National Aeronautics & Space Administration · Kerbin
Program authority · Era 3 recovery
NASA oversees the Melody Space Center portfolio: station expansion on LSI 1, MunShot planning, deep-space relays, and the crew safety standards that became unavoidable after Basic Station. Fourteen kerbals have reached orbit; none have been lost. Three are aboard LSI 1 now, running the program's first sustained station science.
Replacement for decommissioned Basic Station. KerbalX delivered the core on Starship Heavy 4 with corrected docking interfaces. MSC-003 achieved the first successful MSC station docking; habitation, power, and KeedMartin's docking hub remain in build or review.
Phase 1 pairs KOEING's abort-equipped R-SLS2 against KerbalX's heavy-lift path—both may fly before a winner is named. Phase 2 remains locked until Phase 1 proves crew control beyond low Kerbin orbit.
Twin relays sit at solar distances KerbalX delivered after winning the competition from KOEING's LLS-2. The network is operational; NASA treats the long-range mission design as need-to-know—fueling headlines and intercept math in the technical press.
“We are building infrastructure. What we build it for—that conversation is for another day.”— Administrator Wernhardt Clane, post-SOLARCOM 2
Equatorial and polar comsats underpin every crew loop today. Parallel to LSI and MunShot, the quietly watched long-range object remains unnamed—relays wait, three kerbals work upstairs, and the program's next chapter is still being written.
MSC-002 proved R-SLS2 could bring a crew home through docking failure, EVA, and Mach 3+ reentry. NASA then mandated KOEING's tower-style Launch Abort System for all future crewed atmospheric operations—including MunShot contenders. It was the administration's clearest admission that “cheap enough” had previously omitted a last-resort escape path.
NASA Administrator
Speaks for the agency when relays go live and when stations fail. After Basic Station, directed KerbalX to field LSI 1 with corrected specs; after MSC-003, credited flight ops with proving “no drama” is an operational goal, not an accident of mood.
SLS family; first kerbals to orbit. R-SLS2 is the primary crew vehicle—two successful station missions, LAS-equipped, MunShot frontrunner.
SOLARCOM and LSI operator. SH-4 placed the new station; accountability review on Basic Station continues internally while expansion modules integrate.
VAJE engines fly on SH-4; docking hub documentation is under NASA review before the hub can join the LSI stack.
| Effort | Lead | Status |
|---|---|---|
| KERBCOM — Kerbin satellite network | KOEING · SLS 2 | Complete |
| KerbalOrbit — first crewed orbital | KOEING · SLS 3C | Complete |
| SOLARCOM — deep relays | KerbalX · SH-3 | Complete |
| LSI 1 — station core | KerbalX · SH-4 | In orbit · crewed |
| MunShot Phase 1 | KOEING vs KerbalX · TBD | Planning |
| Marsproof | KerbalX · SH-4 class | Paused |
Headcanon note:This site exists inside the Kerbal Internet fiction. Names, contracts, and timelines align with the MSC universe bible (v8); SOLARCOM's unstated purpose, Katdorf Kerman's classified experiments, and the unnamed distant object are deliberate story hooks—not claims about real spaceflight.