AmateurAstronaut1969 Posted April 10, 2022 Author Share Posted April 10, 2022 AARDV II, January 1991 Special delivery! To cargo or not to go? When Freedom began construction in 1989, the venerable AARDV (Known as the Aardvark) was retired and replaced with its bigger brother, the AARDV block II. Regular AARDV II resupply missions would serve Freedom throughout it's lifetime, too many to launch and post here, so I decided to showcase what one of those missions would look like. A major upgrade from Block I was the enlargement of the pressurised cargo section, and the addition of an unpressurised freighter to carry external cargo to and from Freedom. On this mission, it will carry external hardware to facilitate the attachment of the S2 truss aswell as replacement hardware for some onboard systems. Liftoff! Passing through Max-Q F-1A throttledown AARDV separation Preparing to dock, AARDV lines up with Harmony's nadir (Earth facing) CADS port Soft capture & docking The next day, Penguin & Raccourier Kerman prepare for EVA 32, in which they will unload the freighter's unpressurised contents and install this hardware ahed of the arrival of the S2 truss in a few weeks time. The crew seal up the freighter bay and after 3 days, AARDV prepares to leave AARDV preforms it's own disposal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacktical Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Love the mission name Reminds me of rocket lab. Btw, what version do you play on, I just cannot get my KVE to work for the life of me. I'm on 1.10.1 atm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmateurAstronaut1969 Posted April 10, 2022 Author Share Posted April 10, 2022 31 minutes ago, Jacktical said: Love the mission name Reminds me of rocket lab. Btw, what version do you play on, I just cannot get my KVE to work for the life of me. I'm on 1.10.1 atm Thanks I play on 1.11.2, it’s the most stable for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BekfastDerp13 Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 I was glad to see this again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmateurAstronaut1969 Posted April 11, 2022 Author Share Posted April 11, 2022 S2 truss segment, February 1991 Completing the backbone Trust in it's solar power! Freedom, nearing completion, is preparing to receive it's final segment of solar arrays. The Starboard 2 (S2) truss houses another set of these solars, designed to bring the power hungry station up to its full operational capacity. Astronauts on both Expedition 8 & 9 have been trained in the docking, installation and integration of S2, using many components delivered on the latest AARDV II mission. Tracking and data cameras watch the vehicle sat on it's mobile launcher TADC 3 captures liftoff, broadcast across the country Vehicle performance nominal Commencing throttledown AARDV tug separation Rendezvous with Freedom AARDV tug lines itself up the TCM (Truss capture mechanism) on the port side of the P1 truss segment Truss captured! The AARDV tug checks systems for less than a minute and immediately preforms a retreat manoeuvre to get it as far away from Freedom as possible On EVA 34, Penguin and Raccourier Kerman secure connections and wire S2 up into the electrical and coolant systems. Two days later, S2 is cleared to deploy Freedom's solar wings are now complete. All that is in the way of it and it's full operational capacity (FOC) is the launch of Expedition 10 and the Japanese laboratory, 'Kibo' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmateurAstronaut1969 Posted April 13, 2022 Author Share Posted April 13, 2022 Expedition 10, April 1991 Quarterly crew rotation One in, one out! Freedom, nearing completion, is ready for it's next quarterly crew rotation. The crew of Expedition 10 have the job of preparing for, and docking it's final module, the Japanese lab 'Kibo'. This will mark the end of Freedom's construction period, and will allow for much more research to take place as this time of dynamic change comes to an end. The crew consists of: Commander: Jingle Kerman CSM Pilot: Kuiper Kerman Mission Specialist: Volvical Kerman - EVA specialist Mission Specialist: Heinrich Kerman - Flight scientist Mission Specialist: Rhode Kerman - Flight scientist …Abord their spacecraft, 'Hubble' Media and live broadcasts of Freedom expeditions are a common sight, it seems Regan's station has captured the minds and imaginations of America! Liftoff! "Hubble, you are go at T+1 minute'' Despite the ''terrible'' camera quality at the time, relative to today, broadcasts such as this would inspire an entire generation of new astronauts to join the core, the Artemis generation! Successful stage separation Mission module extraction After an 18 hour coast, Hubble rendezvouses with Freedom, targeting Harmony's fore docking node Soft capture confirmed Another great docking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmateurAstronaut1969 Posted April 15, 2022 Author Share Posted April 15, 2022 Japanese Experiment Module (JEM), June 1991 'Kibo' Launch It's the final countdown! The Japanese Experiment Module, 'Kibo' is JAXA's latest contribution to Freedom. They already built and launched the Centrifuge Gravity Lab (CGL) which, as the name suggests, is a centrifuge module for Freedom. Contrasting this 'Kibo' is a simple Japanese Laboratory, with an exposed platform for external experiments. 