New Save, New Horizons - a Career Journal

[Boots]

Two mod updates destroyed my last career save by getting rid of parts in my two biggest and most complex missions - a Kerballed Duna journey and an unkerballed Jool system recon mission. Costing me more then 2 million Kerbucks and around 15 launches, to say it sapped my enthusiasm for the game is an understatement. To add insult to injury, when I logged in after the 1.1.3 update to test out my mods, another update removed my Minmus base. I deleted the save in a huff.

So, having updated everything. I've decided I'll journal my journey to the stars in this new save. It will take a form similar to this post, so written like a technical history of my space program, with Kronal Vessel Viewer and Historian sreenshots.

Before I start, here's a list of the relevant mods I'm using:

• Asteroid Day
• Community Tech Tree
• Nertea's various rocketry mods (Cryo Engines, Atomic Engines, Heat Control, Near Future Everything, Station Parts Expansion)
• DMagic Orbital Science
• KAS
• KIS
• KAC
• PortraitStats
• Station Science
• RCS Capsuledyne's Taurus HCV
• USI Kolonisation
• USI Life Support
• Universal Storage
• WBI's Mark One Laboratory Extensions
• EVE

So, without further ado, the epic story of my latest career save begins in the very next post...

Edited September 26, 2016 by Boots

[Boots]

A History of the Kerbal Space Agency - Part One - Faltering First Steps

The Space Agency that eventually delivered so many advances in the fields of material science, pyrotechnics and psychology (mostly trauma studies) began inauspiciously in a ramshackle collection of sheds surrounding a blast-blackened patch of dirt that smelled of sulphur, hydrazine, and fear. The earliest missions fo the Kerbal Space Agency were not given any names, they are identified in the log book only by Gene Kerman's scrawled numbers. The first flatering steps towards the stars were taken by orange-jumpsuited lunatics strapped into tin cans atop the largest firecrackers yet built by Kerbalkind, as follows:

Flights SRB-1 and SRB-2 were little more than glorified pranks. The two "pilots" (read, the two members of the KSA team with no prior qualifications) were each propelled skyward atop a Flea solid-fuelled booster. Few of their observations were of much use. Beyond the recognition that "seat of the pants" flight planning was a euphemism for "pants-wetting fear," the only thing that the KSA learnt was that one flea wasn't going to get Jeb or Val into space.

The next two missions took advantage of advances in decoupling technology. Admittedly, the word 'decoupler' came from a list scrawled in the margins of Bill Kerman's agenda for the SRB mission debriefing, which read: "Possible alternate names for device designed to explosively break rocket into pieces while in flight". Other possibilities included the words "engine," "Jeb," and "bomb," all crossed out.  LFB-1 and LFB-2 propelled Jeb eastwards as fast as it could manage, and Val westwards, to properly gauge the effect of Kerbin's rotation on launch trajectories. Scientific findings for these missions included the ground-breaking revelations that "water is blue" and "landing hurts".

Equipped with frankly very little data from these four missions, Gene Kerman rather unwisely decided to proceed to phase two of the KSA's strategic plan: Trying to achieve orbit.

Part Two - Out from Under Mother's Skirts

If Bill Kerman's notes reveal the origin of many technical terms now widespread in spaceflight, Werner von Kerman's marginalia reveals the impatience of genius. Hamstrung by his own gargantuan knowlege, von Kerman's strategic planning appears to have been driven as much by his desire to show off his knowledge of Greek mythology as anything else. He became captvated by the myth of the Titan Cronus, son of Gaia and Uranus, the earth and the sky, who eventually overthrew his parents and was overthrown in turn by the Olympians. A frustrated son, driven by Oedipal urgings to cast low those who gave him life... Val and Jeb should have been scared. Von Kerman secured Gene's approval for the Cronus missions with only a genealogy of the greek titans scrawled on the back of a napkin. The rockets that eventually pierced the sky seem to have been thrown together with less care.

Cronus Mk-1

Role: Suborbital test rocket

Missions: Cronus I

Notes: Dealing with the difficult manufacturing limits of the VAB, von Kerman stripped off all aerodynamics on the Mk I, hoping brute strength would get the craft out of the atmosphere.Jebediah Kerman piloted the craft into vacuum before a successful reentry and splashdown.

 

 

Cronus Mk-2

Role: Suborbital test rocket

Missions: Cronus II

Notes: Gene Kerman and Werner von Kerman argued ferociously over whether to spend the funding increases awarded after the SRB and LFB tests on upgrading the VAB or upgrading the kitchenette attached to MIssion Control. In the end, Jeb forged Gene's signature to get the Kerboonaut complex upgraded. Von Kerman took advantage of new higher-volume tanks to increase the ceiling of the craft, but the flght was still only suborbital. Val suffered the most from Jeb's sleight of hand, performing three EVAs on Cronus II.

 

NEXT POST: Tune in for the thrill-packed Theia Program, as von Kerman subverts the VAB's construction limits by just ordering larger parts!

