Elcano Revisited

[Mjp1050]

I started the Elcano Challenge a few months ago, because, y'know, why not. Only now did I realize that I never made a Mission Report for it.

So I'm already a good portion of the way through the circumnavigation, but to avoid a large wall of text, I'm going post sections of the trip over a period of time. So, without further ado, I present to you:

 

Elcano Revisited

Part 0: The Drawing Board

 

 The day that dawned at the KSC was like every other in most respects. The sun rose in the east, the sea broke against the shore, and the R&D department thought up some harebrained scheme to obtain even more science. Today, though, promised to be entertaining; last night's brainstorming session had managed to make the normally composed Wernher von Kerman call an emergency meeting with barely concealed enthusiasm. He didn't even wait for the audience to be seated before launching into his speech.

"Ladies and gentlekerbs, before we begin, I would like to ask a simple question. How many of you know what the most underexplored planet in the Kerbol system is?" He waited for an answer.

Most of the audience, still groggy from being shaken out of bed at this hour, remained silent. "Dres?" a young intern piped up.

"Ah-ha! That is what most of you would think, but no! It is not Dres! It is Kerbin!" von Kerman exclaimed.

The apparent absurdity of that answer woke up the remainder of the audience, and surprised mutterings began to appear. "Kerbin?" "But how can that..." "What?" "Surely he's joking..."

"No, I have not gone mad!" he proclaimed, forestalling the inevitable argument. "When was the last time anyone sent a ship to go research Kerbin? Why would we waste time and resources on a planet that surely, we already knew everything about before sending probes to other planets..." He let the implication of that sentence sink in before continuing, "Exactly. To fix that mistake, I have worked on a new ship design that will be able to explore the coastlines of Kerbin, and penetrate the inner wilds of the continents!"

"As you can see, this revolutionary design, which I have decided to christen the Santa Valentina after our foremost astronaut, is able to carry enough fuel to circle one-third of the planet, and carries the most modern science instruments known to Kerbalkind. In addition..."

He continued to talk at great lengths about the wheels and how the suspension was revolutionary ("It uses springs!"), but two members of his audience were no longer listening.

"Does he have any idea how much this will cost the Program?" Mortimer whispered to Gene.

"Probably," Gene muttered. "but I doubt it'll make much difference. You know Wernher - he doesn't get excited easily, but when he does, nothing can talk him out of it."

Mortimer nodded his annoyed agreement. "He'll still need administrative approval before he can build anything, though." He raised his hand. "Excuse me, Wernher, but - "

"Mortimer, my friend! I'm knew that you would agree with me!"

"I - what?"

"So I took the liberty of having the SPH crew build and launch the Santa Valentina last night. It's waiting in the harbor for a crew right now."

"What?!"

*  *  *  *  *

"Interns, for the next several months, this ship will be your home. You will learn to live in it, you will learn to take care of it, and you will learn to love it." Valentina paused and examined the group of three interns that Gene insisted she take on the journey. Calwise was an engineer, Sonwin was the navigator in training, and Staxy was a scientist. "This voyage will take stamina and resolve, both of which you will obtain over the next few weeks. Your first test will be to sail this ship to the island airfield and back. Any questions?"

She was met with silence.

"Good. Then let's get this ship operational, interns. Move move MOVE!"

The interns scrambled to their positions. Sonwin took the helm, and Calwise and disappeared below decks to inspect the engines. Staxy remained on deck to inspect the science instruments. Valentina was secretly impressed with the speed of the interns, but didn't let it show.

"Captain," Sonwin shouted across the deck, "Everything is operational and ready to roll. All the instruments are in the green. All I need is your word..."

Val walked to the bridge to take a better look at the ship. After a pause, she said "Everything looks good, Sonwin. Take her away," and smiled as she saw a great grin break out across Sonwin's face.

Valentina noticed something a bit odd, though. "Sonwin, what's our current speed?" she asked.

"20.1 meters per second. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. No reason at all..."

Calwise took this moment to reappear on the bridge. "Captain, I have a report from the engine room."

"Go ahead, Calwise."

"The engines are running at full capacity. 130 kN per engine, with all six engines fully operational."

Val was surprised for the second time in as many minutes. "What are you saying, Calwise? That 20 meters per second is our maximum speed?"

