Progeny Mk7-B Timeline

the Mk7-B helped qualify the reusable boosters for the upcoming Ascension Mk3 as well as paving the way for the Progeny Mk8 with thrust vector control guidance. Ironically our Progeny Mk6 missions, technically the easiest, did not fare well

the first engine to be successfully flown twice now has its spot of honor in our rocket garden. This is of course the good side - the other side has a lot of missing pieces that were removed for analysis to aid in future designs & improve re-usability. Bonus Mun/Minmus appulse!

CFO Mortimer has updated our financial sheet with Nov's earnings - or lack thereof as expected. Commercial rocket contracts are on the horizon though! Net profit in 2021? More like '22-23 perhaps. But next year would be nice... docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

we just concluded a static fire test of the Boosterton II that flew the final Mk7-B mission last month, making this the 3rd time it's been fired after two flights. Still lots of post-test analysis to do but it survived! Next month it will earn a place in our Rocket Garden

support arms for the Mk7-B have been stored away and the Mk6 launch stand brought out of storage and setup on the launch pad, accessible this year. Last year launches were from the north field as the pad as still being repaired from the Deuce attack in October

plenty of exciting things to recount & expound upon from these past 2wks, so be sure to check our Ops Summary this weekend while you are kicking back to relax - at least we hope you are! What are your plans? Our crew will be off on a wilderness excursion kerbalspace.agency/?p=11398

report on the final Progeny Mk7-B mission is now available - kerbalspace.agency/?p=11396 but is it really the last? Technically, but we will still have use for the Mk7-B in a limited capacity during 2021 to find the limits of SRB re-use

full details on the third Progeny Mk7-B mission and the lessons we learned are in the flight analysis report, now accessible to the public - kerbalspace.agency/?p=11390 the final report from the 4th mission will be available later this month as well

be sure to check our bi-weekly Ops Summary to catch up on the big happenings here at the KSA and even if you've been following along closely you'll likely still find new info as we elaborate on these events. Everyone have a good weekend! kerbalspace.agency/?p=11375

take a ride with the final Progeny Mk7-B up to 25km. Booster cam records at low FPS so it gets choppy from those views but the initial launch from the tower cam gives a good sense of the rocket's speed coming off the pad youtube.com/watch?v=MAPwb6…

CFO Mortimer has posted our Oct finances and we've scraped out yet another profit. Wait, who's laughing? Oh, that would be Wernher von Kerman with his huge 2021 R&D budget proposal, not to mention looming R&D costs for Mk3 development. But for now - green! docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

because the rocket was still pitching over at MECO, it retained a slight nose down rotation that was only partially cancelled out by deploying the Bot, so eventually yesterday we were able to see over the size adapter and spot it drifting off into the distance

post-launch ops complete & we are proud to say the Progeny Mk7-B ends service with a fully successful mission - finally! The SRB was recovered 16km downrange just over the horizon from KSC. Minor concern this mission was it possibly coming down over land & being damaged

all launch readiness reports have been submitted & reviewed by Ops Director @DKerman_KSA. He has granted approval to move ahead with tomorrow's launch attempt after preliminary weather report forecasts 90% favorable conditions. Pre-launch ops will begin @ 13:00 UTC

rocket was fully stacked at the end of last week and load checks over the weekend were good. It is now horizontal for final close inspection today and tomorrow before being loaded up on the carry vehicle for rollout on Wednesday. Launch remains on schedule

it's not time yet for everyone to enjoy the weekend - majority of Kerbin II operations team will be at it until late today - but if it's time for you to log off already be sure to first catch up on major events from these last two weeks: kerbalspace.agency/?p=11332

update for the upcoming launch has been posted to the Ops Tracker with a new look at the rocket reconfigured to carry a payload. You can check out what parts are what by hovering your cursor over the blue circles that appear over the image ops.kerbalspace.agency

nice catch! Yes, the RTG is non-functional again. The smaller form factor, although the same design, necessitates another impact testing

it may be only 4 calendar years since we started the KSA but in that time Kerbin has orbited the sun 14 times as of today! There are also still 4 outer planets starting with Sarnus that have not even completed a single orbit around Kerbol yet (Sarnus' 1st orbit ends 11/2024)

