Shuttle Challenge v3 - The 1.1.x STS thread [Stock and Mod Friendly][11.10.2016 - CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT]

[Speeding Mullet]

On 7/30/2016 at 0:29 AM, Ourworldalpha1 said:

Im back Speeding Mullet

Unfortunate save file ceruption killed my craft files including HVSSA's new version

So i have made a new Modded Shuttle called Epsilon

i will have to to since it's a new shuttle go though certification for the challenge 

Here are some shuttle Pics at the top of post

Launch Date for STS-1 TBD

P.S if i can get my(Real Solar System@Realism overhaul)Install working i will be making an Real Shuttle replica,Might enter that into the challenge too

Nice that's looking like a meaty shuttle.  Good luck with your missions and can't wait to read the mission report.  You'd be more than welcome to submit an RSS shuttle for the challenge thread.  I'm not sure if I'd create a different badge for RSS entries (rather just keeping them under modded) but I might make a RSS distinguished badge if there is interest!

 

On 7/30/2016 at 8:32 AM, Paranoid Shark said:

Hey,

Here is STS-5 to STS-8.

No new mods.

STS-5

STS-6

STS-7

STS-8

STS-8 is also a fuel pod mission, 350km orbit. 

I have no idea how to even start the asteroid challenge. First step will be to update to 1.1.3!

Kit

 

When you take the payload out and connect the nose to the shuttle it looks so dinky haha!  It's a very cool design, and that last payload is massive!  When you think about it it's pretty much as versatile shuttle as you can design if you are considering lifting payloads to orbit!  I've reviewed the missions thoroughly and am very pleased to be able to announce that you have passed with totally flying colors!  Here's your badge you absolute pro   Great station also, that's a beaut.  I particularly enjoyed the external MMU vehicular access.  

Re: the asteroid challenge, I found it really useful to mount a claw inside the cargo bay that would just grab a potato without it hitting the payload bay.  You can also then readjust the centre of gravity and if you are careful you can get it running down the symmetry line of your shuttle.  From there I also took a mini ore processing payload with me to empty the asteroid of as much stuff as possible to make it light.  Should be able to get it done from there.  Please try and land a Class E though, major kudos if you manage that!! 

 

7 hours ago, Fraus said:

4/4R Commander attempt sort of butchered the whole re-entry as far as being anywhere near the runway, and then I had bugs with said runway, hope it is still qualifying even after its rather rough landing

BTS-4/4R

Yeah that qualifies - If you can land on or next to the runway without it actually being there then you are a winner in my books.  Nicely run mission.  On to the space station construction mission for you next - It's a really good one so enjoy and can't wait to see your mission report   

 

 

As promised a further announcement - I'm awarding @Alchemist the Architect badge for looking after the thread while I was away on holiday, and for his ongoing support and hints and tips to people that quite frankly often go beyond my ability or will to explain.  Thanks Alchemist!  You are also from here (should you want to be, you are free of any commitment in this regard) able to judge any challenge entry you feel like judging.  Thanks again and here's your badge!  

I will update the OP this weekend with the next STS mission sequence!  Any guesses where we are going next?

EDIT:  Woot - 400 replies and over 14 thousand views on the thread

 

SM

Edited August 4, 2016 by Speeding Mullet

[Paranoid Shark]

Hey @Speeding Mullet,

Thanks for the new badge, I really enjoyed building my station. The escape pods also come in useful for rescuing kerbals from orbit of Kerbin, Mun or Minmus (gotta earn the 1.5 million that I spent on the station back somehow)

Is my shuttle with the two orbiters cleared for take-off for future missions then? 

1st attempt at STS-9 was going very well until I came to the final aerobrake pass (120x40km orbit) and the shuttle broke up at 27km. I had mined the asteroid down to 100tons, and was going for a parachute assisted re-entry. (I later calculated that even if I had made it to deploying my parachutes, I had less than half what I needed)

My 2nd attempt at that asteroid is underway (Class C, 146 tons). I have used Voyager (my nuclear shuttle) to intercept 9 days out, so I have plenty of time to mine it down to a more manageable mass. Does it really affect the handling that much? It seems like the drag on a Class C is crazy and however much you try to control it, it will still be a ballistic entry, with no chance of actually using the shuttle to glide. My 2nd version of the payload has two claw pods with enough chutes to land around 120tons.

