Modded 64k Career game UPDATE Year2 Day36 (09/05/2017)

[CatastrophicFailure]

Loving this, what's the balloon in the early posts from?

[billbobjebkirk]

Loving this, what's the balloon in the early posts from?

Sounding Rockets

[Shania_L]

Randazzo said:

 

lajoswinkler said:

 

Thanks guys, its always nice to get feedback (positive is just a bonus) and from two prolific writers as yourselves just puts the icing on top

CatastrophicFailure said:

Loving this, what's the balloon in the early posts from?

The balloon is from RoverDudes sounding rockets mod, more specifically from the pre-release version linked in his dropbox.

 

---

Following on from Sigberts second foray into space the young Kerbal had been transformed into something of a superhero, idolised by literally tens of Kerbals right around the KSC.

Mortimer (Finance) had been searching around the many industrialised corporations of Kerbin hunting for sponsorship to further the KSC's push into deeper space and had come back with a bumper crop of contract offers.

Contract offer_________________Funds upfront

Science from Mun orbit____________(14,423)

Lo-Res mapping of the Mun________(39,200)

Extend communications to Mun_____(70,000)

Extend communications to Minmus__(87,500)

Plant a flag on Mun surface________(23,800)

Explore Minmus__________________(47,000)

Total upfront payments, 281,923 Funds

To accept these contracts Mortimer (Finance) had to enact escape clauses within two visual survey contracts costing KSC 60,500 Funds and 216 Reputation

Spoiler:OOC

Spoiler

Due to some glitch I have been unable to locate in either OPM or 6.4k the 'short range' contracts supposed to be generated around the KSC all appear in a clump approx 90 degrees east of the actual KSC position. With the kind of surface distances involved at 6.4x kerbal scale flying out there and back would be ridiculously tedious.

 

Day 99, KSC

Spoiler

 

All the ground crew and pilots of the KSC had very much enjoyed the enforced 2 week holiday granted them by the KSC administration, some of them had come back from trips abroad a very dark shade of green.

Ofcourse there was an operational reason why the KSC had shutdown for two weeks, the newly modified HoundDog Ib launchers with their internal guidance, recovery system and bio-degradable fuel tanks had taken forever to get through production. 15 days of tinkering and tweaking later and the first of the new boosters was delivered to the KSC.

Elory Kerman had been on a rapid (he had had to tell his instructors to refrain from calling it a crash program on many occasions) instruction on the Ascender IIIb systems, now he was about to become only the second Kerbal in space.

Ascender IIIb was very similar to III, (duhh) the main differences being the science payload. Rather than the 4 largish US compartments, it carried the 4 SR sensors and a temperature probe, the decrease in mass allowed a larger Dv budget to be allocated, nearly 1,800.

HoundDog Ib powering Ascender IIIb off the pad at dusk, you can see the new buff figure of HoundDog it must have spent its 2 weeks in the gym.

Following a similar flight profile to Ascender III, IIIb aims for a 100km polar orbit. The dusk launch keeps Ascenders solar panels in sunlight at all times, this is important as lifesupport depends on maintaining electrical power. Booster stage separation clean and recovered.

HoundDog achieved 5,000m/sec at 100km which is just short of orbital velocity, however control of booster was successfully re-established after Ascender separation, retros fired well.

Seen here at core stage separation.

Just like Sigbert, Elory was out of the capsule as soon as possible admiring the view (and maintaining the sensors following each reading).

Seen here passing over the northern ice sheet.

With 770m/sec still in the fuel tank Ascender IIIb is cleared for phase 2 of the mission. Elory orients prograde and fires up the main engine extending the Ap up to 2,039km. Peaking slightly into the relatively unknown 'high orbit' realm Elory takes a series of readings as well as some of his own observations before firing the engine once more to de-orbit his capsule.

On the long fall back to Kerbin Elory pops back outside briefly to take something of a familiy photograph of the Kerbol system, helpfully lining up in the dark sky are 8 of the 10 major planets, only Plock and Dres fail to appear.

Even further off target than Sigbert had been, Elory plunges through the atmosphere at over 6,400m/sec, 60% of his heatshield is burned off by the terrific energy of re-entry (capsule tweaked down to 70 units ablative for lower mass)

Safely through however Elory is softly dropped onto the edge of the tundra somewhere in the southern continent. Iakod sends out a rescue aircraft to recover him and his haul of science, he doesnt seem too concerned about his predicament though

Mission cost - 37,963 Funds, capsule and 2 boosters, 577+(2*950) recovered

252 science collected, Elory gains 2 XP, achieves level 1.

Unlock science nodes Advanced Exploration and Supersonic Flight.

2x KCT upgrade points spent on VAB queues, #1 (now 1.05) and #2 (now 1.0)

 

Day 106, KSC

First quarter yearly roundup.

Career progression.

161,489 Funds, 26.2 Science, 570 Reputation

VAB, Launchpad, Administration block, Mission Control, Astronaut Complex and Science Facility all have a single upgrade, Runway, SPH and Tracking Station have none.

All sub 100 nodes unlocked as well as 4x '160' nodes.

Production Facilities

KSC, 2x VAB build queues, #1 @ rate 1.05, #2 @ rate 1.0

KSC, 2x SPH build queues, #1 @ rate 0.20, #2 @ rate 0.1

Iakod, 1x VAB build queue, #1 @ rate 0.45

Iakod, 1x SPH build queue, #1 @ rate 1.10

Launch History.

Skybolt I - V (including light)______ 12 launches, 1 failure.

HoundDog I+Ib__________________ 10 launches.

Ascender Manned Spaceflight Program

Ascender I Science Technician Podley Kerman Balloon ascent

Ascender II (Skybolt IV) Pilot Sigbert Kerman Sub-orbital

Ascender III (HoundDog I) Pilot Sigbert Kerman Orbital Polar

Ascender IIIb (HoundDog Ib) Pilot Elory Kerman Orbital Polar

Centus Communications Program

Centus I (HoundDog I) De-orbited and burned up successfully. (Boost stage as space junk)

Centus Ib (HoundDog I) De-orbited and burned up successfully

Centus II Ka, Kb and Kc (HoundDog I) Fully operational supplying Kerbins communications network. (Each added its boost stage to space junk tally)

Centus III Ke and Kd (HoundDog Ib) in production.

Centus IV Mu-a and Mu-b (HoundDog Ib) awaiting production slot.

Iakod Aeronautics Program

DART Prototype, Pilot Jebbidiah Kerman Launched and recovered successfully, didnt kill its pilot.

DART Successor, In development.

Helmdar Planetary Scanning Program

Helmdar I (Skybolt V) remains operational circular polar Kerbin orbit 497Km

Helmdar Ib (Skybolt V) remains operational circular polar Kerbin orbit 600Km

Helmdar II (HoundDog Ib) In development.

Helmdar III (HoundDog Ib) In development.

Verity Probe Science Program

Verity I (SkyBolt V) remains operational on an elliptical LKO

Verity II (SkyBolt V) remains operational on highly elliptical LKO (no Dv remains)

Verity III (HoundDog I) recovered on Kerbin after flight

Verity IV (HoundDog I) scattered liberally across the face of Mun

Edited December 4, 2015 by Shania_L

[Pipcard]

I really like the progression of your space program.

[CitizenAerospace]

This is so awesome! MOREEEEE!

One question though, what are the specs of the SkyBolt V? What engine does the 2nd stage use? I tried to recreate it and I got 5km/s DV, and a TWR on the second stage of 0.55 with a 1-ton payload..

[Shania_L]

CitizenAerospace said:

This is so awesome! MOREEEEE!

One question though, what are the specs of the SkyBolt V? What engine does the 2nd stage use? I tried to recreate it and I got 5km/s DV, and a TWR on the second stage of 0.55 with a 1-ton payload..

You will only get similar performance to me if you have a similar mod setup, assuming you do here is a bit of detail about it.

SkyBolt V is a 2.5 stage rocket, to make full orbital velocity you need to have propulsion as part of your payload.

