Doing it Soviet Style

[NISSKEPCSIM]

Everyone knows of the Apollo lunar missions. It was all drilled into our heads by our history teachers. But did anyone know that the Soviets also had a lunar program? The answer is, most likely, yes, because not even the USSR can keep secrets from rocketry enthusiasts. What's this challenge supposed to be? Well, basically, I want people to recreate the old Soviet launchers (N-1, Proton, and Soyuz) and spacecraft (Soyuz and LK) and land on the Mun.

General goals:

Accurate launch vehicles: Your Soyuz analogue has four engines clustered on each of the four side-strapped boosters, and the main stalk also has four engines. Your Proton analogue has six engines on the first stage, four engines of the second stage, and one on the third stage. Your N-1 analogue - well, let's be honest, giving it thirty engines on the first stage is huge overkill for the Kerbal universe, so I'll allow ten engines. If you want thirty, feel free to do so. Your next stage has eight engines, the stage after that has four. Now, your rocket should be in space. +15 

Accurate spacecraft: Your LOK, which is basically an over-engineered Soyuz spacecraft, has enough room for two Kerbals. If you also have a Soyuz analogue, make sure the LOK's service module is slightly longer. Your LK, the lunar lander, is a one-stage lander with one crew capacity, which ditches the landing legs and other equipment you wouldn't need for the ascent (ie: science equipment, etc.). If you are unfamiliar with the designs, you should already have wikapedia open. +10

Power generation: Your LOK uses fuel cells and has no solar panels. +5

Efficiency is key: Use the 3rd stage of the N-1 to begin the transfer burn. If you are using RSS or some other large rescale, complete the burn with the 4th stage. +5

Use asparagus staging. -30

Big dreams: Use RSS or some other large rescale: Multiply your total score by 6.

Sightseer: Visit a munar anomaly like an arch or a monolith. You must land within 1 km. If you don't, to get the points, you'll have to EVA your Kerbal the rest of the way there. +5

Far out: Visit Minmus with the same, unmodified spacecraft. +30

Realism: A kerbal dies. -30

Survivability: Have a LES. +5

Life support: Use a life support mod. +20

Hardcore: Do it stock only. +40

Spacewalking: EVA a kerbal from the LOK into the LK, instead of simply transferring them. +5

Chernobyl: Use nuclear engines. -40

Argue-on: Use ion engines. -40 

Surface science bonus: If you are playing career mode, gather as much science as you can without landing in more than one place. Tell me how much you get. Science labs not allowed. Stock experiments only.

Impress me: Points determined from how impressed I am.

Mission goals:

(Add twenty points for each mission completed)

Spoiler

'Zond LS-1': An unmanned test of the N-1 with the LOK stashed behind a fairing. Do not bring the LK with you. Only go to LKO.

'Zond LS-2' An unmanned test of the N-1 with the LOK and the LK stashed behind a fairing. Only go to LKO.

'6-L' First manned test flight of the LOK. Bring the LK with you. Only go to LKO, and test out the systems of the LK. (ie: Fly away from the LOK for a test of the engine, detach the lander legs and equipment for a decoupler test, and fly back to the LOK.

'7-L' Flyby the Mun in the LOK. Do not bring the LK with you.

'8-L' Full launch of the N-1 with the LOK and the LK. Travel to Mun orbit, land, and return.

Now for the made-up missions:

'KP-1' Using the Munar-mission hardware, do a manned Duna flyby and return. You may replace the LK with habitation space or life support if need be. You may also construct a vessel in orbit. If so, it must use only N-1, Proton, and Soyuz as launchers.

'FN-1' Using the Munar mission hardware, do a manned Eve flyby and return.

'ZE-1' Using the Munar mission hardware, do a manned Jool flyby and return.

'LO-1' Using the Munar mission hardware, construct a Munbase in three or more launches.

'BAZ-1' Using the N-1, Proton, or Soyuz launchers, construct a space station in munar orbit.

Leaderboard:

Spoiler

Stock:

Spoiler

@Senki__ 180 points

@sdj64 120 points

@Aegolius13 105 points

@Munbro Kerman 100 points

@Martian Emigrant 100 points

 

 

 

Modded:

Spoiler

@eloquentJane 505 points(Rescaled)

Surface science bonus:

Spoiler

 

 

Here are the badges (drawn by me):

The lunar program badge: You must have completed Zond LS-1, Zond LS-2, 6-L, 7-L, and 8-L to earn this badge.

The station and munbase badge: You must have completed LO-1 and BAZ-1 to earn this badge.

The interplanetary flyby badge: You must have completed FN-1, KP-1, and ZE-1 to earn this badge.

And one for if you've done all three but are running out of signature space:

Edited July 19, 2017 by NISSKEPCSIM

[AccidentsHappen]

I am intrigued... Was this inspired by @Matt Lowne's recent voyage to the Mün using a Soviet N-1? Sounds like a fun challenge though, and one I shall attempt as soon as I get the chance. (probably a week or two. I'm lazy, so don't hold your breath ).

[NSEP]

Might try this. Maybe.

[NISSKEPCSIM]

1 minute ago, AccidentsHappen said:

I am intrigued... Was this inspired by @Matt Lowne's recent voyage to the Mün using a Soviet N-1?

Actually, no. I've known about the Soviet moon missions for years now, but I'm currently undertaking the Doing is Constellation Style and Apollo Applications Program challenges, and I've noticed an extreme shortage of Soviet stuff in general, (Apart from the Tantares thread) so I decided to make a challenge myself.

[septemberWaves]

This looks fun. I think I'll try it out. I've been thinking of making a Munar N1 mimic for a while; this'll give me an excuse to get that done.

Regarding the spacecraft, why would the Soyuz need its own launch vehicle? If I'm not mistaken, the Soyuz spacecraft for the lunar mission was supposed to be launched atop the N1 stack.

Also, the N1 for the N1-L3 mission was supposed to have four stages: the first three used to reach orbit, and the fourth stage used to transfer to the Moon and also used for de-orbiting the lander. I can understand modifying the requirements to suit KSP's scale, but perhaps you should keep that in mind when judging challenge entries.

Edited March 5, 2017 by eloquentJane

[duesenmilan]

Without beeing an annoying smart-ass, I want to state that the soviets actually had two moon landing programs. 

The more well known N1-Soyuz based program by Sergei Korolev, which you are referring to. And the other less well known LK 700 - UR-700 (really big Proton) based program by Korolev's rival Chelomei.

The later never flew, nor was there any actual hardware build for that. It was planned as a direct ascent mission without any orbital docking. You can read more on it on this blog.

I was planning to do that one on my newly started carrer. I already did a munar flyby with a later Chelomei's mission alike "7K-L1 Zond", which was a stripped down Soyuz launched atop a Proton.

[septemberWaves]

Maybe you should limit the Surface Science Bonus to stock experiments. Otherwise there are mods like DMagic which can make it unfair for players who don't use them.

[rkarmark]

3 hours ago, NISSKEPCSIM said:

Far out: Visit Minmus with the same, unmodified spacecraft. +30

  Reveal hidden contents

'Zond LS-1': An unmanned test of the N-1 with the LOK stashed behind a fairing. Do not bring the LK with you. Only go to LKO.

'Zond LS-2' An unmanned test of the N-1 with the LOK and the LK stashed behind a fairing. Only go to LKO.

'6-L' First manned test flight of the LOK. Bring the LK with you. Only go to LKO, and test out the systems of the LK. (ie: Fly away from the LOK for a test of the engine, detach the lander legs and equipment for a decoupler test, and fly back to the LOK.

'7-L' Flyby the Mun in the LOK. Do not bring the LK with you.

'8-L' Full launch of the N-1 with the LOK and the LK. Travel to Mun orbit, land, and return.

Now for the made-up missions:

'KP-1' Using the Munar-mission hardware, do a manned Duna flyby and return. You may replace the LK with habitation space or life support if need be.

'FN-1' Using the Munar mission hardware, do a manned Eve flyby and return.

'ZE-1' Using the Munar mission hardware, do a manned Jool flyby and return.

'LO-1' Using the Munar mission hardware, construct a Munbase in three or more launches.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Stock:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Modded:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Surface science bonus:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

(sorry for the Spoilers they are impossible to delete on mobile) 

Going to Minmus is as easy as to the mun

[NISSKEPCSIM]

3 hours ago, eloquentJane said:

Regarding the spacecraft, why would the Soyuz need its own launch vehicle? If I'm not mistaken, the Soyuz spacecraft for the lunar mission was supposed to be launched atop the N1 stack.

