Quick Start: Supplies

Supplies (0.5.0)

This page lists parts also available under [USI Kolonization System] (https://github.com/BobPalmer/MKS/wiki). These parts are not required to use USI Life Support, but designed to work well together with them. See the [USI Kolonization System] (https://github.com/BobPalmer/MKS/wiki) wiki for more details.

USI Life Support introduces three new resources (and uses one stock resource):

• Supplies - Kerbals need them to survive; an abstraction of food, water, oxygen, medicines, toiletries, and other necessities
• ElectricCharge - Kerbals need this as well to run the heaters, air conditioners, water pumps, septic vacs, and so on
• Mulch - Kerbals produce this as waste when they consume Supplies; an abstraction of sewage, carbon dioxide, hair cuttings, rinse water, food scraps, and other unavoidable waste products
• Fertilizer - greenhouses can convert a combination of Mulch and Fertilizer into Supplies

Consumption

By default, each Kerbal consumes 216 units of ElectricCharge and 10.8 units of Supplies per six-hour day. Also by default, for every unit of Supplies they consume, Kerbals produce one unit of Mulch as waste.

To reduce the rate at which Kerbals convert Supplies to Mulch, you can use life support Recyclers. For longer missions, Converters may be used to produce Supplies from Mulch with the use of Fertilizer. Each unit of Fertilizer is equal to 3.14 Kerbal-hours of Supplies (at the default 8.5:1 conversion ratio).

Recyclers are the main source of extended life support and should only be supplemented, not replaced, by Converters. There are very few scenarios where a mission would be better off with a Converter than a Recycler if you had to choose only one.

Recyclers

Recyclers can reduce the rate of consumption of Supplies. Each Recycler is rated by efficiency and crew capacity. For example, the stock MPL Science Lab can reduce consumption by 50% (efficiency) for up to four Kerbals (crew capacity). After the crew capacity is exceeded, the efficiency is reduced by the amount you are over capacity. For example, the MPL Science Lab's efficiency divided by 2 if eight Kerbals are present on the ship (double the Recycler's crew capacity).

If you have multiple Recyclers running, their effects are cumulative. The vessel-wide consumption reduction is capped by the most efficient Recycler - so if your most efficient Recycler is a Science Lab, you can't reduce your Supplies consumption by more than 50%, no matter how many Recyclers are running.

Recycler	Source	Mass	Efficiency	Crew Capacity
Mobile Processing Lab MPL-LG-2	Stock	3.50	50%	4
RT-500 Recycling Module	USI-LS	0.6	60%	1
RT-5000 Recycling Module	USI-LS	3.75	79%	3
'Duna' Pioneer Module	MKS	0.8	70%	4
'Duna' Kerbitat Module	MKS	4.45	77%	4
'Duna' Kerbitat Purifier*	MKS	4.45	88.5%	4
'Tundra' Kerbitat (2.5m)	MKS	7.65	81%	4
'Tundra' Kerbitat Purifier (2.5m)*	MKS	7.65	90.5%	4
'Tundra' Kerbitat (3.75m)	MKS	9.48	86.5%	4
"Tundra' Kerbitat Purifier (3.75m)*	MKS	9.48	93.25%	4
'Tundra' Pioneer - Logistics Module	MKS	1.6	70%	4

*The Kerbitat modules have two recycler modes: the "Purifier" requires an additional Water input to increase recycling efficiency, and is intended for use in ground bases.

Converters

USI-LS includes three greenhouses that can convert Mulch and Fertilizer into Supplies. By beginning your mission with a Converter, some Fertilizer, a bit of electrical generating capability, and only a small amount of initial Supplies, you can dramatically reduce the total mass of resources you need.

To calculate the amount of Fertilizer required, first calculate the total amount of Supplies required for your mission. Then divide this number by the "Supplies to Fertilizer Ratio" in the table below. For example, if your mission will require 1100 units of Supplies and you choose to use a Nom-O-Matic 5000, then you should pack 100 units of Fertilizer. With some small amount of Supplies to begin with (enough so that Mulch is produced; a good rule is to start with enough Supplies to last the first day), your greenhouse will add a bit of Fertilizer to your Mulch and produce 1100 units of Supplies before running out of Fertilizer.

Also note the rate at which Converters produce Supplies. Multiple Converters may be necessary to produce the daily Supplies requirement for multiple Kerbals. Converters work independently from one another so their effects are cumulative, and if they fill all the available Supplies storage, they stop making Supplies until your Kerbals consume enough to make some room. Be careful to note, however, that the same limitation does not apply to Mulch--if you fill up your Mulch storage, the Kerbals will start dumping the excess overboard!

Converter	Source	Mass	Mulch Input (per day)	Fertilizer Input (per day)	Supplies Output (per day)	Supplies to Fertilizer Ratio
Nom-O-Matic 5000	USI-LS	0.154	2.592	0.2592	2.8512	11
Nom-O-Matic 25000	USI-LS	0.708	12.96	1.296	14.256	11
Nom-O-Matic 25000-I	USI-LS	1.52	25.92	2.592	28.512	11