For Science! (You've forgotten this existed, haven't you?)

[RocketSquid]

So, everyone, it's been a while. I have the screenshots for the rest of the chapter, so all I need to do is upload them. I'm planning to install Ven's stock revamp if I can make sure it won't break my save. Update coming tonight.

[RocketSquid]

UPDATE!!!

Chapter 10- Part Two: Sailing Home:

Valentina brought up the ship logs.

Karp. That's a lot of science. Time to bring it home.

She also took some time to play around with the computer system.

Oh right. The autopilot. She was proud to say that it was now doing a great job of making koffee, after bill's excellent modification and her unceremonious part-ripping. That'll show them to try and replace her with a stupid robot. She could fly better than any robot.

Bob looked out his window. Minmus was beautiful. He would be sad to leave.

Bill agreed that it was beautiful, but he was still having a hard time believing that something that looked so good could taste so bad. On top of that, he had a real stomachache from all of that ammonia. Valentina remarked on how pixelated it seemed, but nobody had the slightest idea what she was talking about.

Next, Valentina punched in the coordinates and prepared to guide the ship. This was a moment Bob had been dreading for the entire mission. He had never been under Valentina's command before, but from what he had seen of her so far, she would likely turn out to be an even more reckless pilot than Jeb. What was worse was that this particular maneuver would take them perilously close to the surface of Minmus. He held his breath before realizing that that would do absolutely nothing.

Fortunately for Bob, Valentina was in fact a very calm, composed, and by-the-book pilot. Unfortunately for Bob, he had used up a lot of the space on his camera with all of these pictures. Bill, meanwhile, was having an awful case of ammonia poisoning. Fortunately, Kerbals can withstand quite a bit of ammonia.

Jebediah, meanwhile, was staring out the window in awe, looking at the stars. Or more accurately, the planets.

The brown speck of Moho, the purple dot of Eve, the red pinprick of Duna, the beautiful green of Jool, and of course, the inviting blue seas of Kerbin. Beyond Jool, he could spy Bluzzle Alpha, the closest star to Kerbol, and the nearby Ondramade Galaxy. For those of you that do not share Jeb's powers of recognition, here is a handy chart:

Valentina, meanwhile, was concerning herself with the trip home, plotting out maneuvers and visualizing trajectories.

 

That's all for today!

Next time, we'll be returning our valiant kerbonauts to Kerbin, or at least to LKO.

Have a good weekend! I'll be spending mine fixing a robot.

[KerbalOmmex]

Awesome report. I wonder if there is anything in this world that can make Bob happy.

[Geschosskopf]

20 hours ago, RocketSquid said:

Have a good weekend! I'll be spending mine fixing a robot.

Good to see this going again.  Nice haul of Science! and leveling up the crew.

"Fixing a robot" ?  The fighting \kind?  I hope it's just the usual bumps and bruises inevitable in that profession, wiping the enemy's hydraulic fluid off the cutters, etc.

I spent my day breaking stuff.  To be specific, 2 minivans and a pickup, all torn to shreds during training with the Jaws of Life.  I felt like a combat robot myself \

[RocketSquid]

20 hours ago, Geschosskopf said:

Good to see this going again.  Nice haul of Science! and leveling up the crew.

"Fixing a robot" ?  The fighting \kind?  I hope it's just the usual bumps and bruises inevitable in that profession, wiping the enemy's hydraulic fluid off the cutters, etc.

I spent my day breaking stuff.  To be specific, 2 minivans and a pickup, all torn to shreds during training with the Jaws of Life.  I felt like a combat robot myself \

Unfortunately, not the fighting kind. The school contest kind, that have to do things like navigate an obstacle course thing and play tug of war. Unfortunately, it is so incredibly slow that it will have a hard time getting the bare minimum in the obstacle course.

[Geschosskopf]

12 minutes ago, RocketSquid said:

Unfortunately, not the fighting kind. The school contest kind, that have to do things like navigate an obstacle course thing and play tug of war. Unfortunately, it is so incredibly slow that it will have a hard time getting the bare minimum in the obstacle course.

MOAR Boosters!

[RocketSquid]

14 minutes ago, Geschosskopf said:

MOAR Boosters!

I can't. We're only allowed to use servos for propulsion.

[Geschosskopf]

On 5/22/2016 at 11:58 AM, RocketSquid said:

I can't. We're only allowed to use servos for propulsion.

MOAR servos!

[RocketSquid]

19 hours ago, Geschosskopf said:

MOAR servos!

And we're only allowed to use two. This falls in the very, very slim category of problems that can't be solved by adding MOAR of something.

