Kerbalsaurus

~KERBAL GAZETTE~ UKA ESTABLISHES SPACE PROGRAM! YEAR 1, DAY 1 - BEYOND IS ESTABLISHED! Seal and flag of Beyond Today, Head Administrator of the UKA Dwight Kerman has signed the Space Act! Kerbin has its very first dedicated space program! For about 4 years now, the UKA has been refurbishing the Kerbin Weather Bureau’s old Cape Kerman Launch Facility, now renamed to the Kerbal Space Center. This will be the center of all of Beyond’s operations. “This is the start of a new era!” said newly named director Kirk Kerman. “I’m excited to see where the program goes.” The goals of Beyond are quite ambitious, but it appears that most Kerbals have faith in them. Their first planned mission? Launch Kerbin’s first artificial satellite. Most rockets have been transported from the old Dessert Launch site to the KSC, so Beyond believes they should be able to launch the satellite in the next 10 days! Exciting times are ahead for Kerbalkind! READ NEXT: Kimera Industries Releases Interesting Vending Machine (pg. 4) | It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s… Both? (pg. 7) | Kerbals Report Mystery Planes Flying in the Desert (pg. 10)

@Beccab Anything new?

YEAR -5, DAY SOMETHING - USC-1 Over the next nine years, the Kerbals working at the DLC/A would continue to do extraordinary things. Every launch seemed to be something new. New data, new milestones, the world was entranced by these Kerbals who were seemingly magic. And recently, they’d been toying with the idea of a more advanced rocket. Sounding rockets so far have all been based off of the SNAC-Corporal, which was powered by solid fuel. While it was quite cheap, it was also very inefficient. So far the highest the KAS Rocket Program had gone was about 105km. If they wanted to go any higher and get more valuable data, they’d have to create something powerful and efficient. One of the engineers recalled their middle school science fair project, which was a baking soda volcano. He said that if they used more flammable materials, they would be able to create a similar reaction that could actually lift a rocket. After some thought, they realized that perhaps the idea wasn’t too farfetched. Immediately they got to work trying to find materials that could create an explosive reaction powerful enough to carry a sizable payload into the air. After researching various fuels, they decided on using a fuel simply called “Liquid fuel” and Oxidizer, which when mixed together would combust and release a HUGE amount of force, which could be harnessed into an engine. It isn’t rocket science. The engine born from this concept was the LV-T30 “Reliant” engine, the very first liquid fuel engine! However, they still needed an actual rocket body if any vehicle was to actually be created. After many late night coffee sessions and fireside chatter, the team of engineers was able to create the USC-1, the very first liquid fuel rocket! Its goal was to become the highest flying object created by Kerbals. It took around 8 months to build, even with the fairly saturated budget the team had, but when they finished they had created the most powerful flying machine in Kerbalkind’s history. After some talk, they agreed to broadcast the launch live to all of Kerbin. The UKA would broadcast publicly via the Kerbin Broadcasting Network (KBN). The following photos and quotes are taken from that brodcast. The USC-1 sits poised and ready on the launchpad. Image credit: KBN “This is the Dessert Launch Facility flight tower, reporting clear conditions. We are GO for launch.” - Boston Kerman “Pad technicians confirm all systems look good, and we are GO for launch.” - Wernher Von Kerman “Roger that pad, we are GO for launch in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, engine startup, 4, 3, 2, 1…” - Boston Kerman USC-1 high in the air. Image credit: KBN “Liftoff on the USC-1!” - Boston Kerman USC-1 at its highest point. Image credit: KBN “Boston, can we get an altitude reading?” - Wernher Von Kerman “Sure thing. We’ve tracked the payload to about… 134km!” - Boston Kerman Yes, that’s right. The USC-1 became the highest flying object Kerbals had ever launched! On board the spacecraft were cameras that, while not of the highest quality, could snap some of the best pictures of Kerbin ever seen. Picture of Kerbin snapped by USC-1. Image credit: KAS, Beyond Once the spacecraft had moved past the zenith of its flight path, its next challenge stood in the way: getting it back to the surface. Research suggests that the atmosphere does not like when you go through really fast, and punishes you by lighting you on fire (or covering you in really, really hot plasma). At first the engineers were sure that the return capsule could survive the heat of re-entry, but now they had second thoughts. However, they thought of a solution in advance. They decided that the capsule would spin like crazy on re-entry. This would evenly distribute heat among the capsules surface, and damage to it would be minimal. Everyone holds their breath during re-entry… USC-1 is caught by cameras once again! Image credit: KBN “Successful parachute deployment confirmed!” - Boston Kerman …and it makes it! The data returned is overwhelming! Pictures from the mission are plastered on newspapers across Kerbin the next day, with headlines like “KAS Does the Impossible”, “Engineering Reaches New Heights”, and “You WON’T Believe what SCIENCE just did! *insane*”. However, the founding five Kerbals were starting to get sick of being stuck to the planet. They believed that there was more for Kerbalkind, beyond the confines of Kerbin. After seeing what the USC-1 did, they knew that its capabilities far exceeded what they expected. Their new plans were to expand the USC-1, with liquid fuel second stages, and capabilities to carry satellites and even Kerbals into Kerbin orbit. However, the KAS couldn’t do any of what they dreamed of. They needed more space to work with, and all the workers and administrators of the rocket program needed their own organization. Then it hit them. Beyond the confines of Kerbin. They rounded up some officials from the rocket program, and off they went again to the capital. This time with more serious ambitions…