Edited September 26, 2016 by Boots

[Boots]

Part Three - Waxing Success, Waning Returns

The delivery of Wild Bill Industries' new (and aptly named) 'Titan' rocket catalogue piqued von Kerman's interest, and he already had just the Titanic monkier for the new rocket. Theia was consort of Hyperion, Titan of Knowledge, and mother of Kerbol, Mün, Minmus, and Eos (the Dawn). The three-stage Theia booster was built to reach orbit, and all of its seven planned flights achieved that goal. The two unplanned Theia missions did too, but that's another story. The booster was upgraded throughout its life, but the VAB's part limit continued to haunt the design, keeping the primitive rocket unstable during launch. Twice the rocket flipped during launch (both times being piloted by the jittery hands oF Jeb) but was righted prior to having to abort. By Theia II the scientific yields of low orbit had been exhausted, but von Kerman had ordered nine further boosters. As the bank accounts ran dry, von Kerman looked for more and more spectaular achievements to stave off the collapse of the KSA, with predictably disastrous results...

Theia Mk-1

Role: Orbital test rocket

Missions: Theia I, Theia II, Theia III & IV (rendezvous mission)

Notes: The workhorse of the Theia project, the Mark 1 was rudimentary at best. The parallel mounting of engines on the first stage and the lack of control surfaces on the fins made the rocket hard to steer, leading to two severe losses of control (Theia-II and III, both at the hands of Jeb). The roCket was capable of only just reaching orbit outside the atmosphere, and had no additional or reserve batteries. Under pressure for something newsworthy, Werner and Gene brought forward the rendezvous mission to Theia III and IV. Jeb flipped his rocket on takeoff, burning too much fuel righting it to perform the rendezvous manuever. Val's lander exhausted its main fuel supply, only to whizz past Theia III at a distance of 16km - also coincidentally missing the record books - before initiating re-entry on reserve fuel. The rendezvous missions were halted in favour of an attempt to gather new data.

 

Theia Mk-2

Role: Orbital test rocket

Missions: Theia V

Notes: The major change to the Mark 2 was to equip the third stage with a double-capacity fuel tank to allow a shot at higher orbit. Some instruments were removed to triple the battery life of the command module. In the sole Mark 2 mission, Jeb piloted the command module to 600km above Kerbin, performing the first EVA in high orbit, and gathering materials and goo data. The licensing on commemorative tea towels alone was sufficient to finally research fins with control surfaces and to buy a few new test tubes with the leftover change.

 

Theia Mk-2b

Role: Orbital test rocket

Missions: Theia VI & VII

Notes: The main improvement over the Mark II was to add the new control fins, though the command module was stripped of all scientific instrumenation in favour of a supply bag in case of emergencies. How fortunate, given what transpired! Though it flew significantly better than the preceding designs, the Mark 2b would be forever cursed by association with the ill-fated second rendezvous attempt. Thanks to a mishap in the pilot schedule, Jeb launched first in what he thought was Theia VII. The control fins were enough to offset his lax piloting skills, and he safely made his parking orbit at 120km altitude, though with a worrying 450m/s² of Dv left. Val's launch in Theia VI also went smoothly... until Jeb realised he had boarded the wrong rocket, and his supply of hamburger-flavoured N.O.M.S. were in Val's service compartment, and he had her 'vegetarian option'. Mission control monitored the shouting match between the two pilots ove whose fault it was from about 18,000m to the end of Val's insertion burn at 80,000m, at which point she cut her radio off. Jeb continued to scream bloody murder at static for an hour.

Nobody is sure whether the argument was the cause of what happened next. Some claim that Val was far too good a pilot for it to have been an accident; they argue that that sort of misjudgement was more like something Jeb would have done. Regardless, pushing the reaction wheels and LV-909 of her craft to its edge, Val manuevered Theia VI to a perfect rendezvous. Too perfect, given their relative velocity was still over 20m/s² at the point of impact. The force was enough to destroy her engine, leaving her stranded in a stable orbit. Once they had both recovered from the shock, Jeb told his colleague not to worry and fired his engine to initiate re-entry. On the way down, he reassured her that he would be back as soon as another rocket could be prepared, and to sit tight as the increased battery life and supply bag gave her weeks if she needed them. It was only after he had exhausted Theia VII's fuel supply and was heading for Kerbin's upper atmosphere that Jeb realised the collision had destroyed his parachute as well. In a panic, he abandoned the stricken capsule, and burning monoprop in his suit's RCS, brought himself to an irregular orbit with a periapse that kissed the atmosphere and an Apoapse in the upper 100s.

On the ground, Gene and Werner panicked. Despite four remaining boosters retro-fitted to the Mark 2b standard, both kerbals were painfully aware that the KSA's two attempts at rendezvous had ended in failure (though technically speaking, the second one had been a little too good). Worse, both the Agency's pilots were now stranded in orbit. Who was going to save them, Bill??!? Even if these insurmountable obstacles had not been present, none of the Mark 2s could provide life support for two, and no damned Stayputnik could be trusted wih such a critical mission. With Jeb quickly running out of show tunes to whistle to himself (AND AIR!!), the pressure was on...

 

 

Drifting in the inky blackness, Jeb confronts his doom. The bright lights and breathable atmosphere of Kerbin is so tantalisingly close but so impossibly far...

