TheSaint Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 Kerbin System Operations - Y1 D82-92 Now that Minmus Base is producing fuel, the engineers at Minmus Station get to work refueling the fleet of tugs there. With the first tank they are able to fully refuel all but one of them. However, the latest landing has left the lander itself low on monopropellant, which prevents landing another tank for fueling until a new monoprop tank can be brought up from Kerbin. The good news is that there are plenty of tugs to start doing work around the system now. As Minmus Station comes around in its orbit and approaches the Kerbin return point, XO Kimball brings Orbital Tug 2 online, undocks it, and backs it away from the station. Once it is clear of the station, she turns it over to Mission Control. They upload its flight plan and it burns for Kerbin. As the station comes back around again, Kimball undocks Orbital Tug 3 and releases it to Mission Control. It then follows Tug 2 and burns for LKO. And as Minmus Station comes around once more, Kimball releases Tug 4 and maneuvers it away from the station. Once it has received its flight plan, it too burns for Kerbin. While these three tugs begin their journey back to Kerbin from Minmus, Tug 1, which left some time ago, burns to enter its 800 kilometer parking orbit. Then an hour later it performs its first rendezvous burn. And burns to match velocities as it approaches Kerbin Station. Mission Control turns Tug 1 over to Captain Koontz of Kerbin Station, who guides it in to dock. It will initially dock with the idle Cargo Drone 1. Then, after the station has moved around into daylight again, Koontz undocks the tug with two of the adapters attached. The program managers at KSA have determined that these adapters could be useful in orbit in the future, so they will be retained at Kerbin Station. Koontz maneuvers the tug over to deposit the adapters on the truss adapter which is parked on the central truss. She then undocks the tug from the adapters and guides it over to dock with the monoprop tank which is destined for Minmus Station. The engineers fill the tug's monopropellant tanks, but they do not refill its hydrolox tanks. Now that Minmus is the source of hydrolox fuel in the Kerbin system, the philosophy is to move monopropellant from Kerbin, but to move hydrolox from Minmus. The hydrolox tank at Kerbin Station will now be reserved for topping up tugs or other craft that don't have enough fuel to return to Minmus for full refueling, or for vessels that for one reason or another won't be traveling to Minmus, such as interplanetary tugs. When the station comes back around in its orbit, Koontz undocks Orbital Tug 1 with the monopropellant tank. Then she turns it over to Mission Control, and they guide it through its departure burn for Minmus. It should arrive there in about eight days. Meanwhile, Tugs 2, 3, and 4 are getting closer to Kerbin. Tug 2's course clips the edge of The Mun's SOI, but we adjusted for that in its departure burn. Well, mostly adjusted for it. Now about a day and a half goes by, and then things really start to happen fast. The coffee pots in Mission Control are brewing non-stop. First, Tug 2 circularizes into an 800 kilometer parking orbit. Then it reaches its first rendezvous burn. It will arrive at Kerbin Station in about twenty minutes. Then, only a few minutes after that, Tug 3 burns to enter a 1,600 kilometer parking orbit. This is to facilitate rendezvous with the interplanetary tug so that Tug 3 can return it to Kerbin Station. Over on the other side of the planet, Tug 2 arrives at Kerbin Station and burns to match velocities. Mission Control turns the tug over to Assistant Pilot Kearney on Kerbin Station, and he guides it in to dock with the monoprop tank and tank stand stack on the station docking complex. Once the tug is secured, the engineers fill its monopropellant tanks from the station tank. The next departure node for Minmus occurs just five minutes after the refueling is complete. So Kearney undocks the tug and its stack and backs it away from the station. At the same time, Tug 4 reaches its periapsis and burns to enter its parking orbit at 800 kilometers, and... ...Tug 3 reaches its first rendezvous burn to reach Interplanetary Tug 1. Got all that? Meanwhile, Kearney has turned Tug 2 back over to Mission Control. They upload its flight plan back to Minmus Station, and it burns for Minmus. About twenty minutes later, Tug 3 arrives in the vicinity of the interplanetary tug and burns to match velocities. A minute later, Tug 4 reaches its first rendezvous burn for Kerbin Station. Getting back to Tug 3, Mission Control guides the interplanetary tug through docking with the tug. They then plot a course for Tug 3 to bring the interplanetary tug back to Kerbin Station. A short while later, Tug 4 arrives at Kerbin Station. Mission Control turns the tug over to the duty pilot, XO Keegan, and she guides it in to dock with the station docking complex. Tug 4 will remain here to handle future cargoes outbound from Kerbin. About an hour later, Tug 3 reaches its first rendezvous burn. Twenty minutes after that, it arrives at Kerbin Station. Mission Control turns the tug over to the crew of Kerbin Station. XO Keegan undocks Interplanetary Tug 1 from Tug 3, and then while Assistant Pilot Koonce keeps Tug 3 on station, Keegan guides the Interplanetary Tug in to dock with the station. And then Koonce guides Tug 3 in to dock with the station as well. So now, as we finish this report, Tugs 1 and 2 are on their way to Minmus with much needed monopropellant, Interplanetary Tug 1 has been returned to Kerbin Station and is awaiting refuelling, and Tugs 3 and 4 are standing by at Kerbin Station for any additional cargo which may be brought up for delivery to points beyond. Altogether, a good week and a half of work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted October 29, 2022 Author Share Posted October 29, 2022 Mission 515 - Minmus Base Converter Module 2 & Kerbin Station Crew Two So the next interplanetary transfer window is to Jool, and it opens in about three months. In the meantime, we have some housekeeping to do. First up, there are crew rotations. All of the off-world crews are due to rotate back to Kerbin at some point in the next sixty days. First up is the crew of Kerbin Station. This is a very simple rotation: The new crew flies up on a spaceplane flight and the old crew flies back on the same spaceplane. The rotations for Farside Base, Minmus Station, and Minmus Base will be more complicated and will necessitate the lifting of additional hardware. But, for now, this flight will be bringing up the new crew for Kerbin Station, who are: Captain Dominic Kozak   Executive Officer Elaine Kohn   Assistant Pilot Darryl Koehler   Assistant Pilot Hannah Kinard   Chief Engineer Clayton Kilgore   Assistant Engineer Judi Keith   Assistant Engineer Goldie Kennedy   Assistant Engineer Stella Kunz   Chief Scientist Phillip Kemper   Assistant Scientist Irwin Kimmel   Assistant Scientist Bob Keen   Assistant Scientist Sydney Kirchner The next big issue is the fuel refinery at Minmus Base. It's working just fine, produces perfectly good hydrolox. The only problem is that it could work faster. Right now it fills a standard tank in just over the amount of time that it takes for Minmus Station to come around in its orbit, which means that the cargo lander has to sit on the surface for another orbit waiting for the next launch opportunity. Obviously, this is less than optimized. After analyzing the production chain, Chief Engineer Kopp has recommended the addition of a second converter module. The extractor module is producing about 180% of the water that can be processed by a single converter, so a second converter will be running under capacity. But it should still bring the production time down to the point where a lander can come down with an empty tank, fill up, and then launch at the very next opportunity. And there is plenty of excess power and cooling capacity to support the second converter. So management has approved the request, and a second converter module will be brought up on the next spaceplane flight. Independence is the hauler for this flight. Her crew is: Commander Arlene Koehler Pilot Duane Kong Flight Engineer Dawn Kirkpatrick Payload Specialist Justin Kennedy Mission Specialist Mattie Kearns Mission Specialist Marlin Ketchum With eighteen kerbals onboard, this is the largest number of kerbals who have ever flown on a single spacecraft. Independence is rolled out to the runway in preparation for departure. When the pre-flight checks are complete, Flight Engineer Kirkpatrick gives the 'Go', and Commander Koehler brings the throttles up to 100% and releases the brakes. Independence lifts off for her eighteenth mission! Koehler guides Independence through her atmospheric stage and into space. She then executes the orbital insertion burn and brings her into orbit. Once they have reached orbit, the crew rigs the ship for orbital operations. And then their first rendezvous burn is only ten minutes away. Good thing, with the station crew crammed in the passenger compartment like sardines. Things are getting ugly in there. Twenty minutes later they arrive at Kerbin Station and burn to match velocities. Then Pilot Kong takes the conn and guides Independence in to dock. Once they are docked, the new crew of Kerbin Station begins moving their gear over to the station. But the current crews have work to do still. Payload Specialist Kennedy deploys the converter module in Independence's cargo bay. Then Captain Koontz fires up Cargo Drone 2 and brings it over to pick up the converter module. She extracts the converter module and docks it with the station docking complex. Then she brings the drone over and parks it. Meanwhile, XO Keegan brings Orbital Tug 3 online and moves it over to dock with the converter module. The departure window for Minmus is almost an hour away, so there is time to get more tasks done. Assistant Pilot Kearney brings Cargo Drone 1 up and uses it to bring the stack of docking adapters over to dock with the cargo erector in Independence's cargo bay. He then brings it back over to its spot on the supply module. Then Kennedy retracts the cargo erector and the adapter stack...just...barely...fits. That bulkhead needed repainting anyway. So the departure window for Minmus comes around and Assistant Pilot Koonce takes control of Orbital Tug 3. He undocks it from the station and backs it away. Once it is clear, he turns it over to Mission Control. They upload its flight plan, then twist its tail. Now finally the mission objectives are over. The station crews complete their turnover and Crew One moves all of their personal gear into Independence. Then all thirty of them get together in the Kerbin Station wardroom for the largest gathering of kerbals in space ever. What a party! The next morning, the departing Crew One and the crew of Indpendence say their farewells to Crew Two, then take their seats on Independence and close the hatches. They undock and pull away from the station. The first crew of Kerbin Station are treated to one last view of their home for the last three months as Captain Koehler burns for reentry. As the ship falls to Kerbin, her crew prepares her for reentry. Then she starts slicing through the atmosphere. Then, once Independence is back in a controllable envelope of speed and altitude, Koehler takes the yoke again and brings her onto the glide path for KSC. And touchdown! Independence rolls to a stop at the end of the runway, marking the stop of yet another successful mission. And marking the end of the mission of Kerbin Station Crew One, whose many accomplishments will be celebrated for years to come! Over the next couple of weeks, preparations will be made for the next crew rotation, which will be Farside Base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelo Kerman Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 18 kerbals on Independence's 18th flight! Yo ho ho and... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted October 31, 2022 Author Share Posted October 31, 2022 Mission 310 - Transport Lander Copernicus To facilitate the crew rotation at Farside Base, a second transport lander will be needed at Mun Station. This will allow the oncoming crew to land and turnover from the offgoing crew before they leave in the existing lander, Tycho. The turnover isn't for another two weeks, but we'll go ahead and get that lander up to them now. The new lander is named Copernicus, and she will be lifted by Freedom on her fourteenth flight. Because the former Team Freedom is now part of Kerbin Station Crew Two, a new team of kerbonauts will be flying Freedom this time around. They are: Commander Marlin Kuykendall Pilot Robbie Kelsey Flight Engineer Dorothy Knudson Payload Specialist Lowell Knox Mission Specialist Blair Kellum Mission Specialist Melissa Keck The tugs tow Freedom out of the hangar and onto the runway. After the pre-flight checks are complete, Commander Kuykendall runs up the throttles and releases the brakes. Despite their inexperience, they cruise through the atmosphere to space with no problems. There Captain Kuykendall performs their orbital insertion burn and they are officially in orbit for the first time! They rig Freedom for orbital operations. Now they have almost an hour and a half before their first rendezvous burn for Kerbin Station. So they have an opportunity to play around in zero-gravity! Jumping, spinning, somersaulting, hurling, laughing at the guy who is hurling, more jumping, leaping and somersaulting. You know, the usual. After an hour of shenanigans, they settle back into their seats, take some Pepto-Bismol, and get back to work. Captain Kuykendall lines Freedom up and burns to intercept Kerbin Station. Then, twenty minutes later, Freedom arrives at Kerbin Station and burns to match velocities. And then Pilot Kelsey guides Freedom in to dock. Once aboard, the crews greet each other. Everyone is new now, it's kinda weird. But they get down to work. Payload Specialist Knudson deploys Copernicus in the cargo bay. Captain Kozak brings Orbital Tug 4 online and moves it over to dock with Copernicus. It makes sense, since there is nothing to be placed in Freedom's cargo bay before it returns to Kerbin, so there is no need to waste monopropellant moving Copernicus to a berth with a cargo drone. The departure window for The Mun is only twenty minutes away, so once Copernicus and the tug are secure, Kozak undocks them from Freedom and backs them away from the station. Once the tug is clear of the station, Kozak turns it over to Mission Control. When it reaches the window it burns for The Mun. The crews on Kerbin Station are now finished for the day. Team Freedom tours the station, then they gather in the wardroom for their post-mission dinner, and spend some time getting to know each other. Then they all head off to bed. But there is no rest for the wicked down at Mission Control. Orbital Tug 1 arrives at its Minmus periapsis and burns to enter orbit. Two hours later it reaches its first rendezvous burn for Minmus Station. Forty minutes later it arrives at Minmus Station. Mission Control hands the tug off to XO Kimball, and she guides it in to dock on the station docking complex. So now we finally have a new supply of monopropellant at Minmus. The next step at the Mint Moon will be to continue producing hydrolox to start replenishing supplies around the system. Back at Kerbin Station, it's time for Freedom to return home. Her crew bids farewell to the station crew, then they close the hatches and break away from the station. Kuykendall aligns Freedom for reentry and burns. He guides Freedom down to the atmosphere and through reentry. Over the Western Mountains, the new crew struggles a bit, trying to get Freedom on the glide path. But eventually they work things out, and Kuykendall brings Freedom in for a landing. So now we have a fresh supply of monopropellant out at Minmus Station, which should restart the supply of fuel from Minmus Base. We also have the new lander, Copernicus, on its way to Mun Station, where it will facilitate the crew rotation for Farside Base. The next lift will be the new crew for Farside Base and their ride out to The Mun, but that won't fly until a couple of days before turnover. So the spaceplane crews will have a couple of weeks off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted November 5, 2022 Author Share Posted November 5, 2022 Kerbin System Operations - Y1 D96 - 101 Although there are no cargoes to be lifted from Kerbin, there is still plenty of activity in the Kerbin system. In fact, the next ten days are some of the busiest since the program started. So grab a cup of coffee and have a seat. Orbital Tug 4 arrives at The Mun carrying Copernicus and burns to enter its parking orbit. A short while later it executes its rendezvous burns and arrives at Mun Station. Mun Station is unkerballed, so Captain Knoll of Farside Base takes control of the tug remotely and guides it in to dock with the station. Tug 4's fuel supply is nearly depleted, so it needs to return to Minmus Station for refueling. The next transfer window from The Mun to Minmus is in about five days. So we'll get back to Mun Station then. Speaking of Minmus, Orbital Tug 2 arrives in Minmus orbit a few hours later carrying the monoprop tank and stand for Minmus Base. It's rendezvous window for Minmus Station is a couple of hours after its arrival. XO Kimball takes the handoff from Mission Control and guides the tug in to dock. However, even with the arrival of the monoprop tank for Minmus Base, the next priority for Minmus Station is hydrolox. As daylight returns to Minmus Base, XO Kimball brings Cargo Lander 2 online and undocks it with an empty hydrolox tank. It burns for landing... And touches down about 25 meters from the landing pylon. Perfect! Assistant Engineer Knotts crunches out across the snow and connects the lander to the pylon. While inside, Chief Engineer Kopp fires up the extractor and converter and gets the hydrogen and oxygen flowing. A couple of hours later, the tank is full. Knotts trudges out again to disconnect the lander. And then, as Minmus Station passes into range again, Captain Kauffman takes control of the cargo lander, and it lifts off with its payload. It burns to enter orbit a couple of kilometers from Minmus Station, and Kauffman guides it in to dock. Now that Minmus Station has an assured supply of hydrolox for the cargo tugs, we can turn our attention to the monoprop tank. Kimball undocks Orbital Tug 2 from the tank stand with its docking adapter in tow and moves it over to an open port on the docking complex. Then Kauffman undocks the cargo lander and brings it over to the tank and stand. Then, as the station comes back around to Minmus Base, Kauffman undocks the lander with its stack and prepares to bring it back down to the base. He deorbits the lander and carefully aligns it for landing at the base. The lander begins its descent burn. Everything looks good. And touchdown, just shy of thirty meters from the pylon. Close enough. Knotts does the honors again, she's starting to wear a path to the pylon from the airlock in the snow. While Chief Engineer Kopp brings the refinery up to refuel the lander, Captain Kilpatrick brings the cargo drone online and hovers it over to the cargo lander. He docks it with the tank and stand stack and then lifts them off of the lander and starts carrying them over to their spot next to the base. He drops the new tank and stand next to the old one, then moves the drone over to the old, empty monoprop tank. He then lifts the empty tank off its stand and transfers it over to the cargo lander for return to Kerbin. So they can get their deposit back on it. Meanwhile, Knotts is back at work connecting the new tank stand to the old one. Once Knotts is finished and safely back inside, Kilpatrick brings the drone back over to the monoprop tank to park and refuel. Knotts goes out once more to disconnect the cargo lander, and then she is through for the day. Then, when Minmus Station comes around in its orbit again, Captain Kauffman brings the cargo lander back up to orbit again. Once the lander is back in orbit, Kauffman guides it back to the station and brings it in to dock. Now that the Orbital Tugs at the station have all been fully refueled, it's time to start sending some of them back to Kerbin Station. Kaufman undocks the cargo lander and moves it over to an empty hydrolox tank. Then XO Kimball undocks Orbital Tug 2 with a docking adapter and moves it over to the empty monoprop tank. Then, as the station comes around to the Kerbin departure window, Kimball undocks Tug 2 and turns it over to Mission Control. Tug 2 burns for Kerbin with a load of returning hardware. The next day, Minmus Station approaches Minmus Base. Captain Kauffman undocks the lander with the empty hydrolox tank and deorbits. It really seems like Captain Kauffman is getting the hang of this landing thing... Touchdown! 