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KSP Incident Investigation Committee Supplemental report into propulsion failure of Rocker-X3ANSZ Document Number: K-IIC-0046308-UXE Classification: Secret Code word: Unicorn This report should only be disclosed upon appropriate code word validation. This supplemental report has been submitted as part of Project Unicorn. The full report on the incident can be found under document number K-IIC-0046308-F. The reported communications between Rocker-X3ANSZ and R-0DN361 is problematic. The details presented by Pilot Maxanne Kerman and available telemetry are conflicting. Summary time line is as follows: - Pilot Maxanne reported she disabled several systems as part of the process of stabilizing the situation. This included portions of life-support and telemetry recording. The only communication equipment available was the C-16 class equipment in audio only mode. - Pilot Maxanne was able to make contact with another craft. The craft reported its name to be Rocker-0DN361, call sign Kotan. It reported that it was on an outbound trip to asteroid ZYH786. At the time both craft would have been in the Kerbin relative radio shadow of the sun. R-0DN361 would relay the report of the incident once he resumed contact with the KSC. - During the duration of the contact R-0DN361 provided Pilot Maxanne with both psychological and technical assistance. - R-X3ANSZ was in the radio shadow for approximately three hours after reportedly loosing contact with R-0DN361. After Deep Space Tracking indicated that R-X3ANSZ left the radio shadow KSC sent a one way message advising of receipt of the relay package. - R-X3ANSZ was recovered seventy-nine days later and is undergoing repair and refit. The details in conflict are as follows: - Deep Space Tracking reports there were no craft with a trajectory that would have brought it with in C-16 communication distance with R-X3ANSZ. - Upon recovery of R-X3ANSZ critical damage was observed to all communications systems, with sufficient repairs made to the C-16 to allow basic operation. - The transit record indicated that it was broadcast from the C-16 antenna of R-X3ANSZ. The transit record was damaged during transmission. The corruption centered on the record of intermediate relays of the message. That section of the package was determined to be unrecoverable. However, there are indications elsewhere in the package that the message was formatted using older, but still valid, data protocols. - R-0DN361 reported that it was outbound to asteroid ZYH786. This asteroid was catalogued two years ago. No mission to it is currently scheduled. - Pilot Maxanne reported details about R-0DN361 and Kotan while not of confidential or higher classification are not general knowledge. Some of the details predate Pilot Maxanne’s enrollment in the Rocker Group. - Kotan was aware of details about systems on R-X3ANSZ while not of confidential or higher classification that were part of a refit three years ago. - The registry of R-0DN361 is unique and was registered twenty five years ago. - The call sign “Kotan” appears in the registry three times. Only one of which appears in the SR-Pilot registry during the active life of R-0DN361. - R-0DN361 was recorded as lost nineteen years ago. The suspected cause is catastrophic reactor failure. Details of the investigation can be found in file K-IIC-00313031. It has been recommended that the flight status of R-0DN361 not be communicated to Pilot Maxanne. It is also recommended that Pilot Maxanne be returned to active status once psychological and physical evaluations are suitable.

