Pipcard

[ARA] Y2, D478 - The Gemini 28 autonomous miner extracts the resources needed to make Specialized Parts (MKS mod) and transfers them across Minmus using a Planetary Logistics module. Y2, D482 - With a new Atlas factory dome, Castor Base now has the ability to build spacecraft (with Extraplanetary Launchpads) and perform maintenance entirely using off-world resources.

Y2, D421 to D482 - Off-world manufacturing supply chain Y2, D421 - Using Material Kits made on Minmus combined with Specialized Parts from Kerbin, two 3.75 m Tundra Pioneer modules were built. This increased the total lifting capacity for (stock) EVA construction to about 70 tonnes. (again, I pretend that this module contains equipment to manipulate large modules, and doesn't make Kerbals carry huge modules with their own hands) The next four launches brought 4k Specialized Parts, 8k Machinery, and an automated mining vehicle known as Gemini 27 meant to mine for Silicates, Rare Metals, and Exotic Minerals (the three raw materials needed to make Specialized Parts) on Minmus's Lesser Flats, which would be transferred to Castor Base in the Midlands using the MKS "Planetary Logistics" system. Castor Base already had several logistics modules that could "pull" resources from planetary storage (if a pilot or quartermaster was present). However, it was not known at the time that Gemini 27 needed a logistics module to "push" resources into the planetary warehouse. Therefore, it could not actually send resources to Castor Base. The SPT and MCH from Castor 18 through 20 would be used to make the next major component of the base. Castor 18 (Y2, D428) Gemini 27 (Y2, D433) Castor 19 (Y2, D436) Castor 20 (Y2, D437) Y2, D457 - After several days of construction, the first 10 m "Atlas" dome was built on Minmus, along with several inflatable storage and workshop modules. Twice the diameter of the largest rocket of the Aerospace Research Agency, it had a dry mass of 50 tonnes (which is why the two extra Pioneer modules were needed for EVA construction), and had the ability to produce Material Kits, Specialized Parts, and Machinery directly from raw materials - skipping the step of refining them. The large mass was the trade-off, but the lower part count also made it worth constructing. Y2, D468 - After realizing that Gemini 27 was not able to send resources, Gemini 28 was launched with an uncrewed "Duna" logistics module and inflatable storage (instead of shipping containers). Arriving on Day 478, it began to gather resources for Specialized Parts and after filling up enough, began to put resources into planetary storage so that it could be received by Castor Base. Y2, D482 - After receiving the first batch of Silicates, Rare Metals, and Exotic Minerals from the Lesser Flats (and inflating Workshops to increase efficiency), Castor Base was now able to produce Material Kits and Specialized Parts (and combining them into Machinery) without needing to import them from Kerbin. The significance of this was profound. Spacecraft and base modules could now be built and maintained entirely using off-world resources. However, there was still more work needed to achieve full self-sufficiency. (On Day 479, The Microscopium 1A probe that had been sent to capture an asteroid was unfortunately not able to encounter it, as the asteroid had an encounter with Kerbin that shifted its orbit, and the plotted trajectory did not account for that. Thus, the asteroid was in an entirely different place from where it was expected.)

Were the 20 m Atlas domes actually updated? I saw a post on Reddit by "loverevolutionary" that looks like they used 20 m domes and miners but they seem to touch the ground (unless the perspective is fooling me).

[ARA] Y2, D418 - The Aries 1 probe makes a flyby of Ike and Duna Y2, D420 - Castor Base on Minmus now has an operational factory to produce Material Kits from local resources, a major component for off-world construction and base maintenance (MKS + Extraplanetary Launchpads)

