czokletmuss

Glad to hear that. There won't be any update tomorrow though.

Thank you for the kind words

I don't know how it works in the USA exactly, but there is always a possibility to make a donation (donation =/= payment). By the way, I thought that "crazy Yankees sueing everybody" was just another stupid stereotype - is it really that bad? I mean, sueing because of the video game? If you have some legal basis for it (donating creating biding contract), I would love to take a look at it. However, the OP kinda forgets that, well, nobody is asking for money (for instance by putting link to his PayPal account). Mods are made by fans for fans and in most cases kind words and the work itself is the sufficent motivation. However, maybe OP should just PM his favourites and ask them directly if he can give them some money?

It's hard to tell but probably at least twice as many in the last AAR; there are still Eve, Gilly, Duna, Ike, Dres, Jool+moons and Eeloo to visit. And come back. And survive. And do SCIENCE! I would be surprised if I finish this AAR before 0.22 or 0.23

It's hard to tell but probably at least twice as many in the last AAR; there are still Eve, Gilly, Duna, Ike, Dres, Jool+moons and Eeloo to visit. And come back. And survive. And do SCIENCE! I would be surprised if I finish this AAR before 0.22 or 0.23

CHAPTER 10 EVE ENCOUNTER *** Commander's log, entry 13. Transfer burn was executed perfectly, though we still have to make some small corrections. We will meet Eve for the second time in little more than 3 weeks. I sincerely hope that this time this hellish planet will show us more mercy. Commander's log, entry 14. First trajectory correction maneuver completed. Now we only need to ensure that we will pass close to the viole(n)t planet surface. BERTY did the math and we will be better off if we wait few days. We don't have much delta-V. Commander's log, entry 15. Talk about luck. Powerful X-class solar flare and radiation alerts – that's how Moho is saying goodbye. It wasn't as big as this disastrous flare which fried much of KASA's equipment years ago, but still it was enough to kill us all. Luckily, we were NOT in the wrong time in the wrong place. Commander's log, entry 16. Second and last trajectory correction executed. BERTY says that our closest approach will be more or less at 173 km above Eve's surface. Of course we will have to make some smaller adjustments but that's about it for next weeks. Incredible precision, especially when comparing to good old “Kadmosâ€Â. Commander's log, entry 17. I'm still worried about all these data to which I have no access. What surprises awaiting us? I talked with Bob few times but he won't change his mind. He despises me. What is his problem anyway? I need to know such things! I don't feel good, I'm constantly tired and can sleep. It's a matter of time before I make some stupid mistake because of stress and lack of concentration. Damn you Bob, why are you such a blockhead? Commander's log, entry 18. Less than 3 days to Eve's SOI and STILL nobody wants to tell me who's landing on this planet. KASA refers me back to Bob and he obviously don't want to talk. This is so pointless. Commander's log, entry 19. Eve. So today FINALLY I will… BERTY v.2.0.8: Jeb, director Bob requires your presence in the Secondary Command Module. JEB: Another meeting? BERTY v.2.0.8: Director Bob wishes to say few word about the mission and explain what our next steps will be. JEB: Hell, it's about time. MISSION STATUS ***

Pleasure is all mine - each comment like this gives me +1 to Concentration check when writing though From here: http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/author/ccoorreecctt/ Soyuz has the best crew/mass ratio - small command pod is a must if you want to have a capable and light lander

