Jump to content

What did you do in KSP1 today?


Xeldrak

Recommended Posts

I spent some time earlier this morning experimenting with a concept I've been toying with since 1.0.0 - A cargo shuttle with the external tank mounted at the nose of the craft. Once the tanks are spent, the orbiter throttles down, the interstage fairing and the extra tank are chucked off, and the orbiter continues to orbit. This particular configuration is capable of deploying a Big Orange Tank plus a large amount of monoprop into a 100km orbit. (Unfortunately the test shown below failed on reentry, because I still had the wings mounted too far forward. That mistake has been corrected. Also had an issue with things inside the cargo bay exploding as though they were unshielded.... Thought that was fixed already.)

Working title for this is "NoseTank Shuttle", though I'm considering other names. Something snazzier than Starliner.

20150904_ksp0133_nosetank.jpg

Also hung out on YouTube Gaming for a bit this afternoon with some folks from our Google+ Community while simultaneously watching two or three different college football games. It's pigskin season again folks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Played around in my RSS save: put up my first space station around Earth, sent a probe on polar orbit of the Moon for resource scanning and increasing my skills in lunar injections (1st is fine, 2nd is still a problem :/), thought I might do the same for Earth and so sent a probe on polar orbit of Earth for resource scanning (again).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Completed my first ever attempt to go to Eeloo and return. I have never attempted it before but threw something together and decided why not. Mission went well if I had planned it better I could have landed at three of Jool's moons but I ended up settling with just flying by two of them on my way back to Kerbin.

Glamour Shot

TIfn7Nh.png

Saying Goodbye

sqLSL7I.png

Final fly-by of Jool after passing Tylo and Vall.

Xxlpl8B.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After probably 30 different variations, I have a reliable low tech SSTO for putting both large and small payloads into LKO. Others worked, but putting the payload on the front means a balanced ascent profile becomes unbalanced when the CoM moves towards the engines after releasing the payload. I often had to save about 200 LF to store in the tip of the plane to keep it stable during entry. The newest version is stable even when completely empty on re-entry. Other low tech non-MK3 designs for large payloads have a scheme to put the payload in the center so that CoM doesn't move as much after releasing the payload, which is a respectable design, but I wanted to try and refine my own approach. It's fairly easy to use bicouplers to upgrade to 6 or 8 ramjets as-needed for heavier payloads. All stock parts except for Engineer chip so I can easily observe metrics and RealChute parachutes, which I almost never use and are there just for emergencies.

I need to remap the aerodynamics overlay. Alot of pictures ruined cause my screenshot key is the same.

3E79E4950612E7FED26D712C6037B292F2897F95

Delivery has arrived:

520C2B88D4EB3197E641EA36FA503B2A04749024

Another example payload, the decreasingly small tanks are where I just crammed as much extra fuel as I could into the taper of the protective nose cone:

8F754EC04551B1C3FF073780399C961366089CCF

One of the first versions of the concept. Required alot more ramjets, winglets to keep the nose up, and was incapable of a rolling take off. So your components had permanent winglets on them, although I could mount them on decouplers, either way it was a hack. Still, I was proud to be putting large components into orbit at a fairly low cost.

2369876AE32EF5C26B54586EF5C5E5213BF58C18

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So today The Kraken gave me a rather impromptu and unexpected chance to re-enact Apollo 13.

Javascript is disabled. View full album

I was checking at the science center to make sure I hadn't previously visited my planned biome. When I came back... well you can see that my ship was in more than the one piece it was supposed to be in. This caused particular consternation because I had already circularized using the Command Module's engine and I had done exactly zero TWR or DeltaV calculations about getting myself back to Kerbin using just the Munar Module. Fortunately, missing a 3/4ths full fuel tank and engine and solar panels and a few Mystery Goo Containers lightened the ship enough that I made it easily. Of course, had they stayed attached to the ship like they were supposed to I wouldn't have had this problem in the first place. Short story short, everyone got back safe. Lesson from this mission: check your biomes at the science center BEFORE you're in orbit around the Mun in your suddenly fragile ship!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So today The Kraken gave me a rather impromptu and unexpected chance to re-enact Apollo 13.

I guess it was a nice imromptu challenge for yourself. Glad you were able to salvage it. Usually if a bug/quirk bites me I don't have that much patience and either load or cheat. That's really the challenge of making any kind of hardcore game mode. If people lose/die on fair terms, it can still be enjoyable. Sometimes losing is fun, if you're familiar with Dwarf Fortress, there's lots of examples of that. But the occasions when you get burnt unfairly then it can ruin the experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Built and flew a fairly big cargo plane. I rescaled the Squad main airliner wings up 80%. Body is the 3.5m parts.

