The Scrape of Things to Come - Phase 7: Inner Planets Missions

[TheSaint]

Mission 407 - Minimus Station Cargo Drone, Docking Adapters, and Monoprop Tank

Boy, was that a mouthful. So this mission will be bringing up all of the remaining hardware required to make Minimus Station operational. Additionally, it will be bringing up another monopropellant tank for Kerbin Station, since Cargo Drones 1 and 2 and many of the Orbital Tugs are running low on monoprop.

Independence is up in the rotation. Team Independence is her flight crew once again:

Commander Jackie Kimball
Pilot Cleveland Kauffman
Flight Engineer Sierra King
Payload Specialist Herman Kinney
Mission Specialist Edwin Klinger
Mission Specialist Lily Kemp

The good news for Team Independence is that this is their last flight as a spaceplane crew. They have been selected for the first rotation as the crew of Minimus Station. Let's give them a round of applause!

After Independence has been towed to the end of the runway, and Flight Engineer King has given the Go, Commander Kimball runs the engines up to 100% and releases the brakes. Independence accelerates down the runway and takes flight for her lucky 13th mission!

After cruising through her atmospheric flight and performing her orbital insertion burn, the crew rigs Independence for orbital operations. After about an hour they perform their rendezvous burns and they glide in to dock with Kerbin Station.

After docking, the crews greet each other once again. Because this will the be the last time they will see each other for a while, the crew of Independence has brought up a special gifts for the crew of Kerbin Station: an extra round of BARs and some fresh spoo for the post-mission dinner! But right now, the crews have to get down to work. This is an especially complex mission. Payload Specialist King deploys the monoprop tank in the cargo bay.

Then Captain Koontz brings Cargo Drone 1 online, undocks it, and maneuvers it over to dock with the monopropellant tank.

After Koontz has extracted the monopropellant tank from the cargo bay and docked it to Kerbin Station's docking complex, Assistant Pilot Kearney takes control of Cargo Drone 6 in Independence's cargo bay. He undocks it and brings it around to dock with Minimus Station.

Once the tank and drone are clear of the cargo bay, it is time to start extracting the docking adapters. Captain Koontz brings over Cargo Drone 1 and docks it with the first adapter.

She then brings it around and docks it with the expansion modules on Minimus Station.

Then she undocks the drone and maneuvers it in to dock with the second adapter.

Which is then brought over to dock with the other end of Minimus Station's docking complex.

And then she undocks the drone and docks it with the final adapter.

Which she docks with the center expansion module on Minimus Station. Eventually this module will be docked in the centerline position, but for now it is docked to the side to allow the tug to dock on the station centerline.

Once the last docking module has been put into place, Kearney brings Orbital Tug 2 (which has been fully refueled by the engineers) over to dock with the centerline port of Minimus Station's docking complex.

This clears the port on the empty hydrolox tank, which will be returning to Kerbin with Independence. So Koontz undocks Cargo Drone 1 from Minimus Station and brings it over to rest on the hydrolox tank.

Minimus Station is now ready for departure!

Except that it isn't. In a very embarrassing development, it is discovered that the delta-V requirements of Minimus Station's journey were miscalculated, and the tug does not have enough delta-V to get the entire stack to Minimus at the moon's current inclination. So either the station's departure will need to be delayed by a couple of weeks, or some mass will need to be removed from the station stack. KSP management opts for the latter. So Kearney undocks Cargo Drones 5 and 6 and moves them to Minimus Station's supply module, which is currently waiting for another tug to take it to Minimus orbit.

Once the drones have been removed, the tug has enough fuel to bring the remaining station stack to Minimus orbit, but it will not have enough fuel to return to Kerbin Station afterwards. Do not fear; management has a plan for that.

Now the departure window for Minimus Station has arrived! Captain Koontz undocks the station and uses the tug to maneuver it away from Kerbin Station.

She then turns the tug over to Mission Control. They upload its flight plan, and in a few minutes it burns for Minimus.

It is due to arrive in about six days.

Meanwhile, back on Kerbin Station, the work is still not done. Assistant Pilot Kearney has taken over Cargo Drone 1. He uses it to undock the empty hydrolox tank and maneuver it into Independence's cargo bay.

Then he undocks the drone and brings it back to its parking space on the escape pod hub.

Now Payload Specialist King retracts the hydrolox tank into the cargo bay.

Once the tank is retracted and locked, Engineers Keene and Kent perform an EVA to lock the tank into place with struts for its journey home.

Once Keene and Kent are safely back on board, everyone can dig in to the celebratory feast!

The next morning the crew of Independence, only slightly worse for wear, close the hatches and break away from Kerbin Station for the last time.

They burn for reentry, and after cruising through the heat once more they line Independence up and bring her in for a perfect landing.

As Independence rolls to a stop, it's fistbumps all around. The crew are greeted on the apron by members of KSP management to celebrate their accomplishments.

The next mission will be bringing up another orbital tug to expand the fleet and speed the delivery of equipment to Minimus. But first, let's catch up with some developments in Minimus orbit.

[TheSaint]

Minimus Orbit Operations - Y1 D38-40

So, Orbital Tug 3 arrived in Minimus' SOI back on day 38, towards the end of Mission 405. However, everything around Minimus takes a very long time. So, rather than post its exploits piecemeal through all of the other mission reports, I gathered them until I could post them in one coherent report. Here it is.

Orbital Tug 3 arrives at the edge of Minimus' SOI with its load of satellites.

It's first task is to deploy the survey satellite. (The new and improved satellite bus uses a stack separator, which clears the docking port in the center of the bus automatically.)

Once the survey satellite is clear, it deploys its solar panels, antennae, and sensors, then burns to bring itself into a polar inclination.

Meanwhile, the tug also performs a couple of course correction burns to bring down its inclination and to optimize its periapsis.

Then, as the pair approach their periapsis, they both perform their orbital insertion burns to bring themselves into orbit around Minimus.

The survey satellite begins to perform its observations of the tiny moon, mapping out potential base candidate sites. The orbital tug begins its mission of deploying the communication satellite network. First it burns to zero out its inclination and place itself in an equatorial orbit around Minimus.

