Oceans of Emptiness: Last Installment - "We failed."

[Alpha 360]

Oceans of Emptiness 

We must Explore the Darkness

*The screenshot above was created by @m.kerman

Table of Contents

1. Porpoising through the sky 

2.  Spoilers..........Explosions!

3. Liquid Fueled Rockets are Fun!

4. Make it or Break it

5. Last Chance

6. A Few Too Many Explosions

7. A Thin Line Between Arrogance and Optimism

8. Just a Couple more Failures..............

9. Project Kerbonaut

10. "We will try again and again until we succeed!"

11. "Kathdred, ready to fly?"

12. "Third Time's a Charm"

13. "At Least it wasn't a Complete Failure"

14. "Don't Push it, Obberty."

15. "Forget Project Goby!"

16. "Olei.....Olei Olei Olei! Olei!"

17. "The Time of the Brotherhood has Begun!"

18. "Brotherhood has Landed"

19. "Brotherhood is Terminated!"

20. "Another day, Another Launchpad."

21. "Running on Fumes!"

22. "We Failed."

Game Settings

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Mod List

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1. Gamelinx Planet Pack - I had tried this before, but it failed pretty quickly. This time I want to explore all 28 planetary bodies. 

2. Kerbal Engineer Redux

3. Kerbal Alarm Clock

4. Kerbal Reusability Expansion 

5. Kerbal Planetary Base Systems

6. Kerbal Inventory System

7. Kerbal Attachment System

8. Deep-Freeze Continued

9. BARIS - Building Rockets Isn't Simple, I want to try out this mod and have some specular failures!

10. BetterTimeWarp

11. BetterBurnTime 

12. Connected Living Space

13. Kopernicus 

14. Ampyear

15. USI Life-Support - I like this life-support mod a lot  

16. Transfer Window Planer

17. Ship Manifest

18. Environmental Visual Enhancements/Scatterer- Beauty shots galore  

19.  Recovery Controller

20. Station Part Expansion Redux - A bit of a mouthful, but its brilliant.

21. Unmanned Before Manned - Haven't tried this tech tree mod yet, so I would like to see how it goes. 

22. TakeCommand

23. Almost-Free-Launch clamps

 

Mr. Kerman's Vengeance - Transition

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Yes, this will continue the Story of Mr. Kerman. Hopefully in a more organized fashion. Here is the in-between chapter from Rondal versus Roland to this new thread. Below is simply the entrance to the continued story in the new universe. 

I went to sleep in the lounge room. I had bidden everyone a goodnight and they left. I lied down on a couch, my head spinning. 

Would Rondal be trustworthy? Would I be safe from Kyleigh? Would I survive and reclaim my homeland? Would Elibert forgive me for the sins of my fathers?

To many questions and not enough answers. I had turned off the lights so I awaited in the darkness. Then I heard a thump. I thought someone had fell down the steps. Then the dark blackness around me turned inky. Like a Kraken had entered. 

I stood up, breathing hard. I couldn't pierce the darkness. I couldn't leave the darkness. I couldn't reach out beyond the darkness with any bodily sense. I saw something move through the darkness. 

It was definitely a Kraken. I prepared myself physically. I breathed in and out, trying to control my fleeing emotions. 

"Be Afraid. A prudent thing to feel." 

A tentacle slowed emerged out of the darkness and then preceded towards my leg. Its tip touched my leg. It felt oily, inky. Dead. Ice cold. Fear transferred itself into my body. I was being possessed with the fear from the Kraken. 

The tentacle wrapped itself around my leg and then another one peered out from the darkness and started to wrap my other leg. I was paralyzed by fear. This had happened before. I remembered when I was viewing ancient stones in the middle of the night. The inky blackness had enveloped me and the tentacles came, just like this. 

"Kraken! Stop this!" I ordered. The tentacles tightened their grip upon me. 

"I am bringing you to a new world. A new universe. You must see it. You must. The Grand Kraken demands so!" The tentacles worked themselves up my waist and slowly covered my neck.

"A new world!?" I screamed in astonishment. I received no answer, just the steady climb of the tentacles up my body. They now covered my mouth. I was lifted into the air. I screamed, but nothing came out of my mouth.

"Come with me. Come with me. Trust me." The cold voice of the Kraken cooed. 

I was being taken away from the world I knew. Being stolen away. 

"NO!" I used the last of my resolve to say that word. 

"Succumb. Its the only thing you can do." I felt my senses fading. I couldn't feel my legs anymore. Nothing. Just Blackness. Just Emptiness. 

I was passing through universes. I felt pain, anger and hate coming from all around me. I was being transported through the lairs of the Krakens. I felt them all around in the blackness. 

Then I was through the portal. I was through the lair. I could sense a major change in the environment. 

I woke up with a start. 

Everything had changed. I was in a new universe. And I was alone. 

 

 

To those who want to read the story of Mr. Kerman, the link is here.

Introduction

The Kraken Struck

Our entire world disappeared before our eyes. Our entire solar system disappeared. And was replaced with a new one. 

The Kraken, whom we thought had retreated, had only really been preparing for such an apocalypse. 

How did we anger the Kraken? Did we explore too much? Or did we not explore enough. These are questions that must be answered by the exploration of this new solar system. And hopefully, we can discern the past from the present. Who knows what lingers on these worlds.......

What wonders, what horrors await kerbalkind's exploration to the stars?

Only time will tell. 

- Roland Kerman, Alias Mr. Kerman. Lost Prince of Ollusionia 

 

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This new thread is about @Gameslinx's planet pack. It will carry on with Mr. Kerman's story, only that now there's a massive brick which has just been thrown into the fan. I will start from scratch with a new hard career mode, this time with added difficulty because of BARIS which makes rockets explode. I guess my signature (Happy Explosions!) will be very applicable here. The rule will be that only on Fridays there will be recording time for KSP, meaning that there will less content than usual but it should be well thought out and enjoyable. 

@cratercracker will be my official flag designer and editor. Thanks to him, this thread will be better than ever. 

Happy Explosions!

Edited April 14, 2018 by Alpha 360

[Gameslinx]

I cannot wait! o7

[cratercracker]

This is gonna b good

[Gyrfalcon5]

I'm looking forward to reading!

[obney kerman]

A new thread! Yay!

[Alpha 360]

1st Launch 

WOW. I can't believe the support for this thread already! Thanks everybody!

Porpoise 1

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"Gentlekerbs and Kerbettes!" A loud speaker announced. A small crowd of people waited in benches, cheered. This might be a leap from just entering Gaia, our new world, but I can fill in the gaps later. I, Roland Kerman, was now the President of Rocketry Republic. Rocketry Republic was formed to explore this new solar system given to us by the Krakens. 

