Efil Space Program: A GPTT and 2.56x scale Kcalbeloh long campaign; Part 7: Carrying the Fire

[loki130]

This is a campaign I’ll be playing in the lovely Kcalbeloh planet pack at 2.56x scale and home-switched to Efil, a moon of the planet Anehta, orbiting the Aralc binary star system, which in turn has a high orbit of the Kcalbeloh black hole. This is perhaps a somewhat less interesting planet and a bit less central a location to explore the system than Suluco, but I though the Anehta system might make for a more interesting early game, and it’s actually easier to launch early interstellar flyby probes from Aralc’s high perch in the system. I also made a quick patch to bring the science value multipliers for the neighboring bodies in the Aralc system down to be more in line with the stock system (and nerf Kcalbeloh a bit). In terms of graphics mods, I’m using Parallax 2.0, EVE and scatterer with volumetric clouds using the experimental Kcalbeloh patch (which helpfully covers most of the bodies I’ll be encountering most from Efil), TUFX with blaackrack’s config, and Deferred.

One of the main goals of this campaign is to test out a custom tech tree I’m working on, the Gradual Progression Tech Tree built to give a more gradual RP-1-like early game progression while still working well with more stock gameplay and taking advantage of a number of popular modpacks. The full list of parts packs, at least to start with, includes:

• Airplane Plus
• Bluedog Design Bureau
• Coatl Aerospace Probes Plus
• CryoEngines
• DeepFreeze
• DMagic Orbital Science
• Far Future Technologies
• Heat Control
• JX2 Antennas
• Kerbal Atomics
• Kerbal Foundries
• Kerbal Planetary Base Systems
• Kerbal Reusabiity Expansion
• Mk2 Expansion
• Near Future Technologies collection
• Planetside MMSEV
• Restock and Restock Plus
• Station Parts Expansion Redux
• Sterling Systems Thermals
• Supplementary Electric Engines
• USI Malemute and Karibou
• USI Sounding Rockets

In terms of other career/difficulty mods, I’ll be playing with Bureaucracy, but with no kerbonaut retirement, no budget cap, and with a bit of reputation decay, amounting to about 8% per year (also the length of months in Bureaucracy seems to be tied to the home planet rotation, so they're about 4 times longer here than in the stock system); Kerbal Construction Time with the very slower settings, and as a personal rule I won’t get any upgrades to produce science; USI Life Support, but not the whole MKS collection; Mandatory RCS; and doubled DSN and antenna range (on top of the modifier given by sigma dimensions) to make interstellar probes a little more viable earlier on. I will be using Mechjeb, because I don’t particularly feel the need to do a hundred manual launches to prove I can, and I won’t be using any reliability or parts failure mods because I couldn’t find any that really worked well with the range of parts mods I’m using.

My general intention here is to have a complete but not intensive record of the whole campaign, including at least one shot from every mission, excepting perhaps repeated identical launches of relays or orbital refueling/resupply runs (and I may very well get a mod like KSTS to handle those at some point). But it’ll be a while before we get to anything like those; for the first few years of the game, I'll be limited largely to suborbital sounding rockets.

Contents

Spoiler

• Part 1: Climbing the Sounding Rocket Ladder (below)
  Years 1-3, sounding rockets (Pioneer), first satellite (Unity)
• Part 2: A Time of Firsts
  Years 4-7, early satellites (Unity), first Eulb probe (Pathfinder), first crewed spaceflight (Victory)
• Part 3: Meeting the Neighbors
  Years 8-11, crewed orbit (Victory), Anehta system probes (Pathfinder) and orbiters (Diplomat)
• Part 4: Closer and Farther Than Ever Before
  Years 12-16, multi-crew flight (Solidarity), first Eulb landing (Vanguard), first Ahtpan probe (Wayfarer)
• Part 5: Through Adversity
  Years 17-21: expanded crewed flight and first Anehta flyby (Solidarity), further Eulb and Anehta probes (Vanguard, Achilles), first Enots orbiter (Adventure)
• Part 6: To Touch the Sky
  Years 21-24: first crewed Eulb flyby, orbit, and landing (Solidarity), launch of interplanetary probes (Wayfarer)
• Part 7: Carrying the Fire
  Years 24-27: First Enots landing (Adventure), first successful Arorua flyby (Wayfarer), continued Eulb exploration (Solidarity), first space station (Prosperity)

Part 1: Climbing the Sounding Rocket Ladder

Spoiler

We start off small with Pioneer 1, reaching a precocious 4,000 meters altitude above the launchpad.

Pioneer 2 rises no higher, essentially just serving as a test of the larger, faster-burning lower stage sounding rocket engine.

Pioneer 3, with 2 stages, manages to make it to 7,000 meters.

Pioneer 4 is essentially a repeat of 3 but launches our first scientific instruments, studying the rocket’s performance and the atmospheric conditions above the launch center.

Despite a rainy launch day, Pioneer 5’s 3 stages loft it to over 14 km, reaching the upper atmosphere for the first time.

Pioneer 6 launches at an angle for atmospheric studies of the nearby coast, landing a couple kilometers away.

The program’s second year is kicked off with the serene dawn launch of Pioneer 7, a low-altitude test of a heavier science package.

