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.
Over the course of the next half day, the Mark One was moved to the launch pad. Located a distance from the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Launch Pad provides launch support connections to the Mark One. It’s distance also keeps the rest of the Kerbal Space Center’s buildings safe from all but the most unlikely flight problems. The Kerbal Space Center declined to comment on the exact technology used to transport the craft to the pad, but the wide trackways between the Vehicle Assembly Building and the pad suggest that a system involving pulleys and copious applications of lard is most likely.
Once at the pad, the checkout teams began integration checks, making sure that the vehicle, pad, and Mission Control systems are all working properly and that there was no damage during the transport to the pad. Jebediah Kerman (no relation) was present for Mk1 Capsule tests. He stopped for the media and posed for the official Kerbal Space Center photo for the mission.
The move of the Mark One vehicle to the pad is the final step before the historic first flight in the Mark program. The Kerbal Space Center anticipates they will attempt the first launch within the next two days if all the pad checkouts go smoothly. As always, CommNetNews will be there to provide you with up-to-date reports on all of the happenings at the KSC!
