Journey of the Avodaco- a Jool 5 Mission!

[Kimera Industries]

Journey of the Avocado

A Jool 5 Mission Report

Long ago, (March 2023 I think) I set a goal of completing a Jool 5 before the end of the year. I began working on a Jool 5 ship but lost momentum pretty quickly. At that point, I hadn't even been to Duna, I was so inexperienced. Late November 2023, I picked up the muster to try it again- but it would be different this time. This time, I would do it on a science save, and get an actual reward from all this. Probably complete the tech tree, too. Arbitrarily, I named my ship the Avocado- and all the ships have kept an avocado naming rule as a result.

To start with, I would launch a nuclear tug, but split it into two major parts- the first, relatively simple, and the second, like the first, but with four more radially placed and asparagus staging. 

Am I overdoing this just to compensate for my lack of skill? Maybe. Does it make me feel better about the chances of this working? Yes.

And so, without further ado...

Pit 1 launch:

Spoiler

Most pics will have UI showing, to show that I'm not a liar.

LKO.

Bye-bye, nosecone.

The launch of Pit 2:

Spoiler

Today's launch was sponsored by: the Thoroughbred booster! Because it's so hardly used!

Asparagus staging here too.

Pit 2 in LKO.

Docking the two Pits:

Spoiler

Getting Pit 1 ready to dock. I've gotten a rendezvous by this time.

Lazy Lowne docking today. Too tired to care.

Retracted the panels and radiators, I wasn't sure if they would fit.

Tada! Next, I will add a module with reaction wheels and more monoprop, because I ran out of it and it turns really slow without RCS.

The Avocado is not complete. In my science save, I have the crew module docked, but I will have to post that another time.

Coming up next on Journey of the Avocado: Launching the crew module (and a maneuvering module)!

Edited March 20 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

So I Made Some Improvements

As I discovered in the first two missions, the Avocado is slow to turn in its current state. I decided to make a quick "Maneuvering Module"- Some reaction wheels, but more importantly, an SAS unit and monoprop tanks. The Pit only has an SAS module that's meant to be detached and blocks some of the nuclear engines. Also, it ran out of monopropellant, but a refuel will come later.

Spoiler

Ah, a straightforward launcher, for once.

The hardest part of the docking was just that Pit was so slow to turn.

Spoiler

Bye-bye, needless SAS module.

Oh, and you too, upper stage. 

I raised the orbit to 80x80km, as I realized 70x70 was a little tricky to rendezvous with.

Look at that! 

Coming up next on Journey of the Avocado: The crew module!

Edited December 22, 2023 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

Trapped In A Tin Can

Next up was the crew module. I could have launched the crew later, but the whole docking process is very slow, and I need to complete this mission before the end of this year. So I launched the crew with the crew module itself, because I can.

"I believe this nation should commit itself, before this year is out, of landing a kerbal on all of Jool's moons and returning him safely to Kerbin."

*Aide whispers frantically in ear*

"Of landing a kerbal on all of Jool's moons."

Spoiler

A crew of 6 was launched with this module, and another one will be launched with the lander, for a total of 7.

Spoiler

A few maneuver nodes later...

It's very big. The largest thing I have ever built in orbit.

Well, these kerbals better have brought some great games with them, because they will be stuck in their two modules for a very, very long time.

Oh wait, all they have to do is bring KSP with them and time will pass by in an instant...

Coming up next on Journey of the Avocado: The "Guac" Lander!

Edited January 8 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

Want Some Chips With That?

One last module is needed: the lander. The Guac can land on all of Jool's moons, (excluding Laythe but that's why we have a dedicated plane), and lands on Tylo by ditching its fuel tanks. As a result, I'll have to land on Bop, Pol, and Vall before Tylo, but I can only refuel it once. This is going to be hard interesting.

Spoiler

Now it's time for that process I love and enjoy: docking at 5 FPS.

Spoiler

By far the largest thing I have ever built.

FILL SPACE WITH TRASH!

