My Little Kerbals(Kerbal Space Program)

[Brian Swartz]

Specifications: Kerbal Space Program, version 1.1.2.1260. Vanilla -- no mods.
Difficulty: Hard

This is going to be my time-waster in between Stellaris stuff for hopefully quite a while. Why KSP? I first heard about it three years ago, there was a fair amount of buzz about it being really cool 'at some point' both here and on some other forums. Dropped off my radar and I forgot about it until recently. I've taken the plunge, and the career mode is fleshed out enough that I think it's a travesty that there's only been one -- very brief -- dynasty around here about it. I play games better and with more enjoyment when I write about them. Because it's sort of a 'fill-in' thing, the pace of updates will probably be fairly uneven. Hopefully I'll be working again soon and have less time -- but I'll be adding whenever I'm able either way.

A note about the difficulty -- I chose Hard because on easier difficulties it's virtually impossible to lose in career mode from what I've seen. I wanted some danger in the sense that if I screw up badly enough, it might not be recoverable.

** No Reverting Flights -- Retrying a flight that went wrong.
** Crew that go missing or die are gone permanently.
** Starting Funds -- 10k instead of 15k
** Resource Abundance -- 50%
** Rewards 60% of normal
** Penalties double normal amount

I've haven't played a lot or accomplished anything particularly noteworthy -- just enough to have a handle on the mechanics. I've learned some, but I'm going to intentionally reproduce some of my screw-ups in the first few missions just to give it more of a 'first-timer' feel. I think this game really lends itself to telling a story about it, and I love the fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously. I thought about going with a really serious real-world mod right off the bat, but the campy hilarity in some parts of the game I want to experience as well.

The title here really should be more like 'Die Like a Kerbal'. Or perhaps, 'Studies in Mid-Air Incineration'. Stuff I've done in a few flights with the demo: fail at re-entry(horribly, multiple times), deploy parachute on the first stage right at liftoff so it basically keeps my rocket in a spin just metres above the ground, crash horribly and kill the idiot in the command module(repeatedly). I'm sure I've just scratched the surface on ways to screw up a mission. It's based on real science, though dumbed-down enough to make it vaguely accessible. Emphasis on vaguely, there are dozens, probably hundreds of components and nearly limitless design possibilities. There are realism mods out there with more aerodynamic concerns, Earth-replica including the thicker atmosphere, a truly obscene amount of additonal components, and all manner of additional challenges. I think vanilla will probably be more than plenty of challenge given the number of ways I've already found to screw up.

Anyway, so what is a Kerbal? Think of it as a cross between a leprechaun and a human, with a comedic sensibility ripped straight out of The Sims. They are basically short, green humanoids -- idiot savants with super-enlarged heads, possessing insane abilities in terms of researching and building things instantaneously ... but they are definitely not all there. You'll see what I mean. The home planet of Kerbin is sort of like Earth, a life-bearing terrestrial world, but it has an atmosphere roughly half as thick and Kerbin is about a tenth of the Earth's size. They live on a 6-hour, 426-day calendar.

With luck, hopefully the KSP will have a future that looks more often like this ...





Than like this.





As a final warning, this thread will be pretty image-heavy. It's the kind of game where the whole 'picture worth a thousand words' thing really is true. Couldn't do a lot of stuff justice without it. It will also be obsessively detailed, especially at first, for the same reason.

[Brian Swartz]

The KSC Tour: Part 1

The nerve center is the Kerbal Space Center(KSC). This is where the space program(such as it is) will be pursued.





Let's take a look around. There's a lot going on here. First I must check in at the

Administration Building





The Administration Building may not seem like a very exciting place, but this is where all our strategic decisions are made. I'm met here by Gus Kerman, Flight Director at the KSC(Kerbal Space Center). He gives me a quick rundown of our basic resources:

Funds -- 10k. Money to build vehicles and upgrade facilities with.
Reputation -- 0. This is what Kerbal society thinks of us. Right now the jury's obviously still out.
Science -- 0. Data collected for the researchers to analyze, and invent new more advanced components for us to use.

