Landwalker

An Official Inquest into the Swallow I Incident The days following the Swallow I disaster were somber at best. The crashâ€â€and the death of the Koviet Space Program's first and most public kerbonautâ€â€was an international embarrassment, and Kerblin officials swore an official inquiry would determine where responsibility for the catastrophe resided and that those culpable would be held accountable. All work at the Koviet Space Center campus ground to a halt for nearly a week, awaiting not only the outcome of the investigation but also a determination as to the fate of the entire program. On Y1-D41, the Koviet Central Auditing Commission submitted its report to the Central Committee. The KCAC found ubiquitous errors, failures of judgment, and abuses of authority throughout the system surrounding the design and launch of the Swallow I. The Úáß had been forced to operate on a shoestring budget, relying not just on recycled and used parts but on equipment and materials that had been discarded as too unreliable or too dangerous by other industries. All the while, the Ministry of Rocketry, Aeronautics, and Space had pushed increasingly demanding milestones that had to be met in order to secure further funds or authorization for the acquisition of new components. This in and of itself was not especially damning, but the KCAC reported that the reason for such tight operations lay in the fact that much of the funds appropriated by the Central Committee for assignment to the Koviet Space Program never reached itâ€â€rather, over half of the monies found their way into the pockets of the Minister himself and scores of deputies and other bureaucrats. The program had been under immense pressure from the Minister himself to produce results in short order, leading to several serious design and engineering defects due to a combination of budgetary restrictions and Ministry interference. At the KCAC's request, the engineers and technicians at the KSC walked the investigators through a number of simulations, demonstrating the fundamental flaw in the Swallow I design that had been rammed through by the Ministry. The necessity of recovering as much of the craft as possible for recycling and reuse had led to the command capsule being directly attached to the second-stage RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster, rendering the uppermost portion of the craft horribly ill-suited to any sort of controlled descent from high-atmospheric altitudes, let alone atmospheric reentry from space. Simulations of the design that had been originally submitted by the KSC engineers (and rejected by the Ministry as wasteful), which included an additional TR-18A Stack Decoupler between the command pod and the second-stage booster, showed that it even under atmospheric reentry conditions a fully separated command capsule would have no trouble reducing to the speeds necessary for safe parachute deployment provided it did not have to contend with the bulk of an attached solid fuel booster. Further findings regarding the flight path taken by Swallow I simply served as salt in the wound. Simulations showed that shallower trajectories than those of the actual flight would have dramatically increased the probability of successful recovery and safe return, although they would not have reached the highest of the milestones set by the Ministry. A KCAC subpoena of hundreds of intraoffice communiques of the Ministry revealed that significant pressure had been applied to Komrade Jebediah to disregard the intended flight plan in the interest of these milestones, all for the purpose of winning acclaim and popular opinion (and additional funding) for the Ministry, and that this pressure had at times extended to thinly veiled threats against this national hero's family and own person. In light of such a scandal, the Central Committee took swift and decisive steps. The presiding Minister and dozens of lesser Ministry officials were removed from their posts and officially censored. Those responsible for clear crimes against the Koviet Union and the Koviet People's Party were arrested and arraigned for a public trial, with the Minister himself apprehended attempting to flee the capital with a briefcase full of confidential documents related to both the Party and the Koviet Space Program. The Committee appointed a new Minister to the post and established ongoing oversight of the Ministry's operations by the Central Auditing Commission. The Koviet Space Program itself was given authorization to continue its operations, much to the relief of the program director and staff. However, one last hurdle remained before the program could truly return to the good graces of the Party, one that would salvage the program's reputation at home and the Koviet Union's reputation abroad. With the former budgetary woes at least temporarily alleviated by the release of the formerly-withheld Ministry funds, the Central Committee wanted to see a Kerbal in orbit within the next 30 days. And this time, they wanted them to come back alive.

Just out of curiosity / guilt complex, I ran a final "posthumous" simulation, using the same Swallow I design but taking a shallower ascent angle. Valentina reached a top speed of 1.3km/s and an altitude of about 35.3km. Her descent was pretty hairy, and had the expected "nose-flip" once things got too difficult to control. I suspected a similar fate, but at an altitude of 1.5-2km the parachute dialogue finally showed "Risky" and I deployed. Boy, parachutes take their sweet time now, huh? The Mk16 finally finished fully expanding about 200 meters above the ocean surface, and just barely slowed the craft enough for splashdown (courtesy of nearly 10G of force...). Fins were destroyed, but the entire rest of the craft (including the Goo containers) stayed intact and connected. This final simulation was, I think, very useful, both for personal learning and for story-writing. It suggests that the "fatal flaw" in Jebediah's doomed flight was probably ascent angleâ€â€the craft climbed too high, and as a result came down too steep to slow down sufficiently. However, it also shows that the design of the Swallow I, at least as far as being viewed in the light of its intended objectives, was barely on the edge of viable, and any deviation from the ideal flight could result in disaster. Thus, the disaster of Swallow I seems to be a combination of poor design (in relation to mission objectives) and a failure to follow the necessary flight path. A better design would have included an additional TR-18A Stack Decoupler between the Mk1 Command Pod and the Stage 2 RT-10 Hammer Booster, or would have perhaps replaced the second-stage booster with an RT-5 Flea in order to prevent the craft from picking up too much speed. This would have also allowed more "slack" in terms of survivable flight trajectories. The Koviet Central Auditing Commission is expected to complete its inquiries into the incident and issue its report to the Central Committee later today. (Edit: The ribbon in my signature has also been updated in memoriam of Jeb's sacrifice with the Black Stripe. 1/34 shall be a day that lives in Koviet history until such time as I forget about it.) Edit 2: Ran one final simulation. Same construction, but with a second TR-18A Stack Decoupler. Took the "Jebediah" route, topping out at about 90km, then separated the command capsule from the RT-10 Hammer Booster. Re-entry was uneventful. The capsule maintained the appropriate orientation for the entire descent with no correction necessary, and reached a safe parachute deployment speed at an altitude of about 5.5km. This casts further shade upon the engineering of the rocket.

Without detailed pictures, hard to tell... but I'd hypothesize that you may have the fuel ducts between the center and the liquid fuel boosters pointing the wrong way.

Stupid? Too late in a mission, which was only supposed to serve to fulfill some of the mid-tier starting contracts regarding altitude, distance, and speed (we're talking "Reach 11.5km, go 450m/s" contracts here), I realized that I had grossly underestimated the capabilities of the design and that my ship was actually going to space. Which is normally great, except that this ship in question was built for atmospheric flight and landing, not for reentry. It had a Mk16 parachute on a Mk1 Command Pod with two Goo containers, all stacked on top of an RT-10 "Hammer" Booster. No stack decoupler. Trials had shown that this was perfectly fine for launches that reached 300-350m/s velocity and 10-12km altitude... but it was not fine for a ship reentering the atmosphere at 1,400m/s. R.I.P. Jeb, accidentally the first Koviet kerbonaut in space.

