Starting again - From model rockets to the Mun (Chapter XIX added)

Randazzo · March 4, 2015

One consistent issue for me with KSP is that I tend to get bored in the late game, and as I'm not a fan of massive missions, once the exploration is done I find there's not much else for me to do. As a result, I start over quite a bit. I'm aware of the recent growth of these type of threads, but I've been putting this together for a little while (already performed about 12 major missions) and I've decided to go through with my planned "documentation". Some existing threads are better than what I've got here, and I definitely endorse all of them without question. Read them. If you enjoy them, comment, or hit that rep button. I will continue write to an audience of none as I always have, but there's a fair few people here putting forth a lot of effort to write these things. That said, I apologize if you feel your time was wasted by visiting this thread.

Index

Chapter I - "A New Dawn"

Chapter II - "A Step Forward"

Chapter III - "A Long Road Ahead"

Chapter IV - "What Lies Beyond"

Chapter V - "Of Craters and Cheese"

Chapter VI - "Onward and Upward"

Chapter VII - "Over the Horizon"

Chapter VIII - "Common Ground"

Chapter IX - "Stolen Dreams"

Chapter X - "A Light Shining in Darkness"

Part One

Part Two

Chapter XI - "Catching Up"

Chapter XII - "Hard Decisions"

Chapter XIII - "Going Places"

Interlude

Chapter XIV - "The Journey Oft Taken"

Chapter XV - 'That Good Men do Nothing"

Chapter XVI - "Those Who Came Before"

Chapter XVII - "Into That Good Night"

Chapter XVIII - "Perseverance"

Chapter XIX - "At the End of the Rainbow"

Mechjeb
Karbonite
Sounding Rockets
USI Exploration Pack
SCANsat
Kerbal Attachment System
Kerbal Aircraft Expansion
Texture Replacer
Pimp My Kerbal
Infernal Robotics
Modular Rocket Systems
Deadly Reentry
Procedural parts
Procedural Fairings
SumDum Service Module System
Taurus HCV
K2 Command Pod
FASA Launch Towers
K6M8 Cockpit
NovaPunch 2
Hullcam VDS
Active Texture Management
Raster Prop Monitor
ALCOR
- and any dependecies of the above

Edited July 10, 2015 by Randazzo

Randazzo · March 4, 2015

Humble Beginnings

Overheard in an unnamed junkyard...

Kerbal 1: "Do you really think we could do it?"

Kerbal 2: "All we need is a little startup fund and faci.."

Kerbal 3: "I'm in! Will I need a seatbelt?"

Kerbal 2: "A seatbelt...[sigh]*

Kerbal 1: "You'll probably need a parachute."

Kerbal 3: "Meh. Parachutes are slow."

Kerbal 4: "Ahem...You'll need a bit more than that, Gentlekerbs, and I believe I can help.."

Excerpt from press release...

Space Exploration Program Launched!

Kerbin, Shores - Wernher von Kerman announced the opening of the "Kerbal Space Center" today. With the aid of associates Jebediah Kerman, Bill Kerman, and Bob Kerman, Kerbal Space Center will execute a program to explore local Kerbol space. With the ultimate goal of landing on other celestial bodies orbiting our Sun, von Kerman was confident that this program and it's goals would lead to significant scientific breakthroughs for the good of all Kerbalkind. Von Kerman would also like to extend an invitation to any parties willing to undergo KSC's rigorous entry examinations...

As with all things the program had to start somewhere, and despite Jeb's urgings to "skip all this silly safe-tee stuff", it would start small. Consisting of unmanned rockets designed merely to test the function and reliability of existing technology, the "Dynamic Analysis and Research Tool" (DART) series was launched. Small and modular, these rockets could carry various payloads to various altitudes, but had no capability to actually reach space. While Bill and Bob attended the first launches to review the data as it came in, Jeb spent this time holed up in a small command pod on a shelf in the Vehicle Assembly Bay, pressing various interesting buttons. Naturally concerned, Wernher von Kerman approached Bob prior to the first launch.

"I must say, I'm touch worried about young Jebediah. For a kerbal who will be in command of our vehicles, he seems a bit...off." Wernher said, giving a nod toward Jeb in his command pod.

Bob looked up from his notes, glanced over at Jeb, then stared directly at Wernher. "There's not another on this planet like Jeb. He's the single bravest Kerbal I've ever met. In fact, he's a downright badass. If he's not on board, then neither am I."

"I see." Wernher shifted uncomfortably, then nodded and walked away. Bill, working on the DART I, simply shook his head and grinned.

Bill closed the panel on the DART I payload and gave a thumbs up to Bob. The ground crew scurried into action, loading the DART on to it's trolley. Once on the pad, it's high-tech "launch sticks" were assembled and the rocket positioned for the first of five test launches that day.

DART I-1 was a simple test of engineering tech, measuring it's durability under launch stresses and water landings. The rocket performed within the expected profile and the payload was recovered by an intern, Jorbas Kerman, wearing floaties.

An identical DART I(-2) was launched immediately thereafter, carrying a payload of scientific research materials to test their durability as well. This payload was recovered by Jorbas, though someone had taken his floaties away.

DART II-1 measured aerodynamic forces in flight and upon water impact. Due to it's more powerful two-stage engines, a proper recovery crew in a dinghy was required. The intern's thumb was put to use however, as there was a hole in the dinghy. Jorbas himself was allowed to remain attached to said thumb.

DART II-2 (not pictured) was launched in a vertical flight profile to garner data from landing on solid ground.

DART III gathered meteorological data while in flight, reaching an apokee of just over 56km. Despite the fact that there never appeared to be a cloud in sight..anywhere...ever, this data was deemed crucial to the success of manned flight.

That evening, the KSC astronaut complex was abuzz with activity. There was a palpable excitement in the air, and everyone seemed eager for what would come next. Bob and Bill had arranged a party for the entire crew, and the snacks were flowing. Even Wernher seemed thrilled. Wearing a rather ridiculous party hat and whirling a noisemaker, he threw his arms out at the sight of Bob and Bill.

"It's a resounding success gentlekerbs! A resounding success!" Wernher blurted out, his smile stretching from ear to ear. If he had ears, anyway.

"That's right, not a single unplanned explosion. I'm sure I only had a minor role in that." Bill feigned a yawn.

Bob chuckled at his comrade before addressing Wernher. "Yes, everything went well. But we're heading into more dangerous territory now, it will be Jeb going up in a capsule, not just a payload."

"Yes, well.. I'm certain your confidence in master Jebediah is not unfounded.." Wernher responded, with a touch of sarcasm.

"That's not at all what I meant. Only that we shouldn't get overconfident or careless because of one successful day."

It was at this moment that Jebediah walked up, wearing only his underpants and a space helmet. He lifted the visor and smiled at them before shoving a handful of snacks into his mouth and letting the visor drop back down with a thunk. They all stared at him, and the only sound was the muffled noise of crunching.

DART series album

Columbia · March 4, 2015

Wow, it's very well written! It combines technical details and science with a backstory, making for a great story.

Have some rep!

Randazzo · March 4, 2015

Wow, it's very well written! It combines technical details and science with a backstory, making for a great story.
Have some rep!

Thank you, I'm glad you like it. Writing Jeb is entertaining.

Cydonian Monk · March 5, 2015

Nice report. Had a lot of fun with the sounding rockets myself, and kinda think they should be stock. (Or something like them.)

Randazzo · March 5, 2015

(Pre-dawn transport of Lancer I to pad*)

Local newspaper clipping...

[TABLE=width: 1000, align: center]

[TR]

[TD]Interest in KSC Rockets Exploding!

Recent success at the newly minted KSC, or Kerbal

Space Center, has led to a massive influx of requests

from prominent aerospace corporations for data

sharing and product testing. Early questions regarding

how the program would be able to maintain funding

have been answered, with these corporations offering

significant monetary rewards alongside the opportunity

for mutual research benefits. Wernher Von Kerman has

gone on record to state that KSC will do it's best to

satisfy these requests, but indicated that the program

goals must always come first. The first manned launch

from KSC is scheduled early this week.

By Lois Kerman, Daily Kerbin

[/TD]

[TD]

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Starting small had paid off in a big way for the program, with the data gathered from the DART series leading to advancements in rocketry, survivability, and stability. The knowledge gained would make Jeb's first flights far safer than intial plans, as the program could now ensure the rockets would fly straight and be safely recovered. In the week since DART was launched Wernher had been contacted repeatedly with requests regarding KSC's interest in executing contracts for third parties. This would make proceeding with the planned "Lancer" series much easier, as each successful launch would not only result in further data to help refine the program, but also provide necessary funds to maintain the facility. Lancer would proceed in several stages designed to both prove the structural soundness of the command pod and satisfy various contracts, starting with test firings of the main engine assembly while anchored to the launchpad. The final test firing took place the evening before the launch, with Bob and Bill monitoring from mission control.

"It's looking pretty solid, we haven't had an engine failure in any of the tests." Said Bob, glancing at the screen in front of him before jotting down more notes.

Bill was watching the visual footage on the main display. "I agree, I think we're good to go for launch. Where's Jeb? He'll finally be able to stop going stir-crazy around here."

"He's in the centrifuge. Again." A mission controller chimed in. Bob shrugged, and Bill walked out of the room.

Making his way through the Mission Control building, Bill grimaced as he approached Wernher's office. The door was open, and he could hear voices coming from inside. Wernher was an alright kerbal, but he was the director, and directors had expectations. Sometimes those expectations led to nagging, and Bill had little patience for it. He paused just outside the door, then tried to slip by quickly.

"Bill! How is the testing progressing?", Wernher immediately called out. Trying to wipe the frown from his face, Bill stepped into the office.

"Another successful firing tonight. We'll be go for launch in the morning as planned. I was just on my way to tell Jeb." Bill tried to slip back out, but Wernher wasn't ready to let him go yet. Wernher's intern, Jorbas, was standing in the corner glaring at Bill, and Bill couldn't help but grin back at him. Those floaties were a nice trophy to hang in the VAB.

"Speaking of Jebediah, is he ready? He'll need to put his best foot forward you know. No goofing around. The world is watching now." Wernher said flatly.

"He'll be ready. He always is." With that, Bill turned and walked out before anything else could be said. He made his way outside.

Driving the short distance to the Research and Development building, Bill sighed heavily, considering what might happen in the morning. Even with all the testing and planning, something could still go wrong. Though the Lancer series was a far cry from a Mun launch, Jeb would still basically be sitting on top of a powerful missile. Missiles tended to explode. He knew Jeb wouldn't be worried, Jeb was never worried. Bill sometimes wished that Jeb would take things more seriously, but he never had any doubt about his comrades ability to perform in a pinch. He had seen how Jeb always kept his cool at critical moments, and never flinched from danger. Pulling up to the main building, Bill put the parking brake on and hopped out. As he stepped inside, he could hear the droning of the centrifuge engine and what could have only been the shouts of Jeb. His heart sank and he rushed to the control room. Looking at the monitor, his fear quickly abated. Jeb was indeed shouting, but wasn't in any trouble. It seemed as if he were having the time of his life, in fact. Bill shook his head and grabbed the microphone on the desk in front of the observing technician.

"Jeb! I'm shutting this thing down, there's some news you'll want to hear!" Bill gestured to the technician, who immediately disengaged the motor. The centrifuge slowed to a stop, and Jeb toppled out of the carriage, laughing happily.

"How long has he been in there?" Bill asked. The technician just shook his head and held up three fingers. Bill took this to mean three hours, knowing Jeb.

Jeb came stumbling into the control room, beaming with dizzy satisfaction. "Heey Bill! What's up?"

"Good news pal, the launch is a go! You'll be at the helm of a real live rocket in the morning." Bill said, smiling.

"Wooo! I knew you would make it happen!" Jeb slapped Bill on the shoulder and then immediately rushed out of the room and made for the front door. Bill just stood there for a moment, not sure what was happening.

"Hey, hold on! I'll drive you to the complex, we'll all need some rest!" He shouted, hurrying after Jeb and catching up outside.

"Rest!? No way, I need to go prep the pod! Thanks for the lift though Bill!" Jeb yelled back as he hopped into Bills cart and zipped off for the VAB. Bill threw his arms up and yelled some indiscernible obscenities in Jebs general direction.

It was going to be a busy few days at KSC, with four consecutive Lancer launches planned. An hour before dawn, Bob and Bill were overseeing the transport of the Lancer I vehicle to the launchpad. Jeb was already there waiting, impatiently. The first launch would aim to reach an apokee of 5km and it's main purpose was to prove the soundness of the decoupler system and parachute in a live flight. Rigorous testing (nope) had been performed in simulation, but this was no replacement for an actual launch.

Admittedly puny for a rocket, Lancer I was nonetheless successful overall. The vehicle achieved the desired altitude and all systems functioned perfectly. To give the staff time to analyze the data gathered (and wait for payment to clear from the associated corporate contracts) this would be the only launch of the day. Lancer II was prepped for launch the following morning.

Though it's stature was little improvement over Lancer I, Lancer II packed at least twice the power. This test would monitor the solid rocket booster to ensure it performed within expected parameters. Lancer II surpassed it's intended altitude of 11km, and once again all systems functioned perfectly. The command pod required essentially no refurbishing before being installed on Lancer III-1.

A proper rocket, Lancer III-1 would provide the first live test of the landing gear system currently available to the program. It's target altitude was 22km, which was exceeded by nearly double (and therefore skipped the 33km contract) and a significant portion of fuel remained in the upper stage upon landing.

Lancer III-2 would provide research data on the "Mystery Goo" substance immediately after lift-off, and once more at apokee. Target altitude was 56km. Both tests were successfully completed, and target altitude was achieved. The four Lancer launches had provided a notable amount of data that would require examination. The next launch would be a huge step forward for the program, as the Lancer IV design appeared to be not only capable of escaping the atmosphere but also establishing orbit. Given the dangers involved, Bob stepped in and halted the launch of the Lancer IV.

Bob accompanied the recovery crew to Jeb's landing site in the water nearby KSC. He knew Jeb was going to be disappointed with the news, and wanted to deliver it himself. Jeb waved at them from atop his floating capsule as the crew approached by boat.

"Bob-a-rooney! I think some of this goo stuff got into the water." Jeb looked down at the open canisters, both of which were now mysteriously empty. Bob followed his gaze, and cocked an eyebrow.

"That's alright, I don't think it will harm anything. Listen, Jeb.." Bob paused, "We're going to have to delay the next launch."

"What for? This thing looks ok to me!" Jeb gave the command pod a little kick, and it issued a hollow ring.

"You'll be going into outer space for the first time, and so will the pod. I want to run a few more tests to make sure you come back safe. Besides, that pod doesn't have enough power for an orbital mission. I think I can have a power supply whipped up in a day or two."

Jeb frowned deeply, meeting Bobs gaze. After a moment, Jeb erupted into a huge smile. "Ok Bob-O! You're the scientifical guy. Wanna go for a swim?"

Kerplunk!

Unfortunately, the program did not have the resources to produce the necessary battery life for the Lancer IV orbital mission. In a move that greatly improved his standing in Bill and Bob's eyes, Wernher approached them less than an hour after receiving this news. He presented them with three contracts requiring only tests on the launchpad which would get them the data necessary to develop proper batteries. Though it took longer than Jeb liked, not only was Bob able to produce a proper battery system, but he also devised several methods of increased flight control. However, still concerned with the performance of their somewhat limited technology, Bob wanted an unmanned test before he gave the Ok for Jeb to go hurtling through space. Working together with Bill, the Space Endurance Testing Probe (SET) was hastily assembled for launch. Though lacking in aesthetics (and perhaps aerodynamics), it would provide the necessary information regarding component performance in a vacuum. It would also prove the new batteries reliability.

