Adenosine Triphospate

Definitely can't beat that multi-colour plane! Love the way the green and blue blends into each other along the crew cabins. I'm currently modifying a double fuselage box wing spaceplane (I know its kinda hard to visualise, but thats the only way I can describe it) with loads of lights as its payload. I think it'll look cool with the lights illuminating the box wing. I'm yet to overcome the drag issues (probably need an interstage fairing) and making it flight worthy, but its definitely something I want to finish. Your post deserves more attention!

I really like the quality of life updates they did in 1.7, mainly the altitude toggle. I would very much like to see Centre of mass, centre of lift etc toggleble in flight (invaluable for SSTOs, otherwise you have to test the whole damn thing just to find the optimum balance, re-entry and all) and perhaps readouts, such as lift/drag ratios. Transfer windows may also be nice to know.

I took advice from many different sources before actually trying it out myself. I did watch Scott's tutorial, but I also watched various Blunderbird episodes by Matt Lowne. Rendezvous is the easiest bit, its the docking thats the most frustrating! It took be several attempts, probably because I was going too fast, and the ports kept throwing each other off. I did mine above Minmus, which is easier to rendezvous around due to its small size. If you want practise, Id recommend a refueling station around Minmus to practise docking to. I ended up not using RCS, instead using those small engines (on the side of the fuel barge) that face both directions to slow my velocity. I too spent the day looking up tutorials, so don't worry if the first time was the hardest! it will only get easier

Intuitively, I would just say design a bigger ship, one with a greater TWR. Consider ones with large gimbal to compensate for the hefty payload. What you could also try is a wider craft. If the engines are mounted further away from the COM (i.e. radially on girder segments) it means you will have greater overall control of the vessel, as it will be more balanced. Avoid making the craft too tall, as this will just make matters worse (because of a higher COM). Think about it this way: a skyscraper is a lot more unstable and more likely to fall over than an arena will. I think the small size of the lifter is ultimately what might make the craft unstable with the payload P.S. just out of curiosity, what was the contract to begin with? I've never come across a contract that requires the whole cockpit to be recovered

Thanks for your reply! Do you mean that the strut connector performs differently to autostrut, in terms of the structural integrity it offers? I know that you can select different parts to strut to in auto strut, so would this have the same effect as a strut connector to the said part?

Funny, I didn't know that autostrut was a stock thing before this post! I had always assumed it was some kind of mod when it was brought up, never knowing that you could just enable it like that.

Do you mean docking? Because what you have described is a docking manoeuvre, where they physically connect. Rendezvous simply means that you are stationary within the vicinity of the target vehicle, in other words, not moving and close to the target. Depending on where the docking ports are located, and the location and number of RCS thrusters determines how hard it is to dock the ships. An image would really help, as the design of the craft is kinda important to the ease of docking. If the docking ports are on the front of the ships, it makes it significantly easier. All I can say now is it's just patience and very slow approaches.

So I've been flying a few spaceplane designs, some which have worked and others that only make it to the end of the runway. As my designs get better, there is one thing I suspect that I have not improved at, and that's minimising drag. What I understand is: Nosecones reduce drag, even on faces not on the airflow, due to how the game handles surfaces, therefore having open nodes is a big no no. Don't use too many wings, angle wings slightly so the plane faces prograde in level flight. Offsetting radial parts into the body doesn't actually help, "physicsless" parts actually add drag, but to the body its attached to. What I would like to know is other, albeit smaller things, such as struts, should I minimize their use? Does a slanted nosecone actually perform better radially? What type of nosecone is best in what circumstance? Do slanted wings perform better (regarding drag)? Any tips in general?