Long-term Laythe Mission (pic heavy) - ^_^ With Part 45 ^_^

[Lortto]

Excellent updates.

[Brotoro]

Long-term Laythe Mission - Part 8

TL;DR version: Something different. Update woes. Tsumani 0.20 hits.

I suppose it's foolish to try to do a long term project in an Alpha game that could change file formats radically at the drop of a hat, but such is life. When KSP updated to version 0.20, I continued to use version 0.19 because I needed certain mods, such as the Kerbal Alarm Clock mod for keeping track of all the ships I have coming and going between Kerbin and Laythe. And it never hurts to wait a bit so some initial bugs can get squashed. So I didn't try to update until after version 0.20.2 came out and some of my needed mods had been updated. I read that the file formats were supposed to be "backward compatible" so I had hope for a good result.

So I naively copied over my persistance file and fired up the new version... and a huge number of my spacecraft vanished in puffs of smoke. Ah. Let's check the KSP forums... Ah. It seems that when the parts from a mod are not available, the ships just get removed. Ah. And it seems that Squad changed the folder structure for where parts go, so I didn't even have the ones I installed if they were in the wrong place. Ah. And some of the older parts could work, but you have to edit the their part.cfg files and insert "Part {" at the beginning and "}" at the end. OK... I can handle this.

So after multiple attempts, I got most of my ships to survive loading. Huzzah! The ISA Mapsat mod wasn't available, so a couple mapping satellites vanished, but I can live without those. The Damned Robotics door hinges haven't been updated, so a few Folding Fido rovers vanished from the Mün, Minmus, and Laythe...and the one on Laythe was the only one that concerned me...so I built a hingeless version of the rover and snuck it onto Laythe with persistence file editing...hopefully the boys won't notice the difference, since they have a newer rover to use, anyway.

But my big problem was the Dishy JEB 9000 units that I have been sticking on ships that I've spread all over the Kerbol system. These are nice little parts that my friend George first told me about for adding MechJeb to your ship without having to attach a honking big ugly part. And they look like a HAL 9000 interface...so cool. And if I want to post a craft file, I don't have to worry about it having a non-standard capsule part to mess other people up...I just pull off the JEB 9000 part. Dishy released a Bill 9000 part that interfaces to MechJeb 2.0, but that didn't help me having all those JEB 9000 units everywhere. I found that I could install BOTH MechJeb 1.9.8 and MechJeb 2.0.8 (in different places) and Bill 9000s and JEB 9000s would both work...but I was leary of having both versions of MechJeb installed because I thought they might argue. In the end, I took the cfg file from the Bill 9000 folder, placed it in the JEB 9000 folder, and then edited all the "Bill" references inside it to "Jeb" or "JEB" references (careful to capitalize properly in all places as needed)......and the JEB 9000 units now seem to link to MechJeb 2 just fine. I think...since I haven't tested it much yet.

The last problem was that changes in the terrain on Laythe resulted in one of the rovers (with Kurt and Nelemy inside) appearing UNDERGROUND...and exploding when I tried to do anything about it. To fix this, I just moved the rover to a safe location in version 0.19 before updating to 0.20. Now I probably have lots of my old landers and landing site marker probes on various planets that will show up underground and explode...I haven't checked them all yet. But the Laythe Mission hardware is up and running!

So let's join the crew on Laythe as see how the update went for them. It's after lunchtime at Laythe Base and Kurt is in the bottom Laboratory level analyzing some soils samples, Thompbles and Aldner are in the middle control cabin level checking on the satellite data readouts, and Nelemy is up in the top sleeping quarters level reading a magazine. Then the Base begins to shake rhythmically.

Aldner: "Hey, Nelelmy! Knock it off!

Nelemy: "Dude...It's not me...I'm not doing anything!"

The Base begins to shake violently.

Thompbles: "Quake! Hold on!" (He and Aldner grab loose equipment to restrain it)

Kurt: (from the hatch below) "Hells! Hells blazes!"

After several minutes, the shaking subsides.

Thompbles: "Is everybody OK?"

Kurt: "Yes!"

Nelemy: "Yo!"

Aldner: (nods)

Thompbles: "Looks like we actually get to try Kurt's emergency plan. Everybody head for the SSTO!"

The boys pile out of the Base and run for the rovers as dust settles. Thompbles and Aldner use the old Folding Fido (which they don't notice appears to have had all its hinges damaged in the quake, so they no longer function. But no loss).

They climb aboard the SSTO and Kurt starts flipping switches as Aldner reads off the emergency launch checklist to him. Thompbles calls up the data links to the Ocean Probes and starts analyzing wave height data. Nelemy stays in the open hatch and scans the waters of Fido Bay for any activity. An alarm blares.

Thompbles: "What's up?"

Kurt: "Autopilot system is giving me a 1202 alarm. It may have been damaged in the quake."

Aldner: "Try SCE to Aux."

Kurt: (flips switches) "No joy. 1202."

Thompbles: "I thought you didn't use the autopilot for ascent on this ship."

Kurt: "I don't...but if we need to target a return trajectory later, it would be handy. But the other systems check green. We can launch on your mark."

Thompbles: "Roger. Just hold. Nelemy, anything?"

Nelemy: "Dude...not a thing. No tidal waves. If anything, the water level is going down."

Aldner: "Crap." (Moves to hatch alongside Nelemy with binoculars) "Hmmm. I think he's right...but it a very small decline. Anything from the probes?"

Thompbles: "There's possibly a very long wavelength signal, but it's not large. Centimeters, maybe. It's down in the noise. But it's showing up in the data from both Ocean Probe 1 and DogFish, heading this way."

Nelemy: "Dudes! Wave coming!"

Aldner: "Hmm. Not too big...maybe one or two meters. What's the elevation here?"

Kurt: "We are at 18 meters elevation, a little over half a kilometer from the shore."

Thompbles: "Kurt, spool up the jet engines. Minimum power."

Kurt: "Roger. Spooling up jets. LV-T45 ignition circuits are hot." (the roar of the wave is joined by the rising whine of the jet engines)

Aldner: "The wave has reached shore...coming in."

Nelemy: "Dude, the old Fido Pup probe just got swamped!"

Thompbles: "Aldner? How does it look?"

Aldner: "Hold. Hold. The wave is slowing... It's not even going to make it halfway here. Retreating now, Skipper."

Thompbles: "OK. Kurt, cut the jets. But stay ready."

Nelemy: "The wave has washed away that narrow peninsula at the mouth of the inlet. It's completely gone! Whoa."

Thompbles made the crew wait in the SSTO for the rest of the day as he monitored wave data from the Ocean Probes. But nothing else came. Below we see the Fido Pup rover probe, which had been sitting happily along the shore of Fido Bay for 15 years, floating in the inlet after Tsunami 0.20 passed.

The next day the crew checks over all the equipment at Laythe Base. The first thing Aldner did was check out the BirdDog, and then he tried docking it to each of the two GasStations to see if he could get good dockings after they had shifted position during the quake.

Aldner: "Yo, Commandant Thombles, sir! Good news."

Thompbles: "What is it Aldner? BirdDog and GasStations check out fine?"

Aldner: "Indeed they do, Oh Prophetic One. One of the docking booms that I was able to use on GasStation 2 no longer fits, but the other two now work."

Thompbles: "Sounds good, Aldner."