SET would be the first launch by the program to breach the outer atmosphere into space. Once recovered, the modules would be examined to ensure performance during manned launch. In a minor mishap during construction (perhaps due to it's rushed nature) the science module was accidentally swapped with an aeronautical data module. Despite this oversight, Bob was satisfied with the results, and finally gave the go ahead to launch Lancer IV. The excitement grew around KSC and Kerbin as a whole in the following days. Soon, KSC would perform it's first manned space flight.

*- Dramatic Recreation

Edited March 5, 2015 by Randazzo

Randazzo · March 6, 2015

These images are created via another career mode save in which I've cheated to unlock the necessary tech nodes to stage the picture. The main career on which these entries are based is progressing normally and does not have access to these techs.

From a meeting with Rockomax ConglomerateÃ¢â‚¬Â¦

WVK: It's not about what you're offering, it's about what you're asking

Rep: We don't think it's asking too much. It may not be perfectly safe, but if it were, we wouldn't need your help in the first place.

WVK: [sighs] I'm sorry bu..

[A loud bang in the background]

JK: Oh heya Vern! Who's this?

Rep: Good afternoon, my name is..

WVK: Jebediah, please. I'm in the middle of a meeting.

JK: Yeah? That rockomax contract? Let me see..

[Rustling of papers]

JK: OoooooÃ¢â‚¬Â¦. We'll do it!

WVK: I really don..

JK: Don't worry Vern, it'll be fine!

[Another bang, presumably a door closing]

Rep: [clears throat] Well, if I could just have your signature here...

The way was finally made clear for the launch of Lancer IV, the first orbit capable rocket to be sent up. In the days leading up to the launch, the news media was abuzz with editorials and speculation. The already busy KSC was being flooded with potential applicants, all hoping to one day man a vessel to space. Bob and Bill could barely contain Jebediah who was spending most of his time in the VAB, finding ways to climb into the command pod and perform "simulations" complete with sound effects. As always, Jeb was perfectly confident the mission would succeed. While not nearly as exuberant as Jeb, Bill was satisfied that the Lancer would perform well and get Jeb home safe. Bob and Wernher were more conservative, and though neither of them predicted disaster, they each prepared themselves for it. KSC had managed to complete a few minor contracts in the interim and improved their construction capabilities and gained access to slightly more advanced rocketry components, but for the most part was still fairly limited in terms of actual space flight. Just a day prior to the launch, two requests had arrived on Wernhers desk. Each could be a windfall for the program if they could successfully complete them. The first was a simple test of the LV-909 engine, and could be performed during Lancer IV's planned orbital flight. The second, however, was a very different story. As Wernher reviewed this document, there was a knock on his door.

"Yes, come in." Wernher called out. Bob poked his head in before stepping inside, with Bill following.

"You wanted to see us?" Bob said.

Wernher nodded and gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. "I was just curious if we were still set to proceed tomorrow. Jebediah's ...um...

reports

all seem confident."

"We're on track for launch right now. Provided nothing happens during the set up, we'll launch on time." Bill responded, leaning over to have a look at one of these reports. They mostly consisted of drawings depicting Jeb riding a rocket into space.

Bob grinned, looking at the report. "It might not go exactly like that."

"Undoubtedly. Since you're here, have a look at this. And please, keep it between us for now." Wernher pushed the request, from Rockomax Conglomerate, across his desk. Bob picked it up, gave it a quick glance, and tossed it back down.

"No." Bob said plainly. Bill furrowed his brow and snatched up the papers. He looked slightly stunned after reading them.

"Do they genuinely think this is safe? We can't send something like that up from this facility. The exhaust would probably melt the asphalt on the pad." Bill set the request back down.

"I agree. I don't want to close the door on Rockomax, but I believe this is too dangerous. They have a representative coming in a few days, I'll let them down gently then." Wernher said, pleased to have the support of Bob and Bill, "Well then gentlekerbs, let us proceed as planned."

The next morning, after successfully prying Jeb out of the command pod, the Lancer IV was loaded on to the crawler and delivered to the Launchpad an hour or so before dawn. As the Sun began to climb over the horizon the ladder truck arrived and Jeb climbed back into the pod, declaring that this step could have been avoided in the first place all the way up. Bob, Bill, and Wernher were in mission control awaiting the launch. The air was thick with both tension and anticipation as the long awaited countdown approached. Finally, all systems were declared green, and the countdown began. Lancer IV rumbled up into the sky, and all attention was now on the monitors.

This craft was equipped with two battery packs to provide power for the duration of the mission. While the pod could have sustained the craft on it's own with sparing maneuvers, at least one pack was necessary to ensure the supply. The second pack was mostly to keep the rocket balanced and provide an additional safety net. Lift off was achieved without incident, and Lancer IV climbed to just shy of 6km before staging.

Even the typically exuberant Jebediah had his gameface on now. Initiating the gravity turn at 6.9km, Lancer IV climbed to 28km (with projected Apoapsis of 55km) before staging and firing the LV-909 engine. Mission control remained deathly silent.

Jeb tipped the Lancer ever closer to the 90 degree mark as it climbed, stretching his trajectory out as far as possible on the way up. Cutting the engine with a projected Apoapsis of 81km, the Lancer was now coasting towards outer space. As the craft coasted past the 73km mark, now in the vacuum of space, a brief test was run on the LV-909. Mission Control was starting to come alive again, with everyone crowding around the monitor displaying Lancer's projected trajectory.

With the Lancer aimed in a 90 degree heading, Jeb fired the LV-909 immediately after performing the test. Although it was reliable and fuel efficient, the 909 engine was not overly powerful. Jeb set the throttle to maximum while maintaining his heading. As the projected trajectory grew closer to complete orbit, the crew in Mission Control began to get jumpy with anxiety. Wernher however, was still as stone. With the apoapsis climbing a touch too rapidly, Jeb turned past 90 to bring it back down to the desired 80km. Finally, an almost perfectly circular orbit (No, Mechjeb was not used. Autopilot is not even available at this tech level.) was achieved at ~81km at both apses. Mission Control exploded with cheers and applause. Lancer IV had more than enough fuel left to re-enter.

Moments after establishing orbit, the comms panel in mission control crackled to life.

"Jeb to mission control..Bob, are you there?" It was Jeb, in a veritable sea of static. Bob clambered over a tech or two in his haste to reach the microphone.

"I'm here Jeb, go ahead..." Everyone was silent now, minds racing with possibilities of what could be wrong.

"Hey Bob-O! You owe me ten snacks!" Jebs voice came back after a slight delay. Bob burst into laughter, and the whole of the staff began to applaud again. Wernher simply shook his head and walked to his office, closing the door.

"I'll get you all the snacks you can eat Jeb, just get back in one piece. And bring the command pod with you, please!" Bob responded after regaining his composure.

The Lancer would have been capable of an entire orbit with no problems, but as this was the programs first orbital flight (and mine with DRE) and the capability had been proven, Lancer IV would immediately lower it's projected periapsis to 20km for re-entry.

Still unfamiliar with proper reentry procedure, the periapsis was set about halfway on the night side of Kerbin. This led to the trajectory decaying before coming back into daylight, and worse, heading for a mountainous region. Before this was an issue, the heatshield would be put to it's first real test. Fortunately the compression heating experienced was relatively mild, and the heatshield was not taxed. Chute deployment was executed without incident, and Jeb drifted slowly towards the surface.

The landing site was a bit elevated but at least not on a sheer cliff, and had a fairly decent lake view. Jeb left his helmet in the pod and sat on the grass to await recovery, smiling serenely instead of insanely. He knew this was only the beginning.

Three days after recovering Jeb and the Lancer pod with all it's data, KSC was undergoing some fairly rigorous construction. The LV-909 testing had provided the program with a quite significant payout, and allowed for advancing the available tech quite a bit, most notably in fuel systems and aerodynamics. Mission Control and the Tracking Station were both being expanded. With the new advancements in aerodynamic flight, Bill had quickly gone to work on designing a simple jet, Hermes, to execute a recon mission and Jeb was thrilled to pilot it. While it was less powerful than a rocket, it was still chock full of danger and therefore right up his alley. On the day of the flight, Jeb paid a visit to the VAB to see Bill. Bill wasn't there, but there was a large wooden crate with "ROCKOMAX" stamped on the side. Jorbas was looking at the inventory slip.

"Oooo.. what's in that box?" Jeb asked him.

"Oh, it's that engine they want us to test." Jorbas said without giving it a second thought. "The rockomax guy is in Wernher's office right now."

Jeb immediately ran towards the door. Bill walked in just in time to see him go. "Where's he off to?"

"I guess to see Wernher and the rockomax rep." Jorbas glared at Bill, still sore about the floaty incident.

"Oh..no.." Bill muttered and ran after Jeb. He was too late to catch him.

Bill ran as fast as his little kerbal legs would take him to the administration building, where Wernher's office had been relocated to. By the time he got there, Jeb was already strolling back out. Jeb smiled and waved as he hopped into his cart and drove off to the Space Plane Hangar. Shortly afterward, the Rockomax rep came out of the building looking pleased with himself. Wernher was right behind him.

"Bill.. come with me." Wernher climbed into his own cart and Bill climbed in with him.

"What happened?" Bill asked.

"That...

clown

..accepted the contract." Wernher almost growled.

"What? Why didn't you tell them we couldn't do it? Jeb isn't in charge." Bill said, somewhat aghast.

"And ruin our reputation!? He already agreed! We can't afford to blow something like this! Nobody will trust us!" Wernher shouted back. He was clearly very, very angry. Bill said nothing, a sick feeling growing in his stomach.

The contract in question was not a complicated one, it was a suborbital engine test. Not just any engine however, a Mainsail. There were rumors about such powerful engines, but KSC was certainly not ready for them. Lacking the proper technology to even control such a massively powerful engine, much less suitable fuel tanks, it would be far too risky to even attempt a launch. Regardless, the launchpad couldn't handle the power or weight of the Mainsail. Wernher nearly plowed into the hangar, but seeing that it was empty, he continued on to the runway. Driving directly into the path of the jet, Wernher jumped out. Jeb was just about to climb into the cockpit.

"JEBEDIAH KERMAN! Come over here at once!" Wernher bellowed.

Jeb, never startled by anything, turned around with a smile. "Hey Vern! What's up?"

"Don't you 'Hey Vern' me! How DARE you march into MY office and accept a contract on this programs behalf?! Just who is it that you think you are?! I have tolerated your... your

reckless

,

foolish

,

CHILDISH

behavior long enough! You are a liability to this program and everyone around you! You are hereby terminated from this program!" Wernher blurted out. Bill's eyes grew wide, and he took an exaggerated step back. Jeb's smile faded away, and his expression grew grim. He dropped his helmet and took a single step towards Wernher.

"I..am the one who is really on the line here. I am the one who accepts the risk every day, without complaint. I am the one who does what everyone else is afraid of doing. I am the one who will take this program to the Mun, and beyond, Vern. I told them it could be done because I am the one who knows it

can

be done. I am the one believes in every Kerbal at this facility, without doubt or question. Even you, Vern. That's who I am." Jeb said, his voice even and calm. Wernher stared at him, mouth agape. Bill sighed softly. Jeb picked up his helmet and handed it to Wernher and started to walk away.

"Jebedi...Jeb. Wait." Wernher stammered, suddenly ashamed of his outburst. "I..I spoke too hastily."

"You know, with what we'll make from this recon mission, I think we'll be able to reinforce the pad enough to handle the launch. It will still be risky though." Bill chimed in. "I mean.. if you want to fly it, Jeb."

"It'll go fast right?" Jeb asked, already smiling again.

"VERY fast Jeb. Very fast." Bill felt his own smiling creeping back. Jeb was infectious that way, and secretly a genius in his own right.

"If you're willing..." Wernher held the helmet out to Jeb. Jeb took it without hesitation.

"I like fast!" He said, beaming. With that, Jeb climbed into the cockpit. Lacking ladder technology, two interns were required to make a kerbal ladder.

Jeb paused before sliding the cockpit hatch closed. "Hey.. you guys got any snacks?"

Wernher and Bill shook their heads.

"Phooey. Oh well. Let's go!" Jeb said, closing the hatch.

Hermes Album

As Bill predicted, the successful completion of the recon survey provided enough funds to upgrade not only the launchpad, but the VAB as well. Prior to upgrading the launchpad, another Lancer IV class rocket was launched and completed two full orbits before returning to the surface. With everything well underway, it was time to design a working Rockomax deathtrap. Wernher would never again doubt Jeb (and Jeb would never again set foot in Wernher's office declaring that doing so brought out "Vern's mean face"), and the program marched onward, inching ever closer to the Mun.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Randazzo

Randazzo · March 6, 2015

Nice report. Had a lot of fun with the sounding rockets myself, and kinda think they should be stock. (Or something like them.)

I agree, they are a really neat place to start. I think your stuff is way cooler than mine though.

Randazzo · March 7, 2015

From a classified ad...

Seeking Orbital Mechanics!

Are you a capable engineer? Have you always wanted

to travel? Kerbal Space Center is now hiring well

qualified engineering candidates for long-duration

orbital missions. If interested, please contact

Wernher Von Kerman at....

Having successfully launched a manned vehicle into orbit, KSC was making great strides forward both in technology and reaching it's goal of landing on the Munar surface. Bill had drawn up plans for a new launch pad to handle larger rockets, and thanks to Wernher's administrative skill, construction would begin in mere days. In the meantime, Jeb was already back in orbit on a day-long mission to gather more data on KSC's equipment and effects of longer duration exposure to space. A few hours before Jeb was scheduled to bring the Lancer IV-2 back to the surface, Bob and Bill drove to Mission Control to check on the mission. Arriving there, they were met by Jorbas who had been promoted officially to the ground crew, though he typically served as Wernher's gopher.

"Hi Bob." Jorbas said, pointedly ignoring Bill. He was holding the door open, and two kerbals came out of the building wearing flight suits.

"What do we have here? New recruits?" Bob asked, climbing down from his cart.

"Yep. This is Jim." Jorbas gestured to the Kerbal in yellow, the engineers color. "And Enford, our newest pilot."

"Hello there. Welcome to the program!" Bill stepped forward and extended a hand. Jim gave it a vigorous shake.

"Thanks! Really glad to be here! I had no idea they were going to make us ride that centrifuge so many times! I almost got sick the first time around! Did you.."

Enford interrupted with a grin. "Hi, nice to meet you."

"And you, welcome." Bob shook Enfords hand.

"Sorry guys, I've got to get these two over to Wernher's office. Let's go fellas." Jorbas hopped into the parked cart. Enford and Jim climbed in and they sped off. Bill gave them a wave.

"Say, how come I don't get somebody to stand on?" Bob mused out loud after they were gone.

"You? As if you need any help, Bob." Bill gave him a slap on the back with a grin, and they went inside.

Inside mission control, Bob immediately went to check the systems monitor. Bill walked to the communications panel and pressed the transmit button.

"Mission control to Lancer. Come in Jeb." Bill said.

"HEY BILL! It's neat up here! Is my fast rocket ready yet?" Jeb came back, thoroughly excited. Not that it was an unusual state for him.

"Not quite yet Jeb, we'll have to wait for the new launchpad to be built. Don't worry though, it'll be ready before you know it. How's the camera working?"

"The camera? What...OOOOHHH right. Gotta go Bill!" Jeb clicked off the air. Bill couldn't help but smile, shaking his head. Lancer IV-2 had been equipped with a small camera in hopes of taking a picture of the Mun from space. Provided that Jeb remembered to take said picture.

"Bob, I'm going to head over to the VAB and check on the RTR progress. I'll leave the cart outside." Bill said. Bob nodded, and Bill walked out.

