Kanawha Space Program - Year 6.1 - Transfer of Risk - Updated 2015-09-20 - Image Heavy

Cydonian Monk · June 24, 2015

Kanawha Space Program

2015-06-24 - Year 1 - Dawn of the Third Space Age (this post)

2015-07-04 - Year 2 - The MÃƒÂ¼n Beckons

2015-07-19 - Year 3 - Winged Anomalies

2015-07-31 - Year 4 Update 1 - The Minmus Landing

2015-08-05 - Year 4 Update 2 - Slight Flight Anomalies

2015-08-08 - Year 4 Update 3 - Aim for the MÃƒÂ¼n... Crash in a Crater

2015-08-14 - Year 4 Update 4 - Probing Updates

2015-08-22 - Year 5 Update 1 - The North Pole

2015-08-27 - Year 5 Update 2 - Training Rocks

2015-09-01 - Year 5 Update 3 - Eve Visitors

2015-09-03 - Year 5 Update 4 - Duna Visitors

2015-09-12 - Year 5 Update 5 - Above Eve

2015-09-20 - Year 6 Update 1 - Transfer of Risk

Hello and Welcome!

The creeks are rising, the summer's gettin' hot, and time keeps on keepin' on here in H-town, but none of that matters to the little green dudes in the tin cans. Kerbal Space Program version 1.0 and its many changes have led me to a fresh restart, and the rains of spring have washed away all of my old saves. So let's hit it. Let's get back to Kerbal.

This career game will be played at normal difficulty with the default options, aside from crew respawn turned off and parts needing to be unlocked with cash before they can be used. I'm mostly using stock parts until the full tech tree is unlocked, with a few small exceptions. First: Kerbal Engineer modules with hacked-in radial decouplers (so I can remove them if needed). Second: For some added flair, VDS HullCam parts also with hacked-in decouplers (I stopped using Hullcam around Year 3 while debugging an unrelated problem). Third: There's a serious crew-safety gap that I'm filling by using the HGR escape tower until Sepratrons are available. Fourth: I'm using the Corvus for Tourists, because there's also a large 2-kerbal command pod gap.

Money will only be gained through contracts until the tech tree is completed. After that I'm undecided. Maybe I switch to using a "government funding" model, or maybe I just go sandbox-ish and F12 myself money. Time between launches is determined randomly by setting the game to highest warp level at the Space Center and letting it run, followed by clicking "Warp to Next Morning." The game will proceed in a "Logical for Kerbals" manner, what that means is up for interpretation.

Debris? Who cares? I don't. Debris is set to unlimited so things could get a bit cluttered in LKO, and I'm not going to worry too much about it until Kessler comes to visit. Each launch (and subsequent debris) will be assigned a Kerbal Space Stuff Tracking System (KSSTS) ID. This will follow a format similar to COSPAR ID, where a launch resulting in an orbit will be assigned an ID consisting of the Launch Year, a three-digit sequence number, and a suffix indicating the order in which items were discarded from the main craft.

The basic mission objectives are simple:

Unlock the tech tree and fully upgrade the Space Center.
Build a transit system for kerbals to reduce the cost of traveling the Kerbol System.
Discover and visit every anomaly or Easter Egg, planting a flag nearby when possible.
Land a kerbal on every solid planet and moon in the Kerbol System.

After that? We'll have to see where the future takes us.

List of Mods and Plugins

As-of 2015-06-23

Kerbal Alarm Clock
Transfer Window Planner
Kerbal Engineer Redux
Docking Port Alignment Indicator
Planet Shine
Distant Object Enhancement
Texture Replacer
Skybox: From Proot's Renaissance Compilation
Environmental and Visual Enhancements (7-4)
Kerbin Clouds: Astronomer's Kerbin
In-Game Notes (tweaked to use Stock toolbar)
Hullcam VDS
Corvus
Home Grown Rockets (Launch Escape Tower only for now.)
Regex's Thermal Data Helper
Persistent Rotation (as-of KSPv1.0.4)

With all that out of the way we're ready to jump into the report for Year 1. Enjoy!

Kanawha Space Program

Dawn of The Third Space Age

Kerbal Space Program Version 1.0.2

The exact details were lost to memory, but all kerbals knew the truth. Twice before they had lifted their arms skywards, and twice before they had touched the stars. Perhaps it was the cost of reaching space that led them astray, or perhaps it was the severe burns from touching hot spheres of plasma, no one was sure. The only certainty is they were no longer a space-faring species, and that simply must change. They were going back to space, and this time with better space mittens.

The Chirp Program - Experimental Rocketry

Exactly how they would get to space was a matter of some debate. The only rockets they had at their disposal in these early days were powered by solid fuel, both dangerous and inefficient. Testing was needed, and testing would be performed. The Chirp Experimental Rocketry Program was opened, led by the famous rocket scientist Wernher von Kerman. If the solid fuels wouldn't get them to space, surely his boundless ego would.

The goal of the Chirp Program was simple: Test various rockets and designs and see which combinations worked. There was a growing understanding that all previous research into aerodynamics was incorrect, so the books were thrown out and knowledge was being rebuilt from scratch. In a broader sense, the Chirp Program was not just for testing rocketry, but for testing the limits and characteristics of the atmosphere of Kerbin.

The first several Chirp launches were little more than hops into the sky. Each rocket tested grew in length and capacity, reaching higher and higher. When the first can of boom proved to be too little they stacked it atop another. And another still. The two brave test pilots, Jebediah and Valentina, alternated flights, each hoping to be the first to make the suborbital hop. Chirp 1 was just a capsule sitting atop a "can of boom." Chirp 2 saw the advent of the decoupler. Chirp 3 used yet larger "cans of boom" to reach higher into the sky, and Chirp 4 was prince of them all.

And then one day a breakthrough occurred. A breakthrough of the atmosphere that is. In an accident later attributed to blind luck, Jebediah Kerman, pilot of the Chirp 5, became the first kerbal to exit the soup and leap into the void of space. It was a simple two-stage rocket, and few had expected it to fly at all, let alone for it to leave the atmosphere. Yet enter space it had, and the insanity of space travel returned to the world.

The amount of heat generated by the atmosphere on reentry was as unexpected as Jeb's brief trip into space. The capsule had been outfitted with an ablative heat shield, none of which had burned away on reentry. A plasma trail was observed behind the reentering capsule, yet temperatures from the compressed air had not reached the point where damage was occurring. Further research was demanded. Research was the Chirp Program's point, after all.

With the short-term goal of leaving the atmosphere accomplished and the demons of the void vanquished, Wernher von Kerman's mind turned to landing and throttle-able engines. Considerable progress had been made on the design of a liquid rocket engine, and now was the time to test it. The first lander was less than perfect, as Valentina was not able to leave the launchpad. The second revision, Chirp 7, was far more successful, at least until Jebediah crashed it atop the Vertical Assembly Building. To mark the occasion he felt the need to plant a flag, claiming the VAB in the name of Courage AND Stupidity. Though perhaps he didn't expect the lander to explode a second time....

Lewekeomi - Falling and Missing

With suborbital having been mastered and the patches and plaques handed out, the administration felt the time was right to open a new program: Lewekeomi. Now kerbals would go to space and stay there, one or maybe two at a time. Orbit was their goal, and only orbit would appease the kerbals in charge. If they were to return to space, they must go to stay. They must try to fall back to Kerbin and miss.

A new liquid booster was being developed specifically for the Lewekeomi: the LV-02 Sparrow. And yet Wernher wanted one more test of the solids, and chose the proven Thumper with a complex Chickadee upper stage for the first orbital attempt. In what was retroactively deemed as yet another accident, Jebediah Kerman managed to take the Lewekeomi 1 into orbit of Kerbin. The plan was to test the ablative material at near-orbital speeds, not to go into orbit. Jebediah perhaps misread the checklist and the minimum velocity, or perhaps didn't care, and instead reached a happy 72km orbit. Certainly surprised the recovery teams, who were anxiously awaiting his capsule to drop into the waters of the Broken Arms.

He raised even more eyebrows when, one orbit later, he was spotted drifting free from the Lewekeomi's capsule, high above Kerbal Space Center.

One and two thirds orbits later, Jebediah and the Lewekeomi 1 reentered over the deserts of the Western Continent, landing at a site now known as Jeb's Oasis. The flag he planted stands to this day and is a major tourist attraction. Some claim it has magic healing powers, and many small strips of fabric have been ripped from it over the years. The flight of the Lewekeomi 1 was retroactively labeled as 1-001A. First flight and first object in orbit of the First year. Unlike previous tests, a small portion of the ablative material was burned off during the reentry. It was decided future flights would still include a heat shield, but considerably less cork ablator would be applied.

Not to be outdone by Jeb, Valentina became the next kerbal to "go around again," this time aboard the Lewekeomi 2. Her flight saw the first successful test of the LV-02 Sparrow booster, designed to lift payloads such as the Lewekeomi orbiter and heavier spacecraft. The launch vehicle was more than capable of placing a payload into a polar orbit, as demonstrated by this flight.

Valentina opted to return to the North Polar Ice she had helped explore in her days before joining the astronaut corps, landing at a spot now known as "Val's Ice."

Adventure SO3 - The Kerbal Tourism Crisis

To date only two kerbals had entered space, Jebediah and Valentina, and rocketry was still a very dangerous pursuit. Tell that to the tourists! Shortly after Jeb landed in the desert the rich and powerful of the world started throwing money at the KSP Administration, who soon were buckling under the demand. The powerful included the leaders of Kerbin, many of whom were directly responsible for the continued existence of the space program. The ranks of the rich were filled with the executives and officers of the companies which supplied the space program. All wanted to see what was going on at the Cape. All wanted to partake in this new adventure known as "space."

This left the administration little choice but to open the Space Tourism Division of the Kanawha Space Program.

Seven SubOrbital flights would be available to the first seven kerbals who showed up with money. Politicians, thrill-seekers, executives, and even a slightly-crazy scientist lined up to be among the first. First they would need a spaceship. Lacking all skills as a pilot, tourists couldn't be asked to fly on their own. A flight computer was quickly developed, along with an avionics bay to hide it in, and voila - Wernher rolled out the first fully autonomous spacecraft. Somehow the duty of testing it fell to the two most expendable members of the space program: Bill and Bob.

Bob Kerman was well known as one of the experts on ancient artifacts, specifically those constructed of the material Exorem. His involvement with the government's Research Committee had won him a position with the nascent space program, an appointment some claimed was without merit.

On the other hand Bill Kerman was a well known test engineer who proved the theory that engineers are not always the best candidates to test their own designs... or at times anything. Having broken more things than he'd fixed, Bill was a perfect choice for the first test of the Tourist Suborbital system on the Chirp 9. It was unsurprising when Bill declared the Chirp 9 to be unstable, and was forced to abort only 4km above the launchpad.

Bob pulled the short straw and was assigned the second test in the Chirp 10. The ascent went rather well, aside from reaching an altitude well in excess of 400km. The steep descent allowed for testing of a revised heat shield, craft stability, and the endurance of Bob's maximum absorbency garment. The flight ended with satisfactory results in all categories except altitude. If kerbal tourists wanted to reach high orbit they would need to fork over more money, reasoned the administration. Besides, no one was sure reentry from such an altitude was safe. (And Bob was quite convinced it wasn't.)

One final test of the system was conducted by Bill in the Chirp 11, which replaced the Sparrow booster for the smaller Wren. With tests concluded, the stage was set for the arrival of the first seven space tourists. A great ceremony was planed for the first two or three. The space center was cleaned up, a few walls were painted, the floors waxed, and Jeb promised to clean up his bunk in the astronaut complex.

And so, on the 107th day of the 1st year of the Third Space Age, Grary Kerman, head of the Government Committee for Spaceflight Research, became the first kerbal tourist and only the fifth kerbal in space. She brought back plenty of fantastic pictures, including what is widely regarded as the first picture taken in space. (The actual first picture taken in space, considered a highly-classified matter, was an overexposed image of the Sun taken by Jeb during the Lewekeomi 3 mission. We don't talk about that anymore.)

Grary was followed shortly after by Crisdi, Diuki, Tangard, Bartrey, and Cartina Kerman. Each anxious to see what their tax dollars had bought. Each eager to learn what secrets the space geeks were hiding. And then there was the seventh tourist....

Year 1 day 126

Cape Kerbal

"And if you'll kindly sign here we can begin the tour." A fat green finger pointed to a spot on the form it had just slid across the desk to Grazy. An empty spot where her signature apparently needed to go. It was all a bit strange, she had to admit. Cape Kerbal, home of the most technologically advanced organization on the planet, and yet the tour guide's office was an old, hot, humid, smelly disaster of a shack. The screen door was barely holding on by its top hinge, no doubt worked loose by the comings and goings of the large blue hound dog coiled up in front of it. In the corner a radio was scratching out songs that might possibly be older than the building it was in. A small electric fan was whirring on the edge of the receptionist's desk, serving only to scatter the flies which were resting on nearby scraps of food. And the tour guide? Well....

"Miss?"

Grazy looked up, pen in hand. "Sorry. Lost in thought." She smiled a friendly fake smile and then scratched her name on the bottom of the form. "Ok?"

"And if you would kindly initial each of the next seventeen pages please."

"Awful lot of paperwork for a tour, isn't it?" The guide smiled, at least Grazy thought it was a smile, and muttered something about standard forms and liability and something about a government conspiracy to oppress the common folk. She quickly initialed the pages and handed the stack back to her host.

"Thank ya ma'am. Now if you'd kindly follow me we'll get the tour underway." He pulled a bag from behind the desk, grabbed his keys from off the counter and made his way to the door. The hound dog, still curled up in front of the mutilated door, stubbornly refused to move. That elicited a soft kick from the guide.

"Ayooooo!" The hound blinked at the two of them with its sad eyes, and howled a bit more. "Ayoooooooooo!"

"Git now dog! Aye'll Ayooooo! you if you'n don' git movin' now, hear?"

The "tour" consisted of a quick walk around the facility, starting with the building they had just left. As it turned out the tour guide's office was doing double dury as the business office. The astronaut facility, or at least the trailer labeled as such, wasn't in much better shape. A new structure had been hastily built adjacent to it, as pointed out by the guide. "This's where the boys sleep now. Val took over the old 'un. Only had the five bunk beds anyway." They spent a few minutes looking around the mess trying to find one of the four world-famous astronauts before moving on.

"What's with the flag pole?" Grazy had spent a few minutes analyzing its oddly deformed shape while the guide was locking up the boy's room. It couldn't have been a single impact that had bent it into its present shape, and she was having trouble understanding how it was still standing.

"Jeb" was the only response offered before they moved to the next stop.

Grazy hadn't thought it was possible, but the aircraft hanger was in even worse shape than the main office. The musty, empty smell was overwhelming when the guide opened the door. Inside was a great big nothing. An old tarp was stretched out on the floor, a few boxes stacked on its corners. "We don't quite know what this building is. So they just use it to flatten things out. Y'see?" Grazy didn't.

Mission Control was at least a lively place. Thanks to some special tour package she'd bought by accident Grazy was able to walk right in to the main control room. A few kerbals had gathered there, the Green Team their name badges suggested, and they were busy working through the preparations for an upcoming launch. The flight director, a fair-haired and polite kerbal by the name of Gene, took a few moments to shake Grazy's hand and show her around. It was a refreshing stop after seeing the disaster that constituted the backside of the complex. All too soon and they were off again.

The "Vertical Disassembly Building," as her guide called it, was the polar opposite of the hanger. Small in size, but all of its high-bays were buzzing with crews working on their next rockets. "This here last bay," the guide pointed out, "was full 'til jus' few minutes ago. Rocket that's out on the pad was just up in here, y'see?" The guide waddled over to a storage locker and waddled back with a helmet and a fire suit. "If the Miss would kindly slip into this gear here we'll go out and have a looksy, 'k?"

"Uh, ok." The suit was simple enough. Collar locked around the neck, the helmet slid and locked into the collar. It fit loosely enough that any kerbal could wear it over their normal clothes. Pressurized and it even seemed to be fireproof. Grazy fiddled with a pocket that was apparently designed to slip snacks into the suit while being worn. "Convenient. Don't you need a suit too?"

"Oh, no suit won't save ya noways if that rocket goes off. Just regulations and rules is all."

They walked to the launchpad to find the recently uprighted rocket. Or at least to the dirt mound they were claiming was a launchpad. A team of kerbals were buzzing about it with hoses and hammers, making last minute changes and improvements. An old wooden ladder was propped against the capsule, its hatch thrown wide. Each of the grounds crews nodded as she passed, their chief motioning for her to head up the ladder.

"I get to go inside?"

Confused looks were traded and everyone turned to the tour guide. He smiled, shrugged, and waved her up the ladder. "Go on up and have a look see, why don' ya."

A wooden ladder isn't exactly what comes to mind when one thinks of "space-age equipment," but it got the job done. She stepped inside, spinning around carefully to relax in the gravity cushions. Lots of buttons and lights flashing overhead, as though the craft was anxiously awaiting its astronaut. The mostly unsupported craft had a strange sway to it, no doubt being shifted by the coastal winds. A few moments later the grease-smeared face of the grounds chief appeared at the top of the ladder. He reached inside, pulled a few straps around Grazy and latched them, then gave her the thumbs up. "Have a good flight, ja?"

Before she could respond the hatch was closed and latched, the ladder gone, and a strange rumble was working its way through the ship. The voice of the kerbal she had met earlier was counting down in her ear - that fair-haired one with the calm demeanor. "30 seconds," he said softly, "spacecraft on internal power." As the count reached five the rumble became a roar. The sway became a rattle. And the world outside sank away into nothingness.

And then Grazy understood why the tour was so incredibly expensive.

Contracts - Pushing Onward to the MÃƒÂ¼n

With only three orbital flights under their belts, the Kerbals with disposable money felt it was high time the Space Agency sent something to the MÃƒÂ¼n. That something being the Chirp 12 test flight for Dinklestein's. Chirp 12 was the first full test of the new computer core in an autonomous system. It was also the first artificial, non-kerbal-controlled satellite in Kerbin orbit. The small craft was lofted by the Wren booster developed for the tourism division, with a smaller Chickadee upper stage.

Munar flyby was achieved by the burn of the craft's third stage engine, reaching a not particularly close altitude above the farside of the MÃƒÂ¼n. The farside which just so happened to be illuminated when the Chirp 12 swung by, returning the first ever image of the MÃƒÂ¼n's elusive face.

The Chirp 12 then returned to Kerbin, where it was placed in a low orbit and rebranded 3.0-Dink-01. There was some debate as to how exactly the Chirp 12 managed to take images of the MÃƒÂ¼n's backside when it had no on-board camera, but kerbals are never ones to bring logic into an argument, right?

Regardless, the MÃƒÂ¼n Rush had begun, and shortly more craft were lined up for the honor of being the "next" to return images and science from Kerbin's nearest celestial neighbor. Or rather their wealthy owners and sponsors were... each eager to fund their own expedition. Next up was the Research and Design Department's 3.1-RD-01, which became the first craft to orbit the MÃƒÂ¼n. It remains there to this day, sending back science readings and acting as a simple communications relay.

Following the 3.1-RD-01 was the Zaltronics Corps' contribution to the space junk in orbit of the MÃƒÂ¼n. Or, more precisely, another small communications relay satellite. 3.1-Zalt-01 also has the distinction of being the final launch from the old Kerbal Space Center before the big upgrade. No longer would orbits need to be guessed at, and no longer would craft be limited to such a small size and such a low part count.

The Zaltronics munar orbiter has since become the primary means of communication between craft operating on the MÃƒÂ¼n and the Kerbin communications network. It's omni-directional phased-antenna-array allows for considerable uplink capacity, and its two high-gain dishes offer downlink to either ground stations on Kerbin or crosstalk to other nodes in the burgeoning satellite network.

Meeting a Single Grain of Sand Amongst the Desert of Stars

Following the 109 days of construction at Cape Kerbal, the administration of the Space Agency set a new goal for program: Rendezvous with a target satellite in space and recover science from it to return to the surface. The first attempt at this was the Chirp 13, launched on the 251st day of the 1st year of the Third Space Age. Unfortunately, due to shifting winds and an unsteady flight computer, the Chirp 13 was only able to recover science from the Kerbin's Oceans as it sank below the waves.

The first successful launch of the rendezvous probe came in the form of the Chirp 14. This also saw the first use of the Warbler launch vehicle, a three-engine design capable of lofting ever more payload into Kerbin orbit.

With Chirp 14 on station and performing it science gathering tasks, the crews set about preparing the launch of the Lewekeomi 4. Bob Kerman, chief researcher and materials expert, was the natural choice for the mission. Grazy Kerman, spunky new recruit snatched from the ranks of the tourists was chosen as his backup crew and CAPCOM. Both had been working on materials research for several years, though many of Bob's projects remain classified.

The sunset launch went off without a hitch. The spacecraft was placed into an orbit that would see it intercepting the Chirp 14 some 20 minutes later, roughly two-thirds of the way around Kerbin. This first rendezvous was being watched by all, not just those in the program but many at home who had gathered around televisions and in movie halls. Both craft had been outfitted with cameras and the editing crews were tripping over themselves trying to decide which camera to show when. (Gene suggested they flip a coin.)

Bob first caught sight of the Chirp 14 while over the desert. He turned the craft to align the camera towards the little probe, anxious to get the meat of the meeting done before they slipped around into the dark again. Better for the folks at home to have a good show. Of course he didn't transfer the highly-classified samples while the cameras were rolling, he had made sure of that, but he still put on a bit of an EVA show for the kids. Bob even surprised the world with his unexpected EVA helmet cam.

First rendezvous complete.

GKO-G1 - Contractual Communications

The remainder of the year was taken up with contract launches. Bob's Rendezvous Spectacular (and Grazy's less popular Crazy Grazy Science Hour aboard the Lewekeomi 5) inspired the businesses of the world as well as it had the schoolkerbals. In no time at all the administration was so overwhelmed with launch requests there were concerns they wouldn't be able to keep track of them all.

VacCo, C7, White Owl, OMB, Steadler, and even some strange shell company Jeb had set up all wanted to place an object into orbit of Kerbin or the MÃƒÂ¼n. The administration decided it would be in their best interests to develop a communications network and standards for data transfer, if only to retain their sanity. Work on it began at once.

Around this time an unnamed kerbal came up with the idea for the Kerbals Space Stuff Tracking System, and set about retroactively assigning an ID to each orbital launch. The original system assigned a numerical identifier to each object released into orbit, but this was later revised to assign each orbital launch a unique ID and add a suffix for each piece released from that launch.

The increasing mass of these contracted satellites, especially those destined for the MÃƒÂ¼n, necessitated the development of a new launch vehicle. Thus was born the Warbler, most often used in the Warbler-Sparrow configuration. Capable of lifting 6.8 tonnes of dead mass and placing 5.8 tonnes into Low-Kerbin Orbit, the Warbler-Sparrow quickly became the most popular launch option on the planet. Largely because it was the only launch option on the planet.

Seen below lofting the GKO-G1-C communications relay satellite into its Geostationary-Kerbin Orbit, the Warbler-Sparrow proved itself capable time and time again. Its nearly perfect track record was marred only by the first OMB probe, an incident which remains to this day unexplained on account of its nighttime launch.

The communications satellites themselves were simple affairs. The First generation of GKO satellites featured a single omnidirectional phased-antenna-array for uplink data with two directional dishes for downlink or cross-talk communications. Three such satellites were placed into stationary orbits, each separated by 120 degrees. The GKO-G1-C is provided as an example below.

Maple 1 - Soft(ish) Landings

The administration dictated that the year should go out on a high note, and work on the Maple 1 Munar lander probe was pushed forward. Designed using the latest in components, the Maple 1 represented the pinnacle of Kerbal achievement. Fully autonomous, this robotic exploration probe would fly to the MÃƒÂ¼n, land, and then send scientific data back to Kerbin, allowing the fine folks in R&D to prepare for the inevitable kerbal MÃƒÂ¼n landing.

The World's First Record Keeping Society was even in on the game, offering up a sizable award to the first space program to successfully land on the MÃƒÂ¼n - 70k upfront to be followed by another 200k. Luckily there was only one space program on the planet and the award had no expiration date....

Crews gathered early on the morning of the 421st day, all eagerly awaiting the launch of their new pet robot. The Maple 1's ascent was picture-perfect as viewed from the ground. Unexpected crosswinds caused a moment of alarm as the craft to nearly flipped out, but the onboard navigation was able to recover satisfactorily. The orbital injection, Munar transfer burn, and Munar capture burn all went off without a hitch. As the craft descended slowly to the surface of Kerbin's mysterious grey neighbor, all signs were pointing to yet another completely successful mission.

So it was rather surprising when the all communications with the craft ceased mere moments before landing. Sure, Kerbin and its line-of-sight had slipped below the horizon of the MÃƒÂ¼n, but data was being transmitted quite successfully through the 3.1-Comms-G1-A relay.