It was a tough, tough mission to fly and then write-up. I intentionally put off the "aftermath" of the flight, which will be discussed at the open of the next mission write-up. Suffice it to say, heads will roll. I had actually done a trial run of this same flight a couple of days ago, and it went nearly identically in most respects. The differences? Well, Jebediah survived. Such is the fickle nature of aspiring space flight. I only did the trial run in the first place because I was curious whether or not the design would be capable of meeting the 450m/s milestone (since the Cricket IV hadn't come anywhere close). Despite the relatively minor change in Delta-V (Swallow I had a total of 2,242m/s compared to Cricket IV's 2,102m/s), whether it was because I took a "better" ascent angle, the improved aerodynamics of the Mk1 Command Pod, the greater "power off the launchpad" of the RT-10 Booster, or a combination of those three, the trial run blew away the 450m/s velocity test and proceeded to blow past almost all of the other milestones, as well. And Jebediah returned safely. In the trial-run, the RT-10 Hammer Solid Fuel Booster and the two Mystery Gooâ„¢ Containment Units were burned up during reentry, which helped slow down and properly orient the command pod. It was a harrowing descent, but the capsule slowed down enough to deploy the parachute in time. I thought the trial run would make for a great mission write-upâ€â€the program tinkering with designs to appease the Ministry and unexpectedly stumbling over a major breakthrough they weren't prepared for, but salvaging the mission through grit and ingenuity while Jeb returned as a national hero. And then this happened.

Swallow I  A Tragedy of Errors The Cricket IV was widely considered successful, but just as widely considered not to have achieved enough. Furthermore, its anemic speed demonstrated the glaring weakness of the RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster when employed in any "serious" aspiring spacecraft. Various factions among the engineers lobbied for another launch in the Cricket program and switching the placement of the RT-5 and RT-10 boosters, or another Cricket launch with two RT-10s (one replacing the RT-5 of the Cricket IV. However, Ministry pressure demanded more than minor tinkering for incremental gains. The Ministry demanded an attention-grabbing flight that would blow through old records and win the program (and the Minister) unprecedented acclaims. So it was that, much to the grumbling of most of the kerbals in Engineering, design work began on a new flight series. No more "Flea" boosters for the Koviet Space Programâ€â€these rockets would be bigger, louder, boomier, and they would fly faster, higher, and further than any kerbal had ever imagined. Swallow I Mission Objectives Reach an altitude of 11.5km Cover a distance of 28km Achieve a velocity of 450m/s Gather observations of the Mystery Gooâ„¢ at the landing site, and at any other opportunities Recover craft intact [*]Construction Mk1 Command Pod Mk16 Axial Parachute (2x) Mystery Gooâ„¢ Containment Unit RT-10 Solid Fuel Booster (Thrust Limiter 40%) (4x) Basic Fin TR-18A Stack Decoupler RT-10 Solid Fuel Booster (Thrust Limiter 70%) (4x) Basic Fin [*]Engineer's Report Part Count: 15 Height: 7.2m Weight: 8,296kg gross (S1 3,652kg, S2 4,644kg) - Includes total of 5,625kg solid rocket fuel Stage 1 TWR: 1.70 (34s estimated burn) Stage 2 TWR: 1.74 (59s estimated burn) Total Delta-V: 2,242m/s (S1 690m/s, S2 1,551 m/s) Construction Time: 2d, 2h, 13m Construction Cost: √4,022 [*]Crew Test Pilot  Jebediah Kermanov Final construction was begun at Y1-D30-H5-M46 and completed at Y1-D33-H1-M58. Rollout began at Y1-D33-H5-M0. Launch occurred at Y1-D33-H5-M58. Ahead of its RT-10 "Hammer" first stage, the craft traveled directly up for approximately 230 meters, reaching a velocity of 50m/s and beginning a gradual turn to a 70º vertical angle on a 90º compass bearing. Although Jebediah continued slowly shallowing out the ascent angle and the first stage separation occurred without issue, the combination of back-to-back RT-10 boosters proved to provide far more power than anyone (except some engineers, or so they later claimed) had anticipatedâ€â€by the time the second stage had burned out, Swallow I had reached an altitude of approximately 31.5km and a speed of 1,475m/s, blowing away the Ministry's mandated 450m/s. Visiting bureaucrats in Mission Control were ecstatic! Here was a rocket that could truly show the world that the Koviet Union would go to space! What they didn't realize was that Swallow I would show the world that the Koviet Union actually was going into space. Right now. 2 minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff, Swallow I passed an altitude of 70km, making Komrade Jebediah Kermanov the first kerbal to leave the atmosphere and experience the weightlessness of space, ultimately reaching a ceiling of 85.6 kilometers above Kerbin. It was a proud and incredible moment for the Koviet Union. The exuberation was quickly dampened, however. Komrade Program Director Gene Kermanov pointed out that despite the historic achievements being set, Swallow I was supposed to have been reaching an altitude ceiling of around 12 kilometers and a speed of 450-500m/s. Yes, it had reached space, but it was not supposed to be there. The craft was not equipped for atmospheric reentry, and to make matters worse, had no way of separating from the exhausted second-stage RT-10 Hammer booster. Simulations and the flight of the Cricket IV had shown no problem landing on top of a spent RT-10 Hammer... but those had all been low-atmospheric trajectories at comparatively low speeds. Swallow I would be returning falling from over 80km, through a heated atmosphere, at speeds well in excess of Mach 3. The mood in Mission Control darkened considerably, and all attention was turned towards how best to return Swallow Iâ€â€and more importantly, Komrade Jebediah Kermanovâ€â€to Kerbin intact. At 81km and falling, Jebediah oriented the ship retrograde and was ordered to hold that orientation at all cost and as long as possible, in the hopes that it would force the RT-10 to absorb the brunt of the expected reentry heat (and possibly burn off the booster entirely, reducing the total weight of the craft). 5 minutes, 20 seconds after liftoff, Swallow I reentered the atmosphere. One minute later, at an altitude of approximately 38km, the craft began experiencing atmospheric heating, and holding orientation became increasingly difficultâ€â€the craft was traveling at 1,590m/s at this time, and concern was mounting rapidly. At an altitude of 28km, Jebediah lost control of Swallow I, causing it to flip around wildly and, despite all efforts to correct orientation, begin descending nose-first. The RT-10 had not, as was hoped, burn off before this loss of control occurred. With the ship hurtling nose-down, it became impossible to slow the ship down to anything resembling appropriate velocities. Approximately 200 meters above the surface, the Mk16 parachute was deployed in a desperate last-ditch effort... and was promptly ripped from its cords. 7 minutes, 20 seconds after liftoff, and 4 minutes, 55 seconds after it became the first kerbal rocket to reach the endless expanse of space, Swallow I crashed into the shoreline at over 300 meters per second. Mission Results Flight Time: 7 minutes, 20 seconds Top Speed: 1,135m/s Flight Ceiling: 85.6km Ground Distance: 250km Science Recovered: 0 Salvage Recovered: √0 Success  Reach an altitude of 11.5km Bonus  Reach an altitude of 19km Bonus  Reach an altitude of 26.5km Bonus  Reach an altitude of 70km Bonus  Escape the atmosphere! Success  Land distance of 28km Bonus  Land distance of 39km Success  Reach a velocity of 450m/s Bonus  Reach a velocity of 750m/s Failure  Recover craft intact Failure  All kerbals returned alive Failure  Gather observations of Mystery Gooâ„¢ at landing site and other locations

Be careful what you wish for...