 

1st stage,

Spoiler

 

Procedural solid fuel booster, a simple cylinder of 5m long by 1.25m diameter, nozzle set for sea level performance

10.8 tonnes wet mass, 5277 units of solid fuel take 120seconds to burn, producing 165KN at sea level.

This will produce a theoretical 2,110Dv according to VOID in an atmosphere at a TtW ratio of only 1.1

 

2nd stage,

Spoiler

 

Procedural bi-fuel balloon tank, cylinder of 2m long by 1.25m diameter.

Roughly 50/50 split of Aerozine50 and NTO (1231/1223 units) 2,450liters capacity massing at 2,923Kg wet.

LV-909 engine, with integrated minor fuel tank, Aerozine50/NTO (55.69/55.31). 133.9Kg Engine + tank producing 50KN at 298.3 ISP in vacuum (It only operates in very near to full vacuum conditions)

Theoretical Vacuum Dv 4,325m/sec, 1.3 TtW ratio (it would be 0.5 in atmo maybe this is what you saw?)

 

Payload stage,

Spoiler

 

You will require approximately 1,000 Dv as part of your payload simply to complete orbit insertion, this removes the need for any de-orbit system on your 2nd stage.

Taking the Helmdar payload as an example (It managed to achieve a circular 600km polar orbit)

It has a single FL-S25 fuel tank (RLA stockalike 11.25/13.75 units as LFO) 64.91/60.09 units of MMH/NTO.

LV-T5 motor (RLA again) 5Kn thrust 329.6 Vac ISP.

Theoretical onboard Vacuum Dv 2,139m/sec, 1.7 TtW

It is very difficult to calculate a total vehicle Dv, due to it changing depending how long you take to get out of the atmospheric effects.

Pure Atmos Dv 4,400

Pure Vacuum Dv 8,774

The real amount is between those numbers, the 2nd and payload can be taken as pure vacuum. The first stage is the one that varies but being designed for atmo the change in Dv between atmo and vac is only 200m/sec.

Total vessel Dv 8,574 m/sec.

 

 

 

---

Day 106, KSC

Spoiler

 

Aiming to extend the communications network to Kerbins moons. Centus Program mission controllers had designed a pair of relays, Centus III Kd and Ke. These would be launched into circular 10Mm orbits on opposing sides of Kerbin to ensure permanent coverage.

The buff new shape of HoundDog Ib drags itself off the pad at dawn, Centus III contains enough of its own Dv that it does not need the standard upper stage resulting in a rather short squat form.

Clearing the damaging effects of the atmosphere, protective fairings are jettisoned and Centus' antenna are extended and targeted. Thanks to recent technical developments extendible sun-tracking solar panels have been developed, this allows us to fit fewer parts whilst still collecting more energy. Also we got some funky lights here too.

With a relatively lightweight payload HoundDog manages to boost up into a fully orbital 200x2500Km orbit before separating Centus off. Centus uses its own onboard motor to boost itself even higher to its operating 10,000Km apoapsis. HoundDog retains its own battery, control system and 3 linear retro boosters which you can see packed into the webbing of the fairing base as can be seen in this image.

Commands are transmitted to HoundDog to maintain a prograde orientation and a timer is initiated to activate the retros once maximum altitude is reached. 45 minutes later mission control celebrates as news comes through from the tracking station that HoundDog is once more sub-orbital.

HoundDog retro boosters firing at 2,500km apoapsis.

Centus III Kd fully operational and coasting up towards its 10,000km altitude. 2x 320Mm folding antenna one each for Mun and Minmus, and a single 58Mm dish for its Kerbin connection. Packing a 20KN motor Centus III has significantly more thrust than it needs, but technicians thought it looked quite aerodynamic and sporty so they fitted a powerful engine.

After circularising at 10Mm Centus III checks its systems and relays green signals back to KSC, the first half of the Kerbin/Mun and Kerbin/Minmus network is fully operational.

Mission Cost, 38,768 Funds. 2x950 Solid Boosters recovered.

 

 

Edited December 4, 2015 by Shania_L

[CitizenAerospace]

Wow thanks so much for all the information! I realize now where I went wrong, that being I assumed that the payload with propulsion was already placed in orbit. Thanks for the awesome details, I've been able to recreate it now! My mod list appears to be very similar to yours actually... Does your game crash every 15-20m or so? Mine does, I think its KW but was just wondering if yours does the same.

Edited March 28, 2015 by CitizenAerospace

[jake9039]

how do you have the sounding rocket cargo bay type thing? it looks so cool!

[CitizenAerospace]

Also, how do you get it so your parachutes don't shred to pieces upon suborbital flights (Even the drogues?)

[Shania_L]

how do you have the sounding rocket cargo bay type thing? it looks so cool!

That is from the pre-release version of RoverDudes sounding rockets mod, same as the balloons.

Also, how do you get it so your parachutes don't shred to pieces upon suborbital flights (Even the drogues?)

With DRE you need to open your chutes at much lower altitudes than stock, you need to have got through all of the heating effects (outside temp below 200deg or so) and you really do need to be sub-sonic, or at least very close to it.

As you can see though in my early missions, I was unable to recover the SkyBolt I or II due to parachute issues. Sounding rockets are very slippery and do not slow down very well that is why I had to fit the heatshield to the III because it has a high drag co-efficient causing sufficient speed loss to allow parachutes to open at low altitude.

Nope, I dont have stability issues, I run at around 2.6 Gb RAM or so and the game quite happily runs as long as I need it to. I have trimmed out a fair few parts that I do not use, namely all of the regular cylindrical fuel tanks because procedural replaces them, I kept the custom shaped ones however.

I am still using the 1.5.5 version of OPM, so no Urlum moons for me just yet. There isnt a 6.4k conversion for it that I can see but also I think there is a problem with it and contracts disappearing.

[CitizenAerospace]

Thanks for all the help, that makes sense.

[Shania_L]

Day 107, KSC

Spoiler

 

In an almost groundhog day like cycle, Day 107 begins in much the same way that Day 106 Began, with the rollout of a HoundDog Ib launcher. Streamlined production of a duplicate craft had allowed the Centus III Ke to be built alongside the Kd, but at a faster rate.

By midafternoon the techs had certified that the rocket was about as ready as it was going to be, Wernher looked around, did a quick head count to make sure no Kerbals were trying to sneak themselves into space, and pressed the big red button.

T +70 seconds. Booster Separation.

As with the previous launch HoundDog achieved full orbital velocity, however it did slightly more than that managing to kick Centus III up into a 125x2,900km orbit.

Deploying solar panels and antenna Centus endures the punishing acceleration of a nearly empty core stage showing off on one last burst of life.

Centus itself detaches from HoundDog before increasing its Ap even further right up to its operating altitude of 10,000km. HoundDog is programmed to fire its retros after 50minutes at its own Ap so it will fall back into the atmosphere to burn up.

Orbital targetting wasn't exactly great, Ke was far too close to Kd, so it had to make two complete orbits to generate sufficient separation. The first a 4Hr orbit, the second at 5.5Hrs before being able to circularise itself at 10,000Km with only 590Dv remaining in its tanks .... probably not enough to de-orbit it later in life.

But that is a problem for another day, right now though I have a pair of comn-sats in opposing orbits around Kerbin with dishes pointed at Mun and Minmus, thanks to the higher orbiting Centus II network so long as either of them has a line of sight KSC will have un-interupted control of probes around either body.

Mission cost; 38,768 Funds, 2x 950 Funds recovered from boosters.

 

Day 115, KSC

Spoiler

 

8 days of construction, had lead to a craft of considerable capability, the reliable HoundDog launcher had been pushed harder and once again it had shown its capability. In similar style to both the SkyBolt V and the original HoundDog, the Ib has had its lifting capacity greatly increased by the addition of a hypergolic secondary stage powered once again by the LV-909 motor.

Two craft were built concurrently, christened the Centus IV Mu-a and Mu-b they were destined to be the receiving end of the communications network linking Kerbin to Mun. Constructed on a similar design to the Centus III, the IV had a greater fuel capacity resulting in over 2,000 onboard Dv. A single 105Mm nose mounted dish antenna for communications with Kerbin resulted in a more stubby form, whilst it relied on a single 12Mm omni antenna to connect with future vessels operating around the Mun.

