Bees in Space - Beginner's RP1 Playthrough

[MSteele]

KSP 1.12.3 / RP-1 v3.18 Playthrough

Detailed Career Log located HERE.
Game Difficulty Settings
Moderate base with minor tweaks. Unless noted here, all other settings are left at their default.

• Basic
  • Starting Funds slider raise to 15,000 from 10,000.
• Advanced
  • Range Modifier slider raise to 1.0 from 0.80.
  • Occlusion Modifier, Atm slider raise to 1.0 from 0.85.
  • Check Plasma Blackout
• Kerbal Renamer
  • Uncheck Preserve Original Traits
• Kerbalism (1)
  • Engine Burn Failure Chance slider raise to 100% from 80%
  • Antenna Speed slider drop to 100% from 120%
• ROMods
  • Check Persistent Recolor Selections
  • Starting Unlock Credit slider raise to 36,982 (crazy inaccurate slider approximately halfway between Normal and Moderate difficulty)
• RP-1
  • Check Kerbalism resource handling for avionics

In addition to the Express Install as described on the RO/RP1 Wiki, I have used CKAN to install the following mods:

• MechJeb 2 - DEV RELEASE
• RP-1 TechTree Kompacted
• Toolbar
• ZTheme

 

Space-B Introduction and Mission Goals (1951)

On 01 Jan 1951 the publicly traded Space-B corporation  (SPCB, KASDAQ) stood up preliminary operations based out of Cape Canaveral Florida in the United States.

Initially, Space-B will conduct launches from Launch Complex 1, a brand new mound of dirt complete with a state of the art 2m x 3m concrete blockhouse on the east side of Merritt Island. As funding allows and launch vehicle requirements increase, construction of more capable complexes are planned.

Ramping up, Space-B will focus on performing atmospheric studies and leveraging the acquired knowledge to advance future research. Additionally, Space-B will submit telemetry and relevant flight data to Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) for recording of performance records.

The worldwide prestige and renown gained from FAI cataloguing record-holding events will allow Space-B to receive greater subsidies from investors which will in turn provide the capital to fund such operations.

Space-B will implement a program outline with specific goals to achieve and integrate contracts from other commercial entities and possibly governmental agencies that align with stated program objectives.  These contracts will become potential sources of revenue once established in the industry as a trustworthy partner. 

Space-B will attempt to complete two similarly aligned programs, each with their own objectives. Using this strategy, Space-B will effectively combine resources to achieve both program goals simultaneously.

These first two programs are designed to be completed in a slightly accelerated timeline, but not so fast as to overwhelm management with looming deadlines.

Program 1 is Early Rocket Development which focuses on achieving several FAI records, with only a few dedicated solely to advancing launch vehicle performance.

Program 2 is Suborbital Research. This program aligns itself mainly with research associated with the physical and biological aspects of conducting specific experiments in a suborbital environment.

Combined funding for these programs is √420,000. The programs are scheduled to complete within six years with funds spread out over this period slowly increasing over time and decreasing as the program comes to a close. Additionally, funding allocations will be increased (or decreased) as Space-B's reputation is spread throughout the industry.

Edited 3 hours ago by MSteele
career log link

[MSteele]

To get started, there are a number of administrative and practical things to do:

• Hire researchers
• Choose starting research path
• Choose a contract to complete
• Design a rocket to meet the contract requirements
• Simulate the rocket design to see if it functions as expected
• Build a launch complex for the rocket
• Hire engineers
• Build the rocket
• Launch the rocket
• ???
• Profit

Since we have zero researchers at the moment and twenty applicants sitting at home twiddling their thumbs, we should put every last one of them on payroll and get them to hit the books researching research stuff. What about the engineers? They can wait a little while as there is nothing for them to engineer until we have a working launch complex. While the LC is being built the researchers will be doing researcher things.

Looking at the budget, we have ample funds to hire additional researchers above the initial twenty applicants that cost us nothing to recruit. We'll hire ten more for a total of thirty researchers. That is pretty expensive in both up front costs and salaries, but they have a fairly decent ROI in the form of faster technology advancement and a direct contribution to Unlock Credits.

With our new researchers, let's get them started on researching Post-War Rocketry Testing for one RP. This will open up two critical engine designs that will immediately become essential to successfully complete most of the first few contracts in our programs. The first design is actually an update to an existing engine we already have access to. It is the XASR-1, part of the Aerobee family of engines. The other engine is the XLR41, which is an SAE converted version of the engine used by the Germans in the V2. The Soviets basically did the same thing but just copied the engine 1:1 and slapped an RD-100 sticker on it written in Cyrillic. Pretty smart, if you ask me.

Our very first rocket will use the Aerobee engine with the starting WAC-Corporal config. This playthrough will most likely utilize all US parts. We are a Kamerican space agency, aren't we?

The remaining Research Points could be put into Early Solid Rocket Engines, but I feel that would only delay our research of more important nodes. We'll hold on to the RP, for now.

Looking at available contracts we have First Launch and Karman Line. These are not exclusive, meaning we are able to accept both of these at the same time. A two-fer, if you will. Additionally, they are both required to complete the program. And finally, neither of these contracts have time constraints other than program deadline, so we can take them now. I suspect it will not take six years to knock these out.

The Active Contracts tab has a number of FAI offered first-time records open to complete. The crewed versions of these contracts can be ignored for now, as we are not doing the X-Plane Program, nor are we ready to put any astronauts in a capsule. However, there are two contracts that catch my eye. Uncrewed Altitude of 40km and the other uncrewed contract for a breaking the speed record of 900 m/s. We will certainly break both of these records with our first launch and will reap the rewards. As these records are broken, other FAI records will become available, with steeper demands. The good news is we do not have to actively pursue accepting them and things happen passively. As we break records, we will be notified and awarded the prize immediately by increased reputation.

