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THE MINOR PLANETS EXPANSION - 1.0.7 This One's for the Little Guys! I have worked on this mod for a few months now. It all started after I failed to find a mod that added analogues to various minor planets that was on par with something like OPM, or at the very least compatible, and the few mods I did find were all outdated. I took it upon myself to make a mod myself that would fill in these missing niches in the Stock+OPM system. Particularly, asteroids, comets, centaurs, and dwarf planets. I wrote down a list of nine objects, and now, four months later, I have now created my first planet pack! All of these new worlds were made from hand-drawn maps, with very little reliance on stealing from real world objects to ensure a stock-alike feel. This mod is made to be used along side OPM, think of it as an unofficial, fan-made expansion pack for OPM. The analogue list: Edas - Eros Vant - Vesta Zore - Psyche Lint/Mikey - 67P Crokslev - Chariklo Geito - Halley's Comet Havous - Haumea Kal - Namaka Ki'KI - Hi'iaka Mracksis - Makemake Flake - MK2 (not really, but it's a moon around a Makemake analogue) Ervo - Eris Archae - Dysnomia Soden - Sedna Lon - No Real-World Analogue Images: SpaceDock Link: https://spacedock.info/mod/2383/Minor Planets Expansion?ga=<Game+3102+'Kerbal+Space+Program'> This mod can also be acquired through CKAN! License - MIT (No new objects will be added, those will come in the eventual sequel) MPE 1.0.8 "Scientifically Accurate Enhancements" Havous rotation speed adjusted to better reflect shape, thank you to WarriorSabe! Edas surface terracing mitigated Stock magnetometer definitions added Atmospheric analysis definitions for Ervo added If you have a bug? Report it! GitHub Coming Soon

DART Range Background What should we do if we find a dangerous asteroid on course to hit Earth? There are a number of possible deflection techniques, ranging from extreme (a nuclear blast) to benign (a heavy spacecraft uses gravity to nudge the asteroid off-course). Somewhere in between is the kinetic impactor technique. The concept is simple: Slam one or more spacecraft into the asteroid at high speed to change its orbit and move Earth out of the crosshairs. This technique works particularly well if used far in advance, since small nudges can add up to big changes later on. DART, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test, is the first space mission to test this or any other asteroid deflection technique. DART launches between November 2021 and February 2022 and will arrive at near-Earth asteroid Didymos in September 2022. The spacecraft won't slow down, intentionally crashing into the asteroid's small moon Dimorphos. The crash should change the time it takes Dimorphos to orbit Didymos, proving the kinetic impactor technique works. DART Range You can now take on the challenge of achieving the DART objectives for yourself using the DART Range mod for Kerbal Space Program. With the installation of DART Range, Didymos and Dimorphos are added to the Kerbal universe. Didymos is classified a “planet”. Like other planets and moons in KSP, you can orbit and land on Didymos, but you cannot alter its orbit. Dimorphos is classified a “part”. Like asteroids and comets in KSP, you cannot orbit or land on Dimorphos, but you can redirect its path and change its orbit. You can also grab Dimorphos using the grabber unit. Didymos and Dimorphos are tiny targets that offer a difficult navigational challenge, but if you are able to guide a spacecraft to an impact with Dimorphos, the resulting changes are real and immediately observable. Do you have the right stuff to save Kerbalkind from a deadly asteroid impact? Take to the DART Range and find out. Installation Download the DART.zip file, extract the DART folder, and copy it to the GameData folder of your KSP installation. Everything needed for it to work is self-contained; there are no required dependencies. DART Range will also be avalaible to be installed via CKAN soon. Download from GitHub Contributors Galileo JadeOfMaar OhioBob R-T-B Gameslinx AKA Linx Angel-125 theRagingIrishman License DART Range, Parallax - All Rights Reserved Kopernicus - GPL SpaceObjectSpawner - GPLV3 ModularFlightIntegrator - MIT Screenshots

There are few KSP challenges that have intrigued me more than the Elcano challenge. I've known of it for years, but until recently assumed it would just be a boring slog that takes no skill whatsoever, just hold down W until you make it around the planet. However, upon inspecting it further, I then realized how much more there is to it. It takes fortitude to sit through the boring stretches of driving, engineering prowice to design the optimal rover, and keen driving skills to minimize your risk of crashing. I then decided that I wanted to give it a go for myself. But that brought several more questions with it. Which planet/moon would I circumnavigate? What would my vehicle look like? How difficult do I want the challenge to be? It would take me a while to come up with two of those three answers, but I knew right from the start that I wanted to circumnavigate a planet in a large rover with a high crew capacity, mostly because real circumnavigations of Earth included many sailors, and I also wanted to increase the realism aspect, seeing as drivers would need to take shifts in order to keep the rover going for as much of the time as possible. And that's when I came up with the preliminary design for the vehicle, which would later