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The Apollo Applications Program: 1.0 Edition

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Xeldrak

Xeldrak

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The eleventh manned mission in the Odin space program, the sixth to land on the Mun and the second to land in the munar highlands: Odin XVII

The last of the so-called "J missions," it was crewed by CDR Eugene A. Kerman, MMP Harrison H. Kerman and CMP Ronald E. Kerman. This was the first flight into space of the third Odin crew.

The proven Sleipnir V booster worked flawlessly as always during the ascend. After putting the spacecraft into an 99km x 109km orbit around Kerbin, the S-II stage and the shroud was jettisoned and the crew started system checks. By now all procedures were optimized and well tested, so the crew could fire the S-IVB stage just 39 minutes into the flight to put them on a transmunar trajectory. About ten minutes after completing the burn, the CSM separated from the remaining stack. CMP Ronald E. Kerman first turned the CSM around and docked it to the MEM and then extracted it, using the CSM RCS. With the S-IVB stage gone everything was set up for their cruise to the Mun. CDR Eugene Kerman had prepared some snacks while Ronald did the docking.

As usual, one day later the crew fired up the SPS to enter a munar orbit. Due to Odin 17's specific trajectory Kerbin was in view of the spacecraft for the first time during this maneuver. CDR Eugene Kerman and MMP Harrin Kerman didn't waste a lot of time and as soon as all post-burn checks were completed started to prepare the MEM. Once undocked and at a safe distance Gene fired the descend engine and lowered the MEM's orbit. Just fifteen minutes after undocking Harry and Gene started the final approach and a few minutes later the two Kerbonauts touched down safely at one end of the Litwack valley.

After their first snacks on the munar surface Gene an Harry donned their space suits and prepared to deploy the MRV. Once it's systems where checked, they deployed the OMSEPs at some distance from the MEM. Time for the obligatory PR picture. Harry set up the flag and the two kerbonauts posed for a few pictures in front of it. Now, that all the menial tasks around the MEM were complete, it was time for the fun part: Gene and Harry mounted the MRV and headed for the Litwack valley.

Two of the MRV's tires ruptured during the landing in the valley. So, while Gene repaired the wheels, Harry went out and collected several samples from the valley ground and walls. Once the MRV was again fit for duty, the two Kerbonauts drove to the far end of the valley. Having collected several more samples, they left the valley to head for Sherlock. The ascend was tedious and just like their predecessors Harry and Gene lamented the lack of torque of the MRV. Nonetheless they soon after entered the giant Sherlock crater. The first stop was near the central hill, where this time Gene would head out while Harry took care of the wheels. From there they headed to a ridge inside Sherlock, formed by a smaler, overlaping crater. Both Kerbals dismounted to inspect the soil befor they took the MRV to the far edge of Sherlock.

They left Sherlock through it's far side and headed back to the MEM following the craters curved rim. Harry, a professional geologist insisted to inspect two big indentations, one on the ridge of Shelock and the other one on the ridge of the neighboring Minkowski crater. So the two Kerbonauts stopped and took a few samples at both locations before they descended into the Minkowski crater and crossed it to return to the MEM. They made only a quicl stop inside Minkowski to collect samples and therefore made good time and soon left the crater, with the MEM comming into view.

Once Gene and Harry had arrived at the MEM, they took their collected samples and entered the lander. Here they spent some time bagging and labeling the diverse samples. With this done, they called it a day and munched a few snack before taking a good, long nap.

Gene and Harry woke up after several hours of napping and started to prepare for their second EVA. Their trip would lead them through the Arthur crater. Once they had eaten their breakfast snacks they donned their spacesuits and left the MEM. After a quick check of the MRV Gene and Harry set out toward Arthur. Since they planed to visit the central terrace of the crater, they drove uphill along Arthur's rim instead of heading right into it.

