What did you do in KSP1 today?

[Martian Emigrant]

Hey all.

 

Something seemingly unnatural is going on.

Jeb left on a long duration mission with with one of the Pony Crew to the outer planets.

They just came back....

 

Jeb as a lot of explaining to do.

 

He also seem to have proven that Kerbals and MLP are the same species.

 

PS

They called him Mach Diamond and he wants to be a pilot. Of course.

 

ME

 

Edited May 20, 2021 by Martian Emigrant

[Caerfinon]

6 minutes ago, Martian Emigrant said:

Kerbals and MLP are the same species

the love that dare not speak its name...

[swjr-swis]

1 hour ago, Martian Emigrant said:

Jeb as a lot of explaining to do.

"Jeb, stop horsing around!"

[FleshJeb]

43 minutes ago, swjr-swis said:

"Jeb, stop horsing around!"

"Neigh!"

[Caerfinon]

The Space Program Starts Here

Val waits to launch in one of Werner's wackier contraptions

This thing actually goes!

Good thing Bill added those parachutes...

[Martian Emigrant]

26 minutes ago, Caerfinon said:

This thing actually goes!

YES!

YES!

YES!

I have to steal that.

ME

[ColdJ]

Released a Chriggen F28 into the world.

https://kerbalx.com/ColdJ/ColdJ-F-28-Chriggen-Up

Pics here

And configs for extra 2 parts here.

https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?/topic/201867-show-off-the-aircraft-jetpropcargopassengergliderfighter-etc-that-you-put-loads-of-time-into-getting-just-right/&do=findComment&comment=3975370

 

[Singhnaut]

Launched a science lander to the Mun just for fun.  photo

[Admiral Fluffy]

In Ksp School today I drew a picture of Jebediah Kerman

[Caerfinon]

We're doing Science and we're still alive...

Bill and Bob try out the new Science Truck around the KSC (mostly fish tails on the runway if truth be told).

[Cavscout74]

Only got a little progress before getting my tail whipped by bugs - I thought the "VAB/SPH acting like level 1 in science mode" bug was a 1.11 bug, but it was turned up in my 1.10 game.  Hopefully it will be gone whenever I get a chance to fire up KSP again, because nothing I could do in-game fixed the issue.  I just didn't have time to restart the game tonight.  Also encountered a second bug where I couldn't place maneuver nodes - I'm guessing maybe the tracking station is acting like it isn't upgraded either?

Anyway, my pair of new kerbonauts arrived at the Mun in their single launch GPV/ML2 - basically a Gemini-size version of Apollo - and landed safely.  They will be spending a full day on the Mun before returning to orbit.

Undocking the ML2 and preparing to land

And a safe landing by our new pilot

I also tinkered with a small rover and a landing cradle for it:

I was pretty shocked when - despite doing a back flip on the first attempt - it was able to drive out of the admin pool without breaking anything

On the desert pad with the cradle.  When I went back to the VAB to build the complete launcher, the 30-part limit showed up despite being in science mode.  The final version of the cradle also features its own solar panels and a small relay antenna to help the rover stay in touch with Kerbin.  One shortcoming in the design is the ramp folds underneath the cradle, so it must be deployed before landing

 

Edited May 22, 2021 by Cavscout74

[Angelo Kerman]

I got my other diving suit done:

I'm contemplating some kind of liquid breathing part that you can wear in place of the SCUBA tank. It would let you dive to the bottom of the ocean...

[Spaceman.Spiff]

I docked in RO for the first time!

It was a simple transposition maneuver, but it’s the beginning of great things!

[Hotel26]

I spent the morning on further refinement of my new Nakajima class carrier, continuing the pursuit of Joint Chiefs of Staff "Minimalist Carrier Policy".

Sea trials have commenced and this run yielded 45.8 m/s (164 kmh):

Spoiler

 

 

 

It looks very much at this stage like it might be feasible to extend the project to attempt hydrofoil capability for Nakajima?

(A shout-out to @chadgaskerman whose bridge I purloined for inspiration.  (I'll revise all this during the final development.))

Nakajima carriers sport 12x Goliath engines arranged in two banks, amidships (used alone for turning) and stern (engaged additionally for cruise).

                                                                                     

The KSC naval base pilot corp insisted on salt-water bathing facilities (i.e. a ladder rescue system to get out of the shark-infested waters after failing to stop before "carrier's edge" during training)...

