Project Rhea: Duna Colonization Mission

[Sippitous]

The Duna colonization mission isn't a new one for the most part, but for me it is. I've sent rovers, landers, mining vehicles, and the sort to Duna a bunch of times (each with their own special types of disasters), but never an organized, systematic, and long running mission like I hope this to be. After hearing about this mysterious BFR rocket in one of EJ_SA's twitch streams (mysterious to me at the time), I looked up what that was and it sparked a great deal of interest to me. So I went ahead and designed a "Big Falcon Rocket" capable of carrying a very heavy payload to LKO and landing back at the KSC for reuse. This BFR is a concept vehicle thought up by SpaceX. Here is a link to the site I used to gather my information: http://spaceflight101.com/spacex-launch-vehicle-concepts-designs/. After reading about this and learning from an interview that Elon Musk hopes/plans to be able to send 100 people at a time to Mars, this mission idea came into play.

 

So, now I have a mission plan and am currently developing all the crafts I plan on using to accomplish this mission. For example, Stations, Landers, Transporters, Miners, Rovers (both unmanned and manned), comm sats, a base (maybe multiple bases). 

 

The first thing I did, and what I will show you today, was remake the Falcon XX concept. It had to be big enough to send 100 tones to Duna because that was one of the planned capabilities of the Falcon XX. Below are some preliminary pics of my adaptation of the Falcon XX.

[imgur]Me4JO[/imgur]

 

Edit* since albums can't be embedded here is a link to the imgur album http://imgur.com/a/Me4JO which is pretty much the same as the pics below only with some captions

 

I will continue to update this post throughout this mission and include videos and KerbalX links to the craft files https://kerbalx.com/Sippitous

I hope this interest some people and I look forward to sharing more with everyone as it develops.

 

hmm. I can't seem to post imgur albums so here are single pics:

 

 

Edited October 1, 2016 by Sippitous
album didn't post?

[Mister Dilsby]

Yeah, imgur albums don't work any more which really really stinks. Hopefully a future version restores the function.

 

[Sippitous]

34 minutes ago, Kuzzter said:

Yeah, imgur albums don't work any more which really really stinks. Hopefully a future version restores the function.

 

That is a pity.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Sippitous

[Sippitous]

Project: Rhea, Mission One

Launch Vehicle: Merlin XX 

 

Mission Objectives: 

     Primary Mission: Set up a 3 satellite Geo Stationary Constellation around Kerbin with the range to reach Duna.

     Secondary Mission: Land and recover both the booster stage and the upper stage of the Merlin XX Rocket in the vicinity of the KSC without incident.

 

With version 1.2 in the works and so close to it's release, I decided that a communications network around Kerbin would be prudent. So I set about designing a satellite that would have a very srong signal when communicating with Duna, and any other planet for that matter. Since the satellite dishes are combinable (is this a word), having multiple dishes on a craft would boost the signal strength. So I put 14 of the largest relay dishes that stock KSP has to offer in a nice GEO stationary orbit around Kerbin.

 

Here is a video of mission one for Project: Rhea

 

 

Primary Mission Status: Complete

Secondary Mission Status: Complete

 

Craft File ► https://kerbalx.com/Sippitous/GEO-Coms-w_-Merlin-XX

 

Edited October 1, 2016 by Sippitous

[W. Kerman]

A tip of my hat to you, I also am making a Duna Base. Need to find time though...

[Sippitous]

On 9/26/2016 at 9:10 PM, W. Kerman said:

A tip of my hat to you, I also am making a Duna Base. Need to find time though...

Thanks, I know what you mean. There is a lot of planning and execution that goes into it. But of course that's the fun bits.

Edited October 1, 2016 by Sippitous

[Sippitous]

Project: Rhea, Mission Two

Launch Vehicle: Merlin XX 

 

Mission Objectives: 

     Primary Mission: Set up a small relay network of satellites to orbit the Sun to provide communications through a Duna-Sun-Kerbal alignment.