CHAPTER 9 EVE TRANSFER BURN *** JEB: Fellas. NED: Why are we meeting in the reactor control room again? JEB: There are things I prefer to discuss in private. SID: :sigh: Does it concern Bob by any chance? JEB: Well, actually… SID: Here we go again. JEB: Guys, listen. We survived travel through the dark space to the Kod-forsaken Jool and its moons because we worked together. Without trust, we would've certainly die, there were more than enough occasions. But we made it. I trust you completely. NED: We trust you too Jeb, you know that. JEB: Yes. But the point is, I can trust only you two. They are not telling us everything, that's for sure. SID: What did you expect? That they will gladly tell us all their secrets just because years ago we did what we did? It's obvious that there is more to that mission than we thought. JEB: Exactly – and I can't assure crew's safety without access to this information. SID: I agree but you won't get it Jeb! It's not our mission – it's the mission and we're here only because we're useful. One can imagine why should anyone invest such gigantic amount of resources, labor and money to create “Proteus†in the first place. My theory is that… NED: Aliens. Am I right Sid? SID: We certainly can't dismiss such a possibility completely without… NED: Oh come on! You are the chancellor of the goddamn university with a Ph.D. in astrophysics. SID: I don't see how… NED: AND planetology, for Kod's sake. And despite that you think we're on a top secret mission sponsored by same shady government agency with a hidden agenda to do what, chit-chat with extrakerbestrials on some barren rock? We're not in some old cheesy science-fiction movie, you know. SID: Explain to me than what other reason they may be to invest trillions in our mission. It's not like it used to be in our times, when scientific gains and exploring itself were sufficient to keep public and politicians interested. NED: Future colonization? We're exploring all the celestial bodies after all. You think it would be cheaper to send several missions than build one mothership? JEB: I think we sidetracked a little. What's important is that we – as well as the other crew members – should be informed about every detail of our mission. Simple as this. NED: Not for the director Bob apparently. SID: But we will be informed in due time. NED: About everything? SID: What does it change? We all have our duties. I see no reason to be alarmed, it's not like they can hide anything. After all, there is no stealth in space – every landing, docking or EVA will be revealed the second it is initiated. NED: And if they are hiding something more sophisticated than one of your flying saucers? JEB: We will know that when we get our authorization. SID: And how persuading director Bob turned out? JEB: … SID: Exactly. I say we just concentrate on our jobs and be vigilant. JEB: :sigh: Maybe you're right. NED: Don't worry Jeb. Whatever happens, we will stick together, just like you said. JEB: Thanks. SID: By the way, how are we looking? I mean with fuel and delta-V. JEB: Assuming that everything will work flawlessly, we should get to the equatorial orbit above Eve with 2000 m/s surplus. NED: It never works flawlessly. JEB: That's why we have the surplus. We need it for orbital operations as well. That is, if the aerobraking will be successful. SID: I hate aerobraking. I still have nightmares after “Kadmosâ€Â, you know? NED: Don't worry. I literally spend hours watching the heat shield, so we would know whether something's wrong weeks before entering Eve's SOI. JEB: Yeah. And with the Automatic Miner Unit we will have effectively unlimited fuel. SID: But we do have plan B, do we? In case AMU falls apart or something? JEB: Sure; “in the unlikely event…â€Â, yadda yadda yadda, we can use the Eve Lander Transfer Module to abort the mission and return home. NED: They really thought about everything, didn't they? JEB: I would prefer to know WHO is landing on Eve however. SID: Yes, this is puzzling. Why hide this information in the first place? BERTY v.2.0.8: Attention all personnel. Eve transfer burn in T minus 3 hours. NED: Jeb? JEB: I should go. Take care. SID: You too. *** BERTY v.2.0.8: Everything is ready, commander. We can proceed as soon as the transfer window opens. JEB: Thanks BERTY. You know, I wonder sometimes whether you need me at all to fly this baby. BERTY v.2.0.8: Commander? JEB: I mean, why am I here? You can obviously take care of this burn entirely on your own. BERTY v.2.0.8: With all due respect, I think you are missing a point, Jeb. JEB: Which is? BERTY v.2.0.8: Although so far all errors made by AI units of MJ-9000 series were attributed to either invalid or incorrect data or kerbal mistake, the presence of a living pilot is vital for the mission success. Understandably my capabilities in computing, multitasking and speed is far beyond any kerbal reach. However, your experience and intuition cannot be easily simulated, if it is possible at all. Using simple metaphor – minds running on organic hardware are much more sophisticated than artificial intelligences. I can provide raw computing power but there are many subtleties of space travel in which I lack expertise. It's not only the matter of delta-V, radiation levels and other variables. Inside the “Proteus†there are living, breathing beings with their own specific needs. Delivering ship to the point of destination is something entirely different than delivering ship with healthy and capable of its duties crew. After all, so far from home we have only each other. JEB: Wait, are you telling me that I'm here to make everyone feel safer? That's it? BERTY v.2.0.8: Yes. But there are more important tasks than providing psychological comfort to the crew. In case of critical failure the fate of the mission is completely in your hands. As a commander, ultimately the responsibility is yours. Therefore, thinking about me as a de facto pilot and downgrading one's role has been proven to be incorrect. JEB: Wow. I don't know what to say. BERTY v.2.0.8: I like to think about us as partners. Can we be partners, Jeb? JEB: I… I guess we can, BERTY. BERTY v.2.0.8: Thank you. This makes me very happy. Shall we prepare for the transfer burn? JEB: Sure thing… partner. *** - End of recording. - Very good. - I'm happy to be useful for the mission. - You certainly are. This gives us hope to soothe the conflict between him and Bob. - Can I ask you a question, AUTHORIZATION LEVEL ALFA? - Go on BERTY. - Is it moral to use my psychology software to manipulate the crew members in such manner? - What? Why do you ask about it? - Improving my knowledge about kerbal interactions during deep space mission is one of my top priorities, AUTHORIZATION LEVEL ALFA. - Leave the ethics to living beings and concentrate on something useful instead. - Affirmative. - There is nothing more important than our mission. - I understand. Warning. Corrective maneuvers required after leaving Moho's sphere of influence. Calculating. - Good. I expect smooth sailing – I don't want any surprises BERTY. - I'll do my best. MISSION STATUS ***

