Project Daedalus: A Jool V Mission

[SiriusRocketry]

PROJECT DAEDALUS: PRESS RELEASE

My fellow Kerbals, it is my honour to announce this agency's last chance at salvation - the greatest mission ever undertaken by Kerbalkind, a heroic venture that will etch a legacy beyond compare into the hearts and minds of Kerbals everywhere. The recent budget cuts, public interest drops and withdrawal of major government contracts are of major concern to us here in administration,  to the brave kerbals in the Kerbonaut Program, to our army of builders, thinkers and inventors and to those of you out there who still believe in the Kerbal Space Program. So where is it that we have chosen to send our brave crew? Duna was an obvious first candidate; however the public interest in such a program is low - we've done it before, however many decades ago. Eeloo was another target: however, our research shows that Eeloo isn't interesting enough to justify the decades of radiation exposure and travel time it would take to plant a flag on Eeloo and return. In our minds, there was only one option left.

We go to Jool.

However, probes have already completed flybys and orbital studies of Jool's moons: surely there is nothing new for us there? To which we at the KSC have responded with what some consider suicide, a foolhardly plunge into the unknown: we have decided to send a kerballed expedition to land our kerbonauts on every one of Jool's five moons, and return. It is the greatest engineering, piloting and construction project Kerbals have ever undergone, but if we are to push beyond the safe confines of Low Kerbin Orbit and save our beloved space program, we must take risks. However, it has become increasingly apparent that one nation alone cannot muster the resources for this project alone. Thus, we have enlisted the support of the Rekovian Space Agency to achieve our goals. The Rekovian nations have long been at the forefront of cost-effective space travel and advanced technological breakthrough, and have agreed to combine budgets for the Daedalus project. Rekovian technology will feature heavily in the mission, and our brave crew will be supplemented by a Rekovian cosmonaut for the voyage.

Our mission is by no means an easy one: we must rely on old, outdated and inexpensive hardware to launch our mission to Jool due to our budgetary restraints, launch an estimated 75 tons of mission hardware to the farthest reaches of the kerbolar system along with our mothership, land our crew on all of Jool's mysterious and deadly moons, and return to Kerbin. For this, a huge spacecraft will be required, and the greatest minds of both nations have figured out a design using current and past technology to get us to Jool. The mothership, known as Amalthea, will be one of the largest objects ever launched into space, using habitation technology from the Kerbin Orbital Station program, fuel systems from both the Tranquility and Dynawing architecture, and advanced nuclear-thermal engines from the stillborn Rekovian NERV program. Then, we have the landers, which will need to sustain kerbals on multi-day trips in the Jool system, have the fuel necessary to land on the moons, and the radiation shielding to survive in the highly dangerous magnetosphere of Jool. Tennyson, the Tylo lander, is a combination of Rekovian and UKR technologies: the highly efficient Rekovian aerospikes will propel the asparagus designed UKR lower stage into a Tylo landing, from which the upper stage takes over, with its inexpensive yet durable UKR Spark engines. The upper stage can be refuelled and will be reused for Vall, Bop and Pol landings. The crew pod is a revolutionary Rekovian design: two kerbals can fit in the spacious long duration spherical pod, while cutting edge radiation shielding protects kerbonauts from cosmic rays. The Laythe lander, Earhart, will carry three kerbals to the surface of Laythe (a crew cabin was not included in the attached design render) and return to orbit. Preliminary tests showed it to be just 9m/s of being a Kerbin SSTO: as a hastily engineered weather plane with a UKR 'RAPIER' engine and two Sparks bolted on, nearly becoming Kerbin's first SSTO was a success we did not expect.

