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

[Ziv]

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THIS CHALLENGE IS CONTINUED BY SDJ64 HERE!

THE ULTIMATE JOOL-5 CHALLENGE

After several years of Space Exploration Kerbals have gained a lot of experience in building and blasting rockets, spaceships, stations, and landing on other bodies. The government started to look for other fun stuff to support so they want to cut the Kerbal Space Progam fundings. but there is still one huge thing to do: they still haven't landed on any of the Jool moons!

Jebediah called a meeting with the other Kerbonauts and engineers. In face of funding cuts, they have to reduce the number of missions. And so they have found only one solution:

To execute one giant mission, the bravest and craziest of all time, in which they will land on all the moons and come back in one!

Many of the less crazy engineers and sane common Kerbals immediately started to proclaim that this is impossible, even with the bravest and most stupid Kerbonauts and engineers. This idea gained a lot of interest and attention in the public and even in the government. Jebediah and the others realized that with this new, huge publicity the Space Program may be saved and they can continue to do what they love the best! They started to think about the details of this enormous mission...

CHALLENGE RULES

Given the size of this challenge, everybody is a winner and saves the Kerbal Space Program who executes this mission successfully.

(Read the rules carefully because I'm strict about them!)

1. No cheating (and I mean it. I already disqualified some entries! One example here, and an other one here).

2. No part-clipping. No clipping of pods, tanks, engines or wings into each other at all. Adapters and small part clippings are okay (cubic struts, RTG, body parts without function).

3. you can hack science points and funds in a new savegame to have all the parts and have enough money to go for the mission.

4. Unlimited launches are allowed to Kerbin orbit to put the main ship together but this is also part of the challenge and has to be documented well. No hyperedit!

5. There's funding for one main ship only so all the crew, lander(s) and other stuff has to go to Jool as one big ship.

6. No seats are allowed for the interplanetary journeys but they are okay in the Jool System.

7. Later one refueling mission may be acceptable if needed. It has to be flown all the way and documented well too. A refueling mission sounds bad, try to avoid that!

8. All the landings have to include a spacewalk on the surface too, so double check your ladders for Laythe and Tylo!

9. All the Kerbals have to arrive back to Kerbin surface at the end, happy and alive.

10. Mods:

Permitted part mods: (check for compatibility before you install them!)

- Modular Rocket Systems

- LRA Stockalike

- SpaceY

- NovaPunch

- KW Rocketry

- SpacePlane Plus

- B9 Aerospace Pack, except all the big HX parts, the rocket/hybrid engines, and Crew Tanks cannot be used for piloting a vehicle.

- Procedural Fairings

- Kerbonov Kn-2

- KAS (but only the stock struts are allowed to be used!)

- Habitat Pack

- SCANSat (but no additional science points from the scan, has to be divided at the end!)

- DMagic Orbital Science (but no additional science points from this mod, it has to be divided at the end!)

- TAC life support

- attachable external lights

- attachable external camera mods

- FAR or NEAR Aerodynamics Model

- Deadly Reentry

Prohibited part mods: (some of them are awesome but too advanced over the stock or would make comparing the missions/science points too hard)

- Kethane

- Karbonite

- Infernal Robotics

- Extraplanetary launchpads

- Near Future Technologies

- KSP Interstellar

- Lack Luster Labs (LLL&SXT)

- USI Kolonization System

- Kerbin Shuttle Orbiter Systems

- FASA

- Firespitter

- Station Science

- Tantares

- Wayland Corp.

...Do you think something else should be on these lists too? Let me know, with link!

- Any other part mods are prohibited, except if you asked me before your mission and I permitted it.

- MechJeb is permitted. Also any helpful mod is accepted which doesn't add parts and doesn't change the physics (information mods, alarm clocks, enhanced navballs, docking cams, texture replacers, clouds, protractor, fuel balancer, chatterer, etc).

ENTRY SUBMISSION RULES

11. This challenge is peer reviewed which means you have to submit your mission into the Mission reports first, then link it here. Then people will check your mission and write reviews/feedbacks in your mission report blog. Anybody can be a judge at this point and at least three positive feedback is needed. If nobody finds any cheating then I'll accept it and post it here into the Hall of Fame!

12. write a short list of highlights of your mission which are worth to mention (as it is now in the Hall of Fame) after every entry. I will copy this there if your mission is accepted.

13. No picture and it didn't happen! And beside the nice pictures, you have to show pictures AND data (fuel, deltaV, etc) about all the key moments of the mission (launch(es) and the optional orbital building, dockings, moving in the Jool System, landings and getting backs, refueling mission, science points, etc).

People will also track back your fuel consumption, refueling and delta-V's and will need these data from your mission so post pictures where every informative window is open too.

14. if you just barely did something (like landing on Tylo with a low TWR, for example) then post more pictures about that heroic part of the mission so everybody can be sure it really happened as you say! If the doubt is strong I may ask for your craft file to test it.

15. If you finished the mission, please post information and pictures with some additional statistics:

- Which game versions did you use?

- What mods did you use, if any?

- How many Kerbals are on the mission?

- How many launches was needed to start your mission from Kerbal?

- Did you needed a refueling mission?

- Did you bring a Living Quarter (Hitch-hiker's Storage) for the guys during the long journey?

- Did you bring additional stuff like satellites, rovers, etc?

- Share the delta-V informations too, if you tracked it!

- Any additional note or description?

+1. please be nice to those with limited internet or reading from mobile devices: convert your PNGs to JPGs (80-90% JPG quality will look very nice at 1/10th of the PNG's file size!)

One more emphasizing of the rules, read it carefully if you want to be sure that you will not be disqualified!

THERE ARE SOME LEVELS OF WINNING:

1ST LEVEL: one Kerbonaut lands on all the moons and come back safely.

-> There is a low-mass sub-challenge for level 1: click here for the details!

2ND LEVEL: two or three Kerbonauts land on all the moons and come back safely.

3RD LEVEL: There's not enough time left for training one crew for all the moon landings, so five Kerbonauts go to the mission and each are trained to land on one moon and come back safely.

