Challenge XR2 to the moon, deploying a SAT and returning on ONE tank

[Grover]

Level one challenge:
load up an XR2 at WIN with a CHM, DGIV MTKSSAT (i just posted an edited config file on OH) and an auxillary fuel tank, take off, and get to a 200-300km lunar orbit. then deploy the SAT and descend to any lunar base (i use armstrong)
then, return to earth back to WHERE YOU STARTED, without taking on any fuel or oxygen at the lunar base

RULES:
no refuelling once the mains are ignited at WIN
overall mission should last no longer than 8 days (a round trip to the moon should take 7 days and a few hours)
you cannot land anywhere except on a landing pad or runway
you cannot leave the CHM or any UMMUs along the way (you may drop the empty fuel tank, AS LONG AS IT IS DESTROYED AFTER (realism check here)
Satalite must finish in stable orbit (difference between ApA and PeA <15km)


Level two challenge
the same as the above, but without the auxillary fuel tank im not sure that this is even possible


HINTS:
the SAT weighs just over 500kg, so get rid of it as soon as you're in STABLE lunar orbit
lunar transfer MFD is incredibly accurrate, and will only require one MCC if any at all
its impossible if you go from TEI to LEO using your engines, you'll need to do an aerobrake to get to LEO, and if you can go straight to re-entry, even better


let me hear your stories! i tried it in a DGIV (without extra fuel), and its very possible, but i failed at the last minute as i rolled out of the aerobrake (i felt like punching the monitor )

 

[Tommy]

What settings are used for the XR-2? I'd suggest posting a scenario using the XR-2 config over-rides so that everyone is using the same ship.

 

[Grover]

good point, that would spoil the challenge

i meant using it on default settings (i just rebooted my orbiter install, so theres no edits at all)

ill work out how to work the overrides and post a scenario

later dawg

 

[dgatsoulis]

Level two challenge
the same as the above, but without the auxillary fuel tank im not sure that this is even possible

It should be possible, but very tight on fuel.
An initial estimate:
With a typical ascent, after achieving LEO, an XR2 with full crew, CHM and half a ton of cargo should have ~8.5 km/s dv.
(~65% main fuel, 100% RCS, ~50kg of APU fuel and oxygen for 8 days).
The TLI will take ~3.15 km/s + ~0.15 km/s for MCC/base alignment.
LOI burn is ~0.85 km/s. (deploy cargo)
Landing ~2.2 km/s
Takeoff ~1.7 km/s
TEI ~0.9 to 1 km/s (with corrections).
So: 3.15+0.15+0.85+2.20+1.70+1.00=9.05 km/s from LEO to the moon and back.
:hmm: Have to figure out a way to save about 0.5 km/s during the launch, which means that after a perfect SCRAM ascent and before the TLI burn the XR2 needs to have at least 9 km/s of dv. In order to do that, the main fuel after achieving LEO must be about 68%-69%.
:idea: Better go and brush up my ascent technique.

:thumbup:Thanks for the challenge Grover. See if you can post a scenario with everything in it. Just leave the date open, so we can try our own launch windows.

 

[Grover]

i just had a shot, and what a run!

ascent went well, and so did TLI, base alignment (armstrong base) and the first half of the descent, but i made a big error:

i did the base alignment for the earlier orbit, so i was a few kms out on my actual landing orbit :facepalm:

but it was no big deal, i still had 20% main fuel left, so getting onto the pad was no problem

then on the descent, i was all over the show, wasting alot of fuel hovering 500m above the base :facepalm::facepalm:

after a quick lunar mission to find the co-ordinates of the hab building to fix my VOR placement somewhere other than right over pad 1, i launched again, concious that my fuel was dangerously low (initial calculations showed that i had JUST enough)

after TEI i tried two methods for aerobraking, the first bored me to tears, so i did some reading, and found that i was doing it wrong (i used the low-AoA solution rather than the high one, giving a deceleration of 1m/s^2 rather than 1G :facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:

after that, i was desperate for fuel... after orbit alignment (a mercifully short burn, about 10s) i did de-orbit, leaving just 0.4 kg of main fuel left... thats right, 0.4kg, NOT 0.4%

than halfway through re-entry, the RCS fuel ran dry as well, leaving me on just aerodynamics, instead of rocket science

then orbiter CTDd when i tried to open a second instance of glideslope MFD, leaving me rather annoyed

ill give it another try tomorrow, but my level two chalenge seems to be impossible, even with a PERFECT flight

and here's my scenario, check you have the DGIV installed and my recent config update for the DGIV MTKSSAT

BEGIN_DESC

END_DESC

BEGIN_ENVIRONMENT
  System Sol
  Date MJD 57316.5223315324
END_ENVIRONMENT

BEGIN_FOCUS
  Ship XR2
END_FOCUS

BEGIN_CAMERA
  TARGET XR2
  MODE Cockpit
  FOV 50.00
END_CAMERA

BEGIN_HUD
  TYPE Surface
END_HUD

BEGIN_MFD Left
  TYPE Orbit
  PROJ Ship
  FRAME Equator
  ALT
  REF Earth
END_MFD