Let's Build the Larva! Space-B's First Sounding Rocket
Primary Mission Goals: Have a rate of climb greater than 50 m/s and break the Karman Line of 100km. 
Secondary Mission Goals: Gather and transmit telemetry, pressure, and temperature from valid locations along the flight path.

Achieving the Primary Goals of this first mission will complete both contracts. The Secondary Goals will  provide valuable science that will be converted to research points.

The following screenshot shows the Larva with the part information displayed for you, followed by fins for both the LV and boosters, then the dV stats and tooling costs. Note Integration and Rollout times are slightly high at infinity. We'll fix this when it comes time to hire engineers, which would be after the LC is built.

The Science-Core avionics is the actual nose cone of the rocket, and as such is significantly under utilized at 72.7%. It also has just 60kJ of EC and the antenna gain set to 15.0 dBm. This provides just over 9 minutes of electricity which is more than enough for continuous transmission of telemetry and science data during the expected flight time. Another option to get the most out our avionics is to make it a flat cylinder the same diameter of the rocket body with a height adjusted to get 99% utilization. That would then necessitate designing a nosecone to plop on top of it. I'm unsure the benefits outweigh the costs in mass and tooling.

Providing needed ullage for the main engine, the boosters are stacked Tiny Tims using Aerobee Interstage versions of the Hollow Interstage. The boosters use both the 50 and 30Klbf configurations. The bottom stage is the longer burning 30Klbf version followed by the 50Klbf version lighting in the same stage as the main engine. This booster configuration allows the Larva to reach well over the Karman Line if staging is performed correctly. I highly recommend using MechJeb (Dev) to assist in staging.

I can provide a .craft file including decals (Space-B/JPL) upon request via DM here or on the RP1 Discord (User: Bee).

If I were smarter, I'd show you the FAR transonic curvatures and analysis. But I have a somewhat smooth brain when it comes to interpreting FAR data so we'll skip it. I did, however, attempt to minimize curvatures with the colorful lines. Let's move on.

Before tooling the rocket we need to make sure it will perform as expected. It would waste resources to spit ball a design and hope it works after tooling. Simulations are key to success. After testing the rocket in simulation mode several times to dial in the staging, we find nothing inherently wrong with it, and the Larva is approved for production.

A personal preference of mine is to utilize the notes window for rocket-specific information. This will remind me of details that can easily be forgotten unless you keep copious notes elsewhere (I do, by the way, but they are a wreck). You can see I've noted the booster configs, overburn info on the main stage, and a setting for MJ that will drop the solids early by 0.02 seconds.

Now we need to construct the launch complex. Unfortunately, we will not get much use out of this LC as we will quickly need a rocket that no longer uses the properties of the LC we are about to build. I've tossed around the idea of skipping the < 1t LC and going straight to a 2-4t LC, but with the current technology available, I think it may not be worth it due to the limited capabilities of our current engine and the time involved in waiting for tech to upgrade the engine. I think it is much more feasible to get a few contracts under our belt and generate reputation for increased revenue.

On a brighter note, upgrading this LC for future tech advances will be relatively painless and only take a few days. But let's focus on the one we are building for now. It's going to be a combined sunk cost of just under √2000 with a yearly upkeep of √271. We don't expect to keep it for more than a few months, however, but this will give us an idea that we can probably expect slightly more than that for a larger LC when it comes time.

Engineering Department When? We still do not have any engineers! Don't worry, we will hire them when the LC gets built in 43 days. Afterwards, we will put the Larva design to them and have them build it. In the meantime, the monthly budget looks okay, and I feel safe to hire an additional ten researchers for √3000 which will move the date of finishing Post-War Rocketry up to the beginning of July, rather than September. We'll start building a larger LC a few weeks before so we can be ready to build a rocket with the new engines we have unlocked.

Let's Time Warp to finish building the LC.

On Valentines Day 1951 Space-B hires its first set of engineers. LC1 can accommodate just ten engineers, so this is what we hire. Let's get into the VAB and build a rocket!

Woah, woah, woah, there Nelly. According to the Integration Info window the Larva will take 104 days to build. I suppose I forgot to tool the parts! Always tool. Always reuse tooled parts if possible. Spending 1332 Unlock Credit, Larva is tooled up and ready for integration. Times are cut in half and salaries look better as well. That 10% efficiency will eventually rise slightly cutting costs and time even further.

Before the engineers start building, we need to unlock several parts for a measly 7 Unlock Credit. I think I have enough. Afterwards, they get on it.

After finally assigning the rocket to the engineers at LC1, let's step outside for a breath of fresh ocean air straight off the Atlantic. From here, we Time Warp the 54 day buildout of the Larva and the subsequent rollout period to the pad at our brand new state of the art launch complex.

Date: 10 APR 1951 12:37 UT
Location: Launch Complex 1
LV: Larva
Mission: Suborbital Aeronomy

I know the screenshot says 09 April, but I had a Kraken sneak up on me and I accidentally pressed the Warp to Sunrise button twice. Sheesh!

MechJeb set. Ready for launch.

Launch!

Soon after launch, around 60m, the first booster is about to be staged off which will signal the second booster and the Aerobee to light.

We have positive second boost phase! The first booster stages away, landing about 2 meters from the viewport of the concrete bunker, followed by the Aerobee hot-staging along with the shorter firing 50Klbf Tiny Tim.

In less time than it takes to blink, the final booster is staged off and the Larva continues its ascent to what is hopefully a record-breaking 100km or more.

Incredibly, the Larva's maiden flight tops out at over 147km. We have Bees in Space. Well... a single bee... okay, it's a Larva! Don't be pedantic.

 

Edited February 1 by MSteele
spelling

[GarrisonChisholm]

What a fun take on a career game- looking forward to this.  

