SaturnianBlue

I made a nuclear-reactor powered fighter jet—it performs quite well, but in a dogfight between two of them, the lasers near-instantly tear each other apart. I also worked on screenshots for my "Colonizing Gilly" report. I put my KSP-I solar power receiver in orbit around Gilly—that's not the receiver being zoomed in on, that's the true size between it and Gilly! (I'm not sure what's with the jagged lines on Gilly—it happens when I hyper edit there, and gets fixed when you get near it.)

Nearly finished writing the Gilly chapter, what do you think about effectively turning Gilly into an O'Neill cylinder?

And for a small world, it's quite an interesting one.

Why Settle Eve The planet Eve—the second largest planet in the (stock) Kerbol System, it is a purple jewel in the Kerbin sky. The planet is regarded as a place of “no return”, a result of the planet’s crushing readings of 1.7 g’s, 5 Bar pressure, and high temperatures at the surface. Despite all this, there are rather pleasant locations for Kerbals to live on Eve, something quite important for starting off. First though, we will explore why one would colonize Eve in the first place. Unwilling to face the harsh conditions of the surface, initial efforts will likely concentrate on the high peaks and the cloud layer. The Evian atmosphere appears to be mostly comprised of Carbon Dioxide—if it can be split into oxygen and carbon, not only is a supply of oxygen created for the colonists, the carbon could first produce simple materials, and with an increase in infrastructure and capabilities, complex materials like carbon nanotubes, which other locations may be unable to produce, either due to a lack of carbon or industry. However, one of the earliest industries for a major colony may be to service tourists, enticed by the dazzling purple of the Evian skies. In order to serve the tourists, lots of staff will be required on-site, a few of whom may choose to settle permanently. Since the Eve’s atmospheric pressure is far less than that of Venus, per se, it might become somewhat viable to collect valuable minerals (metals, radioactive elements, etc.) from areas of high concentration, which might be found near volcanoes that could exist on Eve. That said, Eve’s large gravity well and atmosphere make it far harder to export. If anything, Eve would import minerals to refine from asteroids or from Moho. Remotely controlled mining craft would likely scrounge the surface for resources, returning to a surface base for processing, or potentially deploying a balloon to easily reach cloud settlements. The oceans of Eve—often jokingly said to be made of rocket fuel—could contain interesting resources. If we take the old saying quite literally, large nuclear-powered planes could deliver the rocket fuel into orbit or a skyhook (in essence, a space elevator, but one that doesn’t touch the ground), fueling long-distance ships for long voyages. Based on measurements of the sea’s density, Hydrogen Peroxide seems quite plausible. In the end, writers might as well choose the option that suits them best. Issues At sea level, the temperatures are quite high—not much compared to Venus, but still enough to make one a bit uncomfortable about going there. Therefore, I conclude that temperature is an issue, but not a major one. The atmospheric pressure is also quite high—at 5 atm—but nothing too unusual would is required for constructing buildings, although high winds at such high pressures could pose quite a threat. Therefore, colonies on the surface would be initially unpopular, but would eventually spread. One factor that might be a major challenge would be the crushing gravity of Eve, at 1.7 g’s. Such high gravity would make falling objects and simply falling quite a dangerous issue, and would be dangerous for heavy ships if their landing was quite hard. The construction of space elevators and tall things in general would be hampered, which would make skyhooks a more appealing option. Combined with a laser thermal rocket launch system, this system, though not as cheap as a space elevator, would still be much cheaper than a giant chemical rocket. Perhaps the engines are a little overpowered... Another major issue surrounding transportation between air-based colonies would be difficult—one would likely have to board an electrical propeller powered vehicle (a tiltrotor, perhaps?), which might be quite dangerous if the habitats drift around the clouds, where visibility would be poor. Another concern would be the availability of water for the colonists—if the oceans or atmosphere is not made from something that could be split into water, it will be very difficult to gain access, which would require the expensive process of importing water from a distant place like Moho, for example. Advantages Relative to Kerbin, Eve is the closest planet to Kerbin, which results in short and low fuel transits, allowing for large loads to be moved, which will be quite beneficial in sustaining the colony. However, transfer windows are rather infrequent between the two, though the shorter orbital period allows for frequent windows between more distant targets. While the thick atmosphere makes rockets generally ineffective, it enables ships to use aerocapture, saving significant amounts of Delta-V. This allows the ship to carry heavier payloads, provided the ships are well equipped to handle the effects of reentry at incredibly high velocities. At an altitude of 10 kilometers, where the pressure is at 1 bar, the temperature is a rather muggy, at