Highly Detailed Viking Mars Probe Replica with Titan 3 Launcher

[clivman]

This uses Tweakscale and KerbalJointReinforcement!

Downloadhttp://kerbalx.com/clivman/Viking-1

Viking Mars Probe

Includes a lander and orbiter, and a working Titan 3E with Centaur upper stage.

AG 1 deploys solar panels on orbiter, lander is RTG powered like the real thing.

Try and use Centaur stage to make orbital corrections after burn for Duna, orbiter only has a few hundred spare DV.

Lander

Release lander upon SOI entry to Duna, burn orbiter main engines so you have time to land before orbit insertion.

Do a normal 5km periapse entry into Duna atmosphere.

After reaching a safe velocity drop heat shield and deploy drogue chute.

Stage parachute separation as soon as craft is stable (about 1000m above surface).

Deploy gears and activate engines on lander, you have plenty of fuel so don't take too much of a risk suicide burning.

After landing hit AG 7 to deploy robotic arm.

Titan 3E launcher

Edited September 12, 2015 by clivman

[pTrevTrevs]

Love the orbiter, but I think the lander needs work. It just doesn't look like a Viking lander with that probe core so visible. Maybe if you built a frame out of cubic struts and attached three radial parachutes (always good for making a loose, baggy object) around the sides, it would look more like the real thing.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Viking_lander_model.jpg

notice how the lander does have a somewhat hexagonal shape, but it's not a regular shape. There is its sides are much shorter than the others, so it's more like a triangle with its ends cropped off.

[clivman]

Love the orbiter, but I think the lander needs work. It just doesn't look like a Viking lander with that probe core so visible. Maybe if you built a frame out of cubic struts and attached three radial parachutes (always good for making a loose, baggy object) around the sides, it would look more like the real thing.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Viking_lander_model.jpg

notice how the lander does have a somewhat hexagonal shape, but it's not a regular shape. There is its sides are much shorter than the others, so it's more like a triangle with its ends cropped off.

I will add more instruments in the middle and sides to cover the probe core and rw but the fuel tanks/ rtg cover on the side was shrunk to fit in the aeroshell. I will try to optimize.

[clivman]

Version 1.1 "Viking 1" : Reaction Wheels added to orbiter, detail added to lander, lander weight reduced, stages simplified.

[Yukon0009]

Hey here's my old stock Viking if you need inspiration on how to improve your probe.

[clivman]

Hey here's my old stock Viking if you need inspiration on how to improve your probe.

http://i.imgur.com/zr5urAZ.png

http://i.imgur.com/L1aNS8p.png

http://i.imgur.com/G0xIlvN.png

Yeah next update Ill shrink it