Y2, D398 to D420 - Operational Material Kits factory; first Duna and Ike flyby Y2, D398-399 - Castor 14 and 15 lifted off with Machinery that was needed for the refinery modules to function. Castor 15 also carried Enriched Uranium for a nuclear reactor that would be constructed on Minmus and installed on Day 403. On Day 408, Machinery was transferred by an engineer to the refinery modules (using the "Perform maintenance" option). The Uranium containers were also detached and attached to the newly built reactor. Disclaimer: transferring Enriched Uranium is supposed to require a level 3 engineer. To make this playthrough less grindy (and enable more independent colonies), I disabled the need for Kerbals to return to Kerbin to level up after gaining experience. The Strategia mod also has the "Engineer Focus" strategy that gives engineers up to 2 extra levels, so the engineers on Minmus were currently level 4. However, I was having an issue in that when I tried to transfer EnrU from the container to the reactor. An error popped up saying "Selected part can't handle radioactive storage, exiting transfer mode..." even though the reactor literally had storage for Enriched Uranium. But @Aelfhe1m pointed out that I could use the regular stock transfer buttons (Out/In), and speculated that this was because I have MKS, Near Future Electrical, and System Heat installed at the same time. Y2, D409-410 - Castor 16 and 17 delivered more Machinery that arrived on the base on Day 420. After deploying radiators and inflatable storage modules, the factory was now operational and able to produce Material Kits out of resources mined from Minmus (Minerals, Substrate, and Metallic Ore - converted to Chemicals, Polymers, and Metals, respectively). The efficiency of the refinery modules was enhanced by Material Processing Units (which the drills were attached to) set to "Smelter" mode. The next step was to build more modules that could produce Specialized Parts and Machinery without having to import them from Kerbin. With MKS, Extraplanetary Launchpads uses Material Kits and Specialized Parts in an approximate 15:1 ratio, so being able to produce Material Kits on Minmus is a major leap forward. Y2, D418 - While Castor 16 and 17 were arriving at Minmus, Aries 1 performed the first flyby of the red planet Duna and its moon Ike. After entering Duna's sphere of influence on the previous day, the spacecraft quickly encountered Ike before meeting Duna and its rusty surface.

[ARA] Y2, D362 - Large containers for Material Kits and Specialized Parts (MKS mod) are added to Castor Base on Minmus. For now, MKT and SPT are brought from Kerbin, but the plan is to eventually make them from Minmus resources. Y2, D397 - Using Extraplanetary Launchpads, modules for a Material Kits factory are assembled on-site from MKT and SPT. However, more Machinery needs to be imported from Kerbin for the factory to be operational.

Y2, D351 to D397 - Building a Minmus factory on-site Y2, D351 - Two launches, Castor 8 and 9, delivered large, partially-filled storage containers for Material Kits and Specialized Parts to Minmus (Day 362), to be used for on-site construction. The second set of containers landed during a Minmusian eclipse (when Kerbin was blocking the Sun/Kerbol on Minmus) A set of four launches delivered 4k Specialized Parts and 48k Material Kits to expand the base. This simplified the process over trying to fit various prefabricated base parts across multiple launch vehicles. Castor 10 (Y2, D370) Castor 11 (Y2, D371) Castor 12 (Y2, D381) Castor 13 (Y2, D382) Y2, D391 - The Extraplanetary Launchpads system was put to the test, as a container for food Supplies was built on-site from Material Kits and Specialized Parts (the first example of off-world manufacturing), then attached to the base to replace the smaller Supply packs. Survey stakes were used to mark where it would be built. Disclaimer: I had to edit the config file to enable the Extraplanetary Launchpads Survey Station (stake/pad finding) for the 3.75 m Tundra Pioneer/Logistics module (which does not have the capability in the default install unlike the 2.5 m version). The next step was to assemble the Material Kits factory, which lasted until Day 396. The expansion was completed (as a separate structure from the base), taken apart, then put together again. It had drills and refiners to complete the supply chain to assemble Material Kits. However, it could not be operational yet until more Machinery was brought from Kerbin, and an additional power supply was built.

[ARA] Y2, D339 - The first module of a factory is added to Castor Base on Minmus, with the eventual goal of enabling off-world manufacturing using local resources.

