The Papa
To recover from the previous disaster at the Mun a new power source would be needed. KSC had charted 2 dedicated nuclear reactors with advanced cooling to overcome this issue and enable Kerbals to spend the Munar night in the dark.
The launch of the R101A Papa 03 would bring it to the Mun, but also a modified transport platform that would enable crews to ferry cargo and lander stages closer together. The idea was that bases could be modularly constructed.
The improved lander design allowed for a more precise landing and better landing controls to pinpoint a location. The newly added 4 reaction wheels enabled the alignment and the team was extremely happy to land the Papa within 10 meters of the base.
The Falcon returns
Two weeks later the L003D Falcon 07 launched Scott, Elifall, and Katsuki Kerman into orbit. The new flight computer added quite a bit delta-v to the reserves and the team was confident that they would make it to the Mun without any transfer of ascent fuel.
“Scott bank left!”, Katsuki was running ground observation and gave a pinpoint location for Scott who was making minor adjustments to the trajectory. The Falcon 07 landed not as accurate as the Papa, but still close. “KSC, Falcon landed at the base, I can see Falcon 6’s descent stage from the window.
After the cheers, Elifal deployed the new rover and started the system check, rolling towards the base. Scott and Katsuki shut down the systems on the Falcon and locked down the battery in case they would have to make an emergency ascent.
Scott and Katsuki then went to install the nuclear generators and tried to offload the Papa rover but it slipped off the tracks and after an hour of trying they decided to call it a day.
The next day Katsuki managed to free the Papa crane and went about to move the remains of Falcon 06. “KSC, Katsuki here. The winch is buckling under the weight, I’m trying to lock the motor.” Then the descent stage shifted as being pulled by a catapult, crushed the Papa trailer, snapped the rope and resulted in a ton of debris and disappointment.
Katsuki moved on to her next assignment: taking the new drill and ore container that Falcon 07 had brought and add them to the Papa landing platform. By the end of the working day, she had converted the old platform into a drilling site and started mining ore.
Exploring the grey ocean
Next day Scott and Elifal would head out to Falcon 05 landing site about 5 km from the base. Their mission was to repair Spirit 2 and deploy the science station from the Falcon 05, creating a myriad of instruments and solar panels. They would return late in the Munar day. The power generators were running stable, the next step would be to analyze the data for the next 3 days.
Next mun day Katsuki went out to install the science instruments from the wreckage of the Falcon 06 to the new rover. This would enable Scott and Elifal to head out to 3 additional biomes and capture a ton a science.
Using the onboard supplies they managed several sorties to the surrounding biomes. Elifal became very proficient in capturing data and resetting goo canisters. A total of 3 more days elapsed, where much science was gathered and ore was drilled. This could unfortunately not be converted (yet) to fuel or other parts.
The great move
During the Munar night, Katsuki had a lot of time on her hands, and she actually made a couple of small excursions to check the design of the Papa transporter frame.
The next time the sun would rise, she left the base early and started working on her move project. By removing the wheels from the papa, she managed to make the landing platform moveable. Yes, it meant scavenging the crawler, but at least she hoped this way they could reach the secondary mission which was moving the base to a more flat location.
And so they made the 5.3 km drive to the landing site of Falcon 5 and the designated outpost area. Elifal and Scott joined in the rover and had to push and pull the craft in two occasions but they made it in one piece and deployed the drilling/fuel platform close to the science station.
Next up was the base. This proved more difficult but in the end, they got there and now Base 01 was overlooking the science site and had stopped shifting due to a mild inclination of 1 degree. They would spend the rest of the 8 days left to set up the station.
Packing up and heading home
Before heading home, Scott planted the flag for “Outpost Angel” continuing the tradition of naming bases after famous Kerbal artists. When he wanted to head to the Falcon for pre-flight tests he felt something was missing. “Where is the rover,” She asked. “Kraken be damned, where did it go?” Katsuki came in over the comms. “I think it drove back to Nertea Base once the battery got low, the homing system must have kicked in.” Scott activated her jet pack and flew over to the Falcon to confirm this. Back at KSC Bill told the engineers to never repurpose a roomba as a control unit.
Elifal was the last to say goodbye to the new outpost. She picked up 56 science experiments and traveled to Falcon 07 there she boarded the ascent stage and the team left their home on the Mun after having spent 16 days on the surface and 2 in transit.
After nearly 20 days the mission of Falcon 07 came to an end. Returning a ton of science, having restored the power to the base and the ability to dig for ore, but most of all having made “Outpost Angel” an operational base in a more stable location.
KSC was planning the next base expansion and Falcon 08 to crew it.
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