As for STS-12 I think that we should do a Jool Mission. 

It needs to be harder than landing on Duna, so just delivering a station is out. I think that commander level should be a Jool-5 with the shuttle landing everywhere but Tylo (you have to carry a separate lander for Tylo in your payload bay though). I cant see any way that you would be able to take off a shuttle from Tylo without the ET & SRB's.

Pilot level would be a Jool-5 with the shuttle as the mothership, and as many different landers as you need.

When @Alchemist (congrats by the way) eventually completes that, I have no idea what you would do for the mission after that!

Your Thoughts?

Kit 

 

Edited August 5, 2016 by Paranoid Shark
Added more

[Speeding Mullet]

On 8/5/2016 at 9:13 AM, Paranoid Shark said:

(gotta earn the 1.5 million that I spent on the station back somehow)

Is my shuttle with the two orbiters cleared for take-off for future missions then? 

Hey sorry for the slow reply - The only disadvantage to two weeks holiday is having to catch up on two weeks worth of work!  I'm also working on an entry for "The Ultimate Challenge" which is proving difficult!  That's one pricey station!

I reckon it does.  Yeah so you have two shuttles you are boosting up at once, but each shuttle fits within the definition of a shuttle for the purposes of the challenge.  Play it by ear though as most of the missions only require one shuttle to complete, so unless you are doing something very specific then you are going to want to devote that extra weight to payload instead of a second shuttle.  Ask before you do the mission(s) if you like and I will confirm whether your double shuttle is eligible.

 

On 8/5/2016 at 9:13 AM, Paranoid Shark said:

Does it really affect the handling that much? It seems like the drag on a Class C is crazy and however much you try to control it, it will still be a ballistic entry, with no chance of actually using the shuttle to glide.

I went for the dinkiest potato I could find and mined it down to under a tonne I think.  I managed to glide the thing basically all the way in under normal re-entry conditions.  100t or more I'm not sure though to be honest.

 

On 8/5/2016 at 9:13 AM, Paranoid Shark said:

As for STS-12 I think that we should do a Jool Mission.

This is about as close that anyone has gotten so I may as well announce it's off to Laythe we go .  It will be significantly harder than the Duna mission even just due to the extra 4k in D/v that you need to complete the mission, so putting an orbital outpost in low Laythe orbit would still be a considerable challenge for a single shuttle launch for most people, but it's sort of been done with Duna and I don't want to create another orbital outpost mission yet so the idea here will be to deploy a surface outpost for the pilot category with Ore processing capability, and a surface outpost (with Ore processing capability) plus a dock-able in atmosphere exploration aircraft for the Commander badge.  Getting there and back will be however you want to do it so I won't be mandating aerobraking vs gravity braking vs orbit insertion burn etc.

I see the Jool 5 mission more as an end game for this mission, a final hurrah if you like.  Jool 5 is so ridiculously hard for most players even giving total build freedom so I don't want it to be a blocker for people to then not be able to complete missions to other planetary bodies in the game which would come after it.  There's so many more places to visit without even considering the challenge not yet built called "Can you get off me?"  Guess where that one is going to be held haha!

Speaking of that, off to re-design the nightmare lander!

EDIT:  STS-12 "Can You Breathe Here" has been uploaded to the OP!!!!

