Sneak Peek: MOdular Mission System (MOMS) testing

[Wayfare]

Given that our updated Munshine V was once again quite a hit, Wayfare engineers have set their sights higher and further - to Duna and beyond! Going to the Mun and back seems like a fairly cozy backyard adventure compared to the conquest of interplanetary space. In order to put Kerbals on distant bodies, we'll need all sorts of cool stuff: bases, exploration vehicles, crew shuttles... Oh my.

We decided to develop a MOdular Mission System, MOMS. Using a series of "core" modules (basically a collection of Senior docking ports strapped around an RCS, power and control unit) we aim to create a variety of mission modules and propulsion kits that will allow you to assemble the mission of your dreams. Jeb snuck a camera into the Improbably Dangerous Experiments Agency (IDEA) proving grounds and got you these pictures:

An updated "Munophant" exploration rover, based on that fine space truck which saw foul-mouthed space trucker Herbo Kerman and his crew explore some Mun arches, sits atop our newly developed Munshine VI 20-ton launcher.

Detached from the Munshine VI second stage, the Munophant descends back into Kerbin's atmosphere for a landing test.

It burns real pretty!

Drogue chutes deploy as the now obsolete docking port heat shield decouples.

With main chutes deployed the Munophant comes down perfectly vertical. Note the extended, one-sided landing legs.

Engine power is used to slow down the final descent. The landing package has enough thrust and fuel to set the Munophant down on the Mun - and therefore any non-atmospheric body except Tylo.

Remember those landing legs? As soon as they hit the surface, the chutes cut and the whole thing tips over to drop the Munophant on its wheels. The landing package is decoupled with the engines still running so it burns away and crashes a safe(ish) distance from the payload. This is ground-breaking engineering, folks!

The Munophant ditches its ballast RCS tanks and surveys the wreckage of the descent package.

Well guess who snuck himself aboard the Munophant cockpit - it's Jeb!

Here, the Munophant is being docked to an experimental surface base. Note the MOMS core module at the far end. Multiple mission modules like these can be joined together, have a propulsion module plugged in the back and be flown to any body your heart desires (except Tylo, and Eve is a one-way sort of thing).

[Turd]

I like it!

[Wayfare]

Thanks Turd!

A proof-of-concept mission tot the Mun just revealed that the delta-v calculations on the Munophant were off by a fair bit, resulting in a crash (albeit a really nice one). Also, the experimental habitat seems to suffer from clipping jitters once the engines are fired up and just generally makes a mess of things. Back to the drawing board!

[Drunkrobot]

I can't wait to see the finished product! That method of landing the rover was genius, I'll have to do something similar for my Munbase.

[Wayfare]

Development of the MOMS is continuing steadily. I conducted a proof-of-concept mission to the Mun which yielded... Less than satisfying results.

Here, the first functional propulsion module is joined to a MOMS core. The payload consists of one surface base and one Munophant exploration rover, both with their descent packages.

The "Munproof 1" mission was flown to the Mun. With only three nuclear engines, this required a burn of nearly eight minutes. Meep!

The Munophant went down first. It turned out that MechJeb got confused by the staging and calculated the delta-v for the descent package only. Given that it was supposed to land a 10-ton vehicle as well, Munophant ran out of fuel well before any sort of safe landing speed was reached and exploded spectacularly.

The "Munproof 1" base fared little better. It uses some non-debug parts clipping to simulate crew tunnels and this caused the SAS to freak out something fierce. The base was completely uncontrollable without MechJeb and was self-destructed in Munar orbit. Bah. Back to the drawing board!

So I redesigned the Munophant's descent package and the surface base from the ground up. Parts clipping was meticulously avoided. I also figured out how to get realistic delta-v figured out of MechJeb (the trick being to build the descent package onto the payload without decouplers at first). "Munproof 2" consisted of both redesigned payloads and a more powerful four-engine propulsion unit. The only part that was unchanged was the MOMS core module. This mission takes three launches to assemble: once for the core and base module, one for the Munophant, and one for the propulsion module. The first two are brought up by Munshine V 55-ton launchers, the last by a Munshine VI 20-ton.

To add some challenge, I sent Munproof 2 on a free-return trajectory. This meant it would circularize into a retrograde orbit, which in turn meant the landing packages would have to burn more delta-v to counteract the Mun's rotation. I've built the descent packages to have roughly 1400 m/s of delta-v: that should be enough for Moho, the highest-gravity non-atmospheric body in the system except for Tylo. And I'm not touching Tylo yet. No sir. But if the descent packages can set down on Moho, they should be able to land anywhere (except Tylo...)

