KerbalX

Description

The largest and most capable surface vehicle the Kerbal Propulsion Lab has ever assembled, or ever will in all likelyhood. Even compared to traditional stationary surface bases the Exoloper wants for nothing. It keeps a smaller parasite rover onboard and either a lander or a small aircraft on top deployable via crane. Able to quickly refuel landed vehicles of all sizes and host a not-insignificant number of crew. comes equipped with every scientific instrument and scanner.

A stock aircraft called Exoloper + Delivery System. Built with 452 of the finest parts, its root part is mk2LanderCabin.v2.

Built in the VAB in KSP version 1.12.3.

Notes

These notes relate specifically to the rocket that carries Exoloper. To learn about Exoloper’s quirks and capabilities see it’s standalone page here

The Exoloper launcher is a bit of a beast. Those intending to take Exoloper to either Tylo or Moho will have to do some extra steps to pull it off.

This launcher offers no aerodynamic protection to the rover, so it has quite a bit of drag. For best results, use a steeper than usual ascent profile. Once in orbit, open the service bay doors on top of the tall rocket stacks to expose the solar panels to light.

The final stage of this rocket is designed to land with Exoloper standing up on it’s back end. From there you’ll want to tip the whole thing over onto its wheels, but gently. Use the landing gear action group to switch between main thrusters and landing thrusters, which are a couple of vectors in the service bays. Use these to make sure to front of the rocket touches down softly or else Exoloper might just explode.

Moho & Tylo

In order to take Exoloper to Moho or Tylo, you’ll need to fly the rocket to orbit without dropping any stages. This is a bit trickier than flying it normally. You should have enough dV left over to land the entire rocket on Minmus where it can be re-fuelled with another craft. I might suggest L-49 Laboriosa. Fully re-fuelled on Minmus, Exoloper’s launcher has enough dV to take it anywhere in the stock system easily.

I suppose you could just re-fuel it in low Kerbin orbit, too, if you wanted.

Details

• Type: VAB
• Class: lifter
• Part Count: 452
• Pure Stock
• KSP: 1.12.3

UPDATES:

12-03-21: Updated Exoloper to latest version. Re-designed Launcher for better performance and reliability.

06-09-22: Fixed Rover Mini S pre-installed in rover bay