On their way to the highest point in the imediate surroundings, they stoped a few times to collect samples along the ridges of Athur, Emory and Cayley. Close to the top Harry insisted on a sample of a rather large rock that hung right on the edge of the cliff that the crater by now formed. So, while Harry took the sample, Gene stayed behind in the MRV. This way he could use it to recue his fellow kerbonaut if he should drop into the crater. At least that is what Gene said.

At the top of the mountain Gene gently and carefully drove the MRV over the cliff and into the crater, never losing contact to the ground. At mission control Valentina merely scoffed, dropped her headset and left the room. However, once over the edge the MRV started to accelerate to over 30 m/s, rolling down the almost vertical slope. On the central terrace Gene swung the MRV around and performed a power slide while stopping it. Just as they had planned Gene and Harry came to a halt right on the central terrace inside Arthur, where they dismounted to collect several samples.

Once done and back on the MRV it was time for the second drop. Gene approached the slope that lead into the base of Arthur carefully, once again sticking firmly to the ground. But once over the edge he put the pedal to the metal. When they dropped into a smaller crater in the base of arthur, the MRV lost it's front wheels. Therefore Gene balanced it on it's back wheels while he used the remaining momentum to get out of the crater.

When the MRV came to a stop outside crater the Kerbonauts replaced the tires and headed back to the MEM. On their trip they collected a few more samples along the ridges of Arthur and Emory. Back at MEM Gene and Harry packed their collected samples, transfered them into the MEM and called it a day. The trip was rather short, but uphill trips put a real strain on the MRV and they need some fuel left EVA 3.

Therefore Gene and Harry bagged the samples that they had and took care of a few more snacks.

After a good, long nap Harry and Gene where ready for EVA 3. They planned to inspect the mysterious cluster of indentations nearby, the edges of Galahad, Lancelot and Klein, aswell as venture into the Pita Flats to collect samples. But first it was time for breakfast. The two Kerbonauts ate their morning snacks, drank some juice and then started to prepare for EVA 3. Once their spacesuits where donned and the MEM was depressurized, Gene opened the hatch and the two kerbonaut left the MEM. They straped themselves to the MRV and set out for the cluster.

It was just a short drive to the cluster, where Harry got off the MEM and started to collect several samples. He wanted to stay longer at this formation but time was an issue, therefore had to return to Gene, who was waiting at the MRV. Once back on the vehicle, Gene drove toward the thin ridge that separates Galahad and Lancelot. Having stopped right between the two big craters Harry dismounted again. The MRV batteries needed to recharge, so he used the time to collect more samples. As soon as the MRV was fully charged Gene and Harry moved on. They followed Galahands curvature toward the Pita flats. Thanks to the level terrain they got ahead quickly and could spend more time with some rocks on the Pita Flats. With several nice samples in their bags, they headed back towards the MEM. The path lead them to the rim of Klein where they collected their last samples. The trip back to the MEM went smoothly and with only 3.5% fuel left in the MRV upon return they really used it to all it's capacity on this mission.

With all their samples bagged and labeled inside the MEM, Gene and Harry prepared for liftoff. Once all checklists where completed and the CSM was in the right position, Gene stared the launch sequence. With all connections to the descend module cut the ascend engine fired and propelled them into the black, munar sky. Even with a maneuver to change the orbital plane, Gene approached the CSM mere 30 minutes after liftoff. Once the crew was reunited, they moved all the samples and experiments from the MEM to the CSM. With everything removed they jettisoned the MEM, leaving it to crash into the munar surface.

The final task of Odin 17 in munar orbit was the deployment of the subsatellite. Ronald had trained this extensively in the simulator. He opened the CSM instrument bay and launched the satellite. With a small push from it's engine it slowly drifted out of the bay into munar orbit. The satellite automatically extended it's antennas and started to transmit data. When Ronald was sure the satellite had successfully activated, the crew started to prepare for their burn to leave the munar sphere of influence.

During the burn the SPS worked flawlessly and put Odin 17 on it's desired path, back to Kerbin. With everything done the crew snuggled into their couch while they fell back towards Kerbin. When the capsule was close to Kerbin's amosphere the SM was dropped and the capsule plunged into the atmosphere. After a few minutes engulved in hot plasma the parachutes deployed and the capsule safefly splashed down soon afterwards.

