Deuce Science Flight 12

while a lot of work remains in the investigation, all parties involved feel a point has been reached where we can release a statement not only on the events of this past week but the events of the past few years that led up to this brazen attack: kerbalspace.agency/?p=9965

TL;DR - a sect of violent Monolithic followers remains set against our space-bound ambitions even after being secretly banished to the other side of the planet by religious leaders, where they happened upon a large unknown population of kerbs receptive to "salvation"

weather has cooperated today for a Deuce flight with Cdr Val & Cpt Jeb, who will eventually seek out rough & stormy weather but for now prefer milder conditions to test the aircraft's performance with the new under-wing atmospheric sensor pods. Wheels up @ ~20:45 UTC

a ground crew member atop the power unit that supplies the Deuce with electricity until the engines are started, which is coming up soon, takes a photo into the cabin as the flight crew work through preflight, still aiming for an on-time departure

Jeb has requested taxi & takeoff clearance, which have been granted. The runway is still not completely clear of the rocket sled track so they will be departing from and returning to the turf runway. Winds are off the water so the aircraft is headed out to Rwy09 for departure

positive climb rate established, Jeb has raised the gear and notched flaps from takeoff (2) to climb (1) while Val holds a steady ascent at full power. Standard departure will have them fly runway heading to 800m ASL before turning on course for the mission & raising flaps

climbing through 5.5km the belly cam catches some stunning cloud rolls coming up towards the peaks of the mountains west of KSC, which have strong updrafts and winds which the new sensors will be put to the test monitoring along with temp, press, etc

done with the mountains and some of the grasslands, the crew are now on course for the desert on the western shore to sample some drier air, and will then make a pass over the southern volcano to see if any outgassing can be detected from 8km

the Deuce is just starting to circle around and then pass over the volcano, seen here off in the distance earlier from over the desert. Keologists think it was extinct before the Sea Ring crater impact, which may have brought magma back to make it now dormant

Lead Scientist Cheranne has told Jeb they have collected enough data, Val has them back on course for KSC and given they are still at nearly 8km the crew will be preparing for descent shortly. Throttle is stuck, likely frozen control cables but should thaw out as they descend

Jeb has declared an emergency - Val pulled back throttle once she felt it give but about 1/3 back from full power the levers fell back to idle however engines are still running at around 68% power. With control cables broken, landing will be tricky

Val is continuing her descent and approach for pattern entry over KSC while Jeb handles toggling the thrust reversers on her command to get a feel for how the aircraft responds since they are not usually engaged when traveling at flight speeds

emergency vehicles are on their way out to the runway as Val is coming around left-pattern onto crosswind leg, keeping her speed up so the aircraft doesn't surprise her but managing her approach rate well with the help of Jeb on the thrust reversers

rolling out onto base leg, one more turn to line up with the runway for short final. Flight crew is calm & in control. Once Val touches down & uses reverse thrust to slow further, Jeb will shut down the engines so wheel brakes can bring the aircraft to a stop

full stop! Great landing by Val, a bit hard on the touchdown since the aircraft slowed too much and fell from a stall but it settled into the turf and rolled out fine. Crew is deplaning to hitch a ride back to KSC while a tug heads out to get the Deuce back into the HAB

repairs for the Civvie will take about a month, in the meantime the Deuce is also grounded until a full review of maintenance records and procedures is carried out by Lead Engineer Simon, who is currently working to appoint a new head mechanic