Duna on the Cheap

[John FX]

Ok kerbals, we have run into a problem. We have been funded for a mission to Duna (hooray!) Yes, that was our, um ,reaction as well. We thought it was cause for celebration too... How can I put this? We drank the budget. Most of it anyway, but we still have to do a mission to Duna. We would have to close the program and get proper jobs otherwise. One more thing, our funding next year depends on how cheap we can get this done. Each part costs money and all that mass doesn`t grow on trees, well except for the parts Janfer over there makes but we won`t go there today.

Right get busy! We have jobs to keep! Make it flimsy! Make it cheap!

Funding next year (In M£) EDIT : adjusted funding to make things more `interesting`

Under 25 Tons £150

Under 30 Tons £100

Under 50 Tons £50

Under 80 Tons £25

Under 150 Tons £10

Added to

Under 7 Parts £150

Under 10 Parts £100

Under 25 Parts £50

Under 50 Parts £25

Under 100 Parts £10

Mechjeb is allowed to fly your creation, this is an engineering challenge more than a piloting challenge, but there must be a kerbal on board for the press conference later and the mission must be a success. The kerbal must walk on the surface of duna and return. Make sure you take photos so we can convince the bosses we really spent the money. We don`t care what shape the ship is in when is returns as long as the guy you send out can walk up to the mic and talk into it afterward and say he went.

Screenshots will be proof, your kerbal must survive. A posted craft file would be nice then we can reproduce the shockingly cheap journey. Please list all mods.

I have made a quick attempt. I had a part count of 78 and a weight of 46 tons so my score is £50+£10=£60. I may try to shave a few parts and tons and see if I can get mre funding later but I wanted to post the challenge. I ended up landing with 1000Dv of fuel left so there is a lot of room for imrovement...

I used Mechjeb and one of the engines from either KSPx or Novapunch (the one on the lander)

Here is the craft http://www./view/c8densm7ne659a0/Munjet_Va.craft

Current Leaderboard

Mod

1, Adammada 20 parts 12.42T £200

2, John FX 78 parts 46T £60

3,

4,

5,

Stock

1, Frash23 6 parts 29.5T £250

2, Metaphor 7 parts 29.7T £200

3,

4,

5,

Overall

1, Frash23 6 parts 29.5T £250

2, Metaphor 7 parts 29.7T £200

3, Adammada 20 parts 12.42T £200

4, John FX 78 parts 46T £60

5,

Edited July 9, 2013 by John FX

[SuperWeegee4000]

Should mods other than MechJeb be allowed?

[nhnifong]

Woop I've done Duna in three parts before, prehaps now that we have the chairs It will weigh a bit less. I don't recall the weight but it's basically one of the flattish 2m tanks and a nuclear engine. 15 tones probably? I'll try it out when I get home.

EDIT, that was for a 1-way trip, nevemind.

[-RanZ-]

what mods are allowed? going to list scores in original post?

[John FX]

what mods are allowed? going to list scores in original post?

Yes I will list the top five in the OP. As far as mods, nothing that has silly ISP or infinite fuel or stuff like that but if you wanted to make a kethane mining lander that would be ok. Using mechjeb to fly your ship is fine but using a mod to just put your ship in orbit is not. Anything cosmetic is fine and anything that helps put stuff together like struts and connectors is ok. Use any fuel tanks you like as long as they weigh the correct amount.

Thinking about it, there probably should be two tables, one for mod and one for stock. For mod the engines should be chosen from KspX and NovaPunch just for a reasonably level playing field.

[John FX]

Woop I've done Duna in three parts before, prehaps now that we have the chairs It will weigh a bit less. I don't recall the weight but it's basically one of the flattish 2m tanks and a nuclear engine. 15 tones probably? I'll try it out when I get home.

EDIT, that was for a 1-way trip, nevemind.

Well I reckon it would do the trip back, put it on a launcher and see how you do!

[-RanZ-]

so is it less than 25 or 25 and less? does 25 qualify for that level or does it have to be 24?

[nhnifong]

This is my design so far I'm very proud of it, but it still hasn't made it to duna, although I've tested 2/3 main components

[metaphor]

This is my Duna lander and return with 7 parts at 29.7 tons. Pictures here.

[John FX]

so is it less than 25 or 25 and less? does 25 qualify for that level or does it have to be 24?

