Zodiac Program: A Constellation Space Program's Entry

[borisperrons]

The Zodiac Program

(not affiliated with the killer of the same name)

 

So, yeah, Big Rona definitely gave me back the KSP bug, so, what better time to tackle a challenge that I wanted to run since I saw it posted years ago?
This will be my entry for the Constellation Space Program Challenge by @Death Engineering, which brought us many, many such wonderful and well thought challenges. This is a project I've been working on for the past weeks, building and testing the various crafts. I've reached a point where I'm confident enough to go public, also because I've actually flown all the R&D missions, and I just have to write down the reports (he says, knowing full well that he will find some stupid way to get sidetracked by presentations made in Paint, recreations of IRL adverts or some equally useless stuff).
I will follow the Constellation mission architecture, but going forward I plan to use various bits and pieces from other what-if space programs, for example NASA's Integrated Program Plan, ULA's CisLunar 1000 and Nasa's Fly-By Landing Excursion Mode (this one only if I'm feeling frisky). The final goal is to land kerbals on Duna, but how will I arrive there is still being studied. I have some ideas, but let's see how the program develops.
I'm running a modded save with JNSQ, Nertea's full suite of mods, KIS, KAS, Better SRBs, some quality of life mods and one which most definitely doesn't add quality of life, Kerbalism. I will post agency's internal reports on the mission, industry presentations for the equipment, every now and then an article or two fleshing out a bit of background for the program and a collection of above mentioned overengineered Paint stuff.

 

Index:

1. Aries KEV presentation, JJ&SP advertising material
2. "AIM HIGH" KSA STEM engagement advert, featuring Canopus I
3. "MULTIMILLION DOLLAR FIREWORKS". BUT IS IT SO? - Space News article
4. Mission Reports: Canopus Booster Separation Test, Aries In-Flight Abort Test, KOFTE 1
5. Mission Reports: KOFTE 2, KOFTE 3
6. Mission Reports: Munar Surveyor A/B
7. Mission Reports: Zodiac 1, Zodiac 2
8. CAPSULE WARS: THE PRIVATE SECTOR STRIKES BACK - Space News article

Mission summaries:

Booster Separation Test
Mission objectives: test of Canopus I aerodynamics, test of first stage vibration damping system.
Launch vehicle: Canopus I Flight Test Article
Result: Success
Comments: Full success of the testing objectives. Failure of the recovery system, but this wasn't a mission critical equipment, and will not be included in future flights.

Aries In-Flight Abort Test
Mission objectives: Test of the flight abort system of the Aries KEV during max-Q
Launch vehicle: Canopus I Flight Test Article
Result: Success
Comments: Max-Q abort scenario validated, the whole LES is validated for kerballed flights.

Kerbin Orbit Flight TEst (KOFTE) 1
Mission objectives: Test of the Aries Mod. A during 2-orbit flight, flight test of all Aries KEV common hardware and software, re-entry test from LKO
Launch vehicle: Canopus I
Result: Success
Comments: Maneuver, communications, power generation and autonomous control systems all validated during the 2 orbits flight. As many of these systems are common between the two Aries versions, the mission doubles as a partial validation of the Aries Mod. B design. Ground landing and recovery is also succesfully tried and tested.

Kerbin Orbit Flight TEst (KOFTE) 2
Mission objectives: Test of the Aries Mod. A autonomous rendezvous and docking system, test of quiescent docked mode
Launch vehicle: Canopus I
Result: Success
Comments: Automated approach and docking system flight proven with ground control support. Powered down capsule remains docked for a two week stay, testing the systems for long term orbital stay.

Kerbin Orbit Flight TEst (KOFTE) 3
Mission objectives: First kerballed flight of an Aries capsule, test of manual piloting systems, docked endurance test
Launch vehicle: Canopus I
Craft: Constitution (Aries Mod. A)
Crew: Jonbur Kerman (CDR), Irler Kerman (PLT)
Result: Success
Comments: The mission is largely flown via pilot commands keeping the onboard computer out of the loop, to test the various contingency modes in case of failure of the automated systems. After a successful approach and docking, the crew spends 2 months in orbit, performing scientific and engineering tasks onboard Spacelab. The capsule is checked during the long stay, showing no sign of degradation. Aries Mod. A is cleared for operational ferry flights to the station.