the probe will be separated from the rocket after MECO so its internal reaction wheels can be tested. The RTG will be non-functional as we plan to crash this after uncontrolled re-entry to see what survives as part of our research into disposability

we hope everyone has a great weekend but before you log off be sure to get caught up on all the cool and exciting things that have transpired over the past to weeks here at the Kerbal Space Agency: kerbalspace.agency/?p=11318

to give the rocket teams the time needed to integrate the refurbished booster the launch has been delayed to 10/29 @ 17:45 UTC. We're also going to use the extra time to put an actual payload on this rocket from Luciole Space Systems to further test future Mk8 tech

The downwards facing camera lenses quickly get toasted during re-entry but the booster cam also has an upwards facing camera that can still see the heat and flames caused by air friction as the Progeny MK7-B comes falling back from space at over 1km/s

premature celebration of mission success could've been avoided if we'd paid closer attn to the tlm data rather than just be excited about receiving it all the way to full chute. Drop in mass was recorded when the accelerometer detected a slower descent than expected under chute

launch readiness reviews have been completed, signed off on by Ops Dir @DKerman_KSA so we are 🚀 GO FOR LAUNCH 🚀 - weather tomorrow is looking a bit iffy with only 65% good conditions. If it doesn't worsen, prelaunch ops will begin @ 15:45 UTC (pic from tanking after 3rd sunset)

3rd Progeny Mk7-B passed final checkouts and vertical load checks yesterday, was laid horizontal today and loaded up onto the carry vehicle. It will be rolled out Monday for wet dress rehearsal and final system checks ahead of launch attempt on Tuesday

the Mobile Launch Platform has been rolled back to the VAB and the support legs and engine mount for the Progeny Mk7-B have been installed. Some regular maintenance has been performed on the Ground Service Equipment and all looks good for rollout & launch next week

as we approach the next Mk7-B launch campaign the mission details for both launches have been updated on the Ops Tracker, so check them out to learn more about what we hope to achieve:
ops.kerbalspace.agency
ops.kerbalspace.agency

just firing the booster again doesn't also account for loads & stress during flight. If 3rd Mk7-B flight is good, we will delay the 4th flight in order to re-use the booster from the 2nd flight and see if a pre-flown, not just pre-fired, booster can also remain functional

the Ascension Mk2 launch delay will not have a knock-on effect for the Progeny Mk7-B launches yet, still time between delayed launch and 3rd Mk7-B launch to reconfigure pad as needed. Further delays however would also start to push back Mk7-B missions

the Mk2 was rolled out at the start of today to be hooked up to the service towers and undergo a wet dress rehearsal that saw it loaded up with 9t of liquid propellants between its 2 stages. All systems were good & we remain on sched. RTG installation will take place tomorrow

✨🎊 Happy Operational Anniversary KSA!! 🎉✨

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Yes we have been underway now for 4 years. Our founder and Ops Director @DKerman_KSA would like you to know what could be in store for our future - please read his statement on our website: kerbalspace.agency/?p=11270

mission controllers better enjoy what could be their last weekend off in a while. Find out more information on the events of the past two weeks and anything important you might have missed in our Ops Summary: kerbalspace.agency/?p=11261

background details: the train is heading out to Umbarg from the rail depot and Minmus is framed within our vertical test stand

CFO Mortimer has updated our financial statements to include August. As always, many thanks to our bit.ly/KSA_Patreon supporters for helping us still manage to turn a small profit this month. Full report: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

Launch dates and mission details may change based off both the under-analysis recent mission & whether the 3rd mission finally succeeds but these are our targets for the next Progeny launch campaign. As usual, more details can be found via the bit.ly/Ops_Tracker

