Yakitori Aerospace Missions [Pic-Heavy] | Mission 16: Tasting Duna

[The Fog]

Objective:

1. Land the Yakitori Mun Amenities Package to the Munar base
   
2. Using the new Kimo rover, search for a suitable Kethane operation site outside Yakitori Mun's drawing distance
   
3. Field test the new customer hotel complex
   

Background:

While the Crew Quarters looked and actually was very comfy, obviously Shinji was not satisfied with putting customers in there. He wanted proper hotel accommodation with different options of entertainment and style.

After some careful consideration, the decision was made to build a self contained tower which had all the functions and entertainment available as a hotel.

In order to make Yakitori Mun self-sustainable, they would have to put a Kethane miner up there soon and they need an operation site, which must be outside the base's drawing distance. Who wanted to live near a pile of green smoke anyway?

While Momo could provide a form of locomotion on Mun, it was not designed to go fast. And scouting around using EVA was not the most efficient mean. They need a new form of locomotion up there.

Without failing to deliver, Knova soon developed a high speed rover Kimo capable of three things:

• Driving around fast
  
• Towing Tebasaki on Mun (Note that Tebasaki's ground locomotion capability was next to zero, so a towing rover was required for precise placement)
  
• Entertainment option
  

And of course, why launch two rockets when you can launch just one? The two additions (Kimo and the Hotel Complex) were strapped together and launched as a single package.

Vehicle:

Yakitori Mun - Amenities Package

Pilot:

Nil (R.C. by Knova Kerman)

Misson Log:

Launching and rendezvousing with Mun was way too easy. As long as there were enough struts of course.

Again, the transfer stage and structural elements were jettisoned when it arrived Mun SOI. And would be on the way out of Kerbin.

The plan was to land the combined body of the skycrane, Kimo and the Hotel Complex. Then separate the Hotel Complex with the skycrane lifting Kimo to land on somewhere near.

However, as soon as the package touched down, Knova realized he made a fatal design flaw: He had forgotten to put RCS thrusters on the skycrane.

The torque force generated by the Hotel Complex would be gone after separation, leaving only the torque force of the two drones aboard the skycrane and Kimo.

Without RCS thrusters, it was impossible to turn that thing.

So, a plan B was quickly formulated.

Knova would first decouple the skycrane from the rest of the package and destroy it. Then the three Kerbonauts are to tow Kimo out of the way using the Momo Crane.

Knova quickly sent the skycrane on a collision course with Mun.

With a satisfying explosion and a puff of smoke, the imperfect and useless skycrane was utterly destroyed. How satisfying!

Given the form factor limitation, lifting Kimo off the Hotel Complex turned out to be a very delicate procedure

With everything in place, the three Kerbonauts took a short break on the Hotel Complex's "Stare-At-The-Sky-Comfortably" seats.

And a little fun with K.A.S. Wake-Boarding on Mun. Shinji thought if the Kerbonauts smiled a bit then it would make a great photo for the marketing brochures.

Expert K.A.S. Wake-Boarder Dilgan Kerman was able to get some air-time! Albeit from the fact that there was no air on Mun...

After all the fun, it was time for business.

The crew boarded Kimo and speeded around, finally arriving at a suitable Kethane operation site that was outside the drawing distance, and with a flat surface so everything could move along nicely.

After a long day of work, the three Kerbonauts finally could proceed to objective 3.

Luke would be testing the "Solitary and Serenity Chamber", the top tier of the Hotel Complex.

Dilgan would be testing the Western Style Rooms on the second tier.

And Calald for the Japanese Style Rooms on the bottom tier.

And the Kerbonauts enjoyed the comfy guest rooms until further packages arrived.

Mission Complete!

[The Fog]

Objective:

Land the new Kethane miner Kawa Mk II to Yakitori Mun Kethane Operation Site

Background:

By adding Kethane processing capabilities to Yakitori Mun, Tebasaki could be refueled on Mun and thus the return trip would be safer in terms of fuel level.