KSP Incident Investigation Committee Summary Report on the crash of Fueler-159 Document Number: K-IIC-0025798-S The following is a summary of the investigation into the crash for Fueler-159. The full report can be found under document number K-IIC-0025798-F. Time Line The timeline begins at 1847.142 9:34 KST, which shall be termed time zero. All events in the timeline are indexed from this point. T 0:00:00 Fueler-159 disengages from surface fuel transport. T 0:00:17 F-159 lifts off from the surface of Minmus. T 0:03:25 Anomalies in the fuel flow in the starboard engines are noted by on board systems T 0:03:28 All starboard engines shut-down. Reactors in the starboard engines soft scram. F-159 begins clockwise roll. T 0:03:29 Port engines are reduced to zero thrust. RCS is engaged to SAS. T 0:03:30 F-159 contacts Minmus flight control declaring emergency situation. T 0:03:31 Roll is arrested and F-159 is returned to nominal horizon. Attempt to restart engine S-1 started. T 0:03:32 Emergency dump of cargo failed. T 0:03:35 Engine S-1 fails to restart. Attempt to restart engine S-2 started. T 0:03:39 Engine S-2 fails to restart. Attempt to restart engine S-3 started. Port engines are throttled up to 32%. T 0:03:43 Engine S-3 fails to restart. Engine S-3 hard scrams. No further attempts were made to restart this engine. Attempt to restart engine S-4 started. T 0:03:45 F-159 declares inability to reach orbit and will attempt a hard landing on the surface. T 0:03:37 Attempt to restart engine S-4 fails. From this point until impact the flight records indicate that multiple attempts were made to restart engines S-1, S-2, and S-4. These attempts are documented in the full report. The first craft to the impact site reported no survivors. Causes Due to the energies involved in the crash the investigation of the incident was difficult. However, enough information as gathered to determine the cause and its effects. Approximately two minutes after lift-off, three minutes in the time line, a meteorite impacted the aft starboard side of the spine of F-159. The impact damaged the fuel pumps for engines S-3 and S-4. The damage then caused a pressure spike with damaged the fuel pumps for Engines S-1 and S-2. Sufficient fuel had been used at this point to create a gas cushion in the main fuel tanks. This gas cushion absorbed the pressure spike. This prevented the propagation to the port fuel systems. The starboard engines continues operating on the remaining fuel in the lines until a lack of fuel flow caused the engines to soft scram. Debris from the damaged fuel pump entered Engine S-3. This caused the engine to hard scram during the restart attempt. Spallation debris from the impact damaged the cable connection for the fuel transfer ports. This damage prevented the emergency dump of the cargo. Recommendations Crew training and procedures: The crew of F-159 preformed in the best traditions of the KSP. No additional training is recommended at this time. The variations on restart procedures attempted by the crew should be investigated for efficiency and effectivity. As multiple safety protocols were ignored during the attempts they are not recommended procedures at this time. Equipment maintenance and supply: Equipment maintenance was not a cause or a contributing factor in this incident. No recommendations are made at this time. Equipment supply was not a cause or a contributing factor in this incident. No recommendations are made at this time. Equipment construction and design: Equipment construction was not a cause or contributing factor in this incident. No recommendations are made at this time. While equipment design did not cause the incident, it was a contributing factor. The following recommendations are made: 1. The Minmus TWR be increased to two. 2. Sufficient control force be added such that in the event of a loss of half the engines the craft will be able to remain in nominal level flight. 3. Additional control lines for emergency cargo dump be added. These control lines are to be run through channels at least three metres apart. 4. A separation system be implemented that will allow the safe separation of the cargo tanks from the craft. 5. Expansion chambers be placed on the fuel lines between the fuel pumps and the engines, and the fuel pumps and main fuel tank. Review of the implementation of all recommendations will occur in six months.

