Meithan

Uhm, my lander design has all aerospikes and I just happen to have a quick save with it at Eve's surface ...

Now SpaceX can claim another successful launch. Congratulations to the team!

Yep, impressive record so far. I hope they keep it up. And this launch is still not 100% done, there's still the second stage restart to put the payload in GTO (in about 10 minutes), and then payload separation.

Ziv is the one who has to answer that of course, but I'd say that all challenges such as this one should be temporarily on hold until they are adjusted for 1.0. This update just changed too many things.

I've been adding additional support to some parts using small paper strips cut from the leftovers. Works really well. Don't know if this is what people do.

Isn't this the nozzle? The LV-909 has a short nozzle.

Thanks a lot! Yep, it'll probably get a few days to get reviewed, but I can wait. And of course I will also be flinging Valentina on such trajectories while I wait .

Yes, from your Mk3 pictures I was under the impression that was a much heavier paper. Very nice. A normal printer is still good with that? Do you cut it with an x-acto knife? Any tricks for bending/rolling such heavy paper? Remember I'm still learning here, so tricks are very welcome. Also, I've been using toothpicks and an UHU-like transparent glue, but that applicator looks handy.

Hi! Here's, finally, my really-very-last-minute entry for the challenge, posted mere hours before 1.0 was out: My Eve Rocks Challenge mission report I hope it's still admissible! I would love to be in the official club of those who beat this challenge when it was still very difficult. Here's a very quick summary of the mission: Eve Lander: 83.7 tonnes, 155 parts Eve Lander with capacity for one pilot (Jeb, of course) 8-stage asparagus design based on aerospike engine 10706 m/s total vacuum delta-v Designed for Eve ascent from 2000 m ASL Aimed for a 18 km-wide flat area west of the main impact crater Parachute landing with brief engine assist Mass-optimized design: cutting corners wherever possible Launched to LKO separately, before transfer vehicle On launch vehicle: 538 tonnes, 280 parts at launch Eve Transfer Vehicle 53.1 tonnes, 76 parts tug to transfer lander to Eve 2094 m/s when mated to the Eve Lander Puller design based on high-efficiency LV-N engine Launched separately and rendezvous with lander in LKO Launch vehicle: 312 tonnes, 172 parts at launch Discarded in Eve atmosphere after deorbit burn Combined lander + tug specs (in LKO parking orbit): 136.7 tonnes, 242 parts Includes return capsule Return Capsule: One-man return capsule with 2000 m/s delta-v Separates from ship before landing and remains in Eve orbit Final ascent stage rendezvous with return capsule, Kerbal EVAs. Capsule aerocaptures at Kerbin and lands on single parachute Thanks a lot for your reviewing effort!

Literally hours before KSP 1.0 is released and the Eve Rocks Challenge suddenly becomes much easier very different, I decided to finally submit my entry to what is (was) definitely one of the most difficult feats in KSP. Mission Overview The mission is based on a two-component spacecraft: an 8-stage one-man heavy lander, and a tug to take it to Eve. A small return capsule allows the kerbal to return to Kerbin. ---------------------- Eve Lander 83.7 t, 155 parts Eve Lander with capacity for one pilot (Jeb, of course) 8-stage asparagus design based on aerospike engine 10706 m/s total vacuum delta-v Designed for Eve ascent from 2000 m ASL Parachute landing with brief engine assist Mass-optimized design: cutting corners wherever possible Launched to LKO separately; 538 t at launch Cost (including launcher): 355,881 funds ---------------------- Eve Transfer Vehicle (ETV) 53.1 t, 78 parts tug to transfer lander to Eve 2094 m/s when mated to the Eve Lander Puller design based on high-efficiency LV-N engine Rendezvous with lander in LKO; 302 t at launch Discarded in Eve atmosphere after deorbit burn Includes one-man return capsule with 2000 m/s delta-v Cost (including launcher): 227,401 funds ---------------------- Target landing site I selected an equatoiral landing site on the western rim of Eve's most prominent impact crater. The primary selection criterion was its altitude: between 2300 and 2700 m ASL, which is ideal for my lander design. Second was its flatness: according to Kerbal maps, the surrounding area has slopes no more than 5°. It's also wide, spanning 18 km, which gives room for error. ---------------------- Mods used: MechJeb 2 (only for info screens and maneuver node fine-tuning, no autopilots) Kerbal Alarm Clock Environmental Visual Enhancements + Astronomer's Pack Docking Port Alignment Indicator HotRockets! Blizzy's Toolbar Texture Replacer + Rareden's Real 8k Skybox Trajectories (for aerobraking and landing guidance) ---------------------- I've collected the rest of the details in a series of imgur albums below. MechJeb info screens were left open throughout to show vital information required for challenge validation. ---------------------- ---------------------- ---------------------- ---------------------- ---------------------- ---------------------- Thanks a lot for reading / watching!

