All the parts are ready to be fitted together in the Horizontal Assembly Building to create the first Mk8 that will launch on its pathfinding mission later this month
Asteroids of January 2021 (2/3/21)
13 known asteroids encountered our SOI this month with 1 impact. 2020 had everyone hopeful the amount of monthly encounters was trending downwards but it's looking like the asteroid threat is not abating anytime soon
Terminal Eclipse (2/4/21)
Just as the sun sets over the western horizon the shadow of Mun falls over KSC, which is why the sky to the south looks brighter at this time
Ascension Mk3 WDR (2/5/21)
For the first time the Mk3 heads to the launch pad atop the Mobile Launch Platform to perform a Wet Dress Rehearsal to confirm the Ground Service Equipment is functioning properly and that the rocket's plumbing & GSE connections were assembled correctly
Standing Tall (2/10/21)
Reaching up 16.78m in height is just one of several records the Ascension Mk3 will be breaking on its maiden flight, now one step closer as the full rocket undergoes prelaunch checks on the pad
Launchpad Eclipse (2/12/21)
The last time we happened to have a rocket out on the pad during a sunrise eclipse was back in 2017. It was so much smaller...
Duna and Moho slide past each other, heading in opposite directions with Duna rising and Moho setting, along with Eve to the lower right. As close as they appear, if you zoomed in they would be further apart than the size of Minmus, the sliver of which you can make out up to the right of the planetary pair
Ready to Roll (1/19/21)
Mounted up and secured upon the carry vehicle a Progeny Mk6 Block II rocket prepares to head for the launch pad to be attached to its launch base
Night Launch Upcoming (1/20/21)
A Progeny Mk6 Block II stands ready on the launch pad as the sun begins to dip behind the VAB. Minmus and Mun can be seen hanging out together in the sky above
Progeny Mk6 Block II No.4 (1/20/21)
The final Mk6 heads for space in a spectacular night launch to further explore the radiation belts with student-built experiments as part of the Kerbal Sounding Program
Progeny Mk8 (1/21/21)
A radical departure from past Progeny rockets thanks to a new partnership with Luciole, who bought out USI last year. This will breathe new life into the Progenitor program, which will still serve as a small-scale test bed but now also have the capability to send small payloads up into orbit or beyond. This first new generation rocket will be a pathfinder for thrust vector control and engine clustering
Kerbin III Arrives (1/22/21)
Our off-site payload assembly facility in Umbarg has delivered the Kerbin III satellite to be integrated with its payload base, encapsulated in its fairing and hoisted atop the Ascension Mk3 rocket. Before this though and just a day before launch the RTG will be installed
Full Mun (1/26/21)
Mun hangs above KSC with Sarnus and Jool while Minmus also lingers up above. When it is full, it looks red because it has to pass through Kerbin's shadow and the red light bending through the atmosphere falls on it. After coming out of Kerbin's umbra it occulted Sarnus for 18 minutes
Progeny Mk8 Orbital Stage (1/26/21)
Built and tested at Luciole's factory, the vacuum engine and its fuel tank have arrived at KSC via the railroad and will be fitted with its flight hardware (RCS, gyros, avionics, battery etc) in the HAB
Ascension Mk3 Stacking (1/27/21)
Vertical integration has begun for the Ascension Mk3, with the lifter stage being placed atop the Mobile Launch Platform. Then will come the orbital stage and finally the payload over the next week
The Great Opposition of Sarnus (1/28/21)
During this opposition when Sarnus was also near perikelion the 10m scope at ATN Central took its eye off deep space for a new photo of Sarnus, the highest-resolution image of the planet and its moons taken to date. Tekto sports shiny features that are suspected to be clouds, you can make out surface features on Slate and even see one of the ring's shepherd moons, Ovok. Unfortunately perikelion coincides with ascending node and the rings are almost completely edge on at this time
Full Cluster Fire (1/29/21)
All 7 engines that will lift the Progeny Mk8 have been successfully integrated to the structural plate and fired without issue. They will be the same ones to take the first Mk8 to space later next month
For the first time an entire year was spent by our crew mostly in training, with the fewest amount of actual missions carried out - such is the complex nature of space flight!
