Rouady Central

So, I have changed my mind again! With the recent release of 1.1.3, I was planning to upgrade when I could.  My goal was to bring my existing games forward.  However, something happened on the way to that plan! A new historical contract pack (Historical Progression) was released and I think it will be a better journey than the Historic Missions pack I have been using.  The missions pack is great, but with nearly 600 missions in it, it can get very tedious.  For example, I am  now on my 7th capsule test mission (4 Korabl and 3 Mercury)!  They really are just the same mission.  Even worse are the built-in failure missions like failing to make orbit and having to crash.  This is really not moving anything forward. The coolest thing about the Historical Missions (even the tedious ones) is that the author did a great job of telling a bit of the history in the descriptions.  I have actually learned a lot of stuff from those that I did not know before.  That doesn't mean I want to create each and every one. The new pack focuses on missions that accomplished feats or firsts.  I think I will end up in the same place (nearing first kerballed mission) in a few days.  I may in fact still be that far in this one! So, I was able to get the mods I most care about in 1.1.3 at this point.  However, Kerbalism is not ready yet.  I do like it a lot though with its combination of life support, communications and malfunctions but a bit simplified.  A little extra challenge but not killer like RemoteTech.  So, I am going with TAC Life Support to try that out in the new game. So, on to the new game!  You will find it's blog here if you want to follow along.

It's been a while since I did Kerbalism.  I am back and am going to do a Mariner 3 and Ranger 5 mission set (using the Mariner 1/2 craft).  Than another Korabl test. Launch date: March 31, 1951 Mariner 3 (Ranger 5) Mariner Probe (6408 dV) Mun Flyby for Ranger (peri between 60km and 75km) and then off to heliocentric orbit for both to complete. Solid and uneventful mission. <Mariner 3> Another unmanned capsule test (Korabl-Sputnik 4) with orbit and successful splashdown. Launch date: April 10, 1951 Korabl-Sputnik 4 Vostok Base Historical 2 (4676 dV) Basic orbit and splashdown mission. 150 orbit, 5deg (50%) ascent path. (I actually had to do this mission again because I forgot I removed the parachute for the failure mission...duh) 887 dV available at 150km orbit.  Solid. Longer missions will require some sort of power source. <Korabl Sputnik 4> Got some science data from Mun.  Also, added the next (unkerballed) Korabl test!  How many did they have! Also will adjust the cash level to accommodate the overpriced Korabl missions.  

I wanted to build an historical style Vostok capsule (which is what is used for the Kohrabl contracts) and using the parts form the Soviet mod (and a few from FASA) I created a pretty good one!  Vostok Base Historical.  Here is the problem, the costs of the parts are not play balanced at all, so the rocket costs are 10 times the value of the contract.  Even the sims are killer. So, I can use this (which I would like to) in which case I will need to go in and adjust my current cash periodically to compensate.  Going in and adjusting each part will take forever so that is not worth it.  To highlight how silly it got, the R2 fins were $50k a piece!  They upped the price to nearly $400k for the craft, plus, they did not work.  I needed to replace them with the Kerbal adjustable fins or the craft was unflyable in the sim. The other option is to either "Kerbalize" the launcher with stock parts or use FASA parts.  Since I am using the FASA parts for the American program, I would prefer to not do that. I have to say, when I ran the sim with the original parts, it was a very cool launch with the craft slowly going up and slow turning until I reach a roughly 130k circular orbit.  Return went well also. In the meanwhile, I may launch a couple more probes for contracts and work a bit on the Mercury craft since that is coming up as well. My sim test of the Mercury suborbital went perfectly.  A little concern about the parachute that even with the shielding on it it got a bit heated on re-entry.  I guess that is part of the risk! I actually don't have any active probe contracts so I am going to go ahead with my historical Vostok and adjust the money later (give myself a small profit for the launch).  Due to the size and cost, this has a 21 day construction period. Launch date: March 16, 1951 Korabl-Sputnik 1 Vostok Base Historical craft (4658 dV) Need to put it in orbit. Don't need to return but I will to test the craft further. Tough on the ascent as you have to work to maintain control, but it went off very smoothly in general.  