Flight controllers attempted for several hours to reestablish communication with the robotic lander, but were eventually forced to declare the mission lost. On later reviews, the telemetry data showed the craft to be descending at a rate well within mission tolerances, though some doubts were raised as to whether the terrain elevation readings were accurate. The only way to know the fate of the Maple 1 for certain would be to send a crew up to look for it, a prospect considered dangerous at best.

And so the year ends on a bitter note, with the mysterious loss of an otherwise perfect spacecraft.

Kanawha Space Program

Year 1 In Review

Launches and Missions

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 200]Mission ID[/td]

[td=width: 50]KSSTS[/td]

[td=width: 100]Crew[/td]

[td=width: 200]Launch Vehicle[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 1[/td][td][/td][td]Jeb[/td][td]Flea[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 2[/td][td][/td][td]Val[/td][td]Flea-Hammer[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 3[/td][td][/td][td]Jeb[/td][td]Flea-Thumper[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 4[/td][td][/td][td]Val[/td][td]Hammer-Thumper[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 5[/td][td][/td][td]Jeb[/td][td]Double Thumper[/td][td]First In Space.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 6[/td][td][/td][td]Val[/td][td]X-LR-01[/td][td]Failure: Unable to liftoff.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 7[/td][td][/td][td]Jeb[/td][td]X-LR-02[/td][td]Failure: Crashed atop VAB.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 8[/td][td][/td][td]Val[/td][td]X-LR-03[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 1[/td][td]1-001[/td][td]Jeb[/td][td]Thumper Chickadee[/td][td]First In Orbit.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 2[/td][td]1-002[/td][td]Val[/td][td]Sparrow[/td][td]Polar Orbit.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 9[/td][td][/td][td]Bill[/td][td]Sparrow[/td][td]Failure: Launch.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 3[/td][td]1-003[/td][td]Jeb[/td][td]Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 10[/td][td][/td][td]Bob[/td][td]Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 11[/td][td][/td][td]Bill[/td][td]Wren[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 1 SO3[/td][td][/td][td]Grary[/td][td]Wren[/td][td]Tourist.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 2 SO3[/td][td][/td][td]Crisdi[/td][td]Wren[/td][td]Tourist. [/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 3 SO3[/td][td][/td][td]Diuki[/td][td]Wren[/td][td]Tourist.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 4 SO3[/td][td][/td][td]Tangard[/td][td]Wren[/td][td]Tourist.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 5 SO3[/td][td][/td][td]Bartrey[/td][td]Wren[/td][td]Tourist.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 6 SO3[/td][td][/td][td]Cartina[/td][td]Wren[/td][td]Tourist.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 7 SO3[/td][td][/td][td]Grazy[/td][td]Wren[/td][td]Tourist.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 12 / Dink-01[/td][td]1-004[/td][td][/td][td]Wren Chickadee[/td][td]First Mun Flyby.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.1-RD-01[/td][td]1-005[/td][td][/td][td]Wren Chickadee[/td][td]First Mun Orbit.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.1-Zalt-01[/td][td]1-006[/td][td][/td][td]Wren Chickadee[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 13[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]Wren Chickadee[/td][td]Failure: Launch.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 14[/td][td]1-007[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler[/td][td]Rendezvous with Lewekeomi 4.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 4[/td][td]1-008[/td][td]Bob[/td][td]Sparrow[/td][td]Rendezvous with Chirp 14. First Rendezvous.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 8 SO3[/td][td][/td][td]Jedgel[/td][td]Wren[/td][td]Tourist.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.0-VacCo-01[/td][td]1-009[/td][td][/td][td]Thumper-Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.0-C7-01[/td][td]1-010[/td][td][/td][td]Thumper-Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td] [/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.1-Comms-G1-A[/td][td]1-011[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.1-WhOwl-01[/td][td]1-012[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.0-OMB-01[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Failure: Launch.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.0-OMB-01A[/td][td]1-013[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Polar Mapsat.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 15[/td][td]1-014[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Chickadee[/td][td]Rendezvous with Lewekeomi 5. Anomaly: Loss of power during mission.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 5[/td][td]1-015[/td][td]Grazy[/td][td]Sparow[/td][td]Rendezvous with Chirp 15.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.1-Jeb-01[/td][td]1-016[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.0-Stead-01[/td][td]1-017[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.0-GKO-G1-A[/td][td]1-018[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.0-GKO-G1-B[/td][td]1-019[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.0-GKO-G1-C[/td][td]1-020[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 1[/td][td]1-021[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Failure: Lost during descent to MÃƒÂ¼n.[/td][/tr]

[/table]

Failed Missions

Chirp 6: Insufficient thrust prevented liftoff.
Chirp 7: Pilot failed to control craft, resulting in crash atop VAB.
Chirp 9: Unstable ascent, aborted by Range Safety Officer.
Chirp 13: Unstable ascent, aborted by Range Safety Officer.
3.0-OMB-01: Shallow ascent, crashed into ocean south of KSC.
Chirp 15: Power loss preventing attitude control to align with Sun. Atmospheric tumble corrected issue.
Maple 1: Robotic lander to MÃƒÂ¼n. Contact lost during descent.

Missions In-Progress

None.

Crew Roster

Jebediah Kerman, Pilot. Joined program at inception. 6 Flights.
Valentina Kerman, Pilot. Joined program at inception. 5 Flights.
Bill Kerman, Engineer. Joined program at inception. 2 Flights.
Bob Kerman, Scientist. Joined program at inception. 2 Flights.
Grazy Kerman, Scientist. Recruited following a tourist flight. 2 Flights.

Active Launch Vehicles

[table=class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 200]Launch Vehicle[/td]

[td=width: 100]Lift-Off Payload Mass[/td]

[td=width: 100]Orbital Payload Mass[/td]

[td=width: 100]Attempts[/td]

[td=width: 100]Successes[/td]

[/tr]

[tr][td]Flea[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]1[/td][td]1[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Flea-Hammer[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]1[/td][td]1[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Flea-Thumper[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]1[/td][td]1[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Hammer-Thumper[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]1[/td][td]1[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Double-Thumper[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]1[/td][td]1[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Thumper-Chickadee[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]1[/td][td]1[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Sparrow[/td][td]3.8t[/td][td]770kg[/td][td]6[/td][td]5[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Wren[/td][td]6t[/td][td]190kg[/td][td]9[/td][td]9[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Wren-Chickadee[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]4[/td][td]3[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Warbler[/td][td]17.3t[/td][td]0[/td][td]1[/td][td]1[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Thumper-Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]2[/td][td]2[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Warbler-Sparow[/td][td]6.8t[/td][td]5.8t[/td][td]10[/td][td]9[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Warbler-Chickadee[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]1[/td][td]1[/td][/tr]

[/table]

Edited September 21, 2015 by Cydonian Monk

GehringGame · June 24, 2015

This is excellent! I love the look of your craft, your narration, and especially your flags. Keep posting!

Cydonian Monk · June 24, 2015

This is excellent! I love the look of your craft, your narration, and especially your flags. Keep posting!

Thank you!

Cydonian Monk · July 5, 2015

Kanawha Space Program

The MÃƒÂ¼n Beckons

And we're back for the second year of my new KSP career. Still playing in KSP v1.0.2, still using the same mods mentioned in the first post. I encountered some minor issues this time around with craft flipping out and some strange bugs with a couple landers (bugs that become very serious issues in subsequent years), but overall a good year. Still moving forward towards the goal of unlocking the full tech tree and building out infrastructure.

Let's do this!

Maple 2 - Second Verse, Same as the First?

Space is hard. Really hard. You just won't believe how stubbornly, frustratingly, mind-bogglingly hard it is. I mean, you may think it's just really big and empty, but that's when you smack into some hard bit of space at half the speed of light. And not just hard, but difficult too. One tiny thing goes wrong, be it a screw over-tightened by a half rotation, an oxidizer tank a fraction of a percent over-pressurized, or a flying fish smacking the side of your rocket at an altitude where fish shouldn't be flying, and all bets are off and you'll find out once more just how hard space can be.

So what kind of space travelers would kerbals be if they curled up inside their caves and hid after one of the most expensive probes they'd built found some hard bit of space while moving faster than a greased space fish? Well they wouldn't be any kind of space travelers, that's what. When the question came up, how do we react to the loss of the Maple 1?, the space program's administration gave the only correct answer: Proceed as planned.

The Maple 2 MÃƒÂ¼n lander was identical in every way to the Maple 1. All the same screws, all the same oxidizer tanks, all the same fish hooks. While the post-accident investigation of the Maple 1's failure might find a flaw that could be fixed in future craft, it was highly unlikely to help the Maple 2. Delaying it would serve no logical purpose so the launch went ahead as scheduled on the First Day of the Second Year of the Third Space Age.

Just like Maple 1 the entire flight from launch to MÃƒÂ¼nar capture burn went exactly according to plan. Just like Maple 1 the landing site was on the western, prograde face of the MÃƒÂ¼n, in a site believed to be part of the Mun's Highlands. Unlike Maple 1 the Maple 2 remained in contact with ground controllers for its entire descent.

First soft landing on the MÃƒÂ¼n complete. The probe started returning data as soon as it landed, including conclusive proof that: A) The MÃƒÂ¼n is not made of cheese, and There is no detectable atmosphere on the MÃƒÂ¼n. The complete success of the Maple 2 made the disappearance of its predecessor that much more mysterious. The site of the Maple 1's disappearance became the leading candidate for the first kerb'd landing on the MÃƒÂ¼n.

Piquemetami 1 - Rest Stop in the Sky

Recovering materials and experiments from spacecraft to study on the ground is nice, but it could never compare to having researchers in orbit to study the experiments as they progressed. And building space stations is what the cool kids are doing these days, so why not? The construction of a research station in Low Kerbin Orbit was therefore, in Bob's opinion, the most important next step. The administration agreed. As did a certain well-connected sponsor who wished to remain anonymous.

To facilitate construction their resident engineer, Bill Kerman, was sent up early in the Lewekeomi 6. This craft was a revised version of the earlier Lewekeomi, with a new docking adapter and a reaction control system. And Bill would get to be the guinea pig for testing both. This launch also saw the first inclusion of the HGR launch escape tower, a safety feature intended to rescue the capsule and its occupant in the event of a launch failure.

With Bill safely in orbit the core stage of the station was rolled out to the launch pad. The heavier mass and larger girth of the station components required the use of a new launch vehicle: The LV-21 Bluejay. Developed by the local genius rocket scientist Wernher von Kerman, the LV-21 Bluejay made use of a cluster of six LV-T30 engines to provide sufficient thrust for liftoff. The larger 2.5m payload mating size allowed for the larger station modules to be safely attached. Unfortunately the kerbals had yet to learn the secrets of larger fairings, so the larger attachment size provided no help for the Piquemetami components.

The launch was timed to coincide with Bill's orbit in the Lewekeomi 6, using the rendezvous skills the kerbals learned during the earlier Lewekeomi missions. Less than one orbit later and the station core began to loom large outside of Bill's window. The Lewekeomi 6 moved in to dock just as the two craft drifted over the terminator. First docking in space complete. Station building contract complete.

The station contract being complete didn't mean the station itself was. Bill set about preparing the internals of the station's habitat while ground crews were busy assembling the Laboratory module for launch. Yes, this was to be a research station. A club house for the burgeoning group of kerbal scientists. Bob with his mysterious materials experiments and Grazy with her usual insanity soon have a new lab to hide away in.

This new infrastructure led to the creation of the Scientific Research Division. Led by chief researcher Bob Kerman, this early subsection of the space agency had the impressive crew roster of two. Or in Bob's words: "It consists of two fifths of all active astronauts!" And Jeb's Piquemetami 1 would be their private little lab in the sky.

The Laboratory itself was slightly more massive than the core node. 2 tonnes more massive, to be exact. This was pushing the upper limits of the Bluejay launch vehicle, but still well within its maximum liftoff mass. The ascent to orbit was completely and nominally nominal. Rendezvous and docking with Bill and the core node of the Piquemetami 1 was accomplished after less than one orbit.

Following docking the orbital stage of the Piquemetami 1-B Lab node was used to boost the station to the apoapsis of its 130km circular orbit while bringing the periapsis down into the atmosphere. The orbital stage of the Piquemetami 1-B was then discarded at apoapsis, and the Lewekeomi 6 was used to fully circularize the station. One final maneuver was performed to get the correct end of the Lab module docked to the core node followed by Bill moving to the Lewekeomi 6 to a new docking port.

And with that, construction of the first research station in orbit was complete. (Or so they thought.) Bill finished setting up the station while the next two crew taxis were prepared and launched. Grazy was sent up first in the Lewekeomi 7, with Bob following a few days later on the Lewekeomi 8. Both launches proceeded nominally, and reached orbit without issue. Rendezvous with the station was generally one orbit after launch, timed to coincide with the two craft exiting the shadow of Kerbin.

With the station built using the smaller docking ports, Grazy and Bob, like Bill before them, were forced to EVA between their ships and the two modules of Piquemetami 1. This was an activity that had proven quite popular with the viewers back at home, kerbals drifting through the void with only their thin spacesuit protecting them, so mission controllers were happy to leak the footage in exchange for the free reputation points.

Not everything with the Piquemetami 1 was going according to plan however. Launch crews were having considerable difficulty with preparing the science packages for delivery to the station. Chirp 16 and Chirp 17 were both lost after launch - Chirp 16 when the interstage engine shroud struck the engine bell of the upper stage resulting in a terminal loss of control and vehicle breakup due to aerodynamic forces; Chirp 17 was launched at too shallow of an angle and, being unable to pitch upwards, burned up during the ascent.

Both of these losses occurred during a rash of incidents involving the Warbler-Sparrow launch vehicle. One of the chief issues - loss of all aerodynamic control - was addressed by increasing the size of the fins on the lower stage and adding small fins to the second stage. None could explain why a rocket which had worked perfectly up to this point had suddenly started to flip out, but Wernher was quick to blame Jebediah. (Who wasn't even at the controls.) The maximum thrust of the lower stage was also limited, targeting a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.2 for liftoff. The flight procedures were changed to limit the operational thrust of the first stage to a maximum of 1.5, requiring a gradual throttle-back during ascent.

Following these refinements, the Chirp 18 was successfully launched into a rendezvous orbit with the station. The onboard experiments were exposed during ascent and during flight to maximize the amount of data the research crews would have to work with. Bob let Grazy perform the EVA to retrieve the experiment data, adding yet another spacewalk to the agency's Video On-Demand offerings.

Having a science lab is one thing, but being able to use it is another. It was quickly discovered that, despite assurance to the contrary, the station did bot have enough power generation to keep the laboratory operating 6 hours a day 426 days a year. Even just turning the lights on was enough to cause a power drain in full sunlight. No, they needed more power and they needed it soon.

This posed something of a dilemma, as Wernher was fresh out of the magical "science points" he needed to develop new solar arrays. (Later investigations revealed Wernher had invented these so-called "science points" as a means to force the agency into launching test missions, and as a way to garner bribes in the form of snacks. Specifically pints of cookie dough ice cream.)

Some MÃƒÂ¼nths later (following the Maple 6 and the Chirp 19 missions) the solution was in-hand and ready for use: retractable solar arrays which could be fitted to the docking nodes already present on the Piquemetami 1. Two array assemblies were launched along with a probe to install them as the Piquemetami 1-C. Lofted atop the revised LV-03K Warbler-Sparrow, the Piquemetami 1-C performed exactly according to plan.

A post-assembly test showed the arrays were working exactly as desired, allowing Bob and Grazy to finally get to work. The research projects sent up on the Chirp 18 and Chirp 19 were unpacked and installed in the proper receptacles. Piquemetami 1 was open for business.

Maples 3 through 6 - A Little Bit Louder and A Little More Rehearsed

Troubles seemed endemic to the space agency in the second year, with the next MÃƒÂ¼n lander being no exception. The loss of the Maple 3, later attributed to the same issue which doomed the Chirp 17, started a rumour that all odd-numbered Maple missions were destined for failure. Maple 3 rather spectacularly disintegrated moments after Stage 1 cutout and separation, and scattered yet more debris into the oceans of Kerbin.

The science must go on, and thus the Maple 4 was reassigned to the Maple 3's landing site: the Farside of the MÃƒÂ¼n. Quite specifically it would land inside of a large crater observed by the mapping satellites launched in the previous year. With the issues from the previous launches resolved, the launch proceeded perfectly, as did the transfer to the MÃƒÂ¼n, the MÃƒÂ¼nar capture burn, the descent, the landing, everything. The Maple 4 mission was a complete success....

... At least until it encountered a still unexplained universe-rending bug. Ground controllers would occasionally receive a blip from it over the network, but any attempts at processing that data would cause a universe-wide computer and network failure. So the Maple 4 was blacklisted and the shutdown command was sent. It was decided a later mission would be sent to investigate and perhaps repair the small science station.

Much to the chagrin of those kerbals who bet on such things, the Maple 5 was also completely successful. Landing in the ancient left eye of the Kerb in the MÃƒÂ¼n, otherwise known as the NorthWest Crater, the Maple 5 not only sent back valuable science data (Wernher's magic points), but it continues to return readings to this day. Whatever mystery glitch that affected the Maple 4 had clearly been vanquished....

... Or so they thought until the Maple 6. From its landing site in the right eye of the MÃƒÂ¼n (the East Crater), the Maple 6 was responsible for destroying every computer that attempted to process its data. Some kerbals likened it to the infamous "Joke Warfare" of the previous century, where just being within 2.5km of the joke that was Maple 6 was enough to kill a kerbal.

So much for the problem having been "solved." [i reviewed these two vessels in the persistence file for some time. Nothing, and I mean _nothing_ appeared to be obviously wrong with them. Without fail though, even when loaded in another save file, they would produce Null Reference Exceptions that caused the game to hang. I eventually just had to delete them.] And so the shutdown command was sent to the Maple 6 and the agency moved on to a more lucrative target: Minmus.

Chirp 19 - Mint Green Escape

With science near Kerbin near exhaustion, the Research Division decided it was time to scoop some science from ball of ice cream otherwise known as Minmus. First order of business was a flyby of Minmus by the Chirp 19, which collected science from both high and low space around the little green ball. The Chirp 19 also provided the first close-up images of the strange moon.

Following its flyby of Minmus the Chirp 19 rendezvoused and docked up with the Piquemetami 1, providing yet more data for the Science Team and yet another opportunity for a high-profile EVA.

Dogwood 1

With Minmus drawing more attention, the administration felt it was time to open a program dedicated to the study of the small green moon: The Dogwood Program. There wasn't much room in the budget to support it, what with plans for kerb'd MÃƒÂ¼n landings on the books. So Wernher and the engineering team threw together some parts they found laying around the Vertical Assembly Building and thus was born the Dogwood 1.

Unfortunately the fairings did not separate cleanly form the payload during ascent and destroyed one of the solar arrays, restricting the Dogwood 1 to the one remaining array and its backup static solar panels. It was also quickly discovered that the probe lacked an SAS, making it difficult to keep the remaining solar arrays properly aligned. Despite these limitations, the Dogwood 1 was able to become the first kerbal-built object to orbit Minmus.

Dogwood 2

Unlike its predecessor, Dogwood 2 was built from good parts and not from the scrap heap. Intended as a mapping satellite, Dogwood 2 was fitted to the gills with cameras and film and placed in a high polar orbit around Minmus. Everything went according to plan.

Chirp 20 - The Ultimate Probe Warrior

And then there was the Chirp 20. This mission was organized to complete a strange strange contract from Flooyd: The Ultimate Kerbin 3 Challenge.

Simple challenge, really. All comes down to proper timing and brute-force application of thrust. And so the Chirp 20 was born, a very simple craft with just a few science experiments on board. This launch also provided the opportunity to test the ablative heatshield systems at near-interplanetary velocities. The MÃƒÂ¼nar flyby was at a rather high altitude, well above 500km, while the Minmus flyby was used to place the craft back into a sub-orbital return trajectory and so skipped just barely above the surface.

Bizarro challenge complete. Chirp 20 is the Ultimate Probe Warrior.

The Tiskelwah Program - Building a Road to the MÃƒÂ¼n

The next major goal set by the administration was to place a flag on the MÃƒÂ¼n. After countless meetings and design reviews, the R&D team decided it would be easier to send a kerbal up to plant the flag than a robot. Thus was born the Tiskelwah Program.

Landing kerbals on the MÃƒÂ¼n was one of the many things famous rocket scientists Wernher von Kerman had intended to accomplish in his lifetime. The rock was so close, always hanging overhead, always mocking him. So naturally he had a detailed plan for how he would land a few test subjects on the MÃƒÂ¼n before relocating his secret lair to a crater on the farside. His roadmap to conquering the MÃƒÂ¼n had eight stops on it, each representing a different type of mission:

Type A: Single-kerbal Direct Ascent landing using existing hardware.
Type B: Three-kerbal Direct Ascent landing using a new capsule and heavier equipment.
Type C: Three-kerbal MÃƒÂ¼nar Orbit Rendezvous Mission, using a single-kerbal 2-stage lander.
Type D: Three-kerbal MÃƒÂ¼nar Orbit Rendezvous Mission, using a two-kerbal 2-stage lander.
Type E: Three-kerbal MÃƒÂ¼nar Orbit Rendezvous Mission, using a two-kerbal 2-stage lander with attached rover.
Type F: Three-kerbal MÃƒÂ¼nar Orbit Rendezvous Mission using a 100% reusable two-kerbal Lander. Lander to remain at an orbital station following mission.
Type G: Three-kerbal Station-Dispatched Mission using a 100% reusable three-kerbal lander. Lander to remain at an orbital station following mission.
Type H: Six-kerbal Station-Dispatched Mission using both landers from orbital station to land five kerbals.

The recruiting department needed to hire a few kerbals to support the upcoming flood of missions to the MÃƒÂ¼n. Svetlana, Lindra, Ribzor, Jermin and Rama became the "Second Five" of the astronaut corps. Svetlana was a well respected test pilot picked up from an outfit on the West Continent. Lindra and Ribzor both joined the burgeoning Science Department, while Jermin and Rama were hired as the program's second and third engineers.

First order of business was to get these four some flight time. Svetlana, Lindra, and Ribzor were sent up to relieve the crews aboard the Piquemetami 1, who at this point had logged more than 140 days of flight (with Bill holding the spaceflight endurance record of 160 days). The first three crews were returned safely and the three new crews settled in aboard the station, following the usual number of Extra-Vehicular Awesomeness.

Tiskelwah 1 - Rehearsal Dinner

The first actual Tiskelwah Mission was a dress-rehearsal for the first landing, and labeled as more of a systems test. No crews were present aboard the spacecraft, which landed in a nondescript location in the MÃƒÂ¼n's Midalnds. This mission was completely successful, if otherwise unremarkable. A vibrant debate was started when Jeb joked that he had forgotten to climb aboard the craft before they launched it, a joke which conspiracy theorists would use as proof of the landing having been faked for many generations.

Pequoni 1 - More Station Building

In a strange twist, it was decided to build the first MÃƒÂ¼n Station (part of a contract for White Owl) before the first kerb'd MÃƒÂ¼n landing. With plans to eventually build it into a full-featured science and staging station, Pequoni 1 would at the start serve as a mooring for ships returning from the surface of the MÃƒÂ¼n. Here crews could retrieve supplies for the return flight, drop off some MÃƒÂ¼n rocks and other samples for future research, and take a break in the more-spacious station.

The two nodes of the station were launched atop the new LV-22 Robin launch vehicle. First up was the core node, Pequoni 1A, consisting of a small habitat and various docking nodes. The creation of a larger, crew-traversable, docking node meant an end to the ricky EVAs needed to move around the nodes of the Piquemetami 1. Not that the first MÃƒÂ¼n landers would use the larger docking system.

The transfer stage of the Pequoni 1A was left on a sub-orbital trajectory while the station core burned back into a stable orbit using its reaction-control system. A bit inefficient, but it should cut down on dangerous debris in a station orbit.

The second node, Pequoni 1B, was launched a munth or so later. This node included the solar arrays needed to supply power to the Laboratory the station would eventually include. Installation of the solar arrays occurred mostly on the dark side of the MÃƒÂ¼n (which at the time was the side facing Kerbin), so no photos of the assembly are available. Following assembly the craft which delivered the solar arrays docked to the utility node of the station and boosted it into its final, 20km circular orbit.

Tiskelwah 2 - An Unexpected First

In yet another surprise twist, it was decided to send the rookie Rama to the station to complete assembly and outfitting before the first surface-return crews would arrive. Meaning Rama Kerman would become the first kerbal to enter MÃƒÂ¼nar orbit, or even the MÃƒÂ¼n's sphere of influence. This was a fact kept quiet by the PR department, who were busy focusing all attention on the famous Jebediah Kerman, anointed heir and most famous son of Kerbin. Or something like that.

