Adventures in KW: SuperWeegee's Modded Missions [Image Heavy]

[SuperWeegee4000]

NOTE: This mission series is presented in character. Any out-of-character notes will be presented in italics.

So here we are. I'm trying out mods again, though all I'm using for this series is KW Rocketry and possibly KOSMOS later on. I'm playing out this series in sandbox mode, but presenting a logical course of events, mostly. I say mostly because I'm doing this the "Kerbal" way; as in, starting with manned missions and using satellites later on. I'll have a separate "simulation" save, where I test if designs are feasible; a good substitute for mods like Kerbal Engineer, which I'm too lazy to install. I'll start out with the Big Three crew, but quickly move on to new recruits, and rarely use the same Kerbal twice. So without further ado, let us present... Adventures in KW!

For centuries, Kerbalkind has looked up at the Mun and the stars and said "I'm hungry." Now, however, the technology of space travel is within the reach of the Kerbal race. The Kerbal Space Program has been formed, founded on the principle of science and exploration. A space center along the equator has been constructed, and it is here that Kerbin's great pursuit of the stars will begin.

The first Kerbal to apply for the job was named Jebediah, famous for building a monster truck out of a demolished warehouse and smashing it into another warehouse that had just been built, with flames flying out the exhaust and a huge grin on Jeb's face. Two more applied, acquaintances, Bill and Bob. Bob was famous for voicing Rainbow Fish on "The Adventures of Psycho Dorky Fish," and Bill was famous for... um... well, nothing, really. He was a test pilot for the Northern Air Force.

The first rocket built was a simple suborbital rocket that fell apart in the VAB. So they built a better suborbital rocket that also fell apart in the VAB. So they threw up their hands and said "Forget it. Let's go orbital." And thus, Zhelaniye 1 was born.

Zhelaniye 1 in the VAB, sporting its prototype name, meaning "Space Rocket 1." To make their rocket names sound cooler, the Kerbals used a device known as "Kergle Translate," despite its reputation as a terrible translator.

The rocket was untested, and thus, only Jebediah was crazy enough to apply for the first flight into space. Bill called in sick, and Bob got out of it by hiding in the "Psycho Dorky Fish" recording room and locked the door from the inside, and pretended he didn't have the keys. So Jeb was strapped into the capsule of Zhelaniye 1 and the countdown began.

Zhelaniye 1 on the pad.

At T-0, the rocket lifted off with a Kerbin-shattering boom, and Jeb became airborne.

The rocket carried onward in the same configuration until it was time to separate the boosters. However, to the scientists' annoyance, the main liquid engine cut out slightly before the boosters stopped firing, making the separators on the boosters useless. The rocket lost a bit of speed, but the third stage (now the second stage) decoupled and blasted away with its Maverick-V engine.

Before Jeb knew it, the engine had cut out, and he was coasting upwards towards a realm no Kerbal had ever met before.

I really like this shot.

In a short minute, Jeb was there. He was in space proper. And he was pleased.

The fairings separate.

The Maverick-V could only burn for a couple of seconds to help the orbital engine reach orbit.

And thus, Jeb was truly the first spacekerbal. As he orbited, he rotated his spacecraft to catch a view of Kerbin's curve.

After a single trip around the equator, it was time to deorbit. Jeb pointed his craft retrograde and burned up every drop of fuel in the tank - as it happened, he had just the right amount. That happens to me a lot. He detached his capsule and waited for atmospheric entry.

This was a dangerous part of the mission. The head scientist, a fellow called von Kerman, had assured the engineering team that the capsule would survive atmospheric reentry. Mission Control was less than convinced, but it was too late to abort now. Jeb came screaming into the atmosphere at 2000 meters per second.

Soon, however, it was over, and Jeb had survived. The parachute opened up, and Jeb came back to Kerbin.

What do you think? Should I do more? I'm interested to see how this ends up playing out; I plan to go as far as I can.

[SuperWeegee4000]

After Jeb's successful first flight, the Kerbal public began pushing for more flights, primarily to find out if Minmus was actually a dessert. Bill was selected for the Zhelaniye 2 flight, which was far more fleshed out than the first mission.

For starters, the boosters and first-stage liquid core were now a single stage, so that they could both be decoupled at the same time. The onboard electronics were of better quality, enabling more data collection in space. And the seat was made slightly more comfortable.

