Duna InSight Challenge

[sturmhauke]

OK, I've updated your score.

I've also changed the flyby rule as discussed earlier. You still need to get to Duna in time for the Secondary Objective, but you can do other stuff first if you want.

[RogerC]

Good news, citizens!  Glorious Leader has decreed that we too will complete the Duna InSight challenge!  Indeed, we shall manage it using only stuff we find in the dumpsters of other, more prosperous nations.

Spoiler

The Lander and both Mini-Sats will be based on a standard probe body, which has some scientific instruments, because why not:

 

After a bit of customization for their specific missions:

The two mini-sats are Big Boy, with the large relay dish, and Little Man, with the smaller relay antenna.  (Yes, this means they're technically not identical.)  The Lander has the seismograph, the little antenna, and a parachute.

 

As tourists will apparently pay 30 grand to hang out in orbit, the LKO launch vehicle will carry four of them, which should pay for the entire mission!  

 

The stats of the assembled vehicle ready for launch:

 

Liftoff is good!

 

One minute in and the first stage is just about done.  This is also max G for the tourists, at about 4.

 

For the amusement of the tourists, we execute a completely-intentional end-over-end flip immediately after second-stage ignition.

 

Everything is just fine as soon as that evolution is complete.

 

The booster burns out, we get out of the atmosphere, and we're ready to circularize into our LKO parking orbit.  Apoapsis is a bit high but we'll bring it down.

 

The burn goes fine and we've got a healthy reserve of dV.

 

Ready to start decoupling the probes, which is one of the more nerve-wracking parts of the mission.

 

Big Boy gets away fine and deploys solar panels.  Do NOT do that prior to separation.  dV of 2632 is the lowest of the three but should still be enough.

 

Sequentially the other two members of the Three Amigos are released, with solar panels and antennae deployed.

 

They'll be fine, so it's time to get the tourists back.  The ride is a bit warm but they're having a great time.

 

Hey look we can see compound from here!  We'll be able to walk home!

 

We land just fine... except for one decoupler that hit a sharp blade of grass and exploded.  Oh well.  It's still been a heck of 2.5 hour tour.

 

So, back to the Three Amigos.  The first thing we do is move everyone up to a 601km parking orbit, which is purely a quality-of-life time-fast-forwarding consideration (even if it does cost 600 m/s in dV, but such is the price of convenience.)  Then I check out the porkchop on Big Boy and it's good news -- about half a year to get to the window, followed by about half a year in transit.  The dV cost of 862 m/s isn't too bad either.

 

 

Spoiler

 

I do the same thing with the other Amigos, taking some care to stagger them so they don't all arrive at once.

 

The big day comes, we do the first transfer burn, and it looks like things are going to work out for Big Boy:

 

Later that week the other two burn off, and they all head out in relatively-tight formation:

 

Before we know it, Big Boy is just a couple days out from Duna:

 

Big Boy is captured, which is good, at an altitude of 15.78 Mm, which is quite good, and we're going around the planet in the wrong direction, which is just a bit weird.  The dV cost to circularize is pretty painful but at least we'll make it.

 

Finally we get Big Boy into its final orbit.  We also have a strong signal back to Kerbin, which is good.

 

A few weeks later and Little Man shows up.

 

Even after circularization, Little Man has lots of dV -- enough to orbit Ike, probably.

 

But before we get to that, Lander is on its way in, and we're already back in radio contact with it, so let's take care of that first.

 

We'll park the Lander out in high orbit and bring it in for actual landing when we feel like it.

 

With all the Amigos happy in their Duna orbits, let's get Little Man moved to Ike.  It's very cheap to get to.

 

Little Man ends up going polar on Ike, which is fine by me.

 

A bit of circularization later and Little Man is in its final orbit, although with enough dV that someone could probably just land it on Ike if they felt like it.

 

As much fun as those two have been, they've really just been preludes to the main event -- getting the Lander to, well, land.  On the way to deorbit, we get a nice close flyby of Ike on the way in:

 

Lander makes it past Ike and starts burning down on Duna.  We could have aerobraked a lot more than this, but I had the dV so played it safe.

 

We stow the solar panels and antenna and get Lander into the atmosphere of Duna.  No turning back now.

