Kerpollo - A Complete Science Mode Run In 9 Acts

[18Watt]

Eveollo Complete!    @Superfluous J

Eve was hard, obviously.  I took 2 Kerbals to the surface of Eve (and back).  Along the way the RCS tank on my Eve ascent stage disappeared, so I had to perform a docking in orbit with no RCS.  I ran into lots of other problems along the way, but all 3 Kerbals made it safely back to Kerbin.  The linked Mission Reports thread below has better documentation, but I'll post a few screenshots here too.

Spoiler

Gilly lander sticking out the side of the transfer stage.  The contraption with orange tanks is the Eve lander and ascender.

A better shot of the Eve lander/ascender.

Landed.

Getting back to orbit.

It's ugly, but it works.

 

[Scarecrow71]

@18Watt

Love the design on that Eveollo lander/ship!  I've got an idea I want to put into practice once I get through with Dres (and I get better parts) for the multiple world/moon landings.  Just gotta get through Dres first!

[Scarecrow71]

And I did it!  I have never gone interplanetary in this game before, and I not only went to Dres and back, but I did it in one launch.  And I had to do docking as well.  Woo hoo!

@Superfluous J, please update the first post!  This is 4 down, 5 to go (I've completed Kerpollo, Minpollo, Munpollo, and Drespollo, in that order!).

[Superfluous J]

Okay I'm pretty sure we're all caught up now.

[Scarecrow71]

On 12/30/2018 at 1:22 AM, Superfluous J said:

While you can only launch 9 times, you can send things to the runway and launch pad to just gather science around the KSC.

• If really want, drive wherever you want but you can NOT fly under rocket or jet (or helicopter if you know how to do that) power anywhere.
• Other than jumps, no leaving the ground.
• Also, no using other launch sites, either for science grind or legit launches. Everything should launch from KSC. If you really want that desert science, return to there from one of your missions.

 

I'd like to ask for a point of clarification on this please.  I know that we aren't allowed to use other launch sites, and that's cool.  We also aren't allowed to drive all over other planets/celestial bodies and collect science.  But the above is a bit contradictory when it comes to driving around Kerbin.  We can, technically, reach Kerbin's Shores from the end of the runway by driving.  We could also, technically, reach multiple other biomes on Kerbin by driving, such as Grasslands which are pretty close by to the West.  So, I'm looking for clarification on the following question:

Can we drive away from the KSC to collect science from nearby biomes?

I ask because your above statement states we can drive wherever we want...but you specifically mention having to land in the desert to collect that science.  And I want to make sure that I break zero rules doing this, so I await your amazing wisdom!

[Superfluous J]

8 hours ago, Scarecrow71 said:

Can we drive away from the KSC to collect science from nearby biomes?

I vaguely recall answering this somewhere in the past 27 pages and I'm almost sure the answer is yes. My reasoning was if you want to do a massive ton of grindy work to save a tiny bit of easy work, go right ahead.

But other than masochism there is literally zero reason to do it.

[Scarecrow71]

36 minutes ago, Superfluous J said:

I vaguely recall answering this somewhere in the past 27 pages and I'm almost sure the answer is yes. My reasoning was if you want to do a massive ton of grindy work to save a tiny bit of easy work, go right ahead.

But other than masochism there is literally zero reason to do it.

Well, I'm like 6 science away from unlocking the first node of Tier 7.  I know there are probably a billion more biomes at the KSC, but if I can hit the shores I can get that last little bit and get access to...gosh, I'm not sure.  Probably the LN-V.

[Superfluous J]

Shores is no biggie I do that myself. Grasslands even is pretty easy, just a straight drive back from the runway.

It's when you start talking about driving to the mountains or desert that I start to question your motives.

[18Watt]

Mohollo Complete!   @Superfluous J

Ugh.  Getting a ship to Eve orbit from the surface is way easier than going to Moho.  Details in the Mission Reports thread, but I'll post a few photos here too.

Screenshots:

Spoiler

Yup, another Mk3 spaceplane.

How long did it take to get here mostly using fly-by's?  The Kerbalnauts will be returning to Kerbin with their great-grandchildren.  It took a long time.

Extracting the lander.

On Moho.  Hooray!

 

[Scarecrow71]

Man, I am having a bear of a time getting to Eeloo.  Even MechJeb is freaking out and not creating proper nodes and all.  Like, MJ created a node for me today that wanted to gravity assist its way around Jool back to Dres.  Yeah.  So a question or two.

1.  Is it easier to get to, say, Duna/Ike and back, and wait on Eeloo for when I have Tier 8 engines?

2.  If the answer to 1 is Yes, do I have to have the orbiter around both bodies?  That is, could I orbit Ike, land on Ike, take the lander to Duna and leave the orbiter at Ike, and the come back to the orbiter after Duna?

3.  Do you need to use chutes on Duna, or is the atmosphere thin enough and the gravity low enough that you can get away with engines to slow down?

