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This add-on adds parts of a small shuttle to the game, which is capable of sending up in orbit Kerbin to 3 tons (!) V 1.4 1. The root folder is now named "MKShuttle", so if you've used this add-on before, it will be removed from the game. 2. Some textures have been slightly updated. 3. Added one more solar panel. 4. The model of the DS-1 antenna has been changed, and a new DS-2 antenna has been added. 5. Satellites now use XenonGas for RCS. 6. Changed the position of the main docking port, now when switching to it, it will have the correct orientation for docking. V 1.3 Changes: 1. Completely changed rocket model and solid booster 2. Added small ion engine 3. Added solar panel for satellites 4. Added a new small booster - KSTug 5. Changed the balance of the rocket 6. Now RCS on Kermes runs on regular fuel, not monoprop 7. Removed the problematic protective cover from JetEngine Entering the atmosphere is not difficult, turn the fins up, keep the ship level horizontally on the descent and wait, it will raise its nose to the top by itself, that's all. The names of the ships are made in different languages Vesta (Lat) Ūrania (Lat) Молния (RU) -> Lightning Ptaszek (PL) -> birdie 极光 (China) -> Aurora There is partial support for: and B9PS Included in add-on. Thanks to the add-on, the shuttle will be resilient and will not require autostruts. Search keyword for ship parts in the game "MKS" Parts search for arm "ARM" Сraft files customization: Button 1 - Extend Fins Button 2 - Retract fins to their original position Button 3 - Extend Rudder for atmospheric braking Button 4 - Move Rudder to its original position Download: https://spacedock.info/mod/2678/KerbalMiniShuttle

The main idea of this patch is to reduce the complexity of MKS while still keeping its main features. It makes MKS less difficult to use and more suitable for interstellar bases. Please notice, this is on very early development. The new production chain: Download GitHub (alpha, use at your own risk) Dependency Modular Kolonization System Support USI Life Support (Strongly Recommended) Extraplanetary Launchpads (Strongly Recommended) Stock-alike Station Parts Expansions Sandcastle Kerbal Planetary Base System Planetside License: MIT If anyone want to participate in the development, feel free to let me know!

Ok guys, so I have a problem after using the Konstructor from the super awesome mod Konstruction. "So why don't you ask over there?", I hear you screaming at your screen. First of all, chill. Second, I'm not really sure Konstruction actually is the problem. So here goes. First, some formalities. Here's my mod list and here are my log files for my 1.12.3 install: KSP log en player log I thought I saw someone reporting something similar after the latest version of Konstruction (and the other USI mods) dropped, but I can't find it anywhere. So either my searching skillz suck, or I only dreamt it. Probably the second. I thought the (imaginary?) report said that Konstructing a vessel that had one or more Hab modules (so a MKS part or a part from another mod using a MKS patch) caused problems. When I tried exactly that, I had troubles indeed: building the 'Mun Hab Pilgrim2' (with parts from both SSPXr and Planetside Exploration Technologies, both 'enriched' by MKS) through the 'Konstructor' (the orbital shipyard from Konstruction) caused an infinite loading screen. Game stuck? Well, not really, because my KAC window was still available, and I could switch to another ship via that way. When I went to the map screen, I could see that the 'Mun Hab Pilgrim2' actually was build. When I tried to switch to it, I got a never ending loading screen again, so I had to escape using KAC again. I could switch to the Konstructor, however, and then use the 'swith to nearby vessel' key. Oh boy. The vessel instantly turned into spaghetti, back into a ball, stretched again, ...went into a rapid spin and acceleration, ...Total Mess. So was it the hab modules? Maybe, because the Konstructor works just fine when building other craft without hab modules. I can also build and load the 'Mun Hab Pilgrim2' from the VAB*. So it's got to be Konstruction right? Well, when I reverted to the previous version (the bleeding edge from October 2021), it did not solve the problem. Maybe another USI Mod (like MKS)? I reverted the whole USI suite, did not solve it. Looking at the logs, I see weird stuff (*like FlowGraph errors from the vessel I loaded from the VAB?), but examining logs isn't my strong side. So I turn to you, logfile nerds connaisseurs. Do you guys have any clue? The log files are from a session where I started KSP, switched to the Konstructor (time warped a bit), Konstructed the vessel, looked at the loading screen a bit, switched to another vessel, and closed to game. Anyway, it's not like my save (using it since 1.7!) is completely broken, everything works fine except Konstructing Hab modules, but an answer would be nice. Cheers!

