Fifth Kerpublic Space, Science, and Luxury Travel Agency

[Landwalker]

After the unexpected tinkering-related demise of the savegame for the Koviet Space Program, I have spent some time playing around with mod combinations and trying to get to a better place as far as the actual setup of the game is concerned before starting anew with a younger, fresher, more progressive space agency. And having finally reached that point, I believe it's time to introduce the Úáß's successor!

The goals of this Mission Log remain the same as before:

1. The encourage me to stick with a career for longer than it takes to get a probe into orbit around Kerbin.
   
2. To act as an avenue for my own improvement. Part of this is because I will [hopefully] be forced to pay more attention to what I'm doing. The other part is that readers are encouraged to offer critique/ridicule of my missions, ship designs, etc. I'm hear to learn, so if the opportunity arises, feel free to educate me.
   
3. To [hopefully] amuse readers with my overall incompetence and bumbling.

So, mods? Well. There are eighty-six eighty-seven eighty-eight eighty-nine ninety-one ninety-four subfolders in my /GameData/ folder. So clearly I have a problem.

• SETI Career Mods (Community Tech Tree, Contracts, and Greenhouse)
  
• Outer Planets Mod (w/ Kopernicus)
  
• Active Texture Management
  
• Adjustable Landing Gear
  
• Astronomer's Visual Pack  Interstellar
  
• Background Processing
  
• Blizzy's Toolbar
  
• CapCom Mission Control
  
• Chatterer
  
• Claw's Stock Bug Fixes
  
• Community Resource Pack
  
• Community Tech Tree (dependency for SETI-CTT)
  
• Connected Living Space
  
• Contract Configurator
  
  • Contract Pack - Anomaly Surveyor
    
  • Contract Pack - Field Research
    
  • Contract Pack - Kerbin Space Station
    
  • Contract Pack - RemoteTech
    
  • Contract Pack - SCANsat
    
  • Contract Pack - Tourism Plus

  [*]Contracts Window

  [*]Critical Temperature Gauge

  [*]CrossFeedEnabler

  [*]Crowd Sourced Science

  [*]Cryogenic Engines

  [*]Custom Barn Kit

  [*]DDS Loader

  [*]Distant Object Enhancement

  [*]DMagic Orbital Science

  [*]Docking Port Alignment Indicator

  [*]Environmental Visual Enhancements

  [*]FASA Launch Tower/Clamps

  [*]Field Experience

  [*]Field Scientist Pack

  [*]Final Frontier

  [*]Firespitter

  [*]Flag Decals

  [*]FuelTanksPlus

  [*]HeatControl

  [*]HomeGrownRockets

  [*]Interstellar Fuel Switch

  [*]JDiminishingRTG

  [*]Kerbal Alarm Clock

  [*]Kerbal Attachment System

  [*]Kerbal Aircraft Expansion

  [*]Kerbal Construction Time

  [*]Kerbal Engineer Redux

  [*]Kerbal Inventory System

  [*]Kerbal Joint Reinforcement

  [*]Kerbal Planetary Base System

  [*]Mk2 Expansion

  [*]Mk3 Mini Expansion

  [*]Modular Rocket Systems

  [*]ModuleRCSFX

  [*]Near Future Tech (Construction, Electrical, Props, Propulsion, Solar, Spacecraft)

  [*]PlanetShine

  [*]Procedural Fairings

  [*]RealChute

  [*]RemoteTech

  [*]SCANsat

  [*]Science Alert

  [*]Ship Manifest

  [*]Simple Science Fix

  [*]Space-Y Heavy Lifters

  [*]Stage Recovery

  [*]Station Parts Expansion

  [*]Station Science

  [*]SXT Mk3 Loading Ramp

  [*]Take Command

  [*]Texture Replacer (w/ PimpMyKerbal and KerbalHeads)

  [*]Trajectories

  [*]Transfer Window Planner

  [*]TweakScale

  [*]USI Life Support, Exploration Pack, and several others (but not Sounding Rockets)

  [*]Universal Storage

  [*]VenStockRevamp

  [*]Waypoint Manager

In case you're thinking about particular, commonly cited mods, here are some notables who didn't make the cut:

• MechJeb
  
• Ferram Aerospace Research
  
• TAC Life Support
  
• Deadly Reentry

Note: I don't use CKAN, so unfortunately (for convenience) I can't just screenshot my whole mod list. But there's most of it! If you ever see anything going on that you don't recognize or want to know where it came from, by all means, let me know.

Allow Reverting Flights¹

Allow Quickloading¹

Missing Crew Does Not Respawn

No Entry Purchase Required on Research²

Destructible Facilities

Starting Funds: √50,000³

Starting Science/Reputation: Zero

Re-Entry Heating: 30%⁴

Science Rewards: 60%⁵

Funds Rewards: 60%⁵

Everything Else: 100%

I should point out up-front that this is, foremost, a gameplay mission log rather than a brilliant piece of storytelling, so there will be a lot of references to decisions I'm making and "metagame" information like KCT upgrade points, Science points, etc. I will, however, generally try to couch these in a cheeky shroud of kerbalness, more for personal amusement than anything else, but also to make them marginally more tolerable for whatever unfortunates happen to make up the reading community.

So with the formalities out of the way, I may finally introduce:

Fifth Kerpublic Space, Science, and Luxury Travel Agency

This and more excellent flags originally designed by Jossen K.

KSA Employee, Guest, and Visitor Guide

1. Official Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
   
2. Maginot I  Stepping Up to the Line
   
3. Maginot II  Attacking the Darkness
   
4. Lancer I  A Not-Quite-Space Program
   
5. Planes, Brains, and Automobiles
   
6. Lancer II  Paving New Roads With Fire
   
7. Clervoy I  Trying to Hit the Ground and Missing
   
8. Lancer III  One Step Back, One Spacewalk Forward
   
9. Lancer IV  Round and Round We Go
   
10. J-3 Epee  Stepping on the Toes of Giants
    
11. Lancer V / ComSat Ker-1-E1  The Sound of Silence
    
12. Lancer V / ComSats Ker-1-E2 and E3  Radio Free Kerbin

1. Due to some general game instability caused by nearly 1.7GB GameData folder and the fact that I'm running this in DirectX 11 in order to allow me to (barely) get away with using Astronomer's Interstellar Pack. However, reversion/quickloading is only permitted under these circumstances. Bad decisions by Landwalker means I have to suck it up.
   
2. I thought about this, but right now the tech tree I'm working with has entry purchase costs all over the placeâ€â€a particular structural girder piece might have an entry cost of √0, while another structural girder piece in the same technology might have an entry cost of √7,000. Seemed silly to deal with all of that, and I won't have that much money anyway, so we're going with free parts unlocking.
   
3. To give myself a small initial financial boost instead of starting at √25,000.
   
4. Chosen based on some testing done by Geschosskopf to strike an acceptable balance between not being too trivial in the Kerbin subsystem and beyond, and not being completely malicious when doing interplanetary aerocapturing/aerobraking.
   
5. As recommended for SETI.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Landwalker
Updated Table of Contents

[Landwalker]

The Official Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

The original plans for the Kerpublican Space Center and Vacation Resort were grand, befitting such an esteemed and prestigious societal role as catering to wealthy international tourists with the finest snacks and facilities. Unfortunately, the groundbreaking of what would become known as "KSC" was mired by budget overruns, laborer strikes, and a brief kerfuffle with neighboring Kermany. So while the agency was supposed to be, and would undoubtedly ultimately become, the premier space exploration operation and exotic vacation destination, its beginnings were rather humblerâ€â€the spaceplane hangar was propped up with spare wood beams, the facility administration office was forced to be housed in a trailer home bought at a "family discount" from the program director's Murikan in-laws, and the impressively-named "Astronaut Complex" that would house both the leading facility staff and the glamorous guests lacked even the most basic amenities like a swimming pool or massage parlor. But one day, this picturesque seaside resort would become a global juggernaut of technology and relaxation.

To make matters more difficult, the ramshackle facilities were operated by equally ramshackle staffers who spent most of their time drinking wine. Despite a desire to whip these layabouts into shape, the agency was allocated a meager 15 "upgrade points" by the Kerpublican Construction Teamsters (KCT), which were allocated 8:4:3 between the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB (for the agency's aspiring space exploration program); the Spaceplane Hangar, or SPH (for the resorts future sight-seeing tours); and the Research & Development Labs (for the development of higher-quality amenities and vehicle components). This yielded embarrassing production rates of 0.5 BP/s in the VAB and 0.3 BP/s in the SPH, and a Development Team capable of processing 4 Raw Science Ore Units per day.

In order to demonstrate its worth, not just to the Kerpublican government that occasionally deigned to give the agency with official funding, but also the general public who would be the agency's principal customers, the first and most imperative. To this end, the program director had accepted basic government contracts as a stipulation for receiving a small amount of start-up capital. While the initial technological resources of the agency were not impressive, consisting primarily of scraps found various alleys and stolen salvaged equipment from the Kermany Kerfuffle incident, it would have to do. Or, if it would not do, then at least the breeze off the sea would make for a pleasant napping atmosphere.

• FASA 1.25m Redstone Launch Clamp
  
• ER-7500 Computer Flight Unit
  
• Kerbal Engineering System
  
• MRS Guidance Nose-Cone
  
• Probodobodyne HECS Probe Core
  
• Aerodynamic Nose Cone
  
• Small Nose Cone
  
• Basic Fin
  
• Z-100 Rechargeable Battery Pack
  
• RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster
  
• RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster
  
• PresMat Barometer
  
• 2HOT Thermometer
  
• FL-A10 Adapter
  
• Communotron 16
  
• Illuminator Mk3

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Edited July 15, 2015 by Landwalker

[Yemo]

Very much looking forward to it!

[Landwalker]

Maginot I  Stepping Up to the Line

UT Y1-D1-H0-M0

As the program director looked out from his office at the awkwardly-assembled, undeveloped rawness of his new space agency and future tourism mecca, he could not deny the power of the moment. Here history would forever remember the first precious decisions that would shape the future of a world-changing organization. This was truly a time for greatness, and a time for action!

UT Y1-D1-H0-M2

As the program director opened his eyes from a short power nap and looked out from his office, he realized that if he didn't start getting some work done, he might soon only be able to afford the discount-aisle snacks, and greatness demanded better.

Unfortunately for the fledgling agency, greatness would have to make do with limited initial means on both the scientific and engineering fronts. The assemblykerbs in the VAB had awkwardly chosen this historic moment to walk out in protest over only receiving three hours of break time in a six-hour day, so management was forced to press the facility's interns into service, and to these interns was dealt the momentous task of designing and assembling the agency's first rocket. While some critics pointed out that the KSA was relying primarily on parts left behind by fleeing Kermanians at the end of the Kerfuffle, and while accusations were made that these "rocket parts" were actually Kermanian bombs that had failed to detonate, the program director defended the agency's decision to press ahead with the materials at hand, and further retorted that if the project did hypothetically include components of Kermanian bombs, the Kerpublic couldn't just have these things lying around, and that it would therefore be not just a stride forward for science but a public duty to dispose of them by shooting them into the sky.

• Mission Objectives
  
  • Surpass previous powered flight records by achieving an altitude of 18 kilometers
    
  • Transmit scientific data collected by onboard instruments

  [*]Construction

  • MRS Guidance Cone (scaled down to 0.625m)
    
  • 2HOT Thermometer¹
    
  • PresMat Barometer¹
    
  • (2x) Z-100 Rechargeable Battery Packs¹
    
  • RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster (scaled down to 0.625) (thrust limited at 24%)
    
  • (3x) Basic Fins (scaled down to 50%)

  [*]Engineer's Report

  • Part Count: 11
    
  • Height: 2.0m
    
  • Weight: 543kg gross - Includes total of 352kg solid rocket fuel
    
  • Stage 1: 1.58 TWR (69.8s burn)  1,739 m/s (Atmospheric)
    
  • Total Delta-V: 1,739m/s (Atmospheric)
    
  • Construction Time: 5d, 2h, 36m
    
  • Construction Cost: √861

  [*]Crew

  • None

A short simulation was run by the one engineer who forgot that there was a strike scheduled in order to gain confidence that the Maginot I design would be capable of reaching the desired altitude, and after assuring the program director that success was likely, he demanded four keuros as compensation and then joined his coworkers on the nearby beach.²

Construction was begun at UT Y1-D1-H0-M2 and completed at UT Y1-D6-H2-M38. Rollout was delayed until the following morning, followed by launch at UT Y1-D6-H4-M46.

Once set up on the launchpad, the Maginot I transmitted back several data recordings as a test of its systems, and then promptly lifted off. The craft followed a vertical ascent until reaching a speed of approximately 70-80m/s, at which it turned to a roughly 80º angle of ascent and continued burning with the guidance cone's stability systems engaged to hold the heading, continuing to transmit data back to Mission Control.

About a minute and a half into the flight, Maginot I surpassed the target 18km altitude and continued into the upper atmosphere, where it continued to gather and relay data back to the ground. After reaching an apex of 22.1km, the craft began its descent. When the program director asked Gene Kerman, the mission controller, when they would be able to recover the craft, it was pointed out that the Maginot I actually had no means of returning to Kerbin's surface in a survivable manner. Resigned to the loss of the first powered craft to leave Kerbin's lower atmosphere, the program director poured himself a glass of wine and sat back to watch the remainder of the descent until it struck the surface of the Sea of Kerlin at nearly 130m/s, destroying the craft instantly. Although a number of spectators wrote to the local newspaper the following day accusing the KSA of dropping bombs into the Sea of Kerlin, the overall response of the public was predominantly positive, and the government bureaucrats funneled a small stipend to the agency in order to lure the striking engineers back to their workstations.

• Flight Time: 3 minutes, 43 seconds
  
• Flight Ceiling: 22.1km
  
• Science Recovered: §11.64
  
• Salvage Recovered: √0 (0%)
  
• Success  Surpass previous powered flight records by achieving an altitude of 18 kilometers
  
• Success  Transmit scientific data collected by onboard instruments

• Complete  Altitude Record of 18km!
  
