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Faille's Log, Kerbdate: 0107.2013
Well, the fine engineers at KHI have presented me with the following design for a Lt Carrier to support the Fortune upon arrival at Duna.
The Carrier itself:
The view into the hanger.
Image to come (once the Carrier is launched and in a parking orbit)
Now the class needs a name. I'm thinking "Daedalus" but it doesn't seem quite right. I remain confident a suitable class designation will come to me in time.
Well, the fine engineers at KHI have presented me with the following design for a Lt Carrier to support the Fortune upon arrival at Duna.
The Carrier itself:
The view into the hanger.
Image to come (once the Carrier is launched and in a parking orbit)
Now the class needs a name. I'm thinking "Daedalus" but it doesn't seem quite right. I remain confident a suitable class designation will come to me in time.
::: Press Release :::
KHI is proud to announce the launch of our newest Capital ship, the Daedalus class Carrier! With berths for up to 13 vessels of varying sizes (6 small docks, 4 medium and 3 large), as well as housing for up to 14 personell (plus another 8 if they don't want to leave their quarters), the Daedalus can carry whatever you need it to, and with no less than 12 Atomic Rocket Engines, has the deltaV to get where you want it. Weighing in at just over 250 ton, the Daedalus is KHI's largest vessel to date, and is sure to be the envy of your space-faring neighbours! Be the first in your home system to own one of these masterpieces of Kerbal engineering!
The mighty Daedalus class Carrier in all it's glory!
A view into the Hanger bay, showing 2 of KHI's Stanger X MkII class Ion Fighters...
The view from the Bridge.
The view from the Hanger Control Deck
Stock's of the Daedalus class are going fast, so get your orders in now to avoid disappointment!
KHI PR Div. Chief,
B. Kerman.
KHI is proud to announce the launch of our newest Capital ship, the Daedalus class Carrier! With berths for up to 13 vessels of varying sizes (6 small docks, 4 medium and 3 large), as well as housing for up to 14 personell (plus another 8 if they don't want to leave their quarters), the Daedalus can carry whatever you need it to, and with no less than 12 Atomic Rocket Engines, has the deltaV to get where you want it. Weighing in at just over 250 ton, the Daedalus is KHI's largest vessel to date, and is sure to be the envy of your space-faring neighbours! Be the first in your home system to own one of these masterpieces of Kerbal engineering!
The mighty Daedalus class Carrier in all it's glory!
A view into the Hanger bay, showing 2 of KHI's Stanger X MkII class Ion Fighters...
The view from the Bridge.
The view from the Hanger Control Deck
Stock's of the Daedalus class are going fast, so get your orders in now to avoid disappointment!
KHI PR Div. Chief,
B. Kerman.
You could post the .craft files of these so people could try them out. :p
While most of KHI's light orbital craft and fighters are available, our Capital ships are still in the pre-order stage. Despite the claims of our overzealous PR and Sales Divisions, KHI Capital Class ships are still undergoing final tweaking, to ensure a high quality production model.
To this end, KHI have begun simulated interplanetary voyages, beginning with the Vanguard class Cruiser, performing a simulated Dunan transfer. While the data indicates the Vanguard has the required deltaV to travel from a low Kerbin orbit to Duna, it also projected only 2% fuel remaining upon achieving a 650km parking orbit around Duna, seen below.
Analysis indicates inaccuracies calculating the optimal phase and/or ejection angles during the initial burn, resulting in the expenditure of twice as much deltaV as our initial data suggested.
To this end, KHI have begun simulated interplanetary voyages, beginning with the Vanguard class Cruiser, performing a simulated Dunan transfer. While the data indicates the Vanguard has the required deltaV to travel from a low Kerbin orbit to Duna, it also projected only 2% fuel remaining upon achieving a 650km parking orbit around Duna, seen below.
Analysis indicates inaccuracies calculating the optimal phase and/or ejection angles during the initial burn, resulting in the expenditure of twice as much deltaV as our initial data suggested.
Cool thread.
Daaaaayuuum, you should organize colony mission to Eeloo to study the possibility of microbial life under the methane Clathrate ice caps.
