Step By Step - 0.24.2 career mode with a bunch of mods

[Astraph]

Hello chaps!

With new patch comes new urge to play KSP, and with it - an urge to share my exploits with other fellow kerbonauts This time, I decided to try out the career mode, as well as give the 64-bit version of the game a shot. Actually, with the ability to utilise my laptop's RAM more effectively, I was finally able to install more than three mods! To be more precise:

KW

B9

Remote Control

TAC Life Support

Karbonite

MKS/OKS

Infernal Robotics

Firespitter

Near Future Electric & Solar

ScanSat

EVE + Astronomer's Visual Pak

Sever minor mods (Chatterer, Final Fronteer, Kerbal Engineer, Kerbal Alarm Clock and so on)

I don't really like setting house rules, so I'll list my projected objectives instead:

-> Establish a permanent colony in Kerbin subsystem (Mun or Minimus)

-> Establish karbonite mining & refueling outpust

-> Return samples from all planets of the Kerbin system

-> Establish a permanent outpost on Laythe, Duna or Eve, either orbital or surface

-> Create a family of reusable craft as the backbone of the whole program

Enjoy the read!

Table of contents:

1. Beneath the Minimus

1.1. First steps of the Aurora MRO

1.2. Expanding the Boundaries

[ulr=http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/91749-Step-By-Step-0-24-2-career-mode-with-a-bunch-of-mods?p=1386731&viewfull=1#post1386731]1.3. The Conqueror Expedition

Achievements

Edited August 31, 2014 by Astraph

[Astraph]

1. Beneath the Minimus

1.1. First steps of the Aurora MRO

The first decisions about one's space program future are not questions "where?" - since options are pretty much limited anyway - or "why?" - because this has already been answered the moment you decided to start preparations for your first launch. Instead, the most important question is "how?".

Taking into account the limited technology available during the first days of the Program, the only viable possibility to put payload into orbit was by using expendable lifter rockets. However, scare resources and funding forced the Kerbals to search for cost reduction wherever possible. Thus the idea of a Multipurpose Reusable Orbiter (MRO) craft was born.

Its beginnings were humble; Aurora I lacked even the simplest winglets and failed to reach orbit. However, the capsule was recovered intact, refitted, expanded, and finally launched again. This time, the craft not only manged to reach a stable orbit, but also returned unscathed, landing softly just a few kilometres from the launchpad. Post-flight estimates determined that around 90% of orbiter's cost was recoverable, with 30% of lifter's worth salvaged from parachuted debris.

Using the experience and data collected, the Kedud Design Bureau designed a prototype version for a serial Aurora MRO. The primitive capsule has been replaced by aviation cockpit, the winglets extended and the scientific instruments optimised towards maximum performance. The mission's objective - munar flyby - was ambitious enough to match the challenging design - and promised significant reward should the concept be proven feasible.

The first phase of the mission was accomplished without complications - lifted by Starbolt I rocket, Aurora III entered the munar transfer orbit. The initial idea to use a free return trajectory, however, had to be scrapped pretty quickly...

A hastly orbital correction had to be made, sending Aurora III plunging the shortest way towards Kerbin - racing against time and dwindling supplies.

As the result, the orbiter entered atmosphere at astonishing speed of over 3 km/s. Jebediah did his best to reduce speed - but small winglets quickly lost lift, stalling the spaceplane. Luckily, the parachutes worked flawlessly - giving Jebediah over 9g of deceleration, but at least slowing Aurora III to a relatively harmless splashdown.

(Not)suprisingly enough, Jebediah thought little of his miraculous survival - and upon his recovery, he excitedly proclaimed Aurora III "the luckiest ship ever" and declared this ship to be his personal orbiter for future missions.

A last moment landing, literally...

Ultimately, the first flights of the Aurora program resulted in development of two very successful designs, the second being the Starbolt lifter rocket. Capable of putting 10 tons into LKO, the Starbolt rocket became an invaluable asset of the second phase of the Kerbal Space Program.

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[Sesni]

Nice so far.

[Astraph]

1.2. Expanding the Boundaries

Expanding the area of operations to Mun orbit and beyond required two main enterprises: a communications network capable of reaching any given point on munar surface and a new generation of spacecraft, powerful enough to deliver payloads beyond LKO.

The communications network was the easier part; a simple network of three relay satellites was devised, with maximum communications range reaching 90,000 km - almost twice the orbit of Minimus. Delivery was performed by Aurora V - a separate branch of the family, designed as orbital haulers and utility vehicles. Piloted by Bob Kerman and nicknamed Ox, the vehicle performed three sorties - proving the solid basis of the project even further on.