  • √7,200  §2  Ʀ12

• Temperature Scan from Launchpad  §0.54
  
• Temperature Scan while flying over Kerbin's Shores  §1.26
  
• Temperature Scan while flying over Kerbin's Water  §1.26
  
• Temperature Scan from Kerbin's upper atmosphere  §1.62
  
• Atmospheric Pressure Scan from Kerbin's surface  §0.54
  
• Atmospheric Pressure Scan while flying over Kerbin's Shores  §1.26
  
• Atmospheric Pressure Scan while flying over Kerbin's Water  §1.26
  
• Atmospheric Pressure Scan from Kerbin's upper atmosphere  §1.62
  
• Telemetry Report³ from Launchpad  §0.18
  
• Telemetry Report³ while flying at Kerbin  §0.42
  
• Telemetry Report³ from Kerbin's upper atmosphere  §0.54
  
• Probe Report⁴ from Launchpad  §0.18
  
• Probe Report⁴ while flying at Kerbin  §0.42
  
• Probe Report⁴ from Kerbin's upper atmosphere  §0.54

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1. These items were placed on the underside of the MRS Guidance Cone, and were then hidden/covered by the attachment of the RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster.
   
2. I am running KCT with "paid" simulations, rather than free simulations.
   
3. Telemetry Report is a very minor experiment that can be run by a probe core, such as the MRS Guidance Cone.
   
4. For some reason, another of my mods (I believe it's the Cloud Sourced Science Reports) adds the Probe Report, which is identical to the Telemetry Report. I didn't bother figuring out how to remove this duplication because the value involved is so low. And frankly, I'm getting little enough science already at 60%!

Additionally, I have updated the original post with a more comprehensive (but non-exhaustive) list of mods I am using.

Edited July 17, 2015 by Landwalker

[Mister Dilsby]

Love the name of your program-- vive la république! Of course if things don't work out, you always have the option to put some bumblebee-shaped rockets on the flag and declare a Third Kempire

[Landwalker]

Maginot II  Attacking the Darkness

UT Y1-D6-H4-M53

√77,635 – §13.6 – Ʀ1%

The great success of Maginot I had won the Kerpublican Space Agency a small monetary award from the Department of Tourism, which had in turn been used as bait to trick the agency's absentee engineering department back into the production facilities for the next project after spending nearly a week lying on the beach near the Kerpublican Space Center. Thankfully, their absence did not adversely affect the Maginot I mission, and there was some speculation that the engineers might not even be necessary.

While the engineering department was reacclimating to the concept of "work," the folks over at the R&D facility were already hard at work performing their black rituals for transmuting the Raw Science Ore Units relayed from Maginot I into useful blueprints. The considerable success of the mission had generated enough RSOUs to allow simultaneous forays into the most fundamental concepts of any larval luxury travel destination (basic rocketry, simple engineering, and the core principles of aviation).

Unaware of, or perhaps indifferent to, the fact that waiting on the findings of the R&D lab, the engineers quickly set to work designing and assembling the Maginot II, with the objective of surpassing the records set by the intern-designed Maginot I and sending a "real rocket" into space itself.

• Mission Objectives
  
  • Escape the atmosphere on a suborbital flight.
    
  • Record and transmit temperature, pressure, and telemetry data from beyond the atmosphere.
    
  • Record and transmit temperature and pressure data during an overland descent prior to impact.

  [*]Construction

  • MRS Guidance Cone (1.25m)
    
  • 2HOT Thermometer¹
    
  • PresMat Barometer¹
    
  • (2x) Z-100 Rechargeable Battery Packs¹
    
  • RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster (100% scale) (thrust limited at 30%)
    
  • (4x) Basic Fins (100% scale)

  [*]Engineer's Report

  • Part Count: 12
    
  • Height: 4.0m
    
  • Weight: 4,042kg gross - Includes total of 2,812kg solid rocket fuel
    
  • Stage 1: 1.50 TWR (79s burn)  1,984 m/s (Atmospheric)
    
  • Total Delta-V: 1,984m/s (Atmospheric)
    
  • Construction Time: 7d, 4h, 29m
    
  • Construction Cost: √2,080

  [*]Crew

  • None

It was not lost on the program director (or on the interns) that the final product handed over by Engineering was almost identical to Maginot I, only larger (the chief engineer was quick to point out the addition of a fourth stabilizing fin). Despite this unparalleled display of ingenuity, simulations predicted that the craft would perform as desired, and so approval was given for production to start at UT Y1-D6-H4-M53.

By this point, the Kerpublican Construction Teamsters Union had authorized the release of four additional "upgrade points," which improved the production rate of the VAB to 0.65 BP/s, and that of the SPH to 0.35 BP/s.

As construction on Maginot II was ongoing, the R&D wizards announced that they had completed summoning a wide variety of foundational blueprints across several critical fields:

• Basic Rocketry (§4)
  
  • Reflectron DP-10
    
  • Hybrid Rocket Booster
    
  • Small Inline Reaction Wheel
    
  • Double-C Seismic Accelerometer
    
  • TR-2C Stack Separator
    
  • TR-18A Stack Decoupler
    
  • TR-2V Stack Decoupler
    
  • Universal Storage QuadCore
    
  • Universal Storage Science Bay
    
  • RT-20 "Sickle" Solid Fuel Booster

  [*]Engineering 101 (§4)

  • DMagic Magnetometer Boom (and Universal Storage compartment)
    
  • KIS Ground Base
    
  • KIS User Guide
    
  • Wrench
    
  • EAS-1 External Command Seat
    
  • EAS-4 Strut Connector
    
  • Z-400 Rechargeable Battery
    
  • M-Beam 200 I-Beam
    
  • M-Beam 200 I-Beam Pocket Edition
    
  • M-Beam 650 I-Beam
    
  • M-1×1 Structural Panel
    
  • M-2×2 Structural Panel
    
  • Cubic Octagonal Strut (Mk I-IV)
    
  • Octagonal Strut
    
  • Modular Girder Adapter
    
  • Modular Girder Segment (Regular and XL)
    
  • Pegasus Mobility Enhancer (I-III)
    
  • Utility Ladder (Mk I-III)
    
  • Service Bay, 1.25m
    
  • RoveMax Model S2

  [*]Early Aviation (§4)

  • D-25 Radial Engine
    
  • A7 AeroSport Engine
    
  • RealChute Cone Chute
    
  • Swept Wing
    
  • Tail Connector (A and
    
  • AB-R8 Winglet
    
  • Mk1 Inline Cockpit
    
  • Mk1 Liquid Fuel Fuselage
    
  • Structural Fuselage
    
  • TR-18D Stack Separator
    
  • Telus Mobility Enhancer
    
  • LY-01 Fixed Landing Gear
    
  • LY-05 Steerable Landing Gear

  [*]Modular Wings² (§1)

  • Variety of Delta Wings, Elevons, Strakes, Structural Wings, and Wing Connectors

The program director saw this windfall of technological advancement and realized that, as the Maginot II was not expected to be completed for nearly five more days, the handful of engineers who had gotten lost and wound up in the spaceplane hangar could get a head start on their first hallmark project that would truly be capable of propelling the agency light-years ahead of any competition: A simple propeller-driven plane for sightseeing around the resort. Brilliant!

Tragically, such brilliance would take almost four weeks to fully gestate, so attention was turned back to Maginot II as the finishing touches were applied at UT Y1-D12-H4-M38. Rollout was immediate, and the actual launch took place at UT Y1-D12-H5-M23.

Maginot II initially followed a very similar path to its predecessor, maintaining a vertical ascent until reaching approximately 100m/s (which occurred at an altitude of 850m), then turned to an 80º ascent angle. Unlike the agency's first flight, however, this turn was to a 270º bearing rather than a 90º bearing, sending Maginot II towards the Kerpyrenees mountains to the west. The full-sized RT-10 "Hammer" thruster burned out at MET 01:19, with the craft having reached an altitude of 26.7km and traveling over 1,050m/s.

At approximately MET 02:15, Maginot II surpassed an altitude of 70km and became the first Kerbal-made craft to reach the vast emptiness of space. Fortunately, no Kerpublicans were on board to suffer existential or philosophical crises at the realization of their own insignificance, and instead the probe computer dutifully logged a variety of scientific data and transmitted back to Mission Control. The probe reached an apokee of approximately 89.6km before beginning its unguided descent, reentering the atmosphere at MET 04:42. Maginot II's final transmission contained temperature and barometric data from just above the western highlands before it was destroyed on impact at MET 06:03 while traveling 554m/s.

• Flight Time: 6 minutes, 3 seconds
  
• Flight Ceiling: 89.6km
  
• Science Recovered: §9.84
  
• Salvage Recovered: √0 (0%)
  
• Success  Escape the atmosphere on a suborbital flight.
  
• Success  Record and transmit temperature, pressure, and telemetry data from beyond the atmosphere.
  
• Success  Record and transmit temperature and pressure data during an overland descent prior to impact.

• Complete  Escape the Atmopshere!
  
  • √15,000  §6  Ʀ50

• Temperature Scan while flying over Kerbin's Grasslands  §1.26
  
• Temperature Scan while flying over Kerbin's Highlands  §1.26
  
• Temperature Scan from space near Kerbin  §1.80
  
• Atmospheric Pressure Scan while flying over Kerbin's Grasslands  §1.26
  
• Atmospheric Pressure Scan while flying over Kerbin's Highlands  §1.26
  
• Atmospheric Pressure Scan from space near Kerbin  §1.80
  
• Telemetry and Probe Reports from space near Kerbin  §1.20

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1. As with Maginot I, these items were placed on the underside of the MRS Guidance Cone, and were then hidden/covered by the attachment of the RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster.
   
2. SETI recommends the use of Procedural Parts and, pertinent to this particular tech node, B9 Procedural Aero Parts. For people like me who aren't using B9 Procedural Aero Parts, this §1 "side-node" exists so that we can unlock a bunch of wing components. For B9-PAP users, they can skip this node and thus avoid VAB/SPH aero clutter.

Edited July 17, 2015 by Landwalker

[CatastrophicFailure]

Au Francais, eh? I take it the Koviet Union irreparably crumbled? Oh well, ce la vie, vive le difference!

But here's another challenge for ya: grab Kerbinside and fly out of somewhere not on the equator.

[Landwalker]

Au Francais, eh? I take it the Koviet Union irreparably crumbled? Oh well, ce la vie, vive le difference!

But here's another challenge for ya: grab Kerbinside and fly out of somewhere not on the equator.

Oui, oui! The Koviet Union save was pretty much ruined by all of my incessant mod-tinkering, and with Ussari taking up that particular flavor-torch, I wanted to go a different route. Went with some knock-off France for no other reason than that I really liked the flag Jossen K made for it.

As far as challenge, I have enough problems launching from the equator. You have to remember that I, as a player, have actually only ever left the Kerbin subsystem twice, and that was in 0.22 (and those two events were one-way parachuting landing probes to Eve and Duna¹)â€â€I've also never used a lot of the "gameplay mods" that I currently have in play, like RemoteTech and USI Life Support. So for me, everything is a challenge!

That said, one day (one day!) I do plan to "up my game" a bit more and try out things like KerbinSide non-equatorial launches, 64K scaling, and Ferram Aerospace Research. One day! But not this day...

1. Makes you wonder why I bothered with the Outer Planets Mod, huh? Lofty goals, is all I can say.

[Landwalker]

Lancer I  A Not-Quite-Space Program

UT Y1-D12-H5-M32

√80,874 – §16.5 – Ʀ6%

The Maginot II had proven to be another solid performance by the KSSLTA's space program division, furthering interest from the Department of Tourism. The mission had generated just enough Raw Science Ore Units for the R&D warlocks to begin investigating another "tech node" (which they insisted was a technical and highly scientific term). As the mounting interest from the Department of Tourism also resulted in mounting pressure of a demonstration that the program could in fact replicate its success with kerbaled flights, the program director requested that the warlocks focus on Survivability, as dead staff (not to mention dead tourists!) would be horrible for business.

As R&D began the arcane refining process, the director located the engineering department celebrating in the resort's wine cellar and, after giving them several full seconds to sober up, tasked them with the next great step for the program. The program had proven its ability to get a probe core into high altitude and even nearby space, and now it was time to do the same with a kerbal!

• Mission Objectives
  
  • Surpass previous manned flight records by entering upper atmosphere.
    
  • Send a kerbal into near space on a suborbital trajectory
    
  • Test Hybrid Rocket Booster from the launch site, per contract with Jebediah Kerman's Junkyard and Space Parts Co.
    
  • Return seismic and magnetometer scans from the launchpad
    
  • Recovery of the craft and safe return of the kerbal pilot.
    
  • Record scientific data and direct survey reports from the landing site.
    

  [*]Construction

  • Command Stage
    
    • Mk1 Inline Cockpit
      
    • RealChute Cone Chute (Nylon, single primary chute)
      
    • Universal Storage QuadCore
      
    • (3x) Universal Storage Science Bay
      
    • Universal Storage Magnetometer Bay
      
    • 2HOT Thermometer
      
    • PresMat Barometer
      
    • Double-C Seismic Accelerometer
      
    • (2x) Z-100 Rechargeable Battery Pack
      

    [*]Second Stage

    • TR-18A Stack Decoupler
      
    • RT-10 "Hammer" Solid Fuel Booster, 35% thrust limiter
      
    • (4x) Basic Fins, 100% scale
      

    [*]First Stage

    • TR-18A Stack Decoupler
      
    • Hybrid Rocket Booster, 70% thrust limiter
      
    • (4x) Basic Fins, 160% scale
      

  [*]Engineer's Report

  • Total on the Launchpad
    
    • Height: 10.0m
      
    • Weight: 8,524kg gross - Includes total of 4,162kg solid rocket fuel and 1,100kg oxidizer
      
    • Delta-V (Surface): 2,100m/s
      

    [*]Command Stage

    • Part Count: 12
      
    • Weight: 1,369kg
      

    [*]Stage 2

    • Part Count: 6
      
    • Weight: 3,652kg gross (100% solid rocket fuel)
      
    • TWR: 1.41 (67.7s burn)
      
    • Delta-V: 1,369m/s
      

    [*]Stage 1

    • Part Count: 6
      
    • Weight: 3,502kg gross (1,350kg solid fuel; 1,100kg oxidizer)
      
    • TWR: 1.53 (41.2s burn)
      
    • Delta-V: 731m/s
      

    [*]Construction Time: 12d, 0h, 11m

    [*]Construction Cost: √8,963

  [*]Crew

  • Test Pilot  Jebediah Kerman
    

As the Mk1 Inline Cockpit was not actually proven to be safe for short space-flight, it was difficult to find volunteers despite the historic nature of the mission. The only pilot kerbal enough for such a task was a loud, brash Murikan by the name of Jebediah Kerman, who eagerly (maybe a little too eagerly) jumped at the opportunity to be strapped on top of two barely-controlled explosive devices and propelled beyond the pale.

