Jonboy

While I share OP's enthusiasm for a Europa mission ... yikes. That title. Just stick "maybe" in there and it wouldn't be so misleading.

These are the two biggest problems with the game? I can think of many issues more annoying than this (and I'm very content with KSP).

I've read all these but Pyramids, some great reads here. Slaughterhouse-Five stuck with me the most. "So it goes..."

I've noticed this as well. It seems to allow you to time warp as regular, but if you drop out of warp too close to Jool, you will be forced to use only physics time warp until you are a long ways out from the planet. All of this when you are not actually in the atmosphere. It's very annoying.

Yeah, using more than one radial decoupler to attach a booster usually doesn't work too well. It's going to act like it's attached only to the first decoupler, just as you observed. The best way to overcome this is the best way yo overcome all KSP problems: struts. As far as flinging the boosters away after separation, I use Sepratons at the top and bottom of my boosters. The radial decouplers just don't seem to give enough power to reliably clear your center stage.

The airbrakes worked. Didn't even see reentry heating on the way down. Thanks!

Yes! Why didn't I think of this before I will try it

Yeah that sounds like the best method. Nuclear tug with a refinery and drills, you could probably accomplish it and still get a nice payout. Probably not worth the time and effort though

Even flaring the nose 5 or 10 degrees up caused me to flop... I will try it again with a higher periapsis.

The least steep approach I did was with a periapsis of 45km, and that was from a 75km orbit. I'll try higher and see if that helps.

This Saturn 1B launch was very important in that it proved the heat shield and the ability for the SPS engine to restart in space, critical for precise flights to and from the moon. http://imgur.com/a/WMwsW Performing a risky 'all-up' test of the Saturn V moon rocket as well as the C/SM, this unmanned launch used the S-IV to push the CM into a high Ap with a Pe low enough that it would burn up on the next approach. The SPS burned to push the CM fast enough to prove the C/SM can safely re-enter at the speeds which would be seen on a return trip from the Moon. http://imgur.com/a/IqPPH Using a nearly-complete LM (sans legs) aboard a Saturn 1B, this launch proved all functions of the LM and demonstrated restart ability of both the descent and the ascent engines - arguably, the most critical engines of a Lunar landing. http://imgur.com/a/HQbWf Under pressure from the Soviets to make a big leap towards a manned landing on the Moon, Apollo VIII was upgraded from a low Earth orbit flight to a Lunar orbit flight, sending crews out of Earth orbit for the first time in history. All systems performed perfect and the crew took the iconic photo titled "Earthrise" as it orbited the moon. http://imgur.com/a/yh7aa "The Eagle has Landed!". Apollo XI was the culmination of the Space Race. Despite unexpected problems with the landing computer, boulders where Neil had planned on landing and a broken switch in the LM that could have prevented Buzz from firing the ascent engine, the first time humans walked on another world was a complete success. This album pay homage to the original Apollo XI crew. http://imgur.com/a/ZecAg Very cool! I recognize Scatterer and Ven's Stock Parts, but what mod are you using for those awesome smoke/engine effects?

Hey guys. I'm not particularly good at building spaceplanes, but I've built my first Mark 3 one that can get a significant payload into orbit. My issue is reentry, I can't seem to find a way to prevent parts from overheating and exploding (even ram intakes, and Mark 3 parts). I've tried reentering at many different angles, but can't seem to prevent it. How do you guys get large spaceplanes to survive reentry in 1.02? Any general tips or guidelines?

The burn to get you to Duna will cost 1,100 m/s. Since you're not aerobraking at Duna, it will cost about 500 m/s to insert yourself into orbit once you get there. It will cost about 650 m/s to transfer back to Kerbin. If you're planning to directly enter Kerbin's atmosphere and land from there, your total Delta-V is about 2,250 m/s. If you plan to insert yourself into Kerbin orbit manually once you get back, it will cost you 1,050 m/s to do that. Which means your round trip Delta-V is 3,300 m/s.

Try deleting all the game files and doing a fresh install. You can copy your Saves folder somewhere else and paste it back into the Kerbal Space Program folder afterwards. That's the only suggestion I know of. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can help you out.

It's definitely humanly possible. You don't "need" mechjeb. Mechjeb might make it easier though.

Von Bruan's 1969 Mars landing plan was developed in conjunction with the Space Task Group's study and recommendation for a Space Transportation System in that year, as billbobjebkirk pointed out. It assumed the first flight of the reusable STS shuttle in the mid-1970s and the successful development of the NERVA nuclear engine. Both of these were recommended elements of the original Space Transportation System. Von Braun planned for a launch of such a mission in 1981 and a landing in 1982, which are the same dates given for such a launch in the Space Task Group's recommendation to President Richard Nixon in 1969. While the possibilities of launching large payloads on an Apollo/Saturn rocket remained, it assumed the development of the new Space Transportation System infrastructure and thus was not part of the Apollo Applications Program.

