Pathfinder

## The Beginning

In 1963, the Air Force had an idea. After proposing a new vehicle idea to Robert Truax, they had a design for a new vehicle that would "shuttle" cargo to and from orbit. The unnamed project at the time, would be actively developed through the 1960s. In 1967, someone proposed the name "Pathfinder" due to the vehicles experimental nature. The name stuck, and from then on that's what everyone called it. In 1968, the vehicle was in its final stages before being assembled and flying.

## First launch

In 1970, Pathfinder was rolled to the pad. Before the launch, it was decided to fire the new sea level J-2 engines before flight. After the static fire, engineers would be sent to check everything to make sure it was all good before flight.

### top 10 tragedies

The engineers went to the pad, however, due to a communication error, they were not told the static firing was delayed due to fuelling errors. After getting to the launch pad, due to the delay, the engines hadn't been fired yet. However, due to the immense amount of issues that day, they were not able to report that they had reached the launch pad. After inspecting the vehicle, they tried to report their findings. Shortly afterwards, the sea level J-2 engines fired, and none of them survived. This has since been dubbed "The Pathfinder Disaster".

### Launch

After the disaster, it was decided that the launch would go on as normal. Nothing was wrong with the vehicle, so why delay it? That's what the Air Force thought, and the launch went fine. Pathfinder deployed a LEM into lunar orbit for the next shuttle to do docking tests with.

## Upgrades

After the crewed shuttle, Persistence, tragically detonated on the launch pad, the USAF decided to completely overhaul Pathfinder, turning it into a crewed Single Stage to Orbit spaceplane, launched from an Air Force cargo aircraft.

Using 2 nuclear Phoebus engines, and 2 jet engines, Pathfinder was able to get into orbit. It was used to ferry crew to, and from Jamestown.

Pathfinder was also used to get crew to the new Mars Transfer Vehicle, named Helios.

## End.

Jamestown is attacked by an unknown entity.

All crew are dead, except one,

They said: "It looked like an egg... It had a gun on top, and a small crew compartment. It had landing legs, it had an engine.... It looked so alien yet it looked so familiar. It looked like something we would have built."

After the attack, it was found this was sent from Laythe, which had previously been found to have an alien species on it, now known as Yatirians. The attackers were a known fascist faction on Laythe, however it was not known they had the ability to build spacecraft.

War was declared almost immediately, and after some fighting, KASA, collaborating with the Air Force, sent a Saturn V tipped with nuclear warheads to Laythe.

Pathfinder was sent to escort it.

After a couple of hours in orbit, the two craft were about to do the burn to Laythe. They were intercepted.

A small craft, with two missiles, intercepted Pathfinder and Saturn. It fired both missiles, missing both times. However, it seems they did not intend for the missiles to be the only way to take out our craft. The spacecraft ignited its engine, quickly accelerating towards Pathfinder, missing the first time. However, the second time, Pathfinder was not so lucky. A wing was severed, but the crew decided to keep the mission going.

The crew was confirmed dead halfway through the transfer, but the Saturn made it, and the war was ended.

A memorial to Pathfinder and Jamestown was made at LC39B.