From nothing

[Nukeknockout]

Well, they damn did it again. The Kerbal Academy of Science self-destructed all of our old ships and arbitrarily confiscated all data relating to spaceflight. And now they won't give it back unless we work for them and their corporate cronies. Well don't look at me! This isn't my fault! If I'd know that was the Academy head's car...

 

So I've decided to start a game of KSP from nothing again. My immediate goal is getting a suitable basis of technology, followed by manned landings and returns from the Mun and Minmus.

I'm honestly going to see how far I can get with mostly SRBs. I almost have enough tech to make it to the Mun, but I want to do some sort of landings elsewhere on Kerbin, and also grind money to upgrade the tracking center.

 

Mod list:

KSP: 1.0.5 (Win32) - Unity: 4.6.4f1 - OS: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (6.1.7601) 64bit
USI Tools - 0.6.2
Community Resource Pack - 0.4.9
Connected Living Space - 1.2.0.1
Contract Configurator - 1.9.6
Contract Pack: Field Research - 1.1.6
Contract Pack: Giving Aircraft a Purpose - 1.1.2
Contract Pack: Bases and Stations - 3.1.4
Contract Pack: Tourism Plus - 1.4
Crowd Sourced Science - 3.0.2
Firespitter - 7.1.5
Fuel Tanks Plus - 1.6
Interstellar Fuel Switch - 1.18
Kerbal Attachment System - 0.5.5
Kerbal Engineer Redux - 1.0.18
Kerbal Joint Reinforcement - 3.1.4
KIS - 1.2.3
KSP-AVC Plugin - 1.1.5
Lithobrake Exploration Technologies - 0.3.1
Modular Rocket Systems - 1.11.1
NearFutureConstruction - 0.5.5
NearFutureElectrical - 0.6.1
NearFuturePropulsion - 0.5.4
NearFutureSolar - 0.5.5
NearFutureSpacecraft - 0.4.4
Civilian Population - 1.7.5.1
Procedural Parts - 1.1.11
SpaceY Expanded - 1.1.5
SpaceY Lifters - 1.10
TAC Fuel Balancer - 2.5.1.7
Trajectories - 1.4.5
Kerbal Alarm Clock - 3.5
Alternate Resource Panel - 2.7.4
Transfer Window Planner - 1.4
TweakScale - 2.2.6
Sounding Rockets - 0.3.3
KSP Interstellar Extended - 1.6.8
Waypoint Manager - 2.4.5
WildBlueTools - 1.0.21

 

Next update: Kerbin biomes, controlled ascent, reliable suborbital flights, first orbit.

Edited February 21, 2016 by Nukeknockout
Mod list

[Mister Dilsby]

You're starting over 1.0.5 with that many mods, with 1.1 in QA since 2 weeks? You're a braver kerb than I am  

[Nukeknockout]

I wasn't really aware of 1.1's progress. But with that knowledge, I can feel more confident in just faffing around. So, I'm not brave or pioneering, I'm just stupid. Besides, it'll be interesting to see how far I can go before everything breaks again

Of all the things my hands have held...

Been doing a lot better than I've ever done before in KSP. Designed a satellite payload and actually attached it to a launcher subassembly. Rumor is that the vessel was named by someone angry at an ex who just wanted her to go to space. A satellite that, with some modifications, is powerful enough to serve as a Mun probe and also fulfill any and all unmanned space station contracts in the Kerbin system.

That's no probe! It's a satellite! It's also a sounding rocket crudely strapped to the top of a spaceship. What are you, a cop? If you're that unhappy about us being smart with our money, find another material that can survive 3400K and weighs basically nothing. So what if it's on the Mun?

Also sent up Kerbals into orbit, deployed Artemis the Mun/Minmus single launch lander/return ship (Which I immediately want to bring back down again because, in typical me fashion, I forgot a ton of things ranging from a Scientist to an SAS capable probe core to solar panels). I also haven't unlocked the KIS electric screwdriver, so that plan is probably out.

Now I'm trying to get an aircraft in order to do some surface temperature skans. Current design iteration is to read about basic aircraft design, make the most stable thing I can, give it parachutes because I suck at landing/can't guarantee the terrain will be flat, and bring along an engineer to keep repacking the chutes.