I have no doubt it'll be successful.
I have no doubt it'll be successful.
Well, lots has happened since my last update. Reports indicate the Kolonial Fleet has made it to the Duna system, though not without incident, while High Angel station is slated for a major upgrade, and of course, development of KHI's combat vessels continues.
However, this may all be for nought. KHI analysts predict the "coming of the Kraken" which may well destroy all KHI's achievements to date. (OOC: Ver 0.21 is coming, and is apparently not compatible with current savegames, so KHI may well die).
With that in mind, I figured I better record KHI's latest milestones for posterity before the Kraken devours us all.
So, first order of business is revealing KHI's best kept secret, our Orbital Construction Facility, "Arch Angel". This magnificent piece of Kerbal ingenuity allows KHI to design large Capital ships, and ship the components up into orbit for assembly in zero-G. While somewhat wasteful in terms of spaceship parts, as our pilots are a little gung-ho, and break many parts in transit to Arch Angel, this means we no longer need massive launch vehicles to get these behemoths into orbit. So far, 3 ships have been launched in this fashion, the Daedalus class Carrier "Defiant", and the 2 Gambit MkIII Destroyers, "Phobos" and "Deimos". All three are part of the Kolonial Fleet (more on that later).
Arch Angel Orbital Construction Facility.
Arch Angel is serviced by two specialty ships, the aptly named "Partlifter 25, and the "Partlifter 50". Each delivers 25ton or 50ton respectively of Spare Parts to Arch Angel, on a regular basis.
Partlifter 50, delivering the much needed "Spare Parts" (apparently all the packages are labelled "MISC")
The final ascent stage of Arch Angel was left attached, as this currently lets Arch Angel serve as a fuel depot (OOC: but unfortunately makes it look somewhat like a crucifix, which despite the angelic name, was not intended), making Arch Angel not only a spaceship factory, but also a fully functional Space Station, and it served in this capacity during the Kolonial Fleets departure preparations.
(OOC: The Orbital Construction mod allows me to ship up "Spare Parts" just like any other resource, and store them at the "spacedock". I can then spend these parts to deploy a ship, in orbit, around 1km from the spacedock. However, doing so consumes the deployed ships mass +25% in "Spare Parts" mass. Basically, I launch the ships mass +25% in multiple, smaller launches of "Spare Parts", rather than one big launch to deploy the ship from the Space Centre. For most ships, it is still better to launch them normally, but for the big stuff, or stuff it's hard to get a launch vehicle on (like the Carrier), the Orbital Construction is the way to go).
Anyway, on to the Kolonial Fleet! The initial Kolonial Fleet consisted of the renamed Kolony Baseship, "Exodus", the Vanguard class Scout Cruiser, "Fortuitous", and the Tanker "Shelbus". Lashed to Fortuitous's flanks, the 2 Dunan Heavy Rovers, and a couple probes completed the Civilian/Scientific complement.
The fleets military escort consisted of "Phobos" and "Deimos", the new orbitally deployed MkIII Gambit class Destroyers and the Daedalus class Carrier "Defiant", carrying 4 Stanger X Ion Fighters. Also berthed in Defiant's (somewhat crowded) hanger is the Artemis class shuttle "Razgriz".
The Vanguard "Fortuitous", with Rovers and probes docked for transport
MkIII Gambit class destroyer. Much the same as the MkII's, the MkIII's feature redesigned tanks for easier refuelling, as well as a new back end for improved awesomeness. These lack ground-launch vehicles, and are designed to be deployed from Arch Angel.
The Defiants crowded hanger...
Departure vectors...
Once these ships had departed, KHI analysts discovered the Dunan transfer window would be open a while longer, and acting on this data, I decided to send 2 more Tankers, "Mobus" and "Calbus" to Duna in a second wave. Oddly enough, thanks to typical Kerbal mathematical precision, the initial transfer vectors meant these last two ships would arrive at Duna before the rest of the fleet. However, as mid-voyage course corrections would be required to ensure an orderly arrival, this was not an issue.
Here, we can see some of the fleet performing the burn that puts them onto a transfer orbit out to Duna.