The great air-suit / sans helmet Kerbal skins are courtesy of, I believe, PimpMyKerbals and KerbalHeads, which make use of Texture Replacer and which are two aesthetic mods I love, just for the variety it adds to our kerbal buddies. The variety will become even more apparent when other kerbals start getting some screen-time, as Bob and Bill both look very different from Jeb. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much demand for a scientist or an engineer yet, so they're operating "behind the scenes" instead. I've got a late day at work today, but I'm hoping to still have time tonight for a missionâ€â€planning to strap two RT-10 Hammer Solid Fuel Boosters top-to-bottom (like the Cricket IV, but replacing the RT-5 Flea with a second RT-10 Hammer) and replace the Cricket probe design with a Mk1 Command Pod, piloted by Jebediah Kermanov. The consensus among Engineering is that the combination of Moar Explosiveness + More Aerodynamic Profile will be more than adequate for meeting the next batch of Ministry milestones. Since the crewed missions will no longer be making primary use (if any use at all) of the RT-5 Flea, "Fleabiscuit" no longer applies, and I'm going to have to figure out a name for this next generation of crewed missions. After our Double-Hammer experiment, I hope to finally graduate the program to liquid fuel engines for their primary propulsionâ€â€and with the only LF engine currently available being the LV-30 "Reliant", that's going to be much more power than the Koviet Kerbonauts are used to...

Cricket IV  The Only Thing Better Than One Exploding Trash Can... Following the successful flight of Fleabiscuit II, all focus was turned to the R&D lab. The scientists guaranteed major breakthroughs on the horizon, and the engineers were on edge to find out what "throughs" were, how broken they would be, and whether or not they could be repaired. To the relief of all the kerbals in Engineering, it turned out that "breakthrough" was some nonsensical egghead term for the useful byproducts of their Science Refinery operation. Over the span of only a couple of days, R&D submitted findings and proposals on a variety of new equipment designs. Aviation I  Completed Y1-D24-H3-M41 AV-T1 Winglet Delta-Deluxe Winglet LY-01 Fixed Landing Gear [*]Science and Electricity I  Completed at T1-D25-H5-M11 Z-100 Rechargeable Battery Pack Mystery Gooâ„¢ Containment Unit Radiator Panel (Small) Communotron 16 [*]Light Rocketry II  Completed Y1-D25-H5-M11 RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster LV-T30 "Reliant" Liquid Fuel Engine FL-T400 Fuel Tank KW Rocketry SA-05 LFT KW Rocketry SA-1 LFT Globe I SRB KW Rocketry 1.25m Stack Decoupler FL-A10 Adapter (1.25m to 0.625m) The program director submitted requisition forms to the Ministry, but found himself facing political squabbles back at the Kerblin and some dissatisfaction that the program had not yet met the prescribed milestones for speed, height, and distance. As a result, the Ministry authorized only the Aviation I designs in full, while rejecting the design for the Radiator Panel as "frivolous" and only approving the RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster and the KW Rocketry 1.25m Stack Decoupler from the Light Rocketry II proposals. The spokesman for the bureaucrat responsible for these decisions simply remarked that "Solid fuel has proven adequate to date for the program's purposes, and there is no reason it should not continue to prove so. Funds cannot be diverted from the Koviet Armed Forces at this time for luxury expenditures." Nevertheless, the board of the Koviet Space Program was undeterred, and set out to placate the Ministry through demonstrations of a design capable of meeting the most recent performance requirements. Some rumors briefly arose that the program director wanted "to build a rocket that can reach the Kerblin," but these were promptly quashed and those responsible reassigned to launchpad clean-up duty. In order to reach these goals, it was clear that the RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster would be necessary, and simulations were arranged to estimate its efficacy. For liability reasons, it was determined that the first launch would entail a return of the uncrewed "Open Box" design of the Cricket missions. The initial simulations assumed a design similar to that of the Cricket III, but replacing the RT-5 "Flea" with an RT-10 "Hammer" solid fuel booster, and the 2HOT Thermometers that had been carried by earlier flights with two Mystery Gooâ„¢ Containment Units, so that Koviet scientists might try to figure out what, exactly, it was supposed to be used for. The first simulation (√22) set a thrust limiter of 40% on the RT-10 booster (TWR of 1.91), and while the simulation predicted a flight ceiling of around 8.84km, it was determined that such a design would only be able to travel approximately 11kmâ€â€far short of the 17km demanded by the Ministryâ€â€due to sacrificing distance in favor of altitude. For the second simulation (√22), the thrust limiter was reduced to 35% and a shallower trajectory was assumed. This resulted in an altitude just under 8km (still satisfactory), but managed less than 14km of travel, still short of the goal. The third and final simulation introduced a novel concept to the Koviet Space Program. Inspired by an intern loudly breaking apart a Toblerone bar during an awkwardly silent brainstorming meeting, it was suggested that the 1.25m Stack Decoupler be used to attach a tried-and-tested RT-5 Flea engine underneath the RT-10 Hammer to give the craft that extra "kick" off the launchpad. With some tinkering by the design team, this resulted in a projected flight that would be capable of reaching both 7.5km altitude and 17km of ground distance. (Of all three simulations, the highest velocity ever predicted was a meagre 319m/s. This was so far below the Ministry's prescribed milestone that it was eventually accepted that the design authorizations available to the program would be wholly inadequate for the task, and thus it was disregarded for the current mission. Furthermore, the added cost (and subsequent loss upon being jettisoned) of the RT-5 Flea and the Stack Decoupler were deemed acceptable in the interest of proving that the Ministry's distance and altitude requirements could be met in a single flight.) Cricket IV Mission Objectives Test capabilities of the RT-10 Hammer Solid Fuel Booster Execute first staging separation of the Koviet Space Program Gather observations of the Mystery Gooâ„¢ at the landing site and while in flight Reach an altitude of 7.5km Travel at least 17km from the Koviet Space Center campus Recover the primary body of the craft intact [*]Construction Stayputnik Mk.1 Probe Core (4x) M-1x1 Structural Panels in open-box arrangement (2x) Z-100 Rechargeable Battery Pack Mk16 Axial Parachute (2x) Mystery Gooâ„¢ Containment Unit Small Inline Reaction Wheel RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster (Thrust Limiter 35%) (4x) Basic Fin KW Rocketry 1.25m Stack Decoupler RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster (Thrust Limiter 60%) [*]Engineer's Report Part Count: 18 Height: 6.2m Weight: 5,962kg gross (S1 1,750kg; S2 4,212kg) – Includes total of 3,862.5kg solid rocket fuel Stage 1 TWR: 1.67 (14.7s estimated burn) Stage 2 TWR: 1.68 (68s estimated burn) Total Delta-V: 2,102m/s (S1 266m/s; S2 1,836m/s) Construction Time: 4d, 3h, 22m Construction Cost: √4,152 [*]Crew None Construction was begun at UT Y1-D25-H5-M12, and finished at UT Y1-D30-H2-M33. Rollout the following morning at Y1-30-H5-M37, with an immediate launch. The Cricket IV initially set a more-or-less easterly bearing at a vertical angle of approximately 80º. However, the lack of sufficient velocity provided from the RT-5 Flea Booster in the first stage resulted in early "tipping" of the craft. This required manual corrective action through the integrated reaction wheel, but unlike the failure of Cricket II, electrical shortage was averted due to the inclusion of the new Z-100 Battery Packs, thereby allowing the craft to somewhat counteract the meddlesome force of gravity. Approximately 15 seconds into the flight, the RT-5 Flea was exhausted and successfully jettisoned, with the transition being made to the RT-10 Hammer. The RT-10 justified its (admittedly nominal) cost over the following minute, and although the craft's angle of ascent by the time of burnout had sunk down to perhaps 35º (or even lower), the power provided by the RT-10 still allowed it to meet all of its operational objectives. Following burnout and the apex of the flight trajectory, the parachute was safely deployed, and shortly thereafter the craft splashed down with the customary destruction of the stabilizing fins. Mission Results Flight Time: 4 minutes, 21 seconds Top Speed: 309m/s Flight Ceiling: 8.5km Ground Distance: 22.8km Total Distance: 33.1km Science Recovered: 9.9 Salvage Recovered: √3,278 (78.95%) Success  Test capabilities of the RT-10 Hammer Solid Fuel Booster Success  Execute first staging separation of the Koviet Space Program Success  Gather observations of the Mystery Gooâ„¢ at the landing site and while in flight Success  Reach an altitude of 7.5km Success  Travel at least 17km from the Koviet Space Center campus Success  Recover the primary body of the craft intact The milestones set by Cricket IV in both altitude and surface distance were welcome news among the program's supporters back in the Ministry, and the mission helped them lobby successfully for the authorization of additional equipment designs, but not without compromiseâ€â€in exchange for the release of funding, the Ministry demanded even greater results, ordering an altitude of 11.5km and a surface distance of 28km, both well in excess of anything the KSP had achieved to date. There was also a not-especially-gentle reminder that 309m/s would hardly be acceptable if the program were to ever reach its purported goal of this alleged "Space." The dour attitude of the Ministry wasn't able to completely dampen spirits on the Koviet Space Center campus, however, as the scientists were going around thumping their thoracic cavities over completing research into something they called "Structural Engineering I" and which the engineers tended to call either "Mind your own damn business" or "Why didn't you tell us that before we build the stupid rocket?" It eventually came out that the research had been completed after construction of Cricket IV had already commenced, and so the R&D staff had all spent a few days on the beach. One of the lead scientists claimed to have documented authorization for this work absence from the Ministry itself. While he was only able to produce an illegible handwritten document that was measured at 63% coffee stain by mass, the matter was not pursued further, as the program director felt the eggheads had earned a break from their "breakthroughs" and did not want to provoke any bureaucratic inquiries. Structural Engineering I  Completed Y1-D27-H3-M51 Structural Fuselage (1.25m) M-Beam 650 I-Beam Cubic Octagonal Strut TR-18A Stack Decoupler (1.25m) TR-2V Stack Decoupler (0.625m)

