Pipcard

[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.

The "blob" link only shows up if the image was just uploaded, or wasn't fully uploaded yet. If you check it again after a few seconds or a minute, then the link will be normal.

[ARA] Y2, D173 - Denebola 18 performs a double rescue at Minmus Y2, D181 - The first module of Castor Base lands on Minmus Y2, D184 - Microscopium 1A is launched to retrieve a small asteroid (I forgot to put antennae on the first one)

Y2, D162 to D186 - First base and rescues at Minmus, asteroid retriever launch Y2, D162 - A Blue Giant 1-R launched Microscopium 1, the first attempt to retrieve a small (Class A) near-Kerbin asteroid known as HFS-233. It was named after the microscope constellation as asteroids are the smallest natural objects in a planetary system. However, in a rush to get the spacecraft out there, the engineers (i.e. myself) forgot a crucial component: the antennae. During a recheck at the edge of Kerbin's sphere of influence, the spacecraft was no longer capable of communication. Y2, D163 - Denebola 18 resumed the agency's rescue activities (to recruit more astronauts while earning funds at the same time), this time retrieving astronauts stranded in Minmus orbit. It was launched uncrewed, and encountered Billy-Bobeny and Lanbles Kerman (whose orbits were in opposite directions) on Day 173, returning to Kerbin on Day 186. Y2, D172 - Castor 1, the first component of Castor Base, was launched to the lowlands of Minmus, near the Gemini 25 scout rover. It had a MKS Duna Series "Pioneer" module with habitation on top powered by a 0.625 m nuclear reactor - ARA's first use of nuclear power in space, as the base would need to maintain power at night, and batteries would need to be very heavy if only solar power was used. For now, only the solar panels on the skycrane stage would be used until the crew arrived. Wide landing legs provided stability during landing. The base would initially have enough supplies for 3 Kerbals for 100 days (with recycling provided by the Pioneer module), so further expansion would be needed for longer-term living. Y2, D184 - Microscopium 1A replaced the original flawed design, and was launched to the same asteroid (HFS-233), but this time with interplanetary-grade antennae. It would grab onto the asteroid using a claw mechanism (currently closed), then redirect it into Kerbin orbit.

[ARA] Y2, D153 - The Gemini 25 rover searches for a suitable location on Minmus to establish a base (2.5x scale) Y2, D154 - The Ophiuchus 1 probe is launched to flyby Eve in 90 days

Y2, D143 to D156 - Minmus base scouting, first probe to Eve Y2, D143 - The Gemini 25 rover was launched to the Lesser Flats of Minmus to find a good location to establish ARA's first extraplanetary base, as Minmus was easier to get to and land on (in terms of Delta-v) than the Mun. Due to its appearance, it was also known as the "Turtle." What it learned using the Narrow-Band Scanner was that the abundance of resources on the surface did not really correspond with the data from the orbital Survey Scanner. Instead, the concentration of resources was mostly consistent throughout a particular biome. For example, the concentration of Ore (which could potentially be processed into propellant) was thought to be high in various places including flat regions (based on the orbital data), but the surface data showed that Ore only had a concentration of about 1% in the Flats, while in the hilly Lowlands it was as high as 13%. Using the Bon Voyage computer to autonomously travel long distances, the rover explored a few biomes. Scientists back on Kerbin then determined the best locations for resource gathering. - Lowlands: Substrate, Water, Ore, Metallic Ore (some) - Lesser Flats: Gypsum, Exotic Minerals, Rare Metals, Silicates - Midlands: Metallic Ore, Minerals, Uraninite, Hydrates (convertible to Water) Eventually, a site was chosen on a flat region on top of a small hill (Lowlands) next to the Lesser Flats, which would provide a good place to refuel landers with refined Ore, and extract Substrate and Water to produce food Supplies Organics (vital for the long term). For Supplies, it would be more efficient to convert Gypsum into Fertilizer then combine that with Mulch, but there would need to be a way to send resources over a long distance. Y2, D154 - Ophiuchus 1, named for the serpent-bearer constellation, is a flyby probe launched to Eve, the second planet from Kerbol. Identical to the Aries 1 Duna probe, it uses a high-energy trajectory so that it would reach Eve in only 90 days.

