Kerbco career- Chapter 13: Re-return to the Mun

jfull · April 7, 2014

Latest update: Chapter 13

This is a mission report series to document my new Career playthrough. Its embellished with some story and sillyness, and follows Kerbco Launch Systems (KLS). KLS is a young space program that must bootstrap itself quickly and rise to the challenge of exploring the solar system.

My goals for this career are:

to use much fewer parts mods than usual

to make craft that look attractive and realistic whenever possible

and to make the space program's missions progress realistically (ie. Not sending Kerbals to Duna without first sending a rover, or by doing missions that don't necessarily provide science, like space stations.)

Significant Mods used:

Visual Enhancements, Texture Replacer (for unique Kerbal heads), RasterPropMonitor, Procedural Fairings, HomeGrownRocketry Radish Pod, KSPX, FTmN Atomic Rockets, Porkjet's Habs and SpaceplanePlus, Precisenode, and a few miscellaneous others.

Astronaut Bios

Info on Kerbco's most prominent astronauts:

(All mission reports will be in the form of Imgur albums)

Chapter 1: Beginning

Featuring the founding of Kerbco under orders from President Kerman himself, and the launch of the Z-series rockets.

Chapter 2: Beyond Kerbin

Featuring the Surveyor-1 and 2 missions, manned close range observations of the Mun and Minmus.

More coming soon!

Edited August 7, 2014 by jfull

jfull · April 8, 2014

I've added something new to the original post, Astronaut Stats! This will track every mission a Kerbal has been on, as well as their significant firsts.

Chapter 3: The Pioneer Program

Pioneer-1 and 2 were test flights and demonstrated that rendezvousing in orbit was feasible. (these are the kinds of missions I'm doing for realism and progression, not science points)

Jeb also had to make an unconventional landing when his spacecraft has a design flaw.

Pioneer-3 was the real deal, a full Mun landing mission. I'm rather proud of the craft design on this one.

feedback is appreciated!

Edited April 11, 2014 by jfull

jfull · April 11, 2014

Chapter 4: Pioneer continues, and Project Stego-Soar is launched

Jeb was pretty bummed out about not being first on the Mun, but once he got better from the Kerbal-pox, he jumped at the chance to go on the second mission and grab some more Mun rocks for the scientists.

Meanwhile, Bill and Seerie had been occupied with a pet project of their own design. They claimed that if a plane-shaped spacecraft was fitted with thermal protection, it could land without parachutes as easily as any plane. Most everyone else at Kerbco was very skeptical of their "plane in space" idea, but they managed to convince a portion of the R&D team to produce a working vehicle.

They called it "Project Stego-Soar"

Their demonstration was enough to convince everyone that spaceplanes were a viable design.

(this early-campaign spaceplane is my homage to the Dyna-Soar concept)

Not long after that, one of the Asteroids the Kerbco observatory was tracking entered into Kerbin's SOI, on a trajectory that would take it just beneath the Mun's orbit:

Edited April 16, 2014 by jfull

jfull · April 16, 2014

Sorry for the break, but the next update after this one will come very soon!

Chapter 5: Pioneer concludes, and the Atlas Program begins

Some proposals had been floating around the space center about the next Pioneer mission intercepting the small asteroid that would be passing Kerbin. Unfortunately, it was determined that it couldn't be reached with current rockets, and the intercept would be further complicated by it being in a retrograde orbit.

The 5th Pioneer mission would instead be going to its original target, Minmus. Astronomers and planetary scientists on Kerbin had been asking all sorts of puzzling questions about Minmus since Surveyor 2 orbited it (usually they asked the questions aloud but to no one in particular, frankly it was getting a little creepy).

Pioneer 5

Though the mission was a complete success, Rodrick and Domore voiced their concerns about the cramped conditions in the capsule. They had been inside for nearly 20 (Kerbin) days, with little space and no means of personal hygiene. They also said they were worried that the standard 2-man "Raddish" pod was using out-of-date technology.

