CosMech Astronautics: 0.23.5 Career

[TerLoki]

After far too much procrastination and time spent flying rockets rather than writing about them, I return to the mission report section with a brand new career started just for the ARM pack. Unlike last time, this save uses Kethane, DRE, TACLS, and FAR right from the start, plus a whole bunch of other mods that will probably (maybe) get mentioned along the way. So let's dive in to the highlight reel and see just what our brave astronauts have done so far!

Corvan becomes the first Kerbal in space and first to orbit Kerbin aboard Moho 1. Note the lack of a nose-mounted parachute. Pretty much all of my manned craft have used radial mounted chutes instead in order to make use of the various launch escape systems I have available.

Moho 4, one of the last Moho flights, carries Bill into polar orbit. Also aboard is prototype ScanSAT equipment for the first orbital mapping of Kerbin.

Meanwhile on the unmanned front, Explorer 3 enters the Duna system and conducts experiments in orbit of the red planet and its mun, before a disastrous landing attempt that showed just how thin Duna's atmosphere really is.

Still in one piece are the Explorer 4 solar probe and Explorer 6 Eve probe. Explorer 6 was originally slated to enter Eve's atmosphere, but ran out of fuel before its periapsis was low enough for aerocapture due to a less than optimal intercept.

Milbert and Jebediah perform the first orbital rendezvous and docking on Eve 2.

Bill and Milbert's Eve 3 LEO (long endurance orbiter) docked with Cygnus Station, the first permanent outpost in Kerbin orbit.

Jeb and Jenbert on the first manned mission to the Mun, the EOL (Eve Orbital Laboratory) 1 orbital mapping mission. This Eve-based, Gemini MOL inspired mission lasted about a week while the two did EVAs and experiments, all the while gathering radar data on the Mun's equatorial regions for future landings.

EOL 2 to Minmus, carried out by Bob and Corvan.

The Titan asteroid rendezvous mission, sent to an E class asteroid already captured in a stable orbit above Kerbin. This mission bit off a bit more than it could chew, even with a full orange tank and a rather efficient 2.5m service module engine the Titan only had 40m/s of dV when docked.

More successful was the ADA (Asteroid Docking Adapter), which managed to intercept, grab, and circularize the orbit of a class B asteroid that was flying by Kerbin at a high inclination.

EOL 3, carrying Jenbert and Bill to the asteroid. As of this mission each of the trio have been to a different body orbiting Kerbin on an EOL mission, and this also marked my first successful EVA maneuvering in KSP, once I changed the controls to something I was more used to.

Mariner 1, the first probe to land on another body in the Kerbol system. In this case I chose Minmus, as the large flats give a nice landing site right at sea level so I don't have to mess worry about radar altitude that much. And low gravity is always a plus.

Explorer 7 on course for a Vall flyby. This was my first probe to Jool on this save, and it managed to visit Vall and Tylo in addition to the giant planet before running out of science.

Laythe 1, the second manned flyby of Minmus and first test of the new Laythe M crew vehicle. Inspired by the Soyuz 7K-L1, the Laythe M is being designed alongside the larger Laythe CTV as the main command vehicle for the first manned landings on Minmus.

The Taurus rocket that will carry the first manned landing mission to Minmus. Sort of a hybrid of the Soyuz series and Saturn V, though obviously not on the same scale as the Saturn V.

Inside the fairing. Since I have yet to unlock the 2 man lander can, and the Laythe is Soviet inspired anyway, I decided that this mission will use a 1 man "Ike" lander rather than my typical Dres design. It won't be a long stay on Minmus, the lander only has supplies for a day or two to keep weight down, but it should be a memorable one. Still torn on whether to use a 2 or 3 man crew for the mission as a whole.

And that's where I am right now. Any comments, questions, or critiques are welcome. Also, I've been wanting my own flag or logo for a while now, but can't really draw or photoshop. Details on that are here if you're interested. At any rate, with all that out of the way and this topic finally started the individual missions should be covered a lot more thoroughly in later posts.

Next stop: Minmus!

Edited April 29, 2014 by TerLoki

[TerLoki]

And we're back with an unmanned mission, some "testing", and the first leg of the Laythe 2 Minmus lander mission.

Kicking things off is the Explorer 8 probe to Moho, shown here launching atop a Canis 2 rocket, the most powerful probe launcher in use by CosMech. How powerful? Well it has enough thrust and dV to send an Explorer-series probe out of Kerbin's SoI using only the first stage and SRBs. That Skipper sure does burn for a while.

And here we see the little probe on its flyby. As of this mission only 6 moons and dwarf planets remain unvisited by some CosMech craft or another, we'll have to rectify that some time.

There were a few hiccups in the Laythe program between Laythe 1 and 2, mostly concerning payload mounting and the Taurus rocket. Specifically, the original Taurus design called for both the first stage "boosters" and second stage "core" to use the same 1.875m G90 engine. This configuration proved to be a bit underpowered on launch, taking too long to get up to speed. The first thought was to upgrade the first stage to 2.5m common booster cores (as found on the Antares launcher used for payloads such as Cygnus Station and the ADA) modified to use Skippers, but that too proved to be underpowered. So now the rocket uses four Mainsail CBCs, modified with aerodynamic fins and small solid fuel sepratrons in the nose cone. The second problem was insufficient bracing of the payload, causing excess wobble and making the rocket fly out of control. This dry run of the mainsail-powered Taurus 3 turned into an impromptu, but successful LES test because of the wobble problem.

With the rocket, lander, and capsule all checked out and ready to go, Laythe 2 lifts off from the pad carrying Bob and Milbert to Minmus. This shot probably gives the best view of the Taurus 3 as it is now. It feels wrong to use the KSO vertical stabilizers for something other than the KSO, but I can't deny how effective they are at keeping the rocket on course.

