Design

This document is a design proposal. Σκοπός (translit. Skopos; formerly known as KerbalismContracts) was created by SirMortimer to fulfil the technical requirements for its implementation.

Rationale

The overall goal is to leave mission design (orbit choice, constellation design) to the player, instead of forcing a particular solution (such as a specific orbit specified by the contract).

To the extent possible, the idea is for the constraints to be true mission requirements (e.g., a required imaging resolution), rather than proxies for physical constraints arising from them (e.g., a maximum observation distance). Properties of instruments, combined with mission requirements, naturally lead to similar constraints (observing from further away requires a larger telescope, which is generally impractical, especially as it needs to be sent further), while remaining flexible and allowing for creative solutions (if you have a base on another planet, installing a large telescope there may be feasible).

Overview

In the Orbits and missions section, we survey real-life missions, focusing on the varied mission profiles that can fulfill their objectives.

We then focus on spacecraft, and specifically on instrumentation, in the Instruments section. The goal here is threefold:

• to allow for reuse of spacecraft designs (or even actual spacecraft) across very different missions: where the Orbits and missions section was about the various orbits that can be used for a mission, this one is about the various missions that a spacecraft can perform;
• to reduce part spam, since a plethora of mission-specific parts clutters parts lists and tech trees without bringing much;
• to define the constraints on mission design that arise from a combination mission requirements and instrument characteristics.