A-Tech : “The Beauty & The Beast" Inter Planetary Tug Competition

[Allister]

Allister Technology : "The Beauty & The Beast"

After constructing, docking, and successfully completing an A-Tech C1 Duna delivery via the A-Tech SPT (spare part tug), the Green Team Development Group has become extremely interested in heavy payload inter planetary tug design. With aspirations to expanding universal kerbal knowledge, this competition is intended to be a friendly challenge for bragging rights amongst companies and individuals as to best tug designs within two categories.

The objective of this competition:

The primary idea behind this thread is to create a large inventory of diverse Tugs for general use by the KSP community. As submissions progress players should be able to download different styles of tugs with different capabilities to help KSP players successfully complete their own payload missions.

“Tug“ as defined by Allister Technology

- A "Tug" is an individual craft capable of docking to an orbiting payload, then on its own power delivering said payload to its destination without tapping into the payloads fuel or requiring additional engines from a separate craft.

Tug - "The Beauty"

This title will be bestowed upon the most aesthetically pleasing tug capable of delivering a minimum of ~100 tons to Duna intercept trajectory. The current holder of "The Beauty" title will be granted full bragging rights, as well as 2 pictures and links to craft files & main thread on this first post.

Tug - “The Beast"

This title will be bestowed upon the most powerful tug craft capable of delivering a minimum of ~100 tons to the furthest reaches of space. The current holder of “The Beast" title will be granted full bragging rights, as well as 2 pictures and links to craft files & main thread on this first post.

A-Tech SPT :

The A-Tech SPT should be considered a minimum guideline for both categories, capable of delivering the A-Tech C1 to Duna intercept trajectory. Holding both “The Beauty" & “The Beast“ titles, it is expected to be out-classed in both categories in short order.

forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/29309-A-Tech-SPT-A-Tech-C1-6-Kerbal-Duna-Colonization-Mission-Success

Allister Technology Green Team,

Best luck to all participants!

Edited May 17, 2013 by Allister
"Tug" Defined

[zekes]

Im definitely into this....

Ok so currently my largest ship (DT-9) can haul 150 tonnes to LKO, so were gonna mod it for asparagus staging.

[Allister]

Im definitely into this....

Ok so currently my largest ship (DT-9) can haul 150 tonnes to LKO, so were gonna mod it for asparagus staging.

Nice payload on that!

Note: tugs may be refuelled, constructed, or prepped at 100 LKO. The competition is focused on the interplanetary stage, not the launch.

[zekes]

Oh okay that explains the 100 tonnes to Duna, thats impossible in one launch....

[Allister]

Lol yea. I could well imagine the frame rates on a rocket capable of that from launch. The idea is that the payload is attached at LKO.

[zekes]

Well this gives me an excuse to finally start my laythe colony.....

[FallingIntoBlack]

Well this gives me an excuse to finally start my laythe colony.....

We claim Laythe for Zokesia!

[Allister]

We claim Laythe for Zokesia!

You'll have to make a submission before you can claim dominance.

[Temstar]

Well I have this:

This is the payload. 110 ton space colony capable of housing 134 kerbals. Has three LV-909 engine for station keeping and that's it. To get this thing away from Kerbin:

Planetary Manoeuvring Engine Colossus, a stretched version of the Planetary Manoeuvring Engine Zeus. Powered by seven LV-N and holding 9600L of bipropellant and 1100L of monopropellant onboard. The forward docking port is a heavy duty quad docking port designed specifically for large space construction work:

Here we have a Zeus sending a propellant depot to the Mun.

Here is the payload and engine docked in LKO waiting for refuel. When fully fuelled the combines spacecraft is 187.486 tons with 60 tons being fuel.

Using Tsiolkovsky rocket equation:

delta-V = Ve * ln(187.486/127.486)

delta-V = 800 * 9.81 * 0.3857

delta-V = 3026.95m/s

Alternatively if don't use that 12 tons of fuel out of the colony:

delta-V = Ve * ln(187.486/139.486)

delta-V = 800 * 9.81 * 0.2957

delta-V = 2320.97m/s

So either way that should be plenty of delta-V to Laythe or Duna or Eve assuming aerobraking.

So what's required of me at this stage? Screenshot of safe arrival at Laythe orbit? Craft files?

[Tada]

134 kerbals... That would make one nice prison in space

[Allister]

Wow, nice submission. Way to scare the green off new kerbal posters! Perfect way to set the bar for "The Beast".

Still required: interplanetary stage craft file (tug), with / without launch stage at your choice.

Picture of craft at end destination with payload attached.

To note: other kerbals do not be afraid to post your tug even if its not as capable. This posts main theme is design diversity... We want to see your tug too!