Rama remained mostly unknown until she beamed back photos of the far side of the MÃƒÂ¼n, in particular one photo of Kerbin setting behind the mountains and craters of the planet's rugged parasite. Jebediah was graceful about being "beaten to the MÃƒÂ¼n" in public, but was somewhat furious when away from the cameras. The administrators eventually had to take him aside and explain the situation. Either he accepts the fact that he won't always be the "first" kerbal to do things in the universe, or they would sent Valentina up on the Tiskelwah 3 instead of him. Jeb was happy to play along after that.

Mechanically the Tiskelwah 2 was little more than a large version of the Lewekeomi, allowing the program to save considerable funds by launching it atop a Tanager-Chickadee instead of the larger Bluejay or Robin. Rama arrived at Pequoni Station on the 265th day of the year and set about preparing for Jebediah's Arrival in the Tiskelwah 3 at once. There wasn't much left to do in terms of set up and construction, though quite a few cables and hoses needed to be connected inside the core. Things that robots are incapable of doing.

MÃƒÂ¼nar Station Construction Complete.

Tiskelwah 3 - First Steps

By the time the Tiskelwah 3 had launched most on Kerbin had forgotten that Jebediah had been snubbed by not being the first Kerbal in orbit of the MÃƒÂ¼n and were excited that kerbals, any kerbals, would soon be walking on their nearest neighbor's grey surface. The launch was attended by thousands as millions more watched on televisions and holoscreens across the planet. Some estimates claimed this to be the most watched event in the history of kerbinkind, with the last KerbinCup a close second.

This time the Tiskelwah Lander was launched with Jebediah on board. The rumours that Jebediah was supposed to have been aboard the Tiskelwah 1 continued to be vehemently denied by the space agency. The launch of the Tiskelwah 3, its ascent, transfer, and capture into MÃƒÂ¼nar orbit went exactly according to plan. It was widely regarded as the most beautiful and perfect launch yet conducted by the agency.

The landing site chosen for the Tiskelwah 3 was the last known location of the Maple 1. Seemingly everyone at the space center had bets going as to the fate of the lost MÃƒÂ¼n lander, with the "totally vaporized" crowd leading the largest pool. And so it was up to Jebediah to determine the little lost probe's ultimate fate and the winners of a few extra kerbucks.

As was the plan, the MÃƒÂ¼nar Transfer Stage of the Tiskelwah Type-A stack was used for both MÃƒÂ¼nar Orbit Capture and the first stages of the descent to the surface. Once spent, the fairings were jettisoned and the lander's main engine took over for the remainder of the descent.

Unlike the Maple 1, the Tiskelwah 3 remained in contact with ground controllers on Kerbin during its entire descent. Jeb had full control of the lander, and set it down softly on the plains to the east of the large Farside Crater. No noticeable dust was kicked up by the lander's descent, which was considered strange by many of the scientists back on Kerbin.

Hudwin's Triumph, Surface of the MÃƒÂ¼n

Year 2 day 276

"Ok, I'm heading down the ladder now." Jeb leaned out of the capsule and looked down at the regolith under his ship. He wasn't sure why they bothered to put a ladder on the ship when he could just as easily use his jetpack, but figured this wasn't the best time to ask questions about the ship's construction. He reached over to the science experiments near his cabin door, extracted the exposure canisters and tossed them in the capsule before he moved towards the ground.

At the bottom of the ladder he stuck his foot out and brushed the surface. "It does appear the surface consists mostly of fines and other dust." He though for a few seconds, wondering if it was really powdered cheese, or perhaps like very fine snow. Would he sink through it if he stepped on it? The ship itself was resting firmly atop the fines, so it must be ok for kerbals, right?

He pushed off the ladder.

"Hey! This is kinda fun!"

He bounded over to the goo canisters near the bottom of the ship and extracted the exposed experiments, just as he'd done with those on his capsule. He also reached down to pick up a few rocks and other fines for the surface sample container. "I'm going to return the science experiments to the capsule before I plant the flag." This time he didn't bother with the ladder.

The flag planting ceremony was next on the list, so Jeb jumped down and bounded a few steps away from the lander. They had sent seven or eight flags up with him, one of which included a plaque. The site had been named after one of the famous Kerbal Explorers, Hudwin Kerman, one of the many ocean explorers of ancient Kerbin. [unbeknownst to Jebediah, Hudwin was the first kerbal to land safely on the MÃƒÂ¼n in one of the previous space ages.] By the time the typo on the plaque was noticed it was too late to send an engraver up to fix it.

"Congratulations Jeb, and the flag looks good from here. Be sure to plant a few extra flags so we can hang them here in mission control and give them out as gifts." Bob's voice crackled across the radio. Jeb wasn't sure why the veteran geek had decided to volunteer as his CapCom for the landing, and wasn't entirely comfortable with his occasionally creepy suggestions. "Now if you're feeling up to it we'd like to move on to the next item on the checklist. Finding the Maple 1."

"What exactly am I looking for?"

"The lander itself was a greyish color."

Jeb looked around the landing site, seeing nothing more than dust and rocks. "Oh, ok. I'm sure it'll be easy to find something small and grey on this endless plain of grey rocks."

"Look for flashes of light. If some of its solar panels survived they should be reflecting occasional bits of light. Purplish-Blue in color." Jeb used it as an excuse to play in the dust and bound around in the low gravity of the MÃƒÂ¼n.

And then suddenly several small flashes of light caught Jeb's eye. "Well, I'll be." He stopped his aimless jogging and bounded towards the source of the light. "Hey Bob, you're never going to believe this. Get ready to pay out the betting pool."

"How much is left?"

"Well," Jeb scanned the crash site. "A couple legs, and it looks like part of the probe core is intact."

"Jeb, you're a regular bloodhound. That old hound of Mac's couldn't have done any better if we'd sent him up instead of you." Jeb could hear applause and cheering in the background over Bob's voice - mission control was largely in the "survived landing" end of the betting pool. "Operations says to recover the probe's memory core and return it to the lander. You've done well."

Rendezvous with Rama

A few more hours on the surface and Jeb's Tiskelwah 3 mission was largely complete. He loaded up as many samples as the capsule allowed, secured the large memory core of the Maple 1 lander behind his seat, and waited for the Pequoni 1 to pass over the horizon. The launch kicked up a small cloud, and Jeb wondered if he had placed the flag far enough away to survive the blastoff. He pitched the craft over once he was sure he would clear the rim of the Farside Crater.

The rendezvous with Rama and the Pequoni 1 took a couple orbits to set up, thanks to a small miscalculation during the ascent. The station was nearly into the shadow of the MÃƒÂ¼n by the time Jeb completed the docking.

The station visit was a short one. While it was comfortable and welcoming compared to the tiny capsule inside the Tiskelwah 3, Jeb was wanted back home for the celebration parade and other festivities. He spent some time chatting with Rama, sharing observations of the surface of the MÃƒÂ¼n from orbit, helping with a few tasks to finish setting up their club house at the MÃƒÂ¼n, and then set off for home.

The return to Kerbin was not without its problems. Jeb somehow managed to run out of fuel and needed to complete the escape burn from the MÃƒÂ¼n using the ship's meagre monopropellant supplies. That left the craft on an intercept that would either drop it down safely in the ocean west of the impact crater, or drop it over the western continent. Unfortunately it split the difference.

Several tense minutes passed as the capsule of the Tiskelwah 3 slid down the edge of one of the crater's ejecta mountains, its parachute dragging behind it and keeping it from entering into a fatal tumble. Eventually the capsule and the parachute both found purshace on the steep slope, and the mysterious recovery teams were sent out to retrieve Jebediah and his valuable cargo from the MÃƒÂ¼n.

First MÃƒÂ¼n landing and safe return complete.

The second year ended with a handful of tourists contracts, several more contracted satellite launches, and one final MÃƒÂ¼n landing involving Valentina. The Tiskelwah 4 landed near the Maple 7 robotic lander at a site named in honor of Ronton Kerman. These two Tiskelwah missions gave the agency's veteran pilots experience with landing near other objects on the surface of the MÃƒÂ¼n. Skills that will no doubt come in handy once the inevitable surface bases are constructed.

The four tourists launched in the second year, Gralinne, Stelbie, Seansted, and Philnie each helped to spread the word, improving the public image of the space agency and promoting the tourism angle. Many of the tourists now approaching the agency were interested in more adventurous flights, specifically flybys of the MÃƒÂ¼n and orbiting Kerbin. The administration promised to have their orbital tourist program in full operation by the end of the third year, and was exploring possibilities for sending tourists to Kerbin's moons.

The handful of commercial satellite launches helped finance the expansion of the space center, which now featured an industry-leading assembly building and launchpad. The research and design center and the tracking station also saw major upgrades. Kerbalkind was once more reaching for the stars.

Despite the launch issues encountered in the first two quarters, the second year was a very good year.

Kanawha Space Program

Year 2 In Review

Launches and Missions

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 200]Mission ID[/td]

[td=width: 50]KSSTS[/td]

[td=width: 100]Crew[/td]

[td=width: 200]Launch Vehicle[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 2[/td][td]2-001[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Landed on prograde face of Mun.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 6[/td][td]2-002[/td][td]Bill[/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Assembly crew for Piq 1.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Piquemetami 1-A[/td][td]2-003[/td][td][/td][td]Bluejay[/td][td]Core node of first space station.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Piquemetami 1-B[/td][td]2-004[/td][td][/td][td]Bluejay[/td][td]Lab module for station.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 7[/td][td]2-005[/td][td]Grazy[/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 8[/td][td]2-006[/td][td]Bob[/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 16[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Failure: Launch.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 3[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Failure: Launch.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 17[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Failure: Launch.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 4[/td][td]2-007[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Failure: post-landing glitch.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 18[/td][td]2-008[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Issue: Overheat during ascent.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 19[/td][td]2-009[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]First craft to Minmus.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Piquemetami 1-C[/td][td]2-010[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Solar arrays for station.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 5[/td][td]2-011[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 6[/td][td]2-012[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Failure: post-landing glitch.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Dogwood 1[/td][td]2-013[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]Issue: Damaged during ascent.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Dogwood 2[/td][td]2-014[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 9[/td][td]2-015[/td][td]Svetlana[/td][td]Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 10[/td][td]2-016[/td][td]Lindra[/td][td]Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 11[/td][td]2-017[/td][td]Ribzor[/td][td]Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 9 SO3[/td][td][/td][td]Gralinne[/td][td]Wren[/td][td]Tourist.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 20[/td][td]2-018[/td][td][/td][td]Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Tiskelwah 1[/td][td]2-019[/td][td][/td][td]Robin[/td][td]Mun lander systems test.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Oak 1[/td][td]2-020[/td][td][/td][td]Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td]Solar probe, in-transit.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Pequoni 1-A[/td][td]2-021[/td][td][/td][td]Robin[/td][td]Core node for Mun station.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Pequoni 1-B[/td][td]2-022[/td][td][/td][td]Robin[/td][td]Solar arrays for Mun station.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Tiskelwah 2[/td][td]2-023[/td][td]Rama[/td][td]Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td]First kerbal to orbit Mun.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Tiskelwah 3[/td][td]2-024[/td][td]Jebediah[/td][td]Robin[/td][td]First Mun landing. Type-A.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 7[/td][td]2-025[/td][td][/td][td]Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Tiskelwah 4[/td][td]2-026[/td][td]Valentina[/td][td]Robin[/td][td]Type-A Mun landing.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 10 SO3[/td][td][/td][td]Stelbie[/td][td]Wren[/td][td]Tourist.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 11 SO3[/td][td][/td][td]Seansted[/td][td]Wren[/td][td]Tourist.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 12 SO3[/td][td][/td][td]Philnie[/td][td]Wren[/td][td]Tourist.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.0-Rokea-01[/td][td]2-027[/td][td][/td][td]Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.0-Peri-01[/td][td]2-028[/td][td][/td][td]Warbler-Chickadee[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.1-Dink-02[/td][td]2-029[/td][td][/td][td]Sparrow[/td][td][/td][/tr]

[/table]

Failed Missions and Issues of Note

Chirp 16: Launch failure.
Maple 3: Launch failure.
Chirp 17: Launch failure.
Maple 4: Craft landed and glitched out universe.
Chirp 18: Mild overheat on ascent from uncertain source.
Maple 6: Craft landed and glitched out universe.
Dogwood 1: Improper fairing release damaged solar arrays.

Missions In-Progress

Lewekeomi 9, Svetlana Kerman at Piquemetami 1
Lewekeomi 10, Lindra Kerman at Piquemetami 1
Lewekeomi 11, Ribzor Kerman at Piquemetami 1
Tiskelwah 2, Rama Kerman at Pequoni 1
Oak 1, Solar observation probe, in-transit to target orbit.

Crew Roster

Jebediah Kerman, Pilot. 1 Flight.
Valentina Kerman, Pilot. 1 Flight.
Bill Kerman, Engineer. 1 Flight.
Bob Kerman, Scientist. 1 Flight.
Grazy Kerman, Scientist. 1 Flight.
Svetlana Kerman, Pilot, Recruit: Second Five. 1 Flight.
Lindra Kerman, Scientist, Recruit: Second Five. 1 Flight.
Ribzor Kerman, Scientist, Recruit: Second Five. 1 Flight.
Jermin Kerman, Engineer, Recruit: Second Five. Inactive.
Rama Kerman, Engineer, Recruit: Second Five. 1 Flight.

Active Launch Vehicles

[table=class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 200]Launch Vehicle[/td]

[td=width: 100]Lift-Off Payload Mass[/td]

[td=width: 100]Orbital Payload Mass[/td]

[td=width: 100]Attempts[/td]

[td=width: 100]Successes[/td]

[/tr]

[tr][td]LV-01 Wren[/td][td]6t[/td][td]190kg[/td][td]4[/td][td]4[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-02 Sparrow[/td][td]3.8t[/td][td]770kg[/td][td]2[/td][td]2[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-03B Warbler-Chickadee[/td][td][/td][td][/td][td]1[/td][td]1[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-03C/K Warbler-Sparrow[/td][td]7.1t[/td][td]5.9t[/td][td]15[/td][td]12[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-04 Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td]5.6t[/td][td]5.6t[/td][td]7[/td][td]7[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-21 Bluejay[/td][td]25.5t[/td][td]5.4t[/td][td]2[/td][td]2[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-22 Robin[/td][td]47t[/td][td]17.1t[/td][td]5[/td][td]5[/td][/tr]

[/table]

Edited July 7, 2015 by Cydonian Monk

Cydonian Monk · July 7, 2015

Northern Tundra Expedition

Many Years Ago

"Why's it so cold?" It wasn't the first time the obvious had been stated. The survey team had spent the last two days trudging through the snow and ice, and cold was their new normal. When they set out they had trucks and vans, but the last of those had seized up some days back. Now there were only the three of them, pushing ahead while the rest of the team stayed to fix the convoy. "Aren't you guys cold?"

"Your suit has the same heater as ours Bob." The expedition leader was someone new, somebody with a strange name whom Bob had never met. Klaus? No, that's not it. Bob had known his name at the start of the trip, but the cold does funny things to your memory. "We're almost there. Just over the next hill, yes? Remember? Look for a snow covered hill with a tree, just South of the ice."

"That's what you said at the last hill. Every hill has a tree on it and all I see is snow." Also not the first time Bob had snapped back at Franz. Franz? No, that wasn't it either. Following Bob's outburst they continued in silence, a long trail of tamped snow the only evidence of their existence. The going was slow and the snow grew deeper the further they travelled. Wet snow, and loose, not yet packed by gravity and time. No doubt some of the drifts were twice as deep as the three were tall. Silently their nameless leader came to a halt atop the hill. Bob and the other waddled up and stood next to him, equally motionless. Frozen in amazement of the object. The strange object down the hill. Without a word the three started towards their target. Halfway down they stopped again, awestruck by what they were witnessing.

Their leader broke the silence, his voice cold and commanding across the radio. "Ok, let's get started. We'll build camp here. I will go ahead and climb down to see what I can see. Hopefully the hatch will reveal itself before the trucks arrive." He started his way towards the object again as Bob and the kid with that name that started with J set about making camp. Bob shook his head, trying to jog his memory. Why couldn't he remember their names? What happened to all the snacks? Why did it have to be so cold?

Moments later and their suit radios crackled and became static. Bob glanced up at the kid just as he looked up at him. A light caught their eyes and they looked downhill to see their frightened leader looking up at them, tapping nervously on the side of his helmet. A strange green glow was emanating from the object, stretching across the snow in an unkerballike manner. A sudden fear gripped Bob. They both waved their arms and pointed, trying to warn him, trying to get him to run.

In that moment of terror, as the expanding green light enveloped their leader, as it lifted him slowly into the air.... In that single moment Bob's memory was sharp and clear. Wernher. His name is Wernher. And his warning had come too late.

Edited June 1, 2016 by Cydonian Monk

GehringGame · July 7, 2015

Wow, tons of good content here. I love the design of your stations! Especially Pequoni 1. Great read.

Cydonian Monk · July 20, 2015

Kanawha Space Program

Year 3 - Winged Anomalies

Rescue, Inc.

It's a mystery that remains unsolved to this day: How do kerbals get to space? Not the normal kerbals, mind you, but the ones that get stuck there. As far as anyone can tell there is only one space agency on the planet. And while there may be two launch sites, only the one at Cape Kerbal has been active in recent memory. So how do completely random kerbals manage to get themselves trapped in orbit in varying states of distress?

The representatives from MAXO Constructions Toys had no good answers for the administration of the space agency, merely a promise of funds and good will if they would kindly recover their stranded comrade. Urcella Kerman, test pilot employed by MAXO, had somehow managed to get trapped in orbit aboard a floating lab. No docking ports, no method of control, no propulsion. Stuck.

The only option was to send a rescue craft. Somewhat coincidentally Wernher and the rest of the Engineering department had just developed an autonomous vehicle for sending tourists into orbit, very similar to the earlier Lewekeomi crafts. Perhaps they wouldn't mind testing it with the rescue mission? Wernher agreed. And then he snuck off to his office to call Bob.

A few days later and the Lewekeomi 12 was ready to launch. It wasn't the first time they'd launched an autonomous spacecraft, but it was the first time a craft would return to Kerbin with more occupants than it had left with. (More fuel for the conspiracy theorists, too....) The launch and rendezvous went exactly according to plan, and in a few short hours Urcella Kerman was safely returned to the surface of Kerbin. She was so grateful for the rescue that she offered to join the space agency free of charge. Extra pilots are always welcome.

Piquemetami 2 - A New Station for Kerbin.

Advances in construction technology were making it possible to build newer, more elaborate craft. One key new technology was the development of a docking adapter large enough for a kerbal to pass through. No longer would crews be forced to EVA to move between part of the station. Now crews could have free movement inside the habitats without need of a pressure suit. The science team signed off on the new designs at once.

First up was the core node of the new station, Piquemetami 2-A. Larger than the hab module for the Piquemetami 1, the new station would be able to house a maximum of 8 kerbals from day 1. (Though for reasons of comfort, the active crew count would be limited to 4.) The core node featured 3 of the new, larger-sized docking ports, two ports for the older size, and two nodes for the solar array armatures. And, as with the modules for the previous Piquemetami Station, each of the primary modules for Piquemetami 2 were fully autonomous.

The laboratory module followed the core node. The laboratory was effectively identical to the one used at Piquemetami 1, excepting for the larger docking port at one end.

New Piquemetami station "complete." The station was still lacking solar panels at science experiments at this point.

Rescue, Inc., Cont.

Unfortunately for the space agency the high-profile and very public rescue of Urcella Kerman seemed to make it "ok" for other outfits to admit their mistakes. Shortly thereafter it become known that three other kerbals, Daselle, Elley, and Ersen, had been trapped in space in various piece of equipment for an unknown length of time. No explanation was provided for how this equipment made it to orbit, only that kerbals were stranded and needed a pickup. Some wondered if these kerbals had been in orbit since the previous spage age, but such opinions were quickly shouted down as crazy talk.

This time the plan for rescue was a bit different. With the new space station now assembled and ready for crews, there existed a need for a larger craft to transport said crews to the station. At the same time the pilot's union, such as it was, had persuaded the design team into keeping automation out of this new craft, and so it had yet to be tested. A rescue would provide the perfect opportunity to test and certify it.

The Keninsheka 1 was sent up with only its pilot: Valentina. Two of the kerbals due for rescuing were in very similar orbits (prompting speculation they had once been part of the same craft), so it was decided to have the Keninsheka 1 rescue both of them before heading to Piquemetami 2.

Needless to say both of the rescued kerbals were ecstatic to see the Keninsheka 1.

Both rescues went off without a hitch and Valentina delivered Daselle and Elley to the Piquemetami 2 safely. As luck would have it both of the stranded kerbals turned out to be scientists - just what was needed at the station. They weren't exactly prisoners, but they were certainly forced to conduct research for their dinner and their eventual ride home.

The third and final rescue was conducted by Svetlana and Jermin in the Keninsheka 2. Jermin, the program's second engineer, was being sent up to complete the fitting and construction of the new station. His skills would be critical during the upcoming launch of the Solar Arrays. First they needed to pick up Ersen, yet another scientist stranded in space.

Solar Arrays for Piquemetami 2

With the major nodes of the Piquemetami 2 in position it was time to send up the solar arrays. As was discovered when the Piquemetami 1 went operational, the small solar panels were simply not enough to provide full power to the laboratory. An extra source of power was mandatory for them to operate the station.

The arrays for Piquemetami 2 were derived from the design used on the earlier station. The four armatures were launched on two flights, the Piquemetami 2C and Piquemetami 2D, each identical and atop a Tanager-Chickadee. The launches and installations were flawless, and in short order the captives at the station were producing valuable research materials.

The orbital stage of the Piquemetami 2C was retained at the station for future orbital maneuvering, while the orbital stage of the Piquemetami 2D was deorbited. And with that, the second station in orbit of Kerbin (actually) complete. (Until radiators become a thing, that is.)

Tourists by the Twos

Around this time the engineering department began experimenting with the Corvus 2-kerbal spacecraft for use in the Space Tourism Division. Intended for orbital operations and rendezvous, the Corvus was positioned to become the go-to vehicle for the sightseers. Unfortunately KSP v1.0.2's strange aerodynamics left it a bit less than flight-worthy, at least on reentry. Eventually after a number if tests a compromise was achieved, and the Exploration O3 program was opened.

Promising breathtaking views from orbit and even rendezvous with other craft, the Exploration O3 was the new selling point for the Tourism Division. The first two flights, Exploration O3 13 and Exploration O3 14, rendezvoused and docked in orbit, providing their occupants at least a full day in microgravity.

Later in the year, and following a small update to make the Corvus perform better during reentry, the Exploration O3 15 and Exploration O3 16 both launched. Exploration 15 carried a sole occupant to orbit and as such used the older, single-kerbal capsule, while the Exploration 16 was a full Corvus.

The target this time was the now-retired Piquemetami 1 space station. While the tourists were unable to explore the interior of the station (because they can't EVA and are too small to fit through the small pipe-sized docking ports), they at least were able to see the birthplace of orbital science up-close. Both flights spent at least 30 days at the station before they returned to Kerbin. (Later flights typically only spent a day or two at the station.)

Exploring the Nerd's Workshop

Sometime during the construction of Piquemetami 2 a curious contract showed up in the contracts bin.

The development of fixed-wing aircraft was a relatively new thing, and this contract presented the perfect opportunity to test the jet team's newest contraption: The R-1 Research Jet. It also presented a good test of the R-1's range, as this "Nerd's Workshop" was somewhere near the South Pole.

New recruit EdLu Kerman was tasked with the test flight (as Jebediah was busy with something or other), and he set out early one morning aboard the Feather 01. The bulk of the flight passed completely without incident (and with lots and lots of views of the wide open ocean) and in no time the mountain range apparently known as the "Nerd's Workshop" came into view.

EdLu set about the various observations to complete the contract and even took some time to plant a flag and take some photos. (Because nobody is going to believe he actually flew halfway around Kerbin just to visit a couple mountain peaks that are apparently named after some nerds.)

With the survey complete, the mission controllers decided to push the R-1 to its limits and send it to the South Pole. They were close already, so why not? EdLu saw no reason to complain and set off South.

No reason to complain until he flew over the pole and his engines cut out, that is. The engines fired back up again after a short glide. Confused, EdLu decided to bring the craft down at the pole to investigate. Worst-case scenario is the mysterious recovery van gets sent out after him and he'd picked up in a few days.

Worst-case it was. Shortly after coasting into the "anomaly zone", the engines again flamed out reading zero intake air. A quick check of the thermometers and other gauges showed further weirdness: The South Pole was infinitely hot! But only on one side... walk across the seam of the planet and suddenly the outside air was at absolute zero. No wonder there was no intake air: It had either sublimated or become some super-heated form of matter.

EdLu planted yet another flag and then started walking North, fearing his suit might overheat or freeze. The recovery team found him a few hours later, walking safely outside of "The Zone."

Anomalous Readings

To Bob the entire universe was coming unraveled. First the business with the strange kerbals stuck in orbit and now the atmosphere was misbehaving at the South Pole. Could they be connected? As the chief investigator of the Committee on Scientific Advancement it was his duty to find out. He flicked through the report they had presented the Congress of Kerbin so many years ago titled "Report on Observances of Unexplained Metallic Compound," trying to recall if there were any hints for either of these new anomalies in his past research. So far nothing.