2020 Year in Review - Surface Operations (12/29/20)
KerBalloon missions were as numerous as last year and mission time was nearly doubled on average as surface expeditions became more far-flung & long-lasting. The successful use of orbital comms tested this year has everyone excited to really open up surface exploration in 2021
Reused and Retired (12/29/20)
The first engine to be recovered and reused for a second launch, the solid-fuel Boostertron II, now has its own place in our Rocket Garden on the main lawn of KSC
2020 Year in Review - Atmospheric Flight (12/30/20)
we got in a few flights this year before the Genesis program was shuttered. Fixed-wing aircraft development remains alive with C7 Aerospace Division and missions like those previously flown by Commander Valentina & Captain Jebediah are now handled by a growing pool of commercial aviators
WildCat-V Production Article (12/30/20)
The first flight-ready engine to come out of the KW Rocketry factory, it will hopefully power our Ascension Mk3 later in 2021 if all goes well during qualification trials over the next 3 months
2020 Mission Cadence (12/31/20)
although we did have a shutdown of the rocketry programs early this year, there was no shutdown of the entire Agency at any point and we at least got off one mission each month in 2020, continuing the streak that went through 2019 as well. Planning to keep it alive in 2021!
2020 Year in Review - Rocket Flight (12/31/20)
Even though overall launch count was down from last year, the missions were much more complex, including our first ever orbital missions launched from the Ascension Mk2 and getting the rest of our crew up into space via the Mk1. The Mk7-B helped qualify the reusable boosters for the upcoming Ascension Mk3 as well as paving the way for the Progeny Mk8. Ironically, our Progeny Mk6 missions, technically the easiest, did not fare well
2020 Year in Review - Orbital Operations (1/1/21)
For the first time we get to look at some stats from missions that circled the planet multiple times, something we plan to do a lot more often in 2021
Celestial Sandwich (1/3/21)
Mun hangs between Sarnus and Jool. The former's largest moon Slate can be seen while Jool's moons are in better positions to be viewed and we can see Vall, Tylo and Laythe
KSC 2021 (1/4/21)
A look at the Kerbal Space Center at the start of the new year. Not much is planned for expansion this year except for increasing the capacity of the Support Village, possibly adding an air traffic control tower if commercial activity continues to increase and maybe a new launch/mission control center
Asteroids of December 2020 (1/4/21)
13 known asteroids, two of which impacted (one dangerously close to ATN/DSN South) capped off a busier year than expected. 2020 got off to a slow start we had hoped would continue but gradually picked back up near to levels seen in 2019, with an average of 9 encounters per month as opposed to 12 the year before
Eve & Minmus Double Occultation (1/5/21)
This rare event was captured by astrophotographer Thileg Kerman, who traveled out to the west shore desert to be able to see it, positioning himself so that both Minmus and Eve were set to be occulted by Mun. Moving to a higher or lower latitude would have caused one or the other to miss. If it had gotten lighter any sooner he would have had to have charted a maritime vessel to take this photo from the sea. Gilly is also just visible at the rim of Mun
2021 Asteroid Census (1/7/21)
the Main Asteroid Belt becomes the undisputed king of the kerbolar system, knocking NKOs completely off the charts for size and mass. Astronomers suspect however that a lot more lurks in the outer system where scopes cannot yet see objects well enough
Kerbin Surface Impacts 2020 (1/11/21)
Known water impacts now shown as well. Circles depict the relative magnitude detected by seismic sensors. Detection rates improved as expect to 72% over the 56% from last year (for impacts over land only) however that's still not good enough. The largest impact we did not see occurred near the same latitude as KSC, which means had Kerbin's rotation been a little different it could have fallen on top of us instead. Scary! Thankfully we did at least see the one that almost hit ATN/DSN South and were able to evacuate the facility and prepare the delicate instruments for seismic shock. The impact turned out to be non-threatening
Ascension Build Status (1/13/21)
The lifter for the Mk3 has begun to receive its solid rocket motors while the second stage gets ready to be fully assembled while waiting on its engine. The Mk1 lifter in the background is just getting started with a mate to its engine
Five of Seven (1/14/21)
Increasing the count of clustered engines from 3 to 5 has caused no issues during multiple test runs and we will now be installing the final two engines that will lift the first Progeny Mk8 later this year
Kerbin III (1/15/21)
The largest satellite yet to head to space and will be paving the way for several future missions, testing new power and propulsion tech as well as sciencing the inner and outer radiation belts over a period of weeks or hopefully months!