Mission was a complete test success! <Korabl 1> So, I am a little bummed because the Korabl mission also satisfied the Mercury Redstone test and the Ranger 1 mission.  I will run a sim for Mercury Redstone just to feel good about that, I think.  I may still do the Ranger mission though. I also received the 2nd Sputnik mission to do. Venera-1 is also on the table, but it is quite a while for the window so I am not sure what to do with that. I have received the Ranger 2 mission but it does not appear that I have a specific Ranger 2 probe so since it is just an orbital mission, I will use the Korabl 2 mission to satisfy it.  I don't have a Venera probe either but I will still do that one separate. I picked up another contract from FASA for a Duna mission.  This will pay some money and get me some science in the future (it will fulfill Ranger as well) so I built a Mariner probe-based Duna flyby craft.  I may go into orbit when I get there, we will see. <Pre Duna> Launch date: March 18, 1951 Mariner 1 Duna Mariner Probe craft (6298 dV) This is a flyby (possibly orbit) science/contract mission to Duna. Launch requires a hard turn to 70 deg after 100.  After that, go to 150km and circ before heading to Duna. Duna High/Low Space at 140 km. The tuning adjustment occurs in 24 days (alarm was way off for some reason).  109 arrive at Duna. Great science in Kerbol orbit. <Duna Underway> Launch Date: March 20, 1951 Mercury Redstone 2 Mercury craft (3113 dV) Suborbital test of the Mercury capsule.  Monkey on board! Needed to adjust the decouplers, the top one was firing with the bottom one.  Bad.  Needs to fire 2nd. Something odd happened where the power almost completely drained.  Now it is recharging from the small panels I added.  Also, the craft cannot be controlled.  We're gonna have a sick monkey. Safe splashdown. <Mercury Redstone 2> On Mariner 1.  The probe camera is not a camera.  Bummed.  I did not put a camera on the probe because I intended to use that.  Well, it gets good science! Running a sim on the Vostok craft using the new Mechjeb features (ascent). The MJ worked great.  I encountered other issues.  The Engineering Redux board was blocking the door of the craft so I could not EVA.  I fixed that, added a tower, adjusted the boosters to fit better and added a vent so now it is even cooler for the mission! Because of the changes I saved it as #2 in case I messed it up. I have begun building out Korabl-Sputnik 2.  If I take off with an incline of 18 deg I can cover Poppy-1 as well which I will because I don't have a specific Poppy craft to make it fun. Launch Date: March 24, 1951 Korabl-Sputnik 2 Vostok Base Historical 2 craft (4654 dV) Launch at 18 deg incline to handle Poppy-1 as well. This is unkerballed 2nd capsule test flight. Hard to believe, but I forgot to put the parachute back when I changed craft core!!! Did not do well... -Mission Failure- <Korabl 2 Fail> Now, that screw-up notwithstanding, it was a solid flight that would have easily ended successfully and I did fly it.  It was only swapped because of a weird issue with the Engineer Redux mod (blocking the door internally).  The problem is that I now have the Mercury Atlas Test Flight contract and filling this again will fill that as well.  So, I am going to run the Atlas mission and that will fulfill this mission as well (Poppy is already fulfilled). Many Atlas sims run.  I ended up needing a reactor wheel buried in it and adding fins.  Even when I went straight up with a capped acceleration at 25, the craft would start to turn.  Vernier engines could not stop it.  Could be FAR.  Anyway, I needed to add the fins.  It's okay, they don't mar the look too badly and I was able to sim it into orbit. Another note is that the Atlas also seems to be overpriced for contract purposes. It is not as bad as the Vostok set, but you can't really make any money on doing contracts using an actual Atlas rocket.  Since that is a less interesting part of the game for me I will adjust the money after running a few of these missions. Sims looked good.  Ready to fly the Mercury Atlas 4 contract (with Korabl +) Launch date: March 25, 1951 Mercury Atlas 4 Mercury Atlas Core (4280 dV) This is a test of the Mercury orbital mission.  Need to drop the boosters at 30km. Unusual ascent profile for the Atlas: 5.3 km or 512 m/s to start turn.  Turn 50% to 10 deg. Orbit Altitude 150km. Should have been 10km!  I turned early and almost lost control. In orbit, solid at 150km.  Ready for return. 145 dV in retro package.  Need 105 for 20km periapsis return. Good splashdown and recovery. <Mercury Atlas 4> Sim test of Ranger core.  Should be fine.  Basic rocket and plenty of power. Wow.  Ascent profile needs to be 30km or 1000 m/s turn!  Way up there or it topples over.  It's fine, inefficient but there is plenty left. So, I have no ability to turn the probe!  