Kerbal Space Program Mission #2: 2nd orbit and return

Experimental Test Launch 2, part two.

Day 4

Active project: Experimental Rocket Project

Active mission: Experimental Test Launch #2

Selected vehicle: Thunder Road 2

Assigned crew: Thong Kerman

Last time on Kerbal Space Program...

We previously left our active mission in orbit around our planet Kerbin. Now that Thong Kerman has completed one full orbit, he can go ahead and return home.

I must have turned the camera flash off.

It takes around another half-hour for our Thunder Road-series rocket to return to the highest point on its orbit, still on the dark side of Kerbin. As mentioned last time, performing a 'retro-burn' (rotating the rocket around and thrusting in the opposite direction of momentum) at this point allows it to lower its trajectory efficiently.

I'd hate to strand Thong up there without enough fuel to slow down; planning a rescue mission would be a real pain.

Anyway, once the rocket comes back around and dips back into the atmosphere simple friction handles most of the deceleration work.

The fuel is all but gone and the engine has done its job of bringing Thong back home. At this point the final stage is activated and the command pod separates for a landing.

Oh wait, I left my book on that stage.

The Thunder Road 2 comes down over a vast ocean, where the command pod should land safely without issue. We lack the means to properly recover the spent rocket stage and it's left to drift and crash into the sea on its own.

Why is he so happy? Is it the sensation of a warm seat?

The re-entry effect is still quite pronounced here despite the smaller profile presented than last mission's mark 1. The difference being a faster re-entry speed but it's still within temperature limits at this time.

Parachute deploys successfully. You win this time, Thong.

I'm in a pod / I'm in a pod / Everybody look at me / because I'm sailing in a pod.

So that mission accomplished a successful orbit and leaves us with some additional scientific gains, though honestly it's not a huge jump.

Kerbal Space Program's next obvious goal is the moon, but it's going to be a question of building a rocket with enough oomph to get there, and whether the current tech can do it. I'll go into this further in another update, but it's definitely going to be an undertaking

As mission commander and the one playing the game here, I propose one more orbital mission in the Experimental Test project, the objective being a further study of orbital flight to test the feasibility of reaching the moon.

This third mission will use a minor upgrade in the current series, bearing the name Thunder Road 3. Now that we have lateral decouplers, the solid rocket boosters can be chucked after use. Some tail fins should help stabilize flight as well. Stage 1's fuel capacity has been increased with another T-400 tank.

Highly complicated precision equipment.

Finally, the missions so far lacked the ability to send any data back during flight. Not to mention the lack of qualitative experiments to conduct. A broadcast antenna has been added, along with a pair of Mystery Goo™ canisters. These are attached to the command module so they can be used during the entire flight and brought back for material testing.

Day 5

Active project: Experimental Rocket Project

Next mission: Experimental Test Launch #3

Selected vehicle: Thunder Road 3

Assigned crew: ???

Since this mission will involve multiple orbital flight adjustments there is a fair risk of running out of fuel while still left in orbit. However, the first person to nominate a volunteer will receive candy. Yes, I can and will employ bribery.