Dhumla Ground Trial 1

current Deuce cleared for flights, new Deuce ordered with some improvements planned and the K-3X project has been approved to design a new cargo aircraft. Details: kerbalspace.agency/?p=6741

doesn't look like Jeb & Val will be making it home today either. Airships can manage high winds as they can always point into it for takeoff/landing. The K-3X will be larger & more capable of handling >20kts crosswinds

KSC Operations Cease Indefinitely Due to Legal Injunction: kerbalspace.agency/?p=6892

Don't panic! Sadly our operational capacity has been drastically reduced but the KSA is not being shut down

sunset from the Umbarg access tunnel as we end our last day of operations at KSC for at least the next 2-3 weeks. The last of onsite staff will be departing tomorrow after final equipment shutdowns are complete

the R-3350-26W Duplex-Cyclone ("Dee Psych") engine will be what powers the Deuce moving forward, as well as the K-3X. It is the 1st engine designed specifically for fixed-wing flight and is 1.5x more powerful than the current PT6 in use, with three 4m propeller blades and nine cylinders. Image is to scale

today we completed our 5th orbit 'round the sun since the KSA began operations back in late 2016. Happy Kerbol anniversary! Jeb & Val also returned to Umbarg via airship after spending more time with the advanced training unit

the 50th Civvie rolled off the assembly line today at C7's Kravass plant, which will be ending Civvie production by May and setting up for K-3X builds - Civvies and Deuces will be assembled at the new Sheltered Rock facility

fortunately we expect to have majority support in the Assembly as well as the backing of the Presider so hopes are high we can get all this ratified in a matter of weeks instead. Still - well played, Monolithic followers. Well played.

the fight to resume surface operations continues, get additional information on that and more via bit.ly/OpSummary3-5-18 - a relaxing weekend is wished upon all

our legal team isn't just *our* legal team, unfortunately, so while we'd like them to get these laws rewritten and put through for review by the Assembly posthaste they do have to deal with the needs of their other clients as well

find out more about the Ascension Mk1 designs released earlier this week via bit.ly/OpSummary3-12-… and tell us - are you doing anything sciencey this weekend?

the new offices still have to be setup with equipment and everything wired up but it should be all set for our return. Although the underground areas could be used before then, pointless to do so without any ongoing operations at KSC

not much to review this week, so here's an update on the shutdown as well as details of Extremis Phase Two calculations: bit.ly/OpSummary3-19-…

the amended laws have been submitted to the Assembly, which should get around to reviewing them sometime next week. We did our best to speed up the legislative process but there's only so much that can be done...

we are one step closer to getting operations back underway at KSC. That and more in bit.ly/OpSummary3-26-… - we hope everyone enjoys a relaxing weekend!

bit.ly/OpSummary4-2-18 gives some additional details on what our objectives are for the first Ascension flights prior to going for orbit. Have a great weekend everyone!

KSC will re-open for operations this week! We will endeavor to show the Presider that his potential "sacrifice" will not be in vain and we thank him immensely for his support. Read more on the operations restart here: kerbalspace.agency/?p=7024

shortly after sunrise and KSC stands ready to resume operations as we complete our initial move back onto campus today. Will take another week or so to complete the transition but activities will pick up & a rocket will be back on the pad soon!

Jeb and Val head off to debriefing after parking next to the one Civvie still deployed to the tarmac (other two are in the hangar). Yup, Deuce is pretty big but it in turn will soon be dwarfed by the upcoming K-3X (which we should have lots more info on next month)

we have an early design render of the K-3X. Significant changes could still occur but C7 says they are close to locking in the final design. The final aircraft designation will be K-#[engine count]##[wingspan in meters]

Jeb & Val have just completed their final mission for the Genesis program! Tomorrow they will officially transfer over with Bob and Bill to Ascension and begin to focus solely on training for space flight

the current design of the K-3X has a wingspan that is too large to fit in the HAB or other hangars at various airports. Engineers are working to design a mechanism that can attach the final wing segment rigidly for flight but allow it to fold up on the ground

K-3X was the code designation for all prior aircraft projects, but names were chosen early on in development. The Civvie is K-108 while the Deuce is K-213. If anyone has ideas for what to call the latest K-3X, send them over!

