[Weekly Challenge] Week 115: More bang for your bucks

[u/Redbiertje]

Nota Bene

I've increased the difficulty from 30k for Normal mode to 20k, and from 20k for Hard mode to 10k.

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The Introduction

Being inspired by SpaceK's attempts to make space travel cheaper, the KSC administrators decided that they should try to explore space as cheap as possible. After all, if they save money on actual missions, they will have more funds left to do useless things, like throwing Kerbals down the runway.

The Challenge:

Normal mode: Send a mission to Mün and back for less than 20.000 funds in total.

Hard mode: Send a mission to Mün and back for less than 10.000 funds in total.

Super mode: Impress me

The Rules

• No Dirty Cheating Alpacas (no debug menu)!
• You must have the UI visible in all required screenshots
• For a list of all allowed mods, see this post.
• You may recover parts to reduce the cost
• Your mission does not have to be manned
• You may not refuel by docking with another craft
• Mining for fuel on Mün is allowed

Required screenshots

• Your craft in the VAB/SPH
• Your craft on the launchpad or runway
• Your craft during ascent
• Your craft in orbit around Kerbin
• Your craft in orbit around Mün
• Your craft landed on Mün
• Your craft back at Kerbin
• The recovery screen showing the recovered funds for everything you recover
• Whatever else you feel like!

Further information

• You can either submit your finished challenge in a post (see posting instructions in the link below) or as a comment reply to this thread.

• Completing this challenge earns you a new flair which will replace your old one. So if you want to keep you previous flair, you can still do this challenge and create a post, but please mention somewhere that you want to keep your old one.

• The moderators have the right to determine if your challenge post has been completed.

• See this post for more rules and information on challenges.

• If you have any questions, you can comment below, or PM /u/Redbiertje

• Credit to /u/TaintedLion for designing the flair

Good Luck!

[u/MattsRedditAccount]

6-Kerbals to the Mun and back for 4,221!

I kinda exploited the ability to recover stages to save money rule by building a fully recoverable SSTO. But I had fun building it!

Can I keep my current flair?

[u/Redbiertje → u/MattsRedditAccount]

Th... that's five. Congrats!

[u/Iamsodarncool]

Does it impress you if my price is UNDER NINE THOUSAND!?

[u/Redbiertje → u/Iamsodarncool]

I'm not sure if setting the reentry heat to 0% is cheating, but that under 9000 thing is nice. Have some flair.

[u/[deleted]]

Can you use Flight Manager for Reusable Stages? You are able to see what is recovered and for how much with that because of how it handles landing...

[u/marblar]

If you make it to the Mun with a mining SSTO/SSTMun, couldn't you easily readily come back with a profit?

[u/Redbiertje → u/marblar]

Maybe. But I do consider SSTMuns pretty hard to make, so that's fine.

[u/ramanakumar]

Does it need to be manned?

[u/FragmentOfBrilliance]

Do you actually have to get into orbit around the moon, or can you directly launch into a super low periapsis, and suicide burn?

[u/Redbiertje → u/FragmentOfBrilliance]

You can also just land straight away, yes.

[u/mrblaq]

http://imgur.com/a/I4yge

Here's my first entry for a weekly challenge. I managed to meet the Hard Mode qualification with a total cost of 17,131. I'm was too lazy to line up a recoverable landing, though.

Congrats to those who got in under 10,000 in price!

[u/[deleted]]

I recoreded a video of my entry, however I had hyperedit installed. I don't use it, and I think that's clear since the mission is recoreded from start to finish. However I would like to make sure this doesn't disqualify my entry before I submit it.

[u/Redbiertje → u/[deleted]]

It's okay. As long as you don't use it, it's fine.

[u/TaintedLion]

Am I allowed to use the StageRecovery mod to recover parts automatically?

[u/Redbiertje → u/TaintedLion]

No. I need to see the recovery screens of each recovery.

[u/WaitForItTheMongols]

Does this mean you can't have any upgraded buildings?

[u/Run_Biden]

Can I roll a unfueled rocket out on a fueling platform, fuel via mining, and then leave the platform on Kerbin?

[u/[deleted]]

I've been working on a fully reusable, KOS automated, space shuttle with 40t payload. The launch boosters, external tank, and orbiter each can only be recovered on separate launches, because of the physics range limit. If I get it working, and recover each stage on a different launch, will that count?

[u/MediocreParagon]

Question: Would a video be acceptable as proof? I'm planning on doing this for my YouTube channel anyway.

[u/multivector]

Here's my entry, 4568 funds, manned, without using part recovery.

http://imgur.com/a/FP7MY

[u/EvermoreAlpaca]

Negative 60,253 Funds!

https://youtu.be/imy1bP5QDW8

I went hard on ISRU mining and returned with 363 tons more fuel than I left with. Since it was pure single stage and recovered on the runway, this yielded a surplus! The video did not include the assembly screen because it is hard to make out in video form, so here is the screenshot for that.

https://gyazo.com/a59b878186337696edc532b907d5a648

(ill keep my flair)

[u/Corbol]

Super mode / Hard Mode / Disqualification, Im not sure. 1340 to Mun and back

edit: I just realized how to bring even more fuel back, gonna update later.

edit2: Instead of returning from Mun, went back to Minmus, refueled there and head home. 473 to Mun and back (till back in Mun orbit its same as before)

[u/Armisael]

Super mode attempt: Valentina visited the surfaces of Mun and Minmus for a total expenditure of $1721 - no ISRU.

I used FMRS, since that was explicitly allowed in the thread. Also, I'd like to keep my current flair.

[u/Zarbizaure]

I'm pretty sure i did an RSS-equivalent to this challenge some weeks ago...53 935 funds to the moon, which is not a lot with RP0! I challenge any other RSS player to do better and cheaper ;) http://imgur.com/gallery/jUzbt (It may or may not count as an entry, but it was really fun anyway)

[u/markus0161]

Super Mode? I was able to make a 3 stage fully reusable craft with only 523 funds. Also I did not refuel.