The Icarus Program (Chapter 21 - Part 2)

[Drethon]

Chapter 20 - Part 4
 
    “OK, first loosen shoulder straps,” Lizfal instructed herself aloud, her brow furrowed in concentration. She tugged at the harness straps over her shoulders. “Urf, okay, loose. Next, turn central release clockwise and push…” Lizfal grunted as her fingers slipped while trying to turn. “Come on… push… no wait, turn counterclockwise and push.”
    The shoulder straps popped loose with a satisfying click, but Lizfal was still firmly held to the seat by leg straps. “Locate leg release tabs…” Lizfal muttered, her tongue poking out slightly as she concentrated. “They are… somewhere… yes, there!” She fumbled for a moment before realizing her mistake. “Oh, right. Loosen the leg straps before releasing.” With a pop, the leg straps came free and Lizfal jumped up from the seat with a triumphant grin.

    “Twenty five seconds,” said Bill, looking at his stopwatch with a crooked smile.
    “Unacceptable,” Bob stood with his arms crossed, looking unsatisfied. “In case of a fire, passengers need to be able to exit the harness in no more than ten seconds,” Bob shook his head. “Preferably less.” Bob turned on his heel and walked off. “Bill, figure out how to make a harness release easier to use.”
    After Bob had walked off, Lizfal dusted herself off, and Bill handed her a one hundred credit note. “That was some very fine acting there, Lizfal.” Bill winked at Lizfal and tipped an imaginary hat.
    “Thanks,” smiled Lizfal. “That harness is really a simple set of logical steps, a lot like a Kiburs Cube. I could’ve gotten out in under ten seconds if I wanted to, but I wouldn’t want to see a panicked civilian passenger trying to release that harness in an emergency.” Lizfal glanced at the note and frowned. “You didn’t have to pay me though, I was happy to help.”
    “It ain’t a bribe or nothing,” chuckled Bill. “You just saved me days of arguing with Bob. That’s worth every credit.” Bill leaned against the wall with a conspiratorial expression. “See, I’ve been tinkering on a squeeze release mechanism for the harness. Simple as pie, yet hard to trigger by accident. It’d release the whole harness with one easy motion. Bob, though…” Bill glanced off in the direction Bob had walked off, shaking his head. “He took one look at my diagrams, declared it ‘insecure’, and went off and designed that mess.” Bill waved at the harness dismissively.
    “And now you are free to finish your own design,” Lizfal’s smile took on a mischievous tint.
    “Exactly!” Bill chuckled. “Thanks to your fine performance, Bob ain’t gonna be breathing down my neck.
    “Always glad to help,” Lizfal finally folded up the note and tucked it away. “Make sure to let me know when the new harness needs testing, I’d like to see how much better your work is.”
    “You’re the first on my list,” Bill grinned.

Edited March 20 by Drethon

[Drethon]

Chapter 20 Part 5
    The conference room in the Icarus Program’s administrative wing had a functional simplicity about it, sturdy furniture and construction inspired by spaceship design, and strong natural lighting. The scent of coffee had seeped into the walls, lingering in the air despite no beverages being consumed at the conference, a testament to the long hours spent in the building. 
 