 

Will the other Amigos get to watch the landing?  I think so.

 

The aerobraking doesn't produce any heat of note.  At 10km the parachute pops.

 

At 5km the parachute fully-deploys and we slow down to 5-8 m/s.

 

Lander is looking good immediately prior to impact:

 

Touchdown.  No boom escaped.

 

We need to redeploy some of the components, starting with the antenna.  We have immediate connectivity to Big Boy, which means it probably watched our whole landing.

 

The solar panels unfold and we confirm our batteries are charging.

 

Confirmation that none of the parts exploded or fell off:

 

Confirmation that science capture and transmit works.  Also turns out we landed in Western Canyon, which is pretty nice.  Gotta be lucky sometimes.

 

Our glorious mission has been completely-accomplished, comrades!

 

Thanks for reading and many thanks to @sturmhauke for putting this challenge together!

 

 

Cheers,

RogerC

Edited December 21, 2018 by RogerC

[sturmhauke]

That's a very unothodox mission, @RogerC, nice work!

[Johnster_Space_Program]

I accept your challenge! I'm going to start with rank 1, then go onwards from that. Expect a video soon!

[Johnster_Space_Program]

As a follow up, here is an image of the Duna Insight I Lander im using to complete the primary objective challenge (Rank 1):

These are the lander stats:

Cost - 24,510 

Parts - 22

Mass - 0.990 tons

And it meets all the primary objective (Rank 1) requirements!

Video of me launching it and landing it on duna should be out sometime tomorrow, if not, its because im also doing the kerpollo challenge at the same time as this so im pretty busy!

Edited February 12, 2019 by Johnster_Space_Program

[sturmhauke]

[Johnster_Space_Program]

So, I have completed the primary objective, or rank 1! Below is a video showing me doing this, and under that is the total mission stats:

Mission Stats (Rocket and Lander):

Total Cost - 47,510

Parts - 46

Mass - 51.637 Tons

Delta-V (Sea-Level): 3967 m/s

Delta-V (Vacuum): 6707 m/s

Total Mission Time (Earth Time): 110d, 03:49:39

I think I did pretty good. Rank 2 is next!

[sturmhauke]

Cool, I'll watch the video when I get home. And for the record, you don't have to do the ranks one at a time unless you want to. The idea is that you do a single mission at whatever rank, that meets the requirements of that rank and all the ones below.

[Johnster_Space_Program]

4 hours ago, sturmhauke said:

Cool, I'll watch the video when I get home. And for the record, you don't have to do the ranks one at a time unless you want to. The idea is that you do a single mission at whatever rank, that meets the requirements of that rank and all the ones below.

ok, I want to do the ranks one at a time because im more use to that! I should have rank 2 done by the end of the week.

[sturmhauke]

13 hours ago, Johnster_Space_Program said:

Mission Stats (Rocket and Lander):

Total Cost - 47,510

Parts - 46

Mass - 51.637 Tons

Delta-V (Sea-Level): 3967 m/s

Delta-V (Vacuum): 6707 m/s

Total Mission Time (Earth Time): 110d, 03:49:39

I think I did pretty good. Rank 2 is next!

Nice video! Although it occurs to me that calculating the total dV used across the entire mission is a bit difficult, due to changing isp at various pressures. Looking back at the earlier entries, no one asked to be scored on dV. I think the fairest way to do it is to take your starting dV on the launchpad and subtract your final remaining dV on landing at Duna. The readout in your video couldn't seem to decide what the start value was, so I took the average. So that gives us:

((4003 + 4046) / 2) - 600 = 3425 m/s used

I'll update the scoreboard. Congrats on a successful mission!

Edited February 13, 2019 by sturmhauke

[Willer Kerman]

Hello,
 

I completed the challenge, but I used mods to be more detailed. Hope you like it.

 

Spoiler

Atlas V rocket in the VAB: 

 

 

And waiting for the launch: 

 

Launch performed: 

 

Fairing separation: 

 

Duna burn: 

 

InSight and MarCO's separations: 

 

Duna arrival: 

 

Ike Flyby: 

 

Entering the atmosphere: 

 

Parachutes and shield separation: 

 

Final descent: 

 

opening solar panels: 

 

The End.

