HSP: Mission complete.

[NotAgain]

28 minutes ago, Hotaru said:

Bravado 1 underway.

Wow. I didn't expect that so soon!

[NotAgain]

@Hotaru, what's the date in your save?

[Hotaru]

5 minutes ago, NotAgain said:

@Hotaru, what's the date in your save?

Year 7, day 35 was the date of the Bravado launch.

[DunaRocketeer]

I've never thought about using an LV-T45 for an interplanetary propulsion stage. Although it still wouldn't be my first choice, I like how it has a 'heritage' with other boosters that you've flown.

Looking forward to Eve encounter.

[Hotaru]

@DunaRocketeer The T45 is actually one of my favorite engines to use for large upper stages. Also, I'm enjoying seeing how far I can get with early-game engines (although most of the rest of the tech tree is unlocked at this point); really the only other viable option would be a cluster of Terriers.

 

Bravado 1 at Eve.

 

Space station ops.

Spoiler

Crew rotations: Melxie, Phoberta, and Ziggy arrived at Endurance I on Intrepidity 17; Burmin, Hayberta, and Agalinne returned to Kerbin on Intrepidity 14; Burmin, Mitrie, and Eririne traveled to Patience II on Intrepidity S-8; Lodald, Johndo, and Lemlock returned on Intrepidity S-5; Lodald, Deblian, and Alvis joined the crew of Endurance I on Intrepidity 18, bringing that station to its operational crew of 6. (OOC: I've already stopped posting pictures of every crew rotation but I may stop even mentioning them. I may also lengthen the tours from one year to two just so I don't have to spend so much time keeping up with crew rotations.)

 

Aqualung 2, launched on a Frumious VI rocket, delivered an ungainly fuel depot module to Endurance I, while Aqualung 4 delivered a hab module. The station is now complete as designed and operational. (What happened to Aqualung 3, you ask? This we do not speak of.)

 

Sagacity 1 at Jool.

Spoiler

For reasons not entirely clear, two of Sagacity 1's four external fuel tanks came unbolted during the year-long transit to Jool, leaving it with less fuel than expected and an awkward unbalanced configuration.

 

The engineers at KSC gave some thought to redirecting Sagacity 1 to an easier orbit around one of Jool's moons, but in the end they calculated that it still had enough delta-v to complete its original mission. The probe successfully entered a Molniya orbit around Jool, and transmitted science data and the first close-up images of the planet's poles.

 

Probe launches.

Spoiler

A Manxome VI rocket launched Timidity 6, a rover, to Ike; it will complete another set of seismic surveys as well as returning the first gravimetric data from the Duna system.

 

A Frumious VI launched Sagacity 3, which will orbit Eeloo and deploy two landers to explore the surface of the kerbolar system's most distant object--up till now visited only by the flyby probe Rationality 3.

 

Bravado 1 encounter with Eve.

Spoiler

After an uneventful transit from Kerbin, Bravado 1 approached Eve.

 

This was mission commander Geneming's view of Eve during the spacecraft's approach to the planet.

 

Geneming piloted the ship from the command module during the flyby, while scientist Laselle and flight engineer Lizdrien stayed in the lab module.

 

A burn of roughly 700 meters per second at periapsis was required to set the spacecraft on a course back toward Kerbin.

 

Bravado 1 collected a considerable amount of science data during the flyby, some of which will be processed through its lab during the transit back to Kerbin while the rest will be returned for study.

 

Edited January 31, 2017 by Hotaru

[NotAgain]

3 hours ago, Hotaru said:

Bravado 1 encounter with Eve.

Ye gods and little fishes. That was beautiful. You've inspired me to launch an Eve flyby at the year 9 transfer window. Any tips?

[RobFalcon]

Superb series thus far!  I read through it all yesterday, and you've inspired me to try out a similar playthrough!  It'll be my first time seriously trying career mode, though I'm allowing myself some part mods.  (Yeah, I'm an addict.  )

One problem I've had with long-run playthroughs in the past is pacing out my missions.  I'll be at in-game a couple days and already about to send missions to Mun.  Without KCT, how have you paced yourself to be at Year 7?

[StupidAndy]

I would use KCT but strangely that hasn't been updated for 1.2 yet...

great job! I always try careers, but they always end when Jeb dies...oh well...

[Mister_Spaceman]

On 1/30/2017 at 9:51 AM, Hotaru said:

 

Bravado 1 underway.

     I absolutely love that comms array. Great idea. I might steal base a design off of that in the future.

[Hotaru]

@NotAgain Thanks! I will say one thing I was glad I had done was set my science instruments to action groups. Trying to right-click all of them while zipping past the target at 5km/sec would not have been fun. Also, I'm not sure but I believe launching later in the window (or more precisely aiming for an later arrival at Eve) is better: Bravado 1 launched in the middle of the window and had to swing way out near the orbit of Duna to let Kerbin catch up to it.