Y2, D300 to D339 - The plan to industrialize Minmus Y2, D300 - The Tejat 2 rover was sent on a journey to visit and analyze the resource concentrations of every biome (using the Bon Voyage autopilot). It found that the Midlands (location of Castor Base) was the best place to mine the resources to make Material Kits (Minerals, Substrate, and Metallic Ore), while the Lesser Flats was ideal for the resources to make Specialized Parts (Silicates, Exotic Minerals, and Rare Metals). To reiterate, Material Kits (MKT) and Specialized Parts (SPT) are needed to make Machinery, which is needed for all resource converters to function and the base to sustain itself. With Extraplanetary Launchpads, they can also be used to build spacecraft and other objects using local materials (off-world manufacturing). A fully developed industry on Minmus would mean less of a need to launch large rockets from within Kerbin's deep gravity well. The resource supply chain is displayed in the chart below. Y2, D329 - Castor 7, the first component of a Minmus factory, was launched. It used the huge 3.75 m wide "Tundra" modules, including a Pioneer/Logistics module (to enable heavy EVA construction and the ability to grab resources from anywhere on a planet or moon if a pilot is onboard), and an Assembly Plant for Material Kits. The module with propellant had a launch mass of over 60 tonnes, and performed trans-Minmus injection and a horizontal landing using six Terrier engines (a design balanced with the help of RCS Build Aid and TAC Fuel Balancer). Once the module arrived on Day 339, Bill Kerman took it apart and reassembled it into Castor Base. The plant was not yet able to produce from local materials yet (mining drills and refinery modules were still needed), but it could also act as an Extraplanetary Launchpads construction workshop (if provided with finished MKT and SPT shipped from Kerbin).

The stock transfer buttons do work in my case (MKS + Near Future Electrical + System Heat), thank you.

I tried it with high level engineers. Even testing in Sandbox (where Kerbals are at the maximum level), it still shows the message "Selected part can't handle radioactive storage, exiting transfer mode." If the issue was that the engineer level wasn’t high enough, the notification would be about that, not the “selected part.”

(crossposting from the MKS thread) I am currently testing base designs, but I am having issues with the nuclear reactors. The info for the USI/MKS or Near Future Electrical nuclear reactors shows that there is a "Nuclear Fuel Container" that allows for Enriched Uranium transfer, but when I try to transfer fuel from an EnrU container (even with a high level engineer), it says that the "Selected part can't handle radioactive storage, exiting transfer mode." Note that the reactors are patched to work with System Heat, so I am not sure how transferring fuel works.

I am currently testing base designs, but I am having issues with the nuclear reactors. The info for the USI/MKS or Near Future Electrical nuclear reactors shows that there is a "Nuclear Fuel Container" that allows for Enriched Uranium transfer, but when I try to transfer fuel from an EnrU container (with a high level engineer), it says that the "Selected part can't handle radioactive storage, exiting transfer mode." Note that the reactors are patched to work with System Heat, so I am not sure how transferring fuel works. Edit: The stock transfer buttons (In/Out) turn out to work just fine (in my case where I have MKS, Near Future Electrical, and System Heat installed), as pointed out by @Aelfhe1m

I am using Extraplanetary Launchpads instead of Global Construction in my MKS playthrough, but how do you make sure that everything will line up (e.g. flex-o-tubes) before you start building something on the ground from Material Kits and Specialized Parts?

[ARA] Y2, D279 - A launch of the 5-meter-wide Super Giant 1 reusable rocket, capable of 68 tonnes to Kerbin orbit, or 30 tonnes to Minmus (2.5x scale) Y2, D299 - Castor Base on Minmus is expanded (using EVA construction) to accommodate 6 crewmembers