JEBEDIAH'S LEVEL: (be careful, works with Career Mode only!)

To make this mission the most useful the Kerbals want to collect as much science as possible. There are two ways for this:

- version 1: bringing a Science Package for each moon (5 for the mission) and bring them back to Kerbin surface. They must contain at least one Mistery Goo, SC-9001 material lab, Double-C seismic accelerometer, GRAVMAX, 2HOT Thermometer... and PresMat Barometer and the Sensor Array Nose Cone for Laythe.

- version 2: The same Science Package is required (with the PresMat + SensorArray for Laythe too), but they can be reused and a Mobile Lab will be used for collecting and processing the results. The Mobile Lab should contain all the science made and has to be brought back to Kerbin's surface.

- Only those Science points counts which are from the Jool System. You con go to other worlds too but those will be divided.

- Only those Science Points count which are from landed back at Kerbin. No transmitting!

- There's not enough time left for training one Kerbal for all the moon landings, so (at least) five Kerbonauts are needed for the mission because each of them are trained for piloting and doing science on his specified moon. They can use the same lander at every moon. There can be more Kerbals during the landing as passengers, of course.

- All Kerbals have to come back to Kerbin alive and happy.

I added some thoughts about the Challenge later, read it here

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ADDITIONAL ADVICES:

- Double check your ladder! If you can't get back into the ship on Laythe or Tylo then your mission is over!

- Check your fuel lines because you can't repair it in-flight!

SOME HELPFUL LINK AND INFORMATION:

SOIs of the moons and safe orbits around Jool:

(orbit, SOI, inside, outside)

Laythe: 21184, 3742, 17442, 24926

Vall: 37152, 2406, 34746, 39558

Tylo: 62500, 10857, 51643, 73357

- DeltaV stats of Ziv's first mission

- Check list during ship planning and building by Ziv

- informations about science data collecting by Kasuha

- Aerobraking heights for different orbital speeds at Jool

- Landing and takeoff DeltaV vs. TWR and Ips graph (for zero altitude, so always add some more for deorbiting/reorbiting!)

WELL, now this Big Announcement is in the Kerbal News, all the public is excited about this mission and even the Government is watching! Now it's up to you, to the engineers and to the bravest and craziest Kerbonauts of all time!

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Everybody who finished the JOOL-5 Challenge can add this badge to his/her reputation:

THE JOOL-5 CHALLENGE IS ACCOMPLISHED BY:

1ST LEVEL:

- Ziv (0.22, mods: MechJeb, one launch, little lander with Command Seat only, also visited Dres, Duna, Ike and Mun too, [All the pictures], From KSC to Laythe, Vall - Tylo, Bop - Pol - Dres, Duna - Ike - Mun)

- Mesklin (0.22, no mods, one launch, 400t and 191 parts in KLO, no jets, from outer moons to inner moons, Pictures)

- SSSPutnik (0.22, mods: MechJeb, KW Rocketry, multiple launches, no jets, one big one-stage lander for every moon, Pictures)

- jacobgong (Wanted to go for Jebediah's Level but only one Kerbal was on the mission, 0.23, mods: MechJeb, one launch, no jets, no picture from Tylo surface, 9267.4 science points recovered at Kerbin, infos+pictures)

- godefroi (0.23.5, mods: MechJeb, VOID, single launch, no refueling, Laythe aerobrake, landing back at KSC, 2570 science points, Pictures)

- Kasuha (WITH A SPACEPLANE!, all landings were made horizontally, even on Tylo!, 0.23.5, no mods, one launch and no refueling, no orbital space debris, tricky solution to get the Kerbal on the ground on Tylo and Laythe, landed back at KSC, pictures here)

- Stratzenblitz75 (WITH A GRAND TOUR!, 0.23.5, mods: KER only, one launch, landed on all bodies in the Kerbol system, mission log here)

- NecroBones (0.23.5, mods: MechJeb + KAS struts, Huge main ship, two Kerbals on the mission and one Kerbal at landings, space tug, visited old landing sites at Pol and Bop, landed on Dres, Mun and Minmus too, ~1988 science points collected too, pictures here)

- Norcalplanner (0.23.5, multiple launches, three Kerbals on the mission, very detailed mission log, one universal lander with stages at Tylo, landed back at KSC, 5224.9 science points collected. Mission log here)

- Vlk (0.24.2, no mods, multiple launches, four Kerbals on the mission, two landers, one lander with a tug went to Laythe/Bop/Pol, Hitch-hiker unit, Science Lab and 1932 science collected, the lander used sepratons when landing on back Kerbin, picture here)

- SuperSecret (0.23.5, no mods, one launch, three minimalistic external seat landers (Laythe, Tylo, Vall + Bop + Pol), pictures here)

- totalitor (0.24.2, mods: Mechjeb, one launch, heavily staged main ship, one staged lander for all the landings, Tylo landing was the last where the lander was staged, EVA landing on Pol, pictures here)

- Exile (0.24.2, mods: MechJeb and colored omni lights from B9, two little sky-crane type scout rovers, one landed on Laythe but the other was discarded around Tylo, one nuclear lander with staged wings and jets for Laythe, Laythe and Vall landings in one go, EVA landing at Bop, also landed on Duna and Mun, arrived back to KSC, pictures here)

- Meithan (0.24.2, mods: MechJeb and some visual mods, two launches, modular lander with one mk1 pod, very well documented delta-V chart and mission log, nice pictures here)

- hazard-ish (0.24.2, no mods, one launch, without quick save, low-mass Laythe/Tylo landers, landed on Vall with the main ship!, EVA landings on Bop and Pol, videos here)

- PLAD (0.24.2, mods: MechJeb, one launch, 197 tons on the launch pad, very highly optimized low-deltaV and low-mass mission with 22 flybys, Jet for Laythe, lander went back to Kerbin and made a powered landing, pictures here)

- EdwardKu (0.25?, mods: MechJeb, multiple launches, 3 Kerbals on the mission with a one-person lander, plane for Laythe, Tylo lander landed "during" an asparagus stage, space tug to bring landers from Laythe to other moons, pictures here)

