Contract difficulty curve -- may need a slight tweak...

[wossname]

So I've just been happily rewarded for completing the "test LV-909 on the launchpad" contract and I go back to grab another contract and I then take a few rescue X Kerman from low Kerbin orbit (because I love those).

Except, oops, I didn't read the last contract text before I accepted it.

"Rescue Doson Kerman, who is stranded on the surface of Ike with valuable data. Return him and what is left of his vessel to Kerbin."

It's way too expensive to turn it down now I'm stuck with it. No idea yet how I'm going to achieve this. I suspect it will involve some kind of upside down lander with lots of RCS and a Klaw on the front and some kind of Apollo 11 style orbital rendezvous flight plan.

I love that KSP has thrown me this massive challenge out of the blue, can't wait to get underway!

Hehe, on the bright side I've got 24 years to complete this and it appears (from the data given about the craft) that it's probably a mk1 command pod I've got to evac back to Kerbin.

600,000 cash and 14 rep points reward.

[Kobymaru]

I have never seen this kind of contract. Is that stock? If so, I'm really looking forward to it.

[Sharpy]

Make this a "safe landing module". Docked (through a port) to your rescue craft: a couple structural fuselages with a Klaw on the end, a probe core stuck somewhere (under the docking port?), several airbrakes and parachutes. Attach it to a logical point on the rescuee craft, push him into airbraking trajectory, then decouple the docking port. Return rescue craft to orbital flight (currently aiming for reentry as well), then switch to the wreck. Deploy airbrakes, make several circles braking, then reenter and deploy the chutes.

edit: add a solar panel or two.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Sharpy

[kiwi1960]

I read the title as "...might need a twerk"

What exactly do you want Valentina to do here?

I don't play career, sandbox is better for me.

[RainDreamer]

I read the title as "...might need a twerk"

What exactly do you want Valentina to do here?

Nothing Jeb haven't already done.

[wossname]

I have never seen this kind of contract. Is that stock? If so, I'm really looking forward to it.

Yeah fully stock. I'm going to have a go at this mission today, might be a long day

[Evanitis]

While I do agree that the contract system needs more work to make the missions more... sane in average, I kinda' like it's random nature. I love the fact that not reading the fine-print carefully can get me to accept very hard tasks. When it happens, it's fun when I have to face a choice of designing a mission that takes more time and resources than I expected, or just accept the loss of cash and reputation.

[Sharpy]

yeah, test 'Ant' in Sun orbit. Easy-peasy, escape Kerbin SOI and...

...sun orbit between X and Y altitude. Way past Duna.

[Mat2ch]

Hi!

A few days ago I grabbed something from Minmus surface with this:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/29533-What-did-you-do-in-KSP-today?p=2054282&viewfull=1#post2054282

You might wanna give it a try.

[Evanitis]

yeah, test 'Ant' in Sun orbit. Easy-peasy, escape Kerbin SOI and...

...sun orbit between X and Y altitude. Way past Duna.

Hehehehe, lovely.

Got a Dunar orbit rescue the other day. I took it, since I had a mission on the way there with an extra seat. The target escaped the planet's SoI by the time I got there. Wee, solar orbit! I don't even start calculating the dV requirements to save the guy, as my Duna mission has 3 freshly rescued Kerbals from LKO who never touched Kerbin, and will arrive home just in time to cash in the rewards.

But I'm convinced that this is no bug, but a feature.

[cantab]

Depending on timescale I might do a reconnaissance mission first, take a look at the crash site and optionally drop the stranded Kerbal some accommodation to wait in. Then you can design a ship to lift the derelict and bring it back to Kerbin. I think I'd look to get it in a cargo bay at some point.

[wossname]

Success!

I was right about the wreck being a MK1 command pod.

I managed to build a funky looking and probably not very efficient rocket...

http://imgur.com/a/MqeGN

Alas I had misjudged the height of a MK1 and ended up having to literally get Doson to kick the pod into the claw (this took 20 or so attempts, with frustration increasing exponentially). A high speed ballistic Kerbal can knock a MK1 pod quite hard and I finally got it hooked up!

A handy tip learned in this mission...

Airbrakes are terrifically resilient to re-entry and being used as a jack to lift heavy spaceships off the ground (great for takeoffs from low gravity moons).