What is going through his head? Sure knowledge of his mortality? The sudden realisation of the insignificance of life in a cosmos that cares not a whit for his survival? 

Let's face it, it's probably static.

TUNE IN NEXT POST FOR THE DRAMATIC STORY OF THEIA VIII AND THEIA IX!

 

Edited September 26, 2016 by Boots

[Geschosskopf]

5 hours ago, Boots said:

Two mod updates destroyed my last career save by getting rid of parts in my two biggest and most complex missions - a Kerballed Duna journey and an unkerballed Jool system recon mission. Costing me more then 2 million Kerbucks and around 15 launches, to say it sapped my enthusiasm for the game is an understatement. To add insult to injury, when I logged in after the 1.1.3 update to test out my mods, another update remved my Minmus base. I deleed the save in a huff.

I'm afraid this is something you'll just have to accept as routine.  Updates are always going to break saves for a variety of reasons, especially if you use a lot of mods.  But OTOH, updates usually add new parts and features, plus sometimes even fix old problems so they're good things overall (although they always introduce new problems as well).  So, you just have to learn to live with that and not get too attached to your saves.  Easy come, easy go.  I always look at it as a race, seeing how far I can get before the next update wipes everything out .  I use lots of mods myself so I know each update will be fatal.

The reason updates kill modded games is like this:

• Changes to the game itself usually require at least some amount of rework of every mod.  Depending on what changed in the game, this can be a little or a lot of work.  Thus, even if the modder keeps going with it after the update, it might take him weeks to update his mod, and by then perhaps another update will have happened and he has to start all over again.
• Modders burn out after a while, or real life gets in their way.  The maintenance cycle is a real grind, especially when required frequently by a series of updates.  And all the time put into mod work is at the expense of actually playing KSP or any other game, or paying attention to those pesky family members and bill collectors.  Thus, every update, a few modders just go out of business, even those who make "essential" stuff.  And that's the end of those mods forever unless somebody else steps up to maintain them, and the original authors allow this.
• The more mods you have, and the more integral they are to how you're playing the game, the more likely it is that 1 or more of them will be abandoned or at least seriously delayed due to an update.  And even in the best case of the mods merely being delayed, you still won't be able to play that save for some time after the update.  Thus, if you want to keep on playing KSP and enjoy whatever new stuff was introduced by the update, you have to start a new save.  The more time you put into this new save, the more you'll want to keep going with it instead of going back to the old save when it eventually becomes playable.

But even if you keep your game mostly stock, there are still no guarantees.  Parts get rebalanced and their models change, so that ships that used to work great no longer work at all and might not even fit together properly.  Or the update might introduce a new 'realism" requirement that wasn't there before.  Suddenly needing heatshields doomed a lot of games when 1.0 came out, and the upcoming stock communications system of 1.2 will cause problems for any existing ship without an antenna.  Not to mention bugs like 1.1.2's orbital decay making a hash out of existing stations and communications networks, and the ongoing problems with wheels and lander legs we've had since 1.1.

So basically, unless you have the ability and the desire to hack your old save and all its mods, each update will likely break your save.  That's the reality of life in KSP, no getting around it.  All you can do is decide how to deal with it.  There's no sense getting upset about an update breaking a save, because the next update will likely break your next save, too.  If you can't handle that, then KSP is probably not in your long-term future.  OTOH, if you enjoy KSP more than you miss your old saves, you'll just shrug it off and start over again.

 

31 minutes ago, Boots said:

What is gong through his head? Sure knowledge of his mortality? The sudden realisation of the insignificance of life in a cosmos that cares not a whit for his survival? 

Let's face it, it's probably static.

Oopsie   So, much depends on how you have USI-LS set up.  It used to not be fatal or affect those on EVA, and I think you can still do that with certain settings.....

[Boots]

1 hour ago, Geschosskopf said:

So basically, unless you have the ability and the desire to hack your old save and all its mods, each update will likely break your save.  That's the reality of life in KSP, no getting around it.  All you can do is decide how to deal with it.  There's no sense getting upset about an update breaking a save, because the next update will likely break your next save, too.  If you can't handle that, then KSP is probably not in your long-term future.  OTOH, if you enjoy KSP more than you miss your old saves, you'll just shrug it off and start over again.

Never fear, I'm not going anywhere. 400 hours + on KSP since 0.90.

1 hour ago, Geschosskopf said:

Oopsie   So, much depends on how you have USI-LS set up.  It used to not be fatal or affect those on EVA, and I think you can still do that with certain settings.....

You'll just have to tune in to the next exciting installment to find out if he lived or not! But, I have it set up to turn unfed kerbals into tourists, which in this case would mean doooooom.

[Boots]

Part Four - Despair and Determination

Jeb was stranded in a stable orbit with propulsion but no spacecraft (thus no heatshield or parachute), and Val was similarly becalmed with no engine. Myraid problems faced their would-be rescuers. Four brand-new Theia Mark 2b boosters sat at rest in the storage hangar, but without a pilot and space for a second crewman, none could be used. The frantic mission control technicians immediately lit upon the new Hyperion capsule, in the final stages of ground testing. It could carry a second crewman, but the extra weight meant a new booster, and there was no time to wait while it was built!

