "My name is Kirk Kerman, but please, call me Kirk. I'm the CEO of Korbital. You called my office quite a few times last night." "This is our state of the art launch facility. Would you follow me please?" Speechless, Doodny followed him into the jeep. "So, why all the cloak-and-dagger?" "Well, as one of Kerbin's first private launch providers, we need to be able to test our proprietary technology. Out here is the perfect place." Kirk didn't tell him any more than that, but Doodny spotted a few buildings himself, including what looked like a horizontal assembly building. When they reached the offices, Doodny stood in the lobby for a moment to appreciate being in a building with air conditioning. "Please, step into my office." said Kirk. Doodny began his pitch. "Mr. Kerman, I understand your company has a contract with KASA to resupply HSS using your Kirbani spacecraft "Mhm, of course. We launch it from here using our Kappa launch vehicle". "And, you of course understand we have four astronauts on HSS with no way to get home." "Indeed." "Well, I'll get to the point." said Doodny. "I've been instructed by KASA to contact you to find out; Can you modify a Kirbani cargo pod into a reentry capsule for our astronauts?" Kirk thought about it for just a moment, then got up and extended his hand. "I'd be happy to help." To Be Continued...

Hey! So, these first few chapters will be more story-focused and will mainly center on Doodny spearheading a commercial crew program. Once we get those done I'll focus more on the missions.

Chapter 1 Doodny hated the administration building. He hated having to walk inside, smile at the receptionists, knock on the door marked "Expedition 39 Accident Investigation Board", with the KASA and Roskerbmos logos on it, and hated having to stand in front of the committee to explain why a KASA astronaut was dead. He had spent the whole previous night in his home in Von Kerman Village (the small village built by KASA to house personnel), putting together this presentation. But it was worth it. His blood boiled at the thought that this was all preventable. When Doodny opened the door to enter the meeting room, he found the KASA and Roskerbmos representatives about to brawl. "How the hell did you morons let this happen?!" shouted one of the KASA reps. "We checked every rivet, bolt, and screw. It wasn't us." "Well, clearly you didn't!" "Hey! Cool it!" said Doodny. "Alright." he said, taking his place behind the lectern at the front of the room. "Now that I have your attention, let's start the presentation." A grainy black and white picture came up on the screen at the front of the room. "This is the last frame of the footage of Expedition 39, taken by a high-speed camera." It was difficult to make out, but it seemed to show plumes of fuel erupting from all over the vehicle, eliciting audible gasps from the committee. "Now, if you don't mind," Doodny continued, "I'd like to give a little demonstration of what happened. You'll notice the model booster over here, filled with a gas mimicking the characteristics of Baikal's liquid fuel. "I took the liberty of pouring coolant over the model, so you can see the ice form on it. You'll also notice that said ice is, for want of a better phrase, falling to pieces." "If we trigger the model injector pumps in here..." Suddenly, sparks erupted from all sides of the booster. "Ladies and gentlemen, I think you get my point. This was a very preventable failure caused exclusively by gross negligence." The KASA side's chairman spoke up. "We agree, Doodny." "It's become disturbingly clear that Baikal is, as of now, unsafe. Therefore, I will be recommending to Kongress and Greenhill that all KASA contracts involving Baikal, including Harmony expeditions, be immediately pulle..." He was drowned out by the shouts of protest from the Roskerbmos side. As the committee went back to arguing, Doodny just walked out to his car. Driving back to Von Kerman Village, a truck parked at the KSC caught his eye. Or rather, the logo on it did. "Korbital Industries...huh..." As the HSS silently sped overhead, an idea formed in Doodny's mind... To Be Continued...

