Progeny Mk7-B Flight 3

technicians will access the rocket via the crew gangway to install the RTG today via a hatch in the fairing. Hooked up to the tower environmental system used for capsules the RTG heat will be pumped away and Kerbin II can be powered up and tested

our seemingly well-laid plans for installing the RTG on the pad have come up against some unforeseen and insurmountable problems - at least, this time. We are forced to roll back to the VAB and make some adjustments. Launch delayed until next week ops.kerbalspace.agency/?vessel=ascens…

nothing too deep about the last Progeny Mk7-B flight needed for this analysis - kerbalspace.agency/?p=11293 - we've made the necessary adjustments and next week's mission now has the best chance so far of being fully successful at last

huge milestone today as the booster recovered from the ocean after last month's 1st Progeny Mk7-B flight was successfully static fired on our horizontal test stand. This upcoming 3rd Mk7-B flight will use a booster that was originally fired in Mar and again in Apr

we had a good roll out and mounting for the Progeny MK7-B, which will now be tanked for a wet dress rehearsal and flight computer testing. Launch readiness reviews also underway from Launch Control and the Tracking Station

🌅Sunrise/Sunset🌄
@ KSC (UTC-4)

10/6
#2🌄07:34:15 🌅09:44:36
#3🌄13:35:06 🌅15:45:27 !!🚀!!
#4🌄19:35:57 🌅21:46:18

10/7
#1🌄01:36:48 🌅03:47:09

Mission Control will again become Launch Control for today but there is enough capacity in the Tracking Station to allow for Kerbin II operations to continue unhindered while the Progeny Mk7-B takes flight later. They are not planned to talk to one another

[L-4h45m] updated forecast is in and we are GO to proceed with launch preparations. Main concern leading up to L-0 are storms building out over the mountains to the west but they are not expected to head our way. Further updates to be communicated at these major milestones:

[L-4h15m] controllers are gathered in Launch Control for final preflight briefing from Flight Director Lanalye. We are still attempting to achieve all 3 primary mission goals set forth during the first attempt back in Aug: twitter.com/KSA_MissionCtr…

hot-fire staging will occur automatically this time as soon as the lower booster cuts out, hopefully not allowing the rocket's pitch to be upset enough that it will be unable to maintain proper ascent angle via thrust vector control after the Ospray 2nd stage engine ignites

[L-3h45m] pad crews have arrived to begin checking the GSE and rocket, removing launch safety hardware, etc. while controllers hop on their consoles to begin waking up the flight computer. Updated flight software can be found over at bit.ly/AFCS_KSA

[L-2h40m] green across the board, no issues raised during initial pre-flight phase. Pad crew are clearing out to allow for checks of the fuel, engine and ignition systems. Booster recovery boat is being trucked down to the shore for deployment

[L-1h30m] still on-sched for launch! Rocket is ready to go, pad crew making final checks. Kerbin II pass has allowed us to talk directly with MSV Aldeny 260km downrange & ensure that sea conditions are good for recovery of the second stage. Booster recovery ship is in the water

[L-1h20m] a second KerBalloon has been released to ascend to the upper atmosphere by the next hour & give us another look at wind shear conditions. Before then it will also help to determine if those storms out west will be holding off - we can hear the rumble of distant thunder

[L-45m] flight parameters have been updated for current surface weather conditions & final launch rehearsal is getting underway to ensure all systems are setup properly & all controllers know their roles. Meteorologist Katgan & her team are assembling final weather brief

[L-30m] rehearsal was good, rocket is hooked back into the control feed, final checks underway as we are GO to continue into final countdown procedures. We will not reset to here on a scrub tho as our next attempt would be tomorrow

[L-15m] Range Safety Officer has confirmed nothing physical stands in the way of the rocket or endangered by its (hopefully slowly) falling booster. Engines are ARMED, Flight Termination System ACTIVE. RSO will hold count if any incursion is detected w/in 500m of pad

guidance constraints are the same as last mission, fairly loose since we're not targeting a specific landing location or anything like that. We're basically just hoping it stays close to expected course. If not, Ops Tracker telemetry will flash for being outside these values

