Duna Space Program or "Do we have to call it 'Death Engineering'?"

Death Engineering · July 29, 2013

Death Engineering's attempt at the Duna Permanent Outpost Mission Architecture Challenge

Mission Entry 1 - Developing the original launcher for heavy Duna-bound mission hardware.

Mission Entry 2 - Building a family of LKO crew launchers and fine tuning the 100T launcher.

Mission Entry 4 - "We have reached Duna! Now how do we get home?"

Mission Entry 5 - Four Kerbals on Duna

Mission Entry 6 - Bob Loses his Rover

Mission Entry 7 - Updates to Day 500

Mission Entry 8a - "We have dirt from Ike and Duna!"

Mission Entry 8b - "Three ships, two days of burns, one Duna!"

Mission Entry 9 - "There's something down there"

[Mission Entry 3]

The 100T launcher has been cancelled. After a series of random explosion on the pad of the 100T (semi..) capable Antares Proton lifter, the Death Engineering team has cancelled further development. Over 1000 parts at launch, this vehicle caused development team's computer to shudder and smoke like an out of tune chainsaw. It was not pretty. It also meant that, since none of it was reusable, it would take 200 days between launches to prepare another rocket!

Instead, a battery of SRB's are attached to the previously developed second and third stages of the Neutron lifter. Since the first stage and all SRB's are recovered, only 66T of the original 513T are non-reusable. This pleases the kerbal environmentalists as well as the recovery and refit teams resulting in a 50% reduction in time to have another Antares Proton Super+ ('Super' because it has a 8 BACC SRB's attached to the lower stage, and '+' because it has another 8 BACC SRB's attached to the first 8).

Some stats, but kerbal's look smarter than they are so the stats are a little vague:

Parts at launch: 360
Mass: 513T
Reusable prelaunch mass: 477T
Thrust at launch: 12,540 kN
Nominal payload to 75k x 75k orbit: 54T
Days between launches: 81
Chance of unexpected self-destruction: Minimal, but present..

Joint Orbiting Laboratory

Henbrett, Hudsey and Macly take the first prototype of the (Crew Delivery Mission vessel) into orbit for the first part of the 10 day Joint Orbiting Lab mission. The new guys went first partially because this version of the pod didn't have RCS and partially because Bill, Jeb and Bob are the cool guys and want to show up last. Neither of these CDW's are reusable, which suits most kerbals fine. In fact, most of them thought CDM stood for Cinco de Mayo and are pleased to celebrate with Markoritas and Koronas every time they think of either CDM.

After two clean launches and docking together for 9 days orbiting Kerbin while sharing in-jokes, Bill, Jeb and Bob are last to arrive and first to leave. As they deorbit and reenter at high speed over the Kerbal Science Center, they consider dropping their empty snack containers over the launch pad.

"No way, leave them in the pod for the new guys to clean up!" Bill exclaims as the pod streaks through the atmosphere with flames trailing behind them.

Bob, sitting in the center seat, shifts nervously. "Pull the chutes, Jeb."

"Not yet, Bob."

"Now?"

"No Bob. You don't have the window. I can see where we're going. Don't worry!"

"Fine, but next time I get to drive."

"I know, you can take the new guys to their Duna Surface Module. It will totally be cool, and you can come down on land this time!"

"I don't know.. did you see the way they looked at me when I ate the last of the snacks?"

Duna Transport Vessel Launch and Shakedown

On day 10, the robotically controlled Antares Proton S+ carried the 75T Duna Transport Vessel into orbit. It could not carry the payload all the way into orbit, however. In order to keep the environmentalists happy, the 5 nuclear engines were not fired until out of the atmosphere and settled into a 82km orbit above Kerbin. The next step was to launch our seasoned veterans up to dock with it and make sure it was intact and ready for its voyage to Duna.

Since Bob decided to be the chief pilot of CDM 4 mission to carry the first 2 crew members of the Duna Surface Module team into orbit, the shakedown mission was headed by Jeb and Bill while Bob trained with Hudsey and Macly. They took the last of the non-reusable CDM pods and were not entirely sure about leaving Bob with Hudsey and Macly.

"You know, I think those new guys have a secret handshake", Jeb calmly mentions as their Antares Electron thunders below them, pushing them up to their rendezvous with the Duna Transport Vessel.

"Yeah, I saw that. And they always point at Bob and giggle to themselves afterward."

"They wouldn't, you know, do something to him, would they."

"Define 'something'..."

Cinco de Mayo 4 - The Explosioning

Hudsey and Macly didn't even look at Bob all morning.

Over koffee with Jeb and Bill, Bob asks if they've noticed anything strange about the new guys.

"Hudsey and Macly? Nah, they think you're the bomb!", Jeb tells Bob reassuringly.

After a long sip of koffee, Bob says, "That's what I'm afraid of. You know, I don't think they want me on this mission. They keep reminding me that the mission can be robotically controlled. Say, do we have to keep calling it 'Death' Engineering?"

- - -

As the countdown commences, Bob feels Macly poking the bottom of his seat.

"5..4..3..that isn't helping..one..bit.."

After nothing happened, Bob repeats himself with more authority, "One!". The rocket sways gently, then rumbles briefly, before the alarms start going off.

"Abort launch! Escape system activated! Hey, why are you guys laughing...?"

Duna Space Program 3

Edited August 13, 2013 by Death Engineering
Link for latest entry

sturmstiger · July 29, 2013

Looks like it's gonna take a while before we get to Duna, and some Kerbal deaths would probably be engineered along the way. But with mission reports this funny I'm totally subbed to this thread

Death Engineering · July 30, 2013

[Mission Entry 4]

Launch Summary to Date:

Year 1, Day 1: First launch of Joint Orbiting Lab - 9 day orbital test of the Crew Delivery Mission pod.
Day 1: Second launch of Joint Orbiting Lab.
Day 10: Launch of the Duna Surface Module interplanetary vessel (2, 2-kerbal pods with 150 days of supplies for 4 kerbals)
Day 11: Three kerbal crew on a 10 day mission to shake down and inspect the Duna Surface Modules.
Day 54: Aborted launch of first crew to the Duna Surface Module.
Day 54: First crew launches to the Duna Surface Modules.
Day 55: Second crew launches to the Duna Surface Modules.
Day 91: Duna Resupply Mission is launched to Duna carrying 225 days of supplies and two landers to bring the surface teams back to orbit.

Milestones reached

Day 55: Four kerbals transfer to Duna on the interplanetary vessel.
Day 126: Duna Surface Modules, with 75 days supplies and two rovers each, enter orbit and two kerbals in a Duna Surface Base module land on Duna.
Day 196: Duna Resupply Mission docks with Duna Surface Modules interplanetary vessel carrying an additional supply of 225 days of supplies and two return to orbit landers to bring the surface teams back to Duna orbit.
Day 196: A lander is dropped from orbit to the Duna Base
Duna Surface Duration to date: 140 kerbal-days

Next launches:

Launch robotic mission to bring the four kerbals home.
[Tentative]Robotic mission to bring back any stranded kerbals.

Crew Delivery Missions 4-R and 5

At the end of the last mission report, Bob was very agitated when his chance to pilot the Crew Delivery Mission to ferry up the first crew of the Duna Surface Module ended seconds after it began. No one was quite sure why the rocket failed to launch but instead rumbled then exploded beneath him and the two crew members he was carrying. However, when the investigation team sought answers from Hudsey and Macly, they didn't seem very shaken by the event and seemed to suggest that they should check under the pilot's seat for empty snack wrappers.

"It's that Bob, I tell you. Someone needs to check his pockets for snacks before he takes the pilot seat. I bet that if you look at the wreckage, you would find empty wrappers under there from when he was snacking instead of getting ready to launch," Hudsey dryly told reporters after the incident.

"How about, you, Macly, what did you see?" the reporter asked.

Macly leaned in towards the reporter as if to make a private reply, but also made sure to lean towards the microphone in the reporters hand. "Bob stole our snacks on the Joint Orbiting Lab mission, you know. He might have been eating krackers in the pilot's seat. Off the record.. I think he might be krazy and I'm not going to fly with him again."

Later that day, investigators did find snack wrappers in the wreckage near the pilot's seat. Further investigation also revealed that they were the same snacks that were aboard the Joint Orbiting Lab mission.

Mission control was not available for comment, but before Bob left the KSC that afternoon, he was seen reading a memo on the KSC's Misson Control corkboard announcing that the CDM development was complete and no further testing was required. It was now kerbal-rated and ready for robotic control and that only the Duna Surface team of Hudsey and Macly would be ascending tomorrow. The memo also named Bob Kerman to be on the other Duna Surface Module, launching tomorrow with Ludlong. The memo also had a footnote asking if anyone was interested, there was a new opening on the test pilot team.

"But, I don't want to sit in a tin can for 6 months with those squares! I want to be a test pilot..!", was all he was quoted as saying. An hour later, he was on his way to Duna..

Duna Base Station One

Hudsey and Macly were the first to leave the orbiting Duna platform to descend to the surface. The mission plan was for them to get down onto Duna as soon as they reached Duna orbit, while Bob and Ludlong would stay in orbit until the Duna Resupply Mission arrived 70 days later.

As much as Bob didn't like being cooped up in the "tin can" with Ludlong, he preferred that over spending any more time with Hudsey and Macly.

"Hey Ludlong..", Bob asked out of the blue while orbiting around Duna.

"Hi Bob! What's new, buddy?", Ludlong asked uncomfortably loudly and with a suspiciously broad grin.

"What's new? I've been cooped up in here with you for 36 days reading the surface mission reports from Hudsey and Macly every morning and somehow managing to not let their grammar drive me insane. That's new."

"Oh Bob! You're such a komedian!"

Bob has been working up the nerve to ask Ludlong if he knows anything about Hudsey and Macly blaming him for the destruction of the CDM 4 rocket. Sure, he was eating snacks during the countdown, but that never stopped him from having a successful launch before. And he never left snack wrappers around. And it certainly was coincidental that the wrappers found in the wreckage were the same kind as the ones that he, Jeb and Bill left behind in the Joint Orbiting Lab pod for the "new guys" to clean up.