25 meters from the pylon. Nice shot! Assistant Engineer Knotts is off-shift, so Chief Engineer Kopp suits up and goes out to hook up the lander this time. Once she is back inside and back at her console, she brings the refinery modules up and starts filling the hydrolox tanks on the lander, which will take a couple of hours. And which brings us to a clean break about the middle of Day 101. We'll continue with the rest of the activities on Day 101 and beyond in our next report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted November 6, 2022 Author Share Posted November 6, 2022 Kerbin System Operations - Y1 D101 - 106 About the middle of Day 101, Mun Station reaches the departure window for Minmus. Captain Knoll of Farside Base takes control of Orbital Tug 4 and undocks it from Copernicus, taking its docking adapter with it. Once it is clear of the station, she turns it over to Mission Control and it burns for Minmus. It should arrive there in about six days. Back at Minmus Base, the hydrolox tank is now full. Chief Engineer Kopp powers down the refinery equipment, then goes out again and disconnects the lander. Then when Minmus Station is in position, Captain Kauffman fires up the lander's engine and burns for orbit. The lander performs its orbital insertion burn a couple of kilometers away from Minmus Station. But at almost the same time, Orbital Tug 3 arrives at Minmus and burns to enter its parking orbit. Its first rendezvous burn is in a couple of hours. Kauffman, meanwhile, guides the cargo lander in to dock with Minmus Station. This hydrolox tank is destined for Kerbin Station to refuel Interplanetary Tug 1, so after it has docked Kauffman undocks the lander and moves it to park on an empty hydrolox tank. Then XO Kimball brings Orbital Tug 6 online and undocks it, bringing it around to dock with the full hydrolox tank. Then, as the station approaches the departure window for Kerbin, Kimball undocks the tug and backs it away from the station. Once Mission Control has taken control of the tug, it burns for Kerbin, carrying the first tank of hydrolox from Minmus Base to leave Minmus orbit. It's starting to feel like this system is working. Now everyone gets a couple hours break. Then Orbital Tug 3 arrives at its first rendezvous burn. Forty-five minutes later, it arrives at Minmus Station and burns to match velocities. Mission Control hands it off to XO Kimball, and she guides it in to dock. She then undocks the tug and docking adapter and moves them over to an open docking port. Kauffman then brings the cargo lander over and docks it with the converter module. Unfortunately, Minmus Base is back on the night side again. So everyone gets a good night sleep. The next morning XO Kimball undocks the lander and burns to deorbit. She lines it up with the landing pad next to the base, then burns for landing. And, touchdown! Less than twenty meters from the landing pylon. Nice shot! Assistant Engineer Knotts makes the hike out to hook up the lander again. She never thought she would ever get tired of EVA... While Knotts is getting back inside and firing up the refinery, Captain Kilpatrick brings Cargo Drone 5 online and lifts it off to bring it over to the cargo lander. Once there, he lifts the converter module off of the lander and brings it over to its spot next to the first converter. Once the module is on the ground and leveled, Kilpatrick moves the drone back to its parking spot on the monoprop tank and refuels it. Knotts suits up again and treks out to the new module. She first hooks it up to the extractor module. That seems safe. She then attaches the new converter module to the radiator module, providing throughput. She climbs back into the airlock, and once back at the engineering panel she fires up the new converter to test it. It works! The lander is quickly refilled, and when Minmus Station comes back around in its orbit XO Kimball takes control and burns for orbit. When the lander reaches the station, Kimball docks it with an empty hydrolox tank. Although darkness is closing in on Minmus Base, everyone is anxious to see if the new converter module will accomplish the goals they had set for it. So, when Minmus Station has come around in its orbit again, Kimball undocks the lander with the empty hydrolox tank and deorbits it to Minmus Base once again. She guides it down to land in its usual spot next to the landing pylon. Chief Engineer Kopp is on the engineering panel as Knotts goes out and connects the lander. Then Kopp fires up the refinery and begins filling the tanks. Success! With both converters running the hydrolox tank is filled in under an hour, which leaves plenty of time for Knotts to go out and disconnect the lander before Minmus Station completes one orbit. Captain Kauffman ignites the lander's engine and burns for orbit. The lander burns to enter orbit, and then Kauffman brings it in to dock. Once it is docked, the engineers set about refueling the tugs once again. Then, as the station comes around to the Kerbin departure window, XO Kimball undocks Orbital Tug 3 and backs it away from the station. It will be returning to Kerbin Station to bring additional hardware up to Minmus Station in the future. Mission Control takes over from here and the tug burns for Kerbin. Which brings us to Day 106 and the end of our report. Our next report will be focused on the ongoing crew rotations, as well as some capital improvements that need to take place at Minmus Station. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted November 12, 2022 Author Share Posted November 12, 2022 Mission 311 - Orbital Transport Cygnus & Farside Base Crew Two The window for the Farside Base crew rotation is now fast approaching. So it's time to send up the new crew, which will consist of a seasoned crew from the spaceplane roster: Captain Arlene Koehler Executive Officer Duane Kong Chief Engineer Dawn Kirkpatrick Assistant Engineer Justin Kennedy Chief Scientist Mattie Kearns Assistant Scientist Marlin Ketchum And since we're bringing up the crew, we'll also need to bring up a way for them to get to The Mun. This will be the next Orbital Transport, christened Cygnus. Liberty is doing the honors this time. Her flight crew is: Commander Clint Keane Pilot Dominick Kilgore Flight Engineer Ismael Keys Payload Specialist Glen Keel MIssion Specialist Robbie Kirchner Mission Specialist Wendi Kang It's a bright and sunny morning on day 106 as Liberty stands poised at the end of the KSC runway. When all the preparations are ready, Commander Keane runs the throttles up and takes her aloft. Soon she is roaring through the stratosphere at Mach 4.5. After transitioning to closed cycle, Liberty cruises to space, and then burns to enter orbit. This is another self-contained flight, so once the crew has made some quick systems checks they burn to raise Liberty's apoapsis. And then they burn again to circularize at their 400 kilometer operating orbit. Once they have everything settled down, they get to work. Payload Specialist Keel unlocks the clamps holding Cygnus in the cargo bay and then deploys the cargo erector. Once it has been deployed and locked, the crew starts powering up Cygnus' systems and going through its final checkouts. Once everything is GO, Pilot Kilgore takes remote control of Cygnus. He undocks it from the cargo erector and guides it over to dock with Liberty's docking port. Once it is docked and the hatches are opened, the Farside Base crew moves over to Cygnus. They give some farewell fistbumps to the crew of Liberty, close the hatches, and then get strapped in and comfortable in their seats on the command deck. A short while later, they approach the departure window for The Mun. Captain Koehler undocks Cygnus from Liberty and backs it away. Koehler and Kong plot Cygnus' course for The Mun, and then they light the fire. They should be arriving there in about a day or so. The beauty of these non-rendezvous missions is that they can usually land on the same day. Home in time for supper! Woot! On the next orbit, Liberty is cleared for reentry. Commander Keane brings her around and performs the reentry burn. He then brings her back around to nose-up orientation while the rest of the crew begins to rig and stow the ship for reentry. Liberty cruises through reentry once again. Once her speed and altitude have fallen into her maneuvering envelope, Captain Keane takes the yoke and brings her onto the glide path to KSC. And then, touchdown! As Liberty rolls to a stop at the end of the runway everyone celebrates yet another successful mission. So Farside Base Crew Two is on their way to The Mun, they should be there in a day or so. The next spaceplane mission will be bringing up some additional expansion modules for Minmus Station, but we're going to time that mission so it can also serve to bring Farside Base Crew One home once they have arrived at Kerbin Station. We'll also need to send a second transport lander to Minmus to support turnover for Minmus Base. (Yes, we will be sending out more probes. We promise.