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Great Space Race, Season 1, Episode 23: Kerbal Space Program

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Episode 23 of the GopherCraft Great Space Race opens with a third Mun Lander III on the launch pad, this one flown by Jebediah Kerman. Bill Kerman's lander, left orbiting Kerbin last time, gets its Mun encounter and slows into orbit around the Mun. Jeb's ship follows, and by the end two landers are circling the Mun. Nobody has landed safely yet.

Jebediah is back

"Jebediah is back." The crew screen puts Jebediah Kerman in the Command Pod Mk1, with Thompvin Kerman and Enzer Kerman in the Mobile Processing Lab. The rocket on the pad is another Mun Lander III. "This is our redundant redundant one." Bill's ship still has a day before its own maneuver, so Basket wants this one to "meet up and also do a Mun encounter." The launch is cut, and Jeb's lander is soon on its way.

A third Mun Lander III on the launch pad, a tall gray rocket with four side boosters, the water tower and flag behind it, Surface 0.0m/s on the navball and Jebediah Kerman's portrait in the corner

Bill reaches the Mun

Bill's ship flies the 99.2 m/s burn planned last episode. "Now we have an encounter coming up." The pieces it dropped drift off: "Those parts are going away, good." Then comes the bigger burn. "This burn should get Bill into a Mun orbit." Basket worries about fuel, calling it "kind of a costly" maneuver, but it works. "So we have a kind of a wonky orbit, but we are orbiting."

Mun Lander III in space with its boosters gone, the navball showing a planned burn of more than 900 m/s with Est. Burn 6m, 31s, and Bill Kerman's portrait in the corner

Basket then switches to the wreck from the last landing attempt. The Mobile Processing Lab is still on the surface, and its status reads Operational. "So this thing survived, the other part broke." Basket can't tell whether anyone is inside, or how to get them out. "Maybe I'll figure that out at some point."

Two in orbit

Jeb's lander reaches its Mun encounter. Its burn is longer than planned, since the big engines run dry and the smaller one has to finish the job. Basket keeps a finger on the X key to cut the throttle at the right moment. "And we have an orbit. We have two orbiting." The tracking station agrees: two Mun Lander III craft orbiting the Mun, the Mun Lander III Ship landed on it, and Orbit V still around Kerbin.

Tracking station list: Orbit V orbiting Kerbin, two Mun Lander III craft orbiting the Mun, and Mun Lander III Ship landed at the Mun, with Kerbin in the background

Tidying up

Both orbits get cleaned up next. Bill's ship burns for "a tighter orbit." "Yes, that's much nicer, much tighter orbit." For Jeb's ship Basket slows the time warp down step by step this time, "instead of super fast and then all of a sudden too fast." The burn is short, and the orbit comes out rounder.

Mun Lander III in orbit in front of the half-lit Mun, the navball showing Orbit 394.7m/s and a 53.6m/s burn, with Jebediah Kerman's portrait in the corner

Where it ends

"So we have two guys orbiting." They are on opposite sides of the Mun, so the hoped-for picture of the two together doesn't happen. Basket switches to one of the landers. "Let's see if we can land it." "To be continued..." comes up before the descent starts. No kerbal has made a safe Mun landing yet.