Rover Challenge

[Altaïr]

Wow, very impressive too! Congratulations!
And very good use of gravity assist by the way.
But hasn't your rover been roasted by your Titan engines at lift-off?

Yeah, that rover I made was a test (I like to try new concepts), but I like it too. It's very practical to use. Especially on Io, as you frequently need some help from the engines

 

[Pepsi sans]

 

[SupremeDorian]

Nice, but i'm afraid no Blueprint editing is allowed.

 

[Altaïr]

Nice

 

[Horus Lupercal]

I attempted this one a few times on each difficulty, apologies for the slight bend in rules for this first one as it is the culmination of 5 launches but I figured if I'm going to Mars, may as well ship everything there.

So, initial expedition assembly. 3 SSTOs and 2 Ark lifts bringing up the starlight drive, the space station components, 2 rovers and a ground comms tower with drop drogues, a comms upgrade for the station and a marker bot.

All the pods arranged on the docking area, last SSTO about to get cut away before SDU ignition for a short drive to Mars.

Mars orbit achieved at roughly 150k, the marker bot was dropped on approach and set up nicely. The ground comms station is also on the ground and serving as a base location for the rover dropzone with its drop drogue rocket being recovered and brought back to the station as we speak.

Now for the rover garage assembly. We've brought 2 rovers along but only going to deploy one at the moment using a garage, lowering cradle and a rocket assisted aero drogue

Left leg assembled

Garage pod

Drop cradle assembled, garage assembled with rover

Drop drogue unpack, assembly and installation.

 

[Horus Lupercal]

SDU lowers orbit, ions built into Rovers deorbit using the marker bot as a reference point (certain height and speed as you pass overheard, set up using the Ground comms station)

Dropzone hit with a bit of a shuffle using the rocket to get as close to the comms tower as possible.

The rocket is then detached and launched back into orbit where it's sat currently on the Mars Station awaiting parts for the second rover drop.

 

[SupremeDorian]

Nice! Don't worry about the slight rule breaking, it was interesting to see so I don't mind.

 

[Horus Lupercal]

After that success, I figured I may as well go hard and go Ganymede. I already have a station in orbit there that there needs upgraded parts, the Jovian moons had been pre-recce'd with satellites and figured may as well start there.

The Rover segments of the trip being pad assembled onto the Ark before I can put the boosters on.

Followed up closely by a new fuel storage tank (620tons) and the station upgrades that needed to go the Ganymede (new docking area, comms refit) all launched by Ark II

All assembled in unpack sequence onto the newly returned from Martian orbit SDU for flight to the Jovian moons via some pretty tasty slingshots (that middle picture weighs something like 2,400 tons moving at 5,000mph 200m above Ganymede for a slowdown. I'm still learning here...) and docked with Ganymede Station ready for unpacking.

Assembly of the drop cradle is identical except for the drogue being only rocket based without an atmosphere to help out. I went for a double garage set up as a test unit and included about 7 times more kick than i needed to lift it in the drop (it hovers at 13%) but still massively underestimated the approach speed and hover slammed so hard that the game crashed, never mind the land configuration. Managed to ground it using unbreakable parts purely because I needed to test the rovers driving ability (since re-designed it with a better COG and approach angles as it was very nose heavy and tended to smash the nose capsule off or roll over).

 

[SupremeDorian]

After that success, I figured I may as well go hard and go Ganymede. I already have a station in orbit there that there needs upgraded parts, the Jovian moons had been pre-recce'd with satellites and figured may as well start there.

View attachment 10432

The Rover segments of the trip being pad assembled onto the Ark before I can put the boosters on.

View attachment 10435 View attachment 10436

Followed up closely by a new fuel storage tank (620tons) and the station upgrades that needed to go the Ganymede (new docking area, comms refit) all launched by Ark II

View attachment 10437
View attachment 10438 View attachment 10440

All assembled in unpack sequence onto the newly returned from Martian orbit SDU for flight to the Jovian moons via some pretty tasty slingshots (that middle picture weighs something like 2,400 tons moving at 5,000mph 200m above Ganymede for a slowdown. I'm still learning here...) and docked with Ganymede Station ready for unpacking.

