Albatross Adventures: Tales from an Air-Launched Exploration of the Kerbol System

AtomicTech · May 8, 2023

Hello everyone!

This past weekend I decided to strap an aircraft to the bottom of the Albatross-3 and the following adventures ensued.

In this mission report series (that I hope to finish), I'll be messing around with air-launched rockets and hoping to reach every planet (in one way or another).

So, without further ado, I present...

Albatross Adventures!

Note: Earlier reports (1-8) will be in the form of Google Drive videos while later reports will be in the form of YouTube videos.

You can find a full playlist here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbDmRBmartZeh8JVlaPXEIt4qbCagEj9x

Mission Report for Astro-1:

Outcome: Pilot survival and recovery of a number of hardware artifacts after a rapid unscheduled disassembly. Albatross-3 rendered unusable, will have to purchase new one. Astro-1 Aircraft reusable, although the SRBs will have to be replaced and an air intake (which was not installed to test gliding performace in case of engine failure during ascent) will have to be installed.

Spoiler

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cEaprNvSeaT1aaaJKQqv4zpJ-4Hfpln1/view?usp=sharing

Edited May 21, 2023 by AtomicTech

AtomicTech · May 8, 2023

Mission Report for Astro-2:

Outcome: Complete recovery of both the Astro-2 Aircraft and the Albatross-3 with successful supersonic testing of the Astro-2. Also, the Astro-2's jet engine performed amicably in both forward and reverse thrust modes. Now, the new Astro-3 spacecraft can be loaded onto the Albatross-3 for sub-orbital testing.

Spoiler

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ofS22fW2qZWV-uYo81gfYqtA5p47SZHv/view?usp=sharing

AtomicTech · May 8, 2023

Mission Report for Astro-3:

Outcome: Recovery of the Albatross-3 and successful but unplanned orbital mission. The Astro-3 spacecraft lost control during re-entry but regained control around 3 kilometers. However, a rough landing lead to irreparable structural damage lead to the retirement of the Astro-3 but the pilot did survive.

Spoiler

Part 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BNEIWljJ5-aPegU7eKKOiSGCie_OleRp/view?usp=sharing

Part 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Pna2aCWrn9QEa5u82DeyzKIYnP1xEFaR/view?usp=sharing

AtomicTech · May 8, 2023

Mission Report for Astro-4:

Outcome: Recovery of the Albatross-3 and successful and planned orbital mission. However, the engineers didn't account for an extremely light Astro-4 spacecraft so control was lost muliple times during landing. Pilot bailed out at 1000 meters after correctly assuming that control couldn't be regained in time. After repeated failures with the landing aircraft, it's been decided that future missions would use a more traditional, capsule-based approach to landing.

Spoiler

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HlbkDpKMUAoaYT9UsUh_Eb8DlUnwjFxD/view?usp=sharing

Mission Report for Astro-5:

Outcome: Recovery of the Albatross-3 and loss of the crew.

Spoiler

Part 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1do-hrg7558nHYMakbKJKPSvy9zSoNUtS/view?usp=sharing

Part 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SCMCde56yy4BDCqq9OAEIqe-hRVVsfYX/view?usp=sharing

AtomicTech · May 8, 2023

Mission Report (Part 1) for Astro-6:

Outcome: Albatross-3 lost in separation accident however the Astro-6 spacecraft was successfully inserted into orbit and preparing for a Minmus fly-by.

Spoiler

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19BGhW8f79LEVzxkeRBEJWMN2S9tenhlZ/view?usp=sharing

AtomicTech · May 10, 2023

Mission Report (Part 2) for Astro-6:

Outcome: Successful landing on Minmus, though reports were recieved that allude to an interest in including landing gear for subsequent missions. However, landing gear was not installed on the Astro-6 because it was not anticipated that a Minmus landing is possible.

Spoiler

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bidMUKDY1wQDOB5oMsyy5QvgZh6J3tjO/view?usp=sharing

AtomicTech · May 15, 2023

Mission Report for the Astro-7:

Pre-mission Report: Henvan Kerman, inspired by the Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, assembled the Zonai-1 as a small, lightweight aircraft that could be piloted by both Kerbals and probe cores. His flight path took him from the Island Runway over to the roof of the R&D Building while showing off to the crew of the Astro-7 that he got to "land" a plane while they didn't.

Mission Report: Thankfully, the Albatross was not destroyed in the separation thanks to a new technique in which the plane would maintain its heading and the dropped Astro-7 would do the pitch-up manuver instead. After safely reaching orbit, the Astro-7 would successfuly complete its TMI and enter Munar orbit, waiting for the arrival of the contracted AdvancedLabs Munar Landing Craft (AL-MLC).

Spoiler

(Pre-mission): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pjmpt_9q94j1Gq8HjT-N4UCPzgDennOl/view?usp=sharing

(Mission): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1t7aWdQTDuaxpF7IqBylOqA7t1I5_BKA0/view?usp=sharing

AtomicTech · May 18, 2023

Mission Report for the Astro-7 (Continued):

After the successful delivery of the munar lander by a third party contractor, Crisgel Kerman bravely boarded the vehicle and became the first Kerbal to walk on the surface of the Mun! Thankfully, the rest of the mission was uneventful, save for a surprise landing near the KSC!

Spoiler

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sppZHTSLhSDAMpRrUErW0ArJOZ0nqRiG/view?usp=sharing

Side note:

Spoiler

I used the infinite electricity cheat just because I forgot to include solar panels on the lander (which I used the cheat menu to move it to Munar orbit quickly so I could finish the mission.)

AtomicTech · May 18, 2023

Mission Report for the Astro-8:

A new chapter in the Astro Program has begun.

AtomicTech Inc. has decided to accept a contract from the International Kerbin Institute for the Advanced Sciences (IKIAS) to place the first Kerbal on Gilly, Eve's moon. However, this will require the construction of a Reports have shown unusual electromagnetic emissions (read radio transmissions) eminating from the surface so, instead of pursuing a constant presence on Minmus and the Mun, Kerbalkind will take its first steps beyond its home system.

Spoiler

Launch of the Command and Propulsion Module: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aKYzgZ-2uoxze8EwhgCDySfEvrWjqgih/view?usp=sharing

Launch of the RCS + Solar Power Module: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LXx8XskMnt2W9UrbxfZdLRAIedrz-qeT/view?usp=sharing

Repositioning of the modules in a totally legal fashion^TM: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DfJ8lUt72MiPrpig4PjA6R7UNcGk9BPi/view?usp=sharing

Launch of the Fuel/Habitat Expansion Module and the Emergency Propulsion Module: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QD4SpEMGteyepuQ_QBHCnt_3xouvES-f/view?usp=sharing