What did you do in KSP1 today?

[MaxwellsDemon]

In between contracts, I put together a Gemini-inspired LKO-utility craft using Nertea's Near Future Spacecraft that I'm quite pleased with.  There's also a large asteroid making a pass just inside of Minmus orbit that I'm planning to rendezvous with; I have a crew up in a vessel in the correct plane, just waiting for it to get a bit closer before sending them off.

[SSgt Baloo]

Spent much of yesterday practising with satellites and spaceplanes.

 

[Guest]

I worked on a VTOL landing system for my Munar refueling base.  This is one of the fuel tanks being tested on Kerbin.

[AlphaMensae]

1 hour ago, CliftonM said:

I worked on a VTOL landing system for my Munar refueling base.  This is one of the fuel tanks being tested on Kerbin.

Did you get that to work?  I tried to make one like that too, but the thrust torque just increases until it flips out of control.  I then realized that the tank is draining from the front to the back, because it's in a horizontal orientation and the game doesn't take that into account.  I solved the problem by using two tanks, with one flipped 180 degrees, and a pair of engines on each tank.  Balanced out the engines and it worked fine, I made a large rover-lander version that got into Kerbin orbit and back.

Edited January 18, 2016 by Laguna

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Laguna said:

Did you get that to work?  I tried to make one like that too, but the thrust torque just increases until it flips out of control.  I then realized that the tank is draining from the front to the back, because it's in a horizontal orientation and the game doesn't take that into account.  I solved the problem by using two tanks, with one flipped 180 degrees, and a pair of engines on each tank.  Balanced out the engines and it worked fine, I made a large rover-lander version that got into Kerbin orbit and back.

You have to balance COT with COM.

[Stratzenblitz75]

Today, I went to Eve for the first time in 1.05.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2016 by Stratzenblitz75
link

[Alchemist]

Been messing around with the telescope from the STS challenge.

Reassembling it in orbit is quite fun.

[Guest]

I connected to my computer via SSH and then used the telnet of kOS to control my rocket from my other computer:

 

[AlphaMensae]

I'm testing out an Eve lander.  Got my third version to land on the surface in one piece.  On the ascent, it starts out well, but the uupper stages flip out upon staging--they worked fine on Kerbin.  I'm trying to keep the length short, so those stages are short and stout, so that could be the problem.  Next revision will have a Mainsail for the middle stage and winglets instead of 8 Swivels, will see how that works.  The upper stage uses 4 1.25m Poodles (Tweakscaled).  Main stages use Space Y Ratites.

 

[Puggonaut]

So yesterday this sort of got done as a tester ,

 

 

Then I added engines an it went like this......................Bang Oh Well never mind eh..............

 

 

 

Today The IXS1701Z got launched

 

 

 

.now if I could only get the infernal (aptly named i may add) Robotics to turn the Hubs in Oppisite directions , it does it fine in the hanger , doing my head in it is

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Stratzenblitz75 said:

Today, I went to Eve for the first time in 1.05.

 

 

Only SRB's, no parachutes.  Wow.  Nice.

[SSgt Baloo]

I noticed that the Dream Homage (the spaceplane in the previous entry) floated high in the water whenever it landed on water, and so I used the same layout (different wings) to make a flying boat. Here it is after testing. I flew it from the runway, then landed, then took off again (you never know it'll work until you try). After taking off again, I landed in the water near the Spaceflight complex and taxiid ashore. Apparently, having an engine partially submerged doesn't hurt the operation of it any, otherwise I'd have had to mount the engine higher, and that can cause difficulties with COM.

Edited January 19, 2016 by SSgt Baloo

[inigma]

[Snarfster]

2 hours ago, Stratzenblitz75 said:

Today, I went to Eve for the first time in 1.05.

 

 

I think you just won KSP.

[PnDB]

Steadler Engineering Corps approached us with a real challenge a couple of days ago... "Explore the Mün", they said.  Nevermind that we'd only put a single satellite into orbit (almost, not quite 70 km Pe).

Werner got right on developing the new parts necessary, while Gene rustled up a crew to upgrade the launchpad and VAB so it could handle a little larger rocket.

On a cool evening, P-003 stood ready on the launchpad.

Launch went well, though making a decent gravity turn was challenging with only the OKTO providing any torque.  Gene didn't have time to upgrade the tracking station controls; so with no orbit planning capability, Jeb (sitting in Ground Control) waited until the Mün rose above the horizon and remotely gunned the LV-909 for all its worth.  P-003 was on its way!  In flight, it assumed an anti-normal orientation to maximize solar panel exposure.

