Elcano Inc.

[W. Kerman]

Greetings all! I am attempting an elcano myself right now! If you have a cool rover/boat that has completed the Elcano challenge, post it here.

 

Important: It must have completed the challenge, not "It could...".

Please state where it completed it, and a pic! Also, tips on elcano mission are always helpful!

 

----W. Kerman

(I'll have my own up soon-ish, life doesn't understand that KSP is the most important thing)

[ryan234abc]

Hey there!

For the Elcano, I can really only speak from personal experience, which is primarily on low gravity bodies. Namely, the two I have circumnavigated are Gilly and Minmus. If I were to give you tips, I'd really need to know what body you wish to circumnavigate, but I can give you a few basics right here. First of all, route plotting. On my Gilly circumnavigation, I did a polar route, while my Minmus circumnavigation I went equatorial. The reasoning for this is purely down to terrain. On Minmus, most flats are along the equator, meaning I had long stretches where I could safely reach top speeds. You'll need to keep and eye on the terrain and plan a route before you get there. Second of all is the rover itself. For my Gilly circumnavigation, I used a primitive rover that featured an Ion engine. I chose this because the Elcano challenge is a ground circumnavigation - if I spend too long in the air, it voids the challenge. Problem with Gilly is if you go too fast, you'll literally drive yourself into orbit. So, consider the gravity and, if applicable, atmosphere of a planet before designing a rover. If you're planning an circumnavigation of a planet with oceans, I'd really recommend using a boat-rover hybrid. Although on Kerbin (to my knowledge) it is possible to circumnavigate using only the ground, it takes much longer, and is really worth it to spend a little more time adapting a rover for seafaring abilities.

Finally, remember that this is a circumnavigation. Especially on smaller bodies, it is easy to start to drift from a nice, circular ring path. Plant flags regularly and keep checking the map to see if you're following the route. Minor deviations are allowed, but try not to stray too far from the path. I'll leave a picture below of my Minmus rover, a modded version of the stock Crater Crawler rover. It featured Vernor thrusters on the bottom because Minmus' cliffs and drops provide wonderful opportunities for short flights, followed by violent lithobraking

Good luck with the challenge, don't hesitate to message me with questions if you need a helping hand at any time!

Ryan