

After getting on the ground it’s the usual procedure to get out, take some surface samples and plant a flag. The launch to the Mun is trivial now, and once there I’m aiming for the Northern Basin to satisfy the contract. There are the same two “Thor” solid fuel boosters as for the Odin I, but a slightly smaller main booster fuel tank. This is strapped to a slightly smaller launcher than the last Odin launch, but I felt there was more than enough delta-v to go with a little bit less. I’ve also added a shielded docking port to the top since there is no survey probe for this mission. I was a little concerned that the suspension couldn’t quite take the weight of the lander. The Odin II is a very small upgrade, more science and changing the landing legs for heavier landing legs. Then just collect the low and high orbit data and then leave the satellite alone for 180 days.Įven before the contract is completed properly there is still 692 science available to spend so I get the Composites technology Then it’s easy to drop the periapsis down close to the surface to increase the eccentricity, although this isn’t enough to complete the contract so I have to increase the apoapsis as well. During the transfer I collect some science form around Kerbin and transmit it back to KSC.Īfter circularising the orbit around the Mun at 400km I change the inclination to 130 degrees to meet the contract requirements. The trajectory is slightly different to the usual as I’m less concerned about saving fuel than making sure the solar panels are illuminated when I circularise at the Mun. Launching into a 160km orbit is done via a very small launch vehicle and once into orbit the Tesla I detaches from the orbital stage of the rocket, unpacks all its solar panels and sets off on the transfer burn to the Mun. It’s also covered in solar panels to feed the power hungry ion engine. It’s on board experiments are a Plasma Radio Wave Scanner and a Magnetomter. These are based around the new ion engines which are powered of Xenon and Electric Charge and give even this initial satellite a delta-v of over 7000m/s. The Tesla I is the first in a new generation of fully electric ultra long range satellites. I’ve now got 414 science so I pick up the Advanced Aerodynamics technology. I don’t seem to be getting any of the missions that pay silly money yet and my reputation gains are suffering horribly with the total 90% loss.

It’s a simple case of launching, landing in the sea and then disabling the engine, changing the staging and firing it again.Īfter this mission I decide to drop the 40% Fundraising Campaign strategy as I don’t really think it’s paying off. They asked for the Moa engine from the Space-Y to be tested splashed down at kerbin for a few funds and 210 science. This post started life when I decided to do three fairly simple missions to move things along a bit without too much fuss or ado – hence combining three into one post.