I keep getting constant 502 "Bad Gateway" errors on both my phone and computer, and they're getting more and more frequent. Is this an issue with the forums or just me?

YEAR -16, DAY SOMETHING - SNAC-CORPORAL It was difficult work to build the SNAC-Corporal. It was a new piece of technology, and many of the instruments on board had to be invented. It took almost six months to get the rocket finished, especially considering the budget constraints on the team. One thing that slowed them down was the construction of a second SNAC-Corporal that began a month into the first, in order to have a backup rocket. The worst thing to happen was that they ran out of coffee! It was a long, convoluted, drawn out process, but in the end they had something on the launchpad. The SNAC-Corporal was ready. The SNAC-Corporal sitting on the launchpad, ready for takeoff. Image Credit: KAS, Beyond The countdown starts. “Engine startup on SNAC-Corporal in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Engine Startup!” - Wernher Von Kerman The SNAC-Coproral tips over due to idiocy. Image credit: KAS, Beyond Debris from the second stage. Image Credit: KAS, Beyond Oops. Sooo, apparently, the first stage of the rocket was not as powerful as the engineers thought, and was unable to carry the rocket into the air. It toppled over on the launchpad, and fell to the ground. A loud BOOM rang across the desert. No one was injured in the accident, but it was a major embarrasment for the KAS Rocket Program. All press present at the event immediately ran for their planes, eager to tell the world of the incident in the Desert. It was a PR disaster, and Kongress was, understandably, not happy. Wernher flew to the capital to beg the UKA for at least one more chance to launch. “We have one more rocket ready to launch,” Wernher would tell the assembly. “All we want is one more chance to launch. It’ll be well worth our time.” Kongress would reluctantly grant Wernher one more chance, but if the rocket failed again, that would be it for the rocket program. So, back to work. At the facility they cleaned up (most) of the debris on and around the launchpad, as well refurbished the damaged launchpad. And a little under a month later, with some modifications made to the rocket, the next SNAC-Coporal was ready for launch. The SNAC-Corporal sitting on the launch pad (again). Image credit: KAS, Beyond The countdown started once again, and the SNAC-Coporal was off! The SNAC-Corporal rises high into the sky! Image credit: KAS Beyond The team watched their work take off! Within two minutes it was out of view, and everyone surrounded the flight tower, which monitored the rocket’s progress. Within five minutes, the ground would see that the rocket had become the highest flying object in Kerbalkind’s history, flying up to about 63km high, what was then considered to be high above where space began (50km). Which means they’d done it! They’d sent the very first Kerbalmade object into space! Science capsule at highest point. Image credit: KAS, Beyond Cheers rang across the facility. They’d done it! What was simply a small thought among five engineers had carried Kerbalkind to the stars! When the science capsule was recovered, lots of data came back. The data would first of all prove that space does not in fact begin at 50km, but most likely at 70km (a record that would later be broken by future variants of the SNAC-Corporal). It also brought back interesting findings on Kerbin’s upper atmosphere. The crack team of engineers were hailed across the planet. Now they had to break their records, and with more engineers and scientists on the way, a new renaissance was on the way.