- Krovster (0.25?, mods: KER, one launch, powered landing on Laythe, forgot the ladder but was lucky enough to be able to get back into the pod by jumping+jetpack on Tylo too, pictures here)

- lirg03 (0.25, mods: KER, GRAND TOUR!, single launch, Jebediah landed on all the bodies in the system, parallel ships, upfront refueling vehicle for Jool, pictures here)

- Thunderous Echo (0.9, no mods, minimalistic and unique ship design, seat-lander for the bigger moons with a space tug, EVA landing on Bop and Pol, run out of fuel when starting back so left the ship and spacewalked all the way back to Kerbin (rules changed since!), EVA-aerobraked into orbit and a rescue ship get him down, video here)

- Nik333 (0.90, mods: KER only, multiple launches, 447t in LKO, no refueling, two kerbals (Jeb for Laythe/Tylo, Bill for rest), 3 single-seat landers, few short video reports, report here)

- John FX (0.90?, mods: MechJeb, FAR, DRE, multiple launches, big main ship, 5 Kerbals within an ALCOR module, docking tug and a smaller tug for bringing the lander to the moons, hybrid engine and wings for Laythe lander (pilot: Bill), other lander piloted by Jeb for the other moons, report here)

1ST LEVEL LOW-MASS SUB-CHALLENGE: (lowest mass on the launch pad wins, read the rules here)

- Mesklin (0.24.2, 5.433 tons with Jets, ion and EVA, pictures here)

- chicknblender (0.23.5, 5.822 tons with Jets, ion and EVA, pictures here, details)

- HANNIBALLA (0.9, 7.556 tons with Jets, ion and EVA, mission report here)

- DBowman (0.25, 7.602 tons with Jets and ion, no atmospheric command seat, pictures here)

- Ziv (0.23.5, 9.983 tons with Jet, ion and EVA, also landed on Eeloo, Dres, Duna, Ike, Mun, Gilly, Moho and Minmus, 26213.8 science points collected, pictures here)

- davidparks21 (0.24.2, 13.565 tons with Jets and ion but no EVA, no atmospheric command seat, pictures here)

- Mike the Mechanic (0.23, 31.355 tons with Jets, pictures here)

- immelman (0.23, 37.242 tons with Jets, pictures here)

- HANNIBALLA (0.9, 37.359 tons with Hybrid engine and ion, pictures here)

- Mesklin (0.23, 50.919 tons with Jets, pictures here)

- dualmaster (0.23, 50.969 tons with Jets, landed on Duna too, pictures here)

- sdj64 (0.23, 55.953 tons Plane, pictures here)

- immelman (0.23, 102.444 tons with Jets, pictures here)

- sullivap (0.23, 128.981 tons with Jets, pictures here)

- Mesklin (0.23, 144.220 tons with Jets, pictures here)

- Jasonden (0.23, 724.232 tons without Jets, pictures here)

2ND LEVEL:

- Vaebn (0.22, mods: MechJeb, two Kerbals, multiple launches, no refueling, one universal nuclear lander, one hitch-hiker unit for each Kerbal, Plans, Fuel tanks launch, Pictures)

- Cupcake... (0.23?, mods: MechJeb, two Kerbals, one launch and no refueling, numerous creative solution, rovers!, funny movies!, movies)

- teh_orph (0.23?, mods: MechJeb, three Kerbals, Command Seats only, one launch, ION engines!, problem at Tylo and a rescue mission, one RAPIER/nuke engine, landed on Ike, visited Gilly but couldn't stop, landed on Mun and Minmus, KSC landing,

pictures)

- James_Eh (0.23.5, mods: MechJeb, multiple launches and no refueling, 6 Kerbals on the mission, 2 on each landing, Hitch-hiker Room too, huge main ship, big and massive landers, pictures)

- Rakaydos (0.23.5, mods: MechJeb and stock rebalance, one launch and no refueling, HUGE ship, one big lander and a tug for docking, strange solution later with mixed engines for the main ship, lander refueled using the claws , pictures here)

- DeepSpaceDutch (0.23.5, mods: MechJeb, multiple launches and no refueling, simple staged mothership + an odd-looking lander, funny comments, pictures here)

- JayKay (0.23.5, mods: MechJeb, multiple launches and no refueling, 7 Kerbals, big ship with two landers /nice ladder solution/, multiple space tugs and a lot of additional features like probes, Cupola, landable habitat module, etc. also science was collected!, mission log here)

- Lou (0.9, no mods, one huge launch with orange tanks only, Tylo landing with a rover on top as the last stage which was used to go to Laythe and parachute landing there, main ship lands on Laythe close to them and they roll there with the rover, then it's a staged one-ship only mission with ion for the two small moons, no dockings at all, picture here)

3RD LEVEL:

- ttnarg (0.22, no mods, single launch, no refueling, visited Eeloo, Dres and Ike too, /almost/ zero space debris was left behind, first plans, all the pictures)

- 700NitroXpress (0.22, no mods, big main ship, many problems and rescue missions, refueled on the way back home, wanted to land on KSC runway but crashed, all the Kerbonauts died. R.I.P., video: Launch and Laythe + rescue, video: Vall and Tylo + rescue mission, video: Bop, Pol and return)

- chlue (0.23, mods: MechJeb+others, multiple launches, well designed nuke engine placings, great simplicity and very little part count, very few pictures, only some pictures)

- Mr.Rocket (0.23, used various mods, painted the ships which made them look unique, multiple launches and lot of refueling missions with some of them went astray , pictures)

- Speeding Mullet (0.23, two launches, one refueling, mostly stock parts with LLL seats on Tylo, big long-range communication dish, space for a lot of Kerbals, six onboard, four landed at every moon, pictures)

- 8MMW (0.23.5, one launch and no refueling, cupola on the front, one staged universal lander, pictures here)

- technion (0.23.5, mods: DRE and FAR, multiple launches, no refueling, no aerobrakes because of DRE, 5371.7 science points collected, pictures here)

