Reportage - The Minmus Self-Assembling Colony

[DailyFrankPeter]

Hi All,

Just wanted to show off some screenshots from my Grand Project, and hope someone gets as as much of a giggle out of watching this as me playing it!

MISSION BRIEFING:

- Mine Minmus for Science!

- Make it as complicated as possible (because who wants to fly dozens of easy rocket missions, one to each biome?)

So, let's begin the planning phase. This is the craft that will gather me science around Minmus! Based on the discovery that even best Rover Wheels are nothing compared to the Land-Luging Awesomness of aircraft gear. It also flies when it gets bored of driving (actually has enough juice to fly from Kerbin and back but it won't do that.)

Exploded diagram for your convenience! The science gets dropped off to this base, which stores it and provides a humble habitat for Kerbals until the mission is over. Modular design lets me add things that I will have inevitably forgotten. But how will I put this together?

And here's the solution... the Krabarm! Here being gradually tested on the pad. (Note that if I will be able to lift this 3.5t lab part on Kerbin, without the joints falling apart, it will be easy on Minmus. At least that's the hope...)

Here, the first section already in orbit. This observation dome was added as an absolutely last touch, as it is completely pointless (except as a personal challenge). Weighing at 4.5 tonnes, and seating up to 1 Kerbal (!), as well as providing an SAS with HALF the torque of a 0.2t module - it must consist of some very heavy glass indeed... No guarantee that the crane will lift it.

More parts in orbit below. Don't ask me how they were launched there. Let me just say it wasn't terribly elegant.

This package is almost complete and looking more respectable with every launch.

Jebediah Kerman catching a connecting flight back to Kerbin. He will be transferred to other tasks, deemed overqualified for a mission involving sitting around in the colony lab for weeks, adding 0.0131 science point per day (or something ridiculous like that).

This microwave tug will provide enough fuel to pull the passively-powered colony to Minmus, land it and dispose of itself (but hopefully not in the process). It took some EVA rigging though. If you ever attempt tugging with an electromagnet - be aware savegames/time accel don't recognize that (you will find things broken on reload). Thankfully, I was forward-thinking enough to bring boxes of KAS struts and KAS fuelpipes (the latter of which act as docking the two ships). The magnet however is way better than a docking port for when you have to adjust for an offset center of mass, like here. (It also attaches to glass domes for some reason.)

And it's off... Boldly going where no 30-tonne engineless hulk has gone before.

Landing on the solar terminator. Of course I screwed myself, because I had to choose landing on the side of Minmus with:

a) no sun for days to come, no microwave power from Kerbin for my tug (a.k.a.: certain death)

I chose to land with the last light as I don't fancy landing on instruments in total darkness, with no landing gear on this very heavy, and wobbly ship.

The space hulk has landed. Here the tug craft has disengaged and sat nearby, providing a useful (nuclear-powered) lighting platform for Kerbals to get to work on the space train. Of course, I couldn't have just used the tug as a sky crane, because as I was landing it actually started to RUN DRY (!), almost giving me a heart attack (I swear I did not calculate it like that).

Tired of jumping around, as he is removing temporary strutting and putting some makeshift legs on modules, Richlo Kerman puts the crane to use as a cherry picker.

Because it is so god-damn dark we need Richlo Kerman working as crane rigger in order to attach the magnet in COM and take the first heavy module off.

The view from inside the cupola is pretty cool... but it may be its last.

That's it folks! That's as far as I got. I figure I'm letting my crew rest for now, and I'll continue this soon. Hope you liked it!

Edited March 30, 2014 by DailyFrankPeter

[DailyFrankPeter]

Early morning: the assembly continues. Today, module A is finally going down. The rule of heavy lifting (on every planet) says that a very heavy object moving slowly has the same force as a small object moving very fast.. (notice the crane control increments on the left are in the fractional territory ). Despite every SAS on the ship being on, we barely make it without tipping the whole thing over!

Also, we decided to postpone the rest of the work till sunrise, as the magnet kept running out of power in this darkness (it runs on its own PVs, so that it can replant itself from one docking port to another, hydra-style, if need be).

Now to install the corridor links. These will double as the habitat's 'raised foundation system', equaling out differences in module sizes. Each has a pair of symmetrical legs, so rotation alignment here is essential, so that one leg doesn't get a bigger load than the other... and the corridor segment doesn't twist itself off.

Once the corridors are fixed it's just a matter of hitting the 'deploy gear' button, and Module A stands up on it's own.

Mission Specialist Engineer Richlo Kerman says: "Job done! (Time for snacks.)"

(Next up: While working on module A, we find ourselves with a bit of a problem with the lab. Some cabbage in the VAB on Kerbin forgot that docking ports can act as inline decouplers but NOT as radial decouplers, thus we ended up with a module which has its side ports permanently blocked. Useless!)

Edited March 16, 2014 by DailyFrankPeter

[DailyFrankPeter]

A design fault has been discovered, rendering our lab (already in the field) useless. No amount of field work (i.e. right clicking from EVA or using KAS parts) could solve this. Needless to say, professor von Kerman was very angry.

