DMSP-The beginning of a space program. [Final Chapter] Chapter 33-When the clock hits zero.

[DMSP]

13 minutes ago, KerbalOmmex said:

Err.. which one was my oresat? Private 2 or3?

 

Private-3. It will launch on Private-3.

Now, I'm here to give you guys a new chapter.

Chapter 25-Minty Minmus.

The space program had gone on for almost 210 days now, and although there had been multiple flights to the Mun, Minmus still sat silent, cold and alone in High Kerbin Orbit.

Until the launch of Mina-1.

Mina-1 was the next step upwards and outwards. It was also the debut of the Butane lifter.

The launch was more than successful, with much more fuel in the second stage than was expected.

So Mina-1, an orbiter, relay and scanner all in one, shot away from Kerbin, to Kerbin's second closest neighbor.

Only a day or so afterwards, the second Butane lifter was brought out of the VAB, and launched, carrying Mina-2 to space.

Mina-2's ejection burn went just fine, putting it on a Minmus entry course.

With not much else to do, most of the staff at the KSC were allowed a break. The past few weeks had been quite stressful, after-all.

 

10 days later, Mina-1 entered Minmus' SOI.

Within a day of that, Mina-2 met up with Minmus as well.

Mina-1, nearing periapsis, began its capture burn, which it completed with ease.

The probe then left its arrival stage behind, and completed the maneuvers itself, placing it in the orbit that was needed to Map Minmus.

Mina-2 ditched its fairing and second stage upon nearing periapsis. Its next burn would put it on a landing trajectory into Minmus' flats.

And so it headed towards the flats.

Mina-2 began its slow suicide burn at 1,300 meters.

It touched down on the ice of Minmus a minute later. This space program had become the first on two different bodies.

The rover was then deployed, but it was found the front wheels had been destroyed when the fairing was ditched.

Oh well. It was a good try.

Back at Kerbin, Gene had just come back to his office from the celebration party in the parking lot, and later, the Astronaut Complex.

A Kerbal, maybe 30, 32, walked in. She didn't introduce herself, and though Gene still had booked this meeting, this Kerbal still came as a shock to him.

"Hello Gene. I'm here to discuss matters with you that are most important to both your program, our military, and this country."

She passed him a small folder containing 6 files. Gene opened, it skim reading it at first, until he came to the engineering section. His eyes opened wider than usual.

"Oh my." Was all he could say.

Soon, the Governor-1 missile was rolled out onto the launch pad, and its launch platforms were set up.

With government officials watching over, the stressful Kerbals in mission control set up the final launch preparations, which led to the missile being successfully launched towards the stars.

It, of course, would never get there.

High in the upper atmosphere, the booster burned as much fuel as it could, pulling hard, and gaining speed.

It broke the atmospheric entry record, reaching 3.6 km/s, and soon after, Governor-1 broke up and was destroyed.

Some Kerbals celebrated, but others in mission control were silent. Space exploration was supposed to be peaceful.

But everyone was wondering, would it stay that way? For now, yes, they hoped.

[Andem]

Holy [mulch].

[SpaceplaneAddict]

Suspense.

*Determination...?

[max_creative]

Oh yikes... 

If we do need to go to war I'm ready! That would be really really bad though... 

Let's forget about war and me blowing them off the face of the planet and just hope private-2 goes well and stuff doesn't explode....

[DMSP]

4 hours ago, Andem said:

Holy [mulch].

Yep, it's getting very "interesting" over here.

3 hours ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

Suspense.

*Determination...?

I do try.

1 hour ago, max_creative said:

Oh yikes... 

If we do need to go to war I'm ready! That would be really really bad though... 

Let's forget about war and me blowing them off the face of the planet and just hope private-2 goes well and stuff doesn't explode....

Well, don't prepare for War, we don't know what will happen yet!

Can't assure anything except for Private-2 worked.

[DMSP]

Ok, @max_creative, @OrbitalBuzzsaw, @KerbalOmmex and @SpaceplaneAddict, it's the chapter we've all been waiting for.

Chapter 25.5-Jeb takes a bath.

No.

Really.

Chapter 26-New Heights.

It was time to come back to nice, scientific exploration after the staff took a week off, mostly due to stress.

Using a newly developed test launcher, the prototype Kliper reusable spacecraft was strapped on.

Jeb and Val were the only Kerbal on this thing. Why this launch was risking the program's two pilots was not known. There was actually no good reason.

But if everything went well, everything would be just fine. So Kliper-1 lifted off from the launchpad, traveling to develop the new spaceplane that could one day be a huge backbone.

The flight required Jeb and Val to pitch over at 40 kilometers and burn back towards the surface, heading westward. They did this just fine, dumping the booster at more than one kilometer per second.