With the TWR problem solved the first stage can now probably lift the whole rocket up to orbit SSTO style, though the Mainsails would probably burn out during circularization. For my purposes however, that's not going to happen. With the first stage burned out the rocket now has an apoapsis of just over 200km, and we're going even higher eventually.

The second stage handles most of the circularization, leaving the last 150 or so m/s to the third stage so that Kerbin orbit stays clean.

With the fairing removed and LES jettisoned, it's time for the transmunar injection burn off to Minmus. There was another burn earlier change planes, but this post will be picture heavy enough as it is.

With the TMI burn done and the third stage nearly out of fuel, it's time for Bob and Milbert to unhook and grab the lander.

I don't know how MechJeb would handle this, but I can safely say that this maneuver is way more difficult than it may seem at first. Having to do it without SmartASS on a previous test flight was rather nerve-wracking. Come on Milbert, you've almost got it!

The Laythe M capsule and Ike M lander, docked and flying free. A quick burn from the Laythe's service module engine to adjust periapsis and the boys settle in for their 9 day trip.

Despite the Soviet influence on this mission there are some notable differences from the LK and Soyuz LOK in the design of these two craft. Firstly, the Laythe M uses solar panels rather than fuel cells. This was more of an aesthetic choice, since I do have the universal storage fuel cells. I wanted the ship to look more like the Soyuz 7K-L1, though I'd have much rather used the Soyuz-style panels from the NFP pack, but I don't have them unlocked. Also, aside from preferring the 7K-L1 to the LOK, the orbital module was omitted in part to save weight, but also because the Ike M uses a full-sized docking port, allowing for an Apollo-like crew tunnel and letting the lander take on the orbital module's role while en route to Minmus. Lastly, the Ike M is only a single stage, because Minmus has such low gravity that it could actually probably do two landings with the fuel it has.

Hello Minmus! Having arrived in orbit, Milbert and Bob fire up the engines again to circularize around the little minty-green mun.

With Kerbin and the Mun in the background, the Ike M is readied for Bob's landing. Will Bob be the first Kerbal to set foot on another world? Will Milbert eat all the snacks out of boredom while waiting for his commander's return? Will some artist make a logo for CosMech before the flag planting? Find out in the next post!

Edited April 14, 2014 by TerLoki

[TerLoki]

Wrapping up our Minmus landing, we rejoin our crew in orbit.

With system checks complete, Bob disengages the Ike 3 and begins his descent.

Coming in on final approach. Unlike the Mariner 1 probe, Bob's landing site is in the midlands, in order to look at some more interesting topography. As a precaution however, the landing site is close to the flats for an alternate landing site, and an abort to orbit is possible.

Almost there... .

Touchdown! Bob climbs down to the surface, becoming the first Kerbal to walk on another world. Also, he forgot the camera, so this is the only shot of him on the surface. Wait... Then where did this come from? O_o

Flags planted, samples taken, and science done, the Ike M lifts off with Bob to rendezvous with Milbert and head home.

Milbert brings the Laythe M in to capture the lander. The Ike M does have its own RCS, but it's not as balanced as the Laythe M's systems, so we let our resident docking expert handle it.

With Bob safely aboard, the crew takes a moment to rest in orbit after this momentous occasion and transfer samples to the command capsule.

Its purpose served, the Ike M is disengaged and deorbited on autopilot.

Kerbin's getting pretty big in the window.

After a few last-minute simulations KSC decides to err on the side of caution and leave the service module attached during reentry. Problems with the heatshield had shown a possibility of rendering the capsule's parachutes inoperable. Explosively.

Fortunately the service module absorbed all of the entry heating, and Bob and Milbert returned 27 days later to a hero's welcome.

[TerLoki]

After the success of Laythe 2, our engineers are hard at work on an upgraded spacecraft for the next Minmus landing.

After complaints about conditions aboard the capsule during the long return flight and debates over whether to have an orbital module or separate lander, one engineer supposedly said "Why not have both?" After the ensuing fiesta work began on the Ike 2M. The new design makes use of a a detachable command pod that can remain with the return capsule until reentry, improving living conditions for the crew. The capsule can also stay in orbit under autonomous control for long durations, if so needed. Other upgrades to the Ike 2M include high fuel capacity, a simplified RCS system, improved communications systems and extended life support capabilities. The Laythe M also received an upgrade, the 2M version now possessing improved electrical systems and a more robust parachute and docking system.

Meanwhile KSC has been using passing asteroids as an excuse to test out improved launch systems. Here we see the new Taurus 4 carrying ADA 2 on course to capture a B class asteroid.

This rock won't be as easy to capture as the first ADA's target, but engineers are confident the improved propulsion system is up to the task.

Capture went smoothly and hardly used up any fuel putting the target asteroid into a circular orbit just outside of and on the same plane as Minmus. The plan is for this asteroid to form the base of an eventual Minmus research and refueling station, but those maneuvers will have to wait as KSC just spotted a D class inbound!

Hastily modified and mounted atop a Taurus 5 rocket, ADA 3 launches to attempt KSC's most ambitious capture yet.

Despite the asteroid still being a week from periapsis at launch, it was decided to loiter in orbit and plan the rendezvous as it was heading out of the Kerbin system to reduce the required dV for capture.

Now that's one big space rock.

Docked and burning for capture.

It took nearly all the ADA 3's fuel, but eventually this new asteroid was put into a highly inclined orbit just outside the Mun.

The next few weeks were spent getting ADA 2 and its payload into a nice 75x70 equatorial orbit above Minmus. Its purpose served, the propulsion system separates.

