Beyond: Kerbalkind's History of Space Exploration

[Dunas Only Moon]

also what visual mods are you using? 

[Kerbalsaurus]

PARTNERSHIP!

After sending a message to companies for a private space mission to Kerman Station, Beyond is happy to announce the winner: Winter Owl, owned by @Dunas Only Moon Kerman! Using the very enthusiastically named Mun Lander One (MLO), a new age of space travel will be ushered in where any Kerbal can go to space! Thank you Winter Owl for this partnership!

X

[Dunas Only Moon]

Spoiler

 

On 4/11/2023 at 12:34 PM, Kerbalsaurus said:

PARTNERSHIP!

After sending a message to companies for a private space mission to Kerman Station, Beyond is happy to announce the winner: Winter Owl, owned by @Dunas Only Moon Kerman! Using the very enthusiastically named Mun Lander One (MLO), a new age of space travel will be ushered in where any Kerbal can go to space! Thank you Winter Owl for this partnership!

X

Hello, @Kerbalsaurus Kerman, we are currently working on a station for low Mun orbit that will open the chance for private landings and bases alike!

But we dont have too much support for this, we can send you our blueprints once they are done if you agree to this

From your parnter, @Dunas Only MoonKerman.

Spoiler

I dont know how to make a blueprint, can you tell me? 

 

Edited April 13, 2023 by Dunas Only Moon

[Kerbalsaurus]

On 4/13/2023 at 9:50 AM, Dunas Only Moon said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Hello, @Kerbalsaurus Kerman, we are currently working on a station for low Mun orbit that will open the chance for private landings and bases alike!

But we dont have too much support for this, we can send you our blueprints once they are done if you agree to this

From your parnter, @Dunas Only MoonKerman.

  Reveal hidden contents

I dont know how to make a blueprint, can you tell me? 

 

Pleasure doing business with you!For blueprints, I usually use Kronal Vessel Viewer (KVV). But you can’t mod console KSP without jail breaking your console. I'd suggest just drawing it as best you can on paper. That's what I used to do.

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YEAR 2, DAY 267: MINTY 3

Crew: Debo, Danfal, Albert

The Minty Program continues, as Beyond readies Minty 3. The goal of this mission was to figure out the conditions of the rough areas of Minmus, as well as get many pictures of Kerbin and the alien landscapes of Minmus. With the tanks aboard the transfer craft full, we have no need for a resupply mission. This makes the Minty Program cheaper, and thus allows more attention from the UKA. The Tendagurensis Rocket fires it's mighty engines, and climbs high and fast into the sky.

Stage 2 ignition and orbital insertion burn.

Uhh... I accidentally took this.

Approaching habitat

TMI burn

Danfal watches Kerbol rise over Kerbin's horizon.

Minty 3 now enters the coasting stage. It'll drift through empty space for around 7 days, before firing its engines retrograde to enter low Minmus orbit.

Minmus braking burn

Albert snaps a picture out of the window.

Debo enters the lander, followed by her crewmates. One orbit is done of Minmus before detaching from the lander to make sure the landing site is in optimal position before deorbit. Sardine's engines fire, and it slowly descends toward the the ice cream world.

"Touchdown is confirmed, mission control. Albert reports that all systems are good, over." - Debo Kerman

The crew step out of the lander, and begin working on Minmus's surface. Beyond's flag is planted, science is done, and rocks are collected.

"Unlike the flats of Minmus," Danfal later reported, "the samples we picked up from Minmus's highlands are actual rocks, rather than flakes of ice."

The crew begin what they really came for, though. Pictures. The point of this mission to pick up various samples of Minmus's highlands and compare them to those of its flats. But they also wanted to use the clearer views of the highlands as a way to drum up support for the space program. Pictures of distant flats, Kerbin and the Mun suspended in the sky. Stuff that a little kerblet might want to hang up in their room. Newspapers later reported it as being "the prettiest spaceflight".

Debo snaps this picture of Kerbin and the Mun

Albert looks upon a flat that was the site of the probe landing on Minmus.

All too soon, though, the crew have to get back onboard Sardine. They say their final goodbyes to Minmus, and then head back home.

Burning for the habitat

Ascending

Burning for the habitat.