I need to add just a little something... Limit accel to 20 until reaching 40km. Set turn to 5 deg. I think we are at good enough for a launch. Launch Date: March 26, 1951 Ranger 3 Ranger Core craft (5784 dV) Basic Mun flyby and then into heliocentric orbit (escape Kerbin).  I can get some science if I go below the 60km low space point. Leaving accel limit on until shutoff. That worked fine. Once it is just the probe, the reaction wheel is way overpowered.  This is not a good design.  I need a different design in the future for Rangers. Some science (not all I expected, it seems I already had the gieger data, and I am not sure what is up with the probe). <Ranger 3> Launch Date: March 28, 1951 Mercury Atlas 5 Mercury Atlas Core (4280 dV) Another orbital monkey test.  This will be a late afternoon/dusk launch! Take off.  Orbit.  Splash down. Perfect flight. <Mercury Atlas 5> I have both the Ranger 4 and Korabl-Sputnik 3 missions on tap.  Both are being built.  Both are different failure missions.  I don't like these since they result in failure and you sometimes don't fail right!  But, you need them to do the next ones, so... Launch Date: March 28, 1951 Ranger 4 Ranger Core craft (6067 dV) The solar panels were removed because the craft needs to run out of power on its way to Mun as part of the 'failure' contract. The mission went well.  The game got in a funky state where I could not eliminate a dialog box though so I had to exit and restart, but I hope my save was okay. <Ranger 4> Launch Date: March 31, 1951 Korabl Sputnik 3 Vostok Base Historical 2 craft (4676 dV) This needs to get into orbit and then crash on return.  Another failure mission. I achieved orbit but it did not register.  Everything was as it was supposed to so I will manually close the contract. <Korabl 3>  

The contract is for Explorer 10 and Pioneer 4.  The Pioneer requires a Mun encounter and then a fling out to space.  Explorer requires an apoasis above 18mm.  I will focus on Pioneer and see if Explorer works. Launch date: March 3, 1951 Pioneer 4 (Pioneer Base 3 Craft, 5153 dV) Goal is a Munar Flyby.  2nd goal is 18mm apoasis. Rough launch as I turned to quickly on the 2nd turn and rolled a bit.  I think it is recovered. Very rough circ orbit as it started to spin especially after the stage separated.  Did recover it and am in a 150km circ orbit. I was able to make both missions complete.  Ran out of power but it was fine. <Pioneer 4> It looks like I have a Luna mission to do and that will also take care of Explorer 11.  I have three scan missions which should also get me some bucks.  Still heading towards the kerballed missions. There has been an update to Historic Missions that I would like to get in place before I continue those.  However, in the meanwhile I do have some scanning missions I can complete. I built RADAR Scanner and am now building three vessels to scan Kerbin, Mun and Minmus for contracts.  Nice little stack of change, some science, and altimeter data to boot! Launch date: March 5, 1951 Kerbin RADAR Scanner RADAR Scanner craft (5929 dV) Remember to Turn On Fuel Pump, use ignition start, cap acceleration at 30 m/s, do the turns slowly (it turns quickly), shoot for 90 deg inclination and end up around 260 km circular orbit for scan. G (gear) releases the fairings. Lock gimbal before doing circ. Good orbit.  Engines shut down.  Scan underway. Quicksave. Had some power issues.  Not sue why, it says I am generating more than spending, I don't know.  Not much more though but good enough to probably get my 85%.  I did forget to set the incline!  I handled that. Launch date: March 6, 1951 Mun RADAR Scanner RADAR Scanner craft (5929 dV) This is a Mun mission, so lower orbit (150km) and transfer with an incline and peri set from SOI change. Dusk launch! Forgot to Turn On Fuel Pump! 998dV left when in solid Mun orbit.  Success! Quicksave. Still confused on power.  Says I am generating .16 and using .13.  Says .o3 in power window.  Losing power?!? Launch date: March 6, 1951 Minmus RADAR Scanner RADAR Scanner craft (5292dV) Minmus mission. Minmus orbit.  1056 dV left.  Even better than Mun! <RADAR Set> Got analysis science from Kerbin and Mun scanners. (100%) I have Pioneer and Luna missions to do. Launch date: March 10, 1951 Luna 3 Luna Base Craft (swapped probe core, 5828 dV) Need to swing by Mun and go into Kerbal orbit. Below 600km periapsis of Mun. Forgot the Eng Redux Board.  Bit of a pain, but mission should be fine. Had a cool camera on board for photos. Success (also handled Pioneer 5 while I was at it). <Luna 3> Got the contract for Korabl Sputnik!  I am getting close to kerballed missions. Also, since I have a Pioneer 5 probe (and that is the only mission it was used), I will use that for Pioneer 6 since that probe was used on 4 different missions.    

Luna-1 will be the first Mun mission specific to the historicals (I realize that other Mun and Minmus missions have occurred). Launch date: Feb 27, 1951 Luna-1 (using Luna Base craft) This is a Mun Flyby and than heliocentric orbit.  I may have to use thrust to get the 2nd part fulfilled.  This also took care of the Explorer-7 contract which was not interesting. I have learned to lock the gimbal on the circ burn if it is still an unlocked one. I may not need to do the extra burn.  I am doing a very close pass (8km) which may slingshot me out. Passed within 10km.  Am getting slung out! <Luna-1> I have broken $2M in cash.  Getting ready for more expensive missions in the near future. Built a craft (Mun Orbiter) to handle a NASA contract for some science from Mun.  This could bring in some extra science as well as be paid for.  It uses a really huge dish that looks very interesting when it is opened.  It is a 2 of 3 requirement mission which is good because I have already done one of them remote and now it does not require a return. Building the Mun craft required an upgrade of the launchpad for mass. Launch date: March 1, 1951 Munar Science Mission (Munar orbiter craft) 4887 dV going for Munar orbit with both high and low zones included. Late day launch. 70deg at 100 m/s, turn to 15 at 30K+.  Apoasis goal of 125km. Got to Mun orbit and the SIGINT was fine.  However, the mat lab is not transmitting any science even though it is has not been done in high orbit before.  Very odd.  I am closing the contract because I don't understand why this is not even sending partial data.  It should be. <Mun Science> I got the contract for Luna-2 and I have a craft ready to go (I used the Luna 2 probe for the Luna 1 mission).  I am holding for now as I go investigate the 1.1.2 mod kerbalverse! Launch date: March 2, 1951 Luna 2 (Luna Base craft) 5802 dV.  This is a mission where the craft crashes into Mun.  Pretty basic. I will get an Explorer 9 contract along with it (those are getting tedious). Got both.  Successful crash (?!?) <Luna 2> Got contract for Pioneer 4 (also Explorer 10 with has an 18mm apoasis) and should be able to do both in one swoop since the main contract is a Munar flyby and then heliocentric orbit which can use the high apoasis.  I have the equipment as well.  Later.

