Base Pack. Endless configurations in a single launch! Not yet updated to 1.0, but soonâ„¢

[Rune]

Hello again Kerbalnauts! Wouldn't you know now we have surface base contracts? Yeah, they are dirt simple to fulfil, but what if you wanted to do them the right way? Well look no further! This here is the fully 0.90 compatible, tested to kingdom come and then some, polished in every last detail, much awaited update to my best selling product in the history of ever: the Base-In-A-Box!

Of course since it's in a box, you can't see anything. Actually, the box is a lander capable of dropping the pieces anywhere but Tylo. On top of a booster that can get it anywhere*. But we'll get to that. In the meantime, suffice it to say some assembly is required. But what is it that you are buying with this? Well, something like this:

That is one Base Pack, plus the lander that dropped it there. But you know, if you take the time, you are not limited to using one pack alone...

Of course that is a very tweaked, difficult build with pieces from six different packs, from all over the development phase across several game versions, and a custom part to make that awesome central escape shuttle (also a custom job) dock with the base. In fact, what you get out of a single pack is much more modest, albeit a still fully functional base, with a Hab module, a Lab module, a Fuel Dump, a Node module connecting everything and giving communications capability, plus the construction rover that moves all the pieces around. And now, my kerbs, I suppose it's time to get to the user instruction manual... which is much more simple now than it used to be. I'm going to assume form now on that you either use the Deluxe or Deluxe+ versions, meaning you deploy with the Shroud/Lander. We will get to the alternative, complicated deploy methods later (because they are hugely fun to do! Plus, it allows you to build the non-standard bases much more cheaply, if you care about that).

So, we are basically launching one ginormous rocket. No big pointers there, get it to LKO and if you are any good, you will do so using the upper stage only for the last tens of m/s of the circularization. Now we get to the main difference between the Deluxe and the Deluxe+ version of the pack: the legs. Basically, the Deluxe+ version has more than twice the deltaV, or 5km/s, without tapping into the fuel of the lander. That means this is indeed capable of launching to any planet in the system... if you have patience. And I mean a lot of patience. It has a tiny 0.75m/s^2 of acceleration at the start of the burn, so be prepared to read a book while it's performed or something... Or you could use the Deluxe version's chemical stage with TWR of 1.1 to get to anywhere between Jool and Eve, because it still has 2.3km/s and is much less tedious to get there!

Then, if we know out navigation stuff, you will have the pack inside it's lander/shroud, orbiting your target planet/moon. EDL time! It's dirt simple since you have chutes and everything, but just in case, make sure you are controlling from the top docking port so the navball makes sense, and remember that "Abort" drops the nosecone and transfer stage, drops the gear, and deploys the chutes. 1.8km/s and TWR of 0.8 under kerbin gravity means that you can comfortably set it down anywhere. Afterwards, it's time to open the presents!

It does look indeed like Santa dropped by... of did we drop by Santa?

In this group picture you can (almost) see them all. Three corridors still on the ground, the Hab and the Fuel Dump already up, and still together are the Lab and the Node module, with the rover on the other side of the lander. The position is no accident, because I have to warn you: deploying the rover+corridors package is best done in the upwards direction to avoid explosions and give room to the pieces to short themselves out. It should work, but follow this procedure: with the rover under control, set the throttle to about 50% (for kerbin's gravity), and hit stage: all corridors will unravel under you, as you gently fly away to a safe distance... (yes the rover is a rocket VTOL too) with maybe a few explosions of the decouplers. Nothing major hopefully.