As you have probably know from the title I am working on a compatibility patch for MKS EL KPBS and OSE. I have most of the changes completed and have figured out that I could just run them through patch manager rather than needing to overwrite original configs. In this way it can also be completely optional but I'm not sure how to separate the patch into its own thing as I started by using the patch OSE.cfg in MKS, but I also noticed that MKS has a Patch Manager setup for EL so I started moving my changes over to the Patch Manager method so as stated before there would be no need to overwrite the original configs in their respective folders. To get more to my point would I be able to make my own mod folder to put into GameData and let Patch Manager make the changes from my folder rather than having to go through the folders of these other mods. It would contain the configs for part changes, the custom decals I made for the OSE containers, a ReadMe documenting all the changes (will probably also need help understanding licensing and requirements to even publish this) . It would use the Patch Manager folder structure as detailed in the MKS patches.

Compatability Patch (v1.0) Attempts to fill the gaps in compatability between the following mods: Modular Kolonization Systems (Basically the whole USI Constellation) OSE Workshop Reworked Kerbal Planetary Base Systems Extraplanetary Launchpads ... Possibly More I will attempt to balance the resources between the different construction methods but cannot promise anything. Important Info -DOES NOT- do anything until the required mods are installed, and can be used without the entire collection of mods installed -Tested on KSP Version 1.12.9- Mod Dependencies = None (but does not take away the dependencies for other respective mods) Can optionally be controlled by Patch Manager if installed Only a few items aren't on the list yet, sorry theres alot I'm still working on finishing it During testing OSE does not consider B9 Part Switch as a dependency on CKAN but the tanks it comes with don't work without it, with it installed they will function and with this patch will also have the extra tanks Mods Affected Modular Kolonization Systems Kerbal Planetary Base Systems Extraplanetary Launchpads OSE Workshop Reworked B9 Part Switch Installation Just drop the folder DSGC into KerbalSpaceProgram/GameData and everything should be taken care of. Pics or No Clicks https://imgur.com/a/n4g8sMY the album only has 3 images showing some of the changes for compatability Download Link https://github.com/DSG-Cubik/DSGC-AIO-Patch Issue Tracker https://github.com/DSG-Cubik/DSGC-AIO-Patch/issues Giving Credit Where Credit is Due! For advice and insight easing the process of making this @Randazzo @Zer0kerbal (and an extra Thank You for the work making this page easier on the eyes) Legal Mod Licensed Under MIT Images used are under License (CC0 1.0) Credit for images Used All images were edited and changed in some form by me but still fall under the same license

KSECA: Kerbal Space Exploration and Colonization Association ... Kerbin, KSC, Mission Control Gene: Good morning. (smiles) Wernher: (looks up, looking tired) What you look so happy about we've just been up all night. Gene: We just got the license to start launching Kerballed missions. Wernher: (shocked) Really. (steadies himself) Ok I'll get making some blueprints. You phone the others. (runs out) ... Basically this is a series of missions that will be centred around colonizing planets and moons using MKS and the Near Future Series of mods. With a few others from USI, Nertea and some others. I will post a mod list later. This will be done in 1.12.1 with both expansions. This will mainly be a series of missions with some story in-between. I will try to do this with some form of realistic progression but without testing. And skipping everything before Gemini I the ISS construction. Hope you enjoy ... Kerbin, KSC, Administration Building Jeb: Gene, I've already flown plenty of sounding rockets for you. (yawns) I'm not flying more. Val: (Ignoring Jeb) So what is it? Gene: What? Val: Why are we here, Gene? I was enjoying that holiday. Gene: Well, we have got... (Wernher and Mortimer walk in) Mortimer: A licence for launching manned rockets that's great. Gene: What a way to ruin my moment! (Walks out looking huffy) Val, Your flying the first rocket. Jeb: What have I done? (confused) Mortimer: Well goodnight. (leaves looking awkward) ... The headcanon is that Gene started a space program 50 years before recruiting his best friends to join him. But when they came to build new designs to land on the Mun they all failed and the government of Kerbin stripped the of their manned licence for safety reasons. Gene was too nervous to launch anything more than souding rockets. But then it was given back and a new age of space exploration will begin.