I'm ashamed to admit that I've been playing Roblox recently. Not crap like Piggy or openly promoted phishing games like pet simulator, but perhaps one of the nerdiest games on there, NEC Train Simulator. I've gotten some cool screenshots from it though.

YEAR -17, DAY SOMETHING - BUREAUCRACY That evening, Wernher and Goddard began discussing Wernher’s idea. If rockets are to be used to carry Kerbals into space, they’re going to have to be much larger than the dinky sounding rockets that were in use. Current sounding rockets also aren’t powerful enough to even get to space, so more efficient and powerful engine solutions would be needed. Over the next few days, the two would start to put their heads together, as well as invite others from work. These Kerbals would be Malina Kerman, Millikan Kerman, and Foreman Kerman. Over the next week, they’d put together a model on paper of what the world’s first space rocket would look like: They’d then go on to further refine it. Early blueprint of the SNAC-Corporal, signed by Wernher. Image credit: KAS, Beyond It would take around a month for them to make theories and get through various mathematical hurdles until they finally got a rocket they thought was capable of breaking through the atmosphere, and reaching space. They called it the SNAC-Corporal. It wouldn’t carry Kerbals to space, but it was still an important leap in the development of that technology. However, many of the instruments aboard it were simply concepts. They’d need resources, money, and more engineers. Originally these engineers were simply making this rocket for fun, but the more they worked on it, the more excited they got. Many of their theories, at least through math, have been proven. After a short snack session, they all decided that what they’d need is a sponsor. Who better to sponsor them than the government! The United Kerbin Administration (UKA) is a global nation, stretching to every corner of Kerbin. However, a government that large has a lot of opinions running through it, so trying to run even a simple idea through such a massive bureaucracy could take a very long time. However, these engineers were determined. These Kerbals did work for the government, so they could make it to the capital with relative ease to present their idea. After putting their paychecks together, they were able to buy train tickets for the five of them. So they packed their bags with data, notes, tables, and everything else needed to see if Kongress would maybe at least consider their idea. They knew the chances that the UKA would even notice them were slim. After all, they’re nothing but engineers. But it was worth a shot. Flag of the United Kerbin Administration. Image credit: UKA Once they got to the capital, they wasted no time. Immediately they started scheduling appointment after appointment with different senators, Kongressmen, and other government officials. It was a long haul, but eventually someone did take interest. She was Kongresswomen Hattie Kerman. Once their presentation was over, she said she’d start making calls to various agencies across Kerbin to see what branch would pay for their outlandish idea. Once the meeting was over, they made their way back to the train station and headed back home. They waited for an excruciatingly long time for a call to come back from Hattie. Many of them wondered if she simply said she’d call someone just to get them to leave. But, nearly four long months after their trip to the capital, they got a call back. It was Hattie. “Good news for you all, I’ve found an agency that works closely with the field of space rockets,” she said. “They’ve agreed to work with you. I’ve gotten you all plane tickets and have sent them to Dr. Goddard's house. I expect you to be at the airport tomorrow.” And with the bags packed ready again, they made their way to wherever Hattie was sending them. The plane they boarded was small, with UKA insignia on it and Kerbals in black suits surrounding. Always a reassuring sign. When the plane landed, they found themselves on a dirt airstrip in the middle of a scorching desert, with nothing around but some old barracks, hangars, and a cement pad. They were instructed to go to the barracks, and told someone was waiting inside for them. Inside was Hattie, who, along with a large team behind her, welcomed the 5 of them to the facility. Aerial photo of the Dessert Launch Facility/Airstrip. Image credit: KWB “Where we are right now is the Dessert Launch Facility, an old weather rocket launch site” Hattie explained. “It hasn’t been used for a few years, but we’ve spent the last few months refurbishing the facility. The Kerbin Astronomical Society has agreed to help you with the project, and have hired a team of scientists and engineers to help you build the rocket. The UKA has given you full permission to do your project here, but under the condition that the project remains in complete secrecy until the SNAC-Corporal is finished. I’m sure you understand”. She wished the team luck, handed them the keys to the place, and took off from the airstrip, which would be the last any of them would see of her. They got everything they wanted, now all they had to do was get to work.

I’ve had more free time than I thought. I honestly thought it’d be the weekend before I got this released.

