Kerpollo 3 (Doing it Apollo style)

[Cranium]

A while back, I saw a thread for doing things Apollo style, and I thought it would be really fun to do. So here's what I came up with!

Ready for launch!

Final ascent stage complete. Unfortunately, the mainsail burned up due to mistiming of stages. (I used MechJeb to get it to orbit, because fo the lag) I reloaded to launch, changed the staging rules, and relaunched.

Orbit achieved! We attained approximately 100Km of orbit, with no fuel to spare. I'd say that's a well planned launch.

Ejection of the fairing went just as planned. Lots of controlled chaos! Luckily, nothing crashed into the precious payload.

Jettisoning the Launch Escape Tower. Yes, it actually works. The abort sequence does work, and does have to be used sometimes, if your staging isn't timed properly.

Glamour shot of the payload still attached.

We decouple the command pod from the lander module, leaving it attached to the launch vehicle. We then dock nose to top with the lander module. The launch vehicle and the payload decouple, and with some weird physics, glitch into a nearly uncontrollable spin. Jeb was able to correct the spin, and no damage was done.

Deploying the solar panels so no power is lost while transmitting data back to Kerbin. The craft actually has a full compliment of science equipment, excluding the atmospheric sensors meant to be mounted as a nosecone. This is due to the extreme lag you'll encounter while launching.

Getting a 100Km orbit around the Mun. Leaving plenty of fuel for the return trip.

JEB! Get back in here! It's dangerous outside!

After transferring one brave crewmember to the lander module, it is undocked, and deorbited to it's final descent.

The Eagle has landed! With lots and lots of fuel remaining actually. I probably should have transferred some of the fuel from the lander module back to the command module, but it wouldn't be needed really. Not for this mission anyway.

Just before ascent, we make sure to deactivate the landing engines, and wait for the right time to launch into a rendezvous with the command module.

Unfortunately, Bob wasn't fast enough on the shutter when the launch was initiated. You can barely make out the lander that is hidden by the navball on the bottom. Again, I'll mention that I used MechJeb to make this flight possible.

Redocked with the command module, and crew transferred back to the main capsule for the return trip. Just like with other Apollo missions, the ascent module was deorbited and crashed into the Munar surface for additional data collected by the seismic sensors on the leftover lander module.

For this flight, after creating a return trajectory to Kerbin, there was still about 1600m/s of dV remaining in the command module. Plenty of fuel left, and if I wanted to, I could make a trip to Minmus. Unfortunately, though, that was not part of our original mission plan. Went back to Kerbin, used the abort sequence to separate the command pod, and make the final descent home.

I didn't plan too well, and ended up landing on hard ground instead of soft water, but the only thing damaged was the deorbit/abort engines.

I'm not at my home computer right now, so I can't share a .craft file, but I hoped you liked the mission report!