Munar Surveyor A/B
Mission objectives: Orbital broad and narrow band resource scan on Munar surface, dual probe mission.
Launch vehicle: Charles-Hadar
Result: Success
Comments: The two probes (Munar Surveyor A and B) are launched one month and inserted in the same polar orbital plane around the Mun. Over the next few months they will draw a map of Munar resource concentrations, to help the Zodiac kerballed landings planning. 

Zodiac 1
Mission objectives: Kerballed LKO flight test of the Aries Mod. B, 30 days endurance solo flight
Launch vehicle: Canopus I
Craft: Little Hut (Aries Mod. B)
Crew: "Joyriders" - Jonlorf Kerman (CDR), Kerzer Kerman (CMP), Merdard Kerman (MS1), Kirnand Kerman (MS2)
Result: Success
Comments: After a succesful launch, the craft spends 30 days in free flight, testing onboard systems and running scientific experiments. Also, the crew studies their own reactions to being in the capsule for an extended period of time, to inform decision makers for future long duration missions on the "kerbal factor".

Zodiac 2
Mission objectives: First flight of the Canopus V super-heavy lift vehicle, test of KDS stage, heatshield test during high speed reentry, deployment of Vaultstone mission to Munar orbit
Launch vehicle: Canopus V
Result: Success
Comments: The first flight of the Canopus V is a resounding success. Minor tweaks will be made to the veahicles, for example the position of struts or separation motors in the boosters, but overall the vehicle is accepted in KSA service without objections. The mission itself is also succesful, testing the Aries heatshield in esxtreme reentry conditions, basically  at the edge of crew survivability. The secondary objectives are also met, delivering the Vaultstone probe to its near rectilinear halo orbit around the Mun, and deploying 4 cubesats to a transmunar orbit.




Introduction:

SPACE NEWS
"MUN TO STAY"
KSC TO SEND KERBALS BACK ON THE MUN, THIS TIME WITH A PLAN

KSC, Jebediah's Junkyard & Spaceship Parts Co. and Kerlington technicians preparing for the official rollout of the two Aries capsule mockups

 

Walter Kermite report -

Following weeks of unconfirmed rumors and comments, this morning we finally had an official communication from the Presidential Science Commitee for Space.
"As the 40th anniversary of our first Munar landing approaches" reads the communiquè "it's clear that space exploration needs a new, well defined target. Once again this will be the Mun, but we will go back there not to simply relive past glories, but as a long term, sustainable exploration program, with a vision for future growth and real returns for all kerbality."
The communiquè carries on describing as the program first aim is to build a transport infrastructure to the Munar surface and to generate knowledge on the resources found there, before moving on to their future exploiting in a possible interplanetary fuel economy. While the plan for the initial landings and exploration is explained in detail, going as far as describing a sprawling Munar base reminiscent of pulp fiction dreams, a passing reference to Duna exploration doesn't shed much light on how will this interplanetary exploration campaign be carried on, or what the final aim would be.
"The program will run on time and on budget, without starving other space scientific research" carries on the message. This last statement was reportedly met by scoffing from the members of the planetary sciences and astronomy communities. Historically, the robotic explorers have always played second fiddle to their more glamorous green colleagues and their daredevil exploits.
A very different reaction came from the representatives of commercial launch companies. While not specifically stated, it can be expected that there might be some commercial contract up for the grabs, especially now that the Spacelab Space Station and her flurry of resupply and crew transport contracts is approaching operational end of life.
As for now there are many question marks over this new space endeavour, but at least one firm point: the project will be named Zodiac, hopefully delivering better results than it's astrological namesake.

