The Pan-Kerbin Space Program: A Mission Log

[AndrewBCrisp]

Thank you, Patupi. I decided I'd try and polish my narrative skills this time around, and I'm glad it's working so far. Putting limits on both construction and research has helped me to pace things out. I've also had to think more clearly on what the goals of each mission should be, not just in getting science for the next tech node, but in the kinds of steps that the Kerbals would need to do on their way to the Mun and other destinations. I've also tried to be a little more ambitious - the Kerbal missions have the SC-9001 as part of their payload, while the old "Yrucrem" missions relied solely on crew reports and EVAs for their science output.

One thing I have found is that my 3 labs / 2 workshops setup has the labs sitting "idle" for some time. I've rarely had enough science brought back on a mission or group of missions that lets me unlock more than one tech at a time. Of course, I have yet to land anything on the Mun, so that may change in Year 2. The workshops however, have been pretty busy

As for construction limits themselves, that was a last minute thing and I never mentioned the particulars. Basically, I assign an estimated time of construction for a rocket based on how many stages it has and whether the rocket (or one or more stages in the rocket) is newly designed or already proven. Since KSP tends to assign stage numbers to every set of decouplers and engines, I define stages closer to their real-life versions. New and unproven stages take 10 days to build, while already tested and proven stages take only 5 days to build. The extra time for new stages is to account for static tests, designs (and last-minute changes), and the various "fun" things that can happen while building a prototype.

For example, Kerbal 1 was a 2 stage rocket: the Trigon II booster and the Kerbal 1 spacecraft. Since neither had been developed previously, I assumed 10 days per stage, so 20 days from start to finish. Since Kerbal 2 was a carbon-copy of Kerbal 1, building it took only 10 days total. Kerbal 3 (whose report will go up tomorrow if all goes well) is a 3 stage rocket, but the top stage was the same spacecraft that Kerbal 1 and Kerbal 2 used, so its total construction time was 25 days.

Admittedly even Kerbals 3-6 each massed less than 80 tons, so that timeframe may start to look a little weird the heavier I go. Therefore, for really big rockets, I will probably divide the load between both workshops, with each workshop building a stage simultaneously to get things done faster (and to give more space for the workers).

So that's my construction process in a (fairly big) nutshell.

By the way, I've been following your Colonization AAR as well, so I'd like to take this time to say how much I've enjoyed it so far. Looking forward to your Munbase missions!

[Patupi]

Thanks, it's been a challenge (and when things get to the Jool mission you'll see how much of a challenge!) and getting everything feel real is important. Odd, since I'm not using Dangerous re-entry or Remote Tech, but kind of playing as if I was... if that makes any sense. If I ever do this again I'll probably go more realistic, and more use of fairings as well.

Going via stages is an interesting proposal. Perhaps you could modify it something like a scale function, but not linearly? IE don't base it on tonnage but on log of the tonnage per stage? If you do it in groupings, ie any stage below X tons takes 10 days. Above X tons takes 15 days etc it'd still fit in to what you already have. Plus it'd be easier for you to keep accurate without wading through calculations. The research time thing I understand. I've wondered on mine whether I should have gone for shorter tech increments... and sometimes whether it should have been longer. Right now I'm thinking the 1 day per science point might have been more realistic, but parhaps modified with added science labs permanently on station somewhere decreasing time per science point used... maybe logarithmically so you need a LOT of science labs dedicated to that to do make a difference for the later tech levels (in KSPI anyway)

[AndrewBCrisp]

I've been thinking of using fairings as well, though I still prefer to keep things stock if I can help it. We'll see as the program goes on. I'll keep your suggestion on longer build times per heavy stages on the table, and see where things go once I get the big fuel tanks and engines.

Anyway, before Friday slips away from me completely, here's the next mission:

Kerbal 3: Aiming for the Mun.

Date: Year 1, Day 125

Mission: Kerbal 3

Pilot: Bob Kerman

Goal: Crewed Munar flyby using a free-return trajectory.

With the successes of the first 2 Kerbal missions, and new technological developments like the FL-T800 fuel tank and solar cells, the PKSA decided that now was the time to aim for the Mun. Because rocket technology was not yet up to the task of launching a spacecraft with enough fuel to orbit the Mun and then return, Kerbal 3 would employ what the scientists called a “free return†trajectory: using the Mun’s gravity to slingshot the spacecraft back to Kerbin in such a fashion that it could re-enter the atmosphere and land (or splash down) without the need of further burns. A new launch vehicle, the 6-booster Moho-VI, would send Kerbal 3 into orbit.

Kerbal 3, atop the Moho-VI launch vehicle, roars off the launch pad.

Because this would be the riskiest mission yet (re-entry alone would happen with higher speeds than anything flown so far), the PKSA asked for volunteers, and Hopper program vet Bob Kerman stepped forward. Bob’s time aboard Hopper 3 gave him needed experience for dealing with high-g situations, and the doctors ruled him fit to fly the mission. So, on Day 125, Bob Kerman entered space a second time, in a much more controlled fashion than his first flight. Once orbit was attained, Bob performed a slight correction burn to match planes with the Mun, and set off to view the nearest world to Kerbin up close.

Kerbal 3’s plotted trajectory after completing the TMI burn.