[Fractal_UK]

This is my deployable starbase:

It's launched in two parts, the fuel tank section and the station section - this gives me some versatility since not all planets are going to need quite such a huge fuel depot. This rocket consists of over 14 orange fuel tanks worth of fuel plus housing for 24 Kerbals in the station and 3 more in the command pod. Once it reaches its destination, the atomic engines can be jettisoned - I don't want a starbase having big interplanetary engines, that would just look messy.

Here it is in Laythe orbit having just jettisoned those engines:

Even at Laythe it still has over six full orange tanks of fuel remaining in the tanks. This fuel alone is enough to pass the 100 tonne marker.

My Laythe operations are extensive, which explains the size of the fuel store but eventually I'm going to deploy something like this to Duna and Eve as well, possibly some of the other planets in the even longer term.

It's horrendously inefficient due to the size but it certainly saves coordinating 20 seperate flights.

[Allister]

Nice Station Fractal_UK! Absolutely massive! However to qualify for titles it must be able to be replicated: meaning tug stage craft file (or files if assembled in LKO). You do not need to include your payload (station) if you don't want it shared, but interplanetary stage files are required.

[Fractal_UK]

The station is here: http://www./?tp6sefktv14m8cb You need this because the station is the part with the engines attached. The other part is just a huge fuel tank with a command module on top: http://www./?rbrdc3u7rzam7cn. I apologise about the shoddy state of the launchers, particularly the fuel tank launcher with it's silly upside down command module. If I had made it from scratch, it'd just have had a probe core but it is essentially a modified version of an extremely similar manned supertanker that I designed.

If you want to try and actually use it, it'll probably take 3 or 4 refueling trips from smaller tankers to get that thing full to the brim for a long mission. Also, bring a pack lunch for the burns!

[Allister]

The station is here: http://www./?tp6sefktv14m8cb You need this because the station is the part with the engines attached. The other part is just a huge fuel tank with a command module on top: http://www./?rbrdc3u7rzam7cn. I apologise about the shoddy state of the launchers, particularly the fuel tank launcher with it's silly upside down command module. If I had made it from scratch, it'd just have had a probe core but it is essentially a modified version of an extremely similar manned supertanker that I designed.

If you want to try and actually use it, it'll probably take 3 or 4 refueling trips from smaller tankers to get that thing full to the brim for a long mission. Also, bring a pack lunch for the burns!

The competition is based purely on the interplanetary stage. I launched the "cluster of fuel" into LKO quite easily last night, and you're right... Its just a huge fuel tank. As the station portion (liked this part) is required for interplanetary travel, your overall submission doesn't really fit the "tug" theme. Your tug portion needs to be doing the work on its own and be interchangeable for different payloads. Otherwise its not really a tug, like you said "just a huge fuel tank".

Perfect for an orbital fuel depot though!

Feel free to modify your BA fuel tank to a self-powered tug and continue your submission.

[Fractal_UK]

The competition is based purely on the interplanetary stage. I launched the "cluster of fuel" into LKO quite easily last night, and you're right... Its just a huge fuel tank. As the station portion (liked this part) is required for interplanetary travel, your overall submission doesn't really fit the "tug" theme. Your tug portion needs to be doing the work on its own and be interchangeable for different payloads. Otherwise its not really a tug, like you said "just a huge fuel tank".

Perfect for an orbital fuel depot though!

Feel free to modify your BA fuel tank to a self-powered tug and continue your submission.

The fuel cache was just a modified version of this supertanker, shown transporting a small base and doing a gravity assist around the Mun:

Craft file: http://www./?qu43aqbw86wc6dc

You can use this one instead, it definitely qualifies as some kind of horrible, ugly beast.

[Allister]

Unless you want to see if it will make the minimum requirement of ~100 tons to Duna, ill put it through an A-Tech C1 delivery test later tonight.

[Sliinty]

You would probably want to mount engines to the front rather than the back, tensile structure is a lot lighter than compressive structure, just a thought.

[Allister]

You would probably want to mount engines to the front rather than the back, tensile structure is a lot lighter than compressive structure, just a thought.

Push / Pull tugs are both acceptable submission types. May we see your tug design Sliinty?

[Sliinty]

Is it take 100 tons as far as possible or take as much as possible to duna?

[Allister]

Is it take 100 tons as far as possible or take as much as possible to duna?

There are two catagories. 100 tons to Duna is minimum capabilities for either. Description is wrote out in first post for each catagory.

[Giggleplex777]

My Odin LANTR tug can get 100 tons to Duna.

Edited May 18, 2013 by Giggleplex777

[Whatshtisthis]

So, if this is about the interplanetary part, is bringing up the tug via any other way that ain't launching it from Kerbin allowed?

[Allister]

So, if this is about the interplanetary part, is bringing up the tug via any other way that ain't launching it from Kerbin allowed?

Lol no. Stock parts and legitimate.

[Sliinty]

I meant for the beast. After all, if its 100 tons asfar as possible then solar escape is as far as you can go