The Great Migration

[RoninFrog]

@RoninFrog is doing another challenge!  So he needs a spot to dump all his stuff so it doesn't clutter the challenge thread!  This challenge is the...

It is a pretty intense challenge covering the first ten years of the game, with launch mass limits, life support, rocket construction time, and transfer window management.  Hm!

First, I need to create the save I will be using.  "Game difficulty settings: 'Enable Comm Network' ON, 'Re-entry heating' 100%. Advanced settings: 'Part pressure limits' ON, 'Part g-force limits' ON, 'Kerbal g-force limits' ON."  Okay, I've never played with part G-force limits and I don't even know what 'Part pressure limits' does, so here goes, I guess!

Unexciting screenshot of game settings:

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Edit: I check "Require Signal for Control" when I launch the "Positive Uplink" relays.  All crafts before them are manned.

Here's a collection of all the crafts launched:

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Payloads:
SLV              -   The fully reusable SSTO SLV I used to launch 30 ton NPM's.
Launch 1    -   Minmus ISRU
Launch 2    -   13-kerbal base segment
Launch 3    -   Minmus ISRU
Launch 4    -   Duna station and space bus core
Launch 5    -   Space bus tanks, relays, LS, and probe tanker
Launch 6    -   13-kerbal base segment
Launch 7    -   13-kerbal base segment and probe tanker
Launch 8    -   Crewed tanker and probe tanker
Launch 9    -   Large probe tanker and 16 rovers
Launch 10  -   7-kerbal segment, stabilizers, and LS
Launch 11  -   Lab, narrow band, chute pack, LS, and tanker
Launch 12  -   23-kerbal segment and tanker
Launch 13  -   ISRU, manned tanker, and probe tanker
Launch 14  -   Tanker and LS

Crew Shuttles:
Standard Shuttle    -   6 kerbal SSTO, Rapier free
Large Shuttle          -   36 kerbal SSTO, Rapier free

So here's what's up next.  I need a Standard Launch Vehicle to loft my payloads to orbit.  "One prototype of the heavy lifter ... will be ready with payload for launch pad roll-out on Day 40. New lifters will be delivered on a regular, fixed schedule."  The schedule is calculated as one launch vehicle every "NPM (Nominal Mass Payload) * 6" days.  The first Duna launch window is in 220 days, so if I want to launch two payloads, I will nead a NPM of 30 tons.  Now it's time for designing!

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Bam!  Here's what my SLV is going to be.  It has a calculated 3450 m/s with a 30 ton payload and a bigger fairing then I ever plan on using.

I gotta prove it's 30-ton capability, though.  To test it, I loaded it up with three large ore tanks, two at 1200 ore and one at 0 for a total of exactly 30 tons.  I also slapped a massive fairing on.

I can technically launch payloads up to a 180x180km orbit, so I'm gonna need to save on dV to get there.  It's gonna be a long, fiery ascent.

Oh boy!  I hope this marshmallow doesn't turn out like a lot of my real-life ones!

Looking pretty good!  I doubt I'll need all 633 m/s to circularize.

In orbit, just under the max:

Payload separation:

Gonna lower my Pe first so the reentry is less abrupt.

Here we go!

Oh dear!  It's getting hot now!

I had to slow down with the Mammoth to avoid destruction, so I'm gonna be a little short of the KSC.

Chutes are out successfully, no poofing today!

Landed!  First test successful!

First two payload designs:

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I can launch two 30 ton payloads, one early and one at the launch window.  So here's what I'm gonna do with that.  Launch one is gonna be this thing.  It's gonna take a pilot and engineer to Minmus, load up the mostly empty tank, come back to LKO, and bring the second payload out to Minmus.  The living quarters are an Mk2 Lander can and a Mk1 Crew Cabin, 4 kerbal capacity. "Habitation space is modeled by providing one extra kerbal seat for each kerbal."  The ore tank has 7.5 ore in it for life support on the trip to Minmus. "Life support mass for each kerbal is calculated as: 0.04 Ore / day / kerbal."  I'm only gonna need less than one unit, but 7.5 is the minimum I can put in the tank.

And launch two is gonna be this, the first part of the actual Duna base.  It has space for 26 kerbals (13 with the habitation rules), a drill for life support on Duna, a fuel tank on the back to refuel the Curdie, two full ore tanks for the trip, and some PB-NUK's for for electrical needs. "This is modeled in stock by having ... fuel cell/PK-NUK generators with minimum output of 2.2 EC/minute."  Oh, I need to add an OKTO2 for scanning biomes and get rid of one of the lights so I'm under 30 tons.  Don't let me forget.

 

First launch setting out for Minmus:

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Ok, it is now 40 days into the game, and it's time to launch the Curdie to Minmus!