5 hours after launch, Kerbal 3 got to within 69 km of the Munar surface, passing along the far side. As with the first two Kerbal missions, Bob opened the SC-9001 lab module and conducted a series of experiments, as well as taking pictures of the Munar far side. “It looks pretty pockmarked down there,†he radioed back to KSC once Kerbal 3 emerged from the Mun’s radio blackout. “Looks like the Mun had an exciting time once.â€Â

Looping around the Mun.

Bob had to perform a couple of correction burns on the way hope to make sure Kerbal 3 would have a gentler arc on final descent, and there was still some fuel left in the tank for a final deceleration burn just before Kerbal 3 would re-enter the atmosphere. Bob burned the last of the fuel just before re-entry, then toggled the switch to close the science bay doors. Nothing happened.

Kerbal 3 performing its final burn.

“KSC, I have a negative on science module closure. Please advise,†he radioed.

The concern here was not for Bob himself - there was a redundant heat shield between the capsule and the SC-9001 bay, just in case the module was to experience “spontaneous unplanned disassembly†- but for the material samples and data recorders in the bay itself. The discussion was brief - there really was nothing to be done, as Kerbal 3 was now inside the atmosphere. Gene Kerman advised Bob to just “get down safelyâ€Â. Lost data could be recovered in a later mission. Losing a Kerbal - not so much.

Burning bright.

Bob oriented the capsule so as to keep the doors in “shadow†while making sure the primary heat shield still took the brunt of the re-entry damage. Even with the deceleration burn, Kerbal 3 punched through the upper atmosphere at over 2,500 m/s, and G-forces inside the capsule almost reached 5 G. Fate was kinder to Bob this time, and he remained conscious while keeping the capsule on track, releasing the chutes when the craft’s speed dropped below 250 m/s. “Hello KSC,†Bob radioed about a minute before splashdown. “I got some lovely weather here - anyone want to join me for a swim?â€Â

Kerbal 3 safely down

The capsule was recovered, as were some of the materials samples and recorders from the science bay - other parts of the bay were charred or slagged by the re-entry heat beyond recovery, although even that yielded interesting data for the scientists. “No matter how you slice it, zis vas a vin-vin situation,†Werhner Von Kerman said about the semi-slagged module.

“Re-entry was a little scary for me as the G-forces built up,†Bob said later. “My vision started to get a little green around the edges, and I had some flashbacks to my earlier ordeal. But I pulled through. It doesn’t seem so scary to me anymore.â€Â

Total Mission Time: 10 hours, 53 minutes.

Mission Outcome: SUCCESS.

Edited November 23, 2013 by AndrewBCrisp

[Patupi]

'vision started to get a little green around the edges' *lol* cute. Keep it up AndrewBCrisp, loving this.

[wminsing]

Good AAR series, I'm definitely enjoying it. Also liked the 'green around the edges' reference.

-Will

[AndrewBCrisp]

Thanks guys

The Kerbal 4 report should be up later tonight - delayed a little because I finally broke down and installed the Procedural Fairings mod. Then I went and cooked up my next space probe, the report from which we'll see on this thread about 5-6 missions down the road. Behold:

(1 fairing displayed here so you can see the probe-y goodness inside).

Completed missions that are in the pipeline for reports are:

Kerbal 4 (Minmus flyby / return)

Venturer 1 (launch)

Goo Orbiter missions (3 missions spread out over the timeframe of the previous Kerbal missions in 1 post)

Venturer 2 (failed Moho flyby)

Venturer 1 (Eve flyby pics and postmortem)

Kerbal 5 (Mun orbit / return)

Kerbal 6 (Minmus orbit / return)

Kerbal 7 & 8 (Orbital rendezvous)

Mun Orbital Observer (Permanent Mun research satellite).

[Landwalker]

I'm interested to hear what you think about the PF mod... I've been sticking rabidly to Stock Only with my 0.22 career thus far, but if it's really worth it, I might look into something like that.

In toot-my-own-horn news, I finally landed (successfully) an unkerbed probe on the Mun and am stripping the landing site of knowledge as we speak. Hopefully I threw enough fuel on the damn thing to make it back to Kerbin...

[AndrewBCrisp]

Kerbal 4: Pushing Limits.

Date: Year 1, Day 130

Mission: Kerbal 4

Pilot: Jebidiah Kerman

Goal: Minmus flyby using free-return trajectory.

Kerbal 3 and Kerbal 4 were both designed using the same basic blueprints, on the logic that each spacecraft had the delta-V required to reach either one of the natural satellites in the Kerbin sphere of influence. Both workshops were employed to build the two spacecraft simultaneously. Thus, when Kerbal 3 made its safe return, it was a mere 5 days before Kerbal 4 rolled onto the launch pad, with Minmus as its destination. Jebidiah Kerman was selected for this mission, becoming the first Kerbal to travel to space 3 times, and all in the same year.

