Progeny Mk6 Block I Flight 2 (Radiation Field Study 2)

the High Court has ruled that the injunction against surface operations is legal, which means our team of lawyers now has to get to work writing up amendments to the current laws that will have to be cleared through Assembly. This could take months!!

we can't occupy permanent structures above ground but we can continue to build them! Our new Administration Complex is complete on schedule. Original bldg rebuilt w/new & better materials, second bldg is 3rd story, with 2 levels sprawling underground (high water table)

shortly after sunrise and KSC stands ready to resume operations as we complete our initial move back onto campus today. Will take another week or so to complete the transition but activities will pick up & a rocket will be back on the pad soon!

tickets are on sale for all three upcoming launches - if previous launches are any indication better move fast of you want one. Non-ticketed areas will be available as well - you may not see the rocket light off on the pad but will still get a great view of ascent

having been out on the pad mostly the entire time since it was last used back in February, the launch base has already been checked out for flight worthiness. Today pad crews are orienting it 120° for the next launch

Launch Readiness: ✅TS ❌LC ❌VAB ❌Ops
tracking station reports they are ready to assist with tomorrow's launch, all dishes are calibrated and tested to ensure good tracking during ascent

Launch Readiness: ✅TS ✅LC ❌VAB ❌Ops
Flight Director Lanalye has filed her readiness report that the launch control team is ready. launch drills will continue around the next K2-X hot-fire & pad crew will also be undergoing sheltering, evacuation & fire emergency drills as well

Launch Readiness: ✅TS ✅LC ✅VAB ❌Ops
Lead Engineer Simon reports the rocket has cleared final inspections and is loaded up on the carry vehicle for transport out to the pad tomorrow after 2nd sunrise for mounting & fueling operations

🌅Sunrise/Sunset🌄
@ KSC (UTC-4)

4/26
#2🌅07:11:47 🌄11:02:16
#3🌅13:12:38 !!🚀!! 🌄17:03:07
#4🌅19:13:29 🌄23:03:58

4/27
#1🌅01:14:20 🌄05:04:49

rocket is being marshaled out of the VAB so it can head down the road to the launch pad ~700m distant. Attached to the third stage fuel tank you can see the new airbrakes that will be deployed prior to the parachute after re-entry

mounting operations are finishing up and the rocket is attached to the launch rail, standing 12m tall and massing 1.607t while dry. You can learn more about the rocket via our Ops Tracker: ops.kerbalspace.agency/?vessel=progen…

[L-4h10m] pre-launch ops are now getting underway, sticking to the same timeline as last launch. Expect updates at these milestones. Weather reports are now being gathered to see if we have anything besides winds to worry about today

[L-3h40m] gathering in Launch Control, the team is being briefed by Flight Director Lanalye on today's ascent, which will be the same as last launch but coming back will see us attempt to use the airbrakes and the chute will deploy 300m sooner as well

the airbrakes will deploy gradually as the rocket falls the last few km before chute deployment. If they open all the way immediately it's likely the pushrods opening them will be unable to overcome the force of the air pressure, or the fuel tank will be crushed

[L-3h10m] no reports of adverse weather in the region, surface winds are still gusting out of the southwest and are currently RED. Launch control is GO to begin pre-flight operations, waking up the rocket and loading on the flight software

[L-2h55m] we are GO for tanking operations to load the third stage with liquid fuel and oxidizer. Rocket is online and undergoing system checks, you can see the changes to the AFCS that were made for this flight here: bit.ly/AFCS_ChangeLog

[L-2h40m] pad is being secured as tankers head out after loading up 109kg of fuel into the rocket. System checks continue at Launch Control as fuel levels in the tanks are closely monitored for any leaks.

as expected tickets sold out to this launch and the open access viewing areas are almost full as well. Shuttle bus service across the causeway will cease once capacity is reached. Views are still great from the Support Village

[L-1h55m] Bob, Bill & a small crew have already headed out to ready a high-altitude KerBalloon for deployment to check up on @upperlevelwinds while the launch pad is now clearing for booster engine checks, QRT sheltering in the nearby bunker

[L-1h30m] we're looking a green board in Launch Control as pre-flight operations wrap up, MSV Lymun has reported on station and is working with the Range Safety Officer to setup for monitoring duties. MSV Tongjess departed Umbarg for the recovery zone earlier today

[L-1h20m] Bob reports good balloon release, it will rise up over the launch corridor to a height of nearly 25km by L-0 and keep us informed of conditions in the upper atmosphere so we can monitor for dangerous wind shear

[L-45m] inside an hour to launch, controllers undergo a final dress rehearsal to ensure all stations are setup properly and everyone knows their duties, operations code is runchecked one last time

[L-30m] GO for final count! Rocket remains healthy & launch rehearsal came up clean. Recent check of weather has upgraded surface winds to GREEN, upper-level winds check will come during final polling. RSO is preparing to lock things down, pad workers are clearing back to 300m

sun is about to break over the horizon and the skies are looking great - a band of heavy clouds is reported coming our way from Umbarg but is not expected to obscure the RSO from monitoring the initial ascent

[L-15m] RSO confirms range is clear, rocket is ARMED and flight termination system is now active. Final RF comm checks underway ahead of pulling ground connections for terminal countdown

as usual the Ops Tracker will be carrying real time updates of planned staging events, tune in to keep track of the ascent: ops.kerbalspace.agency/?vessel=progen…

[L-5m] final polls! Wx: GO, upper-level winds nominal; Range: GO; Flight: GO; Tracking: GO; Ops Director: Launch permission granted! 🚀 GO PROGENY 🚀 this will be the new record for heaviest rocket launch (1.710t minus payload weight) thanks to the airbrakes

[T-2m] we are now in the terminal count phase as the Automated Flight Control System onboard the rocket takes over control. Switchover to internal power & radio frequency comms underway, ground cables are retracting from the launch base. System status log:

[T-1m] final primary-station polls will commence at T-30s, manual and automatic holds good all the way up to booster ignition at T-0 but the board remains green and all systems are primed and ready - let's gooooooooo!

we have liftoff! Lower 0.625m booster ignited to push the rocket off the pad with 4Gs of acceleration thrusting at 67kN and climbing. The first stage burn will last ~33s before stage separation occurs around 15km ASL. Rocket is tracking ESE as planned

perfect flight so far, clean stage seps for both SRBs, now in the third boost phase with apokee already in space. Flight termination system has been safed, pad workers are already getting started cleaning up & checking the launch base for damage

BECO-3 just passing through the boundary into space, rocket is on its way up to an apokee of 516km over the next 8 minutes while we continue to monitor telemetry data and keep an especially close eye on the radiation readings

we are through apokee and on the way back down to Kerbin, radiation readings are falling as we pass through apokee! However we will have to see how the readings turn out on the way back down to see if we've just punched through or also completely exited the field

radiation readings continued to fall back to normal space levels, which means we may have clipped an *edge* of the hazardous region. Won't know until more flights. Everyone now prepping for re-entry phase, where the airbrakes will be tested

loss of signal mere seconds after receiving confirmation of atmospheric interface breach. If all goes well, rocket will deploy airbrakes & chute to slow for landing once through 6km ASL. MSV Tongjess will capture any telemetry from this point on

nothing to do now but post-launch operations as we await word from MSV Tongjess. Recovery or not this was still a perfect flight that relayed the data we are most interested in, but hopefully we can bring back an intact rocket for the icing on top

telemetry data from yesterday's flight is now available. We've included current thrust rather than available thrust for the lower stage boost. Also the high data-rate log graph is back! docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

examination of the airbrakes shows no serious damage that would prevent us from re-using them in future flights, although we have also ordered extra in the event any need to be replaced. The next Mk6 is currently being fitted with the used parts

all readiness reports have been submitted to & signed off on by @DKerman_KSA - we are 🚀 GO FOR LAUNCH 🚀 tomorrow! Final review of the previous launch shows no changes need to be made: kerbalspace.agency/?p=7101