After this, there'll be a mission to top off the tanks, because *surprise* dozens of RCS blocks gobble up monopropellant like there's no tomorrow.

Coming up next on Journey of the Avocado: ARF!

[Kerbalsaurus]

15 minutes ago, Kimera Industries said:

Now it's time for that process I love and enjoy: docking at 5 FPS.

Tell me about it. Whenever I come into physics range of Kerman Station, the whole game just freezes for a solid two minutes. It really bogs down my PC too.

[Kimera Industries]

3 minutes ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

Tell me about it. Whenever I come into physics range of Kerman Station, the whole game just freezes for a solid two minutes. It really bogs down my PC too.

I always get a mini-panic attack whenever the game pauses from stuff entering physics range. What makes docking worse is that moving just one of the parts into position isn't really feasible, so I have to rely on Lazy Lowne docking. Even that is barely possible because Avocado is stupendously slow to turn.

[Watermel00n]

My grand tour had a part count of about 250 during the main mission, but the Eve lander raised it to 400... Needless to say I'm glad it's over.

[Kimera Industries]

16 hours ago, Watermel00n said:

My grand tour had a part count of about 250 during the main mission, but the Eve lander raised it to 400... Needless to say I'm glad it's over.

No idea about the part count of Avocado but it's high. Thankfully, due to my asparagus stating, the lag (and the turning rate) gets better as I drop more mass.

[Kimera Industries]

Intermission (Sort Of)

This mission is the only module launched to Avocado that won't remain attached. After excessive use of RCS thrusters during extremely slow processes, we lack a large portion of our dedicated monopropellant. I'd prefer for everything to be full before we embark on our journey, so I put together a simple refueling unit: ARF (Avocado ReFueler).

Spoiler

This docking will be a lot easier because I can just grab onto the Avocado anywhere with the grabber claw. As far as realism? I just don't care. I want this mission done.

Spoiler

Contact!

This is an absolute nightmare. There's got to be a better way to do this without mods, right? No? Ugh.

ALL I WANT IS TO GET THE MONOPROP TO THE AVOCADO HOW HARD CAN IT BE

Finally...

Goodbye. Hope I never have to refuel this thing again.

Avocado is now ready for the greatest adventure ever undertaken by our space agency.

Spoiler

Look at the names of these two quicksaves...

"Well I did some math and uh oh"

"I did the math and we're ok"

After a lot of hasty calculations, I determined (giving myself enormous margins of error just in case) that this mission will be possible to complete.

Coming up next on Journey of the Avocado: The transfer to Jool!

[Kimera Industries]

So you know that moment when you find out that a transfer from Jool to Kerbin is 3000 dv? 

I think it'll still be possible, but I'll have to be very conservative with my maneuvers and do small course corrections with RCS where possible.

[Kimera Industries]

Sorry, I've been taking a break from the internet for Christmas and all. You'll be happy to know that the Laythe landing was successful, and so was Vall, but I may have to redo that last landing and change my order of landings because there's been an issue with the lander. It somehow has 2000 less dv than it did in the tests. Time to pull out the gravity assist calculator and some quicksaves.

[Kimera Industries]

Good news, no need to redo the order of landings. Pol and Tylo are complete, and now I'm orbiting Bop. I'm just going to look up the location of the Bop Kraken real quick...

[Kimera Industries]

Found it. Now the real trick is getting back to Kerbin without exploding...

[Kimera Industries]

Ooh, am I elated! After several hours of frustrated quicksave loading and trial and error, (sound familiar?) I somehow managed to survive reentry and *woof* 18,000 science points. The next save will definitely have a lower multiplier on the science points.

[Kimera Industries]

Let's Hit The Road Orbit Lines

Like most nuclear-powered craft, the Avocado will split its burns into two. One reaching Minmus, the other actually getting to Jool. Along the way, it'll detach its first drop tanks. The Jool 5 challenge says that the craft can't split into pieces from the moment it leaves Kerbin until it arrives at Jool, but the tanks will be detached while it's still in Kerbin's SOI, so I think it's fine.

