Kron series (Kron 6 end of mission) - temporary halt of program

[lajoswinkler]

Supplementary Music:

That's actually quite good piece of music.

Was NFE updated to 1.02?

Nope. I was fiddling with the experimental version. Now it won't work anymore so I can't access the ship file. Next update will come out for KSP 1.0.3. so until then, the project is halted.

I can't even load KSP with that NFE version installed.

[VASMIR]

Would it be possible to do a fully stock Kron Mission to Urlum? Also, do you have your eyes set on Plock?

[lajoswinkler]

Would it be possible to do a fully stock Kron Mission to Urlum? Also, do you have your eyes set on Plock?

Well that's where the fourth ship is going. Urlum.

Plock will have to be investigated by a probe first. Urlum and Neidon were visited by Kaos 1 and 2, respectively, so I should make Kaos 3 for Plock. However, OPM still has a copy of Vall as Plock, so it wouldn't be very useful. The mod will get updated after New Horizons delivers some nice photos of Pluto. I suppose such update will happen not before August.

Both Neidon and Plock are so incredibly far away that a Hohmann transfer might not be such a good idea. I think we're talking about decades of travel, so Kron 5 and 6 will need a direct approach on a hyperbolic orbit to save on time. That complicates the braking at the destination, even more for Plock as it will probably never have any significant atmosphere.

[lajoswinkler]

Wernher von Kerman decided to beef up the ship because he wasn't satisfied with the initial delta v of 10.5 km.

Central tank is now 2.5 m wide, as well as the radial tanks which are now connected by the smallest decouplers. Two radial LV-N engines have been replaced with LV-NB ones, so TWR is now 0.05.

Kron 4 now has 956.3 tonnes and is 54.6 m long with 210 parts.

I still don't know the new initial delta v because this layout needs some careful staging to become the most efficient and I'll do that later.

[lajoswinkler]

Kerpernicus lander has been designed and assembled.

It has enough delta v for a careful and planned ascent into low orbits of all Urlum's satellites.

[DMSP]

Kerpernicus lander has been designed and assembled.

http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/28492082058296300/EE5B513EF1A92C02273CF9070F677CCB46D3C5F2/

It has enough delta v for a careful and planned ascent into low orbits of all Urlum's satellites.

Looks great!

[Cydonian Monk]

OPM.... The mod will get updated after New Horizons delivers some nice photos of Pluto. I suppose such update will happen not before August.

Both Neidon and Plock are so incredibly far away that a Hohmann transfer might not be such a good idea.

I think the Pluto flyby is July 14th? So August sounds readonable. I do wonder at what point it'll be close enough that we're not just seeing fuzz.

The length of time for a transfer is an interesting problem. It's almost far enough out that RTGs might be dead before they arrive, assuming decay is accurately modeled (or even scaled down to Kerbal-sized rates of decay). I still need to get a new OPM install set up so I can go fiddle with them.

That lander is looking pretty slick, if a tad on the tall side.

[lajoswinkler]

I think the Pluto flyby is July 14th? So August sounds readonable. I do wonder at what point it'll be close enough that we're not just seeing fuzz.

It will all happen very fast, and images will be pouring slowly.

The length of time for a transfer is an interesting problem. It's almost far enough out that RTGs might be dead before they arrive, assuming decay is accurately modeled (or even scaled down to Kerbal-sized rates of decay). I still need to get a new OPM install set up so I can go fiddle with them.

That lander is looking pretty slick, if a tad on the tall side.

JDiminishingRTG is what I use for RTG decay, it's quite nice.

Yes, it's a bit tall, but it's quite difficult to design it to follow the needs and still keep a reasonable part count.

[Cydonian Monk]

JDiminishingRTG is what I use for RTG decay, it's quite nice.

I may need to check that out. Thanks!

Yes, it's a bit tall, but it's quite difficult to design it to follow the needs and still keep a reasonable part count.

As long as you're on a lower-gravity moon or land in a relatively flat spot it should be fine. I've been toying with a similar compromise for an Apollo-like mission just to fit inside the fairing, though I'm increasingly considering Kerbin-orbit or Target-orbit assembly instead. That's not so much an option when the trip takes a decade or more.

[lajoswinkler]

OK, radically new approach. I can't go smaller than this.

Also, good news. DeepFreeze has been forked.

That means the whole greenhouse module will probably get either removed or reduced to a minimum of one greenhouse.