There was still a second launch site on Kerbin, that they knew. It was possible the four kerbals they had discovered in orbit were launched from there, but their orbits didn't agree. And Urcella was was less than forth-coming with information as to how she ended up in space, going so far as to claim amnesia. Bob wondered if the other three would say the same once they were rescued. No, this was something different. Something they needed to look at.

And so he called Jeb.

It was to be a simple mission. Officially, Jebediah was to investigate the North Pole for signs of the atmospheric anomaly EdLu has observed at the South Pole. Unofficially Jeb was to stop at two known anomaly locations and look for signs of tampering or other abnormal activity, as instructed by Bob. A second R-1 was prepared for his flight, the Feather 02, and Jeb was away as soon as possible.

Jeb's first stop was in a box canyon Bob and the team referred to as "The Stadium". At some distant point in the planet's history, some enterprising kerbals had excavated a narrow valley in the northern mountains to construct a small city. This refuge was protected from the outside by the rugged terrain and kept its occupants safe for countless generations.

Unfortunately it wasn't safe from the monolith that resided at the bottom of the valley. It was this very monolith scientists had first investigated, probing it and attempting to slice away parts of it for materials research. They were unsuccessful in all their probes until one day their actions brought about the destruction of the city. The walls of the canyon collapsed in on the kerbals and reduced an entire society to dust. And no one was quite sure why. Stranger still the monolith had risen to the top of the rubble and debris.

The best landing site for reaching this dark valley was to the north end of it, where there remained a small bit of flat terrain. "The Pitch" Bob had called it. Nothing Jebediah couldn't land on with ease. He would need to walk quite a distance to reach the monolith site, and over rough and broken terrain at that, but Jeb was never one to complain about a long walk.

It took some time for Jeb to even find the monolith. A recent landslide had buried more of it than Bob had said. Jeb nonetheless placed a flag nearby to mark its existence and made his way back to the plane. [One Easter Egg down.] He also took a somewhat crooked photo to prove he had visited the valley. (Not that Bob or anyone would ever dare question that.)

"Ok Bob, I'm almost back to the plane. Nothing weird going on at the monolith, aside form some extra rocks and grass."

"Extra rocks? Describe them"

"I don't know, rocks, man. Looks like the hillside collapsed on it and buried it. Nothing, uh, un, uh, natural." Jeb paused to look around him. "Bob?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you believe in ghosts?" The line was static and dead for far longer than Jeb liked. "Bob?"

"No. What are you seeing?"

"Oh, just lots of little black blobs crawling across the ground."

"I'm not showing anything on the feed from the cockpit camera. Are you sure? Jeb?"

Jeb was at a full sprint now, racing back to his plane. "If it's quite alright with you I'm getting out of here. Now. There's lots of these black blobs around and I'm not hanging here for one of them to eat my soul."

"You sure they're not just shadows?"

"Oh, they're shades of some sort. And I'm outta here." Jeb didn't even bother to pull the ladder in until he was screaming up the side of the canyon. The black blobs seemed to follow him up the wall, chasing his exit. Even on the higher snows of the gorge they were there, mocking him. Chastising him for being such a coward. And then suddenly they were gone.

--

An hour or so later and the Feather 02 was approaching the second anomaly site. This was the location most suspect to Bob, as it was the site where Wernher gained his other-worldly rocket building powers. Prior to their expedition to the mysterious craft, Wernher had been a simple researcher with an interest in using wool as a fuel for lanterns. And then suddenly he was the world-renowned genius rocket scientist they had all come to know. Almost overnight. If anyone else was launching rockets, it stood to reason they might have learned their trade here.

Jeb brought the aircraft in low and loud. Bob had already warned him of the strange beam which burned from the craft during his first visit, and he wasn't sure how it would react if a large aircraft came barreling at it out of the Southern sky. Which is exactly what Jeb did anyway.

He brought his R-1 in for a landing on the ridge to the West of the craft and waddled down to take a look. No new prints in the snow, no obvious signs that anyone had ever been here. No camp on the hillside as Bob had described, nothing. Just empty snow and a strange grey craft. He left a flag and then decided to take in the scenery.

He was about to head North again when he decided to call Bob to tell him the good news. He wasn't expecting the response he received.

"Where have you been! We've had search and rescue out looking for you for the last three hours."

"What are you on about now? I only just left KSC two hours ago. Anyway I'm here at your little crashed saucer and I don't see any signs of entry. I don't see signs of anything for that matter. Just snow and trees. And it's cold here. Really, really cold."

"Yeah, I know about the cold." Bob paused and the radio went silent. "Look, the last time I heard from you was when you were leaving The Stadium. That was six hours ago." Silence and static again. "Did you go inside the crashed vessel?"

"Inside? How? I don't see any doors and I'm standing on the stupid thing. Look, you tell those S&R teams to head North. If EdLu's little anomaly is true at the North Pole too then I'll need a lift to get back South. Ok?"

"Negative. You are to return to the space center at once. We're not sure what's going on, but unless you've been camping out in the tundra for the last day then we need to talk. And run some tests. And then talk some more."

"No way JosÃƒÂ©. Look, I've flown all this way and I'm not turning back when I'm less than an hour form the Pole. See you in a few." And who could ever tell Jeb no?

--

The flight to the North Pole was endlessly confusing. At first he thought it was the horizon-spanning sea of white ice that was affecting him, but no matter what he tried he couldn't shake the feeling. He _knew_ something now, something he couldn't put his fingers on. Something wasn't right with the world, maybe even the universe. He just wasn't sure what.

Before he could collect his thoughts the compass flipped out and his jet lost power. Gliding was no issue, so he banked around until his intakes were sucking oxygen again. Hmm, EdLu's Southern Anomaly. At the North Pole. Interesting. He brought the jet in to land and coasted up to the very top of the planet, his eyes glued to the intake air. It dropped to zero right at 89Ã‚Âº 59'.

He then turned to watch the temperature gauge. At first the air temperature continued to drop, starting around 241 Ã‚ÂºK and plummeting by nearly 100 degrees before it shot off-scale high. Overheat alarms started to sound in various systems, which he quickly shut down. He brought the plane to a halt right at the North Pole and got out to take some measurements. The skin of the aircraft was boiling hot.

Just as EdLu had noted, one hemisphere had an infinite temperature while the other had absolute zero. He wasn't sure he should spend much time in either, so he made quick note of the values, planted a flag, and then grabbed what he needed from the plane. One last look at the aircraft's chronometer told him all he needed to know: Elapsed mission time: 1 day, 2 hours, 45 minutes. For a three hour flight?

Something most peculiar was going on.

The rather befuddled recovery teams found him hiking south somewhere around the marker for "Val's Ice." Still in his pressure suit, and more than a bit dazed and confused. He had pulled the data from the aircraft before he went South and had been making periodic observations along the way. Hopefully it would be enough to exonerate him and make the trip worthwhile.

After reviewing both Jeb's and EdLu's data on the poles of Kerbin, it was decided that a future research station would be constructed at the North Pole. In addition to (hopefully) answering their questions about the polar atmospheric anomalies, a facility at such a remote location would provide valuable dat on how Kerbals react to being isolated and cut off from society for a long stretch of time. (In other words, while in interplanetary spaceflight.)

Probing the Void

The rest of the year was mostly taken up with sending science probes out into the void. The first Duna and Eve transfer windows were coming up, and Wernher felt his craft were ready to reach their nearest neighbors. They also had reason to launch probes into heliocentric orbit to study both the Sun and the other planets in the system.

First up was the Chirp 21, a probe assembled to complete a flyby of the MÃƒÂ¼n and Minmus and then return to Kerbin orbit as part of the Ultimate Kerbin 3 Challenge. (Again. Apparently the challenge sponsors didn't believe it the first time around.) The probe was left in Kerbin orbit to gather science data afterwards.

Next came the Redbud 1, first probe sent to study Duna. Its launch was not without issue, and the fairing deployment destroyed its primary solar panels, forcing it to resort to using the backup panel. Wernher wasn't even certain the backup panel would be sufficient once the craft was operating as far out as Duna, so he ordered the operations team to shut down one of the probe's batteries in case all other power was exhausted by the time the probe arrived at Duna on day 140 of the following year. Despite issues with the launch the transfer burn was successful and the little probe was on its way.

After the Redbud 1 came the Poplar 1. This probe went nowhere interesting, and became the first in a series of probes sent to Kerbin. From Kerbin. The previous science probes in orbit of Kerbin were also renamed into the Poplar series with this launch. This otherwise unremarkable probe was sent to Piquemetami 2 to serve as its "seed data" for the research lab.

Third among the planetary probes was the Holly 1. This probe was effectively identical to the Redbud 1 (aside from the fairing issue having been fixed), and was destined for Eve, where it would arrive the following year.

The Solar Probes, otherwise known as the Oak Program, had actually started flying the previous year. Oak 1 was launched on the 232nd day of the 2nd year, but only reached its target orbit inside that of Eve on the 44th day of the 3rd year. From here it set about observing the Sun and serving as a potential communications relay for craft on the opposite side of the Sun form Kerbin.

Oak 2, launched on the 330th day of the year, was destined for an orbit inside that of Moho's. (And initially was attempting to reach the "Low Solar Orbit" biome... ha, ha.) This probe became the first to use the MÃƒÂ¼n as a slingshot for leaving Kerbin's orbit (a trick the kerbals picked up by completing the two Kerbin Ultimate 3 challenges...). It would reach its orbit and promptly begin overheating on the 420th day of the 3rd year. Nothing has exploded as of the last time controllers checked with the craft, but the need for some form of space radiator was becoming rapidly obvious.

Oak 3, launched on the 348th day of the 3rd year, was bound for orbit beyond that of Duna. It would not reach its orbit until late in the 4th year. Oak 3 was functionally identical to the Oak 2, just launched on a much smaller launch vehicle. Sometimes it's good to be small.

More Flights, More Wings

Feather 2 wasn't the end of the aircraft research program, nor was it the end of the anomaly hunting/verification. Next in line came the Feather 03, which saw Jebediah again at the controls. This time he was off to visit the monolith atop K2. The flight encountered trouble shortly after takeoff when Jebediah reported a "tear in the universe." Or, as he later described it, a giant rectangular shadow on the ground. No explanation could be provided and nothing other than Jebediah observed this anomaly. (Not even the plane's cameras.)

He continued on to K2 to land atop the mountain so he could mark the monolith (and verify there had been no tampering). The engineering team had set a few waypoints for him to visit on the way to his true destination, which he had to fly through in order for his flight to count as "completed." Except several of the points were well above the little R-1's operating ceiling. After several attempts (and several more spotings of the mysterious black shadows), Jebediah admitted defeat and went on to his final landing atop K2.

As should have been apparent from Jeb's hallucinations, landing on K2 was not going to be an easy thing. On account of it being a rather steep mountain, there is a noted lack of flat spaces and runways atop it. Still, Jeb circled for a while and located a spot he felt would work nicely. It didn't. At the last second the aircraft bounced the wrong way, stalled, and Jeb was forced to hit the emergency eject. He crawled out of the wreckage, grabbed a flag, and then headed off for his destination. [Three anomalies accounted for.]

When the recovery teams found him this time, he was babbling and mumbling about dark shadows and his aircraft being eaten by ghosts. With the previous incident and now this, the flight surgeon had no choice but to ground him indefinitely. They would have to get to the bottom of these hallucinations before he could be allowed to fly again.

With Jeb grounded the door was opened to other pilots in the test program. The R-X-901 of the Feather 4, designed as a high-altitude aircraft to reach the last of those pesky contract points, blasted off the runway with Svetlana at the controls. Its rocket engine was still not sufficient for reaching the higher altitudes needed (and ultimately the craft entered into a near-fatal flat spin), so the design was scrapped and the aircraft left parked outside of the hanger.

The R-X-902 for the Feather 5 was a hybrid between rocket-powered craft and jet. Urcella was given the turn in the pilot's seat this time, and this time the craft was able to reach one of the high-altitude survey points. (But only with some considerable trouble.) Urcella was not pleased.

No, if they were to reach the highest altitudes, they would need something completely new. Some in the R&D division suggested a new type of Jet Engine, but Wernher was convinced they would reach higher altitudes using the hybrid design. And safely at that.

The R-X-903 was the result. Larger than any aircraft yet constructed, the R-X-903 featured two standard jet engines and a single rocket engine at its core. There were two survey points left in the flight test contract, and at best the R-X-903 would require two flights to reach them. Svetlana drew the straw for the first flight in the Feather 6.

The flight was a complete success, and reached an altitude well in excess of 22km.

Urcella was chosen to fly the R-X-903 in its second flight to finish out the contract. Feather 7 proved to be as much of a success the Feather 6, though Urcella was not able to exceed 22km in altitude.

Failure on the Tiskelwah 5

The station building fever had struck, and suddenly everyone wanted a station here or a base there. First on the list was a new station for the MÃƒÂ¼n; Pequoni 2. The administration decided that this time the setup crew for the new station would already be in orbit of the MÃƒÂ¼n when the various station modules arrived. There had been too many mistakes and communication blackout when assembling the few pieces of Pequoni 1.

And so Svetlana, Mind and Roster Kerman were selected for the Tiskelwah 5. The Tiskelwah 5 used a revised version of the Keninsheka crew ferry, featuring the addition of fuel and crew supplies needed to make a trip to the orbit of the MÃƒÂ¼n and back. The launch and Trans-Munar injection burn went exactly according to plan, and everything was looking perfect as they set up for their Munar capture burn.

That was when a (still unresolved) design flaw became apparent. If the solar panels are deployed at the time when the Keninsheka orbital module is detached from the final boost stage, the fairings from the lower stage will shear off the panels. Mind, Roster and Svetlana were more than a bit shocked when the power intake of the craft dropped to zero during staging on the far side of the MÃƒÂ¼n. After a few seconds of consideration the abort order was given.

They would not be staying at the MÃƒÂ¼n for very long. There was some concern that the craft would run out of electricity on its way back to Kerbin, so Mind left the crew cabin to take a look at the panels. Nothing to be done - destroyed is destroyed.

Yet the worry wasn't over. A gross miscalculation on the Kerbin reentry corridor meant the craft skipped off of Kerbin's atmosphere on its first pass. This was doubly concerning since the spacecraft had jettisoned its service module at the first atmospheric interface. The second pass was also insufficient to capture. The third pass worked, but obviously placed the return capsule far off from its intended recovery point. (No photos as this all took place at night.) The mission was a nearly total disaster, and major changes would be needed to prevent such issues in the future.

In the end the three kerbals of the Tiskelwah 5 returned safely to the space center, but the immediate plans of building a new station in orbit of the MÃƒÂ¼n were dashed. (Also, the three kerbals were somehow awarded the "Landing on the MÃƒÂ¼n" credit by the game, despite having not even entered the MÃƒÂ¼n's orbit. Thus the 5 XP they gained for their failure.) And they had some new issues to resolve. And the program was running thin on funds. The fourth year would be a do or die year in many respects.

Kanawha Space Program

Year 3 In Review

Launches and Missions

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 200]Mission ID[/td]

[td=width: 50]KSSTS[/td]

[td=width: 100]Crew[/td]

[td=width: 200]Launch Vehicle[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr][td]3.0-MPEG-01[/td] [td]3-001[/td] [td][/td] [td]Sparrow[/td][td]Contracted satellite launch.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.0-RD-02[/td] [td]3-002[/td] [td][/td] [td]Sparrow[/td][td]Research satellite to Kerbin.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.2-RD-03[/td] [td]3-003[/td] [td][/td] [td]Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td]Research satellite to Minmus.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]3.1-MPEG-02[/td] [td]3-004[/td] [td][/td] [td]Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td]Mapping satellite to MÃƒÂ¼n.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 12[/td] [td]3-006[/td] [td]Down: Urcella[/td] [td]Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td]Mission to rescue Urcella.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 13[/td] [td]3-007[/td] [td]Jermin, Mind[/td] [td]Warbler-Chickadee[/td][td]Systems test for tourist spacecraft. Issue: Reentry.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 14[/td] [td]3-008[/td] [td]Edlu, Eriemma[/td] [td]Warbler-Chickadee[/td][td]Systems test for tourist spacecraft. Issue: Reentry.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 15[/td] [td]3-009[/td] [td]Roster, Hereny[/td] [td]Warbler-Chickadee[/td][td]Systems test for tourist spacecraft. Issue: Reentry.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Exploration 13 O3[/td] [td]3-010[/td] [td]Enwise, Kaigh[/td] [td]Warbler-Chickadee[/td][td]Tourist orbital.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Exploration 14 O3[/td] [td]3-011[/td] [td]Roselyn, Melely[/td][td]Warbler-Chickadee[/td][td]Tourist orbital.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 16[/td] [td]3-012[/td] [td]Svetlana[/td] [td]Finch[/td][td]Systems test of tourist orbital.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 21[/td] [td]3-013[/td] [td][/td] [td]Sparrow[/td][td]Another Ultimate Kerbin 3 Challenge.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Piquemetami 2-A[/td] [td]3-014[/td] [td][/td] [td]Robin[/td][td]New Kerbin orbital station.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 01[/td] [td][/td] [td]Edlu[/td] [td]R-01[/td][td]Research flight to Nerd's Workshop and south pole.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 02[/td] [td][/td] [td]Jebediah[/td] [td]R-01[/td][td]Secret flight to North Pole.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Piquemetami 2-B[/td] [td]3-015[/td] [td][/td] [td]Bluejay[/td][td]Laboratory module for station.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Keninsheka 1[/td] [td]3-019[/td] [td]Valentina; Down: Daselle, Elly[/td][td]Robin[/td][td]Mission to rescue Daselle and Elly.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Keninsheka 2[/td] [td]3-020[/td] [td]Svetlana, Jermin; Down: Ersen[/td][td]Robin[/td][td]Mission to rescue Ersen.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Piquemetami 2-C[/td] [td]3-021[/td] [td][/td] [td]Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td]Solar arrays for Piq 2.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Piquemetami 2-D[/td] [td]3-022[/td] [td][/td] [td]Tanager-Chickadee[/td][td]Solar arrays for Piq 2.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Lewekeomi 17[/td] [td]3-023[/td] [td]Urcella, Lindra[/td][td]Finch[/td][td]Systems test of tourist orbital.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Redbud 1[/td] [td]3-024[/td] [td][/td] [td]Sparrow[/td][td]Probe to Duna. Issue: Solar panels destroyed on launch.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Poplar 1[/td] [td]3-025[/td] [td][/td] [td]Warbler-Wren[/td][td]Science package for new station.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Keninsheka 3[/td] [td]3-026[/td] [td]Edlu, Ribzor, Eriemma[/td][td]Robin[/td][td]Science crew for Piq 2.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Oak 2[/td] [td]3-027[/td] [td][/td] [td]Robin[/td][td]Solar science satellite, below Moho orbit. Issue; Overheating.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Oak 3[/td] [td]3-028[/td] [td][/td] [td]Finch[/td][td]Solar science satellite, above Duna orbit.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 03[/td] [td][/td] [td]Jebediah[/td] [td]R-01[/td][td]Secret test flight.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 04[/td] [td][/td] [td]Svetlana[/td] [td]R-X-901[/td][td]High-altitude test flight.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 05[/td] [td][/td] [td]Urcella[/td] [td]R-X-902[/td][td]High-altitude test flight.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Holly 1[/td] [td]3-029[/td] [td][/td] [td]Sparrow[/td][td]Probe for Eve.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 06[/td] [td][/td] [td]Svetlana[/td] [td]R-X-903[/td][td]High-altitude test flight.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 07[/td] [td][/td] [td]Urcella[/td] [td]R-X-903[/td][td]High-altitude test flight.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Exploration 15 O3[/td] [td]3-030[/td] [td]Lodwell[/td] [td]Finch[/td][td]Tourist orbital, rendezvous with Piq 1.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Exploration 16 O3[/td] [td]3-031[/td] [td]Tanald, Gerden[/td] [td]Finch[/td][td]Tourist orbital, rendezvous with Piq 1.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Tiskelwah 5[/td] [td]3-032[/td] [td]Svetlana, Mind, Roster[/td][td]Robin[/td][td]Setup crew for new MÃƒÂ¼n station. Solar panels destroyed during MÃƒÂ¼nar capture, by-passed MÃƒÂ¼n and returned to Kerbin.[/td][/tr]

[/table]

Failed Missions and Issues of Note

Lewekeomi 13: Craft aerodynamically unstable on reentry.
Lewekeomi 14: Craft aerodynamically unstable on reentry.
Lewekeomi 15: Craft aerodynamically unstable on reentry.
Redbud 1: Solar panels destroyed by fairings.
Tiskelwah 5: Solar panels destroyed during fairing jettison stage of MÃƒÂ¼nar capture burn, crew aborted burn and returned to Kerbin. Had further issues reentering Kerbin atmosphere, requiring three aerocapture passes.

Missions In-Progress

RedOak 1: Probe to Duna
Holly 1: Probe to Eve
Oak 3: Probe to Solar Orbit beyond Duna

Crew Roster

Jebediah Kerman, Pilot. 9 Flights.
Valentina Kerman, Pilot. 6 Flights.
Bill Kerman, Engineer. 3 Flights.
Bob Kerman, Scientist. 3 Flights.
Grazy Kerman, Scientist. 3 Flights.
Svetlana Kerman, Pilot. 6 Flights.
Lindra Kerman, Scientist. 2 Flight.
Ribzor Kerman, Scientist. 2 Flights.
Jermin Kerman, Engineer. 2 Flights.
Rama Kerman, Engineer. 1 Flight.
Urcella Kerman, Pilot. Rescue. 3 Flights.
Mind Kerman, Engineer. Recruit. 2 Flights.
Edlu Kerman, Pilot. Recruit. 3 Flights.
Eriemma Kerman, Engineer. Recruit. 2 Flights.
Roster Kerman, Scientist. Recruit. 2 Flights.
Hereny Kerman, Scientist. Recruit. 1 Flight.
Daselle Kerman, Scientist. Rescue. 1 Flight.
Elley Kerman, Scientist. Rescue. 1 Flight.
Ersen Kerman, Scientist. Rescue. 1 Flight.

Active Launch Vehicles

[table=class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 200]Launch Vehicle[/td]

[td=width: 100]Lift-Off Payload Mass[/td]

[td=width: 100]Orbital Payload Mass[/td]

[td=width: 100]Attempts[/td]

[td=width: 100]Successes[/td]

[/tr]

[tr][td]LV-02 Sparrow[/td] [td]3.8t[/td][td]770kg[/td] [td]5[/td][td]5[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-03B Warbler-Chickadee[/td] [td][/td][td][/td] [td]5[/td][td]5[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-03D Warbler-Wren[/td] [td][/td][td][/td] [td]1[/td][td]1[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-04 Tanager-Chickadee[/td] [td]5.6t[/td][td]5.6t[/td] [td]5[/td][td]5[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-05 Finch[/td] [td][/td][td][/td] [td]5[/td][td]5[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-21 Bluejay[/td] [td]25.5t[/td][td]5.4t[/td] [td]1[/td][td]1[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-22 Robin[/td] [td]47t[/td][td]17.1t[/td] [td]6[/td][td]6[/td][/tr]

[/table]

Angelo Kerman · July 20, 2015

Looking forward to reading more about your adventures.

GehringGame · July 20, 2015

Awesome updates. I enjoyed your plane missions. I often forget that there is cool stuff to see right at home on Kerbin. Love the design of the Piquemetami 2!

Cydonian Monk · July 20, 2015

Awesome updates. I enjoyed your plane missions. I often forget that there is cool stuff to see right at home on Kerbin. Love the design of the Piquemetami 2!

Thanks, as always. Kerbin is by far one of the more interesting places and one often overlooked. Even the areas within driving distance of KSC have some interesting terrain, and most everything else is a short flight away.

Looking forward to reading more about your adventures.

Stay tuned. Year 4 is a bit chaotic and more than a bit busy so it might get split into a couple updates. It was also a bit of a slog in some respects. Year 5 is going much better. (Though I still haven't fully unlocked the tech tree, and probably won't have until Year 6 or maybe 7.)

Seshins · July 28, 2015

Love your work. Looking forward to the next

update!

Cydonian Monk · July 30, 2015

Love your work. Looking forward to the next update!

Thanks!

I was originally thinking I might have the first half of Year 4 up tonight, but my home internet has been acting up making it tough to work on the images (which I sync from my Windows PC via Dropbox), let alone upload them. So it's looking like sometime this weekend.