Since designers of the old Titan Asteroid Tug didn't have the foresight to add docking port, the new Laythe AR (Asteroid Rendezvous) is being tested for a mission out to the Titan's E class behemoth. Like on the new Laythe 2M, the orbital module can be separated for autonomous flight as a permanent docking adapter to the asteroid.

Another happy landing. Because of the grabber unit, the Laythe AR has to use a pusher launch abort system similar to the later Eve missions.

There has been a bit of debate on whether to use the Laythe AR as-is or develop it into an super-extended orbiter using modified station components.

[TerLoki]

First of all, a big thank you to bwalker1974 for the new logo, which will now be used on pretty much all flights unless I undertake a mission big enough to warrant requesting its own patch, and is also now at the top of the page. I'm posting it here anyway to save some scrolling, and because it looks cool.

Now with that said, on to the last two missions: Explorer 9 and Laythe 3. The first, Explorer 9, was a rather ambitious attempt to revisit the Jool system and test out new technologies.

Specifically this is the first test flight of the new barometric pressure sensors in deep space, as well as a dry run of the service module for the proposed Laythe "Enhanced Endurance Crew Vehicle".

Aerobraking at Jool. Coming in a little shallow, but I'm sure it's nothing to...

Oh.

Well... Crap. Okay, that mission's a wash. Let's try going back to Minmus.

Jeb and Corvan on the pad, ready to go.

Up in orbit, executing the TMI burn. No problems so far.

He may not have as much docking experience as Milbert, but Corvan still pulls it off nicely.

Separated from the third stage, we get a better view of the new Ike 2M lander as the crew readies for their first course correction burn.

A close-up of the flag in-game, also showing off the side of the Laythe 2M service module and its bells and whistles.

Now in Minmus orbit, Jeb separates the Ike 2M and prepares for descent.

Right on course for a landing in the lesser flats. Easy does it, Jeb.

And touchdown! This landing went even smoother than Bob's on Laythe 2, the added gyroscopic stabilizers really help.

One small step for a Kerbal, one giant leap for Kerbal-kind! Wait, that was Bob's line. Though I feel like even he was quoting someone, probably just deja-vu.

Bouncing around in low gravity like a superhero, because why not?

With science done and samples loaded, Jeb reluctantly heads back to orbit.

Since the Ike 2M has a stripped-down RCS system to save weight (only intended for horizontal translation), Corvan and the Laythe 2M have to perform the final docking maneuvers.

Its purpose served, the lander's propulsion module is jettisoned.

With all the modules detached, Jeb and Corvan begin reentry.

The service module burns up below our crew as they blaze across the sky.

Landed safe and sound! Now only one more of the trio has yet to land on Minmus: Bill. But before then, I think it's high time we paid a visit to that E class asteroid.

[SuperWeegee4000]

I really enjoy this! Keep up the good work you're doing.

[TerLoki]

Grazie.

Catching up with the space program, the higher ups have decided that it's high time to actually do something with the E class asteroid grabbed by the Titan asteroid tug.

So a Taurus 3 rocket was prepared to send up the ADA 4 mission was launched to supply a permanent docking port for the asteroid, now named "Kevin".

The ADA 4 also has the job of flight testing a new cryogenic upper stage being developed for the planned Draco heavy lifter and Duna next generation crew vehicle.

With the ADA in place it's time to send up the crew. Bob, Sherfrey, and Ergan take off on the main flight of the Laythe Enhanced Endurance Crew Vehicle to rendezvous with Kevin.

Bob and Ergan chill in the orbital module, much more spacious than the standard Laythe CTV or Laythe 2M's OM.

Seriously, that's one big rock.

Docked with Kevin. Our crew's mission will be a month-long stay to study surface samples and study long-term living in space.

Bob on EVA.

After a rather long stay, and with Kevin approaching peripasis around Kerbin, our crew departs.

Reentry pointed out a design flaw with the Laythe EECV, that being that the orbital module has less drag than the return module, causing the two to actually reconnect during reentry. Thankfully a bit of maneuvering once the craft was down below 1000m/s was able to dispose of the OM, and gave our crew a nice safe landing.

Despite urgings from our engineering teams that new technologies still need to be perfected before planning out the Constellation program, a system of at least three space stations around Kerbin and its muns to facilitate long term exploration and manned interplanetary flights, design and ground-testing began on a concept for a self-contained surface habitat for use on Minmus. Also slated for launch are Laythe 4, Bill's Minmus landing; and the new Cygnus Sensor Palette/Adaptor, which will add a telescope, kethane detector, multispectral analysis equipment, and docking adapter to facilitate visits by Laythe spacecraft.

[TerLoki]

Apologies for the lack of activity, Operation: Bothersome Boulder has kept me rather busy. But now to make up for it we have not one, but TWO landings!

Bill and Jenbert launch on Laythe 4, the third Minmus landing mission.

This landing uses the new Laythe 3M command module and Ike 3M lander. The command module and lander are very similar to the 2M series, but feature a new service module for the Laythe and modified propulsion module for the Ike.

With all systems checked out and ready to go, Bill heads down in the lander. His landing site will be a bit different than Bob and Jeb's were. Rather than exploring all-new territory Bill will be landing in the flats near the old Mariner 1 lander probe.

On the ground and ready to get to work.

The probe seems to have toppled over since last contact, and its antennae are retracted, which would definitely explain its silence.

Still, the solar panels and cameras are working. Bill uses the ground test interface to check the probe's systems and snap a quick selfie. It's possible that some kind of seismic activity toppled the probe, but the Bill doesn't have any equipment to check that.

Back in orbit we get a good view of the new all-in-one service module on the Laythe 3M as the recombined craft heads off to make one last stop before coming home.