"Ludlong?"

"Hi Bob! What's new, buddy?", replied Ludlong in the exact same manner he did less than 10 seconds earlier.

"Shut up, Ludlong."

"Sure thing, buddy!". Ludlong's eyes glaze back over.

Duna Supply Mission One

An unkerballed launch of the Antares Proton S+ with an oversize payload of two Duna landers which would be used by the crews to return from the surface, along with additional 225 days of supplies for the use on the surface. Since this launch was being sent to Duna outside of an optimal transfer window, it was going to take almost all the fuel onboard to get there.

Coming into the Duna encounter on fumes, Mission Control was grinning ear to ear when they saw that the encounter was already less than 300km above Duna's surface. They were also grinning ear to ear when goldfish were put into the fountain outside of the new Mission Control building, so it really didn't take a lot to get them grinning. However, this was a major accomplishment, and with a short burn to drop the periapsis to less than 10km above Duna, the Resupply Mission was successfully captured into orbit with no fuel expenditure at all.

Also amazingly, and completely by luck, there were no Ike encounters to mess up plans!

After several orbits, the Resupply Mission docked with the Duna Surface Module vessel on day 196 and provided the awaiting crew on board with enough supplies to keep them going until day 435. By then, the craft from Kerbin to bring them home would arrive at Duna to pick everyone up and have the crew home sometime around day 499.

The first Duna surface team had already descended to the surface as soon as a stable 75k equatorial orbit was established, on day 126. Seventy days later the resupply mission arrived and the return lander was dropped from orbit using robotic control and arrived only 830m from their base. However, fuel consumption was alarmingly high. The design team were sent a critical update requiring a contingency if either of the landers could not return from the surface back to orbit. However, if both landers used too much fuel and both could not return to dock with the orbiting return ship, the new design must accommodate supplies for two kerbals to be left on the surface for an extended mission. An unplanned fifth launch to Duna may be required in order to pick up the extended surface team.

Hudsey and Macly drove over to the lander to get their supplies and repack the parachutes. Hudsey was a little surprised how much fuel had been burned in getting the lander to the surface.

"Macly, I'm not sure we can get back into orbit on this much fuel."

"Don't sweat it, Hudsey. Bob did the math for us.. he may be a snack fiend, but his mind is like a komputer when it comes to things like this. Race you back to the Station Module!"

Coming in Mission Entry 5

Will Bob go down to the surface with Ludlong?

Will the return lander make it back to the surface?

Did Hudsey and Macly really frame Bob for destroying the CDM4 rocket?

All this, and more, in the next mission entry!

Mission Entry 4 Photo Album

Bob looks frantically for snacks

Edited July 30, 2013 by Death Engineering

Rhyunix · July 30, 2013

Great story! Keep it coming!

ThreeMartiniLaunch · July 30, 2013

Good stuff.

Looking forward to more.

Death Engineering · July 31, 2013

[Mission Entry 5]

Day 196

Macly and Hudsey have been on the surface for 70 days doing what kerbals do and performing important observations then sending their mission reports back to orbit. Bob was the senior kerbalnaut in the mission, which made him perfect for reviewing the mission reports before sending them back to Kerbin. It wasn't as glamorous as being as test pilot, but it was work. Actually it was a lot of work because Macly was a terrible writer.

"Come in, orbit ..", chirped the radio in Bob and Ludlong's cabin.

"Go ahead base", said Bob dryly. He knew it was time for another surface report to be transmitted for editing. He wished that Macly was a better writer since today was the last report he would be editing as all further reports would be re-transmitted robotically after Bob and Ludlong descend to the surface later today. Bob hated the thought that the kerbal engineers back on Kerbin would be reading the reports and might associate his reports with the ones written by Macly. He decided to change the title of his mission reports from "Surface Report", the standard title, to "Test Pilot's Surface Report". That would command attention.

"Don't call me 'base', orbit.", replied Macly from the surface.

"Then don't call me 'orbit', 'base'", advised Bob.

"Are you done?", asked Macly after a short pause. "We have just transmitted today's 'Surface Report'. I guess you're going to miss editing my reports, aren't you, Bob."

"No, not really. Say, did you actually graduate kollege? I've never seen writing this bad. Its almost like Kerban isn't your first language.. and we only have one language on Kerbin."

"Sure did! Graduated top of my klass, in fact. Although, I've been adding some creative licence mistakes to the reports so you'd, you know, have something to do. You didn't mind correcting them, did you?"

Bob wasn't sure, but he thought he could faintly hear two kerbals giggling in the background.

"No, Macly, editing your terrible writing has been the absolute highlight of my career. Anyway.. the resupply module has docked and your resupply pod was sent down. We're coming down in an hour. Did you check out the return to orbit lander, yet?"

"Yep. We just got back from bringing our supplies back to the habmod."

"Habmod...?"

"Yeah, 'Duna Base Module' was getting to be a mouthful so Hudsey and I changed it to 'habmod' for 'habitation module'."

"I don't care what you call it, but Mission Control won't like an unapproved name change. How did the lander look?".

"It looks great, but there's no way there's enough fuel left to get back to orbit. Make sure to reprogram the second supply drop to use less fuel or no one is getting back to orbit."

"Roger that, base. See you on the surface tomorrow."

"It's 'habmod'... 'orbit'."

Bob shook his head in dismay and closed the radio channel. He knew that Mission Control would never approve the term 'Habmod'.

Resupply Transport Vessel docking with recently renamed Habmod Transport Vessel

Habmod Two Landing

Bob was shocked that Mission Control changed the name of the base modules to 'Habmods'. It seemed a little lazy and sounded too much like slang to him, but he knew that Mission Control calls the shots. Bob had asked Mission Control if he could pilot the lander down instead of using the robotic descent programming.

"Well, Bob, that's an interesting idea to pilot the lander down yourself, but we on Kerbin here think that the probe should pilot itself down, instead," radioed mission control.

"How come?", Bill asked without trying to sound too disappointed.

"Piloting the lander instead of using the robotically controlled landing is not in the mission plan, so it would require someone with 'test pilot' status to land it. Besides that, we heard from Macly that too much fuel was used during the descent profile you programmed and now it doesn't have enough fuel to get back to orbit, and we feel that it's better this way, just to avoid any mistakes."

Bob, definitely sounding disappointed now, replied, "But I used to be a test pilot before this mission. I even still have my orange space suit."

"Oh yeah, about that, we're going to need your test-pilot suit back when you return to Kerbin. Oh, and Macly suggested that we change the name of the base modules to 'habmods'. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Yes, Macly is an inspiration to us all. Base Module Two over and out."

"You mean 'Habmod Two'..."

Bob and Ludlong descending to the surface

Second Habmod sets up camp on Duna and Supply Drop Two

It was a very bumpy ride down for Habmod Two. Bob was accustomed to bumpy rides, having been a test pilot before this mission, but Ludlong wasn't used to it. Bob noticed, however, that Ludlong's expression didn't seem to change during the entire landing. He wondered if Ludlong even knew what was happening.

"Well, Ludlong, we'll be on the surface soon."

"The surface of what, Bob?" asked Ludlong.

"The surface of Duna, what did you think I meant?!?"

"I don't know, Bob. You're hilarious! Sure will be nice to get out of the habmod and stretch my legs, though."

"Hey, how did you hear about the term 'habmod'?", Bob asked incredulously. Bob didn't realize that Ludlong even knew how to use the radio.

"Macly told me about it last week. It's a great name, isn't it?"

"Oh yes, Ludlong. Macly is an inspiration to the entire Space Korps."

The two rovers were jettisoned from a higher altitude than planned because of the steep angle and high speeds which Bob and Ludlong entered Duna's atmosphere. By dropping their added mass from the Habmod and letting them come down on their own chutes brought the landing under control at the last moment and the landing continued normally. However, the rovers came down a little further than planned.

"Are we on Kerbin?", Ludlong asked Bob.

"Yes Ludlong, we're on Kerbin. We've been on a space mission for 196 days to go nowhere."

"Oh that's good!", exclaimed Ludlong gleefully. "Why do you think the sky looks like Duna?"

"Pure coincedence, Ludlong, I'm sure," replied Bob sardonically. "I'm going to plant our flag and go pick up a rover. What do you want to do, Ludlong?" Bob asked.

"I'm doing it! I'm just happy to be here with you, Bob!"

With a sigh, Bob puts on his helmet and leaves the habmod. Walking over to the landers, Bob notices that his fashionable orange suit looks really good on Duna by making it an even brighter orange. He shakes his head in silent disgust recalling that he has to give up his test-pilot-orange suit when he gets home.

Bob picks up the good rover, deciding that even though both rovers were identical that he could tap into his sixth, or even his seventh, sense to channel his test-pilot skills to pick the better rover. He hops in and drives back to the habmod, taking special care to park his rover exactly parallel to the habmod legs and close enough to the door so that he could get away from Ludlong in a hurry if he needed to. He also ensured it was far enough away from the habmod so that he could just sit in the rover and listen to the radio and not have to hear Ludlong talking to himself.

Bob planted the flag beside his rover and wrote on the plaque: "Test Pilot Parking Only". He looked over to the habmod and Ludlong had just returned from getting his rover. He was trying to park it under the landing engine for some reason. As Ludlong lowered his head and peered up into engine bell of the landing engine, Bob wondered if there had ever been any "accidental" ignitition of these engines.

With his luck, probably not. Sitting in the rover and switching on the radio, he hears the Mission Control broadcasting an update on the second supply drop.

"If anyone is outside or near a window at Habmod Two, you should be able to see the resupply lander coming in overhead now," crackled the radio.

Bob grabs the microphone and says, "Yes I see it overhead now. Your re-programming of the lander is off-course.. it's going long.. going to be at least 20km from our landing site."

"That's not a mistake, Bob. We didn't want to play favorites with you guys so we dropped it exactly half way between your sites. That way its the same distance for both when it comes time to leave."

