(OLD) The Ultimate Jool-5 Challenge:land Kerbals on all moons and return in one big mission

[ShadowZone]

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ShadowZone, parameciumkid: Yeah, I remember you were working on your missions so don't stop it! You can still send the missions.

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Don't mind if I do

I hereby submit my mission in video form (a little more than 2 hours in total):

KER dV specs should always be visible on the top of the screen.

Mission Craft: "The Joolishka" (all stock except for MechJeb)

Full imgur album.

Written Mission report:

Jebediah, Bob, Domore, Fermal and Roeny Kerman are the chosen ones to fulfill one of the most ambitious missions their space administration has developed: Getting to the outer rim planet Jool, visit all of its 5 moons and return safely back on Kerbin with the science data. For this, the Kerbal Space Program boffins have cooked up a marvelous vehicle that will guide them to their destination: The "Joolishka", a massive rocket that puts more than 6100 tons on the launch pad. With about 14.000 m/s dV it should have enough power to get the crew through their desired mission.

On the launch pad, all 5 crew members waited inside the crew module for the ignition sequence to start. And then it happened: With a might roar the Joolishka rose to the skies!

The vehicle performed outstanding. And after reaching LKO it turned out the penultimate stage of the lifter still had some fuel left. So mission command adapted. They sent their biggest refueling vehicle, the "Refuelus Maximus" up to rendezvous with the "Joolishka". The resupply operation went without a hitch. And the remote drone operators even managed land the refueling vehicle safely in the ocean for recovery.

Then it was time to do the transfer burn to Jool. The onboard computer, who the Kerbals nicknamed MJ, calculated a transfer window that used less than 2000 m/s of dV, so commander Jebediah gave the order to execute the maneuver.

After some long months the crew finally arrived at the big green giant and immediately got to gather some science. Due to the aerobraking maouver they even got some atomspheric readings of Jool.

As luck would have it, the "Joolishka" made a Tylo encounter on the second aerobraking pass. And Tylo, the big bad dark moon of Jool was the first target anyway. Do the brave crew made the necessary adjustments to head to that celestial body. After circularizing the orbit around Tylo it was time to ditch the transfer stage and continue on the main "Joolishka" vehicle.

Now Domore Kerman was in the hot seat. It was the first time the lander vehicle inside the "Joolishka's" cargo bay would be used. It was designed to land on all moons of Jool, with an extra descent stage for Tylo. But after some tense seconds the lander descended softly on Tylo and Domore did his duty by collection science samples from the surface of the moon. And of course planted a flag to commemorate this occasion. With enough dV left in the tanks to get back up into orbit, Domore Kerman did exactly that.

The rendezvous with the "Joolishka" worked out fine and after refueling the lander it was time to transfer to Laythe. It is one of the most beautiful locations to visit in the Kerbol system and since it has an atmosphere is also very easy to get to, since you can perform an aerocapture. Since the mission profile demanded that every landing would be performed by a different pilot, the task fell to Fermal Kerman to enter the lander and head down to the watery surface of Laythe. Everything seemed to go smoothly at first. But then: disaster! Fermal forgot to retract the solar panels of his lander during descent. The reentry heat destroyed the fragile panels and for a second there it seemed like the mission would be in jeopardy. But the engineers back home hat made the lander very reliable and equipped it with a lot of batteries. Just to be safe, Fermal shut down half of them to have a reserve left should the need arise.

Despite the solar panel mishap, Fermal Kerman returned safely from the surface of Laythe and docked with the "Joolishka". After another (boring) refueling operation it was time to do yet another transfer and visit Vall. Roeny Kerman switched places with Fermal, after some angry words about the solar panel, and prepared for descent. Due to amount of dV in the lander and the location of the landing site being close to another Biome, Roeny took a risk and set the lander down again to gather even more science. The risk paid off and the lander ascended safely into orbit and made its rendezvous with the mothership.

After Vall, probably the most tedious transfer of this mission was upon the crew. In order to get to Bop the transfer has to be quite accurate. But with a little help from MJs maneuver node editing capabilities, they managed to get an encounter with the ugly brown dwarf moon. And since they almost sound similar, Bob hat the honor of landing on Bop. Not wanting to let Roeny have all the spotlight, Bob also managed to gather science from two Biomes.

And then it was almost over. Just one more moon awaited the crew and it was Pol. Jebediah Kerman was the chosen pilot to complete the task and complete he did. Of course, being mission commander, Jebediah couldn't do less than Bob or Roeny, so he as well managed to get science from two biomes of Pol. The low surface gravity made it easy for Jeb, almost too easy. There was a short scare after the pilot saw some dangerous looking formations while descending down. Fortunately those surface spikes didn't hurt as much as he feared in the beginning. In fact they didn't hurt at all. So the crew rejoiced once Jeb was back on board. They plotted their return vector end exited the Jool system. Time to go home!

