Difference between revisions of "Kerbonaut"

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[[File:Happy kerbal.jpg|thumb|A kerbonaut on [[EVA]]]]
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{{for|the species of Kerbin|Kerbal}}
A '''kerbonaut''' is the KSP equivalent of an [[w:Astronaut|astronaut]]. Kerbonauts are the select [[Kerbal]]s who [[crew]] vehicles launched from [[Kerbal Space Center]]. They wear an [[Intra-Vehicular Activity|IVA]] suit and helmet inside of crafts, and an [[Extra-Vehicular Activity|EVA]] suit and helmet outside. The EVA suit includes helmet lights and a jetpack meant for maneuvering in outer space.
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[[File:Kerbal helmet off.png|thumb|200px|right|Kerbonaut with helmet removed (promo image)]]
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A '''kerbonaut''' is a [[Kerbal]] that has been trained as an [[w:Astronaut|astronaut]]. Kerbonauts are capable of [[Pilot|operating]] assorted vehicles, can perform [[Scientist|science]] experiments, and have a limited ability to perform [[Engineer|repairs]].
  
Each kerbonaut has two personality attributes – [[Courage]] and [[Stupidity]] – which are displayed in-game. There's a small chance they may also have the hidden "BadS" attribute. These attributes together affect how a kerbonaut reacts to decouplers decoupling, vessels accelerating, and other variously lethal events.  
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The term ''kerbonaut'' is a fan-made term that was created by replacing the root ''astro-'' or ''cosmo-'' from ''astronaut'' or ''cosmonaut'' with ''kerbo-'', and is not seen in-game; rather, they are referred to as ''astronauts''; however, the [[Experiment Storage Unit]]'s description uses the term "kerbalnaut", and Harvester used the term ''kerbonaut'' in a developer's note.<ref name="devnote">[http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/114430-Devnote-Tuesday-It%E2%80%99s-All-In-The-Details| March 31st, 2015 Devnotes].</ref> The commonality of its use by fans mirrors the real-world prevalence of [[w:Astronaut#Terminology|nation-specific terms]] for space travelers.
  
Every game starts with the same "original three" kerbonauts hired and ready. More can be hired in the [[Astronaut Complex]], each one having random amounts of Courage and Stupidity and a (rather) small chance to have the BadS stat enabled. Each kerbonaut also has a random first name; the surname of any kerbonaut, and of all known Kerbals, is always "Kerman".
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== Abilities ==
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[[File:Happy kerbal.jpg|thumb|200px|A kerbonaut on EVA]]
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[[File:Bob EVA.png|thumb|[[Bob Kerman]] on EVA]]
  
==The Original Three==
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=== EVA/IVA ===
Every new game, whether [[Sandbox]] or [[Career]] mode, begins with three kerbonauts already on the roster. While all other kerbonauts have randomly generated names and stats, these three are always the same. Their names are [[Jebediah Kerman]], [[Bill Kerman]], and [[Bob Kerman]].  
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Kerbonauts can be directly controlled when on [[EVA]], where they wear a spacesuit and can collect EVA reports and [[surface sample]]s. The spacesuit includes an [[RCS]] jetpack, which allows tri-axial maneuvering while in space, and flight on planets with low gravity. Kerbonauts on EVA can be killed by hitting objects at a high velocity.<ref>The true crash tolerance remains unknown, as different parts of the spacesuit have different impact velocities; a bug exists where Kerbonauts can survive impossibly large falls by landing on their helmet, while the same fall would kill a Kerbonaut who landed on its feet</ref>. As of [[1.6]] Kerbals may now remove helmets and neck rings on planets with a breathable atmosphere though by doing so the Kerbal will be more susceptible to damage and will also die if oxygen is deprived. In addition, even when the 'Ignore Max Temperature' cheat is enabled, removing a Kerbonaut's helmet, while they are in the immediate vicinity of the blast of any engine that produces significant heat (most often rocket engines), will near-instantly kill them; that is, assuming that they are also in an [[EAS-1 External Command Seat]] with the 'Unbreakable Joints' cheat enabled as well. If not, they will probably be thrown out of the blast zone by the engine itself before they die.
  