Thread of the Month January 2025! KERBALSAURUS PRESENTS: *** YEAR -16, DAY SOMETHING - SEEDS OF THE SPACE AGE Rockets have always been on the minds of Kerbals, as well as the huge booms they create. Kerbals have been making rockets since the invention of the firework thousands of years ago, and since then the engineering of them was always to see who could make the biggest explosion. It wasn’t until recently that they were realized to be a vehicle that could be used for more than just impressive, loud booms. Kerbals never used rockets for war or anything. War is a notion long past Kerbalkind. No, rockets were nothing more than glorified weather balloons. Before Kerbalkind looked to the stars, they looked to the clouds. You see, rockets could get higher than your average balloon, and could see clouds in a much fuller view. Data could be delivered in a more accurate and timely manner. However, no one quite saw the full potential in these vehicles. No one, other than one particular Kerbal. A Tinny-Tom rocket, one of the earliest rockets, takes off from Woomerang Launch Facility. Image credit: KWB Wernher Von Kerman was young when he got his engineering degree way back in the 1940s. Immediately after college, he was off to work for the Kerbin Weather Bureau (KWB). And what would he do for the agency? Build rockets! He was fascinated with them from when he was just a young Kerblet, and now he had his chance to get up close and work on them. However, the more he worked with rockets, the less excited they became. Rockets were stale. All they’d do was go high into the clouds, make it to a certain height, and then fall back down to Kerbin. There was no need to advance or go higher. Wernher was tired of working on the exact same thing constantly, but he lacked inspiration on where to go. That is, until one night, when he was at a coworker’s house. His friend, Goddard Kerman. He took Wernher out to his deck, and invited him to look through the telescope he had planted out there. Wernher looked through, and was amazed at what he saw. He saw the planets of the Kerbolar system, brighter than he’d ever seen them before! He looked towards the Mun, and saw every little crater on the its surface! It was almost like he was floating there, right above it! Then, the gears started turning in his head. When he arrived at the launch site the next morning, Wernher spoke to Goddard about his experience with the telescope. He told him about how close the Mun felt, how he could imagine himself right there in front of the Mun, and about his idea. He told Goddard how rockets could be more than just weather balloons, that Kerbals can ride them far into the stars. At first Goddard laughed, and told Wernher he’d been reading too much science fiction. But when Wernher described more of his thoughts to Goddard, Goddard started to take interest. He told Wernher to meet him at his home again that night, and that they’d discuss this further. The seeds of the space age had been planted. *** Well this came out MUCH sooner than expected. I've just had a lot of free time to write. But here it is, the grand return of Beyond! Now, this will start off a little differently from the original thread, as I'll go much deeper into the story of Beyond, and involve Beyond a little more into the world it takes place in. It's going to start off a little slow, but trust me, it will get more exciting. Honestly, I feel refreshes to play KSP now. It feels nice to start over and actually know what I'm going to do. Now, I have a format in mind for the thread. Instead of a constant, monotonous style throughout the thread, I decided that the format will evolve alongside the thread. The beginning here, about the invention of space rockets and the like, is going to be formatted like a book about space travel. Then, the early days of Beyond will be formatted like a newspaper. A time similar to the shuttle era of the 80s, 90s, and 00s will be styled like an old website, and when we get to point comparable to the modern day, I'll bring back that newsletter format I was using. I promise I will try my best to bring quality to the thread (something the old one lacked a lot of). Cheers!

I would apologize for triple posting, but this is my thread so... Anyways, I decided to give the thread a proper sendoff. I'd like to thank all who read, followed, and supported this thread throughout it's entirety. The people I'd most like to thank are @TwoCalories, @Toaster355, @Kimera Industries, @fulgur, @Dunas Only Moon, @Royalswissarmyknife, @SkyFall2489, @Kerb24, @Watermel00n for being good friends to me during this thread's lifetime, sharing their craft, and sharing various tips to spice up the story. Also, apologies to Royal and SkyFall. I was looking forward to flying the Novera and the shuttle. For all you've done for me, I'd like to give back to you all. As this thread's parting gift, I'd like to share not craft files, but the entire save file for Beyond itself. Continue the story in your own image, build a Jeb shrine on the Mun, launch missiles and blow everything up, it's yours! The other download link is a CKAN file for all the mods used in the save too. Mind you, there's like 105 so it's not for the faint of CPU. My little 8gb laptop could run it, so it'd probably be a cakewalk for others' computers, but still. Think before downloading 105 mods. Anyways, enough rambling, here are the links: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NU9Rq6qqFKEOygPOWJcxvV_SmWt9xF0G?usp=sharing https://drive.google.com/file/d/185MZycbR88LOlys628qj6iRmZ3diyNIj/view?usp=sharing

Well the poll is over, and yes won by a landslide! I feel sad ending this thread so suddenly (and for the one guy that said no), but I promise that the reboot will be infinitely better than this one. I'll start working on writing it and taking screenshots in-game, so expect the first update sometime next week, It could be sooner or later, really depends.

