Realistic duna design reference missions?

[Cloakedwand72]

I’m thinking of wanting to do a duna mission but I don’t want to do something similar like Matt lowne does with a Apollo style nor do I want to attempt to make a starship replica. I do how ever want to send up a regular space station to LKO to be later reused as a transfer Hab also I want to send a ascent lander to it and send a crew up with the SpaceX crew dragon then design some kind of transfer stage too it! Sorta like the old way of doing a mars mission also I want to do something similar to the constellation program or Mars direct missions. Any good tips on this?

[BekfastDerp13]

From what I read, you want to send a travelling space station to Duna orbit and have a craft land from that, then return to Kerbin orbit, while the crew lands back on Kerbin in a different vehicle? Seems like the Martian, but without the rescue mission. I will try my best for some tips.

Stock that space station with a good amount of fuel, so you don't have to send a bunch of refuelling crafts. Add some solar panels, as Duna is good enough for solar energy. Don't make the station to large in part count to prevent lag. If you want a transfer stage, make it nuclear for maximum efficiency (I know ion engines are way more efficient, but you'll crash into Kerbin before the burn is done). Add some crew space, because a Mars trip in an Apollo CM is not good for the crew.

For the crew transfer, a dragon capsule is a good choice due to its built in docking port and small engines. I can't do mods, as I am on Enhanced Edition, but I know that there are a few SpaceX mods that can be used. If you don't want mods, look up some easy transfer vehicle designs, from real history or KerbalX.

This is everything that I can think of, I am sure there are more good design stuff.

[theJesuit]

The Footsteps to Mars programme is a possibility.  Use Ike as your refuelling station location and go on sorties to Duna's surface from low Duna orbit.

If you are looking at a constellation style programme, then the following:

3 launches for fuel infrastructure:

1. Send Ike ISRU robotic base to land and mine Ore, process fuel.
2. Send fuel depot infrastructure for low Duna orbit
3. Send robotic refueler craft to Ike that, when full, takes off from Ike head to Duna, aerobrakes, circularises to rendevous with a fuel depot but has enough fuel to return to Ike and land at the ISRU base.

When fuel infrasture is ready,

1. Send reusable Duna landing and ascent vehicle. (Modifed duna ssto cre dragon?)
2. Send landing bases for surfaces.  For every site send a new surface base each with a rover, some nice roomy cabins, lab etc.
3. Send your Station crew transfer hab.

The hab goes from LKO to LDO and docks with the fuel depot.  The Dlaav docks too and takes crew to surface by a surface base.  Dlaav returns crew to orbit, is refueled and used again.

Once at Duna all fuel including for the hab's return is supplied from Ike.

Put your surface bases near multiple biome intersections for rover exploration, but only for a 10min real life drive otherwise it becomes a grind IMHO.

[RP1IsSuperior]

On 11/30/2021 at 12:17 PM, Cloakedwand72 said:

I’m thinking of wanting to do a duna mission but I don’t want to do something similar like Matt lowne does with a Apollo style nor do I want to attempt to make a starship replica. I do how ever want to send up a regular space station to LKO to be later reused as a transfer Hab also I want to send a ascent lander to it and send a crew up with the SpaceX crew dragon then design some kind of transfer stage too it! Sorta like the old way of doing a mars mission also I want to do something similar to the constellation program or Mars direct missions. Any good tips on this?

Copernicus Architecture is my favorite. Mars Semi-direct is also decent but the margins are tighter.

[Cloakedwand72]

2 hours ago, RP1IsSuperior said:

Copernicus Architecture is my favorite. Mars Semi-direct is also decent but the margins are tighter.

Can the SLS system do the Copernicus approach?

[Starwaster]

1 hour ago, Cloakedwand72 said:

Can the SLS system do the Copernicus approach?

Probably? Most of the required component launches fall inside of what SLS can launch though there might be some downsizing required. What you refer to as Copernicus consisted of a number of different proposals which has evolved over time. But yes, it's possible.

Here's some documents that might interest you. Some of them are quite detailed 

http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2014/ph241/wendorff1/docs/aiaa-2009-5308.pdf

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20150004421/downloads/20150004421.pdf

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/sls_core_stage_fact_sheet_01072016.pdf

[RP1IsSuperior]

On 12/4/2021 at 1:23 AM, Starwaster said:

Probably? Most of the required component launches fall inside of what SLS can launch though there might be some downsizing required. What you refer to as Copernicus consisted of a number of different proposals which has evolved over time. But yes, it's possible.

Here's some documents that might interest you. Some of them are quite detailed 

http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2014/ph241/wendorff1/docs/aiaa-2009-5308.pdf

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20150004421/downloads/20150004421.pdf

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/sls_core_stage_fact_sheet_01072016.pdf

this is really late, but yes, Copernicus style architectures certainly can be done. SLS B2 has somewhat lackluster capabilites compared to Ares V (130t to LEO, 46t to TLI vs 180t to LEO, 70t to TLI) but it could work. SLS has the payload fairing volume in the 10m fairing configuration, and both 8m and 10m MTV studies have been done.

[bigyihsuan]

There's also Boeing's proposed Integrated Manned Interplanetary Spacecraft, which is 5 nuclear stages strapped together with a large Mars lander and mini-station for habitation:

https://www.renderosity.com/gallery/items/2167658/boeing-manned-interplanetary-spacecraft-diagram

The gist of it was that the propulsion stages would be assembled in orbit over several launches, and docked with the manned modules for transfer to Mars. Then, the lander will undock, land, and return with just the capsule in the central core. Then the whole craft will return to Earth with a single nuclear stage, with all the other nuclear stages jettisoned after they were used.

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19680009769

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19680009673

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19680009770

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19680009780

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19680009779

https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19680009778

Edited July 12, 2022 by bigyihsuan