Progeny Mk6 Block I Flight 12 (Kerbal Sounding Project 1)

the Kerbal Sounding Project has returned with a new initiative to help get the next generation of space explorers ready - student experiments will be launched on sub-orbital flights aboard the Progeny Mk6-I, using kits developed by Umbra Space Industries

dates are scheduled for the Kerbal Sounding Project missions! There will be 4 launches, carrying 2 experiments each - all of which will have been built by students, our next gen space explorers. Dates:

#1 - 11/5
#2 - 11/14
#3 - 12/5
#4 - 12/17

More info on the Ops Tracker

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"

what is the mysterious substance(s) known as dark matter? Today is a day dedicated to learning more about the cosmological conundrum that says we are only observing a small fraction of the universe. Learn more at darkmatterday.com

to help celebrate Dark Matter Day, we're proud to announce one of the science experiments launching on the first Kerbal Sounding Project mission contains a feasibility study for a new type of magnetic spectrometer that could one day aid in our search for dark matter

the radome has been completed on the tall hills west of KSC and will be hooked up to the Tracking Station by tomorrow, which means we can return to KSC next week! Due to security, it's tough working remotely for engineering and R&D teams w/o full file access

launch crews are working today to get the Progeny launch base out of storage and moved to the North Field, beyond the runway just over 1km from the launch pad. The cable run distance from here to Launch Control have caused issues in the past that we've had to resolve

the Progeny Mk6 is on its way out for mounting. The last time we used the North Field launch site was back in 2018 when the service towers got in the way of ascending to the northeast when we were exploring the latitudinal extent of the inner radiation belt

rocket is mounted and will be fueled up later so Flight Director Lanalye and her B team can perform a wet dress rehearsal. Afterwards if all is well, since rocket is way out there & fuel is stable, the rocket will not be drained to allow for a condensed countdown tomorrow

🌅Sunrise/Sunset🌄
@ KSC (UTC-5)

11/13
#2🌄07:01:36 🌅09:11:57 !!🚀!!
#3🌄13:02:27 🌅15:12:48
#4🌄19:03:18 🌅21:13:39

11/14
#1🌄01:04:09 🌅03:14:30

[L-3h40m] pre-launch operations have begun! Our condensed countdown for today is included so you can know when to expect updates from us. First item on the list is to make sure weather conditions are good, taking into consideration data from sources throughout the region

🌅Sunrise/Sunset🌄
@ KSC (UTC-5)

11/14
#2🌄07:05:00 🌅09:15:21 !!🚀!!
#3🌄13:05:51 🌅15:16:12
#4🌄19:06:42 🌅21:17:03

11/15
#1🌄01:07:33 🌅03:17:54

[L-3h40m] all launch teams have reported for duty and are ready to give this another shot. New weather data is being compiled but at least we've already heard good reports from mariners about conditions in the east Kerblantic, for which MSV Aldeny set sail back on Monday

[L-3h10m] Flight Director Lanalye is briefing the B team of launch controllers on final details for today's mission, which will be a standard Mk6 ascent, sub-orbital flight and recovery. These flights are based solely on past experience & not modeled in LVD due to being unguided

[L-2h45m] we have a GO for preflight! Weather conditions are green for the entire day, not just the current day cycle, so plenty of opportunity to work through any technical issues that may arise. Launch controllers are on console getting the rocket woke & ready for flight

no major changes have been made to the operations code since the last Mk6-I launch back in May other than to bring it up to date with more recent launch operations - you can check out the latest version of the Automated Flight Control System here: bit.ly/AFCS_ChangeLog

sunrise outside of launch control right now. The clouds in the distance might warn of an approaching front and also signal a disturbance of the upper atmosphere. if so, we'll just have to hope we get the rocket launched before it gets here. Look again for Mun's sliver

[L-1h55m] smooth preflight so far, issues board remains clear. Ground crew is evacuating the area so controllers can begin ignition checks of the 3 rocket engines along w/ fuel system checks. No bunker nearby for QRT but the Mk6 is not known for problems during prelaunch ops...