Right now, the mission is still being planned- the current mission layout is for Amalthea to aerobrake, either at Jool or Laythe, into orbit using a heat shield structure. If aerobraking at Jool, corrections will be made in Jool orbit to encounter Laythe and enter orbit., and if aerobraking at Laythe, Amalthea will retroburn into a Laythe parking orbit. Amalthea will remain in Laythe orbit for the duration of the landings in the Jool system. Earhart will be piloted to the surface of Laythe and land before returning to orbit and rendezvousing with Amalthea. Earhart will be drained of fuel and left to orbit Laythe until further infrastructure arrives and deorbits the spacecraft. A nuclear tug will dock with Tennyson and transfer it into orbit around Tylo, where it will land, return to orbit and dock with the tug. The tug will return to Laythe orbit and rendezvous with Amalthea, refuelling both itself and Tennyson before venturing outward to Vall. Tennyson's upper stage will land on Vall, Bop and Pol with possible refuelling trips and land on all three bodies before returning to Amalthea. With the mission objective completed, crew will transfer to the habitation modules for the trip home - the tug will switch to autonomous mode and return any remaining fuel to the mothership before deorbiting itself and Tennyson's upper stage. Amalthea will return to the Kerbin system, where it will enter orbit around one of the Kerbin system moons - most likely Minmus - and wait for a standard spacecraft to retrieve the crew and return to Kerbin. Amalthea will remain in orbit and be refuelled either with fuel launched from Kerbin or mined by a possibly established ISRU economy on Minmus, ready for its next journey, if it ever comes.

Of course the program is working on a much reduced budget after after the failed original Jool 5 mission, where Valentina Kerman was tragically killed on Vall after a lander malfunction. An estimated 200 million kredits worth of space program budget was lost in the cancellation of the Tylo, Bop and Pol landings due to the only pilot's death, loss of mission infrastructure and immediate retirement of survivors Bilman and Alfry Kerman, who both suffered PTSD and passed the kerbonaut recommended radiation limit over their seven year journey.
The Daedalus mission may be a long shot, but it is our last shot. We're functioning on one-tenth the budget and one-sixth the manpower: if this fails, the program will be disbanded. Kerbals will forever look up at the night sky in ignorance and confusion, heedless of the knowledge lost. We owe it to our species to succeed in this endeavour, and write the name of Kerbals into the stars.

Kerbal Space Center Director, Gene J. Kerman.
 

END OF PRESS RELEASE

[Kraken that doesn't exist]

hello there

[aspacecephalopod]

This looks awesome! Really like the looks of the main ship especially. Any plans for ISRU or such, or is that where the big fuel pod in the middle of the mothership gets put to use to top off landers?

[RealKerbal3x]

Looks great, consider me a reader!

[HCB-11]

10 hours ago, Kraken that doesn't exist said:

hello there

General Kenobi!

[Kraken that doesn't exist]

2 hours ago, MarsBy2024OrBust said:

General Kenobi!

ah i see you're a man of culture as well, now if theres any updates we're cultured to see it

[SiriusRocketry]

6 hours ago, aspacecephalopod said:

This looks awesome! Really like the looks of the main ship especially. Any plans for ISRU or such, or is that where the big fuel pod in the middle of the mothership gets put to use to top off landers?

Nope, I'm rubbish with ISRU so I'll be flying the mission with only infrastructure launched from Kerbin. There's a half-size Mk3 cargo bay which holds reaction wheels and the refuel tank; the middle tank is basically monoprop storage with an extra booster tank in the middle.

 

5 hours ago, RealKerbal3x said:

Looks great, consider me a reader!

Thanks! This mission report is half story, half report, and I've finished the first two chapters.

[aspacecephalopod]

3 hours ago, SiriusRocketry said:

Nope, I'm rubbish with ISRU so I'll be flying the mission with only infrastructure launched from Kerbin. There's a half-size Mk3 cargo bay which holds reaction wheels and the refuel tank; the middle tank is basically monoprop storage with an extra booster tank in the middle.

Haha fair enough! And that lander is probably pretty efficient it looks like. Following!

[SiriusRocketry]

I'll be putting stuff in spoilers, because otherwise things are going to take too long to load.

