[.24][Career][Mods] Kerbal States Space Program

[HawkW]

Notes:

My goal in this hopefully on-going series of mission reports is to tell a realistic, somewhat technical story, inspired by Cashen's mission reports, but playing by the rules of Career Mode. I'm using a number of mods, including KW Rocketry, Kethane, TAC Life Support, DMagic Orbital Science, Universal Storage, and Near Future Technology (including its' modified tech tree). I'm an engineer by trade, so I like the technical voice, and I think it's pretty fitting for KSP mission reports. Mission naming may follow a scheme along the lines of the BYEMAN Control System, mostly because I like the random-uppercase-codewords theme, and partially because I don't think real-world Earth mythological figures are appropriate names for completely fictional Kerbal spacecraft.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
   
   1. 
      
   2. Kerbonaut Roster
      
      
   3. The Founding of the Kerbal States Space Program
      
      
   4. The First Steps Out
      
      

Edited July 24, 2014 by HawkW

[HawkW]

[TABLE=width: 500]

[TR]

[TD]Name

[/TD]

[TD]Role

[/TD]

[TD]Decorations

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]KERMAN, Jebediah

[/TD]

[TD]Test Pilot, Project PACER

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]KERMAN, Bob

[/TD]

[TD]Test Pilot, Project PACER

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]KERMAN, Bill

[/TD]

[TD]Test Pilot, Project PACER

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]KERMAN, Desoly

[/TD]

[TD]Flight Engineer

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]KERMAN, Erton

[/TD]

[TD]Flight Engineer

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]KERMAN, Ribvin

[/TD]

[TD]Mission Specialist (Geologist)

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]KERMAN, Elsy

[/TD]

[TD]Mission Specialist (Geologist)

[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Edited July 24, 2014 by HawkW

[HawkW]

After the Second World War, the president of the Kerbal States, John Fitzgerald Kerman, proposed an ambitious new goal for the nation, leveraging the recent developments in aerospace technology gleaned during the war: the exploration and eventual colonization of space! The Kerbal States Space Programme, or KSP, was founded and tasked with overseeing the nation's space exploration missions. KSP's first long-term goal was the manned exploration of Kerbin's natural satellites, Mun and Minmus, but before this could take place, the technology to launch Kerbals into space and bring them home intact must first be developed.

Launch Complex Construction

In order to better support space launches, a site near the equator was chosen for the construction of KSP's headquarters, the Cape Kernaveral Space Centre, or KSC. The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) was located close to the main pad, so that moving assembled rockets to the launch site would be relatively easy. It was decided that all of KSP's facilities, including the astronaut training centre, mission control, research and development, and administration, would all be located at the launch site at Cape Kernaveral, in order to better facilitate cooperation and communication between the programme's various branches.

Recruiting the first Kerbonauts

The first three Kerbonauts recruited, Jebediah Kerman, Bill Kerman, and Bob Kerman, were all veteran test pilots from the Kerbal Air Force's high-altitude and hypersonic research programs. Jebediah, the test pilot group's leader, had a reputation for bravery that bordered on the mythical - it was said that he "had no fear" and "laughed in the face of danger." This was confirmed by the psychological evaluations done as part of the Kerbonaut recruitment project, and the lead psychologist was reported as having referred to Jeb as a "tremendous badass." Jebediah's bravery made him an ideal candidate for the first Kerbal in space.

Bill and Bob were both also highly qualified - Bob was a jet fighter pilot who had transferred to the test pilot program, and had logged over 1000 hours piloting experimental aircraft, while Bill, who was also an experienced test pilot, also boasted a Ph.D in aerospace engineering.

Four additional Kerbonauts were also recruited: Desoly Kerman and Erton Kerman, flight engineers; and Elsy Kerman and Ribvin Kerman, astrogeologists who specialized in Mun and Minmus, and would make up the science team of the planned Munar expeditions. While the test pilot group evaluated KSP's experimental space hardware, Desoly, Erton, Elsy, and Ribvin were all undergoing intensive training in their specialties to prepare for future flights.

While the Kerbonauts underwent training, KSC's engineering team, under Chief Engineer Hawk Kerman, began development for the manned orbital spaceflight pilot programmme, designated the PACER Project. Its primary objective: to place a Kerbal into orbit around Kerbin, and return him home safely.