czokletmuss

BobCat, do you have any plans to make more Soviet spacecraft after N1-L3?

So nothing to be excited about for now But yeah, this Fonso looks kinda like Titan.

I agree. And I hope we'll get a Titan analogue in KSP (low gravity, thick atmosphere, some lakes, moon of the second gas giant).

:TV announcer voice: Find out in the next episode of The Grand Tour!

Very interesting and well animated video about the most recent discovery on Titan:

Oxygen. It's just good to have it around

More or less My Kerbals spend a lot of time on cliffs Or is he?! :dum dum: You know what they say: "If Democracy changed anything, they'd ban it" Thanks! Hey, they sometimes do go according to plan They also thought they do. Is it really that good tv series as they say? I recently saw the finale of Dexter (and I watched all seasons) and it kinda sucked :dum dum dum!: Nope Probably they shouldn't have. Soonâ„¢ Does anyone know some good freeware in which one can make videos? I know I asked about it once but it was few months ago and I don't want to scroll through the whole thread. I'm thinking about making some short recap of what happened so far.

Video from Falcon 9v1.1 start

Is there any footage of this? Do you have link to it by any chance?

I didn't spend 5 years in Academy of Cruel Writing (classes with George R.R. Martin!) for nothing

CHAPTER 32 GOING HOME *** SID: :humming: NED: Please stop that. SID: Sorry. JEB: Don't worry, we're all nervous. NED: I still think that the voting shouldn't be secret. We're all like a family after these two years, so why the secret voting? We had to use pages from your notebook Jeb – it's just plain silly. JEB: It's my decision, okay? This way we can avoid unnecessary tension, whatever the result will be. SID: :humming: NED: Whatever. I'm just glad that we're finally going to decide what we – WILL YOU PLEASE STOP?! SID: I'm sorry, I'm sorry! JEB: :sigh: NED: Dammit, this waiting is killing me. DANREY: I think it's kinda funny. You know, that we had to use pieces of paper and waste bag as a ballot box. NED: It's a good metaphor actually. Why do we even play in this whole democracy thing? Jeb is the commander and he should- JEB: Johndon! Do you have the results? JOHNDON: Y-yes. Every m-member of the crew has cast his v-vote. NED: Finally! So, what are the results? JOHNDON: I h-have them here. Here you are, J-Jeb. JEB: Thanks. Hmm. SID: And? JEB: Number of votes is correct… NED: Just tell us! JEB: We're going home. NED: Yes! Yes, yes, yes! DANREY: Well, I have to admit it's good to at last get this over with. JOHNDON: I g-guess… NED: 8 votes for Kerbin! And only 3 for continuing the mission – I wonder who voted for this? I mean, besides you Sid. SID: I don't know. JEB: Well, it's done. Go tell the rest of the crew. We have several days to finish our preparations for the transfer burn. NED: Sure thing. Hey, guys! I have a good news! JEB: Sid, could you wait for a second? SID: What is it? JEB: I want to talk in private, so… DANREY: We're going – come on, Johndon. (…) SID: So what is it? JEB: Three votes for Jool. I'm sure as hell that Mallock and Genanand voted for it after they spent almost half a year on Duna. I suspect that Jonhdon also voted for it, considering what he has been saying during the last weeks and his reaction now. SID: And? JEB: Mallock, Genenand, Johndon and you – this is four people. Why did you vote for Kerbin, Sid? SID: … JEB: Damn, you really did vote for aborting the mission, didn't you? Why? You were the biggest advocate for this, you said numerous times that the scientific value- SID: I changed my mind, okay? JEB: The hell you did. Listen, you're my best pal for what, a quarter of century? I know when something's wrong, Sid. What is it? SID: … JEB: Does it have something to do with Duna? Or Rozer? Or this derelict spacecraft? SID: No. JEB: Are you sure? There's nothing you should tell me about? http://youtu.be/nOyIO8CW0jo SID: No. JEB: Look me in the eyes and say that- SID: There's nothing you should know about. Can I go now? JEB: … SID: Jeb? JEB: Yes. Go. *** Commander's log, entry 75. Honestly I don't know whether I should be happy with the result or not. I voted for returning to home – it was the only choice for me as a commander responsible for his crew. The horror we three experienced while investigating joolian moons cannot be repeated. We can't go there, at least not now. We're all tired after living almost two years in space. I'm not a psychiatrist but I'm worried about the mental condition of the crew in the long run – some of us didn't set a foot on a celestial body for months. I think that after a short stop in Kerbin we'll be in a much better condition to investigate Jool and its dominion. Even thinking about the blue sky above you and being able to go wherever you want… Plus we really need to resupply – I don't even want to think what could happen if the AMU 2.0 fails while we're there. These are fine reasons to come back but somehow I'm not entirely convinced that this is a good solution. Maybe it's the Sid's strange behavior? Whatever the reason, I'm glad the decision has finally been made. Despite of what future will bring, we're going home. *** JEB: Is this the best resolution we can get? BERTY v.2.0.8b: I'm processing the image from the Duna Space Telescope as we speak, commander. JEB: Mhm. Please magnify it as much as you can. BERTY v.2.0.8b: Affirmative. Commander? JEB: Yes? BERTY v.2.0.8b: It's been one year and 357 days since we've left the low