about 315 Kelvin (about 42 degrees Celsius or 107 Fahrenheit), but some regions could be cooler than this. In general, thin, protective suit and a mask should be all that is required for kerbal at this altitude. At Eve, solar power is quite effective, and although it is not as effective as at Moho, large space stations that are powered by solar power could exist, although nuclear fusion might be considered more effective. At the very least, it can be used as a reserve. However, cloud c over might prevent its use, making it quite hard to power small craft. Designs for an Eve Colony The first design will be that of the floating colony. This colony can float with balloons of a breathable mix, which can both act as a decent lifting gas and a last resort reserve of air in case of an accident. However, pure oxygen might also work, and it could also be better replenished by the Evian atmosphere’s vast reserves of CO2. At high altitudes, the balloon can be pressurized at the same pressure as its surroundings, resulting a slow leak despite being pressurized. The balloon’s design might resemble a zeppelin, with electric engines powering the ship when needed. The craft would carry a gondola that would house the living spaces. One of the objects located in the gondola might be an atmospheric scoop, collecting the air and onboard factories can reprocess it into useful products either for use in-situ or for export. All of this depends on the composition of the air, but the Gas Chromatograph experiment implies a considerable amount of nitrogen in the atmosphere, which could be used in fertilizers in the greenhouses onboard. On the side of the platform would be the take off zone for VTOL electric-propeller powered aircraft that would transport people between distant floating colonies. Nuclear-powered aircraft could also be used, but that would require runways, which would be quite hard to build. Power could be delivered through means such as fusion/fission, but wind power, geothermal power, and potentially solar power (provided the colony floats above the clouds) could be cheaper and make use of available resources. Mining robots could mine for resources on the surface before rising on balloons to avoid destruction and reach the floating colonies, providing resources to sustain the colony. The second idea involves the surface colony. The colony will be powered by geothermal energy, since the clouds will block out solar power options. Colonists here could dig underground, but with protection from solar radiation, there would be little need to. An interesting concept for such a colony might be a geodesic dome, allowing for a view of the outside. This stack can carry 40mT of equipment to practically anywhere in the Kerbol System, provided they wait. The colony could reduce the Delta-V budget for its rockets by floating them up on balloons, and could reduce costs by having a reusable launch stage. The surface colony would likely sustain itself by mining large amounts of metals and eventually the colony would start processing the products in-situ. These sites could trade metals with the floating colonies in exchange for carbon-based products and oxygen. If these sites are built along the ocean, they could also process it’s resources. Eve Colony Progression This colony has a rather dangerous reentry, since it tends to flip out, though it can certainly survive it. The first colonies would be dropped into the atmosphere, initially focusing on trying to be self-sufficient. These early colonies would be fairly dependent on Kerbin, but eventually the colony would be able to produce a variety of carbon based products to support the construction of more colonies. As the first mining efforts on the surface begin, Eve will source more and more of its resources locally, creating more complex carbon based products, some of which could be sent to other planets. The place could support the early efforts of colonizing the outer planets by acting as a refinery or a pit stop, as the ships can easily aerobrake, at which point the resources can be sent to planets such as Moho, this time with more fuel and a lower intercept speed. Abundant solar energy and protection from a powerful magnetosphere will make Evian orbital space an excellent place to build orbital habitats, which could host many thousands. Resources for their construction would be easy to come by, thanks to Gilly and aerobraking asteroids. The location of colonies will slowly work its way down on the surface, starting from the cooler mountains, and eventually down to sea level. By having the processing on the surface, Eve can produce far more products than simply mining small amounts and then refining it at a cloud settlement. Eve could be prove to be a rather pleasant place to live, with plenty of radiation protection, provided one puts up with 1.7g’s of gravity. Eventually, there may be voices advocating for terraforming the planet. Solar shades may be set up to cool the planet, but reducing the pressure and introducing oxygen would be much more difficult. Conclusion While Eve is often portrayed (quite sensibly, in some cases) as a deadly and dangerous world, the cloud layer is rather safe. In general, Eve’s economy would probably be based on resource gathering and manufacturing. Early colonization efforts might focus on locations such as the Mun or Duna, but in a kerbal future it’s likely that Eve would still have a part to play in the interplanetary dynamic. End of Chapter VIII Thanks for Reading! Next: Chapter VIIIa—Colonizing Gilly

