Beyond: Kerbalkind's History of Space Exploration

[Kerbalsaurus]

14 minutes ago, Watermel00n said:

Is the commercial space shuttle design challenge still open? I have a design that I think would fit well here.

Uh, yeah, yeah, you can submit your own. Just send a KerbalX link, tell me your agency name, and show me your flag so I can download it and use on the spacecraft.

Edited June 4, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus
YOOOOOO page 6!

[Watermel00n]

Alright.

Spoiler

Company name: L00ntech Inc.

Flag:

KerbalX file:https://kerbalx.com/Watermel00n/L00ntech-Reusable-Booster-System

Introducing the L00ntech Reusable Booster System! It utilises a large liquid-fuelled booster that can SSTO up to 18 tons into LKO and land almost hands free with parachutes and a little fuel.

Spoiler

Hopefully the parts I used aren't too advanced for your space program.

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by Watermel00n

[Kerbalsaurus]

3 hours ago, Watermel00n said:

Alright.

  Reveal hidden contents

Company name: L00ntech Inc.

Flag:

KerbalX file:https://kerbalx.com/Watermel00n/L00ntech-Reusable-Booster-System

Introducing the L00ntech Reusable Booster System! It utilises a large liquid-fuelled booster that can SSTO up to 18 tons into LKO and land almost hands free with parachutes and a little fuel.

  Reveal hidden contents

Hopefully the parts I used aren't too advanced for your space program.

 

Oh, it’s fine. We already have an SSTO along before something like the Space Shuttle. This rocket’s actually perfect for a payload I’m launching soon.

[Kerbalsaurus]

L00NTECH PARTNERSHIP - YEAR 3, DAY 31

Beyond is happy to announce another partner has joined the quest to bring space down to Kerbin: L00ntech Incorporated! L00ntech Inc. has presented us with a reusable booster called the Reusable Booster System (RBS) capable of carying 18 tonnes to LKO! Quite impressive. We look forward to all of the launches to come with the RBS, and we hope our partnership with L00ntech Inc. continues for years to come.

X

[TwoCalories]

Very nice Mission Report. I'm excited to see where the Secret Space Program goes, but I have a hunch... 

[Kerbalsaurus]

YEAR 3, DAY 52 - EXPEDITION 2

Crew: Valentina, Virsen, Wensy

As Expedition 1 reaches halfway through it's mission, Expedition 2 is readied for launch. While the commercial crew program may be on hold while the Libra 2 incident is investigated (that thing may be a death trap), Kerman Station's crew launch program will continue. It's already built on proven technology, so why stop it. This launch will in fact be the first launch of the brand new Eve II rocket, the latest development in the Universal Launch Vehicle Project (ULVP). The Eve II is capable of about 11 tons to LKO, which is quite impressive for a launch vehicle of it's size. Outfitted with the signature orange tanks, the Eve II will certainly become a work horse for Beyond.

Liftoff!

LES sep

After Expedition 2 enters orbit, the regular process begins to rendezvous with the station. Changing the orbital plane, and burning for the target. After a short while, Expedition 2 arrives at Kerman Station.

Docked! The crew enter, and say their hellos to Jeb, Bob, and Bill. For the first time ever, Beyond's first Kerbonauts are all in space together. Jebediah, Bob, Bill, Valentina, and Virsen all celebrate this occasion. It only seems like yesterday that they first went to space! Really, it wasn't all that long ago, but still.

Virsen goes for her EVA

Expedition 2 settles in for their long stay aboard Kerman Station. As cramped as a six Kerballed space station seems now, they can all look forward to a new laboratory coming. This will definitely give them more "wiggle room" as the kids say.

Edited June 9, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus
Uploaded the same picture twice

[Kerbalsaurus]

Year 3, Day }̵̛̻̓̈́́͐̉{̵̢̲͙͉̹̻͔̿͆̉̃́̎͌\̵̗͙̖͆́͒͐͋̏͛̐̚͠\̷̰̗̙̽̀̈̽͌̀̑͆|̶͕̩̲͛̄̂ͅ - THE SECRET SPACE STATION

We're setting up an orbital outpost to observe our Mun probe, and be a little bit more thorough in finding this anomaly. We don't want any nosy radio enthusiasts to find out what we're up to. It will be multi modular, but not so big it can be seen with the naked eye. The rocket launching it is painted dark, so no one will see it when it flies across the desert. The latest development of the secret space program begins.