The screenshots are coming, but they're taking a while. So don't hold your breath.

[Cydonian Monk]

To be fair, even when KSP 1.1 hits it might take a month for most mods to be updated. (And some may never be....) So press on (in 1.0.5....)!

That's one of the most original "first ships" I think I've ever seen used in a career. I like the idea of a mostly-SRB approach.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Cydonian Monk

[Nukeknockout]

21 hours ago, Cydonian Monk said:

To be fair, even when KSP 1.1 hits it might take a month for most mods to be updated. (And some may never be....) So press on (in 1.0.5....)!

That's one of the most original "first ships" I think I've ever seen used in a career. I like the idea of a mostly-SRB approach.

I figure. Unmodded KSP is good, but I can stand to stick around in 1.05 for a while. Gives some time for the assorted bugs to be worked out.

Is it that unique? I figured using modular girders as impact armor in lieu of decent parachutes would be a thing someone else would have done by now.

Bad news and good news: Bad news is that I lost the pictures of Cecilia the first satellite (SRB sounding rocket crudely attached to the top of a Thumper/Flea launch vehicle, with a tiny SRB for deorbiting. She only managed half an orbit due to power limits, but brought back quite a bit of science. Other bad news is that all of my pictures from the session before my last one have mysteriously vanished, so you'll just have to accept that I have a sounding rocket landed on the Mun. Cecilia variant. I got it into orbit with SRBs, but I did use an LFO engine for the Mun burn and landing.

Other things to accept: Artemis the Mun lander that doesn't have solar panels, and two satellites in Keostationary orbit (Contracts).

Good news is that I have pictures of a working plane for temperature scans! It's designed for FAR too. It can fly so well with an Engineer because the Engineer is paired with a probe core in the cargo bay. That's kinda my spaceship policy - why even have pilots when I can pair scientists and engineers with probe cores?

 

[Cydonian Monk]

51 minutes ago, Nukeknockout said:

Is it that unique? I figured using modular girders as impact armor in lieu of decent parachutes would be a thing someone else would have done by now.

It's that combined with strapping SRBs to them that makes it look unique.

[Nukeknockout]

The SRB approach I was talking about isn't really going to happen like that. For things like orbital insertions, I'm going to go with liquid engines simply because I can adjust those based on what needs to be done whereas an SRB-primary approach demands being able to predict exactly what I need at any given point.

Today, we focused on contracts to gather enough funds and science to put our Mun expedition truly together. The Kerbal Space Program, a subsidiary of the Kerbal Coast Guard, launched one rocket, a tour boat, and a plane today. The rocket mission, Observer 1, was basically a small sensor package strapped to a giant solid rocket booster and fired into space to collect suborbital data for two contracts, making back more than 15 times its build cost. The tour boat was for tourists to examine the wide debris field in the waters east of the KSC, not strictly profitable but good for PR and it gave engineering a chance to experiment with designs stable in liquids. The aircraft expedition, using the Pirate F1 Kerbin workhorse, conducted a series of scientific experiments for the good of research and development, leading to an interesting result.

We also upgraded the runway and spaceplane hanger. Honestly, the hanger was good for the Pirate F1 no matter what. The big win here is getting rid of those darn potholes. Takeoff is now easier, but especially landing. Next task: Flags at either end of the runway to serve as landing aids. Ultimately, we completed four contracts in three launches, and came even closer to the next phase of operations.

Next update: More contracts, HAL rescue ships returning to Kerbin, That's No Probe 3's Mun burn.

[Nukeknockout]

So, I somehow managed to bork my save. Ships I construct in this save now have reaction wheels that allow them to make some attitude adjustment and then go the other way. I tested some ships in sandbox and an alternate career mode and they don't have any issues. Ugh. I think I'll save the whole mission report thing for later.

