The Apollo Applications Program: 1.0 Edition

[Jonboy]

Ascension D-1 (Manned Duna Flyby & Landing)

With the completion of the first flyby of Eve, the Kerbal Space Program has progressed far beyond the simple dare to land a Kerbal on the Mun. At the time, the challenge seemed impossible. Now, the powerful Sarnus V rocket has proven to be a reliable launch system. Orbital docking, landing on alien worlds, and living for months in space have all been proven possible. As the Kerbal aerospace-industrial complex churns out more Sarnus boosters, the boys at KSC need a mission that can expand on these technologies and accomplish something amazing. After all, if they slow down now, funding may disappear. And if one thing horrifies our Kerbals, it's the thought of being sentenced to LKO resupply missions. Those are just boring. Fortunately, an clever engineer came up with a plan to perform a flyby of Duna - and land at the same time.

The Plan

​

(You can read more about the Flyby-Landing Excursion Mode proposal at the excellent Beyond Apollo blog by David Portree, over at Wired.)

A traditional stop-over at another planet costs a lot of Delta-V. You have to boost yourself out there, slow down a lot once you get there, and then boost yourself all the way back again. And you may end up having to wait for months or years in orbit of your destination waiting for a transfer window back home. As was demonstrated with the Ascension E-1 mission to Eve, you can nearly halve your Delta-V requirements by waiting for a flyby window - they're usually not the most efficient way to get to the other planet, but the gravity assist you get when you swing around the planet allows you to return home essentially free. The problem is that you only have a few hours in the planet's SOI as you zip by. Certainly not enough time to get surface samples!

The Flyby-Landing Excursion Mode proposal gives the best of both worlds. The vast majority of your ship's weight performs a simple, cheap flyby. However, several days out from the encounter, a small lander separates and puts itself on a course to enter the planet's atmosphere. After a brief landing and excursion, the crew takes off and accelerates toward the main ship to catch a ride home. And that's exactly what the boys at Kerbal Space Center decided to do. They'll need to get a lander, a deep-space habitat, and a CSM to Duna. That's a lot of mass, but we've found a way to do it using conventional propellants and minimum modification of the Ascension Program hardware.

The Mission

Phase A: Assembly

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Assembly of the Duna ship will be accomplished with three unmanned and two manned Sarnus V launches. The first three launches lifted modified Sarnus V third stages into LKO. These modified third stages include solar panels, RCS, and docking adapters, but otherwise use the same design as a normal third stage. Once in LKO, the three boosters were docked remotely from Kerbal Space Center. The mated boosters will make up the main propulsion system for the Ascension D-1 spacecraft, performing the Trans-Duna Injection burn.

Next, the "assembly crew", consisting of Bob, Eliedith, and Kirgel Kerman, rode a Sarnus V into orbit. This rocket carried a standard CSM with the Duna Excursion Module inside the interstage fairing. Once in orbit, the assembly crew docked the Duna Excursion Module to the newly assembled Propulsion Module, and performed extensive EVA checks of the aerodynamic heatshield that would protect in on Duna atmospheric entry.

Meanwhile, a final Sarnus V launch brought the "mission crew", Merene, Phildred, and Milus Kerman into LKO with the Duna Environmental Support Module. Unlike the Eve flyby, there will be no wet workshop for this mission, so the ESM has been expanded for the lengthy trip to and from Duna. As the mission crew arrived, the assembly crew undocked their CSM and returned to Kerbin, where they will no doubt watch the entire mission from the comfort of their home theater systems. The mission crew docked their transposed CSM and ESM to the DEM and Propulsion Modules, and the Ascension D-1 spacecraft was complete.

Phase B: Duna Flyby & Landing

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The Trans-Duna Injection was performed in two parts, with the first boosting the ship's apoapsis slightly past the Mun's orbit. As the ship swung back around to periapsis, the three boosters fired again to send the crew all the way to their rendezvous with Duna. Partway through the burn, the two external boosters were depleted, and they were discarded. Finally, with the burn complete and the craft moving away from Kerbin at escape velocity, the last booster was discarded, destined to become a derelict object in solar orbit.