So we built a fledgling space center and now was about to launch our first vessel. We named it Porpoise for some obscure reason or other, but it was still a good name. It was unmanned, due to the fact that none of the kerbonauts that arrived here volunteered to go on this first flight. Maybe the fact we were in a new solar system scared them. 

There were 28 planetary bodies in the Gaia solar system. We had very little idea about any of those planets, so we looked forward to exploring them. There even 5 planetary bodies around Gaia herself! Olei, Olemut, Nightmare, Gol, and Gilius. Each one a treasure trove. And Gaia had spectacular rings. Beautiful was the word from the polar expeditions. 

Here is the Porpoise in the VAB. 

We only had a few thousand funds to play around with, so we needed to be careful. 

This was the Porpoise on the launch pad. Just a flea, some antenna, and science equipment. We expected some failures on the first test flight, but this one would go well. We were sure of it. 

You could see the KSC behind the Porpoise. The VAB and everything. Our engineers had decided to base off the new KSC on the original one back in the Kerbin System. 

"This is Porpoise rocket on the launch pad. Launch is in T-3 minutes!" 

We still didn't know why the Kraken moved all the people contributing to the space program to this new planet. All we knew is that everyone working at KASA and contributing to it were here now. We used this to our advantage to set up a government which focused itself around the space program. 

"Launch is in T-1 minute!" Obberty Kerman announced over the loudspeakers. I watched from the launch control on the massive screen covering the far wall. 

Obney Kerman was stationed at a massive red-button. The launch button. In a minute he would press it. 

"T - 10.....9......8.....7.....6......5.....4......3....2.....1......Lift-off!" Obney hit the button. 

The flea on the Porpoise ignited. 

"We have ignition!" Obberty called out exuberantly. 

For a couple dozen seconds the sold fuel engine fired at full throttle. Since the new KSC was station on top of a mountain, we had a head-start in terms of height. Higher and higher it rose in the sky. Flames appeared as it rocketed through the atmosphere.Then the engine cut-out.

 

Almost immediately afterwards the reaction wheel stopped working. 

"Guidance! What happen?!" I called out. 

"A short circuit in the system, Flight. We can't fix it from here." As president of Rocketry Republic, I was also the chief flight director of the space program. 

"Darn it. Keep the mission going." I slumped in my chair. Well at least it wasn't anything vital. But still left a sore, a failure on our first mission. Soon afterwards the Porpoise completed its science transmissions.

I glanced over them. Atmospheric readings and temperature readings. It would be heading towards the Eggheads in the R&D anyway, so I didn't bother to look closer. 

"Porpoise has reached Apogaia!" Guidance called out. 

It then started to fall back down to Kerbin. At this point, we would have destroyed it, but we lacked explosives. We had to hope it wouldn't hurt anyone on the way down. 

Since we lacked reaction wheels we couldn't keep it from falling engine first. This turned it into a missile heading straight for the launch pad. I winced, hoping that the Kraken would favor the bold. 

It fell quicker and quicker. Then it hit the ground, not the launch pad. 

"Porpoise is terminated!" 

Then we took a closer look at the debris. 

"Um. The Flea is still there." 

I was flabbergasted. But it was there in front of our eyes. Certainly an anomaly, but who cared. We got our money back. 

 

Science Before: 0

Funds Before: 10,839

Science After: 18.2

Funds After: 50,155

 

Happy Explosions!

 

Edited March 27, 2018 by Alpha 360

[Alpha 360]

2nd Launch

Spoilers..........Explosions!

Porpoise 2

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(This chapter will be a technical report, not from Roland's Perspective)

As you can see above, we are going to break the atmosphere! Well, they use breach but break is synonym for breach........... Anyway lets hope the game doesn't lag out when I break the atmosphere. 

Whatever. That joke fell flat. 

Nothing to see here. 

Here is the Porpoise 2! As you can see, I spent my science as well as my money on sciency things. Going to be operating on a low budget from here on out.....Failure is NOT an option!

Oh.........Well I guess it doesn't take LUCK into account! I have plenty of that. Hopefully.

Yes, I'm joining the crew who uses BARIS. It adds so much to the game, and makes it much more enjoyable and difficult. 

And apparently it does seem I have luck on my side. The launch goes smoothly. I try to put the spacecraft into a gravity turn. Unfortunately that doesn't work. Still. The Porpoise 2 goes higher and farther than anything launched. 

 

Now it starts to come back down after reaching an Apogaia of 52,000 meters. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the reaction wheels have failed again. Bummer. 

Here I decide to use those massive tailfins, hopefully pulling it out of its dive so that I can recover it and gain funds!

This is what happened to my recovery attempt. Too bad. 

 

Science Before Flight: 2.6

Funds Before Flight: 30,055

Science After Flight: 7.3

Funds After Flight: Around 25,000 (luckily I got a world first for going farther than anyone else.)

 

Happy Explosions!

 

Edited March 27, 2018 by Alpha 360

[Alpha 360]

3rd Launch 

Liquid Fueled Rockets are Fun!

Porpoise 3

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We now have liquid fueled engines so we might as well use them. And we need to go to space. 

Oh, I guess we didn't go through integration. But who cares! The explosions will be welcome!

Take off has gone smoothly so far. Looks like luck again has taken a hand in things!

Or not. Looks like I talked too early. But it doesn't matter. Most of those things aren't life threatening, so the mission shall continue!

I thought I had much less delta-v, but wow! I am certainly going to break the atmosphere. Or breach the atmosphere depending on your terminology. 

After a minute of the Reliant firing, I realize something odd is happening. So I pop into map mode to see

Well. That's a long way up. Looks like we'll get some very pretty views from outer space today.

There's Gol, the moon orbiting equatorially around Kerbin. Around that moon is a smaller one by the name of Nightmare. We still haven't fathomed why Nightmare is named so, especially because of its light gravity. 

At Apogaia. Over to the right is the moon Olei, with the moonlet Olemut orbiting it. You can just see the organ speck around Olei, the bigger moon which orbits in a polar orbit around Gaia. 

A couple of changes to the camera angle later and here is my favorite shot so far. 

Granted you can see the rings clip just slightly into the atmosphere, but this is still and achievement by @Gameslinx!

Unfortunately, what goes up must come down. And at 2,500 m/s, coming down through the atmosphere is not optimal. After a couple of minutes, the Porpoise 3 will meet its maker. Not literally because I am its maker, and it is stuck inside a computer game, but in any case the end result is not disputed. 

Just about to explode. Keep watching. 

There's the explosion! Granted I was a little late with the picture, but it still exploded. It crashed into the land, but it still completed the contract. We Went To SPACE!

 

Science Before Flight: 7.3

Funds Before Flight: Around 25,000

Science After Flight: 12.4

Funds After Flight: 72,580

 

Happy Explosions!

