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The Mainsail Challenge

mr_yogurt
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mr_yogurt

mr_yogurt

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Recently, due to Jebediah Kerman's (supposed) ability and resourcefulness, he has been promoted to a position in the management. Unfortunately for you, he has stopped stocking non-mainsail engines. You are left in a predicament, and are severely limited in your craft design.

The challenge: Build a spacecraft while only using mainsails for engines.

Rules:

  1. The only engines you may use are mainsails.*
  2. All stock except for control/info mods such as MechJeb.
  3. No debug menu or HyperEdit or 1337 haxoring
  4. No glitch exploitation or Kraken drives.

*The only SRBs you may use are sepratrons, and all other parts may be used. RCS is allowed, before you ask.

People who use multiple launches to construct a multi-part ship or refuel will contend for a separate leaderboard than those who don't. (A ship that separates after launch but is sent to space in a single launch is a single launch ship). Also, if you have two launches in the same world but they do not interact with each other, it will be counted as two single launch entries and not a multi launch one.

Leaderboard position is decided by average ÃŽâ€v to target. Return is doubled minus ascent ÃŽâ€v from kerbin, and Landing > Orbit > Crash/Flyby Use this chart as a guide for scoring: http://i.imgur.com/UUU8yCk.png

Leaderboard (single launch) :

zapy - Mun, Minmus, Duna, Ike, Gilly, return (single vessel)

snowraver1 - Minmus, Duna, Ike, Return (single vessel)

MarvinKitFox - Munar landing and return, Minmus landing and return (separate pods, ongoing)

Kanil - Munar landing and return

Nemrav - Duna landing

Francesco - Minmus landing

OTehNoes - Munar flyby, return

ihtoit - Munar flyby

Leaderboard (multi launch) :

ThreeMartiniLaunch - Eeloo landing and return

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If something isn't against the rules, then it is allowed. But I might amend rules to fix loopholes.

Metaphor made the nice graph, original thread here: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/41652-A-more-accurate-delta-v-map

Edited by mr_yogurt
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sal_vager

sal_vager

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Just a ship? Anyone can do that, how about you get people to put MAINSAIL LANDERS ON THE MUN! :D

The further out you go (Minmus, Duna, wherever) the more points you get, but of course only with Mainsails :)

Ahh didn't see your graph, well your challenge needs to be clearer :P

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Nemrav

Nemrav

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well, seems I already have a couple designs that only use mainsail, except for their landers of course..... maybe we should have payload prizes... as currently these designs well... lets say they could do a lot of they didn't have that pesky payload...

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mr_yogurt

mr_yogurt

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-snip-

Personally I think that landing with Mainsails on Gilly is far more impressive than on Tylo :)

Only if I banned MechJeb.

Just a ship? Anyone can do that, how about you get people to put MAINSAIL LANDERS ON THE MUN! :D

The further out you go (Minmus, Duna, wherever) the more points you get, but of course only with Mainsails :)

Ahh didn't see your graph, well your challenge needs to be clearer :P

I think I assume people will completely read through the whole thing much more often then they actually do. How do you suppose I could make it clearer?

Also, that isn't my graph. It's metaphor's.

Edited by mr_yogurt
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mr_yogurt

mr_yogurt

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So is our score made by getting the mean of all the numbers on the way to your destination? Also is refuelling allowed?

No, not the mean. Sum them. Just follow the chart, bigger numbers = higher up on leaderboard. Refueling is allowed, but you will contend for the second leaderboard instead of the first.

Can we go to multiple targets in one mission? If so how are they scored?

Yeah, you can. Scored by total ÃŽâ€v by following the graph I linked. Just sum.

Alright, let's kickstart this with an easy but fun target: Minmus!

http://imgur.com/a/lZUvU

Cool. Added to leaderboard. Why did you bring five mainsails? That is too many. Unless you are Jebediah Kerman.

Edited by mr_yogurt
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Pds314

Pds314

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The simplest solution would just be to bring one of them and many orange tanks into orbit and decouple the tanks as they empty in order to get to Kerbin-Kerbol transfer. You would only need a few stages.

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MarvinKitFox

MarvinKitFox

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So only Mainsail, and seperatrons.

Is RCS allowed? Should not be, it makes it WAY easier.

I'm assuming that only *landings* count, not lithobraking probes?

If *orbit* around destination counts (for appropriate entry in delta-v chart), please specify to what accuracy.

Ditto that return-to-kerbin only counts if your ship (at least its controlling pod) survives to rest on the ground? Or does Low Kerbin orbit also count for something?

Also assuming that Kerbals are not required, probes will do? I'm not wasting a dozen Kerbals on one-way landings!

I addition, i'm assuming only that each planetary destination will count only once? (otherwise I'm sending 1495 aerobrake-self-landing probes to Duna)

My current plan is a probe-based single-launch multi=vessel mission with:

Mun land&return.

MinMus Land&return.

Duna land

Eve land

Laythe land

Jool low orbit.

I could also add impactors to the rest of Jool moons, ike and potato, erm Gilly, if that would add anything.

Edited by MarvinKitFox
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The Destroyer

The Destroyer

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So only Mainsail, and seperatrons.

Is RCS allowed?

I'm assuming that only *landings* count, not lithobraking probes?

If *orbit* around destination counts (for appropriate entry in delta-v chart), please specify to what accuracy.

Ditto that return-to-kerbin only counts if your ship (at least its controlling pod) survives to rest on the ground? Or does Low Kerbin orbit also count for something?

Also assuming that Kerbals are not required, probes will do? I'm not wasting a dozen Kerbals on one-way landings!

I addition, i'm assuming only that each planetary destination will count only once? (otherwise I'm sending 1495 aerobrake-self-landing probes to Duna)

My current plan is a probe-based single-launch multi=vessel mission with:

Mun land&return.

MinMus Land&return.

Duna land

Eve land

Laythe land

Jool low orbit.

I could also add impactors to the rest of Jool moons, ike and potato, erm Gilly, if that would add anything.

RCS is allowed, before you ask.

Yeah its allowed :P

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OTehNoes

OTehNoes

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I took your challenge and landed on the Mun with only mainsails. Don't have any pics though, sorry. I didn't even use RCS.

Not really much posting your submission then is it? In the words of the internet: pics or it didn't happen.

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ihtoit

ihtoit

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OK. Presenting "Death To Mainsail I": a 3-stage, 6 motor behemoth which was intended for multiple encounters. It actually managed two. Without Remotetech, it may well have done three.

(NOTE: it does have a radio array on it, for the purposes of this challenge it's actually a huge handicap as it requires line of sight to KSC for the probe to actually function. Apart from that the lifter and payload (of precisely 1.000t) are completely stock).

On the Pad:

1781798_416221321847204_737952260_o.jpg

1st Stage burn:

1961738_416220395180630_1888141111_o.jpg

2nd Stage burn:

1980197_416220441847292_1293221974_o.jpg

3rd Stage to Orbit:

1617353_416220051847331_1865841537_o.jpg

Plotting for Mun encounter:

1979181_416219985180671_214809934_o.jpg

Munar flyby:

1669721_416219905180679_258466626_o.jpg

Shy of Periapse:

1957744_416220295180640_1554648273_o.jpg

Returning for Kerbin encounter:

1980003_416219878514015_1204050932_o.jpg

No more screenshots after that, but I did manage to do a periapse burn that put the probe into a Kerbolar orbit at just higher than Kerbin, which meant that it started to lag behind and eventually fell out of radio range. This did mean that I was unable to do a Holmann transfer to Jool, which was the intention. Tried getting another with a larger antenna high into Kerbin orbit, but it just won't reach.

Another thing I did try was a pull-thrust staging:

1926190_416220075180662_1098462656_o.jpg

MANY problems with this:

1. it's too heavy. Nine stages of 2.5m fuel tanks, one motor on the bottom and four more up top (all on their own tanks).

2. it's structurally weak as... soft brown stuff. I had to strut the snot out of it just for it to stay in one piece long enough to get that screenshot!

3. it's unstable as an unstable thing. No amount of RCS or fins will make the thing fly straight. I couldn't even get it to clear the atmosphere.

Edited by ihtoit
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MarvinKitFox

MarvinKitFox

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Ok, entry busy.

Build a sizeable vessel with Asap, umm... onion... ummm. What the heck do I call this staging?

12 asparagus single orange, wrapped around 19 pancake double orange, with partial penetration of asparagus flavor.

Topped with 7-asparagus single orange, Topped with 7 segments of half orange.

With 8 double-stacked independent engineless probes on top, all flavored with MechJeb?

.

Sounds like a health-conscious dessert cake!

Basically a mountain of Mailsails (29), asparagus-dropping the first 12 as soon as terminal velocity is reached, then a pancake of 19 mainsails for main boost, the inner 7 cutting out when acceleration approaches 35m/s

Then second stage asparagus takes me to 100km orbit with ~1150m/s remaining.

Top stage consists of 7 independant (but initially linked) planetary lander/return ships.

The centre one has 18 lesser probes, each with only 2300m/s (1700m/s for the parachute-equipped ones)

Everything, but *everything* is Mechjebbed!

The plan:

Lander to Mun, return to KSP. DONE!

Lander to MinMus, return to KSP. DONE! (and landed intact and still fuelled a bit)

ProbeParaChute on EVE. Status: Trans-eve orbit achieved, rendevous in 4 years. Margin, 50m/s only!

ProbeParachute to Duna. Status: awaiting transfer. Margin: about 700m/s

Probelander to Ike. Status: Awaiting transfer. Margin: -300!!! this will be an impactor, or at best an orbiter.

ProbeLander to Potato. Status: Trans-eve orbit achieved, rendevous in 4 years. Margin, 650m/s

ProbeParachute to Laythe: Still attached to Lander#1, en route to jool intercept. Margin: only 320 on Lander#1, 1700 on Probe.

etc..

I have 4 parachutelanders, aimed at Eve, Duna, Laythe, and Jool(nonlanding).

I have 12 probeLanders, 1 each to moons of Eve and Duna, 8 to Jool. 2 Reserved, likely for Some other planet.

Now that I've bored you to death, the pictures so far. Kinda raw, descripts and progress reports coming later.

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OTehNoes

OTehNoes

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Well this is my first attempt, things didn't really work out a my rocket disintegrated on the way up, leaving my lander stage to use to get into Kerbin orbit.

I managed to get myself a Munar flyby with a free return orbit, and land safely, though I don't know how that works out for score, I'll try a better one soon.

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