How will you get to one of the planets?

[Freddman]

IF some of the new parts are a working empty capsule, then that would make a return trip much easier. Because you could then have an Apollo-style mission with a small lander.

I'm hoping for this. Iv'e managed to do a Apollo-style landing on Minmus, but that required tampering with the persistent.sfs file so I could command my lander after it was jettisoned.

Edited August 13, 2012 by Freddman

[AlternNocturn]

I changed my mind about my original plan. My new plan: big rockets and lots of luck and good timing.

[Capt'n Skunky]

How will you get to one of the planets?

With a rocket ship!

Cheers!

Capt'n Skunky

KSP Community Manager

[Resender]

Ingenuity, make 2 ships.

1 to land, 2 to scoop the pod up and take it back to Kerbin

[illectro]

I'm hoping for this. Iv'e managed to do a Apollo-style landing on Minmus, but that required tampering the the persistent.sfs file so I could command my lander after it was jettisoned.

Yep my entire video series right now revolves around doing this on the Mun and showing that it is in fact cheaper than a full lander, but not by much. However, for landing on a planet like kerbin the advantage of leaving a return ship in orbit is *huge*

However given the mass/physics engine limits I'm going to launch both ships on 2 separate rockets.

[Freddman]

However, for landing on a planet like kerbin the advantage of leaving a return ship in orbit is *huge*

And more awesome, because then you get to do a rendezvous before you head back home!

[spikeyhat09]

Probably the same way NASA does...wait for Kerbin and the planet of choice to line up, then launch. Sounds difficult, but changing your Kerbol orbit requires a LOT of fuel. Unless they add some parts better suited for interplanetary travel (or fail to fix the fuel consumption bug ), I think its simply too inefficient to do anything but the "point and shoot" method. Much more complicated of course

[quarthinos]

I'll use (some derivation) of the rocket I spent most of yesterday building. It puts a three kerbal capsule, three aerospikes and more than 5000L of fuel into a 85km orbit. I've done a polar landing (88N) on minimus and come back for a softlanding at KSC (with a bit of help from mechjeb.. I can't fly free style AT ALL).

[duckunlimited2]

Hey y'all!

If you want to learn how to perform interplanetary rendezvous, i have created a PowerPoint (because I have no resources to create a video ) on the subject. I would love if you checked it out and gave me an opinion.

Oh and I would be using this method to get to the planets. (just trying to stay on topic!)

Link:http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/showthread.php/16937-Practical-interplanetary-rendezvous-guide?p=235613#post235613

Edit: OH YES!! we got our kerbal smileys back I missed these things!

[EleSigma]

Here is my three man lander for the tiniest moon. As you can see I'm not taking any risks.

Edited August 14, 2012 by EleSigma

[Kosmo-not]

Here is my three man lander for the tiniest moon. As you can see I'm not taking any risks.

That for the little potato moon? That's more like docking than landing.

[EleSigma]

That for the little potato moon? That's more like docking than landing.

Well the RCS will be the lander engines, the multiple landing legs are for when I most likely will start to roll and tumble across the surface. Hopefully the legs will take the brunt and not destroy the more precious parts (like the lander engine). I'm not trusting my landing skills with this moon, I'm hoping descending at roughly 2.5-3 m a sec. will help.

[Candre]

The orbital speeds and gravity of "Gilly" are so low that you could probably just deorbit with RCS and land. A 1km orbit above the surface is only ~25 m/s. Slowing down completely at that altitude will bring you to the ground with a mere ~9 m/s gain.

Ninja'd, thought you'd use that lander engine.

It's going to be incredibly fun flying around its SOI with just a jetpack. The escape velocity is only 35.7 m/s!

Edited August 14, 2012 by Candre

[Accelerando]

And mission organizers cheered as the imaging spectrometer on Minmus Prospector returned the first projection map view of slush deposits that would prove so helpful in establishing an infrastructure for Kerbal interplanetary exploration.