Tanker
The Defiant
Kolony Baseship Exodus, admiring the sight of Mun eclipsing Kerbol before departure.
Fortuitous, now heavily loaded with 20+ton of rover, and a couple probes...
Naturally, with a voyage of this magnitude, some mid-flight course corrections were needed, and here we can see the various vectors after course corrections. These corrections meant the fleet would arrive in a staggered formation, allowing the first ships, (the "low priority" tankers, with only a single Kerbal on board each) to make the initial Dunan capture manoeuvres, which involved aerobraking in Duna's thin atmosphere, the first time KHI pilots would attempt this risky manoeuvre.
The fleets final approach to Duna, after course corrections to arrange the order of arrival.
One of the many capture/aerobraking vectors. Notice the encounter with Ike, Duna's only moon. Annoying little thing it is, every capture had either an Ike encounter on the way in, or a projected one, on Duna escape.
So, with the tankers leading the way, the optimal atmospheric insertion was determined to be approximately 10km above the Dunan surface, although this varied depending on any given ships velocity and mass. By erring on the side of caution, (not the Kerbal way, I know) and aerobraking high, the entire fleet made Dunan orbit, albeit spending much more fuel in the process than had each ship aerobraked at the optimal altitude.
The awesomely incendiary aerobraking of one of the tankers...
Phobos aerobraking around Duna. Yes, for most ships, going backwards is preferred, due to mass/drag balance.
The pilots view is less impressive.
One of the many capture/aerobraking vectors. Notice the encounter with Ike, Duna's only moon.
The mighty Daedalus, aerobraking in flaming magnificence!
Once in orbit, it was on to the deployment phase. The first order of business was making planetfall with Exodus. Initially, it was planned to land in a small crater just on the edge of Duna's northern icecap, as the Geologists (Dunologists?) wanted to study the area. However, it was deemed by Mission Command that such a landing site would make further landings problematic, so a more equatorial site, in a large dry seabed was decided upon.
A pass over the original landing site. This requirent a highly inclined orbit, which would cause problems later down the line, and so was abandoned in favour of a more equatorial landing site.
Exodus de-orbiting...
Chutes deployed.
And successful landing.
Next came deploying the two Heavy Rovers. These undocked from Fortuitous, and de-orbited using on-board RCS. The first was deployed with Shirley Kerman on board, to fix any wheel failures that may occur from the descent, as the deployment of Exodus showed chutes to be much less effective than originally thought. Alas, the massive G-force of the 8 chutes all deploying at once was too much for a Kerbal body to withstand, and Shirley was killed (as well as minor damage to the rover) when the chutes opened, and a miscalculation left the now unmanned rover some 120kms from Exodus, with about 90kms of rough terrain to traverse before reaching the flatter ground of the dry sea.
Fortunately, both rovers are fully autonomous, as well as being near indestructible (barring wheel failures, which need a Kerbal to fix), and so, after honouring Shirley Kerman's noble sacrifice, the first rover (now named "Shirley") was left to make the massive voyage to Exodus on its own. This included a side-trip to check out one of the many massive sinkholes dotting the Dunan landscape, as well as sliding down the cliff-face into the dry sea, on its back, at more than twice the speed it can achieve under its own power! Fortunately, the robust vehicle made it all the way to Exodus, with only cosmetic damage, and the loss of its main headlights.
The voyage begins...
One of Duna's massive sinkholes. And craft venturing down there better be able to fly...
Finally, "Shirley" arrives at Exodus.
Here we see the two Rovers. You can see how much gear was lost on Shirley's long voyage to her new home.
The deployment of the second rover went much more smoothly, despite being completely unmanned in an effort to prevent further loss of life, touching down only 6kms from Exodus, with no damage what-so-ever. Upon its arrival at Exodus, there was much rejoicing among the civilians and crew, as they celebrated their new range of explorative possibilities. Due to Shirley's long trip home, the second rover reached Exodus well before Shirley.
The Artemis class shuttle was the next to make planetfall, and this landing also went as smoothly as anyone could hope, landing some 8kms from Exodus (OOC: this distance was intentional. Exodus's part count makes things laggy within 2.5 kms of it, so some distance was desired to avoid making the lag worse), and its pilot was collected and delivered to Exodus by the second rover (as yet unnamed).