View attachment 10444 View attachment 10445 View attachment 10446

Assembly of the drop cradle is identical except for the drogue being only rocket based without an atmosphere to help out. I went for a double garage set up as a test unit and included about 7 times more kick than i needed to lift it in the drop (it hovers at 13%) but still massively underestimated the approach speed and hover slammed so hard that the game crashed, never mind the land configuration. Managed to ground it using unbreakable parts purely because I needed to test the rovers driving ability (since re-designed it with a better COG and approach angles as it was very nose heavy and tended to smash the nose capsule off or roll over).

Very impressive! Interested to see your next post.

 

[TtTOtW]

@Danny Batten. Take note. This is our rover guy for the international mission without a shadow of a doubt.

 

[Horus Lupercal]

Lessons learned (next project is somehow working out a piece for the spreadsheet on hoverslam data) and went for Venus next, this time no space station or whatever so everything could come up in one lift.

And cue the Thunderbirds music.
Excuse the sandbox build, it launches legally but assembling a roughly 4700ton launch vehicle requires some shuffling and sliding on the pad.

Stage one drops first, then the boosters come off (which require rocket assistance as separators start crying when you ask them to kick away 150+ton empty boosters).

The second stage and payload docks at Earth Station and starts unpacking and assembly onto the waiting SDU which has arrived back from Ganymede for yet another trip (he gets around).

Double garage assembly with some new tweaks and the upgraded rovers.

 

[Danny Batten]

After that success, I figured I may as well go hard and go Ganymede. I already have a station in orbit there that there needs upgraded parts, the Jovian moons had been pre-recce'd with satellites and figured may as well start there.

View attachment 10432

The Rover segments of the trip being pad assembled onto the Ark before I can put the boosters on.

View attachment 10435 View attachment 10436

Followed up closely by a new fuel storage tank (620tons) and the station upgrades that needed to go the Ganymede (new docking area, comms refit) all launched by Ark II

View attachment 10437
View attachment 10438 View attachment 10440

All assembled in unpack sequence onto the newly returned from Martian orbit SDU for flight to the Jovian moons via some pretty tasty slingshots (that middle picture weighs something like 2,400 tons moving at 5,000mph 200m above Ganymede for a slowdown. I'm still learning here...) and docked with Ganymede Station ready for unpacking.

View attachment 10444 View attachment 10445 View attachment 10446

Assembly of the drop cradle is identical except for the drogue being only rocket based without an atmosphere to help out. I went for a double garage set up as a test unit and included about 7 times more kick than i needed to lift it in the drop (it hovers at 13%) but still massively underestimated the approach speed and hover slammed so hard that the game crashed, never mind the land configuration. Managed to ground it using unbreakable parts purely because I needed to test the rovers driving ability (since re-designed it with a better COG and approach angles as it was very nose heavy and tended to smash the nose capsule off or roll over).

@Danny Batten. Take note. This is our rover guy for the international mission without a shadow of a doubt.

Yes he’s definitely got a good sense for roverss. Good amount of wheels for all terrain. Ok’ish supply of electricity. Maybe add slightly more solar panels or rtgs. But it’s a good all round package

 

[TtTOtW]

@Horus Lupercal, wanna be my protégé?

 

[TtTOtW]

I'll teach you everything I know about rovers

 

[Horus Lupercal]

Drop cradle assembled with the atmosphere drogue and rocket. The garages have under floor armour (incase it creams in again) and all connected onto the base of the SDU for flight to Venus.

SDU flight to Venus. Usually I achieve orbit and then slowly drop it down but since Venus is such a dense atmosphere and I really can't be bothered driving the SDU back I disconnect just as I leave Earths SOI and put the rovers onto an aerobrake course with the SDU rolling a slingshot back to Earth.

 

[Altaïr]

Very impressive @Horus Lupercal !
I generally try to minimize the size of my ships, but you, on the contrary, you don't hesitate in thinking big!

