Project Irata - Duna Outpost Mission [Pic Heavy]

Weegee · November 23, 2013

Welcome to my first piece of writing on the forums! This thread will be about my attempt of the Duna Outpost Mission Architecture Challenge by sturmstiger (http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/31510-Duna-Permanent-Outpost-Mission-Architecture-Challenge). My original attempt at the challenge failed, as my kerbal carrying vessel could not safely land on Duna, leaving them orbiting the sun without enough supplies to be rescued. I took this as an opportunity to re-start and improve on my last attempt. So, to bridge the gap, I wrote this:

Prologue - All a dream

Elming Kerman awoke with a start, in a cold sweat. "This bed is far too nice for a hab module..." He thought. That's when it hit him. Project Irata wasn't due to start for a long time. He wasn't in space, in a vessel out of fuel circling the Sun with diminishing supplies, he was in his bed in the astronaut complex back on Kerbin.

"Get yourself together, Elming. You were just announced mission commander yesterday and you're already thinking of everything that could possibly go wrong." He muttered to himself. Suddenly, Elming's door burst open and Donner Kerman nearly lept through the door. Donner then said "Rise and shine, Elming! The early kerbal gets the rocket! ...Or something!" almost more enthusiastically than kerbally possible. "Oh right, and of course my flight engineer is Donner... Of course. I'll have to get used to him I guess." Elming thought to himself.

"Mitzer and Hadfurt are already down at the training center waiting for you! Cmon!" Donner was fresh out of flight school, and had just enrolled into the space program. No one really had any idea why he was chosen, his only notable attribute was his complete and utter enthusiasm. Or at least if there was anything else, it was drowned out. Elming, however, was a fairly seasoned kerbonaut who had spent time on space stations and was part of a Kethane operation for a time. It's not that he's a grouch, he just focuses on the task at hand and is fairly easily annoyed.

"Oh Kod why..." Elming thought as he crawled out of bed. "Our first day of training for Project Irata! Aren't you excited?" Donner exclaimed. "You have no idea..." Elming muttered. "Well, I'll see you down there!" Donner said before excitedly running out of the room. "Why... Why him? I would've taken ANYONE but him... I'd even put up with Jebediah and his crazy antics... Too bad "The Trio" retired..." He thought.

---

Project Irata is a very ambitious endeavor, nothing this groundbreaking has been devised since the first Mun landings. That was a long time ago, but lack of funding and other political nonsense had slowed the progress of the space program. All that had happened since was some stations and kethane operations in the Kerbin system, and some probes around Duna, Eve and Jool. Project Irata's aim was to prove that there was still much to be learned in outer space. The heads of the space program hope to accomplish this by studying many different places of Duna and Ike. To help facilitate this, two kerbal scientists, Mitzer and Hadfurt, were also being trained for space operations. It was going to be only 10 days before the first unmanned payload would be launched into orbit to take advantage of the transfer window. They could only get two launches in, so it would mostly be infrastructure.

All the same, Elming, Donner, Mitzer and Hadfurt would all be heading to Duna at the next transfer window, and they knew it. The KSC was bustling with activity to get ready. There were schedules to plan, components to design, and rockets to be built.

----------

That's all I got for now. I'll be updating this approximately whenever I feel like it^TM. I know, I marked this as pic heavy but there are none. I'll be sorting that out next post, don't worry :wink:

Hope you guys liked it, and stay tuned!

Weegee · November 23, 2013

Table of Contents

Prologue: Scroll up a post

Chapter One: Scroll down a post

Chapter Two: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/59303-Project-Irata-Duna-Outpost-Mission-Pic-Heavy?p=812689&viewfull=1#post812689

Chapter Three: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/59303-Project-Irata-Duna-Outpost-Mission-Pic-Heavy?p=818814&viewfull=1#post818814

Edited December 4, 2013 by Weegee
Moar contents!

Weegee · November 26, 2013

Chapter One: The First Window

---

The day's training was fairly un-eventful, barring Donner's annoyance. They mostly covered what kind of things they would be doing and boring protocols. As soon as it was over, Donner Kerman stood up to race out of the door.