Collecting the Artemis pilot.
Once the smaller craft were deployed from their parent ships, it was time to deal with the eccentric orbits the Dunan capture and aerobraking manoeuvres had created. While the orbits were not terrible, they were all on different orbital planes, and several ships were in need of refuelling (in fact, still are). Rendezvousing is much more efficient if both craft are in co-planar orbits, so some time was spent neatening up the various orbits, getting them equatorial, and circular, in preparation for future refuelling/crew rotation/etc missions.
Back at Kerbin, we have a new ship, the Predator class Battlecruiser ready for deployment, but Arch Angel is currently off-line (I knew I shouldn't let my Kerbals form a union), so deployment is delayed while alternatives are investigated. It has a Kerbal appropriate amount of weapons (so, yes, about 50% of its mass is weapons) as well as decent speed (TWR is around 0.4, more than any other KHI Capship), though its range is limited by having only about 2.5km/s deltaV on its own. It can be fitted with range extending fuel tanks and/or engines, but 2.5km's can get it anywhere any other KHI craft have gone, so until it is launched, further development has been redirected towards getting the vessel into space.
Also, as mentioned, High Angel is slated for a major upgrade, and possible relocation to Mun, where it is rumoured valuable Kethane can be mined, and then refined into fuel. As it's much easier to get fuel into orbit from Mun, this would make future fuel supply much more efficient.
And that's where KHI is at, currently. Whether we are still around after the Coming of the Kraken remains to be seen, but rest assured, should the Kraken devour us, KHI shall rise from the celestial excrement to start anew, better, faster and with more explosions than before!
Faille Kerbelle
CEO Kerbelle Heavy Industries.
PS, anyone wanting .craft files, drop me an email at faillecorvelle@gmail.com, and I'll send the .craft files via email. Note that not all of KHI craft are available, and some require the Orbital Construction mod to get into orbit (unless you can fit a launch vehicle of your own).
However, this may all be for nought. KHI analysts predict the "coming of the Kraken" which may well destroy all KHI's achievements to date. (OOC: Ver 0.21 is coming, and is apparently not compatible with current savegames, so KHI may well die).
With that in mind, I figured I better record KHI's latest milestones for posterity before the Kraken devours us all.
So, first order of business is revealing KHI's best kept secret, our Orbital Construction Facility, "Arch Angel". This magnificent piece of Kerbal ingenuity allows KHI to design large Capital ships, and ship the components up into orbit for assembly in zero-G. While somewhat wasteful in terms of spaceship parts, as our pilots are a little gung-ho, and break many parts in transit to Arch Angel, this means we no longer need massive launch vehicles to get these behemoths into orbit. So far, 3 ships have been launched in this fashion, the Daedalus class Carrier "Defiant", and the 2 Gambit MkIII Destroyers, "Phobos" and "Deimos". All three are part of the Kolonial Fleet (more on that later).
Arch Angel Orbital Construction Facility.
Arch Angel is serviced by two specialty ships, the aptly named "Partlifter 25, and the "Partlifter 50". Each delivers 25ton or 50ton respectively of Spare Parts to Arch Angel, on a regular basis.
Partlifter 50, delivering the much needed "Spare Parts" (apparently all the packages are labelled "MISC")
The final ascent stage of Arch Angel was left attached, as this currently lets Arch Angel serve as a fuel depot (OOC: but unfortunately makes it look somewhat like a crucifix, which despite the angelic name, was not intended), making Arch Angel not only a spaceship factory, but also a fully functional Space Station, and it served in this capacity during the Kolonial Fleets departure preparations.
(OOC: The Orbital Construction mod allows me to ship up "Spare Parts" just like any other resource, and store them at the "spacedock". I can then spend these parts to deploy a ship, in orbit, around 1km from the spacedock. However, doing so consumes the deployed ships mass +25% in "Spare Parts" mass. Basically, I launch the ships mass +25% in multiple, smaller launches of "Spare Parts", rather than one big launch to deploy the ship from the Space Centre. For most ships, it is still better to launch them normally, but for the big stuff, or stuff it's hard to get a launch vehicle on (like the Carrier), the Orbital Construction is the way to go).