Then it burns to place itself into a synchronous orbit.

The tug's orbital period in the synchronous orbit is almost four hours. This will take some time.

Finally, the tug returns to its apoapsis. It releases the first communications satellite, which immediately circularizes its orbit. The comm sat then deploys its solar panels and orients itself for its mission.

Over half a day later, the tug returns to its apoapsis. It releases the second comm sat, which also circularizes and deploys its panels.

And then, finally, on day 40, the tug returns to its apoapsis again and releases the third and final comm sat.

Then, as Mission 407 was awaiting its reentry burn, Orbital Tug 3 burns to circularize in a roughly 135km parking orbit around Minimus.

But it isn't quite ready to come home yet...

[TheSaint]

Munar Orbit Operations - Y1 D40

Also on Day 40, Orbital Tug 1 arrived in Munar orbit with the new monoprop tank for Farside Base. It performs its orbital insertion burn to bring it into its initial parking orbit.

It almost immediately encounters a rendezvous window for Mun Station and performs its first rendezvous burn.

This however means that the tug will be approaching Mun Station in darkness. it burns to rendezvous and then approaches the station and automatically docks. (Since Mun Station is unkerballed.)

Unfortunately, the monoprop tank has arrived too late. Night has fallen at Farside Base, and KSP management deems it too risky to be performing landing operations and EVAs during Munar nighttime. The monoprop tank will not be landed until the next Munar day, and Orbital Tug 1 will remain at Mun Station until the empty tank has been returned to orbit by the lander so it can bring that tank back to Kerbin Station on its return trip. So, for now. we bid The Mun adieu.

[jimmymcgoochie]

This might be a bit late, but…

There’s only one i in Minmus.

Have you unlocked the “Project Eeloo” engine yet? It’s an absolute doozy for SSTOs as it uses the air itself as propellant, then switches to liquid fuel for rocket mode, though it’s also huge, heavy and very expensive. Worth the effort to get it though as you can get effectively infinite range in any atmosphere regardless of whether there’s oxygen there or not.

[TheSaint]

20 minutes ago, jimmymcgoochie said:

This might be a bit late, but…

There’s only one i in Minmus.

My Kerbals speak Latin.

Amusingly, I've been playing this game for almost nine years and I only noticed last night (after this was posted) that I have been adding that extra i this entire time. As you said, it's too late now, for I am old and stuck in my ways....

20 minutes ago, jimmymcgoochie said:

Have you unlocked the “Project Eeloo” engine yet? It’s an absolute doozy for SSTOs as it uses the air itself as propellant, then switches to liquid fuel for rocket mode, though it’s also huge, heavy and very expensive. Worth the effort to get it though as you can get effectively infinite range in any atmosphere regardless of whether there’s oxygen there or not.

Sandbox save, everything is unlocked. However, nuclear ramjet use would be precluded by safety concerns. Allowing small, pre-critical reactor payloads to ride into orbit on the spaceplane infrequently is an acceptable risk. But having massive Project-Pluto-type nuclear ramjets powering the spaceplane that would all be destroyed and spread fission products over a wide area in the event of an accident is way too much risk, even for Kerbals.

[Kerbalyer]

I'm guessing it's in the latest version of ksp?

[TheSaint]

2 hours ago, Kerbalyer said:

I'm guessing it's in the latest version of ksp?

1.12.3, yes.

[TheSaint]

So, a quick update: I discovered that TAC Life Support isn't working for me anymore. Apparently the last time I sent a large expedition past Kerbin SOI with TAC, Dynamic Battery Storage wasn't a thing, and there is a conflict there. So I went in to the save with KML and edited it to use Snacks instead of TAC. Everything is right where we left it, just now their ration packs have a different brand name. (That ought to bake their little green gourds.) The only real practical difference I noticed is that the Orbital Transports no longer need the supply modules in the wasp waist section. So those will be omitted on future launched instances, Orion will be unique.

Trying to keep up with one update a week, but RL has been fighting me tooth-and-nail on that. Here's a teaser to help make up for it.

=============================

Many CKAI projects get toyed around with in the test save get presented to Kongress as design reference missions to trawl for funding are brainstormed every year. Most of them never leave paper, but some of them eventually become reality. Here is one possible future project, presented for your consideration: Project Draco.

[TheSaint]

What the.... Who let the sales reps into the briefing room!? Pickin' shysters, get outta here! Okay, folks, get your head out of the clouds, we've got real work to do.

Mission 408 - Orbital Tug 4

This mission will be lifting a fourth orbital tug to continue carrying equipment to Minmus.

Even though there is some leftover room in the cargo bay, this is a heavy load, and none of the equipment that will be needed at Minmus in the near future will fit in the remaining space or mass allowance. So, the only payload will be the tug.

The flight crew for this mission is:

Commander Keith Kilpatrick
Pilot Charles Kern
Flight Engineer Clarice Kopp
Payload Specialist Selma Knotts
Mission Specialist Gary Knight
Mission Specialist Cleo Kiser

Liberty is towed out to the runway for her tenth mission. When Flight Engineer Kopp gives the go, Commander Kilpatrick brings the throttles to 100% and releases the brakes. Liberty takes to the skies again and soon they are in orbit once more.

Once they complete their orbital insertion and rendezvous burns, Pilot Kern brings Liberty in to dock at Kerbin Station.

Once they have come aboard and greeted the crew of Kerbin Station, Payload Specialist Knotts deploys the tug in the cargo bay. She then brings the tug's systems online and deploys its solar panels and antennae.

Once the tug is ready, Knotts turns it over to Captain Koontz, who undocks it from Liberty and guides it over to dock with the stack of equipment bound for Minmus Station.

Soon, Kerbin Station is approaching the departure window for Minmus. Koontz undocks the cargo stack and backs the tug away from the station.

Once the tug is clear of the station, Koontz turns it over to Mission Control. They upload the tug's flight plan, and soon it burns for Minmus.

Once the tug is away, the mission is complete. Easy peasy. The crews tuck in for their dinner, then relax over a couple of BARs. Then they settle in for the night.

