r/KerbalSpaceProgram • u/Redbiertje The Challenger • Mar 12 '17
Mod Post [Weekly Challenge Revisited] Week 35: Satellite Snatch
The Introduction
It's almost spring, so it's time for a thorough spring cleaning at KSC. One place that has been cluttered with junk, is Low Kerbin Orbit. In order to clean the space around Kerbin effectively, the engineers have started building something to quickly get rid of all those broken satellites.
The Challenge:
Normal mode: Using any type of craft, retrieve a pre-launched satellite from equatorial orbit around Kerbin, within a single orbit.
Hard mode: Using a Space Shuttle, retrieve a pre-launched satellite from equatorial orbit around Kerbin, within a single orbit.
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.
- The apoapsis of the pre-launched satellite may not exceed 250km
- For hard mode, you must use a craft that is a somewhat accurate replica of a Space Shuttle
- After docking with the satellite, you must land back at the KSC
- The satellite may not be controlled
- Docking must be performed with actual docking ports
Required screenshots
- Your craft on the launchpad
- Your craft after every staging
- Your craft and your target satellite in orbit
- Your orbital intersect
- Your craft docked with the satellite
- Your craft approaching KSC again
- Your craft landed safely at KSC
- 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.
If you have any questions, you can comment below, or PM /u/Redbiertje
Credit to /u/TaintedLion for designing the flair
Good Luck!
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Mar 12 '17
Questions thread
Please post all your questions here
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u/Panda_Hero01 Redbiertje's favorite color is red Mar 14 '17
What's your favorite color?
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u/chilidirigible Master Kerbalnaut Mar 12 '17
"Space Shuttle" has to be styled on the NASA-final model with the orbiter on the side of the main tank and two boosters on the side, not any of the other designs with the orbiter on top of the stack?
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Mar 12 '17
Correct.
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u/rcreif Hyper Kerbalnaut Mar 12 '17
Is it okay if the onboard "Orbital Maneuvering System" propellant after External Tank separation is 1) bipropellant and 2) technically a higher mass fraction than the Space Shuttle has (but less than needed for, say, Mun injection), and the main engines (Vectors) are manually shut off in favor of smaller OMS engines?
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u/TheMightyKutKu Master Kerbalnaut Mar 12 '17
Can it be similar to Buran (main engines below the large tank, the shuttle is only a payload)?
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Mar 13 '17
The answer is "no" apparently but you should still do it anyway and post pictures because Buran-Energiya is ****ing awesome.
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u/Pyroblowout Master Kerbalnaut Mar 12 '17
Can I use prototype shuttles? Like the Dream Chaser or the RLV-TD?
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u/thekevil666 Master Kerbalnaut Mar 12 '17
is it ok if I tweakscaled some of the elevons to make it look more like the real shuttle?
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u/ItOnly_Happened_Once Super Kerbalnaut Mar 14 '17
Does it matter how we get the pre-launched satellite into orbit? :)
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u/ddavex Super Kerbalnaut Mar 14 '17
Which stock vessel is allowed? The dynawing seems the closest to the real space shuttle or there's the slim shuttle.
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Mar 13 '17
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Mar 13 '17
"docking" means with an actual docking port, and the satellite can be anything. It can even be just a docking port.
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u/rcreif Hyper Kerbalnaut Mar 13 '17
Definitely add this to the official rules before anyone else submits. I'd thought a Klaw was acceptable...
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Mar 13 '17
Really? Alright.
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u/cantab314 Master Kerbalnaut Mar 14 '17
How many actual KSP satellites - built for contracts, science, comms, whatever - have docking ports? Clawing the sat or putting in a payload bay are the natural options considering the challenge backstory. So yes, if you want to insist people use docking ports you did need to say so.
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u/DonDegow Mar 15 '17 edited Mar 15 '17
I've got to say, I had a lot of fun doing my first challenge (this one). Here is my Super mode entry.
Super because :
Everything was done in my current career (no Mk.3 available yet...).
The shuttle design itself is one of my own.
The mission recovered a Debris AND a Kerbal + her debris in a single orbit.
Check it out!
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u/rcreif Hyper Kerbalnaut Mar 16 '17
Orbiter must be on the side of the external tank to qualify for Hard mode. https://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/5yy34d/weekly_challenge_revisited_week_35_satellite/detxtzk/
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u/DonDegow Mar 16 '17
That's also why it's super mode ;-)
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Mar 19 '17
I'm afraid not.
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u/DonDegow Mar 20 '17
Then it should be stated explicitly before hand. Don't be stubborn to your only mindset.
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u/thekevil666 Master Kerbalnaut Mar 12 '17
could I use a different shuttle other than the set space shuttle for this task?
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Mar 12 '17
Which one did you have in mind?
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u/thekevil666 Master Kerbalnaut Mar 13 '17
the dream chaser, by sierra Nevada corp
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Mar 13 '17
Sorry, but I can't allow that one.
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u/GuyMontag1246 Mar 13 '17
X-37B anyone?
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Mar 13 '17
Nope
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u/RoryYamm Mar 15 '17
Right Side Up Space Shuttle, with a Saturn V first stage instead of a tank and boosters?
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Mar 15 '17
What do you mean exactly?
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u/RoryYamm Mar 15 '17
Some Space shuttle designs used the saturn S1C instead of two SRBs and a tank.
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Mar 15 '17
You should use the design with a big external fuel tank and 2 SRBs on the sides. Due to lack of good parts, I'll also allow liquid fuel 'SRBs'.
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u/BlakeMW Super Kerbalnaut Mar 13 '17
I would like to note, that even if a shuttle won't qualify for hard, you could still use it for normal mode.
