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Category Archive: News
What's going on at the Kerbal Space Agency
Feb 28 2020
Operations Summary – Week of 2/24/20
Feb 06 2020
Ascension Mk1 Flight 11 Analysis
Ever since the attack on KSC that damaged the launch pad and destroyed our last Ascension Mk1 rocket we have been working hard towards regaining launch capability. It took 2 months to repair the ground service structures as well as the actual pad surface itself, but coming into the new year and new decade we are once again able to send up rockets from the launch pad. This mission will renew the bid for orbit that began back in 2018, and was then suspended at the start of last year when the rocket proved incapable of flying a trajectory that would allow it to enter a decaying orbit without running out of fuel. After testing new guidance fins on the Progeny Mk7-A, it is now time to scale them up to 1.25m rockets and see whether they can give the additional control authority needed to allow the rocket to pitch over faster. This mission will also see new 1.25m payload fairings based on the 0.625m ones that flew on the Progeny Mk7-A, which will be tested to see how they perform under the heat and pressure of ascent. The payload itself contains another RTG test article so it can be slammed into the ground after the flight and analyzed afterwards to determine whether it successfully remained intact and would have not spilled radioactive material if it had contained any.
The Flight
Due to tightening operational budget constraints, we can no longer afford to fail fast for iteration – in fact we can’t really afford to fail at all. This has led to new policies and stricter launch commit criteria (weather, build process, flight quals, etc) going into effect this year. The result was some early delays for the launch due to weather being outside of acceptable constraints, but thankfully it did not remain uncooperative for long and the countdown was able to begin and run to conclusion with no further issues only a day later than planned.
Jan 13 2020
2020 Program Goals
Over the entire last week, as is per usual for the start of the operational year, numerous meetings were conducted among the various programs here at KSC where all team members were allowed to pitch ideas and voice opinions about the coming year so admin staff could work on decisions for 2020 operational goals. Thankfully all arguments remained professional – no chairs were thrown or whiteboards defaced. Here is all that we hope to accomplish this year.
Ascension Program
Still the most exciting aspect of our operations, Ascension will seek to travel higher and further than ever before starting right this month with the latest Mk1 mission to test out new guidance fins (larger versions of those that flew first on the Progeny Mk7-A) as well as attempt another RTG impact test. More details on the mission will be posted later this week when we announce a launch date. The Mk1 will also fly at least two more times this year to send Captain Jeb and Specialist Bob into space on sub-orbital missions to continue to observe the effects of zero-G on kerbals, as well as tolerance to re-entry forces.
The first flight of the Mk2, as early as February, will be entirely dependent on the performance of this month’s Mk1 mission. If successful, the new fins should give the Mk2 the control authority required to pitch over fast enough to achieve orbit. From the first mission we will aim to deploy a satellite, Kerbin I, which was announced last year. It will allow us to conduct various tests before being de-orbited due to limited battery power. The Mk2 will continue to fly throughout the year to place more payloads into space and help certify the RTG for flight so that we can send up a trio of long-lasting communications satellites by the end of the year. If the Mk2 shows itself to be a reliable vehicle, sending a kerbal into orbit before the year is out is a serious possibility but not one we will rush towards.
In the latter half of this year we hope to also debut the Mk3, the full design spec of which you can review here. This was officially approved last week although the production dates have been pushed back. The Mk3 should be the rocket that lets us send payloads into orbit around Mun and Minmus, perhaps this year.
Finally, work is also being done on the Mk1-B capsule that will debut later this year, retaining single-occupancy but upgrading various systems & design.
Oct 24 2019
KSA Suffers Deadly Attack on Kerbed Space Mission
Click for annotated version
Earlier this week during the pre-launch operations leading up to the 3rd kerbed space mission, at approximately 16:17 UTC after tanking operations had completed and pre-flight was well underway, a Deuce aircraft came gliding in out of the darkness and slammed into the rocket. The impact was almost right in the center of the fuel tank by the aircraft’s outer left wing, causing a huge explosion. The aircraft was spun flatly around and slammed into the ground about a dozen meters away where its own fuel tanks crumpled and exploded as well. As soon at the wing penetrated the rocket fuel tank exterior however, this severed the continuity wires and triggered the automated Launch Abort System, firing the rockets in the escape tower atop the capsule to send it up and away from the resulting explosion. The chutes deployed shortly afterwards and the capsule landed hard but without injury to the occupant, Captain Jebediah, roughly 800m from the launch pad, which had gradually become engulfed in a raging ground fire as fuel and oxidizer continued to burn off. Emergency crews rushed to the scene in order to help rescue any survivors of the launch pad crew that were still working during the explosion but were unable to get close enough to fight the fire and found no one on the periphery. The 12 dead pad workers is the greatest loss of life on a KSA mission to date.
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