After a lot of fooling around, my first mission to Mun

[cy-one]

Hey guys,

I hope I don't break any unwritten rules by posting something that is still ongoing... But I wanted to document this

I've been playing KSP for a (shortish) while now, started somewhere in either 0.18 or 0.19 (I think the latter). But I never really did something legit Started with LKO-Stations, planned stuff, let a lot more stuff explode, etc.

But now, I feel comfortable enough to really start "my space program".

Starting of with... Well, an undocumented failure -.-

7.08.2013

First attempt to send a manned (well, any kind of) mission to Mun ended in a disastrous failure. After separating the munar transfer module from the launch vehicle, the module started spinning uncontrollable. Even stopping it manually didn't help, as soon as I stopped working against the spin, it started anew. No thrusters or RCS were running. It remains a mystery at KSC.

Anyhow, the unfortunate kerbalnauts Jeb, Bill and Bob could be rescued by a mission send up shortly after. The rescue ship was untested, but performed above expectations and did not only rescue the three pilots, but also exchanged crew on Asbru Transit, the station in LKO.

3.9.2013

Experts at KSC think, the side-mounted (yet balanced) munar rover was at least one reason for the disaster of the previous mission. After being shout at, the engineers started to think outside the box and came up with a new approach to the whole lander-stuff.

Instead of using a lander with a separate ascent and descent stage, they came up with this design. The lander's NERVAs will also double as main engines for the munar transfer and inject. And of course, lift-off from Mun.

First, the kerbalnauts will have to wait for a while and play Connect 4 (or in Jeb's version: Connect 3 leaking fuel tanks and a Mainsail) while the small Kethane satellite will start to map the Mun. After it has delivered enough data for the crew to pick a landing site, the next stage of the mission will start.

Second, the lander will decouple from the rest of the ship with only the deluxe, pressurized rover underneath. After landing, the rover will be decoupled and be free to roam around. The lander carries enough fuel to be able to reach orbit again and dock with the rest of the ship.

The crew on the munar ground will search out the landing site for a good spot, where a future Kethane mining station can be installed. The rover will be left as a landing beacon.

While the ship is still under construction, modules are being actively tested in virtual zero gravity environment. For example, the lander/engine module docking with a dummy tank.

I will keep you posted, as long as nobody shouts at me

cheers, cy!

Edited September 7, 2013 by cy-one
typos/code

[cy-one]

3.9.2013

The mission was a full success, even from Jeb's point of few. A mining site was surveyed and marked for the next step of the program.

Transfering to Mun went... interesting, as the crew seemed to take some time off... which resulted in a trajectory that wouldn't let them be catched by the Muns gravity, but smash them right into it. But the crew remembered how to turn on the engines and saved the mission. And their lives.

Jeb had hell of a good time speeding around with the rover, reaching top speeds of nearly 180 km/h. Good thing they brought several pairs of spare tires. They needed them. All.

Rendezvous with the fuel tank in orbit was a delicate action, as the fuel on the lander was just enough... but really just. After that, everything went smoothly.

Jeb overshot just a little bit, when he tried to hop from that rock behind the rover on to the rover. Just a little bit.

Besides that, he hat ****loads of fun

5.9.2013

And in an undocumented mission, Bill returned the crew from Asbru Station. Their stay was short, but the station was deemed impractical and might get replaced with a new one. It was also not expandable.

In another undocumented mission, Jeb launched a small experimental shipyard into a stable 300km-orbit around Kerbin. Tests were successful and Jeb returned in a newly built, slightly modified Aeris 4A. He landed on the KSC Airstrip and couldn't be bothered NOT to roll the damn plane on to the Launch Pad... and break one engine in the process.

Not yet launched

In preparation for the next step, autonomous Kethane mining rovers and a central processing and powering hub are being planned, constructed and tested.

Currently, the mining rover has a cockpit for an operator, but successful tests showed, it can operate without a Kerbal on board. Nevertheless, the central hub will have a small living area, housing two Kerbals to control the mining operation.

And while the engineers are denying it, the accountants claim that the development of the central hub's folding solar panels did cost more than the whole previous mission.

[Scotius]

Wow! Dat solar panels...What mod they've came from? They would be excellent for my power sats around Kerbol

[cy-one]

For your power-sats, you COULD go overkill and use the 400 e/s panels that the same pack also has. But they're so huge, that even a normal "big station" is dwarfed besides them.

Anyway, those are the second-biggest pannels from the KOSMOS-Pack. Biggest besides the previous mentioned ones.

[Geschosskopf]

Very nice stuff.

Good luck with the Kethane. It's a lot of work but worth it. Not only does it allow much greater mission flexibility and reach, but it gives you a much better reason for going somewhere than just planting a flag .

If you don't mind, I'll offer some suggestions for the mining rover. First off, all the Kethane mining and processing parts require beaucoup power while operating so a few battery packs won't do it. I recommend adding 2 Gigantors or other large, retractable solar panels per drill. Second, there's really no need for 4 drills. They all add mass and each requires that much more power, which adds even more mass. You'd probably be better off with 2 drills at most and use the mass saved to install a bigger tank for them to fill, so you don't have to make as many trips between deposit and processor.

[cy-one]

Thanks for the suggestions, but in this case, it's all accounted for

The small kethane tanks of the rovers only function as "structural fuselage", to put it that way. Their capacity doesn't really matter. I have a standardized rover-design based on 1.25m-fuselages... And I dislike using structural fuselages, as they don't provide _any_ benefit. So in this case, I used the kethane tanks. During usual operations, they won't be beneficial, too. But besides that, they provide a little more Kethane buffer.

The rovers will be docked to a central energy/processing plant, that will provide the energy for both the rover's drills and the kethane converter (also the rocketparts 3d printer). It will also double as depot, providing hell of a lot more kethane capacity.

[Geschosskopf]

....The rovers will be docked to a central energy/processing plant, that will provide the energy for both the rover's drills and the kethane converter (also the rocketparts 3d printer). It will also double as depot, providing hell of a lot more kethane capacity.

Well, that will work, too .

[cy-one]

After crashlanding the mission, I couldn't really recover the central hub... But as a few rovers and, nearly more importantly, the warehouse/yard-vessel landed in one piece, I'm currently building a complex using 2.5m-rovers.

As soon as I'm done, I'll add the pictures.