I`m going to arbitrarily stick with under 25 so 24 gets it but 25 is the next band.

[tavert]

Impressive, metaphor, nicely done. Did you redo the Kerbin return a few times and post screenshots from several flights or something? It looks like you gained fuel on a couple of occasions, while heading back from Duna and while splashing down...

[John FX]

This is my Duna lander and return with 7 parts at 29.7 tons. Pictures here.

Congratulations! I thnk I am being shown just how little is needed to get to Duna. I may have made my challenge too easy. If I were to redesign I think I would have a dead weight that needed to be transported to Duna and back to encourage varied designs rather than the current simple least weight/parts which would seem to only lead to your excellent solution. 10T of equipment maybe. I have changed the rewards to hopefully make it harder.

what do people think?

Edited June 22, 2013 by John FX

[nhnifong]

Nice work Metaphor Who needs legs anyways!

I went for minimum weight at the cost of a few more parts, but it turned out I was a little too stingy with the xenon.

7.80 tons on the launchpad, including the kerbal.

100 parts, excluding the launch clamps

Unfortunately, my kerbal did not survive, but I at least managed to return him to kerbin and make a new crater in the desert to memorialize his accomplishments.

Mods: KSPX

Craft file (right click, save as)

Edited June 22, 2013 by nhnifong

[jwenting]

wonder how you do it in so few parts, I barely make LKO with that...

[adammada]

Full album:http://imgur.com/a/hcH2D

I used project similar to metaphor, just different first stage. And no parachute .

Ship mass: 12.42t

Part count: 20.

Used mods: MechJeb.

Edited June 22, 2013 by adammada

[Francesco]

I'm so doing this, there was a challenge some time ago in which we were going to Duna and back in 7 or 8 parts. fun stuff

[Francesco]

six parts, no parachute.

LV-909 instead of LV-N for easier landings.

metaphor, you could bring it down to 5 parts by ditching the decoupler, and using the heat generated by the nuclear engine to make the tank below it explode when empty

I stole this trick from Scott Manley, btw.

doesn't work with the small LV-909 though.

http://imgur.com/a/7t3xP#0

[adammada]

six parts, no parachute.

What mass?

[Francesco]

What mass?

uh, right, I forgot.

I built this with using as few parts as possible in mind, not seeking efficiency.

anyway, it's a bit more than 45 tons, so my funding would be £200.

[metaphor]

Impressive, metaphor, nicely done. Did you redo the Kerbin return a few times and post screenshots from several flights or something? It looks like you gained fuel on a couple of occasions, while heading back from Duna and while splashing down...

Yeah I F5/F9'd a few times. I redid the Duna-Kerbin transfer burn because I crossed the SoI at 10,000x by mistake and my Kerbin periapsis ended up beyond the Mun. I did the Kerbin landing a couple of times because on the way down I burned the nuclear engine too fast and ended up going upwards and my parachute disappeared. Also had to redo the Duna landing a few times because the engine would snap off when the parachute fully deployed. So yeah those screenshots might be from different quicksaves, but the same mission.

metaphor, you could bring it down to 5 parts by ditching the decoupler, and using the heat generated by the nuclear engine to make the tank below it explode when empty

I stole this trick from Scott Manley, btw.

Yeah I saw that Scott Manley video too hehe.

[John FX]

Hi guys, sorry for not being very active, I`m working at glastonbury festival and internet is limited...

Some good craft here. Pushing the envelope. I`ll be back in July

[Skorpychan]

Maybe bonus score for bringing bits back, or leaving them reusable on kerbin?

Maybe for least fuel used, as well.

[frash23]

Alright, finally finished my trip (4 hours )

It weighs 29.45 T, and has 6 parts.

Album:

The two first images are from a prototype, and not actually correct. The rest are fine. Proper images below album.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Javascript is disabled. View full album

No mods at all, not even mechjeb or alike.

Edited June 25, 2013 by frash23

[nhnifong]

Alright, finally finished my trip (4 hours )

It weighs 20.45 T, and has 6 parts.

No mods at all, not even mechjeb or alike.

Great job Frash!!

I'm amazed you managed to take off again after it fell over!

[entaran]

metaphor if you used mechjeb command pods & probes, you'd be 6 parts immediately cause you dont' need that mechjeb thing on the side