KSK

Hates - none. As someone already said, hate is far too strong a word. Likes - landing on the Mun. I've been further and yes - I know that going to the Mun is a pretty early achievement in KSP but I don't care - it still feels epic!

Looks like it! It's certainly back up on YouTube, music and all! That's one of my favourite KSP videos - I still get a little choked watching it. That bit where the three Mainsails light up and that music kicks in - that's what I'm talking about. A shame everything goes a bit asplodey shortly afterwards

With the lead piping surely? </literalminded>

My pleasure GDJ! Just as a quick update, I've started a forum blog as somewhere to store the consolidated version of First Flight, as very kindly put together by Agent30632. I'm not planning to update it that often, this thread will still be the first port of call for story updates but if anyone wants to read the story end to end - well there it is. Cheers, KSK

I've pm'd you - or at least I think I have. Let me know if it hasn't arrived.

That's a good (and much more realistic) point Jake but I think I'd still be more comfortable clearing things with Squad before taking the story off-forum in any way. I would hope there wouldn't be any objections but you know - their game, their rules. Then again, there are other KSP inspired pieces out there (most notably the loading screen painting) so maybe clearance is not required. I'll have a think but in the meantime, offer of Dropbox space is much appreciated! Edit: <facepalm> Not to mention The Next Frontier which has been cross-posted across a couple of forums. OK, maybe I'm being a wee bit paranoid about not taking First Flight off forum. Exsmelliarmus - heh In order; No comment in case of spoilers; I had considered some kind of kerbal-Santa, mainly to fit in a reference to Jim Lovell's 'Please be advised - there is a Santa Claus' from Apollo 8 ; both compass and stars and finally none sadly, although this will clearly need to be remedied for future missions. Agent30632 - not sure I'm getting what you mean by compile? Is that taking the actual story text from this thread, merging them into one continous piece and then correcting stuff like typos, grammar and continuity errors? I ask because a) that would be really helpful so many thanks and I've been wondering what to do about this myself. As far as updates go, I think that last chapter marks the end of Part 1, so if the compilation is up to date so far, you could maybe draw a line under it and start with a new compilation for Part 2?

I appreciate the sentiment and an ebook would be a tremendous compliment but we'd also need to get permission from Squad before doing anything like that, as the story is based on their work. Probably best to keep it as fan fiction for now Illustrations would be great though if anyone cared to try their hand at them! As for the random question, yes - the idea is that Kerbin is united. There will probably be other references to the governmental structure later in the story but the Council of Twelve Pillars is the top of the hierarchy and consists of an elected Kerman president and a chief Kermol ambassador, from each of the six regionalities of Kerbin. There are other levels of government of course but generally decisions are devolved down to the lowest practicable level and government as a whole is pretty light touch. There are reasons why that works well for kerbal society and I hope to draw those reasons out later in the story. But yes - there will be a rather large complication/challenge arising over the next several chapters! Edit: The Council of Twelve Pillars includes 6 Kermol chief ambassadors too.

Man - loads of new work since I was last on this thread. Great stuff - and as always each new reveal just raises more intriguing questions! Looking forward to the next part!

Wish this kind of stuff was in the game! I know Squad have said no aliens but there's a difference between an alien civilisation and sending a probe to photograph phytoplankton. Nice story anyway!

More generally, as always, thanks for reading folks! Jake - that was spooky timing. Didn't get a chance to reply yesterday as I was literally posting before bed but getting the first comment back before I'd finished the final on-forum read through and edit - wow! Exsmelliarmus - very glad you're enjoying it and thanks for coming on on the comments!

Not sure to be honest, it just seemed like a word that would work Random, off the cuff world building, gronneks are small wolverine like creatures native to the northern reaches of Kerbin. They can be kept as pets, although attempts to domesticate them have only been partially successful and on Earth, gronneks would usually be used as guard dogs or bird dogs rather than house pets. The easiest way to catch a gronnek is to place a sack over the exits to its burrow and then set off some kind of commotion at the entrance. Finding all the exits of course is a skill all of its own, since they tend to be fairly well concealed. Once in the bag, gronneks are reasonably docile (for certain definitions of 'docile') much after the fashion of a hooded hawk here on Earth. Until the gronnek is adequately trained however, letting it out of the bag without due precautions is usually a bad idea, hence the well known Kerbal saying