Before he could, however, Dilgas Kerman, the chief design officer stopped him. "Whoa there buddy, hold on! I've got some pictures to show you guys!" he said. "Fine..." Donner said with a great sigh, and sat back down. "Whaddya got for us, Dilgas?" Said Mitzer. "Well, first off we got the images from our successful test of the new M.U.L.E. Mk.II launch vehicle. It will be carrying all the payloads for Project Irata. Here, I'll show you guys." Dilgas said as he shuffled over to the projector. "Aaand... There!" He said as the projector lit up, and then began explaining the pictures.

"Looks pretty nice, Dilgas. That's gonna be hauling everything into orbit including us, huh?" Hadfurt added once the slideshow was over. "Yep, and because we can retrieve a lot of the rocket, it'll cost a lot less!" Answered Dilgas. "Project Irata... M.U.L.E. launch vehicle... Someone in the naming department sure liked his Katari as a kerbling..." Elming thought. "Well that's fine and dandy, but..." Donner started, before being put back into his chair by Dilgas. "Now just hold on, why don't ya?" He said. "Fine..." Donner huffed.

The projector screen again lit up. "Now, here's the probes we'll be sending into LKO in 10 days. We simulated what they will look like in orbit fully deployed too." Dilgas said.

"Wow, looks really nice. I see KSC put down the big bucks on their software suite." Elming remarked. "Oh yes, we have some of the most sophisticated software on Kerbin!: Dilgas replied. "Anyway, here's a gallery of Alan testing the rovers you will be using on Duna. We commissioned Khevrolet to create the rover, and they produced the Korvair. We've made a few modifactinos since, but it's about the same. There's also a kethane tanker variant that KSC designed, but it's about the same. Ralph Kerman seems to not like it though, claiming it to be 'Unsafe at Any Speed'. But don't listen to him, it's prefectly safe. Dilgas said as yet again, the screen lit up.

"Well that's about it. You guys are free to go." Dilgas finished. "Sweet! I am OUTTA here!" Donner yelled as he raced out the door. "I honestly don't know what to do with him..." Elming muttered. The other kerbals in the room agreed.

---

Ten days later...

---

Elming was having a pleasant dream. He was back on the LKO science station, just floating about. Then, an alarm suddenly started blaring. Elming kept looking for the source, but he never found it. Then, the station started shaking violently.

That was when he woke up, to Donner shaking him and yelling "WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!". "Alright, ALRIGHT! I'm up!" Elming yelled. "Good! There launching the probes into orbit today!" Donner said before running out of the room. "It's six A.M. and the launch is at noon... Why can't he just let me sleep? I should get a lock..." Elming thought. He the grumpily got out of bed, got dressed and shambled to the mess hall half asleep.

---

Noon

---

Tension was building in the mission control center (MCC). Soon, the first launch of project Irata would be underway, carrying 4 communications probes, 2 kethane scanners and a kethane miner.

Ednand Kerman, the head of the MCC began the countdown.

"10 seconds until launch.

9...

8...

7...

6...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1... Engines start

Liftoff!"

The excitement was thick in the air inside the MCC. Would the mission succeed?

The whole room erupted in cheers, high fives and the like. They had done it, the first launch of Project Irata! It was a historical moment, the first steps to making a manned outpost on Duna! Kerbals from around the globe watched their television screens in excitement. After a while, Ednand gathered everyone's attention. "Alright everyone, settle down. A few of us have statements to give to media, but this is just the beginning. Let's get back to work, and make sure the next launch is as successful as this one!" The room broke out is applause as in agreement. With that, everyone moved out the door, leaving the MCC mostly empty except for monitoring staff.

After that, it was just business as usual. More designing, constructing, and training. But, it would soon be time for the next launch.