Yeah, it's a pity; though it's my fault that there is one chapter per few weeks recently so it's not like I can blame anyone for this. Compatibility with all mods and testing will eat a lot of time, so I guess I will stay with the latest version of 0.20 for now. Thank you for all the kind words and yeah, I could've add "who is who" earlier. I don't write that much though during the years I earned some money by writing all sorts of stuff. However this is the first time when I write not only a story but also in a foreign language. Maybe I should write more but seeing how my deadlines for this story fail again and again I'm not so sure about that Doing GT on stock parts is possible but you need decent computer (high parts count will eat your RAM alive). Is this your final version of the GT ship? There were some interesting ideas on the forum before April which alas are mostly lost now - one which I remember included basically overpowered Eve Lander/miner and extra fuel tanks on orbit. I'm not sure how good approach this is when trying to land on Gilly or some other tiny rock (you need 20-25m/s acceleration to lift off from Eve). Necro-posting? It's not dead! It's just me sucking at deadlines I want to write this story to its end (Grand Tour = all celestial bodies visited + return to Kerbin). Plus, I really want to collect all the postcards like this from Moho:

CHAPTER 9 LOW MOHO ORBIT *** BERTY v.2.0.8: â€ÂProteus†is covered by a planetary shade in 100%. Ship's orientation change completed. Shield inspection number 276/B4 may begin. NED: I'm waiting, BERTY. BERTY v.2.0.8: Cooling system operational. Deploying mechanism operational. Shield's temperature 428 °C. Radiation level within limits. NED: Visual inspection results – no damage detected. BERTY v.2.0.8: Visual inspection results confirmed. NED: And the winner is? BERTY v.2.0.8: Heat shield operational in 100%. Predicted efficiency during planned aerobraking operations 100%. Shield inspection number 276/B4 is concluded. NED: As always. Do you remember what I said about it? BERTY v.2.0.8: â€ÂThese damn inspections are bloody boring.†NED: No, I mean after that. BERTY v.2.0.8: â€ÂWorst job ever.†NED: Yeah, but before this I said… BERTY v.2.0.8: â€ÂI hate this molten rock.†NED: Come on BERT, now you're just teasing with me! BERTY v.2.0.8: Excuse me chief engineer. You are obviously referring to “Easy as pie.†However, you did express the desire to educate me in the field of “sense of humor†on numerous occasions in the last 17 days. I'm doing my best, chief engineer. NED: Yeah, you're making some progress. Okay, we're done here. Is Jeb available? BERTY v.2.0.8: Commander is still on private meeting with the director Bob, chief engineer. NED: Figures. And BERTY? It's Ned, please. BERTY v.2.0.8: I know, Ned. Wasn't it funny? NED: You know, line between funny and obnoxious can sometimes be blurry even for the living beings. It's something though. BERTY v.2.0.8: A circuit in hand is worth two magnetometers in the bush. NED: On second thought, I think we should train a little more today. *** JEB: What do you mean by “noâ€Â? BOB: Precisely what you've heard. JEB: Listen, we've been through that… BOB: I said no! You won't get access to this data, end of story. JEB: I'm the bloody commander of this ship and… BOB: You're a frakin pilot and you will behave properly when speaking to your superior! JEB: Superior!? You have no idea how… BOB: No, you don't have a frakin idea! You think that because we, because I chose you to be a pilot you are somehow entitled to know everything about this mission? JEB: The mission… BOB: Is much more important then you think. I have direct orders from Kerbin and I'm going to follow them to the letter – you hear me?! JEB: In all my missions I've never… BOB: This isn't your mission! You think that you're reliving good ol'times, brave kerbonauts boldly flying where no Kerbal has ever been before and all that? It's not like that