Kerbin orbit. For this whole time, unlike the rest of the crew, you weren't interested in multimedia packages containing imagery from Kerbin, yet now you want me to recalibrate the Duna Space Telescope so you could take a close look at it. This is an interesting change and I'm curious what's the cause of it. JEB: Well, it's, uhm, it's hard to explain BERTY. BERTY v.2.0.8b: Is it because you miss your life on Kerbin? Strong feeling of loss has been observed in kerbonauts who experienced prolonged isolation while in space. JEB: Not really. There's nothing for me back there. I've given my whole life to our space program and there probably won't be a greater challenge for a pilot than what this mission poses. It's just that living for so long in space you stop to think about its darkness as something hostile and extraordinary. You forget that and than the darkness inside you grows, if I may be a little poetic. It's this- BERTY v.2.0.8b: Image processing completed. JEB: … BERTY v.2.0.8b: You didn't finish the sentence, Jeb. JEB: Hmm? Yes, yes. Well, if you get accustomed to being here, alone and exposed to the vast Universe, you just… loose yourself, I think. It's good, from time to time, to look back and see the light. Even such a tiny spark suspended in darkness… BERTY v.2.0.8b: Commander, chief Ned asks for you presence during the engine B test. JEB: Tell him I'm going. BERTY v.2.0.8b: Affirmative. JEB: Such a small pale dot… *** NED: Hey Jeb, I need to you to – what are you doing? JEB: Hmm? Oh, nothing, just looking at Duna. NED: Well, you better take a good look at this rock 'cause tomorrow we're finally going out of here. JEB: Yes... You think that is a right thing to do? NED: Hey, the people have spoken – who am I to question their choice? JEB: Come on, Ned. NED: What do you want me to say? I'll repeat myself but what the hell – this is the best decision a responsible leader could take in our situation and I mean it. I'm glad that everyone has agreed with this and that you didn't have to, you know, use your authority. It's a good choice, Jeb – we can't continue like this, without knowing what's waiting for us, not to mention Rozer still on board. It's been two years. We've done great work, if anyone asks me, and we deserve a little break. In my humble opinion if the KSC won't tell us what's really going on they can shove it and do the mission by themselves. Am I right? JEB: Yeah, you probably are. NED: Sure I am. Come on, there's work to do. I swear to Kod, in the last few days you are almost as melancholic as after Bob's dea- JEB: … NED: I'm sorry. JEB: No, you're right – I've to put myself together. Tomorrow is big day, after all. NED: Yup - we're finally going home. *** BILL: …online and the pressure in inflatable modules is nominal. All acceleration couches are operational. Everything's good on my side, Jeb. JEB: Okay, everything's been double-checked by us, so I think we are ready BERTY. BERTY v.2.0.8b: Affirmative. Beginning countdown. BILL: Huh. JEB: What? BILL: Nothing. We're just really going. JEB: Yeah. BILL: But not everyone is going with us. JEB: Well, they will get supplies from Kerbin soon and they're working on Duna, every scientist's paradise. Hell, they'll probably have better food than we on our way to home. BILL: Ha, good point. I don't think I could handle another year of processed urine and rehydratable scrambled eggs. BERTY v.2.0.8b: Transfer burn initiates in 45 seconds. JEB: It could be worse – you remember what they gave us during Apollo? BILL: Oh please, I'll never forget this crappy taste. What was it called again? JEB: Wetpacks! BILL: Yeah, right. Remember what they were saying about it? “Thermally stabilized mean in a flexible can, you're gonna love itâ€Â. Yuck. And the chocolate pudding? Do you remember chocolate pudding? JEB: It tasted like diarrhea. BERTY v.2.0.8b: Transfer burn initiates in 30 seconds. BILL: And it looked like one! JEB: And what about Gemini? Shrimp cocktail, my Kod – and then after eating this you had to withstand several gees during the reentry. What genius came up with this idea? BILL: Eh, it was good all right. Spoon bowl, remember this? JEB: Ugh, this was disgusting! BILL: Yes it was! From the three of us I think only Bob enjoyed it. JEB: Yeah... BERTY v.2.0.8b: Transfer burn initiates in 15 seconds. BILL: … JEB: … BERTY v.2.0.8b: Transfer burn initiates in 10 seconds. BILL: Jeb, we- JEB: Let's just focus on the burn for now, okay? BILL: Sure. BERTY v.2.0.8b: Transfer burn initiates in 5 seconds. Please prepare for the acceleration. JEB: Copy that, BERTY. BERTY v.2.0.8b: Transfer burn initiated. *** BERTY v.2.0.8b: Transfer burn completed. Calculating estimated time of the encounter. BILL: And that's about it. JEB: Mhm. Few minutes of work and again months of inactivity. BILL: Just like I told you before the Mun – the best job in the world. JEB: :smiles: BILL: I'm going to get some sleep - are you coming? JEB: In a moment, I'll just wait for BERTY to finish the calculations. BILL: Okay. See you in the habitat module. (…) BERTY v.2.0.8b: Commander. JEB: Yes? Are the calculations completed? BERTY v.2.0.8b: Affirmative. Estimated time of the encounter is T plus 318 days 21 hours and 51 minutes. JEB: That's grea- what? Three hundred days? But it takes two months to go home from Duna! BERTY v.2.0.8b: This is a correct estimation, commander. JEB: So how come it can take 5 times longer? BERTY v.2.0.8b: I'm afraid we're not going to Kerbin, Jeb. *** MISSION STATUS ***