Although we've featured numerous photos of Mun and Minmus sharing the sky together this is a bit different as its shadow passes by Minmus during a kerbolar eclipse over KSC
Off to the Pad (12/7/20)
A Progeny Mk6 Block I makes its way slowly from the HAB out to the launch pad, passing behind rather than in front of Launch Control in order to have an easier time turning towards the pad
Aligned and Ready (12/7/20)
A Progeny Mk6 Block I rocket waits for launch, aimed southeast to avoid the inner radiation belt as it travels through space. It will easily clear the lighting towers although it is not directly pointed at any of them
Progeny Mk6 Block I No.17 (12/8/20)
Carrying student experiments up into space for the Kerbal Sounding Program, launching to the southeast to avoid the inner radiation belt, following the same flight path as the 4th rocket of this type back in 2018
Thin Blue Shield (12/10/20)
That's the atmosphere, all 70km of it, protecting us from the harshness of space. Incredible
Celestrial String (12/13/20)
The four brightest plants Eve, Jool, Sarnus and Moho visible well into the dawn light, with Mun up top for good measure
Topping Off the Top (12/14/20)
A tanker truck pumps fuel and oxidizer up into the tanks atop the third stage of the Progeny Mk6 Block II as it undergoes a wet dress rehearsal in readiness for launch
Perfect Launch Weather - If Only... (12/15/20)
Looking down at KSC (yellow dot) the space center sits near the middle of a high-pressure region bringing clear skies but due to tanking issues yesterday that resulted in an explosion damaging the rocket, there will be no Progeny Mk6 Block II launch today to close out 2020
The spacecraft will be the first capable of carrying kerbals into orbit as well as probes to other planets
Clearer Sunrise (11/14/20)
Out first orbital photo from Kerbin I was of a sunrise but the camera was damaged from unplanned travel through the outer radiation belt and the image quality was not great. We have now rectified this with a crisp image from Kerbin II
Duna & Jool Appulse (11/15/20)
On a dark Mun-less night, taken from the deck of the Astronaut Complex looking west shortly after sunset. Jool and Duna pass each other in the night sky
Peeking into Shadow (11/17/20)
Looking over the terminator Kerbin II spies Minmus next to a red Mun, currently deep in Kerbin's shadow undergoing an eclipse. The red light bending through the atmosphere still strikes it and colors it so
Luciole Vacuum Engine Test (11/18/20)
The rocket company that is designing the Progeny Mk8, set to debut in 2021, has begun to test its vacuum engine - just for function of course not performance. Note the plume under-expansion due to air pressure. In space the plume will expand to properly fit the nozzle and produce as much as 12kN of thrust
Busy HAB (11/18/20)
The Progenitor program is making use of the ample space withing the Horizontal Assembly Building to put together the three Progeny Mk6 rockets that will capping of our operational year this month and December
A low-altitude KerBalloon begins its ascent to 16.5km from the grasslands southeast of the Sea Ring crater rim
Mun Shadow (10/14/20)
Kerbin II caught up to the shadow cast by Mun as it eclipsed the sun traveling over the ocean between DSN Central and Arekibo
Minmus & Duna Appulse (10/15/20)
Wandering through the sky due to its inclined orbit, Minmus doesn't always come so close to the planets and this pass with Duna was close enough to be able to resolve the red planet (and its large moon Ike) in the same frame as our furthest moon. At the time this photo was taken Duna was 19,841,966km from Kerbin
Mun is Not Alone (10/15/20)
Although it looks lonely up there, it is currently accompanied by a tiny companion as the asteroid Alaba swings through its SOI during the time this photo was taken. It will be the last time, the 49th on record, because this pass will give the asteroid a push and send it back out into orbit around the sun after being a companion to Kerbin for almost 3 years
Alaba's Journey (10/18/20)
a look at all 50 trajectories that resulted in 49 Mun encounters during its nearly 3yr stay in orbit