The Klaw will either save your life or summon the Kraken and fling you into interstellar space. Either one is more fun than being stranded

Jet engines need oxygen to work, and they work on Laythe. On Duna and Eve, the other planets besides Kerbin with atmospheres, jet engines do not work. This implies that there is little oxygen in those atmospheres, but that Laythe's is oxygen-rich. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean the air is breathable (there could be any other gas in there besides oxygen). But it at least has enough oxygen to allow jet engines to work, so it is a reasonable assumption.

The worst thing you can do is let OP make you angry, as that is clearly their goal. Have a good night.

You can use any height orbit you like, but for a more efficient burn that takes advantage of the Oberth Effect, do it closer to Kerbin. 100 km is good, 75 is even better.

Oh, it's probably teeming with life, on the microbial level. I like to imagine that the oceans are full of single cell organisms.

Cool. I have to admit, I was not sure if I had enough fuel in the Duna lander for the flyby-rendezvous maneuver, so I was flying by the seat of my pants there for a while. It was a fun mission!

Ascension D-1 (Manned Duna Flyby & Landing) With the completion of the first flyby of Eve, the Kerbal Space Program has progressed far beyond the simple dare to land a Kerbal on the Mun. At the time, the challenge seemed impossible. Now, the powerful Sarnus V rocket has proven to be a reliable launch system. Orbital docking, landing on alien worlds, and living for months in space have all been proven possible. As the Kerbal aerospace-industrial complex churns out more Sarnus boosters, the boys at KSC need a mission that can expand on these technologies and accomplish something amazing. After all, if they slow down now, funding may disappear. And if one thing horrifies our Kerbals, it's the thought of being sentenced to LKO resupply missions. Those are just boring. Fortunately, an clever engineer came up with a plan to perform a flyby of Duna - and land at the same time. The Plan ​ (You can read more about the Flyby-Landing Excursion Mode proposal at the excellent Beyond Apollo blog by David Portree, over at Wired.) A traditional stop-over at another planet costs a lot of Delta-V. You have to boost yourself out there, slow down a lot once you get there, and then boost yourself all the way back again. And you may end up having to wait for months or years in orbit of your destination waiting for a transfer window back home. As was demonstrated with the Ascension E-1 mission to Eve, you can nearly halve your Delta-V requirements by waiting for a flyby window - they're usually not the most efficient way to get to the other planet, but the gravity assist you get when you swing around the planet allows you to return home essentially free. The problem is that you only have a few hours in the planet's SOI as you zip by. Certainly not enough time to get surface samples! The Flyby-Landing Excursion Mode proposal gives the best of both worlds. The vast majority of your ship's weight performs a simple, cheap flyby. However, several days out from the encounter, a small lander separates and puts itself on a course to enter the planet's atmosphere. After a brief landing and excursion, the crew takes off and accelerates toward the main ship to catch a ride home. And that's exactly what the boys at Kerbal Space Center decided to do. They'll need to get a lander, a deep-space habitat, and a CSM to Duna. That's a lot of mass, but we've found a way to do it using conventional propellants and minimum modification of the Ascension Program hardware. The Mission Phase A: Assembly Assembly of the Duna ship will be accomplished with three unmanned and two manned Sarnus V launches. The first three launches lifted modified Sarnus V third stages into LKO. These modified third stages include solar panels, RCS, and docking adapters, but otherwise use the same design as a normal third stage. Once in LKO, the three boosters were docked remotely from Kerbal Space Center. The mated boosters will make up the main propulsion system for the Ascension D-1 spacecraft, performing the Trans-Duna Injection burn. Next, the "assembly crew", consisting of Bob, Eliedith, and Kirgel Kerman, rode a Sarnus V into orbit. This rocket carried a standard CSM with the Duna Excursion Module inside the interstage fairing. Once in orbit, the assembly crew docked the Duna Excursion Module to the newly assembled Propulsion Module, and performed extensive EVA checks of the aerodynamic heatshield that would protect in on Duna atmospheric entry. Meanwhile, a final Sarnus V launch brought the "mission crew", Merene, Phildred, and Milus Kerman into LKO with the Duna Environmental Support Module. Unlike the Eve flyby, there will be no wet workshop for this mission, so the ESM has been expanded for the lengthy trip to and from Duna. As the mission crew arrived, the assembly crew undocked their CSM and returned to Kerbin, where they will no doubt watch the entire mission from the comfort of their home theater systems. The mission crew docked their transposed CSM and ESM to the DEM and Propulsion Modules, and the Ascension D-1 spacecraft was complete. Phase B: Duna Flyby & Landing The Trans-Duna Injection was performed in two parts, with the first boosting the ship's apoapsis slightly past the Mun's orbit. As the ship swung back around to periapsis, the three boosters