Minmus Acres: A Skyscraper on Minmus

[JAD_Interplanetary]

This is the running mission log of my attempt to build a modular skyscraper structure on Minmus. The tower has been named "Minmus Acres" and is being assembled by landing each module directly on top of each other module. When completed, Minmus Acres will be a high-class luxury condominium for hundreds of discerning Kerbals of taste and adventurous spirit to live and play in the frozen wasteland. The tower itself features individual living units for families, luxury penthouse apartments, stunning views of the Minmus landscape, and easy access to and from the Kerbin system and interplanetary space. Time-shares will be available.

Why do this? Mainly for a challenge for myself. I wanted to get better at targeted landings, and there really is no better trainer than having to do it over and over again with a margin of error measured in fractions of a meter.

Also, because Googling for "kerbal space program skyscraper" or "kerbal space program tall tower" yields almost no results. At least, not the type of results I was envisioning. So I wanted to fill that gap, and start a series of missions for building tall skyscrapers on the various low-gravity moons in the game.

Minmus was an obvious first choice because: it is easy to reach; it's close by, so it can handle multiple launches/captures per day; and it has low gravity and no atmosphere, meaning fuel savings and easy maneuvering. All of these things add up to an environment that lends itself to trial-and-error experimentation. And there have been lots of error so far.

About a third of the way into the project, when I sent my first kerbonaut to the construction site, one of those errors sparked the idea for a plot involving that Kerbal. So in addition to the pictures of the mission, there is also an episodic story line.

The story line and the pictures are only loosely related! They are not 100% accurate reflections of each other. Artistic license was taken with the story to make it a bit more interesting (I hope), and the pictures can be viewed independently.

I'm sure I'm doing a lot of things less efficiently than I could be. I'm learning a lot for my next attempt, probably also on Minmus to get a few things sorted before attempting one of the other moons in the system.

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Intermezzo

The Hulk

Chapter VII

Chapter VIII - dramatized story, no pictures

Pictures VIII

Chapter IX - dramatized story, no pictures

Pictures IX

Chapter X

Epilogue

Edited April 28, 2015 by JAD_Interplanetary

[JAD_Interplanetary]

Chapter I: A What on the Where?

Gusdard Kerman enjoyed his work at KSC. Well, he enjoyed most of it. The small design and engineering team he headed was always given interesting work on modular construction systems for orbital stations and bases. Much more interesting, he thought, then the launch vehicles team. All they had to do was punch some numbers into a well-known equation for how much fuel was needed for a given payload mass, then design a booster to hold that much fuel.

He also enjoyed to atmosphere at mission control during liftoff: the awe of watching the huge rockets rolling from the VAB to the launchpad; the deep chest-caving boom of the launch shockwave rattling the windows. And most importantly, the satisfaction of his team's designs assembling flawlessly, deploying their docking systems through the mostly automated system he had built early in his tenure at KSC.

But most of all, he enjoyed working closely with Maryenny, over at mission control, who monitored the rendezvous and approaches of the modules his team was responsible for. She was incredibly smart, had a wickedly witty sense of humor, and was an amazing problem-solver under pressure. And she smelled like lavender.

So Gusdard enjoyed most of his work. Most of it.

He glanced up from his drafting table at the sound loud guffawing and back-slapping passing by his workroom. It was pilot Commander Jebediah having a raucous conversation with an unknown Kerbal with an expensive suit and slicked-back hair. Gus watched the two of them through the glass windows of the workroom, until they disappeared down the corridor.

It wasn't that Gus disliked Jeb. No one could really disklike Jeb; he was too much of a lovable clown to really dislike. And he absolutely was the greatest pilot of his or any generation, a true legend. What Gus found irritating was Jeb's blatant disregard for everything Gus loved about engineering.

For Jeb, no amount of fuel was too much to waste, no maneuver was too stressful on the ship, and everything had to be manually piloted. It was that last bit that really grated on Gus, who had devoted his university studies -- and his whole tenure at KSC -- to researching and developing automated systems to eliminate pilot error from the dangers of space exploration. And Gus suspected that was the reason why Jeb didn't like him much, either.

