Mün challenge - lightest vessel - combined and rocket powered classifications

[Pecan]

Ooooh, right. Yes, in 'G' I found 3 x 400-units about right as well, the 2 x 700 are in 'F' for structural reasons with the two ions. I tried the separate 'drive module' when using a single ion but instead put the engine on the nose of the command-pod so it launched 'forwards' with the jet and flew 'backwards' with the ion. Not as difficult as it sounds because I put the lander upside-down under the pod so I could swap the crew and choose which way the navball faced for MJ flights.

Since we have essentially the same designs it's no surprise that I can't significantly improve on what you have. It's possible to tweak below 4t but without using ions all the way even that's marginal. If anyone can reliably land and re-orbit just using the ion engines I think ~3.5t is the absolute limit - until someone has a new design idea.

[RussaX]

Saturniscule D3: 4.371 tonnes, hybrid Turbo-jet, ion, bi-propellant.

Stock (150), no autopilot (100), SAS -used (0), Easter egg (50), RCS docking (40), Launch Pad landing -Nope!(0), Final rated (?)

The main reason for having the detachable ion drive was to keep with a vaguely pointy rocket shape, it meant I had to dock 3x, twice being to a totally inert target, which on the whole was a bit of a pain. The command pod had the 2 units of mono', no point taking extra mass to visit the Mün. (using ions isn't too bad if you remember to force FF with alt> )

http://imgur.com/a/UfoaC

Congratulation for completing the challenge! You have found some improvements on previous design and gain some more mission points so congratulation on 1st place.

As Pecan has said there is way to improve a little bit score with this ship design. Actually from now probbably all designs will look the same unless someone find another way and build something different but I doubt that will happen.

Also I would love to honourable mention Pecan as first person finding this type of winning ship design.

I am ready to see overall points in negative direction as we are on just 27 points at the moment.

[purpleivan]

Here's my entry to the Mün challenge.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/833krkvx7pta0zy/Mun%20Light%204.craft?dl=0

It weighs in at 30.643t and made the trip quite comfortably.

The record of Jenbas Kerman's flight in it can be seen at the bottom of this post.

As for my point tally I think it's as follows.

3064 Mass point.

-100 points for not using autopilot.

-40 points for using RCS.

-50 points for landing within 1km of the easter egg.

Total = 2874

That score looks pretty high (fat) now, but I think it's come top in the "all rocket" category... which I chose to make up.

I actually made the trip in this ship twice, as on my first attempt I forgot to detach the legs on take-off from the Mün, so had to do it all over again, hence the two flags at the landing site.

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[RussaX]

Here's my entry to the Mün challenge.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/833krkvx7pta0zy/Mun%20Light%204.craft?dl=0

It weighs in at 30.643t and made the trip quite comfortably.

The record of Jenbas Kerman's flight in it can be seen at the bottom of this post.

As for my point tally I think it's as follows.

3064 Mass point.

-100 points for not using autopilot.

-40 points for using RCS.

-50 points for landing within 1km of the easter egg.

Total = 2874

That score looks pretty high (fat) now, but I think it's come top in the "all rocket" category... which I chose to make up.

I actually made the trip in this ship twice, as on my first attempt I forgot to detach the legs on take-off from the Mün, so had to do it all over again, hence the two flags at the landing site.

http://imgur.com/a/covE7

Great effort. You will be listed tomorrow. I have added classification to this challenge so read more about that on first page.

[John FX]

I considered having a go at this challenge but the jarring GIF of half naked people getting stuff squirted on them as they sleep repeated every few posts has made me unable to view this thread any more.

[Superfluous J]

I considered having a go at this challenge but the jarring GIF of half naked people getting stuff squirted on them as they sleep repeated every few posts has made me unable to view this thread any more.

Not since the day I blocked all animated gifs in my browser have I been so happy to have blocked all animated gifs in my browser. Though now I'm curious what the gif in question looks like.

[RussaX]

I considered having a go at this challenge but the jarring GIF of half naked people getting stuff squirted on them as they sleep repeated every few posts has made me unable to view this thread any more.

I changed signature.

[kookoo_gr]

Here is my entry. Stock parts only, 4,192kg on the launchpad. KER and MJ were used for infos to show that i didn't cheat.

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Edited November 12, 2014 by kookoo_gr

[purpleivan]

This isn't an entry for the challenge (although it started out as one) as I...

