KSP: Project Jool

Blazer Ayanami

Space Shuttle enthusiast // Retired Admin
Registered
Forum Legend
#53
Wow, it has been... well... a while...

Anyway, I finally got my space station around Laythe ready to show.
38623B22-9EEA-41F1-98F4-581366B9AB63.jpeg

It suffered a Kraken attack along the way because... why not? And it was assembled in orbit around the moon, that’s why it took so long, cause it was 4 complete missions to Jool (not to mention that I’ve been working on other stuff).

This and all the equipment I’m showing today are currently unmanned. I still haven’t send a single Kerbal to Jool yet. The crew transport will be the last preparation mission, once all the ground infrastructure and vehicles are safely landed and tested on Laythe.

I also landed my first science base yesterday:
768D56FD-95A1-4417-9648-D8E6193F686B.jpeg

It is currently sitting on the shore of a lake, near the Equator of Laythe. It can mine ore and process it into fuel, it does science and it produces food.

I don’t have any life support mods installed. But I do have some greenhouses that we can imagine that are producing some food for the Kerbals. Just for the sake of realism.

You can also see two aircrafts landed at the base. I have some closer pictures of them, when I was testing them on Kerbin.

This is The Seagull Mk.1
59BEC5D7-6C32-4480-A9A6-3FCE74552E68.jpeg

This one is a supersonic... VTOL... science-capable... hydroplane...? Well, it is a VTOL, so it can land pretty much everywhere on Laythe, collect science data and bring it back to the base.

And this is the Flyer VI “Thundercraft”:
38C864BB-57C8-46CA-BE7D-797E4A47C8AE.jpeg

I really really like this plane, so I decided to send it to Laythe despite it is a little redundant... it is also a VTOL, can do science, and it’s combination of Wheesley and Whyplash engines allow it to fly efficiently at any speed and altitude.

Problem is that I will not try to land them on the landing pad on the base... ever again. Taking them to the pads took several hours and many failed attempts, so what I’m going to do on my next mission will be another science base and more vehicles but with different functions, is to bring a mining amphibious rover which I will use to refuel these aircrafts on the ground and on the water.

The mods that I’ve used so far are:
-Autostrut
-Firespitter
-Kerbal Aircraft Expansion
-K&K Planetary Base Systems.
-MOIST Underwater Technologies
 

Sheepy

Planet Sculptor
Biker Mice from Mars
ET phone home
Registered
#54
Wow, it has been... well... a while...

Anyway, I finally got my space station around Laythe ready to show.
View attachment 60342
It suffered a Kraken attack along the way because... why not? And it was assembled in orbit around the moon, that’s why it took so long, cause it was 4 complete missions to Jool (not to mention that I’ve been working on other stuff).

This and all the equipment I’m showing today are currently unmanned. I still haven’t send a single Kerbal to Jool yet. The crew transport will be the last preparation mission, once all the ground infrastructure and vehicles are safely landed and tested on Laythe.

I also landed my first science base yesterday:
View attachment 60344
It is currently sitting on the shore of a lake, near the Equator of Laythe. It can mine ore and process it into fuel, it does science and it produces food.

I don’t have any life support mods installed. But I do have some greenhouses that we can imagine that are producing some food for the Kerbals. Just for the sake of realism.

You can also see two aircrafts landed at the base. I have some closer pictures of them, when I was testing them on Kerbin.

This is The Seagull Mk.1 View attachment 60345
This one is a supersonic... VTOL... science-capable... hydroplane...? Well, it is a VTOL, so it can land pretty much everywhere on Laythe, collect science data and bring it back to the base.

And this is the Flyer VI “Thundercraft”:
View attachment 60346
I really really like this plane, so I decided to send it to Laythe despite it is a little redundant... it is also a VTOL, can do science, and it’s combination of Wheesley and Whyplash engines allow it to fly efficiently at any speed and altitude.

Problem is that I will not try to land them on the landing pad on the base... ever again. Taking them to the pads took several hours and many failed attempts, so what I’m going to do on my next mission will be another science base and more vehicles but with different functions, is to bring a mining amphibious rover which I will use to refuel these aircrafts on the ground and on the water.

The mods that I’ve used so far are:
-Autostrut
-Firespitter
-Kerbal Aircraft Expansion
-K&K Planetary Base Systems.
-MOIST Underwater Technologies
Nice space station and SSTO :D
 

James Brown

Thinker/INTJ/investigator/Natural Science lover
TEAM HAWK
Swingin' on a Star
Atlas
Deja Vu
Fly me to the Moon
Under Pressure
Registered
#55
Wow, it has been... well... a while...

Anyway, I finally got my space station around Laythe ready to show.
View attachment 60342
It suffered a Kraken attack along the way because... why not? And it was assembled in orbit around the moon, that’s why it took so long, cause it was 4 complete missions to Jool (not to mention that I’ve been working on other stuff).

