One inexperienced player's bumbling attempt at a space program

[Basilo1146]

I have finally decided to break out career mode, and I decided that I should bug the rest of you with my experiences.

Apparently our engineers are completely inept, as they managed to come up with this horrendous contraption:

Only a few seconds into launch, the external engines overheat, to the confusion of everyone. Considering that they are exposed to the open air, one would think that they would stay cooler than the center engine, but for some reason they explode right of the gate, leaving our rocket two engines short.

Thins only get worse as the center engine, which we wanted to overheat, fails to do so, and remains attached to the rocket, blocking its thrust, and leaving this flight doomed for failure. Even after having burned all of the fuel from the liquid engine, the center booster is still attached to the rocket.

We don't just give up that easily, however! We managed to get 25 science from a few EVA reports, surface samples, and other stuff that we forced our kerbals into dangerous situations to retrieve. Despite that, we were determined to see our design work, and so we did. On the ship's second launch, it ascended up through the atmosphere to 90 km above the surface, marking kerbal kind's first trip to space.

Always impatient, Jeb burned downwards to make the ship get back earlier. On his way down, he hopped out of the ship to get a report.

Jeb quickly learned the error in his ways when his ship had ceased to slow down, despite being uncomfortably close to the ground. The flames were rather spectacular, however.

After plopping down in the middle of nowhere, and losing half the ship in the process, Jeb collected some data before getting picked up.

With this, we were ready to research some new rocket parts, and to start sending Kerbals further than ever before.

Edited December 18, 2013 by Basilo1146

[Vanamonde]

As "contaptions" go, that's really not that bad. It didn't blow up on the pad, and collected some science. I've seen worse.

[Basilo1146]

Thanks. Things don't really fail spectacularly around me, they just slowly disassemble into a frustrating heap.

The Hexa X-1 was the most anticipated development in space exploration in kerbal history. Designed over a period of several months, it was the pinnacle of rocketry.

Jeb was still getting reprimanded for the reentry debacle, so his brother, Bill, a more level headed kerbal, was chosen to fly this mission. Bill handled the Hexa like a pro, and the ship easily ascended up through the atmosphere and achieved orbit for the first time in history.

The ship still had an entire stage full of fuel left, and it was decided that this mission could go much further. So it was that Bill set up a burn and pushed the Hexa for Mun.

Originally Bill was going to land the Hexa there, but upon entering Mun's SoI, he decided that there wasn't enough fuel to land and safely return, so he instead opted for a flyby, gaining science along the way.

Upon reentry into Kerbin's atmosphere, Bill quickly learned that, even when entering at a shallow angle, you are going to get hot.

The ship slowed down more than quick enough, thankfully, and landed smoothly in the desert, netting enough science to make some upgrades to the lander, and to send a kerbal farther than ever before.

We don't have ladders...