Your mission costs

[nremies1]

Just curious: how much do your missions cost?

Not really interested in a "who can execute a mission to X the cheapest" competition but rather simply in knowing how much people are spending since I started my first career save after the patch.

I've got a direct-ascent Mun mission that costs 105k funds, about 17k of which are recovered upon return to Kerbin. If the mission completes a "plant flag" contract and an orbital science contract it's usually completely paid-for, but not profitable. The same vehicle goes to Minmus because I haven't built something specifically for a Minmus shot just yet.

I'm designing a Duna mission - and this is really where my interest in other people's mission costs comes from - which in my old sandbox game was about $250k. I'm seeing if I can trim that down without sacrificing capability but am not happy with the design yet.

Edited December 24, 2014 by nremies1

[RainDreamer]

Well, usually it cost about the same range for me. Launching your own missions usually aren't as profitable as completing contracts, so I usually build up my budget on profitable contracts first before moving on to do my own missions, which usually do not give anything back but science.

[Anquietas314]

My second generation Mun mission costs just over $60k to launch, but my first one cost quite a bit less than that (like 30k - I no longer have the design saved). I get almost all of that back though, thanks to the StageRecovery mod - basically, put parachutes on all the things, and instead of stuff getting deleted when it hits the atmosphere you get a refund based on the mass of the component, how many parachutes you put on it and how far from KSC it "landed". It could be considered cheating but I see it as a replacement for missing/broken stock functionality

As for Duna, I haven't tried to launch a mission to there yet - the transfer window is 184 days away according to Kerbal Alarm Clock. I should probably say: the only mod I have installed at the moment that affects gameplay/balance is the StageRecovery one. The rest are just utility mods (KER and so on)

[Pecan]

A piece of string.

There are 35-odd vehicle designs in the tutorial in my signature, 850 to 141k.

Although the early vehicles are one-shot disposable things the later ones, and everything I use in my own games, are fully-reusable. Now, what was the question again?

ETA: manned Mun/Minmus one-shot about 33k for a beginner's ship in the tutorial. Roughly 267k for reusable Duna manned vehicles + fuel, etc.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Pecan

[Superfluous J]

It's extremely variable, but early LKO missions rarely break $10k and early Mun/Minmus missions usually stay under $20k, I think.

Back in 0.24 my Jool-5 mission ran about half a million or so, though costs may be different now.

[THX1138]

I try to tie together multiple missions if possible. You should definitely consider rejecting contracts that don't cover their costs unless you would have been doing it anyway (e.g. a parachute test, since I'm using parachutes often enough anyway).

Right now I'm about to spend 370 K launching a vehicle that will put a satellite in orbit, land a surface station on the Mun and land a separate lander on the Mun with a Kerbal in it to collect some surface samples per a contract (and bring them home). The satellite contract returns 250 K but the surface station returns 450 K. I'll also get like 200K total from reporting science from around Kerbin (money for old rope) and completing the surface sample contract!

So the trick is, where possible, to make sure you're completing multiple contracts in a single mission. It can be a bit of a kerfuffle but it's pretty rewarding if done right. Make sure you understand each contract and dot every i and cross every t. Spending 250+ K to put a base somewhere but not having an antenna on it earns nothing!

Edited December 23, 2014 by THX1138

[nremies1]

The satellite contracts seem profitable enough at this point, I just sorta wondered if 105k to land three guys, goos, a materials bay, etc, on the Mun was about what other people were spending. Nice to have points of comparison, is all. I think I'm getting better at cutting waste from the actual rockets (thanks Flight Engineer!) but since I haven't spent much time in Career I'm only now starting to consider cost.

[Kesa]

Satellite contract : IIRC <6000 launch cost, fullfilling up to 3 contrats inside Kerbin SOI. Absurdly cost effective.

I'm planning my second Mun mission (a rescue mission, previous lander was to tall and now lays horizontally). The Lander : A poddle, a MK1-2 Pod and a lab (I will fullfill space station and munar outpost with it) and some usefull stuf like docking port (willl stay in space and be reused) : 20 000.

A cheap exandable lifter 10 000 will help it getting into LKO, then it will be refurbished a sent a rover (cost not known, <<60 000 I hope) and send to the mun.

[Rusty6899]

The satellite contracts seem profitable enough at this point, I just sorta wondered if 105k to land three guys, goos, a materials bay, etc, on the Mun was about what other people were spending. Nice to have points of comparison, is all. I think I'm getting better at cutting waste from the actual rockets (thanks Flight Engineer!) but since I haven't spent much time in Career I'm only now starting to consider cost.