Meanwhile, our first candidate kerbonauts pass the time until we have any work for them exploring the nearby islands on the P-1 “Dancing Dan” trainer aircraft.

Pioneer 8 performs further upper atmosphere science, as well as testing a new upper stage solid rocket.

Pioneer 9 suffers some guidance issues on its final stage, but still manages to reach 40 km altitude.

Pioneer 10 features our first liquid-fuel rocket, massing over 8 tons, almost twice as much as any previous design.

This allows it to make the program's first suborbital spaceflight, reaching over 140 km, a good milestone to cap off 2 years of rocket tests.

Pioneer 11 is another test craft, performing some atmospheric photography.

Pioneer 12 is the second craft to reach space, ascending to over 500 km.

Pioneer 13 is another upper atmospheric test craft, taking aerial photography of the nearby sea.

With science advancing on liquid-fuel rocketry, avionics, and communications, the Efil space program is finally ready to launch its first satellite, Unity 1, on a 2-stage liquid-fuel design.

The launch is fairly uneventful, and the vehicle is actually somewhat overpowered for the mission, guidance concerns being the main reason we haven’t made any previous attempts at reaching orbit.

The design is perhaps not super original, but it’ll do. In under 3 years from the program’s start, the moon Efil has its own little submoon. That’ll do for the first part of this campaign; future portions should be a little more varied, but we all have to start somewhere, and part of my main goal with this tech tree is to make that start feel a little more important and less abrupt. Bye for now.

 

Edited Saturday at 01:57 PM by loki130

[Kevin_kerman]

wow

[loki130]

Part 2: A Time of Firsts

As year 3 of the Efil Space Program comes to a close, the mission planners and scientific advisors gather to consider their next moves. Though they’ve demonstrated the ability to place objects in orbit, Unity 1 was little more than a technical exercise; the immediate priority should be followup missions with more equipment to study the environment in space around Efil and test the technology for larger and more reliable launches. But in the longer term, two clear goals emerge: first, the study of Efil’s parent planet Anehta and its sister moons Enots, Eulb, and Elad, long the subject of observation and admiration from the ground; and second, developing the technical groundwork and confidence for crewed exploration of space.

Spoiler

Year 4 starts small with the launch of Pioneer 14, another suborbital research flight taking some photography as well as testing a new solid fuel booster.

The program’s second satellite, Unity 2, launches on our first production launch vehicle, the Ballista 1.

The satellite itself carries a small science package, returning data on Efil’s orbital environment.

Pioneer 15 is another uneventful suborbital research flight, collecting similar data that needs to be recovered for proper study.

Down on the surface, pilot training continues with the P-2 “Waltzing Wally”; the team wants its kerbonauts fit and ready when the time comes for them to climb aboard a rocket.

Unity 3 launches on the somewhat beefier Ballista 2 launch vehicle.

This is our first orbital return mission, taking detailed pictures of Efil from space and then using a small solid kick motor to return a science package to the surface.

It’s a somewhat toasty reentry, and taking film from the imaging unit doesn’t work quite as well as intended (I can't quite figure out how film recovery from the big BDB cameras is supposed to work but I did put a smaller camera on the capsule), but the reentry capsule survives landing.

Unity 4 is our first polar-orbiting satellite, studying environmental conditions over a broader range of Efil’s biomes. It's also tiny, smaller even than Unity 1.

Pioneer 16 is a small atmospheric test flight of some new biological monitoring instruments, preparing for eventual crewed spaceflight.

Pioneer 17 follows up with a suborbital flight.

Unity 5 continues this line of study by carrying a biological experimentation package and a variety of other instruments in high orbit of Efil, returning detailed data on the rigors of spaceflight.

In parallel, research on the performance of crew at high speed is performed with the J-1 “Jumping Jessy”, a small test aircraft with both jet engines for sustained flight and a large rocket stage for boosts of speed.

The test flight is successful, peaking at about Mach 1.8 while maintaining good control.

Pioneer 18 performs further suborbital biological studies.

Based on the Unity 5 design, we now launch the first flight of the Pathfinder program, intended to start exploration of Efil’s parent planet and its 3 neighboring moons.

Pathfinder 1 performs well, returning data even as it reaches distances orders of magnitude greater than any previous missions.

The final flight of the Pioneer program, Pioneer 19, is a modest low-altitude research flight, launching just before dawn. Though there may be more suborbital test flights in the future, it's simply more convenient for most research to be done with orbital platforms

Jumping Jessy flies again, this time using its rocket stage to climb into the upper atmosphere.

The aircraft rises to over 25 km, and Valentina reports no control or health issues in the pressurized cockpit.

Unfortunately, though Val manages jet flameouts and the supersonic descent well enough, she experiences a sudden roll and crash on landing. But Val is safe and the aircraft has completed its critical research. It's a moment of both relief and warning for the program, but the J-1 has demonstrated the potential for crewed rocket craft.

Unity 6 launches into a high, inclined orbit, and carries our first magnetometer for studying the complex interactions of Efil and Anehta’s magnetic fields. This marks the end of the Unity program, 3 and a half years after its first flight: with plentiful data now collected on Efil’s orbital environment, attention now turns to the Pathfinder program and preparations for crewed spaceflight.

Pathfinder 2 launches on a Ballista 3, with the increased delta-v necessary to reach the orbits of Anehta’s other moons.