Edited November 5, 2020 by borisperrons

[borisperrons]

Edited October 14, 2020 by borisperrons

[borisperrons]

 

Spoiler

Source material:

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by borisperrons

[borisperrons]

SPACE NEWS

“MULTIMILLION DOLLAR FIREWORKS”. BUT IS IT SO?

A LOOK INTO CANOPUS I BOOSTER TEST AND THE WORST SIDE OF ACAPELLO’S LEGACY

Exploded rendering of the Kerbodyne's Canopus I Crew Launch Vehicle

 

Walter Kermite reporting-

Next month the first Zodiac hardware will take to the skies, in the form of the Canopus I booster. Or at least, a part of it.

If someone was looking for a demonstration that the KSA is taking seriously the Presidential Science Committee for Space directives, namely to use as much off the shelf hardware and knowledge as possible, it shouldn’t look much further than the Canopus I.
The first stage uses an S2-33 Clydesdale, a solid rocket motor of the same type used in the STS (in fact, the test will use one that has already flown several times with the Shuttle), while the second stage is powered by a KR-2L+ Rhino, derived from the same engine that powered the upper stages of the Lindor V. Both of those are being built by Kerbodyne, which has a lot staked on the success of Zodiac. A large investment has gone into revamping the production lines and new engineering, a large percentage of which coming out of the pocket of the company, with the perspective of a long term payoff with the sustained flight rate of the rocket.

Still, even with all these cost limiting measures, the public expenditure watchdogs are on the heels of Zodiac and Kerbodyne. “The booster test of the Canopus missile (sic) is a blatant demonstration of the greediness of the aerospace industry complex”, says Hon. Walter Kermale, “The vampires at the head of those companies have always seen the KSA as a milking cow to get fat government contracts with terms that they don’t have to care an iota about respecting. Being overbudget and overtime is not the exception but the norm!” The Honourable carries on with even more vitriolic comments on the whole Zodiac Program: “They are forcing us to pay ten times what they asked for a tenth of the result. Next month they will fly an half finished missile, charging the government 500 million funds for it, and calling it <<an important step in the hardware development>>. It is an important step, but a step too farther! The measure is full, it’s time to punish the greedy managers and cut them off the funding, as long as they want to treat the public as a clown!”

The ire of Hon. Kermale is stemming from what essentially, is a large scale engineering test that has been branded as Zodiac’s first flight. Next months launch has limited, but vital development objectives: first of all a large scale test of the aerodynamics and avionics of the Canopus I booster, but more vitally the test of vibration damping systems in the forward adapter of the first stage. Simulations have showed that there is a risk of the vehicle shaking itself apart if the vibration problem is not addressed, and Kerbodyne wants to test the solution before carrying on with further development. The 500 million funds bill that the Hon. Kermale is referring to is comprising of the test itself, but also of the first round of modifications to the ground infrastructure, modifications that will remain for the whole program. All after all this is a bargain price.

But in the end, the problem is not the public spendings watchdogs, or cautious engineering, or too expensive modifications. The problem is the heavy legacy of the Cold War space race. Every space enthusiast of today is grown up with the myth of Acapello, the gargantuan effort of a whole nation single-mindedly focused on a seemingly impossible objective. To land a kerbal on the Mun in 10 short years.
Fact is, not many remember that Acapello wasn’t born in a vacuum. Basically, the KSA was hijacked to serve the political aim of beating the Kerbiets and showing who’s boss. Yesterday, the enemy were the Kerbiets, today it is Acapello itself.
Every president measures itself against the past ones, and the space program falls victim to this too. How many times grandiose and optimistic plans to build an orbiting 100 kerbals stations, or land on Duna by the end of the decade, ended up shattered by their simple unreality, only to be substituted by another scheme, even mort out there, at the change of administration?

The Canopus I Booster Test is a small but clear demonstration of this: the current administration is desperate to put its stamp on something real, to show that they are getting things done and that this time they won’t fail like the others. The result: a completely blown out advertisement campaign for a 30 km apogee test flight, an honourable spitting venom on an half finished rocket, and an hype train setting up the Zodiac Program for a ruinous fall at the first mishap.