...Come to think of it, you might want to quicksave before starting this whole operation, the kraken preys on those who don't. Anyhow, let's get to the individual modules and how they do their thing:

This here is the cornerstone of the whole modularity thing, the module that is not good for anything in itself, but that makes it possible to build n different bases with this pack and still have each of them look nothing like the others. And it is not pure eye candy, it is also a stock way of having all your base modules docked together in a single unit, sharing resources among them and simplifying both gameplay and you flight list (which in my case, never falls below 40). Make sure to put a pilot in there to operate it before you drop it, because it is the only one without a built-in probe to take care of deploying the landing gear and making sure it stays upright when doing so. It kind of shares form factor with the Hab module (vertical cylinder), and like it, it is positioned sideways on the bay, so be very careful when you drop it so that it ends up the right way up, or you will have to do some crazy thing with the rover and other modules pushing and such to flip it over. Needless to say warranty will be voided at that point (though if you are in some low gravity moon the problem is mostly non-existent). The Hab, though can right itself from any position thanks to a hidden reaction wheel and the legs, so don't worry about that one.

This here is the other form factor, the one shared by the Lab module and the Fuel Dump. Very easy to drop and assemble, and you can actually also dock them with the lander (and with my Eagle shuttle, BTW), so you can refuel between those. All it takes to do those dockings, BTW, is some fiddling with the suspension depending on the local gravity: lock it for high gravity fields so the rover can slide under the modules to pick them up, and maybe do a little hop with RCS on the low-gravity moons if the rover doesn't want to connect because the gap is a hair too big. It is tested to work both in kerbin and on Minmus, so you should have no troubles there.

And last but not least, the construction rover. This useful little bugger will not only put all of the other modules in place by docking itself to their ventral nodes, it is equipped with seats so it can serve the base as a joyride when it's done building it, and it carries one of each of every scientific instrument. It even carries monopropellant rockets to do short hops! And you know, with some ingenuity, I'm sure you can figure out some way of putting a whole base on wheels, and rove your base all over the planet/moon to get to the juicy places. Sky's the limit! (As in, you probably want to take things slow if you do this and not lift off dukes-of-hazard-style with a modular mobile base contraption )

Eagle:

First off, meet the

It's a SSTO shuttle with a MkIII cargo bay, and while you could deploy this base with any other downwards-opening, Mk-III-cargo-bay-equipped lander, this one was specifically designed to drop the pieces of this base on most of the bodies of the kerbol system from low orbit, and then get back up to be refueled and pick another one (rated up to Duna and Laythe!). Plus, it would do a more than decent job at hauling them the long distances. That is pretty much the way you get all those modules to where you want to set up the base. Don't worry about landing them ultra close to each other, but it saves time if you don't have to rove too far to get the pieces, since you don't have the most stability when you are carrying the big, tall modules in the tiny rover. Make sure you maximize the load you bring down on each trip by putting the corridors and the rover on the top docking port while you bring down other payloads, saves you a few flights and they can right themselves from pretty much any position in almost any gravity field (not actually tested on Laythe!).

And then there is the part of actually getting the modules on orbit. There are options on the options here!

First, you can launch only the modules and a modest upper stage (that, whole being modest, can still push the whole thing to Mun if you tap the fuel of the base) with this rocket:

Or you can go for the extra mile, and 100% reusability, by putting the modules inside a SSTO. I went ahead and did just that, using my Dao. And considering it is capable of lifting up a full Big Red, it has no problem taking the modules up two at a time.

You can see in that picture the result of launching the three files that I offer with custom payloads (pretty tightly packed, I doubt you can do much better on your own), plus one of my Modular Propulsion Systems taking the role of transfer stage. But if you are building it this way, it's because you are a seasoned pro with your own ideas as to how you are going to build this, so I guess you don't really want/need tons of advice... just know R-SUV a response away with the customer support!

Here, have the files and be industrious, my brave kerbals!

Useful link to the Eagle thread, where you can download that one.

Dao SSTO with Fuel Dump+Node

Dao SSTO with Hab+Lab

Dao SSTO with Corridors+Rovers

The base pack in a cheap rocket

Anyhow, I would keep on finding stuff to say so I can take it as an excuse to put more awesome pics up here, but this is quite the wall already (especially if you click that spoiler button! Lots of details there), and I'm pretty sure you want to get to the really juicy part of the post. So with a final wish for a happy time Lego'ing all over the place for √Funds and Science! (not really, it takes most of the tech tree unlocked and costs north of √200k just to put into orbit), I leave you with the imgur album, which I will probably update further, and the single file download. I figure you can make the subassemblies to put this on your spaceplanes on your own

IMGUR ALBUM:

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DOWNLOADS:

Base Pack Deluxe

Base Pack Deluxe+

*Anywhere, for the nuclear Deluxe+ version, of course.

