Elcano Challenge with rocketengineer1982 - Kerbin Circumnavigation ***Image Heavy***

[Kerminator K-100]

YES! I am the first to find your easter egg (maybe) from 2 years ago. I think it is 

On 11/8/2018 at 10:19 PM, rocketengineer1982 said:

first 7 volunteers...  And certainly, none of them are the slightest bit mercurial

Reference to the original 7 mercury astronauts

Also good luck on your circumnavigation!

Edited September 1, 2020 by Kerminator1000

[rocketengineer1982]

Just now, Kerminator1000 said:

YES! I am the first to find your easter egg (maybe) from 2 years ago. I think it is 

Reference to the original 7 mercury astronauts

Bingo!  You are the first, so extra snacks for you!

[Kerminator K-100]

Just now, rocketengineer1982 said:

Bingo!  You are the first, so extra snacks for you!

YES! SNACKS!

[rocketengineer1982]

Between my internet and imgur uploading my screenshots is slower than launching a 2,000 part vessel to orbit.  It doesn't help that imgur appears to have removed their upload progress bar (whyyyyyy?????).

I passed 70 degrees east a couple weeks ago and have been trying to get my mission log caught up.  Doing the driving is fun, uploading screenshots not so much.  Currently all driving is being done at 1x speed, and my ratio of driving time to mission report preparation time is around 2:1 or 1.5:1.

I've crossed a few mountains, blown a few tires, and had a couple instances of rapid unplanned disassembly.  Just your typical Elcano experience.

[rocketengineer1982]

Part 16: A full (rich?) day
5 days 4 hours 28 minutes - 6 days 4 hours 33 minutes
KSP 1.9.1

 

Tedmore tests cruising using the retractable unpowered wheels.   The Centipede Rider can reach high speeds on flat terrain when using the unpowered wheels, but requires using liquid fuel to run the jet turbines for propulsion.  Ted calls mission control and relays this information.  Mission control tells him that they're busy.  They've received a booster for reconditioning that has no markings on it, although they believe it belongs to KSA.  They've also got a crazed pilot demanding that his capsule be reconditioned first or the snacks will get it, and another pilot refusing any form of R&R and demanding to be sent back out on another mission.  They've got their hands full.

 

After a quick stop to fix a flat tire, Tedmore continues driving for a while before stopping to place Elcano Challenge Checkpoint 16 (0^o 0' 16" S, 45^o 15' 32" E).

 

Mission control tells Ted to keep driving while they take some publicity photos of the Centipede Rider.  Ted's not sure what to make of that because as far as he can tell there's nothing around for hundreds of kilometers, but keep driving?  That he can do.

 

After fixing another flat, Tedmore stops to mark Elcano Challenge Checkpoint 17 (0^o 0' 9" N, 52^o 50' 08" E).

 

As the sun slowly rises above the horizon, Ted plants the flag marking Elcano Challenge Checkpoint 18 (0^o 0' 22" N, 52^o 50' 08" E).

 

 

This mountain ridge may be beautiful when the sun is rising behind it but Ted finds it a lot less beautiful and a lot more stress-inducing up close.  There are a lot of sudden changes in slope that have to be traversed very carefully.  Fortunately, the terrain smooths out some after getting over the ridge.

 

As the sun climbs higher into the sky Ted extends the Rider's solar panel arrays to greatly increase the electricity available to power the wheels.  When the Centipede Rider was first built its radioisotope thermoelectric generators provided more than enough electricity to power the wheels, but while the Rider was being refit it was found that the RTEGs were no longer sufficient.  Mission control mentioned that the wheels had been updated and improved, but Tedmore isn't convinced.  The new wheels have less torque than the originals and consume a lot more power.

 

Tedmore finds another ridge.  Fun!

 

Ted climbs to the nearby peak to plant Elcano Challenge Checkpoint 19 (0^o 0' 24" N, 57^o 0' 19" E).  There's a slight... incident... getting back down, but he brushes the dust off his uniform and climbs back into the Centipede Rider to continue his epic journey.

 

Ted stops to fix another flat.  He notes to mission control that the rearmost set of wheels most frequently have flat tires and therefore are probably under the most stress.

