Orbit Boot Camp

[Klapaucius]

I wanted to display my three colour variants of the new Genji rocket, and so with a bit of sliding base parts around, managed to get all of them on the launch pad. Turns out I inadvertently figured out how to launch three rockets at the same time.  I'm sure this has been done many times, but it was new for me, so I was pretty psyched. The first time they freaked out and shook themselves apart on the launchpad, but a revert settled them.  Alas, it worked for a time and then stopped working--only one would launch.  It was nice while it lasted.

 

[Chequers]

Well done @Klapaucius on a very novel design, with 'Genji' - a truly innovative entry! And well done on keeping the launch cost below 4,990. Earning you the Zircon Chevron adornment for this rocket. 

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Congratulations @Superfluous J on passing out of Orbit Boot Camp with your rocket, 'El Cheapo'. Thank you for your video mission report - it was a joy to watch; and we're all taking notes on that beautifully smooth ascent profile and gravity turn. Particular congratulations are in order for being the first entry to successfully send two Kerbals into orbit! You've been awarded the Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Silver Claw (with Meteorologist, Kelvin, and Observational Ribbons), Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes, and Vermilion Heart. 

I've also noted how difficult netting 5 additional adornments is. I might add an additional '1st Class' honour roll, for those that can achieve it.

Edited April 14, 2020 by Chequers

[BallistX]

Here is my entry, it is done in a Science save because i don't have a career save but it still shows the launch cost.

The vehicle 8 Parts, below 5000 funds, has barometer.

Barometer in space I was still on a suborbital trajectory but i circularized right after.

Orbit! 71 km, i time warped a full orbit before burning retrograde.

Re-Entry With some visual modding.

Parachute As easy as it sounds.

Splashdown! Jebediah is safe and happy.

Thermometer Version I did exactly the same thing, but with a thermometer instead, didn't take screenshots of the flight because i wouldn't want you to rewatch the same images with a thermometer.

 

[Chequers]

Congratulations, @BallistX on passing out of Orbit Boot Camp with your twin crafts. Thank you for providing screenshots of your mission. Particularly well done for achieving a launch cost below 5,000, while packing science experiments aboard. Do your rockets have a name for the Honour Roll? You've been awarded the Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (with Meteorologist Ribbon for the first entry, and Kelvin Ribbon for the second), Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. 

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Update
I have added a '1st Class Register' to the front page. Those that earn the 1st Class Insignia, by achieving at least 5 additional adornments in a single mission, will have their name and vessel listed here. The Honour Roll will also be updated with their name and craft.

An additional adornment has been added - the Pearl Escutcheon - for obtaining all Silver Claw science ribbons in a single mission.

Thanks everyone for taking part.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Chequers

[BallistX]

1 hour ago, Chequers said:

Congratulations, @BallistX on passing out of Orbit Boot Camp with your twin crafts. Thank you for providing screenshots of your mission. Particularly well done for achieving a launch cost below 5,000, while packing science experiments aboard. Do your rockets have a name for the Honour Roll? You've been awarded the Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (with Meteorologist Ribbon for the first entry, and Kelvin Ribbon for the second), Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. 

---

Update
I have added a '1st Class Register' to the front page. Those that earn the 1st Class Insignia, by achieving at least 5 additional adornments in a single mission, will have their name and vessel listed here. The Honour Roll will also be updated with their name and craft.

Thanks everyone for taking part.

I have decided to name them StarCharter Thermo or Pressure, depending on the variant and i could easily do the same thing with the Goo, might do that.

[BallistX]

I finally got around to making and launching the Goo version of StarCharter, not much harder.

In the VAB. The Mystery Goo is even cheaper than the two others i did, but heavier.

Jeb on EVA Showing the emptied out Goo container.

But then… I had an idea I am pretty sure no one else thought about.

We are going to the Mun! Only a flyby of course, I could maybe land with 7500 to 10000 of final budget.

Setting up the Maneuver I had enough Delta-V thanks to the increased size of the lifter stage, in budget due to removing the Science experiment StarCharter can take up to orbit.

Free return trajectory Not necessary, StarCharter Mun could easily come back, but it reduces re-entry speed.

Mun Flyby For less than 5000 funds, sounds like quite an achievement to me!