MES-2 was possible even with lower amt of fuel remaining than last time because even tho tank press was too low the rotation of the tumble could have been enough to hold fuel at tank bottom. BUT, burn would have been too short to have any effect on apokee after attitude recovery

looking back down from 80km apokee up in space as the Progeny Mk7-B drifts east of Cape Kernaveral, sunrise still visible on the horizon off to the far west. This is the rocket holding the radial-out orientation after rotating with its reaction wheel system

booster cam on the Mk7-B takes video at 4FPS & is mainly for engineering use in post-flight analysis but it did get a nice look at the extent of the recently-completed commercial airport expansion. Next up there are plans in the works to expand the Support Village

head on over to the Ops Summary on our webpage to recap all the major events from the past two weeks and learn more about them, like expanded thoughts on the first Extremis mission next year. Have a great weekend, everyone! kerbalspace.agency/?p=11231

we are happy to report the 2nd stage was tracked down & recovered intact! However although MES-2 was maybe possible we decided against it due to the ascent problems. It remained a primary mission goal which means we have to chalk up another failure for the Mk7-B

surface conditions have improved but upper-level winds remain red. We will continue to delay the launch into tomorrow, where we will again have 2 more chances. First chance will begin at 13:29 UTC, conditions are expected to be more favorable. Rocket remains healthy & rdy to go

all launch readiness reports have been submitted, @DKerman_KSA has given them a review and his approval - we are GO for launch attempt tomorrow! Weather forecast 65% favorable & we have much tighter constraints due to changes in guidance control. Pre-launch kicks off @ 13:26 UTC

Mk7-B has received a clean bill of health after its weeks in storage, adjustments made for this week's flight (including extra structural support to the 2nd stage engine shroud) and has been loaded up onto the carry vehicle for rollout & WDR tomorrow ahead of Wed launch attempt

all the necessary modifications have been made for the next Progeny Mk7-B launch, which remains on schedule for next week, based on results from the flight analysis of last week's first mission. The full report is still under review for publishing next week

parts from now-defunct USI for the final two Progeny Mk7-B flights have finally been cleared for purchase as Luciole continues to absorb the company and free up its assets from the clutches of litigation. Both flights are still planned to be flown in October

the booster cam was not recording video fast enough to really appreciate just how wibbly wobbly the rocket was on intial ascent, so to the ground tracking camera we go. Everyone is still amazed it managed to hold together, altho this likely contributed to the re-entry break-up

great news from Periapsis Co. confirming that the data from last static fire of the refurbished Boostertron II shows a nominal performance. Now, we just need to repeat the performance and the booster after that will see a reflight instead of a retest!

rocket breakup messed with sensor wires running up the fuel tanks and crashed the flight computer attempting to access those sensors a few seconds after signal loss, so telemetry data is incomplete but as always still available for review: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

more photos from the Mk7-B flight. Not going as high as planned, there was no time to "look around" so we just got whatever the cameras happened to be pointing at while thrusting prograde & re-orienting, facing retrograde. Descriptive text is included for each image

while today was slightly disappointing, we're still happy to finally get to start working through the Progeny MK7-B launch campaign! Recap the major events from the past two weeks in our Ops Summary if you need to quickly catch up: kerbalspace.agency/?p=11190

Ops Director @DKerman_KSA has approved all readiness reports from Simon & Lanalye - we are 🚀 GO 🚀 for launch attempt tomorrow! Weather forecast 60% favorable - today was of course nicer. Pre-launch operations are scheduled to begin at 12:45 UTC ops.kerbalspace.agency

FD Lanalye says she wants one more day of checking out the rocket and testing new control systems that were installed between this mission and the last unkerbed flight back in June. Always better safe than RUD - new launch time has been set for 8/14 @ 17:30 UTC

looks like we should have checked out the carry vehicle as well as we did the rocket - rollout delayed until tomorrow & launch pushed to Thurs @ 17:27 UTC. We could rollout & launch in a single day but with a new rocket FD Lanalye says she wants a full day for pre-launch checks

Lead Engineer Simon reports that the first Progeny Mk7-B has passed its final flight readiness checks and has been loaded up onto the carry vehicle. We remain on schedule for rollout and WDR tomorrow ahead of launch attempt Wed ops.kerbalspace.agency

Progeny Mk7-B launch dates & times confirmed!