So I'm using several mods in my game including MKS from USI, however I can't seem to be able to transfer enriched uranium between storage with docked vessels or even within the same vessel. I've seen a few posts about using 'maintenance' function to transfer it but I haven't been able to get this to work. I'm probably missing something really simple! Thanks!

So I am testing out stuff with the Modular Kolonization Mod by RoverDude so that I can make it work when I go out on other planets. I am testing the drills currently and I am running into a problem with the Industrial Strip Miner. No matter how many radiators I put on the craft they don't seem to reduce the heat output. They work for only 1 of the operations being active, but after that the temperatures just keep going up no matter how many more radiators I add on the craft. I tested this with both Thermal Control Systems and radiators attached next to the drill. The info in the VAB says the drill needs 200kW of cooling. I am guessing that is per operation active so in total we need 200 * 5 operations = 1000kW which 1 Thermal Controls System large should be able to provide. However even with 10 of them nothing hapens. So what am I missing here?

Hi. This mod aims to provide simple rocketbuilding capability to stock parts. New Thread This mod is now maintained and updated by @RealGecko. Special thanks to: @maculator, @taniwha, @Eleusis La Arwall, @Badsector, @cy-one for their contributions. No extra parts No RAM usage Added functionality for the Mobile Processing Lab in the late game Simple, configurable and adds levels of depth to the gameplay without a learning curve Requires: Module Manager After testing out Extraplanetary Launchpads and Roverdude's MK/OKS, I had the idea of creating a simple, user friendly mod that would allow you to build rockets without taking a 200MB hit to RAM or having to juggle multitudes of resource pathways. If you know how to set up a drill, ISRU and a fuel tank for an Ore to Fuel conversion, then you should know how to build rockets. Changelog: v3.3: Fixed a possible Launch Clamp bug with the help of @FizzerUK v3.2: Implemented some efficiency suggestions by @RealGecko v3.1: Updated to v1.2.1 of the game. Disclaimers: This mod contains @taniwha's Launchpad.dll from his Extraplanetary Launchpads. This mod re-distributes InterstellarFuelSwitch by @FreeThinker. This work is Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

As the title suggests I tried installing Modular Kolonization Systems and Life Support by Umbra Space Industries yesterday, but for some reason some parts didn't show up in the VAB but they were there when I looked in the folder. So I tried uninstalling mods and reinstalling them to see which one was the culprit and apparently it was ReStock and Restock+. I don't know what causes this problem maybe a patch from Module Manager I don't know. If anyone has any input or any ideas so I can have all of these mods work together please let me know.

Ok, ages ago I wrote a simple set of MM patches to help integrate UKS with KPBS. Then it got noticed a bit, and a few of us made some big plans. Then 1.2.2 came out, USI updated everything, I couldn't run the latest versions, etc, etc, and it fell behind a bit. @TheRagingIrishman offered to take over the main effort, but stuff got put on hold until @RoverDude released his balance spreadsheet, which hasn't happened yet... So. I got a new computer for Christmas, and I'm interested in playing with both MKS and KPBS again. Nills277 isn't particularly interested in doing MKS integration himself (which is fine: if he doesn't play with it, it's a complicated thing to integrate correctly), and no one seems to be doing much with it, so I'm reviving my patch set. I've renamed it, in the hopes of eventually doing a 'real' release, and I spent some time today reorganizing and cleaning up. Current repositories: GitHub: https://github.com/DanStaal/KPBStoMKS GitLab: https://gitlab.com/DStaal/KPBStoMKS I like GitLab from what I've seen, but I know they aren't the big name (and aren't quite as stable), so I've got it on both. I may drop one or the other if keeping them in sync becomes to much of a hassle. Current Status: Current Release is 0.9.5, with logistics, power distribution, Ground Construction, and Kontainers support. https://github.com/DanStaal/KPBStoMKS/releases/tag/Release-0.9.5 Repository Structure: I'm trying to teach myself good Git usage using this as well, so I've got the repository structured for a 'Git-Flow' workflow. That means there are several branches: Release, where the main releases will be made to. If you just want to grab the last tested & stable version of the patches, go here. This still has the old version of the patchset. Development, where the main development occurs. Currently has most of the latest changes. Various 'feature' branches, which are focused development on specific features that may or may not be included in main development. At the moment there's really only one active 'feature' branch: MKS_Workshops. It's intended to house development for the big plans that got discussed ages ago, while the main development will be trying to get something that does basic integration. (There's also the old 'master' branch, which I may delete at some point.) Plans: Short-term: Next on our list is to get USI-LS support written up and functional. This will probably be two versions: A 'Basic' version for working with just USI-LS (which we'll be sending to Nils277) and a full MKS+USI-LS version which will stay in this pack. Check to see if Multi-Hub has a node at KPBS height, and if not add one. Long-term, I'd like to see support for the MKS industrial toolchain in the KPBS form-factor. We had an interesting idea of how to break that up back in the KPBS thread ages ago - I'll look up the links. It may not be possible with the current way MKS is structured, we'll need to take a new look at it. How You Can Help: I welcome discussion and PRs. If possible, please put the PRs on the correct branch - that's either 'Development', or a feature branch dedicated to the features you're working on. (At the moment that being the industrial toolchain workshops in the feature/MKS_Workshops' branch.) This should be fairly easy, as I've set up 'Development' as the default branch to look at. Also, while I can code fairly well, I have *no* modeling or texturing skills. I've tried. Really. I may try again in the future, but if you have some skills in either, they would be welcomed. Currently we could use: Textures for the tanks. (Small, medium, large) For any/all of the MKS resources. I can do without, or have a default, or just have a couple, but ideally we'd have all of them. License: MIT.