I waited 22 minutes to get aligned with Minmus' inclination, and then I loaded up Geneul and Derfel into the Curdie and loaded the Curdie onto the extravagantly named SLV.  Geneul is going to be flying, and Derfel is going to be keeping an eye on the drills, rover wheels, and parachutes.

I'm gonna take the gravity turn a little gentler than last time since I had a lot of fuel left over.  Also, I will be trying to align with Minmus.

Engine cutoff is around 8 km higher than the test launch.  I feel a lot better about this one.

We will go to space today!  Let's try to remain there, Geneul.  The Ap is technically 500m above the max, but air resistance should fix that.

In orbit, and the Curdie has separated from the SLV.  I have got to think of a better name than "S-L-V".  Maybe Mallow Stick.  Yeah, I like that a lot better.

We will cut a long story short and say I landed the SLV in the foothills near the KSC, near a couple weird toadstool things that I'd never seen before.  They looked like ground scatter trees, but they were like two feet tall and ground scatters are off.

The Curdie burns for Minmus, which required less dV from a 180km orbit than a Mun transfer usually does from 70km.  I might just save those droptanks for later.

Gonna need a slight correction as my inclination was so accurate that I am actually on an impact trajectory. 

 

Well, that's all for today!  Tomorrow I will hopefully land on Minmus and refuel, if all goes well.

Edited October 19, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Arrival at Minmus and return to LKO:

Spoiler

 

Up next is Geneul and Derfel landing on Minmus!

8 days later, Geneul and Derfel have consumed 0.81 units of ore (technically supposed to be 0.64, but they were hungry) and are performing the capture burn.

At 80% cutoff, Minmus has several vastly different options for mining, ranging from steep mountain slopes to deserted polar highlands to one tiny frozen lake.  I'll take the lake.

Lake!

Oh yeah!  Jackpot!  Look at that ore!  Plunge those drills into the nearly edible surface, Derfel!

Flag time!  I'll definitely be coming back here in 180 days, so flag marks the spot!

The tanks were refueled by evening, and Geneul and Derfel were ready to head home.  Now I get a chance to show off the fancy gadgets I have on this thing. 

My rovers and spaceplanes have always been prone to getting stuck on flat surfaces due to the fact that they can't nose up.  Not this one!  I put a Twitch engine cluster on the bottom of Derfel's pod, and it worked beautifully.

Minmus orbit:

I'm gonna bring Geneul and Derfel back to Kerbin until the launch of the Alkaline.  The Curdie will remain in LKO.

Back in LKO, Geneul and Derfel have eaten 0.85 units of ore.  It's really hard to nail a specific number with the drain valve.

By heading out to Minmus for a brief refuel, I have approximately doubled the fuel in the Curdie.  Why launch extra fuel to orbit in the precious NPM when there's already a lot out there?

 

Return to Kerbin on crew shuttle:

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The rules are kind of loose about the crew shuttle requirements, so I'm gonna be using this one early on in this challenge.  Valentina is going to get Geneul and Derfel and bring them back until day 220.

This shot of the launch somehow reminds me of one of the loading screens.  I don't really remember which one.

Oof!  Valentina's more than a little bit early!  I'm used to performing LKO rescues, and there's a huge difference between 70 and 180km.

Separation of the first stage:

The intercept is lined up:

Rendezvoused!  I didn't see anything in the rules against EVA transfer, so I assume it's okay.

I seem to always be a little short, so I'm gonna aim long.

Ooooo dear!  Looks to be way, way short!  I just hope I clear the mountains!

Well, I didn't really clear the mountains.  At least everyone survived!

 

 

Edited July 4, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

LKO crew delivery:

Spoiler

 

Alright folks, it is now day 218 and the Alkaline I is just getting the last touch-ups.  So it's time to tell the first to colonists to say goodbye to their families for possibly the last time, because they're going to space!

This time, Sanberry Kerman will be flying the Curdie, Serena Kerman will be monitoring the ISRU, and Tidrin will be sending them on their way.

Less than 10km intercept before adjustments is plenty close.

Rendezvoused, hopefully all the supplies are still there after several months and Jeb hasn't snuck aboard and gobbled them.

Tidrin returns to Kerbin alone:

Landed just off the coast!  Nice!

The next launch is gonna be big...  It's the Duna base, scraping by the NPM at 29.998 tons!  After all the gluttony performed by Geneul and Derfel, I'm not sure they will be able to come!

 

 

Edited July 4, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Setbacks and considerations of life choices:

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There was a recent report from Serena on the Curdie that the ore mined from Minmus was poisonous and therefore inedible!  Not good at all! 

So the poison ore was jettisonned...

...the base was redesigned...

...and Geneul and Derfel were scratched from Duna crew roster for their incompetence on Minmus!  They won't be coming to Duna, at least on the first mission.  There will only be 13 kerbals going to Duna now.

