Out of the Sands 2.7

[Cavscout74]

Career Rules - After being away from KSP for a while, I decided to jump back into the deep end, with a new career in JNSQ based on my previous "Out of the Sands" career.   I named this one Out of the Sands 2.7 since JNSQ is a 2.7x rescale of the stock system.

Spoiler

Modified hard career settings:

No quickload/no revert/permadeath   (In the case of a game glitch/kraken attack/etc I may temporarily break this rule, but not for bad designs, piloting, planning or luck)

Starting funds 22000, science 0, rep 0

Funding Rewards:  40%

Science Rewards:  30%

Rep Rewards:  40%

Plasma Blackout & Require signal for control

Part Pressure & G-limits on, Kerbal G-limits on

Extra ground stations on, extra launch sites allowed - in the beginning, launches will take place from the desert space center or Woomerang until the new KSC facilities are built.  The Island Airfield will also be available.  Tentatively, this is set for 3 months.

Mod List (Still in work)

Spoiler

JNSQ

Near-Future series

TacLS

 Tetrix Tech Tree

Airplane Plus

Luciole

Tweakscale

Better Burn Time

Coatl Aerospace Probes Plus

DMagic Orbital Science

JX2 Antennas

KIS/KAS

Kerbal Launch Failure

Mechjeb

Missing History

PEBKAC Launch Escape System

Restock & Restock+

Scatterer

CNAR

RLA Reborn

Lithobrake Exploration Tech (for parachutes & ladders only)

I'm not listing minor dependencies of other mods (like click through blocker, etc)

Extra Starting Parts -  I feel like prop aircraft should be available from the start, along with some form of ground vehicle.  Therefore, I patched several parts to be available from the start rather than where they normally appear.  I will try not to use them in spacecraft until the appropriate tech tree nodes have been unlocked - but I'm not going to worry too much if I miss something, either.

Spoiler

Mk 1 LF & structural fuselage, Mk 0 LF fuselage

Fixed landing gear & small retractable gear

RoveMax Model M1 wheel

Z-100 battery

Wing connector B, C & E, Elevon 1 and Tail Fin

External command seat (for ground vehicles only)

I-beams & structural panels (for building ground vehicles)

AP+ size 1 short tail cone A & B

AP+ pre-modern engines

AP+ caged inline & zero cockpits

JD Liquid Fuel Cell

Craft Build Time: Idea borrowed from KVASS mod, but modified & calculated outside of game.

Spoiler

Build time = 10 secs * cost+1 day.   Rockets built with non-standard launchers will get an additional day for complexity.

Halved for each full 300 reputation

Halved for R&D upgrade to level 3

Halved for VAB or SPH upgrade to level 3

Example 1:  Career start, no upgrades: 10,000 fund rocket will take 5 days, 3 hours & 47 minutes to build

Example 2:  Late game, VAB & R&D fully upgraded, 600 rep:  250,000 fund rocket will take 7 days, 1 hour & 46 minutes to build

EDIT:  Effective starting year 2, I'm doubling the build time.  I'm at my second upgrade and sending stuff to Mun & Minmus that I can build in 3-4 days, this makes me stretch out and plan more.

Regular aircraft and rovers for use around the space center are not subject to these rules.  Experimental aircraft, spaceplanes, and basically anything else will be.  Each launch site has a separate build timer.  Launch sites will be abbreviated KSC, DSC (Desert space center) & WSC (Woomerang space center)

Science will take 100 times longer than building.  Example:  15 point node, no upgrades will take 3 days, 5 hours & 40 minutes to research.  Also, a limited number of research can be attempted at a time - level 1 R&D can only research one node, level 2 = 2 nodes, level 3 = 3 nodes.

1st Kerbonaut Class:  The veterans, the ones who started it all.

Spoiler

Jeb – everybody knows Jeb

Kelrik – Replaces Bill as the veteran engineer

Ambera – Replaces Bob as the veteran scientist

Valentina – Jeb’s friendly (and slightly smarter) rival

2nd Kerbonaut Class:   The first round of new recruits to start expanding the space program. 

Spoiler

Date Joined	Name	Profession
01:338	Pomeroy	Engineer
01:362	Elibald	Pilot
02:017	Lezer	Scientist

 

Chapter 1:  First Steps Part 1  Part 2  Part 3 Part 4

Chapter 2: On Top of the World:  Part 1   Part 2  Part 3  Part 4

Edited February 27, 2021 by Cavscout74

[Spaceman.Spiff]

4 hours ago, Cavscout74 said:

Craft Build Time: Idea borrowed from KVASS mod, but modified & calculated outside of game.  Also applies to building upgrades, and I

So you want to have this take real world time? I think that would make this series take a looooong time

[Cavscout74]

14 hours ago, Spaceman.Spiff said:

So you want to have this take real world time? I think that would make this series take a looooong time

Not real world time.  Instead of using an in-game mod to calculate the build times, I have a spreadsheet that calculates the time when you enter a cost value.   Breaks it down to days/hours/minutes. Then I plug that value into Kerbal Alarm Clock and when the craft is ready, it's time to launch.  I do need to update the spreadsheet for the 12 hour JNSQ days, which I just remembered as I was typing this.   So thanks for your comment, because I probably would've forgotten that little bit if you hadn't gotten me thinking about it.

The main reasons for doing it this way the first time were to reduce my mod count and none of the build-time mods I've seen have an exception for things like non-space rated ground vehicles or aircraft.  NASA has a fleet of assorted aircraft & vehicles  for a variety of missions, and my head canon assumes the Kerbals can have access to whatever normal aircraft they need.  At the start, that is only a few different types of prop aircraft and a simple utility rover for running around the space centers.  In the original series, as new techs got unlocked I would build a prototype aircraft using the build time rules, then once it was accepted, other examples were assumed to be available whenever needed.     Reusable spacecraft just go on a list at the bottom of my game notes text file as they are built.  If I have 3 "Lightning" spaceplanes, and two are off on missions, I know one is still in the hangar if a mission comes up.  If I need a fourth one, it has to get built first

Edited February 2, 2021 by Cavscout74

[Spaceman.Spiff]

6 minutes ago, Cavscout74 said:

cost value. 

Just a thought, but another cool feature would be if you could spend extra and have it completed faster.

[Cavscout74]

Just now, Spaceman.Spiff said:

Just a thought, but another cool feature would be if you could spend extra and have it completed faster.

