Norcalplanner

Something similar was done already, but it was specific to fuel rather than just payload - the Economic Fuel to Orbit Challenge. There was also some good discussion in this thread, that was stickied back in November - Optimizing for Cost. The only downside is that both of these discussions are for older versions of KSP, so with overhauled aero and other changes some of those old designs won't work as well anymore. Still, good discussion in terms of cheap and disposable vs. expensive and reusable.

Kerbal Engineer Redux MechJeb Kerbal Alarm Clock Editor Extensions Kerbal Joint Reinforcement SpaceY Modular Rocket Systems Chatterer Claw's Stock Bug Fixes

Here's my entry, which is titled "Cheap and Cheerful". Only 21.57% mass fraction, but it gets over 20 tons of payload to orbit for less than 37k funds. It uses a tried and true two stage to orbit design, with a Mainsail on the first stage and a Poodle on the second stage. I really tried to limit drag with this design, using what is supposed to be the best nosecone and not having any control fins. Not nearly as fancy as some other entries, but it works. Edit: Whoops, just noticed the requirement to use the mass figures in the map mode screen. I took the opportunity to revise the craft slightly, with an even pointier fairing and a tweaked ascent profile. Missed getting a shot of the craft on the pad, but the mass fraction increased just a tiny bit to 21.69 percent. Here's the revised design.

Start your gravity turn a lot lower and a lot slower. I'd try 1 km and 80 m/s.

Here's the last big thing I built in 0.90 stock aero. 25,000 tons on the pad, 4,100 tons in LKO, 2,700 tons in LMO.

A second, larger Mun base has been constructed by team KABOOM. This new space has room for 24 Kerbals long term, or 42 short term, and includes an associated refinery ship and fuel trucks. With refueling capability on my base, that adds 20 points to my score. I'm now at 177 points for my AAP missions. Here's a photo of the first module after landing - for full information, including more photos and the final base configuration, head over to my mission report thread.

It is done. The Mun base has been shipped to the Mun, landed, and assembled. Although there were unexpected challenges, and the loss of one of the modules, the interlocking design means that the main base functions can continue as intended. With room for 42 Kerbals in a short term configuration, or 24 for a longer term mission, this is the biggest surface base that KABOOM's engineers have ever brought to completion. The associated refinery ship and fuel trucks means that we now have the ability to refuel ships with ISRU-sourced fuel, so long as the ships have a docking port in approximately the right spot. Long term, we'll need to create a dedicated Munar orbital station with fuel storage and a dedicated tanker, so larger craft can top off their tanks in orbitwithout having to land. We'll also need a small crew/cargo shuttle for going between the station and the surface. However, all this will have to wait for a bit. RL is going to be very busy for the next week, so it may be some time before any further AAP missions are flown. In the mean time, the fueling ability nets me 20 more points, bring up the total to 177. I hope you enjoy the photos.

Of course, there's the odd Blohm & Voss BV 141, which was actually designed asymmetrically...

Might also want to make your fairing pointier. Some of the other posts in the past week showed that fairing shape at the tip has a big effect on drag.

For me, the most helpful items are in the vessel panel - current TWR, vessel mass, delta v, part count, etc. My favorite new feature (to me anyway) is the suicide burn height. It really helps make more efficient use of fuel when landing on bodies without an atmosphere.

The expanded Munar Base project is under way, with four Saturn V-MLV Block II and Block III craft having been launched from KSC. Two have landed their cargoes on the Mun, with all modules and craft touching down within 500 meters of each other. One is in a holding pattern in Munar orbit, and the last one is still in Kerbin orbit getting ready for its TMI burn. I may end up having to locate the refinery and refueling tanker trucks a few kilometers away from the main base to reduce lag - we'll see once we have more modules on the ground.

The SpaceY M-5 engine definitely loses its gimbal when you cut off the center engine, but I find that it's generally not a problem. I'm definitely getting lots of practice with my gravity turns in this challenge. What's your initial atmospheric TWR? I'm having mine around 1.25 to 1.3, and then beginning the gravity turn at 70 m/s seems to work well.

Here's a photo album with a little bit of the MOLAB aftermath, along with some of the designs for the larger Munar base that we be assembled on the surface. KABOOM's engineers are still working on designs for a refinery, a tanker to take fuel to orbit, and on-surface fuel storage. For that last bit, the plan is to use 3.75m tanks in a configuration similar to the habitat modules (so the trucks get repurposed as bowsers after the base is assembled). Future plans may include a dedicated orbital station (Munlab) and a small shuttle to take Kerbals and a little cargo to and from the Mun base. Enjoy.

KABOOM's engineers have been hard at work. Here's a little bit of MOLAB epilogue, along with designs for Munar habitat modules and the vehicle to assemble them in situ. Enjoy.

So the MOLAB and initial Munar Base missions are done, with a bit more description and the lone good photo (don't ask) in my mission report thread. With 40 more points, my total is now 157. However, we're heading back to the Mun to build a bigger base in a better location that will have mining and refining capability. Stay tuned for more info as the designs get refined.

