Single-Launch Mun Base Challenge

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

Like in real-life, it's about time to establish a permanent base on the Mun. The Blacksburg Aeronautics and Space Administration has decided to take on this task, and it is hosting a competition for ideas to accomplish it.

 

SLPB (SINGLE-LAUNCH PERMANENT BASE) CHALLENGE

As the name implies, you must get a base to the Mun in a single launch. To complete the challenge, your base must meet the following criteria:

 

1. DO IT ALL IN ONE LAUNCH, DUH!!!!
2. Stock Parts ONLY - NO MODS
   1. MechJeb's okay, as it's only a remote guidance mod.
   2. WorldStabilizer's also okay.
      1. Just no mods that come with additional base parts.
3. Must hold ten or more Kerbalnauts.
4. Must be able to generate its own power (e.g. solar panels/radioisotope generators)
   1. Don't forget batteries. You're gonna need them.
5. Must have at least one antenna
   1. Relay preferable, but I'm also okay with direct
6. Must have a probe core so you can work it while unoccupied.
7. Must have science lab with instruments (you can't activate the "science farm" without data)
   1. Two-man lab will count when checking crew capacity for Rule 3
8. Must be able to penetrate the surface (e.g. need drill/s) and mine and convert ore (need converter/s) - which also means you need radiators/thermal control systems to cool them down.
   1. Be sure you land in a spot with a good ore concentration
   2. Don't forget the fuel and monoprop tanks
      1. +500 fuel capacity
      2. +500 oxidizer capacity
      3. +500 monoprop capacity
   3. You can't convert anything without ore tanks
9. Must be stationary. I've seen WAY too many mobile bases on YouTube, and it's about time we have a "house to come back to" on the moon.
   1. Which means you'll have to pick your landing spot wisely.
   2. Besides, this will simulate the permanent bases we'll be getting in real life.
10. Must have enough lights to be seen in the dark from a distance (at least in an incoming rover). HokieFarm Insurance won't compensate any losses suffered due to damage if our base is not designed to be seen in the dark. Additionally, we may be held liable for any accidents that happen if a rover crashes into it.
    1. Example: one night Jebediah crashed his rover into a base in the mountains. He was not held responsible for damages (despite him speeding), as his vehicle's lights were on but the base was practically invisible in the dark
11. Your base must have docking capabilities with either:
    1. A docking port
    2. An open space for a claw to grab on to.
12. Must be stable. Our insurance also won't cover losses due to damage if the base can easily tip over (except if the planet's acting glitchy/buggy/bouncy, like Minmus).
    1. We are also liable for motions sickness-related incidents if the base is not stable by design (upside-down, easily wobbles (assuming no game bugs)).
13. Must have a plan to remove debris upon landing that does NOT involve hitting self-destruct in the tracking station.
14. Must have a means of egress (getting out).

 

Here's a screenshot of my base on the Mun to get you all started. Have fun, everybody.

 

LET'S SEE WHAT YOU ALL GOT!

Edited December 19, 2018 by Mars-Bound Hokie

[Death Engineering]

  Single Launch Mun Base

Armstrong Base SLPB

Thanks to @Mars-Bound Hokie for putting this fun little challenge together. Kept me distracted from my "main" KSP game and was nice to not have to worry about life support! This build is all stock parts with only visual mods installed. Post-assembly, the Kraken was lurking in every crater waiting to start a resonant wobble ending up in RUD so took several attempts getting it to the selected LZ.

  Keeping the fairing on for now

Using four 5m boosters on a 5m sustainer, the payload fairing actually looks correct to scale. Weighing in on the pad at 2,111kt with 299 parts and a cost of 1,091,514 the Armstrong Base has plenty of fuel, batteries and room for kerbals. Some assembly required..

  Connecting the first of three "spokes"

Fairing is kept until Munar orbit is established. Assembly is done while still attached to the Munar transfer stage which is then used to begin the Munar de-orbit. Something about this base was wicked good Kraken bait but it was reasonably easy to manage thanks to all the gimballing engines and loads of RCS thrusters.

  Assembled base heading down

Once the booster starts the base's descent, it turns around and enters a stable orbit. A later burn will put the transfer stage back into a Kerbin atmospheric re-entry.

With the landing zone in sight, the base burns to a nearly vertical descent towards the LZ. Very glad to have brought along LOADS of monoprop as trying to keep this thing level was quite a task. Probably should have used more autostruts..

On the ground at the NAM

It gets dark in this crater at night and visitors want to see the memorial at night, so lights on the upper truss illuminate the base as well as the memorial. Mining and ISRU is underway now and visiting rovers can either klaw-attach to the cupolas or use the lower docking port at the bottom of the central hub.

Debris removal was a requirement for this mission, which resulted in all booster parts returning to Kerbin. The boosters were dropped when still suborbital and burned up while the sustainer was left in an elliptical orbital after beginning the Munar transfer. The sustainer was later deorbited and soft-landed in the ocean (but sunk). The booster/transfer stage returned to Kerbin and was soft-landed and partially recovered (lost the engine).

Stats:

• Mass on pad: 2,110,987t / 299 parts
• Landed mass on Mun: 81.6t / 199 parts
• Crew quarters (including science lab): 30
• Lfo/monoprop capacity: 2160 fuel, 2640 oxidixer, 1240 monoprop
• Battery capacity: 24845 EC
• Science lab, Mining/ISRU, solar panels/radiators, relay antenna: check, check, check and check.

A seemingly random collection of pics from the mission.