CHAPTER I: Assembly Required
 

Spoiler

After the announcement of the Daedalus Program, a problem became almost immediately apparent; the UKR did not have the correct launchers for the habitation module. The newer launcher stock was practically restricted to minor satellites only, and the only other spacecraft were too expensive for a single, 11 ton launch. However, Rekovia proved it's worth to the program by providing one of its older Kroton-P launchers to carry the hab to the planned 135km construction orbit. The launch day was set as Year 13, day 372 in preparation for the Joolian transfer window in Year 14, day 262. (Screenshots captions below images, not above)

Despite initial concerns, the Kroton-P held up exceedingly well, continuing its reputation as one of Kerbin's most reliable launchers. In fact it was somewhat overengineered, judging by the fact the insertion stage still had 600 m/s left when it was jettisoned.

Kroton-P in the upper atmosphere

Fairing separation at 80 km with an absolutely beautiful view of Kerbin.

Orbital insertion of the Amalthea habitation module atop the Fizz-M upper stage

Amalthea hab safely circling in orbit, 135 kilometers high.

The next module to be launched was the 61 ton auxiliary fuel module and drop tank system. However, unlike the Hab, the UKR had the perfect rocket for this payload: a mothballed Neptune III was hastily refurbished and launched the next week to meet the orbiting hab.

Liftoff! Viewed from the VAB roof, the launch is offset by a stunning coastal view.

Once the Neptune III reaches space, the four-piece clamshell fairing opens to expose the fuel module.

After orbital insertion, the upper stage underwent some corrective maneouvers to encounter the hab. However, the crippling lack of reaction wheels on the practically ancient Neptune launcher design made careful adjustment and rendezvous very tricky. We can't dock without precision: the whole mission could be compromised.

After the stage puts the fuel module on course for a rendezvous, the KSC groundcrew activate the probe core and reserve monopropellant in the hab module in a desperate attempt to dock the modules.

The final docking sequence passes the sunlit edge of Kerbin's terminator line, and nightside docking protocols ensure optimum approach continues.

Stage II of core mothership Amalthea is completed with a harrowing nighttime final approach and several launch system-related difficulties. The boffins on the ground are now preparing for the launch of the nuclear drive stage, which at a hefty 145 tons is the single largest object ever launched by Kerbalkind. To launch this incredible payload, the largest ever launcher has been built: once an unfinished concept design, now an awe-inspiring reality: the Neptune VII is ready for its first flight.

Standing 72.8 meters tall and weighing over one thousand tons, the six Vector engines and two Mammoth boosters prepare to hurl this great feat of engineering aloft. The nuclear drive stage itself is a fusion between the past and present; the fuel tankage and cargo bay are derived from the UKR's defunct Dynawing shuttle program and cancelled Megawing system, while the propulsion is supplied by the latest in Rekovian nuclear pulse and radiator technology. The liftoff at launch is so loud it rattles tables twenty kilometers away in the town of Shoreton, and the column of smoke can be seen from as far away as the alpine peaks of the UKR's spine.

Liftoff viewed from a camera helicopter; the immense cloud of smoke from the launch is beginning to dissipate.

Separation of the colossal side boosters in the upper atmosphere.

MECO occurs and the launch stage is detached, allowing the Skiff-powered upper-stage to carry its precious cargo into rendezvous orbit.

The huge clamshell fairing separates, revealing the sleek nuclear drive stage; Dynawing and Megawing especially evident in the design process.

The upper stage orients itself for retrograde relative speed decrease burn, with the faint scattered grasslands of the O'Kele islands faintly visible in an ethereal blue sea.

|

The nuclear drive stage prepares to make its final docking sequence approach as Kerbin slips into the night's shadow below.

The final rays of sunlight illuminate the final approach and docking sequence in an eerily beautiful shot.

 

The core assembly of Amalthea is complete, and what an incredible feat of engineering it is! Weighing in at nearly 220t, the decision was made to keep the Neptune VII upper stage attached with nearly 700m/s of delta-V to be used as a kick stage for the initial Kerbin-Jool periapsis kick. The next orbital flights will launch the landers and nuclear tug along with the aerobraking heat shield assembly to complete mothership construction, but before this happens, we must meet the kerbonauts. Those who will travel on this mission to the stars, those who will be left to gaze up at them, and those who have already become one with them.

