Part 7: Mission: Orbiter-2
For this mission, we pulled out all the stops. Not that we told the pilot about this, but this was as much a mechanics testing exercise as it was an attempt to orbit.Behold, the Orbiter Rocket. Three Skybreakers as a lower stage, one as a middle stage, and half as an upper. And oh, nine solid boosters to give us a little more comfort. Pilot was again Orlong Kerman, since he seemed completely unflappable before.
And true to its length, it was difficult to steer. The many RCS thrusters, shown here in full blast, devoured their propellant, running low far sooner than we anticipated.
But the middle stage was taken to where the orbital burn was planned in spite of the handling issues. Much care was taken to provide horizontal, as opposed to vertical movement.
Everyone waited tensely as the burn began...
And jumped for joy when we finally got our orbit.
Orbiter-2's top stage, with a smiling Orlong Kerman in the cockpit.
After a few orbits, with the small capsule not equipped for long-duration flights, we returned Orlong home.
There was much to analyze and learn from, but we had done it again, taking a Kerbal farther than ever before.