Aldner: "I also checked the cargo container on GasStation 2. The remaining cargo in there all shifted in the quake. It's a bit of a mess, but I don't see anything damaged. And I found the flag that was buried in back."

Thompbles: "That is good news. At least after all this mess we can finally have our flag planting ceremony."

Aldner: "Aye, aye, Cap'n. I'll bring it back with me after I do the reconnaissance flight."

The land around the Laythe Base area had shifted somewhat, but the stretch of land to the west that Aldner used as his landing strip still looked moderately flat, with perhaps a few new ridges. Takeoff was no problem.

Aldner: "Laythe Base? You Copy?"

Thompbles: "Yes, Aldner. Anything to report?"

Aldner: "I'm over the mouth of Fido Bay. The tsunami sure did a number on the coastline here. That peninsula that Kurt named Macydean Point is completely gone. And there are now two small offshore islands instead of one...and a tiny island between them. Good thing Kurt and Nelemy weren't still sitting there in their rover...the land elevations appear to have changed quite a bit."

Below, Alnder flies over the inlet by Laythe Base that was reshaped by the tsunami. In the meantime, Nelemy has used the remote control systems to coax the Fido Pup probe out of the water, using most of its remaining RCS fuel.

Aldner lands the BirdDog, gasses it up at GasStation 2, grabs the flag, and heads over to the Base.

Our intrepid heroes gather outside the Base module for a solemn ceremony.

Aldner: "Here's the flag, Captain!"

Thompbles: "Thanks, Aldner. I want to say that I'm very honored to be here working with you gentlemen. I'm proud of how well you all handled the potential crisis today. I plant this flag to commemorate our first outpost in the Jool system. We came in peace for all kerbalkind."

Kurt: "Hear, hear!""

Thompbles: (plants the flag pole...flips the catch to release the flag.)

Nelemy: "Whoa! Dude!"

Thompbles: ...

Kurt: "Very nice. That's our flag, is it?"

Thompbles: "What...the...hell? Is this some kind of joke, Aldner?"

Aldner: "Not by me. Nice flag. Good speech. Very moving."

Nelemy: "Hey, look! There's a postcard attached. (snags it) 'Dear Aldner. Here's some special flags to mark the best spots on Laythe. Be sure to give the regular ones to Thompbles. Love, The KSC Gang.'"

Aldner: "Ah! Then there must be other flags in the cargo container. No problem. You want we should take this one down?"

Thompbles: (ponders the flag) "...Mmmmm...No. I think we'll keep this one up for a while."

And so ends another adventure on Laythe, and a successful transition to a new version. (And a tip of the hat to Chobit389 and Trekkette for their fine "Postcards from Laythe" site.)

Brotoro's KSP Mission Web Pages

Edited June 8, 2013 by Brotoro

[Scotius]

Awesome chapter! Nice reference to switching SCE to Aux - guess Aldner now is Steely-eyed missile...kerbal? And very funny ending, hehe. I gather Thompbles is the one frowning at the flag, yes? Poor Commander - he will have a lot more grey hair returning to Kerbin.

[Stelith61]

How's the DogFish?

And are all the names still accurate for the other main islands?

[Brotoro]

The DigFish is fine. The thing about tsunamis is that the height of the wave is quite small out in the open ocean...it only grows large as it approaches the shallow water near the shore. The word "tsunami" comes from the two Japanese words for "harbor" "wave", because ships would head out to sea to do some fishing, not notice the tsunami at all as it passes them out in deep water, and then return back later to find that the harbor has been smashed by a giant wave.

I haven't named any additional islands.

[DaserTheGamer]

keep it up Brotoro!

[GJames]

These are great, took me ages to figure out who on the forum was putting all this up on the KSP Mindspring site... A before and after aerial shot of the Laythe Base could be cool, depending on how far the coast has moved. Like the "map" of the base with all the names on it somewhere back in the thread... But keep this up, they're informative and somewhat enjoyable if I say so myself!

[Scotius]

Brotoro - now that we know resources were pushed back in development (again ) , will you be adding kethane or one of other resource mods currently in the making?

[Custard Donut (In Space)]

Pretty spectacular Brotoro, you are light-years ahead of me in all ways, i can't even dock

[Spaceisbeautifulul]

Nice brotoro! I have your other one with all your missions bookmarked.

That kerbal is kind of creeping me out by looking at the flag.

Ooooone last thing. Are you using a mod or something for the tsunami? Or did updating do that?

Awesome as always.

[Brotoro]

Ooooone last thing. Are you using a mod or something for the tsunami? Or did updating do that?

No mod. The quake and tsunami story is just my 'explanation' for changes that took place during the 0.20 update.

[Brotoro]

Brotoro - now that we know resources were pushed back in development (again ) , will you be adding kethane or one of other resource mods currently in the making?

Do you mean that resources weren't in 0.20, or have they announced that they won't be in 0.21 either? I think I'll be happier keeping things as stock as possible just to make updates easier in the long-term mission.

Edited June 10, 2013 by Brotoro
Typo fixed

[leopardenthusiast]

Do you mean that resources weren't in 0.20, or have they announced that they won't be in 9.21 either? I think I'll be happier keeping things as stock as possible just to make updates easier in the long-term mission.

9.21 isn't going to happen for ages. I assume you meant 0.21, in which case, yeah, it's probably not going to be in 0.21 either.

[oggylt]

That was a great story, it took some time to find the part 8

[GraviTykillz]

That was a great story dude. enjoyed every minute of it.

Thanks

[General Rarity]

Very great story man! I loved it!

I liked how you referenced a lot of things, including Kurtjmac, who I noiced the most (as Kurt)

[Rhyunix]

I admire your usage of mod(s), especially the folding rover! Might use it myself

[tntristan12]

This thread is an inspiration to me! Definitely gave me some ideas for how to handle my long term missions from now on. Looking forward to part nine!

[Henri von Braun]

This thread is an inspiration to me! Definitely gave me some ideas for how to handle my long term missions from now on. Looking forward to part nine!

So am I, waiting and looking everyday for part 9!

[Brotoro]

Long-term Laythe Mission - Part 9

First of all, for all you DogFish fans out there (you know who you are), I continued the DogFish's voyage out into the ocean. The best travel mode I could find for running it managed to get it up to 7.6 m/s at under half-throttle, plowing through the water.

It used up half of its fuel and it came to a halt at the spot shown by the rover icon out in the ocean on the map below (about 21 km beyond OceanProbe 1). I was hoping (but not expecting) that the DogFish might be able to make it across to the next island, but that is not possible.

I'll leave the DogFish on duty for now monitoring conditions in the ocean. In the future, I could send it further out, or I could decide to bring it back to Dansen Island.

Next up: Another set of transfer windows for Kerbin->Jool and Jool->Kerbin was coming up, and I wanted to send at least one ship out in each transfer window...but there's still no mining and resource detection equipment available. So I decided to send a another base module and a slightly-more-compact Fido rover. These will be landed on some other island on Laythe in the future where they can be useful, although I haven't decided where yet.

In order to send that payload off to Jool, I first needed to refurbish one of the Nuclear Tugs that had previously returned from the Laythe. Originally, the payload for refueling the Tugs was going to be the one shown below (and it still will be for the more recent-version Tugs). The two standard X200-32 fuel tanks, plus RCS fuel, etc., just about maxes out the lifting capacity of my Reusable Rocket.