Over the next 6-7 days both probes were flown out to the Mu on identical mission plans, separated by some 8 hours, as I dont think you want to read the same mission report twice (except for me replacing Mu-a with Mu- I have put the pictures of this into an album .... then if you do want to read each mission separately you can just scroll through them twice!!

 

Contract completed, Science from Mun orbit. 91,400 Funds, 2 Science and 208 Reputation.

Communications contract requires 2 days of uptime to confirm network stability so it hasnt completed yet.

Mission Cost (Each launch) 42,024 Funds, 2x950 recovered from boosters.

Aaaand as a little bonus for all of you still reading this far down, during all that cruising and construction time the Kerbals were kept busy (Whats the first rule?) putting together a little demonstration piece for a magazine article on the KSCs rapid progress.

Here we can see a mockup of each of the KSCs designated launch vehicles right from the earliest sounding rockets to the behemoth still in development.

From right to left we have SkyBolt I , II, III , IV and V then the HoundDog I, Ib and II

The HoundDog II is as of yet un-used for a live mission, however in simulations is has successfully put a 5 tonne deadweight payload into LKO whereas its pad weight is approx 80tonnes to the Ib's 50tonnes. Meaning it is a 66% improvement over the Ib in terms of raw lifting capacity for a 60% increase in total mass. This additional capacity should allow not only heavier payloads but also bulkier ones. HoundDog Ib is restricted to the extended 1.25m KW fairing, whereas HoundDog II uses a 2m baseplate procedural fairing.

Initially I didnt want to use procedural fairings, it encourages the wrapping of unfeasably shaped payloads and calls it 'aerodynamic' I shall have to exert my own definition of what is realistically shaped.

 

 

Edited December 4, 2015 by Shania_L

[CitizenAerospace]

Love the progression of your launchers and career!

[Shania_L]

Wernher paused from his lunch to gaze out of his window at the HoundDog Ib sat on the launch pad .... it took a few moments before he realised that it shouldnt really be there, what with its launch scheduled in for early that morning.

Gus Kerman had been expecting the call so he wasnt surprised when he was summoned directly to Wernhers office.

Not one for smalltalk Wernher cut right to the point, "Why is the Minmus probe still sat on the pad Gus? all the latest calculations came up positive, the extended Ib has the Dv to put a relay around Minmus provided we aren't wasteful"

Gus dropped a short printed report onto the desk,

"The Mi-a is fine Wernher, its the tracking station that is the problem, Mortimer hasnt recieved payment from Kerbin Telecom for the Mun Network yet. They are claiming we have significant gaps in our coverage and have yet to meet their requirements. Without the tracking station we have to rely on eyeball burns, which are fine for Mun, but Minmus requires accurate plane changes and even the Ib doesnt have the Dv to mess about haphazardly."

"Well, is it true? what is our coverage of Mun like?, the 2 relay solution was always going to be a close thing, but you assured me that we could make it work"

Gus shuffled his feet, "We are getting good 95% coverage of Mun most of the time, we never expected to cover the poles anyhow, the problem comes when the sats pass behind the Mun, there is a break in connection for only a few minutes, but it resets Kerbin Telecoms calibration checks so the contract hasnt completed. We, err really need a third sat up there to get full coverage"

"Damnit, we were really counting on getting those Funds in soon, I have already signed off on construction of two Minmus relays as well as the Mun scanner. You go get the VAB moving on this, top priority, use my name I'll have to see Mortimer about scraping together another 40 grand for a third Mun relay. Get that Minmus relay off the pad today Gus, the VAB is over worked at the moment so just get it into low orbit and we'll deal with it once Mun-Net is running properly."

Day 123, KSC

Spoiler

 

Liftoff of the HoundDog Ib with its Centus IV Mi-a probe relay system extending Kerbins telecom reach to the outer edges of the system, just incase someone wants to order takeout from Minmus or something .....

The Mi-a is a very slight modification of the Mu-a simply exchanging the nose mounted 102Mm dish for a side mounted 320Mm dish the boost stage and onboard propulsion are identical. A very standard and non-eventful HoundDog launch puts Mi-a into a circular equatorial 160Km parking orbit ... well out of range of the telephoto lenses of inquisitive journalists... for now.

Mission cost, 42,210 Funds, 2x950 recovered from boosters.

 

Day 125, KSC

Spoiler

 

Despite the rush job placed on the Centus Mu-c, significant progress had already been made on another probe, Helmdar II. Destined to replicate the original Helmdars sterling work in mapping Kerbin, Helmdar II would use RADAR to produce a Lo-resolution map of the surface of Mun.

Slightly after nightfall HoundDog Ib (extended) blazes into the darkening sky arcing over booster bay into a 150Km orbit awaiting a transfer to Mun. Performing an eyeball burn to perfection Helmdar II retains a little over 300Dv in its booster stage, this will be used to plane change to a polar orbit once it crosses into Mun'r SOI.

Seen here coasting prior to attaining orbit, core stage still retains usable Dv.

3 day transfer flight.

Mission cost, 45,850 Funds, 2x950 recovered from boosters.

 

Day 127, LKO

Spoiler

 

Today is a sad day, for today a long time member of the KSC family has left us. After 70 days of faultless service Helmdar Ia is to retire, Using the last of its fuel the probe enters the atmosphere and burns up. Helmdar Ib was to share the same fate, however as Ib was sent 200Km higher than Ia it does not retain enough fuel to de-orbit, it will remain as a permanent monument to the early days of space exploration.

Ia had a last gasp of glory, completing a simple science from space contract for 51,800 Funds.

Launch of the Centus IV Mu-c, standard launch and identical flight profile to Mu-a and Mu-b. Injected onto Mun trajectory expected arrival in 3 days.

Thats a third Mu variant of the Centus IV for another 42,330 Funds (2x950 recovered from boosters)

Total Mun Network costs of 121,290 Funds.

Orbits of Centus Mu-a and Mu-b adjusted to accommodate expected arrival of Mu-c. Orbits raised from 5,000km to approx 5,300km for 18hr orbit, separation changed from ~9hrs to 6hrs. Both retain ample Dv for further orbit changes and/or end of life retirement.

 

Day 128, Mun

Spoiler

 

Helmdar II arrives in Mun orbit.

Helmdar II is based around the body of Centus IV Mun edition, it even carries its own 102Mm dish so could theoretically double as a relay itself, its intended "low" 490Km polar orbit is not conductive to relay operations however.

Burning 230Dv high above the Mun, Helmdar transfers to a polar orbit ejecting the now spent boost stage to impact the surface Helmdar lines up for a low PE retro capture burn.

 

 

---

Ehh well that was a bit of a bugger, comeuppance I suppose for trying to be too smart and having a 2 relay network. I backed myself into a corner with having the next 3 flights in construction before I had confirmation of the Mun networks completion. I had to cancel and scrap a HoundDog II test flight to put together the Funds to build the Mu-c .... this certainly feels a lot more like real space programs lol.

Sorry about the broken and 'jumping around' nature of this report, I had to decide whether I was going to report chronologically or by mission. I chose chronologically, and you can imagine how much I was switching between missions juggling burns at Ap/Pe, SOI changes and hitting ejection angles, I have a new found love for Kerbal Alarm clock!!!

Edited December 4, 2015 by Shania_L
Added costs to missions.

[Shania_L]

Wernher looked out across the VAB assembly area, the huge building that usually rang to the sound of assorted grades of hammers being used to gently persuade complex pieces of rocket to stay together was now silent and empty .... Mortimer had done his best but with all of the contract slots allocated already there simply were not enough funds in the bank to support even a single HoundDog launch.

Trying to put together a Minmus Comn array at the same time as the MunNet had been a mistake, add to that the error in trying to go for a two-sat setup which then had to be upgraded to three before it would actually function and the money had flowed out faster than the contracts were fulfilled.