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted November 14, 2022 Author Share Posted November 14, 2022 Kerbin System Operations - Y1 D107 - 109 As Cygnus makes its way out to The Mun, the crews out at Minmus are keeping busy. There is still an empty hydrolox tank at Minmus Station, so it is decided to fill it in anticipation of sending it back to Kerbin Station at some point in the future. First up, we need to get the lander on the right tank. Captain Kauffman brings the lander up and undocks it from the half-full tank and moves it over to dock with the empty tank. Then as the station approaches Minmus Base, he undocks the lander and tank and burns to deorbit. He points the lander at the landing site north of Minmus Base, and then begins the descent burn. And he brings it to rest... ...almost on top of the pylon. Oops. Well, no harm, no foul. Chief Engineer Clarice Kopp suits up and heads out to hook up the lander. On her way back, she takes a moment on the ice to appreciate how much she loves her job. Once she is back inside, she gets on her panel in the control center and starts the refinery. A short while later the tank is full. Kopp goes out and unhooks the lander, then Kauffman fires it up and brings it back to orbit. Once it is in orbit, he guides it in to dock with Minmus Station. So now we have another full tank at Minmus Station. It will probably wind up at Kerbin Station, but we're going to wait and see how things play out with the last tank we sent there before we dispatch it. Meanwhile, Cygnus reaches The Mun. Captain Koehler performs the orbital insertion burn when Cygnus reaches periapsis. About fifteen minutes later, they reach their first rendezvous burn for Mun Station. And then they arrive at Mun Station. Koehler guides Cygnus in to dock with Mun Station. Once onboard, the crew transfers their gear over to the lander, Copernicus. They take their seats on Copernicus' command deck, then they set about to bringing her systems online, deploying her antenna, solar panels, landing legs, and ladders. Then, as the station approaches the base, they close the hatches and undock Copernicus. Koehler burns to deorbit and aims for the second landing zone at the base. With incredible precision, she lands barely two meters away from the flag that was set to mark the landing zone. Fantastic! The crew climbs out of Copernicus and take in the view for a minute, while Chief Engineer Dawn Kirkpatrick shuffles over to hook the lander up to the landing pylon. Then Captain Koehler leads them over to the airlock to get inside and get to work. Once inside, the crews greet each other warmly. Then they begin their turnover, discussing the details of running a research station on the far side of The Mun that Crew One has learned over the last ninety days. Then they all sit down for a hearty meal in the wardroom. And a couple of games of foosball, of course. But now it is time for Crew One to say farewell. It's fistbumps all around. Then they suit up in pairs in the airlock and cycle out. They pause to take a last look at the base they built, then they hike over to Tycho and begin the process of boarding. Captain Knoll and Chief Engineer Kohler climb in first and bring the lander's systems online. Once everything is running and checked out, Assistant Engineer Krebs unhooks the lander from the landing pylon, and the rest of the crew boards. Then, as Mun Station clears the horizon, liftoff! Farside Base Crew One is on their way home! Knoll burns to enter orbit, and then brings Tycho in to dock with Mun Station. Once docked at Mun Station, the engineers refuel Tycho from the hydrolox tank onboard. Then they all transfer their personal gear over to Orion. As it happens, they complete these tasks only about fifteen minutes out from the Kerbin departure window. They close the hatches to Mun Station and undock Orion. This is the first view of Kerbin that any of them have had in almost three months. Captain Knoll sets their course and they burn for home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted November 18, 2022 Author Share Posted November 18, 2022 Mission 412 - Minmus Station Expansion Modules The next step in finishing up the infrastructure around the Kerbin system is to start buffing Minmus Station. The eventual goal is that Minmus Station will be the central hub of interplanetary traffic, but right now it doesn't have anywhere near enough docking capacity to support that level of activity. So the first step in increasing its size will be to add a couple of expansion modules, which will almost double the number of large docking ports available on the station docking complex. We will also be adding an additional docking adapter, which is necessary to allow an additional transport lander to dock for the Minmus Base crew rotation the month after next. More docking adapters will be added later. This mission will also be bringing Farside Base Crew One back Kerbinside. Opportunity is pulling the load this mission. Since her previous crew is currently serving as half of Kerbin Station Crew Two, a new kerbonaut group will be taking over as Team Opportunity: Commander Shauna Kozlowski Pilot Doretha Koehler Flight Engineer Truman Krug Payload Specialist Leona Kimble Mission Specialist Freida Koenig Mission Specialist Kelvin Keller While the teams are prepping Opportunity for launch, Orion arrives back in Kerbin orbit. When she reaches periapsis, Captain Knoll burns to bring her into her parking orbit, and then plots an intercept to Kerbin Station. Back on the ground, the crew of Opportunity takes her aloft. Although this is her first time taking Opportunity to orbit, Commander Kozlowski feels that her training has prepared her well. Opportunity cruises through her atmospheric flight without incident. As Opportunity reaches the peak of her ballistic arc, Kozlowski burns to enter orbit. The crew rigs their ship for orbital operations, and then just fifteen minutes later they burn to rendezvous with Kerbin Station. As Opportunity is closing in on Kerbin Station, Orion reaches its first rendezvous burn. The race is on! Just kidding, it isn't really a race at all. As Opportunity is arriving at Kerbin Station, Orion isn't due for another half-an-hour. Pilot Koehler takes the conn and guides Opportunity in to dock. Once the hatches are open, the crew of Kerbin Station greets the new recruits and congratulates them on their first launch. Then they all get to the task at hand. Payload Specialist Kimble unlatches the expansion modules and deploys them in the cargo bay. Then Assistant Pilot Kinard brings Cargo Drone 2 online and brings it over to dock with the docking adapter. She uses the drone to undock the expansion modules and maneuver them to a docking port on the zenith side of the docking complex. Once the stack is docked, she undocks the docking adapter and moves it to a side port on the expansion modules, clearing the end port for the orbital tug which will be taking the expansion modules to Minmus. Once these maneuvers have been completed, she brings the drone back to its usual parking spot. Opportunity's cargo bay is now clear, and just in time, because Orion is arriving in a few minutes. The crew of Kerbin Station turns their attention to managing its arrival. Captain Knoll burns to match velocities with Kerbin Station. But, apparently she has gotten a little rusty with her orbital mechanics over the last three months she has been stationed on the far side of The Mun. Orion burns in over two kilometers away from Kerbin Station. However, with just a few deft maneuvers and a little patience, soon Orion is closing in on the station. And shortly thereafter, Knoll brings her in to dock. Because Opportunity launched just after dawn and encountered her first rendezvous point so quickly, she will not have to spend the night in orbit but will be able to land just before dusk at Kerbal Space Center. Which is welcome news to the ex-crew of Farside Base, who are anxious to return home as soon as they can at this point. However, there is time for a solid post-mission meal in the wardroom on Kerbin Station. The rookie crew of Opportunity are excited to spend some down time with the experienced crew of Kerbin Station, and the legendary crew from Farside Base. "So, Captain Knoll, did you really barrel roll Independence on her test flight?!" "Captain Kozak, tell us the one about the bowling ball again!" Eventually all good things come to an end. The crews say their farewells and give their fistbumps. The Farside Base crew settles into the passenger seats on Opportunity as her crew mans the flight deck. They close the hatches and undock. Then Commander Kozlowski burns for deorbit. The Farside Base crew feels their full Kerbin weight for the first time in months as Opportunity cruises through reentry. As they leave blackout and fall into the lower atmosphere, Kozlowski takes the yoke and brings Opportunity onto the glide path. And then, touchdown! As Opportunity rolls to a stop, she is greeted with a round of applause in Mission Control. Congratulations on a great first mission to the new Team Opportunity, and welcome back, Farside Base Crew One! Next up is the crew rotation for Minmus Station, scheduled in about twenty days. But, since it is about an eighteen-day round trip to Minmus, we should probably get started on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted November 26, 2022 Author Share Posted November 26, 2022 Mission 413 - Transport Lander Petavius & Minmus Station Crew Two Next up on the hit parade, we will be bringing up the next crew for Minmus Station, and the second transport lander for Minmus, dubbed Petavius. However, while Independence is being prepped for Mission 413, there are a couple of events taking place around the Kerbin System: Out at Minmus, Orbital Tug 4 finally arrives from The Mun. Because of its odd departure, it arrives at a very high inclination. So as it approaches Minmus it burns to match planes with Minmus Station. And then it burns to enter its 100 km parking orbit. It almost immediately encounters a rendezvous window for Minmus Station and burns to intercept. It will be arriving at Minmus Station in about an hour. While we're waiting for that, Orbital Tug 2 arrives in Kerbin Orbit. It burns to enter its parking orbit, and Mission Control plots an intercept to Kerbin Station, which is a couple of hours away. Then Tug 4 arrives at Minmus Station. Mission Control hands it off to XO Kimball, who guides it in to dock with the cargo drone, leaving the docking adapter port open for crew transfers. So dawn has finally broken at KSC, and we're ready to deal with Independence. In addition to Petavius, she will also be bringing up three additional docking adapters to fill out the expansion modules destined for Minmus Station. And, as mentioned before, Minmus Station Crew Two will be hitching a ride as well: Captain Dominick Kilgore Executive Officer Clint Keane Chief Engineer Glen Keel Assistant Engineer Ismael Keys Chief Scientist Wendi Kang Assistant Scientist Robbie Kirchner Our flight crew for this mission will be returning veterans from Kerbin Station. They have finished their re-acclimatization program and have re-certified as flight crew, and now they are ready to start flying spaceplanes again until their next deep space mission. Commander Juliana Koontz Pilot Barney Kearney Flight Engineer Andrew Keene Payload Specialist Jaime Kent Mission Specialist Ben Kunkel Mission Specialist Blair Kovach So Independence is rolled out to the runway. Flight Engineer Keene gives the GO, and Commander Koontz takes Independence aloft for her nineteenth mission! She reaches space and performs her insertion burn to enter orbit. The crew rigs the ship for orbital operations like old hands. Then, a short while later, they reach the rendezvous window for Kerbin