The Voyager Program

[Human Person]

Redo the Voyager-Program!

Step 1: Build the probe

This might just be a challenge itself, because the probe is asymmetric. Aesthetics count! You may use Mods like IR to have hinges to deploy the booms (and antennas). If you don't want to do that (like i do), try to assemble the booms in space. However, it has to be a single launch.

Mods that include cameras and more science-eqipment are welcome.

Make sure the probe is only propelled by Monopropellant. You may use one or more O-10-Engines. For fun-reasons, you'll get extra points for using a single O-10. if your thrust-Vector is different from the orientation of your main probe-core, make sure you have another probe-core or a docking port aligned with the thrust-vector.

- Your probe is asymmetric yet balanced around its main thrust-vector and looks like the Voyager-Spacecraft (I leave the look up to you, not going to judge your artistic work here) +20 points

- your probe uses a single O-10 Engine for propulsion +5 points

- Your spacecraft carries not more than 1/10th of its mass in Propellant. +50 points

- Your probe uses LF-OX -20 points

- Your probe uses Ion- or nuclear-engines minus all of your points

 

Step 2: Build the Launch-Vehicle

Easy as pie: The launch-Vehicle does nothing more than to send the payload on an transfer-trajectory to a large Planet (Kerbin, Eve, Jool or Jupiter if you'r doing this in RSS (RSS players get an extra leaderboard for awesomeness).

- Your transfer-stage detaches from your probe before leaving Kerbins SOI +20 points

 

Step 3: Gravity-assist yourself out of the Solar-System

How exactly you do this is up to you, for your personal mission Profile, find a balance between:

- Fly by as many celestial bodies as possible.

  +5 points for distant flybys, +10 points for close flybys (situation "in space near ..."). Max. 10 points per celestial body.

- be on your escape-trajectory in a reasonable amount of time. To make this comparable, take the total mission time as soon as you leave the SOI oft the body that gives you the "last Kick" and sends you on an escape-trajectory. 

  +10 points for every year less than 20,

  -10 points for ever year more than 20.

- perform two big gravity-assists in a row (i.e. Eve-Jool) without performing a complete sun-Orbit. It's OK to have flybys in between: +50 points

Edited February 24, 2017 by Physics Student
I had to rebalance the Points

[MedwedianPresident]

Connection of separated words is a typical grammatical mistake made by those whose primary language is German. Overall, a good challenge.

[Human Person]

34 minutes ago, MedwedianPresident said:

Connection of separated words is a typical grammatical mistake made by those whose primary language is German. Overall, a good challenge.

Yes, I'm german. It's confusing: In german, we combine nouns (we don't just connect them, we combine them completely to form a new word, I feel like I have to let the people know If these nouns are meant to be combined). we also write every noun with a capital letter.

[MedwedianPresident]

I know how German works - it is my second language. I am even capable of imitating different dialects (Thuringian, Franconian, Viennese, Swiss, etc...).