Eve Rocks Challenge report

[Meithan]

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.

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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
  

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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
  

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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.

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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)
  

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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.

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Thanks a lot for reading / watching!

Edited April 30, 2015 by Meithan

[Mister Dilsby]

Nicely done! We'll see you over on the Eve Rocks challenge thread, there may be a wait for adjudication as I expect all the reviewers will be spending the afternoon and evening flinging Valentina into suborbital trajectories on the new "Flea" mini-SRB...

[Meithan]

Nicely done! We'll see you over on the Eve Rocks challenge thread, there may be a wait for adjudication as I expect all the reviewers will be spending the afternoon and evening flinging Valentina into suborbital trajectories on the new "Flea" mini-SRB...

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 .