drewscriver

Hypatia II Designed as a relatively low-tech multi-biome science collector, it has detachable science pods and packs an integrated rover to transport them.

I've been trying to build a rover with an integrated materials study bay for a while, and keep running into the same basic problem that I assume a mark 1 inline cockpit would have; 1.25 meter parts just have so little clearance in the mk2 cargo bay that there's virtually no room left over for any wheels. Even using the landing-gear-as-outriggers trick I used in the Hypatia II rover can't quite keep the rover wheels from clipping into either the part or the bay doors.

I was flying my latest science SSTO, the Hypatia II, and unbeknownst to me, one of the intakes had decided that one of my detachable science pods was its root part. Unfortunately, this meant that when I went to actually detach said science pod, intending to haul it off somewhere to gather science, instead.

I've actually been working on a science SSTO for a few weeks now, and just finally finished. Unfortunately, though it's in the spirit of the challenge, it doesn't meet the rules, because I could not figure out a way to incorporate a crew capsule into a rover that can still fit into a cargo bay. Still, I thought you might enjoy seeing my take on the biome hopper concept, the Hypatia II

Time to clutter up the thread again... I just finished work on the Hypatia II, the latest iteration of my science gathering SSTO fleet. My K-prize entry was the shakedown flight to the Mun and back.

Successor to the Hypatia I, the Hypatia II is a couple rungs higher on the tech tree, but has significantly increased capabilities as a result. With the use of docking ports, the Hypatia II has shifted to a modular science-pod system, and packs a rover in the cargo bay capable of transporting the pods to an interesting biome and back. With LV-909s, it is both Munar and Minimus capable. The airframe can handle Duna as well, though I only tried the landing, and not the flight, so I suspect you'd need additional fuel. There is a fair bit of clipping (especially the rover), but I still managed to keep it to 350 parts, so it shouldn't be too CPU-melty. Moderate airhogging at 5 ram intakes per engine, but I added them in careful order, in order to distribute the air evenly among the engines and minimize flame-outs. Unfortunately, when they do eventually happen, the wide positioning of the engines imparts a lot of yaw, so pilots must be vigilant. In-atmospheric flight, the Hypatia II will not turn on a dime, but it's solid and well-behaved. One thing it does have going for it is perfect balance. There is zero distance between the center of mass, and the dry center of mass. Additionally, fuel is drawn evenly from front and rear tanks, so its handling characteristics are stable throughout flight. RCS is perfectly balanced as well, with virtually zero torque when translating (thanks RCS build aid!). The cargo bay is located at the center of mass, so you can leave the rover behind if you like, and it will still handle well. I would advise against ditching the science pods, however, as that will shift the balance. The Hypatia II has a robust crew-escape system, capable of zero-zero, high speed, and even some extra-kerbin saves, thanks to the monopropellant thrusters. Download

I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out. My own Hypatia II is finally finishing it's Munar trial run.

The second version of my science SSTO is nearing completion. The center cargo bay holds a rover that can dock to the 3 detachable science packages up front, to haul them to different biomes.

My entire initial tech thrust was to get turbojets. My next big waypoint is nukes. After that, it should be smooth sailing.

Well, the Hypatia I didn't make much of a splash, but work on the Hypatia II proceeds apace.

Sounds like you're good to go with the challenge, then, though it sounds like dealing with a destroyed space center will be a challenge in itself! I'm looking forwards to seeing your pictures, though.

If you tilt it after launch, you're using flight controls, so that would be disallowed. If you tilt it before launch (and maintain the tilt via launch clamps / enabling SAS), you're fine.

Well, now I feel silly - I misremembered the "The Hands Free Mission Challenge". It should have been Bill, not Bob. D'oh! Yes, my idea for the challenge was in the spirit of this: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/94490-The-Hands-Free-Mission-Challenge With the change that instead of only one button press, you get two (oh, and you're trying to destroy the space center, instead of go to orbit). So maneuvers/piloting do count against your action total, but it's not just limited to staging, because you could use an action group for the same thing (Indeed, thematically, I think use of the 'abort' function would be most appropriate, but I decided against giving it a score modifier). I'll edit the post to be a bit clearer. I'm glad you're interested, and I hope you have a fun time completing the challenge. I found it surprisingly difficult, but persevered until my attempt took out more than just the VAB (otherwise it would've set the bar too low)