[Nukeknockout]

The Kerbal Space Program has made multiple flights in the past day, setting numerous records. Many of the lower-ranking members of the Academy of Science are quite satisfied with the program's progress, though the truly influential members continue to look upon us with disdain. It has been discovered that the out-of-control behavior exhibited by the KSP's flying craft is an error deliberately introduced into the standard flight assistance programs by, we suspect, elements related to the Academy of Science. The programs are quite useful and functional in some contexts, but in any context where the craft is not flying horizontally using traditional airfoil flight, the pilot assistance programs confuse the reaction wheel stability programs and we wind up with things like the pool incident. (Read: Solved the bug I was having. Turns out FAR's flight stability options affect spaceflight and VTOLs even though they absolutely should not. Got to make sure those are off.)

We fulfilled our obligation to our fellow Kerbals, and our primary sponsor, the Kerbal Coast Guard, by rescuing survivors from a sinking fishing boat.

The KSP also performed several technology demonstrations for SSI aerospace, prototyping a submarine (Got paid four times), a seaplane (Paid twice, see the coast guard), and proving once and for all that practical powered flight is a reality (Paid twice by also conducting scientific experiments in the Mountains).

The KSP opened a dedicated boat launch ramp to speed up deployment of powered non-flying units, and upgraded the admin building with an employee lounge.

Additionally, cross-dimensional information leakage has shown the KSP the path another set of space programs, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away have undertaken. The KSP has opted to emulate many of the missions of these programs, resulting in Spudnik 1 becoming the first orbiter, getting the KSP paid five times (Spudnik 1, first orbiter, first artificial satellite contracts, first orbiter, 2,500 m/s speed record). Spudnik 1 was returned to Kerbin for recovery of it and its scientific data. Explainer-1 was then launched as the second satellite, and was permanently placed in a 4,300Km x 4,300Km orbit with a powerful antenna as a permanent communication relay.

The program also discovered the first notable consequence of our minimalistic approach to specialist training. We currently have no one who knows how to repack parachutes. After every flight, we have to send the spent parachutes back to the factory to be re-packed and then buy another truckload for the next flight. We know it's possible because some of them have the same serial number. As a result of that, Bill Kerman developed the first non-parachute related short landing procedure in the KSP's history, and in a wildly unsafe prototype seaplane with two civilians on board.

Building Levels:
Mission Control: 2

Administration: 3

Runway: 2

R&D: 1

SPH: 1

VAB: 1

Launchpad: 1

Launch sites: KSC, KSC2, KSC Island boat ramp, Abandoned Airfield, VAB Helipad

Strategies: Local Science 3, To Boldly Go 2

Pictures:

 

The basic theory I have continuing to go into this is that it makes more sense to upgrade the runway & SPH than the launchpad & VAB. I can construct rockets in the SPH and launch them from the runway, but I can't do the reverse with the launchpad.

[Nukeknockout]

Major updates:

Discovered a land point in the water biome. Also continued to explore Kerbin.

Status:

VAB: 1

SPH: 1

Runway: 2

Launchpad: 2

Mission Control: 3

Administration: 3

R&D: 2

Tracking Station: 2

Astronaut Complex: 2

At the end, I used the upgrade to the launchpad to create what I hope is a reliable multi-use shuttle. The theory is that the wings will decelerate it better in atmosphere than a heat shield.

I financed the upgrades to KSC using funds from accepting advances on several contracts. Next phase: Docking in Kerbin orbit, science from Tundra, Vanguard 5, Second Kerbal rescue, Kerbin Space Station, and then moving on to focus on the Mun.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Nukeknockout

[Nukeknockout]

Year of Hell

Well, more like "Week of Hell".

Only a few days in, Calamity struck the Kerbal Space Center. For no discernible reason, four (!) major sponsors angrily canceled their contracts with the KSP. Mortimer advised us to pay the penalty clauses for failing their contracts, as fighting a legal battle with several large corporations would cost more and endanger the KSC's ability to secure future contracts. As a result, rumors of the KSC's incompetency and financial insolvency hit the airwaves around Kerbin, severely damaging the program's reputation. When all was assessed, the KSC stood in the red. But all was not lost.