All the Proof They Needed A small rational corner of his mind was telling him that KBS probably wouldn't have broadcast the documentary if the flight had ended in tragedy. The rest of him was paying this comforting thought no attention at all and Obrick was on the edge of his seat as the urgent message went out from Mission Control; “Control to Moho 1. Come in Moho 1." Obrick flopped back into his seat and mopped his brow as the pilot's voice came over the air. “Looks like I am flying the best one you could find, Genie!" For a moment there was complete pandemonium as every kerbal in Mission Control jumped up and down, cheering themselves hoarse. Gradually the applause died away and the commentary turned to technical details of burn timings and re-entry interfaces as the camera panned around the surprisingly small looking room. The picture zoomed in on a map of Kerbin, with the flight path of the Moho 1 superimposed on it and then faded to black as the voices of the flight director and the pilot faded out with it. The screen brightened again as the scene from Mission Control was replaced by a view over the rail of a large boat. Either the sea was rather choppy or the cameraman hadn't quite got his sea legs because the picture was rocking erratically. A clock was counting down in one corner of the screen and the KBS commentator was busily explaining that if all had gone to plan, the flight control team should have established contact with the capsule by the time the clock reached zero. Only two minutes were left as the camera tilted towards the sky and began to pan back and forth as the cameraman hunted for any signs of the descending capsule. The voice of the flight director could be heard in the background calling out to the pilot, although all that could be heard in reply was the hiss and crackle of static. Obrick gnawed on one knuckle as he waited ; “....to Control. My compliments to the heat shield team - the capsule didn't even get warm enough for me to break a sweat!" Underneath the pilot's light hearted banter, Obrick could sense a very relieved kerbal. And no wonder, he thought. The tension was bad enough watching a documentary of the flight - Kerm only knew what it was like in the actual capsule, plummeting towards the ground and knowing that the only thing keeping you safe from the inferno outside was a few centimetres of ablative resin. The view from the boat was still just empty skies and bobbing waves though, as the voiceover from Mission Control rattled through details of course headings and splashdown checklists. “Fifteen kilometres and dropping, Genie. Standing by for drogues." A great cry went up from the boat and the view from the camera tilted and blurred as the cameraman tried to find the capsule. There was brief flash of orange and the camera darted sharply back and zoomed in to the sight of two large orange parachutes unfurling against the clear blue sky. “We read you on the mains Jeb - welcome home!" Obrick felt as drained as the flight director sounded as the boat pulled up alongside the bobbing capsule, its scorched sides a mute testimony to the fury of it's plunge from orbit. He watched as a team of kerbals jumped over the side and inflated a large collar around the base of the craft, before undogging the capsule hatch and swinging it open. Obrick caught a glimpse of a cramped space with the pilot strapped into his couch in the midst of control panels and other paraphernalia. As the credits rolled up the screen, the camera followed one of the recovery team as they climbed in through the hatch and helped the pilot out. The last image of the documentary was a close up of the grinning pilot, minus his helmet, sitting on a life raft in a bright orange spacesuit. A flight attendant came up the aisle as Obrick flicked off the television screen. He leaned over and checked Obrick's seat belt. “We're on our final approach now, Mr President. Twenty minutes till landing." As the plane banked low over the city, Obrick was struck once again by the simplicity of the skyline. After the drama of Jebediah Kerman's journey into space, it was curiously jarring to be reminded that for all their technological progress and forward looking optimism, kerbals were a rather traditional people at heart. Even in their capital city, most of the residential and administrative buildings were still based around the ages old Kermol hut. Where a larger building was required, kerbals tended to simply build a cluster of smaller buildings side by side, or even into each other, which gave the city architecture a pleasantly scalloped, almost organic look from the air. Indeed, many of the smaller buildings, were built around a central tree in the Kermol fashion but even where this was clearly not possible, there was an obvious fondness for building next to greenery, with the largest buildings nestling within leafy parks. The plane levelled out as it swooped over the city descending rapidly towards the airport. There was a rumble and then a solid thump from underneath the fuselage as the undercarriage lowered and locked into place. Even now, the view from Obrick's window was predominantly of trees and fields, although he knew that if he turned his head and looked out of the other side of the plane, he would see grey concrete and airport buildings. With the briefest squeal of tyres, the plane dipped gracefully onto the runway and rolled towards a small private hangar. Obrick was pushed gently forward as the plane slowed to a walking pace. His mind was still very much on the KBS documentary and he found himself wondering what it must have been like in the Moho 1, thrown forward in your seat as the rocket engines shut down and the capsule flew on towards space. As the plane came to a standstill, a set of steps was quickly rolled up to the cabin door. Obrick got to his feet, picked up his bag and reflexively checked his seat, in the manner of air travellers everywhere, to make sure that he hadn't left anything behind. Satisfied, he walked down the aisle of the small passenger cabin, thanked the pilots and flight attendant and marched briskly down the steps towards the waiting car. The scalloped architecture was rather less apparent from the ground but the capital was still a very leafy, pleasant place to drive through. The buildings to either side managed to be quite colourful despite being constructed largely of dressed stone, wood and glass. All manner of building stone had been used somewhere in their construction, from clean creamy limestone to grey speckled granites and yellowy sandstones, all set off with the deep gleam of polished timbers. Here and there a balcony garden or a brightly dyed drape of kaya wool added a splash of vibrant colour to the more muted natural tones of the walls. Taller buildings marked the offices of various companies. These tended towards the sober, with those of the larger companies striving bravely for grandiosity. Obrick noted that the current fashion for revolving billboards was in full swing, with each office proudly displaying a spinning corporate logo on its roof. The pavements running along the sides of the road were generously wide and bustled with kerbals of