Wait- Was That Important?

The atmosphere ends at 69,040m or so. What you're experiencing is random variance with how KSP rounds the numbers for the orbit, it won't actually degrade over time.

That's a very good video. Such an old version of KSP as well!

These are possibly the best-looking things I've seen in Fan Works so far! I do have a picture I'd like dolled up all pretty-like. Message me for the requirements?

I just don't bother with spaceplanes, with somewhere around 200 hours into KSP. 1.) Building a flight escape system for spaceplanes is far more difficult than a launch escape system for rockets- you can't add too much weight or you'll unbalance the craft, it can't be too large, and the cockpit often has important components like docking ports or, even worse, the cockpit can be an integral part of the plane. For that matter, when taking off from the runway there's a very small change of successfully saving Kerbals if something goes wrong, so you wind up losing alot more Kerbals on planes than rockets. 2.) Piloting planes are hard, and they can become unbalanced in flight or reentry, making it likely you'll lose the ship if not your Kerbals, especially when dealing with large complex planes and heavy payloads. 3.) SSTO's or just spaceplanes, as a rule, require more engineering to lift payloads into orbit. A 20 part LV for me takes 30 tons to LKO, whereas a 20 part spaceplane doesn't even go to space today. Lifting large payloads with spaceplanes is difficult, and it's also tough to carry any appreciable amount of crew with them. I'm aware that there are spaceplanes that can lift 40 tons or so into LKO, but at the same time those planes often have high part values. I just don't see the appeal, especially with how broken the aerodynamic system is.

There's another way to do all of this without config files or mods- just put a bicoupler and a few seperatrons on the pod you want removed, ejecting it before you start flying. As long as you have some way of getting them there, you can just put new Kerbals back in the actual command pod on the ship.

It's because he's done this twice already- taking creations from others and claiming he "reverse engineered" them (which is just copy+pasting) and then whining when people eventually figure out they're just him stealing from others. Morgan, I'm glad that you're actually doing it this time, despite the "shenanigans" of late. Hopefully this is you turning over a new leaf with your "reverse- engineering" endeavors.

Actually, I just used the KW 1.25m fuel tanks. The truss structures are just normal trusses attached to the sides of them, which I discovered look pretty cool. The white tanks attached to the side of them are the RCS tanks from the Soyuz pack.

I was under the impression, and have had that reinforced by the comments in this thread, that Eve is nothing like it's namesake. It's not a fertile ground for the growth of the Kerbal race- it actually seems pretty hellish. From a practical standpoint, getting anything up from Eve is very difficult. Payload fractions are in the range of 1-2% if you're lucky, making moving fuel to orbit in any sort of respectable quantities nearly impossible. On the other hand, Duna is far more reasonable. Water can be gathered from the polar ice caps- even if they're mostly carbon dioxide there's bound to be some water ice there. For that matter, the atmosphere is less turbulent and has what I assume is a less toxic mixture of gases, along with being easier to ascend from. It's a good balance of easiness to reach (versus Laythe, which is the best candidate) and habitability. I would say Duna all the way.

The station only has single docking ports, so it's fairly wobbly. The ship has very little wobble under full thrust- 400 kN with that 2.5m NERVA on the back there. I figure it could be twice as long and still fine.

Hey KSP Community, I'm trying to do a campaign- style run through of KSP, and have been using KW Rocketry among other mods. I've been self- enforcing my rule of building realistic LV's, and so far it's worked out great (the fairings in particular make designing ships a novel yet fun challenge, so I have to make them fit into certain spaces to launch successfully). This 170-ton station was constructed using my launch vehicles, and proved that they work. The launch of the first component- a fairly simple 25 ton command pod, strut section with solar panels, RCS, and battery, and two hab sections. That cylinder sticking out the top is the Launch Escape Tower, it's a relatively short payload so the fairing fitting is awkward. The second component docking. It has two lateral docking ports for payloads, two hab sections, and a long central truss structure to allow attachment of large payloads along with over 4000 units of RCS. This was my first time using multiple docking ports- I didn't use subassembly loader, so it took some kajiggering in the VAB to get working, but it connected without much difficulty. This is the launch of the third and heaviest component, weighing in at 57 tons. 40 tons of fuel and a 10 ton NERVA make up most of the mass, along with one extra hab space for engineering, requiring me to use my heaviest launch vehicle with 39,000 units of liquid fuel. I didn't want to add to the mass by fitting RCS tanks or ports, so I actually just docked the two previously docked components with RCS and tankage to the propulsion section. The fully assembled vessel, ready to receive a Duna colony module and additional external fuel tankage as ballast. With 3000 units of dV, I should be able to get to Duna. Since it's modular, I can ditch sections as needed, so if it's looking iffy I'll just lose the middle section as there's enough hab space without colonists on board and enough attachment space without a payload to not be required. It weighs 105 tons and is probably 70-80m long. As long as any modules use the three docking port arrangement, I can arrange the ship however I want- If, for example, I were to want to bring it to Jool and back, I'd dock two more fuel tanks sans engines on the center axis and another fuel tank/ engine arrangement. Preliminary estimates (screwing around in the VAB) give it 8,000 dV. Questions, comments, and criticisms are all appreciated!

1.) The APAS-69, from CBBP's Soyuz Pack, has never worked correctly. I used them myself for awhile but got sick and tired of the issues, it was literally 90% of the time that they wouldn't work. Just switch back to stock docking ports, they don't look as nice but modded docking ports usually have problems. 2.) If you're getting stuck at a certain attitude, make sure ASAS is off. You might not even realize it's on- toggle it with "t".

Alright, I'm doing it this time! I have a ship bound for Duna, I'll post it here when it gets there!

That's amazing! How long are each of the Hitchhiker containers? I've always assumed they were 3m tall.

Hey, 0.17 looks pretty cool. I guess I'll buy the game, who knows what future updates could be? What a neat- looking experience this game is! I hope I can make orbit some day.

These are beautiful engines- they look great with both stock and KW! I'm fiddling around with the balancing as well, but I think I'll get it down on my own.

These are very nice looking boats! What mod is this, I can't seem to find it.

I don't want to cause an argument or something, but I've always been curious as to the lack of males in your drawings. Is it just because you prefer the female form, or are you making a statement about the game's apparent lack of genders? I suppose these Kerbals in this picture might be male, but I can't really tell looking just by at their androgynous spacesuits. Just curious. Nice work as always, and that new sketch looks good.

Yes, it's the same WWTI? you've all come to possibly be vaguely aware of. I'm back after losing my account in the server outage of 2013. I play on the KLF server ts3.general-physics.de, come check it out! I use KW Rocketry, assorted parts from the NP Remix Pack and Soyuz Pack, and the Bobcat HOME mod, along with the Kerbal Engineer Redux plugin. Just wanted to say hi again and to prove that I'm the real WWTI?

Then don't comment. OP: Try using maneuver nodes (going to map view and clicking on your orbit, then fiddling around with the sliders) to make an encounter- it lets you plan out maneuvers so you can see what will happen.