- Pamynx (0.24.2, mods: MechJeb, one launch and no refueling, 7 (!) lander with two little ion lander as spares or for emergency, all lander became ion-driven at the last stage, plane at Laythe, the Bop/Pol landers were ion-driven only, one of the spare ion lander had to be used as a rescue pod for the Bop lander, Cupola on the main ship, pictures here)

- Hattivat (0.24.2, mods: KER, two launches and no refueling, main ship with science lab and a lander, additional stage for Tylo descent, went to Eeloo too, pictures here)

- Ravenchant (0.24.2, no mods, multiple launches and no refueling, very creative main ship and landers, 3 Kerbals and a living quarter and a rover to Laythe, 3 Kerbals on Tylo, two Kerbals and a rover on Vall with monopropellant only, 2-2 Kerbals on Bop and Pol with experiment pallets, an MMU for main ship inspection, pictures here)

- EdFred (0.25, did it twice because at first there were not enough pictures, mods: MechJeb and KER, one launch and no refueling, 6 (?) Kerbals, parallel landings on the moons, two Kerbal for Tylo landing, meet in Laythe orbit, no docking at all, pictures here)

- Vaporo (0.24.2, mods: MechJeb, one launch and no refueling, crazy big main ship with lot of struts, B9 plane for Laythe, staged nuke lander for Tylo, Bop and Pol made together with a tug-ship, all the lander's last stages are brought back to Kerbin, landing with the Laythe plane, pictures here)

- sdj64 (0.25, mods: KER, one launch and no refueling, 10 Kerbals on the mission and 2 on each landing, stylish main ship with heat shield and docking bay, plane for Laythe, moon tug and minimalistic lander, pictures here)

- Batz_10K (0.25.2/0.90, mods: KER, multiple launches, aircraft-carrier like main ship with three spaceplanes, hydroplane solution for Laythe, modified VTOL-like spaceplane landing on Tylo, spaceplane landings on the other moons too, picture here)

- raygundan (0.9, mods: MechJeb, ion-driven main ship launched in an SSTO cargo bay, main ship had very low TWR, small low-mass landers, SSTO return at Kerbin, pictures here)

- purpleivan (0.9, mods: aesthetics only, one launch only, main ship into orbit between moons, three rocket lander for the bigger moons and ion landers as return vehicles to main ship and landers too, good ships distribution, detailed mission report here)

JEBEDIAH'S LEVEL:

- Ziv (0.22, mods: MechJeb, FAR, B9 - multiple launches, 2x refueling, 8684 science points at the end, First experiences and Laythe, Tylo, Finished and more details about the ship, Delta-V stats)

- Space Viking (0.22, no mods, multiple launches, no refueling?, only 2901 science points because already have been to some places, first plans, Second plans, Pictures)

- dawg (0.22, mods: MechJeb, multiple launches, refueled, 9609.1 science points but no picture proof, First plans, Pictures)

- Mesklin (0.22, two Kerbals per moon, mods: MechJeb, multiple launches, refueled, soft landing at Kerbin, 12330.3 science points, first plans, part 1, all done, Vall Tylo Bop Pol, Pol and Duna/Ike)

- Kasuha (0.23, no mods, multiple launch, no refueling, zero space debris, one lander is the main engine too, landing at Kerbin in three pieces, 8524 science points, pictures)

- sdj64 (0.23, mods: Kerbal Engineer, one launch /2500 tons!/, no refueling, 2 hitchhiker modules for 6 Kerbals, Jool probe, tall lander, 10902.7 science points from returned experiments, Module Lab was used, pictures)

- Alpheratz (0.23, mods: MechJeb, two launches, no refueling, no hitch-hiker unit, highly modular and optimized ship, unique exchangable nuclear engines, landers with pod at the bottom, 6947.3 science points, pictures)

- Mobjack (0.23, mods: KER, multiple launches, no refueling, main ship stayed in Vall orbit, one Kerbal on all moon at the same time, huge mess back at Vall with opposite orbits and landers helping on other landers, 8800 science points, Pictures 1, Pictures 2)

- kookoo_gr (0.23?, mods: KER+infos, multiple launches, one refueling, very long main ship, RCS-helped orbit at Tylo, RCS lander at Pol, 8838 science points recovered, pictures)

- Norcurion (0.23, MechJeb, multiple launches, no refueling, 8 Kerbals on the mission, Science Lab, Modular Lander, little plane for Laythe, landed on Ike, Duna and Minmus too, 17898 science points from JOOL /24849 total/, Mobile Lab didn't landed back at Kerbin, pictures)

- zeppelinmage (0.23, no mods, multiple launches, one refuel/lander repair mission, 6 Kerbals, 7238.7 science points, nice Mobile Lab lander mission for my request , pictures)

- jmanidb (0.23,MechJeb, multiple launches, no refueling, Science Lab, 9803,7 science points, pictures)

- SV-ESK (0.23, stock parts with lot of informative mods, runway launches with a reusable spaceplane-tug!, no refueling, lot of gravity assists, 8 Kerbals on the mission and two per landings, EVA-assisted Bop/Pol landings, the Mobile Lab and two Hitch-hiker Container landed on the runway!, 20889.7 Science Points, pictures)

- Patupi (0.23.5, mods: MechJeb, multiple launch and one refueling, huge main ship and one huge lander with four command seats, rescue suborbital docking at Laythe and Tylo too, 10189.1 science points collected, Mission Log here)

- hsteffano (0.23.5, no mods!, space plane for Laythe and landed on the south pole, big lander for Tylo, on the way home it refueled at Duna from an abandoned ship, 16341.8 science points from Jool and 1397.8 points from Duna/Ike, pictures here)

- bobcook (0.23.5, mods: MechJeb, multiple launches and no refueling, huge main ship, 6 Kerbals on the way and 2 for each landing, four Hitch-hiker Storage for comfortable space for them, five separate lander, all brought back to Kerbin surface with the Science Packages, some problem during the return trip with a smart solution, 12435 science points collected, pictures here)

- Kadrian (0.23.5, mods: KER, single launch and no refueling, HUGE main ship and the lander had an orange tank too for the three bigger moons, a lot of science instrument, 17271 science points earned, pictures here)