Administration Building Capabilities

Level 1 -- Max. Active Strategies(1), Max. Commitment(25%) to any one strategy
Next Upgrade -- 300k, Max. Active Strategies to 3, Max. Commitment of 60%





Heading inside, we are met by four more Kerbals. Each is a department head in the KSC; Mortimer(Finance), Linus(Science), Walt(Public Relations), and Gus(Operations)They all have the last name of Kerman. I'm told sometime in the past, there was a thing involving inbreeding, and not to ask. Seems good advice. Gus also mentions that the four department heads here are ready to present their recommendations on 'outside-the-box' possibilities:

Research Rights Sell-Out(Linus)

"We could make a quick buck from the Science the R&D team has collected by selling exclusive research rights to the highest bidder. Yes, that means we wouldn't be able to make use of that science ourselves, but for exclusive rights, I'm sure we could fetch a pretty penny from some large agency or conglomerate. "

This basically allows us to exchange our scientific knowledge for money. Since we have no science at the moment, it would be a pointless exercise.

Bail-Out Grants(Walt)

"We must be in dire straights to be considering such an option. Accepting a public grant would save us from bankruptcy, but it would also put a very serious dent in the Space Program's reputation. However, the Space Program is too big to fail, so if it's either this option or closing shop, I would advise you accept the money. "

This is even more desperate, trading the reputation of the KSP for cash. 10 thousand isn't much, but it's enough at the moment.

The other greyed-out options require Reputation, Science, or Funds beyond what we have. That whiteboard is just ... beyond description really. The best minds in Kerbin wrote that. Reflect for a moment on that reality.


We move on next to an arc-shaped building, but before we get there we pass the flagpole. Gus doesn't have much to say here: 'This is the official flag of the Space Program ... or we could change it.' Passing it by, we come to the

Astronaut Complex





"The Astronaut Complex contains the living and recreation spaces for all our crewmembers. New applicants also apply here to be recruited.". Definitely a good idea for me to meet these brave Kerbals.

Astronaut Complex Capabilities

Level 1 -- 5 Active Kerbals, Disembark on Kerbin only.
Next Upgrade -- 150k, 12 Active Kerbals, Extra-Vehicular Activities and Planting Flags training

Inside, we can see Kerbals have a variety of things going on, they apparently are fond of very low tables, darts, you can hear billiards and bad music in the background. Our current roster is rated in both courage and stupidity(brilliant!). We have a couple pilots, a scientist, and an engineer.





The training price of 131k is exorbitant(goes up with the more you have active). Hopefully the four we have can handle the job.

** OOC Note: Love the sensibility of the game. They rate astronauts with Courage and Stupidity, though it is merely cosmetic -- it impacts their expressions as things are going on and how they react in that way, but not how well they do their jobs. At least not yet.

Gus leads on to another lot, which has a number of fairly small, differing types of buildings sprawled all over the place. According to him this area is where they do

Research & Development





"At the R&D Facility, our team of scientists works hard to crunch the data received from mission experiments. Here, all researched technology can be viewed, and new ones discovered."

Research & Development Capabilities

Level 1 -- Research Science Limit of 100. This means any concept that requires more science than this cannot be researched here until an upgrade.
Next Upgrade -- 902k. Science Limit of 500, Astronaut Complex upgrade required for EVA Surface Sample, Resource Transfer Allowed

Insanely expensive. But also necessary it would seem. We'll see what awaits in the central building here as the tour continues.

[Brian Swartz]

KSC Tour: Part 2

Inside we see the basic technology we now have, elementary and disturbingly barebones.