These are the only “veteran” kerbonauts in [[Kerbal Space Program]], designated by orange IVA suits and icons in crew interfaces; 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 though no such helmet is seen in-game – IVA helmets have grey stripes and EVA have red.
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When inside of a [[crew|crewable]] [[part]], <ref>Jebediah, Bill, Bob, and Valentina wear a special orange jumpsuit. All other Kerbals have white.</ref> kerbonauts can perform crew reports.
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Level 1 kerbals (or level 0 pilots) can use a [[EVA_Parachute|personal parachute]] to land safely by themselves on atmospheric bodies.
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[[File:KerbalEVAHelmet.jpg|thumb|Kerbals with and without helmets]]
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=== Experience and skill ===
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{{Main|Experience}}
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Kerbonauts each have one of three [[specialization]]s and can gain experience in them by going on missions. The skills include [[pilot]]s, who can provide better [[SAS]] control, [[scientist]]s, who can restore experiments and process additional science, and [[engineer]]s, who can fix or restore certain parts and increase the efficiency of [[resource harvester]]s and [[converter]]s.
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=== Science container ===
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Any kerbal can '''store''' experiments while in EVA. The two only restrictions are that only a scientist can '''perform''' experiments during an EVA (and reset modules such as the mystery goo and the science Jr.), and a kerbal cannot store twice the same experiment/situation/biome triplet.
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The science is transfered to any command pod they enter, so don't forget to right-click on a command pod to retrieve stored expriments when going to EVA to another ship for example.
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== Management ==
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The [[Astronaut Complex]] provides centralized status listing of all hired crew and the hiring of new kerbonauts. The surname of every kerbonaut, and of every known Kerbal, is "Kerman". Aside from the orange suits, each kerbonaut has a random first name. Each kerbonaut also has randomized personality traits.
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=== Personality ===
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Personality traits determine how a kerbonaut behaves in various flight conditions. Each kerbonaut has a random value of two personality attributes—''Courage'' and ''Stupidity''—that are displayed in-game. These traits affect the displayed facial expressions and gestures seen in IVA portraits and EVA, and range from ''[[w:happiness|delight]]'' to ''[[w:fear|fear]]''. These emotions have no effect on flight performance or [[Science]] results{{check version||1.0.5}}, and serve purely as flavor.  There is a 10% chance they may also have the hidden "BadS" (an abbreviation of "badass") flag, which imposes total ignorance of both Courage and Stupidity and forces ''delight'' in nearly all situations excluding nearby explosions. <!-- Can we get some examples of smiling and screaming Kerbals in this little section? Kthx ~~~~        examples of smiling and screaming kerbals can be seen in sections below (of the "original four" kerbonauts  -->
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There is a bug regarding Courage (but not Stupidity) in version [[0.23.5]], where courage values in the info screen in both the Tracking Station and Orbital Map are inverted from those displayed in the Astronaut Complex.
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Experiments in {{version|0.23}} using non-badass kerbonauts modified to the four possible combinations of extreme Courage and Stupidity ([1, 1], [1, 0], [0, 0], [0, 1]) revealed that Courage does not control fearful behavior. Both of the Stupid kerbonauts were blissfully ignorant in the face of danger. Meanwhile, the non-Stupid ones both displayed equal fear of accelerating in any rocket built by KSC engineers, and displayed this at exactly the same time despite having opposite levels of Courage from each other. Subsequent tests with 0.75/0.25 combinations showed an uptick in fear in the less Stupid subjects, indicating that the natural outcome of awareness is dread.
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However, observing the behavior of tourists (during the cash runs to Mun, for example) have generated the result:
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At Kerbin (inside atmosphere, around KSC), those with low stupidity tend to show more fear. However, once they reached a certain altitude (or distance to KSP), their mood (behavior) quickly switched to "content", and are all "excited" when in space (including landed on airless bodies like the Mun). However, regardless of that, all kerbonauts display fear toward explosions, even if it was caused by jettisoned parts. (tested in {{version|1.10.1}})
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Curiously, my engineer (who had low stupidity) was frowning when taking off in a spaceplane (at KSC). Once it was out of its influence he too become "content", even when doing extreme maneuvers (+15 gee turns).
  
Their presence at the top of the list of kerbonauts in every game means they each have much greater likelihood of being aboard any given vessel than does any random kerbonaut, with Jeb being far and away the most likely to pilot any craft any time he's available. This, and their presence in every player's games, makes them the most famous faces of KSP.
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The badS flag, however, negates all fear regardless of Courage or Stupidity, pushing the kerbonaut toward a happy state which only the most blatantly impending catastrophe can dim.
  
== Naming ==
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== "Orange Suited Kerbonauts" ==
The term '''kerbonaut''' seems to be an invention of KSP fans. The in-game building for hiring crew is named the '''''Astronaut''' Complex'' after all. As the developers at Squad are the authors of the Kerbal universe, it makes sense to consider their terms official.
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Every new game begins with four kerbonauts on the roster in the following order; [[Jebediah Kerman]], [[Bill Kerman]], [[Bob Kerman]], and [[Valentina Kerman]]. While all other kerbonauts have randomly generated names and stats, these four remain persistent through all save games. Their presence at the top of the list means that, when available, they have a much greater likelihood of being aboard any given vessel than any other kerbonaut.  
  
