Spaceplane Disaster - VA regretfully reports loss of Ibis-X 2

[RedDwarfIV]

In one of Veto Aerospace\'s worst space disasters of its history, Ibis X2 was destroyed attempting to return to Kerbin orbit after suffering heavy damage. Likely, the vessel would have had to have been repaired in space or it would not have survived reentry, having lost a large section of wing and its nosecone.

Below are excepts from the mission log.

VA FLIGHT LOG - INDIA X-RAY TWO

Veto Aerospace has notified the families of the three brave astronauts. May Navigator Siglin, Commander Nedmy and Pilot Rondrin rest peacefully in the great Vehicle Assembly Building in the sky.

Issues have been raised over the safety of the Ibis X class, given both spacecraft to make Minmus landings were destroyed in the process of returning to Minmus orbit, and whether Ibis X3 should be sent back to Kerbin - the craft is still currently orbiting the smaller ice moon, awaiting commands from Mission Control. IX2 seemed to be in a better position to land at the time, though no ice lakes were below the daylight side of its orbit.

VA would like to assure all interested parties that the Ibis X is not an inherently unsafe spacecraft. The Ibis X1\'s destruction was caused by pilot error, as Pilot Bobvis Kerman failed to deactivate the SAS - something that could happen for any spacecraft, although admittedly not a problem for most rockets.The Ibis, being a spaceplane, has a different set of takeoff protocols. The loss of X2 was caused by its landing on the rocky and steep slopes of Minmus\' mountains. Its mission was crippled as soon as it touched down and lost a wing, though the loss of the nose cone and with it the RADAR did nothing to help.

Future VA missions to Minmus will be strictly controlled to prevent landings over mountainous regions. Takeoffs may use mountains as launch ramps, but launches should not be attempted from mountain summits.

[Twinky827]

Red... Uhh, I don\'t think the mods want any RPing right now...

[Monkthespy]

It still makes for a good story.

[RedDwarfIV]

(Yes, it is RPing, but it\'s not politics or war. I can\'t envisage it causing the problems the RP board had. Besides, I would probably forget about it if I didn\'t post it now.)

[Tim_Barrett]

We have noted Safira\'s unfortunate disaster... were they killed immediately, or ran out of air? What were the logs?

[RedDwarfIV]

(I should not that this is the sort of thing I would have posted on General Discussion before the RP boards were put up.

This thread should not result in flaming or elitism or such. However, I just read the Announcements page regarding continuation of RP in other boards. This may well be VA\'s last RP announcement for some time.)

This is actually a Veto Aerospace funded program, predominantly to raise awareness of our corporation and so increase sales. Unfortunately, that kind of publicity \'stunt\' [for lack of a more accurate word] can heavily backfire, such as how the corporation has lost the cost of two Ibis Xs from its own profits, and the loss of the astronauts is bad PR, as well as a social disaster.

Log timings indicate the explosion followed seconds after the loss of the vessel\'s primary engines. Destruction was total. If the cockpit was anywhere approaching intact, the mayday beacon would have been broadcasting.

[Imandreas]

*Banhammers inbound. Prepare for mass destruction*

[RedDwarfIV]

*Banhammers inbound. Prepare for mass destruction*

(As I said, it\'s something I would have done on General Discussion before the RP boards were put up. Or thought about. VA existed pretty much as soon as I decided to start building bigger rockets.

Also, I understand now that RP is to discontinue, so yeah, this will be VA\'s last RP post until such time as the RP boards reopen.)

[Tim_Barrett]

(As I said, it\'s something I would have done on General Discussion before the RP boards were put up. Or thought about. VA existed pretty much as soon as I decided to start building bigger rockets.

Also, I understand now that RP is to discontinue, so yeah, this will be VA\'s last RP post until such time as the RP boards reopen.)

You are going to stop posting these reports..? They are really interesting to read...

[RedDwarfIV]

You are going to stop posting these reports..? They are really interesting to read...

(Depends on whether I can get a moderator go-ahead. I mean, these are pretty one-way things. I tell you what VA is doing or has failed spectacularly to do. It\'s all in KSP, so there\'s no godmodding, and there\'s no interaction with other RPers except for the discussion about what the OP says. So there\'s no reason I can see why flaming or any other problem from RP should occur. But in the end, it is still RolePlay, and so its a moderator decision whether it is allowed to happen.)

[Rich]

As I said, it\'s something I would have done on General Discussion before the RP boards were put up

Indeed.

I would hope the mods would classify this as a 'story', since the RP is limited to the OP only.

[Tim_Barrett]

(Depends on whether I can get a moderator go-ahead. I mean, these are pretty one-way things. I tell you what VA is doing or has failed spectacularly to do. It\'s all in KSP, so there\'s no godmodding, and there\'s no interaction with other RPers except for the discussion about what the OP says. So there\'s no reason I can see why flaming or any other problem from RP should occur. But in the end, it is still RolePlay, and so its a moderator decision whether it is allowed to happen.)

(I wouldn\'t see the problem, it\'s a mix of a space adventure and story post, but true)

Anyway, are you going to make an attempt to retrieve any special objects from the ship, if any?

[RedDwarfIV]

Manned VA flights to Minmus have been suspended pending further investigations and planning on how best to conduct a safe mission. However, probes and rovers and such could be sent. Also, rockets are much more tried-and-tested when it comes to landings, and they can also be fairly cheap. That sort of system could be used to search the crash site. However, VA does not expect to find anything of interest, since the camera drone\'s footage showed almost total annihilation of the vessel.