MostlyVersalLander Mk III

[NewtSoup]

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the public launch of the MostlyVersalLander Mk III.

First of all I'm sure there are two questions on your mind:

1) What does MostlyVersal mean?
2) What happened to the Mk I and the Mk II?

To answer the second question first, the Mk I was a prototype and proof of concept but did not perform as expected.  The Mk II suffered from stability issues under full thrust.

MostlyVersal means that it can land and take off from MOST planets and moons in the Kerbin System.  Technically it could land on EVE but will be unable to achieve orbit again.

It can achieve LKO and perform a powered landing on Kerbin. 
It can land and take off from Laythe.
Power is provided by four Aerospike Engines.  These have been chosed for their low profile and performance.  Providing significant Specific Impulse in both atmosphere and vacuum. 

It can also refuel itself with it drilling and ore refinement capabilities and from many of the smaller moons can carry enough fuel to partially refuel it's parent ship. Docking is made possible via the shielded docking port underneath (remember to close the shields on re-entry into an atmosphere ).

When re-entering an atmosphere the ship must be in retrograde.  Ensure that the Authority Limiter on the AV-R8 Winglets is set to zero.  This will help keep the craft from spinning along it's longitudinal axis as the winglets try to perform SAS.  Once shock heating has passed ( on Kerbin ) the AIRBRAKES may be deployed safely.  Terminal Velocity is around 230m/s.  It is advisable to carry about 1000m/s dV in fuel for final powered landing on Kerbin.

In normal space flight It is advisable to keep SAS on as the craft can sometimes exhibit a small longitudinal rotation.  This is easily corrected by the advanced reaction wheels.  Control is by either up to two crew (Engineer and Pilot recommended ) or via the HECS II in the nose cone.  If flying by wire then a relay network in orbit of your desired landing body is strongly recommended.  The ship itself has a single internal Communotron 16s.

Please note: This vessel has no full RCS capability only reverse thrust by four vernor engines on the nose ( not shown in pictures).  It is recommended that a mothership have a four star Pilot or a HECS II probe core to provide taget tracking and assist in docking.





Download Link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Wg_5unQuEQ33EjN7UiageAHZMAzixMIx
 

Edited September 26, 2018 by NewtSoup

[NewtSoup]

I should mention that the main power is by a fuel cell array hidden in the nose cone.  The solar panels are for support.  This will not provide enough for continuous mining but it's "sufficient".

[FleshJeb]

I'm remembering that the small converter is energy-negative when used with fuel cells. I could be wrong. You might be in for a nasty surprise when you get out to where the solar panels don't function.

[NewtSoup]

I did a cheat test on Tylo and it was fine.  I may do one out on Eloo then to see what happens.  I'll copy the save file over to a sandbox game and try it so I don't prematurely reveal the ore there in my main game.

Your rememberance is both interesting and concerning  thank you.

[NewtSoup]

Yeah.. Eloo means the lander goes dead.  I shall think on this.

[NewtSoup]

Ok.  So, the MostlyVersalLander Mk IV

Tested on Eloo - refuels very slowly but can do it.  
Can achieve LKO with no need for boosters so should be able to do Laythe just fine.
Can make a powered landing on Kerbin -

• keep the top tanks dry for this,
• lock engine gimbals to 25%,
• lock winglet authority to 0%
• deploy air-brakes after shock heating has passed

Because it's now tall and thin instead of wide in the hip, try not to land it on slopes.



Main issue is it's 50% heavier than the MK III and so the HOK is going to struggle some pushing this big bulk around.

Those extra 3 tons of payload for the 250 convertotron sure cost a lot of extra fuel weight!

 

[NewtSoup]

MK IV Link - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HRUMhS2jCl66XPX93-k9zYxGFBYeuHR-

[NewtSoup]

Minmus Testing - 

It needs to run either the drill OR the ISRU not both at the same time.  If you run both the drill stops when the power reaches zero and doesn't auto start.
The ISRU on the other hand will just turn on and off so it effectively just slows down..

Almost tempted to install KOS so I can program it to automatically toggle between drill and ISRU.