SM

 

Edited August 8, 2016 by Speeding Mullet

[michal.don]

Well, I did some early tests yesterday.... It got me thinking, what it takes to complete this challenge. And the results are scary - The craft must be able to survive two aerobrakes with interplanetary speeds, SSTO Laythe, Make two burns of cca 2000 m/s with reasonable TWR... while having a cargo capacity for an outpost for 4 and ISRU and all the things that come with it AND a freaking aircraft  And since I refuse to design a new shuttle, or make big adjustments on Kolumbia, because I grew very fond of it, it's going to be a hell of a challenge  I'm probably taking a personal gas station with me to the Joolian system, because the 1800 - ish delta V that Kolumbia has in its internal tanks are just not going to be enough in any case  I have a few ideas how to sort it out, and a few of them involve maneuvers and flying properly Jebediah-level-insane, so it's gonna be fun. I hope I'll be able to fly it in a few days, as soon as I pick a good Laythe landing spot, and figure a way how to stuff all the things in a cargo bay and get them out without too many explosions.

Michal.don

[Alchemist]

On 08.08.2016 at 10:41 AM, Speeding Mullet said:

the idea here will be to deploy a surface outpost for the pilot category with Ore processing capability, and a surface outpost (with Ore processing capability) plus a dock-able in atmosphere exploration aircraft for the Commander badge.  Getting there and back will be however you want to do it so I won't be mandating aerobraking vs gravity braking vs orbit insertion burn etc

There should be enough space in HRO-03 for the mining rover to be slightly expanded to meet the base requirements (but I'll have to make sure it can actually drive off the ramp without getting stuck due to the length), and the shuttle should be capable of taking off from there (I'm actually more worried about landing on a not too big island since the airframe has notorious habit of sometimes gliding over half of the runway even with airbrakes deployed. Will need some drogue chutes). So the main question is getting somewhere from Laythe orbit... I think a mining rig for Bop or Pol will be the secondary craft.

Can the orbiter itself qualify as the exploration aircraft? I mean HRO is designed to maintain flight on jets... No, it's a stupid idea to actually hop between islands with something this large. Actually, it could be useful to drop a small reconnaissance aircraft to survey the landing site first. Might even strap it on top of the shuttle.

On 05.08.2016 at 2:13 AM, Paranoid Shark said:

I think that commander level should be a Jool-5 with the shuttle landing everywhere but Tylo (you have to carry a separate lander for Tylo in your payload bay though). I cant see any way that you would be able to take off a shuttle from Tylo without the ET & SRB's.

On 08.08.2016 at 10:41 AM, Speeding Mullet said:

I see the Jool 5 mission more as an end game for this mission, a final hurrah if you like.  Jool 5 is so ridiculously hard for most players even giving total build freedom so I don't want it to be a blocker for people to then not be able to complete missions to other planetary bodies in the game which would come after it.

Well, I do have a spaceplane designed for both Laythe and Tylo (which pretty much means anything smaller as well), but haven't actually brought it further than the Mun. Plus, I severely doubt my capability to operate its VTOL system manually (and I haven't programmed the autopilot for such a landing yet, either)

On 08.08.2016 at 10:41 AM, Speeding Mullet said:

There's so many more places to visit without even considering the challenge not yet built called "Can you get off me?"  Guess where that one is going to be held haha!

Oh no. That place gives me creeps even after actually getting crew from there once. I don't even want to think what kind of monstrosity it would require to launch a shuttle from there.

[Paranoid Shark]

Hey,

On 8/8/2016 at 3:41 AM, Speeding Mullet said:

That's one pricey station!

It was expensive because of two failed launches. Both of the fairing based shuttles failed to make orbit the 1st time. However I did manage to land/splashdown both of them without payloads or nosecones, so at least the crews survived!

Onto STS-9... I got quite frustrated with this. It turns out KAS winches and grappling hooks are not very strong and even more Kraken inducing than the Claw. 

When planning this mission I was going to attach the two claw pods to the top of the asteroid after the last aerobrake pass before landing. I was even going to have a Kerbal ride it down in one of the seats. I may go back and try it again if I feel like going for a closer landing to KSC!

STS-9

On 8/8/2016 at 3:41 AM, Speeding Mullet said:

I reckon it does.  Yeah so you have two shuttles you are boosting up at once, but each shuttle fits within the definition of a shuttle for the purposes of the challenge.  Play it by ear though as most of the missions only require one shuttle to complete, so unless you are doing something very specific then you are going to want to devote that extra weight to payload instead of a second shuttle.  Ask before you do the mission(s) if you like and I will confirm whether your double shuttle is eligible.