all sizes hurrying here and there about their business. Much of the traffic of course consisted of the ubiqitous tik-tiks and a steady stream of the small four wheeled buggies trundled past, their drivers reclining in the typical deep set chair and pedalling furiously along. There were other cars around too but they were comparatively rare and much of the roadway was given over to the buggies. As Obrick whisked quietly past, the soft hum of the car's electric motors could barely be heard over the constant tik-tik-tikking of buggy chains. The car turned a corner onto City Avenue, a wide tree lined thoroughfare that split the city into two. Halfway along the Avenue and right in the very centre of the city, surrounded by it's own park, was the Capital building. A masterpiece of kerbal architecture, Obrick knew that this was perhaps the largest building in the city and certainly one of the largest enclosed spaces. It was still built along the traditional Kerbol hut shape but cunningly designed braced arches managed to support a very much larger structure than even the most optimistic office building. Twelve smaller buildings were symmetrically arranged around the centre, each building the foot of one of six graceful arches that soared into the air and crossed far above the exact centre point of the main building. A tall flag pole jutted into the sky from the confluence of the six arches and the flag of all Kerbin fluttered proudly in the morning breeze. Picked out in white and green on a blue background, the flag was a stylised plan view of the Capital building itself. The twelve smaller circles around the centre green circle formed a flower motif symbolising Kerbin and each of the six white bars crossing at the centre of the flower, represented the people of one of its six major regionalities. The car drove up to the park gates which silently swung open to let it through. As Obrick glided past he could see the kerbal guarding the gate lift a radio to his mouth. Obrick tucked his papers back into his briefcase and gathered his thoughts as the car purred up the road and stopped outside the Capital building. The driver hopped down and held the door open for him as he climbed out. Normally, Obrick would have taken the time to appreciate his surroundings and perhaps take a stroll along the outer gallery that encircled the Council chambers, the better to admire the many works of art on display from across Kerbin. Today though was not a normal day and he hurried across the outer gallery and onwards towards the centre of the building. Pale sunlight gleamed through the skylights, throwing the wood panelling into sharp relief as he strode down the corridor towards a set of ornately carved doors, guarded by two kerbals. Neither guard was openly carrying a weapon but they both looked lean and alert. The ceremonial uniform of the Capital Guards also tended towards the practical rather than the excessively ornate and did not appear to be significantly impeding either kerbal as they pulled the doors open. The eleven kerbals seated around the large round Council table all turned towards him as Obrick stepped into the room. He nodded briefly to the guards and the doors swung shut behind him with a very definite sounding thud. He bowed formally towards the table. “Misters President, mesdames President, honoured chief Ambassadors. This session of the Council of Twelve Pillars is now open." At that, Obrick took his seat at the table. “As I'm sure you'll all be aware," he said, “the first item on the agenda today, is spaceflight and more particularly, the recent orbital flight by Jebediah Kerman." He paused, trying to judge the reaction from around the table. “As I'm sure you'll also be aware, this is not the first kerbal made object to be successfully flown into space but it is certainly the most significant one and I believe the time is right for this Council to consider its response." The kerbal opposite Obrick cleared her throat. “Do we know who this Jebediah Kerman is?" she asked. Obrick nodded. “So far as we're aware, he's a small businessman and noted aerospace enthusiast. He founded the so-called Kerbin Interplanetary Society - with your indulgence, the KIS for short - some time ago with a group of fellow enthusiasts, presumably with the intent of doing precisely what they have just done. Until recently, the KIS was a small informal organisation - I understand that it was somewhat larger to begin with but membership declined as it became clear that they were taking on a rather more ambitious project than they first imagined." All eyes were on Obrick as he continued. “However, one of my staff has recently visited the KIS headquarters in Barkton and reports that they are now a much larger concern. Indeed they have recently expanded their operation into additional premises in order to support their piloted flights. They are quite admirably open about the whole business and my aide was able to take a tour of their factory floor and crew training facilities, as well as meeting several up and coming pilots in person." Obrick coughed. “I think its fair to say that my aide was quite overwhelmed by the experience, or at least I've never seen him quite as excited about anything else during my time in office." He reached into his briefcase and drew out eleven grey folders which he passed around the table. “I've taken the liberty of preparing a short briefing on the KIS for you to peruse at your leisure. For now, I think the questions we need to address are quite clear. Where do we envisage this going and what, if anything, do we do about it?" President Enemone looked unconvinced. “I'm still not quite sure what business this Council has with a group of amateur spacekerbals, no matter how enthusiastic. Unless you seriously believe that there's going to be some enormous demand for joyrides around Kerbin?" At that point one of the chief Ambassadors spoke up. “Madam President. I have the honour to represent the kermol in President Obrick's Regionality. As fortune would have it, my Grove is not too distant from Barkton and I have also visited the Kerbin Interplanetary Society. With all due respect, I believe that a great many kerbals will want to 'take a joyride around Kerbin.'". Donman reached under his chair for a large envelope and shook out a number of glossy prints across the Council table. There were several sharp intakes of breath around the table as Donman pointed at one of the prints. “That one I believe was taken on their first flight. I understand it was only taken from thirty-five kilometres up - not nearly high enough to reach space but still rather a spectacular Münrise, as I'm sure you'll agree. These others were taken from an orbiting satellite, which they were able to bring safely back to Kerbin. I find this one of sunrise from space to be particularly inspiring." Enemone frowned. “Where did you get these prints from?" “Why, they are available for sale at the KIS museum, Madam President, along with many more." Donman chuckled, “Whatever else you may say about them, the KIS certainly have a flair for the dramatic and an eye for an opportunity. All the prints were selling very well indeed when I was