With 60 days until their Duna encounter, the crew was occupied with regular science experiments, maintenance checklists, and Phildred nagging everyone to play chess with him. Nobody liked to play chess with Phildred, because they always won. But they were bored enough that they did it anyway, which may have lead to Phildred developing a rather large head by the time the encounter with Duna was near. Ten days out, Phildred and Marene climbed into the cramped Duna Excursion Module, where they would live for the next 20 days. With Milus waving through the window, they used a few short bursts of RCS to place themselves on a trajectory to enter Duna's thin atmosphere.

10 days later, the Red Planet loomed large in the viewport window. For centuries, Kerbals had been fascinated by the red point of light in the night sky. Up close, with its canyons and polar caps visible in exquisite detail, Merene and Phildred were in awe of the planet's menacing beauty. They did not have long to gawk, however. As the aerodynamic shell of the DEM hit the anemic atmosphere at over 3,000 m/s, they were engulfed in a ball of plasma. When the fireworks were over, the shell and heatshield were dropped, and the drogue chutes were deployed.

Marene: We're at 5,000 meters and dropping fast, Phildred. Expecting auto drogue deployment any - *BAM*

Phildred: There it is. Velocity dropping from 300 m/s.

Marene: We are at 1,000 and at 20 m/s. All systems nominal.

Phildred: Looks like we're over a pretty significant slope, Marene. I'm worried the lander could tip.

Marene: No help from KSC, it'll take 20 minutes before they can even here us from out here. I'm taking manual control of the lander.

Phildred: Maybe I should, I mean ... I am an expert pilot. And a master of strategy...

Marene: To hell with your ego, Phildred. I'm landing this thing.

With precise bursts of the four Terrier engines, Marene deftly brought the DEM to a gentle halt on the side of the mountain. The lander tipped almost imperceptibly ... and stayed upright!

Marene: The surface is about a half-meter hop from the end of the ladder. I'm dropping...there! First Kerbal on Duna! Take that, Phildred.

Phildred: Hey, hopping on Duna is easy! I'm still the second Kerbal on Duna, and the best chess player in space. I'd say I'm still coming out ahead.

Merene: Forget it, Phildred. Let's get these samples, we don't have a lot of time.

With their brief, two-hour EVA complete, the duo reentered the DEM and ignited the engines, emerging from the cloud of red dust and ascending into orbit. From their, they accelerated the craft to escape velocity, placing themselves on a course that would allow them to rendezvous with Milus and the main craft in 10 day's time. At the point of closest approach, the engine was fired one last time to match orbits with the main craft. Donning their spacesuits, the kerbanauts spacewalked (with the Duna samples in tow) to the ESM airlock and a warm welcome from a very lonely Milus Kerman.

70 days later (10 of which Phildred spent locked in the CSM until he promised never to mention chess again), the crew caught their first glimpse of the Kerbin system through the window. They busily prepared for reentry, collecting all of the Duna samples and moving into the Command Module. The ESM and Service module were jettisoned, and the crew reentered at a blistering 4,800 m/s, with the beefed-up command pod heatshield protecting them from the reentry plasma. They descended under parachutes to splashdown and a hero's welcome - the first Kerbals to land on an alien planet!

The eggheads back at the Kerbal Space Center are thrilled to have samples of Duna rocks, and will analyze them for signs of life in the months to come. Besides the scientific benefits, Ascension D-1 has proved the viability of in-orbit assembly of large ships with multiple propulsion modules. Wernher von Kerman believes that this could lead to a re-usable space program. He has talked of plans for a "Space Transportation System", using spaceplanes to deliver nuclear propulsion modules and space tugs to LKO. Whether this will ever replace the Ascension Program remains to be seen... (I've started to think about creating a Space Transportation System Challenge once I'm done with GregroxMun's APP challenge, which I am thoroughly enjoying. )

Scoring

Can you get points for both an Eve and Duna flyby? It would make sense. If so:

- Previous AAP score: 130 points

- Duna Flyby: +20 points

- New AAP total: 150 points

Landing and returning from Duna also means that my Ascension Program has completed the first Super Manley Kerbanaut Mode challenge.

- Land and return from Duna, using Apollo-Saturn hardware. +65 points

- Super Manley Kerbanaut Mode Total: 215 points

Previous & Future Ascension Program Reports: Normal Apollo Program - Mun Base and Molab - Eve Flyby

Edited May 22, 2015 by Jonboy

[Whirligig Girl]

An amazing journey! And yes, you do get multiple extra points from multiple flybys.