 

Edited March 27, 2018 by Alpha 360

[Gameslinx]

  On 3/27/2018 at 1:25 PM, Alpha 360 said:

Granted you can see the rings clip just slightly into the atmosphere

Expand  

They don't - it's just a scatterer rendering bugs where the rings will always render on top of the atmosphere,  giving it that effect

[Alpha 360]

Thanks for clarification. I am loving this planet pack. Its just unbeatable! I will make it my mission to do your other planet packs in the future if they are anything remotely as good as this one!

[Alpha 360]

4th Launch

Make it or Break it

Dolphin 1

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After the success of the Porpoise 3, my engineers decided to design a new series of orbital class probes. But first we needed the funds to design them. 

Thus we created a series of testing probes to make enough money to build this rocket. The first of this line the "Birthday Candle."

I was surprised that we tested both roverwheels and a flea booster with the same craft. But we did it for some profit. They insist that they designed it to be a birthday candle for my 30th cake, or birthday. 

It certainly was pretty though. I considered keeping this "Birthday Candle" as a memorial, but we ended up scraping it for parts. After a series of money making rockets and grinding, we finally had enough funds for the design. Well almost enough. After consulting with BillyBob-mon and Elibert a little while, it was decided that we should take a contract to get a spacecraft into orbit. 

Just as a side note, Elibert still acted cold with me but now thrown onto a new world, she started to be more cooperative. There's nothing less stressful than clinging to the old universe after it was replaced with the new. 

Here it is. We took one look at the numbers and accepted it. Why shouldn't we?

A few days later Billybobmon showed me the rocket. He called it the Dolphin 1. I looked at the cost. 15,000 funds. 

"That's an expensive rocket there. We don't want something like this blowing up." I said to him. 

He nodded vigorously. "Don't worry. The Eggheads say the odds are low for a mishap during launch. Nothing about after launch of course, but its easy to lob it to orbit."

I patted his back, "I'm depending on you. We can't spend too much money on wasteful projects. Economy.That's the word we have to use". I left him afterwards. Little did I know what was going to happen.

A week later it rolled out onto the Launchpad. 

I looked at a screen which displayed the quality of each item on the rocket.

"What does that mean? Reliability 10?" I asked an engineer.

He looked confused, "Umm. I think it means the flight has a 10 percent chance of failure." 

I shook my head annoyed. 10 percent meant out of every 10 flights 1 would fail. Not as good odds as I would have liked. But the mission was on the launch pad. Nothing I could do would stop it now. 

 

It was ready to launch. 

"Ignition in 10 seconds. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Lift-off!" Roni hit the red button and the engines ignited. 

"We have lift-off!" she cried out. The rocket shot up into the air, carrying our hopes and dreams. We didn't have many funds left. If this failed, we had no idea what we were going to do. 

Higher and higher the Dolphin flew into the air. The fleas started to run low on fuel. 

'Flea depletion in 3. 2. 1. Shut-down!" On time the Flea shut down. Then chaos broke lose.

"Flight! We have multiple leaks on the SRB stage! The Hammer is leaking! It could explode in seconds!" cried an engineer.

"Blast it all!" I swore, "Detach the first stage. Now!" I ordered. A second later the second stage was detached and the Reliant engine powered up. 

The Reliant threw the spacecraft further into the air. Then at Mach 1, disaster struck again. 

"The Dolphin is tumbling, Flight! There's nothing we can do!" cried GUIDO, another name for Guidance. 

"Darn and Blast it!" I cursed. 

"Flight! The Reliant has broken down!" Another engineer cried out. 

"Abort the Mission!" I cried. 

"Flight! Its too late! We can't recover the rest of the rocket!" 

"Go to hell." I snarled. But he was right. We couldn't recover the rocket. 15,000 funds down the drain. 

Now it started to fall back to Gaia. I kept watching, hoping against hope that something would survive. 

It started to fall towards the cliff just a kilometer away from the KSC. Nothing would survive the extra kilometer fall. 

It disappeared from the cameras at KSC. A helicopter hanging around flew over to the edge of the cliff to watch the spacecraft fall to its doom. 

It started to break the sound barrier again. Then seconds later it collided with the ground.

 

Science Before Flight: 2.3

Funds Before Flight: Around 50,000

Science After Flight: 2.3

Funds After Fight: Around 30,000

 

Happy Explosions!

 

[Alpha 360]

5th Launch + Testing flights

Last Chance

Goby 1

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"Billy. Tell me that this isn't another version of the Dolphin. A more expensive variant maybe." I growled. BillyBob-mon looked offended.

"There is great potential in the Dolphin series of rockets. A great potential." He insisted. 

"We don't have the funds for a Dolphin series of rockets! Our creditors are knocking on the door and we don't have enough money to pay them and launch your stupid Dolphin." I addressed my next statement from the crowd around the two of us, "Can anyone here design a cheap rocket which will be able to reach orbit!?" 

Silence fell. "I take that as a no." I spat on the ground, disgusted. I then stormed out of the VAB towards Mission Control. I kicked a pebble on the driveway towards my kar. I couldn't believe it. Our engineering team had focused their efforts solely on the Dolphin spacecraft so when we needed a new rocket, they were out of ideas. I contemplated getting rid of BillyBob and replacing him with Elibert or someone else, but that wouldn't work.

Billy was great at organizing at team and setting goals. The problem was that he set the wrong goals.

I drove over to the Mission Control building. There were no kerbals on staff presently because we had no rocket. I retired to my office and there started to doddle rocketry designs. They all looked stupid and expensive though. I began to appreciate what hard work our engineers were doing.

Three days later Billy came to me and said that they designed a new and improved dolphin which had a very low chance of failure.

"20,000 credits is all we need. Then you have orbit in your reach."

"The space program is floundering at 23,000 credits. What will we do if your dolphin fails?" 

Bill gestured to the side of the VAB where three spacecraft were being assembled at once. 

"I wondered about that, so here I present Gobies 1, 2, and 3."

"Goby?" I raised an eyebrow.

Billy rolled his eyes, "Don't ask me. Anyway the goal of these rockets is to be cheap and expendable. Hence the three of them. Each one has a failure risk of about 25%. But since there are three of them, that is." He thought for a moment, "8% chance that not one of them reaches orbit. Each one of these costs about 11,000 credits, so it is a loss to lose one of them, but not a terrible loss."

I liked this idea better, "Alright Billy. You'll get your credits." The problem was that we didn't have that many credits. So we decided to do some more contracts. 

Yes. The decoupler is being tested, and in the process our command pod is being tested as well. 

I still didn't understand how it survived. The probe that is. Its impact velocity projected by the engineers was 10 m/s. But it just survived 20 m/s if it landed on the decoupler. Things are strange here. 

We also tested farings.

Um.......This I do not want to speak of.