Rune. I know, it's been months and I've spoiled it way more than I should have. Besides, it's "just an update". Don't you think the wait was totally worth it?

Edited May 27, 2015 by Rune

[Greenfire32]

Fricken. Yes.

I am often conflicted when I discover truly great community creations. On the one hand, the work has been done for me and all I have to do is fly it. On the other hand...man that's half the game right there...already done...man.

Great job, Rune.

Greenfire32. Trying out a "Rune-style" signoff. Am I doing it right? Is this thing on? Oh well, better leave it to the pro.

[Frozen_Heart]

One of the nicest looking bases I've seen.

[Rune]

Fricken. Yes.

I am often conflicted when I discover truly great community creations. On the one hand, the work has been done for me and all I have to do is fly it. On the other hand...man that's half the game right there...already done...man.

Great job, Rune.

Greenfire32. Trying out a "Rune-style" signoff. Am I doing it right? Is this thing on? Oh well, better leave it to the pro.

Haha, you do it like the pros! But yeah, I also enjoy leaving part of the fun for after you hit the launch button. I must confess an undying attraction to the whole concept of lego'ing in space!

One of the nicest looking bases I've seen.

Thanks! I learned from the best, I have no trouble admitting that. My twist to the "modular base" thing is the "in a shroud" part.

Rune. And shrouds sure do make everything look stylish.

[Majorjim!]

Very nice man! The fairing looks great.

So this is the rocket and the three piece base? in what manner do the three pieces land on the Mun?

Edited January 22, 2015 by Majorjim
seemed downbeat

[Rune]

Actually, it's four different modules (Hab, Lab, Node & Fuel Dump), plus the corridors and the construction rover.

Also perhaps the post wasn't clear enough, but this was built to be deployed (anywhere from Laythe to Duna) by my recently released Eagle Shuttle (there's a link in the detailed description and everything!). Or, you know, any of your VTOLs, as long as it has a small downwards-facing MkIII cargo bay with Sr. Docking ports at either end and a standard one on the ceiling. Or a classical SSTO, if you have some short of KAS crane to offload the modules. Or if you use B9, you could drive them out through a ramp, or build some short of disposable containers with chutes... In any case, wether you want to figure out your own delivery method or not, I thought this way of giving it away as a separate rocket payload gave the most options.

Rune. Reading the user manual is indicated.

[Guest]

Looks very nice! How many parts is it? Because it looks like very, very much...

Kerdinand. No, Rune-style signoffs are nothing for me.

[HafCoJoe]

Gorgeous once again

[DMSP]

Oh my Kod...

Another great base too my collection....

Laythe, i'm coming back!

*Laythe* NOOOOOOO! I HAVE ENOUGH BASES!

[Rune]

Looks very nice! How many parts is it? Because it looks like very, very much...

Kerdinand. No, Rune-style signoffs are nothing for me.

Thanks! And while it's not as light in parts as some other builds of mine by any means, it's not that heavy, though of course it depends entirely on how many packs you assemble together. The rocket on the pad is 379 parts, but the base bundle is only 158, and that's with a few structural parts to accommodate the corridors and rover. In fact, I usually use a custom KAS file to be able to take out landing gear on the corridors, for a more flush exterior, once I'm done grabbing them with another module. With all that, a complete minimal base is under 150 parts with one module of each and the rover docked in.

Gorgeous once again

Again, thanks!

Oh my Kod...

Another great base too my collection....

Laythe, i'm coming back!

*Laythe* NOOOOOOO! I HAVE ENOUGH BASES!