Gene Kerman leveraged the KSC's remaining reputation to secure three contracts with yet another major company, Fuel Tanks Plus. FTP & the KSC already enjoyed a friendly relationship - KSC appreciates the extra-large fuel tanks manufactured by FTP, and FTP values KSC as one of their primary customers. Specifically, FTP contracted the KSC to conduct temperature and visual surveys of Kerbin, and to make a crewed Mun landing. In addition, a government grant became available for conducting research in one of the many places on Kerbin that defy explanation.

The advances on these contracts offered just enough funds for the KSC to send out some flights. But there were complications - FTP's surveys required either breaking the unbreakable air-breathing altitude limit of 18,000 meters or de-orbiting a capsule in exactly the right place at exactly the right time (The latter was immediately rejected unceremoniously as being "too complicated").

The situation seemed hopeless, until an intern happened to notice a toggle switch labeled "dry" and "wet" on the side of a Panther 404 jet engine during routine ignition testing. The resulting inferno fortunately dealt little damage due to the nature of the testing ground. Post-testing analysis indicated that the Panther 404 has an in-built "afterburner" that can be used to increase thrust at the cost of increased fuel consumption. An existing KSC craft, the Explorer F1, is both very lightweight and equipped with a Panther 404.

Ultimately, KSC decided to send out two flights - a Seamen F1 with a reliable J-33 would tackle the low-altitude surveys and the government grant, while an Explorer F1 would attempt to fly higher than any air-breathing craft had ever flown. Unfortunately, the Seamen F1's camera was "off", or so pilot Valentina Kerman claims.

The Explorer F1 performs with flying colors, demonstrating the value of its military-licensed components. At roughly the same time, several militaries requested to investigate the Explorer to duplicate its high-altitude capabilities. We denied them - the sky belongs to the KSP. There was a hiccup on landing - the Explorer rolled off the runway, and proved impossible to get back up there.

After these flights, the KSP resumed more or less normal operations. As government grants for research became available, the space program fulfilled them. Two kerbals were rescued from orbit - Triigh and Melvie, with a rescue ship launched for Versia Kerman. A duo orbiter - Joefen and Melvie - was sent up to orbit Kerbin for a full week. A SCANsat was launched to create a comprehensive orbital map of Kerbin, followed by two more SCANsats bound for Minmus and the Mun. A dedicated Minmus probe was launched to perform a high altitude fly-by, and test the ability of the platform to land on Minmus itself. The ambitious probe design was intended to ultimately land on Minmus, expose scientific experiments, and then return to Kerbin for data recovery.

Additionally, with some internal discussion, the KSP administrators and several cooperating governments elected to trial the Mun landers and associated systems on Minmus, as that body should be easier to land on.

In all the commotion, no one, not even Gene Kerman, noticed that the orbital communications network had abruptly and mysteriously vanished...

Buildings:

VAB: 2

SPH: 1

Tracking: 2

Admin: 3

Mission Control: 3

Runway: 2

Launchpad: 2

R & D: 2

Astronaut Complex: 2

Strategia: Local Science III, To Boldly Go III, Minmus Probes

[Nukeknockout]

The atmosphere in Mission Control was relaxed, cool and confident, capable. It was Kerbin night and controller Leroy Kerman was in charge. He briefly thought back...over the past week, the program had rescued two kerbonauts launched by other programs with no real provision for retrieving them, as well as placing a permanent satellite each in the orbit of the Mun and Minmus, as well as performing a flyby in space high above Minmus to gather data. The Minmus probe had showed every sign of being effective, so the odds of future probes being deployed to land on Minmus were high. He was particularly proud of the probe - somehow, her launch, Minmus burn, and flyby of Minmus itself had coincided with his shifts. And soon, another important mission would end - two kerbonauts, Joefen & Milvie, had been sent up in a modified tour shuttle to orbit Kerbin for seven whole days. And in T- 20 minutes, they would make their burn to return.

Out of the corner of his eye, Leroy noticed Valentina Kerman, distinguishable by her orange attire, enter the room. Veteran? Don't make me laugh. None of them would be any use at all without mission control. "Come to watch the return?" He vocalized, without deigning to look in her direction. "Of course." Valentina replied. "I watch all of the returns."