This and all the equipment I’m showing today are currently unmanned. I still haven’t send a single Kerbal to Jool yet. The crew transport will be the last preparation mission, once all the ground infrastructure and vehicles are safely landed and tested on Laythe.

I also landed my first science base yesterday:
View attachment 60344
It is currently sitting on the shore of a lake, near the Equator of Laythe. It can mine ore and process it into fuel, it does science and it produces food.

I don’t have any life support mods installed. But I do have some greenhouses that we can imagine that are producing some food for the Kerbals. Just for the sake of realism.

You can also see two aircrafts landed at the base. I have some closer pictures of them, when I was testing them on Kerbin.

This is The Seagull Mk.1 View attachment 60345
This one is a supersonic... VTOL... science-capable... hydroplane...? Well, it is a VTOL, so it can land pretty much everywhere on Laythe, collect science data and bring it back to the base.

And this is the Flyer VI “Thundercraft”:
View attachment 60346
I really really like this plane, so I decided to send it to Laythe despite it is a little redundant... it is also a VTOL, can do science, and it’s combination of Wheesley and Whyplash engines allow it to fly efficiently at any speed and altitude.

Problem is that I will not try to land them on the landing pad on the base... ever again. Taking them to the pads took several hours and many failed attempts, so what I’m going to do on my next mission will be another science base and more vehicles but with different functions, is to bring a mining amphibious rover which I will use to refuel these aircrafts on the ground and on the water.

The mods that I’ve used so far are:
-Autostrut
-Firespitter
-Kerbal Aircraft Expansion
-K&K Planetary Base Systems.
-MOIST Underwater Technologies
Hmm nice!
 

Blazer Ayanami

Space Shuttle enthusiast // Retired Admin
Registered
Forum Legend
#57
Well, it’s been almost a month... but once again, the project is not abandoned, is coming along. I’m just working slower than NASA right now... :p

Anyway, the project I ready to be executed, and I have an update about it coming soon.
 

Mars Pathfinder

«★★» CMDR «★★» // PT // FartFinder
Christmas Event Category Winner
TEAM HAWK
Swingin' on a Star
Atlas
Deja Vu
Fly me to the Moon
Under Pressure
Registered
#58
Well, it’s been almost a month... but once again, the project is not abandoned, is coming along. I’m just working slower than NASA right now... :p

Anyway, the project I ready to be executed, and I have an update about it coming soon.
Oh wew, i thought it's already passed out after SLS core got transferred to VAB :p
 

Blazer Ayanami

Space Shuttle enthusiast // Retired Admin
Registered
Forum Legend
#59
Alright guys, time for the monthly update! :p

God, sometimes I’d wish to never start this project in first place. 200 years have passed in my game and I still haven’t send a single Kerbal to Jool, only because I want to do it as a part of this project. But anyway, I’m ALMOST ready to execute it, so, it’s a little late to back down.

Anyway, I got my science base to Laythe.
Slide1.PNG


This will be the main settlement for the Laythe surface crew. The jets and other science vehicles will fly to all the biomes on Laythe, collect the science and then they will bring it to this base for processing and to increase the science data. The place is quite large, so it will also serve on future missions outside of the project, as the main crew habitat for future colonization crews.

You can see is on the water (it was the easiest way to balance it), but next to the shore, so the drills touch the ground and we can use to refuel our vehicles. And speaking of vehicles, we’ve got two here!

One is a helicopter.
Slide2.PNG


We are going to use to explore the nearby islands, since is very efficient, and very fun and easy to fly. I’ve noticed Laythe has a lot of slopes, and some not too tall mountains, but very sloped mountains that are hard to climb with rovers and to land on with planes. That’s what this helicopter is for. And once again is very fun and easy to fly, and that’s a plus in my book, even if is not the sexiest chopper in the world…

The other one… well I call it the MTRV: Multi-Terrain Research Vehicle, and you can really find it ANYWHERE on Laythe.
Slide3.PNG


Air, water on the surface, below it, or dry ground. This vehicle really cares not about your terrain. It can be used as a rover, boat, submarine or plane: your decision. It also does science and carries two Kerbals. However, its fuel is not infinite, and it can’t replenish it by itself, so it can’t spend very long periods outside the base, either on the sea or on the ground, which is precisely the reason why I created this:
Slide4.PNG
Slide5.PNG



Cassiopeia, as her name indicates, is a self-suficient amphibious mobile base.

And by amphibious, I mean that it can go by both solid ground and salty sea (Laythe’s oceans are salty, right???), in short terms is a giant rover, and a small boat. Also, a base. It can do science, process it, mine ore and refine it, produces food. It can be used to explore all the many islands on the moon, as well as to cross its oceans. It also comes with its own vehicle. It is powered by two nuclear reactors as well as some RTGs, meaning it has unlimited power for hundreds of Kerbal years.