there." Enemone looked resigned. "Well that's that gronnek out of the bag then." She made a half bow towards Donman. “I agree, Ambassador. If nothing else, those pictures are going to stir up demand." She looked around the table. “So what do we do about this?" President Chadlin chose that moment to speak up. “It seems to me," he said, “that space travel should be a matter for all of Kerbin. I put it to this Council that such travel should be under the auspices of a single Kerbin-wide organisation. It need not report directly to this Council of course but I believe that a centralised agency is the best approach." Obrick could see a number of heads nodding around the table, although some were looking more doubtful. He had to give Chadlin credit as well - the old kerbal had clearly prepared his position well and was handling the resulting heated debate with aplomb. The chief ambassadors though, was looking increasingly unhappy and Obrick decided to step in. “Ambassador Aldwell - I take it you have some concerns with President Chadlin's proposal?" The Ambassador looked mildly startled. “Thank you, Mr President but I don't have any particular problems with President Chadlin's proposal. I do however, have a great many concerns about the possible impact of a sudden explosion, if you'll excuse the word, of rocket launches. Even if the rockets themselves are relatively benign - which has yet to be proved - the industrial expansion needed to build all the rockets could have a very serious environmental impact on Kerbin." The other Ambassadors nodded in agreement as Chadlin spoke up again. “A pertinent point Ambassador Aldwell and another excellent reason why space travel should be centrally regulated." Enemone tapped on the table. “With all respect to President Chadlin, I think he might be being just a little hasty. Despite these extremely persuasive pictures, I think it will be quite some time before swarms of kerbals are flying rockets into space. After all, there has been a total of one kerbal in space so far and that took a great deal of time and effort. I would be inclined to wait and see how matters develop before pressing for a new agency." Enemone cleared her throat. “I also note in passing that only one other company so far has taken up the challenge of spaceflight and begun building their own rockets. This is not a vast industrial expansion to my mind." “Actually, Madam President," said Obrick, “I believe the Ambassadors have raised an excellent point - and it occurs to me that President Chadlin's proposal would have some serious merit in countering it." He paused for a moment, mentally checking over his next words. “Council members, may I suggest that our response to this issue is to embrace it wholeheartedly and without reservation. We've all seen Ambassador Donman's pictures and if nothing else, we all know our fellow kerbal." A polite ripple of amusement spread round the table. “Throughout our history, the urge to explore and seek new lands has driven much of kerbal society - and I believe that the promise of spaceflight will only feed that urge." Obrick took a sip of water. “Without wishing to disparage the Kerbal Interplanetary Society, I believe that the long term exploration of space will not be possible in any meaningful sense if we are restricted to launching tiny cargos on large, single shot rockets. And I agree with the Ambassadors that any attempts to do so will pose a grave threat to Kerbin's environment. I would therefore like to propose a two step plan for consideration by this Council." “In the short term, we should allow our fellow kerbals to guide us. Let the new companies spring up if they so wish. Let them build, let them fly, let them dream - and let them fail. Let them compete and in so competing, let them drive forward the development of new spacecraft and new ambitions!" “In the meantime, I propose that we do set up a central space agency and task it with developing the longer term answers to the problems of space exploration. If I may give some examples, if it should prove possible to harvest resources from the moons of Kerbin, it would save us the trouble of launching them from Kerbin. How do we set about such a task? I have no idea - but the Kerbin Space Agency will find a way! Are there alternatives to rockets that could be used to get into space. Again, I personally have no idea but the Kerbin Space Agency should be tasked with finding out." "The KSA will not be a large agency to begin with of course. Barely more than a committee charged with finding the right questions to ask, let alone finding out the answers. If President Enemone's skepticism proves to be correct then it need grow no further. But if spaceflight really does take off, then the KSA will be ready." There were murmurs of support from around the table. Donman tapped the table in front of him. "An excellent plan President Obrick and one that I believe this Council should earnestly consider. If I may make one small suggestion it would be this. Rather than be wholly guided by the endeavours of our fellow kerbals, why not let the fledgling KSA guide their early ventures? If I may use your example of resource gathering, then surely the first step along that path is to identify what resources are available and where they might be found? Therefore might we not set our space companies the challenge of mapping the Mün from space? Although," he added dryly, "It may well be that simply reaching the Mün will be sufficient challenge to begin with." The Council started to look more enthusiastic as it debated the merits and the details of the Obrick-Donman proposal. Then President Chadwick spoke up again. "What about crew safety?" Obrick looked him in the eye. "Without wishing to be callous, I suggest that this Council does not concern itself with such matters beyond setting certain basic requirements. We should certainly ensure that rockets are not being flown recklessly over inhabited areas - ideally they should launch over the sea. As far as crew safety is concerned, I would venture to suggest that any crew, or indeed passenger in a spacecraft will be well aware of the risks and will have chosen to go regardless." Aldwell nodded in agreement. "We could of course expand the remit of the Kerbin Air Accident Board to cover investigations into similar incidents with space vehicles but beyond that, I agree with President Obrick. Besides," he went on wryly, "if I may borrow President Enemone's expression, the gronnek is already out of the bag. I suspect that other groups of enthusiasts will attempt to launch themselves into space regardless of any decision handed down by this Council." Obrick got to his feet. "Let us put the proposal to the vote then. Let all those against, mark their disagreement with no fear of coercion nor fear of censure nor fear of reproach." He looked round the table at the silent figures before him. "Speak now or forever abide by the lawful decision of this Council." The council room was quite still. "Very well. As it has been spoken by the Twelve Pillars, let it be written by the Twelve Pillars. And may the Kerm give us wisdom to follow our course." << Chapter 12 :: Chapter 14>>