    Seated on one side of the table, Gene Kerman leaned back slightly in his chair, his expression welcoming but measured. Beside him, Jebediah sat with a familiar air of relaxed confidence, arms resting on the table, his ever-present grin making it impossible to tell if he was entirely serious or quietly entertained by the proceedings.
Across from them sat Milnard and Seecas, the CEO and COO of the Experimental Engineering Group, one of the most prominent research firms supporting the space program. Milnard’s tone was warm yet professional as she opened the discussion.
    “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us,” said Milnard. “We are excited to actually see where the Icarus Program is running the space program.”
    “Glad to show you around,” said Gene. “You Science Jr has been invaluable to our research, and we are looking forward to deploying your upcoming infrared telescope.”
    Seecas, leaned forward, his eyes alight with the spark of enthusiasm. “One day we may be talking about performing science on asteroids and comets found by the telescope. I look forward to what science we might be able to haul into Kerbin orbit one day.”
    “One day I’m flying a comet past Kerbin,” Jebediah grinned broadly.
    “So what is it we can do for you?” asked Gene. “This is the first time you have requested an in person meeting.”
    “We saw the Walter Kerman report where Bob mentioned you were working toward sending tourists to space,” Milnard folded her hands neatly on the table. “We would like to formally request the honor of being the first tourists to travel to space.”
    “I respect your request, and that you are the only ones to make the request in person,” smiled Gene, his expression polite but measured. “However I should point out that quite a few others have already made the same request. Not to bargain, but why should we grant your request, beyond being significantly more humble than nearly all of the previous requests.” The corner of Gene’s lip twitched slightly with amusement.
    Seecas was ready with his response. “First, we understand that the inaugural tourist flight will have a capacity of four Kerbals,” he said and Gene nodded in response. “The two of us are deeply interested in being a part of this first tourist mission to space, and we have a proposition that we believe will significantly benefit the Icarus Program, more than enough compensation to justify allowing us as the first tourists to travel to space. We propose that the Experimental Engineering Group will fund the third seat on the mission for Walter Kerman, ensuring the mission receives the publicity that will come from a firsthand report by the legendary journalist.”
    Gene and Jebediah exchanged a surprised glance. The offer was as unexpected as it was compelling. “An intriguing offer, that kind of publicity could be very valuable.” Gene paused thoughtfully and then continued. “I have to make it clear that there will not be a fourth tourist seat. These initial missions will be flown by an experienced pilot, not by a computerized piloting system.”
    “This was another request we wanted to make,” Seecas turned to face Jebediah. “We were hoping that Jebediah would pilot the first tourist mission for us.”
    Gene and Jebediah glanced at each other again, this time with a heavier, unspoken meaning. This request was not unreasonable, but Jebediah was preparing for another spaceflight that would make him unavailable to fly the tourist mission. A spaceflight that had not yet been announced.
    Jebediah paused for a moment to consider his words, then turned to Seecas, his grin softening into something more genuine. “I am flattered,” he said with a tinge of regret in his voice. “But I’m a test pilot, I fly rockets first and find out what their limits are. You would not want Walter to be on board such a flight.” Jebediah paused a moment in thought before nodding toward Gene. “For the first tourist flight you want Valentina as your pilot. There is no other pilot in the program that can take command of a rocket and ensure a flawless mission the way she can.”
    Now Seecas and Milnard glanced at each other in surprise, Milnard nodded and Seecas turned back to Jebediah. “As much as we would like you to fly the mission, we agree, Valentina is an excellent alternative.”
    “You said Walter was the first part of your offer?” prompted Gene, leaning forward.
    Seecas smiled and Milnard took the lead. “Yes, the second part is that the Experimental Engineering Group would like to formally offer our services to help grow the Icarus Program. We believe in the scientific mission you have been pursuing, and feel the program’s science would benefit from scientists associated with our company performing long term research missions in space. To facilitate this, we are willing to fund the participation of scientists in these missions, in addition to offering other services to help grow your capabilities.”
    “An interesting concept,” Gene leaned back in his chair and folded his arms as he considered the proposal. “But I have to be frank, this is not something the Icarus Program can support right now. Even once we launch permanent space stations, the first generation will only have enough supplies for our Kerbalnauts, plus very short term tourists. It may be some time before we can support a long term presence in space for more Kerbals.”
    Milnard nodded in understanding. “We know the program is still in its early days, despite all of your accomplishments. We are prepared to collaborate on how such an arrangement could work as the technology involves.”
    “Until then we have plenty of work with Megas assisting to complete your infrared telescope design,” said Gene. “Lizfal will be available to test your prototypes once they are ready.”
    “Agreed,” Seecas nodded in agreement.
    Gene and Jebediah glanced at each other and Jebediah nodded back.
    “If Walter Kerman agrees to fly on the first tourist flight,” Gene broke into a broad smile. “We will be happy to fly you to space on the first tourist flight.”
    With that, the two groups stood, exchanging firm handshakes, and the deal was sealed.

[Drethon]

Chapter 20 - Part 6

    Lizfal reveled the feeling of slicing through the clouds in her KT-38. The sleek jet responded crisply to her control stick inputs as she executed a lazy roll, causing the world to spin beneath her, a patchwork of green plains separated by rugged mountains. The views were briefly obscured by wisps of cloud before clearing again. Flying was not just a way to get from point a to b, it had become the greatest part of her life. The sky was her domain, she was addicted to the thrill and freedom.