It also has an additional vehicle, a small research submarine. Mars Pathfinder remember when you told me go do sub dive on Laythe? Well, here I am…
Slide6.PNG


Unfortunately, I did make a small mistake when I sent it to Laythe: I forgot to put a probe core on it. This is not too much of an issue. It only means it can only operate while manned, unlike all the other vehicles you’ve seen so far. The image you are seeing here was taken on Kerbin…

Still, this sub can comfortably take 10 Kerbals to the deep oceans of Laythe and return them safely to the surface, to Cassiopeia, that acts kinda like a mothership for it. The plan is to launch it from Cassiopeia, do underwater science, return and dock with Cassiopeia, drive the base to another ocean or interesting place and deploy again.

Anyway, that is the FINAL PIECE of the puzzle I needed for the project. AT LONG LAST, EVERYTHING is now set and in place, ready to receive the first crew on the Joolian system!!!! :D

Now all we need to do is to bring the crew and FINALLY, after many months initiate the project. But of course, since this project is supposed to be kinda realistic (not Cosmo-levels of realism), we need to find a realistic way to bring the crew through deep space, all the way to the gas giant. They are not going to be 4 years inside a small cockpit, they are going to be 4 years inside THIS:
Slide7.PNG
Slide8.PNG


The Avalon is the result of a lot of effort. It is designed as an interplanetary exploration mothership. With the proper transfer stage (I am using one specifically designed for the Joolian mission here), it can go basically anywhere on the Kerbol system. The ship itself also has 4 NERV nuclear engines, that give it a deltaV of 2000 m/s while carrying 100 tons of cargo, or 3200 if no cargo. Can comfortably carry the 20 Kerbals that will travel to Jool and to Laythe for the first time.

The Avalon can and will also be used for future missions outside Project Jool. The ability to transport a large crew, as well as 100 tons of cargo, on a fully independent system, to anywhere on the system is something that worth a lot.

After Project Jool is completed The Avalon will assist in the exploration and colonization of other planets and moons.

Anyway, time to send the first part of the crew! And speaking of the crew, I’ve assembled the crew very carefully, choosing ONLY veteran and decorated astronauts with several interplanetary missions completed. The leaders are the toughest elite of Blazing Aerospace. True professionals…. well, for the Kerbal standards… :p
Slide9.PNG


Anyway, let’s bring those suckers up! For that we have the sixth iteration of the ‘Space Racer 2’ series of LKO SSTOs: The Stingray!
Slide10.PNG

Slide11.PNG
Slide12.PNG


Now, some time ago there was a debate between Horus and a guy and Horus was saying that a well-designed lander can land and return from almost anywhere, all it needs a good transfer stage to get there. I gotta say that inspired me to try and create a “Universal Lander”, a vessel that can land and return from almost any body on the Kerbal system (except Eve and Laythe for different reasons). So I created the vessel that will be used to explore the other Joolian moons: The “Zireael” Universal Lander.
Slide13.PNG


This was a test mission to Eeloo. The “Zireael” can transport a crew and science experiments between the surface and the orbit of any body on the system, except Eve and Laythe (and except Kerbin, Jool and the Sun, for obvious reasons). I haven’t tested this on Tylo, that is a part of Project Jool, but it should be fine, since it has good TWR and more than enough deltaV to land there. Comes with its own ISRU, so it can also refuel itself. Anyway, time to attach it to The Avalon!
Slide14.PNG


And we are docked! One more launch to go! ONLY ONE MORE LAUNCH TO GO!!!!! :D :D

The FINAL piece of the puzzle is that Jool impactor I designed a loooooooooooooong time ago… anyone remembers? No? Not too surprising…

Anyway, to launch it is a perfect opportunity to show my Space Shuttle “Fulcrum”, as well as to deliver the final crew.
Slide15.PNG

Slide16.PNG

Slide17.PNG


There we go… Now, all we have to do is to attach the Impactor to The Avalon… And here is where we have a problem: for some reason the probe can’t separate from the shuttle… I’ve tried everything, but the damn thing can’t decouple…
Slide18.PNG


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
WHY DO YOU THIS TO ME KERBAL SPACE PROGRAM?????????????
I just want to get to that fucking green planet with a cool moon…

*sighs* That has to be it for today guys, I really wanted to get this done. But it seems that we have to land the shuttle and launch it again…

Damn, KSP really doesn’t makes it easy for me…
 

Pink

(Mooncrasher)
Staff member
Team Valiant
Discord Staff
Voyager Quest
Man on the Moon
Forum Legend
#60
Uh... wow. I know nothing about KSP, but those look like pretty advanced projects to me! Very cool looking.
 

Mars Pathfinder

«★★» CMDR «★★» // PT // FartFinder
Christmas Event Category Winner
TEAM HAWK
Swingin' on a Star
Atlas
Deja Vu
Fly me to the Moon
Under Pressure
Registered
#61
Alright guys, time for the monthly update! :p

God, sometimes I’d wish to never start this project in first place. 200 years have passed in my game and I still haven’t send a single Kerbal to Jool, only because I want to do it as a part of this project. But anyway, I’m ALMOST ready to execute it, so, it’s a little late to back down.