The RTR (Rockomax Testing Rocket) was Bill's design to satisfy the controversial Mainsail test requirements. Though it was a touch on the ridiculous side, it would get the job done without incinerating Jeb in the process. Since there was no requirement to burn the engine at full power Bill had built in thrust limiters to help curb Jebs enthusiasm, but he kept that detail to himself. Normally he wouldn't have even considered sending up such a vehicle, but the payoff was simply too great to ignore. If KSC could give Rockomax Conglomerate the data it was after, Rockomax had promised to fund an upgrade to the R&D building as well as provide immediate access to it's current generation engine, the Skipper. The program would be propelled forward several months in just a few minutes time. Still, they had to wait until the pad was ready.

Nearly a week after Jeb had returned from the Lancer IV-2 mission with several photographs of nothing and at least one of the Mun, excitement was still running high at KSC. The thrill of actually seeing the Mun from space had refreshed everyone, a tangible reminder of what they were aiming for. Bob, however, remained worried about the approaching RTR launch. He had been fully against it from the start. A Mainsail engine was a tremendously powerful device, meant to lift much larger loads than KSC was even capable of providing. But he understood the importance, and knew Jeb was more than willing to ride the monster into space. With Bill putting safeguards into place to keep Jeb and the RTR from bursting into flame, the danger was lessened but a great many things could still go wrong. With no reaction wheel device strong enough to control it, they would be relying on the thrust itself to keep the rocket on it's path. There was little else that could be done now, as the day had come for the launch. Jeb was already in the capsule awaiting the countdown from mission control. Though he would normally be there himself, Bob was standing just outside the VAB watching in person.

MC: All systems are green. We are go for launch. Beginning countdown.

RTR: Ready! It's gonna be fast!

MC: T-minus 11..10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1..

RTR: IGNITION!

Bill had ensured the Mainsail could fire at no more than half of it's full power, and still it roared off the pad like a bullet. A blast of hot air and debris hit Bob at the VAB, but he did not flinch. Even the LV-T30's the program was mainly using were impressive machines, but were mere bottle rocket motors compared to this beast. The roar was deafening. It was immediately clear that even with thrust limiters, the RTR was going much too fast. Amazingly, even Jeb acknowledged this.

RTR: Hey! I think we're going

too

fast!

MC: We can confirm that, RTR. You have already exceeded terminal velocity.

RTR: Ok, I'm gonna slow down a little. Somebody owes me some snacks!

Jebediah Kerman, adrenaline junkie extraordinaire, throttled back. Jeb continued to reduce power until the vehicles speed dropped below terminal velocity, slowly powering back up to maintain the climb. He would have to reach at least 105km to satisfy Rockomax Conglomerate. At around 40km, the RTR began to experience compressive heating. Fortunately, the engine flamed out from lack of fuel at this point.

RTR: Haha! The air is on fire! Hey, that's not good is it?

MC: Negative, RTR. Reduce throttle immediately.

RTR: No can do! All outta juice!

MC: Um..roger, RTR.

RTR: Who's Roger?

A few moments later, the heating ceased and RTR was hurtling into space at a fairly impressive speed. In less than a minute, Jeb had passed 105km and Rockomax would get it's data. Mission Control broke out into applause. Watching the RTR's ascent on the tracking monitor, a representative from Rockomax smiled with approval and shook Wernhers hand. Wernher forced a smile, but collapsed into a chair the moment the rep was gone. He was happy, but mostly relieved it was over. Bill, who was also watching from mission control, caught Wernher's gaze for a moment but decided not to say anything and turned his attention back to a monitor. Bob was still standing in front of the VAB, watching the sky. A sudden burst of activity from within drew his attention. He walked through the massive doors to see a frenzy of ground crew members rushing about, and a number of Kerbals wearing jumpsuits he did not recognize. They were moving some large crates into storage.

"What's this about?" Bob asked the Kerbal who appeared to be in charge.

"Rockomax is making good on their promise already! They had 'em waiting in a truck." He handed Bob a clipboard with an invoice on it. A dozen Skipper engines, and instructions on how to order more.

"So, it's done then." Bob said aloud, not really expecting an answer.

"Yes sir, the RTR is coming back." Was the response.

Bob paused for a moment. "I wasn't really worried about the rocket."

The forekerbal just nodded and went back to supervising the operation. Bob stood there staring at the papers, his feeling of worry really only getting worse. As dangerous as this simple test was, what it had opened the door on was far more likely to claim his friends life and maybe even his own. With the Skipper engines, Bob estimated that Bill would have a vehicle capable of reaching the Mun designed in only a few weeks. Reaching into the pocket of his own jumpsuit, he pulled out a folded copy of the Mun photograph that Jeb had returned with a week ago. Bob sighed heavily, and walked to the Astronaut Complex to lay down.

In the following days, Bill was scarcely seen outside of the Research and Development building. It was undergoing a massive renovation itself, another result of the Rockomax deal. He had a lot to do, not only designing a vehicle capable of Munar orbit, but also a probe to precede manned flight. With Bobs help, the Celestial Altimetry Mapping Probe (CAMP) came together fairly quickly. Although Jeb was not enthusiastic about the program, Wernher signed off on it, delaying the planned manned flight by at least two weeks. Before sending one to the Mun itself, CAMP I was to be launched into a polar orbit of Kerbin for testing it's capabilities. Incidentally, KSC had also received a request for access to a satellite in a polar orbit. The request, however was for a much higher altitude than the probe could scan the surface. As a result, CAMP I would have to first get into position to satisfy the clients needs and later reduce altitude to begin mapping. Now becoming accustomed to launches, the level of excitement at KSC was somewhat subdued on launch day. The actual launch was uneventful.

The launch went smoothly, and with no Kerbalnaut life on the line, seemed rather like a vacation for mission control. CAMP easily reached the desired orbit, and the client was given access to the satellite to satisfy their purpose. Afterwards, CAMP was redirected to a lower orbit to begin mapping. Unfortunately, the probe ran out of fuel with an Apoapsis of over 500km, far too high to scan.

Aside from this, the satellite itself was performing perfectly. Further delaying the first manned Mun launch, another CAMP was to be constructed to fill the gap in the data being recieved from CAMP I, and a third which would actually orbit the Mun. These were both successful.

Disappointed that he did not get to pilot the first craft to the Mun, Jeb spent a great deal of time moping about KSC. His spirit was thoroughly deflated. Bill had just paid Wernher a visit and gotten his approval to begin construction on the first of the Century Line (actually dubbed Centurion at the time, later changed to Century). He searched all over the KSC for Jeb, finally finding him at the VAB.

"Jeb! I have something to sho.. what are you doing anyway?" Bill called out. Jeb was dangling from the upper girder of one of the VAB doors.

"Hanging out." Jeb replied flatly.

"Wha..I don.." Bill struggled to find the words. "Can you come down from there? I have something you need to see."

"Ok, if you say so." Much to Bill's horror, Jeb swung himself back and forth until he had enough momentum to fling himself at one of the doors. Fortunately he grabbed on and slid down the inner edge with a long

squeeeek

.

"Look..." Bill handed him a drawing. "It's 'Century I'."

Jeb could say nothing, but a smile crept across his face for the first time in days.

Edited March 7, 2015 by Randazzo

Randazzo · March 9, 2015

The program was hurtling forward now, it's reputation proven beyond any doubt. Rockomax Conglomerate was extremely pleased with the data KSC had provided them and been quite vocal about it in media outlets. There was already a significant amount of interest in the program reaching the Mun from the general public, but now the corporate sector had jumped on to the bandwagon. It was becoming apparent to Wernher that KSC's own goals would have to be safeguarded, lest they be forgotten amongst the frenzy. While having accepted a wide array of contract work early on, the program would now take a more focused approach to avoid distractions during the Century program. With far more funding available than Wernher had expected, Century would not only reach for the Mun, but for the tiny blue marble of Minmus as well. Wernher had just received word that Century I was completed.

"Jorbas..would you be so kind as to fetch our favorite trio for me? Have them meet me at the Vehicle Assembly Bay." Wernher said to Jorbas, who now had a small desk in the corner of Wernhers large office. Jorbas immediately jumped up and scurried out of the administration building.

Wernher rose slowly and meandered out to his cart, driving to the VAB in a bit of a daze. He was musing about how far the program had come, and how quickly it had gotten to this point. He had expected it to be at least a year before Mun missions were even considered. Now here they were barely two months in operation, and already preparing to launch a manned capsule. Pulling inside the large structure, Wernher saw that Bob and Bill were standing at the base of the Century I, looking up. Following their gaze, he saw a pair of boots sticking out of the open capsule hatch, undoubtedly belonging to Jeb.

"Jeb! Will you get down from there? If you break something..!" Bill was shaking his fist at the capsule. Bob said nothing, and was trying not to smile or laugh.

"Not yet! I have to stow these snacks!" Came the distant, muffled reply. Bob could no longer contain himself, and covered his face with his hands as he began to laugh.

"It's not funny! What if he pulls out a wire?!" Bill bellowed at him. A loud thunk drew their attention back to the capsule. Jeb had climbed out and shut the hatch. He was scaling his way down the stack.

"Careful now Jeb, Bill worked very hard on this!" Wernher said, moving up alongside Bob. To Bill he said, "Perhaps we should install some proper snack stowage."

"Wha..are you..", Bill sputtered.

"That's a FANTASTIC idea Vern! You should run this place!" Jeb chimed in, hopping down the last couple of meters. The others just stared at him for a moment, Bob and Wernher grinning. Bill was scowling. Jeb shrugged at him.

"Well gentlekerbs, I had intended to break the good news to you, but I see you've already found out that the vessel is ready. If it passes safety checks..." Wernher paused, peering over his glasses at Jeb. Jeb tore open a snack bar and took a bite, chewing slowly. "...then we'll be ready to launch by the end of the week."

"I'll put the materials bay through a check tonight." Bob said. "I'm sure Bill will have number of systems to check as well."

Bill crossed his arms, muttering mostly to himself. "Snacks...of all the...I'll tell you where you can put...snacks...hmph."

Fortunately, Jeb's excursion into the command pod had not pulled out any wires or otherwise compromised the systems. Launch day rolled around, and once again, the tension at KSC was almost tangible. Century, equipped with a materials bay for study, would perform only a fly-by on it's maiden voyage. The subsequent flight, after modifications to carry goo canisters instead of a materials bay, would establish low Munar orbit before returning to Kerbin. Bob and Bill accompanied Jeb up the launch tower to see him off.

"This is it Jeb, the final steps towards landing on the Mun." Bob said.

"We know you can do it. Just don't try anything too dangerous. And don't take your helmet off to eat a snack!" Bill added, waving his finger at Jeb. They both waved before heading back down.

"WHAT?" Jeb shouted. Inside his helmet, all he could hear was his own breathing. When they walked away, he shrugged and climbed into the capsule. He signaled mission control and final checks commenced.

All systems were green, and the countdown began. Then Jeb started shouting over comms.

Century: ABORT! EMERGENCY! ABORT!

MC: Understood, Century. Initiating Abort procedure. (in the background: "Disengage startup sequence...lock the clamps..!")

Century: It's a disaster!

MC: Launch sequence has been aborted Century.. we have green across the board here.. do you have a control failure?

Century: MY SNACKS ARE GONE!!

MC: ....I don't..snacks? (rustling noise)

His snacks are gone? What is he even talking..

In mission control, Bob looked over at Bill, who shrugged. Wernher came rushing in to see what had happened, and spent the next ten minutes calming Jeb down. The countdown timer was reset and started again afterwards. As the launch approached, Bill nonchalantly produced a small bag of snacks from his pocket, tore them open and offered some to Bob. Bob looked at them incredulously and shook his head. Bill began to laugh. No further shenanigans ensued, and Century launched to the first manned Mun flight in the programs history.

The flight was much longer than most of KSC's launches, and the mission control staff had rotated, but Bill, Bob, and Wernher hadn't left. Everything was going well so far, but Jeb had to watch power consumption. As this was only a fly-by, no solar panels had been installed on the Century. It had sufficient battery power for two complete trips following the planned flight profile, but it was better to keep power drain to a minimum anyway. Soon, Century was approaching it's periapsis on the dark side of the Mun. Jeb could find no words to express the joy he felt as he approached the Mun, but the massive smile on his face said it all.. if they could see it, that is.

Century was required to burn at Munar periapsis to obtain a low kerbin peripapsis for aerobraking. Jeb's timing was spot on, and Century's escape trajectory and projected orbital path were right on target. Wernher had at last gone to get some rest, and Bill had fallen asleep at his station in mission control. Bob stood vigilant, watching everything. Power levels were excellent, Century was on course, and in several hours would execute a braking maneuver in the atmosphere. Since there would be fuel remaining, Jeb would perform a retrograde burn at Kerbin periapsis to slow the ship down. The first atmospheric encounter would be shallow enough that the engine could easily survive the heat, and the burn would allow re-entry after a single orbit instead of the planned three. Bob woke Bill just before the braking maneuver. Wernher came shambling in as well, having requested to be summoned for the event.

"How is it looking gentlekerbs?" Wernher asked, sidling up next to Bob and Bill.

"Seems as if everything is going well. Jeb is about to enter the atmosphere and brake." Bob replied. Bill sleepily stared at the monitors and said nothing. Enford entered mission control warily and walked up to them.

"Is it alright if I'm here?" He asked.

"Of course, join us." Wernher said. Enford nodded to him, and joined Bill in staring silently. With the final fuel in the Century's tank expended, a final orbit of 100km x 20km had been achieved.

Less than half an hour later, Jeb was on comms with mission control as he approached reentry.

Century: I'm hungry.

MC: We copy you, Century. It won't be long now. Let's go over that entry procedure one last time, if you please.

Century: *Sighs* Ok..press the red button at sixty-eight kilometers altitude. Press the green button at fifty kilometers altitude. Orient retrograde.

MC: Very good Century, thank you.

Century: Hey, will you guys send some snacks with those rescue people? I'm hungry.

MC: You got it Century. We show you're about to enter the atmosphere.

Century: The ships getting shaky! Ok, sixty eight.. pressing green button! Hey, nothing happened.

MC: Red button, Century. Jettison that engine immediately.

Century: Right! Pressi...*static*

MC: Please repeat last transmission, we did not copy.

Century: ...

MC: Century? We've got a communications failure..no...everything has gone dark!.(a klaxon begins blaring in the background)

A wave of dread washed through mission control. Bob stared at the control board in disbelief. Everything was blank. Century was not transmitting. Bill rushed to the comms panel and pushed the controller aside.

"JEB!" He yelled, even though he knew nothing was being received. After a moment he slammed his fist down on the panel, startling nearby controllers. Wernher, his face downcast, put a hand on Bills shoulder.

"This can't be.." Bob said aloud. He double checked their own systems panel, but everything was online. Century had simply fallen out of communications. It was expected that this would happen, but not until the Century pod was experiencing compressive heating. His mind worked frantically, but it was working against him now, as he could only picture what disasters might have befallen Jeb upon ditching the engine. Perhaps it had collided with the pod, or simply exploded. Jorbas was saying something, but everyone was lost in the moment.

Finally, Enford turned to face Jorbas. "What did you say?"

"Um.. there's a little blinking light over here." Jorbas said, pointing at the panel in front of him. Everyone rushed over, Bill pushing to the front.

"It's the emergency transponder beacon!" Bill shouted.

"Patch this to the tracking station, now!" Bob yelled at Jorbas. Jorbas nodded and sent the data over. In a few moments, an image of Kerbin popped up on the main screen showing a projected trajectory with an impact site in the ocean extrapolated from the beacons signal.

"Enford! Take the Hermes up, get eyes on it. Go!" Wernher ordered. Enford was out the door before he even finished, with Bill right on his heels.