I managed to snap this picture from the runway

The space station is completed, and observation of the Mun begins. By the way, are ever gonna get back to figuring out what "NASA" is?

[fulgur]

Jebediah's Junkyard Statement on the crash of the Libra Orbit Test Vehicle.

It is deeply unfortunate that our Libra Orbit test vehicle came to an untimely end. At Jebediah's Junkyard, we know what the general public are asking: is the Libra Orbit a deathtrap? And the answer is of course yes. But to what extent is it a deathtrap?
Surprisingly, the answer is "not very much." We have performed extensive sea testing on our old prototype airframes and the result is always the same: crew survival. This is because Libra Orbit has a stall speed of around 30m/s. Our crew cabins are designed to survive 40m/s impacts, so even though the main fuselage would explode on landing, the crew would survive.
However, we have also introduced new safety features to the Libra Orbit: a nose-mounted parachute, and a pair of miniaturised "Juno" jet engines. This provides two additional abort options in case the wing structure is damaged, or the plane is predicted to land in inhospitable areas.

In regard to concerns from Kerbalsaurus Kerman about the orbital dV, our simulations have found that the craft orbits consistently with remaining dV of 500-600m/s. This is more than adequate to reach Kerman Station's 200x200km orbit and return, especially if a shallower descent profile is used to maximise the drag of Libra Orbit's large delta wings.

For descent guidance, we recommend the incredible Kobymaru's computational guidance systems.

Jebediah's Junkyard are also proud to announce that we are working on a much larger orbital shuttle, with seating for 6. However, before we finalise the design, we would like to ask Beyond about the current technological developments of their "K-plane" program, and whether there have been any breakthroughs in hypersonic technologies.

 

[Kerbalsaurus]

Beyond would like to thank Jeb's Junkyard for their response on the Libra 2 incident. We're glad that no matter what, the crew would survive a water landing due to the design of the frame. We would also like to apologize for calling it a "death trap".  The brand new re-design of the Libra Orbit will hopefully make it a much safer spacecraft to fly in. Also, we're quite excited to fly this Mk. 2 spaceplane...

Spoiler

26 minutes ago, fulgur said:

we would like to ask Beyond about the current technological developments of their "K-plane" program, and whether there have been any breakthroughs in hypersonic technologies.

I, err... forgot about that

 

[Kerbalsaurus]

YEAR 3, DAY 76 - 'FATE' LABORATORY MODULE

I'm back baybee!

After a public pole was announced to pick Kerman Station's next module, the laboratory module won by a landslide! Fate, as it's called (no relation to Destiny) is an advanced zero gravity lab module, containing a small plant station and even a centrifuge to experiment with artificial gravity! Truly exciting times for science! The Eve II Rocket will obviously be flying it, but only because it's the most powerful launch vehicle in our arsenal (at least until the RBS is complete and shipped).

Covering other news before the launch, the launch of Journeyer 2 has been postponed indefinitely. The Eve II or RBS was going to be used for the flight, but nothing's powerful enough to lift a probe that heavy. It may be a while till exploration of Moho resumes. Wait, where were we? Right, space station stuff.

Liftoff!

Orbital insertion burn

The module enters orbit! Solar panels are deployed, and the module is put through all the normal rendezvous stuff. Really, all the tedious stuff.

And just like that, the module is attached! The station gets more room, and symmetry! Beautiful symmetry! The crew settle, and get to work starting up these brand new science experiments.

[Kerbalsaurus]

YEAR 3, DAY 97 - MUNMUN ROVER

Driving on the Munmun with a carcar...

