Aerospace Research Agency (ARA) | Goal: Colonies + Interstellar (2.5x scale) | Y2, D484 to D504 - In-situ fuel production (and bigger colony plans)

[Pipcard]

Y2, D17 to D37 - Station expansion; telescope and gravimetry probes

Y2, D17 - The Regulus 1-2 Agriculture Module was launched to dock with the Core/Science module of Regulus 1. It is capable of producing/growing (and recycling) Supplies from Mulch (waste products) and Fertilizer, massively extending life support capabilities. The module also has several battery banks to support the station when it is on the night side of Kerbin. Docking involved "construction ports," which compressed to create a permanent and sturdy connection between the modules.

Spoiler

The construction port compression process can be a bit...

...explosive. But no one was harmed.

Y2, D18 - The Regulus 1-3 Habitation Module launched and docked to the station, providing extra living space and a large cupola for observation.

Spoiler

Y2, D23 - Telescopium 1, the first space telescope, was launched to observe various celestial objects like distant stars. It also entered a temporary orbit around the Mun (Day 25) and flew by Minmus (Day 37), and will leave Kerbin's influence to orbit Kerbol by Day 47.

Spoiler

Arrival at the Mun

Leaving the Mun

Minmus flyby

Y2, D25 - Leo 6 was initially launched into a polar orbit to measure the gravitational fields of Kerbin's biomes. Then it boosted into a high elliptical orbit to make more measurements and make a plane change into an equatorial orbit. It returned to a low orbit, docking with Regulus 1 on Day 31 to transfer its data into the science lab for processing. It also carried a small amount of Supplies.

Spoiler

Initial polar orbit

Boosting into an elliptical orbit

Plane change before returning to a low orbit and docking with Regulus 1

 

Edited February 3 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D44 to D51 - Asteroid telescope, station crew rotation

Y2, D44 - Telescopium 2 was launched into a Kerbol-centric orbit (by Day 50). Its main feature was an infrared telescope meant to detect asteroids and comets. Meanwhile, Telescopium 1 also entered an orbit around Kerbol on Day 47.

Spoiler

Y2, D50 - Algieba 3 (Valentina, Bill, Jebmund, and Gledorf) launched to dock with Regulus 1 station (Day 51). The capsule also had a sensor to measure the atmosphere on its way to orbit. The four astronauts plan to spend 180 days on board. Algieba 2 (Dofel and Camsey) undocked shortly afterward and returned to Kerbin.

(disclaimer: the Career Evolution contract for a "90 day" [actually 30 day] stay required that I launch a new crew and return Dofel and Camsey back to Kerbin. But when I docked the new station modules, the 30 day timer started counting anyway. The 180-day contract doesn't appear if no one is aboard the station, but I didn't want to send a new crew just to complete the 30-day contract, so I just force-completed it.]

Spoiler

 

Edited February 9 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D71 to D74 - Bigger reusable rocket and Mun rover

Y2, D71 - This was the first launch of the Blue Giant 1 reusable rocket, which was a scaled up (3.75 m diameter) version of the Yellow Dwarf 2 rocket. The  launch vehicle used 5 "Iguanadon" methalox engines on the first stage and 1 on the second stage.

It could lift up to 30 tonnes to low Kerbin orbit in reusable mode (BG-1-R), and 40 tonnes if expended.

.

Its first payload was a crewed Mun rover (uncrewed at launch) designated as Alhena 2, which landed in the Mun's East Crater as Day 73 became Day 74, and would wait for the crew to arrive. It had a surface resource scanner and a large robotic arm to analyze any potential features of interest.

It could also (in theory) autonomously drive long distances to a new location (using the Bon Voyage mod) so that the same rover could be reused for future missions.

Spoiler

Second stage

Boost-back

Trans-Munar injection

Munar orbit insertion

Landing (1 day later)

Jettison of skycrane

 

Edited February 16 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D74 to D86 - Extended Mun landing with crew

Y2, D74 - A Blue Giant 1-R launched the Alhena 3 Mun lander (initially without crew), which arrived in a polar Munar orbit on Day 76. It could carry 3 crew (instead of 2 with the first lander), and had extra propellant and Delta-v margins.

A polar orbit provided access to almost any location on the Mun, but required waiting for the Mun to rotate before landing at a specific spot.

