Commander Valentina takes the Civvie out to measure atmospheric pollen levels in the region after the Civvie was repaired following her first attempt that ended up with a crash landing due to engine failure
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Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
Val was supposed to take the Civvie out for an atmospheric sampling mission today but this has been delayed until next week since we are actually almost out of money for our operational budget, but will have income again soon thanks to our supporters on bit.ly/KSA_Patreon
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
although she was on standby all day, we are forced to cancel Val's flight today due to high winds and low cloud cover first over KSC then inland over the areas she had to fly around. Controlled flight into terrain is not a thing to take lightly! We'll try again tomorrow
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
Cdr Val has performed preflight & received taxi clearance from flight controllers to head out to runway 09 for departure. As in this old photo the underbelly holds the Atmospheric Fluid Spectro-Variometer which she will use to collect air samples for data on pollen levels
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
"Mayday! Mayday!" came the call less than a minute after takeoff. Val lost engine power but was able to come about to land on the shore a few dozen meters from the water. The quick turnaround brought her down fast - she flattened the landing gear. Emergency vehicles dispatched
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
report from the wreck is the plane is actually in decent shape thanks to the gear soaking up impact. Val suffered some cuts to the side of her head banging into the fuselage and is being carted off to the medical center in the Support Village for a full checkup
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
Lead Engineer Simon got a look at the crash & is happy to see the main gear performed as designed, flattening out to the side & not getting thrust through the side of the cockpit to impale anyone. That they didn't break off completely means Val almost managed to save the landing
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
additionally while the atmospheric scoop seems to be damaged beyond repair, it kept the nose up and allowed the tail to slide rather than the front-heavy engine tilting the aircraft forward and digging the propeller into the ground. A worthy sacrifice!
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
Val has been released from the medical center with some bandages for her face and no serious injuries. Civvie has been hauled back to the HAB where engineers are starting to dig into the engine to see what might have gone wrong during the early ascent phase of the flight
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
investigation into Val's crash has confirmed the suspected culprit - the throttle cable was damaged due to moisture & icing from previous flights and finally snapped when she decreased thrust from takeoff to climb. Unlike in the Deuce it wasn't frozen at high-altitude & closed
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
we've already dismissed our lead mechanic, who was supposed to oversee cable replacement of the Civvie after the Deuce incident but he lost track of the work order and ultimately forgot to carry it out. Poor record keeping by his crew meant no one realized it hadn't been done
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
Ascension program planners are still working the updated drag and flight dynamics results from the Mk1 flight into the Mk2 ascent trajectory to make sure we still end up in an orbit so expect a launch date next week. What about this week? Catch up: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10393
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
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
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
repairs on the Civvie are wrapping up, Deuce has been cleared for flight once again and the Genesis program has been assigned a new lead mechanic. The team is also moving forward on their latest design - an update for the single-prop general aviation aircraft class
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
💫 KERZZAH! ☀ - 12 times we have now traveled around Kerbol since the KSA was founded - at 1,025,316,660.821km distance traveled we are just 3 light minutes shy of a light hour's travel time over the same distance. Spaceship Kerbin is tooling along at a constant 9.28km/s
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
our new Atmospheric Fluid Spectro-Variometer has arrived, lightly refined (2nd img) from its original model purchased back in 2017. It can now handle air speeds up to 124m/s with the scoops open and is being attached to the Civvie for a flight later this week with Cdr Val
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
Commander Val is preparing to take the Civvie out again to complete the mission she had to abort last month when the throttle cable snapped after takeoff. She will collect air samples in the region to gather data on pollen levels to help scientists forecast air quality
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
Val has completed her walkaround, preflight and startup. Civvie is set to go with taxi & takeoff clearance out from Rwy27. Crosswind component out of the north is within limits, but if the second runway were ready she would have preferred to use that
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
no problems this time on departure, Val has cleared 1km ASL, now on course heading 255° over the grasslands to the west to gather her first batch of readings, crossing the area multiple times while ascending up to flight ceiling of 3.5km to stay VFR out of clouds near the mtns
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
1st area done, Val is taking the scenic route north to the 2nd & final area, saying the views are worth the bumpy ride. Cabin heater on, it's only 35°F (1.57°C) up there @ 3.5km. Scientists receiving data from the Atmospheric Fluid Spectro-Variometer say it's performing nominally
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
Val has cleared terrain and has KSC back in sight after a spiraling descent over the second collection area. Flight Control will vector her in over the water on a right-pattern approach with entry on the downwind leg to land back on Rwy27
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
rolling out of a smooth landing, Val flew 365km during her mission. She will taxi back to park in front of the HAB. Meanwhile over in R&D Lead Scientist Cheranne and her team will get cracking on the data they should have had a month ago
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
post-launch and post-mission ops are all wrapped up, everyone is looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend before the final prep for next week's launch pushes crews back into high gear. Recap this week's events here in our Ops Summary: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10830