     Secondary Mission: Land and recover both the booster stage and the upper stage of the Merlin XX Rocket in the vicinity of the KSC without incident.

 

Happy with the success of mission one, the kerbals start planning away with mission two.

 

The Kerbals Realized that every couple of years or so, Duna would be on the dark side of the sun (...?) and communications would be interrupted for a short amount of time. This is, of course, completely unacceptable and must be addressed. So, Mission Two was devised. Different satellite configurations where considered, but the one chosen would help keep the distance, the signal would have to travel, down. The one chosen is as follows: Two satellites would be in the same orbit as Kerbins orbit around the sun; One, a few million kilometers in front of Kerbin; and the other behind.

 

 

Primary Mission Status: Success

Secondary Mission Status: Success

[septemberWaves]

I'd like to point out that using Rhinos as a first-stage engine is very inefficient, because they're vacuum-optimised. If you look at their I_sp, you find that they have only 3/4 at sea level of what they have in vacuum. That means that, essentially, when burning a Rhino engine at sea level you're wasting 1/4 of your fuel. It would be better to replace each Rhino with a Mainsail, as that has almost the same sea level thrust, but is far more fuel efficient in Kerbin's atmosphere. There is a bit less thrust overall, but you could decrease your fuel supply enough to offset the slightly lower thrust. That system would make the vehicle significantly cheaper, lighter, and easier to control.

[chicobaptista]

Just dropped by to say that I like this concept! A huge colonization effort is on my long term plans, but as I always play with some kind of Life Support mod, it's always bumped to waaaaay long term. And I liked where you're going with that lifter! 

[W. Kerman]

5 hours ago, eloquentJane said:

I'd like to point out that using Rhinos as a first-stage engine is very inefficient, because they're vacuum-optimised. If you look at their I_sp, you find that they have only 3/4 at sea level of what they have in vacuum. That means that, essentially, when burning a Rhino engine at sea level you're wasting 1/4 of your fuel. It would be better to replace each Rhino with a Mainsail, as that has almost the same sea level thrust, but is far more fuel efficient in Kerbin's atmosphere. There is a bit less thrust overall, but you could decrease your fuel supply enough to offset the slightly lower thrust. That system would make the vehicle significantly cheaper, lighter, and easier to control.

True, but when you get a certain point in this game, bigger is better than efficiency.

[Sippitous]

21 hours ago, eloquentJane said:

I'd like to point out that using Rhinos as a first-stage engine is very inefficient, because they're vacuum-optimised. If you look at their I_sp, you find that they have only 3/4 at sea level of what they have in vacuum. That means that, essentially, when burning a Rhino engine at sea level you're wasting 1/4 of your fuel. It would be better to replace each Rhino with a Mainsail, as that has almost the same sea level thrust, but is far more fuel efficient in Kerbin's atmosphere. There is a bit less thrust overall, but you could decrease your fuel supply enough to offset the slightly lower thrust. That system would make the vehicle significantly cheaper, lighter, and easier to control.

You do make an excellent point. I chose those engines because they fit the fuel tank and they "looked better". Also, there are four Rhinos clipped together for each of those outer fuel tanks. I would need to clip a lot of mainsails to get the necessary thrust. But you have me wondering. I will look into different options. Thanks for the feedback

**Edit after one test run:  I heard some dings (notification alerts) as I was typing this, so maybe you have pointed out that mainsails have more thrust at sea level than rhinos. But I just noticed while i was trying different options. How long have I been playing!!!!?????

So I scrapped the (4) Rhino engine cluster and instead used (2) Mammoth engine cluster. This new design gives a LOT more thrust and I had so much fuel left over, I was descending 300 m/s faster for the booster landing. There were no survivors. 