She can take off and fly with three jumbo rocket tanks in the cargo hold, but 2 is recommended. 3 is technically overloaded.

But she did it!

screenshot60_1.png

screenshot62_2.png

screenshot63_2.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have two asteroids which I previously captured and put into Kerbin orbit. Tonight, I began mining one of them (also my first return visit since putting it into orbit). This was my first shot at mining so far. Going well. Just collecting the ore though; I'll bring it back to my Kerbin station (the KSS) for processing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

this was technically last night: Jeb, Bill and Kertina made their burn towards home from Duna and just about a week later Valentina and two white-suites left Kerbin behind and went on their way to Duna.

xQreXw4.png

CbrLHLj.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the advice of a fellow forumer I created an imaginary aerospace company showcase thread and a chronicle of my history of building KSP Helicopters.

I also flight tested the Mi-12 Homer prototype (Mil V-12) successfully proving flight control systems, basic flight maneuvers and landing on the runway after 40 minutes. It is very efficient and barely sips fuel thanks to turbo-electric hybrid power!

R72fG6a.jpg

Craft thread:

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/133491-There-are-Helicopters-and-there-are-ROFLcopters-This-is-OMG%21%21%21-Mil-V-12-Homer-Super-Heavy-Copter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Linus_Kerman.jpgLinus: We had kinda really bad luck these days. Something went wrong in the Kerbalverse and all of a sudden all our craft kept wobbling and exploding with no obvious reason. We tried a lot to overcome this spacetime anomaly but finally our local Kawd of Kerbalverse decided to reset the Kerbalverse with a huge Big Bang that was hopefully even hearable at SQUAD!

Doc_Moriarty_Kerman.jpgDoc Moriarty: Not even shutting down Kerbalverse and reloading worked or rebooting the Universe Engine!

Gene_Kerman.jpgGene: Yeah that was really weird. Here is an example of what was left from our huge Raider 31-02 after that incident. But it also happened to other space stations and ships. We at the control center couldn't do a thing. Even switching off SAS and stuff didn't help. At the latest when time compression kicked in everything kept exploding.

raider_destroyed.jpg

Mortimer_Kerman.jpgMortimer: Back to square one! We were broke anyway, so no big loss.

Jebediah_Kerman.jpgJeb: At least I'm back to life now! So can't really complain :D

Gus_Kerman.jpgGus: We weren't lazy tho since then. The guys again made lots of funny contraptions and did missions to get back science and money. For example this one as our new passenger shuttle:

bus_04_orbit.jpg

Wernher_Von_Kerman.jpgWernher: Hey create something good when you have no advanced tech! At least this thing transports 3 tourists or VIPs and a pilot at the same time!

Mortimer_Kerman.jpgMortimer: Makin' money! Yeah!

Wernher_Von_Kerman.jpgWernher: Here another of our new contraptions. This lab slapped together from stuff that was laying around here somewhere will hopefully get us back into business big time! Only gotta load it with some science and a Kerbal!

mobilab_sph.jpg

Jebediah_Kerman.jpgJeb: Umm yeah thats nice. Though sadly Val died early in a stupid part test mission :(

Walt_Kerman.jpgWalt: Not going to publish this. Anyway we are off into a new career and will be fighting our way back into the skies and stuff!

Edited by DocMoriarty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I took a C-class asteroid that I had lying around from an old contract and stuck it on my space station. It was much more difficult and annoying than simply mining up an equal amount of ore, but at least it was an interesting challenge.

3376161.jpg

Pushing 80 tons of asteroid around was not that easy; I would hate to try it with an E-class! :confused:

Edited by Goomblah
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I decided to build yet another space station. It will take about 10-15 launches to get everything up to the 420km orbit.

KVyHkI1.png

I've already launched 1/3 of the station using this rocket. I think I can use it for about 90% of the total station. Each payload has a T-100 tug attached. Very reliable setup for RO RSS.

Ts4rSc8.png

Here's some of the station being designed. I will then break it up for deployment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Compared to everyone else, I haven't done much, but I have owned this game for a just couple of days and haven't really had time to play much. Today, in career, without upgrading my tracking station, I put a Kerbal into a stable orbit by eye, deorbited him safely and feel pretty darned good about. It took a handful of aborted attempts, but it's all good. As many people have said here, it's all in reading the navball and watching your fuel.

I will be glad when I can upgrade my tracking station and get maneuver nodes, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Made a kludging arm. Now if only the craft would behave when you hit 800m/s I might be able to get it to orbit without brute forcing it. The turret works in flight... Now I just need to find a stock solution to making it extend and then I've got a bad Canadarm replica...

D3woTSY.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...