"I think the most surprising thing was that our planet is round! We've always worked on the assumption that our planet is a kind of disk, and the atmosphere was pushing us down, which is why we fell back to Kerbin"
"What we actually found though, was that even though our instruments were confirming that there was no atmosphere, we still fell back to Kerbin. This must mean that Kerbin itself is pulling on us.
We caught up with head of R&D at KSC, Bill Kerman who elaborated. "This changes our understanding of the universe. What if it's not possible to escape the pull of our planet? Can we ever stay in space? I think so. I believe, if we manage to go fast enough, we can actually stay up there, or "orbit" Kerbin. Essentially we'd be falling constantly, but moving so fast it's impossible to hit the ground. The problem is, we found that when the pod re-entered the atmosphere, the air started to heat it. Luckily the effects were minor but the faster we go, the bigger I'd expect this to be."
It might sound crazy, but financial backer KWFRS don't seem to think so. "We've extended funding to KSC today to allow them to explore this new theory. We need to stay in space, or we're all doomed. If we can't escape then there is no hope for our species.
So what of the Kerbin 2? What made this particular craft so successful in escaping the atmosphere? We caught up with Bob Kerman, who explained.
"The problem with solid fuel, is when you light it, you can't control it, you just point and go. So we developed this new type of engine, which runs on liquid fuel. The big advantage is that we can shut down the engines if something goes wrong, not to mention it's much more fuel efficient."
Any disadvantages?
"Well, it is heavier, but the extra efficiency counteracts that. The plan with Kerbal 2 was to use the solid fuel to get through the thickest parts of the atmosphere, then use the liquid engines to push into space, and it worked!"
What of Bill's "moving fast enough we miss the planet" plan?
"Personally I think Bill is crazy, but I think we can make a craft that moves fast enough. I can't give anything away but I've got a few things that came out of the lab up my sleeve."
Interesting... we'll have to see what the illustrious boys at KSC will do next. One thing is for sure, those who doubted them, must surely now be doubting themselves.
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| The Kerbal 2 used an experimental new "liquid fuel" engine as well as traditional solid fuel |
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| With the solid fuel expended it's time to fire up the new engine |
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| It seems to be a success! |
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| KSC scientists were surprised to discover that Kerbin is round |
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| A potential danger? KSC detected massive heat spikes as the craft re-entered the atmosphere |
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| Thanks to a new technology, the command pod seperated before landing and was parachuted to safety |
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