Anyway because of the valiant probes who embarked on these dangerous missions, we gained the money to fully complete the Gobies.  

2 weeks later the first Goby was rolled out onto the launch pad. 

It was a cute little thing. A hammer would project it high into the atmosphere where then it would detach and the six spider engines would take over the launch. The Goby had no scientific instruments because of their weight and because of the Porpoise 3's previous excursion into space. 

I commanded the probe from the Mission Control. Just before lift-off I gave a little pep-talk to the controllers. 

"Controllers. The rocket on the launch pad is our final ticket to space. This is our last chance to make it to orbit. Understood?" They nodded their heads up and down fervently. I sat back down at my consol. Okay, I had embellished the launch a little, but they needed good motivation to stay in their top game.  

"Launch in 3. 2. 1. Lift-off of Goby 1!" cried out Obney Kerman. 

The Goby rocketed into the air.

"No malfunctions as of yet!" cried a FIDO, or Flight Dynamics Officer.  

I braced myself for his words to be proven wrong. Surprisingly, they weren't.

The Goby rose higher and higher. It was a petit thing, but our hopes rested on it. 

"Hammer half-way to depletion!" 

"Just keep going, little guy." I murmured to the little rocket.

"Reaching maximum G forces! 5 seconds until 1st stage detach!" 

Then the Hammer was detached and the orbital insertion stage took over. 

"Spiders are online. Producing maximum thrust. Everything is Green to go!" 

A preemptive cheer filled the Mission Control. 

"Quiet! It isn't over yet! Get back to work." Everyone hurriedly re-glued their faces to their monitors. 

"We don't have enough thrust to do this efficiently! It's going to be close." alerted a GUIDO. 

But the little Goby pushed on. Higher and higher it went. Soon it left the atmosphere. 

"Goby orbital Insertion Stage at 50% depletion!" 

I looked at the displays. Only 920 m/s and climbing at just about 1 G. It looked like it was going to be impossible for the rocket to reach orbit. Another thing bothered me. The KSC was the only relay station. Once Goby left the horizon, it would fall back to Gaia if not completely in orbit. 

But my doubts were dispersed. 

A minute later a controller called out, "Goby at 85% depletion!"

But we were nearly in orbit! We would make it! 

"Coasting up to Apogaia." A Guido commented. 

The Spider engines reignited pushing the Goby further into orbit. 

"Goby at 90% depletion!" Oh it was going to be so close. 

Its orbital velocity was 2,085 m/s. Inches from orbit. 

"Goby at 95% depletion!" And then we were in orbit. The mission dissolved into chaos. We did with a rocket with a 25% chance of failure. We did it!!

"Kerbals. We are in orbit!" I announced over the loudspeakers. 

We stared at the money that we got for the contract. 

Billy was the first to speak, "We're back in business!" 

 

Science before Flight: 2.3

Science after Flight: 8.1

Funds before Flight: Around 20,000

Funds after Flight: Around 100,000

 

Happy Explosions!

 

[Alpha 360]

10 and 11th Launches

A Few Too Many Explosions

Goby 1, Blobfish 1-3, and People Pleaser 4

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"Roland. We want you to return Goby 1."

I looked at the kerbal incredously. "Return it? That's near impossible. Right now it has no communications of any sort."

"Surely you can find a way to return it. The science data on-board that spacecraft is immense. We cannot just let it go." 

I considered his proposition for a minute. "How much are you willing to pay for this?"

"30,000 total, if its a success." I thought about it for a moment. 30,000 would be a helpful addition to the spaceprogram's funds. 

"Deal." That was a fateful word coming from me. 

"Flight, De-orbit burn is going steady." a GUIDO informed me. I watched the display of the orbit drop steadily lower and lower until the orbit intersected with Gaia. 

"Flight, 100% depletion." The orbit ceased to change. Unfortunately, the landing zone was outside of our communication range from KSC. 

"Position the spacecraft so that it will be pointing retrograde when we lose contact."

They did a little math and then set it up on this incline. Then we waited. It passed over KSC, and then hit the atmosphere. We quickly armed the parachutes and then waited until our connect ceased to exist.

"Flight, We have just lost contact with Goby 1. Godspeed." 

(EDIT by Roland Kerman: The rest of these photos were recovered at recovery of the Goby 1. Just watch.)

The Goby landed without a scratch. We didn't know until the recovery crews picked it though so silence dominated the Mission Control. 

"Fine job, controllers. We will be busy again soon so lets get some sleep." Indeed we became very busy people. 

With the money from the orbital recovery contract, we decided to invest in airplanes. So we rolled out our first airplane, the Blobfish 1. The reason we called it a Blobfish is because it is ugly, short, and stout. 

Obberty turned on the brakes and then hit the engines. 

"Engine test looks good." Jebediah reported to mission control. He let it fire for a minute before shutting them down and then recovering the vessel.

The Blobfish 2 was later rolled out onto the launch pad. Roni piloted the airplane. 

"Ready for ignition." she announced. 

She turned on the throttle to max, and then disaster struck. As well as plenty of explosions.

"Blobfish 2! Can you read me?" I cried desperately. "Blobfish 2! Can you read me?" We heard a faint crackle over the radio. Which then produced intelligible sounds. 

"Mission..........Explosions.......ended mission.........Copy?"

"Yes. We copy Blobfish."

After some redesigning, the Blobfish 3 was rolled out to the runway. 

(EDIT from Alpha360: I still haven't renamed the kerbonauts to their real names in this thread. Please excuse this. The kerbal in the plane should be Roni Kerman).

"Hitting full throttle!" Roni shouted. Then more explosions followed.

 

"Blobfish 3! Do you copy?" I looked up into the ceiling, wondering if our plane program would ever get off the ground. Literally. 

"Yes. Everything is fine down here. One of the radial fueltanks exploded, but that is all."

So after that we scrapped the Blobfish program and accepted a contract to place a satellite into polar orbit. This sounded great because we needed communications satellites anyway. First we needed some extra funds, so we designed a People Pleaser 4 to land in the ocean to test some spider engines. 

While we were waiting for the People Pleaser 4 to be fully integrated, I was pleasantly surprised. 

"Her name's Kathdred?" I asked the kerbonaut chief. 

He nodded, "She said she just wanted to be a kerbonaut. Said that she heard about all the explosions and wants to join in."

I shrugged, "Fine. An extra kerbonaut will not go amiss." 

The Kerbonaut chief replied, "Also, we are at maximum occupation in that astronaut complex of yours. Could you upgrade it in the near future?" 

"Sure.....sure." I assured him. They could deal with being over-capacity for a little while. 

A dozen days later the People Pleaser 4 took off. 

It was powered by a massive thumper booster. We had designed the thumper for the special place of being the main booster for future Goby missions. This was its first flight test. 