Kolonization Class Suits Redux A set of suit textures for TextureReplacer to distinguish each class in stock and USI's Modular Kolonization System. Does not require USI's MKS but highly recommended for the additional classes. Works in 1.5.x and 1.6.x. If you want something compatible with 1.4, have a look at the original USI Kolonization Class Suits. Special thanks go to the following modders: GergroxMun for his Multicolor Suit Pack which forms the basis for this suit set. Scart91 for his original class suit set and icons. fast de la speed for his original USI Kolonization Class Suits which includes the icons for the MKS classes. A few icons are switched, many colours changed and a couple of new/modified icons when compared to fast de la speed's suit set. The icons were also moved from the convenient centre location as I am unable to find a viable way to place them there with the new half-helmet texture wrap used in KSP 1.5. Dependencies: TextureReplacer Download on Spacedock: https://spacedock.info/mod/2035/[TextureReplacer] USI Kolonization Class Suits Redux License: CC BY-SA 4.0 Closer Suit Images: Now with veteran suits for each class. Based on GregroxMun's orange suits with coloured helmets, now with a veteran stripe, for easy identification from the back. Jeb assures us the stripe is not just orange duct tape.

What am i missing for the FlexOtubes to work? I have been playing around with them lately, but I can't seem to connect them. https://imgur.com/a/Zf2YrrB

