ESS Constellation

septemberWaves · February 19, 2017

This thread exists to document my entries for my Doing It Constellation Style challenge. It will involve a series of missions done in the style of the Constellation program, and will also serve as a showcase of my approximate replicas of the Constellation mission architecture. The first two missions are in the thread for the challenge, but future missions will be done in this thread instead.

Technology

Names of vehicles are KerbalX links. In order for all vehicles to function, you will need Color Coded Cannisters, Kerbal Joint Reinforcement, Firespitter (fuel switch), B9 Part Switch, and Interstellar Fuel Switch, in addition to the mods listed on the KerbalX pages. KerbalX hangar with all uploaded vehicles can be found here.

Launch Vehicles

Spoiler

Ares I

The Ares I rocket is a crew-rated launch vehicle most commonly used to launch the Orion spacecraft. The first stage is a recoverable solid rocket motor, and the second stage is powered by a single liquid-fueled engine. Payload to LKO: 15 tonnes.

Ares V

The Ares V rocket is a super heavy lift vehicle designed for launching cargo. Its first stage is powered by five liquid rocket engines with two recoverable solid rocket boosters, and its second stage is powered by a single liquid rocket engine. The second stage of the Ares V, also known as the Kerbin Departure Stage (KDS) is used on missions within Kerbin's SOI to transport the Orion spacecraft and some cargo beyond low Kerbin orbit. Payload to LKO: 70 tonnes.

Spacecraft

Spoiler

Orion

Orion is a crewed spacecraft launched on the Ares I rocket. It can support four kerbals on long-duration missions.

Orion-E

This is a variant of the Orion spacecraft that has been extended to hold six kerbals instead of four.

Altair

Altair is a four-kerbal Mun lander launched on an Ares V rocket. It is designed to take an Orion crew to the surface of the Mun, and serve as a habitat on the surface for short-term excursions. Its descent module is technically far more powerful than it needs to be for a Mun landing, but that is because it is designed for transporting larger cargoes than the ascent module.

Altair-C

Altair-C is a cargo variant of Altair. It consists of only the Altair descent module, and the ascent module is replaced by various cargoes. The above images show the Altair-C lander with a habitation module, a lab module, and a Leo SMV in that order.

Downloads:

Sirius Asteroid Research Module

The Sirius ARM is a specialized vehicle designed to facilitate crewed asteroid research missions. It is derived from the Altair design, but uses less powerful engines, and a grappling claw instead of conventional landing legs. It is launched on an Ares V rocket.

Lacerta Interplanetary Transport

The Lacerta IPT is a very versatile spacecraft capable of supporting six kerbals on long-duration missions to most places in the Kerbol system. It is mostly reusable, but the drop tank has to be replaced.

Corvus Universal Atmospheric Cargo Lander - DAV

The Corvus UACL is, as the name implies, a lander capable of transporting cargo to the surface of any atmospheric body. This variant carries a Duna Ascent Vehicle, as well as the ISRU equipment required to fuel it.

Corvus Universal Atmospheric Cargo Lander - Habitat

This variant of the Corvus UACL carries a habitation module, a science lab, and a Leo SMV.

Support Vehicles

Spoiler

Leo Surface Mobility Vehicle

The Leo SMV is a pressurized rover that can support four kerbals for extended surface excursions. It carries a lot of science equipment and can be landed either by a Corvus UACL or by a cargo Altair. Its top speed is about 35m/s.

Leo Minor Surface Mobility Vehicle

The Leo Minor SMV is a small two-kerbal rover designed for short-duration missions. Its maximum safe speed is about 12m/s and it is designed to function best in places without an atmosphere.

Completed Missions

Munar Sortie Mission 1
Asteroid Rendezvous Mission 1
Duna Excursion 1 (1), (2), (3), (4)
Mun Base Construction Missions & Munar Sortie Mission 2

Badges

Edited March 13, 2017 by eloquentJane

septemberWaves · February 20, 2017

Testing out the Corvus Cargo Lander and the Duna rover.

septemberWaves · February 22, 2017

Kerbin L5 Relay

To facilitate missions beyond Kerbin's SOI, a relay is launched and placed in solar orbit at Kerbin's L5 point (60° behind Kerbin in the same orbit). The relay is a Libra B satellite launched on a Deimos 2 rocket.

Spoiler

Ignition.