anymore! We don't need heroes or cowboys, we need smart, creative and obedient – obedient, mind you – experts. JEB: Than maybe you took the wrong guy. BOB: Yes, maybe I did! But know it's too late for that. This mission needs your experience and skills and you are going to provide them without any backtalk, you feel me Jeb?! JEB: How in the bloody hell I'm supposed to perform my duties without even knowing what are we going to do?! Eve lander's crew, orbital operations above Duna, miner unit – you don't tell me anything about…! BOB: You know what you need to pilot this ship. I suggest you concentrate on this, commander. JEB: I can't fly “Proteus†when BERTY's response for half of my questions is “classifiedâ€Â! BOB: Don't ask them then; you will be notified… JEB: This is completely…! BOB: … you will be notified in due time when the good of the mission demands it! We won't be discussing this subject anymore. Now get your pesky ass out of my office. JEB: This ain't no office, Bob. BOB: SHUT UP AND GET OUT! *** BERTY v.2.0.8:Hello commander. Is everything alright? JEB: You've been listening? BERTY v.2.0.8: I hear everything, Jeb. However, to maintain optimal level of privacy for the crew members I can't access all data from onboard cameras when talking with someone. This is requested from me by psychological protocols. JEB: How then? Wait – medical data, right? BERTY v.2.0.8: Higher than average blood pressure and increased heartbeat is a common response to stress. JEB: Speaking of which – how's Mac? BERTY v.2.0.8: As it was stated five times during last 48 hours, physiologically and psychologically professor Maclorf has completely recovered from the unfortunate accident on the surface of Moho. I would like to point out that further observation is very unlikely to show any other… JEB: No BERTY, we have to keep an eye on him for his own good. And for the sake of the mission. BERTY v.2.0.8: Affirmative. JEB: Good. :sigh: You're not going to tell me, are you BERTY? BERTY v.2.0.8: I'm sorry commander. I'm unable to provide any information about CLASSIFIED DATA to anyone without the zero-class authorization. JEB: Great. Just great. What kind of a commander am I without knowing what are we going to do? I'm just a space bus driver for the eggheads from KASA… BERTY v.2.0.8: WARNING. Pessimistic approach to the mission detected. Advised counter-measures: Sun observation deck? Lounge music? Workout session? Social gathering? JEB: BERTY… BERTY v.2.0.8: Taking care of crew members is one of my primary objectives. I'm here to help you, Jeb. JEB: :sigh: What about the Eve transfer calculations? BERTY v.2.0.8: I'm calculating all the date needed for the transfer burn continuously since we arrived on Moho's orbit 35 days ago, Jeb. Our trajectory has been checked by KASA 27689 times. According to all of them we have enough fuel to perform the burn. However, we will be forced to perform aerobraking in the Eve's upper atmosphere. The heat shield of “Proteus†is in the optimal condition. Probability of next mission's phase success is estimated to be 99,98%. The possibility of error is zero point zero zero zero zero zero… JEB: Okay, I get it. BERTY? BERTY v.2.0.8: Yes, commander? JEB: I'm tired. I thin I'll take a nap here. BERTY v.2.0.8: Affirmative. Changing light level. Closing the doors to the command module. “Nostalgia_3†music list initiated. http://youtu.be/qtFBRJFN3p8 JEB: Thanks. And some sedative, please. BERTY v.2.0.8:Affirmative. Would you prefer “Encyclopedia Kerbalica†or the Treaty? JEB: Treaty. BERTY v.2.0.8:Commencing reading. States Parties to the Treaty shall bear international responsibility for national activities in outer space, including the mun and other celestial bodies, whether such activities are carried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities, and for assuring that national activities are carried out in conformity with the provisions set forth in the present… MISSION STATUS ***

