KerbalX

Description

A true workhorse of a rocket for any space exploration program, capable of carrying a several-Kerbal capsule or large cargo ship up into orbit. This version is specialised for carrying the MK lander and its upper stage into orbit.

A stock rocket called Koyuz MK-1. Built with 174 of the finest parts, its root part is Decoupler.0.

The Koyuz MK-1 carries the second half of the munship that we started with the Koyuz MO-1, composed of the MK (Munniy Korabl) munar lander atop its (slightly-cut-down) Mega D-Block upper stage. It’s meant to be launched unmanned, and docked with the Koyuz-MOK once in orbit; the Mega D-Block then propels the assembled spacecraft to the Mun and brakes it into munar orbit. At this point, one kerbal EVAs from the MOK’s orbital module over to the MK and enters its crew cabin (a single-seat Onion, which, conveniently, is the same spherical shape as the cabin of the real-life LK lunar lander, the basis for the MK). The MK and MOK then undock, and the Mega D-Block ignites for a third time, sending the MK onto a suborbital trajectory and providing braking thrust for a large part of the powered descent, before its propellants are finally exhausted and the upper stage is jettisoned to crash into the Mun, with the MK’s own engines and propellants taking over. (In retrospect, the MK-1’s Mega D-Block is rather way overpowered; feel free to nerf it as you deem appropriate.)

The MK brakes to a soft landing using a Spark main engine; a pair of backup Twitch engines are also provided should something happen to the Spark (the thrust on the Twitches is dialled down somewhat, so that both Twitches combined produce the same amount of thrust as the main Spark), replicating the single-bore main and double-barreled backup engines on the real LK. The MK’s four landing legs, as well as a ladder and a pair of deployable HG-5 antennae, are mounted on a decoupler ringing the engines, and are decoupled and left behind when the MK lifts off from the Mun (again as in the real LK - I wouldn’t have designed it to leave the HG-5s behind if I weren’t trying to replicate a real-world design that did just that!). The MK should have enough propellants to get into a safe orbit, plus some reserve margin, but you’ll probably have to manoeuvre the MOK to a rendezvous with the MK, rather than the other way around. Once the two spacecraft have once again reached each others’ vicinity, they dock together again, and the munwalking kerbal EVAs back over to the MOK, along with whatever science they scraped up from the Mun.

After this, the MOK undocks from the MK for the last time and burns for trans-Kerbin injection, leaving the MK behind; reentry and landing are much the same as for a regular Koyuz reentry, albeit entering the atmosphere at munar return speed rather than the lower entry speeds encountered when reentering from cismunar space.

Most of the notes from the Koyuz 1 also apply to the MK-1 (just as for the MO-1); one obvious exception is that the MK-1, being designed to be launched unmanned, has no launch escape system.

(I added a Steadler RGU to the Koyuz upper stage to allow it to fly autonomously to a rendezvous with the Koyuz-MOK in low Kerbin orbit, plus some small OX-STAT solar panels to help keep the vehicle’s batteries from going flat before it can dock to the MOK; just pretend those aren’t there.)

Built in the VAB in KSP version 1.9.0.

Details

• Type: VAB
• Class: lander
• Part Count: 174
• Pure Stock
• KSP: 1.9.0