This asteroid, Arthur, is a B class that was captured some time ago and parked in an equatorial Minmus orbit. The docking adapter seems to have suffered micro meteorite damage in that time, but is still operational. This time Jenbert will be the one to leave the ship in order to collect surface samples from Arthur.

Prepping for reentry. After and eventful, but safe mission our two brave crewmen return home and land without incident.

People on Kerbin have been pushing for CosMech to attempt a full-blown Mun landing for some time now, and as a result the Duna L mission was hastily planned and assembled. Despite using the same Taurus series launchers as the Laythe M missions, the Duna L and Dres L spacecraft are two completely difference vehicles.

Jeb, Milbert, and Matdan lift off on Duna 1, the first attempted Loonar landing. Unlike the Laythe missions this trip will be shorter duration, that plus the newer and roomier Duna capsule means a crew of three can be brought along in comfort, and the new two-stage Dres L lander means that two astronauts can land as opposed to the Ike's one-man crew.

Preparing for lander docking. Despite the heavier payload the CCTS (common cryogenic transfer stage) is up to the task of putting our boys on course for the Mun.

Jeb and Milbert make their descent while Matdan stays in orbit. CosMech was worried about this mission, the Dres L lander in particular, and so sent two of their best pilots. If anything goes wrong Jeb and Milbert should be able to handle it.

On the surface without incident, Jeb and Milbert check out the view. Already a problem with the lander has showed up, the scientific payloads are out of reach! Unable to collect data on the most important experiments the crew decides to transmit and get what they can in terms of surface samples and temperature readings to the crew cabin for return.

Problem two was a more serious design flaw, the crew module wouldn't separate! Despite successfully decoupling the descent module the ascent stage stayed firmly attached on the first take-off attempt. After a quick abort and external the problem was found: The interleaving fuel tanks of the descent stage, meant to save space, had shifted and warped during landing, and were now clamped firmly around the central fuel tank of the ascent stage. The solution hadn't been tested, but worked well enough. The crew simply transferred fuel to the descent module and used the LV-909 landing engine to put the overburdened spacecraft into a low orbit for rendezvous.

After a superb bit of flying from Matdan to dock with the damaged Dres L, the lander was separated and automatically crashed into the Loonar surface. The mission was a success, but only just barely.

Fortunately the Duna L had been in development for a longer period, and flew flawlessly in spite of having to borrow equipment from older spacecraft to be ready on time. And so our crew returns home, the first Kerbals to set foot on the Mun.

[TerLoki]

While ground teams work tirelessly to upgrade and work out all the bugs of the Duna L and Dres L the unmanned operations center has seen a few of its projects bumped up the launch schedule. The most impressive of these being the brand new Pyxis space telescope.

The first orbital observatory above Kerbin, the Pyxis has been hailed as a great achievement by the scientific community. In its short time in orbit the Pyxis has already provided invaluable data on Kerbin's atmosphere, studied distant star formations beyond the reach of ground based telescopes, and provided superb images of the other planets.

The Jool system, with Laythe, Vall, and Tylo visible. Unfortunately the Pyxis has several faults in its software and power systems, and is set to be supplemented by a second more advanced telescope some time in the near future.

Meanwhile the major faults of the Dres L lander have been sorted out, and Bill, Sherfrey, and Munmy launch aboard Duna 2 for the second Mun landing.

Docking and orbital injection went boringly smooth. Here we see the crew just entering the Mun's sphere of influence.

Bill and Munmy head down to the surface. Despite continuing the tradition of taking one of the trio down to the surface as lander pilot, veteran Sherfrey decided to stay up in the command module and let rookie Munmy walk on the Mun instead. Sherfrey later said he preferred the view from orbit anyway.

Posing with the flag. The slope of the landing site was greater than expected, and at one point it was thought the lander might tip over. But some quick thinking by Munmy and a blast from the RCS thrusters quickly sorted that out.

Lift-off! One important feature of the improved ascent module is the four engine propulsion system. Multiple engines plus a high thrust-to-weight ratio enables "engine out" operations in case of failure on one ascent engine (or two if they happen to be non-adjacent). Safety first!

Docked back in orbit.

With crew aboard, samples transferred, and the ascent module deorbited Duna 2 heads home.

A few weeks after Duna 2's safe return Duna 3 lifts off, carrying Bob, Jenbert, and Geofrey. The Dres lander has received one last modification in the meantime, as Bill and Munmy were unable to retrieve data from the materials bay on their lander. The now fully realized Dres 2L fixed this problem as well as providing additional fuel reserves for the descent stage.

Bob and Geofrey disengage from the command module. Note the newer, less cluttered service module design. the Duna CSM is now finally operating at full specs with all the technologies developed for it. Including improved solar panels and regenerative life support.

Descending to the surface. The Dres 2L also has upgraded electrical systems compared to older designs, adding landing lights and replacing the solar panels with four RTGs to enable dark-side landings.

Bob and Geofrey smile for the camera. The third Mun landing was also the most successful to date, bringing back data from all instruments and having no problems during flight.

Returning to orbit from the newly named Hutton midlands. Geofrey got to pick the name, all the non-geologists at CosMech are scratching their heads as to why he chose that one.

Deorbiting the ascent module. Jenbert's aim when computing and executing the automatic burn was impeccable, crashing the crew cabin right outside of Newton crater, site of the Duna 1 landing.

Bob, Jenbert, and Geofrey reenter Kerbin's atmosphere after a successful mission.

Not content with current fairing systems, management was directed to acquire the rights to a new "procedural" system currently in development. Our engineers are quite pleased with the results so far.