Also, the N1 for the N1-L3 mission was supposed to have four stages: the first three used to reach orbit, and the fourth stage used to transfer to the Moon and also used for de-orbiting the lander. I can understand modifying the requirements to suit KSP's scale, but perhaps you should keep that in mind when judging challenge entries.

I cut it down to three to suit KSP's scale; if anyone would like to attempt this challenge with RSS or some other mod that increases the size and distance of Kerbin, a fourth stage would probably be nessesary; if so, your fourth stage should have one engine.. As for the need for a Soyuz launch vehicle, I edited the challenge to allow orbital construction for the interplanetary flyby missions; launching a Soyuz spacecraft to transfer the crew to the ship would be complete overkill if you used the N-1. 

38 minutes ago, rkarmark said:

Going to Minmus is as easy as to the mun

Landing, yes (my Mun lander had half its fuel left when I rendezvoused with my CSM replica), but that's only if you ridiculously over-engineer your rockets. (my Saturn 1B replica was capable of taking the CSM and lander to minmus) :-)

[NISSKEPCSIM]

3 hours ago, duesenmilan said:

The more well known N1-Soyuz based program by Sergei Korolev, which you are referring to. And the other less well known LK 700 - UR-700 (really big Proton) based program by Korolev's rival Chelomei.

So basically the Soviet equivalent of the Nova and Apollo direct ascent concepts?

[septemberWaves]

1 hour ago, NISSKEPCSIM said:

So basically the Soviet equivalent of the Nova and Apollo direct ascent concepts?

It's definitely a similar parallel (though Nova was part of Apollo; the idea was known as Apollo Direct Ascent (or similar) and the Nova was the rocket that would've been used for it). If I'm not mistaken though, the Soviets' direct ascent idea involved a nuclear engine on the upper stage, which was how they would've obtained the extra delta-v.

Edited March 5, 2017 by eloquentJane

[NISSKEPCSIM]

Testing the Soviet hardware:

'Zond LS-1'

Spoiler

Launch:

MECO:

My version of getting into orbit: Go straight up, cutoff when you apogee is 100km, keep your rocket directly on the border between blue and orange on the navball, burn until you have a stable orbit. No gravity turns required. :-)

Circularising done using the 1st stage and completed 2nd stage:

I got to orbit with half of the fuel left in the 2nd stage. I over-engineered my rocket again!

De-orbit:

No pictures of re-entry. :-(

Parachutes deployed:

Splashdown!

 

Accurate spacecraft. +10

Accurate launch vehicles. +15

Survivability. +5

Total:

30 points.

Edited March 5, 2017 by NISSKEPCSIM

[Aegolius13]

Looks fun... I have a really shoddy stock N-1 in the works.  Here's a diagram of the whole N-1 rocket stack that I found pretty helpful as a reference:

http://www.space.com/10763-soviet-moon-rocket-infographic.html

 

[septemberWaves]

No N1 yet, but I have tested out the spacecraft.

I also should probably mention that I'm playing at 4x scale. Ironically my prototype for the lander would function at normal scale, but I'm going to have to add some fuel to it to make it work on the scaled-up Mun.

[Munbro Kerman]

You can count me in on this one, ironically I have just finished my N1-L3, 26 engines on the first stage though... going to fix that. Everything else is ready to go, just waiting on its first test flight. Soyuz capsule has been tested many times (using the same one on my Soyuz rocket). Here is a picture that is from the WIP Design Thread that I posted:

[capi3101]

Seems interesting. Question about the "Hardcore" requirement - are you limiting all mods there or would you allow piloting assist mods such as KER/KAC/Kerbal Flight Data? Also, what would you consider an acceptable set of screenshots to prove an actual spacewalk took place?

Don't know whether I'll participate just yet or not; my playing time is extremely limited these days.

Edited March 6, 2017 by capi3101
had a second question.

[NISSKEPCSIM]

17 minutes ago, capi3101 said:

Seems interesting. Question about the "Hardcore" requirement - are you limiting all mods there or would you allow piloting assist mods such as KER/KAC/Kerbal Flight Data? Also, what would you consider an acceptable set of screenshots to prove an actual spacewalk took place?

