Operations Summary – Week of 6/5/17

Progeny Mk4 Launch Analysis & Future Plans Detailed

The full report on the second launch of the Progeny Mk4 and plans for how we are going to move forward was posted earlier this week. As we mentioned in last week’s ops summary, the Mk4 has the capability to reach space, which is a relief to Progenitor engineers who were not looking forward to the added complexity of strapping on Mk1-B boosters or adding an LF/O tank section for additional thrust. Our next series of launches will play around with the ascent profile to see how changes to thrust and coasting periods affect the apokee of the rocket. Umbra Space Industries is continuing to move forward with a redesign of the engines across all three solid fuel boosters as well as finishing up work on the Automated Master Control Unit, which will be able to carry out commands programmed into its memory prior to launch. Once it is ready for use we will transition over to the final planned iteration of the Progeny series, the Mk5.

Pilirani’s Fate Unknown, Likely Impacted Water

Even though we were lucky enough to witness what scientists say had to have been the final pass through our atmosphere of Pilirani, no one saw it break up before it disappeared below the horizon as seen from Ockr City. Its estimated trajectory would have carried it out over mostly water, so that is most likely where it ended up impacting the surface. Still, the fact that no one can say for sure has only helped to fuel the belief of Monolith worshipers that this was no asteroid but really a space ship that was sent to collect “true believers” on its final pass – however no one can seem to find reports of anyone actually missing. There exists another, darker side to people obsessing over the Monolith and word from them is that this was a reconnaissance craft making an overflight of Kerbin civilization to check on the progress of our development. No one here at KSA gives these “theories” any serious attention.

What scientists have found interesting though is that the passage of Pilirani through the atmosphere has caused some very weird weather to erupt in the days that follow. Meteorologists are only beginning to study what has been going on, but all cities have reported lots of rain and very overcast skies, while here at KSC we experienced some damaging winds shortly after the final pass that came close to us. It’s suspected that particle material shed by the asteroid has lingered in the atmosphere – studies remain ongoing.

Finally in related news, it was confirmed that a second asteroid struck the water north of Kravass the same day Pilirani was due to make return passes through the atmosphere. Scientists still studying the area report clear evidence of high waves striking the shoreline, and are considering whether they want to attempt an underwater expedition to search for fragments.

KerBalloon Faces Recovery Issues

Both missions carried out this week by KerBalloon suffered problems when it came to recovering their payloads after landing. In the first mission two launch zones were so close together we deployed balloons simultaneously, both of which drifted east but then caught an upper-level stream of air that sent them west towards the mountains. During recovery one of the units was retrieved but the second was found to be inaccessible upon a high and steep slope, forcing us to call in a special search & rescue airship to retrieve it the following day.

The second mission was by far the most intriguing, as it appeared some sea creature found our parachutes appetizing. The MSV Lymun was in close proximity to the probe when it splashed down in the water and when its recovery craft approached to fish out the unit they saw the chute get pulled under, taking the balloon casing with it. Despite waiting and searching for it to re-appear, no sign of it was seen again. If it had been pulled down to a depth greater than 150m or so it’s likely the casing would have ruptured under the pressure and the unit would have sank even if the creature had released the chute or it had broken free (unlikely the chute lines would have parted though).

Marine experts have been consulted and note there are a few predatory species that go after large invertebrate animals, which they say our parachute might resemble to them. The KerBalloon team is looking into a way to have the chute cut itself off from the casing after touchdown to help ensure this doesn’t happen again. It also might explain what happened to the KerBalloon unit from this mission last year that also disappeared without a trace on relatively calm seas.

Civvie Science Flight & Deuce Completion

Genesis program saw a good week, starting with a purely science-driven flight of the Civvie equipped with an Atmospheric Fluid Spectro-Variometer to take high-resolution sample data of the surrounding Shores and Grasslands. The data was too much to store on the Civvie and so was transmitted via direct link to the Tracking Station. The antenna aboard the Civvie is powerful enough to send data at a rate approaching 512kb/s but understandably this drains more energy than the engine’s alternator can put out at full throttle so eventually the batteries will run down and need to be replaced. The are pretty big, so this operation can take upwards of 30-45 minutes. Captain Jebediah made two flights, meandering all about the surrounding areas while staying within visual range of KSC. While the mission did generate enough revenue to overcome the cost of deploying and fueling the Civvie, pretty much all gain was immediately spent on more batteries so future missions can be carried out – hopefully with additional backing from the Field Research Team in the R&D labs.

Other news from Genesis is that the Deuce has finished construction, which was started at the beginning of last month, and will begin ground trials next week. These trials will ensure that the engines, landing gear, control surfaces, electrical and fuel systems are all in working order before the aircraft is cleared to attempt takeoff and flight. Jeb is excited to be the first to have mitts-on the new aircraft since Commander Valentina was able to test the original Civvie while his arm was broken. Although the Deuce is a multi-crew aircraft it can just as easily be operated by a single pilot and given that we only have two we don’t want to put all our eggs in one basket – plus Val is still away at Kravass through next week for the last training session of new Civvie flight instructors (which has been going well – no one has been injured or completely wrecked an aircraft yet).

ATN Database Update

The weekly update for the Asteroid Tracking Network database was skipped this week – we guess everyone was still too caught up in the excitement of Pilirani’s passing. We can tell you though that as of today the total asteroid count stands at 665 and there have been no new alerts.

Celestial Snapshot of the Week

A wide-angle shot of the night sky, with the Lagoo Nebula stretching across in all its glory. You can also spot Sarnus, Urlum, Neidon and Duna.

From the Desk of Drew Kerman