Spoiler

Trans-Munar injection

Munar orbit insertion

Y2, D78 - Algieba 4 (Handorf, Bobkin, and Jonford) lifted off on a Blue Giant 1-R, docking with Alhena 3 on Day 80. They would wait before landing in the Mun's East Crater on Day 82. There, they planted the flag while the Alhena 2 rover autonomously drove to the landing site. Handorf and Jonford drove to various sites around the local crater (within the larger East Crater), including the rim (going back down required careful maneuvering), and scanned and analyzed various surface features using the robotic arm [Alt+F12 was needed to find surface features as they are virtually impossible to find with all of the Parallax rocks].

After deploying surface science equipment (including a new ion detector), the Alhena 3 lander lifted back into orbit to dock with Algieba 4. They departed the Mun on Day 84 and returned to Kerbin on Day 86.

Scanning a Mun Stone (used to evolve Clefairy)

Spoiler

Trans-Munar injection

Munar orbit insertion

De-orbit from 20 km

The rover arrives

On the crater's rim

Getting samples from a small crater (within a crater, within a crater)

Science equipment deployed (the flag was also relocated)

Return to orbit

Docking with Algieba 4

Leaving the Mun

 

Edited February 25 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D93 to D131 - Advanced Minmus landing with crew

Y2, D93 - The Tejat 2 Minmus rover was launched by a Blue Giant 1-R, followed by the Tejat 3 lander on Day 95. Both spacecraft had an identical design to the recent Mun vehicles, and arrived at Minmus from Day 104-106 to wait for the crew.

Tejat 2 rover

Tejat 3 lander

Spoiler

Tejat 2 rover launch

Tejat 3 lander launch

Arrival of Tejat 2

Arrival of Tejat 3

Y2, D107 - Algieba 5 (Dofel, Marnard, and Camsey) launched to Minmus with an additional habitation module (the same as the one used on Denebola 17). It docked with Tejat 3 ten days later to land in the Midlands. After deploying equipment, the crew drove in the Tejat 2 rover to designated locations as well as an Olivine Formation that could not be analyzed until now.

Algieba 5 docked to Tejat 3

Landed in the Midlands

Tejat 2 getting samples from an Olivine Formation

Spoiler

Launch of Algieba 5

Transposition, Docking, and Extraction (with hinged Procedural Fairings)

Tejat 3 descending after docking

Surface science

Tejat 2 rover arrives

The lander then lifted off to the west to visit the Lesser Flats, then north towards the Poles, then southeast to the Great Flats. The crew redocked with Algieba 5 on Day 118, returning to Kerbin on Day 131.

Spoiler

Lifting off

Lesser Flats

Poles

Great Flats

Leaving Minmus (after a plane change)

Returning to Kerbin

 

[Pipcard]

Y2, D143 to D156 - Minmus base scouting, first probe to Eve

Y2, D143 - The Gemini 25 rover was launched to the Lesser Flats of Minmus to find a good location to establish ARA's first extraplanetary base, as Minmus was easier to get to and land on (in terms of Delta-v) than the Mun. Due to its appearance, it was also known as the "Turtle."

What it learned using the Narrow-Band Scanner was that the abundance of resources on the surface did not really correspond with the data from the orbital Survey Scanner. Instead, the concentration of resources was mostly consistent throughout a particular biome. For example, the concentration of Ore (which could potentially be processed into propellant) was thought to be high in various places including flat regions (based on the orbital data), but the surface data showed that Ore only had a concentration of about 1% in the Flats, while in the hilly Lowlands it was as high as 13%.

Using the Bon Voyage computer to autonomously travel long distances, the rover explored a few biomes. Scientists back on Kerbin then determined the best locations for resource gathering.

- Lowlands: Substrate, Water, Ore, Metallic Ore (some)

- Lesser Flats: Gypsum, Exotic Minerals, Rare Metals, Silicates

- Midlands: Metallic Ore, Minerals, Uraninite, Hydrates (convertible to Water)

Eventually, a site was chosen on a flat region on top of a small hill (Lowlands) next to the Lesser Flats, which would provide a good place to refuel landers with refined Ore, and extract Substrate and Water to produce food Supplies Organics (vital for the long term). For Supplies, it would be more efficient to convert Gypsum into Fertilizer then combine that with Mulch, but there would need to be a way to send resources over a long distance.