Space doesn’t like firm deadlines. The sooner politics and public learn this, the sooner will we get safe, efficient engineering marvels off the ground, taking us to the stars.

 

Spoiler

Sort of got inspired into writing this by this Vintage Space video, which after further reading makes a lot of sense to me: 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by borisperrons

[borisperrons]

Booster Separation Test

Mission objectives: test of Canopus I aerodynamics, test of first stage vibration damping system.
 

Spoiler

The Canopus Test Article 1 stands on the launchpad at KSC, ready for the first Zodiac Program's flight. The vehicle is made of a first stage SRM scavenged and modified from the Space Shuttle
program, plus a battleship upper stage and a dummy payload mass simulator.



Liftoff and ascent go without an issue, all parameters well within tolerances. The design of the vibration damping system is validated, so is the general design. The battleship upper stage and the
SRM both reach a 36km apoapsis, before falling back into the sea 58km downrange. While largely succesful overall, the revorey system for the first stage completely failed. This was largely expected,
as the booster flies a different trajectory than the one with the Space Shuttle, but the parachutes were left in place as an exercise in wishful thinking, since removing them would have taken more
time and effort.

Aries In-Flight Abort Test

Mission objectives: Test of the flight abort system of the Aries KEV during max-Q
 

Spoiler

Canopus Test Article 2 is identical to its previously flown twin, but instead of a payload mass simulator it carries a fully functional Aries Mod. A capsule with an active LES. The KSA uses this
opportunity to run a dress reharsal of the pre launch pad procedures, up to the crew entry into the capsule.

The LES is activated at max-Q pulling away the crew capsule, then up and backwards, out of the way of any fragment from the failing rocket. A minor failure hits one of the nozzles of the escape
rocket motor, but the abundant redundancy of the system is more than enough to compensate.



The capsule then ejects the escape tower and lands just out the coast. Post flight analysis shows that the scenario, the most violent one in the abort list, would be survivable without issues.

Kerbin Orbit Flight TEst 1

Mission objectives: Test of the Aries Mod. A during 2-orbit flight, flight test of all Aries KEV common hardware and software, re-entry test from LKO
 

Spoiler

The first Canopus I stands on the pad being prepared for the first flight with all active systems. The upper stage, while not yet flown, has been extensively tested on the ground and the engine has
run hours and hours of ground firings, so the Kerbodyne representatives are quite confident, leaving the job of worrying to their engineers monitoring the launch. 



In the end turns out the managers were right about the relaxed approach to the whole thing. Instead of a PR nightmare revolving around their carelessness and lack of professionalism, they now
have earned their company an image of confidence and coolness. Surely someone in the marketing department is breathing again. Anyway, the whole flight is a success, and the first Aries Mod. A
to flight gets inserted into its 95x320km orbit. Although not an useful operational orbit, this lopsided trajectory will allow the Aries to modify it to test the heat shield at a slightly faster than
operational re-entry speed.



Two orbits and a trajectory correction maneuver later, the service module is ejected , preparing for reentry. This will be the first ever KSA landing over land, a procedure that will allow huge savings
in the organization of the recovery apparatus. Reentry and landing are a success, bringing the program one step further towards the full operational status.

 

[borisperrons]

Kerbin Orbit Flight TEst 2

Mission objectives: Test of the Aries Mod. A autonomous rendezvous and docking system, test of quiescent docked mode
 

Spoiler

After the KOFTE 1 test, JJ&SP spends the 6 months hiatus  making last minute adjustements to the Aries systems, following feedback from the test flight. Then, on another crisp morning, a Canopus I soars from KSC, taking the KOFTE 2 mission to the Spacelab station.



From the initial 120 km orbit, the Aries catches up with the station and maneuvering over a whole day, all the time being nursed by the JJ&SP team, in stark contrast with the almost careless demeanor of the Kerbodyne folks. Finally, the capsule enters final approach, slowly closing in to the station.