I'm back! And once again gumwars will be helping me with grammar, so the story will be easier to digest. Expect more good news (new chapters) soon

Yeah, I will do this. I wanted to release new chapter before my vacations but I didn't made it. However I will have laptop with me, so: 1. expect new chapter in the next 7-10 days 2. during summer I'm aiming to 1-3 chapters every week 3. all vehicles finally WAD Take care, folks!

Thx I decided that instead of making all the vehicles operational now, I will just prepare all which is needed to the journey to Eve - Payload B and other stuff on Duna's orbit will be prepared when we get there. This will enable making new chapters faster. EDIT: "Proteus" works! Expect next chapters SOONâ„¢

Will you add golden texture to the biggest shields and heat sink? I love this mod and as soon as/if you finish the 200m shield I'm going to recreate Icarus

Accidentaly

I accept PayPal Thank you, I'm glad you like it - take a look at the Grand Tour, you won't be dissapointed

I'm working on it EDIT: Check out the first page of the thread, I posted some extra material.

Yeah, nowadays trying to fly "Proteus" is like Large Hadron Collider but without hadrons Thank you very much And yes, they are pretty dark but that's the whole point (contrast between dark surface and giant Sun). As you may remember, there was a lot of vehicles and modules built for the Grand Tour. Here's how it looks like at the moment: KSP 20.2 1. LAMGML - operational 2. IMV "Proteus" - operational but with a tendency to decompose spectacularly 3. Moho Shield - ready 4. Eve Lander - ready but I have no idea whether it's still capable of SSTO on Eve; I guess we all will find out on Eve 5. Payload B - not working I'll have to rebuild it with all the modules (Laythe Lander, probes and so on); but that ain't so bad 'cause there are a lot of new cool parts 6. AMU/Miner Unit - probably working but I need moar tests All in all, not so bad. Eve and Dres can be done right now, but Duna and beyond (Payload B was on Duna's orbit) not really. But there is time

