The Dream Is Alive: Recreating the Space Shuttle Program

[ShuttleHugger]

17 hours ago, RocketSimplicity said:

Nice series! Will be following this. Great shuttle too!

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it

 

8 hours ago, Kerballing (Got Dunked On) said:

Emphasis on yet...

I turned on all possible malfunctions in DangIt!, including O-ring failures, so I know I'm going to have a shuttle be blown out of the sky eventually...

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-8 Challenger Mission Report

Quick Summary:

Crew: Jasper Smith (CDR), Evander Jewel (PLT), Laurence Cizek (MS1), Cameron Nemeth (MS2), Lyell Power (MS3)

Payload: BellStar 8-II commsat, WestSat 4 commsat, Galaxy V-B commsat

Launch: January 1, 1984 1:14:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 5d0h23m51s

Landing: January 6, 1984 1:37:51 at Dessert Air Force Range

Launch Mass: 381,448 kg; payload mass: 7,095 kg

Narrative Summary:

Challenger lifted off on its third flight on the first launch opportunity on New Year's Day, 1984, heralding a busy year of flights to come. Launch inserted the orbiter into an initial -154x88 km orbit. The OMS burn concluding at MET 7m43s inserted Challenger into a 71x88km orbit, period 31m14s, inclination 2.9 degrees. During ascent one of the batteries on board Galaxy V-B short-circuited, but it was not serviceable on-orbit so the decision was taken to deploy the satellite anyway.

At MET 4h46m the crew performed an OMS burn to raise the orbit to 88x101km, period 32m16s. A second burn at MET 5h03m raised to 101x102km, period 32m43s. At MET 1d0h24m, the #4 battery in the shuttle aft compartment short-circuited.

At MET 1d5h36m20s, BellStar 8-II was deployed from Challenger’s payload bay. 36 minutes later the PAM fired, but due to a design flaw with the satellite it was not quite properly aligned for the burn, which placed the satellite in a 95x2,458km orbit, inclination 4.2 degrees. A subsequent RCS burn raised this to 96x2,865km, inclination 4.1 degrees. The second PAM burn placed it in a 2,817x3,241km orbit, inclination 5.9 degrees. Further orbital refinement with the RCS engines placed the satellite a usable but tilted geosynchronous orbit.

WestSat 4 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 3d0h43m45s. The first PAM burn 36 minutes later placed into 101x2,858km transfer orbit. Subsequent PAM and RCS burns delivered it to geosynchronous orbit.Galaxy V-B was similarly deployed from the payload bay at MET 3d5h07m46s. The two PAM burns placed it into a geosynchronous orbit, period 5h59m09s.

Landing was waved off for several orbits to allow cold temperatures at the Dessert Air Force Range to abate. The deorbit burn concluded at MET 5d00h03m, and entry interface occurred at MET 5d0h07m24s. During the descent, for the first time in the Shuttle Program, Smith and Jewel executed a diving turn to line the shuttle up for a more optimal stretch of desert, performing a beautiful landing on a heading of 215 degrees. Wheel stop occurred at MET 5h0h23m51s, concluding perhaps the most successful shuttle mission to date.

In Other News: The Space Shuttle Discovery was delivered to Kerbal Space Center on November 9, 1983, followed by Columbia returning from its Orbiter Major Modification period on November 14. The selection of a new class of 20 astronauts was announced during the mission of STS-8. KSP Administrator Lionel Sparks declared that henceforth shuttle missions would use a new numbering scheme, and therefore STS-9 would be followed by STS-41B rather than STS-10. Critics charged that this change was simply to avoid flying STS-13 (Sparks having been one of the astronauts on the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission).

Next Up: Columbia is scheduled to launch on STS-9, its first mission in more than a year, carrying the first Spacelab module. Launch is scheduled for January 34, 1984.

[Geschosskopf]

Glad to see the shuttle itself didn't break this time

 

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-9 Columbia Mission Report

Quick Summary:

Crew: Jebediah Kerman (CDR), Coleen Stirling (PLT), David Houtkooper (MS1), Wendy Laninga (MS2), Erich Brune, ESA/West Germany (PS1), Mervin Constantin (PS2)

Backup Crew: Christophe Bertrand, ESA/France (PS1), Otto Zunino (PS2)

Payload: Spacelab Pressurized Module, Spacelab Vacuum Pallet

Launch: February 1, 1984 0:30:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 8d5h31m56s

Landing: February 10, 1984 0:01:56 at Dessert Air Force Range

Payload Mass: 6,415 kg

Narrative Summary:

STS-9, Columbia's return to flight after a year away for maintenance and upgrades, marked a number of firsts. Commander Jebediah Kerman became the first kerbal to fly on the same spacecraft twice, as well as the first to fly in space six times; Payload Specialist Erich Brune of West Germany became the first non-American to fly on the Shuttle; and the crew of six was the largest to fly on a single spacecraft to date.

Columbia blasted off from Pad 39A at the Kerbal Space Center after a 1-day delay due to engineering issues. The launch placed the orbiter into an initial -183x82km orbit. The subsequent OMS burn placed it into a 71x105km orbit, period 31m47s, inclination 4.6 degrees. In order to support around-the-clock operations, the crew was split into two teams. Blue Team (Stirling, Houtkooper, and Brune) went to bed at MET 0h30m, while Red Team (Kerman, Laninga, and Constantin) worked to activate orbiter systems and Spacelab. Blue Team awoke at MET 2h30m, and at 3h00m they switched places with Red Team, who activated the Spacelab Vacuum Pallet.

An OMS burn to circularize the orbit was planned for Flight Day 2, but was skipped at the orbital insertion burn used more fuel than anticipated.

At MET 6d4h13m an electrical failure in the tunnel connecting the orbiter middeck and the Spacelab module caused the lights in the passageway to stop working.

Flight controllers had been monitoring the fuel and oxidizer levels throughout the flight, as the initial OMS burn had left less than planned for the fuel cells. At MET 8d3h14m the fuel cells depleted the propellant levels below the red line, and Mission Control made the call to terminate the mission early (the planned duration was 10 days). The fuel cells were shut down and the crew began closing up Spacelab and preparing the orbiter for landing while they waited for sunrise at the Dessert Air Force Range. At MET 8d4h47m the sleeping Red Team was roused in preparation for the deorbit burn less than an orbit later. The subsequent deorbit burn could only lower the periapsis to 37 km. Columbia made a hard landing in the Dessert Air Force Range, with wheel stop at MET 8d5h31m56s, closing out an overall highly successful mission, other than the early return.

Next Up: Challenger will lift off on STS-41B on March 29 with a complex mission including multiple commsat deployments, the first on-orbit test of the Kerballed Maneuvering Unit, and the first planned landing at Kerbal Space Center.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-41B Challenger Mission Report

Quick Summary:

Crew: Gavin Molloy (CDR), Ronnie Queen (PLT), Bill Kerman (MS1), Tatiana Ter Avest (MS2), Stuart Pryor (MS3)

Payload: ExMarSat II commsat, Kerbstar 7 commsat, Canadarm, Shuttle Remote Arm Manipulation Test Pallet (SRAM-TP), Kerballed Maneuvering Unit (KMU), Commsat Capture Test Device (CCTD)

Other Objectives: Test Kerballed Maneuvering Unit. Test procedures for capturing a malfunctioning satellite. Land at Kerbal Space Center (weather permitting).

Launch: March 32, 1984 1:39:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 6d5h23m10s

Landing: April 3, 1984 1:02:10 at Kerbal Space Center

Payload Mass: 7,073 kg

Narrative Summary

Challenger blasted off from Kerbal Space Center on March 32, 1984, with a payload bay full of equipment (numbering six different individual payloads, plus attachments) and perhaps the most complex, challenging shuttle mission to date. Among the payloads was the Kerbstar 7 commsat, which rode into orbit in December 1983 on Columbia before being returned to Kerbin due to problems with the original PAM design. Challenger was inserted into an initial -125x94km orbit. An OMS burn concluding 8 minutes after lift-off placed it into an 80x94 km orbit, period 31m43s, inclination 2.7 degrees. Challenger made orbit with nearly 100 m/s of Delta-v remaining in the tanks, having followed the most efficient trajectory of any recent shuttle launch.

An OMS burn at MET 4h37m raised the orbit to 80x100km, period 31m57s. A second burn at MET 4h53m raised it to 100x102km, period 32m44s. At MET 4h59m an electrical failure in the orbiter flight deck resulted in the flight deck lights being stuck on.

