Clipperride

Thought it was just the wording being picked out by the contract generator, but wanted to double check as, despite having done a couple of them before (orbit the sun) it was still marked as an "Exceptional" achievement for rep. Thanks again

When it comes to tourists contracts, what's the difference between a sun fly-by and a sun orbit requirement? Or is it just the wording that's different and they both just need you to pop out of Kerbins SOI and back?

Further to last nights mission report, I finally got round to uploading some of the screenshots. As mentioned the first successful SSTO since the 1.2 update made it all the way to a Munar flyby and back. . Officially designated the Azone Flyer, it has been affectionately dubbed the 'Kin Ugly by those who fly it. The other big bit of news was the redesign and launch of an extension module to the Minmus "Hut" Base. It required a large increase in Kerbal Capacity as well as mining equipment, and a large amount of liquid fuel. As the contract is worth a total of 1,106,587 roots, their every wish is our grudging duty command. So,, we'll finish off with a few shots of the extension in flight, sojourning across the Flats of Minmus and the final, completed base. Pip pip.

Well, panicking seems to have worked! Full report and pics tomorrow, but today I achieved; -i) After struggling with space planes since the 1.2 update, I went back to basics and built an all LF, 4 Kerbal (+ 1 pilot) Mun fly by plane. It tumbled a bit on re-entry (needs more electricity), but I was back in control with 3,000m to spare before landing. -ii) I redesigned the Minmus "Hut" base expansion module. It's now based around a Mk3 passenger section with Cupola, mining/processing equipment and a Klaw to attach to the original base. Instead of building a horizontal, rover type craft, I went for a vertical approach. Jeb flew her up to LKO followed by 3 MOL ( Mun/Minmus Orbital Lab) automated refuelling tugs, each supplying 1½ orange tanks of propellant. The refueled ascent stack acted as the transfer stage and placed the module in a Low Minmus retrograde orbit (due to an over burn and the fact it takes about a week to turn round to correct, due to the lack of RCS). The last of the transfer fuel was used to deorbiting and the top mounted landing stage did the rest of the work. As it's a little touchy to fly, Jeb landed around 3km away from the base and will drive the rest of the way. As it is on one of the flats, it's an easy journey. The expansion module sways a little during acceleration and braking, but hasn't toppled over on us yet. He also has to fill the empty LF tanks with 6,499 units to satisfy the contract requirements and wishes he had brought some sort of ore scanner with him. One will be sent up, with extra snacks as well as the second pilot I forgot to add to the crew roster before take off - another contract requirement. It's a good job this'll pay over 1,000,000! Other than those oversights, it went pretty well! (Really should start double checking things before lift off)

The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy may have the words "Don't Panic" written in large, friendly letters on its cover, but this rocket designer is ignoring that advice and panicking like billy-oh! Had I known the Minmus 'Hut Base" would require expansion, I might not have skimped so much on its design. I built an expansion module that increases the berth's from 6 to 22 (or is it 28, I forget at the moment), added mining capabilities and even tested it's docking maneuvere on the runway. But (and it's a great big fanged "but", hence the bold) the thing is nigh on impossible to launch! The CoM is soooo off centre that 2 hours of tweaking the connection betwixt module and launcher still resulted in an oversized Catherine wheel. I even tried a large fairing (adding 10t to the weight) to no avail. Using the largest wheels, which is needed to line up the docking ports, really causes CoM problems. I'm considering going for a Klaw attachment and seeing if I can retract the legs of the original base to bring things into range of the more reasonably sized wheels. The ugly solution would be to mirror the larger wheels adding a useless set pointing skywards. A total redesign is planned after some sleep!

Great thread! I to have been having space plane issues since the 1.2 update and I'm fascinated by the above helpful advice. It's inspired me to have another go at building a passenger carrier. If I could hijack the thread a little, how does the change in the speed of Mach 3 with increasing altitude effect the Whiplash's power curve?

Prior to 1.2, I was a solid "average" at building space planes. I could get them to orbit the Mun and back with only around half a dozen test flights / tweaks. Now I'm struggling to get into LKO with a Mk2 and nowhere near with Mk3 parts - even after 4 hours of building/testing/swearing!?! So, the SPH has been repurposed as a design centre for a fairly large expansion module to the Minmus "Hut" base, increasing it from 6 to 28 berth's and adding mining and processing equipment. It's going to be fun getting it there (wheels have been added to counteract any landing errors) and a nice payday when it's done.

I've just accepted my first contract to expand a base that was built for a previous client. The current contract requires accommodation for 28 Kerbals. Does that mean the new, add on part must have 28 berth's, or that the base as a whole (including the 6 berth's from the original base) must have 28 when the new part (with 22 extra places) is attached?

If your plane is too "twitchy" then caps lock toggles between normal and fine control. And, practice, practice, practice!

A slip of the fingers there @bewing. To get the parachutes to open at a higher altitude, you need to move the "minimum pressure" slider to the left (ie lower pressure)

Sorry for the above blank quote, My tablet browser really doesn't like this forum and wouldn't let me do anything at all after I accidentally hit "quote" Today I stole was inspired by a Mk3 craft from Torio on KerbalX. As it's a pain connecting my games machine to the internet, I built my own version based on the 2 pictures. I was quite pleased with the results as the pictures didn't really show all the details. It took a couple of tweaks but now flies really well. I've also been completing some contracts as, having committed to 15 already, no more were appearing in Mission Control. What is it with pilots needing rescue at mountain skimming heights around the Mun and Minmus? Who launches these craft and why can't they conduct their own reduces?? I feel we should be told!

Thanks for the answers. Although it's strange to hear it's a soft limit as, the number of contracts I have + the number of available contracts seems to remain at 15 (for me at least) Looks like I'll be a busy boy on Duna and Ike as soon as the next transfer window opens up! One other (sort of) related question; Does the amount of Rep lost for cancelling a contract that has been accepted go down over time? I ask as I decided I couldn't be bothered hauling a class E astroid about the place, so I cancelled it. I only lost 2 rep points and wondered if that was because it had been over a year since I originally accepted it?

Good Day Forumiers, I noticed yesterday that once I have 15 current contracts, no more seem to appear at Mission Control. As soon as I completed a couple of contracts, two new ones appeared. Is there any way to increase the total number of contracts you can have? Not being aware of this limit, I've accepted quite a few long term contracts in Dunas SOI and have another year to wait before the next transfer window opens.

Yesterday I; - Redesigned my 7 seat tourist carrier, saving 10,000 per launch (and named the new version The Kash Kow) - Got the Original Four up to level 3 - Rescued a Kerbal from an incredibly low Minmus orbit - Got some easy money testing a few parts on the launch pad. - Built a new Mun Base (contract) but failed to land it in one piece, so need to put it down some less slopey ground. Then spent ages looking at other folks space planes looking for Mk3 inspiration. Gotta love Sundays!

One other method if you are playing stock, launch a small craft outside Kerbins SOI. It will then be on a nice long orbit around the sun, which means you can set a maneuvere node and slide it around the orbit until it's a few days earlier than the transfer window. Finally, a warp to next maneuvere node and you're done.

Today I unlocked the CR-7 R.A.P.I.E.R Engine (had to scrub around the KSC biomes as I was 200 science points short. Tacky I know) and retro fitted one to Jebs Mk1 Pizza Runner. Crust and toppings will be piping hot from now on. PS @SpaceFanatic10 Congratulations, nice to see some downwards thrusting RCS, which really helps keep rovers grounded on Minmus!

Once you're able to go on EVA and have the ability to take passengers to the Mun/Minmus, you can always take Bob (or any other scientist) along as a passenger to reset experiments that need it. As mentioned above, it's worth leveling up your scientists if you plan on using the Mobile Processing Lab.

Year 2 Day 100 To think I was worried about funds playing Career rather than Science Mode! Playing on default settings for funds, rep and science I now have over 9 million in the bank. Time to start building some fancy stuff to go and have a look at the rest of the planets as the transfer windows open up.

Colour image of Phobos. Although there isn't a huge amount of colour! Plus the image is more "colourful" than you would see if you were actually there as it includes wavelengths that are normally invisible to the human eye. This Google Plus post also has a link to a 3D image should you have a pair of red/blue glasses handy

- Why oh why won't my tablet browser let me delete the spoiler window?? - Why are there so many great posts and only 25 likes per day (If I haven't liked yours it's because I ran out, but I do read them all) - And, the reason for the Quote - Snap, me too! After a year of playing KSP, I too ventured out to Duna for the first time in my new(ish) 1.2 career save. Very satisfying to land an un-crewed craft to check out the ∆v requirements (I don't like to hyperedit) before sending a team there in year 3. What a great "game" (not really a game, more a way of life!) Toodles

Today, I finally got round to updating KSP from 1.2 to 1.2.2 and even remembered to copy it to another folder in case future updates are not to my liking I also completed my first mining contracts on the Mun and Minmus. One reason I'm enjoying career (after being a die hard Science Mode player) is the contract payments show you how efficient your designs are. I like the cost of the launch to be under ½ of the payment. So, a Mk 1 command pod, Mk 1 crew carrier (for the engineers) a couple of small ore tanks (for the 550 ore) plus gigantor arrays, thermal control, drills etc and I had a nice little mining rig. I did, however, forget the batteries, which wasn't a problem for mining as the solar panels handled the load, but it did make the reentry a little more "explodey" than was ideal. The 50 units of Electrickery wasn't enough to maintain control during the firey bit of the descent and we lost some of the panels and radiators. Had I been a bit more on the ball I would have probably fixed the issue for the second mission, but ....... Still, a nice little profit for the planned year 3 exploration.

Gods speed JohnGlenhn http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38257445

Gods speed John Glenn http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38257445

Today I built myself a new plane to challenge my own Time To Climb record. . . . . May be a little on the overpowered side?

Sorry for the above post - this forum doesn't play well with Chrome Tablet browser One other thing I love about KSP is that, even after over a year of gaming there is still new things to explore and do. I was always a dedicated Science Mode player until recently. I had tried Career Mode a couple of times, but found it a bit of a slog. Having gained experience and having been inspired by Marcus House and his tutorials aimed at getting through the early stages of career, a whole new set of challenges have opened up. Love it!