With Centus IV Mu-c still in transit, Centus IV Mi a+b awaiting an upgraded tracking station to plot their inclined orbit and even then likely to be useless until a 'c' could be built and sent, there was 5x 43,000 Fund craft launched for not a single Fund returned in contract payments. Add to that another 46,000 for the Helmdar II which was still not yet in its target orbit ... and probably many days from actually completing its own contract requirements.

It was now a waiting game of getting existing craft to do the jobs they were constructed to do, it just felt wrong to Wernher that not a single craft could be built during this time, the designers were busy though, planning for future happy times when Funds would flow like rivers of .. err water, and fantastic rockets would blast off on daily missions carrying crews to the outer planets ... until then though they would sit in their stuffy offices and draw.

Day 129, Mun

Spoiler

 

Helmdar II performs a 650m/sec burn at Mun'r Pe to capture itself into a 405Km polar orbit with the required 85 degree inclination for full surface scanning. A few hours later at Ap a further 85m/sec burn is performed to raise Pe to the circular 405Km orbit, scanning initiated.

Helmdar seen here rising from the far side of Mun, RADAR array extended surface mapping in progress.

 

Day 130, Mun

Spoiler

 

The arrival of Centus IV Mu-c in orbit of Mun is a great cause for celebration, sure it is the third identical probe in the series, but this is the one that will get KSC paid!!

Due to a very efficient transfer burn, the transfer stage actually retains enough Dv to perform the 270m/sec capture burn.

After separation the transfer stage will carry out its own de-orbit using separation motors at Ap. Mu-c performs a small correction to its orbital plane and then a 196m/sec burn at Ap to align its orbital position with Mu-a+b. Two days later a final burn of 80m/sec circularises and Mu-c is parked in orbit.

During this time Mun-Comn corp contacts the KSC to inform them of a fully operating network, contract conditions fulfilled.

Contract payments, 210,000 Funds, 12 Science, 50 Reputation.

Image actually taken a day or so later, after the departure of Mi-a to Minmus.(hence the craft trace dissapearing out of shot in the background)

 

Day 131, KSC

Spoiler

 

No sooner had the money cleared in the bank Wernher had authorised the tracking station upgrade, sure we could have launched a couple of probes with that money, but the lack of mission planning was now beginning to hurt, plus Centus IV Mi-a+b were sat idle until the inclination burn could be plotted. (280,000Funds, gained use of manoeuvre nodes and patched conics in map view)

Centus IV Mi-a had been sat in a LKO parking orbit for 8 days, now with the upgraded computing power available we could finally plot its burns and be sure of hitting the small minty speck of Minmus first time!!

A 6 degree inclination burn took 660m/sec Dv, quite a bit more than we had expected, but with orbital changes around Minmus being cheaper than around Mun we should still be good to go.

Minmus transfer burn of 2,500m/sec Dv was more than the transfer stage contained, burning out with a 16Mm Ap Centus had to burn the final 700m/sec on its own. This was an over powered transfer designed to reduce transit time from 15 days (for the most efficient) to the 8 days we were now scheduled. Transfer stage successfully de-orbits itself from 16Mm to burnup in Kerbins atmosphere.

Centus IV Mi-a seen here separating from transfer stage during the Kerbin departure burn.

 

Day 132, KSC

Spoiler

 

Centus IV Mi-b had been held in storage until the tracking station was upgraded, something about idle capital assets was bothering Mortimer so it was decided to launch only 8 hours after Mi-a had left LKO.

Following an identical profile (but without the 8 days wait in LKO) Mi-b burned 3,100m/sec on an inclined ejection burn again dropping the transfer stage halfway and completing on internal fuel. Mi-b was very similar to Mi-a however it carried an addition of a magnetometer boom and temperature probe to perform the first science within the Minmus SOI.

Centus IV Mi-b seen here after separation of the HoundDog Ib core stage, note the addition of nose mounted mag-boom from Mi-a.

Mission costs, 43,330 Funds (2x950 for recovered boosters)

 

 

---

So with Imgur messing about with those stupid album changes I wont be using albums anymore, you can hardly see the pictures so there is no point.

These idle building periods are my pennance for being a little over confident in how far my Funds would stretch, I rekon I have got over the hump though, with the Mun-Net done and Mun scanning well on the way I have got a few contract slots available for shorter term 'cash-cow' missions.

On the subject of Minmus inclined burns however I'd like to ask advice, is it possible to work out a launch slot so that I leave the KSC already in Minmus' inclined plane? or is it simpler to just go for equatorial launch and plane change when I transfer?

It would appear also that version 1.0 is rapidly approaching, I do not expect it to turn up for a good while yet but when it does I shall continue running this in 0.90 until all the mods update and I can transfer it across. (DRE and FAR ofcourse will be dropped, I hope the stock options are as good.)

Edited December 4, 2015 by Shania_L

[Cydonian Monk]

Very nice so far! Have some rep! I especially like the "glow" you give most of your satellites. And, as others have mentioned, the very professional look to it all.

So with Imgur messing about with those stupid album changes I wont be using albums anymore, you can hardly see the pictures so there is no point.

Very strange move on Imgur's part that has made album-based forum posts impossible to view. It's also very slow, which makes me think it's still loading the whole image and just squeezing it in to fit.

Edited April 21, 2015 by Cydonian Monk
The missing s.

[Shania_L]

Cydonian Monk said:

Very nice so far! Have some rep! I especially like the "glow" you give most of your satellites. And, as others have mentioned, the very professional look to it all.

 

Thanks, I appreciate all the comments you guys are making its lovely to know you are all finding my adventure worthy of reading

Out of curiosity, where would you say the "professional" vibe is coming from? its not like I am actually involved in planning a space agency myself so I have no actual professional ties, everything I have done in this series has really been done out of necessity.

In other news as you have all probably noticed 1.0 is out and I've had myself a good play about on that the last few days, nothing serious just noting the changes. This series however I intend to proceed with in 0.90 for the foreseeable future as the 6.4x rescale requires a number of compounding updates to be done on its dependencies before it can even begin to be updated to 1.0 and then there is the question of if I can even get the save to transfer over at all ....

I do however have some progress to share so here goes.

 

---

Day 132, Iakod

Spoiler

 

With two Centus IVs on their way to Minmus there is a 7 day lull in activity, perfect opportunity for Jebbidiah to raise his head and get in trouble.

Research data from the earlier DART aerodynamic prototype had revealed flaws as well as opportunities for lift based flight. The design principle which pleased Jeb the most was obviously the need for greater thrust, coupled with a reduction in wing area to combat high speed drag should allow the HARV (Higher Altitude Research Vehicle) to attain speeds and altitudes way beyond DARTs capabilities.

HARV seen just before takeoff roll, performing preflight checks. (Actual takeoff on grass field beside runway as it is far smoother)

Not only does HARV carry a more powerful turbojet engine, it also carries a pair of tail mounted liquid rocket motors for additional push at high altitude, a pair of 20KN hypergolic thrusters with approx 20 seconds of fuel should allow HARV to penetrate higher and faster than even the jet alone would allow.

HARV managed Mach 4.6 (~1,500m/sec) at just over 30Km altitude, at times though even Jeb had white knuckles it was not a happy bunny this high and fast extremely twitchy to control inputs as well as excessive unwanted roll lead to it being quite a handful, but Jeb managed to not only perform the tests as required, but he brought HARV home safely as well.

Any advancement towards sub-orbital flights is going to need a different design strategy, 30Km is barely 1/3 of the way up and 1.5Kmps is around 1/4 of the speed required for orbit

Mission Cost, 33,754 Funds, 15,132 Funds recovered from landing at space centre (game doesnt recognise multiple space centres for recovery %)

 

Day 135, KSC

Spoiler

 

Executives from SCAN were satisfied with sensor readings taken from the Helmdar Mun scanner, once 70% of the surface had been RADAR mapped in Lo-Resolution the payment clause was enacted. 88,300 Funds, 33 Science, 38 Reputation.

In other news contract payments were also received for simple data readings from both Kerbin and Mun SOI.

