Apollo/KSP Discussion Thread

[Guest]

D'awww! I just noticed that the lander has an insanely tiny B9 spotlight on it.

Yeah, I cut them down to half size to make them more manageable.

[Camelotking524]

This is my mod-heavy take on Apollo, although I did take liberties with the launcher by going for an SLS design.

Since the creation of this album, the LEM has been beefed up a tad and now carries an LRV.

I really need to go download those two capsules. Stock is looking boring again.

[Felsmak]

[Mihara]

/me tosses in 0.02 kerbal monetary units.

My best take on Apollo is still this:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

My dissatisfaction with the lander is why I talked alexustas into making ALCOR.

[RoboRay]

Duplicate. Where did the delete button go?

Edited November 25, 2013 by RoboRay

[I_Killed_Jeb]

The result of my last Apollo style mission

[RoboRay]

Great timing on this thread... I just finished a movie that runs through an Apollo J-class mission (Apollo 15, 16 and 17, with the rover):

http://youtu.be/ON2bNmV_xsw

[Giggleplex777]

This is probably the smallest Apollo LEM replica:

It holds 1 Kerbal in a seat (you can kid of see the Kerbal's helmet):

And is capable of landing on the Mun with a Kerbal and take off after.

[blenderman]

this was my recent Apollo style mission

http://imgur.com/a/54XEk#0

<iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="550" frameborder="0" src="http://imgur.com/a/54XEk/embed"></iframe>

[GusTurbo]

This is probably the smallest Apollo LEM replica:

This is probably the most detailed tiny Apollo LEM replica:

[Giggleplex777]

This is probably the most detailed tiny Apollo LEM replica:

-snip-

Yup. I had to skim down the parts and, consequently, it had to be less detailed.

Download?

[GusTurbo]

It's coming at some point. Exams are imminent, so I'm hard-pressed to get much time to tinker.

[HansBlix]

I've got a couple scattered around the forum so will add them here for reference..

My first attempt at an Apollo style mission using KW rocketry...

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Then i found NOVAPUNCH and procedural fairings!

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Just had to turn it into a skylab mission....

Javascript is disabled. View full album

And to round things out... had to have a crack at the Russian Space Program and the monster N1 Rocket (WIP)!

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Currently working on an ISS series. Have the station set up in VAB (600 odd parts?!), first three pieces in orbit and a number of service vehicles (Soyuz, ATV) and launch systems (SOYUZ, Arian V) done and tested. Will update the thread as it progresses (read: when i get time).

If anyone needs tips/advice on getting these things built/flying ask away

Hans

[John FX]

That's a neat solution! How'd you manage to balance the lander with the fuel tanks on one side though? Plenty of SAS modules?

Umm... Luck?

The lander was a set weight and size so I tried to keep the fuel as close as possible to the centre of mass to minimise problems. It flies better the less fuel you have.

[Majorjim!]

/me tosses in 0.02 kerbal monetary units.

My best take on Apollo is still this:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

My dissatisfaction with the lander is why I talked alexustas into making ALCOR.

Thats so cute! It looks like a baby Saturn v taking its first tentative steps beyond the warmth of its planetary nest.

MJ

[Majorjim!]

This is probably the most detailed tiny Apollo LEM replica:

I'm impressed Gus. That's superb! Hurry up and pass your exams so we can see it in action. Does it come with a teeny tiny Saturn V?

MJ

[Guest links123]

This is probably tiny approved replica.

[Elmun]

Nothing fancy, just wanted to give an Apollo style mission a go.

Vessel weight: 653.55 tons

Part count: 124

Stage 1 - Lift stage, separates @ ~21 km

Stage 2 - Orbital insertion, separates prior to circularize burn

Stage 3 - Circularize burn and Munar insertion, separates after burn, crashes into Mun.

I still need to work on it a little, adding action groups to shut down the lander ascent engines and lowering the ladder. I missed the service module jettison picture because I waited too long to jettison the lander. Did it first without MechJeb assistance, but then took photos while using MechJeb to keep everything pretty. I also had an issue with the stage separation part between the lander and the third stage not actually separating, and being permanent, meaning I had to manually separate the lander's descent and ascent stages.

<iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="550" frameborder="0" src="http://imgur.com/a/cAA6X/embed"></iframe>

Flag I use... because I could not find an angle where it was illuminated.

