The Duna Enterprise

[GarrisonChisholm]

8 minutes ago, DatBoi said:

Hey GarrisonChisholm! I love how your series is going so far! I was wondering when you think there will be some "contracted" work for something that Kan Diego State University could provide some engineering work for your space program. I can't wait to see how you handle the D-Magic probes as well.

 

 

(P.S. What mods are you using?) 

Good afternoon, and Thank you!  I was just debating that myself, and the Duna Probe mission seems like the ideal candiaite.  It will be large with many "moving parts", so I may issue a Request that will give you the choice of a com-relay orbiter, a Duna entry probe, or an Ike lander.    I think Mort and I will discuss that after the next CRAP conference.

These are my mods, and be aware I am running on 1.22-  K-Techs probe had to be "rebuilt" by me because of a version difference, but I think I did a fairly faithful job of reproducing it.  If you are running 1.3, a proposition might even just be a technical paper saying "this is what it looks like, and here's how you build it.

 

Thanks for your interest!  Every little bit gives me some energy to create faster.

[DatBoi]

I am running 1.4 so I guess I'll just set out an instruction manual XD

[GarrisonChisholm]

 

Interlude...

 

*clatter, grumble, phone-slam*  "...stupidest thing I ever..."

Gus paused, but then continued on his way, picking up his pace a bit as he passed Gene's door.

"Gus!!  Hey Gus, come in here a moment."

Gus sighed and held a breath a moment, then turned in to Gene's open door.

"Sure Gene, what is it?  I was just about to head into a construction meet-"

"Forget that.  Gus I need you to do me a favor.  Public Affairs has been getting a lot of questions about the Liberty, and as our chief foreman I think you're just the person to take care of that."

"Um, Gene, I'm kind of pressed at th-"

"So all I need you to do is put together a short video breaking down the rocket, but you'd better shoot for 6th grade level, folks are always more interested then."

"...um, why?"

"The hell if I know.  By tomorrow morning?  Great.  Thanks Gus, you're a prince."

...

 

 

 

 

 

[roboslacker]

So that's the radial size.

[GarrisonChisholm]

39 minutes ago, roboslacker said:

So that's the radial size.

Mm, diameter, yes.  Tweak-scale lets you adjust parts to a very fine degree, then modifies mass and performance by an according percentage.

[GarrisonChisholm]

Year 6, day 413

C.R.A.P. 7

 

"Good morning everyone!  We are at the end of a challenging year at the Program, but thanks to Jeb Peggy & Bill it has also been our most successful.  We all have heard about the well-covered flights of Captain Jorfen, LBC-5, and the groundbreaking Liberty, so I will here touch upon the remainder of our year's schedule."

"For starters, having proven the craft could land on Mun and return safely, it was now up to Jebediah to take the MSL/P into LKO to flight test its life support functions and crewed recovery."

Spoiler

With fairing release Jebediah can at last see the stars directly. 

"Jeb and the lander completed about 6 orbits before returning home, satisfied that everything was working correctly."

"The SML/P now simply awaits the right moment to carry a Kerbal to the surface of the Mun."

"Following this fine test, the science crew of LBC-5 was coaxed back into a capsule to make a second attempt at their mission."

"Thankfully their flight was much less dramatic, and LBC-6 ("Albion") orbited for almost a week while Jebwell and crew made their observations, returning home much more predictably than last time."  Gene smiled while a chorus of chuckles broke across the room.

"It was at this time that the Program began its first high-speed flight testing of modern turbine powered aircraft, designed with an integral LV-T45 to test the far extremes of the atmospheric flight regime.  The High Templar here pictured was ultimately deemed unsuitable, but valuable lessons were learned and the first steps towards space capable aircraft continue to be made."

"Our last flight to orbit was our Eve mission, which even though the transfer window would not open for several months was put into orbit in case a rush replacement launch became necessary."

Spoiler

"Now we had at first planned, as publish notes from CRAP 6 indicate, to fly a SOLAR probe with its high Dv capabilities for this very specific orbital mission.  However in the end it became clear that the needed experimental NERV would not be available, and with the probe's foundation essentially being a liquid fuel only fuel tank, the necessary deconstruction would have been so extreme to replace it that a ground-up design was created instead.  As you recall part of this mission was a fairing test in solar space, so the fairing was designed with "leak" portals for light so the probe's power could be kept topped off prior to the ejection burn."

"We have a completely full slate of missions in store, so our finance meeting will be much less poignant this time around."

"Additionally, we find ourselves stridently pursuing 5 different avenues of research that will in the coming year give us some exciting new technologies.  Not only the RTGs required for our eventual outer planet explorations, but we will finally be getting a new class of booster engines which will allow us to expand beyond our current clustered Reliant approach by adding the powerful Mainsail engine."

"We continue to explore and learn, but feel confident that our understanding of the formation of the solar system and even the conditions that brought forth life itself are mounting exponentially.  Now, Linus, why don't you review the new discoveries, and touch on the Duna probe we hope to launch in 18 months."