Afer a sleepless night, Werner and Gene were satisfied with their solution. Well, as satisfied at time and materials would allow. The first stage of the mark 3 was built from two upper mark 2 stages welded together with the engine from the lower stage. The second stage was made from the lower stage of the mark 2, with the engine of the upper stage. The final stage - for manuevering and reentry - was made from the leftover bits from the four rockets, plus the Command module engine from the mark 2s. The whole thing was augmented by the plus-sized solid rocket boosters that were mothballed when Werner got bored of the solid rocket program. The lack of batteries was offset by the attachment of some of the new solar panels that had just started shipping. Priests from five religions said prayers over the spacecraft.

With two new (but untried) boosters, there was still the problem of a pilot. Who would be skilled enough to attempt not one but two separate launches and rendezvous in a heavy and untested command pod? Who would put their body and mind through that sort of torture, suffering two high-g launches and two re-entries, all within hours of one another? Who could be that mad? Enter Maucella Kerman. She was a test pilot; daughter of a fireworks salesman and an arachnophobic trapeze artist. By age 10 she already had nerves of steel and a passion for living on the edge. By luck, she had crashed the KSA's only jet aircraft - a jury-rigged hot mess of wings, jet aircraft and wheels Linus Kerman made from spare parts one night while drunk, named the "Kestral" - a week before the Theia VII and VI launches, and was convalescing in the KSC medical bay. She was wheeled to the launch platform on a gurney while her doctor removed the cast from her arm, telling her "yes, it's meant to look like that, it means it's healing. You'll be fine".

Theia Mk-3

Role: Untested Rescue Rocket

Missions: Theia VIII

Notes: Theia VIII's launch was an anxious and nerve-wracking affair, as befit its slapdash design and hodge-podge construction. The launch and circularising burn worked fine, with the capsule parked in a 115km orbit. The first problems came when the unwieldy and underpowered capsule struggled to make rendezvous, and the untried pilot's nerve failed with Jeb floating 2km away, and reltive velocity unneutralised. There was only one way out - Jeb fired up his suit jets and began the long and lonely trek to the capsule. Every second was a nail-biter, with nobody sure when his monoprop tanks would run dry. He made smaller and smaller corrections as the minutes drew out, until finally his hands grasped the ladder on the outside of the capsule. He was home... nearly.

With Jeb fast asleep in the back seat of the command pod, Maucella was left to manage reentry on her own. That's when the problems began. Strung out from the constantly changing construction orders and approaching the end of a 36-hour shift, a worker in the VAB misread the installation instructions for the heatshield jettison mechanism, thinking it was a decoupler. This problem did not become apparent until Maucella finished the reentry burn, leaving the tank nearly empty with only 158 m/s² of manuevering left. She fired the decoupler, only to find nothing happened. As the flames began to lick at the pod's window, and she listened to Werner von Kerman calmly explain that witht he emtpy fuel tank still attached, the pod would try to flip nose-first into the atmosphere and burn up, sweat began to drip into her eyes. For the next who knows how many minutes she wrestled with the controls, trying desperately to keep the navball's centre in the 'retrograde' marker. 

On the ground, Gene chewed throught he end of his pen, watching the fireball on hi monitor anxiously. A clossal explosion on the screen elicited a cry of alarm in the control room. Was that it for Maucella and Jeb? Werner prattled something about "expecting more debris" while Gene watched in horror. Finally the flames abated, and Theia VIII emerged - but the reentry curve had been too steep, and the capsule had not shed enough speed! When the 'chute safe' light clicked on and Maucella felt the jolt of the chute, the altimeter had just dipped below a thousand meters. It was not until the hatch popped and she smelt the salt tang of Kerbin's oceans that she breathed out.

Some fun trivia:

• First crew transfer recognised by Kerbin World Firsts Record Keeping Society
• First mission with solar panels

 

Theia Mk-3b

Role: Mildly Tested Rescue Rocket

Missions: Theia IX

Notes: As soon as the decoupler failed on Theia XIII, Gus Kerman bolted from Mission Control to make good the flaw on Theia IX. Maucella was brought straight from the recovery vehicle to the launchpad, and strapped into the pod with a dazed but determined expression on her face. Launch again went smoothly, but tired and stressed, Maucella stopped 3.5km short of Val in Theia VI. Before Misison Control could cajole Maucella into making another pass at the rendezvous, Val was out of the capsule and jetting towards Theia IX with her suit jets! Some KSA historians conjecture that the stir-crazy vegetarian Val was tired of eating synthetic burger meat. Others argue that the ever-competitive pilot just wanted to beat Jeb's just-set 2km EVA record.

With the decoupler added to the Mark 3b, reentry was uneventful, though the chutes did not open until below 3km. If you consider the rescue efforts as a continuation of the joint Theia VI & VII mission, the KSA really, really earned that Rendezvous achievement!

 

Theia VIII circularising burn

 

Jeb at the end of his 2km spacewalk

 

Theia VIII reentry before engine explosion

 

Maucella breathes a sigh of relief, Gene panics...

 

Under canvas, safe at last...

 

Val in the stricken Theia VI

 

Maucella back in the saddle...