I'm possibly going to send the two orbiters to Jool for STS-12. One shuttle will land on Laythe, the other will carry an ISRU and a Miner for Pol/Bop so that both shuttles can get back to Kerbin.

Before that, I'm off to Duna!

Kit

[michal.don]

This thing is hard, harder than I expected. I'm practicing all the maneuvers, there are a few where there is practicaly no margin of error.

This it the craziest one.... Can you guess what is going on here?

Michal.don

[Guest]

Man, that new Laythe mission looks hard as hell. I did feel like using NFPropulsion plasma engines might over the top even for the modded category, but...

 

Well, sinking back down to my own level, I've finally developed a purpose-built shuttle and I believe I've completed challenge STS-1b. The orange tank is a good litmus test for lifters.

Part mods affecting craft: Infernal Robotics (turreted spotlight! I play around with it in the video below), Kerbal Planetary Base Systems, KAS & KIS + SM Chute, Mk2 & Mk3 Expansions, Mk4 Spaceplane System, Near Future Solar, NAU ORIGAMI, Stockalike Station Parts Expansion, TweakScale.

Other mods affecting craft performance: Action Groups Extended, Antenna Range, Alternate Resource Panel, Better Burn Time, Connected Living Space, Kerbal Alarm Clock, Kerbal Engineer Redux, Kerbal Joint Reinforcement, Trajectories.

Result: 3 attempts (2 launch failures due to only testing fuel flow & horizontal takeoff), minor damage to shuttle (I think some internals and RCS blisters fried but I didn't assess before recovery; almost destroyed the cockpit but noticed just in time which heat bar its was).

 

Internals... looking at this, I just noticed that the uppermost set of Sepratrons is off-angle.

 

 

Final orbit of pod...

 

 

Full video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHxJP6uSyGo

Edited August 11, 2016 by Guest

[zolotiyeruki]

I'm new to this challenge, and the most recent addition (Laythe) looks interesting, but I have a question about the rules:  They state "no SSTO's"--does that rule apply once you've landed on Laythe?  Are air-breathing engines allowed on Laythe, and could they also be used for the Kerbin launch?

[Paranoid Shark]

7 hours ago, zolotiyeruki said:

I'm new to this challenge, and the most recent addition (Laythe) looks interesting, but I have a question about the rules:  They state "no SSTO's"--does that rule apply once you've landed on Laythe?  Are air-breathing engines allowed on Laythe, and could they also be used for the Kerbin launch?

The "No SSTO's" apply for the launch from Kerbin.... It's what makes this challenge different from the various SSTO challenges. The Shuttle then has to complete all the rest of the challenge. SSTO is fine for the rest of the challenge, as per the two people that have completed both of the Duna challenges.

As for air breathing engines, lots of our shuttles have them. @Speeding Mullet hasn't rejected any on that basis, so I guess they are good!

Hope this helps,

Kit

[zolotiyeruki]

Here's my first entry-- to orbit and back:

[imgur]dH2Mv[/imgur]

It's a VERY rough first pass.  It's gonna be a long road to Laythe.

Mods used:
--KER
--Pilot Assistant (not used in this run)
--KAC (not used in this run)
--Docking Alignment Indicator (not used in this run)

EDIT: Errr....what's the new way to embed imgur albums?

Edited August 13, 2016 by zolotiyeruki

[zolotiyeruki]

Here's stage 1b.  No testing on this one, just flew it up.  As it turns out, the CoM was too far back on returning to KSC, and I ended up landing hard, and backwards in the plains to the west of the KSC.  Other than that, and forgetting the solar panels, and my ailerons operating in reverse, and my elevons refusing to respond to roll control, the craft performed admirably.