Basic Fin
Manufacturer: Jebediah Kerman's Junkyard and Spacecraft Parts Co
Desc: This simple bolt-on aluminum fin may not be the cutting edge of aerospace engineering but it's dirt-cheap and will make your rocket slightly less unstable.
Cost: 25
Basic Specs Mass(0.01t), Max. Temp(934K), Relative Wing Area(0.12)





Mk1 Command Pod
Manufacturer: Kerlington Model Rockets and Paper Products Inc
Desc: Originally built as a placeholder for a demonstration mock-up of a rocket, the MK1 Command Pod was heralded as a far safer and more reliable option than it's predecessors by rocket scientists throughout the world. It is now commonly seen in active service.
Cost: 600
Basic Specs: Mass(0.84t), Crash Tolerance(14 m/s), Max. Temp(2200k, 1200 internal), Crew Capacity(1)
Other: Minimum 1 crew to operate, Reaction wheel(5.0 pitch/yaw/roll torque)(14.4 charge/min.), Science Expirement(crew report)
Optional: Electric Charge(50); Mono Propellant(10, 0.04t mass, 12.0 cost)





RT-5 'Flea' Solid Fuel Booster
Manufacturer: found lying by the side of the road
Desc: While considered by some to be little more than 'a trash bin full o' boom', the RT-5 can be seen in use at many space programs, perhaps possibly because it is the only option for many space programs, but nevertheless this small booster provides a nice kick to lift small payloads to considerable heights. Use with caution, though. Once lit, solid fuel motors cannot be put out until the fuel runs out.
Cost: 200
Basic Specs: Mass(1.5t), Crash Tolerance(7 m/s), Max Temp(2000k)
Other: Thrust(ASL)(162.9 kN), Thrust(Vac)(192.0 kN), Engine Isp(140 ASL - 165 Vac), Solid Fuel Propellant(15.82/sec. maxed), cannot be shut down.
Optional: Solid Fuel(140, 1.05t mass, 84.0 cost); Thrust limiter(percentage of max.)





Mystery Goo(tm) Containment Unit
Manufacturer:
Desc: This unit was something one of our engineers came up with while dumpster divin-- Erm, while researching alternative uses for existing technologies. It's a sealed container which appears to be filled with a strange-looking substance. We couldn't reach in or break the canister open, but watching how the Goo behaves when subjected to different situations could be very educational.
Cost: 800
Basic Specs: Mass(0.05t), Max. Temp(1200k)
Other: Science Experiment(observe mystery goo)





Modular Girder Segment
Manufacturer: Maxo Construction Toys
Desc: New! Build the structure of your teams with the Maxo Construction Toys Modular Girder Segment!
Cost: 25
Basic Specs: Mass(0.125t), Crash Tolerance(80 m/s), Max Temp(2000K)





Mk16 Parachute
Manufacturer: Found lying by the side of the road
Desc: The Mk16 Parachute might be considered by some to be little more than a random stitching together of the surplus parts it is, in fact, made from. But the fact remains that the Mk16 has been widely accepted as a generally better alternative than being in freefall.

That's it. Six components. That's what we have to build a solar-system-spanning space program from. What's the phrase ... a journey of a thousand miles(in this case, closer to a billion) ... often ends very, very badly? Ah well.

Gus tells me that he has it on good authority from Linus(Science Dept. Head) that for just 5 science, the researchers can develop either of two new concepts.

** Basic Rocketry -- How hard can Rocket Science be anyway?
** Engineering 101 -- How hard can Aerospace Engineering be anyway?

No really. That's what they said. I think this is job is getting worse by the minute.

Next up, Gus takes me past me a huge building towering over the complex, and to a small ... shoot, it's little more than a shack ... directly opposite the R&D building.





He tells me this is

Mission Control

I'm surprised they could control an ant-hill from here. Gus puts things differently.

"At the Mission Control facility, all available Contracts can be managed. It also offers a nice view of the launch site, for any who are brave enough to be so close to a launching craft."

At first, I think he's joking on that last part. Then I'm not so sure.

Mission Control Capabilities

Level 1 -- Up to 2 Active Contracts
Upgrade -- 7 Active Contracts, Tracking Station upgrade required for Flight Planning. For a mere 75k.