Using this newly established network - the Short Range Array (SRA) - the KSC directed the first munar probe. The Mun Reconnasiance Complex (MRC) achieved mixed results; even though it managed to establish stable munar orbit and send first scans of its surface, it had insufficient battery capacity to function with all its instruments constantly operational - and was ultimately crashed into the Mun.

In the meantime, the Aurora project met its first setback; following Aurora III and V success, the Kedud attempted to adapt the design to a fully-fledged munar lander. This project, however, was discarded shortly before the prototype's maiden flight; resulting Aurora VI was too complicated and unreliable, and the Starbolt II lifter too weak to put it into orbit. Kerbed exploration of the Mun had to be postponed - at least for the time being.

A successor to MRC - the Automated Mapping Orbiter & Communications Relay (AMOCR) had three basic objectives; first, it was to perform thorough mapping of both Kerbin satellites, in preparation for future landing. Second, it was to determine their surface composition. Third, it was to function as a communications relay for future missions on the far side of either satellite. However, an initially ambitious project of putting four permanent satellites on both moons' orbits had to be drastically cut down. With both Aurora VI and Starbolt II discontinued, resources needed to construct three probes had to be diverted to development of a new lifter rocket.

The result, however, exceeded all expectations; during a 47-days long mission, the probe not only managed to map 98% of both Mun an Minimus surface, it also managed to confirm presence of valuable resources - mainly karbonite - on both satellites. However, misfortune struck once again; a sudden decompression of the Karbonite detector rendered the vessel inoperable, and the dead probe most likely crashed into Minimus surface soon after.*

Wanting to determine the fate of the lost probe, Jebediah proposed sending his trusted Lucky on a flyby mission around Minimus. Seeing this as an excellent opportunity to test the refitted Aurora IV orbiter, the KSP saw no problem to agree. Not that Jebediah hadn't already started the blastoff countdown when the KSP directors began reading his mission proposal.

The flight itself was generally speaking a repeated version of the previous Mun flyby - safe for the frantic plunge on the way back. Sadly, no signs of AMOCR have been found - but at least its findings have been confirmed, and the splashdown back on Kerbin allowed even more data to be collected.

* - Due to my blunder while updating te Karbonite Mod, the game loaded up without the detector... And the probe got removed as containing invalid parts.

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[Volcanix]

this is pretty nice, looking forward to new mission reports! Keep it coming!

[Schmonzo]

Nice read, looking forward to more. One thing though: it's minmus, not minimus and that annoys the crap out of me

[Astraph]

Oh... Sorry ^^' To be honest, I've never noticed this XD Will be aware from now on. Thanks for pointing this out

[Astraph]

1.3.

The Conqueror Expedition

Experience gained by operating MRC, AMOCR and Aurora flights led to the natural next step of the Kerbal Space Program - a kerbed flight to the Mun. Following the failrue of Aurora VI lander program, a new project was conceived - quite different, although still following the "recover as much as possible" principle.

Initially an orbital module-lander tandem was proposed; this idea, while in the begining heavily supported by Werner Kerman and the majority of KSP directors, was ultimately discarded in favour of an even more ambitious design; a single ship, acting as both the lander and return vehicle. The craft itself, dubbed Conqueror, was merely one part of the whole expedition; Kedud Design Bureau came up with a robotic support lander, as well as an orbital relay satellite to communicate with the expedition en route.

In the meantime, a new branch of rocket lifters was perfected, making the old Starbolt obsolete. The so-called ZAU family consisted of Zenith (10 tons), Apogee (25 tons) and Ultima (50 tons). Designed for mass production and simplicity, they have soon proven to be an even more successful design than the Starbolt.

The Conqueror mission was the first to require more than a single launch. First, a Zenith rocket carried two Orbital Relay Satellites (ORS) to a transition orbit to the Mun. Upon arrival, the devices were put on a circular orbit, establishing a communication channel with the dark side of Kerbin's larger satellite.

The Conqueror complex was launched atop the Ultima rocket soon after. Consisting of a 40-ton ship and two robotic landers, the craft followed the ORS satellites. The first few orbits were spent to pick suitable landing spots - and soon the robotic landers descended to the surface, making munfall in two selected craters along the equator.

Finally, the massive lander touched the surface in the area known as Twin Craters - whre (not) surprisingly, two craters overlaped one another, forming a curious snowman shape. Three kerbonauts perfomed a relatively long EVA, with Bob getting as far as half a kilometer from the lander.

After returning to the orbit, the Conqueror oversaw the launch of both robotic landers - which took surface samples and collected surface condition data during their short stay on the Mun. The landers took off retrograde to the satellite's rotation - allowing enough light for their weak solar panels to power the devices during their flight into return trajectory.

With both samples safe on Kerbin, the Conqueror itself powered its engine, returning without any complications for a soft splashdown in Kerbin's ocean, not far away from the KSC.

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Edited August 31, 2014 by Astraph