[L-1h30m] controllers have sounded the all clear, rocket is ready to go. Ground crew moving back in to secure the launch site while the Tracking Station works with the Range Safety Officer - no more MSV needed for this phase of launch operations thx to new radar system

[L-1h20m] high-altitude KerBalloon has been released with enough time to ascend into the upper-atmosphere and report back on wind conditions, allowing us to look for shear that could threaten the ascent of the rocket

while the general public cannot currently attend launches just like public weekends also remain closed, we were at least able to bring on campus the students & their mentors whose experiments are riding on this rocket so they could see the launch first-hand

[L-45m] rocket remains healthy out in the North Field and FD Lanalye has begun to run her team through a launch rehearsal to make sure everything is properly configured and all launch team members know their roles - especially all the new ones on the ground crew

[L-30m] rehearsal was good, controllers are resetting for flight. Weather remains good, which means we have a GO for final countdown procedures! Final launch site evacuation underway while range checks are performed ahead of arming the rocket

[L-15m] rocket is now ARMED with the Flight Termination System ACTIVE. RSO has closed the eastern range to all incursions, including the 300m blast exclusion zone around the launch site, at the edge of which sit ground support vehicles & ground crew

[L-5m] Final readiness polls complete: Wx: GO; Range: GO; Flight: GO; Tracking: GO; Ops Director: Launch permission granted! 🚀 GO PROGENY 🚀 FTS transitioning to internal power ahead of terminal count as it relies on an independent power source from main batteries

[T-2m] Power and comm cables have been pulled back from the launch base at the start of terminal count. Drain rates and RF comms will be checked in the final minutes leading up to launch, with the AFCS now in full control of the rocket

[T-1m] rocket status remains nominal - standby for ascent telemetry to load if final poll prior to T-30s is successful - ops.kerbalspace.agency/?vessel=progen…. Students outside launch control are so enthusiastic they've already started shouting the countdown

we've had good ignition of the lower SRB and LIFT OFF! The 12th Progeny Mk6-I begins its ascent carrying two experiments designed & built by students. No issues clearing the launch base, first burn will last 34s to carry the rocket above 12km

nominal ascent so far, rocket is now in the process of burning through its 109kg of final stage liquid propellants at 3.6kg/s in the final push out of the atmosphere. A noticeable pitch drop & precession in the spin showing up in telemetry, but isn't a major concern

MECO-3, the rocket has exited the atmosphere on its coast up to 300km apokee. While increased payload mass meant not reaching avg 485km height of past Mk6-I flights was expected, the unstable third stage likely didn't help. Still gives experiments plenty of time in space tho

you can use this link to view where the rocket will be traveling. On page load you will see the current location but it will not automatically update after that. Trajectory is calculated and not exact but close enough for the scale shown kerbalspace.agency/Tracker/tracke…

rocket is through apokee and on its way back down. The flatter trajectory has sent it outside the planned recovery zone, MSV Aldeny should already have calculated the same result and be on the move. Telemetry shows the onboard data drives filling up with science info

the rocket has begun re-entry. Despite the unstabilized spin of the 3rd stage it remained more or less "upright" and is entering engine-first as planned. Due to its extreme distance downrange we will not have comms through as much of re-entry as we normally do

by now the rocket should be under chute, descending towards the water or possibly close to shore on land. At best speed, it will take MSV Aldeny about 4hrs to reach the new recovery zone & begin searching. We may not hear from them until much later today

post-launch operations completed, ground crew noticed the launch base had sunk into the ground, tilting forward from weight of full fuel tank & sitting out for so long. This would have also contributed to flattened flight. Embarrassing oversight by launch teams

rocket arrived back at KSC a few hours ago and we have cracked open the data files to put together the flight telemetry, now available for review: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…. Students/mentors will get their experiments data from Lead Scientists Cheranne today as well

flight report for last week's mission is available. We acknowledge the tilted launch base, take a look at how the third stage got bumped & discover how lucky it was not to fly so high so the rocket returned intact: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10068