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[GreatWyrmGold]

It is decided that we will commence sciencing the everything. With new science toys.


<sub>Diagrams are boring.

Pamphlets are fun, though.
P.S. The graphic design department apologizes for the misprints of the Space Exploration pamphlet which stated that we would badly go where no little green man has gone before.</sub>

Now for unsolicited opinions. Jeb suggests Electrics so we can extend our range, Bill requests Landing so we don't need to crash, and Bob points out that Space Exploration would improve our science. Director GreatWyrmGold agrees with this last.
Firstly, we need to update our science rockets. Secondly, we need to use those rockets on everything nearby.


<sub>The first SciMax Mark Three* produced. After several hours of argument, the engineering team admits they had been reading the blueprints upside-down.

Eventually, we WILL reach the mountains!

But perhaps...perhaps not today.</sub>

*Yeah, the last one was Mk3 too. I named the ship before I realized my mistake...

In a move that makes Bill faint, Jebediah waits until he is barely more than a kilometer above Kerbin's surface to deploy his parachute, hoping to get more distance. Sadly, he fails. Even more sadly, some of the science equipment explodes.


<sub>Just once, I'd like to get through a launch with no explosions of vital mission stuff.

What just exploded, and why did it wait to explode until Jeb got up?</sub>

We attempt to science. This works...subparly. Also, Jeb can't get back into the pod because he didn't raise the landing legs.


<sub>Argh! Who built this thing so high?!?

Um, what's that coming ut the back of your helmet? ...Jeb, maybe you should stop trying to knock it over with your head.</sub>

We retrieve the big worthless piece of metal as well as the Kerbonaut (you thought we were going to insult Jeb, didn't you? Shame on you!) and begin designing a SSTO craft.


_Psyche!

For this very important mission, we hire a new Kerbonaut, because our current ones were too valuable inexperienced with this kind of craft to fly it. And what a unique craft it is!


_{Note: "Unique" is not always a nice way of saying "Stupid".}

The launch commences!


<sub>Um.

The ocean's the other way, you...wait, you're alive?

"Yes, mission control. Astute observation."

We...we spoke too soon.</sub>

Well, we did achieve airborneness slightly before the fatal explosion, so yay?
Expert engineers determine that the point things went wrong was when the craft flipped over. Slight redisigns are done, to move the center of thrust forward and the center of mass backward. We hire a new crew member.


<sub>Our ship, ready for...

...launch?
"Hadson, we need to recover your ship and try again. Please tey to look less smug."

"Alright, we're launched. Not so smug now, are ya?"

"Did he...turn off the thrust? And is he turning it back on?"
"Clever, he waited until he turned the right dir--"

"--ection. Um."</sub>

We redesign the craft, adding more weight to the back. We launch a third time!


<sub>Our management denies all charges of sociopathy, citing lack of prioritizing skill.

A kerbonaut after Bill's own heart.

We may be in for an early explosion.</sub>

Remarkably, while the entire craft exploded on the runway, the command pod rolled off the end unharmed. Archibald was inducted into the KSSP and the SSTO project discontinued.
We launch Jebediah in an attempt to reach a new biome. We fail, landing in the grasslands. We also remember that we really need to do something about those landing legs if we want the Science Junior to survive the landing.
We "launch" the SciMax several meters from the launchpad and collect a little more data.


_{Whoo. A little more science.}

Jebediah gets bored and hijjacks a space Mk3 to take to orbit.


_{He failed. Try more fuel.}

Still, his attempt convinced the science team that orbit might be important, if only to get Jeb out of their hair.


<sub>Yet another page in the debate about pretty pictures and space.

Sadly, we had some parts break off the bottom of the spaceship.

Oh, Jeb.

Whoo! More science!</sub>

We make a new model of rocket:


<sub>Marking problems have been solved!

The Mark Five, set up incorrectly.

More like it.

The initial burn done, Jeb waits impatiently for apoapsis so he can begin getting into orbit. To him, "apoapsis" is just a word Ground Control says to him that means "Time to turn on the engines!", but Ground Control knows it means "The highest part of the orbit" and is the optimal time to burn to raise your periapsis, the lowest point, out of the ground so you don't crash.

A pretty picture of Jeb's not-yet-orbit.

A better-aimed picture of Jeb's almost-orbit.

And we have a periapsis!