I've thought about mass drivers, but I think they would probably work best on say, Moho, where there is no air resistance. They might still be of help on Eve, though.

Sadly, all my tests haven't worked out, since even the Nuclear Lightbulb is too weak to carry a ship of any considerable payload to space... It seems that rocket launches from the cloud deck/balloon might be better. I'd say SSTOs would only be viable with the creation of a skyhook to catch the ship at speeds where even the nuclear ramjets can achieve.

A sneak peek for the next episode, for which I've finished the writing for. I'll probably get it out during the weekend.

I've been working on the Colonizing Eve chapter—I'm about 2/3rds done with writing up the chapter. I don't have any pictures, but I've also tested some freighters that can take off from the surface of Eve. They fly quite well, achieving over 1000 m/s in flight over Eve (and additionally on Kerbin and Duna), but then seems to have serious issues with stability. The ships have around 100 mT of payload and weigh around 300mT, total. It appears I will have to try smaller loads.

Higgins class PT boat, decked out with a full interior, fully stock! A British WWI Admiralty M class destroyer replica, with a ton of mods. While I never finished it due to a host of issues, I undertook a massive replica project of the Battle of the Denmark Strait. In descending order, Prinz Eugen, Bismarck (armed with a catapult fighter, no less), Hood, and Prince of Wales. Lastly, my recreation of the Battle Between Kormoran and the HMAS Sydney.

Especially if the colonists are looking for profit—if they can get more money, I'm sure they'll go to great lengths to do it, even if they have to dive in the Explodium Sea!

Such a kerbal way of management!

I've got a question for readers: would you like to see the KSP-Interstellar reactors in their full glory (without the NFE patch that nerds them), or would you be fine with the current setup I have, with the nerved reactors.