Enford was already starting to drive off when Bill jumped into the moving cart, swinging himself into the passenger seat. Enford looked over momentarily, but they said nothing. The entire center was bustling with scrambling crew, preparing to recover the pod if it was still intact. A siren was still wailing somewhere in the background. Bill flipped on the warning lights on the cart. Turning so hard that they went up on two wheels, Enford brought them skidding to a stop in front of the hangar doors. Working together they heaved them open and went to work preparing the Hermes. Bill hooked up the fuel line and started to fill the tank while Enford climbed into the cockpit and started his system checks. In less than ten minutes, the Hermes roared off the runway at full throttle. Bill watched him go, then returned to mission control.

"Hermes is up." Bill announced. Everyone looked grim.

"It will take almost an hour to get there." Bob said, pointing at the projected impact site. Everyone remained silent, waiting.

After forty incredibly tense minutes, Enford was reporting in.

Hermes: Approaching site now, ten kilometers out. I am reading the beacons signal on emergency wavelength.

MC: Understood Hermes.

[a short delay]

Hermes: Dropping altitude to five hundred meters. Cutting throttle back to one quarter. Signal indicates less than two kilometers to beacon.

MC: Copy, Hermes. We'll need you to make visual confirmation of...find that pod, pilot.

Hermes: I damn well intend to. Less than a kilo...I have visual! The pod is intact! Repeat, the pod is intact! Transmitting coordinates to recovery boats.

MC:

[barely intelligible over the cheering in the background]

Good copy, Hermes. Good copy.

It took another hour for the recovery boats to arrive. Jeb waved at them from atop the capsule.

Walking out of Wernher's office a few days later, Bob bumped into Enford.

"Oh, hi Bob." Enford said, stepping aside respectfully.

"Hello Enford. I haven't seen you since..well. Nice work out there." Bob extended his hand.

Enford shook his hand and smiled. "Thanks. It might be me out there one day, I know I'd want someone looking for me right away. So have you found out what happened?"

"Yes." Bob said with a sigh, handing Enford the papers. "I just came from giving Wernher the report. Have a look."

Enford skipped to the conclusion before replying. "Wow. It's the little things that get you huh?"

"Always is. Look, I've got to go find Bill, he's been kicking himself around the center lately. Blames himself." Bob said, giving a little wave and walking off. "Take care Enford."

"You too Bob." Enford watched him go, then stepped into Wernhers office.

As it turned out, despite having a large battery reserve, not equipping the Century with solar panels was a mistake. The ship had drained all of the pods on-board power before switching to the battery circuit, and once Jeb jettisoned the engine module with the batteries on it, the pod went dead and was in free fall. The only thing that had saved Jeb was accidentally arming the parachute first. The charge on the parachute had it's own small internal supply, and electricity was only required to send it the arming signal. It was a lesson learned, but nearly a very costly lesson. Jeb was no worse for wear, and was certainly not the type to go around blaming people for this sort of thing. He did give Bill a swift kick in the rear for stealing his snacks, however. Bill took the news hard, believing he should have known to put the command pod on a closed internal circuit. Jeb came across Bill standing on the launchpad, moping.

"Hiya Bill! Jorbas said you were out here. I like the pad too. It smells like fast things." Jeb said cheerfully.

"Hey Jeb. Just thinking." Bill responded quietly.

Jeb scrunched up his face. "What about? Snacks? That's what I think about a lot."

"No, not... Jeb, what happened was my fault. I'm supposed to be here to prevent mistakes, not make them." Bill said, looking his friend in the eye.

Detecting a "serious moment", Jeb turned off his silly face. "Aw Bill, things happen. I forgive you. I didn't really need any snacks anyway!"

"Damnit Jeb." Bill said, sighing and shaking his head. He sat down on the edge of the pad, dangling his legs over the side.

"You probably didn't mean taking my snacks. But that's the only thing you did wrong that day." Jeb sat down next to Bill, tossing a bag of snacks into his lap. "It's my last one. I think you need them more than I do."

Bill smiled a bit, looking down at the bag. "Thanks Jeb."

Jeb smiled back, and they sat there quietly until the sun went down. And so the program would continue, learning with each mission. The data gathered from the materials bay was just enough to advance the programs technology a little further as well, resulting in proper ladder technology, though Bob had difficulty explaining the correlation between Munar data and ladders to the layperson. Bill made certain the pods on all future craft were on a closed circuit to prevent this from ever happening again. Jorbas and Enford were recognized publically by Wernher for their role in the pod recovery, though Jorbas' involvement was mostly accidental. Jeb was hounded by the news media for descriptions of what he saw while flying past the Munar surface, with several making strange references to cheese. They seemed disappointed to discover it appeared to be mostly made of dirt. Life went on, and the program continued to grow. With the Mun now well within it's grasp, preparations were made for the Century I-2 launch.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Randazzo

AlexinTokyo · March 9, 2015

This is brilliant. Please keep it up

lajoswinkler · March 9, 2015

"DART" - hilarious

Randazzo · March 9, 2015

This is brilliant. Please keep it up

Thanks!

"DART" - hilarious

Hehehe.. my favorite (as of yet unrevealed) probe is the DAM probe. That DAM probe is just great.

Randazzo · March 11, 2015

Following the near disaster during the reentry of Century I's capsule, the launch of the second Century vessel was briefly delayed while Bill installed a new breaker system to put the capsule on a closed circuit. At Wernher's request, Bill and Bob had also designed a wireless camera system to provide additional views of both the launchpad and runway to complement the static cameras mission control already had access to. While overseeing deployment of the runway camera, Bill was interrupted by Jorbas.

"Bill! Wernher wanted me to introduce these guys to everybody. Meet Almund and Lemlie." Jorbas gestured to the kerbals in the cart with him. Almund was wearing a red pilots jumpsuit. Lemlie was wearing Blue.

"Hey! Welcome!" Bill smiled broadly. "A new pilot and... I don't recognize that suit. What's your specialty?"

"Me? Oh.. I'm a lab technician." Lemlie responded, somewhat shy.

Grinning, Almund rolled his eyes. "Not anymore you're not! Now you're a 'Mission Specialist'!"

Bill gave them two thumbs up. "Bob will glad to hear he's got a lit...uh..partner to work with now."

"Where's Jeb?" Jorbas asked flatly. Apparently he would never forgive the theft of his floaties.

"Just over there." Bill pointed toward the hangar, where two new Hermes class jets were being inspected on the serviceway. "He's...supervising."

"Hey, I hear that guy almost bit it!" Almund said, far too cheerfully.

"Oh. That's..awful." Lemlie said, looking worried.

"Yes, it is. Could be you one day, Almund." Bill said, his jovial tone gone. There was an awkward silence for a moment.

"Ok.. well.. time to move on." Jorbas spoke up, clearing his throat. He drove off towards Jeb.

Bill watched them go with a frown. KSC was receiving applicants daily, and he wondered how many of them really knew what they were getting into. Turning back to his work, Bill put the incident out of mind.

The day of the second Century launch came around quickly. This Century model had been equipped with solar panels as well as having it's command pod on a closed circuit to ensure the pod would have power after ditching it's engine module on reentry. Bill also restrained himself from swiping Jeb's contraband snack supply, and so there was nothing to delay the launch this time around. Century I-2 was on it's way to Munar orbit.

It was going to be another long one in mission control, but Bob and Bill stayed throughout, as usual. Enford came by for a few hours with Almund in tow. Despite Enfords attempts to educate him, Almund continued to make foolish comments and ultimately was asked to leave. Bob spent quite a lot of time with Lemlie as well, explaining the various control systems. The morning following the launch, Jeb was approaching his braking burn to establish Munar orbit.

Century: Hey guys! I'm gonna turn the engine on! (The sound of a deep breath being taken and held, then a loud rustling and thumping, followed after a brief pause by a loud click and the sound of rushing air.. followed by crunching.)

MC: (A thump on the microphone)

Did he just take his helmet off? What in the...

(rustling) We copy you, Century. Approach looks good on tracking. We appear to be receiving static on the comm, are you experiencing this as well?

Century: (crunch crunch) I don't hear anything! Okay, here goes! (crunch crunch)

MC: Roger, Century.

Century: I'm Jeb!!

MC: ...

As always, Jeb's timing was impeccable. Century established Munar orbit for the first time. Most of mission control applauded, but the communications officer just sat there.

Communications were lost for several minutes as Jeb passed onto the dark side of the Mun. When the Century came out back into line-of-sight with Kerbin, the tracking station registered a drastic change in the projected orbit. An alarm sounded, and everyone was suddenly on edge. The projected periapsis was now less than 8km from the Munar surface. Bob rushed to the communications panel and pushed the officer aside, who went gladly.

MC[bob]: Jeb! What happened? We're showing your orbit has degraded.

Century: What? Oh that. I wanted to see better.

MC[bob]: See what better?

Century: THE MUN. Sheesh Bob! Don't worry, I'll take a picture!

MC[bob]: Uh..understood. We'll keep an eye on you from here.

Century: Bye Bob-O!

There was nothing mission control could do about the orbit now, Century was already committed. The view from the capsule actually took Jeb's breath away. Although, that might have been from taking his helmet off to eat a snack.

Jeb triggered the first goo canister and switched on the monitoring sensors at this point. After making another half-orbit, Jeb fired the engine to escape from the Mun's gravity, and once out and en route back to Kerbin, he triggered the second canister. With so many precautions taken to ensure reentry would go smoothly, it did, and required little communication. However, as the pod began to experience compressive heating, one of the monitoring stations in mission control began flashing a warning light. The canisters were getting extremely hot. Their profile while mounted on the pod itself left them sticking too far out to be protected by the heatshield. Bill looked at Bob, who just shrugged. There was nothing they could do but wait and hope the canisters didn't melt or explode.

Fortunately, they did not melt, or explode. Though Jeb seemed disappointed that there were no explosions, he confirmed that they were intact upon landing.

The recovered canisters provided a huge amount of data on...Goo. Jeb's helmet removing stunt however, provided an insight into the development of larger command capsules. Once again, Bob would struggle to explain precisely how this resulted from the data they had gotten, but one simply couldn't argue with results.

Several days after the second Century flight, Wernher sent Jorbas to bring Jeb to his office. Jorbas came back with an empty snack bag stuck on his head.

"What happened to you?" Wernher asked, standing up.

"Jeb happened." Jorbas tried in vain to remove the bag for the fifth time. "He said he can't come here. Wouldn't say why."

"Ah.. where was he last?" Wernher fished around in his desk for a pair of scissors, finally finding them and handing them to poor Jorbas.

"Thanks." Jorbas began cutting. "In the astronaut complex."

Wernher made it out of the administration building before laughing out loud. Leaving his cart parked, he walked to the nearby complex and went inside to find Jeb. Naturally, Jeb was raiding the snack bar.

"Ah there you are. I have some disappointing news, Jeb." Wernher said to get Jeb's attention.

"Uh-oh Vern! Whatever it is, I promise I didn't do it." Jeb tried to push a number of empty bags on the floor out of sight with his foot.

"No, nothing like that. As sorry as I am to do this, I am going to delay the Mun landing." Said Wernher, bracing himself for Jeb's response.

"Oh." Was all Jeb said.

Wernher peered at him for a moment, then cleared his throat. "We've got a new priority mission. We're going to send up a Telescope."

"Great! When do I leave? I'm ready now. I have snacks." Jeb snatched up a bag.

"Well, that's another thing I'm afraid you aren't going to like. Enford will be piloting the vessel." Wernher said. Jeb stared at him, mouth agape, and said nothing.

"Jim will accompany him, and Bill will also be going along to observe and make certain all goes well."

For a moment, Jeb remained silent before suddenly breaking into a smile and blurting out, "Okay! That's great. Enford is neat. He likes snacks too. And fast things. Have you told him yet? I should tell Bill. Bye Vern!"

"I.." Wernher started to speak, but Jeb had turned and rushed out of the room. He shook his head, believing he would never understand how Jeb's mind really worked.

Jeb ran down the hall and burst into Bill's room without knocking.

"HEY BILL! You're going to space!" Jeb blurted out. Bill and Bob were sitting there talking. Bill had a drawing in front of him.

"Hi Jeb. Yeah, I heard. Upset you aren't going?" Bill asked.

"Nah. Enford is going with you. He's a great guy, he'll keep you from going kablooey! Probably." Jeb said.

"We were just looking at the rocket they'll be taking up Jeb. Have a look." Bob picked up the drawing and handed it to Jeb.

Jeb's jaw dropped. NOW he was jealous.

The Visual Observation Array and it's lifter were of a somewhat unique design for the program. Bill hadn't had any part in it, and though this did give him pause, he could not find any overtly apparently flaws. VOA would be carried to a circular orbit at 1000km by the service module of the VOA Lifter, where it would be deployed under it's own power to move to a 30000km orbit, a few thousand kilometers lower than Minmus. It would, as it's name implied, make visual observations of the Mun and Minmus. Being a relatively simple mission, Bob had actually suggested that Enford and Jim crew the craft, along with Bill observing. Enford was nervous, but it would be several weeks before the craft was ready. In the meantime, construction was underway on Century II, which would conduct an orbital data gathering mission around Minmus. Utilizing the lessons learned from the two earlier launches, Century II would have a radically altered hull, though it's engine configuration remained the same.

The following weeks passed slowly for everyone, as the program advanced, it was no longer possible to have multiple daily launches. The rockets were simply too big and the missions were too long. Bill kept his mind off the upcoming VOA launch by fretting over a new hyper-sonic jet design. KSC didn't have the necessary technology yet, but it was something to do. Bob was distracted by getting Lemlie up to speed for much of the time. Lemlie was shy and quiet, but he was a good listener and rarely had to be told anything twice. It would be a long while yet before the newest recruits were put on a real launch, but it was never a bad thing to have them well-trained. Almund was another story. Arrogant and brash, he believed he knew all he needed to know. When Enford and Jeb (Mostly Enford) tried to talk to him, Almund would usually blow them off with a rude remark. He was making a name for himself quickly, but not in a good way. At Wernhers request, Enford was now trying to familiarize Almund with the Hermes.

"...the ejection system is here, just below your left knee. The Hermes is a pretty stable bird, but..Hey! Pay attention kid!" Enford had to yell at Almund frequently.

Almund sighed, and looked back into the cockpit. He was standing on the ladder while Enford sat inside. "Yeah. Ejection. This is great and all, but shouldn't we be doing something, I don't know, important?"

"This -is- important. You need to know this aircraft like the back of your hand." Enford shook his head. "You think you've got it all down kid, but you don't."

"Sure. How many missions have you flown again?" Almund smirked.

"One officially in service here. Had to go find Jeb's capsule." Enford said, narrowing his eyes a little. He didn't like where this was going.

"One. Right. Good thing I've got you around!" With that, Almund climbed down the ladder and started to walk out of the hangar. Enford climbed out and followed him.

"Look, whether you like it or not, I have to get you ready to fly these. I sure don't like it." Enford called out. Almund kept walking. As Almund reached the side door, Jeb came rushing in and nearly toppled Almund over.

"Hey! Watch where you're going dummy!" Almund yelled. Jeb blinked at him, then smiled.

"Dummy? Who's Dummy?" Jeb said cheerfully. He wasn't actually that dumb, but always found it better to try and make the angry person happy instead of getting angry too.

"Hah! I think that's what I'll call you from now on. Dummy." Almund scoffed.

"You'd better watch it kid. You're way out of line." Enford came up behind him, then stood next to Jeb.

"And you, stop calling me kid! I'm here for a reason, you know. Out of a hundred kerbals -they- picked -me-. You better start recognizing that." Almund said, stepping right up to Enfords face. None of them noticed Bill walk in. Walking up to the trio and hearing Almunds last comment, Bill burst out into raucous laughter. Almund and Enford were surprised. Jeb waved.

"Well, aren't we lucky to have you on the program..kid." Bill, still laughing, mocked Almund.

Almund's face flushed (greener?) and he balled up his fists. "Yeah, you are. What of it? I remember you, what is it you do? Stand on trucks and point?"