[MSteele]

With this single launch Space-B is now a household name along with Ray-Ban, Lucky Strike, and Tupperware.

In fact, budding film star Michael Rennie during a break in production on a new film to be released in September showed up at the gate wearing an alien costume shouting "Klaatu baradu nikto!" He was shot in the leg and removed from the premises by our security guard Gnut. How ironic.

With the unprecedented success of the Larva sounding rocket, Space-B is now set to ramp up its operations to a higher degree. We reached out to a number of well-known scientists in the world and have offered up a high level position within the company. One such individual, although reluctant at first, was enticed to eschew his staunch political views and anti-Hydrolox attitude with the promise of snacks every other weekday and our enforcement of a 50-meter restraining order against one Sergei Korolev.

Please welcome and give a warm round of applause for Medal for Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War recipient, former citizen of the Soviet Union, and first Space-B Administration Leader: Valentin Petrovich Glushko!

Glushko was actually our second choice behind Wernher von Braun, but Werhner would not budge on his demand of a lifetime supply of Aqua Velva.

Unfortunately, the US National Reserves of Aqua Velva had been depleted 15 years ago by Frank Malina and creepy-assistant Jack Parsons' Suicide Squad at CalTech. They were testing the hypergolic properties of Aqua Velva combined with RFNA. As it turns out, it's a pretty good fuel but during testing caused a 4 sq km area on campus to smell like a Turkish bath house and the female grad students to become slightly hostile yet inexplicably randy. The director of GALCIT, Theodore von Karman subsequently banished the group to the desert to continue their research in a relatively safer environment.

(I spent entirely too much time thinking that one up)

On to speak with Gene Kerman in Mission Control. He has a notebook full of potential contracts and FAI records he'd like us to take a look at. With the technology and facilities we currently have available and nearly researched, the list of contracts we could potentially complete becomes fairly slim. Out of the eight total offered, only two are viable:

Both of these contracts will require a redesign of the Larva or a new vehicle altogether, and subsequent modification to the launch complex. Post-War Rocketry Testing finishes up in a little less than 80 days. It will take approximately 10-12 days to modify the LC. So, if we want to build a new rocket, we'll have to wait at least 70 days. We could start the modification of LC1 before the research finishes and put the new design on the VAB floor the minute it does.

What do, Boss? We have two and change months before we can do anything. How about we launch another Larva? We do not have any contracts to complete, but there is a pile of science just waiting to be scooped up out there and it takes a 45 days or so to get a Larva on the pad. Plus, it'll only cost us around 500 total. We've got plenty of money... for now. Let's remain cognizant of future projects and salaries incurred by hiring employees and buying snacks. We can't go hog wild and spend tons of cash.

I do, however feel comfortable hiring the applicants we picked up from completing the Karman Line contract. These applicants are assigned to the Research Department. There is no cost associated with the hiring, we'll just have to pay their salaries. Janice from the Payroll won't be happy with the extra checks she has to print out, but she'll get over it soon enough. She's a tough old broad.

The extra ten researchers increases the sci/yr from 2.0 to 2.5 and move the research completion date up a few weeks. This will wreck our timeline we just laid out a bit, but not so much as to be of worry. If we are idle with not building a rocket a few extra days, then so be it.

I just don't want to sit here eating snacks every other week with Glushko. He talks with his mouth open and I'm not entirely positive he's given up the whole Communist thing. He calls me comrade and continuously asks when we can have a parade. What's next, I suppose he'll claim to have plans for the greatest family of rocket engines ever dreamed of that will last well into the 21st century? Pffft.. go have some snacks Glushko, and while you're at it,  take another look at those researcher salaries, will ya?

Yea, let's build a Larva and incline it a few degrees to the east. This will put its flight path over the ocean and we'll grab some of that sweet (salty?) science.

Into the depths of the Research building we go. We need another node queued for when our current node finishes. It's not that hard to decide. We need all of these early tech nodes. However, I personally like going Post-War Material Science next. It will give me quick access to aluminum tanks sure, but what I really like is the Engineer Efficiency Upgrade. Let's do that one for 2 RP, which leaves us a few more points to spend. No question. I'll take Early Tracking for 2, Alex. What is Biological Sample Capsule and Procedural Science Core Avionics Upgrade? Correct!

Ok, all that Big Brain stuff is out of the way. Let's launch another Larva pointed at the ocean. Well, the sky *above* the ocean. We're not Bees in Seas. We're Bees in Space, my guy.

Back in the VAB, I pull up a Larva and rotate the rocket a few degrees toward the VAB doors, which incidentally are on the 90 degree azimuth. I like the precision EEX gives me when using the rotation tool, and I choose a 1 degree increment. I tried 5 degrees, but apparently that pushed my rocket beyond the 1m width limitation of the LC and the Engineer's Report threw a flag. Anywhere between 2-4 degrees will be enough to adjust our flight over the ocean and make the Engineer's Report happy.

I do not bother saving the rocket, and just throw it in the queue. Who wants to save a cockeyed Larva anyway? (Says the guy with a crazy-eye bee as a logo)

It looks like we are on track for everything to complete at or near the same time frame with minimal downtime. With what you see in that screenshot above, just imagine 10-12 days more worth of LC modification depending on what we come up with for a new rocket - We'll tackle that design in a later report.

Let's Time Warp to Rollout/Launch and see what we see.

Launch goes off without a hitch. As it turns out the pitch ended up at 87.5 degrees on the pad. During the ascent, no significant science was gained until around 60km when we finally moved over the water biome. We already collected quite a bit of forest biome data from the last Larva launch, and we were in and out of the shores biome super quick so no data there. Regardless, we hit around 145km at the top and were able to grab a few bytes of data from above the Karman Line.

