Mercury Exploration

[Nagini]

While I wait for my replica to get inspected, I decided I’d do some Mercury exploration. To be completely honest, I have never landed on Mercury, so I’m ridiculously underqualified. Nonetheless, here I come! My first mission is Mission-Check-If-IOS-Freezing-Bug-Is-Still-There. I’ll send a prototype fuel tank storage area to my Team frontier station.

Yup, another modified Vogon, with a huge fairing-type thing.

Orbit!

During rendezvous, I almost had a heart attack when I realized that I couldn’t get the tanks out of the fairing, but thankfully my single brain cell managed to remember the “clear debris” button.

With that, I think I can safely assume the glitch or bug or whatever that was is gone! Now I can start assembly of my station that will go to Mercury!

 

[Nagini]

Here is my drawing of the station is design. Subject to change.

 

[Altaïr]

Ah, you want to explore the graveyard? Well, there's a first time to everything.

Do you intend to send the whole station to Mercury? That will require a lot of fuel... I would recommend to do it step by step. First attempt a fly-by of Mercury, then reach Mercury orbit and so on.

 

[Nagini]

That’s a great idea! I present to you... Mole (the unit of measurement) 1! All of the missions in this project will be named Mole! Here it is!

We get her up to orbit...

We have a Venus flyby as a gravity assist and just because Mole 1 likes to collect data.

Mercury encounter and orbit injection!

Woohoo! Mole 2 will be a rover!

 

[Altaïr]

Ah, I see you already master the gravity assist, that will ease things a lot, well done!

However I would use less engines if I were you. Each additional engine increases thrust, but it also adds weight to the rocket, which decreases overall efficiency. On the first stage it's one thing, but if it's on the upper stages it also means more mass to lift.

While navigating in space, the best engine is the Valiant, that's the one that will give you the most impulse from a given quantity of fuel (that's what a high Isp means). For small ships (20 tons and less), the Kolibri might be better. It's slightly less efficient, but it's very light (weight is your first enemy).

No need to use a lot of them. Generally less is better. Your ship will be lighter, and you'll just compensate the loss of thrust by a greater burn time, your ship will perform better in the end.

For lift-off, you need thrust to fight gravity, so now the Hawk is better. But that engine is very greedy, so you may only use it in this case! As a rule of thumb, you can remember that you should not run on Hawk anymore when you pass the Karman line.

Generally, a thrust/weight ratio of 1.2 to 1.6 is what's considered the most efficient.

 

[Nagini]

Here is my Mole 2:

I haven’t launched it yet, just wanted to check.
Is it more physics-friendly, Altaïr?

 

[AstronautAdam]

Wow man, that something different from this stuf. And what version you have? I never see that GUI. I have 1.5; 1.4;1.35. But good anyway, man

 

[Altaïr]

Here is my Mole 2: View attachment 63934
I haven’t launched it yet, just wanted to check.
Is it more physics-friendly, Altaïr?

The engines are chosen more wisely, that's a good point. The launcher is still really massive though, it's certainly possible to do it with less resources. But don't hesitate to give it a try, you'll optimize it later

 

[Nagini]

You’re a wizard, Altaïr! Getting rid of engines gave my craft so much more delta-v! Here is the Mole 2 mission:
Liftoff and stage separation:

Orbit with 24% still in the second stage!

Venus GA (Venus looks like the sun):

Mercury landing!

I quicksave and then head off to find a good base location. Here it is! The crater that it is in is now called Bax Crater (just a random name)!

 

[Altaïr]

Nice, congrats on your Mercury landing, that was quick! Most people struggle more than that before achieving a landing.

 

[Nagini]

Haha I just cut out the bloody and gruesome parts.

 

[yonkee]

Nice! Are you coming back though?

 

[Nagini]

Nah, this is gonna be my base hopefully. Also, why is Mercury called the graveyard?

 

[Altaïr]

Nah, this is gonna be my base hopefully. Also, why is Mercury called the graveyard?

Maybe because most of those who attempted a landing there now rest in pieces

 

[James Brown]

Ha, landing on the graveyard is difficult

 

[Loxy]

Hole moly

 

[Blazer Ayanami]

You’re a wizard, Altaïr!

No.

He’s called the Space Stig

Also, congratulations on your Mercury Landing.

 

[Nagini]

Ok, I realized it would be a whole bunch easier to first build a station in Mercury orbit, then build the ground base, so yeah here is my new, less ambitious, diagram of the next few missions.

Now, let’s get on to Mole 3! It’s a pretty nonchalant module, and the process is familiar now, so I’ll just post the pictures.

 

[Nagini]

Mole 4! Woohoo! Another nonchalant module! Here’s the mission:
First, here is my new, modified Vogon launch vehicle with MOAR BOOSTAHZ!!!!

The boosters run out slower than the first stage, so staging is wonky.

We have BOOSTAH separation shortly before orbit.

Venus gravity assist:

Now we burn for Mercury:

And orbit injection!

Finally, we have rendezvous and docking.

Time for Mole 5! Anyway, does anyone know who will be replacing Marmilo for replica judge, since he’s busy?

 

[AstronautAdam]

I dont know but I waiting for aproving my replica.

 

[Mars Pathfinder]

I dont know but I waiting for approving my replica.

don't drag your thread here. So BOT

 

[James Brown]

That is a close gravity assist!

 

[Nagini]

Mole 5 is in the books! This time, we are adding solar panels to the station! Here’s the mission.
Liftoff!

Once again, my Vogon II has weird staging.

Since the payload is light, we get into orbit with the boosters still attached!

We move all of the fuel in the boosters to the second stage, and detach them.

Time for our Venus gravity assist!

Our second stage burns through half the delta-v, and is finally relieved of its duties. We finish the burn with a great amount of fuel left in our third stage.

Orbit injection...

And rendezvous & docking!

After refueling the station a bit, the mission is finished!

 

[Nagini]

I’m back with Team Hawk under my belt! I decided to not have a propulsion system on my station, since it doesn’t really need to go anywhere. Thus, Mole 6 is cancelled. I switched up the order a bit. Mole 7 will be a lander for a crewed mission, Mole 8 will be a rover, and Mole 9 will be the crew for the crewed landing. Here is Mole 7, with a new launch vehicle! Behold, the Basilisk!

We get into orbit

Venus gravity assist (this actually made the route less efficient, but let’s not talk about that )

And Mercury!

Now we rendezvous and dock with the station, and we’re done!

 

[Horus Lupercal]

this actually made the route less efficient, but let’s not talk about that

It shouldn't have done. Properly hit, Venus pretty much lets you get a flyby of anywhere for free. Mercury is a difficult destination to gravity assist right though as you've got to use Mercury a few times as well.