A) forgot to give the lander detachable legs and...

forgot to land at the Easter Egg site so sacrificing a bunch of points, but I thought I'd post some images of it anyway.

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[RussaX]

Here is my entry. Stock parts only, 4,192kg on the launchpad. KER and MJ were used for infos to show that i didn't cheat.

http://imgur.com/a/jq4OZ

Congratulation for competing in this challenge. I am glad to see some differences to the previous designs. Some details with solar panels and pod costed you few points, beside that very nice design.

We have came to the point where mission points are very important. Even mass points are begin to be forgiving a little bit if you are able to collect all of mission points. Landing on launch ramp is a little bit tricky because of atmosphere. Should open parachutes as late as possible and look for maybe some spare fuel to aim the ramp.

[RussaX]

This isn't an entry for the challenge (although it started out as one) as I...

A) forgot to give the lander detachable legs and...

forgot to land at the Easter Egg site so sacrificing a bunch of points, but I thought I'd post some images of it anyway.

Anyway nice effort. Your vessel looks amazing with all that solar panels

Also you check different classification with only rocket powered engines, give it a try because for now listings are empty.

[Jasonden]

Here's a rocket-based entry. 26.9t, all-RCS, precision landing on the pad.

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[purpleivan]

Here's another entry in the all rockets category, as I knew that I had some spare mass in the vehicle with my last attempt.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ihdlztain8bjroy/Mun%20Light%205.craft?dl=0

The mass of the vehicle is 26.009t

My bonus point tally is as follows.

150 mission points for using stock parts

100 mission points for not using autopilot

40 mission points for using RCS

50 mission points for landing in range of 1km to the Easter egg

Here's the pics of James Kerman's lightweight adventure.

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[a10t2]

I stumbled across this thread while searching for tips to make my Mun mission lighter… Instead I may have the record for a rocket launch!

It's a pretty basic Apollo-esque mission architecture, and it could definitely be optimized a bit. I was carrying >200 m/s extra dV at Kerbin interface, and I used essentially none of the 3.0 units of monoprop I brought for docking. A more skilled pilot could probably pare down the fuel, or try for the landing targets, or both.

23.720 t -> 2372 base points

-150 for stock parts

-100 for no autopilot

-40 for docking with RCS

= 2082 total points, if I'm reading the rules correctly.

Edit: I reduced the monoprop to 1.0 and took 100 units of fuel out of the third stage. That brings the mass to 23.149 t, but with only 3% spare delta-v I haven't been able to successfully fly the mission yet. An autopilot mod could presumably do it, and also land at the monument, for a score of 2075.

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Edited November 23, 2014 by a10t2

[purpleivan]

Nice... that beats the 2260 of my last attempt.

I think I'll have to see if I can trim some more mass and have another crack at this challenge

[antbin]

Here's a flight-forgiving try at the Rockets-Only class.

There's some fat that could be trimmed from this rocket - while the launch-to-orbit stages are pretty much spot-on, the fuel tanks for trans-Münar burn have some extra left in them after circularizing and adjusting inclination. I accidentally staged (and lost) the leftover fuel after deorbiting the lander (the "M" key is very close to "space"). There's fuel safety margins on both the lander's descent and ascent stages. All told I probably discarded about 55 units of fuel+oxidizer on this run.

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Kerbal Engineer calls it as 24.97t on the pad (including two hold-down clamps?). Used only stock parts (except Kerbal Engineer for info... does that count?), and carried wings all the way to the Mun and back so as to be able to glide to hit the pad spot-on.

If I'm not mistaken that makes:

* 2497 points

* -150 Stock

* -100 No Autopilot/guidance

* -50 for Mun Monument

* -60 for Launch Pad landing

* -40 for RCS docking

* -?? for good lookin'?

so < 2097 score!

[RussaX]

Here's a rocket-based entry. 26.9t, all-RCS, precision landing on the pad.

http://imgur.com/a/wnsnM

2690 mass points

using stock parts 150 points

not using autopilot 100 points

rcs docking 40 points

landing on the launch pad 60 points

design rate 50 points

overall score = 2290

congratulation for competing in this challenge.

Here's another entry in the all rockets category, as I knew that I had some spare mass in the vehicle with my last attempt.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ihdlztain8bjroy/Mun%20Light%205.craft?dl=0

The mass of the vehicle is 26.009t

My bonus point tally is as follows.

