Based on data from the last test flight, engineers think that they have discovered a defect in the way chutes arm prior to re-entry. To test this the second mission will arm the chutes only after entering the lower atmosphere – if they survive.
Tag Archive: success
Apr 14 2014
#011: Testing 1…
The KSA has recovered from the tragic loss of its ace Commander and is setting forth on a series of missions to try and determine why the radial chutes are failing on re-entry. This first test looks to recreate conditions from the Kerbin V mission.
Mar 30 2014
#009: To Space and Back Again
Despite multiple attempts, the goal of returning a payload intact from orbit continues to elude us. However the loss of Kerbin III to such a simple issue of miscalculated electric charge consumption means that the craft itself should still perform as designed so with only minor changes Kerbin IV was rolled out of the VAB days later to attempt to succeed where all other iterations had failed.
Mar 05 2014
#005: Chimps are for Wimps (Flight 3)
The third and final flight of Kerbal III aimed to push higher than ever to confirm engineer’s theories on rocket design so they could begin working on the first orbital rocket. Captain Bob was at the controls for this flight and was able to make good use of the experience Jeb and Bill could pass on to him based on their own previous flights.
Mar 05 2014
#004: Chimps are for Wimps (Flight 2)
After the scare of the previous launch additional controls were put at the hands of the pilot to allow a small ability to steer the rocket during ascent. It was up to Captain Bill to test these new controls on the second kerbed sub-orbital flight – although he figured he’d also test out some other aspects on his own initiative…
Mar 04 2014
#003: Chimps Are For Wimps (Flight 1)
Wasting no time, the Kerbal Space Agency threw aside the notion of sending an animal for the first crewed rocket launch and instead picked the best of the best from its initial cadre of astronauts to “pilot” the first ever kerbed sub-orbital rocket flight. There was a good deal of argument by Commander Jeb and the other two astronauts over the fact that they were more passengers than controllers on these flights, ultimately the engineers caved and implemented some rudimentary controls with the promise of the next pod being more suited to pilots.
Feb 28 2014
#002: Recovery Test
After the successful rocket engine test showing that it was possible to send something up, the next thing that needed to be proven was the ability to bring something back down – intact. To that end the engineers set up a test much like the previous one with the addition of parachutes. They also wanted to try out a new engine design. A single engine worked well so four must be better right??
Feb 26 2014
#001: Rocket Test
For the first launch of the Kerbal Space Agency, the basic technology for firing a rocket needed to be tested. Could this device indeed create enough force to thrust this unwieldy payload into the sky without blowing up? No one really knew what to expect but everyone was hopeful things would go as planned so the program could continue to move forward.
Feb 19 2014
The Founding of the KSA (leading up to 2/18/14)
Although united under a world government for almost 60 years following the Great War and enjoying a time of peace and prosperity, many kerbals continued to remain focused on rebuilding a world that had nearly faced destruction. Scientists continued to cast their gazes upwards to the heavens, but found little support from the kerbs around them to break free of gravity and venture out into the unknowns of space. Then, just 5 years ago, a kerb named Drew Kerman decided that needed to change. It was a long, arduous process to fight government oversight and establish relationships with companies willing to part with money to fund the venture, but the Kerbal Space Agency was officially founded on September 29th of 2013. It would spend the next several months working on the technology required to begin even contemplating the idea of actually reaching space.
This summary leads up to and covers the events of and between Mission Dispatches #1 and #2.