Parachuteless Return

[Souper]

Complete a mission to the Mun's surface. Get back to kerbin. Only this time, getting back to kerbin means no parachutes!

Rules:

1. Return all science reports.

2. No EVA's, except for on the Mun.

3. NO Parachutes allowed.

4. To make this challenge harder, you can't use engines for landing back on Kerbin. - That's right - You must make a dropship / impact resistor / draggy craft / extreme luck.

Good luck, suckers!

First person to complete this challenge while not breaking the rules is the winner!

Edited April 22, 2014 by Souper

[ihtoit]

OK. I'll just throw a block of stock landing gear wheels on a MK.I lander can - 'cos those things are indestructible!

[Souper]

Well then - why don't you try it?

[robopilot99]

There was a challenge like this not long ago. the awnser is kind of simple

[ihtoit]

Quantumcurvature did a Munar lithobrake with an overengineered probe that would have survived a Kerbin lithobrake. He used stock landing legs and a Grand Slam bouncy-bomb design, those legs didn't even bend on impact.

[luizopiloto]

you can use wings to land...

[Parvis]

Are Sepratrons allowed?

[Superfluous J]

I just built a ship out of tier-0 parts designed to do just such a thing without a parachute becuase why not I'm having some troubles because the new joints (I think, at least) are causing the ship to bounce on landing, and then it flips over and the poor command pod smacks into the ground at about 50m/s. I'm trying again with the tier-0 truss that's actually named "strut" for some reason on top of the pod instead of doing the reasonable thing and adding a parachute like I should have from the start

But anyway, yeah it's pretty simple if you use those struts or airplane landing gear. Sadly, because it's a fun exercise.

[SpenSpaceCorp]

Alright, after some small mishaps (such as 2 engines being blocked by the landing gear not only wasting fuel but throwing off the center of mass vs. center of thrust), I have successfully Landed on the Mun and returned back to Kerbin safely and intact without the use of parachutes or propulsion assist:

Although there are RCS ports on the vessel, they were not needed during landing on Kerbin.

Edited April 22, 2014 by SpenSpaceCorp

[makinyashikino]

Quantumcurvature did a Munar lithobrake with an overengineered probe that would have survived a Kerbin lithobrake. He used stock landing legs and a Grand Slam bouncy-bomb design, those legs didn't even bend on impact.

Kerbin Lithobrakes are much easier, because the atmosphere slows you down to around 100 m/s. All you need is some steel girders and you're good to go.

[ihtoit]

by way of demonstration, here's a lithobrake demonstrator I just threw together. Stock apart from MechJeb and my favourite nuke engine:

Going up:

Terminal on descent:

Landed:

and only ONE piece broke off!:

[Souper]

SpenSpaceCorp Wins!!!!!

[xxjetterxx]

You know you can just make a glider to beat this challenge, right?

[Souper]

Oh......Oh well, i'l improve upon this challenge with something even more chalenging. you won't see it coming. MwahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA

[luizopiloto]

Alright, after some small mishaps (such as 2 engines being blocked by the landing gear not only wasting fuel but throwing off the center of mass vs. center of thrust), I have successfully Landed on the Mun and returned back to Kerbin safely and intact without the use of parachutes or propulsion assist:

http://i.imgur.com/aI04WtI.png?1?4969

http://i.imgur.com/VbO9McC.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/jWLvqWf.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/97N6SAW.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/xDehKNy.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/DO2ih2N.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/TBlR6JK.png?1

http://i.imgur.com/nCqsEBL.png?1

Although there are RCS ports on the vessel, they were not needed during landing on Kerbin.

Did you had a plane and not landed on KSC runway?