[RocketSquid]

Probably no update this weekend. I've got some work to do. I'll probably post something tomorrow, but it will likely just be an interlude/infolude.

[RocketSquid]

No promises, but I hope to get a big update up this weekend. If not, I think I'll post a couple of infoludes for people to read and/or ignore until relevant.

[RocketSquid]

It seems an auspicious day for updates.

Chapter 11: Heading home from ice cream:

After leaving Minmus's SOI, our valiant crew prepared for the long journey home.

Specifically, they were getting a last good look at the view.

Minmus had some spectacular sights to see.

The weeks were mostly uneventful, and involved no less than five verses from "80 songs guaranteed to annoy everyone". The "mostly" in "mostly uneventful" is because after the fifth verse, Valentina's potent temper rolled over. I will give you an audio log since I closed my eyes when that particular incident started.

Spoiler

Valentina: "AAAURGH!! BOB!! STOP SINGING OR I CRUSH YOU LIKE INSECT!!

Bob: "AAAAAUUUGH!!"

Valentina: "Thank you."

*Sounds of airlock opening followed by the sound of the crew's only copy of "80 songs guaranteed to annoy everyone" tapping the side of the ship*

The rest of the trip proceeded normally until one day before the periapsis when Valentina noticed something about the navball.

"Why is there N/A? How is a burn time "not applicable"?"

"Well, it doesn't know our acceleration."

"How does it not know that?"

"Software problem. It keeps records, but they just kind of erase themselves. There's a patch that'll fix it."

"When can we get it?"

"The download will finish in three hours."

Hours later...

"Aaand download complete. We now have working maneuver software and are closer to Kerbin than Mun is."

"It'll just be a bit longer."

One time warp (or "nap" in layman's terms) later, they were ready to circularize. The ship snapped itself to the correct orientation, and displayed a soft indicator.

"Oh thank Kerbol! I was actually strapped in this time!" cried Bob.

(I apologize for the horrible cropping. I was very tired.)

"Burning in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, go!"

Bob braced himself.

"Oh, right. This thing only pulls an eighth of a gee."

(Again, bad crop. Sorry.)

Bob now realized that he really, really liked this ship.

After five solid minutes of burning, the engines stopped. They were practically home.

"Mission control, this is Mariner actual. Burn complete."

"Roger that. Arrowhead, be ready to undock and rendezvous."

 

Tune in next time to see how well that goes!

[RocketSquid]

So, I promised one of these, and I want to finish up. This is the penultimate Infolude.

Infolude: The Kold War:

The second Kerbin War had left Ussari and Kelpogart in a standoff. The reason? Snacks, of course. But not just any type of snacks. The goal of both nations, the goal to the entire conflict, was...

ICE CREAM.

This delicious frozen treat had been invented in secret by a team of Dachlandish scientists. Its existence became known to both Ussari and Kelpogart, each of which became determined to create the best ice cream known to kerb. In a heated rock-paper-scissors game over the fate of Dachland's research program, Ussari defeated Kelpogart and won the entirety of the Dachlandish research, gaining an early lead. Kelpogart's progress took a serious blow when they instead received Wernher Von Kerman, head of the defunct Dachlandish space program.

Unwilling to give up, the Kelpogart government worked to use spaceflight to their advantage. They came up with "ice cream making space station" and "Land in Ussari and steal their ice cream". In attempting to perform these strategies, they managed to send various kerbals, including Jebediah Kerman II, Alan Kerman, and Neil Kerman, into space in tiny capsules. Once the Ussaris got wind of this, they sent up several kerbals, including Yuri Kerman and Valentina Kerman, into space in even smaller capsules. Unfortunately for both of them, it turns out that landing a spacecraft in enemy territory is a very, very good way of getting your kerbonauts returned to you without their spacesuits or capsules.

Fortunately, they found a new objective. After several glasses of hydrazine, several administrators reached the conclusion that since Minmus was obviously made of magic space ice cream all they would need to do is go there and bring back samples in a small freezer. This, among other things, started a series of Mun probes. Ussari was the first to land, assuming we stretch the definition of landing to mean "survivable lithobraking", but Kelpogart pioneered "soft" or "non-barfy" landings, which would have given them a serious advantage on kerbbed landings.

By this point both the Ussaris and Kelpogartians had completely forgotten about the original goal, to the point where it was possible to walk in and eat entire tubs of ice cream without even being told it would ruin your appetite. Soon enough, however, other nations less devoted to spaceflight created ice cream that most kerbals agreed was better than anything Ussari or Kelpogart had come up with so far, and Ussari and Kelpogart quickly burned all records of their ice cream research to avoid embarrassment. They also accidentally burned all records of who they were competing with, which resulted in an end to the Kold War three days later when the last person finally forgot what was happening.