An initial simulation (costing √35.9) revealed a minor potential staging error between the first and second stages which the engineers were instructed to correct before launch. The hope was that this correction would allow the craft to maintain sufficient velocity to escape the atmosphere, as its simulated counterpart had only mustered an altitude of 55.2km.

Construction on Lancer I was commenced at UT Y1-D12-H5-M32. While this was underway, the R&D Lab reported the successful transmutation of RSOUs into fresh blueprints. Most of the pilots grumbled that perhaps they should have researched something called Survivability before beginning construction on the first rocket-propelled kerbal-guided craft, although it was later agreed that none of the proposed parts were likely to have been able to save the obviously doomed Jebediah.

• Survivability (§16)
  
  • Small Escape Tower
    
  • RealChute Radial Chute
    
  • Heat Shield (0.625m)
    
  • Z-200 Rechargeable Battery Bank
    
  • Z-1k Rechargeable Battery Bank
    
  • Fuel Cell
    
  • Mystery Gooâ„¢ Containment Unit
    
  • Universal Storage Mystery Gooâ„¢ Bay
    
  • Radiator Panel
    
  • Telus-LV Bay Mobility Enhancer
    
  • LT-05 Micro Landing Strut
    
  • Illuminator Mk2
    

Lancer I was completed at UT Y1-D24-H5-M43 in the late morning. Rollout was immediate, but as it took nearly an hour and a half the actual launch did not occur until later that evening at UT Y1-D25-H1-M11.

After testing the new scientific instruments on the launchpad, Jebediah performed a perfunctory systems check ("I don't see the snack dispenser...?") before Mission Control disconnected his microphone and remotely triggered the first booster's ignition. As with Maginot II, Jeb had been instructed to hold a vertical ascent until reaching a velocity of 100m/s (which occurred at 880m altitude), then turned to a roughly 80º ascent angle. Lancer I's flight path was set up to take it north across the Bay of Kerbay, and it fell into a bearing of about 343º north-northwest.

The Hybrid Rocket Booster that Jebediah himself had provided burned out at MET 00:41, having propelled the craft to an altitude of 5.3km and a velocity of 240m/s. The second-stage RT-10 "Hammer", a more proven engine, took over, and at MET 01:27 Lancer I passed the 18km altitude mark. Jebediah flew into history as the first kerbal on a powered flight into the upper atmosphere. The RT-10 burned out at MET 01:49, 31.2km, 800m/s, and Jeb continued his ascent towards space.

Unfortunately, while the staging flaw had been corrected by the engineers, it proved insufficient for penetrating the atmosphere. Much to Jeb's dismay, Lancer I was only able to coast to an apokee of 67.5km, just short of what Maginot II had identified as the boundary of space, before beginning its descent at MET 03:25.

Is "practice" for future flights, and to test the maneuver's feasibility, Jeb was instructed to hold the craft retrograde using the cockpit's built-in reaction wheels and descend engines-down for as long as possible before separating the booster and arming the parachute. This proved not to be an especially long timeâ€â€atmospheric friction heat began occuring at MET 05:08, and within ten seconds Jeb had lost control of the craft and was forced to trigger the separation of the command stage for the final descent. The RealChute parachute system worked flawlessly, releasing at MET 05:56 at an absolute altitude of about 3.5km and a speed of 164m/s, with full deployment 18 seconds later slowing the craft to its landing speed of 6.3m/s.

Jebediah touched down in the highlands north of the Kerpublican Space Center at MET 07:38, the command stage having been undamaged by the impact. After the scheduled scientific data was collected and the necessary reports made, Jeb relayed that he was ready for the recovery team to arrive, and that all the other pilots could, in a momentous message broadcast across the Kerpublic, "Bite me."

• Flight Time: 7 minutes, 38 seconds
  
• Flight Ceiling: 67.5km
  
• Science Recovered: §28.46
  
• Salvage Recovered: √6,145 (68.56%)
  
• Success  Surpass previous manned flight records by entering upper atmosphere.
  
• Failure  Send a kerbal into near space on a suborbital trajectory
  
• Success  Test Hybrid Rocket Booster from the launch site, per contract with Jebediah Kerman's Junkyard and Space Parts Co.
  
• Success  Return seismic and magnetometer scans from the launchpad
  
• Success  Recovery of the craft and safe return of the kerbal pilot.
  
• Success  Record scientific data and direct survey reports from the landing site.
  

• Complete  Manned altitude record of 18km
  
  • √13,500  §4  Ʀ25
    

  [*]Complete  Test Hybrid Rocket Booster at Launch Site

  • √2,625  §1  Ʀ1
    

• Temperature scan from Kerbin's Highlands  §0.54
  
• Seismic Scan from Launchpad  §0.72
  
• Seismic Scan from Kerbin's Highlands  §0.72
  
• Magnetometer Scan from Launchpad  §0.90
  
• Magnetometer Scan from Kerbin's Highlands  §0.90
  
• Crew Report from LaunchPad  §1.08
  
• Crew Report while flying over Kerbin's Shores  §2.52
  
• Crew Report while flying over Kerbin's Highlands  §2.52
  
• Crew Report from Kerbin's upper atmosphere  §3.24
  
• Crew Report from Kerbin's Highlands  §1.08
  
• EVA Report from Launchpad  §1.44
  
• EVA Report from Kerbin's Highlands  §1.44
  
• EVA Report while flying over Kerbin's Highlands  §3.36
  
• Recovery of Vessel  §3.00
  

• Jebediah Kerman
  
  • Operational Service Ribbon  Completion of one mission as a pilot
    
  • G-Force IV Ribbon  For withstanding at least 4 g's for three seconds
    
  • Research I Ribbon  For collecting at least 10 RSOUs.
    
  • First Landing on Kerbin
    

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Those of you waiting on the unveiling of the KSSLTA's first atmospheric plane have a little more waiting to do: The SPH is slow, and planes' increased complexity causes them to demand more Build Points in the first place. Still have a little over 8 Kerbin-Days until it's complete!

Edited July 17, 2015 by Landwalker

[legoclone09]

Yeah! It's here! I love this and loved the Koviet Space Program. Could you also make a flag for me? Your flags are great!

[Landwalker]

Planes, Brains, and Automobiles

UT Y1-D25-H1-M23

√20,145 – §28 .9– Ʀ9%

The Department of Tourism's latest pet project was to see KSSLTA take something from Kerbin's surface and put it into Kerbin's orbit. As appealing as this sounded to the program director, the fact of the matter was that the program in no way had the technological capacity to do such a thing, so the boffins at the R&D Lab were cut loose on researching what they called General Rocketry. Nobody was sure who, exactly, General Rocketry was, and several senior staff suggested issuing a standing offer of surrender in case he should ever turn up, but despite these shadowy obstacles the program pressed forward resolutely, if uncertainly.

While the R&D rituals were under way, however, work elsewhere had to continue. Rather than try to use the program's existing arsenal of solid fuel boosters in another potentially failed attempt to put a kerbal into space, it was decided to focus on projects closer to home until the latest and greatest explosions were field-ready. The R&D Field Research Team offered the program the proceeds of their Baked Goods & Wine Charity Sale in exchange for the development of a simple transport vehicle that could deliver reports and data around the resort grounds quickly.

As most of the Engineering department thought that the lack of rocket construction meant "vacation" and disappeared, only the few remaining behind were tasked with developing a small staff car for transportation around the resort and efficient collection and delivery of that information between facilities.

Since the P-1A "Papillon" scout plane and the KSA Science Kart, as well as the Mission Control renovations, would all take over a week to complete, all non-essential personnel were given the week off. R&D took off of their own accord unannounced after finishing summoning General Rocketry.

• General Rocketry (§16)
  
  • RT-2 "Grasshopper" Solid Rocket Booster
    
  • BACC "Thumber" Solid Fuel Booster
    
  • SpaceY 05S SRB (0.625m × 5m)
    
  • SpaceY 06R Radial SRB (0.625m × 6m)
    
  • SpaceY 09S SRB (0.625m × 9m)
    
  • TT-38K Radial Decoupler
    
  • TT18-A Launch Stability Enhancer
    
  • FL-T100 Fuel Tank
    
  • FL-T200 Fuel Tank
    
  • FL-T400 Fuel Tank
    
  • FL-T800 Fuel Tank¹
    
  • LV-T15 "Dachshund" Liquid Fuel Engine
    
  • LV-T45 "Swivel" Liquid Fuel Engine

The first of the projects to be completed was the P-1A "Papillon", a short-range, propeller-powered monoplane the agency/resort could use to conduct nearby survey contracts for prospective clients and guests. As it happened, the agency had partnered with a leading travel planner specializing in the most exotic destinations, the Anomaly Surveyor Group, who had identified the ruins of a former Kerpublican air base just a few kilometers off the coast from the resort grounds. This air base had been destroyed during the Kermanian Kerfuffle, but ASG believed it would make an excellent tourist destination and was willing to pay the KSSLTA for conducting a visual evaluation of the site. The newly constructed scout plane would be the perfect vehicle for such a job.

• Mission Objectives
  
  • Locate the burnt-out space pod in the island airfield's hangar.
    
  • Climb to the top of the control tower at the island airfield.
    
  • Return to the KSA resort grounds intact and alive.

  [*]Construction

  • Mk1 Inline Cockpit
    
  • D-25 Radial Propeller Engine
    
  • Mk1 Liquid Fuel Fuselage
    
  • Tail Connector B
    
  • (2x) LY-01 Fixed Landing Gear
    
  • LY-05 Steerable Landing Gear
    
  • (2x) Swept Wings, 140% Scale
    
  • (2x) Elevon 5
    
  • (3x) AV-R8 Winglet
    
  • (2x) EAS-4 Strut Connector

  [*]Engineer's Report

  • Total on the Runway
    
    • Flight Time at 100% Throttle: 42 minutes
      
    • Length: 9.6m
      
    • Width: 13.4m
      
    • Weight: 5,968kg (2,000kg liquid fuel)
      
    • Delta-V (Surface): N/A

    [*]Construction Time: 11d, 0h, 28m

    [*]Construction Cost: √9,634

  [*]Crew

  • Test Pilot Valentina Kerman

The P-1A "Papillon" was completed at UT Y1-D33-H2-M26, but as this was in the middle of night and the scout plane had no landing lights, take-off was delayed a few hours until UT Y1-D33-H5-M0.

Once on the runway, Valentina conducted a quick systems check and status report before firing up the engines at MET 01:00. The generally poor condition of the runway made "straight" takeoff difficult and resulted in much bouncing as the plane picked up speed, but the pilot was able to get the craft airborne with no serious problems or structural damage. After clearing the beach and barnstorming the sunbathing engineers, she took a heading of 135º (southeast) towards the island destination. The P-1A leveled off at around 650m altitude for the flight, and reached a top speed in level flight just shy of 100m/s. Valentina reported that the plane was unusually "twitchy" about its roll commands, and an engineering intern wandering through Mission Control at that moment surmised that the roll authority elevons had been placed too far from the body of the craft.

After a flight time of just under seven minutes, Valentina executed a successful landing at the island airfield and absolutely did not roll the plane over and destroy the right wing due to assymetrical brake torque on the frontal landing gear. After taxiing to the hangars and control tower, Val quickly discovered another engineering flaw, namely that the buffoons had not installed any means for her to deboard the plane without falling to the ground. So Val fell to the ground.

The burnt-out capsule was identified, evidence of a young space program destroyed too soon as a result of a K-2 rocket attack during the Kermanian Kerfuffle. The loss of the island program had set the Kerpublic back months, if not years, in their mission to reach space and stay there. Val said a quick prayer in the form of a jingle from a snack commercial and then made her way to the derelict control tower, successfully scaling the tall structure and then descending it rather less gracefully.

With the reports completed, it was time to head home, but the lack of a ladder once more reared its head, forcing Valentina to improvise in order to reboard the Papillon. This accomplished, she taxied back to the end of the runway and took off uneventfully, returning to KSC and taxiing to the designated parking spot by the space plane hangar. After a mandatory photo opportunity for the press, Val was allowed back to her quarters for a much-deserved nap. Total mission time was just under thirty minutes.

• Science Recovered: §10.58
  
• Salvage Recovered: √9,321 (96.75%)
  
• Success  Locate the burnt-out space pod in the island airfield's hangar.
  
• Success  Climb to the top of the control tower at the island airfield.
  
• Success  Return to the KSA resort grounds intact and alive.

• Complete  Investigate the Island Airfield
  
  • √15,000  §0  Ʀ2

• Crew Report from the Runway §1.08
  
• Crew Report from Kerbin's Grasslands  §1.08
  
• Crew Report from SPH  §1.08
  
• Crew Report while flying over Kerbin's Water  §2.52
  
• EVA Report from Runway  §1.44
  
• EVA Report from Kerbin's Grasslands  §1.44
  
• EVA Report from SPH  §1.44
  
• Recovery of a vessel that survived a flight  §0.50

• Valentina Kerman
  
  • Operational Service Ribbon  For completion of a single mission as a pilot
    
  • Research I Ribbon  For collection of 10 RSOUs
    
  • Kerbin Surface EVA Ribbon

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One day after Valentina's successful flight to the island airfield, the skeleton crew of engineers in the VAB finally finished working on the resort's first staff vehicle for quickly navigating the facilities.

• Mission Objectives
  
  • Conduct and transmit probe report from KSC Astronaut Complex
    
  • Conduct and transmit temperature scan from KSC Astronaut Complex
    
  • Conduct and transmit probe report from KSC Administration Shanty
    
  • Conduct and recover Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from KSC R&D Labs

  [*]Construction

  • Command Stage
    
    • M-Beam 650 I-Beam
      
    • (2x) M-1x1 Structural Panel
      
    • (4x) RoveMax Model S2 Rover Wheels
      
    • EAS-1 Command Seat
      
    • (2x) Illuminator Mk2 Headlights
      
    • (2x) Illuminator Mk3 Taillights
      
    • Mystery Gooâ„¢ Containment Unit
      
    • Probodobodyne HECS Probe Core
      
    • Magnetometer Boom
      
    • 2HOT Thermometer
      
    • PresMat Barometer
      
    • Double-C Seismic Accelerometer
      
    • Z-400 Rechargeable Battery Pack
      
    • Reflectron DP-10
      
    • Extendable KSA Flag²

  [*]Engineer's Report

  • Total on the Launchpad
    
    • Height: 1.5m (1.9m with flag extended)
      
    • Length: 2.4m
      
    • Width: 1.8m
      
    • Weight: 1,361
      
    • Delta-V (Surface): N/A

    [*]Command Stage

    • Part Count: 12
      
    • Weight: 1,369kg

    [*]Stage 2

    • Part Count: 6
      
    • Weight: 3,652kg gross (100% solid rocket fuel)
      
    • TWR: 1.41 (67.7s burn)
      
    • Delta-V: 1,369m/s

    [*]Stage 1

    • Part Count: 6
      
    • Weight: 3,502kg gross (1,350kg solid fuel; 1,100kg oxidizer)
      
    • TWR: 1.53 (41.2s burn)
      
    • Delta-V: 731m/s

    [*]Construction Time: 9d, 4h, 29m

    [*]Construction Cost: √7,620

  [*]Crew

  • Field Science Intern Bob Kerman

At UT Y1-D35-H0-M6, Field Scientist Bob Kerman took the kart out for its inaugural drive, assigned to collect a handful of RSOUs from around the KSA center and deliver it to the field research team at the R&D Labs for further refinement. Bob made a quick trip from the launchpad to the Astronaut Complex and Administration Trailer before delivering the information to the R&D Labs. The tech-heads were confused as to why Bob also arrived with so much unnecessary information regarding the KSC Crawlerway, but weren't ones to turn away good RSOUs and happily delivered the proceeds of an independent R&D Baked Goods and Wine Sale.