'Kibo' will be the last module launched to Freedom, signifying Freedom reaching Full Operational Capacity (FOC), and the ability to house 15 crew members The Saturn M02 fuels up on the pad hours before launch Liftoff! Launching at dawn, the M02 begins to see the sun as it rises over the horizon Stage Separation Kibo Jettison Kibo approaches Freedom, it will dock to the starboard port on Node-2, 'Harmony' Successful docking confirmed, 'Kibo' is secured After 32 months of assembly, Freedom is finally complete - Let's have a quick recap shall we? 1988 November 1988 - The core module 'Challenger' is launched, along with Expedition 1 and Node-1 'Unity' January 1989 - P1 Truss 1989 April 1989 - Expedition 2 May 1989 - US lab module 'Discovery' June 1989 - S1 Truss July 1989 - ESA lab module 'Columbus' - Freedom at IOC August 1989 - Expedition 3 October 1989 - Expedition 4 1990 January 1990 - Expedition 5 March 1990 - Node-1 'Harmony' April 1990 - Expedition 6 July 1990 - Expedition 7 August 1990 - P2 Truss October 1990 - Expedition 8 November 1990 - Centrifuge Gravity Lab 1991 January 1991 - Expedition 9 February 1991 - S2 Truss April 1991 - Expedition 10 June 1991 - JEM 'Kibo' - Freedom at FOC I hope you all enjoyed this journey of sorts...however there's one mission I have left for y'all, so stay tuned...maybe even more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra4nd0m Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Wow this boi is so small compared to real-life module). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crberus Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Genuinely enjoyed the story. Hopefully, you will bless us with other realistic space stations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmateurAstronaut1969 Posted April 15, 2022 Author Share Posted April 15, 2022 5 hours ago, crberus said: Genuinely enjoyed the story. Hopefully, you will bless us with other realistic space stations. Thanks man, really appreciate that I’d also appreciate it if you could all add your input on this, about the future of this thread and my recreations Here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crberus Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 18 hours ago, AmateurAstronaut1969 said: Thanks man, really appreciate that I’d also appreciate it if you could all add your input on this, about the future of this thread and my recreations Here Can't vote there due to the lack of an account. And, also, can't even decide what's more exciting: ETS Artemis or unknown ESA project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmateurAstronaut1969 Posted April 17, 2022 Author Share Posted April 17, 2022 Hi everyone. Freedom is now complete, there is nothing else to add. Thanks for supporting this thread and enjoying the missions, this will be my last post here. I’ve migrated over to my new project, recreating ETS Artemis. If you would like to check that out, look no further than here Ad Astra! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Autochrome Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 (edited) 16 minutes ago, AmateurAstronaut1969 said: Hi everyone. Freedom is now complete, there is nothing else to add. Thanks for supporting this thread and enjoying the missions, this will be my last post here. I’ve migrated over to my new project, recreating ETS Artemis. If you would like to check that out, look no further than here Ad Astra! I am kind of sad that this series has finally come to an end, but I am also glad that something new can come from this conclusion. I’ll see you on the new thread, and thanks for this space station experience! Edited April 17, 2022 by Austin_Kerman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra4nd0m Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 13 hours ago, AmateurAstronaut1969 said: Hi everyone. Freedom is now complete, there is nothing else to add. Thanks for supporting this thread and enjoying the missions, this will be my last post here. I’ve migrated over to my new project, recreating ETS Artemis. If you would like to check that out, look no further than here Ad Astra! Thank you for this truly amazing series. It was my gateway into the amazing world of ETS and made me love this amazing game and community even more. Your timely return with the series also helped me to get back in the game after almost half a year hiatus. Looking forward to Artemis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmateurAstronaut1969 Posted April 18, 2022 Author Share Posted April 18, 2022 14 hours ago, Austin_Kerman said: I am kind of sad that this series has finally come to an end, but I am also glad that something new can come from this conclusion. I’ll see you on the new thread, and thanks for this space station experience! 1 hour ago, ra4nd0m said: Thank you for this truly amazing series. It was my gateway into the amazing world of ETS and made me love this amazing game and community even more. Your timely return with the series also helped me to get back in the game after almost half a year hiatus. Looking forward to Artemis! Thanks you, your words really do mean a lot to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmateurAstronaut1969 Posted September 18, 2023 Author Share Posted September 18, 2023 Big things are coming, anyone who liked this thread back in the day...keep your eyes open Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYONC1801 Posted November 3, 2024 Share Posted November 3, 2024 On 8/17/2021 at 5:19 PM, AmateurAstronaut1969 said: Hey everyone, here’s a bit of an update: Work on freedom has resumed! (Finally haha) Today, I’ve redesigned most of the truss to look like it does in ETS using a very old mod I found, and tomorrow I will be hyperediting what I have previously assembled to Orbit in order to carry on with this replica. Thanks for being patient everyone, so here’s a sneak peek of the new design! Nice! Any chance I could have the craft file for this? (If it's already been posted, can you show me where it is?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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