I've thought about that, but haven't figured out any number values yet.  I just finished testing Better Early Tech Tree last night and going to try to Tetrix tech tree tonight and hopefully decide which I'm going to stick with for the career.  Then I have to test some older mods to see if they play nice in 1.11, then go through and prune whatever is duplicated between multiple mods.  I'm hoping friday night will see the first official launch.    And no, that first one won't start with a build time, the career will start with the launch.

[Spaceman.Spiff]

1 minute ago, Cavscout74 said:

I just finished testing Better Early Tech Tree last night and going to try to Tetrix tech tree

Have you looked at Kiwi Tech Tree? That mod is pretty comprehensive.

[Cavscout74]

4 minutes ago, Spaceman.Spiff said:

Have you looked at Kiwi Tech Tree? That mod is pretty comprehensive.

I did, the only thing I didn't like was that it requires CTT then re-patches everything again, so I'm effectively loading two tech trees.  I didn't time it, but my patch count is like 4900 with Better Early Tech Tree vs Kiwi, which was closer to 14900 and it took somewhat longer to load.   I played with Tetrix a little back when it first came out, but I was already in the middle of my last Out of the Sands career so switching wasn't an option, then I quit playing KSP for a while. 

[Spaceman.Spiff]

13 minutes ago, Cavscout74 said:

I did, the only thing I didn't like was that it requires CTT then re-patches everything again, so I'm effectively loading two tech trees.  I didn't time it, but my patch count is like 4900 with Better Early Tech Tree vs Kiwi, which was closer to 14900 and it took somewhat longer to load.   I played with Tetrix a little back when it first came out, but I was already in the middle of my last Out of the Sands career so switching wasn't an option, then I quit playing KSP for a while. 

Yeah I get that.

I've found that the part upgrades are a nice addition to KSP's progression.

Loading times are very annoying though. I have an SSD and only around 2,400 patches, but it takes like 10-15 minutes to load.

[Cavscout74]

First Steps

 

01:001 - DSC - T4-Ct-1:  After a morning of commotion, a wave of relative silence settled over the Desert Space Center.  On the small launch pad was - it was hoped - sat the start of a brilliant future for kerbalkind.  Taking a leftover relic of a terrible conflict, the kerbals of the United Space Exploration Agency hoped to turn it to peaceful uses.   Inside the launch control center, the seconds ticked down as scientists and engineers performed last minute checks on the Titov rocket.  Finally it was time, switches were switched, gauges sprang to life and the silence was shattered as the Tituv's engine roared to life, lifting the former ballistic missile up into the clear desert sky.  In place of its former warhead, a long dart poked up above, a second smaller rocket piggy-backing on the larger Tituv.  It was hoped it would be able to gather atmospheric temperature data up to 50km.

Initial readings came through clear.  The Tituv flew straight and true, arcing off to the east before running out of fuel.  On schedule, the Capella sounding rocket separated from the Tituv's nose & ignited its own small rocket engine to boost it further into the stratosphere.  Unfortunately, moments after, telemetry was lost.  The Capella appeared to continue flying its planned course, but the small onboard antenna was no longer able to send readable data back to the launch site.   Despite the lost atmospheric data, the USEA team rejoiced over the successful flight.

Shortly after the launch, Pilot Lt Jebediah Kerman took off from the desert airfield in a venerable Hawk fighter fitted with atmospheric sampling instruments to check the air quality over the launch site.   Although short, the flight was a success, gathering a full set of samples & landing safely back at the airfield.

  

Meanwhile, another team of scientists was busy testing a heatshield.   Still in the early stages of development and without detailed atmospheric data to model the effects of reentry, a war-surplus rocket motor served to test the shield's effectiveness.

 

Also at work were two other future kerbonauts, Kelrik & Ambera, who were tasked with investigating the facilities left over at an abandoned island airfield.  Although in a state of disrepair, they can be easily returned to flight status and used as an alternate location for aircraft testing and an emergency airfield.

 

01:002 - DSC - T4-Cp-1:  After the partial success of T4-Ct-1, a second Tituv rocket was hurriedly prepared for a second launch.  This one did not go as planned, with a stuck fuel valve preventing main engine ignition.  Shortly thereafter, the timer that controls the upper stage separation and ignition activated, launching the Capella up & away from the pad.  It climbed to a mere 6km, gathering air pressure data - already well known from aircraft flights - before slamming back to the ground a few hundred meters from the pad.

01:005 - DSC - UR1-CR:  In an attempt to alleviate the communications problems in the vast desert, a UR1 utility vehicle was fitted with a recently developed pair of relay antennas and solar panel and driven out to a hill about 30km east of DSC.

01:006 - DSC - T4-Cp-1b:  Repairs were made to the second Tituv and a new Capella upper stage fitted, then it was rolled back out to the DSC pad for a second launch attempt.  All systems worked perfectly and the Capella reached a maximum altitude of 59,594m before plunging back to Kerbin.  Atmospheric pressure data was relayed back to DSC through the entire flight until the avionics bus failed due to overheating while descending through 22km.

  

[Cavscout74]

First Steps, Part 2

01:010 - DSC - In preparation for the next launch, Lt Jeb takes up one a Hawk fighter on an early morning patrol out over the desert to ensure the launch range is clear.  Much to everyone's surprise, he overflew previously unknown ruins on Inland-Sea Island.  After landing and taking some photos of the site, he returned to DSC as a minor celebrity - soon overshadowed by the launch of the first object beyond Kerbin's atmosphere.

Spoiler

 

 

 

01:010 - DSC - L1-Ct-1:  Building on the information gained from the Tituv launches, the engineers of USEA had designed a new rocket capable of putting small payloads beyond the limits of Kerbin's atmosphere.  Dubbed the Luciole 1, it promised to be a giant leap forward in capability for the fledgling space program.  Pending availability of more advanced upper stages, the venerable Capella rocket is used once more.  Delays pushed the launch to nearly midnight, but the decision was made to push ahead.  Launch was flawless and the first stage carried the rocket to 60km, before being jettisoned and a small pressure-fed monopropellant stage ignited to push the Capella a little further before finally separating and sending the Capella under its own power beyond the atmosphere.  The Capella reached a peak altitude of 113,699m and sent back the first temperature readings from space around Kerbin.  Thanks to the relay rover, good signal was maintained till well after reentering the atmosphere.  Signal was lost passing through 37km and downrange observers reported a possible breakup of the rocket moments later.  The flight lasted 6 minutes, 52 seconds and travelled 1406km downrange before signal was lost.