And so the brave crew of five returned home. After a successful aerobraking manouver the Joolishka got into a stable parking orbit above Kerbin. Jebediah, Bob, Roeny, Fermal and Domore Kerman were looking forward to finally head home. But it was not over yet. First they had to deliver their bounty: all of the science they managed to gather from Jool and its moons. In order to do that they detached their science module and sent it on its way down. The crew and ground control watched with trepidation as the lab entered the atmosphere. A sigh of relief was heard when the parachutes opened and the lab splashed down safely in the ocean. The recovery crew immediately picked it up to reap the rewards of this long mission: 20781 science units. Precious data from all of Jool's moons. Marvellous, the boys in the R&D department were elated. So it was time to get down to the surface for the crew. They detached the command module from the main body of the "Joolishka" and started their deorbiting maneuver. Tensions were high as the module dove through the atmosphere, but again all systems worked flawlessly.

And so it came to pass that the grandest mission of them all, the "Jool-5", was completed. But was it, though? That was up for mission command to decide, whether or not the crew managed to meet all required parameters.

Thanks for reading

[parzr]

ShadowZone's mission looks good. I'm still frustrated when no resources are shown. His mission was enough of a plesure to read and even watch (with some skipping) that Ill give it my vote.

[Thunderous Echo]

Question:

Do entries using 1.0's new resource gathering system have to go under the Kethane leaderboard?

[Meithan]

Ziv is the one who has to answer that of course, but I'd say that all challenges such as this one should be temporarily on hold until they are adjusted for 1.0. This update just changed too many things.

[PCanas]

So, stupid me connected the fuel lines in the wrong way. I ended up with massive fuel tanks that won't be used -.- On top of this, the Fuel Core Module and the Propulsion&Energy Module (the 2 modules that will have/use fuel) are already in orbit and docked (with screen shots documenting the whole thing for both modules)

Now... do I have to redesign and launch everything again, or can I just redesign and put it back in orbit with hyper edit? I know HE is not allowed, but since this is to correct a "minor" mistake in a very early stage of main-craft construction, would it be possible?

[sdj64]

If you don't use resource extraction in 1.0, this challenge just got a whole lot harder. With ISP nerfs across the board it will be much harder to land and return from the moons, and big nuclear engine clusters on the motherships will need creative cooling systems to avoid overheating. I'm excited to see the engineering solutions everyone uses to solve these new problems.

PCanas, if you don't mind using TAC fuel balancer or manually pumping the fuel around, you can probably use your current ship. Not sure about this but KAS has fuel lines you can attach on EVA so you can correct the problem in orbit. I think it will be fine to hyperedit for that small change, though.

[Ziv]

So, stupid me connected the fuel lines in the wrong way [...] can I just redesign and put it back in orbit with hyper edit? I know HE is not allowed, but since this is to correct a "minor" mistake in a very early stage of main-craft construction, would it be possible?

Well, when I made this challenge I imagined a mission with everything as it would be in real life. So, very hard but very rewarding in case of success. So a "minor" mistake like this would make a Space Program to start the mission again (if they have enough money)...

But otherwise I want it to be fun too, that's the final reason playing KSP anyway. Let's say Kerbals can correct it in an EVA, but don't make it a habit.

- - - Updated - - -

parzr: your mission looks awesome! Those are really big "landers"!

ShadowZone: Wow, I really like that cargo bay solution!

- - - Updated - - -

ANNOUNCEMENT:

THE JOOL-5 CHALLENGE will be closed down soon.

With the big changes to 1.0 I've decided to close it soon because unfortunately I don't have enough time to run it...

And it would need an overhaul anyway.

So if anybody feels like running a new JOOL-5 Challenge then go for it! If it will be a well-run one then I would be happy to hand over the badge too (or make a similar one and this one will go into the "Historic Missions" secion... )

What do you think guys?

[sjp]

With the big changes to 1.0 I've decided to close it soon because unfortunately I don't have enough time to run it...

And it would need an overhaul anyway.

So if anybody feels like running a new JOOL-5 Challenge then go for it! If it will be a well-run one then I would be happy to hand over the badge too (or make a similar one and this one will go into the "Historic Missions" secion... )

What do you think guys?

OMG ! I'm right in the middle of my 'documented' run of the challenge having done it twice in 'test' mode to iron out all the bugs. Tell me I have a few days to get it done !!

[HANNIBALLA]

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THE JOOL-5 CHALLENGE will be closed down soon.

With the big changes to 1.0 I've decided to close it soon because unfortunately I don't have enough time to run it...

And it would need an overhaul anyway.

So if anybody feels like running a new JOOL-5 Challenge then go for it! If it will be a well-run one then I would be happy to hand over the badge too (or make a similar one and this one will go into the "Historic Missions" secion... )

What do you think guys?

If you do close the challenge, make sure who ever you chose to do the next one is up to it. In the meantime I'm around to judge any of the final entries. I need one more for my judge's badge lol.

Just finished reviewing parzr's entry. The dv/fuel numbers all add up. It is a successful entry into the Jool 5 challenge.

Edited April 28, 2015 by HANNIBALLA
Added parzr's review.

[parzr]

You've obviously run the most popular challenge Ziv. don't feel bad that your life has to move on and up

Maybe you can just give a history of where the challenge started, where it went and let it govern itself as a place to post our epic journeys to Jool and beyond.

