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"Go ahead and drop the boosters."

Whackjob

By Whackjob
in KSP1 Mission Reports

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SyberSmoke

SyberSmoke

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Not quite as big, but I had a nice cluster earlier... I finally got the hang of launching enough fuel for a trip to, and back from the Mun, and it involved a pretty menacing looking cluster of 8 boosters... 6 fired off simultaneously at launch, and the remaining 2 pulled the craft into orbit...

nowhere near as menacing as yours, but I thought it looked pretty cool with the limited tech tree that I have so far :)

screenshot11_zps0867dfcc.png

Uhhh, isn't that a little overkill for the Mun? I mean if you lay in right, you only need 770m/s to get to the Mun. That shadow makes me wonder what your orbiting/landing there?

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User Unrelated

User Unrelated

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Uhhh, isn't that a little overkill for the Mun? I mean if you lay in right, you only need 770m/s to get to the Mun. That shadow makes me wonder what your orbiting/landing there?

I'm not "the best" at KSP... I always try and design a little overkill. (My maneuver to reach munar encounter today was around 850m/s

this one happens to be QUITE overkill, and well, it works, so don't fix what ain't broken. (I've run 2 munar missions with the same design so far)

that's what I'm landing... I had originally designed the module on top to pop off and return home, but I can actually land it with the lower stage 90% full, so I just take that home, because I don't think the top half could do it on it's own anyway.

Today I ran up to the polar crater. Lots of extra fuel to make that orbit happen.

screenshot35_zps285172fc.png

I'm going to try and get this to land on minimus and return to kerbin when I get the time, I feel like I could do it.

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SyberSmoke

SyberSmoke

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I'm not "the best" at KSP... I always try and design a little overkill. (My maneuver to reach munar encounter today was around 850m/s

this one happens to be QUITE overkill, and well, it works, so don't fix what ain't broken. (I've run 2 munar missions with the same design so far)

that's what I'm landing... I had originally designed the module on top to pop off and return home, but I can actually land it with the lower stage 90% full, so I just take that home, because I don't think the top half could do it on it's own anyway.

Today I ran up to the polar crater. Lots of extra fuel to make that orbit happen.

screenshot35_zps285172fc.png

I'm going to try and get this to land on minimus and return to kerbin when I get the time, I feel like I could do it.

This is what I use to get around the local planets.

a0G7w7W.png?1

The lower tank has four 909's on it and is more then enough to get to the Mun and Minmus with fuel left over to circularize and adjust. The lander stage uses smaller engines for the low gravity, I tend to have half a tanks when I am done and is perfect for lifting off and setting back to Kirbin. Finally I ditch the lander after I Aerobreak and get my final descent angle. The final small tank and engine are ditched after final adjustments and the can, capsule, and Kerbals land safely.

Going big never suited me...I always preferred small and functional as after a bit your just lifting fuel so you can lift more fuel.

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SyberSmoke

SyberSmoke

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Wow, my early attempts look tame in comparison

988692_10153081029800302_1833236394_n.jpg

Hurm...Let me see if I can help. Lets see...first off, you could replace the radial engines on your lander with clusters of Rocomax 48-7S's, each one has about 2.5 times the thrust to weight of the radial engines you're using. You will also use less fuel as they are more efficient for the same weight. So you will need less fuel reducing your ships weight or increasing the ships range.

As for the staging...hurm...that is allot of SRB's. You may wish to play with using Liquid Fuel Engines in clusters using "Asparagus Staging". That way you use less weight each stage to do more lifting. I can not see what engines you have in the center stack, but playing in Career, I have a main lift stage using a skipper with four LV-T30 engines that have been clipped a little into a radial giving some efficiency.

Just as a rule, bigger is not always (except in Whackjobs case) better. Smaller engines are more efficient then larger ones. So if you have an opportunity to use smaller engines, then you should look into it and see how it works. You will use less fuel reducing how much you need to lift.

Edited by SyberSmoke
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Whackjob

Whackjob

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Well some one has to give us those WTF moments. :-)

Hehe. I like to think I give others brief moments of amusement.

Also, considering the seven part ship... considering launching it as an all-in-one anyway... Not that there's anything wrong with my docking chops. I've never failed. But the difficulty in such a launch is pure Whackjovian lodestone.

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Whackjob

Whackjob

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I have never been good at docking unfortunately. It is the reason I thank the creators for MechJeb. All kind and all skill levels I guess.