So obviously, this is a more efficient design and you were absolutely correct. Now I just need to decide if I like the looks of the thing. The proportions of the entire rocket as a whole needs to stay the same. I made it that width to match some of my current and future payload sizes. And the length looks right too. I could probably lose a set of fuel tanks, but then it would look too short and pudgy. So, If I updated the design I would be removing some fuel, saving 150,000 funds, and reducing part count by 24. That's the good. The bad is the ring of mammoth engines are so large that they clip into the engines that are next to them. 

Also, mainsails don't fit the profile of the bottom of the fuel tank either. They are to skinny and it looks not right.

Final desicision: I am going to keep them as they are (but If I have a payload that needs the extra Delta V I can consider upgrading). The reason is that I made this ship with the intent to mimic the concept of the Falcon XX, so engines noticeably clipping into each other isn't at all realistic or acceptable. Also, I land both the booster and upper stage back at the KSC so 98% of the funds would get returned to me, so there really isn't much saving in funds.

Again. Thank you for you help. Always appreciate it.

Edited October 2, 2016 by Sippitous

[chicobaptista]

5 minutes ago, Sippitous said:

You do make an excellent point. I chose those engines because they fit the fuel tank and they "looked better". Also, there are four Rhinos clipped together for each of those outer fuel tanks. I would need to clip a lot of mainsails to get the necessary thrust. But you have me wondering. I will look into different options. Thanks for the feedback

Well, if you're so in need of thrust, the next engine on the scale is the Mammooth, which packs more than double the thrust of the Rhinos at 1atm, has better Isp while in the atmosphere and for bonus points it also fits the fuel tanks. They definitely look different, though.

[septemberWaves]

Making an artificial Mammoth-style engine cluster out of a 3.75-2.5m adaptor and several gimbal-limited Vectors is a good alternative to using Mammoths. You can get anywhere between 3 and 9 Vector engines on the base of a 3.75m stack that way whilst maintaining a good appearance, and in doing so vary the lifting thrust of the cluster between 3MN and 9MN (approximately). Using Vectors also makes it easier to lift awkwardly-shaped payloads, because you can vary the gimbal limiting on them so that they can potentially compensate for a non-central center of mass.

[Sippitous]

Project: Rhea, Mission Three

Launch Vehicle #1: Merlin 9

Launch Vehicle #2: Twin Boosters; Charybdis & Scylla

 

Mission Objectives: 

     Primary Mission(s): 1) Set up a Geosynchronous communication network around Duna without crashing into Ike.

                                     2) Survey and select a base of operations on Duna's surface that has a high concentrations of ore.

                                     3) Deliver (eject) essential cargo to Duna's surface that will facilitate in locating a precise landing zone for future missions.

     Secondary Mission: Land and recover the Merlin 9 booster from launch #1 within the vicinity of the KSC without incident.

 

Side note: The mission director in charge of the first two perfectly executed missions, Gene Kerman, unfortunately woke up with a runny nose the morning of the launch and, following the KSC's strict "Health and Safety First Priority" policy, was forced to stay at home on sick leave. Under the assumption that because Gene made it look so easy, all this fancy space adventuring stuff was, in fact, easy. So, they assigned Gene's grad student, Airwrecka (last name unknown), to fill in for him. 

 

 

Primary Mission Status: (1) Success (2) Success (3) Success

Secondary Mission Status: ...Failure

        If Failure, please provide recommendation for future success:

                We recommend Mission Director Airwrecka, "volunteer" to be the first kerbal to "travel" to Duna.

 

DG-X1 Cargo Ship and Cargo can be downloaded on KerbalX ►https://kerbalx.com/Sippitous/DG-X1

Edited October 8, 2016 by Sippitous

[Iago]

Will there just be a few clustered habs or will there be widely spaced towns filling different purposes? Either way, I'll definitely be keeping up on this

[Sippitous]

9 hours ago, Iago said:

Will there just be a few clustered habs or will there be widely spaced towns filling different purposes? Either way, I'll definitely be keeping up on this

I have one "settlement" build and ready for deployment that is an all in one hab. Getting it to duna will be...fun. It has science, fuel, garage, living quarters, solar power array. I definitely want to build more though. Perhaps, some close to the current landing zone set up as a community and others that are far away near the poles. I have the means of transporting crew to different sites, so I hope i get to utilize them (not that you know about though. look for it in upcoming episodes

Thanks for the encouragement!!!