Harsh Re-Entry It was at much higher speed despite me using all the fuel in the transfer stage to slow down, so I put an heat shield with 20 ablator, the lowest amount available.

Splashdown While the Re-Entry was quite intense, the Heat Shield only lost a bit more than 9 of the 20 ablator units it had.

Well this is it, my special contribution to this fun little challenge.

Edited April 15, 2020 by BallistX
Small modifications

[Chequers]

Thank you for naming your rockets, @BallistX; and for submitting another entry with the Goo Cannister, earning the Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (Observation Ribbon), Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. Particularly well done for your Mun flyby as part of your most recent entry. Another entrant did the same on one of their entries, but not for less than 5,000 launch cost, so well done.

Edited April 15, 2020 by Chequers

[BallistX]

9 hours ago, Chequers said:

Thank you for naming your rockets, @BallistX; and for submitting another entry with the Goo Cannister, earning the Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (Observation Ribbon), Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. Particularly well done for your Mun flyby as part of your most recent entry. Another entrant did the same on one of their entries, but not for less than 5,000 launch cost, so well done.

I'm kind of disappointed there's no Kerbin Crescent ornament for it but it won't stop me from sending the same rocket to Minmus

[Regor]

9 minutes ago, BallistX said:

I'm kind of disappointed there's no Kerbin Crescent ornament for it but it won't stop me from sending the same rocket to Minmus

Try landing your rocket on Gilly  

[BallistX]

Materials Bay I managed to trim enough budget off to fit the Science Jr. Materials Bay by replacing the main stage with a Thumper Solid Rocket Motor, but it meant i had to forgo the explosive decoupling because the Terrier engine just doesn't generate enough heat to burn it off.

Suborbital Trajectory I took this while i was plotting my maneuver to make a full orbit.

Taking out the Data Didn't even have to use the EVA pack.

So close The KSC is in the distance below the altimeter, Jebediah's pod is that 2-pixel white dot in the middle, I landed closer than the Island airfield is to the KSC.

[BallistX]

I promised a Minmus (Wiki Link) flyby, now here it is!

StarCharter Minmus A carbon copy of the Mun version, nothing was changed at all.

Encounter With an important Free return Trajectory.

Kerbin's Mintiest Satellite An approach of 322km.

Double Crescent Okay. It's not really crescents, but it sounds better than "Double Gibbous".

Deadly Re-Entry Even faster than the one endured by StarCharter Mun's command module

No more Ablator! The heat shield actually lost all of the 20 ablator units i packed.

Splashdown Due to Minmus's inclined orbit, i landed at an high latitude.

[Chequers]

It's certainly a great achievement, @BallistX - but this challenge is specifically about getting into orbit around Kerbin, which is why there are no additional adornments for visiting other celestial bodies - but thank you for sharing your mission; I'm very impressed! 

Why not try launching a StarCharter vessel with all four of those science experiments, and be the first to grab the Pearl Escutcheon for obtaining all Silver Claw ribbons in a single mission?

I've recorded your latest entry with the Science Jr on the Honour Roll - you're the first to receive the Lab Technician ribbon - along with the Zircon Chevron, Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. I've recorded it as 'StarCharter Materials' as named in your VAB screenshot - is this correct?

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by Chequers

[Superfluous J]

Cheapo Enterprises would like to unveil the "El Cheapo 2", an improved (or at least modified) version of El Cheapo, to sacrifice some ribbons for more adornments.

1708m/s at sea level, 1729m/s on the pad. Tech level 4 and below, costs $4438, 8 parts including the thermometer to get science in orbit and the 2nd command pod , and a real shot at landing at the KSC.

Spoiler

 

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by Superfluous J

[BallistX]

59 minutes ago, Chequers said:

It's certainly a great achievement, @BallistX - but this challenge is specifically about getting into orbit around Kerbin, which is why there are no additional adornments for visiting other celestial bodies - but thank you for sharing your mission; I'm very impressed! 

Why not try launching a StarCharter vessel with all four of those science experiments, and be the first to grab the Pearl Escutcheon for obtaining all Silver Claw ribbons in a single mission?