Liftoff of Kerbin L5 Relay.

Commencing gravity turn.

First stage cutoff. The first stage still has some fuel remaining so that it can land and be recovered.

First stage separation.

Second stage ignition.

Second stage cutoff as 80km apoapsis is reached.

Fairing separation.

The spacecraft is now in a stable parking orbit.

Confirmation of first stage recovery.

A maneuver is plotted to place the probe in a solar orbit with an orbital period of 7/6 of a year.

Leaving Kerbin.

Circularizing at perihelion.

The relay is now in a solar orbit with an orbital period of almost exactly one year to match Kerbin's.

septemberWaves · February 24, 2017

First Duna Payloads

It is time for DE1 (Duna Excursion 1), the first crewed mission to Duna. The mission is split over the course of two transfer windows. During the first transfer window, eight launches from Kerbin send six payloads to Duna:

Duna Relay 1 (Libra B commsat)
Duna Relay 2 (Libra A commsat)
Duna Relay 3 (Libra A commsat)
Duna Scansat 1 (Draco scansat)
Corvus Habitation Module (with separate Andromeda propulsion module)
Corvus DAV (with separate Andromeda propulsion module)

The satellites are launched first, all into an 80km parking orbit.

Spoiler

Duna Relay 1:

Duna Scansat 1:

Duna Relay 2:

Duna Relay 3:

Next, the Corvus vehicles are launched, starting with the habitation module.

Spoiler

Ignition.

Liftoff of DE1 Corvus-H.

Commencing gravity turn.

Breaking sound barrier.

As usual, acceleration is limited to 25m/s on Ares V launches.

Booster cutoff and separation.

Reaching maximum dynamic pressure.

First stage cutoff and separation.

Second stage ignition.

Confirmation of booster recovery.

Second stage cutoff as 120km apoapsis is reached.

Circularizing.

DE1 Corvus-H has reached a circular parking orbit.

Second stage separation.

Now the Corvus DAV is launched.

Spoiler

Ignition.

Liftoff of DE1 Corvus-D.

Commencing gravity turn.

Breaking sound barrier.

Booster cutoff and separation.

Approaching maximum dynamic pressure.

First stage cutoff and separation.

Second stage ignition.

Confirmation of booster recovery.

Second stage cutoff as 120km apoapsis is reached.

Circularizing.

DE1 Corvus-D has reached a 120km parking orbit.

Second stage separation.

The two Corvus vehicles need individual propulsion modules to get to Duna. Two Andromeda CPMs (Chemical Propulsion Modules) are launched, and dock to the Corvus vehicles.

Spoiler

Ignition.

Liftoff of DE1 Andromeda-1.

Confirmation of booster recovery.

Fairing separation.

Second stage cutoff.

Payload deployment.

Andromeda CPM ignition. The Ares V second stage will re-enter the atmosphere and be destroyed.

DE1 Andromeda-1 has reached an 80km parking orbit.

DE1 Andromeda-1 approaching DE1 Corvus-D after some orbital maneuvers.

Approaching to dock.

Docking successful.

Now the second Andromeda CPM is launched.

Ignition.

Liftoff of DE1 Andromeda-2.

Confirmation of booster recovery.

Fairing separation.

DE1 Andromeda-2 approaches DE1 Corvus-H after rendezvous maneuvers.

Approaching to dock.

Docking successful.

Angelo Kerman · February 24, 2017

I like the way that yoy lay out your mission reports, makes it easier to navigate the thread. Your spacecraft designs are pretty cool too. Good luck on your Duna mission!

kraden · February 24, 2017

What mod is that for stage recovery?

septemberWaves · February 24, 2017

6 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

I like the way that yoy lay out your mission reports, makes it easier to navigate the thread. Your spacecraft designs are pretty cool too. Good luck on your Duna mission!

Thanks, I'm glad you like what I've been doing.

5 hours ago, kraden said:

What mod is that for stage recovery?

Stage Recovery.

septemberWaves · February 28, 2017

Transferring uncrewed payloads to Duna

The first Duna transfer window has arrived.

The four satellites and two Corvus vehicles plot their interplanetary transfers.

Spoiler

Duna Relay 1.

Duna Scansat 1.

Duna Relay 2.

Duna Relay 3.

DE1 Corvus-D.

DE1 Corvus-H.

The six spacecraft leaving Kerbin.