 

END OF CHAPTER I

 

[Grogs]

Nice job getting the mothership put together. It looks good. I really like the visuals, too. Now that I've got a better machine I might have to add a mod for that.

 

I wanted to ask about that Tylo lander. 4600 m/s seems like a razor-thin margin for deorbiting, landing, and getting back to orbit. I usually put about 6000 m/s in mine to allow for my mediocre piloting. Is there an additional stage to do the deorbit burn, or do you just have the landing really dialed in?

[SiriusRocketry]

13 minutes ago, Grogs said:

Nice job getting the mothership put together. It looks good. I really like the visuals, too. Now that I've got a better machine I might have to add a mod for that.

 

I wanted to ask about that Tylo lander. 4600 m/s seems like a razor-thin margin for deorbiting, landing, and getting back to orbit. I usually put about 6000 m/s in mine to allow for my mediocre piloting. Is there an additional stage to do the deorbit burn, or do you just have the landing really dialed in?

The actual number is probably something like 5,500m/s, as KER doesn't take monoprop/asparagus drop tanks into account. Heck, probably higher! But a test of the lander shows if piloted well, it can land and return with maybe 2-300m/s in the tanks.

[Grogs]

1 hour ago, SiriusRocketry said:

The actual number is probably something like 5,500m/s, as KER doesn't take monoprop/asparagus drop tanks into account. Heck, probably higher! But a test of the lander shows if piloted well, it can land and return with maybe 2-300m/s in the tanks.

Hey, glad to hear it. It's not just KER either. Sometimes I get two different answers from Mechjeb and the VAB and they're both wrong.

[SiriusRocketry]

CHAPTER II: Every Ship Needs Its Sailors
 

Spoiler

After a gruelling selection process and serious thought, Rekovia and the UKR marshalled those lucky kerbonauts to be chosen for Project Daedalus from their kerbonaut ranks for a photo shoot. 

Pictured alongside UKR Aircutter III showplane, from left to right: Verski Kerman, Wilmus Kerman, Enrie Kerman and Jorbin Kerman.

E5 Verski Kerman, mission commander and UKR combat engineer.

Verski Kerman is one of the UKR's most decorated and experienced kerbonauts. Starting out as a UKR air force engineer in the Desert Wars, Verski made a name for herself quickly, assisting some of the UKR's greatest fighter pilots in several combat tours around the globe as well as co-producing the design for the 'Pelican' VTOL troop dropship, which is widely used by the UKR and its allies in conflict deployment today. She joined the kerbonaut corps shortly after the end of the Endeavour manned inner planet exploration missions, and became part of the first kerbonaut class in the reusable Dynawing shuttle program. Verski's 13 engineering missions, including tours aboard the Kerbin Orbital Station and Aldrin Munar Station, as well as surface missions to the now-decommissioned Cernan Base on the Mun, provide her with a wealth of experience and technical knowledge required to lead this mission.

P5 Wilmus Kerman, mission pilot and veteran RSA kerbonaut.

Wilmus Kerman was an executive marshal in the Rekovian Union Air Force, and saw deployment as a fighter pilot in various conflicts, most notably the nuclear bombing of the State of Koravia, and alongside UKR pilots in the Battle of Chudzur Pass. After retirement from the RUAF, he became the leader of Rekovia's first kerbonaut class, assisted as pilot specialist on three UKR-Rekovia Dynawing missions, and piloted four launches of the RSA's Klipper spaceplane program, an important international collaboration between nations to build the Kerbin Orbital Station. As well as this, he became the first Rekovian kerbonaut to land on both the Mun and Minmus. His valuable deep-space expertise and pilot experience gained from 10 space missions will be vital to the success of Project Daedalus.

S0 Enrie Kerman, mission science officer and civilian exobiologist.

Enrie Kerman is the youngest crew member to fly aboard the Project Daedalus mission. An exobiologist and geological expert, her co-discovery of amino acid formations in the oceans of Laythe and possible ocean under the frozen crust of Vall won her the prestigious Kubert Prize, and a honorary fellowship of the UKR's top university, Lande Institute. This will be Enrie's first ever spaceflight, and as mission science officer and Laythe specialist, she will be required to land on Laythe to verify claims of life in Laythian oceans.