I’ve been happily messing with KSP for several years now, regularly returning to start a grand new campaign with a slew of interesting mods. For one reason or another (real life, .exe instability, mod quirks) I’ve tended to hit a wall shortly after going interplanetary in previous attempts, but with the (relatively) recent arrival of the 64-bit client on Windows and a more mature crop of mods I’m gearing up to try once again. I intend keep a diary of sorts here, in part to motivate myself and in part to act as a sort of tutorial to others who are interested in playing with similar setups but are unsure how to bolt all the pieces together and convince them to play nicely. Situation I’ve chosen to start these reports a little way into the campaign, as there is already a wealth of material covering the first steps of a campaign. I have just unlocked the first KSPIE technologies, Nuclear Propulsion, Nuclear Power and Advanced Electrics. These nodes contain the earliest nuclear engines, reactors and beamed power parts respectively. There are currently small ‘Tortoise’ rovers carrying basic science equipment on both the Mun and Minmus (BonVoyage is my new favourite toy) crawling around doing science. In addition, the ‘Makellan’ series of early SCANSat satellites remain in orbit around Kerbin and its moons to act as makeshift communication satellites until more permanent infrastructure is in place despite having served their original purpose of mapping the surface. Going into month 5 (I’m working with 30-day months), there are two main projects I’m planning to work on. First and foremost, deployment of some lightweight interplanetary probes powered by the recently developed CANDLE engine in time to catch transfer windows to the Urlum and (possibly) Neidon. This might also require the deployment of a dedicated communications network around Kerbin to ensure continuous connection. RemoteTech's Root model (under which antennae can communicate at a range equal to the square root of the product of their individual ranges) means you don't need much of a network to get out to the moons provided you use the flight computer to make sure you don't miss your capture burns. Due to the immense range of the ground station at KSC, probes can maintain a connection for about 50% of the time. I am going to have to put at least a simple network around Mun in order to explore the far side with the munar Tortoise rover though. Secondly, and perhaps more interestingly in the long-term, development and deployment of a basic beamed power infrastructure around Kerbin, with the aim of using thermal receivers to launch lighter payloads to orbit more cheaply than currently possible. This is going to involve a fair amount of experimentation to find a sensible arrangement (I haven't messed with this area of KSPIE since it was reworked), but that's part of the fun, right? Mods My CKAN list currently shows well over 100 mods installed, before counting my personal tweaks and a few older mods that remain compatible despite their protestations to the contrary, so I’ll just provide the highlights here and leave the full list in a spoiler below. Interstellar Extended by Freethinker et al. I’ve loved the idea of this mod ever since I got it way back when Fractal was still developing it, and I’m looking forwards to playing with the new toys that have been added in the mean time. This is the mod I think people might find most interesting when covered as a tutorial, since the existing documentation is either scant, obsolete or simply absent. RESCALE 6.4x by Galileo Or more accurately a very slightly tweaked personal version that produces a Kerbin with a 12-hour day and a 540-day year. It makes orbiting a little more interesting and gives all those beefy advanced drives from KSPIE something worthwhile to do. MKS (and most of the rest of the USI suite) by RoverDude This has just gotten more and more enticing over time, and the integration of Extraplanetary Launchpads and Ground Construction provides some interesting possibilities for a budding space program. I’ve recently switched over from TAC-LS after finding it doesn’t mesh particularly well with Kronometer and after learning USI-LS now has habitation timers. Monthly Budgets by severedsolo I’m a sucker for strategy games and this mod provides both a pleasant bit of medium- to long-term planning and reduces the necessity of grinding contracts for funds. I have it set to decay reputation each month and have Play Your Way (Galileo) set to provide reputation with gathered science. The intention is that as I clear out Kerbin and its moons, I’ll need to set up other revenue streams (munar/asteroid mining operations perhaps). Kerbal Construction Time by magico13 This mod actually makes a campaign feel like a grand undertaking as you watch your space program grow over time. The broad customisation options don’t hurt either. SETI Rebalance & Unmanned before Manned by y3m0 I like what this set of mods changes about the game generally, and have had an interesting time with the new custombarnkit settings in the recent version. RemoteTech 2 by neitsa et al. Mostly because I haven’t dived in to learn the ins and outs of CommNet, and from first impressions RemoteTech is more intuitive and I’m already used to it. I have it configured so extra omnidirectional antennae do increase range and am using the Root range model. In addition to the above mods, the main other factor altering gameplay is a tech tree plugin of my own design that massively increases the cost of the more advanced tech nodes and adjusts the science available on each planet. At time of writing, the final tier of KSPIE technologies cost 100,000 science each. The intention is to force me off Kerbin and to avoid unlocking the entire tech tree with a few missions to the Mun and Minmus. Accompanying this are a variety of tweaks to where parts appear on the tree so I don’t, for example, need to finish a Joolean tour before being able to unlock thermal rocket nozzles. Full Mod List

Hi everyone, I have recently installed mks and was playing around with it until I realized all the production modules (I have been using tundra modules), including greenhouses (inflatable + tundra) are all at 5% load, even though I'm making more that I need. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! -Edit: I solved the problem, it was a mistake on my part

Near my Minmus base, I have a Malemute rover equipped with a Klaw attached to a Resouce Lode. I left my base doing something else, then landed near it again. Now, if I switch to the rover, or if going on EVA with a kerbal and coming closer than 200 m, the rover explodes. In order to find out what's going on, I focused on my base and zoomed out until I could see the rover close up. It's lying on it's side, the rescorce lode seems gone (I guess it's already consumed) and it seems the Klaw is facing the wrong way. How can I fix that?

