Retirement of the LKO CTV (COTV III)

[Rocketscience101]

The LKO CTV (Low Kerbin Orbit Crew Transport Vehicle) was the workhorse for my space program for the longest time. It was a 3 crew spaceplane designed, launched atop a Mainsail powered launch vehicle. The small vessel was limited in it's orbital capabilities, but limitless in it's utility. While not used to it's full potential, the LKO CTV was used to transport crews to and from the Exploration, where the crew would perform experiments on themselves and for scientists down on Kerbin,  that advanced the space program to the place where it is today. While the work on the station is not complete, the job of the vehicle has been replaced by the more capable COTV IV, which can carry a full complement of 6 crew members to the space station, as well as an option to carry small payloads, such as satellites, and station expansion equipment into LKO with a compliment of 2 crew members. As well as the design work on the COTV V having already started, the LKO CTV finds itself outmatched in a new world of space exploration. The last two to fly, where flow to the Exploration I Space Station, where they delivered crew for a little over a month of scientific research. Valentina Kerman, and her crew flew the last LKO CTV from orbit, choosing to land it at the Island Airfield off the coast of the Kerbal Space Coast, to house it within the hangars there on display. Valentina remarked upon landing, "While we end an era of space transportation, we begin a new era of Space Exploration. The CTV as served us well, but it's time to retire her, so that we may move onto the future." Which was then interrupted by mission control reporting that it was a nominal landing.