This concludes Phase 1 of the munar exploration program. But the Odin team plans to revisit our distant comapnion in the near future.

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Xeldrak

Xeldrak

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@MailletC Thanks - it was quite a lot of work ;) Also, you're right - once you've been to the Mun a dozen times, LKO is a piece of cake.

The first space station of the Odin program: Asgard

It is a convesion of a S-IVB stage and includes a docking adapter, a small space habitat and a workshop area. It was launched by an unmanned, modified Sleipnir V rocket. Using only the S-IC and S-II stages, it was put into and 122km x 122 km orbit around Kerbin. Once in space the solar cells deployed to provide energy to the station and soon after the OTM (Odin Telescope Mount) undocked and was moved from it's launch position to it's final position an the docking adapter.Asgard station is now ready for it's first visitors.

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Xeldrak

Xeldrak

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Hmm...didn't realized when I did my 1000th post :(

The first manned mission to Asgard, the first Odin program space station: Asgard 2 (AG 2)

Val, Bob and Bill finally got back into space! This time they launched onboard a Sleipnir IB rocket, the first one launched since Odin VII, to board the Asgard space station. The well tested booster worked flawlessly and put the crew into orbit as planned. Just 43 minutes after launch veteran pilot Valentina Kerman docked the CSM to the station and the kerbonauts could begin to transfer equipment into the station.

Several days into the mission Bill had to do a EVA to retrieve a film from the OTM and replace it with new one. The remaining time on the space station was spent productively, conducting experiments, eating snacks and taking naps. But after 26 days the Crew had to return. They transfered all the equipment they were supposed to bring back to Kerbin into the capsule, switched off the light and undocked.

After drifting away from the station to a safe distance, Valentina activated the SPS and deorbited the CSM. Bill and Bob where unaware that she and CMP Thomas K. Kerman, of Odin XVI fame, had made a bet who could splash down closer to the KSC. While panic crept into Bill and Bob once they say the mountain range west of the cape in ominous distance, Val stayed confident. The capsule spashed down safely mere meters of the coast near the KSC.

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Xeldrak

Xeldrak

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The Odin program marches on...

The second kerballed mission to the Asgard space station: Asgard 3 (AG-3)

For this mission the Odin XVI veterans John W. and Thomas K. Kerman were joined by engineer and space rookie Judith Kerman. Just like their predecessors the crew was launched on a Sleipnir IB rocket to the Asgard station. The tried and tested booster worked flawlessly and thanks to Thomas's maneuvering the CSM docked with the station only 45 minutes after launch. Once docked the crew started their work on the station, tranfering experiments, snacks and other supplies.

During their 58 day stay on Asgard the crew completed two EVAs to change film magazines on the OTM and for minor repairs to the solar pales. After almost two months in space supplies were nevertheless starting to run low. With the previous record of AG-2 for length of time in space thoroughly broken the crew packed their things, switched of the lights and undocked from the station.

After drifting to a safe distance Thomas activated the SPS to deorbit the capsule. The SM was shed shorty after the burn and the capsule reentered the atmosphere above the KSC. They spashed down safely several kilometers of the Space Center's coast. Val had won her bet.

And on...

The second mission of the ODIN XVII crew and the third mission to the Asgard space station: AG-4

Like their predecessors the crew of AG-4 was launched into orbit ontop of a Sleipnir IB rocket. Both stages of the booster worked flawlessly and put the CSM into a orbit close to the space station. Pilot Ronald E. Kerman holds the new record for docking with the space station mere 29 minutes after launch. Once the two vessels were connected the crew started to transfer their equipment into the station. There were several hundred items to bring into Asgard for their almost three month long stay.

Nevertheless they crew finished the task within the first day and soon could start their scientific experiments. Gene took care of the OMT and, over the course of the mission, had to complete two EVAs to change film magazines. The crew completed hundreds of experiments, with their favourite beeing a snack tasting in space.