Company founders Jeb, Bill, and Bob shrugged off their complaints at first and reminded them that being an astronaut required some discomfort and risk in order to advance the frontiers of science.

Rodrick was not satisfied... and when he got back to the astronaut complex he voiced his concerns to his peers. Most of them agreed that the space program was pushing forward without much thought for the crew. Missions were getting longer and would continue to get longer, but capsules were staying the same.

They decided to make some signs and go on strike...

It didn't take long for the founders to get the message, and against the recommendations of the board of directors, they agreed that future missions would need better crew capsules.

It was probably for the best anyway, the R&D department had already been working on a large 3-man pod design for sending multiple Kerbals to the Mun, and this was the push they needed to get it implemented.

After a few quiet weeks at the space center, the prototype of the new Atlas series was launched.

Atlas-1

Up next: Kerbco does investigations into long-term accommodations in space, and the mysterious planet Eve is probed for the first time.

Please feel free to comment if you like it, or even just to tell me that you don't like something!

jfull · April 16, 2014

Chapter 6: Space Hab and the Evebound Probe

It was around this point that Kerbco was faced with a dilemma. Many Kerbal scientists were calling for more information about the other planets in the solar system, information that could be easily obtained with small robotic missions. However, most of Kerbco's government funding was dependent on continued manned missions.

Eventually it was decided that a new division would be split off from Kerbco Launch Systems, Kerbco Robotic Planetary Science. This new division would have less funding, but more autonomy, and be able to conduct missions simultaneously with the manned space program.

Space Hab

While they were thinking about how best to accommodate Kerbals on long duration missions, the Kerbco team devised the concept of a large laboratory in orbit of Kerbin, a sort of station in space or "space station" as they started calling it. The new concept was approved, and dubbed the Space Hab project.

(This is my equivalent to Skylab of course)

Atlas 2 and 3 were used to transport crew to and from the station.

Findings from the crews indicated that Kerbal's bodies get even squishier and weaker with exposure to zero-g, fascinating.

Evebound probe

Eve was the most interesting planet to Kerbal astronomers (and science fiction writers) at the time. Its thick clouds suggested the presence of water and rain, and although it was closer to the sun than Kerbin, many believed that the clouds would block most of the light and allow for habitable conditions on the surface.

At the same time as the Space Hab missions, the Evebound probe was launched. It would enter the atmosphere and reveal what lay under the clouds for the first time.

The probe's findings were a heavy reality check to the scientific community. They had been overly optimistic in their theories and failed to account for the fact that Eve's atmosphere might trap the sun's heat, rather than reflect it. The data it transmitted was very informative and helped scientists gain a very clear picture of the surface of Eve, even if it wasn't the picture they had hoped for.

Next time: Kerbco launches its biggest mission yet; a large, long duration Munar Expedition.

Edited April 16, 2014 by jfull

jfull · April 20, 2014

Chapter 7: The Munar Outpost

Everyone in the Kerbco boardroom held their breath and waited. All the senior members of the R&D department, scientific teams, and most of the astronauts themselves had been called to this meeting. After a very long discussion, they had decided on Kerbco's next move. It was bold, but to pull it off they were going to need funding, and plenty of it. The next few minutes would determine whether they could go forward with the plan.

Jebediah picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello, I'd like to speak with President Kerman."

Eventually, Kerbco got the funding they needed for their next phase. They were going back to the Mun, but this time with a larger mission using more advanced technology. Additionally, the astronauts would be spending a month or more on the Munar surface.

The first mission of this program would be broken up between 4 launches; 2 unmanned to send necessary hardware, and 2 manned to send the crew.

With the surface hab, rover, and mini station in place, the crew could be sent.

Atlas 4

Atlas 5

The Munar Adventure will continue!

I am in need of suggestions!

So, my little Munar expedition is trapped in one crater now and I'm not sure what to do about it. I had really hoped that they would be able to drive large distances over the Munar surface to visit other biomes, but that's not going to happen with what they have currently.

My options seem to be to either ship the outpost some kind of new, super stable, giant rover, or just bring the crew back home after a month of partying on the Mun with the science they have right now.