“Now that we’re aiming for the muns, every kerbonaut has been itching for a chance at these new missions,†Flight Director Gene Kerman said about the choice. “Since this mission is as risky as Kerbal 3, we needed an experienced pilot, and Jebidiah made a perfect choice.â€Â

One Kerbal technician, speaking on conditions of anonymity, stated, “Yeah, that makes sense. But I think it had more to do with Jeb sticking all those ‘Pick Me!’ notes on Gene’s desk… and workstation… and car. I think he finally teed Gene off, when Gene found them plastered on the mirrors in the men’s room.â€Â

To Minmus and Back: the path of Kerbal 4

It would take almost two days for a spacecraft to reach Minmus from LKO, so Kerbal 4 was loaded with sufficient air, water, and snacks to keep a Kerbal alive for the duration. Jeb also had the honor of being the first Kerbal to perform a basic maintenance task on a spaceflight: the CO2 scrubber cartridges for the Kerbal capsules were designed to function for 1 day, so Jeb had to swap out each spent cartridge with a fresh one. Despite the possible saving of mass, KSC Mission Control cautioned Jeb against throwing the spent cartridges out the hatch, as there was the tiny possibility that, as Kerbal 4 swung around Minmus, the cartridge could intersect and impact the capsule.

â€ÂIt looks very… minty. I wonder how it tastes?â€Â

Kerbal 4 got to within 88 km of Minmus, with Jeb recording his observations, snapping pictures, and performing experiments while the spacecraft was so close to the tiny Mun. While Jeb’s observations tended to describe Minmus like a dessert (a possible commentary on the blandness of the snacks he had with him), his statements did lead scientists to suggest Minmus might be some form of captured comet. Various flat areas spotted in Jeb’s pictures were something of a surprise. Current theories of planet formation suggest that objects of the size of Minmus would not likely form into a sphere - much less acquire areas described as “mint flats†by Jeb. The crude measurements made from Kerbal 4’s science module also suggest the “mint flats†may all be formed at the same radius from the mun’s center. Clearly Minmus has a number of secrets awaiting closer observation.

Kerbal 4’s science module open and recording data on the tiny mun.

Jeb reported the same problem with the science module doors that had troubled Bob on Kerbal 3, but a greater problem emerged as the spacecraft approached re-entry. The mission profile called for Kerbal 4 to use the last of its fuel to slow down to a suitable re-entry speed. However, by the time Jeb reported engine cutoff, the spacecraft was still travelling over 2.4 km/s - and at a steeper angle than expected. A high-g re-entry looked certain.

A last desperate burn

After the Hopper 3 experience, most kerbonauts had received extra high-g training, and a “dead-man†switch was incorporated, in the event a kerbonaut could not recover in time to deploy the parachutes. Jeb’s last radio transmission before blackout reported G-forces exceeding 5 gees. The mission recorder would later report a maximum G-force of 8.5 gees - slightly higher than what Bob experienced on Hopper 3.

Whether Jeb recovered in time or not, the parachutes were deployed as planned, and the capsule splashed down. Jeb was conscious by the time the recovery teams arrived, though weakened from the ordeal. For once, he didn’t have any jokes or wisecracks as he was sent to the hospital for observation.

Kerbal 4 splashes down.

As with Kerbal 3, the science module was worse for wear, but its data recorders were still able to divulge their precious cargo. Nevertheless, the mission has a somber edge, as the return from such voyages may be too risky for Kerbals.

“A free return trajectory is a good backup plan for future Mun missions,†Gene Kerman stated at the press conference following Kerbal 4’s recovery. “If something should happen to the engine of a spacecraft, we could use free-return to bring our Kerbals back alive - at a cost. But to land on the Mun, we’ll need more powerful spacecraft, with the capacity to achieve orbit first around the Mun, and then again back at Kerbin. Such a capacity means we can bring Kerbals back as safely as if they’d never left Kerbin’s orbit in the first place. Developing that capacity will be the focus of our next missions.â€Â

Total Mission Time: 3 days, 23 hours, 31 minutes.

Mission Outcome: PARTIAL SUCCESS.

[Patupi]

Mmmmm, Minty goodness! I like it, and adding the g-induced blackout bits and other 'reality' sections really improves the feel of this. Keep up the great work!

[AndrewBCrisp]

Venturer 1: Reaching for the Planets

Date: Year 1, Day 147

Mission: Venturer 1

Goal: Uncrewed Eve flyby.

Carl Kerman speaks to viewers about the planet Eve on his science show “Spacestuffâ€Â.

While the Mun and Minmus have been the focus of the PKSA’s attention thus far, the planets beckon with various mysteries of their own. Why is Eve so purple? Is there life on Duna or Laythe? Alas, current technology is not up to the task of sending Kerbals to these distant locations just yet.

Where Kerbals cannot yet go, robot probes might. Thus the Venturer program was born.

Breakthroughs in Precision Engineering allowed for truly tiny engines and fuel tanks, meaning a probe could be built with a modest fuel supply and sent off on interplanetary voyages using current launch vehicles. Venturer 1 was itself little more than a camera fitted to a rocket and a transmitter - no great scientific boon would come from it - but it would be sufficient to test the ability to send a probe to another planet effectively.

Venturer 1 sits on the launch pad, ready for its voyage to Eve.

The first available launch window was to Eve, a planet slightly larger than Kerbin, and very, very purple. Initial calculations suggested an upper-stage booster design that would give Venturer 1 sufficient delta-V to reach Eve via a “Hohmann†transfer orbit. So, when the launch window opened on Day 147, Venturer 1 roared into orbit for the Pan-Kerbin Space Program’s first interplanetary voyage.

Once Venturer 1 was free of its Moho-VI launch vehicle, ground controllers had the spacecraft match planes with the ecliptic. For the next 20 hours while waiting for the optimal moment to begin the transfer burn, Venturer 1’s systems were checked and rechecked - once on its way, there would be no way to repair something if it failed. Finally, satisfied the probe was ready, and once the spacecraft reached the proper ejection angle in its orbit, Venturer 1 fired its main engine and proceeded to escape Kerbin’s influence.

