Road to Kolonists

[Nansuchao]

Hail to everyone. After some request, I decided to begin the translation of my science career mode also in english. You can find the original (still in progress) here: http://www.kerbalspaceprogram.it/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1791

The goal is simple: colonize the entire Kerbol system.

The game is a Science mode, normal difficulty, no revert or quick load unless bug or glitches.

There are a lots of mods involved, most important are: Interstellar Extended, FAR, B9 (maintenance port), KW Rocketry.

Our story begin after we went to the Mun and Minmus, and we have some interplanetary probes on their route to Duna, Moho and Dres. We built our first Space Station (at half), the KSS.

This is our tech tree when our story begins:

And that's our Space Station KSS (Kerbal Space Station)

Acrìtually it has one year of LF. Every three months, the crew is replaced and the LS replaned.

After more than 150 days of travel in the cold interplanetary space, the Moho probe finally approach the hottest planet of the solar system

The ship has been built with many km/s of Delta/V for the braking near the planet. I begin to brake very soon, using half of the remaining first stage fuel, that will crash on the surface of Moho.

The remaining fuel comes from the second stage, planned for the brake, trying to maintain a 10 km periapsis

With focus and patience, the probe obtain a more or less perfect orbit near the little planet

We gather scientific data from orbit, but, why not? After such a long trip, we'll try to land, to gather data from the surface, and to use the Material Bay of the probe.

Sadly the probe has not landing legs, so it must land o the engine's bell, straight just for the Moho's low gravity and for the low power of the SAS, so, to avoid damages, the probe stand on the surface just for few moments, and return fastly in orbit.

Reached the orbit, we realize two things: first, the heating is really dangerous near Moho, we need a lot of radiators for the Waste Heat (we must think about it for future landers), second, we haven't enough fuel to return to Kerbin.

By the Way, sent the data back to the Mission Control, we leave the probe parked in Moho's orbit. maybe tomorrow, if it still works, it will be useful to gather data of the internal composition of Moho, as an Impactor probe.

Meanwhile, in the NSC (Nansuchao Space Corporation) shipyard, another secret mission is ready to launch, with a secret payload, hide in the fairings of the rocket. it will be useful for an experiment about the heat.

The rocket depart straight to the outer space, without any kind of gravity turn.

After the first stage separation, we can take a look at hte payload.

A new Sentinel Telescope and a lot of solar panels, to have data about the accumulation and dispersion of heat. The scope will be parked in a orbit between Kerbin and Eve, searching for killer asteroids.

Thanks to the data came from Moho, we're able to put our hands on new technologies, that will be very useful very soon. What am I talking about?

You will know it very soon...

Edited November 1, 2015 by Nansuchao

[Signo]

Very cool. + Rep.

Cheers.

[Nansuchao]

Thanks Signo :-)

[Nansuchao]

Thanks to the scientific data received from Moho, the NSC can obtain very useful augers and ISRU, perfect to reach an important goal, to gather more data as possible from the Mun in a single mission.

So, Frodorf and Jangrid says goodbye to Kerbin, in the fairing of the first part of the Munar Harvester.

After few days, it's the time for another launch, the second and third part of the Mun Harvester.

Now, here you'll see an example af bad engineering. I prepared the Mun Harvester completely in the VAB. Sure that it had everithing needed, I split it for the launch. For the main stage, I had no issues, but for the side stages, I decided to make a single launch, so i tied the parts together inside the fairings. For a payload like this, I'll needed surely more struts.

Just after the liftoff, the rocket began to wobble, and so it did in orbit.

Luckily, with patient and cold blood (and with some saints), we've been able to deliver the payload at his destination, docking the parts eyeballing the entire process.

Now, we miss just the last part before the beginning of this journey.

Lodas and Samnica prepares to depart. Samnica will be the third member of the Mun Harvester crew, while Lodas must accomplish a really important engineer operation. To mount some struts on the Mun Harvester, to make it stable.

Parked the Spare Engineering near the Mun Harvester, we see Lodas during this important procedure (thanks to KIS/KAS).

Samnica reach the Mun Harvester, the crew check all the system, and it's time to leave the orbit of Kerbin.

As soon as the ship enter the Mun's SOI, we have the first issue of the mission.When the engines are burning, the Mun harvester seems completely out of control, after a 10% ratio of throttle. The ships seems went crazy, and the Mission Control prepare itself and the crew for the Abort, that means to park the ship in munar orbit and wait for a rescue mission.

