Manned Mission on the Space Program Campaign

[afkellogg 10]

It cool to have Manned Mission on the Space Program Campaign from launch to splashdown you can choose the astronauts training them building the rocket and make our own space suit like the real thing when we go mars for real.

[felthat 1]

go play kerbal and then launch tkom when u land

[dragon01 902]

Some kind of astronaut stat system would be nice, but it seems that the release deadline is closing in and there won't be too many new features added. It would be nice to give them a bit more "personality", though, with various astronauts having various kinds of training (especially if some sort of AI is introduced someday). As for building your own LV, there are three rules of an affordable space program:

1). No new launch vehicles.

2). No new launch vehicles.

3). Whatever you do, don't design new launch vehicles.

So I don't think it's necessary. :) A real commercial Mars program would certainly look into launching on existing vehicles (Apollo had its own LVs, but it was a national effort, not a commercial venture), Space-X are the only corporation that actually made their own LV that wouldn't be derived from a long line of previous designs (even Antares is basically Zenit 1st+engines from N1, with a shortened Peacekeeper 1st stage as an upper stage). Even they started out with a rather pathetic safety record with their Falcon 1. The only "all-new" LV that's truly operational right now is the Angara, and even it inherits engine tech from Soyuz and Zenit. I suspect launch costs would be incorporated into overall vehicle cost (the instruments cost so much not only because of their own value, but also because of mass added to the vehicle). Spacesuit design would have some merit, but you don't have too many options here. Configuring attachments is the most feasible options, there's no real way to "modularize" the suit itself.

Now, LV customization (to a small extent, not KSP-like) would be possible if a license from ULA could be acquired. Delta family is amazingly configurable, and Atlas has its share of variants as well. This would likely be a pretty simple gameplay element (could likely be done entirely with 2D graphics, even), but it would require a license, which is unlikely. A fictional LV could likely be substituted, but that could gobble up too much dev time. Even then, you'd basically be choosing a fairing, top stage and booster configuration (number and type) according to the payload you're launching and your budget (it's about as much as you can do IRL). Maybe engine type and number on both 1st and 2nd stage, in case of a fictional LV (you can order an Atlas V with either one or two engines on the 2nd stage, for example). It would not affect the end result much, either (as in, what happens when you get to Mars), though perhaps if the spacecraft was customizable, too (a much more likely prospect), it could be made interesting by introducing cost vs. landing precision tradeoffs.

[afkellogg 10]

How about Orion and The Space Launch System from NASA than the ULA because Space Launch System will be the manned mission deep space spacecraft.

Edited January 31, 2015 by AFKELLOGG