- parzr (0.23.5, mods: MechJeb, single HUGE launch with 9000+ tons and no refueling, huge lander at the beginning with SRBs used to depart fromLaythe, later after Tylo the lander became smaller again, a Hitch-Hiker Unit and the Science Lab landed on every moon with 6 Kerbals, landed back at the Launch Pad on Kerbin, 20609.2 science points collected, pictures here)

- MiniMatt (0.24, mods: KER, one launch and no refueling, drunken mission commander, unique modular lander with a cockpit and with wings for Laythe, little (too weak) ion tug for orbital operations, Science Lab returned, 17291 science gathered, well written mission log here)

- Laie (0.24, mods: MechJeb, multiple launches and no refueling, nice Science Lab landing rover solution, Science Lab plane for Laythe, 22726.2 science points collected in Jool SOI and 880 from high above the sun, pictures here)

- SkyRex94 (0.24.2, mods: MechJeb, one launch and no refueling, 7 Kerbals, HH-unit, heavily modular lander with 3 Kerbals landing everywhere, science from Jool atmoshpere too, a lot of science experiment everywhere, science may be maxed out with 25031,7 Science Points, pictures here)

- Luovahulluus (0.24, mods: KER+procedural wings, three launches and no refueling, HH+Lab, Laythe plane, modular lander with ion-driven command pod, 2 Kerbals on all the landings with one sitting on a seat outside, 15343.8 science collected, pictures here)

- Overfloater (0.24, no mods!, single launch and no refueling, one universal tall double-nuke lander and a main ship, no space junk, landings at easter eggs without any mod, also landed on Duna, Ike, Mun and Minmus, 10755 science points collected, pictures here)

- DaMichel (0.24, mods: KER, FAR+DRE, SpacePlane Plus, multiple launches and no refueling, creative VTOL Laythe plane, unique solution at the lander, tug with mk1 capsule for more comfort, 17372 science points collected, pictures here)

- Gravaar (0.24.2, mods: MechJeb, one HUGE launch with 25978.7 tons and 1112 parts count on the launch pad, no refueling, crew capacity 11, crew count 8, fixed fuel depot between Vall and Tylo, huge tug, huge Tylo lander, landing on Pol together with the tug too, parachute+lithobraking back at Kerbin, 3532 science points, pictures here)

- sullivap (0.25, mods: MechJeb, 3 launches and no refueling, Tylo tug+lander separated before Jool aerobrake, main ship with a smaller lander, jets for Laythe, main ship was never in orbit around Tylo, 12519.9 science points collectec, pictures here)

- redsh (0.9, mods: MechJeb, 3 launches, 7 Kerbonauts, two planes for Laythe and one visited the ice caps too, rover for Tylo and 420 km driven on surface, many biomes visited, 49007.4 science points, pictures here)

- astrobond (0.9, mods: KER, one launch with a reusable SSTO lifter, 6 Kerbals, compact mothership and a modular lander, 6 satellites /one went astray/, almost all the mothership was landed back on Kerbin, pictures here)

- Sqwazare (0.9, mods: KER and MechJeb, multiple launches and a refueling mission, Huge main ship and 12 Kerbals, ships divided at Jool, two Kerbals landed on all moons with three different lander, Laythe lander was huge as it used empty fuel tanks as floating legs, well documented, pictures here)

- parzr (0.9, mods: MechJeb and TAC fuel, single launch, 10 Kerbals, big station which landed on all the moons too with all the Kerbals and with a rover too, description and picture here)

- ShadowZone (0.9, mods: KER, multiple launches /refueling before go/, HUGE main ship, big cargo bay with the lander and the science lab, the crew returned to Kerbin surface in the command pod and the science lab separately with parachutes, details, pictures and videos here)

JEBEDIAH'S LEVEL + GRAND TOUR:

Himynameisjake completed an ABSOLUTELY EPIC Jebediah's level mission with landing on all the other bodies too, so I guess he lifted it to a whole new level... feel free to challenge him, if you have all the experience and skill!

- Himynameisjake (GRAND TOUR, 0.23?, mods: MechJeb, multiple launches, no refueling, 28,532.9 science points alltogether)

Mission Log here

- Stratzenblitz75 (GRAND TOUR, 0.23.5, mods: KER, one launch and no refueling, 42,981 science points collected)

Mission Log here

- kookoo_gr (GRAND TOUR, 0.24.2, multiple launches and no refueling, stock parts and some informative mods, well documented, 45405.9 science points collected)

Mission Log here

- Thunderous Echo (GRAND TOUR, 0.24, no mods, multiple launches and no refueling, modular ship and landers, ion driven rover for Laythe, 8580 science points)

Videos here

MIXED SOLUTIONS (they just wanted to go on their way):

- Daffit (0.22, one science unit and multiple Kerbals with random landings, multiple launches, no refueling(?), satellites too, Pictures)

- technion (0.23 with science gathering into the main capsule, three Kerbals, five different lander, Laythe lander with jet-rocket, Jool probe, unknown science points, pictures)

- SSSPutnik (0.23, mods: LLL, MechJeb and others, big Expedition-style ship with greenhouse, artificial gravity living quarter, multiple launch, no refueling!, pictures)

- 5thHorseman (0.23.5, mods: KER, mutliple launches and changing the main ship during the mission, very modular main ship with a lot of Mk1 and docking, space plane for Laythe, had a space tug too, science collected,

)

- Pamynx (0.24.2, mods: MechJeb, good-looking huge main ship, parallel landing attempts, the Tylo lander failed and Munzer Kerman died, pictures here)

- trevize1138 (0.9, no mods, single launch, landers in a cargo bay, jet lander for Laythe, have some part clipping in the landers, pictures here)

Edited December 5, 2021 by Gargamel
Edited title

[Ziv]

THE KETHANE EXPEDITION:

A new, special resource was discovered throughout the Kerbal System just when the JOOL-5 mission has got green lights... and scientists proposed it could be used for generating fuel!