Well, the KSP definitely needs the money. Let's take a look at what they have for us.





Four contracts potentially for us to take. All are from the same agent, a body styling itself the Kerbin World-Firsts Record-Keeping Society. At least for now, they have divided their contracts into three categories, star-rated and termed Prestige.

Trivial
** Gather scientific data from Kerbin
Gene's Take: It may be a bit low-profile, but maybe it's just the sort of job we need right now.
** Launch our first vessel!
Gene's Take: Not every mission has to be a groundbreaking achievement, does it?

Wait. Wouldn't launching our first vessel be 'a groundbreaking achievement'? You know, by definition? Isn't that what ... nevermind. Not worth it.

Significant

** Escape the atmosphere
Gene's Take: Seems to be a fair offer. There's no reason not to take on this contract.

I can think of lots of reasons, actually. I'll just start with 'we have no idea if we can get any kind of vessel off the surface' let alone out of the freaking atmosphere!!

Exceptional

** Orbit Kerbin!
Gene's Take: This seems like a properly tall order. I can't wait to see it attempted!

You'll have to wait, since it would be nucking futs to even consider this now. But it does give us direction, something to shoot for. Our long-term, work-towards-it goal at the moment is build a vessel capable of maintaining a stable orbit around Kerbin. Held nearby by gravity, but able to circumvent our planet repeatedly. That would be a heck of a thing.

First things first though. We've got astronauts trained to take basic scientific readings, and if we're ever going to get anywhere(literally) then we got to figure out how to launch something off the surface. I tell Gene we'll sign on for the first two contracts right away. He hands me a couple of folders with the specifics. I'll go over that later. There are time deadlines on these -- either hours or days -- which is, paradoxically, an enormous amount of time at this point. We can move around instantaneously, and with no construction time and early missions lasting minutes or even seconds, very little time will actually go by. A deadline of 2 hours might as well be 2 years -- it's lots of time.

Leaving Mission Control, we head back towards the towering building we passed on the way. I ask Gus about the dirt strip and the other building nearby it, clearly close to us as we head out, but he tells me not to bother. Apparently Linus occasionally spouts some nonsense about launching vehicles sideways instead of straight upwards, even though all of our components are clearly designed for a vertical deployment. He carries enough weight though that the basic facilities are still in place. Something to keep in mind ...

In any case, our next stop is the ...





Vehicle Assembly Building

The VAB is where spacecraft are designed and built, before being moved over to the Launch Pad for flight.

Ok, simple enough.

Vehicle Assembly Building Capabilities

Level 1 -- Up to 30 parts
Upgrade -- 450k, up to 255 parts, Basic Action Groups available.

Whatever the heck a Basic Action Group is. At that price, we won't be finding out for a while. I'm going to be here for a while though. This monstrosity was built to produce rockets. The tour is over now -- it's time to get to work. There are dozens of Kerbal engineers awaiting my instructions.

Time to review those contracts ...

[Brian Swartz]

Contract Details: Gather Scientific Data From Kerbin

Agent: Kerbin Worlds-Firsts Record-Keeping Society
Briefing

As a consequence of undergoing rapid unplanned disassembly, a group of clerks at Kerbin Worlds-Firsts Record-Keeping Society tried to prove to everyone that we were actually out of ideas. Now, as you've probably figured out at this point, this is where you come in.

Give us a quick crew report before launching. It's fine if any of the lights on the control panel are flashing, just give it a swift kick.

Objective: Recover or transmit any science experiment data from Kerbin to achieve this goal.

Compensation: 2,466 in advance, 4,580 + 1 Science + 1 Reputation on completion.

Contract Details: Launch Our First Vessel!

Agent: Kerbin Worlds-First Record-Keeping Society
Briefing

A group of clerks passing by Kerbin Worlds-First Record-Keeping Society felt truly undecided about whether it seemed definitely untrue that we for some reason needed to find something to do. Admittedly, the way we would often be underestimating how volatile standard-grade solid rocket fuel really is was quite clearly part of the reason. However the case may be, as you've surely deduced from all this, this is where you come in.