[L-5m] the chorus of "Go Flight!" was heard throughout the room in Launch Control as we pass final general polling. Ops Director @DKerman_KSA has granted launch permission. 🚀 GO PROGENY!! 🚀 FTS internal, GSE prepped for disconnect at terminal count, AFCS primed

[T-2m] startup of the Automated Flight Control System, which will command the rocket through the mission with oversight & extra guidance from controllers. Rocket is now on internal power, batt drain levels being checked along with RF comms

[T-1m] does this still get exciting? Hells yea! Only seconds remain now as we work towards final primary polling at 30s to L-0. If all is good, streaming telemetry will load in the Ops Tracker so be sure you're tuned in! ops.kerbalspace.agency/?vessel=progen…

"hold hold hold!" the call came from Katgan at the weather desk stopping the clock at just 8s prior to launch. Rocket remains primed, gathering more information

mountain wave sensors were tripped, warning us some gusty winds were potentially rolling down from the highlands. Rocket remains secure with support arms still raised. We continue to monitor the situation. More info: kerbalspace.agency/?p=10380#mtnwa…

no gusts registered at pad - false alarm or they died out, system is still new & mountain wave phenomena still poorly understood. Regardless, always better safe than sorry! Recycling to T-2min with new L-0 of 2100 UTC to wait a bit more & ensure conditions remain calm

our delayed launch time does present us with an opportunity as Kerbin II will now be passing within sight during the mission. The two spacecraft were not designed to talk to one another but MSV Aldeny can receive the Mk7-B's tlm & beam it to us via Kerbin II

[T-2m] we are out of countdown hold and back to the terminal count. GSE could not be hooked back up without a scrub but more than enough battery power remains to carry out the mission. Rocket remains ready, winds are blowing steadily but not enough to cause problems. No gusts

[T-1m] OK time to get excited again! Ops Tracker will go live with tlm data if final polls pass at T-30s. If winds stay w/in limits support arms will retract @ T-5s. Here. We. Go? Be sure to tune in to find out the soonest: ops.kerbalspace.agency/?vessel=progen… (if still loaded, PLZ REFRESH!!)

booster ignition and we have LIFT OFF! This booster will be running for the third time but first time in flight to carry the Mk7-B close to or even into the upper atmosphere. If all goes well, the 2nd stage will be pushing the rest of the way before this first minute expires

welp - looks like staging went smoothly but still we have an attitude failure of the 2nd stage. Everyone hoping it can recover itself and still have enough fuel remaining to push out of the atmosphere and also enable us to restart the engine afterwards

stage did recover, engine was cut early due to low fuel but we at least will make it to space and although fuel is at lowest levels of all 3 flights so far there's still a chance we can get the engine lit again, so you bet we are going to try!

we've got the reaction wheels online, rocket pointed prograde. Apokee approaching fast, controllers waiting to gather pre-ignition data before sending up the command within this next minute to attempt to re-light the engine. If it fails still enough time to prep for re-entry

it worked! Thrust was good and slightly delayed apokee, which the rocket passed through seconds later. It's already flipping around to point its engine downwards in preparation for re-entry. Flight computer purged of ascent instructions & now setup with re-entry procedures

KERZZAH!! \[0_o]/ tlm successfully relayed from MSV Aldeny via Kerbin II and we were able to confirm full chute deployment before Aldeny also lost signal over horizon. Once again we are well short of our intended landing zone, so recovery vessel is a few hrs away

post-launch operations wrapping up, first stage was once again recovered successfully and is on its way back to the HAB where the fins, chutes and structural adapter will be removed so it can be shipped back to Periapsis Co. for refurbishment & hopefully reflight

Kerbin II is passing over the recovery area every ~40min and on this check-in with MSV Aldeny we have confirmed they reached the splashdown location and have begun search operations. Payload likely drifted a fair distance, radio beacon is short-range

unfortunately we have to mark today's mission as another failure :/ MSV Aldeny just communicated with us that they recovered only the probe core and above, which means the rocket broke apart on re-entry & we lost the engine again. Bummer! Final flight will have new mission goals

we finally have uninterrupted Progeny Mk7-B telemetry from launch to splashdown, now available to the public: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d… - although the rocket broke apart again like the 1st mission, this time the flight computer did not crash. Improvement in one area at least!

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