Of course, Knova soon designed the mobile Kethane platform suitable for the job, and promptly named it Kawa Mk II.

However, after extensive testing, he found out that using the traditional skycrane approach to land Kawa Mk II was very difficult due to its weight.

So, a more Kerbal form of landing was to be attempted.

Vehicle:

Surface Kethane Processor Kawa Mk II

Pilot:

Nil (R.C. by Knova Kerman)

Misson Log:

Problems launching heavy stuff into space? The solution was simple: MOAR BOOSTERS!

Landing on Mun was easy so we'd skip that.

The fun begins when Knova attempted the new topple landing approach to set Kawa Mk II on the ground.

In order to topple land, RCS fuel was to be pumped back to the top tank and the landing stage would decouple.

Then, wobble the whole craft until one of the wheels touches the surface. Once that happens, the wheels should give enough force to wiggle away from the landing stage.

Knova carefully executes the above plan.

Some of the jettisoned pylons decided to undergo spontaneous combustion while Kawa Mk II was being wobbled:

After touchtown, Kawa Mk II wiggled clear of the landing stage.

And had its RCS tank jettisoned during its drive to the operation site

Kawa Mk II doing its job:

In the meantime, since Kawa Mk II landed too close to Yakitori Mun, Calald Kerman was assigned to do the garbage disposal.

Garbage disposal in progress:

The lander stage was so heavy that the actual driving was kind of painful.

"Argh... Should have used Momo Crane instead..." Calald thought to himself after Kimo Rover almost tipped over.

Unable to use Physics Warp due to the instability of the setup, Calald proceed to the painful long drive, towing all of those garbage out of the drawing distance.

Meanwhile, Kawa Mk II had finished its job, and Knova discovered that he had forgotten to put RTG on it.

Seems like it could only be operated in daylight then.

After a lot more towing, and swearing, the base was once again in pristine condition, clean from debris.

[The Fog]

Objective:

1. Land and Install the Kitchen Module for Yakitori Mun
   
2. Transfer Operation Personnel to Yakitori Mun
   
3. Bring Luke, Dilgan and Calald home
   

Background:

After all the hard work, it is time to install the final, and most important module to Yakitori Mun: The Kitchen.

With it installed, Yakitori Mun will be ready to serve waves after waves of customers with the finest accommodation one can find on Mun! A truly great place to visit, highly anticipated across all Kerbin.

Operation personnels were needed there too. Afterall the crew up there were Kerbonauts who were not exactly the best people to operate a hotel and restaurant.

By transferring the operation team there and bringing the Kerbonauts home, this mission will be the final KSC-controlled mission for Yakitori Mun, which will open for business afterwards.

Vehicle:

Yakitori Mun Kitchen Module & Crew Transfer Vehicle

Pilot:

Insertion Phase: Nil (R.C. by Knova Kerman)

Return Phase: Luke Kerman, Dilgan Kerman and Calald Kerman

Misson Log:

Knova sighed in relief that finally he was launching something not that heavy and complicated.

After a smooth landing on Mun and some usual Momo Crane towing, everything was in place.

The operation team and our three heroes took a group photo, marking the moment that the first hotel ever outside Kerbin was ready for business.

* From the left:

Calald Kerman - Junior Kerbonaut

Dilgan Kerman - Senior Kerbonaut

Luke Kerman - Master Kerbonaut

Flag of Yakitori

Dildorf Kerman - Yakitori Mun General Manager

Loford Kerman - Master Chef

Enbree Kerman - Apprentice Chef, Waiter

Geofley Kerman - Hotel Attendant for Western Style Rooms

Munfred Kerman - Hotel Attendant for Japanese Style Rooms

Note the facial expressions of the professional customer service personnels versus those of the Kerbonauts and the General Manager.

That was why they were required on Yakitori Mun.

And it was time for our heroes to come home.

Kawa Mk II rolled in to refuel the Crew Transfer Vehicle:

After the refuel, the crew switched to manual control and proceeded to ascent to orbit.