• Science Recovered: §12.88
  
• Salvage Recovered: √7,468 (98.01%)
  
• Success  Conduct and transmit probe report from KSC Astronaut Complex.
  
• Success  Conduct and transmit temperature scan from KSC Astronaut Complex.
  
• Success  Conduct and transmit probe report from KSC Administration Shanty.
  
• Success  Conduct and recover Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from KSC R&D Labs.

• Complete  Run the required tests around the KSC and recover the data
  
  • √12,655  §0  Ʀ2

• Probe Report from Administration  §0.18
  
• Probe Report from Astronaut Complex  §0.18
  
• Probe Report from Crawlerway  §0.18
  
• Telemetry Report from Crawlerway  §0.18
  
• Telemetry Report from Astronaut Complex  §0.18
  
• Temperature Scan from Crawlerway  §0.54
  
• Temperature Scan from Astronaut Complex  §0.54
  
• Seismic Scan from Crawlerway  §0.72
  
• Seismic Scan from Astronaut Complex  §0.72
  
• Magnetometer Scan from Crawlerway  §0.90
  
• Magnetometer Scan from Astronaut Complex  §0.90
  
• EVA Report from Crawlerway  §1.44
  
• EVA Report from Astronaut Complex  §1.44
  
• EVA Report from Crawlerway  §1.44
  
• Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from R&D §3.24
  
• Recovery of Vessel  §0.10

• Bob Kerman
  
  • Scientific Service Ribbon  For completion of a single mission as a scientist
    
  • Research I Ribbon  For collection of 10 RSOUs
    
  • First Kerbin Rover Drive Ribbon

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1. I really like that SETI puts all of the same-diameter fuel tanks in the same tech node here. (The only outliers are from the Fuel Tanks Plus mod, which I believe hasn't been "incorporated" into the SETI-CTT assignments yet.) Means I don't have to deal with crap like stacking six FL-T100s on top of each other.
   
2. The KSA Science Kart Mk.1 has a lot of non-essential partsâ€â€the flag, the headlights and tail-lights, parts of the chassis. Because things that look cool are better.

Edited July 18, 2015 by Landwalker
Turning signature back on

[Landwalker]

Yeah! It's here! I love this and loved the Koviet Space Program. Could you also make a flag for me? Your flags are great!

Unfortunately, I can't. I have the artistic and graphical chops of a potato. The flags used by the Fifth Kerpublic and the KSA come to us via some great ESA-inspired work from Jossen K. The absolutely awesome Koviet Union flag is literally the only post Yuri's Night ever made. If you're only going to have one, better make it count!

[Yemo]

One-way rockets, rocket & prop planes as well as simple rovers.

Everything a young space program needs!

[Landwalker]

Lancer II  Paving New Roads With Fire

UT Y1-D35-H0-M14

√58,049 – §34.9– Ʀ10%

Following the work done by Field Science Intern Bob Kerman, Wernher von Kerman, official court wizard of the KSSLTA, informed the program director that his apprentices now had enough Raw Science Ore Units to complete what he called "the final Tier 2 technology node" ("it's a technical scientific term"). Wizard Wernher claimed that this node's name was "Stability", and since that sounded like rather a nice thing for KSSLTA launch vehicles to possess, the program director authorized the necessary ceremonies.

No further work was necessary until the contractors completed their renovations to Mission Control at UT Y1-D36-H4-M6, expanding the facility to accommodate the simultaneous management of up to nine contracts. (Mission Controller Gene Kerman had previously been forced to handle all such matters himself, and was only able to manage three at a time. Gene was, needless to say, very pleased to have enough desks for a couple of interns to delegate all the work to while he took a nap.) During this time, the Kerpublican Construction Teamsters Union delivered materials for an additional minor upgrade, which raised the VAB's sole production line rate to 0.8 BP/s.

Following the hiring of Gene's henchmen college interns, contracts began pouring in. Many manufacturers wanted the official KSSLTA stamp of approval on their part designs, and many of these would require no more than a simple launchpad test without any actual mission. Some of the experimental parts, however, held promise in the goal of finally sending a kerbal to space. After a quick design period and a √53.1 simulation to confirm the likelihood of success (with no glaring engineering flaws, unlike Lancer I's simulated run), production began on Lancer II at UT Y1-D36-H4-M6.

• Mission Objectives
  
  • Put the first kerbal into space on suborbital flight.
    
  • Observe Mystery Gooâ„¢ in near space.
    
  • Transmit Magnetometer Scan from near space.
    
  • Collect and recover scientific data from splashdown in ocean.
    
  • Recover the craft intact.
    
  • Recover the pilot alive.
    
  • Test recovery of jettisoned stages.
    
  • Test FASA Launch Tower on Launchpad.
    
  • Test SpaceY 06R Radial SRB on Launchpad.
    
  • Test arming of RealChute Cone Chute within contract parameters (1km-7km, 100-900m/s)

  [*]Construction

  • Command Stage
    
    • Mk1 Inline Cockpit
      
    • RealChute Cone Chute (Nylon, Single, Main)
      
    • Universal Storage QuadCore
      
    • (2x) Universal Storage Science Bay
      
    • 2HOT Thermometer
      
    • PresMat Barometer
      
    • Double-C Seismic Accelerometer¹
      
    • Universal Storage Mystery Gooâ„¢ Bay
      
    • Universal Storage Magnetometer Boom Bay

    [*]Second Stage

    • BACC "Thumper" Solid Fuel Booster (55% Thrust Limiter)
      
    • (2x) RealChute Radial Chute (Silk, Single, Main)
      
    • (4x) Basic Fin, 200% Scale

    [*]First Stage

    • (2x) SpaceY 06R Radial SRB, 0.625m×6m (80% Thrust Limiter)
      
    • (2x) RealChute Radial Chute (Silk, Single, Main)

    [*]Launch Supports

    • FASA Launch Tower
      
    • FASA 1.25m Redstone Launch Clamp

  [*]Engineer's Report

  • Total on the Launchpad
    
    • Part Count: 26
      
    • Height: 17.5m
      
    • Mass: 13,509kg (9,450kg solid fuel)²
      
    • Delta-V (Surface): 2,307m/s

    [*]Command Stage

    • Part Count: 11
      
    • Mass: 1,376kg

    [*]Second Stage

    • Part Count: 9
      
    • Mass: 8,015kg (6,150kg solid fuel)
      
    • TWR: 1.49 (76.8s burn)
      
    • Delta-V: 1,826m/s

    [*]First Stage

    • Part Count: 6
      
    • Mass: 4,087kg (3,300kg solid fuel)
      
    • TWR: 1.49 (28.7s burn)
      
    • Delta-V: 482m/s

    [*]Construction Time: 9d, 5h, 52m

    [*]Construction Cost: √13,613

  [*]Crew

  • Test Pilot Jebediah Kerman

On account of being scheduled for nearly ten days of construction and with no other ongoing projects, once again all unoccupied staff (which is to say, everyone except the engineers and R&D sorcerers) were given further vacation time. And once again, after the folks at R&D finished their incantations surrounding Stability, they took vacation of their own accord.

• Stability (§16)
  
  • MRS Decoupler, Radial Mini
    
  • Procedural Interstage Fairing Adapter
    
  • Procedural Fairing Base
    
  • Procedural Fairing Base Ring
    
  • Procedural Egg-shaped Fairing
    
  • Procedural Conic Fairing
    
  • AE-FF1 Airstream Protective Shell (1.25m)
    
  • A.I.R.B.R.A.K.E.S.
    
  • Circular Intake
    
  • Mk1 Fuselage - Intake
    
  • LFI Basic Jet Engine, Small
    
  • AV-T1 Winglet
    
  • Small Hardpoint
    
  • LY-10 Small Landing Gear

Construction of Lancer II was completed at UT Y1-D46-H3-M58 and rollout began immediately. As soon as the rocket was out of the VAB, the few engineers who weren't fast enough to disappear were put to work preparing for the surface testing of various minor parts in connection with some of the small contracts that were inundating Mission Control. Rollout took just over two hours, with launch at UT Y1-D47-H0-M1.

As was becoming customary, Jebediah burned vertically until reaching a velocity of 90-100m/s, then slowly turned the craft to an 80º ascent angle. It was noted a short while later that Lancer II had wound up on a 98º heading instead of traveling due east, and Mission Controller Gene Kerman made a note that upon return they would have Jeb work on his "aim" to improve the ascent headings.

The first-stage SpaceY boosters successfully separated at MET 00:29 and parachutes deployed for recovery, with confirmation later coming from Mission Control that they recovery was successful. The second-stage BACC "Thumper" took over, burning out at MET 01:47 with the Lancer II at 33.8km altitude and traveling 1,415m/s. At MET 02:37, Jebediah Kerman became the first ever kerbal in space as the ship passed the 70km altitude mark! Jeb was eventually persuaded to conduct the obligatory crew report and run the requested magnetometer and Mystery Gooâ„¢ experiments, and was also successfully talked down from trying to get out of the cockpit and "see what space tastes like." Mission Control made notes not to allow Jeb on future unprovisioned flights unless he had been well-fed in advance, and also to look into what improvements could be made to training and equipment to allow future kerbonauts to go on EVA in space.

Lancer II reached an apokee of 101km at MET 04:24. Jeb retracted the magnetometer boom and prepared for descent, separating the still-attached Stage 2 at MET 05:00. Atmospheric encounter occurred at MET 06:13 (total time in space: 3 minutes and 36 seconds), and Jeb was instructed to hold orientation "nose up" during the descent unless it became a danger to the scientific instruments at the base of the command stage. Reentry heating was encountered at MET 06:58 with the craft traveling over 1,500m/s at an altitude of 36.7km, but the heating had largely subsided by the time the craft reached 9km altitude, by which point it had slowed to under 600m/s.

The command stage parachute was successfully armed at an altitude of 6.9km and a velocity of 280m/s, satisfying the conditions of its particular contract, and proceeded to deploy without issue. Splashdown occurred at MET 10:03, and Jeb spent a few moments running additional experiments and composing his reports in iambic penatmeter replete with food metaphors. Recovery was at MET 12:00, and Jeb was given a cookie.

• Science Recovered: §33.00
  
• Salvage Recovered: √8,387 (61.61%)
  
• Success  Put the first kerbal into space on suborbital flight.
  
• Success  Observe Mystery Gooâ„¢ in space near Kerbin.
  
• Success  Transmit Magnetometer Scan from space near Kerbin.
  
• Success  Collect and recover scientific data from splashdown in ocean.
  
• Success  Recover the craft intact.
  
• Success  Test recovery of jettisoned stages.
  
• Success  Test FASA Launch Tower on Launchpad.
  
• Success  Test SpaceY 06R Radial SRB on Launchpad.
  
• Success  Test arming of RealChute Cone Chute in flight.

• Complete  Test RealChute Cone Chute in flight over Kerbin
  
  • √12,857  §2  Ʀ6

[*]Complete  Test FASA Launch Tower at the Launch Site

• √2,835  §1  Ʀ1

Complete  Test SpaceY 06R Radial SRB landed at Kerbin

• √3,245  §1  Ʀ1

• Crew Report from space just above Kerbin's Water  §3.60
  
• Crew Report whiile splashed down in Kerbin's Waters  §1.44
  
• EVA Report from Kerbin's Water  §1.44
  
• EVA Report "splashed down" in Kerbin's Water  §1.92
  
• EVA Report while "flying" over Kerbin's Water  §3.36
  
• Magnetometer Scan from space near Kebrin  §3.00
  
• Magnetometer Scan from Kerbin's oceans  §1.20
  
• Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation while in space near Kerbin  §10.80
  
• Temperature Scan from Kerbin's Water  §0.72
  
• Atmospheric Pressure Scan from Kerbin's oceans  §0.72
  
• Recovery of a vessel after a sub-orbital flight  §4.80

• Jebediah Kerman
  
  • First Kerbal in Space Ribbon
    
  • Research II Ribbon  For collection of 50 RSOUs
    
  • Splashdown Ribbon  For a splashdown of a vessel in water
    
  • Multiple Contracts Ribbon  For completing five contracts
    
  • G-Force V Ribbon  For withstanding acceleration of 5g for three seconds
    
  • Mach II Ribbon  For flying horizontally at mach 2 below 30km in Kerbin's atmosphere
    
  • 10% Solid Fuel Booster Ribbon  Awarded for launching with solid fuel booster at 10% of ship mass

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1. Although the mission objectives call for a splashdown, the accelerometer was included just in case Jeb missed the water and ended up on land.
   
2. I finally, for the first time, remembered to remove the built-in monopropellant from the cockpit. Saved me all of 30kg and √9, but still, principles.

Edited July 18, 2015 by Landwalker
Removed outline notes erroneously left in write-up

[Landwalker]

Just noticed the Lancer II post accidentally included some of my outline notes from when I was actually playing. They've now been removed.

One-way rockets, rocket & prop planes as well as simple rovers.

Everything a young space program needs!

Indeed! The KSSLTA is progressing slowly but more-or-less surely. The combination of the SETI-CTT layout and playing at 60% Funds/Science is keeping the progression rate down, but they've finally managed to put a kerbal into space, however briefly. With the recent discovery of liquid fuel options (via General Rocketry), primitive orbital craft seems to be on the horizon. I'm going to have to play around with a few things due to RemoteTech to make sure I can actually get these probes to, you know, work, but I'm hopeful that the KSSLTA will be able to accumulate enough science from various avenues to pick up a handful of the Tier 3 tech nodes, particularly Basic Science in order to 1) Improve science collection, and 2) Unlock the first RemoteTech dish antenna.

