Mephisto81

After having installed Outer Planets mod for 1.4.5 and finally found out, how to modify the Ultimate Challenge Contract for OPM, I still needed some inspiration for a voyage of that magnitude. Luckily, a distress signal came in.... Mini Ozymandias lost in space - Ranger to the rescue! The new XR-08 Behemoth delivers a brand new Space Station after refueling on Minmus. The Behemoth is my new multi-mission cruiser, designed to bring payloads of up to 60t into orbit or deliver a 10t payload to the surface of Tylo and back. Behemoth on a Mun flyby. In the cargo bay is a space station for a contract. Delivery into Duna orbit successful. Delivery of next modules. A Relay Module has been assembled for the Duna Station. Duna Station is now a fully operational battle station! Ups, wrong movie. Again. ... Duna Station is now a fully operational space station. Scanning and research are started. But what is this? The new Antennas receive a distress signal from the outer planets... There is a ship near Urlum! It is sending support requests... It looks strangely familiar... but smaller... It seems that Scott and Matt Kerman are stranded in space without fuel to come home... The Mini-Ozymandias has brought them far, now someone has to bring them home! The XR-06 Ranger Mk III has returned previously from a Grand Tour. After having visited all stock planets and moons, it is being refurbished and upgraded for the rescue mission. The Ranger Mk IV has now room for six Kerbals! All set and clear in the hangar. The ground crew is taking the final inspections. XR-06 Ranger Mk IV is now ready for a conquest of the outer planets. And to rescue 2 stranded Kerbals from the orbit of Urlum... Engines are lit, ready for takeoff. We will return after a short break. Will the Ranger and its crew reach Sarnus, Urlum, Neidon and Plock? How many centuries will the crew of the Mini Ozzy have to wait for its rescue? Will they return safely or fall victim to the Kraken? Stay tuned and fly safe... Mephisto. (Was watching too many KSP videos on Youtube, apparently...)

Hm, I got the same error in Kerbal Engineer. Was able to replicate it: As soon as there was more liquid fuel for the skiff, than the oxidiser could use, KER would show an error.

Time to build a little bigger again. My last Grand Tour vessel had an empty weight of 62 t, Eve lander included. But somehow, building a bit bigger is also interesting. WIP for a Tylo-Capable SSTO, which can bring some tons of payload to Tylo and up again. Weight should be between 300t - 400t, preferably on the lower end of the scale. This iteration was a bit front heavy and did not have enough dV for Tylo landings. Next one is Tylo capable, but the design still needs some works. Tested for 30t to LKO and Minmus with room to spare. Should be able to bring 10t payload to Tylo and up again. In each of the forward fairings is a Mk2 Command Pod for 2 Kerbals and 4 inflatable airlocks for a total of 12 Krew for a cost of roughly 5 tons. We'll see, how it turns out. Mephisto. (Drag is king. But who are those drag queens?)

Thanks a lot.

Nice one. Glad to be of service. :)

Ah crap. Could have attempted this a couple of days ago during my visit to Jool. Athough even the try of an aerocapture on Laythe went horribly wrong....