At MET 2d0h12m the motors to open Kerbstar 7’s service bay failed, but this was not a problem as the bay was not designed to open on-orbit. ExMarSat II was deployed from Challenger’s payload bay at MET 2d0h48m30s. The first PAM burn raised it to a 103x3,670km transfer orbit, period 3h38m28s, significantly overperforming and leaving the apoapsis more than 1000 km too high. At MET 2d1h32m Challenger’s high-gain antenna failed, interrupting video downlink from the orbiter, although audio contact was still possible through the low-gain antennas in the cockpit. Mission control decided to add an item to repair the antenna to the first spacewalk on Flight Day 6. ExMarSat II’s second PAM burn also overperformed, leaving the satellite in a 3,665x4,203km orbit, period 1d3h43m1s. Subsequent investigation revealed that the monopropellant valves on the satellite had been left open during ascent, draining the satellite of all of its propellant and leaving it lighter than it should have been. Furthermore, it later emerged that the deployment instructions for ExMarSat II and Kerbstar 7 had been swapped when the crew and mission control checklists had been printed, and the satellite was deployed at the wrong longitude in the first place.  As fault was with the KSP payload preparation engineers and mission planners, KSP agreed to compensate ExMarSat with a free launch of a replacement satellite, ExMarSat IV. Engineering checks confirmed that only ExMarSat IV had suffered from the problem, and Kerbsat 7 still retained its full load of monopropellant.

Kerbstar 7 was deployed from Challenger’s payload bay at MET 3d0h12m30s, over a year after it was supposed to have been deployed on STS-5. The PAM burn placed it in 103x2,860km geosynchronous transfer orbit, from which the second burn and subsequent corrections allowed it to reach geoynchronous orbit.

The crew powered up and unberthed Canadarm around MET 3d5h. They spent the remainder of the day preparing for the next day’s spacewalk. Earlier in the day the batteries about the SRAM-TP short-circuited.

The crew inflated the airlock in preparation for the spacewalk at MET 4d4h38m. Bill Kerman attempted to exit the airlock at MET 4d5h05m30s, but found that he could not due to the cargo in the payload bay. He waited while Pryor and Queen worked to grapple the SRAM-TP and unstow it, which had been planned for the next day. The pallet was successfully grappled 16 minutes later, and unstowed from the payload bay. Orbital sunset occurred shortly thereafter, and flight controllers elected to postpone the start of the EVA until the next orbital sunrise. After this and waiting for the orbiter to resume radio contact with the ground, Kerman finally stepped out of the airlock at MET 4d5h43m04s. Tatiana Ter Avest exited the airlock shortly thereafter. Bill Kerman attempted the antenna repair, but despite appearing to succeed the antenna still refused to work. Five and a half minutes into the EVA, Kerman climbed onto the ladder on Canadarm’s end effector, while Ter Avest climbed into the KMU and began activating it.

After riding the robot arm out to its maximum extension, Kerman flew back to the payload bay to spot Ter Avest while she took the KMU for its first free flight. She immediately ran into trouble when it became apparent that the KMU’s propellant valves had been left open and the monopropellant drained in the same manner as ExMarSat II. Ter Avest was forced to leave the KMU to drift in the cargo bay, while she and Kerman returned inside. EVA duration was 20m20s for Kerman and approximately 18 minutes for Ter Avest. The crew then engaged in an emergency operation to attempt to stow the SRAM-TP within the Commsat Capture Test Device, and then grapple the free-floating KMU (which drifted entirely out of the cargo bay).

They were successful in re-capturing the KMU, but the CCTD restraints proved insufficient and the SRAM-TP drifted out of the payload bay and was lost. With the remainder of the mission objectives either accomplished or null, the decision was made to cut the mission short by two days.

The crew stowed Canadarm with the attached KMU and spent the remainder of the day stowing equipment from the EVA and preparing to return to Kerbin the next day.

After waking for their final day on-orbit, the crew locked Canadarm in place and prepared for the deorbit burn, for the first attempted landing at Kerbal Space Center. The RCS-assisted OMS burn ending at MET 6d5h04m lowered periapsis to ground level. Entry interface occurred at 6d5h09m18s. Challenger touched down just before sunset at Kerbal Space Center, with wheel stop at MET 6d5h23m10s. The mission was a mix of success and failure, although the shuttle itself performed well with only two minor malfunctions.

Next Up: Columbia is scheduled to launch on May 11 on STS-41D, a mission to deploy the Long Duration Exposure Facility and retrieve the Galaxy V-A commsat from where it was stranded in LKO on STS-5.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-41D Columbia Mission Report

Quick Summary:

Crew: Bryan Argyris (CDR), Eugenia Lynch (PLT), Jared Matousek (MS1), Harriett Hartmann (MS2), Justin Teague (MS3)

Payload: Long Duration Exposure Facility, Canadarm, Kerballed Maneuvering Unit x2

Other Objectives: Rescue the Galaxy V-A commsat from where it was stranded in LKO on STS-5 in December 1982.

Launch: May 19, 1984 4:38:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 6d1h54m33s

Landing: May 26, 1984 0:32:33 at Dessert Air Force Range

Payload Mass: 7,100 kg

Narrative Summary:

Columbia lifted off on the third launch attempt, after several delays resulting from engineering concerns with the payload. It was inserted into an initial -162x96km orbit. A RCS-assisted OMS burn concluding at MET 8m20s inserted the orbiter into a 71x99km orbit, period 31m37s, inclination 1.7 degrees (or 1.8 degrees with respect to that of Galaxy V-A). At MET 2h13m13s the #15 fuel tank in the orbiter aft compartment sprang a leak, but swift action by the ground controllers was able to transfer the fuel to the #16 tank and save most of the oxidizer.

A single OMS burn at MET 4d48m raised the orbit to 99x103km, period 32m42s.

At MET 1d4m48m the crew began powering up and unberthing Canadarm. The crew grappled the LDEF 10 minutes later, and proceeded with unberthing it. Due to difficulty controlling Canadarm with the LDEF attached, the arm was ungrappled again and the payload deployed simply using the shuttle’s RCS thrusters to move it out of the payload bay and away. At MET 2d2h00m the #6 fuel tank in the orbiter aft compartment sprung a leak, but, much like the leak on Flight Day 1, flight controllers were able to save most of the propellant.

At MET 2d4h30m the #4 monopropellant tank in the orbiter aft compartment sprang a leak. At MET 2d5h22m the #2 battery in the orbiter aft compartment short-circuited. In addition to EVA prep work on this day, the crew stowed Canadarm and moved the Commsat Capture Test Device’s vertical restraints into a position that would allow crew egress from the airlock. At MET 3d0h27m the motors on the payload bay doors failed, and an item to repair them was added to the next day’s spacewalk.

At MET 3d4h30m the crew extended the airlock in preparation for the first EVA. Justin Teague exited the airlock at MET 3d4h48m45s, followed by Jared Matousek at MET 3d4h50m30s. Matousek repaired the payload bay door motors, and Teague then climbed aboard KMU #1. After undocking he experienced difficulty controlling the KMU and depleted the maneuvering propellant while attempting to return to the shuttle and redock. He had to bail out, abandoning the KMU in orbit, and flew back to Columbia using his spacesuit thrusters. The spacewalkers then reentered the shuttle. The EVA duration was 16m59s for Matousek and 17m50s for Teague. At MET 3d5h10m the #4 propellant tank in the shuttle aft compartment sprang a leak. During the crew’s rest period, Galaxy V-A conducted a plane-change maneuver to reduce the mutual inclination with respect to Columbia’s orbit to 0.2 degrees.

Galaxy V-A commenced a series of maneuvers to rendezvous with Columbia; due to concerns about Columbia’s fuel levels it was decided to make Galaxy V-A the active partner until the final stages of rendezvous. As the initial close encounter approached Jared Matousek climbed into the airlock to standby for capture. The initial close approach was within 1.1 km at a Delta v of 11 m/s. Galaxy V-A canceled out the velocity difference, and then began approaching Columbia at a rate of 2 m/s. At MET 6d0h49m23s Jared Matousek began his EVA and boarded KMU #2.  Justin Teague followed at 6d0h50m18s, but then retreated inside the airlock to stand by. Galaxy V-A approached under remote control by Bryan Argyris to 25 m distance from Columbia, at which point the orbiter took over the rendezvous. After a careful operation the satellite was declared captured at MET 6d0h12m and the crew immediately began to prepare to return to Kerbin. Matousek reentered the airlock at MET 6d1h13m07s, for an EVA duration of 23m44s, the longest of the shuttle program to date. The reentry burn, concluding at MET 6d1h20m, was only able to lower the periapsis to 48 km, as Columbia’s fuel levels were lower than anticipated. Landing was targeted for Dessert Air Force Range due to an iffy weather forecast for Kerbal Space Center. Entry interface occurred at MET 6d1h30m47s. Columbia made a hard landing at DAFR with wheel stop at 6d1h54m33s. Due to the several major malfunctions during the mission (primarily propellant leaks), Columbia was out of commission for repairs for an extended period after STS-41D, requiring a reshuffle of the launch manifest.