"Flight! The Thumper is leaking!" 

"Does it have enough propellant to reach the sea?"

"Yes, Flight."

This failure angered me a little. This was going to be our main booster for the new and improved Goby. It better work when the next Goby launched. 

"Flight, PP has reached cruising altitude." Guidance called out. The rocket now turned into a ballistic missile. 

After 20 more seconds, the FIDO announced, "Flight, Booster is at 100% depletion." 

"Flight, PP is in cruise mode."

"Detach PP from booster." I ordered. A second later the package detached. 

"Flight, Multiple failures from the Spider engines!" 

"Will the test be able to be carried out?" I asked. 

"Yes, Flight. There is one remaining engine operating."

The PP 4 detached and then floated down towards the surface of the ocean. After a couple of minutes it landed and then the test was preformed on the engine. 

The PP flipped over and the fuel tank was destroyed. The spiders detached and sank down to the bottom of the ocean.

But the test was a success. 

The next launch was scheduled to be the Goby 2 launch into Polar Orbit. It used both the spider engines and the thumper. I shuddered at the thought at the reliability of the these engines. 50% for the spiders. 0% for the Thumper.

Science Before Launches: 8.1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Funds Before Launches: 80,000                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Science After Launches: 20                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Funds After Launches: Around 60,000

Happy Explosions!

 

[Alpha 360]

12th Launch

Thin Line Between Optimism and Arrogance

Goby 2

  Reveal hidden contents

"Is everything green for launch?" I asked Billy.

He shrugged his shoulders, "May I remind you that the Goby series is not design for reliability. Just shear numbers. The success of the first launch of the Goby was pure fluke. In fact there are good odds this will fail."

I snorted, "Who knows. Since the Goby has so few parts, that means it doesn't have many parts to malfunction. I believe we can get this satellite up there to the assigned orbit and get some money." 

Billy sighed and walked slowly away from Mission Control. I didn't understand how pessimistic he was. The Goby worked once. Why shouldn't it work twice?

The Goby 2 in the VAB. As you can see, it is cheap but the fact that its cheap doesn't mean its not reliable.

It was soon rolled out to the launch pad. My team chattered while they took their places. The Goby was a easy craft to handle. Nothing could go wrong. 

 "Lift-off in 3. 2. 1. 0!" cried our new recruit, Kathdred Kerman.

The Thumper blasted off with the payload. Nothing failed, proving that the Engineers finally fixed it. 

"Flight! The booster is leaking!"

I swore. My eyes darkened. Billy was right. I was too confident in the Goby. 

"Keep the mission running. Even if it isn't the specified orbit, I still want this satellite up there." 

The Thumper, despite its leak, still blasted the Goby into the upper atmosphere. We caught a nice shot of the sunrise that was about to be. 

"Flight, booster at 100% depletion!" 

"Detach Booster stage and fire up orbital stage." I ordered. 

For a second everything was good. Then it turned sour. 

"Flight! Multiple failures of the spiders! One's not responding and the other two have a stuck throttle. We won't get into the assigned orbit." 

Again I swore. The spider engines which carried the Goby 1 to victory were now beating the Goby 2. 

"Run it dry, and try to get it into a good orbit." I sat down irritated. Billy entered the mission control room and gauged the feeling. Then he said loudly, "Roland! Don't worry. These things are only 9,000 apiece. We can build you a fleet of them if you like." He left with those encouraging words with us. 

It was a fight to keep the probe prograde. Asymmetrical thrust played around with us, and we could do nothing because the opposing rocket motor had a stuck throttle. Still we kept fighting it until the orbital stage ran out of fuel. 

"Flight, Orbital Stage at 100% depletion!" 

"Detach orbital stage and ready the satellite. We only have control of it for so much longer." 

"Approaching the North Pole. We only have control of it for the next few seconds." 

We lost control of it as I said it. Luckily the solar panels were aligned correctly so it didn't run out of power. 2 hours later we regained contact with it. It also delivered megabytes of data. I quickly displayed the photos for all to see. 

We considered ourselves rewarded enough, despite the failed launch because of these photos. The press, or want consisted of the press at this point, would go mad over these. 

 

Science Before Flight: 0.2 (Researched a rocketry thing at the R&D before flight)

Science After Flight: 7

Funds Before Flight: 70,000

Funds After Flight: 62,000

 

Happy Explosions!

 

[Kerbinchaser]

@Alpha 360 Could you please give me credit in the OP for making that screenshot?

Edited March 30, 2018 by Lo Var Lachland

[Alpha 360]

Sorry for not doing that sooner. It slipped my mind. 

[Kerbinchaser]

@Alpha 360 made you a new screenshot:

  On 3/30/2018 at 4:48 AM, Alpha 360 said:

Sorry for not doing that sooner. It slipped my mind. 

Expand  

No worries.  

[Alpha 360]

Just a couple more failures..................

13th Launch - Goby 3

  Reveal hidden contents

"Billy, is the Goby 3 ready?"

"Ready as she ever be." He replied. I nodded and then preceded towards the mission control building. 

As I walked towards the building a kerbonaut walked up to me. For a minute I didn't recognize her, then I realized she was Kathdred Kerman.

She started the conversation, "Roland, I was wondering about something."

I gestured outward and said, "I can clarify anything for you. What's the question?"

"I want to be on the first kerballed mission." 

I stopped, then snorted, "That's not a question. Our doctors will certify who will be on the first kerballed mission."

She looked at me hard for a moment, then pursed her statement further, "I'm military background you know. I'm perfectly certified from experience from the global war back on Kerbin." She looked nostalgic.

"I  stayed calm under fire in my P-91 rodeo, even in extreme situations. Even been shot down once and I managed to return to friendly territory without assistance."

I sighed. "It also matters about your medical certifications. We can't launch a unhealthy kerbette into space." 

She snorted, "So I'm just a kerbette? Good-bye Mr. Roland." She stomped off. I sighed and then continued to the mission control building. 

Roni was again the launcher for the mission. She looked at me curiously as I sat moodily in my console.

"Did Kathdred approach you with reasons she should be the first kerbette in space?" she asked.

I nodded slowly, then I barked out at a couple of giggling controllers, "Get ready. Its time to launch." 

We got into our consoles. 

"Flight, launch is green to go!" cried the chief engineer. 

"Start the countdown!" I ordered. 

"10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Lift-off!" Roni hit the red button. 

"Flight, lift-off is clean!" 

"Flight, guidance systems are activated."

"Flight, Thumper is leaking!"

"Damn and blast it!" I swore. That booster after 3 launches failed every time. Every darned time. 

"Flight, booster is approaching depletion!"

"Prepare to stage!" 

A couple of seconds later the rocket staged. The liquid-fueled Swivel stage should carry the rocket to orbit. Should.

