BenKerman

Hi, I followed the instructions at this link Early Career Tutorial · KSP-RO/RP-1 Wiki · GitHub pretty successfully (although not perfectly). Are there more step-by-step tutorials out there for RO things? Here's a list of things I'm interested in: orbiting a satellite (no recovery) landing on Moon, returning from Moon landing a Kerbal (are they humans now?) on Mars & returning, and specifically using a Robert Zubrin "Mars Direct" style program (sans the spinning artificial gravity) playing with Falcon Heavy to see what it can do (could it go to Moon or Mars)? Thanks, Ben

How can you have a bulldozer in KSP? I've never heard of this before. Pics? I ascended from Eve (got a Kerbal to orbit) once. I'm not interested in doing it again right now.

Thanks!

Got it, thanks!

Hi, How might I put some ballast at the tippy top of my rocket? I'm following these instructions to make a V-2. Building a Downrange Rocket · KSP-RO/RP-1 Wiki · GitHub As the tutorial notes correctly, it's no longer possible to add lead ballast to an avionics nose cone. I've played way too much KSP w/o RO (on my Xbox, not on PC), so I know I could add "dead weight" to the bow of my rocket in many ways. However, I'm new to RO and it seems delicate (like real life). So, what should I do? How do I get more mass the front of my rocket to add stability? Thanks, Ben Update -- actually, I'm not sure at all how to add dead weight in RO. If this was stock, I would add batteries, or excess fuel in a fuel tank. But I'm not sure how to do either of those here.

Hi, How does one zoom in KSP (I'm particularly interested when inside the VAB) when on PC and not having a number pad? According to this page Key bindings - Kerbal Space Program Wiki, I should press plus and minus on the number pad to zoom in and out. I don't have a numpad. I tried using the plus and minus at the top of my keyboard (while using shift), but that didn't work. Thanks, Ben

Aelfhe1m was right -- clicking the sky and then pressing z worked. Thanks!

Vanamonde, thanks for replying. Both engines are supposed to ignite at stage zero; that is by design, according to the tutorial. The upper stage definitely has fuel after the lower stage finishes. So thanks for the theories, but I'm pretty sure the problem lies elsewhere. I will play around later today.

Hi, I just installed Realism Overhaul, and I'm trying to launch a simple sounding rocket. Building a Sounding Rocket · KSP-RO/RP-1 Wiki · GitHub Unfortunately, my upper stage doesn't light. I think this is because I can't move the throttle (the Aerobee engine won't do anything if the throttle is at zero, right?). I've tried clicking on the throttle, and it won't budge. I've tried playing with MechJeb (including turning it off) and that didn't work. I've tried pressing left shift and left control and that doesn't move the throttle. What do I do? Thanks, Ben

Here's a video of my unsuccessful launch: https://youtu.be/yZeIsGAFFMA Back to the drawing board again.

Ok, this guy will not get me to orbit. The farthest i can get is maybe 10 or 15 km in altitude at best, and usually i lose control well before that. I will post a video later. Need a new design.

Ship is fueled up, and extra equipment has been jettisoned in preparation for takeoff. It's at about 1800 m above sea level, and the ship should have more than 8000 m/s delta-v in a vacuum. I wonder if it will work. I'll probably fly later today or tomorrow.

I managed to land safely, and have now re-fueled the ship and am ready-ish for takeoff! I have some cool screenshot, but for some reason imgur won't let me upload them. I'll try again later. Oddly enough I find that I can't do an EVA. One time I tried to EVA, and my kerbonaut "crashed into the terrain" and exploded. I think the gravity is too great. Another EVA avoided that problem, but then the Kerbal couldn't climb back into the ship -- again, I suppose too much gravity.

Hahaha...I just realized I forgot to add landing gear to my latest ship, so I'll need to land this sucker and then launch a new one.

Hi, In the past few months I've been trying to visit and return from Eve. I've successfully landed my vehicle on Eve a few times, but haven't managed to get back to orbit for one reason or another. It's a tricky balance of competing interests. Successful Eve EDL - Imgur This guy had a fatal flaw -- the mining drills inside the fairing blew up on EDL. I think this was because the fairing terminated on the fuel tank that the mining drill was attached to. It might also be because in extended position the drill went below the heat shield, but I'm hoping this was not the case, because I didn't account for that in my latest ship... Latest ship: Latest Eve Ship - Imgur It's a bit ugly. The trusses were necessary because the vehicle was flexing too much in the middle during Kerbin take-off. As a matter of fact, it was quite difficult to fly even in this configuration, which was successful in getting to orbit. Next I'll refill this guy in orbit and re-use the lowest stage to get me to Eve and then brake into orbit and then land. Hopefully the drills won't explode during Eve EDL. I don't think they designed the game to make returning from Eve that do-able. It wasn't the first thing on their minds. I'm doing this in sandbox mode because I kept running out of money in Career mode. These things are expensive. Ben Successful Eve EDL: Latest ship: