Porcine Avionics' Mission to Dres **Complete**

[ArmchairGravy]

Now that we've developed the technology and skills to routinely return personnel from Mun, Minmus and Duna and to establish colonies on these other worlds, Porcine Avionics decided it was time to stretch our wings a bit. Not wanting to risk crew, we decided that Dres would make a good proof-of-concept for our mothership design. While it is further from Duna and has no atmosphere to perform an aerobrake with, Dres is small enough and close enough that we feel confident that we can reach it and return with a decent safety margin.

The mothership consists of a core of a Mk II lander can, a habitat module, and a science module. Large docking ports were placed on either end of the stack, and medium docking ports were added to the sides. A robotic drive module of dual LV-N's is docked to the top of the core, and acts as the primary thrust platform. This pulls the bulk of the ship along which greatly increases stability while under thrust. A lander with four science pods was attached to the top of the drive platform. Below the core module two large fuel tanks were docked with the bottom tank having an LV-N attached to provide extra TWR during the outward burn.

The launching of the modules and orbital assembly went smoothly. In fact, it went so smoothly a conundrum arose. The lower fuel tank with the LV-N was able to dock with the inner ring of its booster stage intact but empty:

Refueling the booster stage would give the craft over 20,000 units of fuel! Should we proceed with the original plan, or should we go for the gusto? After consulting with experts we decided to stick to the original plan, but also to keep the ship with the extra fuel capacity. Thus, another mothership was launched and assembled while the first ship was sent on its way to the kethane refinery around Minmus.

The window to Dres opened, and we flung our brave crew of five through it. Maybe flung is too strong of a verb. Gradually sidled through it may be a better term as the outbound burn was 20 minutes long.

Finally the initial burn was completed. Jebediah, Milmore, Deshat, Bargel, and Franklin were on their way to Dres! Jeb is, of course, mission commander and lander pilot. Milmore and Deshat oversee operations of the core. Bargel and Franklin are the scientists assigned to the lab. After transferring fuel up from the bottom fuel tank and undocking it, the Dres Explorer was in cruising mode.

After a midway course correction, an intercept with Dres of roughly 600,000m was obtained. Jebediah retired to the habitat module and passed the journey to Dres pleasantly.

Finally the Dres Explorer reached Dres. It came in on a retrograde orbit, so some fuel was used in order to flip the orbit around. Milmore and Deshat proved able pilots and were able to bring the craft into a 30km orbit. Data was collected in this high (for Dres) orbit.

Jeb climbed back into the lander, and undocked. After lowering his orbit to 18km, he performed close-orbit experiments, and then burned retrograde for landing. The lander performed beautifully, and Jeb arrived safely on the surface of Dres!

We at Porcine Avionics are proud to be part of this historic event. Stay tuned for the epic return of the Dres Explorer!

Edited March 7, 2014 by ArmchairGravy

[ArmchairGravy]

Welcome back to Porcine Avionics' historic mission to Dres!

After collecting a surface sample and performing various experiments on the surface of Dres, Jeb re-orbited the lander and docked with the Dres Explorer. Jeb then transferred all of the samples and data to the science lab. Bargel and Franklin immediately got to work analyzing the scientific bounty. This at least kept them busy during the long wait for the window home to open. The rest of the crew played a LOT of three-hand euchre during this time. The folks back home kept busy by refueling the aforementioned mothership with the Skipper boosters, rechristened Big Pig.

Finally the window home opened. Franklin, who had the least experience piloting, took over while Jeb kept an eye on him. The rest of the crew hung out in the now very lived-in habitat module. The lander and the structural assembly used to transport the lander were undocked, and the Dres Explorer began the journey home!

The burn out of Dres used up the fuel in the last orange tank, so it was undocked. The Dres Explorer had achieved its final form.

We at Porcine Avionics were quite relieved to see that our planning had paid off, and the Dres Explorer had plenty of fuel left. Three cheers for our (over)engineering staff!

Halfway home to Kerbin, Franklin performed the plane change and final insertion burn. Again, things went smoothly, and a periapsis of 5Mm was achieved.

After another month of travel time, the big day arrived. The entry into Kerbin SOI was obtained. The 49 degree inclination was burned down to 4 degrees. Now the question remained: What height should the aerobrake bottom out at?

Various simulations were ran on the aerobraking maneuver. The initial thought of 37km did not phase the head of steam the Dres Explorer had picked up on its long fall from Dres orbit. Another simulation was run with 34km. Again, it was not enough. The third run of the simulation was at 31km. This did the trick! Ground control instructed Franklin to burn his periapsis down to 31k, and then waited anxiously for the results.

Franklin complied with ground control's instructions, and the Dres Explorer plummeted down Kerbin's gravity well. The Dres Explorer hit the outer reaches of Kerbin's atmosphere at speeds just shy of 4km/s! As the plasma of re-entry bloomed about the Dres Explorer, everyone held their breath.

The simulations were good! After shedding its terrible velocity and climbing out of the atmosphere the Dres Explorer had an apoapsis of 600km. The barometers on Kerbin recorded the spike in air pressure as everyone let out that breath they had been holding.

After raising the periapsis back up to 80km and circularizing the orbit, the Dres Explorer and its intrepid crew were finally home!

The bold vision of Porcine Avionics once again delivers a success!

Edited March 7, 2014 by ArmchairGravy

[Scotius]

Congratulations It was well planned, and well executed mission. What's your next target?

[Geschosskopf]

Good job! Dres never gets enough attention IMHO

[ArmchairGravy]

Congratulations It was well planned, and well executed mission. What's your next target?

Thanks! I really like this modular design, so I'll probably just put the orange with the LV-N on the bottom, add a small lander to the top, and head over to Gilly. I learned a lot on this one that will be very useful as I head out into the wider system.

[Geschosskopf]

Thanks! I really like this modular design, so I'll probably just put the orange with the LV-N on the bottom, add a small lander to the top, and head over to Gilly. I learned a lot on this one that will be very useful as I head out into the wider system.

Ah, Gilly. Ever been there before?

[ArmchairGravy]

Ah, Gilly. Ever been there before?

I've probed it. The lander I'm going to use on it is the same as the Dres lander without the outboard fuel tanks and engines. I also revamped the bottom drive section with just the LV-N without the Skipper in the bottom center. I feel more confident about a Gilly return than I did about the Dres return now that I have an idea of the ship's capabilities. I should have mission reports on the Gilly return effort posted mid-week.

Edited March 9, 2014 by ArmchairGravy

[Geschosskopf]

I've probed it. The lander I'm going to use on it is the same as the Dres lander without the outboard fuel tanks and engines. I also revamped the bottom drive section with just the LV-N without the Skipper in the bottom center. I feel more confident about a Gilly return than I did about the Dres return now that I have an idea of the ship's capabilities. I should have mission reports on the Gilly return effort posted mid-week.

Good luck . I was just gonna say that it's a very good idea to put half dozen or more linear RCS thrusters on top of your lander to push you down to Gilly's surface. This is better than the alternative of pointing your nose down and burning the main engines . But if you do neither of these, then KSP will probably hit version 1.0 before you reach the ground. Your ship's velocity will be in the single digits and you can't warp so it's a LONG trip down.