This mission, however, is focused on Anehta itself, carrying an enlarged version of the Pathfinder spacecraft into a low trajectory dipping below the planet’s rings.

By pure luck, Pathfinder 2’s trajectory brings it straight back to Efil after 2 orbits, and it burns up on reentry, neatly clearing up a potential bit of space debris (I didn’t notice for a little bit that Historian doesn’t properly hide Alternate Resource Panel, so that may turn up in a couple shots).

Pathfinder 3 performs the first flyby of Efil’s sister moon Eulb. It’s a high trajectory, and even covered with batteries the probe struggles to transmit all its scientific data home, but it’s a watershed moment for the program.

After all the preparations, we’re finally ready for crewed exploration of space. Not long after the 4th anniversary of the launch of Unity 1, Valentina climbs about the Victory 1, mounted atop a simple single-stage rocket, and blasts off.

It’s a short flight, bringing Val less than 30 km over the top of the atmosphere, but an auspicious achievement nonetheless.

Less than 15 minutes after launch, Victory 1 touches back down on Efil and Valentina climbs out to pose with her capsule. That’s a pretty good place to leave off for today; the Victory and Pathfinder programs will continue in part 3.

 

Edited November 24, 2024 by loki130

[Spikemaster]

noice

 

[loki130]

Part 3: Meeting the Neighbors

Last time we saw the first crewed spaceflight by Valentina near the end of year 7 of the program. Many consider this the crowning achievement of the program thus far, and the Victory program will continue with further crewed flights, but within the mission planning team much of the focus is on the uncrewed Pathfinder program and its planned followups. The data returned by these missions promises to answer questions pondered on Efil since the early days of astronomy and science, but opens just as many to be investigated in followup missions.

Spoiler

But year 8 starts closer to home: following swiftly on from Victory 1, Jebediah performs the first crewed orbit on Victory 2, carried by the Chariot 1 launch vehicle.

Jeb remains in space for a couple orbits, enjoying the view (marred only slightly by the alternate resource panel I still hadn’t noticed was ending up in the screenshots), before returning to the surface with the capsule’s attached retro rocket.

The post-touchdown photo op is a bit trickier this time.

The team take only a short break for victory celebrations before pressing on with the other major ongoing program, the remote exploration of Efil’s neighboring moons: Pathfinder 4 performs a close flyby of Elad, the outermost moon and largest in the Anehta system.

Val returns to space on Victory 3, following a highly inclined orbit for observation of a greater range of Efil’s surface.

Val happens to touch down during an eclipse of Aralc-A by Anehta, the only truly dark time of day on Efil’s planet-facing hemisphere, though Aralc-B still provides some crimson light.

The quick pace of missions in year 8 continues with Pathfinder 5, finishing out our initial tour of Anehta’s moons with a quick flyby of diminutive Enots, a dwarf moon nestled in Anehta’s rings.

Despite the focus on these big programs, in early year 9 there is time for the launch of Naturalist 1, using our first experimental solar panels to allow for longer-term study of Efil’s magnetosphere and orbital radiation environment.

Year 9 is otherwise somewhat quiet as work starts on appropriate follow-up programs to the successes of the last few years, but year 10 starts with the launch of the somewhat bulbous variant of the Chariot 1 rocket required to carry the first probe of the Diplomat program, intended to follow up on Pathfinder with more detailed long-term study of the Anehta system.

Diplomat 1 tests out several new technologies, including an improved solid fuel kick motor, an integrated monopropellant engine, solar panels, and improved scientific instruments for studying cosmic radiation and electromagnetic fields.

Much as with Pathfinder, Diplomat starts with a study of Anehta, dipping below the planet’s rings; but this time the solar panels allow for more extended study of the planet over multiple orbits.

While the Diplomat program starts, Pathfinder closes out with one final probe, Pathfinder 6, launched on an escape trajectory to study the environment of space outside the reach of Anehta’s magnetic field and gravitational influence. Unfortunately, despite the added high-gain antenna, contact is lost with the probe before it can begin its study and never regained (i.e. I misjudged the CommNet range), a disappointing end to an otherwise highly successful program.

The team carries on with a night launch of Diplomat 2 on the Dragon 1 rocket, a tricky launch vehicle with a quartet of solid booster rockets required to launch the heavy probe and its orbital insertion stage onto an Eulb-bound trajectory.

Diplomat 2 succeeds in its orbital insertion and enters a highly eccentric orbit of Eulb, passing within 20 km of the moon’s cratered terrain.

Back at home, the Victory program continues with Victory 4, bringing Sigdorf, the newest member of the kerbonaut program, into a high orbit reaching over 600 km from the surface, before returning home in the early morning light of Aralc-B.

In between the main programs, the team also prepares the ambitious Achilles 1 mission, intended to enter Anehta’s atmosphere for the first time.

After burning through its various transfer stages, the probe ditches the final transfer module in preparation for atmospheric entry.

It then plunges into the atmosphere at over 16 km/s, and at a somewhat steep angle in order to ensure constant line of sight to Efil throughout entry. Though the ablative aeroshell stands up to the heat, the probe ultimately proves aerodynamically unstable and tumbles, immediately disintegrating at 119 km altitude. Still, that gives it enough time to return a rich body of data on the planet’s upper atmosphere.