But I like the extra command pod torque that the new version of the Tugs have because of all the probe bodies they have, so I decided to upgrade the older Tugs by adding extra probe bodies. The Refurbisher payload to do this is shown below being launched on a Reusable Rocket.

The Reusable Rocket barely had enough fuel to put the Refurbisher payload into a 115 km orbit, so I had to give the R.R.'s sustainer stage a little extra fuel from the Refurbisher's tanks, and then the sustainer went back for a parachute landing at KSC (the R.R. sustainer needs about 100 units of fuel to deorbit and target the KSC for a parachute landing). The Refurbisher was left in orbit (see below). The front part of the Refurbisher (regular docking port, 18 OKTO2 probe cores, an X200-8 tank, and a Senior docking port) will become permanent parts of Laythe Tug 5. The X200-16 and X200-8 tanks behind it will be dropped when empty (in interplanetary space). The rest of the Refurbisher has fuel to refill the Tug's main tank and RCS tanks, and then it will return to KSC to be reused for refurbishing Laythe Tugs 1, 3, and 4 eventually. There are two 24-77 engines for orbital maneuvering so the Refurbisher can rendezvous and dock with Tug 5.

But here's where I ran into a problem: The Refurbisher had four small solar panels and small battery packs for power, and that would have been fine in the original design... but with the addition of 18 more probe bodies to the payload, it no longer had sufficient power to keep 19 probe bodies alive through the dark part of its orbit... and the maneuvers I needed to do for rendezvous with Tug 5 always happened deep into the dark part of the orbit, so I was making long burns with the 24-77 engines that were barely finishing before the batteries died during that nighttime pass. Too bad there's no way to selectively turn off some of the probe bodies on a ship. But, in the end, I made rendezvous, docked the Refurbisher to Tug 5, refueled most of the main tank and all of the RCS, then separated the rear section of the Refurbisher (below). I was not worried that the main tank was not quite full (the side pod tanks were also nearly empty) because there will be plenty of extra fuel sent up with the base/rover payload.

I now have MechJeb 2 installed, and I don't know where anything is. But I found enough of what I needed to target the Refueler back to KSC for a parachute landing. Oddly, MechJeb 2's landing guidance readouts no longer seem to give me the distance off from the target point in the north/south and east/est directions...only an overall estimated distance from the landing target point, with no direction specified. Maybe I have some settings wrong. There was no fuel/oxidizer left on the Refurbisher, so I did the reentry using RCS only, watching the MJ readouts to target the landing point.

Below we see the new base/rover payload boosting on a Reusable Rocket just after the recoverable boosters have separated and just before the gravity turn starts at 18.5 km. The slightly more compact Fido rover is just a little shorter that the previous Fido KE design so that it makes a bit more compact payload.

I docked the Tug to the base/rover payload, then fully fueled the Tug from the Refueler Top (the base/rover payload is easy for the Reusable Rocket to lift, so it can carry the extra Refueler Top as well...and the Reusable Rocket's sustainer had plenty of fuel left (452 units) for a rocket-powered landing at KSC (and even had 208 units of fuel leftover after landing). Note that there are also two ComSats snugged in under the front and rear of the Fido, above the heat shield. These will be added to the two ComSats already in Laythe orbit to give more-continuous coverage (which will be important as I spread more kerbals around Laythe).

Pop goes the refueler top, and the ship is now ready for transfer to Jool (but must wait in orbit a while for the transfer window). When I did an "engineering simulation test" of the base/rover payload over the KSC (to be sure that everything was sequenced properly), I noticed that if you use the probe body on the Reusable Rocket during launch (since it's oriented properly, this is wise...having one of the horizontally-facing rover command pods in control makes it difficult to fly the rocket), then when you separate the payload from the rocket in space, various engines and parachutes on the payload will be activated. This clears up the mystery of why the drogue chutes on the original Laythe Base got activated early (which caused them to pop open as soon as possible over Laythe)... so Kurt Kerman was NOT a squirmy chute-popper after all. The solution is to make sure that I have switched control to one of the probe bodies on the base/rover payload before separating the sustainer stage. Also you may notice that I now have the Crew Manifest mod installed... this is because KSP version 0.20 insists on populating a command pod when I damn well do not want a kerbal in it... and I can easily remove the kerbal with that mod.

Meanwhile in Laythe orbit, Nuclear Tugs L6, L7, and L8 were being prepared for return to Kerbin. The Tugs left their rear tanks and most of their fuel with Laythe Space Station, but they have some additional fuel in their main tanks as well as the full side pod tanks so that they will hopefully return to Kerbin with a bit more fuel for orbital maneuvers there (and also because these tugs are a little heavier than the previous tugs because of their extra probe bodies). Below, the three tugs pop off of Laythe Station.

The Tugs were sent away from Laythe and off into Jool orbit to await the transfer window.

With the previous batch of Tugs I sent away from Laythe, a couple of them had problems with Laythe trying to grab them back after they had escaped its SOI (since they were in larger, slower orbits about Jool, so Laythe could sneak up on them), which required some extra burns. So this time I sent the tugs out on escape trajectories that gave them Jool apoapses of 32,000 km (closer to Vall than Laythe, but still away from Vall's SOI). It took about 580 m/s of delta-V to leave Laythe on these trajectories, then another 160 m/s later to raise the periapses of the parking orbits awayf from Laythe's SOI.

Then the Tugs waited in the parking orbits for the Kerbin transfer window to open. But here I also ran into problems. Kerbal alarm clock was telling me one thing with regard to when the transfer window occurred, and Protractor was telling me another thing. And when I tried to plot trajectories to Kerbin, I was not getting any encounters showing up (because the orbital inclinations were aligned at their most extreme at the moment, so the tugs would be missing Kerbin's SOI until the plane shift maneuvers were accounted for later). But my main distraction was that Laythe Tug 9 was coming in toward the Jool system carrying BirdDog2 and GasStation3, and I needed to pay attention to that (since incoming payloads are more important than Tugs that can wait in parking orbits). Oh...AND, back at Kerbin, it was time to boost Tug 5 with the new base/rover payload off to Jool.

Below, Laythe Tug 5 and its payload burn for Jool. As usual, this burn was done in two parts. I was worried that the refurbished tug might be excessively wobbly because (unlike freshly launched tugs) its rear tank is not strutted in place. It did wobble somewhat at the standard docking port back there, so I couldn't use phys-warp, but it behaved fine at normal time speed. I used a Senior docking port to connect the rear drop tanks to the added section of the Tug to reduce wobbling (future tanks for these tugs will now need Senior docking ports on them), and I didn't notice that connection wobbling at all.

Below, we see Tug L5 and its payload leaving Kerbin and the Mün off in the distance, after having dropped the empty rear tanks (I ended their flights to avoid clutter).

The transfer trajectory for Laythe Tug 5 was such that it would not reach its descending node (where the plane shift to match Jool's orbital inclination will need to be done) until shortly before it gets to Jool. This is actually a good thing because the plane shift will require less delta-V when it is done far from Kerbol. But I ran into another problem: the Kerbal Alark Clock was telling me that the descending node would be reached AFTER the Jool encounter, but KSP's marker for the descending node was clearly BEFORE the ship enters Jool's SOI (if only by a day). I don't know why. But I padded out the Alarm Clock alarm with some extra days so that it will remind me before I get to Jool.