BEGIN_MFD Right
  TYPE OAlign
  REF Earth
  TARGET Moon
END_MFD

BEGIN_PANEL
END_PANEL

BEGIN_SHIPS
XR2:XR2Ravenstar
  STATUS Landed Earth
  POS -14.4310100 -7.9719500
  HEADING 118.16
  RCSMODE 0
  AFCMODE 7
  PRPLEVEL 0:1.000000 1:1.000000 2:1.000000
  IDS 0:203 100
  NAVFREQ 0 0 0 0
  XPDR 201
  SECONDARY_HUD 2
  LAST_ACTIVE_SECONDARY_HUD 0
  ADCTRL_MODE 7
  TAKEOFF_LANDING_CALLOUTS 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000
  APU_FUEL_QTY 0.997989
  LOX_QTY 1.000000
  CABIN_O2_LEVEL 0.209000
  CREW_STATE 0
  INTERNAL_SYSTEMS_FAILURE 0
  COGSHIFT_MODES 0 0 0
  MWS_ACTIVE 0
  COOLANT_TEMP 31.200000
  DMG_0 1.000000 Left Wing
  DMG_1 1.000000 Right Wing
  DMG_2 1.000000 Left Aileron
  DMG_3 1.000000 Right Aileron
  DMG_4 1.000000 Landing Gear
  DMG_5 1.000000 Nosecone
  DMG_6 1.000000 Retro Doors
  DMG_7 1.000000 Top Hatch
  DMG_8 1.000000 Radiator
  DMG_9 1.000000 Airbrake
  DMG_10 1.000000 Left Main Engine
  DMG_11 1.000000 Right Main Engine
  DMG_12 1.000000 Left SCRAM Engine
  DMG_13 1.000000 Right SCRAM Engine
  DMG_14 1.000000 Fore Hover Engine
  DMG_15 1.000000 Aft Hover Engine
  DMG_16 1.000000 Left Retro Engine
  DMG_17 1.000000 Right Retro Engine
  DMG_18 1.000000 Forward Lower RCS
  DMG_19 1.000000 Aft Upper RCS
  DMG_20 1.000000 Forward Upper RCS
  DMG_21 1.000000 Aft Lower RCS
  DMG_22 1.000000 Forward Star. RCS
  DMG_23 1.000000 Aft Port RCS
  DMG_24 1.000000 Forward Port RCS
  DMG_25 1.000000 Aft Star. RCS
  DMG_26 1.000000 Outboard Upper Port RCS
  DMG_27 1.000000 Outboard Lower Star. RCS
  DMG_28 1.000000 Outboard Upper Star. RCS
  DMG_29 1.000000 Outboard Lower Port RCS
  DMG_30 1.000000 Aft RCS
  DMG_31 1.000000 Forward RCS
  DMG_32 1.000000 Bay Doors
  IS_CRASHED 0
  MET_STARTING_MJD 57316.388844
  INTERVAL1_ELAPSED_TIME -1.000000
  INTERVAL2_ELAPSED_TIME -1.000000
  MET_RUNNING 1
  INTERVAL1_RUNNING 0
  INTERVAL2_RUNNING 0
  ACTIVE_MDM 3
  TEMP_SCALE 2
  CUSTOM_AUTOPILOT_MODE 0
  AIRSPEED_HOLD_ENGAGED 0
  SCRAM0DIR 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
  SCRAM1DIR 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
  HOVER_BALANCE 0.000000
  MAIN0DIR 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
  MAIN1DIR 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000
  GIMBAL_BUTTON_STATES 0 0 0 0 0 0
  ATTITUDE_HOLD_DATA 0.000000 0.000000 0 0 0.000000
  DESCENT_HOLD_DATA 0.000000 -3.000000 0
  AIRSPEED_HOLD_DATA 0.000000
  OVERRIDE_INTERLOCKS 0 0
  TERTIARY_HUD_ON 1
  CREW_DISPLAY_INDEX 0
  GEAR 1 1.0000
  RCOVER 0 0.0000
  NOSECONE 0 0.0000
  AIRLOCK 0 0.0000
  IAIRLOCK 0 0.0000
  CHAMBER 0 0.0000
  AIRBRAKE 0 0.0000
  RADIATOR 0 0.0000
  HATCH 0 0.0000
  SCRAM_DOORS 0 0.0000
  HOVER_DOORS 0 0.0000
  BAY_DOORS 0 0.0000
  APU_STATUS 1
  EXTCOOLING_STATUS 1
  TRIM 0.000000
  LIGHTS 0 0 0
  XRUMMU_CREW_DATA_VALID 1
  UMMUCREW XI0-Lee_Nash-39-65-78
  UMMUCREW XI1-Kara_Miller-32-65-58
  UMMUCREW XI2-Sharon_Valerii-26-67-54
  UMMUCREW XI3-Cameron_Mitchell-36-65-77
  UMMUCREW XI4-Samantha_Carter-33-66-53
  UMMUCREW XI5-Daniel_Jackson-35-68-75
  UMMUCREW XI6-Teal_c-31-64-104
  UMMUCREW XI7-Vala_Mal_Doran-30-67-53
  UMMUCREW XI8-Elizabeth_Weir-36-68-56
  UMMUCREW XI9-John_Sheppard-34-64-77
  UMMUCREW XI10-Rodney_McKay-35-72-90
  UMMUCREW XI11-Teyla_Emmagan-27-68-57
  UMMUCREW XI12-Ronon_Dex-32-63-97
  UMMUCREW XI13-Carson_Beckett-38-74-95
  PAYLOAD_SCREENS_DATA 0.2 0 1 0
END
XR2_Bay:XRPayloadBay
  STATUS Landed Earth
  POS -168.0527450 0.4912814
  HEADING 66.57
  ATTACHED 0:3,XR2
  AFCMODE 7
END
XR2PayloadCHM-01-1:XR2PayloadCHM
  STATUS Landed Earth
  POS -14.4310100 -7.9719500
  HEADING 118.16
  ATTACHED 0:0,XR2
  AFCMODE 7
  NAVFREQ 0 0
END
DGIVMTKSSAT-02-1:DGIVMTKSSAT
  STATUS Landed Earth
  POS -14.4310100 -7.9719500
  HEADING 118.16
  ATTACHED 1:1,XR2
  AFCMODE 7
  NAVFREQ 0 0
  PowerUpStep 0
END
XR2PayloadMainFuel-03-1:XR2PayloadMainFuel
  STATUS Landed Earth
  POS -14.4310100 -7.9719500
  HEADING 118.16
  ATTACHED 0:2,XR2
  AFCMODE 7
  PRPLEVEL 0:1.000000
  NAVFREQ 0 0
END
END_SHIPS

