Whalers on the Mun - not that kind of Sea of tranquility

[mellojoe]

Bill, Bob and Jebediah have been tasked with creating an extended stay mission on the Mun. This mission is to demonstrate the capability for KSC to safely land and maintain a base of operations on the Mun, as a gateway to the rest of the kerbol system.

Jebediah, and the twins Munlin and Tomlin will be our first pilots to land, and will be tasked with assembling the modules as they land. We will be using brand new technology in construction and assembly to properly ensure adequate support for all missions. These new technologies include Infernal Robotics, Kerbal Attachment System, as well as a few key components from B9 Aerospace, namely the light sources.

The first module to land was Habitat One. Hab1, as it is nicknamed, was flown up by Jebediah and Tomlin. A site had been targeted previously for this mission, so their job was simply to get it there in one piece. They did just that, and brilliantly so:

Phase 2 was a bit trickier. Munlin took the task to land Habitat Two, or as he calls it The Extender. Except, now, the task is made a bit tougher since he has to execute a precision landing near the existing structure without damaging it. Then, to drive it over close to Hab1, again without damaging anything. And finally, to get the boys on one page to assemble the two units:

Two halves getting real close. The docking ports on both are open and ready for mating. ".... heh heh heh ... mating ...." Quiet, Jeb!

Infernal Robotics to align the docking ports. We haven't had much luck in the past docking things while on the surface, so this was a method to ensure we could align them perfectly, regardless of terrain. Made up of three parts, two hinges and an extending pole. The two hinges allowed me to raise or lower the port while keeping it parallel to the other one. The extension was just in case our struts and landing stages got in the way. They didn't, thankfully, but it still gave me the vertical range to get the ports alligned perfectly. Once it snapped to docking, it was a simple matter of letting Munlin retract the arm and locking everything in place. ((I'm role-playing the arm built to the sides of the pathway, giving Kerbals a free range to walk throughout the structure.))

And finally, our fully assembled Mun base. Hab1 + The Extender = one fine base. This will hold more than a dozen scientists and researchers for an extended period of time. With plenty of space for living quarters and science modules, our Mun stationed Kerbals should be plenty comfortable.

[mellojoe]

Phase 3, just a rover:

Here she is, landed on the Mun near our base. Jebediah was the first to test it out. It includes two storage boxes from KAS with parts for later use.

Here is the crew USING the rover and those parts. First off, we take an attachment point from the onboard storage and connect it to the debris. Secondly, we use the winch on the back of the rover to grab that attachment point. Now, the rover is in full Tow Truck mode, and is able to drag the debris off into the distance, away from our living and science quarters. Once the crew determines the debris is safely away, they simply detach the winch, retrieve the attachment plug, and return everything to the rover. We created it with a bit of RCS to help keep it all stable.

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Parking the rover for the night includes attaching fuel and resupply lines to the base. Again, Jebediah retrieves a pipe-end-point from the onboard storage. By connecting one to the base and the other to the rover, we can now create a safe connection for RCS fuel, electric cables, and a solid tether.

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Job well done, boys.

Finally, our full base in all its glory. Phase 3 is complete. And it gives our trio something to do outside once in a while. Gotta have a chance to stretch our legs, eh?

Edited May 2, 2014 by mellojoe

[mellojoe]

Phase 4, we need MOAR POWARRRRR!

KSC originally determined that Phase 4 would include a large power grid as well as a resupply vessel. It turned out that mission was abit on the optimistic side, and cutbacks caused a major comprimise. Phase 4 would ONLY be a power module, extending the time Jebediah, Munlin, and Tomlin would be without fresh supplies. There was much groaning, as Jeb's undies are getting a bit ripe. In fact, all the boys are starting to feel the strain of the extended mission with just the three of them required to do so much work. Hauling debris, verifiying systems, keeping Tomlin from eating all the cheese puffs .... much tougher work than they originally expected.

However, Phase 4 is now complete. Sure, it brings more debris for the boys to cleanup, but it also massively increases their power, and thus, their ability to run auxiliarry systems like that Kintendo 3dS Munlin snuck onboard.

