MK3 Cargo Bay Eve Challenge

[DAL59]

Rules:

1. You don't have to actual fly to Eve, hyper edit or debug menu to eve orbit is fine. 

2. The craft must have a docking port, and no command seats.

3.  The craft must be capable of fitting inside one mk3 cargo bay.

4.  The craft must land on Eve, and then return to orbit without using the Eva pack.  \

5.  The kerbal must be able to exit the craft and get back onboard. (remember ladders)

That's it.

1. @Foxster

Edited February 9, 2018 by DAL59

[Natokerbal]

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

Uh Can I use mods like KER and Visual mods?

Edited February 5, 2018 by Natokerbal
Question

[Piatzin]

So an Eve ascent craft that can fit in an MK3 cargo bay?

Okay

I'll watch..

[Kernel Kraken]

*sits back* *eats popcorn* this looks interesting to watch.

[Thor Wotansen]

I haven't tested this and I probably won't, but there's a 90% chance it will work as an Eve surface return vehicle that fits in a Mk 3 cargo bay.

It comes with a probe core that supplies the reaction wheel for the final ant powered stage, which incidentally can be operated on hibernate once the prograde marker is toggled (provided your kerbal is cool enough for that) without losing attitude control.  For lower in the atmosphere there are aerodynamic control surfaces since the aerospikes don't vector.  The fairing is set to clamshell but it might work better as a confetti fairing.  If anyone wants the craft file for testing I can upload it to KerbalX.  I tested this from the launchpad at the KSC and without much attitude change got a periapsis around the sun of around 600km, so as long as the lower stages can get it out of the thicker part of Eve's atmosphere, it will do fine.

[MarvinKitFox]

49 minutes ago, Thor Wotansen said:

I haven't tested this and I probably won't, but there's a 90% chance it will work as an Eve surface return vehicle that fits in a Mk 3 cargo bay.

...

Dood....

  2. The craft must have a docking port, and no command seats.

[Natokerbal]

Okay I'm Gonna have to give up on this I have tried for hours on end and can't seem to get the darn thing to land in one piece and fit in the mk3 bay

[Thor Wotansen]

Oops, I guess I didn't read the rules fully.  I do think after tinkering with this, that an Eve surface return vehicle that fits in a Mk 3 cargo bay would have to be absurdly long and thin and otherwise impractical if even just a command pod is required.  I'm assuming that it's intended to be delivered by a shuttle or spaceplane of some sort, many of which aren't reminiscent of a pencil with wings.  Even using the Mk 1 command pod would make the whole thing at least 2 of the four segment cargo bays long, which leads to problems staying upright on most of the planet's surface.

@Natokerbal just out of curiosity, do you mind posting a pic of what you're working with?

Edited February 7, 2018 by Thor Wotansen

[sevenperforce]

Hold my scotch.

Spoiler

I'm thinking a Mainsail under the second-longest Rockomax tank, deployable airbrakes for aerodynamic holding, fairing containing with a Dart and three Vectors in parallel, with the Vectors on structural mounts under long Oscar-B tanks, staged off after 25 km or so, staged for a Spark under some toroidal tanks, and finish on the monoprop in the command module.

Not sure if I would be better off using a Mk1 capsule or a Mk1 crew module.

 

[DAL59]

On 2/5/2018 at 6:24 PM, Natokerbal said:

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

Uh Can I use mods like KER and Visual mods?

sure

[McBalsam]

Is it allowed to assemble the craft in orbit before landing on Eve?

[sevenperforce]

So I had originally intended to make a Mk3 Cargo Bay surrounded by chutes and engines and so forth, land the whole thing upright on Eve, then have the ascent vehicle rocket out of the top like a silo-launched ICBM.

But then I thought...why sell myself short? If I can, I should make the ENTIRE descent and ascent vehicle fit inside a Mk3 Cargo Bay! That, after all, is the only way it could be delivered with a spaceplane.

Behold: the Matryoshka Phallus!

^{(As you'll see, it's a phallus-shaped rocket inside a phallus-shaped rocket inside a phallus-shaped rocket inside a phallus-shaped cargo bay. Going to Eve. The Venus analogue. C'mon, guys!)}

In what is clearly feminist protest of the otherwise male-dominated design, Val has volunteered to be the test pilot. 

At least it's stable enough to stay in one piece on the pad. I was worried I'd have to hang it here with launch clamps.

In Eve orbit, and the Bay Doors are Opening, Hal!

Just imagine that there's some cool spaceplane underneath this. Because reasons.

I'm a lazy SOB, so I used solids for the deorbit burn.

Jettisoned the shroud and deorbit motor, inflated the heat shield, and flipped to retrograde.

And entry has started! The underside of the big 10m heat shield seems to work just as well as the front side. This is going to burn off ALL the ablator on the little 2.5m shield, though.

This is about as hot as it got. A couple of my parts started to fill up the overheat bar, but not all the way.

Entry was quite stable...though without electricity for the reaction wheel, it wouldn't have been. This was the third attempt; my first attempt didn't have RTGs.

Just about to jettison the big heat shield.

