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Teetering Rock
Mar. 18th, 2024 05:44 pmWith all the known discoverables on Kerbin and the Mun discovered, the last that I am aware of that can earn some science is on Minmus. According to the forums and the KSP2 Wiki it is located north of the Greater Flats.
Mission Designation : LN-9
Rocket Model : Lunaria UL-II
Total delta-V (to orbit) : 8,842 m/s (4,013 m/s)
Surface TWR : 1.20
Total Mass (to orbit) : 184.07 t (30.46 t)
Dry Mass : 37.93 t
Part Count : 62
Height : 23.79 m
Width : 7.99 m
Length : 3.96 m
Mission Objectives : Discover discoverable on Minmus
Crew : Valentina Kerman, Tim C Kerman, Theobus Kerman
As with most of the other missions, it seems that I arrive on orbit when the landing zone is in darkness. Minmus rotates a lot more quickly than the Mun and so it doesn’t take as long waiting for rotation to bring things around.
I make an orbital pass overhead to see if I can see the actual target but from low Minmus orbit, I can’t see anything. If my Orbital Survey waypoint is accurate, it is on a saddle or hill between two craters. Because this craft6 is designed for the Mun, it has tons of extra delta-V so, even if I don’t land near the target I will have plenty of fuel available to take off again and land there later.
On the next orbit, I burn all the remaining fuel in the transfer stage to descend almost straight down towards the target. When I then go to discard the stage, it gets stuck. The lander has six 48-7S "Spark" engines attached to the bottom of the service module that clip into the stack decoupler. Usually making the staging a little rough but in this instance causing more problems. I do a 360 degree flip to dislodge the stuck stage and then extend the gear.
Approaching the landing, I pan around for the target and think I see it up on a hill. Again, because of Minmus’ lower gravity and plenty of extra delta-V I am able to gain more altitude, slew over, and land right next to the target.
This discoverable is a rock balanced on top of another rock. The base rock is a somewhat triangular block about 8 meters across and 4 or 5 meters above the surface. The rock atop it is more round and about 5 to 6 meters in diameter. It appears to be made of a slightly darker and more rough stone than the rock it is balanced on.
The science region around the teetering rock is quite small, only 26 meters in diameter.
Mission Summary
Mission Elapsed Time : 15d, 2h, 34m
Highest Altitude : 45,633 km
Maximum Velocity : 3,116 m/s
Landing Site : Ocean north of Eastern Strait
Science : 336
Mission Control has two missions for me. The first is to land a 200 ton something on Minmus and while that is well within my technological capabilities, it is only worth 35 points of science. In online interviews, the devs admit this is too low and the next update will likely be increasing this return on investment. I will wait for the update.
The other mission is to investigate a signal from Duna. In the VAB I have been working on the craft that will take me there and back but according to Alexmoon’s Launch Window Planner, that window open up on Year 1, Day 236. At this moment I am at Day 135 and so I have plenty of time to do other things. In fact, there is a launch window right now, or soon, to go to Moho. While there is sure to be a mission to Moho, I hate passing up a launch window when there is science to be had.
That’s for another posting.
Mission Designation : LN-9
Rocket Model : Lunaria UL-II
Total delta-V (to orbit) : 8,842 m/s (4,013 m/s)
Surface TWR : 1.20
Total Mass (to orbit) : 184.07 t (30.46 t)
Dry Mass : 37.93 t
Part Count : 62
Height : 23.79 m
Width : 7.99 m
Length : 3.96 m
Mission Objectives : Discover discoverable on Minmus
Crew : Valentina Kerman, Tim C Kerman, Theobus Kerman
As with most of the other missions, it seems that I arrive on orbit when the landing zone is in darkness. Minmus rotates a lot more quickly than the Mun and so it doesn’t take as long waiting for rotation to bring things around.
I make an orbital pass overhead to see if I can see the actual target but from low Minmus orbit, I can’t see anything. If my Orbital Survey waypoint is accurate, it is on a saddle or hill between two craters. Because this craft6 is designed for the Mun, it has tons of extra delta-V so, even if I don’t land near the target I will have plenty of fuel available to take off again and land there later.
On the next orbit, I burn all the remaining fuel in the transfer stage to descend almost straight down towards the target. When I then go to discard the stage, it gets stuck. The lander has six 48-7S "Spark" engines attached to the bottom of the service module that clip into the stack decoupler. Usually making the staging a little rough but in this instance causing more problems. I do a 360 degree flip to dislodge the stuck stage and then extend the gear.
Approaching the landing, I pan around for the target and think I see it up on a hill. Again, because of Minmus’ lower gravity and plenty of extra delta-V I am able to gain more altitude, slew over, and land right next to the target.
This discoverable is a rock balanced on top of another rock. The base rock is a somewhat triangular block about 8 meters across and 4 or 5 meters above the surface. The rock atop it is more round and about 5 to 6 meters in diameter. It appears to be made of a slightly darker and more rough stone than the rock it is balanced on.
The science region around the teetering rock is quite small, only 26 meters in diameter.
Mission Summary
Mission Elapsed Time : 15d, 2h, 34m
Highest Altitude : 45,633 km
Maximum Velocity : 3,116 m/s
Landing Site : Ocean north of Eastern Strait
Science : 336
Mission Control has two missions for me. The first is to land a 200 ton something on Minmus and while that is well within my technological capabilities, it is only worth 35 points of science. In online interviews, the devs admit this is too low and the next update will likely be increasing this return on investment. I will wait for the update.
The other mission is to investigate a signal from Duna. In the VAB I have been working on the craft that will take me there and back but according to Alexmoon’s Launch Window Planner, that window open up on Year 1, Day 236. At this moment I am at Day 135 and so I have plenty of time to do other things. In fact, there is a launch window right now, or soon, to go to Moho. While there is sure to be a mission to Moho, I hate passing up a launch window when there is science to be had.
That’s for another posting.