be called Odyssey. And sooner or later, I also decided that I wanted to make this mission as difficult as possible, and that's when I decided to take it to Tylo, the toughest place to drive a rover anywhere in the Kerbol System. Welcome to... ODYSSEY: TYLO CIRCUMNAVIGATION, DAY-BY DAY ELCANO CHALLENGE by Jack Joseph Kerman PRE-MISSION: As I mentioned earlier, the road to me eventually trying my hand at the Elcano challenge was not perfectly smooth, and for a while the idea of circumnavigating a planet or moon seemed both patently absurd and also incredibly boring to me. This began to change when I sent a rover mission to Tylo, as part of my colonization of the Jool system in a save that I have since unfortunately lost. Originally, I didn't plan to go far with the rover I had brought there; maybe 50 kilometers or so from my small science outpost. However, the mission quickly turned into a much longer endeavor, and I ended up driving 300+ kilometers across the surface of Tylo, and even had fun doing it. Whether it was finding the optimal way to climb a mountain without starving for electricity, watching my speed as I came back down, or just laughing at the floating boulders that Tylo seems to have an abundance of, the mission never got too boring, which greatly surprised me. Here's a recreation of the rover and mission I made in a newer save: After this successful mission, I slowly warmed up to the idea of a potential circumnavigation mission, and a few months later I tried my hand at building a massive rover that would be used to circumnavigate either the Mun or Duna. I simply dubbed this rover the "Circumnavigator" (creative, I know), and tested its features, such as the small interior, mining equipment, and cargo garage for a smaller rover in the back ramp. The smaller "mountaineer" rover would have been very similar to the one shown on Tylo above, except with more electric charge capacity to increase its range. This rover's design was pretty flawed, however, and in my opinion it looked rather ugly. The wheels were evenly spaced apart on an unnecessary number of girder segments, the thing was 40 meters long and awkward to drive, the battery power was limited, and the mining equipment was entirely pointless. I would later name it the Odyssey, but it would never be used anywhere other than testing at the KSC. More screenshots of the original Odyssey: So that's when I got to work on my current vehicle, the Odyssey 2. This is the vehicle that I will use to circumnavigate Tylo, and it's a vast improvement over the original. Here is coverage of every day of the mission that I've done so far: Current Latitude: 90 Degrees North Current Longitude: 1 Degree West DAY 0: NEW DESIGN, LAUNCH AND ASSEMBLY IN ORBIT New Design for the Odyssey 2 Launches of the Descent Stage and TAV The Launch of Odyssey DAY 1: TOUCHDOWN ON TYLO The Landing DAY 2: THE JOURNEY BEGINS The First True Driving Session DAY 3: ONWARDS AND UPWARDS Driving Session DAY 4: INTO THE NIGHT Driving Session: DAY 5: THE DRIVE NORTH Driving Session: DAY 6: SMOOTH SAILING Driving Session: DAY 7: THE NORTH POLE OF TYLO Driving Session: DAY 8: I AM SPEED Driving Session: Arrival of the Tylo Ascent Vehicle: DAY 9: THE LONG HAUL Driving Session: Arrival at the Tylo Cave! DAY 10: PROVISIONS The Care Package and Return Vehicle: Driving Session: DAY 11: HALFWAY THERE Driving Session: DAY 12: CONTINUING ON Driving Session: DAY 13: A LOAD OFF Driving Session: DAY 14: THE PACKAGE ARRIVES The Resupply Mission: DAY 15: MOUNTAINEERING Driving Session: DAY 16: TOWARDS THE SOUTH POLE Driving Session: DAY 17: THE SOUTH POLE OF TYLO The South Pole Debacle: DAY 18: DETOUR Driving Session: DAY 19: NORTHBOUND Driving Session: DAY 20: PRESSING ON Driving Session: DAY 21: THE FINAL OBSTACLES Driving Session: DAY 22: HOME STRETCH/MISSION COMPLETE Finishing the Drive: The Return to Kerbin: ROUTE MAP:

In a parallel universe, the country of Hatsunia (初音国) had taken a very different path compared to Japan, its counterpart in our world. Instead of hundreds of years of feudal isolation, the society became used to foreign contact and social reform. Unlike Japan, its international relations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries mostly involved diplomacy and trade with its neighbors instead of brutal militaristic conquest. During the Second World War, Hatsunia joined the Allied Powers and formed the Honolulu Pact with the United States in 1941 against a China that had been taken over by fascists in this timeline. The Allies achieved victory several years later, and with Hatsunia not being on the defeated side, its aerospace industry would not be obstructed by treaties, constitutional articles, or ruined infrastructure. At the beginning of the space age, Hatsunia did not have the native resources to directly compete with the Soviet Union or United States in spaceflight achievements, but had just enough to invest in small rockets and the cultivation of electronics and computing industries. As time went on, Hatsunia's economy would take advantage of post-war international trade networks and the digital revolution, and its space industry would eventually become the forefront of capability and affordability in the 21st century. For more information about Hatsunia, visit this page and the wiki. This is a pseudo-alternate history in a parallel universe that wasn't meant to be fully realistic. Like Japan, there is more to Hatsunia than anime. If you're wondering, "why a space program inspired by Hatsune