Station and burn to intercept. They reach Kerbin Station on the night side. But Pilot Kearney is undeterred, and expertly guides Independence in to dock. Once they get onboard, it's like déjà vu all over again. They give their greetings to the current crew then take a look around to make sure the station they built is being maintained to their standards. Then everyone gets down to work. Payload Specialist Kent releases the clamps on Petavius and deploys it from the cargo bay. Then Assistant Pilot Koehler brings Cargo Drone 2 online and guides it over to dock with the adapter on Petavius. He then undocks Petavius and moves it over to dock with the open docking adapter on the station docking complex. Now for the docking adapters. He brings the drone back over to dock with the first adapter. He then extracts the adapter and docks it with the expansion modules. He brings the drone back and moves the second docking module. And then the third. He then returns the drone to its normal parking spot. Now the crews have a brief respite. The departure window for Minmus is about half an hour away. So they decide to have their post-mission meal now, making it also an impromptu farewell celebration for the Minmus Station crew. While they are engaging in their revelry, Orbital Tug 2 reaches its rendezvous window and burns to intercept. It should be arriving at Kerbin Station in half an hour or so. After the dinner is finished, the Minmus Station crew prepares for departure. Their gear and supplies have been stocked on Orion, and its tanks have been refueled by the station engineers. They give their farewells and fistbumps, then they board their ship and seal the hatches. They take their seats on the command deck and undock. Captain Kilgore plots their course, and after a few minutes they burn for Minmus. About ten minutes after Orion departs, Orbital Tug 2 arrives. Mission Control turns it over to XO Kohn, who guides it in to dock with the cargo erector in Independence's cargo bay. Depositing the docking adapter and empty monoprop tank in the cargo bay for return to Kerbin, Kohn undocks the tug and guides it to the other side of the docking complex to dock with the expansion modules destined for Minmus. Once the tug is docked to the expansion modules, they are just waiting for the Minmus departure window. When it arrives, Kohn undocks the tug with the modules and backs it away from the station. Once it is clear, she turns it back over to Mission Control, and they have it burn for Minmus once again. Now the mission is almost complete. Payload Specialist Kent retracts the erector with the returning cargo into the cargo bay. Then the crew of Independence has time for only a short nap before dawn breaks over KSC, signalling the start of their return. They say their farewells and close the hatches. Then Commander Koontz undocks and maneuvers Independence away from the station. They burn for reentry. As Independence falls back to Kerbin, they rig the ship for atmospheric operations. She passes through the fire of reentry, and Commander Koontz brings her in to land once more. Another successful mission in the books! So the next crew for Minmus Station and its new expansion modules are on their way. We need to get Petavius out there as well, but we have a couple of orbital tugs on their way back to Kerbin Station, so one of them should be able to bring it out there. So we should be all set for the Minmus Base crew rotation as well, although it may be a bit late due to the rigors of orbital mechanics. I guess we'll wait and see. Our next probe departure is for Jool in about 75 days, so our next priority is to get the interplanetary tug prepped for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted December 8, 2022 Author Share Posted December 8, 2022 (edited) Kerbin System Operations - Y1 D113 - 120 While the ground crews were rolling Independence back to her hangar, the crews out at Minmus were keeping themselves busy. Fuel, fuel, fuel... XO Kimball undocks the cargo lander and moves it over to an empty hydrolox tank. She then undocks the recently refueled Orbital Tug 1 and moves it over to dock with the full hydrolox tank that the lander recently brought up from the surface. Then, as Minmus Station comes around in its orbit once more, Kimball undocks Tug 1 and turns it over to Mission Control, who instruct it to burn for Kerbin Station. Then it's time to fill another tank, which is becoming pretty routine for the crews out here. While that is going on, Orbital Tug 6 arrives in Kerbin orbit with a full hydrolox tank destined for Kerbin Station. Everyone is very excited, as this is the first tank of fuel exported from Minmus Base! Shortly after the tug burns to enter Kerbin orbit, it reaches its first rendezvous burn for Kerbin Station. Twenty minutes later it arrives at Kerbin Station, and soon thereafter Captain Kozak is guiding it in to dock. Once the tug is docked and safe, the crew gets to work. Captain Kozak has an idea: Instead of wasting time and propellant moving the tug to the empty tank, he has the duty engineers, Kilgore and Kennedy, simply transfer the fuel from the new tank into the existing tank on the station. This saves everyone a lot of time and effort. (Well, everyone except the engineers.) Gold star, Dominic! Once the fuel has been transferred, Mission Control plots a return course for Tug 6 to bring the now empty tank back to Minmus Station. The tug does require a bit of a top-up from the station fuel supply in order to make it back, but that is to be expected when carrying such large loads. As Kerbin Station approaches the departure point, Kozak undocks the tug and backs it away from the station. He then turns it over to Mission Control, and it burns for Minmus. As Tug 6 is departing, Tug 3 is arriving. About an hour after it arrives it reaches its first rendezvous burn. And then it arrives at Kerbin Station and Assistant Pilot Kinard guides it in to dock. Kinard undocks the tug from the docking adapter it brought back from Minmus Station, leaving it attached to the station docking complex for later return to Kerbin. He then moves the tug over to dock with the transport lander, Petavius. Then, as the station approaches the departure point for Minmus, Kinard undocks the tug and turns it over to Mission Control, who instruct it to burn for Minmus. A few days later, Orion arrives at Minmus with Minmus Station Crew Two onboard. And then, about twenty minutes later, Tug 2 arrives with the new expansion modules for Minmus Station. They left an hour apart at Kerbin, but got here twenty minutes apart...whatever. A while later, Orion reaches its orbital insertion burn. And then Tug 2 does as well. And then...Tug 2 reaches its first rendezvous burn for Minmus Station. It's all so confusing some times. If I live to be a hundred I won't really understand orbital mechanics. Don't you wish there was some sort of game or something that would just explain it all in a really simple, easy to understand way? Anyway. So while Tug 2 is closing in on Minmus Station, Orion reaches its first rendezvous burn. Then Tug 2 arrives at the station. After it burns to match velocities, Mission Control turns it over to Captain Kauffman, who guides it in to dock. Once it's secured, Kauffman undocks the tug and moves it over to an unused port to get it out of the way. And then Orion shows up. Captain Kilgore on Orion sends over his greetings, and then guides his ship in to dock with the station. Once the hatches are open, everyone says hello, and the crews give a quick tour of the station. However, there is still work to be done. The expansion modules are not in their final locations. And it works out well that the new crew is here, because they can help out with the move. First off, the cargo drone needs to be unentangled. XO Kimball undocks Orbital Tug 4 and moves it out of the way. Then she brings the drone online and undocks it. She turns it around and places the docking adapter that is docked to the drone on an unused port on the station core. She leaves the docking adapter there for safe keeping, then undocks the drone and moves it down to dock with the expansion modules. Now Crew Two moves into Capricorn. Standard procedures won't allow one of the transports to be undocked without a full crew onboard, in case the transport cannot be redocked and needs to return to Kerbin. But in this case, that is easy to do since there are two full crews onboard. But they aren't just undocking Capricorn, they are also undocking the docking adapter that Capricorn is docked to. This will allow a new expansion module to be placed between the adapter and its existing expansion module. Once Captain Kilgore has backed Capricorn away to a safe distance, XO Kimball undocks one of the new expansion modules and moves it in to dock at its final location. Kimball then moves the drone to the second expansion module. And Kilgore brings Capricorn back in to dock. Once everything has been powered down and safed, and everyone is happy with the results, the crews repeat the same process on the other side of the station with Pisces. Kimball moves the drone back to its parking spot on the supply module. And Kilgore brings Pisces back in to dock. So now Minmus Station has plenty of docking capacity to serve its future needs. This brings us to day 120. We have plenty more activity going on, which we will continue with in our next report. Edited December 8, 2022 by TheSaint My spelling is atrocious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted December 8, 2022 Author Share Posted December 8, 2022 (edited) Kerbin System Operations - Y1 D120-127 Continuing from our last report, we catch up with Orbital Tug 6 as it arrives back at Minmus. When it reaches its 100 km periapsis, it burns to enter orbit. It almost immediately burns to rendezvous with Minmus Station. While Tug 6 is on approach, Minmus Station reaches the departure point for Kerbin. The crews have finished their turnover, had their farewell meal, and now Crew One is preparing to depart for home. They say goodbye and close the hatches, then Captain Kauffman undocks Capricorn and backs away from the station. After one last goodbye, they burn for home. A little while later, Orbital Tug 6 arrives at Minmus Station. The new crew has their first task! Captain Kilgore takes the handoff from Mission Control and guides the tug in to dock with the station. Once the tug is docked, the engineers get involved. They refuel Tug 6, and then transfer the