"I think I will miss this place." Calald said.

"Yes. I think we all will. Next time we come in, we come in as customers." Luke said.

The crew took a good look at their creation, then took the vehicle all the way back to Kerbin.

After landing safely in KSC. The crew was surprised to see Mun hanging high up in the sky.

Awaiting them are a glorious feast to celebrate, and it was sure to relieve the complex emotions that the crew were feeling.

Mission complete. And this marked the end of the Yakitori Mun missions.

Next up: Culinary Duna!

[The Fog]

Objective:

Put probes on Duna system to find out what is available there

Background:

Having Yakitori Mun fully operational, all Kerbals were divided into two distinct categories: Those who are visiting there, and those who are waiting for a vacancy.

Shinji had been waiting for an opportunity to explore other planets in the Kerbol System. And it seemed the chance for doing so had came up with all the money pouring in.

Duna was chosen as the first target to explore given it's proximity to Kerbin, and it's limited gravity such that Kerballed mission, if required, could be possible with current Yakitori technologies.

It was also an interesting planet since it looked red, and for generations after generations Kerbals had been wondering why it looked so red.

EM-wave spectrum indicated that there was a possibility that such red color was caused by the fact that the planet's surface was covered in spicy powder.

Shinji was determined to launch a mission to Duna, in hope that a new spice to be found there.

Vehicle:

Nankotsu Satellite Launcher (Payload: MapSat Mk IV)

Pilot:

Nil (R.C. by Knova Kerman)

Misson Log:

Nankotsu on the launch pad awaiting launch.

Since it was the first interplanetary mission for Yakitori (and in fact, across whole Kerbin), that Knova had put a whooping 4600 m/s delta-v on the transfer stage and the probe itself.

"Enough to get past Eeloo." He said.

Since everyone was anxious in getting there. Waiting for prolonged time in LKO for proper transfer window was not preferred.

So instead, the craft was put directly towards Kerbol orbit using gravity assist from Mun.

After a standard Holmann Transfer and a series of correction burns, Nankotsu managed to intercept Duna.

A round of applause was given to Chief Enginneer and R.C. Pilot Knova Kerman for achieving the first Duna intercept of Kerbal-made object.

Without overwhelmed by the emotions, Knova quickly performed another correction burn for the desired mapping inclination and aero-capturing periapsis altitude.

A good view of the Duna polar area during aero-capturing, and later, with Ike in the background:

After a series of orbital adjustments, Nankotsu was safely in orbit around Duna.

Another round of applause was given to the great engineer.

The transfer stage was dumped with a 1000 m/s delta-v left. Knova surely did provide way more than enough fuel for Nankotsu.

The onboard equipment were switched on once Nankotsu was in proper mapping orbit.

Data transfer was positive and it was the first Kerbal-made object ever to achieve orbit around Duna!

While waiting for the mapping for Duna to complete, an identical Nankotsu launch was made to Ike.

However, Nankotsu 2 arrived Duna on the wrong side of the orbit, which made it arriving at an alarming velocity. With the limited capability of KSC's maneuver node editor, nobody could detect that during the early transfer orbit, and thus a huge amount of delta-v was spent to keep the situation manageable.

Transferring from Duna orbit to Ike orbit was just like transferring from Kerbin to Mun, only a thousand times easier thanks to the close proximity.

Nankotsu 2 arrived Ike orbit with just around 580 m/s delta-v remaining on the transfer stage.

This should be a reminder for everyone that interplanetary travel could take a ridiculously large amount of fuel before you know it.

Fortunately, that was still more than enough, and Knova had no problem putting it in Ike orbit.

With the mapping satellites in place, very soon Kerbals would find out that after all the eons guessing, that if Duna was really made from spicy powder or not!

Mission success!

[The Fog]

Objective:

Land a probe on the surface of Duna to "sample" the planet's surface

Background:

With the successful Nankotsu missions, satellites returned valuable data regarding Duna's true origin.

And the eons-old question was finally answered with a resounding "YES": That Duna's surface was indeed made of spicy powder.