Docked

Heading home

The ride home is quite boring. Just 7 days of coasting back. Minty 3 adjusts the inclination of the habitat, refuels it, and then deorbits. After a... rough reentry, Minty 3 safely returns back to Kerbin, pictures, experiments, and samples all onboard.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[Kerbalsaurus]

YEAR 2, DAY 293: KERMAN STATION ‘SUMERKI’ MODULE

Space home!

Kerman station is almost ready for its first inhabitants! We just need the second module docked, simply called module 2. We don't really have any cool module names. This module will be more of the laboratory module. The crew will spend most of their time in here, doing various experiments and analyzing others. Sure, our goal is to make a giant space station in orbit of Kerbin. We just need to start out small, then get bigger.

Orbital insertion burn

Rendezvous burn

Slowing relative velocity

Docked!

Kerman Station is now ready for crew... almost. Turns out, we're lacking avionics to keep the space station corrected in orbit. We also don't have RCS. Well, we'll have to think of a solution for that. Maybe an avionics module. We'll also need a junior docking port. That way the Winter Owl MLO will be able to dock with the space station.

Edited June 4, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[fulgur]

This is a great story! The pictures look very good with all your visual mods and I really enjoy the stories which take their time building up infrastructure in Kerbin's SOI.

Are you still open for partner companies to develop competing orbital shuttles? Jeb's Junkyard believe their prospective shuttle has recently reduced its explosiveness on re-entry by as much as 60%!

[Kerbalsaurus]

1 hour ago, fulgur said:

This is a great story! The pictures look very good with all your visual mods and I really enjoy the stories which take their time building up infrastructure in Kerbin's SOI.

Are you still open for partner companies to develop competing orbital shuttles? Jeb's Junkyard believe their prospective shuttle has recently reduced its explosiveness on re-entry by as much as 60%!

Thanks! Yes, news of the activities at Jeb's Junkyard has reached us. It'd be interesting to see something like the Boeing-SpaceX go down. After all, many of these of missions have somewhat been parodies of NASA. I think I could use your shuttle. I know your agency name and flag, I just need your craft. Just post a KerbalX link.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[Dunas Only Moon]

3 hours ago, fulgur said:

This is a great story! The pictures look very good with all your visual mods and I really enjoy the stories which take their time building up infrastructure in Kerbin's SOI.

Are you still open for partner companies to develop competing orbital shuttles? Jeb's Junkyard believe their prospective shuttle has recently reduced its explosiveness on re-entry by as much as 60%!

oh, i am winter owl  , but i am on console so i cant post kerbal x stuff, but i can tell him the craft details

[fulgur]

2 hours ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

Thanks! Yes, news of the activities at Jeb's Junkyard has reached us. It'd be interesting to see something like the Boeing-SpaceX go down. After all, many of these of missions have somewhat been parodies of NASA. I think I could use your shuttle. I know your agency name and flag, I just need your craft. Just post a KerbalX link.

If my craft are to be used by a parody of Boeing, does that mean they will actually fly? :-p

31 minutes ago, Dunas Only Moon said:

oh, i am winter owl  , but i am on console so i cant post kerbal x stuff, but i can tell him the craft details

Jeb's Junkyard is looking forwards to working with Winter Owl in a spirit of friendly competition, although we are of course confident that we will make pretty, pretty explosions at least 25% more often- oh, that's not what we're competing on? Jeb's Junkyard is of course confident that we will be firing useless, useless personal assistants at least 25% more often than Winter Owl.

Spoiler

Jeb's Junkyard present the one, the only "Libra Orbit" space shuttle!

Sometimes its nosecone explodes on descent. And it's very definitely not going as far as the Mun.

 

[Dunas Only Moon]

14 minutes ago, fulgur said:

 

Jeb's Junkyard is looking forwards to working with Winter Owl in a spirit of friendly competition, although we are of course confident that we will make pretty, pretty explosions at least 25% more often- oh, that's not what we're competing on? Jeb's Junkyard is of course confident that we will be firing useless, useless personal assistants at least 25% more often than Winter Owl.

  Hide contents

Jeb's Junkyard present the one, the only "Libra Orbit" space shuttle!

Sometimes its nosecone explodes on descent. And it's very definitely not going as far as the Mun.