 

...and circularising

 

Val cheekily steals Jeb's EVA record

 

Thank Kod for working decouplers!

 

Tune in next post for the Selene and Hecate unkerballed probe programs, and the adventures of Jeb and Bob aboard Hyperion I, the KSA's first attempt at orbital science!

 

Edited September 26, 2016 by Boots

[Boots]

Part Five - Illuminating the Darkness

The near disaster that capped off the Theia program put paid to Kerballed spaceflight for a while, but Gene and Werner had plenty of plans that didn't need Jeb, Val or Maucella to make them tick. The intrepid little green men set their sights firmly on Kerbin's two satellites next. But first, they'd need to do some intelligence-gathering. No more going off half-cocked, sending Jeb and Val like canaries into a barely-explored mineshaft. The Selene and Hecate programs - built on the experience gathered through the Theia mishaps - would be the first steps towards that lofty goal. The Selene missions, named for the titan goddess of themoon and daughter of Hyperion and Theia, placed probes in orbit around and on the surface of Mun. The Hecate program, named for the goddess of the Underworld, did the same for Minmus. Developing the booster throughout the program's life, the final iteration of the Selene craft were capable of autonomous sample return. Each Selene mission developed practices that informed the developing Phoebe program, which unfolded in parallel to the unkerballed missions.

	Selene I	Selene Ib	Selene II	Selene III	Selene IV	Selene IVb
	Used an unmodified Theia-III booster.                                             Missions: Selene I	Added more fuel to the upper stage after Selene I's difficult landing Missions: Hecate I	Same booster as Selene Ib, but lander payload (see below).      Missions: Selene II, Hecate II	Rebuilt first stage with increased fuel, redesigned upper stage with new fairing. Missions: Selene III	Brand new booster, designed specifically for land-and-return missions. Missions: Selene IV	Added a transfer stage and launch stabilisers after the failure of Selene IV. Missions: Selene V

 

Selene I	Selene II	Selene III	Selene IV	Selene IV (exploded)
Included a materials bay, goo canister, RPWS antenna and Magnetometer. Misisons: Selene I, Hecate I	Basically Selene I with legs, and without the RPWS antenna. The legs were offset for no reason anyone can remember, but Werner was probably insistent about it at the time. Missions: Selene II, Hecate II	Updated and redesigned Selene II, with rotating solar panels and re-positioned legs. Missions: Selene III	Land-and-return capsule with heat shield and parachutes for sample recovery. Missions: Selene IV, Selene V

Selene I in orbit. This satellite was responsible for a long-term study of the magnetic field of the Mun.

Hecate II in situ. The probe continues to beam back results and data for third parties, and has more than paid for itself.

Selene IV was a catastrophic failure. The booster was underpowered, and the probe used its own fuel to initiate landing. The probe's on-board processor then miscalculated the suicide burn. Both solar panels were destroyed, so the probe could only send minimal data back to the KSC before going dark.

Selene V's landing stage, in situ.

 

Next post, the Hyperion missions: Space Stations!

 

 

Edited September 25, 2016 by Boots

[insert_name]

I like this, very kerbal

[Boots]

2 hours ago, insert_name said:

I like this, very kerbal

I'm not sure if it's "iterative design" or "collapsing failure waveform" but maybe that doesn't matter!

[Boots]

Part 6 - Stay a while...

Walt Kerman had managed to spin the Theia program catastrophe as a public relations windfall, so even after the Selene and Hecate launches, the KSA was flush with funds. The problem was the boosters. You see, they weren't big enough to get to Mun yet. The problem was how to turn all of that lovely cash into lovely science. The answer, of course, was through the medium of explosions, whether controlled or not. The crash development of the Theia Mk III had only been possible because the KSA were already building a prototype 2-Kerbal capsule for the mooted Hyperion project. While the Selene and Hecate programs convinced the public that the KSA really did know what they were doing, Gene and Werner worked hard to bring the Hyperion project to fruition.

Hyperion I

Role: Orbital Research Craft

Missions: Hyperion I

Notes: Having subjected Val and Jeb to prolonged stints in Mk-I pods, EVAs of several kilometers each, and the wrong N.O.M.S., the Hyperion was intended to answer one simple question - how long could Val and Bob stay cooped up in a tiny tin can for before killing each other? To this end, the Hyperion made use of several new parts on the Wild Bill Industries' part catalogue. WBI had refurbished Titan tanks as cabins (complete with bunks) and laboratories, ready for long(er)-term habitation. Werner strapped a Hyperion capsule to the top of a stack of these new parts, slapped some solar panels on the side, and christened the result 'Hyperion,' for the Titan of knowledge.The weight of the new craft couldn't be hauled into orbit by even the modified Theia booster, so Werner broke out the new 2.5m tanks and a 'Skipper' engine. Even then TWR was low, so four SRBs were bolted on to give the craft that extra kick.

The Hyperion was as plagued by problems as all of Werner's previous designs. Only once on-orbit did the most critical error become apparent - the solar panels were only good for about half the draw of the life support systems and lab equipment combined. Val and Bob rejected the suggestion that life support be turned off. For about a month the two Kerbals orbited Kerbin, juggling battery charge enough to get one of the four experiments completed, and decided to call it a day. As Val was firing the engine to initiate reentry, Bob noticed the second major flaw in Werner's mission design: there was nowhere to pack the completed experiment in the Hyperion capsule. Val pulled the separator lever with contempt, and the two crew watched their ill-fated vessel and erstwhile home burn up in Kerbin's atmosphere with few regrets.