Spoiler

"Firefly" second stage firing

Capella passing through apoapsis

Before the next launch could be planned, USEA took on the project of pushing a manned aircraft beyond Mach 1. Initial designs called for an arrowhead shaped aircraft powered by a modest liquid fuel rocket.  Limited testing was performed, but a completed design would require several developments in both aerodynamics and rocketry.

01:018 - DSC - L1-Cp-2:  Second launch of the Luciole 1, using a Capella upper stage with a barometric pressure experiment to track the exact height of the atmosphere.  Unfortunately, an underthrust condition developed in one of the six first stage "Mosquito" engines less than 40 seconds after launch, resulting in a loss of control due to asymmetric thrust.  The remnants crashed to the desert over a range of several hundred meters east of the pad.

01:021 - DSC - L1-Cp-2b: After assembling another Luciole, another attempt at the previous launch took place a few days later.  All engines operated normally, sending the Capella upper stage to an apoapsis of 97168m and transmitting data back to DSC on the pressure up to and beyond the limits of the atmosphere.  Although it did not reach quite as high as the first launch, it also travelled 1406km downrange before being lost six minutes and six seconds after launch.

Spoiler

Being another night launch, the images all looks nearly identical to the first launch

01:022 - DSC - After weeks of research & design, the revolutionary CX-01 "Arrow" rocket plane was rolled out.  Powered by the new "Valiant" rocket engine, it is designed to push a single pilot past the sound barrier.  As senior pilot, Jeb was picked for the record-breaking flight.  After a somewhat shaky takeoff - the Arrow has a noticeable left rolling tendency at low speed - Jeb climbed up to 2500m then advanced the throttle, quickly pushing the little Arrow above Mach 1, reaching a top speed of Mach 1.25.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by Cavscout74

[Odyseus2]

Very cool!

Is the temple in the desert stock?

[adsii1970]

3 minutes ago, Odyseus2 said:

Very cool!

Is the temple in the desert stock?

Yes, it is. 

[Odyseus2]

Just now, adsii1970 said:

Yes, it is. 

Ok, i'll go to the desert and search for it.

To pull it Out of the sands. ^^

[Cavscout74]

5 hours ago, Odyseus2 said:

To pull it Out of the sands. ^^

Nice     It's roughly east of the desert space center in both stock and JNSQ - in stock, its nestled in the mountains and somewhat difficult to land at but in JNSQ it's just out in the open, still east of the desert space center but a little bit further away.

And I have gone and misplaced the usb drive I was keeping my build calculator and notes on.  This makes twice - my first (stock scale) Out of the Sands career was ended by losing the usb drive I had it stored on, and now my new one is missing.  I still have some places to look - and there isn't too much going on yet, so it won't kill the career - but it's more than a little infuriating.

[Cavscout74]

Part 3 - For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world

After a series of successes, going into their second month, USEA started to see a series of failures.  They didn't come from any single cause - engine explosions, incorrect dV calculations, insufficient control over their rockets all played a part.  Still, even the failures were learning opportunities and rocket parts are far cheaper than kerbal lives.  At the start of this report, USEA hadn't yet placed a satellite into orbit and at the end, the first Mun fly-by & impactor probe had completed its mission.  From here on, only the more significant launches will be included in the updates, with a small section at the end detailing all other flights & events.

01:031 - DSC - L1-ST-1b:  The second attempt to place a satellite into orbit.  A pair of "Mite" SRB's boosted the Luciole's acceleration by over 0.5g from the pad, resulting in a much better flight profile and successful orbital insertion.  A small camera sent back several photos from orbit before running out of film and the satellite was deorbited after just a single orbit.

 

01:047 - DSC - L1-CRX-1:  After two back to back failures of the Jabbit 1 launch vehicle, a Luciole 1 was rolled out with a new satellite design - the CRX (Communication Relay eXperiment).  Featuring a small relay antenna and a newly developed solar panel, the CRX-1 offered the chance to show national leaders how a satellite communications system would benefit the world.  Launch was successful, placing the satellite in a 123x99km, 6.7* inclined orbit.  This marks our first "permanent" satellite in orbit.

 

01:059 - DSC - J1-SPT-3 - After 2 failed attempts, the Jabbit 1/SPT (Suborbital Pod Test) was finally a success!!  The pod attained 90km, gathered magnetometer readings then safely reentered, landing 1007km downrange.

01:068 - DSC - L3-ORT-2:  After the failure of the first attempt, a redesign of the Luciole 2 into the 3-stage Luciole 3 provided improved dV to launch the ORT (Orbital Reentry Test) probe.  Among the improvements were replacement of the 7-engine cluster with a single Valiant engine for the first stage.  The work-horse of the rocket is the new Spinnaker 2nd stage engine, providing ~2200m/s of dV towards the launch.  The ORT-2 reached a 162x119km orbit, then performed a deorbit burn near Ap.  Reentry was hot but successful, landing in the arid midlands far from any facility.

 

 

01:076 - DSC - Jabbit-Moho-1:   In a surprise announcement, USEA reported that Jebediah Kerman was launching atop a Jabbit 1 to become the first person to escape the atmosphere of Kerbin.  All systems operated normally and Jeb was able to escape Kerbin - even if only for a few minutes.  His pod reached an altitude of 90km before reentering safely and landing in the highlands, 1824km downrange from the launch site.   Newspapers around the world showed the pictures of the planet taken from Jeb's tiny viewing window.  Funding for USEA increased dramatically after this mission.

 

Jeb's view moments after leaving the atmosphere, and then a parting view of the Jabbit upper stage after separation (small black dot in the bottom left quadrant)

01:083 - DSC - J1-LOCR-1 - In an attempt to launch a polar-orbiting communications satellite, the Jabbit 1/LOCR-1 (Low-Orbit Comm Relay) was launched from DSC.  The relatively low mass of the LOCR enable to the first stage to push the Ap well above the atmosphere before the second stage took over.  Established a 420x611km, 87* inclined orbit, marking the highest orbit achieved to date and the first object in a polar orbit.

01:095 - DSC - J1-MBOT-1:  Attempt to complete a fly-by of the Mun, using a tiny solar powered probe to maximize dV.  Launch was a success, and MBOT-1 entered Mun's SoI on 01:102.   Pictured just after fairing jettison, the MBOT is dwarfed by the Jabbit-1 upper stage.

 

After gathering temperature readings around the Mun, MBOT-1 was ordered to adjust its trajectory & impact the Mun which occurred on about 7 1/2 hours later.   Although communications were lost as it passed behind Mun, MBOT-1 was able to reacquire signal less than a minute before impact, sending last minute telemetry before completing its mission.