Data collection and transmission was good all the way back down to around 38km where Larva started breaking apart due to aerodynamic stress. Not much else to do, so Range Safety was pulled and the mission ended.

Not a bad haul of science that run. We'll look into spending it in the next mission report. Additionally, we'll finally modify the LC and build our new rocket to knock out some of these more advanced contracts. In the meantime, let's ponder Wernher's obsession with Aqua Velva again. You can't never not unsee this every time you click the Admin Building now. (is this even English?)

You're welcome.

[MSteele]

Launch Complex 1 in it's current configuration has finally outlived its usefulness. Space-B got two successful launches out of it, and it is time to upgrade it to support a new launch vehicle. Before we pull the trigger on the modification, we need to design a new rocket that will take us even further along the path to the stars.

Not just any launch vehicle, but a new and improved version of the Larva. It is similar enough to retain the Larva designation, yet in reality is quite a bit more advanced. Not only that, this Larva version is tooled at a larger diameter owing to the fact that the rocket engine can push these steel tanks to greater heights with relative ease. With the new XASR-1 config for the Aerobee engine in our Larva LVs our launch capability has grown exponentially.

Behold the next generation of LV in the Space-B family: Larva II!

Without boring you with pictures of specific dimensions amd other mundane information, suffice to say I will once again provide a .craft file if requested. That said, below is a general overview of the rocket sans boosters.

Length: 4.9m
Diameter: 0.38m
Engine: Aerobee (XASR-1)
Stages: 1 (3 with TT boosters)
Avionics: Scientific (Temp/Baro/Tlm)
EC: 16 minutes of power
Comms: 15dBm internal antenna

Nice rocket, huh? Too bad it will never see the light of day outside simulations.

WHAT SAYS U?! We've been waiting several updates for this new rocket!

In this configuration, Larva II does absolutely nothing for us. It is, however, the base model for several variant Larva II's. Larva IIA is the first variant. It will have an additional HP tank dedicated to carrying up to 70 units of Sounding Payload. Note also the 13 seconds overburn. <foreshadow>It's safe. Really. That surely won't come back to haunt us. </foreshadow>

There's two more variants coming out as well.  The cleverly named IIB and its sister IIC. Larva IIB is the variant most closely resembling the base model, as we just put an inline chute and a decoupler below the avionics package to allow safe recovery. Finally, Larva IIC combines features from both the A and B variants with a slightly smaller payload tank, then adds a Biological Sample Capsule into the mix. We can't build IIC yet, because the Bio capsule is just a drawing on paper at the moment. But soon... very soon.

Now we have to build the LC that will allow construction of this rocket. We'll load up the largest version and check the Modify LC Window. Out with the old and in with the new. Let's do a complete overhaul of the LC and get rid of everything we do not need, i.e. Fuel for the old Aerobee config. No need to keep stuff in the attic like some crazy cat lady and her mounds of litter clump artwork. It costs slightly more and extends the construction time a short amount, but I don't think it's an issue. Besides old kitty litter leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Not being a crazy person is a value I hold dearly.

With the new LC under construction the maximum number of engineers has risen to 17 from 10. Calm down! We'll hire them when the LC is finished on 10 June. Jeepers, you guys love to hire engineers! That's just two days before we finish researching Post-War Rocketry. We timed that pretty darn well and I don't mind saying so. Left-side-triangle-extrapolation maths is what I call it, and I'm rarely wrong.

Side Note: If you recall, the original Larva had a JPL sticker on it.

I don't know why that was there, even as I mentioned it in the commentary it just went over my head. These are Aerojet engines by golly! I've updated the logo on the new variants to reflect the correct engine manufacturer.

We need to tool up the new tanks and avionics for the IIA. Jiminey Crickets, tooling is expensive. Luckily we are spending Unlock Credits and not actual cash. We need the cash for salaries, construction and integration.

Let's Time Warp to allow the construction of the LC to finish, hire some engineers (/eyeroll), and queue up a IIA for buildout.

Hmmm... the next research item looks like it's going to take eight more months to finish, and I really need those aluminum tanks. Finances are fairly stable at the moment. I think we could incrementally hire more researchers over time and shorten up that 8 month period a bit. I'll hire ten more researchers now and take a look again in a few months. 

Ideally, I'd prefer to finished with PWMS at the end of 1951 if at all possible. But that would nearly double the salary costs I am sure, if not more. We can't afford to do that all at once. Perhaps pushing it into Q1 of 1952 isn't such a bad idea after all.

Let's Time Warp to rollout/launch then grab a contract from Gene.

This is the contract we need. Larva IIA was built specifically for this repeatable contract. We can repeat the contract as often as we like, but the longer we wait between requests, the more the contract pays out. Let's see, before 90 days pass we would get diminished reqards. At 90 days between requests we get the baseline reward with an increase each day past the baseline. Right now the reward is worth 166% of the baseline at 183 days.

If we build a IIA every 90 days after first accepting this contract, we'd be able to take this contract at 90+27 days worth of reward. Let's plan on doing that, and we will remind ourselves with an alarm we create with Kerbal Alarm Clock. Using tried and trusted Left-side-triangle-extrapolation maths way of calculating percentages, we'd see maybe a 115-120% reward. Mark my words and see if I'm right.

Date: On or about 13 JUN 1951 Some time after sunrise UT (I forgot to look!)
Location: Launch Complex 1
LV: Larva IIA
Mission: Suborbital Aeronomy (mostly)

The launch started off well until about :34 seconds in when the XASR-1 lost thrust. No big deal, the contract calls for the rocket to take the payload to just 80km and it looks like we can get over that mark with a little to spare even though the rocket engine is not doing well. At the exact 1 minute mark the XASR-1 failed again with a performance loss. We are well past 70km at this point. Even with the small amount of thrust the crippled XASR-1 is putting out we can make it! At 1:11 minutes into mission the engine fails again and shuts down completely. Telemetry predicts the highest we will ascend is short of the mark by 5km. What a let down! Was it or was it not properly foreshadowed, though? I should have paid attention instead of skipping past the foreshadow tags.