But aren't they getting outdated? Plus, I guarantee you this one will keep you busy for a long while. And you know, you could try the hardest deploy of all (I think), Duna. But pack a lot of fuel for the orbital depot then! It's on the edge of a loaded Eagle's delta-v, and those things have quite the fuel load.

Edit: while we are at it, some random thoughts that I think I forgot to include in the OP:

-The rear Sr. docking port of an Eagle is at exactly the same height as the Sr. docking ports on the Fuel Dump. So you can refuel Eagles in 100% a stock manner by driving full Fuel Dumps to them. I doubt that's useful unless you have a fuel source on the surface, but hey, it's doable. Maybe an emergency refuel in a low gravity field? Certainly a way to top off top off the base itself in resources from orbit. Likewise, you can store your Eagle docked to the base by a) being Scott himself and flying it to a dock, or building the base around the Eagle.

-An Eagle with the Lab module will fulfil any base contract you get (five crew spots, power, antenna and a science lab). Just in case you are feeling cheap, or need the cash influx to send more packages/fuel to where you are building your base. Also, when you dock stuff together it counts as a new ship, so you can fulfil more than one contract with the same base just by breaking it up and reassembling it. You cheater.

-Most pics showing base configurations are outdated one way or the other. You can notice pretty easy if you look closely that the corridors got more than a few versions over the development cycle, for example. The one where you can see the actual base you get with all the details as they are right now is the one in the album built near the munar Arch, and even that one has a slightly wider rover and node modules than the one I give. What can I say, setting them up takes a lot of time and effort, and I wasn't going to throw all those out the window if I could help it. They are 90% accurate though, because the changes are truly minimal form one version to the next, and don't affect the Lab, Dump, or Hab in any way. It took a while to get corridors that were efficient in parts and could right themselves to be picked up in any gravity field, that's all, and the Node could be prettified and made to fit a MkIII bay (it was a hair too wide) with a slight touch of the offset gizmo.

Rune. Oh, and pics of your base configurations will be welcome!

Edited January 22, 2015 by Rune

[DMSP]

Oh no...

It won't work....

Could you upload it on KerbalX?

You could here...

- - - Updated - - -

Here is some:

[ndiver]

Is your small pretty Science Rover included in the pack ?

[Rune]

Oh no...

It won't work....

Could you upload it on KerbalX?

You could here...

Hum. I hope you mean the download because of a problem on our end with MediaFire! It works fine for me... Anyhow, just in case, I took the five minutes to upload it on KerbalX, so this should work. Just so you know, I will promptly forget all about that uploaded file, so I hereby name you custodian of it or something, I thinkI will stick to my Media

Is your small pretty Science Rover included in the pack ?

Sadly, the necessity to make this all fit into a MkIII bay killed that one... the wheels were too wide, and if I got them to fit they were clipping everywhere, in a bad way. But all is not lost, I do have this one the works, maybe I will offer it as a subassembly for the Eagle once I figure out how to put the science gear in (right now it just has a crapload of seats inside):

Rune. It was cute, but it was much like anyone else's. Plus, gizmos: I can do much better now.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Rune

[ndiver]

Is there a way to download the science rover outside of this pack ? I did not saw it on your page Rune's Slightly Used Vehicle. Thanks for both (station and rover !)

[Rune]

Is there a way to download the science rover outside of this pack ? I did not saw it on your page Rune's Slightly Used Vehicle. Thanks for both (station and rover !)

Turns out I had a file with just the thing on it, and it was a bit updated too (monoprop engines instead of RCS to VTOL). But yeah, I used to give it with the Eagle, and that's gone from the page. Here you go, your very own download.

Rune. Enjoy!

[ndiver]

Here you go, your very own download.

Rune. Enjoy!

One thing to reply :

[inigma]

watching this thread. need to see how much you can fit into a mk3 long cargo bay (testing my shuttle)

[Rune]

watching this thread. need to see how much you can fit into a mk3 long cargo bay (testing my shuttle)

Well, I have subassemblies...