 

Spoiler

01:026 - DSC - L1-ST-1:  An attempt to put a small satellite into orbit.  The Low TWR of the Luciole first stage resulted in a shallower than optimum ascent, requiring the second stage to be fired while still in the atmosphere with the aerodynamic fairing attached, reducing total dV below what was needed to reach orbit.    Failure

 

Meanwhile, Ambera was overseeing tests of the abort system on three manned pod designs at Woomerang.  The smallest - a minimalist design intended to fit on the Luciole rocket - failed to fire its abort motors.  This was traced to a faulty avionics package.  The next, a cone-shaped Mk 1 pod, used a jettisonable launch escape tower that fired as planned lifting the pod well clear of the pad. Last was the spherical KV-1 pod using the same LES tower as the Mk 1 pod.  It also blasted well clear of the pad as designed.

 

01:036 - DSC - J1-SPT-1: First launch of the new, larger Jabbit 1 rocket, intended to loft a Mk 1 pod into a suborbital trajectory.  The first stage operated flawlessly with its Swivel engine, but ten seconds after the second stage "Valiant" engine ignites, it began to fail, exploding violently a few seconds later.  The probe core installed to control the Mk 1 test pod jettisoned the remnants of the second stage and oriented the capsule for landing.  The pod splashed down safely in the Great Lake.  Failure

01:043 - DSC - J1-SPT-2:  Second attempt of the sub-orbital pod test with a redesigned Jabbit 1.  By replacing the Valiant with a newly developed Pug engine, the first stage could be stretched while total dV increased.  All was going well until first stage separation and Pug ignition.  Once again, moments after the second stage exploded.  The pod was successfully recovered from the desert.  Jabbit flights have been placed on hold pending a thorough design review.  Failure

01:063 - DSC - L2-ORT-1: Intended to be a test of recovering a craft from orbit, using a Luciole 2 (a stretched Luciole 1) rocket.  The ORT probe reached a suborbital trajectory but had insufficient dV for orbital insertion.  Reached 110km Ap and landed safely 1197km downrange.  Partial Success

01:071 - DSC - T1-PAT-1 - An in-flight test of the abort system, with Jebediah on board.  To save funds, a "Thumper" solid rocket is used for the launch.  The abort system functioned perfectly, and Jebediah became the highest flying Kerbal in history when he reached 43313m, then landed safely 352km downrange.  First manned launch, although only within the atmosphere, Success

01:090 - DSC - J1-LOCR-2: Launch of another LOCR comm relay, this one into a near-equatorial orbit.  With the extra boost of an equatorial launch, the LOCR-2 actually managed to achieve a 1375km apoapsis and 660km periapsis, with 800m/s dV remaining for orbital adjustments.  LOCR-2 was also fitted with a gamma-ray spectrometer in place of the LOCR-1 radio-wave sensor.  Success

 

Recognizing that the existing launch pads were severely limited in what they could support, USEA began upgrading the launch facilities, completing the upgrade program on 01:107. 

 

Edited February 8, 2021 by Cavscout74

[Cavscout74]

Part 4:

Daylight still a long time coming, But I know it will

The USEA program advanced by leaps and bounds over the next few months.  With every success, more funding came in from both existing donors while steadily drawing in other countries who wanted to join in on the exploration of the final frontier.   The first and biggest success, less than a month after Jeb's suborbital flight, was the successful launch to orbit on 01:109 of Pilot Lt Valentina Kerman atop a stretched Jabbit 1 augmented with a pair of Thumper SRB's.   The Jabbit-Plus included a second stage powered by a Valiant engine, which almost ended the mission with an overtemp shortly before SECO.  Luckily, the Valiant finished its burn prior to failing and the orbital stage pushed Val into a 90x88km orbit.  Relying solely on batteries, Val had to deorbit after just two orbits, landing safely in the foothills west of where KSC was still undergoing construction.

Val launching from DSC for her historic orbital mission                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Last sunrise from Val's second orbit

  

On the unmaned side of the program, less than a week after Val's launch, a probe was successfully launched to be placed in Mun orbit - using the same Jabbit-Plus launch vehicle.  The MRO-1 probe entered Mun orbit on 01:123 and sent back observations of the Mun's magnetic field and the first pictures from orbit.   Another comm relay was also placed in orbit.  With improvements to launch vehicles, this one was able to reach a 600km circular orbit.  The OCR design is to be the new standard comm satellite, with this one being designated OCR-E-1.

MRO-1 entering Mun orbit                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  OCR-E-1 in orbit, it shares it basic design with the MRO-1 probe

 

The long awaited opening of KSC heralded an increase in op tempo and development of new launch vehicles.   The first launch from KSC was the new Jabbit-2 design, featuring a "stage and a half" design that used a pair of Thud booster engines and central Valiant sustainer.   Unfortunately, the Valiant proved insufficient for the task of placing an unmanned Moho pod in orbit and a redesign was required.  The second attempt, just 4 days later, featured stretched tanks and a Swivel sustainer engine.  The improved Jabbit 2 placed the Moho test pod in a 145x103km orbit with 150m/s dV remaining.  This also marked the first launch into a nearly perfect equatorial orbit, with a final inclination of just 0.071*.    With KSC operating, it is also now feasible to place a satellite in a geosynchronous orbit without expensive inclination changes.  USEA's first attempt, a comm relay, was a failure.  Although it reached orbit, it did not have sufficient dV to reach the desired orbit, ending up in a 6100x2100km orbit.  It is still useful as a relay, giving this mission a "partial success" rating, but being out of fuel, it will need to be recovered at some future date.  Barely a week later, GeoComm-1b, riding on an improved Jabbit 2 was successfully placed in a geosynchronous orbit, positioned just east of DSC.

Jabbit 2 test launch                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      GeoComm-1b safely in orbit over DSC

 

While KSC was busy testing new launch vehicles, DSC launched the OCR-E-2 on 01:132.  Intended to be placed 120* behind OCR-E-1, it's final orbit was closer to 90* behind.   With the Jabbit 2 now operational, USEA decided to launch the next two manned flights from DSC.  On 01:134, Kelrik Kerman became the second kerbal in orbit (and the first non-pilot) in the Moho-3 pod,  completing two orbits before returning safely home.  Several days later, the Moho-4 mission launched with Ambera Kerman on board.   Her pod was fitted with a pair of small solar panels, extending her mission to a just over a full day in space, becoming the first kerbal to spend more than two orbits in space before deorbiting and splashing down safely east of the island airfield.

