Adventures In a bigger universe (CAA)

[Kertech]

Below are reports of missions in a bigger kerbol system. 64k scale (but using sigma dimensions for the advanced settings). Rockets are bigger, payloads are smaller and I have no clue what I'm doing. 

 

Thor program

Goals - Develop basic rocket technology

           - Escape the atmosphere 

           - Demonstrate to government that funding would be good

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

 

FireCracker 1

Gene looked over the carboard tubing. A faint smell of sulphur came from it. Gene hoped it wasn't leaking. The three they had brought had cost a third of the entire budget the rest been spent on renting this deserted patch of swampland. Long ago it had become polluted by strange nitrogen containing compounds and acids, locals blamed it on alternate realities and other things, though their brains had been addled toxins and cider! 

 

These days everyone was making rockets and throwing them in the sky for peaceful reasons, the army, the navy, the airforce. Government had given them $25,000, just enough to get them going, and a cool institution name - The Civil Aerospace and Avionics Institute. Grand name for a pair of muddy civil servants and a swamp.

Gene had nearly been laughed out of the fireworks factory (Kerbal&Kaboom - K&K) after asking for a firework that wouldn't explode. Eventually they agreed, but made them cost twice as much as normal (can't go encouraging such lunacy).

Linus attached the final parts to his "instruments - a box with some wires sticking out and gave a thumbs up to Gene. 6 months ago Linus had been cleaning the vents at the ministry of snacks, now here he was second in command (of two) and director of R&D! Gene lit the fuse and they both ran for cover!

 

 

Fingers crossed that the K&K lot were trustworthy and hadn't packed the parachute with a lump of explosives they watched the rocket soar off into the sky. Valuable science being generated (science as Linus put it was like koffee, it allowed scientists to invent new things, Gene chose not to question this, scientists and vent cleaners were a tetchy lot!).

The motor burnt out and fell off, exploding in a lovely cloud of purple, the science package continued up a little higher before the egg timer inside it activated the chute and declared it perfectly soft-boiled!

 

It floated gently down to Kerbin and landed in a swampy section, burying itself in the soft ground

 

Linus ran over and grabbed the wires and boxes, one of them squeaked audibly, declaring this all to be important he started digging lumps out and taking them to the lab (portaloo) and making notes. Gene smiled and went to the office to tell his superiors (hoping for a funding increase).

[Kertech]

FireCracker - 2

Gene went early to K&K to get the new rocket, he had asked for bigger. A despondent old kerbal with a bit of an accent eagerly agreed to make something bigger, he seemed a little bit unhinged-- maybe that was for the best. The receipt looked expensive, showing 

"Firecracker - £500

Moar - Boosters - £700" Curious way of writing it, but then those who worked about explosives were curious. Gene duly stowed it all in his car and drove down the the swamp. It was less boggy now, they'd hired some locals to dig a ditch or two, though they were getting low on funds, luckily it was day 15, only 15 more days till budget day!

Setting up the rocket it now stood at over 2.5m tall and weighed more than Gene.

 

Linus looked a bit worried after seeing what Gene had done,

"you've set it up the wrong way round" - 

"wrong way?" Gene asked,

"yeah that's facing at the hanger!"

 

It was too late Gene had lit the fuse before rushing over, just hope nothing exploded!

 

The first stage burnt off, that old Kerbal had cleverly inserted the straps into the fuel for the first stage so they burnt off and igniting the second

 

It flew straight over their site, missing all the new paths and drained swamps! This time the rocket reached about 2km up and the chute told them it was hard boiled.

 

This time it didn't land in a swamp, which Linus looked ecstatic about, though he had been looking forward to using a boat!

 

Though on closer examination it appears to be hovering, obviously some external influence is going on, but Linus doesn't care, that just means more science!

 

Canary Program

Goals - Develop a means to transport a Kerbal in space

                  -Maintain a pressure environment 

                 -Be able to depressurize to allow EVA

            - Transport a Kerbal to space

Canary 1

Linus's sciencing had paid off, He'd had some ideas, he'd also made some models out of papier mache. His mum was very proud and put one on her counter (until it unexpectedly exploded). Gene gave him some specially flame retardant sheet steel and let him science to his hearts content. Eventually after a couple of weeks of work He ran in

"we need a pilot" Linus declared

Gene took a moment to consider

"why?"

"well I tried making one of papiermache but he kept catching fire, the first three caught fire and took half the lab with them!" It was now Gene saw he had also lost an eyebrow

"well we have £3 left in the kitty, we'll need someone to work for free, where the hell would we find someone crazy enough to risk their life for nothing at all!?!"

Linus looked a bit crestfallen, it wasn't easy work.

"Let's see the capsule then" This perked Linus up who ran off to the gravel track outside. There stood a tin can with some wires and gauges. Linus beamed at it.

 

"Pressured environment, though it can't be vented, not sure how to yet, more science, Gene, we need more science. It's a bit cramped in there, oh and has a bit of a heating issue, we could get it up there but they'd have to die up there, well, we'll see. More science again" Linus trailed off clearly talking to himself.

Wandering Back to his office Gene saw the post had been, seems change is afoot in the CAA...

[Kertech]

The First letter was a spidery mess of letters over the cover of a fireworks catalogue, Gene couldn't make sense of it so shoved it in Linus' tray (Linus' incoming often seemed to be Gene's short comings). Next was some Junk mail from a Junk Yard. Last time Gene visited there he nearly got blown up (twice)! Finally a letter from the government it read:

Gene.

The Navy are going to test their rockets at your site as well.

Do not get in the way.

Brisk and to the point, everything government is not. 