Calwise nodded. "It's not the engines. The engines are flawless. It's this bridge, captain; it's too draggy. We can't go on like this, or we won't even have enough fuel to cross this ocean, let alone the other three."

Val sighed. "I see. Sonwin! Turn the ship around. We need to head back to the KSC to redress a design flaw."  And convince Wernher to design an ISRU unit, she thought.

Edited November 27, 2016 by Mjp1050
Misspelled Wernher's name. Multiple time.

[seanth]

9 hours ago, Mjp1050 said:

Most of the audience, still groggy from being shaken out of bed at this hour, remained silent. "Dres?" a young intern piped up.

"Ah-ha! That is what most of you would think, but no! It is not Dres! It is Kerbin!" von Kerman exclaimed.

Yuup. Exactly how I feel.

[Magzimum]

On 23-11-2016 at 6:32 AM, Mjp1050 said:

"The engines are running at full capacity. 130 kN per engine, with all six engines fully operational."

"What are you saying, Calwise? That 20 meters per second is our maximum speed?"

Calwise nodded. "It's not the engines. The engines are flawless. It's this bridge, captain; it's too draggy. We can't go on like this, or we won't even have enough fuel to cross this ocean, let alone the other three."

Awesome post, and an awesome design.

Just in case this is a serious remark: I'm afraid it is not a design flaw, and it's certainly not the bridge. The problem is the water. It's viscous compared to air.

[Mjp1050]

On 11/23/2016 at 7:15 AM, seanth said:

Yuup. Exactly how I feel.

Heh. The morning bit, or the "Kerbin is underrated" bit?

On 11/25/2016 at 4:46 AM, Magzimum said:

Awesome post, and an awesome design.

Just in case this is a serious remark: I'm afraid it is not a design flaw, and it's certainly not the bridge. The problem is the water. It's viscous compared to air.

Thank you! And no, it wasn't serious; I had to make something up because I eventually did replace the ship with a faster version, but I forgot exactly why. 

 

Part 1:

The Launch

Wernher took the failure of the Santa Valentina quite badly. He spent most of the following day wandering around the KSC, muttering under his breath, with only the occasional (impolite) word decipherable. However, after he calmed down, he did get to work on designing the crucial ISRU unit. Finally, after four days of development, Wernher once again enthusiastically called an emergency meeting; thankfully in the afternoon.

"Ladies and gentlekerbs," he began "I have called you here today to announce the emergence of a new technology. I have designed the world's first ISRU unit - a module that is capable of transforming mundane ore into the most precious of resources: fuel!"

A collective gasp rose up from the audience, and all sorts of conversations broke out. "Fuel from nothing?" "How is that possible?" "What?" And so on....

Wernher tapped his foot, annoyed that his revolutionary speech had once again been interrupted. "If I could have your attention, please. Thank you. As I was saying, this is no mean feat of technology..."

Mortimer, used to Wernher's speeches, whispered to Gene, "Do you think he managed to find the cost of this technology? We spent a quarter of a million finds on the Santa Valentina already..."

Gene patted Mortimer's arm. "I'll have smelling salts ready, don't worry," he smiled, which did nothing whatsoever to reassure Mortimer.

Mortimer thought for a few seconds, then shouted "Wernher!"

" - comes in sixteen colors! Ah, Mort, did you say something?" Wernher asked.

"Yes, I did. Wernher, did you happen to note the cost of the IRSU... err, ISUR... err... this technology when you were designing it?"

"Yes. 5000 per unit was the estimate," Wernher replied.

"Only 5000? That's not too bad..." Mortimer pondered.

"But there were complications during the build phase, so it came up to 8000, not including the ore tanks or the drills or - "

"WHAT?!" Mortimer leaped out of his chair. "You built a model already?"

"Well, of course." Wernher took a step back. "How else were we supposed to have the second ship ready for launch?"

The room exploded into a cacophony of shouts. "Wernher, are you insane?" "After the first launch failed?" "How on Kerbin did he even..." "Would someone find the smelling salts, please?"

* * * * *

The second ship, christened the San Elcano, departed from the SPH with considerably less formality than the Santa Valentina did, in no small part due to Valentina's speech.

"Interns," she began, "when we were last aboard a ship that set sail from the space center, you heard a speech that should have motivated you to kingdom come and beyond."

