Apollo Mission Recreation (And More!) [Requesting Ground Crew Aid!]

[Gaarst]

Ooh, oops.

Then can I do BSE/Control Officer?

If I understand correctly, I would be in charge of burning to put the S-IVB stage into the Moon, and what else? I am having a little trouble distinguishing some of the responsibilities for the roles.

Booster/Control is not taken, welcome to the team !

[Dman979]

Thanks, I brought hydrazine

What exactly am I in charge of?

[ZooNamedGames]

Ooh, oops.

Then can I do BSE/Control Officer?

If I understand correctly, I would be in charge of burning to put the S-IVB stage into the Moon, and what else? I am having a little trouble distinguishing some of the responsibilities for the roles.

Welcome aboard Booster! Friend me on Steam/Skype for easier communication. I'm meeting the team RIGHT NOW. My info is a few pages back.

You would be responsible for basically everything to do with the Saturn V portion of the rocket (as booster). You would make sure the ascent into orbit is nominal as well as track the status of the rocket itself (making sure tanks are pressurized and stable, engines working... etc etc). Then once the S-IVB is on a confirmed collision path with the moon, then you get a short break as you shift to Control Officer and basically manage the landing.

I can explain better if you friend me on Steam/Skype (right now there is a Steam chat between me, Retro and FAO)

Edited November 8, 2015 by ZooNamedGames

[Gaarst]

Thanks, I brought hydrazine

What exactly am I in charge of?

Basically you will be managing the entire launch up to orbit

That includes making sure everything is nominal for the whole ascent, also making sure the booster is fully operational, you'll also have to manage and take the decisions concerning any abort procedure during the ascent.

You will also have to make sure that all debris or spent stages are taken care of.

Also, you will have to manage all of the lunar descent and ascent (possibly until CSM redocking), again imagine all scenari and abort procedures.

For this you'll have to work a lot with RSO during early launch, Retro (burns), FIDO (trajectories) and myself, the FAO (managing more or less all activities related to crew).

If you want more information, you'll have to talk with ZooNamedGames who organises everything.

[Dman979]

Welcome aboard Booster! Friend me on Steam/Skype for easier communication. I'm meeting the team RIGHT NOW. My info is a few pages back.

You would be responsible for basically everything to do with the Saturn V portion of the rocket (as booster). You would make sure the ascent into orbit is nominal as well as track the status of the rocket itself (making sure tanks are pressurized and stable, engines working... etc etc). Then once the S-IVB is on a confirmed collision path with the moon, then you get a short break as you shift to Control Officer and basically manage the landing.

I can explain better if you friend me on Steam/Skype (right now there is a Steam chat between me, Retro and FAO)

Ok, I just added you.

[kmMango]

Gah, I REALLY want to do this, but I don't have the time!

[mythic_fci]

I suggest maybe running a few shorter simulations, such as perhaps one or two 1-2 hour 1=man orbital Mercury missions to gain experience controlling an orbital spacecraft, a 2-man Gemini mission lasting a few hours long to test docking and EVAs, and finally 2-3 day 3-man Apollo missions which can go to the Moon and perform tests with the LEM (like Apollo 10). Should be a nice experience. I'd also like to suggest a shift system for the flight controllers just like IRL, so that people can get some rest in between shifts.

[the_pazter]

I wonder how deep you guys are going to go with it. Like' date=' will the mission be done at splashdown or will you take it further and do a real time recovery?

Also, what to do during the rather massive downtime that will be present on the way to and back from the Moon? How are you going to fill out time on the surface? And so on.

It may be a good idea to set up (or have a specific person do it) a plan for these times. Obviously there will be stretches where you won't need to be doing anything, if we're going to integrate sleep periods into the actual mission, but when you're just flying through space or knocking around on the surface, there should probably be a plan in place for what to do to fill out the time.

And this could actually be a good thing PR wise, as you could take these opportunities to may be have people come onto the "stream" (I imagine we'll be having this available for people to watch at some point, if not in real time) to talk about space, what they're doing, KSP, etc etc. Stuff like this would be excellent for the trips to and from the Moon.

And then for surface work, it really depends on which mission you want to emulate. Apollo 11 would be relatively simple (as it was in life), but wouldn't be that terribly interesting. Apollo 12 would be a bit more complicated with its pinpoint landing near an already landed Surveyor, but even so still not that interesting and including the launch and landing of an extra spacecraft as well as a requirement for launch windows (not necessarily a bad thing).

Apollo 13 would be a given if something on the mission goes wrong, so no sense emulating that one on purpose. Apollo 14, again, would not be that terribly interesting. All thats left then is the last 3 Apollo missions, and thats where things get interesting, with the inclusion of the LRV as well as a wider focus on science and what not.

For our mission, it may be wisest to combine bits and bobs from 15-17 to fill out the surface stay, which I imagine we'll stick to being 1 day.[/quote']

Remember we may do more than one mission

[ZooNamedGames]

I suggest maybe running a few shorter simulations, such as perhaps one or two 1-2 hour 1=man orbital Mercury missions to gain experience controlling an orbital spacecraft, a 2-man Gemini mission lasting a few hours long to test docking and EVAs, and finally 2-3 day 3-man Apollo missions which can go to the Moon and perform tests with the LEM (like Apollo 10). Should be a nice experience. I'd also like to suggest a shift system for the flight controllers just like IRL, so that people can get some rest in between shifts.

A Mercury/Gemini mission was discussed but we agreed with just doing an Apollo 6 and 8 beforehand to get the aforementioned experiance.

There is a rotation system. Need need 3 of every role.

And for the love of Neil Armstrong, LEM is the 5 legged circular lander. The LM is the final concept which landed on the moon.

[mythic_fci]

A Mercury/Gemini mission was discussed but we agreed with just doing an Apollo 6 and 8 beforehand to get the aforementioned experiance.

There is a rotation system. Need need 3 of every role.

And for the love of Neil Armstrong, LEM is the 5 legged circular lander. The LM is the final concept which landed on the moon.

Alright...! I'm just used to typing and saying LEM - just sound better than just LM. Anyway, what times are the shifts? Depending on schedule, I may be able to commit for one of the "later" schedules (what's midnight in the US/UK is noon/afternoon where I live). Can't really commit to a full mission as an astronaut; plus, my computer just can't handle high-part or large crafts.

P/S: By Apollo 6, do you mean the intended lunar flyby test or the IRL high-alt reentry test? The real Apollo 6 had severe pogo issues that led to the SIVB not being able to restart, meaning the SM engine had to push the CSM into an elliptical orbit before reentering at somewhat-high speed (lower than planned). If you want to do an unmanned flyby, I recommend simulating Apollo 5 instead.

P/P/S: I'd suggest adding an Apollo 9/10 to the schedule as training for the LM as well as extra experience, if possible.

[ZooNamedGames]

The rotation will happen whenever, we don't have an exact plan yet. A lot is still being discussed. So choose a role that fits with you, because you won't have to dedicate 100% of the time to your role.

Apollo 6 was the plan to be free return trajectory mission. when we replicate the mission we won't be replicating all the small errors, just the same style run up of the mission.

[Zephram Kerman]

Oh, I forgot to mention, I can record in HD. So when I suggested to use multiplayer to follow spent stages, I had intended to volunteer for one of those, as well as other duties.

[ZooNamedGames]

Oh, I forgot to mention, I can record in HD. So when I suggested to use multiplayer to follow spent stages, I had intended to volunteer for one of those, as well as other duties.

You can provide info about the spent stages while the crew is in a more idle state and has less to do.

[FishInferno]

Wow, great to see so many signed up:)

One thing I am wondering, it how will the MC to Capcom to crew communication work? I understand that MC will be in a voice chat, and that the crew will be in another voice chat, is there a way for Capcom to go in between the two calls without the crew hearing Mission Control's conversations?

[ZooNamedGames]

Wow, great to see so many signed up:)

One thing I am wondering, it how will the MC to Capcom to crew communication work? I understand that MC will be in a voice chat, and that the crew will be in another voice chat, is there a way for Capcom to go in between the two calls without the crew hearing Mission Control's conversations?

Capcom sadly will hear both at the same time.

[Zephram Kerman]

Wow, great to see so many signed up:)

One thing I am wondering, it how will the MC to Capcom to crew communication work? I understand that MC will be in a voice chat, and that the crew will be in another voice chat, is there a way for Capcom to go in between the two calls without the crew hearing Mission Control's conversations?