Thank you very much for your comment and for the link to this webpage; I've quite a collection of pages about oldschoold spacecraft, if you are interested I can share it here. About the blowing hatch - the meeting was few months after the accident with Gus Grissom, so this is not precognition in this case I'm trying to show here that although what astronauts did was vital for the succes of the program, the effort of engineers and even bureaucrats was also very important. The next chapter or two probably also will be more informative than narrative and than with this background I will start more regular "pilots and rockets"-style AAR. So if you miss explosions and screenshots from the game be patient, they are coming The schematics and discussions about what's going on in international politics won't dissapear though. The Space Race was a unique period when engineering, piloting skills, politics and many other things blended into this awesome achievement of humanity which the Race was. I'm trying to show both Kerbal States and Kerbal Union, however with much fewer materials in Russian it's much harder to give good descriptions about details. I'll do my best though

Haha, thanks And yes, these are Z-pinch fusion engines.

This looks very promising

I can't tell obviously but maybe this will shed some light on the challenges of travelling to the Mun Shout Out

Commercial time! New chapter of the Space Race is out! (CHAPTER 5) 1961: THE TWINS Next chapter of The Grand Tour - tomorrow

CHAPTER 5 1961: THE TWINS *** 1st DECEMBER, 1961 Minutes of the Kerbal Aeronautics and Space Administration Advisory Council Meeting December 1, 1961 EXCERPTS A meeting of the KASA Advisory Council was held in the office of the KASA Administrator in KASA Headquarters, Washington, D.K., on Tuesday, December 1, 1961, at 3:00 p.m. PRESENT Administrator – James Kebb Deputy Administrator – Hugh Dryden Chief Engineer - dr Wernher von Braun Chief Legal Officer – Jacob Brandwein Administrative Assistant – Maximilian Jarvis and engineer James Chamberlin as a guest. *** JAMES: Welcome everybody. The last months weren't easy for our agency – not only we've had to deal with the disastrous splashdown of the Liberty-Bell but also with another Soviet victory. As you all know, they put a man up there for a whole day in August, aboard their second Vostok spacecraft. The President demands action, gentlemen. We need to respond to this somehow. I now that you're all exhausted – right now we have to maintain the Mercury and we're preparing the next two program simultaneously, one of which will take us to the Mun. We have to do this right this time – or have you forgotten how embarrassing the beginnings were? But before we'll discuss how exactly are we going to change the course of this race and stop this litany of failures using our Mercury spacecraft, we've to sum up a few things. Max, you could begin your presentation. MAX: Thank you Mr. Administrator. As you all know, KASA has chosen the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation to prepare a new capsule for the Mercury Mark II program. This allowed us to- JAMES: Spare us the details Max – we all know them and we'll be selling this to the politicians, so concentrate on what's essential. MAX: Yes sir. The Mercury Mark II capsule will be bigger and better in every accept than its predecessor. With this spacecraft we will test every procedure needed to actually go to the Mun. There are five vital steps on our way there. First one has already been done by the Reds, but with the Atlas rocket we will be able to to achieve this as well. By using the already developed Mercury capsule we will get enough experience to make another step, which is this – EVA or extravehicular activity. Once we're in orbit we can go outside, check whether we can build spacesuits capable of withstanding such hazardous environment. We'll be able to see if a kerbonaut can survive outside, see if he can maneuver, see if he can get back to the capsule. We need to understand all of this and be able to do this flawlessly if we want to set foot on the Mun. Next is- HUGH I'm sorry, but we're going to use the other spacecraft for EVA, right? MAX: Exactly, Deputy Administrator. This and all next steps will be performed with the Mercury Mark II capsule. Next is the rendezvous, two spacecraft meeting in orbit above Kerbin. It will be extremely difficult – both of them will be tens of kilometers above the surface, each of them flying at more than 7000 kilometers per hour. We'll have to build the worldwide communication system to be able to even try to do this. Than we have docking – once we get both