Diplomat 3’s daytime launch gives us a clearer view of the Dragon 1 launch vehicle.

The mission profile is much the same as Diplomat 2, taking the probe close over Elad’s rugged landscape.

Back down on Efil, discussion is already underway regarding future multi-crew and even intermoon missions, with a gradual expansion of the Kerbonaut program in preparation. The T-1 “Bumbling Barry” allows for 2-crew training flights, touching down at nearby points of interest for exercises in sample collection and surface research.

Much as with Pathfinder, the Diplomat program caps off with a flyby of Enots by Diplomat 4, though Enots remains a hard target to hit and so this is restricted to another quick flyby (in awful lighting conditions). This brings an end to the Diplomat program, as mission planners begin to consider more targeted probes for surface exploration of Anehta’s moons and potentially even interplanetary missions, and it’s a good place to end off this section of the campaign as well, about 4 years since the flight of Victory 1.

 

[loki130]

Part 4: Closer and Farther Than Ever Before

After 12 years of operations, the Efil Space Program has demonstrated its capabilities and the Victory, Pathfinder, and Diplomat programs have shown the potential for exploration in space, but this is no time for the team to rest on its laurels. By now, it’s clear the program has split in two: one team is focused on continuing advances in crewed spaceflight, bringing kerbalkind farther from their home than ever before through iterative improvement of their flagship spacecraft; and one team is focused on uncrewed exploration, pursuing a variety of opportunities for closer examination of Efil’s sister moons as well as potential exploration outside the Anehta system. Though these teams may compete for resources for now, their long-term goals may eventually come into alignment.

Spoiler

After extensive preparation and research, the Efil Space Program is ready to move into its next era with Solidarity 1, the inaugural test flight of its first 2-crew capsule, crewed by Jeb and Bob.

The new Eagle 1 rocket, developed alongside the Solidarity capsule, is plenty capable of lofting its payload into a low equatorial orbit.

It’s a short flight, just a few orbits, but sufficient to demonstrate the capabilities of the new capsule.

In parallel with advances in crewed spaceflight, in year 12 the program also begins launch of its first orbital communications network, the Pixie relay system, with 4 satellites launching into high, slightly inclined orbits.

Year 13 of the space program opens with the flight of Solidarity 2, with Bill performing the first spacewalk as Val monitors from the cockpit.

The crew return home after a few orbits, marking the final flight of the experimental Block I Solidarity capsule.

Not long after, Solidarity 3 launches with the first Block II capsule, with an improved service module and launch escape system.

Sigdorf and Agake launch into a polar orbit, allowing for extensive observation of Efil’s varied biomes.

After an exciting first few orbits, the crew then settle in for a week-long mission, supported by the capsule’s new fuel cells, before returning to the surface.

Though the Solidarity program is well underway, Jeb rides one final Victory capsule into space on a modified launcher.

Victory 5 launches into a highly inclined orbit and carries a surface photography instrument, mapping almost the entire moon’s surface for the first time.

For the rest of year 14, the team’s attention turns to their most ambitious mission yet, a flyby of Anehta’s sister planet Ahtpan. Though there are doubts about the ability of the program’s communications network to support such a mission, such an ideal launch window will not appear again for over a decade. The mission features the first flight of the Dragon 2 rocket, designed with the intention of using 2 solid fuel boosters but upgraded to 6 for a little extra boost on this mission.

After waiting a few days for an ideal launch window, Wayfarer 1 departs Efil with its large transfer stage.

Once underway, the probe deploys its solar panels and wiry magnetometer array.

As the interplanetary probe departs, the small Naturalist 2 satellite is launched, acting as both a surface imaging platform and additional communications relay.

66 days after its departure, Wayfarer 1 leaves Anehta’s sphere of influence and begins returning data on interplanetary space, succeeding where Pathfinder 6 failed and justifying its cost even if its main mission proves unsuccessful. The probe then enters hibernation and prepares for a long coast between worlds.

Back over Efil, one last additional Pixie relay is placed in a low equatorial orbit, serving as a target for a rendezvous by Val and first-time kerbonaut Thompson on Solidarity 4.

Year 15 brings another ambitious first, an attempted landing on another body by the probe Vanguard 1, with the first non-Solidarity use of the Eagle 1 rocket.

Vanguard 1 successfully enters orbit of Eulb and remains there for one full orbit of the moon about Anehta. Though the focus of the mission is on surface exploration, it carries some of the program’s first image transmission technology, giving the team on Efil it’s first close-up images of Eulb’s surface.

Finally, a landing site is selected in the moon’s northern lowlands. Though the probe is somewhat overpowered for this mission, the anxious flight controllers take a cautious approach to the landing.

At last, the probe touches down, returning the first imagery and scientific data from Eulb’s surface. It’s…blue.

After the intensive research on communications technology in preparation for Wayfarer 1, the team decides to begin construction of a new relay network to support more extensive exploration of Anehta’s moons. The first Fae relay flies by Elad and uses its assistance to enter a high, inclined orbit of Anehta.

From here, it will help provide network coverage when direct transmission to Efil is blocked by the planet or other moons.

Next, the Eulb Biological Return mission launches on the first Eagle 2 rocket.

The mission is intended to test an efficient flyby and return trajectory from Efil to Eulb and back, in preparation for a potential crewed mission.