 Moho-3 descending into the midlands                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Kelrik Kerman jumping for joy after landing safely

 

Moho-4 jettisoning the "half stage" booster engines                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Moho-4 carried a deployable electrostatic experiment above the crew hatch, pictured here deployed

 

Much to everyone's surprise, the much neglected Woomerang launch center was selected for the final planned mission of the Moho program on 01:142.  In place of either the well-tested Jabbit 1 or 2 launchers, a new, cryogenic fuel "Cryo-Jabbit" was used.  The lack of flight testing was surprising to many, but since the Jabbit orbital stage, pod & LES were unchanged from previous missions, the risk was deemed acceptable.  Featuring a pair of radial boosters for launch, then a core sustainer, the Cryo-Jabbit was able to place Jeb's Moho-5 pod into a 250x113km, 45* inclined orbit with over 400m/s of dV remaining in the standard Jabbit orbital stage.  Also featuring the solar panels like Moho-4, Jeb spent just over a day in orbit before landing in the arid midlands southeast of DSC. 

Moho-5 climbing out of Woomerang on the first Cyro-Jabbit launch vehicle                                                                                                                                                                        Descending through the clouds to a safe landing

    

The final launch during this time frame was the Surveyor-1 to the Mun, launched atop the Cryo-Jabbit.  Due to space & mass constraints, the Surveyor-1 lander only carried a soil scoop & panoramic camera to scan the landing area.  After a successful launch, it performed its TMI burn on the next orbit and entered Mun's SoI on 01:155, followed by a soft landing at 05:50 hours, 01:156.  Unfortunately, the landing occurred in the middle of the long Munar night and the probe was placed on standby until the first sunrise, which finally occurred on 01:166.

Surveyor-1 launching on a Cryo-Jabbit                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Drifting to periapsis around the Mun

 

Sunrise fast approaching the hibernating Surveyor-1                                                                                                                                                                                                                           With the solar panel recharging the batteries, time to send back data to KSC...

 

In between the numerous rocket launches, additional aircraft testing was performed - flights to 10km, tests of a prototype "Juno" turbojet engine, and airframe testing of the CF-01 "Star" fighter that is being designed to use the Juno.   The "PropStar" - a CF-01 refitted with a Kraken piston engine for testing when Juno prototypes aren't available - performed numerous test flights.   One such flight ended with Jeb ditching the plane in the ocean after the compass went haywire.   He managed to ditch near a small island, and while floating waiting for pickup, he spotted a strange black monolith half buried in the sea floor. 

Val climbing to 10km in the turboprop variant of the CFP-01, the "Turbo-Hawk"                                                                                                                                                             Jeb testing the prototype Star fighter with experimental Juno engines

 

 

Jeb's next mission in the PropStar was a highly classified night flight to the arctic icecaps.  It did mark the first time the LOCR-1 polar relay was used to relay scientific data.  Whatever was found in the arctic was immediately classified at the highest levels .

Arctic sunrise                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Cruising over the icecap

 

 

Edited February 11, 2021 by Cavscout74

[Cavscout74]

Chapter 2, Part 1:

I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today

After the rapid tempo of the first few months, the launch schedule rapidly slowed - efforts focused on research and upgrading the launch facilities.  The first launch in the new series - weeks after Surveyor-1 - was on improved version of the Cryo-Jabbit.  Dubbed the "Fat Cryo-Jabbit," it uses 1.875m fuel tanks for most of the first stage, with a pair of Shrimp SRB's to help it off the pad and just a single Vesuvius engine for the duration of the first stage burn.  And a long burn it is - with the larger fuel tanks supplying over 4200 m/s of dV in the first stage it is very close to a SSTO.  The payload was a much-improved comsat, destined for another geosynchronous orbit.  Dubbed GeoComm-2A, it launched on 01:173.  All systems operated normally and the second and third stages were able to push the satellite to a 8986km Ap and begin to circularize.  After the third stage was jettisoned, GeoComm-2A was allowed to go two full orbits before returning to Ap for its final circularization burn.  This resulted in GeoComm-2A roughly 60* ahead of GeoComm-1, positioned between KSC & the island airfield.

Fat Cryo-Jabbit launching geosynchronous relay

 

The next two launches were to test a small multi-passenger craft.  First, on 01:178 was an abort system test from KSC followed by an unmanned test on 01:180.  The OTV-2 reached orbit easily, then immediately performed a deorbit burn.  Reentry got a little hotter than desired during plasma blackout as the craft couldn't maintain an exact retrograde attitude, but it survied and splashed down safely.  With minor changes, the OTV-2's next flight was a multiple first - first launch with more than one kerbal and first launch of a VIP tourist to space.  Launch from KSC on 01:183 was smooth and Jeb, Kelrik & Dudlo entered orbit safely.  After a single orbit, Jeb performed the deorbit burn and the trio splashed down safely in the Krenwich Sea.

 

With a more spacious crewed vehicle now available, USEA was challenged to place a kerbal in orbit for a full week.  Using another OTV-2 with just Kelrik on board, the orbital endurance mission launched on 01:186.  After safely reaching orbit, Kelrik fired the orbital engine a second time to establish a 1050x110km elliptical orbit, becoming the first kerbal to reach high orbit.  After that, the timer started on his endurance flight.

About six hours after Kelrik launched on his endurance mission, another even more significant launch took place from KSC - an attempt at an automated sample return mission to the Mun.  All systems operated perfectly, and on 01:191, MuSR-1 landed on the Mun, collected soil & seismic samples and launched back to orbit.  The dV budget was extremely tight - after the return to Kerbin burn, placing a Pe at Kerbin of 45km only 22 m/s of dV remained.  This mission was also responsible for leaving a spent rocket stage in orbit.  MuSR-1 reentered Kerbin's atmosphere on 01:196 and splashed down in the Krenwich Sea.

With strict limits due to the un-upgraded VAB, the best we could do was a trio of SRB's to boost the launcher off the pad.                                                                              MuSR-1 descending to land on Mun

 

Gathering the first soil samples from Mun.  The sample return module will gather the samples and protect them during reentry                                                        Returning to Mun orbit

 

While MuSR-1 was heading back to Kerbin, Kelrik finished his week in orbit.  Initially, he lowered Pe to 75km and fired the engine again to drop Ap to 500km, then lowered Pe to 40km and burned off the rest of his fuel as he entered the upper atmosphere the next time around.  Reentry was smoother than expected, and he splashed down safely in the Inland Sea on 01:193.  Being a bit of a daredevil after spending too much time with Jeb, Kelrik bailed out of the pod during descent and landed a few meters away, then swam back & re-boarded to await pickup.

