Sun Racing

[ChronicSpaceCow]

The challenge is to race the setting sun for as long as possible.

Rules:

-The craft must be probe driven.

-The craft may not gain power from anything other then solar panels. This means you can't use RTGs, reactors, large rocket motors or jet engines. The RAPIER and any other engine lacking an alternator is allowed.

- With the exception of electrically powered engines, the fuel source may not be replenished by the craft. This includes kraken drives and infinigliders. *Addition*

-You may not climb higher then 11,000 meters.

-The craft may not have any batteries.

-Mods are allowed.

-No cheating.

Scoring:

-10 points for every hundred meters from KSC.

-50 points if the craft survives landing after losing power.

-5 points for every ton under 15 at launch. No points awarded if the craft exceeds 15 tons.

-15 points for every power consuming part (Science equipment, lights, and electric engines) active during the flight.

-Double points for using electric engines.

-Double points for using a rover.

-Triple points for being faster then the sunset.

Set up:

-Start a new save and place a flag at the west end of the runway.

-Timewarp until the space center clock reads: Year 1, Day 1-1h, 15m, Xs. *Changed*

-Build your craft and race the sun.

Leaderboards:

1. xtoro - 3,150,996

2. Othuyeg - 706,935

3. angeldust - 984

Edited September 25, 2014 by ChronicSpaceCow
Leaderboard update

[Pds314]

Are physics bugs like the Kraken drive, infiniglide, and ladder-power considered cheating? Also, you say electrically-powered engines are allowed. What is to stop us from hovering along at 10 kilometers in FAR at sufficient speed to out-race the sun? I mean, 175 m/s shouldn't be that tough to attain. That's a dynamic pressure of what? 0.16*175^2 or about 5000 Pascals? Hardly an impossible feat with electric props.

Edited September 21, 2014 by Pds314

[Pds314]

Also, you may want to make a longitude restriction, I think it wouldn't be hard to make a rover that lives on the north pole do this forever.

[DonLorenzo]

Have you played the indie game 'race the sun'? Its exactly this and a ton of fun!

I was decently good at it too

[cantab]

Also, you may want to make a longitude restriction, I think it wouldn't be hard to make a rover that lives on the north pole do this forever.

Well, firstly you've got to get to said north pole; I think it's implicit in the rules that you launch from KSC. Secondly even if you do, your score is good but will be doubled by someone who just heads along the equator, or even more if circumnavigations are measured the long way round.

[ChronicSpaceCow]

Are physics bugs like the Kraken drive, infiniglide, and ladder-power considered cheating? Also, you say electrically-powered engines are allowed. What is to stop us from hovering along at 10 kilometers in FAR at sufficient speed to out-race the sun? I mean, 175 m/s shouldn't be that tough to attain. That's a dynamic pressure of what? 0.16*175^2 or about 5000 Pascals? Hardly an impossible feat with electric props.

I'll go ahead and say kraken drives and infiniglides are cheating, and shall be added to the original post. As for electric props, I allowed them because they are quite hungry.

[ChronicSpaceCow]

Have you played the indie game 'race the sun'? Its exactly this and a ton of fun!

I was decently good at it too

This is actually what inspired me to make this challenge. I wanted to see want fellow kerbonauts would devise for the same function.

[DonLorenzo]

So far I've managed 42km. I've disintegrated in mid-air with some fuel still left and the ion-green drive as yet untested

[DonLorenzo]

118km now, and the ion thing seemed to be working. Removing remotetech though since i lost LOS

[TJPrime]

Interesting... RFE

Update 1: BREAKING NEWS: Sun chaser 1 has been launched! It's mission is to be the first plane to circumnavigate kerbin with the sun always on the horizon. The 6 hour voyage will be filmed and uploaded to youtube.

Update 2: The fuel on board sun chaser 1 has passed halfway and it will land in the rim of a crater on kerbin. Y'know, the one by the big desert where KSC 2 is.

Update 2.5: Engineers at KSC are wondering whether or not it is a good idea to attempt a water landing. Simulations are being prepared now

Update 3: The simulations showed it could make a water landing, but most of the plane would be destroyed. The engineers at KSC chose to land on an island and it payed off: Flying a third of the way around kerbin, sun chaser 1 has landed with fuel to spare. It could not fly across the ocean - simulations weren't needed to know that. The video will be uploaded later today.

Edited September 22, 2014 by TJPrime

[TheFlyingPigs]

That, sounds awesome!

[TJPrime]

That, sounds awesome!

What does? My entry? Here are a few screenshots of pre-launch:

The flag moved, but that was because I had to make some tweaks to make it all stable and not clip into the ground

[angeldust]

Challange accepted!

Ok, here is my entry! I started 2 Minutes late, because I messed up the timewarp! Do I get Extra Points?