A few moments after Jeb and the unknown stranger had turned the corner, Wernher von Kerman, KSC's lead scientist, and Bill, chief mission engineer and Gus's boss, walked past the workroom, deep in conversation. Wernher was shaking his head, and looking discouraged. Bill was talking quietly but emphatically. As they passed by, Bill glanced through the large windows of the workroom, nodded to Gus, then gestured at him while saying something to Wernher. Wernher scratched his chin and shrugged, and the two of them continued down the same corridor as Jeb and the stranger.

And so it wasn't that big of a surprise later that day, when Gus found himself in a mission design briefing with Wernher, Bill, Jeb, and the slick-haired Kerbal in the expensive suit and bolo tie. Maryenny from mission control, and a few Kerbals from other departments were also seated around the conference table. Wernher got the meeting underway.

"I'd like you all to meet our special guest today, Rocco Kerman Jr., president and CEO of Rockomax Conglomerate. I will let him explain why we are here." He gestured to Rocco, who stood up and flashed a wide, blinding smile at the room.

"Y'all can call me 'Rocky'. Everyone does." He grinned widely at Jeb, and the two of them bumped fists.

"We know each other from way back. We both attended Krashlands High School together," explained Jeb.

"And that's why I knew this was the place to bring big, bold, fresh ideas. A place where Kerbals can get things done without worrying about things like 'budgets' and 'the laws of physics'," Rocky said, making quotes in the air with his fingers.

"The truth is," he continued, "The Rockomax board is looking to rustle my company right out from under me! Rockomax Rocket Parts division revenues are down. Kerbodyne is eating our lunch on high-end launch equipment. If I'm gonna keep control of the company my dear departed Pappy started, I need to take us in a bold, new direction." He gestured to Wernher.

"Rockomax, with the help of the KSC research, engineering and mission control teams are going to build..." Rocky's eyes gleamed and his voice edged with excitement, "...the largest, most expensive..." Rocky continued, pounding his fist on the conference table, emphasizing each word, "...high-end, luxury-class..." Rocky was practically preaching at this point, "...condominium skyscraper on the Mun!" Rocky finished, slumping back in his seat with his arms outstretched, eyes flashing.

The room was silent. Gus could barely process what he had just heard. Rocky couldn't have just said "skyscraper on the Mun," could he?

The room erupted into shouting. Gus looked around startled. Half the room was pounding the table, explaining exactly how the plan wouldn't work. The other half was yelling, explaining how KSC had never backed down from a challenge.

"Quiet!" shouted Bill. Then he looked pointedly at Gus. "Gus, I wanted you here to get your opinion. Your team would be lead on this project. What do you think?"

"It's...possible," conceded Gus, after getting over the initial shock at the scope of the challenge in front of them. "I'd designed a concept for a hyper-large colony in Eve orbit back in university. But it was just a concept, and it certainly wasn't meant to be built planetside. Far too large. Even for the Mun. Maybe Minmus..." he mused to himself.

"Mun, Minmus, any random hunk of rock in space. I don't care where you put it, four-eyes, as long as it's got the Rockomax flag flying from every balcony!" exclaimed Rocky.

"What about constructing it in orbit, then de-orbiting it?" asked Bill. Gus shook his head.

"Once it's built, the fuel needed to de-orbit it and soft-land would be prohibitively expensive, even in Minmus gravity. And it wouldn't be maneuverable at all. You'd be as likely to land it on a mountain slope as you would your target site."

"Don't you worry about the landing, kid. I got that covered," assured Jeb. Rocky slapped him on the back, grinning. Gus kept his mouth shut.

"What about assembling it in pieces on the ground, like any building here on Kerbin?" asked Wernher.

"That...could work," answered Bill. "No less fuel, of course, but if we broke it into small maneuverable pieces it might be possible."

"Construction equipment would be unwieldy in the low gravity," countered Gus. "You'd be as likely to fling pieces back into orbit as you would to connect them."

"Pinpoint landings," muttered Maryenny. All eyes turned to her. She was looking intently at Gus. He turned away from her gaze and cleared his throat. "Dozens of them," she continued, speaking up with excitement. "De-orbit the modules, and land them right smack on top of one another." She smiled at Gus. "You were talking about that at lunch a few months ago."

Gus blushed, remembering that lunch, then blushed even deeper when he realized Maryeeny had remembered.

"You're talking about accuracy in the range of millimeters," Gus said, looking anywhere except at Maryenny. "Over and over again, no margin for error." Bill cast Gus a sidelong glance. "But," he continued, starting to work over the design in his head, "yeah. Yeah, it could work. With the right guidance systems." The others around the table started chatting excitedly about their parts in the historic endeavor.