 

We have been making crafts since 0.90

[Kerbalsaurus]

ANOTHER PARTNERSHIP!

Yes, Beyond has now another partner! Jeb's Junkyard, which has been a supplier of parts to Beyond since the earliest days of our agency! CEO @fulgur Kerman presented to us their SSTO design, called the Libra Orbit! While some issues arose during testing (nose cone explosions, issues getting off the runway), they assure us it's a very reliable craft. They've alos agreed to help Winter Owl in conquering space, rather than race them. The UKA would also like to prevent a competition to space. Beyond is happy to have Jeb's Junkyard as a partner, and they hope to continue this partnership far into the future!

[Kerbalsaurus]

YEAR 2, DAY 312: MINTY 4

Back to the missions...

Minty 4 will attempt a landing in an area thought to be inhospitable: the poles of Minmus. Pictures from Minmin 1 showed that poles were very mountainous and treacherous region to land at. But the versatility of the lander makes scientists believe they can land it. Our engineers have been warning us about this launch, though. The VAB rocket assembly team can't build the rocket fast enough. Were using a backup from the Munar Program, prepared just in case an issue arose during the mission. We've been warned that it's under preforming and old, and that it's been too damaged from being in storage for too long. But what do they know? We've flown this rocket several times! Nothing can possibly go wrong!

CREW VERBAL LOG

RONVIN KERMAN: Mission control, come in! We've had premature separation of the SRBs! They've destroyed the first stage engine!

MALGARD KERMAN: Activating abort sequence!

"Module separated from Tendagurensis. We're on our way home. Boy, was that a fun mission!" - Janby Kerman

The crew make it back to Kerbin shaken, but unharmed. Minty 4 was a huge disaster! We didn't even make it to space! Immediately, Beyond grounds all upcoming crewed flights, especially the Minty Program, until the situation is de-briefed. A few days later, Beyond hosts a press conference, where agency director "Kerbalsuarus" Kerman debriefs the public about what happened.

"What happened during the launch was a computer malfunction" Kerbalsaurus said. "Some issue with the fuel software made the computer think the boosters were empty, and that's what caused the premature separation."

"What's the fate of the Minty Program, and crewed spaceflight as a whole?" asked one reporter.

"Crewed spaceflight will continue, as the Kerman Station Crew Ferry is almost complete, and several commercial partners have signed up for the program. As for the Minty Program, it will be cancelled effective immediately, and all rockets being built for it will be grounded. That is all."

Immediately, the conference room bursts into a frenzy of questions. But Kerbalsaurus just walks off stage. The fate of the space program now seems unsure, and many at Beyond now wonder what happens next. Is this the end of the agency?

[Dunas Only Moon]

On 4/16/2023 at 7:58 AM, Kerbalsaurus said:

YEAR 2, DAY 312: MINTY 4

Back to the missions...

Minty 4 will attempt a landing in an area thought to be inhospitable: the poles of Minmus. Pictures from Minmin 1 showed that poles were very mountainous and treacherous region to land at. But the versatility of the lander makes scientists believe they can land it. Our engineers have been warning us about this launch, though. The VAB rocket assembly team can't build the rocket fast enough. Were using a backup from the Munar Program, prepared just in case an issue arose during the mission. We've been warned that it's under preforming and old, and that it's been too damaged from being in storage for too long. But what do they know? We've flown this rocket several times! Nothing can possibly go wrong!

CREW VERBAL LOG

RONVIN KERMAN: Mission control, come in! We've had premature separation of the SRBs! They've destroyed the first stage engine!

MALGARD KERMAN: Activating abort sequence!

"Module separated from Tendagurensis. We're on our way home. Boy, was that a fun mission!" - Janby Kerman

The crew make it back to Kerbin shaken, but unharmed. Minty 4 was a huge disaster! We didn't even make it to space! Immediately, Beyond grounds all upcoming crewed flights, especially the Minty Program, until the situation is de-briefed. A few days later, Beyond hosts a press conference, where agency director "Kerbalsuarus" Kerman debriefs the public about what happened.

"What happened during the launch was a computer malfunction" Kerbalsaurus said. "Some issue with the fuel software made the computer think the boosters were empty, and that's what caused the premature separation."