[Ziv]

You've obviously run the most popular challenge Ziv. don't feel bad that your life has to move on and up

Maybe you can just give a history of where the challenge started, where it went and let it govern itself as a place to post our epic journeys to Jool and beyond.

Thanks! Yeah, I would be sad to close it completely! I saw at The Eve Rocks Challenge that it's governing itself now. I see two problem with possible solutions:

1. the mission links won't appear on the first page so it's not so much of a "gold mine" anymore.

solution: I'll be around and if you post me a message with the new entries in the format of "name (version, mods, highlights, link)" then I'll be happy to link them to the Hall of Fame, about once a week.

2. cheating might be easier if nobody is strict enough to find/point out it.

solution: be strict! Keep the quality high!

[Red Iron Crown]

Ziv, I can help with #1 as well by using moderator privileges to edit your original post as required if you're not around, if you would like.

I'm weaker on #2, you have caught some shenanigans in entries that I would surely have missed.

[Ziv]

Awesome! Sure, feel free to edit the Hall of Fame when it will be necessary.

[sdj64]

I could run a continuation of this challenge for 1.0 in a new thread. It would link back to here, obviously, and anyone still on 0.90 could finish, post here, and have it peer reviewed.

Is that okay with you, Ziv? I don't want to start a continuation without your approval.

[parzr]

You could just make a "post 1.0 hall of fame" at the bottom of the OP too and just give it the disclaimer. Its almost like a cross over of a discussion thread but its still a challenge that will be loosely moderated so shouldn't change its location

- - - Updated - - -

I could run a continuation of this challenge for 1.0 in a new thread. It would link back to here, obviously, and anyone still on 0.90 could finish, post here, and have it peer reviewed.

Is that okay with you, Ziv? I don't want to start a continuation without your approval.

Sorry, in my haste to answer Ziv I didn't read this. that doesn't sound bad either if you want the job. honestly im impressed with the amount of work Ziv put into this one.

[sjp]

Well, I finished the mission, now I just need to write it up - 150 screen shots, 8 years of travel...missed the pad by 70m

[vinster7]

Hm... Imagine if someone did a purely IVA mission. They would use RasterPropMoniter and optionally VesselViewer... That would be awesome.

[Ziv]

Hm... Imagine if someone did a purely IVA mission. They would use RasterPropMoniter and optionally VesselViewer... That would be awesome.

I did a Mun and Minmus landing in one mission within the ALCOR capsule, purely with IVA (except when I went on EVA ). I was thinking about doing the JOOL-5, the main problem is some information cannot be seen from the inside like phase angles between the planets, or if the orbital planes matches. And you can't really plan your maneuvers but just to do (try) it... so that would be an awesome achievement to do that all real-life. Also without quicksave, of course!

[Thunderous Echo]

...some information cannot be seen from the inside like phase angles between the planets, or if the orbital planes matches. And you can't really plan your maneuvers...

If you open a separate copy of KSP, you can plan your manuevers from there, and then match the UT and execute the maneuver in the original copy.

[sjp]

Ok, with excitement, and good deal of trepidation, I submit my completely inefficient, inelegant, majorly over-massed, slow, Jool 5 Mission.

KSP 0.90 - Mechjeb, Connected Living System (forgot it was installed, not much use on a 1 lander ship), Kerbal Alarm Clock, and thats about it.

Imgur link is http://imgur.com/gallery/3YOQd/new - Each picture has descriptive text around the burns and so on.

Now I might actually be able to install 1.x and see what all the fuss is about !!

[HANNIBALLA]

Ok, with excitement, and good deal of trepidation, I submit my completely inefficient, inelegant, majorly over-massed, slow, Jool 5 Mission.

KSP 0.90 - Mechjeb, Connected Living System (forgot it was installed, not much use on a 1 lander ship), Kerbal Alarm Clock, and thats about it.

Imgur link is http://imgur.com/gallery/3YOQd/new - Each picture has descriptive text around the burns and so on.

Now I might actually be able to install 1.x and see what all the fuss is about !!

I've reviewed your entry. Large ship, tons of nukes, all pretty standard. Your lander was really cool, and you barely made it in to Laythe Orbit. All of the dv stats added up, you put a lot of specific details into your imgur gallery.

This meets all the requirments for a Jool 5 challenge. Nicely done!

BTW Ziv, that's 3 reviews I've done. Can I still get my judge's badge?

[sjp]

I've reviewed your entry. Large ship, tons of nukes, all pretty standard. Your lander was really cool, and you barely made it in to Laythe Orbit. All of the dv stats added up, you put a lot of specific details into your imgur gallery.

This meets all the requirments for a Jool 5 challenge. Nicely done!

Thanks Hanniballa !

Now I can install 1.x and do it all over again !

[gigaboom2]

Is this still open for 1.0? I want to be the first one.

[heng]

I assume the spirit of the challenge would forbid us to bring mining equipment? Even if it is stock as of v1.0?

[parzr]

Is this still open for 1.0? I want to be the first one.

Its not the same challenge as before. Ziv is bowing out as it is anyway. We figured this could be a place to post links to our achievements until someone starts a new one.