Anyway, I got my science base to Laythe.
View attachment 63824

This will be the main settlement for the Laythe surface crew. The jets and other science vehicles will fly to all the biomes on Laythe, collect the science and then they will bring it to this base for processing and to increase the science data. The place is quite large, so it will also serve on future missions outside of the project, as the main crew habitat for future colonization crews.

You can see is on the water (it was the easiest way to balance it), but next to the shore, so the drills touch the ground and we can use to refuel our vehicles. And speaking of vehicles, we’ve got two here!

One is a helicopter.
View attachment 63825

We are going to use to explore the nearby islands, since is very efficient, and very fun and easy to fly. I’ve noticed Laythe has a lot of slopes, and some not too tall mountains, but very sloped mountains that are hard to climb with rovers and to land on with planes. That’s what this helicopter is for. And once again is very fun and easy to fly, and that’s a plus in my book, even if is not the sexiest chopper in the world…

The other one… well I call it the MTRV: Multi-Terrain Research Vehicle, and you can really find it ANYWHERE on Laythe.
View attachment 63826

Air, water on the surface, below it, or dry ground. This vehicle really cares not about your terrain. It can be used as a rover, boat, submarine or plane: your decision. It also does science and carries two Kerbals. However, its fuel is not infinite, and it can’t replenish it by itself, so it can’t spend very long periods outside the base, either on the sea or on the ground, which is precisely the reason why I created this:
View attachment 63827 View attachment 63828


Cassiopeia, as her name indicates, is a self-suficient amphibious mobile base.

And by amphibious, I mean that it can go by both solid ground and salty sea (Laythe’s oceans are salty, right???), in short terms is a giant rover, and a small boat. Also, a base. It can do science, process it, mine ore and refine it, produces food. It can be used to explore all the many islands on the moon, as well as to cross its oceans. It also comes with its own vehicle. It is powered by two nuclear reactors as well as some RTGs, meaning it has unlimited power for hundreds of Kerbal years.

It also has an additional vehicle, a small research submarine. Mars Pathfinder remember when you told me go do sub dive on Laythe? Well, here I am…
View attachment 63829

Unfortunately, I did make a small mistake when I sent it to Laythe: I forgot to put a probe core on it. This is not too much of an issue. It only means it can only operate while manned, unlike all the other vehicles you’ve seen so far. The image you are seeing here was taken on Kerbin…

Still, this sub can comfortably take 10 Kerbals to the deep oceans of Laythe and return them safely to the surface, to Cassiopeia, that acts kinda like a mothership for it. The plan is to launch it from Cassiopeia, do underwater science, return and dock with Cassiopeia, drive the base to another ocean or interesting place and deploy again.

Anyway, that is the FINAL PIECE of the puzzle I needed for the project. AT LONG LAST, EVERYTHING is now set and in place, ready to receive the first crew on the Joolian system!!!! :D

Now all we need to do is to bring the crew and FINALLY, after many months initiate the project. But of course, since this project is supposed to be kinda realistic (not Cosmo-levels of realism), we need to find a realistic way to bring the crew through deep space, all the way to the gas giant. They are not going to be 4 years inside a small cockpit, they are going to be 4 years inside THIS:
View attachment 63830 View attachment 63831

The Avalon is the result of a lot of effort. It is designed as an interplanetary exploration mothership. With the proper transfer stage (I am using one specifically designed for the Joolian mission here), it can go basically anywhere on the Kerbol system. The ship itself also has 4 NERV nuclear engines, that give it a deltaV of 2000 m/s while carrying 100 tons of cargo, or 3200 if no cargo. Can comfortably carry the 20 Kerbals that will travel to Jool and to Laythe for the first time.

The Avalon can and will also be used for future missions outside Project Jool. The ability to transport a large crew, as well as 100 tons of cargo, on a fully independent system, to anywhere on the system is something that worth a lot.

After Project Jool is completed The Avalon will assist in the exploration and colonization of other planets and moons.

Anyway, time to send the first part of the crew! And speaking of the crew, I’ve assembled the crew very carefully, choosing ONLY veteran and decorated astronauts with several interplanetary missions completed. The leaders are the toughest elite of Blazing Aerospace. True professionals…. well, for the Kerbal standards… :p
View attachment 63832

Anyway, let’s bring those suckers up! For that we have the sixth iteration of the ‘Space Racer 2’ series of LKO SSTOs: The Stingray!
View attachment 63833
View attachment 63834 View attachment 63835

Now, some time ago there was a debate between Horus and a guy and Horus was saying that a well-designed lander can land and return from almost anywhere, all it needs a good transfer stage to get there. I gotta say that inspired me to try and create a “Universal Lander”, a vessel that can land and return from almost any body on the Kerbal system (except Eve and Laythe for different reasons). So I created the vessel that will be used to explore the other Joolian moons: The “Zireael” Universal Lander.
View attachment 63836