The Munophant went down perfectly this time. It was also plenty controllable without MechJeb. Unfortunately I didn't get a lot of surface time out of this rover - I hadn't set up an action group for rear-wheel brakes so the heavy vehicle was almost impossible to control for any length of time. No biggie. I was mainly testing landing capabilities here.

Next to land was the Munproof 2 base. It had control issues again and I think I've narrowed it down to the antenna mast now. The descent package ripped off one of the solar panels and appears to have damaged the other when it separated. The collision meshes must have been just barely touching. I'll conduct some separate orbital tests with this base and see if I can eliminate the problem without getting rid of the mast altogether.

Free of its payload, the MOMS craft's delta-v skyrocketed to something like 4000 m/s on less than half a tank of fuel left. It made it back to LKO easily, ready for its next mission. I'm developing a simple crew section along with a shuttle capable of landing on and returning from all solid bodies except Tylo and Eve. They will also be sent on a proofing mission to the Mun to pick up the hapless test pilots currently stranded there. When you're working for Wayfare AE&KA, every day is an adventure!

Edited August 17, 2013 by Wayfare

[Wayfare]

So, with the Munproof 2 mission a success, it was time to move on to Munproof 3 - sending a crew to the Mun and back in a lander we could actually re-use. Oh, and picking up Bill and Bob who had gotten themselves stuck out there. The MOMS had returned to Kerbin and was refitted with a crew habitat and a lander shuttle. Both payloads and the Orbital Assistance Module (OAM) which maneuvered them around were launched on a single Munshine V.

Once the payload was joined to the MOMS, it just needed crew and fuel. The experimental Crew Transfer Vehicle (CTV) sent up four Kerbonauts, among them the invincible Jebediah (having just miraculously recovered from stowing away on a doomed Munophant prototype) and a fella by the name of Chuck who just has "maverick test pilot" written all over him.

Once the crew was aboard, MOMS was refueled by an unmanned tanker and then set off for the Mun. During the long coast over there, Jeb never tired of boring Chuck to tears over just how many times he'd been killed in inventive ways.

Meanwhile, Jack piloted the CTV back down to Kerbin. It de-orbited fine and deployed three good chutes. Jack has yet to explain how he came to land only the command pod, but Wayfare engineers are clamoring for more struts.

MOMS made it to the Mun just fine. Once there, Jeb and Chuck transferred to the shuttle and picked up Bill from the Munproof base. Jeb and Bill's reuniting was heartwarming until mission control told them to stop shouting "Duuuuude!" over the comms.

Time to get Bob out of the Munophant.

With all the crew back together, the shuttle will come back to MOMS and she will take them back to Kerbin. Meanwhile, Jack will be debriefed and Wayfare AE&KA will develop a CTV that will actually land a full crew safe(ish)ly back on terra firma.

[Wayfare]

Having successfully conducted the proof-of-concept mission to the Mun, all that remains is to bring the crew back to Kerbin. Even in spite of its hugely inefficient landing profile and a lot of fuel burnt trying to hover over to the Munophant, the shuttle had plenty of delta-v left for ascent and rendezvous with the MOMS.

The MOMS brought the boys back to Kerbin orbit. All six transferred over to the shuttle to perform the final test - could the shuttle land under chutes without ripping itself apart? Well, turns out it could. Everyone's home safe and the final design notes are in. Next up - packaging everything nicely in a fresh save and performing a final proving mission to Duna!

[Wayfare]

The Munproof mission was a success. I've developed all the modules and lifters necessary for the next phase of development: a full-featured mission to Duna. This will be the final phase before initial release. Once we have a fully functional system in place, we can start development of more mission modules to take on more specific tasks. Today I put the finishing touches on the Munshine VII 75-ton launcher and used it in two flights to assemble Dunproof 1 which will carry a surface base and rover to Duna in advance of Dunproof 2, which will be the manned component. Full coverage of the Dunproof mission will be provided in the Mission Reports forum soon.

[Drunkrobot]

Today I put the finishing touches on the Munshine VII 75-ton launcher...

I suppose it is our nature to set limits, only to break through them, and then fry them with an enormous rocket engine. I'd love to see a thread focused on the new launcher. Maybe a super-sized Apollo mission is in order?

[Wayfare]

The launchers have been released as standalone craft and can be found here!

MOMS has entered the final stage of development. We're conducting a shakedown cruise to Duna. Read all about it here!

Edited August 23, 2013 by Wayfare