AlmondTheAstronaut

I was joking lmao

it would be so goofy ahhh if Skylab was the core module of Space Station Freedom >:]

I've got a few things happening irl that I need to get done before Apollo 17 so bear with me. If I did this in the summer there would not have been such a long wait so just bear with me thanks! you just gotta stick with me through the repetitive missions before we can get to the really cool stuff like Munar bases and Space Stations And I've decided once we arrive at AAP I may skip a mission or two to not keep it repetitive (A lot of the missions will be land, set up base, do science, sleep, repeat) so I'll remove two missions and keep moving. Skylab 5 will come out after Apollo 19 I'd say.

Apollo 16 April 16, 1972 Two Steps Back, One Step Forward... The humiliation that followed the MRV Incident on Apollo 15 was immense. Public Reception of the failure were laughs at the Administration, and this left a mark on the morale of the workers at NASA. During the time between Apollo 15, Engineers found the issue and made a replacement for the faulty system which ignites the hope needed to get a new mission off the ground. Everyone at the Administration knew that this mission was a redemption arc of sorts to get the Public Opinion back in the positives so they can keep a reason to have the funding necessary to stay on track with AAP plans. Apollo 16 is planned to continue the hopefully long series of J Missions that will keep Kerbalkind on the Mun through the rest of the decade. But in order to get there, Apollo 16 has to be successful. Crew Commander: John Kerman LM Pilot: Charlie Kerman CM Pilot: Ken Kerman Apollo 16 Crew looks at the horizon as boarding begins Access Arm Retract Liftoff of Apollo 16 to the Mun! TV Cameras on the ground capture imagery of the Ascent as the 5 F-1 engines continue to fire A few minutes into flight the S-IC engines shutoff and the S-II is set free from the first stage as the J-2 engines ignite to life The S-II throttles down as orbit is achieved and the S-IVB leaps out of the Adapter (I had 3 ullage motors on the S-IVB last time but changed it to 4 after being told it was 4 on Saturn V) The J-2 engine ignites to set the Apollo 16 Spacecraft on a trajectory with the Mun The rumbling felt by the Kerbonauts from the burning of the engine slowly came to a stop... "KCC...TMI is complete we are on our way!" "We read you here Apollo 16 have a good trip!" The CSM begins Transposition and docking Docked! The CSM will pull the MEM away as part of the final big hurdle before arrival at the Mun "Carefully pull it out Ken..." "We are clear I repeat we are clear." As Ken said these words he officially ended the first half of the long journey forward The crew will prepare for their 3 day journey to the Mun On the dawn of Day 4, Apollo 16 has arrived at the target of the whole mission: The Mun Ken will rotate the CSM into position for MOI (Munar Orbital Insertion) (Game crashed so I couldn't get a photo of MOI) After a 1 minute and 30 second burn, the SPS engine