This was a test mission to Eeloo. The “Zireael” can transport a crew and science experiments between the surface and the orbit of any body on the system, except Eve and Laythe (and except Kerbin, Jool and the Sun, for obvious reasons). I haven’t tested this on Tylo, that is a part of Project Jool, but it should be fine, since it has good TWR and more than enough deltaV to land there. Comes with its own ISRU, so it can also refuel itself. Anyway, time to attach it to The Avalon!
View attachment 63837

And we are docked! One more launch to go! ONLY ONE MORE LAUNCH TO GO!!!!! :D:D

The FINAL piece of the puzzle is that Jool impactor I designed a loooooooooooooong time ago… anyone remembers? No? Not too surprising…

Anyway, to launch it is a perfect opportunity to show my Space Shuttle “Fulcrum”, as well as to deliver the final crew.
View attachment 63838
View attachment 63839
View attachment 63840

There we go… Now, all we have to do is to attach the Impactor to The Avalon… And here is where we have a problem: for some reason the probe can’t separate from the shuttle… I’ve tried everything, but the damn thing can’t decouple…
View attachment 63841

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
WHY DO YOU THIS TO ME KERBAL SPACE PROGRAM?????????????
I just want to get to that fucking green planet with a cool moon…

*sighs* That has to be it for today guys, I really wanted to get this done. But it seems that we have to land the shuttle and launch it again…

Damn, KSP really doesn’t makes it easy for me…
Wow! Much Wow! :D:D

The sub and the Mig like plane is cool :D
 

James Brown

Thinker/INTJ/investigator/Natural Science lover
TEAM HAWK
Swingin' on a Star
Atlas
Deja Vu
Fly me to the Moon
Under Pressure
Registered
#62
Lookin nice:D!
Alright guys, time for the monthly update! :p

God, sometimes I’d wish to never start this project in first place. 200 years have passed in my game and I still haven’t send a single Kerbal to Jool, only because I want to do it as a part of this project. But anyway, I’m ALMOST ready to execute it, so, it’s a little late to back down.

Anyway, I got my science base to Laythe.
View attachment 63824

This will be the main settlement for the Laythe surface crew. The jets and other science vehicles will fly to all the biomes on Laythe, collect the science and then they will bring it to this base for processing and to increase the science data. The place is quite large, so it will also serve on future missions outside of the project, as the main crew habitat for future colonization crews.

You can see is on the water (it was the easiest way to balance it), but next to the shore, so the drills touch the ground and we can use to refuel our vehicles. And speaking of vehicles, we’ve got two here!

One is a helicopter.
View attachment 63825

We are going to use to explore the nearby islands, since is very efficient, and very fun and easy to fly. I’ve noticed Laythe has a lot of slopes, and some not too tall mountains, but very sloped mountains that are hard to climb with rovers and to land on with planes. That’s what this helicopter is for. And once again is very fun and easy to fly, and that’s a plus in my book, even if is not the sexiest chopper in the world…

The other one… well I call it the MTRV: Multi-Terrain Research Vehicle, and you can really find it ANYWHERE on Laythe.
View attachment 63826

Air, water on the surface, below it, or dry ground. This vehicle really cares not about your terrain. It can be used as a rover, boat, submarine or plane: your decision. It also does science and carries two Kerbals. However, its fuel is not infinite, and it can’t replenish it by itself, so it can’t spend very long periods outside the base, either on the sea or on the ground, which is precisely the reason why I created this:
View attachment 63827 View attachment 63828


Cassiopeia, as her name indicates, is a self-suficient amphibious mobile base.

And by amphibious, I mean that it can go by both solid ground and salty sea (Laythe’s oceans are salty, right???), in short terms is a giant rover, and a small boat. Also, a base. It can do science, process it, mine ore and refine it, produces food. It can be used to explore all the many islands on the moon, as well as to cross its oceans. It also comes with its own vehicle. It is powered by two nuclear reactors as well as some RTGs, meaning it has unlimited power for hundreds of Kerbal years.

It also has an additional vehicle, a small research submarine. Mars Pathfinder remember when you told me go do sub dive on Laythe? Well, here I am…
View attachment 63829

Unfortunately, I did make a small mistake when I sent it to Laythe: I forgot to put a probe core on it. This is not too much of an issue. It only means it can only operate while manned, unlike all the other vehicles you’ve seen so far. The image you are seeing here was taken on Kerbin…

Still, this sub can comfortably take 10 Kerbals to the deep oceans of Laythe and return them safely to the surface, to Cassiopeia, that acts kinda like a mothership for it. The plan is to launch it from Cassiopeia, do underwater science, return and dock with Cassiopeia, drive the base to another ocean or interesting place and deploy again.