what a week! Lots to do now before we're ready to send up the second Mk1 next month, learn about that and more on what else transpired at KSC via bit.ly/OpSummary6-4-18

in addition to the ASA approval, design time was lengthened when new engines had to be designed with a smaller blade radius due to the aircraft's extremely low ground clearance. Deuce engines couldn't put thrust vector below/equal center of mass w/o props striking ground

what should we nickname the K-422? Willing to take suggestions but so far have not received a single one, so last chance! We'll announce a name next week if we haven't heard any good ideas by the end of tomorrow

we hope everyone has some cool and exciting plans for this weekend! Before you go, catch up on all the latest stuff that happened this week along with additional supplementary information via bit.ly/OpSummary6-25-…

C7 Aerospace has decided to name the K-422 the "Dhumla" (pronounced Dum-lar), derived from ancient kerbskrit from a tale of the 4 rivers of life. This aircraft certainly can't fly without 4 engines! Thx for the suggestion, @BenThrussell

work still being done to see about upgrading our runway here at KSC to handle night operations while also setting up controlled airspace to handle commercial aircraft traffic to serve as the airport for Umbarg

the deceptively calm outward appearance of KSC

construction on the Dhumla kicks off today. Despite its size and taking up 443 square meters of floor space in the HAB, we have a total of 3,102m^2  to shuffle around our 1 Deuce (119m^2) and 3 Civvies (43m^2) - and those are all including the empty space between wings & tail

new approach lights have been installed at the ends of both turf runways to make them easier to spot when landing in low light conditions without the need for a co-pilot with binoculars, which you can't have when piloting a Civvie

other than the delays everyone else experienced during the heat wave shutdown, the Dhumla is progressing well in its construction and remains on pace to be completed in September, albeit later in the month that originally planned. Main fuselage assembly set to finish next week

project scientists are monitoring the Monolith for any signs of its old subsonic/EM disturbances as well as the crystal veins locally and off in Kravass & Umbarg for any electrical activity. So far, all signs point to the Monolith remaining inactive

only when needed to fit into a hangar like the one at KSC, which has ridiculously small doors 😛 Other airports don't have any much bigger either tho

high-level KSA staff meeting will be held tomorrow to work up a full assessment of the current situation and decide what steps will be taken moving forward over the next several days. We will have details in our Ops Summary

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

we now know the EM field is still active because the bore hole is in fact continuing to fill, just at a pace now only measurable in days. New estimates say it could take as long as 3 months to heal. Here is an updated report for the past 2 weeks: kerbalspace.agency/?p=7933

we've finished transferring what equipment we can from KSC to Umbarg HQ so programs can continue development work as best as possible. Progeny still analyzing Mk6 debris. Extremis plotting trajectories. Ascension reviewing capsule tests. Genesis prepping Dhumla test requirements

while other airports could support the continued construction of the Dhumla if we were to move the assembly offsite, none of them are good places to loft a brand new aircraft. The low altitude and flat terrain around KSC is the ideal flight testing environment

although we pulled a net profit for mission expenses, the cost of buying up parts for 5 new Ascension Mk1 rockets, even minus the engines, has once again set us back in the red. August financial report is now available: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

today work was begun on our dirt runway thru October. It will be broken down to ground level and rebuilt to handle heavier aircraft, leveled back at is previous height and then paved over. Edge lighting will also be installed so takeoffs and landings can be done at night

✨🎊 happy birthday to us!! 🎉✨ Today marks the start of Year 3 for KSA operations. Our founder and Ops Director @DKerman_KSA has some words to share on the current state of things 🥂 kerbalspace.agency/?p=8039

the Dhumla main fuselage remains at KSC mostly complete in the HAB but other major components like wings and engines have been shipped out to Kravass and Sheltered Rock for completion, so once possible we can integrate them all back at KSC

Head of Finances Mortimer hasn't had much bookkeeping to do this past month but thanks to KerBalloon we have a small profit to post for September at least docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…

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

the Dhumla components would also be returned to KSC for final assembly to be completed by the end of the year so we could begin flight testing in January as well. We may at least be able to air-launch a Progeny Mk1-B from a Deuce before the end of the year however

taken earlier this day cycle from atop Building B in the Support Village, progress being made on the new runway - about half has been broken down & that half will begin to be rebuilt and paved while the other half is broken down

bit.ly/KSA_Finances_1… has been posted by Head of Finances Mortimer. We managed a small profit this month thanks to the science missions that were able to be carried out off campus

we are now just 2 days from projected closure of the bore hole into the crystal base of the Monolith. EM field remains stable - scientists were hoping to see it begin to reduce by now. A large influx of pilgrims has begun to arrive for what they believe will be an event this wknd