 
    None of her classmates at the university had their own high performance jet. Few had even flown before, let alone practiced high speed maneuvers. She could not quite hold back a smile when she thought of how quickly she had progressed, pride, but not arrogance… she hoped. Not too long ago she, too, had been grounded and dreaming of space. Those dreams had felt small and far away. For some unknown reason, fate had intervened when the Icarus Program hired her as an intern, immersing her in a world she had only previously dreamed of.
    She had been hired as the program was starting to make history, Jeb had just completed the first spacewalk, mere weeks after Val completed the first Kerbin orbit. Spaceflight was just starting to shift from a dream to a tangible reality, and she had been dropped into the Icarus Program right in the middle of it.
    At the time she had just begun to learn how to write computer programs, but her first job was not based on the skills she had learned, it was to just sit in a MK1 Command Pod for fifteen days. She had crashed countless simulated rockets, spent sleepless nights poring over telemetry data, and by the end, had gone slightly loopy from exhaustion. Jeb, willing to pilot the craziest aircraft yet still somehow managing to mentor all of the junior pilots on how to be safe in an aircraft, had assured her that he had experienced the same thing during long-duration flights. That bit of camaraderie had stuck with her, a reminder she often recalled when she needed to center herself, especially on long trips in the cockpit.
    The subsequent simulated missions had given Lizfal a chance to continue her practice flying rockets in the HSP included with the simulator. She had perfected Minmus landings to the point where Jeb and Surick had been impressed enough to train her to fly atmospheric craft. Yet as much as flying would forever be her first love, her real breakthrough had been in engineering.
    During her second simulated mission, the Onion pod she had tested had been slapped together rather haphazardly as on ground simulations were not hazardous like space missions. A faulty connection caused scientific instrumentation to completely drop out in mid simulation. Sending in technicians would have broken the pod seal and ended the mission. However, she had managed to repair the faulty system with the few tools at hand, allowing the simulation to run its full length. Bob had taken notice of the repair, and pulled Lizfal in to support his work.
    Bob Kerman, the legendary scientist of the Icarus Program was a scientific genius, and infamous for his reluctance to bother with real-world testing. He preferred to focus on the next research topic, leaving the actual implementation to others. Lizfal had been more than happy to integrate and test the scientific equipment Bob developed. Their partnership had evolved quickly, leading her beyond the simulation bays and into the heart of the program’s engineering efforts. She had found herself working directly with vendors, testing prototypes at their facilities, and ensuring that the technology rolling off the assembly lines met the rigorous standards for spaceflight.
    Her finest achievement had been the development of the Icarus Program’s probe designs. By miniaturizing cumbersome scientific payloads from crewed missions, she had created compact probe cores capable of traversing vast distances. Now, those probes were transmitting data from Kerbin’s orbit, the Mun, Minmus, and even one en route to Eve.
    Yet she suspected this next assignment would be far more challenging.
    For the past two months in preparation for the mission, she had immersed herself in every detail of the Halifax E, until she could see every component in her sleep. The rocket was an engineering masterpiece which she could not have dreamed of designing, but she now understood every component, memorized the systems and knew all of the assembly tolerances. Bill had spent hours patiently explaining the intricacies of its systems, ensuring she grasped the finer points of its engineering. Gus and his team of technicians had welcomed her into their world, teaching her assembly techniques and even allowing her to put together key components herself. She had grown to trust them, to rely on them.
    But now, she was leaving them all behind.
    The facility she was flying toward had none of the expertise she had come to know. No skilled engineers like Bill, no skilled leaders like Gus or a seasoned team of technicians who understood what needed to be done to make these massive machines safe. What it did have was a dismal track record. The failures here were not mere accidents, they were systemic. The technicians lacked training, the quality control was nonexistent, safety was not placed at the forefront.
    That was about to change.
    Until they learned to hold themselves to a higher standard, she would be their quality control. Because this time, the consequences were dire. This time, it would be Jeb and Bob’s lives on the line.
    She brought her KT-38 into a low pass over the facility, scanning the terrain for the best possible landing site. This facility was so low tech it did not have a proper runway, just a stretch of grass that would barely support her aircraft. The place hardly even had a capable launch pad. She extended her flaps fully to give her KT-38 the lowest possible approach speed. Even in this configuration, her jet, which was designed for high speed cruise and maneuvering, was still travelling at a dangerously high speed to be landing on this terrain.
    Lizfal increased the angle of attack, floating slightly in the ground effect as she dropped lower. The jet was dangerously close to stalling. The wheels thumped down on the grass a little harder than she intended as the aircraft stalled a moment before touchdown. She immediately extended the speed brakes and began decelerating with the wheel brakes as hard as she could without losing control. The aircraft shuddered, the uneven ground slick under her wheels, but she held firm, keeping steering into the start of a skid. After what felt like an eternity, she rolled to a stop.
    She did not look forward to taking off again from this location.
    Lizfal climbed out of her cockpit and down the ladder to the ground. She pulled her helmet off and took a long look at the facility around her. The challenges here were greater than anything she had faced before. The stakes were high. The risks higher.
    But she had a job to do.
    And she was going to do it right.
    Time to get started.