Gene went and sat down at his seat while Linus stepped up, but when he looked down the table towards Mort's usual seat at the end, it was vacant.  Where was he?...

Edited March 11, 2018 by GarrisonChisholm

[DatBoi]

ooohoohooooooo. Where is Mortimer? The world may never know.

[Sorabh]

10 hours ago, DatBoi said:

Where is Mortimer?

Oh he's around...Somewhere....

[DatBoi]

13 minutes ago, Sorabh said:

Somewhere....

Is he in the cafeteria eating his pain away? Choclate pudding can make anyone forget their problems.

[DatBoi]

12 hours ago, DatBoi said:

ooohoohooooooo

This was supposed to be the X-files theme... looking at it now, I look retarded.

[GarrisonChisholm]

10 minutes ago, DatBoi said:

This was supposed to be the X-files theme... looking at it now, I look retarded.

That's a rather hard one to phoneticize.      (spell check doesn't recognize that as a word but I Refuse to Believe!)

If Fox Kerman shows up in the story though, Katy bar the door...

[roboslacker]

You know what would help find Mortimer? Launching an unnecessary and obscenely expensive communications array.

[GarrisonChisholm]

Y7 Joon 3, Kerbin Space Campus

Program Proposal Memorandum

Request for Type;

Ike Lander

Duna Lander

Relay Satellite

 

The Finance Wing and multiple corporate scientific interests have given the green light for a full-up "Kadillac" mission to Duna.  Above you see our prototype orbiter 'bus' set for early testing.  The orbiter has 6 attachment rings for 6 different sub-probes, all of which will be presented for 3rd party design.  Submitted designs will be evaluated at the next CRAP meeting and the winning proposal chosen.  Amongst the factors which will be considered under evaluation are simplicity, cost, elegance, maximized science return, but most importantly low mass.  Each probe should come in under 3,000 kg.  Due to this limitation it is fully expected that the science packages will not be everything we would wish them to be.  Below we have attached a 1 meter by 1 meter plate for reference.

Your physical limitations are likely 1 meter by 2 meters, with the attachment portion being less than 1 meter in diameter and allowance for the posterior portion to be 1.5 meters or maybe even 2.  2 identical probes/sats of each type will be flown and mounted opposite one another for weight distribution.  The plan is to enter Ike orbit, remain in orbit while the orbiter supports the landing attempts, then to break orbit and find a Duna orbit, slowly changing it to deploy the satellites appropriately and then finally the landers. The Orbiter will have an insertion stage helping it enter Ike orbit, and possibly leaving it as well.

The winning proposal will either submit their designs for VAB assembly, or ship the probe whole to the Campus for vehicle integration.  Please note, any errors discovered during assembly would reflect negatively upon further work with that construction house.  If plans alone are provided, the Program will assume liability for any errors in planning as they should be found out during assembly.

The Probe in its entirety will use the Liberty first and second stages as its lifter, so the mass restrictions are hard caps.

 

Interested parties shall submit proposals prior to the next CRAP meeting [estimated at 4-9 RL days].

Should no interested parties field proposals by this time, the Program will have the VAB put together their best attempt.

Successful partnerships born of this agreement would carry forth the good will of the Program when future Private Industry opportunities develop.

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                 [Author's Note!]

[This is the collaboration portion of this story! Fellow writers, you are invited to participate in this narrative!  We ask that you present your proposal in character, assuming either a specific or corporate (or University in the case of a JPL-like relationship) voice to represent the entity you create.  KSP is a Fun/Cool/Cute game, so sticking to the classic Kerbal memes is fine, however we do ask that excessively silly names and nomenclature be perhaps thought about before being submitted.  The tone I have tried to set of one of intensity where humor comes from our poor protagonist butting his head against his reality. 

Feel free to PM me if you would like further guidance, however if you simply give your best shot at matching the tone of the tale so far you cannot stray too far from the mark.  Any general questions may of course also be asked below, if it seems reasonable the answer would be useful to the readership as a whole.  Also, the authors of course reserve the right to remove any submissions which are deemed to detract from the enterprise.  Good luck!]

Edited March 12, 2018 by GarrisonChisholm

[DatBoi]

How will we go about submitting our schematics? Do we PM you or post them here? Are we allowed to use DMagicOS parts for our craft?

[GarrisonChisholm]

2 hours ago, DatBoi said:

How will we go about submitting our schematics? Do we PM you or post them here? Are we allowed to use DMagicOS parts for our craft?

Well, the science parts I have available in my game I left visible in that side panel, even though I haven't paid intro cost for some of them yet.  If you would like to PM me first feel free, that way we can 'brush up' your submission so it is useful as well as entertaining to the narrative.  If you wish to just go for it though feel free-  perhaps I should submit a "model" submission as an example...