RULES:

- no cheating

- Everything has to go from Kerbal orbit to Jool as one big ship. Sending additional ships later is strictly prohibited (or will go to the Freestyle version)

- You have to land at least one Kerbal on every moons of Jool (not simultaneously)

- You have to mine Kethane at least once during the mission

- MechJeb and other informative or non-part mods are accepted

- allowed part mods: KAS, NovaPunch, KW Rocketry, B9, LLL. Ask me if you would like to use an other one.

POINTS:

+5 for every Kerbal on the mission

+20 Jool impactor probe (max 1)

+20 Jool orbiting satellite (max 1)

+20 Main Ship remains in orbit around Jool as a Space Station (max 1)

+10 for a Mobile Lab

-100 if Nuke engines are used (if Isp is greater than 799 in vacuum and uses fuel+oxidizer)

-50 if a Kerbal dies

+50 Main Ship is somewhat refueled from a moon's Kethane resource (max 1)

+40 Kethane sample brought back to Kerbin

+5 for every Kerbal return to Kerbin (max 5)

special points for science: science points brought back in a Mobile Lab to Kerbin, divided by 30

initial Full Ship Weight modifier: -1 point for every ton in Kerbin Orbit before leaving to Jool

POINTS COUNTED PER MOON:

+10 for mining Kethane (max. one per moon)

+10 mapping/communication satellite

+10 Kerbal landed

+30 Surface 'Hopper' Explorer - little regional lander. Jumps to a point and back which is at least 20km from the miner (on Bop and Pol just go to an interesting place and back), not a Kethane miner but may be refueled by using KAS.

Rover on the surface: +10 for a probe, +15 for a one Kerbal rover, +20 for two or more Kerbal version

+50 Landing a Mobile Lab (max 1)

+15 Experimental Package deployed at least 1 km from the landing site (and from each other if more than one, max 4)

Points for a remaining base (per moon):

+40 remaining mining station (max 1)

+20 remaining Surface 'Hopper'

remaining Rover: +5 probe, +7 one Kerbal rover, +10 two or more Kerbal rover

+5 permanent living space per Kerbal (doesn't have to be occupied, can be reserved for future missions. Only normal living quarters and pods counts, so no Labs, Command Seats, LLL airlocks or other similar temporary solutions)

+2 permanent living space per Kerbal in orbit around the moon (same rules as before)

+10 remaining landed Kerbal (max 5)

+6 remaining Kerbal in moon's orbit (max 5)

+20 a Mobile Lab stays on the surface permanently (max 1)

+5 remaining mapping/communication satellite (max 1)

Laythe Specials:

+90 for a surface plane which is capable to fly around and land again

+50 if both surface/water samples were brought back to Kerbin

Tylo Special:

doubles all the points

notes:

- impactor has to have at least one scientific unit and some kind of antenna for submission before impact

- satellites has to maintain electricity level and communication

- Experimental Package has to have at least one scientific part, power and communication

- you can post your progress but please sum the mission in one final post with pictures and count the points yourself.

Advice: don't try to maximize the points because you will end up with a huge lagging ship. Always check part counts!

KETHANE LOW-MASS CHALLENGE:

The engineers have decided that it would be the best to go with a small ship which is capable to land and refuel at every moon. A Small, Cheap way to bring back samples from all the moon's surfaces!

rules:

- Two version: stock+Kethane parts only, or with mods which are allowed for the Expedition style.

- One launch only and at least one Kerbal

- Pressurized cabin/pod for Kerbal(s), for landings too

- Kethane Scanner is a must

- Kethane refueling at least once

- Ship/orbiter/lander/etc can be separated and redocked

- All Kerbal(s) has to land back at Kerbin with surface samples from every moon

- Scoring: Lowest mass on the launch pad wins!

KETHANE SSTO:

The engineers were wondering if they could build a Kethane miner SSTO which is capable for a JOOL-5 mission and landing

back at KSC?

KETHANE FREESTYLE:

If you don't want to hassle with the points and stuff, want to use extreme mods or you have your own idea, post your

mission and I will link it here.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Everybody who finished the JOOL-5 Kethane Challenge can add this badge to his/her reputation:

The JOOL-5 Kethane Challenge is accomplished by:

KETHANE EXPEDITION STYLE:

- Jasonden (1655 points, one launch, one big ship (almost-SSTO), 9 Kerbals landing on all moons and coming back, big hopping rover, 6678 science points collected, pictures here)

- Speeding Mullet (1221 points, well designed and complex Expedition with a very detailed and funny mission log!)

- Norcalplanner (1149 points, one launch, 9 Kerbals on the mission and 5 stayed in orbit around the moons, 4x Kethane scanners and two Jool probe, 4 Kerbals on each landing, landed on Tylo twice because forgotten science collecting at first, LV-N driven lander, 16811 science collected, pictures here)

- SSSPutnik (205 points because of the heavy launch mass, nice looking ships and rover with LLL mods, multiple launches, one repair mission, satellites and science packages deployed, base remained on every moon, pictures here)

KETHANE LOW-MASS CHALLENGE:

- Mesklin (14.6 tons SSTO!, see details there, pictures here)

- Jasonden (17 tons, pictures here)

KETHANE SSTO:

- Mesklin (14.6 tons on launchpad, 27.3 tons fueled, VTOL with rover possibilities, can land on water too, turbojet + parachutes, 8 rockomax 48-S7, pictures here)

- cube19 (379 tons, mods: NovaPunch, Mechjeb, refueled at Minmus, then it was Laythe, Pol, Vall, Tylo, Bop. pictures here)

KETHANE FREESTYLE:

Edited August 7, 2014 by Ziv

[Blue]

I did this three months ago. Tylo was a no-go due to lack of required fuel planning. I plan on redoing an improved version in the future at some point, with similar scale.

Many of the rendezvous and docking things you see in those pictures were done before the SAS Update in 0.21. That also means all major parts of the mission were underway before the release of large docking ports.

The only non-stock parts are the ISA Mapsat dishes on a set of scanning probes that arrived (but went unused) several weeks before the crew did, and have no relevance to the actual landers or ships I made and used.

