Coam

First of all, I have to credit Tsevion for the idea of fitting a detachable fuel tank to the top of the craft and transferring fuel out of it. Before I tried that, this craft didn't seem to work very well. This design is already beaten for the tech-level (7, I believe. The most advanced part is the C7 adaptor.) but I thought I'd show it anyway as it's about as good as I can do. Part Cost:11170 Parts Returned:4803 Net Cost:6367 This gallery doesn't cover the entire flight yet as I only started taking pictures when I realized it might actually work. 1x SRB-KD25K 2x TR-18A Stack Decoupler 1X LV-T45 Liquid Fuel Engine 3X C7 Brand Adaptor - 2.5m to 1.25m 3x LT-1 Landing Struts 1x LV-909 Liquid Fuel Engine 1x Mk 1 Command Pod 1x OX-STAT Photovolaric Panel 1x RV-105 RCS Thruster Block 1x MechJeb (AR202 Case) 1x Mk2-R Radially Mounted Parachute 1x TR-2V Stack Decoupler 1x FL-T400 Fuel Tank Flight profile: SRB to ~8000m 2xC7 Adaptor fuel burned by LV-T45 to ~48,000m (possibly inaccurate, will update when I do a second flight) 1x FL-T400 fuel transferred to C-7 Adaptor and burned by LV-909 most of the remainder of the way to orbit, then jettisoned. 1xC7 Adaptor fuel burned by LV-909 for transfer to Mun, Mun landing, Mun liftoff, Orbit, escape to Kerbin influence, and retroburn back to Kerbin. There's a lot of delta-v in that top stage! As a purely theoretical level 4 entry (Currently flight testing) C7 Adaptors are swapped with FL-T800s, and the TR-2V Decoupler is swapped with another TR-18A. This should give a craft with identical performance (although harder to land without tipping.), leaving the most advanced parts as the OX-STAT Photovolaric Panels + The SRB. Initially I thought this cost the same, but in reality the final costs for this design are: 13,303 funds for the ship 5,703 returned to kerbin =7600 total, over the 7000 ideal. (the FL-T800 is twice as expensive as the C7 Adaptor)

I wanted to try using the Clamp-O-Tron Jr. since it doesn't come into use much. I decided that docking operations with the Mk 1. Command Pod would be an ideal application. Other than MechJeb, I believe this mission was done with all stock parts. Initially for aesthetic reasons I wanted to use the twin-nozzle KWRocketry engines to launch the crew module., but they weren't powerful enough to lift the craft off the ground. Both Mission #1A and #1B are in the album below. Mission Result: Total Success. I think the writing style of this report was a little different to StarLab. Let me know what you think!

I always try and return kerbals to Kerbin alive. More than one ship has saved itself by de-orbiting using RCS thrusters when fuel ran out and my Mun lander module had two parachutes and an external seat so it could be used to return to Kerbin in an emergency, although there are few situations in which this could be done. (the CM would be needed to return to Kerbin Orbit.) I could probably justify missions to other planets without any immediate plans for return to Kerbin if the craft they were sent in was designed for long term habitation. For the losses I had in sandbox, I planted commemorative flags at KSC with the names of the crew and information about the mission they were performing at the time. I have not yet lost any kerbals in science mode and will try and ensure things stay that way. Generally I am less safety concious with aeroplane designs since there's no prospect of being stuck in space, though I still like to fit parachutes to the cockpit so that can be saved if things get out of control.

I tried quickly making a stock VTOL. I wasn't very successful, probably as the entire craft was made with guesswork as to how the lift-jets would work. Takeoff is technically STOL and it isn't capable of landing. I'll probably try again sometime with a more thought out design.

Thanks everyone!

Hi! This thread was originally just for StarLab, but I decided it would be more efficient to just put all my reports in one thread. So here are my mission reports! Most recent report: Aries #1A & #1B Projects with reports: Project StarLab: Similar to SkyLab, this is part of the Persephone Perseverance Project, intended to keep the very powerful, very expensive Persephone Launchers in use. The station provides a basic science environment for 3 crew (theoretical maximum of 5) in low Kerbin orbit, and is outfitted to test Mystery Goo, temperature readings, gravitational readings, and perform materials study. Mission #1A: StarLab Launch (3 crew space station to orbit without crew) - Bottom of this post Mission #1B:StarLab Docking (delivering 3 crew and re-entry testing the crew module) - Bottom of this post Project Aries: Broadly similar to Gemini, this is a step up from early orbital flights and will test more advanced spaceflight techniques. The ship used is theoretically capable of making a flyby of the Mun. Mission #1A:Aries Target Vehicle launch (launching an uncrewed probe with a Clamp-O-Tron Jr. fitted to it for docking tests, and ladders for testing mobility in space.) Mission #1B:Aries Crew Vehicle launch, docking, EVA & return (launching a crewed ship with a Clamp-O-Tron Jr. to dock with the ATV, perform EVA operations, and return to Kerbin.) Projects intended to have a report at some time in the future: Project Persephone: Project Persephone is my Apollo analogue. While a Mun mission has already been completed, the margin of error is not yet good enough to try a report on it. Other projects are also planned, this is just a general overview. Below this, the original OP (Starlab #1A and #1B) is unchanged: Hi! I decided to do a mission report for the launch and crewing of my small space station, StarLab. Other than KW Rocketry (fairings) and MechJeb (delta-v stats and help docking the crew unit.) everything is stock, so without mods this mission would probably be the same in the hands of a better pilot. As a small note, while the system is based on the Mun launcher I use, it carries less fuel on both first and second stages - it carries too much even without those, making them unnecessary weight. The Visitor Module could probably go interplanetary if flown properly. Looks wise, the station is very much inspired by SkyLab. Part 1, StarLab: Part 2, StarLab Visitor (crew) Module: I will probably try and push StarLab into a higher orbit once it has completed as much research as possible from LKO. There may be some spelling or terminology errors I missed, hopefully the report is okay.

Hello! After playing KSP for a while I figured I should join the forums. At the moment I can reach the Mun and Minmus then return safely. I like science mode and making Skylab style space stations.