Ever since the historic first orbit of Kerbin by Cmdr Jebediah Kerman, kerbals have only ever repeatedly visited Low-Kerbin Orbit (LKO), with some forays out to Mid-Kerbin Orbit (MKO). The KSA has been planning for months to send a kerbal into orbit around Mun, but only now has the chance come to do so after many tests of new technologies, including a whole new 2.5m rocket system. The mission is planned to also service the various satellites that are in orbit around Mun to further expand the Agency’s scientific knowledge and long-range communication capabilities. On the cusp of yet another historic moment, the KSA aims to meet and surmount the inevitable challenges ahead.
Tag Archive: ship
Oct 22 2014
#034: New Astronaut Training (Flight 2)
After the successful removal of orbital debris earlier in the month, the final piece of orbital debris awaits removal by the KSA’s second new astronaut, Captain Wehrtop Kerman. This mission will serve him well to apply all the training and skills he acquired during his 6 months training as a kadet, including overcoming any unforeseen obstacles during execution. The debris being removed was part of the rocket that took Captain Bob into orbit where he was finally able to successfully rendezvous for the first time with another craft in space.
Oct 10 2014
#032: New Astronaut Training (Flight 1)
The KSA is looking to clean up two spent stages floating in space, and it has two astronauts fresh out of the Academy to prove their mettle on individual missions to de-orbit the debris. Capt Desson, by virtue of alphabetical order, is launching first atop a revised version of the craft Capt Bob used to perform the first-ever orbital rendezvous earlier this year. After a range clearance issue forces the launch later into the day, Desson carries out his mission, but not without problems.
Jul 04 2014
#025: Day-long Polar Orbit for Science
Now that the LKO communications network is finally completed and fully operational, a mission proposed weeks ago by Lead Scientist Wernher Von Kerman was finally approved – a near-polar orbit would be established for observations of the entire planet over the course of a day-long mission. Originally scheduled to launch on 6/30, the previous day a dish at the tracking station suffered a mechanical failure and needed to be replaced. After a day to replace the dish and a day to test/calibrate it, weather was the issue holding up the launch. There was a small chance, so Flight Director Lanalye ordered the rocket out to the pad the night before so it could be prepped in the morning. However a fuel line was not properly attached, blew loose overnight and moisture got into one of the large main engine tanks. In the time it took to dry, the weather worsened for the day and launch had to be cancelled. Finally, on 7/3, everything fell into place for the mission to receive a Go.
Jun 23 2014
#024: Servicing the ComSat Network
The Agency had originally planned to do this in two missions, but Lead Engineer Simon convinced Flight Director Lanalye in a marathon planning session that it could be done in one. Thus, Captain Bob was tasked with piloting the tallest rocket assembled to date into orbit high above Kerbin to service ComSat I, which needed larger-capacity batteries. He then had to lower his orbit to rendezvous with ComSat II, which had experienced problems during launch that caused it to lose all its solar panels. The ComSat Service Vehicle constructed for this mission was an improved model of the craft used for the Kerbin III de-orbit that allowed fuel transfer to restore Center of Mass within the RCS thruster ring for proper translation abilities Bob lacked in the previous mission. The Agency was all set to pull off yet another successful mission.
Jun 11 2014
#023: Third Time’s the Charm
After failing to rendezvous and de-orbit the derelict Kerbin III spacecraft for a second time, the team at KSA has come up with an even better rendezvous technique they hope will allow for success on this mission. Additionally, the rocket being flown by Capt Bob has been slightly simplified to reduce the chance of any staging malfunctions interrupting the rendezvous attempt.
Jun 03 2014
#022: If At First You Don’t Succeed…
After failing to rendezvous and de-orbit the derelict Kerbin III spacecraft, Capt Bob has launched once again into space to attempt another close-encounter. This mission sets up a less-direct approach to the target to hopefully make things easier, and also tests out a new lift rocket configuration.
May 26 2014
#021: No Rendezvous For You
After the treachery of Capt Bill, Capt Bob gets to finally go into space. His mission is to rendezvous with the Kerbin III spacecraft that was previously stranded in orbit so that he can perform a fuel transfer and de-orbit the defunct vehicle.
Apr 28 2014
#015: The Rogue Flight of Kerbin VI
Apr 04 2014
#010: Kerbals. In. SPAAAAAAAAACE!
Once orbit was successfully achieved with an unkerbed craft and the payload was returned successfully, the push was on for getting a kerbal up into space next. Excitement and enthusiasm permeated the entire project and Kerbin V was designed and constructed in record time. Commander Jeb, the best of the best, was the unanimous selection by the KSA board for being the first to take the trip up into orbit. The KSA was poised to accomplish a major feat and all eyes were on the Agency from every corner of the world.