Glad to hear y'all are enjoying it! I'm really enjoying documenting the whole thing, even at these early stages. I was pretty pleased with myself for the design of the Cricket series. At first, I wasn't sure what to do about the fact that my only command part was the Stayputnik, which can't take an axial parachute directly... after a bit of monkeying around, though, the Open Box was born. Not exactly the most aerodynamic design, but it gets the job done (and is actually proving more structurally sound than I originally anticipated). The design will be making a return tonight, as I've already run simulations for the Cricket IV, and the actual launch should take place this evening. The Open Box will be of course be present, and it will also be the debut of Larger Explosions and Itsy Bitsy Explosions (the RT-10 Hammer Solid Fuel Booster, and the first stack decoupler). The Ministry-mandated performance milestones must be met!

Good catch there. I didn't realize you could change your program flag mid-career (not that I'm going to, but hey, fancy). I do seem to have gotten my Flagpole displaying the correct flag, but the Launchpad is still a no-go. And it'll be a long, long ways before I have that thing fully upgraded.

Fleabiscuit II  The Grassy Knoll of Early Rocketry Komrade Jebediah's flight of the Fleabiscuit I would prove the harbinger of great leaps forward for the Koviet Space Program. His performance had resulted in the collection of unprecedented quantities of scientific data collection, and the brains in the R&D labs were hard at work refining the raw science into useful technologies. In the interim, however, a new demand arose. All previous flights had traveled east, towards (and eventually into) the great eastern ocean, and with the exception of the Cricket II electrical failure, had all been safely recovered. This prompted the question of whether or not the same results could be achieved when landing on firmer surfaces (often referred to as "ground"). Since it was inevitable that a flight would one day have no choice but to make a terrestrial landing, the Koviet Space Program director felt it prudent to fill the time waiting for further technological advances by launching Fleabiscuit II, taking a westward heading for the verdant grasslands beyond the Koviet Space Center campus. As with Fleabiscuit I, a short simulation (costing √13.7) was run to ascertain the level of risk to the lucky kerbal chosen to pilot the craft. The results showed a "terrestrial" landing at the expected speed of 6.5-6.8m/s would be jarring, but not damaging, and that an appropriate flight trajectory at a heading of 270º and a climb of approximately 50º would be sufficient for the craft to reach the grasslands. An intact landing was expected, and it was noted that on solid ground the base of the RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster could potentially protect the stabilizing fins and thus keep the entire craft together. With these acceptable results, construction (or rather, refurbishment) of Fleabiscuit II was commenced. Fleabiscuit II Mission Objectives Demonstrate the ability to to safely land a crewed capsule in low-altitude terrestrial sites Recover the craft intact Conduct a crew report while flying over the grasslands Conduct a crew report upon landing in the grasslands Conduct an EVA report upon landing in the grasslands Conduct a temperature reading while flying over the grasslands Conduct a temperature reading upon landing in the grasslands No objectives were set regarding speed, distance, or altitude, as the necessary thresholds (450m/s, 17km, and 7.5km respectively) were deemed unattainable with current technology [*]Construction Mk1 Command Pod Mk16 Axial Parachute (2x) 2HOT Thermometer RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster (Thrust Limiter 40%) (4x) Basic Fin (3x) Pegasus I Mobility Enhancer [*]Engineer's Report Part Count: 12 Height: 3.0m Weight: 2,506kg gross / 1,456kg dry (1,050kg solid fuel) TWR at Launch: 2.65 (22.1s estimated burn) Total Delta-V: 745m/s Construction Time: 3h, 10m* Construction Cost: √3,422 * Only the Basic Fin flight stabilizers were actually constructed, as the rest of the craft was salvaged from the recovery of Fleabiscuit I. This dramatically reduced the necessary time to prepare the craft for launch. [*]Crew Test Pilot  Valentina Kermanova Due to a design error noticed on the launchpad prior to launchâ€â€one of the engineers had apparently eaten a thermometer, leaving only a single device attached to the command podâ€â€the craft initially had to be recalled to the VAB for additional work and the missing thermometer extracted from the guilty party. This resulted in a slight delay, but the efficiency with which the Fleabiscuit II was reequipped allowed Mission Control to avoid the wrath of visitors from the Ministry. Final construction on was completed at Y1-D23-H2-M21, but rollout was delayed until the following day at Y1-D23-H4-M57. Launch occurred at Y1-D23-H5-M16. The launch was unusually noteworthy owing to the seeming absence of all shadows whatsoever.* Despite considerable consternation from the more religious engineers, the launch was directed to go ahead as scheduled. With Komrade Valentina's passable piloting skills, the flight was uneventful and went largely as predicted. A bearing of 270º was set immediately after launch, with a climb angle of approximately 50º above the horizon, which was held until the burnout of the RT-5 booster engine. The Mk16 Axial Parachute was released and, at an altitude of 1km, fully deployed and successfully slowed the craft to its desired landing velocity. The only hiccup in the flight came as a result of the Fleabiscuit II landing on a small incline, causing it to fall over on its sideâ€â€however, the craft was undamaged and, to the surprise of everyone in Mission Control, the stabilizing fins did, in fact, remain intact throughout the landing and were recovered along with the craft. It was noted in R&D while going through the scientific data recovered from the mission that Valentina had apparently been taking creative writing lessons from Jebediah, judging by her EVA report claiming to be flying over the grasslands when all systems showed that she had already landed. Mission Results Flight Time: 3 minutes, 1 second Top Speed: 380m/s Flight Ceiling: 5.3km Ground Distance: 7.3km Science Recovered: 17.6 Salvage Recovered: √3,257 Success  Demonstrate ability to safely land a crewed capsule in low-altitude terrestrial sites. Success  Recover craft intact Success  Conduct crew report while flying over the grasslands Success  Conduct crew report upon landing in the grasslands Success  Conduct EVA report upon landing in the grasslands Success  Conduct temperature reading while flying over the grasslands Success  Conduct temperature reading upon landing in the grasslands Bonus  Conduct EVA report while "flying" over Kerbin's grasslands While the flight set no new records, it did demonstrate the viability of a terrestrial landing of a crewed command module. Komrade Valentina also returned valuable information regarding conditions above and on the grasslands of Kerbin, which the scientists planned to somehow turn into useful research. Chief Scientist Komrade Werner von Kerman declared that research would be started on structural advances to allow more complex constructions of future craft. In the aftermath of Valentina's return and the recovery of Fleabiscuit II, it was also noted that the Koviet Space Program had been authorized for four additional base employees. Three of these were sent to the VAB (raising Rate 1 to 1.0 BP/s, and create Rate 2 at 0.1 BP/s), and one to Development (improving its rate from 2.0 to 4.0 science/day). * During this play session, I was running in OpenGL due to some stability issues plaguing the game, on account of the number and size of mods I'm using and the fact that my computer has been staggering along like a drunk trying to navigate a hall of mirrors. Please let me know if the images look too obviously like garbage. I personally don't care for it aestheticallyâ€â€I can run without OpenGL, albeit with periodic crashes, but wanted to save myself a small headache for this mission and figured I'd give OpenGL a test drive.