The Kerbal Alarm Clock display in the previous image shows that the incoming Laythe Tug 9 is 8 days out from Jool's SOI, so it was time to fine tune its incoming trajectory. In the diagram below you can see why I love the Improved Maneuver Node mod's ability to easily changed to Conics Mode 0 so that I can see the incoming trajectory with respect to Jool (once I focus on Jool), but can still tweak the maneuver node out by Tug L9 (or by tweaking the numbers in the Maneuver Node mod's window). And if the maneuver node collapses shut (which it always does at the worst times), I can press the "o" key to pop it back open. Here the incoming trajectory is being set for an inclination of zero and a periapsis of 114 km for aerocapture.

AND.... back to the Tugs in Jool orbit. OK... rather than mess with all of them (since I wasn't confident of getting a good Kerbin encounter), I decided to send off only Tug L6 and leave the other two Tugs sit in Jool orbit to be sent off during a later transfer window. I had incoming toys for the boys... I didn't want to mess with lots of tugs. So, below: The trajectory plot... and Laythe Tug 6 burning for Kerbin. Again, when I got the Tug out there on its way home and tried to set up an alarm for its ascending node, Kerbal Alarm Clock was giving me an incorrect date (this time wildly inaccurate)...so I manually plopped a node down at that ascending node point, and then added THAT node to Kerbal Alarm Clock's list of nag-me reminders.

And here comes Tug L9 with BirdDog2. At Laythe Base, the crew is having an all-hands meeting:

Thompbles: "We have a new jet plane coming in, and another GasStation, so this is going to give us more choices for long-range exploring and rescue options. So we need to decide who will be doing what.

Nelemy: "I want to fly the jet."

Kurt: "My grandmama wants to fly jets."

Nelemy: "No, really. I want to fly the jet. It would be awesome!"

Thompbles: "Let's not argue, You're all officers and gentlemen here."

Kurt: "It's fine. I'm cool with continuing the detailed geological exploration of Dansen Island using Fido 2."

Nelemy: "Dude! Won't you miss having me around?"

Kurt: "I think I'll survive."

Tug L9 and its payload survive the flaming passage through Jool's atmosphere. Thank goodness for ablative coatings and heat shields.

Happily, as Tug L9 rounded Jool in its new elliptical orbit, it required only a small burn to get an immediate encounter with Laythe. Below is the trajectory plot. Because I'm using conics mode 0, you can see at a glance (look at Laythe) that the encounter is going to be in a counterclockwise direction around Laythe, just as desired. The ship is targeted in at 26 km above Laythe for an aerocapture there. Well.... That was easy!

The aerocapture at Laythe had almost no flames (boring), and a further aerobraking pass and engine burn placed the ship into an equatorial 90 km orbit. Below we see it passing over the Fido Bay base area.

The next day it was time to bring BirdDog2 down to Laythe Base. Aldner flew BirdDog1 down from orbit after the crew arrived at Laythe, but Nelemy would be remotely controlling the entry and landing of the new jet. First, the BirdDog2 is separated from the GasStation3/Tug L9 combo. This looks hairy as the plane goes tumbling away, but it's safely clear of the rest of the ship... and it wouldn't be anywhere near as hairy if the SAS had been turned on.

Then comes the retro burn. The ship is controlled from the OKTO2 probe core located on the end of the fuel tank stack of the retro pack for this burn (since it's oriented properly for this). Then the retro pack is separated and the plane is put pointy end first.

Entry flames! The thermal protection of the BirdDog2 only needs to protect the plane during the Jool aerocapture and the entry over Laythe. The rover wheels always look so vulnerable to me, hanging out in the slipstream, so there are heat shield plates positioned to protect the tires during entry, and then the heat shields get jettisoned.

The plane comes in high, so Nelemy has to turn it around and fire up the jet engine a little to bring it back toward to base. Below we see the BirdDog2 coming around in a hard bank.

Kurt: "Easy... Eeeeasy."

Nelemy: "I got. I got it. Whoa!" (The BirdDog2 pitches up violently.)

Aldner: "Nose down."

Nelemy: "I got it. Recovered fine. I got it."

Nelemy brings the plane in from south to north and sets it down, bumping over a few low ridges before it finally settles onto the ground to stay.

Nelemy: "Alright! Down safe!"

Thompbles: "You know, it's less bumpy if you come in from east or west parallel to those little ridges."

Nelemy: "Hey, you know what they say: any landing you can remotely drive your plane away from is fine!"

Aldner: "But seriously, Nelemy, you need to watch your pitch with this plane. If you are going fast enough in thick air, you can quickly recover from those pitch-ups, especially if the avionics package is helping. But if you are in thin air at high altitude, it's a lot harder. During a test flight back over Kerbin at 20k, I flipped and ended up in an uncontrolled spin that I didn't get out of until I reached 500 meters. And if you get a violent pitch-up a low airspeed during a landing, you won't have time to recover, and you'll spread your pretty plane all over the landscape. Be especially careful when coming in for upslope landings here on Laythe... those require a lot of pitching up, so you need to come in hotter than you would for a normal landing in order to have the necessary speed. Corfrey and I smashed up a bunch of BirdDog prototypes in the hills near the KSC testing these beasties."

Thompbles: "Aldner, can you write up a set of checklists and notes for Nelemy?"

Aldner: "Sure thing, Cappy."

Nelemy: "Checklists? Jebediah don't use no checklists."

Thompbles: "Don't forget notes about how the ship handles in rover mode."

Nelemy: "Dude, I have loads of experience driving rovers."

Aldner: "Sure, but the BirdDog handles differently than the Fido. Especially when its heavy with fuel. Those innocent looking V-notch valleys that the Fido will shoot through with ease can smash the BirdDog. Corfrey hit one of those doing 40 and there was nothing left of his plane but the cockpit. And don't drive along straddling the top of a sharp ridge line... the wide set of the landing gear can allow the jet engine to bottom out. I left a turbojet sitting on top of a ridge during our testing, and that would be a lot more embarassing here on Laythe with no ride home... although the shorter jet engine we have on the BirdDog now should make this less likely to happen."

Nelemy: "OK, Dude, I'll be careful."

Aldner: "Oh...and you know that feeling you get when you've been driving along so long that you start to zone out, and seems like time is slipping by at 2, 3, or even 4 times normal speed?"

Nelemy: "Yeah! It's so awesome! My brain feels like it's fizzing and it's like time is warping. Almost the feeling you get when you go into a hibernation trance."

Aldner: "Right. Well, none of that fizz-warping while driving rough terrain. You must stay alert. Otherwise the BirdDog will just slide out from under you down a slope, and you can smash the thing up before you realize it."

Nelemy: "OK. I'll remember. And that's for caring, Aldner."

Aldner: "Sure thing, little buddy. Besides...I don't want to have to fly my plane back from halfway around the world just so we can send it out to rescue you."

Nelemy retracts the nose gear of the plane to place the rover wheels on the ground, then remotely drives it over to the base area.

Nelemy: "I'll park it nose-to-nose with your BirdDog, Aldner."

Aldner: "Don't bump my plane."

Nelemy: "No sweat, Dude. I'm good at driving rovers."

Aldner: "Don't bump my plane."

Nelemy: "I'll just get it close enough for a good picture."

Aldner: "You bump my plane, I'll thump your head."

Nelemy: "Yeah, I think it's close enough already."

