[IMAGE HEAVY] Operation: Vulcan Verdict - A Manned Mission To Moho And Back

[AOA1]

This is a version of a near-identical post on Sufficient Velocity.

For years, I have played the Kerbal Space Program. I have traveled world to world, exploring the very bizarre terrain scattered throughout the Kerbol system. From the space program's inaugural flight to the colonization of Laythe, my veracity was unbroken. Plans were finished and dreams were fulfilled, but there was always one world I never ventured to, one no Kerbal ever stepped foot on: The scorched ball of rock known as Moho.

Something important to note is that my visual mods and screenshot resolution vary within missions. Unfortunately, this was my fault and, though eventually corrected, it will plague the first series of images. Mod conflicts are wonderful, aren't they?

First up, a Dawn-1B lifts off with an unmanned satellite. Known as the Vulcan OreSat, this satellite is to scan the planet for valuable resources and double as a reconnaissance orbiter. VOS will inject into Moho's orbit approximately two days before the manned spacecraft, entering a polar orbit four hours from then.

Next up is the interplanetary spacecraft. To carry a crew of three to Moho both safely and effectively, a nuclear tug must push a crew module and a lander to the planet. In this, I have opted for a near-minimalist approach while remaining in the general guidelines.

In the original plan, four launches were necessary to construct a spacecraft in orbit. Fortunately, I was able to shrink the nuclear propulsion stage and fit it into a single launch, lowering the total launches to three. This saved cost and time removes ~1000 ΔV from the spacecraft, leaving little room for error.

The first piece is the nuclear stage. Launched atop a Seraphim-II Heavy, the 200-ton Behemoth Nuclear Stage is injected into a circular, equatorial orbit of 125 km x 125 km.

This booster separation remarkably resembles the R7's Korolev Cross. In fact, the bottom of the boosters actually push upwards, then the booster nosecones push away, separating the heavy boosters in a beautiful fashion.

 

Following the launch of the Behemoth Nuclear Stage, a lander, Haven, will attach to the forward berthing node. This lander is a two-stage unit with excess ΔV to carry the primary module home, should the BNS fail. It's launch vehicle is a standard Seraphim-II with a Taurus upper stage and Proprietary Avionics Package (PAP). The Taurus deorbits itself shortly after separating from Haven.

 

Several days after Haven berthed with the BNS, the Moho transfer window lies only one day away. The well-trusted Wyvern crew module is to be the crew's living space and escape pod, while Haven provides room to stretch their legs. The launch vehicle, the Sentinel-1A, is a partially-reusable rocket that works in a similar fashion to the Falcon 9; first stage is recovered via boostback or, in this instance, barge, while the second stage is expended.

Scatterer + EVE + EngineLight = TERRIBLE ENGINE LIGHT

A mobile pad on the ocean is the target of the first stage.

Abort tower jettison.

Unfortunately, I never took any images of the Wyvern docking to the main ship. Also, broken sunflare. That is one of the reasons I was changing out visual mods.

With the vessel constructed, it was time to orbit thrice and then set off for the inner world. The crew were eager, Mission Control was prepared, the engines were ready for full-power. Only one more objective had to be fulfilled before the mission could commence, and that was... giving the ship a name?

I'm such an idiot. Throughout the entire planning, construction, launching, docking, and tracking of the spacecraft and planets, after giving every individual module a name, I never once considered to name the entire spacecraft. For basic communications purposes and being able to keep track of the damned ship, I rushed to create a true name, and fabricated one:

Shepherd of Fire.

Currently, this is where the mission stands. A maneuver node lies 65 days away for the Shepherd of Fire; 63 days from VOS. Both spacecraft will soon correct their orbital positions and traverse to the huggled world.

Check back for updates!

Edited June 19, 2016 by AOA1
Excess text due to copy from other forum.