Edit: 'net came back shortly after I posted that, still haven't started image editing though. (I've at least got part 1 mostly typed up.) Unless Comcast goes south again today, then maybe tonight? At some point we'll get all this flood damage from May fixed and then we'll have a hurricane.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Cydonian Monk

Cydonian Monk · August 1, 2015

Note: Going forward I'm going to make smaller yet more frequent and more focused posts. Year 4 will be split into at least three parts, this first part covering the program's first landings on Minmus. After Year 4 the focus will shift from farming science points to one of exploration and infrastructure building, so there will be some extremely busy years and some years in which nothing happens. This slight format tweak should make posts easier to follow and easier for me to write up.

Kanawha Space Program

Year 4 Update 1 - The Minmus Landing

Proof of Ore

It was hypothesized by Wernher and the science team that considerable insight into the very nature of existence could be gained by visiting Minmus. Discussion was also taking place aa to what to do with the mineral resources of the small mint green world. The initial orbital scans had shown trace amounts of refine-able ore, so proofing missions were needed to confirm. Thus were born Dogwoods 3 and 4.

Officially sanctioned by the Mineral Reclamation Division of the Space Agency (also known as Eagle Corp), the two Dogwood landers were in reality operated by the Science Division. Most of the hardware on the landers was technically science equipment, even the ore proofers. The Mineral Division would have plenty of chances to fly their flag in the future.

Launched atop the venerable Tanager launch vehicle, the two tiny new Dogwood probes had zero issues in their transit to Minmus. Dogwood 3 landed in the high Midlands above the Great Flats while Dogwood 4 landed in the Lesser Flats. Both helped refine the science team's understanding of the ore situation on Minmus. It also made it clear that returning surface samples from Minmus was now a top priority.

Scratching at Roving

While the Minmus landers were under construction, the Research and Development crews were busy testing new toys for future exploration: Rovers. Officially named the Scratch project, these rovers would see eventual use on Minmus and the MÃƒÂ¼n. Several different designs were under consideration, along with a few methods for deploying the rovers to their targets. Yet first they would need to prove themselves on Kerbin.

Scratch 01 was assigned to Jebediah, who was temporarily grounded on account of the mysterious black spots he was describing. (And for crashing planes repeatedly.) So it seemed a harmless thing to allow his to test the XR-01-A large rover, and to have him visit the monolith at Kerbal Space Center. Following this brief visit (and inspection of the monolith) he drove out to the flag at Grazy's Vista. Having finished his tests he then returned to the hanger, parking the to rover without damage. First roving complete.

Next came tests of a smaller rover design, the XR-02. Intended to be deployed inside a 2.5m service bay, the XR-02 was small by necessity. Initial tests with the XR-02 during Scratch 02 showed serious clipping issues, which made extraction from the service bay difficult. The liberal application of elbow grease and jetpack propellent allowed Mind and Jermin to eventually free the rover, though they soon discovered a new defect: front heaviness. It would seem kerbals have some serious mass.

A few small revisions were made, and Bill and Rama had complete success with the Scratch 03. Complete success aside from a slight case of continued front heaviness. It was decided following these tests to disable the motors and brakes on the front wheels. (A decision which would prove problematic in the future.) Plans were made to prepare a rover for both the MÃƒÂ¼n and Minmus.

Tokebeloke 1 - The Minmus Landing

Plans were still being drawn up for a direct-ascent Type-B mission to the MÃƒÂ¼n, the trouble being the beast needed to place such a large craft into low-Kerbin orbit. On the other hand the hardware for three-kerbal spacecraft that would be used for the landing was mostly ready. After reviewing the numbers for Minmus, it was decided to press ahead with the Tokebeloke Program and use the direct ascent spacecraft launched atop a smaller rocket: the Robin. The Minmus landings would also help them prove once and for all whether it was actually made out of mint ice cream. (Wernher and Linus say yes, Gene and Bob say no. Bill was drawing up a list of best toppings for if it turned out to be yes, but is hungry either way. Jeb says it must be, why else go? Val thinks the men are all idiots. Grazy just shook her head and went back to the science lab.)

While the Tokebeloke payload was pushing the Robin launch vehicle to its limits, it was still a relatively lightweight craft. The entire package, launcher, lander and return capsule included, was a mere 147 tonnes. Valentina, Bill and Bob were selected for the first flight, conveniently excluding the most vocal members of the "pro ice cream" camp. They had been hoping for the next MÃƒÂ¼n landing, but none could say no to the opportunity of being the first kerbals on Minmus. (Jebediah was still grounded pending final review of his psychiatric evaluation, and at the time of the launch was recovering from Feather 10. Though to the end he blamed the anti ice cream administration for excluding him.)

The launch was a shining example of success. The fiddly bits around the legs were enclosed in a fairing which was jettisoned along with the launch escape cap shortly after the first stage was dropped. The second stage carried them to orbit where it was left as a monument for future generations to worry about. The third stage served as both the transfer stage and the descent stage, eventually crashing into the soft surface of Minmus. Finally, the landing was conducted by the return vehicle's main engine.

The crew spent several orbits with their science experiments and observing the surface before they set up the landing. The observations, which as always had to be conducted while on EVA, were shared among the three crew members. On the other hand the science experiments were positioned along the ladder from the capsule, well within reach of a kerbal on EVA. Unfortunately for Bob this meant quite a bit of EVA time.

The site selected for this first historic Minmus landing was along the shores of the Lesser Flats. "The Minmus Landing" was the winner of a contest amongst schoolchildren for naming the site. Or at least it was once the administration removed "Ice Cream Flats", "Minty Smooth", and "Moldy Teddy Bear" from the votes. The flag planting ceremony was televised and watched by nearly every kerbal alive.

The site's proximity to the nearby slopes and midlands allowed the mission's science officer to collect samples and reports from three different biomes. The first biome wasn't as close as Bob would've liked - though he later admitted the jetpacking was fun. Val decided to exercise her option as mission commander and took the second biome run. (She missed the landing on her return.) Not wanting to miss out on the fun Bill decided to take a quick trip to the top of a nearby plateau, only to discover it was the same midlands biome Bob had visited on his first flight. Nice views though.

The team spent several hours on the surface, long enough for Bill to taste the surface samples (they were decidedly NOT ice cream of any flavour) and for all to take a short nap. The long duration stay also allowed them to observe a full solar cycle, trying to determine if the flats became somewhat less solid during the day. (Answer: also no.) Still no explanation for why the little green ball appeared to be something which should melt and yet was completely solid.

With their science tasks and taste testing complete, Val and the crew packed up the ship and set off towards Kerbin. ETA: 7 days.

This was where the first and only problem with the mission occurred. A miscalculation on the reentry trajectory meant their capsule skipped off the atmosphere. (39km is insufficient for a return from Minmus.) And with the service module having already been jettisoned the three kerbals were stuck in orbit with only the supplies they had on hand and no way to control where they might land on the second pass.

Luck was with them, and the second interface with Kerbin's atmosphere was enough to bring them down safely in the ocean. There were a few nervous minutes as the entirety of the ablator on the heatshield was stripped away, but no burn-throughs occurred. The crew of three landed safely 17 days after their launch, though they were quite some distance from the recovery teams.

Val and Bob graduated to Level 2 following the flight (Bill had yet to land on the MÃƒÂ¼n and failed to plant a flag on Minmus), and the entire mission returned 1279 science points. Overall a huge success. A second visit to the little green ball of not ice cream was already being planned.

Edited August 1, 2015 by Cydonian Monk

Cydonian Monk · August 5, 2015

Kanawha Space Program

Year 4 Update 2 - Slight Flight Anomalies

Ok, so I was wrong. Year 4 will have 4 updates. Some more flying this time, a bit of rovering, and another trip to Minmus. Still in KSP v1.0.2 with these particular missions, which might explain the extreme range of the little R-1 jet. Enjoy!

Feather 08 - Flying Mr. Bobak

Another peculiar survey contract appeared in the inbox, this one to fly to "Bobak's Plain" and gather some surface samples. Also to fly above "Kerbonaut's Resignation" and take some pictures from the cockpit. (Gene couldn't recall any kerbonaut ever resigning, and was very curious as to the name.)

A third stop on the trip included the ancient ruins at Kiza, which were situated along the flight path for the return trip (not really, but it made a good excuse). So the old R-1 test jet was fueled up, stocked with a day's supply of snacks and drinks, and Svetlana set out on Feather 08 to inspect TweetsOutLoud's Plain. In a plane. (Somewhere I have heard this before....)

As it turns out, Bobak's Plain was actually a ridge splitting two lakes in the deep southern hemisphere. The Forgotten Islands, oft referred to as Kerbin's own New Zealand, are one of the least explored places on the planet on account of their remote location and general lack of interesting things. (What's there to see? Sheep? Grass? Lakes?) On account of the distance and direction, nearly the entire flight to the Forgotten Islands was over open water. More than long enough for Svetlana to listen to "I'm on a Plain" a few times.

The site itself was generally unremarkable. Kerbonaut's Resignation turned out to be a small harbor at the far western end of the Forgotten Islands, while Bobak's Plain was just a short distance inland between East Bobak Lake and West Bobak Lake, jutting up a bit like a mohawk. Svetlana performed the survey of Resignation Harbor before bringing the R-1 in for a soft landing near the plain. (I can't complain.) She finished the survey work, left a flag, and spent some time relaxing in the serene and peaceful countryside near the Bobak Lakes before heading back North.

The next stop was a visit to the Pyramids of Kiza, one of the few (only) anyiquity sites found on Kerbin. There was some debate as to the wisdom of having a jet land near such an important site, but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of a rocket launching and no one could remember what they decided. (I know it's wrong, but what should I do?) This was mostly a sight-seeing trip, and only scheduled so a flag could be left near the statue of Tut-un-Ker-Man.

Following the flag planting Svetlana flew back to KSC. One contract complete, one more easter egg scratched off the list.

Feather 09 - Jeb's Return to Flight

It was the opinion of the flight surgeon and the other medical staff employed by the agency that Jebediah was fit to return to flight. He might still be a bit on the insane side, but then again so were the rest of the test pilots. To prepare him for his next planned spaceflight (Tokebeloke 2), and to allow him to refamiliarize himself with flight procedures, Gene assigned him to the Feather 09 flight to the old space center. The R-1 was cleaned out, fueled up, a new atmospheric scanner was strapped to it and Jeb was on his way West.

The flight wasn't just to be an out and back. Instead the science team, and Bob specifically, was having Jeb complete a few tasks along the way. For starters, he was to stop at every new biome he crossed and test the new atmosphere fluid gizmo to take samples. Simple enough task. Jeb even managed to find a Mountains biome he could land in without destroying the plane.

The old launch site at Sky's Reach, oft referred to as KSC2, had been abandoned for several generations now. Originally the lab of the reclusive Pedro Paulet Kerman, the site was later converted to be one of the earliest space launch platforms on the planet. (Rumors that it once been situated at the site of the present-day KSC were shouted down as madness.) A simple site with little more than a vertical assembly building, a launch pad and tower and a tracking station, it also was home to one of the better known monoliths on Kerbin. A monolith which Bob needed to ensure was undisturbed.

Jeb approached the site from the east, circling around it once to get his bearings. The tracking station was separated from the launch facility by a small ridge, nothing he couldn't fly over easily enough. Jeb came in low and slow and coasted around the launch facility before he rolled over to the monolith. Undisturbed, same as the others had been.

Jeb planted a flag to mark the spot and then set up camp. The trip had taken long enough that it was now dark at Cape Kerbal, and Jeb didn't see the sense in flying through the K2 mountain range at night in a jet that couldn't fly above 7km. So he spent the night until the glittering stars, much brighter out here in the cool mountain air, far from the lights of the cities. (Those oh so vast cities of Kerbin....) He blasted off and headed back East at first light.

In all a very successful flight. Aside from the copious amounts of science gathered from the new atmospheric whizbang thing, Jeb was able to scratch two more easter eggs from the list.

Feather 10 - Jeb's Folly

There remained only one more known Monolith on Kerbin, and it wasn't in the friendliest of places. Though not quite as inaccessible as the one on the western slope of K2, the monolith on the continent to the SouthEast of KSC was still high up in the mountains. Up at the very top of the envelope for the R-1. And there was only one pilot who could be expected to make the landing.

And so the R-1 was refueled, the atmospheric liquid gizmo was removed to reduce mass, Jeb ate a few snacks and then he was off. Officially this was a mission to inspect the badlands of Kerbin. Unofficially.... This monolith was the last possible explanation Bob had for the anomalous appearances of kerbals in orbit. (Which even he later admitted was a bit of a stretch.)

Another dull flight across the open ocean. Thankfully this one was a bit shorter to cross, and the mountain range of interest soon appeared on the horizon.

Jeb circled around the target site for a few minutes before he spotted the best approach. A nice, almost flat bit there near the top of the highest peak. One last pass showed some large boulders and gave the small jet a bit of turbulence, but that was nothing new. Still, the landing spot wasn't much, and the plane would be fighting against updrafts and the thin air. Jeb still thought it would be enough to drop his plane on to safely.

It wasn't.

So much for the third R-1. The crash had knocked out the radio and most of the other aircraft systems. (Jeb had discovered that tends to happen when the bulk of the aircraft is destroyed.) So he packed up what he needed from the cockpit, took as much of a supply of snacks as he could carry, grabbed a flag and set off to find this monolith.

Jeb was found seven days later relaxing by a small lake some distance down the Eastern slope of the mountain. He was still a bit bruised from the crash, and though he wouldn't admit it more than a bit dehydrated, but he was otherwise ok. He thanked the rescue team profusely, and would eventually give them a signed print of one of the many photos he had taken while atop the mountain. A peak which is still to this day known as Jeb's Folly.

Dogwood 5 - Driving and Deriving

The Dogwood 5 was the first rovers from the Scratch program to go into full production. Having been miniaturized and tested as well ad they could, Wernher and the engineering team decided it was time for field trials. And what better place than on a low-gravity body where a wipeout or rover faceplant was less likely to be fatal?

As with nearly everything these days, the Dogwood 5 had an ulterior motive. Intended to be used by the Tokebeloke 2 crew, the two crew members would be off driving while the third, ostensibly either Jeb or Bob, would walk to a nearby anomaly site to inspect it. The ore scanners had identified a dense object resting on the surface that greatly resembled the monoliths Jeb had been flagging on Kerbin. Closer inspection was necessary.

The Dogwood 5 itself was an easy delivery. Launched atop a Bluejay booster, the Dogwood 5 was a two part ship: Traditional lander with a service bay, and a rover hidden inside. The transfer out to Minmus was absolutely perfect. With the landing site known, the flight plan and orbital insertion were planed out before time. (As opposed to the "let's wing it" method the agency usually employed.)

There were a few nervous moments immediately following touchdown when crews were uncertain whether or not the rover could make it out of the service bay. And there were more than a few screams when the rover shot out of the bay like a greased pig at the slaughterhouse. Squeeeeaaaaa! they could here it scream, all the way from Kerbin. (Or maybe that was Gene making the horrid noise.) Wernher had his hands over his eyes. Linus had his over his ears. Mortimer had his over his mouth, covering the huge smile. (He was the only one in the office pool that bet the rover would explode.)

Eventually it came to a rest, upright, and in once piece. Everyone in mission control breathed a huge sigh of relief, except Mortimer. Mortimer instead sighed in resignation and went back to his ledgers. Curses, foiled again.

All was in place for the Tokebeloke 2!

Tokebeloke 2 - It's Jeb's Fault

The Tokebeloke 2 was a special launch for Jebediah as it represented his official return to spaceflight. The accident review board that convened following the crash of the Feather 10 found it to be an unavoidable circumstance brought about by a sudden updraft while Jeb was on final approach to the mountain top. As a bonus Jeb had yet to mention spotting any black blobs or other mysterious hallucinations, so the flight surgeon was quick to clear him for the trip to Minmus. (And the extra $20 Bob had slipped the surgeon had nothing at all to do with his decision.)

The crew for this launch included Jebediah Kerman as pilot, Rama Kerman as mission commander and Engineer, and Grazy Kerman as the tag-along Scientist. Launched atop the Robin booster just like the Tokebeloke 1, the T-2 was enjoying a picture perfect ascent...

... until suddenly it wasn't. A fault developed at some point following the first stage burnout and jettisoning, and before any of the crew were aware of what was going on the launch escape system had wrenched them away from the rapidly disintegrating spacecraft. The crew was recovered from the waters a few kilometers out from the abandoned island runway, shaken but uninjured.

Jebediah Kerman was now 0 for his last 2 flights. vicious rumours were forming about how he was a bad luck charm, and that any mission he was on was doomed to failure. Crews were starting to openly question whether they wanted to fly with the dangerous and cursed kerbal.

Tokebeloke 3 - It's Still Jeb's Fault

So naturally Jeb was assigned to the Tokebeloke 3, along with Rama and Grazy. Gene and the administration were adamant - there was no such thing as "cursed" kerbals, at least provided the Tokebeloke 3 safely reached orbit. Which it did. Orbit of Kerbin. Orbit of Minmus. All exactly according to plan.

The landing site for the Tokebeloke 3 was of course the same as the landing site for the Dogwood 5 and its rover. Jeb pulled the lander up on his targeting computer and worked up the numbers for the descent burn, making sure to run them by Rama first. This was the moment of truth for Jeb - could he still land a craft? Or would the second trip to the little green mystery end in a fiery explosion? Grazy was oblivious to the danger, but Rama would later admit to being as scared as she had ever been. So scared she didn't notice when Jeb turned off the engines, pushed through the two of them sitting in the upper seats, and made his way gleefully out of the hatch.

To Grazy it was still too good to be true. A simple scientist? Who used to be a tourist? On another world? Euphoria!

There was a short ceremony after landing, but no official flag planting (for some reason no one at Mission Control could adequately explain). Unbeknownst to the crew, the general public had decided the mission was cursed. No one wanted to watch the most veteran of kerbonauts die in a horrible accident seven days away from home, so everyone opted to watch the landing highlights once the mission was over.

Never one to follow orders, Jeb had managed to sneak an extra flag along for the trip to plant at the landing site. So once the cameras were off and the real mission was set to begin, the three kerbonauts gathered to plant their secret flag and conduct their secret little landing ceremony. All was right with the universe.

Meanwhile the official flag and landing plaque was to be placed near the Dogwood 5 lander. It was the opinion of the mission planners that future generations would be more likely to find the lander than they would a lone flag atop a hill of ice cream, and they wanted the plaque to be seen by tourists hundreds of years from now. So, a Jeb jetted off to the rover, he carried with him he had the mission flag and landing plaque, ready to place it near the Dogwood 5 lander.

He had something else in mind.

One more easter egg down. Jeb spent the better part of half an hour inspecting the strange monolith, but as far as he could tell there was no difference between it and the nes on Kerbin. He set up a few cameras around the site for Bob's team and made his way back to the rover. Mission complete.

Rama and Grazy had finished the science tasks by the time he was back at the lander, and they were ready to take the small rover out for a test drive. Mission planners had decided to limit the range for this drive to 5 kilometers from the landing site, in case Jeb would need to fly out in the Tokebeloke 3 to pick them up.

Rama gleefully ignored the plan. Driving around Minmus was just too much fun!

And the little trip was over faster than anyone would have liked. Much like the previous crew, Rama, Jeb and Grazy spent the night on the surface of Minmus. Grazy made sure to take another surface sample at night, just to compare to the sample from when they had landed.

Liftoff took place just as the first rays of light from Kerbol glistened over the dark green ridges of Minmus. Jeb nudged the throttle up slowly, being careful to not damage the rover or knock over their secret flag. So far everything had gone exactly according to... no, not to plan. In fact Jeb and Rama had chucked the mission checklist out once they were in Kerbin orbit. So far everything had gone exactly according to their dreams, which is all a kerbal could ask for.

Eight days later and they were back at Kerbin. With the Tokebeloke 1 having failed to aerocapture on its first attempt, Jeb brought them in at 32km, hopefully targeting a landing at Kerbal Space Center. As it so happens, a periapsis of 32km is sufficient to capture at Kerbin, but not to bring the craft down where Jeb wanted. They skipped once, glided back up to 60km, and then came down again on the Southern Continent. Without their service module their landing was now up to fate.

And then something exploded.

Jeb tried desperately to divine their location, but the flight computer had gone dark when the mystery component exploded. He watched the terrain through the small periscope next to his seat, hoping to see a landmark. A tree. A forest. A lake. Anything that looked familiar, but all he could see was smoke and hot plasma. And then suddenly he started laughing like a madkerb. "Folly!" he screamed. "Folly! A ha ha ha ha!!" Rama and Grazy, both convinced Jeb had finally cracked, struggled forward in their cushions to look out their windows.

They were near a mountain.

A mountain with a flag atop it.

A mountain Jeb was rather familiar with.

The landing was rough, and the capsule was dragged slowly down the side of the mountain by the three heavy chutes. Rama was quick to cut them free, and they settled into the loose snow and rubble. Jeb again was wasting no time, and was quickly through the hatch, his pressure suit long forgotten. He crawled atop the precariously perched capsule to take in their surroundings.

Yes, that was most definitely Jeb's Folly. He might even know the whereabouts of a small lake where they could wait for the arrival of the recovery team.

Fate, it would seem, is not without a sense of humour.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Cydonian Monk

Cydonian Monk · August 9, 2015

Kanawha Space Program

Year 4 Update 3 - Aim for the MÃƒÂ¼n... Crash in a Crater

And so we go back to the MÃƒÂ¼n to spread around experience points for our crews and to visit another one of the mysterious anomalies. Quite a wide variety of anomalies in fact, ranging from game glitches to easter eggs. This is the last part of Year 4 that was run entirely in KSP v1.0.2, so soon we'll be dealing with heat and radiators and all the fun stuff that v1.0.4 brought with it.

Maple 8 and 9 - More Proof Required

Much like Minmus, the ore survey satellites that had been placed in orbit of the MÃƒÂ¼n were showing several concentrations or ore and other items, both on the surface and a short distance under the regolith. The Mineral Reclamation Division, anxious to get started with its mining, pushed Wernher and the science team for a pair of landers to test the two highest concentrations of ore so far discovered by the ResSats.

Maple 8 and 9 were both effectively clones of the Dogwood 3 and 4, even to the point of being launched atop the same rocket. Unfortunately these two were not as successful as their Minmus-bound cousins. The radar on Maple 8 was malfunctioning, meaning it came down at much too high of a rate of speed. The impact destroyed the ore sampler, the main engines and several other pieces of key equipment on the small craft.

Meanwhile the Maple 9 experienced significant issues during ascent from Kerbin. Further review of the launch led to the eventual retirement of this variant of the Tanager launch vehicle. It was still able to complete its mission and returned valuable data on the ore concentrations of the MÃƒÂ¼n. (and unlike other probes, it continues to transmit valuable science data from the surface to this day.

Tiskelwah 6 - The Heaviest of MÃƒÂ¼n Landings

The missions to Minmus had finally returned enough science to unlock the larger orange, insulated tanks needed to make the heavy MÃƒÂ¼n landings possible. The creation of a new launch vehicle capable of lofting the larger mass into orbit was always the limiting factor to the return to the nearby world. A factor which had now been removed, thanks to the LV-23 Cardinal.

Able to drop 43 tonnes of payload into low-Kerbin orbit, the Cardinal and its 4 Skipper engines was to be the new workhorse of the space program. Not only would this behemoth unlock access to the MÃƒÂ¼n, it would also enable the construction of larger space stations and vehicles for interplanetary travel. Duna and Eve were now well within reach. Yet they first needed to return tot he MÃƒÂ¼n before they could take any steps out into the greater universe. Rocks needed collecting. EVAs needed observing. Science needed a doing. And the LV-23 would make all of those things possible.

The first mission chosen for this new breed of Tiskelwah flights was to visit the Maple 4 lander on the dark side of the MÃƒÂ¼n. Several theories had developed for why it and its sibling the Maple 6 had simply vanished, but none were certain of the absolute cause. And so Edlu, Hereny and Jermin Kerman strapped into their Tiskelwah capsule and prepared for the journey to the far side of the MÃƒÂ¼n.

The Tiskelwah 6 was a Type B MÃƒÂ¼nar landing, meaning it utilized a heavy, 3-kerbal direct ascent module instead of the older single-kerbal "Toyota Corolla" style lander. To accomplish this the craft used three stages once in orbit of Kerbin. The third stage (following the first two stages of the LV-23 Cardinal) performed the MÃƒÂ¼nar transfer burn, the MÃƒÂ¼nar capture burn, and the first stages of the MÃƒÂ¼nar descent burn. The fourth stage, which had roughly 400m/s of Ã¢Ë†â€ v, would perform the final landing. The fifth stage would be used for ascent and the return to Kerbin.

The crew spent a couple of orbits performing science tasks and recording observations (with the usual amount of hanging off of ladders) before they set up for the final descent to Maple 4's landing site. The final bits of fuel were burned off from the transfer stage, the fourth stage fired up and discarded the large empty fuel tank, and the landing equipment was deployed.

The MÃƒÂ¼nar descent was underway!

And that descent was going splendidly until they were within 2.5km of the final landing site.

That's when the universe collapsed.

