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Constellation Space Program - Three Part Challenge


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Very cool mission !

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Thanks.  The Mars Direct mission was done first so I could try out a few ideas.  I now have all the hardware ready for doing the Konstellation Space Program.

Question for @Death Engineering.   For the ATLAST telescope I propose using a SENTINEL.  Is that OK, or should I develop something with a more realistic mass?

Edited by jinnantonix
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  On 6/12/2019 at 7:52 AM, jinnantonix said:

Here is my Mars Direct submission.

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Other peoples' ingenuity never ceases to amaze me! Great use of stock parts to develop what looks like a viable mission profile (if kerballed up a little). :cool:

I wrote this challenge almost six years ago as a tribute to what could have been a great reach towards deep space exploration, if only spoiled by something so vacuous as economics. Great mission!

 

  On 6/12/2019 at 7:03 PM, Mopoii said:

I tried getting the ATLAST telescope to Sun-synchronous orbit [...]

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Yeah, getting down there is a b****. I resorted to ions in the end.

 

  On 6/12/2019 at 11:33 PM, jinnantonix said:

For the ATLAST telescope I propose using a SENTINEL

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Totally good with that part, in keeping with the challenge it should be powered and have communications, station-keeping, etc. :normal:

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Thanks @Death Engineering for a great challenge.  6 years?  Wow.  I am late to KSP, I think this has been my favourite challenge.

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 Great use of stock parts to develop what looks like a viable mission profile (if kerballed up a little). 

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I very deliberately did not follow the SLS architecture    -  the Mars landers in that design are unnecessarily complex.  Also I think that any manned mission to Mars would certainly have artificial spin gravity to ensure the health of the astronauts.  Some form of shield against solar radiation would be needed, but I can't decide how to do that with stock parts, so assuming the FL-A5 adaptor provides.

I am now working through the challenge from the start, and have completed the Part 1 testing phase (video pending). 

Part 2 will be landing Kerbals on the Mun, with an Altair landing at the pole, and an Altair and Outpost habitat landed at the equator with 6 Kerbals, and lots of life support.  Part 2 will also include the ATLAST telescope deployment - this is harder than I originally thought. Edit:  Managed this with a big Wolfhound based booster and a "Dawn" ion engine.

For Part 3, I will be resubmitting the Duna mission with a few additions. 

  1. The DAV (Duna Ascent Vehicle) will be a SSTO that is intended to remain in orbit at the end of the mission, and may be refuelled and returned to the surface in a future mission.  If Kerbals spend billions of $Kredits getting a piece of hardware like that to Duna, you'd want to get more than a single launch out of it, right?
  2. The Duna atmospheric entry requires some effort to protect against frictional heating, so I will be including fairings to protect the craft during aerobraking.  The part 3 video will include testing of the fairings on Kerbin.

 

 

Edited by jinnantonix
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Konstellation Space Program - part 1

  1. Ares 1+EDS       Kerballed       Suborbital flight
  2. Ares 1                Unkerballed    Launch escape
  3. Ares 1                Kerballed        Launch 5 crew, swap at space station
  4. Ares 1                Unkerballed    Launch liferaft
  5. Ares V                Unkerballed    Orion + EDS.  Munar orbit, high speed entry.  9Gs
  6. Ares V+Ares 1    Kerballed       Mun Lander, Ares 1 + Orion.  LKO:  Dock, separate, redock, Land.
  7. Ares V+Ares 1    Kerballed       Mun Lander, Ares 1 + Orion.  MKO:  Dock, separate, redock, Land.

 

 

Edited by jinnantonix
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Konstellation Space Program - part 2


8.      Ares V                  Unkerballed    Altair 1 without the use of an Orion spacecraft (EDS and Altair only launched from Ares V).  Land at equator
9.      Ares V+Ares 1    Kerballed         Altair 2 with the use of an Orion spacecraft.  4 Kerbals land at north pole.  Return 4 Kerbals to Kerbin
10.    Ares V+Ares 1    Kerballed         Altair 3 on the Mun with 6 Kerbals aboard. Land 100m from Altair 1.  
11.    Ares V                  UnKerballed    Mun Outpost variant with two Rovers.  Land 100m from Altair 1 and 3.  Do science.  Return to 6 Kerbals to Kerbin
12     Ares V                  UnKerballed    ATLAST telescope launch, deliver to low Kerbol orbit.
 

 

Edited by jinnantonix
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  • 7 months later...

Konstellation + JNSQ

And we're back...

Refusing to let old challenges die, in my "I'm playing you for the last time" tour, this return to the Constellation Space Program will be played out in the spectacular JNSQ planetary system overhaul mod. For those not familiar, JNSQ scales the stock KSP system up by 2.7x, rearranges some of the planets to fit the new system better, and adds a few new planets as well.