The next morning, the crew of Liberty seals the hatches and breaks away from the station before they burn for reentry.

Once they are through the blackout and back in the atmosphere, Kilpatrick takes control of Liberty and guides her in to land at KSC. Another routine mission in the books.

So now all of the equipment necessary to make Minmus Station habitable is on its way to the lesser moon. The next mission will bring the station's first crew to orbit so they can depart for their post.

Edited May 17, 2022 by TheSaint
Typos

[TheSaint]

Mission 409 - Transport Capricorn & Minmus Station Crew One

This mission will bring Minmus Station Crew One to orbit, along with their ride, the second orbital transport, Capricorn.

Freedom is the spaceplane tasked with this momentous mission, her ninth. Her flight crew is:

Commander Elaine Kohn
Pilot Dominic Kozak
Flight Engineer Judi Keith
Payload Specialist Clayton Kilgore
MIssion Specialist Irwin Kimmel
Mission Specialist Phillip Kemper

Riding back in economy class is Crew One of Minmus Station:

Captain Cleveland Kauffman
Executive Officer Jackie Kimball
Chief Engineer Herman Kinney
Assistant Engineer Sierra King
Chief Science Officer Edwin Klinger
Assistant Scientist Lily Kemp

After the tugs have cast off, Flight Engineer Keith runs down her pre-flights. When everything is ready, Commander Kohn brings the engines to life. Liftoff!

Once Freedom is in space, the crew performs their orbital insertion burn and then rigs the ship for orbit.

Because they will not be going to Kerbin Station this flight, there is no need to wait for a rendezvous window. After checking all of their systems, the crew performs a pair of burns to bring Freedom to her normal 400 km operating orbit.

Now they settle in and get to work. Payload Specialist Keith releases the clamps holding Capricorn in the cargo bay, then deploys her.

Once she is deployed, Keith brings Capricorn's systems online and deploys her solar panels and antennae. Once all of the systems checks are complete, Pilot Kozak takes over and undocks Capricorn from its erector. He maneuvers her over and docks her with Freedom's docking port.

Once Capricorn is docked, the crew opens the hatches and the Minmus crew begins to move in. They are no sooner settled in and ready to go, when the departure window for Minmus is fast approaching. The crews say a quick goodbye and close the hatches. Captain Kauffman undocks Capricorn from Freedom and brings her around to her departure heading, and then she burns for Minmus!

Once the Minmus crew is gone, there isn't much left for the crew of Freedom to do in orbit. There's only so much zero-g gymnastics you can do before it kinda gets old. And, since there is a reentry opportunity in only about forty minutes or so...

So Minmus Station Crew One is on their way, they should be arriving in Minmus orbit in about six days or so. The next mission will bring up some stuff for them to do, so they don't get bored.

[TheSaint]

Mission 410 - Minmus Survey Rovers & Monopropellant Tank

Next up is another equipment run to support the development of Minmus. This mission will be bringing up three survey rovers to begin surveying three candidate base sites that have been identified by the Minmus Survey Satellite. It will also be bringing up a monopropellant tank to support the cargo drones in landing the survey rovers and in future operations around Minmus.

Opportunity is up in the rotation for this flight, her eighth. Her flight crew is:

Commander Darryl Koehler
Pilot Hannah Kinnard
Flight Engineer Stella Kunz
Payload Specialist Goldie Kennedy
Mission Specialist Bob Keen
Mission Specialist Sydney Kirchner

After the rollout, Commander Koehler brings Opportunity's engines to life. She roars down the runway and takes flight! Soon they are in orbit once again.

After rigging for orbit, Opportunity quickly reaches her rendezvous window, and after executing her burns the crew find themselves approaching Kerbin Station. Pilot Kinnard takes the conn and guides Opportunity in to dock.

Once on board, the crews get to work. Payload Specialist Kennedy deploys the tank and rovers in Opportunity's cargo bay.

Then XO Keegan takes control of Cargo Drone 1 and brings it over to dock with the monoprop tank.

She then undocks the monoprop tank from Opportunity's cargo bay and brings it over to dock with the Kerbin Station docking complex.

Then she undocks the drone and brings it back around to pick up the survey rovers.

Undocking the survey rovers, she uses the cargo drone to bring them around and dock them with the monoprop tank, thus setting up the next cargo stack for Minmus.

She then undocks CD1 and brings it back to its normal location on the escape pod hub.

Because Opportunity encountered an early rendezvous window, she will encounter an early reentry window as well. So the crew takes advantage of this to land on the same day they launched. They close the hatches only half an hour after offloading their cargo and break away from Kerbin Station. Soon after they burn for reentry.

After cruising through the fire of reentry again, Commander Koehler guides Opportunity in for a routine landing.

The next mission will bring up another orbital tug to carry this latest cargo to Minmus.

[TheSaint]

Mission 411 - Orbital Tug 5

As promised, this mission is lifting another orbital tug to ferry the latest load of crap essential equipment to Minmus.

Orbital Tug 5 is snugly fitted into Independence's cargo bay, And since Independence's last flight crew are currently on their way to Minmus (Bon voyage!), a new flight crew will be taking the yoke on Independence this flight. NOOBS!

Commander Arlene Koehler
Pilot Duane Kong
Flight Engineer Dawn Kirkpatrick
Payload Specialist Justin Kennedy
Mission Specialist Mattie Kearns
Mission Specialist Marlin Ketchum

As the tug rolls away, Commander Koehler looks over at Flight Engineer Kirkpatrick, who nervously gives the "Go" for take-off. Koehler runs the throttles up to 100% and releases the brakes, and Independence roars down the runway, taking flight for her fourteenth mission.

Passing through the clouds, Independence is soon in orbit once again.

An hour later, the crew take Independence through her rendezvous burns, and soon Pilot Kong is guiding her in to dock at Kerbin Station for his first time.

Once docked, the crew introduce themselves to the crew of Kerbin Station, who greet them warmly. Then they all get down to business. Payload Specialist Kennedy releases the clamps holding Orbital Tug 5 in the bay. Then he deploys the tug and locks it in the vertical position. He deploys the tug's antennae and solar panels, and powers up its systems.

