Death Engineering

Konstellation Space Program Update Now that a Munar Outpost has been established, proving the Orion spacecraft for deep space missions, a crew of 5 kerbals were launched on a flyby mission to Duna. The crew were launched on an Ares V/EDS with the Orion capsule in a single launch and passed within 5000km of Duna. The crew took a good look at the frozen icecap then ditched the EDS stage before using the Orion SM engine to get into a Kerbin encounter. After their 130 day mission, the crew returned safely to Kerbin. The valuable data acquired on this mission will help finalize the design of the Duna Lander. In other news, the Munar rover design is almost ready for delivery to the Munar Outpost. This last launch to this outpost will complete the first outpost mission objectives. The next outpost will be delivered to the Mun's large crater at it's northern pole. Duna Orion Flyby

Wait... Cooking up something now, but won't be ready for at least 2 weeks.

Interesting.. I like it! Extra points for historical accuracy? j/k.. http://news.discovery.com/space/tantalizing-signs-of-soviet-era-mars-lander-found-by-nasa-probe-130415.htm

I might take a run at a Falcon X, but the Ares V style lifter I developed is capable of lifting anything reasonable I should need. I designed them to be functionally similar and with similar capability to the real versions... not as much into capturing the exact appearance, though. Update to my KP1 mission: The crew of three burned their EDS to Duna orbit, but I messed up with the timing on the last Oberth-lap (which took almost 2 days to complete around Kerbin). Duna moved out of the optimal window and I had to burn way more fuel in the EDS than I would have liked. Not exactly sure I can get the package into orbit and then back to Kerbin later with the fuel. Thinking I might have to send another EDS out there on the next Duna window, without the CSM/LM, to bring the crew home.

I looked briefly at science in sandpit but I did not see any points or ways of reporting what science was done on a mission. If there is, I need to look again. So, for now, I'll leave the "science" points in this challenge will remain unchanged. That lifter is a monster.. I bet you could carry my Ares V on it! Looking good! The pic off the side of the SRB gives a great realistic look.

Since this is also now the "What do YOU think of 0.22" I'll throw in my two-bits.. 1. Not sure why there is no 'science' scoring in sandbox. I get "the tech tree doesn't need to be unlocked, so why score it?" argument, but I am not seeing a reason to not track the effort of doing science in sandbox. IMHO, this should be addressed in an update. 2. Whatever has been done with SAS is clearly an improvement, at least with my spacecraft. This was immediately apparent when I launched a rocket with 5 Mainsails and forgot to disable the gimballing on the 4 outboard engines. In 0.21 this rocket would sway and was difficult to fly without disabling the gimbals, but in this version the rocket is very stable with gimballing enabled on all engines. 3. Lovin' it.

I have a Saturn V that is well-balanced for Apollo-style missions but it didn't have enough lifting power to bring this Duna package to orbit; had to burn too much of the S-IVB to be useful for trans-Duna injection. However, it did make for a perfect vehicle to test the mission in LKO. Perhaps I'll boost the delta-V in the S5 style lifter and see if that works... Duna Hardware Test Mission to LKO

Konstellation Space Program Update The first two steps to a Munar Outpost have been made. The Altair Outpost Variant landed in shallow crater near the equator on a robotic launch. Shortly after, an Altair Lander on Ares V/EDS and crew launch on Orion/Ares I performed a crewed landing less than 30m from the Munar outpost. After having a look about, three of the four landing crew boarded the ascent stage. The fourth kerbal remained at the outpost to watch the temperature gauge. Having completed a Munar docking at 150km with the CM, the crew transferred to the CM and successfully returned to Kerbin. Looking towards Duna, another Ares V launched an Orion 5 on an EDS bound for Duna. The Duna burn went well and the mission will fly within 5000 km of Duna in 62 days.

I wonder if the effort for science points in sandbox is saved in the persistent file somewhere.. ?

Kaprikorn Un The SRB's (12 of them in two 6-engine clusters) fire at launch and assist the main stage which raises the Duna package to about 65km Pe. The second liquid stage raises and circularizes the orbit and also performs the Duna intercept burn. There should be about 100 m/s delta V left in the TDI stage for the CM to return to Kerbin as long as the aerocapture goes well. I don't use any mods to give exact performance stats, but pretty sure getting back to Kerbin shouldn't be a problem, but it will be on fumes. After taking a brief look at 0.22's career mode, I literally just launched this mission to LKO but on a save that has two other missions that require attention before the Duna window (year 2, day 280). Thanks for posting this challenge. I like the level of freedom you have given to implement the goals.

Or make the IAS like a "lite" version of the Large Advanced S.A.S Module. Then again, I may be completely off base what the IAS really does. Does the IAS operate control surfaces and RCS to maintain heading?

General question to those doing/considering this challenge: Is the "science" in 0.22's sandbox relevant enough to warrant a re-do of the "Science" points in this challenge?

