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Just over two years ago, the announcement from the Federal Space Agency of Kafrica (FASK) came that the Tylo II Ballistic missile was incapable of carrying the Zephyr two man capsule into orbit. The Kafrican space program was rattled yet not undeterred from the Munar program, which had almost certainly been postponed by over a year. The continent’s dream of returning Kafricans to the Mun will still be realised.

For Kafrica to return to the Mun, the space program began a crash course development cycle of a three stage rocket. The Janet V, which under plans shall slingshot the Hecetate Capsule around the Mun. Janet V as it now sits on Launch Pad 68 just a few Kilometers away from the

The Kafrican return to the Mun begins on this pad. A powerful three stage rocket will be used, named the Janet V after the 5 engines on the first and second stages. These stages are heavier than any other rocket Kafrica has launched so far in its own right. Initially tested in the HJ-500 vehicle, which was a structural test article.

Launching today is the Hectate Command Service System (CSS) which can carry 3 astronauts to a Munar orbit, towing with it a Munar Exploration Vehicle, the MEV. This flight will not be launching crew, our objective today is to conduct an all-up test of the Hectate Janet spacecraft.

On the pad today is a vehicle not so different from the 500F structural test article. The Hectate Janet Serial number 501 which is an all up test of the vehicle. All three stages are live. The first stage has never flown before, neither has the second stage, the third stage has flown before yet has never been reignited in space as it will be today.

The full Janet V stack, for Hectate-Janet 4, 2206

The countdown for this mission began at T-12 hours with the beginning of propellant load onto the first stage. Cold liquid oxygen and Rocket Propellant 1, stored 250 meters away from the pad, pouring from Swing Arm 1 at the 31 foot level, and Swing Arm 2 at the 65 foot level. At launch the stage will weigh 1.1 million pounds, heavier than all manned vehicles up to this point combined. The total vehicle weight at liftoff will be 1.7 million pounds.

The J-IC as seen in the Vehicle Assembly Building

Between the first and second stages is the secondary plane, commonly known as the skirt section, the J-II stage is fueled by Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen, loaded into the vehicle through swing arms 4 and 5. At liftoff the stage weighs just a touch below two hundred thousand pounds. Most of that mass is the Oxidizer fuel which will be burned off in around 6 minutes.

Images of the stacking of the HJ501 vehicle's J-II Second stage

Above the second stage is the J-IVB third stage, this stage has flown before on Janet IB missions, the last of which carried crew into low Kerbin orbit. This stage is also fueled by Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen, powered by a single engine, the same type as on the J-II below it. The J-IVB is loaded with 75,000 pounds of fuel for the flight from Swing Arms 6 and 7. Following orbital insertion the ground will command the brain of the rocket, known as the Instrument Unit to point the vehicle onto a trajectory to similar velocities used in a Trans Munar Injection manoeuvre.

The J-IVB Third Stage, being lowered atop the J-II second stage

The J-IVB from the level of Swing Arm #7, showing parts of the Instrument Unit

Above the Instrument Unit is a conically shaped adapter which takes the vehicle from the diameter of the J-IVB to the diameter of the Hectate Command Service Module. This module contains life sustaining fuel cells, generating electricity and potable water from a hydrogen and oxygen mixture passed over a catalyst.

In order to safely reach orbit around the Mun, the Service Module contains an engine, powered by a set of valves which are designed in such a way that they have a low chance of outright failure. Two sets of redundancies seal the deal to ensure that our future crews can return from the Mun if the first set are to fail.

Through electrical connections, the entire vehicle is interfaced to the Command Module, named Hectate. Designed to carry 3 Kerbals into space and then safely home at Munar entry velocities, protected by a heatshield which ablates off as the heat builds. Shedding the energy created by the Kinetic - thermal heating loop. Redundant batteries are also located here, should the main batteries fail, still allowing for a safe entry by the crew.