After a succesful docking, the craft is checked and inspected by the on board crew. Having flown up in a Rockomax Thetys 3 kerbal capsule, they praise the legroom available on the the new vehicle, plus the next generation avionics and ample  snack stashing afforded by the crew lockers. The Rockomax technicians present at KSC listen to these reports with somber faces. They would have done without the government Moving in to steal their business with the KSA, after all the efforts to gain it...



Two weeks of testing later, the Aries detatches and begins the trip back home. The mission has fulfilled all its objectives, clearing the capsule for kerballed flight.

Kerbin Orbit Flight TEst 3

Mission objectives: First kerballed flight of an Aries capsule, test of manual piloting systems, docked endurance test
 

Spoiler

Jonbur Kerman and Irler Kerman board their craft in the early hours, waiting out the fueling and pre-launch operations. The craft has been christened Constitution by her crew, in honor of both the Federated States' own constitutional charter, and after the carrier on which the all-Navy crew served.  Final checks are all ok, and at 05.23 the Canopus I roars in the sky, among the cheers of the thousand of kerbals watching the launch all along the Space Coast. The media have hyped up this mission as the first concrete step towards the new Mun exploration program, much to the dismay af munologists all over Kerbin, and it shows in the enthusiam of the public.



Launch proceeds smoothly, showing the increased confidence of the pad crews and launch control teams. One day later, Jonbur and Irler take the craft near Spacelab, and bring her in the approach cone. While Jonbur checks the data coming from the onboard computer, Irler rides the stick, running the whole approach on manual, to prove that the craft can be flown even with malfunctions of the autonomous systems. The test is succesful, with the crew practicing flight holds and approach aborts, checking all approach contigencies.



Finally, the crew docks Constitution to Spacelab's forward port. After a brief period checking for leaks in the docking collar and equalizing pressure, the hatches are finally opened and the two crews shake hands. Jonbur and Irler spend 2 months on the station, assisting the regular crew with their maintenance schedule, running experiments and keeping an eye on their own craft's diagnostics.



After the two months spent on orbit, the two kerbalnauts board Constitution for an uneventful ride back home. The capsule lands in the Eastern Desert without an hitch, bringing the Aries test program to a succesful end. Aries flights will be inserted in the standard Starlab rotation, supplementing the Rockomax launched Thetys ferries. How this will play into space politics, is still to be seen...

 

[borisperrons]

Munar Surveyor A

Mission objectives: Orbital broadband resource scan on Munar surface, operating in conjunction with Munar Surveyor B

 

Spoiler

The Munar Surveyor twin spacecrafts launch each atop a Kerbair Charles-Hadar rocket, fresh out of storage with minimal quantity of mold.



An old design, the Charles family of rockets uses the parallel staging method as way of assuring that all engines work as intended at launch. A anachronistic beast, only Kerbair's aggressive marketing and ridcolously low price tag has kept this vehicle in operation so long.



The Hadar upper stage, itself a relic of the early Space Race, propels the probe to trans Munar trajectory. The two spacecrafts have been built based on a standard satellite bus by the Hugo Corporation, slashing development costs. This, together with Kerbair low low bill, has counter intuitively made the two launches profile more affordable than developing and launching a single dedicated probe.



Three days later, the Munar Surveyor A is safely in its 200km polar orbit arounfd the Mun, searching for the spectrographic emissions of useful minerals, and even better, for traces of water.

Munar Surveyor B

Mission objectives: Orbital narrow band resource scan on Munar surface, operating in conjunction with Munar Surveyor A
 

Spoiler

One month after the first launch, another Charles-Hadar takes off from KSC.



Reaching its twin in a slightly lower orbit, the Munar Surveyor B will concentrate on promising areas pointed by the first. Together, the two probes will return a heap of data that will be used by mission planners to decide the landing areas of the Zodiac exploration and prospecting missions.

