KSP Mentioned in NASA Press Conference

[NecroBones]

18 hours ago, razark said:

How many people work at NASA?  How many of them play video games?  How many of those have run across KSP?  How many of that group like that kind of game?

Ah, the NASA-KSP version of the Drake Equation.

 

[wumpus]

I had a job as the onsite "Dell repairman" and fixed my share of laptops at Goddard Space Flight Center [DCish, Maryland].  There were a few KSP posters/pinups on the doors (roughly as many as XKCD).  NASA employees all types of jobs, and there are many space enthusiasts who don't actually do rocket science/orbital mechanics.  Consider the other famous XKCD KSP comic: Randal Monroe worked for NASA as a robotics engineer.  He famously plays KSP.

KSP gives you complete control over a mission (this may take mods depending on the control you want.   It may require *writing* mods for further values of control).  Kongress doesn't take your funding.  It may be playing some sort of "dream NASA" for real rocket scientists.

[razark]

2 hours ago, wumpus said:

There were a few KSP posters/pinups on the doors (roughly as many as XKCD).

Hrm.  11 XKCDs, and only one KSP.  (And that's the XKCD "How I learned Orbital Mechanics" one.)  No one has ever shown any sign of recognizing the screenshots I use as wallpaper.

I honestly can't say I've seen any KSP related items outside of our office, either. 

Edited December 2, 2015 by razark
Missed one by the coffee pot

[katateochi]

well, that was awkward! lol. 

[wumpus]

On 12/2/2015, 11:00:30, razark said:

Hrm.  11 XKCDs, and only one KSP.  (And that's the XKCD "How I learned Orbital Mechanics" one.)  No one has ever shown any sign of recognizing the screenshots I use as wallpaper.

I honestly can't say I've seen any KSP related items outside of our office, either. 

Looks like I simply remembered the only stroll down the hallway that contained KSP, or perhaps Randal Monroe isn't popular at Goddard (or the few hallways I remember there).  However, we do have an existence proof of KSP at NASA (for at least values of razark).

[Rakaydos]

On 12/2/2015, 7:42:51, wumpus said:

I had a job as the onsite "Dell repairman" and fixed my share of laptops at Goddard Space Flight Center [DCish, Maryland].  There were a few KSP posters/pinups on the doors (roughly as many as XKCD).  NASA employees all types of jobs, and there are many space enthusiasts who don't actually do rocket science/orbital mechanics.  Consider the other famous XKCD KSP comic: Randal Monroe worked for NASA as a robotics engineer.  He famously plays KSP.

KSP gives you complete control over a mission (this may take mods depending on the control you want.   It may require *writing* mods for further values of control).  Kongress doesn't take your funding.  It may be playing some sort of "dream NASA" for real rocket scientists.

So it's probably like the US Army and the videogames Call of Duty or Battlefield.

It's everything you wanted the job to be and isnt.

[SR]

From the look on there face I got the feeling they don't use an advanced simulator to design there missions.

They use KSP+RO.

Maybe the reason they don't build a reusable rocket is they always play in sandbox, so don't see the point.

Edited January 29, 2016 by SR