Today’s historic first launch of the Mark program was marred by a near disaster, with the craft tumbling out of control and failing to achieve a fifth of the intended altitude. Only the quick reflexes and remarkable piloting skills of the Kerbonaut Jebediah Kerman (no relation) prevented his untimely end. Keep Reading
It was announced late yesterday that the Mark One Capsule will be launched today. We will bring you the full report as soon as we can publish them!
You can review the Mark Program with our coverage here, or read up on the specific goals for this flight here. Our coverage of the intrepid Kerbonaut who will be making this flight is here.
Yesterday the Kerbal Space Center completed it’s checkouts of the Mark One space vehicle, and completed the complex procedure of moving the assembled vehicle to the launch pad.
The checkout in the Vehicle Assembly Building over the several days found no major faults, although some minor corrections and re-calibrations were made to various systems. Once the craft was cleared, the pad move team took over. Keep Reading
Soon the Kerbal Space Center will attempt to launch it’s first capsule with a live Kerbal inside. In reference to this historic event, Gene Kerman, Kerbal Space Center’s Flight Director, said:
“Our space program will soon enter a new era, the participation in the exploration of space by our first Kerbonaut. This upcoming mission is a most important step in the program, a step that will lead on to the ultimate conquest of of this new and hostile environment.”
This first flight will be attempted approximately one hour after daybreak after preflight checks. A countdown hold may occur if any issues arise with the spacecraft or pilot.
The spacecraft, weighing 800kg, will be boosted by a RT-5 “Flea” Solid Rocket Booster. The craft will follow a ballistic arc, hoping to reach at least 5,000m altitude. Keep Reading
On a remote site on Kerbin’s shores, intrepid engineers and brave pilots are preparing to take the first tentative steps into the skies above Kerbin. CommNetNews has gained extensive access to the engineers, pilots, scientists, and management. Over the coming weeks, we will be conducting interviews and writing articles to assist the common Kerbal an understanding of the great work being done at the Kerbal Space Center.
In the near future, a brave Keral will climb into a small capsule, bolted to the front of a huge bottle rocket, and launch themselves towards the heavens. This Kerbal will be one of an elite class, known as Kerbonauts. They were selected by the most rigorous criteria, and then given advanced training. We should know in the next few weeks who will fly this historic flight.
Today, we are going to have a look at the base of operations where all this amazing research and exploration happens.