Sunrise Departure (10/18/20)
A Dhumla heavy-lift cargo aircraft departs from KSC at sunrise, one of many aircraft that pass through the space center, which acts as a commercial freight hub for the nearby cavern of Umbarg
Payload Integration (10/19/20)
The smallsat prototype from Luciole Space Systems is getting its final checkout in the HAB prior to being lifted up atop the waiting Progeny Mk7-B rocket
Overlooking KSC (10/21/20)
Traveling south of the Cape the Kerbin II probe looks "upwards" along Kerbin to spy the coastline of the continent upon which rests KSC, partly obscured by clouds
Kerbin II looks down upon the central uplift of the antipode to the Sea Ring crater, atop which sits the DSN/ATN Central communications/observatory facilities at an altitude of 3.759 km
Asteroids of September 2020 (10/1/20)
Although a near-record month was expected, thankfully things fizzled out and only 7 known asteroids whizzed past, with no recorded impacts
Reset for Progeny (10/1/20)
The Mobile Launch Platform has been rolled back to the VAB and the support legs along with engine mount are now in place to prepare for the upcoming Progeny Mk7-B launches this month
Shores of the Kongo (10/2/20)
Near the mouth of the longest river on Kerbin a high-altitude KerBalloon begins its ascent to collect weather data
New Orbital Data (10/2/20)
Astronomers have confirmed that Alaba will indeed be ejected from the Kerbin system later this month
New Orbital Data (10/2/20)
Astronomers have confirmed that Alaba will indeed be ejected from the Kerbin system later this month
Vertical in the HAB (10/2/20)
Although it's mostly assembled horizontally we still like to stand the rocket up prior to rollout to ensure that vertical loads are properly handled by the various structural support elements
Getting Wet (10/5/20)
A Progeny Mk7-B rocket sits on the pad getting fueled up with liquid propellants so it can undergo a wet dress rehearsal to ensure the ground service equipment is functioning properly ahead of launch the next day
Progeny Mk7-B No.3 (10/6/20)
Still attempting a mission success for the Mk7-B, although it appeared to go alright upon recovery it was discovered the lower part of the rocket had broken off during re-entry, so the engine was not recovered
Recovered & Reused (10/6/20)
The first stage booster from a Progeny Mk7-B launch is trucked back to the HAB after being recovered offshore so it can be stripped of flight hardware and sent back to its manufacturer Periapsis Co. to be refurbished and recast with solid fuel so it can be used again for a 4th time. This was the first booster recovered that had also been previously used, twice on the static-fire stand in this case prior to being used in a flight
Inner & Outer (10/8/20)
Two inner planets and two outer planets hanging out together, with Duna and Neidon near appulse, or their closest apparent visual distance to one another. They look close but Neidon is so far away that if you zoomed in to resolve Duna you still couldn't resolve Neidon. Also it's really dark out when no Mun is in the sky
Mk1-B Capsule Mockup (10/7/20)
Arriving on the train, the mockup is a partly-functional version of our new kerbed space capsule that will be used for exercises. It can't go to space but will allow us to certify that it is capable of recovery
Crispy Re-Entry (10/7/20)
The downwards facing camera lenses quickly get toasted during re-entry but the booster cam also has an upwards facing camera that can still see the heat and flames caused by air friction as the Progeny MK7-B comes falling back from space at over 1km/s
Sea Ring Crater (10/8/20)
Site of the massive impact that forced kerbal civilization underground after nearly wiping us out completely. The uplift in the center is home to the Arekibo Radio Observatory, a massive 200m kerb-made bowl that gathers faint signals from the cosmos and can also beam radio waves up into space. The Deep Space Network and Asteroid Tracking Network also have a presence there. Photo taken by Kerbin II near its 227km apokee