of them close to each other we'll need to check if they can join up, sound and safe. WERNHER: Was? Ve don't actually need to do this, Mr. Jarvis, not vith the direct landing on the Mun. MAX: I'll explain this in a few minutes, doctor. The last one is the long duration flight. The whole Mun mission will take several days, no doubt about it. How will the bodies of our kerbonauts react to being in zero G for that long? Will they have problems with respiratory or cardiovascular system? Will they be able to work with the highest efficiency? Will they get tired easily? And what's the most important, how will they handle passing through the Van Kerballen radiation belt, discovered by the way by Kermarican probe. JAMES: We know that, James. Show us the Mercury Mark II, please. MAX: Sure. On this slide we can see the Mercury capsule with, uhm, doctor von Braun's annotations. JAMES: Yes, they are very… interesting. Thank you for this insight, doctor, we can see now why we need a new capsule. WERNHER: There's nothing wrong with my eyesight, Herr Webb. JAMES: :sigh: MAX: Yes. And on this slide, thanks to Mr. Chamberlin and his colleagues from McDonnell, we can see how the Mark II capsule will look like. JAMES: What the hell is this!? MAX: Err, I asked doctor von Braun for his annotations and- JAMES: You put your grocery list on our spacecraft? GROCERIES?! WERNHER: I vas in a hurry. JAMES: IN A HURRY?! WERNHER: But I don't have any suggestians! Zis project is very gut, flawless even. Very gut job. MAX: And that's what's the most important, isn't it? Mr. Chamberlin here can provide more details if you are interested. JAMES: :sigh: HUGH It would be most interesting to hear. MAX: Alright than, we- JAMES: Later. Let's just focus on the most basic things, we can spend days dwelling in details – no offence, Mr. Chamberlin. Remember that we're meeting here so that you can give me some arguments to convince the President. So, this spacecraft is going to perform all this advanced operations like EVE or docking, right? MAX: EVA. Yes sir. JAMES: Hmm. With two pilots and such vast capabilities it deserves a better name than just Mercury Mark II. Ideas? HUGH: Advanced Spacecraft For Low Orbit Exploration? JAMES: Really Hugh? JACOB: Next Generation Spacecraft? JAMES: One capsule is not a generation. MAX: Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle? JAMES: Now that's an inspiring name. MAX: It is? JAMES: Nope. HUGH: Kerbin Low Orbit Explorer? JAMES: Pff. MAX: Advanced Mercury? JAMES: Meh. HUGH: Experimental Spacecraft for Manned, uhm… Exploration? JAMES: For Kod's sake, stop with this exploring! Other ideas? MAX: Space Transportation System? JAMES: Unimaginative. WERNHER: Wunder Rocket? JAMES: No. WERNHER: Extreme Space Machine? JAMES: No! HUGH: Explor- JAMES: Stop it! Come on, people, be creative! How did we choose the name for Mercury anyways? JACOB: Mythology, it was a god-messenger who was delivering the, uhm, messages to other, well, gods. JAMES: Great – mythology that is. I'm listening. MAX: Zeus? JAMES: Nah, too ambitious. HUGH: Vulcan? JAMES: Silly. WERNHER: Titan! JAMES: It's the rocket. WERNHER: Space Titan? JAMES: NO! JACOB: Maybe Kadmos? JAMES: And what the frak is this? JACOB: It was the ancient hero who- MAX: Gemini. JAMES: Gemini? Oh, I got it. Two pilots – twins. Nice. I like it. Everybody agrees? WERNHER: Wunder Vulcan? JAMES: Shut up. All right, Gemini that is. :sigh: Let's take a brake, okay? 20 minutes. *** JAMES: Okay, let's proceed. Max? MAX: Yes. So, Mercury and Mark- uhm, I mean Gemini. The main differences between them are- JAMES: You know what, why not let Mr. Chamberlin to say a few words about the Gemini, it's his company who's building it for us after all. MAX: Of course. Mr. Chamberlin? JAMES CHAMBERLIN: Thank you. The Mark II – uhm, I mean the Gemini spacecraft consists of 5 major components: rendezvous and recovery section, re-entry control system or RCS section, cabin section, adapter, retrograde and equipment section. Only the capsule returns to Kerbin, the rest of the sections are detached and left to burn in the atmosphere. Unlike Mercury, Gemini will be quite capable of various maneuvers thanks to the thrusters in the equipment section. While performing EVA, the cabin will be depressurized and one of the pilots will be able to go out through the hatch, which… JAMES: You know what, I changed my mind. We'll read about all the details in the report, Mr. Chamberlin. But what about the rocket, Titan? HUGH: Yes, what about it? It's also a gift from the military, isn't it? JAMES CHAMBERLIN: That's correct. The booster is a slightly modified ICBM – intercontinental