Finally. Just landed on Kerbin after 24 years and 396 days mission time. Here is a link to my Google Drive folder, where all the pictures are: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1efhutoOddlttCYj3g4Qgogm6_lChwrej This was my vessel: https://kerbalx.com/Mephisto/XR-06-Ranger-Mk-III-Grand-Tour-with-Javelin-Eve-Lander For the KerbalX Version, Mechjeb and Kerbal Engineer parts have been removed. The following mods were installed: - Mechjeb - Kerbal Engineer Redux - Trajectories - Jettison fuel - RCS Build Aid - Environmental Visual Enhancements KSP Version 1.4.4 and 1.4.5. Luckily, the update did not brake any saves this time. Making History DLC also installed. I tried to keep my playing time at somewhat reasonable times. I did not make great use of aerobrakings, gravity assists or splitting burns to get most of Mr. Oberth. Rather, I used a brute force approach, oftentimes waiting for an optimal trasnfer window, but the next best withhin the delta V budget of my craft. With this approach, I managed to land on Kerbin in under 25 years mission time. For voyage planning, I used the route by Kergarin in his "Planting flags everywhere" videos, although I started from an existing save game on year 2, day 121 with an unfueled craft on the runway. Flying the mission took me from July, 25th, till today. Planning and craft design started some months ago. There where some times, where I had to reload: landing on the Mun on spot without ore. Getting the flying and landing on Laythe right. Landing on Tylo. Timing the suicide burn right took me about ten reloads. And after Tylo, I had to be really careful with my Pol landings, because I was running out of fuel. Took some quickloads to get the Pol part right. Apart from that, the rest was relatively easy to fly. Mission Log: KSP Grand Tour Ranger MK III Grand Tour Mission Goals Land on every planet and moon (except Kerbol and Jool) Plant a flag Collect science Vessel: XR-06 Ranger Mk III “Grand Tour”with Javelin Eve Lander Crew: 2 Pilots, 1 Engineer, 1 Scientist Voyage Plan - Kerbin: start empty on runway, refuel, take-off to low Kerbin orbit, transfer to Minmus o Minmus: vertical landing, refuel, transfer to Eve system - Eve: capture into elliptical orbit, transfer to Gilly o Gilly: refuel Ranger and Javelin Eve Lander, collect science and plant flag, transfer to low Eve orbit o Eve: transfer crew to and decouple Javelin. Descent to Eve surface, plant flag, collect science, ascent to low Eve orbit again. Rendezvous third stage of Javelin, the Tycho space sledge, with Ranger Mk III in low eve orbit. Transfer to Gilly o Gilly: refuel again, transfer to Moho - Moho: vertical rocket landing, flag, science, refuel, ascent. Transfer to Kerbin for Mun landing - Kerbin: capture into elliptical orbit, get Mun encounter o Mun: land on Mun with no fuel left. Discover that lowlands contain no ore at landing site. Reload. vertical rocket landing at another location, flag, science, refuel, ascent. Transfer to Duna - Duna: botch capture burn into elliptical orbit. Periapsis got too low. Emergency direct landing on Duna as parachute assisted rocket landing. Plant flag, collect science, refuel and take-off. Transfer to Ike. o Ike: vertical rocket landing. Science, flag, refuel. Transfer to Eeloo. - Eeloo: vertical rocket landing, science, refuel, flag. Do a group photo with all Kerbals at the outermost part of the voyage. Transfer to Jool. - Jool: capture into elliptical orbit, get an encounter with Laythe. o Laythe: attempt aerocapture at Laythe. Rapid unplanned disassembly ensues. Reolad and do a regular capture burn. Kerbals more happy when untoasted. Aerobrake into Laythe descent. Try to fly as plane in Laythe’s thin atmosphere. Stall. Tweak control surfaces. Regain control and continue flight. Find a nice landing spot. Pitch accidentally up at 600 m/s, slowing the craft down to 150 m/s. All crew lost consciousness due to g forces. Stall and drop. Pilot regains her wits, craft gets controllable again. Continue landing as plane with parachutes for slowing down. Refuel, science, flag. The usual. Take off from the southern hemisphere and get as a spaceplane with rapiers into low orbit. Transfer to Vall. o Vall: rocket landing. Flag, science, refuel. Attempt to drive to another biome. Crash and reload. Take off to another biome. Collect science from 3 different biomes on Vall. Take off and transfer to Pol. o Pol: Nothing special here. Land, plant flag, collect science, refuel, take off again. Fuel loadout has to be estimated precisely for Tylo. Oxidiser tanks are full, Liquid fuel should suffice to get into Tylo low orbit and use Nerv as assist to Skiffs and Rapiers for Tylo landing. Transfer to Tylo. o Tylo: the stand-up guy child of planets. No atmosphere, but 0.8g gravity. Doing the landing from a 22km low orbit. Quick save 800m above ground. Took some reloads to do the last part of the suicide burn precisely for a landing. Craft topples over and lands on the gears. Everything is okay, apart from difficulties at the next take-off from a horizontal position. Do one more reload. Perfect landing on the next attempt. Flag a plant, science some collects, etc. Refuel and take off. Transfer to Bop. o Bop: Landing on literally the last drop. Discover that the last drop of fuel is somehow not accessible by the Nervs. Do a last second fuel transfer into the main tank. Land. Science, flag, refuel. Spend some time with finding a proper window to Dres, which will not take 20 years. Found one with roughly 3000 m/s dV for departure and insertion burn, departure in a few days and only a couple of years in transit. Next stop, Dres. o Dres: Dres. What a lovely planet. Capture after a long burn. As science was collected, one message made me aware of the canyon on Dres. Landed first at the most easy spot, refueled, planted a flag on Dres. Did a quick hop to canyon vicinity. Perfect opportunity to get the Tycho Space sledge out of the garage. Anuki went with the sledge to the bottom of the canyon. Another flag, and some science here as well. Returning the sledge into the garage was difficult with an upright Ranger. Relocating Ranger into horizontal mode, sliding with Tycho under it and lifting it up into the garage. Worked perfectly. All planets and moons have been visited now. Next stop Kerbin for the final return to KSC. Was doing a more dV-intensive transfer in order to save some time. o Kerbin: almost at home. Capture burn and transfer into a low orbit was successful. Stalled shortly after reentry, but recovery was no problem. Landed at the KSC without bigger problems. Mission Time: 24 years, 396 days. All Kerbals returned alive. Mephisto. (And down, down we go... )

