Work begins on the next Aurora Mission – this time, Aurora 16 will deliver the lander to Mun for Unity Station! It will be Edan’s first trip beyond Kerbin! Rookie engineers Dunwin and Kerlorf will be joining him for training!
Author: sayburstuff
Year 4, Day 288 (Unity Space Station Heads to Mun!)
Seely and rookie scientist Luly are chosen for the first crew aboard Unity Space Station! Edan pilots them up in the refitted Adventure! The new Cargo Module performs well!
Unity Space Station is sitting in a 100k orbit. The shuttle is capable of reaching orbits up to 120k, however tolerances for errors and safety start getting pushed above 100k.
Adventure docks at Unity Space Station!
Luly and Seely head over… but Seely takes the scenic route and installs the new Gravity Sensors on the station! Edan takes a second to correct the orientation of one of the Station’s Habitat Modules…
“There we go… now the other side matches!”
-Edan
Then disconnects.
Unity Station begins its transfer to Mun!
This time the launch goes much better than Harmony Station’s… keeping the insertion stage’s engine’s gimbals set lower appears to solve the problem (that and the station has been designed to be symmetrical!) Adventure will remain in orbit until KSEA signals that the Station is safely away!
Unity Station arrives at Mun!It’s just a short 5 hours trip to Mun!
With just a little work, the station is put into a 31k orbit,. Now all the crew needs is a lander, and science can begin! (The Transfer stage still has a little precious fuel in it, so it will remain until the lander arrives!)
Adventure heads down (and ejects its cargo module!)
Another great landing by Edan!
Year 4, Day 286 (RCS Refueling Mission for Harmony Space Station)
Enterprise blasts off from Cape Kerman, carrying the RCS Refuelling Vehicle for Harmony Space Station! 
Edan releases the Refueling Vehicle – and Mission Control pilots it to Minmus! It should arrive there in a few days, then the crew rotation at Harmony Station can be complete!
Edan takes Enterprise back to Kerbin. The last few shuttle landings have been a bit dicey, so this time everything will be done to slow the craft down before re-entering!
It’s a successful landing!
“That went a lot better! Pulsing the air brakes on descent appears to be the best way to use them to slow the spacecraft down! It prevents overhearing and allows more control!”
-Edan
Edan’s advice is carefully noted by the other pilots in the KSC!
Year 4, Day 285 (Harmony Crew Rotation, Lander Upgrades)
Val, Kimmy, and Gilian arrive at Minmus!
“That sure is a long trip! I bet the Explorer Crew would think it’s nothing though!”
-Gilian
Indeed – Explorer, the first mission to Eve and Gilly, is due back in 35 days! Everyone is very excited about all the scientific discoveries they’ve made!
From here it’s just a short rendezvous to Harmony Space Station…
The Crew Vehicle docks!
Gilian gets out and gets to work!
“Wow! It’s beautiful out here! I can’t wait to head down to the surface!”
-Gilian
Gilian installs the new Gravity Sensor on the Station Lander, then heads back to the station!
Unfortunately, before another landing can be done, Harmony needs a refueling of RCS fuel… which is being launched from the Space Center shortly!
Year 4, Day 274 (Harmony Station Crew Rotation, Upgrades)
It’s time to rotate the crew of the Harmony Space Station! This will also provide a good opportunity to do some resupply, and to equip the Station Lander with a new Gravioli Scientific Scanner! Valentina will pilot Kimmy and Gilian to the new station, and return Samner and Robart!
The Crew Vehicle barely has the fuel to reach Minmus, and return. KSEA engineers agree it’s probably time to do a more complete upgrade of the Aurora Crew Vehicle!
Year 4, Day 271 (Resolute Launches Second Unity Space Station Module)
The upgraded Resolute takes off! Val pilots rookie engineer Seely and Gillian up to orbit! This will be Resolute’s first flight using the upgraded Launcher, and with the new Cargo Bay arrangement!
The launch goes well – with the OAV carrying the shuttle to its desired orbit, leaving over 1000 d/v in fuel for orbital maneuvering.
“That’s sure was a bumpy ride!”
-Seely
Val pilots Resolte to a close rendezvous with Unity Station!
Ok – we’re there.. but we better wait until we’re on the ‘day’ side of Kerbin before doing the install!
-Gilian
Seeley heads out, and practices some basic space maneuvers! 
The module goes into place, and Unity Space Station is ready to go!
“Resolute’s coming in pretty hot! I’m going to need to circle around before I can land!”
-Val
Val sets down, but takes out one of the landing lights at the end of the runway! Endeavor takes some minor damage, losing a few of its air brakes! Everyone agrees this was the most dangerous landing the Heavy Cargo Shuttles have ever done. High speed, and performing the maneuver node too early is the general consensus.
“Maybe we can find a way to slow the shuttle more on reentry – that was scary!”
-Seeley
Year 4, Day 271 (Minmus KerbStar Relay Network Established)
The two KerbStar Relay Satellites arrive at Minmus and put into position.
“Samner here – it looks like we have full communication, even when Harmony Station is on the dark side of Minmus! The KerbStar Relays seem to be working!”
-Samner
Year 4, Day 249 (KerbSat Minmus Launches)
A KerbStar Relay Sattelite launches for Minmus, to allow better communications while exploring!
Year 4, Day 242 (Guardian Launches)
The Guardian Satellite launches – once in orbit, it burns to leave Kerbin’s sphere of influence, and sit in a solar orbit, where it will start its scan for asteroids!
Year 4, Day 235 (Minmus KerbStar Satellites Constructed)
Two Relay Satellites are constructed, identical to the KerbStar relay satellites launched for Kerbin. These will be sent to Minmus, so that the automated lander doens’t need to be in direct line of sight with Kerbin to operate!
Kerbal States | Kerbin Space Exploration Administration 