Once the tug's systems are powered up and checked out. Kennedy turns it over to XO Keegan. Keegan undocks the tug from Independence and maneuvers it over to dock with the cargo stack destined for Minmus station.

Once the tug is docked, the crews have a chance to rest before the Minmus departure window. About three minutes. The rookie crew of Independence faint dead away. But the crew of Kerbin Station are old hands at this. They undock Orbital Tug 5 and its cargo stack and guide it away from the station. Once it has cleared the station, they turn it over to Mission Control, who guide it through its departure burn. Orbital Tug 5 is on its way!

Once the tug is away, Mission 411 is done. The crews settle in for their traditional after-mission dinner, as well as the tradition where rookie crews give their BARs to the station crew. Hey...wait a minute...when did that become a tradition? Anyway, after the dinner is through, the crews settle in for the night. The next morning, the crew of Independence say their goodbyes and close the hatches. They break away and burn for reentry.

Independence passes through reentry unscathed once again, and soon Commander Koehler guides her in to a safe landing. All those hours in the simulator paid off!

Congratulations to the rookies on their first mission!

The next mission will begin to lift modules for Minmus Base. But, in the meantime, some light may be shed on developments at Farside Base.

[TheSaint]

Munar Surface Operations - Y1 D44

Back at Farside Base, dawn finally breaks!

(No, Lea, nobody needs to fix that.)

The crew of Farside Base can't believe they've been sleeping for three days straight! Just kidding, they've mostly been playing Call of Duty and foosball. But now it's time to get back to work.

Captain Knoll takes control of Orbital Tug 1 up at Mun Station and undocks it from the new monopropellant tank. She then maneuvers the tug over to dock at a different port.

She then maneuvers the cargo lander over and docks it to the tank and stand.

When the station reaches the landing window, she undocks the lander and its cargo and burns for landing.

She brings the lander in for touchdown near Farside Base.

She then brings Cargo Drone 3 online and lifts off, guiding it over to dock on the monoprop tank. The thirsty drone refuels, and now we're ready to do some serious work.

She lifts the tank and stand off of the cargo lander and brings it over to its permanent location near the base.

Now there are some adjustments to be made. The old tank and stand are located poorly, they are obstructing the desired location of the lab module next to the base core. So the old tank needs to be moved. But first several connecting pipes must be disconnected. So Chief Engineer Dwayne Kohler and Assistant Scientist Lea Kimbraugh go out on EVA to perform the required disconnects.

They disconnect the tank module from the landing field pylon, the core module, and the laboratory module. This frees up all of the modules to be moved.

Once they have moved off to a safe distance, Captain Knoll moves the cargo drone to the old tank stand, then moves that tank stand to a new location north of the new tank stand. 

Once it has been situated, she moves the drone to the laboratory module and then moves that module to its final location next to the core module.

Once the laboratory has been placed and aligned, Kohler and Kimbraugh move in and set up the crew tube connecting the laboratory to the core module.

Then Knoll moves the cargo drone back to the old tank stand, docking it with the pylon dispenser, which still has four pylons left to deploy.

Kohler and Kimbraugh get back to work, connecting the new tank stand to the laboratory. Then the new tank stand to the old tank stand. And finally the old tank stand to the landing field pylon.

Then they stop by the airlock for a breather and a snack. They've been out here for almost half an hour now.

Meanwhile, Knoll lifts off with the pylon dispenser to deploy the final four pylons.

She lays down three of them roughly 30 meters apart in a line to the radio telescope module.

The last one she lays down about 30 meters from the new tank pylon to serve as a second landing field pylon. She then brings the drone to rest back on the old tank stand.

Now that the pylon dispenser and empty monopropellant tank have served their purposes, they can be returned to Kerbin. Knoll lifts them off the tank stand with the cargo drone and deposits them on the cargo lander.

She then returns the cargo drone to its parking spot on the new monopropellant tank and refuels it.

Now Kohler and Kimbraugh get to work once again. They connect the line of pylons to the radio telescope.

And then connect the second landing pylon as well.

And finally their EVA is complete. They are exhausted after completing the longest EVA in KSP history, over an hour of work! Good job, folks!

Now everyone gathers in the laboratory module. Chief Scientist Keisha Keene and Assistant Scientist Lea Kimbraugh check out all of the lab systems. When everything is ready, Keene punches The Big Red Button and the radio telescope module deploys!

After weeks of hard work, Farside Base is finally complete and ready for full operations!

One last bit of housekeeping. When Mun Station comes back around in its orbit, Captain Knoll lifts off the cargo lander with its return cargo.

She guides it in to dock with Mun Station.

Once there, she undocks the lander and moves it to an empty port, then brings Orbital Tug 1 around to dock with the returning hardware.

Then, when Mun Station reaches the return window, she undocks the tug and guides it away from the station. Mission Control takes over, and the tug burns for Kerbin.

Edited June 5, 2022 by TheSaint
Roster error

[Angelo Kerman]

Pretty slick way to have a modular tank system that can be transported between space stations, and have stands on the ground to support a different environment.

Also, is Kong's call sign "King" ?

[TheSaint]

48 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

Pretty slick way to have a modular tank system that can be transported between space stations, and have stands on the ground to support a different environment.

Thanks. I try to make things as modular and reusable as possible. Like the cargo drones doing duty as cargo haulers and station-keeping engines for the stations, and cargo haulers and light-duty landers for the bases. Or all of the orbital vehicles using common propulsion components and command modules. It just makes sense.

48 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

Also, is Kong's call sign "King" ?

His friends call him, "Donkey".

[TheSaint]

Mission 501 - Cargo Lander 2 & Minmus Base Core Module

The next mission will begin to bring up the first hardware for Minmus Base. The initial goal is to simply create a kerballed presence on the surface of Minmus. Once this has been established then we will begin expanding the base to create the fuel production capabilities we require.

This first lift will bring up the cargo lander for Minmus as well as the core module for Minmus Base.