Ap/Pe were 83,111/83,071km

http://imgur.com/a/czBZM

[Speeding Mullet]

On 8/9/2016 at 6:56 PM, michal.don said:

Well, I did some early tests yesterday.... It got me thinking, what it takes to complete this challenge. And the results are scary

Yeah when I wrote it I was thinking wow, I know this is very do-able but at the same time putting the word Shuttle in front of d-able isn't always a great thing.  Good luck with your mission!

 

On 8/9/2016 at 8:38 PM, Alchemist said:

Can the orbiter itself qualify as the exploration aircraft?

I'd have to say no - but I think you have a couple of other solutions in the running so you should be good.  Absolutely cannot waiot to see how you deal with this one

On 8/9/2016 at 8:38 PM, Alchemist said:

I don't even want to think what kind of monstrosity it would require to launch a shuttle from there

I know it's coming into the challenge thread at some point, even if just to see people have a crack its got to be worth it!  Not yet though - Too soon.

On 8/10/2016 at 11:10 PM, Paranoid Shark said:

Onto STS-9

HAHAHAHAHA!!!  It never fails to make me laugh seeing someone land a roid using a ship that was clearly never ever supposed to do something like this.  Looks like you had a neat little cargo bay full of tricks there, how heavy was the asteroid do you know? Anyway good luck and travel safe to Duna.  It's a crazy mission for sure.  Here's a badge to keep you motivated   

 

On 8/12/2016 at 2:09 AM, michal.don said:

This it the craziest one.... Can you guess what is going on here?

Looks like you are trying a tricky suborbital shuttle path to rendezvous with your tanker? GL with that 

 

On 8/12/2016 at 7:11 AM, String Witch said:

Man, that new Laythe mission looks hard as hell. I did feel like using NFPropulsion plasma engines might over the top even for the modded category, but...

 

Well, sinking back down to my own level, I've finally developed a purpose-built shuttle and I believe I've completed challenge STS-1b. The orange tank is a good litmus test for lifters.

Part mods affecting craft: Infernal Robotics (turreted spotlight! I play around with it in the video below), Kerbal Planetary Base Systems, KAS & KIS + SM Chute, Mk2 & Mk3 Expansions, Mk4 Spaceplane System, Near Future Solar, NAU ORIGAMI, Stockalike Station Parts Expansion, TweakScale.

Other mods affecting craft performance: Action Groups Extended, Antenna Range, Alternate Resource Panel, Better Burn Time, Connected Living Space, Kerbal Alarm Clock, Kerbal Engineer Redux, Kerbal Joint Reinforcement, Trajectories.

Result: 3 attempts (2 launch failures due to only testing fuel flow & horizontal takeoff), minor damage to shuttle (I think some internals and RCS blisters fried but I didn't assess before recovery; almost destroyed the cockpit but noticed just in time which heat bar its was).

Hey nice work punting the 42t fuel pod to that height.  It's always a good litmus test for a successfully built shuttle.  The bigger fuel pod is seriously struggle street so have fun when you get there haha!  Good entry for the modded category and the leaderboard will be updated soon^tm 

 

On 8/13/2016 at 2:29 AM, zolotiyeruki said:

I'm new to this challenge, and the most recent addition (Laythe) looks interesting, but I have a question about the rules:  They state "no SSTO's"--does that rule apply once you've landed on Laythe?  Are air-breathing engines allowed on Laythe, and could they also be used for the Kerbin launch?

@Paranoid Shark is entirely correct with the answer given .  Air breathing engines are also totally fine.  Most Buran entries have them and a lot of hybrids have been kicking about with jets.

 

On 8/13/2016 at 2:04 PM, zolotiyeruki said:

Here's my first entry-- to orbit and back:

[imgur]dH2Mv[/imgur]

It's a VERY rough first pass.  It's gonna be a long road to Laythe.

Mods used:
--KER
--Pilot Assistant (not used in this run)
--KAC (not used in this run)
--Docking Alignment Indicator (not used in this run)

EDIT: Errr....what's the new way to embed imgur albums?

I totally didn't realise that!  Where has the imgur embed button gone?  Is that something do do with the galleries cutting themselves in half recently?!  Anyway welcome to the challenge and well done on achieving your first flight.