First I did a quick science from Kerbin orbit contract to get some bucks.  Next up, is Discoverer 1 which I will do using an Aerobee 350 with a reaction wheel.  It is a simple contract where you go south and suborbital.  The aerobee 350 is a simple craft for that.  I set that to build. I am also building an Explorer Base craft which will become a Mun Relay station.  It will fulfill an orbit the Mun contract and a science from Mun contract. Launch date: Feb 10, 1951 Discoverer-1 (Discoverer Base craft, Aerobee 350) (2625 dV) Mission is to turn south (above 45deg) go suborbital and crash! Reached 175km and 78deg incline.  Success! <Discoverer-1> Launch date: Feb 10, 1951 Mun Relay (Explorer Base craft with GRAB) (6091 dV) Go into Kerbin orbit and transfer to a polar Mun orbit for relay.  High Mun orbit (like 250km).  Do a science transfer to fulfill 2nd contract. Finally added the MechJeb Maneuver planner/editor mid-flight so it will make this a bit less tedious. Incline change at SOI change is 144 dV.  Not bad.  My peri is too close, will adjust outward. Made it.  Good 250KM circ orbit.  I will leave the engine attached for now to the relay in case there are future adjustments, but both contracts have been fulfilled. $1.28 in the bank. <Mun Relay> The magic question is do I want to try a Minmus Return mission (by adjusting that craft) to fulfill the contract?  I need the Goo returned, unfortunately. So my new Minus Flyer has a heat shield and a parachute.  I tested the heat shield (seemed good) and I feel the parachute will work because it works with the small capsule.  I will create a save point, but give it a shot! <Minmus Return 1> Launch date: Feb 11, 1951 Got a Minmus science contract to help costs.  Giving this mission a shot (first return mission outside of Kerbin). 1514dV and matching planes (needs 247) Need 889 for Minmus transfer and return on a good trajectory to re-enter Kerbin atmo with a small adjustment. 21 Ablater used on return.  4.9 m/s with chute.  Yes! Weird at the end (it bounced on the water). Contract fulfilled (finally) and good science.  $1.4M cash. <Minmus Return Success> The next Discoverer contract is up.  I need to make orbit so I will abandon my Aerobee version for a better one. Launch date: Feb 18, 1951 Discoverer-2 (using Explorer base) Needs to achieve a polar orbit (>85 deg). Good mission.  Need to adjust incline (81 deg) after orbit, but fine.  Plenty left over. <Discoverer-2> Need to do Explorer-5 which was a suborbital failure.  Looking for the cheapest suborbital I have in stock.  I think I can go back and use the Goddard-2 rocket. Launch date: Feb 18, 1951 Explorer-5 (using a Goddard-2 rocket) Simple failure.  For realism I should probably build something similar to the actual...but no. Doing a night shot for fun! <Explorer-5> Now, there is an interesting Mun mission involving much science.  May be worthwhile especially with a return like I did from Minmus.  I can use the Minmus Flyer with some adjusted payload to cover the contract (and add a solar collector). Created Mun Orbital Return.  Need to do the flip and return without orbit maneuver. Launch date: Feb 20, 1951 Mun Orbital Return (but no actual Mun orbit) Looking for good science and a contract. Had some issues when the craft was pointed directly at Kerbol and thus ran out of power!  Fortunately, I was able to get it turned. This was a great mission. <Mun Return> Looks like Pioneer-1 is next up.  It is a high suborbital (3mm apoasis).  But it should not be a problem. The magic question is how much dV do I need to reach 3mm? I am estimating 5000 as a start point. To make the height, I have 3900 dV, if I need a little extra boost (28 sec in the 2nd stage), I have the solid fuel boosters of the Pioneer module itself (won't use them in the current plan).  The dV is weird because the Pioneer has an engine on the top that is facing down and deducts from the total (about 500 dV). The probe has an antenna range of 413Gm which I think covers the system, but I need to check. I just let it go full throttle the whole time.  It heats up but not too much. The sim had the 2nd stage end just short of the 3mm so I used the first solid probe booster and easily got to 5.2mm.  Mission should be fine. Launch date: Feb 22, 1951 Pioneer-1 (using Pioneer Base, dV>4000) A pre sunrise launch to head straight towards Mun. Major screwup on launch.  Forgot the throttle at half so it came up way short after the 2nd stage.  Even the first solid booster failed to get it there and I needed the 2nd booster the entire time to get to 3.5mm.  So I made it, but not as planned.  Not that different than the actual failures! <Pioneer-1> Got the contract for Pioneer-2.  Last use of the Able probe I amusing.  It fell far short so I don't need to worry about dV, even the solid booster would probably get me there!  Simple failure launch. Launch date: Feb 24, 1951 Pioneer-2 (Pioneer Base) This is a failure mission, it needs to reach apoasis of 150km. It went fine, which means that it crashed... <Pioneer-2> Now, I have two contracts, Sputnik-2 and Explorer-6.  Both have new payloads thanks to the US and Soviet Probe mods.  Really cool! I need to do Sputnik first or the Explorer mission will satisfy the contract and I would like to do both since I have special payloads for each. The Sputnik 2 device is rather large.  