Liberty is on deck for this mission. Team Liberty for this flight is:

Commander Charles Kern
Pilot Keith Kilpatrick
Flight Engineer Selma Knotts
Payload Specialist Clarice Kopp
Mission Specialist Cleo Kiser
Mission Specialist Gary Knight

The ground crew tows Liberty out to the runway on a sunny morning. Flight Engineer Knotts goes through the checkist and gives Commander Kern the "Go". He runs the throttles up to 100% and releases the brakes.

They cruise through transition and orbital insertion. They rig the ship for orbit, then kill couple rounds of Spades waiting an hour for their first rendezvous burn. 

They reach the rendezvous window, and after their burns, Pilot Kilpatrick takes over at the docking station and guides Liberty smoothly in to dock.

Once aboard, the crews say their hellos and get to work. Payload Specialist Kopp releases the clamps and deploys the cargo erectors.

Then Captain Koontz brings Cargo Drone 1 online and brings it around to dock with the Minimus Base core module.

She undocks the core module and carries it over to dock with the station docking complex.

She then undocks the drone and moves it over to dock with the cargo lander.

And then she brings the lander over and docks it with the core module, forming the next cargo stack destined for Minmus.

She then undocks the drone and brings it over to its normal parking spot.

With the mission objectives complete, the crews now relax and have their after-mission meal. Then they settle down for the night.

Just before the crews awake the next morning, Orbital Tug 1 burns back into its parking orbit around Kerbin.

It should arrive back at Kerbin Station in a couple of hours.

The next morning. Liberty breaks away from the station and preps for reentry.

They reach their reentry window, and after the reentry burn they glide through the heat on their way home.

Once they come out of blackout, Commander Kern takes the yoke and guides Liberty in to land. Another successful mission in the books.

Orbital Tug 1 will be arriving at Kerbin Station shortly, so it will be available to carry the current cargo stack to Minmus. So the next mission will bring up another payload, this time a hydrolox tank destined for Minmus Station to support lander operations there.

Edited July 4, 2022 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

So, bit of bad news here. I experienced a bit of an eye injury over the weekend. So, unfortunately, over the next week or so I will be doing more pirate cosplay and less KSP. Trying to stay off the computer to give my good eye some rest. No update this week, maybe next week. I'll keep you all posted.

[jimmymcgoochie]

16 hours ago, TheSaint said:

So, bit of bad news here. I experienced a bit of an eye injury over the weekend. So, unfortunately, over the next week or so I will be doing more pirate cosplay and less KSP. Trying to stay off the computer to give my good eye some rest. No update this week, maybe next week. I'll keep you all posted.

‘Like’ isn’t exactly the best reaction… Get well soon 

[TheSaint]

So, my eye is doing much better. Doesn't appear to have any permanent damage. Onwards and upwards!

-----------------------------------

Mission 502 - Hydrolox Tank

The original goal of this mission was to lift a hydrolox tank whose final destination would be Minmus Station. However, after some angry emails from consultation with Captain Koontz, management was informed that the tank on Kerbin Station is running low and would not be able to fully refuel Orbital Tug 1 when it arrives shortly. So the mission schedule was reshuffled once again and this mission's tank will be supplied to Kerbin Station, with the next mission bringing up another tank for Minmus Station.

Freedom is doing the heavy lifting this time around, on her tenth mission. Her flight crew is:

Commander Dominic Kozak
Pilot Elaine Kohn
Flight Engineer Clayton Kilgore
Payload Specialist Judi Keith
MIssion Specialist Phillip Kemper
Mission Specialist Irwin Kimmel

With Commander Kozak at the yoke, Freedom takes to the skies once again. Cruising through transition, she performs her orbital insertion burn and the crew rigs her for orbital operations.

Their first rendezvous burn is over an hour away. While they are waiting, Orbital Tug 1 reaches its first rendezvous burn.

It then arrives at Kerbin Station twenty minutes later. Captain Koontz takes the hand-off from Mission Control and guides the tug in to dock.

Once the tug has docked, the engineers get to work refueling its monoprop and hydrolox tanks. Once that has been completed, Koontz undocks the tug from the stack of hardware destined for Kerbin and moves it over to dock with the cargo stack outbound for Minmus.

Once all this housekeeping is complete there is nothing to do but wait for the arrival of Freedom.

Which arrives just less than an hour later. The crew performs their second rendezvous burn and settles in to orbit about 150 meters away from Kerbin Station. Then the crews align the craft and Pilot Kohn guides Freedom in to dock.

Once the hatches are open, the two crews greet each other as old friends. Then they get down to work. Payload Specialist Keith prepares the hydrolox tank in Freedom's cargo bay.

Then Captain Koontz brings Cargo Drone 2 online and undocks it. She brings it over to dock with the new hydrolox tank in Freedom's cargo bay.

She undocks the hydrolox tank from Freedom and maneuvers it a spot a short distance away from the station and keeps station there.

Meanwhile, Assistant Pilot Kearney brings Cargo Drone 1 online and brings it over to dock with the empty hydrolox tank on the station docking complex.

He then undocks it and maneuvers it around the station structure to bring it in to dock with the cargo erector in Freedom's docking bay.

Then Captain Koontz brings Cargo Drone 2 over with the full hydrolox tank and docks it with the centerline port on the docking complex.

Once the tanks are in their final positions, Koontz and Kearney maneuver the cargo drones to their final positions. The drones have switched positions now, and Cargo Drone 1 will be taking over again as the primary drone, rotating through to distribute wear-and-tear evenly on the two drones.

Payload Specialist Keith now retracts the empty hydrolox tank into Freedom's cargo bay in preparation for its return to Kerbin.

Once the tank is in its stowed position, Chief Engineer Keene and Assistant Engineer Kent go on EVA to secure the struts that hold the tank in place during reentry.

Once the engineers are back onboard, the crew settle in and have their traditional after-mission dinner. But the mission isn't quite over yet. An hour later, after the crew of Freedom has gone to sleep for the night and the station crew has has their watch turnover, the station approaches the departure window for Minmus. So XO Keegan undocks the now fully-refueled Orbital Tug 1 with its cargo stack and backs it away from the station.