It's definitely a long road to Laythe looking at it from the start, but you will be surprised at yourself.  Flying any sort of shuttle to orbit is basically 90% of the battle won.  All it is from here is refining and running missions.  Ok yeah some of them are preeeety tricky, but there's loads of helpful bods around here so ask if you have any questions and me or someone else will no doubt chime in.  Here's your first badge, Commander!  

 

On 8/14/2016 at 5:11 AM, zolotiyeruki said:

Here's stage 1b.  No testing on this one, just flew it up.  As it turns out, the CoM was too far back on returning to KSC, and I ended up landing hard, and backwards in the plains to the west of the KSC.  Other than that, and forgetting the solar panels, and my ailerons operating in reverse, and my elevons refusing to respond to roll control, the craft performed admirably.

Ap/Pe were 83,111/83,071km

Wow you really sent the fuel pod flying.  Unfortunately I'm going to have to make a ruling on this one.  "Although you landed" you lost a considerable amount of your shuttle in the process, and I have ruled on re-runs for less bits hanging off in the past.  I'm sorry to ask you to run this one again (if you so choose) and may I also request that if you do run again can you show some more detail of the flight to space.   It's nice to see staging and stuff rather than just on the pad and then in space.  Thanks!

 

ALL:  Sorry I've been a bit tardy this week - hectic at work still

 

SM

[michal.don]

1 hour ago, Speeding Mullet said:

Looks like you are trying a tricky suborbital shuttle path to rendezvous with your tanker? GL with that 

Yeah, exactly  And it's a nightmare - total time out of atmosphere is about 3 minutes, the refueling itself takes about 50 seconds, and the speed difference is 1200 m/s.... Margin of error close to none, but it's certainly possible. Now I'm refining the method of delivering the fuel tankers to LLO, and different scenarios of insertion to Kerbin orbit on the way home. All that is left is uninstalling hyperedit and actually flying the mission in one go. And the only modifications to Kolumbia are 7 parts, not counting the docking ports

Michal.don

[Paranoid Shark]

5 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

HAHAHAHAHA!!!  It never fails to make me laugh seeing someone land a roid using a ship that was clearly never ever supposed to do something like this.  Looks like you had a neat little cargo bay full of tricks there, how heavy was the asteroid do you know?

It weighed 69.997 Tons when landed. 

STS-10 is going very well, I'm finding it easy compared to the Asteroid mission! 

With my career save I missed the 1st departure window messing around rescuing kerbals from the surface of Minmus. To solve this I ran the launch, transfer to Duna, aerocapture and transfer to low Duna orbit in a new sandbox save. I then Hyper Edited my Shuttle into orbit of Duna with the same fuel levels that the sandbox shuttle ended with... Hope this ok! 

Voyager is currently waiting for the return window back to Kerbin, I deployed the Station and a 5 satellite Remote Tech network that covers Duna at 95% and Ike at 80%. 

I am going to launch the Laythe mission before the first Duna mission is back at Kerbin and the second Duna mission has even been launched as I don't want to have timewarp through 5 years... I think Kerbal Alarm Clock is going to be essential!

Kit

Edited August 15, 2016 by Paranoid Shark

[zolotiyeruki]

9 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

Wow you really sent the fuel pod flying.  Unfortunately I'm going to have to make a ruling on this one.  "Although you landed" you lost a considerable amount of your shuttle in the process, and I have ruled on re-runs for less bits hanging off in the past.  I'm sorry to ask you to run this one again (if you so choose) and may I also request that if you do run again can you show some more detail of the flight to space.   It's nice to see staging and stuff rather than just on the pad and then in space.  Thanks!

 

lol Fair enough.  I'm terrible at remembering to take screen shots.  I'm re-running the mission with my updated shuttle, which should help my return significantly any way   It'll be nice to have all the other issues resolved 

Realistically, getting the 42t fuel tank to HKO means that Laythe will be a breeze.  I had nearly enough dV to make it to Laythe *with* that fuel tank in the bay. 