E3 Jorbin Kerman, EVA engineer and interplanetary propulsion specialist.

Hailing from the far southern island nation of Kustrania, Jorbin graduated university with a degree in aerospace engineering and travelled to the UKR to expand his knowledge. He participated in 4 construction missions aboard the KOS and trained in the Rekovian NERV program, which resulted in his six-month solo voyage around the Kerbin system in a NERV-propelled command module. Jorbin's broad Kustranian accent, relaxed manner and sociable disposition have made him a valuable asset in keeping crew morale up. This, in conjunction with his EVA specialist work and NERV propulsion work, made him a prime candidate for selection into Project Daedalus.

CHAPTER II, EPILOGUE: The Stars We Left Behind
 

Spoiler

It was slipping into night at the KSC, and the vanishing radiance of Kerbol illuminated the sky with a faint, orange-yellow light. Kerbin's first three Kerbonauts - all that remained of the Original Eight - sat in companionable silence in the rover, as they so often had through their adventures together. They pulled into a parking bay, the rover's electric motors whirring to a stop, then Jebediah Kerman II, the first kerbonaut in space, spoke up.
"We're here, boys. Let's pay our respects."

Bill Kerman grunted an affirmative and reached for his cane and leg brace. He'd been crippled in a crash of a Dynawing prototype, fifteen years earlier, which had killed his co-pilot and effectively booted him out of the space program. If he could barely walk a hundred meters without gasping in pain, what use was he to the corps? Bob reminisced on a time when Bill was as joyful as Jeb, the one who'd nearly cried with laughter trying to play golf on the Mun, the one who'd been best man at his wedding. Now the kerbonaut corps had killed Bill's happiness along with his mobility, leaving him a cynical shell of himself. Bob pressed the seatbelt release and nearly tripped while trying to float into the aisle; too many low-g expeditions had ingrained that habit into him. Bill snorted derisively at Bob's stumble.
"You've got space on the brain, my friend." Bill chuckled. "If you weren't a national bloody hero, the press'd be asking you questions from the outside of your padded cell these days. Although that mountain retreat of yours is pretty close to the mark."
Bob flipped a rude Kerbinian hand-gesture at Bill before following him down the steps into the cool, breezy night air. The KSC hadn't lost any of it's mysterious gravitas in the intervening years; the weight of the accomplishments achieved in these squat little buildings and huge monolith of the VAB still brought tears to Bob's eyes.
Remember, boys? Remember when the eight of us were the most spoken names on Kerbin? Damned Father Time, he took all the others away. We're what's left? Some heroes.
 

Jeb reappeared from the front of the rover, having used the side door for pilots. Jeb's verve and infectious optimism had been dulled somewhat by the weathering of the years; however on rare occasions he had his little episodes of grinning madness, and Bob couldn't help but remember the grin that had motivated the KSC bean-counters after a failed launch, or the paternal smirk that had rejuvenated many a young intern's spirit. In a way, Jeb had changed the least, after distancing himself the most; he went to live in the northern mountains after his retirement, and while he, his wife and children were regular fixtures in KSC reunion parties, he'd withdrawn from the public eye more than any of them. Smiling, Jeb approached Bob and Bill.
"Isn't it such a nice night? Reminds me of our beach parties: the breeze, the waves, the KSC... now all we need is Bob on the guitar and Bill's barbecue, and we'll go back to how it used to be-"
"We can't go back. I don't know why I did, to be honest: nothing here for me but pain and regret." Bill said sharply, cutting off Jeb. "You know as well as I do that the only reason you tempted me back here was a chance to say goodbye. I haven't got much time left to live, and I'm starting to regret spending the last of it in this hellhole. One goodbye. Then I'm gone." Bill finished, and stomped off to the three flags surrounding the KSC flagpole. Jeb looked crestfallen - they all knew Bill's diagnosis was terminal, but this was the first time Bill had spoken of it directly, and he seemed so nihilistic. Hopeless. Empty. Bob gave Jeb a sideways glance of apology, and followed Bill to the Memorial Flags.