While the current Department of Tourism request is for an orbital craft, the major near-term goals are upgrading the launchpad, tracking station, and VAB so that we can start attempting to set up a first-generation near-Kerbin communications array.

[Landwalker]

Clervoy I  Trying to Hit the Ground and Missing

UT Y1-D47-H0-M18

√83,953 – §55.9– Ʀ12%

Jebediah was able to return the largest bounty of RSOU in KSSLTA's history from his short jaunt into space, and this windfall was quickly invested with the R&D team in an effort to find ways to extract even more RSOUs from future missions. Court Wizard Wernher von Kerman assured the program director that a mystical tech node called "Basic Science" would serve this role perfectly, and would also offer a great number of additional benefits to the program going forward. This investment also persuaded the KCT Union to provide an additional upgrade point, which went to the engineering team in the spaceplane hangar in recognition of their work behind the scenes on the mission to the island airfield.¹

Mission Controller Gene Kerman had received a number of contract offers, and while the VAB team was working to prepare a "non-live" parts test for several major manufacturers, Kerbal Motion LLC had provided the agency with its own version of the 2HOT Thermometer and requested that it be tested at a particular site for calibration purposes. Since the site in question was fewer than 40km from the KSSLTA complex, this was a perfect opportunity to test the engineering tweaks made to the P-1A "Papillon", and work began on preparing the plane for its second missionâ€â€not only was the thermometer to be tested added to the top of the fuselage, but the roll authority elevons were moved closer to the center of the plane in order to improve its stability, and two under-wing Mystery Gooâ„¢ Containment Units were attached in order to take advantage of the flight and collect more RSOUs for the R&D team. The plane would need about six and a half days to prepare for the flight, largely due to these new Mystery Gooâ„¢ units.

While awaiting the P-1A's readiness, the program director used most of the agency's funds to begin construction on a more robust launchpad capable of accommodating heavier crafts. Although the KSSLTA had not encountered any issues yet, it was clear that as they sought to press further into space, the current arrangement of "launching from a small hill of dirt" would be inadequate to accommodate the larger rockets such missions would require.

Although this job drained the coffers, these were quickly replenished (in small part) by the completion of several small parts tests, which combined to earn the agency just over √14,000.

• Complete  Test TT18-A Launch Stability Enhancer at the Launch Site
  
  • √2,835  §1  Ʀ1

[*]Complete  Test TT-38K Radial Decoupler landed at Kerbin

• √2,835  §1  Ʀ1

Complete  Test RT-2 "Grasshopper" Solid Rocket Booster at the Launch Site

• √2,700  §1  Ʀ1

[*]Complete  Test MRS Liquid Fuel Engine, 0.625m "Sparkler" landed at Kerbin

• √2,949  §1  Ʀ1

Complete  Test Launch Escape System landed at Kerbin

• √2,700  §1  Ʀ1

Following these successful tests, another Field Research Team baked goods and wine sale was held to finance additional studies around the resort grounds, and so work began to prepare the KSA Science Kart Mk.1 for another outing. Due to an unofficially "scheduled" work stoppage, this would require just over three days.

While the VAB team was busy not working on the KSA Science Kart, the SPH team completed refurbishing the P-1A "Papillon", and Valentina took off at UT Y1-D53-H4-M55. The target site was about 38km SSW of the KSSLTA grounds, requiring about seven minutes of flight each way. Val arrived at the site without issue, performed the contracted temperature recording, and returned to KSC, opting for a return flight over land and an approach to the runway from the west. While the relocated roll elevons performed as expected, it was noted prior to takeoff that the rear landing gear had been configured to steer in the opposite direction as desired. While this was resolved on the runway, a note was made for the engineers to permanently fix the issue for future missions.

• Mission Results
  
  • Science Recovered: §14.40
    
  • Salvage Recovered: √12,226 (96.77%)
    
  • Success  Recover two Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observations.
    
  • Success  Perform temperature scan in low-altitude flight at site Area JD-WJ.

  [*]Contracts Completed

  • Complete  Measure the temperature in flight below 16,900 meters near Areae JD-WJ.
    
    • √12,450  §0  Ʀ2

[*]Science Collected

• Temperature Scan from the Runway  §0.54
  
• Temperature Scan from the Spaceplane Hangar  §0.54
  
• Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from the Runway  §3.24
  
• Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation while flying at Kerbin  §7.56
  
• Crew Report while flying over Kerbin's Grasslands  §2.52

Shortly after return, the Space Exploration & Technology Institute presented a contract making a similar request, but requiring an atmospheric pressure scan rather than a temperature reading, so no sooner had Valentina returned to the resort than work began preparing the P-1A "Papillon" for another outing, although it would not be ready for several days.

The following evening, the Science Kart was ready for its work, and Engineering Minion Bill Kerman was given the wheel. Bill was immediately grateful for the original inclusion of headlights in the design, since it was well after dusk when he climbed into the seat.

• Mission Results
  
  • Science Recovered: §5.76
    
  • Salvage Recovered: √7,468 (98.01%)

  [*]Contracts Completed

  • Complete  Perform experiments around KSC
    
    • √14,586  §0  Ʀ2

[*]Science Collected

• Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from Mission Control  §3.24
  
• Probe Report from the Tracking Station  §0.18
  
• Probe Report from R&D  §0.18
  
• Seismic Scan from R&D  §0.72
  
• EVA Report from R&D  §1.44

[*]Crew Decorations Awarded

• Bill Kerman
  
  • Engineer Service Ribbon  For completion of a single mission as an engineer
    
  • Kerbin Rover Drive Ribbon  For moving a vehicle on the surface of Kerbin

Footnote!²

While awaiting the completion of the Basic Science research, Field Science Intern Bob Kerman conducted another short drive around the resort grounds at the behest of the Field Research Team, and Test Pilot Valentina Kerman made her third flight in the P-1A "Papillon" to perform an atmospheric pressure scan for the Space Exploration & Technology Institute. Since Val had plenty of fuel to spare, Mission Control requested that she also perform a flyover of the nearby mountains in order to obtain scientific data readings there.

• Mission Timeline
  
  • Launch Time: UT Y1-D56-H2-M53
    
  • Mission Duration: 05:58

  Mission Results

  • Science Recovered: §5.58
    
  • Salvage Recovered: √7,468 (98.01%)

  [*]Contracts Completed

  • Complete  Perform experiments around KSC
    
    • √13,122 §0  Ʀ2

[*]Science Collected

• Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from Astronaut Complex  §3.24
  
• Seismic Scan from Mission Control  §0.72
  
• Seismic Scan from Spaceplane Hangar  §0.72
  
• Magnetometer Scan from Runway  §0.90

[*]Crew Decorations Awarded

• Bob Kerman
  
  • None

• Mission Timeline
  
  • Launch Time: UT Y1-D56-H5-M18
    
  • Mission Duration: 23:17

  [*]Mission Objectives

  • Take pressure readings in flight below 18,700 meters near Wernher's Flux
    
  • Record and recover scientific data during flyover of mountains.

  [*]Mission Results

  • Science Recovered: §5.04
    
  • Salvage Recovered: √12,506 (96.69%)
    
  • Success  Perform Record and recover scientific data during flyover of mountains.

  [*]Contracts Completed

  • Complete  Take pressure readings in flight below 18,700m near Wernher's Flux.
    
    • √12,450 §0  Ʀ2

[*]Science Collected

• Crew Report while flying over Kerbin's Mountains  §2.52
  
• Atmospheric Pressure Scan while flying over Kerbin's Mountains  §1.26
  
• Temperature Scan while flying over Kerbin's Mountains  §1.26

[*]Crew Decorations Awarded

• Valentina Kerman
  
  • None

During flight at the mountains, the plane ultimately reached an altitude of over 3.5km, its highest yet. Val reported minor engine trouble during the later stages of the ascent, and Engineering began considering alternative modes of controlled atmospheric flight to potentially alleviate this issue.

The RSOUs collected from Val's flyover of the western Kerpyrenees mountains allowed the R&D team to begin the rituals necessary for Advanced Rocketry, although it would ultimately prove to be nearly two weeks before bearing any fruit.³

The R&D gurus reported successfully summoning the Basic Science tech node, and the last piece in the puzzle for the planned mission to launch an orbital satellite would follow a day later as the upgrades to the launch pad were finally completed. Hoping to even further modernize the resort's space division facilities, the program director accepted a contract from Communication Satellite Group to put a four-satellite communications network up around Kerbinâ€â€an outrageously lofty goal for a program that had not put a single anything into orbit yet. However, the "down payment" on the job provided the KSSLTA with enough Keuros to begin a build-out of the tracking station in the hopes that it would help them better plot and plan upcoming missions.

• Complete  Test TR-18D Stack Separator at the Launch Site
  
  • √4,536  §1  Ʀ1

[*]Complete  Test FASA Atlas Launch Clamp at the Launch Site

• √2,835  §1  Ʀ1

Complete  Test RT-5 "Flea" Solid Fuel Booster at the Launch Site

• √2,700  §1  Ʀ1

[*]Complete  Test LY-10 Small Landing Gear landed at Kerbin

• √1,920  §1  Ʀ1

• Basic Science (§45)
  
  • DMagic Orbital Telescope
    
  • Universal Storage Orbital Telescope Bay
    
  • SC-9001 Science Jr. (both inline and radial versions)
    
  • Universal Storage SC-9001 Science Jr. Bay
    
  • Reflectron KR-7 Dish Antenna
    
  • SCAN RADAR Altimetry Sensor
    
  • OX-2L 1×3 Photovoltaic Panels
    
  • OX-4W 3×1 Photovoltaic Panels
    
  • OX-STAT Photovoltaic Panels
    
  • Illuminator Mk1
    
  • Radiator Panel (Large)

Although an initial design was quickly proposed, a simulation (√50) showed that the rocket would be almost impossible to steer during the first stage due to the anemic reaction wheels built in to the HECS probe core. This resulted in far too steep an ascent angle, and a westward heading that the probe core was unable to correct. Despite these issues, the simulation suggested that the craft would just barely be able to circularize a stable orbit.

The simulation also suggested that the original design was "part-inefficient" for its task, and that this (combined with the VAB Engineers Guild refusing to work with more than 30 separate parts at once) prevented the design from making use of more useful parts, such as additional reaction wheels or stage recovery parachutes. Modifications would be necessary before actually undertaking an orbital mission.

The decision was made not to attempt to perform any parts-testing contracts during this flight, partly in order to placate the VAB Engineers (the program director muttered something about forcing them to eat cake until they agreed to work with greater quantities of parts, but this idea was quickly abandoned as ridiculous) and partly to leave space for more essential components. While a future flight would have to be dedicated to the necessary in-flight parts testing, the redesign allowed the addition of recovery chutes and inline reaction wheels with enough torque to nudge the rocket in the right directions.

• Mission Timeline
  
  • Construction Started: UT Y1-D60-H0-M47
    
  • Construction Completed: UT Y1-D71-H3-M10
    
  • Launch Time: UT Y1-D71-H5-M53

  [*]Mission Objectives

  • Put the first kerbal-made object into stable orbit around Kerbin.
    
  • Conduct and return Materials Bay data from space near Kerbin.
    
  • Conduct testing of flight computer for maneuvers outside Mission Control's communications range.
    
  • Recover all jettisoned parts.
    
  • Recover the craft intact.

  [*]Construction

  • Command Stage
    
    • Probodobodyne HECS Probe Core
      
    • RealChute Cone Chute (Nylon, Single, Main)
      
    • Service Bay (1.25m)
      
    • SC-9001 Science Jr. Materials Bay
      
    • Z-200 Rechargeable Battery Bank
      
    • Small Inline Reaction Wheel
      
    • TR-18A Stack Decoupler⁴

    [*]Second Stage

    • FL-T400 Fuel Tank
      
    • LV-T45 "Swivel" Liquid Fuel Engine
      
    • RealChute Radial Chute (Silk, Single, Main)
      
    • AE-FF1 Aistream Protective Shell

    [*]First Stage

    • (2x) TL-T800 Liquid Fuel Tank
      
    • LV-T15 "Dashchund" Liquid Fuel Engine
      
    • (2x) SpaceY 06R Radial SRB (0.625m × 6m) (40% thrust limiter)
      
    • (2x) MRS Decoupler, Radial Mini
      
    • TR-18A Stack Decoupler
      
    • (4x) RealChute Radial Chute (Silk, Single, Main)
      
    • (4x) AV-T1 Winglet

    [*]Launch Supports

    • (2x) TT-18A Launch Stability Enhancer

  [*]Engineer's Report

  • Total on the Launchpad
    
    • Part Count: 29
      
    • Height: 18.2m
      
    • Mass: 19,110kg (3,300kg solid fuel; 5,500kg oxidier; 4,500kg liquid fuel)
      
    • Delta-V (Surface): 3,779m/s

    [*]Command Stage

    • Part Count: 7
      
    • Mass: 402kg

    [*]Second Stage

    • Part Count: 4
      
    • Mass: 4,121kg (1,100kg oxidier; 900kg liquid fuel)
      
    • TWR: 3.80
      
    • Delta-V: 1,546m/s

    [*]First Stage

    • Part Count: 16
      
    • Mass: 14,587kg (3,300kg solid fuel; 4,400kg oxidizer; 3,600kg liquid fuel)
      
    • TWR: 1.54
      
    • Delta-V: 2,233m/s

    [*]Construction Time: 11d, 2h, 23m

    [*]Construction Cost: √13,905

  [*]Crew

  • None

As construction on the Clervoy I was ongoing, R&D announced completion of its latest breakthroughs and that they would all be going on an extended vacation until the program was able to return enough RSOUs to make it worth their while.

• Advanced Rocketry (§45  Completed UT Y1-D68-H1-M11)
  
  • LV-T30 "Reliant" Liquid Fuel Engine
    
  • LV-909 "Terrier" Liquid Fuel Engine
    
  • HGR FG-90 Liquid Fuel Engine
    
  • MRS 0.625m "Sparkler" Liquid Fuel Engine
    
  • SpaceY 10R Radial SRB
    
  • Sepratron I
    
  • SnubOtron
    
  • 1.875m Stack Decoupler
    
  • TT-70 Radial Decoupler

Clervoy I launch occurred at UT Y1-D71-H5-M53.