Do you lift it fully fueled or empty? I would recommend lifting it in an empty state, which drastically reduces your lifter rocket mass, thus using fewer parts. If it has an ISRU, you can land it on Minmus and refuel. If not, it only has to reach Minmus, where it can be refueled by separate miner. Or by a refueling mission in low Kerbin orbit directly. The vessel itself looks not overly complicated. How much parts does it have? Apart from graphics setting, I often use the thermal view (F11) during flight, so I am not distracted by airflow visual effects. At least to me, it feels like this also increases my Framerate. Lowest possible graphic settings, as Vanamonde said. And from the back of my head, there was also an option of how physics gets calculated. Mephisto (Mephisto Metalworks and Aeronautics. Almost reliable crafts, almost affordable crafts.)

Grand Tour Vessel, XR-06 Ranger Mk III with Javelin Eve Lander Landed at Laythe. Landing earlier on Gilly for refueling and dropping the Javelin Eve Lander to ... Eve. Put it finally up on Kerbalx. Grand Tour is almost finished, only have to finally land on Kerbin at the KSC. I have the highest respect of anyone who can pull a Grand Tour of without Mechjeb and doing Gravity assists and other fancy stuff. I had a rather brute force approach to interplanetary transfers... KerbalX Link: XR-06 Ranger Mk III "Grand Tour" SSTA with Javelin Eve Lander and Ascent vehicle https://kerbalx.com/Mephisto/XR-06-Ranger-Mk-III-Grand-Tour-with-Javelin-Eve-Lander XR-06 Javelin Eve Lander and Ascent vehicle (without Ranger or a fairing. the naked version, if you want it so.) https://kerbalx.com/Mephisto/XR-06-Javelin-Eve-Lander-and-Ascent-Vehicle XR-06 Ranger Mk III "Grand Tour" SSTA (standalone version without Eve lander) https://kerbalx.com/Mephisto/XR-06-Ranger-Mk-III-Grand-Tour-SSTA Mephisto. (Who wants to be a testpilot? Send the Interns!)