"The right guidance systems, and one heck of a pilot!" exclaimed Jeb, shaking hands with Rocky and Wernher. Gus bite his tongue, and didn't mention that he had already planned to install his automated piloting system in every module.

The meeting quickly collapsed into small, loud discussions about planning, development, schedules and budgets.

Across the table, Maryenny smiled prettily at Gus. He felt his face flush again and looked away.

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Edited February 18, 2015 by JAD_Interplanetary

[Rolanvorxariat]

You are an utter genius.

JAD_interplanetary +rep.

[JAD_Interplanetary]

Chapter II: One Heck of a Pilot

"Central Power Pylon 30-by-30 at .004 inclination," Maryenny said into her headset. All eyes in mission control were on the large monitors that covered the front wall. The base plate of what was now known as "Minmus Acres" was already on the ground. The first of the major components, a stack of batteries and generators called a "power pylon", had just completed its orbital insertion burn around Minmus. This was the first of the three dozen pinpoint landings that would make or break the entire project.

Gusdard watched the monitors closely, running over the mission plan in his head. There was still time to correct any issues before the de-orbit burn, but once that pylon was heading for the target, there was no going back.

"Alpha and Beta, docked," Maryenny's voice called over the intercom. Gus held his chin in his hand, and closed his eyes. In addition to the pylon and the base plate already on the ground, four huge fuel tankers orbited Minmus to resupply the four construction drones, also already in orbit. The drones (nicknamed Alpha, Beta, Carrot and Django) had already shown their capabilities for orbital maneuvering, dragging the tankers into their proper orbits, performing fly-by surveys of the chosen landing site, and precisely positioning the base plate exactly on target (twice! since the first base plate was scrapped due to misaligned docking ports.)

Gus hadn't been around for those maneuvers, but he hadn't heard anything negative about the drones so far. That meant his automated systems were working. Aside from the misaligned ports on the original ground plate, everything had so far been going according to the project plan.

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. All of KSC's top-level personnel were in attendance for this. Wernher, Bill, chief science officer Bob, head of mission control Gene, Rocky and other VIPs watched from the mezzanine of the large auditorium. Everyone was there. Except Jeb.

Gus looked around the room. Jeb was conspicuously missing. And no one else seemed to be looking for him.

"Where's Jeb?" he whispered to the tracking intern at the monitor next to his.

"On the remote flight deck," the intern responded, surprised at the question. "Flying the drones." Gus stared dumbly at the intern for a moment, then leapt to his feet.

"What!?" Gus shouted, pounding his fist on the desk and not noticing he had keyed open his microphone. Feedback blasted through the intercom systems, causing everyone to cover their ears or toss away their headsets. Dozens of heads turned to look icily at Gus, who waved a meek apology and sat down. Maryenny watched him with concern, and keyed open a private communication channel.

"Everything alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine," he began. "No, I mean, it's not fine. Why is Jeb on the remote flight deck?" Maryenny cut off the comm and walked over to Gus's station. She had a worried look in her eyes.

"It's where he's been for every maneuver," she explained. "Piloting the drones. All of them...at the same time." The color left Gus's face, and his head went all swimmy. He tried to speak, but he only heard squeaks and wheezing come out of his mouth. "I thought you knew," Maryenny said.

Gus shook his head slowly, trying not to pass out.

"Well," she continued, "Jeb knows all the boys in flight systems engineering. He made some tweaks to the design, for better maneuverability. But they conflicted with your autopilot systems. So they took the autopilot out. The drones are all on manual remote control. By the time I heard about it, they were halfway to Minmus." She looked at him apologetically, then hurried back to her station. Gus stared after her, still squeaking in disbelief. It was only Maryenny's voice over the intercom that snapped him back to the mission.

"Fuel transfer complete," she said, as the fuel finished draining from the pylon's orbital insertion engines to the drones' fuel tanks. "Transfer engines separated and prepped for de-orbit."

As Gus watched the now-empty transfer engines plummet to the surface of Minmus, he felt his entire body shaking. Jeb was going to manually land the pylon with the drones. Orbital maneuvers were one thing, landing the base plate a few meters from a target was not much harder. But this operation required precise timing and almost superkerman accuracy. He turned away from the monitors, his eyes closed.