We'd like to officially start off the space program with a bang! A very controlled bang, preferably.

Objective: Launch your first vessel off of the launchpad or the runway to achieve this goal.

Compensation: 1,233 in advance, 2,290 + 1 Reputation on completion.


Contract Overview

I like the fact that there are no penalties attached anywhere. What's more the advance payments push us up to almost 13.7k total funds. I've increased our balance by more than a third, and I haven't even done anything yet! On the other hand, there are no words to describe these contracts. What does that second briefing even mean?!? I don't know if the KWRS is on too many drugs or not enough, but working for such weirdos makes one pause a bit.

I take a moment to look around the VAB a bit. This enormous building is mostly just empty space, essentially an over-sized garage or vertical warehousee. Whereas the previous structures have had little for me to do other than check on things in their central office, here I'll have a lot more to do and I expect to be spending quite a bit of time.




Most of it looks like this, a bunch of scaffolding and other materials lining the interior walls. The most impressive part of it is probably the newly-hung KSP banner.




A closer look at the floor area, where dozens of Kerbal engineers scamper about doing nothing productive so far as I can see. Look closely enough and you can see them holding various tools -- tire irons, absurdly large wrenches, every once in a while one pulls out a sledgehammer and slams it vigorously into the floor a few times. Why, I don't know. Probably don't want to.




These 'tracks' out the enormous bay doors lead, I'm told, to the launch pad itself. First, let's see if they are up to the most basic of tasks. I tell them to haul just a command module out there, by itself.

Launch Pad




I'm informed that 'the Launch Pad is where vessels built at the VAB are launched. We are reasonably confident that it's a safe enough distance from everything else." Somehow that isn't very reassuring.

Launch Pad Capabilities

Level 1 -- Max. Size 20m by 21.2m, Max. Vessel Weight 18.0t
Next Upgrade -- 150k, Size to 36m x 39.6m, Weight increased to 140t

After getting the module out there, literally all I do is have Jebediah record his thoughts. There isn't much, I imagine, to say here other than 'The concrete is particularly grey in this area'.




Looking rather silly out there by itself, I'd say. I shudder to think what sort of hideous experimentation/disaster(s) caused the blackening of this surface. They tell me there was positively, certainly, a fair chance of no permanent damage. It's enough for our first 'mission' though. I receive confirmation of our payment, and this comment:

"When we got to page nine of your report we thought you might be stalling! We are starting the launch countdown now."

Page nine of a report about what the launch pad looks and feels like. Jebediah is one verbose Kerbal. We also hear from the Finance department, who tell us that we brought in 1,920 in donations from various scientific organizations in response to our observations. I feel they are far too easily impressed.

[britrock88]

Off to an excellent start.

[Brian Swartz]

Thanks! The good feelings didn't last forever, unfortunately ...

Edit: Adding a couple of images to the last post that I unfortunately forgot to include **oops**

[Brian Swartz]

Our First Launch: Adventures of the Test Flea

Now it's time for something that can actually get off the ground. For that we need a little more. It's time for our 'Test Flea'. The engineers tell us(actually, I messed around with it a bit) that it will take 10% thrust from the booster to get this thing off the ground at all. No need to go crazy on our first attempt. I'll stick with that, 10% also on the fuel load so it will burn for several seconds still, and then we don't load any monopropellant in the command module -- it won't be needed.




'Test Flea' Rocket Specs
Mass: 1.455t
Size: 3.0m x 1.3m x 1.3m
Cost: 1,134

The 'Test Flea's mission is literally what the contract says. To get off the ground, which will allow us to accurately claim that we have launched something. It goes off without a hitch. The Flea fires, the first vehicle to ever leave the surface of Kerbal(at least, intentionally),




eventually reaching a height of 131 meters. That's a bit deceptive though, since between the launch pad actually sitting about 60 meters above ocean level and the height of the rocket, the actually altitude taking that into account would be just 62 meters. Still, it's a heck of a thing. Soon it floats gently back to the ground with the parachute handling it's business well. All together, a flight time of 19 seconds. It's the first flight in Kerbal history!