"Yeah, that's what I do. You know what else I do?" Bill smiled, and stepped up to Almund, reaching out and straightening his collar for him. "I fix things. Like stupid kids. I'm starting to think you need a fixing. Trust me. I'm an engineer."

That was more than Almund's ego could handle. Before Enford or Jeb could step in, Almund had taken a swing. Much to his dismay, he hit nothing but air. In the next moment, Bill had him by the collar and pushed against the wall. Almund quickly discovered that no amount of struggling loosened Bills grip.

"No matter how good you think you are, I can promise you that both of these guys are better kerbals than you are. In fact, from what I've seen and heard here, I can say pretty much -any- kerbal here is better than you are. You're just a little snot, and you don't deserve to be here." Bill snarled at him. At this point, Enford and Jeb managed to pry the two of them apart. Enford was stunned at just how strong Bill really was. He wasn't some soft handed desk jockey, that was for certain. Almund was doubly shocked to realize his feet hadn't even been on the ground, and he fell forward when Bill let him go.

"You.. I.." Almund sputtered.

"Stop talking. You've done enough talking. Why don't you get to proving what you're actually worth?" Bill said. He started to walk away, then paused and turned around. "One more thing. You don't want me to hear you calling Jeb dummy. Ever."

Almund stared after him, wide eyed. Enford stood there for a moment, then shook his head and walked out. Jeb offered Almund his hand. Almund stared at it briefly, then took it, and Jeb pulled him up.

Thoroughly humiliated, Almund could not speak. "I... uh..."

Jeb shrugged. "Don't worry, Bill yells at me sometimes too. You like snacks?"

"Snacks? What? Yeah, sure, I guess." Almund responded, a bit confused.

"Great! I like snacks too. We'll get along fine!" Jeb produced a bag of snacks from his pocket, tore them open, and offered the bag to Almund.

"Thanks..." Almund said, taking one in a slight daze. Jeb smiled, slapped him on the back, and walked out. Almund stood there alone, staring at the snack in his hand, not entirely sure what had just happened.

(To be continued..)

Edited April 1, 2015 by Randazzo
This forum is stupidly bad at handling formatting

Randazzo · March 11, 2015

The VOA launch day came at last, and in contrast to previous missions, it's arrival seemed to ease the pent-up tension around the center, although not for the VOA crew. Enford and Jim were well prepared, but it was still their first launch. Bill was officially only an observer, but it would be his first venture into space as well. While the others deployed and monitored the VOA probe, Bill would be there only to assist if necessary. The reality was that Bob and Wernher had conspired to send him along to determine the flight worthiness of Enford and Jim. If they proved capable in Bill's estimation, they would be the crew of the second Mun lander. Naturally, Jeb and Bill would be the first. Now the waiting was over, and the three of them were about to board the VOA.

"Age before beauty!" Enford said with a grin, stepping aside to let Bill board first.

"Haha! Beauty!" Jim said.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Enford replied. Bill just grinned to himself and climbed aboard.

Everything checked out with both the lifter and the VOA telescope. The countdown completed and the VOA's three skipper engines fired, pushing her crew back hard into their chairs. All three had to restrain themselves from whooping with delight.

The flight was going well. Bill kept an eye on VOA's system monitor, while Enford and Jim focused on actually piloting the vessel. VOA's main stage would take the ship to an apokee of 100km before being jettisoned. The Command and Service Module would then perform a series of burns at it's apsides to gradually step orbital altitude to 1000km before finally deploying the telescope.

The CSM was equipped with a pair of RCS thrusters designed to push the ship itself away from the VOA probe once deployed, as the probe itself had no means of manuevering out of the cargo bay. Upon reaching the final apokee of 1000km, Jim opened the bay doors, and Enford called in to mission control.

VOA[E]: Mission control, we are beginning deployment procedures of the Visual Observation Array Telescope.

MC: Understood, VOA. We are monitoring.

VOA[J]: Bay doors are open, and locked. Standing by for deployment.

VOA[E]: RCS thrusters are active. Release the telescope.

VOA[J]: Clamps released.. she's free.

VOA[E]: Engaging thrusters..2..1..and we're clear.

VOA[J]: Probe core is online and trasmitting. Extending solar panels. All systems check out.

MC: We copy and are receiving telemetry. Good work. Stan..(rustling and thumping noises)

MC: Hi Bill!!

VOA

Hi Jeb.

MC: Bill! BILL! Psst..

look under your seat...

Bye Bill!

Initially hesitating to do so, Bill eventually unbuckled himself from the seat and rotated himself around in the zero G enviroment to peer underneath. As he expected, he found a bag of snacks taped to the bottom of the seat along with a note instructing him to hold his breath before taking off his helmet. Bill grinned. The command pods were pressurized and the helmets were worn as a precaution. Jeb didn't have to hold his breath, but Bill wasn't going to tell him that. Bill gave the bag a very gentle toss up to Enford, who laughed out loud. They would now stand by in orbit for several days to monitor the telescope and receive it's first images. Before deploying into it's much higher orbit, the VOA oriented it's camera towards the Mun.

The first image started to scroll on to Bills display, drawing Enford and Jim from their seats. They all stared in awe.

"Wow. I can't believe Jeb is going to land on that." Enford said.

"Not sure I would -want- to land on that!" Jim responded. Bill said nothing, knowing they would both be there eventually.

Finally, after transmitting more shots of the Mun, and one of a distant Minmus, VOA established orbit higher than initially planned at around 40000km. The CSM reduced it's orbital altitude for reentry, setting the now standard 100km by 20km suborbital flight path. This being the crews first live space flight, they were all silent through the turbulent reentry. The heatshield jettisoned at 10km with a jolt, and then the pod was mostly stable. The parachutes deployed successfully, and the capsule floated down to a relatively gentle landing in the ocean.

Complete VOA Album

A party was held a few days later for the VOA crew, to celebrate their successful voyage into the great beyond. Bill delivered his report on Enford and Jim to Wernher, who officially announced their inclusion in the Century program the evening of the party. This news was received with cheers and applause from all present, with the sole exception of Almund, who stood quietly by himself. Bob gave a brief speech on the importance of exploring other planets, which was ended a touch early by Jeb who gave an even shorter speech on snacks.

The program now had two capable crews at it's disposal, but still had one more mission to perform before attempting a mun landing. Century was nearing completion, and would soon carry Jeb to the distant body of Minmus in hopes of bringing back enough data to advance the program further.

Ever onward and ever upward, the program continues.

Edited March 12, 2015 by Randazzo

Randazzo · March 17, 2015

A few short days after the VOA probe deployment, KSC was gearing up again as the next Century launch rapidly approached. Enford, Jim, and Bill were all enjoying a taste of the fame Jeb had been saddled with since the first orbital flight of Lancer IV. Bill found himself scowling frequently as he was badgered constantly for interviews. Enford and Jim, under duress from Wernher, were playing nice for the sake of public relations. Everybody loved the program, and it was best to keep it that way. Bob and Lemlie were busy scurrying about the R&D facilities making use of the data from CAMP II and III in conjunction with the VOA photographs to determine desirable landing sites on both the Mun and Minmus. Jeb was busy eating snacks and lounging about the astronaut complex. He was also mastering the art of billiards. It was a nice change of pace from his typical pre-launch prep of sneaking into the VAB and scaling rockets to hide snacks in various locations. For emergencies. However, when Bob came looking for him the day prior to the launch, he was not in the lounge. Enford and Almund were there, watching television.

"Hey guys. Have you seen Jeb around?" Bob walked up behind them and peered over their heads at the television.

"Oh hey Bob. Nope, sorry." Enford looked up at him briefly.

"Haven't seen him." Almund said quietly. He was still recovering from Bills lesson.

"Hmmm." Bob pondered what Jeb could be getting into, when suddenly they heard him outside, whooping with delight.

"Well, that sounds interesting." Enford grinned and rose from the sofa.

"Indeed! Let's go see what the good news is." Bob turned and walked to the door with Enford right behind him. Almund glanced after them but didn't get up.

Outside, Jeb was doing cartwheels on the lawn while a delivery person stood next to his truck, perplexed. He looked at Bob and Enford for help. Bob just smiled and shrugged. Enford peered into the truck. Snacks. Crates of extra crunchy snacks.

"Waaaahoo! Now we have enough to go ANYWHERE!" Jeb shouted with glee, finally ceasing his cartwheels. He was a little dizzy and wobbled a bit.

"Umm.. well that's great... Could you just sign here mister?" The delivery driver held out a clipboard to Jeb. Jeb peered at it suspiciously.

"He needs your signature to prove he delivered the crates." Bob said, stepping up just behind Jeb.

"Oh! As long as it's not an autograph! SOOOOO many autographs! They should ask Enford!" Jeb rambled on, still not signing.

"Ohhh no, I've been spending enough time with the media. Speaking of which, I think our interview will be on tonight." Enford said.

"Ok...will anybody sign this?" The driver was clearly exasperated.

"I will!" Jeb shouted and snatched the clipboard suddenly. He began making a dramatic display of searching his pockets for a pen.

"There's a pen on the clipboard, sir..." The driver said.

"Oh! Great!" Jeb scrawled a fancy 'JK' on the signature line.

"Thank you.." Sighing with relief, the driver took the form back.

"Hey!" Jeb gave him thumbs up. "You want an autograph?"

Bob and Enford laughed, and the driver just hung his head for a moment.

The morning of the Century launch finally arrived. Having put the lessons learned from the first Century launches to use, Century II had a somewhat odd design. The pod was of course on a closed circuit. This launch would carry a materials bay and two goo canisters for research data in a single go, and the whole kit and kaboodle was protected by a one and a half meter heat shield. As a result, it required a rather wide fairing which was bordering on being more of a hindrance than it was a help. Still, Bill declared that it would work. Jeb agreed wholeheartedly. The Century was now on the pad with Jeb in the capsule, and Bob and Bill were in mission control.

The journey to Minmus and back was going to be significantly longer than any previous flight, nearly three weeks round-trip. Jeb had seen to it that the capsule had proper stowage installed for snacks, and had carefully selected his menu. Bill on the other hand, had made sure Jeb would be able to breath for the duration.

MC(Bill): Alright Jeb, looks like everything is a go here. How are things out there?

Century: Great! I brought a book!

MC(Bill): See you soon Jeb, be careful up there.

MC: Countdown is at T minus 15, prepare for launch Century.

[pause]

Century: HEY, DON'T LET ANYBODY EAT MY SNACKS DOWN THERE!

MC: Good copy Century, we'll see to it.

The communications operator had given up trying to get serious chatter from Jeb, and just pretended whatever he said made logical sense. A few seconds later, Century fired it's engines and was on it's way to Minmus.

There was little cause for everyone to stay in mission control for the duration, and business had to carry on as usual while Jeb was away. Enford and Almund made a number of recon flights to help keep the program funded, Bob and Lemlie continued to review the data on the Mun and mark sites of interest, and Jim and Bill were at work on future craft design. Wernher had been seeing a number of people interested in paying to have a certain task completed or data gathered, and had actually found someone who was willing to help fund the Minmus missions. This was a great relief, as he had previously assumed there was no interest. (Contract wouldn't show up!). With so much money incoming, it would be possible (and a necessity) to upgrade the launchpad further. Once Century returned from this flight, the program would be graduating to much larger vessels actually capable of landing on both the Mun and Minmus, and as such would require much larger lifter assemblies to get into orbit. Wernher made all the necessary arrangements, and work would begin before Jeb even got back.

Now past the halfway point in it's journey, Century had established orbit and gathered data and was now en-route back to Kerbin. As it happened, Century's escape from Minmus was going to lead to a Mun encounter. Jeb declared that it was no problem, he'd been there before. Mission Control confirmed with the Tracking Station that it was in fact not going to alter the mission significantly, and could in fact speed up the reentry process. A small burn in the influence of the Mun would result in a return flight profile very similar to previous missions, reducing the necessary braking nodes into a single event. Bob was in mission control for this communication, and went to find Bill to give him the news. Naturally, Bill was at the drawing board in R&D.

"Hey Bill, Jeb just got in touch with mission control. He's on his way back." Bob poked his head in the door. Bill looked up from his drawing.

"That's good, has everything gone alright so far? I imagine Jeb's bouncing off the walls in that little pod." Bill replied, waving Bob in.

Bob stepped in, leaving the door open. "Yes, actually very well. He's going to pass around the Mun and get home a little sooner."

Bill let out a tiny sigh of relief, and Bob could see a weight visibly lifted from his shoulders. "Good news. Glad to hear it."

"What are you working on? That jet of yours?" Bob asked, looking over Bill's shoulder.

"No, actually. It's Century III. I think Jeb will love it. Of course, I'll be going up with him. Somebody has to man the capsule while Jeb runs around on the Mun." Bill responded, leaning over so Bob could get a better look.

Bob gave an impressed whistle. "Is that a mainsail? Probably less dangerous now that we have proper payloads... anyway, better you than me!"

"Hah! You'll be up there soon enough." Bill grinned and gave Bob a push. "And I'll make sure you're the one who has to ride down to the surface with Jeb."

Bob pushed back, and the two old friends were engaged in some rough-housing when Enford came bursting in, looking wild eyed. He ran over to the table with the drawings and slapped down a newspaper.

"Look at this! How did we miss it?!" He tapped his finger on the front page article. Bob and Bill rushed over to see what had Enford so riled up. What they saw stunned them both.

[TABLE=class: outer_border, width: 800, align: center]

[TR]

[TD]Cosmos Exploration Agency Joins the Space Race!

[/TD]

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[TD=align: left]In an unexpected announcement early this morning, the Cosmos Exploration Agency has announced their intent to reach the surface of the Mun. Alongside Wernher Von Kerman's Kerbin Space Center, the CEA is now one of two agencies dedicated to exploring space. Yuri Kerman, Lead Pilot for CEA, said "We might be second in starting, but in only one weeks time we have accomplished what KSC required months of work to achieve. With our Volk and Medved rockets, we have already escaped the confines of this planet and flown around the Mun. Soon, we will be the first to land upon it, and will remain first in the exploration of space." While the CEA initially worked to keep their program hidden from prying eyes, they are now ready to show themselves to the world. The agency graciously provided this reporter a tour of their facilities, and a first look at one of their more down-to-kerbin vehicles, the Yastreb light jet.

[/TD]

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"Yastreb Light Jet"

Pictured: Yuri Kerman, unidentified ground crew

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[TD=align: left]While certainly an impressive piece of hardware, the Yastreb is a far cry from the rockets that carry these brave Kerbals into space. Although we were not allowed inside the hangar, the agency furnished launch photographs of both the Volk orbital system and Medved Munar transport. In the space of a single week, the CEA successfully launched a Volk into orbit around Kerbin, followed by a Medved launch which saw orbit around the Mun. Yuri expressed confidence that his agency would send him to the Munar surface in less than a month.

The CEA has an impressive facility, and certainly appears to be well prepared for anything, including potential conflicts. "While we respect the naive idea that exploration will be peaceful, we also believe that being defenseless is inviting disaster. We are not seeking conflict, but are smart enough to prepare for it." said Yuri. A demonstration of this conviction could be seen in the Yastreb, which incorporates two large caliber machine guns into it's design. When questioned regarding potential weapons platforms in space, Yuri declined to comment.

Competition has often spurred innovation in the history of Kerbin, and with Von Kerman's KSC already on the doorstep of the Mun, it appears that Kerbin is truly on the brink of a great era.

By Lois Kerman, Daily Kerbin

[/TD]

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"Volk" Orbital System

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"Medved" Munar Transport

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[TD][/TD]

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CEA Album

Bob looked up in disbelief. "How could we have missed these launches? Shouldn't the tracking station have seen them?"

"Not necessarily. We've been busy monitoring the Century." Bill said, crossing his arms. He wasn't concerned so much about competition as he was about the fact that CEA was arming their vehicles.