Just bringing them back home would allow me to move on to some very neat stuff like a grand Duna mission, but the super rover would let me get a lot more out of this Mun expedition.

What do you think I should try to do?

Edited April 20, 2014 by jfull

astropapi1 · April 20, 2014

You could always make a winch with KAS and pull it from the top of the crater.

Concerning the Munar expedition, shouldn't you use single-stage landers? Then you could reuse them as many times as you liked and not leave any debris around. Maybe for a future base.

jfull · April 20, 2014

I'd prefer not to add KAS to my list of mods. I've used it before, and the pipes and struts can be quite useful, but I've never gotten the winches to work well.

Also, the landers are very close to being single stage landers, unless they are used to hop between locations prior to liftoff, which the 2nd lander has.

Your suggestion has gotten me thinking about how I probably should have done this mission though. I could have just put a station in low Munar orbit with a processing lab and a significant supply of fuel and just sent down a reusable lander to the various biomes.

This way of dong it has been kinda fun though, I guess.

jfull · April 26, 2014

Chapter 8: Munar Exploration

Kerbco engineers brainstormed hard to come up with a better way for the Munar Oupost crew to explore beyond their home crater. The Outpost had been Kerbco's most expensive undertaking yet, and if they needed to spend a bit more to make the whole endeavor worth the expense, so be it. Eventually they produced a new rover design, one that went far far beyond the capabilities of the rover that was originally sent with the habitat.

This rover had 8 wheels mounted on an extra-wide frame, a pressurized interior, and even a set of rocket engines for flying over obstacles. It was named the Spider Crab (or Spi-Crab, hehe) after a hardy creature native to Kerbin's badlands.

Extreme rovering in the Spi-Crab

Bob and Seerie's discovery was so unusual that Kerbco decided to keep "The Memorial" classified for now. Only a handful of government officials were made aware.

After a week more of exploring the surface, it was finally time to wrap up the Munar Outpost mission and bring the crew home. They had gotten quite attached to their home on the Mun, but they were running out of snacks, so they packet up their scientific gear and said farewell.

After this mission concluded, Kerbco was forced to scale back their operations. They had pulled some strings with President Kerman to get the funding for the Outpost, but that wasn't going to work again.

There were also some rumors that smaller aerospace groups were beginning to gain the favor of the government and the public. It seemed as though Kerbco's time in spotlight might be coming to an end.

However, something big was out there hurtling through the void. Something that would rush Kerbco back to the forefront of spaceflight.

Feedback and random comments are appreciated!

Edited April 26, 2014 by jfull

jfull · April 26, 2014

Yup, thats right, 2 updates in the same day!

Chapter 9: Asteroid Crisis (or "Tom the Destroyer")

At the Kerbco space center, things were quiet. The only mission currently underway was unmanned and in the middle of a long transfer (more on that mission later).

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the tracking center. Some intern was claiming that he had seen something when he was cleaning the long-range telescope. Many were skeptical, but things started to get serious when everyone got a good look at the object he had found. It was a class-D asteroid, and it was headed right for Kerbin.

(I know that asteroids don't really do anything if they impact Kerbin, and that even a class-E asteroid wouldn't cause the end of the world, but I decided that I should consider it a threat anyway. Imagine if it impacted or airbursted above a populated area, like that one meteor over Russia. It could cause some serious damage and possibly loss of life!)

After hearing the news, the Kerbin goverment tasked Kerbco with diverting the threat. They dusted off a spare Skylance heavy rocket and fitted it with a modified Atlas orbiter. It was time to cancel a disaster.

Atlas-6

The success of the asteroid redirect mission renewed the public's interest in Kerbco's space program. Their astronauts were real heroes and their engineers built machines that performed miracles.

When all was said and done, Jebediah made another call to President Kerman and said "I think this means you owe us one". He hung up before the President could reply.

Despite the other space programs continuing to pop up all over Kerbin, Kerbco was now firmly in the lead again.