Hi all, I’m on the vertical learning curve which is MKS (and enjoying it) I have a planetary logistics question. I have a base with a tundra logistics module and an ore miner with a resource converter. The containers at the base are half full and the ore miner keeps running and sending materials to planetary logistics (I can see them ticking up) on the dashboard BUT I can’t see them arriving in any other containers. Is there a magic planetary store where they go until needed?? if there is something I haven’t read please feel free to direct me to it with an rtfm. Thabks

Per suggestion by @dboi88, this will be a place to discuss development of KSPedia and wiki documentation for @RoverDude's MKS.

I just added the USI mod packs through CKAN and now when I launch vessels at the space center I am stuck seeing this gray fog, kinda like the ocean washed Instagram filter over my screen. It extends all over even in space, Please help it's not bad but very annoying. Thanks!

Soo, I have MKS installed but planetary logistics don't seem to work, or I don't know how to access this part of the mod in kdp1.4.1, can you help me out please?

Hello, I can't scan resources on asteroids with surface scanner module, What can be the reason ?

Ok, so when I installed MKS, the gears don't work, when I click deploy it doesn't work, im at 1.3.1 because KIS works in that version, if thats the wrong version that im in, let me know, unless if I didn't add a part that makes the gears work, because when I go to 1.4.1, KIS won't work, I use KIS because it can be useful when you move things, such as building a base or cleaning up a mess, sorry that im off topic, is there anyway to make the gears work or did I not add anything that makes things work?

USI MKS parts are not deploying as intended I do not know why ive tried the tundra parts ive tried all of rthe parts but they aint working sorry English isn't my first language

