Jool 5 by eloquentJane

[septemberWaves]

A Jool 5 entry like no other

Here is my attempt at completing the Ultimate Jool 5 Challenge. The challenge, for those unfamiliar with it, is to send one spacecraft to the Jool system, land on each moon with varying numbers of kerbals depending on the difficulty level you're attempting, and then return to Kerbin. What makes my entry different from many is that I am sending 24 kerbals to the Jool system and land 3 on each moon. I'm sending 3 multi-moon landers for one kerbal each, and will be attempting to land in different biomes where possible (Laythe will be a challenge in that regard). The other kerbals are a flight crew for the interplanetary transport (two pilots and two engineers), two mission scientists, and three kerbals for something special I have planned.

The mothership I'm sending, the IPT Hera (IPT stands for Inter-Planetary Transport) is a highly modular spacecraft assembled in orbit via only four launches (not counting landers, lander fuel, crew, or maintenance). The landers, Juno A, B, and C, are identical spacecraft capable of landing on and ascending from each Joolian moon in a single stage, with the exception of Tylo, for which the landers are equipped with a disposable de-orbit stage. And the Hyperion Crew Transport, which will take the crew up to the IPT Hera and then return them to Kerbin after the mission is complete, is a heavy transport designed as a highly efficient method of transporting kerbals to/from Kerbin orbit. All of this technology here is experimental, and this mission is the testing phase.

The first four albums at the bottom of this post show the assembly of the IPT Hera in orbit of Kerbin. The next step will be to send the landers and the lander refuel tanks. Then I'll wait until the Jool transfer window approaches, and send the crew up, before transferring to the Jool system. Once there, the IPT Hera will make orbit around Tylo, and three kerbals will land on its surface in different locations. The next stop after that is Laythe, which the IPT Hera will transfer to from Tylo orbit. After three kerbals have landed on Laythe and returned, the IPT Hera will transfer to Vall to allow the crew to land there. Then it will move to a Joolian orbit between the orbits of Bop and Pol, where it will stay until the mission is complete. Three kerbals will depart to land on Bop and then return, followed by three more landing on Pol. Once they are all back at the IPT Hera and there are 15 flags dotted around the Jool system, the IPT Hera will leave the Jool system. What the special mission is and when it will be encountered remains to be seen.

 

Edited May 15, 2016 by eloquentJane
Added remaining imgur albums. Added total mission cost so far.

[Geschosskopf]

Quite an ambitious plan.  Good luck with it.

[septemberWaves]

Thanks! Honestly it's not super ambitious for a mothership the size of the IPT Hera. It's actually grand tour infrastructure; if I replaced two of the Juno landers with more fuel, added an extra liquid fuel tank for the NPM, and brought a custom Eve ascent vehicle, I'd be able to do a grand tour. Which I will be doing at some point, but that won't be for a while.