Revitalized, they set their sights on preparations for the next destination of Kerbal-kind, the planet Duna.

Feedback and random comments are appreciated!

Edited April 26, 2014 by jfull

boa3532 · April 26, 2014

This was a very enjoyable read for me. Looking forward to seeing what happens next!

jfull · April 26, 2014

I'm glad you think so!

I'm thinking about changing Kerbco's role for the future. They'll keep building rockets and flying missions, but the other Aerospace companies I've been hinting at might build their own payloads and pay Kerbco to launch them on their rockets.

That way they'll be truly living up to their name as "Kerbco Launch Systems", and it'll give me a chance to show off craft from other groups that might have different plans in space than Kerbco does!

jfull · May 2, 2014

Chapter 10: New Frontiers

EDEE Rover

Before the Asteroid Crisis, the Kerbco Robotic Planetary Science division had launched a mission to Duna to collect data about its environment. Long range observation from Kerbin had only revealed that it was a desert world with little to no water and a very thin atmosphere. More detailed observations would need to be taken in order to determine if there were any unknown hazards that could harm future astronauts (including indigenous life).

Elley Kerman and the other robotics engineers determined that an automated rover would be the best option to explore Duna. Now, it was finally time for it to arrive at the red planet.

(Note: at this point I have added some, but not all, of the parts from the Dmagic Orbital Science and Panda Jager Laboratories Parts mods)

EDEE detected no signs of life, but did pick up signs that Duna had a much more complicated geological history than previously thought. Weak and variable readings from the magnetometer indicated that its core went cold long ago.

Side Projects

Meanwhile back at Kerbco, several other smaller and younger aerospace groups had approached the board of directors with an interesting proposal. Rather than compete with each other, they should collaborate to explore the final frontier.

Tangerine Inc. was very interested in space stations, and requested permission to reactivate and expand on Kerbco's old Space Hab station. They would build new modules that would be launched on Kerbco's rockets.

Alpine Aerospace also requested the use of Kerbco's launch pad for their new space shuttle, which could bring more Kerbals to and from orbit than Kerbco's current capsules.

The Eve Initiative

The remaining companies who partnered with Kerbco were interested in helping to take Kerbals beyond Kerbin and to the planets. This would require housing Kerbals for extended periods, something which Kerbco already had experience. Technology was still not ready for a manned Duna landing, but a potential window for a free-return flyby of the planet Eve was opening up.

And so, the cooperative Eve Initiative began to build a craft to take a crew past Eve and bring them home safe.

(In order to make the free-return flyby, I used this guide, though my implementation might have been a little sloppy)

Next time: Kerbco finally goes to Duna, in a big way!

jfull · May 10, 2014

Chapter 11: Launching the Duna Expedition Fleet

It had been months since the EDEE rover had set down on the surface of Duna, and it had not made any significant finding since its initial survey of the environment. Most scientists had reached the conclusion that even if there was water on Duna in the past, it was long gone, and it had taken any chance for life with it. That conclusion was about to be challenged however.

While the rover passing through some terrain it had already surveyed, one of the interns in charge of watching the incoming images noticed that the side of a hill had collapsed since the rover had last been there. The erosion looked like it had been caused by water that had welled up from underground! The rover was brought in for a closer look and found that the soil in the area did indeed contain faint traces of water, but mostly in the form of ice.

This discovery seemed to reopen the possiblity of life on the planet Duna, but many were still skeptical. The rover's limited instruments made it impossible to confirm the cause of the erosion.

Everywhere, the call was going up for a new mission to Duna to be launched. The mystery of water on Duna would require manned exploration to solve.

An Atomic Wagon Train to the Stars

Like the Eve Initiative before this, Kerbco would not be able to mount such an ambitious mission alone. Together with their aerospace partners, they set about designing the craft that would carry the first Kerbals to the red planet.

The design they arrived at consisted of 4 separate vehicles and would require 7 rocket launches.