Edited August 15, 2016 by zolotiyeruki

[zolotiyeruki]

Ok, here it is.  Big heavy fuel tank launched even higher, and I took more pictures and landed without losing any parts.  I'm brushing up against the edge of Kerbin's SoI, and my Ap/Pe were within 0.4 km of each other.

http://imgur.com/a/wFyWR

I think I'll skip the ore container mission, since it would be easier than the Big Fuel Tank To High Kerbin Orbit.

Edited August 16, 2016 by zolotiyeruki

[michal.don]

18 hours ago, zolotiyeruki said:

I think I'll skip the ore container mission, since it would be easier than the Big Fuel Tank To High Kerbin Orbit.

Easier? Nah. The fuel pod weighs ~42 tons, while the ore pod has around 160. I was able to take the fuel pod to the SOI boundary as well, but can't even achieve orbit with the ore pod.

Michal.don

[Alchemist]

Now I'm tempted to bring an unusual exploration vehicle to Laythe. Although it may not exactly qualify as an aircraft. Well, it has jet engine, it has winglets and it even glides above the sea, but the altimeter reads 0. By the way, it's a very long-range exploration vehicle, therefore it carries ISRU.
I call it Elcanoplan (I'll have to make couple modifications - like put the damn engine lower! too much torque like this! - but the base concept stays this)

So, does it qualify or should I just make another exploration aircraft for the mission and bring this as separate out-of-mission vehicle (or make this at least somewhat flight-capable)? And yes, I'm going to swim waterglide around Laythe.

[zolotiyeruki]

3 hours ago, michal.don said:

Easier? Nah. The fuel pod weighs ~42 tons, while the ore pod has around 160. I was able to take the fuel pod to the SOI boundary as well, but can't even achieve orbit with the ore pod.

Michal.don

Oh, I hadn't considered that the ore pod would be *filled* !

[michal.don]

32 minutes ago, zolotiyeruki said:

Oh, I hadn't considered that the ore pod would be *filled* !

Well, yeah, it is

[michal.don]

Sorry for spamming this post so often,

but I can announce that the Laythe mission is succesfully completed. The base and the atmospheric plane have been deployed on the surface of Laythe, and the crew and the shuttle are home safe and sound.

Not everything went according to the play, but with improvising a bit, all went quite smoothly. By using the suborbital rendezvous and refueling, I didn't have to modify Kolumbia a whole lot, I just had to add a bit of fuel to reach altitude of ~kms to have enough time to dock. For deploying the base, I used the "drop it and pray nothing breaks" method, that seemed to be the easies one, and it worked just fine  .The album is quite picture heavy, I included all the maneuvers both of the crafts made. 

https://imgur.com/a/4ooOs

(where did the embedd album button go? I'll edit it as soon as I find out how to add the album)

I hope everything is properly documented,

Thanks for the challenge,

Michal.don

Edited August 17, 2016 by michal.don

[Speeding Mullet]

On 8/15/2016 at 10:47 PM, Paranoid Shark said:

It weighed 69.997 Tons when landed. 

Haha amazing!  I will update the OP this weekend for you.  Brilliant effort!

On 8/15/2016 at 10:47 PM, Paranoid Shark said:

Hope this ok! 

I'll allow it in this instance as you are fitting the challenge around your career save

 

On 8/16/2016 at 11:53 PM, zolotiyeruki said:

Ok, here it is.  Big heavy fuel tank launched even higher, and I took more pictures and landed without losing any parts.  I'm brushing up against the edge of Kerbin's SoI, and my Ap/Pe were within 0.4 km of each other.

http://imgur.com/a/wFyWR

I think I'll skip the ore container mission, since it would be easier than the Big Fuel Tank To High Kerbin Orbit.

Wow nice work thanks for re-running the mission.  Happy to award you the Flight Director badge and will update the OP this weekend!  