The reentry was most impressive, burning away parts of the ship's ablator. Kerbals across the continent looked up in awe.

But soon it was over, and Kliper-1 began its landing procedures. Jeb and Val both relied on the instruments and a single camera watching over the front of the spacecraft.

But they made it, softly touching down on the grassy plains, a few dozen kilometers from the space center.

The week progressed slowly. The results from the Kliper flight were taken back, and everything seemed good for mass production of the spacecraft.

Soon, a campaign was started for the launch of Private-2. Kathena Space Industries signed up, with 3 new CubeSats ready to go.

The space program added the more advanced version of TellHydrogen, TellDeuterium, on this lifter too.

But two new companies came forward. The United Kerbnada Space Agency wanted to push forward, they were extremely ambitious, wanting to hit Eve with their first probe. The problem was UKSA did not have a lifter that could do it. So they signed up in the "special offers" section, and since the second stage would be wasted in LKO anyways, it was agreed that the stage would boost the MicroSat Falcon to Eve. Both of KSI's standard Hera CubeSats would tag along as well.

The second, Buzzsaw Aerospace, was also being ambitious. They wanted to test their space telescope technology-but in space! They wanted to launch a test telescope, the Alec Kerman Memorial Space Telescope, by mapping Kerbin.

So Private-2 was prepared. Another Butane was rolled out. It was time to go.

And so, let's go.

Private-2 launched successfully from the Kerbal Space Center, carrying 6 probes in one launch, by far the most ever. The launch was incredibly successful, but all these launches were putting the space program behind in funds. They were not going to be able to keep this rate without cheaper alternatives.

The craft arrived in space well, except for one complication. One of the Alec Kerman Memorial Telescope's (AKMT from now on) solar panels was destroyed. Reassurances went around that it would operate on one panel, but the loss was still unfortunate.

All of the crews, from 4 different companies, space agencies, and space programs, started cheering.

400 m/s to orbit. 300. 200. 100 now.

And all of a sudden, engine cutoff.

Private-2 was in orbit.

An incredible cheer went across the Kerbals. This experience was truly unifying.

But Orbital Operations still had to commence. The heaviest of the probes was TellDeuterium, and it was set off first. It would head upwards to High Kerbin Orbit.

Next was the AKMT, which went off on its way perfectly.

Once it had cleared the crowded second stage, AKMT was passed off to Buzzsaw Aerospace.

Multiple times over many orbits, it maneuvered to a polar orbit.

Back at Private-2, a new CubeSat was deployed.

Named Hestia-1, a new line of expeditionary CubeSats, its journey was large.

Hestia-1 would go to the Mün.

With the last of those probes gone, Private-2 turned outwards, and ignited its engine.

It reached escape velocity soon afterwards, and began its flight towards Eve.

The transfer window was far from optimal, but a complex flight-path with multiple maneuvers would allow MicroSat Falcon to get to Eve just fine.

Hera-7 was released an hour later.

And so, this was the last time both MicroSat Falcon and Hera-8 would ever see Kerbin. But this goodbye was fine, as they would find a new home, around Eve.

A few hours later, Hestia-1 was falling towards the Mün.

It was meant to impact it, but that didn't stop KSI controllers from trying to slow down.

The CubeSat was decoupled after the fuel ran out, traveling at 300 meters per second.

Right before impacting the surface, it transmitted a final photograph of a canyon, the first ever seen on the Mün.

Nice!

Around a day later, Private-2 left Kerbin's SOI.

And finally, back in polar LKO, the AKMT began mapping Kerbin.

Everything was good.

Gene Kerman was once again, exhausted from the celebrations, meetings, interviews and parties following such a massive launch.

He was slouching in his chair, on the brink of going to sleep, when someone knocked on his office door.

"Come in!" he called out.

A young intern came in.

"Gene, a Kerbal from Buzzsaw Aerospace was in Darmstadtium, and she recognized me from the party. She gave me a closed envelope." He handed the envelope over to Gene, who just looked up at him. "I haven't opened it, I promise."

"Thanks." was all he could say, as he just couldn't remember this Kerbal's name he made a mental note to find out what it was.

Gene opened the envelope. There were two cards in it, no note, nothing. They were blank.

Then Gene realized that they had been put in the wrong side up. Whoever was sending this had really been in a rush.

He turned them over, focusing on the first one.

'What had the AKMT found?' he wondered.

Gene's heart kipped a beat on the second photo.

"Is tha..." A surge of fear and nausea went over him.

"Moho."

Edited May 21, 2016 by DMSP
Added new photo, fixed a mistake or two or four

[KerbalOmmex]

Darn it. I would have given you Rep, if I hadn't used up all of my 25 likes.