[lajoswinkler]

Updates:

- Kerbal engineers forgot that nuclear thermal rockets don't use oxidizer. Several hours of hairpulling adjustments were made useless when news from SuperTech LLC came about the apparently common fact. Kron 4 now has almost exactly 13800 m/s of delta v. Additional adjustments might be done to increase the initial TWR of 0.07.

- Autonomous lander/rover has been added to the ship.

[lajoswinkler]

I need a name for the automated robotic lander that will investigate the area on Wal where something bright was spotted. Suggestions, please.

[Mister Dilsby]

WalEye

[lajoswinkler]

Well you can't get better than that. WalEye it is. Thanks.

[lajoswinkler]

Budget cuts from the Ministry of No Better Things To Do has forced Kerbal Space Center to turn back to stasis as preferred mode of long distance travel. DeepFreeze module is being retrofitted and SETI Greenhouse team is put on hold.

Here is Wernher von Braun examining the resistance to micrometeorite impacts simulated by firing a harpoon into it. It's a fairly expensive test. Safety is disregarded, as usual.

[SmallFatFetus]

You really should use the lightbulb from Porkjet's amazing Atomic Age pack. IMHO it looks a lot better than the KSPX one. Might have more balanced performance too.

SmallFatFetus

[Mister Dilsby]

Safety is disregarded, as usual.

But that guy in your sig is wearing the glasses--where I work, the glasses means safe! Even if the hazard involves several thousand volts or a few tons suspended by a thin cable, glasses=safe!

[lajoswinkler]

You really should use the lightbulb from Porkjet's amazing Atomic Age pack. IMHO it looks a lot better than the KSPX one. Might have more balanced performance too.

SmallFatFetus

Nuclear lightbulb is a hypothetical technology and Ministry uses realistic and developed propulsion at all cost.

But that guy in your sig is wearing the glasses--where I work, the glasses means safe! Even if the hazard involves several thousand volts or a few tons suspended by a thin cable, glasses=safe!

Oh, those? Those are just for looks, bought at the Kerbal fair.

[Zaddy23]

Those are just for looks

Oh dear, don't let admin know...

[lajoswinkler]

The ship is basically finished and sits waiting until DeepFreeze - TAC issues are resolved.

There is no centrifuge involved. Kron 3 almost broke in half during aerobraking so some lessons are learned. Current part count is decent and I don't want more parts.

Some stats:

- length 47.4 m

- diameter without antennas 8.6 m

- mass 675.7 t

- number of parts 246

- initial delta v 13021 m/s (there's more after some parts are left behind)

Edited June 17, 2015 by lajoswinkler

[VASMIR]

NFP and NFE were updated yesterday. Did you know that for the same mass, you can get more Delta V out of the VASMIR Engines than the Nuclear ones.

[technerd89]

How on earth did you get your propulsion and energy module in to orbit? I built a similarly sized drive section using Near Future parts and LiqHydrogen/Ox tanks, it weighs almost 160 tons, barely fits in to a P-fairing. I did an asparagus 5-meter launcher with 67,000 thrust (the exhaust blew the launch pad apart) and still could not get out of the soup.

[lajoswinkler]

NFP and NFE were updated yesterday. Did you know that for the same mass, you can get more Delta V out of the VASMIR Engines than the Nuclear ones.

Yes, I know.

How on earth did you get your propulsion and energy module in to orbit? I built a similarly sized drive section using Near Future parts and LiqHydrogen/Ox tanks, it weighs almost 160 tons, barely fits in to a P-fairing. I did an asparagus 5-meter launcher with 67,000 thrust (the exhaust blew the launch pad apart) and still could not get out of the soup.

It's not in orbit yet. This propulsion unit is more massive than the one built for Kron 3 and if I don't succeed in launching it filled with fuel, I will launch it with less of it.

I've stopped relying on asparagus launchers and instead I build classical huge stages.

[lajoswinkler]

First piece of the ship is in orbit - Kerpernicus lander attached to the main shield.

It's waiting in equatorial orbit at roughly 164 km.

[DMSP]

First piece of the ship is in orbit - Kerpernicus lander attached to the main shield.

http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/28492701738613889/AB1ED0EEB9069A40C438AF10082165D6D6106F83/

http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/28492701738630041/F9414E7FFFB0087990A4CD64ADE79AD1826D2D18/

It's waiting in equatorial orbit at roughly 164 km.

Alright! Can't wait to see what they find!