Even at max time warp it takes so long to make a single year pass.

Spoiler

Kerbin-Jool window, 96 degrees.

First burn.

"3, 2, 1, Mark!" (Organ intensifies)

Finished!

Those are some toasty radiators you've got there, mister.

"Ranger 2 side boosters, prepare to detach! 3, 2, 1, mark!" (Organ intensifies further)

On our way! Oh, even warmer radiators this time. It's almost like NERVs are a nuclear reactor or something.

Now for the several-year journey to Jool, with no more space for each crew member than one would have in an Apollo capsule. I'm sure kerbals have different psychology to be able to handle that, but if not, too bad.

Spoiler

Kerbin is inside one of the "wedges" formed by the solar panels and radiators.

Course correction.

It took even longer to warp to this point than to the transfer window.

The Avocado is ready to arrive in orbit around Jool!

Coming up next on Journey of the Avocado: Heading to Laythe!

Edited January 8 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

Going Off The Rails On A Crazy Train (Of Gravity Assists)

Arriving at Jool was not easy. A simple retroburn would use thousands of dv that I couldn't spare, so a Tylo gravity assist was in order. I set one up, although I wasn't completely happy with it, and then spent the next several hours in the Jool system trying to get a perfect sequence that would allow me to retroburn at Laythe easily. Long story short, I failed, and I loaded an earlier quicksave before I was in the Jool SOI to set things right. While fiddling with the maneuver node, I came across a path that did exactly what I wanted it to do. Any slight difference in how I tweaked the node and I might never have discovered this.

Assist from Tylo, assist from Laythe, small inclination change, then encounter Laythe again after just one orbit, and spend minimum fuel to get to Laythe orbit.

Spoiler

Executing just a few of the course corrections needed.

There are a lot of them needed.

Jool is visible now.

Our first science from Jool!

A Laythe encounter after an inclination change.

Tylo looms. It's very good at that.

More science!

Laythe is a lot less good at looming.

The Eye of Laythe!

First flyby.

More science.

Second flyby. Tylo is helping loom out in the distance.

I'm splitting this into multiple burns for efficiency.

MOAR SCIENCE

Up close, Laythe is a little better at looming, but not by much. It's too pretty to be foreboding.

That's pretty too. (This is still from Laythe orbit)

Another retroburn.

Jeb is ready to conquer Laythe...

Coming up next on Journey of the Avocado: Laythe Landing!

Edited May 15 by Kimera Industries

[TwoCalories]

On 1/6/2024 at 5:42 PM, Kimera Industries said:

"Ranger 2 side boosters, prepare to detach! 3, 2, 1, mark!" (Organ intensifies further)

"We agreed, Valentina. Ninety percent."

[Kimera Industries]

4 minutes ago, TwoCalories said:

"We agreed, Valentina. Ninety percent."

"OK, MechJeb, nice reckless flying." "Learned from my programmer."

[TwoCalories]

11 minutes ago, Kimera Industries said:

"OK, MechJeb, nice reckless flying." "Learned from my programmer."

Wait, when did this line appear? Was it when CASE was flying Lander 1 (or 2, I don't remember) to the surface on Mann's Planet?

[Kimera Industries]

26 minutes ago, TwoCalories said:

Wait, when did this line appear? Was it when CASE was flying Lander 1 (or 2, I don't remember) to the surface on Mann's Planet?

It's during the Detach scene. Skip to 2:35. I modified the lines a bit, but you probably guessed that already. 

I think when CASE is flying the Lander down on Mann's Planet Cooper merely warns him about flying too fast. That's just a bit before Mann throws away his long-range transmitter.

Edited January 8 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

Baby Kerbin: The Laythe Landing

Completed by the "Guacamole" SSTO

I would've had a scientist pilot the plane so I could reset the experiments, but I needed full control over the plane to, you know, fly it without dying, so Jeb it would be. There are only two pilots on the Avocado, Jeb and Val, so one of them will be on every landing.