At least we gathered a few bytes science.

I let the rocket do it's thing up to 75km and back down to 35km before I punched the Range Safety. Not a complete loss, but a failure just the same. We need to build another IIA and finish this contract.

Stay tuned.

[Vanamonde]

My goodness, that's a lot of mods. 

[MSteele]

9 hours ago, Vanamonde said:

My goodness, that's a lot of mods. 

Is it?

[MSteele]

Short Update.

Back at KSC a Larva IIA is scheduled for assembly pushing us back 25 days from attempting the second contract and nearly 4 more days to clear the pad at LC1-A.

Glushko is furious with the failure to complete the contract and has called up Wernher for his take on how to get more work out of the staff without actually spending time in prison. I'm not sure how the conversation went, but for some reason Gnut the security guard has been seen stomping around asking random employees what their favorite snack is and recording it in a red leather-bound journal stitched on the front with what looks to be a crossed sickle and hammer. Oh, that's exquisite embroidery. I'll ask him where I can pick one of those up. Maybe they carry them at the J.C. Penney.

Let's do the Time Warp again!

Date: 08 AUG 1951 07:50 UT
Location: Launch Complex 1
LV: Larva IIA
Mission: Suborbital Aeronomy

On the pad with fingers crossed!

Glushko and Gnut are both in the spacious 2m x 3m bunker with me. Why is Gnut staring at me intently? Sheesh. Odd fellow, that Gnut. Glushko gives a nod, and the countdown is initiated. Oh, so Glushko is the Launch Supervisor now? I didn't realize his position encompassed that scope of responsibility.

From somewhere behind me, the unmistakable sound of steel sliding on steel can be heard as Gnut racks his Makarov. That's odd, standard weapons issue for our guards is the 1911. Doesn't Gnut realize that playing with his sidearm indoors is dangerous? Mental Note: Schedule a mandatory Proper Handling of Firearms in the Workplace safety seminar.

Launch and booster separation!

A few tense seconds pass as Larva IIA continues ascent, all the while gathering valuable atmospheric data and telemetry. As the XASR-1 finishes its burn without incident, the telemetry display in the bunker reports a projected apogee of 117km. This is well over the 80km mark required to push the 75 units of payload.

As the 80km mark is passed, Glushko abruptly leaves the bunker with a dejected Gnut in tow. They step into a waiting black vehicle of a type I've never seen before. Markings indicate it is called a Pobeda. Strange.

I allow the Larva IIA to continue gathering scientific data as long as there was data to be collected. Once finished, Range Safety was initiated at T+04:12.

A successful mission! What the heck is wrong with Glushko then? Oh, I know! It's an off-week for snacks. Glushko is probably in a bad mood due to having to wait for the delivery next week.

brbkkthxla~~^_^

Edited Sunday at 04:02 PM by MSteele

[MSteele]

Potential Future Administration New-Hires?

With that contract out of the way and a significant amount of science gained from the two launches needed to complete the mission, it is time to put our sights on the next mission available: Reach a Suborbital Trajectory & Return.

This is an FAI mission and from what I understand, several high-profile individuals in the industry are eagerly waiting on word of our success. If Space-B does indeed complete the objective, these people will throw their hat in the ring for a chance to work for us in some capacity.

Glushko has an old acquaintance named Mikhail Gurevich behind the Iron Curtain and I believe he's been updating him on the excellent quality of snacks the US has provided him since his defection. I have read several aerodynamic research papers Gurevich shared with Glushko. Amazing research indeed, but I am unsure if their topics align with the mission of Space-B. If, however, Space-B pivots into X-Plane research, maybe. But as of right now MiG-man is not a potential candidate.

Similarly, Betty Love would not be a good fit either. Although she is more accessible due to her being located in the US, her research focus like Gurevich is geared more toward X-Planes. Firm, but polite (since she looks like a very sweet person) no.

Theodore von Karman on the other hand seems a likely pick. He has an extensive background in aeronautics and the peculiar effects of supersonic flight in all atmospheric regimes, and as a big plus from his time at GALCIT, von Karman is also an expert in solid rocketry. We'll keep an eye open on this guy.

Speaking of eyes. Eyes-Wide-Shut-Creepy Jack Parsons is rumored to be typing up a resume for us if we can get FAI to recognize the suborbital return record. Parsons is a brilliant engineer and chemist with a knack for pulling off some of the most daring rocketry testing the US has ever seen. Here's the kicker: Straight up occult-crazy. Known associate of Aleister Crowley. Weirdo to the max. Hard pass unless he gets professional help. (spoiler: he never did, the poor guy)

Despite the amazing credentials every last one of these people possess, I doubt we'll hire either of them in the near future unless they can offer another skillset outside of aviation. Or... we decide to go all-in on Solid Rocketry.

When Glushko hears of my opinion of Gurevich he becomes a little more antisocial than usual. Boy howdy, he can be a pill at times. More snacks, maybe?

Since the next FAI contract has no expiration date, we'll have Gene accept it and work up an over water flight plan for Larva IIB. The rocket requires no extra tooling and gets slated for an immediate buildout with a slight inclination for an easterly flight plan.

The budget looks good enough that we can hire an additional ten researchers, so that is done as well. The only thing left to do is Time Warp to the rollout/launch date and get it on!

Date: 02 SEP 1951 12:34 UT
Location: Launch Complex 1
LV: Larva IIB
Mission: Suborbital Aeronomy & Flight Telemetry
Agency: FAI
Contract: Suborbital Trajectory and Return

The launch goes off without a hitch. Both Tiny Tim boosters separate flawlessly allowing the XASR-1 engine to hot-stage without ullage causing a failure to ignite. 