"However," she grinned," I'm not going to repeat myself, so get your butts to your stations; you know what to do!"

Valentina allowed herself a small chuckle as the interns scrambled to their positions. "Navigator's position is on the left, Sonwin."

"Oh - yes, you're right, Captain. I mean, you are on the right, but that's not what I meant, but - sorry, Captain." Sonwin assumed the correct seating, allowing Valentina to slide in the seat next to him.

Calwise returned from below decks. "Captain," he began, "the engines are operational and just waiting for the command."

"All science has been waterproofed, Captain," Staxy shouted from the hold.

Valentina allowed a small pause before giving the order. She enjoyed these moments, the final seconds before the engines ignited and sent vibrations shuddering throughout the ship. The last few seconds of silence...

She realized that everyone was looking at her expectantly. Reluctantly, she let the words escape her lips, "Sonwin, take her away."

Sonwin again grinned like an idiot and pushed the throttle to the max.

"Err... you may want to slow down, Sonwin." Staxy nervously said. "We seem to be going a bit fast..."

"It's under control, Staxy." Sonwin smiled. "It's under control..."

Valentina took a glance at the navball. 30 m/s? she thought. That's a smidgen on the speedy side. She tapped Sonwin's shoulder. "I think that slowing down might be the best option here, Navigator. We're not even off the runway yet."

Sonwin didn't indicate that he had heard her in any way, but he did apply the brakes. Not that it did much good.

"SonwaaaAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!" Staxy yelled, clutching the headrest in front of her. "We went airborn! You made us go airborn!"

Val struggled to keep from laughing, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Sonwin was trying to do the same. Staxy was hysterical but gradually calming down, and Calwise was either very good a keeping a straight face or genuinely didn't notice. It was hard to tell with him.

 "Sonwin," she interjected as Staxy ran out of breath, "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to not do that again in the future. It wouldn't do to have the San Elcano damaged on her maiden voyage."

"Understood, Captain."

"Furthermore - Staxy, Calwise, listen up, this applies to you too - I don't know what we're going to face out there. Wernher was right; we just don't know enough about our own planet to make any assumptions. We could even come across the "clouds" that are sung about in the myths of old; we simply don't know. And that means that we have to keep our bearings with us at all times. No more reckless stunts, and no more screaming your head off. Got that?"

"Yes, Captain." "Yessir." "Got it, Captain."

"Good," Valentina responded. "Get us in the water, Sonwin. Gently, this time. Then set a course for the island airfield. We need to test this ISRU unit."

Edited December 7, 2016 by Mjp1050
Good grief, I really have a hard time keeping names straight.

[UnusualAttitude]

On 23/11/2016 at 6:32 AM, Mjp1050 said:

Calwise was an engineer

Heh. Let's hope he is as good at surviving as his Earth-born cousin with a similar name. 

Fair winds to your Elcano crew !

[Mjp1050]

Part 2:

The Island

"Twenty-four minutes and nine seconds," Valentina declared. "Not a bad time for a brand new ship. Sonwin, good piloting - "

"Thanks, Captain."

"- Staxy, good job with getting the computers operational -"

"Than you, Captain."

"- and Calwise, try to avoid setting anything else on fire."

"That wasn't my fault! Wernher must've bought parts from Probodobodyne-"

Valentina held up a hand, cutting Calwise off. "No lasting harm done, and only the door mechanisms were damaged. Just make sure it doesn't happen again, please."

Sonwin raised his hand. "Captain, that slope is too steep for the San Elcano to climb. You want me to sail around to a smaller slope?"

There was a pause, then Val decided, "No. This will do fine. Activate the wet mode and we'll climb it." She was met with blank stares from three faces. "Wernher didn't mention this in the briefing?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Staxy shook her head while Sonwin and Calwise continued to look blank.

"All right, then..." Val's voice trailed off as she pondered what else Wernher had left out of the briefing, or if he had even held a briefing for the interns. It wouldn't be the first time he had forgotten to mention an important detail. She recalled that for the first twenty or so launches, no Kerbal went on EVA because Wherner had neglected to mention that hatches could be opened from the inside. That information had only been found when the old Astronaut Complex was rennovated and a slip of paper found that detailed how the cockpits actually operated.

