11 tourist to Mun, how to do it?

[Jestersage]

Okay, I have 3 tourist mission to Mun that Have a total of 10 tourist (2+3+6). I have two ways

1. 1 Mission at a time
2. Do them seperately

also, should I just extend my Mk-2 cap for the 6 tourist mission, use drone core, or use Mk3?

[bewing]

I like to reuse my tourist ships, and I have separate designs for long-distance traveling than for launch/reentry.

My reentry ship carries 7 to LKO and back down again. My tourist ship for visiting Kerbin SOI carries 9, and stays in LKO when not in use.

But the point is, I know the aerodynamic properties of my LKO shuttle. I know how much fuel it takes to reenter. I know what and where the Pe has to be. On the tourist ship, I know how much fuel it takes to get to the Mun, land, and get back again. As with any craft, you have to know your tools. And you can't know them if you modify them. So if you like the ships you already have, and they can't carry 11, then do two trips. Try to maximize the number of contracts that the first trip completes.

[Superfluous J]

One important question, do they all want to do the same thing? Sometimes they want a flyby. Sometimes they want to orbit. Sometimes they want to land.

Were it me, I'd do one big launch that can hold all 10, no pilot. Have 3 probe cores on it, one for each of the 3 section. Each section can get home from where I expect to drop it (flyby, orbit, landed)

Then I'd launch and get the ship into a free-return trajectory.

Once at Mun, I'd disconnect the ones who just want the flyby so they'll end up going back home. I'd do any little burns with them to make sure they hit atmo on the way down, and set up a maneuver node near the 100km mark of their orbit so KAC will tell me when they're getting close.

Once at periapsis, I'd slow down to get into orbit. The moment I was, I'd disconnect the ones that want to just get into orbit, and leave them there. Then I'd slow down and land with the ones paying for that privilege.

Then, assuming I'd not done it already, I'd take care of the free-returners making sure they landed safely on Kerbin. I'd then return the orbiters and the landers.

And all of this would have been planned in the VAB while building the ship.

[mk1980]

depends a bit on your unlocked tech, i'd say.

in my last career, i had a nice little tourist shuttle with 4 seats that could get 4 dudes on the mun surface for something like 35k funds (actually a bit less, even, since the shuttle recovery value was around 15k if landed at/somewhere near KSC). i guess i would either build a "triple size" version of that design or try to split up the group in a "landing" and an "orbit" group (you can use a much cheaper & simpler design if you don't have to land).

if there are some emtpy seats, i'd probably fill them up with new kerbonaut recruits. and see if there are some "plant flag" or "recover science from surface/orbit of the mun" contracts available. or an "extend base/outpost" contract in kerbin or mun orbit (or mun surface). those contracts often just want you to add some more seats to an existing base, so you can fulfill them along the way just by docking the tour bus to the station.
 

[dire]

I recently dropped a 20-seat "dorm" boat into high munar orbit to provide housing for my Mun Command station. It had plenty of fuel left to land and return home (I think), especially after refueling at my orbital mun base. It had a docking port, an antenna, and could fit at least 5 kerbals  It was the Mk 3 cockpit, Mk 3 passenger container, Mk 3-2.5m adapter, and a poodle.

[Zophos]

8 hours ago, Jestersage said:

Okay, I have 3 tourist mission to Mun that Have a total of 10 tourist (2+3+6). I have two ways

1. 1 Mission at a time
2. Do them seperately

Apologies if you've realized this already: you don't have to complete any of the contracts with a single flight. In other words, the six Kerbals from the six-Kerbal contract don't have to go on the same ship.  You can send three on one ship and three on another, or six separate ships with one each, or whatever else. The only thing that matters is that you get each Kerbal into the situation(s) it wants on the contract (e.g. landed at the Mun) eventually. Each Kerbal pays off the listed reward when that Kerbal returns, and once the last one returns to Kerbin, the contract completes.

Therefore, I second the recommendation to use whatever tools you already have, and to look for other contracts you can complete along the way. For example, if you have a good three-seat lander (based on Mk2) that needs a pilot, grab one or two easy Mun contracts (e.g., plant a flag, return science from surface), then load up a pilot and two tourists and go. It's often the case that one or two tourists is enough to pay for the whole mission cost, so any other contracts you complete are then pure profit.

(Of course, you shouldn't let any of the above stop you from building a new craft. Trying new things is most of the fun. So if you want to build a six- or ten-Kerbal lander, just to see if you can, go for it! The tourists are paying for your experiment, after all.)

Edited July 21, 2016 by Zophos
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