All of the vehicles were dependent on a revolutionary new technology, the Nuclear Thermal Rocket, designed by Kerbco's own Elley Kerman. Since Kerbals are, by their nature, nonviolent creatures with no use for weapons, nuclear research had been progressing slowly. But Kerbal engineers are, if nothing else, ingenious and resourceful, and it was Elley who determined that the integration of a compact nuclear reactor could produce an engine with a fuel efficiency that had never been seen before.

The crew of the Lady in Red got settled in their new home for the next few months. The spinning centrifuge would prevent their muscles from fatiguing.

It would be important for them to keep from going stir crazy or becoming anti-social during the trip, so they had been provided with a large media library and regular movie and board game nights had been scheduled for them.

On the morning of the second day of their trip, Bill and Jeb sat down in the little galley to share coffee and snacks.

Bill: "mornin' Jeb, sleep well?"

Jeb: "definitely, the bunks in the centrifuge are way more comfortable than the bags they had us sleeping in before."

Bill: "Yeah... you know, I still can't believe how long we're going to be away from Kerbin this time..."

Jeb: "Oh come on Bill, don't tell me you're getting homesick already"

Bill: "Well, no, its not that..."

Jeb: "Ooooh, I see how it is. You've got someone special back home!"

Bill: "what? no... nooo, that's nonsense."

But it was true, Bill had started dating Halzon, another astronaut he had met back in Kerbco's early days. They both knew that this sort of situation could arise, but the interplanetary distances between them would be sure to put a strain on their relationship.

Still, everyone, including Bill, was facing the voyage ahead of them with optimism. They were explorers pushing the boundaries of Kerbal knowledge, and they sailed on through the void without fear.

A little update on Tom the Destroyer

You may remember Tom, the sizable asteroid that Jeb, Seerie, and Ronie diverted from its collision course with Kerbin and placed into a highly elliptical orbit. Kerbco had hoped that it might be possible to build an asteroid base on it and mine its resources.

Well, it seems that Tom crossed paths with the Mun while nobody was paying attention and got a sizable gravity assist. Now, the big dumb rock is out orbit around the sun, in between the orbits of Kerbin and Duna.

Projections indicate it will most likely never re-enter Kerbin's SOI...

The next update will obviously be outcome of the Duna mission, so stay tuned.

My thanks to those reading this. Please leave a comment!

panzerknoef · May 10, 2014

I really enjoyed reading this! Keep up the good work!

BejeweledSun0 · May 17, 2014

You should use the free-return lab as a solar space station in the future. Recycling FTW!

BejeweledSun0 · May 17, 2014

What mods are you using?

jfull · May 18, 2014

Mod list is on the first page, though it might be missing some of the smaller part mods I use. I will make it more complete at some point.

Also, the next chapter will be delayed slightly. I haven't had much time to play between other games and, more importantly, starting my new job.

Commander Zoom · May 18, 2014

I love the little touches, like "Tom" and the mythology of the planets. Nice ship design, too.

boa3532 · May 21, 2014

Just need to figure out which of those mods has the torus wheel. It's exactly what I'm looking for, I'm planning on building my version of NASA's concept vehicle Nautilus-X.

Keep up the good work on the series.

jfull · May 21, 2014

Thanks. I wanted to do give Kerbals something that didn't closely correspond to the usual Roman/Greek Pantheon.

Also, in my mind, Kerbals don't understand violence and wouldn't have a god of war (Plus, their blood isn't red so they wouldn't associate a red planet with anything bad).

The centrifuge can be found here: Porkjet's Habs

its a wonderful set stock-a-like parts for housing your Kerbals.

Also, if you like the Nautilus-X, you should probably take a look at the version Nertea made using his Near Future Propulsion and Porkjet's stuff, its actually pretty amazing.

Anyway, thank you, its good to know that people are getting invested in this.

jfull · May 26, 2014

Chapter 12: Duna Exploration

Arriving at Duna

Toward the end of their long transfer to Duna, the crew aboard the Lady in Red was getting restless. While they still had plenty of air and snacks, they had run through their movie library faster than expected. They had tried passing the time with friendly poker games, but those stopped quickly when they realized that Jeb almost always won.