However, fans persist in “adding K to every word” as evidenced by mods like the [http://kerbalspaceport.com/kerbonaut-creator/ Kerbonaut Creator], use in [http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/zi2b9/the_first_kerbonaut_an_anonymous_explorer/ KSP fan fiction], forum posts requesting [http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/51738-Kerbonaut-Suit-colors-automatic-updaing kerbonaut veteran suit colors], etc. If notoriety in another huge indie game is any barometer, there are about 12x more views of a [http://www.planetminecraft.com/skin/ksp-kerbonaut/ Kerbonaut Minecraft skin] than a [http://cdn.planetminecraft.com/skin/kerbal-space-program-astronaut/ Kerbal astronaut Minecraft skin] on the same site.  
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These are the only “veteran” kerbonauts in [[Kerbal Space Program]], designated by orange IVA suits and icons in crew interfaces; 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 though no such helmet is seen in-game – IVA helmets have grey stripes and EVA have red.
  
In real-life, “astronaut” is not a universal term; it principally refers to NASA and sometimes European Space Agency explorers. The term “cosmonaut” (Russian: космонавт) has been used since Soviet times and could make a historical case for being the first choice. Eastern European and former Soviet bloc countries have invented terms based on the Russian, while other nations have used [[w:Astronaut#Other terms|other terms based on ”astronaut”]]. In modern times, Chinese sources use either term depending on the audience they're speaking to, though ”háng tiān yuán”  represents their native term for space travellers other than China's. Meanwhile, western media invented the term ”taikonaut” for China's space travellers.
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They are, arguably, the "faces" of Kerbal Space Program.
  
If there is a universal trend, it seems that terms for "people who go to space" get tied in with national identities. However, KSC and characters like [[Wernher von Kerman]] and [[Gene Kerman]] more closely resemble the US space program of the 1960s than any other space program. In the end, it's hard to say what should be said.
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== Naming ==
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The term '''kerbonaut''' is a fan-made term and is not used in-game. The in-game building for hiring crew is named the '''''Astronaut''' Complex'' and is presumably the official term, with only one known instance of a developer using ''kerbonaut''<ref name="devnote"/>, and the [[Experiment Storage Unit]] referring to them as Kerbalnauts.
  
== See also ==
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The commonality of the term ''kerbonaut'' by fans mirrors the real-world prevalence of nation-specific terms for space travelers. For example, "astronaut" and "cosmonaut" refer principally to American and Russian space travelers, respectively.
* [[Jebediah Kerman]]: kerbonaut and manufacturer/junkyard operator
 
* [[Bill Kerman]]: kerbonaut
 
* [[Bob Kerman]]: kerbonaut
 
  
[[Category:Kerbals]]
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{{Kerbals|kerbonauts}}
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[[Category:Kerbals| ]]

Revision as of 03:42, 21 January 2021

For the species of Kerbin, see Kerbal.
Kerbonaut with helmet removed (promo image)

A kerbonaut is a Kerbal that has been trained as an astronaut. Kerbonauts are capable of operating assorted vehicles, can perform science experiments, and have a limited ability to perform repairs.

The term kerbonaut is a fan-made term that was created by replacing the root astro- or cosmo- from astronaut or cosmonaut with kerbo-, and is not seen in-game; rather, they are referred to as astronauts; however, the Experiment Storage Unit's description uses the term "kerbalnaut", and Harvester used the term kerbonaut in a developer's note.[1] The commonality of its use by fans mirrors the real-world prevalence of nation-specific terms for space travelers.

Abilities

A kerbonaut on EVA
Bob Kerman on EVA

EVA/IVA

Kerbonauts can be directly controlled when on EVA, where they wear a spacesuit and can collect EVA reports and surface samples. The spacesuit includes an RCS jetpack, which allows tri-axial maneuvering while in space, and flight on planets with low gravity. Kerbonauts on EVA can be killed by hitting objects at a high velocity.[2]. As of 1.6 Kerbals may now remove helmets and neck rings on planets with a breathable atmosphere though by doing so the Kerbal will be more susceptible to damage and will also die if oxygen is deprived. In addition, even when the 'Ignore Max Temperature' cheat is enabled, removing a Kerbonaut's helmet, while they are in the immediate vicinity of the blast of any engine that produces significant heat (most often rocket engines), will near-instantly kill them; that is, assuming that they are also in an EAS-1 External Command Seat with the 'Unbreakable Joints' cheat enabled as well. If not, they will probably be thrown out of the blast zone by the engine itself before they die.

When inside of a crewable part, [3] kerbonauts can perform crew reports.

Level 1 kerbals (or level 0 pilots) can use a personal parachute to land safely by themselves on atmospheric bodies.