Erbur Kerman glanced up into the VIP room overlooking the control room. Dr. Reinhardt Kerman stood watching the video and data streams on the big boards. The first fuel plant for the Cygnus project was almost 400 meters above the Lesser Flats of Minmus and descending. “Mike-mike control. This is foxtrot papa hotel zeero fife, over.” The voice came over the speakers in the room. It was tinny but clear despite the compression and the radio hash that eight LV-Ns were throwing out. “Foxtrot papa hotel zero fife. This is Mike-Mike Control Bravo, go ahead”, one of the orbital stations controlling flight on and around Minmus. “Bravo, we are 400 meters to touch down. Descending at 15 emm pee ess, will begin burn to 5 emm pee ess in one tree seconds… mark.” “Zeero fife. Bravo. Ack” Erbur studied the telemetry on his monitor. All the systems on the hauler and the fuel plant were well within specification. He adjusted his glasses. Erbur looked up at Dr. Reinhardt again. He just stood, hands crossed behind his back, watching the big boards. “Foxtrot papa hotel zeero fife. This is foxtrot papa zeero zeero eight. Over” The fuel plant that was carried beneath the transport craft. “Foxtrot papa zeero zeero eight. Zeero fife. Go ahead.” “Zeero fife beginning landing procedures. Surface pads will deploy in five seconds.” The voice of the crew commander of the fuel plant. “Zeero eight, Zeero fife. Ack.” This was the part that worried Erbur. The landing pads would get near the exhaust stream of the LV-Ns. The exhaust splashing off them could destabilize the craft. Three hundred metres and falling did not offer any time to stabilize seven hundred tons. He pulled up the control systems readouts. He watched half of them go turn yellow from green; and then back to green. It was not a problem. He knew there would be questions. His boss would accept a half answer and a “we’re working on it.” Dr. Reinhardt would only accept there is no problem, regardless of the size. He closed the control system readouts. The legs on the fuel plant had locked down. With them deployed the plant looked like a turtle, an image that earned it its nickname. “Mike-mike control bravo. This is foxtrot papa hotel zeero fife. Beginning throttle up for 5 emm pee ess in two… one. Mark” “Zeero fife. Bravo. Ack” Before the mike cut out a rumble grew in the radio channel. It would be twenty seconds he would have simpler concerns. Concerns he could begin to solve. He started counting under his breath. Seventeen. On his desk in his office was a bottle of Foxtrot Tango Whiskey. A home crafted whiskey someone started distributing when the keel of the Cygnus was laid down. The first few bottles of the series had been hand labeled. Fifteen. On a shelf in his office were all of them to date. There were rumors of a set of casks laid down when the whole project started. They would be opened when the interstellar ships were complete. Thirteen. He wondered if he would get a chance to drink from those casks. He wondered why he would be drinking the bottle on his desk. “Foxtrot papa zeero zeero eight. Foxtrot papa hotel zeero fife. Throttle up for one emm pee ess.” “Zeero fife. Zeero eight. Ack” The rumble in the background of the radio grew louder. The telltale silences and squelches of digital audio being reduced to digital hash. Nine. How well would his data streams report back? He would have to check with the comms group on that. Seven. He pulled up the landing pad display. All of them showed cyan, down and unloaded. Five. “… zeero zeero … fife … splash expected … tight.” The radio signal now more distorted than it should have been. Three. High enough to jump down, even on Kerbin. One. A quarter of the pads turned green then the rest followed. Some of them blinked yellow and green as the hauler and the plant settled. “… zeero … zeero… throttle…” Erbur let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Zeero fife. Zeero eight. All pads green and loaded.” “Zeero eight. Zeero fife. Ack. Break. Mike-mike control bravo. Foxtrot papa hotel zeero fife. We are landed and stable.” Cheering broke out in the control room. “Zeero fife. Bravo. Good show guys. You’re buying back brownside.” “Foxtrot papa hotel zeero fife. Casey control. We copy you here. We’re all breathing again. Had a couple of guys pass out on the way down.” Erbur leaned back in his chair. He looked up into the VIP room. Dr. Reinhardt turned and walked out. His face was unexpressive. Erbur knew why he would be drinking the whiskey.

Gilely Kerbin watched the telltale light by the airlock. It turned yellow with the clang from outside. She caught the sight of one of the hummingbirds, the craft used to move cargo pods, as it went back to the cargo ship that had just arrived. The light blinked for a couple of seconds then turned a solid green. She pushed herself over to the door. She uncorked the whistle hole. It was silent. She replaced the cork and undogged the hatch. On the other side was a stern looking kerbal. It looked like his face was frozen in a permanent slight scowl, like he disapproved of everything he saw. Gilely reached through the airlock. “Welcome aboard the Eagle’s Nest senator,” she said. The senator took her hand. He was pulled through the lock with easy grace learned in microgravity. The two other occupants of the capsule came through the lock after him. One left the second helmet he carried floating motionless by the senator’s elbow. The other left a duffel bag floating by the senator’s knee. The one that had left the duffel bag paused at the door to the rest of the station. “You riding back with us, senator?” she asked. “No,” the senator shook his head. He stopped and swallowed hard. “I will be taking the rotation shuttle back.” “Too bad, it’s just as good a ride.” She tossed a small bottle. “These will help. Catch you on the brown side.” She floated