My Grand Tour vessel, the XR-06 Ranger Mk III is on Kerbalx: XR-06 Ranger Mk III "Grand Tour" SSTA with Javelin Eve Lander and Ascent vehicle https://kerbalx.com/Mephisto/XR-06-Ranger-Mk-III-Grand-Tour-with-Javelin-Eve-Lander XR-06 Javelin Eve Lander and Ascent vehicle https://kerbalx.com/Mephisto/XR-06-Javelin-Eve-Lander-and-Ascent-Vehicle XR-06 Ranger Mk III "Grand Tour" SSTA (standalone version without Eve lander) https://kerbalx.com/Mephisto/XR-06-Ranger-Mk-III-Grand-Tour-SSTA The Ranger MK III is the latest and most powerful iteration of the Ranger SSTA series. Like its predecessors, the mission profile is to visit every moon and planet to collect science and plant flags. It comes either standalone or in a combo package with the Javelin Eve Lander. Specifics Mass - Ranger Mk III Combo with Eve lander o 62.016t Empty weight on runway o 124.210t take-off weight after 84 days of refueling Range (Ranger Mk III only) - 7.300 m/s dv maximum range with nuclear rockets - 2.500 m/s dV maximum range with chemical rockets Crew - 4 Kerbals regular: 2 Pilots, 1 Engineer, 1 Scientist. - 6 Kerbals in emergencies if science bay and forward airlock is used Propulsion - 4x Rapier - 2x Nerv - 2x Skiff - 12 Vernor engines (RCS) Additional features - Lightweight science bay o Access by airlock o All experiments o Package weights only 0.7t - Cargo Bay Science Bay The science bay contains all science experiments, as well as flight computers (a.ka. Mechjeb and KER). An inflatable airlock provides access for a scientist to reset experiments or to go on EVA. Data can also be stored here. If the vessel is landed vertically on its back engines, the airlock can be used as … an airlock! A ladder provides easy access from the ground. By using an airlock instead of a command capsule, clipping has been avoided and 700kg of mass saved compared with previous versions of Rangers. Action groups: 0: Toggle bay doors, inflate / deflate airlock, toggle ladder. 9: collect all science experiments to the airlock 8: Conduct all experiments in the Science Bay Cargo Bay A 2.5m cargo Bay houses a docking port junior. The Tycho Space Sledge finds his garage here. The standalone version of the Ranger Mk. III already contains a Tycho Space sledge with basic science experiments and almost 2000 m/s dV. In the Combo version, the Tycho Space Sledge is the upper stage of the Eve Lander and Ascent vehicle. If you are interested in completing Ultimate Challenge Contracts, where one ship visits every planet and moon, the Tycho is your tool of the trade. Frontal docking port An inflatable airlock provides access from the front of the craft or allows for docking with other junior sized docking ports. To access the craft from the ground, retract all wheels and do a small jump. Or just retract the front wheels and leave the back wheels extended and access directly. No ladders needed. (Many thanks to Foxster, Rune and the Mad Rocket Scientist for the ideas.) Parachutes Parachutes serve two functions: orient the craft during a parachute assisted rocket landing. Or to slow the craft down at landing. Parachute assisted rocket landing: Duna When the atmosphere is too thin to use the wings effectively, deploy parachutes at the front. The craft will the orient itself retrograde automatically. Deploy the landing gears (action group 6) and use the engines for the final deceleration and landing. Additionally , the parachutes will slow down your descent a little bit and save you some dV. Experiment with parachute spread angle, as this will have an effect on your descent. Also, you have to adjust the parachute settings for your target body: for Duna, select the lowest pressure and the highest altitude available. Parachutes for slowing the craft down after touch down For landing on Laythe or Kerbin, you may want to reduce the way to a complete stop. Especially, when you run out of runway or even ground. Use the center pair of parachutes for slowing down, as they are mounted near the center of mass. If you use the pair at the front, you may turn the craft unintentionally. How does it move? Engines, RCS, Reaction wheels The Ranger uses four different sets of engines in five different modes: - 4x Rapier Engines: atmospheric flight, both sub- and supersonic , and rocket mode . Thrust depends on speed and altitude with air breathing engines. 420kN – 3568 kN in air breathing mode, 720kN in rocket mode. - 2x Nerv Nuclear Engines: low-thrust interplanetary flight (120kN) - 2x RE-I2 Skiff Rocket Engines: high-thrust chemical rockets (600kN). For just 2t of weight, the thrust - 12 Vernor Engines: LF/OX powered RCS Thrusters with a total of 144 kN thrust. Note, that there is no RCS thruster mounted backwards. For forward acceleration, use the other engines. Three large advanced reaction wheels provide significant torque, especially if combined with the RCS system. To have RCS fuel available, consider locking some tanks in advance. Fully fueled with LF only, Ranger has a maximum range with its Nerv Engines of 7.300 m/s dV. With only LF/OX tanks filled and empty liquid fuel tanks, the maximum range with chemical rockets is 2.500 m/s dV. This is enough to land successfully on Tylo. Planning ahead with tank fillings is in space as important as with your car: You have to consider how much delta V of each type is needed for the lift-off