mechworks

the \'ATLAS-II\' was envisioned as the ATLAS-I\'s bigger, stronger brother, and proved to be largely successful. while incapable of carrying heavy payloads, the ATLAS-II was capable of exiting the atmosphere, entering a stable orbit, releasing its small payload, and then returning its crew to Kearth safely. emboldened by their second success, Mechworks then turned to another issue: while perfectly capable of launching small satellites, the ATLAS-II was incapable of carrying heavier payloads. thus, the ATLAS-III was developed, intended to carry all but the heaviest of payloads into near-Kearth orbit before returning its crew to the ground. however, due to some oversight issues and insufficient structural bracing, the ALTAS-III suffered critical integrity failure some ten seconds after launch. the ATLAS-IV was largely unchanged from its predecessor, featuring only improved structural bracing and a re-designed payload area. however after launch it was discovered to have the same listing issues as the Jupiter series before it. frustrated with this persistent problem, the labs went for a \'brute-force\' solution, simply bolting large external stabilizing systems to the outside of the craft. however, the list persisted, and Mechworks Aerospace is now offering a reward to anykerb who can solve the issue. seriously guys, this tilting thing is really starting to piss me off. any hints? I\'m also including several payload craft used in the failed rockets. you\'re free to use them. attached are the craft files for the ATLAS five and two orbiters. the first orbiter is for 3-meter shells, the second fits in 2-meter ones. you will need the obvious rocket parts, triple chute, radial stack decoupler, solar collectors, and the payload panels in order to use these.

the Jupiter-I was a massive behemoth, and seemed capable of achieving any orbit desired. however, like the Venture line before it, the Jupiter line was to suffer its share of problems. the prototype collapsed on the pad, as the main thruster pods proved incapable of supporting the beast\'s massive weight. the Jupiter-II would fail to leave the launch pad, proving the generated thrust insufficient to lift the craft. the original, behemoth design was then scrapped, and a new chassis built from the ground up. this new design would be designated the \'Jupiter-III,\' and suffered a critical structural failure prior to launch. the Jupiter-IV, on the other hand, was the Mechlab\'s first taste of success since the ATLAS-I, and achieved and altitude of almost 5000 meters before tilting inexorably towards Kearth for unknown reasons. if the issue could be corrected, the scientists announced, it would be capable of achieving heavy payload lift easily. the Jupiter-V was largely unchanged from its previous incarnation, save the addition of numerous stabilizing fins in an attempt to eleiminate the \'list\' that had been a problem in the IV. these measures would alleviate, but not eliminate, the list, and the mark-V successfully flew on-course up to 8000 meters before once again listing to one side. thinking the craft\'s \'top-heavy\'-ness was to blame for the tilt, several of the redundant stages were removed from the Jupiter-VI. this seemed to help, as the craft was almost capable of entering Kearth\'s Exosphere before the list forsed it bact to landing. the Jupiter-VII would use a larger, more robust engine in an attempt to \'out-power\' the list, in order to make the persistent problem into a feature that would put the craft on an \'orbit course\' without Kerbal or computer input. however, this attempt also met with failure, and the team began re-examining the design en tota to spot flaws they may have missed. the thruster design was redone for a proposed \'Jupiter-VIII,\' but was never completed as the company briefly lost the contract to Jebidiah LTD, who offered their own \'V-1\' design. Mechworks Aerospace won the contract back after Jebidiah LTD\'s payloadless craft suffered a string of spectacular failures, and turned back to their only successful design; the ATLAS, which by that point had become the staple of KSP\'s launch capacity.

Mechworks Aerospace was contracted to design rockets for KSP on the thought that their previous successes with unmanned test rockets would provide the know-how to meet KSP\'s specifications. their frist craft did not disappoint, successfully launching it\'s crew into low orbit, then returning to Kerth intact. the ATLAS (Atmospheric Transition-LArge S.c.u.d.)-I was considered a total success, and commissions went out for a payload-capable rocket to launch satellites and other devices. It was here, however, that the prestigious company encountered a run of extremely bad luck. the new model, designated \'Venture-I,\' was scrapped when the prototype exploded on the pad prior to launch for reasons unknown. a revised version, designated \'Venture-II,\' suffered the same fate as the original, exploding prior to launch. further revisions were made, however the \'Venture-III\' again suffered what was beginning to be called \'the Works Curse,\' exploding prior to launch. having thought to have located the source of the persistent failure, a fundamental design flaw in the upper boost stage, and beginning to run out of time and funds, the \'Venture-IV\' scrapped the secondary boost stage entirely, however still failed to launch due to insufficiently reinforced engine design. the Venture-V, was, to no-one\'s surprise, an utter failure, and the CEO of Mechworks ordered the Venture project ended. a team of experts was then created, and the ill-fated, but nearly successful \'Jupiter project\' would begin.

to date, I have yet to escape the confines of Kearth\'s atmosphere. the closest I\'ve gotten is on that gets to around 5000 feet and then levels off, then tilts enough to hit the ground. or they simply blow up on the pad before I can even launch them. It\'s actually kind of frustrating.