This is the solar power you need to mine ore at Vall

[RocketBlam]

I assume it is a similar amount at any of the Joolian moons. 16 panels.

This number of Gigantors, all with good visibility of the sun, will provide enough power to mine ore at Vall, with one drill. Two will require double this number of panels (30 +).

Refining the ore will also require double this number of panels, unless you want to use a fuel cell. Use the big one.

[JacobT11]

This is why RTG's and fuel cells are now a viable and needed thing, now that solar power behaves realistically.

[marce]

...or use nuclear power (e.g. NFT).

Sometimes the increased cost is worth it thanks to reduced chance of failure (breaking solar panels). This looks like such a case for me.

[RocketBlam]

Nuclear power?

[Dralon Perfecto]

The RTG:

http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/PB-NUK_Radioisotope_Thermoelectric_Generator

[Black Dog]

Correction: This is what it takes to continuosly mine stuff in the Jool system and beyond. In my experience reducing the number of solar panels and adding a few 4k battery packs works pretty well while reducing drag on the original launch. In addition they are a lot less prone to breaking.

[foxkill2342]

Actually with time warping my ship seems to have unlimited power.

[magnemoe]

The RTG:

http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/PB-NUK_Radioisotope_Thermoelectric_Generator

is nice for base power however price and part count make the fuel cell better for mining. yes it eat some of your production but this is rarely an issue.

This ignore the fact that you would use more energy producing the fuel than you get from the fuel cell however we don't have reactors, think large RTG who also produce lots of heat.

[sal_vager]

This ignore the fact that you would use more energy producing the fuel than you get from the fuel cell however we don't have reactors, think large RTG who also produce lots of heat.

You're forgetting the energy in the fuel itself there.

[RocketBlam]

Actually with time warping my ship seems to have unlimited power.

This seems to have a limit. The first harvester I launched had 4 solar panels instead of 16, and it just won't harvest when time warped. It runs out of electricity almost immediately. Also, if I switch to another vessel or go back to the Space Center, it will stop pretty quickly and harvest nothing.

[magnemoe]

You're forgetting the energy in the fuel itself there.

No, as you will not find any ready to use chemical energy in space, exception might be layte because of life.

This is common on earth, where chemical fuel is biological, this is also true for fossil fuel, you then burn fuel in atmosphere.

In space you only have stuff like water, co2, you might have more complex stuff too but not much you can get energy out of directly.

So you have to use more energy splitting it than you get by burning it, this is not an huge issue as its still better than transporting the fuel.

[sal_vager]

This isn't real space, it's Kerbal space, the "ore" you mine has more energy in it than you think.

Some people like to think it's a long lost pre-Kerbal space faring civilization called the Mu, who left lumps of koal throughout the system, which Roverdude Kerman developed the technology to exploit

[Jesrad]

No, as you will not find any ready to use chemical energy in space, exception might be layte because of life.

This is common on earth, where chemical fuel is biological, this is also true for fossil fuel, you then burn fuel in atmosphere.

In space you only have stuff like water, co2, you might have more complex stuff too but not much you can get energy out of directly.

So you have to use more energy splitting it than you get by burning it, this is not an huge issue as its still better than transporting the fuel.

Wrong. There is a lot of free or easily-freed dihydrogen everywhere in space. There's lots of it in the regolith in some places on the Moon, for one. Simpler ferrous oxides, too can be thermolyzed in the presence of dihydrogen to make pure iron and water. And the Sabatier reaction is exothermic. In a good enough vacuum you might even start the reaction with as little as some focused solar rays (although microwaves are much more practical).

See, not everything in the Universe is in its absolute lowest entropic state. Much much much of it is actually in kinda-lowish but intermediate states, or even in metastable states.

Edited June 12, 2015 by Jesrad

[TrooperCooper]

Problem solved.

[KasperVld]

I've found that the asteroids around Dres provide me with an optimal spot for refueling

[Miravlix]

Just build bigger rockets, so you don't need refueling.

[RoverDude]

Good thing I gave you guys fuel cells

- - - Updated - - -

Side note - EC usage while warping uses a lot of interpolation because of how solar arrays and batteries work. In the end, I always have it default to the player's benefit. I would rather have a ship produce an excess of EC than have it produce less than it should.