Venturer 1 performs its transfer burn.

Once the burn was complete and the booster detached and de-orbited, a plot of Venturer 1’s new orbit suggested that it would reach its closest approach to Eve in 51 days and 12 hours (Estimated date of arrival was Day 198), and that its closest approach would be 81,360 km. Future correction burns using Venturer 1’s on-board fuel supply might bring it closer to the purple planet. The Kerbal’s first interplanetary probe was off to a good start.

Venturer 1 speeding away from Kerbin.

Mission Status: IN TRANSIT.

----

This mission was launched before I installed the Procedural Fairings mod, hence the probe's "naked" appearance on the launch pad. Landwalker, you'd asked of my impressions of PF - I've only launched one mission with it so far - Venturer 3 - but I have to say I'm greatly impressed with it. I haven't noticed too much of an effect on flight with the fairings yet, though in theory the fairings should allow to launch not-so-aerodynamic spacecraft without wasting so much fuel. For aesthetics and realism it's a great addition, and even for purists I'd recommend it. IIRC, the fairings are introduced first in the Stability tech node, then more sizes in Advanced Rocketry and Precision Engineering. If you've researched those technologies already when you install the mod, just go to R&D, left-click on the node, then on the unlocked fairing parts to "research" them. Easy as pi.

Edited November 28, 2013 by AndrewBCrisp

[AndrewBCrisp]

Quick update: no new mission report today - sorry about that. I've decided not to report on the 3 Goo Observer missions, mostly because they were fairly routine and covered ground already covered in the Kerbal missions - only less exciting. So the next mission will be the failed Moho flyby attempt of Venturer 2 on Monday, Dec 2, followed by Venturer 1's Eve flyby results on Wednesday, Dec 4, and the first Mun orbital mission of Kerbal 5 on Friday, Dec 6.

I've also been spending time cleaning up my screenshots folder - getting the screenshots from completed missions moved to a separate folder, named, and ready for upload to Imgur, as well as a few other housekeeping tasks to keep these reports running smoothly. I'm taking somewhere between 8 and 15 screenshots per mission now, and generally have to whittle those down to 4 or 5 for the reports.

Now that that's taken care of, time to take some new screenshots as I attempt to put a probe lander on the Mun. No rest for the weary Kerbals...

[AndrewBCrisp]

Venturer 2: Aiming Too High.

Date: Year 1, Day 169

Mission: Venturer 2

Goal: Moho flyby attempt.

Twenty days after the successful launch of Venturer 1, it’s twin probe, Venturer 2 lifted off from the KSC on an even more ambitious mission - a flyby of the closest planet to the sun, Moho.

Moho represents a major challenge for interplanetary intercepts. It’s orbit is both highly elliptic and highly inclined. The delta-V requirements are staggering - only Eeloo has a greater delta-V requirement for intercept. Nevertheless, Dalsen Kerman, who took over the position of Flight Director for all unkerballed space launches, was confident that the PKSA had the necessary technology to make the attempt.

Venturer 2 lifts off from the KSC

As with Venturer 1, the launch and ascent to orbit proved effortless, though the time to the optimal ejection burn was shorter - only 11 hours in orbit for system checks before the burn could take place. At T+11:04:08, Venturer 2’s booster ignited for the trans-Moho injection burn. Once the burn was complete, the booster was discarded and de-orbited.

However, between the probe’s departure from low Kerbin orbit and its inclination burn some 19 days later, it soon became clear that the transfer orbit was wrong. The periapsis did not reach to Moho’s orbit at all, but rested somewhere between the orbits of Eve and Kerbin. The ejection burn had failed. The inclination burn was recalculated in an attempt to correct this, but the required delta-V to both match planes with Moho and meet the intercept was too great: Venturer 2 emptied its tanks and accomplished neither goal. At T+20 days, the mission was formally terminated, leaving Venturer 2 orbiting the sun.

Mission postmortem revealed two issues that caused this failure. The first was the haste at which the probe was launched. The mission planners, buoyed by the string of successes the space program had enjoyed, had become overconfident and so did not check their design and orbital plot as carefully as they should have. The second issue was the disposal of the probe booster.

Venturer 2’s booster orients itself for the disposal burn

Since the start of the space program, scientists had been concerned about leaving spent stages in orbit. While not a threat in and of itself, the argument went that eventually the number of spent stages would grow in orbit to the point that collisions between each other - and with active spacecraft and satellites - would become an issue. Up until now, most space launches usually jettison the last stage of the launch vehicle before a proper orbit is attained, using fuel from the spacecraft itself to finish the job - this has proven to be a limiting factor on the effective range of most space missions.

Venturer 1 and 2 however, saw the introduction of controllable stages - guidance systems fitted to the last stage so that it can be used to attain orbit, and then use the remainder of its fuel after separation to deorbit and burn up in Kerbin’s atmosphere. This philosophy was applied to the booster stages used to send the probes on their interplanetary journeys.