Kerbals with and without helmets

Experience and skill

→ Main article: Experience

Kerbonauts each have one of three specializations and can gain experience in them by going on missions. The skills include pilots, who can provide better SAS control, scientists, who can restore experiments and process additional science, and engineers, who can fix or restore certain parts and increase the efficiency of resource harvesters and converters.

Science container

Any kerbal can store experiments while in EVA. The two only restrictions are that only a scientist can perform experiments during an EVA (and reset modules such as the mystery goo and the science Jr.), and a kerbal cannot store twice the same experiment/situation/biome triplet.

The science is transfered to any command pod they enter, so don't forget to right-click on a command pod to retrieve stored expriments when going to EVA to another ship for example.

Management

The Astronaut Complex provides centralized status listing of all hired crew and the hiring of new kerbonauts. The surname of every kerbonaut, and of every known Kerbal, is "Kerman". Aside from the orange suits, each kerbonaut has a random first name. Each kerbonaut also has randomized personality traits.

Personality

Personality traits determine how a kerbonaut behaves in various flight conditions. Each kerbonaut has a random value of two personality attributes—Courage and Stupidity—that are displayed in-game. These traits affect the displayed facial expressions and gestures seen in IVA portraits and EVA, and range from delight to fear. These emotions have no effect on flight performance or Science results[outdated], and serve purely as flavor. There is a 10% chance they may also have the hidden "BadS" (an abbreviation of "badass") flag, which imposes total ignorance of both Courage and Stupidity and forces delight in nearly all situations excluding nearby explosions.

There is a bug regarding Courage (but not Stupidity) in version 0.23.5, where courage values in the info screen in both the Tracking Station and Orbital Map are inverted from those displayed in the Astronaut Complex.

Experiments in version 0.23 using non-badass kerbonauts modified to the four possible combinations of extreme Courage and Stupidity ([1, 1], [1, 0], [0, 0], [0, 1]) revealed that Courage does not control fearful behavior. Both of the Stupid kerbonauts were blissfully ignorant in the face of danger. Meanwhile, the non-Stupid ones both displayed equal fear of accelerating in any rocket built by KSC engineers, and displayed this at exactly the same time despite having opposite levels of Courage from each other. Subsequent tests with 0.75/0.25 combinations showed an uptick in fear in the less Stupid subjects, indicating that the natural outcome of awareness is dread.

However, observing the behavior of tourists (during the cash runs to Mun, for example) have generated the result: At Kerbin (inside atmosphere, around KSC), those with low stupidity tend to show more fear. However, once they reached a certain altitude (or distance to KSP), their mood (behavior) quickly switched to "content", and are all "excited" when in space (including landed on airless bodies like the Mun). However, regardless of that, all kerbonauts display fear toward explosions, even if it was caused by jettisoned parts. (tested in version 1.10.1)

Curiously, my engineer (who had low stupidity) was frowning when taking off in a spaceplane (at KSC). Once it was out of its influence he too become "content", even when doing extreme maneuvers (+15 gee turns).

The badS flag, however, negates all fear regardless of Courage or Stupidity, pushing the kerbonaut toward a happy state which only the most blatantly impending catastrophe can dim.

"Orange Suited Kerbonauts"

Every new game begins with four kerbonauts on the roster in the following order; Jebediah Kerman, Bill Kerman, Bob Kerman, and Valentina Kerman. While all other kerbonauts have randomly generated names and stats, these four remain persistent through all save games. Their presence at the top of the list means that, when available, they have a much greater likelihood of being aboard any given vessel than any other kerbonaut.

These are the only “veteran” kerbonauts in Kerbal Space Program, designated by orange IVA suits and icons in crew interfaces; 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 though no such helmet is seen in-game – IVA helmets have grey stripes and EVA have red.

They are, arguably, the "faces" of Kerbal Space Program.

Naming

The term kerbonaut is a fan-made term and is not used in-game. The in-game building for hiring crew is named the Astronaut Complex and is presumably the official term, with only one known instance of a developer using kerbonaut[1], and the Experiment Storage Unit referring to them as Kerbalnauts.

The commonality of the term kerbonaut by fans mirrors the real-world prevalence of nation-specific terms for space travelers. For example, "astronaut" and "cosmonaut" refer principally to American and Russian space travelers, respectively.

  1. 1.0 1.1 March 31st, 2015 Devnotes.
  2. The true crash tolerance remains unknown, as different parts of the spacesuit have different impact velocities; a bug exists where Kerbonauts can survive impossibly large falls by landing on their helmet, while the same fall would kill a Kerbonaut who landed on its feet
  3. Jebediah, Bill, Bob, and Valentina wear a special orange jumpsuit. All other Kerbals have white.