"We have to show this to Wernher." Enford said, still clearly verging on a state of panic.

"Calm down Enford, it's really nothing to be worried about. A little competition never killed anybody. Although, I still don't see how they sent a rocket to the Mun without us noticing." Bob shook his head.

"Yeah.." Bill mused over Bob's statement for a moment. He had a creeping suspicion this competition just might, in fact, kill somebody. "Well, let's go show it to Wernher anyway. He does need to know."

The trio filed quietly out of the building and climbed into Enford's cart. Enford had started the engine, but then paused and looked over at Bill.

"Do you think they could really beat us to the Mun?" He asked.

Bill looked at him for a moment for responding. "I don't know. Maybe. What I do know is..."

Bill never got to finish his sentence. An ear-shattering blast ripped through the center. Every window in the facility shattered, and several doors were blown off their hinges. The cart was jolted hard and blown over. Fortunately the trio had just strapped in, and the vehicle was equipped with a roll cage. Bill struggled to regain his senses and understand what happened. The cart was now upside down, and in his stupor, Bill reached down and unbuckled himself. He fell hard, hurting his neck but at least not breaking it. He groaned and looked around. There was nothing but a massive dust cloud, and the ominous glow of fire somewhere deep inside it. He stumbled over to Enford and shook him. Enford moved and feebly tried to push Bill away in his confusion, but he was alive. Bob was not moving. Bill crawled carefully into the back of the upside down cart and tried to yell Bob's name. To his surprise, he found that he could not shout. It was then that Bill noticed the tinny ringing in his ears, and he understood. His ears were damaged. Hopefully it would not be permanent. He put a hand up to Bob's mouth and was relieved to feel a gentle, warm pulse of air. Bob was alive as well. Another cart came around the side of the R&D building and narrowly avoided crashing into the trios overturned vehicle. Enford, now coming around, reached down and switched on the warning lights. It was on the wrong end of the vehicle now, but it still cast a decent yellow glow. Bill helped him down without falling on his head, and then they carefully got Bob out of the vehicle. Bill was sitting with Bobs head resting on his leg, with Enford standing over them. There was a good wind and the dust cloud had cleared enough for them to see the source of the explosion. They stared in awe and disbelief. The VAB was gone, along with anyone who had been inside. There was nothing they could do now, so they waited for help to arrive.

dun dun DUN!

Edited March 17, 2015 by Randazzo

Randazzo · March 22, 2015

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[TD]Explosion At KSC Leaves Kerbal Lost In Space![/TD]

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[TD=align: left]A massive explosion ripped through the Kerbin Space Center late last night, destroying it's vehicle assembly facility and damaging several others. Miraculously, no-one was killed in the blast. Fourteen serious injuries were reported, along with several more minor injuries. The cause of the blast is still unknown, and as of early this morning, the building is still burning. According to authorities, the large amount of rocket fuel stored beneath the structure was likely the source of the blast. Foul play has not been ruled out.[/TD]

[TD=align: left]According to Wernher Von Kerman,the most pressing concern at the moment is the damage to KSC's mission control and tracking facilities. With the loss of these two critical systems, the program is now unable to communicate with it's Century II vessel which is currently en route home from the distant moon of Minmus. Jebediah Kerman, already famous for several space flights, is commanding the vessel. Von Kerman urges respect and patience in the coming days.[/TD]

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[TD=align: left]- Lois Kerman, Daily Kerbin[/TD]

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It was late in the morning before crews were able to extinguish the massive blaze at the VAB, which was now in ruins. Nearly every facility at the center had been damaged severely, with only the administration building being spared much of the blast, as it was blocked from the VAB by the astronaut complex. Bill, Bob, and Enford were still being treated by medics. Bob and Enford had only mild concussions, while Bill was still suffering from hearing loss. In the few hours since the blast, he had regained a small portion of his hearing, but there was a dreadful ringing in his ears that could be with him for life, he was told. Almund and Jorbas were among the seriously injured. Both were walking to the astronaut complex when the blast occurred. Almund was likely going to recover, but it would take time. Jorbas on the other hand was struck by debris and was barely hanging on. Everyone at the center was downcast and saddened by the tragedy that had befallen so many of their comrades, but none so much as Wernher who had the unfortunate tendency to have a personal stake in each person he hired. Sitting alone in his office, Wernher was leaning forward on his desk with his head in his hands, trying not to sob. His phone rang. Wernher tried to ignore it, but the caller was insistent and the ringing continued. Finally, Wernher grew angry and snatched the phone up.

"No interviews!", Wernher answered brusquely and slammed the receiver back down. He sighed and started to rise from his chair when the phone rang again. Scowling, he picked it up and said nothing.

"Mister Von Kerman? Please do not hang up. I do not want an interview.", The caller had a heavy accent.

"Who is this?", Wernher asked.

"My name is Nikita Kerman. You have heard of the Cosmos Exploration Agency, yes? I am the kerbal behind this agency.", The caller replied.

"I...yes.. Hello.", Wernher contained his anger, as he could not blame this kerbal for what had happened.

Nikita gave Wernher a moment to collect himself, "I have seen what happened to your center in this morning's newspaper. It is a terrible tragedy. You have my deepest sympathies, comrade."

"Thank you, Mister Kerman...", Wernher began.

"Please, call me Nikita."

"Very well.. Nikita.. I appreciate the sentiment. Please forgive my rudeness, but this is a very difficult time. If there is nothing else, I have much to do.", he finished.

"I understand this. I wish to offer our help. We are aware of your kerbal in space, and we know from reading that you cannot contact his vessel.", Said Nikita. Wernher said nothing and listened.

Nikita continued, "If you will accept, I would like to allow you access to our tracking and communications facility. You will allowed to use our facilities until such time as your brave Kerbal has returned home."

"I don't know what to say. This is... thank you. Of course I accept. I'm afraid I don't know where you are precisely, and we may have transportation...difficulties.", Wernher was now struggling to keep it together. This was an amazingly generous offer, and he would have been a fool to pass it up.

"Not to worry, comrade. We know where to find you. I will send my best Kerbal, Yuri. He will bring a jet that can carry your crew here.", Nikita replied.

"I cannot thank you enough Mis...Nikita. I won't forget this.", said Wernher.

"Bah, it is nothing. Be well, Mister Von Kerman."

"Wernher, by all means. Wernher."

"Of course, Wernher. Yuri will see you soon.", Nikita hung up.

Wernher sat there with the phone in his hand, truly at a loss for words. As he hung up the phone, the gravity of it all finally collapsed in on him and Wernher began to sob softly, though it was partly in relief.

After composing himself, Wernher had delivered the news to Bob and Enford. He wanted them to go to the CEA's facility to make contact with Jeb. Despite his hearing loss, Bill was able to determine what they were talking about, and stepped in.

"I'm going.", Bill said loudly. The others turned to look.

"Bill, you need to recover.", said Bob. Enford looked at Bill, then at Wernher.

"No.. Bill should go.", Enford said.

"Enford, I understand your reasons, but..", Wernher began.

"I'm going.", Bill said again. Jim burst into the room, out of breath. They all turned their attention to him.

"It's here! The Jet! It's landing!", Jim barely got it out between breaths.

"No more time to argue", Wernher started, turning back to the others. Enford had slipped out. "Well..as I said, no more time to argue. Bob, keep an eye on our top engineer, if you please."

Bob put a hand on Bill's shoulder, "Always do."

Bill gave him a nod.

Despite the potential danger to Bill, it would be him and Bob who would travel to the CEA and re-establish contact with Century. Wernher personally drove them to the hangar. The jet, which had "Orel Alpha" painted on the side of the cockpit, taxied up to the hangar. Bill stared at it in awe and respect. He had been trying to design something like this for weeks now. It was undoubtedly far superior to the Hermes. After a few minutes of waiting, the Orel finally lowered a ladder and a Kerbal emerged from the cockpit.

"Hello. I am Yuri. I will be flying today.", He said with a matter-of-fact tone.

"Good to meet you Yuri. I'm Bob. This is Bill. You'll have to pardon him, he's gone a touch deaf from the explosion." Bob said, extending a hand. Yuri stared at it, but did not take it.

"I'm not deaf." Bill said, loudly.

"Wonderful. If you please.", Yuri stepped aside and motioned to the ladder.

Without further ado, the duo boarded the Orel and they were off for the CEA facility. Bob had a view of the destroyed VAB from his window, and he stared at it in disbelief. He could not deny that it had happened, but it still seemed unbelievable. A few minutes later, they were in the sky heading west.

In less than an hours time, the Orel had landed at the CEA. Bob and Bill were ushered briskly to the mission control facility, but Bill got a quick look at one of their Yastreb jets on the way. It too was a twin engine design. It was clear that he would need to work on upgrading the KSC's own vehicles in the near future, but first, they had to get Jeb back. Once inside, Bob quickly got their transmitter onto the correct frequencies, and called the Century.

CEAMC: Century, do you copy?

Century: Hey! Who's this?

CEAMC: Jeb, It's Bob. Listen, we're transmitting from a different location.

Century: Bob-O! You sound like you're talking in a tin can! You know what's boring? Reading a book. I think..

CEAMC: Sorry Jeb. We had a little..trouble down here.

Century: Uh oh! What kind of trouble? ARE THE SNACKS SAFE?!

CEAMC: Nothing to worry about Jeb. I'm going to transmit you some new frequencies you'll need to input into your comm systems, alright? We'll talk soon.

Century: You got it Bob-O!

Bob sent Jeb the necessary data, and then sat back in his chair. He looked around, suddenly noticing how few people were around, and all of them were staring at him and Bill as if they had a third eye. He had a feeling it was going to be a long week.

In the days that followed, KSC was still recovering. Work had already started on clearing out the rubble and building a new VAB, along with repairing the other damaged facilities and upgrading the launch pad. No missions were launched. By contrast, CEA carried on business as usual. Bob and Bill got to witness the launch of two "Voron" rockets. Although most were unwilling to speak to them, Bob was able to determine that the first launch was sending up a scanner to the Mun.

This was followed two days later by another launch. Yuri told Bob that it was a telescope. When trying to determine what sort of telescope, Yuri would only reply that it was best telescope.

Hey! That telescope points in the wrong direction!

Soon enough, Century had executed it's gravity assist maneuver around the Mun and was on it's way home.

Bob was thoroughly relieved at both getting Jeb back home, and being able to return to KSC himself. Bill was rather enamored with the CEA and it's designs, and had gotten to be on relatively friendly grounds with Yuri and one of CEA's engineers, Vladimir. His hearing was steadily returning and the ringing was lessening with each day. Bob tried to keep his attention on the task at hand, but frequently noticed a woman staring at him. She would not look away when he met her gaze, and he often found himself shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Who is that woman?", Bob asked Yuri, who was present in mission control the day of Jebs reentry.

"That is Yelena, our scientific specialist.", Yuri replied.

"Oh.", Bob didn't know what else to say.

"Yes, very convenient for you comrade. You have something in common.", Yuri grinned and gave him a hearty slap on the back before walking off. Bob started to say something in protest of the idea, but decided against it. Yelena was, of course, staring at him. He pretended not to notice and turned his attention to the comms panel.

It was only a few minutes until Century II's pod would hit the atmosphere, and Bob raised Jeb on comms.

CEAMC: Mission Control to Century, do you copy?

Century: Heya Bob-O! I ran out of snacks! [scrunching noise..presumably an empty bag]

CEAMC: Well, you'll need to put your helmet on now anyway Jeb. Reentry is coming up in..three minutes.

Century: [Rustling and thumping noises] Ok Bob-O! Ready!

CEAMC: We'll see you soon, Jeb.

Reentry was executed without difficulty, and finally, Jeb was bobbing around gently in the ocean. All that remained was to tell him the bad news.

The CEA was true to it's word, and shortly after Jeb called in to report all was well, Bob and Bill were ushered out of the facility and back to the runway where Yuri was waiting with the Orel to take them back to KSC. As they started to climb the ladder, a voice called out from behind them.

"You! Hold there!", It was a womans voice. Bill turned with an eyebrow raised.

"Can I help you?", Bill asked.

"No, not you. Dirty engineer. Step aside.", It was Yelena, and she shoved him aside forcefully. Yuri was smiling broadly and trying not to burst out laughing. Bill was just stunned.

"Um..Hi.", Bob said sheepishly as she marched right up to him.

"Hello, Bob-O.", she said this with a straight face, "I have seen you are intelligent kerbal. I like this. You will call me, yes?"

Yelena thrust a folded piece of paper into Bob's hand. He blinked, "I..uh.."

"You will call me.", this time it was a statement. Yelena turned and marched off without another word. Yuri could no longer contain himself, and Bill was smiling ear to ear.

Bob looked at Yuri with dismay. Yuri just threw his arms up in the air with a shrug, "I cannot help you now comrade! In we go!"

Yuri stepped aside and let Bob and Bill climb aboard first. He was smiling to himself, and was somewhat dismayed to discover that he rather liked them both. Yuri climbed in, and they took off for KSC shortly after. It was a hectic arrival for the two of them, with recovery crews out to pick up Jeb and the pod and all the work going on around the center. Wernher of course wanted to know every detail, and it was a long afternoon spent in debriefing. Afterwards, Enford and Almund, who was freshly back from the hospital and wearing an arm cast, were both eager to hear about the CEA vehicles. While Bill indulged them, Bob slipped away to his room to relax. It was here that he remembered the note Yelena had given him. He pulled it from his pocket and unfolded it. He read it twice before setting it down on his desk and rushing off to get Bill again.

"You are all in danger. Do not trust Nikita!"

Edited March 26, 2015 by Randazzo

AlexinTokyo · March 23, 2015

More great stuff. Looking forward to the next installment

Randazzo · March 24, 2015

Nearly a month had passed since the explosion at KSC, and very little had been accomplished. Obviously unable to proceed with any launches, the center was becoming a dull place, full of crew performing mundane daily tasks. The remaining facilities had been repaired, and the launchpad itself had undergone an upgrade, but the new and improved VAB was still under construction. To keep the facility running Wernher had sent Enford on a number of scouting and data gathering missions, but the contracts were starting to dry up. Kerbals wanted space travel, not old fashioned jet-planes. Jeb had taken the news extremely hard. While he was certainly disappointed that he wouldn't be piloting any rockets to space for awhile, he seemed particularly upset by Jorbas' condition. Jorbas had spent another two weeks unconscious in the hospital after Jeb had returned, and Jeb spent many of his days sitting quietly beside him. There had been numerous broken bones and concussions, but only Jorbas was in real danger. Doctors had done all they could do for him, and it was simply a matter of seeing if he would wake up. One afternoon as Jeb was there nodding off, Jorbas did indeed wake up, and to Jeb's great delight, asked for some snacks. Bob had taken the note Yelena slipped to him to Bill, and then to Wernher who asked that they keep it between them for the moment. Wernher was confused, not sure who to trust now. Without Nikita's generous offer to use the CEA facilities, Jeb might not have gotten home safely. On the other hand, the official investigation into the explosion indicated that it had been set off by some sort of incendiary device in the fuel storage area below ground. How the investigators could tell one burn mark and pile of ash from another was truly amazing. Wernher was also keeping this bit of information to himself. Until he had concrete evidence, it was unwise to start throwing accusations around.

Bill had been inspired by his journey aboard the CEA's Orel, and by the smaller Yastreb, and had spent almost every waking moment designing a new jet for the program. The Hermes was efficient and reliable, but not very powerful. Unfortunately, KSC still lacked the necessary turbojet engines to create his dream aircraft. Undeterred, Bill had come up with the Heron.