In other news: in April 1984, President Ellis Trueman announced that he was committing KSP to the construction of the Space Station Liberty. A joint venture with several international partners, the space station would be assembled by a series of at least 25 shuttle missions over five years beginning in 1988. In addition to serving as a permanent research lab in orbit, it would serve as a construction depot and jumping-off point for future expeditions to the Mun, Duna, and beyond.

The Space Shuttle Discovery rolled out to Launch Pad 39A during STS-41D, in preparation for its maiden flight.

Next up: Space Shuttle Discovery is scheduled to launch on its first mission, STS-41C, on June 1, 1984, carrying three commsats and a large solar array test article in preparation for the Space Station.

In meta: this mission was a royal pain because as it turned out the LDEF was highly glitched. I had to reload and redo the first three days of the mission because of the Kraken corrupting an ill-timed quicksave. Even on the next try I experienced many glitches while trying to deploy the payload with the robot arm (see below), and ended up having to spin the satellite out of the payload bay using the shuttle's RCS system... super not ideal but it was the only way I could salvage the mission.

Spoiler

Getting ready for deployment:

Ummm....

That ain't right

...

It just keeps going...

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by ShuttleHugger
Fixed typo

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-41C Discovery Mission Report

Quick Summary:

Crew: Carver Paulis (CDR), Linwood Nedved (PLT), Arlie Holgersen (MS1), Edith Pasternak (MS2), Chelsea Glen (MS3), Tanya Abbott (PS1)

Payload: DoCielo 1 commsat, BellStar 8-III commsat, Procyon 3 commsat, Large Test Solar Array

Launch: June 2, 1984 0:54:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 7d5h26m13s

Landing: June 10, 1984 0:20:13 at Kerbal Space Center

Payload Mass: 6,970 kg

Statistics: 12th mission of the Space Shuttle Program; 1st launch of Discovery; 2nd landing at Kerbal Space Center

Narrative Summary:

STS-41C was originally manifested to carry the Kerbstar 8 commsat, but it was replaced with the Procyon 3 commsat, which had itself been bumped from STS-41B. The crew included Tanya Abbott, an employee of Rockomax Corporation, who was added to the crew in December 1983 in order to carry out middeck experiments; she was the first commercial payload specialist to fly on the shuttle.

Discovery conducted a test firing of the main engines on May 30, 1984, at 5:30:00. The test firing concluded normally, however, just before T-0 the orbiter’s high gain antenna failed. As it was only needed in flight it did not delay the test firing, but its replacement resulted in a one-day delay to the launch.

Discovery launched on its first flight on the afternoon of June 2, 1982. It was inserted into an initial -139x99km orbit. The OMS burn at MET 8m inserted Discovery into a 72x102km orbit, inclination 5.4 degrees, period 31m44s. It made orbit with more than 110 m/s of Delta-v in liquid fuel and oxidizer. At MET 22m the oxygen tank in the #3 life support canister in the orbiter aft compartment sprang a leak; as there was little room in the other tanks this soon after launch, approximately 1/5 of the orbiter’s oxygen supply was lost to space, which would only limit the mission duration to approximately 14 days, much longer than the planned duration of 8 days.

At MET 4h35m one of the batteries on DoCielo 1 short-circuited. An in-orbit repair was not possible because the satellite’s position in the forward position in the payload bay would prevent the astronauts from exiting the airlock while the satellite was in the payload bay. (For this reason the forward slot on commsat deployment flights is the cheapest). An OMS burn at MET 4h50m raised the orbit to 100x103km, period 32m45s.

DoCielo 1 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 1d4h39m20s. The first PAM burn 36 minutes after deployment placed it into a 103x3,069km geosynchronous transfer orbit. It subsequently successfully reached its station in geosynchronous orbit.

At MET 2d5h42m one of the batteries aboard Procyon 3 short-circuited, but these were not serviceable on orbit. BellStar 8-III was deployed from the payload bay at MET 2d5h46m30s. The first PAM burn and subsequent correction maneuver placed it into 103x2,863km transfer orbit. A second burn and subsequent corrections placed into geosynchronous orbit.

Procyon 3 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 3d5h44m10s. The initial PAM burn plus correction placed it into a 103x2,863km transfer orbit  A second burn and subsequent corrections placed it into geosynchronous orbit.

At MET 4d4h37m the crew extended the Large Test Solar Array from the payload bay. At MET 5d2h07m the #11 fuel tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking.

At MET 5d5h08m the #9 fuel tank in the orbiter aft compartment sprang an oxidizer leak. Shortly thereafter the crew began a series of maneuvers of the orbiter to test the response of the LTSA to movement.

At MET 7d1h00m the crew retracted the Large Test Solar Array.

The deorbit burn occurred at MET 7d5h05m. Entry interface occurred at MET 7d5h10m45s. Discovery landed at Kerbal Space Center with wheel stop at MET 7d5h26m13s.

Next Up: Challenger is scheduled for launch on STS-41E, carrying the second Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, on June 25, 1984.

[TheKSPBeginner]

For the extra crew, you can use 6 Seat MK3. It enables the unused back seats in the MK3 pod. @Pak‘s Shuttle Lifting Body mod is pretty good too, if you wanna use that.

Edited October 12, 2019 by TheKSPBeginner
E

[ShuttleHugger]

Thanks @TheKSPBeginner but for historical recreation reasons I want my shuttle to be capable of seating exactly 8 kerbals, which it satisfies now even though I'm still not totally happy that I had to clip parts. I also don't want to make any major changes to the shuttle itself now that I've started the game (the meta justification is that I've already built the orbiters and can't change them without taking them out of service for a long duration), although I have modified the external tank and will be adopting one of the new SRBs from 1.8 (since those are built anew for each mission).

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-41E Challenger Mission Report

Quick Summary

Crew: Zachary Albrecht (CDR), Nigel Simonis (PLT), Georgia Fuentes (MS1), Bob Kerman (MS2), Ethan Santoro (MS3)

Payload: TDRS-B

Launch: June 25, 1984 0:19:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 3d5h59m13s

Landing: June 29, 1984 0:18:13 at Dessert Air Force Range

Payload Mass: 7,559 kg

Statistics: 13th flight of the Space Shuttle Program; 5th flight of Challenger

Narrative Summary

Challenger lifted off on June 25, 1984, on its fifth flight and second carrying a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS). It was inserted into an initial -163x82km orbit. An OMS burn concluding at MET 7m58s placed it into a 72x102km orbit, inclination 5.6 degrees, period 31m41s.

At MET 4h43m the crew completed an OMS burn to raise the orbit to 101x103km, period 32m45s. At the end of the burn one of the batteries in one of the TDRS-B probe cores short-circuited. Mission managers decided to stage an emergency spacewalk to effect repairs on Flight Day 3, with the payload deployment pushed back to Flight Day 4.

The crew extended the airlock at MET 1d4h45m in preparation for the spacewalk. Georgia Fuentes exited the airlock at MET 1d5h14m45s, and Bob Kerman followed shortly thereafter. Fuentes then accomplished the battery repair. EVA time was 4m15s for Kerman and 5m48s for Fuentes.

At MET 2d4h37m the crew released the restraints holding TDRS-B into the payload bay, and thereafter raised the payload to the 30 degree deployment attitude. TDRS-B was deployed from Challenger at MET 2d5h15m30s. The IUS first stage severely overperformed, reaching a periapsis of 5,794km.The  IUS second stage also severely overperformed, raising orbit to 5,792x10,893km, period 4d0h50m09s. Further maneuvers with the monopropellant engines allowed it to reach an operational perch in geostationary orbit by June 31, although it reached a station at 155W rather than the originally intended 15W. Upon reaching station it was given its operational designation, TDRS-1.

An RCS-assisted OMS burn concluded at MET 3d5h32m, lowering the periapsis to 36 km. Entry interface occurred at MET 3d5h38m50s. Challenger landed at the Dessert Air Force Range with wheel stop at MET 3d5h59m13s.