 

 

Edited July 6, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

The base is sent off to Duna!

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A day and a half later, it was time for the launch of the actual base.  I'm going to be bringing 675 units of LS ore which should last me until the next round of crafts arrive on Duna.  The Duna crew will consist of 13 kerbals, and the plan is for Sanberry and Serena to pick up the base in LKO, take it to Minmus and refuel, and then immediately head out to Duna.

Intercept:

Docked!  There was a little extra room in the payload, so I added a small fuel tank to give the Curdie a little bit of a dV boost.

Successful booster splashdown just to the south of the KSC:

Burn for Minmus!  The base is finally on its way!

The transfer window has already started, so we gotta move!  A few m/s of dV cut down the transfer time by 2 days.

Braking burn at Minmus, the crew has eaten their ore.

After capturing, Sanberry and Serena split off again to land and refuel the tanks.  But not the LS tanks. 

Back in Minmus orbit, 1775 m/s is definitely enough to get to Duna!

The transfer burn was performed successfully and without a screenshot, giving a transfer time of 264 days.

93 days later, the encounter was refined... 

...and 48 ore was consumed.

But before the kerbals get to Duna, there's other things to do!

 

 

Edited September 3, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Minmus ISRU launch:

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It's day 400 now, so time to launch something again!  Here's a slightly upgraded version of the Curdie.  It has a Wolfhound instead of a Poodle and double the LS, but it doesn't have a M700, the side droptanks, or those two ISRU-clipped dumpling tanks.

Launch!  Tidrin and Lizly will be flying the ISRU refueler this time.

Oof!  That was a little close to the limit, there!  Gonna have to be really careful when decoupling!

The booster recovery was pretty close to the KSC.

Here's the Peter in Minmus orbit.  0.9 ore was consumed on the journey, about 40% more than the right amount.

Landed at night, 30m from the flag marker.

Return trajectory:

I forgot to take a picture back in LKO.  You'll have to imagine it.

Here's Arield on the pad in a crew shuttle, getting ready to go grab Tidrin and Lizly so they don't eat all the precious LS ore!

Intercept plotted:

Transfer of crew:

Splash!

The next item on the agenda is to put kerbonaut boots on Duna's dirt!

 

 

Edited September 3, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Base arrival at Duna:

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Hey...  Look at that...  We're almost there!

The capture burn is being performed.  Note that the journey's LS ore has been consumed.

Ok, I didn't know a 90% cutoff was possible on default settings.  Apparently it is!  Duna's got some seriously amazing ore!

The Pe has been lowered into the atmosphere.  It's time for the first Duna landing!

That is a lot of parachutes!

Landed!  A little short of the good ore, but this base is mobile!

13 kerbals have landed on Duna on Year 2, Day 65!  Start the clock!

 

 

Edited September 5, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Surface sample collection:

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After 2 months of neglect, it's time to get this mission back on track!

The first item on the list is to accomplish this achievement:

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Biome diversity: Return surface samples from at least five of Duna's biomes. (+3) *This can be done all at once or separate. If scored, "Early Mission Prestige" sample does not counts toward the five.

So the plan is to get 5 different Duna samples, and then I will return them, a pilot, an engineer, and an Ike sample on the Curdie at the next Duna -> Kerbin Transfer window.

The base is in the Midland Sea, so that surface sample is easy.  Next it's time to do some rovering in the Curdie!  According to a map I found of Duna's biomes, the Lowlands should be that lighter colored patch on the horizon to the left.  There are less obstacles in the air than on the ground:

There isn't much ore in the Lowlands or Midlands, so I stopped just short of the Lowlands to grab some fuel before journeying into such barren wastelands.

I got a sample from the Lowlands and Midlands, and began ascending a very perilous slope up to the Highlands.  This is probably the worst rover terrain I've ever seen.

Going down a hill in the Highlands so steep that the brakes aren't enough:

While descending from the Highlands, I drove over a cliff that resulted in an unsurvivable plummet.  So I gave a brief punch on the engines and flew the rest of the way to the Western Canyon:

5 surface samples collected, fuel tanks refilled, and flying back to base:

Arrived!  I collected samples from Midland Sea, Lowlands, Midlands, Highlands, and Western Canyon, as well as grabbing a blueberry pile and the other BG rock along the way.

 

Station & Space Bus launch:

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It is now Year 2, Day 156, time to launch another 30 tons of equipment!  In order to be able to leave my kerbals on Duna longer than 4 years, I have to complete "Contingency Plans", defined as

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• "Contingency Plans": Complete achievements "Backup plan", "Duna Space Station", "Duna Space Bus", and "Positive uplink". Note that the spacecraft for each achievement must be unique, or for modular designs must remain viable, at all times.