Once the tug is clear of the station, Keegan turns it over to Mission Control. They upload the flight plan to the tug and guide it through its departure burn. Orbital Tug 1 is on its way to Minmus!

Speaking of Minmus, a short while later, Orbital Tug 2 arrives at Minmus with Minmus Station!

The tug performs a small correction burn at the edge of Minmus SOI, and then performs its orbital insertion burn at periapsis.

The tug will perform another short burn later today to bring its inclination down to the station's final orbit. Then it will wait patiently. If you recall, the tug does not have enough fuel to return to Kerbin. But there is a plan for that.

Back at Kerbin Station the next morning, the crew of Freedom awakens and says their goodbyes. They close the hatches and break away from the station.

Commander Kozak brings Freedom around and then burns for reentry.

He guides his ship through the reentry blackout, then carefully brings her in to a landing at KSC.

Yet another successful mission in the history books. The next mission will be bringing up another hydrolox tank, this time definitely destined for Minmus Station.

Edited July 4, 2022 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

Mission 503 - Hydrolox Tank

This mission will be lifting yet another tank of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to quench the program's ever growing thirst for fuel. The fuel production facilities on Minmus cannot be constructed soon enough.

Opportunity will be lifting this load on her ninth flight. Her flight crew is:

Commander Hannah Kinnard
Pilot Darryl Koehler
Flight Engineer Goldie Kennedy
Payload Specialist Stella Kunz
Mission Specialist Sydney Kirchner
Mission Specialist Bob Keen

After boarding Opportunity out on the tarmac, the crew runs through their pre-flights. Then Commander Kinnard takes her into the air. Soon they are performing their orbital insertion burn and rigging the ship for orbital operations.

While Opportunity is waiting for her first rendezvous burn, Orbital Tug 2 reaches its plane change burn out at Minmus.

Now that it is in its final orbit, Mission Control instructs the station to deploy its solar and radiator arrays.

And, just like that, Orbital Tug 2 is now officially docked at Minmus Station!

Meanwhile, back at Kerbin, Opportunity has performed her rendezvous burns. And now Pilot Koehler deftly maneuvers her in to dock with Kerbin Station.

Once docked, the crews say their hellos. Then they get down to business. Payload Specialist Kunz releases the clamps holding the tank in the cargo bay and then deploys it to the upright position.

Then Captain Koontz brings Cargo Drone 1 online, undocks it, and maneuvers it over to the new tank.

She undocks the tank and moves it over to a spot on the station docking complex.

Then, undocking the drone, she maneuvers it over to pick up the stack of hardware returning from Farside Base...wait...um...Captain...I think you're going the wrong way.

Okay. She said something about, "This has been bugging me..." She's taken the drone over and picked up the station's monoprop tank.

I think I know where this is going, and it's making me a bit nervous. Are you sure about this, Captain? That looks awful tight....

Well, okay, I guess that fit after all. I hope you feel better now. I'm going to send you on EVA later to make sure you can still get a piece of paper between those.

So now, Captain Koontz is taking Cargo Drone 1 over to pick up the stack of hardware returning from Farside Base, as was originally planned.

She undocks it, maneuvers it around the station structure, and then deposits it in Opportunity's cargo bay.

Then she moves the drone back to its normal parking spot.

Kunz retracts the returning cargo back into the bay. No need for struts to restrain the cargo on return this time, the locks on the erector will be enough to hold it in place during reentry. Although it is just at the edge of their design capability.

So the crews tuck in to their celebratory end-of-mission meal and then head off to bed.

While they are sawing logs, Mission Control is busy with things out at Minmus. The plan to rescue Orbital Tug 2 is moving into action. Orbital Tug 3 has been lingering in orbit for some time after having deposited its load of survey and communications satellites. While its cargo was critical, it was not very massive. So Tug 3 has almost 70% of its full fuel load remaining, far more than it needs to return to Kerbin. So Mission Control is going to direct Orbital Tug 3 to dock at Minmus Station, where its surplus fuel load can be transferred to Orbital Tug 2 (and possibly Orbital Tug 4 as well) to allow them to return safely to Kerbin Station.

Orbital Tug 3 has reached its first rendezvous burn for Minmus Station.

An hour later it burns to rendezvous with Minmus Station.

And then Mission Control directs it to dock. Because the satellite bus is still attached to the tug, it has to dock with one of the docking adapters.

However, the fuel transfer operations must be set up and supervised by a qualified engineer. So that portion of the operation will have to wait until the crew of Minmus Station arrives tomorrow evening.

The next morning, the crew of Opportunity arises, bright-eyed and bushy tailed. They bid farewell to the station crew, then close the hatches. Commander Kinnard undocks Opportunity and backs her away from the station.

She brings Opportunity around retrograde, and when the reentry window arrives, she burns for home.

Opportunity cruises through blackout again, and Kinnard brings her in to land.

Mission 414 is complete. Minmus Station is in place and ready to start receiving personnel and equipment. The next mission will lift the next orbital tug to carry Minmus Station's hydrolox tank. And we'll see if we can fit some more equipment for Minmus Base in there as well.

Edited July 4, 2022 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

MIssion 504 - Orbital Tug 6 & Minmus Base Pylon Dispenser

So this mission will be bringing up the sixth orbital tug, which will be immediately tasked with carrying a hydrolox tank out to Minmus. The fuel must flow....

It will also be carrying up a pylon dispenser destined for Minmus Base.

Independence is flying her fifteenth mission this time around, and her new flight crew is flying their second mission together:

Commander Duane Kong
Pilot Arlene Koehler
Flight Engineer Justin Kennedy
Payload Specialist Dawn Kirkpatrick
Mission Specialist Marlin Ketchum
Mission Specialist Mattie Kearns

Once Independence is free of the tug, and her crew has finished their pre-flight checks, Commander Kong runs up the throttles and releases the brakes. Independence takes flight once again!

Independence soars gracefully through the sky, and soon the crew is rigging her for orbital operations. 

While Independence is waiting for rendezvous, Orbital Tug 4 arrives at Minmus. Mission Control guides it through its orbital insertion burn. Its first rendezvous burn for Minmus Station is four hours away.