For Points:

Distance traveled: 86,4km = 8640 m =864 points

Weight: 0,8 tonnes (does that mean I get 14 Points?)

Additions: craft survived impact! 50 points

...makes: 928

But I will strife to get better Can someone check if I added the points correctly?

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[TJPrime]

Challange accepted!

Ok, here is my entry!

Great, you beat me to the first entry! Thanks, windows movie maker rendering! I'll be uploading in an hour anyway, so... See you on the leaderboard! And nice work.

Just saving my video. Should be uploaded by overnight. I hope. It's taking ages to save and I have school tomorrow. Yay, last minute!

Edited September 22, 2014 by TJPrime

[Othuyeg]

I was launching a probe into a kerbolar-synchronous orbit... and then I notice this.

-You may not climb higher then 11,000 meters.

Curses, foiled again!

[Othuyeg]

Any extra points for overtaking the sun?

[strigon]

You get extra points for surviving when you're out of fuel, and using a rover.

Do those stack, or...?

[Othuyeg]

So this was a circumnavigation challenge, right?

Currently overtaking the sun.

[Othuyeg]

Javascript is disabled. View full album

I managed 2 355 975 meters.

Also, I could have gone for a bit further, but I ran out of electricity after overtaking the sun and flying into the sunset.

I have it on a video, will edit it into a highlight in my stream soon (Edit: here it is http://www.twitch.tv/othuyeg/c/5168355 )

I could have survived the landing, but forgot to engage brakes before the power ran out.

Points:

Distance:

( 2 355 975 m / 100)*10 ) = 2 355 90 (for every full 100m)

Survived landing, but kept rolling on the ground until hit something and went boom, no points I guess.

Weight: 6.901t

8+ tons under 15 tons = 40 points

15 points for SAS

All in all, 235645 points at this point.

Triple points as I was faster than the sunset. And the sunrise...

235645 * 3 = 706935

Edit: Yeah, I know, it was a bit of a cheap one, but hey, you said mods can be used. I used mod engines. Thermal turbojets to be exact. They have no alternators and the reactor used is a thermal antimatter reactor. It produces no electricity.

Edit 2: I also know I could have just throttled down and kept going for weeks, but to be honest, that is not my style.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Othuyeg

[gm537]

Hey so seems like a lot of folks are mentioning video. There's no requirement of that right? I'm just doing good old screen shots. I'm also doing a stock run (except for KER because... security blanket haha) cause it seemed like fun!

[goduranus]

I don't think this one is very hard. Ion engine craft with enough fuel should be able to fly quite a way away from KSC, maybe even stay aloft for a whole six hours and land back at the runway.

Here's a good ion glider by goSlash, it should be good for this challenge if more fuel is added. Maybe also more engines to help it catch the sun.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/89485-0-24-X-The-Easier-Ion-to-Orbit-Challenge?p=1333289&viewfull=1#post1333289

Edited September 23, 2014 by goduranus

[angeldust]

I don't think this one is very hard. Ion engine craft with enough fuel should be able to fly quite a way away from KSC, maybe even stay aloft for a whole six hours and land back at the runway.

Try it! The sun almost set, the solar panels don't give an awful lot of electricity and the Ion Engines are hungry... won't work as easily as you thought

[GoSlash27]

I don't think this one is very hard. Ion engine craft with enough fuel should be able to fly quite a way away from KSC, maybe even stay aloft for a whole six hours and land back at the runway.

Here's a good ion glider by goSlash, it should be good for this challenge if more fuel is added. Maybe also more engines to help it catch the sun.

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/89485-0-24-X-The-Easier-Ion-to-Orbit-Challenge?p=1333289&viewfull=1#post1333289

Unfortunately, that glider wouldn't be able to travel fast enough at 11km altitude. I'd recommend a single pair of wings and either less fuel or more engines. You'll need about .6 t/w to make this work.

Also...An ion glider might be able to circumnavigate Kerbin *or* keep up with the sun, but it can't do both. At least not at that altitude.

You'll get roughly 25 minutes endurance from a single engine for each xenon tank, so 6 hours endurance from a single engine would require 15 tanks. No way you can make 175 m/sec with such a low t/w ratio.

Good luck!

-Slashy

Edited September 23, 2014 by GoSlash27

[TJPrime]

My entry is complete! Although I think it is already disqualified because I flew above 11km (highest altitude was 13km - can you accept that?) Disqualified or not, my entry:

[ChronicSpaceCow]

My entry is complete! Although I think it is already disqualified because I flew above 11km (highest altitude was 13km - can you accept that?) *snip*

Although I would like to accept your (quite nice) entry, I can't. One of the rules stated that you can't use engines with alternators, the plane has to get its electric charge from solar panels. If you replace the turbojets with RAPIERs you'll be good.