I created a top-heavy craft which I have adjusted for with big fins.  I have it working, not to a nice circular orbit but to one that meets the contract just fine.  I am using the probe booster which is a solid fuel option and I need to reduce the amount of fuel in it and it should be fine.  The sim worked but I will sim the reduced version.  Didn't decouple like I expected either. 2nd sim worked. I need to pay close attention to: - Don't go past 75deg or the craft may flip back - Do the turn to 20deg at 30km - Turn off the targeting before circ burn is reached because it may flip over (was okay, but could have been a problem). The Explorer Base 6 (for Explorer-6) needs an orbital apoasis above 4mm.  With 5000+dV aboard it is well over-powered.  The sim got to 4.2mm with a 200km periapsis and it still had 700+ dV left.  So much that when I ran it off in the sim, it left Kerbin orbit!  Should be just fine. Launch date:  Feb 25, 1951 Sputnik-2 (Sputnik Base 2) Need an apoasis of 165km (4371 dV) Had some trouble on the 30km turn where it almost flipped over.  I was able to regain control and get it pointed properly. Orbital burn was clean and I ended up in an orbit of 670x180 km using the solid booster. <Sputnik-2> It appeared that Sputnik-2 had no power system (solar) so it eventually ran out of power and no recharge. Launch date: Feb 25, 1951 (later that day) Explorer-6 (Explorer Base 6) Need an apoasis greater than 4mm. Solid mission that went as simulated. <Explorer-6> Designed and built base units for Sputnik-3 and Pioneer-3.  Both went smoothly and simmed smoothly.  I need to do Sputnik first again.  Also played with some new design structure with procedural tanks which let me shape them better.  This worked well on the Pioneer. I did not use the supplied covers for Sputnik-3.  They would require a much larger engine base than I want to use (expensive and unnecessary).  I went with my own fairings. Launch date: Feb 26, 1951 Sputnik-3 (Sputnik Base 3 4477 dV) Need to achieve 185km apoasis orbit Good Mission, uneventful. <Sputnik-3> Now a suborbital failure (way high though) from your fiends at Pioneer. Launch date: Feb 26, 1952 Pioneer-3 (Pioneer Base 3) Weird mission.  May have been a bug and I ended up on a Kerbin escape.  Not sure how that happened. Contract worked though. I am seeing the "missing ocean" problem so maybe a reset?!? <Pioneer-3>  

Did some simple atmo science to be able to get a few more levels of science.  A goo and mat study in low space and upper atmo. <Atmo Science Mission> My goal was to fulfill first orbit and the Explorer 1 contract but my apoasis came up a bit short. Launch date: Jan 13, 1951. Explorer Base Craft (Explorer 1) 4007 dV. Orbit at 185km x 122km (needed 250 km for Explorer contract) <Explorer First Orbit> So I will need a little more dV to achieve the goal.  I think a small amount of fuel added to the upper stage may be good enough. ?4294dV (added almost 300 and a BoosterCam).  Running sims. Don't pitch over too far too soon (25k to 25deg was too much for stage change). Sim went well hit a good orbit well above the requirement.  Also, the camera took some nice shots so I can use that. Launch date: Jan 14, 1951. Explorer Base Craft (Explorer 1-A) 4294 dV. (Go to 50 deg after 25km) Orbit 261 km x 255 km  Yes!  Contract Fulfilled <Explorer 1> At $650K after picking a Return from Orbit contract.  Upgrading Mission Control and Tracking station so I can have maneuver nodes. Created "Orbital Return" rocket. Sim show instability in 2nd stage.  Added a reaction wheel. 4354 dV (with 401 of that in the last/return stage and 10 ablator) Launch date: Jan 15, 1951. Orbital Return craft. Reached orbit and performed a de-orbit burn and splashed down safely.  It actually fulfilled the Explorer-2 contract as well, so win-win! <Orbital Return> I have received the Sputnik contract but the craft I am building seems odd (the procedural fuel tank won't size large enough) so I think that I need a rocketry upgrade.  I am a bit short of science so I am building a "Minmus Flyer" craft that will be easily covered by contract.  Not very money profitable but very science profitable.  If I have the dV when I get there I will put it into orbit but otherwise it may be a flyby. Minmus Flyer 5482 dV.  Includes 2 goo, 1 mat, 1 temp, 1 baro, 1 geiger, and the magnetometer.  Should be a science bonanza! <Minmus Flyer Prep> This is a very manual mission but the sim would indicate I can fly it with some room for error. Turn to 70deg at 100 m/s.  Turn to 45deg at 30km.  Give yourself some room for circ by burning at 30s before apo. Launch date: Jan 18, 1951 Minmus Flyer craft 5482 dV 2 Minmus contracts to be fulfilled. Crisis:  The whole signal range thing killed me.  Since I am using Kerbalism the signal range matters but I have no idea what he range actually is!  I am trying to find out (since this is something that actual rocket designers would know). I may keep the mission because it did make me a fair amount of money (I got the Minmus flyby and it also gave me Sputnik, which I wanted to do separately) Okay, I understand where to find my antenna range (it is on the antenna right-click after you are in flight mode).  I tested it with a sim and it was accurate.  