It looks like telemetry predicts a height of 151km or so. The avionics and nosecone separates from the sustainer and continues its trajectory. The remainder of the rocket follows for a short while then falls back to earth.

A short while later the important part of the rocket reaches the apex of its parabolic flight into space and eventually deploys its parachute landing in the Atlantic Ocean nearly 80km from the Cape.

We received 5 Science from the recovery plus whatever we picked up from temperature, pressure, and telemetry data. Plus, we were able to salvage a few parts for 15 funds!

Soon... Possible new launch complex for even bigger rockets?

Stay tuned to find out what madness Space-B is up to next!

Edited Tuesday at 03:01 AM by MSteele

[MSteele]

Back at the space center, the expected applicants indeed became available to hire. We'll keep their paperwork on file in case Space-B finds a use for them, but for now we move on with the program.

We have about 40 more days for the Altitude Sounding Rocket (Intermediate) contract to become available, but every other contract is out of reach without a larger rocket or better technology.

Two such contracts are First Low Space Film Return and Downrange Distance LV Development (Difficult). After discussing the design with Glushko, we came to the conclusion that building a rocket to accomplish both of these contracts would be ideal. The film return rocket contract is required by our program, but the downrange contract is not. The attractive thing about the downrange contract is just like the altitude contract, it is repeatable.

The idea is to continue building the smaller Larva IIA rockets every 90 days or so and on another launch complex push out the larger rockets to continue gaining science and reputation while our technology advances. We'll need the tech advances to finish our programs, and it is better to launch rockets than to sit around doing nothing but eating snacks with Glushko.

Behold Pupa! He's a big boy, weighing in just over 15 and a half tons, with a bigger engine (XLR-41) built by NAA and a more complex avionics suite that allows for flight control. In fact, we'll have to tool up two avionics. One for Near-Earth guidance for the LV, and another Science Core for when we separate the stages for recovery.

We need two things:
* A launch complex to handle this large of rocket.
* A lot of engineers. (I can actually hear the cries of joy through the interwebs. Nerds. The lot of you.)

The above is why I have been so frugal with our funds. This is going to cost a lot of money to build the LC and Pupa. On top of that, there is the sunk costs of hiring the engineers to fully staff the LC.

First things first. The LC will take just over three months to build and cost us almost 11k in funds paid out over the time to build. The pad will have a lot of headroom to grow when we need to modify it, and to fully staff we need to hire 88 engineers. Using left-triangle-estimation-maths I compute that to be at LEAST a quarter bajillion funds in hiring costs alone!

The LC will complete one month before the PWMS research is complete, so we'll slow down construction to 80% or so which will save funds per/day, but align better with when we have the tech to build Puma.

We'll have to hire engineers in small batches once the LC is built and put them to work as they come on board. The initial set of engineers will be overwhelmed and buildtime projections will be multi-year possibly, but as staff increases, we expect the opposite for build/integration times.

There is another dirt patch right next to LC1 that we could use to build our new LC. Glushko isn't sold on it though. He says there is a parcel of land KASA has zoned for future construction and we should look into getting that. KASA has already built part of the pad and we'd need to finish with the infrastructure and propellant storage, but it would suit our needs. I agree. We'll take over construction of LC5 from KASA.

In the meantime, let's Time Warp a few weeks and get a Larva IIA on the pad at LC1 for more science experiments and reputation.

(Ascent Path Editor open for no reason - just disregard)

As usual, the launch went off without issue and we completed the contract. With a cheer, the entire control room erupted in high fives all around and cheers. Out of nowhere in a flash of movement, Glushko slammed his fist on the Range Safety and grunted with satisfaction when the Larva IIA exploded into a bunch of harmless bits of nothing. The control room went dead silent and before the last bit of fireball dissipated, Glushko, followed by a stoic Gnut stalked out of mission control seemingly with a purpose in their gate.

Edited Thursday at 08:32 PM by MSteele

[GarrisonChisholm]

I didn't expect it, but "Pupa" on the side of a rocket like that doesn't look goofy at all. 

[MSteele]

A few months pass and both LC5 and another Larva IIA are finished. Additionally, in 4 days research will complete and I somewhat too late realize that we can modify the design of Pupa to have aluminum tanks instead of steel which will greatly increase the expected performance.

Glushko inexplicably pops up from behind a forklift, reaches in the front pocket of his wool pants and pulls out a napkin. Without a word, he hands it to me and with a baleful glare walks away.

Glancing at the napkin, Glushko apparently knew our researchers would be done with their research and threw together some detailed modifications to Pupa to allow for aluminum fuel tanks instead of steel. He even accounted for slightly over-burning the XLR41 and left enough room to add up to 10 seconds over the rated burn time. With Glushko's modifications, we'll increase dV by at least 350 m/s. 

Tooling Pupa is a financial gutpunch, but luckily our researchers have been diligently building up credit so it's an easier pill to swallow.

Brilliant. Glushko is a blessing for sure! I grab a random engineer walking by with a clipboard and shove the modification in his hands telling him to make it happen. With a click of his heels and an oddly crisp salute he shouts Da, Comrade Bee! He then does an about-face and marches away. I could have sworn that engineer's name is Brown and he's from Kansas. Da? Comrade?

Curious. Curious, indeed.

We'll roll the IIA out and start hiring a few engineers for LC5 and Pupa. Hiring engineers takes real funds and we need 88 of them for the LC. This will take a while and I schedule the HR department to hire them as funds allow without ever dropping our cash below 3000. As they get hired, they'll immediately be assigned to LC5 and get to work on Pupa.