Finally, with the problems of Mun landings sorted out for the foreseeable future and plans for a larger modular space station to replace Cygnus Station occupying our manned engineers, the unmanned operations center has set to work on project Sojourner. Sojourner is their most ambitious endeavor to date, consisting of a minimum of two spacecraft (four optimally) including an orbital mapping satellite and rover to explore Duna. Having never successfully landed on Duna or any other body outside of Kerbin's SoI before many are skeptical, but the engineers are undaunted and say it can be done. We'll just have to wait and see if they're right.

[TerLoki]

After hours upon hours of simulations, stress tests, and calculations the Sojourner mission lifts off. Rather than multiple rockets launching four separate spacecraft (two rovers and two orbiters), the unmanned operations center had to make due with two vehicles, the Surveyor 1 orbiter and Sojourner 1 rover, launched atop the same Taurus 4 rocket. While this cut costs and minimized the need for careful timing and coordination between multiple spacecraft, it added a larger degree of complexity to the launch vehicle and orbital insertion maneuver.

Burning for Duna. The trip will take about 200 days, at which point the entire payload will have to be carefully disassembled in precisely the right order for Duna entry and capture.

Duna looms ahead. The payload propulsion system prepares one final burn to bring periapsis down 4km, ensuring the Sojourner rover will be captured rather than simply skipping off into orbit.

Payload separation. Both the rover and the orbiter are now operating on their own independent power and guidance now.

Free of its fairing, Surveyor 1 extends its solar panels and activates its argon-fueled ion thruster for the first time, adjusting its orbit to avoid entering the atmosphere along with the rover and now useless propulsion module.

This is it. Screaming in at over 1500m/s, Sojourner 1 hits the top edge of the atmosphere and passes the point of no return.

At roughly 8km over the terrain the parachute is predeployed.

Passing through the clouds at 4km over the ground, the parachute now fully deploys and the heat shield is jettisoned. At this point the rover was still traveling over 1000m/s

At a speed of roughly 180m/s final descent begins. The parachute, fairings, and underside mount are released to allow the rover to execute a powered landing on rockets.

Braking at full thrust. It may not be the insane 1500m/s of atmospheric interface, but 180m/s is still a lot of speed for those little LV-1s to shed.

Onboard SAS brings the rover upright.

Only a few meters above the ground, the rockets are only firing at one-third power now.

Less than a meter above the ground, traveling at only a half meter per second, the rockets decouple and throttle up to crash land away from the rover.

Landed! With the rocket pack discarded and all six wheels on Dunan soil, Sojourner 1 is officially the first spacecraft to soft land on another planet.

Meanwhile in orbit, Surveyor 1 executes two long burns of its ion engines to bring it into a highly inclined 132km orbit above Duna. As night falls for Sojourner 1 the orbiter begins mapping out the surface, searching for anomalies to investigate.

The arrival of dawn brings about Sojourner 1's first, and sadly last, day of work on the surface. After running through all of its experiment modules and relaying the data back to mission control the rover was directed to investigate a valley near its landing site. Unfortunately the slope was steeper than controllers had expected, and contact was lost with the rover not long after. Telemetry shows that it had gone out of control at roughly 30m/s moving down slope, being unable to slow down the rover began tumbling end over end and crashed.

Sojourner 1's stay was sadly brief, but it was deemed a resounding success. The little rover was the first craft to land on Duna, the first to bring back readings from the surface, and the first rover deployed by CosMech. The Surveyor 1 orbiter is still fully operational, and engineers are already hard at work prepping a new rover to investigate whatever it may find on the red planet.

Also, on yet another sad note, Cygnus Station was deorbited just before the launch of the Sojourner mission.

Having served its purpose and seeing no real reason to upgrade the station rather than construct a newer, more advanced one in equatorial orbit, Cygnus was crashed into the ocean. It will be succeeded by the first Constellation series space station in missions to come.

Edited April 28, 2014 by TerLoki

[TerLoki]

Today we have a tale of probes, what could very well be the last hurrah of the Explorer series, and a lesson on the importance of safety margins.

First to blast off is Explorer 10, on a quest to finish Explorer 6's original mission of landing on the mysterious purple planet, Eve.

Lined up for a proper descent with a periapsis of 50km, the probe's systems are primed and ready to see what lies beneath the dense cloud cover.

The during entry the heat shield reaches an unprecedented 1254 degrees Celsius, hot enough to bleed through the thermal protection for a brief moment and fry the secondary battery bank.

Despite the intensity of the upper atmosphere the rest of the descent goes slowly, as Explorer 10 dives through Eve's thick clouds toward the ground.

From initial parachute deployment at 25km up, it takes roughly 7 minutes to fall through the cloud layer.

Between the extreme heat, high pressure, and thick atmosphere, I don't think any samples are going to be coming back from Eve's surface any time soon.

Up next are the twins Explorer 11 and 12. Launched atop separate rockets the two probes are bound for Jool, hoping to finally get a good look at its atmosphere and, more importantly, make the first landing on Laythe.

The reason for sending both probes near simultaneously was for redundancy. Engineers predicted HUGE stresses on the spacecraft entering Laythe's atmosphere directly from interplanetary space like this. Therefore it was decided that Explorer 11 should take the plunge ahead of its twin passing Pol's orbit. That way in the event of catastrophic failure Explorer 12 could alter course for a second attempt at the Laythe landing at a shallower angle.

It seems this caution was well-founded. Minutes after entering the atmosphere Explorer 11's signal was terminated, and Explorer 12's instruments observed a tiny explosion in Laythe's upper atmosphere. The probe had broken up on entry from the extreme G forces associated with hitting the atmosphere at 5km/s.

In order to avoid repeating that mistake, Explorer 12 would come in on the day side and use the last bit of fuel in its transit stage to shed speed before hitting the atmosphere.

Here we go, there's no turning back now.

