Mars-Bound Hokie

Dey see me rovin' Dey hatin' Control, they're tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty The new car going at ~169 m/s. Its panels snapped off from aerodynamic forces since the car was going too fast Why did I even put a dart engine or an ISRU unit? In the meantime, I landed an SSTO that went to Laythe. Read "The Neptune Mission Files" in the Mission Reports thread for further details.

LODOCK KERMAN'S MISSION LOG: Y49D103 - 5H15M To make a long story short, everyone was all right. We splashed down on the dark side of Kerbin in the ocean, which sure put Enmal at ease when our heat shield caught fire. Aside from the sweet money we got from completing a tourist contract - and all the media attention (I hate it) - I'm glad we could call Neptune III officially over. When I heard that the plane made it back okay (and that the data was uncorrupted), I felt kind of stupid that we went to the Pol pod instead of stayed on the plane. In our defense, we had just heard that the Neptune II exploded at the time and we didn't want to risk our own necks in a failed re-entry. Plus, we got to see more kerbal faces after years of seeing only Enmal while cooped in that plane. I was pleased when I heard that the Famous Four were part of the Neptune IV, along with a few tourists and other members of the KSP. We've also upgraded the Mun Hopper design for more stable flight and a higher power intake, and we've moved the drills down to guarantee surface contact. The weird thing is that this upgraded design is now taking the same route we did to Jool and back, only it has an engineer and two tourists. I swear, Laythe will end up the most popular vacation spot in the Kerbol system now that it has all the attention. Not that it's a bad thing. After all, we put in a lot of time and money to expand our presence to Laythe. Especially with our new outpost. Besides that, we seem to have made ourselves a docking-capable SSTO that we can use on that moon - among other places. Before I get mobbed by more reporters, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the Neptune missions, both in space and on the ground. Most importantly, I would like to thank everyone who believed in us and supported us through it all. As soon as the Neptune IV returns with the tourists, I plan to get us a group picture of everyone who flew to Laythe. Neptune I Ludlong Kerman Nathan Kerman Matster Kerman Neptune II Johnfrid Kerman The Vall Girls were not part of the Neptune II mission, since they never went to Laythe. His wife, Olivia, is welcome, though. Neptune III Enmal Kerman Lodock Kerman (me) Tourists and other kerbalnauts don't count, since they were in separate, unrelated mission until Neptune II blew up. Even then, they were just "in the neighborhood" when we got the news. Neptune IV (tourists don't count) Jebediah Kerman Bob Kerman Bill Kerman Valentina Kerman Now that I mention it, she'll be the first woman to ever visit, let alone walk on, Laythe. Gralin Kerman Shelus Kerman Tragee Kerman Before I sign off, I would also like to inform everyone that we're about to build a "Neptune Memorial" with the remains of whatever came back home from Laythe - and yes, that includes the MJ controller that survived re-entry from the Neptune II. Feel free to donate to the Neptune Memorial fund, or share your thoughts on the Neptune missions. #poseidonera