I will definitely be following your STS challenge! And of course, I'll link it in this thread if you were to return the favor.

Edited May 19, 2015 by GregroxMun

[Jonboy]

An amazing journey! And yes, you do get multiple extra points from multiple flybys.

Cool. I have to admit, I was not sure if I had enough fuel in the Duna lander for the flyby-rendezvous maneuver, so I was flying by the seat of my pants there for a while. It was a fun mission!

[Coga19000]

Well, after Jonboy's amazing accomplishment (tip of the hat to you sir. I will try to replicate your achievements at a point, especially since they are actual AAP thought missions), I feel like a noob for asking. But did anyone else have technical difficulties with the S-IB stag? Both with stock and later with KW, I had to slash fuel across the board to get a SLT of 1 with my cluster of 8 1.25m engines. The next step now for possible upscale is either to add more engines (which I'm not a fan of) or part clip to squeeze 8 2.5m nozzles under the assembly (which I'm okay with, but seeing as even the weakest 2.5m KW engine has comparable throst to the 3.75m ones, the whole Assembly maaaay have the exact opposite problem at the end of the day)

[Whirligig Girl]

Well, after Jonboy's amazing accomplishment (tip of the hat to you sir. I will try to replicate your achievements at a point, especially since they are actual AAP thought missions), I feel like a noob for asking. But did anyone else have technical difficulties with the S-IB stag? Both with stock and later with KW, I had to slash fuel across the board to get a SLT of 1 with my cluster of 8 1.25m engines. The next step now for possible upscale is either to add more engines (which I'm not a fan of) or part clip to squeeze 8 2.5m nozzles under the assembly (which I'm okay with, but seeing as even the weakest 2.5m KW engine has comparable throst to the 3.75m ones, the whole Assembly maaaay have the exact opposite problem at the end of the day)

I feel like I should mention that I have removed the KW Rocketry Bonus points from the Goals section.

I might suggest using the Twin Boar LFB for your rocket engine predicament. Maybe.

[Coga19000]

I feel like I should mention that I have removed the KW Rocketry Bonus points from the Goals section.

I might suggest using the Twin Boar LFB for your rocket engine predicament. Maybe.

Naah, the LFBs won't work. I will not be able to get the correct H-1 placement this way.

And did I just hear that KW Rocketry Bonus points got removed? Damn, back to the drawing board. Is okay, though, it truly is more creative when you replicate 5m parts with stock.

[Rhomphaia]

Naah, the LFBs won't work. I will not be able to get the correct H-1 placement this way.

And did I just hear that KW Rocketry Bonus points got removed? Damn, back to the drawing board. Is okay, though, it truly is more creative when you replicate 5m parts with stock.

Something like this perhaps?

four twin boars mounted to a quad coupler under a 3m tank, play with rotation and offset on the twin boars till you get the layout, and then offset into the 3m tank

Edited May 20, 2015 by Rhomphaia

[Coga19000]

Something like this perhaps?

http://i.imgur.com/Vqus61L.png

four twin boars mounted to a quad coupler under a 3m tank, play with rotation and offset on the twin boars till you get the layout, and then offset into the 3m tank

Whow, that's genius! But now I'm not too willing to use it, for I will be stealing the concept at this point

[Rhomphaia]

Whow, that's genius! But now I'm not too willing to use it, for I will be stealing the concept at this point

Don't worry about it. I use a different solution for my S-IB, this thing is more powerful than my S-IC. If you do go with it, be sure to strut it well, otherwise you will have a bad problem and you will not go to space today.

As for My own progress, I have to start again I think. came up with a solution for my S-II stage that I prefer so the whole Saturn V is back to the drawing board. Will probaly start a thread in mission reports and link here when I update as my progress will likely be slow and I don't want to clutter this thread up with sporadic updates.

[loch.ness]

Apollo VII mission report is up. I introduced some more characters (Apollo VIII crew), had fun with service bays, and - of course - ate all the snacks.

[FishInferno]

Hate to be pushy Gregrox, but I really think a Duna landing should be in the "normal" AAP challenge since von Braun did plan to continue AAP all the way to a Mars landing.