Fleabiscuit I  The Sound of One Kerbal Flying Komrade Test Pilot Jebediah Kermanov and the Fleabiscuit I preparing for launch The Koviet Space Center was buzzing after the success of Cricket III, not only because of the flight itself but because its successful landing and recovery had spurred calls from the Ministry that, dang it all, the Koviet Union didn't establish the Koviet Space Program to throw metal beach balls at the clouds, followed by demands that a flight be arranged to prove that the program was capable of safe crewed flights as well. And thus design commenced on what would become the first crewed flight of the Koviet Space Program. Early in the design of the new craft, concern was voiced over the potential speed of the craft's descent, as the Mk1 Command Pod was many times heavier than the Stayputnik Mk.1 Probe Core, and there was no guarantee that a simple Mk16 axial parachute would be sufficient to slow the capsule enough for safe landing. In order to ascertain the safety of a crewed flight, as well as to estimate the craft's ability to achieve mission objectives, a simulation was arranged that definitely did not involve throwing a model off the roof of the Vertical Assembly Building. The simulation (which may or may not have been rigged to satisfy Ministry representatives) indicated that the Mk16 parachute would be sufficient to slow the craft to approximately 6.5m/s before impact. It was predicted that, while this would result in the (now typical) loss of the craft's stabilizing fins, the craft would land intact and be recoverable. Furthermore, the simulation predicted that an appropriate flight trajectory would be potentially allow the craft to reach the Ministry's demands of 300m/s velocity and 11km distance traveled. These results were universally deemed acceptable, and construction of the first crewed craft of the KSP was approved. Fleabiscuit I Mission Objectives Demonstrate the ability to launch a crewed capsule, and safely return it to Kerbin's surface Achieve velocity of 300 m/s Travel 11km from KSC campus Recover the craft intact Conduct a crew report at the launchpad Conduct a crew report at the landing site Conduct an EVA report at the launchpad Conduct an EVA report at the landing site Conduct a temperature reading while flying over Kerbin's water Conduct a temperature reading while splashed down in Kerbin's water Conduct a temperature reading of the landing site [*]Construction Mk1 Command Pod Mk16 Axial Parachute (2x) 2HOT Thermometer RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster (Thrust Limiter 40%) (4x) Basic Fin (3x) Pegasus I Mobility Enhancer* * These had not been part of the simulation, but were added at the last minute after a junior government bureaucrat demanded that the pilot be able to descend to the surface of the launchpad for a photo opportunity and to make a report on its condition prior to launch. [*]Engineer's Report Part Count: 12 Height: 3.0m Weight: 2,506kg gross / 1,456kg dry (1,050kg solid fuel) TWR at Launch: 2.65 (22.1s estimated burn) Construction Time: 3d, 1h, 1m Construction Cost: √3,422 [*]Crew Test Pilot  Jebediah Kermanov Construction on Fleabiscuit I was completed at Y1-D22-H0-M11, with immediate rollout, and launch occurred at Y1-D22-H0-M31. It was expected that, because of the large Electrical Charge capacity of the Mk1 Command Pod, the craft would have no trouble maintaining a shallower trajectory than the Stayputnik-controlled Cricket crafts, and should therefore easily reach the water. While the design of the Fleabiscuit I was more straight-forward than the complicated open-box design of the Cricket series, the construction of the Mk1 Command Pod was more complex and required additional time for construction. After preparing the Fleabiscuit I on the launchpad, the necessary photo opportunities were taken and Komrade Jebediah reported his thoughts on the launchpad ("Tastes like chicken!"). The pilot performed several unsanctioned acrobatics on the ladders during his climb to the command pod, much to the annoyance of everyone else involved. Later, he would have the gall to submit a report claiming to contain his observations while "Flying over Kerbin's Shores," but this was heavily redacted and is not available for public viewing. The craft was launched, and Jebediah immediately set a bearing of 90º at a vertical angle fluctuating between 45-60º. Komrade Jebediah's basic piloting skills llowed him to maintain stability along this trajectory for the duration of the RT-5's burn, to the satisfaction of the program's onlooking engineers. Cheers were raised throughout Mission Control when the craft surpassed the assigned 300m/s threshold, and the Fleabiscuit I continued its ascent. After burnout, Komrade Jebediah released the controls and let aerodynamics and gravity handle the rest of the work while he fogged up the capsule window and drew smiley faces, then wrote a short report as the craft descended. It soon became clear that the trajectory taken by the craft would make it difficult to reach the 11km distance marker, and Mission Control instructed Jebediah to activate the parachutes. Our komrade coughed several times, claiming that he couldn't make out the radio transmissions, and pulled up on the controls in an effort to "shallow-out" the craft's descent and stretch out to the prescribed distance. Mission Control was in hysterics as the ship rapidly descended towards the ocean, and in the bedlam somebody knocked a mug of coffee into the computer that was maintaining the flight summary data, resulting in an unfortunate loss of information. Thankfully, Fleabiscuit I narrowly covered the last few meters to reach 11km, and Komrade Jebediah activated the parachute some 500 meters above the waters. The craft splashed down shortly thereafter with the predicted loss of stabilizing fins, but was otherwise undamaged by the ordeal. Our pilot took a final EVA to make reports on the nature of the ocean, but in his excitement at having been the first kerbal to ride a rocket into the sky, failed to properly document conditions inside the cabin. Komrade Jebediah has been awarded several decorations for his service, and has also been remanded to a short reeducation clinic to ensure that such an oversight does not happen in the future. Mission Results Flight Time: Unknown due to Loss of Flight Summary Data (Estimated approximately 5 minutes) Science Recovered: 27.7 Salvage Recovered: √3,155 Success  Demonstrate the ability to launch a crewed capsule, and safely return it to Kerbin's surface Success  Achieve velocity of 300 m/s Success  Travel 11km from KSC campus Success  Recover the craft intact Success  Conduct a crew report at the launchpad Failure  Conduct a crew report at the landing site Success  Conduct an EVA report at the launchpad Success  Conduct an EVA report at the landing site Success  Conduct a temperature reading while flying over Kerbin's water Success  Conduct a temperature reading while splashed down in Kerbin's water Bonus  Conduct crew report while flying over Kerbin's water Bonus  Conduct "EVA report" while "flying" over Kerbin's shores Bonus  Conduct "EVA report" while "flying" over Kerbin's water Following the flight, the komrades down at the R&D labs were ecstatic at the number of "Sciences" that had been returned as a result of the Fleabiscuit I launch, as this brought their total capacity to 40.2 "Science." The labs quickly began research in several directions, with results expected in the coming days, with focuses on electrical storage capacity, communication (due to Jeb's alleged radio failure), improved stabilization wings with the potential to survive impact (or in any case to offer better stabilizing options), and a variety of different ways to explode things more violently while still keeping them relatively controlled. Despite the success of the Fleabiscuit I launch, flight, and landing, demands were ever increasing from the Ministry. New assignments included reaching a velocity of 450m/s and a travel distance of 17 kilometers, both unimaginable with the available technology. There was also renewed insistance on reaching an altitude of 7.5 kilometers. Some in the Ministry were also making ridiculous suggestions that if the program could land a kerbal safely in the waters east of the space center, surely the same could be done in the plains to the west. Despite the absurdity of the logic inherent in such positions, the program director couldn't deny that, at some point, a crewed flight might require a "terrestrial" landing, and that the safety and viability of such an event should be investigated.