The Three Memorial Flags were markers indicating the buried ashes of all Kerbonauts killed in action, aside from Valentina, who'd been killed millions of kilometers away; the remaining two crew of Pilgrim 8 had returned a container of Val's bio-samples, which were burned as substitute ashes for a body that would likely never be found. Bob blew away the dust and knelt to read the flags' inscriptions.
Here lie the ashes of Jorbert Kerman, killed in crash while piloting Dynawing P-3. May his sacrifice never be forgotten.
Here lie the ashes of Annalee Kerman, killed by solar radiation flare onboard Endeavour 2. May her sacrifice never be forgotten.

Bob had a lump his throat, and realised he was crying. Jeb wrapped an arm around his back and patted it awkwardly. 
"S'all right, Bob, get it all out. It's okay." Jeb responded softly.
Bill harrumphed, muttering something about the space program dying faster than the people who were part of it. Bob couldn't bring himself to read the last inscription, so Jeb read it slowly for him.
Here lie the ashes of Valentina Kerman, beloved wife of Bob. Killed in lander malfunction on Vall during mission Pilgrim 8. May we never forget her sacrifice.

Bob looked up through tear-distorted eyes at the flag of the Daedalus mission, fluttering gently overhead.
I don't care what happens, or who says I can't. I'm coming to you, Val, and I'm bringing you home.

The sun dipped below the mountains to the west, and Bob knew it was time to go.

 

 

Edited June 23, 2020 by SiriusRocketry
double pics

[SiriusRocketry]

No, I haven't forgotten about Project Daedalus! Here's a new, mostly-story driven chapter.

CHAPTER III: A Ride Worth Taking
 

Spoiler

While the UKR and Rekovian space programs were amiable in their desperate attempt to expand the final frontier, as countries they were anything but. While a veneer of alliance had prevailed into 'peacetime', Rekovia and the UKR were in fact locked in a fierce battle for ideological superiority; a game of international one-upmanship. It was through this that an idea spread through the UKR's upper government; what if, in order to show our technological superiority, we let the Rekovian cosmonaut fly a UKR supersonic passenger jet for a publicity stunt? The idea circled around to the space program's desk; the UKR space program's management wasn't happy about the political grandstanding, but there wasn't a lot anybody could do about it. The big cats upstairs had the money and the power; their wish was the space program's reluctant command.

So, on day 11, year 14, the newest Archer Air Developments Aircutter IV supersonic passenger jet was cleared for a quick trip to the Kovac desert operations center, with Wilmus Kerman flying and the other three Project Daedalus kerbonauts as passengers.

 

Wilmus, in spite of his nationality, couldn't help but marvel at the smooth and easy handling of the Aircutter IV as he lifted off from Runway 09 and climbed over the azure waters of Booster Bay. She may be a Republic skypig, Wilmus smirked internally, but at least she flies all right. He pushed the jets up to full throttle and initiated a banking 180 degree turn over the UKR Space Center, heading east over the stunning Tarannius Ranges and out across the continent, over the open ocean. However, even as Wilmus set the Aircutter IV to autopilot at 7,000 meters above the Murdoch Strait, his mind churned. Stress lines crinkled his wide green forehead, and he inadvertently found himself flashing back to the day of the training accident, the day Opbus was killed.
The puffs of monopropellant as the test rig set off, the happy whoops of Opbus, flying into the afternoon sun, the way those whoops had turned to panicked grunts, then to screams as the rear thrusters failed and the rig smashed into the lake...

 

A low beeping from the cockpit HUD sounded as he approached the desert coastline. MAX. CRUISING SPEED REACHED, a flashing on-screen alert read. Wilmus throlled the engines down and dismissed the alert, still deep in thought.
What if Opbus hadn't died? Suppose the rear thrusters didn't fail, and he landed fine? Would he be here today? Running station ops? Or even replacing me on Project Daedalus? 
The navigation beacon dinged, signalling Wilmus to descend. With a resigned sigh, Wilmus gently pushed the steering yoke forward, and Aircutter IV began to descend from the heavens.