[Superfluous J]

3 hours ago, Scarecrow71 said:

1.  Is it easier to get to, say, Duna/Ike and back, and wait on Eeloo for when I have Tier 8 engines?

Duna is the easiest interplanetary target there is. The It's like 200 more m/s dV to get there than to get to Mun, and because you don't have to slow down (you can aerobrake all the way to the surface) most Mun land-and-return ships can ALSO land and return from Duna. The problem with that in this challenge of course is you can't just aerobrake from interplanetary down to the surface, what with docking ports unlocked Also, you gotta also go to Ike.

Dunno about any specific engines, but Duna is a much easier target than ANYTHING, including Eeloo.

3 hours ago, Scarecrow71 said:

2.  If the answer to 1 is Yes, do I have to have the orbiter around both bodies?  That is, could I orbit Ike, land on Ike, take the lander to Duna and leave the orbiter at Ike, and the come back to the orbiter after Duna?

The only requirement is that - around each body - you undock, land, and redock. You could land the same lander at Duna that you do at Ike. You can use the Duna lander as the "orbiter" for Ike and the Ike lander as the "orbiter" for Duna. You can have one mothership that has a Duna lander and an Ike lander. Whatever you choose.

I think the easiest though is to use one lander for both Duna and Ike, maybe throwing away all the parachutes after the Duna landing. Or keeping them and using them at Kerbin as well (note, requires an engineer to repack)

3 hours ago, Scarecrow71 said:

3.  Do you need to use chutes on Duna, or is the atmosphere thin enough and the gravity low enough that you can get away with engines to slow down?

You don't need them, no. But it does make it easier if only because it forces your ship to aim engines-down when it may normally be affected by the atmosphere to flip over.

Note, you don't NEED parachutes anywhere. SpaceX doesn't use parachutes on its boosters in the real world.

[18Watt]

17 hours ago, Scarecrow71 said:

Is it easier to get to, say, Duna/Ike and back, and wait on Eeloo for when I have Tier 8 engines?

Duna is much easier to reach than Eeloo.

Duna is perhaps the easiest CB to reach.  Eeloo and Moho are the most difficult or challenging to reach.

[Scarecrow71]

17 hours ago, Superfluous J said:

You don't need them, no.

YOU may not need them.  I most certainly do.  I mean, I like a spectacular crash with the pieces exploding into a fiery ball of death as much as the next guy.  But I need the parachutes if I want to walk away from this. 

4 hours ago, 18Watt said:

Duna is perhaps the easiest CB to reach.

Yeah, I keep reading that everywhere...but I also see that, of the CB's I need to hit yet, Eeloo has the smallest dV requirement.  Duna may have the smallest dV requirement in normal circumstances, but for this challenge?  Nope, it's Eeloo.  But, you know, it is what it is.  Think I'ma hit Duna/Ike first and then see what I can see.

[18Watt]

Eeloolollo Complete!   @Superfluous J

I finished the Eeloo Kerpollo run today, using basically the same plane I used for Moho, just a few minor changes.  Now I only have two missions left:  Jool and Duna.

Here's a few screenshots, but as always there's more details at my thread in Mission Reports, linked above.

Spoiler

Not bad for a Mk3 fuselage.

Thank you Tylo!

A small adjustment while approaching Tylo yielded an encounter that looks like this:

And resulted in a solar orbit that looks like this:

Time to get to work Jeb.

 

[Scarecrow71]

Got all the way to the surface of Duna...and didn't have enough fuel to get back into orbit.  Had I had enough to at least dock, I could have transferred some resources from one of the lower tanks (I think).  Have to redesign the lander, but I should have Duna done in the next couple of days!

[18Watt]

9 minutes ago, Scarecrow71 said:

Got all the way to the surface of Duna...and didn't have enough fuel to get back into orbit.

Way to go!   

[Scarecrow71]

48 minutes ago, 18Watt said:

Way to go!   

Yeah...not really.  I gotta tweak the rocket a bit.  Standing at just under 80m tall, that's one wobbly thing.  Gotta get better at rocket design or I'm gonna run into this issue over and over; it's why I can't get to Eeloo or Moho yet.

[Scarecrow71]

And I'm ready to give up.  I cannot design a rocket that can get to Duna and Ike and back.  My lander always ends up being top-heavy, or I cannot get back into orbit, or something else goes wrong.  I've spent the last several weeks trying to get somewhere other than Dres and I can't do it.  Simply put, I CANNOT DO IT.

[ManEatingApe]

5 hours ago, Scarecrow71 said:

And I'm ready to give up.  I cannot design a rocket that can get to Duna and Ike and back.  My lander always ends up being top-heavy, or I cannot get back into orbit, or something else goes wrong.  I've spent the last several weeks trying to get somewhere other than Dres and I can't do it.  Simply put, I CANNOT DO IT.

Hang in there Scarecrow, we've all been stuck in that frustrating zone! It might help to take a small break and try something else, sometimes insights may come to you when least expected.

Getting to Dres is trickier than Duna, most folks do it the other way around, so that's a neat achievement.