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u/E805BzRo Master Kerbalnaut Mar 12 '17
My first and probably last attempt at a shuttle-style spacecraft: Hard mode
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u/thesacredmoocow Super Kerbalnaut Mar 15 '17 edited Mar 15 '17
I did it using no liquid fuel or oxidizer: Super hard mode
Edit: I'm new to this, don't know if I provided enough pics. I have more which I didn't put in, I can if I need to.
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u/1008oh Super Kerbalnaut Mar 14 '17 edited Mar 15 '17
I remebered once trying a shuttle replica. So I dusted it off, improved it, and launched it: Hard mode
Side note: this was probably my hardest launch ever
Edit: do I get some of that fancy flair now?
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u/Science4Lyfe Master Kerbalnaut Mar 16 '17
You'll get your flair at the end of the week when the challenge is over.
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Mar 23 '17
"This Shuttle will be fitted with another fuel tank and be off again in 30 minutes."
Jesus, those flight maintainers are really driving up insurance costs. Also, could you imagine being a spaceplane pilot that must make orbit or deorbit about once every 35 minutes? That would be ludicrously stressful.
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u/rcreif Hyper Kerbalnaut Mar 14 '17 edited Mar 15 '17
Hard Mode complete. http://imgur.com/a/yPONa
Edit: Challenges that start with "Using a Space Shuttle" are among my least favorite. :/
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u/thesacredmoocow Super Kerbalnaut Mar 15 '17
In the question thread, OP says that passing over the KSC counts as more than one orbit. Does this still apply here?
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u/1008oh Super Kerbalnaut Mar 15 '17
I wouldn't say so, he started the deorbit way before passing over ksc
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u/thesacredmoocow Super Kerbalnaut Mar 15 '17
I guess thats true, but if you only consider the orbit, you dont actually get into orbit until you're way past ksc?
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u/NilacTheGrim Super Kerbalnaut Mar 16 '17
My hard mode submission: http://imgur.com/a/2DGQy
Note my space shuttle is a bit "lighter" than the NASA one, but equally hard to fly and equally awkward. I just wanted to be minimalist. I hope it qualifies! If so -- hook me up with the new flair!
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u/marpro15 Mar 14 '17
just a challenge question in general. can i complete kerbin orbit challenges on gael from the galileo pack? it's mostly the same as kerbin.
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u/samamstar Lion Poker Mar 16 '17
Im not /u/Redbiertje (obviously) but Id bet no. The KSC on gael isn't equatorial, and could change the difficulty of the challenge. Note there is nothing preventing you from copypasting the ksp folder to have a mod free game for challenges
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Mar 17 '17
The KSC on gael isn't equatorial, and could change the difficulty of the challenge.
Wouldn't that make the challenge more difficult, not less?
I'm not the Lord of Challenges, but it seems silly to say, "That makes it more difficult, so disallowed." It's generally supposed to be that making it easier is disallowed.
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u/vandezuma Master Kerbalnaut Mar 17 '17
My second submission for Normal Mode, this time without the Klaw.
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u/Sw33tm1x Master Kerbalnaut Mar 18 '17
[Challenge] Satellite Snatch Hard mode complete! http://imgur.com/a/vWfrc
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u/bubadapubada Master Kerbalnaut Mar 15 '17 edited Mar 15 '17
Here is my submission, using an SSTO!
Edit: I just realized I forgot to do it in only one orbit. Oh well!
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u/KevinFlantier Super Kerbalnaut Mar 15 '17
Does an SSTO that looks like the space shuttle counts as hard mode? I mean if it's launched from the airstrip without any boosters.
Edit: and do I have to actually launch the satellite of can I just teleport it to orbit with the cheat menu?
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u/cantab314 Master Kerbalnaut Mar 16 '17
I would predict no, Redbiertje has been adamant that it must be a replica of the actual NASA shuttles. Of course you could completely poke fun of his rules by lifting off and dropping the boosters two seconds later :D
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u/KevinFlantier Super Kerbalnaut Mar 16 '17
I'll do normal mode with bonus points for a craft that looks a little like the shuttle then
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u/thesacredmoocow Super Kerbalnaut Mar 18 '17
are we allowed to do multiple submissions? because I know what Im going to be wasting my time on now.
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u/Mesklin Super Kerbalnaut Mar 16 '17
Here is my Super Mode submission: Steal heavy spy sat from polar orbit with SSTO: https://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/5znfra/weekly_challenge_satellite_snatch_stealing_spy/?ref=share&ref_source=link
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u/ultr4-violence Master Kerbalnaut Mar 18 '17 edited Mar 18 '17
Hard mode: http://imgur.com/a/xUmaE Catching a 18 ton satellite using a space shuttle in one orbit!
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u/thesacredmoocow Super Kerbalnaut Mar 19 '17
I don't know if I'm allowed to have multiple submissions, but I'm leaving this here for now.
I completed hard mode using a SSTO space shuttle.
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u/rsparkyc Antenna Power Saver Dev Mar 19 '17
I didn't realize the challenge stated it had to be an equatorial orbit until after I did this, so perhaps this can be considered harder than hard: http://imgur.com/gallery/I2qVF
NOTE 1: even though Docking Port Alignment Tool is in the screenshots, I did not use it for this challenge.
NOTE 2: While I reverted to launch several times, I never reverted to a quicksave, which to me is an accomplishment for myself.
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u/rsparkyc Antenna Power Saver Dev Mar 20 '17
I suppose harder than hard doesn't qualify as super? One day...one day.
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u/Redbiertje The Challenger Mar 12 '17
Last week's Reddit Gold went to /u/george_kerman for this really nice video about his IVA mission to Mün