It's very difficult to compare costs unless we know exactly what you're taking. I was landing probes on Minmus for 7k, but my first manned mission there (capable of landing + ascending 3 times) cost 25k. The heavier your craft, the mosr cost spiral out of control, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if 105k was reasonable for a 3 man Mun landing.

[Janos1986]

Please note that if you're skilled enough (or like me you suck at math and you have the trajectory mod installed) to re-enter your final stage neatly on the runway every time you only have the spent fuel and jettisoned stages to take into account as real costs.

And with pods, science modules solar panels and whatnot, the value of the final stage is usually way more than the sum of every bit of the vector you sacrifice.

Also, consider using a simple jet engine with landing legs to check out the various part test contracts in flight over Kerbin.

It''s not obvious as it seems, apparently.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Janos1986

[Frank_G]

I usually launch missions within Kerbins SOI for 20 - 50k of funds. However there are missions that dont pay off... like Eve return missions.

I recently prepared the "Explore Eve" and a "Plant a flag on Eve" mission in .90 career. 250k for lander, transfer- and return vehicle, and another million to get the 3 parts into orbit. I will rethink the launch vehicles once more to reduce costs for sure, but at least everything already looks nice

[SRV Ron]

Ask yourself the following questions for Career?

Do I need to send up three Kerbals when only one is needed for EVA?

Do I need to send up and return a Kerbal when the Explore contract only requires transmitting back data from orbit and landing?

Do I need to use expensive liquid fueled engines when a far cheaper SRB can be tweaked to do the same mission?

Do I need to use a rocket for testing when a fully recoverable aircraft can achieve the same results?

Can I combine contracts to cut cost?

Example; This ship can fulfill the first five contracts of Career, first flight, altitude record of 5,00 meters, 11,000 meters, 22,000 meters, 33,000 meters, with 97% recovery when landed in the sea close to shore.

And, the one on the left, depending where you are in Career, made it to Duna.

[Signo]

Hi, to exploit the most a single launch to Eve/Duna in my current career I designed this tier-7 model that can carry 2 orbiters and 2 rovers to the target SOI spending just 75k per launch.

Then you can fulfill all the "send data from" contracts, not to mention the first "explore" contract. I had a very good ROI from stuff like this.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

[eddiew]

Ask yourself the following questions for Career?

...(snip)...

Very sage advice. Minimal is the way to go if you want to make a profit; never deliver more than was required. I've been running a new game since 0.90, with just 50% funding, and I'm sitting on $1.2 million in the bank with most facilities on the middle tier upgrade. Far as I can tell, the most common problem for people who're short of funds is over-engineering. Get Kerbal Engineer (or MechJeb) so's you know the precise capabilities of your ship, and don't go too far over requirements. It's often surprising how little you need to do to get the job done

I love contracts like Minmus temperature scans*, because you can put a tiny little probe together with 4k delta-v, and get 2-3 of those missions done before you're out of fuel (no need to launch a new probe or bring it home; just get the measurements and transmit!) Initial launch cost below $20k. Equally good is plant a flag plus crew reports and ground EVA, because you can do all the orbitals, then finally land. On a really good day I've had 4 contracts in one launch, something like a 700% return on investment. A manned Mun or Minmus rocket doesn't have to top $30k before science dohickeys are added, but can rise to $100k if I want biome-hopping ability at the destination.

* Disclaimer: I'm not 100% sure the temp scan missions are stock; they might be DMagic's Orbital Science mod.

[SpeedDaemon]

Satellite contracts are awesome - if you're spending more than 4-6k (depending on required science parts) on ones for Kerbin/Mun/Minmus, you're doing it wrong (and you can usually complete 2-3 with the same probe for that price).

Another thing is to avoid >1.25m parts unless you REALLY need them (and if you're not leaving the Kerbin system, you probably don't).

And, don't forget that you can tweak SRBs! Using them for launch stages is very cost-effective, once properly set up.

Put a large empty fuel tank in LKO that you can dock with and dump extra fuel and monoprop (either upon return, or if you reach orbit and found you brought too much). The fuel itself won't save you much, but this can save you the cost of launching a separate refueling mission if you miscalculate on the low side.

[Superfluous J]

Put a large empty fuel tank in LKO that you can dock with and dump extra fuel and monoprop (either upon return, or if you reach orbit and found you brought too much). The fuel itself won't save you much, but this can save you the cost of launching a separate refueling mission if you miscalculate on the low side.