ballistic missile – which is still in service. JACOB: To send our nukes straight to the Soviets. JAMES CHAMBERLIN: Yes. Because of the modifications its name is Titan II, to be precise. It's quite capable rocket, much more powerful than Atlas. However its payload can be easily increased by adding several smaller boosters. HUGH: Wait a second. You want to attach rockets to our rocket? JAMES CHAMBERLIN: It's doctor von Braun's idea and it's being used by the Reds in their Vostok booster. JAMES: Rockets on other rockets. It doesn't sound very safe. JAMES CHAMBERLIN: Oh, but there's a very easy solution to this. It can't be implemented in Gemini but we at McDonnell were thinking… JAMES: Yes? JAMES CHAMBERLIN: What if there's some accident during ascent? What if the fuel tank blows up? We're gonna need some emergency system to put the capsule away from the explosion. HUGH: But how? If it happens during the ascent, the capsule and the rocket will be moving at tremendous speed. JAMES CHAMBERLIN: Doctor? WERNHER: Vell, ve can attach a small rocket on top of ze capsule, so that if something bad happenz, the spacecraft could escape. Ve call it ERTTC - Emergency Rocket on Top of The Capsule. JAMES CHAMBERLIN: Err, actually I thought we were going to call it Launch Escape System? WERNHER: Oh ja, it's gut too. JAMES: Let me sum this up – you want to strap on medium rockets to our big rocket and than put a small rocket on top of this? And you want to do this because it'll be safer? JAMES CHAMBERLIN: Precisely. JAMES: Mhm. JAMES CHAMBERLIN: If we get the contract for Apollo. JAMES: Of course. MAX: Speaking about Apollo, we've prepared several slides about it. It's still too early to be very precise but we've quite a good idea how it's going to look. May I? JAMES: :sigh: MAX: First of all, we're going to need much more powerful rockets. On this slide you can see what's the difference is going to be. MAX: Err, I believe they are doctor von Braun's annot- JAMES: Just continue, okay? MAX: Yes. So, we're going to need a really big rocket to send the spacecraft all the way to the Mun. And it's going to be quite heavy because it'll have to land there. Of course this time it will be from the beginning to the end built by us. WERHER: I can assure you, Herr Administrator, that my team and I vill do everything to make sure thiz rocket vill be ready in time. JAMES: How lucky we are to have you, doctor. MAX: Ahem. Next slide. MAX: That's more or less how it's going to look. It'll land on the Mun, the kerbonauts will explore its surface and so on and than the capsule with its engine module will detach and launch to the orbit. From there it'll return to Kerbin. HUGH: Is this the final project? MAX: Probably not but it's going to look very similar. JAMES: How heavy it's going to be? MAX: Something between 40-50 tonnes at most. JACOB: Hmm. Is this the only way to get to the Mun? This rockets look very expensive. MAX: Actually there are other options. Next slide. MAX: We've preliminarily chosen the Direct Ascent, as you all know, but there are also these two ideas, Kerbin Orbit Rendezvous and Munar Orbit Rendezvous. JAMES: Wait a moment – I told you not to mention this whole Munar Orbit thing. Isn't this the Houbolt's idea or whatshisname? JAMES CHAMBERLIN: It is, sir. JAMES: Well, this is a total munacy. Two spacecraft means two life-support system and two engines, which means twice the possibility of malfunction. Not to mention the rendezvous above the Mun – Kod, we don't even now whether this is possible in Kerbin orbit. JAMES CHAMBERLIN: But from an engineering point of view this is brilliant. The weight savings alone are- JAMES: Enough. I don't want to hear about this. It's interesting all right but it's too risky. KASA won't do this. JAMES CHAMBERLIN: :sigh: JAMES: Is it all, Max? MAX: There are a few slides left but it's pretty much it. JAMES: Good. Very good. I have to admit, when the President announced his plan I was full of doubt whether it could actually be done. But after this I feel that we can really do it. Send a man to the Mun… What time is it? JACOB: Six forty-five. JAMES: Damn, it's so late? We still have to take a look at the budget and legal stuff. JAMES CHAMBERLIN: Is my presence…? JAMES: No, you can go. Thank you very much Mr. Chamberlin – it's a very impressive machine you're building. JAMES CHAMBERLIN: Pleasure is all mine. I bet they can't wait. JAMES: Who? MAX: Kerbonauts, sir. JAMES: Oh, right. Our heroes, huh? Well, if they want to go up there, they need a rocket. First things first, as they say – after all the paperwork is done then they'll have a chance to show off. Am I right?

