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[First time I've made a thread so please let me know if I need to do anything differently or post somewhere else ] So here's a suggestion - functional simulated Space Elevators and Skyhooks not as vessels but as KSC pseudo-Structures that can be upgraded like any other. I don't know if I'll ever get around to making this myself so I want to put the concept out there for feedback and for anyone with more modding experience than me. I'll start with Space Elevators since they're simpler to use and implement. Using one would go something like clicking on the structure in the KSC, seeing the same menu you get when you click on the Launchpad and Runway, selecting a vessel to "launch", and then loading to a floating "structure" in geostationary orbit above the KSC. We basically render the station at the top of the space elevator, not the elevator itself, so it just floats there acting as a launchpad. There could be multiple such structures at different altitudes up the length of the elevator, from LKO up to GEO, although you'd only find yourself in a circular orbit if you set off from the GEO point since you wouldn't be starting with enough orbital velocity. From your chosen launch point you detach and off you go. You can use this method to put entire spaceships (subject to mass limits determined by structure upgrade level) into orbit, or put individual modules of a ship or station into orbit one at a time and then dock them. You could even bring canisters of material kits or rocket parts up if you're using Extraplanetary Launchpads, up to a waiting shipyard, enabling you to construct HUGE ships very easily for some seriously cool late-game stuff. This is my reason for wanting this mod, I'm tired of launching from the KSC or from EL bases on the moon and I want ways to streamline the process while remaining grounded in realistic futurism. For balance we can use the stock building upgrade system to incrementally increase how much mass the elevator can accommodate in one "launch" - you'd start with a few tons, and work your way up to tens or maybe hundreds. I don't think it should ever be unlimited as with the fully upgraded Launchpad and Runway. That would be too easy, you may as well just use Hyperedit at that point. For optimal functionality with EL, we'd need some way to have at least one vessel "docked" to the orbital launch point, otherwise we'd have to manually ferry cargo to a nearby station every time we brought it up, largely negating the whole point of the mod. I'm not sure how achievable this is in KSP. If it can be done, I'd like any vessel docked to the elevator to be able to receive unlimited resources from the surface, for a price of Resource Amount * Resource Cost * Operating Cost per Unit of Mass. If we can't dock with the structure in any traditional way, perhaps we can treat the shipyard as being in an unlaunched state on one of several staging points. Ideally that would mean there's a main "Launchpad" from which vessels brought up by the elevator are deployed, surrounded by one or more dummy launchpads where vessels can be placed, used and recovered but are unable to launch. This could get buggy though. Still trying to think of an ideal solution. Finally, if we wanted to make this REALLY awesome, it would be pretty great to place such pseudo-structures on any body in the Kerbin System and beyond. This could be used with out EL but it would be much more useful if you were using it as part of some serious extraplanetary shipbuilding or resource-moving infrastructure. This would entail a special part which, in the case of the Space Elevator, acts as a sort of "setup kit" which can be deployed on, say, the Mun to create a Space Elevator endpoint. It would need to be placed at the equator of a body to work and would take time and resources to complete setup. Upgrades to the new elevator would be managed through the right click part menu, but I think the best solution would be a dedicated menu at the KSC and Tracking Station where we can manage all our launch structures throughout the system in one list, without having to load in and visit them. We could also create skyhooks in the same way. The idea with skyhooks is they're cheaper to operate and in many ways simpler to build than space elevators. These would require you to fly a spaceplane to a specific speed and altitude eastwards over the equator. A toolbar menu would then enable you to "attach" to the skyhook, which would teleport the craft to a specific orbit depending on the skyhook.It would be fun to make even more narrow criteria and try and intercept the skyhook at exactly the right time and place, but it wouldn't be much use if you wanted to use the thing regularly. It would be nice to attach only the cargo somehow, but I don't know how realistic that is or how we'd achieve that in the mod since KSP only sees one craft irrespective of what's considered "cargo". Conceivably this would work offworld as well. Alright, that's it. I think what I've outlined here would be quite achievable, if I or anyone else gets around to making such a thing, and it would be tremendously useful and immersive for builds like mine where I'm spending most of my time in the late game playing with mods like Interstellar Extended and USI Colonization. I'd love to hear what the rest of you guys think