"What's the fate of the Minty Program, and crewed spaceflight as a whole?" asked one reporter.

"Crewed spaceflight will continue, as the Kerman Station Crew Ferry is almost complete, and several commercial partners have signed up for the program. As for the Minty Program, it will be cancelled effective immediately, and all rockets being built for it will be grounded. That is all."

Immediately, the conference room bursts into a frenzy of questions. But Kerbalsaurus just walks off stage. The fate of the space program now seems unsure, and many at Beyond now wonder what happens next. Is this the end of the agency?

Oof, if only i had designed a rocket for you

[fulgur]

Jeb's Junkyard reluctantly but wholeheartedly admits defeat, at least temporarily, in the competition for making pretty, pretty explosions; not to our friendly competitiors Winter Owl, but surprisingly to the Beyond program itself. We congratulate the mission crew, especially Malgard Kerman, for their timely action in setting off the abort sequence and saving the lives of the crew on board.

Jeb's Junkyard would like the general public to know that this disaster does not reduce our confidence in our own orbital shuttles any further, and that we look forwards to supplying the Kerman Station frequently and cost-effectively. We would also like to wish our competitors Winter Owl the best of luck with development of their "Mun Lander One" craft, in light of the grounding of other deep-space craft.

--

Excellent update! I can't wait to read what happens next!

[Kerbalsaurus]

YEAR 2, DAY 332 - LIBRA ORBIT HIGH ALTITUDE TEST FLIGHT

Here comes the money!

Crew: Jebediah, Valentina, Bill

After the disaster of Minty 4, Beyond had to shut down and let the UKA make a decision about what happens next. Since there was no loss of life, Beyond was given the go ahead to continue. And they continue with Libra Orbit! It was shipped to Cape Kerman just over a week ago, with a kind note from @fulgur Kerman, telling us good luck and have fun with blowing up. Uhh... ignore that last part. Specific instructions were given for the flight, mainly to take off at the end of the runway. Jebediah has shown an... odd amount of excitement to fly the plane. He will obviously be our pilot. Valentina will observe the way the plane moves, and Bill will long everything that happens during the flight. Libra orbit is rolled to the back of the runway, and Jeb fires its engines for liftoff.

"Woooooooooo! Yeah!!!!" - Jebediah Kerman, destroying everyone's ears over the radio.

The plane actually flies quite smoothly, and quite fast, above the clouds at Mach 1 after only 1 minute.

CREW VERBAL LOG

JEBEDIAH KERMAN: Engine flame out. The atmosphere's thinning out now.

VALENTINA KERMAN: How high are we going? It's already a very alien view up here.

JEBEDIAH KERMAN: 30 kilometers or so.

BILL KERMAN: Are you sure you can recover a plane after going that high?

JEBEDIAH KERMAN: Of course I can! I'm Jebediah Kerman!

Sure enough, Jeb maintains control of the aircraft, and at about 1km from sea level he ignites the engines.

"Next stop, KSC!" - Jebediah Kerman

The landing was... as advertised. The lower Panther engines blew up on landing, causing the aircraft to drift right off the runway. Bill's suit was a little wet afterwards, but the landing was still proclaimed a success! Jebediah reported the spacecraft flew like a dream. The next flight of this aircraft will be suborbital!

[fulgur]

That was not actually the advertisment! As a shuttle, rather than a SSTO, "Libra Orbit" is not meant to land with the jet engines still attached. If Beyond were to develop larger landing gears than the ones Jeb's Junkyard have access to [use Medium instead of Small landing gear], this might allow an abort-to-runway anywhere up to the detachment of the jet engines. Also, for a simple orbital trip you can have as little as 70 units liquid fuel in each of the four jet tanks, although that reduces your margin for abort-to-runway.

When you're doing your suborbital test make sure you're pointed in the general direction of land. She glides fairly well but the Terriers produce terrible thrust at sea level.

What the warning was actually about was this:

where the front nosecone, rated for only 2000K, explodes on a shallow re-entry; therefore a steeper re-entry, with Libra's large wings causing high drag, is the optimal entry profile.

Spoiler

Something else Libra can do, but was not designed for:

A mysterious fairing, with a pair of winglets to move the centre of lift behind the new centre of mass.

"Undocking" followed by an entirely controlled explosion.