We'll also need another research project. Early Tracking Systems is next on the list and will finish in 200 days or so. We'll need another project when that finishes and Early Science is the obvious choice. We'll pick up the Advanced Bio Capsule with that node. Additionally, Let's get Avionics Prototypes for the avionics upgrades.

Don't let the dates fool you. As we progress through the program, we'll gain more funds and be able to hire more researchers, which in turn will decrease the amount of time required for researching nodes.

While we are here, we may as well get Gene to show us what we'll get with the Early Rocketry node. At this moment, Glushko suddenly appears from behind a filing cabinet. Woah, Glushko is smiling! Off-putting to be sure but he nods in approval and points at the Early Rocketry node. He then walks away humming the opening credits to a new TV show named Dragnet that just started airing on NBC last month.

Well, that was creepy. Kinda.

Back at LC1, the latest Larva IIA launch was again successful and without incident. Glushko was not present.

[MSteele]

Several months have passed and we are not making much progress hiring engineers for LC5. It's a funding thing. I decide not to build another IIA this cycle and allow the funds usually allocated to engineering salaries and integration to be used toward hiring more engineers for LC5. I have moved the 17 idle engineers to LC5 to help out with the Pupa integration.

We definitely need more researchers, but we are strapped for cash at the moment. Time Warping 30 days at a time we find ourselves already into the last few months of 1952 when Pupa is finally pieced together. We do not have all the engineers we need hired yet and are about 34 short, not including the 17 I need to replace in LC1.

It was at this point I realized my research queue is out of order, and already 21% into something we will not need for quite some time. For some reason Glushko was thrilled to see that we've moved Early Rocketry up in the queue. What is it about that node he likes so much? Even over more advanced avionics? Whatever it is, we'll never find out if we can't get more researchers hired. That means more funding. That also means more reputation compounding the funding. That means...

LAUNCH!

Twenty-One days later... 

I actually forgot it would take that long to get Pupa to the pad and thought I was building up to something exciting with the narrative. Nope. Just a Pupa slowly making its way to the LC on a flatbed trailer, then the cranes slowly lifting it into place. Anti-climatic for sure.

And finally... 7, 6, 5, 4, 3...

Suddenly, in the final seconds of the countdown, an out of breath, wild-eyed Gene runs into Mission Control waving his short arms and yelling incoherently as papers fly from his notebooks. Gnut has his Makarov out and is furtively scanning for trouble. Glushko is sitting at an empty console shaking his head while rubbing his temples with his eyes closed.

Oh. We need to sign the contracts for Downrange (Difficult) or Film Return. I choose the Downrange contract since it has more potential reputation to gain.

One last check of the flight computer confirms we are A-OK to resume the countdown. Mentally, I am a few steps ahead of the launch and will partially control the rocket in the terminal phase of the burn to impart a bit of fin stabilization.

Essentially, once the first stage burns out and the guidance computer is finished, we are on a ballistic course and I have no control over the rockets trajectory or orientation. I'll stage the fairings once at an appropriate altitude to allow the camera we have aboard to gather photographs of the earth.

Finally, once Pupa is out of the atmosphere and drag and gravity has negligible or lesser effect, I'll stage again allowing the upper stage of Pupa to complete the flight without the fuel tanks and engine.

Once we have completed the requirement of the contract, I'll stage one last time to release the dead weight of the sounding payload and arm the parachute for a safe recovery. At this point it's all hands off.

2... 1... L A U N C H !

MechJeb set and autopilot armed. Go for Launch!

A few seconds off the pad and we start setting up for the gravity turn to the east, held on course and assisted with the turn by the guidance computer. At the end of the burn, the guidance computer successfully shuts down and we are ballistic! At the appropriate time, I stage the fairings off.

A short while later, we stage off the engine and tanks. Hopefully there are no fishing boats around where it decides to splash down.

Near the top of our ascent looking south over the Bahamas with Florida on the right. Cuba can be seen even further south.

Pupa's flight path as predicted in the Tracking Station.

And splashdown exactly 500km from the Cape.

We gained quite a bit of science for sure!

Not only that, our reputation has increased. It was looking pretty sad earlier this morning before the launch. You can see just how much effect reputation has on our program subsidies. We can't slack off.

Until next time...

Oh, leave a comment or something. How are you liking the series? Is it boring and predictable? How do you imagine the series going in regard to the actors? It's nice hearing from the audience from time to time.

[GarrisonChisholm]

Your formatting is different on its own which makes it interesting, & the allusions to 1950s advertisements are a fun touch.  Its much more interesting than my format, which is basically a travelogue.  5 Stars!

Edited 4 hours ago by GarrisonChisholm

[MSteele]

Now that Pupa has proven itself a capable LV, let's take a look at what other program contracts we could complete with little or no modification.

We have effectively already completed the requirements for Low Space Film Return, so that is an option. The second contract offered after that completion would be to attempt the same thing but have a downrange distance of 600 km after reaching a height of 200km. Without the extra weight of the 500 units of sounding payload this is easily attainable.

Let's modify Pupa for this and save the design as Pupa IA.

Another set of contracts involve the biological capsule and 35 units of sounding payload. This could be done with the already designed Larva IIC. We just need to staff LC1 back up and get it under construction. We'll only assign ten engineers though. We need as many as we can in LC5 working on the Pupa IA.

This will most likely be the final launch of LC1. We'll take another look at a later date and decide if we need to decommission it.

The next bio contract is slightly out of reach for the IIC. We'll need to launch a modified Pupa for that one. We'll piggy-back a camera onto the payload as well, since Pupa has a lot of room and it would be a waste not taking advantage of it. We'll call this Pupa IB.

Now that I think about it, scratch that! There is no reason not to include the bio capsule and camera on any of the flights even if the contract does not call for it specifically. The more science gained with the least amount of launches, the better. Really, the only modifications would be to adjust the amount of sounding payload in the existing HP tank and bolting the bio capsule to the second stage somewhere. So we will not have a Pupa IB, just a IA. One rocket. Many missions.

