Contract: Please recover this orbital FOREST

[richfiles]

So, i accepted a contract, which asked me to rescue Calzon Kerman and recover his wreckage. No biggie... Accepted!

I saw in the astronaut center, under Calzon Kerman, that he was in the 25m Stanford Torus, from one of my mods... What?

WHAT!?!

Land a TWENTY FIVE METER STANFORD TORUS!!!

Okay, a few things here... What is it? Well, the part is the 25 meter, 250 TON Stanford Torus from the BioDomes part pack (last updated for 0.24). It may or may not (probably may not) have functional attachment nodes in 1.0.x, but since it is basically, just a part, plus an IVA, with no animations, and no active .dll elements, it seems to play nice with the new version without being terribly glitchy. It has no parameters for the new aero, drag, or thermal stuff. I would love to see this part pack updated to 1.0.4, but all work has shifted to the Civilian Population mod... And I'm sorry, I just don't like the parts in that one as much. This has such a lovely IVA, with up to 44 Kerbals sitting at tables and chairs, sipping on koffee mugs, likely filled with top quality Kolumbian brew. A small stream runs around the torus, with a grove of trees enjoying the sunlight of space. Beautiful!

Guys... Check out how much ∆v I had left when I got to orbit!

I always figured, since it's a part that can hold crew, and can appear in orbit with rescue missions, I can essentially get it "for free" by accepting contracts featuring the part, and using the Klaw to attach station components to it. it's a tradeoff... The satisfaction of actually launching one of these is INCREDIBLE!!! In 0.25, I got two of these into orbit, and in 0.90 I succeeded in LANDING one on Minmus! (I am aware that my Minmus base makes NO sense... Torus is for space, biodomes are sideways, and at that, backwards, if it WERE in space). The Asparagus staging on these was intense... For the orbital stations, i launched on 13 stacks of the big Kerbodyne tanks! The stacks were literally so far apart from one another that I had to use structural girders on the outer stages to "hang" oscar-b tanks in mid air, cause I couldn't get fuel lines to stretch far enough to reach between stacks!

Alright, so part and history details aside, the real issue... I don't LIKE to fail contracts, but if I must, I must...

I simply do not see landing the 25 meter, 250 TON Stanford Torus from the BioDomes part pack with the new thermal model. It's so ridonkulously heavy, and no heat shield could ever protect it. I am thinking of leaving it in space to build an orbital station with, but my question is, when the contract expires, will IT expire? If I start attaching things to it, and I rename it, will that protect it from oblivion, or do contracts leave wreckage alone if they fail? I don't wanna start some huge orbital station and have it's existence tied to a a contract I can't possibly complete?

Likewise... For the heck of it... Is there a way to land 250 tons of OHHELLNO!?! I just really don't see it happening.

Oh yeah!!!

Did I also mention... It's in an eccentric retrograde orbit that reaches a Pe. of 185,180m and an Ap. of 6,196,857m. We love those eccentric orbits, with their super fast velocities at the periapsis, and an apoapsis that's over half way to Mun!

Edited July 13, 2015 by richfiles

[Alshain]

In 1.0.2 I would have said it might be possible.... in 1.0.4, I think your pretty much up a creek on this one. I guess it depends on how tolerant to heat it is to know for sure, but you can send up several claws with parachutes attached and place them strategically if you really want to try it. I would bring the Kerbal home in another craft though so if it doesn't work you can at least keep him alive. It did say you have to recover the whole wreckage and not just the Kerbal? Make sure you use drogue chutes and main chutes. Give yourself every possible stopping ability. For initial re-entry, don't set your Pe lower than about 50k with a 70k Ap, you may have to go around the whole planet in the atmosphere but you need you need to come down REALLY slowly so that is what it takes.

Edited July 12, 2015 by Alshain

[windows_x_seven]

After reading the title and seeing the two first images, my sides began to hurt due to laughter.

Good luck landing that thing. You could use tweakscale to upscale the largest heat shield so that it protects the "forest", but getting it up there, docking it and deorbiting the "forest" will be a real task.

Interpret this as a challenge; try doing it then post your attempt in the "Mission Report" thingy. It could be really interesting.

[SAI Peregrinus]

I recommend KAS. Attach lots of airbrakes. LOTS. And parachutes. And then a big de-orbit stage to slow its orbital velocity as much as possible. Like, all 3300m/s powered if you can do it.

And frankly if it was possible to go to eve and back and to eve and back in the old souposphere with a single rocket, it's possible to de-orbit a single big part under power to eliminate re-entry heating. Especially with the addition of airbrakes.

[FancyMouse]

Well the words about size in the contract fineprints are there for a reason.

But yeah, I agree I also abuse it, by doing contracts that only asks to recover Kerbals, and then reusing the craft (station science parts, for example).

[richfiles]

I wonder what will happen to parts generated by a contract that wants recovery of the vessel too, if I fail to recover the vessel and the contract expires. Anyone know if I'm save to reuse and rename those types of parts?