...but they are pretty easy to make yourself from the rocket file. I'd say you could fit any two modules in a standard long cargo bay, as long as you don't have anything else in there. It'll be tight, and it'll be low density most likely, but that's exactly what the base was built for.

Rune. The Eagle is quite inefficient as a kerbin SSTO, and the Dao can double as tanker with such a light payload. But the rocket is of course faster.

[DMSP]

Thanks! And while it's not as light in parts as some other builds of mine by any means, it's not that heavy, though of course it depends entirely on how many packs you assemble together. The rocket on the pad is 379 parts, but the base bundle is only 158, and that's with a few structural parts to accommodate the corridors and rover. In fact, I usually use a custom KAS file to be able to take out landing gear on the corridors, for a more flush exterior, once I'm done grabbing them with another module. With all that, a complete minimal base is under 150 parts with one module of each and the rover docked in.

Again, thanks!

But aren't they getting outdated? Plus, I guarantee you this one will keep you busy for a long while. And you know, you could try the hardest deploy of all (I think), Duna. But pack a lot of fuel for the orbital depot then! It's on the edge of a loaded Eagle's delta-v, and those things have quite the fuel load.

Edit: while we are at it, some random thoughts that I think I forgot to include in the OP:

-The rear Sr. docking port of an Eagle is at exactly the same height as the Sr. docking ports on the Fuel Dump. So you can refuel Eagles in 100% a stock manner by driving full Fuel Dumps to them. I doubt that's useful unless you have a fuel source on the surface, but hey, it's doable. Maybe an emergency refuel in a low gravity field? Certainly a way to top off top off the base itself in resources from orbit. Likewise, you can store your Eagle docked to the base by a) being Scott himself and flying it to a dock, or building the base around the Eagle.

-An Eagle with the Lab module will fulfil any base contract you get (five crew spots, power, antenna and a science lab). Just in case you are feeling cheap, or need the cash influx to send more packages/fuel to where you are building your base. Also, when you dock stuff together it counts as a new ship, so you can fulfil more than one contract with the same base just by breaking it up and reassembling it. You cheater.

-Most pics showing base configurations are outdated one way or the other. You can notice pretty easy if you look closely that the corridors got more than a few versions over the development cycle, for example. The one where you can see the actual base you get with all the details as they are right now is the one in the album built near the munar Arch, and even that one has a slightly wider rover and node modules than the one I give. What can I say, setting them up takes a lot of time and effort, and I wasn't going to throw all those out the window if I could help it. They are 90% accurate though, because the changes are truly minimal form one version to the next, and don't affect the Lab, Dump, or Hab in any way. It took a while to get corridors that were efficient in parts and could right themselves to be picked up in any gravity field, that's all, and the Node could be prettified and made to fit a MkIII bay (it was a hair too wide) with a slight touch of the offset gizmo.

Rune. Oh, and pics of your base configurations will be welcome!

Now that is what I call a good base. Nice work!

[Rune]

watching this thread. need to see how much you can fit into a mk3 long cargo bay (testing my shuttle)

Speaking about shuttles, I bring you guys short of an update:

Just in case you didn't have enough complexity getting the base where you need it to be if it isn't Mun, or setting the base up when you get there, I thought you might try saving more than a few funds by launching it in a reusable shuttle. And I have just the thing! So to save you the hurdle, and to round up the options on this build, here you go, three versions of the same SSTO Shuttle (my Dao), all fitted with different payloads, that when put together form a standard base pack (only with moar rovers and corridors, which is never a bad thing). Or you could mix and match the flights to set up your own base configurations, perhaps with more fuel tanks, perhaps with more habitats, perhaps you want to repeat my hexagonal trick with six nodes (not for the faint of computer, that ends up using a lot of parts). Check out a few sample pics of the assembly of the pack, and the downloads!

This is the results of unpacking the first flight. Note that I used parts from a Modular Propulsion System that I had lying around in orbit empty. You could use any other transfer stage with a few ports, but I heavily recommend that it is a puller system since the whole thing is very prone to the noodle syndrome with all those wobbly docking port connections.