Interesting. "I haven't noticed you in here before." He questioned without questioning. Valentina nodded slowly "That is true." First a moment passed, then another. The silence stretched on as Valentina casually observed the "One Week Orbiter"s telemetry readouts. And? Leroy thought. Leroy slowly returned to observing the orbital data - 115 x 115, a perfect orbit.

As he busied himself double-checking the programs and calculations, he felt Valentina's watchful eye scan the room with a pilot's hawkish glare. A drop of sweat rolled down his spine in the intentionally cold control room. She's here to spy on me! Someone up there doesn't think I can do my job...

An indeterminable amount of time later, the radio crackled and Joefen's brisk voice issued from the secondhand speaker. "KSC, OWO at primary burn point. Attitude check?" Leroy glanced at the data, then replied "Attitude nominal." "Copy, KSC. OWO initiating burn. We're about ready to come home." As OWO fired his engine, the telemetry radically changed. Ten seconds passed, and he felt those eyes upon him. "That's a long burn." Valentina commented.

Leroy resisted the urge to look down at the calculations again. "It's a de-orbit, not a rendezvous, pilot." He felt a flash of triumph as he saw Valentina blink at the reference to her last mission.

"KSC, OWO. At 70Km." Joefen relayed. "Copy, OWO." Leroy replied. "Make your attitude 45 degrees above prograde. Your wings need to catch the air." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Valentina's lip twitch.

"Copy, KSC. We're already encountering plasma." OWO relayed just before the radio fell defiantly silent. Now we wait. Leroy thought quietly as he kept an eye on OWO's progress through the telemetry.

"It'll be good to see Joefen and Milvie again." Valentina suddenly spoke, her voice strangely...wistful. "Especially with them now famous enough to be recognized in their homelands." Leroy barely resisted rolling his eyes as the spy tried to make him sympathize with her.

Suddenly, various parameters on the telemetry spiked. "They're inverted!" Valentina exclaimed. "They're not supposed to come in tail first!" Leroy looked at her, but stopped just short of meeting those eyes..."We can't contact them and find out why yet." What felt like an eternity passed...before Valentina looked away, back at the telemetry.

"Control, this is tracking. Contact has broken up! Say again, contact has broken up!" Leroy shot bolt upright "Mobilize all recovery teams now!"

--------------------------------------

In a darkened room, several kerbals sat at a round table. An untouched plate of snacks lay in the center. One kerbal sat with their back to the table. In a low voice like a gathering storm, the kerbal spoke "It broke up on re-entry."

Gene Kerman, senior mission controller, spoke second. "Yes. Joefen and Milvie burned too long, then came in with their angle of attack too high. The atmospheric drag flipped their craft, and as it lost altitude, it started to wobble until it suffered an aerodynamic failure. For what it's worth, the cockpit failed first, and Joefen and Milvie were killed instantly. Likely before they ever knew something was wrong."

"Who is to blame?" The kerbal continued in a low voice.

"It wasn't my department." Wernher Von Kerman proclaimed with the confidence of the certain. "Aircraft components can only be machined and reinforced to a certain standard before their weight starts to compromise mission parameters, and no material we know of can withstand sideslipping at mach 6 below 20,000 meters."

"I don't believe you understand me." The kerbal continued. "Obviously, we have a failure in one or multiple departments. We may even eventually discover that everyone contributed in some small way to this disaster. But we can't tell the public, and we can't tell the Kerbal Academy of Science, that we have no idea what happened. We also can't blame hardware or mission control without opening up criticism of our program that the Academy WILL take advantage of."

"Are you suggesting a scapegoat?" Gene asked incredulously.

"I am." The kerbal stated simply.

-------------

So yeah. Major orbital disaster. The Academy of Science has retaliated by changing the laws related to sending Kerbals into space - we now need to provide them with food, water, oxygen, and electricity.

[Nukeknockout]

A small buzzer on Gene Kerman's desk...buzzed. "Gene, the MRS rep is here." Gene Kerman looked up from a newspaper with the rather sensationalist headline of "PILOT INCOMPETENCE KILLS ORBITER CREW!" and carefully folded the paper up and placed it in one of the dozens of secret drawers in his desk. He then pressed the buzzer "Jeny, send them in."