we’ve also placed another order for K2-X engines. This latest Ascension Mk3 mission has shown we want to move faster than planned to the Mk4 so the thrust vector control version of the WildCat-V will begin development immediately and we will order more when that is ready
a final round of static fires last week has completed the WildCat-V’s second qualification run & we’ll know for sure by next month if it is finally ready for production. If so, two will be ready by Q3 2021 for Extremis I and a Min/Minmus mission
the Viklun upper stage will be systematically dismantled to help determine the cause of the flexing and what effect it had on the overall structural integrity of the rocket. The damage from splashdown will reduce these findings but hopefully the effort will still prove valuable
onboard vid shows the pitch oscillations during the Ascension Mk3’s ascent were way worse than we imagined – the *entire rocket flexed* 😱 inherent structural issue? Could also be from the air pressure at the nose (think boat bow slamming up & down on hvy seas) from shallow angle
when the Viklun stage splashed down the empty fuel tanks blew out, helping to alleviate impact pressure on the payload but fragments pierced the flight computer & damaged the flash memory. Onboard tlm data was lost but the ops log final mins were able to be pieced back together
one of the things that led to the win was research done by KSA scientists to prove that asteroids contain mineral wealth which could greatly alleviate the need for surface mining. We are committed to working on a system of space resource gathering for deployment later this decade
here we can say we are actually working closely with Monolithic followers to protect Kerbin’s pristine environment that developed after the asteroid strike. A major victory was won today in court with a 5-year moratorium established against surface mining
the KSA has been involved for the past two years, led by a legal team put together by Lead Scientist Cheranne, in helping environmentalists to fight against companies looking to incorporate with the purpose of mining the surface of Kerbin to extract raw materials
at this time we do not know the nature of the threat or the time frame, but given that we have suffered an attack in the past (kerbalspace.agency/?p=9965) we have no choice but to take this seriously & deal with the relatively minor inconvenience compared to a potential loss of life
there is also now apparently a threat against KSC and we have complied with orders from the government security forces earlier today that the entire facility be evacuated. We will continue to operate at limited capacity from our HQ in Umbarg until the threat has passed
the original plan to develop a 1.25m TVC vacuum engine was put on hold to instead work on the 1m vac engine suitable for payloads and also because our experience with the Progeny Mk7 made us want to get more TVC engineering data from the Mk8 for a fully TVC Ascension Mk4 by 2022
in putting together the Ascension Mk3 mission report timeline (kerbalspace.agency/?p=11619), since it is the first, we go all the way back thru the rocket’s development as well. That reminded us of this tweet outlining the Mk3’s design goals. What happened to the TVC vacuum engine?
the Viklun stage & Kerbin III have been transported via rail back to KSC after arriving in port at Umbarg on Sunday. We still have to confirm that Kerbin III remains fit for flight but visual inspection looks good. Entire Viklun stage will need to be rebuilt but that was expected
we are working on a full launch video but here is a look at initial ascent and booster drop from the ground tracking cam atop the Tracking Station & cam atop the crew tower. Bonus to upper-stage recovery is that we will get high FPS video from the booster camera for once!
our crew did not miss the launch and are excited to one day ride this rocket up into orbit. Several years ago they didn’t know for sure if they’d even get to take a ride up into space yet! The final frontier is broadening bit by bit…
post-launch operations wrapping up with the final booster heading back to the VAB where it will be inspected with the others before being shipped back to Periapsis Co. in Umbarg for refurbishment. Rocket should be back at KSC by Tuesday