Next Up: Challenger will lift off on Sept. 4 with the Kerbin Radiation Budget Satellite, a test of construction methods in zero gravity, and the first Canadian astronaut.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-41H Challenger Mission Report

Quick Summary

Crew: Valentina Kerman (CDR), Casimir Deniau (PLT), Timothy Swenhaugen (MS1), Fred Langbrook (MS2), Zachary Averesch (MS3), Francis MacLeod, Canada (PS1), Patrick Flitternose (PS2)

Backup Crew: Tonya Hummel, Canada (PS1), Severin Sault (PS2)

Payload: Kerbin Radiation Budget Satellite, Small Construction Test Article, Canadarm

Launch: September 4, 1984 5:30:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 6d5h11m33s

Landing: September 11, 1984 4:41:33 at Kerbal Space Center

Payload Mass: 3,492 kg

Statistics & Milestones: 14th space shuttle mission; 6th flight of Challenger; 7th spacewalk of the Space Shuttle Program; 3rd landing at Kerbal Space Center. Francis MacLeod became the first Canadian in space.

Narrative Summary

Challenger lifted off from Kerbal Space Center on September 4, 1984, carrying the Kerbin Radiation Budget Satellite, the first scientific satellite launched by the space shuttle, as well as materials for a space construction test. The flight had been intended to also use two Kerballed Maneuvering Units to test space construction in addition to Canadarm, but they were removed from the manifest after the tests on STS-41D revealed the shortcomings of the original KMU design and forced a redesign. Challenger was inserted into an initial 29x145km orbit. An OMS burn finishing at MET 14m50s placed it into 72x144km orbit, period 33m15s, inclination 1.8 degrees.

A first OMS burn at MET 4h57m lowered the orbit to 72x101km, followed by a second burn at MET 5h12m to raise it to 100x102km, period 32m41s.

 

The Kerbin Radiation Budget Satellite was deployed from Challenger’s payload bay at MET 1d4h56m30s, while the orbiter was flying about Kerbal Space Center. 34 minutes later, on the next pass over KSC, the satellite performed a ~1-minute burn with its RCS thrusters to raise its apoapsis to 805 km. A second burn 1h5m after deployment inserted it into its operational 800x811km orbit, period 1h32m54s.

The crew spent Flight Day 4 preparing for the next day’s EVA.

At MET 3d4h18m the crew inflated the airlock, and then began powering up and unberthing Canadarm. While Timothy Swenhaugen and Zachary Averesch prepared for their EVA, Fred Langbook and Francis MacLeod maneuvered Canadarm to grapple the first segment of the Small Construction Test Article. Swenhaugen stepped outside the airlock at MET 3d4h31m15s, with Averesch following at 3dh4h32m30s. The crew unberthed Strut 1 of the SCTA with Canadarm and attempted to dock it to the SCTA base unit, but discovered that a design flaw prevented Canadarm from reaching the angle necessary to perform the attachment. Instead, flight controllers directed the crew to attach Strut 1 to the grapple unit on Strut 2 instead. This was successful. After inspecting the partially assembled tower, the spacewalkers returned inside the shuttle. EVA time was 20m30s for Averesch and 22m15s for Swenhaugen. After one orbit the crew attempted to re-grapple Strut 1, but the grapple fixture at the end of Canadarm would not engage. Flight controllers put off disassembling the STCA until the next day to evaluate the issue.

At MET 4d4h40m, after multiple attempts, the crew grappled the SCTA base unit in order to test the Canadarm end effector. After releasing it, they were able to grapple Strut 1 18 minutes later. Due to another design flaw the crew were unable to stow Strut 1 in the planned horizontal position. This was successful, but it was realized that the payload bay doors would not be able to be closed in this position. The crew then grappled the top grapple fixture of Strut 1 and attempted to attach it to the side port of Strut 2 in a horizontal position. This succeeded, and the crew was thus able to stow Strut 1 in a stable position for return to Kerbin. The crew then stowed and locked Canadarm, completing the operation at MET 5d0h14m.

Landing was delayed by one day due to rain at Kerbal Space Center. The crew spent the extra day in orbit on photographic surveys of Kerbin, extra biomedical experiments, and leisure time.

The deorbit burn was completed at MET 6d4h52m. After a slightly hotter re-entry than usual, Challenger made a hard landing at Kerbal Space Center with wheel stop at MET 6d5h11m33s.

Next Up: Discovery is scheduled for launch on Sept. 24 on STS-41G, carrying a classified payload for the Department of Defense.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-41G Discovery Mission Report

Quick Summary

Crew: Timothy Vela (CDR), Kirsten Pierre (PLT), Jordon Poole (MS1), Olivia Vukoja (MS2), Jaroslav Dane (PS1)

Payload: Classified

Launch: September 24, 1984 5:30:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 4d1h32m57s

Landing: September 29, 1984 1:02:57 at Edwards Air Force Range

Payload Mass: 4,902 kg

Statistics & Milestones: 15th mission of the Space Shuttle Program; 2nd flight of Discovery; 8th spacewalk of the Space Shuttle Program; 12th landing at Edwards Air Force Range.

Narrative Summary

Discovery lifted off on its second flight and the first dedicated mission for the Department of Defense on September 24, 1984. As the first dedicated DOD mission, the exact time was not announced in advance, and the public TV feed and commentary entered a black-out 5 minutes after lift-off.

During the mission Mission Specialists Jordon Poole and Olivia Vukoja conducted a spacewalk.

Discovery touched down at Edwards Air Force Range after a four-day flight. No other details of the mission were publicly disclosed.

Classified Summary

Spoiler

CLASSIFIED MATERIAL - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

The payload for mission STS-41G was Satellite Data System 2A and 2B, a pair of identical military communication satellites bound for a 45-degree semi-synchronous orbit.

Soon after liftoff the orbiter was inserted into an initial -50x98km orbit. The OMS burn at MET 9m inserted Discovery into a 73x98km orbit, inclination 44.4 degrees, period 31m37s. At MET 1h5m22s, one of the batteries aboard SDS-2A malfunctioned. Mission managers opted to add an emergency spacewalk to Flight Day 3, and delayed the payload deployment to Flight Day 4.

At MET 4h20m an OMS burn raised the orbit to 98x100km, period 32m33s.

The crew inflated the airlock in preparation for their EVA at MET 1d4h24m. Jordon Poole exited the airlock at MET 1d5h10m50s, followed by Olivia Vukoja at 1d5h11m20s. Vukoja quickly repaired the battery. EVA time was only 1m20s for Vukoja, and 2m37s for Poole.

At MET 2d5h51m the crew released the restraints holding the SDS 2A/B/IUS stack into the payload bay, and subsequently raised the payload into the 30 degree deployment position.

At MET 3d0h23m30s the #7 liquid fuel tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking, but the crew were able to transfer most of the fuel into other tanks. The payload stack was deployed from the payload bay at MET 3d0h24m30s. The single-stage IUS burned 36 minutes later, inserting the payloads into a 98x1,571km transfer orbit. The two unit satellites separated from each other and from the spent IUS shortly thereafter. SDS 2A burned its RCS thrusters at the first apogee, raising itself into a near-circular orbit with a 3h0m00s period. SDS 2B completed this maneuver at its second apogee, establishing itself in order approximately 180 degrees across from SDS 2A.

The deorbit burn to put the orbiter on a path for Edwards Air Force Range was completed at MET 4d1h12m. Entry interface occurred at MET 4d1h19m04s. After a nominal re-entry, Vela steered Discovery in for a smooth landing at Edwards Air Force Range, with wheel stop at 4d1h32m57s.

Next Up: Columbia is scheduled to launch on STS-41F, carrying three commsats and the first sitting member of Congress to fly in space, on October 8, 1984.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-41F Columbia Mission Report

Quick Summary

Crew: Jane Steffensen (CDR), Arlene O'Brian (PLT), Wesley Vann (MS1), Ridley Warren (MS2), Huey Schnoor (MS3), Lennox Everly (PS1), Padma Ramsey (PS2)

Payload: Skynet A commsat, Kerbstar 8 commsat, Galaxy V-C commsat

Launch: October 28, 1984 2:14:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 3d5h26m49s

Landing: October 32, 1984 1:40:49 at Kerbal Space Center

Payload Mass: 7,241 kg

Statistics & Milestones: 16th space shuttle flight; 8th flight of Columbia; 4th landing at Kerbal Space Center; 3rd night launch and 1st night landing of the Space Shuttle Program. Senator Lennox Everly of Kentucky became the first sitting member of the Kerbal States Congress to fly in space.

Narrative Summary

The first launch opportunity, on October 8, 1984, was scrubbed as the #1 monopropellant tank began leaking at T-52 minutes. The crew was safely evacuated from the shuttle using the slidewire baskets. It took more than two weeks to clean up the monopropellant spill and repair the damage. The launch was then pushed back a further two days due to anticipated poor weather, and one more for engineering reviews.