rest of the fuel to the hydrolox tank the tug is docked to. That means the tank the lander is docked with is once again empty. And we all know what that means: So now we have another full tank at Minmus Station again. The engineers go ahead and finish filling the tank docked to Tug 6. This tank will be headed for Mun Station, since the tank there is almost empty. But the transfer window from Minmus to The Mun isn't open for another couple of days. Meanwhile, Tug 1 arrives at Kerbin with another tank of fuel destined for Kerbin Station. After passing through its rendezvous maneuvers it arrives at the station and Assistant Pilot Koehler guides it in to dock. While the engineers are using this tank to refuel the interplanetary tug, Tug 3 arrives at Minmus with Petavius. Its rendezvous maneuvers start in a couple of hours. Back at Kerbin Station, the engineers have finished transferring the fuel from Tug 1's payload to the interplanetary tug. Now the station has come back around in its orbit and it is time to send Tug 1 on its way back to Minmus. XO Kohn undocks the tug and backs it away from the station, and then it burns for Minmus. Tug 3 arrives at Minmus Station, and Captain Kilgore guides it in to dock. Once Petavius is secured, Kilgore separates the adapter from its engine and moves the tug away. He brings it up to dock with the other docking adapter which was docked on the core module a while back, thus forming a nice little package that can be easily returned to Kerbin. The tug docks with the docking complex and gets refueled by the engineers. And then, when the station reaches the return point, Kilgore undocks the tug and it burns for Kerbin. But now, once again, our general use fuel tank at Minmus Station is empty. So... However, while the lander is down on the surface filling up, Minmus Station reaches the departure point for The Mun. XO Keane takes the helm and guides Tug 6 away from the station. And then Mission Control has it burn for The Mun. It should be arriving there in about a week and a half. But since there was a delay because of the tug's departure, now the lander will be lifting off at night time. Not a disaster, but definitely out of the ordinary. And now that we have more fuel available, Tug 4 gets refueled and sent back to Kerbin Station to await the next payload to come up from KSC. So now Capricorn has almost arrived back in LKO. We should probably arrange some way to get them back down to the surface when they get there. They'd probably appreciate that. We also need to get Minmus Base Crew Two up to Kerbin Station so they can be on their way. There are still some additions to be made to Minmus Station as well. And the countdown to the Jool departure window is still ticking. Busy, busy, busy... Edited December 20, 2022 by TheSaint Can't keep my tugs straight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 Mission 515 - Minmus Base Crew Two & Minmus Station Expansion Truss Capricorn arrives at Kerbin and burns to enter her 800 km parking orbit. So now that the first crew of Minmus Station has arrived in orbit, we should probably do something about bringing them back to the surface. This mission will also be bringing up the next crew for Minmus Base, since that crew is due for rotation in about twenty-one days. Minmus Base Crew Two will be: Captain Marlin Kuykendall Executive Officer Robbie Kelsey Chief Engineer Dorothy Knudson Assistant Engineer Lowell Knox Chief Scientist Blair Kellum Assistant Scientist Melissa Keck Additionally, we will be continuing the expansion of Minmus Station. If things go as planned we will end up with a lot of traffic passing through there. Eventually we're going to have to add a second shift to the crew, which will require additional habitation space. All of this is going to need more power and cooling capacity. So the next addition to Minmus Station will be an additional truss module with more solar panels and radiators. Freedom is up in the rotation for this flight, her fifteenth. Her flight crew will be more returning veterans from Kerbin Station: Commander Mercedes Keegan Pilot Eli Koonce Flight Engineer Gilbert Keenan Payload Specialist Rachel Killian Mission Specialist Bianca Kimmel Mission Specialist Norman Koontz As Freedom is poised on the end of the KSC runway, Flight Engineer Keenan runs down the pre-flight checklist. When everything is GO, he signals Commander Keegan, who runs up the throttles and releases the brakes, taking Freedom into the air. Keegan guides Freedom through her atmospheric flight, then transitions to closed cycle and brings her into space. Once there, they execute their orbital insertion burn, then rig their ship for orbital operations. They encounter their first rendezvous burn a few minutes later. Twenty minutes later they arrive at Kerbin Station. Pilot Koonce takes over the reins and guides Freedom in to dock with the station. Once on board, they greet the crew of Kerbin Station, then they get down to work. Payload Specialist Killian deploys the truss in Freedom's cargo bay. Then XO Kohn fires up Cargo Drone 2 and brings it over to dock with the truss. She extracts the truss and carefully maneuvers it around the station to dock it with a port on the the docking complex. Then she undocks the drone and moves it back to its parking spot. A short while later Capricorn reaches her first rendezvous burn. Half an hour later, she arrives at Kerbin Station. And Captain Kauffman guides her in to dock. Now that all of the crews are together, they sit down to dinner together and swap old stories. Once the traditional meal is over, it is time for the new crew of Minmus Base to bid farewell. They climb into Capricorn and close the hatches. Then Captain Kuykendall undocks her and backs her away from the station. Then when the window arrives, they burn for Minmus. They should arrive there in about eight days. Meanwhile back on Kerbin Station, there is one last mission task to accomplish. Assistant Pilot Koehler brings Cargo Drone 2 back online and brings it over to pick up the docking adapter that was left here by Orbital Tug 3 a couple of weeks ago. He then undocks the adapter and moves it over to the cargo erector in Freedom's cargo bay. He then returns the drone to its parking spot. Payload Specialist Killian retracts the cargo erector, and everything is ready for Freedom to return to Kerbin. After a quick nap, the time has come for Freedom to go home. The crews say goodbye and close the hatches. Then Commander Keegan undocks her ship and backs it away from the station. Then she burns for reentry. In a program first, Freedom is reentering during a solar eclipse! The images are quite striking. Instead of the usual bright daylight, the landscape is illuminated in an eerie twilight. And Commander Keegan pilots her vessel in to another perfect landing. Next up we will be supplying new habitation and airlock modules for Minmus Station, and bringing the crew of Minmus Base back down to Kerbin as well. After that we will probably see a lull in activity until the launch of the Jool probe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelo Kerman Posted December 11, 2022 Share Posted December 11, 2022 I love the landing during an eclipse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted December 22, 2022 Author Share Posted December 22, 2022 Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, it's been a busy couple of weeks around the house. It's been one year since I started this mission report, and I have to say it's been a lot of fun, I hope everyone is still enjoying it. We're just getting to the end of building out the infrastructure, so hopefully things will start to really get rolling again here in a while. ================================================== Kerbin System Operations - Y1 D128-138 So now Minmus Base Crew Two is headed out to Minmus in Capricorn. We have a full hydrolox tank headed out to The Mun to resupply Mun Station. The new truss is waiting to go at Kerbin Station. So we have plenty to do. Let's get hopping! Orbital Tug 1 arrives in Minmus orbit carrying an empty hydrolox tank from Kerbin Station. It arrives at Minmus Station a short while later, and XO Keane takes the hand-off and guides it in to dock. After it is docked, dawn breaks at Minmus Base, which means that it's time to fill the tank again. Once the lander is back at Minmus Station, Keel and Keys get to work transferring the fuel around to refuel the newly arrived tug and the other vessels moored at the station. While that is going on, Tug 4 arrives in Kerbin orbit. After an orbit or two, it reaches its first rendezvous burn for Kerbin Station. And then about an hour later it arrives. Assistant Pilot Koehler takes over from Mission Control and brings the tug in to dock with the truss assembly destined for Minmus Station. Then, as Kerbin Station swings around in its orbit again, Koehler undocks the tug and hands it off to Mission Control again. The controllers plot its course to Minmus, and it burns. A couple of days later, Orbital Tug 6 arrives at The Mun. It burns to enter orbit, and Mission Control plots an intercept for Mun Station. A couple of hours later it makes its first rendezvous burn. And then it pulls in alongside Mun Station. The tug docks its full hydrolox tank at the station. Unfortunately, there is nobody on board the station to effect a transfer of the fuel. But, that's okay. Mission Control just has the tug move over to the empty hydrolox tank. So now the tug only has to wait for the next transfer window from The Mun back to Minmus, which is in about three days. Speaking of Minmus, a short while later, Capricorn arrives at Minmus with Minmus Base Crew Two aboard. Captain Kuykendall brings her into orbit with a careful burn. Her first burn to rendezvous with Minmus Station is in about two hours. And...there it is. Kuykendall brings his ship alongside Minmus Station just as the sun is peeking around the corner of Minmus. And then he guides her in to dock. Once aboard, they say hello to the crew of Minmus Station. But they aren't staying for long. They get started moving their gear over to the new lander, Petavius. While Minmus Station is coming around to the landing point for Minmus Base, the crew need to launch another tug for Kerbin Station. This tug will bring up the habitation and airlock modules that will be coming up on the spaceplane that will be bringing Minmus Base Crew One back to Kerbin. So as they approach the Kerbin return point, Captain Kilgore