To make things more exciting, the spicy powder was completely new and does not exist on Kerbin.

Needless to say, Shinji wanted it.

However, satellite returned two types of spicy powder: The normal red one covering the majority of the planet's surface, and a white-ish one covering the polar areas.

Preliminary studies showed that the white-ish one are just frozen watered-down red powder.

Despite that fact, Shinji still wanted to taste both. So he and Knova quickly developed a "artificial tasting bud" and fitted that on the tips of a couple of landing legs.

And a mission was launched to Duna to see which one they should bring back.

Vehicle:

Surface Tasting Rover Edamame

Pilot:

Nil (R.C. by Knova Kerman)

Misson Log:

Usual launching:

Knova was lucky to intercept Duna right on the ejection burn:

Small tweak to bring the Duna periapsis down and align the planes, as far as one could see from the awkward map viewer.

Since Knova wanted a precise landing location, a stable low orbit was established first:

The first Duna landing attempt for Kerbal kind. Knova surely deserved the round of applause that follows by putting Edamame safely on the surface of Duna:

And destroying the skycrane was fun too:

Edamame landed on the white powder, so it began tasting right away.

"Very Spicy. Moderately hot (chili) with a hint of green onion. Watered down. Probably not strong enough." That was the message that came up in Edamame's tasting report.

Knova then proceeded to drive the rover towards the red powder carefully.

Edamame reached the red powder and started tasting.

"Extremely Spicy. Very hot (chili). Complex aftertaste. Mouth-watering. Recommended to put on skewer or deep fried meat." Edamame confirmed the preliminary studies, that the red-powder are more worth getting.

With the mission finished, Knova drove Edamame to a nearby hill-top for everyone to admire the beautiful sunset on Duna:

Mission Success!

[numerobis]

Oh really?! How does it work?

I usually fire up the rocket engine when air intake is around 1, then shutoff the jets when it reaches somewhere around 0.3 - 0.4.

Sorry, didn't see the reply.

"Prevent jet flameout" throttles back automatically so that you don't flame out. That lets you keep jetting up quite a bit higher before you switch to rockets. With one ram intake per engine as in your Mk III, you can get to 21 km at full throttle, but you'll still be at 1/3 throttle at 26km. The higher you can go before turning on the rockets, the better!

"Manage air intakes" can also reduce drag at medium altitudes by automatically closing intakes it doesn't need -- particularly if you have a low physics deltaT setting (in the settings, push the bar off to the right). It's not particularly smart about mixed intake types -- it won't choose the configuration with minimum drag -- but except at very low speed it never does worse than leaving everything open. PS: radial intakes actually are detrimental at very high speed; you're better off leaving them at home.

I almost never have a problem cutting the safety margin down to 1%, which gives you a bit more throttle, but now we're talking single-digit percentage improvement!

[The Fog]

Sorry, didn't see the reply.

"Prevent jet flameout" throttles back automatically so that you don't flame out. That lets you keep jetting up quite a bit higher before you switch to rockets. With one ram intake per engine as in your Mk III, you can get to 21 km at full throttle, but you'll still be at 1/3 throttle at 26km. The higher you can go before turning on the rockets, the better!

"Manage air intakes" can also reduce drag at medium altitudes by automatically closing intakes it doesn't need -- particularly if you have a low physics deltaT setting (in the settings, push the bar off to the right). It's not particularly smart about mixed intake types -- it won't choose the configuration with minimum drag -- but except at very low speed it never does worse than leaving everything open. PS: radial intakes actually are detrimental at very high speed; you're better off leaving them at home.

I almost never have a problem cutting the safety margin down to 1%, which gives you a bit more throttle, but now we're talking single-digit percentage improvement!

Great! Thanks for the tip!

However, in 0.21 I've found that Tebasaki didn't fly as good as it had been. Mk I was only able to achieve roughly 85x85km orbit (used to be around 100km).

Will need some more test with Mk IV before I could confirm if the previous posts are still valid under 0.21