Just like Explorer 10's Eve landing, temperatures exceeded 1200 degrees Celsius on the heat shield. Unlike Explorer 10 however, the twins were prepared for this, and had come equipped with a secondary heat shield just in case.

Turns out it was necessary after all. The primary shield, disintegrated under the extreme heat and stress.

Chute deployment! The entire room cheered when this signal came back. Explorer 12 had survived the most difficult atmospheric entry in CosMech history, just barely withstanding the intense heat and a peak 15 Gs of deceleration for 30 seconds.

With the parachute deployed and heat shield discarded, Explorer 12 begins relaying atmospheric data before splashdown.

Unfortunately the force of atmospheric entry had just been too much for the little probe, which broke apart on splashdown.

Meanwhile back in Kerbin orbit, the new Sextans Telescope is deployed and begins providing images of the planets and stars. Unfortunately some scientists on the ground were a bit too eager to image Moho, and blew out the processor as the Sun came into view. Whoops.

In light of this a repair mission is being prepped to replace the damaged processor, using the latest Laythe crew vehicle to carry it out. Milbert, Ergan, and Adam will be launching for the telescope shortly.

And now I have a question for you, the reader (I'd make a poll, but I can't find the option while editing the first post found the option, poll is up): Which long term project should CosMech undertake after the telescope service mission?

Gemini Station: A modular station using 2.5m parts in a high Kerbin orbit (possibly synchronous).

Capricorn Station: A modular laboratory and fuel depot in Loonar (Mun) orbit to facilitate Loonar exploration with a reusable lander.

Libra Station: A station of the same design and purpose as Capricorn, but with added Kethane refining abilities, that will be located above Minmus.

Libra Outpost: Alternative to Libra Station, a small Cygnus-style station is deployed in Minmus orbit to service a surface base complete with reusable landers, kethane refining equipment, and on-site labs.

Edited April 29, 2014 by TerLoki

[meve12]

I recommend doing, in this order:

Gemini Station(with fuel depot)

Libra Station and Outpost

Capricorn station

[TerLoki]

Gemini is sort of the odd one out of the three stations in that it doesn't have a real "need", but if it were to have one fuel depot would be it. Thing is, since most of my rockets and spacecraft can get to Minmus in one shot with no problems and most fuel would be coming from there. I never really like the idea of launching up fuel tanks except when necessary, mostly rescue missions. So what fuel would it be holding in theory? Argon, xenon, and hydrogen, mostly argon though. Yeah, I love NFP to death and all my big interplanetary mission use it, so the only ship I could ever see docking at a Kerbin Orbit is a big honkin' VASIMR driven interplanetary expedition ship. Gemini... Could do that, but I'm not sure if it would work. The part count of Gemini and a ship docked together might melt my computer, but it might work if I used a smaller sleeker design than my usual design of "big core, four modules, two trusses, two fuel tank docks". Maybe something like Ophiuchus Station that I planned on putting up last career would be best for that, "core, three stripped down hab modules, three docking arms, three fuel tanks".

[Fox62]

I would say Libra Station due to it being a project that is Project Apollo sized I would imagine.

[TerLoki]

Starting things off with a bang today, the launch of Milbert, Ergan, and Adam aboard the Laythe 6 mission to service the Sextans space telescope in synchronous orbit around Kerbin.

Experience gained since the first Laythe missions to Minmus has led to a reevaluation of the old Taurus 1 rocket, which performed flawlessly this mission.

Using the upper stage to burn for intercept. The Laythe MPCV is a very capable ship, but it just can't make it to an orbit this high and back on its own with a good safety margin.

Docked with the telescope, Adam prepares for his spacewalk to replace the blown processor. This is the first time we've used KAS modular components, so things are a bit tense.

Retrieving the processor. Easy does it.

Processor in place. This took a bit of finagling, apparently the mounts were placed on upside down by mistake on the ground.

Burning for reentry, a good look at the MPCV with all its gizmos deployed.

A quick look one of the four new Tylo type KSO shuttles, the Adamant, assembled in the VAB with a simulated payload. A KSO in this configuration could hypothetically be used for crew ferry and service missions inside of synchronous orbit. Orbital rendezvous and refueling could be used to extend that range further if needed, though fuel requirements for reaching a circular 100km orbit prior to reentry would severely limit this in practice.

And speaking of the KSO, Sherfrey, Munmy, Corvan, and Geofrey lift off aboard the first flight of the Resolute, a long term mission to polar orbit to test the orbiter's systems and several scientific instruments.

I'm not sure who in the KSO thread mentioned that how well the new NASA SRBs work with it, but I have to agree! I think I may have a replacement for the old LRBs, which for some reason are broken in my game currently. I blame HotRockets.

Burning to apoapsis. Since this is its maiden voyage the Resolute is equipped with 6 radial parachutes, just in case things go pear-shaped during descent.

External tank released and circularizing.

We have orbit! STS-1 is carrying a long term habitat module, gravioli detectors, and ScanSAT equipment, basically turning the orbiter into a more advanced, reusable version of the EOL.

Simulations were also carried out on the ground for a Buran-style KSO variant using a "direct to high orbit" launch system. Results were... Discouraging.

The last new mission begun was Surveyor 2, a heavily upgraded version of the Surveyor 1 probe currently at Duna, which is bound for Eve. Launching it is the long-delayed but highly effective Draco 1 medium lifter. As a side note: I need to work on my ascent path. FAR did NOT like this thing without a tail, so I added four KSO stabilizers so I could save time and use the typical Taurus launch plan. Need to work on that.

Surveyor 2 in orbit, testing its instruments. I'd like to give a shout-out to DMagic's science pack for providing some very sweet parts, some of which are prominently displayed here while others will be included on Sojourner 2 and the eventual Voyager series.