 

Edited March 27 by Drethon

[Drethon]

Interlude 3

    "My fellow Kerbals, have you ever looked up at the night sky and dreamed of what it feels like to soar among the stars? Of course you have, we all have! For as long as Kerbalkind has existed, we have looked to the stars, dreaming about venturing among them. Well, dream no more! The Icarus Program is here to turn your dreams of space travel into a reality."

 
    "Picture yourself hurtling through the cosmos at breathtaking speeds, orbiting Kerbin in a way no aircraft ever could. From the inky void of space, you’ll witness our home planet in all its majesty, vast oceans, sprawling continents, and the gentle curve of the horizon stretching endlessly before you. Experience the awe of zero gravity, where up and down are mere suggestions and every moment is a thrill."

 
    "But why stop there? The Mun awaits! Leave Kerbin behind and set your sights on our celestial neighbor. Peer down into craters carved by time itself, orbit its rugged surface, or, if you dare, take the leap and walk where only the boldest have tread. The Mun is no longer just for pioneers, anyone with the heart of an explorer can experience the dusty surface."

 
    "And for the truly daring, there’s Minmus, the emerald jewel of the heavens! With gravity so low you can bound across the surface with ease, it’s like stepping into a dream. Reach the furthest points any Kerbin has explored. Glide, bounce, and experience a world unlike any other, where the landscape is serene, the sky is vast, and the adventure is limitless."

 
    "At the Icarus Program, we offer safe, reliable, and unforgettable journeys beyond the atmosphere. Whether you’re a first-time flyer or a seasoned spacefarer, our missions to Kerbin orbit, the Mun, and Minmus promise an adventure that’s truly out of this world."

 
    "But hurry—seats are limited, and the cosmos waits for no Kerbal. Book your flight today, and let the Icarus Program take you beyond the horizon. The stars are calling... will you answer?"

 

[Drethon]

Chapter 21 - Part 1
 

    Gene arrived at mission control to begin planning for the next mission. “Jeb, what are you doing here?” Gene blurted out, stunned to see Jebediah as the first to arrive at mission control that morning.
    “I’ve been flying some HSP simulations of our current landers to test some scenarios for tourist landings and refine the MechJeb performance,” Jebediah was uncharacteristically quiet with his response. “After they finally let me out of that quarantine hab, Seaneny said me and Bob were grounded due to radiation exposure when we flew through a solar storm.”
    “You mean you are too sick to fly?” Jebediah’s statement worried Gene.
    “No, I’m alright in general,” responded Jebediah. “Seaneny and the other doctors are worried there will be serious consequences if I’m exposed to another storm.”
    “Oh, that is good to hear,” Gene was relieved Jebdiah’s condition was not more serious, then blushed at how his statement sounded. “I mean that you are not too sick to fly, not that you have radiation exposure. The fact you can still fly would mean you can still fly airplanes and up to LKO as Kerbin’s magnetosphere blocks radiation from storms.”
    “Oh! They didn’t tell me that!” Jebediah perked up some. “Guess I should have read the whole k-mail.”
    “I have wanted to start focusing on sending our newly recruited pilots out on missions,” said Gene. “So I am glad you are working on refining the MechJeb control.”
    As they talked the other Kerbals slowly filtered into mission control. There were some more astonished looks as they realized Jebediah was already in mission control.
    “Now that everyone is here, I wanted to go over the plans for our next missions,” said Gene. “Our medium term plan has been to place stations in low orbits around Kerbin, the Mun and Minmus to support a reusable lander for multiple Mun and Minmus landings. In the long term these stations will support trips to other planets, but first we need to launch the initial stations, which Bob tells me we now have most of the science required.”
    Bob nodded. “We should be able to collect enough science to construct the necessary stations from one trip to the Mun and one trip to Minmus.”
    “We also have contracts to plant flags on both the Mun and Minmus, and collect scientific data from the surface of the Mun,” Mortimer’s eyes glinted with greed. “We can gain significant funds from these missions.”
    “More than you think Mort,” Gene winked at Mortimer. “Contracts have popped up to fly tourists to land on the Mun and Minmus. “If we use the pilot to gather the science from the landing, a tourist can accompany each landing mission in place of the scientist.”
    Mortimer’s smile became creepily broader at the thought of even more funds.
    “Not having a scientist on the mission will reduce the science we can produce from samples on sight,” Bob shook his head slightly. “However Maberry has been training the new recruits on sample gathering. Any of the pilots should be able to gather samples nearly as well as Maberry herself. Once we get the samples back home we can get the proper science out of them.”