Kerbin Data from Low Orbit. 44,400 Funds, 1 Science, 107 Reputation

Mun Data from Low Orbit. 84,500 Funds, 2 Science, 204 Reputation.

These simple but financially rewarding contracts have put our expenses back in a much better position, Centus IV Mi-c, Helmdar III as well as a maiden vehicle for a new technical branch have been put into production.

 

Day 137, Minmus SOI

Spoiler

 

This is the part of the mission where we learn the consequences of the 'fast-track' orbital insertion method. Centus IV Mi-a enters Minmus SOI doing nearly 1,200m/sec at 6Mm altitude, it will entirely pass through Minmus' SOI in only 3 hours. Mi-a has 1,518 m/sec Dv onboard aiming for a Pe of 15.5Km it is calculated that a capture burn of 940m/sec is required to attain an Ap of 960Km (for Min-Stationary orbit (approx 22.5 hrs))

After capture burn completed a further 50m/sec is burned to change the orbital inclination to 0 degrees, 574m/sec Dv remain.

 

Day 138, Minmus SOI

Spoiler

 

Ok, we spoke too soon, Centus Mi-b has just raised the bar even higher, with its slightly less efficient (and thus even harsher shortcut) transfer and additional mass of science equipment aboard Mi-b has a much tighter Dv budget to work with. After adjusting our approach to hit a 20Km Pe we have only 1,150m/sec in the tanks .... we are estimating it will take a 1,022m/sec burn just to capture.

Including the inclination change 1,056 m/sec were burned, with 40m/sec earmarked for the circularisation burn at 960Km this leaves 55m/sec Dv in the tanks .... however with an orbital velocity of only 88.4m/sec though that will still be enough to perform an end-of-life de-orbit burn, totally planned it that way

After Mi-b is safely circularised it is set into standby mode, it doesnt have the fuel to mess about with orbital manoeuvres, Mi-a will have to move around it. Mi-a makes a tiny 5m/sec burn to cut 4 hours out of its orbit putting it roughly 1/3 of an orbit away from Mi-b .... 3 days from now it will burn another 5m/sec to re-circularise.

During these events science was also performed, in total 69 science was gained from high and low orbit transmissions of probe core analysis, temperature and magnetometer readings.

In addition partial completion of the Study Minmus, and Minmus science contracts were completed;

Transmit science from Minmus Orbit, 26,300 Funds, 38 Science, 29 Reputation

Attain Orbit around Minmus, 26,400 Funds, 0 Science, 56 Reputation

Magnetometer scan from Hi Minmus Orbit, 7,800 Funds, 9 Science, 16 Reputation

Temperature Scan from Low Minmus Orbit, 10,200 Funds, 22 Science, 20 Reputation.

Currently the Minmus ComnNet Project is running at a loss, 2x craft @ 42,214 Funds, 1x @ 43,330 give a pricetag of 127,758 Funds

Contract completion rewards so far only total 70,700 Funds, However once Mi-c is launched and arrives on station the main fee of 262K will be received.

131 Science unlocked in total from experiments and contract payouts allows Precision Engineering Node to be unlocked.

1 KCT upgrade point allocated to VAB build queue #1 (now @ 1.1)

 

 

Edited December 4, 2015 by Shania_L

[Shania_L]

Soo, I have been a little absent from this thread, playing with a (stock) 1.0 install, I'm certainly looking forward to some of the new features for a full-on modded career game. Probably the most important to me is the ability of scientists to clean experiments! no more landers covered head to toe in duplicate experiments

It seems the upgrade of this career to 1.0 will take quite some time yet as they are practically re-writing 6.4x from scratch (RSS as well as many of the 'realism suite' are getting significant reworks) So I'll be keeping this going in 0.90 till they are ready, if its possible I will try to switch my save file across, if not Ill have to start over

But now onto the latest happenings over on Kerbin

 

---

Day 139, KSC

In order to get some closure on the telecomunications missions Centus IV Mi-c was launched without much fanfare late this afternoon. Following what has become the standard Minmus intercept route, it arcs away into the east. HoundDog Ib performs its gravity turn burning all the way up to an equatorial orbit of 150Km, final circularisation requires usage of the transfer stage allowing the main core to remain sub-orbital. Aligning the Nav-computer to Minmus a 6 degree inclination change is performed for around 640m/sec. Finally the main 2,500m/sec burn is made to inject Mi-c onto its 9 day transfer, the transfer stage itself only managed to burn up to an Ap of 14Mm, so the probe had to burn a fair amount itself (800m/sec)

Day 142, KSC

Spoiler

 

New breakthroughs in science and technology has lead to radical theories and designs for space hardware that seem far to much like science fiction to actually work.... that was until Ionic Symphonic Protonic Electronics offered the KSC a significant amount of Funds to test their new bi-modal arc-jet rocket motor on a sub-orbital flight when Wernher saw the figure his mouth seemed to take over from his brain and he simply said 'yes'.

A variation on the previous 'Test Rig' launches, this sub-orbital mission will also make use of the cheaper (and quicker to build) SkyBolt V with a very simple upper boost stage to better control the flight parameters.

Test Rig easily matched the 95Km altitude requested by ISPE, actually peaking at 135Km, the arcjet fired up briefly (no-one has yet worked out how to store Xenon) and the test data was transmitted home. Test Rig then completed its ballistic trajectory by plunging back into the atmosphere and burning up entirely.

Mission cost 11,924 Funds for no recovery value.

Contract completed Test Bi-modal arcjet. 274,293 Funds, 112 Science, 380 Reputation.

 

Day 145, Mun Orbit

Helmdar II completes its Lo-Resolution map of Mun altimetry. Science recieved 44.

Helmdar II now powers down and remains in orbit until it may be required at a later date.

Contract completed, Science from Mun Orbit. 84,563 Funds, 2 Science, 225 Reputation.

Day 148, KSC

Spoiler

 

Due to the success of the Helmdar II probe around Mun, it was decided (with encouragement in the form of Funds from the mapping society) that a duplicate probe should be sent to Minmus.

Advances in technology (as well as more Funds in the kitty) allowed a new lighter fairing system to be developed, the new AIES fairing system replaced the KW version used on the Mun version of Helmdar II. Another change is the removal of a long range dish antenna, this is replaced by a rather bulky Karbonite scanner meaning the IIb will be entirely dependent on the MinmusNet for all commands ... and will be out of control for the majority of its transfer flight.

Spoiler:OOC

Spoiler

 

The fixed proportion AIES fairing system has both advantages and dis-advantages when compared to the KW system. KW allows greater flexibility in payload length and diameter whereas AIES has two fixed form factors (although both generous compared to KW)

The rocket assisted de-coupling of the AIES system ensures the fairings clear the payload even if jettissoned in the last reaches of atmosphere, plus it looks cool.

The main advantage of AIES over KW however is mass, they are considerably lighter (to the tune of nearly 150Dv).

 

 

Helmdar IIb blasts off from KSC late in the evening, the swanky new fairings are clearly visible here.

In a slight deviation from the standard Minmus flight profile HoundDog Ib burns up to an Ap of 160Km before de-coupling and falling back to Kerbin, the transfer stage completes the orbital burn as well as the 6 degree inclination change .... however it then manages a pretty spectacular 34Mm Ap before having to let Helmdar complete the burn on its own.

Helmdar IIb seen here in equatorial orbit around Kerbin still attached to the transfer stage. The command and control assets required on the transfer stage for its own de-orbiting are somewhat awkwardly stacked above the fairing mount, work will have to be done to streamline this issue.

9 Day transfer flight to Minmus, transfer stage successfully de-orbits.

Mission cost 47,638 Funds, 2x950 recovered from solid boosters.

 

Day 149, Minmus Orbit

Spoiler

 

Arrival of Centus IV Mi-c

Falling fast through the Minmus SOI, (crossover to Pe in under 90 minutes) a capture burn of 930 m/sec is performed at a 25Km Pe sending Mi-c into an elliptical orbit reaching 952Km Ap for its parking orbit.

