USKnight

Launch 21: Mercury 1 / Atlas D LV5 Mission: Unmanned test launch to low Kerbin orbit and return. Orbital Information: Highest orbit 97km. Splashed down 214km NW of Kerbal Space Center, SE of the Kulge Strait. Payload: Mercury 1 - Manufactured by McDonnell for KASA. The first official Mercury Program mission was a full unmanned rehearsal flight of a single orbit and return. This was the same mission profile that would be used to be put the first kerbal into space. Aside from the engine cutoff missing the mark by a second which brought apoapsis slightly higher than planned, the Mercury proving flight progressed and ended without issue. To simulate an emergency or unplanned re-entry, Mercury 1 was de-orbited early and splashed down far from KSC. This allowed the Navy to practice search and recovery procedures if called upon for future Project Mercury flights. Launch 22: Explorer 6 / Jupiter LV17-Delta 1 Mission: Scientific experiment satellite to high Kerbin orbit. Orbital Information: 78.3Mm x 148km, 32.9 deg inclination. Payload: Explorer 6 - Charged particle detector. Manufacture coordinated by ARPA. Explorer 6 was the first launch of the Jupiter-Delta rocket. The Delta transit stage featured an improved engine, but was otherwise similar to the Able stage before it. This new configuration would be tasked to launch a satellite into an extremely elliptical orbit, short of breaking from Kerbin's sphere of influence and into interplanetary space. After nearly 20 days of travel, Explorer 6 was detached to orbit alone. The experiment package was intended to collect data on the shape and extent of Kerbin's ionosphere. The Delta fired its engine briefly to alter its course for de-orbiting. Launch 23: Discoverer 4 (Corona KH-5-9004) / Jupiter LV18-Agena B 1 Mission: Scientific experiment satellite to low Kerbin orbit. Classified primary mission. Orbital Information: 271km x 182km, 82.2 deg inclination. SRV landed at KSC. Payload: Discoverer 4 (Corona-9004) - KH-5 Argon camera system and SRV. Discoverer 4 incorporated two improvements over its predecessors. First was the Agena B transit stage which featured an improved engine and an elongated fuel tank. The KH-5 Argon system was a low-resolution mapping camera which also included a single frame camera for limited use over targets of interest. Unlike the KH-1 series, Argon's primary purpose was the mapping of foreign terrain as opposed to direct reconnaissance. After two days in orbit, Discoverer 4 orientated for a re-entry burn and detached the SRV. It landed 2km north of KSC. All film contents were recovered successfully. Launch 24: Mercury 2 / Atlas D LV6 Mission: First kerbal in space. Manned mission to low Kerbin orbit and return. Orbital Information: Highest orbit was 93.5km. Completed a single orbit. Landed 2km west of KSC. Payload: Mercury 2 "Morning Star" - Crew: Jebediah Kerman "Let's light this candle!" exclaimed Jebediah Kerman as he anticipated the liftoff of Mercury 2. Already famous as the first kerbal to break the sound barrier in level flight, Jebediah was the foremost of KASA's original kerbonauts known as the Mercury Seven. His launch vehicle was the USAF's Atlas rocket and not an Army design, much to that branch's satisfaction. The first kerbal into space rode his spacecraft for a full orbital revolution of Kerbin. During his forty minute flight, Jebediah spent over twenty minutes in zero gravity. He noted the sensation of weightlessness and reported that it gave him no discomfort. All too soon it was time for him to orientate and fire his retro-rockets and re-enter the atmosphere. Morning Star's ablative heat shield protected the craft through its descent and both the drogue and parachute deployed automatically. With one last thump of the capsule landing, Jebediah Kerman returned to Kerbin safely as a living legend. Launch 25: Explorer 7 / Jupiter LV19-Able 13 Mission: Scientific experiment satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. Orbital Information: 476km x 133km, 28.8 deg inclination. De-orbited. Payload: Explorer 7 - Gamma Ray Spectrometer. Manufacture coordinated by ARPA. Explorer 7's primary mission was to measure the arrival and directions of high energy gamma waves in an attempt to discern energies that did not originate from Kerbin, but any specific cosmic source. The last fabricated Able transit stage was chosen due to the satellite's low weight. Explorer 7 was mated to the Able to allow for the orbit to be changed. It was found that despite the satellite's experiment functioning as a detector, its gamma ray telescope was insufficiently sensitive for the task. It was also believed that the satellite's orbit was too close to the inner Van Kerman radiation belt. The decision was made that due to poor performance Explorer 7 would be de-orbited as opposed to raising its altitude. The Kerbal Institute of Technology (KIT) would use the spectrometer's results to create an improved model for a future satellite.