-----

The next morning Gene was wandering up to the office when Linus yelled at him,

"HEY, GENE!" Linus was running over, well walking briskly, something he rarely did (lab work didn't predispose to energetic) "that letter, it was from the firework company"

"I gathered that from the paper" Gene replied wearily, Koffee was definitely needed!

"Well the guy, the old one, he wants to work with us, says he's got prototypes ready!"

Gene thought it over, Linus clearly wanted another science minded kerbal, but money, they had none! Prototypes ready ---- Gene mulled it over, "I'll call him"

-----

A few hours later a pick up truck arrived, it's back loaded with long metal tubes, the old Kerbal jumped out and started stacking them in a pile. He appeared to be balding from a distance, up close it was obvious he'd been lightly singed!

"You vanna zee zem yah? I vant to zee if zay don't explode!!"

Gene looked at Linus, the madly grinning scientist matched the slightly burnt old man in demeanour. This was not going to end well...

The carried the first one over and set it up, it was smaller and lighter than anything they'd launched before!

 

"Right step back you two, let's see if this works!"

 

The old man got a piece of flint out and some steel and lit the fuse. Soon it lifted off, faster than anything they'd ever seen before!

 

"Goood Vee are all still alive und whole!" The old man shouted!

Linus took a look at the camera, "We only got one shot of it launching, it must have pulled 8gs!!!"

They all watched as it fell out to see, losing it as a small speck on the horizon!

"How about the next one then eh?" Gene was starting to warm up to this all, maybe it was they could show they succeeded, or maybe it was just still having all their limbs!

The next was the same but bigger

 

Linus had set the lens up on the camera, which was lucky, as the powerful rocket spead up to a whopping 10km altitude!

 

It soon came rushing back down though, this time it hadn't gone out to sea, lucky only some poor bits of grass got hit!

 

Two down and two to go, these two were wider and heavier. Too heavy to lift in fact! Luckily some locals were still draining the swamp so they got roped in to roping the rocket up

 

It was Genes turn to light the fuse, after a few attempts of doing it with a count down he gave up and eventually got a spark A couple of seconds into the flight the rocket started glowing red, what on earth was happening??

 

Soon a bang, some black smoke and the rocket shook violently in the air, Gene ran inside the office, only fools would stand out there meanwhile, Linus and the old man were staring at the sky!

 

"Gene come out! That rocket is being weird!! It doesn't seem to fall properly!"

 

Although falling fast Linus was right it was definitively not plummeting! Even surviving impact!

  

Gene got the locals out in a boat as fast as they could be found to fish it back in! their first ever recovery!!

Just one more rocket left, this one weighed as much as all the others combined, and took three hours to shimmy, sway and generally grimace into place!

"Four years verk!" The old man beamed at the thing, thrice his height and then some!

 

This one had an electric fuse! Linus did a dramatic countdown, beaming away! He was going to hide for days with all this data!

 

The launch seemed the slowest of the day

 

That soon changed

 

 

One moment the cherry red rocket was there, the next 

 

It blew up inside the lowest batch of cloud (about 25km) Strangely no debris fell, it seemed that the rocket dematerialised on the spot! 

Linus stalked off, muttering to himself, grabbing the remains of the third rocket, any cameras lying about, some dirt from the launch pad and the old man by the arm! 

Gene took a moment to himself! They'd found their guy, the one to make rockets! Linus was good, but he was no engineer. Linus was more of a lab rat! £3 left, well payroll was gonna be that for now, maybe £1 each will do! 

"Sir do you want a job?" Gene yelled as Linus dragged the old man off, He nodded his head frantically, looking ecstatic!

"what's your name then?"

The old man Yelled back "Werhner, Werhner Von Kerman!" Before being dragged into the lab!

 

------

The day after their success with Wernher a letter sat in the inbox. Gene read it over more than a bit concerned 

We are here, using launch pad today.

Navy

Running round to the back Gene found Kerbals in blue suits running about with tubes and cannisters. On the launch pad sat a huge rocket!

 

"It vill not verk you know" Wernher said from behind! "Much too heavy und not eenough rocket"

Gene didn't understand the contradictory sentence, but opted not to care! At 11:15 precisely they launched

It went up, that much was for certain

 

Dropping stuff as it went the rocket soared off out of sight

 

 

They both walked over to the navigation tent to watch it's progress, Seemed almost immediately like Wernher was right, 

---"Stage 1 was too low sir, activating stage 2 remotely, keeping incline high" a young kerba sat at the computer, she was in blue fatigues with a dog on it's company patch.

 

---"under-thrust of engine 2, sir I don't think this'll hold, do I abort?"

"negative, keep on tract, no one to hurt but pride and fishes!" replied the admiral leading todays operations

 

"Stage 3 too low, sir it's beyond apo! Coms seem to be going sir, she's not giving me any telemetry!"

Soon enough the Navy's rocket came burning down toward kerbin before exploding in a puff of smoke!

 

"Scout 1 mission terminated, failure of guidance" reported the young kerbal. The admiral looked like he could punch a wall, but being a tent that wouldn't have being particularly effective! It was then he noticed Gene and Wernher loitering, the look of anger turned upon them "GET OUT, BEFORE I COURT MARSHAL YOU BOYS!" 

Gene didn't need asking twice, however Wernher seemed to dawdle near the paperwork way too long, trust him to be thinking about science when being threatened!

----

As with every day Linus had had another idea and was keen to build something new, a thing called a plane, whatever that was! Gene gently reminded him of a) no money, b) no pilot and c) it was quitting time and he fancied a telly, warm bath and a chance to gloat about the navy's misfortune!

Edited January 10, 2017 by Kertech