The Hypatia I, first of a series of science gathering SSTOs I plan to build. Since it is intended to gather science, I made it as low-tech as I could. The only Tier 6 is the tech for turbojets, and I didn't use many of the lower techs as well. This also had the happy side effect of keeping it under 200 parts. As always, I did my best to keep the COM from shifting during flight, and it ended up being very easy to fly. Intakes and engines were added in a careful order to minimize flameouts. I made a Mun trip for the K-prize challenge, but it's better suited to Minimus. As a tail-sitter, minimus's flatness is a major plus, and the lower gravity would allow you to reposition it and get more science. My munar trip only had enough fuel for one landing site (the rest of the science was orbital), and even then it barely made it back to KSP - I ended up using RCS to drop the periapsis enough for aerocapture. It also has a nice crew escape vehicle. A happy accident, but it has superb flight characteristics. Download link, for anyone interested. I'm now working on #2 in the series.

The Hypatia I, first of a series of science gathering SSTOs I plan to build. Since it is intended to gather science, I made it as low-tech as I could. The only Tier 6 is the tech for turbojets, and I didn't use many of the lower techs as well. This also had the happy side effect of keeping it under 200 parts. My demo trip is a Munar visit (because contracts), but it's better suited to Minimus. As a tail-sitter, minimus's flatness is a major plus, and the lower gravity would allow you to reposition it and get more science. My munar trip only had enough fuel for one landing site (the rest of the science was orbital), and even then it barely made it back to KSP - I ended up using RCS to drop the periapsis enough for aerocapture.

There was good reason for the Hands-free mission challenge - Kerbals and buttons can be a dangerous combination. Challenge: Incur the largest KSP center repair bill with only two button presses. This building repair expense (normalized for difficulty level) will be your score. In the event of a tie, the previous craft wins. Rules: Only two button presses - one action group/stage to launch, and one to escape/make explosions. No other inputs are allowed during flight, though pre-launch adjustments (throttle, SAS, etc) do not count against you. The pilot (or Bob, if he is on the craft) must survive. The pilot must launch with the craft - they cannot remain on the ground. Stock parts only, no cheats, the only mods permitted are ones that do not change part performance. Craft can launch from either the launch pad or the runway. Score Modifiers: Bob onboard: +1% if Bob is on the craft Plausible deniability: +10% if the craft could have had a legitimate function Even Bill could do it: +25% if you manage to pull it off with only one button When calculating the total, remember to factor out the difficulty level you are making the attempt at - building costs in hard are 4x that of easy. My example attempt scored 283 960 for the VAB 160 for mission control +1% for having Bob onboard Difficulty: hard, so divide by 4 to get the base value. Unfortunately the radar dish does not contribute to the total, as the facility was still functional afterwards, so no repair cost was given (If someone has a cost list for all the minor buildings, I may consider including them) Leaderboard: 1) 283 - Drewscriver 2) 3) 4) 5) Have fun!

Would take 'the floor is now lava' to a whole new level

Huh. Interesting investigation, and very neat craft.

Lol, thanks. I still have the save file of the re-entry attempt, so maybe one of these days I'll give it another whirl. I've actually been tempted to post it as a challenge, except I suspect it may not be possible to succeed...

Cool craft - the detachable aero section reminds me a bit of the Changeling. I'll be interested to see how you develop the concept further.

I was having this same problem, but was afraid to ask for help because my install wasn't completely stock. The same solution worked, though, so thanks!

Yeah, part counts are one of my weak points - sorry. I'll see if I can make a pass to cut out a few, but there's only so much I can do before it comes to eliminating features.

The Changeling? Yes, all stock - it's taking advantage of the flexing of the structural pylon part. The trick is that the pylon will randomly flex at either end, so I had to make two sets of docking ports as latches, so it would stay connected regardless of which way the physics decide to go.

Thanks! That ship was one of my Changelings: Forum thread: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/56700-The-Changeling The one in the picture ran afoul of a bug; after I showed off the wing opening/closing ability to a friend, for some reason the ports wouldn't re-dock, but I couldn't get them to open, either... So I decided 'what the hell, I'll try re-entering anyhow'. Anticipating such an outcome, I did loft a space station for the sole purpose of offloading the crew first, so there were no casualties. Also, the destruction wasn't quite total.