Successful Freefall from Interplanetary Space

[SlowThought]

Wehrfield had successfully gone to Dres and made his way mostly back. The lander was packed with data. The last planned correction burn had been made, and Kerbin's SOI was approaching. Whoops, an unplanned Mun encounter?! With his last dregs of fuel, Wehrfield adjusted course to miss the Mun, but now there would be no reentry at Kerbin. Worse, the gravitational boost of Kerbin would fling him beyond any hope of rescue.

"Screw this," thought Wehrfield. He gathered up his data and stepped from the hatch. Aiming as best he could, he activated his suit's thrusters. "That should do it," he thought. "One way or the other, this mission will be over shortly."

The cold of space was soon replaced by the toasty warmth of atmospheric friction. Wehrfield marvelled at the rosy orange glow as he bled off the kinetic energy of an interplanetary transfer. As he slowed to about 100 m/s, he considered his chance of a successful bounce. Perhaps with a last burst of the RCS thrusters...

Waiting as long as he could stand it, Wehrfield fired his thrusters. Impact. Bounce! He kept firing. A little bounce. Down on Kerbin. Safe. Successful freefall from outside the orbit of Minmus!

Edited October 8, 2014 by SlowThought
grammar correction

[Yukon0009]

O_o The largest freefall I ever made was a high Kerbin orbit. I would never ever do what you did.

(Seriously, what are kerbals and their suits made of? Bouncy titanium?)

[SlowThought]

You'd leave all that science in an unrecoverable orbit, not to mention poor Wehrfield? You only live once (unless your a Kerbal).