Can't wait for Private 3 to..... (Realises that the OreSat has the wrong scanner) Oh Thats Great!

Is that a full-fledged Space Centre? My theory was right! There are enemies! Administration, we need to do something! Let's send some modified Mallards to incinerate the centre by dropping nuclear engines on 'em!

Edited May 21, 2016 by KerbalOmmex
Silly Forum Software

[DMSP]

9 minutes ago, KerbalOmmex said:

Darn it. I would have given you Rep, if I hadn't used up all of my 25 likes.

Can't wait for Private 3 to..... (Realises that the OreSat has the wrong scanner) Oh Thats Great!

Is that a full-fledged Space Centre? My theory was right! There are enemies! Administration, we need to do something! Let's send some modified Mallards to incinerate the centre by dropping nuclear engines on 'em!

Ahhh! Have we even developed Nuclear Engines yet?

And I'm not sure! We only have one photo!

[KerbalOmmex]

7 minutes ago, DMSP said:

Ahhh! Have we even developed Nuclear Engines yet?

And I'm not sure! We only have one photo!

Enyone can make out it is full-fledged. I can see a runway, a building similar to the Astronaut Complex and...are those buildings blurred out? @Buzzshaw please explain!

We can also use RTGs, they contain Blutonium.

Edited May 21, 2016 by KerbalOmmex

[DMSP]

30 minutes ago, KerbalOmmex said:

Enyone can make out it is full-fledged. I can see a runway, a building similar to the Astronaut Complex and...are those buildings blurred out? @Buzzshaw please explain!

We can also use RTGs, they contain Blutonium.

Yep, don't worry, I know the place. It's KSC 2, except upgraded in my save.

Best zoomed in picture:

Edited May 21, 2016 by DMSP

[OrbitalBuzzsaw]

Do not worry. Buzzsaw Aerospace is based out of a classified location near Kerbin's south pole, but a second, equatorial launch location is operated.

[DMSP]

3 minutes ago, OrbitalBuzzsaw said:

Do not worry. Buzzsaw Aerospace is based out of a classified location near Kerbin's south pole, but a second, equatorial launch location is operated.

I can assure everyone, this base is deep in another nation's territory.

Let's hope they don't fire a few "friendly" rockets.

[OrbitalBuzzsaw]

Buzzsaw Aerospace has now exited a state of alert and into a state of caution . the F-11s are being rolled into the hangar, but their weapons remain attached.

[SpaceplaneAddict]

Welp, atleast our MicroSat is still fine. See ya, suckers! Also note, Pretty sure that you can get some sweet sweet sciencewith our MicroSat. We can share, ya know? Also, If your accepting payloads for future launches, I can design you a lifter designed for 1 MicroSat at a time, and is re useable SpaceX style, just in a different way.

*Determination.

Also, was one of the solar panels broken? I'm only seeing one panel deployed on the MicroSat.

*Determination!

Edited May 21, 2016 by SpaceplaneAddict

[DMSP]

58 minutes ago, OrbitalBuzzsaw said:

Buzzsaw Aerospace has now exited a state of alert and into a state of caution . the F-11s are being rolled into the hangar, but their weapons remain attached.

Keep those F-11s fueled. You never know when they will need to be flying.

11 minutes ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

Welp, atleast our MicroSat is still fine. See ya, suckers! Also note, Pretty sure that you can get some sweet sweet sciencewith our MicroSat. We can share, ya know? Also, If your accepting payloads for future launches, I can design you a lifter designed for 1 MicroSat at a time, and is re useable SpaceX style, just in a different way.

*Determination.

Also, was one of the solar panels broken? I'm only seeing one panel deployed on the MicroSat.

*Determination!

Awesome! Wait till next chapter and you'll see some more cool designs that relate to what you are saying. Yes, I think I accidentally broke it as well. I added a small Ion Transfer stage to it to make sure it gets to Eve ok, and I lost a panel there too. Oops...

[Angelo Kerman]

I'm not saying it's aliens, but it's aliens.

[DMSP]

39 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

I'm not saying it's aliens, but it's aliens.

100%. Couldn't agree more.

Our space program is now mass producing tin foil hats.

[max_creative]

THE RETURN OF KSC 2!!! Now with 100% more kerbin side! 

Wait... Who is KSI? Did you just use that as an excuse to dump cube-sats all over the place? 

when is the next chapter coming?

[SpaceplaneAddict]

19 minutes ago, max_creative said:

Who is KSI

To my knowledge I believe KSI stands for Kathena Space Industries.

[DMSP]

7 hours ago, max_creative said:

THE RETURN OF KSC 2!!! Now with 100% more kerbin side! 

Wait... Who is KSI? Did you just use that as an excuse to dump cube-sats all over the place? 

when is the next chapter coming?