Flight 1: 8/12 @ 17:23 UTC
Flight 2: 8/26 @ 18:11 UTC

Next 2 will launch Oct, not just cause they still need to be assembled but to give us time for any adjustments based on these initial flights. More info: bit.ly/Ops_Tracker

big spending this month is what we want to see, working hard to get Ascension closer to being able to accept full commercial launch contracts. CFO Mortimer says we are still looking healthy to continue operations as planned thru 2020. Full report: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

while we've set initial dates for the first two (of four) Mk7-B launches, mission objectives are still being finalized now that the Mk7-C is shelved and there will not be a direct continuation to the Mk8. Expect time/date confirmation & Ops Tracker mission details next week

the Boostertron II 1st test fired in early Mar was refurbished & has been fired for a 2nd time. Good news is no immediate issues were detected during this static fire, however full data analysis still needs to be completed to determine performance was 100%

Luciole will settle the current lawsuit against USI that was preventing us from launching Progeny rockets. The Mk7-B will fly in August - dates coming next week. This does mean tho the next Ascension Mk2 mission will be pushed back to early/mid Sept. Then more Mk7-B NET Oct

we hope everyone else had as good a week as we did! Although yesterday's mission concludes kerbed space flight for 2020, we have details on upcoming Ascension missions in our weekly Ops Summary: kerbalspace.agency/?p=11107

the Ops Summary is back and we will try to stick to the weekly format again moving forward. Learn more details about what went down these past two weeks and catch anything you may have missed: kerbalspace.agency/?p=11093

we finally know the name of our new rocket supplier - Luciole! They will be meeting with us later this month to discuss plans for future Progenitor rockets, are committed to a 0.625m orbital launch vehicle & are also continuing to develop a 0.625m aerospike engine

by this month we had hoped to be static-firing recovered Boostertrons and possibly even re-flying one of them on the last of the 4 Mk7-Bs. instead, this month the hope is that Periapsis Co. gets us the booster from the March static fire to try test-firing again w/o thrust issues

income is back in the red for June as expected but nearly as bad as CFO Mortimer feared, leaving us in good shape to push forward full-steam ahead for the remainder of the year. You can always review our latest monthly report on yearly finances here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

over to the side of the VAB where the Progenitor rockets are assembled two Progeny Mk7-Bs are now completed, with the remaining two Boostertrons waiting on parts to be delivered by USI that were delayed due to their bankruptcy. Back to back launches soon? We hope so too!

this was an exciting week, make sure you didn't miss anything by check out our weekly Ops Summary on the website, where we have some speculation on the USI sale. We hope everyone has a relaxing weekend! kerbalspace.agency/?p=11062

news just came in that Umbra Space Industries, our long-time partner for Progenitor rocket parts that went bankrupt earlier this year, has been bought up - a deal that has been rumored for some time now. More information is expected to be released next month

work is all set to resume in the VAB next week. Progeny Mk7-B assembly atop the 4 boosters will continue while we await launch permission. This month's rocket just needs to be stacked for final closeouts. Bob's ride still has a lot of prep for next month

we're ramping rocket operations back up! Sadly Progenitor remains sidelined but Ascension is free to fly and we have three launches in the queue:

6/23 @ TBD - Mk1 (unkerbed)
7/16 @ TBD - Mk1 (Spc Bob)
TBD August - Mk2

Save the dates! More details in the coming days 🚀✨

once we heard Progeny launches were suspended due to the legal battle involving USI we filed an appeal but it was just denied, leaving the Progenitor program to just continue building the 4 Mk7-Bs already ordered & hoping this mess is cleared up soon so they can launch

May finances have been published (docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…). The centrifuge has been paid off and we have built up a bit more spending capital to hopefully finally put to use this month. We hope to lose money in June cause then we'd be exploring hard!

today's test firing of a recast SRB on the horizontal test stand (the 2nd one tested in Feb) went better than the first - it didn't explode! Early data analysis shows however that thrust was diminished rapidly towards the end of the burn, indicating casing issues still remain

events late last week postponed our bi-weekly Ops Summary to allow us to share better details, unfortunately the news from USI is not good & has temporarily suspended Progeny launches. Ascension looking better, but still behind sched. More details: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10993

rail depot at the end of the tracks coming from Umbarg has been completed, making for a high-capacity cargo link between us and the nearest underground cavern. The train will also be used occasionally to transport kerbs and large rocket parts

