Scientist in Space!

[Hoagster35]

I know that scientist have been suggested before, but I have a whole diffrent take on the scientist thing.

First off, scientist will not be able to pilot, go into a command module or be able to go on EVA. These scientists will have a special capsule for just scientists called the, Scientific Purposes Only Container! This container is just for scientists, and them only! An astronaut will not be allowed clearly because the hatch has a sign that says... "NO ASTRONAUTS ALLOWED!" There would also be a sticky note inside the capsule with a joke involving Jeb, the reason why there are no more astronauts allowed in there.

Jokes aside you might be asking why in the name of Jeb would we add scientists! They sound totally USELESS! The purpose of the scientists are that when you want to send information back to Kerbin, you have the ability to send more information back, more scientists, the more information! The scientific capsule will have 3 seats, so more capsules, more scientists. You will be able to hire scientist just like astronauts, but would cost more. You could also reference famous scientists that study astronomy. They would have stats such as... Intelligence, Fear, and Experience. It will take a while to study and find an explanation to the objects you found, this is where the scientists come in handy.

The intelligence stat will determine the time to find an explanation, lower intelligence slower it takes, high intelligence, the fast it will be. Fear will at times stop the process of study mainly because they are afraid of what will happen in the future or afraid of the evidence the astronauts have discovered. This will determine the amount of times study will come to a stop as well as the longer it will be idle for. More fear, more frenquantly and longer the stops will be, less fear, less stops and the wait would be faster. Experience will determine more scientific data found within the sample. More experience, more data. You can assign 1 scientist to one thing, or have all of them figuring out what the sample is. More scientist, the faster the progression. When it is all said and done, you will have either a lot of data or very little data to send back.

The capsule will have a very big window on one side of the capsule and the other side will have information pinned on a board. Their will be desks and strapped in chairs and sticky notes. The scientist you are controlling will be writing down notes. At times the scientists will find something on their own about space or the gravel of planets or whatever. Their will also be a small scientist compartment. Such as a one manned capsule, but for a scientist. This will allow for an escape capsule, but you will need a computer on it because they cannot pilot.

I hope you consider my idea. As you can see I worked for along time coming up with these ideas. Thank you for reading!

Edited October 17, 2013 by Hoagster35
Grammar Errors

[softweir]

That sounds like a neat idea! Of course, you would have to earn the Science! points to be able to research the Scientist module...

[Hoagster35]

That sounds like a neat idea! Of course, you would have to earn the Science! points to be able to research the Scientist module...

I like that idea. I never even thought of that!

[Hoagster35]

Maybe each scientist could have a bio? Like a description on what they do.

[MissStabby]

I could imagine the scientists still capable of EVA but... they don't get to have jetpacks!

This way scientists could still walk ladders around space stations to gather space samples. And if a scientist slips, he has to be "captured" and if theres nobody around he's doomed...

Another way to increase mobility for these scientist kerbals is to use a robotic arm, like the Canada arm on the ISS.

I could imagine the scientists are still allowed to "ride" an escape vehicle from orbit that is like a scientist/crew pod with a probe body attached.

[Hoagster35]

I could imagine the scientists still capable of EVA but... they don't get to have jetpacks!

This way scientists could still walk ladders around space stations to gather space samples. And if a scientist slips, he has to be "captured" and if theres nobody around he's doomed...

Another way to increase mobility for these scientist kerbals is to use a robotic arm, like the Canada arm on the ISS.

I could imagine the scientists are still allowed to "ride" an escape vehicle from orbit that is like a scientist/crew pod with a probe body attached.

Ever since you said if they slip, I had this image of a distressed kerbal scientist just slowly floating off quietly say help.

[Hoagster35]

I could imagine the scientists still capable of EVA but... they don't get to have jetpacks!

This way scientists could still walk ladders around space stations to gather space samples. And if a scientist slips, he has to be "captured" and if theres nobody around he's doomed...

Another way to increase mobility for these scientist kerbals is to use a robotic arm, like the Canada arm on the ISS.

I could imagine the scientists are still allowed to "ride" an escape vehicle from orbit that is like a scientist/crew pod with a

probe body attached.

Yah that does sound good. And the arm could be implemented. Maybe the astronauts could go over there and grab them.

[Seret]

Scientific Purposes Only Container!

Lol @ SPOC!

[Technical Ben]

Could perhaps have them in multiple seat pods, but not able to pilot. Or you would need a probe to pilot remotely.

[Hoagster35]

Could perhaps have them in multiple seat pods, but not able to pilot. Or you would need a probe to pilot remotely.

What do you mean, like a computer within the capsule?

[lajoswinkler]

To add a comic effect, scientists could sport glasses.

[Hoagster35]

To add a comic effect, scientists could sport glasses.

That sounds most astonishing.

[KvickFlygarn87]

I don't quite see the point, though. Unless they are needed in the new .23 science lab.

[rdfox]

For the record, scientists in space *do* have a significant amount of traditional "astronaut" skills. The first pure scientist to fly in space, Harrison Schmitt, was the LMP on Apollo 17, and was required by NASA to learn to fly "high-performance aircraft" (i.e., he had to be fully rated to pilot the T-38 like everyone else), and despite having his doctorate in geology, was treated, in training, as being no different than any of the other astronauts.

While, with the Shuttle, the requirement to be a rated pilot has pretty much faded away, scientist-astronauts are still fully trained as astronauts, sometimes do EVAs, and while they may not know how to hand-fly the Shuttle to a runway landing, they can, in a pinch, sit in the commander's seat and operate the autopilot to make a safe landing. What I'd do is have scientist-kerbonauts not be allowed to fly *without* a regular kerbonaut on board, and be less efficient in their operations of the spacecraft systems (so the ship flies more sluggishly, you don't get quite as precise timing on your throttle commands, etc., when there are fewer than the Minimum Crew Required number of regular kerbonauts aboard the ship), but be much more efficient in the Science Lab, getting higher Science results than standard Kerbonauts, because the regular kerbonauts are generalists, jacks-of-all-trades-but-masters-of-none, and the scientists, when in the Science Lab, are in their element...