Episode 19 of the GopherCraft Great Space Race is a test flight. After the loss of Mun Lander I, Basket builds Mun Lander II with an extendable ladder and two engines mounted upside down on its sides, flies it to Kerbin orbit, and brings it home to try the ladder. The video ends back in the VAB, with more ladders on the craft and the next launch still ahead.
Mun Lander II
The new lander is "just about the same," with extra struts, a barometer and the extendable ladder. The landing is the open question. "I'm still not sure how to do a landing properly." Basket's idea is a second set of engines pointing up, for leaving orbit while the craft stays upright. It takes some key hunting to rotate the parts, but two radial engines end up on the sides, upside down.
The crew screen puts Bill Kerman in the Command Pod Mk1 and Anton and Hanvan Kerman in the lab.
Into orbit, and back down
With the new struts the climb is steadier. "This is much more stable, so I'm glad I added in those struts." Basket coasts to about 100 km, plans a node and burns for about a minute and a half. The result: "So we have an orbit, that's not very good."
Instead of heading for the Mun, Basket turns the flight into a test. The side engines get switched on, they draw from the same fuel as the main engine, and Basket throttles them up on the way back into the atmosphere. Basket logs the barometer, and the craft comes down under parachutes at night.
The ladder test
On the ground the ladder extends all the way down: "I guess it just goes through the ground." Bill climbs out on EVA, grabs the ladder and moves from one ladder to the next on the way down. "So proof of concept." Getting back up is the problem: the climb back into the craft stalls partway. "Wouldn't want to get all the way to the Mun and have that happen."
![Mun Lander II standing on Kerbin at night, a kerbal on EVA holding the ladder beneath it, with the prompt "[Space] Let go" on screen](https://www.basketmc.com/images/6568/conversions/mun-lander-ii-standing-on-kerbin-at-night-a-kerbal-on-eva-ho-19fe63f6-content-image.webp)
Basket recovers the craft. The Science Summary for Mun Lander II shows an Atmospheric Pressure Scan and a recovery from Kerbin orbit, +8.7 science for a total of 15. The Tracking Station still lists Orbit V orbiting Kerbin.
Where it ends
Back in the VAB, Basket adds ladders to the top of the craft so a kerbal can climb all the way up. The plan for the Mun is to cut the engines once the descent starts, rotate, and throttle a little to slow down. "I think I will head to the launchpad and we'll try that out." The launch is not shown, and the end card follows. There is still no Mun landing.