Juno 5: A Jool 5 Mission

[GwynJHawke]

After many failed design projects, the KSP software engineers decided they needed a hardware update. After a new installation, the engineers at KSP found themselves capable of flying larger ships with higher part counts. This lead to a desire to take up a mission so challenging that it would test the abilities of the new computer tech at hand. Thus the Juno 5 mission was born.  The mission profile calls for six kerbalnauts, 2 pilots, 2 engineers, and 2 scientists to visit all five moons of the Jool system and then return safely to Kerbin. 

 

The first issues faced by the engineers was designing a command module with enough DeltaV built in to safely get the CM to orbit in the event of an emergency in mid-ascent from either Tylo or Laythe. This meant that any engines on the CM would have to be attached radially in order to make room for the 2.5m docking port at the rear of the CM. Then Public Relations made the job ten times worse when they discovered that public opinion found cargo bays to be "kinda kool". Thus, the CM needed radial engines that could fit inside a Mk.3 cargo bay. After about three different reiterations, the Intrepid class CM was built. With 800 units of Lf/Ox mix and 900 units of monoprop, the CM has a little over 2100 m/s of DeltaV. The Intrepid CM is also fully equipped with scientific instruments and onboard RTG to provide constant and steady electrical power.

After the CM was designed, the Tylo and Laythe landers had to be worked out. The Laythe lander is pretty much a freefall, aerobreaking design. The detachable heat shield has a small fuel supply meant to power the CM's radial engines just enough for the CM/Lander to fall gradually from low Laythe orbit. The biggest challenge is managing to land on solid and level ground. Once i'm over a landing site, lateral momentum is killed with drogue chutes, followed by the main parachutes. Then, before landing, the heat shield and its small fuel tank are jettisoned, the Mainsail engine is primed, the landing gear is deployed, and a minimal retro burn is fired as briefly as possible.  With Laythe's lower gravity and thinner air, there should be plenty of fuel to return to orbit in the CM, even if too much fuel is used in the descent.  

The Tylo lander is attached to the forward section of the mothership. Its an orange tank with six smaller radial tanks. It's powered by 6 aerospike engines and, by the time landing approaches, will have plenty of TWR to safely land on Tylo. After, the lander should have 1/4 of its fuel supply left to start the ascent, the rest being attained by the CM.

The Vall, Pol, and Bop lander is a fuel tank with poodle engine and landing legs.

The mothership holds the CM, VPB and Laythe landers in two very large cargo holds. These holds are flanked by the majority of the fuel for the single rhino and six LV-N engines. Foward of the holds is a Mk. 3 passenger cabin.

Launching the mothership and all its tenders took some practice, but LKO of 94,000~ meters was attained.  The next and hardest part of the pre-mission phase were the eight separate refueling missions. Eigth identical launches carried fuel and crew members up to the Juno 5 mothership as it was in LKO and passing directly over the KSP launch center.  All pre-mission resupply flights and crew transfers were completed and the Juno 5 broke LKO mid-day on year 8, day 419 in order to exit Kerbin SOI, make an orbital plane change, and commit a planned Jool rendezvous burn on year 9, day 44. Planned Jool SOI intercept is year 11, day 390, followed by an aerobreaking maneuver in Jool's upper atmosphere. 

Next mission update will be post-plane change and rendevzous burns.

[Mister Dilsby]

J5 is no joke, I wish you the best of luck! Any chance of a few pictures? I find Imgur handy for hosting and posting, despite its limitations and frequent changes.

[DerekL1963]

Photobucket, though the ads are a bit annoying, works for photos too.   I'm still in the midst of designing mine (see sig), good luck!