FROM THE OFFICE OF WERNHER VON KERMAN At long last, after 9 years, 166 days, 5 hours and 57 minutes, the Neptune III has returned to Kerbin. Though its crew is expected to hit Kerbin's sphere of influence in about 20 days from now, the original spaceplane used for the mission made it back safe and sound. Some dents and burns were found upon recovery, but at least the scientific data was unharmed. You can see Kerbin between the tailfin on the left and the TCS. This plane only needed 1891 m/s for a circularization node 170 km above the surface, while it had 2801 m/s of delta-V left if the NERVs were used. Perfect. The Neptune III in orbit above Kerbin. After that, the Mission Control will remotely pilot the plane to land at the KSC. The Neptune III during Kerbin re-entry. I'm SO glad that it entered at the usual orbital speed instead of an immense hyperbolic-orbit escape velocity. Otherwise, we'd get the Neptune II fiasco all over again. The plane is not too far away from the space center. Gene said that we could have landed anywhere within 20 kilometers of the KSC, but the pilot who was remotely controlling the plane decided to go for the runway landing. TOUCHDOWN. Taken 40 minutes ago. To be honest, Lodock and Enmal didn't really need to change ships since their original spacecraft came back without any major issues. That would have made the perfect newspaper photograph, but I'm sure the media will be just as satisfied when they return in the pod capsule with the other guys. Despite this, we got: 4,348.2 Science Points 199,304 funds from recovered funds. The weird thing is that the plane's model costs 100,428 at the SPH. In the meantime, we've been digging deep into our funds to accommodate for the new Poseidon SSTOs; specifically, the docking-capable variants. We've been launching all kinds of new ships, including (but not limited to). Mass ore transports Both interplanetary and "Lite" Lite means smaller ascent boosters; intended for Mun and Minmus use. Intended to help refuel the Poseidon-class SSTOs (and other spacecraft) when landing to refuel is not possible. 35-person surface bases Can flag down landing spots. Which reminds me, I'm thinking about sending a kerbal to each "relevant" celestial body to plant flags good landing spots for our ore transports, high-occupancy landers, and SSTOs Also can accommodate/promote kerbalnauts that need to rest. Expansion modules Used for Enterprise and Hera-class space stations Has an ore tank and a converter Specifically designed to make it easier for large SSTOs to dock to the station. A self-mining lander for Vall. The Poseidon SSTO has a crappy TWR on that moon (when fully loaded), so sending people up and down shouldn't be a problem. A docking-capable Gilly lander No way am I authorizing a very large vessel to land on Gilly's bouncy surface. NO WAY. In the meantime, the Neptune IV has arrived at Duna - along with the docking-capable Poseidon - along with the fleet of accommodating spacecraft. A lander will take two tourists who paid for a Duna surface landing, and then return them to their respective planes after the lander is refueled. Then, while the Neptune IV and the small Mun Hopper fly to Jool, the tourist transport will fly back so that they can get ready for an Eve fly-by. It may extend our intended Neptune IV mission time, but at least we can get that good cash while moving our space program into a new era. THE POSEIDON ERA The S.S. Raven is also making its journey back home from Jool, first taking a "braking stop" at Duna to refuel. For the Super Trainer-class ship, it was too risky to send 19 people directly into Kerbin re-entry from Jool. By the time it gets to Duna, the regular and the mass ore transports will be fully loaded and ready for action - at least for the Raven to refuel on Ike's surface. After that, the Raven will establish a LKO parking orbit and then send two of its tourists to a Mk. VII interplanetary travel pod for Eeloo. Or at least that was the plan before the docking-capable Poseidon (we need to get a better name for it) was successfully tested. Now some of us are debating on whether to stick with that plan or to use the new plane. Sure, it has an Eeloo TWR of 0.77 when fully loaded, but most of the tanks will be depleted by then. Even if a safe landing is not possible, there would already be a mass ore transport at the ready to refuel as well as a 19-person self-mining lander. We've been getting crap on not using a lot of the stuff we send, so it's time to prove them wrong. Should we: Stick with the original plan and use a disposable 7-person pod? Use the Poseidon SSTO and get a better return-on-investment.

If anyone playing Career mode has ever gone bankrupt - or even gotten close to it - feel free to share your stories. If you haven't and still want to post on this thread, when did you spend a good chunk of your space program's money within (let's say) a 24-real-world-hour period? DISCLAIMER: This thread does not apply to Sandbox or Science mode players, since money isn't an issue. I'll start us off here. I had just made a 20-person docking-capable self-refueling SSTO, but the downside was that it could not land safely at some places due to a poor TWR there. Since I planned to use this as the new standard tourist transport craft, I had to launch ore transports and more landers so that I could complete landing contracts and refuel the plane in orbit without worrying about crashing on the surface due to poor thrust. I soon sent several spacecraft to multiple locations in preparation for this new change; I also had to send a space station to Eve to complete a contract. Here are the expenses I incurred that day EXPENSES Quantity Item Destination Price Total 1 Hera-class Space Station Eve Orbit 1111771.0 1111771.0 1 (STANDBY) Gilly Lander Gilly 157399.4 157399.4 1 35-person Surface Outpost Ike 747688.3 747688.3 1 19-person Self-mining Lander Vall (SB) 639425.0 639425.0 2 Station Expansion Module Duna Orbit Gilly Orbit 235702.2 471404.4 4 Mass Ore Transport Ike Vall Dres Eeloo (SB) 552223.0 2208892.0 2 Mass Ore Transport (LITE) Mun Minmus 255799.0 511598.0 TOTAL Items Price 12 5,848,178.1 Expenses calculated with Excel Some of the items in the picture are not mentioned in the expenses chart, since they were standing by for their exit burns for weeks IRL. I also have some of the items in the expenses chart on standby (and two on the Mun and Minmus), so they won't show up on this picture. What about you?

