[No longer continued, please delete]Jool-5 Challenge: Jool Direct Mission Report

[shynung]

Here, I shall describe my attempt at landing 2 kerbals at each Joolian moon, and land the safely back to Kerbin.

From what I read back at the Jool-5 thread and from the Wiki, out of all Joolian moons, Tylo is considered to be the one of the hardest, if not THE hardest, moon to land on safely. Unlike Laythe, Tylo has no atmosphere, which means all decelerations must come from the rocket. This results in a lander needing a high delta-v, calculated to be about 6200 m/s.

For this specific landing situation, I designed a specialized 2-man lander with enough delta-v capability to perform the landing, and still have some left for orbital maneuvers.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the Prometheus TSAM (Tylo Surface Access Module), Mark II:

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While the rest of the spacecraft to be used in the expedition haven't been thoroughly designed, I assure you that our brilliant engineers and scientists are tirelessly working for a viable and convenient solution.

Edited July 6, 2014 by shynung

[shynung]

While further tests were conducted on Jool-bound equipment, an all-purpose lander for the rest of the Joolian moons have been completed and thoroughly tested.

Here, I therefore present to you, the Cygnus GPSAM (General Purpose Surface Access Module), Mark IV.

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Meanwhile, further tests and redesigns have been done on the Prometheus, resulting in a 5% increase of delta-v capability out of the lander, without compromising on maneuverability and/or mission payload.

Now, I present to you, the third iteration of the Tylo lander, Prometheus TSAM Mark III.

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[shynung]

After significant concerns over the Galileo JTV (Jool Transfer Vehicle) not being able to safely return to Kerbin despite generous fuel provisions, it has been decided that a second JTV will be sent to the Joolian system after Galileo. This is to ensure the safety of the crew, by providing a backup ship should Galileo ever malfunctioned or run out of fuel. The science returns are expected to increase significantly, as each Joolian moon is to be landed on twice. Also, the second JTV will carry Kethane mining vessels, ensuring the availability of fuel, and for further evaluation of the Joolian system for future ISRU operations.

Now that that's out of the way...

Preparations and launching of the Galileo JTV has been undertaken successfully. Here are the highlights:

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Edited May 13, 2014 by shynung

[shynung]

KSC is proud to announce that the Prometheus lander, part of the ongoing Jool Direct mission, has been launched successfully.

Here are the highlights:

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