Next came the landing of GasStation3. Rather than bring it down to Laythe Base, mission planners wanted to position it as a forward base to allow BirdDogs to explore far afield from the Laythe Base area. Specifically, the geologists were very interested in studying the huge impact feature that dominates the trailing hemisphere of Laythe (the giant ring of islands in the hemisphere 180 degrees around from Dansen Island). GasStation3 will be landed on island +6-68 (Mission planners aren't real imaginative about names), which is part of a big crater on the rim of the gigantic crater. Below, GasStation3 separates from Tug L9. Tug L9 will eventually be docked to the Laythe Space Station.

Below: Retro burn of the six 24-77 engines, and GasStation3 drops in toward island +6-68.

Entry flames (finally...you wait a long time on Laythe for entry affects to appear) as the ship nears the eastern part of the island. The landing location was chosen based on orbital surveys, so hopefully the site is a good one.

Parachutes set the GasStation3 down on mostly level terrain about 5 degrees north of the equator. Antennas were deployed and telemetry data indicated that all systems were functional, and the station appeared to be level enough for use.

Soon after landing, there was an alignment of Vall and Tylo visible from the GasStation3 landing site.

But the acid test wouldn't come until Aldner flew the BirdDog over to GasStation3 to see if it was at the correct height and angle that would allow for refueling the plane. If not, Aldner could be stuck far from home without enough fuel to fly back. Calculations indicated that he SHOULD be able to fly there and back on one fuel load, if no mistakes were made in flying and navigating the plane, but this wasn't certain. However, there is the SSTUBBY single-kerbal SSTO rocket in orbit attached to the Laythe Space Station that could be used to rescue Aldner if he does get stuck with insufficient fuel. So the next morning, Aldner (who has had the BirdDog prepped for this trip for weeks now), took off toward the east.

Aldner: "Aldner to Laythe Base."

Thompbles: "What's up Aldner?"

Aldner: "I've flown over that small island east of Dansen. The terrain looks fairly mild. You said you wanted a place for Nelemy to do a shakedown mission with BirdDog2. It looks like a good spot."

Thompbles: "Sounds good. You take care now."

Aldner: "You know me, Bossman. I always follow orders."

Aldner took the BirdDog up to 9,600 meters to minimize fuel consumption while still staying at an altitude where the plane was plenty stable in pitch. It wasn't long before Dansen Island dropped below the horizon and Aldner had nothing to look at from horizon to horizon but flat, boring water.

There was a tiny bit of excitement about halfway through the flight when the detectors indicated that Aldner was passing within 30 kilometers of Ocean Probe 5...but there was nothing to see but blue flatness. He eventually had some company as Tylo and Vall rose above the horizon.

Finally, the target island rose into view. To save fuel, Aldner decided to land the BirdDog on the western end of the island and drive the rest of the way to GasStation3. There was a high plateau area between the two mountain peaks closest to the western end of the island, so he set the BirdDog down on mostly level ground at an elevation of 2540 meters, about 96 km from GasStation3.

Aldner: "BirdDog to Laythe Base. Do you copy?"

Thompbles: "I read you load a clear through comsat 2. What's up, Aldner."

Aldner: "I have safely landed on the west end of the island. I used 129 units of fuel out of 300, so I can make it back to

Dansen, at least from this point. I'm pumping fuel to the forward tank now to adjust the CoM, but I think I'll drive the rest of the way if the terrain is good. Also, I would like to name this fine island after Manley Kerman, the famous astrophycist. Some astronomical objects kept me company, so I'm felling good about astronomy right now."

Thompbles: "Noted. Are you going to camp now?"

Aldner: "Negative, kemosabe. I made good time, so there's still some light left. I'll grab some samples, then get some driving in before it gets dark."

Thompbles: "Roger. Laythe base out. What? Wait. Oh...Nelemy says to say "Hey, Dude" from him. Laythe base out."

Below: Aldner's landing place on Manley Island. Although Aldner left in the early morning, it's already nearly sunset on Manley island. All those assorted probes and station icons on that map are on the other side of the world...there's only BirdDog and GasStation3 'round these parts.

A view of the west end of Manley Island looking east-southeast. The land is fairly steep along the coastlines, so Aldner sticks to the highland route as he heads eastward.

Aldner drives not to close to the steep drop off to the ocean on his right. When Kerbol gets too low in the sky to keep the rover's batteries charged, Aldner stops for more sampling and to set up camp at 2,709 meters.

The next day, Aldner continued his drive. Below is the oblique view from above of the eastern end of Manley Island. The terrain is a bit rugged, but nothing hard to handle as long as you remember to not let your speed get away from you on the downslopes.

Thompbles: "Laythe Base to BirdDog. How are you doing today, Aldner?"

Aldner: "Hmm. I thought I was fine. But now I'm hearing voices when nobody else is around. Could be a bad sign."

Thompbles: "We'll have the KSC docs talk to you about that. How's the drive."

Aldner: "Good so far. Except there's this giant green planet hanging in the sky right above me. Huge. I forget about it after a while, but then I glance up and it's still hanging there. Disconcerting. Like a big-ass Sword of Kamocles."

Thompbles: "It's not very sharp."

Aldner: "Like a big-ass Blunt Instrument of Kamocles. Disconcerting. I liked it much better when it was a pretty decoration on the horizon."

Thompbles: "I'm sure you'll get used to it."

By now Aldner was heading downward at a fairly good rate as he approached the lower elevation where GasStation3 was located. He picked up some speed and caught some 'air' as he went over small ridges. Nothing he couldn't handle. But then he made one of the classic blunders, which was to allow the guy directing the movie to try lining up a shot to get a good picture from the side of the BirdDog going over some ridges... just when he came up to a really big drop off going about 40 m/s. And the BirdDog was airborne and flying free. Now this might have been disastrous for a regular rover... but BirdDog is, of course, an airplane, and Aldner is a pilot with sufficiently fast reactions, and he pulled up slowly after the nose suddenly dropped when the rover went over the ridge... and glided it down just fine.

...Well, not enTIREly fine, since the airplane isn't designed to land at fast speeds on its rover wheels, so he did blow a tire. So Aldner jumped out and did a little patch job, and did a little soil sampling while he was at it.

When the GasStation finally came into sight clearly, it was silhouetted against the sky as if it was on the top of a ridge, but as he got closer, Aldner could see that it was sitting on a more or less level area beyond which the elevation sloped down a bit, hence the apearence from a distance of it sitting on a ridge.

The first thing Aldner tried, of course, was see if any of the refueling arms would fit properly to the BirdDog's docking port. And the first one he tried.....clicked in place like a charm. OK! The mission is on!

Aldner: "Aldner to Base. You there, Thompbles?"

Nelemy: "I'm monitoring the radio, Dude. What's up?"

Aldner: "Let Thompbles know I here, and baby is drinking from momma just fine."

Nelemy: "Here? Here where?"

Aldner: "Here. Here where GasStation3 landed."

Nelemy: "You're naming your base 'Here'?"

Aldner: "Did you just wake up, Nelemy? Just tell Thompbles I'm here and the refueling works. I'm going to unpack the supplies."

Similarly to GasStation2, I dictated that part of GasStation3's internal space was a cargo container. This time only half of a tank (since I figured one guy alone wouldn't need so many supplies), so instead of three quarters of a ton of supplies, this tank held three eighths of a ton of supplies. I have removed the displaced 75 units of fuel by editing the save file. Aldner unpacks stuff like food, a tent, and other equipment, and sets up camp. And plants a flag, of course.