Part of the appeal of this trajectory is that most of the work is done during the initial flyby insertion, and then only a small correction burn is needed during the Eulb flyby to return the craft to Efil. On the way, the probe carries a biological monitoring suite to test the rigors of such extended spaceflight.

But though the probe performs admirably through most of its mission, the heatshield proves inadequate for such a rapid reentry, and the craft—and its microbial passengers—disintegrate in the upper atmosphere (I did not realize it had a pretty low temperature tolerance, I should have gone for a more conventional heat shield).

Nevertheless, preparations for expanded crewed spaceflight continue, with Jeb and Bill crewing Solidarity 5 and rendezvousing with a target vehicle launched a few days earlier.

They successfully dock, and Bill exits the capsule to inspect the target vehicle and test out the new Crew Maneuvering Unit.

Not long after, Wayfarer 1 awakens from its 2-year slumber, on approach to Ahtpan.

As the probe passes low over the planet’s atmosphere and its scientific instruments gather all the data it can, the maneuvering thrusters execute a long burn, as mission planners have realized that the aggressive flyby trajectory allows for a potential additional flyby of Aralc-B and its planet Arorua.

The data returned proves as tantalizing as informative, showing a world similar to Efil in some ways—with seas, a thick atmosphere, and ridges speaking of active tectonic activity—but alien in others, rich in hydrocarbons and shrouded in an organic haze. Scientists on Efil pour over their first grainy images of the planet, and will ponder the implications for years to come, extracting what conclusions they can from this short flyby.

The probe itself, however, carries on, entering hibernation for another 300-day coast.

Which gives us a good place to stop for today, closing out another 5 years of prestigious firsts for the program. The Solidarity, Vanguard, and Wayfarer programs will all continue next time.

 

[Spikemaster]

I see it is going well

 

[loki130]

Part 5: Through Adversity

As the program’s 16th year comes to a close, a thread of debate runs through the conference rooms and offices of the space center. Sequential Solidarity flights have tested the potential for more complex and ambitious mission profiles for crewed spaceflight, and it’s clear that the next logical step is to plan expeditions beyond Efil orbit. But the failure of the Eulb Biological Return mission has made some nervous regarding whether they have the technology and experience to carry out such a mission safely, and even within those advocating for such endeavor, there’s disagreement on the target: Eulb has long been regarded as the obvious, mathematically optimal target, but others have suggested that Enots or other moonlets in Anehta’s rings offer safer prospects for shorter missions in gentler gravity (a small minority even advocate for Elad as the most scientifically promising target, but they’re sidelined simply on the grounds of technical feasibility). No final decisions are made at this stage, but it’s clear that much will ride on the outcome of upcoming missions testing the equipment for either approach.

 

Spoiler

For now, the program’s own inertia carries it towards Eulb: year 17 starts with Vanguard 2, a direct copy of its predecessor, descending towards one of Eulb’s large craters.

It is, if anything, even more blue than the last landing site.

Back on Efil, Naturalist 3 launches carrying the first radar altimetry instruments to map the moon’s surface.

In the later part of year 17, the program receives a few faint signals from the inner system. They seem to show ethereal images of a world so ravaged by the combined radiation of two stars that vibrant aurora dance over its surface and its atmosphere escapes in a long, comet like tail, but the details aren’t clear and full contact with the Wayfarer 1 probe is never established thereafter. Deep space tracking later indicates that a subsequent close pass by Aralc-B ejects the probe out of the system at extreme velocity.

Back home, year 18 starts with the launch of the Eulb Surveyor, a direct copy of Naturalist 3 mounted on a larger launch vehicle to map Eulb’s surface and provide a bit more relay coverage.

Solidarity 6 launches into a polar orbit for a short mission; in place of a service module, it carries a “science trunk” packed with equipment for testing the behavior of various materials and biological samples in space. Mission specialist Agake performs a spacewalk to retrieve samples and data, and the capsule returns home after a few orbits.

The capsule happens to land near the north pole, so pilot Sigdorf climbs out to admire the quiet landscape.

The second Fae relay has an eerie eclipse launch, but otherwise proceeds much as the first.

After the failure to recover the Eulb Biological Return mission, the Eulb flyby team is folded into Achilles program to make another attempt at returning a sample from outside Efil’s sphere of influence. Achilles 2 is launched on an Eagle 2 rocket with a quartet of added boosters.

This attempt features a new aeroshell design and tests another candidate trajectory for crewed spaceflight, the 2-orbit free return from low flyby of Anehta first discovered on accident by Pathfinder 2.

At first, everything goes well, as the probe captures images of Anehta’s stormy atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the mission ends in another failure, overheating and disintegrating on reentry (honestly not sure what the issue was here, maybe the heatshield just wasn’t covering the structural tube well enough).

At least the other major uncrewed program is having success; Vanguard 3 is a slight upgrade on the previous designs, sacrificing some power storage for a biological experimentation kit. It’s also the first attempted landing without direct line of sight to Efil, relying instead on connection via a Fae relay.

It is, at this point, a routine landing.

Rather than risk losing another probe, the Achilles program decides on a more direct approach for their next test. An Eagle 1 first launches on a suborbital trajectory with its first stage…

…and then tips over and thrusts towards the ground as it nears the peak of its arc, simulating an inter-moon return trajectory.

