Progeny Mk7-B Flight 4

technicians will access the rocket via the crew gangway to install the RTG today via a hatch in the fairing. Hooked up to the tower environmental system used for capsules the RTG heat will be pumped away and Kerbin II can be powered up and tested

our seemingly well-laid plans for installing the RTG on the pad have come up against some unforeseen and insurmountable problems - at least, this time. We are forced to roll back to the VAB and make some adjustments. Launch delayed until next week ops.kerbalspace.agency/?vessel=ascens…

huge milestone today as the booster recovered from the ocean after last month's 1st Progeny Mk7-B flight was successfully static fired on our horizontal test stand. This upcoming 3rd Mk7-B flight will use a booster that was originally fired in Mar and again in Apr

the overall failure of this week's mission doesn't overshadow the fact that the first stage booster performed flawlessly! We will now take the final step and attempt to re-use a previously-flown booster. The booster from the 2nd flight in Aug will power the final 4th flight

the first smallSat platform from Luciole Space Systems has been designed to incorporate our RTGs for power along with backup electrical storage. They will be paired with a "tug" engine base similar to Kerbin II but first we just want to see the probe core itself function

booster integration was good last week and now this week the payload has been delivered from Luciole to undergo final checkouts in the HAB before being encapsulated and then stacked atop the waiting Progeny Mk7-B. Launch remains on schedule for next week

checks of the ground service equipment (GSE) have been carried out and Lead Engineer Simon reports no issues have been found that would hold up next week's launch attempt. Preparations continue on schedule. Flight Director Lanalye has submitted the final mission plan

Progeny Mk7-B rollout is underway. bit.ly/Ops_Tracker will show when it is hooked up, then fueled to undergo wet dress rehearsal. Downrange tracking stations at Sheltered Rock & Ockr are being checked out today as well since we'll be flying northeast for this launch

WDR underway and looking good; with the main control building again serving as Launch Control mission operators for Kerbin II have temporarily relocated Mission Control to the Tracking Station. Kerbin II will not be needed to play a role in this upcoming flight

🌅Sunrise/Sunset🌄
@ KSC (UTC-4)

10/29
#2🌄08:52:27 🌅11:02:48 !!🚀!!
#3🌄14:53:18 🌅17:03:39
#4🌄20:54:09 🌅23:04:30

10/30
#1🌄02:55:00 🌅05:05:21

[L-4h45m] surface weather holding as predicted based on recent balloon release and upper-level conditions also looking good. Pre-launch operations are starting to get underway here at KSC as crews arrive and organize. Expect updates at these major milestones in the countdown:

[L-4h15m] Flight Director Lanalye has her launch team assembled for final pre-flight brief. Due to the actual payload this mission will differ significantly from prior ones with the main objectives being to deploy & test the Luciole probe along with SRB recovery

one thing similar to a previous mission will be the coast to 25km before releasing the first stage & continuing the boost for space. This was done during the 1st mission in Aug and so far is the only ascent of three that did not cause loss of control on the second stage

[L-3h45m] pad workers are out preparing the rocket & ground hardware for launch while flight controllers get on console to handle the software & support systems. Rocket flight computer will be powered on & sent instructions - today's flight code avail here bit.ly/AFCS_KSA

[L-2h40m] issues board remains clear, pad workers have removed flight safety hardware & prepped ground service equipment. They will now clear back to a safe distance so controllers can continue pre-flight with focus on the engine and ignition systems

[L-1h30m] rocket is flight-ready, pad crews moving back in to re-check & secure while controllers setup for launch rehearsal. Towboat has been deployed and is making its way north of the bay to be ready for first stage recovery. No other maritime assets needed for this mission

[L-1h20m] 2nd KerBalloon has been released from the bay to provide the weather desk with an update on conditions both near the surface & in the upper-atmo. With the booster remaining attached longer we have a tighter constraint on wind shear conditions. Interstage is a weak link