I've recorded your latest entry with the Science Jr on the Honour Roll - you're the first to receive the Lab Technician ribbon - along with the Zircon Chevron, Amber Leaves and Onyx Eyes. I've recorded it as 'StarCharter Materials' as named in your VAB screenshot - is this correct?

 

Alright, i guess i can attempt that using a Thumper SRB and then an Hammer SRB, with 2 RCS blocks to go back down

[Chequers]

@Superfluous J - congratulations on your latest entry, 'El Cheapo 2'. And for your textbook video report, clearly demonstrating how you've met each requirement. This entry earns you the Zircon Chevron, Silver Claw (Kelvin Ribbon), Amber Leaves, Onyx Eyes and Vermilion Heart. And by achieving at least 5 additional adornments, you are awarded the 1st Class Insignia - and your name and craft will be recorded on the 1st Class Register. Well done on being the first! 

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by Chequers

[BallistX]

This time, it was way above 5000 launch cost, but the 5000 recover cost limit was reached.

Command Pod Worth 3600 of recovered craft, didn't have to use RCS to deorbit.

With booster, emptied out To show it is worth 2000 of recovered craft, reaching the 5000 recovery limit.

Without the booster substract the costs to calculate the total cost the first stage is worth. With the pod it is over 5000.

Final craft I added some fins so the second stage doesn't flip.

First stage being recovered It is visible in the trail, the parachutes have been deployed, due to how the game works, it cannot really be recovered, but realistically, it would survive the splashdown due to it's 4 chutes and be recovered, so let's pretend that's the case. Current recovered sum: about 2000.

Circularizing With the 4 science experiments.

Right by the KSC 3600 worth of recovered craft. Total recovered sum: over the 5000 limit, so 5000.

This launch is basically impossible without it costing more than 5000 at launch, i would be impressed to see someone achieving it.

Name: StarCharter Plus

Edited April 15, 2020 by BallistX

[ParkorePancake]

 I found this challenge and decided to give it a try.

(Did this in Sandbox. Don't worry about recovery though)

My entry: Blast to the Stars
Total cost: 4,772
Parts: 16
Total dV:  2856
https://ibb.co/d4bLCYK
https://ibb.co/VQZpcRb
https://ibb.co/BGRyQvM
https://ibb.co/1qZqWzk
https://ibb.co/6ncTn6B
https://ibb.co/D8H935L
https://ibb.co/ScVgv1M

 

[BallistX]

36 minutes ago, ParkorePancake said:

 I found this challenge and decided to give it a try.

(Did this in Sandbox. Don't worry about recovery though)

My entry: Blast to the Stars
Total cost: 4,772
Parts: 16
Total dV:  2856
https://ibb.co/d4bLCYK
https://ibb.co/VQZpcRb
https://ibb.co/BGRyQvM
https://ibb.co/1qZqWzk
https://ibb.co/6ncTn6B
https://ibb.co/D8H935L
https://ibb.co/ScVgv1M

 

This is nice, but it could still be optimized, here are a few tips:

1: Use an LV-909 Terrier engine as a second stage, it is quite cheap and extremely efficient once you get past the thicker parts of the atmosphere

2: Remove the heat shield, it just isn't necessary if you re-enter from LKO

3: The fins aren't that useful as long as you can keep your TWR low, you can do this by clicking on your Delta-V indication to show ISP, TWR, etc., and using shift to increase the throttle and ctrl to reduce it, try to keep it around 1.75, this cannot be done with SRB's though, so use an engine like the Swivel or the Reliant.

[Chequers]

@ParkorePancake, congratulations on passing out of Orbit Boot Camp with your classic-looking rocket, 'Blast to the Stars'. Well done for keeping the launch cost below 5,000, and thank you for your screenshot mission report. You've been awarded the Kerbin Crescent, adorned with Zircon Chevron and Onyx Eyes. And your name and craft have been entered into the Honour Roll.

Also, a very warm welcome to the KSP Community! I'm honoured that your first post on these forums was to submit an entry into Orbit Boot Camp!

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@BallistX - well done for taking on the challenge of obtaining all Silver Claw ribbons with 'StarCharter Plus'. You've earned the Silver Claw, with full ribbon complement, earning the Pearl Escutcheon for your effort, as well as Onyx Eyes.

