The spacecraft docks! Fortunately, Lobert watching at Mission Control, notices something is off in the mission parameters!
“So I did the math guys… I am pretty sure they don’t have enough DeltaV to complete the mission with that rover attached!“ -Rozer
The rest of the Space Center engineering staff looks at the numbers… Lobert is right!
““Everybody secure? Disconnecting docking clamps!“We have some sharp eyed Kerbals down here Aurora 30! Lobert spotted some problems… you need to eject that rover! And after that … we’ll need you to do the transfer burn using the lander engines!“ -Gene, at Mission Control
“Roger that… nice work Lobert! Detaching the rover!““Moving in to dock…“” -Malcolm
Next, everyone holds on as the lander’s engine fires!
“Um, should our eyes feel like this??“ -Guswin
“We don’t normally point the spacecraft this way when we fire engines… I think we’ll be fine though… I think!” -Malcolm
Aurora 30 soars off toward Minmus! In just a few days the first tourism mission will arrive!
After a short training period, the winners of the planet-wide raffle Urberry, Guswin, and Siski board the Aurora 30 Crew Vehicle – piloted by veteran pilot Malcolm!
Lobert climbs up and takes a look out the crew cabin window…
“Wow – there it is! We look about 200 meters from it. Nice flying! What a strange design though…” -Lobert
“No surprise it’s strange! Before KSEA was founded… before the Kerbal States… we were just launching all kinds of crazy stuff into space! I’ve heard rumors of all kinds of stuff launched into space!.” -Gillian
“We are at station keeping… zero relative velocity. You’re good to get out there Gillian – good luck! -Malcolm
Gillian suits up, grabs a repair kit, and heads outside the craft!
Gillian lets go of the Crew Vehicle and uses very slight burst of her EVA pack to get closer, and closer the to strange satellite!
“Hmm.. I wonder if this satellite was originally planned to launch to Mun? There’s some water sensors on it… this is the strangest configuration of struts I’ve ever seen! Hmm – no means of propulsion. Maybe it exploded? No obvious damage other wise… I’ll have to do a part by part inspection!” -Gillian
Gillian floats about the probe, checking each component, until…
“Found it! The communications dish. This will be a while!” -Gillian
After quite a while, repairs are done!
“Seeker 1 – we are picking up a signal from that satellite! Nice work up there!“ -Gene, at Mission Control
“That’s great! Time to get back to the Crew Vehicle – this was tough work! This would have been easier if we had a ladder or something I could climb out on to do the repairs! -Gillian
Lobert thinks about Gillian’s comment…
“That shouldn’t be too hard – maybe we can try that in the next Crew Vehicle we make! I’ll start drawing up some plans on the way home…” -Lobert
With the mission completed, Malcolm fires the engine to take Seeker 1 home!
“Telemetry looks good – let’s get into orbit then head down to Kerbin!” -Malcolm
Gillian packs up the Crew Vehicle along with Lobert, getting the spacecraft ready for re-entry!
After reaching orbit, Seeker 1 does its de-orbit burn, and separates from its orbital stage!
“Hold on everyone… it’s getting hot!” -Malcolm
“Readings nominal… temperatures… hot! But within limits!” -Gillian
“Reactor powering up … radiators are showing full dispersion… full power available!” -Lobert
“We are in the clear – pull the chutes! Sounds like rain out there!” -Malcolm
It’s a rainy day at the Space Center – but crews are still on standby to rescue the Seeker-1 crew!
Seeker-1 sets down safely! Crews head out to recover them!
“Welcome home everyone!“ -Gene, at Mission Control
Mission: Crewed mission to Minmus. Reach orbit, land on surface, return to Kerbin!
KSEA announces the winners of the planet-wide raffle! Urberry, Guswin, and Siski are announced as the winners! Experienced pilot Malcolm will pilot the mission! The Aurora 30 rocket is amost ready and will be rolled out to the launchpad soon!
For the past month, Space Center Tracking Stations have been detecting an unknown signal in Kerbin orbit! Engineers have a strong suspicion that it is one of the many spacecrafts or satellites that were launched before KSEA was created by the Kerbal States!
While not technically an Aurora mission (those are missions specifically for Mun and Minmus) the mission still needed a name, and Seeker was chosen!
Seeker-1 will utilize Aurora and Crew Vehicle hardware to discover whatever it is that’s in orbit of Kerbin! Malcolm, Gillian, and Lobert get ready for launch!
“There’s only one way to be sure what’s up there – we’ll have to send a crew! This should be a good test of the new Mk3 Crew Vehicle!” -Gene, at Mission Control
“Systems looking good… we are approaching maximum dynamic pressure on the spacecraft… “ -Malcolm
The solid rocket boosters detach…
…and once orbit is achieved the Crew Vehicle detaches!
“Mission Control has good comms with the N-8 booster… sending the landing signal now!” -Gene, at Mission Control
While the Seeker-1 crew prepares for a mission to the mysterious satellite, the N-8 Booster starts it’s descent!
“Uh oh. Telemetry is off. Emergency everyone! Hold on tight!” -Gene, at Mission Control
Everyone in the Space Center gets to emergency positions – the booster’s trajectory is off and it’s heading right toward the VAB!
There isn’t enough thrust to slow the craft down! The VAB shakes violently as the booster rockets overhead, just meters away from the Vehicle Assembly Building!
With a mighty explosion, the Nebula III Booster N-8 detonates right next to the path used to move vehicles to the launchpad! Bits of the rocket go flying in every direction!