Val shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Calwise, above your head, there should be a large, red button with 'DO NOT PUSH' written on it. Do you see it?"

Calwise nodded. "You want me to push it?" he asked, standing up to reach the button.

"No," Val admitted, and Calwise froze. "I want you to flick the small yellow switch directly to the right of the big, red button. That's the one to toggle wet mode."

Calwise flicked the switch, and almost immediately, a tremor ran through the ship as the engines sputtered, died, and came back to life with more power than a 1.25 meter jet engine was ever designed to handle.

"Woah!" Sonwin shouted as he was pressed back into his seat. A great clattering noise came from the rear as Calwise was thrown backwards by the sudden acceleration. Or, more accurately, the San Elcano was thrown forwards as Calwise remained stationary. 

The San Elcano moved up the hill with all the grace and speed of a beached seal, but move it did, and notch by notch, the altimeter clicked up.

Finally, the task was done. The San Elcano, despite the best efforts of gravity, reached the top of the hill. Sonwin let out a cheer, which Staxy and Val joined after a few seconds. Even Calwise, who was buried under a pile of cans that had fallen off the shelves, let out a moan.

"We did it!" Val grinned. "Well done, all of you. We did it!"

[Mjp1050]

Part 3:

The Beginning

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

Ri- "Valentina Kerman speaking."

"Val!" came the enthusiastic voice of Werhner von Kerman. "I hope the day is treating you well?"

"Wernher, it's the middle of the night."

There came a pause from the other end of the line. "Well... we're in different time zones, so, uh, you know that -"

"Wernher," Val interrupted, "I'm on the Island Airfield; I can see the space center when I look out the window." Another pause. "Did you call me to check how your ISRU is functioning again?"

"Uh...not necessarily...but yes, how is it faring?" he added, far too eagerly.

"No differently since you last asked." She rubbed her brow. "We expect to be done refueling in the morning, I'll call you back, until then, goodnight." Val slammed the phone down with more force than was absolutely necessary. She returned to her bunk, pausing only to swear at a door handle when it stuck for a minute.

*  *  *  *  *

"Good morning, Captain," said Staxy brightly when she arrived at the bridge. "Did you sleep well?"

"As a matter of fact, I did not. Wernher called again to ask about the IRSU." Val yawned. "At least we're done with that now. Where's Sonwin?"

"He's outside planting a flag. Calwise is getting our coffee, before you ask."

Good for him. I can't be professional without at least one cup of coffee, Val thought. She glanced out the window to see Sonwin fumbling with the flag. After a minute, he managed to set it up, and started to walk back to the San Elcano.

Calwise chose this moment to enter with four mugs of coffee. Val and Staxy both grabbed one, and Calwise placed the third in Sonwin's cupholder. Calwise opened his mouth to say something, but Val raised a hand to forestall him. "No announcements until after coffee," she said, taking a sip. She lowered her mug. "Now, go ahead."

"Well, Captain, we're completely refueled and ready to go," Calwise declared, puffing out his chest. "We're just waiting on Sonwin at this point, and - actually, no, he's here," Calwise pointed at Sonwin, who had just opened the door. "We can depart as soon as you give the word."

Val put her cup down. "Take your seats, everyone. Let's weigh - Sonwin, the navigator's position is on the left. Your other left. Let's weigh anchor, interns."

Sonwin once again hatched an overexcited grin as he pushed the throttle as far as it would go.

"Captain, we're holding steady at 40 meters per second," Sonwin announced, and Val nodded her approval.

"All navigational systems are online and operational," Staxy added, and Val nodded again.

"The anchor weighs 30 tons, according to the manual," Calwise stated, and Val slapped her forehead.

"Is this your first time at sea, Calwise?" Sonfrey nonchalantly grinned over his shoulder.

"Indeed it is. Why do you ask?" came the reply.

"Oh, no reason," Sonwin replied, still grinning. "It's just that we've a long way to go, so you may have to learn some nautical terms along the way."

Calwise nodded. "Seems reasonable."

Sonwin turned to face forward again, only to find Valentina glaring at him with her arms crossed. "What?" he protested.

Valentina said nothing, but raised an eyebrow, and turned to face the front windshield.

[MitchS]

Following! I love these KSP graphic novels. Keep it up!