Aldner's journey to Manley:

Part 10 will be posted very soon. Just doing the final editing.

Brotoro's KSP Mission Pages.

[Brotoro]

Long-term Laythe Mission - Part 10

At Laythe Base, Kurt Kerman finished packing the extra cockpit of the Fido2 rover with several months of supplies and equipment, and wass ready to leave to continue the detailed geological survey of Dansen Island.

Kurt: "Well, see you later, Nelemy."

Nelemy: "Dude! I'm going to miss you!"

Kurt: "Hey, don't worry. You'll be having lots of fun with your new jet plane. And I'll be back before you know it."

Nelemy: "OK. Oh, hey! There were some new flags in the cargo packed in BirdDog2's cockpit. Here."

Kurt: "Are these more joke flags?"

Nelemy: "No way! Genuine Blue, White, and Blue!"

Kurt: "Good. Very patriotic crew loaded the capsule this time. Well, take care, Nelemy. I'll see you...next time!"

Kurt headed off to the northeast in the Fido2. First he wanted going to test out the new rigid-frame rover in the rough highlands to see if it's an improvement over the old Folding Fido. Then he planned to survey parts of the east coast, since he and Nelemy did not get to that part of the plan when their old rover proved to be wobbly and treacherous in steep terrain.

Indeed, the Fido2 proved to handle much better that the old rover, and he pushed it further and further with no problems; it handled terrain at speeds that used to cause his sphincter to seize up when Nelemy was driving. He decided it would be safe to tackle the highest mountain on the island. They didn't have precise elevation data, but it appeared that the highest mountain peak was off to the northeast. Below, he had gotten above the "sand dune" level and into the "weathered cratered terrain". Off in the distance we can see Lake Nelemy and Kurt Lake. He diligently stoped often for samples that will be analyzed later to detect any possibly useful resources...once the boys at KSC get that equipment built and sent to them.

Kurt reached the mountain peak at 3,514 meters. From here he could even see Lake Thompbles, but Fido Bay was hidden by intervening ridges.

Kurt planted the flag of the United Kerbal Republic on the mountain peak with the plaque inscription, "I came in peace, because I drove alone"... but then shortened it to the first four words. Then, after singing the national anthem off key, he hopped into the rover for a little lunch and to prepare for the drive down the mountain.

Kurt: "Kurt to base. Kurt to base."

Thompbles: "Base here, Kurt. How's it going?"

Kurt: "Going great. Rover handles well. Peaceful and quiet. I planted the flag on the mountain top."

Thompbles: "One of Aldner's 'special' flags?"

Kurt: "No, no. One of the UKR flags."

Thompbles: "What? Where did you get that?"

Kurt: "Nelemy had them. They came in the new BirdDog."

Thompbles: "Why am I always the last the know? Anyway, drive safe...I'm off to talk to Nelemy. Base out."

Back at Base, Thompbles rousted out Nelemy and he finally got his flag planting ceremony.

Thompbles: "Ah. That's more like it. We came in peace for all kerbalkind."

Nelemy: "Sahhhhh-LUTE!"

(Thombles and Nelemy both sing the national anthem, off key, then Thompbles turned to get back to work.)

Nelemy: "Ummm... We can still leave the other flag up, too, right?"

Thompbles: "Yes, Nelemy, you can have the other flag up."

Nelemy: "And can I start a big exploration mission with BirdDog2 tomorrow?"

Thompbles: "No. Tomorrow you work with the simulator software. When you're tired of that, you unpack the BirdDog2 and repack it for a multi-month mission. Then more simulator work. Then some planning. And after that, I'll let you do a short mission around Dansen Island."

Nelemy: "Aw, man... Aldner just gets to fly off halfway around the world on a cool mission!"

Thompbles: "I made Aldner do a shakedown mission around Dansen Island before I let him fly to any of the other islands, too. Let's get to work."

Back in the Fido2, Kurt found that heading down the mountain in the new rover was a breeze. And he could stop for supper without having to listen to Nelemy's weird ideas about whether intelligent aliens might exist, and whether or not kerbals could ever reach other stars with faster than light drives, or whether it would be possible for really low density worlds to exist, or whether or not there might be a multi-deity mode where the universe could be run by several controlling beings at once ("Look, Nelemey, that's just crazy talk...don't ever let the Astronaut Squad hear you talking about it"), or...well, it just went on and on.

A primary area of interest that Kurt was to explore was the triangular lowland region jutting off the east coast of Dansen Island. In the orbital surveys, it looked like a great area for a base. Below we see Kurt's rover heading down to the flat area in question.

As it turned out, the region was not a nice flat area after all. Or maybe conditions had changed there after earthquake 0.20. But there were some flatter areas in amongst the ridge lines, so Kurt carefully surveyed the areas for possible resources.

Kurt was a bit bored after a quiet lunch one day, so he headed down to the seashore. The beach was a bit too steep for his tastes, but he took a vacation photo:

After mapping the region thoroughly, Kurt concluded that while it might not be a great region to set up a base, there were a few level spots that could be useful for bases if there were resources in the surrounding rougher areas, which were still plenty accessible for resource extraction. But the place just seemed kind of quiet and boring. So Kurt headed to the next objective, southward and up inland to a large depression. The rover continued to handle beautifully.

Below: A high view from the north of the light colored depression that Kurt investigated next.

Down in the valley, Kurt set up camp to spend several more days sampling and surveying the site. It was a nice wide-bottom bowl, certainly well protected from tsunamis. A good place for an inland base. The ridges surrounding the valley also kept out the wind, which probably explained why the location was so quiet. Another dull location.

Back at Laythe Base, Thompbles was finally satisfied with Nelemy's training on the simulators and with his preparations and planning, so he approved Nelemey taking the BirdDog2 out for a short shakedown mission. Happy as a clam, Nelemy got up at the crack of dawn and readied the BirdDog2 for takeoff. This time he remembered to head west for takeoff, parallel to the low ridge lines. He disengaged the brakes, made sure he waited long enough for the plane to be rolling free, and then lit up the jet engine.

Nelemy: "WooHoo! I'm on my way!"

Thompbles: "OK. Good luck, Nelemy. Keep in touch."

(master alarm blares)

Nelemy: "Uh, oh."

Thompbles: "What's wrong, Nelemy?"

Nelemy: "Umm. Tire pressure warning lights on the two rover wheels. Oh... Ah... I forgot to lower the nose gear before takeoff, and I blew the rover wheels. It's OK, I can fix them when I land."

Thompbles: "Nelemy, you do have Mr. Checklist, right? It's supposed to always be on that shelf by your left hand."

Nelemy: (Eyes the shelf on the left where his box of snacks is sitting. He pats his pockets with a free hand.) "Ah. Yes. I've got it right here." (Nelemy scans the list. Nelemy raises the rear landing gear.) "Everything under control. I'm coming back around to head northeast."

Thompbles: "Keep the checklist handy, Nelemy. And fly safely, OK?"

Nelemy's first port of call: A visit to Kurt! Not that he told Kurt about this. So the first Kurt knew about it was when the BirdDog2 shattered the quiet of the upland valley and came in for a landing, rushing past about 20 meters from his rover.

Kurt: "What in hells blazes?!"

Nelemy: "Yo, Kurt, Dude! Wake up! I've come to visit!"

Kurt watched as Nelemy circled the BirdDog2 around in a wide arc with the jet engine on minimal power, rolling on landing gear. Nelemy parked the plane and hopped out and ran over to Kurt.