“Status report people! Get damage control and repair crews out there! Seeker 1 are you stable? Can you standby?” -Gene, at Mission Control
“Everything on Seeker 1 is nominal – we are good waiting – break out the snacks everyone!” -Malcolm
As the final bits and parts of the N-8 Booster roll to a stop, teams are dispatched to check out the damage, and pick up the mess!
After a very long wait, construction and stack integration of DSV-6 Odyssey is complete and the truly massive rocket is rolled out to the launch pad! Nova launches are rare, and large crowds turned up at the space center to watch!
“All right people… this might be the biggest and most expensive rocket ever launched but you’re professionals and you know what to do!” -Gene supervising the launch at Mission Control
“I can’t wait to fly Odyssey.. I hope the launch goes OK!” -Malcolm
As the countdown approaches launch the space center gets silent in anticipation. Finally, the count reaches zero and…
The Space Center shakes as the massive Nova Rocket takes off!
“Go Odyssey! Woohoo!“ -Glenica, watching with the rest of the Spacedock crew in orbit!
As the Nova Rocket carrying Odyssey rises into the sky ground crews carefully track the launch!
In orbit, the fairing ejects and the spacecraft fires its orbital stage engines to circularize the orbit!
“Communications good, telemetry good… Odyssey is right where she is supposed to be! Nice work team!” -Gene supervising the launch at Mission Control
The enormous cost, complexity, and danger of launching these mega-spacecraft from the space center has been quite a strain!
Besides the fantastic costs, the space center itself was tied up for almost a year building Odyssey.
“The Nova Rocket itself costs almost a million to launch! With the cost of each DSV approaching 2 million!” -Gillian, watching from Spacedock
Serious consideration is now being given to constructing an orbital assembly yard!
KSEA projects a need for the construction of at least one new DSV every year, which includes possibly retiring some ships in the current fleet!
“Not sure how to do it, but we need to find a way to get more Kerbals into deep space – the Space Center can’t handle this many super-duper-heavy launches!” -Gene
KSEA is holding a planet-wide contest! Three winners will be selected to be the first non-astronaut Kerbals to launch to space to celebrate the 30th Aurora mission! This will be the first time a mission has non-specialist Kerbals, and the entire planet is clamoring for a chance to be on the flight even if they will just be tourists!
The vast majority of the population of Kerbin is desperate to join the space program, so many Kerbals see this as a chance to jump in line and get a chance to fulfill every Kerbal’s dream: to explore space!
The mission is a fairly simple one – travel to Minmus, land, and return safely to Kerbin. Malcom has been selected as the pilot!
Malcolm and Sean hop into Crew Vehicle 1 and launch with a Nebula Rocket!
“Pre-Flight checks good. We are GO!” -Malcolm
The Nebula rocket blasts off!
“Wohoooooo! -Sean
The latest generation Crew Vehicle design has become the primary method of getting Kerbals to orbit and back!
“We are at 200k… detaching Booster!” -Malcolm
“Everything looks good on our boards… We have remote control of the Nebula Booster! Good luck up there crew!” -Gene, at Mission Control
Remotely piloting the craft from the surface of Kerbin, the booster does a ‘reverse burn” to allow landing closer to the Space Center!
“Malcolm, try to get us pretty close to the Fuel Depot, I’ll ned to EVA for a while to do a close inspection of both craft!” -Sean
Malcolm pilots the craft into a circular orbit, then begins the rendezvous process!
The Crew Vehicle arrives at the Fuel Depot and moves closer, and closer!
“We are stationary at 50 meters – controls are locked. You’re good to EVA!” -Malcolm
Sean suits up, and exits the craft!
“These Fuel Depots are HUGE! First impressions, everything appears good. Crazy that this is the only surviving bit of the original Spacedock!” -Sean
Doing a complete inspection Sean checks that power systems, communications are good, and most importantly the docking mechanisms are intact!
“OK… good news! Everything looks nominal. Communication systems are good… Docking port is solid and engaged. RCS systems between the two craft appear fully integrated. When Spacedock 2 launches I think we should be good to remotely control the Depot and dock it with the station!” -Sean
Completing the inspection, Sean returns to the Crew Vehicle and the spacecraft re-pressurizes its life support system, and the craft starts its descent!
“We’re heading home!” -Malcolm
“Chutes deployed!” -Sean
Crew Vehicle 1 sets down next to the Space Center, and crews head out to do recovery!
Big news from the Aurora program – the Aurora Command Module has been upgraded using a modified Nebula Crew Vehicle capsule, and the lander has been modified to allow easier re-use from Mun Spaceport! These changes will allow FOUR crew to journey to Mun from now on!
The crew is announced: Two engineers, Bill and Dunwin, the Mission Commander Malcolm, and Luly will be the mission Scientist!
Aurora 28 blasts off on top of a Sarnus Va rocket!
The rocket carries the spacecraft up to a 600k orbit of Kerbin…
…then departs for Mun!
“Even with 4 crew this new module is so roomy!” -Bill
This will be the first launch for the 4-crew variant of the Aurora Spacecraft… the module is identical to the Nebula Crew Vehicle which has a perfect record!
The Crew Lander is slightly modified with more fuel and life support and an improved refueling system!
Aurora 28 arrives at Mun Spaceport!
“Aurora 28… we have you on tracking… our docking ports are all full though!” -Summer
The old lander ejects, as does the Aurora 27 Command Module, and Aurora 28 docks!
“We need to get some adapters up here to make more room for more spacecraft!” -Malcolm
Plans are begun for some expansions to the Spaceport to allow for more docking ports… while the crew prepares to head down to Aurora Base!