Allowing a second swing around the ellipse to separate from Mi-a+b, Mi-c performs a 40m/sec circularisation and inclination change. With 525Dv remaining in the budget the Minmus Network was finally fully established.

Contract complete, Minmus Comn Net. 262,646 Funds, 16 Science, 59 Reputation.

With 5 comn sats around Kerbin, 4 around Mun and 3 now at Minmus, the local system is starting to get crowded.

Yellow lines designate connections by long-range dish, grey ones for short range antenna. Helmdar IIb can be seen in transfer not receiving any communications.

With copious amounts of Funds flowing through the KSC coffers, it has been decided that it is about time some serious attention was put into landing upon the surface of the Mun, to this effect the 'Lunic' development bureau was established, in concert with the Verity bureau they would develop orbiters and landers to scour the surface of Mun for all the science it could provide.

 

 

Edited December 4, 2015 by Shania_L

[Shania_L]

Day 152, KSC

Spoiler

 

Just after dawn one of the most expensive space missions to date is sat on the pad at KSC, the Helmdar mapping agency had pulled out all the stops on current technology as well as really looking into a go-getting and exciting name .... Helmdar III ! ... well at least they got the important part right.

Helmdar III not only carries a multispectral (SCANSat biome sensor) it also carries an orbital telescope and observation device, these sensors are to positioned in a polar orbit so as to be able to hit every single biome Kerbin has, in addition the choice of a dawn launch allows the solar panels to receive daylight for the full orbit, i.e the probe never experiences a night.

Helmdar III leaves the pad, no transfer stage is required for a simple Kerbin orbit, AIES fairings are becoming more standard nowadays.

After reaching 500km and an 80 degree incline the probe opens its enlarged solarpanels and begins the long task of data collection.

Larger solar panels are required on this flight than previous scanners due to both multispectral and karbonite scans being taken simultaneously, the power demand would be too great for earlier designs.

Science returned from instant science (not including scans which are still in progress) 126 Science.

Mission costs, 52,322 Funds (2x950 Funds recovered)

Advanced Metalworks science node unlocked.

KCT upgrade point spent, SPH production queue at KSC retired, points re-distributed to VAB queues #1+2 (both now @ 1.2)

 

Day 154, KSC

Spoiler

 

A prestigious day for both the KSC and the new Lunic planetary science division. Lunic Ia rolls out onto the pad, the first of a trio of sister probes all intended to study Mun, Verity had returned orbital data as well as Helmdar, but Lunic was going to land on the surface, actually put hardware down in the dust .... hopefully gently.

Launching soon after dawn the Lunic probe sits atop a fairly standard HoundDog Ib launcher with the regular transfer stage option, utilizing the same launcher and 2nd stage for so many different missions really cuts down on the production time allowing such rapid repeatability, a Lunic probe +launcher only takes 6 days to build

Lunic Ia seen here just after core stage burnout, the transfer stage will complete circularisation to 145Km at T+ 9 minutes.

After achieving orbit a little under 4800m/sec Dv remain, 2280 of this is used to inject Lunic into a Mun intercepting path, during which the transfer stage is exhausted, it is left on an elliptical Kerbin orbit to fire its retros at Ap 27Mm.

Lunic carries a single Materials bay and Mystery Goo canister, one each of the 4 sounding rocket sensors as well as a magnetometer boom and thermometer. What Lunic doesnt carry is a long range dish antenna, this means that once is passes beyond ~20Mm from Kerbin its omni antenna can no longer reach the LKO comnsats and Lunic will lose its control signal until it can patch into the local Mun network.

During the 2 day transfer, Helmdar III completes the contract requirements for the multispectral scan of Kerbin, 50% coverage.

Contract completed. 78,833 Funds, 31 Science, 33 Reputation.

 

Day 157, Mun

Spoiler

 

After 2 days of not a lot to do, the controllers in the Lunic building are alerted by a flashing bulb telling them that the Lunic probe had successfully connected to the MunNet and was back under control. Not before too long however, Lunic was barely 20minutes from crossing into the Mun SOI, scrambling to calculate the orbit around Mun the controllers plot a 700m/sec burn at the point of closest approach aiming to circularize at around 29Km.

Cheers ring around mission control once the tracking stations reports a successful burn and capture, 27x29Km orbit with only 1.8 degrees of inclination, at one point Lunic had been hurtling along at 2,100m/sec in the dark only 23km above the regolith below. 1815 Dv remain aboard for de-orbit and landing, this may sound a lot but the AIES MODC-2 motor can burn that to nothing in only 53 seconds.

 

Meanwhile above Minmus

Spoiler

 

Just to complicate matters Helmdar IIb chose this moment to enter Minmus SOI at an extreme pace threatening to be cast off into interstellar void if ignored .... not even a historic first Mun landing would persuade it otherwise.

Burning 340m/sec at the SOI boundary Helmdar is switched to a polar (80 degrees) intercept course with a 20Km Pe. KSC mission planners are starting to appreciate the Dv budgets required for Minmus vessels, of the 1410m/sec Dv carried onboard, 1060 is used simply to capture the vessel into an elliptical orbit, but after that it only takes a further 2 burns totalling 22m/sec to circularise into a 73Km orbit.

RADAR (SCANSat) and Karbonite scanners started and probe put into parking orbit with around 340 Dv remaining.

 

Day 159, Mun

Spoiler

 

784Kg probe traveling at over 1,000m/sec 29Km above the Mun'r surface, with 20.5KN thrust for only 53 seconds, is it possible to put it down softly? Will the sharply angled landing gear sit properly or flick the probe into a death tumble, will the surface be smooth enough to allow the craft to settle its mass onto only 3 legs?

Only one way to find out.

Picking a spot believed to contain a decent arrangement of interesting Mun features KSC planners timed the burn to perfection ... or if you believe the conspiracy nuts, they simply felt that the next bit of grey would do as well as any other bit... there was enough sunlight so what the hell... burn!

With speed, altitude and fuel levels dropping sharply, the only thing rising was the thrust ratio ... who would ever have considered 20.5KN to be a lot? well the ratio stood at 16:1 making control pretty skittish until the power could be dialed back sufficiently.

Fortunately the Kerbal assigned to land the probe hadnt taken his eyes off the attitude ball for the last few hundred meters, or he may have panicked at the fuel readout but the time Lunic I settled onto its legs there was 1.3 litres of NTO remaining ... thats less than 20m/sec Dv.

But who cares? the Lunic has landed!! Kerbals have managed to put hardware on the surface of the Mun!!

Lunic Ia ponders its eternal future sat in the desolation of the Farside Crater, content in the knowledge that it, Lunic Ia had been the first probe in the history of the universe to bring purple to the Mun.

All science experiments have been run, Materials bay, Goo Canister and SR sensors have been retained with a view to being collected by later Manned missions, however the temperature, Mag boom and probe report were all transmitted home for 100% collection.

Mission cost. 46,558 Funds (2x950 recovered)

Contract parameter, Land on Mun, 31,613 Funds, 45 Reputation

Contract parameter, Science from Mun surface, 21,056 Funds, 30 Science, 23 Reputation.

Contract completed, Explore the Mun. 147,563 Funds, 225 Reputation.

Specialized Control technology node unlocked

KCT upgrade point spent on VAB build queue #1 (Now 1.25)

 

 

---

The Verity orbital science division has a pair of hefty probes coming up in the production queue soon, along with the other two Lunic sisters there will be a few more part test contracts for some serious payouts.

Edited December 4, 2015 by Shania_L

[jake9039]

can't wait for the next entry! how far have you gotten with the kerbals at home, watching the same launch 20 times on vhs?

[Shania_L]

Next entry is in the works have no fear

Putting Kerbals into orbit doesnt really serve any purpose at this point in the career, there is nothing in low orbit that they can do that probe cores cannot do in a cheaper, lighter package. Kerbals will become much more important once they develop a lifter capable of putting 5-10 tonnes at the Mun (i.e a manned lander) at about the same time this will give me the lift capacity to build manned orbital infrastructure.