[Geschosskopf]

http://i.imgur.com/TwLRnAlh.pngI assume it is a similar amount at any of the Joolian moons. 16 panels.

I concur. A Gigantor in space in the Jool system, with 100% exposure, produces about 0.9 EC/s. You're only rarely going to get 100% exposure if you put the panel on the ground, especially if you're not directly on the equator, and due to Jool's moons all being tide-locked, you'd best land on the far side of the moon or Jool itself will eclipse a big chunk of your daylight. It's even worse if you land panels on Laythe, due to the atmosphere. Bottom line: beyond Dres, solar power just isn't practical for continuously running anything more demanding than a probe core, and even that's questionable.

- - - Updated - - -

Just build bigger rockets, so you don't need refueling.

This is only a viable option if your sole reason for going to Jool is to plant and flag and come home. If you to build prison colonies tourist resorts, you need local fuel.

[magnemoe]

This isn't real space, it's Kerbal space, the "ore" you mine has more energy in it than you think.

Some people like to think it's a long lost pre-Kerbal space faring civilization called the Mu, who left lumps of koal throughout the system, which Roverdude Kerman developed the technology to exploit

I know so I use fuel cells, my only problem with them is that my Pol base with two fuel cells don't have the power to run both fuel and oxidizer from ore, and then you convert one you use the other.

Will send some more cells in the next mission.

[Jesrad]

What if you use the LfO process alone ? It makes both LF and Oxy, though half as much. It might be able to stay ahead of fuel cell consumption.

[magnemoe]

What if you use the LfO process alone ? It makes both LF and Oxy, though half as much. It might be able to stay ahead of fuel cell consumption.

Only if you need as much Lf and O, if you use landers and nuclear tugs this will be different.

[Scotius]

Good thing I gave you guys fuel cells

- - - Updated - - -

Side note - EC usage while warping uses a lot of interpolation because of how solar arrays and batteries work. In the end, I always have it default to the player's benefit. I would rather have a ship produce an excess of EC than have it produce less than it should.

Sooo, RoverDude...any plans of adding Microwave Power Transmitters? I would love to build solar powerplants in orbits and beam the clean, free power everywhere its needed

Granted, Interstellar mod does have this function, but FractalUK apparently abandoned it (though some guys apparently picked up the ball). And Interstellar is a mammoth of a mod, pushing my game dangerously close to breaking.

[Sharpy]

Such a pity this won't work...

[TABLE=class: wikitable sortable float-right jquery-tablesorter]

[TR]

[TD]LV-N Atomic Rocket Motor [/TD]

[TD] 5.0 âš¡/s

[/TD]

[TD] 0.3055 /âš¡

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

'Drill-O-Matic' Mining Excavator

Electricity required

15 âš¡/s

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD=colspan: 3]ISRU Converter

Inputs

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=colspan: 2] Electric charge

[/TD]

[TD] 30 âš¡/s [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=colspan: 2] Ore

[/TD]

[TD] 0.45 /s [/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=colspan: 3] Output

[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD=colspan: 2] Liquid fuel

[/TD]

[TD] 0.9 /s

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

9 atomic motors flaring into the sky, pressing the refinery down to the ground...

Too bad even with 0.9 /s you could hardly keep up with three of them.

OTOH your refinery on Laythe...

[TABLE=class: wikitable sortable float-right jquery-tablesorter]

[TR]

[TD]Basic Jet Engine

[/TD]

[TD] 4.0 âš¡/s

[/TD]

[TD]

fuel consumption 0.01

[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

Twelve jet engines blaring full throttle to keep the machinery running.

[Laie]

[bigger rockets are] only a viable option if your sole reason for going to Jool is to plant and flag and come home. If you to build prison colonies tourist resorts, you need local fuel.

Been doing that at 43funds/Kerbal in 0.90 -- I don't think ISRU is entirely necessary for that project.

[RoverDude]

Sooo, RoverDude...any plans of adding Microwave Power Transmitters? I would love to build solar powerplants in orbits and beam the clean, free power everywhere its needed

Granted, Interstellar mod does have this function, but FractalUK apparently abandoned it (though some guys apparently picked up the ball). And Interstellar is a mammoth of a mod, pushing my game dangerously close to breaking.

MKS has bits that do that in the next release, tho that's limited to a 2KM range as well as local connectionless transfers for converters and such