 

Hyperion I in orbit

 

Hyperion I's reentry capsule after separation

 

Hyperion I burns up in atmosphere

 

Hyperion I returns safe

 

Hyperion II

Role: Orbital Research Craft

Missions: Hyperion II

Notes: Hyperion II was notweworthy only because it managed to do everything that Hyperion I had failed to do. Val and Embree Kerman successfully completed all four experiments in the time allotted and brought all four back to Kerbin without mishap. Amazing what enough solar panels and experiment storage can achieve!

 

Hyperion II on-orbit.

 

Hyperion Base

Role: Permanent orbital research installation

Missions: Hyperion III, Hyperion IV, Hyperion V, Hyperion VI

Notes: Gene and Mortimer Kerman had only one question for Werner after Hyperion-II: Wouldn't it have been cheaper to plan for Hyperion-I to have stayed up, so they could have fixed it on-orbit, rather than having to destroy it in re-entry and replace the whole ship every time? On second thought, Werner agreed, and set about designing a docking mechanism. Using the same Hyperion booster but freed of the excessive weight of the Hyperion craft, Werner broke the functions of the base up into discrete modules, as follows:

• Hyperion III: batteries, airlock, docking hub
• Hyperion IV: habitat and supplies
• Hyperion V: laboratories and experiments
• Hyperion VI: docking hub and resupply

Werner also made use of one of WBI's newest catalogue items - the 'wet workshop conversion'. Instead of having to fly the workshops and habitats into orbit already fitted out for the mission, instead the modules were filled with fuel and oxidiser, and the Kerbonauts brought the equipment for conversion with them in their Atlas shuttles. After the collective experience gained from the Theia III & IV and VI & VII rendezvous missions (and the development, finally, of RCS ports for more precise maneuvering), as well as the electrical engineering experience gained form Hyperion I, the launches and construction of Hyperion Base was weirdly mishap free.

Initially Hyperion V was to be the last launch, but complaints form the first shift on the station caused the design and launch of the docking hub and significant changes to Atlas mission profile. Maucella and Bob, who were responsible for the reconfiguration of the station from wet to dry workshop and the first shift, reported several obstacles to productivity. Maucella noted that although this time there was sufficient battery life for a dark-side transit and sufficient solar panel real estate to keep the station functioning at full power, the non-tracking panels meant constant reorientation of the station and considerable waste of Monopropellant. Bob noted that with three seats spare in the science module, the labs weren't working at full efficiency. Thus Hyperion VI was hurriedly launched so that alll three Atlas shifts could dock simultaneously and the station could work at full efficiency with a crew of 6.

Hyperion Core	Hyperion Habitat	Hyperion Science	Hyperion Docking
airlock hub unit (3x docking ports) batteries	2x WBI habitat modules solar panels conversion equipment monoprop N.O.M.S	2x WBI M.O.L.E. lab modules solar panels research material monoprop experiments	docking hub (3x ports) solar panels conversion equipment monoprop batteries

A sample Hyperion Booster. This one came from Hyperion III. Hyperion IV and V launched with no fairing, and the fairing for Hyperion VI was flared to accommodate the module's wider solar panels.

Hyperion III and IV docked

 

Hyperion Base backlit after successful docking of Hyperion IV and V

 

Atlas I docked at Hyperion Base

 

Reconfiguring Hyperion in the dark  - Maucella moves Atlas-I off the station as Hyperion VI approaches.

 

The Hyperion VI docking manuever emerges into sunlight.

 

Hyperion Base with all three Atlas missions docked

 

Atlas

Role: Crew and supply shuttle

Missions: Atlas I (Maucella and Bob), Atlas II (Jeb and Erbree) , Atlas III (Val and Alet)

Notes: The Atlas shuttle was a necessary component of the Hyperion program, but Werner also used it as a testbed for the upcoming Phoebe Munar orbiter program. Initially the plan was to use the Hyperion capsule, but only one such capsule remained after the initial two had been used for the Theia VIII and IX rescue craft. Thus there were two models of Atlas:

• Atlas I and II used the Ia, which was a new capsule that held two Kerbals side-by-side but contained no experiment storage.
• Atlas III used the Ib (the old Hyperion capsule), which held two Kerbals in tandem and in separately-pressurised cabins, and also had experiment storage.

Both models mated with the Phoebe service module and launched on the same booster. Curiously, even though the bulkhead separating occupants in the older Hyperion/Atlas capsule meant that occupants were insulated from accidental depressurisations and made EVAs easier, everybody preferred sitting next to their colleagues, and the newer side-by-side capsule became standard. Turns out an accidental depressurisation is less likely if someone whose life depends on you doing your job right is watching your every move.

