Episode 8 of the GopherCraft Great Space Race is about one thing: getting into orbit. Basket loads the Orbit I design, changes it into Orbit II, and launches with Jebediah Kerman in the pod. The climb is shaky and the fuel runs low, but two burns later the map shows a full orbit around Kerbin. When the video ends, Jebediah is still up there.
Orbit I becomes Orbit II
The save opens with a card reading "Year 1, Day 1 - 4h, 10m." In the VAB the name field still says Orbit I. Basket reworks it, talks through the boosters on the outside "hoping that this will keep it together," and checks the bottom: engines, then a decoupler. "So this is the Orbit 2, and we'll see if this does any better in terms of stability."
A climb on braided boosters
Orbit II lifts off straight. "It's not spinning at all, that's good." Higher up, the long side stacks start to sway. "That's pretty dangerously wobbling around." Then: "It looks like they're braiding themselves." Basket decides the rocket is not steady enough for a gravity turn and goes "as high as I can with these guys" instead. "As long as we're not blowing up, I'm happy with that."
The stacks drop away, and Basket notices SAS was never on, throttles down, straightens the angle and cuts the engine.
Two burns to an orbit
In map view a maneuver node asks for a long burn, about 48 seconds. Basket lines up on the blue marker and goes. Near the end the fuel gauge gets low: "I don't want to strand Jebediah out here." The burn finishes, but the new path dips too low. "I think this will be re-entering."
A second node needs only two seconds. Basket fires it with the Shift key and cuts with X. "So now we have an orbit. Look at that. Orbit 2, success." The map reads a Kerbin periapsis of 102,587 meters, and Basket says, "I think as long as you're above a 100,000 meters, then you're good."
Science in orbit
Most of the experiments pay little. "No science-y stuff going on, 'cause I've already been out this way before." The Mystery Goo is worth 0.1 science and the Materials Study 5.5. The 2HOT Thermometer's Temperature Scan is worth 8.0. "Well, there's at least something." Jebediah climbs out for an EVA report "from space just above Kerbin's Grasslands," also 8.0, and goes back inside.
Where it ends
Basket leaves Orbit II where it is and returns to the Space Center. "So Jebediah will orbit a couple times and we'll see how that goes." Nothing is recovered on screen. The episode ends on a "To be continued..." card and the end card.