So I really screwed up while finishing out the MOLAB mission, and only took two pictures. Even worse, only one of them is well lit - here it is: This shows Jebediah and Herbus reentering the CSM after boarding the LM and rendezvousing in orbit. Everyone made it back home, and I technically have a base on the Mun with that first habitat module, so I'll go ahead and claim the points: +20 for MOLAB +20 for a Munar Base New Total - 157 points However, we're far from done with Munar activities. I've found a good spot that's flat with around 11% ore only a few degrees south of the equator, so that will be our base location. The plan is to refine the habitat module design, make a few different flavors (e.g., one with a cupola, one with a science lab, etc.) and then ship them up there with a Mun buggy truck that can move them around and dock them together. I'll have to test everything out on Kerbin first, and will post pictures once I have something that's worth showing.

No version restrictions - 0.90 is fine.

TheXRuler, it seems to me like Hangars is in the same boat as part welder, in that it's primarily about reducing part count. It would therefore be considered a modded division entry, not advanced technology, the same as part welder.

The primary thing I've found it useful for is controlling the angle of the craft's gravity turn. If you're going a bit steep, shut off the center engine a little earlier to get a shallower trajectory. If you're going a bit shallow, leave all five engines on to slow down the turn rate. Other than that, it just feels right in terms of time to orbit and not going too fast in the lower atmosphere.

parzr, I'm sorry it's taken so long to get to this. Most of my KSP time lately has been absorbed by the shiny new 1.0 version of KSP and the Apollo Applications Program Challenge thread, so I'm afraid I haven't been checking in here as often as I should. This was a very unique entry. It seemed much more like a typical Jool-5 mission than an orbital space station, which is sort of the name of the challenge. After reflection, what I'm going to do is pretend like your mission log ends after photo #21 in your album (the first slide that shows you in a captured Joolian orbit) for tonnage and points purposes, and act as if you left the station in orbit around Jool at that point. In that slide, your station/craft is 337 tons. Based on that information and what you've previously posted, that gives you a score of 87,102. Congratulations - that puts you in third place in the stock(-ish) division.

The first half of KABOOM's MOLAB mission is complete, with a full report and photo album over in my mission report thread. Jeb and Herbus are busily surveying the surface for spots that are flat, scenic, and have good ore deposits. Once a final site is chosen, and the boys return, it will be time to start designing all the bits that will make up the Munar base. As is my custom, here's a photo to entice you. Enjoy.

The first half of the MOLAB mission is complete. The MOLAB and two ore-scanning satellites were sent in the first launch, while the crew and a prototype Munar habitat were sent in the second launch. Lots of ore was discovered in the East Crater, so that's where our focus will be. The MOLAB went down first, and landed without incident via a single-use skycrane. The habitat went next, followed by the LM with Jeb and Herbus. All landed within a few hundred meters of each other, so that bodes well for future surface base construction. After jettisoning the skycrane, Jeb was eager to get his hands on the latest in extreme 12 x 12 off-roaders, er..., that is, he was ready to carefully pilot the mobile science lab exactly where he's told by KABOOM mission control. After checking out the habitat and making sure that everything was OK, Jeb and Herbus set out on their survey. The two took turns planting flags at landmarks and promising base sites along the way. There are some good spots near the Munar arch at the lip of the East Crater, with a nice view of Kerbin, but the ore isn't quite as good as it is further away from this interesting feature. We'll need to decide where to go. Or maybe have one fueling base run by engineers, and a second base for scientists and tourists near the arch. Time will tell. Enjoy the photos.

Sorry for the delayed response - RL has been busy, and I've been spending most of my limited KSP time on the Apollo Applications Program challenge. Yes, this challenge is still going on. I'll review parzrs entry shortly. EPL will put an entry into the Advanced Technology division, the same as Interstellar, as stated in the OP. I'm not familiar with hangars, but it sounds like that would also go in the Advanced Technology division.

Thanks for the ideas and diagram. I thought about doing exactly what you described with the ATM, but my fairing was already going to be big because of the booms for the solar panels on the main body of the craft. I believe that the booms for the panels were launched folded flat on the real thing, and then deployed (or were supposed to deploy) once in orbit. However, there's no folding boom like that in stock, so my only other option was to make the boom a separate part with Jr docking ports and assemble it in orbit. Maybe I should have just created the approximate correct solar panel shape with five 1x6 panels coming out of each side. Hmmm. Well, the long term plan involves more stations in different orbits, so I'll have more chances to get it right. - - - Updated - - - Alright, I now officially feel foolish. In all of the photos I looked at of Skylab, and all the text I read, I never thought to search out the launch configuration. It launched exactly as you said. With that change and the tweak to the solar panels as I noted above, I think I can wrangle the next station into a sane fairing. Thanks both of you for the help.

As I get deeper into my AAP missions, I'm beginning to think I need to work more on packaging my payloads in a compact manner. Some of the fairings (such as those for Starlab, and the MOLAB mission I'm currently working on) are getting large and are moving further away from the Apollo aesthetic. Does anyone have any ideas for helping my designs to help bring the fairings back in line? Clever packaging ideas? Should I look into infernal robotics or do a lot more in-orbit assembly? Or just stick with the large fairings and live with the aesthetic compromise?