from your current body, transfer and landing at the next. For example, for a landing on Tylo roughly 2.500 m/s dV are needed with high thrust engines. If some LF is extra packed, the Nervs can support during descent, providing the craft with a higher margin of safety (a.k.a. less reloads with F9). In order to get to Tylo, I need to ascent from Pol or Bop, and make a transfer for Tylo. Crew accommodation The Ranger is not a pleasure craft. Luxury was not as important as saving weight. The main cockpit for Pilot and Engineer is a repurposed Munar Excursion Module inside a fairing. Simply because the M.E.M has a very low dry mass for a two person command module. The two mandibles at the front each contain an inflatable airlock. As I said, no luxury here. At least they won’t have to spend decades in a command chair. We just pretend they have a nice computer onboard and VR goggles. In emergencies, two additional Kerbals can find a seat in the airlocks at the front and in the science bay, although they are usually retracted during atmospheric flight. Secrets of flight – Wings, thermals and drag “Lift with the wings, not the body” Most wings are angled slightly upwards. This results in a more level flight in atmosphere for the body, therefore minimizing drag compared to craft with level wings and a more upwards body during flight. “Is it hot in here or is that just you?” All frontal parts of the craft are rated for 2400K heat resistance. The craft can handle supersonic flight with good tolerances. 1600 m/s at 20km height above sea level are sustainable for short periods of time. Kerbals are shielded inside fairings for greater heat resistance. Excessive heat is radiated through three Radiator panels. One radiator in the frontal fairing cools the ISRU, the other two radiators in the aft fairing cool the mining drill and prevent overheating of the nukes during long burns and heat spread to the central fuselage. Even at Moho in direct sunlight, with burns of 7000 m/s dV, the craft did not overheat critically. “Drag is king” As drag is the biggest enemy of supersonic flight, many measures have been taken to reduce the drag. There are smooth transitions from one fuel tank to the next. The overall layout of the craft is shaped like an arrowhead. A total of six fairings are installed to streamline the profile. The fairings at the Skiff Engines are a new feature of the Mk III series – they remove the need for clipped fuel tanks for a smooth transition. The only clipped parts of the vessel are aerodynamic nose cones at the end of Rapiers, Nervs and Skiffs. The result is a very streamlined vessel, which can easily propel 120t of take-off weight into the supersonic region with four rapiers. If the Ranger MK III Combo with an attached Eve lander is flown to orbit, two detachable Whiplash Engines are added to compensate for the added drag of the Lander fairing. Refueling – Drills and ISRU A modest Convert-O-Tron 125 refines ore mined by the large Drill-O-Matic Mining Excavator. 3 radiators provide cooling for the ISRU and the drill. Ore is stored in a small radial holding tank. Mining operations benefit extremely from an experienced engineer. A level 5 engineer can reduce refueling times drastically compared to an unmanned craft. Electrical systems Main consumers during flight are the reaction wheels and the drone core. The large Antennas also require a buffer, if data is transmitted. One radiothermal generator provides sunlight-independent electricity at a modest rate. Combined with the batteries, the RTG is sufficient during flight operations and maneuvers. During mining operations, the power demands are much higher. As the efficiency of solar panels depend on the strength of solar radiation, their efficiency diminishes by the inverse-square law: At Duna, they would only provide 43% of the power compared to Kerbin, at Jool only 4%. In order to mine efficiently in the shadow or far away from the sun (Outer Planets mod, I look at you!), fuel cell arrays are being used instead. Two fuel cell arrays provide a total of 36 EC per second, enough to meet the demands during mining. Refined LF/OX can be used to power the mining operation the drawback of slightly longer mining compared with solar panels. 400 EC are produced from one unit of fuel. In conclusion, power demands during flight operations are met by batteries and the RTG, power demands during mining are met by the fuel cell arrays. The power grid is independent of solar radiation at any time. Take off and landing modes The Ranger series comes with two different methods for take-off and landing: Horizontal take-off and landing and vertical take-off and landing, or plane and rocket mode On Kerbin and Laythe, atmosphere can provide lift when combined with forward acceleration. Basically, you fire up the air breathing Rapier engines, get some speed and at some point you can pull the nose up and fly. The exact take-off speed varies with speed, atmospheric density and take-off weight. The lighter your plane and the higher the atmospheric density, the shorter is your needed runway. Laythe has only 60% of the atmospheric pressure at sea level compared with Kerbin. As your wing area is fixed, you’ll need either higher speed or a lighter craft than on Kerbin. Fly safe. Mephisto. (One quarter impulse forward. Make it so.)