 

Craft Link and Modlist: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/993sc7ffz273ukv/AABB3scywHTSQii7NzziVPMja?dl=0

 

Modlist:

Spoiler

BetterTimeWarpContinued (BetterTimeWarpCont 2.3.11.3)
ClickThrough Blocker (ClickThroughBlocker 0.1.7.1)
Community Category Kit (CommunityCategoryKit 4.1.0.0)
Community Tech Tree (CommunityTechTree 1:3.3.6)
Custom Barn Kit (CustomBarnKit 1.1.19.0)
DeepFreeze Continued... (DeepFreeze V0.25.0.0)
Distant Object Enhancement (DistantObject v1.9.1.1)
Distant Object Enhancement default config (DistantObject-default v1.9.1.1)
DMagic Orbital Science (DMagicOrbitalScience 1.4.2)
Kerbal Alarm Clock (KerbalAlarmClock v3.10.0.0)
Kerbal Engineer Redux (KerbalEngineerRedux 1.1.5.7)
KSP Craft Organizer (VAB/SPH tags + craft searching) (KspCraftOrganizer 1.5.5)
KW Rocketry Rebalanced (KWRocketryRebalanced 3.2.6.1)
MagiCore (MagiCore 1.3.1.5)
MechJeb 2 (MechJeb2 2.8.3.0)
ModularFlightIntegrator (ModularFlightIntegrator 1.2.6.0)
Module Manager (ModuleManager 4.0.2)
Near Future Solar (NearFutureSolar 0.8.15)
Near Future Solar Core (NearFutureSolar-Core 0.8.15)
REPOSoftTech-Agencies (REPOSoftTech-Agencies V1.5.4.0)
ReStock (ReStock 0.1.3)
ReStock+ (ReStockPlus 0.1.3)
Science Relay (ScienceRelay 5.1)
Ship Manifest (ShipManifest 5.2.1.0)
StageRecovery (StageRecovery 1.9.1)
Toolbar Controller (ToolbarController 1:0.1.6.20)
Trajectories (Trajectories v2.2.2)
Transfer Window Planner (TransferWindowPlanner v1.6.3.0)
TriggerAu Flags (TriggerAu-Flags v2.9.3.0)
TweakScale - Rescale Everything! (TweakScale v2.4.1.0)
UnKerballed Start (UnKerballedStart 1.0.4)
 

 

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by Willer Kerman
Adding Modlist

[scottadges]

I like this challenge, I think I'll start designing a mission to go for Rank 2 or maybe Rank 3.  Hopefully the OP is still active? (last post I see back in February)

[sturmhauke]

2 hours ago, Willer Kerman said:

Hello,
 

I completed the challenge, but I used mods to be more detailed. Hope you like it.

 

  Hide contents

Atlas V rocket in the VAB: 

 

 

And waiting for the launch: 

 

Launch performed: 

 

Fairing separation: 

 

Duna burn: 

 

InSight and MarCO's separations: 

 

Duna arrival: 

 

Ike Flyby: 

 

Entering the atmosphere: 

 

Parachutes and shield separation: 

 

Final descent: 

 

opening solar panels: 

 

The End.

 

Craft Link and Modlist: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/993sc7ffz273ukv/AABB3scywHTSQii7NzziVPMja?dl=0

 

Modlist:

  Hide contents

BetterTimeWarpContinued (BetterTimeWarpCont 2.3.11.3)
ClickThrough Blocker (ClickThroughBlocker 0.1.7.1)
Community Category Kit (CommunityCategoryKit 4.1.0.0)
Community Tech Tree (CommunityTechTree 1:3.3.6)
Custom Barn Kit (CustomBarnKit 1.1.19.0)
DeepFreeze Continued... (DeepFreeze V0.25.0.0)
Distant Object Enhancement (DistantObject v1.9.1.1)
Distant Object Enhancement default config (DistantObject-default v1.9.1.1)
DMagic Orbital Science (DMagicOrbitalScience 1.4.2)
Kerbal Alarm Clock (KerbalAlarmClock v3.10.0.0)
Kerbal Engineer Redux (KerbalEngineerRedux 1.1.5.7)
KSP Craft Organizer (VAB/SPH tags + craft searching) (KspCraftOrganizer 1.5.5)
KW Rocketry Rebalanced (KWRocketryRebalanced 3.2.6.1)
MagiCore (MagiCore 1.3.1.5)
MechJeb 2 (MechJeb2 2.8.3.0)
ModularFlightIntegrator (ModularFlightIntegrator 1.2.6.0)
Module Manager (ModuleManager 4.0.2)
Near Future Solar (NearFutureSolar 0.8.15)
Near Future Solar Core (NearFutureSolar-Core 0.8.15)
REPOSoftTech-Agencies (REPOSoftTech-Agencies V1.5.4.0)
ReStock (ReStock 0.1.3)
ReStock+ (ReStockPlus 0.1.3)
Science Relay (ScienceRelay 5.1)
Ship Manifest (ShipManifest 5.2.1.0)
StageRecovery (StageRecovery 1.9.1)
Toolbar Controller (ToolbarController 1:0.1.6.20)
Trajectories (Trajectories v2.2.2)
Transfer Window Planner (TransferWindowPlanner v1.6.3.0)
TriggerAu Flags (TriggerAu-Flags v2.9.3.0)
TweakScale - Rescale Everything! (TweakScale v2.4.1.0)
UnKerballed Start (UnKerballedStart 1.0.4)
 

 

 

Those are nice looking craft! Modlist looks fine. I'll add up your score when I get a chance.

 

1 hour ago, scottadges said:

I like this challenge, I think I'll start designing a mission to go for Rank 2 or maybe Rank 3.  Hopefully the OP is still active? (last post I see back in February)

@sturmhauke is not available. Please leave a message after the tone. *BEEP*

[sturmhauke]

@Willer Kerman do you have any screenshots of the MarCO sat positions at the time of InSight landing on Duna? To qualify for Rank 2, they need to be in position to observe the descent and landing, and also act as comm relays. This is an example from my mission:

 

[Willer Kerman]

10 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

@Willer Kerman do you have any screenshots of the MarCO sat positions at the time of InSight landing on Duna? To qualify for Rank 2, they need to be in position to observe the descent and landing, and also act as comm relays. This is an example from my mission:

 

 

 

Unfortunately, I was thrilled with the flyby on Ike that I just forgot to shoot the satellites, but I can redo the mission and send it if you wish.

[sturmhauke]

Do you solemnly swear on the infinite lives of Saint Jebediah, Herald of Explosions, that you have in fact done this thing but were entranced by its majesty, on pain of death by the Great Kraken, so help you Tsiolkovsky?

[Willer Kerman]

24 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

Do you solemnly swear on the infinite lives of Saint Jebediah, Herald of Explosions, that you have in fact done this thing but were entranced by its majesty, on pain of death by the Great Kraken, so help you Tsiolkovsky?

I swear.
 

But anyway, I'm going to redo the mission because it was one of the coolest I've ever tried.

Edited April 2, 2019 by Willer Kerman

[sturmhauke]

Well I'm glad you like it, and I will await your next entry.

[Willer Kerman]

Finally, I finished the Duna InSight 2, then the images of the mission:

 

Spoiler

Again in Launchpad: 

 

Duna Burn: 

 

Deploy of MarCO's and InSight 2: 

 

Duna Arrival: 

 

MarCO's: 

 

Reentry: 

 

Shield Deploy: 

 

Landed: 

 

 

A ship underwent some changes, but only structural.

 

Edited April 3, 2019 by Willer Kerman

[sturmhauke]

Congrats on a successful Rank 2 mission! I've added you to the scoreboard.

[Willer Kerman]

19 minutes ago, sturmhauke said:

Congrats on a successful Rank 2 mission! I've added you to the scoreboard.

Thanks.

I can use the badge?

[sturmhauke]

Yep!

[Kerbolitto]

Hey there, I may try to participate at rank 4 stock, how many launches to LKO is permitted ?

[sturmhauke]

Launch 1 is for the DRO, launch 2 is for InSight + cubesats. Your Rank 4 shenanigans have to ride shotgun on one of those - then again, you can always build a bigger shotgun rocket...

Good luck, Duna cadet!

[Kerbolitto]

Thanks ! Im currently designing a large outpost but I wonder if I can stuff it all under one fairing (it has 7/8 modules). I'll finish it first and see if there's a way to pack all that, and maybe post an entry