Munar Achievements

[RedRockets]

Lander::: Touchdown!!

Science Payload ::: On its Feet!!!

'Lets head home'

[softweir]

Oh! Neat idea to deliver a package.

[RedRockets]

It has a Radioisotopic thermoelectric generator to power it during the 2 week nights on the Mun, a camera to keep an eye out for life forms or other landers, a sci package, a sensor package, and a dish to send back data to kerbal, at least in my mind it does.

[softweir]

It has a Radioisotopic thermoelectric generator to power it during the 2 week nights on the Mun, a camera to keep an eye out for life forms or other landers, a sci package, a sensor package, and a dish to send back data to kerbal, at least in my mind it does.

You missed the ping-pong-ball reflector for imprecise measurement of the distance from Kerbin to Mün!^*

Richard.

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* Equivalent to NASA\'s laser reflectors for precise measurement of the distance from Earth to Moon.

[RedRockets]

You missed the ping-pong-ball reflector for imprecise measurement of the distance from Kerbin to Mün!^*

Richard.

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* Equivalent to NASA\'s laser reflectors for precise measurement of the distance from Earth to Moon.

Is that really a part? If so I want it bad.

[Luigibro606]

Ok, i\'m going for some Munar Landings. Report in later. Expect crashes, explosions, MIA\'s, and Jeb smiling.

UPDATE: Centauri 9 made it to the Mun, however came in too fast and crashed.

Current mission: Centauri 11, preparing for orbital rendezous with Mun. Update: Orbital adjustments made, preparing to meet with Mun. Update: Success, closing in with Mun. 118k away and closing in rapidly. May attempt Munar orbit before touch down. Update: Munar orbit success! Update: Attempting landing. Update: Failed! Crew killed in 1,300< m/s crash. Horizontal velocity too great.

[Luigibro606]

Centauri 14 Munar Landing:

Ship has landed on the Mun! However due to a very slight misplacement of landing legs the engine hit the ground first and subsequently exploded. RCS is sufficient enough to propel craft around Munar landscape, local region mapped out; valley area found and two large peaks in the mountainous areas, approx. the same height, attempts at moving up to the supposedly higher one have failed due to my botched L key on the keyboard.

MISSION RESULTS: Success, studies show the Mun\'s surface composition is 2.7% Explodium. RCS has propelled craft back to within 75k of Kerbin, and slowed down till the capsule fell to the surface.

-The local \'valley\' as seen from a high slope.

In other words,

SUCCESS

:D 8) 8) 8)

[Luigibro606]

Bump. Needs moar Mun stuff.

[Guest TonyZ]

Didn\'t think to grab a screenshot until I was on my way home... I\'ll do it again.

[xzbobzx]

Didn\'t think to grab a screenshot until I was on my way home... I\'ll do it again.

What command pod is that?

It looks like the top gear space shuttle.

[dbellmo2]

The Rockit Co Soyuz pack is a very beautiful pack, but it makes getting to the Mun too easy.

I love my wobbly, 'Don\'t think we\'re gonna make it' rockets

[Spoot Knight]

Can\'t really complain when it does what it\'s advertised to do.

[Guest TonyZ]

What command pod is that?

It looks like the top gear space shuttle.

You guess correctly...

The Reliant Robin was posted in this thread: http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/index.php?topic=2861.0 by oniontrain.

[trbinsc]

Hey, could I get on the list for the smallest non-cheating Mün rocket?

[Braun]

Hey, could I get on the list for the smallest non-cheating Mün rocket?

i discovered that last week when hacking around in the part.cfg of rcs_block and deem it a cheat because its a non official part.

[trbinsc]

i discovered that last week when hacking around in the part.cfg of rcs_block and deem it a cheat because its a non official part.

It\'s Silisko edition, and I didn\'t modify any .cfg files.

[dbellmo2]

Can\'t really complain when it does what it\'s advertised to do.

Truth.

[Commander Zoom]

As posted in the 'Share your rockets' thread under the Spacecraft Exchange:

Munatic 1 was a further development of the very successful Orbiter 2 design. The first stage was expanded from 2 to 3 meters, with a corresponding increase in the size of the six attached SRBs. A mid-stage was added, retaining the upper 2 meter tank and adding a Doubledown 'Twin Bertha' engine. The upper stage was retooled again, replacing the custom extended tank and Kerbaldyne KX-2 orbital engine with a standard FL-T500 tank and LV-T30 engine along with the newly-invented RCS quad thrusters and tankage for them; the overall size of the stage remained more or less the same.