I'll offer some pointers. Let's say you're already say 20k away from the target vessel. Make sure you choose it as a target. Suddenly your velocity markers are relative to that target. Point retrograde and burn until you kill all velocity. Now you're moving even relative to your target. Point back towards it and burn towards it 10m/s. Now, you're still in slightly differing orbits so your velocity and direction to it will wander off over time. This is not abnormal.

Kill velocity again and aim in again, give it 10m/s. Repeat until you are near your target. Kill velocity relative to it to zero again. Kill engines and prepare to switch to RCS only. Use WASD still to point your ship, but use IJKLHN to RCS thrust around. Don't go faster than a single meter per second. Every time you need to change path, kill velocity to your target first.

Then, creep in to your docking port target in steps. A wee bit at a time. Each advance, kill your velocity partway there and examine your lineup. Eventually you'll be just a smidge away from it. Just nudge in at maybe half a meter per second. Turn off SAS in your approaching and target vessel so they're free to rotate perfectly towards each other as the magnetic force kicks in.

Boom. Docked.

Edited by Whackjob
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SyberSmoke

SyberSmoke

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I'll offer some pointers. Let's say you're already say 20k away from the target vessel. Make sure you choose it as a target. Suddenly your velocity markers are relative to that target. Point prograde and burn until you kill all velocity. Now you're moving even relative to your target. Point back towards it and five it 10m/s. Now, you're still in slightly differing orbits so your velocity and direction to it will wander off over time. This is not abnormal.

Kill velocity again and aim in again, give it 10m/s. Repeat until you are near your target. Kill velocity relative to it to zero again. Kill engines and prepare to switch to RCS only. Use WASD still to point your ship, but use IJKLHN to RCS thrust around. Don't go faster than a single meter per second. Every time you need to change path, kill velocity to your target first.

Then, creep in to your docking port target in steps. A wee bit at a time. Each advance, kill your velocity partway there and examine your lineup. Eventually you'll be just a smidge away from it. Just nudge in at maybe half a meter per second. Turn off SAS in your approaching and target vessel so they're free to rotate perfectly towards each other as the magnetic force kicks in.

Boom. Docked.

Well I understand the general principles of it. The problem comes to my having issues with the relative motion involved. I also tend to confuse my maneuvers and key commands involving those maneuvers. This is not a new thing though...25 years of playing computer and video games and I have not been able to get over this little quirk. So...oh well. I hope your advice helps some one else though.

It also does not help me that I do not touch type...heh. Oh so many issues.

Edited by SyberSmoke
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Whackjob

Whackjob

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I suppose I have been teasing you all enough. Time to make my plan clear.

Or at least clearer.

E1pJXJF.png

This is the launch of the command and control module of my new project being inserted into orbit. Unlike the majority of my craft, it will be assembled in orbit. Normally, I'd be quite happy to build the whole thing and launch it all in one cohesive chunk. But the nature of this project simply will not permit it.

This is to be a living work. To explain, a living project is one that is continually worked on. A living document, in example, is one that is continuously kept updated. The same idea here.

Each of the ship segments are built with idea that they can be removed and swapped out with updated versions as the need requires. Currently I plan one C&C module, three lander leg and landing thruster modules, one RCS storage module, one Kethane module, and one transplanetary drive module. This will be version one.

It will be the largest thing I have ever landed anywhere. And it is smaller than the first revision I've got in mind. It will be some days before the first version is ready for a shakedown run.

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Whackjob

Whackjob

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My god Whackjob, are you sure that a single skipper is gonna be enough for that... that thing?

Quite right. I had a moment where I'd forgotten that three of these modules had to lift all seven. I quadrupled the power. And I built the lifting system. And a tug to bind it to the C&C module patiently waiting in orbit.

Te0rIZI.png

This is shaping up to be the largest build I have ever done. If you count the lifting systems. And this is just the initial version! I already have the Mk2 upgrades built in my mind. But I needs must build the first first...

Also, I note nobody has caught the name yet. Since this will be a giant conglomeration of girders and struts, I have named it The Gossamer.

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SyberSmoke

SyberSmoke

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Are you building the first Reaper (Mass Effect)?

Nah, more like the First of the Xenon from Egosofts X games. Soon he will send them forth to terraform the universe, but they will return to destroy all Kerbal kind.

On a side note, I also look like he is going to suck the Kethane out of every planet he passes.

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Whackjob

Whackjob

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That's only the C&C module?

Whack, if you stop playing KSP, it will be because your computer literally melted!:D

No, that's the lander leg and engine assembly. The C&C module is already in orbit. On a side note, I failed on launching this.

Cq7t5t2.png

I think I just took the title for the greatest unintentional spray of shrapnel in KSP.

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