[Coga19000]

Don't worry about it. I use a different solution for my S-IB, this thing is more powerful than my S-IC. If you do go with it, be sure to strut it well, otherwise you will have a bad problem and you will not go to space today.

More powerful than a S-IC stage? Yeah, it does go to the other side of the spectrum. So most likely no.

(but the nozzles look so cool and NASAy. Hnnnng...)

I did originally have a plan to use Skippers instead, and the Twin Boar nozzles are the same size anyways. But the thing is this is already my S-IVB stage engine , and I don't want to use the same engine for both the H-1s and J-2s.

Edited May 20, 2015 by Coga19000

[billbobjebkirk]

Hate to be pushy Gregrox, but I really think a Duna landing should be in the "normal" AAP challenge since von Braun did plan to continue AAP all the way to a Mars landing.

Actually, Von Braun's plans for a Mars landing were part of the original STS program.

[Jonboy]

Hate to be pushy Gregrox, but I really think a Duna landing should be in the "normal" AAP challenge since von Braun did plan to continue AAP all the way to a Mars landing.

Von Bruan's 1969 Mars landing plan was developed in conjunction with the Space Task Group's study and recommendation for a Space Transportation System in that year, as billbobjebkirk pointed out. It assumed the first flight of the reusable STS shuttle in the mid-1970s and the successful development of the NERVA nuclear engine. Both of these were recommended elements of the original Space Transportation System.

Von Braun planned for a launch of such a mission in 1981 and a landing in 1982, which are the same dates given for such a launch in the Space Task Group's recommendation to President Richard Nixon in 1969. While the possibilities of launching large payloads on an Apollo/Saturn rocket remained, it assumed the development of the new Space Transportation System infrastructure and thus was not part of the Apollo Applications Program.

[Death Engineering]

This won't be a comprehensive compilation of the Apollo/AAP missions, but should be enough to demonstrate the hardware and various mission profiles. These are the first brief updates of major milestone flights in the historical and speculative AAP:

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The Little Joe family of rockets continued its role of tossing command modules into the ocean off KSC. This final test demonstrated the LES and chutes working correctly.

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This Saturn 1B launch was very important in that it proved the heat shield and the ability for the SPS engine to restart in space, critical for precise flights to and from the moon.

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Performing a risky 'all-up' test of the Saturn V moon rocket as well as the C/SM, this unmanned launch used the S-IV to push the CM into a high Ap with a Pe low enough that it would burn up on the next approach. The SPS burned to push the CM fast enough to prove the C/SM can safely re-enter at the speeds which would be seen on a return trip from the Moon.

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Using a nearly-complete LM (sans legs) aboard a Saturn 1B, this launch proved all functions of the LM and demonstrated restart ability of both the descent and the ascent engines - arguably, the most critical engines of a Lunar landing.

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Under pressure from the Soviets to make a big leap towards a manned landing on the Moon, Apollo VIII was upgraded from a low Earth orbit flight to a Lunar orbit flight, sending crews out of Earth orbit for the first time in history. All systems performed perfect and the crew took the iconic photo titled "Earthrise" as it orbited the moon.

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"The Eagle has Landed!". Apollo XI was the culmination of the Space Race. Despite unexpected problems with the landing computer, boulders where Neil had planned on landing and a broken switch in the LM that could have prevented Buzz from firing the ascent engine, the first time humans walked on another world was a complete success. This album pay homage to the original Apollo XI crew.

Edited May 20, 2015 by Death Engineering

[Jonboy]

This won't be a comprehensive compilation of the Apollo/AAP missions, but should be enough to demonstrate the hardware and various mission profiles. These are the first brief updates of major milestone flights in the historical and speculative AAP:

The Little Joe family of rockets continued its role of tossing command modules into the ocean off KSC. This final test demonstrated the LES and chutes working correctly.

http://imgur.com/a/BHnHf

This Saturn 1B launch was very important in that it proved the heat shield and the ability for the SPS engine to restart in space, critical for precise flights to and from the moon.

http://imgur.com/a/WMwsW

Performing a risky 'all-up' test of the Saturn V moon rocket as well as the C/SM, this unmanned launch used the S-IV to push the CM into a high Ap with a Pe low enough that it would burn up on the next approach. The SPS burned to push the CM fast enough to prove the C/SM can safely re-enter at the speeds which would be seen on a return trip from the Moon.

