Alternis Space Program

[Stamp20]

On 6/12/2020 at 12:27 PM, Stamp20 said:

Next time, the TPA rovers will arrive and look for good ore spots. At the next transfer window, a Tylo beacon will be launched too.

First, I have some other things to do.

Part 22: Station Shenanigans Round 5

It was a normal day at Minmus. Construction had finished on a Minmus beacon, and then the drill module thought it was a bird and tried to fly away.

Spoiler

The solar panels are actually flapping wildly.

Once the solar panels shattered, it calmed down.

Downside is that it's too far away from the rest of the base to be used, and is tipped over.

Just to be safe, Herzon removed the robotic hinges holding up the panels, and autostrutted the panels to grandparent.

With that out of the way, the Minmus beacon could be launched.

At Pol, the Karborundum drill resumed mining to help fill the beacon.

Spoiler

Karbo get. Next stop, Minmus.

But first, ASC staff realized that the beacon was missing a docking port and beacon upgrades, so a fix was built.

LET ME WARP!!!!!!!!

Did get a nice view, at least.

The downside of the Minmus beacon was that all the other beacons were LB-15s and couldn't warp to Minmus because of Jool's gravity.

Spoiler

As a result. another patch vehicle was launched to attack LB-10s.

Along the way, some nice screenshots were captured.

Joe was supposed to come up with a witty quote, but he forgot to do it. One minute less during snack breaks for him!

Oh, we're at Pol now.

Spacetime is going to be very broken by the time this space program ends.

And now the Karbo miner can reach Minmus.

And stop at the base to refuel.

For now, it will serve as the base's drill.

If it would work!

The Bop beacon was too inconvenient to reach, so a new one was made for a lower Kerbin orbit.

Spoiler

Because of a lack of patience (and fuel in the miner), the beacon was filled up with Karborundum in the VAB, to much cost.

After over a joy (Alternis year) at the base, the Minmus crew was getting rotated for a new crew.

Spoiler

Except the Kraken decided to pay a visit. The rocket isn't moving, even though it should.

The engine plate causes it to hover in midair, for whatever reason.

After removing the engine plate, the launch went smoothly.

The launch also included a power expansion for the beacon. Docking ports are a life saver when you underprepare.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Took long enough.

Landed a bit far away, and out of fuel.

The pod's RCS can be used to hover, though.

The crew transport will stay as a permanent crew expansion module.

The two crews get out to say hi.

Top: Frorim, Gerbas, Kencott, Adden, Modorf, and Gregford Kerman.    Bottom: Herzon, Tefen, Traory, and Admin Kerman.

The rocket scooter was sent to crash because it was getting replaced.

The new replacement was a rocket truck. Slower, but able to transport KIS parts.

Seats 2, and is completely RCS powered.

The first goal was to add landing legs to the Karbo miner so the drill would work.

Now the drill can drill.

The current status of the base.

The Mun base hasn't recieved much attention, so ASC upper management made the executive decision to shut down the base.

Spoiler

The Mun base is nice, but it hasn't recieved much use during its lifetime.

A return vehicle was constructed to send the kerbals there home.

Before leaving, Bill, Natabin, Admin, and Virfry got one last group photo.

The transfer window back to Kerbin will take a while.

Back at Minmus, the new drill module was complete.

Spoiler

Based on the crew module, it uses RCS to hover to its destination from the launchpad.

Lead engineer Modorf Kerman went out to inspect the new module and remove the RCS. The tank was too heavy to remove, so Frorim came out to help.

And did some Kerbal bowling.

Modorf sticks the landing! Frorim, not so much.

Modorf went to go plug in the new module, and started spinning, even though it isn't clear in the picture.

Modorf must have a really high dexterity modifier, because she landed perfectly again.

Modorf went flying again.

And still lands perfectly!

The Minmus beacon is severely underpowered, but the RCS truck was built for this.

Spoiler

Adden and Modorf flying it up to the beacon.

0.083 tons too heavy? Really?

One quickload later and the truck was back on the surface. This time, Frorim joined them to help.

The lack of extra seats meant Frorim had to hold onto the ladder.

Now Modorf can install the solar panels. KIS is an amazing mod.

Complete overkill, but that's the point.

Frorim jumped off and got inside early because he wanted snacks.

Did you plug in your space truck device?

Fully fueled and unneeded, the Karbo miner went back to Pol.

The crew return vehicle was built.

