Work is nearly done upgrading the newly recovered N-4 Booster. It will be the test bed for the next iteration of Neidon rockets, Neidon III! This upgrade will make use of new landing gear that provides heat shielding in addition to better aerodynamics, both during landing and take off.
The rocket has also had a new paint job, rotating the logos and markings which engineers say make the rocket “42% cooler!”
Engineers are excited to announce upgrades for the new Neidon Rocket Launch System – the Neidon II!
While the core rocket booster remains unchanged, several important changes have been made:
Besides structural changes, the Neidon Rocket will now have the bottom S3-7200 Fuel Tank prioritized as the “landing tank”. This will move the center of mass for the booster further to the bottom, assisting in re-entry!
The Kerbin Space Exploration Administration is excited to announce the next-generation of crew landers: The Variable Inclination New Crew Exploration & Telemetry (VINCENT) Lander!
The Neidon Rocket has entered full production, with 5 total rockets ordered. Two are being refurbished for their next launch, and the other three will be completed within a few months. To help keep track of which rocket is which, they will be labeled X-1 through X-5 !
Neidon is being devolved to be compatible with the existing Sarnus Va expansion options, including upper stage boosts and the THK Solid Fuel Boosters for heavier payloads!
The most far-flung mission ever attempted is ready to launch – the Far Horizons mission to Plock! While there is some debate about whether or not Plock is actually a planet or maybe an asteroid, most Kerbals do agree that it is quite interesting regardless!
The powerful Nova Rocket carries the probe off the launch pad!
The Nova Rocket’s first stage detaches, falling toward Kerbin…
… while the second stage lifts the probe to a very high orbit of 900k!
The protective fairing ejects right before the orbital circularization manuever begins!
Mission Control will spend the next week testing subsystems and ensuring that Far Horizons is ready for it’s trip! Departure is expected by the end of the year!
KSEA engineers are excited to reveal the refit of the Crew Shuttle Adventure! The entire Crew Shuttle Program was shut down in Year 17 after the CTS-3 Intrepid suffered a major catastrophe – major nose cone damage from re-entry heat that nearly destroyed the spacecraft! Val is widely credited with saving the entire crew with her calm handling of the disaster!
Since then, engineers have been working on a way to make a safer Crew Shuttle – the result is the refit of the only surviving Crew Transport Shuttle – Adventure! (Intrepid was badly damaged, and Endeavor was dismantled!)
The new Crew Transport Shuttle launches using the Nebula Rocket as a re-usable lifter, which should make the entire Crew Shuttle mission reusable! The vehicle is en route to the White Mesa desert launch facility for initial testing.
“If everything works out with Adventure we’ll see about adding a few new space-planes to our roster! We’ll need some new names though – the DSV fleet took ‘Endeavor’ and ‘Intrepid’ for their latest vehicles!”
-Gene, at Mission Control
Blueprints have been released for Sarnus Station, a new deep space research station to be placed in orbit of Sarnus! The station will be launched aboard one of the ultra-heavy Nova Rockets, and carried to Sarnus by a modified DSV class nuclear drive! Once at Sarnus the same nuclear reactor will provide the station with ongoing power. The new Life Support Cargo Modules add a significant amount of mass to the station, however they will hold up to 60 years of life support materials for a crew of 3!
“This is the first step to letting us conduct serious investigation of the Sarnus planetary system! Future expansions will eventually grow the station, and it may even be moved into a different orbit, depending on what we need in future years!”
-Gene, at Mission Control
KSEA releases plan for a new Mun Lander! The heaviest Mun Lander yet, the Heavy Mun Lander can transport three Kerbals to the surface and move various payloads, such as Rovers or base components!
This will be the first Mun Lander that won’t be delivered with Aurora Missions – as it’s simply too big! Instead, mission planners intend to provide additional fuel to re-load the Space Port instead!
“I can’t wait to test that new lander!”
-Jeb
While scientists are still grumbling that the lack of water means the outpost will likely never be self-sustaining, KSEA is nonetheless excited to release plans for Aurora Base – the next Munar Outpost! The name was chosen to honor the Aurora Program, which paved the way for every crewed KSEA mission!
The site chosen by Orlas and Summer has been named Aurora Crater.
Unlike previous Munar Outposts, this one will have a greenhouse and supplies to make habitability long term, if not permanent (with minor support from Kerbin.)
Construction has already begun, and the Outpost will be launched on a Jool-X rocket soon!
A key to any long term colony site is finding an ideal location that has ample supplies of water. To this end, KSEA and KOAA (the Kerbin Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) have worked together to develop the Aqua Scanner Mk1.
Launched on a Nebula Rocket, the spacecraft will travel to Mun orbit and start scanning for ideal landing sites! Once sites have been selected, Kerbals will scout them out, and then the development of an actual colony can commence!
Kerbal States | Kerbin Space Exploration Administration 