Deuce Science Flight 4

turf is still soggy & muddy from heavy rains late yesterday but expected to dry out by 3rd sunrise for Val & Jeb to take the radiation-hardened Deuce out for its second attempt at reaching the northern polar ice caps

Jeb & Val are suiting up and heading to briefing while crews roll out & fuel the Deuce. It won't carry full fuel despite the distance due to the extra 436kg of mass added for shielding the cockpit. Range will still be enough to return to KSC safely

boarded for preflight, ground crew have sealed Jeb & Val into the cockpit via a newly-installed cabin hatch to keep that section of the craft hardened against radiation. The cockpit emergency egress doors are still available for use if a quick exit is needed

taxiing out to Rw09, Jeb will be in position for takeoff with barely enough light for a safe roll down the turf runway to give them as much daylight as possible to complete their mission & return to KSC before nightfall. Moho & Dres are visible - should be obvious which is which

Jeb has turned on course to the north after departing without issue, getting to view the sunrise with Val before the rest of us here down on the ground. He'll make an initial climb to 2.5km before reducing power to 80% cruise & continuing a slow climb above the clouds to 6km

Val reports favorable skies continue ahead, says Jeb is having no issues with the slightly nose-heavy aircraft and has signed off with Flight as they drop below the terrain. We will regain contact with them as they pass by east of Kravass for an update

we're back in touch with the Deuce, routed through the comm tower atop Kravass. Val reports they are passing through 3.8km, speed 134m/s. She adds the flight so far has been smooth with only minor clear air turbulence

headed for one of three major gaps in the mountain range known as The Wall, Jeb is making sure they are past the terrain before climbing up through the clouds to their final cruise altitude

Val has radioed in saying they see a line of thunderstorms on the horizon directly in their path. They have enough fuel to go around but they would not make it back to KSC or KGA before nightfall and would have to divert all the way to SRG. They're turning back for KGA

35km out from KGA Jeb has reduced power to begin descent while Val broadcasts their location and intent on the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency to ensure they remain clear of other air traffic in the area

turning downwind for Rwy19, a Civvie departed prior to their approach and Val has confirmed the field is clear for them to land. Thanks to the tight confines of the pattern approach here due to terrain thrust reversers are required on the Deuce even when landing uphill

daylight arrives a bit later over Kravass but Jeb & Val are buttoned up in the hardened cockpit of the Deuce & taxiing out to Rwy19 as the first light begins to show in the sky to continue the journey north and hope the weather treats them better this time out

after a good departure Jeb, still flying the first leg, has come about to the west in an aggressive 10-12° climb at full throttle to clear the mountains and get on course with minimal delay - making it back to KSC before nightfall will still be a tight schedule

leveled out at 3.5km, reduced power to cruise, they will slowly climb to 6km as they head out over the northern sea. They'd go faster at full throttle but enough fuel needs to be reserved for a divert to SRG if mission extends past nightfall for any reason

signing off as they near the horizon, Val reports weather is looking good to the north as they pass through 4.3km. We will regain contact later this day cycle, although exactly when is unknown. Lack of contact past 16:00 UTC would be cause for concern

contact! Having swapped roles, Jeb is on the horn to Flight via Kravass comm tower as they head back south at full throttle - it will be close but they can make it back to KSC before operational sunset at 15:30 UTC with about 10 min to spare

Jeb reports they made two passes through the radiation zone at 6km and 3km, recording levels no higher than 0.078rad/hr - no danger to anyone transiting the area, spanning <60km north to south. It takes ~37rads to show signs of radiation sickness

not wanting to slow down while climbing >4km over The Wall, Val took a pass behind the peak in the foreground to slip through the range at 3.5km ASL. They can now make direct for KSC and descend gradually to maintain their speed at 160-170m/s

signal loss from Kravass as the Deuce drops behind terrain, we'll pick them up next when they are in sight of KSC. Still doing good on time, but we're getting some portable spotlights standing by out near the runway just in case the threshold needs to be lit for landing

we've been hailed by Jeb and Flight has given Val clearance to land on Runway 09. She'll have time to make a proper approach, the sun has just disappeared behind the mountains but enough light remains to see the runway

taxiing over to the HAB after a smooth landing, the Deuce will have its radiation shielding removed and be ready for flight ops again late next week. Jeb and Val will head to debrief with plenty of data to review from this long mission

we can confirm three new Agency records from this last flight:

Takeoff Weight: 5.275t
Longest Mission Distance: 2,119.688km
Longest Distance Flown from KSC: 850km

(mission distance includes *any* mission, rockets too) You can view more at bit.ly/KSARecords

our most extensive bit.ly/OpSummary5-7-18 yet contains everything you might have missed this week along with extra details too verbose for tweets. With the latest Progeny launch campaign completed, truly a relaxing weekend ahead!