It's certainly an unorthodox shuttle design so I'll be interested to see how you go with some of the other challenges.  Can't wait to see your progression!  @michal.don is right the Ore Pod weighs in at a hefty 168t 

 

On 8/17/2016 at 8:02 PM, Alchemist said:

Now I'm tempted to bring an unusual exploration vehicle to Laythe. Although it may not exactly qualify as an aircraft. Well, it has jet engine, it has winglets and it even glides above the sea, but the altimeter reads 0. By the way, it's a very long-range exploration vehicle, therefore it carries ISRU.
I call it Elcanoplan (I'll have to make couple modifications - like put the damn engine lower! too much torque like this! - but the base concept stays this)

So, does it qualify or should I just make another exploration aircraft for the mission and bring this as separate out-of-mission vehicle (or make this at least somewhat flight-capable)? And yes, I'm going to swim waterglide around Laythe.

Oooooh Kaaaay!  Even just for the play on words I'm going to allow this as your mission "plane", let alone wanting to see how you are actually going to get it there on the back of a shuttle!  Feel free to take a proper plane if you wish (never been one to back down from a challenge are you?!) but I won't demand it....

 

22 hours ago, michal.don said:

Sorry for spamming this post so often,

but I can announce that the Laythe mission is succesfully completed. The base and the atmospheric plane have been deployed on the surface of Laythe, and the crew and the shuttle are home safe and sound.

Not everything went according to the play, but with improvising a bit, all went quite smoothly. By using the suborbital rendezvous and refueling, I didn't have to modify Kolumbia a whole lot, I just had to add a bit of fuel to reach altitude of ~kms to have enough time to dock. For deploying the base, I used the "drop it and pray nothing breaks" method, that seemed to be the easies one, and it worked just fine  .The album is quite picture heavy, I included all the maneuvers both of the crafts made. 

https://imgur.com/a/4ooOs

(where did the embedd album button go? I'll edit it as soon as I find out how to add the album)

I hope everything is properly documented,

Thanks for the challenge,

Michal.don

Never apologise for entering this challenge or posting in this thread.  You are at the avant-garde of what is possible with a shuttle these days and we welcome your posts!  Nice little trick of inverting the cargo bay for your base.  You didn't seem to have too much trouble with landing on Laythe, how do you find the re-entry?

This is a great example of what I thought would happen with this mission possibly above all others.  It forces you to get really creative and think outside the box on how to achieve the madness that is taking a shuttle to Laythe.  I mean suborbital refueling in deep space?!?!?  Hair raising and genius and thoroughly deserving of your badge good sir!  

 

This means that I do have to plan the next mission and hope to release it this weekend.  Where to?  What's next?  Got to keep you guessing!

Oh yes, apart from the two mentioned above, if I have missed updating any entries on the OP please let me know and I will make sure to include you when I update this weekend.

 

Thanks all 

SM

 

[michal.don]

53 minutes ago, Speeding Mullet said:

You didn't seem to have too much trouble with landing on Laythe, how do you find the re-entry?

Well, because of the gravity-assist-billiard I played in the Jool system, I had enough fuel to enter a stable Laythe orbit before aerobraking and landing, so it wasn't really intense. I had to practice precision landing a bit, but it isn't that different than on Kerbin.

Thanks for the badge, and I'm quite curious what is next - each new mission it's more and more complicated without modifying the shuttle too much, so we'll see if I'm finally forced to design something new for the next one

Michal.don

[zolotiyeruki]

3 hours ago, Speeding Mullet said:

Wow nice work thanks for re-running the mission.  Happy to award you the Flight Director badge and will update the OP this weekend!   

It's certainly an unorthodox shuttle design so I'll be interested to see how you go with some of the other challenges.  Can't wait to see your progression!  @michal.don is right the Ore Pod weighs in at a hefty 168t 

I designed it that way, looking forward to the eventual Laythe mission, where I'll drop cargo out the bottom.  The high wing creates some controllability issues on re-entry--it's really stable in a nose-up (almost radial-out), high drag attitude.  So stable that I literally cannot force the nose down, even if I pump all the remaining fuel to the forward tank.

The reason I haven't posted any more progress is because I'm working on something special for laythe.