    “We have been developing tourist transport rockets,” Gene pulled up an image of a number of rockets on the screen. “With these designs we can fly up to four Kerbals to orbit of each Kerbin, the Mun and Minmus, or two Kerbals to land on either the Mun or Minmus”
    “Hold on a moment,” Mortimer was furiously scrolling through information on his computer. “We need to upgrade the mission control!”
    “Wait, you want to spend money?” asked Gene in amazement.
    “Want is a rather strong word,” responded Mort.
    “Why do you want to upgrade mission control?” asked Gene.

    “Look at these tourist contracts that have been appearing since Bob mentioned plans for space tourism during the Eve interview,” Mortimer updated the large screens to show his computer screen. “In each contract a few Kerbals want a trip to space, one wants to orbit Kerbin, one wants to Land on the Mun, one wants to fly by Minmus. Most Kerbals are paying enough to profit after accounting for the cost of the rocket needed to bring each to their destination, but not always. Even then the profits are rather small.
    “Now these Kerbals are not in a hurry to complete their trip. We have years to fly them to their destination and back. Rather than sending each Kerbal on their trip as soon as possible, we can pick up multiple tourist contracts at the same time. Once we have four Kerbals wanting to orbit Minmus, or land on the Mun, we can send a rocket up with all of them. Each lander could support two tourists, even better if we could upgrade to four!”
    “A four Kerbal lander to Minmus would not be hard,” Bob was looking at the schematic of the tourist landing rocket. “But four Kerbals to land on the Mun would need a significant upgrade to the rocket, and we would lose the savings of common rockets for Mun and Minmus landings.”
    “Each lander is going to have a pilot on board,” said Gene. “I am not going to land a tourist purely on MechJeb control.” Mortimer looked ready to interrupt but Gene held a hand up. “This does not mean I’m rejecting your idea Mort.
    “MechJeb is reliable enough that we can fly to orbit without a pilot on board. So we can fly four tourists on a single rocket to orbit of Kerbin, the Mun or Minmus.
    “However before we trust MechJeb to fly groups of tourists, I want to fly a rocket with a pilot and three tourists to Kerbin orbit, followed by a single tourist to land at each of the Mun and Minmus with a pilot on board. This allows us to test out tourist flights, and gather the science we need for stations.
    “Next we can launch stations to the Mun and Minmus to hold a reusable lander, and house an engineer to maintain the lander and a pilot to fly the lander. With everything we need to operate the lander on the station, we can use MechJeb to fly four tourists to the station, and the station pilot can remotely operate the rocket to dock with the station. So we can fly four tourists to a station for Mun or Minmus landing.”
    “The profits for four tourists to land on Minmus in one rocket would be… would be…” Mortimer looked about to faint from thoughts of the profits.
    “One problem with these rockets,” Bob said as he pulled the image of the rockets back up on the main screens. “They are using existing Arethusa rockets with no shielding, and given Jebediah and my grounding from anything beyond LKO, we know unshielded rockets are unsuitable for long term missions.”
    “Can we just add shielding to these rockets?” asked Gene.
    Bob shook his head. “The shielding adds too much mass. I’ve been working on the following design since Seaneny told me about my radiation sickness. It costs more, but will easily reach the stations with full shielding”