Atlas/Phoebe capsule A	Atlas/Hyperion Capsule B
2x Kerbals side-by-side Phoebe service module No experiment storage	2x Kerbals in tandem separate pressurised cabins experiment storage

 

Atlas I approaches Hyperion Base with the first shift on board

 

Optics from Jeb's GoPro on Atlas II

 

Atlas III approaches Hyperion Base

 

Next post - the Phobe Program: Mun and Minmus orbiters and landers, built on experience from Selene and Hyperion/Atlas!

Edited September 27, 2016 by Boots

[Angelo Kerman]

Hyperion Base looks to be expanding quite nicely. Good to see your kerbals getting some good flight experience too. WBI's engineers heard Val's frustrations, and added some experiment slots to the Appaloosa's BackseatCrew configuration, and expanded the experiment capacity of its Science configuration. Originally the company thought that customers would use MOLE just for its basic science output during early flights, but it's clear that having the ability to return experiments during the initial flights is paramount.

[Angelo Kerman]

@Boots If you're using KSP 1.2, I've updated MOLE's Appaloosa to include experiment slots in the crew configuration, and increased the number of slots in the science configuration:

 

[Boots]

4 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Hyperion Base looks to be expanding quite nicely. Good to see your kerbals getting some good flight experience too. WBI's engineers heard Val's frustrations, and added some experiment slots to the Appaloosa's BackseatCrew configuration, and expanded the experiment capacity of its Science configuration. Originally the company thought that customers would use MOLE just for its basic science output during early flights, but it's clear that having the ability to return experiments during the initial flights is paramount.

Werner and Gene will be happy! I used the Appaloosa for this exact purpose in the Atlas flights, and found that even configured for science transport it could still carry a passenger as well - is this intentional?

I love what your mod does to the early game. Especially with CTT it adds a bunch of well-balanced and interesting engineering challenges. When I get back home in a week I'll post the Phoebe missions - which are Munar and Minmar orbital flights plus a two-Kerbal Apollo-style Munar/Minmar lander - and you'll see they're good for the Mun too!

I'm not on 1.2 yet but will update day one of 1.2.

Keep up the great work @Angel-125, thanks for reading, and thanks for putting the time into this truly excellent mod.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Boots

[Angelo Kerman]

1 hour ago, Boots said:

Werner and Gene will be happy! I used the Appaloosa for this exact purpose in the Atlas flights, and found that even configured for science transport it could still carry a passenger as well - is this intentional?

I love what your mod does to the early game. Especially with CTT it adds a bunch of well-balanced and interesting engineering challenges. When I get back home in a week I'll post the Phoebe missions - which are Munar and Minmar orbital flights plus a two-Kerbal Apollo-style Munar/Minmar lander - and you'll see they're good for the Mun too!

I'm not on 1.2 yet but will update day one of 1.2.

Keep up the great work @Angel-125, thanks for reading, and thanks for putting the time into this truly excellent mod.

Yes, it's intentional for the Appaloosa to carry crew and cargo. I did that to keep the Appaloosa relevant after you get the Brumby. By contrast, the Brumby can't carry cargo, but it has a crew of two.

Can't wait to see your Munar and Minmar flights.

[Boots]

Part 7 - We do this thing and the other thing not because it is easy but because it is haaaaaaahd

LKO was getting boring, and Werner was getting bored. Hyperion/Atlas had gone too smoothly, and Werner wanted to up the stakes. After mothballing Hyperion Station after the third shift returned, he unveiled his most ambitious project yet: Phoebe. The aim was to land a Kerbal on the surface of each of Kerbin's satellites, and return them safely. After toying with a direct return craft based on Hyperion/Atlas, he realised his planned launch booster would exceed the capacity of current technology. Instead, Munar/Minmar Orbit Rendezvous meant that a single Kerbal could be sent to the Munar/Minmar surface and return. It meant a lot of pilots got to go to the Mun, and not a lot of engineers or Scientists, but it proved to be easier to automate data gathering than piloting. That didn't stop Gene booking a few scientists in for missions as Command Module Pilots, with predictable results...

Phoebe Mk I

Role: Minmar/Munar Orbiter

Missions: Phoebe I, Phoebe II

Notes: The blueprints of the Phoebe Mk I are lost to a large and unruly coffee stain (at least we hope it's cofffee). Werner swears it wasn't his fault, but we suspect his protestations are too earnest. Presented below are partial plans reverse engineered from photographs of the transfer stage and the orbiter. The Phoebe was a simple marriage of the Hyperion II/Atlas capsule to a new booster, designed to get the two-Kerbal pod into an elliptical Munar and Minmar orbit and then home. It was a test run for the planned Phoebe Lander missions that the Mk II would execute.

In Phoebe I, Maucella and Bob orbited Mun, performing EVAs and various scientific experiments, as well as testing the capsule's capacity to survive the stresses of Trans-Munar Injection and re-entry from Munar orbit. In Phoebe II, Crislyn and Samtree did the same around Minmus. The misssions were uneventful, mainly because WBI had long ironed out the wrinkles of the Hyperion capsule. The Mk I was a reliable workhorse.

The transfer stage of the Mk I Booster. Who knows what Werner had designed to go under it; it probably involved Moar Boosters.

Phoebe I silhouetted aganst Kerbol, on its Trans-Munar Injection flight.

