January 31, 2014

A Weekend on Minmus, Part Two

Hello again, ladies and gentlekerbs, this is Jebediah Kerman, along with Bob, Calfrod, Philmon, Desberry and Hersey Kerman, coming to you live from orbit above the green plains of Minmus.


Shortly our initial crew of five arrived here with the combined Keptune lander, orbital laboratory and transfer vehicle arrived here at Minmus, we planned our initial landing.  We decided to get the one likely to use the most fuel out of the way first, and Bob, Philmon and Calfrod headed for the north pole of Minmus.

Bob, Philmon and Calford Kerman near the North Pole of Minmus

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January 26, 2014

A Weekend on Minmus, Part One

Good evening. ladies and Gentlekerbs.  This is Jebediah Kerman, coming to you from orbit above Minmus.  I'm not alone up here today, I'm mission commander for a mission with four other astronauts, so let's begin with some introductions.


[Bob Kerman] Hello there, this is Bob Kerman.  I'm pilot in charge of the lander for this mission.

[Philmon Kerman] I'm Philmon Kerman, and I'm the second pilot for the lander.

[Calfrod Kerman] I'm Calfrod Kerman.  I'm a mission specialist in charge of the scientific instruments on the lander.

[Desberry Kerman] And I'm Desberry Kerman, mission specialist in charge of the research lab.

[Jebediah Kerman] Together the five of us are here above Minmus to accomplish a variety of goals:
  • Gain experience with complex, long-duration missions,
  • Demonstrate the feasibility of complex, multi-module spacecraft,
  • Gain experience with on-orbit rendezvous and docking, and
  • Thoroughly explore and research Minmus and it's local environment
The Keptune Mission Above Minmus

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Into the Skies Without a Pillar of Fire

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlekerbs!  


My name is Lanlo Kerman, and I'd like to report on the progress of "Project Kerbalhawk", our space plane program.

When we last reported, I presented the X-0 rocket plane.  The X-0 was fun to fly, but really it was just a small rocket with wings and wheels.  The engines only had enough fuel for about a minute, which was just about enough to get me 10 kilometers or so out from the runway before I had to turn around and glide back.  Clearly that's not going to be much help in rescuing Bill Kerman in the dense atmosphere of Eve.
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A Rolling Rover Gathers no Moss

Hello, rover fans!  This is Doodbus Kerman coming to you from the Kerbal Space Center, for today's review of the ongoing development of our space rover program.


A while back, we started "Project Kascar," a development program to research, design, and build rovers.  The main purpose of this program is to build a rover capable of carrying Bill Kerman from his crashed lander up to a nearby high plateau.

At the time we introduced this project, we had the RC-0 rover prototype available for display.  A short while ago, I took a production RC-0 to the Mun for testing.  It worked well, and was surprisingly robust, surviving quite the tumble down the side of a munar mountainside.  However, it did have a pretty obvious limitation, in that the maximum speed was around 14 meters per second, and even a moderate slope was more than it could successfully climb.
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January 23, 2014

A Nice Day for a Drive..on the Mun

Good evening, ladies and gentlekerbs. Today on stage we have Doodbus and Philmon Kerman, here to describe their recent mission to the Mun to test the KC-0 rover.


[Philmon] Thank you, Rod. It's good to be here. For this flight, I was the mission commander and pilot, and Doodbus was the mission specialist for rover operations. The objective for this flight was to go to the Mun, testing the lander-rover attachement system, see if we can successfully deploy a rover to the munar surface, and then test the rover in actual munar conditions. And, of course, to return safely. We would hate to have to interrupt Jeb's tropical vacaction for another rescue mission.

Kupiter I on the pad

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January 22, 2014

The Mun is a Harsh Mistress Part Three: There and Back Again

Bill Kerman is on the planet Eve, sheltering in the shattered wreckage of his lander, waiting for rescue.