Project: Rhea, Mission Four

Launch Vehicle #1: Fortuna  

 

 

Mission Objectives: 

     Primary Mission(s): Deliver (eject) essential cargo to Duna's surface that will facilitate kerbals on their near future visits.

     Secondary Mission: none

      Optional Mission:  Ensure the safe departure and return of Airwrecka.

 

 

After 6 month of bed rest and a year or so of physical and mental therapy, Gene Kerman finally beats those sniffles and is ready to get back to work. He is sad to see his least favorite niece, Airwrecka, leave Kerbin, but understands why this must happen.

This mission will include more cargo delivery to Duna. The cargo will be as follows:

(1)   DR.P-X1 “Jumper”

“Small” rover which has the tendency to flip over if not careful. Also, though, it has enough fuel to travel to any location on Duna, even orbit.

(2)   DV-01 “Leto”

 “Large” rover which better not ever flip over. It cannot fly, but it can transport about 50 kerbals and a whole lot of fuel.

(3)   DM-X1 “Belle”

Duna’s official mining vehicle capable of carrying 3000 units of ore to low Duna Orbit.

 

 

Jumper and Belle will be delivered to the mining site south of the newly dubbed “Regal Canyon”

Leto will be delivered to the future site of Regal City within the Regal Canyon.

Primary Mission Status: Complete

Secondary Mission Status: "was there a secondary mission?" Uh. Complete? 

Optional Mission Status: All "official" reports are that Airwrecka landed safely and has taken a permanent vacation. Complete!

 

The entire ship is available for download on KerbalX (Including the Leto rover that I teased with just a glimpse at the end of the video.) https://kerbalx.com/Sippitous/DGT-2-Fortuna

Edited October 15, 2016 by Sippitous

[Iago]

When you start getting lots of commuting, I'd recommend to build a low-port and a high-port with specialized shuttles, instead of giant multi-purpose ships

That's a very nice rocket design, btw

[Sippitous]

17 hours ago, Iago said:

When you start getting lots of commuting, I'd recommend to build a low-port and a high-port with specialized shuttles, instead of giant multi-purpose ships

That's a very nice rocket design, btw

Could you explain what you mean by low port/high port?

[Iago]

Build a facility with refueling capabilities on the equator, with fuel hauled there if there's no ore locally. Then you build a space station which serves as a fuel, cargo and kerbal depot. Perhaps you can have fuel shuttles from Ike, too. 

A kerbal that wishes to travel to a Duna colony would take an interplanetary ship to Duna orbit, then dock with the station (where the interplanetary ship refuels and loads kerbals). The kerbal would then transfer to a shuttle down to the low-port, then take a plane or car to the colony.

Giant interplanetary SSTO's are awesome, but not very practical. Plus, decentralizing colonies like this spreads things out, and makes it look more realistic. It makes colonies feel like colonies, and not like outposts.

[Sippitous]

On 10/16/2016 at 0:35 PM, Iago said:

Build a facility with refueling capabilities on the equator, with fuel hauled there if there's no ore locally. Then you build a space station which serves as a fuel, cargo and kerbal depot. Perhaps you can have fuel shuttles from Ike, too. 

A kerbal that wishes to travel to a Duna colony would take an interplanetary ship to Duna orbit, then dock with the station (where the interplanetary ship refuels and loads kerbals). The kerbal would then transfer to a shuttle down to the low-port, then take a plane or car to the colony.