Cricket III  Paving the Way Forward with Fire After the disappointing performance of Cricket II, the program found itself under sudden pressure to step up its game and prove that Cricket I was more than a fluke. The program director dragged the engineers away from their vodka and locked them in the assembly building until they could produce a guaranteed success. Unfortunately, the program director had neglected to give them any blueprint paper or, for that matter, pencils, so the engineers were forced to rely on pre-existing designs, and Cricket III ended up as an exact replica of its ill-fated predecessor. Despite this ominous result, the komrade chief engineer took the additional step of modifying the thrust limiter on the RT-5 Flea Solid Fuel Booster to double what had been used for the Cricket II launch. While this meant a much shorter burn time, the hope was that the increase in early-flight velocity would generate enough drag on the craft's fins to stabilize it without needing to resort to the Stayputnik's electrical controls. This would preserve electrical charge to allow the Stayputnik core to trigger the Mk16 parachute at the proper time, and would hopefully allow it to continue operation upon reaching the surface in order to record a temperature reading. While the Cricket III was under construction, R&D completed some preliminary research into new types of intentionally-triggered explosions. Despite the encouragement provided by this breakthrough, funding was not awarded for prototype development of R&D's proposed designs, as they were deemed unnecessary for the current projects. Light Rocketry I O-10 "Puff" Monopropellant Fuel Engine FL-R10 RCS Fuel Tank FL-R25 RCS Fuel Tank It was widely agreed that the capabilities of these designs were insufficient to achieving the goals set out by the Ministry, and as a result they were indefinitely shelved to much grumbling from the scientists. Cricket III Mission Objectives Continue "safe" experimentation into rocket-powered flight with probe cores Achieve an altitude above sea level of 3.5 km (failed by Cricket II) Recover the craft intact Conduct a temperature reading of the landing site [*]Construction Stayputnik Mk.1 Probe Core (4x) M-1x1 Structural Panels in an open box 2HOT Thermometer to read the temperature at the landing site Mk16 Axial Parachute Small Inline Reaction Wheel RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster (Thrust Limiter 40%) (4x) Basic Fin [*]Engineer's Report Part Count: 13 Height: 3.2m Weight: 2,045kg gross / 995kg dry (1,050kg solid fuel) TWR at Launch: 3.25 (22.1s estimated burn) Construction Time: 2d, 3h, 24m* Construction Cost: √2,642 * Construction time was higher than that for Cricket II, as that craft had been able to use recycle parts from the salvage of Cricket I. Construction on Cricket III was completed at Y1-D18-H3-M58. Due to the timing, the program director was able to get in a very anxious and fitful nap before the following morning. Rollout was at Y1-D18-H4-M48, and launch occurred at Y1-D18-H5-M04. Immediately upon liftoff it was apparent that the chief engineer's hypothesis regarding additional thrust would prove correct, as Cricket III was able to easily maintain its heading using the magical power of aerodynamics after a small initial adjustment by the Stayputnik to set the flight's course. No further electrical charge was wasted on vector maintenance. With a more vertical bearing, the Cricket III had no trouble achieving and even exceeding the desired altitude before the combination of burnout by the RT-5 and gravity by Kerbin slowed its ascent and began its return to the surface. The Mk16 parachute was activated a few seconds into the descent and deployed successfully. A couple of minutes later, the craft touched down in the shallows off the beach east of the Koviet Space Center campus, approximately 3.16km away. As had happened with Cricket I, the stabilizing Basic Fins were destroyed by the impact, but the remainder of the craft remained intact. The Stayputnik was able to record a temperature reading from the shores before its battery ran out and it went offline, and recovery operations were commenced. Mission Results Flight Time: 00:04:25 Science Recovered: 3.6 Salvage Recovered: √2,405 Success  Continue "safe" experimentation into rocket-powered flight with probe cores Success  Achieve an altitude above sea level of 3.5 km (failed by Cricket II) Success  Recover the craft intact Success  Conduct a temperature reading of the landing site While the Cricket III met all of its operational objectives, data recorded from the mission indicated that the Koviets still had a long way to go if they wanted to go a long way. With a maximum altitude of 4.7km and a distance traveled of 3.16km, Cricket III's performance indicated that the next goals in height and distance (7.5km and 11km, respectively) were not feasible with the current technology. Additional research was necessary if new thresholds were to be reached. However, the craft's maximum velocity of 268m/s suggested that the goal of 300m/s may be within the Koviets' grasp with a few tweaks to the designâ€â€but only optimal operational conditions would likely be able to achieve even that. The mission resulted in the collection of 12.5 "Sciences", resulting in some arguments in R&D over the proper way to proceed. Some advocated beginning research on Aviation I (to unlock the AV-T1 Winglet, Delta Deluxe Winglet, and LY-01 Fixed Landing Gear), while others pushed Rover Tech I (unlocking the EAS-1 External Command Seat and the RoveMax Model S2 Rover Wheels). In the end, it was determined that additional scientific data would be collected before establishing the next path of research, as the departmental warlock claimed that only 2.5 more "Sciences" would allow them to pursue even higher secrets, delving into the black magic of improved electrical systems or more explosive rockets. The promise of better explosions drew a collective, knowing nod from the rest of the department, and so plans began for the accumulation of more of the mystical "Science". Direct observation was considered the most efficient way to accomplish this, and in pursuit of this goal, the engineering department was tasked with a great assignment: To begin plans for the first crewed launch of a Koviet craft.