And a circular orbit! And enough fuel to--

Oops.</sub>

Jebediah's craft is now stranded in orbit! What can we do?!?
As a reminder:


_{Oh yeah, we can science.}

At the moment, we could research Advanced Rocketry (which gives a small radial engine and a large fuel tank), General Construction (which gives struts, launch clamps, a new radial decoupler, and a stack tri-coupler), or Flight Control (a moveable winglet, the Mk1 spaceplane cockpit, a remote-probe-body, and a reaction wheel). If our space settler brings back at least 28 Science of data, that would let us research the technologies above. Out of what we have, Bill recommends flight control due to safety, Bob recommends saving up for Landing or Space Exploration, Archibald thinks we should save up for Flight Control so we don't have to go to space, and Jebediah recommends that space is awesome but he wants to come down now.

Note: We can't just fly another Mark 5 up there and rescue Jeb. First off, it only has room for one Kerbalnaut. Second off, it barely has enough fuel to get into orbit and have a little left over (I overshot and ran out of fuel in large part from trying to screenshot, but it didn't take long to go from "orbit" to "out of fuel"), and that little bit isn't enough to maneuver to Jeb and then get home. Finally, rendezvous isn't all that easy...

We need a plan of action guys! Jeb has enough rations and sunlight to last up there a while, so we don't need to worry about doing stuff fast, but stuff we must do! Eventually, at least.

[BigD145]

I think Jeb is stuck in space for awhile. Getting a rendezvous costs fuel. Launch more rockets and do more science directly under him to see if he wants to come back badly enough. Perhaps he'll scream "fuel lines" enough times to encourage rocket redesign. You could also use inline decouplers and bigger boosters directly under the existing design he's stuck in. I'm sure he'll appreciate seeing an identical craft in orbit near him that has fuel to spare. He could also get out and push.

[Twi]

General Construction. need moar struts. always need moar struts.

Also, Launch Clamps are pretty nifty.

[Aseaheru]

Science, then electrics and then General Rockets.

[WillowLuman]

General construction sounds pretty important, but flight control is a close second.

You can always get out and push. If your periapsis is at 79,000, then at apoapsis you might be able to push retrograde against the ship with the jetpack enough to lower the periapsis below 69,000, where atmospheric drag would take effect and cause your orbit to decay. It might take a few passes, but with every pass through the atmosphere, you'd lose some momentum.

[ShadowHammer]

General construction sounds pretty important, but flight control is a close second.

You can always get out and push. If your periapsis is at 79,000, then at apoapsis you might be able to push retrograde against the ship with the jetpack enough to lower the periapsis below 69,000, where atmospheric drag would take effect and cause your orbit to decay. It might take a few passes, but with every pass through the atmosphere, you'd lose some momentum.

It would take a while, and the risk would be quite large; you could end up without enough fuel to get back into the ship. I would suggest that we build a better rocket, and then attempt to rendezvous, probably after we have more tech.

I think general construction would be the best research route to go with.

[SOLDIER First]

Flight Control!
Make a plane and fly around getting !!SCIENCE!! so you can get better rocketry stuff.

[BFEL]

Seriously GWG, I just got the updated KSP and Mission Controller and I'm doing fine despite having a budget. Get with the (SPACE!) program buddy.

[Aseaheru]

Hes doing better than me. I cant get off the ground half the time and have never gotten a docking, or a landing on another world.

[Boksi]

Docking is surprisignly easy, actually, if you know what you're supposed to do. It's tedious though, but I've managed it before. I've also managed to land on the Mün. Getting back from it, however, is another matter.

[GreatWyrmGold]

[overlarge insulting Dragonball image]
Seriously GWG, I just got the updated KSP and Mission Controller and I'm doing fine despite having a budget. Get with the (SPACE!) program buddy.

Dude, I started playing KSP like last week. Cut me some slack.

Hes doing better than me. I cant get off the ground half the time and have never gotten a docking, or a landing on another world.

I can get off the ground, but other than that my track record is the same. But then again, I've never done anything that requires docking and I haven't really tried to get to any other worlds.


How would you feel about two full updates tomorrow? It wouldn't give as much time to respond for the evening one, but if you're interested I could do so.

[BigD145]

Update as much as you like. I think a few of us have given ideas for a couple updates.

[GiglameshDespair]

What research route would unlock multi-kerbal pods, do you think? Go down that route.

[BigD145]

You can strap two pods together and it will be lighter than the 3 kerbal pod.

[Aseaheru]

I advise going that way. Just have two pods in one ship, each able to deorbit by themselves and with instruments enough to collect data where they do land.

Then orbit and have jeb float across.

For bonuspoints, do this with THREE landers, two crewed on launch.