    “We know from yourself and Jebediah that a single trip through a solar storm in an unshielded ship is survivable,” said Mortimer. “The tourists only have the money for one flight, they do not need to worry about radiation.”
    “If the crew visits the tourists pod, they can end up being irradiated,”* explained Bob.
    “And Kerbalnauts cost a lot to replace if they get grounded by radiation,” said Gene. Mortimer just looked sour. “OK so we have our rockets, let’s start planning our tourist missions.”
    “Hey,” said Bill. “This first contract has a Walter Kerman aboard! Is that the reporter?”
    “Yepper!” Walt bounced in. “Just think of all the reputation we will gain from a report from space!”

* Kerbalism only considers a rocket to be fully shielded if all habitats on the rocket are shielded. So I can’t get away with tourist rockets being unshielded.
 

[Drethon]

Chapter 21 - Part 2

    This is Walter Kerman reporting. Today I am reporting, not from in front of the cameras, watching a rocket preparing to launch to space as you usually see me, but strapped into a rocket sitting on the pad, bound for orbit! For the first time in Kerbal history, ordinary Kerbals have a chance to experience the wonders of space first hand.

    I am aboard this historic flight thanks to my fellow passengers, Milnard and Seecas Kerman, the CEO and COO of the Experimental Engineering Group, who have generously funded my seat as one of the first tourists to space. Piloting the rocket is none other than Valentina Kerman, veteran pilot and the first Kerbal to reach orbit and land on the Mun. I am seated in the KV-2 pod, watching Valentina work through the checklist, while Milnard and Seecas are strapped into the MK1 Crew Cabin behind us.
    Perched on top of this rocket as it prepares to roar up away from Kerbin, I cannot help but think of my interview with Jebediah back before his mission to fly around the Mun. Here I am way up off the ground, slowly swaying like a ship at sea, just as Jebediah had described it. Jebediah had found the motion calming. I, on the other hand, do not. Yes I am simply flying to orbit, which has been done many times without fail. Yet all I can think of is I am getting ready to launch, sitting on top of two million parts, all built by the lowest bidder on a government contract*, has my stomach fluttering. Kerbalnauts must be a different breed of Kerbal, able to fly untested rockets without any concerns. Valentina is completely professional and focused on preparing for the mission. The steady cadence of her as she works through the checklist with mission control is about the only thing keeping the nausea under control.

    <Meanwhile in mission control…>

    “Ten moves until Valentina rescues your Kwing,” Bob mused as he studied the cheks board.***
    Bobak shook his head with a sigh. “Well I maintain my record of zero victories against Valentina.”
    “I’ve never seen anyone who can keep track of a game of cheks while maintaining a perfect countdown checklist,” Gene chuckled. “Everything is going according to the checklist, correct?”
    “All systems are well within tolerance,” Bobak looked around at the various mission controllers who were each managing their own portions of the checklist. “So far this looks like our highest quality rocket to date.”
    “Excellent,” Gene smiled approvingly. “Let’s make sure our esteemed tourists have a very smooth flight.”