It was barely noticeable at first, more of a strange sensation than anything concrete. The clocks seemed to change, communications started to falter. They watched the surface of the MÃƒÂ¼n approach no different than one would expcet, and were even able to catch a glimpse of the third stage impacting and exploding. Except that it took longer to explode than made sense. And the clocks, which were still somehow sync'd to Kerbin's, showed the descent taking longer, and longer, and longer. Days. MÃƒÂ¼nths. Years. The closer to the surface and the Maple 4 they got, the longer it would take to land. To them only five minutes had passed. Or was it five years? To those back on Kerbin?

And then the Tiskelwah 6 would explode, the three kerbals would be sucked out into the void, and just as suddenly they would be back at the point where the third stage was being jettisoned, early in the descent. Edlu, Hereny and Jermin were all three very aware of these strange repeats. Tortured souls, cursed to forever repeat the same descent.

That jarring crash. The explosion. The surface, rushing up much too fast.

Repeated forever.

Back in the capsule. Early descent.

Until something changed.

Boom. Surface.

Until that factor that was causing the universe to implode was removed.

Capsule.

And then the Maple 4 disappeared from their radar. Edlu must have sounded insane when he asked Mission Control what day it was. As far as those on Kerbin knew, no time had passed between when they had jettisoned the third stage and their last transmission. For Edlu, Hereny and Jermin? Hereny later estimated (based on the stretched-out clock readings during their descent) that seven years of their life had passed, though none felt any older.

The Tiskelwah 6 stretched out its legs and reached for the MÃƒÂ¼n. The engine burned, just as it was supposed to, and the small craft slowed. Edlu sat them down gently onto the surface of the MÃƒÂ¼n, kicking up a small cloud in the process. The contact light went on. The engine cut. The craft bounced softly as the legs settled into the soft mÃƒÂ¼nar dust.

The Elk had finally landed.

The Maple 4 was nowhere to be found. No debris. No crater. No wreckage. Nothing. This detail the crew reported back to Kerbin with glee, but the details of their descent they chose to keep to themselves. Each had seen how Jebediah had been blacklisted following his reports of mysterious black objects, and none wanted to be removed from flight. If there was something weird going on, then surely others would see it and come to them. If not? Then best to not admit they were crazy.

[in terms of what happened - I don't know. I spent most of a week digging through the persistence file to try to find the issue with the Maple 4 and the Maple 6. In the end I had to delete both. Oddly, both crafts worked fine when loaded into another persistence file, but when kept in the main file? Voodoo. There weren't any shared UIDs/PIDs/GUIDs, so I have no clue what was up with the two.]

The rest of the trip went by in a blink. They collected their samples, loaded up the capsule, set all the switches and pushed all the buttons and then POW!, something cracked loudly and the ascent stage burned them towards orbit.

As they had planned to do some seven years prior, or rather 2 days prior, the Tiskelwah 6 ascent rendezvoused and docked with the Pequoni 1. The station had been idle and empty now for more than a year, so they would need to restock a few supplies from their rations and boost it into a slightly more circular orbit.

And maybe sweep up the cobwebs left behind by the MÃƒÂ¼n spiders.

The crew spent a few hours there, relaxing and taking a nap for the first time in a decade, and catching up on all the news they missed. As it turned out absolutely nothing had happened on Kerbin while they were away, aside from some crew of three kerbonauts landing on the MÃƒÂ¼n that most of the planet was talking about. With any luck they may get to meet them!

And then suddenly they were screaming through the atmosphere of Kerbin, the MÃƒÂ¼n far behind them. The departure from Pequoni 1 and the burn back to Kerbin had all passed in the link of an eye. Unlike the aerocaptures experienced by the craft returning from Minmus, the Tiskelwah 6 had no issues. One and done. And down. And safely back home after all those many years. Or days. Or hours. Or minutes. None of them were exactly sure.

Maple 12 - A Rover for the MÃƒÂ¼n

With the fantastic success of the Dogwood rover on Minmus it was decided to push forward and send one to the MÃƒÂ¼n. The Maple 12 did feature some minor tweaks (to prevent the "shot out of a cannon" deployment issue), but was otherwise identical to the Dogwood 5. Taking advantage of a rare nighttime launch window, the Maple 12 was sent up under cover of darkness. (Actually I just wanted to launch something at night since it'd been awhile.)

The ascent and transfer to the MÃƒÂ¼n were completely nominal, with a nominal landing and the usual round of nominals and coffee. There was a bit of juggling to avoid a steep landing site, but eventually the lander and the shipping container mounted underneath it landed down softly in the regolith near Anomaly Crater. The stage was set for Tiskelwah 7.

Tiskelwah 7 - This Time it's Bill's Fault....

The second launch of the LV-23 Cardinal went as perfectly as the first launch. Urcella, Ribzor and Bill Kerman were riding atop it, taking the Tiskelwah 7 and all its science gear to the MÃƒÂ¼n. Another Type-B mission, the equipment stack was exactly identical to the previous flight. The previous mission had more than doubled the number of Kerbals who had landed on the MÃƒÂ¼n, from 2 to 5, this would only bump the number to 8. Still, Bill was happy to be the eighth. They'd need an engineer to properly test the new rover awaiting them at Anomaly Crater, especially if Bill was going to need it to drive all the way to his secret destination.

The landing was apparently a bit rough, leaving Urcella cursing and swearing under her breath. The landing site near the Maple 12 rover was rugged and steep, and required a good bit of hunting to find a spot that wasn't on a 10Ã‚Âº slope. Bill was oblivious to the whole operation, trying to think of an excuse to keep Ribzor from accompanying him all the way to the end of the planned rover trip. Bob had been adamant about Bill going to the mysterious black block alone, reminding him repeatedly that the rover had only been sent to Anomaly Crater for his use. (Though Bob had also complained that he couldn't get Jeb assigned to this mission because of some union rule called "fair pilot rotation," and he seemed annoyed at having to bring Bill in on their little secret operation.)

He had thought about stranding Ribzor somewhere out in the wrong direction, but the suit radios and trackers would prevent that. Then he wondered what would happen if he tossed him out of the ship before they even got the MÃƒÂ¼n, but decided somebody might notice. Could he trap him in a landslide of some sort? No, that seemed silly. Break his oxygen lines so he'd pass out while they were at the anomaly site? No, he didn't want to kill the poor kid. By the time he had decided on a course of action they had landed on the MÃƒÂ¼n, planted their flags, and he and Ribzor were well on their way towards Anomaly Crater.

Bill figured it out just as they crested the crater rim and started working down the rather precarious and slippery slope. It was foolproof. And if, no, when it worked, Ribzor would have no choice but to return to the lander and let him continue the mission alone. Yes, it would absolutely work.

"Hey Ribzor, let's stop here and take some surface samples."

"What?" Ribzor, the trained geologist and planetologist that he was, looked curiously around the top of the crater. "There's nothing here that's any different than back at the landing site. Same ejecta, same strata. No, we'll see more interesting things the further we get into the crater."

Ok, so perhaps Bill could wait. And sure enough, a half kilometer or so down the edge Ribzor decided to jump off and play in the rocks. Now was his chance. He thought about it for a split second, and then jumped off to join him. Bill, playing the absent minded fool, had deliberately forgotten to set the parking brake. Just to make sure it would work he kicked the rover and waddled over to where the mission scientist was looking over two small rocks. Ribzor looked up as he approached.

"Bill! The rover!"

Bill looked at him with deliberate ignorance, then turned back to see the rover tumbling down the side of the crater. "Oh." Tumbling, not rolling. Ribzor fired off on his jetpack and sped after it while Bill gave chase on foot. Neither of them were able to catch up, and eventually had to admit defeat. And that's when it exploded.

It hadn't occurred to Bill is that his "plan" would also destroy the rover. No one had every accused Bill of being a particularly smart engineer. The wreckage was a good bit down the side of the crater but well within reach of the two kerbals. After a short inspection Bill sent Ribzor back to the ship to let Urcella know their status. He would stick around and see if he could fix the rover. His plan had worked after all.

In his official report Bill blamed the loss of the rover on the front brakes having been disabled at the factory. The scandal and drawn out investigation this caused led to a massive recall on Kerbin and eventually bankrupted a small car manufacturer, and led to the retirement of the small "rover in a service bay" concept.

Of course this "plan" also left Bill without a ride to inspect Bob's anomaly. He checked his jetpack and ran a few quick numbers, finding he had more than enough jetpack fuel to get down into the crater, but nowhere near enough to get back out. Could he walk the 18 or more kilometers back to the ship? Hmm. Too late to worry about that now. He looked back to make sure Ribzor was out of sight and then jetted off into the crater. Hopefully they wouldn't come looking for him.

Finding Bob's monolith was no walk in the park either. Bill had the exact coordinates for where to look, but nothing was jumping out at him. The description Bob had provided made him think he'd see a giant black slab standing upright in the middle of the crater. Instead, when he finally found it, the monolith was mostly buried beneath the fines and dust at the bottom.

When he finally stopped to look at the monolith he was impressed. The perfectly tapered sides. The absolutely black material. The strange way it reflected light. The cold feeling it had through his gloves. He spent some time looking for imperfections and found none. He scratched at the regolith to try and excavate it, but decided it was futile without heavy equipment. He planted a flag, looked back to the south where Urcella and Ribzor were hopefully waiting for him, and used the last of his jetpack fuel to fly over to the lower slopes of the crater's rim.

Bill had a long walk ahead of him.

He arrived back at the Tiskelwah 7 lander more than eight hours later. Urcella was nearly in a panic, having jetted out to the rover crash site herself and finding it abandoned. She had been in contact with mission control the entire time, and was trying to get permission to take off in the lander and look for Bill. Nightfall was fast approaching on the MÃƒÂ¼n, and more than a few were concerned that no kerbal could survive in the tremendous cold of the MÃƒÂ¼nar darkness.

Yet Bill was back, and all was now right with the world. To make up for his extended absence he handed Ribzor a collection of samples from the bottom of the crater. Samples which Ribzor would have rather gathered himself, but was happy to have nonetheless. And so, far past due for their return to Kerbin, Bill, Ribzor and Urcella blasted away from the southern rim of Anomaly Crater and sped off into the night. There would be no stop at Pequoni 1. They would not pass Go. They would not collect 200 Roots.

And so, a day later the reentry capsule of the Tiskelwah 7 splashed down in the waters between the desert continent and KSC. Bill graduated to Level 2. The science data returned was relatively valuable. The flag they had planted on the MÃƒÂ¼n satisfied another well paying contract. And Bob had another flag with another tracking device planted near another of his strange anomalies. In all it was a rather successful mission.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Cydonian Monk

Seshins · August 11, 2015

really enjoying this story man. Keep up the excellent work!

Cydonian Monk · August 14, 2015

Kanawha Space Program

Year 4 Update 4 - Probing Upgrades

The first two thirds of the fourth year may have been spent sending kerbals around Kerbin and its moons, but the last third was all about the probes. Ok, there were some planes too, but it was mostly about the probes. Speaking of which: Two that launched back in Year 3 finally reached their destinations. Redbud 1 arrived at Duna on the 140th day of the year while Holly 1 arrived at Eve on the 166th day.

Redbud 1, as you may recall, suffered severe damage at launch and lost its deployable solar panels. There was some concern that the remaining panels would be insufficient to keep it powered at Duna, but those fears appear to have been unfounded. Care had to be taken to keep the backup panels angled towards the Sun, but otherwise the power situation was within mission tolerances.

The Redbud 1 did not initially complete its capture at Duna and instead first entered orbit around Ike. This provided the science team with valuable data and a few close-up photographs from which they could choose a landing site for Ike missions launched during the next Duna transfer window. Once its tasks at Ike were complete the small Redbud 1 moved to its final survey orbit around Duna.

Meanwhile out at Eve the Holly 1 was fast becoming the star of the science team's probe missions. Returning very crisp photos of Eve and its thick purplish-pink atmosphere, the probe also returned valuable atmosphere and temperature readings. It was not able to reach Gilly from its orbit, so there was still a bit to be desired.

The success of the two small probes spurred tremendous interest in more such missions. There was even talk of sending a crewed mission out to both Duna and Eve as early as the next transfer window. Wernher had doubts they could concoct a comfortable ship in only two years, but he had some ideas.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the geniuses in the science lab used the science points from the two probes to unlock the Holy Gravioli Detector. This magical device had proven vastly superior to other methods of science gathering, and the team was anxious to send a few into orbit. Orbit of the Sun, orbit of Moho, orbit of Jool. Any old orbit should work. Capable of detecting biomes just from their gravioli patterns, these little blue boxes would very nearly sponge-up all a planet's science.

And so began the Great Gravioli Bonanza.

Before they could fire off them into the deep cosmos they would first need to test them at home. Poplar 5 and 6 were prepped, launched, and placed into both low and high polar orbits of Kerbin.

With that out of the way and the scientific merits of the device proven, the Maple 10 and 11 were sent off to low and high MÃƒÂ¼nar orbits. Likewise, Dogwoods 6 and 7 were sent to Minmus.

Science raiding underway!

Hickory Slippery Sumac

Next in the line of interplanetary probes was the Hickory 1 to Moho. This tiny craft was launched atop one of the largest launch vehicles from the previous year, the Robin. Moho, being so deep in Kerbol's gravity well, is not an easy target to slow down to. Copious amounts of propellant are needed to throw at the void in the [vain] hope it will slow you down enough to not miss this tiny rock.

Hickory 1 wasn't so lucky.

Short more than 400m/s of ÃŽâ€v, the Hickory 1 had to resign itself to a fly-by instead. Once the shortfall became obvious, the burn was cancelled to retain fuel for future maneuvering opportunities. There's a (slim) chance that future encounters with Moho may allow for an eventual gravity capture. (Or perhaps even lithobraking.)

Hickory 1 was also the first attempt at using small metal fins to dissipate heat from the spaceship. Overheating had been observed on a few previous probes, and so far the R&D department had yet to deliver a foolproof way of getting rid of the excess. Wernher had theorized that these small metal fins once used to guide their sounding rockets might be enough to act as space radiators, and so a quartet of them were placed on the Hickory 1. The results were largely inconclusive, with the fins obviously heating up, but unknown if from external sources or internal convection.

The other planet of interest early in Year 4 was Dres. Long thought to be home to the Kerbal version of Hades, Dres had intentionally been avoided by most every self respecting space program ever. There were many who believed that simply observing the small rock was enough to drive a kerbal insane. And so, when it came time to select a name for the Dres probe, all of the good trees were somehow missing from the list. Only the lowly Sumac, least favored of all shrubs, was considered foul enough to give its name to an obviously doomed probe.

To appease the miners and other industrialists an ore scanner was included on the probe. Many suspected Dres might be home to a vast wealth of such ores and minerals, though none wanted to go find them in person. Robots would be enough, but before robots could be sent they needed to know what was there.

The Sumac 1 would not arrive until late in the fifth year, assuming it arrived at all. We'll come back to it later.

Staring at the Sun

Two more Oak probes were sent into interplanetary space in Year 4: The Oak 4, placed into orbit just above Kerbin's, and the Oak 5, which was to enter Low Solar Orbit. Both included the latest in science equipment, with Oak 5 boasting a pair of Goo canisters.

Year 4 also saw the arrival of Oak 3, launched the previous year, in its orbit above Duna's.

As mentioned, Oak 4 included a series of science instruments, such as the newly developed Gravioli detector, and an experiment to measure the atmospheric loss of Kerbin due to the solar wind (which was really just a PresMat Barometer, but that detail was left out of the briefing). It also carried with it a few cameras, just to keep the kerbal media happy. It would arrive at its new Apoapsis a little more than half a year after it launched. (The probe would have been placed in Kerbin-Sun L2, if such a thing existed.)

Oak 5 was the far more interesting child. Packed with as much ÃŽâ€v as the crews could find, this was to be the first probe to dive deep into the Sun's outer atmosphere. (AKA: Low Solar Orbit.) It was launched atop the recently developed all-Solid LV-06-S Vireo launch vehicle. The complete stack provided well over 18,000m/s of ÃŽâ€v - more than enough to land on the Moon. Er, ah, more than enough to bring its final orbit under that of Moho's with a periapsis inside Low Solar Orbit.

To save even more of the precious Delda of the Vee, the Oak 5 was launched directly upwards just before sunset. No gravity turn, just straight up. It escaped Kerbin without ever achieving a stable orbit.

The Oak 5 also included the latest fad in drive technology - an Ion engine. It was this peculiar electric-powered drive that would allow the tiny craft to reach into the shallow depths of the Solar System and pluck out the warm, gooey science from the Sun's beating heart. Mmmm. Science.

Scheduled to arrive on day 297 of the 4th year, a date which fell after the adoption of both KSP v1.0.3 and KSP v1.0.4, the Oak 5 would prove to be a true test of the new heat mechanics.

The final bit of business before I moved on to the new version was the launch of three Geostationary CommSats: The GKO-G2 series. These are more for show than any real practical use, at least until KSP v1.1 hits. Featuring two sets of omnidirectional phased antenna arrays for uplink and two directional dishes for downlink to Kerbin, network crosstalk, or direct communication with a vessel in Low Orbit, these three satellites are expected to be the workhorses of the program over the next several years.

End of Kerbal Space Program version 1.0.2.

KSP v1.0.3

And then Kerbal Space Program v1.0.3 happened. I played that for a day, landing a 100% Stock Apollo 11 recreation on the MÃƒÂ¼n (to update my long out of date Steam photos more than for any practical reason). I was rather pleased with how my Saturn V turned out, but that mission has nothing to do with this save so I'll stop here. A few photos of it in this spoiler box if you're interested:

End of Kerbal Space Program version 1.0.3.

KSP v1.0.4

And then the very next day Kerbal Space Program v1.0.4 happened. And there was much rejoicing.

Back to where we left off.... The low-orbit capture of Oak 5 was one of the first things I did in this new version, and heat proved to be quite the problem. As it turns out the small fins I was experimenting with as radiators did more harm than good, and rapidly overheated and exploded once in Low Solar Orbit. A few other bits boiled off, but thankfully nothing important science-wise. The capture burn was completed, though the Oak 5's apoapsis was kept well above Low Solar Orbit in the hopes it would be enough to help the little molten ball of metal cool off. There was some considerable concern that the Xenon tank would explode, but that proved to not be the case. It did serve as quite the heat sink though.

Clearly some experimentation with radiators was in order.

Hot Town, Summer at the Station

Reports from Piquemetami 2 indicated things might be getting a little bit hot. Lindra was blaming Bob's peculiar materials experiments for generating the waste heat, but Bob wasn't so sure. Engineers had considered heat while developing the station and had thankfully pre-installed pipes for use by future radiators, but first they would need to build and test said radiators. They would also need to learn how to fly again.

The aerodynamics changes introduced when the universe shifted into its 1.0.4 version meant that things which had once flown well were now not flying so hot, or were flying too hot. Three test craft were prepared: The Chirps 22 through 24. These craft served two purposes: To experiment with launch profiles to find the ones that worked best, and to test the small radiators for use in future spacecraft.

Simple crafts launched by the old Wren launcher, each of these had the same amount of fuel. The mass of the craft was calculated once reaching orbit and the remaining Ã¢Ë†â€ v was derived from that. The craft with the best ascent and the most remaining Ã¢Ë†â€ v would win a prize at the end. (All Ã¢Ë†â€ v was calculated using the vacuum Isp of the engines in question, which is my usual standard. Once you're above 12km the sea-level Isp is useless anyway.)

The ascent of the Chirp 22 was a bit on the hot side, with it causing considerable shock heating. It reached orbit using on 3563m/s of vacuum Ã¢Ë†â€ v. The Chirp 23 took a slightly higher ascent to avoid the bulk of the "whiney, plasmatic atmosphere" (though still encountered some angry air) and reached orbit having used 3612m/s of vacuum Ã¢Ë†â€ v. The Chirp 24 didn't bother to turn in its data, and conceded defeat to the previous two launches. Once in orbit the three craft extended their solar panels and attempted to find the mysterious dangerous heat.

Having determined the best ascents and tested the base-model radiators, the R&D crews felt confident enough to send up their radiator solution for Piquemetami 2 and Pequoni 1. First, since the Piq-2 was the only currently inhabited space station, the Piquemetami-2E was prepped for launch. The Piq-2E was also launched atop the new all-solid Vireo launch vehicle, though the final stage used to rendezvous with the station was liquid-fuelled. Featuring a small bot and two small radiator nodes, the idea was to install the two new nodes at the end of two of the station's four solar array arms.

The launch and installation went exactly according to the nominal. Bob was reportedly very pleased with the reduced temperatures aboard the station.

With the Piquemetami 2 upgrade out of the way, next came the radiators for Pequoni 1 MÃƒÂ¼n station. Peq-1D, mostly identical to the Piq-2E, was also a completely successful mission. Surely conditions at the station would be much more favorable to the next crews to stop over there.

Aero is the New Aero

Returning to Kerbin was the next major riddle the R&D kiddos needed to solve. The aerodynamics changes meant that parachutes and reentries in general were now somewhat problematic. The agency had three tourist contracts coming due for flight soon, and needed to find a quick solution to the problem. And so the Chirp 25, 26 and 27 were prepared to test the new parachute systems.

The Chirp 25 showed that straight up and down flights were no longer possible without loss of vehicle and crew.

Chirp 26 was launched into a much less steep suborbital trajectory, but was still unable to slow enough inside the atmosphere to prevent the parachutes from being destroyed by heat and/or aerodynamic forces.

Chirp 27 included a new invention: radial drogue chutes. This solved the immediate issue of how to make suborbital spaceflight survivable, but the increased cost was making many question if the simpler, 1-kerbal suborbital tourist contracts would even cover their costs.

With the equipment tests having been completed and the craft requalified to carry kerbals, the three tourist flights were pressed forwards. First came the Exploration 17 O3, which docked successfully with Piquemetami 1. The craft's single occupant remained there for one day before returning. That was followed by the Adventure 18 SO3, which successfully reentered and splashed down offshore from Kerbal Space Center. Finally, the Exploration 19 O3 also docked with the Piquemetami 1, spending one full day in orbit at the old mooring point.

The Tourist Test Program had proven spaceflight was once again safe for kerbals. The science crew at Piquemetami 2 decided to wait until the simulations had proven that their now outdated craft, which lacked drogue parachutes, could safely reenter and land provided their angle of interface with the atmosphere was sufficiently shallow. Besides, their tour wasn't up until early in the fifth year.

Jool and the Finite Beyond

Two very important transfer windows came up at the end of the fourth year: Jool and Eeloo. At first there were only going to be two probes launched; one for Eeloo and one for Jool, but the construction crews were able to push out three more for the three major moons of Jool. There's not really much to say or show about these five probes, Beech 1 to Eeloo, Sycamore 1 to Jool, Elm 1 to Laythe, Willow 1 to Tylo, and the Walnut 1 to Vall, so we'll leave them be for a couple years until they arrive.

Feeling the Air

The aero changes with 1.0.4 meant the kerbals would need to learn how to fly again. Even back in 1.0.2 the air had begun to turn lethal, as evidenced by Jeb's accident in an early version of the R-2 research jet with flight Feather 11. While returning to KSC following an attempt at setting an altitude record, the air intakes on the craft overheated to the point of exploding. The backup intake was enough to provide oxygen to the new TurboRamJet engine, allowing Jeb to limp back to the runway, but there were a few nervous minutes between the explosion and when Jeb taxied to a stop next to the other junk sitting outside the spaceplane hanger.

Temperature tests during the Feather 12 had shown similar heating issues, so the R-2 design was sidelined for a short spell until the aircraft designers could develop a new way to kill Jeb. The Feather 12 did manage to set a new altitude record however, with the craft reaching an oxygen-starved height of 28.6km. Jeb took the opportunity to land at the old abandoned runway, visiting a few old friends of his while there.

The Feather 13, conducted after the universe-shifting event of the 1.0.4, featured a slightly updated version of the R-2 test jet. Same goal as before: break the altitude record for a fixed-wing aircraft. While Jeb was only able to reach 27km on his test flight, the craft performed well. Well enough that he could blast past the newly upgraded tower at supersonic speeds. The grounds crew billed Jeb for the cleanup costs.

For the next flight, the engineers decided to try an alternate approach. The plan was to build a craft that could power its way out of the atmosphere using air-breathing engines and then achieve orbit with a small orbital motor once above the thicker parts of the atmosphere. Such was the design of the R-3 research jet, which featured a pair of TurboRamJets (or whatever their new name is) and a single LV-909 for orbital operations.

The designers were perhaps a bit too optimistic, or were perhaps familiar with a few out-dated methods of building SSTO spaceplanes, as the R-3 wasn't able to breach 22km. And then, while descending back to the runway at KSC, the cockpit of the R-3 randomly exploded due to overheating. No warning, no plasma, no chance to save Jebediah.

And then the universe crashed. Crashed to the mighty desktop the universe runs on.

And the R-3 was sitting back on the runway, Jebediah anxious to take off and test his new toy. He was a bit disappointed when he couldn't pull above 22km, and had completed his turn and was descending back to KSC when one of the engines flamed out without warning, kicking the aircraft into a flat spin.

