RichWall's To the Moon Direct 2.0

Based on Wernher Von Braun’s Original Plan to land on the Moon.

Features: Lander, Two very stable Moon Rovers, Plantable Flag, Capsule Control Panel, Complete mission from Launch to Parachutes.

Credit: Built for use in Hyperpatch’s Solar System 1.5.3.

Credit: FUTUREby322 - Vehicle Chassis 3

Credit: Canada Duck - Texture and Ornamentation by example.

Credit: SimpleRocketPlayer – American Flag

Credit: MasterOfNone – Command Seat 2.0

Instructions and suggestions:

First Stage – Since the gimble is only 2.5% you will need to pitch down to 20 degrees right after clearing the tower. When the ship reaches 35 Degrees pull back to 90 degrees to slow the rotational momentum and then quickly pitch to 10 degrees for separation.

Interstage – All stage separations will be stage separation first, next stage engines on, the Interstage separation last. 3 spacebar hits for each stage.

Second Stage – Keep the Second Stage at 10 Degrees pitch for the entire burn.

Third stage – Pitch to 15 degrees and then zero at 7000 Km/sec. Your fuel should be about 25% left after reaching orbit.

TLI Burn – DV should be around 3.15 km/sec. Then do a correction burn halfway to the moon.

Lunar Orbit – Aim for 50 km above the surface. Circularize also at 50 Km. Now you are ready to pick a landing spot.

My method to landing is to eliminate all tangential velocity and do a vertical landing. (I’ll learn to do it right someday)
When in the landing phase the 4th stage is still attached and will contain 12 – 6 % fuel left to slow the decent velocity. This is enough to conserve fuel in the Lander for the return to Earth.

After the landing – EVA all the 4 crew members first, but there is no set order for these next steps. I raise the Landing Legs to set the bottom on the surface for risk free Rover deployment.

Detaching the Rovers - (yes, two of them in hopes this can become a multiplayer project.) – Each Rover and the Flag must have the command focus on that piece of equipment in order to detach, hit the appropriate AG to separate the equipment from the ship. Pitch is used for forward and backward movement on the Rovers. Having the Pitch slider and the Brake Slider is all you need to control the Rovers plus using the A and D keys is best for steering.
To release a Rover,
1 – Place the focus on the Rover.
2 – Move the Pitch slider up one notch.
3 – Hit the release AG for that specific equipment and the Rover will roll right out of the ship. Be ready to hit the brakes once out. Repeat for Rover-2
The Flag will need to be detached the same way. Once done an astronaut can grapple the lower part of the Flagpole and drag it to the desired position.

Getting Home – After having too much fun on the Moon, load all your crew back into the Capsule. This can be done by grapple or jumping. Jettison the Rover garage before lift-off. Point the heading West and Launch. Use the SM RCS to tilt the ship to your desired angle to achieve orbit. 25% fuel should be left for the burn home after achieving Orbit.
Plot your return to Earth and do the burn. You should have 9 - 3 % fuel left. If you run out of fuel prematurely use some of the RCS to do the rest. You will need some RCS left for the Capsule upon re-entry.

Re-entry – You can tilt the pitch of the Capsule using the CM RCS. Do not tilt up until your velocity is below 7 Km/sec as to not bounce off the atmosphere. I found that tilting the capsule up during re-entry about 20-25 degrees will rapidly decrease your vertical speed downward, which is important because if you dive down deep too fast you will just burn up.
A shallow re-entry, under 250m/s vertically, insures no burn up and that you will be slow enough to not have your chutes line break once you reach chute deployment altitude. It is best to have the capsule be at retrograde alignment so that all Chutes pull on the capsule evenly upon deployment.
Installing RCS on the capsule is essential for all of this.

Camaras – There are 4 extra Camaras and Sliders 1-4 control the zoom.

Copy and paste these directions to Word as to have a copy beside you when you give it a try.

This project is designed for fun and easy use.

I look forward to advancing this mission in future releases.

Good Luck and get your Crew Home Safe.