Launch 16: Transit 2 - SOLRAD 1 / Jupiter LV13-Able 9 Mission: First dual satellite launch. Navigation satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. SOLRAD-1 primary mission classified. Orbital Information: 455km x 288km, 66.6 deg inclination. Payload: Transit 2 - Manufactured by APL for the Navy. SOLRAD-1 - X-ray imaging scope, SIGINT receiver. Manufactured by NRL. Derelict The second launch of the Transit series satellites was placed into orbit after the success of its predecessor and gave US naval vessels a second orbital navigational beacon. In addition, a small satellite was mounted on top of Transit 2. Released once in orbit, SOLRAD was a small enigmatic satellite whose publicly announced mission was to measure galactic background radiation. In reality SOLRAD was the first Signals Intelligence satellite, set to attempt to detect foreign radar transmissions. SOLRAD was successful in this task, but its small transmitter did not have the power capacity to return most of its data collections back to ground stations. As such SOLRAD was considered only a partial success. Much later, near the middle of Year 2 of the Space Era, Blue Gemini-1 would visit the satellite and retrieve its transmitter and data recorder. While its data was recovered, SOLRAD became inoperable. Launch 17: Courier 1 / Jupiter LV14-Able 10 Mission: First active link communications satellite. Communications satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. Orbital Information: 538km x 404km, 28.3 deg inclination. Derelict. Payload: Courier 1 - Manufactured by Western Development Labs for ARPA. As a follow-up to SCORE, Courier was a dedicated communications satellite capable of storing teletype messages and transmitting them at high speed. It was capable of simultaneous sending, receiving, and storing of 68,000 coded words per minute. Design wise, Courier was spherical in shape and covered in small solar panels. The satellite proved to be a valuable method for sending "real-time" government and military transmissions between ground stations when its orbit was overhead and paved the way for further development of orbital communications. Courier would be utilized less and less in its operational life until it was de-activated from service in the middle of the second year of the Space Era, following the launch of LES-1. Launch 18: Pioneer 3 / Atlas D LV4-Able 11 Mission: First space probe to encounter and orbit Minmus. Scientific experiment probe to low Minmus orbit. Orbital Information: 189km x 26km, 6 deg inclination. Payload: Pioneer 3 - Geiger counter, television camera, and micrometeoroid impact detector. Manufactured by TRW for ARPA. The third Pioneer satellite was identical to its predecessor in design. For this launch the Able was called upon to ferry its payload to the distant moon of Minmus. After a week in transit Pioneer 3 was placed into an elliptical orbit. It would send back the first close, if not fuzzy, images of Minmus's topography during each orbital pass. The other experiments included radiological and micrometeoroid data. Launch 19: Discoverer 3 (Corona KH-1-9003) / Jupiter LV15-Agena A 3 Mission: Biological exposure experiment to medium Kerbin orbit and return. Classified primary mission. Orbital Information: 428km x 80km, 81.7 deg inclination. SRV landed at Woomerang Space Center. Payload: Discoverer 3 (Corona-9003) - KH-1 camera system, Mini Mystery Goo radiometer, and SRV. For the third Discoverer, it was decided to include an actual biological experiment to promote the ruse of the satellite's scientific purpose. Ironically there was no room to mount the experiment inside the return capsule, but the acquired data from the experiment would be recorded to the capsule and returned along with the KH-1 film. Two days after launch, Discoverer 3 orientated and burned for de-orbit. The SRV detached and would land 640 meters from the under construction Woomerang Space Center and was recovered in short order. Both the Mystery Goo data recorder and the film canister were returned intact and ready for analysis. Launch 20: Explorer 5 / Jupiter LV16-Able 12 Mission: Scientific experiment satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. Orbital Information: 998km x 180km, 49.8 deg inclination. Derelict. Payload: Explorer 5 - Ionization and electrostatic sensors. Manufactured by JPL for ARPA. The main goal of the Explorer 5 satellite was to take measurements of Kerbin's ionosphere. Despite some problems with data return, valuable readings on electron concentrations, ion mass, and more were transmitted back to ground stations. As a design, Explorer 5 was the last of the early satellites to be powered solely by internal batteries. Explorer 5 operated until its power supply expired.