Spoiler

Launch

Trans-Minmus injection

Orbital insertion

On the Lesser Flats

Midlands

Returning to the designated base candidate site (Lowlands)

Y2, D154 - Ophiuchus 1, named for the serpent-bearer constellation, is a flyby probe launched to Eve, the second planet from Kerbol. Identical to the Aries 1 Duna probe, it uses a high-energy trajectory so that it would reach Eve in only 90 days.

Spoiler

 

 

Edited March 7 by Pipcard

[Geblag.Xelvari]

Such an interesting career mode.

[Pipcard]

Y2, D162 to D186 - First base and rescues at Minmus, asteroid retriever launch

Y2, D162 - A Blue Giant 1-R launched Microscopium 1, the first attempt to retrieve a small (Class A) near-Kerbin asteroid known as HFS-233. It was named after the microscope constellation as asteroids are the smallest natural objects in a planetary system. However, in a rush to get the spacecraft out there, the engineers (i.e. myself) forgot a crucial component: the antennae. During a recheck at the edge of Kerbin's sphere of influence, the spacecraft was no longer capable of communication.

Spoiler

Y2, D163 - Denebola 18 resumed the agency's rescue activities (to recruit more astronauts while earning funds at the same time), this time retrieving astronauts stranded in Minmus orbit. It was launched uncrewed, and encountered Billy-Bobeny and Lanbles Kerman (whose orbits were in opposite directions) on Day 173, returning to Kerbin on Day 186.

Spoiler

Y2, D172 - Castor 1, the first component of Castor Base, was launched to the lowlands of Minmus, near the Gemini 25 scout rover. It had a MKS Duna Series "Pioneer" module with habitation on top powered by a 0.625 m nuclear reactor - ARA's first use of nuclear power in space, as the base would need to maintain power at night, and batteries would need to be very heavy if only solar power was used. For now, only the solar panels on the skycrane stage would be used until the crew arrived. Wide landing legs provided stability during landing. The base would initially have enough supplies for 3 Kerbals for 100 days (with recycling provided by the Pioneer module), so further expansion would be needed for longer-term living.

Spoiler

Y2, D184 - Microscopium 1A replaced the original flawed design, and was launched to the same asteroid (HFS-233), but this time with interplanetary-grade antennae. It would grab onto the asteroid using a claw mechanism (currently closed), then redirect it into Kerbin orbit.

Spoiler

 

Edited March 7 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D187 to D213 - First crew at Minmus base

Y2, D187 - After studying potential production supply chains, it was decided that the Midlands had more potential in the short-medium term. It had Minerals which could be converted into Fertilizer (more efficient than trying to make Supplies directly from Substrate and Water).

Minerals, Metallic Ore, and Substrate could be refined, then combined into Material Kits, which are used to fill inflatable modules with equipment. Material Kits are also one component of Machinery (needed to keep resource converters running) and eventually being able to build and launch vessels from the shallow gravity well of Minmus instead of Kerbin.

(The other component being Specialized Parts, but the resources for those were in another biome.)

Castor Base had enough propellant for a short hop to a higher elevation, and so it was relocated near the edge of a plateau overlooking the Lesser Flats.

Spoiler

Y2, D192 - A Red Dwarf 2-4L (which hasn't been launched in almost a year) launched Denebola 19, an autonomous double rescue of Leelorf and Megan Kerman in low Kerbin orbit.

Spoiler

Y2,  D194 - The Gemini 26 propellant depot, which had five docking ports for incoming and outgoing vessels, was launched to Minmus orbit. The Tejat 3 lander docked to it and refueled on Day 203.

Later that day, Algieba 6 launched the first crew to live on Castor Base (Jebediah, Handorf, Bob), docking with the depot on Day 213.

Spoiler

Launch of Gemini 26

Launch of Algieba 6

The crew transferred into Tejat 3 and landed less than 200 m away from Castor Base, deployed experiments, then entered the habitat. Systems were activated, including the small nuclear reactor keeping everything powered and the radiators that dissipated its heat, as the skycrane jettisoned and softly landed about a dozen meters away (it could be disassembled into Material Kits, but they would need storage for that). The next step was to increase the habitation space and provide a way for the crew to grow food.

