The Mystery of Hadming Kerman

[GeneralRich]

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have been playing KSP for a few months now but over the last couple of weeks I've started from scratch as honestly I was pretty rubbish at the game trying to figure it all out myself. Now I've embarked on a few missions and been reading how to get into orbit properly and such. I have done so and everything has been going rather well. Now I came to load up the game today and I noticed it said 2 flights in progress, that was odd I thought I'd recovered all my vehicles, there may be (and was) a ship on the launch pad but what about the other flight? I don't remember launching anything and not bringing it back so off to the tracking station I went thinking I probably just EVA'd and needed to recover a vehicle and then I saw it....

What in the perfectly circular orbit? We have something in orbit? But I hadn't launched anything in a while to go into orbit and my flight paths look more like deformed eggs than anything this precise. So I zoomed in to see something, or rather someone shocking...

It's bloody Hadming Kerman! Who the hell is Hadming Kerman? All of my flights have been by the ever present Jeremiah. So what are we dealing with here? I notice that it is 2 days after the new year, did we all get so drunk at the New Years party we fired Hadming into orbit? Did he come here from across the oceans of stars to see us and how on Kerbin did he do that? One thing is for sure, we have to find out who Hadming Kerman is and how the bloody hell he got up there! We only have 1 man command pods right now, we don't quite have the technology, or the skill to get to this man back without him hanging on to the rails of our pod, will he survive reentry to the planet on the ladders of the command module? Who knows. It's worth a shot. This mission is off the books, no one on planet Kerbin can know about this, a potential alien...or even worse a damn terrible use of funds! We need answers! The mystery of Hadming Kerman has begun...

(Basically is this something that always happens or is this a very curious bug? oh and hello I'm new here )

[Thomas988]

Ah, 'tis one of the glorious new features of 0.24.

As of 0.24, the "Career Update" so to speak, Contracts were added, which give your space program money and reputation. These come in the form of missions, and one type is "Rescue ____ Kerman from orbit." At one point or another you must've accept that kind of contract, and alas on map view your Kerbonaut, Hadming Kerman, has appeared, ready for you to return him to Kerbin.

In short, nope, not a glitch. Just a mission for you to complete.

Welcome to the forums!

[Renegrade]

As Thomas said, it's a mission most likely

Don't forget that you can add two (or more) pods to a spacecraft for rescue purposes.

You can also add just one, and a probe core (this is my own preferred method), if you have them unlocked. You can use the crew button at the top of the VAB to unassign Kerbals from seats.

Hadming probably won't be able to hold onto the ladder during re-entry and landing, FYI.

[NFUN]

Welcome to the forums and all, etc. Just so you know, the forums are a pretty laid back place, few members are aggressive or abrasive and mods will filter out the trash. However, there is one particular instance where hostility will rise, one sacred value that must not be besmirched. Jebediah. The forums, as an entity, universally worship two dieties besides our glorious creators and overseers-- Whackjob and Jeb. You will be graced with the Whack's presence soon, and you have already began to achieve enlightenment of the lord of Kerbin.

Your enlightenment must be hastened. His name is Jebediah, with a 'B' as in 'ballistic'. You are new here. You may be forgiven. And you must repent, public or only in the eyes of Him! Commander Jebidiah has begged mercy; he has been forgiven. You have not been forgiven. Your space program is off to a fortuitous start. Plead repentance, before it is too late!

Edited August 15, 2014 by NFUN

[NFUN]

I don't know why I wrote that, I'm in a weird mood. This contract may not appear too difficult, but without too much help (Jeb might help) it will take likely many hours before you can get close enough for him to fly to you. Since you appear to not mind using guides, there are plenty of tutorials on how to do an orbital rendezvous, making two ships meet in orbit. I would suggest you not do the mission immediately, as it isn't usually worth much money/rep, and a surprisingly advanced mission. And I wouldn't suggest trying to bring him down with a ladder, unless you like creating puffs of dust above the ground.

[Frank_G]

Welcome to the forums! And now go rescue poor Hadming Kerman... He will gladly join your space program and serve best to his abilites, regardless off what mission you will send him on. There is a nice thread around, where early rescue crafts are discussed, if you need any help. Or just ask!

[edit] the thread is located here: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/86740-Showcase-Show-Us-Your-Rescue-Designs%21-0-24?highlight=Rescue

Edited August 15, 2014 by Frank_G

[MarvinKitFox]

...Hadming probably won't be able to hold onto the ladder during re-entry and landing, FYI.

With a suitable ship design and a pile of luck, he can! Had to do that for a challenge once.

Not that this will help you much. Seems the code only accepts his mission as complete once he is recovered. (or killed), and he must leave his orbit into a pod.

I took my guy down in a Klaw, and now he's wandering around KSC, refusing to complete the contract!

[Red Iron Crown]

I took my guy down in a Klaw, and now he's wandering around KSC, refusing to complete the contract!

That got fixed in 0.24.1, kerbals recovered in seats or claws now complete the contract:

Contracts:

* Fixed a bug in Rescue Kerbal contracts, where rescue by means of external seats or claws wouldn't complete the contract.

[GeneralRich]

As Thomas said, it's a mission most likely

Don't forget that you can add two (or more) pods to a spacecraft for rescue purposes.

You can also add just one, and a probe core (this is my own preferred method), if you have them unlocked. You can use the crew button at the top of the VAB to unassign Kerbals from seats.

Hadming probably won't be able to hold onto the ladder during re-entry and landing, FYI.

Two command modules? Madness! That would just be well, logical!

Thanks for all the replies guys, my apologies for offending Commander Jebidiah NFUN I don't know what came over me!

I did check the contracts but as I think about it I only checked the active ones I hadn't accepted yet, again a blunder on my part. With that said I will be attempting to rescue Hadming either tonight or tomorrow morning and recording the whole adventure. I have to admit I likely lack the expertise to align precisely to his position without smashing into him at 400 km/h but I will try. Does he become controllable when you get close? I've not been able to zoom into his position and take control of him as of yet from the tracking station, so I assume I can make him grab the ladders and get in a second module when he is close.

[Padishar]

Yes, once you get to within about 2.5 km he should become controllable. You can then switch to him using [ or ] and use his EVA jetpack to fly him to the rescue ship.

Orbital rendezvous is very easy once you grasp the fundamentals of how various burns affect your orbit. These fundamentals are not entirely intuitive, e.g. if you are in a 100km orbit and you burn prograde, speeding your craft up, then the opposite point on your orbit will get higher and, once you get to the opposite point on your orbit you will be going slower than you were in your original orbit. Your best bet is probably to watch one of the many video tutorials that are in the tutorials sub-forum and then have a play in a separate sandbox game to get the hang of it...

Edit: you can also practice a bit with the EVA pack in the sandbox save as controlling that also takes a bit of getting used to...

[Sirrobert]

Yes, once you get within physics range, you can switch to him with [ or ] and control him

[Pecan]

Career mode, with all the hassle of funds, contracts and the insane tech-tree is not a good way to learn how to do things in KSP. You may prefer a bit of sense and just work it all out in sandbox to start with.