"Pylon normal burn," the intercom said, and then "Orbital inclination nominal, prep for de-orbit burn."

Gus buried his head in his hands. If the pylon docking ports were off by even a fraction, the whole assembly would tip over, the nuclear generators would go critical, and the batteries would explode. He could see months of planning and the endless stream of Rockomax money disappearing in a flash of fiery failure. A mistake like that, in addition to the scrapped base plate, would ruin all the work so far and probably end the entire project.

"Pylon descent over target. Target in sight. Descent speed 57 meters per second."

Too fast, much too fast, thought Gus, burying his head in his hands. Everyone would blame his designs for the failure. He imagined what his career afterwards would look like. No other agency would have him. He probably wouldn't even be hired to design landing struts. Beads of perspiration dripped from his forehead onto his console.

"Descent burn complete, hovering. Lateral motion canceled. Horizontal offset, 3.28 meters north by northwest."

This is it, Gus dreaded. It was all over but the endless resignation paperwork.

"Offset corrected, descending point five meters per seconds. Touch down in 5...4...3..."

He began to hyperventilate quietly into his hands.

"Two...one..."

Gus's vision went black.

He was brought back to consciousness by loud cheering and slaps on the back. Through his grogginess, he vaguely heard the staff of mission control congratulating him. Maryenny ran up and hugged him tightly, and this more than anything brought his mind back to sharp clarity.

The words "TOUCHDOWN" and "DOCKING CONTACT" flashed on the big monitors. Gus looked around wildly, and saw Jeb up on the mezzanine, flight suit jauntily half-unzipped, sharing celebratory champagne with Rocky, Wernher and Gene. Jeb caught his eye and raised his glass, nodding in approval.

The pylon had landed perfectly. The drones had already separated and were back in orbit for rendezvous with the fuel tankers. The mission was a huge success.

It was all Jeb's fault.

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Edited February 18, 2015 by JAD_Interplanetary

[JAD_Interplanetary]

So according to this thread I have been misspelling the name of the moon for pretty much the entire time I've been playing the game. Brains are funny things, once you assume you know what a word is, you stop reading it completely. It totally made sense to me that the smallest digit is called the "minimus" and Minmus is Kerbin's smallest moon, so naturally, I didn't bother looking to closely at how it's actually spelled. Lesson learned. Now I wish there was a way to change the title of forum threads.

[Rolanvorxariat]

It amazing.

[Snarfster]

Excellent, waiting for the next update

[NeatCrown]

Yowza! Here, have a cookie. Fine, I'll give rep instead...

[lajoswinkler]

This is insanity and I like it.

[Dartguy]

Nice work! I just hope you can complete it before lag causes it to be un-usable.

[JAD_Interplanetary]

Nice work! I just hope you can complete it before lag causes it to be un-usable.

I've been measuring in "seconds per frame" for the last few weeks of the project. The framerate in the two animated images is actually a pretty accurate representation. Part count is currently 1700+ and rising. On the plus side, slowing things down makes it much easier to make tiny adjustments in descent speed and horizontal motion without over-correcting. So I'm counting it as a win.

Edited February 20, 2015 by JAD_Interplanetary

[JAD_Interplanetary]

Chapter III: In Space, No One Can Hear You Whine

Gusdard watched Minmus spin slowly below him. The tiny window of the habitat module didn't afford the greatest view, but he was still impressed by the size of it. Even though it was Kerbin's smallest satellite, it was still imposingly huge compared to anything else Gus had experienced. And somewhere on the surface of one of its frozen oceans was the half-completed lower phase of his magnum opus: the skyscraper 'Minmus Acres.'

Gus had assumed he would never see it in person. He was content to monitor the progress from mission control, each nail-biting landing of each module, each the last-minute adjustment to the flight programs. And of course, each new way for Jeb to give him gray hairs.

To Jeb's credit, he had managed ten perfect landings so far, eleven if one counted the tower base. And yet, he managed to make each one uniquely terrifying for Gus. In the most recent one, he waited to fire the descent braking burn until less than 200 meters above the target. "I'm finally getting a feel for what these bad boys can do," he had explained. "Great job with those, egghead," he added, flashing the impish grin that everyone else found endearing, but only irritated Gus.

