Deutherius

Um... mine doesn't. On a clean install of 0.90. And according to wiki, it shouldn't have. Are you sure there's no mods or old parts interfering?

It's cool as heck, but I'm afraid it violates the "No seat-only lifters" rule.

Thanks Slashy But then you would have no pitch authority, as the Stayputnik doesn't have it's own reaction wheels (no torgue). That design just doesn't work in 0.90 (or it might, but would require epic engineering, piloting and timing skills... which I lack)

That would work... But it doesn't feel right. And at the very least it has to be able to liftoff again at the island on its own.

Thanks! Now if only I could make this thing take off without a landing gear...

Tin can telephone?

Thanks! It might not get accepted, so no reason for celebrations just yet BTW, would you mind posting your latest design (even if it didn't complete the challenge)? I wonder where you shaved off 20 kg of weight... I think you switched the probe core from Stayputnik to QBE, but I'm also hoping that you just created a one-winged design, which would be hilarious (and so... kerbal). Come to think of it... I used a 40 kg core. If you can fly your craft with QBE and one wing... You might still get me by 10 kg of mass.

You are a much better engineer and pilot than I am. I tried to improve my design, but it has a major flaw - it needs SAS. It can't land without disabling pitch control on the control surfaces (trying to land with pitch control on would be like trying to put out fire with kerosene). No SAS means no pitch authority, and no landing. Smallest SAS module weights 50 kg, smallest probe core is 30 kg, and one Elevon is 20 kg, which already puts me over your mass record. I tried going with a design similar to yours (no SAS, two winglets), but I can't even take off. (even if I could, I don't have the patience to go slower than 100 m/s) So, hats off to you, because in my view that is just incredible. HOWEVER! I never turn down a challenge... And if you can't satisfy the rules, then it's time for some rulebending Since OP didn't specify which game version to use... KSP 0.25 had just what I needed - inbuild SAS in probe cores. Probodobodyne OKTO2 + Elevon + wheel + solar panel = 60 kg, 4 parts, over mach 1 capable and still cute Managed a flawless landing, lowest altitude is undocumented (probably somewhere around 15 m, but I'm not sure), took me about 20 tries (this is not an easy craft for precision flying). Available for download HERE Mods installed (but unused): KER, KAC I am pretty sure someone can dig out an even older version of KSP with even more OP stuff, but this is probably the best I can pull off. (Also this might be a little cheaty, so no hard feelings if my second entry goes as a gatecrasher. Lil' Kraken's Lil' Brother's Lil' Friend is probably going to cry though. You monster.)

I think you meant Lil' Kraken's slowest brother jk, wonderful piece of engineering. Although I believe it's possible to go even more extreme. Hmm...

Dear sir, would you have a minute to speak about our lord and saviour, the Kraken? He would like his son to enter the competition. I believe Lil' Kraken should now hold the record for lowest part count (8) and lightest plane (120 kg). (If not, his father would like to have a word with you ) He can concievably lose 1 part and 20 kg, but I feel that would hinder his speed and wobbliness, which are half the fun. Mods in this 0.90 install: used: KER unused: KAC, TransferWindowPlanner, NavBallDockingAlignmentIndicator, Kronal Vessel Viewer, Hyperedit, UbioZur Welding Craft download (although probably unnecessary) is HERE This was a fun challenge, simple in idea, yet hard in execution (with such a wobbly craft). Took me a few tries (mostly from blowing ceiling cap), but it was all worth it EDIT: Dammit, Slashy! Keep the part count record, lowest mass is (for now) mine! Bwhahaha

That's part of the stock SAS now, called the "Autopilot system" added in 0.90 for pilots/capable probe cores - see patch notes Basically, you can tell your autopilot to hold direction, pro/retrograde, normal/antinormal, radial in/out, target/antitarget and manuever node, if your pilot/core is good enough. I only used the direction hold (basic SAS).

Hi Nik, welcome to the forum You can, but it might be better to compile your entire mission in the Mission Reports first, and then post a link to your report here when it's done - just like Xannari did a few posts back. I would also advise you to keep those videos brief, as the judges might not have enough time to watch them. Videos AND pictures would be best, of course. Make sure that you read all the rules and that your game/ship fits within those rules!

