Wow, impressive! Very clever workaround. I've run into some problems too. The modules had a tendency to tip over and the were very hard to control because of the structural fuselage, causing a kind of asymmetrical trust, but I managed to correct this using KAS winches (and luckily the solar panels were only deployed after the connection to the main module. I'll see if I can build something more compact to send to Duna (or Ike, maybe?) and complete the contracts. Edit: I'm working on reducing the part count to improve my FPS (around 10 approaching the base,15 on the surface) using KAS/KIS mod, I find it extremely helpful. And I can also bring spare parts (fuel cells, just remembered them in the last mission).