Rakaydos

Landed my first spacepane -AT- KSC. A little bumpy, but I only lost a few engines.

A Mk 2 stack docking port, that has magnetic roll torque to line up the ports rotationally before docking. (useful for more than just spaceplanes, as it would ensure the dock is lined up, not just attached)

We figured out the problem was I built it using an older version of FAR. Manticore V2 fixes the problems.

Made it into orbit first try. Will update my entry to Manticore V2 Edit: Entry updated. I noticed my flight dta was glitched out, though. Any idea why?

Testing my revision now. Much easier to fly after removing those X canards- though I needed something up front to get my nose off the ground still.

Hmm, perhaps I have an older version of FAR- I cant adjust wing strengths. 12.5.2? Does that even work anymore?

Revising my flight instructions slightly.

What altitude, inclination and speed did it lose control for you? While it can be tempermental, I've gotten it to orbit with quicksaves, and I noted the most problematic parts for me. Mechjeb is used for information, not flight, though I also sometimes use it for docking. I' not sure what you mean by it masking issues.

As new as I am to spaceplanes, I look foreward to your critiques to the Manticore.

Having played with FAR, the biggest problem with reentering nose first to protect the engine, is flipping around at the end. IF youre stable nose first for reentry, it's REALLY hard to swap end for end. I'd think edge on would be a better option. More surface area to slow it down, and it can roll to even out the heating without changing it's aspect ratio, and easier to "fall off" toward the engine when you switch to propulsive breaking.

Drat, I was working on updating one of my old, VERY Low tech (basic jets and roccomax 48s) -runway-launched science vehicals for FAR. Goes up as a spaceplane to flameout, then drops the jets and asparagus in from the sides to reach orbit. For when you cant afford to replace the VAB after a bad start in carear.

This is the author who wrote a story about "the cold side of mercury", and before it was published NASA's probe discovered mercury isnt actually (quite) tidelocked to the sun. He offered to return his writer's fee for writing known bad science in his science fiction.

Actually, it depends on what race is building it. If your race wants a longer day, but higher gravity, that race's orbtals will be larger than a race that likes shorter days and less gravity. IIRC, it migrated outward over the aeons, after the crust had solidified. though that might have been retcon. Larry Niven's Known Space is ANCIENT.

Difference of scale. Ringworld is 1 AU in radius, wheres a Culture Orbital (which the Halo is explicitly modeled on) has a radius "such that 1 rotation per day gives a 1g effective gravity." No Shadow squares, no solar-flare-superlasers, and no scrith required. If we're bringing up Canyon, we may as well bring up Plateau and Jinx. One's effectively Venus, but with a single mountian range up to the 50km "habitable" zone venus has, and the other is a supermassive moon orbiting close enough to it's parent supergiant's roche limit to become egg shaped, the poles sticking entirely out of the atmosphere.

*cough*

Is this ever actually said? I was under the impression that is was simply a matter of a sub-kilolight FTL drive (less than a thousand times the speed of light) still taking days or weeks per lightyear. The 10c warp drive being theorized would take over a month per lightyear, or almost half a year to get to our nearest star. If the jumps in Aliens are in the 10-20 lightyear range, cryo might still be nessisary.

I remember reading about a variation of the Many Worlds theory, that claims that there are a large but finite number of alternate universes, and if one universe is too similar to another, they repel one another, replicating the observations of quantum mechanics. Having lost the link, does this theory sound familiar to anyone, and what is it's "crackpot-value?"