On their 86th day in space the snacks were almost depleted and the crew had to return to Kerbin. Since right now no further mission to Asgard were announced, they left their last bag of supplies near entrace as a welcoming gift, whoever the next visitors might be, and left the airlock unlocked. Once all preparations were completed to put the space station in mothballs, the crew undocked and returned to Kerbin.

The capsule reentered over the KSC and splashed down safely several kilometers off the coast.

And on and on...

The Odin Zhar-Ptitsa Test Project was the first time the Kerviet Union and the Odin Program worked together in space. The goal of the OZTP was to dock a Odin and a Zhar-Ptitsa craft in LKO.

The Zhar-Ptitsa 19 launched first, from the Kerviet Cosmodrome. It's reliable booster, that cant trace it's heritage to the rocket that launched the first satellite, put the crew into a 120 km circular orbit around Kerbin. There the crew, consiting of Gherman Kermanov and Svetlana Kermanova, awaited the arrival of the Odin spacecraft.

Several hours later the Odin spacecraft launched ontop of a Sleipnir IB booster. The craft was crewed by our most senior team of Kerbonauts: Valentina, Bob and Bill Kerman. Once in orbit the spacecraft seperated from the second stage, turned around and extracted the Odin-Zhar-Ptitsa docking adapter, just like a MEM in a munar Odin mission. About one hour after it's launch the Odin spacecraft approached Zhar-Ptitsa 19. In this first docking the Kerviet craft would remain passive while the Odin capsule took the active part in the docking procedure. Once docked two crew commanders Valentina and Gherman exchanged the first international handshake in space.

The two crews assembled a commemorative plaque, exchanged flags and snacks, visited each other's ships, ate together, and conversed in each other's languages. After several hours the two ships undocked and Odin positioned himself in front of the Sun to produce a artificial solar eclipse for Zhar-Ptitsa 19. The spacecraft then docked a second time, this time with Zhar-Ptitsa as the active partner. However, this time none of the Kerbonauts changed their spacecraft. After a few more hours the two vessels undocked and went their seperate ways.

Both vessels stayed in orbit for a few more days, conducting several experiments. The craft that first reentered Kerbin's atmosphere was Zhar-Ptitsa, it landet safely in the desert. The Odin capsule splashed down off the coast of the KSC a little later.

And on it goes...

Reality ends here.

The first mission of the Odin Program Phase Two stayed in LKO. It's mission was to deploy and test the MEM Lab, a modified MEM lander that houses several experiments and equipment to survey Kerbin from space. It also functioned as a test for the upcomming Munar Polar Survey mission. It was the first Odin mission that entered a polar orbit around Kerbin and only the second launch of a two stage Sleipnir V. The mission was crewed by Commander Ronald E. Kerman, Flight Engineer Judith Kerman and Mission Specialist Charles M. Kerman.

The booster launched just before dawn from the KSC. As it roared into the sky it turned south to enter a polar orbit while staying over water as long a possible. The Sleipnir V worked flawlessly and once the spacecraft had jettisoned it's shroud and entered a circular orbit the crew prepared for the MEM Lab extraction maneuver. The CSM separated from the remaining craft, turned around an docked to the MEM Lab. Extraction was a delicate maneuver, making sure that the survey scanner does not get damaged.

With everything set up, Judith and Charles entered the MEM Lab and started to boot up and check it's systems. The survey scanner could soon be deployed and get to work. During the following days the crew surveyed the complete surface of Kerbin and completed dozens of experiments. Judith performed an EVA to collect a few experiments from the outside of the MEM Lab that were supposed to come back to Kerbin with the kerbonauts.

After 15 days in space the crew fired up the SPS to put the spacecraft on a reentry trajectory. They then undocked the MEM Lab and separated the service module and soon were engulfed by the hot plasma of reentry. At an altitude of 5 kilometer Odin 18's parachutes deployed and the capsule splashed down safely a few minutes later.

