Minmus (Mun?) science lab from early tiers of tech tree (1.0.4)

[ghoetker]

I've finally made a craft that I think might be worth sharing. It is a science lab for the Minmus surface, loaded with all the science instruments I had available, using the earlier tiers of the tech tree. Robust landing gear and lots of RCS means it is easy to land safely. It is also easy to get airborne and move to other biomes, thus the storage bay full of RCS fuels and the excessive amount of liquid fuel/Oxidizer for the Kerbin to Minmus journey. Science is loaded into another storage bay to protect it and reduce drag during launch. Lots of solar panels feed into the large number of batteries that share a bay with the RCS fuel, keeping science humming along even during the short Minmus nights. Not sure if the thermal panels are necessary or not. The docking clamp juniors are "just in case"--no specific intention, but they might be useful for refueling or something in the future.

It is actually pretty easy to launch for something so top-heavy, although the first 300 feet are painfully slow even with 4 Kickbacks helping. I haven't yet tried it on the Mun, but it should work well enough. Higher gravity would demand a little more care in landing and might limit the ability to fly off to another biome. I haven't yet ventured to other planets, so can't speak definitively about its suitability for those. The craft file is at https://www.dropbox.com/s/4o1j6cqjldyg0d6/Minimus%20Science%20Station.craft?dl=0

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