Bill Kerman
| Bill Kerman | ||
 | ||
| Bill in one of his calmer moments before things inevitably go wrong. | ||
| Occupation | Kerbonaut | |
| Specialisation | Engineer | |
| KSC ID# | 0002 | |
| Courage | | |
| Stupidity | | |
| Badass | No | |
Bill Kerman is kerbonaut #0002[1] and the least intelligent of the "original three".
Contents
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.
Like all members of the original three, Bill's position near the top of the list of kerbonauts means players will be far more likely to have him on missions that any of the random kerbonauts, but still less than Jebediah.
Personality
Bill has as much Courage as Jebediah but, unlike him, does not have the "badass" trait. He also has relatively high Stupidity, the highest of the three. His facial expressions and behavior suggest he often finds flight situations worrisome but he will also appear happy is situations like orbiting Kerbin or on the surface of Minmus.
Reputation
Some fans interpret Bill as intensely reluctant to fly. Others depict him as an intrepid explorer[2] or as eager, sentimental, if unlucky[3].
His Steam Trading Card says he "always knows when something's gone wrong" which could suggest pessimism, though in KSP things often do go wrong.
Gallery
Official artwork of Bill Kerman
Bill in a Hitchhiker module
Bill Kerman (center, deeply shadowed) as happy as a Kerbal should be in EVA outside a Space Station
Bill Kerman (bottom right) in a Space Station
Fiction
Bill always appears scared when in flight and acts as if he is possibly the worst kerbal for the job. He is always afraid during flight, possibly because he suffers from multiple conditions that include, but are not limited to:
- Vertigo
- Home sickness
- Travel sickness
- Motion sickness
- Sopite syndrome
- Fear of high speeds
- Fear of suffocation
- Severe claustrophobia
Kerbonaut is the 3rd worst career path Bill could imagine, the worst being roller coaster tester & 2nd worst being professional freefaller. The only reason that Bill enrolled in the kerbonaut training program is that his mother pressures encourages him to become a kerbonaut, thus showing that their family is honourable as a career in space travel is the most honourable career to kerbals, and kerbonaut at the top of that. Incidentally, mountain dew bottling is the second most honourable job to kerbals, and is what Bill always wanted to do.
History
- 1964: Bill Kerman Born?
- 1980: Bill Kerman joins Insular inc. as an unpaid intern
- 1981: Bill Kerman promoted to Janitor, cleans burn marks off launch pad
- 1982: Bill Kerman accidentally cleans the lauch pad as a rocket takes off, Insular promotes him into mission control to avoid law suits & anger from his mother
- 1984: Bill Kerman promoted to kerbonaut at Insular inc. as he has a sixth sense for detecting how fast he's going to pinpoint accuracy, company saves dozens of Kurrency in speedometers
- (early)1989: Insular airfield Recco space station exploded in orbit, Bill only one to escape, ranting about a kraken...
- (mid-)1989: Bill forced into retirement from Insular inc due to 'post-explosion & went kraken crazy-stress'
- (late)1989: Bill hears Insular inc. shut down; knowing no kerbal will ever be harmed there again, he begins slow recovery
- 2009: Bill Kerman enters KSC rocket science university
- 2010: Bill kerman graduates KSC rocket science university early due to past experience
- 2010: Bill Kerman enters KSC training program
- 2012: Bill Kerman becomes KSC kerbonaut