The rocket executed the usual vertical ascent to 100m/s, then a turn to an angle of 80º and a bearing of more-or-less 90º. Unfortunately, this proved too steep an ascent angle for the Clervoy I, which had apparently inherited its builders' attitudes towards work and showed no inclination whatsoever of executing any sort of gravity turn of its own accord. As was also necessary with its builders, direct encouragement (and eventually, force) was necessary in order to get the Clervoy I to lazily turn towards the horizon. By the time it reached 30km, its ascent angle was only down to 65º.

The LV-T15 "Dashchund" driving the first stage exhausted its fuel at MET 01:49, having reached an altitude of 52.3km, but with a projected apokee well past 100km. As the ship passed into space, the on-board materials study was conducted, and then plans were quickly made for establishing orbit. Due to the lack of a communications array around Kerbin and the oversight of the design team that resulted in the probe relying only on its built-in, minimal-range transmitter, it was necessary to perform the orbital burn long before reaching apokee while the probe was still in contact with mission control. The burn began at 78km on a somewhat radial-in direction in an ultimately futile effort at circularization.

At MET 03:06, orbital trajectory was established, although a somewhat eliptical one (ranging from 75km to almost 120km). Only eight seconds later, the probe lost communications with Mission Control as it passed beyond its feeble transmission range. Contact was reestablished at MET 38:52 as the probe was passing over the Kerpyrenees, and the staff in the control room celebrated the completion of the first orbit around Kerbin.

As the assignment demanded forty minutes of stable orbit, however, the probe would have to make another pass before descending. This gave the team the opportunity to test the programmable flight computer, setting up a series of planned maneuvers so that the probe would, without manual control from KSC, orient itself retrograde, perform its descent burn, arm all parachutes, and separate from the orbital stage in preparation for landing. Contact was lost again at MET 40:51, and by the time it was reestablished, Clervoy I had just completed all programmed maneuvers and was on course for splashdown about 100km east of KSC.

Atmospheric reentry occurred at roughly MET 01:19:00. Although the probe dropped below the horizon and lost communications again a couple of minutes later, its parachute had been correctly armed. No issues with deployment occurred, and after a safe splashdown, the recovery team retrieved the probe and quickly returned it to the resort's for-profit space history museum.

• Mission Duration: 01:24:24
  
• Science Recovered: §20.88
  
• Salvage Recovered: √10,151 (73.00%)
  
• Success  Put the first kerbal-made object into stable orbit around Kerbin for 40 minutes.
  
• Success  Conduct and return Materials Bay data from space near Kerbin.
  
• Success  Conduct testing of flight computer for maneuvers outside Mission Control's communications range.
  
• Success  Recover all jettisoned parts.
  
• Success  Recover the craft intact.
  
• Contracts Completed]
  • Complete  Orbit around Kerbin!
    
    • √37,500  §9  Ʀ75

  [*]Complete  Orbit and Recovery!

  • √21,000  §3  Ʀ15

[*]Science Collected

• Materials Study while in space near Kerbin  §14.40
  
• Probe Report while splashed down at Kerbin's Water  §0.24
  
• Telemetry Report while splashed down at Kerbin's Water  §0.24
  
• Recovery of a vessel returned from Kerbin orbit §6.00

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1. Current SPH Rate 1: 0.4 BP/s
   
2. From this point on, I'm going to try to substantially shrink my non-spacey write-ups, particularly those that involve reusing the same fundamental designs. I felt like writing them up was getting too tedious, and if I'm boring myself with them, I can't expect to keep readers occupied with them. The usual level of attention will still be given to actual "progressing the mission" activity, but the grindy contract prostitution stuffâ€â€particularly the grindy contract prostitution stuff that takes place below 70km altitudeâ€â€is going to get shortened up. I already had all of the above stuff written up when I made the decision, though, so here it is!
   
3. Despite my historical fondness for the LV-T45 "Swivel" engine made available by General Rocketry (unveiled in the Maginot III), I'm just such a huge fan of the LV-909 "Terrier" for orbital-insertion stages early in the game, which Advanced Rocketry unlocks. It also opens up the first 0.625m engine (the MRS "Sparkler") and the first 1.875m engine (the HGR FG-90), and although I don't have fuel tanks for either of those yet, Basic Fuel Systems is next on my list and should help with that issue. That said, given the location of other 0.625m engines in the tech tree like the LV-T95 and Rockomax 48-7S Spark, I suspect that SETI-CTT would rather the Sparkler be another tier up the ladder in Propulsion Systems.
   
4. The KSSLTA has not yet unlocked 1.25m heat shields, and so the TR-18A Stack Decoupler is "upside down." This will keep it attached to the command stage after separation so that it can "shield" the service bay and Science Jr. during descent, if necessary.
   
5. At this point, I jumped into CapCom for "remote access" to my contracts without having to return to Mission Control. Now that the "Orbit around Kerbin!" contract was completed, I could go back to Mission Control and pick up the "Orbit and Recovery" contract and kill two birds with one stone by recovering the Clervoy I probe (which I was going to do anyway). It would get me an extra √34,500 without having to launch another craft.

Edited July 21, 2015 by Landwalker

[Landwalker]

Lancer III  One Step Back, One Spacewalk Forward

UT Y1-D72-H1-M19

√94,313 – §38.6– Ʀ25%

At this point, it was becoming apparent (judging by the constant weeping of the KSSLTA's finance director during managerial meetings) that the primary constraint on the program's advancement was its bank account, as this was preventing the organization from making additional renovations to the facilities. While the tracking station, launchpad, and mission control had been improved to accomodate the "next generation of space exploration," the VAB was so outdated and bereft of basic amenities like massage parlours that the engineers refused to handle more than thirty parts at a time. As had been demonstrated during the suborbital Lancer II flight, the Astronaut Complex training grounds and equipment storage were also in need of upgrades if kerbonauts on future flights were to be able to safely perform EVAs.

Although the marketing director pushed for bigger, bolder, and shinier missions to awe the press and woo resort guests, the financial demands carried the day, and the agency spent a considerable amount of time fulfilling minor, relatively simple contracts in order to pad the bank account and scrape together enough RSOUs to entice the wizards and witches back into the R&D Labs instead of allowing them to continue terrorizing beachgoers with their speedos.

• Complete  Test SpaceY 09S SRB (0.625m × 9m) at the Launch Site
  
  • √3,245  §1  Ʀ1

[*]Complete  Test TT-38K Radial Decoupler landed at Kerbin

• √2,835  §1  Ʀ1

Complete  Test RT-2 "Grasshopper" Solid Rocket Booster at the Launch Site

• √2,700  §1  Ʀ1

[*]Complete  Test TR-8A Stack Decoupler at the Launch Site

• √2,646  §1  Ʀ1

• Mission Results
  
  • Science Recovered: §12.18
    
  • Salvage Recovered: √7,615 (98.01%)

  [*]Contracts Completed

  • Complete  Perform experiments around KSC
    
    • √13,153  §0  Ʀ2

[*]Science Collected

• EVA Report while "flying" over Kerbin's Shores  §3.36
  
• EVA Report from Vehicle Assembly Building  §1.44
  
• EVA Report from Administration  §1.44
  
• Magnetometer Scan from Administration  §0.90
  
• Seismic Scan from Tracking Station  §0.72
  
• Temperature Scan from Tracking Station  §0.54
  
• Temperature Scan from KSC  §0.54
  
• Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from Administration  §3.24

[*]Crew Decorations Awarded

• Bob Kerman
  
  • None

The RSOUs collected by Bob's outing in the Science Kart were able to lure the R&D staff back to their desks, and they began working the spells that would greatly expand the agency's fuel tank options.

Continued howling from the marketing director prompted the agency to begin considering the next "big steps." In order to probe the murky depths of space around Kerbin, it would ultimately be necessary to establish a basic communications network so that future craft would not have to suffer continuous comms blackouts (and also because the Kerpublican Department of Media Relations was willing to pay a substantial sum upon completion of the contract). However, such launches would not be cheap.

Perhaps overly ambitious, the science director suggested that the agency drum up some hype and conduct some useful tests of its own at the same time by designing a test craft for a powered landing on Kerbin itself, as a purported prelude to doing the same on the Mun (which was widely speculated to lack the soft, gentle atmosphere of Kerbin that made parachutes work). Everyone agreed that this should not only be simple to accomplish, but would also be a useful "trial run" and could use the opportunity to collect some low-atmospheric flight data for the R&D team. As such, work was begun on the test landing craft at UT Y1-D75-H5-M25, and simultaneously a summer intern working under the program director snuck into the finance office and stole the paperwork necessary to authorize renovations on the Astronaut Complex.

Finance Director Mortimer Kerman was in the hospital for a week as a result of his ensuing heart attack.

• H-400 1.875m Fuel Tank
  
• H-800 1.875m Fuel Tank
  
• H-1600 1.875m Fuel Tank
  
• H-3200 "Long Walk" Fuel Tank
  
• 1.25m - 1.875m Adapter Fuel Tank
  
• 1.875m Nose Cone Fuel Tank
  
• 1.875m Sloped Nose Cone Fuel Tank
  
• Radial Booster Tank
  
• FL-R10 RCS Fuel Tank
  
• Stratus-I Roundified Monopropellant Tank
  
• Stratus-V Roundified Monopropellant Tank
  
• Stratus-VI Roundified Liquid Fuel Tank
  
• Stratus-VI Roundified LFO Tank
  
• Stratus-VI Cylindrified Liquid Fuel Tank
  
• Stratus-VI Cylindrified LFO Tank
  
• Universal Storage LF10 Fuel Tank
  
• Universal Storage M30 Monopropellant Tank

Unfortunately, VAB engineers in protest at the preference being shown to the astronaut complex upgrades, threw the craft for the powered landing test off the launchpad. The seasonal interns responsible for the launchpad were forced to remove it and spend a day and a half buffing all the scratches off before it could be retested. Even more unfortunately, it was discovered upon the second launch attempt that the engineer responsible for the design had failed to carry several zeros and then gone on a month-long vacation, and that the original design had a TWR of only 0.61. This lander was not going to get off the launchpad today. Not one to refuse making lemon pie out of lemons (or whatever the ridiculous Murikan saying was), the program director ordered the craft to scrape some RSOUs off the launchpad with its onboard science experiments so that the mission would have at least one element that wasn't an utter embarrassment.¹

• Mission Timeline
  
  • Launch Time: UT Y1-D90-H5-M49
    
  • Mission Duration: 00:10

  [*]Mission Objectives

  • Perform a powered landing (no aerodynamic or parachute parts) after reaching an altitude of 500m
    
  • Record and recover materials bay and mystery goo data during flight.

  [*]Mission Results

  • Science Recovered: §7.56
    
  • Salvage Recovered: √18,415 (100%)
    
  • Failure  Perform a powered landing after reaching an altitude of 500m.
    
  • Failure  Record and recover materials bay and Mystery Gooâ„¢ data during flight.

  [*]Science Collected

  • Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from Launchpad  §3.24
    
  • Materials Study from Launchpad  §4.32

  [*]Crew Decorations Awarded

  • None

Following the utter failure and carelessness surrounding the attempted powered landing test, the program director decided to refocus on Kerbin's space for the next missionâ€â€a redesign of the test lander was not feasible, as the only engine the program had access to with a short enough profile to be useful for a lander was the LV-909 Terrier that had been used in the failed test and proven woefully underpowered for Kerbin's gravity.

With the upgrades to the Astronaut Complex having allowed the program to provide kerbonauts with the training and equipment necessary for safe EVA excursions during missions, and needing to make a bold step forward to recover from the test lander debacle, a much more ambitious project would have to be undertaken.

Instead, the program director decided on a second manned suborbital space flight ("Why leave our comfort zone?")â€â€the program lacked any appropriate command capsules for extended crewed flights, but would use the Mk1 Inline Cockpit to send a second kerbal to space, field test the new EVA equipment as well as recently available scientific experiments, and complete a pair of lingering parts contracts requiring actually leaving the launchpad.

• Mission Results
  
  • Science Recovered: §6.30
    
  • Salvage Recovered: √7,615 (98.01%)

  [*]Contracts Completed

  • Complete  Perform experiments around KSC
    
    • √12,175  §0  Ʀ2

[*]Science Collected

• Probe Report from the VAB  §0.18
  
• Temperature Scan from the VAB  §0.54
  
• EVA Report from Tracking Station  §1.44
  
• Magnetometer Scan from Tracking Station  §0.90
  
• Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from Tracking Station  §3.24

[*]Crew Decorations Awarded

• Bob Kerman
  
  • None

• Construction Timeline
  
  • Construction Started: UT Y1-D91-H3-M46
    
  • Construction Completed: UT Y1-D100-H2-M21
    
  • Launch Time: UT Y1-D100-H6-M0

  [*]Mission Objectives

  • Conduct Materials Study from upper atmosphere above Kerbin.
    
  • Conduct Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from upper atmosphere above Kerbin.
    
  • Test new DMagic Orbital Telescope above at least one biome.
    
  • Test EVA capabilities and file report.
    
  • Contract - Test FASA Launch Tower at Launchpad.
    
  • Contract - Test SnubOtron separators in flight above Kerbin.
    
  • Recover all jettisoned parts.
    
  • Recover the craft and crew intact.

  [*]Construction

  • Command Stage
    
    • Mk1 Inline Cockpit
      
    • RealChute Cone Chute (Nylon, Single, Main)
      
    • Universal Storage QuadCore
      
    • (2x) Universal Storage SC-9001 Science Jr. Material Bay
      
    • Universal Storage Mystery Gooâ„¢ Bay
      
    • Universal Storage Orbital Telescope Bay
      
    • (2x) SnubOtron Separators (Test)

    [*]First Stage

    • (2x) TL-T800 Liquid Fuel Tank
      
    • LV-T15 "Dashchund" Liquid Fuel Engine
      
    • (2x) SpaceY 06R Radial SRB (0.625m × 6m) (30% thrust limiter)
      
    • (2x) MRS Decoupler, Radial Mini
      
    • TR-18A Stack Decoupler
      
    • (4x) RealChute Radial Chute (Silk, Single, Main)
      
    • (4x) AV-T1 Winglet

    [*]Launch Supports

    • FASA Launch Tower (Test)

  [*]Engineer's Report

  • Total on the Launchpad
    
    • Part Count: 26
      
    • Height: 18.4m
      
    • Mass: 16,121kg (3,360kg solid fuel; 4,400kg oxidier; 3,600kg liquid fuel)
      
    • Delta-V (Surface): 3,098/s

    [*]Command Stage

    • Part Count: 9
      
    • Mass: 1,503kg

    [*]First Stage

    • Part Count: 16
      
    • Mass: 14,618kg (3,360kg solid fuel; 4,400kg oxidier; 3,600kg liquid fuel)
      
    • TWR: 1.64
      
    • Delta-V: 3,098m/s

    [*]Construction Time: 8d, 4h, 54m

    [*]Construction Cost: √32,336

  [*]Crew

  • Test Pilot Valentina Kerman

Although Val started out following the usual ascent profile, she was quickly forced to rely on manual steering rather than natural gravity due to the craft's tendency to "nose up" for unknown reasons. Despite this minor inconvenience (which Val complained about for the entire ascent), the launch did not encounter any legitimate problems. At MET 03:50, Val executed the SnubOtron contracted parts test while flying towards the upper atmosphere. Booster separation occurred at MET 04:40, and primary engine burnout at MET 04:32.