While waiting between Kerman Station missions, Beyond has devised a very interesting new spacecraft, called a rover. Rovers are essentially space cars, and drive along the surface of a celestial body, discovering many new things about it over a large area. The Munmun rover, named after the Munmun probes that pioneered the Mun, has on it a brand new scientific instrument: a scanning arm. On it are lasers, drills, and laser drills that will cut through rock to discover what's underneath. Truly an amazing time for science. The rover will help to set a foundation for future crewed missions to the Mun, and will begin Kerbalkind's re-expansion into deep space.

Once in orbit, the Munmun rover begins preparations for the TMI burn.

TMI burn

Munar braking burn.

Once in Munar orbit, the transfer stage is separated, and the main lander containing the rover begins the landing procedure. The most crucial part of the mission has begun.

The coast down is... actually quite peaceful. There were no issues like a cliff in the way or something like that. However, that was just the descent. You see, the suicide burn was screwed up, and we were coming down to the surface at and alarmingly fast rate. We could burn for most of the time, but we'd  also be wasting fuel. Worth a shot, though. The landing is nerve wracking, and very close but...

We make it! After landing, preparation is made to deploy the rover. The cargo bay is opened, exposing the rover to munar conditions.

 

Picture shot from the lander's cargo bay.

And after a short little hop off the bay, the rover feels the surface of the Mun! It's the first object on the Mun in 2 years! Immediately, the rover is sent out to begin scouting the area. After a short drive, it happens to come across a crater.

The rover's put into position, and begins scanning for any clues about the history of the Mun and Kerbin. What's discovered is quite interesting, but not everything could be uncovered due to the scanning arm's size. The Munmun Rover heads off into the distance, to begin its long mission on the Mun.

Edited June 21, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[Kerbalsaurus]

YEAR 3, DAY 105 - K-1 TERROR BIRD (2)

Crew: Stamon

To kick off the three years in development K-Plane program, Beyond is pulling out and old classic- with a twist. The first goal of the K-Plane program is too put a plane on a suborbital trajectory. The Terror Bird is obviously not capable of suborbital flight by itself, so 2 terrier engines were added to the wings. Let's start the program!

The plane takes off and...

...immediately backflips and crashes onto the beach. This is going to be a long program...

Edited July 23, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[Kerbalsaurus]

YEAR 3, DAY 111 - K-1 TERROR BIRD INCIDENT REPORT

After looking at the plane's design, it was figured out that the K-1 crashed onto the beach because its mass was off center. The two terrier engines on the wings made the plane too back heavy. It's been decided that, before designing a plane capable of reaching space, it'd be better to develop hypersonic technologies. This would revolutionize the aerospace industry, and meet the demands of some of our commercial partners. Thank you for listening to this statement.

Edited July 23, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[Kerbalsaurus]

So, first of all, this thread isn’t dead. I’ve just been on vacation and facing KSP burnout. I’m wondering though, what should the first tourist flight be flown on? I would pick, but I don’t want to play favorites toward anybody. Instead I’m running a poll. The options are either @fulgur’s Libra Orbit or @Dunas Only Moon ‘s MLO.

[Dunas Only Moon]

currently doing a mini 1 launch station, just got to get my ps4 back and running

oh forgot to say that we are working on a better tourist craft that should be done by [NEXT INGAME YEAR], and is currently making it more cheaper and comfortable, we are now working on making our crafts for the "rich people" with only 2 trillion dollars  
Edit: when does the poll end?
 

Spoiler

i think we are winning lol

no offence libra orbiter dude

double no offence for messing up the name

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by Dunas Only Moon

[Kerbalsaurus]

14 hours ago, Dunas Only Moon said:

currently doing a mini 1 launch station, just got to get my ps4 back and running

oh forgot to say that we are working on a better tourist craft that should be done by [NEXT INGAME YEAR], and is currently making it more cheaper and comfortable, we are now working on making our crafts for the "rich people" with only 2 trillion dollars  
Edit: when does the poll end?
 

  Reveal hidden contents

i think we are winning lol

no offence libra orbiter dude

double no offence for messing up the name

 

Cool! I love the look of mini space stations. The new craft sounds interesting and very affordable too. Most likely, yes, you guys will be the winners, but if someone decides their team Libra then it may be up to a coin flip or wheel spin. Also, the poll ends tomorrow.