Zhelaniye 2 in the VAB, at an angle that showcases the flag of the Kerbal Space Program. The flag was designed by a rather mysterious chap who assured the administrators that the peculiar symbol on it was of importance.

The launch profile would be about the same, and now that the Zhelaniye rockets, called Neustrashimyy launchers without the capsule payload, were proven technology, the KSC was eager to start running semiregular flights into LKO.

"Guys, I just changed my mind. I don't want to go into space." "Too late." "Darn."

The launch was basically the same as the first one, so nothing super interesting. The Zhelaniye rockets fly so fast, shock heating licks the fairings on the way up.

Pretty soon, Bill was in orbit as well.

"Wow, KSC, this is beautiful, just beauti-- hey, are these Chockerb bars? Sweet!"

Bill completed two orbits over the span of an hour, along the way performing experiments inside his capsule.

"Hey, maybe I can finally spin a plate on top of a stick! Let's try with this porcelain sample...." [A crashing sound is heard inside the capsule] "...Darn."

Then it was time to deorbit. Bill had grown somewhat bored over the hour he was there, and Mission Control made a note to include some comic books on the next flight.

Bill was rather calm during reentry, or perhaps he was just incapable of speaking. As the parachute opened, Bill caught a glimpse of the sky from the capsule window. However, he had seen the sky thousands of times, and thus was not impressed.

As Bill splashed down, the KSC was already planning its next mission... and it would be the most dangerous one yet.

[SuperWeegee4000]

Any thoughts?

[Captain_Party]

Less asky, more makey! But seriously, yeah, I like it

[Daddy Cecil]

I like it as well! +Rep

[Naten]

I suggest you a name:

ÚþÑÂüøчõÑÂúðѠрðúõтð штуúþòøýð ø÷ üýþöõÑÂтòð ñуü!

space rocket with lots of BOOM!

[SuperWeegee4000]

A bit of a note before we start: I moved all my saves around and lost the original one. So this is a new save, but I'm continuing from what I had in the previous one.

If the Kerbals were to be able to live and operate in space, they were going to have to go outside their spacecraft. So the KSC changed the mission parameters of Zhelaniye 3 from a test of new equipment and a longer stay in space to the first Extra-Vehicular Activity, or EVA. They spent a week modifying the space suit so it could support a Kerbonaut in the vacuum of space. At this point, the staff were calling the Zhelaniye flights "Space Rockets with lots of BOOM!" so the controllers had to make sure this mission went right. They didn't want any lives lost, or a lawsuit on their hands.

Zhelaniye 3 ready for the track platform.

Bob Kerman was chosen for the third flight into space. "Now, guys, I don't see the point in rushing here. Let's all just relax, take a breather, and watch some TV." [Technicians shut and seal the hatch] "Yeah, I could see going in that that wasn't going to work."

Zhelaniye 3 during the final ten-minute countdown.

And liftoff! Bob was on his way up. Had he been able to do anything other than breathe shallowly over the G-forces, he would have been screaming the whole way to orbit.

Everything went smoothly, except for the second stage tumbling a little bit just before burnout. Bob became the third Kerbal to touch space.

"So, are we still on for that whole EVA thing? Because I think I left my suit back in the Astronaut Complex." "Nice try."

Note: The whole Kerbonaut/Astronaut thing has been confusing for some time. In my headcanon, "Kerbonaut" is the catch-all term for spacekerbals, while "astronaut" is the KSP's local term.

So Bob opened the hatch and touched the blackness for the very first time.

"...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH..." "Bob, your jetpack." "...AAAHHHoh right."

After stabilizing himself with the prototype RCS pack, he circled his ship, inspecting the engine and the solar panels.

Bob tests out his helmet lights.

After getting back inside the capsule and taking a nap, he turned his ship retrograde and burned. He was, however, off-target, and had overestimated his fuel levels. As such, he was aimed not for a safe splashdown, but a dry setdown on the mountains ringing the Great Impact. Reentry went perfectly, and the flight of Zhelaniye 3 terminated upon the capsule hitting the rock.

Bob, shaken, got out of his capsule and ran, not even bothering to remove his helmet, to the edge, to catch a view of the planet he had left behind for only 45 minutes. Or maybe he just thought an island off in the distance looked like a candy bar.

He also returned this picture of the Mun.