"Cation" miniature communications satellite.

If larger commercial cargos are required, Jeb's Junkyard see a lucrative future in low orbit shuttles and other spaceplanes.

 

Edited April 18, 2023 by fulgur

[Kerbalsaurus]

4 hours ago, fulgur said:

That was not actually the advertisment! As a shuttle, rather than a SSTO, "Libra Orbit" is not meant to land with the jet engines still attached. If Beyond were to develop larger landing gears than the ones Jeb's Junkyard have access to [use Medium instead of Small landing gear], this might allow an abort-to-runway anywhere up to the detachment of the jet engines. Also, for a simple orbital trip you can have as little as 70 units liquid fuel in each of the four jet tanks, although that reduces your margin for abort-to-runway.

When you're doing your suborbital test make sure you're pointed in the general direction of land. She glides fairly well but the Terriers produce terrible thrust at sea level.

What the warning was actually about was this:

where the front nosecone, rated for only 2000K, explodes on a shallow re-entry; therefore a steeper re-entry, with Libra's large wings causing high drag, is the optimal entry profile.

  Reveal hidden contents

Something else Libra can do, but was not designed for:

A mysterious fairing, with a pair of winglets to move the centre of lift behind the new centre of mass.

"Undocking" followed by an entirely controlled explosion.

"Cation" miniature communications satellite.

If larger commercial cargos are required, Jeb's Junkyard see a lucrative future in low orbit shuttles and other spaceplanes.

 

Yeah, I did realize the engine detachment feature, but this wasn’t going to space. It was just a high altitude flight. I was definitely going to detach them for a suborbital flight.

As for the satellite feature, we will have to think about that. We already have a rocket built that can lift several  payloads. But a commercial satellite program isn’t a bad idea.

[Kerbalsaurus]

YEAR 2, DAY 358 - KERMAN STATION AVIONICS MODULE

You spin me right round...

Due to some, uhh... engineering mistakes, Kerman Station has no control. We've designed a module that gives Kerman Station the ability to control itself when no crew are on board, as well he RCS needed to adjust its orbit. This is the avionics module, and the most advanced one ever made. It also has a Junior Docking Port attached to it, which will allow Winter Owl's MLO to dock with the station. This will be the final launch to Kerman Station before we send up the first inhabitants. The station is no longer a dream, but a reality.

EVE 1 on the pad

Liftoff!

MESU

Burn for LKO

MECO

With the module now in orbit, we can get down to buisness. First, we have to adjust its orbital to match it with that of Kerman Station. That went well. Next, we have to set up our encounter with the station. That also went well. The module simply has to coast towards Kerman Station, and then the station will be complete!

Arrival at the space station

Hard dock confirmed

Kerman Station is ready.

[AtomicTech]

Very cool!

I would recommend using an ambient light boosting mod

[Kerbalsaurus]

YEAR 2, DAY 373 - EXPEDITION 1

The other one...

Camera situated near the avionics module

After a long time of work, Kerman Station is finally ready for its first inhabitants. On board will be our veteran Kerbonauts Jebediah, Bob, and Bill. They will spend half a year, or 7 months on board Kerman Station. For daily terms, that's 210 days.  They'll be coming back home well into Year Three! The spacecraft they're flying on is a brand new spacecraft, called the Multi-Purpose Crew Ferry (MPCF). The MPCF is a descendant of the vehicle used during the Munar Program (much like the Minty Spacecraft). It's cheap to make, and can accommodate 3 crew members. Perfect for routine missions to a space station. They'll be flying aboard an Eve 1 Rocket. However, the Eve 1 is starting to show its age. As our payloads get more advanced, the demand for such a rocket is starting to lessen. A design is already in the works though for an Eve 2, which will replace the Eve 1.

Minmus floats tantalizingly in the background

Main-Engine Startup

Orbital insertion burn

Now the spacecraft will adjust its orbital plane to that of Kerman Station's, and then start the rendezvous burn.

Rendezvous burn

The spacecraft arrived within 40 meters of the space station. I would've gotten a picture, but my mind was set on docking the spacecraft. The spacecraft successfully docks to Kerman Station, and the crew transfer over into their new home.

