What did you do in KSP1 today?

[Mjarf]

Was about to launch a science expedition to Minmus earlier today and got a message saying the launchpad was out of service for some reason. I sent out a Caterpillar (I name my crafts after animals now) robotic rover to see what's going on. Looks like I should be more careful when using auxillary boosters:

[Triop]

Today we are testing waterplanes droptanks (Dutch "lange jannen").

I forgot I unlocked the small hardpoints (they can transfer fuel).

Meanwhile, flying over the south pole's mountain.

 

Edited May 17, 2018 by Triop

[Angelo Kerman]

I conducted my first operational test flight of the Block 1 A-51B Flapjack:

I haven't unlocked gravitics yet in my career game, so the saucer is rocket-powered. The Flapjack has docked with Skybase:

In the foreground you can see the Mk2 Scrapper Pod, which successfully recycled Skybase's upper stage engines to make room for the aft docking port now occupied by the saucer. In the lower left is a Dolores Resupply Module that's waiting for some experiments to complete. Above left is Kapollo 6, the last Kapollo CSM- Flapjacks, which are reusable and capable of SSTO, are phasing out the expendable capsules like Kapollo and Big Brumby. Before long, Skybase will be expanded into a transportation hub: fresh crews fly up to Skybase, board a Munbus flown by the returning crew, and head to their destination. Meanwhile the returning crew boards the rocket saucer and flies it back to KSC.

[CatastrophicFailure]

3 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

conducted my first operational test flight of the Block 1 A-51B Flapjack:



So, separate download? 

[Angelo Kerman]

6 minutes ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

So, separate download? 

Not quite yet. Still working on IVAs and props...

[CatastrophicFailure]

5 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

Not quite yet. Still working on IVAs and props...

Aaaaaaaand there go my last few kilobytes of unused RAM. 

[Triop]

[Angelo Kerman]

38 minutes ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

Aaaaaaaand there go my last few kilobytes of unused RAM. 

Hehehe

First successful de-orbit and landing of the Flapjack:

This rocket saucer's flight crew are still aboard Skybase, awaiting the Munbus. That was by design so that the crew rotation would work out properly. The Flapjack returned on automatic and landed- though it used up most of the runway to do so. Ground crews will tow the Flapjack back to the hangar for evaluation. Eventually, rocket saucers will just be towed to a parking spot, refueled, and prepared for the next mission (meaning no vessel recovery)...

[Gyrfalcon5]

6 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

Hehehe

First successful de-orbit and landing of the Flapjack:

~snip x3~

This rocket saucer's flight crew are still aboard Skybase, awaiting the Munbus. That was by design so that the crew rotation would work out properly. The Flapjack returned on automatic and landed- though it used up most of the runway to do so. Ground crews will tow the Flapjack back to the hangar for evaluation. Eventually, rocket saucers will just be towed to a parking spot, refueled, and prepared for the next mission (meaning no vessel recovery)...

I need this in my life!  Take your time on those IVA's though. Don't let my lowly human desires interrupt your work!  

[Galileo]

Continued work in a stock system texture re-skin.

Edited May 18, 2018 by Galileo

[GeneralMDBK]

Inspired by work with hinges by EJ I decided to attempt to create a lander with foldable wings to fit inside of a cargo bay. The hinges work but it is not at all stable. 

Edited May 18, 2018 by GeneralMDBK
Fixing embedded album

[Wrench Head]

@Mjarf

What you need under the hood.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Front-Mount-Intercooler-For-Nissan-300ZX-Twin-Turbo-Fairlady-Z32-VG30DETT-90-96/32832410227.html

That with 3 inch piping Cheers m8.

 

[Kerbal01]

Launched a constellation of boring comms sats, first stage impacted  4000 km downrange (one later launch managed 12000 but I have no screenshot). https://imgur.com/a/IrYO5Yl

[Cavscout74]

So after getting a nice fat asteroid search contract, I've upgraded my launch pad & tracking station & have been launching probes as fast as I can for the approaching Jool window.   I've limited myself to 10 days between launches per launch site for vessels requiring a level 2 pad & 20 days between launches for level 3.  There is also a Duna window right behind it & I plan on sending this careers first manned mission to Duna & that will require several launches as well.  In the meantime, a few noteworthy images from the last 2 days:

Survey satellite intended for Vall just clearing Kerbin's atmosphere:

Second flight of the 1.4.3 version of my interplanetary probe & relay in orbit, waiting on the transfer window.  After emptying the radial tanks, they are jettisoned.  Once in orbit around the target body, the upper section is dropped to the surface while the main body remains in orbit to act as a relay.

First flight of the 1.4.3 version.  After some 1) stupidity on my part, 2) spaghetti-ness on KSP's part, 3) a lot of LFO & some parachutes, I managed to save almost all of the ship just west of KSC.  Yes west.  See item 1.  I actually landed upright, but it was on the side of a hill.

[Castille7]

Ok not everything is a success 

Once I made an attempt to put @klond's Curiosity Rover on a Planet somewhere.....No Go Yet!

Spoiler

 

I could maybe swap out the lower Atomic Motors with Rocket Engines here?.......maybe another day!

 

Come on!!! you can do it!!!

 

 

Edited May 18, 2018 by Castille7

[GeneralMDBK]

Decided to run a late stream to work on my next design for what I would like to use for a Jool 5 Mission.

Here is my favorite screenshot of the night:

And here is the whole album:

https://imgur.com/gallery/FKoPMIt

[KerikBalm]

On 5/16/2018 at 3:39 PM, Geonovast said:

It's probably because it's almost impossible to make a usable rover that will fit inside of it that can also 1) get out, and 2) get back in using stock parts.