The test capsule, with an again-upgraded heatshield, screams through the atmosphere but manages to survive, touching down safely on the ground.

Solidarity 7 proceeds much like its predecessor, with new pilot Legar and mission specialist Thompson taking the craft into high orbit.

Between the main programs focused on Efil and Eulb, the mission planners decide to spare a mission for another visit to Enots with Adventure 1, a combined orbiter and lander. Given the unreliable lighting conditions in close orbit of Anehta, rather than solar panels the probe features the program’s first use of nuclear power, a small RTG.

On approach to Enots, the transfer stage, a solid fuel kick motor, and the probe’s monopropellant thrusters all fire to achieve intercept.

The probe finally arrives in a close orbit, returning the first clear pictures of the bizarre, ridged surface.

Unfortunately, the capture was less efficient than anticipated, and the remaining dregs are too little to land safely even under Enots’ low gravity. The decision is made to cancel the attempted landing and gather what data the probe can from orbit. The mission is still a partial success, but this outcome bodes ill for those hoping to see Enots selected as the first target for crewed exploration.

After years of delays and frustration, the Achilles team decide there’s no point in holding back with the next test; working with the Solidarity team, they create a complete uncrewed dress rehearsal for a crewed flyby of Anehta.

Once again, the free return trajectory allows the craft to pass low over the planet’s surface and return back to Efil in 2 orbits, with only a minor course adjustment.

The test craft endures the rigors of reentry and touches down, the first successful recovery of a probe sent outside Efil’s orbit. This flight didn’t recover much in the way of scientific data, but it proves at last the potential for a crewed flight along the same trajectory.

Solidarity 8 is a rather unusual-looking example of its series, requiring a pair of additional boosters to lift its long scientific payload into a high-inclination orbit.

In orbit, it deploys a large surface-imaging telescope, and begins a high-resolution scan of Efil.

After a number of orbits, first-time mission specialist Jorbus retrieves the camera film, and the crew return to the surface.

After all the testing and safety concerns, Jeb and Bill final climb into the first Block III Solidarity capsule, with their mission goal in sight.

Propelled by an Eagle 2 rocket and extended tanks for the capsule's own OMS rockets in place of a retro pack, the Solidarity 9 departs from Efil on a 4-day journey.

As the capsule passes low over Anehta, Bill exits to serve a package of scientific instruments stowed in the service module’s rear, perhaps sparing an occasional glance at his distant home, where anxious mission controllers follow the capsule’s progress.

Jeb has a different approach on his spacewalk, taking in the full scale and majesty of the planet, long regarded on Efil as an eternal guardian and watcher, perched in its static throne in the sky.

On their second flyby, the crew remain seated as a small course correction burn ensures their safe return home.

Before they know it, they’re already there.

The reentry goes as expected, and the capsule touches down in a misty mountain valley. The two kerbonauts exit to ponder the impact of what they’ve experienced and what it means for the future of the space program. And with that mission finally squared away, that’ll be the end for today. More excursions for our kerbonauts are surely to come, next time.

 

[Mr. Kerbin]

First of all- this is really cool.

Second, being right there next to the gas giant doesn't result in any problems?

[loki130]

10 hours ago, Mr. Kerbin said:

First of all- this is really cool.

Second, being right there next to the gas giant doesn't result in any problems?

I mean in real life I'm sure there might be nasty radiation concerns, but in this case Solidarity 9 passes well clear of the top of the atmosphere and that's good enough. In terms of actual gameplay, starting in a moon does offer some challenges, but that's part of why I wanted to play it. Interplanetary travel is tricky, I can't rely on mechjeb plotting it so I have to wait until the transfer window is about right and Efil seems to be in about the right place in its orbit for ejection, then fuss with the maneuver node a lot to try and find the most efficient trajectory. It's also annoying to get to Eulb because some quirk of the patched conics means that you can't do an ideal hohmann maneuver because of how large Efil's soi is relative to the distance between the moons, so again you have to fuss with the maneuver node to get a good enough trajectory. On the bright side, though, you never have to wait long for an intermoon transfer window, Anehta's high orbit makes it fairly cheap dv-wise to get to any of Aralc's other planets, and the same will probably apply to getting from Aralc to the other stars, and there's lots of potential gravity assists when you need them.

[loki130]

Part 6: To Touch the Sky

Though there is much relief in the program at the safe return of the Solidarity 9 kerbonauts, this is no time to relax. Many in the team feel they have a mandate from the program’s supporters to see kerbonauts exploring the surface of Efil’s sister moons in the near future, and they intend to deliver. There’s little question now of the target: though Solidarity 9 dipped towards Anehta and its rings, Eulb still offers the best prospects for a safe landing and return. But this now requires a string of missions to demonstrate the viability of reaching Eulb and returning home before a landing can be attempted.

 

Spoiler

After the intensive efforts to launch the Adventure 1, various Achilles missions, and Solidarity 9 over the past couple years, there’s a bit of a lull in missions through the end of year 21, but Sigdorf and Agake take the time to test out the program’s new flight trainer, the J-2 “Leaping Larry”

Where previous aircraft struggled to push themselves over the sound barrier, Larry easily cruises along.

