UNITY XXII - THE FIRST DOCKING IN SPACE

KSP - Year 3, Day 261

Jebediah must have been deafened by the applause over his headset as Mission Control celebrated the first docking of two vehicles in space. The previous Unity mission saw two spacecraft rendezvous with each other and float just meters apart. This time, the Unity capsule docked with another craft while in the vacuum of space.

Unity XXII races to orbit

The Link Docking Vehicle, or LDV, used for the test was launched two days prior to Unity Twenty-Two and remained in orbit to test its system. The vehicle arrived in space on top of a Falcon rocket and is completely automated. This was to minimize the risk of potential failure and damage to two manned capsules.

The LDV was launched into space using the proven Falcon Launch-Vehicle

Once Jebediah had successfully linked up with the LDV, several operations took place. The orbit of the conjoined vessels was altered using the LDV rocket motors and fuel and power were transferred between the two vehicles. Some attitude corrections also took place, with control being alternated between Unity Twenty-Two and the LDV. This was all important testing for the future Mun missions.

Jeb takes a snap as his craft approached the LDV

'It's just another job well done,' said Jebediah in an interview after. 'The engineers, ground crew and my fellow astronauts are all doing a great job. Even with the near misses, we have still pulled every thing off.'

An artists impression of the Unity craft and LDV linked together in orbit

After the vehicles separated and Jeb headed back to Kerbin's blue oceans, Mission Control continued to practice maneuvering with the LDV until it was out of fuel. However, during a de-orbit burn the craft suddenly cut contact and is thought to have exploded. No explanation has been given as to why this happened.