Monolith EM Field Timeline

hello from KSA HQ in Umbarg! Just calling out to let everyone know we are okay - electrical services are gradually coming back online in all caverns here, but KSC remains off limits until a team sent out yesterday to assess the Monolith's new activity has returned

we will release more information on the current situation once we have a better idea what we are dealing with; the past two days have mainly been working to recover basic infrastructure & ensure all our injured employees are being taken care of

website and Ops Tracker are now back online as electrical services here in Umbarg become more stable. Still no word from the team dispatched to KSC, but they are not overdue unless they fail to return or get in contact with us by later today

surface team has returned, reports there is a consistent EM field over KSC, tho they found it has a radius of 10km in all directions (assumed out over the water as well) & is not specifically directed @ the space center. Generated current is strong enough to still fry electronics

we have released the report on the events that occurred this past Tuesday, which will serve as our Ops Summary for this week. Additional updates will be posted as we get more information on the EM field surrounding KSC. kerbalspace.agency/?p=7917

a 2nd power drain struck late on the 10th & took out the majority of Umbarg and Kravass. Where the power stopped reaching customers is the area that was searched to find the new crystal growths. Once again a full power shutdown and conduit replacement was required

surface instruments reported prior to the 2nd blackout the EM field had begun to shrink. It has rebounded to 9km before we could shut off the power again but once more is beginning to reduce in size & could be gone by the end of the week

EM field has continued to shrink, but as it has grown smaller the rate has decreased. It is either stabilizing via some other power source or there are already new crystals growing into power conduits. Data collection on power usage too rudimentary to know quickly

we've worked out the basic logistics for being able to continue most of our operations without the ability to use KSC, if needed. Right now we are waiting for a better idea of just how long-lasting this EM field is & whether there is a way to counter or disable it

over the past wk as word has spread about the Monolith's new behavior & the vacancy of KSC religious followers have flocked to the site by any means necessary, many taking days-long journeys over land. They believe the field is meant for their sanctuary & will repel non-followers

we were not fortunate enough to be on a grid that wasn't affected by the latest brownout, which ended earlier today. With yet another conduit replacement completed, power authorities say a plan is moving forwards to sever the connection closer to the source

the plan that we have heard from KNN reports is current excavations of the main crystal veins running to Kravass & Umbarg will be used to blow them up, creating a large enough gap that any attempts to regrow can be seen and stopped before a reconnection can be made

meanwhile on our end we've made sure KSC security is back in place to prevent any looting or occupation by Monolithic followers hiding from government forces looking to remove them. The situation has not yet turned violent but it has grown scarily close

after days of negotiations, we just heard on KNN that scientists have convinced the government the Monolith presents no immediate threat to kerbals near it and have made an agreement with religious leaders for followers to remain while the field is active & research is suspended

we know what the Monolith is doing. Returning to the research site several days ago, scientists inspecting the bore hole saw it was a few cm shorter and narrower than what was last measured before the EM field sprang up. Over the past week they have watched it close up further

much like new crystal was grown to reattach to power conduits, the hole that was drilled is slowly healing. The field has stabilized at 6km, and the hole could be healed in ~2 weeks. Whether the EM field will shut off once the hole is healed is still unknown

this also settles the nagging problem scientists had with their initial theory, which posited the EM field was was a defensive measure. We don't need electricity to drill, but now we know doing so manually might not be faster than its healing rate

the main crystal veins were blown up just a little while ago - or at least, the attempt was made. Although visibly damaged, they appeared to soak up the majority of the energy from the blast. Instruments at KSC recorded a slight EM field increase before it settled back to 6km

since the explosives failed, kerbs have simply begun to hack away at the remaining structure with both manual and power tools in a final attempt to break the connection at both locations. Everyone is waiting for further updates from KNN

kerbs working on the Kravass vein were the first to break completely through, Umbarg vein not far behind. They will continue to widen the gap while an eye is kept on the EM field size, which currently does not seem to be affected

BREAKING NEWS! We just heard from surface crew monitoring the EM field and it has begun to shrink. Round-the-clock workers on both veins have continued to chip away and prevent any new growth

EM field has fallen to under 5km and continues to become smaller, although not continuously. It has stopped and rebounded slightly several times but the overall trend appears to be a reduction in size

field size just collapsed rapidly from 3.8km down to 2.5km over the last ~5 minutes. If the Monolith is conserving energy, it could possibly remain stable at this size for some time before continuing to grow smaller. All KSC buildings are still within the field, barely

surface instruments monitoring the EM field show no change since yesterday, not even minor fluctuations. It would appear this is how much the Monolith can sustain itself without help from our power grids, perhaps it is also tapped in to some other source

this was taken standing just outside the 2.5km outer edge of the EM field (near the engine test stand). You can make out some of the larger tents setup around the burn scar off in the distance near the Monolith research dome if you look closely

in case anyone recalls us speaking about various KSC buildings being "shielded", which we have in the past, that was against background planetary EM to ensure instruments can be calibrated properly. This localized EM field is much, much stronger

this week some construction vehicles were staged outside the EM field at the Support Village, today they will all be driven into the EM field to see how they fare. As long as their electric starters are used outside the field, their mechanical systems should not be affected

we just finished evaluating the various construction equipment and the good news is we may be able to get some renovations done while operations are halted. Yup - we are looking at you, runway!