"Swivel engine preforming fine." 

I let a faint smile over my lips. It looked like we would be able to recover the mission.

"Flight! Guidance is askew! Fixing the problem now!"

My face returned to a grim expression. I was going bonkers inside. Why were all of my rockets failing!? The space program was so low on funds, it would be impossible for the program to continue.

"Guidance is fixed. Our orbit is......."The GUIDO looked at his display in despair. "80 kilometers higher than it needed to be."

Inside the final struggle played out. 

Control yourself. You are overreacting. Just breath. 

I breathed in and out deeply. 

"Flight, liquid-fueled stage is nearing depletion!"

I breathed in and out again before answering him, "Go for staging to final stage."

"Flight! Three Spiders are not responding. Only one engine is firing!" The chief engineer delivered this final crushing blow. 

I smiled a sinking smile. I re-lit my cigar and puffed out a puff of smoke. "It looks like we're not going to space today."

Roni snorted from the middle of the room. I agreed. 

"Detach final liquid-fueled stage. We want a fireworks display when the lot reenters." 

A little ripple of laughter filled the room.

"Goby 3 is awaiting reentry." the chief engineer stated. Then more smiles broke around Mission Control. I smiled one myself. Failures weren't necessary bad, just frustrating. There was a point when there were so many of them, it didn't matter if there was another.

"Everything has failed. We have lost control of the probe." I rolled my eyes. Really now? Internally I revoked the statement I made to myself a few seconds ago.

 "Goby has entered the atmosphere."

A second later the chief engineer reported, "Goby 3 has been destroyed on reentry."

"What was that?" a crowd of reporters crowded into the press room over-looking the control room.

"Nothing!" I cried up there. I turned to the rest of the crew there. "Scram!" 

We all ran from the scourge of reporters. I had no idea there were so many of them now. A nightmare come alive. 

 

Science Unchanged

Funds Before: Around 50,000

Funds After: Around 40,000

 

Happy Explosions!

 

Edited March 30, 2018 by Alpha 360

[Alpha 360]

Project Kerbonaut 

  Reveal hidden contents

I'm warning you .

  Reveal hidden contents

R.I.P. Roni Kerman 

Salmon 1 

  Reveal hidden contents

"With the Goby program not going so well, I purpose a new program to run alongside it. Project Kerbonaut!" 

The Original Four and Kathdred stepped out from behind the stage. 

"These 5 kerbonauts are going to be our pioneers into the realm of space!"

Cheers came from the crowd. 

"They are the fittest, most experienced kerbals in flight history. They are the most prepared for the extremities of space!" the crowd got more animated. 

The five kerbonauts sat down at a table set up for them, all smiles to the crowd. 

"Only one kerbonaut will go on the first mission to space! But he or she will be a kerbonaut prepared!" 

A report made the first question to the kerbonauts, "Kerbonauts! Which one of you will go to space first?"

Chuckling the entire group of kerbonauts raised their hands. The crowd went wild. The competition to be the first kerbal in space had just begun. 

***** 3 Months later *****

"Salmon! Are you ready for lift-off?" I asked into the radio.

It crackled, and then Roni's voice came through, "Everything is green to go from here. How's the controller crew? Are they prepared to launch the first kerbal in a rocket?"

I looked quickly around then replied, "They look fine. A little giddy perhaps, but fine."

"It's not very reassuring that you designed this bucket. Its just an airplane cockpit with a parachute."

"Its fine. With this launch we can get science on how the kerbal body reacts to high g forces. And you'll get famous."

"I learned a while back that fame isn't a good thing. Leave out the last bit, but otherwise I'm fine being a guinea pig for the eggheads."

I added a few words, "Be careful please, don't pull the parachute late and don't be afraid to eject. I would like it if the Salmon project went without a hitch."

Roni chuckled, "In other words you like me. Don't let that change how this flight goes. Good-bye hotshot."

She signed off. 

I called out to the mission control room, "Is everything green?"

"Guidance is green!" a GUIDO called out

"Flight is green!" a FIDO announced.

"Engineering is green!" The Chief Engineer gave me a thumbs up.

"Connection is green!" Obney Kerman also gave me a thumbs up. 

"Flight! Everything is green. Ready to go." The assistance flight director returned to his post.

"Start the Countdown."

"10. 9. 8. 7. 6." A 10 second clock dialed down. The Ass(istance) Flight counted down the numbers. 

"5. 4. 3. 2. 1. 0!"

I hit the button, now relocated to my consol. 

"Lift-off!"

I flipped on the radio again. I heard her capsule shake and vibrate through the radio. For 5 seconds the flea shot the Salmon into the air. 

Then the Flea ran out of gas. The Salmon drifted upwards a few hundred more meters. 

"Salmon, are you okay?"

"A-Okay!" I snorted at her comment.

"Stage the booster stage." I relayed. 

"Okay, Flight." The flea dropped away from the command pod.

"Pull the chutes." I ordered

"Pulling the chutes NOW!" 

"The chutes are out. Prograde velocity is negated." A FIDO called.

30 seconds later the chutes deployed.

"Flight! We have a problem!"

I tore my headset off and hollered, "Don't tell me you have a problem!" I swore under my breath vehemently. This was just a test. A simple test of the capsule and kerbonaut. Roni was in there. 

"The parachute isn't strong enough. Its possible it will break." the Chief Engineer delivered.

"What's the odds?" I asked. 

"1 in 4 the parachute will break. Salmon will land in 3 minutes. There's no staff close enough to erect a soft landing in the time it will land."

I breathed in and out rapidly. No. This wasn't supposed to happen. The blooming capsule was going to land on the launch pad!

"Get everyone out there now!" I screamed. The mission control room burst into chaos. A kerbonaut had a 25% chance of dying before their eyes. 

"Roni. Eject out of the Salmon!" I yelled into the radio.

"What!?" 

"The parachute might break. Its a 25% chance. Just eject already!" 

"Ejection this close to the ground is just as dangerous. I'll take my chances."

"No! Listen." She flipped her radio off. I looked outside through the windows. 

The capsule was 50 meters off the ground above the launch pad. I sighed. Maybe I was overreacting. 

Then I saw the parachute crumple and the salmon plummet to the ground.

"NO!" I cried. There was an explosion. Mission control fell deathly quiet. 

"The Salmon has been terminated." muttered a GUIDO. 

"Is there anything left!?" my mind refused to work. Roni dead. A test flight killed her. 

"Nothing, Flight."

 

Science Unchanged

Funds Before Flight: Around 40,000

Funds After Flight: Around 35,000

Happy Explosions!

 

[obney kerman]

Well, mulch.

[Alpha 360]

"We will try again and again until we succeed!"