Basically we need a Saturn V-alike, I'm not entirely sure on the real world comparison but the HoundDog II which will make its maiden flight soon can put an inert 5 tonne payload into LKO, more than double the HoundDog 1b's capacity yet still not even half of what I would want to put a single Kerbal on the Mun.

I have been a little distracted trying to get a 6.4k scale world running on KSP 1.0.2, the scaling is pretty easy with Kopernicus however I'm having to learn how to modify the PQS terrain scaling from scratch as the world is almost entirely flat.

Ideally I'd like to port over my current progress in 0.90 into a 1.0.2 game but I dont think its going to be quite that simple. (scientists cleaning experiments .. drools )

[Shania_L]

Wernher had many apprehensions about the next launch, he was convinced that there were some technologies that Kerbals were simply not intended to mess with, nuclear power was one of them. The Research and development council had been buoyed up by the success of the arc-jet test and had pushed on into developing a new branch of advanced propulsion. The LV-N series of engine proposals made up the bulk of this latest drive.

The Council had put forward a contract to the KSC for sub-orbital testing of the smallest engine proposal, LV-Nc a pint sized motor of only 400Kg. However despite the significant reward offered and the minimal requirements of the test, it only had to reach 96Km altitude and as far as the council was concerned the unit was expendable, Wernher stipulated that no radioactive materials were to be destroyed either through atmospheric heating or ground impact.

Day 159, KSC

Spoiler

 

It was on Wernhers exacting conditions that an old SkyBolt V was dug out of the history books to achieve another first for Kerbal-kind, the firing of a nuclear engine in flight.

SkyBolt V lifts off the pad into a clear morning, rather than the usual Easterly path for orbital insertion, this flight would go north ensuring touchdown would occur on solid ground for easier recovery.

SkyBolt V gained some performance from recent improvements made in fairing technologies, its old heavy KW fairings had been replaced with lighter procedural ones. Resulting in this rather pretty separation event which also gives you a first view of the payload with its re-entry shield.

Not unsurprisingly SkyBolt was easily able to propel the lightweight payload clear above the contract requirements, peaking at 138Km. The LV-Nc was fired up converting its cryogenic Liquid Ammonia fuel into a superheated exhaust gas at a rather astonishingly high efficiency.

After the results had been collected attention then turned to the rather more testing problem of safely recovering the dangerous materials. The probe already oriented nose first hit the atmosphere at 91Km up doing 5,450m/sec instantly converting the unfortunate molecules into plasma.

The re-entry shield held, but only just, it used up 13 of the 14Kg of ablative shielding protecting the payload from the punishing conditions. Peak heating of 1,100 degrees as it decelerated through the thickening atmosphere 9.2g was recorded at one point.

5.5Km above the ground and finally sub-sonic the twin chutes opened before fully opening at 600m depositing the probe safely onto the northern highlands.

Contract completed, Test LV-Nc on sub-orbital flight. 154,965 Funds, 112 Science, 489 Reputation.

Mission cost 14,703 Funds, total of 2,317 recovered Funds.

 

Day 161, KSC

Contract completed, 50% of Munmus altimetry scan completed. 80,724 Funds, 32 Science, 34 Reputation.

Day 162, KSC

Only 8 days after the last Lunic Probe had been launched, Lunic Ib was sitting proudly upon the launchpad ready to follow its illustrious sister into history.

Following the standard Mun intercept ascent profile for the HoundDog Ib; Lunic Ib is launched at midnight into an equatorial 164Km orbit. The transfer stage is well capable of performing the 2266Dv burn throwing on a 2 day arc towards the Mun.

Day 164, Mun SOI

Spoiler

 

Lunic Ib performs a tiny 20Dv burn to lower its approach Pe to only 38Km above Muns surface.

The transfer stage uses its remaining 255Dv to begin the 700Dv capture burn before separating and allowing Lunic to finish the burn alone. the transfer stage is captured onto an elliptical orbit peaking at 9.1Mm where it will fire its solid retro motor to impact the Mun. Lunic captures itself into a 37x39Km equatorial orbit.

Lunic seen here detaching from the transfer stage halfway through the Mun capture burn. Here you can see the minor modifications made to Ib based on lessons learned from Ia. Ib possesses 3x radial 4KN motors rather than the single inline 21KN motor of Ia, that amount of thrust simply is not needed on such a lightweight craft it made delicate landing difficult. Also changed is the form of the probe the tapering tank (a feature of a single central motor) has been replaced by a short squat tank and inline battery pack, this allows the landing gear to be spread much wider and lowers the CoG.

Spoiler:OOC

Spoiler

 

Also compare this image with the next as I have a rescale issue with the inline SAS unit, it reverts from its current 0.625m form factor to 1.25m. No stats change was included, however all of the items mounted to it are now rendered inside.

Despite reloading the model from mission control, restarting the game, the change appears permanent, meh.

 

 

The trimmed mass of the Lunic Ib has gifted it a greater Dv budget for landing, here you can see Lunic in low orbit awaiting a convenient landing point, it is traveling at 1400m/sec with 12KN of thrust and 2202Dv remaining.

Lunic Ib successfully touches down on flat land within Muns East Crater, much science is performed, it carries an identical sensor suite to the Ia. All transmittable science is sent home, whilst more complex data is stored for later retrieval by manned missions.

In comparison to the previous landers 20Dv remaining, Ib has managed to put down with 464Dv still in its tanks.

61 Science transmitted home, much more stored in experiments awaiting collection.

Mission cost 45,998 Funds, 2x950 recovered from boosters.

 

Day 167, KSC

Spoiler

 

Even Jeb (who was just visiting KSC whilst Iakod was on siesta) was pretty impressed by the rocket rolled out onto the pad today. after many delays in production and debates over whether a rocket of this size was actually needed, the HoundDog II had finally become a reality.

The defining push had come from the Verity orbital science division, their latest Mk V probe had an ambitious goal of surveying two targets in one go, The Mu variant would sample Kerbin and Mun orbits, whereas the Mi variety would sample Minmus and attempt to break out of Kerbins SOI... if only briefly before returning the samples to touchdown on Kerbin.

This resulted in a pretty hefty probe, complete with heat shielding and parachutes for recovery the 3 tonne payload capacity of HoundDog Ib simply wasnt going to get it done.

87.5 Tonnes of HoundDog II powers off the pad, the reliable skipper Kerolox core stage had been retained, albeit with increased tank volume, but the quad 63KN solid boosters had been replaced by a pair of 355KN boosters. A feature Wernher was especially proud of was being able to match the taper of the solid boosters to that of the core tank, allowing the boosters to be held upright.

High in the upper atmosphere the core stage finally runs dry, explosive bolts separate the three part interstage fairing allowing the KW Vesta VR-1 hypergolic motor to continue boosting the payload ever faster. This stage completed the orbital insertion of Verity V-Mi into its equatorial 150Km orbit.

Burning out during the 6 degree inclination burn the upper stage is jettisoned and Verity completes the burn with its own LV-909 motor. The upper stage is remotely commanded to orient back to prograde allowing its retros to fire and de-orbit itself to a fiery end.

Half an orbit later Verity once again fires its Lv-909, this time for a 2,500Dv transfer burn to Minmus.

Verity V carries 4 major science instruments housing in a Universal Storage quad array, these are the DMagic GoreSat, Orbital telescope and Solar Particle Collector as well as a stock materials bay. These are all mounted above a 1.25m heatshield for eventual recovery back on Kerbin, the support section containing batteries, solar panels and the propulsion system will be decoupled and allowed to burn up.

Verity seen here passing the Mun, 1313Dv remain in her tanks for maneuvers 9 days later at Minmus which will hopefully allow it to exit and then return to Kerbins SOI.

HoundDog II acquitted itself admirably, putting 4.8 tonnes into 150km orbit nearly doubling the previous record. The future looks bright with both Centus and Ascender programs already eying this new launcher for their own uses.

 

 

Edited December 4, 2015 by Shania_L

[Jonboy]

Just read through all the reports. This is a super awesome space program! Really inspiring me to try something with scaled up Kerbin or RSS once they're all updated for 1.02! Have some rep.