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YEAR 3, DAY 127 - NOVA 3

Back in business...

Crew: Ronvin

Today is the final test flight of the MLO! The goal of this mission is to fly the MLO to Kerman Station for 10 days with crew, before returning back to Kerbin hopefully in the seas nearby the KSC. Also, we added larger solar panels to the spacecraft and a nosecone. The design is (hopefully) completed! The rocket, as usual, is the Eve II, but maybe we might use L00ntech's RBS for the next flight... a sort of mashup of private sector.

Liftoff!

And Nova 3 enters orbit! But the flight isn't over yet. We still need to map out our rendezvous burn with Kerman Station, and then actually dock with it. The manuever is planned, now it's time to act it out.

Nova 3 coasts up to Kerman Station, and then does it's braking burn. This puts it just 53m away from the space station!

Just a few more puffs of monoprop, and...

We're docked! The crew welcome Ronvin with open arms. While his stay here will be short, he's very excited to be on board. He settles in and gets to work.

Sorry the images are so dark, by the way. For some reason Imgur loves to compress images to the point where they look like the 7^th Harry Potter movie.

Edited July 23, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[Dunas Only Moon]

22 minutes ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

Cool! I love the look of mini space stations. The new craft sounds interesting and very affordable too. Most likely, yes, you guys will be the winners, but if someone decides their team Libra then it may be up to a coin flip or wheel spin. Also, the poll ends tomorrow.

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YEAR 3, DAY 127 - NOVA 3

Back in business...

Crew: Ronvin

Today is the final test flight of the MLO! The goal of this mission is to fly the MLO to Kerman Station for 10 days with crew, before returning back to Kerbin hopefully in the seas nearby the KSC. Also, we added larger solar panels to the spacecraft and a nosecone. The design is (hopefully) completed! The rocket, as usual, is the Eve II, but maybe we might use L00ntech's RBS for the next flight... a sort of mashup of private sector.

Liftoff!

And Nova 3 enters orbit! But the flight isn't over yet. We still need to map out our rendezvous burn with Kerman Station, and then actually dock with it. The manuever is planned, now it's time to act it out.

Nova 3 coasts up to Kerman Station, and then does it's braking burn. This puts it just 53m away from the space station!

Just a few more puffs of monoprop, and...

We're docked! The crew welcome Ronvin with open arms. While his stay here will be short, he's very excited to be on board. He settles in and gets to work.

Sorry the images are so dark, by the way. For some reason Imgur loves to compress images to the point where they look like the 7^th Harry Potter movie.

nice! currently starting the space station, codename "X launch station"

Edit: forgot to say that we are also making it so we can be the first craft with a kerbal in deep space (possibly only 2-8 days in deep space but... we shall see)

Edit 2: we are designing a new craft to be side by side "X launch station" we call, "Deep Space X" (both names are tbd, and so is release date)

[Kerbalsaurus]

YEAR 3, DAY 130 - WHO WILL FLY THE FIRST TOURISTS?

After our quick public poll, it has been decided that Winter Owl's MLO will take the first tourist to space! Congratulations to @Dunas Only Moon Kerman! We're happy that our partnership has continued this far, and we hope it will continue for years to come! Also, this new "Deep Space X" sounds interesting...

x

[Dunas Only Moon]

4 hours ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

YEAR 3, DAY 130 - WHO WILL FLY THE FIRST TOURISTS?

After our quick public poll, it has been decided that Winter Owl's MLO will take the first tourist to space! Congratulations to @Dunas Only Moon Kerman! We're happy that our partnership has continued this far, and we hope it will continue for years to come! Also, this new "Deep Space X" sounds interesting...

x

hooray

good game other person who im too lazy to go up posts to see name, also i remember when this was 3 pages, not six, nice job man

oh and i am the kerman

[Watermel00n]

Update on RBS Development:

The Prototype RBS has successfully been shipped to the KSC! Although the cargo jet ran off the side of the runway, the RBS is unscathed! Hopefully, this prototype will stand up to whatever rigorous testing the R&D throws at it. (oh, and remember that the fins are being delivered separately) Anyways, we are working on some interesting orbital vehicle in our HQ's basement. It should be ready to fly in... err I don't know.

