VSP Munar Kethane Tanker

VSP Munar Kethane Tanker

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When the chairman of RoveMax first saw the Model XL3, he reportedly screamed "WHY" and dropped dead on the spot.

We now know the answer to his final question: The VSP Munar Tank Truck!

This 55-ton monstrosity comes equipped with 8 RoveMax Model XL3 skid-steerable wheels, allowing you to haul up to 36 000 units of Kethane across the munar surface. Ground speed should not under any circumstances exceed 30 m/s, as the whole contraption is pretty much guaranteed to disintegrate if it does. Seriously. One little bump at 110 km/h, and your helpless victims crazy truckers brave pilots are done for.

Should you choose to discard the six complimentary FL-T400 fuel tanks with attached rocket engines (mainly intended for final stage of landing, but could be handy for levitating across inconvenient craters while en route as well), you might reduce your weight enough to increase your maximum safe speed. Make sure you keep some extra monopropellant on hand, though, as certain angles can even cause this monster to start flipping over. A truck fully loaded with Kethane should likewise be driven quite a low slower, given its weight of closer to 130 tons – as flat tires with such a load are common even at 10 m/s.

Range is practically infinite with all panels exposed to direct sunlight. For that special midnight cargo you absolutely need to deliver in darkness, you can also utilize the built-in Kethane generator to extend range beyond the roughly six minutes of go-time stored in the onboard batteries.

Any and all warranties void upon delivery.

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This truck requires quite a few mods to work:

  • The Kethane Pack is naturally required, as that's what the truck is built to haul
  • You'll also need KAS to actually fill and empty the tanks
  • Quite a lot of the parts are from the excellent B9 Aerospace Pack
  • MechJeb-module is attached, and particularly helpful when trying to land the bastard
  • Procedural Fairings is needed to actually launch it through the atmosphere, and finally:
  • FAR, because that's what I use, and I have no idea if this thing will fly without it. Feel free to try, though

Some possibly helpful advice: When launching, pay close attention to your stages, and be ready to rearrange them.

I wouldn't start turning before apoapsis reaches 100 km or more, and circularizing is kind of hopeless with this much mass. Instead, simply try to get a periapsis above 70 km without plummeting. Achieving an apoapsis of a few million kilometers in the process is only helpful for your Hohmann transfer to Mun. After establishing such an orbit, I could do the transfer by expending a mere 300 m/s Delta-V.

This truck is designed for, tried and tested at the Mun. While it might function elsewhere as well, I make no guarantees. The "fuel backpack" on the truck itself is mainly just there to balance your center of mass during launch, but when you're heading in to land, you really want to be overbalanced in direction of the wheels; so discarding it on your final approach is very much the point.

Finally, landing should be done in two stages: First letting the last main stage do the hard labor, and then staging to the six radial-mounted engines just before impact the final, smooth touchdown.