[Shania_L]

With the Science collected on the previous missions the Electronics node can now be unlocked for 300 science.

KCT upgrade point has been applied to open a 3rd build queue at the VAB, (rate 0.15).

Day 172, KSC

Spoiler

 

Barely 5 days after the launch of Verity V-Mi her twin is rolled out onto the launchpad. Verity V-Mu is practically identical in operation and structure, she does however have one difference, the 4th US wedge has been swapped from Goo Cannister on -Mi to Material bay on -Mu this is due to a contractual requirement for a mat-bay experiment in Mun orbit.

Blasting into a circular 150km orbit shortly after dawn the Verity V design pushes HoundDog II up to its design limits, the upper stage retains only 150Dv once circularisation is complete.

Burning the few dregs of fuel left in the upper stage Verity de-couples and burns the remainder of the 2,270Dv Mun transfer on its own internal fuel stocks. The upper stage is left to complete half an orbit climbing to 570km before it re-activates and fires its deorbiting system. Like the HoundDog Ib before it, the II has a fully autonomous upper stage containing antenna, battery, probe core and 3 sepratrons aimed retrograde packed into the void in the fairing base.

During the climb out of LKO Verity collects samples of the solar wind in both low and high orbit, these are retained aboard for eventual collection upon the probes return.

 

Day 175, Mun Orbit

Spoiler

 

2 Days after completing the transfer burn from LKO Verity V-Mu crosses into Mun's SOI and contact is re-established. Verity immediately performs a 265Dv plane change burn to aim for a low Pe and a polar Mun orbit.

Another sample of solar wind particles is taken in high and low orbit, the GoreSat takes irradiance measurements from high orbit and transmits the data home, the Material bay is recorded in low orbit and the orbital telescope starts taking images of all of Muns biomes, each set of images being transmitted home immediately.

Contract Parameter complete, Orbital telescope observation in high Mun orbit. 6,620 Funds, 8 Science, 14 Reputation.

Swinging over the Mun's North pole Verity aligns for its 720Dv capture burn. Half an orbit later Verity is confirmed to be in a stable 25Km polar orbit with an 85 degree inclination, this should allow her to cover just about every biome Mun has and collect every single scrap of science.

Verity transmits home 279 Science from her various sensors, a good chunk more will be collected physically from the craft upon its return to Kerbin.

 

Day 177, Minmus Orbit

Spoiler

 

Whilst her twin probe has been getting all the headlines scooping the easy science at Mun, Verity V-Mi has been barreling across the Kerbin system headed for Minmus. Although she carries enough fuel to capture and then return to Kerbin the scientists back at KSC have decided to push the boundaries somewhat.

Verity is commanded to perform only a 600Dv burn at Minmus Pe this will slow her velocity considerably, but only serve to allow Minmus' gravity to bend her trajectory parallel to the small moon. This course will then see Verity escape Minmus' SOI but also Kerbins although crucially the escape will occur at the slowest possible speed allowing for an easy about face and return to Kerbin.

Passing into Minmus' SOI Verity performs a similar suite of science as her sister at Mun, solar particle capture, Goo canister, Goresat and orbital telescope imagery without the polar orbit however she doesnt hit nearly as many biomes on the single flyby but still manages to transmit 87 science home.

She does have one ace up her sleeve which should trump her twins earlier achievements, in 16 days time she will be the first artificial object to leave Kerbins SOI, 6 days after that she will have performed a pre-programmed burn (will be way out of communications range at this point) and should re-enter Kerbins SOI triumphant and carrying a boatload of science.

 

Day 177, KSC

Spoiler

"Ohh Kod NOOO!!!!!" the wail could be heard throughout the administration complex, Bill was the first to arrive at Wernhers office.

Sticking his head into the administrators office he could not immediately see Wernher at his desk.

"Wernher? are you here? ... err, was that you I heard just now? is everything ok?"

He was about to back away and file it down as some form of paranormal experience when he saw a pair of shoes sticking out from under Wernhers desk. Normally this wouldnt have been a noticeable event, but Bill prided himself on being a 'Very Observant Kerbal' he had a certificate on his wall from grade school to prove it, sticking out of the shoes which were sticking out under the desk were a pair of legs. Advancing now into the office Bill rounded the desk to see Wernher crouched in the footwell clutching a contract brief rocking backwards and forwards mumbling about his 'happy place'.

"Are you ok Wernher? .. I err think I heard you call?"

Wernher seemed to awaken slightly, thrusting the contract brief at Bill with resigned fury he raged,

"Look what these fools in Finance have agreed to! what kind of madman agrees to terms like that? huh? Moneymen thats who!"

Glancing quickly at the brief Bill immediately noticed the reward, but also the cause of Wernhers rage, Observant Kerbal remember.

"1.3 Million Funds to test another nuke engine in sub-orbital flight, We have done that before Sub-orbit is much easier to attain than full orbit, sure its a bigger motor but it says here we have budgeted a HoundDog Ib to it."

"Bill, that 'slightly bigger engine' is a four-and-a-half-tonne brick of radioactive disaster waiting-to-happen!! the HoundDog Ib is rated to only 3 tonnes. You see what happens when I give these people leeway to test new ideas? they take it to rediculess extremes."

Bill had never heard anyone pronounce hyphens quite that way before, so he was sure that Wernher was really quite cross.

"I'm sure it will be fine Wernher, the HoundDog is a reliable rocket and even if it cant handle the payload it will certainly be able to throw the reactor far enough away that we wont get hit by it, and we can try quite a few times on 1.3 mil before we start making a loss..."

"GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!!!"

Bill may have been an observant Kerbal but apparently he wasnt a very tactful one.

Bill left, rapidly, there was a new launch to watch.

The HoundDog Ib was a refreshing sight on the launchpad it looked more graceful than the brutal size of the HoundDog II. Even if this one did carry a questionable payload.

Midafternoon tea was interrupted right across the northern edge of KSC as the rocket blasted overhead, as with the previous LV-Nc test this full LV-N test required a piece of solid ground to recover the hardware on, that meant flying north.

The contract required a minimum altitude of 99,600m by the time the HoundDog core stage had stopped burning the payload was headed for a 134km Ap. With the fairing decoupled the payload and its recovery system were exposed.

4.5tonnes of reactor require quite a bit of slowing down, so 6 parachutes were attached, 4 main and two designed to open at higher and faster speeds to soften the shock. Decoupling from the booster the payload is turned around so its heatshield faced the onrushing atmosphere.

Including all the support and recovery gear 5,400kg hit the upper atmosphere at 1,200m/sec hidden behind 80 kg of ablative shielding. Peaking at 1,184 degrees it turned out that 80kg was exactly enough ablative .... only 4 units remained after the temperatures had dropped.

The craft had not passed through unscathed, although protected from the heating, the antenna had been destroyed by the near 12g's breaking force applied. Fortunately the parachutes had been pre-armed ... the landing legs hadnt.

Although on that slope I dont think they would have improved the chances of it remaining upright very much.

Contract complete, Test LV-N on sub-orbital flight. 1,318,217 Funds, 112 Science, 468 Reputation.

Mission cost 52,594 Funds 10,277 + 2x942 Recovered Total cost 40,433 Funds.

Heavier Rocketry and Advanced Landing nodes unlocked for 160 science each.

KCT upgrade points both spent on increasing VAB build queue #3 (Now 0.45)

 

 

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Update on the updates. Although I do now possess a working 64k setup for 1.0.2 I have yet to get a full set of mods together with it ... some do not appear to be supported anymore which may make porting across difficult.

Either way though, as Squad seem to be intending a fair few changes in 1.0.3 I'll wait until after that.

I hereby make this pledge, "We will send a Kerbal to the Mun, and give it a damn good go at retuning him to Kerbin before this patch is out"

I intend to complete a kerbaled Mun landing mission is this 0.90 version before I even consider upgrading to 1.0.x

Edited December 4, 2015 by Shania_L

[Randazzo]

Out of curiosity, where would you say the "professional" vibe is coming from?

I think it has something to do with your rockets not looking like this: