The Moderation Nation Space Program

[Geschosskopf]

Just now, Deddly said:

That's certainly good advice. I was thinking of trying something like that for Space Skuttle Contender.

But but... all that extra weight

If your ship can't lift a handful of Seps, it probably can't lift itself, either  

[DuoDex]

Imgur album here.

Hector 1 aimed to complete a number of contracts: 1. Return from Duna and 2. Science from Ike's surface.

 

[Geschosskopf]

The "Tamer of Horses" did quite well.  Bravo!

[Deddly]

The second Space Skuttle - the Contender - is finally complete and ready for launch. It is identical in design to the Collumn BR (pronounced with a British accent) except for the removal of the erroneous docking port that caused the disaster in the previous mission.

Booster seperation... hold on to your seats...

 

Better.

 

  Coasting to Apoapsis. I've come to really appreciate the engine-heating glow.

 

External fuel tank ditched, now using on-board fuel and the OMS engines.

 

Mission specifications request a 200x200 km orbit for the station. This will have to be close enough.
 

 

And so it is my pleasure to present to you the first module of the:

Moderation Nation Observation Station

Crewed, incidentally, by a local hero who was the first kerbal ever to swim across an ocean and climb over a mountain in a spacesuit after everyone thought he was dead:
Lagerdorf Kerman is back!

 

Time to get the rest of the crew home
 

Touchdown! The mission was a resounding success, but the pilots complain that the Skuttle flies like a slice of lemon wrapped around a large gold brick, and is extremely difficult to control even without a payload. It was decided to improve on the design. To that end, Deddly Design spent 500 science points on some nice new atmospheric engines. The rest of the Moderation Nation will be so pleased.

[Geschosskopf]

Good to see "Beer Town" turned up.  But then you marooned him on a station for all eternity?

Anyway, I guess it's time to start folding tinfoil hats.  The mind-controlling Moderation Beams will soon be broadcasting  

[Snark]

Announcing the successful completion of the next stage of the Capricorn crewed mission to Duna:

• Capricorn I successfully returned to Duna orbit and docked with Capricorn Station
• Capricorn Miner dispatched to the surface of Ike; collected fuel and science
• Capricorn Miner returned and docked to Capricorn Station

Imgur album: https://imgur.com/a/B2uom

Notable accomplishments:

• Boosted funds by roughly 500K, to 2935K
• Finished with approximately as much science as started with
• Researched Very Heavy Rocketry and Automation
• First crewed landing on Ike (Central Mountain Range)
• Added ~16 tons of fuel  to Capricorn Station

 

[Geschosskopf]

25 minutes ago, Snark said:

Announcing the successful completion of the next stage of the Capricorn crewed mission to Duna:

Also known as "Extended Xenographic Internship Learning Esperanto" (EXILE).  Geez, 2700+ days?!?!?!?  That sounds as bad some some of the things I do  

[Vanamonde]

Bill: Our designs are fully tested and ready for our big mission! Let's go! 
Bob: We can't. 
Bill: What? Why? 
Bob: Our supposed friends told us we'd have enough science to invent all the parts we need, but they lied! 
Bill: Gasp! The fiends! 
Bob: Well, now what? What can we do with the stuff we have? 
Bill: Let's go get some more science so we can invent the parts we want. 
Bob: You know, those glory-hound pilots have been dragging us to other planets, and sure, it's exciting and all, but there is closer science they haven't bothered to collect. 

... and so Project Overlook was born... 

A vastly improved Landfall probe was sent to Mun's Twin Craters, collecting grav readings from various locations along the way. 
 
 
 

It performed a "science from the surface of Mun" contract, and left the lander stage in place to beam back more science for later such contracts. 

Bob: We collected 789.5 overlooked science! 
Bill: Nice! To the parts store! (Otherwise known as the R&D building.) 
Bob: However, the mission was a net loss of $11,000. 
Bill: We really should make more efficient ships. But in the mean time, let's make up the loss by running another contract. 
Bob: We're only supposed to run one mission and then let someone else have a turn. 
Bill: Yeah, but we can't run the mission we wanted because our "friends" lied to us, so let's do another. 
Bob: Yeah! Forget those jerks!  

... and so Project New Recruit was born... 

The good ship Recuiter flew a tidy little rendezvous and rescued Milbal Kerman from orbit. 
 

And landed so close to KSC... 
 

(... which was TOTALLY planned and not at all a lucky accident... ) 

... that Milbal decided to run back to the astronaut complex and thank the guys in person. 
 