Yep, KSC 2! Chapter 27 by Tuesday at the latest. Could be as early as today.

About Kathena Space Industries, see below.

6 hours ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

To my knowledge I believe KSI stands for Kathena Space Industries.

 

[VASMIR]

Nice plane.  Will it fly again?

[DMSP]

2 hours ago, VASMIR said:

Nice plane.  Will it fly again?

Yes, Kliper will fly again. I'll probably put the flights on hold because @Daelkyr is doing a remake of the spacecraft. In KSP, the version of the Kliper I am using is buggy, it likes diving into the ground, and is extremely hard to land.

Daelkyr is changing that by using the same texture but updating the parts.

[OrbitalBuzzsaw]

Buzzsaw Aerospace does not operate KSC 2.

[DMSP]

Alright guys, I said I'd have a new chapter out, so here's a new Chapter. Sorry it's ovedue-Real Life Issues.

I have to thank @Raptor9 now. You'll see why.

Chapter 27-Flyby.

Gene was confused at first. This couldn't be happening. A fully functioning Space Center?

He looked up at the intern standing there, who was even more confused, and just shouted:

"Call Raptor Aerospace. We need their X-18, Now"! To that, the intern sprinted out as fast as his stubby legs would carry him.

The X-18 was prepared just 7 hours later. The flag in the back was still covered in Confetti from the party of Private-2, showing just how short it took for things to go wrong.

Gene himself was at the remote controls in the Air Traffic Control Tower. He taxied it out, watching as the relatively large aircraft passed beneath him.

And then it was off, shooting away, towards Black Krags airport.

The reason for the stop at Black Krags was more than just fuel-Explosives needed to be added. The KSC lacked them, but Black Krags had half a hanger of devices ready to go "boom".

Needless to say, the landing was more than tricky. The X-18 was not meant for such small airstrips. But in Gene's capable hands, it settled down onto the runway softly.

Time to fit the explosives.

 

The X-18 took off later the next day carrying two pockets of C-4, ready to destroy it.

It climbed over friendly territory, gaining speed. By the time it hit the coast of their target, the United Katax Union, it was traveling so fast only a ballistic missile could catch it.

And with recent developments, that was a serious concern.

The minutes ticked by. Gene awaited data from the satellites beaming back the information. He was worried unnecessarily, because the aircraft would never be captured, and nobody would ever confirm it was KSC property, or that it had come from Kolonia.

Eventually it was time. Katax's space center was coming up.

What a place.

The X-18, once it was over severely rugged terrain that would cause any debris recovery crew moderate difficulty getting to, exploded its recording center.

The drone began its spiraling fall. Once the final bits of data had gotten through, the final C-4 package was activated.

And that was that.

 

The week flew by tensely, most Kerbals awaiting a retaliation strike of some sort. But nothing came. They hadn't figured it out yet.

Back to Space.

On the launch list was the Reusable Booster Flight test, something many were looking forward too.

One of the heaviest boosters in service lifted off towards the inky void, but it was never actually getting there.

But that didn't mean it was a bad launch.

It traveled up, hitting roughly 12,000 meters, and soon began the target fallback to the KSC fields.

The airbrakes were the real show. The booster was visibly slowing down when they deployed, demonstrating the awesome capacities of aerodynamics and drag.

The engine may have helped a bit.

The booster preformed the suicide burn, everyone watching intently as the Mainsail struggled against the gravity well of Kerbin.

The flight ended with a soft landing, the booster's engine making dust clouds blossom below it.

It had 4 units of Liquid Fuel Left.

There was much research to do, and to test some of the crew's spirits, they brought out some more of the technology from Raptor Aerospace to have a little Base Camp.

 

The days after were nice and calm compared to the mess before.

The program hired, on government request, 4 new pilots, named Sammin, Megra, Nedmy and Maxemma.

Nedmy headed off to Black Krags in a T-1 Defense Aircraft.

He named his aircraft "Nedmy's Ride". His Job was basically being a ground attack shield if anyone ever invaded. Thus, his callsign was Shield 1

Megra headed off in a T-3 to Coaler Crater.

Megra didn't land in one piece though.

She had a landing gear failure mid-flight, leaving her a couple of kilometers from Coaler Crater with no tires to cushion a landing.

She still landed her T-3 into a nearby lake.

Coaler Crater's ground staff would fix it up.

Even if the engine decided to explode.

 

Alright, that's it for Chapter 27 guys. I have to thank @Raptor9 once more for the awesome craft he's given the community. He made the X-18, the rover base you saw by the reusable booster, the T-1 and the T-3. What a guy.

Edited May 25, 2016 by DMSP

[Raptor9]

@DMSP, I'm humbled. Thanks for the kind words.