Things got even worse when Sherrey started asking "are we there yet?" at random intervals, but just when it seemed that they couldn't take anymore, they arrived at Duna.

Meanwhile, back on Kerbin, the media exploded with coverage of the landing. This was the most significant event in Kerbal history (at least since the invention of the snack wrapper)

Getting settled in on the Red Planet

Ike Investigations

Next, it was time for the Duna Expedition's secondary mission, a manned landing to investigate the surface of Ike. Ike was not expected to be very different in composition from the Mun, but analysis of samples from its surface could still prove informative to the scientific community.

Truly, these brave (or not so brave) pioneers are advancing the frontiers of Kerbal-kind and scientific knowledge.

Stay tuned to find out whether definitive traces of water (and life) can be found on Duna.

Yay, finally got this all uploaded and captioned.

I decided to add more Kerbalnaut dialogue and personality this time, which I feel is something that has been missing from the start.

Also, let me know if I should keep writing the chapters like I have been, or if I should document entire missions from start to finish.

billbobjebkirk · May 31, 2014

I noticed that you uploaded some textures to imgur for kerbal spacesuits. How do I use those?

jfull · June 11, 2014

You need the Texture Replacer Mod. Read up on how to use it, then you can add my Space Suit Pack.

Anyway, I'm also posting to let people know that I haven't abandoned this. I've just been a little busy with my new job, playing other games, and setting up my brand new PC.

The new PC is actually opening up some new possibilities for this series, as I no longer have to use half-res textures, and I can install a few more mods!

I've already added Near Future Technologies (which should make career endgame a lot more interesting), but if anyone would like to make mod suggestions, I will definitely consider them.

jfull · June 25, 2014

Yeah, there's been a big delay and I apologize. I haven't been working on anything too big in KSP lately because of my new job, but I am putting out this update with the conclusion of the Duna Expedition, some little tidbits on Kerbco's minor projects, and a teaser on what is to come.

Chapter 12 and a half: Duna Conclusion and Kerbco's future

The Discovery on Duna

As the weeks on Duna stretch on, the crew face setbacks in their exploration of the surface...

The discovery of the ancient fossils on Duna rocked the scientific community (Some of them have asked us to lay off the groundbreaking discoveries for a while, they're starting to get dizzy). The fact that microbes evolved on Kerbin's neighbor implied that life might be abundant in the universe. Many astrobiologists called for a new search for life-sustaining environments in the outer solar system. They turned their eyes toward the moons of Jool... they would be Kerbalkind's next frontier.

New Suits and New Technology

After the Duna Expedition, Kerbco rolled out a set of new, upgraded EVA suits. These suits also denoted the Kerbal's specialization and rank, allowing quick identification of EVA team members at a distance.

(Many of you have probably already seen my custom suit textures, but here they are for those who haven't. Orange is for commanders, blue is for scientists and other specialists, and yellow is for pilots and flight engineers)

In the months after the Duna Expedition, Kerbco and its partners have not taken on any large scale missions, but have been investing in the development of several new technologies and larger launch systems. (This also marks the point at which I added the amazing Near Future Technologies to KSP.)

These are some of the minor projects Kerbco has been working on.

A Vision for the Future

With Kerbalkind now focused on Jool, Kerbco's engineers started work on the new propulsion technologies that will carry them there: high powered ion engines and plasma thrusters. After massive amounts of experimental work, they've put forward a design for a nuclear-powered crew transport that uses a large cluster of high-powered ion engines.

Note: While I have actually launched the ship below, It was only to test it, and it is not yet a part of the Kerbco career storyline. I am only posting it now as a teaser and to get some feedback on what I should name it. Click the spoiler to see it, or don't if you want to be surprised.

If they work out well, I'm actually planning to launch a small fleet of them for a future long-term mission to Jool's moons. If you have any ideas for names, feel free to post them!

(one last thing, I know that I haven't been consistently updating the Astronaut Stats on the first page, but at some point I will get around to it)

Kerbco career- Chapter 13: Re-return to the Mun

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