Spoiler

 

[Dunas Only Moon]

Hi there, updates on the mini station, 
It is doing very well and we might even design a launcher for it (Launcher X)
It should be able to get to duna, barely, and if we can design an autonomous lander along with it with drills, using our patented "rock go liquid" technique, we can make it so that the station could go to duna, alone, and once you are ready, we can launch a crew towards duna,

also we have a prototype rover that works on not only the mun and eve (sunlight), but maybe even duna.

We are go for duna.
 

14 minutes ago, Watermel00n said:

Update on RBS Development:

The Prototype RBS has successfully been shipped to the KSC! Although the cargo jet ran off the side of the runway, the RBS is unscathed! Hopefully, this prototype will stand up to whatever rigorous testing the R&D throws at it. (oh, and remember that the fins are being delivered separately) Anyways, we are working on some interesting orbital vehicle in our HQ's basement. It should be ready to fly in... err I don't know.

  Hide contents

 

nice! by any chance can we borrow the design for our launcher of the mini station, and dare i say the duna rovers, and... "station x"?
also we are willing to let @Kerbalsaurus borrow our patented "rock go liquid" (in testing), for the mun, minmus,duna and eve.

also we discovered a new planet...
we dont know how big it is or where yet but we see shadows

The shadows can help us triangulate where it is, and we suspect its between jool and duna, but it might be an round asteroid

[Watermel00n]

15 minutes ago, Dunas Only Moon said:

Hi there, updates on the mini station, 
It is doing very well and we might even design a launcher for it (Launcher X)
It should be able to get to duna, barely, and if we can design an autonomous lander along with it with drills, using our patented "rock go liquid" technique, we can make it so that the station could go to duna, alone, and once you are ready, we can launch a crew towards duna,

also we have a prototype rover that works on not only the mun and eve (sunlight), but maybe even duna.

We are go for duna.
 

nice! by any chance can we borrow the design for our launcher of the mini station, and dare i say the duna rovers, and... "station x"?
also we are willing to let @Kerbalsaurus borrow our patented "rock go liquid" (in testing), for the mun, minmus,duna and eve.

also we discovered a new planet...
we dont know how big it is or where yet but we see shadows

The shadows can help us triangulate where it is, and we suspect its between jool and duna, but it might be an round asteroid

Well it should be able to launch station modules with ease, but it's up to @Kerbalsaurus to decide.

[Dunas Only Moon]

Just now, Watermel00n said:

Well it should be able to launch station modules with ease, but it's up to @Kerbalsaurus to decide.

epic! also btw im not able to attach both modules, if kerbalsaurus lets me, because i am a console player (recently got a pc but i dont have ksp 1 on that, ksp 1 is on my ps4). so i will have to resort to figuring out how to attach the modules by pictures

[Kerbalsaurus]

4 hours ago, Dunas Only Moon said:

epic! also btw im not able to attach both modules, if kerbalsaurus lets me, because i am a console player (recently got a pc but i dont have ksp 1 on that, ksp 1 is on my ps4). so i will have to resort to figuring out how to attach the modules by pictures

I feel bad saying it, but I don’t really have a need for taking your space station to the Mun or Duna. I pretty much have these designs figured out. Could they still be used? Of course! A private space station around Kerbin and luxury Mun tourist craft would be awesome!

Hold up, new planet? I thought it didn’t exist.

Edited July 25, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[Dunas Only Moon]

4 minutes ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

I feel bad saying it, but I don’t really have a need for taking your space station to the Mun or Duna. I pretty much have these designs figured out. Could they still be used? Of course! A private space station around Kerbin and luxury Mun tourist craft would be awesome!

Hold up, new planet? I thought it didn’t exist.

(im talking about eeloo)
our craft is fuel efficient and uses our patented liquid fuel engines, thus making it easier to fly to anywhere!