[sgtscuba]

Loving seeing how you guys have built these, a lot better looking than my stuff, although I do prefer a 3 stage landing, I do it slightly different so I have a first stage to get me to orbit, then a transfer stage which I drop about 1.5km above the surface, leaving the lander with enough fuel to return on its own.

Did you guys do this in Kareer Mode or in sandbox mode? Just wondering because the 3.25m tanks and engines from B9 don't show up for me in Kareer mode.

[esinohio]

This was my first Apollo style mission done some time ago for the "Doing it Apollo Style" Mun mission someone posted in the challenges. I think I can credit trying to do that one challenge with forcing me to learn the finer points of piloting I had become content letting automation handle. Certainly not an accurate LEM/Rover combo but I've since refined it many times using what I have seen floating in these forums and my own lessons learned. Getting that darn rover mounted and balanced on the side of the LEM, not this version pictured, was real fun.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[Elmun]

Loving seeing how you guys have built these, a lot better looking than my stuff, although I do prefer a 3 stage landing, I do it slightly different so I have a first stage to get me to orbit, then a transfer stage which I drop about 1.5km above the surface, leaving the lander with enough fuel to return on its own.

Did you guys do this in Kareer Mode or in sandbox mode? Just wondering because the 3.25m tanks and engines from B9 don't show up for me in Kareer mode.

I did mine in sandbox, mostly because I follow a much more realistic approach to my missions in career mode and I don't yet have all the big stuff unlocked. I used mechjeb, KWRocketry and NovaPunch for my mods... but outside of the lifting stage most of it is stock.

I had actually way too much fuel... 3rd stage would have about 1/8th a tank left, lander would end up with 1/2 tanks in both the ascent and descent stages, and command module would have around 1/2. I could go to Minmus easily if I wanted to.

[HansBlix]

Loving seeing how you guys have built these, a lot better looking than my stuff, although I do prefer a 3 stage landing, I do it slightly different so I have a first stage to get me to orbit, then a transfer stage which I drop about 1.5km above the surface, leaving the lander with enough fuel to return on its own.

Did you guys do this in Kareer Mode or in sandbox mode? Just wondering because the 3.25m tanks and engines from B9 don't show up for me in Kareer mode.

Career mode for me, i like to set my own challenges with all available parts . I tried to keep mine along the same mission profile as the real Apollo missions, so 2 stages to get into orbit (plus a little of the third stage), third stage to transfer to mun on a direct intercept (read: crash course), drop third stage and leave it on crash course to the mun, use the CSM/SM to get a 20k pe intercept and do the circularisation, LM 1st stage to land, LM second stage back to the CM, CM back to Kerbin. Only things left in space after the mission is the LM second stage in munar orbit (might adjust this to be able to crash it back into the mun surface). For looks i highly recommend procedural fairings, KW Rocketry and Novapunch (for the 5M tanks and engines).

Interestingly it was amazing how well the whole thing translated to the skylab mission without the need to change anything except the skylab to replace the 3rd stage, guess that's why they built it that way in RL! Love it when a plan comes together

Hans

[Giggleplex777]

A pretty accurate Saturn V launch:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[Tw1]

This was my Apollo mission, back in 0.20.

It was interesting how much more focused I was on that, compared to my regular flights to the Mun.

I based it on later Apollo voyages, with some kerbalish twists. You'll see:

Javascript is disabled. View full album

Not sure I'll try it again, this one pretty much seemed a full experience to me. But if I did, I'd make my rocket a little different, so the stages were used more correctly, and replace the poodle on the MEM with an LV-909. I only used a small amount of its thrust anyway, as my lander was slighly unbalanced. I was really happy with the way the whole thing looked though.

Edited November 26, 2013 by Tw1

[I_Killed_Jeb]

I recently made an attempt to create a mini-Saturn V with an Apollo 11 mission reimagination using the 1-man capsule. I tried to be as faithful as reasonably possible in terms of aesthetics and flight profile. Initially designed to be a one-kerbal mission, I decided halfway through "Hey, why not just cram 'em all in there?" and made it a full-on 3-kerbal, bona-fide recreation. Two command chairs are clipped into the CM capsule for the added capacity. I call this baby the Pluto-V, and I'm quite proud.

Javascript is disabled. View full album