---

36 Days later

---

"This is Henmund Kerman, reporting for KNN live at the second launch of the ambitious Project Irata! It will be carrying a next gen Korvair 2-man exploration rover, produce by Khervrolet. All's quiet here for now, but shortly this rocket behind me will be on its way to space! Never gets old, does it? But anyway, I'll see you here when the countdown begins after these messages! Stay tuned!"

After that, Malnand Kerman turned off his T.V. set. "Can I go to space too, dad?" His son Correy asked. "Oh, you can be whatever you want to if you put your mind to it. Being an astronaut is hard though. But don't let that stop you!" Malnand said to his son. He had dreamed of being an astronaut one day, during his prime. He slacked off though, and could never achieve his dreams. He hoped his son wouldn't go through the same thing. "You really think so dad?" Correy said to his dad. "OH, yes you can. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise!" Malnand said. "Thanks dad!" Correy said as he hugged his father.

---

Back at the MCC, 14 days later.

---

"Alright guys, we got Kerbin escape burns set up for the probes and the Korvair. We'll need to correct our trajectory once we leave Kerbin's SOI, so we'll be here a few hours." Ednand said. The MCC crew took a seat and got comfortable.

"Telemetry confirms that the Korvair will arrive at Duna's SOI in a bit less than 50 days. The probes will arrive in about 54 days. Final corrections will occur less than a day before each encounter. And don't forget, the next launch will be in 22 days. Now let's get back to work." Ednand said. With that, the MCC was again empty.

----------

Phew, that's all done. Next time, I'll cover the next launch or two, and the arrival of the probes and Korvair 1 at Duna, and what they do. Before I go, the mods I used are Procedural Fairings, Kerbal Engineer Redux, Kethane and KAS (which I haven't used yet, will be used to refuel things at Duna). And here's the launch schedule so far.


Day 10: Launch of Duna probes
Day 46: Korvair launch
Day 60: Probes and Korvair burn for Duna

Well, let me know if you have any feedback. I'll probably be updating over Thanksgiving break (yay short school week!), so stay tuned. Also, kudos to anyone who gets why Ralph doesn't like the Korvair.

HafCoJoe · November 26, 2013

Awesome! I look forwards to the fate of Eming and the rest of the crew

Weegee · November 28, 2013

Hey guys, it's gonna take me a bit longer to finish the next part. I need to move the rover I landed to my base site, which is involving multiple failed attempts. I want to make sure I don't run out of motivation, so I'm gonna be taking it a bit slower. I might have it up by Monday.

Whirligig Girl · November 29, 2013

Project Irata? Don't forget your M.U.L.E.s!

Weegee · November 29, 2013

My launch vehicle is named M.U.L.E., because I don't think I could make something that can farm, mine and generate electricity.

I'll probably be updating tomorrow, I can only work on this every other day.

Whirligig Girl · November 29, 2013

You could use solar panels and Kethane, but as for farming I don't know.

Commissioner Tadpole · November 30, 2013

Lookin' good! And don't let the Mun get to you!

BlazingAngel665 · November 30, 2013

Your memoirs was titled: Recon Rovers: Unsafe at Any Speed.

Damn that makes me feel old. Any other SMAC players here? I still play it when time allows. . .

Nice reference, excited to see how the base goes.

Weegee · November 30, 2013

Yay, someone gets it. Anything I've referenced here is much older than me, blame my dad (thank?) for that. He owns Corvairs, and had a Commodore hardware/software business in College. I guess I was just destined to be nerdy

Anyway, I just succeeded in landing my Korvair and kethane miner (within 900m!) so I'll be posting a whole slew of things, as that was holding me up.

Weegee · November 30, 2013

Chapter 2: The First Landings

(This chapter won't have stuff about the crew, I'm not as good at writing those and they don't seem to have any relevance currently. I'll have that later though, don't worry!)

---

Day 82

---

The MCC was again busy. On top of the upcoming encounters of the probes and the first Korvair, the second Korvair was being launched today.

Ednand again began the countdown: "10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Liftoff!"

Now that that was out of the way, the MCC fell quiet. All that could be heard was kerbals busily typing at computers to plan the fates of the two ships speeding towards Duna.