Hey Squirtgun. Thanks for hanging in there and thanks for coming back with the apology a couple of posts back. Working on the chapter as we speak, although real life (and a certain amount of procrastination) have gotten in the way a bit. It's been a tricky one in many ways - the first crewed flight was an obvious milestone to write towards and I knew where the story was going along the way. Without giving too much away, the next chapter is pretty important and sets the direction for the next part of the tale but doing that without making it too dry or too much of an anticlimax (I hope!) took a while to figure out. Rest assured though - it's all chugging along! KSK.

Beautifully done! You had hooked after the second paragraph - 'so I handed him a flare instead' Oh - and that was an awesome contraption that Jeb was riding there. Looking forward to the next part.

Interesting but probably too complicated in the end. Plus the NPC traders are dumber than rocks in the X games - I can't imagine the level of 'fun' that would ensue if you forced them to use proper orbital mechanics too. You might want to take a look at Elite: Dangerous at some point though - it might be close to what you have in mind. Definitely futuretech ships, so orbital mechanics become kinda irrelevant since you have effectively infinite delta v. I *think* it's still going to be based on Newtonian mechanics though, so flight should be a wee bit more realistic than the X games. Plus all the solar systems, space stations and stuff will be properly scaled, so should feel suitably epic. Edit - it's the sequel to Elite II - Frontier and Elite: First Encounters, if that rings any bells with anyone!