our bi-weekly Ops Summary has more information on Alaba's latest trajectory analysis and also details on a recent announcement that Umbra Space Industries, long-time supplier for our Progenitor rockets, has gone bankrupt! kerbalspace.agency/?p=10937

we've received the 1st of 2 new Boostertron II SRBs that will arrive this month to fly future Progeny Mk7-B missions. This will round out the initial order purchased back in January however more are already being assembled for the upcoming Ascension Mk3

our horizontal test stand has been repaired but the kerbs at Periapsis Co. are still working on getting another refurbished booster ready for us to test, hopefully later this month. This will be from the second test conducted back in February

financial report for April is now available (docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…) are we happy with this months earnings? Not really, because we want to be spending this money on space missions! We continue be thankful though for our bit.ly/KSA_Patreon contributors!

VAB construction remains on hold until at least next month while procedures remain under review. The first completed Progeny Mk7-B has been re-examined for another round of final checks and the next booster to be assembled for flight is awaiting inspection

work continues to get our rocketry programs back to flying, but there is still a ways yet to go. Learn more about what lies ahead and take a look back at what transpired over these past two weeks: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10927 Everyone have a nice weekend!

final major hurdle in getting back to rocket flight has been cleared with the full review & analysis of the orbital Kerbin I mission completed kerbalspace.agency/?p=10905 Now Progenitor & Ascension teams will spend May on upcoming mission plans

damage assessment of the horizontal test stand shows that it will only require minor repairs over the next 2 weeks that will hopefully take no longer than the team at Periapsis Co. looking into the failure & getting another used booster ready for the next test firing

this was the 1st attempt to fire a recast booster, using the same casing from the test firing done back in Feb. While a significant setback for our future hopes of reusable SRBs it wasn't unexpected & plenty of data was collected to help rectify whatever issue(s) are uncovered

ensuring that our upcoming missions are successful & also doing everything possible to allow us to begin accepting commercial payload contracts is critical to our financial health this year. We could run out of money if there are too many unplanned setbacks due to large failures

the final Boostertron II test article was successfully fired today. While we will eventually order new ones for the 1st Ascension Mk3 flight, further testing will be done on reusing these initial production boosters. The 1st one fired back in Feb is scheduled to arrive this month

the final production test Boostertron II has arrived and will be static fired out on the horizontal test stand later this week. Testing 4 boosters for any failures equals the max number we could someday strap onto an Ascension Mk3

things will be slowing down for a while, but we do expect to clear out the backlog quickly starting Jun/Jul to remain as close as possible to our projections made at the start of the year. We waited to hear of more Chikelu news but nothing yet kerbalspace.agency/?p=10850

Operations Director @DKerman_KSA rejected Lead Engineer Simon's resignation today. He may have made mistakes but this just shows he is willing to accept them and we expect him to move forward with us and make the most of the experience he has gained over the past 3+ years

TL;DR - several recent minor oversights both in the rocketry & aircraft programs have begun to worry upper management that we are on course to make a catastrophic error in a future mission. Time to slow down before a major oversight occurs with horrible consequences

our next launch remains on schedule as the VAB completed stacking the Progeny Mk7-B today. Now laid back horizontal, final close out procedures have begun, which will continue into tomorrow before the rocket is loaded up onto the carry vehicle for rollout early the following day

the flight crew have physical exercises from the medical team as well as textbook training to keep them busy & tip-top this week. Flight Director Lanalye is keeping her controllers on task as well, with more drills scheduled all the way up to roll-out later this week

💫 KERZZAH! ☀ - 12 times we have now traveled around Kerbol since the KSA was founded - at 1,025,316,660.821km distance traveled we are just 3 light minutes shy of a light hour's travel time over the same distance. Spaceship Kerbin is tooling along at a constant 9.28km/s

a bummer that we were unable to return to kerbed space flight this week but heads are up and looking forward to next week's attempt! More on that and everything else that transpired this week in our Ops Summary: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10765

everything continues to look good for Cpt Jeb's mission next week, also learn more about the new WildCat-V lifter engine and the recently-announced Progeny MK7-B mission in our Ops Summary: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10750 - a good weekend to all!

