Year 4, Day 223

June 6, 2017June 6, 2017 sayburstuff Year 4 CTS-1 Adventure, CTS-2 Endeavor, CTS-3 Intrepid, Duna, Duna Surveyor, Frontier 1, Frontier Probes, HCS-1 Resolute, HCS-2 Enterprise, Sarnus

256x256-4 Things are busy at the VAB! Resolute and Enterprise are both being refurbished for their next missions, and the Crew Shuttles Endeavor and Adventure are both being outfitted with the second generation launchers! (Intrepid is currently docked at the Kerbin Space Station – it will be outfitted with a new launcher once it returns!)

Meanwhile, construction has begun on the Duna Surveyor… based off the Mun and Minmus Surveyors, this advanced probe will scan the surface of Duna for future missions!

It’s now just days until Frontier 1 reaches the influence of Sarnus – Kerbin’s longest range probe has worked well so far… although scientists note that the signal strength is only at 70 percent. Hopefully this won’t result in any lost scientific data!

Frontier 1 & 2 Update (Journey to Sarnus)

May 25, 2017May 25, 2017 sayburstuff Year 4 Frontier 1, Frontier 2, Frontier Probes, Sarnus, Tekto

Frontier 1 is just days from its encounter with Sarnus – Frontier 1 was launched merely to test the capabilities of the Frontier design, and was considered a bit of a long shot. However, this probe will still be the first to reach any of the outer planets. Sadly, it will only have enough fuel to do a high speed fly-by, before continuing on an escape trajectory out of the Kerbol star system!

Thankfully, the Frontier 2 Probe will soon perform a minor course correction in just 36 days. If calculations are correct, this will let the probe fly extremely close to Sarnus itself, and then have an encounter with Sarnus’s moon, Tekto. With any luck there will be enough fuel to allow the spacecraft to circularize around this mysterious Moon!

Year 3, Day 100 (Frontier 1 Probe to Sarnus Launches!)

March 5, 2017 sayburstuff Year 3 Frontier 1, Frontier Probes, Sarnus

Frontier 1 launches – once in orbit the rocket immediately follows its designed course: a one way trip to Sarnus! The rocket burns for a long time, but scientists are confident the course is correct. The transit to Sarnus should take approximately 1 year and 100 days!

Year 3, Day 89 (Frontier Probe Construction)

March 4, 2017March 4, 2017 sayburstuff Year 3 Frontier 1, Frontier 2, Frontier Probes, Sarnus

256x256-4 Development on the Frontier probes to Sarnus is finally complete! Construction begins on two of the probes: Frontier 1’s mission is to reach Sarnus as soon as possible – this will allow testing of long range communications equipment to ensure that future probes can even be contacted! Frontier 2 will take a more fuel efficient journey, with the gamble that the communications and power systems work at the extreme ranges the mission requires. Once KSEA knows the answers to these questions more advanced missions to Sarnus will be possible!

Year 3, Day 78 (Development Begins on Frontier Probes)

March 3, 2017March 4, 2017 sayburstuff Year 3 Frontier 1, Frontier 2, Frontier Probes, Sarnus

Work begins on developing Frontier 1 & 2, the first probes being sent to Sarnus! Appropriately enough, the probes will each be launched atop the Sarnus V rocket.

The probes are an entirely new design and due to the enormous distances, will require more DeltaV than any craft yet launched!

256x256-11 Each probe will carry on it a plaque that will attempt to explain where the Kerbals came from… hopefully some signs of the Ogres, the creatures believed to have sent that first probe that crashed on Kerbin so long ago, may see it!

Construction also begins on a new Surveyor probe… this time for Mun. The craft, cleverly named “Mun Surveyor” should be ready soon!

Additionally, construction begins on Aurora 11, the next Mun Mission! This time Glenica and Kimmy are at the front of the line!