Nelemy: "Yo, Dude! Did you miss me?"

Kurt: (Kurt looks at Nelemy. Looks at the damaged plane. Looks around the formerly quiet valley.) "You know...I guess I did."

Nelemy: "Yeah, Dude! I missed you too! Want to help me fix my tires?"

Kurt: "How about you fix your tires, and I'll start fixing some breakfast? I've got yellow musssh."

Nelemy: "Dude! Deal!"

Nelemy fixed both rover wheels. Kurt came over later and inspected them. It looked like there was no serious damage to the wheels, just the blown tires. So the boys went back to Kurts rover and had a yellow mush dinner that couldn't be beat, and didn't get up until the next morning.

In fact, Nelemy stayed for two days helping Kurt take core samples and survey the area, and they stayed up all night talking about wild and crazy things, like when the next tidal wave might hit, and whether it was a good idea or not to use autopilot computers, and had another yellow mush dinner that couldn't be beat, and didn't get up until the next morning when Nelemy had to go continue his shakedown mission.

Being careful to lower the front landing gear this time, and after going through the checklist twice, Nelemy took off in the BirdDog2 and headed up over the ridge and off to the southeast.

Thompbles: "Laythe Base calling BirdDog2. Come in, Nelemy."

Nelemy: "Oh, hey! It's the Thomp-meister!"

Thompbles: "..."

Nelemy: "The Thompster. The Thomparino. Makin' contact"

Thompbles: "..."

Nelemy: "The Thompinator.."

Thompbles: "I think just 'Thompbles' or 'Dude' would be fine from you, Nelemy, don't you agree?"

Nelemy: "Oh, yeah, sure. Sorry, Dude."

Thompbles: "No problem. Telemetry shows you've taken off. Are you heading to the island now?"

Nelemy: "Oh, yeah! I've got it in sight now. Looks like a piece of cake."

Thompbles: "OK. Let me know how the landing goes. Laythe Base out."

Nelemy came in low for the landing, decided he didn't like the upslope, and instead hopped over it to land on the flat area beyond. No damage, no problems.

Nelemy: "Nelemy to base. I'm down safe and sound, Dude!"

Thompbles: "Roger, I copy you down, BirdDog2. Good work."

Nelemy: "I would like to name this island Mariliza Island!"

Thompbles: "... Um, you're not going to try to name all you islands after barmaids and such now, are you Nelemy?"

Nelemy: "Dude...Mariliza is my mother's name."

Thompbles: "Oh. Hey, sorry, Nelemy. I didn't mean anything by it."

Nelemy: "No problem, Dude! Mom worked as a barmaid all through college before she got her job in procurement at KSC. She said serving drinks was a great job. Lots of tips. No annoying government red tape."

Thompbles: "Ah. OK, Nelemy, I'll send it in."

Nelemy: "Thanks, Dude. I'm off to explore! BirdDoggie out!"

Mariliza island is not very large, but there's no terribly steep terrain and it's very close to the equator, so it would make a nice base if you aren't afraid of tsunamis. Below we see that Nelemy has driven the BirdDoggie...er, BirdDog2...all the way to the eastern end of the island. He diligently took samples and surveyed the land before heading back to the larger flattish area on the left side in this picture.

On this spot, which Nelemy considered to be the best piece of real estate on the island, Nelemy filed a claim and planted a flag, then sung the national anthem off key and set up camp for the night.

The next day, Nelemy followed the checklist, which only had a little chocolate on it, and took off to return to Laythe Base.

As Nelemy headed back toward base, he passed over a large flat area.

Nelemy: "Yo, Kurt! Are you awake today, bud?"

Kurt: "I've been up for hours, Nelemy. What's up?"

Nelemy: "I'm passing over the area east of Joysina Lake. It's a very big flat area. Looks like it might be great for a large inland base. You should check it out."

Kurt: "I'll do that, Nelemy. Thanks for the tip."

Nelemy: "No problemo, Dude. BirdDoggie out!"

Several kilometers east of the base, Nelemy practiced a downslope landing, then used rover mode to drive the rest of the way back to base. He docked the BirdDog2 to the GasStation and replaced the 40 units of fuel he had used on the mission. He did have some trouble backing away from the GasStation since he had managed to get his left wing tip close in beyond the GasStation's leg, so he could back up (and couldn't go forward, of course, since the refueling port hits the tail if you try that). With a little forward and backward wiggling, he got the plane free.

Back to Laythe Base in time for lunch!

Today's map of Kurt's and Nelemy's travels.

In the meantime, of course, Aldner had been exploring some of the islands that were part of Manley Crater.

Aldner's first target was the island northeast on Manley Base. From a distance, most of the island looked like a high ridge with steep sides, but it did appear to have a low, flatter area on its southern end, so Aldner made for that.

Aldner set the plane down easily, then got out to do a little sampling and looking around.

Thompbles: "Laythe Base to Aldner. Do you copy?"

Aldner: "Greetings, Friendly Voice From The Sky. What can I do for you?"

Thompbles: "The telemetry link showed that you cam to a stop on another island. Everything OK?"

Aldner: "All is copacetic, Sky Voice Sir. Other than that big green ball hanging over my head. I would like to name this big strip of land Scott Island, if you please. Named after the right honorable Senator Scott Kerman, long time promoter of the kerbal space program."

Thompbles: "Roger. I think you'll win some points with management for that name."

Aldner: "Always happy to please upper management, Sir. The island itself doesn't look very exciting. It's like a big slug poking its big rounded back and steep sides up out of the ocean. The southern end has a good spot for a low base, but unless you like high kind-of-rounded terrain, you're out of luck for the rest of the island."

Thompbles: "I'll send in the name, but I'll leave off your poetic description. And who knows? We might find some valuable resources based on the samples you collect there."

Aldner drove the rover/plane up onto the high back of the slug, taking samples as he went. He covered half the length of the island and got to a high point of over 2,900 meters elevation. The rest of the island looked to be more of the same, and Aldner could see something more interesting off to the left: The smaller, round island in the center of the Manley Crater formation, which must have been caused by the crust rebounding after the impact that created the crater. The geologists wanted samples from there, and it looked like more of a challenge to the bored Aldner. So he left Scott Island for the central island.

Most of the shoreline of the central peak island looked pretty steep, but there appeared to be a couple narrow, flatter beach patches along the north shore, so Aldner took the BirdDog in.

Aldner came in from the east along the dune lines, but this was one of those cases where the dune patterns did not match the pattern of low ridges in the landscape. But that just meant the BirdDog bumped back up into the air a couple times before coming to rest. No problems.

Aldner: "Yo, Skyman Thompbles...are you with me?"

Thompbles: "I'm here, Aldner. All is well?"

Aldner: "Landed safe and sound on a little beach on the central peak island of the crater formation. I'd like to name this Its Island, Sir."

Thompbles: "Its? I know an Itsi that works at the Refueling Station Bar & Grill in KSCtown, but who is Its?"

Aldner: "Famous mathematician, Sir, from the third century Ephebian Empire. He discovered zero."

Thompbles: "He discovered nothing?"

Aldner: "Ha! I see that living in the sky makes people funny, Sir. No. You know the Ephebian Numerials, right? They go i, ii, iii, iv, v..."

Thompbles: "Yes, Aldner. I got through grade school."