THE UNCATCHABLE SWIFT "Like the NTR did for Duna Exploration, the Uncatchable Swift does for Interplanetary Transportation" Powered by an Inertial Confinement Fusion rocket, the Uncatchable Swift can reach Duna in 10 days, and Jool in as little as 55. Packed with 175 km/s of delta-V, no longer are you restricted by Hohmann transfer windows—just point towards the target and burn! As a holiday gift to all kerbals, now available for download! This ship was created as part of the Imagining a Kerbal Future series, in the two chapters where I designed a futuristic spacecraft. The first part can be found here, the second here. Purpose While mass drivers have taken over the role of launching unkerballed cargo, a much more comfortable ride is needed for a Kerbal. Therefore, this vessel is intended to give kerbals the comfortable trip they deserve. Not only is this an incredibly quick ship, it can operate inside planetary systems without the use of tugs, a fate that befell many low-thrust fusion drives before this one. Though in-game you can't load a thousand kerbals on board, I derived numbers from the Kerbalism mod to create a space and mass required for that number of kerbals, so you probably could load a thousand kerbals onboard. Features The Uncatchable Swift is equipped with two large centrifugal arms that if spun up (if Infernal Robotics parts are added to the ship) should create artificial gravity for the occupants. I tried to make this a realistic design, so I added tapered radiators and fuel tanks to fit inside a "radiation shadow" created by a shield, and that is also why a huge truss segment was built, so the arms could fit inside the cone. The powerful engine is built so that the Isp can be sacrificed for thrust, and vice-versa. Warnings As the ship is based in a futuristic setting, it assumes that the whole ship was not lifted from Kerbin, and was instead built with parts built in space. Therefore, you will need to place the ship into orbit with the cheat menu or Hyperedit. I personally pick Kerbostationary, since I would assume many space stations would be located there, since space elevators could be built there. A bug I noticed with this ship also means that an amount of Deuterium, Tritium, and Hydrogen much higher than there is supposed to be sometimes gets loaded onto the ship. To fix that, either do so in the VAB or with Hyperedit menu where the level of resources can be edited. Once complete, this ship should be ready for operation. Mods Civilian Population Interstellar Fuel Switch KSP Interstellar Extended Near Future Construction Near Future Spacecraft Planetary Domes TweakScale DOWNLOAD Gallery The Uncatchable Swift flying near full-scale O'Neill Cylinders, 27.5 kilometers away. The Uncatchable Swift as it enters Duna Orbit. Though older ships could never enter Tylo orbit as they entered the Joolian system, the Uncatchable Swift can. Thanks for Reading!

So I wrote this story a while back, sort of based on my pondering about what a slowboat interstellar mission in the next 40-ish years. It's decent writing, and I spent a long time on it, so I would appreciate you reading it. It's pretty long, so I'm gonna put the majority in a spoiler, but here's the title and 'cover' un-spoilered. It's bursting with references, from Doctor Who to Avatar (the good one with bending, not Pocahontas with blue people) to Steins;Gate to all the little things that I'm not remembering. It's mostly names, but I have no clue as to all the crap I put in there. Cheers! Project Odysseus

I love me some good sci-fi whether it is Star Trek, Titanfall, Halo, Star Citizen, or most anything else. I also happen to really enjoy recreating spacecraft in KSP from different games, movies, shows, etc. I haven't really found an official thread that focuses on sci-fi ships regardless of functionality. I figured I'd start a thread for any spacecraft that seems remotely "sci-fiey" whether or not it actually serves a purpose or if it even flies with out cheats/mods. So, post away your awesome sci-fi spacecraft! I'll start with some of my own:

I'm looking for a good mod to make futuristic spaceships .