A twin-engine design, the Heron was considerably more powerful than the Hermes. As a result, however, it was also considerably heavier. It would require an actual runway to land safely, meaning that the Hermes would not be obsolete as it would still be the only aircraft capable of landing safely in uneven fields for recon missions. It took many cues from the Yastreb, with two notable exceptions. It was not armed, and it took pilot safety into consideration and included an ejection system. Wernher had given final approval, and KSC went to work constructing five Heron vehicles for testing. Like the manufacturing wizards they are, the Kerbals had the jets ready in almost no time at all. With Jeb at Jorbas' side and Almund still having a broken arm, Enford would be the test pilot.

"Heron Test Vehicle 1"

HTV1: Pre-flight checks complete mission control, standing by for clearance to launch.

MC: You are cleared for lift-off, pilot. Good luck.

HTV1: Copy that, standby for ignition..engines are firing up.

HTV1: Whoa this baby has some kick! Everything is looking good.. retracting landing gear.

MC: Understood Heron, please proceed to the landing strip at Island Air Base for landing test procedures.

HTV1: Copy, setting course.

HTV1: Gear is down and locked, making final approach. Standby.

MC: Understood.

HTV1: Jeez, this bird is really heavy.. it's difficult to.. [Loud crashing noise, thumping, and static]

MC: Do you copy Heron? We've lost all telemetry here. Enford?

HTV1: [static]

MC: Heron, please come in.

HTV1: [static, rustling noises, faint grunting] Ugh..I'm here. Landing was...rough. We're going to need a new plane.

Recovery boats were deployed, and after spending several hours being examined by doctors and debriefed, Enford was cleared for duty again. Bill was fretting over the design, trying to imagine what the flaw was. Enford insisted the plane was sound, and that it was his own error which caused the crash. Being overly accustomed to the lightweight Hermes, he had come in too steep and hit the ground much too hard. The Heron had bounced and tilted over, tearing off a wing and sending the rest of the plane rolling over down the runway. After some convincing, Wernher agreed to allow a second flight. Enford lifted off in HTV2 and headed for the airstrip once more.

HTV2: Lining up for final approach, gear deployed.

MC: Understood. Nice and easy out there, if you please.

HTV2: That's the idea.. ok..still coming in a little fast. Going to have to pitch up a bit more.. [Another crashing noise]

MC: Are you down safe Heron? We've got some noise on the line here.

HTV2: I'm down safe, mission control. Not entirely sure what that noise was. I'm getting some strange engine readings though, I might have banged them on the airstrip.

MC: We've lost our output readings as well, Heron.

HTV2: Standby, I'm going to check it out.

MC: Understood.

[Long pause]

HTV2: Uh.. Mission Control, I am down safe but.. we're going to need a new plane.. again.

After the second flight, Bill recommended that Wernher cancel the test flights. Judging from Enford's reports, the Heron was simply too heavy for it's landing gear. In it's current configuration, the Heron had to pitch up during landing to such a degree that it was impossible to land without destroying the engines (several reverts confirmed this..). Bill quickly went back to the drawing board and made some design changes. New, heavier landing gear would be installed on a structural support to extend it's length, allowing the plane to pitch up to the necessary degree for landing and still allow the engines to clear the ground. The intakes were also redesigned into a sleeker profile. It took only a few days to make the modifications to the remaining three Heron Test Vehicles. Once again, Wernher reluctantly approved testing flights.

MC: You're cleared for lift-off, pilot.

HTV3: Copy that, preparing for ignition.

MC: You'll be landing on the runway here this time, Heron. Makes it easier to pick up all the pieces of the planes when you're done with them.

HTV3: Oh, a wise-guy? That's swell. Well, get the brooms ready.

Enford took off on his third flight and began a long sweeping turn to approach the runway from the west.

HTV3: Incoming on final approach, standby the brooms.

MC: Brooms are at the ready.

HTV3: Still feels a little heavy... alright, pitching up.. [thumping noise] Ok, I'm touched down.

MC: We've got a visual on the monitor here, Heron. Congratulations pilot.

HTV3: Do I get to keep this one?

MC: Negative. You can have the HTV1.

MC: Alright Heron, we're going to put the engines through their paces next. We'd like you to lift off at full throttle and initiate a one hundred eighty degree climb. Keep throttle at maximum.

HTV3: Understood, powering up.

HTV3: Engine temps are getting pretty high mission control, what's the plan?

MC: Continue at maximum throttle Heron. Engines will begin to cool off soon. We'd like you to climb until your engines start to lose power due to oxygen starvation.

HTV3: Understood.

HTV3: Alright, I've just passed fifteen kilometers and am starting to lose thrust in the starboard engine..now port.

MC: Copy that Heron, please shut down your engines. Set your flight computer to maintain a prograde heading and hands off the controls.

HTV3: Roger. Automated flight control set, hands off.

MC: You'll re-engage your engines and take control back over once you've crossed the fourteen kilometer mark on the way down.

HTV3: Understood.

HTV3: Coming up on forty-two fifty, and I've got control back.

MC: Very good pilot, standby for further testing procedures.

Enford would spend the next half an hour (You can look at the Album if you really want to see it all) attempting to throw the Heron out of control to test it's capability to recover from a spin, yet despite his valiant efforts, the plane was simply too stable and refused to go into a spin or tumble of any kind. Declaring this a success, it was time to move on to the final phase of testing.

MC: Alright Heron, time for the final test. Ejection system. Should be fun.

HTV3: Cop...wait, you mean to tell me the ejection system is the LAST thing we test?

MC: It's hard to fly a plane when the cockpit is detached. You would know.

HTV3: [Pause] When I get back there..

All went well with the ejection system and Enford's subsequent recovery. Upon returning to KSC, he did pay a visit to mission control and found it deserted. In fact, there wasn't a Kerbal to be seen anywhere around the center, save for the small crew that had recovered him and the cockpit assembly, who had informed him the debriefing would be in the morning. Enford wandered around for awhile, yet everywhere he went was devoid of activity. Finally giving up, he retired to the astronaut complex. Upon entering the common room, he found what appeared to be virtually the entire staff packed into the room, and the television was propped up high on a series of crates and boxes. Enford approached Lemlie, who was standing near the back of the crowd.

"What's going on?", Enford asked. Lemlie regarded him with a shy smile.

"Oh...the CEA is launching a capsule to the Munar surface. It's very exciting.", Lemlie said quietly.

"WHAT?", Enford was floored. He knew it could happen, but still believed deep down that KSC would be the first to land on the Mun.

"SHHHHHH!!!", came the collective reply. Not wanting to incite a riot, Enford quieted down and joined them in staring at the boob tube.

On the screen, a stately looking Kerbal was answering a reporters questions from a room that looked over what appeared to be a mission control center through a huge glass window. Bob and Bill were familiar with it. The Kerbal was identified as Nikita Kerman. The interview was irritatingly banal, asking ridiculous questions such as what sort of underwear Cosmonauts, as they preferred to be called, wore. Finally, Nikita informed the reporter that he was needed in the control room. As the television turned to advertisements and weather reports, the room broke out into a cacophony of conversation. Enford stood there silently, arms crossed. Jeb, Bob, and Bill were occupying the front row seats on the sofa, with Wernher standing directly behind them. Before Enford could decide what sort of outburst he wanted to have, the programming returned. It was what everyone wanted to see. With a reporter droning on in the background, an image of a rocket, a Medved Series II according to the television, was displaying a countdown timer with less than three minutes left.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Randazzo

Randazzo · March 25, 2015

Inside the CEA's mission control facility, Yelena was watching Nikita pander to the media with a disapproving scowl. She believed they lacked the proper respect considering what was about to be accomplished. Sending a Kerbal to the surface of the Mun was no small feat, and would be a tremendous step forward in the exploration of space. No telescope could give a first-hand account of what it saw. When Nikita finally entered the room, she avoided his gaze hoping not to be drawn into a pointless conversation or argument. Nikita was not overly fond of Yelena, nor she of him. Still, her expertise made her valuable to the agency, and she knew it. As the launch countdown passed the three minute mark, the attention of every Kerbal in the room was now either fixed on the main monitor or the terminals before them. The sole exception was Yelena, who now watched Nikita intently. All she knew for certain is that something was amiss, and she intended to figure out his game. Finally, the countdown reached zero, and the Medved Series II fired it's engines beginning the journey to the Mun with all of Kerbin watching. The powerful rocket climbed steadily up into the sky and finally out of view.

One of the problems with landing on the Mun was how to carry enough fuel to land and return. A single stage vessel with this capability would be prohibitively heavy (at this stage in tech). The KSC's design solved this issue by sending two vessels, a Command and Service Module which carried a small lander, and would also serve as the return vehicle. The CEA's solution was a single vessel that consisted of three stages. A transfer stage, landing stage (descent and ascent), and a return stage. An additional challenge faced by the CEA was the fact that launching so far from the equator resulted in an orbit that required an inclination change to match the Mun's orbital plane. While it would have been ultimately less fuel intensive to first transfer to the Mun and change inclination there, that would have required an even larger transfer stage on the primary vehicle. Instead, the third stage of the lifter assembly was designed both to establish orbit, and match planes with the Mun.

The last step in orbit of Kerbin was to jettison the third lifter stage and make the transfer to the Mun. Yuri performed the burn and called in to report that he was on his way to the Mun.

With the transfer burn completed, it would now be a little over a day until the Medved S2 would perform it's insertion burn over the Mun. It was at this point that many of the Kerbals present in mission control began to trickle out of the room. Nikita stayed, however, and so Yelena stayed to keep an eye on him. She sat down at one of the communication stations and settled in. Nikita remained hovering over the main block of controllers near the front of the room. The day passed largely without incident, though at one point a reporter did somehow manage to sneak into the control room for a few minutes before being noticed and dragged out. Prior to this, Yelena had not noticed the two armed guards posted near the door, and wondered how the kerbal had gotten past them in the first place. At long last, the burn approached, and Yuri was speaking with mission control as he executed it. The channel was being broadcast live by several media stations.

MS2: Heading set, activating automatic stability lock. System engaged. I am set to initiate burn.

CEAMC: Proceed at your discretion, Medved.

[A brief quiet pause, with the quiet chatter of mission control audible in the background]

MS2: Engaging engine. Alignment is good and holding steady. [Another pause] Throttling back... disengaging engine.

CEAMC: Tracking station is reporting stable orbit, Medved. Good work.

MS2: Stand by for transfer stage jettison in three...two..one.. [A brief burst of static] stage away. Bringing landing module engine online now.

[Pause]

CEAMC: Readings are good here, Medved. Input landing coordinates when ready.

MS2: Inputting.. coordinates are set. Aligning. [Pause] Activating stability lock.. descent in fifty seven minutes.

CEAMC: Understood Medved. We'll talk to you on the other side.

The landing zone was behind the Medved in it's orbital plane, and would require a trip around the dark side of the Mun before beginning it's descent.

The next hour passed painfully slowly, and anticipation was mounting. Nikita was pacing ceaselessly back and forth, while the controllers all scurried about checking their many systems. While Yuri was on the dark side of the Mun, they had no readings incoming and no communication. Yelena took the opportunity to step outside for some fresh air, but was appalled to see the circus of media waiting just outside. The moment they saw her, she was swarmed with microphones and pelted with questions. She quickly retreated back into the building, and now understood what the guards were for. Two more armed guards just outside the doors moved to prevent the horde from following her back in. While disgusted at first, Yelena soon cooled off and realized that she could not hate them for their enthusiasm. What Yuri was about to accomplish was by far one of the greatest feats in history. She returned to her station and awaited the final stages of the landing. Soon enough, Yuri was back in communications with Mission Control and approaching the de-orbit burn.

MS2: Alignment is good. Engine readings are good. I am set for burn here.

CEAMC: Understood. Good luck, Medved.

MS2: Stand by... approaching burn. [brief pause] Initiating now.

MS2: Cutting throttle, path looks good here.

CEAMC: Trajectory looks excellent here as well, Medved. Nice work.

MS2: Deploying landing struts. Alignment is holding. Standing by for retroburn.

[A few minutes passed with only mundane chatter from the control room]

MS2: Initiating retro burn now, slowing descent.

MS2: Passing ten thousand meters. Pitching up, increasing thrust. Speed continuing to fall. Still no reading on radar altimeter.

CEAMC: We have no warning indicators here, Medved. It is likely you are too high for a reading. Carry on.

MS2: Understood. Passing seven thou... [a brief pause, and quiet expletives could be heard on Yuris end] ... Mission Control, we have a problem. I have lost attitude control! Engine is not responding to input!

CEAMC: Is your descent still slowing, Medved? [

Check that panel!

What are your readings?!

] We're showing all systems nominal. Please advise on situation.

MS2: Speed is dropping, but I have no controls! Alignment very bad! I'm losing.. wait.. override light has come on. Autopilot system is taking over. [pause, more expletives] Vessel is not aligning for descent!

CEAMC: We're looking into it Medved, please stand by. [more shouts in the background]

MS2: Vessel is now in ascent profile! We do not need to abort! Relinquish control and I can stil...

CEAMC: We are not in control of your systems, Medved. Autopilot is not responding to our commands.

MS2: No! [banging noises, cursing] I can still land! Disengage!! [more banging noises]

CEAMC(Nikita): Medved, it is Nikita. Please remain calm. You must still fly home in that ship.

MS2: But we are here! It can be done! Stupid..[bANG]

CEAMC(Nikita): Yuri, it is not over. Do not damage your systems!

MS2: I..agh! Yes.. ascent profile appears good. Autopilot will not disengage..

MS2: Engine has disengaged. Ship is aligning for orbital burn. Still no response to input.

CEAMC: Understood, Medved.

MS2: Altitude approaching eigh...[buzzing noise, then static]

CEAMC: Medved? Please respond.

MS2: ...

CEAMC: Come in, Medved. [

What's going on now? Have we lost him? Rebooting? How could it..

]

MS2: [more buzzing]...rol please respond. Medved calling mission control.

CEAMC: We're here, Medved. We lost communications. Systems indicate your flight computer has rebooted.

MS2: Affirmative, mission control. The system established orbit and jettisoned the landing stage.. I have regained attitude control, but..

CEAMC: Medved, please shut down your automated flight systems. You will need to return home under manual control. We cannot risk another incident.

MS2: Understood.. disengaging automation.

[After another delay and loss of communications while the Medved again passed around the dark side of the Mun]

MS2: I am approaching escape burn, mission control. Alignment is good, holding manually.

CEAMC: You have execution discretion, Medved. Systems are reading nominal here.

MS2: Preparing for burn in three... two... one... initiating burn. [pause] Cutting engine.

CEAMC: [Another pause, some chatter] Tracking station indicates good return trajectory, Medved.

MS2: [sigh] Then I will see you in a few hours...

Although he was maintaining his composure heroically, Nikita was furious. Not only had this blunder stolen the opportunity to land on the Munar surface, the embarassment had been broadcast all around kerbin. Once Yuri was safely on his way home, Nikita walked over to the input panel with several audio jacks hooked up for the media to listen to the communications, and forcefully ripped them all out. He then turned to address the room.

"What has just occurred is not allowable. This agency was not created to -almost- achieve success. Someone, one of you, must have done this. There is no other explanation. You!", Nikita thrust a finger towards the lead controller, who nearly jumped out of his seat.

"Me!? Sir, no, I..", The kerbal stammered.

"QUIET! You will find out where the override signal came from. NOW!", Nikita bellowed at him.

"Y..y..yes sir!", the poor kerbal scrambled to a transmission panel and began examining the console.

"GUARDS! No-one is to leave this room until I say otherwise!", Nikita shouted to them as he stormed out. The guards shouldered their rifles and stood in front of the door.