We gain 3 Science from this, and our reputation is up to 3%. We also greeted by this congratulatory message:

"A very nominal launch! We couldn't have asked for more. Well we could've, and we will at some point."

We also get a couple donations of 960 each, for recovering crew from a mission and for getting a vehicle off the ground. That's all of our current contracts, but I want to see what the capabilities of this rocket are. We'll up the thrust to 25% and a proportional amount of fuel, and send Valentina out instead of Jebediah this time. It works to perfection again, staying up for over a minute. She reached a height of 456m, nearly half a kilometer, despite drag from the parachute. We get 5,760 in contributions and 1 Reputation for breaking the 25 m/s speed 'barrier'. Jebediah heads back out again for a final test: we're going with a full load of fuel.

Unfortunately this time we run into a bit of a snag ...




Just four seconds in, already a few hundred meters up, the drag from the parachute flips the rocket around. At first it's just a wobble, but soon the Flea makes several uncontrolled revolutions. It's a wonder the parachute wasn't incinerated. Poor Jebediah ends up in a thick cloud of smoke ...




At least from there he was able to harmlessly return to the surface. A height of 900 metres was reached, much less than anticipated. It's pretty clear what needs to happen here -- the parachute needs to deploy AFTER the Flea booster has finished it's burn. Valentina will take a run at making that happen.

Despite the unpleasantness, we pass a couple of new milestones. A speed of over 80 m/s gets us 5760 in funds, 1 Science, and 1 Reputation; getting over the half-kilometer mark, which we almost did on the previous flight, is another 5760 and 1 Reputation.

In comparison, Valentina's try at it -- the right way -- was rather astonishing. By the time the nearly nine-second fuel supply was gone she had rocketed to over 3km, with a speed just over 600 km/s and considerably drag resistance from the air at that velocity.




By the time the gravity and air resistance had countered this momentum, an astonishing altitude over over 11km had been reached. From this vantage point the entirety of the Kerbin Space Center is merely a very small part of the terrain:




And the curvature of the horizon of Kerbin itself can be seen clearly.




From the ground the mountain range on the left is the boundary of what can be seen inland from the KSC. And on the far right it appears there is a snowy peak that no Kerbal from this neck of the woods has previously laid eyes on. It's rather amazing view ...

New milestone set here include:

** 250 m/s velocity(5760 + 1 Reputation)
** 2km altitude(5760, 1 Science, 1 Reputation)
** 7km altitude(5760, 1 Reputation)
** returning to the surface after reaching that high(960).

I think we're done with testing out the Flea for now, for a 'trash bin o' boom' it is performing very well. We've reached amazing heights with it. We're pushing 60k in funding now, mostly from private contributions, and have 9.6 Science. It's time to check in with the department heads now and see what's next for us. It's a fast-paced life on Kerbin; all of that took exactly 37 minutes.

[CraigSca]

I'll be reading this. Every attempt I've made at leading my Kerbal's into space has been disastrous.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I've seen Kerbal numerous times, from the 'net or even from my son messing around with it.

Yet this was the first time I've ever seen any of the set up stuff you showed here to start the thread. Hell, I didn't even know the crews had names & stuff.

So you've already done stuff for me nobody else had managed ... in just 37 minutes

[Brian Swartz]

Good to know Jon, at least it has some value.

Originally Posted by CriagSca

Every attempt I've made at leading my Kerbal's into space has been disastrous.

This may be too. Chances of having to restart are significant, and there's been some disaster that I just haven't gotten around to posting yet. Soon, I hope.

[Brian Swartz]

Time to get this moving again.

This will be a regular process in between new vehicle iterations -- seeing what new toys(if any) we have the ability to research and taking the administration tour of the KSC, ending up at Mission Control where they tell us what they want us to do next, so on and so forth.