A few moments later, a Kerbal in a snazzy suit with an "MRS" insignia on her right breast pocket entered the office. "Gene, good to see you!" She exclaimed with enthusiasm. "Marney, glad you could make it!" Gene replied with the required corporate minimum of enthusiasm. "Please have a seat."

She did so. "First off, my condolences on the loss of your space crew. MRS is close to offering a new line of radial probe cores that will help eliminate pilot error in situations like these." And so is C7 Aerospace. Gene thought. "Thank you for your condolences. That is not what we're here to discuss though."

"Indeed." Jeny acknowledged. "As you're aware, MRS produces specialty parts designed to cover niches other companies generally don't build for."

"I'm aware." Gene replied. "In the past, we've used MRS mini-jet engines for a variety of purposes, as well as other components. Most recently, we've incorporated your probe guidance aerodynamic nosecone into our Seamen subsonic aircraft, in addition to your rocket payload bay and jet fuel tank."

"Am I to take this as an endorsement?" Jeny asked.

"More of an acknowledgment." Gene clarified. "We've done good business with your people in the past, and it's common knowledge in our engineering department that the probe that just flew by Minmus is fueled by MRS tanks."

Jeny's eyes narrowed "So what's the point of this...acknowledgment?"

Gene's face took on an unnatural stiffness. "We find ourselves needing a large number of additional "Half Jumbo" fuel tanks for a variety of missions. It seems a component from your company has made it into one of our standard lifter subassemblies."

Jeny's carefully controlled expression betrayed none of her joy. In truth, MRS depended on the KSC as a customer much more than the KSC depended on MRS as a supplier. MRS' business model relied heavily on industrial espionage and intentionally undercutting competitors by releasing products with similar functions that were more friendly to designers of spacecraft. Accordingly, many competing companies - Rockomax, Fuel Tanks Plus, Kerbodyne, C7 Aerospace, among others - were perfectly willing to cooperate in order to limit the spread of MRS. "How many of these tanks does the KSC see itself requiring?"

"Twenty to thirty in the immediate future." Gene quoted. "The subassembly only uses one MRS tank, but it's a powerful subassembly that, as demonstrated, can send probes to Minmus or the Mun."

-----------

Far away on Kerbin, seven kerbals sat around an octagonal ottoman.

"Sam?" One of them asked.

"Yes?" Another replied.

"Can we use an actual table for once? I'm sure this is great as a footrest, but we can't snack on this."

"No." Sam replied. "We have to be different from the KSC. Now, everyone, put on your Science hoods. We have some science discussion to do."

As one, the seven kerbals lowered their blue science hoods over their faces, obscuring their identities.

"Now then," Sam continued. "Operations reports?"

"Wizard, the testing of the JE-1 Mule engine is complete. It's not as efficient as the latest C7 engines...or indeed any of them...but it has an unprecedented amount of power for a turbofan. It should allow transport of any size of space debris from KSC launches, if we get there before their recovery teams. More importantly, our organization can build it in-house so no one can notice a sudden increase in the purchase of atmospheric engines." The first kerbal answered.

"Based on the reports from the Change Detector, we've determined that the KSC are getting numerous rewards for emulating space programs that don't seem to exist in what we define as "The observable universe". Penetrating their security and finding out exactly how this is possible should be our number one priority."

"The loss of the space program's orbiter changes everything. With that, we can inflame doubts in the public consciousness about the suitability of a space program. In particular, since the ship was based on a standard tourist shuttle, we can put a complete halt to space tourism for the foreseeable future.

"...Sam. Do we really have to call you Wizard?" The third kerbal spoke in a wheedling voice.

"If we use each other's names, is it really a secret society?" Sam replied sharply.

"But you're my brother! We all already know who we are! And can we please turn the light up? I must have tripped every time I came in this room!" The third kerbal whined.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Nukeknockout

[Nukeknockout]

Verisa Kerman sought out an unusual table in the KSC mess - in the corner, where she could face the wall. A deathly stillness pervaded the ordinarily noisy mess as the kerbals ate in silence. Will the next one be me? She could see it in her mind's eye - blaring alarms, crushing G-forces, one brief moment to recognize the re-entry vehicle escaping control, and -

"Verisa?" A soft voice sounded. She looked over - the pilot, Valentina, carrying a tray of nondescript foodlike substances "milled" from algae and microbes, a trial for long-term life support, standing by the table. "May I sit here?" She asked in her somber, matter of fact way.