Quick question: the Ultimate challenge contract references body numbers in the stock version of the game. Any idea where I might get the body numbers for OPM planets and moons? Copy of the contract for reference: Mephisto Searching for new goals.

Hm, have not built Vertical SSTOs yet. Apart from some reusable Tylo landers, who can make orbit on Kerbin as well. Could be an interesting topic. How much payload does it have to LKO? And this is for FAR?

The Grand Tour is underway... Grand Tour with the Ranger Mk III / Javelin Eve Lander Still in progress, but the following moons and planets have been covered: - Kerbin - Minmus - Eve and Gilly - Moho - Mun - Duna and Ike - Eeloo - Jool (flyby only) and Laythe (some bathing at the beaches is still on the programm...) Next steps are the other Joolian moons and Dres, then return to Kerbin. Complete mission report and upload of craft file at KerbalX will follow, when the tour is finished.... Mephisto (Flying like a leaf in the wind. Especially on Laythe)

The Grand Tour is underway... Grand Tour with the Ranger Mk III / Javelin Eve Lander 62t empty on the runway, 124t take-off weight. 7.300 m/s dV max with Nerv, 2.500 m/s dV max with chemical rockets. Still in progress, but the following moons and planets have been covered: - Kerbin - Minmus - Eve and Gilly - Moho - Mun - Duna and Ike - Eeloo - Jool (flyby only) and Laythe (some bathing at the beaches is still on the programm...) Next steps are the other Joolian moons and Dres, then return to Kerbin. Vessel is completely Stock+ (Making History). Mechjeb and Kerbal Engineer have been used, as I am really not good with maneuver nodes, gravity assists and the likes. Surprisingly, almost no aerobrakes where needed due to the raw power of the craft. Well, that saved me some hours in front of my computer... Whole design process for SSTA and Eve Lander started some three months ago and took me over 100 hrs. Complete mission report and upload of craft file at KerbalX will follow, when the tour is finished....

I recall some articles from some time ago. Here you go: https://www.matterhackers.com/articles/print-your-ships-from-kerbal-space-program Basically, you build your vessel in KSP. Then, you use Blender to merge the different parts into a single vessel. In Blender, you adjust your vessel and generate a 3d printable file. Have not done it by myself. Articles is also quite old. But it should give you a start for your own research. Here is a link to Blender. Might be outdated. Mephisto ( Updates after updates...)

Maybe you have a similar issue with fairings: Stuff inside it is sometimes not selectable. What you can do, is to move the camera, so that you are viewing from the isnide of fairings or service bays. Then, you should be able to select the stuff inside. The "Aim camera" feature helps you. Does that help? Mephisto (Where is up in space?)

That makes sense. The contract simply adds some flair to the mission. Does anyone know how to modify the contract for the Outer Planets Mod or other modded bodies? Where do I get the body numbers? And the craft for the challenge is ready. Last test flight with attached Eve Lander to low Kerbin orbit was successful. The Ranger MkIII has room for four Kerbals, full science equipment, a maximum of 2500+ m/s dV with high-thrust chemical rockets, maximum range of 7.300 m/s dV with nuclear engines. Take-off weight with Eve lander is app. 130t, if I start empty and refuel on the runway, I should pull off a starting weight of app. 62t. Mephisto (To infinity and beyond.)

The inflatable airlock is my new favorite part. I just discovered, that you can also store science in it. And it has a "collect all" function. Time for my redesigned science bay with only 0.7 tons. Action groups: 0: Toggles ladder, airlock and service bay. 9: Collects all science to the airlock 8: Runs all experiments. Idea is to open the science bay, transfer an scienctist to it. Then, run all the experiments, go EVA for EVA report, surface samples, etc. The scientist can reset the mystery goo and science jr. whilst hanging at the airlock. Mephisto. (Going to bed or playing KSP? Wait, the question was serious?)

