Recycling asteroid hunters

[Hotel26]

I'm new at asteroid-hunting but having fun going nuts with it.  I'm thinking ahead to how to recycle an asteroid-hunter once its done with an asteroid (sucked it dry).

Initially, one launches from KSC directly into the target's inclination.  Not so easy to do on a second usage when the hunter is already in space.  Two immediate ideas present themselves:

1. landing on the Mun to refuel and relaunch for the next target
2. ditto Minmus ditto

Minmus advantage is less cost to land and relaunch.  Minmus disadvantage is the longer orbital period.

I'm thinking that, starting from a Kerbin moon, it should be possible to use Kerbin for a slingshot out of the ecliptic as required...

Does anyone even bother to recycle?  Land it back at KSC for credit...?  Ideas/advice?

[mystifeid]

As @4x4cheesecake has shown in this thread, it is possible to change inclination in LKO all the way from 0° to 180° for less than 1300m/s dV. So, if there is sufficient, maybe just keep the last ore from an asteroid to convert to fuel to intercept the next one.

Edited August 18, 2018 by mystifeid

[Hotel26]

2 hours ago, mystifeid said:

less than 1300m/s dV

Yeah, but if that is via a free return from the Mun, then my first choice in the OP is half way done already and -- with refueling at the Mun -- avoids the ~830m/s expense.  (Depends somewhat on one's preferred final destination for asteroids, but let's assume HKO.)

Edited August 18, 2018 by Hotel26

[4x4cheesecake]

Well, if you have enough fuel left to land on the mun, do it You can also land on Minmus as well but you should return to a Kerbin or Mun orbit before you try to intercept the next asteroid so you will have enough time to adjust your orbit.

[Laie]

23 hours ago, Hotel26 said:

• landing on the Mun to refuel and relaunch for the next target
• ditto Minmus ditto

Just keep some fuel from the last asteroid. Inclination changes on your way out aren't difficult or expensive. The 1300m/s figure given was for a vessel returning to LKO. I'd say that for the same budget, you can leave Kebin SOI in any direction even without any munar assists.

Also keep in mind that you can chose your destination. You may not be able to intercept any asteroid, but you can certainly catch some. Picking targets with an inclination not too different from Kerbin's also makes it easier to steer them into an equatorial parking orbit.

[Hotel26]

So I tried a landing test with my Mosquito 'roid-hunter and it won't land with full fuel onboard with just 4x NERVs, although it's true it would be landing closer to empty anyway.  With a full fuel load, I'd guess it can get off, but...  since it needs help to get down (or has to unload some fuel), it raises the whole "assistance" idea.

I have an Escort vehicle (4 Rhinos on 4 Kerbodyne S3-14400s) that is dedicated to punching stuff into interplanetary-bound escape trajectories.  Any inclination for a target within Kerbin's SOI is going to be a piece of cake for it.

So I think the answer is that a Mosquito going off-duty will return to HKO, refuel and pair up with an Escort, ready for the next job.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Edited August 19, 2018 by Hotel26