European Space Agency, a P/LC RSS RO RP1 Gameplay

[belpaparonejasper894]

Welcome to European Space Agency,  this new thread telling the history of how ESA conquered space.

I play with  KSP 1.12.3 RSS RO RP1 in v. 2.2.0 (Program and Launch Complexes) in a custom mode carreer mod save. 

Spoiler

Settings screen 1

Settings Screen 2

Settings Screen 3

Settings Screen 4

 

* only modified tabs are shown, the other ones has been left as default

 

you can also follow the progress of the story here (for stats):

https://rp1careerlog.azurewebsites.net/?careerId=649ecc916704de2077fdfcb2&tab=milestones

and here (for images):

https://imgur.com/user/belpaparonejasper894/posts

but without further redo, enjoy the story !

belpaparonejasper894

Edited July 16, 2023 by belpaparonejasper894

[belpaparonejasper894]

1951: the start for everything

On January 1st, 1951, the United Kingdom Space Agency, and the French Space Agency,  togheter with the french rocket constructor Arianespace, sign a historic agreement to commit themself togheter to space exploration: ESA is born.

ESA Logo

The launchsite is established in the Algerian city of Hammeguir, in the middle of the Sahara Desert, and here two pads are bulit for launch at a record breaking speed: ELC -1, (European launch complex) wich is rated for 20t max sounding rockets, and the smaller ELC-2, rated for sounding rocket with a max tonnage of 2 tons and also known between the insiders as "Micropad". 
 

The first rocket of the agency, Black Chevalier, is prepared by a staff of mear 20 engeneers working day and night to make it lift-off. It is powered on the first stage by a french Veronique Rocket engine, and at the second stage, by a british-bulid Aereobee american engine, rebranded as Gamma-1. 

On the 21st of July, 1951, at 6.43 local time, the Veronique engine fires, and Black Chevalier lifts off. 

Unfortunally, as also potentially prevented by engineers,  the first stage engine fails, at a mear 35 seconds from lift-off. An attempt of igniting the second stage is made, although it also fails, due to the vapor that went into the feedlines, shutting the engine down.

After reaching only about 23 km in heigth (wich is still not enough to even gain science data), the rocket glides down and then explodes. 

 

 

Engeneers put themselves back to work and after reconditioning the launch site, they start to bulid a second Black Chevalier rocket, getting it ready for launch on september 23rd, 1951, two months and 2 days after the first failed launch. 

Liftoff of Black Chevalier 2 !

Stage 1 burns this time.

At T+00:47 stage 2 separates correctly. 1 second later, the Gamma 1 again fails to ignite due to vapor in feedlines. 

The rockets reaches 44,927 m and transmit some scientific data from his barometer and thermometer, and then destroys itself in the ground at T+ 4:10.

 

After these 2 failures (both caused by the upper stage failure), engineers resimulate the launch sequence before trying again with Black Chevalier 3, and they discover that the cause of the malfunction in stage 2 engine has been due to a delay between the ignition of the separation engines that provide ullage and the ignition of the engine itself. The issue is solved, and engineers start to work on the next rocket. 

 

The third Black Chevalier rocket is ready in november. If all goes well, it should finally reach space for the first time. 

On november 18th, the rocket lifts off nominally, and this time stage 2 ignites, accelerating the craft to over 1.8 km/s.

The second stage easilly breaks the Karman Line at 100 km, and then reaches space, at an apogee of 255 km.

The craft spins through the atmosphere, and loses all of the 4 wings during descend, impacting the ground at T+10:14, after the first really succsessful mission in ESA history. 

 

The year concludes itself with this succesful mission. The first of many milestones has been reached, and the quest to space conquest will continue, in 1952. 

 

Spoiler

you can also follow the progress of the story here (for stats):

https://rp1careerlog.azurewebsites.net/?careerId=649ecc916704de2077fdfcb2&tab=milestones

and here (for images):

https://imgur.com/user/belpaparonejasper894/posts

 

 

Edited July 17, 2023 by belpaparonejasper894
fixed images and arerobee as gamma 1

[jimmymcgoochie]

If you take the image links from your post and use the “insert image from URL” button they’ll all get embedded in the post. It seems to have worked for a few of them but it’s a lot easier to read when the images appear with the related text.

You might find unlocking all the European engines quite difficult due to how the unlock costs work, the RZ.1 from Blue Streak/Europa shares unlock costs with the US LR-79 (it’s a licensed copy so not surprising) but the Gamma engines and later Vikings too are separate and quite pricey on their own, while the unlock subsidy won’t stretch to all of them. Some things may have changed since I last tried this though as I used an old WIP dev build of P&LC so you might have a better time of it than I did.

[belpaparonejasper894]

@jimmymcgoochie thanks for your feedback ! i like one boss of kspforum replying to this message bc no no one knows me.

i havent really checked prices for orbital rocket engines yet, in the worst situation i can still use a lr89 engine and rebrand it as i did with the aereobee.

should work the same i think

 

[jimmymcgoochie]

9 hours ago, belpaparonejasper894 said:

in the worst situation i can still use a lr89 engine and rebrand it as i did with the aereobee.

That won’t help you- the vast majority of the cost to unlock any late 50s American engine is shared between all late 50s American engines, so the LR-79 and -89 will cost about the same to unlock and so will the RZ.1 since it’s essentially a copy of the LR-79.

The problem is that unlocking British engines- Stentor and the Gammas- has its own, completely separate, unlock cost, in part because they use kerosene/HTP rather than kerosene/lox; you’ll run into a similar issue if you try to unlock the French Viking engines as well.

Things have changed around how the unlock subsidy system works since I tried a European P&LC run in an in-development version so it might be less of an issue now.