placed the two spacecraft into an operational orbit of 110km by 97km. The height was chosen for the deployment of the Munar Subsat stowed onboard With the GRS and Mass Spectrometer deployed, preparations for extended CSM science have been set up Next up on the list: Munar Descent Shadowed by darkness the lights of the MEM power on as John and Charlie enter the MEM also known as "Orion" "Have a safe trip down there. I'll see you all in a few days." Ken waves off Charlie and John as Orion undocks from the CSM "Godspeed Orion..." Ken says as he captures a final view of Orion before deorbit "Contact Light." "KCC, We can confirm landing..." "Splendid Job!" Apollo 16 has landed 50m north of the landing site on the rim of a large crater! "I'll step out first John." Charlie climbs off of the balcony and makes his way down the ladder "I'm coming down now KCC." "Lookin' good so far Apollo 16..." Both John and Charlie have left the MEM "Such a wonderful sight." The patriotic John says enthusiastically It is now time for the main event: MRV Deployment During deployment everyone at KSC went silent until they heard the warming words "IT'S WORKING IT'S WORKING!" from John Everyone let out a sigh of relief and shocked laughter as the MRV releases out of launch position "We got it ready KCC you can calm yourselves down now." "You two had us on the tips of our toes!" The MRV was now ready to be built into operational form Happily John and Charlie hop on the Rover with a plan to drive out a few 100 meters to take observations and to go for a test drive 18 Minutes into their Lunar Drive, Charlie notices a boulder of interest about 800 feet away The two go to inspect it John captures a photo of Charlie as he gives the boulder a good stare They now continue their drive up the side of the crater The two arrive at the edge of the crater and get a spectacular view of one of the largest craters on the Mun After planting some science equipment the crew return to the MEM to get some rest After another 15 minutes Charlie and John return to the Safe Sight of the MEM and park the MRV They will now rest until the next day to do final objectives before returning to the orbiting CSM The Next Morning... The crew have rested long enough and are now beginning preparations to return home All systems have been set for Stage Separation Ignition and ascent The MEM Upper Stage will now sit in orbit until the CSM arrives Ken docks the CSM to Orion and the crew has reunited MEM Jettison Time to return home (Forgot to get Return burn photo) Apollo 16 has arrived and begins to heat up as descent begins The capsule shakes severely during Drogue Deploy but KCC ignores it The Oscillations stopped once Main Chutes deployed As the CSM touches the oceans of Kerbin, Apollo 16 comes to an end Conclusion The Munar Activities on this mission were especially fun with the MRV and its fast speeds! Only one more mission before I can start using creative liberties for AAP and beyond Up Next Apollo 17 (1972) and after Apollo 17 we'll have Apollo 18 (1973)

