how does the forum mount their lander + rover on their rockets?

[mejillonius]

hi, after a big hiatus on my KSP experience i'm retaking the game,

i want to launch an apollo style mission, a lander with a rover, but i cant figure out how to launch a decent rover, (similar to the one on the trailer and a lander all in one, if i put it on the top, ussually breaks or gets stuck when i deattach it, on the side, it makes the lander off banace and unstable, and under the lander are the engines.

so i'm seeking for examples or adice, thanks!!!

PS: for the mods, i vas validates before the forum apocalipse, so if you want to activate it directly it would be appreciated, but no problem on having to post 5 moderated posts

[Nabiscovinco]

How about two rovers? Put one (with a crew seat) on one side, and an unmanned one (of about the same weight) on the other. It would keep the rover relatively balanced. At least, that's what I did. Just don't ask me about the decent. (it landed and returned fine, just not as picture perfect as I wanted)

[NoMrBond]

You can sling it underneath for the initial Kerbin launch, then decouple it and dock it to the front for the kick to the Mün (Just like with the Saturn-V launches)

Just remember to have docking ports place appropriately on your CM and LM.

[Ohfive30]

I usually hang my rovers underneath and stick engines on the side, then I do a bunch of testing to get the legs mounted at just the right length to allow the rover to re-dock with the lander.

[el_coyoto]

Here's how I usually do it :

A big decoupler links the rover to the rocket, a small decoupler (hidden here) links the rover to the lander, but you could use a docking port too. The landing struts are kept clear from the rover thanks to a few girders.

The rover is symmetrical and this setup is perfectly balanced.

I use this design a lot because I find it very easy to design and fly safely.

Cheers!

[Johnno]

This seems to be asked at least once a week, if not more often.

I put 'rover lander' into the search box, here's some reading for you:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/33696-Lander-and-Rover-Is-there-a-better-way-to-do-it

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/32050-How-to-get-a-lander-rover-to-the-Mun

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/39753-Rover-lander

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/37808-Rover-Lander-design

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/38829-Putting-a-rover-on-a-lander

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/13488-Designs-for-deploying-a-rover-from-a-lander

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/30724-Tips-to-land-a-rover-with-a-lander

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/showthread.php/31428-Rover-Lander-Construction-Tutorial-Request

[mejillonius]

thanks people!! very useful information!

[RedKosmos]

hi, after a big hiatus on my KSP experience i'm retaking the game,

i want to launch an apollo style mission, a lander with a rover, but i cant figure out how to launch a decent rover, (similar to the one on the trailer and a lander all in one, if i put it on the top, ussually breaks or gets stuck when i deattach it, on the side, it makes the lander off banace and unstable, and under the lander are the engines.

so i'm seeking for examples or adice, thanks!!!

PS: for the mods, i vas validates before the forum apocalipse, so if you want to activate it directly it would be appreciated, but no problem on having to post 5 moderated posts

Hey! I had the same problems when I first started going to the Mun. Here are my 2 rover landers.

1 heavy and 1 light. (The heavy one can be easily tweaked, I just wanted more kerbals on the Mun, so I added a lander can) A trick I do to fix the "upside-down" problem for the "bottoms-up" landers (the heavy), is to place a 2nd core device, right-side up, on the stage before the lander.

Before takeoff I switch to this secondary core and the world is back to normal! (MAKE SURE that your navball isn't brown on takeoff lol)

Both have been field tested and work great. I use docking nodes for later stages now for the re-usability and sturdiness. Happy trails!

[bignugget]

This is good information but I was wondering how you guys go about building each piece of the rocket?

For instance, if i build a rover in the building I cannot figure out how to then build a rocket and attach it....everything only will attach to my rover.....

If I start with my CM and work down, I cant figure out how to build the rover, and satellites and science stuff.....because they only attach on the bottom of whatever piece is above them....how do you guys get them assembled?

[bobcook]

If I start with my CM and work down, I cant figure out how to build the rover, and satellites and science stuff.....because they only attach on the bottom of whatever piece is above them....how do you guys get them assembled?

You should be able to join parts on the top or bottom, as long as you are using the right parts. I build mine starting with the CM, and build up from there. I put a docking port or decoupler on top of the CM then build my lander & rover upside down. Once in orbit I separate the two vehicles and then proceed with landing. To keep things stable during launch I use a lot of struts.

[mushroomman]

Well this is how I did it last time. It's terribly unreliable, but that's why you bring two rovers!

And there's no need to re-attach them for balance if you do it apollo style.

[toadicus]

I use Ferram Aerospace Research, so all of my rovers have to be mounted aerodynamically. So, typically it looks something like this:

But... that's not very informative, so here's the important bits with the fairings off.

This particular version lacks a CM because I was testing the rover proper, and used a lander designed for Duna on a Munar mission, so the lander had plenty of fuel left for the trip home. The lander has to go "pick up" the rover in Munar orbit after the injection burn; it winds up thus:

And just for fun: regardless how carefully Seavin pilots the rover, you wind up losing a part or dozen.

[bignugget]

So you literally have to build the rover piece by piece on the Rocketship? You cant build the vehicles and science items and then attach them to the spots you want them?

[RedKosmos]

So you literally have to build the rover piece by piece on the Rocketship? You cant build the vehicles and science items and then attach them to the spots you want them?

It's a bit nit-picky, but yes. You can build the rover and lander for it right-side up, then after you are done with that stage, flip is completely, then build downwards the rest of the rocket.

[Soviet borris]

You can connect two mini 1-man rovers to each side of your lander for balanced flight one larger one to the front. I recently built a simple Mun base with a lander on the bottom:

[Stratoroc]

typically I build rovers in the SPH because the mirror symmetry makes life easy. transfer the craft file to the VAB folder, load it up, flip it upside down and build the rest. It's kinda irritating especially since the root part is often a tiny command seat and I need to keep the fairings detached during the build.