earning the orbital prize purse not only made Feb a profitable month but secured our financial future - at least through the remainder of this year. By that time we hope to be placing commercial payloads into orbit! Full financial report: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

a historic month draws to a close. Recap the Kerbin I mission, learn more about our upcoming missions and what else transpired this past week over at the Ops Summary: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10499

Also, now all the parties
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preliminary VAB inspection of the Boosterton II fired earlier this month shows it to be in good shape and we will now send back to Periapsis Co. for even more examination and then, if all checks out, recasting. We hope to test fire it again in April

Dhumla cargo aircraft has landed, carrying this month's second & final Boosterton SRB for test firing. After it is unloaded the Kerbin I recovery crew will load up with their equipment and fly out to the Kongo to prepare to hunt down the impending impact site

the Presider got a tour of the KSC campus today to check out all the new stuff since his last visit. He was especially pleased to witness the SRB static fire and he stood so close to the Ascension Mk2 his neck got sore staring up at it. He's excited for the launch!

cargo airship has arrived with our first Boosterton II dual-segment SRB aboard, which will be offloaded at the Support Village warehouse then driven over to the VAB for initial checkouts. After ensuring it is undamaged from transport it will be mounted for static fire next week

all the guidance fins have been mounted and the lifter is vertical. One segment of the interstage shroud is being installed to support the Viklun stage at mounting later this week while allowing the engine to be secured to the base. Progeny Mk7-B parts have arrived as well

at least some good news to come out of today: the newest K2-X engine was hooked up to the test stand & underwent successful static fire. It will be moved back to the VAB tomorrow to begin integration w/ flight hardware for March's mission. Horizontal stand awaits Boosterton II

monthly financial report has been released by CFO Mortimer - lightning towers, centrifuge, pad repairs - lots of large infrastructure expenses this month. We expect to burn money the first half of this year but not as much as January (we hope) docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

launch pad remains in good repair, reports the team assigned by Lead Engineer Simon, who has just signed off on the review. This is great news and means no further delays stand in the way of the next launch

Flight Director Lanalye has been drilling her A team hard since the start of the month to get back to used to working with the Ascension after two months of Progenitor operations. The B team has already been working since last month to prep for operations with the Progeny Mk7-B

in the past we've used "scrub" and "delay" a bit interchangeably to describe the withholding of a planned launch. Moving forward they will have specific uses. "Scrub" will define a launch in process that was halted during countdown. "Delay" will occur before countdown starts

we're starting to pick up speed again, getting set for our first rocket launch of 2020 next week. Make sure you didn't miss anything else that was announced & learn more about what happened this past week by checking our Ops Summary: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10289

unfortunately integration issues prevented us from using the Parallel Control Unit as planned to begin experimenting with backup flight computers. This will attempt to instead be integrated with the Progeny Mk7-C later this year twitter.com/KSA_MissionCtr…

Lead Engineer Simon reports the launch pad is ready for action, Mk1 final integration is proceeding well in the VAB so we have gone and set our first launch date for 2020! Get ready for the Ascension Mk1 to blast off next week, 1/21 @ 18:37 UTC 🚀! ops.kerbalspace.agency

what are we hoping to achieve in 2020? Last week we shared details on Extremis goals and now we have information for the rest of our programs in this report: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10258 what are you most looking forward to from us in 2020?

up until now the crew service tower has also acted as a lightning rod but the Ascension Mk2 can rise taller so rods have been installed around the pad to protect it from any hazardous weather. Yes, they are also sunk several meters into the ground & will stop an aircraft

a new photo has been captured of the KSC to update our online banner images - also we made another significant upgrade after the completion of pad repairs over the break. Look closely in front of the Support Village for the engine test stands & the VAB for the MLP

additionally while it can reach perikee positive & perhaps even orbit with some more coaxing, program leads feel the design is trying too hard to satisfy too many test requirements & the 2nd stage SRB should be removed - just one of the many big decisions to be made this week...

welcome to 2020!! 🎉🥂 Kerbs are eager to get back to work next week, so much so that Operations Director @DKerman_KSA revoked access privileges to force some to take a vacation. We're not naming names but their initials start with Wernher von Kerman

bye bye 2019! KSA operations for the year have concluded. We will continue to note significant past events on weekends, ATN weekly updates & asteroid bulletins, or any other significant events. Regular ops will resume 1/6/202️⃣0️⃣! Final ops summary: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10213

VAB is getting everything organized to pick up with Ascension assembly next year, launch pad repairs are on schedule to wrap up next week, Launch Control is prepping for system upgrades over the operations break... we're almost ready to bid farewell to 2019!

launch pad resurfacing was completed last week to allow work on the service structures to now begin. Further back from the pad, the crew tower has already seen repairs to the minor damage it suffered and we look forward to finally using it in 2020!