Edited by Xeldrak
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Whirligig Girl

Whirligig Girl

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[quote name='MelancholyFlapper']I don't mean to be too critical, but with how difficult RSS/RO/RF installs can be, I think RSS stuff deserves a bigger bonus. :B I just got RSS working but that's a heckuva lot of effort for relatively little payoff. I think it should be a multiplier as opposed to a flat bonus.[/QUOTE]

Alright. Multiplies your score by 2 times Sqrt 10. (about 6.32)
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Guest

Guest

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After wrestling with lots of strange behavior after updating to v1.0.5, it seems my saved game is too broken to fix.

I did manage to get PM-13 home alive (just barely), but I have decided to abandon the Challenge.

With the launching of SkyLab a while ago, that technically completes the Apollo Applications Program requirement, although I feel dirty inside claiming victory like that.

I had big plans for Minmus Landings, Mobile Science Bases, and Mining Outposts, but I just can't handle all of these niggling problems that keep cropping up. Phantom torque forces, mysterious power usage, resources strangely depleting themselves, target tracking not functioning, parts somehow making multiple copies of themselves, etc.

Things are just going nuts for me, and it seems my only option is to kill this save game, and start a new one. I'll probably just wait until v1.1 has come out for that. Anyway, I spent some time reformatting my mission report thread, anyone who is interested can check it out here:

Maybe someday we'll meet again in a new challenge, until then, thanks for the time, and fly safe!

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Hotaru

Hotaru

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@GregroxMun Sorry to bother you, but I'm thinking of giving this challenge a try and I have a couple questions about the rules first so I can plan accordingly.

 

 

 

Quote

only hardware used previously in the Apollo Program. You may use hardware from ASTP, AAP, or ALM to pull this off.

Does this include the claw? Presumably that wouldn't be used in Apollo proper, ASTP, or any of the other AAP missions, but I'm not sure what ALM stands for.

 

 

Quote

- Kerbal Dies -50 per Kerbal

This seems to imply no reverting, quicksaving, etc. is allowed (since doing so would make this penalty effectively meaningless)--is that correct? (I'd probably play it this way anyway, I'm mostly just curious about this one.)

 

 

Quote

- Career Mode Bonus: get as much science as you can in the mission without landing in more than one spot per mission.

What, if anything, is the actual points value of this? If it's equivalent to the science returned that could be a lot of points. Like 1,000+ per shot if you load your ship up with every science instrument known to Kerbalkind and hit a different biome with each of half a dozen missions.

 

 

Quote

- *Use MechJeb autopilot -10 for each flight (Using it for information is okay)

What counts as autopilot? Ascent and landing guidance, obviously, and I figure maneuver node execution as well. But what about Smart A.S.S. (basically same as stock SAS except actually works) and flight planning/auto maneuver node creation? I can think of good arguments either way with those. No worries either way, just don't want to go out of my way to avoid using MJ ascent guidance and then get penalized anyway for using Smart A.S.S. I'll assume they're not allowed unless I hear otherwise.

 

 

Quote

- Stock. +20 (Use only stock parts)

Since there's a bonus for using stock parts only I'm guessing modded parts are allowed, as long as appropriate penalties are assessed for things like advanced propulsion?

 

Related: is KAS/KIS allowed? They would obviously negate the stock parts bonus, but it would also make elements of the mission such as ALSEP, LLES, and the rover quite a bit easier.

 

 

Quote

- Use fuel cells for power generation only +10

Does this apply up to Apollo 18 only or does it include the AAP missions (mostly asking because of Skylab, a faithful replica of which would obviously have solar panels)?

 

 

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Whirligig Girl

Whirligig Girl

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26 minutes ago, Hotaru said:

@GregroxMun Sorry to bother you, but I'm thinking of giving this challenge a try and I have a couple questions about the rules first so I can plan accordingly.

