Ascension Mk1 Flight 6 (Capsule Test Flight 2)

Ascension team have finished planning out the use of the remaining 3 Mk1 lifters - ascent abort test will take place right after the Progeny Mk6-I mission on 5/16 @ 21:48 UTC followed by a re-fly of this past mission for more testing on 5/28 @ 16:28 UTC ops.kerbalspace.agency

Ascension Mk1 rocket has been rolled out and hooked up to the service towers for launch controllers to do a systems check while the rest of KSC continues to prepare their launch readiness reviews. Downrange tracking stations are doing the same

🌅Sunrise/Sunset🌄
@ KSC (UTC-4)

5/28
#2🌄09:28:45 🌅11:42:30 !!🚀!!
#3🌄15:29:36 🌅17:43:21
#4🌄21:30:27 🌅23:44:12

5/29
#1🌄03:31:18 🌅05:45:03

[L-4h10m] yesterday's weather forecast was 85% good launch conditions but a new forecast is being assembled now as we roll into prelaunch operations. Timeline has been slimmed - can you see where? Expect updates at these major milestones in the sequence

[L-3h40m] Wx data has been gathered & is being processed while Flight Director Lanalye gives her launch team their final brief. This mission will follow the same major steps as the one last month, with tweaks to the ascent profile for a slightly flatter trajectory

the rocket should fly much closer to the planned ascent profile this time (red dots), but we still expect it to under-perform as it will probably experience more drag than is modeled. Hopefully though with smaller margins than last time

[L-3h10m] we are GO for preflight! Forecast has improved to 95% favorable and launch team is on console waking up the rocket to onload flight instructions to the AFCS - you can check out the latest update here: bit.ly/AFCS_ChangeLog

[L-2h55m] rocket systems are online & configured for tanking. Pad crew has a GO to begin onload of 7t liquid propellant. We've cut 20min from our countdown thanks to a huge fuel truck (originally purchased for Dhumla) that can top off the rocket in one go

the only reason we're using the single truck to shave time off the countdown is so that it's less time the eventual astronaut aboard has to wait for lift off, since they are put into the rocket before it's raised vertical and fueled

[L-2h40m] tanking completed on schedule without issue, pad workers are now cleaning things up & securing the rocket while launch controllers resume preflight checks, keeping a close eye on tank levels to ensure no leaks are present

[L-1h55m] preliminary pre-flight checks are now complete, no issues currently being worked. Pad crew has secured the rocket and are clearing out minus the QRT members in the bunker. Once the all clear is given, controllers will run engine systems & ignition checks

[L-1h30m] rocket is all prepped to go! MSV Lymun is on station 15km offshore and working to get setup with the Range Safety Officer. MSV Hoodall is within comm range in the landing zone east of Ockr & reports they are ready for recovery operations

[L-1h20m] high-altitude KerBalloon has begun its ascent to give us a reading on upper-level winds by the time final polls roll around at L-5min

[L-45m] all systems are set, all assets are in place so it's time for the team to run through a full launch rehearsal to make double sure everything is as it should be and all participants know their roles - including in the event of trouble

[L-30m] thumbs up from the weather desk and final countdown procedures are GO! Team is resetting from the rehearsal and switching all consoles back over to the live rocket, pad workers are performing final close-outs

[L-15m] RSO has closed the range - rocket is ARMED and Flight Termination System/Launch Escape System is activated. Anyone or anything spotted within 500m of the launch pad will hold the count. Anything within 25km airspace & 50km at sea will do the same

[L-13m] with the pad cleared, onload of nitrogen gas for pressurization of the fuel tanks has begun remotely from a tanker truck left hooked up to the service tower. Itself stored in a pressurized vessel, any rupture would be a danger to crew

[L-5m] Final readiness polls complete: Wx: GO; Range: GO; Flight: GO; Tracking Station: GO; Downrange Tracking: GO; Ops Director @DKerman_KSA: Launch permission granted! 🚀GO ASCENSION🚀 FTS power internal, service tower booms unlocked for retraction, AFCS rdy for terminal count

[L-3m] preliminary tank pressurization underway to give the rocket extra rigidity so it can stand atop the engine collar once the service tower arms swing away in one minute at the start of the terminal countdown - ops.kerbalspace.agency

[T-2m] terminal countdown has begun! Service tower arms have swung away from the rocket, no longer supplying power so batteries have switched on. Landline comms also cut so RF comms being checked for good signal. AFCS has control of the countdown

[HOLD] countdown was stopped shortly after terminal count when part of the telemetry from within the capsule was lost. That data is vital to this mission and needs to be brought back up. Team is working the problem - rocket remains on standby