Nikita plowed through the gaggle of reporters forcefully, shoving them aside in anger. One reporter had the audacity to grab Nikita by the arm and pull him back, and was rewarded with a fist to the nose. The guards rushed over to subdue the situation as Nikita stormed off. This too was broadcast through nearly every media outlet, live. In households all across Kerbin, disappointment set in. The failure was disheartening, and though Nikita believed everyone would be mocking the failure, in truth the vast majority were sympathetic. As head of the CEA, Nikita saw only the failure to achieve success. The rest of Kerbin, including KSC, was relieved at the successful recovery of the pilot after a near-crash. Yelena, now trapped in mission control, did not know what to think. She only knew that something greater was afoot, and at least Yuri was coming home. It appeared that the race to the Munar surface was still on, and through this unfortunate event, KSC now had a renewed shot at being first.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Randazzo

Rolanvorxariat · March 26, 2015

this story is amazing. Good job.

Randazzo · March 29, 2015

Nikita had burst into his own office as if expecting to find someone waiting for him, but of course found no-one there. He went to his desk and sat down, scowling. It was bad enough that he had failed to put a Kerbal on the moon, worse that he had agreed to let the media broadcast the communications live, and sickening that the mission had been sabotaged. He could see no other explanation for what had happened. While it appeared to the world that a brilliant automatic recovery system had saved Yuri from crashing, the truth was that the CEA did not possess such a system. The Medved Series 2 autopilot system was programmed to maintain headings, not to execute maneuvers on it's own, much less activate staging. It was possible for mission control to tap into ship controls and upload commands, but that could only be done from the primary control station which Nikita was overlooking the entire time. Somehow, the command module had been hijacked. Nikita's phone rang.

He snatched up the receiver, "WHAT?!"

"S.s.sir, I found the signal source... I think.. I think you should come down here.", it was the controller Nikita had tasked with tracing the signal. He was obviously frightened.

Nikita briefly considered snapping at him, but decided to restrain himself, if only for the moment, "Yes...very well. I will be there momentarily."

Slamming the phone down, Nikita started for the door, but the phone rang again. There would be no mercy for the kerbal this time.

"What is it now?! I told you I would be there shortly!", Nikita shouted angrily.

"Oh, I... Is this Nikita? This is Wernher Von Kerman calling."

Nikita turned his head away from the phone and took a moment to calm down before responding, "Hello Wernher, please, forgive my outburst. I was expecting someone else."

"Of course. It's understandable. I was just calling to offer congratulations on saving your pilot. That was some impressive work your kerbals did.", Wernher said. He wasn't going to mention not landing.

"Yes, impressive.", Nikita felt somewhere in the back of his mind that Wernher was gloating.

There was an awkward silence. Slightly put off by the reception, but understanding, Wernher concluded, "Well you are obviously very busy, I will let you get back to it. Be well, Nikita."

"Thank you. You as well.", Nikita hung up and lingered there for a moment. He could not shake the feeling that he was being mocked. He scowled to himself and then marched out of the office. He was eager to see what mission control had for him.

The agency's guards had ushered the on-site press away from mission control, and Nikita did not have to fight his way back inside, though he had been ready to. Perhaps even a touch eager to do so. As he walked into the vestibule outside of the actual control room, he could hear shouting from inside. There was a crashing noise, and then more shouting. He recognized Yelena's voice. Rushing in, he was met by a scene of chaos. Both guards were away from their posts at the door, and one of them was on the ground. The other was struggling with Yelena. The rifles they had been carrying were both lying on the ground. Nikita surmised they had made the mistake of pointing them at Yelena, though he could not understand why.

"What is this!?", Nikita bellowed, drawing everyone's attention.

"It is madness!", Yelena replied, tossing the remaining guard to the ground. The lead controller scurried up to Nikita.

"Sir, the signal...", he said, turning to point at Yelena, "It came from her station!"

Nikita looked at Yelena, and despite his dislike for her, he found this exceptionally hard to believe. Yelena stared back at him evenly and said, "This is foolishness. I could not have done such a thing, even if I wanted to."

"The log clearly shows it sir. She didn't even try to hide it.", the controller chimed in.

Walking up to the station, Nikita gave it a quick inspection, "This is only a communications station."

"Well...yes, sir, but... it is where the signal originated. There's no denying it.", the controller was beginning to sound less confident of his accusation.

"There are no controls here. How do you propose she did it?", Nikita turned to the controller, staring at him icily.

"I... um...", the kerbal began to look very worried, but suddenly brightened, "There could be a device inside the panel!"

Nikita peered at him for a moment, then looked back to Yelena. Shaking his head, he reached down and removed the pin that held the face of the panel down, and lifted it up. Inside it was a cluster of wires and a pair of circuit boards, nothing more. "I do not see anything out of the ordinary."

In frustration, Nikita allowed the panel to drop shut hard. He was about to lay into the controller for making accusations without consulting him first, but something clattered to the floor. One of the guards, who were both now on their feet again, leaned down and picked it up. It was a small rectangular box with a small magnet attached to the top. It appeared that it had been stuck to the bottom of the console. The guard held it out to Nikita. He took it, then looked to Yelena.

Yelena looked stunned, though it quickly turned to anger, "You cannot think I put that there! Why would I endanger Yuri to do this? It is ridiculous!"

"It could be a transmitter of some sort...", the controller reached out for the object and Nikita let him have it. They didn't really know what it was at this point.

"I am no idiot! I would not..", Yelena was still trying to defend herself, but quickly realized it was pointless. She could tell by the look on Nikita's face that he was no longer listening.

After a few moments of consideration, Nikita finally said, "Yelena, I must take you off active duty. For now. We will see what the camera shows us before I make any further decisions.", Nikita gestured to the CCTV camera at the back of the control room. Yelena looked up at the camera, then stared at the ground. She could not believe this was happening.

"I would not do this to Yuri...", she said quietly.

"We will see.", Nikita said flatly. He gestured to the guards, who warily approached Yelena, but she did not struggle.

As she was being escorted out, Yelena stopped suddenly in her tracks. Both guards jumped back. "There is... one more thing."

"Yes?", Nikita replied.

"That station... that is the station from which Bob-O contacted his Century ship.", Yelena looked horrified at her revelation. Nikita did not respond, and simply waved for the guards to remove her.

"What should I do with this, Sir?", the controller held the object out to Nikita.

Nikita stared it for a moment, "Go find Vladimir. Have him inspect the device. Tell him to report to me once he has something."

Much to the controllers relief, Nikita had not yelled. In fact, his voice sounded quite distant. Nikita had been angry at first, but now felt betrayed. While he had been forced to take Yelena off duty, he knew that the camera would show she was telling the truth and had not placed the device there. They had no proof this device came from KSC, but along with the nagging feeling that Wernher had called him only to gloat, Nikita was beginning to suspect that he had invited the enemy into his home when he allowed them to contact the Century from the CEA control room.

In the weeks following the incident at CEA, things began to slowly return to normal. Vladimir had inspected the device and determined it was indeed a transmitter. He could not determine what sort of technology would be capable of overriding their systems wirelessly, but it appeared that is what it had done. After watching the CCTV footage, Yelena had been cleared of wrongdoing and was returned to duty. Yuri was mostly still angry over being robbed of his place in history, though took some comfort in the fact that he was still there to be angry about it. Nikita had ensured that news of the device would not get out, and as such, only those who had perpetrated the sabotage and his top people knew about it. The race to the Mun was still on, and construction of a new Medved Series 2 was underway. There were also contractual obligations to be fulfilled, along with some important testing of the CEA's own technology. At the forefront of everything was the Strelka program. The first of two Voron Heavy Rockets was about to launch, carrying an unmanned drone into orbit. Due to the nature of this program, the launches were a guarded secret, and went off without the knowledge of the media.

"Strelka VHR-001"

The VHR-001 drone would spend a day in orbit before VHR-002 was launched, as the CEA would have to wait for Kerbin to complete a revolution in order to launch into the same orbital plane.

"Strelka VHR-002"

The Strelka Program was a missile test. Nikita knew this would be highly controversial, but it was also incredibly lucrative. Every effort was made to keep both launches a secret, but even if they were discovered, they could be explained away as probe launches. This test was unique in that it was testing a missile capable of maneuvering in a vacuum, something that would no doubt be considered extremely dangerous. Strelka VHR-002 launched into orbital within eight kilometers of VHR-001, and required three small burns to catch up. Once within 1.5km, velocities and orbits were matched, and the test commenced. Vladimir and Yuri were both observing in mission control. Yelena would not set foot in the place. Naturally, Nikita himself was standing over the shoulders of the controllers. Once everything was in place, the lead controller looked up at Nikita.

"Begin the test.", Nikita said. There was no image to watch, only telemetry from the two drones.

"Yes sir. Alright, freeing payload.", the kerbal pressed a button and waited for confirmation from the drone. The nosecone was jettisoned and fired off into space.

The nosecone itself nearly hit the target drone, missing by less than twenty meters. The controllers saw this in the data, but only glanced at each other and did not mention it out loud, "Payload is clear. Acquiring target."

"Target is locked. Strelka is showing all systems green. Ready to arm."

"Strelka is..armed.", one of the control panels linked to the target drone began beeping to indicate the drone confirming the lock. VHR-001 and VHR-002 were linked and communicating with each other.

"Strelka is ready to deploy. Launching in three...two..", the lead controller prepared to press the button.

Nikita stopped him, "Wait. I will do it.", Nikita leaned over and pressed the button himself. The control panel began to beep frantically, indicating an incoming projectile to the target drone.

"Data indicates a hit, Sir. VHR one is no longer transmitting.", one of the controllers said, looking up at Nikita.

"Very good. Our client will be pleased.", Nikita said tersely, then turned to walk out. He was, in fact, pleased that it was a success. Not only was the CEA going to be paid well, it would receive several of the missiles as payment.

Another month passed with minimal activity from either KSC or the CEA, but at long last, construction on KSC's new VAB was complete. Assembly had begun immediately on the Century III and was progressing rapidly, in part due to the new facility. Considerably larger and significantly more functional than it's predecessor, the VAB now towered over the rest of the Center. Much to Wernher's delight, a slew of thoroughly qualified applicants had recently passed the entry tests. While KSC saw no shortage of Kerbals who wanted to join the ranks of those destined for space, very few were ever properly qualified. Now with eight cadets coming into the program, it was clear that a training regime would need to be established. One afternoon, the cadets were all herded into the small courtyard behind the VAB where they were addressed by the current active crew.

Pictured [from left]: Jorbas, Lemlie, Bob, Jim, Bill, Enford, Jeb, Almund

Standing at the forefront, Bill addressed the cadets first.

"Welcome, Cadets!", Bill started. The cadets all responded in a cacophony of greetings. Bill cleared his throat and continued, "You kerbals are about to embark on a remarkable, and dangerous, journey. Here at the center, you may go where no kerbal has gone before, or design new vehicles or equipment, or make groundbreaking discoveries in science. Here at the center, you will find a career and a life you can be proud of. Here at the center, you will not be alone. None of us here could claim any of these things without the support of those around us. If you're here to find personal glory, you've come to the wrong place. If you're here to explore, discover, and build for the good and benefit of all, then you will not be disappointed!"

Bill delivered the speech that Werhner had given him before turning it over to Bob, who introduced each kerbal on the platform before spending some time talking about the importance of scientific discovery. Jeb told a few stories about his experiences in space flight, complete with sound effects and hand puppets. As the little presentation concluded, several hands went up among the cadets. Bill pointed to the closest.

"So is it true that you're going to land on the Mun?", the cadet asked.

"No, I'll be staying behind in the Century three command module. Jeb here will be going to the surface.", Bill responded. Jeb waved enthusiastically.

"Haven't we already been to the Mun? Shouldn't we be visiting other planets?", another voice chimed up.

Bob took a step forward before answering, "We've flown around the Mun, yes, and our friends at the Cosmos Exploration Agency came very close to landing, but as of today, no kerbal has set foot on the Munar surface. Before we start sending ships all around the solar system, we need to learn more about the conditions in space, and the Mun has been flying through space for a very long time now."

Another hand went up, and Bob acknowledged the cadet, "Go ahead."

"Is it true you almost got blown up?", the cadet asked. Bob paused for a moment, looking over at Bill, who shrugged.

Bill answered, "There was a very bad accident here, yes. The fuel we had stored under the assembly bay exploded. It's stored further away now, further underground. It won't happen again."

"I heard it was sabotage!"

"Some people say it was to keep us from going to the Mun"

"Probably the CEA did it..", the cadets were spouting rumors and conjecture, as many young students do. Bill held up his hands for quiet.

"Listen, I don't know where you heard these things, but we've been to the CEA facility. They are kerbals just like you and I. In fact, if not for them, Jeb might not be here today.", Bill said. Jeb waved again.

Jorbas stepped forward at this point, hoping to stop the train before it got any further, "I think it's time to wrap this up, everyone. All cadets are expected at the administration building in half an hour."

The cadets milled around for a few minutes before dispersing. Bill lingered around the platform, pondering the rumors. He couldn't say so publicly, but with the note Yelena had given Bob, he had begun to wonder just how accidental that explosion really was. Regardless, he had better things to put his mind to. If the Century construction continued at it's current rate, they would be ready to launch in a little over a week. Sighing, Bill went inside the VAB to check things over.

As with the Medved Series II launch, there was a media frenzy in the days leading up to the Century III's departure. Wernher had reluctantly caved in to pressure to allow the press live access to certain audio feeds from mission control as well. He was concerned that it might be unwise to have all of Kerbin listening in if something terrible happened, but he also could not deny them the experience. It would be by far one of the greatest achievements in history, if they did in fact manage to land. In addition, he had agreed to have a live feed from one of the launch pad cameras. As the morning approached, KSC was back to it's old self again, as everyone was doubly excited for this particular launch. As dawn approached, Jeb and Bill climbed into a cart driven by one of the cadets, and headed to the launch pad. They found Enford, Jim, Almund, and Lemlie there waiting. Bob was in mission control getting everything prepared, but would have preferred to be there to give them a personal send off. The cadet slowed as he drove between the waiting crewmen, who all saluted. Bill thought it was silly, but Jeb waved to everybody as if he hadn't seen them in ages.

Jeb and Bill climbed into the capsule before the sun crept over the horizon.

"Hey, Bill?"

"Yeah Jeb?"

"Did you bring any snacks?"

"Get in the capsule."

Although there wasn't much to see before the sun came up, every media station across the globe was reporting on the impending launch. Several had access to a live audio feed from mission control, and were listening to the chatter during prep. Though it was only an hour until the actual launch, it seemed like an eternity. Finally, Bob called the Century III from mission control. He would be lead controller for this mission.

MC[bob]: Mission Control to Century, come in please.

CIII[bill]: Go ahead control.

MC:[bob]: Countdown is at tee minus three minutes and forty seven seconds. All systems are green across the board. We are currently go for launch.

CIII[Jeb]: Hey Bob-O! We're looking good up here! Well, Bill's scowling at me. I guess that doesn't look good. Hah!

MC[bob]: As long as he doesn't throw you out of the pod, we'll take that as confirmation of readiness.

[Period of chatter from mission control checking systems repeatedly]

MC[bob]: Countdown is at tee minus 30 seconds, Century. Engines reading green.

[brief pause]

MC[bob]: Good luck up there. Tee minus ten...nine..eight..seven...six...five...four...three...two...one...Ignition.

The Century engines fired, and the rocket rumbled up into the sky with all of Kerbin watching. The journey to the surface of the Mun had begun.

To be continued...

Edited March 31, 2015 by Randazzo

Bev7787 · March 29, 2015

Pic one was in early morning, pic 2 was at night and pic three was in early morning. The car drove in the morning and the kerbal boarded at night

Randazzo · March 29, 2015

Pic one was in early morning, pic 2 was at night and pic three was in early morning. The car drove in the morning and the kerbal boarded at night

It does have to do with the car, but that's not it. Very close.

The loading shot is just facing away from the horizon and the sun has not crested yet, so it's still dark to the west.

Bev7787 · March 30, 2015

Oh...

Starting again - From model rockets to the Mun (Chapter XIX added)

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