Their space programs, however, stuck around. They weren't doing much, and eventually decided that things would be cheaper if they worked together.

 

[RocketSquid]

So, a brief plan:

1) I retrieve the minmus kerbonauts.

2) Duna interplanetary bridge and cargo tug launch.

3) Other duna interplanetary launches

4) Duna interplanetary departs.

On arrival, the Duna Interplanetary will send two craft (Duna base core and Duna Excursion Module) to Duna and two (PIke and Dust Biter) to Ike. The Dust Biter is a permanent mining fixture with partial ISRU, while the PIke is an autonomous ore/fuel tanker.

[RocketSquid]

I'm bored and I have free time! Therefore, INFOLUDE. This is probably the last one.

Infolude: TKSA:

After the Kold War, the space programs began collaborating. This allowed them to accomplish far more, and did not escape the attention of other nations, who soon realized that it would be very beneficial to be able to send their own stuff into space.

Unfortunately, it was very expensive to develop the necessary technology. Soon, they decided just to buy launch vehicles and spare satellites from the Ussari and Kelpogart space programs, repaint them and slap on a flag, and call it a new space program. A new snag came when they realized that only about two of the nations that wanted space programs actually had land on the equator, and only Cerima had a spot that wouldn't crash failed rockets into their neighbors. Fortunately, Kelpogart had a very nice launch center, and happened to be renting it out.

At this point, "owning a space program" became "paying to purchase rockets, payloads, fuel, and launchpad space from another country". Ussari and Kelpogart soon realized that the space program was now generating enough money to pay for itself, and that they no longer really needed to use any tax money to keep it afloat. This had the effect of cutting almost all ties between each nation and their resident space program. Within munths it became official when Ussari and Kelpogart announced that their space programs would be merged into one independent organization, the Trans-Kerbin Space Association. Any knowledge gained would be made freely available to all of kerbalkind. Funding came from any nation or company that cared to pay for a launch, or from donations by ordinary kerbals. They hired numerous kerbonauts, including children of Kold War era kerbonauts.

[RocketSquid]

Okay, everyone, the next thing I post here will be content, I swear!

I recently installed the Saru planet pack and SpaceY Lifters. Less recently, I installed BDB and Tantares, but parts from those still have yet to appear. The Beryl Jool probe will have Saru as its secondary destination, and there will be a dedicated probe at a later date. The Multiorbiter is still en route to Dres, where it will run its science experiments and perform a long term magnetometer scan to determine ore concentrations.

Next update will be me retrieving the Minmus mission, and after that the Duna Interplanetary will begin.

Also, porkchop plots and transfer details!

 

Edited June 17, 2016 by RocketSquid

[RocketSquid]

Update time! This will be part of a larger update, but that may not happen for a while.

Chapter 12- Part One: Parallel Docking:

It was time. Gusler and Asta were enjoying themselves on the station, but they knew they would have to leave. First, however, they needed monopropellant. Fortunately, the station had a nice big stock.

NOM!! I have hunger! Give me all ur monoprop! (I am so sorry)

After they had finished raiding the station's stores, it was time to cast off!

"We're turning a bit much, Gusler!"

"I'll get us straightened out, don't worry."

"You know, I'm not sure if I mentioned how much I'm enjoying this."

"On the Mun 4, I had to micromanage half of the flight systems just to keep the LOX tanks from exploding! On this one, I just need to keep one piddly little reactor from melting itself."

"Yep, and it's WAY easier to fly. With a much nicer engine."

"And speaking of engines, I just started the burn."

"Okay, burn one complete."

"Now beginning second burn!" Said Gusler, staring at the ultra-futuristic space computer screens.

"Egad, it's dark. Let's turn on a light!"

"My eyes!!"

"It even light up our name tags!"

"What name tags?"

"Who said anything about name tags?"

"YOU DID!!!"

"Don't you have an intercept to plot?

 

On an unrelated note, here's Saru.

By the Kraken, that's beautiful. Also very, very far away.

And on an even less related note, this chapter was written over a span of nearly an entire day!

Edited August 5, 2016 by RocketSquid
Needed a title.

[RocketSquid]

Today is the last day of school, so I can hopefully start updating with more frequency now.

[RocketSquid]

Oh dear Kraken! The Minmus Mariner crew recovery is proving to be Zeno's docking approach... Every time I play, I finish half of what needs to be done. I should hopefully manage to finish before next week.