 

It was decided by USEA administrators that the next step was to attempt to rendezvous & dock two vessels in orbit.  First up was the launch of a new vehicle, the KTV-1 (Kerbal Target Vehicle) to be used as a rendezvous & docking target.  Unfortunately, the launch was cut short by the catastrophic failure of the Vesuvius rocket engine passing 18km.  A new KTV was built up and launched a few days later, successfully reaching a 125km orbit to await another craft to dock.  With the target vehicle in orbit, it was time to send up a manned mission to rendezvous.  Val was tapped for this mission, marking her second orbital flight.  Launching on 01:204 to a 175km orbit, Val then performed a maneuver to rendezvous with KTV-1b.  With both being in the same plane and near-perfect circular orbits, rendezvous was fairly simple and Val quickly spotted the blinking marker lights on the KTV.  Val closed to within 4m of the KTV, and maneuvered around the target before moving away and several minutes later firing her retroburn, splashing down east of the island airfield.  

KTV-1 in orbit                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Val approaching the KTV

 

View of the KTV from her tiny viewing port

 

While readying the next Moho-OMV for a docking attempt, DSC launched a fly-by/impactor probe towards Minmus.  Launched on 01:206, it was able to perform its trans-Minmus injection just 4 minutes after entering orbit, and will reach Minmus at its ascending node.  It required a small course correction to fine-tune the periapsis around Minmus.  MinBOT-1 finally reached Minmus' SoI on 01:215, transmitting the first data from the tiny moon, then was redirected to perform an impact on the Minmus surface.

Engine explosion during launch of MinBOT-1                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Second attempt went better

 

Last view towards home                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Passing low over Minmus before impact

 

With MinBOT-1 enroute to Minmus, Jeb climbed into his seat aboard Moho-OMV-2 and prepared for launch.  This would be the first docking in orbit between two craft.  After a smooth launch, Jeb performed the rendezvous maneuver after two orbits and successfully rendezvoused with the KTV.  After that, docking was anti-climactic.  Using the KTV's engine, Jeb boosted the orbit up to 150km, then undocked and reentered safely.

 

 

The next launch - also to Minmus - was planned to be the first satellite to orbit Minmus.  Based on the successful GeoComm-2 bus, it received larger SRB's for launch, a thermometer for additional readings around Minmus and a small camera to send back images of the surface.  Launched and transfer were flawless and MinComm-1 arrived in Minmus' SoI on 01:229 and established a highly elliptical polar orbit to maximize relay coverage.

 

As the next Minmus satellite streaked through space to its destination, Jeb & Kelrik were working at Woomerang to test a Mun lander.  The lower section is designed to provide fuel for landing, then stay behind with scientific instruments to provide a remote observatory while the crew module launches back to orbit.  Due to limitations on launch vehicle size, the Mun Crew Lander will launch autonomously and travel to Mun orbit where a later crew vehicle will rendezvous for the landing mission.  After completing their testing on Kerbin and making a few changes to the design, it was time to launch one to Mun.  That launch - unmanned - departed on 01:231 and entered Mun orbit on 01:234

With a partial fuel load and stripped of non-essential equipment, the MCL1 has just enough thrust to take off on Kerbin                                                                   Lower stage with solar panels & antennas deployed after crew pod separation.

 

Launch of the complete MCL1 to the Mun on the newly developed Cryo-Dawngrazer launch vehicle

 

The next in line of new, larger launch vehicles was a 3-passenger tourist craft, dubbed OTV3.  Val drew the honors of the first flight with Ambera, and due to recent upgrades to the astronaut complex and the improved training, the first spacewalk is scheduled for this flight as well.  Launch went well and the OTV3-T reached orbit with just over 200 m/s of dV remaining.  After sunrise, Ambera performed the world's first EVA then Val performed a quick EVA as well before deorbiting the OTV, with splashdown west of the island airfield.

OTV3-T test flight launching on another Cryo-Dawngrazer with 8 Shrimp SRB's to boost it off the pad.                                                                                                            The service bay doors function as solar panels and airbrakes to stabilize the craft during reentry.

 

Ambera's brief EVA shortly after sunrise.  With no means of self-propulsion, she stayed on the ladder for just a few minutes before re-boarding.

 

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by Cavscout74

[Cavscout74]

Chapter 2, Part 2:

I'm on the top of the world lookin' down on creation

All was far from quiet on the home front.  After the discovery of two strange monoliths on Kerbin, scattered reports were trickling in to USEA of additional monoliths around the world.  Jeb & Val were tasked with investigating the most credible reports.  With the new Juno jet engines entering full production, the CF-01 Star fighter became available to check out these far flung sites.  The next monolith found - by Jeb on 01:232 - was located several hundred kilometers north of DSC and provided not one but two surprises.  On approach to the small island, Jeb spotted a structure which turned out to be a launch complex, apparently built then abandoned during the war.  The actual monolith was found about 800m offshore of the island.

USEA finally consented to the launch of tourists into orbit, with OTV3-1 being the first tourist flight, departing DSC on 01:238.  Jeb brought the load of 3 tourists to orbit then returned safely, followed two days later by Val with OTV3-2.  The third flight was just a few days later. 

It was hoped to be rendered obsolete by an automated tourist vehicle that held 4 tourists, which launched on a test flight on 01:245.  That flight went fairly well, but the small grid fins that were recently developed don't provide sufficient drag to keep the reentry vehicle oriented perfectly, making it too risky to use for live passengers at this time.  One of the small fins even failed due to overheating.  With larger grid fins, the design should be viable.  This was followed by several more tourist flights to raise funds for a manned Mun landing.

OTV4D-T preparing for reentry

With the Mun Crew Lander in orbit of Mun, it was long past time to send a crew - first to rendezvous & dock, with a later mission to actually land a crew on the Mun.  The first step was a launch abort test of the full capsule.  The launch abort was successful, and the next test was an orbital flight of the Dawn-MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle).  For the test, Jeb & Kelrik were placed in high orbit to see how the Dawn's habitability was for Mun-length missions.  Unfortunately, a leak* in the hydrogen tank for the PEM fuel cell resulted in aborting the mission less than a day after establishing orbit and an emergency reentry, which went well and the crew landed safely.  Rather than repeat the test flight, the Dawn-MPV design was retrofitted with a pair of small fixed solar panels on the capsule sides and a pair of recently developed folding solar panels to the upper stage to provide primary power, with the fuel cell becoming a secondary power source.