Anyway, that is the FINAL PIECE of the puzzle I needed for the project. AT LONG LAST, EVERYTHING is now set and in place, ready to receive the first crew on the Joolian system!!!! :D

Now all we need to do is to bring the crew and FINALLY, after many months initiate the project. But of course, since this project is supposed to be kinda realistic (not Cosmo-levels of realism), we need to find a realistic way to bring the crew through deep space, all the way to the gas giant. They are not going to be 4 years inside a small cockpit, they are going to be 4 years inside THIS:
View attachment 63830 View attachment 63831

The Avalon is the result of a lot of effort. It is designed as an interplanetary exploration mothership. With the proper transfer stage (I am using one specifically designed for the Joolian mission here), it can go basically anywhere on the Kerbol system. The ship itself also has 4 NERV nuclear engines, that give it a deltaV of 2000 m/s while carrying 100 tons of cargo, or 3200 if no cargo. Can comfortably carry the 20 Kerbals that will travel to Jool and to Laythe for the first time.

The Avalon can and will also be used for future missions outside Project Jool. The ability to transport a large crew, as well as 100 tons of cargo, on a fully independent system, to anywhere on the system is something that worth a lot.

After Project Jool is completed The Avalon will assist in the exploration and colonization of other planets and moons.

Anyway, time to send the first part of the crew! And speaking of the crew, I’ve assembled the crew very carefully, choosing ONLY veteran and decorated astronauts with several interplanetary missions completed. The leaders are the toughest elite of Blazing Aerospace. True professionals…. well, for the Kerbal standards… :p
View attachment 63832

Anyway, let’s bring those suckers up! For that we have the sixth iteration of the ‘Space Racer 2’ series of LKO SSTOs: The Stingray!
View attachment 63833
View attachment 63834 View attachment 63835

Now, some time ago there was a debate between Horus and a guy and Horus was saying that a well-designed lander can land and return from almost anywhere, all it needs a good transfer stage to get there. I gotta say that inspired me to try and create a “Universal Lander”, a vessel that can land and return from almost any body on the Kerbal system (except Eve and Laythe for different reasons). So I created the vessel that will be used to explore the other Joolian moons: The “Zireael” Universal Lander.
View attachment 63836

This was a test mission to Eeloo. The “Zireael” can transport a crew and science experiments between the surface and the orbit of any body on the system, except Eve and Laythe (and except Kerbin, Jool and the Sun, for obvious reasons). I haven’t tested this on Tylo, that is a part of Project Jool, but it should be fine, since it has good TWR and more than enough deltaV to land there. Comes with its own ISRU, so it can also refuel itself. Anyway, time to attach it to The Avalon!
View attachment 63837

And we are docked! One more launch to go! ONLY ONE MORE LAUNCH TO GO!!!!! :D:D

The FINAL piece of the puzzle is that Jool impactor I designed a loooooooooooooong time ago… anyone remembers? No? Not too surprising…

Anyway, to launch it is a perfect opportunity to show my Space Shuttle “Fulcrum”, as well as to deliver the final crew.
View attachment 63838
View attachment 63839
View attachment 63840

There we go… Now, all we have to do is to attach the Impactor to The Avalon… And here is where we have a problem: for some reason the probe can’t separate from the shuttle… I’ve tried everything, but the damn thing can’t decouple…
View attachment 63841

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
WHY DO YOU THIS TO ME KERBAL SPACE PROGRAM?????????????
I just want to get to that fucking green planet with a cool moon…

*sighs* That has to be it for today guys, I really wanted to get this done. But it seems that we have to land the shuttle and launch it again…

Damn, KSP really doesn’t makes it easy for me…
 

Blazer Ayanami

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#63
Uh... wow. I know nothing about KSP, but those look like pretty advanced projects to me! Very cool looking.
Wow! Much Wow! :D:D

The sub and the Mig like plane is cool :D
Thank you guys. A lot of effort has gone into this, so I really appreciate the feedback :):)

There were also some missions I didn’t want to post. Mostly tests but also some failed missions.

For example, I sent an unmannned version of my original SSTO for this mission to Laythe, only to realize, is almost uncontrollable there because of the thinner atmosphere and bad weight distribution. So I had to redesign it and I came up with the Stingray, which works really fine in atmospheric flight on both Kerbin and Laythe.

I had to redesign the Avalon three times! The first version was working, but I didn’t like they way it look. The second version looked cool, but it was too damn heavy, so the transfer stage was also massive... And finally, THIS version, which looks well IMO, and also does the job quite nice.

Edit: Also, how do you guys prefer the screenshots? With UI so you can see what’s going on? Or without UI for cooler pics?
 
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Mars Pathfinder

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#64
Thank you guys. A lot of effort has gone into this, so I really appreciate the feedback :):)

There were also some missions I didn’t want to post. Mostly tests but also some failed missions.

For example, I sent an unmannned version of my original SSTO for this mission to Laythe, only to realize, is almost uncontrollable there because of the thinner atmosphere and bad weight distribution. So I had to redesign it and I came up with the Stingray, which works really fine in atmospheric flight on both Kerbin and Laythe.

I had to redesign the Avalon three times! The first version was working, but I didn’t like they way it look. The second version looked cool, but it was too damn heavy, so the transfer stage was also massive... And finally, THIS version, which looks well IMO, and also does the job quite nice.

