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Success 2002 XLT, Mun Landing?, Season 2: Kerbal Space Program

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This Season 2 stream on GopherCraft's multiplayer server opens on the Mun, where Jebediah Kerman sits in The Success 2001 XLT Ship lying on its side. Basket builds a new rocket, The Success 2002 XLT, and sends Raysy Kerman to the Mun. The rocket lands, gathers science and runs out of fuel on the climb back out. The stream ends with Jebediah out of the old capsule at last and climbing into a lander called Surprise!.

Stuck on the Mun

The game opens with the old capsule on the gray ground, Jebediah's portrait in the corner. Basket runs what science is left, then tries the hatch. The screen answers: "All hatches are obstructed, can't exit." The commentary sums it up: "They can't get out, so that solves that problem." Pulling the landing legs in does not help either, and the rescue is put off for later in the stream.

A new XLT

Back in the Vehicle Assembly Building, Basket loads the last design and moves its landing legs lower so the next lander has room under the engine. A viewer points out the re-root tool, which fixes a problem the commentary has had for several streams, where dropping a stage switches the camera to the empty engines. "Aha, it's a thing."

The Success 2002 XLT in the Vehicle Assembly Building: the top of the white rocket with ladders and lights fitted around the crew section, a move-tool gizmo on one part, and the parts list on the left

The rebuild adds bigger fins, a barometer, a single thermometer instead of several, ladders along the side, and lights that turn out far too big at first. With the move tool and the Shift key, the ladders end up close enough together to climb. "Look at this, I'm working with magic now." The crew is Raysy Kerman. "What orange coat can we strand in on the moon this time?"

Launch, and launch again

The first launch starts the gravity turn earlier than before, as viewers had asked. A few minutes up, with the rocket glowing red, the screen goes black and the game has to load again. Back in, the rocket is gone: "It never hit orbit, maybe it didn't save it." Basket goes back to the VAB and flies it again.

The Success 2002 XLT climbing away from Kerbin's green coast over blue water, four boosters firing, a minute into the flight with the navball reading Surface 210.4 m/s

The second climb goes better. "This arc is much better than my usual arcs." Two short burns finish the orbit, and a viewer notices the design leaves no space debris behind: one spent stage will fall to Kerbin and the next will hit the Mun. A long transfer burn, started early by half the burn time as advised in earlier streams, sets up the Mun encounter, and a 17-second burn on arrival slows the ship down at the Mun.

Landing in the highlands

A third burn drops the ship toward the surface. Basket kills the sideways speed by hand, waits until about 20 km up as a viewer suggested, and then burns off the rest. The craft touches down hard on a slope. "Okay, everything's okay. I'm on a huge tilt apparently."

The Success 2002 XLT standing on its landing legs on the gray surface of the Mun, tilted to one side, the navball reading Surface 0.0 m/s

Raysy stays aboard for most of the science. The windows name the place as the Mun's Highlands: an Atmospheric Pressure Scan, a Materials Study worth 100 science if recovered and 35 if transmitted, a crew report and Mystery Goo. A short EVA adds an EVA report. Then the fuel gauge tells the rest. "I have very little fuel. So this might be tough to get back."

Out of fuel

The climb off the Mun does not reach orbit before the tanks run dry. With the craft falling back, Basket transmits everything the batteries allow, then sends Raysy out on EVA during the drop. Raysy falls toward the surface at over 80 m/s, and the Flight Results window reads "Outcome: Catastrophic Failure!" "All right, well that was fun."

Jebediah gets out

Back at the old capsule, Basket rolls The Success 2001 XLT Ship with Q and E until the hatch clears, and Jebediah finally steps out. A viewer explains how to collect the Mystery Goo data, and Jebediah takes it along. The Tracking Station lists a craft called Surprise! landed on the Mun, a few hundred meters away, and Jebediah sets off for it by jetpack. Getting there takes many tumbles. "Oh my god, I'm so irritated with this thing. It's too steep." Holding Shift to rise first and then pushing forward finally works. "Stand up. Amazing. I'm so good at this game."

Surprise!, a lander on four long legs on the Mun, a capsule on top of a ring of round tanks with small solar panels, the navball reading Surface 0.0 m/s

The first jumps at the hatch fail, because the ladder is still folded. Extended, it works, and Jebediah climbs up and boards Surprise!.

Where it ends

Jebediah Kerman sits inside Surprise! on the Mun when the stream stops. "I have to continue this voyage at another time." The Success 2001 XLT Ship stays on the Mun, now empty. Raysy Kerman's last flight ended with Catastrophic Failure on the Flight Results, and the stream does not come back to it.