As no lander was yet available - even the design was still being settled on, with various contractors submitting their own proposals - it was decided to send the rocket to the Mun and back in this configuration, a 'practice run' or 'dress rehearsal' for the real thing. Bill Kerman came down sick a week before the launch, and so the backup crew of kerbonauts were at the controls when Munatic 1 lifted off the pad. The flight was surprisingly smooth and uneventful, considering the mission; from parking orbit to trans-munar injection to decelerating into munar orbit, the crew did it all by the numbers. Observations and photographs were made of the munar surface to help determine landing sites for future missions. After three orbits, Munatic 1 fired its upper stage engine again and headed for home.

Disaster struck at the very end of the mission, when a misheard instruction caused the premature jettisoning of the service module, stranding the crew in orbit. Fortunately, Jeb Kerman was on hand at KSC and led a round-the-clock rescue effort. A partially-assembled Orbiter 2 stack was completed with any parts they could find, hastily fueled, and moved to the pad for an accelerated launch. Jeb was alone in the capsule for this mission; the plan was to match orbits and transfer the Munatic 1 crew over in suits, followed by a cramped but survivable re-entry. Once he was actually in orbit, however, Jeb decided to hold this option in reserve as a 'Plan B.' His first, and ultimately successful, solution was to make hard contact with the other capsule (with a brief EVA to secure them with a tether) and use his retros to gently deorbit both spacecraft. The two pods splashed down within kilometers of each other, and both crews received a hero\'s welcome at KSC.

[The stranding-in-space thing actually happened - my goof, and par for the course in KSP, but I figured Jeb wouldn\'t just let them sit up there until their air ran out. And this is just the sort of Crazy Awesome thing he\'d try, if the game engine let him.]

The second Munatic mission was ambitious, to say the least. With the lander design still stuck in development hell, the 'bigger is better' faction in the program had come up with a design that could send any conceivable payload to the Mun with fuel to spare. This was accomplished by adding a second mid-stage to the stack, which now exceeded the height of the gantry. The first and only flight of Munatic 2 called to mind the many failed attempts to come up with a viable Orbiter 2: the overloaded rocket lurched off the pad, struggled to gain speed and altitude, and finally broke apart at its weakest point, the coupling between the first and second mid-stages. The crew was able to eject and parachute to safety, while a train of rocket stages (still carrying most of their fuel) plunged into the ocean behind them.

Munatic 2 on the pad

Another round of yelling and finger-pointing, again calling to mind the Orbiter 2 trials, followed. It didn\'t help that this embarrassment came on the heels of the 'successful failure' of Munatic 1. It was eventually decided to go back to that earlier design, at least for now. Even Jeb acknowledged, 'There\'s nothin\' wrong with that rocket. It got those boys to the Mun and back just fine. That\'s what we need, not ways to kill a lotta fish.'

As a result, Munatic 3 was almost identical to Munatic 1. The only modifications were to the upper stage: some of the engineers, tired of waiting for the committee, took the 'back to basics' order of the day to heart and went down to their local hardware store. There they bought a ladder and the parts to make four sturdy legs, which they proceeded to weld to the side and base. The rest of the weekend was spent swapping out the LV-T30 for a hand-built engine which was smaller and less powerful, but much lighter and more efficient. (One of the engineers had been working on it as a hobby, there being little demand or interest in the KSP for such things.) On Munday they presented the ad-hoc lander to their superiors, who mostly stared and mumbled to each other... until Jeb stepped forward, praised them for their initiative, and gave them all a raise.

Five days later, Munatic 3 thundered off the pad into a clear blue sky... and history.

Even though this was his first time flying an actual Munatic, not a simulator, Jeb handled the launch and orbital insertion like the pro he was. His TMI was so smooth that he was able to retain the mid-stage all the way to the Mun and use its remaining fuel to enter a stable munar orbit, where it was left as a comm relay. (Engineers had imagined this possibility only a few days before the mission, just enough time to weld on another couple of antennas and some tin foil.)

The landing sites were all in mares, wide areas of darker and (it was hoped) flatter ground. One of these was close to the Mun\'s equator, in easy reach of Munatic 3\'s current orbit, but also close to the day/night line. As commander, Jeb chose instead to land at the alternate site to the north, in full sunlight. Time and fuel was spent to tilt the craft\'s orbit accordingly.

Soon it was time to begin the descent. The thrust of the new engine was weak, but so was the Mun\'s gravity; it also sipped fuel rather than gulping it, giving the pilot plenty of hover time over the target. Bursts from the RCS thrusters were used to further slow the craft. Bill counted down the distance, Bob held his breath until he passed out (missing the rest of the landing) and Jeb tried to concentrate on the ball, the speed indicator, and the view out the window all at once. There was a gentle thump; Jeb cut the throttle, checked everything one more time, and gave Kouston the good news:

'Munatic Base here, we made it. We are on the [deleted] Mun, over.'