late yesterday seismic sensors picked up a rather strong 5.4 magnitude groundquake less than 50km southeast of Kravass. It's notable because keologists say there are no known fault lines or volcanic activity in the area. A team has been dispatched to investigate

KNN reports drilling has begun. The setup requires 4 kerbals at a time to crank the drill, they have three teams that will work shifts around the clock and stop only to check on drill bit wear, replace as needed and observe overall progress

the Monolith began emitting ultrasonic noise again late yesterday, which forced kerbs to retreat from the immediate area to about 300m outside the dome before the headaches and nausea wore off. Emission ended a few hours ago and KNN reports drilling has just resumed once more

in case you don't recall, the Monolith had made an ultrasonic noise that prevented close examination in the past. It ceased after the first incident when we reached space and for some reason this is the first time it has returned since twitter.com/KSA_MissionCtr…

update on the Monolith drilling operation is that they have once again been forced away. While use of the defense mechanism makes sense and is effective, researchers remain puzzled as to why it stayed silent and even allowed them to get this close for so long

once again violence has thankfully been avoided at the Monolith site. Drilling teams have not returned while researchers work on a way around the additional defensive measure & religious pilgrims have mostly gone back to just praying a lot. Gov't forces have left the area

Kravass is in the process of restoring power after they had to perform another conduit replacement to eradicate new crystal growth. Umbarg has not yet been affected and teams at both veins are now working around the clock to tunnel in search of any branches

researchers gained access to the Monolith through the throng of pilgrims and measured the change to the bore hole to discover it had not healed as fast as they would have expected with the power drained from Kravass before the crystals were excised

the effort to penetrate the Monolith has been indefinitely suspended and the bore hole will be allowed to heal. Current estimates put this happening by mid-November. We still don't know if this will bring about the end of the EM field as well, but everyone is hoping it will

in a gesture of goodwill the government will continue to allow worshipers to visit the site without oversight. Researchers will continue passive monitoring as well. Due to the ground excavations, the dome will need to remain in order to protect against flooding

we're pleased to hear from the surface science teams that religious leaders have been working together to keep the amount of pilgrims around the Monolith at any one time to manageable levels, ensuring that once KSC is back to operations we do not need to support them as well

astronomers have confirmed the inbound trajectory of YGD-619(C), which entered our SOI early today. It was discovered back on 10/23 so preparations have been underway in Umbarg since then to ensure a ground impact will not cause serious damage within the underground caverns

Monolith remains on track to seal over bore hole by the 17th, no further sampling or direct contact has been made by researchers. EM field remains constant. Pilgrim traffic remains manageable as well for the existing shanty town surrounding the containment dome

2 hrs until atmospheric entry of YGD-619(C) & final prep is underway in Umbarg. All who could have evacuated to the other 3 cavern systems, all who remain have been moved to the inner walls away from the large open spaces in the central areas. Emergency services standing by

KSA HQ has been evacuated fully, as we are near the middle of the main cavern, whose ceiling is about 200m above us. Hopefully rockfall damage is minimal. We'll be standing by in Kravass to the north for word on the aftermath of the event

remote observation of the event was knocked offline from the compression wave of the airburst that occurred at ~4.5km ASL when YGD-619(C) slammed into the denser lower atmosphere. It had already partially broken up before hand but still was a frighteningly forceful explosion

reports from Umbarg are good. Very minor rock falls, keothermal power remains online and cavern officials have already said they hope to clear kerbs to return within the next 4-6 hours. Airships will soon be enroute to check out the airburst location

a grisly discovery was made today by meteorite hunters of 7 bodies a few km from the epicenter beneath the airburst. They appear to have died from the compression wave traveling along the ground. Monolithic totems carried on their persons reveal them to be religious followers

today's first checkup of the Monolith bore hole has found it is now completely filled in and the surrounding area is even resurfaced. Religious followers have already been gathered and praying for hours now. No effect seen so far on the EM field

we just got word from the surface that the EM field has collapsed down to 150m! It will continue to be monitored this week and if it looks to be holding steady we'll begin the work of getting the affected buildings back up to operational status over the next few weeks

apparently when told of the field reduction all the pilgrims packed in even closer to the Monolith dome, convinced it meant the healing energies were now more concentrated for them. That's their belief - there is no scientific evidence that an EM field can heal you of anything

crowds have mostly dispersed from around the Monolith. Whether or not deliverance was granted we are not sure but researchers are happy to have easier access again. EM field still holding at 150m - it's possible this could be maintained indefinitely

the 150m radius is a bubble, so it would also exclude airspace above the dome however the airspace floor over KSC is 1km so that would not be an issue. Could affect future runway placement but otherwise will not pose any problems for future KSA operations at KSC