Prologue Kerbolev Cosmodrome, Rusk Federal Union, 12:38 PM, 21/3/2011 The two technicians sighed. It had been a long day preparing the Baikal for launch, and they took a short break to make small talk. "Cold day today." "Aye. She'll be fine though. I hope..." "Nothing left to do but pump the fuel, let's get a drink." Walking off to the break room, they both failed to notice the frozen fuel duct on the core stage was cracking slightly. Baikal Capsule, Harmony Expedition 39, 22,342 meters above Kerbin Adlo Kerman wasn't even bothered by the shaky ascent. He was euphoric. After years of training, clawing his way into the KASA astronaut corps, getting his engineering degree, education, he was going to Harmony. A request for a status update brought him back to reality. "Control, this is 39, altitude 25,000 meters. Trajectory's good, fuel gauges might be a little off though." "Copy Baikal, we're seeing the fuel issue as w...." A bright flash outside the spacecraft distracted hi- Launch Control Bunker, Kerbolev Cosmodrome "Flight, telemetry's out." "Probably just a bad transmitter." "Sir, the last telemetry shows a massive leakage of fuel, before immediately cutting out." "..." "Flight, the Admiral Kermanov reports debris falling onto the coast. Visual observation suggests they're pieces from the Baikal core stage, with some assorted parts from the capsule." "...Lock the doors..." * * * The recovery teams arrived at the crash site, hoping not to find what they already knew they would. Doodny, the engineer of the team, stepped out of his jeep to survey the damage. "Oh man..." To Be Continued...

Hey! Some of you may know me, some of you may not. I've been on these forums for a while, and I always wanted to do a mission report, but wasn't really sure what to do it on. At the same time, I always wanted to do a big Artemis-style "Mun-to-Duna" program, but I'd always run out of motivation. Putting them together, I decided that writing a mission report would give me the motivation I needed to do what I want. Without further ado, I give you Per Aspera Ad Astra Background: The report will be split into two parts. Part 1, "Per Aspera" will focus on the return to the Mun. Part 2, "Ad Astra", will focus on the exploration of Duna. The space agency this report focuses on is called KASA, and it's the national space agency of the Kerbal States. They went to the Mun with an Apollo-style program, but haven't returned since. Their main focus now is Space Station Harmony (Kerbal equivalent of the ISS), cooperating with Roskerbmos, the space agency of the Rusk Federal Union. First Post Later Today!

I'm playing it on bootcamp right now. Performance on medium preset is about what I'd expect. Laggy when looking at Kerbin and when first taking off, but other than that no real issues. Parallels might be a bit too far though.

I'm most excited for colonies, and using the ability to build spacecraft off world in innovative ways.

Yep, okay. These graphics are officially awful. Well, they're not awful, they just are very low quality and certainly not what has been shown in past teasers. This just proves to me that the game was rushed out by Take Two before it was ready. I mean, I'm still gonna buy it, but with these system requirements, the graphics are not adequate.

These sorts of requirements, seemingly just for the sake of "using modern hardware", are elitist, unnecessary considering what the graphics are, and exclude almost all the young space enthusiasts this is meant to inspire, assuming their parents aren't rich enough.

This sort of post makes me wish there was a downvote button on the forums. We're talking 65% of Steam users (there are 120 million+ Steam users.) can't make the minimum specs. 96% can't meet the recommended. This is a hilarious understatement. That's the thing, they're not beautiful. I could get a better experience using KSP1 mods, and they certainly wouldn't require hardware costing upwards of $2500. This sort of flippant reaction to the fact that a supermajority of the game's audience can't run it is both insulting and hurts your argument. People aren't asking for it to run on a Dell Latitude, they're asking for it to run on a modern machine without shelling out hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, which is not an unreasonable expectation at all considering what the graphics look like.

To be fair, this isn't just modern hardware, this is absolute top-of-the-line hardware. This is literally one of the most demanding games in modern history, and the recommended hardware would cost upwards of $2500.

Honestly, I think we're all probably gonna be okay. Even if the system requirements don't decrease over EA, I suspect that they're just hugely overinflated so the devs can cover all their bases.

This, all of this. All these people gatekeeping and saying "JUST UPGRADE!!!!" are being incredibly offensive.

Here's the thing: I was one of those realistic/conservative people. I also expected to be able to play the game sometime in the next few years. The GPU requirements make no sense, considering the graphics upgrades are essentially just KSP1+EVE+Scatterer+Parallax. We, as a community, were completely blinded by all these shiny teasers they showed us. We thought "WOW!" and asked questions like "Hmm, I wonder when interstellar travel will come out", when what we really should've been thinking was "Hey, how come at that preview event, they were all using top-of-the-line PCs?" and "Hey, how come that really high-end PC company advertised their product as "what's required to run KSP2"?" and "Hey, how come all those teasers have really bad framerates. Something isn't right here..." My friends, I wish you luck in KSP2. I hope that someday I can join you. -TheKrakenHerder