A few hours later, P-003 was in orbit around the Mün.  Lots of science-y data were taken, and it was time to return.  But there wasn't enough fuel left for a safe LKO circularization burn upon return from the Mün!  Determined to recover the data rather than have lots of it lost in transmission, the ground crew decided to make a zillion passes through Kerbin's upper atmosphere to bleed off speed.  Several days later, P-003 used the remaining bits of fuel to dip deep into the atmosphere for a final, fiery descent.  Jeb took a page from the late-night rotisserie grill advertisements and rolled P-003 as it came down to keep all sides equally toasty.

With the fiery descent complete and the LV-909 and empty fuel tank now jettisoned (bye-bye, poor-man's heat shield!), the remains of P-003 floated down (upside-down) on three parachutes...

...almost landing in a tree.

And of course now someone else wants us to do it again, but this time with Minmus (and no tree)... no rest for the weary, I suppose.

 

[hazard-ish]

I built a truck. Fully stock, fully functional, complete with opening and pivoting trailer - 506 parts

 

[GDJ]

Launched a 307 tonne rocket with the Orion capsule parts and the KIS/KAS storage system, complete with alot of structural and science items. It's scheduled to rendezvous with my small space station and if all goes well, a space constructed science/communications boom will be installed.

[MagicFireCaster]

24 minutes ago, hazard-ish said:

I built a truck. Fully stock, fully functional, complete with opening and pivoting trailer - 506 parts

 

Yup i saw the video when you uploaded it 

[Guest]

35 minutes ago, hazard-ish said:

I built a truck. Fully stock, fully functional, complete with opening and pivoting trailer - 506 parts

 

 

[Kenobi McCormick]

I haven't done anything quite yet. But I have about 5200 science or so to get. I'm thinking I go for it in one lump sum in the Jool system somewhere. or perhaps Eeloo. I know I can gather enough at those locations using the craft that brought 4200 back from Dres if I take it somewhere with a higher science mult, and that means going farther out than Dres. To do this i'm going to be reaching for some modified hotrod ion engines, technology I haven't had in my space program since 0.19.

 

 

Or perhaps way closer in? Anyone know if Moho's science mult is equal to Joolian moons?

Edited January 18, 2016 by Kenobi McCormick

[AlphaMensae]

Success in leaving the Purple Ball O' Doom!

The pics start with the lander on the ground, the entry was just like the previous test so I didn't bother (one change was using a single Mainsail below the heat shield as a test retro-burn engine).  

Not sure what was going on with the landing struts (300% LT-2s) but the ship was stable and took off fine.  Went into a polar orbit since that was how it came in--wanted to land on, well, land and not in the sea.

Started at relatively low altitude too, 654m ASL.  Ended up with over 1150 m/s DV left after the circularization burn.

Replacing the 8 Swivels with a Mainsail in the middle stage, plus putting 8 active winglets on the radial tanks did the trick--no flipping out after staging.  I also added more fuel to the main stage, as I was using the outer Ratittes to slow my landing speed, so needed to have enough fuel for that as well as to reach a high enough altitude on the ascent before lighting the middle stage.

The non-stock tanks are from Fuel Tanks Plus, thee 3/4 and 1.5x versions of the stock orange tank.  Main engines are the Ratites from Space Y (so much thrust from a single 2.5m engine, perfect for Eve), as are the big radial decoupler+sepratons.  The upper stage uses 4 1.25m Poodles (Tweakscaled), lower mass and more DV than LV-909s.

Oh, at the very bottom is a 2-man lander can, it acts as an "elevator" for EVA access.  No way was I going to put a zillion ladders on this thing.

[Alchemist]

Assembling this awesome telescope for STS challenge level 3

Totally loved this mission.

[Spaceception]

.

Edited January 19, 2016 by Spaceception

[Workable Goblin]

I proceeded in my career save, mostly taking care of a bunch of early contracts and squeezing out the last few bits of Tier 1 Kerbin science. I'm getting pretty tired of tooling around in slow little airplanes, so I'm thinking it's about time to move on to orbital launches. Fortunately I have one coming down the pipe pretty soon.

I also fiddled around with an SSTO version of Temstar's Aurora boosters in a sandbox game. It worked pretty well, got 17 tons (the most convenient value for me to test) to LKO and reentered successfully with four tons onboard. Landing wasn't so hot, but it was just a trial. It looks pretty promising for future work, on the whole.

[ImperialistPigDog]

I have been working on a station in career mode. Its coming along quite well!