Jump to content

Von Neumann Probe possibility?


Geo793

Recommended Posts

KSP2 has a lot of new features that is coming with it, features that have me excited because with colony construction, orbital ship building stations, and interstellar solar systems, it should be possible to build a Von Neumann Probe in the game completely from stock parts! I always wanted to try to build one in KSP but I always had to download 150000000 mods that slow down my computer in order to get the right parts and for Star systems (because having a self-replicating probe stuck only in one system. Isnt as cool) and even then I can never get it right. 

That little rant aside, with the comong release I was wondering, how would you design a self-replicating probe? What are the pros and cons to such a thing? How will it be possible to rven get it off the ground without Scott Manly levels of skill and design?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, kinda, assuming you can put orbital assembly facility on something that is not a station in stable orbit. And it's probably gonna be huge. And it needs resource extractors, converters on that one probe of yours for it to be able to create parts. Most likely. So yeah, not that easy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Geo793 said:

That little rant aside, with the comong release I was wondering, how would you design a self-replicating probe? What are the pros and cons to such a thing? How will it be possible to rven get it off the ground without Scott Manly levels of skill and design?

Well, we would need the following basic capability for the factory part

- the factory part can build another factory part :)

- you can dock multiple factory parts to build bigger things

The probe would then need the basics for to setup a self growing factory :

 

1) the factpry part itself ^^

2) resource scanning systems

(Scanning satellites, small lander / rovers with scand, etc)

3) either drills, mining rovers, or enough basic resources to build those with the factory part

4) enough electricity to make the above.

5) communications (if autonomous probe)

————————

once the probe arrives, start resource scanning,

land at a good spot

start exploitation by creating new drilling / electric generators (or solar arrays) / storage needed to build new factory parts.

once the factory has grown enough, it would be able to start producing new probes to start the process on another planet  (while the first factory

A variation could occur if the factory part is orbital only :) then you’ll need a mining lander to separate from your probe, and the probe would grow an orbital shipyard around it from the landers resources :)

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/9/2020 at 7:17 AM, The Aziz said:

Well, kinda, assuming you can put orbital assembly facility on something that is not a station in stable orbit. And it's probably gonna be huge. And it needs resource extractors, converters on that one probe of yours for it to be able to create parts. Most likely. So yeah, not that easy.

I thought the same thing, that you need is an orbital construction facility on an ship and you need an mining lander. You can trim down the mass a bit by not having lots of tanks as you can build them at site. You just need the capacity to build tanks at the start. Main issue will probably be weight. 
You will also need Kerbals I assume 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...