150 mission points for using stock parts

100 mission points for not using autopilot

40 mission points for using RCS

50 mission points for landing in range of 1km to the Easter egg

Here's the pics of James Kerman's lightweight adventure.

http://imgur.com/a/i7f1H

55 points for design.

overall score = 2205

Congratulation for competing in this challenge you have made a real challenge for competitors.

I stumbled across this thread while searching for tips to make my Mun mission lighter… Instead I may have the record for a rocket launch!

It's a pretty basic Apollo-esque mission architecture, and it could definitely be optimized a bit. I was carrying >200 m/s extra dV at Kerbin interface, and I used essentially none of the 3.0 units of monoprop I brought for docking. A more skilled pilot could probably pare down the fuel, or try for the landing targets, or both.

23.720 t -> 2372 base points

-150 for stock parts

-100 for no autopilot

-40 for docking with RCS

= 2082 total points, if I'm reading the rules correctly.

Edit: I reduced the monoprop to 1.0 and took 100 units of fuel out of the third stage. That brings the mass to 23.149 t, but with only 3% spare delta-v I haven't been able to successfully fly the mission yet. An autopilot mod could presumably do it, and also land at the monument, for a score of 2075.

http://imgur.com/a/OK1NA

60 points for design.

overall score = 2022

Very nice. At the moment you are ranked as n1.

Here's a flight-forgiving try at the Rockets-Only class.

There's some fat that could be trimmed from this rocket - while the launch-to-orbit stages are pretty much spot-on, the fuel tanks for trans-Münar burn have some extra left in them after circularizing and adjusting inclination. I accidentally staged (and lost) the leftover fuel after deorbiting the lander (the "M" key is very close to "space"). There's fuel safety margins on both the lander's descent and ascent stages. All told I probably discarded about 55 units of fuel+oxidizer on this run.

http://imgur.com/a/5WVEp

Kerbal Engineer calls it as 24.97t on the pad (including two hold-down clamps?). Used only stock parts (except Kerbal Engineer for info... does that count?), and carried wings all the way to the Mun and back so as to be able to glide to hit the pad spot-on.

If I'm not mistaken that makes:

* 2497 points

* -150 Stock

* -100 No Autopilot/guidance

* -50 for Mun Monument

* -60 for Launch Pad landing

* -40 for RCS docking

* -?? for good lookin'?

so < 2097 score!

Great to see even if your rocket has a little bit more weight you gained a lot of mission points.

45 points for design.

overall score = 2052

[a10t2]

After more trial and error than I'm really proud of, I was able to successfully run the mission on 23.049 t. Assuming everything else scores the same, that would be a total of 1955 points!

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[RussaX]

After more trial and error than I'm really proud of, I was able to successfully run the mission on 23.049 t. Assuming everything else scores the same, that would be a total of 1955 points!

http://imgur.com/a/bD4NY

exactly. I think it is still a long way to go. we have to find a limit . As lighter rocket is you are going faster and you are burning less fuel so you always profit.

[Mesklin]

Here is my entry: "Eagle" craft

Mass on the runway: 3.743t

One turbojet + one ion engine

Parts: 120

No parachutes at all

Scores:

Mass points: 374 points

Stock only parts: -150 points

No autopilot: -100 points.

Land in range of 1km to the easter egg on Mün: -50 points (direct landing on Mun arch)

Return back to launch ramp: -60 points

RCS used for docking: -40 points

And, without points for rocket design 374 - 150 - 100 - 50 - 60 - 40 = -26 total mission points

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[PLAD]

Here is my all-rocket entry. 17.47 tons on the launchpad, but I used some of Mechjeb's autopilot functions so I'll lose a lot of score for that.

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It was fun to try and strip every unneeded kg from the command can. Using wings saved 0.06 tons over using a parachute (not counting the extra fuel it would have needed), and increased the total dV for the whole thing by 81m/s. And there is no reason to slow the command can into a low Munar orbit.

It is all stock except for Mechjeb, do I still get the 'all stock' bonus? if so then 1747 points on weight minus 150= 1597 points minus the appearance points?

[totalitor]

My vessel 21,722 t. All rocket, mechjeb used but otherwise all stock.

I guess my score is then 2172 points. No points for beautiful design...I think.

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