And there goes the big heat shield, looking for all the world like some unearthly flying saucer!

Airbrakes out to maintain passive stability. Otherwise it tumbles. I could pop the drogues at this point, but they'd be ripped off in the lower atmosphere (that was my second attempt).

Drogues out!

Second set of drogues out.

Drogues are no longer reefed, so it's time to pop the mains.

Now we're talking!

First set of mains no longer reefed. Holding off on popping the second set of mains so that this descent doesn't take TOO long.

Blowing off the heat shield.

Out come the landing legs! Not sure if seven pairs will be enough, but we'll see.

Second set of mains popped; approaching touchdown! Hopefully this is flat enough. Had to quickload and it oddly offset the coupling at the top, but it didn't affect handling or performance.

And it looks like we made it! Precarious, but workable for now.

Using Separatrons to dump the chute stack. The 2.5m fairing is closed at a decoupler.

Diving inside the stack to get at the command module.

Easy to get down to the bottom this way!

Down to the surface.

Val is content. After this, it's easy enough to climb back up the ladder, board the lower module, and transfer to the upper module. It's like all that rocket stuff in between doesn't even exist!

Mainsail ignition!

Climbing slowly at first...

...then not so slowly.

The inside stack blasts through the confetti fairing before it has a chance to come apart, but no worries.

You can barely see it, but the Vectors are underneath stacks of Oscar-Bs. They burn out quickly. This is the only shot I got of separation.

A little instability here, but I recovered.

Correcting the ascent direction. 

About to throttle down a bit. It was tough to get the right ascent here; I had to fly this part a half-dozen times.

Finally through the bulk of the atmosphere...and right at burnout, no less!

Separation!

So it turns out the thrust on the Ant is just too low to be useful, so I enabled crossfeed on the decoupler. It's a waste of a little mass, but at least it works.

First star to the right, and straight on!

Just about to burnout. Am I orbital yet?

Punched "control from here" on the docking port, flipping myself, and enabled RCS. This little linear thruster is set to respond only to Fore by Throttle.

Warped around to my apoapse.

Burning off the rest of my monoprop! The solar panels ensure I can maintain heading.

I had flown the ascent so many times by now that I was really, really going to be bummed if I ended up suborbital.

Almost there....

Steady as she goes...

YESS!!

And there you have it.

[DAL59]

@sevenperforce, it has to fit in one mk3 cargo bay. https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Mk3_Cargo_Bay_CRG-100

Part clipping encouraged.  

[zeta function]

48 minutes ago, DAL59 said:

@sevenperforce, it has to fit in one mk3 cargo bay. https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Mk3_Cargo_Bay_CRG-100

Part clipping encouraged.  

I don't think it is possible without part clipping.

[sevenperforce]

53 minutes ago, DAL59 said:

@sevenperforce, it has to fit in one mk3 cargo bay. https://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Mk3_Cargo_Bay_CRG-100

Part clipping encouraged.  

Then you should edit your OP to say one mk3 cargo bay rather than a mk3 cargo bay, because using the indefinite article suggests you're talking about a general measurement provided by the mk3 cargo bay.

9 minutes ago, zeta function said:

I don't think it is possible without part clipping.

I don't think it is possible with part clipping. This falls under the "show us it can be done" category. 

You'd have to stack 20-30 Mainsails end-to-end, then stack hundreds of 1.25-m fuel tanks under a fairing, then do the same with Vectors, to even have a chance of getting out of the atmosphere, let alone making orbit. 

[DAL59]

2 hours ago, sevenperforce said:

This falls under the "show us it can be done" category. 

Correct.  Whoever does it will be the first!  

Hint: Stock Propellors

[Reusables]

6 hours ago, DAL59 said:

Correct.  Whoever does it will be the first!  

Hint: Stock Propellors

But... It's already challanging to fit a strong enough electric/rocket propellers into mk3 cargo bay. Let alone a eve ascent vehicle, I guess.

[Thor Wotansen]

12 hours ago, DAL59 said:

Correct.  Whoever does it will be the first!  

Hint: Stock Propellors

I now refer you to the guidelines for Challenge submissions.  Please do this yourself.

[Foxster]

I've not done a challenge here in ages and this one grabs me. Goes off a-tinkering...

[Piatzin]

20 hours ago, sevenperforce said:

Behold: the Matryoshka Phallus!

Why am I not surprised you managed to pull this off lol

After that under 100 parts Eve return rocket....

[Foxster]

Big mk3 or small mk3 cargo bay?

[Aiden.J]

54 minutes ago, Foxster said:

Big mk3 or small mk3 cargo bay?

Come on man, the big one. 

[Foxster]

Just kidding

[Foxster]

Here you go...

Album: https://imgur.com/a/bjMuu

Its all stock. There's a docking port jr. under the nosecone. Ladders visible in the VAB album picture. 

Edited February 9, 2018 by Foxster

[DAL59]

15 minutes ago, Foxster said:

Here you go...

Album: https://imgur.com/a/bjMuu

Its all stock. There's a  docking port jr. under the nosecone. 

Added to leaderboard.