---

Day 109

---

This was it. By the end of the day, the 1st Korvair would be in Duna orbit. The atmosphere in the MCC was so thick you could cut it.

They were glad it was finally over. Between the importance of the mission and the predicted path varying seemingly at random, it was ridiculously stressful. Cheers and applause erupted in the MCC. They had finally got something in Duna orbit, which they hadn't done in ages. But in just few more days they had the probes arriving and they would have to do it all again.

---

Day 114

---

Another tense day in the MCC. First, the ship would need to go into polar orbit, then the ComSats and scanners would be deployed. There were probes already around Duna, but they were mostly science probes not fit for full on comms usage and had no kethane scanners.

Another triumph for Project Irata! They had a basic comms network, and kethane scanners. Once the kethane scanners had finished their jobs, they wouold land the Korvair to scout for a flat area, then land the miner. They would serve as a beacon when the crew came to land later.

---

Day 118

---

In just a few days the kethane scans would be doen and the Korvair and miner would land. But first, they had to launch the Korvair fuel tanker. It was nice to have something repetitious in the midst of the flurry of activity.

After the launch, the MCC staff went right back to observing the scanner's observations.

---

Some days later...

---

The scanners had finished their work. Much to the delight of the KSC crew, there was 2 deposits right on the equator, and one was next to a point of interest: a large ravine. It was a no-brainer, they wanted kethane to refuel ships ascending to LDO, and wanted to explore the ravine. Shortly after, the Korvair began its descent.

After the successful landing, the MCC went wild! They had landed a component on Duna! It was broadcasted across the globe, and it certainly didn't hurt the KSC's standpoint with investors! After a short break, the kethane miner would be landed, though some maneuvering would be required.

---

The MCC again broke out in applause. They were on a roll! Both components had landed intact, and very close to each other! The MCC crew took a well deserved break. Their next launch wouldn't be until day 154. Phew!

----------

Alright, that's it. Feels good to get that posted.

Next time will mostly be launching the base, supplies and crew. Stay tuned!

Edit:

Though it's said fairly well from the time gaps, here's the mission schedule for this post:


Day 82: Korvair 2 launch
Day 109: Korvair 1 Duna arrival
Day 114: Probe Rack Duna arrival
Day 118: Korvair Tanker launch
Day 119/120: Korvair #1 and Kethane Miner (from Probe Rack) land on Duna

Edited December 1, 2013 by Weegee
Mission schedule added

Commissioner Tadpole · December 2, 2013

Really nice! You're inspiring me to do something similar.

Weegee · December 4, 2013

Oh noes! second page of fanworks! This'll fix that...

---

Chapter 3: Orbital Ballet

Today was another big day at the KSC. The first payload essential for kerbals to live on Duna was being launched: the base, which will also serve as a hab module on the way to Duna. If the launch succeeds, 3 more crucial missions would follow. A load of food would first be sent up and docked to the base. It would land after the base when it arrived at Duna. Then, a tug would be docked, and finally, a heat shield would be docked to the front. Because the base will serve as a hab module, the kerbals need access to it, so I can't just stick a fairing on. The fairing would also be pretty heavy and honestly look pretty stupid (). Unfortunately, the hard working kerbals in the SSTO task group were not able to produce a crew shuttle (I got tired of trying to make one and using someone else's seemed kinda cheaty), so the kerbals would also be shipped with the heat shield, with extra supplies for the wait.

Anyway, after that heap of text, here is the first launch!

---

Day 154

---

Tension was again high at the KSC. These next four missions all needed to succeed or they would miss the window (by about 8 days, but it would also look bad for P.R.). Media coverage would be high, because these were the launches that were crucial to kerbal inhabitation of Duna. Ednand again, in his signature calm and clear fashion counted down until launch. "10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Liftoff!"