The Backup Plan will be the Peter, already launched and able to ferry four kerbals at a time from the surface to LDO without any assistance from the base.  (I hope that counts)  The next one-and-a-half items will be launched next.

Here's the payload.  The Duna Space Station is everything from the docking port up, capable of holding 3 kerbals and half of a Jumbo-64, as well as having 6 docking ports of various sizes and being able to perform rather large orbital adjustments with the 4 sparks on the bottom.  The bottom half of the payload is the core of the Duna Space Bus, capable of holding 4 kerbals.  I'll be launching the tanks, drills, radiators, and fuel cells separately.

The fairing was abnormally long, but surprisingly didn't need to expand to accommodate the payload.  Geneul and Derfel are taking another attempt at a Minmus mining mission, and Arfield is being brought along to take care of the station.

Burn, burn, burn!

Orbit:

Docked to the Peter 2 hours later.  The station will now be taken to Minmus and filled with fuel, the booster will return to the KSC, and the space bus will be left in LKO to await the rest of its components.

Off to Minmus!

No adjustment burn necessary:

Here's an attempt at a lifting reentry for the booster:

Nailed the KSC!

 

 

Edited September 6, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Station delivery to Minmus:

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The Peter has successfully brought the Duna station into Low Minmus Orbit, where it will remain until the next Duna transfer window:

The Peter goes down to the surface to grab some fuel:

Tank full!  Gonna save half an NPM here in a moment:

Fuel was transferred to the station, and Arfield was transferred from it.  Unfortunately, quarters are cramped on the Peter now (3 kerbals/4 seats), giving me only 10 days to get the kerbals back to Kerbin.

Another fuel grab before the return journey:

Orbiting into the station's orbital plane:

Fortunately, the return journey will only be 7 days, so there won't be any habitation problems on this mission!

Gonna dock to the space bus core so all the hardware is in one spot:

Docked!  Now it's time to get the crew back down to the KSC.  Honestly, a "crew shuttle" has a lot cooler connotations to it than just a boring old rocket.  Gonna have to make some improvements.

 

Brand new crew shuttle:

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Here's the latest crew shuttle technology from the Kerbal Federation!  It looks really stable on the runway, but everything else looks a little risky...

So the basic idea is a 6-kerbal SSTO.  Nukes aren't allowed so basically all of my SSTO designs (LF-only) are illegal.  So I came up with this Rapier-free monstrosity (I hate Rapiers for some reason and have never used them).

Off into the sunrise!

Orbit with 700 m/s left!  Better than I expected for a rough design without any optimizations!

Rendezvoused.  The shuttle really looks like an X-wing from this angle.

Coming back down with 3 more kerbals:

Weee!

Wow!  It really is stable on the runway!  I slammed into the pavement slightly sideways and falling like a brick, but it didn't even give the slightest hint of instability.

I calculated I'll have 3 more launches before the transfer, so the plan is to launch the rest of "Contingency Plans" next, and then launch 2 more base modules like the first one.

 

 

Edited September 6, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Payload Design Session:

Spoiler

 

Okay, folks!  The next three payloads before the next transfer have been designed!  Now all that's left is to throw them all into space and then pull a whole bunch of fuel out of Minmus!

Payload number one!  It has 4 RA-15 relays, 3 side tanks for the Ike transport, a fuel tanker probe (the first of 4), and enough supplies to run the current colony for 1400 days.  All crammed into 30 tons.

The second!  An 11-kerbal colony segment with enough ore in the tanks to last 1500 days.  There are also two more tanker probes.

The third!  Another 11-kerbal colony segment, with the fourth tanker probe.  This probe has a wolfhound instead of a docking port.  Wolfhounds are heavy!

 

Payload deploying:

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First payload ascending to the heavens:

Gonna meet up with the Peter for some orbital assembling.

Hello, Peter!  Why aren't you responding to input?

Oh, that's right!  You don't have a probe core!  Problem easily solvable since shuttle missions are free!

Lebus and Lalin are coming to the rescue!

After an uneventful flight, Lebus and Lalin transfered to the Peter and Ikeway.

It was here that I realized that my Ikeway side tanks didn't have any yaw control.  However, the RCS ports were just off-center enough for SAS to recognize them as yaw control, causing the probe core to floor the thrusters any time I turned SAS on.  No yaw control or SAS?  How could it get any worse? 

If you can't see a thing, that's how!  What a nightmare.

When day dawned, I aligned the side tanks as much as I could, and called it good enough.  The Ikeway transport is complete!

Launch the probes!  Each of those things has 3900 m/s, which is definitely enough to get them where they need to go.  Ion thrusters are amazing things.

The LS ore and tanker probe have been docked to the Peter, ready to be delivered to Minmus.

What a day!  Time for some sleep.  Tomorrow I will find out about everything I did wrong.

