Jebediah Kerman

Jebediah Kerman
Jebediah Kerman in his usual happy mood
Occupation		Kerbonaut
Specialisation		Pilot
Other occupations		Manufacturer, Ride Sharer
KSC ID#		0001
Courage
Stupidity
Badass		Yes

Jebediah “Jeb” Kerman is kerbonaut #0001, presumed owner of a rocket part manufacturer, and all-around badass.

Background

The Original Three

Every new game, whether Sandbox or Career mode, begins with three kerbonauts already available and ready for launch. While all other kerbonauts have randomly generated names and stats, these original three are always the same: Jebediah Kerman, Bill Kerman, and Bob Kerman.

These are the only "veteran" kerbonauts in KSP, designated by orange IVA suits; everything else is visually identical to all kerbonauts. In some of the game's loading screens, three orange suited kerbonauts (presumably Jeb, Bill, and Bob) have helmets with orange stripes instead of red but this isn't seen in-game.

Jebediah is the only one of the original three with the attribute 'badS = True'. Short for "badass", this makes Jeb's facial expression and general reaction be "happy" ones in almost all situations which might trigger "afraid" reactions in the typical kerbonaut. Whatever effect his dead-middle ratings for Courage and Stupidity would have on personality are overridden by his sheer badassery.

Fame

For several reasons, Jebediah "Jeb" Kerman is the most well-known character from KSP (though it's possible Kerbals themselves consider Wernher_von_Kerman more famous).

Since Jeb is always first in the list of kerbonauts, he will by default be the first kerbonaut to board any vessel you launch. In some cases, even after removing Jeb from the crew assignment of a vehicle in the VAB or SPH, if you leave the Crew tab before launching, Jeb will again be aboard -- sometimes the only kerbonaut aboard.
All told, the odds of having Jeb on any particular flight are far higher than any other kerbonaut. KSP players are likely to have Jeb along for all the "firsts" of their space program and have many of their flights with Jeb as their pilot, assuming they don't launch him into deep space on spent fuel tanks before learning to orbit properly. Jeb appears in many gameplay videos for the same reason (or doesn't, for that or other reasons of varying lethality).

The developers additionally highlight Jebediah, featuring him in some of the training scenarios. He is also the only character specifically referenced in a KSP loading screen hint: "Locating Jebediah Kerman..."
If KSP has a "Mario", it's Jeb. He is the namesake for many Kerbal Space Program related components like MechJeb or the RoboJeb bot in this wiki.

Manufacturing

Though unconfirmed, it seems likely there's no coincidence in the naming of the manufacturer "Jebediah Kerman's Junkyard and Spaceship Parts Co.". The exact relationship -- whether owner or just spokeskerbal -- isn't stated; but many players assume Jeb both flies and supplies parts including the FL-R25 and FL-R1 RCS fuel tanks, various medium-size rocket engines like the popular LV-T30, and the PPD-10 Hitchhiker Storage Container.

Gallery

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  Jebediah showing his competence with jetpacks

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  Jebediah after returning from a mission

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  Jebediah's portrait shows the orange IVA suit

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  Official artwork of Jebediah Kerman