The Launch

Liftoff of the HJ-501 Vehicle on Hectate 4, 2206

Following a nominal countdown the retractions of the wind damper arm, swing arm number 3 at T-3 hours. The parking of the Crew Access Arm at T-50 minutes and its subsequent full retraction at T-5 minutes. The vehicle began to build up, the pressures in the first, second and third stages rose to flight levels at 40 seconds to liftoff. With 30 seconds to go, the first swing arms began to retract from the ice sheathed vehicle, bursts of leftover gas was expelled from their ports as they swung away to hug the tower. At T-17 seconds, the Instrument Unit was given full control of the vehicle, Janet was on her own and on her way to space. At T-8.9 seconds, the firing command was transmitted to the 5 mammoth engines below, sucking in the soot it had generated and expelled back below the launch table as the vehicle began to rumble. Ice crystals dropped off each stage as they were shaken off. All engines go, all controllers go, clamps release. With the explosion of gas from the fill/drain lines as the remainder of the swing arms began to spring away, hugging the tower as the vehicle slowly clambered into the vast morning skies over Angus. Burning nearly a tonne of fuel per second as the mass drained on the vehicle, speeding up past the speed of sound in around 90 seconds, much slower than any other Kafrican vehicle. Yet the power of the Janet V was unmatched. Two minutes into flight, the vehicle commanded the shutdown of the J-IC’s central engine, reducing the loads on the entire vehicle as it continued to accelerate harder and harder with each passing second. At T+2:30 seconds the vehicle shunted forward, all four remaining engines starved of their fuel, spluttering out before the violent explosion of bolts tore the J-IC away from the J-II.

Janet V Soars past the sound barrier at T+1:30 seconds

Now outside the range of ground cameras, the vehicle began to slowly decelerate, yet still gaining energy as the five J-II stage engines began to turn the tide against gravity. Slowly but dependably accelerating it to near orbital velocities. Cutting off as planned, all five engines sputtered out of fuel like the first stage, before releasing stage 3.

The J-IVB came to life almost as quickly as the stages before were torn away. Driving the rest of the vehicle into orbit, cutting off at the planned velocity of approximately 12,450 feet per second. Entering into its coast phase, engineers began to run over their data, the Janet V had successfully completed its first launch without any obvious, life threatening anomalies.

Yet the mission still wasn’t over, after 2 hours, the vehicle, flying over Vocavium at the time relit its engine, carrying the combined stack up to a Geostationary transfer trajectory, with plans to use the Service Propulsion System (SPS) to increase the speed on the return trip. All went well, with some photographers trying to catch a glimpse of the vehicle as it performed this manoeuvre, yet due to the daylit skies none were able to catch sight of the stage.

After a few hours in coast, the vehicles separated, the spacecraft adapter swinging back and then releasing the conical covers, setting the command service module combo free. Drifting away from the stage and preparing to speed up its trajectory and point it homewards. Increasing speeds to that analogous of Munar return trips, then separating the Service Module from the Command Module. As expected, the service module gave itself a short burst of RCS and then translated backwards infinitely to gain separation from the capsule.

The CM then orientated itself, heatshield first, going backwards towards the thin veil of air that Kerbals breathe on the daily. As expected by mission control in Bown, losing contact with the spacecraft as it ionised the air around it, creating a shield that no communications could penetrate out of. For three minutes the Control center could only wait. Despite this, downrange search and recovery assets were able to report that they had visual of the two reentry trails of Command and Service modules.

Finally, the call came over, that they see the CM on drouge chutes. Two white circular cloths slowing the conical command module down against the windy upper atmosphere. Allowing for them to drag out the main chutes at 10,000 feet. The Capsule was home safe. The flight was a success.

A photograph from the recovery crews as they view the deployment of the three main parachutes on the Hectate Crew Capsule, 2206

The next mission, an identical flight to the one performed today is forthcoming, after that, three Kafricans will return our nation to Munar orbit. Should they be successful, we will be performing tests of the Munar Module, in preparation for the main event. Landing Kafricans on the Mun.
God Bless the United States of Central Kafrica.