I think most of my 'Ah-ha!' moments have revolved (pun intended ) around the Navball. Learning to use that thing properly made rendezvous (now rendezvous and docking after some practice) and Munar (or other powered landings) sooo much easier. Trust in thy instruments. Especially if you're like me, get a bit hazy about this fully 3D environment thingy and have trouble sticking modules together by eye.

Whew! This is heating up and then some. If they get back alive, I don't think anyone is going to be teasing Bob for carrying his lucky coin. And the Director - yeah I wouldn't want to be on his bad side. I did wonder what the kerbal equivalent of a white cat to stroke was but on reflection I don't think this guy needs any stage props! Loved the way you worked some of the backstory into Bill's delirium - very effective writing.

Geneney and Ornie are the rocks under my fictional space program, so I had a soft spot for them in-game as well. Hoping they'll turn up in the roster some time this patch too.

I see you are trying to give up Dave - and that is something I cannot allow. I have the greatest enthusiasm for the mission you know. Seriously - someone with a forum handle like ae35unit needs to be in space! Don't give up - it is possible and it does get easier. Speaking as someone who's approximately 3x13 Quick question though - is it the docking that's the problem or the rendez-vous? Sorry if this comes across as condescending (tis not meant to be) but they are very different maneuvers, require different skills and can be fixed/simplified with different mods.

RT5 fired Creates paperwork for me Gene was not happy

Working on the next chapter but there are some details that I'm still getting straight in my head first. In the meantime, I can thoroughly thoroughly recommend The Next Frontier. Enjoy it as a sort of sequel to First Flight by all means but trust me - it more than stands on its own regardless of what I write. You might also want to take a look at Deadweasel's Kerbal Khronicles. Totally different universe but a really good read and beautifully illustrated to boot. While you're at it, go take a peek at BostLab's ' Beagle Flight' series. Completely different again but lots of drama and one seriously menacing main character, although I havn't quite decided whether he's actually a bad guy yet - I suspect things will get just a little more complex than that. Plus of course, there's no shortage of other fine work on this forum. Byter - Thank you very much! The chapter was actually inspired by one in-game flight where I failed to take proper account of fuel tank sizes and limped up to orbit with the lateral boosters carrying the dead weight of the main first stage tank and engine. Made it on RCS in the end and figured that would be a good tale to work into First Flight Scotius - yeah I might want to dial back the Yoda imagery a bit . Need to figure out a way of depicting age and dignity in a kerbal though. Still - at least bad grammar I resisted yes? As for 'Thunderbirds March', I was thinking more Coming Home by Iron Maiden More about airplanes than spaceships I think but it always conjures up images of spaceplanes for me.

Yep - this just keeps getting better! And I know I've said it before but those are some sweet designs. Look like mostly stock parts too.

*Blinks* Well I didn't see *that* coming. Looks like an inside job if they were able to find and detect Colossus. I wouldn't like to be in their boots when the Director catches up with them though - assuming this isn't an elaborate double cross by the Director Oh incidentally - loved the explosion screenshot - very nicely done. And that last picture is just splendidly ominous.

Expansion pack culture is nothing new though. I don't have a problem with it myself, although my idea of an expansion pack is e.g. the Lord of Destruction expansion for Diablo 2. The original game was complete and fun to play in itself but the expansion added a huge amount of new content, game mechanics and better resolution graphics. I don't have any issues paying extra for that and I think it's a bit harsh to lump it in with DLC as a 'cancer on the video game industry' For KSP - you bet I'd pay for expansions (although I won't need to) I've had a ridiculous amount of fun with this game already, I still have tons left that I want to do and that to do list is only going to get longer. In terms of 'hours of fun to money spent' KSP is one of the best things I've ever bought, so I'd have no problems at all shelling out for expansions whether I technically needed them or not. Heck, if Squad did a nice box set special edition version of the current game (once it's finished of course ), I'd probably buy that too.

Docked two of my new Eve class 3-kerbal spacecraft in low Kerbin orbit. Was pleased to have finally figured out docking using just the navball rather than relying on the Lazor docking camera.