 

 

Edited September 8, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Booster and Shuttle return:

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After all the docking and maneuvering in LKO, the Mallow Stick has literally zero extra fuel, so this descent is going to be 90% unguided, just deploying brakes and chutes at the proper times.

The longitude is looking pretty good, but I can't really do anything about latitude.

Yep, missed to the south by a good bit.  Landing could've been a lot better, but at least nothing broke.

The shuttle speeds down after the booster.  Dive bombing the KSC is always "exciting", especially with "kerbal G-limits" on.

Hang in there, Geneul!

See?  Everything's fine!

 

 

Another Minmus fuel run:

Spoiler

 

Meanwhile, back in LKO, the Peter sends the supplies and empty tanker to Minmus.

Setting up to dock with the station:

Docked!  Gonna leave the LS here until whatever will be delivering it arrives at Minmus.  It'll probably go with either the Wolfhound tanker probe or the Ikeway.

The Peter drops down to the surface to grab 50 tons of fuel:

Refueled.

Flying a semi-truck through Minmus' mountains is really fun, especially suborbital with kerbals on EVA.  You should try it some time.

Burning for LKO:

I have it set up so the retroburn gives an intercept with the Ikeway:

Docked with the Ikeway!  With the fuel transferred from the tanker to the main tank, there should be plenty of dV to get to Minmus.

I think the last thing to do with this NPM is fill up the Ikeway and then return the Peter to LKO.

 

 

Edited September 9, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Ikeway delivery to Minmus:

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The Peter and Ikeway are on their way to Minmus!

By launching everything into the orbital plane of Minmus, it eliminates the need for correction burns.  Pretty sweet, huh?

...and Minmus orbit a week later.

Let's throw some excitement into a routine Minmus mining mission, eh?  Landing two crafts at once should be fun...

SUICIDE BURN!!!

Another less exciting suicide burn:

Not bad, I think it could've been a couple dozen centimeters closer! 

After refueling, the Ikeway returns to orbit autonomously:

...and docks to the station.

While the probe tanker returns to the Peter...

...to be refueled.  Houston, we have a problem!

Houston, I have a solution!

Spoiler

Nose up the Peter...

Careful, now!

Tada!

Now for the hard part.

Okay, getting closer!

Come on!

Docked!  Now to nose back down without smashing anything.

Behold!  I have done it.

Refueled and blasting off:

Fortunately, I don't plan on visiting the station, so a plane change is unnecessary.

The last Kerbin return for this payload:

Circularizing:

I bet Lalin and Lebus are more than ready to get back home after all that mining and shuttling back and forth between LKO and Minmus!  Time to bring them back home!

I must say, nearly burning up on ascent is not unique to spaceplanes.  It's just a whole lot more common.

Orbit:

Lebus and Lalin have transferred to the shuttle:

Landing gear make some seriously powerful airbrakes.  It nearly konked out everyone when the wheels came out at mach 3.

Well... It wasn't the best landing.  But at least nobody died!

Now to wait for the VAB crew to get the next payload loaded up.

 

 

Edited September 10, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Another Minmus fuel mission:

Spoiler

 

It is now Year 3, day 88, and the next section of the actual base is burning into the sky.  Geneul and Derfel will be handling Minmus ISRU missions this time.

Docked to the Peter.  What a long, pool noodle of a craft!  And it doesn't even have half the modules! 

I did put the bottom tanker on top of the payload to make the tankers easier to manage.

Booster return!  I don't know what the VAB crew are going to do about this situation.

The equipment sets out for Minmus.

Minmus orbit!  Now to find that station...

Rendezvoused with station, doing some part rearranging:

After about 15 minutes of docking and undocking, I think that it's finally time to go down for some refueling.

Oooh...  I have a brilliant idea...   It's Minmus; it'll probably work...

Tada!  Refueling and taking off will be waaaay easier now!

 

 

Edited September 11, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Peter return to LKO:

Spoiler

 

A whole lot of fuel is entering Minmus orbit:

Rendezvoused with the station.

After some maneuvering, everything has been docked in the correct order.

While the Peter was refueling (background right), Derfel went rock collecting.

Blastoff!

Orbit.  This time, I don't care about matching the station's inclination.

Geneul and Derfel return to LKO from Minmus for the last time!  After the next launch, they will be banished to the wastelands of Duna.

Hello again, Kerbin!

LKO established.

 

Crew return:

Spoiler

 

Exciting times in the molten cockpit of the Flappy Bird shuttle!  I can only imagine how many alarms are going off in there.

Rendezvoused and transfered:

Drag-maximized reentry:

Oh yeah... Forgot about that...

At least Arfield is still awake!

I'm getting a little sloppy with my landings since the landing gear setup can take pretty much anything.  I landed really hard, was swerving all over the place, skidded sideways at 100 m/s for a couple seconds, veered off the runway (and then back on) a couple times, snapped a fin off, and nearly went off the end of the pavement.

