There is a lot of excitement around Mission Control – today is the day one of the most distant and difficult missions departs Kerbin!
Built using the core structure of a Horizon Class DSV, including the Discovery-Class nuclear reactor and LF-9 Engine assembly, Far Horizons’s most obvious features are the truly massive reflector arrays that allow for extremely long distance communication with the most distant planet in the Kerbol system.
“Reflector arrays show full deployment and are locked in place. Communication signal is strong and verified. Good work people!” -Gene, at Mission Control
The mission profile is fairly simple – travel to Plock, enter orbit, deploy landers, and then return to a higher orbit to allow ongoing communication with the deployed probes. Far Horizons is also equipped with mapping equipment to perform a complete study of Plock’s surface!
Engineers are already discussing a Far Horizons 2 mission which will deploy rovers to do more varied scientific studies.
Scientists believe that Far Horizons is now the fastest artificial object in the Kerbol system – traveling so fast it will reach Plock in just 5 years! At ‘normal’ travel speeds a mission to Plock would take almost 20 years.
Carson and Bob celebrate the New Year by exploring the stark, hot world of Moho! The durable rover and its life support systems keep them cool and mobile!
“Traction control on the surface looks pretty bad – I’ll see what I can do about adjusting the motors. Wish that Sondo was here – I’ll have to make some guesses on the configuration! “ -Bob
The rover works its way through the somewhat perilous terrain of the small crater, dodging around rocks, or whatever those strange shapes are! The traction adjustments seem to help, allowing the rover to brake without sliding down hills!
“You know, I like the heat, feels like I’m on an adventure! I’m getting a little light headed though….” -Carson
The lander climbs the side of the crater, navigating around the odd structures dotting the surface…
“Fascinating – previous explorations of Moho hasn’t noted these strange formations! My suspicion is these are basalt columns formed by cooled lava flows under the surface that burst up in these areas and then cooled… We should try to get some samples back to Kerbin! “ -Bob
With the sun still beating down on them, Bob climbs out of the rover and takes a sample near the strange columns!
“I wonder if the world is still volcanically active? Hopefully when we get this back to Kerbin the rest of the science team can make some sense of this! “ -Bob
“Better load those rocks up – we are going to bake if we’re out here too long!” -Carson
Carson dutifully drives the rover around the formations – aware that hitting just one the wrong way might tip the rover on its side, or worse!
“It’s hard to resist the urge to go full speed – these rovers are fun!” -Carson
“Well try ! We’re almost a thousand meters from the lander! “ -Bob
After collecting a great deal of science and surface samples, the pair head back to the lander!
Suddenly – Carson has a horrible realization that they forgot something critical!
“I just realized we forgot something! Something critical!” -Carson
“Oh no! What is it!? “ -Bob
Bob rolls his eyes as he realizes what Carson meant – the Kerbal States flag wasn’t planted when they landed!
“There we go!” -Carson
Bob configures the camera on the lander and records an image to transmit back to Kerbin – posing with “Old Kerby” for Mission Control!
The brave and somewhat forgetful Kerbals take the next few minutes gathering up all the material and science they need to take back to Kerbin… then climb back into the lander!
“Ok… hold on Bob – this new lander configuration is going to have a bit of a kick!” -Carson
The 4 small solid rockets fire, and the lander dramatically blasts off the surface!
“Ahhhhhhhhh! “ -Bob
The solid rockets fire with such force, and with the ascent angle being fairly acute, the two Kerbals see quite a bit of Moho’s surface moving quit quickly outside their window!
The small solid rockets use up their fuel and eject, and the lander uses up almost all of its fuel reaching orbit!
“Wow! That was so fun! Although, mission Control needs to think about retiring this lander. We have barely enough fuel to return to Intrepid! -Carson
“You’re right! You’re going to need to do some careful maneuvering, we have almost no margin for error in our fuel budget!“ -Bob
Carson careful fires the engine in a series of manuevers to rendevouses with the orbiting Deep Space Vehicle Intrepid!
“Look out the window Bob – we made it!” -Carson
“Yipee! Sondo, this is Bob – do you copy?“ -Bob
“Welcome back guys! Intrepid is ready for docking! I’ve activated RCS and SAS stabilization… you are go for maneuvering!” -Sondo
The lander moves closer and closer…
Until finally – connection is made! The crew is back together, and prepares for the next stage of their mission: The Voyage Home!
After the disaster at Kerbin Spacedock in Year 22, KSEA has been hard at work planning a replacement for the facility.
The mission of this new Spacedock is the same as its predecessor:
Provide a central location for Crews to arrive from the surface
Refuel and Resupply of Deep Space Vehicle Fleet
Provide long-term habitat for Kerbals in orbit
In addition to providing a new docking are for MPV (Multi-Payload-Vehicles) to dock and resupply the station, the new facility provides a dedicated DSV dock, a dedicated Crew arrival area and an centrifugal ring for artificial gravity!
The facility borrows several design elements from Sarnus Station, launched in Year 22.
“We think this new design corrects the structural defects of the previous Spacedock… the inline Fuel storage should prevent accidents like the old Spacedock! “ -Gene, at Mission Control
Kerbal States | Kerbin Space Exploration Administration 