Jump to content

Zokesia Laythe Expedition

zekes

By zekes
in KSP1 Mission Reports

 Share

Recommended Posts

zekes

zekes

Posted
Posted (edited)

The year was 2230. Kerbals of Zokesia have colonized Minmus and Duna, but they have never set foot on Laythe. The few probes sent showed a watery world with rocky terrain and high gravity. Getting there would not be easy.

The first Manned expedition to return was the Cruiser Mk IV Claudia.

3WllAt1.png

The ship landed two probes on the surface, and gained valuable data on the dangers of landing on Laythe.

Laythe Rover "Dolly" touched down hard and at night; engineers thought they had broken a wheel. However it was able to move and determine the soil on Laythe is Primarily rocky and sand, with small hinds of mossy growth, and a breathable oxygen atmosphere.

5EDDx2i.png

The other rover, "Teal" missed its projected landing spot and was on decent into the ocean when communications were lost. Some seawater had entered the soil collector, but the rover sank before it could be analyzed.

mkXaIuv.png

The crew of the Claudia couldn't stick around. They had only just enough fuel to return to Kerbin, and their two transfer burns were hair raising, however, everyone made it home. Zokesia High Command gave the go-ahead for construction of a supership to visit Laythe.

The next ship to be launched at Laythe was the Orbiter Mk IV Stuka, a radical departure form the previous Cruisers in that it had only two NERVA engines, and lacked the radial hard points. It did however have a better RCS system, more balanced controls, and a better docking cone at the front. It also had an unmanned guidance unit, and was launched empty in preperation for the Landing at Laythe (The mothership was already overloaded and didn't carry its own Return Vehicle).

TU6IrXx.png

The Automatic cameras took these photos of the wildlife:

TYLO:

TlfDrQg.png

BOP:

AjGruCe.png

Aditionally, the Mothership Core was launched. It consisted of x32 tanks and full RCS capability, but lacked NERVAS to carry it to Laythe.

r5MCMOz.png

PG5gGgt.png

It already was massive, and the two crew checking it out said it was cramped and the heaters didn't work properly. So plans were made to send up a 30 ton Habitation Core.

But now it seemed the project was in Jeopardy. Funding was cut suddenly in favor of the ZoPL Kiwi Mk II Long range SSTO development, and the project was put on hold for five years.

Edited by zekes
Link to comment
Share on other sites
zekes

zekes

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

After five years of the project laying fallow, funding was restored to the Laythe Exploration Expedition. But it was still a difficult year; the life support in the Mothership had gone out and the Stuka's fuel supply had frozen solid. The engineers were able to unfreeze the Stuka's Fuel by rotating it into the sun, but the Laythe Exploration Expedition Mothership was really going to need that Habitation Module.

The thirty ton section was added with ease, and the ship began looking very massive.

biUxilU.png

The crew stayed for a week and really liked the habitats, claiming they could "finally get peace and quiet up here."

After they left the ship was now with a home but no engines. Also important would be the lander which would be able to land at Laythe safely and return to orbit.

0MMZJFR.png

Edited by zekes
Link to comment
Share on other sites
zekes

zekes

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Testing began on the Laythe lander in 2236, with mission requirements stating the ship had to achieve LKO and stay under 40 tonnes. This was a difficult challenge, but Zokesian Engineers were able to come up with a hybrid rocket/jet ship which could get to LKO with fuel to spare. It was two man, which was perfect as the Lee (the new name for the Laythe Exploration Expedition mother ship) was going to carry five men.

iKQKt26.png

However, the first test flight resulted in landing of the upper stage (Which was never designed to land) which broke it.

It was also found that because the fuel was above the cockpit it made the ship top-heavy on landing, which could be a problem on Laythe, but engineers went with it, saying that the engines could slow the decent enough (with parachutes) to make a safe touchdown.

byypdsD.png

It was about to be launched when at the last minute an intern remembered there were no NERVAs on the Lee, so they threw together a Tow stage with two NERVAS to power the craft.

qq7QI3s.png

Both went up together, but docked separately. The finished product was a monster, and an under-powered one at that. it squirmed and wiggled, and the Fuel had to be pulled out of the lander to achieve stability.

Wo1Qk1n.png

But it was too late to redesign now, the mission must go on! The ship made a two hour burn, pulling it out of LKO and into a Jool-encounter trajectory.

Stay tuned for more!

Edited by zekes
Link to comment
Share on other sites
zekes

zekes

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The Lee set out on a slow trip to Laythe. The crew frequently complained about vibrations when the fuel booster pump on the Roxomax was turned on at the bottom of the ship and it had to be shut down. Bob got a shot out the window just before leaving Kerbin.

XJgzSaC.png

Then, 45 minutes into the first burn, the fuel was used up in the auxiliary tank and it was jettisoned.

nBfm9QY.png

Nearing Laythe, the on board guidance computers overheated (plane change angle was greater than 45 degrees) and KSC had to manually reprogram the Laythe Injection burn. This last burn took 17 minutes.

8B1LiOo.png

Due to the lack of Jool aerobrake the Lee rocketed into Laythe's atmosphere... the results were hair raising.

QNDuO8j.png

But the ship held together and one quick burn put the ship in a 60 by 61 Km orbit. But there was a problem. The ship had used so much fuel that there were now 60 liters less than needed for the Lander to safely return. And the rest of the ship was out of fuel. Twently minutes of panic ensued before engineers managed to siphon fuel from the outboard Nuclear tanks to use in the lander. It worked fine.

Riber Kerban then EVA'd and got these beautiful shots of their home ship.

uRoO7uX.png

Cs0pIFC.png

They also managed to get beautiful shots of Tylo and Vall, relatively close to each other.

dNOMfcN.png

EAmoZp2.png

ZVISeZ0.png

But the hardest parts of the mission were to come, landing, and returning safely to Kerbin.

To be contued....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...
zekes

zekes

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Part Five: The Landing

Upon unlocking of the lander, now dubbed Ricky, was complete and was prepped for a shallow entry into Laythe orbit.

UTZzfCM.png

6 minutes into descent, parachutes deployed and landing gear went down.

UJl5AS3.png

Studies showed that landing in the Aerospikes was much safer than with the Jets, however it was very tedious as precious ascent fuel was used on the last seconds of landing.

cDtHKSN.png

Suddenly, engines shutoff and a loud thud was heard. They were down! Johnny Kerman jumped out of the ship, and yelled "first!" and planted a flag.

JlFJAmP.png

soon his partner Tybalt Kerman stepped out to enjoy the view with him.

iOsN0o9.png

Jool hung ominously over their little lander.

IVM26BK.png

The view was majestic, ut they have work do do. Setting up equipment, science arrays, and solar collectors. Then was the task of getting back.

To be continued....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RedDwarfIV

RedDwarfIV

Posted
Posted

I'm sending a spacecraft there with two habitats, two Lilith-class SSTO spaceplanes, and four Sandhunter-class rovers [including one Command Rover which is fitted with extra solar panels, batteries, scientific equipment and communications systems.]

I'll probably put a mission log up later.

Nice work so far, Zokesia. I like your jet lander, though I prefer spaceplanes since they can work without intake spam. The 'hair raising' Laythe aerobraking was pretty funny, kudos to your engineering that it stayed together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 years later...
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...