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ESN-42 Johnny II

With changes on fairing logic in KSP 1.8, the ship's only hatch is now disabled. Kerbals in pressurized cabin won't be able to go EVA anymore. Command chairs, docking and crew transfer are not affected. See discussion section for more information.

This craft can NOT get to orbit from Kerbin on its own, >Click here for version with boosters<

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ESN-42 Johnny II is a self-sufficient interplanetary expedition vessel for Duna and any other celestial body smaller than Duna.

After landing, it would utilize its ISRU capability and suborbitally hop across the entire surface to achieve a deep understanding of a world. In the mean time, it serves as SSTO surface-orbit-surface shuttle and allows expedition team rotation via interplanetary spaceplanes.

Sorry for a long text - this craft is actually easy to use, but has quite many features I find worth mentioning. Just please take a look at the Mission Instructions section at the bottom.

Pure stock, no mods or DLCs. 185 parts, root part is the Mk3 cargo bay.

- 1950s retro-futuristic rocket ship appearance.
- 3200m/s dV from high efficiency nuclear engines (25min duration at full thrust) plus 800m/s dV from high TWR chemical engine (99sec duration at full thrust). Remember to converted ore into LF en-route to achieve this stats.
- Self-sufficient: continuous ISRU capability with solar power and fuel cells.
- Highly reliable and stylish landing supports. Conventional, less reliable landing legs also included.
- 12 pressurized seats + 4 command chairs.
- Reasonable inner space utilization, especially regarding fuel storage amount.
- Decorative interior, science lab and full science package excluding only the large surface scanner.
- Reserved storage area for BG surface instruments, KIS equipment or life support supplies.
- Powerful bipropellant RCS for effective attitude control and less system complexity, no need to worry about monopropellant reserve.
- Perfectly aligned CoT and CoM (0.00kNm thrust torque).
- Stable Wi-Fi relay communication on Duna.

AG1=toggle Vector
AG2=toggle Nervs
AG3=toggle bay door and ladders
AG4=toggle solar panels and radiators
AG5=extend/retract drills
AG6=toggle mining (ISRU unit is manually controlled)
AG8=conduct experiments
AG9=toggle fuel cells (necessary on the surface)
AG0=toggle all engines

- This is a complete remake of my old interplanetary yacht Johnny. It receives major streamline work and massive improvement of system reliability. The reduction of overall dV is made up by vastly increased high thrust power and duration for more confident liftoff and landing.
- Originally, I wanted to make this a Jool-5 vessel, capable of landing on all 5 moons of Jool and return to Kerbin. But conquering Tylo and Laythe are way more difficult than I thought (Laythe clearly calls for an air-breathing SSTO). I cannot achieve this goal while keeping its unique appearance which I really like, so I decided to finish this for now and build the Jool-5 vessel later, probably with a completely different design.
- However, if you see the boosters as part of the ship, lands on Minmus and refuel the entire system...Jool-5 seems totally possible. But that would be another story.
- As mentioned above, you can replaced the many science containers with BG, KIS or life support containers. As long as they remain symmetric, CoM won't be influenced.

Important Notes
- Known issue #1: the Mk1 lander hatch becomes unavailable ("blocked") after every entry/exit. Switching to other crafts/Kerbals/tracking station and switching back will fix this, but you have to repeat every time. It's thus recommended to have EVA-busy Kerbals sit in the command chairs and avoid using the hatch at all. Hatch unavailable after KSP 1.8. Have EVA Kerbals sit on the command chairs. Docking and crew transfer are not affected.
- Known issue #2: Sometimes Kerbal won't be able to "climb out" of the ladder and get back in the Mk3 bay. Simply use RCS backpack in this case.
- As mentioned above, the ore on board should be converted into LF, LF+LOX or LOX en-route depending on your flight style, otherwise they will be counted as dead weight and affect dV reading.
- DO NOT expect performing aerocapture around Duna - this vessel is way too low-drag and static stable for any practical aerobraking.
- It's equipped with conventional landing legs, but it's recommended NOT to use them. They are weak, bouncy, buggy and might destroy the craft the next time you jump to it. The fixed landing supports will do the job way better and in style. If you REALLY want to use them as buffer, do remember to retract them after landing.

Launch
>Click here for version with lifter<
- Engage SAS, launch, slowly reach 45 degrees pitch @ 10km, lock prograde.
- Push AP to 75-85km, shut down engines, coast till circularization.
- DO NOT fire Nervs before booster separation - the boosters are designed to lift the ship into LKO with its own tanks still full.

Duna Landing
- Start descent from 60km low Duna orbit.
- Lock retrograde all the time and keep firing nuclear engines.
- Engage RCS in denser atmosphere (~25km) to further prevent flipping over to prograde due to static stable design.
- No worries, it's very safe with retrograde lock and RCS on. If done correctly and sufficiently slowed down, there won't be any visible plasma heating during reentry.
- Aim to slow down to 300m/s @ 6km, so that parachute can soon safely deploy - but it can also land without chutes.
- Lock radial-out in the final seconds before touchdown to keep it vertical.
- Using Vector is not always necessary, but wise use of it makes landing a lot more simple.

Duna Ascent
- Lift off with full tanks and full power.
- Slowly aim for 45 degrees pitch soon after launch, keep this pitch. This might not be the most efficient way, it needs experience, which I don't have much with Duna...
- Fire Vector for ~30 seconds, then only use Nervs to finish ascent and circularize.
- Remember to convert ore as usual.

Wish you enjoy and happy landing!