Deuce Science Flight 2

Jeb & Val are being inspected by the medics. Gear did collapse, but Val used the ailerons & rudder to keep the aircraft banked onto the good gear until about 20m/s when the left wing finally dropped into the dirt and dug in, spinning the aircraft around and off to the side

both crew have been cleared by the medical team, Genesis engineers already out to survey the damage to the aircraft so they can decide how to get it towed back to the HAB. Obviously tomorrow's flight will have to be rescheduled. We are glad everyone is okay!!

Deuce is being rolled out for Jeb & Val after they finish their briefing. Weather up north still reported to be "iffy", but Deuce can at least make it to Kravass if nothing else

preflight completed, Jeb has rotated into the pilot's seat with Val on the right as co-pilot - although if the mission goes all the way through they will swap these roles by the end of it. Taxi clearance granted out to Rwy27

Deuce in position and holding. Our runways do not comply with Air Safety Administration regulations to permit operations under low light situations so waiting for the sun to clear the horizon for takeoff clearance

Flight Control has given Jeb his clearance to takeoff. They will need all the daylight possible on this trip, which will cover at least 1,300km! This will also be the first exploration of a polar region in nearly half a millennium

normal departure - gear up & flaps to 1, fly runway heading out to 800m, flaps up and turn on course to bit.ly/Area_KV-001. Jeb will climb to 2.5km, level off to build up speed then slowly continue to climb to at least 6km

starting their climb, Jeb will look to stay above 120m/s so they can make it to Sheltered Rock not long after sunset. Val has signed off with Flight as they drop below the horizon. We'll monitor their progress again as they pass Kravass

passing through 4km we have the Deuce back on comms thru Kravass. Jeb reports air is slightly turbulent but nothing to cause any deviation from their flight plan. Weather to the north has improved and mission has a GO to continue, will not divert to KGA

photo taken a few mins ago, Deuce is now crossing The Wall, the northern-most mountain range in our region (of which Kravass is at the left-end), running roughly 123km east to west. This was the source of earlier weather concern & further north than any aircraft has flown before

Val has signed off as they continue north out of sight from Kravass, with just over 300km to go. We'll hear from them again when they come into view of Sheltered Rock sometime around 17-1800 UTC. We've wished them both a safe flight

Sheltered Rock has patched us through to the Deuce. Jeb & Val report they had to abort their mission due to radiation hazard. Enough daylight remained as they neared SRG to allow them to visually setup their approach towards the mountains

with the sun recently set, Deuce crew had the pleasure of watching the light recede up the peak of this mountain as they flew by just a few minutes earlier

Val is now in command and has begun their descent from 6.9km through a gap in the clouds. Weather has already been deemed favorable or they would have diverted back to Kravass. Conditions are important - nighttime approach through mountainous terrain is a serious hazard

using colored beacons to steer clear of the tallest peaks and keep track of their location, coming up now on final approach which is just one long turn onto short final with a steep 10° descent to the runway at up to 140m/s - it's quite a ride!

applying full reverse thrust while still short of the runway, Deuce crossed the threshold traveling 102m/s and came to a full stop after a little over 1km. First nighttime approach and landing is in the books, in addition to new flight time & distance records

Deuce is parked and shut down. Flight instructor Aldeny caught their landing. Jeb & Val will stay through the weekend to help Aldeny & Helta setup an advanced flight training school. We'll get more info on their mission abort during debrief

Deuce mission debrief reveals Jeb & Val got increased radiation warnings from the onboard instrument. They did not receive dangerous dosages but possibly only because they didn't stick around long. Scientists will be studying data further the remainder of this week

although the flight was unable to reach the contract area on the Northern Ice Shelf, many megabytes of science data were still gathered from over the Tundra and Ice Caps. That and the discovery of polar radiation are all still big wins for this mission

Val sent us another photo from her last flight looking at Mun and Minmus with Sarnus, Urlum and Neidon. As you can see by the cockpit, she hasn't turned the camera sideways that's just how things look from higher latitudes. Remember: you're standing on a sphere

review of data from the last Deuce flight shows that Jeb & Val definitely flew into radiation coming from outer space. We'll have more in the Ops Summary covering the implications of these findings - which are actually exciting and good

the advanced flight school at Sheltered Rock is set to begin pilot training next month, eventually receiving new Deuce aircraft as well as C7's new plant comes online in May. Jeb and Val will be returning to KSC tomorrow