"What a great plan...." replies Bob with a sigh. "So does that mean you haven't decided who is going back to orbit and which two are staying?"

"That's correct, Bob. But remember that the return lander seats three, so we may just bring three of you back up and leave one on the surface on an extended mission. We have a re-supply drop planned when the Crew Return Vessel arrives there in about 100 days, so there will be no problems with an extended stay."

After repeating the words 'extended stay' in his head a few times, he cautiously asked Mission Control, "Any idea who might be selected for the extended stay...?"

"Decisions are being made. However, seniority will probably play into the decision as the extended stay will require a more experienced kerbalnaut. Say, that reminds me, you've been with the Space Korps for awhile now, right?"

Bob, regretting having asked about who might be assigned for the extended stay, remained silent and turned off the radio.

Bob parks his rover

Mission Report 5 Photo Album

Coming in Mission Entry 6

Two launches construct the Duna Crew Return Mission in orbit and sets off for Duna
Jebediah has a great idea
Ludlong and Hudsey meet up at the second supply drop lander
Bob's humor gets drier
Mission to date update with launch plans up until day 1000

Edited July 31, 2013 by Death Engineering

Death Engineering · August 2, 2013

[Mission Entry 6]

Day 333 - Budget Review Day

"Good morning, and thank you for tuning in to today's 'Duna Surface Mission' update. We know that you're all waiting for the mission stats so far and updates from the crews in Duna, but first, some news from the KSC budget kommitee."

The radio in the KSC engineering office was always on for background noise and to drown out the sounds of kerbalnaut trainees vomiting after getting out of the centrifuge, but today all activity was stopped and everyone was keenly listening to the broadcast. Today's news could mean big things for the DSP engineering team: either they're going to get an extension on the Duna Surface Mission for another 500 days or they're all going to be cleaning the sidewalks outside the KSC tomorrow.

"First, a big kongratulations to everyone for getting the Duna Crew Exchange mission into orbit. The Habmod and propulsion section docked on day 254 and the inspection team left the vessel on day 283 before it departed to Duna. The latest Antares Proton S+ arrived from the factory today and will be fitted with its payload tomorrow. Also, today, the Crew Exchange Mission made its mid-course correction burn and is due to arrive right on schedule.

Although the Duna Space Program has been extremely expensive, the budget kommittee has..", pausing for dramatic effect, "approved the DSP for an additional 500 days. We are very pleased to announce that a new Habmod has been developed for extended stays without resupply. This new Habmod will support three kerbalnauts instead of two and includes supplies for 240 days instead of 75 days. This new Habmod is in final assembly stages and komputer simulations of its deployment will be available in the next mission report. This new Habmod will be the payload aboard the latest Antares Proton S+, set to launch tomorrow. And now, the mission update, which is also available for viewing on the KSC bulletin board.."

The engineering team heard what they wanted to hear and kongratulations and handshakes were shared by all. "We're putting seven kerbals on Duna!" the chief engineer exclaimed from on top of a chair in the engineering office. As he stepped down, no one heard him mutter to himself, "I wonder if anyone has thought about how to bring them home.."

From the KSC bulletin board:

Duna Space Program Day 333 Update

Thank you to everyone who attended the launchings of the Duna Crew Exchange Vehicle and the propulsion stage the next day. These two modules docked in orbit and a 10 day mission commenced there on day 273. During that mission, two Crew Delivery Missions docked with the vehicle and seven kerbalnauts were in space simultaneously, more than at any other time in KSC's history.

Lead test pilot Jebediah supervised a thorough inspection of the crew quarters and on day 283, the inspection team left the vessel and the two replacement crews left LKO for the Duna surface stations. This crew is arriving at Duna on day 349 and bring with them another 240 days of supplies. There are rumors that one of the surface return shuttles will not be able to ascend back to orbit which we can confirm, is unfortunately correct. Plans are being developed to bring all four of the crew members back to Kerbin on this crew exchange mission. However the plans are very tentative at this time and will require experienced test pilots to conduct. In fact, Jebediah, who is planning this part of the mission, hasn't really told anyone how he's going to do it, which is why Bill and Jebediah are included on this surface exchange mission.

In order to maximize supplies for the surface crews, the remaining supplies on the surface were divided evenly between the two Habmod teams resulting in 129 days of supplies remaining. We regretfully announce that during this joint rover trip from both Habmods to the second resupply drop, one of the rovers was lost due to piloting error. However the three remaining rovers are still functioning perfectly, and there are no plans to replace the lost rover.

Upcoming Launch and Mission Schedule (to day 1239):

Day 334: Habmod 3 vessel, departing for Duna as soon as the crew arrives later that day.
334: Crew Delivery Mission for Surface Habmod 3
334: Surface Habmod 3 launches to LKO
499: Propulsion stage for Duna Orbiting Station 1*
500: Duna Orbiting Station launch and docking to propulsion stage
500: 10 day, dual Crew Delivery Mission of 6 kerbals to inspect Duna Orbiting Station 1
510: Duna Orbiting Station 1 leaves for Duna from LKO
555: Dual CDM mission to Crew Exchange One in LKO to bring first Duna surface teams back to Kerbin surface
577: Refueling depot to LKO
738: Propulsion stage for Advanced Rover and Resupply Misson
739: Advanced Rover Resuppply module launch and docking to propulsion stage
739: Duna Shuttle Fuel Depot and ARR departs for Duna
783: Dual CDM mission to LKO
900: Propulsion stage for Duna Orbiting Station 2*
901: Duna Orbiting Station 2 launch and docking to propulsion stage
956: 10 day, dual Crew Delivery Mission of 6 kerbals to inspect Duna Orbiting Station 2
967: Duna Orbiting Station 2 leaves for Duna from LKO
982: Refueling depot to LKO
1184: Propulsion stage for Resupply mission
1185: Resupply mission to LKO with new crew
1195: Resupply mission with new crew leaves for Duna

* Altered crew exchange missions for Duna Orbiting Station missions

Launches to date (day 333):

Primary Mission Launches: 4
Crew Delivery Mission launches: 8
Kerbal-days on Duna: 1032 days

Inspection team returning from Crew Exchange One

Meanwhile, back on Duna, on day 250...

Bob and Ludlong have been on Duna's surface for 54 days. Despite talk around KSC to the contrary, Bob isn't really a snack fiend. In fact, he has been dutifully consuming his one unit per day of the their 75 day supply. Before supplies get too low, Bob tells Ludlong that he's going to head out to the supply/return to orbit lander tomorrow to pick up the supplies.

"That's a great idea, Bob! But Macly and I already have plans to head over there today and play some kards before splitting up the supplies. You don't mind, do you?" asks Ludlong.

"So, you're asking me if I mind that you want to leave me alone for a few days while you go play kards with Macly. I think I'll manage without you, somehow."

"Thanks, Bob!" replies Ludlong enthusiastically.

"Sure thing, Ludlong. Don't let the airlock door hit you on the way out..."

Dunes on Duna

After two days of quiet while Ludlong gets supplies and hangs out with Macly at the supply drop site, Bob was starting to get a little lonely. As the sun starts to set on the second day of Ludlong's journey, he picks up the radio and signals Ludlong.

"Hi Bob! Ludlong, here!"

"Hello Ludlong." Bob almost immediately regretted calling him.

"I guess you're wondering where I am. Probably missing me, too! Haha! Well, there was a little rover mishap. Macly was coming over the dune near the lander and it just flipped over and blew up! He's okay but the rover was a total wreck. So, I'm walking back to our habmod. I'll be there day after tomorrow. But I'm dragging the supplies with me, so we're going to have enough supplies until day 462. Pretty good, huh?"

Puzzled, Bob asked "Wait a minute.. so Macly destroyed his rover but you're stuck walking? How did that happen?"

"Well, I wasn't sure at first, either, but Macly eventually explained to me that their original supplies were almost gone so he took most of the new supplies with him. Since it was so much more than I had to carry, I guess it made sense for him to drive."

Bob paused for a moment, realizing that there was actually some logic to this decision. "Fine, okay, good idea. So, why didn't you radio me to come get you?"

"Well, the thing is.." After a long pause, Ludlong continued, "I took your rover since you said it was 'the best'. I didn't think you'd mind.."

"You took my rover, without asking, then you gave it to Macly??? He's the reason I'm on this stupid mission and not being a test pilot anymore!!"

"Aww, I'm sorry, Bob. I didn't mean to give your rover away."

Bob sighs, wondering if this mission can get any worse. "Never mind. I can't change it now. Do you want me to come get you?"

"Well... I'm not really sure where I am. I can see our habmod, but I'm not sure what direction you are in from here."

"But if you can see me, I bet I can probably see.." Bob stops mid-sentence. "...I can probably see you tomorrow. Have a great walk back. Over and out."

Macly looks at his destroyed rover in the distance

Mission Entry 6 Photo Album

Coming in Mission Entry 7

Crew Exchange One arrives at Duna
Bob and Ludlong go on a long drive
Jeb tells Bob about the great idea he has
We spend some time with the new crew

Edited August 3, 2013 by Death Engineering
Small adjustment to mission schedule

Death Engineering · August 5, 2013

[Mission Report 7 - Updates to Day 500]

Day 351 - The Three Amigos Ride Again

Bob had been checking his calendar every day since he arrived. He had been on Duna for 155 days and was ready to go home. Although he was starting to get used to being on Duna, he really wanted to talk to someone in Mission Control about getting his 'test-pilot' status back. He still suspected Macly and Hudsey had planted evidence to make it look like it was his fault that the CDM 4 exploded on the launch pad. The only way to prove that it wasn't his fault was to get back to Kerbin and look over the report.

And now, finally, he read on the KSC report that morning that the Crew Transfer Vehicle was in orbit above Duna. It was almost time to go home! He grabbed the radio and tuned in to the transfer vehicle's frequency.

"Base Two.. I mean Habmod Two.. calling Crew Transfer Vehicle.. come in Crew Transfer Vehicle.."