Which turned out to be a really boring 1 hour and 22 minute hike, but live and learn. 

Bill: Another scientist for our space program! 
Bob: Now we can outvote the glory-hound pilots when choosing new programs! 
Bill: But the first order of business is the obvious question we must ask Milbal. 
Bob: Yes. "Since we are the only space program in the world, and we didn't send you there, how the heck did you get into orbit in the first place?" 

Tune in next time to hear Milbal say... 

[Just Jim]

8 minutes ago, Vanamonde said:

... that Milbal decided to run back to the astronaut complex and thank the guys in person. 

Which turned out to be a really boring 1 hour and 22 minute hike, but live and learn. 

Hint... always keep a little rover parked somewhere around the KSC... 

[Vanamonde]

Just now, Just Jim said:

Hint... always keep a little rover parked somewhere around the KSC... 

It didn't look like it was going to be a long hike... 

[Just Jim]

1 hour ago, Vanamonde said:

It didn't look like it was going to be a long hike... 

hehe... It never does... 

[Geschosskopf]

16 hours ago, Vanamonde said:

Tune in next time to hear Milbal say... 

...... "Isn't it obvious?  When the stork was bringing me to my parents, it had a staging accident."

 

16 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Hint... always keep a little rover parked somewhere around the KSC... 

I'm pretty sure VesselMover works on Kerbals.  Haven't tried it in a while, though, so I could be wrong.

[adsii1970]

16 hours ago, Vanamonde said:

It didn't look like it was going to be a long hike... 

 

15 hours ago, Just Jim said:

hehe... It never does... 

Unless you're legs are short and stumpy... then even a trek across the parking lot seems like a hike! I just thought of this -- are hobbits and Kerbals related? Could explain the short legs! Inquiring minds would like to know...

[Snark]

19 hours ago, Vanamonde said:

"Since we are the only space program in the world, and we didn't send you there, how the heck did you get into orbit in the first place?"

Let's just say that when your GPS pops up the caveat that "these directions may be inaccurate" and warns you that you shouldn't just blindly follow them... they really mean it.

(He wasn't "stranded in orbit", he was just really, really lost.)

 

19 hours ago, Vanamonde said:

Which turned out to be a really boring 1 hour and 22 minute hike, but live and learn.

2 hours ago, adsii1970 said:

Unless you're legs are short and stumpy... then even a trek across the parking lot seems like a hike!

Also, just to make clear for anyone who may not already be aware... if you hold down the shift key on EVA, it boosts the kerbal's speed from "trudge" to "scurry".  Still not exactly breaking any speed records, but it does more than triple the kerbal's ground speed (from 0.6 m/s to 2.0 m/s).

Apologies to everyone who already knows this, for whom I'm just stating the obvious.

I only bring it up because this is not a super discoverable feature-- at least, it wasn't for me.  I must have been playing KSP for a couple of years before I discovered I could do this, and even then I think it was only because someone happened to mention it in a forum post somewhere.

So, for everyone who already knows about the feature, here's a chuckle for you about how slow on the uptake Snark is.    And for anyone who didn't know about it... you're welcome.

[Geschosskopf]

6 hours ago, adsii1970 said:

Unless you're legs are short and stumpy... then even a trek across the parking lot seems like a hike! I just thought of this -- are hobbits and Kerbals related? Could explain the short legs! Inquiring minds would like to know...

Kerbals have short legs so that their knuckles can almost drag the ground.  This is an evolutionary adaptation to facilitate picking food up off the ground without ruining their backs from bending over repetitively.  But at the same time, this tended to make their arms too short and mounted too low to pick fruit growing very far above the ground.  Thus, over time, Kerbal heads also expanded vertically to provide a "3rd arm".  As a result, a Kerbal can walk through patches of berry bushes, knocking the berries to the ground with the impact of his forehead on the branches, and then scoop up the fallen berries, all without the need either to bend over, stand on tip-toe, or use tools.

Of course, this concentration on body design over brains tended to arrest Kerbal mental development, as did repeatedly slamming their foreheads into berry bush branches.  Thus, these days they measure Stupidity rather than intelligence.  But it was all a win in evolutionary terms.  The species adapted to its environment and is still around today while countless others have gone extinct without ever playing with rockets.

Kerbals are such marvels of evolution

 

Edited November 8, 2017 by Geschosskopf

[adsii1970]

32 minutes ago, Geschosskopf said:

*snip*

I've laughed myself into a coughing fit! Oh, but it was so worth it. Thanks!

