Kerbal Space Administration

  Year 15, Day 112 After the launch of the Kalileo Jool Orbiter (KJO) earlier this year, it has finally arrived at Jool and plans to study and take pictures of the gas giant like never seen before. Alongside pictures, of course, the spacecraft will also conduct close flybys of several of Jool’s moons, including Laythe and Vall, with a possible venture near Tylo. Scientists are eager to see the detailed images and data KJO will send back, especially after a nail-biting launch when fuel margins were almost too tight for even leaving Kerbin orbit. Now safely in Jool orbit, the mission team is optimistic about uncovering new insights into the planet’s atmosphere and cloud composition, magnetic field, and its moons. First data sent back included stats about time, fuel left, energy, and estimated time for the RTG to die, which will be decades. We also now know for certain that Jool is made of mostly hydrogen and helium... however, we still do not yet know what causes it to be so green. I...

  Year 15, Day 13 The first batch of pictures from the Kerman Space Telescope have returned, and let's just say, they are ethereal! The images returned just about 3 weeks after KST was launched and put in orbit on Year 14, Day 420. These images are edited, but they have to be, since even the most stacked of space images need a little edit to show themselves. And that does NOT mean these are fake images; they are very real indeed. Now, without further ado, here are the images. We'll put captions on each image so you know what the image is photographing. Karina Nebula Atlas Nebula Andromeda Galaxy (K31) Omega Nebula Large Magellanic Kloud Small Magellanic Kloud Triangulum Galaxy (K33)

  Year 14, Day 422 We now have what the KSA meant when they said they were launching something "really cool" into space on the next Kerb-Shuttle mission... A space telescope! Specifically called the Kerman Space Telescope (KST), this is a first-of-its-kind invention that costed "a lot" to put into LKO. It's a visible-light capturing telescope just like the big observatories we have down here on Kerbin, but MUCH more expensive and, of course, in space! It was launched 2 days ago aboard KTS-2, and was just announced that it's working today. It has not yet taken any pictures, but may be expected to soon. It will first attempt to capture the Atlas Nebula, a pyramid-shaped nebula in the southern sky. If the image comes out good, they will call first mission success and continue imaging operations as long as possible. Let's cross our fingers and pray to the Kraken that this works out and everything goes well. Certified Article by the KSA

  Year 14, Day 411 The KSA has surprised us yet again with likely it's largest crewed invention yet, the Kerb-Shuttle! What the Kerb-Shuttle basically is, it has two SRBs (Solid Rocket Boosters) along with an EFT (External Fuel Tank). The main thing we want to talk about, though, is the Orbiter spaceplane. It is a spaceplane because it's something with wings that can at least glide but can make it's way to outer space. It's not an SSTO (Single-Stage To Orbit) craft, which is why it needs boosters to lift it's heavy body on takeoff, and an EFT is needed because the Orbiter itself needs to conserve weight on the way down and needs to have space for it's actual true purpose; payloads. The Kerb-Shuttle can, with a crew onboard, fly into LKO (Low Kerbin Orbit), deploy whatever payload it needs to, and glide back down to land at the KSC once more. The SRBs have parachutes so they can be recovered and the Orbiter is easily reusable since it glides back down to the runw...