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Ultimate Mission?  

104 members have voted

  1. 1. Ultimate Mission?

    • LEO Only - Keep it safe
      55
    • Sun-Earth L1
      5
    • Sun-Earth L2
      1
    • Venus Capture
      14
    • Mars Capture
      23
    • Phobos Mission
      99
    • Jupiter Moons Mission
      14
    • Saturn Moons Mission
      14
    • Interstellar Space
      53


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Endersmens, yes, they are very experienced, which is absolutely fantastic, but I fear that our ideas would be drowned out and thrown away by them if it was a merger. So I do support cooperation, but a full merger? No.

Edited by Nicholander
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okay, now who's gonna buy this stuff? Anyone here who has a bit of spare money and time, could please can you buy and test this?

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Also, I don't think that we should merge, because they're trying to do a lunar orbit/flyby/impactor, when we are just sticking to LEO, so if we did merge right now, one of the two sides would have to virtually start over again. Also, it doesn't look like they a have much of a scientific aspect, so in a way, we're way in front of them stage-wise. I have no idea how they plan to get to the moon.

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Endersmens, yes, they are very experienced, which is absolutely fantastic, but I fear that our ideas would be drowned out and thrown away by them if it was a merger. So I do support cooperation, but a full merger? No.

You assume too much. :) I've been speaking with the ProjectThoth, the leader of the project. He's quite friendly. :) Also, he only posted that article Yesterday. They are 2 days into their project. They wouldn't overtake us. Also, he thought we were too far along for him to join us, which is why he started his project. He is all for collaboration, but he did say he would like to keep his project. So I'm pretty sure he's decided on collaboration and cooperation, with two projects. I was thinking, maybe they do "merge" with us, as in the are a part of KSP Community CubeSat, just as another project, or division. Our division would be the LEO expirementing division, their's would be the Lunar Flyby/orbiter/impactor division.

Also, I don't think that we should merge, because they're trying to do a lunar orbit/flyby/impactor, when we are just sticking to LEO, so if we did merge right now, one of the two sides would have to virtually start over again. Also, it doesn't look like they a have much of a scientific aspect, so in a way, we're way in front of them stage-wise. I have no idea how they plan to get to the moon.

No, see what I said above. We would have a 2-way project. Ultimate project would be sattellites in space. Sub-projects would be LEO expirementing, and Lunar whatever they decide on. Also, I know how they are getting to the moon. Apparently, they found a Lunar payload service. And they plan to take advantage of it. I've asked ProjectThoth to give me the link to this service, as I thought if we wanted we could also exploit it, maybe after our LEO CubeSat.

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You assume too much. :) I've been speaking with the ProjectThoth, the leader of the project. He's quite friendly. :) Also, he only posted that article Yesterday. They are 2 days into their project. They wouldn't overtake us. Also, he thought we were too far along for him to join us, which is why he started his project. He is all for collaboration, but he did say he would like to keep his project. So I'm pretty sure he's decided on collaboration and cooperation, with two projects. I was thinking, maybe they do "merge" with us, as in the are a part of KSP Community CubeSat, just as another project, or division. Our division would be the LEO expirementing division, their's would be the Lunar Flyby/orbiter/impactor division.

No, see what I said above. We would have a 2-way project. Ultimate project would be sattellites in space. Sub-projects would be LEO expirementing, and Lunar whatever they decide on. Also, I know how they are getting to the moon. Apparently, they found a Lunar payload service. And they plan to take advantage of it. I've asked ProjectThoth to give me the link to this service, as I thought if we wanted we could also exploit it, maybe after our LEO CubeSat.

He said the service he wants to use is the Astrobotic Griffin Lander, which is being developed to claim the Lunar X Prize.

P.S. I just found this thread through the Reddit thread, so I'd like to throw my hat into the ring of volunteers. I have dual degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering, although my current job is mostly writing UI software (C/C++ and Java).

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He said the service he wants to use is the Astrobotic Griffin Lander, which is being developed to claim the Lunar X Prize.

P.S. I just found this thread through the Reddit thread, so I'd like to throw my hat into the ring of volunteers. I have dual degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering, although my current job is mostly writing UI software (C/C++ and Java).

The term he used was "Astrobotic Tech's lunar payload service" but I'm sure they're the same thing.

Also, woo! Welcome aboard! I feel special now, since you found us through me. :D

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okay, now who's gonna buy this stuff? Anyone here who has a bit of spare money and time, could please can you buy and test this?

I could buy it, but I wouldn't really know what to do with it. So I'm not the best candidate for this. :P But $33 isn't all that much, so I'm sure somebody can. :)

Edited by Endersmens
removed double update
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The term he used was "Astrobotic Tech's lunar payload service" but I'm sure they're the same thing.

