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>>24428618

This is the budget to have a manned mission at the end of Turn 11.

Turn10
18RP for Mk2 Capsule to go to 14/14
3RP to build Mk2 Capsule
1RP to build and load RCS
1RP to build and load guidance module
3RP to improve Mk4b to 19/20
6RP to build Mk4a
3RP to build Mk4b and launch with Mk2 Capsule and Mk4a to test all systems

Turn 11
21RP Improve Mk2 Capsule 17/18
6RP Mk4a Rocket
3RP Mk4b Rocket
3RP Mk2 Capsule
1RP RCS
Manned Mission Launch

>>24428778
Confirming Budget, Work begins on the Mk4 and Pathfinder capsule, they will be ready for a test launch at the end of the turn. This will be the first time a man-made object enters orbit and returns in one piece. Perhaps divert one point to build and load a camera module? There is one free mass slot.

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>>24428778
>>WORDS WORDS WORDS NUMBER WORDS

I.... feel like I missed a lot. I guess that's ok?

>>24429021
I made a calender, Your 17th birthday was last turn, and Ms Kenaway's birthday present for you exploded on the launchpad because of faulty wiring. (She warns you not to make the same embarrassing mistake)

>01 (| New year
>02 |)
>03 (|
>04 |)
>05 (|
>06 |) Spring Equinox, Tournament
>07 (|
>08 |)
>09 (| Lydia's 17th Birthday
>10 |) <Present>
>11 (|
>12 |) Summer Solstice
>13 (|
>14 |)
>15 (|
>16 |) Begin Typhoon season
>17 (|
>18 |) Fall Equinox
>19 (|
>20 |) End Typhoon season
>21 (|
>22 |)
>23 (|
>24 |) Winter Solstice
>25 (|

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>>24429131

That's awful, in a way that's highly beneficial to us. Not that we'd ever look at it that way. Because that would be terribly crass. Which would be bad for our image. Which we would never concern ourselves with.

So it looks like the solstice is coming up. Any notable astronomical events coming? Have we seen any more fake stars?

>>24429228
You have not seen any fake stars, but then again you haven't been doing any stargazing. Which is a real pity because there is absolutely zero light pollution out here. All the electrical power comes from oil fired generators, which are turned off at night to save fuel. And excessive use of candles is discouraged.

You've been just too preoccupied with work to look at the stars.

>>24428994
Take 1RP from Improve Mk2 Pathinder and use it to build the camera module.

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>>24429308
This leaves you with two free points, How shall you spend them?

And how shall you spend this turn?
>Training yourself (Piloting, Engineering, Combat, Eastern language) Costs 1 RnD point
>See what the alchemists are up to
>See what the computers are up to
>Stargaze
>Something else?
You currently have "Trendy dress" equipped, and 2 luck points.

>>24429379
Train ourselves in engineering. Being able to keep up with the eggheads will be important.

>>24429401
Second. Next time, though, we should increase Eastern Language.

>>24429401
That leaves one extra point to spend.

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>>24429401
>>24429427

Training so hard. Do we aspire to go up on one of these missions our self? If not we might do better to save our points and consider the big picture.

>>24429451
Spend it on cobham; piloting.

>>24429464
I was thinking more in keeping up with the team.

>>24429498
Confirmed. As the Engineers work on the capsule, you observe and take notes to study engineering.

Before the Mk4 is ready for launch however, you receive a message from the Navy. Ms Kenaway has launched another rocket.

>>24429641
The speed that the Suthland space program is operating at is nothing short of astonishing, and frightening. We MUST launch by next turn.

>>24429683
By the time you get to the control room to watch it on the radar, it's already finishing it's circularization burn.

It's a perfect orbit and then... It explodes.

>>24429761
I see, rather than going for lengthy development to make sure the rockets are safe she just throw as much as she can into space.

>>24429761
It's not a fireball, or any sort of Radio-reaction, the rocket just sort of breaks into fragments. You can't imagine this is intentional.

What do?
>Call Ms Kenaway
>Continue working

>>24429903
Continue working, if Ms Kenaway want to talk about it she'll contact us and we don't want to insult her accidentally by bringing it up ourselves.

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>>24429582
It's worth spending points on, but we have plenty of terrestrial affairs to worry about too. We have legions of the best scientists and void knights our nation could produce, but we don't have anybody who can take over our princessing. We ignore political considerations at our own peril.

>>24429761
That's....... terrible. We should send them a fruit basket or something I suppose? Seriously though, give her a call for reasons previously discussed.

((Anyways I gotta go to sleep. It's already too damn late.))

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>>24429999
A tiebreaker is required to make a call. In any case, it's time to launch the test flight. Instead of Dame Cobham, a camera is loaded into the Capsule, set to take color photos at set intervals as the capsule makes a complete orbit of the earth. The RCS will keep the capsule's window level with the horizon, and slowly lower the orbit until atmospheric drag pulls it back down to earth.

Are you ready for launch?

>>24430065
We will call Ms Kenaway, concerned and asking if her people are alright.
An explosion like that can't help but be noticed.

Now, we send up this test flight.

>>24430065

As long as all the appropriate considerations have been made. LAUNCH!

Rolled 7, 2 + 2 = 11

>>24430140
Ms Kenaway's reply, "MISCALCULATED PRESSURE, stop, BALLOON INFLATED TOO FAST, stop, DON'T WORRY, stop, HAVE ANOTHER SURPRISE IN STORE, end message"

In preparation for the launch, all active personnel evacuate to the armored blockhouse. non active personnel evacuate to the far side of the island.

The rocket has been fueled and is ready to go,

Ten,
Nine,
Eight,
Seven,
Six,
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Ignition!

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>>24430266

Those numbers are low. They are bad numbers.

Rolled 10, 2 + 2 = 14

>>24430266
The Mk4a climbs steadily for several minutes before the main engines cut off and the lower stage falls away. The Upper stage then coasts until it reaches Apoapsis before igniting it's own engine...

>>24430313
Roll under

>>24430338

Oh thank god I forgot about that.

>>24430338
>14
We just barely avoided a boom there.

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>>24430440

..... Which still makes a fail right?

Rolled 6, 7 + 2 = 15

>>24430440
Nope, the Mk4 is better than that, if anything fails it will probably be the capsule.

>>24430363
"Telemetry reports circulation complete, The navy is confirming the capsule's orbit. Testing alignment and camera now."

>>24430478
Nah. Mk4b upper stage is at 19/20. It's fine.
The Mk2 Pathfinder capsule, though, might not be in the next phase.

>>24430507
>11
I think it work, that's a -2 right?

Rolled 3, 8 + 2 = 13

>>24430543
That's strange, this is supposed to be subtracting not adding.

>Test roll, don't worry.

Rolled 2, 1 - 2 = 1

Another test

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>>24430478
>>24430507
>>24430543

/nervous breakdown. I'm out for tonight. Probly won't be in tomorrow either with meetings.

Rolled 6 - 2

>>24430603
I don't think tg can substract you need to use negat>>24430616
Beaten to it

Rolled 4, 5 = 9

(Okay got it now, you need to add a minus for some reason, all those rolls passed anyways, this roll won't have any modifiers on it anyways)

After nearly an hour or orbiting, the camera runs out of film. Time to test the De-orbiting and re-entry.

Rolled 4, 3 = 7

>>24430698
"De-orbit burn complete, Pathfinder's RCS fuel is completely expended, it's up to the laws of universal motion now."

>>24430798
We are happy that everything is going so well right now.

>>24430798
The capsule falls back to earth and is descending at a steady rate until it falls below the horizon and you louse radar contact. It's up to the Navy to recover it now.

However just as it vanishes, you receive another transmission over the radio. "Hello Lydia! Can you hear me! This is Jakisan!"

>>24430837
Ms Kenaway's voice comes in over the radio with impossible clarity, it's as if she was on the island herself.

"If you can hear me, please respond... Oh that's right, I won't be able to hear you unless you aim your antenna at the satellite. Princess Lydia, if you can hear me, point the antenna at these coordinates <Numbers> and reply on this frequency!"

>>24430965
We shall make all due haste to contact Ms. Kenaway. Such a novel innovation!

You point the radar back up into the sky and acquire a target 30 meters across! The source of the radio signal. "You can hear me! It works Hooray! We finally got the pressure right!"

>>24431457
This is fantastic! She was able to place a radio relay satellite in orbit?

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>>24431560
"It's incredible! I put a metallic balloon into orbit, and we can bounce radio signals off of it! I just had to get it to deploy properly! We weren't sure how well a balloon would work in the void, and the last test had too much pressure! But we finally got it into orbit!"

>>24431638
"That's fascinating! A balloon in the Void; an intriguing idea. And it requires no power to bounce signals off of?"

"None at all! It's a passive reflector as long as the..." the signal fades away as the balloon's orbit takes it out of range for Ms Kenaway's transmissions. So it's not perfect, but it is indeed a novel solution.

>>24431638

Awesome!

Looks like I missed thequest today, sorry! (work)

www.phonesat.org

>>24431774
Ah well.
Hopefully the Navy will be able to quickly recover the Pathfinder capsule.

>>24431774
Well, looks like the gauntlet has been thrown. We need to put up something of consequence soon.

>>24431823

We had anticipated that this would be one of the peaceful uses of rocketry -- our next press release should definitely mention it (and note that money spent in the Suthlanders' program did not go into their military).