Starting Off This depiction of Moho colonization is heavily inspired by ideas for colonizing Mercury, which is a good but not exact analogue for this episode. It’s perfectly possible that you might disagree with some of my opinions—if you think so, let me know what you think! In the future of the Kerbals, colonizing the Kerbol System is perhaps inevitable. Therefore, it is important to explore what those colonies would look like, and function, in order to have a generally realistic portrayal. Naturally, we will start with Moho—the closest planet to Kerbol, and work our way out from there. Why Settle Moho? Considering the attention that the Mun and Duna would most likely receive from the Kerbals, Moho will probably be overlooked in an initial wave of space colonies. Yet there are some important reasons for settling Moho. A small mining setup capable of mining and processing regolith during the long Moho nights and days. The first reason will likely be quite simple—mining. While asteroids would provide plenty of resources, it’s likely Moho probably has minerals that many asteroids may not. If Moho is anything like Mercury, it should be very rich in metals. That said, it takes considerably more fuel to reach Moho than a near-Kerbin asteroid, making it rather unprofitable for Kerbin. Yet Moho has a few big advantages. With some areas of Moho shrouded in darkness, it would be logical for water ice to be found in these locations, providing an access to a key resource. Our trusted beamed power craft, now at Moho. Additionally, Moho’s close proximity to Kerbol means that solar panel arrays can collect massive amounts of power, and these arrays will be useful even when arrays are deployed far closer to Kerbol, as Moho’s relative proximity will allow receivers to capture more energy for smaller dishes. There are major vertical gradients in temperature near the equator, which could be exploited for an easily exploitable form of power. Also, Moho can supply the materials for the construction of the giant solar arrays in close proximity to Kerbol, for less delta-V and less time than sending the resources in from an asteroid further out. Helium-3 mining could also commence, with the Kerbol (solar) wind blasting the resource onto Moho. It’s use in aneutronic fusion and Nuclear Pulse Propulsion (Project Daedalus) makes it a valuable source that could be rather profitable if the demand is quite high. Issues The close proximity to Kerbol would most likely blast Moho with radiation, and this will have obvious health issues for kerbals (if they are anything like humans). Perhaps settlers will be required to build their living spaces underground, where the ground itself will provide shielding. In addition, Moho is quite difficult to reach—it is both inclined and very close to Kerbol, while having a tiny gravity well. Thankfully, the engine systems shown off earlier should allow the ships to get to Moho, though low-thrust engines would suffer from the problems of Duna orbit insertion on a worse level. The bright light from Kerbol would likely force colonists to use brightness-dimming windows if they are to use any, or at the very least lenses. Kerbol as seen from Moho and Kerbin's polar regions. Additional Advantages Six Transfer Windows in 2 Kerbin Years! Hohmann transfer windows to Moho are far more common than other planets, notably Duna. Therefore, colonies could be built up quickly, so perhaps Moho might end up being surprisingly well colonized despite my opinions on the growth of the colony (which will be discussed in the next sections). Designs for a Moho Colony Presumably this colony extends below just these plants. Being so close to Kerbol, plants snacks could gather lots of light, potentially allowing for far quicker growth, which could be combined with future technology to make farms very efficient. Water can pumped to the farms, or perhaps the farm could be built along a lake created directly from a deposit of water ice. These structures would likely have to be accompanied with laser defenses to destroy debris, as an impact would easily destroy the structure and lead to the loss of valuable food and water. Nearby, the colonists would dig into the ground as protection from radiation. While this would be quite difficult, future technologies would be quicker and more efficient in doing so, compared to the presumed "modern era" of Kerbin. In fact, if one believes that all kerbals live underground (which might explain why few buildings are on Kerbin), this might even be a natural choice. A power plant located on/near Moho would use solar power, either directly or via beaming power from near Kerbol. At the poles, reflectors would probably reflect kerbolight upon solar thermal plants, though if places with eternal sunlight exist, normal solar power could be used just fine. Capable of achieving 40 M/S, these rather expensive mining robots are meant for all conditions on Moho. With plentiful amounts of power, factories that produce highly energy-intensive products would spring up. In general, the materials would come from mobile prospector robots and outposts, which would transport materials via trucks. With excellent supplies of power, high-quality, valuable products would be produced, easily making manufactured products the biggest export of Moho and would turn up a massive profit for the colony. One of the main ways of getting off Moho will be the mass driver. However, the 56 Kerbin-Day long Moho day means that opportunities for launches are very rare for a static gun, so an option may be to have a gun that spirals out as the projectile gains velocity, and the exit point of the track can be rotated for launching in the ideal direction. A Likely Path for the Colony No perfect path of progression exists, so this is mostly my opinion, though I hope it will help get potential writers ideas, and a general sense of direction. The picture in the title, it depicts a northern settlement with mass drivers, solar thermal power plants, greenhouses. For the reasons above though, this shows only a small portion of the whole colony, much of which is underground The first colonies land around the poles, likely in a ring around the Mohole, preferably not in it. Kerbals would probably not want to touch a slightly mysterious, very deep hole in the ground, after all. The colonists would utilize the ice for their water supply, which might additionally be a source for air and fuel by splitting it into hydrogen/oxygen. The very first forms of profit will likely come from mining for rare minerals for export to Eve, as Kerbin would generally enjoy the presence of near-Kerbin asteroids to harvest the materials from. Helium-3 mines might make a small profit. For those reasons, a Moho colony might start out rather slowly, despite the frequency of transfer windows. The next phase would likely have the construction of massive solar arrays to capture solar energy, and eventually receive power from kerbol-grazing power collectors. Consequently, massive amount of power will allow Moho colonists to export power, or utilize it for energy-intensive factories mentioned earlier. Eventually, areas beyond the poles would begin to be settled. Such settlements could be moved on treads at a speed that keeps up with Moho’s slow rotational speed, allowing a colony to stay at the terminator, where the temperatures would not be extreme. Alternatively, a ring of habitable underground temperatures near the poles could be used to create a gigantic living space with comparatively little effort and resources. Though this is a fairly limited strip of land, it is the best option for hosting a massive population with the least amount of effort, and would beat out slightly fragile domes on Duna, which would have to warm themselves, and floating aerostats on Eve, which would have to remain buoyant. Aside from Kerbin, such a planet-based colony on Moho might be the best place to live in the inner system. As the demand for antimatter, whether in the drives of interstellar colony ships or in miniaturized fusion reactors grows, Moho can repurpose its solar energy arrays, generally made obsolete by fusion into antimatter production, which needs an enormous amount of power to create. Since the arrays are effectively freed-up, they might as well be reused. What is another use for these solar arrays? A large beamrider network. What is a beam rider? It travels on a very high velocity stream of pellets that impact its magnetic sail and transfer momentum to the spacecraft, accelerating the ship without the use of onboard reaction mass. The ship can also be decelerated on the other end of the trip. This may prove to be a more effective and just as quick a method of interstellar travel as fusion, but without the expensive operation of an onboard fusion drive. Though such a network will require huge amounts of power, Moho happens to have that. This operation can be rented to the beam rider for profit, and Moho may even be the staging ground for an interstellar colony ship. Another solution is a “mushroom habitat”, which would have a large cap to protect it from the sun, and would be raised on stilts to prevent heat transfer. Conclusion A Moho colony would be initially unprofitable, delaying the beginning of initial settlement. However, a well developed Moho colony would become a powerful force in an interplanetary solar system, and a place that would provide a unique setting for a story... End of Chapter VII Thanks for Reading! Next Time: Colonizing Eve