A while later, Independence arrives at its rendezvous window. Commander Kong guides her through her burns, and then Pilot Koehler takes over and brings her in to dock at Kerbin Station.

Once aboard, the crews say hello, and then get to work. Payload Specialist Kirkpatrick deploys the cargo in the bay.

She then brings the tug online, checking out its systems and deploying its solar panels and antennae.

Once the tug is ready to go, Kirkpatrick turns it over to XO Keegan of Kerbin Station. She undocks the tug and maneuvers it over to dock with the hydrolox tank destined for Minmus Station.

And then, yadda yadda yadda, Mission Control takes control of the tug and it departs for Minmus! (Sorry. I could swear I took more screenshots than this.)

Once the tug is gone, Assistant Pilot Koonce fires up Cargo Drone 1 and brings it over to dock with the pylon dispenser.

He undocks the dispenser and moves it to the station docking complex, where it will await transport to Minmus.

Then he brings the drone back over and docks it back in its usual spot.

Now that the mission is complete, the crews can settle in and relax. They have their meal and then bed down for the evening.

Meanwhile, out at Minmus, Capricorn has arrived with the first Minmus Station crew. Captain Kauffman fires up the engine for her orbital insertion burn.

Their first rendezvous burn is in a couple of hours.

Back at Kerbin Station, it is time for Independence to go home. The crew says goodbye and closes the hatches. Then they break away from the station and align for reentry.

Commander Kong burns for reentry, and Independence begins its dive into the atmosphere.

While Independence is falling out of the sky, Orbital Tug 4 reaches its first rendezvous burn.

It will arrive at Minmus Station in about an hour. The sky is becoming a very busy place.

Independence cruises through reentry, and then Commander Kong brings her in to a perfect landing at KSC.

The next mission will begin to carry up hardware for Minmus Base in earnest.

Edited July 4, 2022 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

Kerbin Orbit Operations - Y1 D48

It's that time again. Kerbin Station has reached the limit of the Orbital Operations Manager's patience. So they will be performing another correction burn.

Captain Koontz brings Cargo Drone 2 online and undocks it, maneuvering it over to dock with the centerline port on the station docking complex.

They calculate the necessary burn, orient the station, and then at the precise moment, the drone's engines come to life!

The drone burns for almost two minutes straight. When it is done, the station is back in almost a perfect 400km x 400km circular orbit. Then Koontz undocks the drone and brings it back around to its parking spot.

Now that the station's orbit has been corrected it is ready to receive the next spaceplane mission.

Edited July 4, 2022 by TheSaint
Duh

[TheSaint]

Mission 505 - Minmus Base Habitation Module & Reactor Module

The next spaceplane lift will bring up the habitation module and nuclear reactor for Minmus Base. This reactor will be much larger than the one brought up for Farside Base, since the electrical power requirements for the fuel generation plant(s) at Minmus base will be much higher. This will necessitate a larger and more advanced radiator array, which the project managers at Kerbal Atomics assure me is finished and ready to go, and in no way delayed or giving them problems.

Liberty is up in the rotation for this mission. Her flight crew is:

Commander Keith Kilpatrick
Pilot Charles Kern
Flight Engineer Clarice Kopp
Payload Specialist Selma Knotts
Mission Specialist Gary Knight
Mission Specialist Cleo Kiser

After Liberty has been rolled out to the runway, the crew complete their pre-flight checks, and Commander Kilpatrick runs the throttles up and brings Liberty aloft.

Liberty cruises through her atmospheric flight and reaches orbit. The crew rigs the ship for orbital operations and plots their first rendezvous burn for Kerbin Station.

While the crew of Liberty is waiting for their first rendezvous burn, Orbital Tug 4 arrives at Minmus Station. Mission Control directs it through its final rendezvous burn, and then brings it in to dock at the station. There it will await the arrival of Minmus Station's first crew.

Then, Liberty arrives at its first rendezvous burn.

But, wait! While Liberty is approaching Kerbin Station, Capricorn arrives at its first rendezvous burn for Minmus Station!

Yes, the sky is getting very busy indeed. Fortunately, it will take over an hour for Capricorn to reach Minmus Station, so we have time to get Liberty safely docked. Liberty catches up with Kerbin Station on the night side of Kerbin and burns to match velocities.

Then Pilot Kern takes over and brings her in for a successful night-side docking.

While Kerbin Station is coming around to the day side of Kerbin, Capricorn meets up with Minmus Station on the night side of Minmus. Captain Kauffman brings her through the rendezvous burn, and then expertly guides her in to dock at the station. Minmus Station's first crew has arrived!

Once they are onboard, the station crew waste no time in getting to work. Half of the program's tug fleet is tied up here waiting on fueling operations. Captain Kauffman brings the station systems online, then undocks Orbital Tug 3 from the satellite bus and brings it around to the station docking complex so that it can transfer fuel.

Meanwhile, XO Kimball undocks Orbital Tug 4 from its cargo stack and brings it over to the docking complex as well.

Now that all three tugs are on the docking complex, Engineers Kinney and King line up the fuel transfer lines and transfer fuel from Tug 3 to Tugs 2 and 4 to equalize the fuel load across all three tugs. This will give all three tugs more than enough fuel to return to Kerbin Station.

Once the fuel transfer has been completed, Captain Kauffman undocks Tug 3 again and brings it back over to the satellite bus so it can carry the bus back to Kerbin.

Now the crew must wait for the station to come around to the return window to release the tugs and begin sending them back to Kerbin.

Meanwhile, back on Kerbin Station, Payload Specialist Knotts releases the cargo clamps and deploys the modules in Liberty's cargo bay.

Then XO Keegan brings up Cargo Drone 1 and moves it over to dock with the habitation module.

She extracts the habitation module from Liberty's cargo bay and then brings it over to dock with the pylon dispenser already placed on the station docking complex.

Then she undocks the drone and brings it back to the reactor module in the cargo bay.

She extracts the reactor module and brings it over to dock with the habitation module, forming a complete cargo stack destined for Minmus.

Then she undocks the drone and brings it over to its normal parking spot.