Miku?" please read this. (not everything will be Miku-related) The Hatsunia Aerospace Science and Development Agency (初音国宇宙航空科学開発機関) was established in 1958. [Japan used to have three aerospace agencies: ISAS (scientific space probes), NASDA (practical satellites/human spaceflight), and NAL (mostly aeronautics). They were merged to become JAXA in 2003. In Hatsunia, their responsbilities were merged since the beginning.] This is an alternate history-like self-roleplay which will be depicted with modified versions of the Real Solar System and Realism Overhaul mods (and Zorg's TUFX configs). The Realistic Progression 1 (RP-1) career mode mod is also used to give structure to the missions, but it will not be a legitimate playthrough as progression through the tech tree is dependent on gathering science points from the moon and other planets as soon as possible. Thus, technologies will be manually unlocked at a pace according to their respective times. The TestFlight (engine failure) mod will also not be used. Custom contracts will also be made. Think of it as part career, part sandbox. Table of Contents (Video playlist) Phase 1 (1952-1961) Phase 2 (1962-1976) Phase 3 (1977-1986) Phase 4 (1987-) Phase 1 - 01 In Minamikushi Prefecture, the Hatsunia Science and Technology Agency constructed a facility on the island of Negishima, named after the green onion that the island was coincidentally shaped like (and was on the Hatsunese flag). Parts of the agency focused on the development of rocketry for scientific purposes, while the Hatsunia Defense Forces also saw its potential value for military applications. Professor Hidemi Utagawa of the University of Minamikushi led the development of Hatsunia's first sounding rocket. This sounding rocket was the Negi-1, and was similar to the American WAC Corporal rocket. The vehicle was composed of two stages. The upper stage, or sustainer, was composed of steel and was powered by the LE-01 liquid rocket engine. It used a simple pressure-fed design and was fueled by a toxic mixture of aniline, furfuryl alcohol, and inhibited red fuming nitric acid, which required careful handling but could be stored for long periods of time. The LE-01 was the first in a series of liquid rocket engines developed by Mikubishi Heavy Industries, which previously manufactured ships and aircraft. At the top of the stage was a nose cone and an additional cylindrical compartment carrying a payload of scientific measuring instruments, including a thermometer and barometer. Fins, twisted by a fraction of a degree, provided flight stability through rotation. The lower stage, or booster, resembled the American "Tiny Tim" rocket and was known as the "Pencil," containing solid nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose propellant. Its purpose was to provide a short burst of thrust and acceleration so that the second stage's fins could stabilize effectively. The diagram below compares its size to a modern interpretation of Hatsune Miku, a mythical singer originating from ancient Hatsunese folklore. On 1952 August 31, the first Negi-1 was on the launch pad after several weeks of construction. The launch platform was slightly tilted to the east so that the rocket would not crash into any populated areas. (Captions provided by the Historian mod with my custom config)

The KSP forum moderator's team presents the Threads of the Month December 2021 Edition Hello all you brave space adventurers and explorers of Kerbin! It's already December - and if you're like me, you wonder where the time has gone. There's only 30 days remaining in 2021 and then we're off - into a new year full of new possibilities. I want to thank the modders who have continued to add to the richness of Kerbal Space Program. There are a lot of folks here on the forum and on the Steam Discussions area, and even a few Facebook groups lamenting the fears of Kerbal Space Program being "dead." As a fellow gamer and a dedicated member of the community, the classic Kerbal Space Program is far from dead. Sure, with KSP2 in development and even though KSP is officially finished development, the game continues to advance because of the hard work and dedication of the modding community, many who have a history of being a part of the development team of the original game. The original game has a lot of future left. On the community campus where I work, I have college students who I proudly introduce to the game and the wonderful community where I am glad to be a member. To continue a thing I started in May (2021) about the forum and new members as a way to answer the fears some folks had about the forum dying. In November, there were 306 new forum accounts created (a decrease of 61 from October). Of those, 128 have actively posted content (defined as having at least one post). This means that roughly 41.8% of the new user accounts are actively participating on the forum (while the number of new accounts is down, the number of active new accounts is up by 0.4% ). If you're interested in seeing the new members to our forum, you can click here! Now, without further delay, I present to you the threads of the month for December: General community threads of the month: This category features a thread that adds to the community and doesn't fit in the game support/game mod categories. This month, there were no threads nominated for this category. Game Support/Game Mod of the Month: This category features a mod (or mods) which adds to the quality of life game play of Kerbal Space