In this introduction post, laying down the Difficulty Points as follows:

Difficulty Points (points stack)
  • Use any balanced Life Support mod (+3)
  • Upscale the Kerbol system ( + [scale factor] * 2 ) (+5.4)
  • Use the RO/RSS bundle of mods (+10)
  • Enable Comm Network ON and Require signal for control ON (+2)
  • Use these in game settings: Re-entry heating 110%, Enable Comm Network ON, Part pressure limits ON, Part G-force limits ON, Kerbal G-force limits ON, Require signal for control ON, Plasma Blackout ON (+5)
  • Total: 15.4

 

And also introducing the Ares I and Orion 6...

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Performing Boiler-plate test

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LES test and recovery

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Uncrewed launch to Space Station Seven as lifeboat

 

 

Crew Launch Vehicle (Ares I) - 11 points

  • Two stage rocket to LKO (+2)
  • Does not jettison any radial stages (solid or liquid tanks/engines) (+2)
  • Can carry Orion Block 1 to low orbit without using any fuel from the Orion service module (+1)
  • Can carry Orion Block 2 to low orbit without using any fuel from the Orion service module (+2)
  • Uses any solid fuel booster on first stage (+1)
  • Uses only solid fuel on first stage (+3)

Crew Vehicle (Orion) - 14 points

  • Supports at least 4 crew (+4)
  • Each crew over 4, up to 6 crew maximum (+2)
  • Self-contained multi-purpose spacecraft: Launch Escape System (LES), Power, RCS fuel/thrusters, orbital maneuvering engine/fuel, docking port, probe core (+2)
  • Service module: Before landing, drops orbital maneuvering engine and all it's fuel and at least a portion of RCS fuel (+2)
  • Safely touches down on land and water (+1)
  • Solar/battery electrical only (no RTG) (+2)
  • Block 1/2 bonus: Develop a Block 2 with slightly higher delta-V. Block 1 is intended for low orbit missions and the Block 2 for Munar/deep space missions (+1)

The Altair and Arev V are still over-budget and behind-schedule, but nothing like its real-life counterpart.. I'm looking at you, SLS!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Konstellation + JNSQ - Ares V / Altair Testing

Introducing the Ares V and Altair to this challenge attempt. Although the Altair is a little unsightly, it gets the job done. So far, we've completed the Ares V/Orion munar flyby and high speed re-entry test and the LKO Altair test. Before heading to a Mun landing with the first un-crewed Altair, we're going to need a communications network. 

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Orion 6 Block II on Ares V preparing for Munar flyby

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TMI and Flyby

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9.2 G's on re-entry and safe recovery

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Altair on Ares V

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Orion docked to Altair for LKO test

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Ascent module returning to Orion and water landing

Ares V Design points:

Heavy Cargo Lift Vehicle (Ares V) - 10 points (Max 11 points)

  • Five or six liquid engines on first stage (+3)
  • Does not jettison any radial liquid tanks/engines (+2)
  • Uses and jettisons at least two solid fuel boosters on first stage (+1)
  • Two stage rocket to LKO: After the first stage is dropped, the second stage (EDS), carries payload to orbit (+2)
  • Can carry the Earth Departure Stage (EDS) and Orion BLock 1 to low orbit without using any fuel from the EDS (+1)
  • EDS Bonus: Second stage can put Orion Block 1 into Munar free-return trajectory (+2)

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Konstellation + JNSQ - Mun Missions and Departing for Duna

After 5 successful Mun landings, completing the Mun components of this challenge, the Duna mission is well underway. Initially had thought about doing a 'Mars Direct' style mission but just couldn't get it to come together so have gone with a Copernicus-style mission instead. 

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Space Station crew rotation and rescue mission docked to Station

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First Altair Crewed Landing

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Advanced Research Lab Altair and Rovers on North Pole

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Orbital Assembly completed for KOP-1, crew arriving

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Leaving for Duna

 

Edited by Death Engineering
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  • 2 months later...

Konstellation + JNSQ - Mun Missions Complete and a Wild Mountain Drive

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A 9-krew Altair set down in the bottom of a deep crater near a steep cliff. Later, a modified Cargo Altair set down next to it and dropped off a 2 krew pressurized rover. Feeling brave (and noting that F5/F9 is your friend), two kerbs set out on their ascent.

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Amazingly capable rover for just a command pod and four tires!

Next up will be the Duna landing and perhaps the telescope, but does anyone know what the stationary orbit around JNSQ's sun is? I tried to calculate it but...

 

 

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Konstellation + JNSQ - Duna Mission Complete, Krew headed home

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Crew arriving at Duna

While wrapping up the Mun missions, the Duna mission completed their landing and surface stay. The Habitat with re-dockable rover landed near the pre-landed ascent module. The rover didn't have much climbing power, but still managed to make a few ascents for flags and foto ops.

 

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Crew in their Habitat landing near the ascent module

Some strange features on Duna include what appear to be ploughed fields and floating rocks.  Maybe floating rocks are normal KSP or some artifact of JNSQ, but they seemed to be persistently floating not spawned-in.  A flag left behind by the rover expedition remained there after the crew had moved on.