>>24431638

Let us celebrate our success with alcohol-fueled debauchery. It will be good for morale.

Colonel smith notes that the balloon idea is clever, and has the computers work out what times it will be overhead to serve as a relay.

After a few hours the Capsule is recovered, it splashed down without a problem. You should be able to develop the pictures soon.

>>24431859
>Let us celebrate our success
Our success? No, that's Kenaway and the Suthlanders' success.

>>24431898

We take credit for it anyway. Kenaway wouldn't mind, surely.

>>24431898
Perhaps We should send her a liqueur of a desirable vintage as congratulations.

>>24431898
You did manage to put a capsule large enough to Cary a person into orbit, take a few pictures, and then de-orbit it on target. You will be able to put the first human into space before the Summer Solstice.

>>24431915
It may be a passive reflector, but it does have an active transmitter attached to it, displaying a Suthish identification code.

>>24431892
Excellent.

Here is the Turn 11 budget:
21RP Improve Mk2 Capsule 17/18
6RP Mk4a Rocket
3RP Mk4b Rocket
3RP Mk2 Capsule
1RP RCS load into Capsule
1RP Train Engineering Cobham
Manned Mission Launch

>>24431915
>We take credit for it anyway
Are you stupid? It's an obvious Suthlander satellite.

>>24431919

This we should and we will. The label should be a picture of Mr. Cottonball inside a hamster wheel inside a capsule, with the caption Top Secret Power Source.

>>24431926

Second this. Поехали!

>>24431926
With renewed motivation, the RRC begins working on the capsule and Cobham finishes her training.

How shall you spend the turn?
>Developing the pictures and sending them to the presses,
>Training (In Stamina, Piloting, Engineering, Combat, or Language, Requires 1 RnD to be redistributed)
>See what the Alchemists are up to
>See what the computers are up to
>Chat with Ms Kenaway via satelite
>Stargaze
>Something else?

Currently equiped: Trendy Dress
You have 2 luck points

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>>24431926

Actually you can't train and launch in the same go. Let's make sure Prof. Minerva has some time and resources to pursue her pet project instead, radio-reactive power cells.

And just for kicks see how much a hamster powersource generates.

>>24431978

We should take the time to stargaze, if anyone is free to teach us the constellations. Maybe Prince Orion's people have different stories for them?

>>24431981
You could hold it off till the solstice for good luck.

Cottonball is a Chinchilla. Rodent power generates about as much as the Radiothermal cell at full speed, but only for a few seconds at a time, and the life support systems would add un-nessary weight.

>>24431981
>Actually you can't train and launch in the same go
Really?
Dammit, then we should have switched the training to someone else, so that we could launch this turn.
We can't afford delays with how close the Suthlanders are behind us.

>>24431922

curses!

We should send for some alcohol to be delivered regardless.

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>>24432030

Yes, we should. It was a clever thing to do with existing tech base and we should be happy for them!

Once we've refined our math, a simple satellite with a long-term power source can allow for positioning good enough for ships to steer by, so that's a good result for the practical things we promised, and we're ahead on that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_(satellite)

But we should take a bit of time to flirt with Orion and smell the flowers.

>>24432021
You could train yourself, or Orion, or Harker

>>24432145
Then change training Cobham to training Harker in Stamina.

>>24432145
>>24432162
I want to get Cobham into space this turn!
We can then take it easier developing other technologies and the Mk4c afterwards. Even if Suthland is to perform the first EVA in space, being the first human in space is still the most important.

>>24432162

Works for me!

Prestige wise, the first person in orbit cements our lead. We should of course remind Mrs. Cobham to look out for anything unusual!

Application wise, a reliably powered satellite opens a lot of possibility.

(Incidentally, using heavy-ish batteries in satellites can have a point to it: they make good reaction wheels! The phonesats use magnetorquers instead because they're small enough)

>>24432187
(I never considered that, In KSP I find that batteries aren't worth the trouble unless you are in low orbit, because of how long night lasts on the Mun, it's better weight wise to use RTGs for everything.)

It's getting late now, I'll continue this tomorrow, sorry half of you went to sleep and then another half of you got on. That was kind of weird.

Aw, I'm late to the party.

>>24432334

same, oh well :) is fun! thank you GodMother!

>>24432290
In KSP, batteries aren't worth the trouble because life support actually generates energy in KSP.

In more sensible universes, running a crew capsule does not generate a net energy surplus.

>>24432426

Actually in KSP manned vehicles do not use energy at all, further cementing the theory that kerbals are descended from potatos.

Is anyone going to archive this thread?

>>24434429

eyup.

http://www.phonesat.org/ Looks like one of the microsats died early, but we're still going!