Sucess! 1/4 done. Preparations for the next launches resumed almost immediately, they had to get these next few launches right. In fact, the Deputy Administrator of KSC for Missions to Duna and Other Celestial Bodies which Start with "D" (DAKSCMDOCBSD), Weegee Kerman was right there in the MCC making sure everything was going right. Satisfied, he returned to his office to do important DAKSCMDOCBSD things.

---

Day 190

---

Another important launch. 675 days of supplies were being shipped up. They would last the Duna crew a long time, but they had to get into orbit first. People at the KSC were a bit distracted, and with the thought of that many snacks, who could blame them?

Snack day dreams aside, the launch and docking went off without a hitch. Though there was a noticeably large crowd around the vending machine afterwards...

Back at the astronaut complex, final training was being completed. It was mostly review, so the kerbals just kind of let Donner be hyper. "Hope he gets it out before I have to be with him for hundreds of days..." The thought of being in a confined space with Donner that long made Elming a little queasy. But it wasn't that bad, Donner mostly ran around the complex yelling about how he was going to be in space in 72 days. Elming didn't want to think about how he would act in the hours before the launch. But Donner aside, the weeks up to the launch were fairly normal. The crew was finishing up training in simulators and dummy equipment and it was mostly review. The other 3 kerbals destined for Duna were excited too, they just preferred to show it on the inside rather than be a nuisance.

---

Day 226

---

Today the tug for the MPS-1 (Multi-Part Ship 1[Consisting of the last two launches]) was being launched and docked. The naming department at the KSC wasn't all that great after they named the first few mission components, but it would do. Donner was even more ecstatic. No one really could blame him on this one, because after all, they had all been like this at one point. They were just a bit more... reserved about it. But Donner's antics aside, there was a rocket to launch!

Another successful launch! The clock was ticking until Elming, Donner, Mitzer and Hadfurt would be up in LKO too.

The big launch: Day 262

This was it. The big day. The KSC staff forced Donner to clam down (miraculously) before he got in the cockpit. But besides that, the pre-launch sequence was pretty normal.

"This is Elming. Pre-flight check list is good. Endnand, feel free to start the countdown." And after he closed the comms link, he added "and try to sit still, Donner." "Sigh... Fine." Donner sat a bit stiller.

Ednand's voice then entered their headphone. "10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Liftoff!"

The rumble of the M.U.L.E.'s engines were... Well, loud. Donner was having a blast, despite the crushing forces. After a while in the flight, Elming was getting ready to separate the first pair of boosters.

"This is Elming. First booster pair drop on my mark... Mark."

The explosive bolts of the decoupler sounded like a pin dropping compared to the rocket. The boosters did look cool tumbling out of view though. The rest of the flight was fairly standard. Nothing interesting happened until they were ready to drop the booster and begin the rendezvous with MPS-1.

Elming prepare to radio in. "No Elming, you need to set up the rendezvous with MPS-1. I'll handle the booster." said Donner on the ship's closed comms circuit. "I don't think that's the best-" Elming was cut off by Donner again. "No, really. I know I've been hyper and annoying. It's just been my dream to go to space, and as soon as they announced Project Irata, Duna. I know you've been there. Sure, maybe I wasn't acting mature then. But I will try now. There's a reason they made me your flight engineer, you know. I'm not stupid. Now let me de-orbit the booster, and you can set up the rendezvous." The 3 other kerbals were taken aback. "Okay Donner, you're right. I guess I haven't been fair to you. None of us have. We've all felt that way, we just didn't think of it that way. I never thought I'd say this, but I've glad you're on this crew Donner. Now let's get moving!" Elming replied.

"Yes sir!" Donner said. He was glad he finally had the respect of Elming. Now, he had to just do his job. "KSC, this is Donner. We will be separating from the booster on my mark." He lifted the lid on the stage button. "Mark."

As they were in space, the couldn't hear the decoupler, but they could feel it. "Assuming remote control of booster. Am I okay for booster de-orbit?" "Yes Donner, you are clear." Replied a KSC crew member. "Booster is pointed retrograde."

"Engine ignition... Now."