Columbia finally lifted off on October 28. Among its crew were Senator Lennox Everly of Kentucky, flying as a congressional observer, and Dr. Padma Ramsey of Reaction Systems Ltd., a fluid dynamics expert flying to perform middeck experiments during the mission. Both Everly and Ramsey were originally scheduled to fly on STS-51A, but were switched to STS-41F when both missions were delayed due to the numerous repairs to Columbia necessary after STS-41D. At MET 3m24s, the #3 tank of oxidizer in the orbiter after compartment began leaking. This was the first ascent malfunction of the Space Shuttle Program, although it was not severe enough to cause an abort. Columbia was placed into an initial -162x77km orbit. An OMS burn concluding 7m after launch placed it into a 70x106km orbit, period 31m48s, inclination 4.0 degrees. At MET 9m46s the #4 battery in the orbiter aft compartment short-circuited. At MET 3h57m one of the batteries about Kerbstar 8 short-circuited, but could not be repaired on-orbit.

At MET 4h21m a second battery aboard Kerbstar 8 short-circuited. An OMS burn at MET 4h41m raised orbit to 96x106km, period 32m42s.

Skynet A was deployed from the payload bay at MET 1d4h27m15s. The first PAM burn 15 minutes later placed it into a 105x3,023 km transfer orbit. The second PAM burn and two RCS adjustments placed into its operational orbit.

Kerbstar 8 was deployed from Columbia’s payload bay at MET 2d4h30m55s. After two PAM burns and two RCS correction burns it reached its operational perch.

During the orbital night Columbia depleted its fuel reserves below red lines, and so mission managers ordered a day-early end to the mission. The crew performed a contingency deployment of Galaxy V-C at MET 3d4h28m30s. The RCS deorbit burn concluding at MET 3d5h02m was only able to lower the periapsis to 33 km. Entry interface occurred at MET 3d5h07m41s. CDR Steffensen brought Columbia in for a smooth evening touchdown at Kerbal Space Center, the first night landing of the Space Shuttle Program, with wheel stop at MET 3d5h26m49s. Later that day Galaxy V-C performed the burns necessary to raise it to geosynchronous orbit.

Next Up: Discovery is scheduled to launch on the STS-51B Spacelab 2 mission on December 11.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-51B Discovery Mission Report

Quick Summary

Crew: Orson Sauvageon (CDR), Eddie Schuchardt (PLT), Laurence Cizek (MS1), Adam Donne (MS2), Allan Otto (MS3), Leela Diefenbach (PS1), Mary Forney (PS2)

Backup Crew: Beate Geier (PS1), Julius Shwetz (PS2)

Payload: Spacelab 2: Spacelab Infrared Telescope Facility, Shuttle Magnetometer Boom, Low Frequency Radio Experiment, Vacuum Science Pallet, Shuttle Plasma Monitor, 6 Getaway Special Canisters

Launch: December 10, 1984 5:30:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 9d5h43m46s

Landing: December 20, 1984 5:13:46 at Kerbal Space Center

Payload Mass: 4,582 kg

Statistics & Milestones: 17th Space Shuttle mission; 3rd flight of Discovery; 5th landing at Kerbal Space Center. Mission Specialist Laurence Cizek became the first kerbal to fly into space twice within a calendar year, having previously flown on STS-8 in January.

Narrative Summary

STS-51B was the first shuttle mission to utilize the new Heavy SRBs, increasing the payload capacity from ~7500 kg to ~10000kg; as well as bare orange external tank rather than the white-painted tank used on previous flights.

Discovery lifted off on the second Spacelab mission on December 18, 1984. Thanks to the new HSRBs there was still fuel left in the External Tank at MECO, at which point Discovery was in a 38x184km preliminary orbit. An OMS burn at MET 16m it was placed into a 74x185km orbit, period 34m42s, inclination 1.1 degrees. The Red Team (Sauvageon, Donne, Otto, and Forney) activated all orbiter systems and conducted OMS burns at 2h35m (to raise the orbit to 130x185km, period 36m46s), and a second burn at MET 2h53m (to lower to 129x133km, period 34m49s) while the Blue Team (Schuchardt, Cizek, and Diefenbach) slept. The two teams swapped places at MET 3h00m, and Blue Team began activating the payload. The Low Frequency Radio Experiment was deployed at 3h29m, the Shuttle Plasma Monitor at 4h02m, the magnetometer boom deployed at 4h52m, and the SIRTF engaged and pointed for observations beginning 5h32m. At this point the crew turned off the payload bay lights, which had been left on for the activation process. Throughout the mission the crew used the body of the shuttle as a sunshield for the telescope in the payload bay.

At MET 3d0h1m13s the #1 monopropellant tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking.

The science experiments were successful; most notably, the the infrared telescope completed a survey of of most of the Galactic plane.

For their final full day in orbit, the Red Team shift deactivated and stowed all of the experiments in the payload bay. They stowed the telescope, and then retracted the magnetometer boom and boom antennas of the LFRE. Blue Team lowered the orbit to prepare for reentry, with a first OMS burn at MET 9d3h36m to lower to 100x132km, period 33m46s, and a second at MET 9d3m52m lowered to 99x102km, period 32m39s.

Red Team awoke half an hour early on Flight Day 11 to prepare for landing. At MET 9d5h17m50s the #4 battery in the shuttle aft compartment short-circuited. The reentry burn was successfully completed at MET 9d5h24m; the shuttle still had 74 m/s of Delta-v in the tanks even after the deorbit burn was complete. Entry interface occurred at MET 9d5h29m49s. Discovery landed at KSC with wheel stop at MET 9d5h43m46s.

Next Up: As Discovery was landing at KSC Challenger already stood on the launch pad just a few kilometers away. It is scheduled for launch on STS-51A on December 24, carrying a cargo of commsats.

In Meta: this was my first flight after upgrading to 1.8, after all of the mods I used upgraded and the initial bugs with the aerodynamics were fixed. I love the new SRBs--my shuttle was really underpowered with the Kickbacks I was using originally, often barely making it to orbit and back, but now that I switched to using Polluxes I can actually make it to orbit with enough fuel that I'm not worried about changing my orbit or conserving RCS fuel. Being able to have an orange External Tank is a nice touch too.

Year-End Summary: During 1984 the Space Shuttle Program launched 10 flights (4 by Challenger and 3 each by Columbia and Discovery). The orbiters logged 64d0h34m01s of flight time and carried 57 kerbals from 3 countries and 62,429 kg of payload into orbit.

Edited November 21, 2019 by ShuttleHugger
Added Year-End Summary section, as the next flight was delayed into 1985.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-51A Challenger Mission Report

Quick Summary

Crew: Kacey Gibson (CDR), Peter Marchesi (PLT), Stephanie Van Can (MS1), Kolby Baart (MS2), Jeffrey Van Rompuy (MS3)

Payload: KCom 4 commsat, WorldCom 1 commsat, WestSat 5 commsat

Payload Mass: 8,162 kg

Launch: January 5, 1985 1:39:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 5d5h09m03s

Landing: January 11, 1985 0:48:03 at Kerbal Space Center

Statistics & Milestones: 18th Space Shuttle flight; 7th flight of Challenger; 3rd night launch; 6th landing at Kerbal Space Center. This was the first crew composed entirely of members of Astronaut Group 8 (1978), with no veterans astronauts who served during the Apollo Program.

Narrative Summary

The first four launch attempts were scrubbed: Christmas Day 1984, due to a problem with the PAM synchronization unit aboard WorldCom 1; Dec. 29, due to engineering concerns with the launch clamps; and Jan. 1 and 4, 1985, due to poor weather.

Challenger finally lifted off on January 5, 1985. The launch was originally intended to occur during the morning, but was pushed to night in order to avoid frigid winter morning temperatures at the Edwards Air Force Range emergency landing site. The orbiter was inserted into an initial 52x175km orbit. A brief OMS burn at MET 17m placed it into 72x175km orbit, period 34m18s, inclination 4.4 degrees. Challenger made orbit with 335 m/s of Delta-v left in the tanks.

An OMS burn at MET 4h35m lowered the orbit to 72x101km, period 31m41s. At MET 4h37m35s the #2 monopropellant tank in the orbiter aft compartment sprang a leak. A second OMS burn at 4h49m raised the raised the orbit to 100x103km, period 32m44s.

KCom 4 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 1d5h30m20s. The first PAM burn one orbit later placed it into a 100x2,864km transfer orbit. At MET 2d2h28m26s one of the antennas on WestSat 5 failed. Mission managers opted to deploy WorldCom 1 as scheduled, and then add an additional day to the mission for an emergency spacewalk to fix WestSat 5.

At MET 3d1h02m19s the service bay door motors on WorldCom 1 failed, but these were not designed to be used on-orbit so this was not a problem. WorldCom 1 was deployed from the payload bay at MET 3d1h03m30s. The first PAM burn an orbit later placed into a 100x2,873km transfer orbit. The second PAM burn plus RCS correction burns placed it in its operational orbit.