[Vanamonde]

The hike was at a run, and 4x physics warp. Oddly enough, that slowed it down. The navball read 2m/s when he was running in "real time," but at 4x physics warp, that reduced to 1.5m/s. Weird, huh? 

[Geschosskopf]

44 minutes ago, Vanamonde said:

The hike was at a run, and 4x physics warp. Oddly enough, that slowed it down. The navball read 2m/s when he was running in "real time," but at 4x physics warp, that reduced to 1.5m/s. Weird, huh? 

I'm surprised you survived running more than 100m at 4x physics warp, especially cross-country as opposed to flat terrain.  That's usually an open invitation for the Kraken either to simply pop you or to spaghettify you, THEN pop you.

Edited November 9, 2017 by Geschosskopf

[TheKosmonaut]

Kosmonautical Orbital Solutions has finished a new round of missions for the glorious MNSP! 

Album Here

[Geschosskopf]

Oh no, the MNOS now has power.  Everybody put your tinfoil hats on NOW!

[Vanamonde]

Bill: What mission are we running right now? 
Bob: None. Those guys are still futzing around. 
Bill: This is irritating. They waste days between missions. 
Bob: You want to go out of turn again? 
Bill: Yes. Let's get something done. 

... and so Project Habitat was born... 


Bob: Ugh. That thing flies like a blind ox. 
Bill: Yes, but we got it there and docked it to the station! Room for 24 more Kerbals! 
 
Bob: Yes, and thanks to our advanced design, a big chunk of the delivery rocket can be recovered for a rebate. 

 

Bill: Our turn is done. 
Bob: Yes, but there's some low-hanging fruit in the contracts we're being offered. Let's clean out some of that, too. 
Bill: Good thinking. 

.... and so Project Overlook 2 was born... 

Bob: The Overlook 2 probe was treated to Mun occulting the sun on its way to Minmus. 

Bill: Neat-o. 

Bill: And the recovery stage brought back 981.4 overlooked science from the trip to Minmus' Greater Flats and back. 
Bob: Sweet! But you know, there are now some even easier contracts to be done. In fact, our ships already deployed can do them. 

... and so Project Mop-up was born... 

Bill: Someone wants to know about the conditions near Mun. 
Tesen Kerman (by radio): "Spiffy! That will be $36,000 funds, please." 
 
Bob: Someone wants to know how hot it is on Eve. 
Bill: The Evengingfall probe reports that it is 401.8kelvin. That will be $132,000 more funds, please." 

Bob: And now someone wants to know how hot it is on Mun. 
Bill: The Overlook 1 probe reports that it is 250.55kelvin. That will be another $53,000 funds, please." 

Bob: Okay, we better stop before the other guys get mad at us. 
Bill: True. But I sure would like to rescue those guys from orbit. It's easy and they're free staff additions. 
Bob: Yes, somebody should do that. 

... hint, hint... 

[Just Jim]

12 hours ago, Vanamonde said:

Bill: True. But I sure would like to rescue those guys from orbit. It's easy and they're free staff additions. 
Bob: Yes, somebody should do that. 

This is the only time you'll hear me say this... now I kinda wish I was a moderator... 

[MatterBeam]

This is fun to read. Keep it up!

[Ten Key]

 

Probes to Eve. Stations around both Kerbin and the Mün. A crewed expedition to Duna! The wheels of progress turn ever forward, and as the sun sets on another day, the scientists and staff at the KSC turn their eyes towards the next great set of achievements with willing minds, eager hearts. . .

. . .and grumbling stomachs.

Tired of losing precious kerb-hours to silly things like "meal breaks"? Sick of paying overhead for empty work stations three times a day? Want to keep your operation hopping from sun down to sun up? Turnkey Industrial is proud to introduce the Supplemental Nutrition and Calories Kart!

 

 

 

The SNAC Kart glides smoothly on four independent electric motors, and each wheel has its own pneumatic suspension system, giving the vehicle an exceptionally smooth ride. Solar powered by day, and with ample reserve power for after dark deliveries, the SNAC Kart makes sure your hard charging team can recharge their own batteries without ever leaving their desks!

Current regulations require vehicles such as the SNAC Kart be operated by a properly vetted KSC employee while on space center grounds, and Milbal Kerman has been volunteered to help us conduct this critical operation! 

"You want me to deliver sandwiches?! I have a doctorate!"