The first payload to reach Duna is DE1 Corvus-D.

DE1 Corvus-D propulsively braking at Duna.

DE1 Corvus-H.

Duna Scansat 1 braking into an elliptical polar orbit.

Commencing surface scanning. The scansat will search for a suitable landing site.

Duna Relay 2.

Duna Relay 3.

Duna Relay 4.

After all of the payloads reached Duna orbit, the relay satellites all transferred into a 450km equatorial orbit at roughly even intervals to provide continuous communication coverage for equatorial and near-equatorial sites on the surface.

Edited February 28, 2017 by eloquentJane

SinisterSonar · March 1, 2017

I am happy to follow your mission, duna is my next target so it is like a tutorial!

septemberWaves · March 1, 2017

1 hour ago, BogusDionysus48 said:

I am happy to follow your mission, duna is my next target so it is like a tutorial!

If you're new to interplanetary missions, this page and this chart should help you out (though the chart maybe not so much if you don't use a mod that displays delta-v). Of course, seeing it done by someone else is always a good way to learn too.

SinisterSonar · March 1, 2017

2 hours ago, eloquentJane said:

If you're new to interplanetary missions, this page and this chart should help you out (though the chart maybe not so much if you don't use a mod that displays delta-v). Of course, seeing it done by someone else is always a good way to learn too.

I have been playing ksp for about 7 months so I am not new to interplanetary travel but those charts and pages are very interesting

xendelaar · March 1, 2017

interesting designs!

septemberWaves · March 2, 2017

10 hours ago, xendelaar said:

interesting designs!

Thanks! They're based on NASA's old plans for the Constellation program (which was supposed to return to the Moon and then facilitate a crewed Mars mission), although the satellites are original.

septemberWaves · March 2, 2017

Lacerta

This shows the satellite network in orbit of Duna. The three satellites in the equatorial orbit amidst the rings are the relay satellites, and the one in the high polar orbit is the scanning satellite.

Scans showed that this location (marked by the red indicator) has a high concentration of the required minerals for manufacturing rocket fuel on the surface of Duna. It is also a site from which both of the planet's moons are visible. The Duna Ascent Vehicle will land there now.

Spoiler

De-orbiting.

Detaching the Andromeda propulsion module.

Re-orienting for atmospheric entry.

It appears that the lander is going to slightly overshoot the predicted landing site. This is not a major issue, as the required minerals for ISRU can still be found in the region nearby.

Drogue chute deployment.

Upper aeroshell separation.

Main chute deployment.

Lower aeroshell and aeroshell adapter separation.

Lowering the landing gear.

The parachutes are cut and the engines are ignited for the final landing approach.

Landing successful.

The drill is deployed and mining operations commence. This site provides a reasonably good view of Duna's rings, and also allows observations of both of the planet's moons.

Back at Kerbin, another spacecraft is due to be launched. It is the Lacerta IPT (Interplanetary Transport), which will take 6 kerbals to Duna and back. It is constructed with three launches of an Ares V rocket.

Spoiler

The crew module is launched first.

Fairing separation.

Confirmation of booster recovery.

The crew module of the Lacerta IPT in orbit.

Separation of Ares V upper stage.

The drop tank and supporting structure is launched second. The drop tank alone could be launched on an Ares IV, but the initial assembly of the vehicle mandates use of the Ares V to include the supporting structure.

Fairing separation.

Confirmation of booster recovery.

Approaching the spacecraft.

Separation of Ares V upper stage.

Docking successful.

The propulsion module is launched last. The Lacerta IPT is propelled by a modified version of the Andromeda propulsion module that uses nuclear thermal rockets rather than chemical rockets. The modification is made so that the spacecraft can be mostly reusable and will only require refuelling and replacement of the drop tank in order to be used for future missions.

Confirmation of booster recovery.

Fairing separation.

Approaching the spacecraft.

Separation of Ares V upper stage, and preparing to dock.

Docking successful.

Delta-v information shown here is slightly inaccurate, as it does not properly account for the separation of the drop tank after Kerbin departure, nor does it account for the addition of the Orion spacecraft.

The completed Lacerta IPT in orbit.

Majorjim! · March 2, 2017

Good stuff man!

I am salivating at the thought of showing off my constellation rebuild stuff. It's just not ready yet. My Ares V is a monster and proving a real pain to make work and look right.. The rest of the stuff is ready to go though. :-)

I've already shown my Altair lander a while back, I made a few changes to it since though.