Ooo! This has a ton of potential, and i'm quite excited to see where it goes! I'm definitely hooked!

I'm very, very close to releasing the Moho episode, here's a sneak peek. After the Moho episode i'll do Eve and Gilly.

Thanks! Downloading the USI Constellation pack worked.

That doesn't really help the fact that the Kolonization tab is missing though, right?

Whenever I try to download this mod the "Kolonization" folder is not included, and does not appear as a tab in the VAB. I have the USI Orion already installed (I renamed the new USI folder so both could exist), would that potentially have anything to do with it?

Yep.

For some reason the thermal electric generator amasses 10,000 tons instead of the usual 6. This was after I redownloaded the mod. Edit: Despite having set up that produces enormous amounts of power (180MW) the All-In-One ISRU claims that the power levels are insufficient, and refuses to operate.

It probably is a bug, I'll try reinstalling KSP-I later and see what happens.

I (somewhat belatedly) finished writing up the chapter for Moho—since these tend to require a fairly extensive amount of research, they take a long time to write. I'll start working on the graphics/screenshots for the chapter, after which i can post the chapter!

If we consider raw resources that would be exported, I think Mercury, the Moon, and just maybe the Gas giants might see Helium-3 mines as a profitable venture, if nuclear pulse propulsion becomes a viable form of propulsion. Mercury would probably be a major center for mining metals, which would likely be manufactured into various products.

It's also possible to establish colonies at the poles, where water ice could exist (though obviously not portrayed). The thing about mining colonies on Jool is that the Delta-V required to reach orbit is pretty high, so that the products getting sent up into space should probably be well worth the cost (Helium-3, perhaps?) to be profitable.

Currently I have a few sections for the next episode (Colonizing Moho), "Why Settle Moho?", Issues, Advantages, and Colony Design. I'd like some more ideas for these colonies, since I'd definitely want to have a comprehensive look at a future Kerbol System.