RizzoTheRat

I've never managed to get close enough trying that to not end up burning a fair bit of fuel fixing it, wheras can reliable get within a couple of km by orbiting first, which only needs a tiny bit of fuel to correct. Updating my kOS scripts so trying to define some specific parameters for it. The idea is to get the timing right so it only takes one orbit, but agree fur any further apart several orbits is more efficient. Not that worried about efficiency though I don't think there's a massive difference between them, but need to define some specific criteria for my kOS scripts

If I wanted to launch to intercept a craft in an 80km equatorial orbit I would launch to 80km but ahead of the target, then push my Ap out further to slow down and get an intercept on the next orbit. If I wanted to launch to intercept a craft in a 200km equatorial orbit I'd launch to 75-80km but behind the target, and push my AP out to 200km at the right time to get an intercept half an orbit later Is there either an optimal altitude at which one approach becomes more efficient than the other, or is there a better way entirely?

First Mun landing of the current career, and 100% kOS driven. Jeb landed safely only to discover that the self levelling suspension software doesn't seem to be working properly This mainly using kOS code I wrote in my previous game, 2 years ago, with a new mission planner that decides what bits to run. Also only just discovered the GUI so tempted to move the initial menu over to that at some point. I was also sad enough to video it for posterity Kerbin to the Mun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrpTB65beDM And the return trip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3AYEQ5Ia5w

Testing my kOS mission planner by automating tourist missions. ..with the added bonus of making loads of Kredits in the early game. The planner runs in a loop and works out what task it needs to do next to complete the mission. In this simple case the first pass tells it to launch and circularise, and the second time tells it to land immediately.

What graphics mods are you using? that looks stunning.

Started a new career after nearly 2 years away from KSP. Building a new mission planner for my kOs scripts, but had forgotten that my circularisation script needs the tracking station to be updated to access the patched conics. So I figured it's time to do a few tourist missions to earn the cash for the upgrade. Then I found this rocket design doesn't quite have enough dV to make orbit...I got the Pe up to -35km! Probably could have had jeb make orbit from there just his backpack! Sadly the capsule didn't have RCS. In true KSP tradition though, I feel the answer is MOAR BOOSTERS!

Dunno if I ever wrote it up but I had a kOS script to do controlled (ish) powered descents from orbit to increase the impact speed, but got disheartened by the lack of benefit before I ever perfected it. I was managing very close impacts by burning straight down and cutting the throttle when I reached the desired impact point, but had planned to try to do it by adjusting acceleration vector to allow for using all the fuel. Good graph, looks like I should have concentrated on hitting 5km or so away at the maximum possible speed.

Its a SAR scanner from SCANSat. Busy mapping the surface so I can figure out where to try to land.

Taking a break from my space programme to try something new. Despite buying Breaking Ground ages ago, I've never played with propellers or rotors. It took a bit of trial and error and some hunting though some old posts to figure out how to set up the KAL controller, but I got there eventually. Now working on a kOS script to fly the thing, my basic controller at the moment lets me set a forward speed and bearing, and will cancel out lateral speed (badly), next step will be altitude hold. Will it fit? Loads of room, although Jeb doesn't look too sure.... My ultimate goal is a heli-rover for Duna and Eve, and maybe some kind of E-VTOL system for a first stage of an Eve launcher.

I've been tweaking my kOS transfer scripts while running a tourist service between the Mun and Minmus, the idea being inter-munar travel is mathematically the same as inter-planetary travel. First attempt at inter-planetary, and it only took a few tweaks, mainly to ensure it didn't get caught up on the Mun on the way out. I now have a ScanSat and a set of Kommsats orbiting Eve. A few tweaks to the design needed and a similar package will be heading to Duna soon.

Built a craft to go to Eve and Duna, but 4 kommsats and a Scansat, plus the transfer stage, is too heavy for my SSTO, so I've built a new one. The middle one is my main workhorse, powered by 5 Vectors it can lift a 36 tonne Rockomax tank to LKO. The one on the right I built the other day to launch a small 5 tonne satellite, it's powered by a single vector The new one on the left is powered by 9 vectors and just put 50 tonnes in to LKO All three can land back on the runway for 100% fund recovery

It turns out my kOS landing script doesn't correctly align to the landing coordinates at high latitudes, and in correcting the drift while trying to landing in the Minmus Poles biome, my tourist bus burned through it's entire stock of Monopropellant. The bus isn't able to land back on Kerbin on it's own and needs to dock with it's launch vehicle to get home. Luckily I had a remote controlled tug from a previous mission still parked in orbit with enough fuel and monopropellant to dock with the bus and top it up .