@RobFalcon Honestly I just warp a bit between missions, and try not to get obsessive about having to launch something at every window. Setting KAC alarms to keep track of space station expeditions also seems to help with pacing.

@StupidAndy The version of KCT on SpaceDock isn't updated for 1.2 but there is a beta version. This post in the dev thread links to a full download. I haven't tried it myself so I can't say if it works or is glitchy or whatever.

@EvilEmotaku Yeah, I was just going to stick a dish on the side of it but then I said to myself, "You know, it'd look better if it were on sideways, like the deployable ones" and then I did that and said, "You know what would look even cooler? If it had two little side dishes so it looked like the AE-35 from 2001" and then I did that and only later realized how annoying it would be to actually get the thing into space. But it looks nifty so totally worth it.

 

Melxie with the prototype Bravado Duna lander. (Actual update probably later today, not enough has happened yet since the last one cause I got sidetracked screwing around in the VAB working on advanced concept development.)

Edited February 1, 2017 by Hotaru

[NotAgain]

1 hour ago, Hotaru said:

I haven't tried it myself so I can't say if it works or is glitchy or whatever.

@StupidAndy, I can confirm that it works fine.

@Hotaru, Isn't the comms array making the ship fairly unbalanced?

[Hotaru]

8 minutes ago, NotAgain said:

@HotaruIsn't the comms array making the ship fairly unbalanced?

Not enough to be a problem. It only moves the center-of-mass up maybe a couple inches.

[NotAgain]

3 minutes ago, Hotaru said:

It only moves the center-of-mass up maybe a couple inches.

Oh. I guess it's lighter than it looks.

[Mister_Spaceman]

4 hours ago, Hotaru said:

 

Melxie with the prototype Bravado Duna lander. (Actual update probably later today, not enough has happened yet since the last one cause I got sidetracked screwing around in the VAB working on advanced concept development.)

Nice lander. I would never have thought of using an adapter as the base!

[Hotaru]

3 hours ago, EvilEmotaku said:

Nice lander. I would never have thought of using an adapter as the base!

As much as I'd love to take credit for this configuration (including the side-mounted Terriers), I'm pretty sure I saw it someplace on the forums before. Damn if I can remember whose idea it was originally though.

PS. It's also worth pointing out it's actually a six-seater. There's a Hitchhiker inside the Kerbodyne adapter. (That part was my idea.)

Edited February 1, 2017 by Hotaru

[Mister_Spaceman]

@Hotaru I see. Still really cool.

[StupidAndy]

that thing looks really cool, and I don't think that anyone can say "nah nag nah, that's cheating because your clipping" because that space is just empty space from the inside of the thingy!

also, I cant install mods, so I cant do KCT , which is strange, because it was the first mod I ever installed (that and Infernal robotics...)

Edited February 2, 2017 by StupidAndy

[Hotaru]

@StupidAndy I take clipping on a case-by-case basis, but in general I'm fine using it with structural parts (like adapters) that are mostly empty space anyway.

 

Boring stuff:

Spoiler

I've decided what my KSP experience really needs is more lag. It's just running too smoothly right now and I'm getting uncomfortable.

So I went ahead and put SVT and Kopernicus back in. There's a noticeable performance hit, but Endurance 1 in Minmus orbit (167 parts with two Intrepidity and one Pugnacity spacecraft docked) is still playable and I don't expect to ever go over 200 or 250 parts, so for the time being I'm sticking with it. It really does make the terrain an awful lot prettier.

TL;DR: SVT is back!

 

Space station Endurance 1 in orbit of Minmus.

 

Bravado 1 return to Kerbin.

Spoiler

The original mission plan called for the propulsion module to be jettisoned while the crew reentered Kerbin's atmosphere directly in the command module, but after the Eve encounter, the engineers at KSC determined that Bravado 1 still had enough fuel for a propulsive capture into Kerbin orbit.

 

A burn of roughly 1 km/s put the spacecraft in orbit, after which it completed a long series of aerobraking passes to lower its orbit to 100 x 100 kilometers.

 

A Frumious IV rocket launched Intrepidity S-10 to rendezvous with Bravado 1 in Kerbin orbit; it brought up a new crew--commander Kerzer and scientists Johndo and Tangel--to continue processing the data remaining in the Bravado lab while the original crew and science data returned to Kerbin.

 

Intrepidity S-10 returned safely to Kerbin, landing in the highlands west of KSC.

 

Geneming, Laselle, and Lizdrien--first Kermen in interplanetary space!

 

Probes.

Spoiler

A Manxome V rocket launched Circumspection 5, which will land on Eve and hopefully return the first gravimetric data from the planet's surface.