[L-45m] final pullback from the pad by ground crews as controllers begin launch rehearsal to ensure all systems in Launch Control are properly configured and all controllers know their roles during the mission. Range Safety Officer has begun ensuring clear skies/waters

[L-30m] launch rehearsal was good, balloon has ascended far enough by now to confirm surface conditions remain within launch commit criteria. We are GO for final countdown procedures! This is as far back as we would wind the clock if a hold is called without scrubbing

[L-15m] RSO has confirmed range is clear. Rwy21 also shut down due to NE launch corridor. Rocket engines ARMED for ignition and Flight Termination System is ACTIVE. Any incursion will hold the count. All visitors must remain in designated areas at this time

making final preparations for launch there is SO MUCH STUFF happening right now and it's always a bit of a dichotomy for Launch Control to be so silent at this time. No need to converse, each station has its own task. The more conversation, generally the more trouble

[L-5m] we are GO from all launch control stations! Final general polls completed, FD Lanalye has received launch approval from OD @DKerman_KSA. Service tower boom unlocked for retraction, support arm hydraulics primed, FTS is on internal power

[T-2m] now entering the final countdown, the rocket is on internal power and RF comms, both of which are being confirmed in working order as the Automated Flight Control System takes over for the final launch sequence prior to booster ignition

[T-1m] coming up on final poll to confirm health of rocket on internal systems at T-30s. If good telemetry data should load shortly afterwards so tune in now to the Ops Tracker to watch the ascent! Any flashing means these constraints have been exceeded ops.kerbalspace.agency/?vessel=progen…

booster ignition & LIFT OFF!! The MK7-B heads up on its final mission, rolling off the pad to orient 34° NE then starting pitch-over, which will not be phased just a continuous movement. BECO <1min followed by a coast to 25km for staging. GO PROGENY! 🚀

already cheers in Launch Control after the 1st stage performed as expected. Recall this is the same booster flown on the 1st Mk7-B mission in August! A great accomplishment. Now hoping rest of mission goes as well. Staging should be occurring right about now...

a nominal ascent, flight controllers are now taking stock of the rocket's trajectory and orientation then will shortly begin prep to release the "Bot Sat" payload. Booster is still being tracked falling back towards the water after reaching a 33.8km apokee

the Mk7-B has completed its mission - we have confirmation of Bot Sat deployment! It was gently pushed free by springs on the payload base & will now complete its power-up sequence so controllers can test its reaction wheel system. Booster also now descending under 2 good chutes

both the rocket and payload have passed through apokee, with the Bot being just 30m higher. SAS testing proceeding well between all major orientations, should have enough time to end facing retrograde and demonstrate ability to also hold not just transition

SAS testing was completed with over a minute of retrograde hold before being disabled for re-entry. Both rocket & payload are now screaming back down through the atmosphere at nearly 2km/s. We only expect the RTG casing to survive through impact

we did not regain contact with the Bot probe as expected but we did actually get signal back from the rocket so its core portion at least survived until impact. This is great because we now have a more precise location for which to hunt down the RTG casing

recovery airship has been deployed from Sheltered Rock & should be at the impact area in just over 1hr to begin searching for the radio beacon embedded in the RTG casing. The probe sent back 915kb of science data before being destroyed - not a lot but every tiny amount precious!

we have word the RTG casing has been recovered & nearby the impact location of the rocket was also found - nothing salvageable survived. An extensive search will continue through tomorrow to ensure any pieces of the Bot probe that may have survived re-entry are recovered

full flight telemetry for yesterday's mission along with the brief re-entry of the Bot probe has been published for anyone looking to dig into more details about what the rocket was up to during its time heading to space and back: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

what can be learned from telemetry data? Here's an example from just a simple plot of the rocket's battery levels recorded over the length of the mission. Lots of insights to be gained! We expect full analysis of this & 3rd flight to be published in November

report on the final Progeny Mk7-B mission is now available - kerbalspace.agency/?p=11396 but is it really the last? Technically, but we will still have use for the Mk7-B in a limited capacity during 2021 to find the limits of SRB re-use