Edit: Also, how do you guys prefer the screenshots? With UI so you can see what’s going on? Or without UI for cooler pics?
Hmm the no UI seems cool but maybe the UI should retain on docking or something :)

Also would your shuttle in sfs can work on ksp?(3d version of it) :)
 

James Brown

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#65
Ksp looks quite difficult to play but if you master it it will be cool
 

Blazer Ayanami

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#66
Hmm the no UI seems cool but maybe the UI should retain on docking or something :)
Okay, so I’ll leave the UI for precise maneuvers. :)
Also would your shuttle in sfs can work on ksp?(3d version of it) :)
Hmmmmm... I guess you can make 3D versions of you shuttles. They wouldn’t work the same way, because the game is 3D and we can’t use some of the tricks we use in 2D, cause it will look... horrendous...

But yeah, I guess you can adapt your launch systems and shuttles to 3D, or at least their concept.
Ksp looks quite difficult to play but if you master it it will be cool
The typical situation in KSP is to spend hours designing a mission, then fail it because of a meaningless detail you forgot to check.... :p
 

Mars Pathfinder

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#67
Hmmmmm... I guess you can make 3D versions of you shuttles. They wouldn’t work the same way, because the game is 3D and we can’t use some of the tricks we use in 2D, cause it will look... horrendous...

But yeah, I guess you can adapt your launch systems and shuttles to 3D, or at least their concept.
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

:p :p
 

Blazer Ayanami

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Alright, another update! Remember how I failed to dock my Joolian Impactor to the Avalon? Well, that left me no other choice but to land the shuttle and launch the impactor again.
01.png


Yeah, that makes this mission a double failure… One because we couldn’t deliver the probe to the Avalon, and Two because I couldn’t demonstrate the Fulcrum’s capabilities in a successful mission. Well, the Fulcrum works, what happened on that mission is simply that the center of mass was too far back, (because of the weight of the impactor), and the shuttle fell ass-first.

Anyway, the Fulcrum will go through a full revamp once Project Jool is finally finished.

But nevermind that, let’s continue. Alright, time to launch the impactor again. This is going to be Blazing Aerospace’s fastest mission EVER!
02.png
03.png


That’s it, that’s all! Preparation phase for Project Jool is finally… FINALLY… completed! :D Now is time for the Execution phase! Time to depart towards Jool! First destination: Laythe!
04.png


And after more than 2 years through deep interplanetary space, The Avalon and her are finally the first representatives of Kerbalkind in the Joolian system!

05.png


Not much to say about the navigation inside the Joolian system: the standard gravity assist with Tylo to get captured, then some other gravity assists with Laythe and Vall and some correction burns to bring my orbit as close to Laythe’s as I could, then a small capture burn there.

06.png
07.png


I used to flyby of Laythe to put the Impactor in a collision course with Jool. It will take it 2 hours to enter the green atmosphere. For now, we have to go to Laythe’s periapsis and capture ourselves in orbit around it.
08.png


And there we are ladies and gentlemen. We are finally orbiting Laythe! However, we can’t descend just yet. We have another mission to handle first. Our probe will enter the Joolian atmosphere very soon, so we need to focus on that first.

09.png
10.png


Yay, a balloon! Something you typically don’t find in KSP. I actually wanted to make a nuclear spaceplane and fly on Jool’s atmosphere, but that would be too heavy and complex, at least for this particular mission (A Joolian plane is on my future To-Do list), so I decided to go with something much simpler, much lighter, and that I thought you guys’ wouldn’t expect: a balloon. It also allows to take readings and measures while flying on Jool, as well as to transmit the results to Kerbin. It’s just a shame that the landing took place in the night side of Jool, so we couldn’t take cooler pictures.

Anyway, the balloon exploded when it was high enough, so the probe fell using parachutes, and still transmitting data. The probe was a total of 1 hour and 48 minutes inside Jool’s atmosphere, and transmitted its last reading at 230 m below the “sea level”. We have successfully crashed a science probe into Jool and obtained a lot of science about its atmosphere.

Back to the Avalon, and the main mission on Laythe! Once we’re safely parked in LLO the “Stingray” can finally separate and carry the 4 Kerbals that will man Minerva Station.
11.png


After that, we are finally ready to bring some crew to the surface of Laythe! The first aviators take up these familiar, yet still strange, alien skies…

12.png
13.png

14.png

Ladies and gentlemen, just three words...

We did it.

After months of preparation, testing, experiments, failed and successful prototypes, failed and successful missions, and a lot of time invested into this… Kerbalkind has finally planted a flag and left some footprints on the surface of Jool’s atmospheric moons.

Months of preparation, all for this. It really feels great…
 

Mars Pathfinder

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#71
shuttle fell ass-first.
Don't we fall like butt first when were slipped butt first to the ground? :p
Alright, another update! Remember how I failed to dock my Joolian Impactor to the Avalon? Well, that left me no other choice but to land the shuttle and launch the impactor again.
View attachment 64290

Yeah, that makes this mission a double failure… One because we couldn’t deliver the probe to the Avalon, and Two because I couldn’t demonstrate the Fulcrum’s capabilities in a successful mission. Well, the Fulcrum works, what happened on that mission is simply that the center of mass was too far back, (because of the weight of the impactor), and the shuttle fell ass-first.