 

In spite of a Kraken attack navigational error that left it wildly off-course when it arrived in the Duna system, Timidity 6 landed safely on Ike, transmitting gravity data and completing a seismic survey mission.

 

Space station ops.

Spoiler

Crew rotations: Hayberta, Carena, and Thomptrey arrived at station Patience II on Intrepidity S-9; Kerzer, Tangel and Chris returned on Intrepidity S-6; Geneming, Gemliana, and Agalinne launched to Endurance I on Intrepidity 19; Melxie, Phoberta, and Ziggy returned on Intrepidity 17. Due to me getting tired of crew rotations the need to gain experience with long-duration spaceflight in advance of interplanetary missions, future space station tours will last two years instead of one.

 

Unkermanned tanker ship Aqualung 5 launched to Endurance 1; it and later flights will keep the station supplied with fuel and monopropellant.

 

Gemliana took the Pugnacity lander down to the surface to survey the midlands of Minmus...

 

...while station commander Lodald explored the moon's north pole. Although some gaps remain in the data, every biome of Minmus has now been visited by a kermanned mission.

 

[Yukon0009]

17 hours ago, Hotaru said:

As much as I'd love to take credit for this configuration (including the side-mounted Terriers), I'm pretty sure I saw it someplace on the forums before. Damn if I can remember whose idea it was originally though.

PS. It's also worth pointing out it's actually a six-seater. There's a Hitchhiker inside the Kerbodyne adapter. (That part was my idea.)

I do believe you are looking for @KerrMü

Also those screenshots are beautiful, do you edit them?

[Hotaru]

7 minutes ago, Yukon0009 said:

I do believe you are looking for @KerrMü

Thanks! Yeah, I remembered seeing that configuration in somebody's signature banner, but it isn't working anymore which is why I hadn't seen it in a while and couldn't place whose it originally was. This post has a link to the design I ripped off was inspired by for that lander. Apparently the landing gear retracting inside the fairing wasn't my idea either, although that might just be convergent evolution.

 

Quote

Also those screenshots are beautiful, do you edit them?

Other than resizing them, no. Just visual mods and GEM FX (cf. @Andem's response on the previous page to when I asked basically the same question). Although they'll get slightly less beautiful in the next update cause I've decided to punt on SVT again. It looks spectacular but cuts my framerate in half.

[Hotaru]

Boring stuff: Uninstalled SVT again. Also bought the "Leadership Initiative" strategy at 100% commitment. I'm only marginally paying attention to contract goals anyway, so between that and converting 100% of science to funds once I've finished the tech tree it'll be nice to have regular operations be my primary source of income.

 

The fourth kerbonaut class with the prototype Defiance six-kerman shuttle. Left to right, top row: Eiliel, Janbe, and Virlina (pilots). Bottom row: Kathelyn, Addan, Valcee (scientists), Rotine, Traissa, and Paty (engineers).

 

Circumspection 5 at Eve, Sagacity 3 at Eeloo.

Spoiler

In spite of a solar panel on the cruise stage being knocked off when the rocket's payload fairing deployed, Circumspection 5 successfully descended to splash down in the ocean of Eve.

 

Sagacity 3 entered orbit of Eeloo, where it returned the first detailed gravimetric data and surveyed possible future landing sites.

 

The main orbiter carried two small landers; probe "A" landed in a region called the Babbage Patch, where it observed a geyser on the surface. (OOC: My first landing ever on Eeloo--the last object in the Kerbolar system I'd never landed on in any save.)

 

Probe "B" landed in Eeloo's brownish lowlands. Both probes had difficulties transmitting so far from the sun, but the mission nonetheless returned an enormous amount of scientific data.

 

Intrepidity 20 and 20B: all in all, this was probably inevitable.

Spoiler

Intrepidity 20 was the first mission to the Mun in several years (they were on hold for the duration of the Bravado 1 expedition); its objective was to investigate an anomaly surveyed by Intrepidity 16 near the south pole. On board were mission commander Burmin, pilot Lemlock, and rookie scientist Valcee.

 

Mun anomaly spoilers (seriously, I legitimately didn't know about this one before this mission):

Spoiler

Burmin piloted the spacecraft to the Space Program's first precision landing next to the anomaly, which turned out to be a wrecked space vehicle of unknown origin.

 

The three Kerbonauts investigated the vehicle, collected samples and scientific data, and posed for the obligatory group shot with the flag before preparing to return to Kerbin.

 

As Burmin was climbing the ladder back to the orbital module, however, the spacecraft inexplicably toppled on its side.

(spoiler-free summary: the lander tipped over)

 

No amount of opening and closing the landing gear or the service bay would right the vehicle, and it was damaged beyond any possibility of repair when Mission Control remotely commanded it to attempt a powered takeoff on a nearby hill (the crew was not on board).