But when everithing seemed lost, Frodorf had a genial idea. Seen that the ship has some torque and the vehicle isn't so heavy, maybe it will be possible to control it without the engine's gimbal. Mission Control authorize this try, Frodorf deactivate the engine's gimbal and miracle, the Mun Harvester has control again. The crew were so able to land safely on the Mun and begin the mission.

The girls stays in the lab, gathering and analyzing data, while Frodorf stretch his legs on the Munar soil, to collect sample of the surface and to put a flag.

The area where the Mun Harvester has landed isn't rich of Ore, so it must stay there for a while, to refill the fuel tanks.

Edited November 1, 2015 by Nansuchao

[Nansuchao]

Seen that there is still a month for the Tars probe to reach Duna, the leaders of NSC decide to begin a new, very important experimet. So, Jebediah Kerman, the best pilot of NSC, has to pilot a new plane, to test it, and gather info on the atmosphere of Kerbin, reaching the South Pole. There, he must find a good spot, for a future building.

Here we have Jebediah ready to depart aboard the marco Polo

It's a long travel, but everithing goes well.

Finally, after a really boring journey, Jeb reach the South Pole

Jeb dump some fuel for safety reasons. The plane was never tested, so, for a better landing he will make the ship lighter. Jeb found the spot he was looking for, and he marks it with a flag.

After few hours, at the KSC, a new rocket is ready to launch. It's the new SpaceZ Dragon VK1 (fantasy name), drove by Neilfred Kerman, It must reach the KSS, to deliver a new structural part and to change some of the crew.

The journey begin

Sadly the launch happened in a bad moment, so Neilfred had to work for a while to find a good rendez-vous with the station. But finally, the long months of training are helpful, and the Dragon VK1 is able to reach the KSS.

After the docking, the structural Hub is delivered to the station, and Neilfred wait that Valentina and Bill reach the capsule. Those two seems sad to leave the station.

Then it's time for the little ship to return to Kerbin

Meanwhile, on the Mun, the crew of the Mun Harvester is still busy analyzing the data and filling the tanks, so they ask to the Mission Control, to deorbit one of the munar satellites, to make it impact on the surface, for a better comprehension of the inner part of Mun.

The Mission Control, do a fast check of the two satellites in Mun orbit. One has no engines, but the other, has ended is job and it's not more useful. So it is deorbited.

From the impact on the surface, a lot of data are generated.

Thanks to this experiment, new parts for planes and spaceplanes are created, for the future ships.

Now the thing become to be interesting. What will we discover on Duna? How the Mun Harvester's mission will go?

You will know it soon...

Edited November 1, 2015 by Nansuchao

[Nansuchao]

At the KSC engineers and scientists are still working on new projects, when finally the Tars probe enter the SOI of Duna. the Tars tried an aerobraking, but the periapsis was too high, and it had to ignite the engines for a few seconds to enter in a stable orbit. Luckily the Hohmann transfer was perfect, so just a few m-s of Delta/V made the job.

At this point, the Mission Control decide to change the flight plan. The probe had to gather data from the orbit or from the high atmosphere and return to Kerbin. But this probe has just two reloadable experiments and it's very old, so the Mission Control made the probe do a Hohmann trasnfer to Ike

Tars gathered data from the orbit, and it lands too, for more data

after a succesful landing, free from the second stage, Tars do a maneuver to escape the Ike's gravity to encounter once again the atmosphere of Duna, with the goal to land on the red planet.

The landing is successful, after some troubles during the atmospheric flight.

Here ends the Tars chapter, our first probe to land on two different bodies, sending back to Kerbin a great quanity and variety of informations.

WELL DONE TARS!!!

Meanwhile, on the MUn, the Mun Harvester has finally re-filled the fuel tanks, and it's ready for the second stage of his journey. The vehicle make a short burn to the south, reaching the East Crater zone, gathering a good amount of data

During a couple of EVA, made for the healt of the crew, two Gigantor were lost (due to collisions bug). The mission is still in go, but the Mission Control has to worry about the safety of the crew.

Thanks to all the data gathered on the last missions, it's time for the NSC to start a new, long waited project, that will be very important for the future of Kerbalkind. What am I talking about? You'll know it soon...

Edited November 1, 2015 by Nansuchao

[Nansuchao]

Have a good Halloween night, from the NSC and all the Road to Kolonists staff

[Thegamer211]

Umm... your spoiler tags don't work.

They are supposed to be like [ spoiler=name ] stuff [ /spoiler ]

stuff

[Nansuchao]

Thanks for the tip, it works in the other forum... I'll change the tag ASAP.