releases Tug 2 and backs it away from the station. He turns it over to Mission Control, and it burns for Kerbin. Now the station is approaching the landing point. The crews give their fistbumps, although it really isn't farewell, since they will be working together a lot over the next couple of months. Then they close the hatches and take their seats on the command deck of Petavius. They bring the lander's systems online, and once everything checks out they undock from the station. Captain Kuykendall burns to deorbit and maneuvers to align their descent with Landing Area B at Minmus Base. As they descend, they begin their final landing burn. Touchdown! A perfect landing! After the lander's systems have been shut down and safed, the crew venture out onto the surface. Chief Engineer Knudson bounds over to the landing pylon to hook Petavius up to base power while everyone else takes a moment to drink in the views of Minmus and their new home. After a short break, it's time to get moving. They make their way over to the airlock and take their turns cycling into the base. Once inside, they give greetings to Crew One. They stow their personal gear in the hab module, and then everyone sits down and goes through their turnover. Once everyone is satisfied they have a handle on their job duties, they all gather in the wardroom for the traditional end-of-mission meal. Then they say their farewells and Crew One gather their things and cycle out of the airlock. They make their way over to Clavius to prepare for departure. Captain Kilpatrick climbs aboard to begin powering her up, while Chief Engineer Kopp stands ready to disconnect the base power umbilical. Once all systems are checked, and everyone is aboard, Clavius stands ready. Then, as Minmus Station approaches, liftoff! The first crew of Minmus Base is on their way home! Kilpatrick shows his expertise one more time, bringing Clavius into orbit just a couple kilometers away from Minmus Station. He guides her in to rendezvous, and then docks. Once aboard, they say a fond farewell to the crew of Minmus Station, then move over to Pisces, which will be their ride back to Kerbin Station. Then, as they approach the departure point for Kerbin, they close the hatches and undock. Captain Kilpatrick plots their course back to Kerbin, and then burns for home. As they sail home, that brings us to Day 138. There is more to come, but that will have to wait for the next report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted December 24, 2022 Author Share Posted December 24, 2022 Kerbin System Operations - Y1 D138-148 Continuing with our report from last time, Mun Station reaches the departure point for Minmus. So Mission Control directs Tug 6 to undock with the empty hydrolox tank and then burn for Minmus. It should be arriving in about a week or so. Mun Station now has a full compliment of fully refueled vehicles, and a full hydrolox tank. So they should be all set here for a while. A couple of days later, Tug 4 arrives at Minmus. After burning to circularize into its parking orbit, it has a few hours to wait for its first rendezvous burn. And, since the crew of Minmus Station has yet another empty hydrolox tank on their hands.... (Assistant Engineer Knox is very impressed by the size of the cargo lander with its tank. "I can't even jump over it!") So now the engineers at Minmus Station set about to distributing this tank of fuel. All of their vehicles are full once again, and they still have half a tank left! A couple of hours later, Tug 4 works its way through its rendezvous burns and arrives at Minmus Station. Then Mission Control hands the tug off to Captain Kilgore and he guides it in to dock. Installing the truss will require some coordination, since the adapter from the first truss' installation is still installed on its end. XO Keane fires up the cargo drone and brings it over to dock with the adapter on the existing truss. He then undocks the adapter and carries it out of the way. Captain Kilgore then undocks the new truss from the station with Tug 4, leaving its adapter behind on the station docking port. XO Keane brings the drone in and docks it with the adapter on the station docking arm, making a neat little returnable package of the two adapters. Kilgore backs Tug 4 a ways from the station, aligns everything properly, and then brings the new truss in to dock with the old truss. While the engineers are checking the connections between the trusses, the XO takes the opportunity to return the cargo drone to its normal parking spot on the supply module. Then, when the truss has been verified to be correctly installed, Captain Kilgore undocks Tug 4 and moves it over to dock with the truss adapters which are destined to be returned to Kerbin Station. Once everything is clear of the new truss, it is time to spread its wings. First the new solar panels. And then the new radiator array. The engineers refuel Tug 4, and then when Minmus Station comes back around in its orbit they undock it and turn it over to Mission Control. Tug 4 burns for Kerbin Station, returning the truss docking adapters. It will stand by at Kerbin Station for future cargoes. A couple of days after Tug 4's departure, Tug 6 arrives in Minmus orbit from The Mun. It burns to enter its parking orbit and awaits its rendezvous burns. Back at Minmus Station, refueling Tug 4 has created another empty hydrolox tank. Soooo... Now the tanks at Minmus Station are almost completely full. An hour or so later, Tug 6 arrives at its rendezvous burns. Captain Kilgore takes the handoff from Mission Control and guides it in to dock. The engineers get Tug 6 refueled, but since there is such a surplus of fuel at Minmus Station right now there is no rush to fill the tank. A few more days pass and Tug 2 arrives in Kerbin orbit. It cruises through its rendezvous burns and arrives at Kerbin Station a couple of hours later. Captain Kozak does the honors and guides the tug in to dock. Tug 2 will remain here at Kerbin Station to bring up the next modules for the expansion of Minmus Station, which should be brought up via spaceplane in the next day or so. Pisces should also be arriving in the next couple of days, returning Minmus Base Crew One to Kerbin and completing the first round of crew rotations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 Mission 414 - Minmus Station Habitation & Airlock Modules The next spaceplane flight will be bringing up a habitation module to expand the living space at Minmus Station, as well as an airlock to facilitate EVA activities should they become necessary in the future. We're trying a new adapter on the airlock module to see if it will make it easier to return the adapter to Kerbin once the airlock is situated. This flight will also be Minmus Base Crew One's ride home from Kerbin Station. They are currently approaching Kerbin orbit in Pisces. Liberty is the workhorse this time, flying her seventeenth mission. Her crew is the returned crew from Farside Base, fresh off of a couple weeks of well-earned vacation and some refresher training. Commander Jane Knoll Pilot Gavin Kenney Flight Engineer Dwayne Kohler Payload Specialist Araceli Krebs Mission Specialist Keisha Keene Mission Specialist Lea Kimbraugh As Liberty is poised on the end of the runway, the crew goes through their pre-flight checklists. Once everything is GO, Commander Knoll runs the throttles up and releases the brakes. Just like old times! Liberty soars through closed-cycle transition and then circularizes in LKO. Her crew rigs her for orbit, and then they get ready for their first rendezvous burn in about an hour. After their burn, they are closing in on Kerbin Station. Twenty minutes later they bring Liberty around and burn to match velocities. They're docking on the night side, but they're all old hands at this. Pilot Kenney has them gliding in to dock just as Kerbol peeks around the corner of Kerbin. After the hatches are open, the crews engage in an extended greeting time. They haven't seen each other in months! But once that is over, it's all business. Payload Specialist Krebs deploys the modules in the cargo bay. While she is doing that, Captain Kozak undocks Cargo Drone 2 and brings it over to dock with the airlock module. He extracts the airlock module and brings it around the station to dock with the other side of the docking complex. While the crews on Kerbin Station are rearranging their cargo, Pisces arrives back in Kerbin orbit. Her first rendezvous burn is in about an hour. Back at Kerbin Station, Captain Kozak brings the drone back around to pick up the habitation module from Liberty's cargo bay. He then maneuvers it around the station to stack it with the airlock module. And then he brings the drone back to its parking spot. While all this has been going on, the engineers have been topping up the monoprop tanks on Tug 2. Now Assistant Pilot Koehler brings the tug online and undocks it. He maneuvers it over to dock with the outgoing cargo stack. The departure time for Minmus is in...just about an hour. So, Pisces reaches its rendezvous burn... ...and a few minutes later, Tug 2 departs for Minmus. Half an hour later, Pisces arrives at Kerbin Station. And Captain Kilpatrick guides her in to dock. And now it's finally time for dinner! Twenty-four kerbonauts are stuffed into the wardroom this time, quite a crowd! Then it's off to bed. The next morning, the crew of Liberty and the returning Minmus Base crew clamber into Liberty and shut the hatches. Commander Knoll undocks her ship and backs it away from Kerbin Station. Then as Liberty approaches the reentry point, she burns for home. Liberty passes through reentry again, and Commander Knoll guides her in to land once more. So we have completed the first round of crew rotations, we're good for another 90 days. The next set of modules for Minmus Station are on their way, and that should keep them happy for a while. The departure window for Jool is still about 40 days out. I think the next couple of missions will be focused on some additional expansions and activity around Farside Base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted January 7, 2023 Author Share Posted January 7, 2023 Mission 603 - Jool Explorer & Monoprop Tank So, the nerds from Orbital Mechanics barged into my office this week. I thought they were just going to complain that I cut the budget for their after-hours pizza orders again. I was wrong. They were there to complain about that and to let me know that they want