good luck guys, see you back at WIN!

 

[dgatsoulis]

...but my level two chalenge seems to be impossible, even with a PERFECT flight

:lol:

Level 2 challenge, completed. Not really a perfect flight, but close.
Playback attached.

 

[Bam45]

I'm still learning some things in orbiter but I thought I would give this a shot, only just learned how to use Trans X and get back from the moon the other day .

I'm not sure where WIN is but I launch from wideawake international, got a descent orbit above 200km with around 68-70% fuel and played around with Trans X till it seemed we came to an agreement (probably played with it for a good 5 mins).

Ended up pretty high around the moon (I think I was over a million high but I made it, my 4th successful moon intercept I think.) Brought the orbit down too low, was looking at the wrong numbers and had to bring the orbit back up to 100k. Ended up with a 110k orbit with 0 Ecc and put the Satellite in space. (Looking at the challenge post I should of used the DGIV MTKSSAT, but I grabbed the Carina. I'm not sure how much it weighs but it was the only thing I knew of that was small enough to fit in a XR2.)

Had about 35% fuel I believe, thought for sure I would have to land at Brighton Beach and refuel. Ended up touching down with 18% fuel and transferred some rcs fuel to main to bring it up to 19%. At this point it was a hard decision, only just recently figured out how to get back to earth and wasn't sure if id end up floating in space with out fuel.

While siting on the moon playing with TransX, got every thing set up and decided to go for it. Made my way into a realy low orbit and made my ejection burn ended up showing about 1million metters too high and did some retro to bring it down to 70km. At this point I got a little nervous, I never attemtped an inverted re-entry or a re-entry from the moon.

Started to watch my altitude drop rapidly and closed the hatches for re-entry. Did what I normaly do bring up the map but left the orbit where arobrake normally is, changed some settings with auto pilot and thought crap, there's no setting for inverted re-entry and quickly pitched the space ship over to a 60 AOA inverted re-entry. Always looked like something fun to try and it was pretty cool but one of the longest re-entry's I've had in awhile.

Had some trouble rolling the ship to a normally re-entry attitude and found that wideawake international was just a bit up ahead and only 10 degrees off to the left. Not bad for not trying to aim for any thing but wanted to get back to wideawake.

After coasting for a bit and having to deploy radiator as I made some what of a distance glide and having that alarm go off then a fuel alarm went off not to far away from landing.

Touched down, Taxied back to my hanger and parked it.

Main Fuel: 2% - 339.9kg
RCS Fuel: 17.3% - 139.0kg
Scram: 0% - 0kg
APU: 58.00kg
Oxygen: 57Kg

Time: 11d 20h 29m 0s

Brought 1 extra fuel tank, it stayed with me from take off till touch down.
I know that I didn't follow the challenge exactly and I don't have a recording of it but I didn't think I would be able to do it with out refueling and just wanted to share.

 

[Grover]

not abd for a first attempt Bam, respect there man

ill check out dgatsoulis' playback now, ill beimpressed to see it done when i thought it impossible!

 

[jgrillo2002]

Seems like a great challenge. I might take it once I get the addons that I lost.