To Recap:
Partially re-staff LC1 with 10 engineers and build a Larva IIC.
Complete First Low Space Biological Experimentation contract with Larva IIC.
Modify Pupa for new sounding payload and biological capsule, then build it as Pupa IA.
Complete Low Space Biological Experimentation contract with Pupa IA.
Complete First Low Space Film Return contract with Pupa IA.
Complete Low Space Film Return contract with Pupa IA.

We need three Pupa IAs and one Larva IIC. With our current capabilities and financial status, I am sure we are looking at 18 months of projects here. Let's get on it!

After queuing up the four rockets, we are left with only 1193 in funding. We need to get these launches done and get more reputation/subsidies.

When the Larva IIC finishes rolling out and the countdown to launch begins, I see an engineer approach Glushko and hand him a report of some sort. Glushko glances up from the report and beckons me over. "So, Comrade Bee. You have done a remarkable job."

I start to thank him but he holds up a hand and says, "I'm not finished. A remarkable job of failing, Comrade Bee! You did not include the sounding payload on Larva IIC before you ordered it constructed! You have wasted precious time and resources. You have been warned. Get your act together or the Politburo.. erm I mean the Space-B shareholders will hear about your incompetency!" 

With that, he storms off with Gnut in tow.

Crud. Rollback of the IIC begins and the order to place the 35 units of sounding payload on the rocket is given. And double-checked. Triple-checked, even. As I am watching the rollback it dawns on me that the IIC was designed using steel tanks instead of the much lighter aluminum tanks we researched last year. Golly, does Glushko know? Regardless, as Glushko says, I failed. On the bright side though, Glushko has hopped on an Aeroflot jet down to Cuba to meet up with an old pal at one of the casinos. Maybe I can get the IIC reconfig'd and back on the pad before he gets back. And maybe... just maybe he won't notice the steel tanks.

Wait... What the heck is Aeroflot doing in Florida?

On the morning of 24 January 1953 a properly configured Larva IIC is erected at LC1 (sans aluminum tanks). Glushko is still in Cuba, thank my lucky stars.

A few minutes after a successful launch and booster separation the IIC breaches the Karman Line fulfilling the contract requirements. Just a few miles to the south lies Cuba and Glushko. I wonder if he can see the launch from there.

The command to stage off the tanks, sounding payload and engine is given, allowing the remainder of the rocket to continue its ascent gathering scientific data the entire way.

Splashdown just a few kilometers offshore from the Cape makes for an easy recovery of the scientific data and salvageable parts.

Ok, let's put this Glushko things behind us and focus on the positives. The budget looks good. We are not hemorrhaging cash, but we are not flush either. We could do better, but we are not in a bad place overall. The timeline for integration of the Pupas are as expected and not as quick as we would like but as engineers are assigned this will get better. Reputation is about average. With more we could maximize subsidies. But we need more launches for that.

We've reassigned all LC1 engineers back to LC5 and they are getting to work on the current Pupa integration. I'll probably close LC1 and recoup the maintenance cost in the budget, but on the other hand, it really isn't that much. We may keep it. Who knows? We could start up the repeatable contracts again to gain more reputation. I'll decide later.

Until next time...

Edited 4 hours ago by MSteele
Commas! commas, were, invading, text, everywhere! , , , ,

[MSteele]

You can see detailed information on launches, contracts, LC, leaders, subsidies, etc. in my Career Log. If you see discrepancies between the log and the narrative, it is probably due to me cheating. lol nah... JK. I don't think you'll see anything that will raise eyebrows, except bad decision-making.

Link to Career Log.

[MSteele]

09 May 1953
The first Pupa IA has finished integration and sits idle on the pad.

For the past several months Glushko has been back and forth between Cuba and the Cape. Each time he returns, he has several new engineers with him that he has hired in Havana. They do not look Cuban to me and with names like Kuznetsov, Popov, and Ivanov, I think they may have some Slavic blood. Maybe they are part of Glushko's extended family. They seem to have the same appetite for snacks, that is for sure. Regardless, we'll take any help we can get to finish staffing LC5, and we are very close to doing so.

The contract Gene has me sign is the first Film Return contract. This is an easy one for sure. As long as our engine remains as solid as it has in prior launches, we can bag this one in short order.

The countdown continues to zero with no holds and the XLR41 engine roars to life. A few seconds later, the rocket lifts off pad into the morning sky.

The flight profile follows nearly the exact same as the first Pupa rocket and I stage off the fairings at the appropriate altitude exposing the camera and other scientific instruments. A short moment later, telemetry starts chattering up the dot-matrix printer and sheaves of data roll onto the floor of Mission Control.  Glushko seems distracted, and after a quick exchange with Gnut, leaves the area. Gnut meanwhile takes up position near the dot-matrix printer and copies data into his beautifully embroidered red notebook.

I stage the lower section of the rocket off, and watch as it remains in formation with the upper stage for several kilometers. Mental note: Maybe a very small solid rocket would help push the staged section away. This seems dangerous.

Finally, I stage off the unneeded sounding payload as it served no purpose on this launch anyway. The decoupler actually provided some push for the upper stage, and the two lower stages fell off a little more rapidly.

The remainder of the flight was uneventful and the camera was able to capture a pretty good amount of images, and we also gleaned quite a bit of biological science from the experiments onboard.

The upper stage re-entered the upper atmosphere and slowed down with the help of the drogue chute, eventually cutting away and allowing the main chute to deploy arresting the decent even further.

Helicopters and ships were dispatched to recover the upper stage. What a haul of data! Well done, if I say so myself. We know Glushko won't say it.

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by MSteele