"Yes, I suppose." Verisa replied. Valentina did so, somehow managing to place the uneven cheap tin tray on the even cheaper plastic table without making a sound. She made a face as she bit into a "protein bar".

The duo ate in an odd silence. After an interminable time, Verisa spoke. "Val? Can I ask you something?"

Valentina paused for a moment, placed her food down, then answered "Sure. Go ahead."

"Does coming back from space scare you?" Verisa asked quietly.

"Of course." Valentina replied immediately. "It's exhilarating, but also terrifying. I don't doubt I'll make it, though."

Wny? "It must be great to have your confidence." Verisa replied automatically, eyes dropping.

"Look." Verisa looked up to find Valentina staring directly into her eyes. "Every spacecraft is an engineering compromise, and as long as it functions within those tolerances, it will be just fine. As long as the spacecraft is fine, there is absolutely no reason to doubt that we will return home. It's bumpy and hot, but we will make it."

"Joefen and Milvie didn't." Verisa argued. "They, they...." All alone, freezing in space...

"Yes." Valentina replied. "Their re-entry profile exceeded their spacecraft's tolerances. They burned too long, so they entered the lower atmosphere too fast. They came in at too high an angle of attack, so instead of catching the air and gliding they were flipped over and started coming down tail-first."

Darkness suddenly flashed across Verisa's eyes. "Are you saying they deserved to die?!?"

"No. Of course not." Valentina replied quickly. "Joefen apparently did exactly what I would have done in the situation - start to yaw and roll to get some kind of drag, any kind of drag. But it's important to recognize what went wrong so it isn't repeated if we send up later winged re-entry vehicles. Besides, you came back from space fine."

The silence, no longer comfortable, dragged on. "Hey." Valentina said suddenly. "It'd be dishonest to admit that I wasn't asked to talk to you. You've been down lately, more than most others. Is there anything you need?"

Verisa recognized the subtle change of tone from two friends having a conversation to a supervisor checking in with a subordinate. "I'm not sure I'm good to go to space right now." Idiot. She heard herself answer truthfully, on a whim. They won't have a use for a Kerbonaut who can't go to space...

Valentina nodded. "Alright."

"Alright?" Verisa questioned.

"Alright." Valentina replied.

Verisa stopped eating. "Excuse me, but how is it alright for a Kerbonaut to not be able to go to space?" She asked suddenly.

"Verisa, nothing is worse than forcing someone to do something they're not ready to do. Maybe you'll be ready to into space someday, maybe not for the foreseeable future. Maybe never. In the mean time, you're still part of our program." Valentina explained matter-of-factly. "Bob hasn't gone to space since some of the first kerbaled suborbital flights. Would you benefit from being taken off the active roster? There are a number of scientific instruments that need to be calibrated around KSC and Kerbin, and we can always use another pair of eyes looking at spacecraft blueprints before we actually build the things. Maybe you can double or triple check the re-entry section, just to be sure." Valentina fidgeted slightly as she spoke.

"I think...I think that'd be for the best." Verisa admitted slowly.

"Okay." Valentina acknowledged. "In that case, Milvie and the engineering department has prepared a rover with instruments that needs to be driven around the space center. You've got the training to operate the instruments, and don't worry about the rover - it's a test for Minmus rovers, and it needs to be...crash-proof." She winked.

"Crash proof?" Verisa asked.

"Go nuts." Valentina replied, plopping a set of keys next to Verisa's meal. "I have to run though, so let me know how it works out."

Sam Kerman stretched luxuriously in his hammock. What a beautiful morning. He placed his unclad feet on the ground and retrieved a cup of coffee and a donut from his kitchen storage unit. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an array of red lights on the machine in the corner of his room.

The cup of coffee smashed on the floor at his feet. Sam thoughtfully took a bite of the donut, then suddenly dropped it on the coffee, before activating the pager on his wrist.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Nukeknockout