Rakaydos

If the Lunar Lagrange elevator goes up as planned (It's planned for 2020, so call it 2030) a lunar base will develop organically around the base station, supplied from orbit.

Looks like the cargo bay is a nonstandard length, that can cozilly hold (in a single large bay section) a lab-sized moduel with clampotrons on each end The flat sides cut a chord just short of the black on the SLS engine cluster- noticable if you look. I dunno about anyone else, but it looks like stock fairings to me.

For the record, a "Halo" style orbital station with a Million KM radius and a 24 hour rotation (for a proper day-night cycle) generate just over .5g

Prototyping for a Mk 3 cargo lifter, based on some of my earlier Mk2 doubehull designs. I'm aware that a biplane design is less efficent- however, it works for my other designs, and I'm trying to maintain a similar form factor and flight characteristics to them: Since I cant inline clampotron under a Mk3 cargo bay, however, I've added a nose docking port instead

Eve is a single massive challange, Jool 5 is a few smaller ones chained together. I've done the Jool 5 using a single lander- a Tylo single stage lander, that refuels and gets a boost to Val intercept fro the tanker, then procedes to land on Val, Bop and Pol without refueling before dropping periapse to aerobreak at Laythe (to meet the tanker that simply slingshotted Val to Layth, instead of landing.) Then the same lander proved it could single stage Laythe as well, without jet engines or parachues, though the aerodynamics were a bit tricky. Then it did a powered landing on Kerbin. All I needed was a superlander with enough DV for tylo, and a tanker that could take it out to low-tylo, transfer to Laythe via Val slingshot, and still refuel the superlander 3 times. (Tylo, 1st laythe, 2nd laythe) "ALL" I would need for an Eve mision is a ship with enough atmo DV, and to land it on a mountian, and to carry it to Eve without using any of it's fuel. While it can be staged, all the ones I've seen make the tylo lander I build look like a small toy. Jool 5 is bigger, but Eve is harder.

So, you use a mod that makes spaceplanes less useful. Doesnt mean they arnt useful for other people.

Jet-powered spaceplanes have a better paylod cpapcity to rocket SSTOs that can return to the launchpad- thus, they corner the market in 100% recovery.

Can it be put over 23km high?

Can we get a "Robo-jeb" probe that can be put in capsules like a Kerbal, but doesnt cost Rep when it is lost?

Is there a way to get multiple installs to all show up in steam? Any way to signify which instal is which, too?

It's not the astrophysics that's the problem with mars missions- it's the ecosystem. The Cycler sets up a permanant lifesupport infrastructure for travel between worlds- so you can literally launch to a mars transfer orbit in a spacesuit, board the cycler, and spend the next few months in spacius hotel accomidtions that you only had to accelerate once in over 20 years of use. Then when you reach mars, you put your spacesuit back on and jump out, while the cycler keeps going, ready for the next trip.

The "Binary planet" argument I remember hearing is that at the moon's surface, the sun has more of a gravitational influence than the earth- The moon isnt so much orbiting the earth as it is co-orbiting the sun close enough to gravitationally interact with the earth.

Dumb question: Are your Flight Assistance Toggles still on?

It might be interesting to try somethink like this for a Kerbal Grand tour- put your mothership in a hoffman orbit, but dont circulrize it- instead, wait for the next enounter before recovering your lander.

Hmm... Elon Munsk's description of BDBs makes me think they would be good for orbital refueling. Send up a pressure fed stage, dock it with pressure left in the tanks. Pump the excess out to refuel better rockets, and repurpose the tanks as orbital consruction materials. Let anything you dont need decay into earth's atmo.

Just think, when New horizons launched... ...it was going to a planet.

They are already assuming assembily in space. It just means they can launch a 130 ton habitation module, a 130 ton fuel tank, and several 130 ton fuel payloads to fill the (empty) tank.

I'd take that a step furthur. Pilot in the return capsule, engineeer and scientist in the LEM, and attach a Stayputnic core to the Lem to act as a pilot. The Lem doesnt need a parachute anyway, so put it on top or underneath, opposite the docking ring or something.

Wasnt there a proposal for a lunar single stage langer, that doubles as a martian ascent stage?

Probably not with 24 passangers, and not out to Laythe.

The part that is "removed" is a capsule. The part that now has the funtionality is Pilot... which goes in a capsule. (The ASAS and SAS parts had that funtionality removed several updates ago) ...I'm not really seeing the issue.

If you're not sending a kerbal, why bring a parachute?

This contest was useful for getting me past a roadblock I had in spaceplane design, but by this point my entry is so obsolete (v2 vs V7) that I dont really feel like I'm competing anymore. With the new Mk3 coming out, and the MkIV Spaceplane mod, will you be starting another contest early next year?

*New Horizons wakes up* Wait, I thought I was going to a planet? What happened while I was asleep?

After some testing with various crafts I have saved, I realized I was only teting the "near side" flaps after spawning on the runway- the far side flaps function fine. Perhaps moving a mirrored part breaks the action group of the "other copy"? Edit: thanks. Any help on setting the Flight Assistance to be helpful but not too helpful? (my other issue)