fired again to send the crew all the way to their rendezvous with Duna. Partway through the burn, the two external boosters were depleted, and they were discarded. Finally, with the burn complete and the craft moving away from Kerbin at escape velocity, the last booster was discarded, destined to become a derelict object in solar orbit. With 60 days until their Duna encounter, the crew was occupied with regular science experiments, maintenance checklists, and Phildred nagging everyone to play chess with him. Nobody liked to play chess with Phildred, because they always won. But they were bored enough that they did it anyway, which may have lead to Phildred developing a rather large head by the time the encounter with Duna was near. Ten days out, Phildred and Marene climbed into the cramped Duna Excursion Module, where they would live for the next 20 days. With Milus waving through the window, they used a few short bursts of RCS to place themselves on a trajectory to enter Duna's thin atmosphere. 10 days later, the Red Planet loomed large in the viewport window. For centuries, Kerbals had been fascinated by the red point of light in the night sky. Up close, with its canyons and polar caps visible in exquisite detail, Merene and Phildred were in awe of the planet's menacing beauty. They did not have long to gawk, however. As the aerodynamic shell of the DEM hit the anemic atmosphere at over 3,000 m/s, they were engulfed in a ball of plasma. When the fireworks were over, the shell and heatshield were dropped, and the drogue chutes were deployed. Marene: We're at 5,000 meters and dropping fast, Phildred. Expecting auto drogue deployment any - *BAM* Phildred: There it is. Velocity dropping from 300 m/s. Marene: We are at 1,000 and at 20 m/s. All systems nominal. Phildred: Looks like we're over a pretty significant slope, Marene. I'm worried the lander could tip. Marene: No help from KSC, it'll take 20 minutes before they can even here us from out here. I'm taking manual control of the lander. Phildred: Maybe I should, I mean ... I am an expert pilot. And a master of strategy... Marene: To hell with your ego, Phildred. I'm landing this thing. With precise bursts of the four Terrier engines, Marene deftly brought the DEM to a gentle halt on the side of the mountain. The lander tipped almost imperceptibly ... and stayed upright! Marene: The surface is about a half-meter hop from the end of the ladder. I'm dropping...there! First Kerbal on Duna! Take that, Phildred. Phildred: Hey, hopping on Duna is easy! I'm still the second Kerbal on Duna, and the best chess player in space. I'd say I'm still coming out ahead. Merene: Forget it, Phildred. Let's get these samples, we don't have a lot of time. With their brief, two-hour EVA complete, the duo reentered the DEM and ignited the engines, emerging from the cloud of red dust and ascending into orbit. From their, they accelerated the craft to escape velocity, placing themselves on a course that would allow them to rendezvous with Milus and the main craft in 10 day's time. At the point of closest approach, the engine was fired one last time to match orbits with the main craft. Donning their spacesuits, the kerbanauts spacewalked (with the Duna samples in tow) to the ESM airlock and a warm welcome from a very lonely Milus Kerman. 70 days later (10 of which Phildred spent locked in the CSM until he promised never to mention chess again), the crew caught their first glimpse of the Kerbin system through the window. They busily prepared for reentry, collecting all of the Duna samples and moving into the Command Module. The ESM and Service module were jettisoned, and the crew reentered at a blistering 4,800 m/s, with the beefed-up command pod heatshield protecting them from the reentry plasma. They descended under parachutes to splashdown and a hero's welcome - the first Kerbals to land on an alien planet! The eggheads back at the Kerbal Space Center are thrilled to have samples of Duna rocks, and will analyze them for signs of life in the months to come. Besides the scientific benefits, Ascension D-1 has proved the viability of in-orbit assembly of large ships with multiple propulsion modules. Wernher von Kerman believes that this could lead to a re-usable space program. He has talked of plans for a "Space Transportation System", using spaceplanes to deliver nuclear propulsion modules and space tugs to LKO. Whether this will ever replace the Ascension Program remains to be seen... (I've started to think about creating a Space Transportation System Challenge once I'm done with GregroxMun's APP challenge, which I am thoroughly enjoying. ) Scoring Can you get points for both an Eve and Duna flyby? It would make sense. If so: - Previous AAP score: 130 points - Duna Flyby: +20 points - New AAP total: 150 points Landing and returning from Duna also means that my Ascension Program has completed the first Super Manley Kerbanaut Mode challenge. - Land and return from Duna, using Apollo-Saturn hardware. +65 points - Super Manley Kerbanaut Mode Total: 215 points Previous & Future Ascension Program Reports: Normal Apollo Program - Mun Base and Molab - Eve Flyby

Interesting. I have had very little trouble getting rockets of any size into orbit in 1.02, but I have noticed that small rockets are more prone to flipping, usually due to going too fast in the lower atmosphere or lack of control surfaces. Why don't you post videos or pictures of your launches? That way we can try to help you.