MKS is a suite of mods from RoverDude with a focus on building bases and colonisation. It adds eleven resources that you can mine, along with various refineries to convert these raw materials into processed goods that can then be used for maintaining a colony. It also adds an additional level of difficulty where your kerbonauts must have large, decent accomodation and supplies so that they won't go stir-crazy. The goal here is to establish a fully sustainable surface base on Laythe - if a moon like Laythe existed in our own solar system with oxygen at reasonable pressure in the atmosphere, liquid water on the surface and 80% of earth's gravity, it would be the prime target for colonisation. However, this isn't easy - because of the atmosphere and the gravity, the landings are challenging. First the mod list: MKS - colonisation mod from RoverDude, including life support. Planetary Base Systems - effectively serves as an extension to MKS giving more part options for life support recyclers, habitation, and various other things. Extra-planetary Launchpads - Allows building of rockets on other planets given sufficient resources to do so. Easy Vessel Switcher - Allows you to Alt-left click to switch to a nearby vessel. Pretty much essential when you have a dozen craft on the ground. KIS/KAS - Inventory system and Attachment systems. Allows you to detach and reattach parts, and to join vessels together for resource transfer. MechJeb - Doesn't really help with flying the planes but setting up and executing maneuvers in space. NearFuture - gives me a few additional options regarding nuclear engines and batteries - nothing game breaking and more to save on part count than anything else. PlanetaryDomes - allows the construction of cool looking surface bases SXT - Stock extensions. Allows electric propellers, sea plane floats and additional plane parts. TacFuelBalancer - Allows dumping and equalising of fuel easily. I also have a few mods like FinalFrontier, PlanetShine, ScanSat, UnmannedBeforeManned installed that don't really impact the mission but add convenience or fun stuff. I do have HyperEdit installed too, but it wasn't used apart from simulating transfer of nuclear fuels (I can do it without hyperedit but it's such a faff - note to @RoverDude - please make this easier!!) Early Experiments The first job was really to test if I could actually get stuff to Laythe, and land it relatively accurately. For that purpose, an initial ISRU-refueller type plane was designed and landed on Laythe, called Heron One: As it's an SSTO plane, it was flown into Kerbin orbit before being docked to a shunt that could transport it to Laythe. This certainly wasn't my finest hour though - landing it is terrifying. The stall speed is around 120ms on Laythe meaning that powered landings are pretty essential, and on non-flat terrain in the dark, it's horribly difficult to land. This means that taking it back to orbit and back down again is possible, but very tricky. It simply doesn't have enough wing area to make it work as an easy to land plane. As such, after landing it twice it got redesignated as "surface fuel dump" and left there. It also scanned for resources that could be mined, and it turns out that the shores of Laythe have everything I need with the exception of Gypsum which isn't massively serious. The second experiment was to see if I could land an MKS Tundra module on the surface. These are big and bulky, but utterly essential to constructing a successful base on Laythe - I need to be able to produce material kits, machinery and specialised parts on the surface in order to build more pieces of the base - leading it to being a sustainable colony that can expand itself. The Barbet was an SSTO plane from Kerbin (just), so it was a simple matter to get it into space, dock it to a shunt for transport to Laythe. Landing wasn't exactly 100%, but the important bits survived and it's around half a kilometre from the Heron, so good enough. I also sent a cargo plane, containing essentials that would be required whilst setting up the base - some supplies to keep the crew fed, some fertiliser so that more food could be grown, along with a some small kontainers to store various goods and some inflatable habitation modules and greenhouses. This wasn't an SSTO plane from Kerbin, so getting it into space was somewhat tricky. Introducing the Egret: Backups Building the base on Laythe is not going to be easy, and naturally, things might not work out. A single plane-crash could mean that the base simply isn't going to work. So we have backups - planes that can take the crew off in an emergency, the Red Kite, and the Erne - there's two Ernes at the start though I crashed one later on: We also have backups around the Joolian system, firstly a full featured base on Vall called the Emmy Noether, that can produce all materials. Getting stuff off Vall and to Laythe is a little long-winded but in an emergency can be completed in under a week. We also have the Leonard Euler station around Laythe - shipped out in 3 parts and joined together in Laythe orbit, it has lots of habitation and is used as a storage resource as well for the difficult to produce stuff - the Vall base has sent over lots of specialised parts, machinery, supplies, fertiliser, organics and colony supplies. We can always go and get stuff from the station as required as it has all sized docking ports for everything. The Madness Begins After the initial mostly successful experiments, I started designing the crazy planes that would be required to establish a fully working base on Laythe. All of these were tested on Kerbin first - can they survive re-entry into Kerbin, can they land at around 3000 metres altitude on Kerbin on rugged terrain (Laythe's air-pressure at sea level is roughly equal to 3000 metres on Kerbin, and Laythe's terrain is really not flat!). The first vessel is Ardea - some drills for mining various resources, along with two Tundra refineries that can turn raw materials into processed goods. It even has landing legs so it can form the basis of the first occupied structure on Laythe. With this it can take all raw materials and convert them to processed goods. With the addition of the Tundra manufacturing plant that has already been landed on Laythe, it can produce finished goods of Material Kits, Machinery and Specialised Parts which can then be used to create new vessels. We also have two Zeltornis - these carry large nuclear reactors to power the various parts of the colony, plus large KIS containers that have a bunch of parts that will be handy for base construction when they get to Laythe. With the award for the second maddest vessel I sent to Laythe, we have the Runway. This allows new vessels to be constructed using material kits and specialised parts using the Extra-planetary launchpads mod. Also contender for the most draggy plane I've ever built. It's not fast, but it does actually fly