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by borisperrons

[borisperrons]

Zodiac 1

Mission objectives: Kerballed LKO flight test of the Aries Mod. B, 30 days endurance solo flight
 

Spoiler

The Little Hut capsule lifts off on a a Canopus I, setting into a 120 km orbit around Kerbin. On board are Jonlorf Kerman and Kerzer Kerman, the first as commander and the second as command module pilot. Together with them are the two mission specialists, Merdard Kerman and Kirnand Kerman. The mission's primary objectives are to test all the unique systems of the Aries Mod. B: the solar panels and electrical system, the long range communication suite and the improved life support system.



The crew sets in for the long haul. Other then nursing and checking the spacecraft, their secondary mission is to run a series of short duration scientific experiments (mainly sent in by funding stripped universities taking advantage of the opportunity and of the bargain prices), study their adaptation to long permanence in a confined capsule, and running some television conferences as PR stunts. After the 30 days have passed, the capsule happily lands in the Western Desert. The kerbonauts evaluation is exemplified by Kirnand's words: "it's a very nice and capable capsule, but if they had to cut some costs, the ambient perfume was not a clever choice to leave out".

Zodiac 2

Mission objectives: First flight of the Canopus V super-heavy lift vehicle, test of KDS stage, heatshield test during high speed reentry, deployment of Vaultstone mission to Munar orbit
 

Spoiler

After a long and troubled development and testing odissey, the first Canopus V is rolled out of the VAB. The heaviest launch vehicle since the Sarnus V, at liftoff the Canopus V is propelled by 6 hydrolox engines, 2 S2-33 Clydesdale and 4 THK Pollux SRBs, for a tremendous XXXkg thrust on the pad. The whole Space Coast is teaming with tourists and space enthusiasts, hoping to catch a good view of this monster's liftoff (and some, hoping to get treated to a multimillion funds fireworks show, courtesy of the FSK taxpayers). Their expectations are not let down when, at 05.20, the rocket ascends from the pad, riding a column of fire and smoke and setting off any car alarm in a 15km radius.



First the Polluxes, than the Clydesdales are expended and ejected. The onboard systems immediately register a fall in vibrations, as the hydrolox engines "quietly" carry on with their thrust. Again, Kerbodyne's execs present at KSC are seen readying champagne bottles, oblivious of the ires being generated in many private contractors.



5 minutes into the flight, the first stage runs out of propellant at an altitude of 115km. At this point the Kerbin Departure Stage is separated. While the champagne loving execs like funds as much the next kerbal, they did realize that, maybe developing two whole rockets was more than enough to bite, especially after the design costs for the upper stage had balloned threefold, no matter hom many papier mache based structural elements were used. To salvage the rocket, they called in the McKerman Kerman aerospace firm, which quickly and efficiently developed the cryogenic upper stage of their Dalek 3 rocket into a new 5 meters, 4 engines stage.



The KDS dV budget is defenitely overkill for this mission, with its lighter payload and TMI overall weight. In fact, the Canopus V arrived just 260 km short of putting the whole stack into orbit without effort on the KDS part. without the opportunity cargo, this mission would have defenitely managed it. An interesting option for future mission planning indeed.



After a short stay in LKO, the KDS reignites putting the whole stack into a free return trajectory around the Mun. The Aries separates, being commanded to basically stay put for the near 7 days long traverse.



Far from having fini9shed it's mission, the KDS reorients itself and, after having achieved enough separation from the Aries, ejects the four cubesats that hitched a ride with the mission. While three of them have been designed by research centers of the KSA, the last one carries a small array of student designed experiments, flown cost free by KSA as part of their support to STEM education.



Then, the final payload is separated, and the Vaultstone munar probe gets on its way at the tail of the small spacecrafts armada. The KDS is then commanded to fire its engines to exhaustion, to further test them in space and to remove the danger of the massive stage becoming space devris in the Kerbin system.



Despite being on the tail of the convoy, due to orbital mechanics Vaultstone is the first to reach cismunar space. The onboard thrusters slow the probe into a polar near rectilinear halo orbit with a period of 7 days. The mission objective is  test and verify the calculated orbital stability for the Zodiac polar landing missions.