Its a bit tricky and requires the use of part offset and part rotation tools, but almost impossible is going too far:

I had even designed a mini SSTO that could go in and out of the cargobays via the ramp, before asking myself.... why?!

Then there's this little rover that converts to a wider track so that it doesn't tip over so easily:

A comm array module:

Spoiler

These were back before they fixed the wheel blocked thing, and I had to make due with only the small wheels, partcould was way too high:

 I also found the extendable rover wheels from the KPBS mod are good for making rovers that get in and out of the cargobay.

I was hoping the folding rover wheels from making history would be useful for that as well, but so far I haven't been able to use them for that.

[Galileo]

Finally finished.

 

[Colonel Cbplayer]

Just having some silly fun

 

[Castille7]

1 hour ago, Colonel Cbplayer said:

Just having some silly fun

Bad Rocket!.....Bad Rocket!......

[JadeOfMaar]

Some deja vu hit me. I did this exact thing back in the earliest (or was it the latest?) of KSP 1.1 days. But this craft has purpose beyond measuring its stride. Aptly called the "Re Layer" It's a stylish, overblown relay type vessel with a pair of powerful stock dishes in the service bay, and WBI solar panels for the main power source.

I finally took great advantage of the J-61's new/extended performance envelope and accelerated up to Mach 8 or so before having to dump the J-61 and burning on LFO up to Mach 10 and setting my Ap at nearly 8000 km.  The red+black flag on the side is the GPP Gratian flag, clearly marking where this craft is going.

(Stock SRB scaled to 2.5m. This design seems promising for use in 2.5x but I doubt it can go interplanetary then.)

    

Dumping the lifters right before flameout is always cool.  Keeping your warranty while doing so is even cooler.

This thing really looks like Star Trek Voyager...

 

Edited May 18, 2018 by JadeOfMaar

[Geonovast]

@KerikBalm How easily do they get back in though?  I've had plenty of stuff that could get out just fine, but getting back in was downright impossible.

I also avoid part clipping of non-strictly-structural parts, and consider part clipping of movable pieces (IE wheels spinning through other parts) to be completely unacceptable.  Every one of your examples has wheels offset inside other pieces.  Might be fine for you, but I would never do that.  So my comment was from the point of view of my playstyle.  I'll edit a "without clipping" addendum

[TeslaPenguin1]

Today I visited Shadow space center...

 

@Ace in Space, you finally have some company! (note: will post pictures when i can)

[KerikBalm]

7 hours ago, Geonovast said:

@KerikBalm How easily do they get back in though?  I've had plenty of stuff that could get out just fine, but getting back in was downright impossible.

I also avoid part clipping of non-strictly-structural parts, and consider part clipping of movable pieces (IE wheels spinning through other parts) to be completely unacceptable.  Every one of your examples has wheels offset inside other pieces.  Might be fine for you, but I would never do that.  So my comment was from the point of view of my playstyle.  I'll edit a "without clipping" addendum

They get back in fairly easily, but to address your point, the earliest design I posted did not have wheels offset inside other pieces... the example from when doing that resulted in the message "Wheels blocked"... there was a version where clipping wheels made the wheel not work, hence these designs:

Spoiler

This one had a minor radiator clipping into the drill, but I could just move it forward if that offends your sensibilities

I'll grant that the wheels were offset inwards a little, but it wasn't the moving section of the part 

As to this design:

Spoiler

Yes, the middle wheel set is a little clipped. I could break the rover in half to prevent this (the middle wheels are needed if the ramp is not flat, otherwise the middle of the rover bottoms out... although you can make landers that sit flat on the ground and have the ramp be close to flat when opened, in which case you can omit the middle wheel set). However, making it into 2 shorter rovers adds to part count (+1 probe core, +1 docking port, +2 wheel parts, +2 1.25m parts for the wheels to attach to, at least +1 battery/RTG/solar panel,  +7 parts total, which can add up to a lot when putting multiple modules together)

I think of it a bit like so:

In reality, 4 wings on each side arranged like this would be completely wrong:

Spoiler

They also clip into each other a *little bit*, but we can'y make the parts with blended seams, or cutouts, or whatever. I consider using the offset tool to be simulating these fine scale design changes that we could make in the real world, but not KSP.

I won't place 10 rapiers end to end,  then part clip them into each other so that none of their thrust is obstructed, to make a singe 1.25m stack with the  thrust of 10 rapiers.

I also won't part clip a bunch of wings into the same space, so that seemingly tiny wings lift a massive load (its not just aesthetic, it makes a big difference when trying to launch and land and avoid hitting them on the ground, or building rocket boosters around it

I won't part clip a bunch of fuel tanks inside each other (especially inside a cargo/service bay to make the contained fuel tanks dragless

Like this rover... its just an inert panel that is clipping the wheel. There would be nothing preventing adding some cutouts or contouring it to fit with the wheels... so for me, I don't have a problem with it

Spoiler

I generally don't like part clipping either, but I consider certain amounts acceptable because we can't fine tune parts

[BadOaks]

I did a mission to Duna to test my new Kolony lander design and gather ground resource data. 

Main payload is 30 tons of material kits and 15 tons of supplies, but I was more interested just to see if it could make it to the ground in one piece. Secondary payload was 4 probe capsules with science equipment.

Aerobraking went much better than expected, very stable and easily captured into a low orbit with only 30 m/s of fuel used.

Probes away!

All but one of the probes made it, and that was because I wanted to see how low I could actually get before deploying the parachute. (It's not 1km)

Main payload landed safely! ...though it was about 8 km off target. Since there was plenty of fuel left I'll have to see if I can forgo the parachutes and do an engines-only landing next time. Overall, a great success!