So, I reset because I want to try again with an interesting mission profile. Basically, I want to set up the flyby when I am still in range (13.3mm, just past Mun) and then run the experiments at Minmus with Parts Commander which appears to work.  I don't think that is a cheat on Kerbalism because they could be set up to run automatically based on time or proximity and that is what you would do in such a case.  So, after the flyby, my goal is to have it reenter Kerbin orbit and transmit the data when it gets back into range.  It limits my experiments a bit (I have to store it so no multiples on a single device) and I don't know that I can set up the return before I exit the range.  I guess we will see! Got to circ orbit (159x154) with 1681dV.  Trying to set the path to Minmus with return using manual maneuver node.  I will do an adjust when we are near the limit. This was really hard to do, many tries.  I was able to finally pass at 24km from Minmus so that I could get the low space science.  It does appear that using the fast forward "buttons" in map mode can mess up the physics.  Very odd, but I should not use them when accuracy is important. <Minmus Pass>  Just want to save my work in flight.  Still need to retrieve the data to make the contract. So, I got back into range and transmitted the relevant science to get the contracts and a whole lot more!  I did not have Kerbin High space science in this game (I forgot) so I was able to get much of that as well.  I now have over 200 science to spend and over $600K money. That was fun! <Minmus Flyer Success> Looks like the Vanguard contract is active.  Yes! I created the "Vanguard Base" rocket and have successfully run the sims to fulfill the Vanguard-1 mission. IMportant note was that I need to restrict the turn top 75deg until it passes 30km otherwise it will flip over.  On the plus side, since the apoasis needs to be greater than 380. that is not a big deal. I also see that the Vanguard satellite has an extremely long range set of antennas, so I can use it as a relay in a ton of places.  I may send one to Minmus (on some other contract and put it in a polar orbit so I can not have any comm issues in  the planet system (probably want one at Mun to for possible relay). Had a weird thing (again) with procedural tank not being full.  Need to check  that each time.  Reset to Minmus Flyer Success and build again. (since this is a bug) Saved update as <Vanguard Setup> Vanguard-1 (apoasis of at least 380 km) Launch date: Jan 23, 1951 Vanguard Base craft 5210 dV Going for circular orbit around 400km  Should have over 1000 dV left that will be ditched (satellite stands alone). Excellent 408 x 400 km orbit! (1024 dV left) <Vanguard-1> Quick Kerbin science before I send a Vanguard to Minmus to act as a relay. Instead of a Vanguard, I am sending an Explorer to Minmus.  I use the GRAB satellite because there is nor Explorer in the US parts pack and it has the same range as the Vanguard.  Plus, I can fulfill both the Explorer-3 mission and then send it along to Minmus. Need to reset the game because the ocean disappeared... Launch date:  Jan 24, 1951. Explorer Base craft (6091 dV) Both Explorer-3 and Vanguard-2 are fulfilled by this mission.  First a save. <Explorer-3> Now, let me see if I can use the satellite to set up a relay station at Minmus for the future and get a Minmus contract as well. Got to polar orbit of Minmus 375 x 342 km.  Transmitted some probe data and Voila!  Contact and Relay station set up! <Minmus Relay> I once again have both a Vanguard and Explorer satellite contract.  I will use the Vanguard this time (return the last favor) as it will fulfill both. Launch Date:  Jan 27, 1951. Vanguard base craft (5210 dV) Must reach apoasis above 325km.  Will fulfill both Explorer-4 and Vanguard-3. Orbit at 353x348 km.  Two contracts fulfilled. <Vanguard-3> I have another survey Minmus contract which will pay for me to get more science from Minmus high orbit as well as test out my new relay.  I have adjusted the payload of the Minmus Flyer and am prepping Minmus Flyer 2 (5551 dV). Launch date: Jan 30, 1951 (dusk launch) Minmus Flyer craft Well, it was a mixed bag.  The relay worked great (once I turned it on) and I got some decent science, enough to get me the next MJ level.  However, the contract failed.  I need to do that part again at some point.  Kerbalism has another fix in which is that it will not give you credit if you transmit zero science apparently.  I needed to return the Goo, which I did not.  I will need to create a Minmus return mission.  Shouldn't be too hard since this is returning beautifully at the moment, it just will crash with no heat shield or parachute! Ah, a failure is necessary here. <Minmus Flyer 2> Just for a kick (since it would burn up anyway) I tried "landing" Minmus Flyer 2 on Kerbin.  Just not enough fuel timed right to do it.  I think if it was timed right, it would have a shot, but it doesn't matter since the Goo was spent anyway. Next up is a couple contracts and Discoverer-1.  I saw Sputnik-2 when I zoomed ahead but it has not shown up yet.  I may launch Sputnik-1 just for fun since I never got to!  (It got handled by another mission)  I also have 3 contracts for Mun orbits so I can set up my relay base there.  