Man, flying a full CPX mission is beyond fun! I wish you the best of luck dude.

septemberWaves · March 2, 2017

Thanks! I'm not a man though by the way.

I'm looking forward to seeing your newer designs, you always manage to make incredibly good use of stock parts.

Majorjim! · March 2, 2017

3 hours ago, eloquentJane said:

Thanks! I'm not a man though by the way.

I'm looking forward to seeing your newer designs, you always manage to make incredibly good use of stock parts.

I don't care what your gender is to be honest mate. I call my female friends 'mate' 'man' 'dude' with no ill will intended.

thank you for saying so! I get so much pleasure from seeing others tackle this challenge. Keep up the good work matey!

septemberWaves · March 2, 2017

16 minutes ago, Majorjim! said:

I don't care what your gender is to be honest mate. I call my female friends 'mate' 'man' 'dude' with no ill will intended.

I thought that might be the case, but please don't refer to me as "man", I have my reasons for disliking that.

Angelo Kerman · March 2, 2017

@eloquentJane Is the Lacerta IPT using 3.75m parts? How much delta-v does it have? I'm curious because I'm trying to do some performance tuning for DSEV's Kopernicus reference design. Definitely enjoying your mission reports.

Majorjim! · March 2, 2017

15 minutes ago, eloquentJane said:

I thought that might be the case, but please don't refer to me as "man", I have my reasons for disliking that.

Of course, I don't mean to cause any offence friend.

septemberWaves · March 3, 2017

10 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Is the Lacerta IPT using 3.75m parts?

Yes it is, though the drop tank is 2.5m. The nuclear engines are the stock ones.

10 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

How much delta-v does it have?

Far more than it should have. Including Orion, the first stage (drop tank fuel) has about 1400m/s, and the reusable part (fully fueled after the drop tank is gone) has a little over 5000m/s. It has too much because it probably should be fueled with liquid hydrogen but is instead fueled with liquid fuel, which is much denser so there's a lot more in the tanks. I was going for appearances rather than efficiency with all of these designs.

The good news, of course, is for the Beyond Constellation missions I shouldn't have to make any changes.

10 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

I'm curious because I'm trying to do some performance tuning for DSEV's Kopernicus reference design.

I do know from experience that a Kerbin-to-Duna transfer burn is about 1100m/s (which is what the drop tank needs), the Duna insertion is about 600m/s, and it's about the same for the return trip (I rounded up so the full value of 3400m/s for the full Kerbin-Duna-Kerbin joruney should be enough to include course corrections). I use MechJeb for extra precision though, so if you want to balance it for people who pilot spacecraft manually I think it would be best to round up to about 3600m/s for the full set of maneuvers, about 1100m/s of which is drop-tank fuel.

10 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Definitely enjoying your mission reports.

Thanks! I'm glad you like them.

Angelo Kerman · March 3, 2017

2 minutes ago, eloquentJane said:

Yes it is, though the drop tank is 2.5m. The nuclear engines are the stock ones.

Far more than it should have. Including Orion, the first stage (drop tank fuel) has about 1400m/s, and the reusable part (fully fueled after the drop tank is gone) has a little over 5000m/s. It has too much because it probably should be fueled with liquid hydrogen but is instead fueled with liquid fuel, which is much denser so there's a lot more in the tanks. I was going for appearances rather than efficiency with all of these designs.

The good news, of course, is for the Beyond Constellation missions I shouldn't have to make any changes.

I do know from experience that a Kerbin-to-Duna transfer burn is about 1100m/s (which is what the drop tank needs), the Duna insertion is about 600m/s, and it's about the same for the return trip (I rounded up so the full value of 3400m/s for the full Kerbin-Duna-Kerbin joruney should be enough to include course corrections). I use MechJeb for extra precision though, so if you want to balance it for people who pilot spacecraft manually I think it would be best to round up to about 3600m/s for the full set of maneuvers, about 1100m/s of which is drop-tank fuel.

Thanks! I'm glad you like them.

That's great information, thank you

septemberWaves · March 3, 2017

15 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

That's great information, thank you

I want to amend some of that information, having just finished running the Duna mission (I'm tired so I'll upload it tomorrow). The values I provided are for an ideal transfer window, when the planets are close to a node. If you take that transfer window, the soonest return window is far less optimal, taking over 700m/s for Duna ejection (you'd have to wait another two years for the next 600m/s ejection, which isn't ideal).