    <…Back on the landing pad.>

    Listening to Valentina’s voice makes the preflight pass by more quickly, soon the countdown was coming down from ten to to five…
     I thought I was prepared for a launch. I thought it would feel like the most impatient airline pilot using all of the power at their control to accelerate down the runway. I thought being flung around in KSCs centrifuge would prepare me for a launch. None of this prepared me for this rocket launch. The most aggressive takeoff was a pillow flight next to a battering ram.
    Zero
    At the ignition of the solid boosters,the rocket simply leapt off the pad, crushing me under the sheer physical force of the liftoff.** As we climbed higher the forces on my chest continued to increase. Somehow Valentina was calling out stage of flight transitions to mission control as I fought to pull in a single breath.
    Then sudden silence. The first thumper stage burns out and drops away. I gasp in relief just as the second stage hammers me with another crushing wave of acceleration. My sense reel and I struggle just to exist in the moment. I would later realize the second thumper stage ignited when the rocket was further from Kerbin’s gravity, as well as accelerating a rocket made lighter without the first stage, making the impulse of acceleration far sharper than the first stage. It never even occurred to me to try to breathe, or do much of anything but let my head loll around, until the second stage burned out.
    My head cleared as the LV-909 engine kicked in to lift the rocket the rest of the way to orbital altitude. While breathing was not easy by any means, I was able to fully recover my senses and return to something resembling normal breathing. After another three minutes the rocket cut off and I experienced zero g for the first time. Again I had thought flying on an airplane might prepare me, however the sensation is very bizarre. Not like an airplane cutting the throttle, gravity comfortably holding you down in your chair as the thrust at your back drops off. Instead it felt like the rocket was suddenly tumbling, no up, no down, yet up and down was everywhere at the same time. As my stomach protested, I focused on the instruments and steadied my breathing as I had been trained and the sensation slowly went away.
    I am floating, I am in space!
    There was not much time to consider the sensation when the LV-909 engine lit up again, burning for a short time to circularize the orbit before shutting off for the final time of the ascent.
    “The fasten seatbelts light has been turned off,” Valentina quipped. “You may now move about the cabin.”
    I unfastened my harness and clumsily drift free, my mind reeling once again as my body is slowly drifting without conscious movement. The rocket rolled very gently around me and the blue light of Kerbin appeared in the KV-2’s porthole. I turned my head to take it in and immediately my lunch brought itself to my attention with a sudden ulp. Valentina looked back at me and smiled gently.
    “Just stare at the wall for a few moments and it should pass,” said Valentina.IV
    I began nodding, which resulted in a more urgent ulp.
    “No quick movements of your head, Walter,” Valentina reached out to hold my shoulder. The simple touch helps ground me, and after a few moments of staring at the wall the nausea reduces to a tolerable amount. “Use your hands to rotate your whole body slowly, rather than just your head. Your brain is learning to deal with microgravity, but you will not have enough time up here to fully acclimate.”
    I offer her a tight lipped smile, rather than nodding. Valentina pushes off toward the doorway with the attached crew cabin where Seecas and Milnard were.
    “I should go check on our paying VIPs,” Valentina winked at me and floated through the hatch.
    I slowly used handholds to pull myself to the view port and look down on Kerbin. Cancodia was visible below as we moved to the east and over the mountains out into the Gulf of Mauralin.V The Ithakan Isles were just coming into sight as Valentina floated back into the pod and closed the hatch.
    “I could spend every flight looking at Kerbin,” Valentina’s voice was soft from somewhere over my shoulder.
    We watched in silence as Kerbol quickly went down behind Kerbin’s horizon. The atmosphere begins to glow, a delicate halo of light surrounding the only home we have ever known.
 
    “The entire atmosphere, everything we breathe,” my words were very quiet, there was this odd feeling that the air I spoke with was limited. “It seems endless when standing on the ground, yet from up here it is so thin, so fragile looking.”
    “That is part of the reason we are so passionate about the work we do,” Valentine’s voice was thoughtful as I turned slowly to face her. “We’ve taken so much from Kerbin and our planet is beginning to run out of resources. If we can find the resources in space to work in space, we can expand out here where our work does not hurt the planet. Given enough time and science, we can stop the damage, and even begin to heal it.”
    “You work in space to help Kerbin?” I was curious about her statement.
    “I’m just a pilot, not a scientist,” said Valentina quietly. “I hope Kerbals smarter than I am can figure things out, meanwhile I bring the researchers to the science as well as bringing the science to them.”
    Valentina shook her head a moment before a quiet alarm sounded. She reached out and flicked a switch. “This is your captain speaking. Make sure your seat back and tray tables are in their full upright position and make sure your seat belt is securely fastened. We will be descending for landing shortly.”
    I slowly pulled myself into my seat and fastened my harness. The harness was surprisingly easy to fasten, even for someone like myself, who needs help working with a computer. I am told Bob handed off the design to Bill to develop something easy for us tourists to work with in future flights without a Kerbalnaut.
    With everyone fastened in and ready for the return flight, the LV-909 lit off with a gentle acceleration pressing me down into the seat. After a few moments the engine cut off and the tumbling feeling came back as weightlessness returned. Next I felt a soft thump as the engine and fuel tank were separated to burn up in the atmosphere. The tourist mission profiles called for a low stress reentry, so we slowly descended down into the atmosphere, scrubbing off speed so gently it was not even noticeable. At least it was not notable until it was. An orange glow illuminated the interior of the pod as the heat shield down below the crew cabin began heating up as the spacecraft descended through the atmosphere. Pressure began building in the seat behind me as the deceleration increased faster as we moved deeper into the atmosphere. My weight became higher than what I felt during the launch, but the increase was so much more gradual that the breathing techniques I learned were pretty effective. The reentry vehicle rattled and rocked as the atmosphere buffeted us around.