Hello everyone! I would like to present my submission to the challenge. Few days ago I build a plane for the Kerbin Circumnavigation challenge. I ended up liking it so much that I had to convert it into a functional SSTO. I wanted to keep it similar looking, manueverable, low part count (because my laptop can't handle anything above 300 parts) and low mass (so that it has to only use one turbojet), but add SSTO and docking capability, cargo/passenger modules and have at least enough vacuum dV to get anywhere within Kerbin SOI. Final design (Cargo variant) is - 80 parts - Ridiculously manueverable (just about keeps itself stable while pitching hard when full, but kinda unstable when empty) - 12,437/6,427 kg full/dry mass (w/o cargo) - max 1,663 m/s vac dV with 48-7S (with no other fuels and cargo present, about 1450 m/s with) - max 217 m/s vac dV with O-10 (without fuels and cargo, about 120 m/s with) - plenty of atmo dV with turbojet (300 units of allocated fuel... I didn't even top the tanks off for the mission and still had 60 excess units (300 kg) of LF in orbit) - long Mk2 Cargo bay (kinda less wide due to fuel tanks clipping, but still able to accomodate 1.25m parts) - 3 jr. docking ports (all inside of cargo bay, different angles), 127.5 units of monoprop - For this mission I used two pieces of cargo, a satellite (334 kg) and a rover (395 kg) I named it Garradd, after the two-tailed comet C/2009 P1 Craft used for mission is available for download HERE (dropbox). Mission plan was to achieve orbit, dock with a space station at 150 km altitude, transfer to Minmus, release the satellite, land, bounce around with the rover, and then return home. ...It didn't go exactly as planned. Exhaustive gallery with ascent, docking, manuever nodes, beauty shots and all that good stuff can be found HERE (imgur gallery, 94 images). TL;DR version with key moments: I believe this mission is eligible for Advanced pilot precision award 1stClass, Kosmokerbal Commendation (Minmus) and Utilitarial Commendation x2 (Minmus, KTO). Meldin Kerman should also be eligible for Exploratory Astrokerbal Distinction Notes: - KER had some problems with calculating Isp (and dV) when some engines in the active stage were turned off - I had to juggle staging around every time I wanted to use a different engine - some parts might not be worth the style (looking at you, tail connectors... 400 kg each) - Mk2 cargo bay has no elegant way to be closed on both sides without adding too much mass (I used the Mk2 Drone Cores, 200 kg each... Adapters and fuel tanks would be better, but too long), at least that I know of - Nuke would provide superior vac dV, but at the cost of shorter cargo bay and more mass - 1500 m/s dV is enough to get anywhere in the Kerbol system and back, but not really enough for a Minmus landing... At least until I acquire better piloting skills. - Next up - upgrade Garradd for interplanetary travel and send cargo to Laythe, maybe Duna This challenge is fun, and I will be back Thanks for your time EDIT: One mission later, I can safely say that this plane is certified for 3.5 tons of cargo to LKO with 500 m/s dV to spare (900 m/s after deploying cargo). It is also very unstable when completely out of fuel and should be flown with extreme care (it's adviced to keep some fuel for the turbojet in case of flipout). I'll be sure to adress that issue in the next version

...ok. I didn't look that deep.

Did the equation change how anything in the game behaves (What "sudden change" did the KER not like? Its displaying values in accordance with your description of the craft)? If yes, then that's modding, AFAIK. If not, then I should be able to reproduce your results with the same craft design in my own game, with only KER and Kethane mod installed. Which I was not able to, however I tried. Same goes to your first Jool 5 mission (the one where the lander had over 16k deltaV). I tried, really hard, but the numbers just don't add up. Well, unless I change the LV-N's Isp to ridiculous levels. Now I haven't started crawling in the KSP or Unity's code just yet, but I do a lot of programming, so I might have the mental capacity to understand - just provide me with a link or an explanation that makes sense. And if you don't want to be talking code with me, then let's talk physics - the equations you used gotta have basis in physics, right? Also, who or what is Mariyate? You seem to be the only one referring to her/it, and she/it seems to be important to this issue. I liked both of your Jool 5 missions... But with an explanation like that, this does seem like cheating and evading the answer.

Very cool I have one question though, why do your nuke engines have 75 kN of thrust each? The vanilla nukes only produce 60 kN. Is that a feature of the kethane mod? Edit: The deltaV too O.o With 4 tons of fuel and 800 Isp, it should be more like 3k with full mass and 3.3k without kethane. Does KER account for the kethane that can be converted into liquid fuel/oxidizer in its calculations? Because if not, your nukes seem to have about 2800 vac. Isp O.o

Hi, this is my take on the challenge. I had a lot of fun putting this together. If there's anything else needed, I'll be happy to comply

1) Despite playing KSP for over half a year and considering myself to be an excellent (well, good enough) designer/engineer/pilot, I have never really landed on anything other than Mun, Minmus, Duna and Laythe. The latter two took Jeb over 10 years in the Mk1 inline cockpit and 11k deltaV to put flags on. (I hope this changes, I'd like to do a grand tour... already got some ship plans in mind! Which brings me to the next point...) 2) ...I usually build a ship for a very specific mission, pimp it out to the maximum, and when I'm done testing, I'll abandon the mission idea and go build something else. 3) I abuse time warp and blame lag when I overshoot by millions of kilometers.

Aw man... And I was already in the middle of the trip Looks like I'll have to concentrate on my finals now that my Jool 5 mission is put on hold. Maybe I can volunteer myself for help as well to get this going again?

I have a problem with the launch sites - the .zip file didn't contain LaunchSites.cfg (the RSS default one doesn't work right - space centers floating in the middle of the ocean are cool, but kinda unrealistic). I tried using the 2 months old one from github, but that one is not working right as well (for example KSC is floating on the shores, Iakod is few tens of metres below ground etc). Is there any solution to this, or should I just wait for the official 0.90 release? Running on Windows 32-bit version of KSP, clean install -> RSS v8.5, copied the RealSolarSystem and 64k folders into GameData (as per instructions) and returned back the original RealSolarSystem.dll to make it work (otherwise RSS was deemed outdated and wasn't doing anything).