Edited November 8, 2013 by Blue

[Ziv]

For JEBEDIAH'S LEVEL (what I want to achive to maximize science) I imagine:

1, five Mk-1 lander can (one Kerbal each) + science units with docking ports on both sides, and only one Lander Body (fuel+engine+etc) used for all the landings. It may have a basic fuel+engine for Vall, Bop, Pol, and additional docked fuel tanks for Tylo, or jet engines for Laythe. For the different moons the actual lander can with the actual lander body and additional parts would be put together in space with a little automated tug (flat computer, little RCS fuel + 4 RCS engine).

2, Getting there by Aerobraking in Jool's atmosphere and maybe at Laythe too, orbiting around Jool, next to Laythe, and going from moon to moon from inside to outside. At the end starting home with a gravity assist at Jool and using the Oberth-effect too.

3, Maybe I shouldn't brake the Mothership to orbit around the moons and start again to the next one, maybe I could use a Lander-Shuttle to bring the actual lander configuration to the moon's orbit and back to the Mothership. The Lander-Shuttle would remain in orbit around the moon while the Kerbal assigned to that moon lands on it. This way I could save a huge amount of fuel!

I haven't been to Jool (and Eeloo) yet, and this way this mission would be a great challenge! I already know that Laythe and Tylo are heavy stuff... both needs lot of fuel. Aerobraking is possible in Laythe, that helps, but atmosphere is harder when getting off. Or maybe I could bring detachable jet engines? And an additional docked fuel tank for Tylo? What do you think?

[Ziv]

Blue, I checked your Philadelphia Program, it looks awesome! I will go trough it in detail too, to learn new things!

[gm537]

I think I will be giving this one a go! It seems like a very challenging challenge, but also very fulfilling if you can pull it off! The idea of interchangeable science modules is very good! I didn't even think of that, but I think I will go for it!

[gm537]

I'm also going to try for a 100% survival rate with no reverts/quickloads... Not sure if it will work out but that's what I'm going for. (I suspect that Tylo and Laythe will each force at least one revert...)

[gm537]

To help keep myself sane I will post the challenge in pieces. The first one is complete! I have launched my primary core section. The first try was unsuccessful but thankfully Jeb survived! And was successful on the second attempt.

http://imgur.com/a/uH0Hp#0

On to part 2!

[gm537]

Piece two has been added. It will be my Tylo lander. For the sake of balance and mission differences I decided to make two major landers. One for Tylo and one for Laythe, the core of either should be able to manage the other 3 moons.

http://imgur.com/a/u9DtR

Again some testing difficulties and the landing was on the side of a mountain but no deaths yet!

[codepants]

Might give this a shot. Would love to see videos if anybody does it.

[Ziv]

Yesterday I have made a proof of concept mission to Mun and Minmus. Equipped already with five Landing Module (Mk1 + science modules), one Lander Body (fuel+engines), a Shuttle for carrying the actual Lander from planet orbit to moon orbit and back to Mothership, and a little Tug for changing the Lander configuration in orbit.

...AND IT WORKED!!!

1, I put the Mothership on Kerbin orbital a little more far than Mun, going behind the Mun and so gaining some speed and saving fuel (gravity assist) and at the same time the Shuttle+Lander put into a Mun orbit. The Lander landed (with Billy-Bobbin Kerman) and came back to the Shuttle, which carried back it to the Mothership.

2, I put the whole thing to a bigger Kerbin orbit, close to Minmus. Changed the Lander Module to the Minmus one, put it on the Lander Body with the Tug, and with the Shuttle I towed it into Minmus Orbit. The Lander landed (with Boblin Kerman) and went back to the Shuttle. The Shuttle pulled it back to the Mothership. Then all together came back to Kerbin where the five Landing Module together parachuted and landed safely!!

By the way I try to make all the stuff as minimalistic as possible, because in such a big trip some little more weight equals much-much more fuel. And I want to avoid too much refuelling mission (I would go with only one at Jool), so good optimalisation is a must for me.

[Ziv]

gm537: wow, making this mission in a one-shot 100% surviving mode sounds awesome! And makes it much more scary and exciting! Maybe I will try the same way!!

Thanks for the pictures, hm, why do you have 4 material lab next to each other? By the way I did it the same with the Mk1 + Material Lab, and the Goo on the backside and the other little science stuff on the sides.

I never uploaded pictures here, which is the better, using this imgur, or just putting them into the post?

[gm537]

gm537: wow, making this mission in a one-shot 100% surviving mode sounds awesome! And makes it much more scary and exciting! Maybe I will try the same way!!

Thanks for the pictures, hm, why do you have 4 material lab next to each other? By the way I did it the same with the Mk1 + Material Lab, and the Goo on the backside and the other little science stuff on the sides.

I never uploaded pictures here, which is the better, using this imgur, or just putting them into the post?

The 4 materials labs are meant for collecting data from orbits around the Joolian system. I am trying to have 3 of each for each moon that way I can do one high, one low, and one landed. Including Jool this means I need 17 labs, 17 goo cans, and 17 Gavioli detectors in all. (I might also be able to get data from Jool's upper atmosphere during aero-braking.) As of for image posting in order to post you always need to upload the images to a file sharing site. I use imgur (as do many others) you can then post them right in the post or make a link to an album. The thing I don't know how to do is post an album in thread so that you can just scroll through them.

I've also technically lost my 100% survive rate but it was on a weird glitch where my lander legs got stuck in the ground... So I'm not really counting it since it wasn't cause by poor flying or a bad design but rather some game artifact.

[Ziv]

Oh you're right, science can be done in orbit too! I have to revise my design! I was planning only one of everything for one landing...

Yeah, program glitches doesn't count!

[gm537]

Well unfortunately I had my first victim. During the testing of a possible single stage to orbit crew transport plane I messed up a landing and Bob died... But his sacrifice shall not be in vain! The mission shall continue! We will save our space program!

