For Science! Big Boss grand finale - Go Big, then Go Home - 11 kerbals to Eve and back, plus Gilly

[Poppa Wheelie]

I recently finished my KSP2 For Science! playthrough by completing the last 2 missions: the game's final Big Boss mission, Under Pressure (10 kerbals to Eve and back); and The Crater Conundrum (Gilly).

Here are a few of the unique things I did for this mission:

• One single launch rocket SSTO to LKO
• 11 kerbals to Eve and back versus the 10 required
• All kerbals traveled in command pods or crew modules - no rumble seats

Launch to LKO

This is the heaviest launch I've ever done, at 6426t.  It's also, therefore, the heaviest SSTO I've ever done.  This is also the heaviest single-launch payload I've done, at 787t.

Some more stats:

• Boosters:  4730t of methalox and 20 x Mammoth II engines
• Launch Profile:
  • 90 degree elevation until 1km
  • 45 degrees by 16km
  • 5 degrees by 66km
  • Ap altitude of 120km
• dV:
  • 4547 m/s according to the game staging stack, and according to the Micro Engineer mod
  • 4052 m/s according to the rocket formula in my spreadsheet (which I think, in this case, is more accurate)

Here is a 4m9s video of the entire launch to LKO.  It's running at 5x speed.  My actual fps during the entire launch was between 6 and 9.
Special thanks to @cfloutier for K2-D2, and to @schlosrat for Maneuver Node Controller!  Without these 2 mods I would have had a bear of a time doing this launch manually at 6 to 9 fps.

Launch to LKO video:

Spoiler

 

If you don't want to watch the video, here are a few screenshots of the launch:

Spoiler

The dV calculating tool within the VAB was confused, perhaps by having multiple engines under each booster stack.  So I calculated dV on a spreadsheet using the rocket formula, and I realized that I could do this launch as a Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO).

After achieving orbit, I got rid of the fairing, nosecones, and the boosters.

Spoiler

The ship is named "Go Big".  Here's the whole thing in orbit after ditching the fairing and nosecones.

For each of the 5 boosters, I decoupled the booster stack from "underneath" a SWERV engine...

... and then deorbited the booster.

Transit to Eve

In LKO, ready to go to Eve!

The transit:

Spoiler

I had to transfer fuel into the central 8t hydrogen tank during the burn.

I don't know why the system thought I needed over 10 minutes for this burn.  I don't remember how I fixed that.

Land 11 kerbals on Eve

Here's a 6 minute video of the atmospheric entry and landing:

Spoiler

 

Here are a few screenshots:

Spoiler

Touchdown!  We touched down at approx 8.4 m/s.  My plan was to ditch the heat shields at the bottom, and land on the engine bells.  That worked fine in the simulations, and I'm sure it would have worked here.  But, I forgot to ditch the heat shields, so I landed on them.  No problems.  Landing legs are highly overrated.

Since I landed at night, I waited until the next morning, then all 11 kerbals got out for a team photo and the flag planting.

Spoiler

Return to Eve Low Orbit

3 minute video:

Spoiler

Some screenshots:

Spoiler

The mission was to land 10 kerbals on Eve, and return them to Kerbin.  I did 11 kerbals.  I also used crew compartments, with no rumble seats.

Final orbit.  Not very circular, and not much fuel remaining, but I have a plan.

Return "Go Big" to "Eve Station"

Some screenshots:

Spoiler

Lower Ap and raise Pe for a more circular orbit

Back at Eve Station, deorbit the fairing base

Then launch a refueling drone. I knew that Go Big might be pretty much out of fuel after achieving Eve Low Orbit, so I brought this refueler along.  The refueler flew to Go Big, rendezvoused, docked, delivered fuel, and then was deorbited.

Go Big now had enough fuel to return to Eve Station

Go Big waited until the following morning to approach Eve Station and dock

To Gilly!

Screenshots:

Spoiler

Val led the Eve landing and return mission, so Jeb got to do Gilly.  I transferred Jeb, then, by decoupling here...

... the command pod, 8t hydrogen tank, and SWERV engine that were in the very center, detached, like this.  Jeb is now ready to take "Sidekick" to Gilly.

After achieving orbit, I realized that I was fairly close to the target.  I didn't want to wait around at low timewarp speeds for an entire orbit, so I reversed the orbit and landed.

Landed in the dark.  But I went ahead and did the science required for mission credit.

The next morning I moved the Sidekick to a better location, and Jeb planted a flag.

Return to Eve Station from Gilly

Screenshots:

Spoiler

This time I arrived just as the sun was coming up

Go Home!

Screenshots:

Spoiler

Decoupled Go Big, with a heat shield "feather" package and a parachute package all attached at the nose.  Then I renamed the Go Big to "Go Home".

The Alex Moon planning tool told me that I had to wait a year for the return window.  But I had plenty of dV, and worked this plan out to return now.

I'll have to make a correction at the Dn get the "2" markers to come together and produce a Kerbin encounter.

Eve escape

At the Dn I fiddled with the inclination change node until I got this.

Approaching Kerbin.  The Mun is also visible.

Kerbin Atmospheric Reentry and Splashdown

3 minute video:

Spoiler

Some screenshots:

Spoiler

I actually did this reentry and landing 3 times.  With the original 40km Pe, we didn't even capture, but continued the flyby to leave the Kerbin SOI.  With a 35km Pe, we did capture, but would require at least 2 atmospheric passes before landing, or splashing.  With a 30km Pe, we captured and splashed down on the first pass.

Mission complete!  For Science! playthrough complete!

Edited October 29 by Poppa Wheelie

[Mister Spock]

Superb! Congratulations! I don't think I've ever launched that big a rocket in either KSP1 or 2.

Did you have any refueling rendez-vous in LKO? I watched some of your video but didn't see any docking with a space station. I've always wanted to do that to support interplanetary travel, but I've never gotten around to trying. Maybe it's not necessary?

Once again, well done. I'm glad to see KSP2 lives on, at least in gameplay.

[Poppa Wheelie]

4 hours ago, Mister Spock said:

Did you have any refueling rendez-vous in LKO?

No, I only had the one single launch.  Everything needed for the mission, including all fuel, was in that launch.

You're right, though.  A more "logical" way to do this would have been to launch the Eve Transfer ship to LKO, empty of fuel, then launch some fueling missions.  The boosters for the Eve Transfer ship could have been much smaller if I had done this.

But, this was my last mission, and I wanted to Go Big!

Edited October 30 by Poppa Wheelie