 

 

Edited September 12, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Return trajectory for "Biome Diversity" and "Early Mission Prestige":

Spoiler

 

Far away, on a distant planet, 13 kerbals have lived in a tiny colony for exactly 600 days.  It's time to bring 2 of them home.

The engines blast exhaust across the dusty valley.

Into the sky!

LDO with 1373 m/s left.  My dV map tells me that's enough to get to Ike.

Burn for Ike:

Going for a polar scanning orbit:

Hmmm...  No ore at 80% cutoff...  This situation is one of the two main reasons it's nice to have a Narrow Band scanner.

Shooting for a decent looking 70% patch at the south pole:

Landed.  Ore isn't too bad, but if only it was equatorial!

Surface sample to bring back for "Early Mission Prestige".

While the Curdie is refueling, Sanberry goes rock collecting!

Let's go hooooome!

Burning for Kerbin intercept:

Planning for a Minmus intercept after 265 days of travel.  The 53 units of LS are good for over 600.

 

 

Edited September 13, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Peter and base segment set out for Minmus:

Spoiler

 

It is now day 268, 180 days after the last SLV launch.  Time to launch 22 kerbals to LKO!

It's not a real ascent if it's not on fire.

LKO established.

Docked with the Peter two orbits later:

The Flappy Bird brings the last two kerbonauts who didn't fit in the SLV launch. 

Blast!  I just now realized it was supposed to bring the last four kerbonauts, and the modules have already set out for Minmus!  Oh, well.  The Duna transfer window isn't for another 40 days, so I'll get last two kerbals later.

The final payload sets out for Minmus:

It's going to be nine days of very close quarters.  Every seat (except two ) is filled.

Arfield returns the Flappy Bird to the KSC with a standard divebombing reentry.

Upon landing, the Flappy Bird stalled right as it got even with the SPH, landed at a 45° descent, and then skidded sideways while turning 120 degrees.  I'm starting to think this plane is indestructible (other than that bottom fin).

Practicing my pinpoint landing skills.   The booster didn't even fall over this time.

 

 

Edited September 13, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Modules prepared for Duna:

Spoiler

 

The Peter rendezvouses with the rest of the modules:

The base section has been added, and all the empty fuel tanks have been collected.

Refueling approximately 2 Jumbo-64's:

Takeoff!  4 Twitches somehow managed to lift 70 tons of fuel and a bunch of ISRU equipment off the surface.  On Minmus, anything is possible!

Rendezvoused with the rest of the fleet.  There will be four individual crafts leaving to Duna, so I am assembling them here:

Everything is basically ready to leave for Duna!  Besides the individual craft achievements, the four LKO relays will be achieving "Positive Uplink", and all crafts have at least 2 kerbals, achieving "Interplanetary Expertise".  The only other achievements are "(Advanced) Deep Space Transit", "Deep Space Laboratory", "Kerbin Space Station", and the basic rovers.  Here are the four individual crafts. 

1. The Peter and Alkaline III.  26 seats, 9 kerbals (should be 11), and 2354 m/s of dV.  It will be achieving "Backup Plan" and "Emergency Evac".

2. The R&D B&B (research and development, bed and breakfast).  6 seats, 2 kerbals, and 1860 m/s of dV.  If it's only enough to capture, then ISRUs can handle the rest.  It will be achieving "Duna Space Station" and part of "Deep Space Laboratory".

The Alkaline II.  22 seats, 11 kerbals, and those engine plates messed up the dV reading.  I calculated it beforehand, it will have enough.  I don't remember the exact value.

The Ikeway (with snacks).  2 kerbals, 8 seats, and a messed up dV reading.  I hope it's enough to get to Ike.  It will be achieving "Duna Space Bus".

 

Getting 2 more kerbals:

Spoiler

 

Gotta go grab those two forgotten kerbals!  The Peter burns for LKO:

Circularizing:

Here come Tanemy and Tamvis!

Lining up the intercept:

Rendezvoused and kerbals transferred.

You know, I believe this is the first time I've seen the desert airfield in-game!  I've only ever launched things from the KSC.

A nice, gentle landing without any fin-snapping shenanigans.

Heading back to Minmus:

Minmus orbit:

Woah!  Derfel, are you sure you're doing the ISRU right?   Don't touch that thing, it's as hot as Kerbol!

Takeoff:

Docked with the Alkaline III again.

 

 

Edited September 15, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Modules sent to Duna:

Spoiler

 

It is time.  Everything is going to Duna today.  The general plan will be this:

8 days after the crafts leave Minmus, the Peter and Alkaline III burn for Duna:

The Alkaline II burns for Duna:

Now for some probes:

It was here I realized that although the TWR was not a problem (even though I'm using ion engines), the electric supply was only enough to last for a minute at a time.