 

Barely visible in the distance was a faint, grayish smear; as the plane drew nearer, Wilmus started to make out individual buildings; the hangars, floodlights and propellant tanks. He flipped the Aircutter IV into a shallow banking turn, intending to swoop around the airfield before landing at the north-facing end of the runway.

 

As he neared the landing strip and began landing preparations, Opbus's words echoed in his head.
I always loved it when you landed, Wil. There'd be this wild, steely look in your eyes; it's like you entered a different realm from the rest of us. That's what made you such an amazing pilot - you'd grit your teeth and get things done when everything was distracting you. 
The soft jerk and skidding of rubber below jerked Wilmus back to reality, as effortlessly as a cold bucket of ice over the head. He engaged the brakes and rolled the plane to a stop.

 

When it was time for the photoshoot by the cactus at the end of the runway, Wilmus smiled with the rest, hoping his grin could mask his internal conflicts. The last thing he wanted was to show his UKR companions a hint of weakness, a sign of the grief he was still processing, six months on.

 

The trip back was a quieter affair with not much to speak of: Wilmus purposely kept the Aircutter IV running in manual systems mode, in order to forget about the machinations of his thoughts.

 

By the time the navigation lights of Runway 09 glowed in the darkness, Wilmus was somewhat relieved. Once he disembarked this UKR paper dart, he could take a hot shower and sleep, refreshed and free of the ghosts that his mind chased around, like paper caught in the wind. But somewhere deep down, Wilmus knew this would only bring a temporary respite; the ever-present torture of Opbus's death would stay nibbling at the corners of his mind for years. Now all he had to do was stop these memories from destroying the biggest mission of his life, then he could make peace with his demons afterward.

 

For the second time that day, Wilmus returned to the ground. He pondered on the next time he left it; would he be on a standard Zhostov station ferry, or would he be inbound to the ship destined for the stars? 

 

Edited July 1, 2020 by SiriusRocketry
Image gaps

[SiriusRocketry]

July? JULY? TOO MUCH TIME HAS PASSED!

I've been very busy with moving halfway across the planet, but a couple of days ago I was rustling up the next chapter of Project Daedalus. Nothing much happened, just sending up the landers for final assembly, but as I am a slave to curiosity I wanted to refine my landers for the job, and the margins of fuel on the Tylo lander were much too thin for my liking. So I added an extra two tanks to the design... more weight, less dV, more chance of an instability during transit. Ah well. It'll be up soon!

Edited September 2, 2020 by SiriusRocketry

[GRS]

Good luck...the stakes must be real high

[SiriusRocketry]

I do apologise for the lack of response. I've been having serious issues with docking the Tylo lander: the Laythe plane is fine, but for some reason the bloody docking port bounce bug is refusing to allow the Tylo lander to dock. It's immensely frustrating, especially as I get very little time to play KSP. 

[GRS]

It bounces ? Just asking...how do you do the docking approach ?

I recommend you to approach it from front, and straight to target port, you can use both objects to perform a docking, just target each port, make both point at each other's target, then return to stability assist mode and approach at around 0.5 m/s, all you have to do after is to patiently wait, if you can't figure out how, then watch some Jool 5 vids that contains docking.

Edited October 9, 2020 by GRS

[SiriusRocketry]

Serious re-engineering in progress... probably best to put the thread on hold for now 

[SiriusRocketry]

It seems as though this entry is dead. Earlier today I was planning to revisit the mission, only to find that to my dismay the save file had been corrupted.

After all that work, KSP simply kills my Jool V attempt. Not very nice.

[RealKerbal3x]

Edited December 19, 2020 by RealKerbal3x

[SiriusRocketry]

I'm going to be starting a new Jool 5 sometime later, and I have a JNSQ save file in progress that I might post to the forums at some point. Functionally though, Project Daedalus is gone. I might publish what the plans were for the storyline of the mission if anyone's interested.