Flight informations mods are allowed. If you want to get points for 'Hardcore,' you can't use autopilots. Screenshots are a nessesity to prove the missions in general.

On 3/5/2017 at 11:58 AM, duesenmilan said:

I was planning to do that one on my newly started carrer. I already did a munar flyby with a later Chelomei's mission alike "7K-L1 Zond", which was a stripped down Soyuz launched atop a Proton.

Feel free to continue those missions. Please post your progress here; your entry will fall under the 'impress me' category.

[septemberWaves]

All of the basic hardware is designed, though I won't be showing off the lander until it's time to use it. This is 223 parts and it has the full thirty engines on the first stage, so it'll be very laggy to fly. It'll definitely be worth it though.

EDIT: I just listened to the entirety of an 8-minute song through the beginning of the launch. Only a minute and 49 seconds have passed in-game. The second stage is at half its fuel level.

Edited March 6, 2017 by eloquentJane

[septemberWaves]

For the missions beyond Kerbin's SOI, is it okay to use a Proton launch vehicle if necessary as well as the Soyuz and N1?

[NISSKEPCSIM]

29 minutes ago, eloquentJane said:

For the missions beyond Kerbin's SOI, is it okay to use a Proton launch vehicle if necessary as well as the Soyuz and N1?

Yes, it is. I'll add the Proton to the accurate launch vehicles category now.

[septemberWaves]

On 3/5/2017 at 10:24 AM, NISSKEPCSIM said:

Efficiency is key: Use the 3rd stage of the N-1 to complete the transfer burn. +5

Does this rule mean that the 3rd stage should begin the transfer burn or finish it? Because if it's supposed to finish the transfer burn that's less accurate to the original N1-L3 mission profile, whereas if it means that the 3rd stage should begin the transfer burn, there are no issues for people who are trying to go for maximum accuracy (such as myself) with a five-stage N1 for the lunar mission (wherein the 4th and 5th stages are within the fairing).

Also, regarding the challenge goals, perhaps a good idea would be to add one for constructing a station in Munar orbit? A station seems to make sense for facilitating additional exploration involving a surface base (since the lander only supports one crew member, the other crew member would need somewhere to stay in orbit for the duration of the surface mission at the base).

Edited March 7, 2017 by eloquentJane

[septemberWaves]

I've completed Zond LS-1.

• Accurate launch vehicles: +15
• Accurate spacecraft: +10
• Power generation: +5
• Survivability: +5
• Big dreams: x6

Total: 210

Regarding the scoring, is it a single ongoing score for all missions, or an individual score for each? Judging by the way the challenge is laid out I would assume the former, but I'd rather be certain.

Edited March 7, 2017 by eloquentJane

[Munbro Kerman]

I added more detail to the first three stages and I updated the LK Lander. I extended the Soyuz Service Module too. Zond LS-1 will most likely be coming out tonight.

Edited March 7, 2017 by Munbro Kerman

[NISSKEPCSIM]

5 hours ago, eloquentJane said:

Does this rule mean that the 3rd stage should begin the transfer burn or finish it? Because if it's supposed to finish the transfer burn that's less accurate to the original N1-L3 mission profile, whereas if it means that the 3rd stage should begin the transfer burn, there are no issues for people who are trying to go for maximum accuracy (such as myself) with a five-stage N1 for the lunar mission (wherein the 4th and 5th stages are within the fairing).

Also, regarding the challenge goals, perhaps a good idea would be to add one for constructing a station in Munar orbit? A station seems to make sense for facilitating additional exploration involving a surface base (since the lander only supports one crew member, the other crew member would need somewhere to stay in orbit for the duration of the surface mission at the base).

I've edited the topic.

5 hours ago, eloquentJane said:

Regarding the scoring, is it a single ongoing score for all missions, or an individual score for each? Judging by the way the challenge is laid out I would assume the former, but I'd rather be certain.

It's a single ongoing score for all missions.

[Alchemist]

Soviet style, you say?
I'll just leave this here

Spoiler

 

Full stock fully functional (although I had to clip two capsules in one), maximally accurately replicated sequence.

 

And speaking of replication accuracy - it was a total pain to make the first stage work