Spoiler

Still burning.

...aaaand, still burning.

I haven't technically beaten my record burn length of 11 minutes, since the burns are split up between four probes.

Time to take a break from probes to send the Ikeway (and snacks) to Duna.

Back to the probes.  They are much further from Kerbin now.  I really should've moved the probes into a higher orbit months ago.

The R&D B&B burns for Duna:

Back to the probes again.

Last burn!

Done!  Now that is proper mission architecture!

50 days, later, the Curdie performs its correction burn.

Encounter acquired.

Of course, the fleet also did their correction burns, but I won't post all those images.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

"Deep Space Transit" Launch and Kerbal return from Duna:

Spoiler

 

At Year 4, Day 22, it is time to launch some more stuff!  Here's what's going up next.

This is my "(Advanced) Deep Space Transit" capable of carrying 7 kerbals with enough life support for over 2000 days.  It can also double as a fuel tanker, far more powerful than the Peter.  It's got about 4000 m/s of dV fully fueled, and if that's not enough to go from Ike to LKO and back, I'll just tack some probe tankers on.  Speaking of probe tankers, there's one going to be launched with the Kronos.  The Curdie isn't powerful enough to lug this behemoth out to Minmus, so the probe tanker will be filled first.

Burn, burn, burn!

LKO established.  Now this hunk of metal will sit until the Curdie gets back.

Another VAB booster landing!  I'm really on a roll.

Good ol' Minmus.  This craft hasn't seen you in nearly two years!  Sanberry and Serena are ready to do some refueling after 273 days of just floating in space.

Capture burn:

Landed.  Note that the correct amount of LS ore has been consumed.

After a brief refueling, the Curdie burns for an intercept with the Kronos in LKO:

Coming in fast!

Docked.

Arfield is flying Handon and Lashel up to replace Serena and Sanberry.

Rendezvoused and kerbals (and science) transferred.  The crafts have drifted slightly between the transfer and the screenshot.

Reentry.  Hmmm...  I'm gonna try something...

The events which followed:

Spoiler

You can do it, kerbonauts!  Don't pass out yet!

Eeeee!

So far, so good.

Landed!  I have now officially been to the Desert Launch Site.

"Early Mission Prestige" and "Biome Diversity" have been achieved.

The science recovered is:

• Surface sample from Duna's Midland Sea
• Surface sample from Duna's Lowlands
• Surface sample from Duna's Midlands
• Surface sample from Duna's Highlands
• Surface sample from Ike's South Pole (Poles?)
• Duna Blueberries
• Duna Stone
• Duna Ejecta

 

 

Edited September 16, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Another Minmus mining trip:

Spoiler

 

The Curdie (and tanker) burns for Minmus.  And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Captured at Minmus 6 days later.  I've found that it's possible to cut over 3 days off the transfer time with only about 10 m/s of dV.

Landing next to the flag marker:

Taking off again:

Burning for a direct intercept with the Kronos in LKO from low Minmus orbit.

Coming in screaming fast!!

Docked!  Now for another fuel run... 

Wolfhounds are just infinitely better than Poodles.  One massive reason to get Making History.

Six day travel time:

Capturing:

Landed and refueling.  If I had launched that 64 tons of fuel with the Kronos, it would've hogged more than two more payloads.  Even if these refueling missions are tedious, they really pay off!

The Kronos takes off, leaving the Curdie on the surface.  With each transfer window, the Minmus tankers get more powerful.  This one carries 50% more fuel than the last one and doesn't need to lug around a bunch of ISRU gear!

Fast forward, 'cause nobody cares about the details of these routine missions!

Spoiler

Ok, read it if you really want to.

Burn for Kerbin:

Shooting for a sub-180km orbit.

Capturing:

Arfield is coming in the Flappy Bird to retrieve Lashel and Handon:

Rendezvoused and kerbals transferred:

Whoops.  Overshot by just a tad bit. 

Cruising back to the KSC on the leftover fuel:

Successful landing.

Yay!  Now with the tedious Minmus missions out of the way, I can land my new modules on Duna next time! 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2020 by RoninFrog

[Mikenike]

This mans posted to himself.... @RoninFrog be like . 

[RoninFrog]

Base modules land on Duna:

Spoiler

 

Ah.  There is the red planet.

Alkaline II capture burn:

Peter and Alkaline III capture burn:

The Alkaline II eyeballs a base landing:

The probe tankers undock and return to LDO:

The Alkaline II plummets unguided through the atmosphere.

Parachutes deployed, and descending at 7 m/s!  Perfect!  One thing I have noticed is that the base modules go through a lot of parachutes.  I wonder if a reusable parachute pack would be possible...