Edited April 16, 2020 by Chequers

[BallistX]

I think the Onyx Eyes ornament is too easy to get, maybe it could be made tech level 3?

[BallistX]

I had an idea for another sanity defying useless achievement on this thread, docking 2 crafts each costing less than 5000 funds at launch!

Radial Parachute Because the docking port is taking up the top slot, both crafts are identical.

Second Craft About to circularize.

Docking Successful! I then separated them before re-entering the two crafts separately.

Second craft back home I re-entered this one first.

On the SPH! I did a lot of quicksaving and quickloading, slightly modifying my trajectory each time.

If the docking was useless, i did manage to land in a KSC biome so that will go towards my Kerbin Crescent.

[Chequers]

7 hours ago, BallistX said:

I think the Onyx Eyes ornament is too easy to get, maybe it could be made tech level 3?

In isolation, for some, any of the additional adornments may be easy to achieve. But this challenge is multi-faceted - and you can scale it to test yourself. If getting one or two in a single mission is too easy, then why not try getting 5 in a single mission, and get your name on the '1st Class Register'?

Thank you for submitting your latest entry; and well done on docking two vessels for less than 5,000 each. Remember though, the total mission cost has to be below 5,000. I can record one of those vessels if you'd like to name it? Congratulations on landing safely back at KSC. Awarding you the Zircon Chevron, and Crossed Swords for this flight.

[BallistX]

2 minutes ago, Chequers said:

In isolation, for some, any of the additional adornments may be easy to achieve. But this challenge is multi-faceted - and you can scale it to test yourself. If getting one or two in a single mission is too easy, then why not try getting 5 in a single mission, and get your name on the '1st Class Register'?

Thank you for submitting your latest entry; and well done on docking two vessels for less than 5,000 each. Remember though, the total mission cost has to be below 5,000. I can record one of those vessels if you'd like to name it? Congratulations on landing safely back at KSC. Awarding you the Zircon Chevron, and Crossed Swords for this flight.

For the first class insignia, i'll just land one of my crafts that already has 4 ornaments in a KSC biome i guess

[Klapaucius]

It was time to get some new awards!

I went for the higher launch cost this time, but I got three Kerbals into orbit and measured temperature, goo and pressure.  It turns out to be less than half the cost to send three Mk-1 command pods (3 x 600) instead of one Mk1-3 (3800).  So, that is what we did.  In order to slow down adequately so as not to shred the chutes, it was deemed better to separate the pods during descent (this took a few tries as I learned the hard way about how the program works with multiple craft)

 

However good advice set me right, and I got them all down (quicksaves are good in these instances).  Also, credit to @bayesian_acolyte for the nose-mounted spark engine idea.  Fortunately, funds for patent rights fall under a different budget.  Your check is in the mail.

 

Total launch cost: 9734

Recovered 5134 (but max is 5000) so that leaves a total mission cost of 4734.

I'm pretty sold on solid rocket boosters. Lots of bang for the buck.

 

I called it the George Burns rocket (Gracie Allen's husband and a comedian). Not sure why I had the brain belch of saying she was married to Fred Allen (surnames are the same, but I know better).  Of course, the pods should really be called Mo, Larry and Curly.

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Klapaucius

[Superfluous J]

10 hours ago, BallistX said:

I think the Onyx Eyes ornament is too easy to get, maybe it could be made tech level 3?

For some reason this got me thinking. I don't consider Onyx Eyes any easier than the other adornments but I wondered which was the easiest? So I searched through the current 35 winning entries and found:

• 1 1st Class Insignia
• 18 Zircon Chevron
• 11 Silver Claw
• 1 Pearl Escutcheon
• 18 Amber Leaves
• 16 Onyx Eyes
• 8 Crossed Swords
• 2 Vermilion Heart

So the "easiest" ones seem to be Zircon Chevron and Amber Leaves. Onyx Eyes is up there, but not the most achieved.

I find it interesting that the 3 with the most entries all have numbers of in-game things (5000 funds, 10 parts, tech 4) which implies those are perhaps not easier to do, but more likely to be used as a basis for building a ship around.

Just food for thought. No actual reason for this.