Year 9, Day 223 (Rescue Mission Arrives at Unity Space Station!)

October 20, 2018 sayburstuff Year 9 Aurora Crew Vehicle, Malcolm, Mirphe, Mun, Unity

Mirphe arrives at Unity Space Station, in orbit of Mun!

“Anybody home?”

-Mirphe

“Thanks for coming so soon! But before we leave… I was thinking… maybe we could take one of the old Aurora Mun Landers down for a spin?”

-Malcolm

Malcolm and Mirphe head over to the landers and check things out… initial signs are that both of the craft are still quite space-capable, although one has more science equipment on board!

KSEA isn’t so sure about sending down a landing to Mun, but planners are already scouting out a landing site – probably in the Munar lowlands!

Year 9, Day (Rescue Mission To Unity Space Station!)

October 20, 2018 sayburstuff Year 9 Aurora Crew Vehicle, Malcolm, Mirphe, Mun

Mirphe pilots the next ACV on its rescue mission to save Malcolm!

Once in orbit, Mirphe pilots the spacecraft to rendezvous with Mun!

Year 9, Day 220 (Mk7 ACV Arrives At Mun’s Unity Space Station!)

October 20, 2018 sayburstuff Year 9 Aurora Crew Vehicle, Malcolm, Mun, Problems, Unity Space Station

Malcolm arrives at Mun!

“Ok, rendevous manuevers complete! Looks like I just need to switch on the RCS system to get in nice and close… <<audible “CLICK!”>> … uh oh. KSC… I think we have a problem!”

-Malcolm

Instead of switching on the RCS system, Malcolm accidentally engages the staging switch that disconnects the command pod!

Ok… Don’t panic Malcolm! Just need to get over to Unity Space Station and wait for a rescue! Hopefully they left some snacks on that thing…”

-Malcolm

Malcolm boards Unity Station and starts rummaging for some food. Thankfully there’s enough oxygen on board to last a few weeks! Meanwhile, The ACV drifts away from the station!

KSEA was already building another ACV, and now it looks like the mission is clear: Bring Malcolm home!

Year 9, Day 219 (Mk7 ACV heads to Mun!)

October 20, 2018 sayburstuff Year 9 Aurora Crew Vehicle, Kerbin Spaceport, Malcolm, Mun, Shepely

Gillian and Shepely stay onboard Kerbin Spaceport, while Malcom takes the ACV and undocks! Malcolm will be testing the ACV’s ability to reach Mun and Minmus on this mission, so to reduce risk he’ll be piloting the craft alone!

Year 9, Day 218 (Aurora Crew Vehicle Mk7 First Launch to Kerbin Spaceport!)

October 19, 2018 sayburstuff Year 9 Aurora Crew Vehicle, Gillian, Malcolm, Shepely

Malcolm, Gillian, and Shepely launch in the upgraded Mk7 Aurora Crew Vehicle, heading to the Kerbin Spaceport!

The new crew will be the first to crew the massive new Kerbin Spaceport – itself destined for an expansion in mere weeks!

Alright, climbing to a 178km orbit! That should make a rendezvous a little faster!

-Malcolm

After the service bay doors open, the solar panels safely deploy!

Launching to a higher orbit, then starting the rendezvous seemed to payoff! In no time at all the ACV has arrived at Kerbin Spaceport!

Malcolm carefully maneuvers the ACV closer and closer to the station…

Success! Crew has arrived for the first time at Kerbin Spaceport!

Year 9, Day 198 (Pathfinder Probe Details Released)

October 19, 2018 sayburstuff Year 9 Blueprints, Pathfinder 1, Pathfinder Missions

Pathfinder 1 Deep Space Probe.png

After much clamoring from the Kerbal States public for blueprints of the Pathfinder Deep Space Probes (absent mostly because the Kerbal Blueprint department forgot to release it) blueprints of the Pathfinder Deep Space probe is released!

The probe is somewhat unique as it is really 4 probes in one: a mothership that acts as a relay and orbital scanner and 3 planetary probes, which can be customized for whatever the mission might require, such as aquatic probes, atmospheric probes, or a ground lander. A future rover is planned, however the size limitation has made functional mini-rovers quite difficult.

Year 9, Day 197 (Construction Starts On Kerbin Spaceport Phase Two)

October 19, 2018October 19, 2018 sayburstuff Year 9 Kerbin Spaceport

Kerbin Spaceport 2.png Work is finally done on the next phase of Kerbin Spaceport! Almost identical to the first launch, this station will dock with the existing Kerbin Spaceport to create the largest object ever constructed in space.

Besides adding more fuel depots, the station has an advanced science lab and expansion ports that will allow the station to be a viable laboratory in space for the foreseeable future!

(The Station Mission Patch is updated as well to reflect the new layout of the Spaceport!)

Year 9, Day 195 (Aurora Crew Vehicle Upgrades)

October 18, 2018October 19, 2018 sayburstuff Year 9 Aurora Crew Vehicle, Blueprints, X-9 Program

In addition to development of the X-9 crew vehicle KSEA has also been developing the next generation of Aurora Crew Vehicles, the Mk7!

The Mk7 Aurora Crew Vehicle, or ACV, has been developed to provide a 30 day life support system that can safely reach not only Kerbin orbit but Mun and Minmus as well. The Aurora Command Module has been a critical component in KSEA’s crewed spaceflight program, and this latest development makes little changes to the pod itself.

Instead, advances have been made in fuel storage and design of both the Aurora Rocket and the ACV itself – one striking feature is the Service Bay, which protects Life Support System and the fragile solar panels during launch but opens in space. The craft also has a newly balanced RCS system that improves docking performance.

The main limitation of the X-9 has been its range – while the craft has a maximum orbit rated at 100k, in reality the craft can only reach an orbit of 80k when the mission profile calls for rendezvous with another spacecraft (which was the main goal of the X-9 program.)

The ACV is a superior spacecraft with only one problem – cost. The X-9 has trivial costs to refuel and refurbish the vehicle, whereas the ACV costs just under 50,000 each launch.

NOTE: reaches 178k orbit to rendevous.

Year 9, Day 186 (Kerbin Spaceport Launches!)

October 11, 2018October 11, 2018 sayburstuff Year 9 Kerbin Spaceport

A new record is set for the heaviest payload as the Jool IV blasts off from the launchpad, carrying the new Kerbin Spaceport into orbit!

Once in orbit the fairings deploy!

The guidance systems put the Spaceport into a 71k orbit of Kerbin – lower than the Kerbin Space Station – but it should make it easier to get to the station!

The massive solar panels deploy, and the Spaceport is ready to go! Refueling scheduling has already begun – that means the station should be fully functional in mere days!

But, that’s not all! Another component of the station will be launched soon, to expand fuel and docking capacity! After that a new science module will be launched.

Kerbin Spaceport