And these are the other two payloads, fitting snugly in the bay. They are quite light, so you end up with quite a bit of leftover fuel in the Dao, so you can probably fill almost half an orange tank of the transfer stage with that, for the trip to the base destination. Once you have unpackaged everything, you get quite the long noodle to pull there! You are free to experiment with other configurations, but the heavy parts on the front and everything in a long line will probably work the best. Also, feel free to disable reaction wheels liberally to stop ASAS from going crazy. Or go for the extra mile and secure everything with KAS struts... in any case, the result looks like a proper train of goodies heading for deep space, and the every Dao is free to return to the runway for recovery and profit.

DOWNLOADS:

Dao+Fuel Dump+Node

Dao+Hab+Lab

Dao+Corridors+Rovers

Rune. This good enough for you in the payload department, inigma?

Edited January 27, 2015 by Rune

[Frozen_Heart]

Would a standard rather than Sr. docking port be stable enough to transport this? In a pusher config?

I've not had wobble in that configuration before but this base looks heavier than previous things I've transported.

[Rune]

Would a standard rather than Sr. docking port be stable enough to transport this? In a pusher config?

I've not had wobble in that configuration before but this base looks heavier than previous things I've transported.

Hum. The problem is not that you would have one wobbly docking port connection, the problem is you would have one, then a Sr. docking port, then another Sr, then another standard port...

The package as put inside the faring in the rocket file is quite rigid (and it has a standard docking port opposite the Sr. that can be used with the upper stage still attached), so if you empty the fuel depot, maybe if you take things slowly you can push it. If things go wrong, try disabling the torque on the payload, sometimes SAS hinders you more than it helps. But then again in that configuration it would be easier to just refuel the upper stage and use that as a transfer stage... It has quite the delta-v full, and you can use the fuel in the payload to give it another nice chunk of delta-v.

And if you go the other route, and take the pieces as I have given them in the Dao and put them together the way I show in that last post... then it'll be a wet noodle impossible to push, I pretty much guarantee that. But then again, you have those wonderful motherships with plenty of lateral ports, so you could transport the modules in pairs around the hull, and problem solved, use the frontal port for light payloads only (like the rovers, or the corridors). Note that now that I think about it, with the mass rebalance, the node module and the lab module weight pretty much the same, and the fuel dump's weight is entirely dependant on how much fuel it has at a given time.

Rune. So yeah, totally doable in on one of your motherships, especially the big one... can I have pics if you try? I think that would look cool

Edited January 27, 2015 by Rune

[Frozen_Heart]

can I have pics if you try? I think that would look cool

I'm downloading this base for the exact reason of showcasing something cool to push... Colonise the moon while I'm at it.

The TWR on the larger mothership is lower so at least could help in reducing the wobble.

[Rune]

I'm downloading this base for the exact reason of showcasing something cool to push... Colonise the moon while I'm at it.

The TWR on the larger mothership is lower so at least could help in reducing the wobble.

Let's see, a good configuration for your big mothership off the top of my head... If you go for a single base pack to assemble it quickly, put the fuel dump on one side, balanced with the lab on the other side (check the lab's weight in the VAB, then find a fuel load that will give the fuel dump the same weight), the hab balanced with the node on the other two lateral ports (since they rebalanced the cuppola they weight about the same), and the corridors/rover package you can unravel in LKO (and BTW, the rover makes for a good RCS tug) and put pretty much anywhere, including the front, or just attached with the rover port. Sorry about the tiny bit of space trash when you do unravel that part of the package! You can push it into a suborbital trajectory by pushing with a kerbal if you are as OCD about space junk as me.

Rune. That is, if pushing the whole thing doesn't work, which it shouldn't with a full fuel dump on the opposite end of the connection. Might work if you empty it.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Rune

[Majorjim!]

These are great Rune! I love the versatility and modularity across the range of crafts. It's something I've always wanted to have. My brain just refuses to be that organized.