Bill\'s cheering woke up Bob, who joined in once he understood the situation. There was plenty of cheering in Kouston too, before everyone got back to business. The crew was given permission to depressurize the capsule and make their way down the ladder. Jeb was the first one down, of course; he actually leapt from the bottom and landed with a mighty whoop. 'Hoooo! That was fun!' were thus the first words spoken on the munar surface.

The three kerbonauts spent almost an hour on the surface: planting the flag, taking photographs and measurements, bouncing around the lander in the low gravity, and leaving lots of corrugated footprints in the grey soil. When it was time to come back in and prepare for the return, Jeb lingered at the foot of the ladder for a last look around. 'So long, Mun. We\'ll be back real soon.'

Soon after liftoff, it became clear that Jeb intended to abandon the flight manual and 'wing it' as far as getting back to Kerbin. First he put Munatic 3 in an unusual retrograde orbit, then made several aborted attempts to extend it in the proper direction and inclination. When the craft finally left the Mun\'s gravity well, new calculations required further course corrections. All of these long burns ate into the reserve left over from the landing. Munatic 3 eventually settled into a high orbit, and Jeb was still trying to tighten it up and reduce the inclination when the main tank finally ran dry. Bill and Bob stared at the gauge for a moment, then began screaming in unison. Jeb hushed them: 'Knock it off! We still got another tank, hardly been touched. It may not be pretty, but I promise, I will get us down.'

Jeb was, of course, referring to the RCS fuel. It was just enough to bring the perikee down into the upper atmosphere, where aerobraking would take care of the rest. There was no hope of hitting the recovery area; in fact, there was at least a 50/50 chance of coming down on land rather than water. There had been many (many) crash-tests of the capsule with dummies inside, which suggested good odds of survival for both... but like landing on the Mun, it had never actually been done before. Still, it was their only shot.

After running the RCS quads dry as well, Jeb jettisoned and christened the empty landing stage in the same breath: 'Farewell, Oddity, and we thank you.'

The long, shallow re-entry of Munatic 3 was easier on the kerbonauts, but meant more anxious waiting for them and for ground control in Kouston, cut off by radio blackout. The projected landing was on the other side of the world, somewhere in Kermany; recovery teams were being mustered there with all available speed, but it would still take some time to reach the crew... and that was if the capsule didn\'t hit a mountain or something.

To everyone\'s relief, the parachute opened on schedule and the crew of Munatic 3 landed safely (if roughly) in a grassy meadow in the foothills of the Kerman Alps. Their round trip had taken just over 20.5 hours, with two thirds of that on the troubled return leg.

'Stage 8': SRBs; 'Stage 6': lower stage; 'Stage 4': mid stage, in munar orbit, shortly before landing; 'Stage 2', munar module Oddity

[Luigibro606]

I WIN

First person to ever perform an EVA on the Mun.* :D

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Ok, for the op, who here was the first to do whatever? I\'ll edit and add \'em.

*legit

EDIT AS OF MAY 2012

Images lost in forum resetting :C

Edit as of June \'12: Past Weegee, y u no save pictures? >:U

[Tim_Barrett]

I WIN

First person to ever perform an EVA on the Mun. :D

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Ok, for the op, who here was the first to do whatever? I\'ll edit and add \'em.

'Wait, what do you mean this isn\'t the airlock...'

'Oh, yea, we had to make a few budget cuts, so we couldn\'t fit in an extra room to save oxygen. The tanks are prett low too.'

'...'

'Meh, just relaunch. I\'ll go to bed after this mission, I got work tomorrow.'

[Luigibro606]

So true. Saw how they got there? Check pic, lol.

[Luigibro606]

Bump. Need moar Munar stuff

A cookie for the person to send the Blender tutorial testcube to the Mun and land it.

[G Addict]

I\'ve put a satellite into orbit around the Mun, and safely returned to Kerbin a couple of times now. The satellite model shown even has a NERVA engine and a tank and a half of fuel to make orbital corrections - or even move into a Kerbolar orbit! (not at all because I forgot to put a decoupler between the satellite and rocket)

No shots of the landing, I\'m afraid, but I can get a pic of the original rocket if necessary. The first attatched shot is a reasonably-close up of the satellite and return module after detatching, the second is to prove it was a Munar orbit, not a Kerbin one.

[Alchemist]

Who said that Munar rocket must be superheavy?

What about this medium-light launch vehicle and lander?

LightMunLander2

After TMI

Messed SOI entering, found myself at 77 km height and 700+ m/s on impact trajectory. So, direct landing

A bit incorrectly adjusted thrust at touchdown - bounced twice, broke the engine on the third time

But it still has escape/ascent/return stage. Here is the result of correct Munar escape - orbit just after leaving Mun\'s SOI

And the splashdown

Not so many pictures - didn\'t think that will be so successful.

[Guest Flixxbeatz]

haha, I remember that my first successful landing was actually an impact trajectory