Flight Officer Aldeny takes out one of our 3 Civvie aircraft that has been unused for the entire year and ensures all systems are in working order so it can rotate into being the new operational aircraft
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Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
with Monolith activities (hopefully) continuing to wind down and KSC slowly coming back to full operation, you can recap the whole sequence of events that began back in early August with this chronological timeline: twitter.com/KSA_MissionCtr…
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
we have confirmation from Flight Director Lanalye that all systems are GO over at Mission/Launch Control! Monday will see more drills, flight prep and a Deuce flight for final system checks before repeating the release rehearsal that was interrupted back in August
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
both our operational aircraft have been rolled back out to the tarmac after having their electronic systems checked and repaired where necessary. Later today Ted & Aldy will take up the Deuce to ensure everything is in working order prior to its next mission
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
the Civvie is #3 of three we maintain and rotate through service. It will have a checkout flight tomorrow and if all is well the atmospheric scoop will be removed from Civvie #2 and mounted on this one for a sampling mission later this week
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
sun is rising & Flight Officer Aldeny is heading out to preflight for departure. This Civvie was not active during the Monolith EM field so its electronics are okay but it has not been flown at all this year so before starting missions we want to ensure it is in good condition
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
Aldy has commed Flight that he is rdy to taxi to the active, which is Rwy09 again today. Weather is whipping up out to sea according to maritime reports which is why flight is not later after dark. Arriving storm could decrease visibility - night ops still require VFR conditions
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
good departure a few minutes ago as Aldy went into a steep climb after only ~400m of roll. He'll do various other performance checks, engine checks and control checks as he flies SW towards Umbarg, climbing to as high as 4km ASL
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
everything going great, Aldy has already turned back towards KSC and has been given clearance to begin his descent to land back on Rwy09, as weather conditions are beginning to worsen sooner than anticipated. But we have enough data to know Civvie is working just fine
Kerbal Space Agency
@KSA_MissionCtrl
after a bit of a battle with crosswinds Aldy is back on the ground taxiing to the HAB so the Atmospheric Fluid Spectro-Variometer can be attached for its science mission later this week, becoming the active Civvie while the other two stand down unless they are needed
