UNITY XIX PROVES MANUAL MANEUVERING IN SPACE

KSP - Year 3, Day 211

The next mission in the Unity project tested the pilots ability to manually change the altitude of the capsule in orbit. In addition, the pilot endured the longest duration in space for a Kerbal yet. Previous flights saw the Command Pod being brought down from space after just three orbits lasting over two hours. This next mission required a total of ten orbits, extending the stay in space to nearly six hours.

Crewed and ready, Unity XIX awaits the dawn launch

A close up of the rocket leaving our atmosphere as it takes Charlie Kerman for the longest mission to date

Charlie Kerman was the pilot for this Unity mission. The longer duration allowed the astronaut to complete an orbital maneuver that raised the altitude of the craft by twenty-kilometers. This was done in two stages. First, the thrusters were fired to raise the altitude on the opposite side of the orbit. Once at the peak of this new altitude, the thrusters were fired again to circularise the orbit. This raised the craft from the standard one-hundred kilometer parking orbit to one-hundred and twenty kilometers. This was done manually by the pilot to test vehicle control in orbit.

Charlie captures the Sunrise over Kerbin in orbit

Despite the longer duration in space, Charlie performed consistently throughout and the Service Pack of the Command Pod functioned perfectly.

A safe return for yet another successful mission

There is an expected break in missions as new technology is developed. The requirements hereafter heighten to new levels as even longer endurance tasking is needed. The Service Pack currently used on flights so far cannot sustain the requirements needed for the upcoming missions. In addition, rumors of a new manufacturer of rockets has arisen in anticipation for heavy-duty launch vehicles.