 

UPDATED: a mock-up of a new bridge.  Now a pastiche of borrowed ideas...  Lots of Z-fighting. 

Edited May 22, 2021 by Hotel26

[jimmymcgoochie]

I landed on Tylo.

Then I noticed a really odd issue with Persistent Thrust, it drained a load of fuel when I was using physics warp to run a Kerbal over to a rock for a sample (but it was non-sampleable) so I had insufficient delta-V to return to orbit. So I had to reload and start the landing again, but then there was a fuel imbalance- some fuel and oxidiser were missing, but different percentages- which required save file hacking to fix; I definitely brimmed those tanks up before I headed to Tylo!

And then, at last, a successful landing on, and return from, Tylo. 3 flags planted, only 11 10 more to go before I return my Intrepid crew to Kerbin and call this Grand Tour a near-success; nearly because I skipped Moho due to a lack of delta-V .

[Misguided Kerbal]

Spare time leads to more shenanigans.. and more shenanigans leads to more image spam 

 

First up, I decided to finally use the ANTS nuclear tug for it's original intended purpose: shuttling crew modules and cargo throughout the Kerbin system. Of course, that also meant launching up a new crew. 

I've haven't been playing for a while (even though last post was 'back from hiatus', flying planes and then aborting on one doesn't really count), so I was a bit rusty. First, the first stage wanted to veer out of control (For once, I'm launching manually. The Thunderbird is a pretty fun rocket to fly), but luckily I wasn't all that bad and corrected it.

However, transposition was an entire different story. See, the Callisto crew module transpositions shortly after reaching orbit to extract it's mission module. A weak part of the link is well... the link. The stack separator attaching the crew module to the mission module is usually knocked out of the way when the crew module turns around. But not this time.

After some minor wrestling, I managed to push the separator away and dock with the mission module:

Of course, since the only operational ANTS tug, ANTS-2 (ANTS-1 was destroyed in a kraken attack) was docked to the buggy, Kraken-prone KOFD, I decided that it would go to the Callisto, instead of the other way around. No need to compound a chance of a Kraken attack.

Nuclear plume.. never gets old

The ANTS tug is massively overpowered for this purpose: even carrying the Callisto, it still has well over 5000 m/s of ∆v. Of course, it is designed with much bigger payloads in mind such as base modules and such, so this is a welcome margin.

A relatively simple munar injection is plotted.

A second burn breaks the crew into a roughly 100 * 100 km munar orbit, my typical operations altitude.

And there they are, around the Mun. At this point I decided not to return them yet.. I have stuff planned for the future and an extra crew on hand would be very handy.

So, something had to be done with the brand new, but kraken prone KOFD-2. It seems like the KOFD line of stations are very susceptible to kraken attacks, and I attribute it to their size. 4 Jumbo 64 tanks, attached to a node and then to a structural truss. Even with autostruts and rigid attachment, it still isn't very stable and it likes to wiggle. So in this case, smaller is better, so I decided on a new design:

4 massive Jumbo-64s simply aren't required, with regular tanker flights and (hopefully in the future) ISRU landers to top them off. So we get this, a pretty versatile design. I'm intending to put one around at least every major body which will hopefully streamline future operations. This is small enough that empty, the whole thing could be carried by a first generation EV to the destination body (such as Eve or Duna), and then topped off with fuel once we get there.

Of course, merely planning isn't going to do anything. Before we could do anything, the KOFD-2 had to be deorbited, and before we can do that, the crew have to be evacuated, so I did.

I thought I actually had a chance of making it to the KSC this time.. no luck. We easily overshot both the KSC and the Island Airfield, leaving us only with enough velocity to ditch in the ocean like last time. I'll have to practice my spaceplane skills more often.

However, I think I did a bit better this time. I actually managed to conserve some speed and not stall out straight away (with the help of SMART A.S.S), and I glided out to a rather smooth landing, at only 14 m/s with no parts broken.

A quick blast of the abort SRBs to prevent stalling out and hitting the ocean nose first again

And splashdown! No parts lost, which is a miracle.

