[MOD: INTERSTELLAR] KD: Jool in a Week

[ihtoit]

If you don't have KSPI installed, don't even bother reading this challenge, because you're going to *need it*.

OPTIONAL: IXS Enterprise parts pack

I'll keep this short and sweet: as part of the development of an Interstellar Race Series, you are challenged with the following: Design, build and deploy a mission to put a manned craft in orbit around Jool.

MISSION PARAMETERS:

- Craft must be launched on a single launcher. No orbital assembly.

- Craft must hold at least FIVE Kerbals.

- Craft must be able to not only make orbit around Jool, it must also be able to return to Kerbin orbit without refuelling.

- No refuelling. What you leave the pad with, is what you have to complete the challenge.

- Any parts mod valid.

- Chemical engines *must* consume fuel.

- Normal exploits rules (ie none) apply. No infinite fuel, unbreakable joints, welding, or hackgravity.

- Jool orbit must fall within +/-5% of the following track: 9,000km circular at 0 degrees inclination.

- At least one complete orbit is required.

- Return station around Kerbin is 500km at 0 degrees inclination (+/-5%).

PROOF:

Mission start (on pad) (MET clock START)

Kerbin initial orbit

Transfer stage

Jool insertion

Jool orbit start} To determine whether or not you have actually completed an orbit

Jool orbit end }

Return transfer

Kerbin orbit (MET clock END)

Score is your Mission Elapsed Time.

So far I've calculated a perfect Jool transfer takes a little over 6 days at 0.1c (after loading up on exotics), and then you have about 16km/s to burn off to make orbit - or you're interstellar.

My SSE Racer, Mk.III (I'm being honest, this is the third try - the other two are in interstellar space out of fuel, out of power, full of Kerbals and pretty much irretrievable). Now working on a MK.IV because this one ended up in an elliptical orbit around Jool (9,000kmx238,000km) then ran out of fuel!

(out of interest, anyone know if this forum parses html table tags correctly?)

Edited March 2, 2015 by ihtoit

[sdj64]

What, exactly, do you *need* KSPI for? Besides the fact that a KSPI entry will beat most entries without it. But there are some mods that can compete, like the USI standalone warp drive (which would easily beat 6 days) and I'm sure there are other mods with non-warp engines OP enough to give travel speeds of around 0.1c like your ship.

The mission itself is possible in stock if you're okay with times of a few hundred to 1000 days.

The forum supports tables, not sure about html but you can find the built in table feature in the advanced editor.

[table=width: 500, class: grid]

[tr]

[td] 1 [/td]

[td] 2 [/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]3[/td]

[td]4[/td]

[/tr]

[tr]

[td]5[/td]

[td]6[/td]

[/tr]

[/table]

[ihtoit]

because this is a speed run (with the exception of the orbits), you're not going to do a 6 day transfer on chemical engines. If there're other Alcubierre type drives out there that could complete this challenge, I'd like to see them because the only one I'm aware of is KSPI. Apart from that, you're going to do 0.1c on chemical rockets, turn around and decelerate to orbital speed using the same engines?? I doubt it, the amount of fuel needed would be beyond ridiculous.

Edited March 2, 2015 by ihtoit