Bob Kerman opens the hatch into the lab, and deploys the station's science experiments. Kerman Station can actually act as a long time observatory for the magnetic fields of Kerbin, and learn how they're protecting the planet from deadly radiation. Bob Kerman heads to the back to the airlock, and suits up for his EVA to recover the experiments.

Jebediah, Bob, and Bill get to know their home, and settle in for their stay on the space station. Also, mission control gives them a welcoming surprise: there will be others heading up to visit them soon! Expedition 2 will preform the first crew rotation halfway through Expedition 1, an orbital test flight for the MLO will dock with the station, and Libra Orbit will also dock to the space station in its fourth test flight.

[Dunas Only Moon]

18 hours ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

YEAR 2, DAY 373 - EXPEDITION 1

The other one...

Camera situated near the avionics module

After a long time of work, Kerman Station is finally ready for its first inhabitants. On board will be our veteran Kerbonauts Jebediah, Bob, and Bill. They will spend half a year, or 7 months on board Kerman Station. For daily terms, that's 210 days.  They'll be coming back home well into Year Three! The spacecraft they're flying on is a brand new spacecraft, called the Multi-Purpose Crew Ferry (MPCF). The MPCF is a descendant of the vehicle used during the Munar Program (much like the Minty Spacecraft). It's cheap to make, and can accommodate 3 crew members. Perfect for routine missions to a space station. They'll be flying aboard an Eve 1 Rocket. However, the Eve 1 is starting to show its age. As our payloads get more advanced, the demand for such a rocket is starting to lessen. A design is already in the works though for an Eve 2, which will replace the Eve 1.

Minmus floats tantalizingly in the background

Main-Engine Startup

Orbital insertion burn

Now the spacecraft will adjust its orbital plane to that of Kerman Station's, and then start the rendezvous burn.

Rendezvous burn

The spacecraft arrived within 40 meters of the space station. I would've gotten a picture, but my mind was set on docking the spacecraft. The spacecraft successfully docks to Kerman Station, and the crew transfer over into their new home.

Bob Kerman opens the hatch into the lab, and deploys the station's science experiments. Kerman Station can actually act as a long time observatory for the magnetic fields of Kerbin, and learn how they're protecting the planet from deadly radiation. Bob Kerman heads to the back to the airlock, and suits up for his EVA to recover the experiments.

Jebediah, Bob, and Bill get to know their home, and settle in for their stay on the space station. Also, mission control gives them a welcoming surprise: there will be others heading up to visit them soon! Expedition 2 will preform the first crew rotation halfway through Expedition 1, an orbital test flight for the MLO will dock with the station, and Libra Orbit will also dock to the space station in its fourth test flight.

Nice update, but now for ours:

We have created a space station for low munar orbit... and it is now even being tested for duna, and it will be ready in around 2-3 weeks! (4-10 days)

[Kerbalsaurus]

1 hour ago, Dunas Only Moon said:

Nice update, but now for ours:

We have created a space station for low munar orbit... and it is now even being tested for duna, and it will be ready in around 2-3 weeks! (4-10 days)

We, uhh… don’t really have the resources right now for a Munar space station. We have no deep space rockets available, and I also will have no idea as to what the space station will look like.

[Dunas Only Moon]

1 hour ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

We, uhh… don’t really have the resources right now for a Munar space station. We have no deep space rockets available, and I also will have no idea as to what the space station will look like.

1. i am still building it, and

2. we are using ion engines

[Kerbalsaurus]

28 minutes ago, Dunas Only Moon said:

We are using ion engines

[fulgur]

I suspect that what Kerbalsaurus means by that enigmatic emoji is that in the story he is telling Kerbalkind is advancing somewhat more slowly, cautiously and cheaply than it is able to in a normal career save. While I am sure Kerbalsaurus would love your munar station design, they will have an approximate timeline within the story for when the Beyond program makes its triumphant return to deep space operations. Even if your spacecraft could SSTO the Jool-5, it would not do so in this story because that is not the story being told.

When, several chapters in the future, a Mun starion is built, I am sure that your design will be taken into consideration and Winter Owl corporation will play an important part in the station construction. (Jeb's Junkyard will not, because we make atmospheric craft.)

Edited April 20, 2023 by fulgur
I like this story; can we not have misunderstandings