Since it is unlikely anyone else is running my same build, you should submit images of the probe you build along with any notes on special steps you took (recessing this antenna slightly so-as to not interfere with this solar panel, etc.) so I can reconstruct it.  If you feel multiple images would serve your entry best (ala @Felbourn with his masterful greebling) then feel free.     I have to say, Mort and I (can I separate myself from Gene at this point?...) are really looking forward to the selection process!   Oh, and if you would like to submit multiple entries, i.e. for any of the 3 requested probes/sats, feel free!  I am going to keep track of private industry and who has been awarded what contracts, and their success.  So far K-Tech is the only entity with a Program relationship, and I am about to fly a second Minmus probe of theirs shortly.

Edited March 12, 2018 by GarrisonChisholm

[DatBoi]

By the way, do these need to be recoverable, or are they drop'n ditch?

[GarrisonChisholm]

1 hour ago, DatBoi said:

By the way, do these need to be recoverable, or are they drop'n ditch?

Drop and ditch, they will stay on their respective target's surface. So, no material bays needed, we won't be getting that data back.

It would be frightfully hard to build a 3 ton lander that could return to orbit for later collection.  No, we do not want to do that.

 

[Felbourn]

You rang?

Oh, I need to read this thread to see what's going on.... It appears to be some role-playing, and that's of course how I like to play KSP. In fact, I have recently been toying with the idea of coming back to KSP. Maybe reading this thread will geek me up to return sooner!

[DatBoi]

1 hour ago, Felbourn said:

Maybe reading this thread will geek me up to return sooner!

Welcome to the thread! We all hope you return to the cult group again soon. Have fun in interacting with this thread. @!! Ha|l the Kraken

[GarrisonChisholm]

3 hours ago, Felbourn said:

You rang?

Oh, I need to read this thread to see what's going on.... It appears to be some role-playing, and that's of course how I like to play KSP. In fact, I have recently been toying with the idea of coming back to KSP. Maybe reading this thread will geek me up to return sooner!

Good sir, whose videos I watch/listen to on endless repeat whilst I build, if my humble smatterings of barely tangible thought could perform such a service for those who love your work, then I would count myself a most fortunate soul. 

[Felbourn]

I'm trying to think of a new (or related) story line. If I came up with a good idea, maybe I'd jump back into playing. If you or anyone wants to submit suggestions, perhaps post them here:

 

[Kerbalstar]

I will submit another probe.

[DatBoi]

A single "One Way Trip"coming up.

On 3/9/2018 at 11:13 AM, roboslacker said:

You know what would help find Mortimer? Launching an unnecessary and obscenely expensive communications array.

Lets just launch a stack of like 10 Structural Trusses completely covered in  Relay Antennae.

[GarrisonChisholm]

 

Just a few days later...

 

Jeb whistled perkily to himself as he approached the Thunderbird that had been rolled onto the tarmac.  Of course KSC didn't call it that, but 30 years ago that's what had been flown by both sides in the war.  Jeb was delighted he'd been able to nudge and whisper enough to get them to refurbish this baby, and today's scientific survey flight up the coast promised to be a thrill.

He had groused about the flight regulations that mandated he wear a full flight-suit, but it was a small price to pay for the privilege he was about to enjoy.

He quickly went through his pre-start and let the big radial warm up for a solid 10 minutes before calling the tower for clearance.

"Roger Foxtrot Tango 1, you are cleared for take-off and a northward heading at Angels 3."

"Copy Control, rolling out."

He shoved the throttle to the wall and felt his teeth rattle as the 18 cylinders stormed away.  Before he reached the hanger the tail-wheel was up, and shortly there-after he lifted the nose as the bird climbed insolently into the air.  That made him grin, because the latest high-altitude jets that were being tested frequently used every inch of the runway.

Turning North he folded out his knee map and confirmed his way-points.  It would only be about 30 minutes before he started to see a hint of the polar shelf, which would be his queue to start collecting air samples.  It was only about 10 minutes though before he spotted something very unusual.

"Control, I have traffic crossing my 12, must be 15 kilometers up and out.  Do you have it on radar?"

"Negative Foxtrot Tango, we have no registered traffic and no transponder signals in your area."

Jeb wished just for a second he had modern equipment, but only a second.  Oh well, the Mark One eye-ball would have to do.  He opened it up to War Emergency from the steady cruise he'd selected and reefed into a climbing turn to the east, leveling out when his surging power at last started to drop.

An intercept was hopeless, but he wanted to get closer.  Eventually he crossed its Six, but it was almost a speck by then- when it belched forth a gout of smoke.  What the hell?  He pulled out the survey camera he'd been given should he spot any icebergs, and with 3 hasty snaps at far telephoto hoped for 1 clear image.

Whatever craft it was, it was clearly and swiftly supersonic, and shortly the sky held no memory of its presence.  He backed off the throttle and returned to his planned flight, using his extra altitude to give the radial a break from its unexpected work-out.  Thinking about it, all he knew was he had never seen anything like that before...

 

Edited March 20, 2018 by GarrisonChisholm

[DatBoi]

*play X-Files them*

 

I wonder what that object is? Anyway, I was wondering if you were using any planet packs, and if so, which ones?