FD Lanalye reports that this won't be a quick fix - it has to be a loose cable inside the capsule. Controllers are backing off from launch readiness and prepping the rocket to be disarmed, hooked back up and depressurized. We still hope to launch before nightfall though

countdown has been rolled back to L-15m & crew are preparing to enter the capsule by climbing the service tower, walking out atop the upper arm, hooking onto the LES tower & swinging around to the hatch. It's a procedure already in place for medical emergency pad egress

problem resolved - a wire harness was not fully plugged in & shook completely loose upon service arm retraction, which does jostle the rocket a bit. Now waiting for a battery swap to complete, since capsule has just enough EC for a mission that launches on time

capsule is being sealed back up. Weather team had some concerns about upper-level turbulence & released their backup balloon shortly after the hold was called - countdown will pick back up at L-15min @ 18:15 UTC to ensure balloon has enough time to reach altitude

[L-15m] we are back to range closure, the RSO has announced rocket is ARMED and FTS/LES has been re-activated. Two minutes from now pressurization gas will be loaded back onto the rocket. Controllers working to ensure all systems were properly reset for new L-0

[L-5m] we are GO from all stations to continue the final count! Weather desk came back green on upper-level turbulence after some consultation with the engineers. FTS is on internal power, service arms are again unlocked for retraction, AFCS standing by

[T-2m] back in the terminal countdown, AFCS has commanded the service arms to swing away and leave the rocket to its own internal resources. Battery drain and RF comms check underway - capsule telemetry should remain solid this time around

[T-1m] countdown continues! We have a final poll of primary launch stations coming up at T-30s followed by these events leading up to T-0. Stand by, and be sure to load up the Ops Tracker for live updates! ops.kerbalspace.agency

main engine start was nominal, throttle up to TWR of 1.2 achieved and lift off occurred right on time. Rocket will shortly clear the tower and begin to roll before pitching downrange - this is the first time we are rolling the rocket off the pad in prep for the Mk2, which has a fixed launch orientation

nominal ascent so far. Just passing Mach 2 now, velocity 630m/s, altitude approaching 16km. Some transonic rollshake noticeable but guidance remains on target. Just under one minute left of fuel and then we'll be coasting through spaaaaaaace

MECO several seconds early, rocket coasted out of the atmosphere and we are now standing by for confirmation of capsule separation. As expected, we came up short of our target apokee - capsule will fly up to only 485km. That's a larger discrepancy than we hoped for though

capsule separation was good & RCS thrusters fired for 10s to push it away from the lifter stage so it has room to maneuver. Controllers are sending it orientation commands while trajectory analysis is underway to see how the lower apokee affects the capsule return

MSV Hoodall is repositioning for recovery as capsule will be coming down ~20km short of its intended landing site, but still over water. We're about 4 minutes from apokee & capsule orientation commands are still underway

through apokee now and capsule has successfully oriented along all vectors. It's slower than before thanks to the LES tower but ascent steering is also not fighting for control this time. Just under half of cold gas capacity has been used up so far

As we expected, the rocket under-performed due to excess drag that wasn't modeled properly. It's a complex issue & we're still working to determine if it's us not plugging in the right numbers or LVD not doing the right calculations (or bit of both). Burn length was right on time

controllers had the time and cold gas reserves to take manual control of the capsule to point it retrograde. It was rolled "up" then maneuvered to the desired orientation without any issues. It is now back under computer control to hold retrograde until re-entry

coming up on atmospheric interface in about 1 minute, capsule remains properly oriented for re-entry and all systems are nominal. Hoodall is still underway but is already within visual range of the new splashdown location

chute deploy confirmed! Hoodall has spotted the capsule and is coming to a halt to hold position and ensure they are clear of any debris (lift stage coming in nearby in addition to the LES tower)

we lost signal just before splashdown but have data confirmation relayed via Hoodall the capsule is safely afloat in the water and they are moving in to begin recovery operations. ✨🎉 KERZZAH!! 🎉✨

telemetry data from yesterday's flight is now available. Once again actual ascent came up shorter than planned. We know it's due to excess drag but what we don't yet know is how we are modeling it incorrectly in our ascent design docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

ongoing analysis of the last Ascension Mk1 flight still shows re-entry in excess of 16Gs. We either have to fly a lower arc or prove a kerbal can indeed withstand that force without serious effects. We're looking into the latter option, mainly because someone already wants to

flight analysis for the last Ascension Mk1 mission has been posted: kerbalspace.agency/?p=9214 - we continue to remain on track to launch a kerbal into space in July. Final major hurdle is the engine test towards the end of this month