Also, woo! Welcome aboard! I feel special now, since you found us through me. :D

He specifically mentioned the Griffin Lander in a response to me

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So since this seems as good a time as any to revive the topic, I think the reddit project fits better with my "Advanced flights" focus- the whole "Lunar flyby into rosetta earth flyby primary mission, mars aerocapture and Phobos L1 drop stretch goals" plan for flights 2,3,4, and 5. (you know, AFTER we have the credibility of putting SOMETHING in space)

If they have a lunar taxi, that might save about half our delta V requirements, which either gives more mass for science payload, or makes conventional capture at mars a reasonable option.

I've also got some thoughts on a fold-out telescope for a 3u with a 1m effective aperature, but that might interfere with solar panel deployment for a propulsive cubesat.

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Okay Endersmens, but it may end up being that we have to decide on one, either the Lunar flyby with next to no science, or the LEO artificial gravity with spirulina and lots of science. I say we cooperate, but no full merger because then we get 2 CubeSats! And, like I said earlier we should then work together to make the Phobos lander.

EDIT: And then it hit me... I just realized that we could ask to have our Phobos CubeSat on one of the Griffin Lander missions for the GTO injection...

Edited by Nicholander
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EDIT: And then it hit me... I just realized that we could ask to have our Phobos CubeSat on one of the Griffin Lander missions for the GTO injection...

Better than that... it's already a LTO insertion, so we dont have to transfer under our own power at all, just manage course corrections.

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Okay Endersmens, but it may end up being that we have to decide on one, either the Lunar flyby with next to no science, or the LEO artificial gravity with spirulina and lots of science. I say we cooperate, but no full merger because then we get 2 CubeSats! And, like I said earlier we should then work together to make the Phobos lander.

EDIT: And then it hit me... I just realized that we could ask to have our Phobos CubeSat on one of the Griffin Lander missions for the GTO injection...

Why not have two CubeSats? We just wouldn't have them at the same time. Like, maybe, we do our first launch, our LEO experiments, to get familiar with all of the stuff, then our "Lunar Division" does a lunar flyby/orbit/impact, to get the hang of working with that stuff, and then we both combine for a Lunar Flyby Slingshot. We would have the experience getting launches, attitude and rotation, and tracking, plus science with our mission, our "Lunar Division" would then get familiar with course corrections, and Lunar orbiting, or a flyby. Now, we wouldn't really have to be "seperate" as in we have divisions, but we are not divided. does that make sense? And this is just rambling right now, it would be a lot more refined if we decided to do something like this. Also, if you have any questions like "and just how do you plan to do this" just ask and I'll see if i have an answer. :)

Better than that... it's already a LTO insertion, so we dont have to transfer under our own power at all, just manage course corrections.

Which is why I got the link from ProjectThoth. http://www.astrobotic.com/ Right from the main page "ASTROBOTIC IS CONTRACTING PAYLOADS TO TLI, LUNAR ORBIT, AND SURFACE AT LACUS MORTIS FOR THE 2015 MISSION."

:)

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*Insert infinite facepalm here* Sorry I put it so stupidly... I meant that if it was a merger, then we get 1 CubeSat, and if we cooperate, we get 2 CubeSats. sorry.

Alright. Except for what I said in my last post, about the lunar CubeSat coming after the LEO CubeSat.

So what do you think of my proposition in my last post? I've spoken to ProjectThoth, and he is all for it. We just have to get it cleared with K^2 and such before it happens. (I've been the middleman between us and ProjectThoth, but if we combine, he will start talking on here, hopefully along with his followers)

Also, if we do combine, how about we take a little from both names, and call the project the "KSP Community CubeSat Initiative" or KCCI for short. Doesn't that just sound so cool and official? Go ahead. Say it out loud. :sticktongue:

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Hmm... I think your LEO with artificial gravity and spirulina first and then Lunar flyby is a good idea, but what do yo think about the idea to then make the Phobos Lander together after those 2 missions?

Yeah, that was part of the plan. That's my whole reasoning behind having a Lunar division, to get familiar with working with things-lunar, so that if we did end up doing a Lunar slingshot, both divisions would work together for it.

It would be efficient, and make our chances better.

Great work guys, Im proud to be part of this community

Yeah, me too. :)

Edited by Endersmens
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Once again, let me say that the phobos lander is going to take some trial runs before we can consistantly get a "rosetta slingshot", and if we plan for an aerocapture at Mars to save D/V, that's going to take practice (at earth, presumably) as well. The phobos lander wont be a third mission, more like 5th mission.

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Hmm... so 1st LEO artificial sub-gravity with spirulina, then Lunar impact/flyby, then a test of the Phobos equipment in LEO, then maybe a Mars flyby, or maybe even testing the aerobraking. And then the Phobos Lander, how is that as a mission plan?

Given how much D/V the original phobos lander called for, a LEO test could .... around adjusting orbit for quite awhile, perhaps try some rendevous tests and hardware recovery at the ISS. Model the rosetta launch with the kick from the station and an attemted redevous in 1 orbit. Send a separate cubesat up of just replacement fuel, to get multiple flight tests?

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Hey y'all!

So I'm the guy from Reddit, and this whole thing kind of blew up a lot faster than I expected. Whew.