 

A little while later Tedmore plants the flag marking Elcano Challenge Checkpoint 20 (0^o 0' 0" N, 58^o 36' 28" E).

 

 

 

After climbing a few more hills in one of Kerbin's equatorial highlands, Ted reaches the final ridge and plants a flag for Elcano Challenge Checkpoint 21 (0^o 0' 0" S, 62^o 20' 21" E).  He found some grass to keep the flag company!

 

Ted carefully descends the final ridge of these highlands.  The mood in mission control is tense as he descends, making careful use of brakes and later reverse thrust as the slope gets steeper.

 

Ted drives on as the sun sets.

 

Tedmore stops to plant a flag at Elcano Challenge Checkpoint 22 (0^o 0' 7" N, 69^o 6' 9" E).

 

After patching yet another flat tire, Tedmore continues his trek.  His phone pings, notifying him that he has a voice message from Haltrey.  Ted taps "play" - it will give him something to keep his mind occupied as he drives.

"Dear Ted.  Today we had what is known around KSC as a full, rich day..."

 

Full Part 16 album:  https://imgur.com/a/UH4bWOS

Edited August 21, 2021 by rocketengineer1982

[rocketengineer1982]

Part 17:  Race to the sea
6 days 4 hours 41 minutes - 7 days 2 hours 22 minutes
KSP 1.9.1

 

Tedmore has to limit his speed to about 20 m/s in the highlands.  While the terrain isn't too rough, there are enough hills and dips that driving any faster would risk damaging the Centipede Rider.

 

 Ted finds a valley with trees.  Under a large tree he plants a flag marking Elcano Challenge Checkpoint 23 (0^o 0' 4" S, 77^o 5' 2" E).

 

He can see the grasslands up ahead!  Soon the driving will be much smoother.  Mission Control back at KSC spends a while analysing the photos taken during Roscia and Haltrey's flight over the area and believe that if Tedmore pushes he can reach the sea before he loses daylight.  There will be a short water crossing, a short land crossing, a longer water crossing, and a final short land crossing before Haltrey leaves the eastern continent behind for good.

They encourage Ted to drive as fast as he thinks is safe.  With luck and skill, he may be able to start the long ocean crossing between the western and eastern continents before nightfall.

 

With the sun peeking over the horizon Tedmore extends the solar arrays.  As some point during the last part of Ted's journey one of the solar panels on the left pontoon broke, but with 25 panels still functional the impact on the Rider's electricity generation is minimal.  In addition, the Rider has a number of radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTEGs or TEGs) that provide power during the night.  The solar arrays do provide a substantial amount of power comparted to the RTEGs, though - roughly twice their generating capacity.

 

 Ted stops to mark Elcano Challenge Checkpoint 24 (0^o 0' 29" N, 76^o 7' 16" E).

 

At the encouragement of Mission Control, Tedmore pushes the Centipede Rider to 40 m/s through the grasslands.  At these speeds the Rider is catching air - sometimes more than 2 meters - but is handling it remarkably well.  Tedmore tries cruising at 50 m/s but at that speed the Centipede Rider is getting bounced around a lot and he decides that 50 m/s is definitely too fast.

While catching air over small rises is unnerving there are no punctured tires or damaged sustained.  After hearing Ted's report, Mission Control increases the Centipede Rider's recommended maximum safe speed in Kerbin's grasslands to 40 m/s.

Mission Control congratulates Tedmore on having traveled half of the way around Kerbin!

 

Ted finds another sparse forest and stops to mark Elcano Challenge Checkpoint 25 (0^o 0' 19" N, 97^o 17' 26" E).

 

While passing north of a mountain range Tedmore catches his first glimpse of the Great Far Ocean.

 

Finally Tedmore reaches the sea - and with daylight to spare!  He crests the final rise and descends to the shoreline before stopping and planting a flag to mark Elcano Challenge Checkpoint 26 (0^o 0' 11" N, 107^o 57' 51" E).  Boarding the Centipede Rider once again, Ted retracts the solar panels and eases off the brakes, gently rolling the Rider down the beach and into the water.  With a slowly growing roar, the Rider's central jet turbine spools up and Tedmore accelerates away from shore.

 

 

Full Part 17 album:  https://imgur.com/a/u2HaqI9

Edited August 21, 2021 by rocketengineer1982