Eve

Year 3, Day 317 (Explorer Departs for Eve!)

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This is the day!  Mitster triple checks the calculations, and Orlas does the same.

“Looks good!  Let’s light this candle!”
-Mitster

Explorer fires what’s left of the orbital stage to get a little extra ‘kick’ to Eve!  Then….

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The protective fairings on the nuclear engines fire!

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Explorer soars out of Kerbin’s orbit… screenshot320.png

and heads to Eve! If calculations are correct, and they better be, Explorer will arrive at Eve in 120 days… on Year 4, Day 33!

The engines stop firing, glowing red from the heat! Orlas activates the primary communication antenna as well!screenshot323.png

“Wow… those engines sure get hot!”

-Chrisnic

After the engines are done firing, the crew moves to the habitat section and get comfy… 120 days is the longest mission ever attempted by Kerbals!

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Orlas and Mitster, goofing around in the Explorer’s Habitat Section!
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Chrisnic.. waiting for something to break!

 

 

 

Year 3, Day 244 (Explorer Lander Changed)

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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)

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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 139 (Explorer Spacecraft Development)

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Development begins on Explorer  (not to be confused with the Explorer Space Probe.) Explorer is the prototype vehicle for a future Eve mission!  While the actual mission to Eve will likely be several components, Explorer’s first mission will consist of just the main spacecraft.

Explorer will be launched without a crew, which will arrive via a Crew Shuttle!  This is necessary given the new design.

Once the crew arrives, the vehicle will leave Kerbin’s orbit, entering interplanetary space, in orbit of the Sun, then return.

If all goes well Explorer will be the basis for future crewed planetary missions!  A full working mockup of the Explorer’s Habitat Section will be launched soon as an upgrade to the KSS – this should allow ‘real world’ testing of the crew module.

Additionally, construction begins on the next Aurora Mission, Aurora 12!

Year 2, Day 348 (Explorer Probe 1 Orbits Eve)

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The Explorer 1 probe reaches Eve!   Mission Control has some spotty communications issues at first, but a slight readjustment of the Kerbin LongSat allows uninterrupted communications. screenshot617.png

At a 100k orbit, the probe is instructed to ciruclarize orbit – success!  Onboard equipment begins testing – initial readings indicate that Eve is big, and quite purple!

 

 

Year 2, Day 252 (Explorer 1 Announced)

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Construction begins on the Explorer 1 Space Probe.  The design is heavily based on the KerbSat Long Range Communications Satellite, launched earlier in Year 2.

The probe has sensors and a Mission Plaque to say “hello” to any friendly creatures it may encounter!   The probe will be launched on a Discovery 5, and should be ready quite soon.

The planned mission is a flyby of Duna and Eve, and anything else it might encounter along the way!  If the initial launch is successful, and communications are maintained, current plans are to launch multiple Explorer Probes to investigate many of Kerbin’s neighbors!