to launch Jool Explorer from Minmus. Which is legit, we do want to make Minmus Station the center of our interplanetary activity. So it makes sense to base the interplanetary tugs out of there as well. But they were saying that with all of the transit times involved, that would mean that the tug and probe would need to depart for Minmus sooner rather than later. I had the interns check their math, and they're right. So we juggled the launch schedule around and moved the probe up to the next launch. And, since we're also running low on monopropellant out at Kerbin Station, we'll using the spare payload to lift another monoprop tank as well. It just works out. The Jool Explorer probe is identical to the Sarnus Explorer probe. It also has two atmospheric sub-probes, one of which will be dropped into the atmosphere of Laythe and the other which will be dropped into Jool itself. Opportunity is up for this flight. Her flight crew is: Commander Doretha Koehler Pilot Shauna Kozlowski Flight Engineer Leona Kimble Payload Specialist Truman Krug Mission Specialist Kelvin Keller MIssion Specialist Freida Koenig Opportunity is towed out to the runway and made ready for this, her fourteenth mission. When everything is GO, Commander Koehler runs up the throttles and releases the brakes. Opportunity takes to the air! She cruises through the atmosphere and transitions to closed-cycle without incident. Once they reach 100km, they burn to enter orbit. Their first rendezvous burn is about an hour later. They arrive at Kerbin Station about twenty minutes later. Pilot Kozlowski takes over now and guides Opportunity in to dock. Once onboard, everyone takes some time to say hello and catch up. Then they get down to business. Payload Specialist Krug deploys the payloads in the cargo bay. Station Ops has decided that it's about time to rotate the cargo drones. Which also happens to make this whole operation easier. QED. So XO Kohn brings Cargo Drone 2 online and moves it over to dock with Jool Explorer. She then extracts the probe and brings it around to dock with the station docking complex. Then AP Kinnard brings Cargo Drone 1 up and moves it around to dock with the new monoprop tank. She extracts the tank from the cargo bay and brings it over to dock with the docking complex as well. Now the engineers get to work. They refuel both of the cargo drones from the new monoprop tank, and then refill the existing monoprop tank from it as well, which drains it completely. Since it is now empty, it can be returned to Kerbin. Kinnard undocks it and returns it to Opportunity's cargo bay. She then undocks Drone 1 and moves it over to the parking spot on the escape pod hub. Drone 1 will be the new active cargo drone. Meanwhile, back on the other side, the XO undocks Drone 2 and moves it to the parking spot on the supply module, where it will sit until we rotate drones again. Now XO Kohn brings the Interplanetary Tug to life. She undocks it and moves it over to dock with Jool Explorer. Once it is docked and ready, Mission Control starts plotting its trajectory to Minmus. But the crews are done for now, so its time for dinner! Then everyone gets some shut eye. An hour or so later, on the next shift, Captain Kozak undocks the Interplanetary Tug and backs it away from the station. He turns it over to Mission Control, and it burns for Minmus. The next morning the crew of Opportunity says their goodbyes and takes their seats on the command deck. They close the hatches and Commander Koehler undocks her ship and backs it away from Kerbin Station. A short while later, she burns for reentry. Koehler guides her ship through reentry like a pro, and soon they are all back safe and sound on Kerrba Firma. Over the next day, a couple more events take place in orbit. Orbital Tug 3 arrives in LKO. And a couple of minutes later, Orbital Tug 4 arrives as well. Mission Control plots rendezvous courses for both of them with Kerbin Station, and Tug 3 wins the race. It arrives at Kerbin Station twenty minutes later and XO Kohn takes the reins. While she is guiding Tug 3 in to dock, Tug 4 reaches its rendezvous burn. Hectic. Kohn guides Tug 3 in to dock. She then undocks the tug again, leaving its cargo of docking adapters, and moves it to another docking port on the complex. Then, about twenty minutes later, Tug 4 arrives. Kohn takes control of this tug as well, and brings it in to dock with the adapter stack. And then moves it over to dock on the end of the hydrolox tank. So now Jool Explorer is on its way to Minmus, it should get there in plenty of time to make its departure window. And we have two tugs ready to go at Kerbin Station to service our cargoes headed for The Mun. Which we should be ready to start sending on our next spaceplane flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted January 16, 2023 Author Share Posted January 16, 2023 Just an FYI: I don't think I will be able to get an update out this week. RL has it in for me, apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted January 23, 2023 Author Share Posted January 23, 2023 Mission 312 - Mun Rover Tranquillitatis & Rover Dock Module So, to support KSA's goal to expand Kerbalkind's scientific knowledge and exploration, it was decided that we should increase the reach of our teams stationed on other planets beyond the distance they can cover on foot. Management opened it up to suggestions from the corps, and although Dominic's Kerbal Kannonball proposal was...intriguing, the general consensus was that we should create a rover vehicle that they could drive long distances on the surface of other planets. Bids were solicited, designs were evaluated, costs were counted, golf rounds were played, and the final contract was awarded to (drum roll please): Wild Blue Industries! (I'd never heard of them either. But they do make a snazzy rover.) CKAI Sales rep says: Our first rover, christened Tranquillitatis, has been through its paces here on Kerbin. And now we are finally ready to send it for a test run on The Mun. We will be sending Tranquillitatus, safely ensconced in its transport capsule, along with a rover docking module that will be attached to Farside Base which will allow the base crew to transfer to and from the rover without having to use the base airlock. Independence is pulling the load on this mission, her twentieth flight. Her flight crew is as follows: Commander Barney Kearney Pilot Juliana Koontz Flight Engineer Jaime Kent Payload Specialist Andrew Keene Mission Specialist Blair Kovach MIssion Specialist Ben Kunkel Independence is rolled out to the runway on day 152. When everything is Go, Commander Kearney runs up the throttles and releases the brakes, and soon she is roaring through the sky! After reaching space, Independence executes her orbital insertion burn. Then her crew rigs her for orbital operations. Just a short while later, she encounters her first rendezvous burn for Kerbin Station. She arrives at Kerbin Station about twenty minutes later and Pilot Koontz brings her in to dock. Once the crew of Independence has opened the hatches and made their way aboard, everyone says hello. Then they get to moving the cargo around. Payload Specialist Keene deploys the modules in the cargo bay. Then Assistant Pilot Kinard brings Cargo Drone 1 up and moves it over to dock with the rover docking module. She extracts it and brings it over to dock with the station docking complex. Then she brings the drone back over to dock with Tranquillitatis. She then extracts the rover and docks it with the docking module to create the cargo stack destined for The Mun. We do have some returning hardware to bring back to Kerbin, so Kinard brings the drone over to pick that up. And then she deposits it in Independence's cargo bay. Now the drone's job is complete, so Kinard brings it over to park. And Keene retracts and locks the cargo erector. Meanwhile, XO Kohn brings Orbital Tug 3 online and brings it around to dock with the cargo stack. Now everyone gets to take a breather for about an hour while Kerbin Station comes around to the departure window for The Mun. By then the shifts have changed, so Captain Kozak does the honors. He undocks Tug 3 with the cargo stack and backs it away from the station. Once the tug is clear, he turns it over to Mission Control. The controllers upload its flight plan, and it burns for The Mun. Now that the mission is finally over, it's time to eat! Everyone gathers in the wardroom for the post-mission dinner. Then it's time for bed. The next morning, the crew of Independence says goodbye and closes the hatches. Commander Kearney undocks his ship and backs away from the station. When they reach the reentry point, they burn for home. Independence cruises through reentry. Then Commander Kearney takes the yoke and guides her in to land once again. So Orbital Tug 3 and Tranquillitatis should be arriving in Mun orbit sometime tomorrow afternoon. We'll catch up with them then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted February 8, 2023 Author Share Posted February 8, 2023 So, I think I'm going to be taking a break from this thread for a while. For reasons disclosed here, and additional reasons not disclosed. I think I will probably get back to it at some point, but I'm not making any promises. For everyone that has been following it, thank you, and i hope that we'll be continuing our journey together soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted October 1, 2023 Author Share Posted October 1, 2023 Just curious. Is anyone interested in me continuing this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmymcgoochie Posted October 1, 2023 Share Posted October 1, 2023 6 hours ago, TheSaint said: Just curious. Is anyone interested in me continuing this? Please do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSaint Posted October 1, 2023 Author Share Posted October 1, 2023 Well, I'll see what I can do about that then. I don't have the time on my hands that I used to, so it will probably wind up being more of a highlight reel. And the next two weeks I'm pretty slammed, so don't expect much until the middle of October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelo Kerman Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 On 9/30/2023 at 10:57 PM, TheSaint said: Just curious. Is anyone interested in me continuing this? Yup, always great to see what people come up with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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