All of your advice is good, but I wanted to add to this one. Every single space station you put up with a contract should have such a fuel tank on it. You're already putting a station with power and a docking port, why not throw a couple fuel tanks on it for a future just-in-case?

[MrCynical]

* Disclaimer: I'm not 100% sure the temp scan missions are stock; they might be DMagic's Orbital Science mod.

They're stock (or at least I've got them and I don't use that mod ).

For a straightforward one kerbal mission to the mun I'd normally be looking at about 45 - 50k to launch, and maybe 5-10k of that back at return depending on what science instruments are available. Can shave something off that by leaving out things like RCS and landing struts but it makes it riskier. It's quite feasible with 1.25m parts only. Minmus slightly less as you don't need anywhere near as much fuel for landing and return.

[Anquietas314]

They're stock (or at least I've got them and I don't use that mod ).

Yep, they are indeed stock

[nremies1]

Thread answered. I'm not particularly interested in strapping a tiny probe to an SRB to cut costs.

[Wanderfound]

Lately it's been about √5,000 for a suborbital part test (probe core, SRB, go), √10,000 for a satellite in any Kerbin orbit (a lightweight sat with an FL-T100 and an LV-909 above a pair of FL-T800 and an LV-T45), √20,000 for a robotic Munlander or interplanetary probe (basically the satellite with a larger tank and landing legs on a tricoupler with the LV-T45/FL-T800 stack tripled).

For Kerballed stuff, a small low-tech (two turbojets, one LV-T45) spaceplane with a cargo bay runs to about √40,000.

Edited December 24, 2014 by Wanderfound

[OhioBob]

I just completed a "position satellite in a specific orbit of Minmus" contract using a very minimalistic vehicle.

Advance funds: 41,321

Completion funds: 237,598

My cost to complete: 3,205

Edited December 24, 2014 by OhioBob

[Anquietas314]

I just completed a "position satellite in a specific orbit of Minmus" contract using a very minimalistic vehicle.

Advance funds: 41,321

Completion funds: 237,598

My cost to complete: 3,205

http://www.braeunig.us/pics/KSP_007.jpg

Nice Technically if you wanted to be a tiny bit cheaper you could get away with just 2 solar panels (or 1 if you don't mind being a little reckless) and being careful with how the satellite's rotated

[eddiew]

I just completed a "position satellite in a specific orbit of Minmus" contract using a very minimalistic vehicle.

Lol! That... that is minimal. In fear to ask how tight the delta-v budget was!

For an exercise in lightness, I put this together today, and declared it Sparrow class:

Touch of clipping, but packs 4 of DMagic's Orbital Science instruments that can be used on the ground, are biome specific, and transmit at 100% value. Stock instruments are equally valid, if you don't mind the science loss. The outer layer hides an OCTO2, reaction wheel, battery pack, and of course that's a dinky Rockomax 48-7S on the bottom.

They're so tiny I'm flinging them at Eve, Duna, and Laythe even though it's not a good launch window

[OhioBob]

Nice Technically if you wanted to be a tiny bit cheaper you could get away with just 2 solar panels (or 1 if you don't mind being a little reckless) and being careful with how the satellite's rotated

I considered using two panels but I went with three to play it safe. One is just crazy talk!

Lol! That... that is minimal. In fear to ask how tight the delta-v budget was!

There's actually plenty of delta-v in that vehicle to get the job. The biggest problem was control, or lack of it. That OKTO core barely had enough torque to keep me flying straight while under RT-10 power. I also had no fine thrust control, so fine tuning the final orbit was tricky. I had to use extremely short pulses from the main engine.

For an exercise in lightness, I put this together today, and declared it Sparrow class:

Sweet! You certainly have a lot of capability squeezed into a small package.

I don't know if it would work in your case, but here's trick I've used to give small probes a very low-mass propulsion capability: Use a small RCS fuel tank and place two or more 'place-anywhere' RCS ports around the perimeter angled rearward. The ISP is low but you have no engine mass. The downside is that for long burns you have to continually hold down the H key.

Edited December 24, 2014 by OhioBob

[Anquietas314]

Lol! That... that is minimal. In fear to ask how tight the delta-v budget was!

Actually it's pretty much identical to my own satellite design - except I used a liquid fuelled launcher - and I generally find I have almost 1km/s extra delta-V lol. A quick comparison in the VAB shows my design at launch has an extra 200m/s or so compared to that, so delta-V is most certainly not an issue totally not going to steal that design >_>

EDIT: damnit, ninja'd lol