I'd suggest adding 300m/s to the 3600m/s total I gave you previously (though the drop tank can still be just the first 1100 since it rarely goes above that); this should account for the less-optimal return windows as well as providing plenty of delta-v for mid-course corrections (which shouldn't total more than 50m/s but some people are less experienced with plotting them than I am). However, it may be best to go with a round 4km/s, to allow just a bit more room for error on manual flights and for less experienced players (to avoid turning away potential mod users because they're not able to fly with perfect efficiency).

septemberWaves · March 4, 2017

Duna Excursion 1

Year 5, Day 364. The DE1 crew prepare for launch on an extended version of the Orion spacecraft.

Launch of DE1-Orion. Crew: Valentina Kerman (Orion pilot; DAV pilot); Wenliana Kerman (Lab Specialist); Phoanne Kerman (Flight Engineer; Rover Pilot); Berella Kerman (Lacerta Pilot); Julella Kerman (Surface Equipment Specialist); Marlie Kerman (Systems Engineer).

Spoiler

I'd truncate the launch since it's been launched several times recently, but the engine has been fixed so I'm going to show all of the footage.

Ignition.

Liftoff of DE1-Orion.

Commencing gravity turn.

Breaking sound barrier.

First stage cutoff.

First stage separation.

Second stage ignition.

Confirmation of first stage recovery.

Second stage cutoff as 80km apoapsis is reached.

LES separation.

Circularizing.

Circularization complete.

Spacecraft deployment.

Approaching the Lacerta IPT.

Docking successful.

The crew transfer into the interplanetary transport.

Moving Orion into the forward position for interplanetary travel.

The delta-v data shown here is for the drop tank fuel only.

Now that the crew have reached the interplanetary transport, the Duna transfer burn can be plotted. The maneuver has to be split into two parts due to the long engine burn time required.

Spoiler

First transfer burn.

Second transfer burn.

Leaving Kerbin.

Drop tank separation.

The transport without the drop tank.

Delta-v total with main tank unlocked.

After some time spent in a solar orbit, the crew arrive at Duna.

Spoiler

Approaching the planet.

Passing over Duna's rings.

Capture burn complete.

Two more maneuvers bring the spacecraft into a circular 100km orbit of Duna.

Delta-v total after Duna capture and circularization.

Once in Duna orbit, the crew move to the Orion spacecraft, which will ferry them to the Corvus-H vehicle.

Spoiler

Undocking from Lacerta.

Current delta-v readout.

Approaching Corvus-H.

Docking successful.

After the crew leave Orion and enter the Corvus-H, the Orion spacecraft undocks and returns autonomously to Lacerta.

After waiting for a few orbits for the landing site to be in daylight, the crew prepare to land in the Corvus-H.

Spoiler

De-orbiting.

Propulsion module separation.

Corvus-H orients itself for atmospheric entry.

Drogue chute deployment.

Upper aeroshell separation.

Main chute deployment.

Lower aeroshell and aeroshell adapter separation.

Duna landing achieved on Year 6 Day 301.

Due to a slight error in re-entry trajectory, the habitation module landed several kilometers away from the DAV.

Rover deployment.

The crew all on EVA.

After the successful landing, the crew will spend a year and 79 days on the surface of Duna.

Spoiler

Many of the surface operations include rover excursions. The crew landed in a midlands area, and there is also a lowlands area nearby which looks promising for scientific surveying.

The rover has a top speed of about 35m/s on average. Luckily it can be driven safely at high rates of physics warp.

Lowlands site has been reached.

The site is 18.6km away from the habitat.

Returning to the habitation module.

After one year and 79 days on the surface of Duna, it is time for the crew to leave the red planet.

Valentina, Wenliana, Phoanne, and Berella travel to the Duna Ascent Vehicle first. The rover only seats four, so Phoanne will return to pick up Julella and Marlie after.

The first crew to reach the DAV also brought the valuable scientific data that was obtained on the mission.

The crew leave the Corvus habitat for the last time.

After a long time spent on the surface of Duna (and a long time spent by me driving around), the crew of Duna Excursion 1 are all in the Duna Ascent Vehicle, ready to return to Lacerta in orbit.