Time first to check in at R&D and see what they have to say for themselves. As it turns out it takes 5 Science for each of our possibilities, Basic Rocketry and Engineering 101. That means we are just a hair short of what we need for both. Our next mission series will need to settle for one or the other. Basic Rocketry promises a liquid fuel engine that is more versatile than the Flea Booster, and also a larger booster; Engineering 101 has a couple of components for scientific observation, and also something called a stack decoupler. The latter seems more pressing, as it will give us the opportunity to expand our scientific capabilities, which in turn will give us more gadgets and gizmos, sometimes over-seriously referred to as components.

This also opens up two more potential research paths along with Basic Rocketry:

** Stability(18 Science Required) -- Reaching for the stars starts with keeping our spacecraft pointed generally in the right direction.
** Survivability(15 Science) -- The art and science of landing and walking away from it.

Don't oversell it now or anything. Moving on to our new Engineering 101 components:




SC-9001 Science Jr.
Manufacturer: Experimental Engineering Group
Desc: The SC-9001 is a cutting-edge, self-contained laboratory. Have you ever wondered what happens to something in zero G? Or, have you ever pondered the truly meaningful questions? Such as what would happen if I exposed this to the rigors of stellar radiation and unforgiving vacuum? Comes with complimentary notepad. Recommended for ages 4-8. Small parts inside make it not suitable for small children.
Cost: 880
Basic Specs: Mass(0.2t), Crash Tolerance(6 m/s), Max. Temp(1200K)
Other: Science Experiment(Observe Materials Bay)

So it's recommended for ages 4-8, but not suitable for small children. Exactly how long did you take to test this 'cutting-edge' component again? *sigh* ...




Communotron 16
Manufacturer: Ionic Symphonic Protonic Electronics(srsly?)
Desc: The Communtron 16 is a versatile and lightweight antenna, suitable for medium-range communication, long-range backup communication, and eavesdropping on secret government operations.
Cost: 300
Basic Specs: Mass(0.005t), Crash Tolerance(7 m/s), Max. Temp(2000K)
Other: Date Transmitter, Packet Size(2.0 Mits), Bandwidth(3.33 Mits/s), Requires Electric Charge(12/packet)

Each transmission will cost us 24 electric charge on this thing, nearly half of the 50 that the command module's capacity. It will take only a little over half a second though. Hopefully we won't need it, but in the event that a successful scientific mission goes wrong ...




TR-18A Stack Decoupler
Manufacturer: O.M.B. Demolition Enterprises(Obviously Massive Boom?)
Desc: The TR-18A Stack Decoupler is equipped with a (hopefully) small explosive charge, that will sever the structural linkage between itself and whatever it's connected to. Painted on it's sides are handy arrows indicating which side will detach.
Cost: 400
Basic Specs: Mass(0.05t), Crash Tolerance(9 m/s), Max Temp(2000k)
Other: Decoupler(Ejection Force 250n)

I really hope our engineers don't need the 'handy arrows' to figure out how to use this.

Time to head back to Mission Control to see what new contracts we have available. By Kerbin! It seems our(extremely modest) successes have lots of agents coming out of the woodwork.

Trivial
** Conduct a focused obervational study of Kerbin. There are three of these, with different agent sponsors but similar objectives -- taking scientific readings above various parts of Kerbin from a significant altitude.
** Haul Mk16 Parachute into flight above Kerbin.
** Test stuff we haven't even researched yet. Two in this category.
** Test TR-18A stack decoupler landed at Kerbin.

Significant
** Escape the atmosphere! We'll be seeing this one around for quite some time I think.
** Haul RT-5 'Flea' Solid Booster into flight above Kerbin. We've already done this, but they want it to go higher than before. I'm guessing that's why it's in this category.
** Test stuff we haven't researched yet. Another one.

Exceptional
*** Orbit Kerbin! Eventually. Hopefully. Maybe not.