Back in space, the Achilles program wraps up with one final mission, sending a probe brushing through the uppermost layers of Anehta’s atmosphere before returning with a scientific test package.

For once, the probe performs as expected, enduring reentry while its propulsion module burns up beside it.

The first stage in the plan for crewed exploration of Eulb launches with Val and Bob on Solidarity 10. The main challenge of this mission compared to Solidarity 9 is the greater time required to flyby Eulb and return to Efil, with mission planners concerned that the cramped Solidarity capsule is insufficient for the trip. Though some kerbonauts insist that they can tough it out or propose a single-crewmember flyby, ultimately the team choose to modify the Block III capsule, adding a hatch in the heat shield leading to a small additional storage and habitation space in the service module. This does reduce the service module’s viability as a dedicated engine, so an additional stage must be added, which in turn requires an even larger launch vehicle, but as per usual the launch center engineers are up to the task.

After a midnight launch to catch the ideal launch window, the vehicle emerges into the light and uses the remaining fuel in the upper stage to push the vehicle into its flyby trajectory.

After a 5-day coast, the capsule arrives at Eulb, bound for a low pass of the surface.

Per their mission parameters, the crew wait to complete their adjustment maneuver for return to Efil before attempting any complex scientific tasks.

As Val exits the capsule, the surface rushes by, so close she could almost imagine she could jet straight down to it.

Bob, meanwhile, services the craft’s scientific equipment. The bulky package of Solidarity 9 had to be slimmed down to a few instruments precariously perched on the engine, but these still provide a wealth of data.

The crew snatch a few last glimpses of Eulb, but the inevitabilities of orbital physics carry them away.

Another 4-day coast brings them back home.

Anehta lights their way back down into Efil’s stormy atmosphere.

Though most of the team’s focus is on the Solidarity program, the continuing policy of alternating mission types to give some time for engineering adjustments allows for other programs to continue their work; after the success of Wayfarer 1, a pair of followup probes are ordered. Wayfarer 2 will make another flyby of Ahtpan; though the launch window isn’t as ideal as for Wayfarer 1, a large transfer stage will suffice for a simple flyby.

Once underway, the probe deploys its many scientific instruments and prepares for a 2-year coast.

Most of a year passes before the team are ready for their next launch, Solidarity 11. A further-modified launch vehicle and the program’s first cryogenic hydrogen/oxygen rocket attached to the service module give this craft the extra delta-v necessary to attempt a capture into Eulb orbit and subsequent return to Efil.

Launch and transfer between moons proceeds without a hitch, and the hydrolox engine fires up for the first time for insertion into a low, near-equatorial orbit.

Sigdorf and Agake then spend a little over a day waiting for their transfer window home, passing the time inspecting Eulb’s surface features, which turn out to be more varied than you might expect at first glance.

But, even having defeated the inevitabilities of orbital physics, the time to return home comes eventually.

A bit over 9 days after launch, the capsule plunges back into Efil’s atmosphere.

Wayfarer 3 departs shortly after, bound for a flyby of Arorua to finish the job that Wayfarer 1 could not complete.

Though a combined launch for the Eulb lander and crew capsule or even direct landing by the capsule are mooted, ultimately the decision is taken to launch two vehicles. The Eulb Excursion Vehicle launches first in early year 24, requiring by far the largest launch vehicle yet designed, even with generous use of cryogenic fuels to keep the total mass down.

The crew, Jeb and Bob, launch several days later on Solidarity 12.

The vehicle is much the same as Solidarity 11 and so is the mission profile at first, until it meets the lander waiting for it in low orbit, still attached to its transfer stage.

Hours of training in the docking simulator finally come to fruition.

The crew enter and inspect the Excursion Vehicle, pull a bit of spare fuel from the transfer stage before ditching it, and prepare for landing. There is some anxiety among the mission planners about leaving the capsule uncrewed during landing, but they have faith in the experienced crew.

It is a nailbiter of a landing, as the descent stage is a bit slim on its delta-v margin and the capsule admittedly doesn’t give good visibility, but Jeb keeps a confident hand on the controls.

At last, the lander approaches touchdown on the moon.

Jeb clambers down the somewhat ramshackle ladder.

…And immediately bounds off to play in the blue sand.

Bob joins soon enough, and the appropriate ceremonies are performed.

It is a pretty good view.

While Jeb explores the lander’s surroundings, Bob services the scientific equipment.

Once the crew and plentiful surface samples are packed away, the slim ascent stage breaks free of the descent stage and lifts away.

After a few phasing orbits, the ascent stage manages to rendezvous with the Solidarity 12 capsule. A quick docking is performed before both craft slip into Eulb’s shadow.

The capsule burns for home, leaving Eulb with the promise to return again.

Home again.

As is becoming somewhat common, the crew come home passing over the planet’s terminator, landing at night, which somewhat undercuts the chance for a post-mission photo op, but oh well. With that achievement under the program’s belt, we’ll stop for today.

[Pipcard]

It is interesting to see this kind of gradual progression (that is what you named your tech tree after all) in a gas giant's moon system.