    The glow dwindled away, and soon the g forces along with it. Just as the feeling of weightlessness started to return, there was a pop from somewhere in front of me. A moment later a sharp crack as the parachutes partially deployed, feeling like someone had hit my seat with a baseball bat. After a minute the force on my back slowly increased until the parachutes had fully unfurled. I waited for the force to reduce down to normal gravity when I realized I was already at a full gravity. One single orbit around Kerbin and my own weight felt higher than I remembered it feeling before I left. A couple of minutes later and another baseball bat to the back of my chair as we touched down. We had done it! The first tourists to travel to space and return, and despite all the shaking and rattling, I do not think I had any bruises as a result.
    While we waited for the recovery team, I was able to chat with Milnard and Seecas.  What did you think of your trip to space?  Does this change any of your company’s goals about spaceflight?
    “Looking down on Kerbin from space, then being able to look up at the dark of space with the stars shining like gems…” Milnard shook her head with a wistful expression. “This was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.
    “Just amazing,” said Seecas with a grin. “This trip just reinforces our priorities to help push space exploration. Kerbin will always be home, but it is such a small part of the cosmos. The resources available on the moons and asteroids could have such an impact on the Kerbin civilization. There is just so much to explore, and we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface!”
    What does working with the Icarus Program mean to the Experimental Engineering Group? Is the work about the contracts for exploration and resource gathering?
    “The contracts are important to our company, but working with the Icarus Program is about more than the contracts,” Milnard responded. “This work is cutting edge technology and science. We need the best engineers and researchers, but we also need fresh young minds with new ideas. When we work on new designs for the space program, the enthusiasm of our employees is easy to see. The space program is one of the best places to bring up new Kerbals to advance science and technologies in ways that improve life for all Kerbals.”
    To my wonderful readers, this was the experience of a lifetime! This planet that we live our lives on and take for granted is such a small, fragile thing in the expanse of space. I cannot emphasize enough to you the importance of doing what we can to protect our small oasis in space and to learn how to repair what damage we have already done. The Icarus Program is doing great work to advance science, and some of us are lucky enough to participate in some small way.
    Until next time, this was a Walter Kerman report.

Valentina Chronicles - Day 2y 290d
    The first tourist mission to space. Not as exciting as the first landing on the Mun, or the first orbit when no one knew if the next rocket would explode on the pad, rather than lift off. Yet this mission might have a longer impact than any of my previous missions. Hopefully watching every day Kerbals fly into space will bring home to other Kerbals that the Icarus Program is working on space for everyone.
    Our passengers certainly seemed impacted by the trip to orbit. Seeing how small and fragile Kerbin really is, understanding how important it is to protect our planet, yet at the same time how important it is to learn how to survive off of Kerbin. I could tell that Milnard and Seecas already had one eye to the stars. However, for Walter I think this trip was a revelation. We all think Kerbin is huge and unchangeable, until we see how small and insignificant it really is. Hopefully this mission will help increase support for our greater mission.
        - Valentina “Fallen Angel” Kerman

    * Generally attributed to Alan Shepard or John Glenn, though all references seem to be hearsay.
    ** Based in part on Don Pettit’s article. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/whats-a-soyuz-launch-like-17931290/.
    *** Cheks were created by Mr Dilsby, I think originally in A Jool Odyssey. https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/topic/126293-kerbfleet-a-jool-odyssey-end-of-chapter-21-and-hopefully-not-so-many-talking-heads-in-22/page/54/.
    IV a brief writeup on space sickness for astronauts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_adaptation_syndrome.
    V Not official, but I like the map. https://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/xxmrhl/the_actual_most_detailed_geographic_map_of_kerbin/.