Frontier Aerospace: From High Power to Martian Exploration

[Falcon Aerospace]

Frontier Aerospace

Background:

In his high school years, Matthew Kerman founded an aerospace club. He and his team completed many projects with model rockets and high-power rockets. In his senior year, the team successfully launched a space shot mission. He broke a record with the first high school to send a rocket into space.

Matthew then got many scholarships and finished college with a master's degree in Aerospace.  He then got hired by NASA to work on the Space Launch System. Years later, he proposed a plan to replace the SLS with a clean sheet HLLV. The proposal was called the Jupiter MHLV (Modular Heavy Lift Vehicle). It is composed of many companies like SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, and most importantly... Frontier Aerospace. 

Matthew left NASA to form Frontier. The team is composed of former SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, and Blue Origin Employees, and even some of his friends from high school. Their goal is to help NASA explore, build transportation for the public, and explore planets like Sarnus or even Plock.

 

Current date: September 2041

 

Previous launch: Rhea Ia Mass Simulator

Next Launch: Rhea Ia: Space Launch Carrier 1

 

 

 

Before I started this mission report, I had many Frontier saves (Frontier was called "Nano Hex" before switching). I have always conceptualized replacements for the SLS ever since I had an interest in space exploration. 

Thanks and inspiration to:

@Blufor878

@GoldForest for Dreaming Big

@Jay The Amazing Toaster for   Kānāwai: Ares to Mars

@Poodmund and @CaptRobau for making OPM

And all the modders that contributed to making them

Spoiler

FYI/Spoilers: I played around this save for a little bit, so many elements of the story could be skipped.

 

Edited February 17 by Falcon Aerospace

[Vanamonde]

Your history seems to start in the middle.

[Falcon Aerospace]

5 minutes ago, Vanamonde said:

Your history seems to start in the middle.

I didn't realize it. I just fixed it right now

[Falcon Aerospace]

Chapter 1 Coming hopefully this weekend!

[Falcon Aerospace]

Pre Chapter 1: The First Rocket

Earth date: June 5, 2038.

A new rocket was just announced: The Panther 01. It is a sounding rocket that can take 300 kilograms into a suborbital trajectory. 

Spoiler

Specs:

Payload Mass: 300 Kg

Mass: 1.5 Tons

Fuselage Diameter: .625m (MK0)

Height: 6.9m

Stage 1 Thrust: 35.7 KN

Stage 2 Thrust: 28.1 Kn

Edited October 29, 2023 by Falcon Aerospace

[Falcon Aerospace]

Chapter 1 Season 1: The Very First Launch

Earth Date: March 1, 2039

Wallops Flight Facility LA-3

This day marks the first-ever suborbital launch of the new company, Frontier Aerospace.  The team has done many launches in the past, but not at this scale. It was their first launch exiting the Karman line. After many delays, and scrubs it all went down today.

 

T-3:00: Pre-launch checks are looking good, Mission control is proceeding to launch.

 

Gene Kerman: All systems are looking green, proceeding to countdown.

10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1...

 

Liftoff!

The first launch of the panther lifts off successfully.

The booster stage separates from the sustainer stage, the sustainer stage then lifts the payload suborbital.

Max Q reached

Sustainer Cutoff

Payload fairing deploy, and payload deploy.

The payload in suborbital space.

Earth entry.

Main parachute deploy

Parachute fully deployed.

Splashdown!

 

The mission was a huge success and brought new information to Frontier, and NASA.

Edited October 29, 2023 by Falcon Aerospace

[Falcon Aerospace]

Chapter 2 Teaser:

Hydra Micro Reentry test vehicle

[Falcon Aerospace]

Chapter 2: New Technologies

Earth Date: June 14, 2039

Wallops LA-3

Today at Wallops Virginia, the second launch of Panther 01. It carries a special payload, the Hydra Micro. The Hydra Micro is an experimental micro-scale crew vehicle. It will fly suborbital and return to Earth with a parachute. 

 

Gene Kerman: All systems go proceeding to launch.

Gene Kerman: Hold. The new launch time is 5 minutes.

5 Minutes later the count continues.

10...

5...

1...

Liftoff!

Booster Sep

Max Q reached.

Fairing and payload separation

At apoapsis

Recovery Capsule Entry

At that moment everything went wrong. The parachute fails to deploy. Mission control accepts failure, but they know they can recover from this.

Payload Crash.

After the incident, Panther 01 had been grounded. Even though the rocket was not the problem, The FAA needed to investigate the issue. Hydra Micro had to be redesigned and tested. For now, Frontier has to launch their smaller sounding rockets that can't match Panther's performance.

 

[Falcon Aerospace]

Chapter 3 Teaser: Orbital Operations

After many Suborbital Launches Frontier Aerospace will face a new challenge. . .   Send an orbital-class rocket. Their new launch vehicle is named after Rhea, the mother of the Olympian Gods.

Rhea Ia features a unique design. For primary control, it features canards to guide it. Secondly, it uses methane for the first stage and kerolox for the second. For the launcher's size methane is a unique propellant choice.  Its first flight is scheduled for September 26, 2041

 

 

[Falcon Aerospace]

Chapter 3: Orbital Operations

 

On September 26, 2041, Frontier debuted their new orbital class rocket, Rhea Ia. This mission will only carry a mass simulator since this is only a test flight. Rhea will launch a 600 kg payload into a roughly 90x90 km orbit.

 

On the morning of September 26, 2041, all-weather parameters are met, and Rhea is ready to launch. Before launch the vehicle performs a short gimbal test of the canards 

After all checks were done, mission control called the green light on the launch.

Mission control then releases the hold and the countdown progresses. A few minutes later, mission control announced T minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three...

Main engine start, two, one...

Liftoff! We have a liftoff of Rhea Ia!

 All Engines are looking good and we are proceeding to roll program.

Rhea has hit Max Q.

MECO Confirmed. Awaiting stage separation

Stage separation confirmed, coasting to apogee for orbital insertion.

5 minutes into the flight, Rhea starts its upper-stage engine for orbital insertion.

SECO confirmed! Back on the ground, everyone is cheering as Rhea successfully reaches orbit.

Overall it is an impressive mission for carrying a full payload into orbit on the first attempt. Back on the ground, the engineers are preparing to roll out the second Rhea for a rideshare mission

 

Next Mission: SLC-1 (Space Launch Carrier 1)

Edited February 18 by Falcon Aerospace