Some hours later, the Aries follows Vaultstone, together with the 4 cubesats. The flyby proceeds without issue, while onboard instruments keep on recording the radiation levels inside the craft, to test the shielding, especially during the transit through the radiation belts.

 

Then, 7 days into the mission, the capsule reenters the atmosphere, succesfully landing in the Western Desert, in what is rapidly becoming known as "Zodiac Terminus". The reentry is purposedly steeper as planned for a nominal Munar mission, in order to test the heatshield with an extra safety margin. The capsule peaks at 9.6g of deceleration, before safely floating to the ground under her parachute canopies.

 

[borisperrons]

SPACE NEWS

CAPSULE WARS: THE PRIVATE SECTOR STRIKES BACK

The crew rotation mission to Spacelab and the menace to the commercial space industry


Thetys 19 on the pad atop its Uhu booster

Walter Kermite reporting-
 

Not long after the dust of the KOFTE 3 capsule landing deposited, has the commercial spaceflight industries started to assemble an answer against this menace to one of their major sources of income.

The Spacelab operation needs at least 4 flights per year to ensure the rotation of the on orbit crews, or at least it needed that many until now. The assumption is based on the crew capacity of Rockomax Conglomerate’s Thetys ferry vehicle, which can sit three kerbonauts and to stay docked to the station months on end. This sustained flight rate was the raison d’etre for the development of the vehicle, and indeed the company. The commercial crew program represents a large part of the firm’s income, which has come to substitute the traditional commercial space business, the keostationary launch market. Lately, with the “double shift” missions, an additional juicy opportunity opened for Rockomax, to send a paying space tourist in place of the third kerbonaut.

This being the situation, the appearance of Aries was a nearly 20 ton wrench thrown into the company’s gears. While the Spacelab’s demise is given for granted (while various mission extensions are being proposed and will most probably accepted, the writing are still on the walls for the aging station), Rockomax has always counted on more years of constant revenues from it to fund internal studies on the company’s next step, so not to end up without perspectives at the end of the program. Now, Aries is about to take half of the prospected revenue away, if not more. With its six kerbal crew, it offers the same ferry capacity as two Thetys, bringing up a full expedition at a reduced cost. More than that, KSA’s intention to fly “double shift” expeditions on an Aries will also remove the possibility of tourists being flown up in the spare seats.

Thus, is no surprise that last weekend, a number of executives from the various aerospace companies took part in a not-so-secret “working vacation” at Welcome Back Island. According to anonymous sources, apart from the unquotable words addressed from Rockomax’s directors to the government and their “KSA’s lapdogs”, the meeting actually had very productive results.
Rockomax is planning to fold all their ongoing development in a single technology demonstrator to gather funds, even if the exact details on exactly what that would be were closely kept behind closed doors. Hypotheses vary from a new reusable booster to a winged evolution of the Thetys capsule, with such outlandish ideas as an asteroid mining facility and a space hotel and casino.
McKerman Kerman seems to be on board with this idea, if not because of a do-or-die situation as Rockomax (they are doing quite well with the satellite launch market, and the resupply missions to the Spacelab are nothing more than a nice padding), because of unusual solidarity with their fellow aerospace engineers. Their Dalek launcher has been seconded to the cause, and all the development resources that could be spared would be employed in the mysterious technology demonstrator.
The last of the Big Three, Kerbair, offered a discount on launch services on their refurbished Charles ballistic missiles, while its representatives went into incredibly convoluted excuses on why wouldn’t they take part in new development.
Rumours about the presence of overly bowing, extremely formally dressed foreign looking representatives couldn’t be confirmed.

KSA said that their relation with the various commercial partners is “warm and cordial, and we do not see any reason why would they want to bludgeon us in the head”. They then refused to comment on the new policy of opening voluminous packages inside Test Area 4 (Explosive Materials).

Edited November 5, 2020 by borisperrons

[Death Engineering]

Beautiful crafts and "press release" documentation! 

Looking forward to seeing how this concludes.. and make sure to send me a PM