Norcalplanner

Kerbal Administration for Big Overpowered Orbital Machines - 1959 We're finally getting to know the neighbors!

Probably going to be Sunday night before I post 1959 - work has been a bit nuts, and I'm going to be on the road and away from the computer for the next few days. Hopefully it will be worth the wait.

Those engine explosions are really rare. I'm glad all your astronauts made it through the year ok!

You shall be avenged...

How far ahead have you played?!?

Kerbal Administration for Big Overpowered Orbital Machines - 1958 Some things that go up actually do come down...

I hear you on that one. "Great news! We were able to give the new upper stage better capability, while still keeping the mass at five tons! What can we look forward to from the new avionics we just unlocked?" "Nothing - the minimum controlled mass for an upper stage increased from five tons to seven tons, so the mass of the avionics is pretty much the same for a five-ton stage."

First satellite pays pretty good, but it's the first science satellite and that 400K advance that really shifts things into high gear. Plus if you pack science gear and batteries on your orbital flights, you can collect a lot, both in terms of science and KCT upgrade points.

Kerbal Administration for Big Overpowered Orbital Machines - 1957 First unmanned lunar orbit and landing...

Correct. Sounds like there may be a rescue mission in your future.

Do you have power? And if it's being controlled by a probe core instead of a pilot, do you have an antenna with a good connection back to Kerbin?

That's very high for any rocket, let alone one with less-than-ideal aerodynamics. If you can do so within your current pad limitations, I'd recommend stacking more fuel tanks to make the rocket taller and reduce the initial TWR down to 1.4 or so. You may also want to consider removing the Reliants and replacing them with Swivels, as you'll have much better control authority. And make the turn pretty gently - without more information, I'd crank it over 5 degrees to the east when you hit around 40 or 50 m/s, then engage SAS and lock it on prograde hold. If you're pointed 45 degrees above the horizon somewhere between 8 and 12 km altitude, then you're in the ballpark.

What's your initial TWR? I see a lot of thrust for not much mass, so you may be going too fast in the lower atmosphere. Try adding more fuel tanks to that center stack so the initial TWR is down around 1.4 or so. And when during the launch is it doing the flip? It looks like you're only staging the outer LVT-30 engines initially, and they have no gimbal - which means that you're at the mercy of aerodynamics.

Subnautica space program...

I'm hoping for at least one water world with no dry land anywhere that has some sort of valuable resource on the ocean floor.

I like this name, but in order for me to really get behind it the truss would need to act like a dry dock. That is, a previously launched ship would need to be able to redock or otherwise re-enter the drydock, which would then give you the ability to repair or upgrade the ship using the editor. One can hope...

OCD - Orbital Construction Dock

Kerbal Administration for Big Overpowered Orbital Machines - 1956 We choose to send probes to the moon...

Yep! For those who aren't sure what they're looking at, here's a still from the video: That fat center tower is some sort of launch/landing pad with a rocket on top of it. The terrain slopes down from right to left, and you can see different lengths of some sort of fat truss or column supporting the portions of the base on the left and right hand sides. A little earlier in the video, there were smaller supports holding up portions of the solar panel array.

@Ultimate Steve The linearity of the contracts one of the things that unfortunately makes Career Evolution show its age and origins as the "proto-RP-0" contract pack. Thankfully Pap fixed that in RP-0 and RP-1, so you can accept missions for all three (flyby, impact, and orbit) at the same time and potentially complete them with the same craft.

USI-LS works extremely well with SSPXr by Nertea. This is a craft that went from Gael to Nodens in an upscaled GPP/GEP game in six years using Karborundum, with enough USI-LS life support and habitation on board for a dozen Kerbals to get there and make it back:

Okay, I'll see about getting at least two years done over the weekend so you won't be alone in posting 1957.

So will others be posting reports anytime soon? I don't want to post reports too far ahead, and I hope to get in some good play sessions this upcoming holiday weekend.

Will it be possible to start a new career on a planet other than Kerbin? Will it be possible to start a new career at a further tier in the tech tree? I.e., starting a career in the tech equivalent of 1970s as opposed to the 1950s?

And disorienting!