Jeb was, of course, the reason Gus was currently in orbit over Minmus, preparing to land at the construction site. The project plan called for direct on-site supervision of the subsequent phases, once the first phase of construction was complete. But Jeb had no interest in the job once he learned that the drones would still be doing all of the flying, and that the on-site role was mainly managerial and troubleshooting. Bill was the next obvious choice, but he was off-world on another mission.

Gus didn't know how his own name had been brought up for consideration, but he was fairly certain it was Jeb that had volunteered him. After Gus had been chosen, Jeb had come down to the workshop to congratulate him.

"You deserve it, egghead. That's a heckuva design you put together. Now you just gotta see it through. Plus, a stunt like this? It'll sure impress that pretty tracking engineer over in mission control you're always staring at." Gusdard thought he had been hiding his feelings for Maryenny fairly well, but Jeb seemed to have a savant's talent for figuring out what made Gus nervous.

The night before his mission, Gus had shared a long late dinner with Maryenny. He hadn't quite told her how he felt about her, but the evening had ended with the two of them sitting on top of the VAB, watching the sun come up over the launch pad where his ship was waiting. He hoped she felt something of what he had wanted to say to her. All he knew was that before dinner, he had been feeling anxious about the launch. After dinner, he was feeling anxious completely different reasons.

As for his ship, he couldn't even really call it that. The entire transfer from Kerbin to Minmus was on autopilot. And once in orbit, the drones would dock with the habitat module for it's final descent to the nascent skyscraper. Not only would Gus's masterwork of engineering be in Jeb's hands, but this time his very life would depend on the pilot's ability to perform yet another pinpoint landing.

And because he was waiting for the next way in which Jeb would somehow annoy him, he was unsurprised when mission control contacted him mere hours before his scheduled descent.

"Hab 1, this is KSC, do you copy?"

"Copy KSC, this is Gusdard for Hab 1."

"Gus, we're, ah, we're gonna need you to de-prep for descent. You'll be in orbit for a while longer."

"..."

"Hab 1, do you copy?"

"I copy, KSC. What's the situation?"

"Well, you know the new descent stabalizers you designed for this mission? It seems, ah, that Jeb thought they made the handling go all soggy, so he had them removed."

"..."

"Hab 1, do you copy? I said Jeb had them..."

"Copy KSC. How did that happen? I told the entire engineering department that any more design changes from Jeb had to go through me first."

"It wasn't engineering, Hab 1. Jeb knows the boys down in vehicle assembly, so he had them swap out the parts."

"..."

"Of course, once we heard, we had the assembly folks put the parts back in, just like your original design."

"...but?"

"But, ah, when they reassembled the module, they, ah, installed the topside docking connectors backwards. There's no way to undock the landing plate, so the module is useless."

"..."

"Did you copy that, Hab 1? The module you're in right now is useless. We're coming up with a plan to get you home."

"Copy, KSC. Hold on one moment." Gus switched off the comm, and screamed into the empty habitat module. After he caught his breath, he screamed again.

His laptop blinked cheerily from the desk in the corner. He switched the comm back on. "KSC, scratch the return mission. I might have a better idea."

A few hours later, Gus beamed a new mission design back to KSC. The bold plan called for a second habitat module (with correctly installed docking ports and stabilizers) to be sent up. After Gus transferred fuel and supplies, then the useless module would be lithobraked onto the surface, far away from the construction site. Mission control gave the thumbs up, and the new module was soon on its way.

Days later, Gus was in the new habitat module watching the old module drift away. He glanced at his watch, counting the seconds until the busted module made its retrograde de-orbit burn. But when the burn began, the engines were pointed the wrong way. Instead of de-orbiting, the busted module was heading for a higher orbit.

Gus opened the comm channel.

"KSC, this is Hab 1 Prime. Tell Jeb he's firing the engines the wrong way."

"Negative, Hab 1 Prime, there's been a change in the mission plan for Hab 1."

"..."

"Mission control decided to re-classify Hab 1 as an orbital station above Minmus, a holding point for new residents of Minmus Acres to catch a shuttle to the surface."

Gus thought for a moment. It wasn't a bad plan. He wondered who had come up with it. He keyed open the comm.

"Roger that, KSC. Requesting permission to name the new station."

The comm was quiet for a long moment.

"Negative, Hab 1 Prime, and sorry. The station has already been named."

"Oh, okay. That's alright, then. What did they call her?"