Lancer III entered space shortly thereafter, and at MET 05:10, Valentina Kerman stepped out of her cockpit and into history as the first kerbal to walk in space! Or rather, float aimlessly in space. Fortunately, the new EVA-capable suits had been equipped with very small monopropellant thrusters, and Val was able to return to the cockpit without any trouble, which finally shut her up about the steering issue.

Having been somewhat overpowered for its mission, Lancer III reached an apokee of 233.7km at MET 10:52. Val separated from the lifter at MET 11:25 and prepared for descent, reentering the atmosphere at MET 16:52. Descent through the atmosphere presented no problems, and landing was normal.

• Mission Timeline
  
  • Launch Time: UT Y1-D100-H6-M0
    
  • Mission Duration: 00:21:43

  [*]Mission Results

  • Science Recovered: §49.16
    
  • Salvage Recovered: √15,495 (47.92%)
    
  • Success  Conduct Materials Study from upper atmosphere above Kerbin.
    
  • Success  Conduct Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from upper atmosphere above Kerbin.
    
  • Success  Test new DMagic Orbital Telescope above at least one biome.
    
  • Success  Test EVA capabilities and file report
    
  • Success  Recover all jettisoned parts.
    
  • Success  Recover the craft and crew intact.

  [*]Contracts Completed

  • Complete  Test SnubOtron in flight over Kerbin.
    
    • √16,875  §2  Ʀ8

  [*]Complete  Test FASA Launch Tower at the Launch Site.

  • √2,835  §1  Ʀ1

Complete  Kerbin Powered Landing!²

• √11,250  §2  Ʀ10

[*]Science Collected

• Orbital Telescope Observations from space just above Kerbin's Water  §3.60
  
• Orbital Telescope Observations from space just above Kerbin's Shores  §3.60
  
• Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation from Kerbin's upper atmosphere  §9.72
  
• EVA Report while in space near Kerbin  §4.80
  
• Crew Report from space just above Kerbin's Shores  §3.60
  
• Crew Report from space just above Kerbin's Grasslands  §3.60
  
• Materials Study while flying at Kerbin  §10.08
  
• Materials Study from Kerbin's upper atmosphere  §12.96
  
• Recovery of a vessel after a sub-orbital flight  §0.80

[*]Crew Decorations Awarded

• Valentina Kerman
  
  • Research II  For researching 50 science points.
    
  • Splashdown  For a splashdown of a vessel in water.
    
  • G-Force VI  For withstanding an acceleration of at least 6g for three seconds.
    
  • Mach III  For flying horizontally at mach 3 below 30km in Kerbin atmosphere.
    
  • First Kerbin EVA  For being the first kerbal on EVA in zero atmosphere around Kerbin.
    
  • First EVA in Space  For being the first kerbal on EVA in space.
    
  • Dangerous EVA  For executing EVA while not in a stable orbit.
    
  • Multiple Contracts  For completion of five or more contracts.

Although Lancer III was a resounding success, the "overbuilt" nature of the rocket had led to excessive and unnecessary expenses to recover the craft and crew upon landing, significantly reducing the financial benefit of recovery. At the behest of the resort's finance manager, the program director issued a standing "suggestion" that future missions please try to aim for landing closer to KSC, as distant landings were making the recovery team depressed and causing them to demand excessive amounts of overtime pay and subsequent paid leave.

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1. I tried to fit the Powered Landing Test in with the "minor mission" format, but this resulted in me not paying much attention to the engineering report. Didn't notice that the craft had a TWR<1 until the second launch attempt. Whoops.
   
2. Okay, so. SETI-Contracts replaces the early stock contracts with different early contracts that are more interesting than "Go X fast!" One of them amounts to "In preparation for a munar landing, do a test powered landing on Kerbin." The intention of the contract is "Get up to 500m, then land without parachutes or aero parts." As I inadvertantly discovered while parachuting down to the ocean, however, the way the contract is written, it only bans stock parachutes. Since I'm using RealChutes, I still met all the criteria and accidentally completed the contract. Whoops.
   The good news is that that's already on Yemo's radar and is on track to get fixed soon. The other good news (as far as this mission report is concerned) is that I'm still going to perform the Powered Landing contract in spirit as soon as I have the means to, since 1) I think it's a great "shows the growth of a space program" short contract and 2) Getting the rewards without doing the work feels cheap, so I'm going to do the work anyway.

[GehringGame]

I'm enjoying this so far! I like the lancer family of rockets a lot. Using a cockpit instead of a capsule lends them some character.

[Landwalker]

I'm enjoying this so far! I like the lancer family of rockets a lot. Using a cockpit instead of a capsule lends them some character.

Glad to hear it!

I agree, the Mk1 Inline Cockpit definitely gives them a different and characteristic lookâ€â€in my mind, it's representative of the transition from atmospheric flight to short-term spaceflight. That said, I refused to orbit Kerbin until I have access to "real" space capsules. Even though the Mk1 Inline Cockpit is perfectly capable of serving as the command module for any space flight, from a "roleplaying" perspective I'm trying to avoid having it fill the role because it just seems a bit "wrong" to me. That I've been using it in the Lancer flight series is mostly out of necessity, as the KSSLTA hasn't unlocked any "real" space capsules yet.

But they're coming! The R&D sorcerers have one more technology that's higher on their priority list (General Construction, which has a ton of adapters and "stack splitters" that I really want for a lot of different reasons that you should get to see in the next update, as well as handy the Universal Storage Hexacore), but after that they'll finally hit Early Command Modules and we can start sending Jeb into orbit.

One of these days we might start with the tourists, as well. Finance Director Mortimer Kerman is almost literally dying for the money.

[legoclone09]

Unfortunately, I can't. I have the artistic and graphical chops of a potato. The flags used by the Fifth Kerpublic and the KSA come to us via some great ESA-inspired work from Jossen K. The absolutely awesome Koviet Union flag is literally the only post Yuri's Night ever made. If you're only going to have one, better make it count!

Oh, ok. I'll ask him then.

[Jablea3000]

I'm enjoying this one, I assume there is a comprehensive white flag surrender ceremony being planned for General Construction.

[Landwalker]

Lancer IV  Round and Round We Go

UT Y1-D101-H0-M22

√110,909 – §81.4– Ʀ29%

Shortly after Valentina's return from KSSLTA's second suborbital manned flight (and first spacewalk), the windfall of RSOUs were delivered to the R&D labs for refining. KSSLTA Chief Wizard Wernher von Kerman announced that the next goal would be something called General Construction (which everyone assumed was related to General Rocketry and, therefore, equally terrifying). The last thing the Kerpublic needed was the invasion of more generals. Wernher assured them that this was a semantic misunderstanding, a reassurance which had absolutely no effect whatsoever.

Still, one "tech node" eluded the R&D staff and held back the agency from its true goal: Making enormous piles of money by taking wealthy tourists on orbital spaceflights. In order to pull together enough RSOUs to begin pursuing this objective, more of the field research team's extremely popular bake sales were demanded.

• Mission Results¹
  
  • Science Recovered: §9.00
    
  • Salvage Recovered: √8,399 (98.01%)

  [*]Contracts Completed

  • Complete  Perform experiments around KSC
    
    • √13,535  §0  Ʀ2

[*]Science Collected

• Telemetry Report from SPH  §0.18
  
• Telemetry Report from R&D  §0.18
  
• Materials Study from Tracking Station  §4.32
  
• Materials Study from Astronaut Complex  §4.32

[*]Crew Decorations Awarded

• Bob Kerman
  
  • Multiple Missions  For participating in five missions.

This finally provided the R&D cabal with enough RSOUs to begin researching Early Command Pods, the last major step before manned orbital flight. Soon kerbals would not only be able to go to space, they would be able to stay there as long as they wanted (provided they brought enough snacks and didn't mind the odor that naturally occurred during periods of prolonged close-quarters confinement).

• FASA Atlas Launch Clamp
  
• FASA Launch Tower
  
• AE-FF1 Airstream Protective Shell (1.875m)
  
• 1.25m-1.875m Adapter
  
• KIS Ground Pylon
  
• MRS Decoupler, 2.5m Stack, Low Profile
  
• SM-2 Stack Dual Adapter
  
• SM-3 Stack Triple Adapter
  
• SM-4 Stack Quadruple Adapter
  
• SE-4B Stack Quinta-Adapter
  
• SE-6B Stack Hexa-Adapter
  
• SE-8B Stack Octo-Adapter
  
• SE-3 Stack Trilinear Adapter
  
• Rockomax Skeletal Structural Adapter
  
• Rockomax Skeletal XL Structural Adapter
  
• S-MINI Radial Stack Adapter
  
• S-MED Radial Stack Adapter
  
• Thrust Plate Multi-Adapter
  
• Protective Rocket Nose Cone Mk7
  
• TVR-200 Stack Bi-Coupler
  
• TVR-1180C Mk1 Stack Tri-Coupler
  
• TVR-2160C Mk2 Stack Quad-Coupler
  
• TVR-200L Stack Bi-Adapter
  
• TVR-300L Stack Tri-Adapter
  
• TVR-400L Stack Quad-Adapter
  
• FL-A5 Adapter
  
• Rockomax Brand Adapter
  
• Rockomax Brand Adapter 02
  
• Universal Storage Hexacore
  
• Universal Storage KIS Container

With the arcane breakthrough of General Construction and the slightly lessened unease felt by all the staff when its arrival did not, in fact, entail another armed invasion, the agency had much more versatile construction options available to it.

It had long been a concern of the KSSLTA that the P-1A Papillon scout plane suffered from both low speed and short flight range, with an airtime of just over 40 minutes. The proposed solution was to develop a new model powered by jet turbines. However, the only jet engines available to the agency were too weak to be individually useful, much like the interns. Also like the interns, they could be useful in larger groups provided they were all tied together properly (not a figure of speechâ€â€you should see the interns at work), and the new adapters would allow designs to make use of "engine clusters" as compensation for their individual weakness.

Another incentive to developing a longer-ranged atmospheric flight option was KSSLTA's old business partner, Anomaly Surveyor Group. After the success with reconnoitering the island airfield, ASG had been attempting to get the agency to investigate reports of ancient kerbal-made pyramids in the great Kerbara Desert, far to the west. The P-1A Papillon would never have been able to make such a long flight, so the agency had been unable to accommodate ASGâ€â€but it was hoped that a newly designed jet would not only be able to satisfy the contract, but also fill in some of the rather large scientific data gaps KSSLTA had with regards to the desert regions.

• Construction
  
  • Mk1 Inline Cockpit
    
  • Circular Intake
    
  • Telus Mobility Enhancer
    
  • Universal Storage Quadcore
    
  • Universal Storage Magnetometer Bay
    
  • Universal Storage SC-9001 Science Jr. Bay
    
  • Universal Storage Mystery Gooâ„¢ Containment Bay
    
  • Universal Storage Science Bay
    
  • 2HOT Thermometer
    
  • PresMat Barometer
    
  • Double-C Seismic Accelerometer
    
  • (3x) Mk1 Liquid Fuel Fuselage
    
  • (2x) Swept Wings, 140% Scale
    
  • (2x) Elevon 2
    
  • Small Delta Wing
    
  • Elevon 1
    
  • (2x) AV-R8 Winglet
    
  • SM-3 Stack Triple Adapter
    
  • (3x) LFI Basic Jet Engine, Small
    
  • (3x) LY-10 Small Landing Gear
    
  • RealChute Radial Chute (Kevlar, Triple, Main)²

  [*]Engineer's Report

  • Total on the Runway
    
    • Length: 9.4m
      
    • Width: 12.4m
      
    • Weight: 10,878kg (6,000kg Liquid Fuel)
      
    • Delta-V (Surface): 75,500m/s
      
    • Flight Time at 100% Throttle: 2 hours, 23 minutes.

    [*]Construction Time: 13d, 3h, 26m (131,918.42 BP at 0.45 BP/s)

    [*]Construction Cost: √24,685

• Mission Results¹
  
  • Science Recovered: §2.88
    
  • Salvage Recovered: √7,811 (98.00%)

  [*]Contracts Completed

  • Complete  Perform experiments around KSC
    
    • √13,018  §0  Ʀ2

[*]Science Collected

• Magnetometer Scan from VAB  §0.90
  
• Magnetometer Scan from SPH  §0.90
  
• Temperature Scan from Mission Control  §0.54
  
• Temperature Scan from R&D  §0.54

[*]Crew Decorations Awarded

• Bob Kerman
  
  • None.

• HGR 5PUD-N1k "Spud" Command Pod
  
• Kerlington Mk1 Command Pod
  
• Heat Shield (1.25m)

At last, the Kerpublican Space, Science, and Luxury Travel Agency had the components it needed to truly begin branching out into the space travel and tourism field, with crew capsules capable (at least theoretically) of extended space flight, not these nancy suborbital softballs. A proposal was made to begin work on a new, consistent design to begin serving as the lifter for a variety of future orbital missionsâ€â€the first test of which would seek to make Jebediah Kerman the first kerbal to orbit our planet. That proposal was scrapped in favor of just hurrying up and getting into orbit already, and dealing with things like "consistency" later. Besides, the agency had these newer, bigger engines and tanks to try out!

• Construction Timeline
  
  • Construction Started: UT Y1-D111-H1-M25
    
  • Construction Completed: UT Y1-D122-H4-M34
    
  • Launch Time: UT Y1-D123-H2-M40

  [*]Mission Objectives

  • Launch a kerbal into an orbit around Kerbin, and return him safely.
    
  • Contract - Conduct an orbital survey of Kerbin.
    
    • Return or transmit Mystery Gooâ„¢ data from high orbit above Kerbin.
      