out the door. Gilely caught the bottle. The senator looked at it. “I’ve never been motion sick in my life.” “Neither had I,” Gilely said. She placed the bottle in a leg pocket. “I got a really bad case a couple of rotations back.” She grabbed the helmet and the duffel bag. “Almost had to be sent down in one of the supply pods. It cleared up after a few days. But, it was one of the worst weeks of my life.” She gestured with the helmet. “The captain is in ops right now. We have one of the plant haulers docking. They were in the pattern after you.” She looked at the senator, “or you can get settled in your quarters.” “No. I’ll see the captain first.” He pushed off to the door. “Slowly, sir. You don’t need to push as hard as you think.” She followed behind him. They floated through the corridors to the operations centre. The captain looked up from the plotting table at the hatch. “Welcome aboard senator,” he said. ”we have one of the eagles coming to nest. If you want you can watch from the dock.” He looked at Gilely. She tapped her leg pocket and slightly wiggled the helmet. “It will be more impressive than watching pixels on the screens,” he continued. “I will join you after it’s docked.” “Thank-you captain.” He turned and moved back to the hatch. They floated along the corridor. One side of it was painted blue the opposite was painted brown. Everyone they passed had their feet towards the brown side. “Do the colours mean anything?” the senator asked. “Up and down mostly,” Gilely said. “They were chosen by the pilots. They’re the same as the nav ball.” She looked over at the senator, a kerbal that disliked wasteful spending. He put the Cygnus, and its related projects, high on his list of wasteful spending. “We saw a nice bump in productivity, and a sharp decrease in both claustrophobia and agoraphobia.” They arrived at one of the windows near the docks. Five of the eight fuel plant haulers, nicknamed eagles, were docked. Around them were suited kerbals performed checks and maintenance. Gilely looked out the window for a moment. She looked down at her watch. She looked out the window a new constellation had appeared, a regular quartet of stars. “There they are, sir. About a handbreadth up from the port-aft blast shield.” The stars resolved into four flares of intense white pointed towards the station. Gilely frowned. She pulled the mike down from his ear piece. “Just a moment senator.” “Con 6. Ex,” She said into the mike. “One seven seems to be coming in a bit hotter than usual.” She paused and frowned, listening to the response through the earpiece. “Okay. I’ll talk to them after they’ve cleared. Ex out.” She put the mike back. “Problem?” The senator said. “Oh seventeen has always given us trouble. She’s been rebuilt from the frame out. The parts have been swapped with other birds. They work there without a problem, and working parts give us trouble.” She shrugged. “She’s a cranky bird. We keep her low on the rotation. But she hasn’t quit on us yet though.” A white cloud formed in front of the ship. “More problems?” The senator asked. “No. That’s the RCS thrusters. She’s burning them hard to get down to the right speed. She’s too close for the main engines at this point.” The ship came in close again the white cloud formed. The ship halted. Small puffs of white nudged the ship onto the docking ports. There was a clang as the ports locked together. The lights on the ship turned off. It was illuminated by the lights from the dock, sunlight, and Kerbinlight. A couple of suited kerbals leapt to the ships. They trailed a collection of hoses and cables. One of them waved as she went past the cockpit. Their helmet lights played over sections of the hull as they connected the lines. After a moment they pushed off back to the station. “They’re not using eva packs?” the senator asked. “They have them,” Gilely said. “Some do use them. Most save the fuel for emergencies.” “Why don’t you take it out of service until the problems are fixed?” “She hasn’t failed us yet.” Gilely looked out the window. Two suited figures climbed out of the hatch. They went hand over hand on a line attached to the station. “Some of the others will, and have. Every time we’ve said go, she’s gone. Grumbling the whole way there and back. She’s believes in the project.” “And you Gilely. Do you believe in the project?” “Yes.” “Because of Reinhardt or despite him?” Gilely caught the captain coming in out of the corner of her eye. She gestured out of the window. One of the large craters on the surface of Kerbin was coming into view. “That one nearly wiped life off the face of the planet. It certainly would have wiped us off it. I believe in what he will end up achieving.” “Senator” the captain said. The senator turned around. His eyes bulged momentarily. He began to vomit. Gilely swiftly brought the helmet. She grabbed the senator’s shoulder to stop his spin. She caught most of the vomit in the helmet. After the senator stopped coughing, the captain continued. “There are fewer in the cult of Reinhardt then you’d expect.” He patted the senator on the shoulder. “Now let’s get you cleaned up.”