Spoiler

 

Edited March 12 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D219 to D236 - Mining, farming, and living on Minmus

Y2, D219 - Castor 2 launched to Minmus with inflatable agroponics and habitation modules, along with a few electric screwdrivers (KIS). This was followed on the next day by Castor 3 and Castor 4 on Day 226, which had batches of Material Kits to expand the modules, as well as a truss and storage, miners and converters for Minerals and Fertilizer.

Spoiler

Castor 2 launch

Castor 3 launch

Castor 4 launch

Y2, D228 - Castor 2 landed near the base on Minmus. An engineer such as Handorf Kerman could use an electric screwdriver to attach and detach parts up to 1000 kg [with the KIS mod]. Multiple Kerbals could do a "team lift," adding 1000 kg each. However, the agroponics module was about 3200 kg, while there were only three Kerbals currently on Minmus, meaning that they could only carry up to 3000 kg*. There was no way to remove Machinery, and I didn't want to send another Kerbal yet, so I installed TAC Fuel Balancer so I could dump some of the Machinery to make the module lighter. Handorf, Jebediah, and Bob were now able to attach the module to Castor Base. Afterwards, the skycrane of Castor 1 was disassembled and recycled into Material Kits (making up half of the mass).

*The MKS Pioneer module had an "Enable Konstruction" option that said it could set EVA construction to 5500 kg, but I later learned that if the engineer is not in the module, the limit is only set to 2500 kg.

(Edit: I just realized that "Enable Konstruction" applies to the stock EVA construction system, not the EVA construction system of KIS that requires a screwdriver.]

Spoiler

Castor 2 Minmus orbit insertion

Landing

Initial landing spot

Moving closer

Dumping Machinery (for now)

Detaching the Agroponics module before attaching it to the base

Disassembling a skycrane into Material Kits

Y2, D229 - Castor 3 landed with Material Kits to inflate the Agroponics module to produce Supplies using Fertilizer and Mulch. Handorf also attached a truss and containers for Minerals and Fertiizer.

[Also, EVA Follower and Easy Vessel Switch are very useful mods. Easy Vessel Switch lets you switch between vessels or Kerbals by Alt+Clicking them, instead of cycling between them using the bracket keys.]

Spoiler

Castor 3 Minmus orbit insertion

De-orbit

Handorf detaching containers

Y2, D235 - Castor 4 arrived at the base, containing the last batch of Material Kits needed to inflate the habitation module. Mineral Drills and "Crush-O-Matics" to convert Minerals into Fertilizer were also attached. This was the first example of ISRU (In-Situ Resource Utilization) done by the Aerospace Research Agency.

Castor Base was now capable of supporting a few Kerbals for several years, but it wasn't truly self-sustaining yet. It would need to produce Machinery (to maintain converters and habitats), Colony Supplies (luxuries to keep Kerbals from becoming homesick), and Enriched Uranium (to power the nuclear reactors). A few more skycranes and empty containers were also disassembled into Material Kits.

(Also, I'm not sure why the rover turned around 180 degrees, or if it has anything to do with Bon Voyage or any other mod)

Spoiler

Orbit insertion

De-orbit

Detaching and attaching drills and converters

 

Edited March 17 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D236 to D247 - 180 days in Kerbin orbit; first Eve flyby

Y2, D236 - Algieba 7 (Dofel, Marnard, Camsey, and Jonford) lifted off to replace the crew of Algieba 3 (Valentina, Bill, Jebmund, and Gledorf) onboard the Regulus 1 station, which had stayed for over 180 days. The next objective was to stay for an entire year (over 500 days).

Spoiler

Y2, D246 - Ophiuchus 1 arrived at Eve, the second planet from Kerbol, in the agency's first interplanetary flyby. Reaching its closest approach on Day 247, it saw that the entire planet had a purple atmosphere and a surface completely obscured by highly reflective clouds.

edit: retook some shots with TUFX "Default-Empty" config instead of Zorg's config

Spoiler

Entering Eve's sphere of influence

The Kerbin system is visible to the right of Eve.

 

Edited March 19 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D268 to D300 - Super-heavy reusable rocket and Minmus base expansion

Y2, D268 - The new Super Giant 1 reusable launch vehicle was 5 meters wide, and could lift 68 tonnes into low Kerbin orbit or 30 tonnes to Minmus. It used six "Allosaur" methalox engines on the first stage, and one on the second stage.