The crew inflated the airlock in preparation for the contingency EVA at MET 3d5h02m. Stephanie Van Can exited the airlock at MET 3d5h22m45s, followed by Jeffrey Van Rompuy 45 seconds later. Van Can repaired the antenna on WestSat 5, and then the crew reentered the airlock. EVA time was 2m43s for Van Rompuy and 4m20s for Van Can.

WestSat 5 was deployed from Challenger’s payload bay at MET 4d5h28m05s. Two PAM burns and two RCS correction maneuvers placed the satellite into its operational geosynchronous orbit.

The crew completed the deorbit burn at MET 5d4h50m, at which point it had 88 m/s of Delta-v left in the tanks after the burn. The shuttle touched down at Kerbal Space Center with wheel stop at 5d5h09m03s.

Next Up: Columbia is scheduled for launch on January 21, 1985, on the Spacelab 3 mission.

In Other News: KSP announced the selection of Astronaut Group 11, a new group of 35 astronauts to full KSP's crew needs in 1986 and beyond.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-51D Columbia Mission Report

Quick Summary:

Crew: Abe Dykstra (CDR), Martha Cummings (PLT), Lyell Power (MS1), Liam Xun (MS2), Alanna Zelenko (MS3), Christophe Bertrand, ESA/France (PS1), Chucho Asenov (PS2)

Backup Crew: Erich Brune, ESA/West Germany (PS1), Sybella Tjader (PS2)

Payload: Spacelab 3, Spacelab Pressurized Module, Spacelab Vacuum Pallet, 4 Getaway Special Cannisters

Payload Mass: 7,409 kg

Launch: January 21, 1985 5:30:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 10d1h20m42s

Landing: January 32, 1985 0:50:42 at Edwards Air Force Range

Statistics & Milestones: 19th Space Shuttle flight; 9th flight of Columbia; 13th landing at Edwards Air Force Range. Commander Abe Dykstra became the first kerbal to fly on the shuttle three times. Mission Specialists Liam Xun and Alanna Zelenko were the first members of KSP Astronaut Group 9 (selected 1980) to fly. Payload specialist Christophe Bertrand is the first French astronaut to fly in space.

Narrative Summary:

Columbia lifted off on the first launch opportunity on January 21, 1985. It was inserted into an initial 43x172km orbit. An OMS burn at MET 17m inserted it into a 72x173km orbit, period 34m12s, inclination 8.8 degrees; due to the higher than planned inclination mission managers decided to switch to Edwards Air Force Range as the prime landing site and Kerbal Space Center as the backup. 30 minutes after launch Silver Team (Cummins, Power, Zelenko, and Asenov) went to sleep while Gold Team (Dykstra, Xun, and Bertrand) worked on activating and configuring all orbiter systems. Silver Team took over at MET 3h00m; Power and Asenov began activating Spacelab while Cummins and Zelenko stayed on the flight deck. At MET 3h25m they performed an OMS burn to lower the orbit to 72x130km. A second burn followed at MET 3h41m to raise the orbit to 129x233km, period 34m49s.

The crew spent most of the mission in nominal operations in the Spacelab module, operating more than two dozen individual experiments, including several laboratory mice, the first non-kerbal animals to be flown on the shuttle (and cared for by Payload Specialist Asenov, a veterinarian by training).

At MET 6d1h26m14s the #16 fuel tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking, but the crew were able to transfer most of the fuel to another tank. At MET 6d4h17m36s the #8 oxidizer tank in the aft compartment began leaking, but the crew were again able to salvage most of the contents.

Gold Team finished powering down Spacelab for landing at MET 9d2h31m. Silver Team completed an OMS burn at MET 9d3h46m to lower the orbit to 101x129km, followed by a second burn at MET 9d4h03m to lower to 99x101km, period 32m37s in preparation for landing.

Gold Team slept in and awoke at MET 10d0h0m to begin preparations for landing. At MET 10d0h42m58s the #2 life support container in the orbiter aft compartment sprang a water leak. Landing was waved off for an orbit to allow freezing temperatures at Edwards Air Force Range to clear. The crew completed the deorbit burn at MET 10d1h02m. Despite some difficulty controlling the vehicle during final approach, Dykstra and Cummins brought Columbia in for a landing at Edwards with wheel stop at MET 10d1h20m42s, concluding the longest Shuttle mission to date.

Next Up: Discovery is scheduled to launch on March 8 on mission STS-51F, carrying a classified payload into orbit.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-41F Discovery Mission Report

Quick Summary:

Crew: Gavin Molloy (CDR), Fabian Thorsen (PLT), David Houtkooper (MS1), James Hasenkamp (MS2), Anantha Bronson (PS1)

Payload: USA-027 (CLASSIFIED)

Payload Mass: 10,346 kg

Launch: March 12, 1985 3:54:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 4d1h13m27s

Landing: March 16, 1985 5:07:27 at Kerbal Space Center

Statistics & Milestones: 20th flight of the Space Shuttle Program; 4th flight of Discovery; 4th night launch of the Shuttle Program; 7th landing at Kerbal Space Center; 2nd DOD mission.

Narrative Summary:

Discovery lifted off on the second dedicated shuttle flight for the Department of Defense on March 16, 1985, carrying the heaviest payload launched by the shuttle to date (more than 10 tons). Per policy for such flights, media coverage entered a blackout 5 minutes after launch.

On March 14, Mission Specialists Houtkooper and Hasenkamp conducted the tenth spacewalk of the Space Shuttle Program. Discovery landed back at Kerbal Space Center on March 16 after a successful mission.

Classified Summary:

Spoiler

CLASSIFIED SUMMARY - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

The payload for STS-41F was Hydra 1, a signals intelligence payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. It was to be stationed in geosynchronous orbit above the SSSR in order to intercept electronic communications from the Kerbal States' geopolitical foes.

After a liftoff into the pre-dawn sky, Discovery climbed into the light of the sun as it ascended. It was inserted into an initial 35x223km orbit. An OMS burn at MET 17m inserted it into a 72x224km orbit, inclination 4.4 degrees, period 36m02s.

At MET 4h37m07s one of the batteries aboard Hydra 1 short-circuited. Mission managers opted to add a contingency EVA to repair the battery, pushing back the payload deployment by one day. At MET 4h16m49s the orbiter flight deck battery pack short-circuited. An OMS burn at MET 4h29m raised the orbit to 101x224km, and a second at 4h47m circularized it to 97x105km, period 32m41s.

The crew extended the airlock at MET 1d4h19m in preparation for the contingency spacewalk. David Houtkooper exited the airlock at MET 1d4h53m35s, followed by James Hasenkamp at MET 1d4h54m20s. Houtkooper successfully repaired the battery, and the crew then reentered the airlock. Total EVA time was 3m40s for Hasenkamp and 5m15s for Houtkooper.

At MET 2d4h19m the crew released the tie-downs holding Hydra 1 into the payload bay. At MET 2d4h26m46s the #3 oxygen tank in the orbiter after compartment began leaking, but the crew were able to transfer most of the oxygen to other tanks. Soon thereafter the crew raised the payload into the deployment position. Hydra 1 was deployed from Discovery’s payload bay at MET 2d4h54m45s.

The first IUS burn one orbit later placed it onto a 104x2,695km transfer orbit. The second IUS burn slightly underperformed, and the satellite was forced to perform a longer-than-usual RCS burn to attain geosynchronous orbit. It then successfully deployed its antennas. As it attained operational status it was given the designation KSA-027. At MET 3d3h48m46s the #2 monopropellant tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking.

The crew closed the payload bay in preparation for re-entry at MET 4d0h36m. There was a forecast 40% chance of rain at the time of landing, but as the re-entry burn approached the conditions went green and the crew were given the go to land. They completed the deorbit burn at MET 4d0h52m. Discovery made a hard landing at Kerbal Space Center with wheel stop at 4d1h13m27s.

Next Up: Challenger is scheduled to launch on April 3 on mission STS-51E with the third Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, TDRS-C.

In Meta: This might be my favorite payload I've launched so far. I've been anticipating this mission for months IRL; I'm super pleased with the way that the Breaking Ground robotic parts allowed me to fold up this huge set of antennas to fit inside the orbiter's payload bay.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-41E Challenger Mission Report

Quick Summary:

Crew: Jasper Smith (CDR), Myles Baumgartner (PLT), Hayley Vang (MS1), Elizabeth Britton (MS2), Jacqueline McFarland (MS3)

Payload: TDRS-C

Payload Mass: 7,613 kg

Launch: April 3, 1985 0:39:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 3d5h09m01s

Landing: April 6, 1985 5:48:01 at Kerbal Space Center

Statistics & Milestones: 21st Space Shuttle flight; 8th flight of Challenger; 8th landing at Kerbal Space Center.