I know I said that I'll leave the creativity to everyone else, but I want to get us back on track since @Rover 6428 and I (by sheer coincidence) wrote scenarios for the same death. Here we go. In the polar region of Moho, Bobly was riding his open-cockpit rover to the Mohole. Since it was on autopilot, he decided to take a little nap. As he dozed off, his helmet hit a button that deleted the designated waypoint from his navicomputer; it would end up going at 10 meters per second at a 90-degree heading without stopping. An hour later, he was jerked awake and noticed that his vehicle was sliding down the Mohole. In a panic, he tried to unbuckle himself out to exit - but he was too frantic to do anything right. As a last resort, he took out his knife and cut himself free and activated his suit's jetpack. However, he had applied too much thrust forward and he crashed into the side of the Mohole. Though Bobly only sustained a broken rib, his suit's internal computer reported that the propellant tank was punctured. Bobly tried to move back to the center, but of course he hit the other side again - causing another propellant leak. Finally, he decided to concentrate his thrust upward while he still could. Unfortunately, as soon as the rover hit the bottom, one of the springs for the wheels was propelled upward and hit Bobly. The impact knocked him out cold. When Bobly finally came to, he noticed that he was at the bottom of the Mohole; on top of what used to be his small rover. He attempted to fly back up, but his jetpack sustained critical damage and he was all out of propellant. He then tried to radio Mission Control for help, but his communications system was inoperative. Though his life support systems were intact, he realized he was doomed as soon as the sunlight left the bottom of the Mohole. Victim: Arfield Kerman Manner: Poisoned

I sent 12 different spacecraft to three different places in my career save. 6 TO DUNA Small tourist transport destined for Jool Making a refueling stop at Ike Large docking-capable tourist transport Neptune IV Mass ore transport Can hold up to 1500 units of ore. 35-person surface outpost for Ike Module to expand a space station. PURPOSE: to make it easier for large planes to dock with the station. 3 to Jool Aerial Probe Mass ore transport for Vall Necessary to refuel Poseidon-class planes since their TWR is too low for that moon. Laythe surface outpost Not pictured since, at the time the picture was taken, the Laythe surface base hadn't made its escape burn yet. 3 to Eve Space Station (for contract) Module to expand a space station Same design as the one heading for Duna Standby Gilly lander No way I'm risking a bouncy refueling for that plane.

@Rover 6428, nice entry you got. Only a couple of problems. I had already posted for Dade's death. Although, in your defense, none of us can tell if someone is typing on the same thread at the same time. It may be awkward to other readers to see, but it's not that big a deal. You broke Rule 3 of the game, which explicitly states that you cannot kill more than one kerbal at a time. Your scenario included MULTIPLE kerbals dying along with Dade; you were supposed to kill DADE ONLY. I chose "Kerbal Death Note" as the title since we're basically serving its function and it's more popular. Plus, Kira writing names and causing lots of people to die is like every other day at the KSC for most users. EDIT: Saw you fix it. Thanks. Now we can all have fun here.