LES test using Thumper SRB.  The LES tower was actually somewhat under-powered and was replaced by the PEBKAC tower already in use.

Dawn-MPV-T in LKO pending transfer to high orbit.

In between tourist and Mun preparations, USEA also finally launched the MOCON (Medium Orbit COmmunications Network), carrying 3 relays to a 750km circular orbit, spaced 120* apart to provide continuous communications around Kerbin and finally allowing the retirement of the vehicle based relays near DSC and the island airfield, plus the CRX-1 experimental comm relay. 

MOCON aeroshell deploying

In an unexpected move, USEA also launched the first probe to another planet, with Argo-Duna-1 departing on 01:266 and becoming the first object to leave Kerbin's SoI on 01:269.  It has a course correction planned for two weeks after the new year and an expected arrival at Duna's SoI around 02:165.  The Argo probe bus mounts the strongest antenna currently available to USEA, and although it cannot function as a relay it should ensure good communications back to mission control for the entire mission.

On 01:271 Val & Ambera launched in the first operational Dawn-MPV, headed to become the first kerbals to orbit the Mun (on 01:275).  After entering a 200km orbit, they rendezvoused with the MCL-1 lander already in orbit and docked with it.  After performing system tests on the lander, the crew undocked and headed for home.  The dV budget was tighter than expected, with just 48 m/s dV remaining after departing the Mun.  Splashed down safely on 01:280.  To improve the margin of error for dV, the asparagus boosters of the Cryo-Dawngrazer launch vehicle will be stretched slightly on future launches and the waste storage containers in the upper stage are being replaced by a disposal system that will dump excess waste products as they collect.

Trans-Munar Injection burn was split between the Vesuvius upper stage and the non-cryogenic Terrier of the Dawn-MPV

Entering Mun orbit

Ambera conducting first EVA in Mun orbit after Val docked with the MCL-1

Undocking from MCL-1 to prepare for their return to Kerbin

Nothing like hitting the atmosphere at over 5200 m/s

Splashed down safely back at home

While waiting for Dawn-MPV-2 to be built up at KSC, Val received the mission to investigate yet another magnetic anomaly report, located well to the southeaat of the island airfield.  Over 1700km to the southeast to be precise.  Jumping in another CF-01 Star with a pair of drop tanks, Val headed out to investigate.  The drop tanks were extremely draggy, reducing cruise speeed to just 235 m/s but adding nearly 80% more fuel capacity to the jet.  Quite surprisingly one of the drop tanks survived being jettisoned from 5000m and was picked up by a passing fishing vessel and returned to USEA several days later.  After nearly two hours, Val spotted a small island.  Amongst a few scattered trees was another black monolith.  After returning from that mission, Val was next tasked with a contract to break mach 2 in an aircraft.  Although somewhat anti-climatic after her Munar orbit mission, she did set a speed record for a kerbal in level flight in the new CX-02 experimental aircraft.

Cruising at 5000m

Another monolith.  They seem to be located on or just offsshore of scattered small islands, almost like they are formed into some kind of network.....

CX-02 hybrid jet-rocket plane taking off for mach 2 flight.  This is also the first aircraft to feature an escape pod, although it wasn't needed.

* Actually the hydrogen tank was substantially smaller capacity in 1.11 than it was when I last played in 1.8.  The PEM fuel cell used to be good for a trip to Minmus & back.  This time, it couldn't even last a single day.

Edited February 20, 2021 by Cavscout74

[Cavscout74]

Chapter 3, Part 3:

Giant steps are what you take
Walking on the moon

 

 

 

On 01:287, Jeb & Kelrik boarded Dawn-MPV-2 for their historic flight to the Mun.  There was a small glitch during SRB separation that caused the LES tower to jettison as well, but the remainder of the flight went smoothly.  Mun transfer and orbit were simple and before long, they were docked with MCL-1. To make a landing on the day side, they had to find a spot out of LoS of Kerbin, meaning the entire landing was completed without contact with mission control.  It wasn't till a few hours later when they reentered Mun orbit that all of USEA - and the world - both breathed a sigh of relief and cheered for their accomplishment.  The landing occurred at 0642 on 01:292, with Jeb stepping out to the Mun's surface a few minutes later, followed by Kelrik.  After gathering some samples around the landing site and planting a flag, they soon returned to orbit and redocked with Dawn-MPV-2 for the trip home.  With the improvements to the launch vehicle, this mission has nearly 400 m/s dV remaining after departing Mun orbit.  The extra dV allowed a final deceleration maneuver shortly before reentry, dropping Ap from 88000km down to just 14000, reducing reentry speed, heating and g-forces.  They landed safely on 01:297 at 0348z roughly 100km west of DSC

Spoiler

Kelrik experimenting with the newly developed EMU, allowing the first EVA that doesn't require clinging to ladders for dear life

Descending to land

First crewed landing on the Mun!!!

Planting a USEA flag to mark the location

Launch of the MCL upper stage

The lower stage stays behind, acting as a science station to send back data on the Mun's surface. 

Upper stage returning to orbit

Dawn-MPV-2 shortly before reentry

 

Riding on the success (and funding) of the first Mun landing, USEA quickly put together another Surveyor mission - this one to Minmus - and an improved relay network, dubbed HOCON (High Orbit COmmunications Network) using the recently developed Quetzel relay antenna.  Surveyor-Minmus launched without difficulty from DSC and headed for the tiny moon while a few hours later, HOCON launched from KSC to an extreme orbit (175000 km), depositing the first of three relays 12 days later.  With a 175000kmx91000km orbit, it will be another 45 days before the next relay is deployed.

HOCON-A deployment at 175000km Ap

Surveyor-Minmus-1 leaving the atmosphere

Surveyor-Minmus-1 arrived at Minmus on 01:308, separated from its transfer stage then fired the retromotor a few hours later, putting it on a path to land on the Kerbin-facing side of the small moon.  Landing - being performed in daylight - was simple and shortly after touchdown, the probe began sending data back to KSC.

Spoiler

The retromotor was ignited far out from the surface to place the landing site well within the daylight side - and within LoS back to KSC

With two missions underway and all crews safely at home, it was time to send a pilot to investigate the final set of anomaly reports, located far to the north of KSC.  Jeb was tasked with the mission and took another CF-01 fitted with a new style of drop tanks that while smaller also produced much less drag.

