What "Unlocks" The Rescue Contracts?

[Landwalker]

I've tried looking at the game files, but either I can't read them right, or I'm not looking in the right place. So:

What is the "trigger step" that unlocks the Rescue Kerbal contracts? By which I mean, what do I have to accomplish in a career before these contracts start showing up in Mission Control?

Edited July 14, 2015 by Landwalker

[Grumman]

Get a ship into orbit. Any ship. Just escaping the atmosphere might be enough, but I couldn't tell you.

[Landwalker]

Get a ship into orbit. Any ship. Just escaping the atmosphere might be enough, but I couldn't tell you.

Hmm. Might just have been bad luck on my part so far, then, as I could swear I've put a satellite into orbit (uncertain on an actual kerbal). I'll have to forge ahead and see what turns up. Thanks for the tip.

Do you happen to know where in the game files I might be able to find confirmation of that?

[Grumman]

Do you happen to know where in the game files I might be able to find confirmation of that?

I don't. I just know that I've got rescue contracts after my second launch, and that completing either the sub-orbital or orbital starting contract seems to be what unlocks the non-starter contracts.

[icedown]

I don't know about the other game modes, but in career I think it's the first upgrade to the R&D that allows EVA. If you can't EVA, you can't rescue.

[Reddeyfish]

I don't know about the other game modes, but in career I think it's the first upgrade to the R&D that allows EVA. If you can't EVA, you can't rescue.

no, it's the astronaut complex that allows EVAs. R&D will give you resource transfer and surface samples.

Make sure your kerbals can do EVAs.

[Landwalker]

Duh.

Thank you, gentlemen. An answer so obviously right in front of me that I never would have noticed it or thought of it.

[icedown]

Yea, It was astronaut complex, I forgot which one I had upgraded first.