Spoiler

Notice the solar panels and inflatable airlock. I'll explain why I feel this doesn't violate the no severe parts clipping rule later when more of the payload bay is shown.

I can't help it, Jool and Laythe together look so good!

Pull up here to avoid destroying the shock cone...

This landing took many attempts. You'll notice this plane has a lifting-body design. During tests, I'd use the cheat menu to put it at a higher altitude, but since the plane starts moving right away, physics never fully loads in, and the "physics easing in progress" never goes away. This means gravity is much lower than if physics were acting properly, and your planes will appear to fly much better than they actually do. I realized this too late, and I crashed into Laythe many, many times because lifting bodies suck at low speeds. Finally, the right landing slope and a perfect landing flare resulted in me sketchily skating forward at 50m/s for a while, but nothing broke! Except maybe Jeb's spine.

Parked!

So the payload bay is full of science, the cockpit, and fuel. My reasoning for this clipping of parts is this: If you managed to fit everything perfectly into the payload bay with the perfect shapes of parts, there'd be enough room for everything. If this plane were IRL, that's what would happen- every part would be designed to fit in the payload bay perfectly, with no clipping.

I've got a "perfect" landing screenshot for each moon: crew with their flag, in front of the lander, no UI.

Spoiler

Takeoff was almost as hard as landing.

I bounced off this hill, possibly breaking Jeb's spine again in new and exciting places.

Mach I, I think.

Now it's time for docking with the Avocado. This process will be a little sketchy because of the Guacamole's weirdly positioned docking port.

Spoiler

Laythe is better at looming during the night. 

I ended up missing the Avocado, but I'll come back around and rendezvous with it again with a much slower relative velocity.

If KSP lets me do this, I'm not gonna stop it...

Docked! Now we transfer crew, science, and leftover fuel.

Spoiler

 

Coming up next on Journey of the Avocado: Vall Landing!

[TwoCalories]

1 hour ago, Kimera Industries said:

I bounced off this hill, possibly breaking Jeb's spine again in new and exciting places.

Yay, science!

[Kimera Industries]

20 hours ago, TwoCalories said:

Yay, science!

This must be what most of the science data the scientists back home get: What happens if you die on this place instead?

[Kimera Industries]

Not Europa^TM: The Vall Landing

Completed by the "Guac" Vacuum Lander

For the other 4 moons, we'll use the Guac, a vacuum-optimized lander that sheds drop tanks on the Tylo descent to avoid Sudden Impact Syndrome. It'll land on Vall and Pol with Val and Lisa, and head back to the Avocado, which will then take it to Tylo and Bop.

Spoiler

So what if that only gets me 2 more dv? I've had to work with no dv!

Space trash

With the weight of the plane gone, I circularized to make transfers easier for the lander.

Guac is on its own.

From here, I'll transfer directly to Vall.

Spoiler

Vall is almost as bad as Laythe at looming.

I like how the magnetometer just takes the full force of the engines and doesn't complain, unlike some solar panels I could mention.

Valentina on Vall

Spoiler

Coming up next on Journey of the Avocado: The Pol landing!

Edited January 10 by Kimera Industries

[Kimera Industries]

Allergy-Inducing: The Pol Landing

Completed by the "Guac" Vacuum Lander

I was stressed out from having less fuel left in Vall orbit than planned, so I came up with several fuel-saving techniques: I would use only one engine because KER said I had more dv if I did that, and I would land on Pol with Val's EVA pack. Oh, and a Tylo gravity assist, of course.

Spoiler

Mid-course adjustment

Thanks, Tylo!

Val is ready to make history with my first EVA landing. 

I sure wish I could see shadows on terrain... it makes landings so much easier...

For some reason, Val's expression is like she's stuck here forever. What could make her think that? If Bradley Whistance can do this, then so can I!

Spoiler

Val has confirmed Pol is poky.

Val has done the math and is happy that she'll survive.

With only .14 EVA fuel to spare. 

Coming up next on Journey of the Avocado: The Tylo landing! Plus, the scariest aerobrake ever...