Its payload was Castor 5 (arriving on day 277), another batch of base parts including a second Pioneer module, science lab, and inflatable habitats and greenhouses. But it could not be assembled yet until more crew arrived.

Spoiler

Second stage separation

Boost-back

Landing

Trans-Minmus injection

Minmus insertion

Descent

Y2, D279 - A slight redesign to the Super Giant 1 replaced the LT-37 landing legs with the "Falcon" legs to provide more stability even though they were more fragile (as @RedDwarfIV pointed out), but if two legs contact the  ground at the same time instead of one, they are less likely to break. The grid fins were also found to be less effective at slowing down the first stage, and were replaced with the original "A.I.R.B.R.A.K.E.S."

Castor 6 (arriving on day 288) had a Duna-class Power Distribution Unit, which was a larger nuclear reactor, along with battery storage and four large radiators to release the reactor's heat. Two more Crush-O-Matics were included to convert Minerals into Fertilizer.

Spoiler

Y2, D289 - Algieba 8 (Bill, Billy-Bobeny, and Gledorf) launched to dock with the Gemini 26 depot around Minmus while the Tejat 3 lander did the same. The lander took the crew down to Castor Base, where they attached the new modules [using both the stock and KIS EVA construction systems].

The Pioneer modules contained equipment to assist with [stock] EVA construction. With low gravity (helped further by having an engineer in a module), this meant that parts massing multiple tonnes could be carried and put together.

Once finished (on day 300), Castor Base now had a mass of about 44 tonnes, accommodations for 6 Kerbals for 5 years, a scientific research module, and enough power for additional base expansions.

Spoiler

Tejat 3 lifting off to dock with the depot

Arrival of Algieba 8

Tejat 3 returns to the base with the new crew

Base assembly in progress

 

Edited March 25 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D300 to D339 - The plan to industrialize Minmus

Y2, D300 - The Tejat 2 rover was sent on a journey to visit and analyze the resource concentrations of every biome (using the Bon Voyage autopilot).

Spoiler

It found that the Midlands (location of Castor Base) was the best place to mine the resources to make Material Kits (Minerals, Substrate, and Metallic Ore), while the Lesser Flats was ideal for the resources to make Specialized Parts (Silicates, Exotic Minerals, and Rare Metals).

To reiterate, Material Kits (MKT) and Specialized Parts (SPT) are needed to make Machinery, which is needed for all resource converters to function and the base to sustain itself. With Extraplanetary Launchpads, they can also be used to build spacecraft and other objects using local materials (off-world manufacturing). A fully developed industry on Minmus would mean less of a need to launch large rockets from within Kerbin's deep gravity well.

The resource supply chain is displayed in the chart below.

Y2, D329 - Castor 7, the first component of a Minmus factory, was launched. It used the huge 3.75 m wide "Tundra" modules, including a Pioneer/Logistics module (to enable heavy EVA construction and the ability to grab resources from anywhere on a planet or moon if a pilot is onboard), and an Assembly Plant for Material Kits. The module with propellant had a launch mass of over 60 tonnes, and performed trans-Minmus injection and a horizontal landing using six Terrier engines (a design balanced with the help of RCS Build Aid and TAC Fuel Balancer).

Once the module arrived on Day 339, Bill Kerman took it apart and reassembled it into Castor Base. The plant was not yet able to produce from local materials yet (mining drills and refinery modules were still needed), but it could also act as an Extraplanetary Launchpads construction workshop (if provided with finished MKT and SPT shipped from Kerbin).

Spoiler

 

Edited April 2 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D351 to D397 - Building a Minmus factory on-site

Y2, D351 - Two launches, Castor 8 and 9, delivered large, partially-filled storage containers for Material Kits and Specialized Parts to Minmus (Day 362), to be used for on-site construction.

The second set of containers landed during a Minmusian eclipse (when Kerbin was blocking the Sun/Kerbol on Minmus)

Spoiler

A set of four launches delivered 4k Specialized Parts and 48k Material Kits to expand the base. This simplified the process over trying to fit various prefabricated base parts across multiple launch vehicles.

Castor 10 (Y2, D370)
Castor 11 (Y2, D371)
Castor 12 (Y2, D381)
Castor 13 (Y2, D382)

Spoiler

Y2, D391 - The Extraplanetary Launchpads system was put to the test, as a container for food Supplies was built on-site from Material Kits and Specialized Parts (the first example of off-world manufacturing), then attached to the base to replace the smaller Supply packs. Survey stakes were used to mark where it would be built.