 

 

 

Does this include the claw? Presumably that wouldn't be used in Apollo proper, ASTP, or any of the other AAP missions, but I'm not sure what ALM stands for.

 

 

This seems to imply no reverting, quicksaving, etc. is allowed (since doing so would make this penalty effectively meaningless)--is that correct? (I'd probably play it this way anyway, I'm mostly just curious about this one.)

 

 

What, if anything, is the actual points value of this? If it's equivalent to the science returned that could be a lot of points. Like 1,000+ per shot if you load your ship up with every science instrument known to Kerbalkind and hit a different biome with each of half a dozen missions.

 

 

What counts as autopilot? Ascent and landing guidance, obviously, and I figure maneuver node execution as well. But what about Smart A.S.S. (basically same as stock SAS except actually works) and flight planning/auto maneuver node creation? I can think of good arguments either way with those. No worries either way, just don't want to go out of my way to avoid using MJ ascent guidance and then get penalized anyway for using Smart A.S.S. I'll assume they're not allowed unless I hear otherwise.

 

 

Since there's a bonus for using stock parts only I'm guessing modded parts are allowed, as long as appropriate penalties are assessed for things like advanced propulsion?

 

Related: is KAS/KIS allowed? They would obviously negate the stock parts bonus, but it would also make elements of the mission such as ALSEP, LLES, and the rover quite a bit easier.

 

 

Does this apply up to Apollo 18 only or does it include the AAP missions (mostly asking because of Skylab, a faithful replica of which would obviously have solar panels)?

 

 

Claw is allowed, the death penalty is only there if you decide you want to not use quickloads or reverts (it's actually quite meaningless). The career mode bonus is a separate score that goes next to your score. Add up all the points gained from just the Apollo or Apollo Applications Program, and I'll put it in blue next to your score. Autopilot includes any control from MechJeb, GravityTurn, and pretty much anything else. I know it's unrealistic not to use autopilots, but it would seem to remove some of the challenge of flying the mission. You're correct about stock/modded and advanced propulsions penalties. KAS and KIS is allowed. You can use Solar Panels after Apollo 17 or for any real missions that used solar panels (ALSEP used solar panels, as did Skylab and the Soyuz in the ASTP. Apollo CSMs after Apollo 17 can be given solar panels as well.)

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Hotaru

Hotaru

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Thanks for the clarifications!

20 minutes ago, GregroxMun said:

Autopilot includes any control from MechJeb, GravityTurn, and pretty much anything else. I know it's unrealistic not to use autopilots, but it would seem to remove some of the challenge of flying the mission.

What about kOS? To my mind having to write the guidance software myself would be a big part of the challenge (and the fun), seeing as it was one of the major challenges of the real Apollo program.

Edited by Hotaru
What is it with this new forum and unnecesary white space?
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Whirligig Girl

Whirligig Girl

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8 minutes ago, Hotaru said:

Thanks for the clarifications!

 

What about kOS? To my mind having to write the guidance software myself would be a big part of the challenge (and the fun), seeing as it was one of the major challenges of the real Apollo program.

 

 

 

I suppose kOS should be allowed.

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loch.ness

loch.ness

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Wow, the forums got all white.

 

I've been away from the game because a) I got a puppy and she wasn't having with me playing games instead of tug of fetch.  Also b) I lost my precious save - also all of my crafts - pretty much ecerything.  It kinda took the O2 out of my tank.

 

after some RnR I'm almost ready to get back into playing seriously again.  I've got one very very busy week left before I've got some free time.  My pup, Luna, is old enough to let me play now and then so I should get time.

 

I really liked my old save file though with my set pieces and story.  I'm planning on something similar for a new attempt but something different too.

 

I got through rebuilding my Saturn V for a mock test.  Doesn't work as well as I remember but then the mod list changes a bit this time.

havent decided if I'll go back to Gemini for the start again or not.  I was having a lot of fun before but I should try to make it a bit different if I do start over.

 

 

 One question though... Did I make of far enough to earn the badge last time?

Edited by loch.ness
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