"..."

"KSC, I repeat, what is the name of the new station?"

"Well, Hab 1 Prime, you see, Jeb knows the boys down in records-keeping. So..."

"..."

"...well, he had them name it after you."

"...What is the name, KSC?"

"Gusdard's Folly Station."

"..."

"Do you copy, Hab 1 Prime, the new station is..."

"Copy, KSC. That's 'folly' as in 'mistake' or 'fault'?"

"Ah, not sure, Hab 1 Prime. I never thought to ask."

"Roger that, KSC. I'm going to take an unscheduled EVA."

"Repeat that, Hab 1 Prime? Did you say EVA?"

But Gus had already swithed off the comm. He suited up silently and cycled through the airlock into the void above Minmus. He watched the busted module drifting silently up to its new home. He thought of all the hundreds of residents of Minmus Acres who would travel through that station, the mistake that wasn't his but was now named after him.

And he was glad he had turned the comm off, as he screamed uselessly into the void.

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[CalculusWarrior]

This is incredible! The pictures alone are amazing, but the addition of an excellent story really makes this a thread to remember! Good luck to you, sir!

[Sampa]

Love this. And, poor gus!

[MoridinUK]

I'm feeling so bad for Gus right now... I think I may be forced to 'lose' Jeb somewhere in my own career now...

[Kieve]

Absolutely loving the story. Personally, never much liked Jeb as it was (in particular, his habit of being "first in" on the roster of every module in the VAB or SPH always irritated me), but your writing just feels so spot-on. Well done!

Edited March 15, 2015 by Kieve

[MoridinUK]

I wonder, if ti wouldn't be too cheaty, to get some modders in on this. To design some parts for you, just parts that are multiples of the current ones, like lumping all those hitchhickers into a 4 high single part, and maybe a couple of other parts like, simply to reduce part count and thus frame rate?

[Kieve]

I wonder, if ti wouldn't be too cheaty, to get some modders in on this. To design some parts for you, just parts that are multiples of the current ones, like lumping all those hitchhickers into a 4 high single part, and maybe a couple of other parts like, simply to reduce part count and thus frame rate?

Some crew tubes from Stockalike Station Parts would cover that pretty well already, and I imagine there's some other components that would work for the skyscraper as well. On the other hand though, the tower is already built and I don't imagine JAD is keen on scrapping the construction after all that work.

[MoridinUK]

Yeah I was thinking about trying to reduce further drag as he continues to build it, if he does...

[Sampa]

and, it is QUITE obvious that someone has a crush on a fellow kerbal (in your story)

[JAD_Interplanetary]

On the other hand though, the tower is already built and I don't imagine JAD is keen on scrapping the construction after all that work.

Oh, wait for the scary physics glitch I got when building for the next chapter! I seriously considered starting over.

Yeah I was thinking about trying to reduce further drag as he continues to build it, if he does...

I'm definitely not done building. The pictures posted so far only go up about a 1/3 as high as what I have built. As for drag, I've actually reached a point where the part count doesn't seem to be affecting speed anymore. I think at a certain point, the graphics updates start running slower than the physics simulation (which is where I think the part-count lag comes from), so I think (I hope) I've hit a wall as far as how slow tings can go. But it's still really slow going.

For part count reduction, I had considered using the Ubizor Welding mod, but I'm not sure how it would hold up under "extreme" usage like this, and a few posts on he mod thread make me think it's still got some work to be done (to any SQUAD guys who might read this: make part welding stock!) Most of the part count really comes from the metal plates. Each senior docking port is over a 3x3 plate made out of 9 1x1 structural panels. There are 4 ports per plate, so 9 x 4 x 10 (the number of plates so far ) = 360 in just 1x1 panels alone. There's also a huge number of batteries at the bottom to help lower the center or mass, and a ton of interior structs to keep things from flexing in transit. Plus, I've read elsewhere that docking ports in general slow things down, and I have dozens of them.

I'm keeping a running list of things to change for next time.

[Commander Jebidiah]

It looks very nice.

[Kieve]

Each senior docking port is over a 3x3 plate made out of 9 1x1 structural panels. There are 4 ports per plate, so 9 x 4 x 10 (the number of plates so far ) = 360 in just 1x1 panels alone. There's also a huge number of batteries at the bottom to help lower the center or mass, and a ton of interior structs to keep things from flexing in transit. Plus, I've read elsewhere that docking ports in general slow things down, and I have dozens of them.