Bill Kerman waiting on Eve

Bob Kerman is on the Mun, sitting in his detached capsule, waiting for rescue.
Bob Kerman waiting on the Mun

Philmon Kerman is on the Mun, sitting in his lander, with empty fuel tanks, waiting for rescue.

Philmon Kerman waiting on the Mun

I am Jebediah Kerman, but today my name is Rescue.
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The Mun is a Harsh Mistress Part Two: Thank You Ma'am, May I Have Another?

Good morning, Kermerica!  


I'm Philmon Kerman, and I'm thrilled to be here on the Mun with Bob today.

Bob and Philmon on the Mun
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The Mun is a Harsh Mistress

While the rover and spaceplane projects are progressing, the main crew under Bob Kerman has been developing the next generation of launchers and landers.


The Kermotaur I is a test vehicle for the next generation of new, larger rocket engines.  This flight will also test a collection of new lander components, including a fully habitable laboratory.   Although the new lander and laboratory are capable of carrying 5 astronauts, for this initial flight it will just be Bob Kerman.

Kermotaur I on the pad
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January 16, 2014

Mission "Rescue Bill Kerman" Part One: Planning

Ladies and gentlekerbs, allow me to express the thanks of the Royal Squirrel Patrol Space Force for the outpouring of support for Bill Kerman.  It means a great deal to his family, all of us here at the Kerbal Space Center, and no doubt it would mean a lot to Bill himself were he aware of it.  Rest assured that our focus here is now completely on getting Bill back home safely.


Our scientists and engineers have reviewed every scrap of data Bill sent back before his batteries died. We have a good understanding of what went wrong with his landing, and we're beginning to come up with a plan for his rescue.

Bill crashed on Eve eight days ago. The launch window to Eve from Kerbin opens in another 183 days, and we plan to have a mission ready on the pad when that day comes.

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January 10, 2014

Kouston, We Have a Problem

Ladies and gentlekerbs, members of the press, I'm here to brief you on the developing situation with Bill Kerman on the planet EVE. Please understand that we're still gathering information and our personnel are currently working the problem. I'll give you what information I have, so please pay attention, hold your questions until the end, and try not to ask questions you know I can't answer. Thank you.


As you know, with Jebediah still recovering from his successful journey to Duna, Bill Kerman was chosen for the next mission, a trip to the EVE with the now proven Kerbasus-Kermes III rocket. Your press packet includes a variety of photographs from the early parts of the mission.

Kerbasus-Kermes III nightime launch
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Atop a Pillar of Fire, I Journey to Red Duna

I sit 113 meters above the launch pad atop the Kerbasus-Kermes III, 964 tons of metal, rocket fuel and fission reactors poised to carry me once more into the dark of space, this time to red Duna. As I sit here in my chair, the mighty rocket swaying gently, with the now familiar cacophony of creaks, bangs, whirrs and roars filling the capsule while the chatter of mission control fills my helmet, I feel calm. 


My thoughts go back to an interview I gave a few weeks ago during the parliamentar investigations into the Kerbasus I failure. Kalther Kerman asked me how it was that I could watch rockets fail on test, explain rationally to parliament the myriad dangers innate to the exploration of space, and yet climb into the capsule time and time again, to go out into space, perhaps to die. I find that the answer I so glibly gave then still holds: 

"Because if I don't, who will? And if nobody does, if no Kerbal ventures out to explore the universe, to go to the farthest corners of creation, place their footprint into the virgin dust of new and remote places, the universe will be a much poorer place for it.

I am Jebediah Kerman, and in a few minutes I will blaze a trail of fire and smoke into the heavens. Perhaps I will go to Duna. Perhaps I will come back. Whether I succeed, or whether I fail, I can't imagine being anywhere but here, doing anything but this.



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January 09, 2014

Presenting the Kerbasus-Kermes III

Greetings, ladies and gentlekerbs, and welcome to today's tour of the Kerbal Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building. The focus of today's tour will be the rocket behind me, the Kerbasus-Kermes III.