Improvements in jet engine technology resulted in two more flight tests - one of an improved CF-01, labelled the -01B "SuperStar" with a pair of Tiger afterburning turbojets, flown by Jeb at DSC while Val took up an entirely new design, the CF-02 Cobra with a larger Wheesley turbofan.  The SuperStar was able to reach 426 m/s in level fligth at 5000m, making it the first true supersonic aircraft developed by USEA.  The Cobra was somewhat heavier than the SuperStar, with the new technology of swept wings.  The more powerful turbofan engine was easily able to push the Cobra past mach 1 near sea level, and but could only reach 373 m/s at 5000m.  It did, however, burn a fraction of the fuel of the SuperStar with afterburners, making a a longer ranged aircraft if not quite as fast.  Handling was good, however a freak landing accident caused the prototype to flip over and smash into the runway.  Val survived, shaken but unhurt.  This incident prompts the USEA to begin upgrading and paving the runway as this was believed to be the primary cause of the accident.

Spoiler

Jeb's first takeoff in the SuperStar

And first landing.  Being a night flight, there weren't any other really usable images

Val taking the CF-02 for a hop

Returning to KSC

Moments after the crash

A launch of a small Mun rover ended in failure when the decoupler designed to separate the rover from the transfer stage failed to operate, resulting in the rover and transfer stage impacting the surface of the Mun.  No clues were able to be gathered from the telemetry - the separation signal was received by the on-board computer and other commands still functions but no further action happened with the decoupling mechanism.*

Preparations for a second Mun landing began with launch of a second MCL to Mun orbit, followed shortly thereafter by a second attempt at a Mun rover.  Finally, Val & Ambera launched in a fresh Dawn-MPV for their turn at a Mun landing on 01:331. 

The Mun rover project seems to be cursed - to check for good signal, the rover was allowed to complete one orbit over the landing area at low altitude, and it retained signal till well after the LZ.  However, shortly after performing its deorbit burn and separating from the transfer stage, the rover lost signal and it could not be regained prior to Mun impact.

The second manned landing went much smoother, with Val & Ambera touching down safely near an anomaly that had been detected from orbit.  Nothing was visible, but they gathered samples & returned to orbit.  As this was their second trip around the Mun, docking & return to Kerbin was a snap for veteran pilot Val.

While the women were heading for home, Kelrik launched on a solo flight in another Dawn-MPV in response to a plea for help to rescue a stranded kerbonaut.  Kelrik's Dawn made rendezvous with Pomeroy's craft, assisted his transfer to the Dawn-4 and rigged the derelict pod for safe destruction.  If it had been a shock to discover another nation had already placed a kerbal in orbit, it was even more shocking to see what was clearly an aircraft-style cockpit rather than USEA's pod designs.  Landing safely on 01:338, Kelrik became the first kerbal to perform a space rescue.  In the future, it may be a good idea to add exterior lights to the rescue craft, as the rendezvous occurred shortly after sunset and the rescue completed before sunrise. 

Dawn-MPV-4 was supposed to be the non-Extended Range variant without the larger solar panels, but somehow an ER-variant orbital stage was mated to the Dawn-4 during assembly

USEA's next two launches were to establish small comm networks at Mun & Minmus, to prevent mishaps similar to the MunRover-2 failure.  MunCON launched from KSC followed a day later by MinCON from DSC.  Both flights launched without a hitch and headed towards their respective destinations.

USEA recognizes that a trio of relays would be safer, but it is believed that with HOCON currently being deployed, it will be able to provide full coverage with just a pair of relays around each moon

*What really happened was I was using a docking port as a decoupler, and the good ole' stuck docking port bug found me

Edited January 19, 2023 by Cavscout74

[Spaceman.Spiff]

13 minutes ago, Cavscout74 said:

Coming soon

gah!

you baited me! 

[Cavscout74]

19 hours ago, Spaceman.Spiff said:

gah!

you baited me! 

Sorry, I ran out of time & motivation last night.   Should have it up soon though

EDIT:  And are you freaking kidding me!?!?!?!?!?!   I had 90% of the story complete - I keep notes as I go, then flesh them out for the posts - went to another tab to look at something and accidentally clicked the "x" to close the tab for this page instead of clicking on the tab itself and the whole edit is gone.  Ugh

Edited February 24, 2021 by Cavscout74

[KerballingSmasher]

23 hours ago, Cavscout74 said:

EDIT:  And are you freaking kidding me!?!?!?!?!?!   I had 90% of the story complete - I keep notes as I go, then flesh them out for the posts - went to another tab to look at something and accidentally clicked the "x" to close the tab for this page instead of clicking on the tab itself and the whole edit is gone.  Ugh

oooooh... that's rough...

[Cavscout74]

After hitting year 2 and realizing I'm at my second upgrade to build time - which is giving me manned rockets to the Mun in 3-4 days - I've decided to double the build time from here on.

There is also a part of me that strongly wants to roll back to 1.10 and start this from scratch.

EDIT:  ...except trying to do that is creating even bigger headaches than I'm getting from 1.11!!!!!

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Cavscout74

[Cavscout74]

Well, if I'm very lucky, I need to replace the screen in my laptop after it got knocked off the table it was on.  If I'm not very lucky, there will be more stuff broken inside.  Considering how things have been going lately, I'm just going to assume the second option until proven otherwise.  Haven't even had it a year.

Edit:  Finally got my laptop back.  Got a few things done in my career, but I'm really really thinking I need to roll back to 1.10 and start from scratch.  There are a lot of things that don't seem to get along in 1.11.  If the stock inventory system actually had something like the KAS fuel lines & winches, I'd probably stay in 1.11 & keep going.  Having two inventory systems is just a pain, but KAS is so much more useful to me than the stock system.  Plus having to remove your EVA pack every time you want to place an experiment is just annoying.

Edited March 18, 2021 by Cavscout74

[Cavscout74]

I gave 1.11 one more good try, but today was the final straw - trying to add a light to the exterior of my Mun outpost caused every surface attached part to fall off.  Actually, the whole Mun shook for a moment, and afterwards I realized my lights were gone, then realized everything else was too because it was night.  Solar panels, science experiments, life support cans, ladders, other lights - all ended up in a pile on the ground.  Everything but the landing gear. 

 

I'm stopping this career & will be starting fresh in 1.10, gonna call it Out of the Sands 2.7B