Disclaimer: I had to edit the config file to enable the Extraplanetary Launchpads Survey Station (stake/pad finding) for the 3.75 m Tundra Pioneer/Logistics module (which does not have the capability in the default install unlike the 2.5 m version).

Spoiler

The next step was to assemble the Material Kits factory, which lasted until Day 396. The expansion was completed (as a separate structure from the base), taken apart, then put together again.

It had drills and refiners to complete the supply chain to assemble Material Kits. However, it could not be operational yet until more Machinery was brought from Kerbin, and an additional power supply was built.

Spoiler

 

Edited April 9 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D398 to D420 - Operational Material Kits factory; first Duna and Ike flyby

Y2, D398-399 - Castor 14 and 15 lifted off with Machinery that was needed for the refinery modules to function. Castor 15 also carried Enriched Uranium for a nuclear reactor that would be constructed on Minmus and installed on Day 403. On Day 408, Machinery was transferred by an engineer to the refinery modules (using the "Perform maintenance" option). The Uranium containers were also detached and attached to the newly built reactor.

Spoiler

Disclaimer: transferring Enriched Uranium is supposed to require a level 3 engineer. To make this playthrough less grindy (and enable more independent colonies), I disabled the need for Kerbals to return to Kerbin to level up after gaining experience. The Strategia mod also has the "Engineer Focus" strategy that gives engineers up to 2 extra levels, so the engineers on Minmus were currently level 4. However, I was having an issue in that when I tried to transfer EnrU from the container to the reactor. An error popped up saying "Selected part can't handle radioactive storage, exiting transfer mode..." even though the reactor literally had storage for Enriched Uranium. But @Aelfhe1m pointed out that I could use the regular stock transfer buttons (Out/In), and speculated that this was because I have MKS, Near Future Electrical, and System Heat installed at the same time.

On 3/31/2024 at 3:36 PM, Aelfhe1m said:

MKS on its own requires EVA engineer to perform maintenance on the reactor, NFE on its own requires them on the ship but you can activate the PAW option without them on EVA (fuel transfer button). The combination of MKS+NFE inherits the NFE behaviour and finally MKS+NFE+System heat seems to revert back to stock resource transfer (in my admittedly very brief testing earlier today). I did not test whether the engineer was required on vessel for the triple combination.

Y2, D409-410 - Castor 16 and 17 delivered more Machinery that arrived on the base on Day 420. After deploying radiators and inflatable storage modules, the factory was now operational and able to produce Material Kits out of resources mined from Minmus (Minerals, Substrate, and Metallic Ore - converted to Chemicals, Polymers, and Metals, respectively). The efficiency of the refinery modules was enhanced by Material Processing Units (which the drills were attached to) set to "Smelter" mode. The next step was to build more modules that could produce Specialized Parts and Machinery without having to import them from Kerbin.

With MKS, Extraplanetary Launchpads uses Material Kits and Specialized Parts in an approximate 15:1 ratio, so being able to produce Material Kits on Minmus is a major leap forward.

Spoiler

Y2, D418 - While Castor 16 and 17 were arriving at Minmus, Aries 1 performed the first flyby of the red planet Duna and its moon Ike. After entering Duna's sphere of influence on the previous day,  the spacecraft quickly encountered Ike before meeting Duna and its rusty surface.

Spoiler

 

 

Edited April 11 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D421 to D482 - Off-world manufacturing supply chain

Y2, D421 - Using Material Kits made on Minmus combined with Specialized Parts from Kerbin, two 3.75 m Tundra Pioneer modules were built. This increased the total lifting capacity for (stock) EVA construction to about 70 tonnes.

(again, I pretend that this module contains equipment to manipulate large modules, and doesn't make Kerbals carry huge modules with their own hands)

Spoiler

Initial state (Extraplanetary Launchpads)

The next four launches brought 4k Specialized Parts, 8k Machinery, and an automated mining vehicle known as Gemini 27 meant to mine for Silicates, Rare Metals, and Exotic Minerals (the three raw materials needed to make Specialized Parts) on Minmus's Lesser Flats, which would be transferred to Castor Base in the Midlands using the MKS "Planetary Logistics" system. Castor Base already had several logistics modules that could "pull" resources from planetary storage (if a pilot or quartermaster was present).