Aldner: "Glad to hear it, Sir. So the Ephebians had simple mathematics until Its came along and discovered zero and negative numbers. One of my heros, Sir."

Thompbles: "So noted. I'll call in the name."

Aldner started his drive, intending to reach the peak of the island...but it soon got to be very steep.

Aldner: "Damn."

Thompbles: "What's up, Aldner. Problem?"

Aldner: "Well, I've been navigating some pretty steep terrain, slowly winding my way around and up the island, when the batteries of the BirdDog started to go dead. It's that big-ass green thing hanging in the sky...it's blocked off the sunlight."

Thompbles: "Are you safe in place?"

Aldner: "Sure. I'm even at what passes for a moderately level patch for the hillsides of this island. I guess this is Big Green Thing's way of telling me it's time for lunch."

The eclipse of Kerbol by Jool lasted for about an hour, giving Aldner plenty of time to eat, collect some more samples, and have a quick nap before Kerbol reappeared and started recharging the BirdDog's batteries.

Aldner continued winding his way up the island mountain, only considering a few times if this was too dangerous and maybe he should point the nose a little downhill and fire of the jet engine and take off. But he stuck with it, eventually having to go more than 360 degrees around the island to get to the peak. Or the two peaks, actually, separated by a lower saddle. He planted his plag on the taller peak at 1,975 meters.

Aldner: "Calling Thompbles. Come in."

Thompbles: "What's up, Aldner?"

Aldner: "I'm at the peak of the island. Those geologists better appreciate the work I went through to get these samples. There are two peaks here. I like to name one 'ItsOne Peak' and the other 'ItsTwo Peak'. Except please note that these are to be written in the Ephebian Numeral fashion, with run together numbering."

Thompbles: "So...those would be spelled 'I-t-s-i' and 'I-t-s-i-i' correct?"

Aldner: "Yes, sir. Isti and Itsii. Itsi Peak has an elevation of 1,975 meters"

Thompbles: "OK, Aldner, I'll call it in and explain the numbering. I'm sure nobody will notice."

Aldner: "As long as one person notices, it will be mission accomplished."

Thompbles: "What's next, Aldner? Camp? Or fly on?"

Aldner: "I'll fly over to the next island. BirdDog out."

Aldner pointed the plane northwest, then let it start rolling down the mountain (the slope is pretty shallow near Itsi Peak), then kicked in the jet engine and was off.

This next island was going to be a breeze compared to what Aldner just went through to collect samples from the central peak island for those geologists. This island had no high mountains, and it had at least two likely looking harbor areas. Prime real estate. Aldner headed for the bay area on the east coast of the island and landed with no difficulties.

Aldner: "Yo, Thompbles."

Thompbles: "Hi, Aldner. Telemetry signal is strong. Shows you stationary at low altitude with no recent high acceleration spikes. I assume you are calling to report a successful landing?"

Aldner: "It's like you can read minds, sir. Nice site. Beautiful bay. I'd like to name this fine island Hellou Island if you would be so kind as to register that."

Thompbles: "Named after Hellou Kerman, the scientist who taught the astronaut squad all about geology, I presume?"

Aldner: "Yes, sir. She's a very famous scientist. She even gave me private lessons when I was having difficulties with the igneous rock stuff. And I'd like to named this Feldspar Bay. I'm sure she'll remember why."

Thompbles: "OK, Aldner. Hellou Island. Feldspar Bay. Did you know that she applied to be an astronaut?"

Aldner: "No, really? When was this?"

Thompbles: "Just last week. There are some people lobbying for the inclusion of female astronauts. They are hoping that the Astronaut Squad will change their minds and allow it."

Aldner: "That would be great. She'd be a hell of a lot more use here than I am. All these rock formations are starting to look the same to me."

Below, Hellou Island, with Feldspar Bay on the lower right side. There is a small ridge that separates the bay from an inland lake in a bowl. The flats by the bay could be an excellent landing base area, and other facilities could be set up in the bowl with the ridge to protect the site from any small tsunamis that would swamp the landing area. Aldner next drove north to check out the two little lakes there...he waded in and found them to be deeper than a kerbal. Then he drove on to the northwest to the other bay area on the west coast of the island. Note that the island has no really high elevations, but the terrain is somewhat rugged in places with those dangerous little V-bottom-valleys that you don't want to go barreling into too fast.

Aldner: "Captain Thompbles. Pick up the phone, please."

Thompbles: "I'm here, Aldner"

Aldner: "I'm at the bay on the western shore. Broader. Protected by some sand bar islands. Some moderately flat areas. Excellent investment opportunities. Would you like me to send you a prospectus?"

Thompbles: "I assume you're calling to name it?"

Aldner: "Aye, aye, Skip. Please register it as Labradorite Bay."

Thompbles: "Labradorite? Can't say I remember it. Some mineral from your private lessons?"

Aldner: "Oh, aye. I have fond memories of those geology lessons. Anorthosite bodies with interesting cleavage. Intrusive formation. And the ultramafic cumulates!"

Thompbles: "OK, Aldner. Whatever. The name is noted. Laythe Base out."

After all that thinking about geology, Aldner thought he might like a nice swim in the cold waters of Laythe's oceans. So he decided to swim out to the big sand bar island. The distance to the island was about 180 meters, and Aldner swam it in 3 minutes flat, so that's a speed of 1 m/s. That was swimming with the Shift key held down, so I assume it's faster than regular swimming speed (without the Shift key held down).

Aldner swam back and boarded the BirdDog to rove around the rest of the island.

Below: Looking south toward Labradorite Bay. The western part of the island has a ridge line with the highest elevations on the island (not terribly high). The eastern edge is smoother. Aldner collect samples from all over.

The northern tip of the island is not particularly inviting, but there was a small lake there, and Aldner set up camp for the night to ponder what to do next.

Below is today's map of Aldner's adventures.

The next thing I need to do is figure out how I can get the most exploration bang for my buck with the fuel I have for the two BirdDogs. Should Aldner keep going north to the fiddly bits of islands just north of Manley Crater, or should he save fuel for some major pushes around the rim islands of Big-Ass Crater (or whatever we'll decide to call it). The islands to the south look inviting...but the arc of islands to the north offer the opportunity to get long distances on less fuel with roving. And what of Nelemy in BirdDog2? Should I send him off to the three moderate sized islands to the northeast? Or off to the big islands to the northwest. Aldner could certainly pick up a couple southern islands (like that cool dragon-shaped island) on his way back to Dansen Island eventually. So many decisions.

But enough for now. Remember... Fly safe! Thanks for watching. Later, guys. And if you liked the video, please do like the video. And I will see you....next time (scrollout, scrollout, scrollout).

Brotoro's KSP Mision Pages

[GJames]

Just checked here on the off chance that you had posted Part 9, and there's two new shiny parts for me to read through!

Edit: Just finished reading through them after I found the time to. Those references are great, especially stuff like the next tidal wave and the Astonaut Squad...

Edited June 22, 2013 by GJames

[SDIR]

I'd like to see some more stunts by Aldner!

[Scotius]

Wow. Two chapters - you're spoiling us Excellent read, as always - with lots of funny references and nice pictures. Jool system is well worth travelling there just for all eye candy it provides. And all this talk about bases and resources...dude, get kethane mining equipment there already! Add Extraplanetary Launchpad and you will be all cozy and set up on Laythe.

[Spaceisbeautifulul]

Awesome.

I've been waiting for these.