Kerbasus-Kermes vehicle in the VAB

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January 06, 2014

Answering Ancient Questions

Ever since the first Kerbal trained a telescope to the skies and looked at Kerbin's second moon, Minmus, a question has remained unanswered: is Minmus really made of green slurpee goo, and if so, is it as tasty as it looks?


I am Jebediah Kerman, and today I plan to find out.

Merkerby-Kerbysseus on the Launchpad prepared for a trip to Minmus
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January 05, 2014

Rocket Science is Hard

The average working Kerbal loves to hear of the exploits of the Royal Squirrel Patrol Space force, seeing Jebediah Kerman, Bob Kerman, and all their fellow astronauts rocket into space, float around inside and outside their capsules, and bounce around on the Mun. And we here at the RSPSF delight in giving them those stories. Not only is it our mission, but the commissions and royalties make our accountants very happy Kerbals.


What we don't want to have to tell the public is that we've had a disaster, and one of their beloved astronauts has been turned to paste, ashes, or a fine red mist. So we perform the occasional test of the equipment to ensure that the disaster never happens. Although sometimes, our accountants disagree that we've avoided disaster.

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January 04, 2014

To the Mun (Tutorial) Part Three: Back to Kerbin

In our last session, we covered an Ikerbus-Kerbysseus flight to the Mun, from launch through to landing on the Mun.  Today I'll describe the flight back from the midlands craters of the Mun to a safe landing on the desert lakebed of Kerbin.


Bob Kerman on the Mun
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To the Mun (Tutorial) Part Two: Travel to the Mun

Good day, ladies and gentlekerbs, and welcome back to this overview of the Ikerbus-Kerbysseus Mun exploration program.  My name is Bob Kerman, and in this session I'll show you how we fly our rocket to the Mun.


This image from the main display in the command center shows our preferred launch window.  We see Kerbin in the foreground, with our rocket on the launch pad at the Kerbal Space Center shown by a little capsule icon.  In the backgroun we can see that the Mun is about 10 degrees below the horizon, or an hour or so before Mun rise on this particular night.  By launching with Kerbin and the Mun in this configuration, we will give ourselves an efficient course straight to the Mun after launch.

Mun launch window
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To the Mun (Tutorial) Part One: The Rocket

Hello ladies and gentlekerbs, and welcome to the Kerbal Space Center.  My name is Bob Kerman, and I'm an astronaut of the Royal Squirrel Patrol Space Force.  Today I'll be giving you an overview of a project Kerbysseus flight to the Mun and back.  Let's start with the details of the Ikerbus-Kerbysseus rocket.


Ikerbus-Kerbysseus in the VAB
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January 03, 2014

To the Mun

After the Kerbetheus II mission and my successful space walk, it was time to hand the rest of the Kerbetheus missions over to other astronauts who needed the experience, and the chance to get their names and photos circulated around Kerbin.


Bob Kerman EVA over the polar ice caps on Kerbetheus V
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The Kerbetheus Program

I dare to dream.

I will not let fear limit me.
I will go where no Kerbal has gone before.
I am Jebediah Kerman, and I am an astronaut of the Royal Squirrel Patrol Space Force.

Now that I've gone to the edge of space and come back alive, intact, and as sane as I ever was, it's time to get the Kerbetheus program going in earnest.

Kerbetheus II on the launchpad
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These are the Tales of the Royal Squirrel Patrol Space Force

As I sit here in my command chair, my ears are filled with the creaks and bangs of the metal beast that has engulfed me, the gentle moan of the wind on my capsule, the occasional bang and rumble of pumps filling various tanks, and over it all, the chatter of the many engineers and flight controllers reporting over my headphones. My name is Jebediah Kerman, and I am about to fly into space. Or perhaps I’ll be blown into smithereens and scattered all over the coast here at the Kerbal Space Center. We’ll see.

Me and the capsule on the launch pad for a publicity photo.

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