[Nansuchao]

Thanks to the data received from the various missions, the NSC is able to reach a very important milestone: dominate the power of atom!

So a little nuclear reactor is build up, a Molten Salt. This little device is not able to generate great energy, but together with a new experimental engine, it gives interesting results.

The air gathered from a plane, is heated up from the reactor and expelled at great speed from the new born Thermal Turbo Jet. This engine has not a great thrust, but has the advantage that it doesn't need propellant also than air, so it can work almost forever, until the reactor works.

So, secretly, a new vehicle is realized for a secret mission, with the only crew of Calzer Kerman.

The new plane works really well, light and stable.

Following his orders, Calzer flies through the North. In a past mission with Jebediah, his instrumentation found something unusual. A satellite in polar orbit has a strange reading of the same area, so the mission of Calzer is to reach that zone to check the place with his eyes.

Reached the icy and cold North Pol, Calzer sees something absolutely amazing, unwaited and terribly alien.

He lands his plane near the strange object to look it from near.

After the inspection, Calzer comes back to his plane terribly scarred. What he has found is surely alien.

Meanwhile, at the KSC, a new rocket is ready on the launchpad. A new scientific lab for the space station.

Thanks to the Mun Harvester success on Mun, the same way will be followed to gather data from the farthest moon of Kerbin, Minmus.

Neides and Madry will be the crew of the Minmus Exploit Greenish.

Then, it's finally time to pose the first stone of a long awaited project, that will be very useful for the future of KSC and all kerbalkind. This new endeavour will be accomplished not in some far corner of the Kerbol syste, but here on Kerbin, in that area found by Jebediah Kerman in a past flight in the South Pole.

For this missione, a new plane is used, the Base Plane Ikea . Flew by Jeb, Bill, Bob and Val, it take off for the first step of this ambitious project.

After a long and boring travel, the four reach the South Pole and delivers the first Kerbal Base.

In the next few weeks, various interplanetary windows are available, so two new modular probes are sent in the outer space. One of those will reach the hot planet of Moho, while the other one would try to gather info from the planet of Eve and from his little moon Gilly. This probe has a new engine, another application of the new nuclear technology, a NERVA engines.

How these new probes will perform? How the South Pole Base will be completed? What about the consequences of the strange, alien object found at the North Pole?

Wait and you'll know it.

Edited November 9, 2015 by Nansuchao

[Nansuchao]

Due to the 1.0.5 update I'll be unable to continue Road to Kolonists. If someone is interested in watch the complete story (until the update), look there: http://www.kerbalspaceprogram.it/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1791

[KronosHelix]

@Nansuchao I know that you stop adding to this post due to 1.0.5 update, but I'm sure you can start again with 1.1, most mods listed are available once again. The only thing you have worry about now is getting bored repeating the same missions from the original mission.

[Nansuchao]

2 hours ago, KronosHelix said:

@Nansuchao I know that you stop adding to this post due to 1.0.5 update, but I'm sure you can start again with 1.1, most mods listed are available once again. The only thing you have worry about now is getting bored repeating the same missions from the original mission.

Thanks, I would like to, but if you saw the original thread, I almost reached every inner planet with manned missions and sent some proves to the OPM.

I can't repeat all the missions, with the same design and now I would like to use also other mods, but actually KSP 1.1 is complete broken for me, unplayable stock too.

Maybe, once 1.1.1 is out, if possible I would like to begin something new, with a different planet pack.

[TopHeavy11]

Amazing! Mod list PLEASE.

[Nansuchao]

Thank you very much.

 

Mod list, incomplete, but here it is:

B9 Aerospace
KW Rocketry
Interstellar Extended
Vanguard Technologies
Ferram Aerospace Research
Ambient Light Adjustement
TAC Life Support
TAC Fuel Balancer
Infernal Robotics
Kerbal Alarm Clock
Mechjeb
Kerbal Renaissance Compilation
Chatterer
Docking Alignement Indicator
G-Effects
Transfer Windows Planner
Kerbal Inventory System
Kerbal Attachment System
Active Texture Management
Kerbal Planetary Base System
Raster Prop Monitor
Tweakscale
Tweakable Everything
Modular Computer Package
Real Chute
Kerbal Joint Reinforcement
Kerbal Engineer
Better buoyancy
SETI Greenhouse
Crowd sourced science

Remember, this was in KSP 1.0.4

[TopHeavy11]

I'm going to need moar wings...

[Nansuchao]

B9 Procedural Wings were perfect