    • Return or transmit Orbital Telescope Observations data from high orbit above Kerbin.
      
    • Return or transmit Magnetometer Scan data from high orbit above Kerbin.

    [*]Return crew and EVA report from high orbit above Kerbin.

    [*]Return Materials Bay observations from high orbit above Kerbin.

    [*]Recover the craft and crew intact.

  [*]Construction

  • Command Stage
    
    • Mk1 Command Pod
      
    • RealChute Cone Chute
      
    • Universal Storage QuadCore
      
    • Universal Storage Magnetometer Boom Bay
      
    • Universal Storage Orbital Telescope Bay
      
    • Universal Storage Mystery Gooâ„¢ Bay
      
    • Universal Storage SC-9001 Science Jr. Bay
      
    • Heat Shield (1.25m)

    [*]Second Stage

    • TR-18A Stack Decoupler
      
    • FL-T400 Fuel Tank
      
    • LV-909 "Terrier" Liquid Fuel Engine³

    [*]First Stage

    • TR-18A Stack Decoupler
      
    • 1.25-1.875m Fuel Tank
      
    • H-3200 "Long Walk" Fuel Tank
      
    • HGR FG-90 Liquid Fuel Engine⁴
      
    • (2x) TT-38K Radial Decoupler
      
    • (2x) SpaceY 05S SRB
      
    • (2x) RealChute Cone Chute
      
    • (2x) RealChute Radial Chute

    [*]Launch Support

    • (2x) TT18-A Launch Stability Enhancer
      
    • FASA Launch Tower

  [*]Engineer's Report

  • Total on the Launchpad
    
    • Part Count: 30
      
    • Height: 20.4m
      
    • Mass: 30,357kg (3,000kg solid fuel; 10,587kg oxidier; 8,662kg liquid fuel)
      
    • Delta-V (Surface): 3,497/s

    [*]Command Stage

    • Part Count: 8
      
    • Mass: 1,444kg

    [*]Second Stage

    • Part Count: 3
      
    • Mass: 2,850kg (1,100kg oxidizer, 900kg liquid fuel)
      
    • TWR (Vacuum): 1.42
      
    • Delta-V (Vacuum): 2,121m/s

    [*]First Stage

    • Part Count: 17
      
    • Mass: 26,063kg (3,000kg solid fuel; 9,487kg oxidier; 7,762kg liquid fuel)
      
    • TWR (Surface): 1.52
      
    • Delta-V (Surface): 2,974m/s

    [*]Construction Time: 11d, 3h, 10m (224,123 BP at 0.90 BP/s)

    [*]Construction Cost: √36,450

  [*]Crew

  • Test Pilot Jebediah Kerman

Although the J-3 Epee Light Surveyor Plane completed construction at UT Y1-D122-H3-M10, this was less than an hour and a half before the anticipated completion of the Lancer IV, and all focus was being devoted to that mission for the time being. Valentina, already miffed at being left out of the first crewed orbital flight, nearly resigned in a huff at her long-distance surveillance mission being put on the back burner and was ready to walk out of the program altogether. Thankfully, Mission Controller Gene Kerman talked her down with prolific use of snacks and an assurance that she would take off as soon as Jeb was back on the ground.

Launch occurred at UT Y1-123-H2-M40 in the evening.

Jebediah executed the usual vertical lift to 100m/s before beginning his turn to the east. For unknown reasons, significant bearing correction was required in order to avoid traveling at a 75º heading instead of 90º (speculation in Mission Control was that Jeb had unstrapped himself and gotten his suit stuck on the controls). Nevertheless, the crafted ended up at between 87-89º, which was deemed acceptable

Booster separation at MET 00:00:40 was uneventful. Unlike the Lancer III, this new design had no trouble with a natural gravity turn and minimal SAS was necessary until around 30km, at which point Jeb took over to steer the ship down from 20º ascent towards the horizon. Lifter burnout occurred at MET 00:02:22, but separation was not made until leaving the atmosphere at MET 00:03:43, by which point Lancer IV was on course for an apokee of just over 169km. After separation, the ship continued along its path and Mission Control relayed a maneuver plan for achieving orbit.

Mission Controller Gene Kerman took this opportunity to explicitly prohibit Jeb from going on EVA until after the orbital burn was completed in order to ensure all went according to plan. Test Pilot Jebediah Kerman took this opportunity to disregard Mission Control, going on EVA approximately four and a half minutes before the orbital maneuver node in order to collect data from the craft's orbital telescope and/or to par-tay.

Whatever Jeb's reasons, he was back in the command capsule with three and a half minutes to go before the maneuver, and Gene Kerman was eventually revived with some smelling salts and a cold cloth.

The orbital burn began at MET 00:11:35, with Jeb firing the LV-909 "Terrier" at 50% throttle for about 22 seconds, a maneuver of just under 170m/s, resulting in a beautiful orbit of 169.3km by 170.7km. Jeb's task was not complete, however, as the next maneuver was planned to push the craft into "high orbit". Jeb was instructed to complete one (and only one!) full orbit, then burn at the periapsis to raise his apoapsis up to 300km, requiring only 81m/s. As there was a delay of half an hour before the maneuver was scheduled, Jeb continued drafting crew reports and collecting orbital telescope survey data as the Lancer IV rushed around Kerbin.

The orbital raise burn was executed at MET 00:45:25, and Jeb entered "high space" at MET 00:57:01, promptly fulfilling the requirements of the agency's orbital survey contract and performing other important data collection. Once all the work was done, Jeb made a final EVA to collect the remaining data, stowed all vulnerable instruments, and awaited Mission Control's instructions for atmospheric reentryâ€â€a burn of about 96m/s that would result in an estimated landing in the ocean northeast of the KSSLTA resort campus.

Atmospheric reentry occurred at MET 01:21:53, at which point the command stage separated from the orbital stage to descend on its ownâ€â€however, the force of this separation caused a disparity in the landing projection, as Lancer IV was now expected to land in the hills on the western side of the Kerfrican continent. The new heat shield, while suffering virtually no heating effects, did an excellent job of keeping the module properly oriented throughout descent without the need for manual control. The capsule eventually landed in the highlands west of the Kerpyrenees, but due to landing on the side of a hill, rolled most of the way to the bottom before finally coming to a rest. Recovery was made at MET 01:33:00. Cleaning the interior of Jeb's snacks, which returned with a vengeance during the roll, is ongoing.

• Mission Timeline
  
  • Launch Time: UT Y1-D123-H2-M40
    
  • Mission Duration: 01:33:00

  [*]Mission Results

  • Science Recovered: §75.70
    
  • Salvage Recovered: √20,396 (55.96%)
    
  • Success  Launch a kerbal into an orbit around Kerbin, and return him safely.
    
  • Success  Conduct an orbital survey of Kerbin.
    
  • Success  Return crew and EVA report from high orbit above Kerbin.
    
  • Success  Return Materials Bay observations from high orbit above Kerbin.
    
  • Success  Recover the craft and crew intact.

  [*]Contracts Completed

  • Complete  Manned Orbit and safe return!
    
    • √54,000  §14  Ʀ100

  [*]Complete  Conduct an orbital survey of Kerbin.

  • √30,316  §2  Ʀ6

Partial  Field Research: Materials study experiments on Kerbin.

• Materials Study from Kerbin while high in space
  
  • √5,828  §0  Ʀ0

[*]Science Collected

• Orbital Telescope Observations from space just above Kerbin's Highlands  §3.60
  
• Orbital Telescope Observations from space just above Kerbin's Grasslands  §3.60
  
• Orbital Telescope Observations from space just above Kerbin's Mountains  §3.60
  
• Orbital Telescope Observations from space just above Kerbin's Deserts  §3.60
  
• Orbital Telescope Observations while in space high over Kerbin  §5.40
  
• Crew Report while in space high over Kerbin §5.40
  
• Crew Report from space just above Kerbin's Highlands  §3.60
  
• Crew Report from space just above Kerbin's Mountains  §3.60
  
• Crew Report from space just above Kerbin's Deserts  §3.60
  
• Materials Study while in space high over Kerbin  §21.60
  
• Mystery Gooâ„¢ Observation while in space high over Kerbin  §16.20
  
• Magnetometer Scan while in space high over Kerbin  §4.50
  
• Recovery of a vessel returned from Kerbin orbit  §1.00

[*]Crew Decorations Awarded

• Jebediah Kerman
  
  • Research III  For researching 100 science points.
    
  • Mach III  For flying horizontally at mach 3 below 30km in Kerbin atmosphere.
    
  • Kerbin EVA  For going on EVA in zero atmosphere around Kerbin.
    
  • First Kerbin Orbit  For being the first kerbal orbiting around Kerbin.
    
  • First Kerbin Orbital EVA  For being first kerbal on EVA in a stable orbit around Kerbin.
    
  • Dangerous EVA  For executing EVA while not in a stable orbit.

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A few additional points I want to make that don't fit in the footnotes below.

• If you're looking at the first album picture above and thinking "Hey, that's not the Jeb I remember from Lancer I" or "Walker, did you give Jeb totally sweet mutton chops?", then you are right on both counts. All of the Big Four have had changes made in the facial department, and all four have been changed so that their "flight suits" are orange. Since Val is due up shortly for a[n attempted] flight to the Pyramids and back, you should get to see her soon. I plan to give the Big Four orange EVA suits as well, as soon as I actually remember to do so.
  
• The in-flight screenshots were a lot brighter when I took themâ€â€not sure why they show up so dark now. My apologies, as they looked a lot better last night when I was F1-mashing.
  
• I love science. Science is the best. The KSSLTA now has about §101 in the tank as a result of Jeb's outstanding orbital mission. I was going to use this line to lay out some of my options in terms of where next to invest that science, but like an idiot I closed the game before I got details from the tech tree. Since it takes about 10 minutes for me to load the game, and I need to leave right now for work, I'll have to make another post this evening about it.

1. Ever since upgrading the launchpad, can I just say, holy geezum crow. What a pain in the butt it is to use the launchpad for Kerbin rover launches like the KSC Science Kart. The "grill" in the center of the launchpad is impossible for the RoveMax S2 wheels to navigate, so you're stuck in it indefinitely (and will inevitably break a couple of wheels trying to get out). Then I tried starting the cart "off-center" (like I accidentally did with the original test lander) and inadvertently dropped it into the central chasm between the launchpad and the crawlerway. Third time's a charm, though, and I finally got it off-set so it isn't in the grill *or* the inescapable canyon.
   Then I drove into the canyon anyway. but the fourth time! Fourth time we got it right! Then I broke a wheel on a shallow incline. But the fifth time! Good lord. This is why flight reverting is allowed in this career.
   
2. I'm not the most skilled pilot even under optimal conditions, and I've never been to the Pyramids before and don't know what the landing situation there is. Between that, and the possibility that the J-3 Epee Light Surveyor Plane might not have enough fuel to get back to KSC after reaching the Pyramids, a strong parachute was added as a safety precaution. Better to recover a whole plane a long way from KSC than to recover none of a plane and a potentially dead pilot.
   
3. Unfortunately, no recovery chutes on this stage. I was right up on the 30-part limit, and while I could have ditched the TT18-A Launch Stabilizers, I didn't want for for aesthetic reasons.
   
4. This is the first-available 1.875m engine. I like it, but it has its pros and cons. It's fairly cheap at √1,425, fairly light at 2.0 tons, fairly efficient at both sea level and in a vacuum, and has 2.5º of gimbal along with a fairly short profile. However, it's also not a legitimate first-stage lifting engineâ€â€its 320kN of sea-level thrust is just barely more than twice that of the LV-T30 Reliant... but for tanks of the same height, the 1.875m engine is going to be trying to lift about 3.4 times more weight. The result is an engine that needs booster support just to get going... but once it's rolling along, it can carry you for a while. Fortunately, the Lancer IV is a pretty light payload (Command Stage is just under 1,500kg) and isn't going very far (high space), so I can get away with light boosters on this launch. For future, heavier-duty launches, it'll be time to break out the fun stuff.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Landwalker
Typo Correction

[Geschosskopf]

Cleaning the interior of Jeb's snacks, which returned with a vengeance during the roll, is ongoing.

Hehehehe

Ever since upgrading the launchpad, can I just say, holy geezum crow. What a pain in the butt it is to use the launchpad for Kerbin rover launches like the KSC Science Kart. The "grill" in the center of the launchpad is impossible for the RoveMax S2 wheels to navigate, so you're stuck in it indefinitely (and will inevitably break a couple of wheels trying to get out). Then I tried starting the cart "off-center" (like I accidentally did with the original test lander) and inadvertently dropped it into the central chasm between the launchpad and the crawlerway. Third time's a charm, though, and I finally got it off-set so it isn't in the grill *or* the inescapable canyon.

Why don't you launch the rovers from the runway? I usually build rovers in the SPH anyway.

Claw's Stock Bug Fix Modules has a cure for the "sticky grating" of the Level 2 launchpad. This also helps with launching rockets if you don't yet have/can't afford/don't like launch clamps.

I'm not the most skilled pilot even under optimal conditions, and I've never been to the Pyramids before and don't know what the landing situation there is. Between that, and the possibility that the J-3 Epee Light Surveyor Plane might not have enough fuel to get back to KSC after reaching the Pyramids, a strong parachute was added as a safety precaution. Better to record a whole plane a long way from KSC than to recover none of a plane and a potentially dead pilot.

The Pyramids are definitely worth the trip. I won't spoil the suspense about landing for you, though .

The main problem with early career airplanes is the crappiness of the new, light landing gear. Those angled, fixed wheels are springy and lack brakes so even though I build STOL planes that can float in a 20m/s or so, they still bounce and have a hard time stopping (only the small, steerable wheels have brakes). I find it necessary to put extra small, steerable wheels under the wingtips to avoid damage there, but disable both their steering and brakes so as not to cause cartwheels when dragging wingtips.

The worst problem with the long, angled wheels, however, is the way they make the plane bounce into the air every time physics loads. I've had this cause planes to flip over on their backs the 1st time I put them on the runway for a test flight. If you survive that, then be sure to complete the whole mission without ever changing focus away from the plane. Do not leave it, such as by getting to the Pyramids and quitting the game, then flying home next session. When you load up the plane again, it'll jump even worse on regular terrain than it did on the runway.

[CatastrophicFailure]

What mod is it that changes the look of the stock parts so much?

[Mister Dilsby]

Nice, really like the look of your crafts--congratulations on the orbit!

When screenshots come out too dark, you can always put them through your machine's basic native photo editor and turn up the brightness a bit. That's saved a few of my otherwise unpostable ones.