[ARA] Y2, D117 - The Algieba 5 capsule docked to the Tejat 3 Minmus lander Landed in the Midlands The Tejat 2 rover getting samples from an Olivine Formation

Y2, D93 to D131 - Advanced Minmus landing with crew Y2, D93 - The Tejat 2 Minmus rover was launched by a Blue Giant 1-R, followed by the Tejat 3 lander on Day 95. Both spacecraft had an identical design to the recent Mun vehicles, and arrived at Minmus from Day 104-106 to wait for the crew. Tejat 2 rover Tejat 3 lander Y2, D107 - Algieba 5 (Dofel, Marnard, and Camsey) launched to Minmus with an additional habitation module (the same as the one used on Denebola 17). It docked with Tejat 3 ten days later to land in the Midlands. After deploying equipment, the crew drove in the Tejat 2 rover to designated locations as well as an Olivine Formation that could not be analyzed until now. Algieba 5 docked to Tejat 3 Landed in the Midlands Tejat 2 getting samples from an Olivine Formation The lander then lifted off to the west to visit the Lesser Flats, then north towards the Poles, then southeast to the Great Flats. The crew redocked with Algieba 5 on Day 118, returning to Kerbin on Day 131.

You have a very beautiful fleet of inter-orbital vehicles.

[ARA] Y2, D80 - The Algieba 4 capsule docks with the Alhena 3 Mun lander Y2, D82 - Alhena 3 lands in a crater within the larger East Crater The Alhena 2 rover gets samples from a crater (within a crater, within a crater)

Y2, D74 to D86 - Extended Mun landing with crew Y2, D74 - A Blue Giant 1-R launched the Alhena 3 Mun lander (initially without crew), which arrived in a polar Munar orbit on Day 76. It could carry 3 crew (instead of 2 with the first lander), and had extra propellant and Delta-v margins. A polar orbit provided access to almost any location on the Mun, but required waiting for the Mun to rotate before landing at a specific spot. Y2, D78 - Algieba 4 (Handorf, Bobkin, and Jonford) lifted off on a Blue Giant 1-R, docking with Alhena 3 on Day 80. They would wait before landing in the Mun's East Crater on Day 82. There, they planted the flag while the Alhena 2 rover autonomously drove to the landing site. Handorf and Jonford drove to various sites around the local crater (within the larger East Crater), including the rim (going back down required careful maneuvering), and scanned and analyzed various surface features using the robotic arm [Alt+F12 was needed to find surface features as they are virtually impossible to find with all of the Parallax rocks]. After deploying surface science equipment (including a new ion detector), the Alhena 3 lander lifted back into orbit to dock with Algieba 4. They departed the Mun on Day 84 and returned to Kerbin on Day 86. Scanning a Mun Stone (used to evolve Clefairy)

[ARA] Y2, D71 - Blue Giant 1 reusable rocket, 30-40 tonnes to orbit (2.5x scale Kerbin) Y2, D74 - The Alhena 2 Mun rover waits for crew

Y2, D71 to D74 - Bigger reusable rocket and Mun rover Y2, D71 - This was the first launch of the Blue Giant 1 reusable rocket, which was a scaled up (3.75 m diameter) version of the Yellow Dwarf 2 rocket. The launch vehicle used 5 "Iguanadon" methalox engines on the first stage and 1 on the second stage. It could lift up to 30 tonnes to low Kerbin orbit in reusable mode (BG-1-R), and 40 tonnes if expended. . Its first payload was a crewed Mun rover (uncrewed at launch) designated as Alhena 2, which landed in the Mun's East Crater as Day 73 became Day 74, and would wait for the crew to arrive. It had a surface resource scanner and a large robotic arm to analyze any potential features of interest. It could also (in theory) autonomously drive long distances to a new location (using the Bon Voyage mod) so that the same rover could be reused for future missions.

What happened to Skylab was terrible, but at least everyone on STS-2 made it back safely. I can't wait to see how they manage to salvage the station expansion plans.

[ARA] Y2, D50 - Telescopium 2, an infrared telescope designed to detect asteroids and comets Y2, D51 - Algieba 3 (bottom) docks with Regulus 1 station for the first crew rotation