Landed 2.8 km from the base.  Fortunately, this base is mobile!

Goodbye, parachutes!

Docked.  The base now holds 20 kerbals.

Here come the Peter and Alkaline III after jettisoning the tanker:

Chutes!

Landed.  Geneul does a quick inspection to make sure nothing's broken.

Docked.  The base now holds 31 kerbals.  Year 4, day 140.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Probe and Ikeway:

Spoiler

 

Time for some probes!  Yay! 

If Ike can't troll me through extremely helpful gravity assists, it's gonna find some other way to make my life miserable.

*time passes*

Got a good Pe here.  I have learned the hard way in career playthroughs that "close enough" is not "close enough" with relay sattelites.

Orbit!  I hope that errors within 1 meter aren't enough to mess up the sattelites' orbits in the next six years.

The Ikeway is next up.  About 5 days from the encounter, I switched to aim for a direct Duna capture since I don't actually need to refuel at Ike.

Capturing:

It was right before the descent that I realized there was a problem.  The Ikeway has no way to dock with the base, so the LS can't be transferred.  I think that means it's time to get the "Emergency Evac" achievement soon!  The Ikeway leaves the LS and tanker in LDO before landing.

Hard deceleration in progress!

Landed!

Refueling and LS ore jettisoned.

 

 

Edited September 22, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Probe and R&D B&B arrival:

Spoiler

 

Probe time!  Gotta capture with one ion engine at a quarter thrust.  I didn't circularize completely, but put it on a trajectory to be exactly opposite the first probe.

Okay, next time I'm gonna do a mothership.  Managing eight separate crafts is a total pain.  Here's the R&D B&B coming in:

The station managed to capture on four twitches.  It took a while, but not as long as those stupid probes.

Perfectly equatorial orbit:

...and the second relay probe has been put into a good orbit.  They will hopefully stay like that for the rest of time.

 

 

Base relocation:

Spoiler

 

The base is about 25 km south of the equator, which is a real problem.  Since it's mobile, it's an easy problem to fix.  Making good time at over 90 miles per hour!

There's some good air!

A souvenir from Kerbin was found in the Peter's snack drawer, much to the delight of the crew.

Getting closer to the equator:

Arrived!  I won't have to worry about inclinations, now.  I only wish there was some good equatorial ore on Ike.  I might have to haul out a Narrow Band scanner on the next round.

 

Food and kerbonaut delivery:

Spoiler

 

The LS probe flattens its orbit to prepare for docking with the Peter.

Alright, it's time to get the "Emergency Evac" achievement by testing the Peter's ascent capabilities with Geneul and Derfel on board!

Intercept with the LS:

Docked.  The probe tanker has been jettisoned.  After the Peter gets back to the Alkaline, the Ikeway is gonna come up, round up all the tankers, take them to Ike, and refuel them.  Before descent, the Peter has to grab the two kerbals in the R&D B&B.

Intercept with station:

Blast!  I have been interrupted by another relay which proceeded to burn for the following six minutes!

...in which time, I missed my station intercept.  My hatred for ion engines grows more and more.  I have a lot of spare dV, so I'm just gonna brute force an intercept with the R&D B&B.

Docked.

Coming in for a landing back at the Alkaline.

So many parachutes!

Landed.

Docked.  So on Year 4, Day 162 there are now 35 kerbals on Duna's surface.

 

@Death Engineering, have I inadvertently broken any rules so far?  Have I done anything else like trying to mine for LS ore? 

Edited September 22, 2020 by RoninFrog

[RoninFrog]

Refilling tankers at Ike:

Spoiler

 

The last thing to do before everything is deployed at Duna is to refuel all the tankers.  The Ikeway's capabilities will be tested along the way.

Blasting into the heavens!

Intercept with the first tanker:

Number one!

Numbers two and three!

Number four, and ready to go to Ike!

Burning for Ike encounter.  I'm going to see if there's any good ore at the equator, because I do not want to have to worry about inclination changes.

There is actually a very faint pink glow on the far side of Ike.  I hope that means great things!

Landed.  The Ikeway is refueling in all its ISRU glory.  I actually haven't a clue about the actual ore percentage, but it was high enough to fill the tanks in about four hours, which is good enough for my purposes.

Refueled, and hauling over 100 tons of chemical potential energy off of Ike's surface.

Burning for LDO:

And circularizing.

The general plan here is for the Ikeway to go down to the base, and for the stack of tankers to go dock with the station to await some future use.  I don't actually know what I'm gonna do with all the fuel, but 70 tons ought to be useful for something! 

Oof, overshot by more than a bit.  dV margins were slightly alarming.

Refueled and relocated.  All the kerbonauts are done with their duties and ready to just sit around for the next 600 days.  There are still a few probes that need to finish up their work, though.

 

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by RoninFrog