[AAR] The Godspeed Program--Landing on an Asteroid

[Sylandro]

Landing legs and THE CLAAW, is how you land on a asteroid legitimately.

[The Jedi Master]

I've got some bad news.

First off, the tracking station lied--the asteroid passed very close to Kerbin, but did not enter the atmosphere. No collision.

Second, My rendezvous was an epic fail. Imagine docking, only your target is on an escape trajectory, going tens of thousands of MPS more than your ship and has an eccentric trajectory. It just isn't going to work.

So what is the good news? I will will be writing another chapter, but it will be completely fabricated. It will come tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience.

[Transits]

I've got some bad news.

First off, the tracking station lied--the asteroid passed very close to Kerbin, but did not enter the atmosphere. No collision.

Second, My rendezvous was an epic fail. Imagine docking, only your target is on an escape trajectory, going tens of thousands of MPS more than your ship and has an eccentric trajectory. It just isn't going to work.

So what is the good news? I will will be writing another chapter, but it will be completely fabricated. It will come tomorrow. Sorry for the inconvenience.

That's okay, it's better to have a good read later than a rushed one earlier. But what i've read so far is awesome!

[KSK]

The fanworks subforum is often slow. Commenters often take their time, and some stories need to be built significantly before they get much attention. <snip>

This. If it's any consolation, your thread views to comments ratio is about 73:1. For comparison, Czokletmuss has a 146:1 ratio for his Grand Tour story, which is probably about the most commented work on the Fan Works forum.

[The Jedi Master]

I don't have as much time to write this as I thought I did. I'm sorry, yet another schedule slip. However, when it does come (and it will), it will be all the better. Since when has rushing something helped?

(prepares for angry yelling)

[The Jedi Master]

Update Soon tm.

[The Jedi Master]

Update on the 31st. I'll tie myself to the chair if I have to!

[The Jedi Master]

KSC, Four Months Later

"Three... two... one..."

The Godspeed 4 unleashed a mighty roar as it lifted slowly into the sky. It was the largest rocket ever designed, and it had one purpose only--move Unity away from a collision course on Kerbin. To be sure that the asteroid budged, JSP engineers had stuffed as much power as they possibly could into each stage. If this rocket couldn't move Unity, nothing could.

Gene watched as the ship made a gravity turn to the north to intercept the asteroid. Then he checked the asteroid stats on the KSC website, nicknamed the 'Doom Tracker'.

Twenty-four hours to projected impact. Projected impact zone: North Pole. Projected Financial Damages: Incalculable. Projected Death Toll: 99% of Kerbal species. Suggested course of action: Stay with your families.

Gene sighed. This had to work.

Polar Orbit, Twenty Hours Later

"Bill, we're ready for burn. Approach the asteroid."

Bill pushed the throttle forward just slightly. This was a delicate operation--too fast, and the ship would slam into the asteroid, killing all three of the kerbonauts and not moving the asteroid an inch. Sweat tricked his brow. He was still rusty at the whole space thing, despite training. He wasn't sure if he could do this. There were a lot of variables--center of mass of the asteroid, overall weight, and more.

Then, flashbacks assaulted him--Danke, Roning. Faces, scenes. He realized that this would happen to everyone if he failed.

He decided that, no matter what, he would not fail.

"Godspeed 4 have contact with the asteroid. Center of mass is stabilized. Begin deflection burn."

As Bill pushed the throttle forward to maximum, he could hear cheering through his headset. The Director yelled "WE DID IT!"

For the first time in a long time, Bill smiled.

EPILOGUE

Its been three weeks. Unity is long gone. When we got back, I saw someone I hadn't seen in a while. It was my girlfriend, Sarah. She was surprisingly accommodating of my not calling her for years, though she did ask several questions in an angry tone. It took a few days, but I think things are back to normal between us.

Anyway, enough with the mushy stuff. I've been getting back together with Jeb and Bob. Just doing regular stuff--we've been playing this new game, Rocket_Dogs. It's pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I'm also in therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's helped--the flashbacks have stopped, though sometimes I have minor one if I think about the two too much. Nothing else to say about it, really.

As for future space missions, well, I think we're getting budget cuts soon. Congress wants us to be more careful with our funds. For now, though, everything's good. I heard the Director wants a space station and a base on both of Kerbin's moons. Not sure how that will turn out. I've also heard rumors of a mission to Vall--I've always wanted to visit that place.

I think things are going to be good now.

--B.K.

-------------

So ends this story! Don't expect another story for a while, I don't like having a story just sit there, which they always inevitably do. Don't worry, though--I got B9 Aerospace just before Spaceport shut down, and if I can make it work, there will definitely be a story using it! Thank you, and good night!

[Tw1]

It's a pity you couldn't get pictures, but oh well. A happy ending is still nice.

[The Jedi Master]

It's a pity you couldn't get pictures, but oh well. A happy ending is still nice.

Thank you! I'm not too proud of the ending, though, and I plan to do much better in the future.