The Frontier probe to Duna, Frontier 6, launches! The probe will sit in a parking orbit for about a month until the launch window to Duna opens up!
Year 3
Year 3, Day 274 (Frontier 5 heads to Jool!)
Frontier 5’s computer is instructed to commence its burn to Jool! The probe will reach Jool around Year 6, Day 200, after a journey of 2 years and 370 days!
If calculations are right, specifically encounter Jool’s innermost moon, Laythe! After the Laythe flyby, an attempt will be made to circularize orbit in the Joolian system. Having never attempted such a thing, no one knows how it will go down!
Year 3, Day 272 (Aurora 14 Launches!)
Aurora 14’s crew is selected! Val, Kimmy, and Bill will take the next Aurora Spacecraft to Mun! This completes the “Explorer Six”, the pool of 6 astronauts that are in training to crew “Explorer” and the mission to Eve!
The Aurora Spacecraft has had a slight adjustment made to its cargo bay, allowing more food and supplies to prevent a repeat of the near disaster that Aurora 13 very nearly became!
KSEA has decided to remove the on board power generator, and replace it with more supplies, as the solar panels have proven themselves for many missions as being a reliable source of energy for missions in the Kerbin sphere of influence. 
The first priority is to take the crew beyond Kerbin’s sphere of influence, and into ‘solar space.’ The mission will also be slightly less fuel efficient, demanding greater speeds of the spacecraft in order to maximize onboard crew resources. After reaching solar space, Aurora 14 will return to Kerbin’s SOI, and attempt a landing on Minmus, before returning to Kerbin. It will be the most complicated mission attempted since Aurora 13! 
Val performs the docking and transposition maneuver, then ejects the orbital/insertion stage. The protective cover over the Aurora Spacecraft’s engine is also ejected, and Aurora 14 rides the momentum out of Kerbin’s SOI!
Year 3, Day 269 (Frontier 5 Probe to Jool Launches)
Frontier 5 launches! Several of the Frontier Probes have now launched out of ‘order’ – however the numbers of the Frontier Probe missions match with construction, not launch date. Frontier 5’s mission to Jool will start in just 4 days!
Year 3, Day 267 (Explorer Launches!)
Explorer launches! The mighty Sarnus V Ultra Heavy launcher makes a deafening BOOM! as the solid rockets ignite!
The launch goes well! The solids eventually eject, and Explorer is taken into orbit, still protected by it’s launch fairing.
The fairing ejects! Explorer and it’s cargo wait in orbit for a crew… All of Kerbin is excited to find out who will crew the first mission to another world!! Scientists estimate that Explorer should be ready to go in about 14 days!
Explorer’s solar panels deploy, and the craft waits for its crew!
Year 3, Day 244 (Explorer Lander Changed)
At the last moment, due to concerns about the fuel budget, a change is made to Explorer’s mission profile.
The atmospheric probe will remain unchanged, but a new vehicle will replace the Low Gravity Lander: the Lander and Return Craft (LARC).
This new design adds a Aurora command module to Explorer, combined with a lander capable of exploring Gilly! The original Atmospheric Probe for Eve will not be altered.
The mission profile still calls for returning Explorer to Kerbin orbit… But now there is a backup plan if fuel budgets get too tight! In that case the crew will board the LARC as it enters Kerbin’s SOI. Then the LARC will detach, and reenter Kerbin’s atmosphere. Explorer will be remotely piloted to an escape course that will eventually leave it in a solar orbit, safely distant from Kerbin! Construction begins at once on the updated Explorer rocket!
Year 3, Day 240 (Explorer Design Announced)
After a long wait, KSEA administrators finally release designs for the first interplanetary vessel: Explorer!
Utilizing many lessons learned from the KSS, the vessel will be the largest crewed vehicle and also the most comfortable: astronauts will get beds to sleep in, proper facilities, and much, much more room.
The Deep Space Vehicle, or DSV, may leave Kerbin orbit with a docked payload consisting of an Atmospheric Probe to land on Eve, and a low gravity lander meant for exploring Gilly. There is also consideration being given to sending a the payload as a separate launch, to conserve deltaV!
All told, Explorer’s first mission will be quite the undertaking… once it is finally done!
The risk is high… Some KSEA staff want to launch unkerballed to test Explorer’s capabilities. This would set the program back a few years, and is somewhat controversial!
Year 3, Day 233 (Aurora 13 Returns!)
It’s going to be a close one! Food on Aurora 13 has run out! Water and coffee will only keep the crew alive for so long! Thankfully there was enough fuel to burn directly from Minmus here… so the crew needs to just hold on a little longer!
“So hungry! We shouldn’t have had that feast to celebrate reaching solar space! The hubris!”
-Orlas
Aurora 13 comes in hot!
The parachute deploys! Almost home
Made it! The last time KSEA got this close to a a loss of crew was Aurora 3, on Year 2, Day 242!
Better care will be taken in the future for mission planning to avoid another close call! Mitster, Chrisnic, and Orlas are all rushed to the Space Center to check their well being!
Year 3, Day 225
Aurora 13 arrives in at Minmus! And not a moment too soon, supplies are getting a little tight on the spacecraft. At 45 days into the flight, the crew is defenitely feeling the strain.
“Uh oh… foods running a little tight. I don’t think we should have bothered with checking out Minmus! I’m ditching the lander… we need to do a direct burn toward Kerbin if we want our supplies to last!”
-Mitster
The Minmus landing is cancelled! It looks like the calculations for deltaV were slightly off, and the food supplies won’t last as long! Mitster fires the Aurora Spacecraft’s rockets, and Aurora 13 heads toward Kerbin at high speed! This will be the fastest any craft has attempted reentry to Kerbin!
Potential disaster aside, this will be a good test of the Aurora era hardware for interplanetary journeys!
Year 3, Day 183 (Aurora 13 passes Minmus Orbit)
Aurora 13 passes beyond the orbit of Minmus, carrying Kerbals further into space than ever! 
“Exciting! This is the first true solar science experiment ever done!”
-Orlas
Orlas hops out and conducts some experiments….
Then the rest of the crew takes their own chances at a quick spacewalk!
“It’s so pretty… and Kerbin looks so … small!”
-Mitster
“The Damage to the hull doesn’t look so bad from out here!”
-Chrisnic
Everyone’s a bit confused about Chrisnic’s non sequitur, since no one even mentioned any hull damage… but once everyone’s had some fun, Mitster pilots Aurora 13 back into Kerbin Space, on a course toward Minmus!
Back on Kerbin, Frontier 9 launches, also heading to Minmus!
Kerbal States | Kerbin Space Exploration Administration 