Phoebe I Falling home after a successful mission.

Phoebe II showing off the experiment package and electrical power storage aft of the service module.

Phoebe II during Service Module jettison, prior to re-entry.

 

Phoebe Mk II

Role: Minmar/Munar Lander

Missions: Phoebe III, Phoebe IV, Phoebe V, Phoebe VI, Phoebe VII, Phoebe VIII

Notes: The capsule had been tested, the booster designed. Orbit around both satellites had been achieved. It was time to figure out what Minmus tasted like.

The Phoebe Mk II consisted of four parts - a two-stage booster, a Command/Service Module (CSM), and a Munar/Minmar Module (MM). Phoebe III, IV and V took two pilots to the Mun, landed one of them, and returned them along with the results of some automated, "Jeb-proof" experiments. As Gene grew more desperate to get his Scientists and Engineers flight time, and Werner grew more impatient with the lack of chaos, Phoebe IV, V, VI and VII carried a scientist each.

The craft was not without its teething troubles, mainly due to the untried MM. On the single outing of the Mk I, the fairing surrounding the CSM's engine bell got stuck to the MM's docking port, only being shaken free by Munar Ascent. During ascent, the MM ran out of power, necessitating an EVA to rendezvous, with Val carting all the data drives and samples in a bag tethered to her pack. To try and prevent a repeat of Phoebe I's failed rendezvous, the Mk IIb's solar panels were moved from the descent stage to the ascent stage, and the fairing was removed. All that meant was that Crislyn discovered that the batteries didn't last long enough to allow for a dark side rendezvous. Because they would run out of food waiting for a rendezvous trajectory with both inital burn and rendezvous on the light side, Maucella had to manage the dockiing with the dead MM manually from the CSM. For no reason anyone can remember, the Mk IIc didn't have any extra batteries, so once again, a light side rendezvous was a must. Of course it wouldn't have mattered anyway, as both Mk IIc missions involved a scientist, who sat in the slowly-spinning CSM, unable to operate the controls and making docking impossible. The incapacity of scientists to learn even basic piloting was what led to the development of the Hyperion autopilot, seen on the Mk IId, and developed into the MM autopilot for the Artemis program. Both missions involved more EVAs, though over considerably less distance than the KSC's current 3km EVA average. The Mk IId finally saw the installation of an Autopilot module to the CSM and a battery to the MM, making Munar rendezvous a breeze (after only four missions). However, in keeping with the KSC's reputation for the spectacular failure of untested parts, the autopilot module pushed the command capsule out of the heatshield's envelope, causing nearly-catastrophic overheating on re-entry. For some reason, everyone was glad to see the back of the Phoebe craft, though that's maybe only because they hadn't seen the hilarious failures of the Artemis Mk I yet.

The Phoebe Mk II Booster

 

Mk II			Phoebe III (Val & Jeb, Mun)
Mk IIb Capsule			Phoebe IV (Maucella & Crislyn, Mun)
Mk IIc			Phobe V (Val & Maucella, Minmus) Phobe VI (Jeb & Bob, Minmus)
Mk IId			Phoebe VII (Crislyn & Samtree, Mun) Phoebe VIII (Maucella & Erbree, Minmus)

 

Phoebe III during capture burn at Munar Periapse.

 

The Phoebe III lander on the Mun, engine shroud still attached to the docking port.

 

Phoebe IV CM during dark side docking with the dead MM.

 

Phoebe VII before Crislyn's EVA to the MM.

 

Phoebe VII's Lander on the Munar surface. Note the battery (which was about 3x what was needed for a dark side transit because SHUT UP) and the new comms antenna.

 

Finally they get enough power for a dark side rendezvous, and Phoebe VII's pilots do a light side rendezvous, just to spite me.

 

Next post: The hilarious (and expensive) failures of the Artemis program, hopefully followed by its redemption(?)

 

 

 

 

Edited October 9, 2016 by Boots

[Angelo Kerman]

Way cool! Nice to see the development of your space program. I like the inclusion of blueprints and mission highlights. It kind of reminds me of the Gemini Owners' Workshop Manual. You might be interested in knowing that the Brumby and Appaloosa both have integrated Kerbal Engineer modules so you don't need the extra chip. Also, next update (Tuesday!) will have a wider collider on the heat shield to help with the overheating issues (hopefully). Finally, with the ASET cockpit, don't forget to look for the cockpit lights switch.

[Boots]

9 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Way cool! Nice to see the development of your space program. I like the inclusion of blueprints and mission highlights. It kind of reminds me of the Gemini Owners' Workshop Manual. You might be interested in knowing that the Brumby and Appaloosa both have integrated Kerbal Engineer modules so you don't need the extra chip. Also, next update (Tuesday!) will have a wider collider on the heat shield to help with the overheating issues (hopefully). Finally, with the ASET cockpit, don't forget to look for the cockpit lights switch.

Cheers.

Great move on the integrated Engineer modules - saves money and time!

I did manage to find the light switch while flying a few IVA missions but just neglected to turn it on for those screenshots. It's a nice touch.

I do enjoy flying the Brumby from IVA - it's really well made, with great visibility and screen placement.

Good to hear about the heatshield too.