[DailyFrankPeter]

As history teaches us, there isn't a problem that cannot be solved by throwing a couple more billion Kerbal dollars at it. And so, a dropship from Kerbin arrives to deliver a shiny, new replacement lab. Descending into the dark basin with the last rays of sun (there is something about the murkiness of this location...).

It also picks up the broken lab to carry it back, which was a neat feat of precision landing - on top of the towered modules.

It's starting to have a familiar, shapeless look of a proper construction site. That is: an unholy mess with a touch of high-voltage cables flying around. Incidetally, these KAS pipes are quite awesome - apart from pumping fuel one can use them as powerlines to parts without generators, or control cables to parts that don't have probecores.

However, if the crane doesn't get caught in the cables at some point, and cause a catastrophe, I'll be really surprised...

"Wanna know how long this crane arm is? I'll tell you: not a bit too long!"

"Steady... steady..." I think I'd love to be a crane rigger right now...

With Module B ready, connected and acting as counterweight, lifting this 3.5 tonne stock lab is nothing! Notice how it has to be fitted with one corridor segment first, then hoisted, rotated and docked into place with the remaining side port. The legs are extended while the module is still supported by the crane (the stand-up trick does not work with later modules). Also note, the crane is now operating from top of A Module, where it moved itself after the initial unpacking.

The colony is almost ready. "Does someone know what this leftover segment is for?".

"Erm...?"

[DailyFrankPeter]

A couple of updates today. Among others, we are going to deliver the 'Landorover' to the colony.

Romin Kerman takes a look around the habitat in the state that we more or less left it.

Kerbal Space Program offers endless potential for minigames. Such as trying to park this lander underneath the cargo lifter's magnet. Ludlock Kerman knows it's a precise job, as it needs to be hooked up exactly in centre of mass before safe liftoff is possible.

Fascinating perspective, as Ludlock Kerman secures the cargo (once in stable orbit) using Kerbal Attachment System pipe and struts. Speed is essential, as the two objects constantly shift around each other. Cargo has to be attached before any mid-flight savegames or timewarp can be used (because: magnets).

I suppose I could just land the Lander on its own engines, but then I couldn't play Apocalypse Now music when arriving just over the morning horizon! (Kreedence Klearwater Revival?)

"Ground crew, prepare to receive and detach cargo." - After the rigging is removed the Landorover will be able to reach any biome on Minmus, either by land - on powered wheels, or by air - using the VTOL or rear engine (or combination of all of those, actually). It will then drop off the science at the Processing Lab. (It also boasts Mechjeb autopilot, so that I can avoid going nuts after the fifth or so biome.)

Meanwhile, the colony itself has received a new fuel store module and a bigger reactor to power the Interstellar Lab.

Edited April 1, 2014 by DailyFrankPeter

[Mr.Rocket]

Very cool mission, looks well planned and everything

Is your computer melting yet because of the mods and part count?

[Thomas988]

Awesome base there!

[DailyFrankPeter]

Very cool mission, looks well planned and everything

Is your computer melting yet because of the mods and part count?

Thanks! Computer is doing fine (water cooling:)), all mods are texture-compressed by now. Precision landings get trickier and trickier though - last one performed at a 'staggering' 2 FPS

Edited March 30, 2014 by DailyFrankPeter

[DailyFrankPeter]

In today's update, Ludlock Kerman is performing some ground exploration of Minmus. However, despite the gently rolling landscapes, and an occasionally fun ride downhill, everywhere he stops he finds himself on the same, blurry, dull-green* patch of Procedural Stucco.

[*not like Kerbal, healthy-green]

"If Minmus really was made of dessert, even a Kerbal would have had enough of it!" By day 3, our hero is starting to go completely Kubrick. Perhaps the rest of the biome work will have to be done by astronauts Spreadsheet and Autopilot.

Meanwhile, the Mission has just received a new plot twist. Command says they want to start launching missions to other planets soon. The Program Director decided that existing Minmus infrastructure will become part of a larger staging base ("What part count?"). This means: more construction fun!

Romin Kerman: - "I hope this is the Restaurant Module we requested."

Perfect example of in-situ improvisation: having dumped the Fuel Store too far for the automated crane to pick up, Richlo Kerman intends to drag it closer using this abandoned cargo lifter's winch.

Below, a couple of shots of the new layout. We now have the KSP Interstellar Refinery, because (since the discovery of ice on FractalUK's Minmus maps) it's hot stuff apparently and everybody wants to try it out . Actually, the whole left side is now the Industrial Wing, where I put all functions for water extraction, fuel production & storage, power generation and heat sinks... It really does make fuel, though at the rate of a Fremen Windtrap, and we might need waaay more fuel in storage for what Mission Control is planning.

The right side is the Science Wing. A separation corridor of regulatory length provides increased 'explosion protection' (well, on Earth it would, not sure why the Kerbals would put it in - maybe they just want a name plaque in the middle to use for commemorative photos... ).

The Colony now has enough heatsinks to be hooked up to Microwave Power constantly (at least from Kerbinrise to Kerbinset). Not sure I like that, but Mission Command has for now refused to send a proper 40-tonne reactor to Minmus.