“The problem here is that the boosters still had a fair bit of fuel in them,†Dalsen said at a press conference later. “If we’d kept the booster still attached, we might have been able to salvage the mission. I think that future probe missions will see the booster remain attached until it reaches the target body, after which we can safely detach it from the probe. Whether we will dispose of the booster or leave it in interplanetary space is another question. Interplanetary collisions are less likely than collisions in Kerbin orbit - we could potentially save mass and hence fuel by leaving the boosters ‘brainless’ as it were.

“This has certainly dampened our spirits at the KSC. We’ve been used to success for quite some time. But we’ve learned some important lessons from this, and we’ll apply them to future interplanetary missions.â€Â

Total Mission Time: Mission clock stopped at 20 days.

Mission Outcome: FAILURE.

[AndrewBCrisp]

Venturer 1: Success from the Jaws of Failure

Date: Year 1, Day 238

Mission: Venturer 1 (continued)

Goal: Eve Flyby.

Not long after Venturer 2 was declared a failure, a problem emerged with Venturer 1, still on its way to Eve. After the probe had completed its inclination burn, the actual orbital path began to diverge from the plotted orbit for the mission. Venturer 1’s orbit had become much more elliptical than expected, and an Eve flyby looked unlikely.

“This was an unpleasant discovery, especially so soon after Venturer 2,†Dalsen Kerman said. “Since it looked like the probe was on target before, we’re left to conclude that there may be an issue with the onboard guidance system or with our ground tracking systems.â€Â

However, the probe by this time had completed its own inclination burn and still had some fuel to spare. Combined with Eve’s more circular orbit, a new burn was attempted, which would put the probe’s closest approach to Eve at less than 30,000 km. The probe would also arrive much later than planned: instead of a 51 day travel time, the probe would take over 90 days, counting from launch, to reach Eve.

Further launches from KSC were put on hold while attention turned to Venturer 1 and to the tracking systems responsible for locating it in space. Systems were checked and rechecked, and some civilian radio telescopes were enlisted in the tracking effort. But, finally, on Day 238, Venturer 1 passed within 28,000 km of Eve, and its camera began to send back pictures:

One of the images sent back from Venturer 1, near its closest approach to Eve.

Until now, most telescopes on Kerbin had been able to resolve Eve as little more than a fuzzy disk. These first images, showing our nearest neighbor from a much closer point, revealed a more complex surface. Some areas are highly reflective, while others are much duller.

“The reflective areas are most interesting,†Dalsen stated. “Eve is closer to our sun than Kerbin, so it’s expected the planet will be warmer. It’s possible we could be looking at some kind of liquid - perhaps seas - or some kind of highly reflective solid. Ice is like that on Kerbin, but who knows what might fill that role on Eve?

“Alternately, we could be looking at some kind of clouds, although in the images received they did not change shape. So far, no real answers… but lots of exciting new questions.â€Â

Venturer 1 remains in a highly elliptical orbit, and it is unlikely that it will make another encounter with Eve or another planet before contact is permanently lost. With the next planned missions returning Kerbal attention to the Mun and Minmus for the next few months, and the next Venturer mission being aimed at Duna, it could be a while before we revisit this purple enigma.

Total Mission Time: 91 days, 18 hours.

Mission Outcome: SUCCESS.

[AndrewBCrisp]

Note: This mission should have been submitted before the Venturer 1 flyby report. Whoops!

Kerbal 5: A Kerbal orbits the Mun.

Date: Year 1, Day 181

Mission: Kerbal 5

Pilot: Obwig Kerman

Goal: Munar orbit and return.

While the two Venturer probes were travelling in their orbits, the crewed part of the space program turned its attention back to the Mun. Kerbal 5 would attempt to put a Kerbal in orbit around the Mun, then return him to Low Kerbin Orbit, and from there back to Kerbin’s surface without the high-g landings that had plagued Kerbals 3 and 4. To do so,Kerbal 5 had a new stage added to the spacecraft, dedicated solely to the task of trans-Munar injection, while the spacecraft’s service module was expanded with sufficent fuel for Munar orbital insertion, trans-Kerbin injection, LKO insertion, and de-orbiting capacity.

Kerbal 5 sits on the launch pad at KSC.

This resulted in the heaviest spacecraft yet launched by the KSC at over 9 tons, and so a new launch vehicle was designed to carry them: Moho VII. Moho VII employed what Werhner von Kerman called “fuel ducts†to transfer fuel from the six boosters to the core stage, allowing all 7 LV-T30 engines to be ignited for liftoff, and for the six boosters to be cast off with the core stage still at full capacity. Werhner called this technique “onion staging†much to the confusion of his colleagues. “What, exactly, is an ‘onion’?†one researcher was heard to mutter.

As the mission was to pave the way for future Munar landings, it was decided that more than just a pilot was needed. Obwig Kerman, a geologist who joined the Pan-Kerbin Space Program in hopes of studying the Mun up close, was chosen for this mission.

Kerbal 5 in orbit. Note the Munar Transfer stage in the back.

Kerbal 5’s launch and orbital insertion was flawless, with the Moho VII launch vehicle performing well above expectations. Obwig demonstrated his piloting skills by matching planes with the Mun and then executing the Trans-Munar Injection burn in less than an hour after launch - and then executing a correction burn which brought his projected Munar periapsis down to 75 km from its initial 435. The MT stage was jettisoned once Kerbal 5 entered the Mun’ gravity well, and onboard guidance adjusted its orbit so it would impact on the Mun.

Kerbal 5 jettisons its Munar Transfer stage.