The 'focused observational study' contracts all require an altitude of about 17-20 km, nearly twice what we've managed so far. We're not ready for those yet. The ** equipment tests require us to get at least that high or even higher. Obviously the goals of escaping the atmosphere or establishing orbit are still well beyond us. They also want us to test stuff on a couple of these that we haven't even researched yet. All of this leaves exactly two possibilities -- tests of the parachute and stack decoupler. I sign off on those contracts; now it's time to build a new rocket for some missions that can, I hope, achieve them.

Our new project is titled, unoriginally, the Observer. Before we get into the plans for that, here's the specifics for the contracts we need to try and fulfill with the first one.


Haul Mk16 Parachute Into Flight Above Kerbin

Agent: Research & Development Department
Briefing

Not very long before dumpster-diving, boffings trying something truly outstanding at Research and Development Department made a strange point about how we were getting nowhere near figuring out if the rumours about our Mk16 Parachute were really as grossly exaggerated as we told everyone they were.

We want you to haul the Mk 16 Parachute into flight above Kerbin.

Objectives: Altitude 3-8 km, Speed 60-240 m/s with Mk16 Parachute.

Compensation: 4050 in advance, 10.13k + 1 Science + 2 Reputation on completion.

Penalties: 13.5k fine, -6 Reputation for Failure; -3 Reputation for Declining


Test TR-18A Stack Decoupler landed at Kerbin

Agent: O.M.B. Demolition Enterprises

Briefing

One engineer at O.M.B. Demolition Enterprises would be the first to admit that doing a full-scale test was the simplest way to learn if the rumours about our TR-18A Stack Decoupler were really as moronic as we told everyone they were. Granted, the way we would often see a somewhat worse-than-average accident was a big part of why. Anyway, as you can now imagine, we need your help.

We want yhou to test the TR-18A Stack Decoupler landed at Kerbin.

Objectives: Activate the stack decoupler after landing anywhere on Kerbin.

Compensation: 1080 in advance, 2835 + 1 Science + 1 Reputation on completion

Penalties: 3780 fine, -2 Reputation for Failure; -3 Reputation for Declining

[Brian Swartz]

Observer

I think we can knock out both of these contracts in one go. We've successfully landed a few times now, while the Flea test rocket used the parachute repeatedly for that purpose and reached beyond the desired altitude and velocity. I'd also like to take the opportunity here to test out our new intrumentation, and the Mystery Goo as well. This will be a much more complicated rocket, and there's several things we hope to accomplish with it.

I present the Observer . It has all of our scientific toys, a decoupler, and the Flea booster. I don't think I want to know what the Kerbal in the red shirt on the lower right here is doing with that sledgehammer ...




Mass: 2.755 t
Size: 4.4 x 1.7 x 1.3m
Cost: 4390

It's more than three times the price of our last rocket. Functional scientific equipment is not cheap. With Jebediah in the pilot's seat, it went off without a hitch, reaching nearly 7km. At about 6.5km, he took a look inside the Science Jr. module, discovering that 'the less resilient samples seem to have splattered around the interior, forming new and interesting color combinations.' About 30 seconds later, having descended to about five kilometers, Jebediah observed that the Mystery Goo 'jiggles and wobbles as the craft flies'. Groundbreaking stuff, that.

The landing was less than perfect ...




Now, it wasn't as bad as this looks. At around 7.2 m/s due to the increased weight, the Observer and it's pilot were actually fine except for the booster, which exploded violently but briefly. The rest of the rocket was built well enough to prevent any further damage.

Despite the unpleasant finish, the Oberver came back with a very nice yield of science. We're up to almost 75k in the bank, over 22 science, and reputation of +1% -- apparently each point of reputation we get is only a fraction of a percent(0.1% I think). So Kerbals think well of us to a nearly-infinitesimally small degree, when they bother to think of us at all. It was time to take another administrative tour. The first flight of the Observer may well have been it's last, but it was on the whole highly successful.

[Tellistto]

Nicely done, Brian!

[Izulde]

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