Salmons 2 and 3

  Reveal hidden contents

We huddled around the makeshift graveyard on top of the mountain next to KSC. A single grave stone stood there. Roni's. I managed to keep myself together as the group of kerbonauts and KSC staff paid their respects. 

The press were kept off by brooms and wash buckets. It was surprisingly effective, and not a single pressman had seen this with his own eyes yet. I tossed a small bundle of roses on the grave, joining the dozens of other flowers. 

Roni dared to do what she done back on Kerbin, but this universe was cruel. Failures happened on almost every launch. We managed to scrape together a couple of successes but we lost more than we gained. 

As the group dispersed, Kathdred Kerman approached me with a question, "Will project Kerbonaut continue? After what happened?"

I faced her gravely, "It will continue. We will try again and again until we succeed!" I announced. I stiffly marched towards the kar which brought us here.

************

Two months later we put the Salmon 2 on the launch pad.

"Salmon! Do you read me?" I asked into the radio.

"I read you, Flight. Is everything green to go?" asked Obberty's voice.

"I'm just running check-ups here. This mission might not get off the ground if one of the engines fails."

"That's okay. It's just a tiny hop in any case."

I addressed the control room now, "Is everything green?"

"Guidance is green!"

"Flight is green!"

"Engineering is green!"

"Connection is green!"

"Flight! Everything is ready to go." the ASS Flight relayed to me.

"Start the countdown." I set up this routine myself. If everyone followed this routine, then they would do things automatically. They wouldn't concentrate on the mission at stake, only about getting the routine completed. 

And before I knew it I hit the button and the engines ignited on the Salmon 2. 

"The fuel tank and an ant engine have failed!" the chief engineer announced. 

"Shut down the opposite engine. Maybe we can get him into the air."

The chief engineer shook his head, "Not enough thrust with those ants. Burn till depletion and the rocket still wouldn't gone an inch up."

I shrugged, "Alright. Turn off the engines and retrieve Obberty."

Thus marked the Salmon 2 a partial failure. At least the capsule didn't blow up and kill Obberty. 

**********

Another month later we put the Salmon 3 on the launch pad. It was the same rocket that killed Roni, but now there were 3 parachutes. Not 1.

"Kathdred, everything alright up there?" I asked.

"Yes sir! I'm going to be the first kerbal off the ground that survived!"

"I know that. Is everything green from your side?"

"Everything is green, sir!"

We went through the routine on my side. Everything and everyone was green. 

"Start the countdown." I ordered. 

"10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4." I forbid anyone other than the assistant flight director from counting the countdown. I still heard controllers whispering it to themselves. I decided not to reprimand them.

"3. 2. 1. Lift-off!" 

The rocket blasted off the launch pad. We watched the rocket fly higher and higher. 

"Flight! The flea has failed!" 

"Stage and pull the chutes, Kathdred."

"Yes sir."

"Chutes are deployed!" cried the Chief Engineer. 

"Are the parachutes holding?"

"Yes. There is no chance of failure."

The control room broke out in cheers. This time we did it. We got a kerbal off the ground at last!

Later Kathdred was recovered. Breathless reporters asked her what it was like to be the first kerbal off the ground. She replied, "It was the time of a lifetime. I never felt anything like it. This is why we keep trying again and again, even at great cost. Rockets are fun."

While I disagreed with her last statement, the press ate it up. It was satisfactory to think that press were going to be on our side this time. 

 

Science Before: 7

Science After: 15

Funds Before: Around 35,000

Funds After: Around 40,000

 

Happy Explosions!

 

[Alpha 360]

"Kathdred, ready to fly?"

Blobfish 4

  Reveal hidden contents

"Kathdred, ready to fly?" I asked. 

"Ready sir. I can't wait to take her out." Kathdred petted the Blobfish. It  was an ugly thing, but it captured her heart.

"Alright. We could use reports from the beach. Fly over there and take them."

"Alright sir."

Kathdred climbed into the cockpit. She then moved the Blobfish out to the end of the runway. I returned back to the Mission Control building.

"Everything is green here." she reported. 

Inside the Mission Control building, the chief engineer agreed, "It better be. We integrated it fully this time."

"There is no chance of any failures at launch." I replied to his remark. Then I said to the radio, "Everything is green over here. Go for launch."

"Yes sir!" The words issued from the radio. 

"Engines have been activated!" 

"Taxiing down the runway now. Full throttle on the engines."

"50 m/s." I heard the FIDO said. 

Seconds later I heard the FIDO say again, "70 m/s." 

The Blobfish still didn't take-off. 

"Blobfish, I suppose you're pulling on the stick."

"Yes sir. Hard as I can."

"If the Blobfish hits a bump your alive hero will become a dead hero." warned someone from the consoles. I couldn't place the voice. 

"Ahhhhh! I'm off the ground!" the radio crackled. "I repeat I am off the ground!"

 "Blobfish is airborne!" announced a FIDO. 

"Good girl." I congratulated the pilot of the Blobfish. 

"Blobfish at 120 m/s." reported a GUIDO. 

"Control. Permission to take this bird to super-sonic?"

"No! Don't you dare!" I cried at her. Mach 1 killed many untested airplanes. This was the Blobfish's first time in air.

"Sorry sir, but we need to test this baby." She replied. Then she flipped her radio off. 

"Confound this!" 

"We have a camera on the Blobfish. Here is some of the footage."

I watched in horror as the Blobfish sped over a hill top not 20 meters off the ground.

"Wooooooo!" the radio screamed in delight. I jumped. Kathdred must have switched her radio on in pure spite, I surmised. 

"Stop this nonsense!" I ordered. "If you get yourself killed I'll give you hell!"

"At Mach 0.8!" cried a GUIDO.

"Plane's shaking is minimal, sir." Kathdred assured me. 

"Just please stop it."

"It is the best night flight ever. I never seen this terrain before! So pretty."

"Mach 0.85!" 

It seemed a second later he announced, "Mach 0.9!"

"Oh golly. The plane's shaking up a bit. Coming down for a landing on the beach." I breathed a sigh of relief as she said this. 

"There's a crater over to my left. Its massive! But I'll still land on the beach. Maybe we can explore it sometime." 

"Maybe. This is a space program, remember." I told her. 

"Coming in to land." She reported a minute later.

"Blobfish down to 100 m/s and circling at 200 meters above surface." the GUIDO reported. 

"Trying to find a flat spot without crashing. Its more difficult than you can imagine." noted Kathdred. 

"Blobfish slowed to 60 m/s. Down to 50 meters above surface."

I interrupted the GUIDO, "Just tell us when she lands." The GUIDO nodded briefly. 

"Landing now!"

"Blobfish has landed!"

"Engaging brakes. Slowing down to 20 m/s, sir." Kathdred reassured me. 

"Take those reports. Our recovery crews are coming your way." 

"Alright sir. Coming to a halt, sir."