Obwig encountered his first glitch of the mission when he attempted to fire the CSM’s LV909 engine to bring Kerbal 5 into Munar orbit, and nothing happened. A brief panic ensued while Obwig rechecked his instruments and Mission Control went over their own telemetry. Finally, Obwig contacted KSC again, a little chagrined: in the excitement over finally reaching the Mun, he had forgotten to open the fuel valves to the engine. Fortunately, he was able to activate the engine and complete the Munar orbital insertion burn in time. Munar orbit was attained at T+6 hours 41 minutes. Two additional correction burns brought Kerbal 5 into a 46 km equatorial orbit, and Obwig began his observations and experiments.

Obwig’s view of the Mun.

“From here I can see a lot of craters,†Obwig reported. “Certainly the larger craters are old - they have quite a number of smaller craters in them, suggesting the larger craters were formed millions of years ago. They’re also a much darker hue, suggesting… cooled lava?â€Â

Kerbal 5 completed 2 orbits around the Mun while Obwig made his observations, then started back for Kerbin. There were no problems with the CSM engine lighting this time.

Heading home.

Slightly over 16 hours from launch, Kerbal 5 entered into a slightly elliptical orbit (99 km apoapsis, 70 km periapsis), with almost 20% of its fuel still available for use. Obwig was more than eager to return to the surface, and so, with the go-ahead from Mission Control, he initiated the deorbit burn, cast aside the service module, and splashed down in the Eastern Sea. Obwig’s descent profile was much gentler on spacecraft and Kerbal, with G forces staying comfortably under 3 g.

A textbook splashdown.

Gene Kerman was pleased with the mission. “This was an important milestone for us,†he stated. “We brought a Kerbal closer to the Mun than ever before and brought him back safe and conscious. While we’re not yet ready to land on the Mun, we’re closer to that goal than we dared to dream even three months ago.â€Â

Total Mission Time: 16 hours, 23 minutes.

Mission Outcome: SUCCESS.

[AndrewBCrisp]

Kerbal 6: Return to Minmus

Date: Year 1, Day 240

Mission: Kerbal 6

Pilot: Bill Kerman

Goal: Low orbital study of Minmus.

The tracking issues with Venturer 1 surfaced not long after the return of Kerbal 5, and so, while the ground tracking systems were checked for errors, there was a two month pause in Kerballed spaceflight. So Kerbal 6 was not transported to the launch pad until the evening of Day 240, with Bill Kerman in the pilot’s seat.

Kerbal 6 preps for a night launch.

Once in orbit, Bill used the Moho VII’s core stage - still with some fuel remaining - to match planes with Minmus’ orbit before jettisoning the stage. As Kerbal 6 was a carbon-copy of Kerbal 5, this spared the Transfer stage’s fuel, increasing Bill’s safety margin. Shortly thereafter, the Transfer stage was lit for the Trans-Minmus injection burn, and Bill was on his way.

Bill’s path to Minmus.

As with Kerbal 4, Kerbal 6 took a little under 2 days to reach its destination. Bill’s capture burn put Kerbal 6 in a highly elliptical orbit. Due to Minmus’ weak gravity, it took Bill nearly 7 hours to reach the orbit’s new periapsis for a circularization burn, but he finally achieved a stable orbit with a periapsis of 8.8 km and an apoapsis of 9.2 km. What follows is a direct transcript of Bill’s words not long after achieving this feat; Jebidiah Kerman was serving as CAPCOM at the time, and Gene Kerman was FLIGHT:

T+01:28:09:31 [KERB6]: Wow, this is beautiful, guys. It almost looks like I could reach out and touch the surface from here.

T+01:28:09:49 [CAPCOM]: Hey, I’ve been talking to some of the guys at R&D; I bet you could use your EVA pack to land there: get a minty sample to bring home.

T+01:28:10:25 [KERB6]: You serious?

T+01:28:10:30 [CAPCOM]: Sure I’m serious. Why not? We gotta land there someti--

T+01:28:10:41 [FLIGHT]: Kerbal 6, this is Flight. Stick to the mission plan, please. We will not be landing on Minmus today.

T+01:28:11:20 [KERB6]: Uh… Copy, Flight. Staying indoors.

T+01:28:11:30 [CAPCOM]: Spoilsport.

â€ÂHope I don’t clip any mountains.â€Â

As with Kerbal 5, Kerbal 6 completed two orbits while Bill made his observations and conducted experiments. Finally, with his experiment list completed, Bill lit the CSM engine for the return trip.

Bill Kerman bids goodbye to Minmus

Due to Minmus’ inclination and the inclination of Kerbal 6’s orbit around same, the final inclination when Bill braked into LKO was high indeed. As with Kerbal 5, Bill was able to achieve a gentle entry arc, once again experiencing none of the high-g problems from earlier missions. The two-stage approach to the muns was certainly proving its worth.

Kerbal 6 comes down in a forested area on the East Continent.

“This was, hands down, the most amazing experience yet,†Bill said. “I really hope they get those lander prototypes finished soon. I’m eager to go back - not just to orbit, but to stand on the surface.â€Â

Total Mission Time: 3 days, 18 hours, 23 minutes.

Mission Outcome: SUCCESS.

