Land the biggest Lunar Module

[VincentMcConnell]

Basically take the biggest Lunar Module you can and land it on the mun. Here\'s the catch, the ascent stage must be TINY and the descent stage must be HUGE! Your LM could work as a later Mun base. The contest will end on May 15th.

[Spearka]

lets set a benchmark

theres a bigtrak for comparison

[VincentMcConnell]

This is not very big, but it\'s the beginning of a permanent mun base... Guess what I\'m calling it? Trankwility base. LOL!

Anyway, here\'s the first LM in a series of bases and fuel tanks and supplies that will be placed in this area as a permanent base. You can see Kerbin from it, too.

[Houston we have a problem]

this looks fun, personaly i can only just get a cart there, let alone a mun base. and also,

The contest will end on March 15th.

i assume you mean May?

[VincentMcConnell]

this looks fun, personaly i can only just get a cart there, let alone a mun base. and also, i assume you mean May?

Yeah, woops, that\'s what I meant. I noticed your username. You know the real quote was, 'Houston we\'ve had a problem.', right?

[Trekkin]

Two questions, if I may:

1. Is Mechjeb allowed?

2. Must the module land intact?

[r4m0n]

Uh, not all rockets apply, but mine at least should, from this thread:

We are going for height else than general 'bigness', and stock only... But close enough 8)

[VincentMcConnell]

Two questions, if I may:

1. Is Mechjeb allowed?

2. Must the module land intact?

Yes and Yes.

[Excalibur]

Excalibur Exoatmospheric Proudly Presents:

EE Moar Lander Mk I

Originally drawn in 1:48 scale by Bob in his childhood, Jeb fell in love with the Moar design and promptly built this prototype. However a decades old coffee stain turned 1:48 into 1:480 and the behemoth was born. Despite its mass, the Moar Lander handles like a pussycat once in Munar space; MechJeb has no trouble performing a pinpoint landing with this vehicle.

• 
  [li]Built around KW 3x12m LFT Core[/li]
  [li]Eight inflatable BACE modules[/li]
  [li]Launch Mass: approx. 1400 tonnes[/li]
  [li]Fueled Lander Mass: 217 tonnes[/li]
  [li]Munar Landing Mass: approx. 150 tonnes[/li]
  

Warning: Some of the pictures that follow may contain clues as to the location of Munoliths. Proceed with caution!

EDIT: Oh how I facepalmed when I re-read your challenge and realised I\'d neglected to include an ascent pod ???. Serves me right for playing in the early hours! I guess I could go back and put a motor beneath that space elevator...

[Thobewill10]

That is one sexy lander.

[boyercam]

Warning: Some of the pictures that follow may contain clues as to the location of Munoliths. Proceed with caution!

How did you get the location details for that?

[Excalibur]

How did you get the location details for that?

I used the Muon Detector plugin. Follow the beeeps and you\'re home and dry

[Trekkin]

Here\'s my first attempt; I may re-engineer this, but for now I just like how it looks:

That\'s 64 fuel tanks, incidentally. I don\'t know how to determine the size though.

[VincentMcConnell]

That\'s 64 fuel tanks, incidentally. I don\'t know how to determine the size though.

Dang. Nice LM!

[cutterjohn]

Ooh, I made a heavy freight rocket that would qualify for this. Its designed to bring massive loads to the munar surface.

The trick is.. that large tank? Thats completely full. 30 tons of fuel, baby! ~36 or 37 tons for the total lander mass at touchdown. 8)

[Trekkin]

I checked the mass on mine. ~51 tons on Munar touchdown.

[Crass]

No mods.

[Excalibur]

Nice, tidy looking lander.

You\'ve inspired me to try something with stock parts. Only thing is my PC doesn\'t really seem to like large stock ships due to the high part count. Wouldn\'t mind but it\'s not a bad spec PC either!

[Trekkin]

Nice, Crass. It seems like large bundles of 4 fuel tanks on one LFE are the way forward on this.

[Crass]

Indeed, the initial rocket for this is incredibly big, and makes my new PC stutter quit a bit, with a 50/50 chance of randomly exploding or keeling over for no reason. But if it stays straight its actually pretty simple to fly. I basically just started with a simple launcher and lander design, and kept adding more boosters and tweaking it so it would work. My original intention was just to land the little rocket on top, but I was able to land with 2 extra stages. I don\'t know the exact numbers or how efficient this design is, its probably terrible, but you can easily reach kerbol escape velocity with it.

Heres some more pics of the full rocket itself. http://imgur.com/a/vTyps

[Trekkin]

I can see how it\'d have that effect. Mine is as big taking off as it is landing, and I still have considerable lag.

That\'s an insanely cool rocket, though. I love the cluster SRBs.