[Alshain]

I wonder what will happen to parts generated by a contract that wants recovery of the vessel too, if I fail to recover the vessel and the contract expires. Anyone know if I'm save to reuse and rename those types of parts?

Nothing will happen to them. Once they generate, the don't get removed. Prior to 1.0 it was the same for stray Kerbals if you failed to rescue them in time, you could still do it you just wouldn't get paid.

[SkyRender]

I wonder what will happen to parts generated by a contract that wants recovery of the vessel too, if I fail to recover the vessel and the contract expires. Anyone know if I'm save to reuse and rename those types of parts?

Once a craft is "discovered" (ie. you get another craft within loading range of it), it becomes persistent even if the contract expires or is cancelled. This includes any Kerbals on board.

[richfiles]

Sweet! I never knew what happened to the kerbal/craft, cause I've never let a contract fail before. Good to know!

How does the contract system handle a contract with half the requirement fulfilled and half unfulfilled? Does it take the failure costs, but leave the individual rewards for the parts completed? I'll probably just keep this part in orbit for a station, and take the failure hit...

Though I might make a save file and de-orbit the thing just to watch it burn!

Edited July 12, 2015 by richfiles

[Sharpy]

I'm pretty sure a decent number of SavingKlaws would bring it whole to Kerbin. Simply, a Klaw attachment with a plenty airbrakes, parachutes and engine to deorbit things - I guess in this case several hundred parachutes would be needed.

[richfiles]

One mustn't forget, the new "Is it safe to open chutes" mechanic as well. Truth be told... I think i value the presence of the part in space more than the mere 13 or so reputation, and few funds that I'd loose for failing the contract. My rep is at least in the 700s, last time I looked. That's a total guess, based on numbers I barely glanced at.

[SkyRender]

One mustn't forget, the new "Is it safe to open chutes" mechanic as well. Truth be told... I think i value the presence of the part in space more than the mere 13 or so reputation, and few funds that I'd loose for failing the contract. My rep is at least in the 700s, last time I looked. That's a total guess, based on numbers I barely glanced at.

You could avoid that cost too and just give up the advance on the mission by cancelling the contract. Since you've already "discovered" the part, it will remain even after that.

[Sharpy]

One mustn't forget, the new "Is it safe to open chutes" mechanic as well.

Nor the power of Airbrakes. They are a truly wondrous part

[Hotblack Desiato]

nice torus

I'd go too with the claw-parachute approach + at least one craft (single or multi-stage) that can deliver 500-1000m/s delta-v. this way you can perform a partially powered landing. and dive very gentle into the atmosphere.

another way: land the kerbal and hit Alt-12 and grant yourself the mission as finished. this way, you have that torus sitting in space free to use. my guess is, the mission was never meant to be this way...

[Tourist]

All I can say is please try and succeed or fail, post pictures. There is no shame in trying to do the near impossible and failing.... although, perhaps bringing the Kerbals onboard down safely first, and automating everything else may be a prudent idea.

[richfiles]

You could avoid that cost too and just give up the advance on the mission by cancelling the contract. Since you've already "discovered" the part, it will remain even after that.

So canceling doesn't count as failure, just a return of the advance, eh? I've honestly not done that before, and was never clear on the mater... I may go that route then.

All I can say is please try and succeed or fail, post pictures. There is no shame in trying to do the near impossible and failing.... although, perhaps bringing the Kerbals onboard down safely first, and automating everything else may be a prudent idea.

But there is always save files to return to after screwing around a bit!

Did I also mention... It's in an eccentric retrograde orbit that reaches a Pe. of 185,180m and an Ap. of 6,196,857m. We love those eccentric orbits, with their super fast velocities at the periapsis, and an apoapsis that's over half way to Mun!

Well, I sent up a vessel that rescued the four Kerbal souls that needed saving. Destroyed the wreckage of the stuff I don't need to save...

And saved the torus for later. I attached a small remote probe core to it with a klaw.

Edited July 13, 2015 by richfiles

[Sharpy]

Very gentle airbraking will bring it down eventually. PE of 60,000m won't burn anything and will reduce the speed *a bit*. Just keep whatever provides speed to bring PE back up in case it drops dangerously.

[Archgeek]

To pull this off in stock I'd go with a kraptonne of klaws. You can't defend the whole thing with heat shields, but you can place them in strategic locations. I'd put klaw parachute modules (drogue and full, of course) around the ring with klaw heat shield modules under those, plus another heat shield klaw'd to the core, and an array of large active radiators klaw'd to the back of the core. The heat shields should help mitigate the overall re-entry heat at least a little, and actively defend the parachute and radiator modules. The radiators should hopefully siphon heat from all over the craft, making up for sections the heat shields can't protect.

However you wind up doing it, rest assured we'd all love to see screenshots or a video of the insanity. XD

[fanelli]

Just put that baby down to 50k and right those coat tails

[samiamthelaw]

Just put that baby down to 50k and right those coat tails

http://i.imgur.com/HQhA0FQ.jpg

Good point-- you could anchor the thing to the back side of a large asteroid and use that as a heat shield.