If you like, you could post ask a question in the "Gameplay Questions and Tutorials" seeking feedback on your lander design. I'm sure there will be some good suggestions.

[Scarecrow71]

21 minutes ago, ManEatingApe said:

Hang in there Scarecrow, we've all been stuck in that frustrating zone! It might help to take a small break and try something else, sometimes insights may come to you when least expected.

Getting to Dres is trickier than Duna, most folks do it the other way around, so that's a neat achievement.

If you like, you could post ask a question in the "Gameplay Questions and Tutorials" seeking feedback on your lander design. I'm sure there will be some good suggestions.

My issue is lander design.  I can get a rocket to Duna and have all kinds of fuel remaining to get home.  But the lander?  I'm stuck.  I'm just...stuck.  I simply.csnnot think of a decent design that works, and all my designs seem to just be a variation on the same theme.  And I can't seem to find any decent, recent tutorials on lander design that don't use every part from tier 7.

[ManEatingApe]

7 minutes ago, Scarecrow71 said:

My issue is lander design.  I can get a rocket to Duna and have all kinds of fuel remaining to get home.  But the lander?  I'm stuck.  I'm just...stuck.  I simply.csnnot think of a decent design that works, and all my designs seem to just be a variation on the same theme.  And I can't seem to find any decent, recent tutorials on lander design that don't use every part from tier 7.

If you could upload some pictures of your lander design(s) then we could take a look and see if there are some design tweaks that could be made.  I'd recommend creating a new thread (perhaps in "The Spacecraft Exchange" section ) to avoid cluttering this thread.

[18Watt]

7 minutes ago, Scarecrow71 said:

I can get a rocket to Duna and have all kinds of fuel remaining to get home.

Maybe go to a Sandbox save and play with lander designs.  I'm finishing up the Joolollo run right now, my last one will be to Duna, and I'll of course post lots of screenshots of the lander I use.

There's several ways to approach a Duna lander.  I tend to keep it simple, just something that makes it to the surface safely, then gets back to orbit.  From there I count on docking with either a ship with more fuel to get me home, or the ship I dock with can get me home.

As far as challenges go, this one is one of the most challenging I've seen.  So don't beat yourself up, this challenge uses nearly every skill in KSP.

[18Watt]

Joolollo Complete!    @Superfluous J

My Kerpollo run to Jool is now complete.  Link to the thread with details below.

Thanks to extensive planning this run went fairly smoothly, as well as a long KSP session can go.  Now I only have one mission to go: Duna/Ike.  I haven't thought much about how to do Duna yet.  I'm thinking Duna is going to be a pretty basic, low-tech, 'get it done' mission.  I would like to bring all my Kerbals on the final run to Duna, I think I have 9 or 10 in my inventory at this point.

As always, here's a few photos, but the real details are in my Mission Reports thread, linked above.

Spoiler

Tylo.

Bop.

Laythe.

Vall.

Pol.

Kerbin.

 

[Superfluous J]

On 11/15/2021 at 8:45 PM, Scarecrow71 said:

And I can't seem to find any decent, recent tutorials on lander design that don't use every part from tier 7.

What is your reasoning for not doing at least Eeloo first? Both Eeloo and Moho - for this challenge - are more straightforward than Duna/Ike as you only have 1 world to go to and there is no atmosphere. If you can get to Duna with plenty of fuel to get home, you should also be able to get to Eeloo. All the science from that might help you make a Duna lander. If not, there's always Moho.

Moho is a bear but really it's just "Dres only more." You've done Dres. You can do Moho. And Eeloo is basically Dres with more time warping.

[Scarecrow71]

1 hour ago, Superfluous J said:

What is your reasoning for not doing at least Eeloo first? Both Eeloo and Moho - for this challenge - are more straightforward than Duna/Ike as you only have 1 world to go to and there is no atmosphere. If you can get to Duna with plenty of fuel to get home, you should also be able to get to Eeloo. All the science from that might help you make a Duna lander. If not, there's always Moho.

Moho is a bear but really it's just "Dres only more." You've done Dres. You can do Moho. And Eeloo is basically Dres with more time warping.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong with Eeloo.  I spent two weeks trying to get there and back, and simply could not do it.  And I'm not sure why I kept failing.  So I switched to Duna...and I've been failing at that for a week and change now.  And again, I don't know why.

I currently have a ship head from Duna to Ike, but I'm not sure I have enough fuel to land, get back into orbit, and get home.  All joking and odd configurations aside, I just don't know what the problem is or why I'm but succeeding.  You're right - I did Dres, with docking, and I had never done either before.  Why I've stalled out I'm not sure.  I'm just...stuck.

I will state that I know I'm frustrated, and I'm really trying not to lose it.  And I appreciate all the help.  I just see everyone else do this and wonder - out loud, as it were - why can't I?  But I have learned a lot and done stuff I've never done before, such as a fuel transfer today so I have enough to land on Ike tomorrow.

I'm rambling.  I'll get back at this tomorrow and see where I need to make changes.

Edited November 17, 2021 by Scarecrow71