With their delivery complete, the crews dig in to their after-mission dinner, and then hit the hay.

But, back out at Minmus, the station has reached its first return window. XO Kimball undocks Orbital Tug 3 with its satellite bus and backs it away from the station.

Then, once the tug is clear of the station, Mission Control takes over and guides the tug through its return burn.

It will be back in the vicinity of Kerbin in about a week.

A couple of hours later, the crew of Liberty is awakened from their slumber. They say their goodbyes to their shipmates on the station and close the hatches. Then they break away.

Commander Kilpatrick brings Liberty around and burns for reentry.

She glides through the plasma and over the western mountains. Then Kilpatrick brings her in for a landing at KSC once more.

The next mission will continue to bring up more modules for Minmus Base. Hopefully we will have three full cargo stacks waiting for the three tugs when they arrive back from Minmus in a week.

Edited July 4, 2022 by TheSaint

[TheSaint]

Mission 506 - Minmus Base Reactor Radiator Tower & Airlock

The radiator tower for the Minmus Base reactor showed up just in time, the night before the payload integration deadline. The folks over at Kerbal Atomics assure us that it is 100% ready to go, although there was a plastic bag in the crate with it, full of nuts and bolts, with a note that said, "Keep just in case." Not sure what that's all about.

In any case, this mission is lifting the new, advanced radiator tower for Minmus Station's reactor, which should be able to handle a much higher heat load and temperature. This mission will also be lifting the airlock module for the base.

It's a tight fit, but everything clears.

Freedom is doing the honors this time on her eleventh flight. Taking their seats on the flight deck will be:

Commander Elaine Kohn
Pilot Dominic Kozak
Flight Engineer Judi Keith
Payload Specialist Clayton Kilgore
Mission Specialist Irwin Kimmel
Mission Specialist Phillip Kemper

The ground crew rolls Freedom out to the runway on a beautiful, sunny morning. The crew board and go through their pre-flight checks, and then Commander Kohn lights her up and takes her aloft.

Freedom cruises to hypersonic speeds, then transitions to closed-cycle and continues to orbit. The crew rigs her for orbital operations and awaits their first rendezvous burn.

While Freedom is waiting for her first window, Minmus Station reaches its next return window. XO Kimball undocks Orbital Tug 2 and backs it away from the station.

When it has cleared the station, she hands it off to Mission Control and they guide it through its return burn.

It will be back in Kerbin orbit in about eight days.

Soon after, Freedom reaches its rendezvous window. Commander Kohn guides her through her burns, and then Pilot Kozak takes over and guides her in to dock at Kerbin Station.

Once the hatches are opened and the crews have made their greetings, it's time to get to work. Payload Specialist Kilgore releases the clamps holding the modules in Freedom's cargo bay and deploys the cargo erectors.

Captain Koontz brings Cargo Drone 1 online and undocks it from the escape pod hub.

She maneuvers it over and docks it to the radiator tower. She then extracts the radiator tower from the cargo bay and docks it to the station's docking complex.

Then she undocks the drone from the tower and brings it over to dock with the airlock module.

Extracting the airlock module, she brings it over and docks it with the radiator tower.

Once the airlock module is placed in its cargo stack, Koontz undocks the drone and brings it back over to its parking spot.

And now it's time for everyone's favorite part of the mission: gathering in the wardroom for eatin' and drinkin' and telling stories. Then everyone wanders off to bed.

While the crew of Freedom sleeps, Minmus Station reaches its return window once again and Captain Kauffman undocks Orbital Tug 4 from the station for its return flight.

He backs it away from Minmus Station, and then turns control over to Mission Control. They upload its flight plan and it too is on its way back to Kerbin Station.

The next morning, the crew of Freedom awakens. They say their goodbyes to the crew of Kerbin Station and close the hatches. Then they break away from the station and burn for reentry.

Freedom glides through the heat of reentry, then as she reaches the lower atmosphere Commander Kohn takes the yoke once again and guides her in for a landing at KSC.

The next mission will bring up the ever-important supply module for Minmus Base, as well as the first of the modules for the fuel refinery.

[TheSaint]

Mission 507 - Minmus Base Supply Module & Refinery Radiator Module

This mission will continue to bring up modules for Minmus Base. The supply module, loaded with seventeen tons of beef jerky and BARs, and a radiator tower for the fuel refinery.

Opportunity is doing this run, her tenth flight. Her flight crew is:

Commander Darryl Koehler
Pilot Hannah Kinnard
Flight Engineer Stella Kunz
Payload Specialist Goldie Kennedy
Mission Specialist Bob Keen
Mission Specialist Sydney Kirchner

Once Opportunity has been rolled out to the runway and the crew has finished their pre-flight checks, Commander Koehler takes her aloft.

Opportunity roars through the atmosphere and soon the crew is taking her through her orbital insertion burn.

After an hour, the crew guides Opportunity through her rendezvous burns and brings her in to dock at Kerbin Station.

Once onboard, the crews say hello and then get down to work. Payload Specialist Kennedy deploys the radiator module in the cargo bay.

Assistant Pilot Kearney brings Cargo Drone 1 online and brings it over to dock with the supply module.

He then undocks the supply module and moves it to an unused port on the docking complex.

Then he brings the drone back around to pick up the radiator module.

Extracting the radiator module, he brings it around to dock with the supply module

Then he brings the drone back to its parking spot. With the mission now over, the crews settle down to more important things: FOOD! Once the feast is over, they settle down for the night.

Meanwhile, Orbital Tug 5 has arrived at Minmus.

Mission Control guides it through its orbital insertion burn and rendezvous burns. Then XO Kimball at Minmus Station takes control of the Tug and guides it in to dock with the station.

Over the next day or so the crew of Minmus Station will begin to land the rovers on Minmus to investigate candidate sites for Minmus Base.

Back on Kerbin Station, the time has come for Opportunity to return home. The crew says farewell and closes the hatches, then undocks.

She burns for reentry, and then Commander Koehler brings her around and guides her in to a perfect landing at KSC.

Another successful mission in the books. The next mission will bring up the next two modules for the Minmus Base fuel refinery.