Giant interplanetary SSTO's are awesome, but not very practical. Plus, decentralizing colonies like this spreads things out, and makes it look more realistic. It makes colonies feel like colonies, and not like outposts.

Got it. Thanks for responding, Sorry it took so long to reply, I actually noticed the comment a few days ago, but life....

Anyway, I have the time now. 

I am going to have a high port that will serve as a rendezvous point for all ships enter/leaving low orbit. That will be a couple missions out, but I do have the station build already. that was actually the second ship I build for this project. The first still hasn't been shown either, it's the ship that will transport 96 kerbals to and from kerbin (designed to simulate Space X's plans). Speaking of spacex, I thought i understood Elon Musk when he talked about sending his "kerbals" to mars in a vehicle that would land on mars and take off again and head home. In his recent talk at the ISC 2016 it didnt seem like he would be using ports at all. So not that impractical? But I do agree with you. I totally love the idea of having a high and low port and hope I can implement the low port (which I hadn't considered before). My concern would be having to land accurately at the port every time, and keeping the part count down so it doesn't lag to much on decent.

Also, I hope I can have activity on Ike. I love Ike, just wish it had more color. We'll see, that wont be for later in any case.

Look for my next installment either tonight or in the morning. Thanks again for the response and interest. You fuel me! 

(sorry for any errors, life is calling and I am rushed)

[Sippitous]

Project: Rhea, Mission Five

ARGOS

       (not Regal like I said the the last mission. Regal was the original name of the base. I forgot I changed it to Argos to keep it in the Greek myth family)

 

Mission Objectives:

     Primary Mission(s): Deliver what will be the first settlement on Duna!

     Secondary Mission: Do not realize, too late, that your main docking port adapter on the base is not at the right height to accommodate already-sent rovers.

 

The time has finally arrived. We will send kerbals to Duna! It has been decided that instead of sticking to the patient plan of sending all the infrastructure ahead of the kerbals, we should send the kerbals IN the infrastructure. A dozen or so lucky kerbals have been chosen to embark on this most historic of adventures. Not much else to say about it. Enjoy.

 

 

Primary Mission Status: Complete

Secondary Mission Status: Failure (not shown in video but trust me. failed)

    

 

 

Edited October 22, 2016 by Sippitous

[Sippitous]

Project: Rhea, Mission Six

Setting up Argos 

 

Mission Objectives:

     Primary Mission(s): Explore the area for Toys/Supplies.

     Secondary Mission: Fill up Argos’ fuel supply with liquid fuel and oxygen

 

After realistically sending an entire base to Duna and landing it without any broken parts (cough. No one’s counting the probe. cough), the crew finally gets to get out on the surface and have some fun. 

Primary Mission Status: Complete

Secondary Mission Status: Complete. With special thanks to Kerbin for that quick resupply mission.

DV-01 Leto available for download ► https://kerbalx.com/Sippitous/DV-01-Leto

[Sippitous]

 

Project: Rhea, Mission Seven

Duna Station: Pegasus

 

 

Mission Objectives:

 

     Primary Mission(s): Safely Deliver the Pegasus Station to Low Duna Orbit

    Secondary Mission: None

 

The KSC Astronaut Complex is starting to smell, due to the over population of kerbals living in that single building. Hundreds of kerbals have to sleep in the hallways because there inst enough beds or rooms to accommodate everyone.  Everyone is eager to start sending more kerbals to Duna. But, before the mass migration can begin, there has to be a station in LDO, where crew can transfer to descent vehicles and the transport ship can refuel and return to Kerbin.

 

Primary Mission Status: Complete

Download the craft here ► https://kerbalx.com/Sippitous/DS-901-Pegasus

Edited March 10, 2017 by Sippitous

[The solid fuel chemist]

yo dwag, we heard you liked jetpacks, so we put a jetpack on your jetpack!

[SHiftER2O]

I really enjoy this series of yours! It's so relaxing to watch, and crazy at the same time! A good blend of smarts and kerbalness