Space everywhere. How to get more of it in here..

AeroGav · April 15, 2016

I've just completed the test flight of my latest space plane. I wanted to see if it was capable of lifting a modest IRSU setup to Minmus. It could. So then we refuelled and went to Duna. Then Laythe. Then Pol. Then Eeloo. And finally we are back home. At 42 years, it was, quite literally, a journey of a lifetime.

Spoiler

The only problem is, they've been cooped in a cockpit for 4 decades. Perhaps Podsy and Kirry are romantically involved, have a Netflix account or are just very, very good at travel chess. And if the former is true, there is then the problem that certain things should never be shared.

That means no "Apollo bags".

Maybe they went on EVA to use the bathroom ? Hopefully they had some consideration for their fellow kerbonaut, and sprayed a bit of RCS afterward. Or advised them to "give it 10 minutes" before going outside.

What is the best way to give our Kerbals somewhere to swing a cat? Most of the crew cabins are about bums on seats, rather than letting our intrepid spacefarers stretch their legs. The 2.5M habitation module doesn't actually look all that homely or roomy. The mobile processing lab seems a little more welcoming, perhaps a crewhab + lab + commander's cupola is the best stock combo. But then mass piles up so quickly. And none of these options integrates well in a mark 2 fuselage.

Perhaps if I download furniture mod, and just kit out one of the cargo bays, or are there any mods with a greater variety of habitation modules (eg. for mk2 aircraft) on offer.

Nudging towards the dreaded real world, should extra living space add mass as quickly as command pods? After all command pods contain more than just a pressure hull, there's reaction wheels, batteries, life support, RCS, avionics etc. If you wanted to tack on a bit more pressure hull with a sleeping pod, tv etc. than would mass really grow as fast as volume.

Eg.

Vintage Mercury Pod 1.7 Metre Cubed, 1.1 Tons = 1.5 M3 per ton

Contemporary Orion Pod 20 Metre Cubed, 10 tons = 2 M3 per ton

ISS 916 Metre Cubed, 420 Tons = 2.18 M3 per ton

Edited April 15, 2016 by AeroGav
bad math

AeroGav · April 15, 2016

OK, got the Furniture mod. Trying out this prototype was one of the most dangerous missions they'll have ever accomplished, risking death by crushing, decapitation and ejection from the solar system.

Despite their heroic sacrifices, I was unable to squeeze in the fridge, double bed, or bookcase. Still, I have lived in worse apartments than this..

For a start, it's going to be pretty warm with those LV-N next to the living quarters. But we need to close the roof if we want to keep the heat in, and the space out.