Career mode in Real Solar System

[Alpheratz]

Ok... I'm playing KSP with Real Solar System, KW Rocketry, FAR and Deadly Reentry.

I am finding myself in a situation where science is extremely hard to get.

I have unlocked most 1.25m parts, but I don't have the nuclear engine yet. No docking ports either. I have the Goo, the ScienceJr and the 2HOT thermometer. See the craft file, which is my biggest launcher for now. The module that gets in orbit has some 4000m/s of delta-v left. This is just enough to get in a low munar orbit, which I did.

The main question is: how can I get more science?

All the EVA reports from Kerbin and Mun biomes are done. Ground science on Kerbin does not give much, and I don't have the delta-v to land and return from the Mun.

Normally, Minmus gives a motherload of science... except Minmus represents Neptune, and I need 11km/s of delta-v to get there once I've escaped Kerbin. Not counting the delta-v required for orbital insertion.

I thought of a Duna (Mars) flyby, as it requires only 3.5km/s of delta-v. Would this be worth it?

Thanks for the help!

[maccollo]

Ok... I'm playing KSP with Real Solar System, KW Rocketry, FAR and Deadly Reentry.

I thought of a Duna (Mars) flyby, as it requires only 3.5km/s of delta-v. Would this be worth it?

Certainly. If you go for a Duna you can also get science from the moons. Be careful though. The moons are much bigger than they appear when you approach them, so you are liable to smash into the surface unless you pass at the very egde of the SOI.

Also, if you can go to Duna you can go to Eve.

After that you should have the skippers and the NERVAs, which should unlock the entire solar system to you.

Edit*

Oh also, you can get quite a bit of science by dipping into intoplanetary space (just barely), collect the science, and then recover the science by burning back towards Kerbin.

Edited March 5, 2014 by maccollo

[Streetwind]

I think it honestly depends whether or not you're playing with the Reach For The Stars pack and its associated RPL tech tree. It's one out of two possible variants you can install RSS as, and it changes the progression a lot. In RftS, if you can get an early unmanned Duna or Eve flyby with the correct probe body, that is one of the best possible things you can do in terms of science (but hard to pull off because the game starts you off years out of the transfer window, so you need a lot of extra dV to force an out-of-window transfer).

[Alpheratz]

Good! I performed a Mars and Venus flyby and gathered all the science. Streetwind, you were right, the moons of Mars are bigger than they appear and their SOI have a radius of 25km. I couldn't get the science from those moons I also died from extreme aerobraking on Bop... is this a bug?

But, something rather interesting happened. After collecting all the science from Venus, I tried to reenter and land for fun. I had a MkI with no parachutes and no heatchields... and it worked fine ?!?!? I got lots of science from that unexpexted event.

The next objective is to do a sample return misson to the Mun. This should be possible since I have unlocked the nuclear engine. I'm still in the planning phase for this mission. Sould I do this Appolo style or with one ship? Any hints?

[Tex]

Haha, that above comment reminded me of my surprise Duna landing (for the first time ever!). I was also in career mode, but without the real solar system. It was planned to just be an orbital probe, but once I got all the science down I found I still had ~3/4 of my fuel. Landed it and it was goooood!

[maccollo]

But, something rather interesting happened. After collecting all the science from Venus, I tried to reenter and land for fun. I had a MkI with no parachutes and no heatchields... and it worked fine ?!?!? I got lots of science from that unexpexted event.

The next objective is to do a sample return misson to the Mun. This should be possible since I have unlocked the nuclear engine. I'm still in the planning phase for this mission. Sould I do this Appolo style or with one ship? Any hints?

The mk1 command pod has a built in heatshield, and for that reason it's the best pod by a large margin, since the 1.25 meter shield weighs more than half a ton

Executing an apollo mission in RSS is more difficult than in vanilla KPS because the orbit of the moon is inclined to the equatorial plane. This means getting captured into the wrong orbit can happen very easily, and then you're not coming back unless you wait 15 days or so.

But if you can do it it's worth it. 3.8 km/s of delta V is nothing to scoff at.

[Alpheratz]

Yeah you're right. Jeb just came back from the Mun! I didn't do the appolo style mission for the reason you mentioned. I just landed anywhere and then I got myself in a polar orbit, and from there it's easy to go back to Kerbin.

Oh, and for the Venus (Eve) surprise landing, I did't use a drop of fuel, I just reentered the planet at 10000m/s

Also, I found out that if I incline the MkI 20 degrees on reentry, my chances of survival are much greater. Would it be because the capsule generates some lift?

[Streetwind]

If you are using FAR (which you should, with RSS) then yes, that is indeed the case. You're deflecting air downwards and thereby make your descent less steep.

It's a bit of a gambit though, because if you angle too far, your pod might flip, or parts attached to it may enter the shock zone and suffer a sudden RUD event.

[Alpheratz]

Yeah I have FAR, that explains it