However, it was not known at the time that Gemini 27 needed a logistics module to "push" resources into the planetary warehouse. Therefore, it could not actually send resources to Castor Base.

The SPT and MCH from Castor 18 through 20 would be used to make the next major component of the base.

Castor 18 (Y2, D428)
Gemini 27 (Y2, D433)
Castor 19 (Y2, D436)
Castor 20 (Y2, D437)

Spoiler

Machinery containers after disassembly of skycranes

Y2, D457 - After several days of construction, the first 10 m "Atlas" dome was built on Minmus, along with several inflatable storage and workshop modules. Twice the diameter of the largest rocket of the Aerospace Research Agency, it had a dry mass of 50 tonnes (which is why the two extra Pioneer modules were needed for EVA construction), and had the ability to produce Material Kits, Specialized Parts, and Machinery directly from raw materials - skipping the step of refining them. The large mass was the trade-off, but the lower part count also made it worth constructing.

Spoiler

Y2, D468 - After realizing that Gemini 27 was not able to send resources, Gemini 28 was launched with an uncrewed "Duna" logistics module and inflatable storage (instead of shipping containers). Arriving on Day 478, it began to gather resources for Specialized Parts and after filling up enough, began to put resources into planetary storage so that it could be received by Castor Base.

Spoiler

Y2, D482 - After receiving the first batch of Silicates, Rare Metals, and Exotic Minerals from the Lesser Flats (and inflating Workshops to increase efficiency), Castor Base was now able to produce Material Kits and Specialized Parts (and combining them into Machinery) without needing to import them from Kerbin. The significance of this was profound.

Spacecraft and base modules could now be built and maintained entirely using off-world resources.

However, there was still more work needed to achieve full self-sufficiency.

Spoiler

Inflatable workshops

In the upper right corner, Machinery, Material Kits, and Specialized Parts are now shown to be increasing.

(On Day 479, The Microscopium 1A probe that had been sent to capture an asteroid was unfortunately not able to encounter it, as the asteroid had an encounter with Kerbin that shifted its orbit, and the plotted trajectory did not account for that. Thus, the asteroid was in an entirely different place from where it was expected.)

Spoiler

Loading a previous save (Day 300), showing that the asteroid's encounter with Kerbin

 

Edited April 17 by Pipcard

[Pipcard]

Y2, D484 to D504 - In-situ fuel production (and bigger colony plans)

Y2, D484-485 - With the addition of the 10 m Atlas factory dome, several more drills were assembled to extract Substrates and Metallic Ore for Material Kits.

Spoiler

(The drill on its side looks like a tank)

Y2, D492 - As Castor Base had just started the on-site production of Specialized Parts, it kept running out when assembling the drills. Castor 21 was subsequently launched with 4000 SPT as an extra reserve (arriving on Day 502).

Spoiler

Y2, D503 - A nuclear fuel plant was added to Castor Base. A small drill mined Uraninite, which the module converted into Enriched Uranium to power the nuclear reactors. The module also had a breeder to convert Depleted Fuel back into a usable form.

[Afterwards, a small test of the Extraplanetary Launchpads system was conducted - to see if construction on one project can be temporarily paused for another project, then restarted after the other project was finished. The test was successful.]

Spoiler

Extraplanetary Launchpads multi-site construction test

Y2, D504  - A propellant production plant (Convert-O-Tron) was added to convert ore into liquid fuel and oxidizer, stored in a large tank. Now the base could build, fuel, and launch spacecraft from Minmus.

At the end of the second year, Castor Base had grown over 300 days from a single module into a large off-world factory. But this was not the end.

Spoiler

An even more massive Minmus colony was being planned, which would use several 20 m versions of the Atlas domes. It would eventually replace the original base (currently ~140 parts) with a ~100-part city on another world.

The central dome would contain a large greenhouse to produce Supplies and Organics (the latter needed for Colony Supplies, used to extend the maximum habitation time of any Kerbals on board). A single habitation dome would have permanent accommodations for up to 32 Kerbals (out of 96), while four factory domes would produce over 1 Material Kit per second, speeding up the production of huge spacecraft (including stations, crewed interplanetary vessels, and other colonies) from Minmus. By comparison, the current base could only make about 0.1 Material Kits per second.

Edited April 29 by Pipcard