Anyway, the Fulcrum will go through a full revamp once Project Jool is finally finished.

But nevermind that, let’s continue. Alright, time to launch the impactor again. This is going to be Blazing Aerospace’s fastest mission EVER!
View attachment 64291 View attachment 64293

That’s it, that’s all! Preparation phase for Project Jool is finally… FINALLY… completed! :D Now is time for the Execution phase! Time to depart towards Jool! First destination: Laythe!
View attachment 64295

And after more than 2 years through deep interplanetary space, The Avalon and her are finally the first representatives of Kerbalkind in the Joolian system!

View attachment 64296

Not much to say about the navigation inside the Joolian system: the standard gravity assist with Tylo to get captured, then some other gravity assists with Laythe and Vall and some correction burns to bring my orbit as close to Laythe’s as I could, then a small capture burn there.

View attachment 64297 View attachment 64298

I used to flyby of Laythe to put the Impactor in a collision course with Jool. It will take it 2 hours to enter the green atmosphere. For now, we have to go to Laythe’s periapsis and capture ourselves in orbit around it.
View attachment 64300

And there we are ladies and gentlemen. We are finally orbiting Laythe! However, we can’t descend just yet. We have another mission to handle first. Our probe will enter the Joolian atmosphere very soon, so we need to focus on that first.

View attachment 64302 View attachment 64303

Yay, a balloon! Something you typically don’t find in KSP. I actually wanted to make a nuclear spaceplane and fly on Jool’s atmosphere, but that would be too heavy and complex, at least for this particular mission (A Joolian plane is on my future To-Do list), so I decided to go with something much simpler, much lighter, and that I thought you guys’ wouldn’t expect: a balloon. It also allows to take readings and measures while flying on Jool, as well as to transmit the results to Kerbin. It’s just a shame that the landing took place in the night side of Jool, so we couldn’t take cooler pictures.

Anyway, the balloon exploded when it was high enough, so the probe fell using parachutes, and still transmitting data. The probe was a total of 1 hour and 48 minutes inside Jool’s atmosphere, and transmitted its last reading at 230 m below the “sea level”. We have successfully crashed a science probe into Jool and obtained a lot of science about its atmosphere.

Back to the Avalon, and the main mission on Laythe! Once we’re safely parked in LLO the “Stingray” can finally separate and carry the 4 Kerbals that will man Minerva Station.
View attachment 64304

After that, we are finally ready to bring some crew to the surface of Laythe! The first aviators take up these familiar, yet still strange, alien skies…

View attachment 64305 View attachment 64306
View attachment 64307
Ladies and gentlemen, just three words...

We did it.

After months of preparation, testing, experiments, failed and successful prototypes, failed and successful missions, and a lot of time invested into this… Kerbalkind has finally planted a flag and left some footprints on the surface of Jool’s atmospheric moons.

Months of preparation, all for this. It really feels great…
Cool! Shame on the ballon's night time, no noice pics. Anyways nice landing on laythe :p
 

Blazer Ayanami

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#72
Don't we fall like butt first when were slipped butt first to the ground? :p
Ironically, That’s how we land shuttles in SFS most of the time: butt down. :p But in my case, I had no Oxidizer on the shuttle so I couldn’t turn on the Rapiers, nor the RS-25s. I could only use the NERVs and their thrust at sea level sucks...
Cool! Shame on the ballon's night time, no noice pics. Anyways nice landing on laythe :p
Thanks. Once that balloon was enroute to Jool, there was nothing I could do to change course, that didn’t imply a 4 hour burn with that single Ion it had.
 
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Blazer Ayanami

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#73
The project is very very close to completion! :D

Now here’s a question: what way should I take to return from Laythe, all the way to Kerbin. Keep in mind is the first time I am going to do this in this game. I’ve sent a lot of equipment to Jool, but I have not brought anything from there yet.
 
T

TtTOtW

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#74
Well, what a mission! Blazer this amply displays how well you design and pilot, this all is not for the faint of heart. Very, bloody very well done. Iwas (perhaps obviously) most taken with that sweet, sexy shuttle. Fulcrum is not a name I'll forget soon. Next, SCHWEET SUB MY MAN!!! TtTOtW Kerman would like the occasional ride to the bottom of the ocean, I assure you... You sneaky namer you! Also, Avalon is a wonderful place.a visual feast and obviously works exactly as advertised.

Months of hard work. And a wonderful prize: success.

Keep it up.
 

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The project is very very close to completion! :D

Now here’s a question: what way should I take to return from Laythe, all the way to Kerbin. Keep in mind is the first time I am going to do this in this game. I’ve sent a lot of equipment to Jool, but I have not brought anything from there yet.
The kerbals? :p