Try as he might, there was nothing Jebediah could do to regain control of the aircraft. Some pilots might have been watching the altimeter, nervously awaiting their fate as they fought with the craft, attempting to get it to nose down into the airstream, but not Jebediah. He was going to recover control of this aircraft or die in the attempt. Down, down from the spinning skies he fell, silvery death pirouetting about on its scythe.

No, Jebediah Kerman would never abandon a craft if he thought he could still regain control of it. The universe was his to control, his to mold. No aircraft could beat him. None would dare.

Which is why the designers built an auto-ejection system into their research jets. They knew at some point one of their pilots would fight a flawed design of theirs and refuse to admit defeat. And so, as the spinning craft dropped below 8km, Sallee Kerman, an otherwise unremarkable kerbal who had drawn the task of monitoring the test flight of the R-3, pressed a small red button on her console and gained the eternal enmity of one Jebediah Kerman.

At first Jeb didn't notice. Sure, the stick had gone slack and the controls become sloppy, but he just thought he had broken something. He glanced up into the sky and caught sight of an aircraft spinning out of control, which he thought an odd coincidence until he noticed it was missing its cockpit. The shock of the parachutes almost pulled him out of his seat, and then he knew for sure.

And that's when he started swearing. The recovery team, salty sailors each, learned more than a few new words that day.

Go North, Young Kerbal

With Jeb sidelined following his accident, the task of testing a new transport aircraft fell to the junior pilots. First up was Urcella and the Feather 15. No TurboRamScramJets this time around, instead just a boring, slow, big transport jet. Designed to ferry kerbals to the far North, the designers were uncertain of a few of the transports key features and needed a quick test flight.

The T-01 Transport, nicknamed the Vulture by the pilots, featured a passenger capacity of 8 plus 1 for the pilot, and was capable of traveling a full third of the way around the planet on a single tank of fuel. Possible a full halfway if you pushed the jet and were at the golden altitude of 7700m. Urcella's flight was just a quick out and back though. An out and back that revealed a few small issues with the craft that would need to be handled before it was pressed into service.

And so was born the T-01a. Confident in the craft's sturdiness and well increased range, mission designers allowed Edlu to take it out for a full spin. Destination: NP-TAS. This location 20km south of the North Pole would shortly become home to the "North Pole Transfer Air Station." Since it had been proven that aircraft were not able to operate at Kerbin's poles (on account of there being no oxygen in the near-absolute-zero atmosphere at the poles), the science division would instead build a runway to the South and use a rover to transport crews to the research station they were planning to build at the North Pole.

Edlu's flight would serve as the first scouting mission for finding the best flight plans to the North. The T-01a Vulture, with its operating ceiling of about 8km, would need to avoid the large mountain ranges and high altitude to make travel to and from the North Pole safe. On his flight North Edlu found a pass through one range, but also noted that a short jog to the East along the shoreline just after takeoff would avoid the mountain range entirely.

And then, some 90 minutes later, Edlu landed 20 kilometers South of Jeb's "North Pole" flag, and planted his own flag. "Future site of the North Pole Transfer Air Station. Coming: Year 5."

Kanawha Space Program

Year 4 In Review

Launches and Missions

[table=width: 100%, class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 200]Mission ID[/td]

[td=width: 50]KSSTS[/td]

[td=width: 100]Crew[/td]

[td=width: 200]Launch Vehicle[/td]

[td]Remarks[/td]

[/tr]

[tr][td]Dogwood 3[/td] [td]4-001[/td] [td][/td] [td]Tanager[/td] [td]Minmjs lander probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 8[/td] [td]4-002[/td] [td][/td] [td]Tanager[/td] [td]MÃƒÂ¼n lander probe, crash landed.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Oak 4[/td] [td]4-003[/td] [td][/td] [td]Finch[/td] [td]Solar science above Kerbin orbit.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Dogwood 4[/td] [td]4-004[/td] [td][/td] [td]Tanager[/td] [td]Minmus lander probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 9[/td] [td]4-005[/td] [td][/td] [td]Tanager[/td] [td]MÃƒÂ¼n lander probe, launch issues.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 08[/td] [td][/td] [td]Svetlana[/td] [td]R-1[/td] [td]Flight to Bobak's Plain.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Scratch 01[/td] [td][/td] [td]Jeb[/td] [td]XR-01A[/td] [td]Rover test.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 09[/td] [td][/td]V-009 [td]Jeb[/td] [td]R-1[/td] [td]Flight to KSC-2.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Scratch 02[/td] [td][/td] [td]Jermin, Mind[/td] [td]XR-02[/td] [td]Rover test.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Scratch 03[/td] [td][/td] [td]Bill, Rama[/td] [td]XR-02A[/td] [td]Rover test.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 10[/td] [td][/td] [td]Jeb[/td] [td]R-1[/td] [td]Crashed atop mountain.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Tokebeloke 1[/td][td]4-006[/td] [td]Val, Bob, Bill[/td] [td]Robin[/td] [td]First Minmus landing.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Dogwood 5[/td] [td]4-007[/td] [td][/td] [td]Bluejay[/td] [td]Rover landed on Minmus.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Tokebeloke 2[/td][td]4-008[/td] [td]Jeb, Grazy, Rama[/td] [td]Robin[/td] [td]Launch Failure. Crew rescued.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Keninsheka 4[/td][td]4-009[/td] [td]Svetlana, Bob, Lindra[/td] [td]Robin[/td] [td]Piq-2 crew rotation.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Poplar 5[/td] [td]4-010[/td] [td][/td] [td]Sparrow[/td] [td]Kerbin polar orbit probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Poplar 6[/td] [td]4-011[/td] [td][/td] [td]Sparrow[/td] [td]Kerbin polar orbit probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Tokebeloke 3[/td][td]4-012[/td] [td]Jeb, Grazy, Rama[/td] [td]Robin[/td] [td]Second Minmus landing.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 10[/td] [td]4-013[/td] [td][/td] [td]Tanager[/td] [td]MÃƒÂ¼n polar orbit probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 11[/td] [td]4-014[/td] [td][/td] [td]Tanager[/td] [td]MÃƒÂ¼n polar orbit probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Dogwood 6[/td] [td]4-015[/td] [td][/td] [td]Vireo[/td] [td]Minmus polar orbit probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Dogwood 7[/td] [td]4-016[/td] [td][/td] [td]Vireo[/td] [td]Minmus polar orbit probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Hickory 1[/td] [td]4-017[/td] [td][/td] [td]Robin[/td] [td]Moho probe, failed capture.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Sumac 1[/td] [td]4-018[/td] [td][/td] [td]Robin[/td] [td]Dres probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 11[/td] [td][/td] [td]Jeb[/td] [td]R-2[/td] [td]Air intakes exploded.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Tiskelwah 6[/td][td]4-019[/td] [td]Edlu, Hereny, Jermin[/td] [td]Cardinal[/td] [td]MÃƒÂ¼n landing, universe rending.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 12[/td] [td][/td] [td]Jeb[/td] [td]R-2[/td] [td]Altitude record of 28,608m.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Oak 5[/td] [td]4-020[/td] [td][/td] [td]Vireo[/td] [td]Low solar orbit probe. Partially exploded.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 12[/td] [td]4-021[/td] [td][/td] [td]Bluejay[/td] [td]MÃƒÂ¼n rover.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Tiskelwah 7[/td][td]4-022[/td] [td]Urcella, Ribzor, Bill[/td] [td]Cardinal[/td] [td]MÃƒÂ¼n landing at anomaly crater.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]GKO-G2-D[/td] [td]4-023[/td] [td][/td] [td]Robin[/td] [td]GKO commsat.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]GKO-G2-E[/td] [td]4-024[/td] [td][/td] [td]Robin[/td] [td]GKO commsat.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]GKO-G2-F[/td] [td]4-025[/td] [td][/td] [td]Robin[/td] [td]GKO commsat.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 22[/td] [td]4-026[/td] [td][/td] [td]Wren[/td] [td]Radiator and launch testing.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 23[/td] [td]4-027[/td] [td][/td] [td]Wren[/td] [td]Radiator and launch testing.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 24[/td] [td]4-028[/td] [td][/td] [td]Wren[/td] [td]Radiator and launch testing.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Beech 1[/td] [td]4-029[/td] [td][/td] [td]Robin[/td] [td]Eeloo probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Sycamore 1[/td] [td]4-030[/td] [td][/td] [td]Robin[/td] [td]Jool probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Elm 1[/td] [td]4-031[/td] [td][/td] [td]Bluejay[/td] [td]Laythe probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Willow 1[/td] [td]4-032[/td] [td][/td] [td]Bluejay[/td] [td]Tylo probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Walnut 1[/td] [td]4-033[/td] [td][/td] [td]Bluejay[/td] [td]Vall probe.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Piquemetami 2-E[/td][td]4-035[/td][td][/td] [td]Vireo[/td] [td]Radiators for station.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Pequoni 1-D[/td][td]4-036[/td] [td][/td] [td]Vireo[/td] [td]Radiators for station.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Maple 13[/td] [td]4-037[/td] [td][/td] [td]Robin[/td] [td]Recovery of Device NQXQ.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 25[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td]Wren[/td] [td]Tourist craft test. Parachute failure.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 26[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td]Wren[/td] [td]Tourist craft test. Parachute failure.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Chirp 27[/td] [td][/td] [td][/td] [td]Wren[/td] [td]Drogue chute test.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Exploration 17 O3[/td][td]4-038[/td][td]Dancie[/td] [td]Finch[/td] [td]Tourist orbital.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Adventure 18 SO3[/td][td][/td] [td]Wenline, Hansen[/td] [td]Wren[/td] [td]Tourist.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Exploration 19 O3[/td][td]4-039[/td][td]Seeley, Janayne[/td] [td]Finch[/td] [td]Tourist orbital.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 13[/td] [td][/td] [td]Jeb[/td] [td]R-2[/td] [td]Test flight.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 14[/td] [td][/td] [td]Jeb[/td] [td]R-3[/td] [td]Test flight, flat spin, craft lost.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 15[/td] [td][/td] [td]Urcella[/td] [td]T-01[/td] [td]Transport test.[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Feather 16[/td] [td][/td] [td]Edlu[/td] [td]T-01A[/td] [td]Transport flight to NP-TAS.[/td][/tr]

[/table]

Failed Missions and Issues of Note

Maple 8 - Crashed into surface during MÃƒÂ¼nar descent.
Maple 9 - Severe control issues during ascent led to redesign of Tanager launch vehicle.
Feather 10 - Crashed atop mountain Jeb's Folly. Jeb's fault.
Tokebeloke 1 - Failed to complete aerocapture at Kerbin on first two attempts.
Tokebeloke 2 - Craft disintegrated during ascent; Crew recovered safely thanks to launch escape system.
Tokebeloke 3 - Failed to complete aerocapture at Kerbin on first attempt; skipped.
Hickory 1 - Insufficient reaction mass to complete capture at Moho.
Maple 10 - Severe power shortages due to design oversight.
Feather 11 - Excessive speed caused air intakes to overheat and explode.
Tiskelwah 6 - Encounter with Maple 4 probe destroyed universe, exterminating all known life. Space/time anomaly led to eventual recovery yet unexplained loss of Maple 4 probe.
Oak 5 - Serious overheating issues while in Low Solar Orbit led to exploding parts.
Tiskelwah 7 - Rover from Maple 12 destroyed in incident involving Bill and Ribzor Kerman.
Chirp 22 - Encountered severe plasma during ascent, resulting in fairing overheat.
Chirp 25 - Parachute failure due to shallow reentry resulting in destruction of craft.
Chirp 26 - Parachute failure due to shallow reentry resulting in destruction of craft.
Feather 14 - Space/time anomaly caused craft to enter flat spin, allowing pilot to eject safely. Unexplained.

Missions In-Progress

Sumac 1 - Outbound to Dres.
Beech 1 - Enroute to Eeloo.
Sycamore 1 - Cruising to Jool.
Elm 1 - Rolling to Laythe.
Willow 1 - On the Low Road to Tylo.
Walnut 1 - Rising to Vall.
Keninsheka 4 - Crew for Piquemetami 2: Svetlana, Bob, Lindra.

Crew Roster

Jebediah Kerman, Pilot. 8 Flights.
Valentina Kerman, Pilot. 1 Flight.
Bill Kerman, Engineer. 2 Flights.
Bob Kerman, Scientist. 2 Flights. On Piq-2.
Grazy Kerman, Scientist. 2 Flights.
Svetlana Kerman, Pilot. 2 Flights. On Piq-2.
Lindra Kerman, Scientist. 1 Flight. On Piq-2.
Ribzor Kerman, Scientist. 1 Flight.
Jermin Kerman, Engineer. 1 Flight.
Rama Kerman, Engineer. 2 Flights.
Urcella Kerman, Pilot. 2 Flights.
Mind Kerman, .
Edlu Kerman, Pilot. 2 Flights.
Eriemma Kerman, .
Roster Kerman, .
Hereny Kerman, Scientist. 1 Flight.
Daselle Kerman, Scientist.
Elley Kerman, Scientist.
Ersen Kerman, Scientist.

Active Launch Vehicles

[table=class: grid, align: left]

[tr]

[td=width: 200]Launch Vehicle[/td]

[td=width: 100]Lift-Off Payload Mass[/td]

[td=width: 100]Orbital Payload Mass[/td]

[td=width: 100]Attempts[/td]

[td=width: 100]Successes[/td]

[/tr]

[tr][td]LV-01 Wren[/td] [td]6t[/td][td]190kg[/td] [td]7[/td][td]7[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-02 Sparrow[/td] [td]3.8t[/td][td]770kg[/td] [td]2[/td][td]2[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-04 Tanager[/td] [td]11t[/td][td]2t[/td] [td]6[/td][td]5[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-05 Finch[/td] [td]8.9t[/td][td]3.2t[/td] [td]3[/td][td]3[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-06-S Vireo[/td] [td]25t[/td][td]4.4t[/td] [td]5[/td][td]5[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-21 Bluejay[/td] [td]25.5t[/td][td]5.4t[/td] [td]5[/td][td]5[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-22 Robin[/td] [td]47t[/td][td]17.1t[/td] [td]12[/td][td]11[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]LV-23 Cardinal[/td] [td]43.0t[/td][td]43.6t[/td] [td]2[/td][td]2[/td][/tr]

[/table]

Edited August 14, 2015 by Cydonian Monk

Cydonian Monk · August 22, 2015

Kanawha Space Program

Year 5 Update 1 - The North Pole

Cold. Why was it always so cold? He looked around the barren and empty ice, yet there was nothing Edlu could see except his flag and the plane he'd flown here. And ice. An endless sea of biting cold whiteness. Some distance over the horizon he knew he could find a small research jet, much like the one he had abandoned at the South Pole. He activated his helmet's navigation system to check the distance. 20km, two small dots blinking on the edge of the ice.

Except the markers showed only as "Unknown Contact." Both for the jet and the flag Jebediah had left behind. A little red icon showed the reason: "No Satellites in Range." He quickly scanned the sky and horizon, surprised to see another contact some 19km off to the South. Yet no MÃƒÂ¼n. And no MÃƒÂ¼n meant no relay satellite. And no relay meant no data.

A thought occurred to him, so he radioed up the geeks back at the Cape. "Feather 16 to KSC."

"KSC tower. Go ahead Flight 16." It was crackly, as one would expect from a signal bounced (how many times?) off the ionosphere and ground. But at least the radio worked.

"It's quiet up here on the ice, and the geosync commsats are below the southern horizon. Might want to tell the girls and boys in operations to launch a few into high orbit over the poles. Something that just hangs over the Tundra." It's also really cold, but he couldn't force himself to admit as much. He was in a climate-controlled spacesuit, after all.

"Copy Flight 16, message relayed. Flight Ops is requesting an ETA on your return."

"Return?" He took one last look around the ice and climbed, no, raced up into the Transport's cockpit. "90 minutes, give or take. Thought I might try to find a route back that doesn't involve hopping over mountains." The Cape radioed back their acknowledgement and he was airborne in no time. Airborne and away from the endless cold of the ice.

He was tempted to fly over the unknown contact to the South, but just as he hit 8km one of the sats came into view and that data connection dribbled its sweet goodness into his flight computer. With a short, sharp blip it updated: "Val's Ice." What a strange name for a waypoint, he thought, and then remembered the days when all the astronauts first returning from orbit left flags to mark their spots. His had been somewhere around the equator, but was lifted by relic hunters some mÃƒÂ¼nths later. They'd probably sold it five or six times now on kBay.

No doubt Val's flag would eventually meet the same fate as his, but no kerbal was yet brave enough to venture out onto the ice for it. Smart ones, those. Avoiding the endless cold. Yet that cold was far behind him now, and he was headed due South. Straight back to the warm shores of KSC. Straight back so he could turn around and fly North onto the endless Ice once more.

Never a moment's rest.

SouComm NorComm

The Agency's operations branch agreed with Edlu's communications idea and decided to launch two small relay satellites into Tundra orbits over the North Pole. They also took the opportunity to reposition two older satellites into the equivalent orbits over the South Pole. Two satellites that had either been abandoned by their previous owners or were already within the control Agency were retasked as SouComms A and SouComms B.

The first, 1-013 3.0-OMB-1A, was previously launched in the first year for OMB (as a replacement for a satellite lost during a launch). It wasn't much of a communications satellite, with only a couple cameras and a few antennas, but it would work for their purposes. The second, 1-017 3.0-Stead-01 had also been launched in the first year, for Steadler, and was of a nearly identical design to the OMB satellite. They weren't much, but they'd be enough to bounce a signal back to Kerbin or out to one of the GeoSats.

Following the reassignment, two new small relays were prepared for launch: 3.0-NorComms A and 3.0-NorComms B. These two relatively lightweight relay satellites were nothing more than a bunch of antennas and solar panels, sufficient to pass signals to and from the satellites in geosynchronous equatorial orbit and the surface. The first satellite in the cluster, NorComms-A, was launched into a low-Beta orbit, while the subsequent was launched into a high-Beta orbit. (Though both had sufficient electrical storage for time spent in the shadow of Kerbin.)

To maximize the amount of time that a satellite would be visible from over the North Pole, the orbits if the two NorComm satellites were sychronized to those of yhe SouComm satellites. All four were in six hour, polar orbits with an apoapsis of [look it up] and a periapsis of [also look it up]. This provided good, if not complete coverage of both poles.

Habitat for Cold Kerbals

Next came the construction of the North Pole Research Station. Intended to study the peculiar atmospheric anomaly first discovered by Edlu at the South Pole, the facility would house at least two research scientists with room for two more kerbals. The goal: To observe and study the lack of oxygen and severe cold temperatures at the planet's North Pole.

There were three key components to the North Pole Research Station. First, obviously, came the laboratory itself. Possibly one of the strangest suborbital flights yet launched, it was heavy enough to need a Bluejay launch vehicle, bringing the mass at launch to 93 tonnes. To survive reentry at near-orbital speeds it included a heatshield. Following drogue chute deployment the heatshield would be jettisoned and the lab would touch down under the silks. Precision was not required with the landing of the lab, mission specs requiring it only to be within 1Ã‚Â° of the actual North Pole. (So as to be within the anomaly zone.)

The landing took a couple tries to pinpoint, with F5/F9 being exploited willingly. The small second stage of the launch vehicle was used to fine tune the landing site. In the end it was brought down just outside of 1km from the North Pole, placed precariously over one of the planet's four ley lines.

Following the Lab came the NorPo Hab-A, first of the three habitat modules planned for use at the North Pole. (And the only one launched in Year 5... the others will come later.) Unlike the lab, this module required some precision and the possibility of being moved slightly once on the ground. The "skycrane" approach was used instead of rover wheels or other options as the research team had expressed horror at the suggestion they might be spending up to a year living in an RV. The added complexity brought the liftoff mass to 101 tonnes.

Same as the Lab, the Hab-A was fine tuned using the second stage, reentered behind a heatshield, and then landed under parachutes. Once on the ground the skycrane was used to move the habitat closer to the lab module. Once completed the skycrane was jettisoned, flying off to land nearby.

Next came the habitat for the North Pole Transfer Air Station. Identical in every way to the Hab-A, this time it needed to land near the flag placed by Edlu late in the 4th Year.

The last and most important piece of the puzzle was a rover to move between the NorPo base and NP-TAS. Instead of delivering the rover some normal way, like driving it, the loons in the R&D department decided they wanted to fly it there in a reusable aircraft. The idea being the combined rover and aircraft would touch down, the nose would undock, the rover would be ejected, and then the aircraft would dock back up to its nose and fly back to KSC.

And for the most part it worked.

At least until the rover got to NP-TAS. The nose was ejected as planned, the rover rolled away as expected, and then the aircraft tried to dock up to its nose. And that's when everything ran out of power. Unable to get the nose reconnected remotely, and unsure if exactly what was going wrong, the administration decided it was time to send the research team up to the base. And they'd send an engineer along to help.

[And, thanks to some weird glitch, the disconnected aircraft was still drawing power from the rover. The rover itself is powered by the small solar panels and a hidden RTG, but it was losing power faster than the control copy back at KSC. So I edited the persistence file and swapped the locations of the two. In more glitchiness, the aircraft and its nose were "acquiring" each other when the aircraft lost power, so we get to see some weird physics later. I eventually edited the persistence file to fix that, too.]

The First North Pole Research Expedition

There was some debate as to which kerbals should be sent to spend half a year at the cold and oxygen-deprived North Pole. It would prove as good training for the upcoming missions to Eve and Duna, but the crews had already been selected for those two missions and were entering their final training schedule. And a bored Jeb and a bored Val at the remotest of remote locations on Kerbin just sounded like a terrible idea.

So instead they sent along three guinea pigs. Or, more precisely, they sent the three scientists they had rescued from orbit in the previous years: Daselle, Ersen and Elley. They had been press-ganged into research duty at Piquemetami 2 so surely they'd know how to cope with being forced into service at the North Pole. Remarkably none of them complained, and instead were eager to check out this atmospheric anomaly. Edlu once again was selected to fly them North, having the most experience with the route so far, and Mind Kerman was included at the last minute to fix the rover's power situation.

The flight North was perfectly serene and pleasant... until suddenly it wasn't.

[image condensed to protect the bandwidth. Personally I like how all of the target nodes are at the same spot on the navball - radial, prograde, retrograde, etc.]

No idea what ripped open the universe that time, but a quick F9 restored sanity to everything. The flight North was perfectly serene and pleasant... or so they had thought until they reached the open ice. And then the serenity and pleasantness went into a repetitious overload and became cold and hostile. And empty.

Edlu brought the jet in for a slow landing and coasted over to where the rover's plane was fast becoming useless debris. He would admit in later interviews to being depressed about drawing a flight to one of Kerbin's poles for a third time, but tried to seem happy and upbeat about it while around the three scientists. (He had no qualms about speaking his mind to Mind though.) Cold. Empty. Barren. Lifeless. Did I mention cold?

Once everyone was disembarked, Mind climbed aboard the rover to fix a few things with the electrical system while Edlu went over the mission plan. He and Mind would stay at NP-TAS to help with setting up and testing of the Mining and Fuel station while the three geeks would press North and start trying to extract understanding from the insanity that is the North Pole Atmospheric Anomaly.

Once Mind had completed the "repairs" to the rover, he waddled off to get the NP-TAS Habitat up and running. Edlu helped the three transfer their bags into the rover while Mind considered the empty expanse of nothingness he'd been sentenced to. The view from the West side of the habitat was at least mildly interesting, looking out on the desiccated ruins of the rover's plane and the transport jet. Probably not enough to keep Mind and Edlu sane, but they would have some extra work to do soon enough.

Meanwhile the three scientists drove off to the North Pole. NP-TAS quickly disappeared into the distance as they drive off through the white twilight. Twenty kilometers of nothingness. And then, as suddenly as NP-TAS vanished the North Pole Research Station appeared. Just two dots on the horizon at first. And as the dots grew larger another appeared at absolute North: Jeb's R-1 research jet.

Once at the station the three kerbals set about unloading their gear into the lab. And soon they started into their research, generating a less than amazing 0.0203 science per day. At that rate they might unlock the secrets of freeze-dried koffee before the next millennium. And maybe they'd even someday figure out what was going on with the lack of oxygen in the atmosphere at the poles. All good cover for the true and secret purpose of their trip.

The [insert-Name] Eagle Mining Company

And so enters the Mineral Reclamation Division of the Space Agency. This curious extension was rooted in the ancient trade of all kerbals: mining. Using the best legal tricks known to kerb, the MRD had decided to set up each mining operation as its own business entity using a formulaic naming system: [insert-Name] Eagle Mining. That way, should one particular mining outfit prove to be wildly unprofitable, it wouldn't drag down the rest of the operation. (And surely nobody would ever be able to figure out the naming trick.)

And thus was born Ice Eagle Mining.