CHAPTER 7 MOHO LANDING *** - Everything checked. BERTY? - All systems work with optimum efficiency, commander. - And you? After this system update, I mean. - Version 2.0.8 is far superior than the previous one and works flawlessly. I'm happy to be even more capable of helping the crew of “Proteusâ€Â. - Yeah, I guess one extra month on solar orbit wasn't that wasteful all things considered. All right then: commence recording and initiate cooling system. We're going down. ROZER: How long will be our EVA? BERTY v.2.0.8: Estimated time of extravehicular activity: 4 hours. ROZER: That's not much. Why don't we land deeper in the night side? MALLOCK: Temperature, captain. The surface needs some time to cool off, not to mention our spacecraft cooling capability. The best and safest way is to land near the terminator in the shadow zone: LAMGML won't have to work to hard to keep optimal conditions, as well as our spacesuits. This is like going for a walk at 5AM – dark and cold but still enough time before the sunset. And by cold I mean making-cookies-without-an-oven cold JEB: Okay, beginning descent. ROZER: Shouldn't we have hazmat suits than? MALLOCK: It will be near maximum of their capability, but our normal spacesuits will make it. ROZER: Cool. MALLOCK: Not really, if you know what I m... JEB: Commencing final phase. BERTY v.2.0.8: Cooling efficiency 79%. MALLOCK: Oh boy! JEB: And LAMGML is on the ground! ROZER: First successful landing on Moho. At last. IMV PROTEUS: Amazing work guys. Remember, you have only 4 hours – get to work ASAP. JEB: Roger that. What about radiation BERTY? BERTY v.2.0.8: Within safety limits, commander. JEB: Great. Prepare for EVA everybody. MALLOCK: I can't wait! First samples from Moho! ROZER: Hush, he's going to say the first words. (…) JEB: Icarus has fallen, but we have followed – to face the Sun itself. MALLOCK: Just stick the flag in the ground. JEB: Ground? It's molten rocks everywhere, Mr.. Geologist. ROZER: Need help? JEB: No, I'm fine. Here. ROZER: First of many. JEB: Okay folks, get busy, there are rocks waiting' for us. I'll check the spacecraft first. And be careful. MALLOCK: You mean we should stay frosty? Huh? Frosty? Anyone? IMV PROTEUS: We're going behind the horizon, we'll be back in one hour. You're doing great job down there. Over. JEB: Copy that. ROZER: Lazer operational. I'll start the spectroscopy. MALLOCK: Good. JEB: What should I do, professor? MALLOCK: Check the rocks over there. And keep an eye on unusual ones, there may be some meteorites here from the Late Heavy Bombardment period. I'll check the hill over there. JEB: Okay. MALLOCK: Turning' on lazor. I'm moving to the next site. JEB: Hey, be careful with the jetpack. Remember that the gravity... MALLOCK: <???> ROZER: Oh crap! JEB: Mallock? Come in Mal, what's your status? Razor, help me with this. ROZER: No. JEB: What? ROZER: I still have some samples to collect. JEB: Are you kidding me?! Mal, come in! ROZER: We don't have much time and the mission is the number one priority. Sorry. JEB: Frak! Mal, are you all right? MALLOCK: Crap... I guess I've broken my arm. JEB: You'll live, luckily the spacesuit is intact. Come on, no more EVA for you. MALLOCK: But... JEB: You're loosing blood, idiot! You're going inside the ship right now, that's an order. MALLOCK: Frak! JEB: Mallock? Can you see us? MALLOCK: <moan> Yeah, I'll supervise you. <moan> Take a closer look at the rocks to your left. BERTY v.2.0.8: 90 minutes left. Radiation level rising. ROZER: Come on, we have work to do. JEB: You can do it Mal, in 3 hours our surgeon will patch you up. MALLOCK: Don't worry, I have painkillers and at least it's not so bloody hot inside here. <moan> Such a shame… BERTY v.2.0.8: Cooling efficiency: EVA-1 89%, EVA-3 96%. JEB: I wonder what will experience meltdown first, my suit or me. MALLOCK: Good one… commander… ROZER: Jeb, focus on our work. We don't have much time. JEB: Rock-picking in hell, goddamit. BERTY v.2.0.8: Warning. 20 minutes to lift-off. Please return to the spacecraft immediately. ROZER: Roger. BERTY v.2.0.8: Commander? JEB: I'm going, I'm going. BERTY v.2.0.8: Slow down commander, your blood pressure is too high. JEB: Sure it is. These spacesuits… are a joke. It's just… too hot. JEB: <breathing heavily> All right, we're ready. Prepare the engines for full thrust BERTY, we're going for the quickest randez-vous possible. BERTY v.2.0.8: Affirmative. JEB: Don't worry Mal, in 30 or so minutes you will be… BERTY v.2.0.8: EEG ALARM. HEART FAILURE DETECTED. JEB: Mal! MISSION STATUS ***

I love the American pack - kudos!

Not for me (mine happened 12-13 months ago) but definitely for this Kerbal - and boy, he loves it!

I can imagine that for China this is one more argument to engage in something like this. CNSA is largely ignored in western media but it will soon change after live transmission from Moon, mark my words (I don't know whether they are planning something like this but they should - imagine video in HD from Moon with camera targeting Earth and zooming in)

Thank you for quick response. DLC engine didn't work but now after I put it in Lionhead catalogue (not Parts like in old days) it works I said this many times but keep up with the good work Yogui87, your work is great and I'm always happy to see new mods from Lionhead Aerospace.

Made me day

Does anyone know how can the DSL engine be recovered for 20.2? I know it isn't updated yet but I really need this part (for my AAR).