I agree. It was Kennedy who said that "this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth". Was this really the point of the race? Nemo iudex in causa sua - if the Soviet official said that he wants his nation to put a man in orbit than they would've win? Plus, after almost 50 years we can clearly see that the orbital stations and robotic probes turned out to be much more important part of the space exploration than political stunt which was putting Old Glory in the Moon's soil - sadly. It's still the crowning achievemen of mankind but does it really mean that the USA won?

That's great! If you are going to read Lem thanks to my humble writings, well, it really makes me very happy I dunno, I asked for "thoughts" about the issue, not "votes" I read them all of course and there are few interesting ideas though...

That's the spirit! Thank you, I appreciate it - have you read the "Jool of Kerbol system" as well? Thanks to everybody who shared his thougts about the decision which has to be made by the crew of "Proteus". Right now I'm writing the Space Race but the next chapter of the Grand Tour should be expected during this weekend as well.

This looks fantastic! Subscribed

VASIMR is great but what it needs is the fuel tank compatible with 2,5m node so that it would easier fit while using vanilla command pods. Still, great work - I'll use it in my Space Race AAR for sure

Small update 3 - extra screenshots from the last chapter. Duna looks really astonishing just before the dawn

Abort system which "Challenger" lacked? Anyways, let's focus on this shuttle which is neither STS nor Buran.