Landing in Mun Canyons makes my slope finding kOS script go a bit mad Made it though

Most of my launches recently have been with my kOS driven, 5 vector powered SSTO which can lift a 36 tonne Rockomax Jumbo tank in to LKO, and then be recovered back to the KSC. Today I took a contract to put a Sentinal in to Solar orbit, and given the 5.5 tonne weight of the craft my SSTO seemed a bit of an overkill, so I built a smaller one powered a single Vector, but using the same kOS code. I thought this was probably still a bit of an overkill as launching something this small is pretty cheap with disposable rockets, but the total launch cost turned out to be only just over 5000 credits after putting the payload in to a 120km orbit and then landing back on the runway Very happy that my kOS script handled the much smaller, lighter, less draggy ship perfectly. Now I need to install KAC so I remember to to the circularisation burn on the Sentinal in nearly a years time. ETA: For size comparison, here's it's big brother about to launch with the 27 tonne Mun/Minmus tourist bus.

I had contracts for stations in Kerbin, Mun and Minmus orbit. Putting all the requirements together it needed space for 20 kerbals, a lab, an ISRU, and 6000 units of liquid fuel. In my current game I don't really have the technology to launch that yet, so I put it up in 3 launches SSTO carrying the fuel module about to dock with the main station The third launch was for a "Tug" to push it to the Mun And then on to Minmus where the tug detached (possibly hitting 2 solar panels as I can't see what else could have happened to them) before the Tug headed back to Kerbin where it aerobraked in to orbit and is now ready to be refuelled for another mission

LKO is a true orbit, enabling you to circle the planet multiple times, I think you're confusing the term with a suborbital flight. My initial orbiter is under 15 tonnes: a Thumper, TD-12 decoupler, a reliant, a few FLT-100's, Mk1 pod, parachute and some fins. That has enough dV to launch in to a Polar orbit for some EVA science, meaning I upgrade the Astronaut complex to allow EVA before the launchpad. As Fraktal says you can bring that weight down a lot once you research the Terrier. That requires General Rocketry, which you can unlock easily enough from a sub orbital flight. My early path in to the tech tree tends to be a bit strange though as I use kOS so research Flight Contol as early as possible, and I tend to do several sub-orbital and orbital tourist missions to earn some cash early on.

I never bother with science from Kerbins surface except at the runway and launchpad. When I unlock a new science instrument I'll visit the pad and the runway with it, and recover for 100% cost. Solid boosters mean you can go suborbital on your second proper launch, which unlocks a liquid engine to get you orbital. Upgrade the astronaut complex to get EVA and do your first orbital launch North and in to a polar orbit, where you can get EVA reports for each biome. If you need more cash to upgrade the astronaut complex, a stack of 3 Mk1 capsules with the middle one upside down is a nice stable return capsule for a couple of tourists. Passing in front of the Mun rather than behind can get you a free return to Kerbin, with science High above Kerbin, and High and Low above the Mun, which nets a huge amount of science for the early game.

Dammit! I can put my SSTOs down on the runway every time regardless of payload but I just cannot hit the flipping pad!

Went on a 3 kerbal rescue mission, picked up the one in Mun orbit and then headed back to Kerbin to collect the other two. Rendezvoused with the first pod...and discovered it was empty...yes I've already rescued both of them but forgot to stop tracking their pods. Oops

Using RemoteTech and kOS I am very reliant on having a good comms connection at all times. My original constellation of 4 KommSat 1's went in to LKO back before I first landed on the Mun, so somewhat limited in technology, but with enough range to talk to constellations of 3 identical identical KommSat 1's around The Mun and Minmus. Now I'm ready to move further afield the network needed upgrading, so Kerbin's KommSat 1's have been retired and replaced with KommSat 2's, these have a much longer range RemoteTech omnidirectional antenna, as well as a directional antenna that can reach Minmus. The longer range omni means they can talk to the pair of KommSat 3's in a polar orbit, with long and medium range directional antennas

I've been developing my kOS scripts for interplanetary travel, so while this might seem a bit of an overkill for a Minmus lander, there is method in my madness Quite a lot of pictures...

I keep getting the falcon legs mounted at odd angles when I load from a save file, is that the same issue or something else?

Despite playing on and off for many years, I've only just realized the benefit of something I've never done before. Transferring between Minmus and the Mun is exactly the same as transferring between different planets, and even involves an inclination change, but with much smaller distances, shorter burns, and is therefore an overall faster process. As I'm doing everything with kOS, this is proving an excellent way to develop my interplanetary scripts without the time and expense of interplanetary missions. I've never bothered transferring between them before, and I guess lots of other people don't do it either, but I'd say it's well worth doing for new players to get the hang of the maneuvers needed for interplanetary missions.

I think I may have found a bug in my kOS landing script...

Finally got my kOS aerocapture script working properly Which means I can now land my returning ship Still needs some work on the guidance to get it landing in the right place, but it'll do for now. (Apologies for the length, my video editing software seems to be having issues)