http://imgur.com/a/IqPPH

Using a nearly-complete LM (sans legs) aboard a Saturn 1B, this launch proved all functions of the LM and demonstrated restart ability of both the descent and the ascent engines - arguably, the most critical engines of a Lunar landing.

http://imgur.com/a/HQbWf

Under pressure from the Soviets to make a big leap towards a manned landing on the Moon, Apollo VIII was upgraded from a low Earth orbit flight to a Lunar orbit flight, sending crews out of Earth orbit for the first time in history. All systems performed perfect and the crew took the iconic photo titled "Earthrise" as it orbited the moon.

http://imgur.com/a/yh7aa

"The Eagle has Landed!". Apollo XI was the culmination of the Space Race. Despite unexpected problems with the landing computer, boulders where Neil had planned on landing and a broken switch in the LM that could have prevented Buzz from firing the ascent engine, the first time humans walked on another world was a complete success. This album pay homage to the original Apollo XI crew.

http://imgur.com/a/ZecAg

Very cool! I recognize Scatterer and Ven's Stock Parts, but what mod are you using for those awesome smoke/engine effects?

[Whirligig Girl]

Very cool! I recognize Scatterer and Ven's Stock Parts, but what mod are you using for those awesome smoke/engine effects?

I believe that would be HotRockets

[Norcalplanner]

Final (for the moment) designs for my Saturn V and Saturn IB rockets are now posted on my mission report thread. Here's the Saturn V:

[loch.ness]

Apollo VIII mission was delayed today due to fuel leaks during pre-flight check. (Still setting up and flying the mission, hope to have the mission report up tomorrow if not today).

LEM simulators are up and running as everyone competes for the honor of the first mun landing.

Apollo VIII poses for pictures with their ship shortly before Mission Control detected the leaks.

Apollo VIII crew getting strapped in.

- technically Dang It! reported the error while I was snapping that last picture - so it will be a different loading of an identical rocket.

[Speeding Mullet]

^^Nice Lem simulator loch.ness

Mission report updated with latest progress. Looks like this challenge is really coming into it's own and picking up momentum which is great to see!

SM

[loch.ness]

Thanks. Since it only has Vernor's it doesn't actually fly - so it really is just a story prop.

I finished my Apollo VIII launch > Munar transfer burn and then went back for the LEM training photo-shoot.

Before I'm ready to update with Part 6 of my mission report I need to drop some teams out around kerbin for Survival training part 1. - They're going to match the 4 pairs from my LEM training segments but not the Jeb / Edan concept simulator above.

Unlike the real Apollo VIII I did launch a LEM with my mission because earlier docking practice attempts were thwarted on 4 and 7 - and as re-checking the weight on the Saturn V transfer stage. Dang It! has already presented me with 2 fuel leaks and 1 battery short out for the dummy LEM on Apollo VIII along side having the Saturn IVB stage start leaking during the trans Lunar transfer.

[Coga19000]

Finally, I got some time to work on my project! Little Joe II and Saturn IB flights coming up soon. Saturn V will take a tad longer, as it still requires some more refining and testing. BTW, does it matter too much if the base of the rocket is even wider than the pseudo 5m stage to accommodate the Rhinos?

Also, how many ALSEP experiments do I have to land, and do they have to be landed at the same time? I want to land the LRV and the LLES with Apollo XO, but that only leaves me room for the Laser Ranging Retroreflector.

[Norcalplanner]

Kapollo 4 and 7 are complete, and photo albums are up on my mission report thread.

Here's a taste:

[Norcalplanner]

Now the Kapollo 8 mission log is up too. Here's the photo I'm proudest of from that mission - a manually plotted, manually burned, textbook perfect free return trajectory. Enjoy.

[B-STRK]

Hi! A couple of questions:

There are some mods that offered single-part clustered engines (e.g., SpaceY). Do those count as only one engine for scoring purposes, or can we treat them as the number of engines they claim to cluster?

And two, on mechjeb, we can't use the autopilot but can use the information. But can we use MJ to auto-generate maneuver nodes or are we limited only to using the precision node editor to fine tune manually-generated nodes (since autogeneration might be considered autopiloting)?