I think that would require two instances of voice chat. Perhaps Steam for one and Skype for the other.

[Gaarst]

I think that would require two instances of voice chat. Perhaps Steam for one and Skype for the other.

Yes a double Steam/Skype chat was what we were planning for having two separate chats.

Of course, this might change, considering we're still in the early phases of planning.

[FishInferno]

Yes a double Steam/Skype chat was what we were planning for having two separate chats.

Of course, this might change, considering we're still in the early phases of planning.

So I assume hat the audio produced by one chat would not be picked up by the other?

[Zephram Kerman]

For the recording, it could be captured cleanly by anyone in the channel. For the users, I think that would only happen if someone happens to transmit while CapCom is talking to someone else. But that would sound distant, and kinda realistic imo.

Edited November 8, 2015 by Zephram Kerman

[Sanic]

After learning how to get mods and stuff, I have decided that this might be something I can do.

When will this take place?

[Zephram Kerman]

After learning how to get mods and stuff, I have decided that this might be something I can do.

CKAN is your friend.

[Gaarst]

So I assume hat the audio produced by one chat would not be picked up by the other?

Yes, mission control will have its own chat, while the crew will have theirs. Only CapCom (and maybe INCO) will be able to hear the two at the same time. CapCom will then have to transmit everything said by MC to the crew.

The other way of transmitting info (Telemachus) will reduce comms from the crew to MC.

For the recording, it could be captured cleanly by anyone in the channel. For the users, I think that would only happen if someone happens to transmit while CapCom is talking to someone else. But that would sound distant, and kinda realistic imo.

edit: Perhaps CapCom should automatically transmit globally? That way, all the ground crew will know when to shut up, as well as being better informed.

CapCom will transmit to whoever he's talking to. But it will be his and Flight's role to make sure the comms are recieved by their targets, this includes telling the others to shut up

Regarding what will be heard by the spectators, we haven't decided yet. We really need a PAO to set up all the things about the stream or the recording.

- - - Updated - - -

After learning how to get mods and stuff, I have decided that this might be something I can do.

When will this take place?

No definite plans yet, but we will aim for an Apollo 6 or 8 around Thanksgiving, and the real mission around Christmas. Keep in mind that these dates rely on a lot factors, and therefore might change a lot depending on the crew's availability...

[Zephram Kerman]

I deleted my second paragraph just a few minutes later, when I realized it doesn't make sense. You're too quick! Stop that. Slow down.

[Sanic]

If I understand this, and I'm pretty sure I don't, Apollo 8 will go something like this.

0. Ground crew makes final inspections of Saturn V

1. Saturn V launch into orbit

2. Ground crew does checks and stuff

3. Lunar Transfer, break until Moon periapsis

4. Lunar orbit injection

5. Ground crew stuff like receiving data and more system checks

6. Memorable line and return burn plotted by ground crew (I'll assume all burns are planned by mission control, ie ground crew)

7. Break on return transit

8. Atmospheric reentry and splashdown (If max accuracy is desired) or touchdown

Or something like this, right? Maybe?

[Gaarst]

If I understand this, and I'm pretty sure I don't, Apollo 8 will go something like this.

0. Ground crew makes final inspections of Saturn V

1. Saturn V launch into orbit

2. Ground crew does checks and stuff

3. Lunar Transfer, break until Moon periapsis

4. Lunar orbit injection

5. Ground crew stuff like receiving data and more system checks

6. Memorable line and return burn plotted by ground crew (I'll assume all burns are planned by mission control, ie ground crew)

7. Break on return transit

8. Atmospheric reentry and splashdown (If max accuracy is desired) or touchdown

Or something like this, right? Maybe?

Probably, but we will go in more detail once we know exactly the type of mission we are doing. We are still discussing whether we will do a copy of Apollo 8 (manned) or an unmanned mission with the same flight plan, so that it is less complex for MC (an unmanned mission, even several days long, is easier to manage than any manned mission).

If the Apollo 8 is unmanned, then we will probably do a manned Apollo 6 to test all comms with the crew in orbit while staying in LEO to cut the mission duration to a few hours.