Edited June 30, 2016 by RocketSquid

[Geschosskopf]

2 hours ago, RocketSquid said:

Oh dear Kraken! The Minmus Mariner crew recovery is proving to be Zeno's docking approach... 

On the bright side, Zeno's Paradox is false because the universe is digital, not analog.  Eventually you get to the Planck Lenght so Achilles will pass the tortoise.

[RocketSquid]

Finally!! Done with the docking!

Chapter 12- Part Two: Zeno's Approach:

"Gusler!!!! We're coming in way to fast!! There's no way we'll slow down in time!!"

"I know, I can't fix this. I must've started way too late!"

Suddenly, DEUS EX MACHINA!!!

"What just happened?"

"No idea. But I have the greatest feeling of Deja Vu!"

"No time for that, we've got a rendezvous to pull off!"

"So, how long until we fire the engines?"

"No time at all. I'm feeling cautious."

"I love how our definition of 'have caution' is now 'turn on the reactor and start expelling superheated, irradiated hydrogen sooner rather than later'"

"Has that ever not been our definition?"

"Yeah, it used to just be 'turn on the fire and start expelling superheated combustion products sooner rather than later"

"Nuclear reactors make everything better."

"Agreed."

"We're getting close. Lowering throttle."

"And done! We have now perfectly matched velocity."

"Tell the other crew"

Meanwhile, on the other ship...

"...Burnin' down to old Moho, me boys,

Burnin' down to old Moho!

There's science around, on that hot, boilin' ground

Burnin' down to old Moho!"

 

*Beep beep beep!*

"Quiet down, everyone, I have to hear this!"

"Hey, Val! This is Asta! Just wanted to let you know we're getting pretty close!"

"Really? I haven't even seen you since Mun 4!"

"I meant that we're now in visual range of your ship."

"Oh. We can't see you because of the glare."

"Yeah, you guys just kind of look like a little white dot right now."

As Asta and Val talked, the ships grew closer together. It was now time for business.

Soon, they reoriented the Arrowhead I to point the docking point in the correct direction. Gusler pulled up the DPAI software, and fired up the RCS.

From the outside, the scene looked peaceful and calm. From the inside, it was very evidently not.

"Holey Moho!! How are you supposed to use these controls!?! You'd need three hands to control this thing properly!"

*Bump*

"Now I have to start from scratch again!! I wish this stupid autopilot would stop fighting me!"

*Bump*

"That's it!! Mariner, we'll need docking assist."

"Understood! We'll take over from here!"

*Tap*

"I don't get it!! The ports are aligned, the magnetics are engaged, we should be docking! It's like there's something getting between the ports!"

Bill reached forward and flipped a small switch.

*Click*

"Our bumpers were on this whole time."

Gusler laughed, a crazy, bizarre laugh.

"Koddamit, Murphy!!!"

The rest of the kerbals started laughing as soon as they realized what he was saying.

"KAPKOM, permission to lock the bumper control switch in the off position using a large hammer?"

"Where would you get a large hammer from?"

Gusler mulled over this for a moment. "If I bring one up next time, can I do it?"

"Fine. But get the crew moving!"

"Val and Bill are already in the cabin. Jeb and Bob will be in soon."

 

Soon, it will be time for the undocking! Which for some reason sounds like a really bad KSP horror film.

Edited August 5, 2016 by RocketSquid
Forgot the title.

[RocketSquid]

I just tallied up all of the science. The Minmus Mariner collected a total of 1453.1 SCIENCE!! although the final value will likely be a bit less because I have a duplicate experiment. This is enough for two higher level science nodes and one lower level node.

[Geschosskopf]

3 hours ago, RocketSquid said:

"I love how our definition of 'have caution' is now 'turn on the reactor and start expelling superheated, irradiated hydrogen sooner rather than later'"

No matter what comes out of the exhaust pipe, the radiation from the sun will always be far worse.  So yeah, totally safe.  Apart from being in a position to use such an engine to begin with

 

[RocketSquid]

So, doing some work on my install, which should get some of my mods updated past their previous, "whatever works" state. I am also preparing the landers that will accompany the Duna Interplanetary, specifically the DEM (manned duna lander), Dustbiter (Unmanned Ike miner), and PIke (Unmanned ore ferry). I've also been working on the Duna Scansat, which will also scan Ike.

[RocketSquid]

So, I was going to post a chapter this weekend but my save has instead decided to utterly flip out. My vacationing seems to have annoyed the kraken.

I will have an interlude/infolude tomorrow, but for now I have a question: Does anyone have the slightest idea why this is happening?