I didn't intend on jumping into 0.22 immediately either, but when I loaded KSP up after work yesterday it was just there. I probably wouldn't even have noticed except for all the new buildings. Even the rocket that I left on the pad while messing with fuel lines was still there. It will be SO NICE to not have to re-strut and re-string fuel lines on my saved sub-assemblies! Looks like a good start to this challenge. Hope your fuel distribution gets worked out for your lifter!

In my first walk through of the new parts while in sandbox, there doesn't appear to be any changes that would affect how this challenge is completed. I'll leave it as-is and mark it "0.22 Approved" but will put footnotes on entries completed in 0.22. If you want to take another run at the challenge, I'll post the score.

Just finished the CSM/LM and rover for this mission. It seems to have loaded into 0.22 VAB so I'll make it my first mission in the new version. I'm using my Ares V design which is 2STO but uses two clusters of SRB's as well. Career mode can wait.. I'm off to Duna!

Hehe.. you should put nosecoses on all the command pods on your Scorpion CM! j/k

Fixed nose cones in what way?

Konstellation Space Program Update The Orion 5 flew its first official crew exchange mission to the space station. Four new crew arrived and four went home. The Orion performed flawlessly. In Munar landing news, the production version of the Altair Landing Module (above) is ready for testing. It was launched robotically on an Ares V without the EDS and was joined later by the Landing Module test crew aboard an Orion 5 spacecraft launched on an Ares I. The crew docked to the LM then used the LM's main engine to boost the altitude to 130km. After two crew members transferred to the Altair, it was undocked and flown 104km away from the Orion crew capsule. The crew then performed several inclination changes with the main engine before dropping the descent stage and sending it into a Kerbin re-entry trajectory. After flying the ascent stage back to the CM and docked with it, the crew transferred back to the CM and jettisoned the ascent stage into a Kerbin re-entry trajectory. This test completes the Kerbin orbital tests of the LM, paving the way for Munar landings! In the next update, a Munar landing will be attempted with an Outpost Variant of the Altair to be joined later by four crew aboard an Altair lander. These two landings will begin the process of setting up the first of three planned Munar Outposts. Also, an Orion 5 Block II aboard an Ares V/EDS will be launched on a Duna flyby. This mission will take the crew of 5 within 5km of Duna, but will not orbit, and then return to Kerbin. LM Test:

Indeed! Thanks for the catch. Added "*" to denote a mod-entry.

Massive score! Massive rocket! Definitely a lot of "mission" packed into that one launch. Great photography, too. And you even got aero-effects cutting through Duna's wispy-thin atmosphere - very cool. I just recently noticed the huge mass savings to be had with dual single-crew lander pods over the two/three crew pods. I am working on one as well, sandwiching them together between structural adapters. Blazing to the top of the leaderboard, BlazeFallow with 329 Points! Going to be a tough score to beat, I think.

It is a big effort just to do the basics of the mission. And you hadn't done a Mun landing when you started? Krazy! Looking forward to your report.

As OP of the Duna Apollo Style, I think this challenge is unique enough with kethane and lifesupport to stand on its own. I might even have a craft file that can do this mission....

Great looking mod crafts! Your Gemini reminded me of the X-24 lifting body. Very cool! Points for the LES/recovery also awarded. That was the plan.. hehe. New high score!

Konstellation Program Update The Ares I and V boosters were recently used to test the Orion space capsule's LES and deep-space mission capability. These un-crewed flights completed the development of the Orion 5 crew capsule, which will be used for further Orion missions. A second version of the Orion SM with higher delta-v is also available and may be selected based on mission requirements. To test deep-space flight and to perform a high-speed re-entry, the Ares V and EDS boosted an Orion 5 on a free-return Munar flyby. The un-crewed capsule passed within 15km of the Munar surface and entered into a steep dive towards Kerbin. The re-entry peaked at 41.7 g's and the Orion capsule was recovered successfully in shallow water. In space station news, a robotically controlled Orion 5 was launched to the four crew aboard the space station. This capsule will serve as a life-raft/return vehicle for the crew. The next launch to the station will be the first crewed mission on the Orion capsule. Turning attention to the Mun landing, a prototype Altair lander and Altair Outpost are nearly ready for testing. Early design images suggest a large lander with four seats on the descent stage and four more on the ascent stage. The Outpost has even more seats, with room for 7.

Thanks! Looking forward to seeing your mission report. Heh.. Well, I struggled with how to carry out the "OP submission" rule while keeping to the intended flavor of the challenge to move it along as a developing space program. The "sketch" of mission hardware was my solution, but PS is too high-tech for me. I just messed with settings in IMGUR. Got it, thanks for the catch. Leaderboard updated and three very "solid" entries! Design capi3101 - 23 steffen_anywhere - 16 Bioman222 - 8 Mission capi3101 - 2 Bioman222 - 1 steffen_anywhere - 1 Science