and land relatively well: I did say second maddest didn't I? We also have the Triple Heron. A 3-cockpitted, twin-fuselage aircraft that really shouldn't exist, or at least, not fly as well as it does. It serves as a backup for the Zeltornis craft above and carries the same cargo, nuclear reactors and large KIS containers: We also have a couple of other utility vessels, firstly an SSTO plane called the Wigeon, that can take resources such as machinery and specialised parts from Laythe orbit to the ground base, as well as carrying a couple of crew: And two Teals designed to be converted to rovers on landing by tearing off the wings and engines - these will be used to move crew and parts from vessel to vessel. I also sent a second variant of the Heron that looks identical to the one already landed at Laythe - however, this one's cargo is some Duna-style modules to help construct the first habitation portion of the base - a PDU (nuclear reactor), a logistics centre and a pioneer base. Getting to Kerbin Orbit and beyond Naturally, getting these "planes" off Kerbin is tricky. The best way I found was to surround it with large boosters to try and keep centre of mass low enough and not have the aerodynamics of the planes interfere too much. Massively overpowered to reach Kerbin orbit, I don't really care as all I want is for them to get there. And they're either designed to dock to a shunt or do get there under their own steam (possibly after some refuelling in LKO). Here's the shunt that pushed most vessels to the destination. Uses some NearFuture engines - they're not any better than the stock nuclear engine, but it helps save on part count when I want moar power: Landing on Laythe The place chosen for landing is a small piece of land of around 250 square kilometres called Ishmael Island, it sits on the other side of Laythe to Jool on the equator, so we get to see the other moons occasionally, but the choice of location was really determined by the initial Heron and the crashed Barbet that could no longer be moved. The main plan here was to get everything down and landed all in the same place ready for assembling. That meant landing all the planes before sending a crew down. The Wigeon also went down but it stopped off first at Leonard Euler to pick up some machinery, specialised parts and two crew members. Most things landed safely, but not all. The second Heron crashed around 2.5km from the launch site (though retained all the important cargo) and one of the Zeltornis planes decided that it didn't like having wings and landing gear any more (self-destructed on physics load on the ground, though it landed ok). Building a working colony Once the crew were down from orbit (via the Ernes / Wigeon), it was time to start creating a base by joining stuff together, recycling unneeded parts like engines and wings. I crashed one of the Ernes on landing (not fatal for the crew, but it'll never fly again) meaning that I now only have one remaining Erne to take crew off planet. The first job was to sort out the Teals, tear off the wings and engines and convert them into rovers that could be used to move parts around. There's two of them (Cape Teal and Baikal Teal) and they are the true work-horses (or work-ducks) of colony building - moving parts from place to place. The second job was to take Ardea, tear all the wings and engines off, put it on landing legs, attach a reactor, add the Tundra assembly plant, and a million and one little jobs. Driving backwards and forwards with the rover to various different vessels, detaching parts, attaching them to the rovers, driving to Ardea, attaching the part there, and so on. This is all painfully slow and involves many steps but eventually I have a workable manufacturing hub. This has all the capabilities to go from mining the raw materials to processing them all the way up to producing material kits, specialised parts and machinery. Then it was time to sort out the runway, by adding a reactor, a workshop and some habitation: You can see the large a KIS Kontainer in the screenshot above - this is now all that remains of one of the Zeltornis craft - both have now been completely recycled for parts, with the exception of the KIS kontainers. Additionally, the Barbet no longer exists - once I'd taken the Tundra Manufacturing and storage container off it, it had served its purpose and was scrapped for its material kits value. The six crew are all required for moving parts around and often have to engage in team lifts to move the heaviest parts. The Teals always come in useful to ferry both kerbals and parts around. The brave pioneers are Tanris, Learigh, Maxalla, Stelya, Gersan and Madie (and technically, Jesra who's remained on Vall to build any emergency stuff that might be required). Rather than cobble together a habitation section from the parts I'd brought with me, all the scrapping of wings and engines and planes means I have plenty of material kits to play with. As I have a working runway that can build other vessels, I decided to construct a skeletal base that I could then attach the parts I'd brought with me. Unfortunately it was dark by the time it had finished, so final tweaks like attaching of parts I had brought with me had to be done in the dark. But finally, it's done - and the second crashed Heron was recycled for parts after all its useful bits had been taken for the new habitation base. All of my bases on other worlds are named after female scientists, and this one will be no different. Please give a warm welcome to Grace Hopper. At this point the base is effectively finished - it can keep up its supplies, has good habitation ratings and can produce its own vessels. Subsequently I did build other stuff - a nuclear fuel and fertiliser plant (I know, these don't really go together, but they were the two manufacturing chains I was missing) - I also built a plane do a bit of (fuel efficient) exploring. If we're going to live on a world, we want to explore! I did build a replacement habitation module that isn't fully equipped as yet - the problem is the initial one is slowly but surely slipping down the hill, gradually trying to get out of physics range where local logistics will stop working and eventually slipping into the sea. The plan is to replicate the base around 5 kilometres away where it is much much flatter, but that will take a significant amount of time to generate the material kits and machinery to build it. Finally, here's a screenshot of all the vessels I could get in a single shot. I have many more plans for the base, but for now - it's ok as it is, it can produce everything it needs to, it has long habitation ratings and plenty of supplies to keep the Kerbals fed and happy. I've had great fun doing this mission - my plane design skills have gone up many notches in the process and surface base building is always great fun. Here's the imgur gallery with some additional images as well