and you all will get some interesting rockets...

I'd say my AAP program will run through the rest of the 70s and early 80s before switching to orbital missions like ETS

On Apollo 19, the LM Taxi (MM Taxi in kerbal terms) and ELS (EMS in Kerbal Terms) will be used as a test project for long duration stays on the Mun in preparation for the first Munar Base

In 1974 I'll debut the AARDV-1 which will launch on a Saturn 1B to Skylab. That will probably be the only Skylab Mission until 1976 Currently this is the list of upcoming missions for Apollo and Skylab (goes out to about 2 weeks from now) Apollo Apollo 16: April 16, 1972 Apollo 17: December 7, 1972 Apollo 18: August 8, 1973 Apollo 19: January 16, 1974 Skylab AARDV-1: May 12, 1974 Skylab-5: September 23, 1976

Very Epic

I've chosen to do Apollo 16 and it will be out later this week once I figure out the stowage issues with the LRV. After Apollo 16 I'll do Apollo 17 and 18 which will be in the years 1972, and 1973

Apollo 15 July 26, 1971 Mission Plan By December of 1971 NASA designers were concerned over the small amount of major changes and updates to the Apollo Program. A lack of new features seemed to be the reason that NASA was having a difficult time with the public opinion of the program since Apollo 7 landed all the way back in 1968 and the administration believed that they'll hardly make it beyond cancellation by the end of the mission if they don't think of something new for the program. Months of heightened designing and planning led to the greenlighting of the MRV (Munar Roving Vehicle) an easy to assemble Munar car that will surely catch the public eye with awe. NASA was riding on this concept in order to keep the funding necessary for the Apollo Applications Program or AAP and were crossing their fingers that this vehicle will be the hail mary that will keep NASA on track for their great destiny. This was the dawn of the J Class Series. Crew CM Pilot: Alfred Kerman LM Pilot: James Kerman Commander: David Kerman The Sarnus (Saturn) V Launch Vehicle sits atop the Launch Platform as continuous fueling is underway. The Crew has entered the CM. (I forgot to get a shot of the crew getting onboard ;-;) Crew Access Arm retracts at L-30 and we are go for launch! Ignition of the 5 F-1a engines starts with a loud roar. "The whole capsule is vibrating!" Exclaimed by Scott. Ascent continues as Apollo 15 speeds its way to the Mun. "I can see Kerbin!" Alfred said as the LES was jettisoned. "Great to hear guys!" KCC Replied SECO Confirmed and S-II bids farewell to the S-IVB and crew. TMI will begin shortly. TMI has started and will put The Crew on course for a deep space journey! The single J-2 Engine shuts off as TMI is completed. Apollo 15 is Mun Ready! (Up until this point I didn't realize that I forgot RCS on the CSM so I had to go back and add it :p) A wonderful view backdrops the CSM and MEM (Munar Excursion Module) with it's special payload. The journey will take 3 days total. The CSM will also conduct two burns to get a good orbit for Landing. An orbit of 50m by 83m has been achieved and James and David will transfer to the MEM shortly. "Can't wait to spend half a day inside this paper mache can." James said sarcastically. "We will just leave you there then." David cracked back jokingly. James and David leave the CSM and depart onto the final leg of their Munar trip. 24,000m above the surface, the descent burn continues... 5,000 meters... Less than 0.8 kilometers left... "KCC, We can confirm Munar Contact!" James says ecstatically. KCC Workers let out a sigh of relief and look forward to the unloading of the MRV "Stepping off the ladder now. I hope the camera has a good shot." "The shot is fine don't worry." "Am I clear to exit James?" "You look fine from down here Dave." The two Kerbonauts take turns stepping off the ladder. David plants the flag and permanently left the landing site in the history books. Now they will make the first: Drive a rover on another body. During MRV deployment an error was found with the motor on the stowage rack. "KCC, We have an issue with the motor." "We read you here Apollo 15 standby." Contingency experts scramble to find a solution to make sure this is a successful mission. Attempts to fix the MRV issue have no success and the crew is forced to abandon the MRV and deploy surface science before return to orbit. The Kerbonauts and KCC team members somberly prepare for the return home after placing down misc. science experiments. The Ascent Stage made it to orbit and the CSM is beginning docking maneuvers. Docking. The CM Pilot successfully docked to the MAS (Munar Ascent Stage) and the MEM Crew has transferred to the CSM! The Crew transferred and the MAS and Docking Adapter were jettisoned into Munar Orbit. The Crew will begin TKI soon. TKI. TKI has been accomplished and now Apollo 15 is set on a reentry trajectory. A very grainy photo shows Alfred Kerman during Film Tape recovery from the SIM Bay. The lens was burnt out after this and became inoperable. "This is why you don't point the camera at the sun Alfred." Reentry begins while the SM burns closely by. (No photos since it's too dark) Drogues Deployed. Main Chutes Deployed at a higher altitude than normal. And with splashdown, Apollo 15 has come to an end somewhat successfully. Conclusion A very tragic failure for NASA, this won't stop NASA from trying again next time (Although with less support). I also enjoyed doing this mission a lot and have a lot of stuff planned for the future. Up Next I am still deciding on what the next mission should be and you guys are free to reply with ideas for the future (Keep in mind the year is now early 1972 as of ending Apollo 15).