The present that was delivered:

Landing stage dropped off, and Jebediah is tasked with securing the ground cables. These tethers will secure the power pylon to the ground to ensure no accidents topple it in the long run. Four cables will be attached to anchor points, and then winched tight providing a strong structural base.

Power station secured:

Now, to unwrap this present:

Now, its starting to look like something. Munlin didn't know what to expect with all the talk of Infernal Robotics, but apparently the boys back home at KSC know what they are doing. We are really getting somewhere. The last thing to do is to hit the button to unfurl our solar panels:

Beautiful! Jeb even made an audible gasp. The crew back on KSC stood and cheered. Everything worked as expected. She looks great, and she opens the doors to finally having a fully operation base off-world that can sustain itself for extended periods of time. Tomlin was also thinking how he might "borrow" Munlin's 3dS...

One last shot to send home for the marketing team to start the advertising work:

Edited May 2, 2014 by mellojoe

[mellojoe]

A funny sidenote to our power station. When the power tower landed and was still folded up, it had no way to generate power on its own. And in fact due to a delay in landing to setting up, the batteries drained completely redering the precious solar panels locked in the closed position.

Ruh-roh .....

But, Jebediah, being competent as only Jebediah can be, drove the rover over to the now-dead powerstation. He hooked up the refuelling line, and recharged the power array's batteries using the solar panels on the rover. Yeah, you read that right. Jeb jump started the tower of power from the rover. Of course he did, why not? That's just Jebediah being Jebediah.

There is still a lot of work to be done. The power station is not yet hooked up to the base. The landing stages and debris still has to get moved out of the way. Lots of little cleanup.

Edited May 2, 2014 by mellojoe

[mellojoe]

OH THE KERMANITY!

The Kraken has eaten our power tower!

Apparently, when you load into the base and the physics loads, it absolutely destroys my new power module. It explodes in a brilliant display of fireworks, kraken saliva, and broken dreams.

Edited May 3, 2014 by mellojoe

[mellojoe]

Here's Our New Power Station!

http://imgur.com/a/0uCbN

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One of the tallest rockets we've launched to date. The payload was tall, but not heavy. It created an interesting experience for the remote controlled landing sequence, but the engineers pulled it off. And there was much rejoicing.

The crew on the ground was tasked with attaching pylons to the ground. This time, we are using 3 ground pylons to go with loosely docked tether cables. This has stopped the problem of things going all explodey. Using the rover to clear debris was essential, once again. Jeb and the twins must have spent hours dragging pieces away to a refuse pile, in order to keep it clear of the science that will be starting up soon. Revised girders and improved solar panels means more power with less cost/weight/part-count. The boys are very excited to watch it open.

Next on the agenda is hooking it all up.

Edited May 13, 2014 by mellojoe

[Tw1]

This is a nice looking base. A pity about the power module explosion. Could it have been an issue with the KAS pylon things? I've had trouble with them, yet others haven't. Sometimes if the game thinks something's COM is in the ground, it destroys that, which is why I tend to always use landing legs now. That's another potential culprit.

[mellojoe]

Update: New power module is online! I installed some new solar panels (I think from AEIS. I don't remember, honestly. I was testing panels from lots of different packs trying to find ones I liked.) to cut down the part count. I re-did our tether cables. And I re-planned the landing stage. I'll get some pictures up soon. But the Mun Base is not dead yet! This update gets us back in the game. We may be terribly behind schedule, but at least we are making forward progress again.

((edit))

Ok, I lied. No pictures today. We had massive thunder/lightning storms, which mean power outages, which meant no pictures uploaded. I'll try to get them soon.

Edited May 13, 2014 by mellojoe

[Sirrobert]

Impressive designs.

I'm going to bookmark this to steal it later for my upcoming Munbase

[mellojoe]

Phase 5: The first Resupply Mission

http://imgur.com/a/p7UHQ

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Utilizing the latest in launch clamp technology (thank you FASA), Bill, Bob and Kenlorf board the brand new Mun Resupply Shuttle. This 3-man craft should contain enough storage to refill all the snack containers at the Mun Base, as well as add some new hands to help with all the work and science. Kenlorf likes to remark how "unique" this craft looks, and yet Bill and Bob never laugh at his jokes. I guess some things were not meant to be. In any event, the trio hit the upper atmosphere and start popping off those fairings. The SDHI sourced command system ensures safety at all stages.