A test rig was set up at KSC prior to launching the NP-TAS Fuel Station, but no photos from that aside from the parachute deployment have survived. The plan was simple: have a combined rig capable of drilling for and refining the ore. The end product of the refining would be pumped into a small rover, which would have an arm angled such that a T-01 Transport could "kneel" down and connect up. Once connected the refined fuel would be pumped into the transport. This was tested, and worked without issue. (After a few re-gauging edits.)

With the hardware proven, Unit 1 of the NP-TAS Fuel Station was fitted to a rocket and fired North. Similar reentry and landing protocol to that of the Habitat Modules. To avoid any potential accidents from drilling too deeply into the ice, the Fuel Station was placed a half kilometer away from NP-TAS. That way, should the ice crack and collapse, the odds were greater of the equipment at the transfer station surviving.

Once landed, Mind Kerman walked over to the fuel station to get it up and running. First order of business was to push the heat shield's decoupler out from underneath te facility. Following that he raised the legs so he could climb aboard, lowered the legs once on so that the drill equipment wasn't resting directly on the ice, and set about mining a small batch of Ore.

All working exactly according to design.

Next came the fuel rover. In a slightly boring change of pace the rover was delivered by the mysterious Astronaut Recovery Team. [because by this point I couldn't be bothered to fly or drive anything else to the North Pole.... And we're still on Kerbin after all.] Mind and Edlu were a bit surprised when it suddenly appeared one morning, but chalked it up to their windows only facing East and West, not South.

Edlu climbed aboard the T-01 Transport while Mind transferred the first batch of jet fuel into the rover. Yet again no photos survived of the rover docked up with the fuel station, but the fuel transfer into the T-01 garnered a few.

And that's because, unlike the tests at KSC, the tires on the fuel rover decided to explode when the nearly-empty T-01 knelt down to dock up with the rover. Hmm, that's annoying. Mind waddled his way over from the fuel station to fix the tires, only to discover he's not skilled enough to do so.

Even more annoying.

I think it's time for some intense Kerbal Training. But that'll be next time.

Cydonian Monk · August 28, 2015

Kanawha Space Program

Year 5 Update 2 - Training Rocks

Rocks, I tell you! Rocks!

While I was busy building the North Pole lab a bunch of small Class-A asteroids decided to pester the little green folk. So, as any aspiring space miner would do, the kerbals formed the Void Eagle Mining Company and sent out a couple of robots to snag two of them. The two asteroids selected for capture, SSD-577 and MWB-887, both entered the Kerbin System at a strange inclination, resulting in odd, semi-polar launches such as this:

The rendezvouses and captures occurred during the various North Pole Research Lab missions.

The first asteroid, MWB-887, was caught by the Void Eagle A-2 and placed into a prograde equatorial orbit around Kerbin, roughly 3,500km above the planet. This small rock required very little effort to move around, though most were suspicious as to whether or not it would prove to be a useful source of ore. This tiny rock was named after Milbas Kerman, an early victim of space exploration.

The second capture was the SSD-577, quickly renamed after famed explorer Thomlock Kerman, who was rumored to have been the first kerbal to escape from the gravity of Kerbin and even Kerbol. This little rock was spinning rather fiercely, and so required a bit of "bumping and scraping" to get it to stand still enough for the Klaw to catch it. Some of these maneuvers were a bit on the unorthodox side.

The rather large Class-A asteroid was deposited into a much higher orbit, some 29,000 kilometers above Kerbin. A later ship may come along to move it into a lower orbit.

Interested in obtaining a sample of the closer of the two, the mineral division pushed the agency to launch a crew to visit Milbas (MWB-887). The misison planners couldn't think of a reason to say no, and so Svetlana, Grazy and Lindra suited up and launched aboard the Keninsheka 5.

To avoid any potential kraken strikes, the Keninsheka 5 was sent up without a second Klaw. Instead the craft would match orbits with the asteroid and Grazy, the team's science officer, would EVA over to MWB-887 to perform the sampling. She took a flag with her too, but was disappointed to find there was nowhere in the rock to stick the flag pole.

The samples were enough to tell them the small rock would serve well enough as a test bed for the mineral division's planned orbital ore refinery. The slide-rule pushing geeks were still busy trying to determine if it was more economical to extract ore from the MÃƒÂ¼n and deliver it to Kerbin than it was to capture an asteroid to refine, but to finish the equation they'd need more ore samples from the MÃƒÂ¼n. Which they wouldn't get for some time to come.

Training Montage

The race was on for the crews to qualify for the upcoming Eve Visitor and Duna Visitor missions. Four kerbals would be sent to each location, but all four were required to have a two-star rating. For some strange reason the best way to get a kerbal to 2-stars is for them to plant a flag on both the MÃƒÂ¼n and Minmus.

Lots of kerbals to train and very little time to do it. It's time for a montage!

Tiskelwah 8 with Urcella, Eriemma, and Lindra at the Armstrong Monumen; Lindra running up the crater rim:

Tokebeloke 4 took Svetlana, Eriemma, and Lindra to Mint Green Sound on Minmus; Eriemma ran off to visit a Dogwood lander:

Tokebeloke 5 took Edlu, Ribzor, and Jermin to Chading Flats on Minmus:

And Tokebeloke 6 took Urcella, Roster, and Mind to the North Pole of Minmus:

With that done, the agency had enough information to make the crew selections for both Onepake 1 (for Eve) and Lakeweketon 1 (for Duna). Who made the cuts? Find out next time.

Geschosskopf · August 28, 2015

That's some pretty ingenious stuff there. Keep up the good work.

Cydonian Monk · August 28, 2015

That's some pretty ingenious stuff there. Keep up the good work.

Thanks!

I'm really looking forward to the new jet engines and the SSMEs coming with KSP v1.1. Already plotting and scheming.... I suspect that won't come up until I'm done with at least the Eve mission, depending on where things live in the tech tree. (I haven't even unlocked the SLS parts yet, as I was getting by just fine with just Skippers and the occasional Mainsail. Still 2300 science points to go.)

GMM_113 · August 31, 2015

Awesome thread (the same to your Null Cycles and Ad Lunam).

I havent heard of the SSMEs or new jets yet. Guess I'd better catch up on the Dev Notes

Edited August 31, 2015 by GMM_113
Spelling corrections

Cydonian Monk · September 1, 2015

Awesome thread (the same to your Null Cycles and Ad Lunam).
I havent heard of the SSMEs or new jets yet. Guess I'd better catch up on the Dev Notes

Thank you!

(Edit: And welcome to the forums!)

I'm not sure the SSMEs have come up in a DevNote yet, but they were dangled over folks like a carrot during the Charity:Water stream two weeks ago. They've also been (mostly, I think?) confirmed for 1.1, or at least the new jet parts have been. There were a few different discussion threads, but you can skip those and the miscellaneous grumbling they turned into and check out this album for the pictures: http://imgur.com/a/NkzMp

Cydonian Monk · September 1, 2015

Kanawha Space Program

Year 5 Update 3 - Eve Visitors

Competition for the first Eve mission was both the most fierce and the least surprising. With their "favored kerbal" statuses, Jeb, Bill and Bob had already been guaranteed a spot on the crew of four, leaving room for one more. One more good kerbal. With the mission projected to last two years, the science division (Bob) was pushing for the fourth member to be another of their own. They were not to be disappointed.

The crew:

Jebediah Kerman - Pilot and owner of the Scrapyard and Spaceship Parts company which bears his name. Jebediah is familiar to all kerbals everywhere, except for those few that that no one seems to remember anyway. Jeb has 26 flights notched onto his rather large belt. Judged "Not Sane Enough" to be mission commander despite being the senior-most member of the crew.

Bill Kerman - Mission Commander and Chief Engineer. He has completed eight missions in his five years with the agency, most of them testing new designs or setting up new stations. No one is quite sure where Bill came from, but his many quick fixes over the years have saved countless lives. Most of them his own.

Bob Kerman - Chief Scientist. Bob is by far the most mysterious of the bunch, coming from a government research organization that operates almost entirely in the shadows. Obsessed with the peculiarities and conspiracies that make up every day life on Kerbin, he has dedicated his recent years to studying the monoliths. Bob has only eight missions to date, at least that we know of.

Ribzor Kerman - A member of the "Second Five" astronauts, Ribzor was the first researcher aboard Piquemetami 2 and a member of the second research crew for Piquemetami 1. His five missions make him the junior member of the Eve Expedition, though his background as a planetologist should come in handy while studying Eve.

--

While the four members of the prime crew were training, the rest of the agency was busy launching and assembling their fleet. In all there were five ships planned for their flotilla, starting with the research station and ending with their own tin can.

The most important piece of the mission was the Eve Research Station. This simple, single-piece research station would support the four kerbals and their research operations during their year and a half at Eve. Though not intended to be upgraded during the mission, later crews could swap out the existing solar arrays for larger banks of equipment should the need arise.

The station would become "Weotowe 1" upon reaching Eve. It was heavy enough at launch to necessitate the creation of a new class of launch vehicle: The LV-24 Oriole. This beast featured four Mainsails on the first stage and a fifth on the second, with an estimated orbital payload mass of 86 tonnes. The new launch vehicle was used for the first three Eve-bound launches.

Next up was the "Eve Visitor Hardware." This package included three craft: A high-orbit communications satellite (Holly 3), a small experimental probe that will attempt to land on Eve (Holly 4), and a new-fangled invention that the pilots were not happy about: an automated System Shuttle that doubled as a lander for Gilly. The hardware package would stay wrapped until arrival at Eve.

The third launch was for the "Generally Depressing, Uninspired, Miserable Floating Tin Can," as Jeb called it. (Using more or less the same words.) Officially it was called the "Eve Visitor", but was christened the "Onepake 1" once in orbit. "You actually expect us to spend two years in _that_? Is it too late to switch over to the Duna mission?"

Bill and Bob didn't seem to mind, mainly because Jeb wouldn't be flying it. The new fully-automated onboard computer handled everything except precision docking. Which admittedly wasn't much more than a burn here and a burn there, but it was enough to rile up the Pilot's Union. (The Navigator's Union was still quite happy, though concerned at the risk automation posed.)

The crews continued training on the surface while the three major pieces of hardware rested in orbit. The fourth item, the Holly 2 communications relay satellite, would not launch until after they had left for Eve.

The plan was already very detailed: The Eve Visitor 1 mission would burn for the Purple Planet on the 211th day of the 5th year. One mid-course correction halfway to the planet would place them into the plane of Eve's orbit. Arriving on the 392nd day of the 5th year, the three "low orbit" sets of hardware would enter into an orbit around Eve that shared the same inclination as Gilly and was roughly 1,000km above the planet's surface.

In the 34 days remaining in the year, the crew of four would deploy the two commsats, set up the Weotowe 1 "Eve Research Station", send the Holly 4 to its likely fiery demise in Eve's atmosphere, and land on Gilly. If they were good, efficient little green dudes they might have enough fuel left over for a second Gilly landing, but otherwise they would stay at the station conducting research on Jeb until the 69th day of the 7th year.

If all went according to plan they would return to Kerbin on the 231st day of the 7th year, 872 days after they left. Just in time to begin training for the large, 8-kerbal mission to Jool which is scheduled to leave on the last day of the 7th year. (A mission all four were guaranteed a spot on thanks to their trip to Eve.)

--

The crews launched to Jeb's "Tin Can" in two sets. Not because the agency was worried about losing the entire crew in an accident, but because the only crew ferries they had available were the three-kerbal Keninshekas. And those still required a pilot. Jeb and Bill were ferried to the Onepake 1 by Svetlana aboard the Keninsheka 6, while Bob and Ribzor followed seven days later in the Keninsheka 7 with Edlu doing the flying duties. As the Tin Can had only a single docking port, each Keninsheka returned to Kerbin immediately following the crew transfer.

(Incidentally, the first North Pole Research Expedition had come to an end at some point during the training montage. Day 105 according to my records. That's the trouble with montages....)

One change made to the Keninsheka spacecraft in the new 1.0.4 Universe was the addition of a set of drogue chutes. These are attached on top of two of the three main chutes, which looks good but sadly doesn't automatically cut them when the mains deploy.

The crews were allowed a few days of rest once in orbit prior to the departure burns, which came up a mÃƒÂ¼nth or so later. First out (and last to Eve) was crew aboard the Onepake 1. The Tin Can's low mass really helped out here, along with the Skipper, in making for a quick burn.

Once the crew was safely away the research station was given the go-ahead, which was another mercifully short burn. (I'm going to miss these short burns when I eventually start using the LV-Ns.) Finally came the Visitor Hardware package, consisting of the Gilly Shuttle / Lander and its two small probes.

Curiously, each of the first three pieces launched had a close encounter with Minmus on their way out of the system. The Eve Research Station and the Visitor Hardware were both a good distance away, but the Onepake 1 "Tin Can" had to adjust its trajectory slightly to keep from becoming a new crater on the minty moon. As it was they still came within 10km of the dark side of Minmus.

With the first three components outbound for Eve, the last piece of the puzzle was launched: the Holly 2 commsat. This critter would stay in a very high orbit to relay data back to Kerbin. It was also one of the rare night launches for the Third Space Age, on account of its planned trajectory. It burned directly for Eve shortly after reaching orbit, and did not dwell in its parking orbit. It too had a close encounter with Eve, some 2Mm out.

And with that, the agency's 4-ship flotilla was outbound to Eve. (Or inbound to Eve, depending on your perspective.)

--

That's it for now. Next time we'll jump into the Duna Visitor mission, including the crew selections, hardware choices, and specific mission goals. It's a much longer mission (with almost 4 totals years of flight time, versus the 2+ years for an Eve mission), so the four lucky astronauts sent to the orange planet will have a bit more to do.

Cydonian Monk · September 4, 2015

Kanawha Space Program

Year 5 Update 4 - Duna Visitors

Lakeweketon 1

With the Eve mission underway, attention at KSC turned to the Duna Visitor and its crew. Much like Jeb and the B's, Valentina was guaranteed a spot as commander on the crew. The other three members were determined by a battle royale with the climax being a fight to the death between Val and Svetlana. No, wait, that's not it. The other three were selected according to the needs of the mission based on their performances during the training montage. Just as with Eve that means 1 pilot, 1 engineer, and 2 scientists.

Valentina Kerman - Pilot and Mission Commander. Nemesis of Jebediah, the two have competed for flight time since the very beginning. She has 13 missions to her name, none of them involving hallucinations or exploding aircraft. Chosen as mission commander by popular vote and because nobody wanted to spend four years trying to shout louder than Val.

Rama Kerman - Engineer. Famous for being the first kerbal to orbit the MÃƒÂ¼n during the Third Space Age. She has made a career out of quietly fixing the things Bill thought he fixed. With only 4 missions to her name she is the most experienced Engineer on the ship. She's also the only Engineer on the ship.

Grazy Kerman - Accomplished Scientist and second most senior member of the Science Division. Originally a tourist who decided to hang around the space center after her flight, Grazy Kerman has completed 9 missions, not including her tourist flight. She's also a certified BadS. Bob has entrusted her with some secret tasks while at Duna.

Lindra Kerman - A Scientist who is willing to run and climb up the edge of one of the largest craters on the MÃƒÂ¼n, all in the name of a surface sample and a flag. Lindra earned her spot on the mission by virtue of being a talented field researcher. She has completed 7 missions thus far.

The original mission plan was relatively simple. The Research Station would be placed into an equatorial orbit some 500km above Duna. The Ike lander, complete with its tug, would be able to reach Ike possibly twice using the provided fuel. Two communications satellites would be placed in orbits beyond that of Ike's, while both Ike and Duna would gain a resource and mapping satellite each. A stack of three lander probes would allow them to evaluate surface conditions at various locations on Duna, while a third communications satellite would be placed into a highly-inclined and eccentric orbit over Duna's Northern Hemisphere.

There were no plans to land kerbals on Duna for this first mission.

The flotilla would leave for Duna on the 367th day of the fifth year, arriving almost a year later on the 247th day of the sixth year. They would spend a little over a full year at the Orange Planet, leaving to return on the 339th day of the seventh year, and arriving back at Kerbin exactly one year later on the 339th day of the eighth year. If all went according to plan the total mission time would be 3 years, 398 days; a total of 1676 days. This would see them back at Kerbin in time for the second Jool Expedition, scheduled to leave on the 54th day of the 9th year. All four were promised a spot on that mission, should they choose to join.

As with the Eve Visitor mission, the Duna Research Station was launched first. This was a carbon copy of the previous Eve Research Station, down to the very solar panels. (There's a chance the provided solar arrays will not be sufficient for powering that station once it arrives at Duna. That's why I attached them via small docking ports.)

The Duna Research Station will become known as Seconee Station upon entering orbit at Duna. Constructed and launched by the Bob's Scientific Research Division, it too bears the science flag. The excess fuel included with the station's rather overpowered interplanetary transfer stage will be retained and used as needed.

Next came the Duna Visitor Hardware 1. This launch included the Ike lander and a small tug for use by craft in the Duna system. In practice the tug will only ever be used by the Ike lander and on this mission, and will probably be discarded during the second transfer to or from Ike, but we'll see how things play out.

The little green dudes in the mineral reclamation division got their turn next, what with the launch of two ore surveying satellites. One each for Duna and Ike, Redbud 2 and Cranberry 1, these satellites would no doubt come in handy for the second Duna Expedition... whenever that will be.

Next on the list were two high-orbit communications satellites for Duna: Redbud 3 and Redbud 4. There are rumours circulating around KSC that these two satellites would be obsolete by the time they even reached Duna on account of the much anticipated "1.1" version of the universe. Most dismissed such claims as religious hogwash and went on with the mission.

Much like Eve a few test landers were being sent along in the Redbud 5 stack. These three, very small landers would test out the new Dunan atmosphere to determine what type of lander will work best for the Orange Planet. And hopefully they'll be able to return valuable data on the various biomes they end up landing in. (At least one will target the northern ice cap. Kerbal scientists are curious as to whether the planet's ice is Oxygen or Carbon Dioxide... or an alternating mixture of the two.)

The landers themselves were slightly complex. Three landers total, each stored between two long runner I-beams for stability and protection. The landers would enter behind a heatshield, which would be discarded once through the worst of the reentry. They would then deploy the two drogue parachutes, which would hopefully slow the lander down enough for the remaining engines to safely land. At some point prior to landing, the drogue chute assembly would be decoupled form the lander, so that it would (hopefully) not land on the craft and blanket it with its silk parachutes.

Training for the Inevitable

"Two hundred meters. Cutting engines." The television screen outside of the window flashed and the Ike Lander trainer bucked hard, kicking Valentina back into her seat and sending Grazy across the cabin. She hit the wall with a good bit of force, but nothing her helmet couldn't handle. She stood up just in time to see the simulated surface of Ike flash past at several hundreds of meters per second, followed by a blinding bright flash and another sharp jolt. Val's helmet went flying through the trainer's window, followed closely by some choice words.

Grazy popped open the hatch and was almost knocked down as Val barreled down the ramp from the simulator. "You!" Val pointed and marched angrily at one of the simulation controllers who had the misfortune of smiling when the Queen of Anger came storming out of her destroyed chariot. "You think that's funny? Huh? How would anyone ever be able to survive that scenario?" The little guy turned a greener shade of green and put his hands up in protest. Grazy was about to run to stop the all-too-certain murder when Gene stood up from behind one of the trench consoles.

"Calm down, kerbonaut. It's not his fault, though that scenario was Jonbald's idea in the first place. I wanted to see how you would react to an abort-case failure mere seconds from touchdown. Not well, apparently."

"You think?" Grazy walked up next to Val, who was mere centimeters away from throttling her original target, and sat her helmet down on the desk next to the frightened desk jockey. "And what kind of abort-case failure was that? No kerbal alive could recover from a tank explosion a hundred meters above the surface."

While Val and Gene were discussing options for recovering from an obviously fatal scenario, Mortimer came --running-- quickly shuffling up from behind them. Grazy was pretty sure it was the fastest she'd ever seen him move. He tapped on Gene's shoulder, who waved him off to continue his discussion with Val.

Grazy looked down at Jonbald. "Cut the engines and crash?" He nodded.

"That's the most survivable option." He motioned towards a stack of printouts that might as well have been in Ancient Kreek for all Grazy could glean from them. "Any attempts to use the main engine without nullifying the rotation picked up by the tank explosion produces the result you just saw. There's a chance you could quickly cancel the rotation with whatever is left in the RCS, but it's unlikely."

"Think the flight computer would've done it right?"

Jonbald nodded again. "I wrote most of it, so yes." He thumbed over his shoulder towards Val. "You really think she'd leave it on?"

"Ha! Val? No way. Not her. Not even if she was about to..." She was interrupted by a sudden howl from Gene, and was relieved to see Val didn't have him in a headlock. Instead Gene was motioning wildly and pointing at Mortimer.

"What do you mean 'Insufficient Funds'? Have you tried both cards?"

"Why yes, of course. I tried Bob's credit cards as well, but there's not enough to cover the costs. Perhaps if we had launched the crew inside the station.... Anyway, I've arranged for a bailout." Suddenly a large stack of papers emerged from the briefcase Grazy was pretty sure she hadn't seen Mortimer carrying. "Yet there are some terms you may not like. We should go over it in..."

Gene waved him down. "No, I trust your judgment. Make it happen." He turned back to Val, Grazy and the mission control team. "Ok, let's try one more landing test today, and then we'll move on to the Lakeweketon Trainer."

Mortimer spoke up again. "Uhm, yes. About that."

Lakeweketon 1, the crew vessel for Duna, turned out to be something a bit different. Originally intended to be a carbon copy of the Tin Can sent to Eve, the Agency and its administration quickly discovered they had already built and launched too much equipment for the Duna mission and were out of Funds. There were no other missions or contracts available that they could complete before the Duna launch window, and so were forced to accept a bailout from some nice folks at the Transit Authority.

In exchange, the Transit Authority insisted the Duna Visitor's crew ship would instead be one of their own designs. And, since the bailout terms transferred launch authority from KSC to the Transit Authority, the Agency would never be allowed to launch another craft again unless they agreed.

And so the Duna Visitors got an upgrade. The Lakeweketon 1, instead of being a simple mishmash of two Hitchhiker cans, the new vessel had only a single Hitchhiker and three of the newer Mk2 passenger cabins. Converted to long-duration microgravity use, these cabins featured two beds each, allowing the Lakeweketon to support up to six kerbals comfortably for a long-duration trip. Jeb was somewhat jealous of Val and the girls when he found out.

As with all of the heavy launches conducted in Year 5, the LV-24 Oriole was used to boost the Lakeweketon 1 into orbit. The fairings around the craft itself were somewhat comically large, but no issues were encountered during the ascent.

As with the Onepake Eve mission, the crews were transferred to the Lakeweketon using two launches of the Keninsheka. Keninsheka 10, piloted by Svetlana, delivered Grazy and Rama, while Keninsheka 11, piloted by Urcella, delivered Val and Lindra. Each Keninsheka returned directly to Kerbin following the crew transfer so as to free the only docking node on the Lakeweketon for the next.

Another surprise awaited the ladies as they prepared for their departure burns: A second lander. The Transit Authority, in addition to developing the new long-duration crew liner for the Lakeweketon, had also devised a rather simple Duna lander. And they wanted the crew to test it out. In person. "What's the point of going to Duna if you're not going to land?" they asked. This two-kerbal single-stage reusable lander was the answer. (They hoped.)

There was a small chance the lander would be unable to return to orbit, or even take off again, depending on the atmospheric performance of the LV-909 engines... but the Transit Authority was perfectly happy risking the lives of the Agency's crews to test their design.

The lander wasn't the only thing included in the Duna Visitor Hardware 2 package: A Big Orange Tank "Fuel Can Type A" was also sent along, just to make sure they would have enough fuel to complete their mission. At 493 tonnes, this was the second heaviest thing launch to date. (The record still held by the 498 tonne Onepake 1.)

The various departure burns took place shortly after the launch of the second hardware package. First out was the Lakeweketon 1, with its four femme fatales. Following that came the Research Station, the first hardware package, the various probes and commsats, and finally the Duna Lander and its massive reservoir of extra fuel.

Of course almost all of these burns occurred on the dark side of Kerbin, so there aren't very many pictures or renderings of them to share. Lots of nice shots of patched conics though. (The other rather large group of outbound craft are all bound for Jool.)

The average arrival time was some 290 days after transfer burn, meaning they would arrive a little over halfway into Year 6. The research station had a particularly bad transfer, and will not arrive at Duna until 80 days after the Lakeweketon 1, which will complicate things a bit. Given that the Ike lander appears to also be an early arrival, they'll likely go ahead with the first Ike landing instead of just waiting around for 80 days doing nothing.

Busy times ahead.

And that's it for this update. Next time the boys will arrive at Eve and begin station "construction" and set about completing their primary mission goals. And that should bring this longest of years to a close.

Edited September 4, 2015 by Cydonian Monk

Kanawha Space Program - Year 6.1 - Transfer of Risk - Updated 2015-09-20 - Image Heavy

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