Triskelion Station Mk. II

[Saltpeter]

I can wait if you can provide. So far it looks sexy.

[Camaron]

https://www./?5gmewgk7qqpmr8c

There it is! No name. Name it if you wish.

1 - Drop Kerbal Pods (and open chutes)

2 - Ditch the Jetfuel spare

3 - Toggle Jet engines

4 - Toggle Rocko Engines

For optimal performance, it now includes a spare Jet fuel tank on the belly. It usually empties around 22,000 m when flown the way the instructions say.

I get good results when flown this way:

Take off - once lifted off the ground turn straight up, but not too fast. General rule - Don't turn more than about 60 degs from its current heading and it should stay stable.

Start levelling off around 15km high.

Try to get your plane heading at around a 10-20 degree slope by the time you're up to 20km. Be watching the spare tanks fuel, it will run out soon.

Cruise at a 10-20 degree upward angle until around 29,000M. Hit 4 to fire the Rockos.

Continue until you reach 36,000M. Hit 3 to shut off the Jet engines. Be quick. if you wait for 37, you will find yourself doing the sky dance.

From there, there really isn't any guesswork. Pick any orbit under 500Km and put it there.

Only downer is that some tanks are hard to get a sight on, for refueling.

Here's a short set of pics showing successful re-entry, pod-drop, and landing from a max altitude of 500,000M, which was a circular orbit.

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Not really sure why there's all this "damage." It's not true.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Camaron

[Saltpeter]

The refinery's storage facility in orbit 630km over Minmus. Since Hexaflexagon was already taken by the station orbiting Kerbin, and it just seemed like the perfect name, this station will collectively be named Minmusopolis.

In the meantime, it's time to test out the proposed spaceplane!

[Saltpeter]

The plane works! I was able to jettison and land without difficulty. All I need now is to test its orbit capabilities.

[Camaron]

Awesome! BTW, do you need a Huge Xenon Fuel Cell based on Sr Docks? I've got one that carries 44,800 with just under 100 parts. Has a generator, monoprop system, and Drone brain so it can manage itself. No clipping! Whole construction is legit.

[Saltpeter]

As much as I like the idea, the thought of refilling a bajillion xenon tanks is a bit of a turnoff. The on-board xenon storage of Minmusopolis is enough.

The plane has successfully docked with the Triskelion, care of Calbart's careful flying. It's time to bring our kerbs home! Bill, Guskin, and Donvin will be the first to depart. Jerwin, who was originally part of the lander test crew, has requested to stay on as a permanent staff member. Who are the KSP to turn down the best lander pilot they've got?

[Saltpeter]

Good luck, and kerbspeed, brave heroes!

[Bearsh]

Nice story!

I also made a story about my stations, Might like to check it out! Don't derail, Hehe.

So great job! Make more!

[Saltpeter]

The plane locates the KSC and prepares to release the payload!

Away they go!

Err...there appear to be technical difficulties.

Hundreds of people watched them land! Calbart confirmed the landing! They must've been whisked away by the Kerbal Military for debriefing. There is still one more plane load of kerbals to bring home!

(They unloaded when the jet left grid while they were still descending. I'm not going to try and redo this until it works within the confines of the game's limitations. D: )

[Saltpeter]

The second load of kerbals to return home are Kirk, Lobal, and Kelbald, the three former residents of Dres. After they get home, the Triskelion will set off for Minmus.

[Saltpeter]

Shot of the pods after a successful mission. The plane is in the background. The time has come for the Triskelion to head out to Minmus!

[Saltpeter]

Before we embark, presenting the standing Triskelion Crew!

Captain and Helmsman, Donory Kerman, has been heading the Triskelion project ever since Mk. II of the station design.

Lander pilot and second-in-command, Jerwin Kerman, is one of the KSP's steadiest hands. He likes to do the "Lets-go-to-the-moon" dance whenever he goes to the moon.

Kerbal legend and rocketry entrepreneur, Jebediah Kerman, kinda decided he wanted to go along and no one disagreed.

Science officer, Sigsey Kerman, keeps to himself in the lab module. What a nerd.

Lander pilot understudy, Merkin Kerman, doesn't mind not having to fly the lander as much. He eats all of Jerwin's snacks.

Internal staff, Jim Kerman, spends his time entertaining the crew with his ability to breathe in vacuum. He will make his permanent home in the SPACE TRUCK

Kerbal legend and internal staff, Bill Kerman, was asked to come along by Jebediah because the rest of the crew wasn't famous enough for Jeb's standards.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Saltpeter

[Saltpeter]

The Triskelion has disembarked from Hexaflexagon Station with 30% fuel. The mission specs indicated 20% fuel cap, but honestly, 10% of fuel would be enough, so the wiggle room is permissible.

[Saltpeter]

Slingshot maneuver, anyone?

[Saltpeter]

The Triskelion is not going to go right to Minmusopolis. First it will deliver the SPACE TRUCK and the Tank unit to the surface of Minmus.

And it just occurred to me. I forgot to make and deliver the kethane-fueled shuttle to the Triskelion. Oops.

[Saltpeter]

One of the tanks had no monoprop when I undocked it. It turns out these tanks are really hard to dock. I need to get the tanks back to the triskelion to fill up on monoprop before I take it to Minmus.

[Saltpeter]

The SPACE TRUCK and the tanks are now properly assembled and awaiting deorbit. 1650 monoprop should be more than enough.

[Saltpeter]

It took nearly all of the monoprop to land the module safely. There's just barely enough left to fill up the SPACE TRUCK once. But now mining can commence!

[Saltpeter]

The Kethane tank on Minmus despawned. I am going to deliver it to Minmus with the test rocket and pretend this never happened. In the meantime, the kethane ferry has arrived in low-Minmus orbit.

[Saltpeter]

The tank and ferry on Minmus. The ferry has capacity for over 100K units of kethane. KSP scientists are excited to explore this mysterious hydrokerbon. Among the practical applications with rocketry, military-sanctioned medical experiments with kethamphetamines as performance-boosting drugs are also underway. The official statement is that it is to find a cure for Bill Kerman's deep psychological traumas incurred on the surface of Ike.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Saltpeter

[Saltpeter]

The tank, when full, makes the construct far too top-heavy. This happened. A redesign is necessary.

[Camaron]

You broke it. It's dead.

[Saltpeter]

The tank unit lives though! However, I feel the flaw in this design may be the tank. I can't really change the shape of the ferry much. I know what I must do!

[Saltpeter]

The new Tank. This one has beams to stabilize the ferry ship when it lands. It's also got threefold symmetry and is much wider than it is tall, so it's much less likely to tip over when a top-heavy ferry lands on its center port.

[Saltpeter]

So the wide fuel tanks under the kethane tanks can't route to the engine. No big deal.