The trip to the Mun is as uneventful as ever, and there was much rejoicing. Touching down in one piece, the boys get out to stretch their legs while they wait for Jeb to pull up with their ride. First class luxury service back to the base. There lots of work ahead, but for now, a day to relax and socialize. They break open a celebratory bag of Koritos, and put their feet up.

[mellojoe]

Current state of the Base:

[Bilfr3d]

Good base you have their joe. Care to share the .crafts??

[mellojoe]

Good base you have their joe. Care to share the .crafts??

I would, but I've stolen so many individual parts from different mod packs, that I honestly don't remember what goes where. For instance, all my RCS pods are using the B9 rcs pods. And most of the lights are B9. I've got parts from KAS, AEIS, KWRocketry. I was testing stuff out of the Near Future pack, and I don't remember if I'm using any of those or not. I'm also using SDHI, but I moved the attachment node up since I'm not using the heatshield since I'm not using Deadly Re-entry. And the radial engines on the resupply pod come from a pack that I don't remember the name of, and I scaled them down so they are smaller, less thrust, less effecient (the originals were basically light-weight nukes, and I felt they were a bit too cheaty). I was also trying out Kosmos and Interstellar to see if there were parts I could use. And again, I don't remember if I kept one or two or not. There's also the 6S Service Compartments, including the extra large ones someone else made to go with them. The big solar panels might be AIES, but I adjusted their power usage to be less, as I felt these were too effecient compared to stock. Launch clamps are FASA. There's also Infernal Robotics.

Essentially, my goal would be to find a specific part (for example, the large solar panels). Then I would install every single mod ever that has large solar panels. Then I would test them all, look at them all, play with them all. When I found the ones I wanted, I would delete everything in those mod packs except the solar panels I wanted to keep. This way I get the specific part I want without lagging my load times by overflowing my part catalog. Does that make sense?

So while I'm flattered you would love to use my crafts, I can't properly share them without requiring you to have every mod I do, and even then I've adjusted a few parts to make them less "cheaty" and more "KSP".

Edited May 14, 2014 by mellojoe

[Bilfr3d]

Lol That can be a problem when you forget what mods you use

[Sirrobert]

Atleast the base is simple enough to recreate.

[mellojoe]

PHASE 6: Getting to Work

http://imgur.com/a/ZhcVn

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Phase 6 was basically letting the guys get to work. With 6 Kerbals currently on the Mun, the work should go pretty quickly. The resupply vessel was piloted by Bill and Bob, with Kenlorf tagging along as the electrical engineer. They were joining up with Jebediah, Tomlon and Munlin (the twins) who were already at the base, and have spent so much time assembling.

The majority of the work would be connecting the Power Tower to the rest of the base. To do this, first the guys attached connection points between the two stations. Then they ran cables the entire length. Kenlorf's job was to ensure everything was connected properly and done in a safe manner. Jebediah kept pushing to hurry, but Kenlorf was able to keep him in line. Once all the cables were laid, Kenlorf had the guys swap the empty containers on the truck with the resupply containers in the shuttle. Finally, everything was switched on, and the full power of the Solar Array was available.

Finally, Munlin and Tomlon (the twins) said their goodbyes, boarded the shuttle, and headed home. Their job, for now, was done. The remaining crew consists of Jebediah, Bill, Bob, and Kenlorf. They await the first of the long-term scientists.

[mellojoe]

PHASE 7: New Crew

http://imgur.com/a/M3nYD

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With this mission, we finally demonstrate the capability to safely and effeciently land multiple Kerbals on the Mun and bring them home again. Essentially we have created a Space Bus. With a capacity of 7, our pilot and bus driver Patbo can bring 6 new crewmen to the Mun and bring home anyone who needs to leave. Our stable now consists of a cargo shuttle and a kerbal shuttle. Our base is fully operational.

Dropping off his passengers, Patbo returns home leaving behind a 10-kerbal crew. Another round trip is planned to bring another 6 scientists to the extended stay base. From there, the rest is icing on the cake.

[Tw1]

Sooo.... Will there be whales?