Narrative Summary:

After the previous TDRS launch, STS-41E, an investigation into the anomaly on that flight revealed that the IUS propellant loading was conducted assuming that the engines were operating in atmosphere, not vacuum, accounting for the overperformance of the IUS. This flaw was corrected for TDRS-C.

Challenger lifted off on April 3, 1985, on its eighth flight. It was inserted into an initial 53x176km orbit. An OMS burn at MET 17m raised the orbit to 72x176km, period 34m18s, inclination 1.9 degrees.

The crew performed an OMS burn at MET 4h34m to lower the orbit to 71x101km, and a second at MET 4h50m to circularize the orbit to 100x102km, period 32m42s.

At MET 1d4h58m the crew released the restraints holding TDRS-C into the payload bay. When they attempted to raise it into the deployment position they discovered that the hinge of the deployment mechanism had been installed upside-down and the payload could not be raised out of the payload bay. The crew implemented the contingency deployment procedures. They deployed the payload with the help of an RCS burn at MET 1d5h35m20s. The first OMS burn placed TDRS-C into a 101x2,983km transfer orbit. On the second burn, however, the satellite spun out of control, resulting in its placement in a much lower than planned 582x2,983km orbit, inclination 6.5 degrees. However, the satellite had sufficient RCS fuel to attain its operational orbit, upon which it was renamed TDRS-2.

The crew spent Flight Day 4 on various middeck experiments and photographic surveys of Kerbin.

The crew completed the deorbit burn at MET 3d4h48m. Smith and Baumgartner steered Challenger in for a landing at Kerbal Space Center with wheel stop at 3d5h09m01s.

Next Up: Columbia is scheduled to launch on May 2, carrying the GOES-E weather satellite and two redesigned Kerballed Maneuvering Units.

In Other News: The space shuttle Atlantis was delivered to Kerbal Space Center on April 13. It is now ensconced in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2, being prepared for its first flight, STS-51N, later this year.

 

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-51C Columbia Mission Report

Quick Summary:

Crew: Evander Jewel (CDR), Evan Abana (PLT), Raphael Stacks (MS1), Cameron Nemeth (MS2), Elliot Martins (MS3), Michael Charron (PS1), Tanya Abbott (PS2)

Backup Crew: Grant Landolfi (PS1)

Payload: GOES-E, 2x Kerballed Maneuvering Units Mk. 2

Payload Mass: 6,832 kg

Launch: May 1, 1985 1:50:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 5d5h03m32s

Landing: May 7, 1985 0:53:32

Statistics & Milestones: 22nd Space Shuttle mission; 10th flight of Columbia; 5th night launch of the Space Shuttle Program; 9th landing at Kerbal Space Center.

Narrative Summary:

The crew included two payload specialists: Michael Charron, a meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who works on the Geosynchronous Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) program, and Tanya Abbott, a fluid dynamics specialist with Rockomax Corporation making her second spaceflight to conduct middeck experiments.

Columbia lifted off into the night sky on May 1, 1985. It was inserted into an initial 45x196km orbit. An OMS burn at MET 17m inserted Columbia into a 73x186km orbit, period 35m03s, inclination 3.0 degrees.

At MET 4h22m29s the #14 liquid fuel tank in the shuttle aft compartment began leaking, but the crew were able to transfer most of the contents to another tank. However, the leak occurred a few seconds before a planned OMS burn, forcing that to be pushed back for one orbit. The rescheduled OMS burn at MET 4h58m raised the orbit to 192x204km, period 39m41s, the highest orbit ever attained by a Space Shuttle.

At MET 1d4h56m the crew released the restraints holding GOES-E into the payload bay. The payload stack developed an oscillation within the payload bay, which was dampened by turning off the payload’s reaction wheels. The crew then raised GOES-E and the IUS to the deployment position. At MET 1d5h09m00s, the #2 monopropellant tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking. GOES-E was deployed from Columbia’s payload bay at MET 1d5h42h45m. The IUS lower stage burn placed it into a 193x2,811 km transfer orbit. After the upper stage IUS burn and two RCS burns it reached its operational orbit and was renamed GOES-4.

The crew spent Flight Day 4 preparing for the next day’s spacewalk.

The crew inflated the airlock at MET 3d4h30m. Raphael Stacks exited the airlock at MET 3d4h56m45s, followed by Elliot Martins at MET 3d4h58m00s. Stacks boarded the #1 KMU stowed in the payload bay, while Martins boarded the #2 KMU. Stacks undocked the KMU from Columbia at MET 3d5h01m00s, and attempted to dock with another port in the forward payload bay, but in about eight minutes of free flight the KMU proved impossible to adequately control and Stacks bailed out and maneuvered back to the cargo bay; the KMU was abandoned in orbit. The second planned KMU free flight (to 100m away from Columbia and return) was canceled. Martins reentered the airlock at MET 5h12m28s, for an EVA duration of 14m28s. Stacks experienced some difficulty in maneuvering back to the airlock, but reentered at MET 3d5h16m52s, for an EVA duration of 20m07s. After the failure of the Mk. 2 KMUs, they were redesigned and an objective to test the KMU Mk. 3s was added to STS-51O in the fall of 1985.

At MET 4d4h35m the crew conducted an OMS burn to lower the orbit to 100x204km. A second burn followed at 4d4h54m to lower the orbit to 93x103km.

At MET 5d4h41m the crew completed an RCS-assisted OMS burn to target landing at Kerbal Space Center. Entry interface occurred at MET 5d4h46m37s. Jewel and Abana brought Columbia in for a smooth landing at KSC with wheel stop at MET 5d5h03m32s.

Next Up: Challenger is scheduled to lift off on June 3 on mission STS-51G, carrying three commsats and the first Mexican astronaut into orbit.

In Other News: The Skynet A commsat, delivered to geosynchronous orbit on STS-41F in October 1984, developed a monopropellant leak on April 11, 1985.

After a bidding process with major proposals led by both Rockomax Corporation and HabTech Industries, the industrial consortium led by HabTech was selected as the prime contractor for Space Station Liberty*. Construction is slated to begin in 1989. In addition, KSP awarded a contract to HabTech to produce the SpaceHab module as a commercial Spacelab and prototype for the station module construction; the first SpaceHab mission will occur in 1987.

*That is, I have decided to use the HabTech2 mod for the construction of the space station.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-51G Challenger Mission Report

Quick Summary:

Crew: Coleen Stirling (CDR), Romulus Valerio (PLT), Tatiana Ter Avest (MS1), Emilia Agani (MS2), Connor Seidel (MS3), Paul-Horace Leandre, France (PS1), Esperanza Bustos, Mexico (PS2)

Backup Crew: Leontine Lane, France (PS1), Felipe Cuellar Rodriguez, Mexico (PS2)

Payload: ExMarSat III commsat, Horizon A commsat, Aztlan Sat I commsat

Payload Mass: 6,135 kg

Launch: June 2, 1985 1:00:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 4d4h48m27s

Landing: June 6, 1985 5:48:27 at Edwards Air Force Range

Statistics & Milestones: 23rd Space Shuttle flight; 9th flight of Challenger; 14th landing at Edwards Air Force Range. Esperanza Bustos became the first Mexican astronaut to fly in space.

Narrative Summary:

Challenger launched on the first attempt on June 2, 1985. It was inserted into an initial 17x207km orbit. An OMS burn at MET 16m raised the orbit to 72x207km, period 35m26s, inclination 1.6 degrees.

An OMS burn at MET 4d24m raised the orbit to 200x212km, period 40m20s. During the burn, at MET 4h23m45s, the #1 battery in the orbiter aft compartment short-circuited.

ExMarSat III (owned by the British ExMarSat Corporation) was deployed from Challenger’s payload bay at MET 1d4h39m00s. The first PAM burn placed into a 202x3,124 km transfer orbit. The second PAM burn and two RCS burns placed the satellite into its operational geosynchronous orbit.

Horizon A (owned by the French military) was deployed from Challenger’s payload bay at MET 2d4h48m45s. The first PAM burn placed it into a 209x3,040km transfer orbit, and a second and two RCS burns placed it onto its operational orbit.

Aztlan Sat I (owned by the government of Mexico) was deployed from the payload bay at MET 4d0h02m20s. The first PAM burn somewhat overperformed and placed the satellite into a 201x3,480km transfer orbit. Just after the second PAM/first RCS burns, one of the batteries aboard the spacecraft short-circuited. Due to the PAM overperformance the phasing of the orbit was incorrect and the payload had to be left in a longer-period orbit until later in June to be fully inserted into geosynchronous orbit in order for it to reach the correct longitude.  The crew conducted an OMS burn at MET 4d1h26m to lower the orbit to 103x200km, and a second at MET 4d1h45m to lower it to 97x105km, period 32m42s.

