Saltpeter

As a generation ship, the Triskelion has to be equipped to supply itself and all of its equipment, such as the probes. With 5 probes, 2 landers, a reusable moon lander, at least two rovers, each with multiple trips planned, and its own RCS arrays, it requires a considerable amount of spare fuel of many kinds, especially monoprop. When I formulate the itinerary for the Triskelion's interplanetary mission, you'll see why all that monoprop is needed. I only now just realized that when I was told I was channeling my inner Whackjob, that that was a reference to a person, and I wasn't just being called crazy. The only KSP people I'm familiar with are Scott Manley and Danny2462. I should have put more inline stabilizers on the Triskelion. I'm tempted to relaunch it. Since it's now a single-launch ship, it's much easier to revise the Triskelion than before.

Detail of science probe docked next to its big sister, the Xenon module. D'awwwwww.

In the interest of good sense, I've decided to strike the last of the mission specifications. There is nothing that belongs on the backside of the ship except for engines, so there is no need to make the engines modular. Since the Triskelion itself is not intended for landing, it doesn't require any engines other than the highly efficient atomic thermal engines. It is very much a starship, and not an airship.

The tabloids buzzed so hard the Triskelion nearly tore the docking port clean off the Hexaflexagon. The ship was forced to redock in a different configuration. But now the fuel can be transferred over to the Triskelion, and the supply launches can begin. Today is a great day do be a space explorer!

Donory and Jebediah in the same room together. The tabloids will be buzzing for sure! Since the Triskelion Mk. V had no engines, it was forced to use nearly all of its monopropellant to make it to Hexaflexagon. Crew and Xenon have been transferred, and now the Mk. V can make its way back to Kerbin.

The Triskelion has docked with the newly launched refueling depot. In the spirit of naming things after shapes, KSP officials have dubbed it Hexaflexagon Station. A small modification has been made to the original design; Universal Docking Ports have been added to the south ends of Hexaflexagon's tanks, for the addition of extra tanks in the future. The entire capacity of Hexaflexagon station in its current form is less than that of two Triskelions, and its monopropellant capacity is even less than one Triskelion. But those modifications are for another time. Now the probes, landers, and rovers need to be delivered to the Triskelion.

Dissatisfied with the wobbliness of the Triskelion Mk. V, I attempted to make a single-launch version of the entire ship. It worked. Since it is not a station by nature, this new vessel will simply be called The Triskelion. I elected to use the ten-tank biohazard trefoil design to make the launch more stable and to make room for the enormous quantity of booster rockets needed to lift it into orbit. Not only was I able to launch the entire generation ship as a whole unit, but I was able to take over half capacity of fuel with me. Jebediah Kerman himself manned the historic mission. He will dock with Triskelion Mk. V, where command of the mission will be passed over to Donory Kerman. When that is done, the Triskelion ship will fill its fuel banks with whatever it can from the Triskelion Mk. V, and the Mk. V will deorbit. Preparation is not yet done. As per the parameters of the mission, the ship must be outfitted with probes, landers, and rovers. A fuel depot will be necessary as a proper station for the Triskelion to report to. The gravity turn took 8 minutes. As an added benefit, as a single ship, ground control's computers have a much, much easier time keeping track of the ship's parts.

Beauty shot of the Triskelion Mk. V's four-tank core configuration. The Xenon module is clearly visible on top. Not only are the solar panels raised far above the tanks, but they are oriented out of phase with the tanks, so that tank extensions will go in between the panels. The tanks are a bit wobbly due to being attached by a single port, but it's more than acceptable given the circumstances. MechJeb can compensate for imperfections in the design. I am currently debating whether to continue with the seven-tank triskelion design or a ten-tank biohazard trefoil design. The 10-tank config holds more fuel, has room for more engines, and has more convenient symmetry. The 7-tank config is more in the spirit of the station's name. If the triskelion shape isn't tenable, it can be modified easily enough.

As a fiercely loyal commander, Donory Kerman has never acted beyond his orders. When the order came to de-orbit the Triskelion Mk. III and IV, he stayed at his post on the Mk. III. Ground Control realized their mistake and immediately ordered him to EVA over to the Mk. V. Donory is safe and sound and ground control is using remote guidance to continue the deorbit. Let us never speak of this again.

The time has come to say goodbye to the Triskelion Mk. II! The liquid fuel has been emptied from all the orange tanks, the xenon module has successfully been transferredto the Mk. V, and all other modules are deemed obsolete and will be redesigned. Deorbit has begun.

Hmmm. The original intention of Triskelion Station was as a refueling post, but since I am repurposing it as a generational-class interplanetary vessel, I might need another ship to serve as refueling post. Sure, I'll take your ship's craft file. I'm sure Donory will want to take lots of pictures of the docking of the Triskelion with this fuel depot.

The Triskelion Mk. V has docked with the Mk. IV. I am proud to say that the new radial Senior ports are working beautifully. KSP executives are negotiating with the Kerbal government to retain their funding after this very expensive diversion, but with the legendary Donory Kerman's support, the populace is expected to be won over. The decommissioning of Triskelion Station Mk. II can continue as scheduled. Followed by the decommissioning of the Mk. III and now the Mk. IV.