[Patupi]

I think I like CAPCOM I actually tried that and it is fun to try and land using visual cues only (tried not to use the map screen). Actually made it down, and if I remember right back up again... but it was an awful long time ago I tried it so perhaps I'd gone beyond 50% on fuel? *shrugs* Don't recall accurately.

Keep up the good work AndrewBCrisp, it's nice to see this continuing.

[AndrewBCrisp]

Thanks, Patupi I figured I'd give Jeb some time in Mission Control, and he remains as much a smart-aleck outside as well as inside a capsule.

Next up is the Kerbal 7 / Kerbal 8 rendezvous mission, after which will either be another vignette or the Mun Orbital Observer probe mission; haven't decided yet.

Lastly, a moment of silence for my Venturer 4 probe, which was consumed by the Kraken while on its way to Jool (went to fly the mission just to make sure the probe hadn't suddenly changed course, when the screen went black and the altitude figures became all 1's, then all 2's then all 3's, and so on. Second time this had happened but the first time I actually lost a probe as a result). I'd been pretty proud of that probe too... I'd never sent anything beyond Eve or Duna before in any save since first buying the game last March.

[AndrewBCrisp]

Quick update: I'm afraid there won't be a mission report today. Some real life issues came up yesterday and I'm still processing the emotional fallout. The Kerbal 7 and Kerbal 8 report will be up on Friday. Thank you for your patience.

[Patupi]

I hope you're OK. Best wishes and add more when you feel up to it, not before! Take care.

[AndrewBCrisp]

Thanks, Patupi Thankfully the situation is resolving nicely (in brief: a good friend of mine was sent to the hospital due to some heart problems. He was released not too long ago and is on the mend.)

I've just finished writing up the next report, which will go up tomorrow on my lunchtime after some final edits.

[AndrewBCrisp]

Kerbal 7 / Kerbal 8: Orbital Rendezvous

Date: Year 1, Day 250

Mission: Kerbal 7

Pilot: Jebidiah Kerman

Mission: Kerbal 8

Pilot: Aldemy Kerman

Goal: Orbital rendezvous and station-keeping demonstration.

When considering options for exploring the surfaces of other worlds, scientists soon found the problem of building a rocket capable of travelling to another world (like the Mun), landing on its surface, and returning to Kerbin more difficult than imagined. The fuel requirements called for rocket designs far larger than anything attempted or even considered. So, the orbital-rendezvous approach - launching a mission to another world using more than one smaller rocket and assembling a craft in orbit - was proposed.

Before orbital construction could be attempted, however, orbital rendezvous had to be demonstrated. So the final two flights of the Kerbal program were to attempt a rendezvous, defined here as two spacecraft getting to within 5 meters of each other and staying at such a separation for more than a minute. A new form of spacecraft control system - the Reaction Control System or RCS - would be used to help accomplish this task.

Launch of Kerbal 7 (left), followed by Kerbal 8 (right).

Because the spacecraft would not leave Low Kerbin Orbit, the Trigon-II launcher was employed, rather than the more powerful Moho-series launchers. Kerbal 7 lifted off in the late afternoon of Day 250, with Kerbal 8 following some 20 minutes later. As Kerbal 8 was piloted by the only kerbonaut who has not yet flown before, Kerbal 7, with experienced pilot Jebidiah Kerman, would perform all the necessary maneuvers for rendezvous.

Kerbal 8 in its parking orbit.

Kerbal 7 attained a circular orbit at 123 km mean altitude. Kerbal 8 achieved a 110 km circular orbit, with Aldemy Kerman matching planes with Kerbal 7 prior to the operation. Once both spacecraft were in their assigned orbits, Jebidiah then modified Kerbal 7’s orbit to a more elliptical orbit (Pe: 118 km, Ap: 154 km), in order to catch up to Kerbal 8 in a reasonable timeframe. Even so, for the first few hours, the distance between the two spacecraft grew rather than shrank, with maximum separation of ~1,500 km achieved 5 hours into the mission. As there was not much to do during this waiting period, Jeb took a nap.

Ten hours into the mission, Jebidiah began to alter Kerbal 7’s orbit again - the distance between the two spacecraft had now shrunk to less than 100 km and Jeb risked overshooting Kerbal 8’s position. By bringing Kerbal 7’s orbit more in line with Kerbal 8, the rate of closure between the two spacecraft lowered. Almost 13 hours into the mission, Jeb switched over to the RCS jets for the first time, using them to kill excess velocity between himself and Kerbal 8.

Kerbal 7 approaches Kerbal 8

Aldemy watches Kerbal 7 approach. “Uh, Jeb, you are slowing down, right?â€Â

The primary mission objectives were achieved when, at T+13:09:48, Kerbal 7 got to within 4.3 m of Kerbal 8, and Jeb had oriented the ship so that both spacecraft were pointed nose-to-nose. Mission Control declared that orbital rendezvous had been attained.

For the next five minutes, Jeb and Aldemy took turns using their RCS jets to maintain their proximity, even narrowing the distance between spacecraft to less than 3 meters. At one point, Jeb suggested that the two pilots should EVA and switch spacecraft, but Aldemy, who had not trained on EVA procedures, was unwilling to go along, and Gene had to point out the very real danger of one or both spacecraft colliding while pilot-less.

The two spacecraft, nose to nose.