once I figure out how to stow the LRV I'll begin Apollo 15

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Skylab-4-2 June 14, 1971 Mission Plan Previous to this current mission, the engineers and scientists at NASA were concerned over the safety of external experiments on the Skylab station after some micro debris zipped by the station the day before. And so the engineers when to work designing an new expansion to the station: the Expanded Science Module (ESM) which would carry new scientific instruments that will take over some of the work the station has been doing until a crew could be sent up to do a maintenance EVA to ensure the safety of the station. Skylab 4-1 as it was called launched on top of a modified Saturn IB Rocket and a modified Apollo CSM which removed the Capsule in place for a instruments unit and decoupler. This mission successfully made it to the station and it is now time for the crew to make their way to the Station for the scheduled EVA. Crew Gerald Kerman: CM Pilot William Kerman: Station Commander Edward Kerman: Station Engineer Skylab-4-2 Awaits launch on the Milkstool. The three crew members make their way into the capsule through the Crew Access Arm. As the Access Arm is pulled away from the CSM, Final Launch Procedures begin as the timer reaches t-30. . The mighty roar of 8 Rocket Engines fills the air as ignition sequence begins and launches the Saturn IB off the pad! "Ascent lookin' good Skylab 4."-KSC Mission Control. The S-IVB has successfully separated from the first stage of Saturn IB and the J-2 will continue burning until orbital insertion. And boom! The CSM successfully detached from the S-IVB after orbital insertion. Skylab-4-2 will begin rendezvous procedures shortly. Kerbin from the view of William Kermin. The station peers into view with the ESM and CSM Ferry docked to the emergency rescue port. "Proceeding to docking range." "Soft Capture." "KCC, We've docked to the station!" "Roger Skylab-4 congrats!" The crew has transferred to the main lab and will await until the next day to begin EVA Activities. Morning comes around and Edward is given permission to exit the Airlock and start EVA-1. With careful instruction from KCC, Edward climbs over to the CSM ferry to unload tools needed for the EVA. EVA-1 consists of a 360 inspection of the ESM and CSM Ferry and the collection of tools from said Ferry. "Inspection completed I'm headin' back inside." With his inspection done he carries his tools with him as he climbs into the Airlock. The Crew heads to bed to get rest before EVA-2. On the next day William and Edward suit up for their EVA and exit the Airlock. "Grab onto the handles there so you don't go flyin' off on us" "I'll try not to." The two Kerbonauts start off with the setup of major science instruments so they can be operational. "Willy your starting to stray off get back over here." "Calm down I'm fine. Just getting some photos for the folks back home." This EVA will be short and will only last 2 hours "KCC, everything looks good out here and we are ready to return to the Airlock." "Copy that your free to return when possible." Now that the EVAs are done all that is left is to turn on the lights and open the hatch to ESM. "Let there be light!" Exclaimed by Gerald as the lights in the ESM flicker on and the hatch is opened! All that is left is to deorbit the Ferry which has completed its only mission. CSM Ferry nicknamed "Hop Scotch" by the crew rotates away from the station for the deorbit burn. It's deorbit burn now complete leaves it as dead weight during its fiery reentry. Meanwhile the crew on Skylab cleans up the messy interior of ESM and will stay on the station for another 3 days. 3 days later Skylab-4-2 Packs up and makes their way into Apollo CSM to prepare for undocking and eventual deorbit and return. Used up science experiments are taken back home along with fecal and urine samples for examination. Bye Skylab! The crew will bring the csm about 100-150m away from the Lab before deorbit to make sure the station is protected. The CM has separated from the SM and now the crew will wait. The capsule heats up as surrounding gas compresses. Drogues have been deployed. With a big splash the Skylab-4-2 mission has come to a successful end! Thanks to this mission, Skylab can continue making groundbreaking scientific discoveries! Conclusion Hey! This was the first upload to my AH Forum! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did and I plan on continuing to do these in the future. I am open to criticism (Leave it in comments or dm me at Almond#1778 on discord) Up Next Apollo 15 with a working LRV and a ton of munar activity!

What is Expanding the Horizons (ETH)? ETH is my take on the apollo program if a lot of AAP concepts and mission ideas (and some of my own ideas) actually existed in my kerbalized way along with many other blessed (or cursed) things! In my timeline Apollo 7 is the first Munar Landing after multiple failures and quick attempts to beat the Soviets to the Mun. Recently Apollo 14 landed on the Mun after month long delays and Skylab-4 is prepping for launch (since a lot of the Apollo stuff is repetitive I'll start this forum at Skylab-4-2) The year as of starting this thread is 1971 and hopes are high for NASA Scientist and the Space Community as a whole. I am open to criticism since I usually screw up things and screenshots will be very novice as I practice camera controls. Current Year: 1973

ngl I forgot about the Saturn I rocket. Glad this forum page reminded me!

very epic alt history we have here!

is this forum still alive?

This is lookin pretty cool ngl. Can't wait for what comes next!