Kerbal Space Program 0.9 Career 3

Channel:

TroZ

Subscribers:

909

Published on December 23, 2014 6:07:07 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0GEcF-TbHA

Game:

Kerbal Space Program (2015)

Duration: 1:02:43

1,810 views

8

The KSP 0.9 Career mode continues in this video!

We unlocked the second version of the launch pad last time, and we hope to get in orbit this time, but first we are going to get just a bit more science. We take two contracts, one for testing the hydraulic detachment manifolds and one for testing the Rockomax 48-7S engine, both at about 10 km and both going about 500 m/s. This is rather fast, so we use a small rocket with 4 solid boosters to do this.

We are able to test the detachment manifolds on the way up, but were going too fast for the engine. However, once on the way down, the drag keeps slows up a bit allowing the engine test to succeed. We land safely and have our kerbalnaut gather a bit more science (See Scott Manley's video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEQ0qKa4X2Y ).

Using the science earned, we unlock science tech, including the Science Jr. and also Flight Control, which gives us our first probe core. With these unlocked, it is time to go for orbit!

We take the achieve orbit contract, and also a contract for testing the LV-T45 engine in orbit. We then head to the VAB to construct a rocket to fulfill those contracts. We start with the one man command pod, and a 1/4 fuel tank and the LV-T45 engine. With a pair of parachutes, this will be our test / return stage. To get in into orbit we have a stack tri-coupler with three standard tanks and a LV-T45 engine in each stack, and connected to each is a radial decoupler with a BACC medium solid fuel booster.

We launch and get up to about 7 km before the solid boosters are dropped. Shortly thereafter we begin our gravity turn. We only have the three fuel tanks for each engine, and this needs to get us into orbit if we are to test the engine in the last stage, so we are careful with the fuel, cutting the engine when our apoapsis hits 75 km. At this point I try to plan our next maneuver, but notice that we don't have that unlocked yet. So I wait until we are close to apoapsis and begin firing the engines again. Looking at the map, I stop thrusting when I notice the apoapsis has moved up to 150 km. It turn out we aren't in a true orbit yet, as the periapsis is just below 70 km. We are basically on fumes, so we coast up close to apoapsis, and briefly fire the engine to raise periapsis. The gets us in a true orbit and completes that contract! We wait until we are below 100 km, stage and fire the engine of the final stage, and that completes the other contract.

With both contracts complete, we fire out engine to slow down and attempt to land near KSC. We are off on our guess, and wind up coming down in the ocean west of KSC. We do land in the water safely though, and get a recovery rate of about 87%. With the completed contracts, we wind up with 17 science for a total of 74 and 153,000 funds. At this point we upgrade Mission Control so we can take up to 7 contracts at once.

We now take 4 contracts that we should be able to complete in one small mission. The contracts are a test of the launch stability enhancers, a test of the decouplers while landed, a test of the Rockomax Mark 55 Radial Engines and a test of the small gear bay while splashed down. While these don't earn that much separately, doing them all together will be cost effective for the science they provide.

We head to the VAB and build a new rocket starting with a probe core. To this, we attach 3 Science Jr., since we haven't used them yet. To the back on one the the Science Jr. we attach a small gear bay to test. Below that we put the 1/4 fuel tank and a pair of Mark 55s that we need to test. We then attach a tri-coupler, and 3 solid boosters to get the rocket up to the test altitude and speed. Finally we attach a pair of stability enhancers and put decouplers on the bottom of the solid boosters for the landed decoupler test.

Heading off to the launch pad, we first decouple the decouplers, completing that test. When we launch, the stability enhancer test is completed. We get up the the test altitude for the Mark 55s and we are withing the correct speed, and that test runs well. However, at this point things go wrong. The tricoupler is blocking one of the radial engines, so instead of the rocked being controllable for a water landing needed for the gear bay test, it start flipping out of control. We try to pulse the engine on only when we are aimed eastward, but we don't make much progress before the fuel runs out. We are able to pop the parachutes, and land safely, though, and recover nearly the total cost of the rocket.

That wraps up this episode, I'll see you guys next time!


NASA Orion test re-entry video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtWzuZ6WZ8E

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