Y2, D268 to D300 - Super-heavy reusable rocket and Minmus base expansion Y2, D268 - The new Super Giant 1 reusable launch vehicle was 5 meters wide, and could lift 68 tonnes into low Kerbin orbit or 30 tonnes to Minmus. It used six "Allosaur" methalox engines on the first stage, and one on the second stage. Its payload was Castor 5 (arriving on day 277), another batch of base parts including a second Pioneer module, science lab, and inflatable habitats and greenhouses. But it could not be assembled yet until more crew arrived. Y2, D279 - A slight redesign to the Super Giant 1 replaced the LT-37 landing legs with the "Falcon" legs to provide more stability even though they were more fragile (as @RedDwarfIV pointed out), but if two legs contact the ground at the same time instead of one, they are less likely to break. The grid fins were also found to be less effective at slowing down the first stage, and were replaced with the original "A.I.R.B.R.A.K.E.S." Castor 6 (arriving on day 288) had a Duna-class Power Distribution Unit, which was a larger nuclear reactor, along with battery storage and four large radiators to release the reactor's heat. Two more Crush-O-Matics were included to convert Minerals into Fertilizer. Y2, D289 - Algieba 8 (Bill, Billy-Bobeny, and Gledorf) launched to dock with the Gemini 26 depot around Minmus while the Tejat 3 lander did the same. The lander took the crew down to Castor Base, where they attached the new modules [using both the stock and KIS EVA construction systems]. The Pioneer modules contained equipment to assist with [stock] EVA construction. With low gravity (helped further by having an engineer in a module), this meant that parts massing multiple tonnes could be carried and put together. Once finished (on day 300), Castor Base now had a mass of about 44 tonnes, accommodations for 6 Kerbals for 5 years, a scientific research module, and enough power for additional base expansions.

Thanks, I currently have 32 GB of RAM, I might upgrade when it is necessary. I also use KRASH to simulate my miners from the VAB (with all simulation costs turned off)

[ARA] Y2, D246 - The Ophiuchus 1 probe makes the first flyby of another planet (Eve) edit: retook some shots with TUFX "Default-Empty" config instead of Zorg's config

Y2, D236 to D247 - 180 days in Kerbin orbit; first Eve flyby Y2, D236 - Algieba 7 (Dofel, Marnard, Camsey, and Jonford) lifted off to replace the crew of Algieba 3 (Valentina, Bill, Jebmund, and Gledorf) onboard the Regulus 1 station, which had stayed for over 180 days. The next objective was to stay for an entire year (over 500 days). Y2, D246 - Ophiuchus 1 arrived at Eve, the second planet from Kerbol, in the agency's first interplanetary flyby. Reaching its closest approach on Day 247, it saw that the entire planet had a purple atmosphere and a surface completely obscured by highly reflective clouds. edit: retook some shots with TUFX "Default-Empty" config instead of Zorg's config

[ARA] Y2, D236 - Castor Base on Minmus, now capable of growing food and supporting 3 Kerbals for a few years

Y2, D219 to D236 - Mining, farming, and living on Minmus Y2, D219 - Castor 2 launched to Minmus with inflatable agroponics and habitation modules, along with a few electric screwdrivers (KIS). This was followed on the next day by Castor 3 and Castor 4 on Day 226, which had batches of Material Kits to expand the modules, as well as a truss and storage, miners and converters for Minerals and Fertilizer. Y2, D228 - Castor 2 landed near the base on Minmus. An engineer such as Handorf Kerman could use an electric screwdriver to attach and detach parts up to 1000 kg [with the KIS mod]. Multiple Kerbals could do a "team lift," adding 1000 kg each. However, the agroponics module was about 3200 kg, while there were only three Kerbals currently on Minmus, meaning that they could only carry up to 3000 kg*. There was no way to remove Machinery, and I didn't want to send another Kerbal yet, so I installed TAC Fuel Balancer so I could dump some of the Machinery to make the module lighter. Handorf, Jebediah, and Bob were now able to attach the module to Castor Base. Afterwards, the skycrane of Castor 1 was disassembled and recycled into Material Kits (making up half of the mass). *The MKS Pioneer module had an "Enable Konstruction" option that said it could set EVA construction to 5500 kg, but I later learned that if the engineer is not in the module, the limit is only set to 2500 kg. (Edit: I just realized that "Enable Konstruction" applies to the stock EVA construction system, not the EVA construction system of KIS that requires a screwdriver.] Y2, D229 - Castor 3 landed with Material Kits to inflate the Agroponics module to produce Supplies using Fertilizer and Mulch. Handorf also attached a truss and containers for Minerals and Fertiizer. [Also, EVA Follower and Easy Vessel Switch are very useful mods. Easy Vessel Switch lets you switch between vessels or Kerbals by Alt+Clicking them, instead of cycling between them using the bracket keys.] Y2, D235 - Castor 4 arrived at the base, containing the last batch of Material Kits needed to inflate the habitation module. Mineral Drills and "Crush-O-Matics" to convert Minerals into Fertilizer were also attached. This was the first example of ISRU (In-Situ Resource Utilization) done by the Aerospace Research Agency. Castor Base was now capable of supporting a few Kerbals for several years, but it wasn't truly self-sustaining yet. It would need to produce Machinery (to maintain converters and habitats), Colony Supplies (luxuries to keep Kerbals from becoming homesick), and Enriched Uranium (to power the nuclear reactors). A few more skycranes and empty containers were also disassembled into Material Kits. (Also, I'm not sure why the rover turned around 180 degrees, or if it has anything to do with Bon Voyage or any other mod)

