Behind The Scenes: "Recover Vessel"

[CalMacDa]

What Really Happens when you tap the "recover vessel" button? Hundreds of Kerbals go to work designing and calculating to actually recover the brave Kerbonauts that have returned from their great journey. In this challenge, you will design a ship of any kind that will actually recover the vessel. Here come the hard part. You will be recovering a vessel from the peaks of the mountain range nearest to the KSC. When you take off a plane, right behind you is a range of mountains. This is the range in which the challenge will be conducted from.

The rankings of this challenge are simply based on cost of aircraft.

Rules:

- NO MODS!! The stock parts are enough

- Recover a bare 3 man capsule from a part of the mountain! Cheats can be used to get it there

- Don't use the debug menu!

- There will be separate rankings for those who don't use the Advanced Grabbing Unit

- There will be extra special rankings for those who use rockets. That---is skill

- Must safely return all kerbals and capsule. This is the space programs money and reputation on the line!

The capsule must be placed in on this mountain 3000+ meters. The placement is irrelevant to the biome!

Required Screenshots:

Ship in hangar. Must clearly show the cost of the ship

Ship on runway, ready for launch

Ship in mid flight, approaching the capsule

Ship 1km from the capsule

Ship landed and connected to capsule

Ship flying back

Ship landed safely back at the KSC with capsule

Your entry will not be ranked if it lacks even 1 of these screenshots.

Thank you for participating and I look forward to seeing all of your entries!

-CalMacDa

Rankings:

percyPrune: 32887.3

Foxster: 46586

Edited January 12, 2015 by CalMacDa
Making the

[kahlzun]

So, anywhere with the 'mountain' biome in that area, or a specific part of the mountains? Are we allowed to put docking ports on the Mk1-2 pod?

Can we see your own attemp?

[Foxster]

Interesting challenge.

Do need to clear up the area though. How about anywhere in the mountains biome? That would be the brown area here:

Can turn this on through alt-F12. Biome can be confirmed with Mechjeb etc.

Also - does capsule to be recovered have to be naked i.e. no additional parts attached?

[Fengist]

Yea, I'd like to see his 'attempt' at this as well. The rules are so 'ambiguous' either the door is either wide open or you better be damned good at VTOL's.

[Foxster]

Near - but no goldfish...

Might have to rethink this. That was my best near-miss after about 25 tries.

Umm...wheels?

[CalMacDa]

Sorry guys. I revised. Capsule must me 3000m+ in altitude on the mountain.

[Foxster]

Did it.

Album: http://s395.photobucket.com/user/FoxMouldy/slideshow/Recovery

[CalMacDa]

Yea, I'd like to see his 'attempt' at this as well. The rules are so 'ambiguous' either the door is either wide open or you better be damned good at VTOL's.

okay. I can't at the moment, due to conflicting plans, but on Monday I will share

[percyPrune]

you better be damned good at VTOL's.

Fair enough. The "Horseshoe Lifter Mk1"...

http://imgur.com/a/Kijgr#0

Couldn't quite get a pic at 1km. Hope 1.135 is close enough. (I was a bit busy at the 1km. mark.) Thanks to Bill, Bob, Buzz and Jeb for being patient.

Edited January 11, 2015 by percyPrune

[percyPrune]

2nd variant without the Grabber. Bit more expensive though...

Album: http://imgur.com/a/nMXI2#0

Addition: Hi CalMacDa. I hadn't realised you were ranking by cost. There were a few twiddly bits on both versions which are just gold plating (emergency parachutes, for instance). They don't affect the performance so I have knocked them off and removed 2 landing legs to bring the price down. Pic below of the 2nd version in the SPH shows the revised cost. If you want, I will re-run the mission to prove it still works but it would just be more of the same and I don't want to hog the thread!

Edited January 12, 2015 by percyPrune
Made it cheaper!