Finally, the time came for the two kerbonauts to return. Jeb used his RCS jets one last time to widen the distance between himself and Kerbal 8, then performed a de-orbit burn. Once Jeb had landed safely in the eastern section of the Great Desert, Aldemy performed his de-orbit burn. Aldemy had expressed a desire to visit the Badlands on the Eastern continent, but his novice status as a pilot meant he was not able to reach his goal, with his capsule touching down in the grasslands on the Eastern continent.

With the first orbital rendezvous completed, the Kerbal program drew to a close.

Total Mission Time: 13 hours, 26 minutes (Kerbal 7), 13 hours, 11 minutes (Kerbal 8)

Mission Outcome: SUCCESS.

[Landwalker]

Great stuff, as usual.

I have to ask the unspoken question: What is your plan for this campaign/mission report log once version 0.23 is released?

[AndrewBCrisp]

Hi Landwalker,

RE: .23 and this mission log. From what I'm given to understand, the changes to the science and transmission system should not affect what I've done already, and I doubt any of the other changes will break my save, so I don't envision any real problems. I will be backing up my save, just to be on the safe side.

My biggest worry is the use of the Procedural Fairings mod - this will be the first time I've updated with a mod already in place, so I'm not sure what will happen there. Worst case: if the mod does cause my save to break, I'll hold off using my backup until a new version of PF is up - so perhaps a behind-the-scenes delay of up to a week or two should be expected. I'll post a status report if that happens.

So the mission log will continue as-is without any further reboots. I expect the addition of Minmus biomes will alter my plans for that minty mun, but that just means more missions. Further - depending on where it is in the tech tree - I expect the science lab will alter my plans for the KerbalLab space station (due to go up either toward the end of Year 2 or the start of Year 3). The ability for Kerbals to carry samples from one capsule to another should simplify my lander designs considerably.

For the immediate future, my plan is to use this week to wrap up the mission reports for Year 1 (the Mun Orbital Observer report will go up tonight, and the Venturer 3 launch report will go up on Wednesday), and post a Year-In-Review report on Friday. After that, the Pan-Kerbin Space Agency will be getting a week and a half off for the Christmas and New Years holidays - I'll spend some time first testing the update to make sure I can proceed, then move on ahead with my Surveyor and Anaid lander programs for the Mun and Minmus. Mission reports for Year 2 will start up on Friday, January 3, 2014.

[AndrewBCrisp]

Mun Orbital Observer: A Satellite Around the Mun

Date: Year 1, Day 270

Mission: Mun Orbital Observer

Goal: Place a satellite in low Munar orbit for long-term scientific observations.

The MOO Satellite lifts off from KSC

While the Kerbal program moved ahead full-speed, other scientific endeavors also needed attending to. One of these endeavors was the study of Mystery Goo, which had been in abeyance since the quiet performance of the three Goo Observer missions, which sent and returned Goo Containers into low and high Kerbin orbits, and on Munar and Minmus free-return flybys. Dr. Genecas Kerman, head of the research into Goo, insisted that the PKSA had not yet exhausted the subject of Goo study, and insisted on a more long-term mission to study the effects of Munar proximity on the Goo. Dr. Werhner von Kerman (head researcher for the PKSA), and Professor Carl Kerman (top scientist for the Venturer program), disagreed. After much shouting and pencil-throwing a calm and reasoned scientific debate, it was decided that a satellite for long-term study into the Goo in Munar orbit was a worthwhile endeavor.

MOO leaves Kerbin orbit

The Mun Orbital Observer (MOO for short) would employ a trans-Munar booster stage that would later see use (with modifications) in the Surveyor program, due to its great efficiency in delivering small payloads to the Mun. Like the Venturer probes, the MOO carried its own engine and onboard fuel supply. Once achieving orbit around the Mun, the MOO cut loose the booster, which then used the last of its fuel to crash into the Munar surface.

Camera image from MOO of the booster stage hitting the Mun. It is suspected some components might have survived impact.

After separating from its booster, the MOO used its onboard engine to adjust its orbit into a 35 km equatorial orbit, which would place the satellite firmly in what was being referred to as “near Mun spaceâ€Â, and thus most suitable for the planned series of observations. The MOO then underwent a series of system checks, and, once its orbit brought it in transmission line-of-sight with Kerbin, began to transmit its observations of the onboard Goo container to PKSA’s tracking station.

MOO in low Munar Orbit, antenna open and transmitting.

“The most consistent reading we got out of the satellite was that the Goo had become less dense near the Mun,†Dr. Genecas stated. “This is similar to the report we got back from Goo Observer 2 when it swung by the Mun briefly a few months back, but our report then was intermittent at best. This discovery implies a certain link between Goo behavior and gravity.

“I’m pleased with the performance of the MOO, but even after a couple of observations, our ability to study the Goo drops immensely. I suspect we won’t get any real good observations of the Goo past New Year’s. Possibly some means to recharge the Goo - replacing the contents with a fresh Goo sample, perhaps - can help us further our research. It’s something to look into, especially when we start sending Kerbals to other worlds on a long-term basis. Maybe some sort of field science laboratory could be developed.†With those words, Genecas returned to his lab, muttering something about designing a crewed science module.

Total Mission Time: 7 hours, 31 minutes to reach Munar orbit; Goo observations still on-going.

Mission Outcome: SUCCESS.

[chaoko99]

I love how you made the significant names, just real names backwards like ydennek is Kennedy spelled backwards

another being moscow, wocsom