Anyway, on to the Kolonial Fleet! The initial Kolonial Fleet consisted of the renamed Kolony Baseship, "Exodus", the Vanguard class Scout Cruiser, "Fortuitous", and the Tanker "Shelbus". Lashed to Fortuitous's flanks, the 2 Dunan Heavy Rovers, and a couple probes completed the Civilian/Scientific complement.
The fleets military escort consisted of "Phobos" and "Deimos", the new orbitally deployed MkIII Gambit class Destroyers and the Daedalus class Carrier "Defiant", carrying 4 Stanger X Ion Fighters. Also berthed in Defiant's (somewhat crowded) hanger is the Artemis class shuttle "Razgriz".
The Vanguard "Fortuitous", with Rovers and probes docked for transport
MkIII Gambit class destroyer. Much the same as the MkII's, the MkIII's feature redesigned tanks for easier refuelling, as well as a new back end for improved awesomeness. These lack ground-launch vehicles, and are designed to be deployed from Arch Angel.
The Defiants crowded hanger...
Departure vectors...
Once these ships had departed, KHI analysts discovered the Dunan transfer window would be open a while longer, and acting on this data, I decided to send 2 more Tankers, "Mobus" and "Calbus" to Duna in a second wave. Oddly enough, thanks to typical Kerbal mathematical precision, the initial transfer vectors meant these last two ships would arrive at Duna before the rest of the fleet. However, as mid-voyage course corrections would be required to ensure an orderly arrival, this was not an issue.
Here, we can see some of the fleet performing the burn that puts them onto a transfer orbit out to Duna.
Tanker
The Defiant
Kolony Baseship Exodus, admiring the sight of Mun eclipsing Kerbol before departure.
Fortuitous, now heavily loaded with 20+ton of rover, and a couple probes...
Naturally, with a voyage of this magnitude, some mid-flight course corrections were needed, and here we can see the various vectors after course corrections. These corrections meant the fleet would arrive in a staggered formation, allowing the first ships, (the "low priority" tankers, with only a single Kerbal on board each) to make the initial Dunan capture manoeuvres, which involved aerobraking in Duna's thin atmosphere, the first time KHI pilots would attempt this risky manoeuvre.
The fleets final approach to Duna, after course corrections to arrange the order of arrival.
One of the many capture/aerobraking vectors. Notice the encounter with Ike, Duna's only moon. Annoying little thing it is, every capture had either an Ike encounter on the way in, or a projected one, on Duna escape.
So, with the tankers leading the way, the optimal atmospheric insertion was determined to be approximately 10km above the Dunan surface, although this varied depending on any given ships velocity and mass. By erring on the side of caution, (not the Kerbal way, I know) and aerobraking high, the entire fleet made Dunan orbit, albeit spending much more fuel in the process than had each ship aerobraked at the optimal altitude.
The awesomely incendiary aerobraking of one of the tankers...
Phobos aerobraking around Duna. Yes, for most ships, going backwards is preferred, due to mass/drag balance.
The pilots view is less impressive.
One of the many capture/aerobraking vectors. Notice the encounter with Ike, Duna's only moon.
The mighty Daedalus, aerobraking in flaming magnificence!
Once in orbit, it was on to the deployment phase. The first order of business was making planetfall with Exodus. Initially, it was planned to land in a small crater just on the edge of Duna's northern icecap, as the Geologists (Dunologists?) wanted to study the area. However, it was deemed by Mission Command that such a landing site would make further landings problematic, so a more equatorial site, in a large dry seabed was decided upon.
A pass over the original landing site. This requirent a highly inclined orbit, which would cause problems later down the line, and so was abandoned in favour of a more equatorial landing site.
Exodus de-orbiting...
Chutes deployed.
And successful landing.