Neither have I, and it's an interesting change. I wanted to use KCT simply because I like the "feel" of passage of time. Without it, it wouldn't be uncommon for me to spend Day 1 launching about six or seven different rockets and ending up in orbit with most of the KSC upgraded to Level 2â€â€and there's nothing wrong with that, but I wanted a different aesthetic for a mission report log to make it feel like progress was happening over a period of time as "period of time" is normally measured for these sorts of things, as opposed to progress happening over a matter of several minutes. OpenTree is definitely an interesting change... I wanted to mix up the usual science tree some, and that's what I just happened to grab. I like (again, for aesthetics) starting with uncrewed craft, although it certainly has its challengesâ€â€such as the fact that an axial parachute can't "naturally" be attached to the Stayputnik, so if I want recoverable craft I have to do some Kerbal Engineering in order to shenanigan my way into it. Being limited to the Stayputnik also, as I found out with Cricket II, is particularly rough when you're trying to steer before the invention of batteries, since its electrical charge capacity is so low (10 EC!). Running out of EC caught me badly off-guard, and for a few panicked seconds I couldn't figure out why my parachute stage wasn't firing... I right-clicked on the parachute in an effort to "manually deploy" it, but the option still wasn't there, and that's when it clicked that I had killed the core's battery. Fortunately, it was all over a few short seconds later. Thanks, and I hope so too! Tracking all of the detail gives me something to pay attention to and also makes me be better about screenshots (which will hopefully improve in quality as I get used to them). And of course, I'm always looking for suggestions on how I can do things (both in-game and out-of-game) less incompetently.

Cricket II  One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, Faceplant The flight of the Cricket I and the data it collected resulted in 23.9 "Science Pieces," according to the R&D eggheads. They took 15 of these pieces and began research into Manned Tech (5 Science) and Light Rocketry I (10 Science), to be conducted over the next few days. The Koviet Space Program also received considerable (for the fledgling operation) financial awards, as well as a small boost in its overall prestige. Great things awaited! The program director was so encouraged that he accepted contracts not only to leave the atmosphere of Kerbin, but even to put a ship into orbit around it! (These two contracts, the only two left in Mission Control, were accepted mostly as a formality, and because the Orbit contract "expired" after only a couple of days. Nothing else was going on, so it wouldn't hurt to get them into the hopper if nothing else.) As the excitement following the success of Cricket I subsided, focus turned to the next step. Although Cricket I had shown the capacity for flight, it was brief and slow. The Sepratrons may have served a demonstrative function but more oomph would be necessary for the next step. Two "upgrades" had been awarded in KCT, and both were spent on VAB Rate 1, bringing the construction speed up from 0.8 BP/s to 0.90 BP/s. About two and a half days after the recovery of Cricket I, research into Manned Tech was completed, and access to the three component parts was purchased. The sum of √3,500 unlocked the Mk1 Command Pod, the RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster, and the Pegasus I Mobility Enhancer. Despite the name of this particular technological "node", as the komrades in the R&D trailer referred to the collection of breakthroughs, due to concerns over crew safety no immediate plans were made to strap a kerbal to a barely-controlled explosion and hope for the best. Instead, the engineers returned to the basic design that had served Cricket I so well, planning to modify it to accommodate the new advancements in propulsion represented by the RT-5 Solid Fuel Booster. Cricket II Mission Objectives Avoid endangering komrades by relying on uncrewed probe cores rather than crewed command modules Faster, Higher, Farther  Achieve new records in speed, altitude, and distance. Specifically, the Minister demands a speed of 150 m/s, an altitude of 3.5 km, and a distance of 5.0 km from the Koviet Space Center campus. [*]Recover the craft intact, and take a temperature reading of the landing site [*]Construction Stayputnik Mk.1 Probe Core (4x) M-1x1 Structural Panels in an open box 2HOT Thermometer to read the temperature at the landing site Mk16 Axial Parachute Small Inline Reaction Wheel RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster (Thrust Limiter 20%) (4x) Basic Fin [*]Engineer's Report 13 parts, 3.2m height 2,045 kg gross weight (1,050 kg solid fuel, 995 kg dry weight) TWR at launch of 1.62, with estimated burn of 44.2 seconds Construction Time: 1d, 4h, 12m Construction Cost: √2,642 Construction on Cricket II was completed on Y1-D15-H5-M58, approximately five hours before the anticipated completion of the research into Light Rocketry I, and rollout was begun. On the 16th day of the program's existence, Cricket II was ready for launch. Unfortunately for the Koviet Space Program, a combination of errors made in the design and operation of the craft became evident almost immediately. Overly "twitchy" controls caused the craft to begin tipping over too early in its flight, and the low thrust limitation on the SR-5 engine failed to generate enough velocity for the fins to adequately stabilize the trajectory. Manual control was necessary to attempt to maintain a proper flight vector, which rapidly drained the Stayputnik core of its electrical reserves. The shut-down of the core made it impossible to activate the craft's parachute, and a result the Cricket II crashed hard into the ocean approximately 6.9 km east of the Koviet Space Center. Mission Results Flight Time: 00:01:00 Science Recovered: 0 Salvage Recovered: 0 Success  Avoid endangering komrades by relying on uncrewed probe cores rather than crewed command modules Qualified  Faster, Higher, Farther  The Cricket II achieved a velocity of 191 km/s and covered 6.9 km on the ground (8.4 km total traveled), but its maximum altitude of 1.73 km fell far short of the target 3.5 km. Failure  Recover the craft intact, and take a temperature reading of the landing site

Cricket I  Rocket-Propelled Scrap Metal With the Koviet Space Program having groggily stirred awake, it was time for it to attempt to open its eyes. The boys down in R&D had been hard at work, but they must have been working on their pet side projects because when it came time for them to present the results of their labor, all they had to show the committee was a chirping metal sphere, a few used aerosol cans that somebody had stuffed solidified explosives into, and a disc with some small but dense ball bearings inside. Rather than admit to the Kerblin that the party-sanctioned scientists down in the R&D lab were obviously buffoons, the program director decided to use some Koviet ingenuity to turn potatoes into mashed potatoes, as the saying goes, and so work began on designing the Cricket I, aptly named after the annoying chirping sphere that was appropriated to serve as its core component. The KSP would be hard-pressed to turn these raw materials into anything truly impressive, but fortunately their assignments did not demand impressiveness: Only a simple data collection on the launchpad, and a demonstration that kerbals could, in fact, build something capable of leaving the ground. Underwhelming objectives, perhaps, but that would not dissuade our intrepid engineers! Cricket I Stayputnik Mk. 1 Probe Core (x3) 2HOT Thermometers, attached to the core, for measurements at the launchpad, in flight, and upon landing [*](x4) M-1x1 Structural Panels, arranged in an open box around the Stayputnik core [*]Mk16 Axial Parachute, attached to the top of the open box, in order to ensure a mostly-intact landing. [*]Small Inline Reaction Wheel [*]Modular Girder Segment [*](x4) Basic Fins [*](x2) Sepratron I Solid Fuel Thrusters, with the thrust limiter at 40% [*]Total Cost: √4,417 [*]Construction Time: 7d, 4h, 9m Construction on Cricket I was completed on Y1-D11-H1-M11, and rollout to the launchpad was accomplished seven minutes later. Given the momentous nature of the event, however, the decision was made to delay launch until the following morning for better photo opportunities. So it was that, on Y1-D11-H4-M42, the Koviet Space Program initiated the launch of its inaugural craft! The flight was not exactly overwhelmingly impressive, but it went off flawlessly and achieved all of its stated objectives. During its 1'46" flight, Cricket I achieved an altitude of 424 meters and covered a total distance of over 1.2 kilometers. Its thrusters, to nobody's surprise, had a short operational life, but served their purpose with traditional Koviet determination. Three temperature measurements were recorded, including one during the craft's short airborne period. After exhausting the thrusters, the Mk16 parachute was deployed and returned Cricket I safely and relatively intact to the surface, although the stabilizing fins were ruined by the impact. Although Cricket I failed to even leave the campus of the Koviet Space Center, its short flight showed that Kerbals can use explosives to throw things into the air, and it promised that, one day, they might even use explosives to throw things to the great shiny objects above.

My searches have failed me, so I'm forced to create a thread for this question: In my career game, my launchpad (at both Level 1 and Level 2) shows the "Default" flag on the flagpole. Since I am not using the default flag, this is slightly immersion-disrupting and quite annoying/disappointing. I understand this is likely a bug or simple oversight, but what I'm wondering is if there's a way to fix it in the interim. Does anyone know how to get my "real" flag flying high? (Side note: I believe this is also the case for the Level 1 Astronaut Complex...)

Which just goes to show you how often I've been to other planets in the game's current iteration! ... Zero. I have been to zero other planets. I'm coming back from a very long hiatus, having last played the game in 0.22. Back then, I took a couple of one-way probes to land on Duna and Eve, and that's it. Nowhere else, no other planetary flights, bagel. So it should certainly be interesting! Suffice it to say I'll be making abundant use of unmanned probes as "scouting" missions to test how safe a given mission plan is. And also, most likely, some paid simulations care of KCT. Even disregarding my ignorance of reentry heat issues at other planets, the intent is to be challenging. I'm not a particularly artful or skilled KSP player, so I'm hoping that upping the challenge will force me to also "up my game," so to speak. And if missions fail and I manage to ruin my career? So be it! If that happens, I may just uncork the Debug Menu for some government bailouts in order to carry on.

The First Bleary-Eyed Hours at the Koviet Space Center Before we get things started, Kerbal Construction Time wants me to assign some "upgrade points", of which I appear to have 16. Having never used KCT before, I'm sort of blindly flailing here, but I put 14 of them into the VAB to increase Build Rate 1 from 0.10 BP/s to 0.80 BP/s. That should help us actually get these first rockets off the ground ASAP. I put the last two into the R&D Facility to raise Development from 0.5 science/day to 2.0 science/day. Having been given final approval by the komrades in the Kerblin, the Koviet Space Center has finally been formally established, outfitted with all of the latest in aerospace technology and the best and brightest personnel. It's not much to look at, but that's Koviet aesthetics for you. From such humble beginnings, a mighty, Kerbol-system-spanning space program shall arise like a zombie. There may be awkward, uncertain movements. There may be no evidence of intelligent thought. There may be blood and death. But there will be a single-minded determination that will not be diverted from its goal by anything short of a bullet to the head, or perhaps a government shut-down. After getting our bearings, we head over to Mission Control to see what lofty assignments await us. I had the usual starting options, of courseâ€â€things like "Orbit Kerbin"â€â€but naturally, in the interest of starting out realistic, took as my two contracts the "Launch Our First Vessel" and "Gather scientific data from Kerbin." Lofty is a relative term, anyway. Our missions will at least have some modicum of loft to them, in any case. We shall meet the Party-mandated loft quota. With our tasks thus bestowed, it's time to take inventory of the kind of arsenal that can only be achieved through central planning and unwavering state support. OpenTree starts you out with the "Start" Tech, which bestows the Basic Fin, 2HOT Thermometer, Mk16 Parachute, Modular Girder Segment, M-1x1 Structural Panel, and M-Beam 200 I-Beam Pocket Edition. As my first time with OpenTree, I couldn't help but notice the absence of a command module or any sort of propulsion system. Fortunately, OpenTree also gives you 5 science, to pick between Unmanned Tech (allowing the unlock of the Stayputnik Mk. 1, the Sepratron I Solid Thruster, and the Small Inline Reaction Wheel) or Manned Tech (unlocking the Mk1 Command Pod, RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster, and Pegasus I Mobility Enhancer). I went with Unmanned Tech, more for flavor than anything else. So, with my science selection made, time accelerates as the Koviet scientists get to work. About 51 hours later (Y1, D2, H3), the research is complete! I pay my √4,100 Krubles to unlock the three parts from Unmanned Tech, and it's time to begin work designing the first mission for the Koviet Space Program!

TrooperCooper, in your very first post, what mod are those rocket parts from? They look excellent!

After numerous starts and stops and restarts of careers in KSP post-1.0.0, I have decided to finally pick a career and stick with it, gosh darnit. And to that end, I have decided to set up a "Mission Log" here, with several objectives: To encourage me to stick with this career and not restart again. =P To facilitate my improvement, whether by forcing me to pay more attention to what I'm doing or through the advice and ridicule of more experienced and knowledgeable readers. To amuse readers with my general incompetence. To push me to better document all of my shenanigans. So, what are the parameters of this career? Active Texture Management Chatterer Community Tech Tree DDS Loader Distant Object Final Frontier Interstellar Fuel Switch JDiminishingRTG Kerbal Construction Time Kerbal Engineer Redux Kopernicus KW Rocketry Near Future Construction/Propulsion/Electrical/Solar/Spacecraft Parts OpenTree Outer Planets Planetshine Precise Node SCANsat TAC Life Support TextureReplacer (with various Kerbal appearance modifications, including PimpMyKerbals and KerbalHeads) Transfer Window Planner [x]Science Environmental Visual Enhancements KSPRC (Select cloud textures only) This is the first time I've used almost all of these, most notably TAC Life Support. Given my inexperience with TAC, I'm going to try to be very careful about extended manned missions... Almost entirely Moderate (another first for me), with a few extra Krubles to help a komrade get off his feet at the start of the time. This is the first time I'll be without respawning crew members, and the first time I'll have to pay to unlock researched parts. Reverting and quickloading are still in play, primarily because of some stability issues my computer is having (on that note, I may sometimes be running my game in OpenGL, and images will look the part, in order to preserve stability). My hope is that if I screw something up and get somebody killed, whether through simple ignorance, stupidity, or incompetence, I have to live with it. Expect some very cautious handling of my precious kerbals... So with that out of the way, I present: The Glorious Rocketry, Aeronautics, and Space Ministry of the People's Koviet Union The Official Koviet Space Program Table of Contents The First Bleary-Eyed Hours at the Koviet Space Center Cricket I  Rocket-Propelled Scrap Metal Cricket II  One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, Faceplant Cricket III  Paving the Way Forward with Fire Fleabiscuit I  The Sound of One Kerbal Flying Fleabiscuit II  The Grassy Knoll of Early Rocketry Cricket IV  The Only Thing Better Than One Exploding Trash Can... Swallow I  A Tragedy of Errors An Official Inquest into the Swallow I Incident Swallow II  The Rebound Swallow III  One Small Space for a Kerbal... Swallow IV  ...One Giant Space for Kerbal-kind Eccentrica I  Birth of a New Industry Awesome flag originally designed by Yuri's Knight

Question of technical ignorance / search-fu failure: If I want to use the clouds from KSPRC, but I don't want to have any auroras, can I just delete BoulderCo/Clouds/Textures/Aurora, or will I need to monkey around with anything else to prevent the game from giving me any shenanigans about this?

Other planets are nice and shiny and everything, but doesn't KASA need to land on the Mun? How can you call yourself a space agency without a Munar landing? Chop chop! Maybe some unmanned probes to fly by other planets, though. They are awfully nice and shiny... ************* Is this 100% Stock, or are you using any mods?

Sadly, no going to space for me today. With the exception of a couple of hours of yardwork, I've spent the last 13 hours hours having my computer find new and innovative ways to crash over and over, attempting to install a decent graphics mod, breaking KSP several times over, and now battling entirely unrelated BSOD problems. On top of that, got to give my cat a shower this morning due to an egregious hygiene failure on his part involving his long hair and at least one malodorous bodily function. Not a good day for going to space, it turns out.