Alright, after some time to think, I've come across some conclusions, and some questions to ask you. A conclusion I've come to is that stopping activity and decreasing traffic to website that MIGHT die is not the solution, as it's only adding to the problem. Therefore, I kind of want to continue this mission report. However, I've started to sort of feel unhappy with the story of Beyond. The more I think about it, the less enthusiastic I feel about the thread. I've had ideas of re-creating it, this time with a more in-depth story into how Beyond came to be, and involving the world it exists in more into the story. In other words, should I reboot Beyond? I'll leave a poll.

I think you should use Lockheed Martin. I like the use of all these concept launch vehicles.

Awesome to see one of my favorite mission reports return! However, one question, what is Jeb the first Kerbal to?

N -30

1/10 One interaction in the GNW, other than that new user never seen before.

N -2 I return to lift the stalemate.

I have been searching and searching for a long time for a KSP Discord, but have only found the Subreddit Discord (bleh), Dev Discord (redundant now), and various YouTubers’ Discord servers. Is there an official one that I’m just missing?

Not at the moment, but I might back it up to a Google Doc. Why do you ask?

People across the forums are talking of Forum Armageddon, so I guess it's my turn. Beyond, being on the KSP Forums, is definitely going down with it. And since the only median to share the save with might soon be gone, there's really no more point in making more of this thread. That, and lack of motivation has stifled its development. My install's been giving me trouble, I'm tired of having to do the same mission over and over because the game keeps crashing, and other games have really been pulling my interest away from KSP. Is Beyond cancelled? Well, that's a solid maybe. I'd hate to end it on such a cliffhanger. We haven't even built a Mun base yet! Maybe there might be another update, but with how bleak things look right now, it might be over.

Played Little Kitty Big City today. Very short play, but very fun. I played the demo a while back, actually because @Socraticat mentioned it on this thread, so thank you for introducing me to the game!

I'm sad to see probably my favorite mission report go, but I'm excited for the new one to come out! And take all the time you need to work on the new report and get into it. After all, it's not fun to read a mission report that the writer's not into. Thank you for the awesome report, TwoCal!

NOVA 5 RETURN - YEAR 4, DAY 81 CREW: Marsha Kerman MISSION OBJECTIVE: Return Marsha Kerman home from Kerman Station LAUNCH VEHICLE: N/A "Nova 5 has successfully undocked from Kerman Station." - Gene Kerman (CAPCOM) After a happy 10 days aboard Kerman Station, it's sadly time for Marsha to return home. She says that this was perhaps the most stunning vacation she's ever been on. "The Celestial Lounge was perhaps the most stunning thing I've ever seen!" Marsha stated. "I spent most of my time there, gawking for hours as cities and oceans passed beneath me! Food could've been better though. 8/10, would recommend!" "Chutes deployed!" - Gene Kerman "Successful splashdown confirmed." - Gene Kerman Another mission complete! Marsha came back successfully, and Beyond gets a huge amount of money from her. However, many in the public are starting to become concerned with Beyond's goals. Many now question if it's still about the exploration of space for all of Kerbalkind, or just simply another one of the UKA's ways to get a quick buck. With partnership after partnership and hardly any steps taken towards heading back to deep space, opinion of Beyond is starting to wane. Maybe it's time to reconsider some things... *** I apologize for the once again very short chapter. I've just been feeling unmotivated recently. KSP still isn't capturing my interest that much, with the install troubles and all, and also it's been hard to get inspiration to write. I hope ya'll understand.

I've been playing a LOT of Cities: Skylines recently. Working on brand new realistic city with a not so brand new name. I also found some good rowhome assets, so, although tedious to place down by themselves, I do have a realistic rowhome sprawl that one sees on the east coast.

To be fair, most of the people who watch Bluey and the show’s prime audience is children. I think man’s (or in this case canine’s) conquest of the red planet flies quite far over their head.