Edited April 6, 2014 by DailyFrankPeter

[DailyFrankPeter]

An update on the Kerbal design-and-build adventure.

I now have a 6DOF controller, which, I have to admit, has instantly transformed sky crane drudgery into crazy fun! And just in time, because we have a lot of work to do!

Since the last episode it has become apparent that the I-Robotics parts have a serious flaw, which causes them to accumulate offset over time, in turn causing any designs using them to need replacement every few savegames. The contractor claimed no responsibility, as the robotics have always been experimental. In any case, the adjustable roof radiators need to be scrapped in favour of a simpler design.

Also, we need more fuel tanks for our space resupply station. Yes, it's The Orange Tank... and one will probably not be enough.

Multiple architectural 'layers' definitely liven up the base - creating a somewhat happenstance, oil-rig-esque structure, as the lifter docks temporarily on the observation deck.

And it looks very cool, too .

I love the subtle orange glint from behind the base... yet it's immediately obvious what it is.

The Rover pulls up at the base in order to refuel and drop off science (as if it wasn't busy enough).

We only need to keep one microwave cargolifter around so the one in the background will soon fly off, to most likely be scuttled somewhere out of the way.

Edited April 17, 2014 by DailyFrankPeter

[DailyFrankPeter]

The spice must flow...

Edited April 20, 2014 by DailyFrankPeter

[DailyFrankPeter]

With the Minmus staging base now complete, Mission Control says we can start using it for interplanetary missions.

And this is the first ship we're going to operate from there: the Duna Explorer. Evolved from an initially clunky rocket with some inspiration from Elite Frontier's deltoid aesthetics. The crew nicknamed it the 'Black Adder'.

This thing is the Italian sports car among Kerbal spaceships - built as much for performance as for beauty! It does not need a fairing NOR a 2nd stage vehicle, it's designed to leave Kerbin almost on its own internal fuel tanks + 2 boosters (though a powerful engine is attached just for liftoff); then it reaches Minmus on vapours and refuels there, for a full tank able to take it to Duna and back (or so it says on paper).

Notice the respectable-looking heavy piston landing legs (which are not as heavy-duty as one might hope for shock absorption, however they are excellent at stopping the 100t ship from wobbling compared to just standing on the engines; the ship will have to remain anchored for some time waiting for its launch window).

The Duna Explorer landed and being refuelled.

Edited April 29, 2014 by DailyFrankPeter

[Harusee]

I built a fully set up launchpad/mining base on minmus. This is hands down prettier work. The part count would probably exceed my ability to have a frame rate. Good work man.

[DailyFrankPeter]

I built a fully set up launchpad/mining base on minmus. This is hands down prettier work. The part count would probably exceed my ability to have a frame rate. Good work man.

Thanks, man!

Yeah, the FPS is not something to write home about. But luckily all I need are screenshots!

[DailyFrankPeter]

Couple more pics:

It's crazy... but there is something very Christmas-like about this view

Henbin Kerman wakes up for a night bite and pops out for a stroll around the base. (I forgot to mention the crew is on rotation here, so having spent 100 odd days in the colony Romin's crew was picked up by a shuttle and replaced.)

Incidentally, did you know that a Kerbal weighs 90kgs (as evidenced by the map view)? It must be all the night snacking and unhealthy lifestyle...

[robopilot99]

Really cool. Keep it up!

[KeithStone]

Inspiring me to finally build a self-assembling base! Also, I love the adder, that's a very pretty rocket.

[JayKay]

I'm surprised that the crane works as intended. I tried to build the same sort of thing and found that you couldn't dock the object at the end of the crane to the same structure the crane was anchored on; the object would pass through the docking port as if it wasn't there. I was trying to stack modules and the results were not good.

JK

[DailyFrankPeter]

I'm surprised that the crane works as intended. I tried to build the same sort of thing and found that you couldn't dock the object at the end of the crane to the same structure the crane was anchored on; the object would pass through the docking port as if it wasn't there. I was trying to stack modules and the results were not good.

JK

That's true, hence the magnet. You still have to position it first, undock a part and then 'catch' it as it falls (if it's on the same vehicle), but I find this process more forgiving with a magnet. Also, objects don't fall that quickly on Minmus (and don't get easily damaged if they do).

The crane really is a lot more versatile and practical then I imagined, I even went back to using it after an affair with skycranes and MechJeb, the only problem is the joints and how they deteriorate gradually with game loads.

Inspiring me to finally build a self-assembling base! Also, I love the adder, that's a very pretty rocket.

Thanks.

Edited May 2, 2014 by DailyFrankPeter

[KeithStone]

I'm surprised that the crane works as intended. I tried to build the same sort of thing and found that you couldn't dock the object at the end of the crane to the same structure the crane was anchored on; the object would pass through the docking port as if it wasn't there. I was trying to stack modules and the results were not good.

JK

Actually, I've found you CAN dock while its the same vessel, but the issue is usually the capture strength and acquire range. Using tweakable everything allows for much stronger capture strength to help line your parts up perfectly, and reducing the acquire range allows for the parts to connect even when they start right next to each other.