We're not sure what that is, but we've been assured it's not contagious. And boy, we sure know Milbal can hustle! Isn't that right Milbal?

"I am one standard deviation away from going delta distribution on you! On all of you!"

See folks? Milbal already knows the ins and outs of distribution! The calls have started coming in, and the snacks have started going out!

 

 

 

Here we see Milbal heading back towards the complex after delivering some sandwiches to a pair of workers performing maintenance on the runway's landing lights!

"There are no landing lights! There are no lights out here period!"

Here we see Milbal heading back towards the complex after calling security to investigate the strange kerbals skulking around the end of the runway! 

 

 

 

Next stop, Mission Control! Lots of coffee and donuts on this order. This is where they review the contracts for the center, including ours. Maybe a few extra packets of sugar will sweeten the deal!

 

 

 

A communotron 16 antenna keeps the vehicle in contact with our dispatch center, which lets Milbal continue making deliveries for as long as the batteries last! 

 

 

 

The SNAC Kart makes a stop at the space center's launch pad, where a group of actual workers are performing actual maintenance on an actual light!

 

 

 

The materials bay on the Kart's back end allows Milbal to gather data as he makes his rounds, while also keeping the coffee and donuts piping hot!

Why the suit? Well, he's in and out of that bay an awful lot. He. . .might cut himself on the louvers!

 

 

Milbal passes coffee up to some inspectors working on the VAB's kerosene tanks. But while he can get the cup tray up the concrete lip, several armloads of sandwiches prove to be too much for him.

 

 

Not to worry though! The SNAC Kart successfully mantles the platform, and now the workers can carry on without having to take a break! I'm sure they'll thank us later.

 

 

 

Milbal drops off several buckets of something called "Swedish meatballs" at the tracking station. We're not exactly sure what those are, to be honest. We suspect the truth of it might drive us mad.

And speaking of mad, it seems the climb to the work stations inside the tracking dishes is too much, even for the SNAC Kart. They will have to wait for another day. 

 

 

 

Next stop, the astronaut complex! You'd think with most of the flight roster off planet on various missions there wouldn't be much activity here. But you'd be wrong! Poor Milbal's arms are about to fall off. . .that Jeb fellow sure can eat!

 

 

 

 

We make a quick stop here to drop off a sad little order of bread and water to a kerbal trying to take wind measurements from the top of the flagpole. We're not sure what he did, but the poor fellow certainly looks like he could use a break. He's not likely to get one however, thanks to the SNAC Kart!

"Hey! Hey you down there! You tell Kinsey I've finished measurin'! Dang it, this ain't funny any more!" 

And speaking of people who look like they need a break, Milbal is looking a bit greener than usual. Not to worry Milbal, all you have left to do is make your deliveries to the R&D Compl. . .

 

 

 

Oh.

Well. We watched you run all the way in from the grasslands, I'm sure you'll be fine. 

 

 

Finally, the last stop at the R&D Complex. We swear, every time we turn our backs, another building goes up over there.

With the science food locker nearly empty, one final call comes in to dispatch. You can do it Milbal!

 

 

We don't think anyone actually knows what this building is for. It's said no one ever goes in, and no one ever comes out. Repeated knocks on the door produce only strange, harsh whispers, and then silence. Milbal sets the food on the stoop and backs away slowly.  

 

 

 

And here we are, back where we started! With sunrise still about an hour away, the SNAC Kart has been running on its batteries this whole time. Still about 25% charge left too. Not bad, if we do say so ourselves!

Three cheers for Milbal folks! I'm sure after some sleep and a few donuts he'll be ready to go again tomorrow evening! In the meantime, he should have plenty of time to go see a doctor about that ailment of his.

"But I am a doctor!"

Of philosophy Milbal. Of philosophy. 

 

 

 

SNAC Kart successfully recovers 185 unique scientific experiments from around KSC, in addition to crew reports transmitted from each visited biome. These include temperature, pressure and seismic scans, mystery goo and material bay observations, EVA reports and surface samples. I was only able to retrieve EVA reports and surface samples from Tracking Station North and South. I did not cover the Space Plane Hanger Round Tank, Tanks, and Water Tower, as these biomes do not exist yet. I was also unable to cover the VAB South Complex, as this biome was lost when the VAB was upgraded from tier II to tier III.

821 science points recovered for zero funds. 

[MatterBeam]

@Ten Key

That was pretty smart. I really like how you gave a KSC science run a fun narrative.