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Bill claims this floating rock in the name of Anti-Gravity Research

The ascent module is a two-stage to orbit for all 6 krew. Maximizing their surface time, the interplanetary craft lit up the nukes and headed home immediately once the krew was on board.

 

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Going home

Probably going to skip the space teleskope, so once the krew makes it back home should wrap up this JNSQ Konstellation mission. Even without the telescope mission, this won't be a maximum points entry, having missed some science points (surface biomes) on Duna. Anyone else up to an upscaled KSP run-through of this challenge?  ;)  I must say that using this platform to explore JNSQ was very rewarding. Not to mention the scale-shock when going back to stock KSP :D

 

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Pre-landing crew transfer (someone forgot a docking port, didn't they?)

 

 

Edited by Death Engineering
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  • 1 month later...

Konstellation + JNSQ - Duna Krew arrives home

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This parting shot leaving Duna wraps up the interplanetary Konstellation missions for this challenge attempt. As mentioned earlier, not going to deploy the 'scope (mostly because I don't know where the orbit would be, haha).

Scoring Pointages:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

This was never going to be a max-points attempt, as the JNSQ scale made some of the requirements a little out of reach without really bending the Constellation hardware parameters. Nevertheless, the added challenge of JNSQ + life support more than made up for the challenge difficulty.

One final shot of our 4 crew returning home..

OQq7SMnm.png

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

@Death EngineeringI refuse to let this challenge die!

New Space Initiative Announced

(October 6, Cape Town, Kerbia, KAP)- The Kerbal Space Program has laid forth an ambitious plan to explore the Mun and Duna. The program, led by Mortimer Kerman, has presented a timeline that calls for using legacy hardware from the successful but limited to local space KSTS program to send a kerballed mission to Duna by year 10. The agency has been plagued by budget...

MORE on page A7

 

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  UPD.

Here!

 

Edited by Clamp-o-Tron
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@Death Engineering I second what @Clamp-o-Tron said. No death for this gem of a challenge!

 

SPACE NEWS
"MUN TO STAY"
KSC TO SEND KERBALS BACK ON THE MUN, THIS TIME WITH A PLAN

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KSC, Jebediah's Junkyard & Spaceship Parts Co. and Kerlington technicians preparing for the official rollout of the two Aries capsule mockups

 

Walter Kerman report -

Following weeks of unconfirmed rumors and comments, this morning we finally had an official communication from the Presidential Science Commitee for Space.
"As the 40th anniversary of our first Munar landing approaches" reads the communiquè "it's clear that space exploration needs a new, well defined target. Once again this will be the Mun, but we will go back there not to simply relive past glories, but as a long term, sustainable exploration program, with a vision for future growth and real returns for all kerbality."
The communiquè carries on describing as the program first aim is to build a transport infrastructure to the Munar surface and to generate knowledge on the resources found there, before moving on to their future exploiting in a possible interplanetary fuel economy. While the plan for the initial landings and exploration is explained in detail, going as far as describing a sprawling Munar base reminiscent of pulp fiction dreams, a passing reference to Duna exploration doesn't shed much light on how will this interplanetary exploration campaign be carried on, or what the final aim would be.
"The program will run on time and on budget, without starving other space scientific research" carries on the message. This last statement was reportedly met by scoffing from the members of the planetary sciences and astronomy communities. Historically, the robotic explorers have always played second fiddle to their more glamorous green colleagues and their daredevil exploits.
A very different reaction came from the representatives of commercial launch companies. While not specifically stated, it can be expected that there might be some commercial contract up for the grabs, especially now that the Spacelab Space Station and her flurry of resupply and crew transport contracts is approaching operational end of life.
As for now there are many question marks over this new space endeavour, but at least one firm point: the project will be named Zodiac, hopefully delivering better results than it's astrological namesake.

 

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Edited by borisperrons
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  • 2 weeks later...

'ello, this is my entry into the challenge

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  • 5 weeks later...
  On 10/7/2020 at 5:36 AM, Clamp-o-Tron said:

New Space Initiative Announced

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  On 10/8/2020 at 10:23 PM, borisperrons said:

"MUN TO STAY"

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  On 10/17/2020 at 3:34 AM, JakGamingKSP said:

'ello, this is my entry into the challenge

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Ahh, I love a Constellation mission! And three people who like this mission profile as much as I do.. haha!  

Welcome newcomers and 'frequent fliers' alike!  :D 

The last time I played KSP (has it been 3 months..?!?), I was playing JNSQ missions to Duna and Edna using Constellation/Copernicus designs. Sure would like to get back to completing that mission some day..

To all my KSP-playing friends still interested in completing this challenge, I am going to have very limited time to look at this site moving forward.  That said, I will get an email in my top-shelf email if someone has a question that isn't covered in the first 24 pages of this thread, or if someone completes the challenge and has a score to add on the OP

Creating this challenge was something I did two jobs ago and what feels like a lifetime, but as long as KSP and this forum are a thing, I'll always try and come back to check on how everyone is doing. 

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