Today, I had a meeting with six or seven folks from /r/KSP about mission architecture and planning. Of the three lunar options considered, we're going for lunar orbit/surface photography - in other words, taking pictures of the Moon for publicity and also the benefit of commercial spaceflight. We'd be able to target certain sites of interest and create a decent-resolution map of them for use by other ventures, which is fantastic news for the private sector. Also, I'm considering names for our thing - I think ​Jebediah Kerman isn't half bad.

I'm currently in pursuit of creating a lunar architecture based off of largely existing technology - hence my name, project Thoth - but I'd love to devote some time and effort into a Phobos landing. If you don't want to hitch a ride aboard Griffin, I have a far more powerful lunar cargo spacecraft in the works that I expect to sell to Astrobotic sometime in 2019. That thing (let's call it "Sphinx" for the time being, because it fits into the mythology theme that I was going for with Thoth) can land about two thousand CubeSats on the surface of the Moon on a good day. If you remove the landing gear and lower the payload capacity, it has enough delta-v to scoot into low Mars orbit. So, if you want to put about a tonne of cargo in LMO, I've got the means.

There's also the issue - and I don't know what your solution is at this time - of communication over long distances. I want to bring this up because I might have a solution (again, if you haven't come up with one yourself). Remember the ISEE-3 folks? Yeah. I want to make this CubeSat project part of the Interplanetary Citizen Science Mission and use their infrastructure to transmit and receive data from the Moon. Might as well go the whole nine yards, because we're already talking about a ragtag team of people putting a satellite around the Moon. I think that we could get this half of KCCI in on this, too - which is why I'm talking about this here. Additionally, have you guys considered seeking funding from the Planetary Society for this idea? I think they'd want to lend some money for our efforts.

Let's go break some new ground. How hard can rocket science be, anyway?

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I could buy it, but I wouldn't really know what to do with it. So I'm not the best candidate for this. :P But $33 isn't all that much, so I'm sure somebody can. :)

I would certainly be willing to buy and grow it, but what exactly will we be testing? Just growing it won't help much -- we would want to e.g. replicate the container/habitat that will be used on the spacecraft, or the lighting/temperature conditions, etc. But those parameters haven't been decided on yet.

It's definitely a step we should take (given the price!) but not quite yet... let's get a bit more of a design first.

---

Also, potential Cubesat launch opportunity to Earth Escape in 3rd Quarter 2016 (price is $750k for a 3U, though!): http://www.parabolicarc.com/2014/09/11/spaceflight-offers-deep-space-rideshare-opportunity/

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Hey y'all!

So I'm the guy from Reddit, and this whole thing kind of blew up a lot faster than I expected. Whew.

Today, I had a meeting with six or seven folks from /r/KSP about mission architecture and planning. Of the three lunar options considered, we're going for lunar orbit/surface photography - in other words, taking pictures of the Moon for publicity and also the benefit of commercial spaceflight. We'd be able to target certain sites of interest and create a decent-resolution map of them for use by other ventures, which is fantastic news for the private sector. Also, I'm considering names for our thing - I think ​Jebediah Kerman isn't half bad.

I'm currently in pursuit of creating a lunar architecture based off of largely existing technology - hence my name, project Thoth - but I'd love to devote some time and effort into a Phobos landing. If you don't want to hitch a ride aboard Griffin, I have a far more powerful lunar cargo spacecraft in the works that I expect to sell to Astrobotic sometime in 2019. That thing (let's call it "Sphinx" for the time being, because it fits into the mythology theme that I was going for with Thoth) can land about two thousand CubeSats on the surface of the Moon on a good day. If you remove the landing gear and lower the payload capacity, it has enough delta-v to scoot into low Mars orbit. So, if you want to put about a tonne of cargo in LMO, I've got the means.

There's also the issue - and I don't know what your solution is at this time - of communication over long distances. I want to bring this up because I might have a solution (again, if you haven't come up with one yourself). Remember the ISEE-3 folks? Yeah. I want to make this CubeSat project part of the Interplanetary Citizen Science Mission and use their infrastructure to transmit and receive data from the Moon. Might as well go the whole nine yards, because we're already talking about a ragtag team of people putting a satellite around the Moon. I think that we could get this half of KCCI in on this, too - which is why I'm talking about this here. Additionally, have you guys considered seeking funding from the Planetary Society for this idea? I think they'd want to lend some money for our efforts.

Let's go break some new ground. How hard can rocket science be, anyway?

ProjectThoth, welcome to the KSP forums! (And the KSP Community CubeSat!)

Two things: What do you think about having the Lunar Orbiter orbiting over the Lunar poles, which will give us a clear view of the Lunar poles, which as of now the only pictures we have are just stitched together ones from equatorial orbits. And 2, I want to see more on that "Spinx" spacecraft of yours.

Also, when you started your post with "Y'all", it made me think of you talking in a southern ascent when reading it, and I can't get it out of my head!!!!!!!!!!!!

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