This is the ungodly chimera of Triskelion station. Another tank from the Mk. II has been deorbited. The auxiliary monoprop storage module is full, and a new one will have to be designed. Preferably one that doesn't protrude so far from the center axis of the station. I think I know what I'm going to do with the extra space beneath the solar panels. Wait...what's that? Enhance...enhance... There appears to be a Universal Docking Port sandwiched between a tank and an adapter block. This is unacceptable. Time to launch the Triskelion Mk. V.

In the engineering spirit, KSP scientists have created a monster: Taking advantage of the supernatural physical properties of cubic octagonal struts, a large port has been attached radially to the tank. Jebediah Kerman himself had this to say: "Only one port will connect? Then make a station that connects tanks by one port. Here, have a port! It's on the house." The Triskelion Mk. IV will dock with the Triskelion Mk. III, which is still docked with the Triskelion Mk. II. Amateur astronomers observing the station's construction have taken to calling it Triskception Station.

I have been having extraordinary difficulty with the old multi-port docking procedures. In fact, I've been unable to dock more than one port at a time on these new extra-large tanks*. I am pursuing alternate means of docking. Perhaps in the process I can solve the dilemma about the north docking ports. *I've even edited the persistence file to make all the ports' states "Ready" after undocking, reloading, and letting them snap back in while being perfectly aligned, and still only one of three would dock up.

Four of the Mk. II's tanks have been de-orbited. In the meantime, My efforts to prevent collisions between the solar panels and the tanks has resulted in a new problem. Since I was keeping in mind the need to leave room open for those panels, I thought to put in ports on the north end of the tanks. The result? Useless ports: Oh well. They might come in handy in the future. Somehow.

MechJeb has been successfully upgraded. The docking computer is massively improved! The Mk. II and Mk. III have been docked, and an entire 1.5 Rockomax tanks worth of fuel has been transferred. Donory Kerman is also pleased to be done with the prison orange hue. The KSP couldn't have asked for a better commander of this lengthy mission. His incessant cheerfulness is as refreshing as it is distressing.

This is the delivery platform for the Triskelion Mk. III station core. One of the added benefits of these new tanks is that it makes the rockets absolutely beautiful. I was never a fan of that prison orange hue.

The flight did not make it to Jool orbit. Donory Kerman, captain of the Triskelion Mk. II, issued the following statement: "Aww." A four-tank asparagus will be used in the proper launch of the Triskelion Mk. III station core. It will rendezvous with the Triskelion Mk. II where Donory Kerman will make a station to station transfer. As tanks are added to the station, they will be filled with the supplies of the Triskelion Mk. II. In the meantime, ground control has worked on replacing the old MechJeb with a module capable of supporting these new parts.

My first test of the new launch system for the Triskelion Mk. III was a success. A simple 7-tank asparagus setup using the new Kerbodyne tanks and engines. Once I was down to one engine, I decided to see how far it could take me. This happened: Complete happenstance; a Jool Encounter was not planned, but certainly not unwelcome. Unfortunately, it seems that MechJeb is not compatible with these new parts. I was enjoying not having to do manual Hohmann transfers. The final part of the test will be to achieve Jool orbit. I have my doubts given remaining fuel.

Well. It would seem that the great minds of the KSP have developed a larger fuel tank. In the interest of part efficiency, I am planning a complete redesign of the Triskelion to use these tanks. I will be able to make the entire station with seven tanks, in the original triskelion shape that I so enjoy. I will require no wonky space struts, no tanks connected by Seniors. It will be fancy, it will be beautiful, it will have far more powerful engines than the current Triskelion is capable of fielding, and it will be far less of a strain on ground control's computers. It would take 12 such tanks to match the total fuel capacity of the Triskelion Mk. II's design, but that's a compromise I am willing to make in exchange for part efficiency and ease of construction.

I was able to dock 4/6 ports. Sufficient in its own right, however... A design oversight on my part: There are two lamps on each tank, two over two columns of ports, and one blank to be the side that gets attached to the station. This time, there are two columns of ports that need to be attached, so there are conflicting lamps, which caused the docking error. I will drop the fuel and spare monoprop into the station and deorbit this tank, and design a new tank with one lamp to act as a keystone tank for each loop of the trefoil. 6 of the 26 tanks in the station will be this modified design.

Tens of Hohmann transfers over Kerbin get pretty monotonous, and my space station is 5-frames-per-second large. The rendezvous and docking autopilots make it easier for me to take. I think when realism mods make a game easier it's a triumph of humanity. ;>.>

One of the three rings of the trefoil is one tank away from completion. MechJeb's docking autopilot cannot achieve this dock because it approaches along one port's axis. I need to get both columns of ports lined up at the same time, which means I have to approach from the axis that bisects the angle made by the two columns of ports. MechJeb's Smart A.S.S. will assist me in a manual dock. I should be able to do this without too much difficulty. If it turns out to be anywhere near as difficult as the multi-axis docking from before, I will settle for incomplete rings, a biohazard trefoil instead of a trefoil knot. That will make the final construct 20 tanks large instead of 26.

Triskelion Generation Ship at 10 tanks. The two newest tanks are in the foreground and were both successfully triple-docked on the first try. MechJeb is especially good at this. Note the debris field forming around the station. Hubris trumps Kessler Syndrome.