The Grand Tour!

Blazer Ayanami

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#26
Aah yes, I remember this now.

There's also this one:
Grand Solar System Tour Challenge
I also remember the Race Around the System or RATS Challenge.

Ah yes, the good old Grand Tour...
Undoubtedly the most difficult challenge. Especially in 1.4 (since 1.35 didn't have Jupiter).
Yes, but not only that. In 1.35 the Sun was lighter, so it was easier to do interplanetary transfers. Not to mention that we kinda had some sort of drag system back there, unlike in 1.4.

Whoah not everyone can do this!
Not everyone???

Altaïr is the only one that has done this! Why do you think we call him the Space Stig? ;)
 
T

TtTOtW

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#27
I also remember the Race Around the System or RATS Challenge.


Yes, but not only that. In 1.35 the Sun was lighter, so it was easier to do interplanetary transfers. Not to mention that we kinda had some sort of drag system back there, unlike in 1.4.


Not everyone???

Altaïr is the only one that has done this! Why do you think we call him the Space Stig? ;)
I'll challenge that. Tell you what. I'll even do it in 1.4 to be fair.
 

Altaïr

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#29
I also remember the Race Around the System or RATS Challenge.
Oof... Yes, that one was awful o_O
All those failed attempts because I crashed, once in Venus, once in Mercury... or because I ran out of fuel before reaching a station... I sweated very hard before managing to perform the Grand Tour in 31 minutes.

I'll challenge that. Tell you what. I'll even do it in 1.4 to be fair.
Good luck TtTOtW :)

(Uh... Google Translate suggested me "ToOtS" instead of "TtTOtW")
 

James Brown

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#30
If you want to do that mission, you have to do some plannings and calculations
 

Altaïr

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#35
Better idea. I'll do it in half the 1.5 build grid. For convenience sake. Fair? Altaïr?
Using half the build space only?! Looks crazy o_O
But I'm curious to see how you proceed. Of course that's ok to me, anyway the spirit of the challenge is that anyone can use his own rules. The only constraint is that it must be the same capsule that lands everywhere (eventually the same probe...). And no cheats/glitches of course :)
 

Blazer Ayanami

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#36
Using half the build space only?! Looks crazy o_O
But I'm curious to see how you proceed.
Yeah, I’m curious too. I mean, I’ve no doubt TT can make it... but still, using half the space is going to be next to impossible...
 

Blazer Ayanami

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#38
Alright so, Horus and I were talking the other day (joking actually) about people who create an account and 5 minutes later post a challenge like: “make a Grand Tour, single launch, no DLC, no refuel, no pad assembly” and never even return to the forum… that led me to move the Official Challenge Guidelines from Legacy Division, to 1.5 Division. But also inspired me to make… well, a Grand Tour!
I’ll accept all these restrictions, but I’ll do it in 1.35 PC, and I’ll use the DLC.
So, here’s my rocket and the ascent to orbit.
Slide1.JPG

No debris were left in Earth orbit, I even detached the two nosecones while still suborbital. The first target is Venus, obviously, because is the closest and the hardest. My plan is to be as small and efficient as possible. I have a main lander that will land everywhere, and an interplanetary transfer stage that will await in orbit before moving to the next destination (Apollo-style). This is the arrival to Venus:
Slide2.JPG

And this is the escape and the rendezvous with the interplanetary stage.
Slide3.JPG

Yeah, that huge lander I brought down to the surface turned into that little thing I docked to the Mothership. Notice the mothership uses Asparagus staging, Ion propulsion to be efficient and the minimum number of parts.
Okay, so the next destination is Mercury. I had to use 2 Mercurian gravity assists to lower my aphelion to the Graveyard’s level.
Slide4.JPG

For people who are new to the Forum, the “Graveyard” is Mercury. I call it Merc cause is shorter. Here’s the descent to the surface, and the return to the mothership.
Slide5.JPG

So the next target is Mars. To get there, we need to use a gravity assist with Venus to reach Earth, and another with Earth to reach Mars. Let’s fire those Ions for the second planet!
For some weird reason, when I entered Venus’ SOI, I noticed I was on a direct transfer to Earth… “Oh, okay…”. But then when I enter Earth’s SOI, I was also on a direct transfer to Mars… The screenshots will explain:
Slide6.JPG

I have no idea how that happened, I didn’t calculate or time anything, it just happened. By the way, to save weight I didn’t even brought a parachute for Mars, I just did a propulsive landing. When I returned to orbit, I didn’t even have enough fuel to refill the lander.
Slide7.JPG

I decided to keep the mothership only to keep using the Ions. I thought it will be more efficient than using the Broadsword, despite like this I have higher dry mass.

Okay, now that the mission on the Martian system is finished, is time to go for the final destination of the mission: our Moon. The most efficient way to return is to use a bielliptic transfer. Basically, I am going to wait until Mars is in a transfer window to Earth, then, from my current position (Deimos), I am going to burn for Mars, leaving the periapsis just outside the atmosphere, then I’m going to burn for Earth as soon as I reach that periapsis. This maneuver must be done when Deimos is in the correct position of its orbit around Mars.
Slide8.JPG

Yeah, I also used Aerobrake of Earth. Anyway, time for the final landing of the mission: the Moon. It is also time to get rid of the Mothership, it has served us well, but now it needs to go away…
Slide9.JPG

Mission Completed! Grand Tour of the SFS 1.35 Solar System, in a single standard building screen.
 

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Altaïr

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#39
Congratulations on your Grand Tour Blazer

You've finally accomplished all those random dudes' challenge! Now I guess we can work on a Dyson sphere surrounding the Sun, as it is a frequently asked challenge too :D
I already have a launcher that can send a probe in LSO...
 

Blazer Ayanami

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#40
Congratulations on your Grand Tour Blazer

You've finally accomplished all those random dudes' challenge! Now I guess we can work on a Dyson sphere surrounding the Sun, as it is a frequently asked challenge too :D
I already have a launcher that can send a probe in LSO...
Ha, thanks Altair. Yeah, we should work on a Solar Dyson sphere, but not in Low Solar Orbit, but in a 1000 km x 1000 km orbit!
 

James Brown

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#41
Dyson sphere!?! That’s crazy!!!! There will be difficulties isn’t it?
 

James Brown

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#46
I'm so sorry if I offended someone
 

Marmilo

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#49
You will be missed, James...