[loki130]

Part 7: Carrying the Fire

For most of a decade, the space program’s focus has been squarely on the challenge of landing a crew on another of Anehta’s moons. Now that the task is complete, the team suddenly find themselves a little unsure of what to do next. It’s a dangerous time: without clear goals to strive for, the program may founder and lose public interest. A number of options are worth considering:

• They could, of course, return to Eulb, engaging in more intensive study with better instruments. But the first Eulb landing was a complex, expensive undertaking with some uncomfortably thin safety margins for certain portions; substantial optimization of the vehicles and mission profile would be required, and it may still prove difficult to keep up a high pace of such landings.

• There’s also Enots and the moonlets of Anehta’s rings; these would require a somewhat different mission profile, but not an especially more challenging one.

• Elad present a more substantial technical challenge. But even if the team isn’t ready to attempt a crewed landing and return, there is still much they could do from orbit or with uncrewed landers; the moon has become somewhat neglected since the end of the Diplomat program.

• And speaking of uncrewed missions, that part of the program hasn’t been sitting idle; the next optimal launch window for Ahtpan approaches in a few years, but it’s a fairly generous window that could accommodate multiple missions, and the inner Aralc system also offers several options for exploration. Beyond that, mission planners note that the ideal launch window from Aralc to the neighboring star Sunorc is a few decades out at this point. Interstellar exploration seems barely conceivable at this point, but the technology isn’t unattainable.

• Meanwhile, any of the options for crewed exploration may entail longer missions, which requires the development of better habitation and life support technology, which could be addressed with a series of simpler test missions in Efil orbit.

The next few missions slated for launch don’t commit the team to any single direction, so there is time to consider the possibilities, but a decision will have to be made sooner or later.

Spoiler

The first notable mission to follow Solidarity 12 is another attempt at an Enots landing with Adventure 2.

The initial approach is similar to its predecessor, but with lessons learned it arrives with a generous fuel supply remaining, and the probe itself is a more dedicated lander.

It’s a slow approach under Enots’ weak gravity, and the landing team have time to carefully pick a landing location.

The probe successfully touches down on a flat stretch of regolith between Enots’ ridges, returning imagery and other observations of the surface.

The long dry spell in Elad research finally comes to an end with the arrival of the Elad surveyor.

Once in a stable orbit, the orbiter deploys the range of new instruments developed since the last intensive study of Elad, fully 14 years ago.

Solidarity 13 is somewhat humble compared to other recent Solidarity flights, a weeklong low orbit flight completing the program’s high-resolution visual imagery map of Efil and also serving as a training flight for new kerbonaut Dercal.

Wayfarer 2 has a guidance failure and fails to make its Ahtpan flyby, but Wayfarer 3 is more successful, waking up after over 2 years of coast as it approaches the center of the Aralc system. (Honestly not sure what happened to Wayfarer 2, think I had a weird bug that shifted its argument of periapsis so that it completely missed Ahtpan, and by the time I realized it was long past the potential point of encounter anyway so I just left it).

Wayfarer 3 swings close to Aralc-B, enduring surface temperatures surpassing 450 K, and then approaches its target, visible from afar by its long tail.

The probe returns surreal images of the radiation-wracked world, lit from two sides by the binary stars.

But as Wayfarer 3 draws near, it reveals details below Arorua’s inflated atmosphere as well, a geologically complex surface.

The flyby lasts only minutes as the probe screams by, but its path allows for close analysis of the ion-rich tail.

Back on Efil, yet another night launch lofts the lander for a second Eulb landing.

Solidarity 14 follows soon after, carrying Valentina and Agake

After a fairly straightforward transit, they find the lander waiting for them in Eulb orbit.

The lander has been significantly optimized and slimmed down, massing under 8 tons to the original’s 11. The extra launch capacity has been used for carrying an additional orbital module, with the supplies for over 40 days spent in orbit, making for a significantly more relaxed mission schedule.

After a couple days surveying the surface, the crew choose a landing spot and descend in the lander.

The greater visibility of the new lander cabin makes for an easier touchdown, and good views even before any EVAs.

Val performs the necessary ceremonies, while Agake undertakes critical research.

After performing various surface activities and waiting for a good window for a rendezvous with the waiting capsule in orbit, the crew depart in the ascent stage.

The lander’s fuel is just about sufficient; future mission planners make a note to increase the safety margin on subsequent missions.

The crew wait in relative comfort for the next available transit window, and then depart, comfortably within the allowable mission duration.

Back down in the inner system, Wayfarer 3 awakens one more time to return some data on the environment in extreme close orbit of Aralc-A, shortly before the intense light and radiation disables the craft.

The ideal period for Ahtpan orbital insertion approaches, so the team launch Cartographer 1, intended to brake into orbit with its large transfer stage and innovative resistojet.

Entering year 27, the program launches Prosperity 1, it’s first orbital station for research into the challenges of prolonged spaceflight.

Solidarity 15 launches soon after, carrying pilot Legar and first-time kerbonaut Patio.

After a reasonably short flight, the crew rendezvous with Prosperity 1 and approach for docking.

They make good contact, and after a quick check over the station systems and integrity, settle in.

It’s no luxury hotel, but still quite spacious compared to what any previous crews have had available. Here, the crew will stay for 60 days, monitored by flight surgeons on the ground as they go through a series of exercises and assessments. That’s where we’ll leave off for today; perhaps not the most exciting milestone in the program so far, but good practice for the sort of prolonged spaceflight that will be required for future ambitions in crewed exploration of the Anehta system, and beyond.