Hm. I have some crafts for this type of challenge. Should really get my ass up and fly it again. Memo to self: this time, do a backup of your KSP folder before another patch corrupts your Grand Tour attempt save game. Oh, and not sure where I found it and I hope it is not against forum rules: the contract file for the ultimate challenge. But if anyone wants to have the contract, you can modify your persistent.sfs to include the contract. Include the following lines in the contract part of your persistent.sfs (make backups of your save game before any changes, of course) CONTRACT { guid = 3f696ef6-7931-4883-ac0e-d92a7656e633 type = GrandTour prestige = 2 seed = 1104142353 state = Active agent = Rokea Inc deadlineType = Floating expiryType = Floating values = 375907.995692177,4313250061.70154,2430918.08479053,16214223.2893987,2496031.89968705,0,474.4475,252,69936514.6939426,69560608.9582499,4382810670.65979,0 progressType = 14 finalDestination = True focused = True body = 16 body = 14 body = 11 body = 12 body = 10 body = 9 body = 15 body = 6 body = 7 body = 3 body = 2 body = 5 body = 13 body = 4 focusBody = 0 finalBody = 1 finalSituation = 1 PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 16 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 14 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 11 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 12 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 10 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 9 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 15 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 6 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 7 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 3 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 2 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 5 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 13 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = VesselDestinationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 4 targetType = Land } PARAM { name = LocationAndSituationParameter state = Incomplete disableOnStateChange = False values = 0,0,0,0,0 targetBody = 1 targetSituation = LANDED noun = vessel finalObjective = True } } Mephisto. (Anytime you get asked "do you have a backup?", it is actually too late to make one.)

You, Sir, have a fine nose for aesthetics. What do you use for video editing and recording, if I may ask? Mephisto. (If we are going to crash, we crash with style.)

Some teasers and updates, since work takes some time and prohibits uploads: New and improved version of my Ranger SSTA. The XR-05 Ranger Mk II has place for 7 Kerbals. Idea from Foxster and Rune got promptly incorporated: Behold! The mighty frontal docking port juniour. Inflatable airlock inside a service bay. Frontal docking port extended. Also good if you need one additional crewing space for shuffling Kerbals inside the vessel. Or to do a last minute rescue of a stranded Kerbal. Hm, might also work as an entry hatch with retracted gears. Have not tested that yet. Some sillyness for entertainment: 10 green Kerbals went to play on Mun. One failed his staging and exploded to a crisp. 9 green Kerbals went to play on Mun. One missed his gravity turn and speaks now to the fish. 8 green Kerbals went to play on Mun. One did not pack enough fuel and failed to circularize. 7 green Kerbals went to play on Mun. One missed his transfer window and stranded in LKO. 6 green Kerbals went to play on Mun. One missed his suicide burn, impacted on the Mun. 5 green Kerbals went to play on Mun. One forgot the ladder and plunged towards his death. 4 green Kerbals went to play on Mun. One left his helmet open and could not hold his breath. 3 green Kerbals went to play on Mun. One forgot his heatshield and cooked to "really well done". 2 green Kerbals went to play on Mun. One forgot his parachute and fell not on his head. 1 green Kerbal went to play on Mun. One landed safely at the KSC and all is good for him. And a Teaser. Mephisto. (Nanananananana .... Batman....)

Hmm, you sound trustworthy. Stranger. Or as Profs like to say: Well, that part is trivial. Interestingly, for a similar take-off mass of roughly around 90t, the Altair's payload is only a quarter of the Javelin's. Altair: 86.92t at take-off, 5t to orbit Javelin: 93.16t at take-off, 20t to orbit with 1200 m/s dV left. That is a good example how wings in combination with high-effciency airbreathing engines / nuclear engines result in different payloads to orbit. Just my thoughts. Mephisto. (Any brick will fly with enough thrust. Or, you can put the brick in a fairing, for far less thrust.) Oh, and Rune: the link in your signature is broken.

You guys are great. The good thing about the inflatable airlock is, you also have another crewable part for only 0.1 t. And its heat resistance is rather good with 2600 K . Ideally suited for some rescue missions or shuffeling crew around inside the craft. Drag on the way down is less of an issue most of the time. Mephisto. (Who wants to fly forever?)

Yes. For the last couple of months, I've been exploring different iterations of single stage to anywhere crafts. Apart from a dedicated Eve lander, main craft should be able to do everything else, in stock and outer planets mod. If possible, also rescue missions, docking with other craft, etc. Whilst it is not a strict requirement, it would be nice to have a good docking port at the front or back. I do like the shielded docking port especially for ites aesthetics, but the massive frontal plate drag plays a bigger role with smaller crafts. Above 150 tons, I don't really care, as the percentage of drag from the shielded docking port is negligible. On small crafts with highly optimized thrust to weight ratios for rapiers, it just breaks the vessels performance.

Thank you for the detailed explanation! Getting the reusability was the issue at hand.