Bill Kerman, who had entered the Unconventional Gilly Lander contest on a dare, got drunk with his friends and designed the Smallstep while still intoxicated. He then got his friend Dade, who was also drunk at the time, to help him test it at the launch pad. You can pretty much guess what happened from here. (SORRY IF I SEEM NOSY HERE. AS MUCH AS I WANT TO LEAVE THE CREATIVITY UP TO YOU ALL, I JUST COULDN'T RESIST USING THIS WACKY SPACECRAFT BEFORE SOMEONE USES SOMETHING "CONVENTIONAL" (E.G. A RE-ENTRY FAILURE OR FORGETTING TO CHECK STAGING). I'LL GO LEAVE THE FUN TO YOU NOW) Victim: Arfield Kerman Manner: Poisoned

Nice one, @Dirkidirk - and pretty much like any other day in the KSC. Who are you going to kill next? That's pretty much the game here: You tell how the name above you dies. You then write your next victim and his/her manner of death.

I'll take a booster... and ADD IT! Here are the rules: Kill the kerbal whose name is written in the post right before yours. You can either: Use pictures. Write in detail what happens that causes the specified target to die in the specified manner. Write the name of your next victim and the desired manner of death; and no, you can't use "heart attack." This is Kerbal Space Program, you have to be a bit more creative than that (within physical possibility, of course). Don't get too specific; it's up to the person after you to describe exactly what happens. Kill ONLY the intended target; no additional deaths in your scenarios. Bystanders/crewmates wounded or knocked out okay. No double-posting. Manner of death is okay, but you can't use the same exact scenario twice. No derailing the game by posting irrelevant material. No inappropriate stuff (PLEASE!) EXAMPLE Person 1 Target: Jebediah Kerman Manner: Plane Crash Person 2 The guys at the SPH forgot to add control surfaces in the new supersonic jet prototype. As a result, Jebediah Kerman lost control at the runway and crashed into one of the corner lights. His plane flipped over and blew up; the resulting explosion killed him instantly. Mark Kerman – shot Person 3 One of the interns splashed coffee on the central computer controlling the KSC’s automated defense systems. While the intern was trying to fix it, he inadvertently triggered BDArmory’s heat-guided laser targeting system. Since Mark Kerman was returning from his run around the facility perimeter, the laser’s system mistook him for an intruder and opened fire. The first shot killed him. Valentina Kerman will die from poisoning AND SO ON Have fun, everyone. I'll start us off. Bob Kerman - explosion

I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE, @Robonoise Below are the pictures I took of my 14-person amphibious craft, the Amphibian. The Amphibian parked at 0-9 KSC, ready for action. In hindsight, I should have installed a fuel duct connecting the external tanks to the engines.

Even though this bad boy is in LKO right now, it's standing by for its maneuver node to Jool. The Laythe outpost prototype with the protective fairing split apart. Its capabilities include, but are not limited to: ~ 60G Relays All science with lab ~ 8230 Electric Charge 4 x Gigantor Panels 2 x RTG 19-person capacity PPD-12 Viewing Module looking upward Entrance ladders Surrounding lights I'm also sending this 20-person plane to Laythe right now (after refueling on Minmus and Ike, of course). If you want more details on my Laythe exploration and colonization efforts, don't hesitate to read the Neptune Mission Files down below.

