The previous test drive ended in disaster as the rover failed to control its speed as it backed down a steep slope it could not climb, tumbling and wrecking itself. While a new rover body was constructed, engineers used the time to work out what went wrong in the code and corrected the problem. This drive would take the rover straight out to the mountains to make sure the new code behaves as expected.
Tag Archive: Kerbin
Oct 29 2014
#038: IP ComSat I Ascent Failure
With the Duna I mission undergoing final construction this month for launch at the beginning of December, the KSA is using the time to put in place two new communications satellites around Kerbin that will provide links to any craft operating in interplanetary space. The R&D department recently rolled out their largest dish yet, capable of communicating as far as Eeloo. This was to be the first of two satellites orbiting high over Kerbin’s poles, and is also the first rocket to incorporate recoverable boosters.
Oct 26 2014
#037: Automated Rover Test Drive #2
After successfully navigating 169.3km from KSC out to the west shore desert, the rover team got to work planning an even harder route back home that would test the rover’s ability to handle a slope it couldn’t navigate, as well as refactoring a large portion of the rover driver software to give the team more data to look at while the rover operated.
Oct 25 2014
#036: Automated Rover Test Drive #1
After completing the first phase of rover testing KSA engineers got to work on the software that would help to pilot the rover on other worlds where controllers won’t have immediate execution of commands. A stripped-down version of the rover was constructed for testing of waypoint acquisition and navigation, culminating in the first long-distance drive over 150km to the west shore desert.
Oct 23 2014
#035: Mu-SCAN – Munar survey & science
After proving that the technology to map planets from orbit was proven with the earlier K-SCAN mission, a new probe was assembled to make the journey to Mun to perform the same task. Here it would be much more important to obtain surface data for use in future missions, both kerbed and unkerbed. The Mu-SCAN probe also carried along a gravioli and radiation detector for a secondary mission of gathering new scientific data around Mun.
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 19 2014
Kerbin Satellites – 10/19/14
Green = Communication satellite
Orange = Operating satellite
Red = Orbital debris
Oct 13 2014
#033: Mk1-2 Capsule Recovery Trials
The recently-unveiled Mk1-2 capsule has spent its first few weeks undergoing recovery trials to ensure that it can safely return astronauts to the ground/water after passing through re-entry. Three tests were designed to put the Mk1-2 systems through their paces as well as test automated functions that will be used for its first orbital flight, which will be unkerbed.
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.
Oct 08 2014
#031: Rover Development Phase 1
The first extra-planetary goal of the rover program was Mun, a close neighbor that would provide minimal signal lag and 24/7 communication thanks to the established satellite network around both Mun and Kerbin. However rather than sending a rover directly to Mun, the team knew they had to test a version here on Kerbin first to make sure the design was capable of handling lower Mun gravity. They also wanted to begin working towards a completely automated drive capability, despite the low signal lag allowing for manual control. This first phase of development looks at the design of the rover, the first delivery vehicle concept, and the beginnings of automated drive software.