I'm keeping a running list of things to change for next time.

Sounds like you need TweakScale, badly. At bare minimum, you could set those 1x1 plates to 300% size, rather than using so many. Only hiccup I've seen with it is, it's best to resize the part you need before attaching it.

(I've occasionally run into instances where a scaled part reverts to original size when switching / reloading craft - test with a quicksave on the landing pad before launching, just in case)

[JAD_Interplanetary]

Sounds like you need TweakScale, badly. At bare minimum, you could set those 1x1 plates to 300% size, rather than using so many. Only hiccup I've seen with it is, it's best to resize the part you need before attaching it.

That's something I hadn't considered. The main reason I was using 3x3 instead of (2+1)x(2+1) was to keep the attachment node in the center so the docking ports would line up (that was an issue with the original ground plate.) If TweakScale keeps the node properly centered, then it sounds like it would do the trick. I would probably just scale up the 2x2 panel, so I get 4 attachment points from 1 part. Thanks for the heads-up!

[JAD_Interplanetary]

Chapter IV: Shaky Ground

The module was descending too fast. From the observation deck below, Gusdard could see the lower stabilizing thruster jetting monopropellant in a continuous stream, overcorrecting as the module veered sideways. The desent braking engines weren't firing at all.

The comm was nothing but static. Gus yelled into the mic, slamming the transmit button over and over again, but no one answered. His own voice sounded far away.

The module began to tilt dangerously to the side, picking up speed as it dropped.

Gus banged uselessly on the laptop in front of him. The screen only flashed red, occasionally scrolling weird meaningless symbols. Gus shouted into the mic again, but no sound came out.

He blinked, and was shocked to find himself outside, being pressed against the underside docking connector of the out-of-control module. He felt himself being forced downwards as the mass of the module picked up speed. He grabbed for the RCS controls of his EVA suit, then realized he wasn't wearing one. The non-existent atmosphere of Minmus carried his screams no further than his lungs.

The half-constructed building, and the ground beneath it were rushing up to meet him. He closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was standing on top of the tower. The module was plummeting down on top of him. He couldn't turn away. He tried to jump from the tower, but every movement was sluggish, like pushing through a pool of molasses.

He blinked and the module was just meters above his head. He threw his arms up, impotently trying to protect himself.

He didn't feel the crash. When he opened his eyes again, he was hurtling through the air, thrown clear of the tower. As if in slow motion, the out-of-control module sliced into the structure. For a brief moment, everything was still and silent.

There were sparks, then the entire tower was engulfed in a fireball.

"No!" screamed Gus, "No, no no!"

The outer columns began to collapse, toppling over in slow-motion in the low gravity. The reactor cores in the base of the tower began to go critical, igniting the batteries. Sparks and debris flew through the air, surrounding Gus like a cloud of cutting, flaming hornets. A few smaller pieces clipped him, sending him spinning. He tried to twist around, keeping his eyes on the horror of the collapsing tower.

"No! No!"

His eyes focused on one of the habitat modules at the base of the toppling columns. Was that a face in the window? There was someone else in there!

It was Maryenny. She looked terrified. Her mouth was open in a wordless shriek. Then everything exploded.

---

"Nooooooo!"

Gus bolted upright in his bed. If his legs hadn't been strapped in, he would have flung himself into the ceiling in the minimal gravity. He was covered in a light sweat, and breathing heavily. His heart pounded. He didn't know where he was.

He looked around, collecting his bearings and slowing his breathing.

He was in his bed, in his habitat module beneath the top observation deck of the half-finished tower. It was dark outside his window, but the soft glow of monitors on the walls bathed him in a dim light. The sun wasn't due up for another hour or so.

Gus unstrapped his legs, then pushed himself off the bed gently. In the low gravity, he slowly floated towards the equipment locker labeled "Snacks" and got himself a juice box.

As he sipped his juice, he went over the last few weeks in his mind.

The mission to land his habitat module -- with him inside -- had been terrifying. Gus had mentioned being excited to see the tower up close and in person. Then Jeb had flipped the module upside down only a few hundred meters above the ground. "You get one heckuva view from this high up, egghead! Enjoy it!" he had quipped before righting the module and continuing the landing. When Gus yelled at him for it, Jeb had said it had all been in good fun, and he had complete control the whole time. He seemed hurt when Gus filed a formal complaint against him. Since then, he and Gus hadn't spoken outside of what was required for the landings.

