Triskelion Station Mk. II

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A disturbed Bill and an unsettled Jerwin in low-Ike orbit. There is no telling what effects the mass exhalation of RCS fuel can do on the kerbal mind. The recovery and rehabilitation of Bill Kerman is a top priority for this mission.

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It's rover time!

Since the Triskelion was just barely on Ike's sphere of influence, getting an orbit with Duna was easy. What's also good is that Ike was eclipsing Duna at the time the Triskelion escaped it, resulting in the highest possible apodunaion. This means an easy ejection towards Dres. The rover will be dropped at peridunaion.

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Away goes the rover!

Repeated aerobraking will ensure the safest and most fuel-efficient landing. Can't be too careful with this low-atmosphere environment.

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It's beautiful!

But it lacks grace.

But what it lacks in grace it makes up for in ingenuity! RCS thrusters, activate!

Time to go exploring!

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The dunar rover had an accident. While slaloming uncontrollably down a particularly steep dune, the rover took off and landed monoprop face down. The rover only lost two parts. Unfortunately, one of them was the antenna, rendering the rover useless.

Well what would a good adventure be without multi-million-credit setbacks? Onward to Dres! I didn't like this rover design, anyway.

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(or autosave could restore my rover. I think I'll take that. Regardless, about 50 science was transmitted to Kerbin.)

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So I was time warping around Duna when all of a sudden Ike happened:

One autosave restore later, I trimmed my orbit so I wouldn't get caught in Ike's SoI anymore.

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It's a 2-hour window, but it's enough. Two maneuvers. I predict the orbit burn will take about 7 minutes once I reach Dres's SoI. I may have to cut out the Jool portion of the mission because of my miscalculation when transferring to Duna.

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Dres is an unkind planet to otherworldly explorers. The orbit burn is going to cost 1800 delta-v. I'm not certain I will have enough fuel to get home. But at least, if I do not, all of the crew members will be aboard the Triskelion, where they can be picked up by another Triskelion.

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Lobal is on the lander in the highly inclined blue orbit. Kelbald is on the surface.

I doubt I'd be able to retrieve both of them in a single lander trip and rendezvous with the Triskelion.

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Oh, did I mention Lobal's orbit was clockwise?

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I allowed Mechjeb to calculate this particular maneuver. It was surprisingly expensive.

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The lander of the Interplanetary Missioner, the first manned ship I made that successfully traveled to another planet. An inelegant vehicle from a less civilized time.

Edited April 19, 2014 by Saltpeter

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A spellbound Lobal Kerman takes a quick EVA tour of the Triskelion. He's been on his Dres mission, living off of astronaut ice cream in his lander for twelve years. Lobal issues the following statement:

"I got to go to distant planets and eat all the ice cream I wanted. And then I get rescued by a ship that looks like it came out of Star Kerb? I could've done far worse!"

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This is Kirk Kerman. He's been standing at this flag for ten years, valiantly convincing the conspiracy nuts that these flags do not, in fact, wave in the wind that blew in the KSP studio. And mission command forgot he was around. It would seem a third lander trip is necessary. The limits of the Triskelion's fuel are going to be sorely tested on the return trip. I'm hoping to snag an awesome Kerbin aerobrake that in another world would be physically impossible without the ship tearing itself apart.

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Jerwin once again demonstrated his excellent lander chops with a close landing, using less than half the lander's worth of fuel despite the landing zone being at a 100 degree inclination! It's time to bring Kelbald, our last stranded kerb, to the Triskelion.

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The Triskelion crew has itself been at work for nearly nine years. With the crew rescued, the time has come to reunite with the KSP at Hexaflexagon Station. The two landers have been separated and attached to one another, and together have been renamed the Triskelion Rescue Mission Success Monument. KSP officials declare this monument a testament to the great leaps in technology and exploration made possible by the KSP, and swear up and down that it's not just a mass-cutting measure to save on fuel. Jerwin and Merkin, the two lander pilots, are safely aboard the Hitchhiker modules.

Donory, bring us home!

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I've taken the fuel out of the outer tanks. I know it doesn't help my delta-v, but the landers were grabbing fuel out of tanks willy nilly. Mechjeb is gonna handle this transfer. I just hope I don't end up crashing into Kerbin by the time my fuel runs out. That would be too comical for a mission of this length and importance.

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Alas, the Triskelion will not be able to make it home to Kerbin with its remaining fuel. It has a circular orbit around Kerbol, with matched plane to Kerbin.

I have two options:

1. Devise and send a fueling ship to meet up with the Triskelion.

2. Launch another Triskelion.

I'll settle for a fuel launch. This will give the KSP a chance to test Mechjeb's ability to rendezvous with non-planets orbiting Kerbol.

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As it turns out, Mechjeb is very good at this. Jerwin plans on having a celebratory arm-wrestling match with Mechjeb after the Triskelion crew gets home.

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The Triskelion is going to attempt the transfer. It has enough fuel for the injection, but it remains to be seen if it has enough fuel for the orbit burn. KSP scientists were emboldened by projections that the post-Kerbin escape orbit has a peribolion under Eve's orbit, indicating considerable gravity braking. That can be used to the Triskelion's advantage.

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Uh-oh.

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Thanks to some serious 1337ness, the Triskelion can make a safe orbit with one last maneuver. It has enough fuel for this. Probably not enough fuel to get back to Hexaflexagon station, but the next fuel ferry won't have to travel nearly as far.

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Triskelion is now in a safe Kerbin orbit. According to MechJeb, this is the first maneuver in the process of reaching Hexaflexagon station. I'm not saying I don't believe it, but that one maneuver is an entire fuel ferry's worth of delta-v. But the good folks at the KSP will spare no expense to bring their living legends home! Donory, Jerwin, this launch is for you!

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While calculating a circularization burn:

Donory: Hey, I got a Mun encounter! Anyone wanna go to the Mun?

Jerwin and Merkin: Yeah!

Everyone else: NO.

Donory: okay