"Base Two? Bob? Hey how you doing, buddy?"

It was Jeb! Jeb had come to Duna.. but why, he wondered?

"Jeb, wow, what are you doing out here? Aren't there any new rockets to test back on Kerbin?" Bob asked, sounding chipper for the first time in 155 days.

"Well, Bob, Bill and I came out here to pick you up and bring you back into the test pilot program. Bill and I were talking about the good old days and reminiscing about all our crazy mishaps and we got this idea to come along as the pilots for the Crew Transfer Vehicle. I had to pull a few strings to come on the mission without being a part of the surface teams, but mission control owed me one. After all, they took away our best astro-navigator from us!"

"Thanks, Jeb. So, Bob's there, too? I can't wait to see you guys! It's been okay down here, but it has been a little boring. But I've been training Ludlong to be a better pilot and he's really taking to it on the simulator. I also shared with him all the stories about the Mun mission from last year when Bill and I were on the surface for 200 days and all the things we learned about duration missions. He seems to really like being down here."

"That's great, Bob! Because we came out here for more than just to pick you up. Bill was looking over the telemetry from the Duna transfer vehicles and we think that there's enough fuel left over in them to take a little trip?"

"What do you mean, 'take a little trip'?" Bob asked. Bob recognized the tone in Jeb's voice and knew that he was about to propose something unapproved, untested, dangerous and definitely a lot of fun.

"We think you should fly the surface shuttle up to the docked transfer vehicles and get every drop of fuel you can from them. Bill tells me that if you can completely fill the shuttle with fuel, we will have enough fuel to do an Ike flyby. We might even have enough to land, but we need you to check the math for us and to plot one of your famous 'free return trajectory' flybys."

Bob's mind starting working immediately on the math to perform that kind of burn. He thought to himself, "We'll have to shut off the radial engines because they're gas guzzlers.. chutes won't work..".

"That sounds like a great idea! Is this an 'approved' mission?" Bob asked knowingly. "I'm in either way, but I was just wondering how much trouble you're getting me in this time?"

"We don't think that Mission Control is in any position to argue with us, ha ha! When do you think you guys can make it up here?"

"We're already wearing our helmets, we'll be right up."

Bob see's the orbit in his mind

Bob and Ludlong climb aboard the rover and Bob takes a final look at the 'Test Pilot Parking' plaque he wrote on the flag. For the first time since he got there, seeing the words 'test-pilot' didn't make him feel uneasy.

Bob knew that it was Kerbal Space Center policy that anyone landing on a new planet or moon for the first time would automatically get their 'test pilot' status. He was going to be a test pilot again, all thanks to Jeb and Bill's idea to land on Ike!

As Bob and Ludlong approached the Duna Shuttle and gave it last look over before launching it into orbit, Bob was feeling pretty good. He was also really proud of how thorough Ludlong was being in his pre-flight check of the shuttle. "I think Ludlong is going to be a pretty good pilot", he thought.

"Hey, Ludlong, I'll handle the docking but I was wondering it you wanted to take us into orbit?"

"Sure thing, buddy! I was hoping you'd ask me!"

As they settled in to the pilot and co-pilot seats, Bob continued to be impressed with Ludlong's ability behind the controls. He knew where every switch was and every step to complete as if he'd been doing it his whole life. As Ludlong counted down to ignition, Bob turned his head and took one last look at Duna. He was almost going to miss being here, he thought. Then, as Ludlong got to zero he hit the throttle and they quickly ascended into orbit.

Bob and Ludlong leave Duna

Supply Drop and New Crew to Habmod Two

Ludlong did an amazing job getting the shuttle into orbit and it only took two orbits to meet up with the Duna transfer stages. They were docked together still, but there was no plans to use them for anything. There was almost no power on them and no supplies left, except for a small amount of fuel; just enough to top off their tanks on the shuttle.

Docking was very challenging as there was very little room to squeeze the big shuttle onto the docking clamp. Bob was thankful that Ludlong turned out to be such a good pilot. Bob let Ludlong handle the roll controls while docking to make it a bit easier. Eventually, the shuttle latched on to the docking port and they began the fuel transfer. There was only a few units of fuel left when they were done, but they did get a full tank of fuel. They should have enough to land on Ike!

As Ludlong and Bob undocked from the Duna transfer stages and moved their orbit to match Jeb and Bill's orbit, the Crew Transfer Vehicle was busy with their activity. First, the two supply drops were sent to the surface, each carry 480 units of supply, and then the two new crew members descended to Habmod Two, Ludlong and Bob's old campsite.

As the Duna shuttle approached the Crew Transfer Vehicle, Bob looked out his window and said, "Man, that thing is big.."

"It sure is, Bob! I'm going to miss our little Habmod, though. I was wondering.. since you Bill and Jeb are going back to Kerbin, do you think I could go back to the Duna surface?"

"Lets check out the supplies when we get docked. There might just be enough to support five kerbals down there until the next supply. Good idea, Ludlong! Oh, and by the way, you just earned your wings.. you're officially a pilot now! Congratulations!"

"I couldn't have done it without you, Bob. Thanks buddy." They shook hands and Bob took the controls for final approach to docking.

Bob and Ludlong dock with the Crew Transfer Vehicle

We are go for Ike landing!

After sharing some stories about their time on Duna, Bob and Ludlong look over the supplies and decide that there would be enough, but just barely, for Ludlong to head back down to Duna. He would have to use the crew descent vehicle as his base, and there was only enough room for one, but he seemed really excited about it. Bob documented the changes to the mission plan and sent them back to mission control.

After a handshake and goodbyes, Ludlong boarded the crew descent vehicle alone. He was still grinning, but at least Bob knew why this time: he was really excited to be going back to the Duna surface. With a short burn, Ludlong expertly piloted his descent module back to the surface. As soon as he landed, he marked his site "Fort Ludlong".

When mission control replied, Bob finally found out what Macly and Hudsey were up to and why they weren't coming back with them to Kerbin. Mission control said that they volunteered to go on a mission to the mountain that was north of their habmod and to stay on Duna as surface experts for another tour of duty. Bob was not sure how this happened since he had read every communication that was sent to mission control and there was never anything about volunteering to do anything, but he was very happy about it.

"Say, Jeb, you didn't have anything to do with keeping Macly and Hudsey on Duna, did you?" Bob asked Jeb.

Jeb smiled briefly but did not acknowledge the question.

"Now lets get to Ike and earn those test-pilot wings back for Bob!"

Day 500 - Back on Kerbin

The Duna Space Progam was going extremely well. To date, there have been 1491 kerbal-days on the Duna surface, the program was extended for an additional 500 days, and Macly and Hudsey volunteered to be Duna surface experts and also to drive up to the mountain in the north. Mission control thought it was interesting that the email from Macly about volunteering to stay on Duna came from Jeb's email address, but they decided not to worry about small details like that. Macly radioed back that they were at a peak, but couldn't go any higher with this rover due to the terrain. He named the mountain Kolympus Mons and sent back a panoramic sunset shot.

As the day 511 transfer window approached, the new 3 kerbal habmod was launched into LKO and the dual launch of the Duna Orbiting Station and its propulsion stage were also launched and docked together. Three kerbals were sent to check out the Duna Orbiting Station and three more were sent up to crew the new habmod. While the inspection team was at the station, it marked a new record for the number of kerbals in space: 14 at the same time.

Mission control thought this would make a perfect time to celebrate! Chokolate cake and kookies were brought in for the celebration and video of the event was broadcast all over Kerbin.

At the end of day 500, both the unkerballed crew delivery mission to the new habmod and also the inspection team from the Duna Station were brought back to Kerbin's surface. Mission control then lined up their burn plans to send two vessels to Duna on the same transfer window, a feat not yet attempted by the Kerbal Space Center.

Inspection Team leaves Duna Station

Panoramic Sunset from Kolympus Mons

Coming in Mission Entry 8

Complete mission hardware catalog
The three amigos come back to a hero's welcome
Two vessels leave for Duna
Complete launch summary to date and sustainable mission plan
The new guys visit Fort Ludlong (it's Bartdorf and Danlong)

Mission Entry 7 Photo Album

Edited August 13, 2013 by Death Engineering
kohesion

Speeding Mullet · August 6, 2013

I read this whole thread at work today to try and escape from the crushing tragedy that is my job. Superb work and following your progress with interest. The format you have chosen to tell your story in is epic and makes for a good read - crack on!

Death Engineering · August 10, 2013

[Mission Entry 8a]

In the last mission report, Jebediah and Bill went out to Duna to pick up Bob. Once they got there, they took the Duna shuttle on an unauthorized mission to land on Ike. Although this mission was not approved by Mission Control, it still reinstated Bob's 'test pilot' status because it was the first time that a kerbal had landed on Ike. After the Ike landing mission returned to the Crew Transfer Vehicle in Duna orbit, Ludlong descended back down to Duna's surface and named the site 'Fort Ludlong'.

Down on the surface of Duna, Ludlong was settling in very well at 'Fort Ludlong'. He had made several day trips to some local outcroppings of interesting looking dirt, gathered some up, and brought the samples back to his site. Every night before bed he would read stories about early space missions and kept his piloting skills sharp by practicing on his simulator. Every morning he would report any interesting findings back to mission control, where Bob took a special interest in reading them along with the other mission control team.

Bob had developed a whole new respect for Ludlong after discovering Ludlong's innate piloting skills. After Bob let Ludlong fly the Duna Shuttle up to the Crew Transfer Vehicle, Bob had looked at the flight profile that Ludlong flew and noticed that Ludlong had used less fuel on the ascent than the computers had reported was possible. Bob briefly considered deleting the log file from Ludlong's flight in order to avoid further embarrassment, but decided instead to tell Bill and Jeb about it and give Ludlong a pat on the back for the achievement.

Ludlong was so excited about it, he made a printout of the flight log from his first and only turn in the pilot's seat and kept it pinned up in his small quarters on Duna. Every morning he would wake up and see it and remind him of his first 156 days on Duna and his new friend, Bob, the test pilot.