Of course, I also had time to think. Thinking is dangerous: it gives you more work to do. So, in my save the Von Kermans haven't really done much. They have a nice station called Molinya Station with plenty of fuel:

But that's about it. They don't have anything else. Sure, they have a nice crew vehicle and a rocket, but they haven't done anything. So, I thought it was time to do something. They'll also set up their own tug system, except instead of being big, bulky, and nuclear like the ANTS, it's going to be derived from the Glushko second stage, and to increase efficiency it'll be LH2 instead of Liquid Fuel. They'll also establish a Mun and Minmus base restively. But their pinnacle will be establishing their own base on Gilly, and perhaps.. doing the first manned Eve Return Mission. 

However, it isn't all good news and progress. I ran out of disc space on my hard drive, leaving me with only 2 GB of space left, which meant I had to clear out some stuff. Since I didn't really have any junk files (I like to keep my drive squeaky clean) the first target, the unused JNSQ save used to run One Small Step had to go, along with the old KASA save folder and some other large applications such as Flightgear. I've recovered 50 GB of disc space, but at a loss. However, since I don't really want to continue the current storyline, a new one will probably start from scratch.

That's about it from me, hopefully I'll get actual progress on the Von Kerman side of things. 

[Single stage to ocean]

Made an eve ssto

This is just after I reentered and landed after successfully going to orbit. Real comfy to fly if a bit toasty on the way up. Terrible ascent left excess fuel. I think a perfect ascent could let you go to Gilly if you replace payload with xenon and ions, like @realseek and his Eve SSTA wings of oppornity. Sadly this can only reenter while empty, but I plan to kolonize Eve someday with Kerbalism ISRU to refuel these. Funny things ithat nervs at sea levle produce just 70 newtons of thrust, with them on at full power, after stopping, and timewarping to stop any bobbing , i top out at the glacial place of 0.1m/s

pic says 8 m/s b/c i just landed.

[Kerbals_of_Steel]

Took a break from my Career save to make a Kerbalized version of the Firefly Blue Ghost lunar lander:

A stock + DLC version is up at KerbalX , it's got enough extra space and thrust to carry experiments from whatever your science mod of choice is.

 

KoS

 

[N_Danger]

I had a orbital survey contract for Eve that required bringing back the science to Kerbin.

 

The space craft consisted of an Eve transfer section, Kerbin transfer section, EDL/Return capsule section and Science Instrument section. The Eve transfer section is conducting the departure burn here.

Eve arrival. Some how my contract showed the orbit part completed so I decided to just do a flyby.

I gathered up the required science and collected it in the return capsule. Then I detached the Science section.

Eve departure.

A plane change is done. 

 2 course corrections later and 3 and a half years of mission time we arrive back at Kerbin.

6.2 Km/Sec at interface. That worked out to be about 260-270 points of ablator burned up.

And we get the science back.

 

 

 

[Janus92]

Bill took the new Starship for some rides. It's been upgraded and can land itself now (kOS Script w/ GUI):

 

Return from a retrograde orbit:

 

Returning from a polar orbit:

 

And once more, the onboard-camera:

Edited May 22, 2021 by Janus92
gifs were not working..

[ColdJ]

Today. May I present. Tiny Tornado. The way the early Astronauts used to practice for Mun Landings. My first jet tipped prop VTOL craft.

https://kerbalx.com/ColdJ/Tiny-Tornado

 

Spoiler

 

Edited May 22, 2021 by ColdJ

[Pipcard]

1977-12-27 - Watarimono Jupiter flyby (will reach Saturn in 1981)

[Chel]

Went for a little fly around in the arctic.

Jeb also suffered what appears to be a mental breakdown whilst on EVA.

[N_Danger]

I had several contracts for Minmus including a rescue.

After arrival Phil undocks and heads down.

I landed just over 500 meters away from the stranded kerbel. The closest landing yet for me.

The kerbel zipps over

Science is done and flags are planted before heading home.

Welcome aboard.

The service module deorbited the lander( for impact science) then headed back to Kerbin.

And happy re-entry's and landings were had by all.

 

[Klapaucius]

On 5/20/2021 at 7:10 PM, ColdJ said:

So this is just bare bones but workable. I had to go bigger again and I am seriously tempted to make them longer because I had many many attempts where I flew right through and my parachute only stopped me when I reached water on the other side. But as a poor mans Battlestar Galactica Carrier, it works.

I upped their buoyancy and Crash and Breaking tolerances and gave the middle type a drone core so it doesn't need a pilot. I think I gave the Reaction wheel enough torque to keep it stable but it is hard to tell.

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Battlestar Aquatica?