While I agree with the banning of mods that provide extra parts (and straight-up teleport you), I don't with you banning MJ since I made it standard-issue for all my spacecraft. And, according to my experience, for good reason. Besides, spacecraft in the real world use computers like that to navigate. Why is MJ not allowed? It has other purposes besides the autopilot; some of the most useful ones would arguably fall under the "informational" section. These functions include, but are not limited to: Orbit info Useful during the initial ascent to LKO, especially when you read the apoapsis height. You will know instantly if your periapsis falls below or above the atmospheric height without having to switch the orbital info on and off all the time. Plus, you know if your apoapsis is getting closer or farther away after your rapiers run out and you're stuck with rockets with a TWR of <1 Surface info You can get more precise readings of surface and sea-level altitudes without having to switch altimeter modes. It can supply your vertical speed so you know if you're in trouble during the initial ascent. Also giving the user a more accurate reading of when the plane is starting to drop/rise. Your current geographical coordinates are displayed whenever this function is on Rover autopilot waypoint info. I used it in the Neptune III missions so I know how close I am to my targets. Don't worry, it's useless in the air. Delta-V gauge Sure, the regular game has it already, but my experience has led me to trust MJ's gauge more than I trust the in-game one. It also comes with TWRs for each stage. I can also see whether or not it's increasing/decreasing for the jets during the initial ascent. Vessel info I can see the maximum acceleration, thrust, and the mass at any moment so I know if I have the proper TWR for a celestial body. Although it also comes with a TWR feature. It also comes with a crew capacity tab, so you can see proof on how many people my SSTOs can carry. Besides that, the aircraft autopilot functions are useless on Kerbin (or Laythe, for that matter). The only time I ever use it is to see how far away I am from the KSC; whenever I used the "autopilot" features, I ended up losing control and spinning around instead. Overall, I've only ever used MJ for the: Ascent guidance Useless for planes Maneuver planner (CAN'T GO WITHOUT) Rendezvous autopilot Docking autopilot Although, you're probably not looking for a docking-capable plane in this case. Orbit info Surface info Vessel info This is very useful for the "presentation" part of the challenge. Delta-V gauge Landing autopilot More or less useless for celestial bodies with atmospheres. Aircraft approach and autoland But ONLY to see the distance from the KSC. Everything else is useless. Rover autopilot But ONLY to see the distance between me and the target. IF YOU WANT THE CRAFT FILES FOR THE SSTOs, I'LL REMOVE MJ FROM THE VESSEL BEFORE POSTING THEIR LINK Can it also be able to fly without any pilots at all? Aside from the fact that probe cores and antennae of at least 2G are mandatory for my SSTOs, I have placed relays everywhere in my career save. Do I still need to include a pilot when I tally my capacity, because I honestly don't need any at this point. Also, what qualifies as a "flight attendant?" Can an engineer count, because they have proven extremely useful when refueling the planes. What do you mean by "unless stated?" We can make these up on our own, right? Should our flag also be that of our made-up company, or can we use the in-game ones? By how much must ticket revenue exceed launch cost? What are the minimum and maximum boundaries for the launch cost percent. Realistically speaking, companies wouldn't want to sell a good/service if they only get a specified amount of money (e.g. $10 profit regardless of price, which is very annoying if the good/service in question is very expensive). Profit = {REVENUE = (Launch cost - (10% launch cost))} - {LAUNCH COST} = 10% Launch Cost Then again, we can't make tickets too pricey either. EXAMPLE: ticket revenue must also include a profit of 15% - 50% of the launch cost. Okay, I can see how this can be misinterpreted. Does it mean that the craft should be able to: Hold 2-6 people total, with at least 1 pilot and 1 other non-tourist crewmember Can pilots also count as "crew" and the pilot at the same time? Hold 4-9 people total, with: 2-6 tourists 1 kerbalnaut 1-2 pilots Honestly, do you really need more than 1 (let alone 2) pilots per spacecraft? If a spacecraft with more than one pilot loses control and one pilot ends up dead, odds are the others are either dead or stranded. I have three working SSTO models (2 Private, 1 Small) that I would like to enter in this competition. If you want a preview of them in action, please visit these posts. Mun Hopper Read the parts mentioning "Mun Hopper" and "Neptune III" for further information about that specific craft in action. Dirtblood Poseidon* Late in the Neptune Mission Files entries, but it's now being used as a tourist transport while official KSP members conduct their surface mission I also made a docking-capable modified variant of this plane. What do you think? I hope these planes qualify for the Spaceliner Challenge, because I've already commissioned them as tourist transports in my career save. Plus, they're the only working interplanetary spaceplanes I have, so you need to accept them if you want me to show more. * the Poseidon craft known as Neptune IV hasn't made its burn to Duna yet, but I'm confident in its ability to land on Ike and make it to Laythe with ease.

What exactly do you want us to do? Is the goal to: Load the tourists in the KSC Tour the facility Either on the surface or in the air Swim/fly to the island airfield Tour the place upon landing IN THAT ORDER