Before that however, it's time for the Resolute and its crew to come home. Since the polar orbit made KSC a very hard target to hit (moreso that usual) and this was an unproven design, mission controllers and the crew opted for a "field landing" in the flattest place the could think of that could be reached from the shuttle's inclination: The south pole.

Initial reentry heating. This went on for an eternity as the shuttle very slowly bled off speed and skipped across the atmosphere. It was expected, but highly annoying.

This image was taken about ten minutes after the previous picture and after reentry effects had disappated once or twice. The only reason the effects are so intense is because of the altitude, otherwise the orbiter's heat resistant tiles were actually around 300 degrees cooler at this point.

S-turning to bleed off some more speed.

Despite flying on instruments for most of reentry, Corvan decided to dive below the clouds rather quickly to make scoping out a landing site easier. I don't really blame him, especially considering how well the orbiter glides.

Gear down, brakes deployed, coming it for a landing. There's a little bit of slope to the landscape, but most of the ice sheet is so flat you don't have to worry about it.

And I forgot a picture of the orbiter landed. Just ignore the altitude readout and picture the main landing gear touching down.

Next time: Surveyor 2 departs for Eve!

Edited April 30, 2014 by TerLoki

[TerLoki]

Well the poll results seem pretty clear, so here's a quick mini-update. I'm currently designing and test-fitting components for Libra Station, which will be built in two segments attached to the asteroid "Arthur" currently in Minmus orbit. The two segments will be opposite each other on the asteroid, and consist of the smaller refinery segment built off of the ADA already in place on the asteroid, and the crew segment which will anchor directly using KAS struts and its own independent claw.

As planned, the refinery segment will have five modules (not counting the ADA) sent up in four launches. A central hub will be launched first, and attached directly to the ADA with two KSO docking modules coming off the sides. The next payload would be the other two "horizontal" hub elements, a KSO observation module and Mk. 1 lander can re-purposed as an airlock. Finally, the main refinery module would attach to the open node. The refinery would broken down into two parts, consisting of the converter attached to a half-sized rockomax fuel tank and 2.5m docking hub, and a large kethane storage tank.

On the flip-side, the crew segment will consist of a core, two hab modules, a lab, a utility module, two extra docking arms, and two trusses. A WIP shot is pictured below.

The core module as it is here will change a bit, with the purely structural hub being replaced by a hitchhiker module and structural adapters to provide pressurized access to the two docking arms. The utility module is on the left, and houses primary life support and the main airlock (again, a re-purposed lander can). The lab on the right is exactly what you'd think, a mobile processing lab with a docking adapter on the end consisting of an inline clamp-o-tron and 0.625m KSO docking port. The two hab modules will come off front and back on the same level, and consist of an inflatable module and docking adapter of the same design as the lab modules. Moving upward the docking arms have yet to be designed, but will be directly above the hab modules, coming out farther to ensure good clearance and having at least two docking ports each, three preferably. Which leaves the redesigned truss segments. Each truss will be sent up in two parts: The three solar panel elements and the main base. Each solar element has two NFP Megalodor panels and a (purely aesthetic, sadly) radiator panel. The base will contain most of the station's battery power and serve as the attachment point for between twelve and twenty-four KAS containers, which will hold spare parts and help keep part counts low.

Once the core is connected and a few pieces added on, the crew will use materials sent up to construct a ladder system and fuel line connecting the two segments. These will be purely cosmetic, but for a permanent outpost it makes more sense than transferring crew and materials through solid rock. Also, KAS containers will be used to strip modules of any unnecessary equipment after docking and remove it from the station in order to keep this from being too much of a lag hog.

Lastly, the embarked craft. The station is planned to have a crew of six, but with this much to do I may bump that up to nine. Of course there will be enough crew vehicles present at all times to fully evacuate the station, in the form of the same Laythe and Duna MPCVs they came in on, or possibly the KSO if I ever get it out that far. Next are the landers. First the ALCOR-based Eeloo MMRL, which is the scientific lander. I don't have pictures right now, but it is basically what you'd think: A three man reusable lander with various science experiments aboard, capable of operation on both Minmus and the Mun. Refueling will be carried out on-orbit thanks to the Dres MK lander, a kethane extractor and hauler designed to land, top off its tanks, extract a full load of kethane, and return to the station. Moving all of these modules around is going to be a pain, so the Pol workbee (the KSO station tug) will be the first or second auxiliary craft sent up, in order to assist in assembly. Lastly, the Vall ACTV. I could've sworn I had a picture of it, but I don't. The Vall will be the main cargo hauler, consisting of an SDHI service module (same as the Duna MPCV), eight KAS containers, and a pressurized module containing food water and oxygen. Its job is to resupply the station's consumables, bring in spare parts, and remove components that are no longer needed.

So there you have it. This post was a bit wordier than I thought it would be, and I still think I left some parts out. We'll leave it at that until the next mission update.

Edited May 2, 2014 by TerLoki

[TerLoki]

Apologies for the late update, we're going to just right in since more has happened than I remembered.

Laythe 7 performed another service mission to the Sextans space telescope, swapping out experiments and upgrading the processor core. This service mission included three spacewalks, including the longest to date, performed by Oring and Erlo.

Surveyor 2 arrived at Eve, but unfortunately the power draw from its single Hall thruster proved too great for even eight RTGs. The probe was left in orbit, but with insufficient power for maneuvers and just barely enough to provide mapping data.

Following that fiasco, Surveyor 3 was launched to provide detailed biome and altimetry data on the Mun. This time a solar powered design was used, if successful one of these probes would be sent to Eve to finish Surveyor 2's mission.

Not only was it capable of maneuvering at 75% thrust with no power loss, but the probe had enough dV to extend its mission and map Minmus as well. Controllers are currently seeking permission to use the last fuel reserves to place the probe into a polar Kerbin orbit to supplement and finish previous mapping efforts.