With that, the booster sped away (slowed away?). "This is KSC, our telemetry confirms sub-orbital trajectory. Good job Donner." "Roger, KSC." Elming then got on the line. "Elming here. Flight computer confirms rendezvous with MPS-1 on next orbit. We'll check in when we are close."

"Roger, Elming. We will await your transmission. KSC replied. A while later, Elming radioed back in. "Elming again. Reducing relative velocity... Now."

The engines were firing at less than 1g, so it was barely noticeable. After some finagling, Elming radioed in again. "Target less than 50m. Donner will shortly align target's docking port remotely." "Roger. Report when docked." replied KSC

Donner then accessed one of the probe cores on MPS-1 and pointed it towards them. After some "orbital ballet" as Donner called it, they were close. "Cmon, easy does it..." Said Elming.

Clunk. They were docked! Elming radioed in: "KSC, we have docked! Man, the feeling never gets old. We will shortly begin transferring to the hab modules." "Roger. Let us know if anything happens."

Donner was first to EVA. But he didn't miss the opportunity to have some fun. He radioed Mitzer's suit comms system. "Hey Mitzer, buddy! Look out the window!"

Mitzer chuckled. "Now that is the Donner I know! Now get into the pod, I wanna use one of those jetpacks." Donner fake huffed "Well fine then. Have it your way." He said with a grin on his face before jetting to the hab module. The rest of the EVAs were normal, and the crew was situated, two to a pod, with plenty of space. What Elming thought would be what drove him insane wasn't going to be that bad after all. But he still had work to do. "KSC, Elming here. We're all in the base/hab module. I will now be re-aligning the sections to fit under the heat shield." "Roger, Elming."

First, he undocked the heat shield to line it up with the length of the base.

With skill, he quickly docked the heat shield in the correct orientation.

He then lined up the tug with the supplies.

Finally, he redocked the supplies and tug to the base. Here's the end result.

After all the docking was ifnished, he topped off the fuel tanks from the crew pod's fuel. It had more than enough to deorbit, so it was quite useful. He then radioed in."KSC, Elming here. All docking repositions are finished. Donner says all systems check out as well, so we won't have anything to report. Let us know when to burn when the geniuses down there figure it out, okay?" "Gotcha Elming. We'll let you know."

"Hey Elming?" Mitzer asked. "Yeah?" He replied "This ship doesn't have a name, and you're the commander. I think it's about time it has one!" "Good point, Mitzer. I'll radio KSC."

"Yo, KSC!" "Yes, Elming?" a kerbal replied. "I'm giving MPS-1 a proper name. It shall be named 'Ambition' for reasons I am sure are obvious." He said. "Got it, Elming. Good choice." "Thanks. I'll radio if something comes up."

Now they had to wait 28 days until the window. The whole world was filled with anticipation, but no one was nearly as anxious as the crew of Ambition.

----------

But that's for next time! This chapter is already plenty long as is. Hope you guys enjoyed it, because I certainly enjoy making them! I'll hopefully be setting up the base soon so stay tuned!

And the obligatory mission log:


Day 154: Base module launch
Day 190: Supplies launch and dock. Vessel becomes MPS-1
Day 226: Tug launch and dock to MPS-1
Day 262: Heat shield w/ crew launch and dock to MPS-1

Edited December 4, 2013 by Weegee

Weegee · December 18, 2013

*Facedesk*

My computer just got upgraded to Windows 8, and my save file got lost. I'm really into this challenge, so I'm going to make another go. At the very least, I still have my launch vehicle (it was backed-up elsewhere) which is great cause it took a few hours of perfecting. But just like the last time I had to restart, I think I can do better. My crafts weren't that imaginative (which I can only try to help) and I could have used my launches more effectively. I also noticed I didn't have the best options to get my kerbals home either, so that was going to be an issue.

But anyway, I'll be trying again. Hopefully it will go a lot better, and I'll probably be using a different backstory and different characters. Once I get that going, I'll post a link here and it'll be in my sig.

Project Irata - Duna Outpost Mission [Pic Heavy]

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