With a mission plan already laid out, the next phase of development was handed over to the engineers. The OSD Heavy Lift System was designed, tested, and proved capable of full reusability while lifting slightly over 45 Kerbal tons into 80km orbit on a single stage, using quadruple LH2 drop-tanks parachuted back to Kerbin (chutes not pictured) to allow flexibility in payload.

With a full 45-ton payload and the equivalent of six FL-T400 tanks strapped to the sides, the launcher boasts a fuel-payload liftoff weight ratio of 3.73. The space program is still looking for ways to make the system more fuel efficient. (A.K.A. if you have any tips, please help ;w;)

The first heavy lift mission, slated to launch Soon™, will carry a 40-ton rudimentary SpaceDock into orbit to facilitate the assembly of larger spacecraft and to serve as a temporary fuel depot for mining missions en route to Minmus and the Mün. It will be followed by parts-lifting missions to assemble the Minar crewed command outpost and a series of robotic miners to bore into subsurface slush deposits.

So begins the Kerbal journey! Big thanks to all the modders who made it possible: Zorkinian, R4mon, Damnyoujapan, JDP, Dani-Sang, NovaSilisko, Sherbetlemons, and others I probably forgot (the people who did the .cfg edits for the large decouplers and aerospike engines, please come slap my face)

Edited August 16, 2012 by Accelerando
shoutoutz

[olex]

I've built and tested a rocket that will get me to planets in 0.17 and back again. I've also posted my flight plan as a challenge in the Challenge section, since it's basically an interplanetary flight+return simulation using Kerbin as both the origin and destination: http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/forum/showthread.php/17144-In-preparation-for-0-17-simulated-interplanetary-flight-and-return?p=237566&viewfull=1#post237566

[Rakketz]

Just a note, we\'ve not decided on names just yet. Right now it\'s just 'Desert planet', 'Gas planet', though this will change before release.

I hope Desert Planet has a Des somewhere in it\'s name ???

What about Arrakis? A reference to the book Dune.

[Accelerando]

Call the planet Desertes and the moon Jus.

[deadly654321]

I think It shuld be called something with refrence to NovaSlinkso

[TresorKid]

slingshot... eaaasyyy!

[Pablonius]

My plan is to go to the next planet out with an atmosphere and use a shuttle I am testing to see if it is suitable for the mission. Just need to strap something to the bottom to get the thing out of the atmosphere to set me up for the journey there so I can (hopefully) glide gently down through the atmosphere and land safely like a plane. With parachutes for emergency landing of course.

[madspy]

How do I get to a planet?

hm...

Burn as many engines as I can for as long as I can and with as much thrust as I can, until the apoapsis meets the planet/moon's orbit. Make the orbit wider until I get an encounter. When in the gravitational pull of the celestial body, Thrust in ALL DIRECTIONS until I get evidence of it being the right direction.

I never find the right direction.

Notice that I am about to escape the solar system, aim at what I want to land on and panic. Overheat the engines / run out of fuel and then realise I'm stuffed.

Use RCS to attempt to land on the planet/moon or at least orbit it.

Fail.

Jump outside and use rocket pack to orbit it.

Fail.

Realize I am over 2 km away from the main ship and I am now out of rocket pack fuel.

Escape the system.

Then lose sleep trying to do it again.

Repeat.

[kockaspiton]

How would I get to other planets? Easily, with this

The real question is how would I land, I'm not a huge fan of lithobraking.

[A Fat Pokemon]

I will use this monster of a craft. I have no idea how it can fly, or even take off of kerbin, orbit it, LAND, then repeat that about 4 more times. I think I've stumbled upon a new, great rocket design

Runway landing

Edited August 22, 2012 by A Fat Pokemon

[baked_by_oven]

My basic plan is as with all my missions:

Build a giant rocket. Place capsule on top. Add optional things like SAS, RCS and parachutes. Launch it. get to kerbin orbit (at 80-150km a zone I call "mission zone" which I try to keep clear of rubbish and satellites so that my crafts don't hit junk). Figure out when to burn, and burn!

What's actually likely to happen:

Build a giant explosive. Place capsule on top. Forget SAS, RCS and parachutes. Have it explode on the pad.

[bigpapabearxx]

Ion engines