Program. This month, we have one thread in this category: This month, we feature a mod offered by @Exo's Lab where small minor planets are added to the Kerbol system. It's described in the OP as: So, if your Kerbals, space probes, or other space exploration needs are looking for some strange new worlds, to seek out new life forms and civilizations, or to - Yeah, anyhow, if you're looking for more exotic destinations to send your space-faring Kermen within the Kerbol system, then this mod might be the one for you! Forum Member Created Challenges and Missions: For the past few years, we have seen a lot of really good missions and challenges threads created that expand our fun with the game and presses our skills, creativity, and sometimes, luck, beyond what we get accustomed to. Let's face it, we all have our go-to design basics, our go-to Kermen, and even our go-to vehicles we like to use. So sometimes a good challenge can cause us to think of another way to achieve our goals. The Thread of the Month for this category is truly in a class all its own. Although many of us long-time forum members recognize the avatar of @Galileo, there were others helping on this team of modders we also want to recognize. Those names are familiar to many of you who are in the modding community and those of us others who love using mods. The rest of the team who worked on this mod include @JadeOfMaar, @OhioBob, @R-T-B, @Gameslinx, @Angel-125, and @TheRagingIrishman. I'd like to say on behalf of the KSP community - "wow!" In case you are not familiar with this challenge, the description on the OP says it all: Do not attempt this challenge if you don't have patience, don't want to spend hours playing Kerbal Space Program, don't want to wear out the <F5> and <F9> buttons, or even start the mission all over again, then this is not the challenge for you. Wait, that sounds a lot like my first week of playing KSP anyway! Fan-fiction, Mission Reports, and Kerbal Space Program-inspired Creative Thread of the Month: This category features a thread (or threads) which while is not directly Kerbal Space Program related, may be a creative work, fan-fiction, or other presentation which is related to the game. For this month, we have two threads in this category. In this mission report by @Jack Joseph Kerman, the decision was made to take the Elcano challenge a little further than most of us dared. The idea for the mission report sets the stage for what will be a great read with some fantastic screenshots: If you're looking for a good read, an inspiring story line, and some neat things to try on your own voyage of discovery, then why not visit this thread. You'll be glad you did. This is the second thread in this category for this month, and is one who caught the attention of a lot of our forum. This thread, by @The Destroyer is a great example of what can best be described as an immersion into Kerbal Space Program's potential to be that game. What I mean by "that game" is for many of us, Kerbal Space Program allows us to do the things we always dreamed about as kids (and some still do). The Destroyer states: Yes, @The Destroyer, we did enjoy. We enjoyed it a lot. If you need motivation to find your long-lost love of Kerbal Space Program, then watch this great video presentation. Honorable mention: Each month we get so many good nominations to choose from. Sometimes it's a challenge to choose which threads are going to receive the honor of being the Thread of the Month. But because not every thread nominated each month can be selected, there are always those that become honorable mentions. The honorable mention for November 2021 is: [v0.8.0] The Skyhawk Science System - a new BDB-focused tech tree by @CessnaSkyhawk [1.12.x] BrickMod Updated (revival of an older mod) by @linuxgurugamer Ban the user above you! by @mnnm1234 Hatsunese Space Program - HASDA (Japan-like) by @Pipcard Make a turing-complete computer in stock KSP by @ItCameFromDuna OJT's Jool 5 Mission by @OJT The honorable mentions for this month may not have made the Thread of The Month, but if you think they might be worthy of another opportunity, please renominate it! Congratulations to all the winners of the Thread of the Month for December! We'd like to thank @Spaceman.Spiff, @Superfluous J, @zer0Kerbal, @Admiral Fluffy, @Kuiper_Belt, @Interplanet Janet, @AlamoVampire, and the members of the moderation team and staff who nominated this month's contenders. Thank you so much for helping us identify noteworthy threads for this month! And this month, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to @UomoCapra for allowing me to serve as a member of the KSP moderation team and for the other endeavors he has given me an opportunity to be involved. Oh, and since I was asked to ping the community manager in the TOTMs... (this began in October, @KSP Star, you've been pinged!) TO NOMINATE A THREAD FOR CONSIDERATION: If you find a thread you feel should be considered for next month's thread of the month, then use the "report comment" feature (the three dots on the upper right corner of the comment box) to report the comment. Please put in the text field of the report post "Nomination for thread of the month" and we will do the rest! You can always nominate more than one thread, too. In case you missed last month's threads of the month, you can click here.

With the help of many RO content creators, and members of the RO community, I present a RSS/RO edition of the classic Build, Fly, Dream trailer! I hope you enjoy.