Mission managers opted to switch the prime landing site from Kerbal Space Center to Edwards Air Force Range due to the higher-than-expected fuel use on the mission, and consequent need to perform a less accurate RCS-assisted OMS burn, which is more optimal for the more forgiving EAFR landing site. This burn was completed at MET 4d4h28m. Entry interface occurred at MET 4d4h33m29s. Stirling and Valerio steered Challenger in for a smooth landing directly in the middle of Edwards Air Force Range with wheel stop at MET 4d4h48m27s.

Next Up: Discovery is scheduled to launch on mission STS-51H on June 13, carrying three more commsats and the first Egyptian astronaut.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-51H Discovery Mission Report

Quick Summary:

Crew: Ronnie Queen (CDR), Arienne Abrams (PLT), Jared Matousek (MS1), Wendy Laninga (MS2), Gabriel Marti (MS3), Mostafa Abdulrashid, Egypt (PS1), Racquel Van Laar (PS2)

Backup Crew: Shahin Jabr Saab, Saudi Arabia (PS1)

Payload: ArabSat 1 commsat, Maritime Commnet A commsat, Galaxy VI-A commsat

Payload Mass: 6,844 kg

Launch: June 18, 1985 0:20:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 6d0h04m12s

Landing: June 24, 1985 0:24:12 at Edwards Air Force Range

Statistics & Milestones: 24th Space Shuttle mission; 5th flight of Discovery; 15th landing at Edwards Air Force Range. Mostafa Abdulrashid became the first Egyptian astronaut, as well as the first Arab and first to represent an African nation, to fly in space.

Narrative Summary:

Launch of STS-51H was initially scheduled for June 12, but nearly a week of solid rain at Kerbal Space Center pushed the launch back to June 18. Discovery lifted off on the second launch opportunity, carrying three commsats, the first Egyptian astronaut, as well as Payload Specialist Racquel Van Laar, a scientist working for Aperture Laboratories flying to conduct middeck experiments. The orbiter was inserted into an initial 37x236km orbit. At MET 4m25s, a few seconds after MECO, one of the auxiliary antennas aboard ArabSat 1 failed; as it was riding in the forward position in the payload bay, on-orbit repair was not possible. The crew completed an OMS burn at MET 18m to insert Discovery into a 72x236km orbit, inclination 1.9 degrees, period 36m29s. At MET 2h03m56s one of the batteries aboard Galaxy VI-A short-circuited, but this was again not on-orbit serviceable.

An OMS burn at MET 4h51m lowered the orbit to 72x206km, and a second at 5h09m raised it to 200x212km, period 40m19s.

ArabSat 1 (owned by the Arab Space Alliance, an organization of the Arab League) was deployed from Discovery’s payload bay at MET 1d4h51m35s. The first PAM burn an orbit later placed it into a 210x2,792km transfer orbit. The second PAM burn and two RCS burns placed it into its operational orbit.

Maritime Commnet A (the first of a new data relay system for ships sponsored by the Kerbal States Coast Guard) was deployed from the payload bay at MET 3d0h08m20s. The first PAM burn placed it into a 204x2,940km transfer orbit, and it later successfully reached its operational orbit. At MET 3d2h01m51s the #17 oxidizer tank in the orbiter aft compartment began leaking, but it was almost empty and did not leak any significant amount of material.

Galaxy VI-A was deployed at MET 4d0h14m15s. The PAM first stage burn placed it into a 206x2,938km transfer orbit. After a further PAM burn and two RCS burns it was placed into its operational geosynchronous orbit.

At MET 4d4h18m54s the #3 battery in the orbiter aft compartment short-circuited. The crew completed an OMS burn at MET 4d4h31m to lower the orbit to 103x212km, and a second at MET 4d4h50m to circularize it to 95x106km, period 32m40s.

Like on STS-51G, the prime landing site was changed from KSC to Edwards due to low fuel levels on the orbiter. The deorbit burn, with some RCS assistance, was completed at MET 5d5h43m. Entry interface occurred at MET 5d5h48m50s. Queen and Abrams brought Discovery in for a smooth landing at Edwards Air Force Range with wheel stop at MET 6d0h04m12s.

Next Up: Columbia is scheduled for launch on July 34 on mission STS-51J. This mission will not only mark the 25th space shuttle flight but also carry the first deep-space payload launched by the shuttle, the Munar Radar Orbiter Copernicus.

[ShuttleHugger]

STS-51J Columbia Mission Report

Quick Summary:

Crew: Jebediah Kerman (CDR), Rosaleen Pulnik (PLT), Joshua Holmes (MS1), Edith Pasternak (MS2), Justin Teague (MS3)

Payload: Copernicus Munar Radar Orbiter

Payload Mass: 4,304 kg

Launch: July 36, 1985 5:30:00 from Pad 39A at Kerbal Space Center

Mission Duration: 2d5h30m51s

Landing: August 3, 1985 5:00:51 at Kerbal Space Center

Statistics & Milestones: 25th Space Shuttle mission; 11th flight of Columbia; 10th landing at Kerbal Space Center. First launch of a payload from the Space Shuttle to another planetary body. Jebediah Kerman became the first kerbal to fly in space seven times*, as well as the first to fly three times on the same spacecraft. First flight of the IUS-D single-stage configuration.

Narrative Summary:

Columbia lifted off from Kerbal Space Center on the second attempt on July 36, 1985, one day after a launch scrub due to rain. More than a decade after leaving the last bootprints on the Munar surface, Jebediah Kerman launched again, accompanying the Kerbal States' first mission to the Mun since Apollo on the first stage of its journey. The launch placed Columbia into an initial 25x114km orbit. An OMS burn at MET 13m placed Columbia into a 76x114km orbit, period 32m17s, inclination 0.6 degrees.

The crew conducted an OMS burn at MET 4h30m to raise the orbit to 102x114km, and a second at 4h46m to circularize to 102x103km, period 32m44s. Later in the day the crew activated the six Getaway Special canisters in the payload bay.

The restraints holding Copernicus into the payload bay were released at MET 1d4h31m00s. At MET 1d4h31m42s one of the low-gain antennas on Copernicus failed, but mission managers opted to proceed with deployment. At MET 1d4h59m the crew raised Copernicus out of the payload bay to the deployment position, and it was deployed at MET 1d5h30m15s. One orbit later the IUS burned for Trans-Munar Injection, which was largely successful but slightly off course, putting Copernicus onto a collision course with the Mun. Three minutes after IUS separation Copernicus performed a correction burn of about 66 m/s Delta-v to put it on course for a munar periapsis of 44 km four and a half hour later; the IUS was left on a course to impact the Mun. Copernicus then deployed its solar panels. Copernicus entered the munar sphere of influence at 2:58:58 on August 3.

At 4:14 on August 3, Copernicus completed its Munar orbit insertion burn while in darkness on the far side of the Mun. The burn inserted it into a 44x2,151km orbit, period 1d4h6m, inclination 127 degrees. Due to forecast rain at Kerbal Space Center the next day for the originally planned landing, mission managers opted to attempt to land Columbia on Flight Day 4 despite a chance of rain, and switch the landing to Edwards on Flight Day 5 if the weather did not allow landing on FD4. 8 minutes before the planned deorbit burn, the crew were given the go for landing as the weather forecast had turned positive. The crew completed the deorbit burn at MET 2d5h09m. Entry interface occurred at 2d5h15m51s. Columbia made a hard landing at Kerbal Space Center with wheel stop at MET 2d5h30m51s. Shortly after Columbia landed, Copernicus unfurled its high-gain antenna. On August 6, close to its second apoapsis, it deployed its radar antenna.

Next Up: The day after Columbia landed, Challenger rolled out to the launch pad. It is scheduled for launch on August 8 with a classified payload on mission STS-51M.

*Jeb flew on two Gemini and two Apollo flights in the backstory; I have not actually flown these missions in this save but I plan to do an Apollo playthrough eventually.

Edited December 21, 2019 by ShuttleHugger
Forgot to include the "Next Up" section when I originally wrote the post.

[έķ νίĻĻάίή]

well, this is amazing!

[ShuttleHugger]

On 12/21/2019 at 8:03 AM, έķ νίĻĻάίή said:

well, this is amazing!

Thanks! I've been putting a lot of work into this project, and after a short hiatus I should be flying the next mission soon.

[KerballingSmasher]

Looks good!