Next came deploying the two Heavy Rovers. These undocked from Fortuitous, and de-orbited using on-board RCS. The first was deployed with Shirley Kerman on board, to fix any wheel failures that may occur from the descent, as the deployment of Exodus showed chutes to be much less effective than originally thought. Alas, the massive G-force of the 8 chutes all deploying at once was too much for a Kerbal body to withstand, and Shirley was killed (as well as minor damage to the rover) when the chutes opened, and a miscalculation left the now unmanned rover some 120kms from Exodus, with about 90kms of rough terrain to traverse before reaching the flatter ground of the dry sea.
Fortunately, both rovers are fully autonomous, as well as being near indestructible (barring wheel failures, which need a Kerbal to fix), and so, after honouring Shirley Kerman's noble sacrifice, the first rover (now named "Shirley") was left to make the massive voyage to Exodus on its own. This included a side-trip to check out one of the many massive sinkholes dotting the Dunan landscape, as well as sliding down the cliff-face into the dry sea, on its back, at more than twice the speed it can achieve under its own power! Fortunately, the robust vehicle made it all the way to Exodus, with only cosmetic damage, and the loss of its main headlights.
The voyage begins...
One of Duna's massive sinkholes. And craft venturing down there better be able to fly...
Finally, "Shirley" arrives at Exodus.
Here we see the two Rovers. You can see how much gear was lost on Shirley's long voyage to her new home.
The deployment of the second rover went much more smoothly, despite being completely unmanned in an effort to prevent further loss of life, touching down only 6kms from Exodus, with no damage what-so-ever. Upon its arrival at Exodus, there was much rejoicing among the civilians and crew, as they celebrated their new range of explorative possibilities. Due to Shirley's long trip home, the second rover reached Exodus well before Shirley.
The Artemis class shuttle was the next to make planetfall, and this landing also went as smoothly as anyone could hope, landing some 8kms from Exodus (OOC: this distance was intentional. Exodus's part count makes things laggy within 2.5 kms of it, so some distance was desired to avoid making the lag worse), and its pilot was collected and delivered to Exodus by the second rover (as yet unnamed).
Collecting the Artemis pilot.
Once the smaller craft were deployed from their parent ships, it was time to deal with the eccentric orbits the Dunan capture and aerobraking manoeuvres had created. While the orbits were not terrible, they were all on different orbital planes, and several ships were in need of refuelling (in fact, still are). Rendezvousing is much more efficient if both craft are in co-planar orbits, so some time was spent neatening up the various orbits, getting them equatorial, and circular, in preparation for future refuelling/crew rotation/etc missions.
Back at Kerbin, we have a new ship, the Predator class Battlecruiser ready for deployment, but Arch Angel is currently off-line (I knew I shouldn't let my Kerbals form a union), so deployment is delayed while alternatives are investigated. It has a Kerbal appropriate amount of weapons (so, yes, about 50% of its mass is weapons) as well as decent speed (TWR is around 0.4, more than any other KHI Capship), though its range is limited by having only about 2.5km/s deltaV on its own. It can be fitted with range extending fuel tanks and/or engines, but 2.5km's can get it anywhere any other KHI craft have gone, so until it is launched, further development has been redirected towards getting the vessel into space.
Also, as mentioned, High Angel is slated for a major upgrade, and possible relocation to Mun, where it is rumoured valuable Kethane can be mined, and then refined into fuel. As it's much easier to get fuel into orbit from Mun, this would make future fuel supply much more efficient.
And that's where KHI is at, currently. Whether we are still around after the Coming of the Kraken remains to be seen, but rest assured, should the Kraken devour us, KHI shall rise from the celestial excrement to start anew, better, faster and with more explosions than before!
Faille Kerbelle
CEO Kerbelle Heavy Industries.
PS, anyone wanting .craft files, drop me an email at faillecorvelle@gmail.com, and I'll send the .craft files via email. Note that not all of KHI craft are available, and some require the Orbital Construction mod to get into orbit (unless you can fit a launch vehicle of your own).
Those rovers look pretty awesome. Can't wait to see the battleship.
Whoot! 0.21 didn't kill KHI, though it did allow agents of BIll Kerman the opportunity to once again sabotage Arch Angel, and so the Orbital Construction Facility is currently offline...