[Highlad]

Pot o' Tea Designs have decided to take up the challenge of saving the Kerbal Space Program! Instead of posting lots of wee posts, Im going to go through the whole thing and document it. Once I have finished, I will report back

[Ziv]

Highlad, Welcome Aboard and Good Luck! Yeah, this challenge will worth a big summary post when you have finished it, looking forward to it!

I already started to test the Lander Module (Mk1+science) and the Lander Body (fuel+engine) together. First attempt: (everybody survived!)

Edited November 9, 2013 by Ziv

[Ziv]

hmm, do you know exactly at what altitude is Near Space and Outer Space? And does it differ from high/low atmosphere?

http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Science

[Ziv]

Okay, here are my first pictures, about my proof of concept mission to Mun and Minmus. Five Lander Module, one Lander Body, one Shuttle (to bring the Module+Body from the Mothership/planet orbit to the moon's orbit and back, may be only an additional fuel tank later and I can use the engines of the lander), and a little space tug for changing the Modules on the Lander Body (at first I didn't want to use RCS for landing because with the little orange engines you can rotate your lander nicely... but maybe I will change this later).

The mission was a success, the problem list was like this:

- I lost an atomrocket during launch to overheat

- Space Tug lost electricity during work and I almost lost a Module+Kerbal ... but the Sun shined on it at last.

- The ladder was not long enough to the ground, on Laythe and Tylo it may be a problem (?).

- One science unit exploded on the final Kerbin touchdown

...otherwise the design is very strong and works well. Here are the pictures.

http://imgur.com/a/vO4sH#0

as you can see I tried to make my design as compact and simple as possible to save weight and so fuel, and part count (I have an i7 processor but it can be slowed down at 500+ parts).

[mcirish3]

I fully intend to do this challenge. It will take a while though since I work alot. In any case I will post all pics as a take them and update an album in this post with them as I go.

[Ziv]

Lead Engineer: Greetings, Mr. Herrigh Kerman! As our previous test pilots ceased in the last couple of days, now you became our best test pilot! And, well, the last one, too... Let me introduce you our newest Laythe Lander and return ship! The Lander Body would be the same for all the moon landings, and we intend to use Jet Engines on Laythe for slowing the ship during parachute descent, and starting back from the ground. As they are fuel efficient but we need a lot of power in a short period of time, so we put six Jet Engines there, which will be jettisoned after leaving the atmosphere...

Herrigh Kerman: Ahamm, Errrmm... my stomach feels bad. I'm sorry but I have to go home...

Lead Engineer: Hey, wait! Where are you going!? Herrigh! Herrigh...! Wait!!

...

Jebediah Kerman: Hey, what's happening here?

Lead Engineer: We are in need of a test pilot! Our latest Laythe Lander prototype is ready for a test flight... by the way this will be the hardest landing so we have chosen you to fly this one on the mission.

Jebediah Kerman: WOHOHOO, Really?!?? Let me try it!

Lead Engineer: Wait, you should first... in the simulator... noo, stop!

Jebediah Kerman: YEAH, it flies! I feel the force of the Jets! Awesome idea! So, are you talking about slowing with the Jets during Parachute descent? Okay, I'm gonna try that one...

Jebediah Kerman: hmm, it's hard to be quick and precise with these monsters! Watch out!

Jebediah Kerman: Okay, the idea will work well, but we need to refine the balance, strengthen the landing struts and add two more parachute.

Lead Engineer: Uhh... erm, okay...!

Edited November 10, 2013 by Ziv

[mcirish3]

Ok Well this is my preliminary entry into the challenge. I am half way done putting together my multipart ship, for this mission. I wanted to post now since putting the ship together will require me to lower my graphics so these will be the last of the HD pics until I am at Jool.

In the interest of full disclosure I am using two mods, [0.22] Enhanced Navball 1.2, found here, and [0.22][Release-2] City Lights and Clouds, found here. If you feel either of these disqualifies me I am fine with that. I was planing on doing the mission already when I ran across this thread and figured I might as well sign up.

My mission Goals.

1. Fly my six part ship (six launches any way) to the jool system.

2. Drop probe deep into atmosphere and transmit data.

3. Land on all moons.

4. Leave flags on all moons.

5. Get science data from all moons.

6. Get soil sample from 3 moons. (Tylo, and two moons as yet to be determined)

7. Return all 8 crewmen safely to Kerbin.

Below is my progress so far. Last pic shows the main hub/orbital science lab/prob +2 reusable non-Tylo moon landers.

Edited November 13, 2013 by mcirish3

[Ziv]

mcirish3: Welcome, it's nice to have you here! The navball and clouds mods are okay, of course. Wow, what a launcher you built! And your last picture looks good too!

So, all mods are allowed if they doesn't give you too much advantage, like stronger engines, smaller tanks, automatic refuellind, etc.

So you guys keep the parts about stock-realistic, that's all.

[ttnarg]

I like this Challenge idea.

I've done a few large missions before and have got feed up with boosting up and docking the large red tanks (and also I think having a lot of docking ports hurts my frame rate). So I build a Launch Vehicle that can easily boost 7 red tanks into orbit with no space derby and an in orbit part count as low as 14 (7 full red tanks, 6 radial decuples, 1 docking port) but normally I add a few more docking ports, SAS, solar panels and sometimes remote guidance and engines.

So I took this Launch added some 18 nuke engines to the side of the red tanks and set the red tanks set it up with asparagus staging (something I offend do).

I also added:

A Hitchhiker storage container & mk2-1 command pod as a habit for the 5 Kerbals on the trip as well as return them safely back to the kerbal surface.

2 disposable Landers, one customised for Laythe and the other for Tylo.

1 reusable Lander for Vall, Pol and Bop

A small space tug.

And I've kept the last stage of the launcher that normally undocks and de-orbits itself. As I feel it can be useful maybe as a return stage or a large space tug.

With all this added mass it went from a very easy launch to a very hard one and I even had to use some of the upper stage fuel to make orbit. but it didn’t use too much and I don’t see the need to send up a refuelling ship and I think I have more than fuel then I need for this mission anyway.

Next stop Jool.

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[wasmic]

Hey, has anybody called Whackjob?