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

no time off this weekend! Everyone is pitching in to begin getting the KSC buildings affected by the EM field back up to operational status by the end of the month, including the VAB and HAB so work can resume on Ascension, Progeny and Genesis projects in December

today & tomorrow we will be receiving the assembled wings and tail sections for the Dhumla to undergo final integration in the HAB during December, aiming for first flight testing in late January assuming ground tests go well

all the pieces are in place - well the big ones at least. Lots of little details like lighting still to be installed after the wings & tail section are joined. Too bad they can't just snap together. A few hundred meters of wires/cables also need to be hooked up over the next 2wks

all crew have been recalled this weekend to begin active duty once again starting next week. Everyone else is still working through the weekend and almost around the clock to get KSC back to operational status. Right now that's looking like sometime towards the end of next week

the fiscal roller coaster ride continues this year, as Head of Finances Mortimer has published bit.ly/FinanceReport_…. We're glad though Genesis was able to afford to continue Dhumla production off-site so it could be ready for testing sooner rather than later

Lead Engineer Simon says the HAB and VAB are ready to get back to work, but Flight Director Lanalye is still waiting for Mission/Launch Control to be brought back online, as it contains the most electronic components. She says mid-next week should see them fully operational again

Flight Director Lanalye and her team are moving back into Mission/Launch Control today, will be spending the rest of the week running drills and tests to ensure all the systems are back to full operational status after the repairs

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

good report from the HAB, which is buzzing with activity as the Dhumla continues its structural assembly while the Progeny Mk1-B is also being mounted on the tail of the Deuce & today's Civvie begins its science instrument integration

the Dhumla is structurally complete a day ahead of schedule! Still needs gear, lights and plenty of interior work but it remains on track to begin flight testing towards the end of January. Aldy & Ted both say they can hardly wait

2018 operations have officially ceased! We will resume operations on Jan 2nd, 2019. We are very pleased we were able to squeeze in so much this final week, here is one last Ops Summary to close out the year: kerbalspace.agency/?p=8189

given the financial struggle we had this year, ending up with a huge loss, Head of Finances Mortimer is going to be looking very carefully at whether it was our fault in over-reaching ambition or more a matter of unfortunate external circumstances (*cough*Monolith*cough*)

🎊🎉 HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 🎉🎊

we hope everyone is having a great holiday and look forward to hitting the ground running tomorrow to begin solidifying our plans for 2019, which is looking to be another exciting year for space exploration 🥂✨

operational teams from all our programs will be meeting over the course of this week to review 2018 and solidify plans for 2019. We'll have all the details next week about new launch times as well as any additional 2019 goals we didn't mention in our last tweet

our bit.ly/OpsSummary_1-4… is now posted in case you missed anything that transpired this short week. Also, @DKerman_KSA has more information about the Patreon/Ko-Fi announcement earlier today in his Desk Notes that should address any questions/concerns

we didn't have nearly as many photos to sort through this past year as we did at the end of 2017 so we've already picked out our top 100 images from 2018: flickr.com/photos/kerbal_… overall favorite is the Ascension Mk1 going vertical for the 1st time

the airstrip is planned to be completed in March or April. Meanwhile this victory signals that a shift towards more fixed-wing aviation is finally happening & the deal for KSC to become an aircraft hub for Umbarg seems more like a possibility

being stuck underground for so long gave society an excuse to develop a new way to mark the passage of time, but we still like to make note of a "kerbolar year" on occasions like today - the start of our 8th trip around the sun since the KSA was founded back in Sep 2016! 🥂🎉✨

Dhumla is finally holding its own weight, resting on the landing gear that completed installation today - the final major component. Now HAB crews are just finalizing some internal work before the aircraft is ready for ground testing next week!

Dhumla is complete enough that Tedman & Aldeny can sit in the actual cockpit and work through checklists rather than rely on a simulator. They'll be training and testing systems aboard the aircraft this week to ensure all is ready for ground trials next week

bit.ly/KSARecords has also been updated for Longest Mission Distance, Longest Single Flight Distance, Longest Continuous Flight Time, Longest Distance from KSC and Heaviest Aircraft Flown. Only Jeb & Val's altitude, speed, & Gs records are still intact

today the Dhumla will undergo its final closeouts as HAB workers continue to work through several hundred items, checking things off as they go to ensure the aircraft was constructed as it was supposed to be and ready to begin ground trials leading up to flight testing

we have two celebrations going on today - one in the VAB for the success of today's mission and another in the HAB for the completion of the Dhumla, which will be deployed tomorrow to begin its ground testing ahead of flight trials