Thanks to beacons, the travel time goes from hours to minutes.

Traory Kerman now holds the record for most time in space, at 534 days. The kerbals in charge of the ribbons weren't sure what days are, but it was in the training manual.

The Mun crew returned too.

Spoiler

Admin Kerman has the second most time in space now.

Gerbas was trying to watch KerbTube when the video stopped loading. It turns out the main antenna broke, so she went out to fix it. In other news, a kerbal is stranded in space over Minmus.

Spoiler

Once the antenna was fixed, it picked up Barteny's scrap on a collision with a mountain. ASC staff had been trying to tell them about it, but the antenna was broken.

Modorf quickly started the RCS truck.

 "Get over here!" -Modorf

"But the company that launched me says they want the pod recovered too!" -Bartney

"Forget the pod, it's gonna crash!" -Modorf

"But they want it recov-"

"Just be glad you aren't still in there, heading towards the mountain."

Next time, more station shenanigans and some other stuff, I haven't planned that far yet.

[Stamp20]

I haven't abandoned this, I'm just playing 1.10 with less mods while waiting for Kopernicus to update.

I decided to do the Apollo Style Redux challenge, and figured I should post it here. This is a modded entry, but still follows all of the rules. Mods installed:

Spoiler

• B9PartSwitch
• BasicDeltaV
• BetterBurnTime
• BetterTimeWarp
• Chatterer
• CraftManager
• EVE
  • SciFi VE
• KAS
• KER
• KIS
• MechJeb (not used in mission)
• ModularLaunchPads
• Near Future Construction, Electrical, Exploration, Launch Vehicles, Solar, Spacecraft
• RealPlume
• Restock(+)
• SCANSat
• TextureReplacer
• Universal Storage
• Vessel Mover (not used in mission)

Intermission: Apollo Style Redux

In some parallel universe, the Kerbals decided to make a rocket to go to the Mun, Kerpollo style.

Spoiler

The rocket is designed to achieve as many points as possible.

The command pod has space for three kerbals, and has abort engines installed.

The lander is inside a fairing, two-stage, and below the CSM.

On with the launch already.

Spoiler

The rocket is like a shorter, thinner Saturn V.

Pretty standard launch.

TMI burn is a free-return trajectory.

I used a decoupler instead of a separator...

At least docking ports can decouple on EVA.

Problem solved.

To the Mun!

Spoiler

Welcome to the Mun.

Subsat deployment.

Jeb and Bill are landing, while Bob stays in orbit.

Armstrong memorial spotted!

Landed with no fuel left in the lower stage.

Flag planted. For reference, Jeb is orange and Bill is green.

First faceplant on the Mun: Check!

The lander included a folded rover.

Which is now unfolded.

Quick stop for a Mun rock.

10km away from the lander, this should be a good spot to deploy the first SEP.

To save space, the four SEPs are stored in a cargo container, but have to be manually assembled.

The next SEP was set up inside a crater, over 1km away from the previous to follow challenge guidelines.

Random crack in the ground.

Due to the Kraken attacking the wheels, the rover had to be parked on a Mun stone so it didn't drift away.

SEP 3 set up.

And SEP 4.

With that done, it was time to head back to orbit.

As Bill climbed the ladder, the rover phased through the memorial and drifted away.

Liftoff!

In orbit.

Rendezvous with the CSM.

Jeb sent the MEM burning retrograde to crash into the Mun.

And yes, he is safe.

The MEM later crashed into the Mun.

Heading home.

Docking port detaches to make way for the 2 drogue chutes.

The drogues are detached once the main chutes deploy.

MET: 7 days, 58 minutes.

Adding everything up:

Spoiler

• The 3 Little Kerbals: +20
• A Flag on the Mun?!: +5
• Mun Buggie: +15
• Abort! Abort!: +15
• Konked Out!: No kerbals were harmed in the making of this mission.
• Return for Free: +10
• No More MEM!: +5
• Up, Up, and Away: +20
• Look on the Bright Side!: +10
• Shut Away From The World: +5
• Down Under: +20
• Splashies!: +5
• MEM Hugger: +10 
• SubSat: +10
• Minmalist!: This was clearly on the Mun.
• No More Docking?: +5
• Parachute Problems: +10
• Saturn-Alike: +10

 

• Landing Accuracy: At the memorial, +20
• Rover: Over 10km away, +20
• SEP's: Four, each over 1km apart, +20

Final score (according to me): 285 points!