"Blobfish at 0 m/s." 

"Man the ring is pretty. Too bad morning isn't so near. It would be beautiful" Kathdred commented. 

"Don't worry. You should see the ring first hand in the near future. Hopefully." I murmured 

"Reports taken. I believe a contract is completed as well. sir?"

"Quite right. Thanks for this." 

"No. Thanks for the ride, sir. Very enjoyable indeed, sir."

 

Science Before Flight: 15

Science After Flight: 30 

Funds Before Flight: Around 40,000

Funds After Flight: Around 60,000

 

Happy Explosions!

 

[Alpha 360]

"Third Time's a Charm"

Goby 3 (Third attempt on contract to get a satellite into polar orbit)

  Reveal hidden contents

"Goby 3 is fully integrated and ready to launch." announced my assistant. 

"Good. Its about damn time we finish this contract." I returned. We entered Mission Control. Billy was there, looking over everything. 

"Roland, we are glad to say that the Goby 3 has a 1/3 chance of launch failure instead of 1/2 chance of launch failure as the previous Gobies. Also, we have had a technological break through."

I glared at him for an instant then sat down at my console. 

"Run the routine for me, Gregory." I told him. 

"Is everything green?" he asked. 

"Guidance is green."

"Flight is green."

"Engineering is green."

"Connection is green."

"Give us a visual and start the countdown." A reader of this report would notice that our procedures change frequently. We were still in our testing phase of procedures.   

A video camera in the bunker next to the launch pad showed the lower half of the Goby 3 on the big screen.

"10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. 0. Lift-off!" I hit the launch button. 

The Goby launched upwards. 

"The Thumper is leaking!" cried engineering. 

I glared at Billy. He looked a little amused at himself. "Looks like the 1/3 chance won out."

The camera took a look sideways. Gol stared back. 

"Is that a good sign, or bad?" asked a controller. 

"Its a good sign." I replied

"Booster is at 100% depletion." the GUIDO said.

"Stage the booster stage and ignite the terrier engine." I ordered.

"50 kilometers up and 700 m/s."

Two minutes later the GUIDO announced, "1800 m/s and 55 kilometers."

And another minute later the GUIDO reported, "Terrier stage near to depletion."

"Wait. We have lost connection!" cried the connection officer. 

"Oh blast it!"

"We cannot stop the engine firing. It'll burn until depletion."

"And the Goby 3 has burned to depletion." 

It took 2 more hours until we connected to the Goby 3. 

"Stage the orbital stage." I ordered. 

"Ant engines 3 and 4 have failed!" an engineering officer cried.

"Blast it. We are going to get this into the correct orbit if it takes all year!" I hit my console hard. 

It took about 2 minutes of painful bouncing around with the asymmetrical thrust until the orbits matched up.

"We did it!"

It seemed indeed the third time's the charm. 

 

Science Before: 30

Science After: 80

Funds Before: 58,054

Funds After: 82,935

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Here's the outlook for the next launches.

 

Happy Explosions!

 

[Alpha 360]

I put together this criticism poll. Don't be afraid to click the link. Just tell me what you want this series to turn into, and I will oblige. Here is the straw poll. I really do like this website, it gives me insight into my reader's opinions. 

EDIT: Straw poll has finished.

Happy Explosions! 

Edited April 4, 2018 by Alpha 360

[Alpha 360]

"At Least it wasn't a Complete Failure"

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R. I. P. Kathdred 

Goby 4

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"What in the world happened?!" I cried in desperation, "I have only received the words, 'serious accident'! Who is it!?"

"Its Kathdred. She was in the orbital command pod on the launch pad, when a programming glitch filled the pod with oxygen. 100% oxygen. Then.........." I pounded impatiently on the table.

"A spark flew from one of the cooling fans. The pod ignited and then the fire reached the hydrazine fuel storage. It exploded at once."

"Kathdred's dead?!" I cried. 

"Yes, Flight. Kathdred's dead." 

I spouted cuss words from my mouth enraged. I kicked over my chair and stormed out of my office in the administration building. Billy met me on the way there. 

"Billy, you devil!" I swore at him. 

He leapt back offended, "I didn't design the darned capsule! Himloke or whatever his name is designed it. You know, the chief of the bureau of orbital flights you assigned not 10 days ago!"

"Billy, if you lay one finger of blame against me I'll have you fired! Understood?"

He glared at me, but nodded. 

The press arrived very soon indeed. Soon they crowded around me, "Roland, is Kathdred Kerman alive?"

"No. A normal training event turned sour. I assure you that the program will be continued, as with the Salmon program."

"But the Salmon program is canceled. Will you focus primarily on unkerbaled flights now?"

"That is yet to be seen. Scam you all!" my even temper broken, "Can't you see I'm busy!?"

I returned to Mission Control in a rage. Why!? Why had those stupid Krakens put us here in the first place? For their entertainment and for them to watch us fail?

Billy was hanging around inside. I walked up to him and told him, "We need something to get us out of this hole. Have you designed anything special lately?"

 "Well, we have a Goby 4 which carries new science equipment. That could be useful."

"Do it. Integrate it and everything."

It took 18 days for integration to work out, but by the end of it the rocket was rolled out onto the launch pad. 

We ran through the check-up and then started the countdown. 10 seconds later the rocket blasted off. 

"Flight, Rocket is looking good. The swivel hasn't failed yet."

"That is a reliable engine, the swivel." I commented, "Its much better than a thumper."

The Swivel engine carried the Goby 4 higher and higher. 

"Booster stage reaching 80% depletion." 

"What's the speed, GUIDO?" 

"Flight, 700 m/s at 30 kilometers."

Twelve seconds later the Swivel stage burned out. 

"Stage the booster and activate the terrier."

"Terrier is doing fine." I heard engineering say. 

Then a multitude of beeps sounded from their corner. 

"Flight, The Terrier has failed!"

"Stage the insertion stage and get onto the last one." I ordered. We were going to make orbit. We had to. 

"Activating the spider engines." 

A host of more beeps issued from their consoles. 

"Flight! 5 spiders have failed! Spiders 5, 4, 3. The rest won't fire and number 3 had a stuck throttle on full."

"Blast it!" I swore. "Isolate the fuel storage and stage. I just pray we can get into orbit."

"Flight, there is no other stage."

We staged anyway to prepare for reentry. 

We managed to reach space with the materials bay which added 12.5 science. 

The capsule reentered slowly into the atmosphere, and then the probe failed.

"Flight, we have lost control of the Goby 4."

"Are the parachutes armed?" 

"Yes, Flight."

Billy turned to me nervously, "At least it wasn't a complete failure."

Science Before: 30

Science After: 42.5

Funds before: 82,935

Funds After: 69,875

Happy Explosions!

 

Edited April 3, 2018 by Alpha 360