 

[Horus Lupercal]

Drogue acted weird over Venus compared to Mars and came in nose first rather than feet down. Pulling some parachutes solved that and found somewhere (lucked onto) flat to bring it down

Recovered the SDU and it's currently sat at 100km with my station waiting on the next idea.

 

[Horus Lupercal]

Yes he’s definitely got a good sense for roverss. Good amount of wheels for all terrain. Ok’ish supply of electricity. Maybe add slightly more solar panels or rtgs. But it’s a good all round package

I didn't want to go much bigger with the vehicles. I'd made mistakes before with some absolute land crawlers that were 100+tons and were pretty much useless. It's got a decent range for its size and it'll run indefinitely with the 4 main wheels powered up

 

[Horus Lupercal]

@Horus Lupercal, wanna be my protégé?

Never say no to learning things, be more than happy to dude

 

[Danny Batten]

I didn't want to go much bigger with the vehicles. I'd made mistakes before with some absolute land crawlers that were 100+tons and were pretty much useless. It's got a decent range for its size and it'll run indefinitely with the 4 main wheels powered up

Yes I too have done that, your design is good. How much can it carry?

 

[Horus Lupercal]

Very impressive @Horus Lupercal !
I generally try to minimize the size of my ships, but you, on the contrary, you don't hesitate in thinking big!

Ha! Well if you're going to be a bear you may as well go full grizzly. It's not like I'm paying for the fuel!

 

[Horus Lupercal]

Yes I too have done that, your design is good. How much can it carry?

I have absolutely no idea. The original I seen was designed to carry about 60ish tons about if I remember rightly. I've chopped a lot of things off (grasshopper engines, a lot of fuel, loads of wheels) so it shouldnt be too far off that at the moment. My intent was its use as a payload delivery to my gun and fuel to ground stations and it'll take a big 1 long tank on its back horizontally.

 

[Danny Batten]

I have absolutely no idea. The original I seen was designed to carry about 60ish tons about if I remember rightly. I've chopped a lot of things off (grasshopper engines, a lot of fuel, loads of wheels) so it shouldnt be too far off that at the moment. My intent was its use as a payload delivery to my gun and fuel to ground stations and it'll take a big 1 long tank on its back horizontally.

Not bad for its size and weight

 

[Horus Lupercal]

Not bad for its size and weight

I wouldn't quite me too loudly on it though, I've only driven it empty at the moment as nothing has needed re-supply yet but as long as it has at least 4 wheels on the ground it happily accelerates up vertical faces so I don't see why it can't move with its own mass as extra

 

[Lt. Snakestrike]

After that success, I figured I may as well go hard and go Ganymede. I already have a station in orbit there that there needs upgraded parts, the Jovian moons had been pre-recce'd with satellites and figured may as well start there.

View attachment 10432

The Rover segments of the trip being pad assembled onto the Ark before I can put the boosters on.

View attachment 10435 View attachment 10436

Followed up closely by a new fuel storage tank (620tons) and the station upgrades that needed to go the Ganymede (new docking area, comms refit) all launched by Ark II

View attachment 10437
View attachment 10438 View attachment 10440

All assembled in unpack sequence onto the newly returned from Martian orbit SDU for flight to the Jovian moons via some pretty tasty slingshots (that middle picture weighs something like 2,400 tons moving at 5,000mph 200m above Ganymede for a slowdown. I'm still learning here...) and docked with Ganymede Station ready for unpacking.

View attachment 10444 View attachment 10445 View attachment 10446

Assembly of the drop cradle is identical except for the drogue being only rocket based without an atmosphere to help out. I went for a double garage set up as a test unit and included about 7 times more kick than i needed to lift it in the drop (it hovers at 13%) but still massively underestimated the approach speed and hover slammed so hard that the game crashed, never mind the land configuration. Managed to ground it using unbreakable parts purely because I needed to test the rovers driving ability (since re-designed it with a better COG and approach angles as it was very nose heavy and tended to smash the nose capsule off or roll over).

That lifter looks a lot like my fireball (except better), is this just a case of great minds think alike?