It's looking great, MoffKalast! I'm curious: what paper/cardboard are you using? I've been using 120 g/m^2 bond paper (80 lb Text I think it's called).

Is it too late? I'm planning on submitting my entry tonight! I had to redo the whole mission because my old 0.2x save doesn't play well with 0.90 (and the footage from my first succesful attempt does not meet all the requirements of the challenge). I got the ship in low Eve orbit ready for the landing. Sneak peek:

Thanks a lot! I loved doing the little details on the LV-T30, it took me a whole sunday afternoon (that exhaust tube was hard to roll!). While the result is not bad, it still has room for improvement. I just need better tools (such as some kind of device to hold small pieces while I work on them with both hands) and to hone my skills. Are you gonna try it, MoffKalast? I've never built a Mk3 shuttle in the game, so I have no reference model.

It's finished! The rocket is not very original because I just wanted to do a simple rocket for practice. Keep in mind this is my first papercraft model, so don't be too hard . I also glued the decoupler upside down at the last minute >_<. Next project will be my Mun service module / lander combo.

I don't know if this is how it's supposed to work, but I cut the "interior" to match the conic curvature of the pod, and glued it on the inside opposite the door (on the inside of the capsule, of course). Hope this diagram helps: The end result is that it gives a dark background to the kerbal inside, instead of the white of the paper: (Don't mind my lousy papercraft skills, it's my first time!) Edit: while I'm at it, I also glued the controls "in front" of the kerbal, like this:

Just Read the Instructions spotted being towed! Still too far to see the extense of the damage. It's going south though, not towards the river mouth where JAX port is. Where are they taking it?

OK, I'm a bit tired but I could produce a plot of Maximum tilt angle vs. center of gravity height, based on the leg figures we found. The CG height is measured here vertically from the base of the legs (i.e. ground). Click for larger image. It's hard to conclude anything without better CG height info. But if it's above about 25 m from the leg base, the maximum tilt is about 20°. It's not a lot.

From this picture of F9R I estimated that the rocket body-leg angle is about 115° when deployed, so the angle the legs make with the ground is about 35°. The legs extend about 3.3 m vertically from the base of the cylinder, and they extend about 7.2 m horizontally from the rocket body (so that 7.2 + 3.6 + 7.2 ~ 18 m).

Alright, that should be enough info to get us started. Assuming the engines+legs mass (490*9+2100) ~ 6500 kg is located at the lower end of the cylindrical section, I get a CG about 15.2 m from the base level of the legs (when deployed). Sounds a bit too high. I think our estimated tank section mass (18000 - 6500 = 11500 kg) is too big. I'm betting the engine cluster weighs considerably more than 4.4 tons when including structural supports and other parts.

Yes, that's a good point. But we can still start doing the estimation assuming no RCS, then see how it changes with various levels of RCS. Do you know the exact leg base width?

I've been replaying the last moments before touchdown over and over and I'm getting the feeling that when the engine shuts down (you can tell by the shape of the exhaust plume / steam cloud and, if you look closely, by the glow of the engine on the rocket body itself) the F9 is still moving a bit horizontally (to the right/back in the video), then stops and remains momentarily "standing" on one or maybe two legs, but tilted so its CG is outside the leg base, and so it tips over to the left. Do we know the approximate height of the CG? We could estimate the maximum angle that a F9 standing on two legs could make with the vertical and not tip over.

Elon Musk suggested on Twitter yesterday that they would release the barge video after the ASDS gets back to port, which should happen in the next 24 hours or so.

Aaargh, I got carried away in my excitement and thought it'd be alright to post it since SpaceFlightNow shared it on Twitter. Sorry, deleting post!

Longer video (with better quality too) just posted by SpaceX!! Just look at it fighting to remain vertical (and yes, those are indeed the cold nitrogen thrusters at the end)!! EDIT: video not public yet (and apparently taken down shortly after I posted), so I am removing the link. Let's hope they make it public very soon. For those who did not see it: it was absolutely awesome! They were so, so close!

What's that movement in the last moments of the video then? To me, it looks like the barge dips a little and then tips the stage to the left. I'm afraid I have to side with Frozen_Heart on this: I don't think a 20 tons rocket will noticeably budge an 1000-tons barge which has a carrying capacity ten times that. The movement you speak of must be simply that the rocket still did not have full control authority and was fighting to remain vertical. It's hard to judge exactly where the deck is due to the engine exhaust impinging on it. We'll have to wait for the video taken from the barge and see.