The AVAT (Argon-fueled VASIMR Asteroid Tug) was sent up in two pieces, as a test platform to study the usefulness of electric propulsion in positioning large asteroids.

With two 200kw VASIMR engines powered by a pair of nuclear reactors, the AVAT certainly seems to have enough power on paper.

Unfortunately even that did not prove to be enough. Despite a 250% improvement in total dV when anchored compared to the Titan asteroid tug and heavy configuration ADA, the AVAT just was not up to the task of moving 1800 tons of rock into a lower orbit. In light of its failure to provide balance of time and fuel efficient maneuvers to "Kevin" the AVAT has been reclassified as a medium-weight maneuvering system, and is not to be used on asteroid larger than D class. A larger version is in the concept stages, but is not planned for launch in the near-future.

The Surveyor 4 mission was launched to Eve to replace Surveyor 2, using a slightly modified version of the Surveyor 3 probe.

Rather than start with Eve, Surveyor 4 instead rendezvoused with Gilly. Mission controllers reasoned that it made more sense to start with "the one we can actually colonize without carting full-sized launch vehicles half-way across the solar system".

Unfortunately an altimeter glitch led to the orbiter scraping the surface during a low sweep to collect magnetometer and gravioli data. In spite of the loss of most of its solar panels the spacecraft is still operational, and capable of 25% thrust. Current plans are to leave Gilly behind for now and finish mapping Eve.

Plans for Libra Station have been refined enough to begin construction. Here a mock-up was placed on the launch pad to demonstrate the crew segment fully deployed.

The refinery segment, test-fitted in the VAB. Some of the higher-ups are questioning the need for and feasibility of a station this size. An alternate configuration is currently being developed that would move the refinery module to one of the crew segment's 2.5m ports, remove all pressurized modules from the refinery segment, and delete the second truss system. This would, effectively, reduce the refinery orbital segment to a simple truss hub for docking extra spacecraft and storing modular fuel transfer tanks.

Station is now officially underway with the launch and addition of the crew core module. Here we see the ADA undocked and relocating in order to properly align with the core.

Just launched is the second station delivery, the CP-1 and CS-1 truss segments. These two trusses will form the base of the port and starboard crew segment solar trusses. Each is equipped with a 1.25m kethane detector, two large radial RCS tanks, three "Kingfisher" 0.625m engines for station-keeping, and enough attachment points for 18 KAS containers.

After the docking of those first two truss segments a VALL ACTV will be sent to the station, followed by the first crew expedition to begin unpacking and constructing the station proper.

[TerLoki]

Oh right, this is still here. Guess I need to stop launching rockets and actually write about launching rockets.

The first two missions after we left off were more module deliveries. The first brought up the CS-1 and CP-1 truss segments, followed by a Vall ACTV in preparation for the first crew. Each truss segment includes three "Kingfisher" 0.625 bipropellant rockets for station-keeping, attachment points for 18 KAS containers, two large RCS tanks, and a 1.25m kethane detector.

Milbert, Donrick, and Ergan arrive aboard a Duna MPCV as the crew of LE-1, the first expedition to Libra Station. Just before their mission is over a second crew will be sent up to ensure that the station is always inhabited.

While the crew settled in this little guy was launched. The Surveyor K Lite is designed to survey kethane deposits from polar orbit, and will compliment the detectors on Libra Station.

Now that the crew is settled in, Donrick and Ergan get to work on the first of many EVAs required to assemble the station and make it fully operational. These will involve transferring storage containers, laying fuel lines and struts, placing lights and antennae, and removing excess equipment from incoming modules.

The redesigned CP-2 truss arrives. After ground testing it was decided that the old square-truss design was too flexible, used more solar panels than necessary, and would be more trouble than it was worth to assemble in the planned three segments that would have been launched at once. So instead a single-piece octagonal design was created with four solar panels, as well as storage for extra fuel and power.

Until now our crew had been using the MPCV for EVAs, as no dedicated airlock had been installed. The arrival of the station's utility module changed that, as well as installing dedicated regenerative life support for the station.

After docking the utility module and transferring waste into the ACTV, it was undocked and sent to deorbit at Kerbin, freeing up a docking port on the core hitchhiker node.

Next to arrive were the R-0 truss (core module for the refinery segment) and laboratory module.

Donrick on the second series of EVAs. Here you can best see the lab module's storage/sensor palette, and the MPCV which was moved temporarily to make room for incoming traffic.

Donrick lays the last pipe segments.

Libra Station as it is now. Next on the agenda are the first crew switchover, and the arrival of the main refinery module and CS-2 truss.

Edited May 15, 2014 by TerLoki

[TerLoki]

We're now at roughly the half-way point in Libra Station's construction; either just before it if I keep the second solar array, or after if it's left out.

LE-2 lifts off from the pad, carrying Jenbert, Gregfrey, and Erlo to take over for Milbert, Donrick, and Ergan.

Arriving at the station. Rather than choose to use the Laythe MPCV or Duna MPCV exclusively I decided to just alternate them. This also helps me remember which crew used which ship.

This is the first time both a Duna and Laythe have been in orbit at the same time, though admittedly not for long.

The crew of LE-1 departs on their nine-day journey back home.

Docking the CS-2 truss. With this addition the crew segment truss is now complete.

All solar panels deployed.

Delivering the refinery module. The size and low weight of this part made launching it a bit of a pain. I had to use way more struts than I usually do.

Now that this module is in place the station is technically fully operational. Before the landers arrive however, two more flights need to be conducted, bringing up one of the habitat modules and refinery segment docking modules.

Edited May 15, 2014 by TerLoki