 

Ah, well. It wouldn't be a proper Kerbal Space Program if it didn't have at least one mission to rescue a crew stranded by a tipped-over lander on the Mun. Intrepidity 20B, stripped of its science instruments and escape tower, lifted off unkermanned on a Frumious VI.

 

It successfully landed within a few hundred meters of the wrecked Intrepidity 20--in the process successfully demonstrating the capability for reliable surface rendezvous on airless bodies.

 

The three stranded Kerbonauts boarded the rescue vehicle and returned safely to Kerbin. This was scientist Valcee's view of "Kerbinrise" over the Munar south pole during the ascent.

 

Project Defiance test series: six-kerman shuttlepod.

Spoiler

Although the Space Program's only previous experiment with lifting-reentry vehicles, Project Valor, achieved mixed results, the KSC engineers believed they had gained enough experience to have another go at the mini-shuttle concept. The result was Project Defiance, a six-kerman vehicle which, if successful, will ultimately replace both the Intrepidity Block I and Intrepidity S spacecraft as well as opening the Kerbin system to space tourism.

 

The first flight of the program was an air-drop, primarily to test the parachute system (like Valor, Defiance is designed to land by parachute on land or water, although it has landing gear and is capable of a conventional runway landing). Veteran Kerbonaut Burmin and rookie engineer Traissa were the crew of the carrier jet; the shuttlepod itself would be unkermanned during the test series.

 

To the amazement of everyone, the whole system worked flawlessly on the first try, and the escape pod Burmin had insisted on having installed in the carrier's cargo bay was not needed.

 

The Defiance vehicle proved to behave very well at subsonic speeds, although it suffered minor damage during the splashdown.

 

The engineers were satisfied with the results of the drop test, and the KSC management approved the launch of Defiance 1, an unkermanned suborbital test flight on an Uffish III rocket.

 

The Uffish booster and the spacecraft's own Terrier engine boosted Defiance 1 up to about 1000 meters per second and 60 kilometers in altitude. It proved very stable in supersonic flight, and thanks to a revised parachute system, splashed down in the ocean without damage.

 

The final flight of the test series was Defiance 2, an unkermanned circuit around the Mun, launched on a Frumious V.

 

The spacecraft achieved orbit successfully, and with no signs of the instabilities that had plagued the Valor program, and the trans-stage (derived from an Intrepidity S service module) sent it on a free-return trajectory around the Mun.

 

After jettisoning the trans-stage, Defiance 2 made several aerobraking passes to circularize in a 100 kilometer low Kerbin orbit. It then completed a successful reentry, proving to be just as stable in the hypersonic regime as at slower speeds, and splashed down safely in the ocean east of KSC.

Although a landing has yet to be made on land, the Defiance system has now been proven to the KSC engineers' satisfaction; it will commence operational flights with Defiance 3.

 

Space station ops.

Spoiler

Crew rotations: Burmin, Eririne, and Mitrie returned from Patience II on Intrepidity S-8; Melxie and rookies Virlina and Addan arrived at the station on Intrepidity S-11. Lodald, Alvis, and Deblian returned from Endurance I on Intrepidity 18; Lemlock and rookies Rotine and Kathelyn arrived on Intrepidity 21.

These will probably be the last missions flown by the Intrepidity spacecraft, as it is scheduled to be replaced in the station ferry role by the new Defiance shuttlepod.

 

Edited February 3, 2017 by Hotaru

[DunaRocketeer]

Really like that shuttlepod test series! It's fun testing out new spacecraft, gradually ratcheting up the speed, ironing out the kinks until you reach orbit.

Is that geyser on Eeloo a mod, or is it photoshopped in?

[Hotaru]

1 hour ago, DunaRocketeer said:

Really like that shuttlepod test series! It's fun testing out new spacecraft, gradually ratcheting up the speed, ironing out the kinks until you reach orbit.

Thanks! I was astounded how smoothly everything worked on the first try, especially the first drop test. I've done the mini-shuttle thing before but honestly it looks like Defiance is going to be my first really useful engine mini-shuttle. I'm especially happy with how stable it is through reentry--as opposed to Valor, where reentry was a constant battle to keep it from flipping over.

 

1 hour ago, DunaRocketeer said:

Is that geyser on Eeloo a mod, or is it photoshopped in?

SVE.

[NotAgain]

9 hours ago, Hotaru said:

The fourth kerbonaut class with the prototype Defiance six-kerman shuttle.

Ah, returning to spaceplanes eh? I assume that this one will behave a bit better during atmospheric flight than the Valor did.

[KerrMü]

Hi Hotaru

Very cool lander you got there

My Mk4 lander looked a lot like yours.

P.S.: Finally found my old signature Pic. Sadly it doesn´t fit anymore so I´ll have to make a new one.

Edited February 4, 2017 by KerrMü