During his morning walk around the area near Fort Ludlong, he happened to be looking up just as the Duna Orbiting Station was entering orbit above him. He ran excitedly back to his quarters and radioed mission control.

"Hello, mission control.. this is Ludlong at Fort Ludlong.. come in, mission control."

"Ludlong, this is mission control. As you probably noticed, the Duna station entered orbit today and we have some really good news for you."

"Really? Good news.. for me?", Ludlong asked. Good news didn't often come to Ludlong and he was both surprised and anxious to hear what was going on.

"Yes, Ludlong, good news for you. Thanks to Bob's recommendation, we have decided to promote you to be the first commander of the Duna Orbiting station!"

"WOW! That's fantastic! Commander, huh? All because of Bob? Wow! Who am I going to be commanding?" he said eagerly.

"Well, no one, really. You'll be the only one on the station. But you will be responsible for making sure everyone on the surface is doing okay and you will have the shuttle with you at the station in case you need to go down to the surface to help anyone out down there."

"Thanks, mission control! Say.. can I name it Ludlong Station?"

"No, Ludlong, you can't." This disappointed Ludlong and he frowned prominently. Unfortunately for him, it had no effect on mission control, as their communication was audio only. "We're sending Bartdorf and Danlong to you now. They'll pick you up and bring you to the Duna shuttle which lands in a few hours on its next orbit."

"That's great! This is Ludlong at Fort Ludlong signing off! My next report will be from Duna Station."

Bartdorf and Danlong meet up with Ludlong

Ludlong heads to Duna station

Later that day, Ludlong was packing up his things and making sure the cabin was clean. He also had some really good samples of Duna dirt to bring up to Duna Station. As he was finishing up, he heard a rover approaching. A few moments later, he heard the voices of Bartdorf and Danlong outside his quarters.

"Rover pilot Danlong reports we have arrived at Fort Ludlong!", Danlong exclaims over his shoulder to Bartdorf riding in the rear seat.

"Rover co-pilot Bartdorf acknowledging our arrival!" he exclaims back.

Danlong and Bartdorf were among the newest recruits in the Duna Space Program and really took their posting to Duna seriously. They felt it was important to announce everything they did and saluted each other and every one else constantly, even though no other kerbals saluted each other. They also always walked in unison and kept their quarters military-spec tidy and organized.

Although they believed that they were selected for this mission as a result of their formal approach to being in the Duna Space Program, it was a common understanding at mission control that they had been sent them to Duna precisely because of all the saluting and announcing every thought they had. It was driving mission control crazy, and sending them to Duna would finally bring some peace and quiet to the space center.

Even Ludlong thought that Bartdorf and Danlong were a little peculiar, but he appreciated the ride on the rover to the Duna shuttle and the help they offered with repacking the chutes.

"Goodbye for now, shuttle pilot Ludlong!" they said in unity with another salute.

"I'll just be in orbit, guys, I'm not going far. In fact I'll be less than 60 km away every hour or so. Keep Fort Ludlong looking good while I'm gone, okay?"

"Yes SIR!" they answered together with a salute.

Shrugging his shoulders, Ludlong boarded the shuttle and ascended to Duna station.

Ludlong docks with Duna Station

"We have dirt from Ike and Duna!"

The Crew Transfer Vehicle entered Kerbin orbit and passed high through the atmosphere on a mild aerobrake to prevent damage and also to allow use of the nuclear engines as soon as they were out of the atmosphere. It took several orbits to slow down, but eventually Bob, Bill and Jeb settled in to a 100km orbit above Kerbin.

The gang had been in orbit around Duna for 140 days and flying from Duna to Kerbin for another 70, so they had more than enough time to make a huge mess in the crew quarters on the transfer vehicle. Bob had really gotten used to Ludlong keeping their Habmod clean, so he was not accustomed to the 'test pilot mess' that was normally associated with test pilot missions.

"Hey, guys, I can't take this mess anymore. There's even special compartments over your head for 'Rubbish'. Can't you at least pick up your kandy wrappers?", Bob finally asked Bill and Jeb halfway through their trip back to Kerbin.

"What's the matter, Bob? You lose your 'test pilot' wings for a few months and you forget how to be irresponsible and slobby?", Bill asks from behind a pile of empty snack wrappers.

"I guess I just got used to not living in garbage," Bob replied dryly. "You know what? I'm going to EVA up to the cupola module for a few days and take some star readings for my report. I'll see you guys later..". As Bob opened the door to the cabin, air rushed out of the room and swept most of the trash out the open door into space.

"Hey, Bob cleaned up for us! Thanks Bob!", Jeb said as he watched the trash escape into the vaccuum of space.

"Close the door, Bob, I'm trying to make something out of those kandy wrappers!", Bill said as Bob closed the door to head up to the cupola module.

Bob, Bill and Jeb Return to Kerbin

A Hero's Welcome

"I would like to thank everyone for coming out to the Kerbal Space Center today", said the chief engineer of the Duna Space Center to the small crowd assembled outside of Mission Control. Today was the first open-house for Kerbals to come and see some of the mission hardware used in the Duna Space Program. On the launch pad, an Antares Proton s+ was being prepared to launch a resupply mission to Duna. And, parked behind the presentation podium, there was the latest version of the Crew Delivery Mission vehicle used to transport kerbalnauts to LKO and back.

"As you can see, with us we have Jebediah, Bill and the recently reinstated test pilot, Bob. Thanks to these guy, we have dirt from Ike and Duna! Lets have a big round of applause!" The chief engineer walked back to mission control as Jeb approached the microphone.

The crowd applauded enthusiastically as Jeb began his speech. "Hey! It's great to be back here on Kerbin after our mission out to Duna and our Ike landing. A huge thanks to all the engineers who make these missions possible and of course a big thanks to everyone who turned out today to have a closer look at the machinery we use on our space missions!"

The crowd applauded even more enthusiastically.

"Going out to Duna and landing on Ike was great fun and we brought back lots of dirt for our kerbal scientists to look at, but I wanted to express my great appreciation to Bob who went out to Duna and spent 156 days on the surface. Take a bow, Bob.."

Bob stood up and briefly nodded and waved to the enthusiastically applauding crowd then sat down quietly. Bob liked the quiet of space and was not used to crowds.

Jeb continued, "Yes, Bob showed great bravery and humility when he accepted his mission to the Duna surface after getting drummed out of the test pilot team. What is even more admirable is how he doesn't hold anything against Bill and me for causing the accident which destroyed the CDM 4 rocket, leading to his dismissal from the test pilot team. What a guy!"

The crowd roared with appreciation. As Jeb's confession to causing the destruction of the CDM 4 mission began to sink in to Bob's consciousness, Bob's eyes started getting bigger and bigger. His left eye began to twitch. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something, then closed it again, as if he didn't know what to say. Which he didn't.

Covering the microphone with his hand, Jeb says quietly, "Hey, uh, Bob, you're not looking so good.."

Bob stood up and walked calmly over to Jeb standing at the podium.

"Bob, old buddy.. you aren't mad about the CDM 4 explosion, still, are ya?" Jeb asked with a hopeful grin, still covering the mic with his hand. The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves, unsure about what they were watching.

"Jeb... what did you and Bill do?" Bob calmly asked Jeb, but clearly having a hard time restraining himself from reacting more to this revelation.

"Well, Bob, we're sorry. We just made a little change to the wiring on the command pod so that it dropped snacks on Macly and Hudsey. But, I think we might have hooked it up so that it accidentally triggered the 'abort' system instead. Gee, sorry, buddy. Shake on it?"

Jeb extended his hand to Bob, but Bob ignored it and instead calmly pushed Jeb aside. He looked back at Bill who was giggling to himself and Jeb who had already sat back down beside Bill and had a concerned look on his face. Jeb knew that Bob was the smartest and wasn't sure what to expect.

Approaching the microphone and gathering all his strength to address the crowd, Bob's voice was clear and full of authority, "Jeb.. Bill.. I thank you for putting me the position where I would spend 156 on Duna instead of being a test pilot back here on Kerbin. During my time on Duna, I learned a lot of things. I watched how our new recruit, Ludlong, dutifully completed his daily tasks. I watched how he kept the Habmod clean every day, even though I didn't have to ask him. I watched him turn into a skillful pilot capable of flying the Duna shuttle more efficiently than our best robotic probe."

Bob paused again, the crowd waiting with anticipation about what would happen next.

"Today marks a new era in the KSC test pilot program. With my recent reinstatement to the test pilot team, and promotion this morning to lead test pilot due to my duration missions on the Mun and Duna, I have, in the last two minutes, started working on a plan to overhaul the test pilot team!" Bob's voice was gaining even more strength and excitement.

"There will be no more shenanigans! There will be no more silly pranks! There will be no more slovenly habits from the test pilot corps! Today, we start The New Way for the test pilot team! Thank you!"

The crowd erupted in applause and everyone threw their space helmets into the air. Bob really wasn't promoted, but he was pretty sure that Jeb and Bill wouldn't bother to check on that. Bob was going to overhaul the test pilot team, and he was going to do it with Ludlong's help.

As soon as Ludlong gets back from Duna, that is...

Test Pilot Reception

Coming in Mission Entry 8b...

Complete mission hardware catalog
Two vessels leave for Duna
Complete launch summary to date and sustainable mission plan

Edited August 11, 2013 by Death Engineering

Death Engineering · August 11, 2013

[Mission Entry 8b - "Three ships, two days of burns, one Duna!"]

It was a momentous occasion when, on day 595, the achievements of the Duna Space Program celebrated 2000 kerbal-days on Duna's surface. Even though Ludlong had flown up to Duna station, there were still 7 kerbals on Duna. However, for a few hours on day 595 when the three-crew habmod landed on its northern latitude and before Ludlong headed to the Duna station, there were eight kerbals on Duna at the same time.