The landings had been getting more complex. As the tower grew taller, it was getting more top-heavy. Each landing had to be perfectly straight to avoid tipping over. More complicated still, the separated column design meant that Jeb didn't just have to land on target, but he had to avoid hitting any of the other tower columns while he did it. The margins for error had all but disappeared.

And Gus was living in the half-complete structure, watching each landing from up close, which added a whole new dimension to his anxiety. A few times, Jeb had been too cavalier with the landings, and only Gus's newly designed stability rings had saved the tower from disaster. From the observation deck, Gus felt every tremor as the stability thrusters corrected the tilt back to center.

But the nerve-wracking landings were nothing compared to the loneliness. After each delivery, Gus spent a few hours double checking connections and pressurization, wiring up electrical conduits, and patching software. Then came long days with nothing to do, except run through the designs and project plans, and report back to KSC every evening. He quickly lost interest in the few books he had brought, without finishing most of them. Until the parts for the new high-gain antenna were brought in, he couldn't even watch movies beamed from Kerbin. Only the occasional recreational EVA provided a break to the monotony, but even those couldn't distract him for long. He now knew what the other kerbonauts meant when they talked about, "Long weeks of boredom separated by minutes of sheer terror."

Gus only had to hold on to his sanity for another month or so. The tower was almost habitable enough for KSC to risk sending more support personnel. Only a few more column module deliveries, and then it would be time for the mid-connector plate, the module that would tie the freestanding columns together into one structure. After that, everything would be simpler, straight up the center, as high as they could go.

If they got that far.

On the last delivery, Jeb had accidentally targeted the wrong column, and only realized his mistake a few meters above the tower, on the opposite side of the central column. Gus told him to ascend back up to 100 meters and come down on the correct side, but Jeb hadn't listened. Instead, he had kept the module hovering, and used thursters to maneuver around the central column. Gus had watched in horror as the module swung dangerously close to the observation deck. The exhaust from the descent engines had washed over the deck, and Gus could feel the heat even inside the command pod. In the end, the module docked in the correct position, but it had left him shaken and angry.

Gus had put too much work into the project to see it all come crashing down. He remembered his nightmare, and shuddered.

He had to protect the tower.

He had to protect the tower from Jeb.

His laptop blinked from his workbench across the room. His autopilot software was saved on the drive. Over the weeks, in the down time between module deliveries, he had been tweaking it, feeding it the data from each of Jeb's landings, and letting it learn how to correct the pilot's erratic moves. He sucked a glob of juice up through the straw.

His eyes flicked up to a cabinet above the workbench that held the diagnostic and interface cables for the construction drones' remote pilot systems. He took another gulp of juice.

He glanced at the monitor on the wall that gave the realtime overview of the tower. The construction drones, Carrot and Django, were still docked to the top of their columns, waiting for sunrise before they would head back into orbit to grab more modules. Gus gave one final suck on the straw, drawing the last bit of juice up.

The juice box collapsed with a satisfying crush. Gus dropped the emtpy box into the waste drawer.

Grabbing his laptop and the interface cables, he headed for the airlock.

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So what really happened?

The explosion actually occurred after the column had successfully docked and had been sitting there for several minutes. I undocked the drone to fly it back up to orbit, but the tower stayed as the focus. So I used the '[' to switch to the drone, which was wiggling slightly at the bottom. I throttled up to about 15%. I had done this procedure for every landing. But this time soon as I did, the drone didn't lift off. It accelerated downwards, exploded under the impact, and bounced the tower, which then proceeded to explode more as it landed on the battery packs.

I quicksave reloaded three times, and the same thing happened each time. I was getting very worried that I had hit some sort of weird physics glitch, that the tower was too massive, or had too many parts, or there was too much orbital velocity differential between the bottom of the tower and the top, or something. I was afraid that I might not be able to continue.

On the fourth reload, after I undocked and switched to the drone, rather than use the throttle, I used RCS to lift the drone about 10 meters above the tower before throttling up. That worked, and I haven't encountered the glitch since then. I still don't know what the actual cause was, so now I'm always a bit wary about drone undocking.

But I got a good story for Gus out of it.