Launch 11: Vanguard 3 / Jupiter LV9-Able 5 Mission: Scientific experiment satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. Orbit: 1.43Mm x 223km, 33.3 deg inclination. Derelict. Payload: Vanguard 3 - Magnetometer. Manufactured by NRL. Vanguard 3 was the final satellite in NRL's series of scientific payloads. The primary goal of the satellite's experiment was to measure Kerbin's electromagnetic field, in particular defining the edges of the Van Kerman belts. Like many early satellites, Vanguard 3 operated solely on internal batteries until their depletion. Launch 12: Explorer 4 / Jupiter LV10-Able 6 Mission: Scientific experiment satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. Orbital Information: 722km x 502km, 50.2 deg inclination. Payload: Explorer 4 - Infrared spectrometer. Manufactured by JPL for ABMA. Explorer 4's primary mission was an attempt to measure Kerbin's heating and cooling rates from orbit. Its design kept to the early standard of a spheroid derived shape and also featured solar panels to supplement the internal batteries. The most major findings from Explorer 4's experiments were the role of clouds in absorbing radiated solar energy. Launch 13: Pioneer 2 / Atlas D LV3-Able 7 Mission: Scientific experiment probe to high Mun orbit. Orbital Information: 263km x 23km, 0.7 deg inclination. Payload: Pioneer 2 - Geiger counter, television camera, and micrometeoroid impact detector. Manufactured by TRW for ARPA. Drawing upon the success of Explorer 3, TRW designed Pioneer 2 as a similar though larger design. The Able transit stage and the space probe's internal thruster completed its insertion into Munar orbit where it began sampling the local radiation levels and detecting micrometeoroid impacts. Through successive orbits the internal television camera would reveal the major topographical features of the Farside of the Mun. Launch 14: TIROS 1 / Jupiter LV11-Able 8 Mission: First meteorological satellite. Weather monitoring satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. Orbital Information: 328km x 300km, 48.3 deg inclination. Payload: TIROS 1 - Two television cameras for cloud cover imaging. Manufactured by RCA Astro for the Navy. The main aim of the TIROS satellite was a proof of concept for the use of satellites in gather meteorological data. The two television cameras transmitted visual cloud cover data directly back to ground stations or stored the data to tape recorder for later transmission. It was found that the satellite was effective in identifying and tracking the course of major weather patterns across Kerbin and enhanced traditional ground-based findings. This data and TIROS's success, was of particular interest to the Navy. Launch 15: Discoverer 2 (Corona KH-1-9002) / Jupiter LV12-Agena A 2 Mission: Scientific experiment satellite to low Kerbin orbit and return. Classified primary mission. Orbital Information: 256km x 77km, 80 deg inclination. SRV landed 3.2km south of KSC. Payload: Discoverer 2 (Corona-9002) - KH-1 Corona camera system and SRV. Kerbal Eastman company had developed a special film based on polyester made by DuPont. This new film not only was supposed to withstand the extremes of space, but also weighed half as much as traditional film. After two days in orbit, Discoverer 2 burned for de-orbit and deployed the SRV. It landed 3.2km south of Kerbal Space Center. After recovery it was verified that the contents of its film reel were intact. Analysis of the film produced incredible results that validated Project Corona and the continued use and development of reconnaissance satellites. More images, at a higher quality, of foreign territory were contained inside Corona 9002's SRV than of all traditional airplane reconnaissance flights combined.

Launch 6: Vanguard 2 / Jupiter LV5-Able 2 Mission: Scientific experiment satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. Orbit Information: 801km x 244km, 32.8 deg inclination. Derelict. Payload: Vanguard 2 - Two optical telescopes for measuring planetary albedo. Manufactured by NRL. Vanguard 2 was the second of NRL's research satellites to be orbited by the Army. Unlike its predecessor and like most early satellites, Vanguard 2 operated solely on internal power. The small optical telescopes mounted in its body were used with a light sensor that activated when the probe was on the sunlit side of Kerbin. During this part of the orbit, Vanguard 2 monitored the albedo of Kerbin to measure the cloud density patterns of the planet. Vanguard 2 would operate until its batteries were depleted. Launch 7: Discoverer 1 (Corona KH-1-9001) / Jupiter LV6-Agena A 1 Mission: First recovery of a spacecraft from orbit. Publicly a scientific experiment satellite to medium Kerbin orbit and return. Classified primary mission. Orbit Information: 500km x 116km, 80 deg inclination. SRV landed at Area 42. Payload: Discoverer 4 (Corona-9001) - Keyhole (KH)-1 Corona camera system and Satellite Recovery Vehicle for returning the exposed film. Project Corona was a joint USAF / National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) series of satellites publicly known as Discoverer. The official mission description was that the Discoverer series were orbital biological and scientific exposure experiments that could be recovered to analyze their results. This first mission was supposedly a test of the recovery system and carried no experiments. The Agena transit stage developed by the Air Force was very advanced. It was far more powerful than the Able and featured a Fuel Cell that could produce power for the spacecraft while in orbit. Equally as cutting edge was the Keyhole-1 panoramic camera system that could capture ground images from space. After two days in orbit, the Agena fired a course correction and de-orbit burn. The Satellite Recovery Vehicle (SRV) separated and made a perfect night time parachute landing in the grass just short of the runaway at Area 42. Unfortunately, it was found that exposure to the vacuum and pressure of space made the film too brittle and it had snapped and ruined. Kerbal Eastman company was set to the task of developing film that would survive the extreme rigors of spaceflight and recovery. Launch 8: Explorer 3 / Jupiter LV7-Able 3 Mission: Scientific experiment satellite to high elliptical Kerbin orbit. Orbit Information: 18.2Mm x 113km, 47 deg inclination. Contact Lost, circa Day 424 Y2 Payload: Explorer 3 - Television camera, Geiger counter, and Magnetometer. Manufactured by JPL and TRW for ABMA. Explorer 3 was initially launched into a 113km parking orbit. On the following orbit the Able was fired and propelled the satellite into a highly elliptical orbit in order to gather scientific data from space far from Kerbin, beyond even the Mun's orbit. The satellite featured deployable solar panels that used light exposure to track the sun and provide power for its experiments. Nearly two years later, all contact with Explorer 3 was lost after asteroid JQL-401 made a transit through the Kerbin system. While the satellite was notably in the vicinity of the asteroid it not believed that the two made an unlikely collision. Regardless, all contact with Explorer 3 ceased and the spacecraft is considered lost. Launch 9: Transit 1 / Jupiter LV8-Able 4 Mission: First navigational satellite. Navigation satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. Orbit Information: 524km x 260km, 51 deg inclination. Payload: Transit 1 - Navigation beacon transmitter and real-time communication relay. Manufactured by APL for the Navy. The primary objective of the Transit satellite was a proof of concept for the use of satellites to aid in maritime navigation. A navigation beacon from space on a known orbit trajectory could be used to aide a vessel in identifying its current position. Transit could also act as a very basic communications relay for military transmissions. In both of these mission profiles, Transit proved the military value of satellites. Launch 10: Big Joe 1 (Mercury 0) / Atlas D LV2 Mission: Unmanned test launch to low Kerbin orbit and return. Orbital Information: Highest orbit was 158km. Splashed down 114km NE of Kerbal Space Center in Booster Bay. Payload: Big Joe 1 - Mercury spacecraft boilerplate. Manufactured by McDonnell for KASA. Big Joe 1, also known as Mercury 0, was an orbit and re-entry proving flight of the Mercury spacecraft. Project Mercury's ultimate goal was the launching of a kerbal into orbit and their safe return to Kerbin. The flight was of paramount importance to the fledgling Kerbal Aeronautical and Space Administration (KASA) who had bid and lost in their effort to take control of space exploration and administration from ARPA. The President had allowed KASA to form, but its task was to develop manned spacecraft and perform aerospace and biomedical research as a public facing entity in concert with the military. The effectiveness of the spacecraft's flight profile, shape, and heatshield ablator were of primary concern. Theory and design needed to be validated in reality. The recovery of Big Joe did much to reassure KASA that Mercury development was on the right track in getting the first kerbal into space.

America Rising Game Mode: Science Sandbox. Jingoist mode; on. Mission to recreate the greatest NASA moments, completed. Sadly this save was a victim of KSP update 1.12. Table of Contents Chapter One - The First Steps Missions 1-5: Explorer 1, Vanguard 1, Explorer 2, Pioneer 1, SCORE Missions 6-10: Vanguard 2, Corona KH-1-9001, Explorer 3, Transit 1, Big Joe 1 Missions 11-15: Vanguard 3, Explorer 4, Pioneer 2, TIROS 1, Corona KH-1-9002 Missions 16-20: Transit 2-SOLRAD 1, Courier 1, Pioneer 3, Corona KH-1-9003, Explorer 5 Missions 21-25: Mercury 1, Explorer 6, Corona KH-5-9004, Mercury 2, Explorer 7 Missions 26-30: Ranger 1, Mercury 3, Corona KH-5-9005, Ranger 2, Mercury 4 Chapter Two – Aiming Higher Missions 31-35: OSO 1, Corona KH-4-9006, Ranger 3, Mercury 5, Mercury 6 Missions 36-40: Pioneer 4, Corona KH-4-9007, Mercury 7, Telstar 1, Ranger 4 Missions 41-45: Mariner 1, Mercury 8 MML, Corona-KH-4-9008, Alouette 1, Gemini 1 Missions 46-50: Ranger 5, Ranger 6, Gemini 2, Corona-KH-4-9009, Relay 1 Missions 51-55: Gemini 3, Explorer 8, Syncom 1, Explorer 9, Corona KH-4-9010 Missions 56-60: ATDA 1, Gemini 4, Gemini 5, Mariner 2, Telstar 2 Chapter Three – A Home in Space Missions 61-65: Syncom 2, Corona-KH-4-9011, Dyna-Soar-0, Explorer 10, Syncom 3 Missions 66-70: MOL (Pegasus), Gemini 6 (Pegasus 1), Saturn SA1 (MOL 2), Corona KH-7-9012, Nimbus 1 Missions 71-75: GATV 1, Gemini 7, OGO 1, Ranger SD-1, Gemini 8 (Pegasus 2) Missions 76-80: Saturn SA2 (MOL 3), Corona KH-7-9013, Mariner 3, Mariner 4, Dyna-Soar-1 Missions 81-85: Transit3-SOLRAD-2, Quill-1, GATV 2, Gemini 9 (Blue Gemini-1), Intelsat 1 Missions 86-90: Corona KH-7-9014, Mariner 5, Gemini 10 (Pegasus 3), Saturn SA3 (MOL 4), Relay 2 Chapter Four – An American Moon Missions 91-95: LES-1, Dyna-Soar-2, OGO 2, IDCSP 1 (IDCSP-1 to 8), Gemini 11 (Pegasus 4) Missions 96-100: Saturn SA4 (MOL 5), Corona KH-7-9015, Gemini 12, Hugin, Surveyor 1 Missions 101-105: Saturn SA5 (Apollo 0), OAO 1, Munar Orbiter 1, Gemini 13, Surveyor 2 Missions 106-110: Corona KH-7-9016, Gemini 14 (Pegasus 5), Munin, Explorer 11, Apollo 1 Missions 111-115: Hitchhiker 1, IDCSP 2 (IDCSP 9 to 16), Apollo 2, Surveyor 3, Corona KH-8-9017 Missions 116-120: Gemini 15 (Pegasus 6), Munar Orbiter 2, IDCSP 3 (IDCSP-17 to 19), Biosat 1, Apollo 3 Chapter Five – In Space to Stay Missions 121-125: Nimbus 2, Intelsat 2-1 and 2-2, Strawman 1, Apollo 4, Surveyor 4 Final Update Launch 1: Explorer 1 / Jupiter LV1 Mission: World's First Satellite. Scientific experiment satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. Orbit Information: 643km x 155.5km, 32.6 deg inclination. Derelict. Payload: Explorer 1 - Twin Geiger counters. Manufactured by JPL for ABMA. The World's First Satellite was launched by a three-stage Jupiter rocket developed under the supervision of Werhner Von Kerman of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA). The first stage consisted of the Army's Jupiter IRBM while the second consisted of 11 Sergeant solid rockets arranged in a crown. This bundle boosted a final stage of a single Sergeant rocket mated to the Explorer 1 science payload into orbit. The political background that led to the launch is a storied event, but can be summarized as the result of Presidential intervention on the inter-service rivalry that erupted between the United States Army, Air Force, and Navy on the development and future of American rocketry. Each service proposed their own vision of the future and asked for the funding to make it possible. In the end the Army won the prize of launching the World's first satellite. It must be stated that Von Kerman had originally pitched to launch the first satellite as soon as kerbally possible using the less capable, but available Redstone rocket and a three-stage arrangement of Sergeant rockets. He had been denied, as the President sided with the Army on further development of space launch vehicles and wanted it "done right" using the more powerful Jupiter rocket. Readings from the Explorer satellite would show the existence of two separate bands of higher radiation in orbit, now known as the Van Kerman radiation belts. Explorer would provide radiation data until its batteries depleted. Launch 2: Vanguard 1 / Jupiter LV2 Mission: Scientific experiment satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. Orbit Information: 895km x 248km, 33.8 deg inclination. Payload: Vanguard 1 - Temperature sensor, and radio transmitter. Manufactured by NRL. In light of the decision not to develop the Navy's proposed Vanguard rocket, the Army agreed to orbit NRL's satellite series. Vanguard was the first use of the four-stage arrangement of the Jupiter launch vehicle. In this configuration, the 11 Sergeant rocket crown would detach itself from a three Sergeant stage, before terminating with a single Sergeant and the Vanguard 1 payload. Unlike the Explorer, a decoupler was used to detach Vanguard to orbit alone after the rocket was depleted. Vanguard itself took initial orbital temperature readings and had a repeating transmitter which was used to in an effort to correlate the size and shape of Kerbin. Vanguard was the first satellite with small solar panels which allowed it to recharge its batteries. Launch 3: Explorer 2 / Jupiter LV3 Mission: Scientific experiment satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. Classified military secondary mission. Orbit Information: 930km x 114km, 49 deg inclination. Derelict. Payload: Explorer 2 - Twin Geiger counters. Manufactured by JPL for ABMA. Explorer 2 was the second launch using the Jupiter four-stage arrangement. This allowed Explorer 2 to reach a higher orbit than its predecessor. Publicly the satellite was used to reinforce the discovery of the Van Kerman radiation belts and provided a second series of data in which to map the radiation belts. Secretly, Explorer 2 was also used to detect radiation levels in space as part of Operation Argus. During the operation, a nuclear warhead was detonated at high altitude to measure the Christofilos effect. Explorer 2 continued to send back data until its batteries depleted. Launch 4: Pioneer 1 / Jupiter LV4-Able 1 Mission: First space probe to encounter and orbit the Mun. Scientific experiment probe to high Mun orbit. Orbit information: 1.69 Mm x 1.44Mm, 11.6 degree inclination. Derelict. Payload: Pioneer 1 - Infrared television camera, Geiger counter. Manufactured by Space Technology Laboratories for ABMA. The Jupiter-Able rocket was the first of what could be called a traditional two-stage rocket. Able was derived from the second stage of what would have been the Navy's Vanguard rocket. In cooperation the two branches had worked to mate Able with Jupiter. After being placed into a 100km orbit, the Able transit stage was fired and hurled Pioneer towards the Mun. The probe hibernated during transit due to its limited power supply. After crossing the sphere of influence, the last of the transit stage's fuel was depleted and the solid rockets mounted on the probe were used to circularize its orbit. After taking initial temperature readings, the IR imaging scan was operated until the power supply was exhausted. The fuzzy images it provided were the first ever glimpse of the Farside of the Mun. Launch 5: SCORE / Atlas B LV1 Mission: First communications satellite. Communication relay satellite to medium Kerbin orbit. Orbit Information: 645km x 80km, 32.3 deg inclination. Derelict. Payload: Signal Communications by Orbiting Relay Equipment - Twin antenna relays and dual tape recorders for store and forward transmission capable of messages up to four minutes long. Manufactured by the US Army SRDL for ARPA. SCORE represented the first project overseen and coordinated by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), tasked by the President to coordinate space rocket development and space exploration between the three branches of the Armed Forces. The mission represented a collaboration of a USAF launch vehicle and a US Army payload. SCORE also accomplished the feat of orbiting a satellite that weighed 5.6 tons; dwarfing anything placed into orbit previously or even on planning board at that time. SCORE carried a message from the President that became the first transmission broadcast from space. "This is the President of the United States speaking. Through the marvels of scientific advance, my voice is coming to you from a satellite circling in outer space. My message is a simple one: Through this unique means I convey to you and to all kerbalkind, America's wish for peace on Kerbin and goodwill toward kerbals everywhere." While of limited use as a relay due to its extremely limited transmission size, SCORE would be used as a test for sending and receiving messages to the later Transit 1 and 2 satellites amongst others. The satellite operated for 212 days, at which point its primitive solar panels failed and the spacecraft's battery depleted.

The 24.1 patch actually fixed my .craft issues with KSO Block 8. No graphic of boosters firing, no inability of them to be used. KSO Block 8 straight from original mod files to orbit, no problem. Also flew a Super 25 to orbit to confirm it's operation. I haven't experienced any issues with the new patch. Tried using the RPM monitors, IVA and such, on x64 of course. Opened closed bay doors, gear, flaps, etc. No ATM was used. I can report KSO 3.10 running very stable post patch.

Interesting. I launched a loaded Saturn V as part of my ATM/no ATM testing last night and had minor wobble (nothing I found out of the ordinary). FASA for me, has not had any issues in x64 and I have not uninstalled it since. I launched a Mercury Atlas as a test, but I cannot confirm any reflection type lag that I know of. If it's something related more to deep space or time acceleration induced, I'd have to do a little more experimenting. As is, I've been playing without ATM and enjoying the enhanced textures. Keep up the good work, Frizzank!

Dear Helldiver, My KSO Original Block 8 .craft file from 3.10 was the problem with my "solid" booster bug. On loading to the launch pad, the boosters would graphically look like they were firing. When launched, they provided no thrust and my KSO toppled. Manually cycling the boosters made no change to thrust or graphics. I then put a KSO booster and a probe core on the pad. The booster operated normally. My next experiment was to remove the boosters from the KSO Block 8 and replace them with "new" KSO boosters. On launchpad load, I had no graphics issues and my KSO launched normally (minus the struts, so unsuccessful). I'm not sure if this bug is related only to my machine. Today's testing with KSO again had no crashes amd included 3 Block 8 and 2 Super 25 launches. The Super performed as expected. I really appreciate your work.

Back on the topic, x64 testing... I installed the KSO mod last night for a round of testing. I found the new version more stable, as in it never crashed. I flew three flights of the original KSO and the Super25. The KSO is bugged and broke on the pad, solid boosters showed constant engine firing graphic, no power. KSO toppled over, but IVA, buttons, and such all worked fine. Super 25 launches all experienced fuel tank explosion after booster separation, but again, IVA, flight, lights, all working. I repeated this test cycle twice, once with the updated ATM and once without ATM at all. I have to admit I did enjoy running KSO without ATM for the graphic quality. Is it me or does the IVA control consoles look... different in x64? I remember the Super 25 being more glowy and the angle of cockpit view being different. Zooming in on the RPM monitors made it easy, but I get that feeling that something is different. No matter. I presume the craft problems I had were likely my own fault. Probably wrong saved craft files from an older version. Regardless they don't concern me, the stability of running this mod does and it's night and day over a few days ago. C'mon x64! Live! Without ATM, I experienced a new bug after returning to the Space Center. My camera is stuck very zoomed in to the center of KSC and cannot be rotated or zoomed out. Reloading a save or even switching to another save would not resolve this view issue. I doubt it is related to KSO, but I mention it for completion's sake. Keep up the excellent work, sirs.

Thanks for sharing some of the historics of your world map. I have to ask, what is the name of the last ocean? (North, Bay, Ceriman). I'd also like to ask about Kelpogart. I haven't cracked that anagram yet.

Dear Rune, I suppose a simple layout to your Tutorial program would be to start with a basic example SSTO. This craft can then by replicated by the student and the flight characteristics of how it flies can be showcased. Then it would be a matter of flying the SSTO into orbit, with the emphasis on how. Then coming back and landing safely. Phase 1 should be show me. Phase 2 begins after you've shown how to build and fly one, to then discuss why the craft was built the way it was and why it needs to be flown the way you showed the student how to fly. Why do you need to pickup speed before climbing to orbit? Why does it need (whatever) Delta-V or some part of the design, etc. Phase 2 should be, this is why we do it this way. Phase 3 is building a better or a more complex SSTO. Maybe it's a light cargo carrier, maybe it's an ultra light. Whatever. The point is to focus on what it takes to create a new SSTO from scratch that works. What does it take? How do you know it will work (or do you?) before it's tested. Should they be fast? Should they be slow? How many wings, is there a rule of thumb for design? Phase 3 is how you build an SSTO. Phase 4 could be advanced flight, such as a more planned way of returning a craft to KSC, or at least a landmass of the student's choice, rather than "let's re-enter". Their may even by other awesome things you can do with an SSTO that you do every day that I've never even thought of. Phase 4 is advanced tactics. Anyways, those are my thoughts on how it could be conducted. It's your program and I'm sure it will be an enjoyable read.

It may be nitpicky, but I too would like to support the change to have the day counter relative to six hours, rather than a clock adjustment. This is something I've thought about calculating out myself for mission historical records, but a mod such as this makes it so much easier. Thanks for sharing your creation with the community.

Dear NASAFanboy, I like your mix of political and rocketry intrigue. There are both realistic and kerbal elements to your story, from government and monetary pressures to space diagrams with question marks on them. I hope you continue your story.

The only thing this map really lacks is ocean names. It's a very impressive display, well made, with a good assortment of places and names. Like many others, I think I might use this map as my official Kerbin, with a few personal political tweaks. Great job! Well deserved spotlight on this map.

Dear Ice30, Pretty impressive accomplishments. Eve is a harsh mistress... or so I've heard. My Space Program has not left Kerbin's sphere of influence. Nice pics and a good plan! Oh and welcome to the forums!

Good to hear from you, Cashen. Deal with the real world and return when you can to tell us about the further adventures of your little green men.

Dear frizzank, Oh course I'm excited for the impending release of the Saturn-1B and those amazing shiny parts. I wanted to chime in my support for your design philosophy. I know many people have asked for you to change your parts into replicas rather than kerbalized versions of real craft. For the past week I've been struggling with replica Soviet parts from two mods. While they give me the R-7 I want to use, I can barely use it with anything. My custom payloads look hideous on top and let's not even talk about fairings. Sure, in the end I could force my way into using these parts, but it's not "fun" for me. FASA is the complete opposite. Using stock and FASA parts, I've kit bashed my way to multiple craft with great results. Thank you for making your mod such an accessible mod! With FASA I can recreate the Gemini-Titan and then take its parts and create something entirely new.

Dear Akinesis, Your reports were a fun read in a great visual and written style. I thoroughly enjoyed them and wish you luck in your future endeavors. That anomalous find on Mun does not appear to be man-made. Very strange.

Dear Shna_na, I voted for documentary. I look forward to seeing your progress. Nice use of fonts and graphics in your post. I'm sure the construction of the Apiary will be a rewarding project that will bleed into a greater adventure for those involved. I mean once the station is built it becomes a staging point for other adventures.

Both Korolev and Von Braun dreamed of sending men to Mars. We never even started on that road or even finished the total scheduled Apollo missions.

I wanted to throw my hat in this discussion, if only one time. I am a MechJeb player. Kerbal Space Program, to me, is SimNASA. I am the designer, I am the planner, I am the coordinator. In the real world, computers do the work. In my game, computers do the work. After I tell the computer what to do. And plan it. And built the ship with the necessary capability to do what I ask the computer to perform. Oh and dreamed up the mission in the first place. I don't understand the controversy in the end. Anyone whose ever used a mod, any mod, is not playing "pure" Kerbal Space Program. Why do we use mods? Because we want cool things like Gemini-Titan replicas, bigger nuclear engines, and Kerbal Attachment System. Non of that is stock. Which makes every one of us cheaters. I love Scott Manley and I love the AARs written by Cashen and Brotoro. I look up to them. Do they use MechJeb? Yes. Not for auto-piloting, but yes. They want something that isn't stock, they want info, stats, and data. Cheaters. Why is there some bias that their way of cheating is "better" than mine? I love this game and MechJeb enhances my love for it. Why this earns me your ire, I don't understand. In an RTS, I'm a turtle. In World of Warcraft , I'm a tank. My play style is mine, not yours. My choice of mods is my personal preference. I don't hate people who play differently than me; especially in a solo game! MechJeb is a powerful tool that I use and will continue to use for the enjoyment of myself. I'll even confide that I've been drafting an AAR sorts in the spirit of those I look up to. I've thought to myself, "I shouldn't post this" (and haven't). Why? Because I use MechJeb and I'll be scorned. MechJeb stirs up such controversy when its an advanced tool that can be by beginners and advanced players alike. It's installation and use are one-hundred percent optional. I can install it and never use it or I could depend on for everything. Either way, it's not something to become angry about. Kerbal Space Program is a game and I, like you, am passionate about it. And I use MechJeb. My Topic Answer: Can MechJeb be useful in teaching new/younger players how to play and even show them? Absolutely! Even when they "go manual", the info screens alone will allow them to build craft capable of accomplishing their dreams.

Dear eorin, A beautiful aircraft replica you have made here. I've always loved the look of this craft and it's brethren the SR-71. I'm glad to see one in KSP. My favorite part oddly enough is your ejection system. Great job!

Rune, I looked at the White Dart in the SPH today and admired it. One thought I had was a non-orbital variant that used either jet engines or turbo-jets for planetary reconnaissance; a dedicated supersonic jet. I've played with the idea of trying to create such a version myself, but I thought, why not ask the creator himself? Have there been any versions of the White Dart designed solely for atmospheric flight? If so, might I humbly request the .craft file for use in my Space Program?

Rune, My favorite White Dart is the original herself. I find myself fascinated by flying it. It's a whole new part of Kerbal Space Program that I've only scratched the surface of, the SPH. Yeager Kerman successfully put the White Dart into orbit today, marking the first (successful) SSTO flight I've ever done. When I am more skilled, I think I'll make fair use of the nuclear version as an long range ferry craft. The White Dart family is incredibly aesthetically pleasing and I'd love to have a few sitting at a space station just for the coolness of it all.

I can't tell you the number of times I've had this happen when de-orbiting lifters and finding out I forgot to put batteries or panels on them.