Glad to see you posting again. Large-scale colonization with MKS is very inspiring and I hope to do it in my playthrough someday, but I have a few questions. - What are your PC specs? All of these huge vessels and bases must be taxing on your performance. (I have an i5-11600K processor and RTX 3060 Ti graphics card) - You said "Before I could actually start sending out any of this colonization equipment I needed precise ore distribution maps of Hale to know how to configure the miners." How do you calculate how much a drill will mine, especially when all of the MKS drills all say that they have a maximum output of "1.00/second"?

I'm looking at the MKS drill parts, and how am I supposed to know how much more effective the larger ones are if they all say that they have a max output of "1.00/sec"? Is there a formula for calculating a drill's output rate given the percent abundance of a particular resource, the presence of engineers, and other factors? I could simulate drilling with KRASH, but is there any other way to do it before sending one to a planet or moon?

[ARA] Y2, D213 - The crew of Algieba 6 (left) transfer to the Tejat 3 lander (right) via the Gemini 26 propellant depot at Minmus They arrive at Castor Base (relocated to the Midlands) - the next step is to provide more habitation and a greenhouse to grow food.

Y2, D187 to D213 - First crew at Minmus base Y2, D187 - After studying potential production supply chains, it was decided that the Midlands had more potential in the short-medium term. It had Minerals which could be converted into Fertilizer (more efficient than trying to make Supplies directly from Substrate and Water). Minerals, Metallic Ore, and Substrate could be refined, then combined into Material Kits, which are used to fill inflatable modules with equipment. Material Kits are also one component of Machinery (needed to keep resource converters running) and eventually being able to build and launch vessels from the shallow gravity well of Minmus instead of Kerbin. (The other component being Specialized Parts, but the resources for those were in another biome.) Castor Base had enough propellant for a short hop to a higher elevation, and so it was relocated near the edge of a plateau overlooking the Lesser Flats. Y2, D192 - A Red Dwarf 2-4L (which hasn't been launched in almost a year) launched Denebola 19, an autonomous double rescue of Leelorf and Megan Kerman in low Kerbin orbit. Y2, D194 - The Gemini 26 propellant depot, which had five docking ports for incoming and outgoing vessels, was launched to Minmus orbit. The Tejat 3 lander docked to it and refueled on Day 203. Later that day, Algieba 6 launched the first crew to live on Castor Base (Jebediah, Handorf, Bob), docking with the depot on Day 213. The crew transferred into Tejat 3 and landed less than 200 m away from Castor Base, deployed experiments, then entered the habitat. Systems were activated, including the small nuclear reactor keeping everything powered and the radiators that dissipated its heat, as the skycrane jettisoned and softly landed about a dozen meters away (it could be disassembled into Material Kits, but they would need storage for that). The next step was to increase the habitation space and provide a way for the crew to grow food.