Back on Kerbin, the Kerbin Orbiting Supply Depot, which was launched on day 577, docked with the Crew Transfer Vehicle. It carried enough to top up the supplies and fuel for the Crew Transfer Vehicle in preparation for its return to Duna on day 739. Other missions coming up for the day 739 transfer window include a dual-drop resupply mission and a three-seat rover for use by the newest crew on Duna in order to investigate reports of a mysterious formation in the rocks.

Sending three vessels from Kerbin to Duna on the same transfer window would require plenty of koffee at mission control, and also would require that every engineer made sure their kerbal alarm clock was set for every important step during the transfer to Duna.

The engineers were ready. Now, it was just a matter of waiting for day 739...

View through the fairing

Primary launch history to day 595

Proton S+ Launches

Day 10 - Dual Habmod Launch to Duna carrying 4 kerbals in two landers
91 - Dual Duna shuttle and resupply mission
172 - Crew Module for Duna Transfer Vehicle
253 - Propulsion stage for Duna Transfer Vehicle
334 - Three Kerbal Habmod
499 - Propulsion stage for Duna Orbiting Station
496 - Crew Module for Duna Orbiting Station
577 - Kerbin Orbiting Supply Depot

Upcoming Primary Launch Schedule

658 - Dual Supply Drop to Duna
739 - Advanced Rover and Resupply Duna Station
820 - Propulsion stage for Duna Orbiting Station 2
901 - Crew Module for Duna Orbiting Station 2
982 - Kerbin Orbiting Supply Depot
1063 - Dual Supply Drop to Duna
1144 - Advanced Research and Surface Exploration module

Sustainable Launch Schedule (repeat cycle for duration of Duna Space Program)

Profile A) Dual Supply Drop to Duna - supplies to carry at least 7 kerbals to the next supply drop
Profile Equipment and Duna Station supplies (two launches) - Equipment can vary between launches to enhance Duna surface activity
Profile C) Kerbin Orbiting Supplies - fuel and supplies for the Crew Transfer Vehicle
Profile D) Advanced Equipment to Duna - Open launch for projects in development
Profile E) Duna Orbiting Station Expansion - After every four Profile D launches, a dual-launch using the Profile D launch as a propulsion stage will expand upon an existing Duna Station or begin constructing a new Duna Station in Duna's orbit.

Throughout the Primary launch schedule, all new crew-capable vessels will be inspected by a crew on a 10-day mission before the vessel transfer to Duna. For any missions to Duna that carry crews, a variety of launches will bring the crew to the transfer vessel as primary launcher missions will be launched using robotic control. The only exceptions to this 'robotic launch' rule, where a kerbal test-pilot is on board during launch, the vehicle will be equipped with a launch escape system to ensure that a launcher failure would be survivable by the test-pilot crew.

Complete Mission Hardware Catalog to Day 595

Why are we called called Death Engineering?

During a meeting with some of the new engineers, one of them asked, "Why are we called 'Death Engineering'?"

The chief engineer smiled and said, "Well, we don't want to actually kill anyone.. but we like to have a bit of fun. Here, look at this video from the Three Kerbal Habmod that landed a few days ago."

Expected Performance:

Mission Report 8 Photo Album

Coming in Mission Entry 9:

Bob gets his revenge
Ludlong has an adventure
Three ships arrive at Duna together
A hairy landing on Duna

Edited August 13, 2013 by Death Engineering

Death Engineering · August 13, 2013

[Mission Entry 9 - "There's something down there"]

Mission Report Summary (Day 820)

Three missions arrive at Duna: Crew exchange mission, crane-deployed rover and dual supply drop missions arrive at Duna
Last mission of the primary (unique) launches sent to LKO
Kerbals have logged 3577 days on Duna
Regular supply drops established

Bob's Promotion

After Bob's triumphant announcement of his promotion to mission control commander at the KSC Open House, everyone in the project knew about "Duna Specialist Bob". Although he had made his announcement without actually being appointed mission control commander, everyone was just so impressed by his speech that they naturally assumed that if he said that he was promoted, it must be true.

So, now that Bob was mission control commander, he could have a little bit of that old 'test pilot' fun now, if he really wanted to.

His first order of business was to put all the test-pilots on probation. Of course, that meant only Jebediah and Bill as they were the only other official test pilots. Bob assigned a special duty of recruits to Jeb and Bill; real go-getters. These guys wanted to log some duration hours, but there weren't any duration missions coming up until day 1195, and they didn't want to wait that long!

Luckily for them, and less for Jeb and Bill, there were two missions coming up which required test-pilots. On the first mission, Jeb and Bill would be the primary crew. However, if their mission was perfect then they would only be backup crew for the second, duration test, mission.

Bob knew that Jeb and Bill had tried to rig his CDM 4 rocket to drop snacks on Macly and Hudsey, but instead accidentally rigged it to explode. Bob would never intentionally tamper with Jeb and Bill's rocket, but he was in the unique position to assign their missions and training duties. And adjust, he did.

Bob assigned Jeb to the longest duration on the centrifuge that kerbal doktors would allow: 30 days. And Bill was suddenly bumped from flying test pilot missions to conducting kerbalnaut recruit-day rejection exit interviews. Every kerbal who failed their recruitment pre-screening test for the next 30 days would be granted 8 continuous hours with Bill where they could discuss why they failed their test.

In the end, Bill, who had begun writing "I said the same thing 1,000 times today." on his reports, and Jeb, who continually asked for "moar boosters!" during his 30 day trip on the centrifuge, both demanded to be on a long, quiet duration mission. Bob was a reasonable kerbal, and put Jeb and Bill on the next two launches.

Unfortunately, because of the pressure this caused on Jeb and Bill, they both failed quite miserably on their first launches with the latest Crew Delivery Mission vessel. Both vessels were destroyed but both pilots were successfully recovered. Eventually.

Bill's launch required a compensation in staging that was not compensated for in the countdown. As a result, when Bill got to "zero" on the countdown and staged, his rocket dropped to the launchpad without igniting any engines. He immediately aborted and landed nearby, but due to budget kutbacks, he had to clean up the launchpad himself.

On Jeb's test, the staging was perfect. However, due to a problem with fuel line installation, the new aerospike rocket engines did not have a supply of fuel! He was required to do an emergency re-entry with only his small pod, separated from the (comfortable and well-stocked) crew quarters.

He spent several days perched on the outside of his mostly-submerged pod before mission control 'recovered' him.

The next two launches were required to be a duration mission of a joint orbiting laboratory. The first mission carried a small amount of extra fuel and the second carried a supply of 300 units of supplies and two kerbalnaut trainees. They were docked and sent on a highly elliptical orbit for 75 days. During that time, Bill and Jeb were required to log daily mission reports and post pictures of their perfectly clean rooms to mission control. Failure to do so, mission control advised them, would initiate launches of supply updates to extend their mission.

When they returned to Kerbin, there was no celebration. However, the CDM Evolution Two was ready for Kerbin and Duna full-time use.

Bill asks, "I have to clean this up?"

Ludlong looking down on Duna

It was day 720 of the Duna Space Program. Ludlong had been away from Kerbin for almost 600 days and as much as he liked being Duna Station commander, he was missing Kerbin's blue ocean and green fields. He would be leaving Duna orbit with Macly, Hudsey and Danlong on day 951. He would be arriving back to Kerbin 960 days after leaving, making him the most experienced long-term pilot in the Duna Space Program.

This was a fact he was reminded of when, on day 720 he got a call from Bob back at mission control. Bob had radioed Ludlong every day to go over any new discoveries Ludlong had made and also to keep Ludlong up to date on future missions. Bob had explained to Ludlong about the latest Crew Delivery Mission vessel, which would replace the one at Duna now. It would also replace the ones used in Kerbin LKO missions, making it the only vehicle that is designed for use with both Kerbin and Duna missions.

This new version of the CDM vessel used aerospike propulsion and separate command and transport pods, which could land independently if needed. It could carry 5 kerbals to LKO or LDO and was 100% reusable. Ludlong asked Bob if he had flown it yet. He said that he hadn't yet, but that Jeb and Bill were on a 75 day joint orbiting lab mission with two of them right now.

But the main reason for Bob's call on day 720 was to have Ludlong carry out a mission to one of the Duna transfer stages that was orbiting Duna. It was the stage that had delivered the 3-Kerbal Habmod which landed on the surface on day 588. The secondary role of this transfer stage was to delivery an additional 300 units of supplies to the Duna station. However, there was a design oversight: it didn't have a working command pod to fly by robotic control!

Bob explained Ludlong's mission would entail adjusting the inclination of Duna Station's orbit to match the transfer stage orbit. He would then have to pilot the station so that it was close enough for docking. He would then undock the transfer stage on Duna station and dock it to the Habmod transfer station and transfer all its fuel over. The really tricky part would then be to EVA back to Duna Station and dock it, in reverse, to the Habmod transfer stage.

It sounded like a challenge, but Ludlong knew it had to be done. The snacks on Duna Station were running low and the propulsion stage on Duna Station was flawed anyways because it was missing a fuel line. Bob had told Ludlong about the problems with Jeb's and Bill's launches with the staging problem and missing fuel lines. He would have to have a word with Quality Control back on Kerbin, he thought.

The next day, while Ludlong was carrying out this mission, he saw something below him near Site Three.

"This is Ludlong at Duna Station calling Site Three.. come in, Site Three", broadcast the radio in the Site Three cupola module. Gregry was in the cupola doing sky observations. At least that's what he always told Danhat and Edney he would be doing when he went up there. What he was really doing, however, was writing a script for a movie about the Duna Space Program and he couldn't wait to get back to Kerbin to film it.

"Hi Ludlong, this is Gregry. What's up?"

"Well, I am! I'm up over you right now. I flew Duna Station to match your transfer stage's orbit to dock with it and just finished transferring the fuel over. And, well, I was looking down where your habmod is and I see something very odd in the crater near you."

After a brief pause, possibly for dramatic purposes, Ludlong continues. "There's something down there."

Those words hung in the cupola as if spoken from a prophet. "Those words have to be in my movie!" he immediately thought to himself as he wrote them down. He read the words over again in his mind, is of spoken from one of those blockbuster actors like Tom Kruise, "There's something... down there!".

"Affirmative, Ludlong, that's what we were sent here to investigate. There was a satellite telescope photo from Kerbin that showed a very strange land formation in the crater. We're waiting for the rover to arrive on day 803 before we head over there, but I can tell you that the dirt we found near our site is very unusual. I can't say too much more, but our report will be ready soon and you're not going to believe what we found!"

"Sounds great, Gregry. I can't wait! Your rover will be here soon! Duna Station out."

The rover, which landed successfully, was parked beside Site Three's habmod on day 820.

Later that day, the first of the "open launches" was launched to LKO. Mission control reported that it was a very difficult decision to make between sending to Duna either the latest Duna shuttle or a new module for Duna station. Eventually, the decision was made to send a new Duna Shuttle. However, a small docking module upgrade was also included in the launch. It will head to Duna on day 967.

This launch also completes the objective of launching all primary mission in the Duna Space Program. All future launches are based on the following cyclic profiles for the duration of the Duna Space Program.

Sustainable Launch Schedule (repeat cycle for duration of Duna Space Program)

Profile A) Dual Supply Drop to Duna - supplies to carry at least 7 kerbals to the next supply drop
Profile Equipment and Duna Station supplies (two launches) - Equipment can vary between launches to enhance Duna surface activity
Profile C) Kerbin Orbiting Supplies - fuel and supplies for the Crew Transfer Vehicle
Profile D) Advanced Equipment to Duna - Open launch for projects in development
Profile E) Duna Orbiting Station Expansion - After every four Profile D launches, a dual-launch using the Profile D launch as a propulsion stage will expand upon an existing Duna Station or begin constructing a new Duna Station in Duna's orbit.

To day 820, kerbals have logged 3577 days on Duna.

The landing of the rover using the skycrane was hairy.

Ludlong doing multiple orbital rendezvous and docking

Coming in Mission Entry 10

Bob and Ludlong reunited
"Why are we down here?"
Beyond the infinite

Mission Entry 9 Photo Album

Edited August 13, 2013 by Death Engineering
klarity

Death Engineering · August 18, 2013

[Mission Entry 10 - Final Chapter]

Mission Entry to Day 1063

More spacecraft lost
Ludlong returns to Kerbin
Report from Duna changes the Duna Space Program

Bad Bad on Duna

While carrying three kerbals to the surface, a structural failure caused the unexpected separation between the command pod and the propulsion section of the last Duna Shuttle. The crew survived using a backup recovery mode, but it made any return to the surface impossible. As a result of this loss, it would no longer even be possible to get back to orbit in order to send the remaining replacement crew back down.

There wasn't enough room on Duna Station for three kerbals, so Derbur would have to use the Duna Crew transfer vehicle's emergency life boat to get down to Duna. The life boat was not intended for use on Duna, however. This did not seem to alarm Derbur who was apparently grinning wildly throughout his wild high-speed descent. The life boat did not have any retro rockets on board and only 4 chutes. When Derbur hit Duna he was going 19m/s.

Derbur loses his lander

His cupola module exploded around him and vanished into a large puff of smoke and small bits of debris. As he stood there, grinning, he noticed the last piece of the life boat sitting in front of him. "Sepratron!", he thought, and kicked it to see if it was broken. His kick triggered the igniter and the small rocket exploded. His grin broadened until eventually there was nothing left of his lander.

His grinning waned, somewhat, as he realized that he also just blew up his snacks.

At least Corvis, Enbur and Lenbro had snacks, as their pod was designed for a Duna landing.

"This looked bigger when we got in"

The Kurse of Threes

Over koffee on the morning of day 1063, Jeb and Bill were discussing the recent losses of spacecraft on Duna. Today was the 333rd day of year three and Bob had assigned the three original test pilots on a launch to spend three days on the Crew Transfer Vehicle. They would be up there cleaning and refitting it for its third trip to Duna on day 1195.

"Hey Jeb, you don't believe in that 'Curse of Three's' thing about today, do you? I mean, three kerbals on year three, day 333 and going in to space for three days to service a spacecraft about to make its third trip to Duna sure sounds like a recipe for disaster, don't you think?", Bill asked Jeb nervously.

"Nah, don't worry about it, Bill. Bob said that he's flown this Kerbin Shuttle twice already and its totally checked out. Besides, we already lost the Duna Shuttle plus our two little crashes of the Kerbin Shuttle prototypes makes three crashes. And considering no one got hurt, permanently, I think we did pretty good!" Jeb says enthusiastically.

"Ya", Bill replied, seeming to have been satisfactorily reassured. "You're probably right."

Unfortunately, he wasn't.

After cleaning up the Crew Transfer Vehicle, Bill was piloting the Kerbin Shuttle back to KSC when the chutes on his pod were suddenly deployed. The chutes were intended only for use in an emergency landing while separated from the crew cabin. The added stress caused a katastrophic failure on the linkage between the engine pods and the crew cabin. The abort system deployed to avoid a high speed spin, which would have caused a total loss of the pod and the crew cabin.

After he landed and made it back to KSC, he asked Jeb "So, is there a bad luck law of fours?". Behind him, Macly, Hudsey and Ludlong looked rather shaken.

Jeb, appearing more excited than normal, replied "No, but there might be a Law of Fives! Come on, there's a big meeting we have to get to!"

"Oh, now what? Are they cancelling the space program because of my crash today?"

"No way! In fact, I think we're being put back into test pilot work. I heard that mission control got the latest mission report from Duna and there's a lot of talk about sending even more ships to investigate."

"You're kidding, right? We're going to be building new ships to test? Alright! Let's go!", Bill replied feeling a lot better about almost killing himself and four other kerbals this morning while landing a proven-safe Kerbin shuttle.

"By the way, Bill," Jeb adds as they rush down the hallway to the meeting room, "I heard someone say we might launch something to Vall for some reason. I wonder if we're going to land a Kerbal there.."

Ludlong was trying to keep up with Bob but having a hard time. Bob slowed down from their run to the meeting room to meet with Ludlong. Bob reached out and shook Ludlong's hand then spoke quietly as they jogged down the hallway.

"Good to see you, Ludlong! When this meeting is over, we have to talk about your promotion."

"Hey Bob! Wow, what promotion, Bob?" Ludlong exclaimed gleefully.

"Your promotion to Test Pilot! We have work to do, but we'll have to talk later. I have a feeling this meeting is going to change our entire space program."

"Hey Bob! That sounds great, buddy! Say, where are we going?"

"We're going to a meeting that is going to change our entire space..!" Bob stopped talking and smiled. "I missed you, Ludlong."

"I missed you too, Buddy!"

Bill Destroys Another Kerbin Shuttle

Duna Space Program Cancelled - "We must walk on Vall!"

As Jeb and Bill take their seats at the meeting, mission control commander Bob walked toward the podium. As he did he looked toward Bill and shook his head in disgust.

"Okay, we can begin now that Bill and Jeb are back from the Duna Crew Transfer Vehicle. By the way, Bill, make sure you hang up the keys to the Kerbin Shuttle before you go home. If you can find them in the rubble, that is."

The room filled with quiet laughter. Before Bill could reply, Bob continued.

"We received the long-awaited report from Site Three on Duna. It seems that they have found evidence of ancient mikrobial life on Duna. Not only that, the crew followed the density pattern in the dirt and it led them to..."

Bob pressed a button on the podium and stepped aside quickly. Behind him, a screen quickly lowered and a hidden projector dropped from the ceiling. When the projector lit up, every kerbal mouth in the room dropped open and every eye popped out of their head, even more than normal.

On the screen in front of them was the picture of a structure on Duna. A structure that had a strikingly familiar look to it.

There was a face on Duna!

Familiar face

There were gasps, there were laughs, there was even a few screams when the image was revealed. Everyone began talking, asking themselves who could have done this and why.

Finally Bob approached the podium again, the image of the face on Duna was still projecting and turned his face eerily like the color of Duna's soil making him look like the face on Duna.

"Okay, everyone, keep listening because that's not all we found. On the side of this structure, we found a small carving. It shows five circles around a dot in the middle. On the second circle, embedded into the structure, is a green dot - the only green on Duna besides kerbals."

Jeb pressed the button on the podium again changing the slide. It showed Gregry standing beside the carving.

"Our scientists think this carving.. it means something. We think that this carving is a planet with the circles representing its orbiting moons. Since Jool is the only planet with five moons, we think this represents Jool and its moons. The green dot, on Vall's orbit, might mean that whoever made this structure is from Vall. Based on this assumption and on the fact that we've already had 5000 kerbal days on Duna, and not at all based on the fact that we've lost four major spacecraft recently on the Duna Space Program, we are cancelling the Duna Space Program and introducing the .."

Bob paused and pressed the button again. On the slide behind him, only three words appeared which he read aloud with great excitement, "Vall Space Progam!"

The crowd leapt to their feet and applauded vigorously as Bob yelled triumphantly into the microphone, "We must walk on Vall!"

On day 901, the Duna Shuttle Evolution Two was launched. And then on day 967, the Crew Transfer Vehicle, the Duna Shuttle and the supply drop mission all left for Duna. By 1069 all three ships had arrived. The supply drops were completed and the new Duna Shuttle made its first Duna descent and ascent. With the cancellation of the Duna Space Program, it was decided that the Duna Shuttle would be used as a crew cabin and would remained docked to the crew transfer vehicle to bring back two more crew members. Only Gregry would be left on Duna to continue his studies of the face structure, and writing his screenplay.

After the shuttle docked and the crew from the surface met up with Bartdorf and Danlong, all they spoke of was the Vall Space Program and who might be going to Vall.

But most importantly, what were they going to find when they got there?

Gregry looking at the carving on the Face on Duna

Mission Entry 10 Photo Album

Edited August 18, 2013 by Death Engineering

Death Engineering · August 18, 2013

[Epilogue and Scoring]

Final Scoring to Day 1000

Mods used: Subassembly Manager, Kerbal Alarm Clock

Until Day 500:

7 launches
378t NIMLKO
Early Mission Value: 1208
Efficiency: 3.2

Until Day 1000:

13 launches
702t NIMLKO
Sustained Mission Value: 4837
Efficiency: 8.6

Achievements:

Mission Execution: 2
Crew Mobility: 2
Base Mobility: 0
Crew Safety: 0
Mission Robustness: 2
- Score: 6

Bob and Ludlong began immediately training new crews for the test pilot program. Getting to Vall was going to be even more challenging than Duna, but everyone on Kerbin knew that it was important to get there. Even though no one knew what was going to be found on Vall, most kerbals believed that they would learn something about their own history.

Some thought that the face on Duna was created by ancient kerbals who moved to Vall and left the carving as a clue. Others believed that the face on Duna was made by kerbals from the future who came back in time to leave interesting things for kerbals to discover. However, those kerbals were generally regarded as kooks.

But no matter what they were going to find, the Vall Space Program was going to need rockets, landers and rovers. It was time to build a new space program!

More Details

Primary Mission Launches

Day 10 - Dual Habmod Launch to Duna carrying 4 kerbals in two landers
91 - Dual Duna shuttle and resupply mission
172 - Crew Module for Duna Transfer Vehicle
253 - Propulsion stage for Duna Transfer Vehicle
334 - Three Kerbal Habmod
496 - Crew Module for Duna Orbiting Station
499 - Propulsion stage for Duna Orbiting Station
577 - Kerbin Orbiting Supply Depot
658 - Dual Supply Drop to Duna
739 - Advanced Rover and Resupply Duna Station
820 - Dual Supply Drop
901 - Duna Shuttle Evolution 2
982 - Kerbin Orbiting Supply Depot

Kerbals on Duna:

Hudsey and Macly: Day 126 to 820 = 1388
Bob and Ludlong: Day 196 to 352 = 312
Ludlong: Day 352 to 597 = 245
Bartdorf and Ludlong: Day 352 to 820 = 936
Gregry, Patgard and Ribrie: Day 588 to 1000 = 1236
Corvis, Lenbur, Derbur and Enbro: Day 820 to 1000 = 720
- Total: 4837

Epilogue Photo Album

Edited August 18, 2013 by Death Engineering

Speeding Mullet · August 19, 2013

This was so great to follow - congratulations on mission execution!!

panzerknoef · October 30, 2013

Congratz this was an amazing read!!

Rhyunix · October 30, 2013

Will there be a Vall space program? OH BOY OH BOY! Theres got to be a continuation of the epicness!

Death Engineering · October 30, 2013

Thanks!

Thank you. Had a lot of fun playing and writing it.

The "Vall Exploration Challenge", to accompany the continuation of this thread, is cooking now...

Death Engineering · November 13, 2013

Thanks to all who followed this series! It is continued below...

Death Engineering Presents...

[Vall Exploration Challege - "Done with Duna, we're volitant on Vall!" - Episode 1]

In the first entry to the Vall Exploration Challenge:

Bill and Jeb get ahold of the "secret" photos
Bob is still dry-witted
Ludlong has his way with a new Vall Landing Module

panzerknoef · November 14, 2013

Yay at last, this is gonna be awesome to read!

Death Engineering · August 24, 2014

So much fun.. I'm doing it again!

My first attempt at this challenge used a lifter with a relatively large nomical payload of 54T. This time, I'm using a much smaller lifter with a nominal capacity of 24T. The lifter can recover the four SRB's and the Saturn 1-B first stage, earning the 50% reduction in lifter re-fit time, resulting in a 36 day turnaround between launches. Instead of launching several monolithic craft to Duna, the landing part of the mission is being launched and docked together in a space-train in LKO.

Boosted Saturn 1B 24T Payload Test

Once at Duna, the lander will be assembled and set down on the surface. Before the landing team arrives, a Duna space station will be sent to scout landing sites and perform orbital research. An unassembled Duna lander/base requires five launches and with a launch cycle of 6/7 launches between transfer windows, this gives enough launches to keep a sustained presence on Duna through either continued supplies to the existing base or additional bases.

Phase B with Heat Shield

Much of what will be used in this second run at this challege is derived from the Beyond Apollo: AAP challenge. The lifter is a direct upgrade of the Saturn S1B by adding four strap on solid rocket boosters and one additional liquid fuel engine to the S1-B first stage. The second stage remains the same SIV-B style used during the AAP challenge.

Tri-Hub Duna Lander Ready for Launch

The space station/return vehicle heading to Duna on the first transfer window is the "Phase B" space station proposed by McDonnell Douglas. A single pilot will head to Duna in the Phase B and enter into a nearly polar orbit. While awaiting the landing team, it will drop a robotic rover to Duna's surface, deploy a satellite in Duna orbit and use an Apollo Telescope Mount to perform detailed surveys of Duna's surface. Once the landing team has completed their mission, it will rendezvous with the station already in orbit. The crew will transfer from the lander to the Phase B station, which will then return to Kerbin where it will be met by an AAP style Big Gemini to bring the crew back to Kerbin's surface.

Launch Schedule First 514 Days

Day 10: Phase B Station
46: Propulsion Stage for Phase B
---> Duna: Phase B
82: Triple Hub Duna Lander Module
118: 1/3 crew modules for Duna Lander and surface supplies
154: 2/3 and 3/3 crew modules for Duna Lander
190: Emergency Return Craft
226: Propulsion Stage for Lander
262: Supplies for Kerbin-Duna transit
---> Duna: Tri-Hub Lander 1
298: Phase B/Surface Supplies
334: Triple Hub Duna Lander Module
370: 1/3 crew modules for Duna Lander and surface supplies
406: 2/3 and 3/3 crew modules for Duna Lander
442: Propulsion Stage for Lander
478: Supplies for Kerbin-Duna transit
514: Saturn S-IVB Tanker to LKO (for refueling and restocking the Phase B craft)
---> Duna: Tri-Hub Lander 2

Primary Mission Hardware Catalog

The lander arrived safely on Duna, although aerocapture was quite alarming as I went down a valley on the south pole and the nearby mountains appeared to be higher altitude than I was during the aerocapture!

Crew arrived on Day 347 and it is currently day 477 in the game. The six crew have accumulated 780 Kerbal-days on Duna so far. Since the lander has some docking port crossfeed problems which will make return to Kerbin orbit very difficult with the base/lander, plans to send a second, similarly flawed lander have been cancelled.

Instead, the five launches which would have focussed on sending a new lander will be used to expand the mission parameters to include a dedicated Ike landing mission, a second emergency return vehicle, and up to four more surface team members. At the conclusion of their stay on Duna, either one of the emergency return vehicles or the capsule from the Ike mission will remain docked to the Phase B Kerbin-return ship already in Duna orbit and will double as the crew quarters for the additional team members for the trip home.

Duna Base aerocapture, orbital assembly and landing

Backup-Backup Plan C-3

After the Tri-Hub Lander and 6 kerbals successfully set up camp on Duna, a shift in the Kerbol's phase from 0.21 to 0.22 caused all deployed landing gear to spontaneously retract. The resulting impact of the sensitive aerospike engines onto Duna's surface caused the starboard engine on the backup surface-return lander to detach! Since this vehicle relies on two functioning engines, it was rendered inert.

Luckily, a backup plan was already in place! After discovering that the Tri-Hub Lander did not burn fuel evenly from the outboard tanks, meaning it could not return to orbit, plans were already in place to send a backup to the backup surface-return lander. An Ike landing mission was also accommodated thanks to the cancelled plans to send a second, flawed, Tri-Hub Lander.

Launches in this update:

298: 600 Unit Surface Supplies
334: Ike Landing Mission
370: Ike Crew module
406: Ike IP Stage
442: Surface-return lander
478: IP Stage/Phase B supplies

The plan is to use the surface supplies to exhaustion then use the second surface-return lander to return the 6 kerbals to the Phase B orbiting station. Supplies will already have arrived at the station for the return mission. If all goes well, the last day on Duna will be day 713, seven days before the Duna -> Kerbin window. There is no backup-backup-backup plan, so if this revised mission profile fails, Bill will return home in the Phase B alone, leaving 6 frozen kerbals on Duna.

Duna Space Program - Second attempt completed

The final launches which brought supplies to the Duna surface team and to the Duna orbiting station, another surface-return craft, and an Ike landing mission were all successful. The surface team exhausted their surface supplies on day 711 and ascended to the Phase B Kerbin return craft in Duna orbit. During their short stay in Duna orbit while awaiting their Kerbin return window, the Ike landing mission earned no points in the challenge, but was successful all the same. Once the Ike landing crew member (Bob!) made it back to the return vehicle, the crew headed for home.

After a rather long transfer from Duna to Kerbin, the crew landed on Kerbin on day 822. This second attempt at this challenge was intended to have a much higher score for Kerbals on Duna, but issues with how docking-port crossfeed (didn't) work meant that a second landing team was not feasible. Then, complications with the 0.21 -> 0.22 update caused the loss of the Duna return craft, requiring another one be sent out to Duna as a replacement. These problems caused the 'Mission Execution' score to be just '1', but did earn scores of '2' for both 'Crew Safety' and 'Mission Robustness', since everyone made it back despite losing two spacecraft and one rover.

In the end, this was a good rehearsal for the mission profile of returning crews to Kerbin using different spacecraft which got them there and doing precise inter-planetary orbital insertions. It was also a realization how much flexibility comes from using more, smaller launches instead of fewer, larger launches.

Final Scoring to Day 1000

Mods used: Kerbal Alarm Clock

Until Day 500:

14 launches
336t NIMLKO
Early Mission Value: 888
Efficiency: 2.64

Until Day 1000:

14 launches
336t NIMLKO
Sustained Mission Value: 1266
Efficiency: 6.41

Achievements:

Mission Execution: 1
Crew Mobility: 2
Base Mobility: 0
Crew Safety: 2
Mission Robustness: 2
Score: 7

Duna Space Program or "Do we have to call it 'Death Engineering'?"

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