CFO Mortimer is happy that we managed to squeeze out a slight profit last month! Thanks as always to our bit.ly/KSA_Patreon supporters for their help as well, with a new record for donations this month docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

several things to detail this past week - overall ops are running smooth. Rocket builds are on schedule & so is launch pad repair. R&D is quiet but that's also good in its own way. Anything you feel you might have missed can be found in our Ops Summary: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10089

✨KERZZAH!✨ today we get to celebrate our 11th trip around Kerbol on space ship Kerbin since the KSA began operations back in 2016. That brings our celestial odometer up to 939,011,983.1456km or nearly 1 light hour. Here's to another 106.5 day trip around the sun 🥂

between launch campaigns now, the Tracking Station is taking the time to perform some maintenance and calibrations on the three 7m dishes to ensure they continue to steer and point accurately for future missions

early end to the week, everyone is ready to kick back for the weekend after the successful end to the first Kerbal Sounding Project launch campaign. 2 more next month! Also the ASA report was released today & we have all the details in our Ops Summary: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10060

pad resurfacing has gotten underway as cracks had formed from the blast concussion. If any rocket engine exhaust gases forced themselves under the surface, they would gouge the underlying soil and possibly blow out a portion of the pad, damaging the structures & rocket

we gave into some light speculation on the news about the Deuce aircraft and also have some more info on future Ascension plans now that the pad repair process can begin. That and more which transpired this week in our Ops Summary: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10044

we've used radial & nose cone chutes, now Wernher's R&D team is working on inline chutes we can stack atop the dual-segment Progeny Mk7-B booster so it can be recovered. initially this is just for post-launch assessment of the new design, but future reusability is possible

everyone is eager to get back to work at KSC this week, starting today. A team has already been assembled by Lead Engineer Simon to begin assessing the damages done to the launchpad and service structures. They plan to submit a report by the end of the week

unlike the Progeny Mk6 missions (not Mk7), which can be launched from the North Field, Ascension rockets require the launch pad and all future missions are on indefinite hold until we can fully assess the damage that was done to the pad and service structures

R&D Head Wernher von Kerman has presented a new instrument suite to the Progenitor team, suitable for launch on a future Progeny Mk7 now that the payload section can point & hold orientation. Ascension is also interested in larger related instruments for an orbital payload

TL;DR (it is a lot to take in) - our current stance is to work to determine all the details of how this attack was carried out and put in place measures to prevent future attempts. We are not backing down nor is any action yet able to be taken against those responsible

the existing 0.625m SRB by Umbra Space Industries has been incorporated into the first dual-segment SRB and will be worked into the design of the Progeny Mk7-B for launch in early 2020. Same surface area, so same thrust, but slightly better nozzle design for higher ISP

another productive week behind us, we hope you all can say the same. Recap what went on in our Ops Summary: kerbalspace.agency/?p=9932 Have a great & relaxing weekend, everyone!

lessons learned from the final Progeny Mk7-A mission have been published with the flight analysis report: kerbalspace.agency/?p=9928 - we look forward to revealing more about the Mk7-B that should fly in early 2020

depending on how the next Mk7-A flight goes will help to decide whether to make the full Mk7-B stack 0.625m, which is the eventual Mk7 goal but we'd like to stick to the 0.35m 3rd stage parts that are currently being manufactured as much as possible for as long as possible

we expect several iterations as it's already known the SRM-L will need to be replaced with a more powerful solid and the SRM-XL needs to revert back to its old core, which can output up to 145kN of thrust ASL for the larger payloads that will be carried