20 KM seems a little low, seeing as most FAR fliers cruse at 25 KM and stock fliers cruse at 30+

Manticore V1 V2 "The only spaceplane you'll ever need, until they make a cargo bay that can hold Rockomax parts" Required mods: FAR, Mechjeb (mechjeb free version also available) Entry for Light cargo spaceplane, Passenger transport, All Stock Parts (Mechjeb-less version only), Best Use of Mk 3 to Mk 2 Adapter, Best looking Craft. My first serious spaceplane since installing FAR, the Manticore is a general purpose lifter, able to carry 4-6 passengers and over 600 units (well over, since the revision) of liquid fuel, 800 units of mono-propellant, and over 750 units of oxidizer to a 75x75 orbit, while also bringing mission specific cargo and being capable of docking to any existing space infrastructure by 1.25m Inline Clampatron. The cargo bay is large enough to carry Specialty cargoes, for Assembly in orbit. The Propulsion Core is a Nerva with enough control systems to self-assemble a long term mission- or after a deep space refueling, mount it on the Manticore's clampotron and fly yourself anywhere! The passenger option, while yet untested, looks to explore the term "coach seating" to bring as many or more kerbals as a far larger dedicated crew transporter. The fuel core brings an additional 360/440 rocket fuel combo, is equipped with a balanced mid-line docking port for a more compact profile when assembled, and also comes with a free micro-RCS docking drone. And the habitation pod offers permanent accommodations for up to 4 kerbals in space. (Station core and Ion Drone pack sold separately) Craft file: Mechjeb and NoMech Base Price: 149,356 Base Part Count: 195 (194 without mechjeb) Action Groups: 1 toggle raipiers, 2 shut down turbojets, 0 toggle cargo bay/clampotron Flight Instructions: I'm fairly new to this myself, so I might not be giving the best information- any advice is appreciated. Edit: thanks Wanderfound for help updating the craft. On physics load, stage, SAS, throttle up, close the bays with "0" (I default it open in case the nerva payload accidently starts firing inside the bay at launch) and let it roll down the runway. Liftoff speed is about 150 m/s anyway, so it's easiest to wait until you past the numbers at the end before nosing up, so you drop off the runway before your engines drop. Work your nose up to about 55/60 degrees- You'll be using your pitch to maintain a 150ms-ish speed until around 8000m. Once you hit 8000m, start dropping your nose gradually- I've gotten over 11 km before hitting Mach 1. Operating cealing is 27km, though the rapiers will shift to rocket mode automatically earlier, so you'll need to dectivate them with action group 1. anytime after 1550 m/s you can burn to orbit, but the craft is stable past 1600 ms. Your RCS tanks are between the hulls, but clip far enough into the cargo bay to be easilly selected. There's extra liquid fuel locked in the inline intakes and Mk3->Mk2 converter. Fuel drains in 4x symmetry- bottom flank Mk2 couplers, bottom flank Mk 2 LF/O tanks, Top flank MK2 couplers, top Mk 2 LF/O tank, bottom core couplers, bottom core small tanks (either side of the clampotron), and finally front core top coupler, followed by rear core top bicoupler. (if you're using the fuel pod cargo, shut it down or remember to refuel it after) This fuel scheme means that the CoM moves up and down, but NOT foreward and back, keeping the cargo bay and clampotron at/near CoM. Orbital RCS maneuvering can be sluggish, but you have plenty of monoprop. I'm still new to landing spaceplanes, so I dont know how it does on the runway, but I put my prototype down on bumpy grassland -mostly- intact, after it got close enough to orbit to deploy a satelite. Touchdown speed was something like 120 m/s, followed by hill after hill- the roll controls were (after mny tries) enough to keep me in once piece as I hopped skipped and rolled to a stop.

You asparagus stage your SRBs (but step down their thrust so they burn at different rates)

Too many kerbals when the clipped command seats start sending them into the air before you get into the air.

Thinking about entering my design... one of my first cargo spaceplanes, it has both a balanced cargo bay AND a balanced clampotron. I'm still working out the most fuel efficent way to orbit, but I've got more than an FL800's worth of "reserve" counterbalance fuel and oxidiser, enough room on the cargo bay for another FL800, and concealed Monoprop tanks that are easy to access by a clip through the cargo bay. Mods are FAR and Stock Rebalance Project 1.3 (only part that matters is the reaction wheel nerf and RCS buff)

Eh, it's really more like 1550 m/s, but if mach 5+ really is an unreasonable target, I suppose I'll just not be that good of a refueler. Oh well.

My SSTO isnt as efficnt as I would like. My jets will only take me to about 1600m/s before thrust=drag, and while I can make it to orbit on Rapiers and RCS from there, I'm wasting a lot of fuel doing so. Figurin out how to add more thrust without increasing drag or messing with the CoM too much is my issue, as my design has the CoM lined up with both a docking port and the cargo bay, and my fuel is balanced that my CoM goes up and down, not foreward and back.