Wanting to try another variant. This time using Kerbalism and a smaller set of mods so it is a little more efficient.  Plus, I want to do historic contracts but I want to use the US and Soviet ships on Kerbal.  Confused?  Sure, but that is why I love this game, I can set it up however I want! First Launch. This is both the first launch contract and the historic A-3 contract.  I have used an Aerobee-based sounding rocket design named "Goddard 1".  It has 1470 dV in a single stage.  The sim had it reach about 24km in altitude, plenty for low atmo experiments and to fulfill the contracts.  It has 2 k-days (Kerbal days) construction time and a short rollout.  Get science before 18K because we may not be down here again. Launch date: Jan 4, 1951. Goddard 1 Sounding Rocket Test Flight. Apogee 25,878 m.  Science conducted and transmitted. Contracts Fulfilled.  $217k. <Goddard 1 Success> The next missions require a suborbital flight which means breaking the atmosphere at 70km alt.  Probably need a little more than 2200 dV for this, but let's see. Goddard 2 2304 dV.  Sim puts it at about 137km altitude.  Should do a fine job. 2+ k-days construction and rollout.  2 Contracts (V-2 and Break atmosphere). Launch date: Jan 5, 1951. Goddard 2 Sounding Rocket. Apogee 135km.  Science at high alt and low space conducted and transmitted. 2 Contracts fulfilled. $369k. <Goddard 2 Success> I will be using a new Goddard 3 (with parachute recovery) to fulfill the R-1V contract since that recovered the small creature in the rocket! Launch date: Jan 6, 1951 Goddard 3 Sounding Rocket with some fuel removed. (1867 dV) Apogee 34.5 km.  No science but rocket recovery. Contract fulfilled.  $404k. <R1-V Success> Next launch is the Blossom-1 contract which is a suborbital V-2 with recovery.  With a current dV of 2182, the Goddard 3 it may be enough for sub-orb.  Needs to be sim-tested. The sim test came up a few thousand meters short.  Crap.  I am not sure what is the best way to charge up this rocket a bit more. Added a small booster at the bottom and named it Blossom-1. Launch date: Jan 8, 1951 Blossom-1 Suborbital unmanned V-2 with recovery. (2146 dV on pad) Apogee 122 km.  No science. Contract good.  $438K. <Blossom-1> R-2A contract should be able to use a fully fueled Goddard 3. (2182 dV).  Requires recovery.  I will try and put some new science on it. Added Geiger experiment.  dV at 2144 so it should make 50k (requirement) easily. Launch date: Jan 8, 1951. Got science from lower and upper atmo but the contract failed.  It said a 50K altitude but I missed that it needed to be sub-orbital as well (very redundant since that is 70km).  Okay, take a hit.  Let's try it with the booster.  At least I will get some low space science and the ground science I missed. Launch date: Jan 9, 1951 R-2A (take 2) with booster and recovery. Apogee 117 km.  Good Geiger science from low space. Contract Good.  $470k. <R-2A Complete>