Progeny Mk6 Block I Flight 16 (Kerbal Sounding Project 5)

MSV Aldeny has left port in Umbarg so it has plenty of time to leisurely make its way to the recovery zone, just south of where the final two Mk6-I rockets came down last year. This week's Mk6-I will mass the same and is expected to also land in this area

launch crews are preparing to truck the Progeny MK6-I from the HAB to the launch pad, where it will be mounted and fueled for wet dress rehearsal. The Ops Tracker will carry updates for these events throughout the day - ops.kerbalspace.agency

launch preparation continues on schedule and tomorrow's launch time has been adjusted to allow for Kerbin II to be in contact with MSV Aldeny for telemetry data relay during the final phase of the mission. New L-0 is 18:40 UTC, re-entry is expected to occur ~18min after launch

🌅Sunrise/Sunset🌄
@ KSC (UTC-5)

11/25
#2🌄10:24:15
#3🌅12:34:35 !!🚀!! 🌄16:25:06
#4🌅18:35:26 🌄22:25:57

11/26
#1🌅00:36:17 🌄04:26:48
#2🌅06:37:08

launch day! Here is a view from the pad taken just minutes ago. The clouds off in the distance are expected to roll in next day cycle but should not be high enough to pose a threat during ascent. The rocket remains fueled and ready for preflight checks

[L-3h40m] countdown procedures remain unchanged from last year, expect updates at these major milestones as we work towards launch. Katgan and her small team of meteorologists are working to gather new weather data, including a potential sea storm that could affect recovery ops

[L-3h10m] Flight Director Lanalye is gathering her team of Progeny launch controllers for final mission briefing. Based on performance of the two final flights last year that massed the same, the rocket should pierce the inner radiation belt with an apokee ~460km

this launch & moving forwards we also have an update to our tracking system that will allow the Ops Tracker to display the rocket's sub-orbital trajectory - it will now only go static during the re-entry period. So from launch up until then you'll see exactly where the rocket is!

[L-2h45m] weather update shows conditions will remain favorable for launch later today & according to recent KWS Deuce flight storm out to sea is veering away from recovery zone so we have a GO to begin prepping the rocket and the launch base for action

because the payloads themselves are autonomous and do not require direct control from the flight computer we can use the same operations code as the launches from last year, found here in the AFCS repo: github.com/KSAMissionCtrl…

[L-1h55m] preliminary preflight has completed to ensure the rocket is fully operational and talking properly to launch control. All systems have been checked except engines, which is a potential safety hazard so waiting for pad crew to clear back after also finishing their tasks

[L-1h30m] rocket is all checked out, ready to go! Pad crews moving back in for final removal of launch safety hardware and a last check of the pad/launch base condition to ensure all is ready for ignition. Range Safety Officer ensuring boats/aircraft are clear of launch corridor

[L-1h20m] high-altitude KerBalloon has been released to begin ascent, it will reach the upper atmosphere in time for winds data to be analyzed for final L-5min polls. It will also be high enough to help with updated forecast by the L-30min final countdown point

[L-45m] launch controllers are now running a simulated mission to ensure all consoles are properly configured for flight and everyone sitting at them know their jobs. Pad crew are packing up and preparing to move back to a safe distance, but on call if needed

[L-30m] Final countdown! Updated weather forecast has us still GO for launch, altho winds are picking up a bit more than expected. With the rocket unguided, getting pushed off course is a real possibility. Winds will continue to be monitored closely up to launch

[L-15m] RSO confirms range is clear, rocket is now ARMED for ignition with flight termination system ACTIVE. While the Progeny blast radius is really 300m, the 500m safety radius is now standard for any rockets launched from this pad

[L-5m] final polling complete and all stations are GO for launch! Here in launch control to watch are the students and mentors that built the experiments flying on this rocket. Ops Director @DKerman_KSA shook all their hands after granting FD Lanalye final launch permission

[T-2m] terminal count has now begun, cables at the launch base have been pulled back, leaving the rocket on internal power and RF comms. EC drain & transmission rates now being checked. Automated Flight Control System now has full command of the rocket

[T-1m] coming up on one last confirmation rocket power, comms, etc are in good shape at T-30s and if so, Ops Tracker will automatically refresh to prepare to stream launch telemetry data so tune in now if you are not already! ops.kerbalspace.agency

good SRB ignition and LIFT OFF - the 16th Progeny Mk6 Block I heads up towards space & the inner radiation belt carrying two student designed/built experiments to study it further. 1st stage will burn for 34s followed by 2nd stage coast until nose drops 1.5°

well that was an exciting minute! Rocket is still coasting up - flight computer has aborted ascent but controllers can choose to command it resume with ignition of the 3rd stage engine. Every second delayed however means a lower apokee as velocity bleeds off

decision was to abort ascent entirely - just getting to space isn't enough & rocket can't make it to inner rad belt on 3rd stage only. It would then also fall downrange beyond easy recovery from KSC and prior to easy recovery from MSV Aldeny. It's already on its way back down

full chute deployment coming up - as the rocket fell valves were opened so tanks could be drained of LF/O as otherwise the extra mass could cause too much stress on the chute when it opens fully from its current reefed state

we are cutting telemetry at full chute deploy as signal will likely be lost soon anyways - rocket is juuuust above the horizon. Good to know however that it will be coming down intact! Our small recovery ship is on the way down to be put into the water & head out

acquisition of signal with Kerbin II here at KSC right on schedule. While we no longer need it to monitor the rocket's re-entry we can still at least use it to bounce a signal to MSV Aldeny in a few mins, let them know why they never saw it clear their horizon & to head back home

recovery boat is on its way, should be at the splashdown area in ~2hrs with mild sea swells. While we would also like to recover the second stage, even from the bottom of the ocean, radar tracking showed it impacting at 227m/s so there's not really much of anything to recover

post-launch ops are wrapping up & we have profusely apologized to the student/mentor team for the loss of their mission. Although fault may or may not be directly from us, we still take responsibility. The payload instruments could still be recoverable with 3rd stage however

while the investigation into the failure of the Progeny Mk6 2nd stage booster from last month's mission is still underway, no obvious issue was detected in the one for next week's launch, which remains on schedule for Tues. Rocket is undergoing final checkouts today

the payload recovered from the failed Mk6-I mission will be integrated into the test mass that will fly on the first Progeny Mk8. Dates for that launch and those for Ascension in Q1 will be locked in next week as Lead Engineer Simon's team gets back up to speed this week