Rover + Lander design

[Shpaget]

I've been playing since 0.13, I believe, with on and off periods, but since the 0.20 release introduced some pretty awesome stuff I decided to give my space program a new kick and burn some more boosters.

Anyway, I'm still to visit anything other than the Mun, which I can orbit and land on without too much trouble. I'm having great fun even within Kerbin SOI, but Mun landing is great. The problem I'm having is a rover + lander combo and my failure to design anything I am fully happy with.

My usual approach is to put a small rover under the lander can so that when I extend the landing gear the rover is just above the surface. Then I just drive off. That part works ok, but in order to do that I usually need to put the lander and rover upside down on the lower stage which leads to some issues with the navball. The most obvious is the fact that the ground (the brown half of the navball) is "up" and the sky is "down". The maneuver nods are on the opposite side of the ball so a bit of guessing is involved when it comes to it's position. SAS/ASAS sometimes throws a fit as well. All in all, it's a less than perfect design until I detach the lander from the transfer stage.

When I try to flip the lander with the rover right side up the rocket usually becomes a lot more unstable even though it appears to maintain the center of gravity in the middle.

Sending a rover and a lander on two different mission is an option but I don't like it. It's not in the Apollo spirit and it's not a self contained mission.

So, how do you guys do it?

Edited June 26, 2013 by Shpaget

[jwenting]

putting a decoupler on the bottom of the rover and use a network of struts to connect the contraption is one way.

I've experimented with bolting rovers on the sides of landers, designed so they can work either side up, again using decouplers, and hoping they don't break apart when hitting the ground. Works reasonably well for small roborovers.

A last option I've played with with some success is have the rover strapped under the lander, with the launcher split in several separate rockets strapped to its sides and again a ton of struts keeping those multiple cores from breaking apart.

[Tex_NL]

There is a VERY simply solution for fixing your 'up-side-down' navball. Right click a controllable node (cockpit/landercan/dockingport/etc.) that is facing the correct way and select 'control from here'. Suddenly your navball is facing up again and all markers are back in the correct position. No need for a complete re-design or fancy strutting.

[capi3101]

I attach mine to the sides. A BZ-52 and a stack separator work; nothing says you couldn't use a decoupler or even a junior docking port, though.

Only problem with this approach is that you have to make sure the rovers land upright or have a self-righting mechanism installed. Mine have the self-righting mechanism installed and it's a good thing; out for six releases, the stupid things have landed on their wheels once.

http://www.wcnews.com/chatzone/attachments/screenshot139-png.6357/

Tex_NL's suggestion is a good one. If you haven't got anything else to control, you might consider putting an RGU on the top of your booster (right below whatever you're using to separate your payload. Be sure to give it some power (a pair of PB-NUKs work well, so do battery packs). When the game releases your rocket for launch, switch control over to the RGU and you should be golden. My landers often incorporate Aerospikes, so I have to launch an inverted payload quite often, and this is definitely a viable workaround.

[entaran]

You could also strap a LARGE rover underneath, and drop it about 5-10 metres above the surface then go land elsewhere. it won't bounce far.

[Major Healey]

I once put a rover under the hitch hiker storage can with side rockets to land it with legs on the on them, land the craft, raise the legs, decouple the rover (put the brakes on it has a habit of rolling away) Eva the Kerbal, drive the rover out, put the kerbal back in the lander and lower the legs again. Took me 307 dry runs to get it work though

[GraviTykillz]

I Hung Rovers under under and it worked very well

Edited June 26, 2013 by GraviTykillz

[Hooligan Labs]

The "control from here" tip works great. I have had success with the following setup:

Interplanetary stage, with a large fuel tank and rockets positioned a good radial distance outward so they do not touch the rover below.

Rover, in between the interplanetary and launch stage.

The launch stage, which has plenty of struts extending from the fuel tanks to the rover and interplanetary stages above.

Now, if you want a real challenge, try getting the rover back on the rocket...

[Shpaget]

Thanks guys.

Control from here works as advertised. A new chapter in space exploration is being written. The one that does not involve firing rockets in wrong direction. Well, not so often...

[DChurchill]

This is how I have it but the thing is like a bowling ball on a swizzle stick. You can see the rover configuration from this:

[catmando]

"bowling ball on a swivel stick" now that is funny....

[troyn123]

I've become a fan of the small rover delivery system... Land, decouple, and use the on-board RCS to land on the wheels. :-)

I need to switch to wheels with less grip though. This rover design flips over in a heartbeat if you're moving over 10 m/s or so.

[Flixxbeatz]

Not recommended for massive rovers.